#KadMeric

[ballads-and-dirges]

𝖠 𝖧𝖤𝖱𝖮'𝖲 𝖱𝖤𝖲𝖯𝖨𝖳𝖤 (𝖲𝖳𝖮𝖱𝖬𝖡𝖫𝖮𝖮𝖣)

ᴹⁱⁿⁱ ᵂᵒˡᴹᵉʳⁱᶜ ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ ᴾᵗ. ᴵᴵ

ᴷᵃᵈᴹᵉʳⁱᶜ ᴹⁱⁿⁱ ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ ᴾᵗ. ᴵ ᴾᵗ. ᴵᴵ ᴾᵗ. ᴵᴵᴵ

ᵈᵉˢᶜ. ᵀʰᵉ ᵇᵃᵗᵗˡᵉ ʰᵃˢ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ʷᵒⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ᶻᵉⁿᵒˢ ᶠᵉˡˡᵉᵈ. ᵀⁱᵐᵉ ᶠᵒʳ ᵃ ᵐᵒᵐᵉⁿᵗ'ˢ ʳᵉˢᵖⁱᵗᵉ.

“Hien!” She calls out making her way through the crowd to embrace him, “Full glad I am to see you my friend! You know not how much your aid was needed for this victory.”

Grinning he pulls back to take in her battered appearance, “Mayhaps… Yet it seems you’ve done most of the work here. You look awful.”

Stepping away from the hug, she takes in her own appearance to the best of her ability realizing parts of her garbs are shredded, covered in blood and grime. Her arms and hands are covered in minor flesh wounds that are caked in dried blood. She's not even sure if it's only her blood but she does know that if this is what her body looks like she can only imagine what her face looks like. Looking up to him, she notices the grin on his face which causes her to laugh.

“Would you look any better?” A boisterous laugh erupts from him as he claps her on the shoulder. 

Over the time spent in Doma, she and Hien had built a strong sibling-like bond. He always seemed to notice when she would sneak away to be alone and would make it a point to check in on her.  Her eyes held a familiar glint that he himself recognized. There was a familiarity in the way her eyes would solemnly glaze over at the mention of her being the Warrior of Light. He would watch as she would recede into herself, and step away. To an extent he understood as he had the weight of a country resting on his shoulders and also struggled with the title passed down from his father. With this in common, the two forged a strong bond and relied on each other during the liberation of Doma.

As the two took their time catching up, a certain Elezen man stood off to the side half listening in on the conversation he was supposed to be a part of with the overseers of each city-state. He couldn't help but notice the close proximity the woman of his desires stood with the Hyuran leader of Doma. He also couldn't help the pit in his stomach deepening with every touch they shared. To others watching it was platonic but to him it was far too much, not when he barely managed to get her into his arms earlier. He wanted to be the first to hold her after the battle, to congratulate her, to maybe even kiss her if given the chance. But instead he was stuck in an endless drabble of pleasantries that he could do without. His mind on one thing… one person.

“You looked quite dashing soaring atop a Yol, steel bared- A flashy entrance indeed!” She teases nudging his arm. 

Grasping at his chest he pretends to be offended,“Flashy?! You are one to speak, my dear friend! Shall we recall Nadaam?” 

Instantly Kadenza folds in on herself immediately feeling embarrassed but he only continues his teasing, “Brothers and Sisters of the Steppe! With me!”

“Ahh that's enough!” She groans face-palming at the memory. 

“Quite grandiose in comparison- especially after securing our victory!”

Embarrassed by the whole situation she tries to escape but he casually throws an arm over her shoulder reveling in her bashfulness. The two continue to joke around a little longer but come to a halt when they feel a looming presence behind them. Looking over the shoulder of where Hien’s rest over her own, she sees Aymeric standing behind them almost sheepishly as if he walked into something private. 

“Aymeric.” She calls gently as she shrugs Hien’s arm from her shoulder, much to his amusement. Stepping towards him she reaches to pull him close but hesitates due to the crowd of people around them. 

Noticing her discomfort, Aymeric makes the move to take her hand into his own as places it over his heart, “Once again, I am left in awe at your feats. Liberating Doma, now Ala Mhigo. You are truly extraordinary, my light.”

Kadenza feels goosebumps prickling her skin and her face warming up at his forwardness and affection but she doesn’t pull her hand away. She trains her eyes on the hand that covers her own and does her best to form a coherent sentence but she is completely lost, not used to outward forms of romantic affection. This causes a gentle smile to tug at the corner of Aymeric’s lips, as he revels in the fact that the most sought after woman in Eorzea only had affections for him. That no matter what man she spoke to, her feelings were only reserved for him and him alone.

“Aye. You charge headfirst into battle without batting an eye yet fluster at the slight amorous touch? You amuse me!” Hien loudly jests which cause Kadenza to nearly crash into Aymeric’s chest at the sudden outburst and in turn causes Aymeric to hold her by the waist as he steadies her against his chest. She was so drawn in by the man that she had forgotten that the Doman man was only a foot or so away from her.

He chuckles even more as a shite-eating grin graces his face, “Hmm so this whom you spoke with in secret? A pleasure to meet you, friend. I am Hien Rijin, Prince of Doma.” Straightening his posture he bows but peeks an eye open to catch Kadenza glowering at him. His amusement grows by the second as he rises back up with a full blown smirk watching as Kadenza has yet to pull herself from Aymeric’s arms.

Doing his best to come off as nonchalant, Aymeric fails miserably as his cheeks and tips of his ears are dusted crimson at realizing the two of them had been caught in their rendezvous. Putting a fist to his mouth, Aymeric clears his throat nervously before speaking, “I… ahem. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Hien. I am Aymeric de Borel, Lord Commander of the Temples Knights. You seemed to have caught on to our shared secret.”

Hien only grins as he gives them an up and down, which the two quickly realize that Aymeric still had his arms wound around Kadenza’s waist. Bashfully they separate but don’t make it a point to not move too far from each other.

“Ah Hien! It’s… uhh.. We-” She does her best to search for the right words but is completely flustered by the overall situation.

Shaking his head, he only chuckles before patting her shoulder, “I only jest! Allow me to excuse myself, we will speak again my friend.” With that, he makes his way over to where Yugiri is congregated with the Scions, everyone eagerly greeting and thanking him for his support.

Seeing this opportunity, Aymeric reaches for Kadenza’s hand to swiftly pull her through the crowds towards a makeshift infirmary where he sits her down on one of the unoccupied benches. He briefly steps away, asking a Roegadyn woman for medical supplies to which she eagerly hands over realizing that it was for the Warrior of Light. Making his way back to Kadenza with supplies in hand, he gently places it down beside her as he kneels in front of her. The sight of him kneeling causes her to panic especially as onlookers begin to grin and whisper about how the Lord Commander was kneeling for the Warrior of Light.

“A-Aymeric! What are you-” 

But she’s interrupted as he places a gentle kiss on her forehead, “You’re hurt. Please allow me.” He says softly before pulling away to look her in the eyes. She nods almost hypnotically as her eyes locked with his. His smile nearly takes her breath away as he quickly gets to work. Taking a torn cloth and dipping it into a bucket of water, he gingerly wipes at the blood splatters on her face and neck, dipping every so often to rinse the dark liquid then going back to clean up more spots. He works diligently and efficiently as he makes it down her arms, applying a little more pressure to scrub off the parts that were caked in layers of blood and debris.

As he quietly works, Kadneza can’t help but to admire his caring nature. She watched as his eyebrows would furrow when he got to more stubborn splotches, or how his lips would press into a thin line then relax when he accomplished cleaning certain areas. True to her words, she wasn’t sure if what she felt was love yet but she knew that her heart hasn’t felt this warm since her fleeting moments with Haurchefant. She can’t believe that it had been nearing two Summers since he had passed. During that time, she thought she’d never allow herself to get close to anyone again but as seasons change, so do her feelings. At her lowest, Aymeric had been there as staunch as ever, offering her an ear and often a shoulder to cry on. He listened to her not as Hydaelyn’s Champion, but as a woman burdened with a predetermined destiny who had too much of the realm’s weight on her shoulders. Never did he address her as Warrior of Light or bring up her responsibilities, only delving deeper into who she was under a damn near impenetrable exterior. 

With time, the little walls that she did have up came crashing down. She found herself more often than not seeking his company and finding ways to be within his vicinity. To her, he felt safe. Besides Alphinaud and Tataru, she never showed her true thoughts unless pushed to the edge and the dam bursting with emotion. However, with Aymeric, she wanted to tell him everything. Give her all and not look back. She knew that the one thing she never wanted to experience in her life again was losing someone she cared deeply for and not having the opportunity to tell them how she felt.

“There. Much better.” The Elezen says as he lays the sullied cloth down on the bench beside her. He holds her hands up to inspect that he has not missed a spot then his eyes rake over her face and hands in the same manner.

Looking down to her lap, a shy smile graced her lips, “Thank you… You needn’t go through all the trouble.”

He only chuckles as he continues to scan over her face and arms for blood. Once his inspection is done, he’s quick to start dressing the many injuries littered across any visible skin. He works quietly and efficiently to ensure not one part of her was unattended. She winces occasionally when tonics are applied to deeper cuts, to which he whispers an apology before pressing a light kiss to her forehead then resumes his work. The two were so lost in their own bubble that they hadn’t even noticed their comrades joining them.

“Well, well… This is quite the sight, aye? The Lord Commander on bended knee for our fair warrior?” As if the trance around the two were shattered, they hastily look up to see Thancred alongside Alphinaud, Alisaie, and Lucia. The one who broke them out of their reverie with an amused glint in his eye and smirk playing at his lips, “Is this a formal announcement?”

Kadenza quickly bolts from her seat nearly knocking Aymeric to the ground, “T-Thancred! It’s not what it looks like-” Looking around at the amused faces, she looks over to Aymeric who can’t help but share in the amusement.

Rising from his place on the ground, he reaches out to hold the stuttering woman’s hand, “It is so. I am quite taken with our dear warrior.” This causes her to stutter out more excuses as everyone shares in the convivial environment., reveling in the moment of peace and joy.

“A proclamation long overdue, my Lord. '' Alphinaud quips much to Kadenza’s chagrin yet she makes no move to pull her hand from Aymeric’s grasp but only tighten it much to Thancred’s amusement.

“Your duality never ceases to amuse me, Kad! Ever the gallant warrior on the field yet a shy and aloof maiden when left to your own devices. How do you manage?” His teasing only causes the others to laugh.

Alisaie covers her mouth doing her best not to laugh too hard, “It is quite a sight to behold.”

“Now, now. Let’s not tease the poor thing too much, she looks as if she may collapse.” Lucia gently chides with her own amusement at the scene unfolding in front of them.

As they continued their lighthearted teasing, Kadenza seemed to shrink more and more into Aymeric’s side. She clutched his hand tighter, embarrassed by the attention but also delighted at the fact that the Elezen man had not shied away but only pulled her closer. His warmth and honesty was very much needed after spending so long championing many regions of the realm, all culminating up to the liberation of Ala Mhigo and the defeat of Zenos. She contented having Aymeric by her side and holding onto her. It was all she really needed at that moment. Someone who saw her as a woman and not solely as the Hero of the Realm. This radiance of warmth and comfort… and then she collapses as she finally succumbs to the mental and physical fatigue from pushing herself past her limits. 

There’s an audible gasp from onlookers seeing their hero fall. Thancred makes a move to catch her but Aymeric is quicker as he brings her limp body into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Once the shock wears off, Alphinaud and Alisaie are quick to crowd Aymeric, to assure that their friend and pseudo-sister was fine. 

Thancred solemnly looks at Kadenza, the look of guilt flooding his features, “It seems once again we have relied on her too much and pushed her to her limits.”

“It was only a matter of time,” Alisaie absentmindedly says as she steps forward, placing a hand atop the fainted woman’s hand.

Alphinaud nods in agreement, a pang deep in his chest as he comes to his sister's side to provide her and himself some comfort, “And for that she is afforded this much needed respite.” Looking at Aymeric with sullen eyes he continues, “Ser Aymeric, will you see Kadenza to Ishgard? There’s much we need to wrap up here”

Aymeric nods as he adjusts Kadenza in his arms, allowing her to rest more comfortably, “But of course. I will see to it that she is prepared a private chamber in House Borel.”  The twins bow in gratitude before saying their goodbyes. 

Thancred remains for a moment, looking for the right words to say. Aymeric sees the conflict in his eyes and can only nod in understanding before making his leave with Lucia in tow.

“Lucia, call for Amitra. We must make haste.” Aymeric says continuing to the gates of the Ala Mhigan Quarter.

“Aye Lord Commander.” She salutes him before trotting off ahead to the gates and using a summoning horn that Kadenza had left in their care to call forth her bonded dragon, Amitra, whenever need be. In mere moments of the horn being blown, a looming shadow streaks across the Quarter, before landing with a resounding thud causing everyone to lose their balance briefly. 

“You have called upon me, Lucia?” Amitra questions taking in the new terrain.

Lucia bows to the dragon before looking back to the Lord Commander, “Yes. Your ward is in need of you.”

Amitra looks over to see Aymeric cradling Kadenza in his arms and in turn she lets out a low rumble, “It seems as though my ward has exhausted her aether during battle. I will return you all to Ishgard.” Bowing her head down, she flattens herself as close to the ground as possible. Aymeric hands Kadenza over to Lucia before scaling the dragon and once he is situated comfortably, Lucia lifts the young woman into his arms once more before climbing atop Amitra.

“Thank you, Amitra.” Aymeric murmurs as his attention refocuses on Kadenza.

“Of course, Ser Aymeric.”

[ballads-and-dirges]

How it Started (Post Dragonsong):

"𝖭𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾𝖽, 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖽𝗈? 𝖭𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝖲𝖼𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝖨 𝗆𝖾𝖺𝗇, 𝖻𝗎𝗍…𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾𝗅𝖿?"

"𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖨 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍? 𝖨… 𝖨 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐. 𝖭𝗈 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗌𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗌𝗈 𝖨'𝗏𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗍."

How it's Going (Post Shadowbringers) :

"𝖲𝗁𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗐𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇, 𝗆𝗒 𝗅𝖺𝖽𝗒?"

Hey... hey anyone with wolships or other FFXIV ships (since I know not everyone's characters are WoL).

Show me your "How it started // How it's going" can be gpose, art, writing. I just want to know about your ffxiv ships. Can be OCxOC, OCxNPC, Polyships, multiships, or anything else I didn't account for.

[vrenaewrites]

CRAVE by Tracy Wolff thoughts: Chapter 0 - 21

Full video here.

In which a mortal girls goes to her uncle’s boarding school after the death of her parents, and finds it full of creatures.

CH 0 for some reason: if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space

“Try my hardest not to freak the eff out” - if you’re gonna use expletives, use them

Immediate info dump of “if you’d told me two months ago i was gonna be in fairbanks alaska to get a puddle jumper to denali, the highest mountain point in north america” 

CH 1: landing is just throwing yourself to the ground and hoping you don’t miss

I thought these quotes were weird self help quotes but then i realized they were probably the chapter titles

The fog is referred to as “civil twilight” - this weirded me out because civil blood and twilight, idk if this is a real thing? Will look it up if i remember: it is the brightest of the 3 twilight phases and it is ABUNDANTLY clear that she added the civil part to not make it straight up twilight because this book is unwitting twilight satire

He tells her it’s a short runway “because it’s hard to keep a long one clear of snow or ice for any amount of time” HE’S IN THE MIDDLE OF LANDING A PLANE ATM BRO WE DON’T NEED ALL OF THAT INFO ATM

Grace is kind of funny if not a little cheesy

“Textbook landing” - maybe if that textbook is a horror novel he’s reading upside down and backwards - i don’t know if by listening to this i’m missing the line breaks and short sentences that would make this funny, so if i am lemme know but if she didn’t break this up it’s clunky

Her uncle is headmaster of the boarding school she’s being sent to

“Despite being a year younger than my own 17 years” - did you not read this out loud? Did no one hear how redundant that was?

“According to wikipedia, heeley - hailey? - has only one major road” she’s mentioned google and wikipedia at this point and idk if i’m the only one who finds that type of thing annoying af

“In weather that’s 20 degrees below freezing, if the app on my phone can be believed” THIS IS SO ANNOYING

“The insulated helmet will keep you warm as well as protect your head if we crash” yes macy we know what helmets are and also insulation, again the redundancy

CH 2: Just because you live in a tower doesn’t make you a prince

“Is that kadmere academy?” i shout - not, is that it? They’re on a snowmobile, with helmets on, and macy understood her...and she understood macy saying they’d be there in five minutes

She couldn’t google the academy

“I half expected quasimodo to be waiting for us when we got there”

It may be a castle but at least there’s no moat or dragon

Macy has short rainbow-colored hair

She’s wikipedia’d and googled her life away but didn’t expect to not be able to breathe since she’s coming from sea level and is now up in the mountains - i’m from florida and even i know what altitude sickness is

She sees a flash of red in the window “i don’t know who it is or why they even matter” ...what does that mean?

But she doesn’t see them when she looks back and she’s disappointed, which she acknowledges makes no sense…

“I should be bowing and scraping right about now”

It’s a castle with an xbox and giant flat screen, and they have wifi AND cell service up in the desolate mountains. I went to cossayuna - 476 feet above sea level, 7 miles from a town - and NONE of us had cell service the entire time

She picks up a chess piece and it’s a carved vampire, then a dragon

Then she comes face to face with the most intimidating guy i’ve ever seen, not just because he’s hot, there’s something different and powerful though i don’t have a clue what it is”

Face too intense to be beautiful, skyscraper cheekbones????, red lips, stone-cutting jaw, bottomless obsidian eyes, obscene lashes

Trapped by his stare, hypnotized by the sheer magnetism rolling off him in waves

“Annoyance flashes through me”

He’s blocking her view of anything else - did he step between her and the chess board?? Confusion, but because of this she has to look at his long lean body

“Double-wide shoulders” gross

“Nothing to do but admit that this boy is sexy AF - a little wicked, a lot wild, and all dangerous”

“Seriously, when exactly did i become the heroine of some YA romance? The new girl swooning over the hottest, most unattainable boy in school?”

CH 3: vampire queens aren’t the only ones with a nasty bite

He quotes hamlet to her, and she corrects him for fucks sake

“I warned your uncle you wouldn’t be safe here, but he obviously doesn’t like you much”

“Welcome to alaska?” “more like welcome to hell, now get the fuck out”

“Ignoring the pterodactyls flying around in my stomach” - this is a great line if it didn’t take you completely out of the action, which it does

This whole exchange about big bad monsters is soooooo fucking cliche

And he’s talking about the chess pieces the whole time????? Am confusion.

She’s so horny for this insane man screaming at her and cornering her

She says she’s lost everything that matters and he changes, his agony visible behind “layers and layers of defenses he’s erected”

It’s calling to her own agony

They're soooo connected and staring at each other

He pulls on one of her curls and it makes her super horny

“Five minutes ago he was being a total douche to me”

Pushing him is like pushing a wall of granite

He’s got a scar down half his face that she didn’t notice until now????

“A fallen angel with a bad boy vibe for miles”

She’s touching his scar…

“I don’t understand you”

AND SHE QUOTES HIM QUOTING HAMLET IN RESPONSE

CH 4: shining armor is so last century

“Mr. tall dark and surly” would be more snarky and cute if she didn’t just have an ~earth-shattering moment of connection~ with him over their agony or w/e

Some weird instinct i don’t understand tells me not to mention that guy - the amount of times this girl has acknowledged something she doesn’t understand is so redundant and weird.

She keeps referring to the guy she spent half the last chapter basically falling in insta-love with as “tall dark and surly” as if that didn’t happen, as if he was just a dick and then he left without all the insta-love shit

Uncle finn and flint is a student...couldn’t pick any other name?

“A smile in his eyes that’s as different from the other guy’s iciness as the stars just outside the windows are from the endless midnight blue of the sky” and i’ve fallen asleep while she was spinning this long unending heavy-handed metaphor

His eyes blaze with sympathy

He offers to give her a piggyback up the stairs…

“You’re so little i won’t even notice” not lyk other girls guyz

Four guys open the door and they’re all sexy AF, tall dark and surly is among them ofc

“I couldn’t help but wonder why the icy guy made me hot and the one lending me his warmth left me cold” WE GET IT WE FUCKING GET IT WE DIDN’T NEED YOU TO SPELL OUT THE ALLUSION

“I want a name to go with his insane body and even more insane face”

CH 5: things hot pink and harry styles have in common

Macy is a cinnamon roll i love her

His name is JAXON VEGA...JAXON. G2G

Macy was so nice to her that she finally starts crying because macy is the BEST

Grace puts on a harry styles t-shirt and macy is dancing around to watermelon sugar when she comes back. This book already feels dated and it came out last month

CH 6: no i don’t really want to build a snowman

She wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about jaxon and almost has a panic attack

I hope in the actual book there is a tw for panic attacks because when i see / read about the symptoms of one or a description of one it triggers one for me

She goes exploring the castle in the dark to avoid the attack

Some guys come in wearing like concert tees and ripped jeans and she wonders if they’re ghosts, like how hogwarts has ghosts

I could swear he was sniffing me which was totally bizarre and not ghostlike behavior at all - this was cringe except i was listening to it at like 2x speed so when you hear it fast it’s actually funny

The guys corner her

They say something like “show us what you can do” and they seem to smell something about her…? They’re werewolves maybe??

CH 7: Something really freaking wicked this way comes

Hate these titles sfm

“With my thin california blood, i won’t last in the snow”

Jaxon saved her ofc and makes the guys apologize

“The moon is doing its thing” they’re totally werewolves

She thanks him and he’s like “i just made you a pawn in a game” and she’s like dude what but he’s staring at her and it’s making her hot and bothered

He wipes blood of her bottom lip and sucks it off and she finds it SUPER sexy

“This isn’t like your old high school”

He whispers in her ear “you have no idea what i know” and i’m like..okay dis kinda hot or whatever

She wonders when she’ll see him again and why it matters so much to her - bitch because he makes you horny!!!! Just say that!!!!!!

CH 8: Live and let die

It’s at this point that i stopped for the first round, and i had to ask: why the FUCK didn’t macy or the headmaster tell grace that this was a school for - obviously - vampires and werewolves? Is macy one? Is it genetic? Grace is a mortal according to the back of the book.

Grace tells macy what happened minus jax

She mentions to macy the boys didn’t have cold weather gear on and macy’s like hmmm weird idk anything about that

And they’re going to a party tonight and grace is like i don’t wear makeup i only own makeup and lip gloss and i’m like...did i accidentally re-download AFTER because here we go with the NLOG syndrome

The party is a welcome party for grace - and it’s actually a high tea??? Tf?

“I’d die without netflix”

“Have you seen this show legacies? It’s about a bunch of supernatural creatures that go to a boarding school! Isn’t that silly??!”

And then macy says, “who can resist a hot vampire?”

Guys….are we SURE this isn’t satire?

“I can’t help remembering what those guys said about the moon doing its thing when i see the werewolf on the show…”

CH 9: Even hell has its factions

Omg her dress is showing off too much of her big boobs, maybe the jeans she originally wanted to wear will be better

Macy calls her beautiful and then we get a full “with my curly hair and freckles and this color eyes i’m so not beautiful, i’m wallpaper next to macy”

“We could be fashionably absent” lol

The beads on the door don’t shock grace but they shock everyone because she is NOT LIKE OTHER GIIIIIIIIRLS

This castle is goth chic baybeeeeee the light fixtures are downturned thorny black roses where can i cop these

“The pterodactyls in my stomach are now butterflies”

She says FML. did a 50 year old woman write this. Edit: i looked, i cannot find how old this author is

Velvet wallpaper, wall sconces shaped like dragons, LET ME IN

“Self-imposed isolation” lol little did she know what a phrase in the lexicon this would become in 2020

Cliques include muscular people near the windows, soft flowery delicate people in the back of the room which are macy’s friends, super-tall literally hot people in the middle, and the black-or-white money people that seem to be more formal

She says “basketball anyone??” re the tall people lol

I am going to guess: werewolves, witches, dragons??, and vampires

Macy keeps having coughing fits?

Hot redhead - simone, hot dark girl - lily, hot asian girl - gwen

“Simone’s just bitter all the guys are looking at you”

Grace loves dr. pepper so i fuck with her

Macy’s boyfriend is cam and his friend is james, who looks at her like she is food?

“I’m just not that interesting”

CH 10: turns out, the devil wears gucci

Would i have probably picked this title as well? Yes. did it make me cringe nonetheless? Fer shure.

“Do i need some jerk trying to make me his afternoon snack?” huh???? As far as you know these are normal boys...make it make sense

Jaxon makes his ENTRAAAANCE BABY

Dressed all in gucci black - she can tell from across the goddamn room

“Jaxon is anything but regular, anything but ordinary, even here among the blatantly extraordinary”

Icy blank stare soooooo much

She calls his voice low wicked and wild

She can’t stop thinking about “running my tongue over the perfect bow of his upper lip, dragging is lower lip between my teeth”

Idk where these thoughts are coming from!!!! Baby you 17 c’mon now

I try to think of anything else, snow!

She takes a drink and it goes down the wrong pipe lmaoooo

“At least if i find a bathroom i can die in peace” lol

But he touches her and she stops choking and she’s like “he couldn’t have stopped that, i know, but…”

He stares at her as he bites the strawberry and she takes it as a threat

CH 11: in the library, no one can hear you scream

“His moods change more quickly than my bffs instafeed” I -

Oh so NOW she’ll say “the fuck you in his eyes” but she was saying freaking and eff before...did her publisher tell her only x amount of fucks per book?

She goes into the library and her body is like RUN, but she ignores it…

There are beautiful gargoyles and ornate shelves and...stickers fucking everywhere?

The gargoyle is pointing to an secret room that says students needs permission, but she hears chanting and decides to check it out since it might be one of the native languages spoken in alaskaaaaaaaaaa

“Especially because some of them only have less than 4,000 speakers left in the world” okay gracie-pedia tf?

CH 12: it’s all fun and games until someone loses their life

She meets a girl named Leah - who was the one chanting

Okay but i do fuck with the horror movie quote pillows…

Damn leah’s boyfriend died…

“Tea from homemade leaves” again...read this out loud before you put it in a published novel...do you mean loose leaves? Do you mean homegrown leaves?

Is she gonna poison her????

“What do you guys have to lie about that’s so important?” “Everything”

CH 13: just bite me

“Lol jk”

“Finish your drink” BITCH IT’S POISON

Macy and leah are being soooo weird about what could have happened to grace on her own

Apparently leah is super popular and secretive so it’s weird she took to grace so fast - is this a NLOG sitch or a “come into my web little fly” sitch?

She pukes because of “altitude sickness” aka poisoning i bet

CH 14: knock knock knocking on death’s door

This theme of bastardization of guns and roses songs is really....something.

Grace takes a mental health day because she’s still feeling weird

Flint comes to check on her and invite her to a snowball fight…?

If your character’s name is grace, i feel like you can’t use gracefully as an adjective, the same way you wouldn’t say Rue said something ruefully.

Flint kisses her cheek and i’m already waiting for this Great Value Edward/Jacob triangle

But he makes her feel ~nothing~ compared to jaxon

CH 15: so hell actually can freeze over

Macy likes flint, uh-oh

But the different groups don’t mix

“What is this, mean girls alaska edition?” - stfu

Omg her uncle checks on her and he reminds her of her dad and :(

We get sooooooo much detail about how to dress to go out into the wilderness...here is one thing i was able to find out: tracy wolff lives in texas. So i feel like she did ALL this research and then was like y’all gonna LEARN ABOUT THIS I SPENT TOO MUCH TIME!

As a girl who has never ever seen snow, i felt this fascination

She finds a gnarled up weird tree guarding a trail

“A weird sense that i should turn around - like the feeling in the library - came over me but i knew i was just being silly”

The lack of survival instinct henny

She comes across a gazebo where leah and jaxon are sitting

CH 16: sometimes keeping your enemies close is the only thing that prevents hypothermia

That’s not a chapter title, it’s an entire sentence…

Ooh they’re having an angry, intimate convo

And leah slaps him!!

“They’re looking at me like they’re the predators and i’m the prey they can’t wait to sink their teeth into” we get it, first of all. Second of all, what is with the long-winded metaphors

“Every time i catch sight of him i feel something tug at me i can’t identify, something i have no ability to explain” it’s horniness.

Then she just leaves but he catches up to her

With his sexy af hair blowing

“Trying to run away from all the thing he makes me feel when really i just want to grab on to him and hold on tight” - so what is the truth?! You keep acting like you don’t know what the feeling is but clearly, YOU DO.

“Everyone answers to me, eventually.” - we found the line used in the adverts guys!

Oh my god, what an asshat. Asshole, i would have laughed. Asshat is stupid.

It’s annoying af

Doing my best dory impression: just keep walking

“Making friends with a dr - a guy like flint” CALLED IT, he’s a dragon

Leah’s boyfriend was jaxon’s brother

Neither leah nor jaxon was wearing a jacket. BOOM

CH 17: it’s discretion, not diamonds, that’s a girl’s best friend

Not only cringe but grammatically incorrect…she coulda just said “discretion is a girl’s best friend” and we woulda got the reference….

Grace mentions jaxon in front of macy and she’s supes weird and grace is FINALLY like wtf is the secret you’re hiding from me

“She looks at me like i’m a few snowflakes short of a snowball” SOMEONE. READ THIS OUT LOUD. WHERE IS HER EDITOR I JUST WANNA TALK.

The order?! “Just a nickname for the popular boys” bullSHIT

Macy FREAKS OUT when she realizes grace has been alone with jaxon

She says he was interesting and “macy looks at me like i said i wanted to bodysurf the alaskan tundra”

Macy “We’re talking about jaxon right? Arrogance of a rock star?”

She didn’t mention “the scar that turns him from to pretty sexy af, and scary af”

“He’s not the one who tried to kill me” “you’ve only been here a few days, give it time” get her MACY!

HE WAS LISTENING!!!!

CH 18: how many hot guys does it take to win a snowball fight?

Ooh jaxon mad that grace is going to flint’s snowball fight

“His breath is so warm and soft that i can feel it everywhere, even deep inside” okay you horny bitch!!!!! Was this cringe or did i like it or both?

“The orange and dark water scent of him” ...what? Dark water is a cologne? Or does she literally mean like the dark water of the ocean? What in confusion

Her throat is always tight and dry around him, all the time, every day

Flint pops up and he is wearing a dragon beanie…

The rest of the order shows up and “For the first time the phrase got your back makes sense” to grace...are you kidding me? You never understood a very simple common phrase til now? Sure jan

SEXUAL TRIANGLE TENSIOOOOOOOOON

But she only has eyes for Jaxon...they both reach to touch each other.

“Grace” it’s barely a whisper but i feel it all the way inside myself BITCH

“Something tells me this boy and his world famous disappearing act is going to be the death of me”

CH 19: we came, we fought, i froze

Civil twilight AGAIN.

“I didn’t think screwed up and obnoxious was your type” me-OW

The snowball fight happens

Sounds like fun, the designer faction isn’t there

“Did she just do parkour against that tree?” re: Macy so close to being funny. I did exhale through my nose. Then “did you just parkour that tree?” i DID laugh

Flint climbs the tree with grace over his shoulder ‘like spider man’ and all i can think is “you better hold on tight spider monkey”

The wind is so strong it knocks her out of the tree…

CH 20: there’s never a parachute around when you need one

Flint catches her in mid-air...this man… #teamflint2020

“You’re heavier than you look” dead

He has shame in his eyes? Why?

Because JAXON IS THERE AND HE IS MAD!

And flint is SUPER MAD!!!!!!!

Jaxon puts himself between grace and flint so grace can’t touch flint

“Can i just say i’m feeling a lot like alice in wonderland here? Things get curiouser and curiouser.” stfu

I was laughing because she was like “so much for fitting in, now i might as well be painted biohazard orange” but then she said fml. Stfu

Jaxon picks her up

CH 21: I like standing on my own two feet, but getting swept off them feels surprisingly good, too

If it takes up more than one line of a google docs page IT’S NOT A FUCKING CHAPTER TITLE!!!!!

Ooh and his arms feel really good around her, REALLY good

Now he smells like orange and snow and it’s making her crazy

Macy looks at them like she’s getting punk’d

“Grace.” “what?” “shut up.” i’m dead

“I sprained my ankle, i’m not dying of consumption” “yeah well, the night is young” this made me lol despite it being more of macy’s voice than jaxon’s

Jaxon is blaming grace for falling? “You don’t see macy falling out of her tree” is he negging her rn?

She’s called him super-sexy twice in a paragraph

Macy goes to get ice bc she’s scared of Jaxon and grace says, “Et tu, brute?” lmaooo

“I can do it myself” “maybe i wanna do it for you” and macy squeaks LMAO

His scar makes his smile a crooked little smirk...who else had a crooked smirk...the vampire this is 1000% based on, maybe?

“I find myself relaxing despite myself” guys. Reading is power. Read your work out loud so you can hear when you use the same word twice in a sentence, like this.

“My whole body lights up like the aurora borealis i’m still dying to see”

They almost kiss but don’t bc macy comes back

~~~

[ballads-and-dirges]

𝖡𝖤𝖥𝖮𝖱𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖳𝖮𝖱𝖬 (𝖲𝖳𝖮𝖱𝖬𝖡𝖫𝖮𝖮𝖣)

ᴹⁱⁿⁱ ᵂᵒˡᴹᵉʳⁱᶜ ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ ᴾᵗ. ᴵ

ᴷᵃᵈᴹᵉʳⁱᶜ ᴹⁱⁿⁱ ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ ᴾᵗ. ᴵ ᴾᵗ. ᴵᴵ ᴾᵗ. ᴵᴵᴵ

ᵈᵉˢᶜ. ᵀʰᵉ ᵇᵃᵗᵗˡᵉ ᶠᵒʳ ᴬˡᵃ ᴹ'ʰⁱᵍᵒ'ˢ ˡⁱᵇᵉʳᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ ʷᵃˢ ⁿⁱᵍʰ. ᴮᵘᵗ ʰᵒʷ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ˢʰᵉ ᵍᵒ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵃᵗᵗˡᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰᵒᵘᵗ ˢᵖᵉᵃᵏⁱⁿᵍ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵃ ˢᵖᵉᶜⁱᵃˡ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵒⁿᵉ…

She was eager to make it to Porta Praetoria as all their allies were waiting for her and the Scions. Everyone was eager to turn the tides and finally put an end to the Garlean occupation. As she rode into the encampment on her trusted companion Torgal, with her battle weary chocobo, Lavitz, by their side, she was greeted with roars of applause. Everyone chants her name, eager to see Eorzea’s champion. Everyone is ready to be at her side, to share in the glory of being on the battlefield with the Warrior of Light. Dismounting from Torgal, she turns him and Lavitz over to the porter for their own safety and makes her way down to General Aldynn’s station where she’s greeted by every city-states overseer. Nanamo Ul Namo, Merlywyb, Kan-E-Senna… Aymeric.

“There she is. Our champion!” General Aldynn says as he gives her salute. She looks to him with a smile, feeling triumphant from her last victory of rescuing Krile along with the Scions. Looking to the others she salutes them as well while doing her best to not look at Aymeric too long. The two shared a secret that no one was aware of. For months, as she traveled across the many countries and cities of Gyr Abania, Othard, and Higanashi the two kept in contact through a linkshell he’d given her before she left Ishgard. “Call on me whenever and I will be there,” he said as he presented her the Link. She remembers the first time she called on him, locked away from the others, reeling from her first ever defeat at the hands of Zenos. He listened to her for hours as she cried, finally allowing someone to hear the darkest parts of her heart… of how the title as Hydaelyn’s chosen was so much… too much. For hours he listened, never once taking his attention from her. From that day they would check in with each other as often as possible. Even he felt comfortable baring his heart, lamenting on the responsibilities and duties that now fell into his lap. So finally seeing each other after all this time, Kadenza felt small… Not in a since that she felt lesser but this constant pang in her chest every time their eyes met? She’s felt this before.

As General Aldynn dismisses everyone, each overseer goes to their warriors directing them on what is to come, Kadenza can’t help that her eyes fall on a certain Elezen man. Raubahn had always been a man to notice the little things and he had an inkling that something was holding the attention of his comrade. Walking up to her he places a hand on his shoulder with a knowing smile. This causes her to flinch but he only lets out a boisterous laugh before leaning into her, “Go to him. This will be a hard fought battle. Enjoy a moment’s respite before then.” Her eyes widen as he takes a step back with a grin on his face, “Off now lass, we are in our final moments before battle. Make it count.”

Biting her lip in contemplation, she takes his words in then looks up to him with an appreciative smile, “I will. Thank you, Raubahn.” 

With that she trots off to find Aymeric, going to Lucia to see where he had gotten off to. With a knowing smirk, Lucia points to a secluded area in the encampment. Thanking her, she makes her way towards the area looking around confused before a gentle hand reaches out to grasp her own. Whipping around quickly she’s nearly blindsided as she’s pulled into strong arms. 

“How I’ve long to do this… You have gone through so much in the name of the Goddess. Pray tell me, how do you fare my Light?’ He finally pulls back leaving a small bit of space between them as he gazes into her eyes.

“I..” She feels the hairs on her neck standing in eagerness before returning the hug, rubbing her cheek against his chest, “I am better… now at least. Aymeric?”

“Yes, my Light?” He whispers as he rubs her back lovingly, taking in the moment. He’s been wanting to hold her and have her this close for so long. He knew his heart was pounding against his breast and that she could possibly hear it but that didn’t matter, “Speak to me.”

Pulling back so she could look him in the eyes, she gasps at how soft his gaze was. This causes her to bite her lip and close her eyes. She has to take a moment to compose herself before speaking, “This pang in my chest is familiar… I don’t know if it’s love yet but I know that there is something.” Opening her eyes, she looks into his doing her best not to shy away, “When this battle is won… I’d like to explore it… with you. I don’t want to have any regrets..”

Aymeric falters at the confession, his heart soaring and damn near bursting from his chest. Unable to hold himself back, he leans down to press a chaste kiss to her forehead before holding her tight, “Anything for you, my Light.”

[ballads-and-dirges]

ˢᵒᵐᵉᵒⁿᵉ ᵗᵒ ʰᵒˡᵈ.