#I had to stay home from the church i'm visiting because of a cold and I was heartbroken

[alsikeclovers]

Update on the writing experiment:

I have started writing short pieces of prose about my friends

[moderator-monnie]

artwork by @sonicexelle-junkary/ @weirdozjunkary

Silver had finally confronted the monster that had caused so much damage across his home city. Hospitals', schools', churches', and homes' were all destroyed. He had heard the rumors about who was doing it.

But he couldn't believe them. Sonic was dead, so how could it be him? He was a fool, and he knew that now, though at the same time his thoughts had truth about this thing, it wasn't Sonic; at least he didn't want to believe it was; it was simply a computer program gone rouge.

This is the first time he's seen this thing up close, and Silver was filled with rage knowing this thing had used his friend's face to perpetrate so many heinous deeds, not only his face but his voice and his mannerisms that smiled—the smile he had grown so fond of.

Silver stayed calm, though he wouldn't let his feelings get the better of him. He took a deep breath and stood in front of Hologram, who was just smiling at him. The smile was eerie and cold.

"Why?..."

That was all Silver could ask as he stared at the monster in front of him.

Hologram soon let out a hearty laugh before striking a snarky pose and faded away before suddenly appearing right in front of Silver for a moment.

"Why? Because they destroyed my legacy Silver, I was once a hero, and now? I'm a product placement and advertising thing I would never endorse. Even sweat shops use my likeness. 

They don't see me for what I was; they see me as an advertising ploy, a way to use my likeness to make all these greedy people money, and I'm sick of it!"

Silver scoffed and waved his hand to disrupt the hologram's body; this made Hologram disappear and appear a few feet away from the other hedgehog, annoyed.

"You're not Sonic, because Sonic would never do this; the Sonic I know fights injustice; if anything, you're just a cheap copy that even Metal Sonic pulls off better."

Hologram turned red and grew in size before shouting loudly with a more robotic-sounding voice that was a bit distorted.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE METAL SONIC, I DON'T JUST THINK I'M SONIC, I KNOW I AM THE REAL SONIC, I'M NOT JUST A FUCKING UNTHINKING MACHINE, I HAVE MY MIND, I HAVE MY LOOKS, PERSONALITY, MEMORIES, EMOTIONS!"

Silver took a step back with a worried look on his face, but still had visible disgust and a hint of pity.

"One day you will realize your wrong... Hologram, but I'll humor you for now, 'Sonic' if you really were him, you'd snap out of it by now and realize what your doing is wrong."

"If you want to prove your 'Sonic' then please just stop; there is a better way of going about this! No one else has to die! I already had to accept your death once. Sure, I can visit you in the past if I want. 

But I've seen you buried, and I can't bring myself to hurt you, even if you're not really him. Please prove you're still a hero and stand down. Think about the damage you've done. Just STOP!"

Hologram's face darkened; it disappeared completely as he thought about Silver's words. If he had a working heart, it would be beating right now. He questioned himself for a moment but soon stopped as a red glow appeared where one of his eyes should be.

"I'm sorry, Silver; I'm afraid I can't do that."

And before Silver could respond, he noticed something: he didn't see Techie with Hologram.

"Where is Kaboo-?"

An explosion was heard off in the distance, and loud screaming could be heard along with a large smoke cloud filling the sky. Silver turned around to look at it in utter awe and horror.

Hologram appeared right behind Silver, the red glow completely covering the other hedgehog as he whispered, "Go on, 'hero' save the day; you always told me you wanted to be a hero like me, so prove it and go die like one too."

Silver had tears fall down his face as he heard Hologram say this, and he turned around in an attempt to punch him, forgetting he was intangible, and he shouted loudly. "SHUT THE HELL UP, FAKER!"

Hologram just looked at him with that iconic smug smirk he had always seen Sonic look at Eggman with and responded one last time.

"Heh, well, I gotta skedaddle, old buddy, but I'll see you again later; this hedgehog's got a busy day napping ahead of him. Good luck, buddy! I believe in you." 

And like the smug bastard he was, he blew a kiss at Silver and winked before disappearing as quickly as he appeared.

Silver's heart skipped a beat for a moment, but he soon shook his head and wiped tears from his eye before heading towards the city in an attempt to save what lives he could from whatever this imposter did. 

While Techie and Hologram escaped the crime scene before he could get there, this wasn't the last encounter they'd have, but Silver knew that he needed to stop Hologram at any cost, feelings be damned.

[cheerycherrycandy-resurrected]

Ghoulette Appreciation Week 8

Week 8: Coffee Shop AU & Sickfic

I've been excited for this one! Back to the Midwest Emo Ghouls AU, because they just won't stay outta my head for long!

When Mist doesn't show up to Aurora's coffee shop, she gets worried. Or, Mist and Aurora are hopelessly crushing on each other, but neither seems to realize their feeling are mutual.

Rating: G Content: Fluff, secret crushes, Rory taking care of Mist when she has a cold. Words: 2651

It would be remiss of me to write a Midwest Emo Ghouls Coffee shop AU and not mention @midnight-moth's ficlet (which I think technically they said is only adjacent to this AU? but I wrote this before double checking, oopsie!) with coffee-shop!Aurora and record-store!Mist, the og fic that had me sold on Mistrora! (go read it!)

As with anything I've written for this AU, all credit goes to @herbal-quintessence and friends for its creation, I've picked and chosen my favorite hcs for the ghouls when there are multiple, and for any other inconsistencies with the original creators's hcs and timeline let's just say I'm operating on a different branch at an indeterminant point in time, haha..!

Read below, or on AO3!

The screech of the coffee machine snapped Aurora out of her daydream. She shook her head slightly to dislodge her leftover thoughts, still drifting around about her favourite customer. Aurora kept expecting Mist to walk in the door any second, and she didn’t dare try to meet her eyes while simultaneously imagining herself staring into them under greatly different circumstances.

The door to the shop remained closed however; no tinkling of the bell to herald Mist’s arrival to the coffee shop, and the subsequent arrival of a swarm of butterflies into Aurora’s stomach. For the umpteenth time that day, Aurora squinted out the window to the record store opposite. The lights were still off, the sign still reading closed. Where was she?

Aurora had worked in the coffee shop for several years now. She had applied when she first moved to town as a broke student struggling to pay rent, and had loved every second of it. The coffee shop, it turned out, was the beating heart of this rural town: a social hub for almost all the denizens both ghoul and human. She had taken great delight in getting to know her new community and neighbours, and beginning to recognize people outside of the coffee-scented air of the café.

From her connections at the shop, Aurora had learned about the existence of the dark church, and in particular its close community of ghouls. She had found many of her new friends here, and even her new home. Aurora had got talking with two lunchtime regulars she recognized from the church: one the owner of the hardware store down the street, the other his husband joining him in town for lunch. She had quickly learned that they farmed the fields east of town, and when Aurora had mentioned in passing that she was looking for a place to stay over the summer semester break to keep working, they had offered their spare room. They were looking for a lodger, anyway.

Another regular was Zephyr: church organist, GP surgery receptionist, and one of the first people Aurora connected with in town. They always came in during the afternoon slump, and happily tried the newest and strangest flavours of tea the shop had ordered. Aurora would scribble notes on their thorough yet honest reviews, before they left with an extra-large, extra-strong black coffee for Omega, the surgery’s GP.

It was through Zephyr that Aurora had learned of their lodger Mist, who had recently opened a record store directly opposite the coffee shop. Mist was cool. Seriously, effortlessly, cool. Throughout the weeks that she had started coming to the coffee shop at Zephyr’s suggestion, her visits had become longer more regular. At one point, after Aurora brought over her third drink of the morning, her curiosity had got the better of her, and she had asked Mist if she actually sold any records, seeing as she spent more time in the café than her own shop.

It turned out that Mist had not only been an art student at Aurora’s college several years previously, but had also taken several courses in online business and marketing. She made most of her sales from her website, explaining how her shop kept running with seemingly few customers. Aurora thought she was amazing: smart, arty, stylish, cool... She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on the homecoming queen. Mountain and Swiss thought this was adorable and frequently teased her about it, reminiscing on their own tentative courtship many years previously.

Mist had started bringing her laptop to the café, sitting by the window to keep half an eye on her own shopfront for customers while being plied with coffees and “free” cakes. She had quickly realized that no café had that good of a loyalty scheme, and that Aurora was instead buying them with her tip money. Secretly, she had started keeping track of what Aurora was spending on her, the notes tucked into the tip jar at the end of each day always covering the pastries, and then some.

As the frequency of Mist’s visits increased, Aurora had become deeply attuned to her presence. Mist was a welcome sight in her window armchair, a source of charming smiles and words which made her heart flutter. And so, on this day in the middle of a cold February week, Aurora had felt Mist’s absence before she consciously noticed it. All day, she had been distracted; one eye on the door or the conspicuously dark record store opposite.

She was so distracted, in fact, that Zephyr had cottoned onto it immediately when they entered for their afternoon break. They caught her eyes flickering to the empty shopfront opposite three separate times while ordering.

“Missing Mist today?” Zephyr asked kindly. Aurora blushed deeply; was it that obvious? “She’s at home sick today, she’s feeling pretty under the weather.”

Aurora’s concern must have shown on her face, and she started pressing herbal teas and cake upon Zephyr to bring to her.

“You could bring them yourself, if you want?” Zephyr smiled warmly: young love was such a precious thing. “She’s not contagious, Omega took a look at her this morning. She just needs some rest and TLC.”

Aurora nodded earnestly, not trying to hide how keen she was.

“You could meet us at the surgery after you close here? I can give you a lift once the Omega sees his last patient.”

“Thank you Zeph, that would be lovey. I’ll meet you there–”

Aurora’s eyes instinctively flickered to the door again as the bell chimed the arrival of a customer. She waved Zephyr and their good-natured smile goodbye, heading back behind the counter.

Before Aurora cashed out and locked up, she also gathered a selection of coffee beans and teas to bring for Omega and Zephyr. She closed the door the minute the clock hit six pm, and resisted the urge to run down the road to the Doctor’s surgery. They were a ten minute walk away at best, and Omega’s last appointment was at quarter-to-seven.

She decided to make a quick detour past the small grocery store. Tea and pastries were fine, but nothing beats the winter lurgy like hot soup. And crackers. Oh, and maybe chocolate, Aurora thought, throwing everything she could think of into her basket. At least with Mist living with a doctor, she would be well taken care of with painkillers and cold medication.

Her bag weighing heavily on her shoulder, she greeted Zephyr as she got to the surgery, perching on a chair in the waiting room while Omega finished seeing his last patient. Her feet swing nervously beneath her.

Aurora sat in the leather backseat of the silver saloon car, as Omega drove back to their house in the suburbs. As they pulled off the road, she saw Mist’s familiar ice-blue bicycle leaned against the side wall of the garage.

“Let me know when you want to go home, I can drive you back.” Zephyr offered, before directing Aurora to Mist’s room at the top of the stairs. She knocked shyly, it was too late to be scared of overstepping now.

“C’m’ in!” a croaky voice called from inside. Aurora gently opened the door, smiling cautiously at Mist and offering a small wave.

“Rory?” Mist’s eyes were rimmed with red, matching the colour of her nose, but they seemed to light up as the smaller ghoulette hovered in the doorway. “What’re you doing here?”

“Oh you poor thing!” Aurora cooed, dodging the question of why Mist’s casual workplace acquaintance was suddenly knocking on her bedroom door. Mist really did look terrible; her face was tired and haggard and her skin even paler than usual. “Can I come in?”

“’F course.” Mist sniffed, hauling herself upright in bed.

“I’ve brought you cake, and tea, and you’re not going to sneak money into my tip jar for once,” Aurora chattered nervously. “Can I run you a bath? Or fluff your pillows? Are you hungry, I brought soup?”

Mist smiled weakly at Aurora’s enthusiasm, a little overwhelmed at the small ghoulette’s whirlwind of fervent hospitality.

“A bath would be nice, this cold’s making me feel disgusting. So would some soup, I haven’t eaten since yesterday night…”

“A bath is is then!” chirped Aurora, “And I’ve got tomato, chicken noodle, or vegetable broth?”

“Tomato, please.” Mist rubbed at her red-raw nose with a tissue. “Zeph could do all this y’know? Or Meg. Did Zephy drag you here?” Conniving scoundrel, Mist thought to herself, anything to win that silly bet with Omega.

“I wanted to.” Aurora shrugged, trying to conceal just how eager she’d been to visit, “Zephyr just drove me.”

Mist struggled to pull herself more upright and swing her feet out of bed, and Aurora made a move to assist her. As she did so, she looked down at the armful of goodies she was still clutching, before whirling around to find somewhere to put them. Mist’s room wasn’t at all how Aurora had imagined: every available surface seemed to be covered in clutter and trinkets, the opposite of the cool, minimalist personality she exuded. The walls were plastered with artwork, lending everything a warm and cosy feeling. Aurora eventually made space on the desk, moving a few mugs – some with pencils in, some with leftover tea – and stacking the assortment of sketchbooks into a rough pile.

While Mist sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the dizziness in her head to abate, Aurora headed into the en-suite and turned on the taps to warm up and begin to fill the bath. She looked around at the bottles on the windowsill, and poured in some blue bubble bath alongside the stream from the taps. Ocean Breeze, whatever that was meant to smell like.

“Thanks, ‘Ror,” rasped Mist, as she leaned against the doorframe, clean pyjamas in hand, “I can take it from here, unless you want to stay?” The exaggerated wink as she spoke told Aurora that she was only joking, and that despite Aurora secretly longing for more, this was just Mist’s normal flirtatious banter. At least she was feeling well enough for her usual wit to come through.

Aurora closed the door behind her as she left, and hovered in the bedroom until the taps turned off and the splashing sounds of Mist getting into the bathtub safely and without falling had quietened down. She grabbed some of her care package from the stash on the desk and headed back downstairs to make some tea and heat the soup.

Entering the kitchen, she found Zephyr at the table with a mug of the tea she gave them, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Omega paused where he was slicing vegetables and directed her to the kettle and microwave, grabbing a bowl and mug for her too. Aurora hovered awkwardly as she waited for the various liquids to heat, aware of Zephyr’s eyes burning a hole in her back the whole time. Out of the corner of her eye, she even thought she saw them making a gesture at Omega, like rubbing cash between their fingers and thumb. She put the bowl of soup and mug of tea onto a small tray Omega also presented, adding a few napkins and a spoon, before escaping back upstairs.

Balancing the tray in one hand, she knocked on the bedroom door again, entering when she got no response. The gentle sloshing sounds of water told her that Mist was still enjoying her soak, so she set the tray down on the desk and took a seat.

“I’m back!” she gently called at the bathroom door, “Let me know if you need anything else!” Mist hummed in acknowledgement.

Aurora took a look around the room while she waited, admiring the mishmash of colours and styles. Each item so clearly told a story, she wished she could ask about every single one. A small photo on the bookshelf made her smile: a younger Mist, probably round Aurora’s current age, was dressed in dungarees and pulling an uncharacteristically silly face at the camera from her seat atop a hay bale. A handsome dark-haired ghoul she recognised as the previous youth pastor Ifrit leaned against it, while Mountain and Swiss stood to one side, arms loosely around each other’s waists. Aurora couldn’t help the pang of jealousy she felt looking at the picture. Even though she knew they had only ever been friends, she was reminded that Mist had lived a life before she moved here, that there was no way she would ever fall for her young barista with a silly crush.

Abruptly, Aurora stood up and walked to the bed to straighten the duvet and fluff the pillows, perhaps with a little more force than was necessary. As she was tucking the foot of the blankets back in, Mist finally emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of fresh, ocean-scented steam. She looked to have more colour in her cheeks already, the worst of the pallid complexion she had worn before now gone.

“Feel better for that?” asked Aurora, smoothing the duvet with a final flourish, and moving out of Mist’s way.

“Much, thanks Rory,” Mist climbed back into bed, sighing as she sat up against Aurora’s carefully arranged stack of pillows. Once she was settled, Aurora brought over the tray, moving the mug to her bedside table so it didn’t spill. She tried not to stare too intently as Mist ate, smothering the protective fire that burned in her belly at seeing her devour the soup.

Instead, Aurora distracted herself by chattering at Mist about the daily gossip from the street. How Mrs Bloom from the flower shop had come in half an hour earlier than usual, coinciding with Mr Phipps from the jewellery boutique, and did this mean the elderly shopkeepers were finally getting together or not? And the teenager with the purple hair had been back to remove her Missing flyer from the noticeboard, as her pet cat had just been hiding in her neighbour’s garden shed the whole time, much to everyone’s relief.

As Aurora nattered away, she took Mist’s tray back to the desk once when she finished the soup and moved onto the tea, before lying back down under the covers. Aurora continued quietly recounting the day’s events until Mist’s breathing gradually slowed and evened out. Asleep. Aurora silently returned the empty mug to the tray, before grabbing a pencil and a scrap of paper to leave Mist a note in case she woke up wondering where her visitor had gone. She debated for a few seconds, before finally scribbling her mobile number on the bottom of the paper. Given how much time they spent together during the day, it was strange they hadn’t exchanged them yet, right?

She propped the note up on the bedside table and, in a moment of impulsivity, kissed two of her fingers before pressing them into the pillow, feeling Mist’s cool breath curl around them. Aurora shook her head, and grabbed the empty tray to leave before she made any more reckless confessions.

Zephyr drove her home in a comfortable, yet knowing, silence. Aurora felt slightly like she was the punchline to some joke she wasn’t aware of, but tried to think nothing of it. Surely spending your evening taking care of your favourite regular customer who might also be your friend but also might not be wasn’t that weird?

Aurora thanked Zephyr for the lift, choosing to slink off to her room as Swiss immediately invited them inside with promises of a fresh jar of honey from his bees. As she settled down for bed herself, mind still racing over the events of the day, her phone buzzed. Aurora felt her heart skip a beat as she read the message: Hi, it’s Mist. Thanks again for coming today, I’ll have to repay the favour sometime. xx

[ateezivy]

it’s my past

warning! death, mentions of abuse and neglect, drugs, alcohol, and trauma.

Olivia Nicole Min was born June 10 2001 in Detroit Michigan. Born the second daughter of Nicole and Markus Min, and the middle sister of Miya and Austin Min. Olivia was raised in a free-spirited Christian household.

She began dancing at the age of 3 at The 32nd Dance Studio and competed from ages 5 to 12. Growing up, Olivia's father suffered from Colon Cancer on and off. When she was younger, all she knew was that her dad got sick a lot, so they often visited him in the hospital. But then he would get better until he wasn't better again. As she grew up, she understood her dad's illness more, she didn't understand why he was ill, but he was and there was nothing she could do about it.

She learned a lot about cancer from her dad's doctor, and a friend she made in the hospital when she would stay there for longer than an hour. Her name was Kaylyn. she was a year older than little Olivia. they met when she was 5, and Kaylyn was 6. The doctor had just explained more about her dad's illness, and this was when she began to understand that maybe her dad wasn't going to live a long time. she got upset so one of the nurses to her to the child wing of the hospital where there were toys and kids her age, in hopes to cheer her up.

"Hi, I'm Kaylyn" Kaylyn was a small girl with a pink scarf wrapped around her head, she looked cold but almost happy.

Olivia sniffled "I'm Olivia"

"What's wrong Olivia?" the little girl sits next to her, wrapping her arm around her.

"My daddy's really sick"

Kaylyn pursed her lips a little. She understood illness too well for such a young thing. "What kind of sick?"

"He has cancer"

"Oh... I have cancer too"

"Olivia looks the girl in her eyes now. She's pretty, she has these big round eyes and a small button nose. "I have uhm... leuk... leukemia. it's something with my blood. So i do these treatments that make my hair go away and stuff"

"I'm sorry," the younger girl says with sadness spread across her face.

"it's okay" she shrugs

Since then, the two were friends. Every time Olivia's dad was in the hospital, she would bring a flower and stuffed animal for Kaylyn, she loved lions.

The two made the nurses, doctors, and their parents smile. Anytime Kaylyn reached a milestone in her treatments, Olivia was there to hold her hand.

But one day, Olivia was told she couldn't visit Kaylyn because she has gotten worse over the month she's gone without seeing her. They were 7 and 8 at this point, and they got a little more of an understanding of death and cancer than they already had.

On March 3, 2008, Kaylyn Sawyer passed away at 12:25 in the morning with her family and nurses surrounding her room.

Olivia was crushed by the news. She didn't talk to anyone for a week. At the funeral, all the stuffed animals Olivia had brought her friend surrounded her casket, the girl added one last one to the collection, a pink lion with a scarf.

After only a year after Kaylyn's passing, Markus passes away in his hospital room. This was where Olivia's life started going down hill.

The kid's mom became neglectful, always drunk or doing drugs in front of them. This led Miya to become Austin and Olivia's practical mother, that was until their grandparents from Ohio took them in. Their grandparents were all that horrible. But they were strict. Every Sunday you had o get up to go to church, if you want to do anything over the weekend you have to clean whatever is dirty in the house before you go. Saturdays you had to be home for at least 4 hours for cleaning. You could never stay home from school, if you were sick, throw up at school then you can go home. No cartoons, only the news. and they could only play with toys for an hour out of the day.

It's safe to say the kids were miserable, but at least they had food and a roof over their heads. there were plenty of times when their mom got shared custody because she got sober, and then got it taken away after showing up high or drunk.

Olivia lost hope at a very young age because of this...

to be continued

taglist: @atolua @skzfairies @itzy-eve @cixrosie @stopeatread

[achaiapelides]

Kit's Diary

Chapter 15

Dear Ty,

today we left Paris to spend a few days in the Netherlands. In Paris, we visited the Louvre, the church Notre Dame and of course the Tour Eiffel, which looks beautiful at night. Tessa also told me stories about Matthew Fairchild, the parabatai of her son James, who always was fascinated with Paris and run away with James' wife Cordelia to the city. I tell you, the drama is perfect. Tessa should totally write a book about them. Lol.

But we only stayed in Paris for three days. The day we arrived (Saturday), the day we explored the city (Sunday) and the day we left (Monday). So in addition to that, we only visited the Paris Institute and ate the famous French breakfast, which was very expensive, but totally worth the prise. So delicious. If cookies ever go extinct, I might survive with croissants, too. Also, I found out, that Americans pronounce croissant wrong. It's not "craysant", it's pronounced somehow like "cruwasoh". I can't really write out how it's pronounced, because it ends with this French nasal o-sound.

Anyways, after the breakfast on the third day we packed our stuff and portalled to the Netherlands. For the next days, until next Sunday, we are staying in a holiday home in a village called Cadzand-Bad. The house has three bedrooms, a living room and kitchen and three bathrooms. Now we can all shower at the same time. Lol. But the room Tessa and Jem are sleeping in is really the best in the whole house. It has a giant window, so big that basically the whole wall is the window. Here are some pictures:

This is the house:

Tessa and Jem's room:

Mina and my rooms (they look the same):

And the living room / kitchen:

Source: Verhuurburo Cadzand

After we arrived at noon, we went to the beach. It was still very warm and we decided to swim in the sea. First I was a bit shocked because, obviously, the North Sea is way colder than the Pacific in Los Angeles. But after a few minutes it wasn't that cold anymore and Mina and I attacked Jem and Tessa with the water. Note to self: Never attack a warlock with water! Mina suddenly decided that she wasn't on my side anymore and came up with a new game: Making-Kit-As-Wet-As-Possible. Or rather, Mate-Kish-Wet. When she archived that goal with the help of her parents, we put our normal clothes back on and walked back to the house through the street where all the shops are. We also bought some fish called Kibbeling and some North Sea shrimp.

Back at the house we ate dinner (the Kibbeling with fries), showered (not at the same time because the water pressure wouldn't be good) and went to bed. There, I texted Dru, who is staying with Emma and Julian because she also has holidays at the academy. She had asked me to meet in London, but since I'm not in England right now, I had to decline. But I send her a lot of pictures from Cadzand and now she's happy again. She apparently also showed them to Julian, who decided that the sunset here looks so beautiful that he had to come here, too, to paint it.

Obviously you also need to see the pictures, so here they are: 

The sunset:

The street with the shops:

And Cadzand from above:

Now, I'm going to sleep before I fall asleep in this position. That might not be great for my back.

Good night and sleep well.

Love, Kit

Author's note:

The photos of the sunset were taken by me, when I was in Cadzand last year, the other photos were not taken by me, but the source of them is linked.

Also, we actually wanted to rent this house for our next vacation, but somebody else was faster than we were, so Kit is now living in it instead.

And, yes, the next posts will be about Cadzand. Because I like it there so much.

[whatsjenniupto]

Linguistic Success in Ericeira

Sometimes it's amazing how much you can understand in another language just using body language. So maybe it's not another language that you're understanding, but universal body language. Either way.

I tried to absorb as many different Portuguese cities as I could along my way from Lisbon to Porto, even if it only meant short stops in various towns. After two over the top adventure visits in Sintra, I was more than ready for a quiet seaside town. I just wasn't quite ready for the wind.

Much like Évora reminded me of a yellow Asilah, Ericeira reminded me of the real deal. With a name similar to Essaouira, another Moroccan beach town, I was apparently using this trip to get a Morocco fix without actually stepping foot in Morocco.

My easy travel tip of the trip had been to remember that CityMapper is amazing and to use it. It had allowed me to easily get from where my bus returned from Évora, down the outskirts of Lisbon, and straight into Belém without having to go through the center of town and waste time. Not that the time saved kept the church I wanted to see from closing earlier than expected, but time saved is still time saved.

The areas of Cascais, Sintra, and Ericeira all fell under the Lisbon Map of CityMapper, making my trips between the four cities incredibly simple. Too simple really. Once I left the map area, I felt a little lost. Wait, I have to pay attention and remind myself to get off the bus? Ugh. So hard.

But I wasn't there yet. CityMapper dinged in my earbud and I hopped off the bus at the stop nearest to the area of city I wanted to explore.

Ericeira was windy. It was damp. It made me dread that I had booked two nights in Nazaré.

While cute, I once again remembered how I'm not always convinced that I'm a beach town person. Day tripper for all the seafood, yes, Extended stay....eeh, maybe no.

I walked up the coast and watched a chef from a seaside restaurant head down to tide pools for fresh ingredients. I plopped on rocks overlooking Praia dos Pescadores and sketched until I was frozen through. I needed to be surrounded by wind blocking buildings, ASAP.

After wandering around the city, looking at menus and restaurant vibes, I finally settled on No Largo há Tasca. It had decent prices, wasn't directly on the main square, and just had a simple, welcoming feel to it. Even though the restaurant was open all day, I tried to wait until closer to a normal Portuguese dinner time and enjoyed the happenings around Praça da República (mainly a musician whose signage kept falling over in the wind and a little dancing girl who kept picking it up). When I was finally too cold to wait any longer, I dashed over to the restaurant and began using more Portuguese than I thought I had in me.

With a combination of Portuguese, English, Czech (tady just kept popping out most unhelpfully), and pointing, I snagged a table inside because at no point could I do the wind anymore. I quickly grasped that the waitress didn't know English, but with a bilingual menu and Duolingo restaurant lessons under my belt, I managed to smoothly order octopus rice and a glass of red wine in full sentences.

Trying to keep my excitement at being understood on my first try ordering in complete Portuguese somewhat reigned in, I sent one joyous message to a fellow Duolingo competitor. I sipped on my completely full glass of wine, attempting to contain the grin bursting off my face and completely failing. I have never studied Portuguese apart from playing Duolingo and watching random Brazilian Portuguese movies on Netflix prior to my trip. This was such a huge win.

Narrowing down my choices had been tough, and I started researching other menu items that I wanted to try another day or attempt to cook at home. I had wanted to eat octopus in Portugal and with the frigid wind off the Atlantic, it was my best seafood option to go with red wine (because my Portuguese self can't order a meal without wine). It did not disappoint. Plate and glass cleaned, I knew it was about time to head back to the bus stop. A conta, por favor.

Once again, the interaction was smooth and completed on my first try. The waitress quickly tallied up my order, clearly told me my number (thankfully under 20 because I had only mastered up to 20 in Portuguese), and I paid. I tossed out an obrigada, tchau! on my way out the door, practically bouncing down the cobblestones in the direction of the bus stop, proud of all the Portuguese I had gotten out of my mouth. It hadn't turned to Czech in between my brain and my mouth (well, other than the explosive tady while picking a table). It hadn't come out all jumbled with Spanish. It hadn't needed to be repeated five times, each with dwindling confidence that I would be getting understood. I hadn't come to Ericeira to practice my minimal Portuguese skills, but turns out it would be one of the huge highlights of my trip.

[modern-vellichor]

Redemption

summary: matt used to pray for your redemption, until he decided that you were his. warnings: lots of religious imagery. a/n: Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis

You wandered through the near empty church. There was a single man sitting in a pew near the front. Exactly who you wanted. Blood dripped from your knuckles onto the tiled floor. Moonlight filtered through the stained glass windows and painted you like a rainbow. Candles flickered. Your ominous footsteps echoed through the cavernous church. Matt didn't flinch.

You thudded up the aisle. When you reached the altar, you kneeled. Matt heard your knees hit the marble. He heard the uttered, "il nomine Patris, et Filli, et Spiritus Sancti", and the squeaking of your jacket as you made the sign of the cross. He heard you waltz up onto the altar and stand at the head of the church.

"Matt Murdock," you grinned maliciously, your voice bouncing back at you. "Just the man I'm looking for."

"I'm not difficult to find," he grinned. His hands gripped his cane that stood between his legs. You couldn't see his eyes. That made this a little easier.

"But you're difficult to catch, Mr. Murdock."

Your hands gripped the white marble of the pulpit's surface. You grinned right back at him. You pulled your jacket off, rested it on one of the chairs behind you. You rolled up your sleeves and cracked your knuckles.

"I'm not shedding your blood here," Matt stated simply.

"Who said I came for blood? Am I not allowed to visit an old friend."

"Friend? Please, don't antagonize me."

You laughed. It was disorientating. When you spoke too loud and your words echoed off the walls, he couldn't pinpoint you. You must have figured this out because your next words were quiet. Your boots thudded softly as you stepped off the altar, blessing yourself again. You walked down the aisle, muttering a prayer. You weren't religious, just teasing. You slid into the pew next to him. You were so close that he could feel the heat radiating off of your body. He could hear your heart beating, your blood pumping. He could hear your breathing. You pressed your thigh against his.

A rush of cold air through the church made Matt shiver. The candle flames flickered. He shook, he trembled. He was scared. He dropped his cane. It hit the tile with a loud clatter. His hands came to rest on his thighs. His whole body was tense. Your hands had been pressed together. You uncurled your fingers to place one hand over his. Your touch was gentle, and warm, and inviting and soothing. Your touch was redemption.

"I didn't come for blood," you whispered. "I have retired from that... lifestyle, Matt."

"God got to you?" He asked with a laugh.

"God? No. Someone did though, someone good. I came for you, Matt. I came back for you."

Matt shut his eyes. He stayed silent. In his head he begged. He prayed and pleaded for someone to tell him what to do. He didn't want to be alone. He couldn't be alone. Not here. Not now.

"Holy places are dark places" you whispered softly. "It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood."

"So I came for blood?"

"You drink the wine, don't you?"

Matt laughed. You laughed with him. You picked his cane up off the floor and pressed it into his free hand. He thanked you. You wove your fingers with his and pressed your forehead against his shoulder. You had missed him so much.

"Where are you staying?" Matt asked after an eternity of comfortable silence.

"A motel a few blocks from here, why?"

"Fetch your jacket," he ordered. He stood suddenly and you jogged up the altar and back, with your jacket. "You're coming home with me, I'm not leaving you alone in some sketchy motel."

"But what about my stuff?"

"We'll get it first."

Matt gave you the address and left you to navigate the streets of New York City alone. He sat quietly in the passenger seat of your car. Occasionally he would reach for you and give your thigh a reassuring squeeze. When you arrived at his apartment, Matt left you to your own devices. You insisted on sleeping on the couch. You fell asleep almost immediately.

You couldn't have been asleep for forty minutes before you were woken by a faint whispering whistling through the apartment. Neon lights shone through the window and blinded you. You sat up. You gathered your thoughts. The whispering was coming from Matt's room. It was Matt's voice. You couldn't make out what he was saying. You snuck through the apartment.

Matt hated that about you. You were the only person on the planet who could sneak up on him. You hovered just outside his bedroom, listening. He was praying. You became disinterested quickly, and moved to go back to the couch, when you heard your name.

"Thank you for bringing them back to me," he mumbled, before finishing with a rushed "Amen."

You coughed to announce yourself. Matt stood awkwardly. You had heard him. You didn't say anything. Under normal circumstances, you would have scolded him. He used to pray for your redemption. And you would tell him that his praying wouldn't help, and that you'd go wherever you were sent.

Matt held out a hand. You took it. He pulled you into his bedroom. Everything smelled like him. This was heaven, you decided. As Matt wrapped his arm around your waist, and his other hand gripped your chin. As he kissed you so deeply, you felt like you were on cloud nine. This was heaven. He was heaven on earth. If you were going to worship anyone, it would be him. And you did.

Every morning you would kiss him like it was your last day on earth. Like you wanted your last breath to be spent on him. You spent every night wrapped between him and silk cheeks. You told him you loved him with every bone in your body. You showed him your love in whatever way he let you. You'd spend every day begging for forgiveness if it meant you'd spend forever with him.

Matt didn't want to ruin the moment by saying anything. As he held you, you began to weep. You didn't realise you had been crying, but Matt felt your tears against his cheeks. He kissed you for as long as he could, lips slotting against yours. He bit your lip playfully as he pulled away, panting. You laughed breathily and sniffled, wiping your cheeks with the back of your hand.

"I missed you," he whispered, pressing his forehead against yours.

"I missed you, too, Murdock."

[iankarlo]

Merry Christmas | Finally

LATE POST. 

To be honest, it was a gloomy Christmas again. The weather seems sad, it's cold and I cannot help to wrapped myself with a thick comforter. I stayed home the entire day because I feel like this is the best time I can spend being alone. 

I hust re-heated a left over lasagna and ate some bread as pair. I just watch couple of netflix series, a went back to sleep. 

Even though, it is a gloomy feeling, I still went out to make a small interactions with my relatives. I left home around 7pm and went to church quickly. While I was on  my way to church, I received a message from Ae and he told me he opened my gift already and the shirt I gave him fits him well. I was really hesitant if it will fit on him but gladly, it does. He sounded very grateful so I'm happy. We had quite had a long conversation which is kinda unusual and he told me a lot of things about him. I'm happy to know he is learning to open up a little to me and it's fun to know him personally. 

I enjoyed the time we spend from talking and I wish we could talk more often. I tried to calm down myself and not to be needy or possessive. I just wanted it to be chill. 

Also, I got an unexpected greeting from Buloy and I didn't expect him to greet me really. I'm starting to be shy talking to him since, he became cold to me and distancing himself to me. I felt it so, it was a nice feeling that he took time to greet me. 

After i visited my relatives, I went to my besties house and we had a good catch up. It's been a while since the last time we saw each other and it was fun to see them again. 

Christmas felt different but I'm really thankful.

Love always,

iankarlo

[penwieldingdreamer]

Dante's Prayer - Chapter 3

The 2nd part of the Ball, hope you guys will like it. Let me know what you think about this. A big thanks to my beta @fortheloveoffanfic for keeping me on track with the characters 😉

Warnings: cursing

Words: 2094

"Mrs. Gray, why don't we retreat to the parlour for a drink and leave the men to talk their business." Helene suggested linking her satin gloved arm with Polly's and led her away from Thomas and her husband, nodding at the two men in parting. 

"Lady McCann, please call me Polly, after all, we'll be family soon once the wedding is done." the Shelby matriarch told her nephews soon-to-be mother in law with a smile, the two women nearly gliding over to the smaller parlour of Castletown House. 

Returning the smile, the duchess nodded her head. "By all means, then I'm Helene. We will be family soon, given that my daughter won't bail on us." A soft sigh left her lips, knowing Saoirse could be difficult. "Your nephew will have his work cut out for him, I reckon." 

"Oh he'll learn how to deal with it. I have a good feeling that once they'll get to know each other they'll find common ground." The words were reassuring, yet both women knew that it would take a while for their children - in Polly's case she felt like her brother's children were just like her own - to warm up to the idea of sharing a life together. 

Arriving at the doors separating the sitting room from the grand ballroom, Helene nodded at the butler, who let them enter. They sat down at the round table, plush armchairs providing comfort as the Birmingham resident looked around the room. Polly thought back to the time when she had to work hard to provide for her family and be there for Ada and Finn during the war, and all she could feel was gratefulness toward Tommy who was able to give them the life they led now. 

"Has Thomas told you what he wants his wedding to be like?" the mother of three inquired, nodding at the butler in thanks for bringing them both refreshments and leaned back into the high-backed armchair. "I gather now that it is his second wedding he might want to change a few things." 

Taking a sip from the champagne, the gypsy lightly shook her head. "So far, he hasn't said anything. He only does this out of duty to the family. I told him it was a good deal, but other than that he's not going to object to anything. All I can ask of you is considering a custom my family on my mother's side has partook in every time during a wedding." Polly wasn't too sure, the duchess would agree to traditions of the travelling folks but the soft smile on her face and the light nod gave her hope. 

"I haven't always been a duchess, Polly." the blonde lady started, holding the Flute glas in her hand and watching the champagne sparkle in the soft glow of the lamps. "My mother originated from Germany, her cousin married the emperor of Austria and she was made Empress of Austria and Hungary. I often visited her when I was still a child and Sisi would visit the travelling folks of Hungary. Not all is as it seems, my daughter has the same spirit in her as Elizabeth did. Headstrong, modern, loyal to a fault, kind and with a childish wonder the war has snuffed out in many people. I do hope that Thomas won't try to do what the war hasn't been able to do. Despite me agreeing to this arrangement without her consent, she is still my little angel and I will grant you your customs just like we have ours, but should your nephew hurt her in any way, he will wish for war to take him again."

Nodding her head, Polly grinned at Helene, knowing they would get along splendidly. Protective of her family, just like herself, the Shelby matriarch knew that there was a good future ahead, bright was still to be questioned, but good at least. 

Just then the decorated glass doors of the light coloured parlour flew open, a disheveled looking Arthur standing there, eyes ablaze and his face red from anger. 

"Did ya know, Pol?" he asked storming over to his aunt, hands already grabbing for her arms. "Did ya know 'bout 'er, hm?" 

Polly had never been someone to be frightened or threatened, especially not by her family, so she wouldn't start now and still Arthur always had a soft spot in her heart. Delivering a hard slap, she pushed the eldest of the brothers away from her, regret shining in her eyes. "What the fuck are ya talkin' about, Arthur?" 

"I'm fuckin' talking about Niamh." he glared, his cheeks already turning a darker shade of red from anger and the hit he received. "She's been here all them years, pregnant with ma son, so 'm askin' again: did ya know 'bout it?" 

Wide eyed, Polly felt the wheels in her head turning, remembering the girl Arthur had left behind to marry Linda, the redheaded beauty in the back of the church. "She was at the wedding, didn't say a thing, just left when it was over. That's all I know." 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Arthur stumbled back into the armchair on the other side of his aunt, closing his eyes to order the thoughts in his head flitting about like butterflies. "What am I gonna do now?" Polly moved over to him, pulling Arthur into a tight hug because she knew it was hard on him. 

Even though she wasn't a fan of Linda, her nephew loved her and she had to live with that. Now he needed to make a decision on what to do with the mother of his first child. "You need to talk to her, that much is clear. And get to know him, too." 

Nodding his head against his aunt's belly, Arthur felt a small portion of the weight lifting of his shoulders. Linda would be furious, she already was with him leaving for Ireland to be part of the wedding preparations. Nothing had been decided yet, but the eldest Shelby had a distinct feeling, that Lady McCann would want the ceremony to take place in their home and he already dreaded the day the whole family would again sit on Tommy's side of the church and Linda coming face to face with his former lover and mother of his first son.

"I thought you'd have ta greet guests." he said, a cigarette perched between his lips as he watched his wife-to-be gazing at the sky. 

"And I thought you would talk about business with my father." she replied, a smirk grazing her features and might he say it looked more like a small smile than a smirk. 

Her body leaned against the banister and Tommy couldn't help but let his eyes roam over it, breathing in the smoke of the cigarette he had missed all evening. "There's not much business to talk about when there's a wedding about to take place." 

Nodding her head, Saoirse turned her face towards his own as he leaned against the stone parapet next to her. "I hope Arthur has calmed down again after his encounter with Niamh when I left." she said after a moment of silence.

"Ach, he's fine. Needs to talk to her, though." Tommy shrugged, his stormy blues void of emotion as he stubbed out the cigarette on the banister. "His wife's goin' to have his hide, but he'll get over it." 

Shaking her head, Saoirse looked away from the gang leader, feeling like the little progress they had made went up in smoke just like the cigarette. "You shouldn't be so indifferent to the feelings of others, one day you might not have anyone left to turn to." 

"Often enough you only have yourself to rely on." he replied before he stood again, running a hand through his short hair and holding the other out to her. "We shouldn't make your guests believe that we hate each other, it's bad for business." 

Snorting, the youngest of three took his hand, feeling the warmth of Tommy's skin through the satin of her glove as he led her inside to the ballroom. "Who said anything about me liking you? I don't really care what my guests think, mother's guests on the other hand, that would be a shame. After all, they came all the way from Austria and London." 

"I see, you're not going to make it easy for me, are you?" he wondered, twirling her around so they could dance to the waltz the orchestra started to play. "What is this marriage going to look like, hm?" 

Putting her left hand on his shoulder, Saoirse mentally thanked her mother for making her take the dance lessons in Vienna or else the future bride of Birmingham's most known gangster would have been an embarrassment. Her right hand delicately laid in his left and she couldn't help but wonder if they could do more than just hold a gun and kill. "I believe you'd like me to play the obedient wife, staying at your house and doing nothing, what with your fortune now. I heard you have a son, so probably be a mother to him, while you go out and do whatever you do." 

"So, ya do know something 'bout me." he smirked, leading her across the grand room, unaware of the other dancers and their families. The pair danced in their own world and voiced their opinion on the upcoming union. "And here I thought ya didn't know anything." 

"My sisters talk, Mister Shelby, although I didn't know which one my husband-to-be was, I still heard their opinions on you loud and clear." 

The smirk on his lips widened at the thought of what Amalie and Louise had told their sister. "An' what pray tell did they tell ya?" 

"Oh, you know, that you're a gangster, cold as ice, a former war hero and would do anything to get money." Saoirse shrugged, trying to rile him up as she saw his blue eyes darken. Tommy knew that he had to keep it cool. It wouldn't do him good to drag her off and…no, he wouldn't yell at her and make a scene, that would break the deal he made with her mother. He'd rather enjoy the rest of his life while it lasted. 

Pulling her tighter into his body, he felt a satisfied grin make its way onto his face at her gasp. "You'd do well to keep those comments to a minimum. That money you so kindly brought up will grant you safety among Birmingham and the rest of England and Scotland. I don't want another of me wife killed because she wouldn't listen and had a mind of her own."

"Well then, you'd better look for another wife because I can be just as stubborn as you, Mister Shelby." 

"I'd rather not. You're more than enough." Wincing at the thought of having to go through that process again, Tommy shook his head. The music had changed and another waltz was played. "Besides, finding a good woman that freely accepts my son is quite rare in these times."

Pursing her lips, Saoirse looked up into his stormy blue eyes. "I couldn't imagine someone not liking your son. Judging by what Louise told me about him, I take it he's a ray of sunshine." 

"Are you really trying to make me hate you right now? But yes, Charlie is in fact a ray of sunshine despite having me as his father." Before the youngest daughter of the Duke could say anything, Tommy had twirled her outward, keeping his eyes on her face as he read the delight written all over it. 

He couldn't help but enjoy these moments, couldn't remember the last time he danced like this with anyone that hadn't been Grace. When Saoirse had returned to his arms, she sent him a grin, a genuine one at that. "I'm not trying to make you hate me, I was stating a fact and to be honest I can't wait to meet your son." 

Nodding his head at her answer, he led her around the ballroom for one final dance. "In two weeks you will meet him, so I do hope you won't change your mind about this arrangement." 

"Don't do anything to make me change it and I'll be there." she answered him, her right hand squeezing his left tighter than before and Tommy couldn't help but grin at her attempt to threaten him. Life would be a lot more interesting once the wedding was over. 

tagging

@fortheloveoffanfic @fics-not-tragedies

[rune-writes]

Dear Zack... (I'll be here)

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII

@zerith-week » Day 3: Letters

Word Count: 1916

Rating: G

Summary: What did Aerith write to Zack in the four years he was missing?

Note: this is my first time trying out this format. I hope you enjoy it :)

Chapter 3 of Of Wishes and Promises: Zerith Week 2021

Read on AO3.

Dear Zack,

How are you? It's me, Aerith. Sorry to send you a letter out of the blue. You haven't been answering your PHS lately. Tseng said you're busy, that your last assignment took you to the western continent and it'd be a while before you can return. So I figured I could send you letters instead. Mom said she used to do this with her husband when he went to the war. Isn't it nice? Exchanging letters like the old couples in stories. Tseng also offered to personally send this to you, so I'm sure you'll get this. Besides, I don't have a PHS, and I'm not going to borrow the Turks' all the time. I know they'll want something in return for letting me use their stuff. Anyway, how is work? Knowing you, you’re probably doing a great job at it, right? How is it like there? I heard you went to the mountains? Is the air as nice and fresh as they say? I hope you can take some time off between your work to enjoy the scenery. I'm sure it's beautiful. Maybe take a picture for me? I'd love to see the places you've been to. I’m fine here, by the way. So is Mom. Don’t worry about me okay and just focus on finishing your job. Take care, Zack. And stay safe.

Sincerely, Aerith

***

Dear Zack,

How are you? Are you still on the mountains? I still haven't heard back from you yet. But no pressure! I know how busy you must be! I can wait hehe. In return, I hope you don't mind me sending you all these letters. I hope they give you some sort of respite, no matter how small. The flowers bloomed especially brilliant today. I brought them around to decorate Leaf House and the community center. The elders all loved it. Are there any flowers blooming where you are, Zack? If there are, what kind? Our flower business is also gaining traction recently. More and more people come to visit our flower wagon. I have the kids to thank for that, I guess. They’ve been telling everyone that I’m on a mission to have flowers bloom all around Midgar. I hope everything is alright on your side, Zack. Stay safe.

Sincerely, Aerith

***

Dear Zack,

The Protection Squad is now well under way, and it seems it’s very well-received. Miss Livy from Leaf House (she’s the headteacher, if you don’t remember) said that since the orphanage operates thanks to everyone's donations, it’s only right for them to return the favor. So the kids have been going around patrolling the areas. Yep, that’s what they call it. They run errands and help people. They’re really turning out more and more like you. Which is a nice thing, actually. Some almost went as far as to accompany me to the playground. Because of the monsters, they said. Someone needed to protect me while you’re away. I appreciated it of course, but I couldn’t let them actually meet monsters, could I? The teachers would kill me if the children had all gone so far to a different reactor. Playing with me at the church is one thing, but going to Sector 6? I would say I could protect them—and I could, mind you—and I always take the safest road there too, but when you have six children under your care then three flying beasts come at you… I’d rather not take that chance. Anyway, enough about me. How is it going for you, Zack? It's been months since we last spoke. I hope everything’s alright there? Are you okay? Are you safe? I hope you get a lot of rest between your jobs. And meals. Some good healthy meals once in a while will do wonders. But I wonder if you can get those in the front lines. I would send you something, but… it’d probably go stale once it reaches you, I think. I pray for your safety, Zack.

Love, Aerith

***

Hi Zack,

Are you still busy? Tseng says you are. Sadly I don’t have anyone else to ask, so I guess he’s the only one I can trust. But sometimes, I wonder if he’s keeping things from me. Won’t be the first… won’t be the last either. You know, I had the most surprising guest today. Some girls visited me at the church, and from the accessories they were wearing, I think they’re your fan club. It’s funny to think you have a fan club. I’m not jealous, though! I just never thought SOLDIERs had fan clubs. I wonder if the other members have one too? That reminds me, I never asked how many of you there are, have I? It was nothing important though. They asked me if I knew you, and when I said I did, they asked what I thought of you. And if I had any messages for you. Weird, huh? It's not like I can't tell you that in person. Well, not now, maybe, but later when you come back. What's weirder is that they all looked so somber. I wonder what happened… Hey, Zack. Did something happen? I… overheard something… They were talking and I heard… It's not true, right? Tseng won't tell me anything, let alone the other Turks. They only said that you're fine. Just super busy that you barely have time to reply. And having bad reception. I can trust them, right? Please talk to me, Zack. I'll wait for you, however long it takes.

Yours, Aerith

***

Zack…

I can't stop thinking something might've happened to you. I don't know who to trust. I don't know who I can talk to. Tseng says you're fine. People say you might've gone missing. I don't even know if these letters are reaching you. Maybe Tseng's been lying to me from the start. Maybe something happened to you that day I couldn't reach you. Do you remember? That afternoon you called me all those months ago? You have no idea how happy that had made me feel. I was so afraid I'd been imposing on you when you’d been so busy at work, so when I received your call, my heart had almost burst! You told me that we could talk the next day, that I could call you if I wanted, and I did, but I couldn't reach… Zack, where are you? Tell me you're alright. Please.

***

Dear Zack,

I'm sorry for being so emotional in my last letter. I asked Tseng to give the letter back, but he said he'd already sent it to you. I'm not sure if I believe him now. I had another surprise guest today. A friend of yours. He said his name was Kunsel. Actually, he's been visiting me for a while now. Kind of regularly. Checking up on me, he said. On your behalf. That's sweet. You have such sweet friends. We talked, then took a walk outside. The weather was really nice this morning. I remember you talking about him a few times, but I didn't realize you were so close. Friends since your early SOLDIER days, he said. I'm… I'm holding onto hope, Zack. I know you're out there. Somewhere. I don't believe what they say. I don't believe what Tseng says. I only believe that you're still alive somewhere. So I'll be here. Always.

Forever yours, Aerith

***

Dear Zack,

I spotted wildflowers today. Just outside Sector 5. Funny, I never noticed them before. I never thought flowers grow anywhere outside the church, or my garden. I stared at them for so long, the people who saw me asked if I was alright. I was fine, of course. Mostly. I miss you, Zack. I wonder if this is the Planet’s way of telling me you’re alive somewhere. You know how wildflowers are, right? They’re small, but no matter how much people trample them, no matter how much the weather beats them down, they always persist. They endure, and survive, and I know that you’re going to pull through whatever ordeal you’re going through right now. I believe in you, Zack. I’m sending a pressed flower I did of one of them. They’re not much, but I hope they give you strength. I… don’t know if these are going to reach you, but I hope the Planet hears my pleas and sends my prayers to you.

Sending you all my love, Aerith

***

Dear Zack,

The sky was really bright today. I find myself looking at it more and more now. You're right. It's not as scary as I thought. I told you the reason I'm scared of it, but that's not all there is. I never did tell you about my mom, did I? Not Elmyra. My other mom. My real mom… She died when I was young, before Elmyra took me in. She died, and I saw her rise to the sky. As if it was sucking her in. I… never saw the sky growing up. You'd think that's why I fear it. But on the contrary, listening to Mom's tales about the outside world, seeing the big, open blue depicted in picture books… I couldn't help but be curious. But then Mom died, and the sky sucked her in. But I'm alright now. I think. Mostly. Because… I need to see if it'd sucked you in too. I want to know if you're still here.

Aerith

***

Dear Zack…

Lately, it feels like I’m just talking to myself here, with these letters. I don't know why I'm still writing these. They’re probably not reaching you anyway. I don’t know. I don’t know anything. Maybe it's become a habit by now. Maybe writing to you gives me some sort of solace, some sort of notion that you’re still here. That you’re not gone and I can still see you. I had a dream. You were standing at the edge of a precipice in a landscape of white. It was warm and cold. I tried calling for you, but my voice wouldn’t come out. I chased after you, but the distance between us only grew. Is it my fault, somehow? Were you not supposed to have met me? The Planet is not answering my prayers and even in my dreams, you refused to see me. I hate this. I don’t want this. You’re still out there, I know it, but my heart grows heavy with each passing day. I didn’t realize waiting was so hard. I wonder how Mom endured it, standing on that train platform all day everyday, hoping against hope that her husband would return. Give me strength, Zack. I want to see you. I want to wait for you. I want to believe you'll come back. I don’t want to lose you.

***

Zack…

Where are you?

Come home

***

Dear Zack…

I feel like I should apologize. We promised to sell the flowers under the sky together, but this morning, I braved myself to take the train to the upper plate. It was daunting, to say the least. But I know what you mean now. The sky really opens up when you don't have steel plates covering it. It's… really not scary at all. Though I'd be lying if I didn't keep my head down half of the time. But it's a step forward, right? Now I can look up at the sky even if I don't have you with me... It's really beautiful, Zack. I wish you could see it with me.

Aerith

~ END ~

[spirit-of-vengeance]

@spxcemuses @mr-mansnoozie @xxstar-bluesxx

Guess who gathered enough mind to finally write her full backstory of Western Verse. Her being a bounty hunter is set in the Wild West time period (1865-1895), there is no current year(s) to set her story in mainly because I don't want to make a mistake messing up the timeline.

Calm before the storm

Her father, Attila a lesser Hungarian noble whom supported the 1848-1849 revolutionary war but after the failure of it he escaped emigrated to America to avoid the Habsburg revenge, soon followed by his brother Gábor. He could save a small amount of his fortune along with his two most important horses: a purebred Lipizzan stallion and an extremely rare Akhal Teke mare. He had settled near a small town, due to his financial situation and education as a noble he established a school with the support and approval of the local church. To quieten his guilt for abandoning his country in its peril, he poured all of his heart into educating children; at least he is still useful in some way.

One day, a group of artists traveling artists, acrobats traveled through the town and the aristocrat fell in love at first sight. She was like the queen of fairy from the folk tales he'd heard in his childhood, she was tall, blue eyes sparkled like light sapphire, long golden brown hair floated ethereally with every twirl. The smitten lord shamelessly courted the the graceful acrobat, determined to know at least the name.

The group had stayed in the town for a few weeks, allowing Attila's and Myra's romance to blossom; after a month she ended up staying with him, just like in true fairytales.

My obsession with angst backstory strikes again

The lord was in love, deeper than poets could express it. Since the loss of his home and country he had found his place in the universe along with the perfect companion by his side. He paid less attention to the school, the church and other public affairs; it wasn't like he abandoned them but became more withdrawn to spend time with the love of his life, especially after the birth of their daughter. She was almost the perfect miniature of her mother, same beautiful hair glinting gold in the sunlight, only her eyes were the brightest emerald green he'd ever seen.

While Myra's heart and aura was as pure as a fairy's; the local church was beyond distressed. They claimed that Attila had completely abandoned helping those in need because of her wicked seduction. When they witnessed her performing for the amusement of the crowd, the 'temptress witch' brand couldn't be lifted. They gathered a few enthusiastic townsfolk whom shared their views and a few morally questionable men whom only wanted a piece of the lord's fortune.

10 year old Karma was awakened from her deep slumber by her frantic father; smoke and yelling blinding her senses as he carried her out of the burning house into the nearby forest so the mob won't find her. He promised her he will be back but he had to return into their home for Myra; he couldn't leave her inside. Karma watched her dad disappear into the flames, the air filled with suffocating smoke and religious shouts for god to smite the sinners. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the spot where her father was gone, waiting for her parents to stumble out of the half collapsed building; but that never had happened. She sat unmoving from her spot, struck staring into the flames then into the ashes as the sun has risen.

Birth of the marksman

Attila's brother, Gábor arrived the next day after hearing the news, he was the one whom found Karma still staring at the ruins in a catatonic state. He couldn't avenge his sibling as it meant endangering his niece and she has lost more than enough.

Gábor expected her to become a soft spoken, reserved lady once she overcame her trauma; that theory was soon abandoned when once he had awoken to his niece practicing with his rifle outside with frighteningly great accuracy. The young girl naturally had an extraordinary aim and after a few long talks, he'd seen the determination burning in her to avenge the murder of her parents. Given by her mother's dance lessons, she was also flexible and capable of many different acrobatic moves; this combined with her aim proven to be a very dangerous combination.

To not awaken suspicion he told his friends Karma was an orphan whose parents were killed by bandits and he had adopted her to give her a family and education. Karma was fascinated chasing greater heights of her skills, this involved reading every possible book about anatomy, marking, engraving the useful spots of the body. Karma knows where to shoot to disarm, to cause a slow death, to paralyze, to disable for life and when it is only a warning: an injury which will heal with time. Along with her accuracy, her drawing speed only can be compared to lightning. Although she prefers/most comfortable with her dual revolvers (model undecided yet), she is still a menace with shotguns, rifles, flintlocks and even bows due to Gàbor's 'A Hungarian is not a Hungarian if they can't use a bow' mindset.

The bounty hunter quicker than death

Karma had her first official gunfight at the age of 18 on the auction. for Vihar (Storm), the filly of her father's horses.

Detailed post about Vihar

She officially entered the bounty hunter business when she was 20 and Vihar was 2, aiming for the most dangerous criminals whom committed the worst acts possible. In her early years after the kill she slit open corpses she trying to find the bullet, surverying the damage it caused and adding filler information to her anatomy knowledge. Of course she didn’t bother burying the bodies, she knew as a woman she has to be extremely vicious above talented to be hired and mutilated dead bodies did send a great message & served as cement for building her reputation. The name Karma wasn't entirely her idea, many thankful family members claimed that karma has came for their loved ones' murderers. Her talent spread like wildfire among the men of law, glad to be rid of the dangerous scum; with careful planning, use of environment and Vihar as backup she had wiped out gangs, not solely focused on individuals.

Unfortunately her reputation summoned an unofficial grand price on her head as well in certain circles; they had tracked her back to her uncle's house. The battle claimed Gábor's life and nearly her sight as her right eye was almost slashed out. The new loss opened old wounds: her not being able to protect her loved ones. She couldn't look into a mirror, the scar a reminder how despite all years of training she wasn't untouchable; after burying her uncle plan to gain control over her psyche already formed.

She took a knife and carefully carved four half circles around her eye to form a crosshair with her pupil being the middle of it. She made sure she kept the wounds open for enough time to scar as visibly as the vertical cut; she wanted a symbol to add to her legend. Excuse my pathetic excuse of an edit, I'm not good in this, nor I can draw.

Now Karma is 25, Vihar is 6, both of them in their peak physical prime; the name Vihar is also symbolic a little, Karma is the lightning to her horse. She is dancing on the thin edge of bounty hunting and being an outlaw as she often takes...side jobs to help people who deserve it and usually that person doesn't have a bounty on their head, therefore it is technically murder.

Local antisocial feral monk & cocky gunslinger feral lady / addition of the AU with the amazing @mr-mansnoozie

Near her uncle's house, Karma had discovered a cave and a grumpy mute monk living in it along with his pet bear. The monk, Sandy eventually became a second uncle to the traumatized angry orphan, he taught her how to move & creep upon someone soundlessly, disappear without a trace, cover her stances and behavior patterns of various animals. Before and after returning from a job she always visits her uncle of choice for a chat; a silent way to prepare him to the possibility of her not coming back. But she always do. She considers Sandy as part of her tiny family, although his...copying mechanisms with his own traumas were a bit strange to get used to; she adapted quite fast, after all who is she to judge with a past like that?

I'm a dead man walking, Hell's at my door.

aka collection of small headcanons

🎯 Her dual revolvers are called Salvation and Damnation because she's dramatic

🎯 Karma has a small sketchbook filled with anatomy drawings for further practice.

🎯 She actually can sing, but rarely does, only to Vihar since she never received positive feedback on it. Her voice is gritty, rugged and deep; definitely not the usual and desired sounding from a woman.

🎯 If her target was an outstandingly cruel bastard and/or one of those whom killed her parents she uses a little psychological torture. After fatally wounding them she starts whistling (for the most terrifying experience wear headphones & close your eyes while listening) as they try to crawl away or beg for mercy. The first time the whistle gets shrill & more intense is when she lazily reloads, knowing she has both the time and the upper hand. The second pace shift is when she aims; she shoots during the last, long drawn out high note.

🎯 This is her only verse where Cindy is afraid, no terrified of fire; during her....26 AU's she's always been associated with fire despite dying in or being wounded by it. In this verse she is more tied to lightning, the scent of smoke is enough to send her into a silent panic attack and despite loathing the cold she will never sit close to the fireplace. Her other deep fears include injuring her hands & sight and losing Vihar. Her horse is the only remaining family member of hers, she can't fail her too.

🎯 Most of Karma's scars, injuries are a result of her standing between Vihar and a knife/bullet/ even a bullwhip when a criminal was smart enough to catch on their deep emotional bond.

🎯 She has recurring night terrors about the night her parents died, she always wakes up in cold sweat; she's sort of used to them. Though, sometimes she still cries but thankfully Vihar is there to comfort her.

🎯 Karma has a special morning stretch routine to keep her flexibility and warm up her hands & keep them steady and fast.

🎯 Due to her dad and uncle she received high quality education

🎯 For the untrained eye, the belt of her hat are simple crosses while in reality, they are inverted crosses to symbolize her stance with Christianity

🎯 Karma's middle name is Emerald, given by her father due to her eye color.

🎯 Karma was first inspired by League of Legends Miss Fortune because that name alone is great but unfortunately she is too pirate coded for a western so I abandoned the relation. Though when Karma is not being the 'Call me a slow reader but I only made it to the Dead part, the or Alive didn't register.' ; her personality is similar to hers.

🎯 Due to her dad, Karma is actually half aristocrat. Not like she cares about it the slightest; the only indication of noble blood is her idle stance. It is an unconscious mirror of how her father used to hold himself: back straightened to almost impossible point, left arm behind it, right hand resting on the grip of in her case, revolver instead of hilt of a sword.

🎯 If given the chance to live a normal life, she would've grown into a captivating, lively young woman, much like her mother but with the aristocrat elegance of her father; finding a suitor who lives up to her parents' and her standards would've been the challenge of the century.

🎯 Her special move is called Dance of Death. This is used as last resort when she's facing more opponents up to 12, as with her dual revolvers she has 12 bullets without reloading. She mentally marks the stances of all opponents, predicts their movement, firing order and possible way of their bullets before whirling out of her hiding place. Each pose minimizes the chance of getting shot, and with each change of movement two bullets are fired, two men drop dead.

🎯 Her accuracy isn't just 'gun goes boom >:D' but a combination of natural talent, endless practice, movement prediction, sharp, quick thinking & analytical skills and different techniques molten together to utilize them all at once

🎯 Her hair is now as long as her mother's, she always keeps it in a single tight braid to keep it out of the way; without her hat and hair down she actually loses some of her dangerous edge.

🎯 The only physical memory Karma has of her parents is her dad's hussar sword she found underneath the ruins of the house, it was protected by a very thick wooden box & a lock of her mother's hair is tied to the grip. She has hidden it in the nearby forest, her thoughts often wander to it along with the wish to wield it.

[inglourious-imagines]

Light In Hell (Edward "Babe" Heffron)

Requested by: @easyroses

Summary: You are the love of Babe's life. But he got too drunk in Aldbourne and did something he regrets more than anything. Now he has to live with the consequences.

Prompts: 32 - Oh god, you're in love with him! & 60 - Fuck, you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen. 

Author's Note: Hope you guys consider this one happy haha! Enjoy ♡

Taglist: @alienoresimagines @floydtab @kyra3155 @real-fans @meteora-fc @not-john-watsons-blog @band-of-brothers-cz @tealaquinn @ok-roemanov

.

.

.

The worst thing is, that even after all of that, I'm still in love with you.

He watched her from afar, his mind full of thoughts and regrest. Y/N was laughing about something Luz just said and it was this exact moment it hit him. Babe made the biggest mistake of his life.

She was supposed to be sitting next to him, laughing with him and not George. They would tell each other memories of home and he could finally ask her to come with him to Philly. Maybe even gave her the ring he'd been carrying with him for ages.

Now, it seemed like all Babe's dreams collapsed and disappeared. And the worst thing was, it was just his fault. He was the only one to blame. 

•••

"May I sit here?" Babe anxiously asked gesturing towards the free spot next to Y/N on the freezing ground in the Ardennes. It was the first moment they looked each other deeply since Aldbourne. Guarnere coughed a little to ease the tension in the air and freed a little place next to him. "You can also sit here, Babe. I warmed it for you." Bill said laughing but his eyes drifted off to Y/N who was uncomfortably looking everywhere, just not at Heffron, with a frown on her face.

"Thanks, Bill." Babe replied quietly sitting down.

The conversation stopped. Everyone was aware of what happened between the once happiest and the most lovely pair of Easy Company. No one didn't know what they should say or do.

Babe was staring at Y/N with sad eyes and he wasn't even trying to hide it. Everybody could see how much he regrets what he'd done. But it wasn't their broken heart, it wasn't their trust shattered.

And Y/N simply wasn't able to forgive him. Not yet.

•••

When Eugene Roe paid her a visit, she was more than happy to have someone to freeze with while have a good conversation. Gene was exactly the guy she needed.

"Just talked with Heffron." Doc stated and she could swear her blood froze as well.

"I don't care." Y/N frowned trying not to look too concerned. 

"I think you do, a lot." Eugene replied with a knowing smile on his face. She hated when he was right, which was almost every time and this moment wasn't an exception. Y/N was dying to have a talk with Babe like they used to do before Aldbourne. But at the same time, she was hurting every time she looked at him.

"Oh god!" Doc spoke again, his voice full of realisation and expectation, "you're in love with with."

"What?! No!" Y/N answered way too quickly than she should, "I was and I'm not hiding that. But not anymore."

"I don't believe a word you just said. Two hours ago or so I was listening to Heffron blabbing how he regrets it, how much he's sorry because he'll never meet a woman like you again. Can't you see it, Y/N? He loves you more than he lets on. He'd do anything to take back what happened. If you could just forgive him."

"It's not that easy, Gene. And now get out! Two medics in one foxhole? What would Bill say to that?"

•••

It was about time. They had to move forward and fight.

Now it meant attacking a little town called Foy.

Y/N was stepping on one place checking her medical supplies for the tenth time in 5 minutes. There was no denying it, she was a nervous wreck.

•••

It all happened so quickly.

A long run from the forest to the town.

Speirs replacing Dike.

And then, they made it, with loses, yeah, but they made it.

Y/N sat down on a wooden bench, exhausted, letting her head fall into her hands.

"Medic!" She froze. "Medic! Now!"

Y/N got up and ran after the shouting until she saw a wounded man with his trousers covered in blood.

"Oh my god." she breathed out and began to throw bandages out of her bag along with one last morphine. She ripped his trousers wiping off the blood of his left thigh. 

"Don't worry. It looks worse than it actually is," Y/N tried to comfort the trooper, "you're gonna be all right. It's just a scratch." 

She injected the morphine in his other leg as she bandaged the wound. "It's okay now. The bullet didn't hit you properly, you'll be fine soon. I shouldn't probably even give you the morphine but the supplies are coming so I reckon it's no problem."

Y/N stood up slowly, taking one last look at the wound, and gestured towards Bull and Luz to take him into the church.

"This is the first time we had some conversion in so many weeks." Babe stated as he raised himself up on his elbows.

"And it's gonna end like it." she frowned. Her heart broke a little as she said those words. She didn't even know why she's being that much unfriendly.

"I apologised, Y/N! How many times do you want me to say sorry to you? I was drunk. I wasn't thinking!" Heffron raised his voice suddenly. He probably would have stopped her and made her look into his eyes.

"Can't you fucking understand?! You slept with another woman when a few minutes ago you were telling me how you love me! And it just hurts so much, Babe, it feels like a betrayal." her voice was so weak at the end of her reply he could barely hear her.

"All I'm asking is you to forgive me. Just give me a second chance - you are always saying this."

"It freaking depends. Second chance for Hitler? Hell no! You?"

Y/N didn't finish the sentence and looked directly at the man lying on the cold ground in front of her. She kneeled down and wiped off a drop of blood from his cheek.

"I don't know about you, Babe. You've made me feel so many different emotions no man has ever made me feel." she whispered, keeping her eyes fixated on him.

"Well, let me just... Fuck, Y/N! You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I can't just lose you."

She sighed looking at their intertwined hands as they both touched the other one unconsciously during the short conversation. And it just felt so right.

"We're staying for the night in the local church. We can talk this thing through there." Y/N winked at him with a sparkle in her eyes, like she used to do before Aldbourne.

Babe pulled her closer to him by her hand and put a strand of her Y/H/C hair behind her ear. She could hear him breathing and once again, he made her heart race like he did so many times before. 

"Save that for later. I haven't forgiven you totally yet." Y/N mumbled not being able to move away from him.

"Just one kiss. That's all I ask."

And their lips connected after such a long time of loneliness, hurt and pain.

[etlunainmorte]

***

V left.

No, he didn't leave you like that, no.

It's just that, he and the other Devil Hunters had business to attend to. An old score to settle, just like what Nero said. Something that was related to someone named Mundus. Well, you didn't know the person ( or if he's a person, at all ) but, V said he’s dangerous. Of course, you wanted to beg him to let you come but, you knew he would never allow it. Heck, the Devil Hunters didn't even allow Nico to come. Lady was one thing but, you being powerless as of that moment? V simply refused.

So, with a promise that he'll keep you posted with everything that will happen to them, he went away with Dante, Nero, Trish, Lady, Griffon and Shadow. He also left Andromeda with you so you could have a source of power should things get awry on your side. Also to keep you vitalized while he's gone.

And just like that, V left.

And that was six years ago.

For at least a year and a half, V never failed to send you letters and postcards, telling you of those wonderful places he visited with the rest of the group in search of this Mundus. Places that he would visit again but, with you by his side. He told you, in these letters and postcards, how much he missed you, how much he longed to be by your side, to hold you in his arms and kiss you and make you his over and over again. He told you how much he loved you and you alone, above all else. You cherished these hand - written notes from the man you loved and kept them close. You prayed for the safety of their group, and for their safe return.

But, just like that, he stopped sending letters and postcards nearly five years ago, which has made all of you, including Nico ( who lost contact with them about the same time V stopped writing ), and Kyrie ( who has to take care of her and Nero's precious five year - old daughter and manage the orphanage all by herself ) awfully worried.

You tried sending Andromeda over and over again to see if they were doing fine but, the entity refused, telling you that it is her sworn duty to protect you and never leave your side. Nico tried many times to contact the team but, every single time she managed to hit a stable connection, something strange and unexplainable would interrupt, leaving her listening to just static. Kyrie helped you send letters to the addresses where V sent his, hoping that he would, by any chance, receive them.

But, to no avail.

Still, you didn't lose hope. You distracted yourself during the day, and you fervently prayed each night. You kept the smile on your face, and kept the hope alive in your heart.

Hoping that someday, he, and the rest of the group, would return, safe and sound.

Maybe it was that hope and inspiration that made you do simple but, life - changing things, which, somehow, made an impact and directly influenced your closest friends.

You may have lost the ability to dance but, still, it didn't stop you from establishing your very own little ballet school for beginners next to a church in Fortuna where you lived. Even the kind and gentle Sister Christina flew all the way from Germany to lend her support as an overseeing headmistress while you do the ballet instructing, yourself. You even have Nero and Kyrie's girl, Eva, as one of your little protégés ( who were mostly from poor families of Fortuna whose homes were destroyed by the Dreadnought six years ago ). You even got the surprise of your life, when, one day, the man who made Galatea showed up in the school's doorstep and revealed that he was, in fact, your parents' grandson. Through him, you found out that your precious parents didn't die, after all, after the Pale Ones abducted you and your sister. They were powerless against the cult, and they weren't able to do anything when the news of the Fortuna Castle's fire reached them. They thought you were dead, and has since moved on and had another child. He also revealed that they never forgot about you and your sister until death, and the old photograph they have of you was the thing that inspired him to make Galatea.

Cagliostro, who was, surprisingly, engaged to none other than Alicia, who has fully grown into a beautiful and mature woman, helped with the interior decorating. He has finally moved on from his heartbreak and found a new purpose in life - to be a much better artist and build a family of his own with his Hispanic fiancée.

Alicia, on the other hand, has figured out that her mother's strange behavior before her death was due to an unknown mental illness caused by a past trauma, and has since then dedicated the early years of her life as a licensed doctor to help people with the same case and helped a larger, more prominent medical team to develop a cure for this. 

Petya ( who was balding and happy ) and Natasha ( who still preferred being called Solagne ) never failed to drop by almost every month, bringing both French and Russian beverages with them, just to have little parties with you and the rest of your little group of loving friends. You even saw the haughty woman teaching music to your students during your break ( you only kept this to yourself but, you knew that the poor woman, who, according to Petya, was unfortunately unable to conceive, was longing for a cute little girl of her own ).

Nico, who still kept her lines open just in case one of the Devil Hunters called, improved a lot as an Artisan during those six years of her friend and partner, Nero's absence. Of course, just like you and Kyrie, she never lost hope that they would return someday, and since then, she has developed more powerful and much more revolutionary weapons for Nero to use. Guns, Devil Breakers, and even other, weird - looking gadgets that she called works of art. You even told her that she has surpassed her grandmother, Nell Goldstein, and more but, the woman wouldn't admit this. Said that she must first let Nero test all of her creations and let him admit that to her straight in the face.

Kyrie, just like you, remained ever vigilant. In fact, now that her daughter's growing up, she wanted nothing more than to have Nero finally meet his little girl. She helped you with the ballet school whenever she has time off the orphanage she and her husband built. She even cooked sumptuous meals for you and your little prima ballerina wannabes. And when the busy days were finally over, she, who you built a strong, friendly relationship with over those six years, would always go with you to the nearby church to pray for the return of your beloved ones.

A lot has happened during those years, things that helped you grow as a person.

And on the sixth year during the anniversary of the day you and V got together after so many trials and hardships, you decided to leave Fortuna for a bit to visit Red Grave, where Dante and V's house once stood.

After the Qliphoth incident that almost took the lives of hundreds of Red Grave's innocent citizens, the ruins of Sparda's residence has turned into a secret garden of some sort. For some reason, briars climbed on the broken walls and pillars, filling the whole place with vines, thorns, and roses. Yes. Roses of all kinds and colors. The mansion has turned into the largest rose garden you have ever seen.

You marveled at the sight and settled down, placing your bag on an old bench and sitting next to it. And as soon as your eyes landed on the beautiful sunset, you couldn't help but feel miserable. You and V loved watching the sunset from this very bench, and he has even told you that this has become his most favorite place in the world, now that this old house has turned into a massive garden of wild and fragrant roses.

And the moment you thought of V, you couldn't help but cry silent tears of longing.

Yes, you refused to let them see your weak side but, it didn't stop you from crying each night, from having dreams of him and you being together,...

... of you finally being lovingly held in his arms,...

"Where are you, V?" You miserably wept as your arms automatically went up to wipe your tears with the sleeves of your pink hoodie. "I missed you, so, so, so much,..."

You stayed there for what seemed like hours until you felt you could no longer cry, and when the moon has risen high above the starry sky, just like that one evening when you danced your first ever waltz with him, you decided to stand and retire for the day. Just then, some nagging thoughts plagued your mind,...

Did they fail in their mission to bring down Mundus? What if they, he, never return? What would happen now? What - ?

All of a sudden, you felt the temperature drop. Your hands went up to rub your arms due to the sudden cold that sent shivers up and down your back.

The wind blew, making the clouds roll by, concealing the moon and plunging the whole place in darkness.

That was when you saw,... something,... from a distance. At first, you thought your eyes were deceiving you but, alas, you were wrong.

If anything, they even widened at the sight that greeted you.

An unearthly slash in mid air, the blue and purple light radiating from it as if the atmosphere, itself, was ripped, and some people emerging from it.

"Why did you bring us here?" A familiar voice, which made you emotional all over again, questioned, his voice ringing in the air and disturbing everything within his immediate vicinity.

"Because V told me so!" Another answered.

"Whatever! I'll just go back to the shop and order pizza. Wanna come with me, ladies?"

"You're inviting us, Dante? Are you serious?!"

"Hey, what's wrong with that, huh, Lady?"

"Nothing. Except that your shop probably has six years worth of dust now. No, thanks!"

"How about you, Trish?"

"No, thanks. I want to go back to my own house and have a long bath."

"Eh, whatever. I'm not sharing!"

"Hey, look!"

Your eyesight almost became blurry with tears as the group finally noticed you standing from a distance. From there, you saw Dante ( who, easy to say, has become scruffier than ever before ), Nero ( who now looked a bit more like Dante due to his beard and shoulder - length hair ), Lady ( whose looks somehow stayed the same ), Trish ( who, just like the former, seemed to not have changed, at all ), Griffon ( still bald, and still lanky ), and Shadow ( now the same height as Lady and Trish and no longer a little girl but, a gorgeous young woman ).

But, what made you truly emotional was the figure standing behind them, slightly concealed.

Shoulder length snow white hair now long and waist length, emerald eyes that looked more gentle than ever before with little creases below them, that all - too familiar posture as he leaned on his metal cane, and that smile you missed so much,...

"Hey, uh, send my regards to Kyrie and Nico, will ya?" Dante told Nero as he nudged his nephew with an elbow. He, then, waved and winked at you as he gestured towards the silent man behind him.

"Let's go home." Lady said as she smiled at you.

"I'm with you." Trish replied as she waved at you, finally leaving the place together with Lady and Dante.

"Let's go back to Fortuna, you two." Nero told Griffon and Shadow. "I could sense Kyrie making apple pie right now."

"Talk to ya later, sweet pea!" Griffon yelled and waved at you as he went with Nero and Shadow back to the portal the Yamato has just made.

Which left only the two of you.

You had no idea what went on between the two of you during those awkward and agonizing moments or how long it took for you to finally go to him. You didn't even notice the clouds as they rolled away to let the moon shine down once more. And when he finally wrapped you in an embrace you longed so much for so long, you couldn't help but soak his white shirt with tears.

"Ssh, it's alright." He whispered to your ear as his hands rubbed your back to warm you. "I'm here now. I'm here."

"W - welcome back, V!" You greeted through your sobs, making the poet chuckle in amusement. "I have waited for so long! I never lost hope that you would return, but just now, I thought that - "

"It's alright, my love. Everything would be fine now. Our hunt for Mundus has brought us all to the Underworld. And he is gone. Finally gone. At last, we can finally live in peace."

You looked up at him and let him wipe your tears away with his thumbs. "Is that why we can't reach you? You went to the Underworld?"

"Yes. And I'm afraid to say that,... time works differently there from here. We've only been there for six days but,... when we resurfaced, it seems that,... six years,... has already passed."

"Are you okay? Were you hurt? Tell me, please! I will take care of you,..."

"There's no need. I will be the one who will take care of you. And I'm sorry,... for disappearing for too long,..."

"You don't have to say sorry. You fought bravely for us. Oh, dear God, I missed you so much! I missed you, so, so much!"

"And I missed you too, my love." V told you as he pulled you even closer to him if that's still possible. "You see, I even rushed here to meet you."

And you? You couldn't explain the happiness that was flooding your chest and making it burst.

"But, how did you know I will go here?"

"Cassandra told me."

"Oh, I see."

"Hmm,..."

You gave him a look of utter confusion as he let you go, chuckling as he noticed the pout on your lips.

"I have,... something for you." He said as he grabbed something from his bag. You eagerly waited as he searched, and when he finally handed you a pack of popcorn, you couldn't help but smile.

"You bought this, V?" You asked him as the smell of butter reached your nostrils.

"Yes. We haven't finished Endgame, have we?"

"Come to think of it, no, we haven't." You admitted.

V smiled as he reached for his bag once more, producing a stuffed tiger from it and giving it to you, reminding you of,...

"Is this,... did you win this at the carnival?"

V proudly hummed. "I have,... quite a skill with,... should we say,... sniping?"

Oh, God, he remembered! You happily thought. He remembered I have a really bad aim and couldn't win the stuffed tiger at the carnival.

"And that's not all." V said.

"Hmm?"

"I went fishing."

"Oh, you did?! What happened?"

"I caught a boot."

"YOU DIDN'T!"

V laughed, the sound of his low voice sending warmth all throughout your whole body. In fact, you have never felt so warm in your entire life. And when he handed you a single boot from his bag just for laughs, you fell in love with him all over again.

"I - I never thought this is possible, oh my!" You confessed through fits of laughter, however, at this point, the smile on V's face vanished. You noticed this and went silent as he took the boot from your hands and upended it, making a small velvet box the color of your eyes fall from it. Then, he went down on one knee and opened the box, revealing the most beautiful ring with an emerald attached to it.

Why,... did you not see this coming?

But, whatever the reason was, V was right there, right in front of you, offering you something more than just an emerald ring inside a boot he claimed he has fished.

And when he looked into your eyes, you saw something.

Truth.

Loyalty.

Love.

Passion.

And most importantly,...

I see,... you thought as your heart filled up with love and gladness. My future,... before me,...

"(Y/N) (L/N)," V declared. " ... will you marry me?"

***

🖤 I See My Future Before Me 🖤

***

XXXV

***

🖤 @la-vita , @micaelagua , @vergils-daughter , @beyond-the-mirror , @clevermentalitybeliever , @lessy86 , @ceruleanworld , @diabeticsugarush , @yepps , @shadowrosess , @gothghoulfrend , @heaven-on-a-landslide , and @krazy06 . 🖤

***

[deanothecheynosaur]

The Bear and the Nightingale (2017)

Yay first one! (Whether you read the long synopsis or not, the ranking is at the bottom)

Funny story before I get into it: so my boyfriend's brother bought me this book in paperback for Christmas. I had not started reading it yet, but I was checking my Kindle to see how many books I read in 2019 and saw that I had purchased this a while back, never got around to reading it, and forgot I had it. So I'm taking back the paperback as soon as his blizzard is over (which oddly fits the book) and bought the second and third on Kindle. I have another gift card, but I need all three books to be in the same format.

Short synopsis:

Vasya is a young girl in a small village northern Rus' who can see things others can't. Everyone thinks she's a witch. The frost demon Morozko watches and protects her to keep himself strong enough to contain the Bear. An epic story about the clash between the old religions & the domineering Christianity & about the sexism of the time.

Long synopsis:

Moving on. Our story opens in Northern Rus' in the remote village of Lesnaya Zemlya bordering a large forest with the family of Pyotr Vladimirovich, his wife Marina Ivanovna, and their children Kolya (Nikolai Petrovich), Sasha (Aleksandr Petrovich), Olya (Olga Petrovna), Alyosha (Aleksei Petrovich), a bun in the oven, and their nurse, Dunya (Darya Nikolaevna). There's some important backstory though. Marina is the daughter of Ivan I Grand Prince in Moscow and his third wife, a mysterious woman who wandered out of the woods with no family, no history, and many suspected she was a witch. Marina knew it would be her last child and it would be a girl like her mother. This is set during the late 13th century, after Genghis Kahn died while the Tatars were still dominating the area. But Marina was right. She died in childbirth delivering Vasya (Vasilisa Petrovna). Throughout the book, there are hints that everyone but Sasha blames Vasya a little for Marina dying.

Vasya grows up naughty and ugly, with huge green eyes, black hair with a hint of red, a mouth too big for her face, long limbs, and too skinny. Olya calls her "little frog." Vasya does whatever she wants: Dunya is old, Pyotr is a busy man between being the Lord of the area and a farmer, and she has no stepmother. One evening, Vasya gets lost in the forest and sees a one-eyed man sitting against a gnarled black oak tree she had never seen before. He was uber creepy. But then another man shows up on his horse, refers to the one-eyed man as Medved, and tries to talk to Vasya. She gets scared and runs, but neither man pursues her. After she gets home (still freaking out), Pyotr decides it's time to remarry before Vasya gets unmanageable. He takes Kolya and Sasha with him to Moscow to find himself a wife and Olya a husband. It's mentioned several times throughout how a character cleans the ice out of their horse's hooves or mane, which I think is a great addition because it really solidifies the time period by how important horses were to everybody. Once they are settled in Moscow, Sasha spends time with other devout Christians (he prays a lot) and discovers that there is a renowned holy man (Sergei Radoneshsky) at a monastery three days north of Moscow. Pyotr lets him go alone to meet the man. Once Sasha gets there, he decides he wants to be a monk at this monastery and goes back to Moscow to ask his father. Pyotr agrees on two conditions: 1. Sasha cannot join the order or speak to Father Sergei until after the next harvest; 2. Sasha will be disinherited. Which honestly I think is fair.

A minor character that sets a lot of major things in motion is the Metropolitan of Moscow, Aleksei. Took me a minute to figure out that that means he's a bishop. Anyway, basically his job is really to deal with problems that might hurt the future of the current family ruling. Initially, he lines up marriages: Olya to a lesser prince that could have a claim to the throne of he married higher, and Pyotr to the Grand Prince's mad daughter, Anna Ivanovna. She saw demons everywhere except the church, so she wanted to be a nun. Of the two arranged marriages, the latter was less necessary in the initial context but crucial to rest of the plot. On their way back home, they run into a strange man, slight in stature but moves too quickly to see with pale skin, curly black hair, and icy blue eyes. He admires Pyotr's horse and Kolya is a dick to him about it, so the man has a knife to his throat. To save Kolya, Pyotr must give a necklace with a bright sapphire stone in it to Vasya to keep with her always. Kolya forgets the encounter altogether and wonders about the white scars on his neck... Pyotr is nervous about he necklace, so he gives it to Dunya. Dunya doesn't want to spoil her, so she decides to keep it for a while. Then she starts having one of several dreams in which she is confronted about keeping what is not hers.

After Sasha and Olya leave to be a monk and marry, respectively, Vasya spends less time with people. We soon learn that she can see creatures, the spirits from the old fairy tales Dunya told. Except they're real. Vasya is not crazy, and neither is Anna, but Anna is too Christian to be cool about it. Plus, Anna is a mean stepmother, strongly preferring her own daughter, Irina Petrovna. Vasya soon befriends the domovoi who lives in the oven and protects the house. Vasya doesn't realize her family can't see these creatures, so she talks to the vazila, the spirit of the horses who guards the stables. He says that she and Anna are the only people who can see them. Vasya thinks the stables are safer, so she visits the vazila often. He teaches her to speak to horses and understand them.

Then our friend Aleksei the Metropolitan does his last bit of manipulation. There is a priest in Moscow who is very good looking and gifted at painting icons. Aleksei is concerned that this will cause too many disruptions, so when the priest up in Lesnaya Zemlya dies, he sends the pretty priest, Father Konstantin Nikonovich, up there to take his place. I've never hated a fictional character so much in my life. Vasya is talking to the rusalka, a river demon who lives off of consuming the fears and desires of various animals and humans, killing them in the process. She goes for men a lot. Vasya unfortunately stops her from killing Father Konstantin. He immediately dislikes Vasya, thinking her too bold and not pious enough. Anna is obsessed with Konstantin because priests are her favorite and this is a hot one.

As time goes on, Vasya gets less and less like a lady should be, which infuriates Konstantin, but he's also having impure thoughts about her, which infuriates him in other ways. Anna and Konstantin try to convince everyone that if they continue to leave offerings for the old spirits, they will go to Hell. But shortly after, the village faces all the hardships. Freezing cold. Food shortage. People dying from the temperature. Wolves eating livestock. And then the crops flood. What survives the flood in the spring burns in the summer. Konstantin tells everyone that God is testing their faith, meanwhile Vasya is trying to sneak offerings and keep people alive. She also learns how to ride horses. Pyotr betrothes her to a Lord/horse breeder from a few towns over, Kyril Artamonovich. He's an oblivious ass. When he finds out she can ride, he calls off the wedding and leaves. Konstantin convinces Anna that Vasya somehow will get Irina killed, so when Pyotr leaves town, Anna tries to get rid of Vasya, either by death or by hog-tying her and taking her to a convent. Anna tells Vasya that she can stay if she finds snowdrops (the flower) in the forest (it's midwinter). Vasya takes off to find some, deciding worst case scenario, she would rather die in the forest than in a convent. She ends up at the gnarled black oak from her childhood, and the one-eyed man is still there. He tries to grab her, but the same man on horseback swoops in and saves her. He takes her back to his "house" to rest. She shortly finds out that he is Morozko, the god of winter and death. The one-eyed man is his brother, Medved, the Bear, the god of fear and suffering. Morozko has had him bound for a few hundred years, but with the offerings decreasing, Medved's strength is increasing. Morozko is known to be a trickster and a lavish gift-giver. Among other things, he gives Vasya a horse called Solovey (Russian for Nightingale), a young bay colored stallion who is not quite as mortal as your average horse. He also gives Vasya some snowdrops so that she may go home, but when she arrives, things are not how she left them. This is where we hit the climax, and I'm not giving away the ending. 😉

I'm very into folklore and old religions, I love forests, and Russian history is so long and colorful that it's been a fascination of mine for a while. Plus, ice stories interest me, maybe because my birthday is frequently cold and icy. So this was a great book for me to read. It's also clear how well-researched it is, as well as spelling things so that an English speaker would still be saying it with the Russian pronunciation.

On a scale of 1-5, I give it a 4.5. It would be higher but so many characters were unlikeable.

[100hearteyes]

Hey there! Maybe you didn't get my ask or maybe you didn't want to answer it (which would be totally okay btw), but nevertheless here it is again! I'm doing Interrail in Portugal in August: Lisboa-Porto-Coimbra-Evora. Do you have any tips for me? Do's, don'ts? Thanks so much! Love from Vienna🤗 PS: if you don't want to answer it's totally fine, I just thought I would give it another try:)

Hi! I definitely didn’t get your ask the first time, I’m glad you gave it another try. So first of all: YES an Interrail in Portugal 🎉 and you’re coming to Porto ❤️

First Do is meeting me in Porto haha (only if you would feel comfortable ofc).

More seriously though, a big Do is trying ALL the pastries: Pastel de Nata (I actually like them better than the more popular Pastel de Belém), Bola de Berlim, Jesuítas, Cavacas, Croissants (the Porto ones, which there are two varieties of and you gotta try both), Limonetes, Pão de Deus, Castanhas de Ovo, Cristas de Galo, Broa de Mel, etc etc etc. The best place for pastries is the Confeitaria Porto Rico in Porto - try some almendrados. They’re to die for. And the BREAD. I’ve been to Central Europe several times and I’m sorry to say this, but y’all can’t make proper bread. So that’s another thing on the list.

Two big DON’T’s: high heels and crossing the street outside of crosswalks or with red lights. We Portuguese have developed a special talent for crossing the street when and where we shouldn’t. Don’t try to do the same, it’ll go wrong.

The high heels thing is because a LOT of our sidewalks are very irregular. Also, don’t expect us to speak Spanish (really, some people get really annoyed).

As for DO’s: always say “bom dia” if it’s morning, “boa tarde” if it’s afternoon, or “boa noite” if it’s night when you approach someone. Or, you know, “hello”. Say please and thank you - and excuse me. We value that. Always check if there are services tickets like at the supermarket, the bakery, the pharmacy, and such. Oh and do pay attention to graffitis (there’s BEAUTIFUL art) and expect to EAT - and have dinner late, because no Portuguese person has dinner before 7 pm.

Our summer has been quite shy so I wouldn’t expect high temperatures, but in Portugal you never know. It’s usually definitely warmer in the south though.

Anyway, city by city:

Lisboa

DO’s

Visit the central places, like Praça do Rossio, Praça do Comércio, Avenida da Liberdade, Palácio de Belém. Lisbon is like half pretty and half ugly af, and the (very, very) pretty part is basically only the famous part. Fonte Luminosa, which is a bit off the centre, is definitely worth seeing, too. That area is pretty as well, I guess. Avoid the 28 streetcar during rush hour - there’s a lot of pickpockets there. Actually, stay alert: there are a lot of pickpockets in Lisbon, in general. If you’re not claustrophobic or something of the sort, then try the underground caves, like Galeria Subterrânea do Loreto and Reservatório da Patriarcal. Go to the Park of Necessidades. Also, Villa Bertha is considered the pretties street in Lisbon. The Oceanário is pretty cool too, though I prefer the Vasco da Gama Aquarium, which is beautiful both inside and out and has a GIANT SQUID.

DON’T’s

Again, avoid the 28 streetcar (and streetcars in general) during rush hour. Avoid the more touristy Fado houses - go for the small, inconspicuous ones instead. The music show is free and the food is cheaper and better. Avoid this shit like the plague - it can give you cooties. Look at this if you want to either laugh or feel second-hand embarrassment - it’s basically a giant toilet 😂

Porto

DO’s

Everything? The historical part (Baixa), the seaside (Foz, where you might even stumble into Iker Casillas), the riverside (Ribeira), the Boavista Avenue, the City Park, Serralves, Palácio de Cristal, this beauty, the museum attached to that beauty, the Port wine caves. You can also literally just cross the bridge to Gaia and get up to Jardim do Morro, which has beautiful sights (striking view to Porto). Visit the churches in Baixa, they’re all beautiful inside. Try a francesinha (it’s mandatory! “O Afonso” might be a good restaurant, Anthony Bourdain himself visited it and it’s not too packed and touristy). You can find the best pastries in Porto, too. Do you know what this is? McDonald’s. Yep. Visit the Café Imperial. Obviously, you HAVE to eat fish - I recommend this restaurant in Matosinhos, which is also glued to Porto (imagine a sandwich: Gaia and Matosinhos are the bread and Porto is the ham). Go to Cervejaria Gazela, it has great beer and great cachorrinhos da Batalha. In Avenida da Boavista, go to A Casa da Boavista - it’s gorgeous and the food is good too. Take the many staircases that connect Ribeira to Baixa and take the chance to visit the Sé. Cool fact: the Harry Potter setting/universe was inspired by Porto. JK Rowling lived here for some years and you can really see the similarities. Oh and the urban art is Porto is something else.

DON’T’s

Nightlife in Porto is in Baixa, don’t go anywhere else, it’s not worth it. Don’t eat in Foz - every place there is overpriced because it’s basically where the rich people live (still a GREAT place to visit though). Don’t go to the City Park at night. Don’t expect the metro to work past 1 am (the yellow/D line works 24h on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays though). Again, no high heels. Bring comfortable shoes. Don’t try to speak Spanish - go for English. Do NOT compliment Lisbon. Lisbon sucks. Lisbon stinks. Lisbon is evil. Lisbon is the embodiment of The System™ and our corrupt politicians. Porto represents the fight against The System™ and against a central power that stays afloat on the shoulders of those who actually work. Complimenting Lisbon to a Portuense is like saying that blarke is the best and only real ship to a Clexa fan. Got it?

Coimbra

In Coimbra, I’d say visit the academic area (the University of Coimbra was the first in the country), the botanical gardens, and Portugal dos Pequenitos. And of course, Quinta das Lágrimas, home to the most epically romantic (and quite violent) story in the history of Portugal, dating back to the 14th century.

(basically, Prince Pedro, heir to the throne, loved Inês, who was a handmaiden to the princess he was about to marry; they “dated” at the Fonte dos Amores; but the romance triggered a huge political drama, so the King ordered Inês’s death; she was killed while Pedro was away on a hunting trip - they killed her next to the Fonte das Lágrimas, where legend says her bloody tears as she died stained the water (fun fact: the red stains remain and are unique to that fountain); shortly thereafter, the King died and Pedro was crowned King of Portugal; still enraged over his lover’s death and now able to exact revenge, Pedro killed his Inês’s murderers - TW actually ripped their hearts out; not quite satisfied, he ordered Inês unearthed and dressed like royalty, and crowned her his queen - and then forced everyone in the court, who had once belittled Inês, to kiss her hand; then he “built” the (beautiful) Alcobaça Monastery, where their mortal remnants still lie today - their tombs face each other so that, according to the legend, they can wake up in the afterlife looking into each other’s eyes).

Évora

Visit the Megalíticos and the Roman ruins. Go to Diana’s Garden and the Loios Church. Visit the Art Café and, if you’re feeling like having some regional cuisine, try the 5 Amêndoas restaurant, it’s a nice mix of traditional and modern. Also, remember: Évora is in Alentejo, which means it’s REALLY hot during the day (upwards of 30º C) and pretty cold at night (below 15º C).

[umichenginabroad]

Week 3 in Lund and Other Places!

Hello again from Lund, Sweden! This last week has been a wonderful touristy blur, so I think I will let the pictures speak mostly for themselves (although I am limited to only 10 I'm afraid). Saturday was visits to Lund's Kulturen open air museum, the Skissernas Museum of Sketches (pictured below), and the Cathedral which was built in the 1100's and still stands in the town's center! The University Library was also a can't miss in terms of beautiful architecture.

The next day was swimming at Lomma Beach just a bus ride away (through flower fields!) from Lund. The water wasn't too cold, but we learned too late it's common to take a sauna near the piers of the area before jumping in the waves.

This week, week number three, was the first week I have felt settled into my daily research routine. We are even starting to get some data from our isothermal calorimetry experiments to analyze! I also finally feel like I know my way around the city on foot (more or less) and was able to find some nice bakery spots. My favorite so far has been a kanelbullar, a kind of Swedish cinnamon bun, from The Patisseriet.

On Wednesday, I visited my distant relative in Copenhagen. The picture on the bottom left is the view from the top of The Church of Our Savior which, at around 90 meters or 300 feet tall with only a railing separating us from the drop at the top of the spiral, was a bit terrifying. We survived, and after making it to the bottom, had a nice dinner where we chatted about our shared family and how our lives might have been different if our parents or grandparents or great grandparents had immigrated to somewhere other than the United States and Canada or not at all. In a way, the experience was a little like a blind date. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but it was so cool to make such a connection with family living halfway around the world.

Back in Lund at the end of the week, our class had a seminar on Swedish societal structures. I learned university tuition is free for all Swedish residents (although students have to pick an educational path much earlier because distribution requirements for majors like engineering usually aren't as common). I also learned that parental leave from work is 16 months and expected to be shared between parents where in the United States it can be as low as 3 months which is wild. My specific topic was the recycling system in Sweden and the main difference between Sweden and the U.S. is that only 1% of waste in Sweden ends up in landfills. A lot of waste is burned in energy recovery facilities which have their own issues, but there are also efforts towards circular economy like incentives for producers to make products that can be broken down at the end of their life cycle and H&M's TreeToTextile initiative to make jeans and other fabrics from cellulose.

This troll sculpture made out of scrap wood by artist Thomas Dambo who travels all over the world is of the same kind I saw when I visited Maine's botanical gardens last spring. I was surprised when I stumbled upon it around a corner in Copenhagen, but it was nice to see yet another connection to home.

I don't think this week's craziness will slow down anytime soon. Lundakarnevalen started Friday, and with parades and concerts and the like happening all weekend, I'm sure I will have lots of adventures to tell you about next week. Stay tuned!

Reegan Ketzenberger

Materials Science & Engineering

Undergraduate Research Program at Lund University: Lund, Sweden