#Melinda Lo

[depths-of-misery]

guys what the fuck I just finished last night at the telegraph club by Melinda Lo.

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

saw the event announcement post by @endlesshistoriesfest and it got me thinking…lucienne is a male impersonator in the early 1900s, and gault attends one of her shows and falls head over heels for her

[the-aussie-knight]

Playboy Playmate: February 1966

Name: Melinda Windsor

Born: 25th of June 1944

Measurements: 38DD-23-36

Fact: Melinda Windsor was the pseudonym used by 21-year-old Ann Brockway. A student at the University of California, Los Angeles. The alias was invoked to protect her future career of becoming a teacher.

[natasha-rogersbarnes]

Hey guyyyyyyys, I'm like so so so so so sorry but I'll have to quit tumblr.

I'm in a bit of a pickle and I'll need to keep myself pretty empty for a while. And it's probably gonna be like a lo g time. I have this exam in like 2 months and tumblr has been taking most my time of the day so unfortunately I'll be deleting it and I'll probably be back, if not never, around December 2025! Not even 2024. I'll need to keep myself completely off of all content so that I can pass this exam. Please wish me luck.

This also means all my other accounts will also be inactive. I am not deleting any, just being inactive.

@nat-writes-prompts

@rider-axel-s-at-everything

@captain-monika-rambeau

@daisy-skye-johnson-quake

@fitzsimmons-officialblog

@the-shotgun-axe-man

@dutch-braids-4-lyf-and-4-evah

@i-am-not-that-old

@melinda-qiaolian-may-the-cavalry

@crochetika

@moons-quiet-little-den

@fanny-longbottom-woof

@mrpotatocomestotownbutitsms

@iwouldliketobecallednatpls

@im-not-a-furry-i-just-have-wings

@anonymoussssssssssssssssssssss

For all the people that loved me thank you and see you.

@white-wolf-actually @that-punk-from-brooklyn @iwasmadetobeasoldier @official-pietro-maximoff @pietros-wife @official-buckybarnes @fluffycows4life @probably-steve @your-darling-gaze @yoursx-cyber-skye @trading-cards-owner @stephenstrange-md-phd @theironcan @imnothulk @gooseygoodboy @capt-carter-mostly-official @clintbarton-thearrowguy @peterparker-official @tonystark-official @samwilson-official

IIIILLLLYYYYY

[falcemartello]

KILL BILL

L'assassino, il delinquente per eccellenza, il criminale del secolo, colui che è stato ed è tuttora la punta di diamante di tutti gli sporchi affari degli States e che spesso si immischia anche con gli sporchi affari del governo di Pechino.

Dietro al siero killer c'è Kill Bill; dietro al cibo sintetico c'è Kill Bill; dietro alla geoingegneria e alle scie di “condensa” c'è Kill Bill; dietro alle campagne dell'OMS c'è Kill Bill; dietro al delirio tecnoambientalista c'è Kill Bill; dietro all'espansione della gabbia digitale all'inizio c'era Kill Bill, anche se adesso ha ceduto il posto; lo Zio dai virus informatici è passato a quelli genetici.

Lo chiamano filantropo, ma a noi più che altro sembra un vero delinquente, un gangster, uno sciacallo; come del resto aveva documentato Linsday Mc Gohan nel saggio «Altro Che Filantropi», Bill Gates e tutti quelli come lui grazie a dei meccanismi che la burocrazia americana consente, grazie alle donazioni fatte in poche parole a se stesso (le sue fondazioni), Gates ha potuto per anni evadere tasse e nel contempo con quei soldi risparmiati da suddette tasse, ha eroso il pubblico, per poi finanziare i propri interessi a spese del pubblico con progetti logoranti e fallimentari, progetti spremi-welfare, ungendo ruote a più livelli ed entrando prepotentemente nell'alveo degli uomini più importanti degli States e del mondo intero.

Grazie alle sue attività lobbistiche ed imprenditoriali, grazie alle speculazioni e grazie alle sue amicizie all'interno di certi circoli è diventato uno degli uomini più influenti del pianeta.

I signori della beneficienza un tanto al chilo vengono sottoposti all'esame ai raggi x dall'autrice e accademica Linsey McGoey che mette sotto il microscopio questa nuova età dell'oro della filantropia, prestando particolare attenzione alla Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Mentre le grandi organizzazioni di beneficenza sostituiscono i governi come fornitori di assistenza sociale e servizi primari alle persone, la loro generosità è tanto sospetta quanto ovviamente utilitaristica.

Le multinazionali manipolano speculativamente il denaro generando proprio l'instabilità economica e la disuguaglianza sociale che paradossalmente le fondazioni caritatevoli dovrebbero poi risolvere, rendendosi quindi presentabili all’opinione pubblica per i propri profitti. 

Stiamo entrando in un'era surreale in cui gli ideali di uguaglianza e giustizia sociale dipenderanno dalla ipocrita generosità degli oligarchi della forma capitale?

Certo che si, ci siamo dentro fino al collo e lo Zio Kill Bill adesso specula attivamente sulla nostra pelle con il bene placito dei nostri governati che a tal signori delle multinazionali ci hanno bellamente consegnato da almeno quattro anni, o forse da molto prima e semplicemente non ce ne eravamo accorti.

Francesco Centineo

[queerliblib]

The last post got me thinking, that I could ask for a selection of books, which I am ashamed to admit only hit me just now. I've been looking for queer books with East or SE Asian MCs, fiction or nonfiction. I am desperate for rep! Any and all kinds will do, thanks a bunch. :)

can do, let’s see some of what we’ve got!

Fiction:

Last Words from Montmartre and Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin

Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Soft Science by Franny Choi

Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai

Solo Dance by Li Kotomi

A World Between by Emily Hashimoto

Yuri Espoir by Mai Naoi

Last Night at the Telegraph Club &A Scatter of Light by Melinda Lo

A Clash of Steel by C.B. Lee

The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha

Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee

I’ll be the One by Lyla Lee

& a few Non-Fiction:

Queer Korea

Racism and the Making of Gay Rights

Q & A Voices from Queer Asian North America

[half-up-half-super-depressed]

Spy x Family and Symbols of Allegiance (MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD!)

So during my most recent re-read of Spy x Family, I began noticing a trend in Endo's character designs, specifically when it came to accessories.

There are, of course, the obvious ones, like Twilight's pin that connect him to WISE:

And Yor's earrings which connect her to Garden:

We know for sure these are both symbols of WISE and Garden respectively, and not just specific to Loid and Yor as we see other members of their organisations sporting them as well:

However, what ended up tipping me off was (and spoilers for anyone who hasn't read the manga from Chapter 89 onwards or anime-only's) Chloe's design from her most recent appearance:

HER EARRINGS ARE HANDCUFFS!! (Awesome, I know.)

At first, I thought that this was just a charming little detail Endo gave her design to show off that she was Secret Police without her wearing the official SSS symbol (as that would be a bit counterintuitive to the whole Secret bit of Secret Police).

But then I started wondering if there were hidden details in other characters' earring/accessory choices, and lo and behold, look what I found:

Melinda Desmond also sports a lovely pair of earrings, though of a symbol we've yet to see (at least to the extent of my knowledge, if someone can find a match for it somewhere in the manga hit me up).

Even though it's clear Melinda is going to be a massively important character moving forward in the plot, the fact she has her own symbol that (again to the best of my knowledge) is yet to be seen on or associated with any organisation to which we've been introduced is really interesting going forward.

Spy x Family in general is just so good with all of these little details! I'm sure lots of people have already noticed this, but I've yet to see anyone really point it out. I might follow this post up with some more in-depth looks at these different symbols and their associations, as well as characters that lack these kinds of accessories - if that's something people are interested in, or if there's anything anyone might want me to point out, let me know!

[arcobalengo]

❗EMERGENZE E NUOVO PIANO PANDEMICO

Le emergenze costituiscono uno strumento formidabile per il potere che voglia comprimere le libertà democratiche e depotenziare le forze di dissidenza interne.

L'Italia della strategia della tensione dovrebbe aver insegnato molto, così come il post 11 Settembre statunitense.

Persino Adolf Hitler acquisì i pieni poteri in modo democratico a seguito dell'episodio dell'incendio del Parlamento e grazie all'articolo 48 della Costutuzione di Weimar che consentiva di "adottare ogni misura appropriata per rimediare ai pericoli per la sicurezza pubblica".

Fu per evitare simili derive che i nostri Padri costituenti decisero di non inserire lo stato di emergenza nella Costituzione del '48, prevedendo solo lo strumento del decreto legge (ex art.77 Cost.) per le decisioni che avessero carattere di urgenza e necessità.

Ma i principi ispiratori della Costituzione non sono i medesimi che ispirano gli agenti politici e le libertà civili, politiche e sociali risultano essere costantemente minacciate.

➡️ Col NUOVO PIANO PANDEMICO, la cui bozza è stata anticipata sul quotidiano Sanità, ci riprovano.

L'OMS è certa che un nuovo virus sia pronto a minacciare la nostra sopravvivenza e gli Stati prescrivono gli strumenti per fronteggiarla o, almeno, così la raccontano.

Ricordiamo che la fondazione di Bill e Melinda Gates, che si occupa in modo peculiare di vaccini, è il primo finanziatore dell'Oms. E Bill Gates questa settimana ha fatto visita a palazzo Chigi.

SI STABILISCE CHE:

1. In caso di pandemie i vaccini sono le misure di prevenzione più efficaci (così, a prescindere dai virus e dai vaccini neanche studiati);

2. Può diventare necessario imporre limitazioni alle libertà dei singoli individui al fine di tutelare la salute della collettività.

RESTRIZIONI, TRACCIAMENTI E VACCINI SONO ANCORA LE PAROLE D'ORDINE.

Nessun accenno al diritto dei pazienti ad essere visitati e curati (ma al diritto dei sanitari di essere tutelati, sì), alla ricerca di Stato su farmaci ed eventuali vaccini, all'organizzazione della sanità territoriale.

A dimostrazione, semmai ce ne fosse bisogno, che la salute è un pretesto e uno strumento per imporre scelte politiche e soddisfare gli interessi dei più grandi capitalisti mondiali.

Nessuna distinzione sussiste tra i diversi schieramenti politici: la mangiatoia e i padroni sono gli stessi.

Difatti, il ministro della Salute del governo Meloni, Orazio Schillaci,

nel 2020, in piena era Covid, era stato nominato da Speranza come tecnico all'ISS.

Fiorangela

Giorgio Bianchi

[pricelessemotion]

Prologue: Big City, Wrong Choices | E.M.

Summary: [0.8k] A tedious tabloid brings you and eddie together.

Pairing: rockstar!eddie munson x fem!music journalist!reader

Warnings: talks of drug and alcohol use (nothing graphic)

Notes: took some major creative license with this one but I think it pays off, hope you enjoy!

series masterlist | main masterlist

Stars behaving badly!

Truthfully, Eddie wanted to laugh when his manager threw the gossip rag on his coffee table. This was the reason that Mitch was knocking down his door so early in the day? Sure, the pictures of him in the article were less than flattering. One of them in particular showed him bent over, spewing his guts outside of The Viper Room. Definitely not a moment that he wanted to share with the world, but it was being shared nonetheless. 

So he got a little drunk and disorderly sometimes. It's what rock stars do. It’s part of the lifestyle. It’s a part Eddie plays and he knows he plays it well. A tabloid or two detailing his sordid exploits were par for the course. Still, he covers up his chuckle with a clearing of his throat, but it’s obvious that Mitch doesn’t buy it. 

“This is not a good look, Eddie” Mitch begins, running his hands through his thinning head of hair. “This is the kinda shit you do when you’re running the game. Not when you’re some kid from buttfuck Indiana trying to make a name for himself.”

Eddie recoils at the word kid. He already hates the fact that Mitch is not only his manager, but also his de-facto babysitter. 

“I’m twenty four years old.” The whine present in his voice isn’t doing him any favors in making him sound more mature and grown up.

“Then act like it.”

Eddie sighs and slumps into his seat. He tries to bring the whiskey glass he’s holding in his right hand up to his lips, but Mitch maneuvers around the couch and snatches it away. Usually, Eddie would put up a fight. Or, if he wasn’t in the fighting mood, he would go over to the bar cart and drink straight from the bottle out of spite. Sensing the tension in the room, Eddie concedes. He doesn’t want to be yet another reason why Mitch’s hairline is receding. 

Bracing himself, he walks to the kitchen where Mitch is brewing a fresh pot of coffee. The two of them exist in the symbiotic silence. Eddie pulls out two mugs from the cabinet and Mitch dutifully pours them both to the brim before sliding one over. They take turns passing each other milk and sugar. After taking a sip of his shitty coffee, Eddie clears his throat and asks the question of the hour.

“So, how do we fix this?”

For the first time since arriving at Eddie’s apartment, Mitch smiles. 

~

Stars behaving badly!

The magazine lands on your desk with a thump, jostling the pen holder and making the Snoopy bobblehead wobble. Eyes glazing over the headline, you scoff. Of course Eddie Munson is up to his usual antics. Whoever his publicist is should be fired, you think, because this isn’t even the first headline you’ve seen about him this week. It is, however, the first time he has graced the pages of Sub Rosa. There’s no doubt that the photos of Eddie being drunk and disorderly are currently lining every grocery checkout aisle in Los Angeles county. You wonder if he lives by the words bad publicity is good publicity. 

You look up to see the cause of the disturbance, only to see the face of your editor staring down at you. Melinda is bright and cheery, somehow glowing in the fluorescent lights that manage to wash anyone else out. 

“We’re doing damage control.” Her perfectly polished fingertip taps on Eddie’s face. 

You laugh, “I’d love to see the poor soul that has to do damage control for that trainwreck.” 

The older woman looks at you expectantly, a coy smile gracing her lips. Uh oh. You’ve worked at InStereo Magazine long enough to know that look. It’s the look she gives when she wants something and Melinda always gets what she wants. 

You take a moment to respond. You could refuse and waste the opportunity to leap from lowly column writer to actual music journalist. Melinda is still looking at you. Her cherry red glasses slide to the tip of her nose, emphasizing that she has to look down on you to have this conversation. Except it’s not a conversation. It’s more like a sentencing and she is judge, jury, and executioner. 

You look back at your desk. Snoopy is still nodding his head emphatically.

“I’ll do it.” 

“It’s so cute that you think you could’ve turned this down.” Melinda says, only the slightest bit of condescension in her tone. “We’ll go over details later, okay?”

With that, she flits away. Once she is safely out of sight, you bury your face in your hands and let out a small scream. Snoopy's rhythmic bobble breaks you out of your reverie. You grab the offending object and stuff it in the last drawer of your desk.

You were going to regret this.

~

taglist: @twisted-wonderland-of-wren

likes are appreciated, comments and reblogs are cherished ♥️

[skyler10fic]

Lightning Strikes Twice Ch. 2

Summary: Twenty-five years after being adopted by Phil and Melinda, young adult Skye is a Shield agent who wants to know so much more about confidential operations. Through an accident in FitzSimmons' lab, she discovers the answers no one else could: her true origins.

Read on Ao3

In an office high above sunny Los Angeles, at Shield’s West Coast headquarters, an error message popped up on the screen of a high-powered laptop: Access denied.

Skye had questions. The understatement of the century, her mother would have said. Being a Shield agent was her dream job in all ways but one: she needed so much more information than she was given at this clearance level. With both communications hub training as a cybersecurity agent and field experience, she was a versatile team player. But she also didn't rank high enough to know the “why” behind some of her assignments.

Now, spinning in her chair at her desk, she could only wait for her commanding officers to come back from their high-level meeting. A few years ago, she’d tried finding out information by simply hacking her way around the internal files, and she found the hard way that was not allowed, even though she’d helped design the security system herself. Years ago, she was always let off the hook easily as a rookie, having practically grown up at Shield with both of her parents as agents, but at 28, it wasn’t cute anymore and the consequences were real. So to resist poking around in files she wasn’t technically allowed in, she sought out her friends.

Drs. Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, known around the agency as FitzSimmons, were processing and cataloging the pieces of an alien ship unearthed by construction workers from a building project in the rapidly expanding suburbs, so Skye skipped their offices and went straight to the warehouse.

Sure enough, the couple squabbled in the adjacent lab, visible through a large glass window in their matching lab coats and safety goggles.

Fitz stole a contraption from Jemma’s side of the table. “You can’t know that, just because it has some markings on it!”

“They aren’t just markings. They’re just like the ones Skye…” Jemma stopped as she noticed who was approaching the doorway. “Skye! Anything we can help with?”

“No, actually, I came to see if you needed my help.” Skye narrowed her eyes and read both of their terrible poker faces. “Were you guys talking about me?”

“Nooo,” Jemma denied poorly.

“Oh, no, it’s uh, another Skye, someone else. You don’t know them…” Fitz scratched the back of his head, a sure tell.

“Uh huh,” Skye deadpanned, in a tone only a daughter of Melinda’s could have.

“Just out of curiosity,” Jemma said sweetly, “since you’re here to help… Do you know what these symbols mean?”

Jemma held out a shard of metal to Skye, and Fitz watched her with a fist to his lips, as if holding in his anticipation.

Skye shook her head. “Sorry, it’s not anything I’ve seen. Maybe an indigenous language or something? I could take a few photos and run it through my translation program if you want.”

“Like Google Translate?” Fitz asked, realizing the solution was, as usual, simpler than their overthinking.

Skye let out a surprised laugh. “Google wishes. No. Much, much better. And bigger. It includes all the terrestrial and extraterrestrial languages Shield has encountered.”

“Ah!” Jemma’s victory smile bloomed. “So you think it could be extraterrestrial.” She sent a pointed look at Fitz.

Fitz’s voice rose. “I never denied it was alien, just not…” He stopped and looked to Skye.

Skye hopped up on an empty metal table to signify that she was staying. “Okay, something is definitely going on with you two. Spill.”

Jemma took off her goggles and gloves, and she hopped up on the table next to Skye. She used her most gentle, careful voice as she asked, “Do you still remember your first night here?”

This hadn’t been what Skye was expecting. She put on a forced smile to cover up that the simple question had knocked the wind out of her.

Skye swallowed and tried to answer. “Yeah, a bit. Mainly through stories my dad told me growing up.”

Fitz saw her discomfort and stepped in. “Do you remember that time you threw dirt at me?”

Skye smiled for real this time. “We were like six.”

Jemma loved this story, so she said, as always, “I don’t think I remember this one. What happened?”

Fitz obliged her and began, “I had maths with the older kids, and at recess, one of the older boys told me how babies were made, which I was very unhappy about at the time. And I ran to tell Skye.”

“But,” Skye picked up the story as she swung her feet lightly, “My dad always said that I was given to them from the sky when I asked where I came from, so naturally, I always assumed all babies just sort of appeared out of thin air the way I did.”

Fitz teased, “You were so mad, you actually bent down, picked up two fistfuls of dirt, and tried to put them in my hair.”

“You ran fast back then.” Skye shrugged in surrender. “I had to resort to throwing it.”

“We weren’t allowed recess for the rest of the week,” Fitz concluded.

Jemma pressed in on this segue. “So, is that all you know, just that Agent Coulson and Agent May found you one day? Do you remember anything before that?”

Skye sighed and softened. “It’s crazy, but sometimes as a kid I had nightmares about these huge blue guards with, like, giant weapons. My parents used to have to hold me for hours to get me to go back to sleep. But after a few years, they stopped. Mostly. I think wherever I was before, I just wanted to forget so badly that I did.”

Jemma put an arm around Skye’s shoulders in comfort. “Sorry, I was just … never mind.”

Skye stiffened and shrugged her off to get through the part that made her sick whenever it came up. She’d been teased relentlessly by the other Shield kids at camp. It was supposed to be a safe place for agents’ families to unwind, but instead the rumors grew faster and wilder because anything was possible.

“I’m not an alien,” Skye gritted out. “Every test Shield could run, they put me through at three years old. And even since then, I have to get all my medical stuff done here, just in case something shows up. I’m 28!”

She hopped off the table and pressed her hands to her face in frustration. “These people, Shield … even me sometimes… We get so caught up in ‘Ooo what if it’s aliens’ that we forget sometimes people just suck. My birth parents either couldn’t care for me or didn’t, and I ran away, and clearly it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to go back to. All I know is they said I begged to stay, and that’s why I was adopted through Shield instead of put in foster care. So, yeah, I was a weird kid. A lot of three year olds are. It doesn’t mean I’m…”

Skye’s pacing and emphatic gesturing combined in a disaster Fitz and Jemma were powerless to stop as it happened before their eyes. In her adamancy, Skye’s hand knocked over a rusting metal storage box sitting on the artifact table next to where she’d been pacing. The box, decorated with more of the strange symbols Jemma had shown her earlier, popped open, with the clasp so damaged from being exposed to the elements. Something silver and strange rolled out and toward the edge of the table. Reflexively, Skye grabbed it before it hit the floor. Her reflexes were fast enough to catch it, but not fast enough to let go as her hand and arm hardened, like they were turning to stone.

“HELP!” Skye called out to her friends, who watched in horror.

“Don’t touch it, Fitz!” Jemma warned as she donned her goggles and gloves again. The last thing Skye heard before the low, loud rumbling started was Jemma’s promise they would fix this. Then everything went silent and black.

—-----------

Skye woke up to an earthquake. Not entirely unheard of here in the LA area, but rarely felt in a building as heavily fortified as Shield. Wait, she had been at work. Had she fallen asleep on the job? Why was she in an unfamiliar bed?

The earthquake stopped as she slowly realized. She took in the medical setting with its chill air conditioner draft and sterility and the crowd of people around her. Yes, she was still at Shield but not in any of the parts she expected.

“She’s awake!” Jemma’s voice called out from her hospital bedside.

“What happened?” Skye mumbled out despite her throat feeling like she swallowed a pile of rocks.

“Here, drink.” Melinda opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. “You were out for a few hours.”

Phil appeared in the room. “Oh thank god. How are you feeling, sunshine? You scared us pretty bad there.”

“I remember, we were in your lab by the warehouse…” Skye looked to Jemma and Fitz. “And I broke something you were working on. And then I passed out?”

“Sort of.” Jemma hesitated. “You touched a metal thing from the alien ship and then you were covered in a sort of casing? Like ash? We’re having our biohazards team look into it.”

Skye examined her arms, which were normal aside from having a greyish residue. It reminded her of when she’d dyed her hair black in college and the stains it’d left on her skin.

“How did you get it off?”

Fitz inhaled sharply. “We didn’t. You… you’re an…”

Skye’s gaze landed on him and she sat up. “I’m what?”

Melinda and Phil exchanged a look, and Melinda placed her hand on Skye’s. “Sweetheart, you’re special. You’ve always known that, and we haven’t hidden anything from you that we knew for sure.”

Skye’s pulse quickened, reflected in the lines on the monitor hooked up to nodes on her chest.

“All parents think their kids are special.”

“Not like this,” Melinda said, leaving no room for negotiation, but Skye persisted anyway.

Skye shook her head in denial. “I’m not… that. I’m just a human. I’m not what you think.”

“Skye,” Jemma said gently. “You broke out of the casing on your own. We ran the markings through your translation program. They were Kree. Even your lab work shows tiny changes—tweaks, really—to your genetics that could only work if…”

“Okay.” Skye tried not to panic and the shaking stated again. She took deep breaths as the bed trembled. The tubes and wires connected to her carried the shaking to their machines, like a very small power grid.

“Hey. Look at me. Breathe.” Melinda’s no-nonsense voice guided Skye’s gaze back to her and the shaking stopped. “You’re going to be okay. This isn’t a total shock to us. We suspected it from the first night you were here. And you sometimes drew symbols like this writing, those first few days, before we took you home with us.”

“You knew?”

“No.” Melinda shook her head once. “It was only ever a theory. Everything you know about yourself is 100% true.”

Jemma piped in again, “As far as we know, with the exception of these tweaks, you’re just as human as the rest of us, medically speaking. Your genetic profile just doesn’t match any potential families of origin here on Earth!”

Her cheery tone was meant to be helpful, but the others simply blinked at her.

Phil leaned over his daughter’s hospital bed and pecked a kiss to her forehead. “However you got here, it was a miracle. We love you. That’s what matters. What happens now, with the shaking, well, you’re in the best place in the world to have help figuring that out.”

The realization hit Skye and she gasped. “ME? I’m the earthquake?”

“Yeah,” Phil exhaled with a smile on his lips. “It’s pretty cool.”

“COOL?!” Skye gapped at her dad.

Fitz shrugged. “Think about it. If you get it under control, you could be part of the enhanced division.”

Superheroes. She was the new accident-turned-superhuman in a long line. Last year, a kid got bitten by a radioactive spider on a school trip. Before that, tech geniuses, scientists with dangerous experiments, and even a few aliens had come through the office while on special assignments, but it wasn’t as regular of an occurrence. Now, as more enhanced individuals pinged Shield's radar, Director Fury was seeing the need for not just a team of contractors but a whole division and training program.

At Skye’s silence, Jemma added, “But no pressure. You’ve only just gotten powers, who knows what all they do, and you need to heal first.”

“Heal? I feel fine, just tired.”

Jemma grimaced. “That’ll be the IV. Painkillers. You hit your head and side quite hard when you fainted after you broke free of the casing. We had to take shelter from the explosion and quake and flying ashy casing shrapnel and couldn’t catch you. The good news is, no concussion, though! Just a little worse for wear on the outside is all. You’ll be back to normal in no time, at least appearance-wise.”

Skye picked up on what Jemma wasn’t saying and reached for her phone on the bedside table. She opened up the camera app in selfie mode and was startled. The entire right side of her face was purple and blue.

“Shit.”

Melinda laid her hand on Skye’s again. “The painkillers help for now, but healing takes time. No need to rush into anything other than getting better.”

Fitz glanced around the circle and back down at Skye. “And whatever happens, you’ve got all of us.”

It meant a lot—the world, really— but it didn’t change the fact that when visiting hours were over and her friends and parents went home to sleep, she was just as alone as she always had been in the end. She knew she should be grateful to have so much love, but as she attempted to rest, part of her was still haunted by one last lingering nightmare, the one that she lied about having gone away.

She was hiding in some sort of shed, just a little peeling whitewashed wooden shelter next to a swirling expanse of sand and dirt. Rain pelted in the wall that was just a chainlink fence looking out to the field, but she tried to stay as quiet and still as possible. The monsters were coming for her. She shivered in the cold as the ground shook with their heavy footsteps. Any minute, she’d see a blue face, threatening to send her to one of the colonies where the work was hard and endless.

“Agent Skye!” a nurse called out to her and shook her slightly. “Agent Skye!”

Skye awoke to a kind but unfamiliar face relaxing. “Sorry, did I shake things again?”

“Yes, but it’s alright now.” The nurse waved her hand at staff peeking in the doorway. “Can you tell me what you were dreaming about, if anything?”

Skye sat up as she answered. “It’s one I had since I was a kid. Hiding from someone coming to take me away. Don’t have to be a shrink to figure that one out.”

The nurse had clearly read her chart because she responded without missing a beat. “No, not at all. Perhaps some antianxiety in the IV, just to help you sleep without fear?”

Skye could tell despite the nurse’s genuine concern that the medicine was not just for her own the nightmares but also for the ease of the nightshift staff. As a Shield foundling of unknown origin, she’d grown used to people being perplexed by her, astonished by her, and even afraid of her, but this was the first time she realized that fear was entirely valid. The nurse even secured Skye’s IV tape where it had shaken loose and rearranged some of the equipment before leaving, making it more stable in case she quaked it again.

The medicine did the trick and soon enough, she was back to sleep, despite her confusion and worries. This time, she slept dreamlessly.

The next day, she went home with instructions about bruise care and several medications, including an antianxiety daily pill and referral to a Shield therapist who dealt specifically with newly enhanced people. There was no way around it: her recovery process was going to hurt, but here at the end of her rope mentally and physically, she finally allowed herself to get the help she had needed for a lot longer than she had had superpowers.

After her body healed, she trained hard for months, going from emotionally shaken inside and sending little tremors into the world around her to steady inside and in control of her growing powers. Every day, they grew stronger as she did, until she could control the waves on the ocean from the shore and cause a landslide of the rocks on the hill from a high-rise a mile away. She poured all of her energy and anger and fear and unanswered questions into training until she was certified as an enhanced field agent.

[geekgirles]

Man in the Mirror

Inspired by @kazachokolate ‘s art here on Tumblr

Word count: 10,319 words Parings: Melinda/Edred, Emma/Winston

In the wake of Melinda's disappearance and Winston grating at his nerves, Edred will be forced to face his demons by an unlikely source.

READ ON AO3

Edred couldn’t quite understand how he was even alive. He hadn’t been able to breathe ever since Merlin deceived them and ambushed Melinda, that horrifying magic of his taking the form of a monstrous hand, crackling with electricity as it reached out for her and gripped her without mercy. The heart-wrenching echo of her pained and anguished screams had yet to stop bouncing around the walls of his tortured psyche. 

He felt sick, the hand covering his mouth as he waited felt like some sort of last ditch attempt to keep the heaving and anxiety at bay. Worry and terror for his beloved like he hadn’t felt in centuries held his heart in a vice grip, constricting it more and more with each second that went by without an answer, without a lead, without the promise that they would find Melinda again and he’d be able to hold her in his arms. Even if things between them right now were a far cry from the deep, long-lasting, unyielding love they once shared, he would give anything to be able to just melt into her sweet embrace once more. Anything to reassure his troubled heart its rightful owner was safe. 

But all he could do at the moment was just that—wait. 

The moment that traitor took Melinda away, Edred wasted no time asking Seng to look for her in the Cosmic Realm, his friend’s powers being their best bet in their quest. But alas, as he remembered the monk explaining time and time again, the cosmos was so vast and it spanned so many eras, and timelines, and worlds, it would definitely take him a while before he could lead them to Melinda. After all, if he had trouble finding her before while being in the same city, then naturally looking for her with no clear clue on where to start was only going to be even more challenging. 

And so, while Seng scanned the entire universe for even a sign that might lead them to Melinda, Edred waited. Seated on top of some debris from Otto’s ship, a pile of scrap metal of some kind, one hand covering his mouth while the other was firmly tucked in between his side and left biceps, he could only pray to the Northern Star and the Heart of the Forest that guided his people it wouldn’t be too late when they finally reached her. 

If being near her yet so far away due to her conflicting emotions had been torture, he did not want to even entertain the thought of what losing her completely would do to him. 

And just in case the overwhelming fear and worry for his Eternal Flame weren’t enough to cause him no small amounts of stress, the living reminder of the precarious situation their love was currently in just had to insist on helping them look for her. Edred could only take a deep breath to force himself to calm down when that Emma girl’s lap dog—an expression he never expected he would ever use literally, but lo and behold, here he was; Melinda was right, this awakening had definitely changed things—kept sniffing around, belly pressed against the floor and posterior high in the air, trying to identify either Merlin or Melinda’s scent to track them down. 

He thanked his lucky stars, from the bottom of his heart, that at least he was back to wearing his diaper. That man’s rear and dangling genitals was not something he needed to see. 

Forget Melinda; what did that Emma person ever see in him?!

The sound of whirring gears and steam being released coming from Copernicus snapped him out of his musings, making him look up at the robot. With a few more chirps and rotations of his head, he pointed to the section he and Seng had been in before Merlin struck. 

“You found Otto’s corpse right before Melinda was attacked?” He asked, perplexed by this revelation but thankful nonetheless for the distraction his robotic friend provided. 

Copernicus’ whistling was all the confirmation he needed. “This whole situation is shrouded in mystery. Otto helped us rebuild you, even if he was ultimately unable to bring you back without the help of the Heart. But at the same time, it is also very suspicious that the Fox Lady suddenly found and attacked us, it was almost as if she knew precisely where to look for us…”

“But she could as well just have been tailing us.” Seng was quick to point out, coming to hover closer to his companions even if he never lost his lotus position. “Don’t forget, she’d been watching us as we fought her animated statues. And seeing how I encountered her in the Cosmic Realm even before she first revealed herself to us, she must’ve been keeping a close eye on us from the very beginning.”

“Seng! How come you’re not looking for Melinda?” Edred exclaimed as he rose to his feet so he could be eye-level with both the monk and Copernicus. 

“Oh, I am. I’m just good at multitasking.” He explained simply with a shrug, and Edred gracefully decided against commenting on his struggle to focus properly since their awakening. They had much more important matters to deal with, after all. 

“Nevertheless, I still don’t like this.” With a sigh, he plopped back down on the cold material he’d been sitting on, his ears drooping as images of what Melinda could currently be going through flashed behind his eyes, haunting him. “And to think her own father would do such a thing as betraying his kin, his own flesh and blood…!”

“Wait, Lord Fairfax is here?” Winston’s head curiously shot up from behind some rubble, and this time the elf couldn’t prevent himself from groaning in annoyance at his useless contribution to the conversation. 

Seeing as his elven friend was too busy rubbing his hands down his face in frustration and Winston wouldn’t be able to understand Copernicus anyways, Seng took it upon himself to correct him. “Uh…no. I don’t even know who Lord Fairfax is. We’re talking about Merlin.”

“What does Merlin have to do with anything?”

“Did you not see him attack Melinda?!” Edred snapped, throwing one hand to the side as he glowered at the young man. Centuries spent fighting untold evils and the bane of his existence was a diaper-wearing, shapeshifting ginger. 

The diaper-wearing, shapeshifting ginger in question crossed his arms and sniffed snootily in response. “Of course I did, don’t be ridiculous! I just don’t understand what that weird old man has got to do with betraying one’s daughter!”

The elf was seconds away from asking Twillion to make a coat out of his pelt, whether he was transformed into a wolf or not. “Merlin is Melinda’s father.” He explained instead through gritted teeth and a twitching eye. 

“You’re joking.” The werewolf scoffed in clear disbelief.

“Does it look like I’m joking?” Edred shot back, his face displaying about as much jest as Copernicus’. 

“But she’s so young! And he is so…old.” Winston made a face, his newly-acquired fangs sticking out. “Just, how old was he when he had her?!”

While Edred massaged his temple and muttered obscenities under his breath, it was Seng who answered his question, hovering a little too close into his personal space for the young man’s comfort. “Oh, Melinda is only that young because Emma is; we were all probably at least a decade or two older than our current hosts during our first lives.”

Winston’s eyes comically widened like saucers while his previously crossed arms fell limply to his sides. Somehow, finding out that balding, superpowered hobo was related to someone as lovely as his darling, or the knowledge that Emma was currently possessed by a 40-year-old woman was proving itself to be far more difficult to process than…everything else he had gone through in the last few weeks, really. Turning into a werewolf included.

As he remained there, completely still, the Warriors began to grow uneasy. When Seng waving his hand in front of his face to get him to react yielded no results, the young monk turned to his friends with a worried frown. Jerking his thumb towards Winston, he said, “Uh…I think we broke him.”

Edred rolled his eyes with a huff. “No, he was already like this when we found him. Although, I’ll admit this newfound silence is a most welcomed thing.”

Said newfound silence was broken immediately after, much to the elf’s dismay and the robot and monk’s surprise, by Winston suddenly jerking back in shock, eyes ridiculously large with his index finger pointed towards his rival, and exclaiming, “That almighty vagabond is your father-in-law!?”

Edred, for his part, almost choked on his own spit at the outburst. “What?!”

“Oh, you heard me!” Winston smirked smugly, wagging his finger and strutting confidently closer to Edred, who immediately upon having him near took a step back to distance himself from him once again. However, the red-haired gentleman wouldn’t be deterred. Each time Edred widened the distance between them, Winston would take another step closer to him until he was practically in his face. 

“You and Merlin are family! Your father-in-law just attacked your wife!” The Warriors could only exchange a confused glance as his eyes unfocused, seemingly adrift in a sea of memories. “My, it sort of reminds me of last Christmas at my house, although in that case it was Aunt Margaret who attacked her daughter’s husband…Which is understandable when you take into account one of her friends had recently caught him two-timing poor Abigail, so it is only natural Aunt Margaret, as a loving mother, would try to defend her daughter’s honou—”

“You’re rambling.” Edred grumbled, unamused. 

“And this situation is nothing like the one about your cousin’s cheating husband.” Seng chimed in matter-of-factly, and Edred couldn’t help but smile smugly at his friend having his back. Only for the smile to be wiped off of his face when the cosmic monk continued feeding unnecessary details to his romantic rival. “Edred and Merlin aren’t family because he and Melinda aren’t married—!”

He was rudely interrupted by Edred clamming a blue hand over his mouth in order to silence him. “Alright, Seng, that’s enough. You should go back to looking for Melinda!” He chuckled nervously, a strained smile plastered on his face. 

But it was too late, Winston had heard the kid loud and clear. “What?! You’re not even married to the woman you love and yet you dare try and come in between me and Emma? What kind of shameless hooligan are you?!”

Even though on the inside he was horrified Winston was now aware of that particular piece of information, since he just knew that glorified, oversized dog would not hesitate to use it against him (just like he was doing right now), Edred chose to mask his mortification as indifference. With a practised roll of his eyes and an arched eyebrow, he simply shot back, “Last time I checked, neither are you and Emma,” right before turning away and hurriedly putting some distance between the group and him with as much dignity as he could muster. 

“Whose fault do you think it is?” He could hear Winston mutter to himself. He didn’t turn around even as his ears perked up when he called after him, “Hey, don’t ignore me! I’m still talking to you!”

But he paid him no mind, even as he huffed indignantly and grumbled something along the lines of “No way he’s a prince with those manners…” Instead, Edred just kept walking, hands behind his back and eyes peeled for any clue that might lead him back to his love. 

His ears twitched as he heard the rest doing the same, indicating Copernicus was back to moving pieces of rubble around while Winston resumed his sniffing. The lack of distinctive sounds coming from Seng was all he needed to know the young monk was back to focusing entirely on scanning the universe. And so, he followed their example, crouching low as he manoeuvred his way around the wreckage in search of any clue that might lead them to Melinda. 

Perhaps the robotic remains could clue him in on what he needed to look for. Maybe the crash had scattered important documents detailing their next course of action. Maybe he could even have Twillion of the North try and track either Merlin or Melinda’s magic signature. It wasn’t something they had ever tried before, but even to this day his loyal sword never failed to amaze him with its many talents. Perhaps they could even—

“You really need to change your approach, you know?” A mysterious and heavily accented, yet oddly familiar, voice suddenly said, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

Startled but not about to let anybody catch him by surprise again, Edred immediately jumped a few feet away, Twillion already firmly secured in his grasp as his eyes darted around in search of his possible attacker. 

He gripped the sword’s hilt a bit tighter and dug his feet on the ground, steadying his battle stance. His ears twitched every which way as they tried to discern either the origin of the voice or any sounds that might reveal its owner’s location. His eyes kept looking around, waiting for any sudden movements or faux pas on his opponent’s part. 

For the longest time, nothing happened. 

Just as Edred was about to sheathe his sword and blame his momentary loss of lucidity on stress—and werewolf-induced irritation—, the same voice from before echoed once more, a distinctively amused inflection in its tone, “Turn around.”

Tensing up at the possibility of having lowered his guard enough for his assailant to sneak up on him, the warrior elf slowly, very slowly, did as he was told. His grip on Twillion so tight his knuckles turned white. At the last possible second, he swiftly spun around, thrusting his sword’s tip into his unknown enemy’s neck…only to be taken aback when the collision was met with an unexpected clunk, rather than the sound of steel meeting flesh he had been aiming for. 

His confusion soon morphed into bewilderment at the sight before him, his jaw dropping in astonishment. 

At the other end of his sword, lookin completely unscathed and even a little bored, was a young human man. The man in question had an olive complexion adorned by delicate facial features and long lashes surrounding his deep, dark eyes. Atop of his head a carefully combed mop of raven black hair was styled into a tuft of hair sticking out upwards. For some strange reason, he was wearing the same red kaftan and black pants and boots combination as him—they even had similar builds! He stood with his arms folded over his chest, his long fingers drumming rhythmically against his left biceps as he casually leant against…seemingly nothing? How…? 

“Who…are you?” were the only words that left Edred’s mouth, as he was clearly having a hard time trying to understand what was going on. 

The stranger’s face positively lit up, which only exacerbated the elf’s existing uneasiness. He could only look on in bewilderment as the strange human dramatically bowed down, one hand pressed against his chest while the other was extended high in the air. Not even the most brown-nosing of his father’s subjects reached that low when they bowed before their king. It was nothing short of disconcerting. 

“Dimitri Dynamo at your service, my friend.” The stranger finally introduced himself. Only to yelp in surprise when his conversational partner once again pointed his sword at his throat. 

“And I’m just supposed to know who you are?” Edred asked with narrowed eyes, not trusting this weirdo for a second. 

The weirdo—Dimitri—regained his composure just as quickly. Ignoring the cold steel right in front of him, he dusted himself off as he stuck up his nose. “Well, I would expect you to, given we are one and the same.”

That gave Edred pause. “What are you talking about?”

Dimitri simply gestured down at himself before sending a meaningful look the elf’s way. “Where do you think you got those tantalising eyelashes and glass-cutting cheekbones from?”

Edred could feel his eyes widen as realisation struck him. Those clothes, that voice, those features…! Of course they were all so familiar, they��d been staring back at him since he was awakened! “You’re my host!” He exclaimed with a yelp, Twillion thrusted forward as he unconsciously used it to point at the human talking to him. 

“And a round of applause for Edred for finally figuring it out!” He joyfully exclaimed, almost as if he were talking to an audience, before clapping triumphantly himself. 

“But…how is this possible?!”

“Don’t ask me…” Dimitri shugged. “You’re the one who’s been overtaking people’s bodies for hundreds of years. If you don’t know how this works, how do you expect me to?”

For his part, Edred just massaged his forehead in frustration. “No, not that! I mean how is it possible that you are talking to me; our merging was the only one that was successful. You should have been completely overwritten until our duty was fulfilled and my soul left your body!”

His host only hummed noncommittally. “Truth be told, I was never fully subsumed. I have been conscious and aware of everything from the start.”

“What?! Then how come I haven’t had any problems with you, unlike Melinda and her host, Emma?”

“Oh, that I can answer!” The delighted smile that curled at Dimitri’s lips wasn’t helping Edred’s anxiety any. In fact, it only got worse when his host casually admitted, “I was just having fun.”

“You…you were having…fun…” Edred drawled out the words, practically chewing them as he tried to process this unexpected turn of events. If this was what Melinda had been dealing with lately, he owed her a massive apology. 

Dimitri nodded fervently, the grin never leaving his face. “That’s right! You see, I’m a stage magician, so when that metallic friend of yours zapped me with that light of his and I saw your memories, I just knew this was my chance!”

“Your chance? Your chance for what?” Edred raised an eyebrow, choosing to focus on that rather than on the disturbing prospect that this nutcase had seen his innermost thoughts and memories. He’d much rather deal with one traumatic experience at a time, thank you very much. 

Even though they were separated by a metal barrier—as the warrior came to realise he was talking to the street performer through his reflection on a chunk of metal, rather than his physical form—Edred still leaned back unconsciously as Dimitri seemed to lean forward and invade his personal space. 

“To live an epic adventure, of course! As the greatest magician of all time, I have always been intrigued by anything magical or dramatic, and having a warrior elf invade my body while he waged an endless battle against an ancient evil promised to be both things! I just couldn’t pass up on an opportunity like that!”

“But if you’ve been conscious this entire time, why didn’t you manifest sooner?” Edred countered. “Melinda seemed to struggle with Emma’s presence in their body, yet I never knew you were still around until now.”

To his confusion, the street performer just shook his head good-naturedly, hands balled into fists on his hips. “I already told you; I never posed a problem for you because this arrangement didn’t pose a problem for me! While you fought using my body, I could see everything through a tiny, tiny window, enjoying every second of it.”

“So why speak up now?!” Edred demanded to know with a snarl. This whole experience was getting old fast. This Dimitri fellow wasn’t really providing any kind of useful insight and, even worse, talking to him was robbing him of precious time he could be using to look for Melinda. His love was clearly in danger as they spoke; he didn’t have time for this!

However, his narrowed eyes and borne teeth slowly melted away as, for the first time since making his presence known, Dimitri’s expression sobered up into what could only be described as chilling disappointment. “Because now I have a problem with you.”

“W-what,” he cleared his throat, interrupting himself. He was not willing to let a mere host see he had some kind of effect on him, “What is it?”

“You’re not handling the situation right.” Dimitri sentenced. Before the elf could so much as question him on what he meant, the Russian performer beat him to it, raising a palm up to silence him. “You are not treating either Melinda or Winston right.”

Edred could feel the tips of his ears heat up in outrage, his fists clenching at his sides as his shoulders squared in rightful anger. Who did this guy think he was? What, just because he claimed to have been watching he thought himself entitled to his life? He thought he could just comment and criticise him just like that? He had no idea what he had been through during this awakening, the things he had lost, and how much it all heavily weighed on him. 

He was just like Winston, he realised with a start. He thought that just because he was in a bit of an odd situation that made him some sort of expert on the matter, like he belonged on the team just because! Well, he was determined to nip that ludicrous idea of his right in the bud. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Edred practically growled, his voice lowering an octave as his burning eyes zeroed in on his reflection. Dimitri remained undaunted, however, simply folding his hands behind his lower back and leaning forward so he was closer to his elven guest. 

“As I said, I saw everything.” He sent him a pointed look. “Including how you let your petty rivalry with Dog Boy cloud your judgement. And look at what happened! One measly punch and Melinda’s gone!”

Dimitri’s words, a cruel reminder of how he failed to protect the love of his life, struck a chord within Edred. He already knew he lost his temper and went overboard when he let Winston’s jabs get the better of him, resulting in his momentary lapse in judgement and him punching the boy, his actions soon after escalating into a brawl that kept them distracted while his love needed his help the most. He already knew he let her down, the last thing he needed was another mortal way in over his head rubbing the fact in his face!

“You may have seen everything, but you know nothing about me.” He said in a low, menacing tone. One last warning for Dimitri to back off and mind his own business. 

What he said next disarmed him completely, though. 

“I know you’re hurting.”

Edred couldn’t help but let out a small gasp at the affirmation, Dimitri’s words shaking him to the core. In his stunned state, he didn’t register when he loosened his grip on Twillion until it fell off his hand. Hadn’t it been for its enchantment, the sword would have hit the floor instead of coming to hover beside its owner. His jaw slackened and his ears lowered in shame as his mind processed what the street performer just told him. 

Was he really hurting? 

Truth be told, it hadn’t been an easy couple of days…For the thumping of the Heart, who was he kidding? Nothing had been easy since the very moment he was awakened! 

First Melinda didn’t recognise herself or either of her closest friends, including her love, him. Then, that pachyderm took them by surprise and ended up driving her away. When they found her and faced the Fox Lady for the first time, for some reason she refused to act like herself and use her powers to their true potential, until he pushed her too far by refusing to help her when she needed it most and she ended up summoning a vicious monster that ultimately destroyed Copernicus. 

And now he was forced to deal with the aftermath of his actions all those years ago and leave his home behind forever for he had lost his only connection to his homeland by giving his original body up to Aelwulf. And because facing an existential crisis and losing a core part of yourself wasn’t torture enough, that Emma person’s fiancé just had to turn into a werewolf and chase after them, all the while he mocked him by reminding him his Eternal Flame couldn’t be bothered to reaffirm her devotion for him while she was clearly fond of the human. 

In all honesty, the ache in his heart hadn’t left him once since Melinda refused his kiss when they reunited. If anything, it only grew more intense by the second. But he’d rather kiss that mutt’s fuzzy rear than admit anything to a mere mortal who had no idea what he was talking about. 

As Edred was contemplating on everything that led him to his current predicament, Dimitri limited himself to watching him in silence. If there was one thing he had learned while sharing a body with the elven prince, that was that he was prideful. Very much so. He would have to tread carefully and measure his words if he wished to help him. 

However, when he saw Edred’s definite decision was to resolutely trudge away from him, the street performer was left with no choice but to throw all caution into the wind and pull a somewhat reckless gamble. He was a magician, after all; risky moves were his specialty. “You know, I would be angry too.”

Edred, who had already reattached his sword to his back and had begun his march away from the pesky human, stopped in his tracks at his words. Fists clenched at his sides, for he knew better than to entertain his host, he cursed himself when his curiosity got the better of him. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, he looked back at Dimitri over his shoulder, caution written all over his face. “What do you mean?”

“I would be angry too if some overzealous boyfriend tried to insert himself into my life and that of my beloved.”

Edred’s eyes widened for a second, before he averted his gaze to anywhere but Dimitri. With a resigned sigh, he turned to face him again, making his way to stand in front of him once more. “It’s…more than just that, unfortunately.”

Dimitri allowed himself a small victorious smile before continuing. “It’s Melinda, is it not?”

He flinched at the painful throb in his heart caused by hearing her name on his lips. “I just…I just don’t understand. We’ve been together for centuries, our love was the only reassurance we had in a life of constant change and uncertainty… How come she doesn’t remember me, but has no trouble showing affection for him?

“And the way that fool just can’t seem to grasp this isn’t some sort of adventure like the ones he must have read in a novel! This has been our reality for centuries, we chose to give it all up for the sake of the world, yet he treats it like a mere inconvenience that is getting in the way of his perfect little relationship with his little fiancée! Lives are at stake here and he treats it all like some cheap romance novel!”

As he spoke, his shoulders shaking, Edred hung his head low, unable to meet Dimitri’s gaze, terrified of what he might find. Would he pity him? Judge him? Side with Winston? 

Would he understand him?

No, of course not. How could a mere child ever understand the kind of issues plaguing his mind? He said it himself; having his body overtaken was an exhilarating experience for someone like him, who lived for drama. Much like with Winston, this was all just a game for him.

“I must admit, I cannot exactly relate to your problem,” there he was, confirming all of his suspicions as if he had read his mind. However, what he said next caught the elf completely by surprise, making him look up at him in wonder, “But I can only imagine how painful it must be seeing how your love not only distances herself from you but seeks comfort from another man.”

“That is an understatement.” He muttered, averting his gaze to the ground before Dimitri’s next words made him look back up at him.

“Then again, I can sort of understand why you two fight for her? With that long hair, black as night; those beautiful, big eyes; those plump lips of hers…” With every word Dimitri used to describe Melinda, Edred only grew more and more uncomfortable, and more and more miffed, his fists itching for a fight. “My, if she isn’t the most beautiful flower I have ever seen…” 

“Watch it!” Edred finally snarled, fists high in the air and shaking. “I already have my hands full dealing with that overgrown fur ball, I do not have the patience to deal with you too.”

Much to his bafflement, unfortunately, Dimitri simply eyed his fists and raised a questioning eyebrow his way, unimpressed. “I may not have centuries of fighting experience like you, but something tells me punching what is essentially your reflection on a metal board is not exactly the brightest thing you can do.”

As much as he hated to admit it, he had a point. With a scoff, Edred slowly lowered his fists and once again turned his back on Dimitri, only this time he actually leaned against the metal, arms crossed over his chest. “It’s all because of Melinda’s host.” He grumbled after a beat of silence. “That Emma person has been affecting her ever since she was reawakened. And now it has got so bad her little boyfriend came running for her and convinced her to let him stay!”

“But I thought Melinda was now the dominant personality once again?” 

He let out a heavy sigh. “I believed so too. She even appeared distraught at the idea of me staying in my kingdom…” Just then, Edred’s wistful expression at the prospect of his Angel of Darkness caring about him turned grim, darker. “But just as I thought I was on the threshold of finally getting my love back, Emma’s fiancé had to complicate everything even more.”

“You are aware his name is Winston, right?”

“If you name him, you will grow fond of him and then it will be impossible to get him to leave.”

“...Because now he is a dog?”

“Yes, because he is a dog!” Edred snapped, making Dimitri flinch. Before the poor performer even had time to recover, he went on with a scoff, “And in more ways than one, too! Seriously, does he not swear his utmost devotion to Emma? Then why does he not seem affected in the slightest by now that he is currently flirting shamelessly with Melinda?

“And I don’t even mean it as being disrespectful to me, Melinda’s lover, but to Emma herself. He has made it perfectly clear he is well aware of both women sharing the same body, for the Heart of the Forest’s sake!” He exclaimed irately, throwing his arms to his sides and making his host cower. For a second, Dimitri had to remind himself that no matter how much he moved and flailed his arms around, Edred could not hurt him. “He even rubbed the fact that Melinda still shows affection towards him in my face! How isn’t he more troubled by it? What, does he only care for Emma’s body so as long as any woman looks like her he doesn’t mind?” He sniffed at the mere notion. “Surely, Emma deserves better than someone that will wag his tail for just about anyone…Literally.”

There was a beat of silence where Edred kept silently fuming to himself while Dimitri looked unsure of how to even broach the subject. Suddenly, trying to help the elf he now shared his body with didn’t seem as good an idea as it did on paper. Eventually, he couldn’t help it anymore and asked, “Is that supposed to be another jab at his current dog-like state?”

Edred could only inhale deeply through his nose in vexation, convinced he would end up embedding his fist on the cold metal if he didn’t try to keep his temper in check. He would need to have a serious chat with Copernicus on his host choices in the future; between this Russian buffoon, Melinda’s uncooperative, fool-attracting brat, and Seng’s too-young-to-even-function-properly kid, the last batch of chosen ones left much to be desired. 

“As a matter of fact,” he chose to say instead, “that was just a metaphor. The fact that it also applies on a literal level is mere coincidence.”

“Ah, I see.” Dimitri replied unintelligently. For a while, silence settled over them, the only sound that could be heard was the nervous tapping of the performer’s palms against his thighs. Taking a deep breath, he chose to shoot his shot. “You two are remarkably similar, however.”

“What?” Edred barely spared him a side glance. “Who do you say are similar?”

“You and Winston.”

Edred nearly burst an artery at that. 

Whipping his head around so fast Dimitri was genuinely surprised he hadn’t got whiplash, he all but screeched. “What?!”

“Yes, the both of you actually have much in common! Really, it’s like watching a cat trying to scratch its reflection in the mirror.”

The elf was so outraged he couldn’t even speak coherently. For a while, all that would leave his mouth would be stammering and huffs and scoffs, perhaps a few short syllables or lonesome words, but a minute or two passed by before he would manage to sputter out, “D-d-don’t b-be ridiculous! Winston and I are not the same!”

“And thank goodness for that!” The redheaded man’s grating voice reached Edred’s ears, immediately causing him to grit his teeth and slump down his posture in irritation. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he chanced a look where the shrill sound was coming from, and lo and behold, there Winston was, standing a few feet away in all of his copper-diaper glory. 

While the elven prince looked upwards, begging whatever deity that might be listening to put an end to his suffering, Winston strutted closer to him, his head moving every which way as he took in his surroundings. “You and I not being the same must be the first intelligent thing you’ve said all day! You’ll have to forgive me, Your Highness,” he mocked, coming to stand beside his rival and resting his arm on his shoulder, only to have it shoved away by Edred, “but no matter where you look, there is simply no comparison! I’m a refined gentleman on a mission, to assist his one true love in any way he can! And you…” He trailed off, eying him up and down disparagingly, “...you are a blue barbarian who can’t read the room holding onto what once was.”

“Oh yes, it is very gentlemanly of you to scratch behind your ears with your foot. I shall inform my childhood governess of your impeccable etiquette.” 

Winston flushed at the sarcastic remark, and Edred allowed himself to smirk, pleased to have finally ruffled this insufferable imbecile’s feathers for a change. “I know this is most likely a stupid question—”

“Just like the little prince asking it…”

“—since there is literally no reason for you to be here with us in the first place, but what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be playing hound like your friends, the dogs from the police department?”

“As a matter of fact, I was trying to track that Merlin fellow and Emma—”

“Melinda!”

“—down with my highly developed sense of smell, until my equally heightened hearing caught wind of you talking to someone.” He kept on explaining, ignoring him, with his posture straightened and hands behind his back in a scholarly fashion. “But since I couldn’t identify any other voices, I came as fast as I could to make sure you hadn’t gone mad.” 

He then proceeded to dart his eyes all over his form critically, causing Edred to shoot a glare his way. “Not like it would make any difference from the current you, mind you.”

The elf was about to protest, and hopefully come up with a hurtful remark of his own, when Winston’s words registered in his mind. One raised finger frozen in mid-air as his jaw slackened slightly.  “Wait, you didn’t hear him?”

“Who?”

“Him!” He said, pointing to his right at Dimitri, who was watching the exchange curiously. 

All Winston could see, however, was his rival’s reflection pointing right back at him. “Oh, yes.” He said after a pause, giving Edred hope for a second, “I see it is already too late. I shall let your friends know you have clearly lost it. Hopefully they’ll know what to do with you.”

“Wait!” Right as Winston was about to return the way he came from, before he had time to question his actions, Edred placed his hand on his shoulder. Before the werewolf could get a word in, he turned to face Dimitri. “How come he can’t see or hear you?”

All Dimitri could do was shrug. “I don’t know, as I said, you’re the one who’s been doing this for ages, not me. Though if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because I’m your host and therefore only you can interact with me. After all, you are aware of Emma’s presence in Melinda’s body, are you not?”

The elf nodded, “Yes, I know about Emma,” just as his romantic rival questioned, “What about Emma?” Only to be ignored. 

“But you have never seen her, have you?” The performer pressed on. 

“No, I have not.”

“Seriously, who are you talking to?” Winston asked, trying in vain to wrestle himself free of the warrior’s grasp, as the absence of the full moon rendered him practically powerless. 

“Then I assume only the host and guest can communicate with each other.” Dimitri concluded. “By that logic everybody else would only be able to hear one half of the conversation.”

“So he just assumes I’ve been talking to myself this whole time?” He rolled his eyes with a sigh, “Wonderful. Just wonderful.”

“Would you let me go already?!” Winston cried, squirming out of the elf’s grip, who had honestly forgotten all about him. “Seriously, who do you keep talking to?! And you had better give me a good answer because I’m this,” he brought his thumb and index fingers closer together, separated only by an inch, “close to going back to the floating kid and the robot to let them know they are two teammates down!”

Both host and guest just stared blankly at the werewolf for a second, blinking several times at his outburst. The silence was only broken when Dimitri spoke up, “See? This is what I mean when I say you two are very similar; you both are very impatient.”

Edred whipped his head around to face him, a glare on his face. “Don’t you dare compare me to him! We have nothing in common!”

“Oh, look! Not all is lost!” Winston said with feigned cheer. “That has got to be the first thing we actually agree on...” He flinched under the elf’s gaze when he snapped his head to glare down on him. 

“Would you just shut up?! I’m not talking to you!”

“Then there’s also your astounding pettiness.” Dimitri pointed out. “I swear, I never thought two grown men could bicker with as much intensity as two debutantes wearing the same dress at a party. Yet, here you two are, proving me wrong.”

“We do not bicker like two debutantes!” Edred countered. “Our arguments are far more meaningful than wearing the same dress to a ball!”

“I don’t know about that.” Winston said, his thumb and index finger cupping his chin in a pensive manner. He had all but given up trying to find any sense in the situation. “Wearing the same dress as another debutante is a very severe matter. After all, they use those balls to introduce themselves to society, so it is imperative the night goes off without a hitch, and being eclipsed by another is a disastrous start to aristocratic life… Besides, I have been to my fair share of debuts in high society where genuine bloodbaths took place for far smaller offences. Those girls are vicious, let me tell you.”

“Fascinating.” Edred deadpanned, a disinterested frown on his face. “My point is,” he said pointedly to Dimitri, “we are nothing alike!”

“I could have told you that…” The redhead scoffed, crossing his arms. 

Again, he was ignored. “So you can keep your unhelpful observations and ridiculous accent to yourself.”

For the first time since this crazy exchange started, Dimitri looked genuinely offended, a hand pressed over his heart as he gasped dramatically. “For your information, many people find my accent positively charming! I dare say many would prefer my natural voice over yours any day of the week.”

“Ridiculous?!” Winston cried, completely oblivious to the magician’s side of the conversation yet again. It was all Edred could do not to send Twillion to cut his tongue off and silence him once and for all. They really didn’t have time for this! “Excuse you, I’ll let you know I took rigorous classes meant to help four-years-old form the perfect intonation and enunciation, and my teacher said I was the best student she had ever had!”

“That’s hardly fair.” The elven warrior snarked. “Four-year-olds have nothing to do against a fully grown man…”

“I was four at the time, too!” 

“How you two can argue like petulant children and still not see how much you have in common is beyond me.” It was Dimitri’s time to deadpan. 

“Oh, then please, do tell. How exactly are this foolish mutt and I similar?” Edred challenged his host, having finally had enough of how he only backed his allegations with vague comparisons. 

“I resent that remark.” Winston grumbled as he went back to sniffing around the area, making sure to keep an eye on the mentally unstable individual he had the displeasure of working with. 

Forget Emma; what did Melinda ever see in him?!

“To put it simply, you are both on the same boat.” 

Again with the vague explanations that didn’t amount to anything… “For the last time, we are not on the same boat!” Edred snapped. 

“And now he’s talking about a boat!” Winston exclaimed, incredulous. “In case you haven’t noticed, Your Highness, there is no boat! If anything, we’re on a ship wreckage.” He pointed out, swatting away some remaining pieces with his hands as he looked around the area as if to prove his point. 

“Fine, in that case you two are on the same ship wreckage.” Dimitri conceded with a shrug. He then began to dart his eyes around the scene, an infuriating smirk making its way to his lips as he tapped his finger against his cheek. “Now that I think about it, that is indeed the most accurate description of your current situation.”

Edred just knew he was going to regret asking, “And why would that be?”

Ignoring the naked man’s shrieks that urged his elven guest to just look around him, the performer took his chance to finally make some progress. “Because right now both of your relationships with each other and your respective loves are fractured.”

Edred bit his lip and looked away, bearing through the pain caused by the feeling of his heart sinking. Why did everyone have to constantly remind him of the state his relationship with Melinda was currently in? First that red-headed pound convict and now this eccentric man with the Eastern European accent. 

Dimitri chose to capitalise on the elf’s silence to move the conversation along and where he wanted it to be. “Edred, I will not pretend to understand everything you are currently going through. To be completely honest, none of my romantic endeavours has ever evolved beyond a fling, let alone become a love that transcends numerous lifetimes, so I simply cannot fathom what it must be like losing that.”

“Then why do you insist on commenting over something you know nothing about?” Edred countered pointedly, glaring at his reflection. But Dimitri could see beyond his anger and notice the pain and hopelessness dripping from his voice. With just one look at his eyes the Russian magician could see inside the prince’s soul and witness how his heart broke in two. 

“Because even though you do know what it’s like, you are doing nothing to solve your problems.” Dimitri sentenced gravely, looking him dead in the eye. 

“What? Do you hear yourself? Didn’t you say you’ve been watching since the very beginning?”

“That is correct.”

“Then how can you claim I have done nothing to solve my problems?” Edred challenged. “I have been doing everything in my power to help and bring Melinda back!”

The young man remained unperturbed, the only sign that the elf hadn’t been talking to a wall—although, technically, he had been doing just that for the past half hour or so—was the heavy sigh that eventually escaped his host’s mouth. “You have definitely been taking action…but I’m afraid most, if not all, of your ideas were…” a hesitant pause, “...flawed.”

“What do you know?!” 

“Again, I’ve seen everything.” Dimitri shot back. “When Melinda first started acting unlike herself, your only solution was to push her beyond her comfort zone in an attempt to get her to remember everything more quickly. Which sums up pretty much your problem: for the most part, when Melinda doesn’t act like you want her to, you double down on your efforts to get her to do just that instead of actually tackling the issue!”

Edred scoffed with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms, “And what do you suggest is the issue, oh, great relationship guru?”

But Dimitri answered back without missing a beat. “For the most part, she has been lost and confused over who she is and what she should do and in dire need of support.” He sent him a meaningful look as he spoke. “Support you have been denying her!”

The warrior jerked back, stunned by his words. “How dare you?! I have been nothing but supportive of Melinda since the day we first met!”

“But now she needs a different kind of support!” Dimitri implored his guest to work with him, to listen to what he had to say. To listen to what Melinda had to say and needed the most. “Up until now, what she needed most wasn’t you throwing her to the wolves to fend for herself in hopes of getting her to snap out of whatever funk she’s in. What she needed was for someone to be with her and have her back while she navigated some clearly confusing and complicated matters! She needed a shoulder to lean on and time and time again you refused to lend it to her!”

At the magician’s words, Edred was sent reeling back, looking like he had just been slapped in the face. For a while, he remained immobile and a heavy silence settled between the two. Winston’s sniffing around, burrowing through demolished robots, and occasional critical remarks on how poor Emma was surrounded by madmen the only sound echoing through the ship's ruins. 

Dimitri was blinked back into reality by Edred’s voice cutting through the silence, though it was surprisingly low and soft compared to what he’d seen of the elf so far. “I did try to be there for her and offer her support…but even then she didn’t want it.” He choked on his next words. “She didn’t want…me.”

Dimitri’s expression softened. He didn’t like to see anyone looking as depressed as Edred did at the moment, that was why he became a performer, after all; to bring cheer to everyone around him through his tricks. But he was glad he was finally allowing himself to be vulnerable around him nonetheless. 

“Because as I said,” he began softly, placing one hand against the cold metal he was reflected on, “you had just thrown her to the wolves when you left her at that ship. And she was still healing from it.”

Edred winced at the reminder. That definitely wasn’t one of his best moments, and it eventually only led to all kinds of trouble. He remembered the conflict and guilt gnawing away at him the moment he turned his back on Melinda after she was taken by that naval monstrosity, but he had seen her deal with much bigger threats practically single-handedly in the past. He was so sure that was the key to bring his Angel of Darkness back… 

In the end, it didn’t matter. Melinda accessed her powers and freed herself, yes. But at what cost? She unleashed a terror that ultimately destroyed Copernicus and put centuries of devoted sacrifice in jeopardy. It didn’t even help to bring them closer together, if anything, she only pushed him further away after that. No wonder she didn’t accept his offers to help her, genuine as they might have been. 

He wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up hating him after this awakening was over.

Dimitri watched worriedly as Edred seemed to wither away. His expression turned sombre, his eyes were downcast and practically devoid of life, his posture slouched like a convict about to be hung, and his ears were so low it was a miracle they weren’t touching the floor. 

“Hey, now.” He said to get his attention. Once the elf’s eyes settled back on him, he continued. “I know facing one’s mistakes and owning up to them is easier said than done, but it’s something we must do if we truly seek forgiveness and to mend our relationships with our loved ones.”

“Then what do you suggest I do?” Edred practically implored him, finally willing to accept his help. It was all Dimitri could do not to grin like a madman. 

“Talk to her.” He said simply. “Once we get her back safe and sound, tell her you want to talk. Apologise for your recent behaviour towards her and just…open up your heart.”

“Open up my heart?” He questioned, tilting his head in confusion. 

The street performer nodded with a smile. “That is right. Tell her how you’re feeling. Tell her you love her and seeing the distance she’s putting between you two is killing you inside. Tell her you were desperate to get her back and acted impulsively as a result. Just…be honest with her and try to accept whatever decision she makes. After all, isn’t the person you love more than anything worth it?”

Edred remained silent as he contemplated Dimitri’s advice. Of course Melinda was worth one potentially difficult conversation. How could she not when he had left his kingdom for her and never looked back until very recently? And even if given her complicated relationship with Emma she ended up rejecting him, well, all he could do was accept it and cherish every moment together they had, and cherish every moment they would have, albeit as allies and friends rather than lovers…

After all, he still remembered how she willingly, though no less painfully, chose to let him go for the sake of his people so he would be married to another before he himself chose to run away. He could still feel the warmness in his hand and the ache in his heart as he wiped away her tears from her face when she said goodbye. 

Melinda was the love of his life, in this and every life, and so, she deserved to be treated with all the love he possessed. 

With one final nod, he came to rest his hand against the cold metal, and on top of Dimitri’s outstretched one. “I promise to do right by her. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Dimitri said with a smile, before it turned slightly more devious. The sight was enough to make Edred gulp involuntarily. “Now let’s talk about the other elephant in the room.” He said meaningfully as he nodded his head towards where Winston was crouched down, his nose pressed against the floor. 

“Must we really?” The elf whined. 

The performer chuckled. “I’m afraid so.”

With a huff, the elf let his shoulders slump in defeat. With a sigh, he straightened back up with his hands raised up in surrender. “Alright, alright. What do you suggest I do with…” He motioned with his head towards his rival, “...him.”

“First, it would do you some good to acknowledge you’re not so different after all.”

“I still fail to see what you mean by that.” 

“Let’s see…” Dimitri pretended to think, tapping his finger against his chin. “How about that you two have proven to be very determined, are both facing the prospect of being separated from the woman you love in one way or another, and willingly gave up your life to be with her in any possible way?”

Edred hung his head in defeat, finally seeing the connection. “I hate it when you make sense.” 

“So, what are you waiting for? He’s right there!” The magician urged, gesturing towards the werewolf. “Talk to him while you can.”

Just as Edred was mustering up the courage—and patience—to call Winston over, the ginger beat him to the punch by coming to stand beside him. He had his fists on his hips and an eyebrow raised as he looked critically back at the warrior prince. 

“Are you done filling your belfry with bats so we can continue our search for Emma, or should I contact the famous Sigmund Freud everyone’s been talking about?”

Resisting the urge to correct him on Melinda’s name, Edred allowed his clenched fists to loosen as he took one last calming, deep breath. “I…actually wanted to talk with you.”

“Oh, really?” Winston adjusted his diaper before crossing his arms, and Edred had to muster every single bit of self-control he possessed not to make a scathing remark about if it was somehow too loose given its contents. “What, here to insult my, and I quote, ‘childhood crush’ some more? Because if that is the case, you can save it.” He said with a wave of his hand.

Just as the lycanthrope was about to walk away, Edred stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder. “Actually, I wanted to apologise.”

With an eyebrow raised, Winston regarded him with his full attention. “I’m listening.”

Edred took one last breath, this was it. “I am sorry for the way I have been treating you. Me being hurt over how Melinda treats you as a result of Emma’s love for you and hold on her is no excuse for my actions. I should have taken you to shore instead of leaving you stranded with nothing but a scathing remark. And I am fully aware the current situation we’re in is my fault; if I had handled my temper better, you and I wouldn’t have come to blows and get distracted and maybe…maybe Melinda wouldn’t have been taken.”

While it was true he was pleasantly surprised by Edred’s apology, Winston couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I already told you, I don’t mind being a werewolf! That just means I get to be with Emma again.”

“And I’m afraid that is what you don’t get.” Edred countered, looking him straight in the eye. “While I do admit I said it mostly to get under your skin, I meant it when I said your current curse might work against you not that far away from now. Winston, what you did is foolish in more ways than one!”

“How do I know you’re not just saying that so I’ll stay away from your ‘precious Melinda?’” Winston mocked. He should have known this blue, arrogant jerk would never give him a genuine apology. He only wanted him to give up and get out of his way!

What his rival said next caught him completely off-guard.

“Because I’ve seen it before!” Edred snapped, coming to stand within the redhead’s personal bubble. “I told you, Winston! Melinda, Seng, Copernicus, and I have been doing this for centuries! Do you really think you’re the first relative of one of our hosts to decide to throw all caution into the wind and follow their loved one to danger? Do you have any idea how many of those people lost their lives trying to help their loved ones? How devastated Emma would be if she got her body back only to learn you died because you stubbornly insisted on following us?

“You have no idea about the gravity of our duty, boy. We essentially gave up our lives to protect the world in an endless battle throughout time. We know our mere presence in their bodies already poses changes of enormous consequences to our host’s lives. Which is why we always try to defeat the Evil as quickly as possible; so the people whose bodies we occupy can go back to living as much of a normal life as they possibly can, because the more time passes, the less likely they are to ever get their old lives back.”

After what felt like an eternity, he finally leaned back, allowing Winston to breathe once more. “You being turned into a werewolf isn’t so much a blessing as it is a disservice to Emma, who will have to live knowing you essentially ruined your life for her sake. Just like you being with us isn’t your chance to squeeze in as many dates with your fiancée as you can, rather, you’re putting people’s lives in danger, starting with yours.”

A heavy silence hung over them after that. Edred wondered if perhaps he actually let his still volatile emotions get the better of him yet again and was too hard on the boy, while Winston contemplated on what he had just learned. For his part, Dimitri kept looking back and forth, wondering who would break the silence. 

In the end, it was Winston. “I’m sorry.”

Edred’s ears perked up. “What?”

“I said I’m sorry.” The young man repeated, a little louder this time. “You’re right, I am clearly way in over my head.” He admitted, flopping down on a piece of scrap metal with his hands covering his face. “I suppose, in my haste to be reunited with Emma and protect her from the strange circumstances she was involved with, I clearly didn’t think things through. I ended up causing trouble for everyone. I’m really sorry.”

Edred hesitated for a moment before he too sat down beside him, doing his best to be supportive while tentatively putting a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me, you’re not the only one who’s ever done something foolish out of love.” He chuckled to himself. “I would know.”

“I…Uh, I’m also sorry for rubbing Melinda’s apparent fondness of me in your face.” He rubbed the back of his neck, fearing another punch was on its way. “You’re right, I don’t know what it’s like spending centuries together with your love…nor what’s it like when they suddenly can’t remind you and everything you’ve been through…”

Edred sighed. “It’s quite alright. You only said that because I kept looking down on your love for Emma.” He looked back at him before quickly averting his gaze, clearing his throat. “And…uh…sorry for punching you in the face.”

“Sorry for punching you back.”

The two remained quiet for a little while, until Edred took notice of Dimitri looking down at them with a thumbs-up with an ear-splitting smile on his face. He chuckled, shaking his head fondly. “Who would have thought you would be so right, Dimitri?”

“Dimitri?” Winston tilted his head with a raised eyebrow. 

“My host.” He explained, jabbing his thumb at the metallic wall. “It’s him I’ve been talking to this whole time.”

“Huh, would you look at that?” Winston commented. “No wonder you’ve been such an unsavoury individual; you’re Russian!”

Unfortunately for him, his attempt at humour was ill-received by the Russian in question. “You know what? Now I see why you couldn’t stand him. Would you be so kind as to smack him on my behalf?”

“With pleasure.” And before Winston could so much as ask what he meant by that, Edred slapped him on the back of his head, eliciting a very satisfying and delightful-sounding Ouch! from him. 

“What was that for?!” He complained, rubbing his sore nape. 

“That was from Dimitri.”

Before the werewolf could get another word in, Seng’s voice cut through the air, calling for them. “Edred? Emma’s husband? Come quick! I think I found something!”

“Well, that’s our cue to go.” Edred said as he got up. He surprised himself when he offered a hand to Winston to hoist himself up. “Are you ready to get the girls back?”

Winston stared at the blue hand offered to him and back at Edred for a few seconds. Finally, a smile crept up his face and he clasped the elf’s hand as he raised from the floor. “You’d better believe it.”

As the two of them went to find Seng and Copernicus and resume their search for Emma and Melinda, Edred turned one last time to send a grateful smile Dimitri’s way. For his part, the magician grinned back with a nod before vanishing, hopeful Edred would be able to turn this eventful awakening back around.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Pride Month Webinar: Eyewitness Report from Cuba's Queer Rights Revolution

Just 90 miles from Ron DeSantis’s Florida, socialist Cuba is making huge advances in LGBTQ+ rights with its new Families Code.

How did Cuba achieve the ‘most advanced policy in the world’?

Why isn’t the U.S. media reporting it?

Why does Biden maintain Trump’s punishing blockade measures and keep Cuba on the state sponsors of terrorism list?

Hear from LGBTQ+ activists from across the U.S. who went to Cuba to see for themselves.

Learn how queer rights are being prioritized from the grassroots to the National Assembly.

Why U.S. queers should work to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba, and how you can join next year’s delegation.

PANELISTS

Lizz Toledo • Women in Struggle-Mujeres en Lucha • Atlanta

Serena Sojic-Borne • Real Name Campaign & FRSO • New Orleans

Jordan David • Lavender Guard • Los Angeles

Deirdre Deans • Women in Struggle • Atlanta

Gregory Esteven • Socialist Unity Party • New Orleans

Kiana Fok • Peoples Power Assembly & Friends of Latin America • Baltimore

Melinda Butterfield • Women in Struggle • New York

Hosted by Women in Struggle / Mujeres en Lucha, an affiliate of the Women’s International Democratic Federation

[quynhorlose]

a scatter of light, melinda lo

[liamlawsonlesbian]

@albonoooo tagged me for top 10 reads of 2023!!! I am so bad at remembering things bdjndnxnnx so I’ll probably miss some I really loved, but here are some books I liked, in no particular order:

1. The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee

2. The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

3. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

4. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

5. Sea Change by Gina Chung

6. Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

7. Translation State by Anne Leckie

8. Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (I have read this one million times, putting it in to represent my copious comfort rereads)

9. The Old Place by Bobby Finger

10. Last Night at The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

No pressure tags to @ocontraire @oscarpiastriwdc @bright-and-burning @omigodyall @argentinagp

[its-tortle]

tortle's 2023 reads

persuasion by jane austen - ●●●●○

ragtime by e.l. doctorov - ●●●○○

a study in pink & the sign of the four by arthur conan doyle - ●●●○○

convenience store woman by sayaka murata - ●●●○○

jane eyre by charlotte brontë - ●●●●○

just kids by patti smith - ●●●○○

hamnet by maggie o'farrel - ●●●●○

gruppenbild mit dame by heinrich böll - ●●●●○

(rr) six of crows duology by leigh bardugo - ●●●●●

(rr) i'll give you the sun by jandy nelson - ●●●●○

in the skin of a lion by michael ondaatje - ●●●○○

brief an den vater by franz kafka - ●●●●○

when we were orphans by kazuo ishiguro - ●●○○○

one flew over the cuskoo's nest by ken kesey - ●●●○○

piranesi by suzanne collins - ●●●●●

the hundred secret senses by amy tan - ●●●●○

liebesperlen by mariana leky - ●●●●○

franny & zooey by j.d. salinger - ●●●●○

the overstory by richard powers - ●●●●●

the virgin suicides by jeffrey eugenides - ●●●●○

our wives under the sea by julia armfield - ●●●○○

everything i know about love by dolly alderton - ●●●●●

cat's cradle by kurt vonnegut - ●●●○○

untamed by glennon doyle - ●●●●○

der grosse sommer by ewald arenz - ●●●○○

(rr) mosquitoland by david arnold - ●●●●○

the grass is singing by doris lessing - ●●○○○

people person by candice carty-williams - ●●●●○

the tennant of wildfell hall by anne brontë - ●●●●○

the island of missing trees by elif shayak - ●●●●●

briefe an einen jungen dichter by rainer maria rilke - ●●●●○

white teeth by zadie smith - ●●●●○

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone - ●●●●○

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer - ●●●○○

wanderer, kommst du nach spa... by heinrich böll - ●●●●○

a hundred years of solitude by gabriel garcìa marquez - ●●●○○

matrix by lauren groff - ●●●○○

daisy jones and the six by taylor jenkins reid - ●●●●○

the age of innocence by edith wharton - ●●●●○

die frau auf der treppe by bernhard schlink - ●●●●○

midnight in the garden of good and evil by john berendt - ●●●●●

joan by katherine j. chen - ●●●●○

pigs in heaven by barbara kingsolver - ●●●●●

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid - ●●●●○

percy jackson and the olympians (5 book series) - ●●●○○

i'm glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy - ●●●●○

(rr) the unbearable lightness of being by milan kundera - ●●●●●

the circle by dave eggers - ●●○○○

die blechtrommel by günter grass - ●●●●○

the secret history by donna tartt - ●●●●○

the hunger games (trilogy) by suzanne collins - ●●●●○

the ballad of songbirds and snakes by suzanne collins - ●●●○○

young mungo by douglas stuart - ●●●●●

ninth house by leigh bardugo - ●●●○○

last night at the telegraph club by melinda lo - ●●●○○

my book ranking system, for insight:

●●●●● -- loved loved loved this. it might have made me cry. i will be recommending this to everyone ●●●●○ -- nice!! a good read. would possibly reread and will be keeping it all pretty on my shelf ●●●○○ -- t'was a book! maybe not quite my genre or not what i needed in that moment, but no ragrets. i still got something out of it ●●○○○ -- eh. didn't really need to read this. it was kind of unoriginal and/or not my thing. will give away my copy ●○○○○ -- could not finish. who published this and why.

[ao3feed-twiyor]

Jarrón de Rosas y Lavandas

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Dz2FCSt by blublupy Yor Briar, médica forense de 36 años, debe enfrentar los desafíos de la crianza y del duelo mientras asegura su supervivencia y la de su hija, Anya, tras su secuestro. Loid Forger, es un chef privado que esconde miles de secretos, un hombre carismático y obsesivo que está dispuesto a todo con tal de recuperar lo que alguna vez le perteneció. Un pasado confuso, las mentiras de una madre y un depredador empedernido son los ingredientes perfectos para un enorme desastre. Words: 2890, Chapters: 1/20, Language: Español Fandoms: SPY x FAMILY (Manga), SPY x FAMILY (Anime) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: F/M Characters: Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Loid Forger | Twilight, Anya Forger, Bond (SPY x FAMILY), Yuri Briar, Franky Franklin, Winston Wheeler, Fiona Frost | Nightfall, Matthew McMahon, Becky Blackbell, Damian Desmond, Melinda Desmond, Shopkeeper (SPY x FAMILY), Emile Elman, Ewen Egeburg, Bill Watkins, Henry Henderson Relationships: Loid Forger | Twilight/Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Anya Forger & Loid Forger | Twilight & Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Anya Forger & Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Yuri Briar & Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Becky Blackbell & Damian Desmond & Ewen Egeburg & Emile Elman & Anya Forger, Franky Franklin/Fiona Frost | Nightfall, Loid Forger | Twilight & Franky Franklin, Yuri Briar/Chloe Additional Tags: Modern AU, Second Chances, Protective Loid Forger | Twilight, Hurt Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Canibal AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Sex, alternative universe, Loid & Yor break up but they got together again, Blood and Injury, Explicit Consent, Anya Forger is Loid and Yor Briar Forger's Biological Child, Psycho Loid Forger read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Dz2FCSt