#anyway happy Sunday of our Lord and all...

[somedaytakethetime]

On a holy Sunday of our Lord, I would like to leave..

One of my favourite stills from a game... 😩😶

[janeyseymour]

La Cosa Nostra- pt 15

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12. Part 13. Part 14.

cowritten with @schemmentis - we're gonna try to revive this story, and y'all better buckle up because it's gonna get so good

WC: 3.1k

You manage to get the girls up and fed before Melissa stirs on the couch. It must be a groggy Schemmenti morning considering the girls haven’t swarmed her and woken her up themselves nor asked you why Mommy was sleeping on the couch all weekend. You gently shake at your wife’s shoulder once the girls have their shoes on, remembering how upset she’d been when you’d taken them to school without waking her. Plus, you don’t exactly feel generous and worried about making sure she gets enough rest after your fight. 

You roll your eyes at her groggy ‘what’ when she cracks her eyes open. “Your daughters want to say good morning and goodbye, is what.” You mutter, stepping aside and wave the twins the okay to hurry to Melissa.

You step back towards the front door as Melissa kisses them each multiple times. Tuning out the goodbyes and I love yous. You’d thought after not speaking aside from the essentials over the weeknd you might feel less upset; you don’t. It’s the same as before you went to sleep the night you fought. Mel’s decision over you, her standing by it, and worst of all her hitting you in all the worst places. You can’t let any of it go, not first, anyway.

You force a deep breath when you feel your little girls running back to your side, opening the front door. “Let’s go, littles, before you’re late.” You mutter as you usher them out.

“You didn’t kiss Mommy again,” Rosie states once you get into the car.

“We were running late,” is all your response is. 

Once you’ve seen them off to their class safely, you leave the girls’ school. Your eyes roll when you hear your cell phone ring for the third time in the short trip to drop them off. You know without looking it’s Tony just like it was the last two times, no doubt to ask again for the ledger which you still have no intention of giving him directly. You don’t trust Tony as far as you could throw him. Still, you know you’d better have it in hand soon for when he produces whoever he answers to. It wouldn’t be good for that to happen and you to not have it.

You sigh as you slip back into the car. Which means you probably have to break your silent streak with your wife and ask her to talk to Barbara to get it back. You really don’t want to do that though. Your pride and your stubbornness wants you to hold out for Melissa to at least admit she was being an asshole the other night. Even if she won’t admit she was wrong about the rest of it. 

You don’t have Barbara’s number but you do know where she’ll eventually turn up. You pull the car from the school lot, driving to the church. If Mel intends to be in early at the restaurant today; you don’t feel that bad about making her walk this time.

You slip in just after the morning service. Thankfully, you still spy Barbara’s head in the usual back pew. You genuflect at the side, crossing your chest before slipping into the seat next to the older woman- the one your wife would usually claim.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Barbara greets you quietly once her head raises from her prayer. “Another bit of prayer needed, hm?”

“A little bit.” You hedge. You’re not fully lying; you do think it might bring some relief after your fight with Melissa. Which, now that you’re sat next to her, you realize you may have overlooked your wife telling Barb all about. “I was also hoping to see you.” You add.

“Oh? Well, that’s sweet of you. You know I’m always glad to see you or Melissa and your girls in the Lord’s house.”

You flash a smile, one you’ve flashed the Feds and other Family members alike to be as charming as you can. “You know our whole family is always happy to see you. Especially the girls.”

“Oh, I can’t wait for next weekend. They were positively a joy at Sunday breakfast, yesterday. Though you and Melissa were rather quiet.”

“It was…a long week, last week.” You admit. “Mel and I haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye lately.” You hadn’t meant to share that last part but you lean into letting it off your chest in some way, at least.

“I’m sure you two will sort it out. You always do.”

“I hope so.” You answer truthfully. You might still be angry, and definitely hurt, but you still love Melissa with all of you. You hope the fact she’s been dealing with being relegated to the couch for a few days is a sign she still feels the same, too. Since she hasn’t disappeared to her Ma’s or even Kristen Marie’s.

“Are things okay between the two of you? Would you like to chat about it, perhaps over brunch?” Barbara offers.

You take her up on that offer, and you find yourself bringing her back to your house- just in case the Feds are still watching you. You mill about the kitchen as you prepare a few things before settling at the table with her.

“So,” Barbara hums. “What’s got you turning up at church more often than usual lately- both you and your wife?”

“Could use a bit more prayer these days,” you sigh softly as you take a bite full of your breakfast.

“You didn’t pray today though,” the woman points out. You just shrug at that. “So what made you really come to the church?”

You throw around the options in your head. You could break your silent streak and speak with Melissa, or you could ask the woman herself for the ledger.

Deciding to bite the bullet, you say softly, “I was hoping I would run into you. I need the book that I know Melissa gave you.”

Barbara blinks once, twice. “What book, dear?”

“Barb, I know Mel gave you the book for my salon.”

The woman’s face flickers through quite a few emotions before settling on a neutral face once again. “Oh. I still don’t know what you’re speaking of? What your wife gave me was not a book.”

“Babs, I need the goddamn book,” you sigh.

“Do not take the lord’s name in vein,” Barbara tells you sternly.

“Barbara, I need the damned book. My life is on the line here,” you plead. You don’t mean for that last sentence to slip out, and you have to do everything you can to hide it on your face; the severity of the situation. For all she knows, you’re exaggerating and just using it as a hyperbole.

“And why would that be?” Barbara raises a brow. “It’s just the simple finances for the salon.”

“It is,” You hastily agree with her comment. “But I…” You take a breath, forcing out the familiar lie you gave Valentina when she first noticed Melissa’s extra stress, just modified a bit. “I’m trying to work out selling the salon so I need the book with all the finances in it to go through with a potential buyer.”

“Selling it?” Barbara repeats, a hand pressing to her chest. “Why on earth would you sell? You’ve worked hard for that place, Y/N!”

“I know but it hasn’t been profitable since…well, since I don’t even know when, Barb. I thought I could juggle it and put it back in proper working condition but the clients just aren’t coming in like they used to.”

Barbara suddenly drops the hand at her chest held in shock. “Y/N, surely you know I’m no fool.”

You blink. “Of course you’re not, Barbara. Why would I think you were—”

“The book I have is not for your salon.”

“Yes, it is.” You say, brow furrowing in confusion. Because it is for the salon, both books, and you don’t know what else Barb could think it belongs to.

The older woman sends you a long suffering look, the silence between you drawing out for a moment. “Not for the legal business of your salon though, is it?”

Your face drops. Like, actually drops- jaw open and everything. “What?”

“I’m well aware of what I possess,” the woman tells you in a monotone.

“Shit.”

“What on Earth are the two of you thinking; getting mixed up in all of this- and with your two girls!” Barbara admonishes you sharply, and you feel like you’re being reprimanded by a principal.

You search for words, but none come.

“You two are so lucky I haven’t turned it in, and I nearly did!”

“Y-you didn’t?” you whisper out. 

“Of course I didn’t, and the only reason I didn’t is because of Cat and Rosie!” Barb states. “Otherwise, I would have!”

“I- thank you,” you say softly.

“The two of you better get yourselves out of this mess, before it destroys your lives,” the woman tells you lowly.

“The only way out of this mess is prison… or death,” you inform her. “And at this point, if either of us goes to prison, or something happens to Mel, I genuinely fear I won’t survive. When it comes down to everything, Melissa is the matriarchal figure in the family.”

“Neither of those things can happen,” Barbara tells you. “And that is not true- the both of you have the most equal partnership I think I’ve ever seen.”

“Listen, I really do need the ledger back,” you try again.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Barbara.”

“Your wife entrusted me with it, and while I do not agree with what I hold onto in the slightest, I am not breaking my promise to Melissa.”

“I’m sure she told you not to open the book though, right?” you press. At her nod, you continue. “You broke that promise. So, give. me. the. book.”

“I have to go,” Barbara states. “Thank you for a lovely breakfast.” She makes to head out, and you follow her.

“Barbara!”

She climbs into her car, and speeds off. 

You’re left standing on the porch of your townhouse, staring after Barbara’s car even after it’s definitely peeled its way out of your neighborhood. You honestly didn’t know she could drive that fast. Melissa loves to call her a grandma whenever she drives the lot of you anywhere. Barbara would throw back that it was only being safe and God forbid she get into a wreck because your wife wouldn’t stop back-seat driving. 

“Fuck.” You curse, briefly covering your face. “Fuck!” You repeat as you pull your hands away. You lean back into the doorway just enough to grab your keys from the hook by the door. You slam your front door shut, not even bothering to take the time to lock it. You won’t catch Barb at this rate, but you’re fairly certain you can catch your wife. 

You’re certain, at least relatively so, Barb won’t turn you both in. Not if she hasn’t already. But it sure sounded like she was just waiting for Melissa to ask for the book to confront her herself first. You just happened to ask before your wife. You know though Barb isn’t likely to be going to Twelve Tables to have that confrontation with Melissa. So, instead, you are.

You speed your way there, not really worried about the reds or stop lights or any possibility of getting pulled over. A ticket was nothing compared to what all hung in the balance now. You make your way into the restaurant as fast as your feet will carry you.

“Hey, Y/N, how’s—”

“Not now Val,” You interrupt your wife’s right hand. “Where’s Mel?”

“She’s in the back, but—”

You wave a hand at her, muttering a half hearted ‘thank you’ as you hurry through the kitchen toward the back office. You don’t even stop to worry about knocking at the closed office door. You’re throwing it open with practically all your weight behind it in your haste that has you stumbling into the room.

“Mel, we need to—”

“What the fuck?” Melissa grouses at the slamming open of the office door. Her mood doesn’t exactly improve when she looks up to see you, a glare from green eyes sent your way. “I’m in the middle of a meeting.” She says, the end of it coming through her clenched teeth with a nod to the man standing at the desk in the office with her.

“I really need to talk to you. Right now.” You rush out.

“Ya don’t talk to me all weekend, and now ya want to? Now? I told ya, I’m in a meeting. Get out.”

“Melissa Ann Caterina Schemmenti!” You nearly yell, stepping into the office and gripping her wrist and fighting to physically pull your wife from the office.

“God…damn it. Fine!” Melissa huffs, agreeing to go once she realizes you aren’t going to let her actually work until she does. “‘Scuse me a minute.” She says to the man before following you out of the office and shutting the door after her. “What the fuck is so damn important you have to try and literally pull me from work? One of the girls’ better be hurt or the world better be endin’, so help me God, or it’s gonna be you on the couch now, Y/N!”

“Our world might be ending,” you sigh quietly, eyes down. Then your eyes meet her own. “Barbara knows.”

The redhead has the same face that you wore when Barbara revealed that she knows what she possesses. “What?”

“Do you see why it’s so important now?” you ask her.

“Fuck. Fucking shit.” She runs a hand through her hair. “We’re fucked. We’re going down, and we’re taking all of-“

“She said she hasn’t turned us in because of the girls,” you whisper. “But we have to figure out what to do before something terrible happens to either us, or Barb and Gerald. They cannot get involved.”

“Fuck!” Melissa shouts.

“I know,” you sigh. “I know. I- I don’t know what to do.”

“How do you know she knows?” your wife implores.

“I was at the church earlier,” you tell her. And you recount the earlier events before, “and then she told me that the binder wasn’t for the legal side of the salon. She knows.”

“God dammit,” Melissa whispers. She runs a hand over her face. “Fuck. Okay, uhm… let me handle this meeting, and then I’ll meet you at home so we can figure out what to do.”

“I’ll be sitting in the back waiting for you,” you tell her. “And don’t forget that we do have to pick up the girls today.”

“I know,” she says. “I know. Okay. We’re gonna- we’re gonna be fine, and I- fuck.” You watch as red curls whip around and head back into the office.

With a sigh, you head for the back exit again. Valentina looks at you curiously, but you don’t acknowledge it. You just continue on your way. You pull your car closer to the back door, idling as you wait for your wife. She’s quickly slipping into the passenger seat in less than five minutes.

As you pull out of the lot of Twelve Tables and head towards your home once more, Melissa runs her hand through her hair as she glances at the clock. “Okay, we still have a few hours before we have to get the girls, so we can figure this out.”

“Figure this out?” You echo, glancing at Melissa. “Babe, we have what, four hours? We’re gonna figure this all out and fix everything in four hours?

“It’s just Babs.” She says, trying to convince the both of you. It’s clear she knows how much power her church friend holds at this moment, and it terrifies her. She takes a deep breath, rolling the passenger window down enough for wind from the drive to whip her red locks out of her face. “She didn’t turn us in because of the girls…we can, we can buy time.”

“How? How are we gonna buy any time?” you implore. “We got the Feds still digging into shit; who knows what part of the Family they’re eyeing right now? But it doesn’t matter. Any part of it goes, you know the rest is screwed.”

“That’s only if somebody flips. Nobody would flip.”

You take the risk of holding your eyes off the road a little longer than you should to give your wife a look. You both could likely think of ten people each from your respective sides that could, under the right circumstances, absolutely flip.”

“Fuck, I know!” She says, waving your glare away from her as she looks out the passenger side window. “Look, they ain’t got anywhere yet, huh? That means we still got time. We just need to make sure Barb really ain’t gonna do nothin’.”

“She wouldn’t talk to me past tellin’ me she promised you to only give it back to you and then that she knew.”

“Oh, sure, she can stick to that part of the damn promise.” Melissa grumbles as she gets out nearly before you can put the car in park in the driveway. She turns back just as you catch up to her on the front porch. “Ya didn’t even lock the door! Aduzipach!”

“We do not have time for another argument!” You toss back as you reach the top step, gently ushering her inside with you as you pull the door shut again. This time you do lock it behind you. “We have to be on the same page, okay? We really have to be or we’re definitely screwed. I’m still pissed, and hurt but whatever. It doesn’t matter right now. Right now what matters is you, and me, and the girls. That’s all that matters, which means we have to figure a way out of this bullshit.”

“Amore, you know there’s only two ways out of the life. Neither one lets us be there for the girls- at all.”

“And both I’d preferably like to avoid entirely.” You add, sighing as you slump into your couch. “So..w we have to literally do the impossible.”

“I don’t know how we’re going to do that,” Melissa groans as she leans into your figure.

Barbara Howard speeds off, and she doesn’t necessarily know where she’s going. But after a bit, she figures that you aren’t following her, and she stops at a local diner to pick up takeout for a lunch date with her husband, the senator.

TAGS: @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @thesamesweetie @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @gwennybriggs @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @sapphicxrat @a-queen-and-her-throne @sunsol-22 @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld

[icarusflewsworld]

Rhysand & Cassian & Azriel X OC

Hello, here is the chapter 27 of a fanfiction on the world of Acotar where our three favorite Batboys are the mates of a single woman.

I'm really sorry for the delay. I was sick and I have to revise for exams in February and March, so there will only be one chapter (maybe two since I have no self control and I always write too much) on Sunday January 26th.

I really hope you liked these chapters! Don't hesitate to leave comments even bad ones (not mean please), it allows me to know what's wrong and to improve especially on the sex scenes because I feel like I'm really too bad at that. I had a lot a lot a lot of trouble writing this last chapter lol.

In any case thank you for your reading, your time, your votes and especially your comments. You are all so kind and I am so shocked every time but it makes me so so happy. Love you. Have a wonderful week end and good luck for all you have to go through. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

! Don't forget to read the previous and following chapters ! : Here

Chapter 27

It was the next day and it was almost ten o'clock in the morning.

The three Illyrians were waiting for Luxiana to go to the Summer Court. They were standing in the hall of the Town House, stoic and tired. They had thought hard all night about their soulmate, about what she had done yesterday and what they had learned about her. They had thought without really being able to rest.

Feeling all three anxious, they had found themselves in Rhys' room to discuss it. But when they had found themselves there at three, Luxiana's absence had been felt even more and had become even more burdensome. And that while she was in the next room.

They missed her, but she wanted to leave and there was nothing they could do about it. It was clear to them anyway. It was too late for them. Their soulmate was full of secrets but this new side of her that they had been able to glimpse yesterday did not change the handsome, sunny woman she had been with them. The more they had thought about it, the more they had understood that she had never hidden what she was capable of anyway. It had always been the Illyrians who had underestimated her. But now, it was different. They would not make that mistake again and now believed her when she said she was cruel.

That said, she remained a fragile human.

It was Azriel who had reminded his brothers of this fact last night. He had been completely surprised, of course, because of what she had done and who she had become. But the Illyrian had ended up being so reassured. Finally, he had seen the vulnerability in his soulmate's pupils and he did not forget that she was his fragile little human, but she knew how to fight. So that would mean that she would be able to defend herself one day if they were not there to protect her.

But what had lightened in Azriel's chest yesterday wasn't just about that. It was the weight of guilt and regret that had left him. His soulmate wasn't as innocent as he thought and in fact, her hands might be as dirty as his. He wouldn't sully her with his cruelties but he had made a promise to himself that he would do everything he could to ensure that she wouldn't have to get her fingers dirty anymore. She was his little princess and he would take good care of her. There was no turning back for him now. He loved her.

Cassian had a bright gaze straight ahead and a dreamy look on his face. His soulmate was downright bad ass and he loved it. She was cruel. Oh so mean and strong… One of the best human mercenaries she had said? Oh he believed her. He was so proud. Out of all the fragile little humans, his was brave enough to be a mercenary. And the way she had ripped off the Attor's wings with vengeance and rage burning in her irises… She was so sexy. She was so perfect and so strong for them.

And she would be even more terrifying at their side. The first human who will bring the world to its knees and the other high lords and she is his soul mate. He loved discovering a little more of her secrets each time and was delighted to see that she seemed to have a whole bunch more.

Rhysand had a lot on his mind. He hadn't slept for several days and although the attack on his city, the betrayal of the human queens, the protection of the wall and a future counterattack against Hybern were all on his mind and disturbing him, it was mainly because of his soulmate that he couldn't sleep.

He needed to have her close to him but he felt like she was just hiding things from them. He knew she was his soulmate but could he trust her when she lied to them so openly and when she could be so… dangerous? He was sure that, like she had told him yesterday, as long as he stayed on her side, she wouldn't betray him, but he was afraid that their opinions would diverge one day.

Like yesterday. He had ordered her not to tear off the Attor's wings, but she had done it without even hesitating… And smiling. Of course, he had ordered her not to do it just because he was afraid she would feel bad afterwards, but he had felt great satisfaction in seeing the creature that had made him suffer so much, cry.

And by the cauldron, he had been reassured when his soulmate had assured him that she was cruel. And that strength he had seen in her gaze had lit something in the lord's chest. Something that now assured him 100% that his Luxiana would be his perfect high lady.

But he had gone way too far with her yesterday. He regretted his words so much. Of course, she hadn't reminded him of Amarantha. She never could. They were so different. But he had been so angry that she wouldn't obey him and that she would put her good conscience on the line for a stupid revenge, that he had wanted to make her understand that what she had done was wrong.

He had been relieved to see how strong and evil she could be. But while he hadn't imagined it and had thought it would hurt her to tear a creature's wings, now he regretted every word he said. She had looked so angry yesterday and she wanted to leave them then. He didn't want to hurt her and even less for her to distance himself from him.

Besides, the service she owed them would soon be done and they would have no more excuses to keep her around when she will ask to return to Tamlin. But at the same time, things far more important than their happiness were at stake, time was running out against Hybern. Especially now that Rhysand knew the king had the cauldron and the human queens were on his side.

And then they hoped to eventually find a solution to keep her with them.

Luxiana joined them in the hall. The three Illyrians couldn't help but stare at her greedily. They would never get used to her beauty. She wore a flared skirt, light and short, reaching mid-thigh and a breast cover that revealed far too much skin on her stomach and shoulders. But above all, the fabric was turquoise and white. The colors of Tarquin and the clothes of his court.

Rhysand gritted his teeth. "That color doesn't suit you," he said simply, not wanting to sound mean but unable to hide his hissing voice.

Luxiana froze in her stride. Her heart broke a little, but she didn't show it. She glanced at herself, grimacing. "For real? Damn! I should change, then." She had to be pretty to seduce Tarquin and she had thought she looked pretty good, but a male opinion was surely more revealing.

Cassian rolled his eyes as he placed his hand on his soulmate's back to pull her towards the exit of the mansion. "Don't listen to him, you're beautiful," the Illyrian corrected.

“He’s right,” Azriel insisted. “You are very beautiful, princess. A little too much, even.” He clasped his hand above his brother’s on his soulmate’s back to lean towards Luxiana and give her a kiss on the cheek. He hadn’t been able to resist, her soft skin had called out to him so much.

The blonde lowered her head, smiling and blushing. She was so happy to see that their behavior hadn't changed with her since yesterday. It had been worrying her all night. She hoped so much that they didn't hate her. She really liked them. "Are you sure? I dressed like this to please Tarquin."

The three Illyrians froze, tensing their muscles and gritting their teeth. Cassian slowly turned a wide gaze towards Luxiana. "I take back what I said then."

"Me too!" Azriel exclaimed, frowning and crossing his arms. Why would she want to please Tarquin?? "Finally, you should change."

Luxiana narrowed her eyes, then shook her head, giving up on trying to understand. "No time, it'll be fine." She walked ahead of them out of the building and stood outside on the steps of the entrance. She turned to the three who had followed her. "We should fly in, especially if Hybern can detect your power, Rhysand."

The lord grimaced. She didn't call him “Rhysand” anymore, or she only did it when she was angry or wanted to put distance between them. And the voice she had used was cold. He fucking hated it. He reached up to brush a strand of hair—escaped from his soulmate’s ponytail—behind her ear and ran his finger under her earlobe and over the angle of her jaw to her chin. “It’s Rhys, love, please.” He couldn’t stand the fact that she wanted to put distance between them.

“Listen,” Rhysand continues, dropping his arm back to his side. “I’m sorry for my reaction yesterday, I shouldn’t have. You have nothing to do with Amarantha, ever.”

Luxiana smiled sadly, her cheeks still heating. The high lord of the night court was apologizing to her when he had done nothing wrong. How cute was that? "You don't have to apologize,... Rhys," she sighed, emphasizing his nickname and lightening the lord at the same time. "You were right to react like that and I understood why you did it, I would have done the same. I don't blame you." She took a step forward, pressing her chest to Rhysand's as his eyes hardened. "But you were wrong to compare me to Amarantha because I'm much worse than her, believe me."

Rhysand smirked, his shoulders sagging in relief. "Good," he placed his hand on her cheek, "you'll need it." He leaned towards her slowly, squinting at her lips. He wanted to kiss her. Ever since he had tasted her sweet lips, he wanted to taste them again all the time. It was all he could think about now. If it were up to him, he would kiss her. Especially when she looked at him like that, with big, bright eyes. But it wasn't up to him, and after everything that had happened, he didn't know if he could, if she wanted to. So he shifted at the last moment to kiss her cheek. He shivered at her soft, cold and bounced skin.

Luxiana smiled at him gently, trying not to look as disappointed and hurt as she felt. He didn't want to kiss her anymore. They didn't want to kiss her anymore. They weren't attracted to her anymore. She wanted to leave. "We should go."

Azriel didn't wait to grab Luxiana's thighs, lift her up and fly away with her towards the summer court.

***

After a long flight, they arrived at their destination, landing in front of Tarquin and a welcoming committee waiting for them as Amren teleported to their side, making Luxiana flinch. Why hadn't she teleported them all with her?

“Hello Tarquin,” Rhysand greeted respectfully.

“Hello, Rhysand,” he shook his hand. “Amren,” he greeted the same way, but Amren did not take his hand, only looking at him with disdain. Tarquin laughed at this before moving on. “Cassian,” the High Lord of Summer exclaimed as he spotted the Illyrian, “you have not set foot in this courtyard since you blew up one of my buildings.”

Luxiana's eyes widened, raising an eyebrow at the Illyrian who was smiling proudly at her.

“You’re not going to blow anything up this time, are you?” the summer fairy laughed.

"I'll do my best," Cassian agreed, unable to regain his seriousness.

Then Tarquin shifted his eyes to Azriel, whom he nodded at, and finally, his attention settled on Luxiana. He frowned but smiled kindly.

Luxiana stepped forward alongside Rhys, taking small, shy steps, to face Tarquin and shake his hand. "Hello, my name is Luxiana."

The high lord shook her hand delicately but still with the same expression of pleasant confusion. "You are..."

"...human, yes," Luxiana interrupted, confirming.

Tarquin let out a soft laugh. “Delicious. I was going to say you are delicious.”

Luxiana opened her eyes wide and let out a small laugh. But she wasn't blushing. She only blushed with the three Illyrians. The others' compliments didn't have the same effect on her.

Cassian gritted his teeth, Rhysand forced himself not to move, and Azriel stretched his neck from side to side as he took a deep breath. Two minutes. They had barely been here for two minutes and Tarquin was already flirting with their soulmate. This was going to be a very long stay.

"Rhysand," Tarquin said as Luxiana let go of his hand. "It's quite rare to see you hanging out with a human."

The High Lord of the Night shrugged nonchalantly, seeming annoyed by the situation. "It's a payment from Tamlin in place of Feyre to reimburse me for my services under the mountain. I don't know yet if I keep her or not, she's not very useful."

Tarquin frowned, casting a dirty look at Rhysand before turning his gaze worriedly back to Luxiana. "Are you okay? Is he treating you well?"

Luxiana laughed softly, "your consideration is touching but I'm fine, thank you." She turned a little towards Rhysand to lean towards him with a mischievous look and she began to pinch one of his cheeks.

Rhysand's eyes widened and so did everyone around them but Luxiana continued. "The High Lord of the Night is actually a cute little soft chocolate bear." Luxiana let go of him and stood up, pursing her lips to keep from laughing at all of their expressions.

Rhysand tried to keep a neutral face but his heart was beating strangely in his chest. He glanced sideways at his soulmate, trying to appear as disdainful as he could towards her. "I could cut your hand off for that."

"Nah," Luxiana contradicted, shaking her head confidently. "You won't." She turned to Tarquin. "He's crazy in love with me, he couldn't hurt me."

Rhysand couldn’t hide his smile. She was right.

Tarquin burst out laughing. "Yes, it doesn't really surprise me, it's very understandable. One can only fall under your charm it seems."

Luxiana smiled, trying to look embarrassed. "Does that mean I have a good chance of charming you?"

Azriel cleared his throat to get Luxiana's attention and for her to turn to him and for he could warn her with his eyes not to dare continue on this path with other men than the three of them, but she didn't even calculate it.

Tarquin nodded, smiling. "Oh, you already do, you know, especially when you wear my colors. It suits you very well, by the way. You seem made for the summer court."

"We have things to do, Tarquin," Rhysand interrupted, slipping his hands into his pockets and clenching his fists imperceptibly. There was no fucking way he was going to continue watching his soulmate flirt with another.

They finally moved then. Tarquin and Rhysand talked while the lord of the summer court showed them their quarters with their rooms gathered around a large common living room for the five of them.

They spent the afternoon together, visiting the surroundings and chatting. Every time Tarquin spoke with Luxiana, it was to flirt with her and every time Luxiana opened her mouth it was to return the favor. Or worse, to compliment Tarquin.

Rhysand then interrupted them each time to divert the conversation to the professional matters that had supposedly brought them here. But Tarquin only had eyes for Luxiana. And the lord of the Night Court felt like he was being torn from the inside to call upon all his self-control and not bring his soulmate back to Velaris.

Cassian was unusually quiet as every muscle in his body tensed uncomfortably. Why was HIS soulmate flirting with another man than him? Was he not good enough for her? Was he not enough for her?

Azriel felt like he was going crazy. He followed the group, his shadows surrounding him a little more than usual as he only stared at Luxiana from as far away as possible with crossed arms. He analyzed her facial features and her words, holding them all back to make sure he punished her properly for this behavior she had with another man while she was his.

***

Four days had finally passed. Their investigations on the second part of the book had barely advanced but at the same time, only Amren and Luxiana were concentrating on the task, the three Illyrians too focused on the proximity of their soulmate with Tarquin to worry about anything else.

This was also what was happening now.

Rhysand wasn't even listening to what Cresseida, sitting next to him, was saying, far too busy observing -with his two brothers sitting across from him- the discussion his soulmate was having at the end of the table with Tarquin.

They both laughed together and Luxiana put her hand on the summer lord's shoulder to hit him gently as if she had been friends with him for years or worse, as if she was flirting with him.

A flash of jealousy ran through the Illyrians every time a little stronger as soon as they heard them talking together, laughing together or as soon as they saw them getting closer and touching each other.

That said, although he wasn't, Rhysand was entirely stoic, tense all over despite himself as he tried to act as normal as possible. He had wanted to make Luxiana jealous with Cresseida but she had given him the impression that she didn't care, only having eyes for Tarquin. What did he have that he didn't? Nothing! He could offer her so much more.

Cassian's leg bounced up and down nervously, even making the entire table shake. He still had control over his muscles but not anymore, not when it came to his soulmate. She was HIS soulmate, why was she flirting with someone else? After everything they had done together? After all the kissing? Didn't it mean anything to her? He was so angry but at the same time so sad. He wasn't good enough for her. She preferred someone else.

Azriel had the Truth Teller pommel compressed in one of his hands on his thigh. He didn’t know what was stopping him from tearing every inch of skin off the High Lord of the Summer Court. Well, he did. It was Rhysand, Cassian, and especially Amren. They’d argued with them so many times in the last few days. “If she prefers him to us, then there’s nothing we can do about it. The important thing is that she’s happy,” his two brothers would insist every time Azriel threatened to kill Tarquin. And they were fucking right, and it was killing the spymaster slowly. It was killing him inside that she preferred Tarquin to them. But maybe, he told himself, reassuring himself as best he could, she was just being friendly with him and that was just her way to be. And that maybe it didn’t mean anything.

"After our dinner," Tarquin began, whispering to Luxiana and forcing the three Illyrians to strain their ears a little more. They even tensed a little more fully at the sight of him so close, leaning towards her. But Tarquin continued, "would you like to finish the evening in my room?"

The three Illyrians were electrified violently as if their chests felt like they were being struck by lightning. They stopped breathing and were not even sure if their hearts were beating anymore. Had this bastard just invited THEIR soulmate into his room to sleep with her??

They were out of their fucking minds and couldn't even think properly. Fuck off, they simply told themselves. They were going to do something about it. Cassian was going to grab Luxiana by the scruff of her ass and take her home. Azriel was going to torture Tarquin and make him regret his words. And Rhysand was going to hold back his power and destroy everything. But Luxiana replied in a playful tone before they could move, "With pleasure."

She lowered her head to hide her blush and hadn't even taken a second to think about Tarquin's proposal. She had accepted. The Illyrians' hearts tore with such violence that it physically hurt them.

Azriel stood up suddenly and brutally, attracting everyone's gaze. He was mad with rage. He couldn't stand this. He couldn't. It hurt so much. He disappeared into his shadows to vanish and reappear in their room so as not to do anything stupid. He grabbed one of the bottles of alcohol in the mini bar in their living room and began to drink it all. He wanted to forget. He wanted to drown this feeling of pain in his chest.

Cassian got up in turn to leave the room without even glancing at Luxiana or the others who were still looking at them strangely. Once out of the dining room, and the doors closed behind him, he started running. He was running away and it was the first time in his life that he was running away but this was way too painful. He felt so pathetic. So desperate. So sad. He wanted to throw up.

Rhysand slowly looked back at Tarquin, trying to smile and not let his animosity show. "Forgive them, they had an emergency," he apologized as the words tore from his tongue. He didn't look at Luxiana. He couldn't. But he stayed throughout the meal, listening to his soulmate flirt with another, tearing his heart apart more each time and accepting the horrible pain in his chest. After all, she didn't want him. He wasn't good enough for her. He wanted to cry.

But after dinner, when he reached their quarters and saw Azriel and Cassian pacing around the living room with a bottle of alcohol in their hands, he went to the bar and poured himself a drink from that too. He was going to get drunk.

"We should go get her!" Azriel yelled with bright red eyes. He literally felt like he was dying. What kind of loyalty still bound him to his high lord that he decided to obey him and do nothing when if it were up to him, he would go get her? "She's our soulmate! Ours!"

Cassian dropped down the length of his closed bedroom door adjacent to the living room to land on the floor. "Have you seen her with him? She's so happy. Much happier than with us." He wanted to go get her too but if she wanted Tarquin, if she was happier with him, then he had nothing to say.

Rhysand brought his glass to his mouth and downed the whole thing in one go. He then quickly poured himself a second glass. "Maybe she won't do anything with him. Maybe..."

“They just entered her room,” Azriel spat, interrupting him. He wanted to hurt someone. Why didn’t he move? Why didn’t he go get her?

Cassian and Rhysand looked up at their brother in surprise.

"You had them follow with your shadows??" the army commander asked, pushing off the ground to propel himself upwards and back to his feet.

Azriel nodded once, focused on watching the images his shadows showed him.

Rhysand slammed his glass down on the bar cabinet, almost dropping it, "what do they do now?"

But suddenly, something in Azriel's eyes twisted. He threw his bottle of alcohol into one of the walls - which exploded into a thousand pieces, spilling golden liquid on the wallpaper and the floor - when he saw through the eyes of his shadows, his soulmate threw herself on Tarquin to kiss him full on the lips.

He hastily retracted his shadows. He didn't want to see this. He couldn't. He grabbed his hair in his fists and pulled them as he started to spin in circles. He felt like he was going crazy. His heart, his shadows, his body and his muscles were urging him to go find his soulmate while his reason was screaming at him to do nothing and let her be happy.

But unconsciously, he had sent the memory - transmitted by his shadows - of his soulmate throwing herself at Tarquin to kiss him, to Rhysand and Cassian.

The two Illyrians froze for a second before exploding.

Cassian's heart shattered into sharp pieces as a flash of anger shot through him. He had lost to Tarquin and in only four fucking days. He was so worthless. So worthless. He jumped to the small table in the living room, grabbing it with both hands and sending it crashing into the bay window which exploded into a thousand pieces. Cassian then began to scream at the top of his lungs to let out his pain and anger.

Rhysand was out of control. He kept replaying the memory of Luxiana kissing Tarquin over and over in his head. He couldn't even think anymore. He was overwhelmed by anger, pain, and sadness. He could barely see his power escaping from him in a black cloud of power that surrounded him and grew bigger and bigger. He was going to explode. He had to leave or he was going to destroy everything.

But suddenly, the front door to their quarter, which opened directly into the living room and was facing them, opened.

Luxiana entered the room in a rush. She closed her eyes, leaning roughly against the door and taking a deep breath.

Rhysand retracted his power with such violence at seeing her there, that its power slammed into his body forcing him to take a step back. His eyes and those of his brothers widened.

Cassian had stopped breathing, not even knowing how he had managed to calm his wild breathing and his bruised heart. "Lux?" he breathed hopefully, not quite believing his eyes.

Luxiana was out of breath and full of anger and disappointment. She felt so worthless, weak and stupid. She had failed with Tarquin. Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel were going to be so disappointed. She cursed herself so much inwardly. When Cassian called her, she opened her eyes but widened them as she looked at the table embedded in the demolished bay window. What had happened here? She looked at the three Illyrians who looked like they had had a bad time. Had they done this? It only surprised her a little. They had seemed so cold, distant and angry these last few days. Luxiana didn't really know why but she wasn't surprised that they had finally cracked.

Azriel was paralyzed and had even stopped breathing. She was here? She was here and not with Tarquin? While she was kissing him a few minutes ago. "You're not with Tarquin?" he spat dryly, his heart clenching at the memory of the kiss she had given him.

Luxiana looked up at him and her gaze grew heavy with guilt. "I'm sorry," she almost sobbed, her face contorting in regret and sadness. She almost ran towards Azriel while looking at him with teary eyes. She felt so weak. So weak. It had been a long time since she had felt like this and she hated it. She hated the idea of disappointing all three of them. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

The three Illyrians frowned. They didn't understand what was going on and why she thought she had to apologize. They looked at her with grimaces. Her bun was undone much more than usual, which implied that Tarquin had dipped his fingers into it. Her thin and small blouse in turquoise shades, made of light fabric and which didn't even cover her stomach was ridden up and stuck in her bra, which implied that Tarquin had tried to touch her there too. The lace of her long skirt, the same color as her top and slit on the side, was half undone. Tarquin had also put his hands there.

Cassian was empty and didn't know what to do or what to think.

Azriel was still furious. She had let Tarquin touch her. He had dared to touch HIS soulmate. He was about to speak and drop a scathing remark to the blonde but Rhysand interrupted him.

He took a step forward as he felt himself electrocuted by pure terror all at once. Her teary eyes, her face, her apologies… “Did Tarquin do something to you?” he screamed in a trembling voice.

Luxiana turned to him. She didn't want to cry but she wanted to so badly. Why did they have so much power over her? She took a step towards Rhysand. "No, no, it was me, I couldn't. I'm sorry," a tear ran down her cheek that she quickly wiped away angrily with the back of her hand.

This tear was the last straw for the three Illyrians who suddenly came out of their trances. Their eyes widened as they began to panic.

Rhysand grabbed his soulmate by the face to place his palms on his cheeks with a worried expression. "Why are you crying?" he grumbled despite himself as he had tried to be calm.

Cassian ran towards her to position himself next to Rhysand and see her face. He placed a large hand that he tried to be comforting on the bonde's shoulder. "What happened?"

Azriel stood beside his brothers but remained silent. He merely frowned in fear and confusion. While his soulmate had every reason to apologize for flirting with another, she shouldn't know that.

“I know you asked me to sleep with him,” the blonde explained hurriedly and panicked. “But I couldn’t, it’s my first time, I couldn’t, not with him.”

The three Illyrians looked at each other in confusion. "You… didn't sleep with him?" Azriel exclaimed in shock, repeating his soulmate's words without understanding why she had said them.

Luxiana, taking this as a reproach, pulled herself out of Rhysand's grasp by taking a step back and lowering her head. "No," she only breathed. "I know that's what you want from me but I can't. I'll find the book another way!"

'What they expect from her?' They were frowning so much that their entire faces were distorted.

"What??" Rhysand screamed, feeling like he was hallucinating.

Luxiana jumped in spite of herself. She felt so stupid and foolish and weak. This was just about sleeping with someone and besides, it was for Feyre. She had to pull herself together. This was for her best friend. She looked up at the lord with sudden determination. "No, it's fine, I'll do it. I'll sleep with Tarquin, if that's what you want!"

Without waiting, she turned around and was going to leave to join Tarquin but Azriel came back to himself enough to react and grab her by the arm.

The blonde turned to the Illyrian with worry and confusion but he didn't react more, only looking at her with wide eyes.

"What??" Cassian yelled back with the same expression. "What???" he repeated again.

Luxiana grimaced in guilt, pursing her lips. "I..."

Suddenly Amren opened the door and froze at the entrance to the living room as she glanced at the damage and then at the four in the room. Her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. “I’ll sleep somewhere else,” she said before turning around. “Don’t kill them, Luxiana.” Then she closed the door behind her.

“I’ll make it up for you!” Luxiana said to the Illyrians as if nothing had happened. “I told him I had diarrhea and that I had to leave, but I’m going back to him and fixing my mistakes. I’m going to sleep with him. I swear!”

Rhysand shook his head roughly, completely in control of his emotions again. He held up his hand between himself and his soulmate. "Luxiana, did you just say we want you to sleep with Tarquin?"

"Well yes, why?" she replied with a frown.

“No!” Azriel screamed at the top of his lungs. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“What do you mean no?” Luxiana asked. “Isn't that why I’m here for?”

"No!" all three Illyrians shouted this time at the same time, making Luxiana even more confused.

"Why the fuck do you think you're here to sleep with Tarquin?" Rhysand lost his composure in a mixture of shock and rage.

Luxiana jerked her head back in surprise. "So he can tell me where the second part of the book is. You told me you needed a woman for this mission. It was obviously to flirt with Tarquin and sleep with him so that he would tell me all his secrets."

The lord opened his mouth wide with his brothers. "No! I meant that I needed someone like you, without powers, to steal the book and divert the traps around that would surely detect anyone with powers!" Rhysand yelled, improvising the lie and throwing himself on the blonde to cup her face. "Luxiana, I would never ask you to sleep with someone, damn it! Never!"

The blonde's eyes widened as realization dawned. This was all a huge misunderstanding. She let out a loud breath that was somewhere between a scream, a sob, and a laugh. She put her hands on her hips, leaning forward in sudden relief, forcing Rhysand to release her. "You mean I don't have to sleep with him?"

"Never!" Azriel insisted as realization suddenly hit all three of them. They were able to take a deep breath finally, as their chests lightened so violently with relief that they almost fainted.

"By heavens, I could have slept with him for nothing!" Then she straightened up, killing all three of them with her pupils. "I've been flirting with him for four days, why didn't you tell me before? On top of that, I thought you were irritable and cold because I disappointed you because I hadn't slept with Tarquin yet."

The three Illyrians lost their composure again, which they had barely regained. They had almost forced their soulmate to sleep with another without even knowing it. They could have lost her for one night because of a fucking misunderstanding.

Rhysand lost his shit. "We were distant with you because we were dying of jealousy that you were flirting with Tarquin!" he shouted, pointing at his aching heart.

Luxiana's eyes widened as she froze. "What?" They were...jealous? Her heart began to beat vigorously in her chest, making her feel fully alive. "Why?"

Azriel grabbed her throat gently, turning her toward him. “Because you’re ours, Luxiana, damn it.” He was out of breath as he was shaking. “Only ours and we’re only yours, do you understand that?”

Luxiana couldn't believe her ears. She swallowed hard, unable to take her eyes off Azriel's brown pupils, heavy with a meaning she didn't understand.

The Illyrian pulled her a little closer to him with a sharp tug. "Do you understand?" he asked, his voice imploring now and his pupils shining with supplication.

Luxiana didn't understand why. Maybe she understood but she wanted to hear him say it. She nodded slowly from left to right.

"Then we should make her understand," Cassian said, lunging at Luxina to pull her out of his brother's grasp, cupping her face and kissing his soulmate full on the lips.

[milkyplier]

She lived outside more than in, but she knew where home was. It was common to see her lying in the garden or on the front porch. She would stare inside the house, but if you opened the door, she wouldn’t come inside. She looked grumpy, and terrorized the neighborhood dogs. More than one person was wary to pet or pick her up. Not me. I would go to pick her up and she would put her paws on my shoulder, as if to say “Yes, I want to be picked up.” I would scratch her and she loved it, and when she was ready to get down, she would get down. An older couple lived across the street from us, and they didn’t have any of their own cats, but they bought treats just for her anyway. She would hang out on their porch, too. She was a neighborhood cat, in many ways, and despite her dangerous reputation and ornery expression, everybody loved her.

In her final month, she was diagnosed with heart disease. At 15, it wasn’t surprising. Early last week, she stopped eating. A few days later, she disappeared. I searched for her. I called her name and shook the box of cat treats—a ritual with her. She never came. We all knew she was probably gone; she’d had disappearing spells in the past, but never preceded by a lack of appetite. Never under these circumstances. I still hoped she would come back.

In a way, she did. We arrived home from Church on Sunday, talking about searching for her again, and we found her. Lying on our front porch for the last time, wrapped in a plastic trash bag. We suspected the people who had come to take away the trees—fallen during Hurricane Milton and currently lying at the side of the road, to be taken away—had found her in one of the many piles, and somehow knew where to take her home. Her eyes were open, unseeing. I have read about the coldness of death, but not the hurt of really feeling it beneath fingers, tangled in fur that is still soft.

I have never lost a pet before. We rehomed our old dog when I was little, but he was happy and loved in his new home. My last moments with him were not a kiss transferred to an unfeeling forehead by my fingers. It hurts horribly. I slept so badly last night, my eyes ache from crying. At 15, Mittens was in my life for as long as I can remember.

I miss her.

Goodbye, Mittens. Dad says that animals go to Heaven, too, so I have asked the good Lord again and again to pet you for me, to give you a kiss and tell you that I love you. I will keep asking, until I can do it myself again.

[otdiaftg]

Nicky and his parent's have a stilted conversation.

"So what are you studying, Nicholas?" Some small part of Neil had assumed Nicky was exaggerating how estranged his family was, but Nicky was in his sophomore year and his parents still didn't know what he was majoring in. "Marketing," Nicky said. "Erik's cousin works for a PR firm in Stuttgart. She thinks she can get me in after graduation if I make the right grades." "You're going back to Germany?" Maria shot her husband a startled look. Nicky's jaw tightened, but he looked his mother in the eye when he said, "Yes. Erik's career is there. I wouldn't ask him to leave it just for me, and I wouldn't want him to, anyway. I loved living in Germany. It's an amazing place. You should visit us sometime." "Us," Maria said faintly. "You're still..." She couldn't finish, so Nicky said, "Yes, we're still together. I came back to take care of Andrew and Aaron, not because things went sour with Erik. I love him, okay? I always have and I always will. When are you going to get that?" "When will you accept that it is wrong?" Luther asked. "Homosexuality is —" "Luther," Andrew said. That was all he said, but Luther sent him a wary glance. "I love him," Nicky insisted. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? Why can't you be happy for us? Why can't you give him a chance?" "We cannot condone sin," Maria said. "You don't have to love the sin," Nicky said, "but you're supposed to forgive and love the sinner. Isn't that what faith is about?" "Faith is following our Lord's creed," Luther said. "But I can't be that black and white," Nicky said piteously. "I won't. Why did you call us down here if we're just going to have the same old fight again?" Luther was unmoved by Nicky's heartbreak and said calmly, "Things have come to light recently that made us question our current situation. We have committed to repairing this family," he glanced at Maria, who nodded in happy encouragement, "but we understand it will be a long, uphill path. We brought you down here so we could decide on the first steps together." "Enlighten us," Andrew said, leaning forward over his plate like he couldn't wait for the answer. "If the first step isn't tolerance, where does a pair of bigots begin in fixing a mess like this?" Luther met Andrew's stare with a calm one of his own. "With reparations for past mistakes. That is why you are here." "Oh, no," Andrew said. "I am only here because Neil whined at me until I agreed to come along. Leave me out of this." Luther frowned. Across the table from him, Maria held up a calming hand and said, "Let's eat. This kind of conversation is too difficult on an empty stomach. We'll eat and try again, and then reward our efforts with dessert. There is pie in the oven. Apple, Nicholas. It used to be your favorite."

Day: Sunday, November 12th Time: 4:25 PM EST

[psychodon525]

Ah yes, The Ten Commandments. The rules upon which we base all our morals. In fact, as some would have it, they're the basis of all our laws, too. We should be putting them up in our schools and teaching our kids about them from a young age. What were they again?

1: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Unless you follow another religion, or you don't really follow any religion at all, I mean, it's not too big a deal really. Freedom of religion, you know?

2: Thou shalt not make any graven image. Unless you want to make a statue of Jesus. Or Mary. Or an angel. Or one of your own leaders. Honestly, you can make any graven image you want, as long as you say that god is okay with it. Which brings us to

3: Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain. You know, unless you want to do something that goes against the bible. Just say that God actually says it's okay. Or say that the context was different back then. And I mean, I know it says not to use the Lord's name for vain purposes, but like… if you want to say you're a Christian to become more popular? Use your faith to gain votes? That's all totally okay, and definitely doesn't go against these commandments.

4: Remember and observe the Sabbath day. Unless there's work that really needs to be done that day. I mean… if nobody worked on Sunday, then how could you go buy groceries? It's meant to be a day off! But not for poor people.

5: Honour thy father and mother. You know, unless you'd rather marry for love. Unless you have dreams of doing something different than your father. Unless your parents were abusive.

6: Thou shalt not kill. Unless you're a corporation, forcing people to overwork themselves to exhaustion and heart failure. Unless you're a corporation that needs to keep running, despite natural disasters, and those workers are expendable anyways. Unless you're destined to conquer the land, and you need to kill the indigenous people to manifest that destiny. Unless you're a police officer, and the person seems to be a threat. Unless you're an oil company, and killing indigenous people on their own land is the cheapest way to put down your pipeline. Unless you're a corporation, and doing your part to stop global warming is just not lucrative, and the 47,000 Europeans who died last year due to heat-related causes are just the price to pay for money in our pocket, and a society built on oil and gas. Unless you're a government, and there's a whistleblower.

7: Thou shalt not commit adultery. Unless you’re a swinger, or you're having some fun as a couple with another person. Actually, as long as you're all consenting adults, and you have healthy communication, commit as much adultery as you'd like!

8: Thou shalt not steal. Unless it just makes sense to. I mean, if someone works for you, it doesn't make sense to pay them their fair share. Wage theft is the backbone of this society, and if we weren't constantly doing it, then how would some people ever become rich?

9: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Unless you're a whistleblower. Our governments need to be able to keep secrets, so we WILL threaten you, in order to keep you quiet, or to force you to lie in courts.

And last, but not least,

10: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, wife, slaves, animals, or anything else. Well okay… unless you call it “inspiration,” or “goals.” I mean… everyone should want to live in a nicer house, rather than being happy with the one they've got. And as long as your partner and you joke about it, there's nothing wrong with having a crush on that one celebrity. Even if they're married. And I mean, we don't have slaves anymore, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to be the CEO of a company, and having all those people working for you, and giving you all that extremely cheap labour. Nothing wrong with wishing you had a nicer car, nicer tools, or a nicer phone, like what your friends and neighbours have.

So yeah, as you can see, every one of the 10 Commandments is extremely straightforward, and fits exactly with how we run our society, and it really makes sense to teach it in schools, since our laws and societal norms don't contradict them at all, ever.

[howldean]

Hey here's a million quastions because I love you

6:A song that makes you want to dance

9:A song that makes you happy

11:A song that you never get tired of

19:A song that makes you think about life

20:A song that has many meanings to you

22:A song that moves you forward

30:A song that reminds you of yourself

the way i waited to be on my computer to answer this and then. forgor every time i was at my puter since then. and now i'm procrastinating on taking a final so i'm going through asks. ANYWAY

6:A song that makes you want to dance - still feel. by half alive (there's a video of me literally just bouncing up and down to this song like. the day before i got my tits chopped off. it's quite funny. somatic shit just feels really good with this one idk)

9:A song that makes you happy - long way down by the happy fits! honestly i fuck with every thf song but "atom bomb, atta boy! only gods can change the weather / apathy over love, it's a long way down together. WOO!" untouchable.

11:A song that you never get tired of - secret of life by lord huron. i won't even lie i've had this playing about three to seven times in a row since i queued it on our way to lunch. it's been scratching by brain so very very good

19:A song that makes you think about life - I'VE GOT A FEW!!!! lightning crashes by live, yesterday by imagine dragons, 7 years by lukas graham (i blame a warrior cats amv for this one i won't lie)

20:A song that has many meanings to you - enjoy the silence by depeche mode. this was my dad's lullaby to me growing up and looking back that's really fucked up of him. i love this song dearly and it did rounds on tiktok a while ago ?? and that was fucked up fr. anywho. words like violence break the silence

22:A song that moves you forward - sunday best by surfaces (idk it's upbeat and silly and a good vibe)

30:A song that reminds you of yourself - another try by the happy fits "my thoughts recede into all my habits, a kind of freedom that's automatic / if i'm my keeper, does it matter?"

i could go rounds and rounds with that last one and it took me about 30 minutes to pick one that i'm mildly satisfied with. so we're going with that. love u 5ever sunny d <3

[revserrayyu]

2.7 Penacony thoughts [part 2]

**Spoiler warning** for everything up until Sunday returns to the stage at the Grand Theater. At the time of writing this, I’ve already finished all of the 2.7 story and may reference events that happen a bit later, so just be wary of that.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel like it’s been all that long since we’ve last seen of Yukong, but I’m still so happy and relieved to see her again! I probably mentioned it before but I adore Dawn’s performance as Yukong so much.. her voice is gorgeous.

Thank god Fugue does remember her too. I was a bit worried when we were all out shopping and no gift was mentioned for Yukong. Fugue did say some shopping was done beforehand so I’m gonna blissfully assume a gift for our ace pilot was bought offscreen.

Man, I can’t imagine how she must’ve felt upon hearing the news that Tingyun is okay and to come meet her. Probably had to be the biggest relief in the world along with the most bizarre sense of wonder, like we did a full sky burial for this girl and grieved over her, what do you mean she’s alive and how?? True emotional whiplash. Anyways, we once again give our thanks to Ruan Mei.

I can easily imagine a young Tingyun asking Yukong to arm wrestle and having the latter win each and every time. Maybe it even continued when she got a bit older and Yukong still managed to win then too. But Yeah, Fugue’s new body and the never healing scars, both physical and mental, is definitely something to get used to.

I’d normally have such great faith in Bailu to be able to heal anything, as well as Lingsha now that she’s around the Luofu too, but if they couldn’t heal Jiaoqiu’s eyes or even help Feixiao’s moon rage then I think it’s safe to have a little doubt that our healers could magically fix anyone. I’d love if that were the case though.

Fugue’s hesitance to return home is a surprise but honestly I can’t blame her. Who would want to return to a place where they got taken control over and practically died? And if the suspect is still wandering around the other Xianzhou ships, then I still wouldn’t feel all that safe either, regardless on how far away these ships are from each other.

I do love that her decision isn’t made entirely out of fear though, like she mainly wants to use her new second life as a hidden ace up the Alliance’s sleeve to get a slight advantage over the enemy in any way possible.

I’m pleased that Yukong eventually agrees to this sort of plan too. While they both think they’ve already endured enough pain from these wars and stay out of the upcoming fights, they much rather put a stop to them all if possible.

Eventually the conversation takes a lighter and much appreciated turn as the ladies go up to the front of the ship to see one random Tingyun clone in complete awe of the sky when Fugue reminisces about one of her first flights with Yukong and sweet lord.. my heart!! Look at how dang cute she is! And how Yukong remains stunningly gorgeous as always! We didn’t need further confirmation that it was young Tingyun in Yukong’s splash art but I’m so happy this exists because it’s such a wholesome scene! I’d love it if we could get artwork referencing everyone’s splash arts like this one day.

I’m happy that Tingyun managed to find a way to keep traveling the skies even without becoming a pilot or fighter and getting over her fears to become completely fascinated by flying. Talk about being adaptable.

Fugue about to enter her revenge arc and I’m here for it. You go girl! Go team up with Feixiao! She wants to go rampage after what happened to Jiaoqiu too!

So we then flip over to the siblings and they chat for a bit. Sunday still has the intellitron disguise active since he doesn’t want to pit Robin at risk by being seen with him as a fugitive, but she starts putting the pieces together a little bit regardless. You can hide your face, sir, but your ideals and emotions are a bit harder to mask.

I think it’s sweet that Sunday’s wish right now isn’t to have a meaningful conversation with Robin (though it kind of is anyway), but rather just to be in her presence for a little while longer before he’s set to leave Penacony for good.

How they’re both not even trying to be subtle by giving each other advice or reassurance so this goodbye doesn’t hurt as much.. aaahh.

Robin is so precious, believing in him so strongly. I get why Sunday chooses to stay incognito during this conversation but ohhh what I wouldn’t give for these siblings to just hug and cry endlessly as they start the next chapter of their lives on different paths!

Of course this darn dove had to make a return once more.

First off, she’s beautiful! Secondly, is that bird with the blue wing supposed to resemble Sunday and this is Robin learning to let him go?? Someone hold me I may be the one who is about to cry!

The way she knew the entire time that it was him!! Oh my god sweetie, props to you for not breaking down during that whole scene because who knows when you’ll both be able to see each other again! She handled all that emotion so well. She’s strong indeed because I’m feeling close to shambles and that’s not even my brother who left.

Huzzah, more Welt lore! And not that he did all that much this patch, but I’m debating on using that free five star selector for him since he’s the only standard banner character I’m still missing.. or I could just get E2 Bronya so I don’t have to worry about building up a whole new unit. We’ll see.

Welt is so perceptive because I truly thought Wonweek was just a regular pepeshi. I didn’t even begin to imagine the small dude would’ve also been you know who under another disguise.

I shall save the grand performance for the next and final post.

[baeshijima]

so... i finished the 2.7 quest...

hahaha....

spoilers utc

also this is. a long post. an incredibly long one. haha.

overall ? i loved this quest. might be one of my favourites simply because of the emotions that can be felt when playing this and honestly? this is one of the reasons why i love this game so much. the writing and story are just so heartfelt and really strike a chord

i was genuinely having a meltdown over so many parts bc man... my emotions got played with so bad... when i get u hsr devs.... hsr devs when i get u.....

more of my thoughts will be expanded in the segments but sunday and robin and tingyun/fugue .... hugging them giving them lots of kisses and head pats and warmth bc they need it and so do i ;w;

okay anyway so first part is gonna be abt sundays story of the quest bc ourgh... what if it killed me.... and this will be going in order of events minus tingyun/fugues storyline (to the best of my ability at least) bc she has her own segment after sunday !!

anywho to start off :

one) he looks stunning here with even half his face not shown, and two) wDYM BY WEARY PASSERBY??? STOP TORMENTINGT HIM LET HIM BE HAPPY ANS FREE ANBFDK

OHHH MY LORD.... him using the telepathy.... ohhhh.... AND HE LOOKED GOOD DOING IT !!

INSANITY

wonweek: renowned workaholic, mr workday. he works for me. you don't know him?

MR WORKDAY WORKING FOR WONWEEK HELLO

sobbing at this interaction tho bc

😭😭😭 and the way sunday just moves on afterwards LIKE ???

the imagery...

sunday: sometime before i turned six. like most boys would, i tried to fly with my ear feathers, only to fall into a pit. i almost broke my halo.

HELLO THIS WAS SO???? A BOYFAILURE (REAL) 😭

imagine baby sunday trying to fly with his ear feathers ;w;;

but omg... hello the brainwashing into making others mistake his appearance isnt actually him.... honestly tho knowing that its welt he probably will know/realise its sunday

I KNEW IT OUR WELT WOULDNT BE SO EASILY FOOLED !!! but also face card... both of them.....

welt: ...i left my home in a hurry, too... i know how it feels.

throwing up...

ALSO THAT SCENE WITH ALL THE TINGYUNS AND WELT SAYING THE AE WERE TASKED WITH SENDING ONE PASSENGER BACK HOME OHH IM GOING TO BE SICK.... not her multiplying into multiple tingyuns due to sneezing non-stop all bc a pepeshi roped her, us, and march into a try nto to laugh challenge through eating a sweet 😭

wonweek: pleased to meet you, fair lady. and you, of course... you're the heavyweight who pummeled this control freak?

wonweek... pls... im gonna throw up at this joke abt the express ramming into boss sunday.... and his nickname for sunday being sunny...

crying. BUT ALSO SUNDAY CALLING TINGYUN "my lady" LIKE HELLOOOOOO ROYALTY AU IN MY BRAIN GOING HARD RN AND TURNING GEARS OOHHHH the duke sunday series... gonna be well fed with this content oml

FUCK OFF

welt: how did you know she would be here? sunday: i didn't. i had a hunch and decided to try my luck. it seems i can be lucky sometimes. welt: it's not like you to leave things to luck. sunday: i'm trying to change, too. welt: you don't need to be a bystander in this scenario. go on ahead. sunday: you're not worried i'll take the opportunity to escape? welt: i believe you're the kind of person that has the ability and desire to use everything to your advantage... but that "everything" does not include miss robin. sunday: ...thank you.

FUCK YOU

welt: you... don't intend to reveal your true identity to her? sunday: both parties don't have to be aware that this is a farewell. // ...i shouldn't put her at risk for my selfishness.

FUCK THIS

FUCK IT ALL OH MY GOD

his soft expression knowing that this is him taking the first step and saying goodbye... and robin not knowing its him... but she probably does know this random ass dreamweaver is her beloved older brother bc halovian telepathy, sibling connection, and also the fact that the writers dont want anyone to be happy bc clearly having her actually know it was him but sunday not knowing that robin knows is the best fucking idea ever hahahaha

robin: you're very philosophical, miss wonweek. you remind me of someone i know.

SHE FUCKING KNBOWS OJH MYG ODJA

robin.... her saying all the things she couldnt say before to sunday but can say now bc he thinks she doesnt know its him and wont necessarily run away from it unless he wants to make her suspicious abt his identity (that she already saw through) and hopes that at least these words can get through to him purely bc of the fact this is possibly the only time she can speak her true thoughts ;w;;;

AND HER EXPRESSION HERE WHEN SHE SAID THIS LINE???? AND ONLY THE LOWER HALF OF SUNDAYS FACE BEING SHOWN ??????

the eyes are the window to the soul.... haha.... ha..... a..............

im literally ugly sobbing rn. like. i was already crying when she recognised it was him this whole dialogue segment is making me unable to eat my pasta im crying that much im going to throw up and pass out oh my fucking god

sunday: the second jigsaw piece. is this a pair of wings, or a decoration made of feathers? robin: maybe it's somewhere in between the two. it's a pair of broken wings. sunday: ...we should keep looking. robin: it's okay. let's use this one.

what iof i have an aneurysm

ALSO FUCK THIS GAME WITH THE CHARMONY DOVE PUZZLE PIECE AND THEN PLAYING THE INSTRUMENTAL OF IF I CAN STOP ONE HEART FROM BREAKING AS SOON AS WE COMPLETE THE PUZZLE LIKE THIS ISNT EVEN PASTA IM EATING ANYMORE ITS MY SALTY TEARS WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS GAME DOING

sunday: soon, i shall travel to those unfamiliar stars, none of which i recognise. but as long as you continue to gaze upon them from here— then those unfamiliar stars will one day become the place of our reunion.

actually about to throw up my pasta like... WDYM HE JUST LEFT HER WHILE SHE WAS DISTRACTED BY LETTING THE CHARMONY DOVE GO FREE AND THEN HER SAD EXPRESSION WHEN SHE REALISED HE LEFT AND THEN SAID ALL THIS OH MY FUCJLSDFHASF

and then just.

this entire scene with welt ... sobbing he is so so father... went from enemies to "ur my son now." AND SHARING HIS NAMES MEANING AND EXPERIENCES TOO HELLO???? also wonweek....

FACE CARD SO LETHAL I CRODE

but him severing his halo from him after the ordeal... to prevent the family from tracking him down and to feel pain to stay awake and to enter the dreamscape as an ordinary person.... hello hi i am going to perish yet again what.

welt: is that how mr wonweek came into this world? wonweek: hmph, no, you wouldn't believe the real story even if he told you. sunday: he was born from an accident, one you're actually quite familiar with... it was that try-not-to-laugh challenge. quite embarrassing, to be honest. i was roaming around as an ordinary person when i unfortunately fell into that pepeshi's trap. the prank that fragmented miss tingyun also divided my fragile self into two.

hello this was a ride and a half bc ur telling me wonweek is a FRAGMENT/THE OTHER HALF of sunday????? AND ALL BC OF THAT PRANK HELLO THATS SO 😭 hes just a boy... he has his silly moments.......

but also welt saying "regardless of the outcome, you will have a witness. i will be waiting for you in the audience." to sunday before he has the final confrontation and farewell with wonweek means a lot to him knowing there is someone waiting for him, esp after his inner doubts and that passing comment where he admits he thinks it could be he who perishes as opposed to wonweek, despite knowing the conclusion being he comes out on top.

AND WONWEEKS SHOCKED FACE OHFSDJK

but honestly the entirety of sundays speech to wonweek in this scene was so....

admitting that the loss of control after leaving penacony made him scared along with his fear of the unknown, and wonweek retaliating by saying no one can control anything, and then sunday admitting to wonweek how his presence made him realise not all surprises are bad and that hes grateful he can say "i truly dislike you" to him in person because despite all the qualities wonweek possesses that sunday envies (having the ability to joke around, freely express his thoughts, openly share his dislike for a person or his fondness for them; such as expressing his love for all of /her/ (robins) songs), he doesnt wish to become like wonweek for his dislike of frivolous people.

even despite not having the qualities he wishes to have, sunday refuses to stray from his principles and make a change in his own way.

ourgh... my heart.... i love him so much im crying just typing this out.

wonweek: this isn't like you at all. did you lose your mind after being run over by the express, or were you possessed by that ipc gambler?

WONWEEK UR SO 😭😭 ANOTHER RAMMED BY EXPRESS JOKE I CANT

sunday: whether it's us merging or one of us disappearing, i'll leave the tuning to fate, and see if i can embrace all that i detest. only then will i truly be able to walk among the living in their world.

he says. as he stares at the portrait of of his former self.

LIKE

LOOK AT IT

even faceless he is so handsome....... but all the hands...

wonweek: but what if you can't do it? sunday: well, that's out of my hands. it will just prove that i'm still the same person... the person who always disappoints his sister...

ourgh... yamero... yamero kudesai..... U WERE NEVER A DISAPPOINTMENT TO ROBIN SHE JUST WISHED U WOULD LET HER INTO UR WORLD A BIT MORE AND CONFIDE IN HER AND LET HER SHARE UR BURDENS AND NOT SHOULDER EVERYTHING URSELF AND RUN URSELF INTO RUIN ON UR OWN WHEN SHE IS THERE AND CARES AND IS WILLING TO CARRY THAT BURDEN FOR U IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES AND IUSDIOGHSD

i hate them. i really do.

wonweek: i don't have much to say. but as it's time to part ways, here's one last piece of advice. when telling jokes, be sincere. don't sweat the details, and above all, don't explain them every time. ah, nevermind. maybe it's better for you not to joke at all. sunday: no objections from me.

and here i thought wonweek was gonna give some soulcrushing words only for it to be abt sundays dry humour. or lack thereof.

wonweek: this is so annoying. how did i become so dull? // ... // well, despite everything, try not to be too hard on yourself. there will always be people who are sad. sunday: mm.

nvm a tear leaked out at this.

THAT CUTSCENE OH MY DAYS HELLO ??? and this composition... it goes so hard.... like what..... also the fact robin is the first one to lead in my party haha :D

sobbing

wonweeks smile after reaching out to sudnay one last time before disappearing... and then sunday saying "on this eigth day, i grant myself departure" WITH HIS HALO COMING BACK LIKE WHAT THAF

welt: well, how should i address you now? mr sunday, or mr wonweek? sunday: whichever you prefer. he's probably mocking me from inside right now.

SOBBING HELLO

welt: this shared journey is my way of repaying you. after all— you are one of my trailblazing goals.

SOBBING AGAIN HELLO

sunday: while i lack the will to trailblaze, nor can i become a true nameless... i admire your convictions. perhaps, what i need, more than asceticism, is knowledge. therefore, after leaving penacony, would you consider letting me... come aboard the express and travel with you for now?

SOBBING AGAIN AGAIN HELLO IM GONNA CRY HES GONNA BE IN THE PARLOUR CAR HES GONNE BE IN ALL THE UNFORSEEABLE PATCHES HES GONNA GO TO PLANETS WITH US HES GONNA LEARN MORE ABOUT HUMANITY AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE AND HAPPY WITH US HES GONNA GROW TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON FOR HIMSELF AND BE A PERSON HIS SISTER CAN BE PROUD OF (even tho shes plenty proud of him no matter what but he is a blind man so) AND !!

THROWS UP LOOK AT HIM

sunday: i learn the most valuable lessons from my past opponents. please say whatever's on your mind.

i love you. lets get married and live happily ever after.

but oh my god i cant believe it... he is finally a part of the ae.... ohg my god im going to explode

haha... anywho now that im done crying over sunday and robin im now going to cry over fugue bc ????

order of events minus sunday storyline (again, to the best of my ability) :

OH MY GOD TINGYUN/FUGUE ....

sobs this cutscene where all the tingyuns merged together.. .

BUT ALSO WHEN WONWEEK SAID HE NEARLY DIED AND THEN PROCEEDED TO PASS OUT AFTER TRYING TO TUNE THE TINGYUN FRAGMENTS???

maybe it had smth to do with phantylias remnants?? since it was all red and stuff and shes an emanator iirc while he is a part of sunday... or maybe its bc the destruction is within her body after phantylia attacked her and the other merchants before taking her body....

this cg... and honestly this whole scene was heartbreaking bc imagine waking up and discovering ur on the cusp of life and death after getting ambushed and attacked by a lord ravager, everyone else but u died, u have a lack of mobility bc otherwise u would be in unimaginable pain from remnants of destruction stuck with u for the rest of ur life, and u have to adapt to using a new/modified appendage (her tail) like???? god...

ruan mei: with this, the debt between the traveling merchant and me is clear.

BUT HELLO LUOCHA MENTION??? does this confirm that what he was carrying in the coffin was actually tingyuns body? and he brought her to ruan mei in a chance to save her??

omg... what if i cried...

tingyun ... holds u gently...

AND SHUT UP

yukong: i've imagined this moment many times. i was worried i might embarrass myself in front of you. i even rehearsed every word beforehand. but now it seems it was unnecessary. tingyun, i'm here to take you home.

MOTHER YUKONG CAME TO PICK HER UP IM GONNA😭😭

tingyun: madam yukong, i wasn't expecting it to be you. what a wonderful surprise! yukong: i wanted to come because... after all, it's you who's coming home. tingyun: yeah, me, of all people...

so. um. this made my heart break more than it should have. tingyun implying that it shouldnt have been her... im gonna end it all... AND TO YUKONG TOO I DONT EVEN WANT TO IMAGINE HOW SHES FEELING ESP AFTER EVERYTHING THATS HAPPENED ON THE LUOFU + HER BEING THE MOST DESPERATE AND DETERMINED WHEN SEARCHING FOR TINGYUN 🫠 and then to be told by tingyun that she doesnt really want to go back to the luofu...

yukong: if you wish to go home... i'll support you, no matter what the others say. tingyun: then i'm glad. i shall save you the trouble of hearing what those people may say.

dying. dies. die. dead.

STOP IT.

ITS THE KIDDIE TINGYUN FRAGMENT OH MY FUCKHFL

tingyun: this flight was a turning point in my life. // even to this day, this thrill still courses through me. yukong: that hasn't changed? tingyun: never.

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK

dhmu... crying in the clerb.... ourgh... and when yukong told tingyun she is just an innocent survivor of war, only for tingyun to say the same for yukong..... and yukong saying she does also wish to make THEM pay but are merely pawns in the game.... head in hands why cant everyone be happy... (i giggled when tingyun said she would make THEM sneeze a few times, when talking abt her being an unplanned player in the game due to her survival kdjf)

also seeing screwllum with himeko was a jumpscare i wholeheartedly welcome HELLO HI SIR HEHEE his voice in cn... sighs.... also when himeko said "they're probably... having a lot of fun already..." like haha... if only u knew we were facing a crisis with lots of tingyuns miss himeko... AND RATIO WAS THERE TOO TALKING WITH SCRELLUM WHEN U GO TO VISIT HIMEKO WITH TINGYUN OMG HI BELOVED HEHEHHEHEHEH

AND THEN THE ENDING CUTSCENE ????? HERTA SPACE STATION ?????????? WE SEE ASTA AGAIN ???????? HERTAS DOLLS FUCKING DEAD IN HER OFFICE ?????????????????

THE MADAM HERTA ??????????? AND HER TALKING TO NOUS OH MY FUCK IM NOT READY FOR THE NEXT UPDATES WITH AMPHOREUS WHAT AN END TO THE QUEST AND WHAT AN END TO PENACONY

[ohtobealady]

Cobert + Date for the word drabble ask, please! I do love your works so much!!

Aw! Thank you anonny! And thank you for the request. I’m sorry if you meant like a night-out sort of date, but I recently noticed something during a rewatch session of mine.

Do you know how we often say our dear Lord JFellz needed a calendar to keep up with his dates? Well, surprisingly I’ve just realized something. We ‘know’ that cobert’s anniversary is February 16, 1890, don’t we? (I say ‘know’ because I’m not sure it’s ever pinpointed that February is the month, but Downton Wiki says it, so it is law.) Well, upon this rewatch that I mentioned, I realized that Matthew and Mary are ALSO married on the 16th.

At first my reaction was “oh, sweet Julian. I think I may know your favorite number.” THEN I felt a little excited by the idea that perhaps Mary, in some strange act of sentimentality, shared a wedding anniversary with her parents. But no. According to Downton Wiki, Mary and Matthew marry in May. (Say that five times fast.)

I admit I was a little disappointed then. I thought Julian really chose the 16th for a reason, not just because he likes that number. But then, guess what I did next. I looked up the day of the week.

Wouldn’t you know it. 16 February 1890 and 16 May 1920 are both Sundays. Is it tradition that the heir of an estate marry on a Sunday in the church of his parish? I have no idea. BUT I am impressed by the idea that dear Uncle JFellz may have actually used a calendar indeed. Though more than likely this is all a happy coincidence. Anyway, here’s ‘Date.’

-//-//-//-//-// — DATE — //-//-//-//-//-

“Actually,” Robert watched their daughter glance at Matthew. “We thought perhaps the 16th.”

He couldn’t help but look at Cora, then, the sound of thirty years before echoing around the library.

“We’ve decided on the 16th,” he’d told his parents, the warmth of her gloved hand still lingering on his fingers. “It’s a Sunday, but I don’t think Reverend Travis will mind, do you?”

“The 16th?” Cora’s voice lilted with her smile. “Well of course we think that sounds wonderful. Don’t we Robert?”

And he smiled, too. “I daresay. A good date.”

Mary nodded. “Then it’s settled. Sunday, 16th May.”

[themultifandomgal]

Alfie Solomons- Love At First Sight Pt3

"Tea?" Alfie asks as I walk downstairs

"Please" I smile at him as he places a cup down "thank you"

"Your brother rang this morning. Wanted to know how you were doing"

"More like checking that in behaving and not flirting with the workers" I chuckle I pick the cup up and blow on the hot drink before taking a sip

"He did warn me, yeah that you had a way with speaking to men"

"Oh he warned you did he" I raise an eyebrow "Tommy has always been very protective"

"Ah that's brothers for you. Never had a sister, but if I did yeah, she wouldn't be allowed to speak to a lad right"

"I've never understood how men think" I shake my head siping the rest of my tea

"Now. No business today..."

"No business?" I question

"No. Sunday. Day of rest. So. What would you like to do?"

"Oh erm I'm not sure"

"Well what do you normally do?"

"Tommy doesn't really do time off from work, but when I have a spare few moments I usually go horse riding"

"Got no horses myself, but I know a place”

"How was that?" Alfie asks as we arrive back at his house

"Lovely thank you Alfie. The last time I was able to ride like that was before the war. Before..."

"Before your brothers left"

"Before I left. I was a nurse during the war"

"Why did you stop nursing?" I give Alfie a shrug

"Tommy needed help with the business"

"You do a lot for them brothers of yours"

"Because I love them"

"You love them? your brothers are fucking in...."

"Insane?" I cut Alfie off "yeah I know" I stand in front of him and lean up to his ear "and so am I"

"Is that right"

"Uh huh now I'm hungry let's go and get some food"

Weeks have passed since then. Alfie was on Sabini's side for a while till Tommy threatened him. Now Alfie is back on our side. Campbells dead and so is Sabini. I haven't seen Alfie since I spent the weekend, and while I thought this would be good to get him out of my head... turns out the man won't leave my thoughts. And I must not be out of his because we have been phoning on another and just the other night he phoned me asking to meet him half way between London and Birmingham

"YN!" I hear Tommy shouting me from down the stairs

"What?!" I shout back

"Get the fuck down here. Arthur's been in another fucking fight!"

"Bloody hell" i mutter and run down the stairs to see my brother covered in blood "ya know what I think I'm going to go live in London with Ada"

"Not with a certain Jewish gangster" John sniggers

"Shut up. I was only at his house because of him" I point to Tommy who's stood in the corner of the room smoking "now hold still while I clean you up" I tell Arthur picking up a clean rag

"At least this sisters actually a nurse" John comments

"Still can't believe Ada says she's a nurse" I laugh while I clean up Arthur "now your nose isn't broken, but your going to have a rotten black eye"

"YN?"

"Hmm" I turn to face Finn

"Do you miss it. Nursing?"

"A little yeah. Miss caring for people, especially the babies, but I'm needed here to help. And anyway whose going to keep you lot in check and patch up your scrapped knees, because lord knows your brothers are useless at that" I ruffle his hair

"Why don't you just go back? Polly can look after us"

"Very true, but I'm happy working here in the shop" I finish up cleaning Arthur and throw away the rag "now stop getting into fights. All of you" I look around at all of the boys "now I'm going to uncle Charlie's and curlys to ride" I tell the brothers before taking my coat

"It's getting dark YN. Go tomorrow"

"I'll be back later" I say leaving the house.

"You were right" I look at Alfie confused as I enter the car

"About what?"

"Your insane"

"That Mr Solomons I am, but you must be more so meeting up with a Shelby sister. Tommy will have your head, as will Arthur"

"What about John?"

"He'll probably laugh then dispose of your body"

"Delightful" I lean on and place o kiss on Alfie's cheek

"Don't worry. I won't let them"

[figtreefanworkfest]

Hello and welcome, lovely figs and anyone else who found this blog!! This blog is here to be an archive for collecting all the cool things we create this summer for the Fig Tree Fanwork Fest - the first fanwork fest for the members of the Fig Tree Discord server, the followers of Lady Glasses and all thing Tolkien!! Our first year, 2024 (may there be many more!) the Fest will run from August 25th to August 31st, and we'll post our works throughout the week! If you have a submission for the fest, please tag it with @figtreefanworkfest and it'll be reblogged here! If you don't have a tumblr or don't want to do that for any other reason, you can DM me (Windmill) or ask a question here and we'll figure out another way to post your work to the archive!! Most likely, I can simply create a post for it here in this blog, and credit your name!! Your works for the Fest can be any sort of SFW content based on any part of Tolkien's Legendarium. Want to write about characters from the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or the Silmarillion? Go for it! Want to explore an obscure time and place in the history of Arda? Awesome! Want to have something based on one of the Unfinished Tales, or content in the History of Middle-earth, or lore you learned from one of Tolkien's letters? Cool! As long as it's SFW - pretty much anything goes! AUs and crossovers are A-OK, as long as there's a significant focus on worlds/characters/concepts originally created by Tolkien! And of course, any kind of media is welcome - fanfics and art, naturally, will be the big headliners, but if you want to write a song, make a gifset or a moodboard, make a video or some kind of presentation - whatever you come up with, as long as you can post it - is welcome!! For those of you who were interested in collaborating and having more of a Bang experience - there's a couple of options. One, you privately figure out with other members who you want to collaborate with and arrange how it will work with them! Or two, you can finish one of your works by the last few days of July - 29th to 31st should be a good range - and then we can assign everyone who wanted to collaborate to make art/fic based on one of the works submitted during that time! You can specify what you're comfortable with - writing, making visual art, both, or something else - and what content you want based on your first submission, and we'll do our best to make sure everyone who wants to have the "Bang" experience can create based on another's work, and also have someone else create something based on theirs! We also have optional Themes, helpfully provided by the wonderful Kaesy!! These are based on plants that appear in Lord of the Rings and their meanings - plus the fig tree XD! These are starting places for inspiration and quite open-ended. You can choose to create based on them or not! Sunday (Aug 25th) - Potato - benevolence; Holly - foresight Monday (26th) - Lobelia - malevolence; Mushroom - suspicion Tuesday (27th) - Fig tree - prolific; Belladonna - silence Wednesday (28th)- Weeping willow - mourning; Oak leaves - bravery Thursday (29th) - Water lily - purity of heart; Apple - temptation Friday (30th) - Oak Tree - hospitality; Pine - pity Saturday (31st) - Stonecrop - tranquility; Tamarisk - hope Anyway, that's about all I think you need to know?? If you have any questions about any of it, don't hesitate to DM me (Windmill), ask questions on the server, or ask questions here! Happy creating, hey day, namarië and all that! <3 - Mod Windmill

[lola-andheruniverse]

hi hi, have a rec possibly for WIP saturday or our turn sunday! i re-read coffee & pies after you rec'd it last week and realized that one part of it (the daryl/merle subplot) kind of reminds me of rough & tumble by iliveatlast on ao3/9 lives. it's an au where daryl meets carol when she's working the night shift at an urgent care after merle breaks his arm, and from there we see them slowly building a relationship (btw the two of them and also sophia!!) and grappling with the legacies/cycles of abuse. i feel like i've read a ton of non-zombie aus where carol is still with ed and daryl saves her from the abusive relationship, but i've never actually seen it handled the opposite way before - even in stories like coffee & pies, merle is very much the b or c plot, and i love seeing carol be the one who has clawed her way out already and is pulling daryl with her - she's not a damsel in distress, canon has made that clear. it's updated decently regularly and currently at almost 100k so even though it's not complete i think it's def worth a read!! i also have to say, i'm a sucker for sophia - more time for our girl, gone too soon!! - and the relationship btw her and daryl in this fic is so beautifully drawn and delicate. and her and carol - breaks my heart, so loving and caring and makes the loss of her in the show hurt 10x as much. the author has a couple other aus that are ZA aus where sophia lives and i love that version of her sophia too - slingshot wielding badass in training! so just some recs for you if you want/need them. thanks for doing these lists, i'm really enjoying being reintroduced to fics i haven't read in a while and digging into some fics that are brand new to me!!!

Hi, giveusthesun! Thank you so much for taking time to rec a caryl fic to us all. First, let me say that I agree with your reflection about how fic writers can get a same plot/prompt and, working with the same characters, create very different, but equally excellent, stories. I'm currently reading Rough and Tumble too and I'm very happy to see it recommended by you. Writen by @iliveatlast, you can find it on both 9Lives and AO3. Summary: "How are people gonna sign your cast?" the girl asks. "If it's all black?" "Um. Dunno. S’okay,” Daryl says awkwardly when it becomes clear she’s waiting for some kind of response. “Ain’t like - don’t really think nobody’ll wanna sign it anyway. So." Instead of getting the kid to let up, this statement seems to somehow capture her interest. She uncurls in the chair a little, looking at him with a wide-open face. “Why not?" But he’s saved from having to answer that by Carol the desk lady, who breaks into a little half-run when she sees Daryl waiting. “Sorry, sorry - just had to step away for a moment, sorry about that, Daryl.” “S’fine,” Daryl mumbles. She doesn’t have to apologize to him for taking a piss or whatever, good Lord.

Rating: T / Teen and Up Audiences Word count: 92107 (18 chapters of ?) Published: December 02, 2022 - WIP Rough and Tumble is a story reflects on how complex abuse is by shining light on Daryl and Merle's very difficult and violent relationship with great detail. If Daryl's your favorite TWD character, you'll love how iliveatlast writes him - it's just really well done. Despite dealing with heavy themes, this is fic is also very endearing and sweet (Daryl and Sophia's bonding make me smile every single chapter). Dear fellow caryler, go and give this fic a chance if you have the time. As always, leave the author some kind of feedback to let them know that you appreciate their work and creativity. Love and kindness makes all the difference in having a positive fandom experience! Caryling on to our next rec!

[misplacedmidlanders]

Sunday, May 12th 2024. Picton > Nelson.

Well, it was all going rather well until it wasn't - Jake and I both felt really homesick this morning so we've decided to catch the next flight home. We feel we've seen enough of NZ and we're really happy with the experience we've had, but we miss the UK and it's time to call it a day.

(Record scratch.) Anyway, enough about the dream I was having at three o'clock this morning - today was our ferry day down to the south island. We had a mega early start (5:30!) and caught a 3.5 hour ferry from Wellington to Picton. It was a pretty uneventful journey all in all (it was a bit like sitting on a washing machine the whole time, but not in a Betty Draper kind of way) so we did a few laps around the ferry and gazed longingly at the things we couldn't afford - the premium lounge, the gym, the sandwiches. We spent most of it on the top deck outside when we realised this had the best views, and I could listen to Justin Hurwitz's 'The Landing' on repeat the whole time.

The weather was rainy and spotty, with the faint promise of sunlight all morning (which eventually arrived). One thing I've forgotten to mention about this whole trip is that, as Jake and I were horrified to learn, New Zealand has almost no ozone layer over it, meaning that even with the modest sunshine we had today it only takes 12 minutes for you to burn up (in the UK the burn time is 30 - 60 minutes). Then, when you add the redhead factor to this equation, you're actually looking at about 6 minutes of burn time for Jake and I. Whilst they might not have the poisonous spiders or the upright dogs with pouches that Australia has, the Kiwis instead have something far more terrifying - the literal #nofilter sunshine.

After our ferry handbrake turned into Picton we coached down to Pelorus Bridge and we took part in the micro version of ferrying - kayaking. Whilst the size of my arms may suggest a different story, kayaking was not my strong suit, and telling the kayak to 'Go forward more' proved to be a poor strategy as we made our way down the Te Hoiere river. Jake and I shared a kayak, and if you ever wanted to test your communication skills with someone then oh boy is this the activity for you (we did eventually get the hang of it, once we stopped spinning like a Beyblade). This is also the location where they filmed the barrel escape scene in The Desolation of Smaug.

We finished our day off by settling in Nelson, where we're staying tonight and tomorrow. For dinner, we had pizzas the size of flying saucers with the gang (the Scots, Liam & Emma, and non-Scots, McKenzie & Jospeh) at Steffano's Pizzeria. Tomorrow, we're looking at rings, and as I'm sure you've infered, this is also related to Lord of the Rings (a recurring theme of this trip).

[restbeyondtheriver]

Can you please pray for me? I'm really struggling with feeling responsible for ushering the salvation of people in my life. My church is working through this series on selecting four people in your life and helping them to know Jesus. My pastor says things like "Without your help someone is facing an eternity without their Creator." I know that as Christians we are tasked with spreading the good news, and when I think about the amount of people I know or have met who aren't saved I feel overwhelmed and guilty. Maybe it's a generational thing too but I'm gen z and it just seems like people my age either get combative or put up a wall when you mention faith. I'm more than willing to have those conversations with people when the opportunity arises but until then all I've been doing is praying for others and trying to live like Jesus/be a light. Still I worry that I'm not "trying enough" and I'm letting God down.

I'll use my salvation story as an example & maybe it will help:

I heard the call of the Holy Spirit at 9 years old, I answered it at 12 years old. I white-knuckled the pew every Sunday for years filled with paranoid thoughts about why I shouldn't go forward: I am scared -> I know I shouldn't be scared -> I've waited to long to go forward & am embarrassed -> I've waited too long & now I feel behind -> I feel like I'm in trouble & I don't want to be a bad person but I am so what do I do etc. etc. etc.

I did raise my hand when asked if I needed to make a decision one Sunday though & a deacon saw me. He ran out in the parking lot to tell my mom who took me back in (I was fully panicking now lol). The pastor was leading me in the sinners prayer & I even blurted out "I can't do this!"

I did though, I did say the sinners prayer & I did mean it. It was not some mystical or magical thing that made all fear disappear in that millisecond. Frankly, I was tired & puffy eyed & still felt very outed & embarrassed as a bad person (this is silly, the cross already outed me & you as that & everyone was very very happy about my decision, they did not make me feel bad, I was just an anxious kid). This is because conversion is to do with acceptance of will or heart, not of feeling, & feelings just always take me awhile. My soul was saved, the rest of me needed some work & always will - to quote my own pastor.

I say all of that to say this: the conviction was to raise my hand when everyones eyes were closed & to make a decision because I knew that was the truth. This was different than the paranoia I had felt before this. It was a moment just between me & God where I was totally honest. I knew what I needed to do &, with a lot of pre-teen angst in toe, did it. I was just afraid & God saved me anyway. I had to have a lot of help to confess with my mouth my conviction that He is Lord & God saved me anyway. I still look back on it & squirm & am embarrassed at myself & God saved me anyway. 

I'm more than willing to have those conversations with people when the opportunity arises but until then all I've been doing is praying for others and trying to live like Jesus/be a light - is all you have to do, just like the decon that day did. The conviction the deacon had to run out in the parking lot in a suit & tie to flag down my mom just to make sure she knew probably made him feel a little strange, but he also knew the truth of what he needed to do. He just was there & willing to serve. God does the good work regardless of our feelings of silliness or embarrassment or overwhelm or guilt. He expects our imperfections & has made ample provision. You are listening & praying & improving & helping just as you are, wait for conviction & then act. Don't be afraid to feel a little (or a lot) overwhelmed.

God hasn't placed the responsibility of these 4 people on your shoulders, He has placed it on His own. He can carry it. He does carry it now. 

[womenareonline]

For the love of art (or lack of)

​​I was supposed to see the Jonas brothers in Barcelona on May 25th but they postponed the show this week. They switched the date to September and God only knows where I’ll be in September after my visa expires in July (Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Ireland? Who knows). I grew up listening to the Jonas Brothers since I was 12 and now at 28 I was excited to see them again with the eyes of a full grown-up. Bought the tickets with my own money for the first time and was going by myself. Full grown-up shit. But they postponed the tour. Of course, this wasn’t the first time I was heartbroken and disappointed by this band. I spent a good 3 hours in 2013 crying on my bedroom floor while their albums played on repeat after they announced their break up. I don’t hold grudges but maybe I should. Maybe I should learn to not trust artists who care more about money than the art or their audience.

(Beautiful picture I took at 13 when I saw them live in 2009)

Has art always been like this? Who can sell more vinyl variants? Who can charge more for a 2-second meeting and a photo? Who can sell more designs with their face on it? Has art always been about…capitalism? Has art always been like this and I've been living in a naive state? Art is supposed to be about…art, right? About passion, sharing, community, and just art. Art is supposed to be what saves us in this capitalist society. Don't we rely on art to help us understand the current stay of society, or take our mind off it? Isn’t art supposed to be above capitalism? Isn’t art supposed to be what rebels against the status quo? 

I don’t know what’s art without money. I pay for Spotify, I buy concert tickets, I pay for museum tickets (unless you live in Barcelona and they are free on Sunday sometimes), I buy books, and pay for Netflix, HBO, etc (well my dad does).  There is no art without money and I get it. Because artists and the industry need to pay the bills like you and I. But have artists gone above all of this? What happened to artists and art? Is art ten versions of the same vinyl? Is art paying for a picture with the artists? 

(This one is from 2013, you can tell by the filter)

I’ve been getting worked up about the state of the art and capitalism for a while now. I don’t know if I’m more aware or if it has gotten worse over the years. I am not surprised about the Jonas Brothers because I’ve been watching it get worse and worse over the years. They are using the nostalgia the pandemic gave us to make the comeback and get more money. I agreed to it because I was feeling nostalgic and was happy to relieve my teen years for a few hours. But it feels fake. Because the naivety I had when I was 13 and didn’t know about capitalism and money is no longer there. I have grown up and seen that art is not about art. Music is no longer about enjoying a moment and doing what you love. It’s about how we can squeeze more money out of people and capitalize on nostalgia from them. It’s about moving a “silly” tour because they need time to do other stuff (and get more money, of course!). It’s about using that nostalgia to say: who cares! They’ll stay, pay money, and come to watch us play anyway if we move it! 

(so artistic)

I appreciate what they gave me in my adolescent days. They were the first band I truly enjoyed and became a fan for a really long time. But Lorde did say “Cause all the music you loved at sixteen, you'll grow out of”. And I am growing out of it. But I keep the young mentality of believing music is about music, and art is about passion.