#Odd is short for Odette it's not just something mean i call her

[sickfictropes]

a line from my novel that i thought people might enjoy bc i've gotten quite a few requests for sibling whump/angst, specifically sisters :)

[artstatues]

Slow dancing in the dark. - l.k × g.h

wc : 553

pairings : lyra kane x grayson hawthorne, from the inheritance games.

synopsis : lyra kane stays up late in the library to solve some clues. thats until the game master walks in and asks for a dance.

warnings : nothing??

a/n : idk, i guess you can count this as a second part of this fic, but thats up to you. anyways, its not proofread bc i think this is a bit more of a drabble.

taglist : @never-enough-novels, @reminiscentreader, @lxvebelle, @kozumesphone, @sophiesonlinediary, @shuhuaspookie, @off-to-the-r4ces, @pockyyasii, @starrynightsxo, @urbanflorals.

Lyra hunched over to get a better view of the picture on her laptop. The picture contained a clue, an unsolved riddle she took a picture of. It was hidden somewhere in the island’s mansion, she was sure she was the first person to find the clue, but Rohan was also pretty clever– no, very clever. Knox Landry and Odette Morales were a close third. No one shared clues, not even Odette, who Lyra could call a friend in the game, supposedly. She had snuck into the Game Master’s office for this clue. Where he’d caught her, unfortunately.

The library was dimly lit, since it was late at night. Lyra’s sleeping schedule went downhill after joining the game, but the things she could get done and the riddles she could solve while others were sleeping were truly an advantage. The door to the library creaked open, it would always creak, the sort of creak that’d scratch your ears, which was quite odd for a new building. Lyra turned her head towards the person. The game master. He was in something else than a suit, which caused Lyra to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow. “Did you find anything amusing, Miss Kane?” Grayson strode closer towards her, pulling out the chair across her. “Your choice of fashion, Game Master.” She addressed his title mockingly. He was wearing a navy sweatshirt, large letters spelling “HARVARD��� across the sweatshirt. He was also wearing a pair of joggers. If any other person caught a glimpse of his outfit, they’d label it as pajamas, but was Lyra wearing anything fancy? No. Lyra sat there with a band tee and shorts, her hair pulled into a somewhat of a bun.

Grayson placed his elbow on the table, where his chin rested on his palm, admiring Lyra. She hasn’t muttered a single word except a few curses here and there. Where Lyra found his ‘choice of fashion’ amusing, he found her brows furrowing, her little whispers of curses, and her groans amusing to watch. It was a lovely and utterly beautiful spectacle. He had a teasing smirk on his face. “Stop smirking at me Davenport. You already know the answers, it isn’t fair.” Lyra remarked. Grayson only raised an eyebrow in sarcasm, “I do, but I also do admit watching you is quite a spectacle.” He gave a soft, pleasing smile. Lyra glared, confusing Grayson. “What? Oh, in a good way– I mean.” Grayson assured.

“Would you like to dance–?” Grayson blurted out of the complete blue. “What?” Lyra furrowed her eyebrows in surprise. “I said–” Grayson tried to repeat himself before Lyra cut him off. “No, I heard what you said. Just– that was a bit random.” Lyra slowly closed her laptop and finally got up from the chair after hours. Lyra hesitatedly opened her phone and played a song. “I’m assuming you meant slow dance?” She smiled. “Yes.” Grayson stepped closer, and closer. His hands snaked around her waist while Lyra’s went to his shoulder. A soft smile was plastered on the pair’s faces.

Lyra never took Grayson Hawthorne to be a dancer, of all people. The couple slowly spun around the room, enjoying the company of the other person.

After all, they were only two people; The Game Master, and the player, somehow lucky enough to coexist.

[bleuwolf99]

Tombstone  Part I (Mobile Legends Fanfic)

Alucard and Zilong as best friends. Contains minor ZiluFrey or Zilong/Freya also other common ML ships (e.g. ClintxLayla, LancelotxOdette). I’m deeply sorry for any grammatical errors and spellings. I’ve proofread this but in case I missed something...

VICTORY

  “Good work, team.” says a blond haired female warrior. Her golden armour shining under the bright sun. Her wings slowly fading away as she cancels her inner Valkyrie.

 Layla, the twin ponytail gunner, collapsed to the ground. “God, that was so hard!” She whined making her cowboy boyfriend chuckled. Clint was on the opposite team for today’s match. He was the dominating one during the early game but he was impressed that his girlfriend’s team managed to do a comeback.

 (If only that motherfucker Akai didn’t fall asleep at the base)

 “You did great, babe.” Clint praised, helping Layla up to her feet. She leaned against him for support and they left the arena along with the others. Only except one.

 Zilong stared at the crumbled ruins of the red team’s base. Minions swept away the red stone and rebuild the main tower. The other minions did the same for the rest of the arena. The announcer warned for previous heroes to leave the arena for the next match to be prepared. Zilong would be as happy as the others when they came the winner but since the past few days, he felt empty.

 As if someone was missing…

 “Zi?”

 The eastern warrior turned around and met Freya. The blond haired Valkyrie had one brow raised in a questioning manner. Her shield and sword were gone, probably stored in her secret weapon dimension. “Is there something wrong?” She asked.

 Of all the females in the Land of Dawn, Freya was the one closest to him. They used to be the worst enemies but one single match made them close friends. Freya owed Zilong for protecting her from enemies and Zilong, on the other hand, owed Freya for helping him with one of his mission. From then on, they became best friends.

 Maybe even better.

 “Zi, are you okay?” She asked again when she got no answer form her long haired fighter. “You’re spacing out a lot lately.”

 Zilong shook his head. He shared many things with Freya but not this one. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking?”

 “About what?”

 The spearman bit his bottom lip in thought. He needed a good lie to distract Freya from getting any suspicious thoughts. “It’s a about my father. We had a serious talk last week.”

 Thankfully Freya knew about his trip to the dragon king. The girl’s face melted into something calm and nodded with a long ‘oh’. “If  it’s about the dragon king, then that is not my business. Sorry I asked.”

 “It’s okay.”

 Freya and Zilong walked together to the lobby. Heroes walked around, some injured some are not, and minions scampered about with their weapons. A few carried cleaning supplies and broken parts from previous match. A group of heroes ran past them towards a gate with a timer ticking over it. The timer indicates when the player is about to arrive at the match.

 The two fighters headed for a bar outside of the fighting arena. There weren’t many people because it’s the end of the Season which means players are pushing for their ranks (some even slipped down on their way up). Freya and Zilong sat at the bar counter. Freya ordered Blue Buff while Zilong got himself some Red Reaper.

 The male fighter kept his gaze around the bar. There was a performance on stage - a stage play. A group of people sat in a corner, playing poker. Hookers got themselves comfortable with the customers and even pulled some to the back. The two fighters enjoyed their drinks, occasionally shared some small talks.

 Then, Zilong’s eyes caught a familiar sight walking into the bar. Tall, blond haired in a long blue coat. His metal gauntlet was missing, exposing the glowing purple demon arm which strike the Dragonborn odd. He came in empty handed without his favourite sword.

 Zilong watched the young man took large strides to the other side of the bar, slightly darker than the rest. People murmured at the sight him. A man yelled profanities at him and women showed looks of disgust. But the young man paid no heed to them. He just sat down at the lone table and looked out of the window. A waitress came to pick up his order.

 The dragon knight turned to his partner. Freya had finished her glass and ordered another. Apparently, she had no battles in the upcoming hour so she was free to do what she wants. These days, Freya and Zilong were hardly pick during the match unlike the others especially the new arrivals.

 “Hey, I’m gonna go meet a friend.” He told her. Freya looked at him, popping a bar nut in her mouth. She nodded without saying anything and Zilong stood up. He walked away from the counter and headed for the young hunter sitting alone in the dark.

 Alucard was too preoccupied in his thoughts to even notice a long haired fighter coming his way. He jumped up when someone knocked on the table. Alucard looked up and noticed his friend, Zilong. “Oh, it’s you.” He mumbled, sounding emotionless like a robot. Alucard turned his gaze back to the table top.

 Zilong sat down opposite of the demon hunter. “Hey buddy.” He said, with a smile. “It’s been a long time. How have you been?”

 Alucard mumbled what sounded like ‘Fine, like always’. The waitress from earlier came back and placed Alucard’s whiskey along with a glass. Zilong watched his friend popping open the bottle and poured the clear liquid into the glass. Then, the blond fished out a box of cigarette from his coat pocket and lit one. He dragged on the stick and blew out the smoke from his mouth.

 Zilong looked down at his hands. The Alucard in front of him is so different then the one he had been friends with many years ago. He remembered it all too well. Alucard was like a delinquent and quite barbaric. He had short messy white hair and wore red coat. He never covered the demonic arm with a gauntlet and his sword was a giant rectangular one.

 The old demon hunter was feared when he first stepped into the Land of Dawn. He was the hardest one to kill and Zilong remembered how it made him crazy seeing Alucard coming out of a 1vs5 fresh as a daisy despite the enemies supporting heavy wounds.

 What happened to that happy, loud demon hunter he had been best friends with?

 There has been a disease outbreak recently. It had no cure and it infected almost everyone. It weakens heroes and some were no longer able to fight due to the virus. Sadly, there is no cure although oddly enough a few recovered after getting struck by this disease. Heck, these people even got stronger.

 There was no official name for this phenomenon but the heroes called it Moonton.

 Zilong heard Alucard got infected pretty badly. Each passing day he got weaker and weaker to the point that he was not allowed for Rank matches. He had done many healing procedures but the results were negative.

 Could that be the reason for Alucard’s change of attitude?

“If you have no business here, please leave me alone.” The dragon heard the hunter grumbled. Clearly he sounded annoyed but Zilong wanted answers. The bottle was half empty and Alucard looked drunk. His usually well kept hair was messy and his face could scare demons back to Hell. There were shadows and bags underneath his eyes. His skin was badly pale.

 “Alu, I haven’t seen you in a long time.” Zilong said. He watched the other man poured himself another glass of whiskey. “Where have you been? What were you up to? If something’s wrong, you can tell me. I’m your best friend.” He added the last one after a short pause. He gave a smile but it faltered when he heard the hunter scoffed.

 Alucard downed the glass of whiskey and quickly poured the remainder of the bottle. “There’s always something wrong, Zi. The Moonton phenomenon, demon attacks, Lancelot sleeping with men behind Odette’s back…” Zilong’s eye twitched at the last statement. “…it’s just how the world is. Always in trouble, always needed to be fixed. But sadly, not all problems can be solved.” He finished the final glass and leaned back. Alucard looked so drunk, Zilong was preparing to catch him in case he fell off his seat.

 “Can your problems be fixed?” Zilong asked, he was getting onto something but was still unsure of it. “Do you need help?”

 Alucard smiled. He staggered to his feet, holding onto the table for support. He wobbled to Zilong, patting the man on his shoulder. “It was nice knowing you, Zi.”

 Zilong was rendered speechless as he watched Alucard drunkenly left the bar. The people, who used to cheer for him, completely ignored the man they once idolized. What happened here?

 It wasn’t long until Freya came. “Hey, was that Alucard I just saw leaving?” She took a seat beside him. She was slightly drunk but still managed to walk straight.

 “Yeah, it was him.”

 Freya’s eyes darted to the door. A couple walked in and sat down near the stage. She thought t the demon hunter that had just left. Freya had been friends with Alucard, even became sparring partners. She hardly talked to him in the past months and she knew Zilong was his only close friend.

 “What were you guys talking about? How is he?”

 Zilong wanted to say nothing but a part of his mind questioned that. Was Alucard really okay? Is a person okay when he walks into a bar to get drunk out of his head on purpose? Is there nothing wrong when people jeered and booed the said man?

 Somehow Freya could read his thoughts. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She leaned closer to his body. “Whatever is happening, I hope you guys can help sort it out.”

 Zilong turned his gaze outside. He stared at the starry night knowing that a friend of his was in trouble and he had no idea how to help him.

[the-mf-bread-babies]

9/5/2020

BACKGROUND CHECK

NULL HQ was always busy, but today was considered an achievement for their hard work in researching the backgrounds of fifty rogues within fifty days in the form of an event where the research team went through hell to satisfy the needs of the Top 50. The 50/50/50 event, it was called, and it was held on a certain chairman's 7th 43rd birthday. If this work sounds weird, I made it while dehydrated, ok. And that chairman was none other than Satan herself, Karén Stéphane Alodie Basilie Blanche Capucine Odette Delphine-Aveline. And yes, her surname does indeed mean Dolphin Hazelnut Tree. Don't ask why.

Today, the fruit that formed by the water of companionship, the nutrients of underpaid employees, the sunlight and carbon dioxide of the terrible ventilation system of the office and the fertilizer of illegal sharing of confidential information had finally ripened and was ready to be plucked by Madame Delphine-Aveline.

The Top 50 had prepared a luxurious vacation for their hardworking employees situated at the tropical rainforest-slash-whatever of New York City Jungle. Yes, having your employees temporarily staying at a nice three-star abandoned hotel and at risk of being eaten by human-animal genetic abominations was quite inhumane, but so is simply letting them spend the day off returning home to their family that died of starvation at the hands of NULL. It's a complicated situation that was one of many developed by the fusion.

Karén hastily dashed to her three-storey private office that also had a swimming pool in it because she was rich, the sounds of her high heels clacking against the hardwood flooring of the 45th floor of the headquarters. Her white woman bracelet-strewn hand was tightly clutching dossiers of the peasants under her.

They had posed a great threat to them after they had exposed a great deal of evidence surrounding NULL’s harsh treatment of, well, everything, and while that was common sense among everyone, the Top 50 still felt hurt with the rogues' selfish actions. The dossiers were their way of striking back even harder towards the revolutionists of Eris-10, the very revolutionists that scatter across the globe, and particularly one group of them squatting in a town in the Crepitus section. Yes, those guys. The Hellspawns. The Wicked, Twisted, Rapidly-Changing-Number Evils of the World. T3G, The Three Thot Groups, the legendary…

Fifty Fighters.

Are they fifty individual fighters? Do they fight the Top 50? Or do they simply have a personal grudge against random numbers? Yes.

The tragedy that made them so important to NULL was uncertain.

Their group contains a family actively running away from NULL, three would-be NULL agents, an individual who gives intense neck therapy to NULL agents, multiple individuals who steal top-secret NULL engineering projects, an individual who worked as an exterminator for NULL and thusly has blueprints of NULL centres embedded into their head, a reprogrammed NULL spy robot, three individuals who were previously under the possession of NULL in environmental capsules, a genetic abomination made by NULL scientists as a PET, a cat, a triple agent responsible for several terrorist attacks on NULL centres who also happens to be a member of the most dangerous group of hitmen in the universe, THE RINGLEADERS, who also HAPPEN to be in good relations with the revolutionist group, because of said single father of two to four that's weirdly close with one of the three individuals who were would-be NULL agents.

Of course this group would be in NULL’s death list.

With that being said, leaving the team that actively worked to obtain information on the threatening individuals to die on a classified location while being observed by scientists might not be the best payment. But it's still a payment.

As the Frenchwoman sat in her £3,000 foldable spinny office chair that can also massage the user, she splayed out the dossier files across her £50,000 hardwood-base granite-surfaced countertops surrounding the area, hidden by rare plants that were watered with diamond-flavoured water. She sighed and leaned the chair back as she snapped her fingers, kindly reminding one of her personal assistants to bring her another large dose of caffeine to get her rusty gears running.

As she waited impatiently, she retrieved her $5,000,000,000 laptop from her Chanel x Gucci x Fendi x Apple x Louis Vuitton x Microsoft x Google x Hunter × Hunter x The Entire Country of Russia x Sonic X x Amazon purse. The laptop was said to be the one that the late Mark Zuckerberg was using as she strangled him to death for not responding sooner to her email on user information. Unfortunately, the email had went straight to the spam folder.

Her fingers were playing a dramatic symphony on the keyboard, her face stern and unchanging.

“good anniversary gifts for Her”

Her 50¢ sunglasses-covered orbs glared at her demand on Bing as she violently clicked the search button. As the ancient website loaded and the screen, white and static and dangerously bright because she doesn't know how to adjust the brightness, she wondered what sequence of surprises would bring joy to her wife currently stationed overseas. God, if only she could join her in creating genetic abominations. So romantic if she could.

Her curiosity was halted suddenly as the assistant rushed in, hands holding a tray. Situated on the tray was a jug of black coffee, a bottle of vodka, a bottle of liquoré, three stolen packets of sea salt, and a mug that read “#0 B0SS”, accompanied with a dagger with a fashioned concave end, resembling a spoon.

Of course, you could still stab someone with it. It's just that the lady's so dangerous she stirs coffee with a dagger, that's all.

The rich bitch glared as her assistant put the contents of the tray onto the coffee table at a glacial pace, also keeping an eye out for any spills made. “Here you are, madame,” the assistant nervously chuckled. Well, that was uncalled for. Her assistants were all given a strict order to not speak to her unless absolutely urgent or if needed to. This one must be new.

“How long have you been working in zis position for, exactly, mïéáæèy chérìè?” Dolphin-HazelnutTree asked with a thin, long smile across her face, eyeing a sea salt packet that was slightly teared.

“Two months, madame,” she smiled. A kind face, clearly inexperienced. “My name is Pauline,” she added, further breaking the rules.

The woman who has a herb for a middle name made an odd face to be observed, only to move towards the young lady who insulted her to hell and back. “Paulíne,” she gently whispered, “I’m glad to know those two months are over,” Pauline's face went pale.

“Faghewell,”

The last word Pauline had heard echoed in her head as Capucine stabbed her in the abdomen while staring down at her falling corpse.

With the dagger spoon. She stabbed her with the dagger spoon. Karén sat on her desk, crossing her legs stylishly.

“Why do I always have bad luck after my birthdays? First, ze bad fughe coat, now zis. I might as well just set zis whole thing on fighea tomorrow.” She uttered, uncaring about Pauline choking on her own blood.

“About ze blood, go call someone to clean it up, dear,” Basil Lady said while examining her perfectly manicured nails.

“You’ve brought too much eggs for ze baguette, now suffer under ze firm hands of it,” she taught nonchalantly. An old French proverb, unsuitable to be said by someone simply learning it on Duolingo such as Pauline.

Pauline was struggling to add even anything to their light feud other than death gargles, and soon, a light thump on the white fur rug, her blood painting it red.

The Baguette pursed her thin, dry lips and stared at the Wannabe Baguette. She lost her train of thought for a few seconds before realising the task at hand.

“Annivaghsaghy gifts! Rghight!”

She spun herself around the desk and sat back down to review the possible gifts. “Hmm…” she scrolled down the BuzzFeed article promoting various products. “Jewelghy? Too cheap. New dghess? Wardghobe's full. Potted plants? Not her thing. Floor cleaner…” she pondered. “Unfortunately, no.” She mumbled, sipping on her unusual beverage.

She stared out the window, thinking. Lists like this roaming around the Internet and made by simpletons didn't contain the spice her relationship had. Basil. Hazelnut. Karén had to think of something else, something more uniqué. Something more fitting for their… uniqué relationship that had a certain je ne sais quoi. A little la souris dans le film avec le gars des pâtes. To be specific, Je ne connais pas cette langue et je ne fais que copier et coller depuis Google Translate. Veuillez aider.

Her eyes fixated on the view outside, never constant, always having something new to be added. Buildings ranging from fallen skyscrapers turned into bridges to supermarkets hosting her greatest enemies. What would her wife like?

And then it clicked.

Homemade bread. Yes, bread wasn't really a topic they talked about often, but if they baked bread together, it would be quite nice. Karén was daydreaming into the distance, not paying attention to the hurricane of messages received on her computer.

It wasn't until her other personal assistants came in with cleaning supplies and a body bag that she stopped and continued to focus on like, eating, I guess, the fruit mentioned in Paragraph 2. She cleared her throat as she picked up the dossiers splayed out on the countertops in her office, arranging them neatly on her desk and preparing to read them.

The first file was thick, and full of information. Knowing it would consume the most of her precious time, she put it aside. Karén sighed as she sorted the files, knowing her wife would have loved gossiping about this with her. Her eyes went to the laptop screen, wondering if she could call her lover for a short while and have a nice conversation. However, a notification distracted her from her wants. An email addressing the rescheduling of the next meeting for the Top 50. She opened it with a frown.

It was from Lee. “HELLO ALL I WILL BE RESCHEDULIG OUR NEXT METTING TO TWO MONTHS ATTER” God, the man has such bad email etiquette. Maybe if he opted to switch out those horrid sunglasses for a good pair of glasses, he'd be able to type in something other than all uppercase letters and sudden typos.

“I AM SORRY FOR THIS SUDDDDEN CHGNE. INWILL BE FOING TO NYCJ FOR A BUSINES TRIP. I AM SORRY. BEST REGARDS STEVEN!”

The Frenchwoman gasped but then immediately retracted it due to fear of her assistants finding out that she has emotions. Really, Steven? The jungle? Out of all people, you? What the fuck, Steve?

This was the last straw. Karén baguetted hastily to the elevator, stabbing the button going down to the basement with an elegant dagger, sparkling with the various gemstones encrusted into its hilt. She angry white woman yelled in the elevator walls, but not before snatching the security camera so no one caught her.

As she was screaming out of dramatic French anger, the elevator halted at the third floor and opened its doors to an intern business agent. Curses. She was so blinded by her own anger that she accidentally took the peasants’ elevator instead of her usual one.

The intern awkwardly stepped into the corner of the elevator, driving his eyes to anywhere but the Frenchwoman. As the peasant transportation cage descended to the basement floor, she stormed towards NULL’s gas station. She wormed her way into the back and stole three jerry cans of gasoline, cradling them as if they were her arsonist-endorsing children. She also made sure to grab some fancy cigarettes, so that it would be a dramatic scene. What is ‘it’? You'll see.

Karén had just finished the finale of a Hulu original series following a woman struggling with motherhood and marriage. Apparently, all she got from the series was that kids are evil, and landlords aren't. Also, arson is always the best plan. Also also, Reese Witherspoon is an excellent actress who is also kind of pretty. But not as pretty as her wife. Oh, and she forgot about the whole Kerry Washington subplot. Probably wasn't that important.

She dashed into Steven's office, which was conveniently close to hers, as she was #23 and he was #24. Karén laughed maniacally as she doused the whole thing in gasoline, unaware of Drogomann sitting on the sofa watching her.

“Um, salutations.”

“WHAT ZE HELL!!?”

Drogomann stared at the struggling woman, judging her every move. Karén’s panicking had spilled the gasoline out of the other two jerry cans, the accelerant flowing down the hallway. The dragon lady noticed this but didn't pay it any care. “Yes! Hello there, my good friend! How are you doing now, Darlamean?” she asked, her voice cracking intermittently.

Darlamean. Really?

The hunter rolled her eyes as she picked up her pet dragon, Currents. It's the least she could do to prevent this crazy French lady from burning down her husband's office. “Doth thou needeth a handeth?” she asked mockingly, shoving Currents into her face. The action had backfired, since Karén had a primal urge to smack the dragon out of her face.

“DON'T SLAPPETH CURRENTS!” Currents was too young to use his wings, so this was bad. Stoorworm panicked as she tripped over one of Karén’s arms as she was trying to catch Currents. The young dragon had thankfully not learned how to use its powers yet, thankfully, and didn't burn down the building. Still, it made everyone in the room panic like hell, especially Karén, but it was for nothing…

However, Karén tends to smoke when she's panicking, and even though this was a situation where smoking was the last thing someone would do, her pattern of reacting to panic did not register the fact that doing so would cause the room, if not, the whole building to burn down, and also would cause her and many others to die, engulfed in flames.

Regardless of the situation, she still instinctively pulled out a cigarette and started to light it without even noticing what she was doing. Drogomann, on the other hand, was busy examining Currents’ current state, searching for any injuries.

The sound of the friction of the cigarette against the weird sandpaper thing on the box (I have not seen a cigarette box up close in years, if not never, so don't expect me to know how this whole thing works ok) had alerted Drogomann as she was, you know, paying attention to the task and hand and not, like, panicking. Considering she deals with herself constantly being on the brink of being set on fire by one of her pets, she's trained herself to, like, Really pay attention to fire and stuff so yeah.

“Ho, dumbass, stop that,” Drogomann shouted. “Doth thee wanteth to kill us?” “Thee baguette? Huh? Huh?” She added, stuffing her pet dragon into her pocket, running towards Karén. “Mérghèhdé!” The Frenchwoman panicked, still. Despite Drogomann’s warning, the flame had already been lit, and the fire grew.

“Merde! Merde! Merde!” Drogomann retrieved a fire extinguisher from behind Steven's desk. Karén was still screaming in French. “Runneth, wench!” Stoorworm politely advised as she started spraying the forbidden Kool-aid powder across the floor. “MERDE!!!” Karén yelled as she ran out of the room, crying. Drogomann sighed as she extinguished the flame successfully, disappointed at the foolishness of the dumbass.

“Ashes. Flames have been reduced. Thank God we didn't die, right? I was here, you know,” the medieval lady said. “Merci! Merci beaucoup, mon ami! You saved my la vie! If it wasn't for you I would be morte!!!” The modern day lady thanked her profusely, “Hi-hi, you are étourdissante, Dghogomann!” Oh, so that's all it takes to get Karén to remember her name. Saving her life. And also insulting her at the same time. Good to know.

“What will you be doing later, ma cherie?” Karén asked suggestively, playing with her twelve-foot-long hair, covered in dry ice(?). “Taking care of him. Touch Currents again, you'll die. Same goes for Steven,” Drogomann haiku’d. “What le fuque? Okay.” Karén nervously backed away.

“A married woman… should not make such offerings,” “Steven shall tell her.” She warned. “QUOI?!” She shouted in French. “Non, non, non, non, Dghogomann, please don't, s’il vous plaît, non, non,” She pleaded. “I’m kidding, Karén. But really, don't cheat on her,” Drogomann assured. “Geneticist, right?” she asked, a brow raisedth. “Y-Yes. Why?” Drogomann nodded intently.

“So she killeth stuff.”

“Huh?”

“Good to know. Watch out, Karén,”

“Don’t do stupid things.”

Drogomann walked out of the room, cradling Currents, avoiding the gasoline and kicking any jerry cans that dared to stand in her way. “Clean this mess up, please. Someone might trip over them. Or burn the building.” She advised. “Rghogergh that, huntergh,” Karén complied.

Now, all she has to do is to give her wife a call or two, get some anniversary gifts, maybe set up some surprise parties, and…

Oh God. Review multiple dossiers.

· fin ·

[rayreeanne]

Far Longer Than Forever

Summary: Lucy Heartfilia is about to do some light cleaning with an open window. When she starts singing a song from her childhood, a new neighbor joins the duet to sing the male part. To say the least, she’s surprised and embarrassed. So what happens when they meet later in public? (Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. Nest owns The Swan Princess.)

You can also read on…

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Far Longer Than Forever: One-Shot

Lucy Heartfilia can’t complain much about life. She’s living in a townhome with one of her besties. The space is more than enough for the duo. Currently, the twenty-one-year-old is staring down the family room before she vacuums it. While doing that, she’s pulling back her long, golden hair into low twintails. Her bangs are left as is, no hair band holding them back. They fall down above her brown eyes. As for the rest of her, she’s wearing a pink cami that hugs her torso and outlines her larger-than-average chest. The fair skin of her legs is highlighted by the black running shorts she has on.

“All right, it’s time to get started!” Lucy says to no one in particular. She walks through the room to reach the other side. Opening one of the three windows, she lets in the sound of rain. It’s all gray sky and wet outside, but she doesn’t necessarily loathe this weather. It’s a great time for her to curl up with a good book to read or work on her current story. However, for the time being, she’ll be cleaning.

Back toward the windows, Lucy looks at the room before her. It isn’t terribly bad, but it does need tidied up. Running the vacuum will be good. Before that, picking up things here and there will be good as well. Cracking down, she starts humming the short instrumental part of a song before singing the lyrics out loud.

If I could break this spell

I’d run to him today

And somehow I know he’s on his way to me

Derek, you and I were meant to be

Far longer than forever

I’ll hold you in my heart

It’s almost like you’re here with me

Although we’re far apart

Much to Lucy’s surprise, a male sings the part for Derek. His voice is coming from the open window, as if the window to his place is open as well. He has a really wonderful singing voice.

Far longer than forever

As constant as a star

I close my eyes and I am where you are

Lucy picks up where Odette sings, straightening out some pillows.

Sure as the dawn brings the sunrise

We’ve an unshakeable bond

The guy continues.

Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond

Far longer than forever

Lucy twirls around with a blanket even though no one can see her.

Far longer than forever

The guy keeps going.

I swear that I’ll be true

Lucy does Odette’s next part.

I swear that I’ll be true

The guy starts the next line.

I’ve made an-

Lucy joins in.

-Everlasting vow to find a way to you

Far longer than forever

Like no love ever known

Then just Lucy sings.

And with your love

They both do the next part together.

I’ll never be alone

Lucy continues, walking closer to the windows.

Far longer than forever

The guy sings Derek’s next part.

Much stronger than forever

Lucy sings the last line.

And with your love, I’ll never be alone

The song comes to an end.

Reality is still settling over Lucy. She just sang her favorite childhood song. A duet. With a total stranger. Who just so happened to know the lyrics as well.

The stranger clears his throat. He’s by the set of windows to his townhome. “You have a pretty voice.”

“Thank you,” she responds, surprised that her voice didn’t crack. “So do you.”

“What are the odds of you knowing that song, huh?”

“It’s from my favorite movie growing up. I even learned how to play it on the piano.”

“Oh, that’s neat.”

“But what about you? What are the odds of you knowing it?”

“My little sister loved that movie. She watched it all the time. Like, all the time. Wendy made me watch it with her since she wanted a movie buddy.”

Lucy smiles. She did the same thing. Although, she watched it with her favorite doll, Gonzales. “When the movie ended, I’d always rewind the tape and watch it again.”

“Wow, back in day when VCR tapes were a thing.”

“At least I own it on DVD now. Along with the second and third ones.”

“Those aren’t bad, but the first one is the best.”

“I think so, too.”

A silence falls over the two. Suddenly, the stranger gasps. “Oh, shit! Is that the time? I’m gonna be late!”

Lucy holds back a laugh. She finds the change in topic amusing. “I’m sorry that our spontaneous duet is making you run behind.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry! I’m not. It was kinda fun.”

“I enjoyed it, too.”

“I’ll catch you later, Odette!”

She can’t stop the smile from forming on her face. “Goodbye, Derek!”

After that, she hears a window shut. Knowing the conversation is over, Lucy shuts her own window and locks it. Then she steps back and promptly curls up on the wooden floor, tucking her knees into her body

Did that all really just happen? Why does her face feel so warm? And why is her heart fluttering so much? Lucy gasps. Is she crushing on this guy that she just met? Heck, she doesn’t even know what he looks like! Not that looks matter. She mentally screams which turns into a real one through closed lips.

The front entrance of the apartment swings open without warning. Lucy’s roommate has just arrived.

Cana Alberona has wavy dark chocolate brown locks that frame her face and a lovely shade of indigo eyes. Her figure is similar to Lucy’s curvaceous one, but her skin has more of a tan than hers. She is the older and taller one of the two, and they get along like sisters.

The two make eye contact. For obvious reasons, one is hopelessly embarrassed while the other is utterly confused. “Uh, what’s going on… ?” Cana questions. “I mean, this isn’t the strangest thing I’ve caught you doing. But it’s pretty damn strange.”

“I just had a moment,” Lucy squeaks.

Cana finally closes the door behind her. “Do you need another moment?”

“Proba”-her voice cracks-“bly.”

“Okay. I’m just gonna… go upstairs. Scream again if you need me.”

Voice not working any more, Lucy nods.

x-X-x

With some free time on her hands, Lucy is at Magnolia Fashion Place, which is more commonly known as Magnolia Mall. It’s highly popular and attracts many people with the indoor and outdoor shops and restaurants it has. Since the rain stopped, she’s outside in the cemented area. All of the seating with chairs is taken, but the stone structure with three-sixty carved in seating is available. Lucy sits down and looks at the screen of her phone. “Come on, Levy.”

She’s waiting to hear back from her friend before going into Vermillion, the nation’s largest and most popular retail bookseller. The moment Lucy steps inside, she’ll be oblivious to her phone since she’ll be focusing on looking at books. She texted Levy if she needed a book from Vermillion, but she hasn’t texted back just yet.

The moment she hears someone humming a familiar tune, the world seems to slow down for a moment. It’s coming from the other side of the stone structure. “Is that “Far Longer Than Forever” you’re humming?” she blurts without thinking.

The humming stops. “Yeah,” a male chuckles.

Her heart skips a beat. “Are you… my Derek from earlier?” she asks.

Gasping, the guy stands up and rushes to Lucy. He manages to trip over his own two feet, taking a knee in front of her. He looks up at her while she looks down at him, taking each other in for the first time.

Probably around her age, his pink spiky hair is haphazardly placed and a cowlick makes his bangs stick up in front. A dark green makes up his eyes. With tan skin, he has a broad chest and fit build. The plain black tee fits him perfectly. It’s paired with jeans and black Converse.

“Odette?” he rushes out.

Blinking in surprise, Lucy treads lightly. “Are you really Derek from earlier?”

“Our apartments. Open windows. That song. You and me.” Then he starts smiling. “I’m Natsu. I moved in with a buddy of mine a few days ago.”

“Lucy.” When her phone goes off because of a text message from Levy, she ignores it. “My name is Lucy.”

Now he’s grinning from ear to ear. “Hi there, Lucy.”

“Hi there yourself, Natsu.”

“Or should I call you Odette?”

“That can be between us.” Then she pats the empty spot next to her with her right hand. “Do you want to join me?”

“I’ve got some time on my hands,” he says, easing himself up to be with her.

“So…”

“Sooo?”

Lucy doesn’t want things to be awkward between them, but she isn’t sure what to say. “Now what?”

“I mean, I’m still riding my happy high from meeting you.”

“What are the odds, right?”

“Exactly!” Then he laughs to himself. “I think this is better than me knocking on your door and asking for you.”

She smiles a bit. “Can you imagine if my roomie got the door and not me?”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“She might have thought you were crazy if you had asked her if she was the one you sang the song with.” After all, Lucy never did tell Cana about the moment she had with their neighbor. She hasn’t told anyone about what happened.

Natsu cracks up. “Nothing like getting to know your crazy neighbor.”

“Who’s to say you’re the crazy neighbor?” she jokes.

Holding a hand over his heart, he gasps lightly. “Should I be concerned?”

She shrugs. “I think I’m pretty harmless.”

“Well, I think you’re pretty,” he finds himself saying. Pink tints his cheeks when his brain registered what he said. “Um, I mean, what I meant to say–”

Her laughter accidentally interrupts him. “That was smooth.”

Natsu doesn’t miss a beat to cover up his embarrassment. “That’s why they call me The Smooth.”

“That’s smooth of them to do so.”

“I think so, too.”

A comfortable silence falls over the two. Thinking of something to say, Lucy looks up. Her eyes grow wide with surprise. “Wow…” she breathes.

Looking up as well, Natsu and her stare at the summer sky. It’s all pink. Every bit of it. The view is certainly beautiful. “This totally makes up for the rain we’ve had all day,” he comments.

She silently nods in agreement, not looking away from the pink. However, when she does look away, she looks at something else that’s pink. “It’s just like your hair,” she comments.

He runs a hand through it, mussing it up. “The sky clearly is trying to mimic me, but flattery will get in nowhere.”

Lucy laughs a little bit.

“Hey, do you wanna get coffee or something?”

She perks up. “When?”

“Right now. Um, if you’re free.”

“I’m in.”

When Natsu stands up, he holds out his left hand to help her up. She takes it and stands before he reluctantly lets go. Truth be told, Lucy doesn’t mind if they held hands for a bit longer. “So where are we going?”

“Wherever you want.”

“I like Blue Pegasus.” It’s a popular coffeehouse and bakery franchise. “There are a few locations here. If we go straight into the mall, one spot will be right there on the left.”

“Then let’s go there!”

x-X-x

As of now, Lucy and Natsu are in front of their townhomes. To be precise, they’re in front of her front door. It’s completely dark out since they spent the remainder of evening together. “I guess it’s not too much for you to walk me home,” she teases.

He cracks a grin. “It’s not totally outta my way or anything.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” Then he reaches into his pocket and takes out his cell phone, unlocking the pass code. “Do you wanna swap numbers? You know, in case you need a buddy to go to Blue Pegasus with.”

Lucy takes his phone and goes under his contacts to make a new one. “And if you need a buddy, you can text me.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“But text me so I have your number,” she says, hanging back his phone.

“I’ll do that when I get inside. Promise.” Stepping back, Natsu dramatically sweeps out his arms before bowing. “Until next time, Luce.”

She smiles at the new nickname. “Goodbye, Natsu.” Stepping backward into her townhome, she waves goodbye before closing the door. Then she leans her back against it, sighing in contentment.

“How was the mall?” Cana asks from where she is on the couch. She doesn’t look away from the television.

She only thinks about Natsu. “It was overdue.” She smiles when her phone goes off because of a text from an unknown number. “For longer than forever overdue.”

x-X-x

A/N Part 1: Guess who’s still around?? :D I’ve just been busy with life. Planning my wedding for June 2018. Working my studio job. Proofing some books as a secondary job. And with what free time I do have, that goes toward writing my personal works (Elvina is still be edited, and making the cover design is next on my list). And if I’m not writing, I’m with family and friends. So I guess we’ll see when I get around to the next NaLu work XD

A/N Part 2: Anyway, this work was clearly inspired by one of my fave movies growing up! I listen to the soundtrack even now :D And it’s always fun having Lucy be embarrassed :P And that pink sky is something that happened here in Ohio not too long ago! I thought it was super pretty and would fit nicely with this work!

[shipcestuous]

Odd and True: The Final Chapter (and also the other chapters that precede it) (Submission)

This review will cover chapter 15 and onward.  That’s right, folks, we’re finishing this review today!  And it’s gonna be a long one, you guys.

So we start out chapter 15 with yet another important moment between the sisters, after they were abandoned by the rest of their would-be party.

“Tru,” said Od, an ache in her voice.

“What?“  I forced my attention away from the trees.

She opened her eyes, now bloodshot.  “I am far more than just a troubled young woman.  You are far more than a timid girl with a limp and a cane.”

My throat tightened, and my own eyes stung.  “I know that.”

“Do you absolutely believe it?”

“Yes, of course.  We wouldn’t be here otherwise, would we?”

She reached across the table and threaded her fingers through mine.

It’s important to note that only seven days have passed since Od reentered Tru’s life, after being apart for two years.  Despite Tru’s initial skepticism (and the way it persists despite her wishes), she’s chosen to try and put all her faith in her sister, because Od has always been there for her, protected her, tried to do what was best for her (far more than Tru knows yet).

I love how the girls validate each other, how Tru is starting to believe in herself because of Od’s words.  I love how quickly their bond has snapped back into place despite their time apart.  Because it’s strong enough that the time apart couldn’t shatter it in the first place.

Meanwhile, in Od’s flashbacks, it’s become clear that the “beloved” she told Tru about who was taken away from her way actually her infant daughter, who was given up for adoption even though Od kind of wanted to keep her.  Just like she was separated from Tru, she’s now been separated from baby Trudie too.

Since her aunt Viktoria told her not to come back home after giving birth, Od finds her mother Maria.  Maria is now the owner of a brothel, and when she finds out what happened, she tells Od to seek out her Uncle Magnus at his new home… which happens to be the girls’ old home, the home that their father used to own before he left them.  Magnus ended up taking it over.  (Because of course he did.  He’s such a spiteful little shit about anything involving his sister’s now-ex and I love it.)

Od asks why Magnus never came back to find Maria and her daughters, and Maria reminds her that she’d told him to stay away.  And says that it’s too risky, too dangerous for him to return.  And not just because of his asthma.

And Od learns that Magnus isn’t allowed back in the state because–what really happened when he was just thirteen, and Maria sixteen, that caused them to leave.  There was a jealous boy, a bit older than Maria, who (Maria tells Od) “didn’t like that I’d found a new sweetheart.  He hurt me badly in front of my brother, and my brother stopped him….  That’s all you need to know, Odette.  We took care of each other, protected each other, and that’s that.”

But Od knows that boy died with a knife to the back.  At age 13, Magnus straight-up murdered a boy for assaulting his sister, and that’s why they had to relocate together at such a young age.

Maria also tells Od the story of the day she was born–Magnus, not yet sixteen at the time, was there, and Maria’s husband wasn’t.  Maria notes, “I gave you the middle name Magnolia because it sounded like a flowery version of my brother’s name, which upset your father, but I didn’t care.“  (Which sounds exactly like “screw you, I like my brother better than I like you” to me.  After all, there’s already a feminine version of the name Louis so she easily could’ve named Od after her husband if she’d wanted to.)

Back to the present-day events from Tru’s POV: there’s an in-story book that’s kept popping up throughout Odd and True, which Tru reads a bit of now, and it’s called Marvelous and Monstrous by L.N. Hardt.  If you recall, MarViLUs was Maria, Magnus, and Viktoria’s nickname for themselves as kids (and their surname meant “lionhearted,” quite similar to “LN Hardt”).  The book focuses on three supernaturally-involved siblings too: Margaret, Viola, and Augustus.  The similarities are obvious.  (More on this later.)

After reading a bit of this story about siblings who didn’t keep secrets from each other, Tru is inspired to break into Od’s locked box and find out the story she’s kept from Tru.  It’s not out of malice, but out of “a desperate need to read something–anything–about my sister and our past” to make sense of things.

So… Tru finds out the truth.  She reads about Od’s discovery of their father’s lies and betrayal.  About when Maria showed up at Viktoria’s doorstep, hoping to see her daughters.  About how Od’s baby was taken away from her.  Tru keeps reading even as she hears Od coming, because she has to know.  So Od walks in on the sight of her little sister, who she’s tried to protect from learning the truth, learning just that.

Understandably, Od is furious because Tru invaded her privacy and learned all this before Od was ready to tell it.  But even as Tru is reeling from all of this information, her first words to Od are, “I’m ready now.  I want to know.  I want to help you."  But Od shoves her papers into her bag, distraught, and storms out.  Even after she returns, she isn’t able to meet Tru’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Tru realizes the truth about Od’s "beloved”: her daughter.  She realizes Od is really wandering the country because she’s looking for Trudie.  If Od is hunting monsters, it’s only the “monsters” who stole her baby away.  Tru is furious with Cy for ruining her sister’s life and confronts him about it (she even calls him the devil, which is great).

Back to Od’s flashbacks–it takes her almost a year to work up the courage to visit her uncle Magnus, because the story of how he killed the boy who hurt Maria makes Od feel like a failure for being unable (she thinks) to protect Tru and her baby.  She travels the world, looks for Trudie, and saves up money, but finally, she gathers the nerve to visit Magnus.

In the time since Od saw him last, Magnus has gotten married and had a family, which is sad for us shippers, but it is notable that his wife was one of Maria’s neighbors, from a family who was always very kind to Maria and the girls.  So it’s a safe bet that Magnus’s love for her started because she was kind to Maria when she needed it most.  It’s also notable that he names his first daughter after Maria.  Even though he abided by Maria’s wishes and didn’t contact her, it’s obvious she was never far from his mind.

Anyway, Magnus recognizes Od right away even though it’s been a dozen years at least, and immediately embraces her warmly.  (Yet again, it’s noted by Od how much she, her mother, and Magnus look alike.  I’m not saying she’s Magnus and Maria’s kid together, but I’m just saying.  The subtext is all there.)

It turns out Magnus is the one who urges Od to write her story down, because “however awful it may be, Od, I want to know.  I still care deeply about you and the rest of the family.  I’ve never forgotten you.  I hope you know that."  "I’ve never forgotten you either,” she tells him and promises to write her story down.  Again–despite time and distance, this family cares for each other so much. And Magnus and Od’s bond is still there: changed a bit, as they both have, but it’s still there even though it’s been so long, and I love it.

Even though it’s Magnus who first inspires Od to write her story, she doesn’t just write it for him.  “I wrote the truth for the person I wanted by my side most of all.  My sister.”

Magnus is the first person to read the story, though.  He learns about the girls’ lives after they left.  He learns that Maria (“his beloved sister”) is running a brothel and that she works in it too, and he knows that Maria told Od about what Magnus did as a boy to protect her.  Magnus urges Od to only show Tru all of this once she’s old enough to endure it.

Magnus also tells Od about a story that he, Maria, and Viktoria worked on when they were kids, to comfort themselves after their parents died���the source, it turns out, of all the monster tales.  Maria and Magnus took the book with them when they relocated, and it eventually became Marvelous and Monstrous, the book that Tru keeps seeing throughout the novel.

Od confronts Magnus for filling her head with these stories of monsters when she was a kid.  He says, “Of course I told you such things.  You were a child stuck in a remote house with an unhappy mother, and I was still recovering from the horrors of my youth.  Imagining myself and your mother as heroes capable of fighting off evil always made me feel stronger.  I wanted you to feel just as safe and powerful.”

And he urges her to go back and find Tru, because despite how her aunt sent her away, he knows that Viktoria “knows deep down what it means to be close to a sibling."  This segues into the revelation that Maria hasn’t written to Magnus since she moved away, so Magnus didn’t know anything more about her until he learned it for Od.  So this visit (although somber) is just as much an important gift to Magnus as it is needed encouragement for Od.

Back in the present, some plot things happen, and long story short, Tru ends up venturing out into the cold night in order to rescue a stray dog because she sees similarities between it and her/Od.  Even though Od’s currently upset with her, it’s obvious that Tru has internalized Od’s encouragements and it’s made her feel stronger and braver.

Of course Od comes after her the moment she learns where Tru went.  She tells Tru the truth, that they aren’t monster hunters.  She told all these lies not only to protect Tru, but because ”I needed this adventure with you.“ Even though Tru is, of course, hurt, she still insists that she could’ve helped Od if she’d been told earlier.  Despite learning all these hard truths in one day, her first thought is still that she could’ve helped her sister earlier if she’d known.

Not going to spoil what’s been terrorizing the inn, because I can’t spoil everything in case some of you decide to read this, but essentially Tru and Od keep each other safe and fight it off together, even though they’re terrified.  Even though they’re just ordinary girls, not monster-hunters.

The rest of the party doesn’t believe that they killed it, and Od basically tells them to go screw themselves.  Even Cy.  Especially Cy.  He wasn’t there for her, and he especially wasn’t there for her just now when she went to help Tru, and she doesn’t need him.  Od and Tru (and the dog they saved) march off together, because who needs those jerks anyway?

Back to Od’s POV, as we finally catch up in her flashbacks to where the novel started.  Od is still hesitant to go back after Viktoria sent her away, but Magnus gives her the courage she needs.  ”It’s time you return to your sister.  Fulfill your destiny.  I believe in you, darling.  Always will.“  Yes, he just referred to being with Tru as Od’s destiny.  (Like, same tbh.  It’s true love, okay.)

Back to the present again (bc the previous chapter was deliberately short), Od and Tru return to the restaurant where Ezra Blue (the boy with the little sister who had polio, who Tru inspired) works.  The sisters talk about what happened.  Tru takes Od’s hand and says, ”I believe in us.“  The sisters also discover the truth about Marvelous and Monstrous, that it’s ”their book,“ their mother’s and Magnus’s and Viktoria’s book.

The sisters go to visit their mother.  It turns out the reason why Maria wasn’t home recently was because she’d traveled to Oregon, hoping to give her daughters money from her book sales.  After Od’s visit the previous year, she was inspired to change her life and take a chance on getting it published.

Next, we get the end of Od’s memoir–this part, directly addressing "my dear, sweet Tru."  She asks for forgiveness for deceiving her and explains why she did it.  In the final lines, she writes:

”Our own tale is quite unfinished, Trudchen Maria.  Our adventures have not yet even begun.  If I scribble down the words The End at the bottom of this page, do not believe me in the slightest, for this is not an ending at all.

Far from it.

For, you see, this is the beginning–the true beginning–of the marvelous tale of Odette and Trudchen Grey….

Their story is just beginning.  Their lives are just beginning, now that they’ve found each other again.

The novel ends with an epilogue, taking place years later.  Plot twist: it’s from Trudie’s POV–Od’s baby, on her 15th birthday.  She receives a copy of “Odd and True Tales,” written by Od and Tru.  (Tru is listed as “Trudchen Grey Blue,” implying she married Ezra Blue in the past decade or so, but it isn’t said for sure, so we can headcanon whatever we want.  Maybe she was adopted into the Blues’ family instead, since she was still a minor during the story proper.)

Anyway, lil’ Trudie gets the book from her adoptive parents, and we learn she’s fascinated by the supernatural, just like her mother before her.  She reads about the many escapades of the sisters Grey that apparently took place after the novel’s main story ended, and then… she reads the dedication.  The book is dedicated to Trudie, from her mother, and Trudie realizes it’s dedicated to her.

And that’s where the book ends.

So… yeah, like I may have mentioned before, I picked this up looking for a quick read and ended up with a deep love for this family and a small fleet of new ships.  Even though the main relationship wasn’t canon, it was honestly everything I wanted: they’re clearly portrayed as each other’s most important person, as two halves of a whole, as soulmates even if it’s not in an explicitly romantic sense.  Just like the title indicates, the story really is all about them and their relationship.

And the ending is so open in terms of how they end up that, for all we know, they could end up canon once they’re both adults.  It’s implied that Od never married, and it isn’t explicitly said that Tru did.  But what is clear is that they’re still having adventures together and seeing the world, and their story is still about the two of them together.

And as for my other main ship here, Magnus and Maria: even though that one flashback where her husband accused Magnus of being in love with her was as explicitly canon as it got, I feel like all this subtext was intentional. I feel like the careful reader is supposed to see this untold story of a brother and sister relationship here.

The facts, as presented in story: the jealous guy who attacks Maria in front of Magnus was angry because she had a “new sweetheart,” a person who is otherwise never mentioned.  Because of this, Magnus and Maria flee after he kills the guy.  Magnus is explicitly jealous of Maria’s employer who becomes her lover, and he tries (and succeeds) to usurp the man’s place.  Even once Maria is married, she and Magnus have a very close (including physically close) relationship.

So what I’m reading (though this is just my speculation) is that this jealous guy found out that young Maria and Magnus were in a forbidden relationship, so he assaulted Maria in front of Magnus out of spite.  The two fled the state together, and Magnus was jealous when Louis seduced Maria.  Maria got pregnant (it’s sorta implied this is why Louis “married” her), except there was a chance it was Magnus’s child.  Louis knew there was something between them, even if he had no proof, which is why he despised Magnus so much.  Magnus and Maria continue their affair whenever Louis is gone.  The fight that ended up with Louis leaving Maria involved this truth coming to light, along with the truth of Louis’s affair.

Well, that’s my headcanon anyway.  It’d make a lot of sense, frankly.  (For all we know, Magnus lied to Od about not being in contact with Maria too.  He did used to frequent brothels, and Maria did own/work in one.  Maybe they accidentally ran into each other there, and resumed their relationship.  But again, that’s just speculation.)

And all speculation aside, the ending also leaves it open to our own headcanons about what ended up happening in the future to Maria and Magnus.  In the ending scene where Od and Tru reunite with Maria, there’s a line that says “We would speak of… our futures, and our pasts, of love and forgiveness, of aunts and uncles and fathers….”

This, and just the general themes of the story, make me certain that after the events of the story, Maria and Magnus will reenter each other’s lives, and I’m certain their bond will snap right back into place the same way that Od and Tru’s did (what with all the deliberate parallels between the two sets of siblings).  With so much love between them, it’s inevitable.

So in short, even though there isn’t an explicitly romantic relationship between them, I feel like the book wants you to come to such conclusions (or maybe I’m reaching, haha), and the ending is written so that honestly, we can conclude whatever we want about the future of Maria/Magnus and Od/Tru.  So in essence, it’s my exact favorite kind of non-canon sibling relationship.  I’d definitely recommend it.

What a journey! I’m glad to have been an outlet for your love for this book/family, and I’m so glad you shared so many details with us so that we could follow the story with you. Od and Tru’s relationship is so beautiful and I agree with your assessment of Maria/Magnus completely. I think all the subtext is there and intentional.