#Lavinia adopt me

[ellilyre]

I finished ToA not long ago and I wanted to write down some thoughts/scenes that stick with me

(in chronological (ish) order, watch out for spoilers)

Theres an italian girl at camp ! It means Nico gets to practice and speak italian ! (which probably haven't happened in about 70 years)

Will introducing Nico as "my boyfriend". I already knew they would be canon, but reading that line felt weird /pos

Apollo sees Solangelo and think of himself and Hyacinth

That night when Kayla and Austin disappeared and Apollo left to look for them, it probably was the first night Will ever spent alone in his cabin

Apollo's insane body dysmorphia. He's a god, he can always take the physical form he is the most comfortable and confident in... Until now. He is stuck in a body that isn't his, he feels ashamed, when he sees certain traits in others he find them charming or pretty, but when it's on him then it's disgusting. He complain that everything is this body's fault (ex. he wouldn't have been touched by the Eurynomos if it wasn't for his chub.)(I could go on for hours)

Lityerses ! I love that guy. Idk why i love him that much. He is my best guy.

Apollo's reaction to Commodus' name. His flashback of him. So painful he was physically sick.

Apollo talking Helios out of killing them, because he just want to be free, not to hurt them.

APOLLO ATTEMPT TO KHS TO STOP THEM ?? IM A SUCKER FOR SOME GOOD PAINFUL SELF SACRIFICE.

Jason. I'm not talking about Jason. I can't speak about Jason.

Frank and Apollo ! They are so fond of each other !!!

Apollo heard all of Frank's prayers when he was unclaimed and wished he could've adopted him.

And Frank respecting Apollo as a god although he is *vaguely gesture at Apollo/Lester*

Reyna saying aloud that she doesn't want nor needs romance. It's so rare to see aromantic representation and Rick did it so well.

Literally Apollo singing his way out of situations.

FRANK'S SELF SACRIFICE!!! (He already had one of my favorite character development before that)

APOLLO KILLING COMMODUS ??? why do never talk about that it's one of the best deaths I've ever seen that was BADASS AND FULL OF EMOTIONS.

Apollo slowly dying out of poison and the Dodona Arrow doing everything it can to keep him conscious.

I hope Dakota didn't get killed off just to give Lavinia the role of Centurion. I love my boy Dakota, and his death felt kind of meaningless, except for her rank up :/ also i feel like it doesn't suit Lavinia. Some ppl are strong and good and trustable but just not made to order others. (ill prop make a full post about that)

Dionysos confirmed to be an annoying little brother!

Nico. How does Rick manage to always give him more issues. Leave the kid alone.

When Will glows, Apollo is genuinely impressed and tells him how proud he is.

Nico destroying Nero's door with his giant zombie bull. That was cool.

When Apollo gets stabbed in Nero's tower and think it's the end, he prays "Zeus, Artemis, Leto, anyone"

And in general the few parts he talks about Leto, he's such a momma's boy and I love it.

When Apollo left for Delphi... I was fully expecting Meg to go with him. I was so worried that he went alone while already feeling that weakened from the previous events.

DODONA ARROW. FOREVER IN MY HEART.

Artemis is here when Apollo wakes up. She's by his side, she's the first person to tell him he succeeded, she hold him while he sobs...

The first thing he does is to greet his horses :) and then to see his friends.

When he gets back to the Dodona bush ! To tell them all how brave and heroic the Arrow have been !

I could spend hours talking about the character developments of Apollo, Meg and the Dodona Arrow (i love the arrow so much you have no idea) but its for another day

There's many things I didn't talk about, but the post is already long enough. I love those 5 books, and Apollo is an amazing narrator.

I love the Arrow of Dodona with all my heart.

[windmaedchen-oceanhorn]

Knight of the Dark

Epilogue

This chapter has 1.900 words.

"Hey! I am so sorry for being late. The General... he just didn't want to listen to reason and stop work when he should, so it took me a bit of convincing today."

Valen stopped himself from enthusiastically running into the bar counter and panted for a bit helplessly instead. He had just sprinted all the way from the Heroic Order into the Traveler's Light to make sure he wasn't missing out on this dinner. It's been nearly a month since the incident in the capital and in the last couple of days Lavinia had been around to have a look at Holistone. Today was her last day and he hoped to hear her decision. She looked back at him with a somewhat questioning smile. 
 "Is that so? Or did he try to make you finish your reports from yesterday?"

Valen raised his hands in not so mocked defence, for he had actually been finished in time today.

"All done and dusted an hour ago! I am telling you seriously, sometimes you need to force his well-being onto the General, or else he'd never get it."

Lavinia relented willingly and readjusted her position on the bar stool. "Alright, alright. I do take your word for it. So, first dinner was on you, last one will be on me. What will you have?"

Of course, Valen did consider the possibility that she meant the last dinner during her visit, but he was too curious not to try and get it out of her as soon as possible. 

"What do you mean 'last one'? Are you not coming to join us here? I was really hoping you would..." 

He added a bit of disappointment to his expression for good measure. She reacted with a slight shake of the head.

"No, Valen, not the 'last dinner' ever. I just meant for now. I do have to go back to the capital tomorrow."

Since that didn't work straight away, Valen now leaned onto the counter adopting a more suave look.

"And you'll be back next week, right?"

Lavinia chuckled and again, shook her head. She placed her hands on the counter and thoughtfully moved her fingers over the wood. He could tell that while she clearly did not refuse a transfer to Holistone, there were concerns on her mind that prevented her from being enthusiastic about joining them here. And he completely understood. He did want to help her recover but if she didn't come here, he could not do as much as he would like. That's why he tried to convince her to resume service here in Holistone.

"I've already organised your room, it'll be ready for you in no time."

"Valen..." she sighed.

"The General's got your schedule nearly done, too, and you'll be doing some fantastic patrol shifts with me!", he added as he moved a tad closer.  Since he was not trying to hide his intention anymore, he threw in a compliment as well. 

"Holistone's going to be an even better place with you now than what it became since I got here."

Lavinia inhaled abruptly and then buried her face in her hands with a shaky groan. She quickly turned around to face him, finally nodding her head rather than shaking it.

"Oh, alright. I'll be back. You're insufferable being inquisitive like that."

She suppressed a chuckle and turned away again. Valen ignored her little jab and spread his arms in salvation and sighed thankfully. 

"Ah, it was very well worth my efforts. I can't wait to see you in uniform. Since that would mark the fulfilment of all our dreams, we should make sure to celebrate accordingly. How about we have the General join, too? We could throw an entire evening at the--"

He had to stop talking suddenly because Lavinia's hand covered his lower face for a moment but he continued to chuckle a little.

"Stop it, you are getting way ahead of yourself. I am not even here yet and you already think about the socializing. Besides, I really am not in the mental state at the moment to enjoy all of that the same way you do. You're the only one I can tolerate right now, so please, no party or anything like that."

He knew that. He certainly wasn't unable to read other's emotions and he wouldn't seriously bring her or anyone into a situation they did not appreciate. But he noticed that him treating her a little over the top did do her good, even if she didn't want to admit that.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I shall not do that. But I might get a nice slice of cake from the bakery to leave on your night table as a welcome gift."

Lavinia gave him a grateful nod and sighed visibly relieved. She accepted that cake so easily, maybe he should throw in a welcome card and some flowers, too? The more distracted she was from her worries, the better. 

When the barmaid ran past them, Valen quickly caught her attention and they managed to make their order. The moment the barmaid was gone again, Lavinia continued to ponder.

"I think I am ready for whatever awaits me here, but I do wonder one thing: how does the General cope with you and your mouth?" Lavinia taunted.

"Very well, I would say. It's been of great use to him, like me convincing you to stay."

He wasn't so easily offended.

"Well, that's--  true, I suppose."

"There, you see? And it not only worked, but you like it, too."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do."

Lavinia chuckled in defeat and ran her hand through her hair to collect herself.

"Gah! Maybe a little. I am hungry, hope food's coming soon!"

"Agreed! That's our second dinner and according to my inner 'guide to being a gentleman' that's gotta be on me."

Lavinia raised her finger at him and gave him a wink. 

"Too late, I already made a payment in advance. Since I have an inkling that we might be enjoying after-work dinners together regularly from now on, I decided to settle my debt before you can object."

"Ah, it'll be a double slice of cake for you then."

Valen answered easily. She would never get away from being spoiled a little bit. He just loved riling her up a little as much now as he thought it was funny back then.

"Safe your money to spoil the right people."

"You are a right person. In fact, I have missed out on the last 10 years of spoiling to do, so I gotta catch up."

Lavinia buried her face in her hands once more, chuckling in despair.

"Ugh, what shall I do with you? Please tell me you don't intend on showering me with your ... err, comments on duty as well? I will be forced to give you the cold shoulder, you know that."

"Yes, but as long as I can see you smile about it, I will do so. It amuses you, so you can surely give me that much credit? Hm?"

Lavinia clearly couldn't help the broad smile on her lips, even though she tried hard to compose herself. 

"Yeah. You're good at that, I suppose. I would have kicked you in the legs and ran away a long time ago if I didn't find your presence amusing, trust me. I don't think I can forget the darkness so quickly, but with you around at least I have plenty of distraction."

Valen was pleased to hear it. He leaned forward and wiggled his eyebrows as he had one more thing to say.

"You will have much more distraction from the rest of the guys than from me, I can tell you that. But no worries, I will keep you updated about the various bets going on in the background of who'll woo you first."

Lavinia threw her hands over her face in playful agony and moaned.

"Oh by Dura's name. I have neither time nor mind for such things right now. If this wasn't preferable over ... whatever else I would do... I would not do it."

She sighed again, shielding her eyes with her hand once more. Then she turned around to Valen and her sudden sly expression surprised him.

"To make this a fair game, I should let you know that a list of suitable partners for you has been created and approved by your colleagues as well. How about the two of us get some bets going on who's settled first? 

"Ha!"

Now it was her turn to make him chuckle and sweat in despair. He knew very well that she wasn't that serious, as neither was he, but topics about serious romance that included him were just a tad uncomfortable, still. Time to change the subject.

"Speaking about settling down... do send me a message before you arrive next week. Your room is sorted, I was serious about that. I can come round with another pair of strong hands if you have anything heavy to carry."

"Oh, that with the room works out?" Lavinia became serious in an instant. "Then, yes, I shall make sure to send you a message. I won't have much to bring, though, so I don't think I need any help."

Thankfully Lavinia did not insist on the previous topic and drinks arriving just at the same time, helped to divert the attention away from the teasing. After Valen bantered for a moment with Lavinia about the split percentage of future dinners, they moved on to a more relaxed conversation for the rest of the evening until it was time to part.

As he wasn't going to see her the next day to say goodbye, he decided to pull Lavinia into a hug when they stood outside the tavern. He knew that she'd probably resist because such tender gestures always provoked her tough and invulnerable side. But his agenda was to force her well-being onto her as much as the General's onto him, so when she did try to wiggle herself out of his embrace, he just squeezed her even tighter.

"Urgh, Va-len, pleeease."

"Alright, alright, lass. Now, do give my regards to your mother and stay out of trouble until next week, okay?"

When he finally let her go, her flustered reaction produced a big grin on his face. She sighed and adopted a defensive stance when she responded as if to warn him of her planned resistance in future events like that.

"Will do. Now, get some rest, you're on duty tomorrow."

"Hey, I always sleep like a baby, no need to worry. Take care, Lavi, and see you soon!"

"Yeah, see you soon."

Lavinia lifted her hand for a faint wave and after a thankful smile, she turned around to walk to her guesthouse. Valen began to move in the opposite direction towards his flat, but he did look back on occasion to see her disappear behind a street corner.

He felt glad that they had met once more and that their goodbyes were now within their control. He wasn't afraid to never see her again this time. In fact, they would be seeing a whole lot of each other and he couldn't wait for next week to come. Valen wasn't too sure what to expect from the future but one thing he was certain about: Lavinia was going to be serious competition and he had to make sure he was ready to be a worthy match for her.

[yohohonabottle]

"Whoops! Wrong universe!" -Draft/'spitball'

Like with the previous post, this is more of a quickpost where I throw in my thoughts! May most likely flesh it out later into an actual oneshot fic. However I may need more info on Lavi so I can do her proper justice! Comments are welcomed and encouraged both on this + that future post! (As always) |> Prompt: Temporarily swaps universes with.... Lavinia @windmaedchen The wheel has spoketh once more, which is a funny turn of events since yesterday it said that Pirin adopted Lavi... And now they swap universes. ----------------------------------------------------

I'm going to outline two routes this could occur: 1) Literally. Pirin's universe is now Lavi's (temporarily) and vice versa. 2) 'Seats' - Pirin finds himself in Lavi's universe, in her place & vice versa.

In case A,

then Lavi will suddenly find herself as...basically the technical administrator/overseer of that universe. With Pirin's powers (see my Paragon lore post) but without the negatives because she's not an Esperia 'Actor*' (*Actor = Character)...or isn't somehow clocked in as one, more like a Moon* (*Moon = Character that holds little to no significant influence on the world and its functions compared to the Sun* of it.) so she can do whatever she wants, really. Explore? Yup. Observe from the sidelines? Mhm. Monitor and oversee it? Absolutely. Or go back home.

Dame Lavinia will also, most likely encounter my lore in the form of Valen noting she's not from around here. And that would lead him to filling her in on the Meta premise that's intrinsically interwoven into this universe...if not practically laden at its very core. Which would inevitably lead to the knight mentioning his Dove (Pirin) and the whole-- —"So we have this race...more like had, it's a really long history, trust me and it's a whole 'nother beast-- That are immortal wandering spirits. Also endlessly go through death-rebirth. Again, very heavily simplifying here, but this is preetty much the gist of it."

Aand that's how Lavi comes to know of my bat boye + his role within this universe outside of being Merlin & how he became 'Merlin'. Poor gal will also discover that this Valen... isn't her Valen. Her (future hubby, I'm guessing?) man, nor has feelings for her outside of platonic strictly and empty teasing flirting...which really is just him being playful and means nothing. But definitely makes sure she's okay!/Looks out for her, as he looks out for his friends and teammates! Also helps her understand things better and most likely 99% of the time uses analogies/explanations that Pirin has given....otherwise he'd just end up muddling the waters and confused poor dame soo much more. (His explaining really is like his writing- haphazard in the sense of rushed and jumbled all over the place with little to no structure, plus terms/phrases only he understands for himself. And the bat sort of dumbs it down in a way the other party can understand plus on a 'language' the other person gets. Like how when he was explaining things to Soren, a Mauler who doesn't understand subtle and flowery stuff + nerdy academic 'bs', Pirin basically leveled it to 'caveman unga-bunga' layman's words without being condescending/patronizing.) On top of that Val will make sure to find a way to help Lavi return back home and wish her the best for her, her Valen, and their kiddo. —"Oh and, can you tell that version of me to not put off tasks? Tell him: "It's really not fun having to deal with staggering mountains of paperwork on short-notice crunch. It won't become less boring two days later. Sit down and get it done right away, tidy your desk- And don't procrastinate! Pearl of wisdom from yours truly, smarter self." Thanks, Lavi!" And the rest of that time, however much Lavinia has left being in Pirin's universe, is likely spent just casually hanging out.

You bet Valen would introduce her to his squad-mates of the main team (Soren, Sinbad, Ludovic ....and Berial, unfortunately.), and to DnD! Ludovic or Soren will be the DM of that session/reall short & simple campaign, and the team having fun with Lavi. Plus a way to help integrate into their merry, chaotic lot and relax. Berial is still a brat here, but actually minds his manners, pranks and actions on account of Pirin (his Batman, frenemy). And definitely, awkwardly makes amends for his other self's terribly godawful misconduct to Lavi as best he can...or at least tries to anyways. Ironically Lavinia's story/past/experiences* remind him sooo much of his Batman, that he accidentally gets wee protective over her.

*(In this universe both Celestials and Hypogeans can sense a person's + other Cel/Hypo's inner stuff, without even prying. Thoughts, feelings, intents, hopes, fears, pains, desires from most superficial and trivial to deepest and most secretly coveted, dreams and fears, vague snippets of memories, etc. Plus hear and see those things, again, without delving deliberately in others' heads and hearts. It's just how they naturally are. However if Berial -since he's in here, I'll use him as example- actively focuses on her memories like zooming in on a gif thumbnail, or any of the other things, THEN he'd be actually prying and invading.) Which he doesn't, but just those glimpses are enough for the Jester.

At some point Berial might actually level with Lavi, serious talk without clown nonsense, and remark that. Sounds offhanded, but is more.. reminiscing, pensive. No malice in any form, which I can see shocking Lavi a lot. This version of the disgusting terrible and sadistic evil menace of clown. (Likely after their group round(s) of DnD and other games like Century Quest, card duels, Genius Invocation TCG -no you can't escape it here either. Someone happened to sneak that card game into AFKJ- Non hazard Black-Jack, and others including Never have I ever.) It's like a whiplash-- this civil, amicable Berial who is still a nuisance most of the time but knows when to get serious; and does, ditching the bravado even if for just a brief moment. The Hypogean isn't a saint nor hero, obviously, and isn't trying or pretending and claiming to be either. But he's got his moments of... helpfulness. Not evil bastard 10000% of the time. —"....You know, I'll be truthful and level with you for a moment. You remind me of Vanyusha, a lot, actually." Pause of contemplation, lost in his own thoughts, mutters ''I wonder what trouble he's gotten dragged into this time.. ....hm. Put a pin on this. I'll dig into it later." And then turn back her with his signature wide grin.. except it has an air of fondness, amusement to it. His tone is oddly serene almost as he notes to her-

—"You two will get along just fine by the way. Don't be surprised if he takes one glance at you and get like a mother hen, heheh.

We actually have an inside joke in the team, running gag, that Pirin is the Mather all across the board. From cradling the world itself, its people-- To his mish-mash of teammates." Maybe sensed/senses Lavi's confusion or other inner things that prompt him to share some of his own memories of this bat. How he came to Favor/Respect him (Clown's reminiscing moment, where he pranked Merlin), how that man shoved him right into his place (without being graphic or long-winded), all stories kept simple and brief. Plus sort of very quickly note this tid-bit about the nature of Celestials, gods and Hypogeans, with the reassurance that no, he will not delve in her inner working unless strictly given the green-light. A way of letting Lavi know she's got control and agency by calling the shots.

Plus, after that somber talk, throw in a bit humor/silly jokes to lighten the mood. --Meanwhile on the other end of scenario A--

And Pirin, in Lavi's universe, is just an Actor. Or heck! Just...Pirin, nothing more, nothing less.

Doesn't have his Moon status as it's not his to oversee. And likely this Esperia doesn't have a Sun and Moon, nor the concepts of it. No Meta-knowledge, 4th wall breaks, not a whiff of Multiverse antics (this could very easily be played off/explained as Reinier being at his symmetry tomfoolery again like he was with Talene and Dura's + Misarte's statues. Or hell! Even Merlin being a petty lil shaite again or spell goes wrong--Anything, go wild!), just....This world, it's established structures and lore, inhabitants, and Merlin. Like being in-game, closely follows cannon. Lavinia and her being a knight, plus her relations in this world is just standard stuff.

Like how we Players don't bat an eye much to the NPC's lives./ The lives of NPC's aren't so often pulled to the very fore front and center like with playable characters, even if they're involved in the quest. For example, in the questline -- Brineville had its moments of shining more than the rest of the world...But the focus and emphasis was still very obviously on the main cast of the season plotline and their antics, Merlin doesn't need mentioning as it's a given. -> (Finch's assumptions here! Very heavy speculations! I could be wrong!) <-

But everything's so alien to him, even if it technically is the same. (Like how twins look strikingly similar, possibly even sound so- But aren't the same person. The subtleties or apparent signs are there.) So I see him be wary and thread cautiously, trying to avoid running into anyone in fear of causing damage as an anomaly -something that's not supposed to be there. Doesn't belong here.

(Vanya can still, however, call upon his Sun.)

For once, Pirin can just... exist and be whatever. No history outside the established Immortal and Divine wars. He's just an eccentrically dressed, odd Wilder/Mauler guy who could be half-Lightbearer for all people care. And Pirin inevitably runs into Lavinia's Valen, who's just worried-sick and frantic in searching high and low for her.

And because this 'tiny' man is a sweetheart (His quote from Bear's sin sums him up best: 'I don't want anyone to suffer in the ways I have.'), he'll cave in and break his own 'rules' for this ''trip''. The 'don't interfere, affect this universe.' rule. Goes up to Valen, and after a very short-simple introduction of himself, tells the man of what happened.

"I'm not sure if Reinier is behind this, or whose spell went haywire...or if Merlin, my Boss in that realm, messed up something.. But I'm sure that your maiden is safe and well." (A little hurt that Valen doesn't seem to know, recognize, him at first nor sees that twinkle in his lilac eyes he knows... but notes to himself that this is a different Esperia, and this Valen is not his Noble Knight.) Cue a very quick lightning round of explaining some parts of time and space nonsense, plus how things are back in his universe.

"With this in mind, I'm starting to suspect either Merlin or my Sun are responsible for the mix-up. My team has likely already gotten on the case and are looking for a way to bring dame Lavinia back home."

...And then Berial of this universe maybe pops up to cause mayhem, spots the new face and instantly tries to torture him in every single way. (Interrupting their swapping of stories of adventures and memories, since Valen got curious about this new other universe parallel to his and Lavi's, and his other self. Plus how that other version of him got together/fell in love with Pirin. Telling him his own sweet tales with Lavi and history.)

Ohoo, how that lil menace got hard shoved right into his place the millisecond Pirin felt that clown dip into his mind & body. Berial just gets to experience a reallly hard Uno reverse card, suddenly faced with utter hell beyond anything he ever thought...and not in a fun way. Nope. (Lavi's Valen is simultaneously terrified, impressed and fascinated by this display.)

Witnessing how the Hypogean flings himself right out asap faster than a lightning, and books it for gods know where so fast that he doesn't even see where he's going. Smacks into a tree or building or something face-first like in a cartoon, and cowers. It's like that scene from Alecchino's boss fight with the Traveler where she stalks toward him, crimson moon behind her, and he's just done for.

"Try this again, or any of your bullshit again. And I will make you wish you were nothing. Разбра ли?" (Got it?) That clown couldn't speak, only pathetically whimper something vaguely like yes. "Изчезвай." (Scram/Get lost.)-- and Berial Bolts.

..Right as a portal opens revealing that other universe with the squad, and Lavinia with them. Perfectly safe, healthy, and unharmed. The Berial of that other universe sees his other self hauling ass and laughs heartily, knowing exactly what happened. "Yup. There he goes, heh. What a retard Ink-stain." Turning back to the two, he does a dramatic salute by taking off his head and a playful wink at the stunned knight. "I'm still myself after all~." And so the two are swapped, returned home in their rightful respective universes with Pirin formally letting Valen and Lavinia know they're welcome to visit his iteration of Esperia anytime they wish. Berial interjecting with "Don't be a shy stranger~! ..Also, if you get troubles from other worlds- Holler us, will ya? We're the-" "That's enough, you Midget." (Berial was about to make a cringe Ghost-busters joke.) One of Pirin's familiars, a firebird rosella, lands on his head. "You can call upon Zhar if needed to deliver a message. He beaks pretty hard as affection, but other than that, the little hooligan shouldn't be causing you headaches." "Too-daloo~!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now! In case B, where the two only swap roles:

-Pirin ends being a Solitaire, since that's Lavi's post. He still retains all his abilities like magical prowess and all the combat experience + knowledge in general he has. Or his 'kit' as I like to refer to them. -Lavinia ends up being Merlin..technically. (In short: Merlin summoned Pirin to Esperia and contracted him to be his stand-in. But this deal is kept secret from everyone else, very few finding out the truth on their own, the rest willfully ignorant/unaware of it.) And has Pirin's 'kit' as if a stage 4 Paragon but without the negative side-effects like I noted earlier.

Ultimately the result in this route of the scenario is the same in case A. The two eventually return/get returned to their own respective universe with a chance mild cross-over and the opportunity to meet again in the future.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

HI IT'S THE ANON HERE SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING!! right now with us finding out more of peeta's past, my mind has been creating more and more headcanons about that. like how peeta and lavinia broke up because she was convinced peeta was actively cheating on her with one of his friends, dev. reminds me of what jackson said "you know, some people mistake friendliness for flirting". and how dev eventually (after the break up obviously, it's peeta) became a fuck buddy of sorts because what the hell, might as well do the thing he was accused of doing. also how the first person he saw himself having a family with was his college boyfriend, and that reflects on when peeta told finnick: "always saw myself maybe adopting (a kid)"

not a headcanon exactly but i like imagining katniss and peeta (FINALLY) buying a decent bed for his (their) room, and picking it together. seriously how has he survived sleeping on an air mattress for months? anyway, katniss' opinion on the mattress they buy is of the most importance to him.

rue 🥹 imagine her and all her witchy siblings. or even rue being the only witch in her family but them being all so supportive. so much potential. here's to hoping she will show up! prim finally finding the friend she's always wanted in rue. my heart.

while also on the prim topic, i just think she has the best outfits ever. we get a glimpse of that from when peeta buys her a skirt but wow. imagine cute little colorful cardigans, chunky mary janes, space buns, converse in all colors, skirts in all colors, or with funky little patterns. WOW.

gale messing with peeta when they first meet, hinting that he and katniss had a thing in the past. because he's just like that. but also as a way to test peeta, checking his reactions, making sure he's respectful and good enough for katniss, like a big brother would.

so much more. SO much more. but i'll leave you with a song i like listening to when i'm in a spellbound mood: you can do magic, by america ✨

These are some choice head canons, Anon! Thank you for returning to share them!!!

❤️ kdnfb

[starredfishing]

Question 0 then!

Who is your OC?

i feel like you have to be the same anon who always enables my fe3h ramblings youre so sweet thank you <3

my fe3h oc is a self insert in like the most literal way like they look exactly how i did when i made them and while theyve sorta branched out theyre very much still a part of me lol so

Lavinia Esther, they/them. they were born in hoshido (im korean and this was the closest i could get, but @/peachiehambo managed to create an ENTIRE country and lore based on korea within fodlans lore which is just damn impressive) but was adopted and grew up in faerghus in a small village outside of fhirdiad. they're short, shy, and terrified of standing out in the wrong way. i gave lavinia my adhd and self-doubt so u can kinda see how this goes lmao poor thing

i dont share a lot abt lavinia bc a majority of it IS self insert mary sue connections w other characters and i feel embarrassed abt it ;; but ill add some vinnie art on this so u can see what they look like

as u can see i kinda dont have a solid post ts design for them except for the top half the braid asldkfjs and keijo is a duscur oc i made who is lavinias childhood friend (my friends and i all have extra ocs made thatre friends w our self inserts) but i didnt make a lot of lore for him rip :(

[theozma]

i made her from my beloved lavinia (rip to her save. i can't bring myself to use her now). i'm so happy w/100 babies bc it gives me a PURPOSE to my game. i was always just a whatever player, grinding through school and careers. i've never been great at legacies bc idk how to craft that kind of story? i always look at challenges except if i have multiple babies (which i always do - remember everyone after an infant is boring) and i have to pick an heir? i honestly cannot decide who to pick. i feel obligated to create multiple threads bc idk how to pick.

this lasted for a couple hours. i'm bored looking at it!!!

although i did adopt a tamed fox puppy and dl-ed this cat from the gallery named taco!

[xvi-the-tower]

OC kiss week- rain

A little piece I did for OCkiss week featuring my oc Lavinia and @nn-ee-zz 's Edward ❤️. Both characters are originally for Touchstarved, but this takes place in a Regency au where Lavinia isn't cursed.

As the two ran through the trees, Lavinia's laughter intermingled with the sound of large raindrops hitting the leaves and grass. Ed led the way to a small gazebo near the treeline where they could take shelter. Once inside, Lavinia all but collapsed against one of its pillars, trying to catch her breath in between bouts of giggling. "I can't say I remember the last time I got caught in the rain!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

"Though I do remember one time Ilya and I were picking berries and we got caught in this terrible downpour. I thought for sure Mrs. Danvers would murder us for muddying her floors!" She laughed again, even as the bitersweetness of the memory settled upon her heart. Happier times before she'd known the taste of heartache.

Lavinia looked over at Ed. He was smiling, his usually pale cheeks red from the exertion of running. And his dark eyes were glittering with what she assumed was amusement. She felt those eyes on her and felt bare before them. Embarrassed, she looked down at her feet. "My shoes!" she groaned, seeing that her shoes were caked in mud, as were her stockings and the hem of her dress. "Mama will be furious!" With that realization, the giddiness she'd felt moments before was replaced with vexation as she became aware of how she must look with the wet fabric of her dress clinging to her body. Her hair would surely be a frizzy mess with loose strands plastered to her neck. Though possibly the worst realization was that they had lost their chaperone. For the first time since rekindling their friendship, they were truly alone, blocked off from the world by a curtain of rain. How utterly unladylike!

Her spiral was interrupted by Ed who stepped toward her. "I will buy you new ones. And a new dress. After all, it was my idea to go for a walk even with the gathering clouds." His tone was soft and reassuring.

"Edward, I could never ask--"

"You didn't ask. I offered."

"I-- Thank you. You are a true friend."

The more time they spent together, the more she realized how much easier it was to lift the weight on her shoulders in his presence. Around him, the burdens of expectations and appearances felt so much lighter. As her mind began to settle, so too did the cold begin to settle in her bones. Ed must have noticed her start to shiver because he closed the distance between them and said, "Let me warm your hands."

Lavinia gave him her hands, which he pressed between his. It was the most contact they'd ever had, a fact of which she was acutely aware. Their eyes met, and he held her gaze as he brought her hands to his lips to place a reverent kiss to her fingers. His warm lips lingered on her cold skin, and suddenly her face felt incredibly hot. For a long moment, they stayed just like this, neither of them looking away...

"Lavinia!" It was her stepmother. In a panic, Lavinia pulled her hands away and clasped them behind her back. Had she seen them? Releasing the breath she just now realized she'd been holding, Lavinia looked away from Ed bashfully, waiting to be scolded. "Lavinia, come inside before you catch your death!" So she hadn't seen? That was a relief, but Lavinia knew she wasn't off the hook for getting caught in the rain and mud.

"Yes, mama!" Lavinia called back. The transformation was immediate. She corrected her posture, brushed the loose strands of hair from her face, and adopted the cool, aloof air that her stepmother expected of her. Holding her arm out to Ed, she asked quietly, "Will you escort me back to the house?"

He nodded and took her arm in his. "Of course."

At the threshold of the gazebo, Lavinia put her other hand on his arm and gave it a light squeeze. Despite the mask she'd spent years perfecting, she smiled.

[stake-bait]

KIEVAN RUS GAME? tell me more!! (my main vtm pc’s childe is rurik the varangian)

Firstly very impressive linage on your PC holy shit.

Secondly oh boy, I'll try to summerize

I did a sort of alternate history game in 980 AD in the wake of the mass conversion at Kiev and the christianization of the Kievan Rus as a whole, though with a lot more pagan holdouts in the north. The proto sabbat prince in this game wanted to bring more of a unified religion "the church of Cain" to the local vampire population to encourage a unique vampire culture and build a strong political base, and was using her status as holder of (future saint) Olga of Kiev's (a vamp in this game) coffin to do so. Our coterie, a retired varangian werewolf hunter turned beet farmer gangrel Halvar, our constantly lying, single adoptive father to a human child christan monk Casimir, and rusalka cosplaying local cryptid nosfertu Lavinia, were not big fans of this, due to personal political and religious differences.

The game centered around them going on a mission as assigned by said prince to find her runaway childer, while secretly gathering an army of vampiric (and surprisingly a few lupine) political dissidents to go fight her, while also dealing with a cell of hunters dedicated to rescuing ghouls and turning them back to humans who were obsessed with finding a cure for vampirism. The group defeated the most troublesome of the hunters and prince and murdered A LOT of the local vampire governance to the point where two of them (along with a fuckload of allies) actually took over themselves, and one of them fucked off to the woods to try to further study a cure. There was a glorious scene of setting the palace on fire on Christmas morning as the game ended.

[curseofthebloodcountess]

Session 20 Recap

We had Session 20 this weekend! It was a wild ride because it’s one of those games where political intrigue dominated the session and I learned just how deep the conspiracy well runs within some of my players. 

The warlock had a confrontation with Father Lucian, her adoptive father, first thing in the morning, about her hasty engagement to Doru Donavich. Lucian confronted her about whether or not Doru is a vampire and received an honest answer, much to his dismay. He tried to forbid the marriage, but Theo managed to convince him that she has the situation well in hand. Ireena, Ismark, Yeska, and the church staff joined for breakfast and preparations.

Alistor, our cleric, awoke alone in the Blue Water Inn. He tried to rouse the ranger, Tam, but Tam’s player was absent, so Tam was ruled too hungover to join in. Alistor then went downstairs and learned of the first stirrings that all is not well with the Martikovs’ wine supply. He spoke briefly with Nikolai Wachter about the masquerade plans to restore Stella’s broken mind and the two of them (separately, but not that far behind each other) arrived at church late. Theo realized that Nikolai is trying to be seen at church, not unlike the way her uncle, Vargas, Tries To Be Seen, but is also very much trying to fill his late father’s shoes. He spoke with Theo briefly and mentioned that his cousin, Lavinia, would be back in town for the masquerade and he hoped his mother had the good sense to match her with his Bachelor Uncle, Rafael Buckvhold. Theo and Alistor concluded that it would be a lavender marriage and, you know? Good for them. 

The party then ventured to the clothiers’ for masquerade costumes. I told the party they have one week to surprise me with what they’re going to wear. I’m excited! Then, they went to Vallakovich Manor to peruse the baron’s library. On the way, Izek Strazni revealed that he has shifted his Intense And Possibly Violent Romantic Longing from Theo to Ireena, based on things that have happened since the last festival. No one liked this information. The party arrived to the manor. They agreed to lunch with Lydia after they did their researchl. They caught Vargas practicing his speech for the Festival and they began researching the Teray family tree on behalf of one of the revenants. The family tree showed interconnection among the nobility of several of the towns, including Vallaki and Barovia Village and the party learned that Sir Robern Teray’s last living (“living”) descendant is either Doru Donavich, Thorn and Rose Durst, or a woman named Anastrasya Karelova who appears to be a clerical error without a death date. They plan to go to Barovia Village at some point to deliver the Teray family crest to Doru. They then had lunch with Lydia, which I thought revealed more than it did. Oops. They also checked on Victor and tried to dissuade him from using his teleportation circle to try to find Ez D’Avenir again. While they were upstairs, Theo and Ismark clocked a voice in Lydia’s private chambers and Theo saw the outline of a woman in the mirror fading away. Vargas invited Ismark and Alistor back to dinner to discuss politics because the party successfully convinced Vargas that they know about political organization and, yes, Ismark is still definitely the burgomaster of Barovia Village. Theo and Ireena decided to get more information out of the Wachter boys about Fiona’s book club. During preparations to speak with the baron, Alistor caught Ismark checking him out and Ireena made fun. The group split.

Ismark and Alistor went to the manor and went on the weirdest double date with Vargas and Lydia… and Izek who kept asking if Ireena is single. Through some really good rolls, Alistor persuaded Vargas to consider building a council so he can focus on the truly important things in rulership (“Like festivals!”). Ismark clocked that Lydia was upset and scheming and he told Alistor of his fears as they walked back to the inn. 

Meanwhile, as Ireena served as a decoy for the very drunk Karl Wachter, Theo challenged Nikolai to a vodka-drinking contest and asked him about the book club. Nikolai drunkenly revealed that it’s not really a book club, but a place to discuss political and religious dissension and that his mother has introduced (or perhaps reintroduced) worship of The Lady of Shadows, with the belief that Strahd is her prophet. Nikolai expressed some disagreement with this view, stating that worshipping monsters never prevented tragedy from happening, never prevented him from losing Elizaveta (Vallakovich, his fiancee) or his father, never prevented Stella’s curse. He then drunkenly revealed to Theo that he doesn’t think his father died from sickness like everybody says. He said that the night he died, his father had a cold and went to bed early, his mother was out, and while Nikolai had the house to himself, he invited Elizaveta over. They heard a strange noise and Elizaveta ended up leaving. The next day she was gone and his father was dead. It had been mere weeks before their wedding and he’s never recovered from the double loss, which is why he thinks his mother is pitching him to Lavinia. He told Theo the book club will be kind of like a church event, kind of like a town hall, but that “miracles” happen - always for other people and often involving money that answers people’s prayers. Karl then interrupted the conversation, trying to get the girls to dance and Nikolai took his brother home. Alistor and Ismark rejoined Theo and Ireena and decided to walk them back to the church for the night. When they did, one of the PCs asked Lucian if it was ridiculous to think Lydia might be an assassin and Lucian got really quiet and said that he didn’t think it was ridiculous at all. 

That’s where we ended the session. The PCs are in the Church, asking Lucian for information about Lydia and possibly getting the reveal of a lifetime. Tune in next time for a “book club” meeting and the impending Moonlight Masquerade, the best festival of the year!

[boopshoops]

Hello Hello! hope I’m doing this right

For the details about Ocs 💯 for Lavinia,Salem or Yoru?

HI JANJAN! <333

OOOOO THESE THREE.... theyre all very different from each other!!! This'll be fun!!

💯share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

Lavinia:

She is incredibly shy and mousy. She often struggles to speak up for herself because of this, which often leads to her handling other people's work.

As she is almost always working for other people, she has had very few opportunities to explore herself as a person. She hasn't found any hobbies yet due to this, and it is often something she avoids thinking about so it doesn't get her down (unhealthy coping mechanisms, hurrah!).

She is an INFJ on the MBTI test, like me! (Introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging)

Salem:

She loves partaking in baking as a hobby, and she wants to open up her own restaurant one day! She is partial to making sweets and/or the many, many dishes that encompass the many cultures that make up Latin America.

She ADORES anything related to witchcraft or the occult, if it wasn't already obvious by her name. She is particularly partial to tarot reading! She is 100% convinced that she is clairvoyant (she isn't).

In many stories I write her in, she has a familiar that only responds to and makes gurgling noises. The spell went... kinda awry, and now there's a floating blob-shaped void that kind of looks like a cat roaming around her house. She loves him nonetheless. He only goes by Eugh.

Yoru:

Yoru is bigender! They identify as a demiwoman and a man. He uses he/they.

They LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! Dance!!! They have incorporated it into the way they move, breathe, live, and fight. He especially loves odori, flamenco, and tap!

He (unwillingly) adopted another character of mine named Zepar, and though he tried his best, they aren't the best parent. He is a very wild, independent, and free type of personality, having a random child follow them around everywhere was more than jolting for them, but Yoru and Zepar are still very close.

[italiangothicwriteblr]

15 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @memento-morri-writes @the-void-writes and @bloodlessheirbyjacques! 

Tagging @ink-fireplace-coffee @rose-bookblood @faithfire and @writersandpoetsunited

3 tags means I’m going to do three characters, so here’s Nova, Livia, and Adrasteia 

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nova: I’m named for Novellia Ventura, a soldier who served under my father in the Southern army. She was a spy who did so well that Cosimo honored her with the name of his child. There’s a reason I don’t talk about it.

Livia: My first name is for Imperatrice Lavinia, who’s an ancestor of mine. And my middle name is Domitilla, for my grandmother’s aunt--she was a great stateswoman who’s been mostly erased from the history books. (If you’re curious why)

Adrasteia: Nope. Naming people after someone isn’t as common in Bellamagna, we aim to name children something they can grow into. For example, my name means “not inclined to run away”, meant to ward off cowardice in battle.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Nova: That last night at home. If I see Ottavio again I’m hunting him for sport.

Livia: I don’t cry

Adrasteia: On the anniversary of my parents’ and siblings’ death. They don’t have an actual grave I can visit, but I try and do as much of the mourning rites as I can from here.

3. Do you have kids?

Nova: Nope! And I’m not sure I want them, considering the world right now

Livia: Not yet, but I’m expected to have some eventually

Adrasteia: No, and I don't want them

4. Do you use sarcasm?

Nova: Yes. Cloelia thinks it’s too much. 

Livia: Depends who I’m talking to

Adrasteia: Not a lot

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Nova: Their expression--if they’re smiling, or angry. I try to know how to behave going into an interaction

Livia: Their eyes--I can tell an ulterior motive from a mile away, and it’s all in the eyes--smiles can be faked

Adrasteia: Whether they have a weapon

6. What’s your eye color?

Nova: Black, unless I’m doing...let’s just say they sometimes turn gold

Livia: Violet

Adrasteia: Silver, like my arrows

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Nova: Happy endings. It’s nice to see them happen for someone

Livia: Scary movies! It’s good to prepare for bad things that may happen

Adrasteia: Scary movies. Happy endings are boring

8. Any special talents?

Nova: ...nothing I can share

Livia: I’ve been told I’m a pretty persuasive writer

Adrasteia: I’m a highly trained soldier who can use both swords and arrows

9. Where were you born?

Nova: The Palazzo de Rege, South Circi

Livia: Tradizza Palace, North Circi

Adrasteia: The Agora of Khrysos, Bellamagna

10. What are your hobbies?

Nova: Reading, and sometimes I like to draw or paint

Livia: I don’t have time for hobbies, I’m dealing with the court all day. I guess I have some fun with...recreational activities, even if I usually have an ulterior motive.

Adrasteia: Stargazing. I love astronomy, and figuring out how to read the stars.

11. Have you any pets?

Nova: Yes! A little dragon I adopted while we were in the South!

Livia: My girlfriend brought home a fucking dragon.

Adrasteia: No, I don’t trust myself to keep things alive

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Nova: I did a bit of swordfighting as a child, and me and my siblings used to play something we called Magical Gladiator

Livia: Horseback, fencing, chariot racing. 

Adrasteia: Archery, basic army and navy training

13. How tall are you?

Nova: 5′2″

Livia: 5′9″

Adrasteia: 5′5″

14. Favorite subject in school?

Nova: History. It’s fun how we never learn from mistakes

Livia: Rhetoric, mostly because I was good at it

Adrasteia: I didn’t love my schooling, but I did enjoy my theology classes

15. Dream job?

Nova: I don’t really have one, I just know I don’t want to work for my family

Livia: I’m going to be head of the family one day, and I’m happy with that

Adrasteia: I don't think about it much

[thisoneisbatter]

Holy: Chapter Eight

This is a new fic that is completed but I think I’ll be rolling it out chapter by chapter because it is a long one. It’s brat tamer, jaded widower Sheriff Hassan in full effect. This fic does contain some very rough sex and consensual sexual violence in some chapters so please do not read if that is a trigger for you. Otherwise, please enjoy and leave feedback!

Holy

Chapter Eight

Word Count: 1k+

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Deep family secrets are finally revealed.

Hassan had promised to take the weekend to help Leslie go through her mother’s things. His intentions weren’t entirely altruistic. The state medical examiner hadn’t issued his report, but had said off the record that it definitely seemed like foul play. Unofficially, poisoning.

There wasn’t much evidence to collect in the guest room closet that could tie someone to Cindy’s murder, but maybe he could figure out what the hell was going on on the island and why someone would want to poison her to begin with.

“What’s in this box?” Hassan reached for a hat box at the top of closet. He’d been handing things down to Leslie, most of which she’d stuffed into a black trash bag. A stack of old National Geographics, a pair of dry rotten men’s penny loafers, exactly the types of things you’d expect to find. This box was different. It was leather and very old but well cared-for.

“Uhh, I think it’s like my adoption stuff.” She gestured to the bed where they’d been putting the things she wanted to keep; photo albums and a few of her mom’s old dresses. “It can just go over there.”

“Do you-can I look at it?” It felt wrong to ask. Something so incredibly personal. He was more prepared for her to say no than yes.

“It doesn’t have who my birth parents are or anything like that. Its just like, basic info.” She replied flippantly. “I’m going to take a couple of bags down to the trash. You can look at whatever. I don’t have, like, giant family secrets or whatever.” She shot him a mockingly crazy look, laughing a little at his interest.

Fifteen minutes later, when Leslie returned, Hassan was sitting in a chair by the window deeply engrossed in the papers he couldn’t even read. It was almost entirely in Romanian. A stack of handwritten notes, typewritten documents on impossibly thin paper, a photo of a crying baby wrapped in a threadbare blanket, and a maroon passport with a picture of a pale toddler in pigtails. The name was Lavinia Eder. It was Leslie.

“Your name is Lavinia?” He chuckled a bit.

“And your name is Hassan.” She pointed out the obvious with a smile.

“Why do you go by Leslie?” He couldn’t imagine calling her anything else.

“Lavinia sounds like an 80 year old woman with a hunch back selling potatoes. Not very in line with my personality.” It amazed him how little she seemed to care about her personal history. Maybe it was something she had already worked her way through earlier in her life, but it was surprising to him nonetheless.

“Can you read Romanian?” He asked, lifting the papers to indicate that he needed translation.

“Kind of.” She took a seat on the floor next to him. “I can read these ones,” she pointed to the typewritten ones, “but not the cursive notes.” She took the first fragile page from the file, staring at it for a long time, trying to process the letters through the out of practice dictionary in her mind. “Uh, okay. It says infant girl,” she smiled at him and mouthed <i>me</i>, “found at Biserica Neagra, which I guess means like, Black Church or whatever, in Brasov. Weight 2.2 kilograms. Infant found beneath statue of Saint Petroclus. I don’t know if I’m saying that right. January 21st, 1998. And that’s my birthday.” She winked. His heart was breaking imagining this tiny newborn left in the cold, and she fucking winked. “And then it just says I was moved to an orphanage in Bucharest, which is where my parents adopted me.” She handed the page to him, taking the next one in the stack. “Okay, this one is their request to adopt me. It just has my mom and dad on here saying they want the infant found in Brasov on my birthday. My mom told me she read about it in the paper.” She took the next page. “This one is saying that I am Lavinia, I’m 2 years old, I weigh 11 kilograms, it says ‘no damage’ but I think that’s talking about, like, disabilities and stuff. I think it’s just info about me at the orphanage.” She takes another page. “Uh, yeah, okay. This one is saying I’m being adopted by my parents on October 6th, 2001. They get me, my clothes, my blanket, and some papers.” She shot him a final smile. “And that’s it. Nothing that interesting.”

Hassan let her brush it off while they finished clearing out the upstairs rooms her mom used for storage. They ate pizza on her bedroom floor and had kind of boring sex before he called it a night. His mind was elsewhere.

He’d taken pictures of the papers in the box, more specifically, the handwritten notes. He knew it was a violation of her privacy. She hadn’t given him permission. For all he knew, she was saying she couldn’t read them because she didn’t want to. He just had to know.

The next morning, Hassan went into work early. He jumped head first into a Google rabbit hole almost immediately. At face value, Leslie’s adoption was unusual, but not extraordinary. Cindy, a Romanian woman living in America, saw that a baby was abandoned at a church and wanted to adopt her. Stuff like that happens. Once he started adding it all up, the details spelled something bizarre.

“Hey, Les.” He caught her the second she sat down at her desk. It was 8:30. She was late, but he had way too much swimming in his mind to even address it. “Come over here. I need to talk to you about something.”

“What’s up?” She rolled her chair to his desk, looking only mildly concerned.

“I know you’re probably going to be upset, but I took some pictures of the papers in your adoption file and looked up what they said.” He braced for impact.

“Whoa, Hassan, what the fuck?” Her look of disgust stung a bit, but he’d expected it. It was a violation of her trust after all.

“It’s uhm,” He leaned forward, smoothed his hand down his beard, and rested it on Leslie’s knee. “You’ve got to know there’s something weird going on there.”

“What, then?” It was her turn to find him incredibly annoying. “My parents were weird people. What did you find?”

“Okay,” Hassan pulled out his notepad and leaned back in his chair, ready to elevator pitch Leslie’s own life story to her. “So you were found in the Black Church in Brasov. Brasov is in…Transylvania.” He drew the word out, cringing a bit at her mocking raised eyebrow. It sounded so stupid out loud. “The statue you were found under was Saint Petrolcus of Troye. I tried to look stuff up but came up really short until I realized that your family isn’t Catholic. They’re Eastern Orthodox, right?” She nodded, starting to slump in her chair. He was right. The story wasn’t as cut and dry as she’d believed her entire life. “In the Orthodox church, he is the Patron Saint of Demons and Fever, and his feast day is January 21st.”

“So what does that mean, then?” She looked confused, but mostly angry. Either this was the coincidence of a lifetime, or she’d been lied to at some point by her own family.

“I’m not done, Leslie.” He almost didn’t want to tell her the rest. It sounded crazy. It was crazy. “Do you know how hard it is to find some kind of translation for cursive Romanian? It took me all morning, but I did find it.” He put his phone on the desk at their side with the photos of the three notes pulled up. “These papers were stuffed into the blanket with you when you were left.” He pointed to the first one, which read <i> morții să rămână în pământ</i>, “’May the dead stay in the ground.’ Weird thing to put on a baby. The second one,” he pointed to one reading <i> salvatorul nostru de îngerii căzuți</i>, “Our savior from the fallen angels.” He flipped to the last photo, this one more of a scrawl than the rest, clearly written in haste. It said <i> ea va ști unde poate fi găsită lumina </i>. “She knows where the light can be found.”

Leslie had her head in her hands now, not looking at Hassan.

“Now, Leslie, I want to think that you definitely didn’t know what these notes said, because you’d have told me. And it could also just be the scribblings of a crazy person. I’d believe that last bit for sure if it wasn’t for an email I got from the old Sheriff before I ever even moved to the island. It said, that if I need anything, I should ask Leslie, because she knows where everything can be found. That’s a strange way to word that, right? ‘She knows where everything can be found.’ I did a little extra research on Sheriff Henry. He was pretty well loved by everyone, but one thing he wasn’t was a Catholic. And neither am I, and neither are you, or your mother.” He leaned as far forward as he could, taking her head in his hands and lifting her face to be just inches from his. “Tell me why there are suddenly missing people on an island that hasn’t had more than a fender bender in almost 100 years, a woman is screaming about demons and then suddenly turns up dead, and her daughter, a Sheriff’s Deputy, has a few too many weird connections to be just a fluke.”

Leslie was in tears. Gasping, inescapable tears. Hassan suddenly became hyper-aware of his grip on her and pulled his hand away.

“I don’t understand what you’re accusing me of.” She gulped down a sob. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“I’m not accusing you of anything.” He sat back, taking stock of what exactly he was doing. “I guess I’m accusing everyone else of something. I just don’t know what yet.”

“So what, Hassan, demons came to Crockett and killed my mother?” She didn’t sound entirely sarcastic. Maybe it was a start. Maybe she’d believe him.

“No, I think that Bev Keane killed your mother.”

[lavwen-archive]

-- hear me but a word!

FULL NAME: Lillian Wen PRONUNCIATION: LIL-ee-uhn WEN  MEANING:

Lillian: derived from Lily, symbol of innocence, beauty

Wen: of Chinese origin, warm

REASONING: Lillian is named after her Nonna’s favorite flower -- she was born soon after her Nonna passed and never met the woman, but her Nonno always keeps the patch of lilies that grow in the back gardens watered, and Lillian spent hours of her childhood playing in those very flowers. ALIAS: Lavinia NICKNAME: Some variation of Lily, though her Nǎinai calls her Lu Ling (the tinkling sound of jade against jade) sometimes. PREFERRED NAME: Lillian BIRTH DATE: June 29, 1993 AGE: 25 ZODIAC: Cancer GENDER: cis female PRONOUNS: she/hers NATIONALITY: French-Italian dual citizenship ETHNICITY: Half-Chinese; Half-French RELIGION: Agnostic CURRENT LOCATION: Verona, Italy LIVING CONDITIONS: Though Lillian grew up lower middle class, she now stays at the flat she purchased for her mothers under their names. The spacious three-bedroom flat is in a nicer location than where she grew up with lots of plants and light and most importantly a large terrace. It’s only been a couple years since her family moved in and given how much she travels, it still feels newer than like home. TITLES: Emissary CONTENT WARNING: mentions of sexual assault, homophobia

BACKGROUND

BIRTH PLACE: The local clinic in the Third Arrondissement in Paris  HOMETOWN: Verona, Italy SOCIAL CLASS: Upper middle class EDUCATION LEVEL: Cultural Heritage (Art & History Track) Bachelor’s -- University of Verona FATHER: Unknown -- She knows that his nationality is French, he had brown hair and blue eyes. and that he’s 6′ 2″ which was apparently all her mothers needed to pick him from the binder. MOTHERS: Mei Lei “May” Wen (Birth Mother aka “Mama”) -- An out and proud Chinese bisexual woman with French Nationality. Her father came from the Wens: they immigrated in the early 1900s and worked in porcelain. Her mother had immigrated to Paris after marrying Lillian’s grandfather. Mei fell in love with a lovely Italian foreign exchange student in college. Her parents didn’t approve of their daughter loving a woman and so Mei and her love eloped to Verona. Mei’s parents would ultimately come around -- they hadn’t really liked the sperm donor idea but had been delighted to have a granddaughter. Lara Renzetti (Adoptive Mother aka “Ma”) -- Lara had more or less been open about loving women from the beginning; she was lucky to have parents who believed in love more than words in a book (though both were big proponents of education, having not gone to university themselves). Lara was in Paris to study Art -- and met bold, tattooed Mei Lei. Lillian would inherit this love of art and it would inform her own studies in the future. She and her Nonno were much closer when she was younger -- now that he’s older and struggles to remember things, it’s harder. SIBLING: None PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: A few girls, a few boys through secondary school and university. None of them seem memorable anymore. Lillian hasn’t been in any kind of relationship since her assault 2 years ago.

OCCUPATION & INCOME

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: Elite Milano (Model Agency based out of Milan) SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: Capulets (Emissary) TERTIARY SOURCE(S) OF INCOME: Occasional sponsorships APPROXIMATE AMOUNT PER YEAR: €87,000 though she receives significant benefits like clothes, accessories, make up, as gifts.  CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB? Lillian is passionate about her job, specifically as a spokesperson model. It’s important for her to use her platform to discuss relevant issues. She’s an activist. Her new financial situation is nice, if only for the security. But Lillian also knows it’s a privilege so she wants to make sure she’s a) earned it and b) is doing good deeds with it. PAST JOB: She briefly worked as a Barista at the University Cafe, but was scouted out for Royal Management, a Verona based agency pretty early in university. She shot her first photo shoot at 19. She stayed with them for four years, before ending her contract and accepting representation through the Milan agency. SPENDING HABITS: Lillian has the thrifty habits of her childhood when her mothers struggled to make ends meet. While her lifestyle seems lavish due to the sponsorship “gifts” she receives, Lillian rarely makes big purchases -- she didn’t move into the new villa until she could purchase it entirely, no mortgage.  MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: Her home --  €298,000 +  €20,000 in renovations.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 4/10 OFFENSE: 3/10 DEFENSE: 7/10 SPEED: 9/10 INTELLIGENCE: 8/10 ACCURACY: 6/10 AGILITY: 8/10  STAMINA: 9/10 TEAMWORK: 7/10 TALENTS: gaining trust, aware of how she’s perceived, physically fit, financially thrifty, intelligent SHORTCOMINGS: nervous, low muscle strength, lack of conviction, passive, uncertain

LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Wenzhounese, Italian, Mandarin (Lower proficiency: French, English) DRIVING: Lillian hasn’t learned how to drive. She prefers scooters. CAR MAINTENANCE: No BICYCLING: Yes SWIMMING: Yes INSTRUMENTS: Yes (Piano) CHESS: Yes  BRAIDING HAIR: Yes TIE A TIE: Yes LOCK PICKING: No

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM: Adrianne Ho EYE COLOR: Black HAIR COLOR: Black HAIR STYLE: Type 2B, typically naturally air dried, with a little serum applied. She ties it back in ponytails or french braids often. DOMINANT HAND: Right HEIGHT: 5′9″ WEIGHT: 54.5 kgs BUILD: Lillian was always slim, but she didn’t start focusing on fitness and strength until a couple years ago. Now that she has some muscle definition (she hasn’t gained as much as she’d like), her build is more athletic. EXERCISE HABITS: Every weekday morning that she’s home, Lillian joins her mother for an early session of Qigong (her Mama is a little bit of a...hippie. Both are really.) It warms her muscles before she goes on her daily run. She runs on the weekends as well. Twice a week she conditions. She misses strength training the most because of how often she told to not bulk up before a shoot. SKIN TONE: Lillian’s skin is roughly the same tone as her mother’s, the color of a fawn or beach sand, with warm undertones. She typically tanned, rather than burned and is grateful to have inherited her mother’s genes for this. SCARS: She’s got a scar on her knee from her childhood friend, angry at her for some childish conflict pushed Lillian off her bike, a tiny line of a scar right under her chin from when she fell on the concrete steps outside her school her first week. The newest set is still a couple years ago, on the heel of her palm from the broken mirror -- a prop from the photoshoot -- in her struggle against her assaulter. NOTABLE FEATURES: Shapely brows, excellent figure, high and sharp cheekbones USUAL EXPRESSION: A neutral expression, could be interpreted as blank. She doesn’t want to suggest anything positive or inviting at first glance. CLOTHING STYLE: Comfortable but stylish, casual mixed with athletic/athleisure on her own, but enjoys dressing up for shoots and parties. DIET: Drinks as much water as possible. Typically something like avocado toast in the morning (something fatty + protein + complex carbs). Her lunch follows the same format of complex carbs (quinoa, brown rice, certain greens) + protein (salmon, chicken, edamame, etc.) + whatever is in season in a bowl with various dressings/flavorings. Dinners are whatever her mothers have cooked -- both traditional Chinese and Italian food. She snacks on fruits and trail mix sort of things, and will splurge with dark chocolate (especially dark chocolate covered goji berries). Moderation over restriction.  PHYSICAL AILMENTS: None.

PSYCHOLOGY

JUNG TYPE: ESFJ (Fe-Si-Ne-Ti)

Judging Functional Axis (FeTi): Socially conscious and loyal to family, Everett seeks to build up those he cares about — evidenced in his relationships with Catherine and Easton. His love language is practicality, shown through actions rather than verbal affirmation. Prior to joining the mob, Everett had little qualms with sharing his emotions, but since joining he has been stuck in a grip (inferior Ti) and thus has begun repressing his emotions. He has a strong moral compass, but struggles to make difficult decisions if it means creating social backlash (e.g. not believing that his mother would degrade Easton, not leaving the Capulets despite moral qualms). As a capodecina, Everett is quick to mentor his soldiers and seeks to understand the underlying patterns behind the information given to him before acting so that he never has to sacrifice a soldier for the sake of larger gain. He is very in tune with human behavior and uses this knowledge to manipulate others when working for the Capulets.

Perceiving Functional Axis (SiNe): Everett is visionary, able to project large-scale future plans for C&R (Ne) based on past experiences (Si). He adroitly uses observation to speculate people’s ulterior motives, giving him an edge when at society parties (alongside Fe). Despite his serious front, he is actually quite laid back around those he cares about, allowing himself to crack jokes and indulge in new things. Everett is steeped in past experiences, unable to let go of traumatic past events (e.g. his failed relationship with Vivianne). Furthermore, he applies his experiences to outward speculation — if Vivianne was using him, so must most other people, therefore he cannot trust people to be honest with him.

ENNEAGRAM TYPE: 1w2 (The Advocate)

“Conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic. They typically have problems with resentment and impatience. At their best: wise, discerning, realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic.”

“Want to be right, to strive higher and improve everything, to be consistent with their ideals, to justify themselves, to be beyond criticism so as not to be condemned by anyone.”

“Ones attempt to control or repress their anger and instinctual energy. They feel that they must stay in control of themselves, especially of their instinctual impulses and angry feelings at all times.”

MORAL ALIGNMENT: lawful neutral TEMPERAMENT: sanguine ELEMENT: air PRIMARY INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Interpersonal, followed closely by logical-mathematical. APPROXIMATE IQ: 139 SOCIABILITY: High. Everett is very good at hosting, socializing, or swaying a crowd. It’s that classic Craven charm. EMOTIONAL STABILITY: Everett considers himself quite emotionally stable — and for the most part, he is. However, this is partly due to a large part of his emotions being repressed, particularly in relation to Vivianne as well as his guilt over his involvement in the mob. If incensed (although it’s difficult to do), it’s possible he can become volatile. ADDICTION: Cigarettes. He can’t quite shake it. DRUG USE: No. Slightly hypocritical, but he considers himself above such vices as recreational drugs. ALCOHOL USE: Everett drinks wine, and will have a scotch or two when out with friends. He does not, however, get tipsy in public. PRONE TO VIOLENCE? No. He hates it.

MANNERISMS

SPEECH STYLE: It depends on the audience, although some (read: Tiberius) have mentioned that poshness practically reeks through his words. In strictly business settings, Everett speaks quite formally in order to adhere to typical negotiation protocol. In others — such as casual business lunches, public appearances, and Capulet dealings — he adopts a more modified version of formality that’s casual enough to not sound stuffy, even if a bit of upper-class still seeps into his tone. Around those he’s comfortable with, Everett’s fond of teasing and can often be seen with a bit of a smirk on his lips. ACCENT: When speaking Italian, Everett has a slight Milanese accent similar to his mother’s (e.g. pronounces z as /s/ instead of /ts/, very quick, precise speech, vowels more at the front of his mouth). He learnt English from his father and speaks with a typical RP accent, although when he gets excited the inflection of his sentences and a few words here and there can seem a bit Italian. In terms of timbre, he’s a baritone. QUIRKS: always takes the stairs two or three steps at a time, absolutely cannot fall asleep with the light on or in a warm room HOBBIES: playing violin, traveling, wine tasting, reading, sparring HABITS: regularly updates a task list on his phone, attends mass once a week, speeding, goes through the rosary once a day NERVOUS TICKS: Virtually imperceptible, as Everett has become quite adept at hiding his emotions. However, he tends to tense his jaw when he’s irritated. MOTIVATIONS: Everett’s primary motivation in his life is his loyalty to his family, specifically his father, Gabriel, and his younger brother Easton. This can be divided into two sub-motivations of healing the rift between Easton and himself and preserving the family legacy, such as C&R’s financial status and the family reputation. Other driving factors include his protective instinct towards close family friends, his religious beliefs, and self-ambition to make his mark in the world. FEARS: Everett’s primary fear is failure: specifically, failure to live up to the standards he’s set for himself. This is an especially powerful source of stress in his life due to the conflict between his moral code and his mob involvement. Other fears include those close to him using him for superficial means and the prospect of a loved one’s safety being compromised. POSITIVE TRAITS: compassionate, perseverant, protective, dutiful, conscientious NEUTRAL TRAITS: loyal, well-bred, in control of emotions, shrewd, hardworking, dry-humored NEGATIVE TRAITS: hypocritical, averse to confrontation, supercilious, repressed SENSE OF HUMOR: A bit dry, mostly. Everett loves a good laugh, even if it’s at his own expense, and is prone to teasing people he’s fond of. DO THEY CURSE OFTEN? Not particularly. His parents taught him that cursing is relegated to those who don’t have a large enough vocabulary to properly express themselves otherwise, so Everett, for the most part, refrains from cursing. Sometimes it’ll slip out, though. CATCHPHRASE: More of a filler word than a catchphrase, but tends to say, “well” at the beginning of sentences.

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY: traveling ANIMAL: wolf BEVERAGE: sangiovese BOOK: John Milton’s Paradise Lost CELEBRITY: his mother COLOR: green DESIGNER: Armani FOOD: pickles FLOWER: lily HOLIDAY: Christmas MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: car MOVIE: 12 Angry Men MUSICAL ARTIST: Count Baise SCENERY: the view from the Conservatory SCENT: bay rum aftershave SPORT: football SPORTS TEAM: Inter Milan WEATHER: sunny with a brisk breeze VACATION DESTINATION: Vienna

ATTITUDES

GREATEST DREAM: At his core, Everett’s main aspirations are more or less the same aspirations he had when he was eighteen: living a life of peace, stability and happiness, having a fulfilling career, and perhaps someday raising a family. GREATEST FEAR: Easton or Catherine dying. Enough said. MOST AT EASE WHEN surrounded by people he trusts and genuinely cares for — this includes Halcyon, Catherine, Mikael, Odin, Maeve, among others. He’s also at ease when he feels as if he’s in control of his life, or in a place where the equilibrium and success he’s built for himself is not threatened. LEAST AT EASE WHEN he’s out of touch with himself or who he wants himself to be, a situation that manifests during late nights at the cathedral. To a lesser degree, Everett also feels as if he’s going mad whenever he’s around Faron. WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN: See Greatest Fear BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: Everett is proudest of guiding C&R from a billion-euro company to a multibillion one and proving to the board of directors that he deserved his position as a CEO for reasons more than just his family name. BIGGEST REGRET: The entire situation with Vivianne — including falling in love with her, joining the mob, and making his first kill. If he had the choice, he’d have picked a different spot to study on that fateful September afternoon. MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Realizing Vivianne had lied to him for eight years. On a less emo note, Everett wanted to stab his eyes out after he walked in on Mikael and Grace having sex in his own bedroom. BIGGEST SECRET: He has none. Incidentally, he also doesn’t care at all for the Capulet underboss. TOP PRIORITIES: Protecting his family, maintaining a spotless reputation and securing C&R’s financial situation in that specific order.

[girlwiththearthistoryaccount]

Lavinia Bingham

Title: Lavinia Bingham

Artist: Joshua Reynolds

Date: 1785

Movement: Brittish Rococo

Medium: Oil on canvas

Genre: Portrait

Say it with me, landscape in the background!.

Lavinia Bingham, Known also as the countess Spencer, was quite wealthy and even with out the landscape, it’s not hard to tell that she is rich and well to do.

we also start to see the faintest hints of what are to become impressionism in art. The small gestures and blurring to make to give the illusion of that that something is starting to take hold of artists and become much more stylistic rather than true copies of whats in front of them.

this technique was stamped out in the Neo-classic era by the academies, but came back into style as the photograph render realism as useless.

with out these techniques being adopted so widely so early, impressionism might have ended up looking much different than as we know it today.

[chrissmou]

Gushing the Stay a Spell Series

Hi everyone, I know we have a week before the end of the month but I couldn’t wait to gush about this book series I have been reading this past two weeks. Stay A Spell by Juliette Cross is a series of fantasy romance books about 6 sisters and witches in New Orleans and their love lives. The supernatural community in this world has four species witches/warlocks, vampires, grim reapers, and werewolves. The witches also have different abilities with each witch in this series with her own. I will talk more about them in the books. First, the world-building is amazing and we see how New Orleans reacts to magic. Second, the books’ plots are amazing; some take on equality and social issues without bringing the books out of the supernatural and fantasy elements. The series ended with the sixth sister this past month and I wholeheartedly recommend all of them and to read them in order because they give spoilers for the next and previous one. That is the reason why this isn’t a ranking but just talking about them. Also, the ranking this time that I just finished them would be very difficult for me as I love all of them. The reviews of the books are under the cut. I will leave the Goodreads links of the books too.

1.      Wolf Gone Wild (Evie and Mateo): Mateo is a werewolf and Evie is Hex-breaker. The werewolves in this series have become a species through a hex from a witch in the Spanish Civil War and this hex also except turning has made them very creative, so each of them is very good in a type of art. The book starts with Mateo being hexed by someone and him going and finding Evie who can break it. After the meeting, Mateo’s wolf which he can hear in his mind is fascinated so they start a friendship with each other so he can continue to work. The book is full of pop culture and comics as Evie is fascinated by them.

2.      Don’t Drive and Hex (Isadora and Devraj): Isadora is Conduit, a type of healer in the witch community and Devraj is Strygon, a type of a vampire with special abilities. The book starts with Isadora getting hit by Devraj while riding her bike from a friend’s home to her own. He helps her get to her destination where we learn that he is their new next-door neighbor and that he is also a former Bollywood actor with Indian roots. In the beginning, she doesn’t but as the plot thickens and helps the local Overlord, Rubin with a mission in which they need Isadora she learns more about him.

3.      Witches Get Stitches (Nico and Violet): Violet is a Seer and Nico is Mateo’s cousin and a werewolf. Nico and Violet met on New Year’s Eve two years before Nico moved to New Orleans. In the present day, Violet has partnered with him to open a tattoo shop after thinking about the art of spell tattoos some witches can do. In the beginning, we learn that Violet made a telling with tarot cards about her and Nico and because of that, we learn that she decided to just be friends. One of the tattoos she has spelled is about werewolves, so a different pack or gang of wolves wants them too. And all of that give tension to the theme of equality as werewolves are the most misjudged of the species in the supernatural world. It is perfect for those who love to friends romance.

4.      Always Practice Safe Hex (Livvy and Gareth): Livvy or Lavinia her full name is an Influencer and Gareth is a Grimlock, a type of grim reaper. Gareth and Lavinia have hated each other since they met in a contest about their careers as social media managers. They are both in the last step before the announcement of the winner. They are both very competitive but attracted to each other and they have sexual chemistry from the beginning. I love that Gareth is a computer geek and that till this book grim reapers are invisible so that he can tell Livvy all about it as they become more close. I love that they both want to help with equality issues in adoption in the supernatural world and also the werewolf thing from the previous thing. I also that Livvy is Bisexual as all the books have members from the queer community but as background characters. With all of this, we see that this is the perfect enemies-to-lovers romance.

5.      Resting Witch Face (Rubin and Jules): Jules is the oldest sister, a Cyphon, and the Enforcer of New Orleans and Rubin is the Overload of the vampires in New Orleans. We start with the history between the two main characters, which is a lot as I have a complicated relationship. In the present day, they are starting a campaign together, so that they can help the werewolves to have equal rights in the supernatural community. It is also the one that has the most international appeal as we start in New Orleans but we go to Salem and London, and then to Scotland for a masked ball. I love this second-chance romance because it is steamy and also has the funniest plot points of all.

6.      Grim and Bear It (Henry and Clara): Clara is an Aura and Henry is a necromancer, a special type of grim reaper, also Gareth’s cousin. This is the typical pining relationship between two characters so opposite as oil and water but that is what makes it so special to me. Clara is the sunshine thrown into the world and Henry is the typical gloomy character with a heart of gold. The book is about how Clara helps to come into contact with his necromancy magic and be more confident about himself. They also have the best past times with me as they love baking and reading romance books for Clara’s book club. I loved the steamy parts and the rest of it as I believe is very romantic and sweet with the connection they have.

[siiinfully]

He wasn't the first person in the Ton to mistake her for a Miss Bridgerton. Rather than be irritated, however, she smiled kindly at him and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Lady Lavinia Beresford. It's also a pleasure to meet you, my lord." She curtsied and looked up to meet his gaze as she stood up straight. "May I ask why you mistook me for this Miss Bridgerton? Do we really look that much alike?"

A part of her wondered if her parents had another daughter that they put up for adoption, but she knew that her grandfather would never lie to her about something as important as that.

@siiinfully liked here for a starter from a Bridgerton muse.

Simon walks into the ball, looking around for Daphne. It hasn't been long since this ruse of theirs has started, so he's feeling a bit apprehensive. Will it work? He walks around only to run right into Daphne? Or is it her? "Miss Bridgerton?" He asks, unsure if it's actually her or just someone with an uncanny resemblance.

After a few moments, he bows. "Apologies, Miss.....I thought you were someone I knew. Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. A pleasure to meet you...."