#biana just wakes up and looks like that

[thelasttaleofthepari]

Keefe Sencen has an 80 step hair care routine and Fitz Vacker has an 80 step skin care routine pass it on

[gay-witches-are-the-best]

adkjsfhreiegxjperfe i wrote a Sophie x Biana oneshot it's so cuuutteeee I hope you guys like it! (please reblog, it helps me a lot)

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The continuous noise of Sophie’s ringing Imparter woke her. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she picked up the gadget to see who was calling at –she checked the time– 3:26 am. It was Biana.

“Hey, Biana, what’s up?” Sophie asked groggily.

When Biana spoke, she sounded unnaturally quiet. Almost…nervous? “Can I come over?” she whispered. 

“Yeah, of course. I’ll let Sandor know.”

“Great. I’m on the way,”  Biana said, hanging up. 

Sophie walked to the door, and sure enough, her goblin bodyguard was standing just outside of her door. 

“Sophie, what are you doing up?” He asked, his hand going to the hilt of the sword he carried everywhere. “Is there a threat? Is it the Neverseen?”

Sophie laughed at the thought of Biana being a threat. “No, no. It’s just Biana. She said she needed to talk and asked to come over.” 

Sandor relaxed. “Very well. Just don’t be too loud, you wouldn’t want to wake your parents.”

“You got it,” she said, continuing down the sweeping staircase. Biana was waiting at the front door, looking out into the pastures. 

Sophie opened the ornate doors, noticing Biana’s rumpled pajamas and the bags under her eyes. “Are you okay?” 

“Let’s talk about it upstairs.”

When they were settled on Sophie's bed, Sophie asked again, “Are you ok? You seem really stressed. We haven’t talked in a few days. . . .” she let her voice trail off.

“Yeah, no. I’m fine. Just. . . I’ve been thinking about me lately. You know how I had a crush on Keefe for a few years? And that other guy from PE?”

“Yeah,” Sophie said, getting slightly worried about where this was headed.

“Well, um, lately I’ve been thinking that maybe. . . I like girls too. And guys. And anyone in between.” Biana said, looking away and twirling the panic switch ring.

“Oh!” This was not what Sophie had been expecting. “Sure, yeah. Go on.”

“Really? I thought you’d be more, I don’t know, freaked out? It’s definitely not ‘normal’ for anyone to like other genders.”

“Well, I grew up in the human world. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community is fairly common there.”

“Are you sure?” Biana looked skeptical. 

“I read an article once that said that one in every five adults are queer. That seems pretty accurate.”

“Oh. So, do you know what the word for liking guys and girls is?” 

“Um. . .” Sophie searched her photographic memory, finally finding the words she had read in the article three years ago. “I think the word is pansexual. It means that you’re attracted to people regardless of their gender.” 

“Huh. Pansexual,” Biana said, testing out the word. “That feels right. I know my brother has seen rainbow flags in his visits to the Forbidden Cities. Is there one for being pansexual?” 

“I think so.” Sophie got up and rummaged through her desk drawers, snatching one of her empty notebooks and a few colored pencils. She sketched out a rectangle with three sections and then colored them. Blue, yellow, then pink. 

She brought the paper to Biana, pointing out the drawing in the corner. “It’s this.”

“Well, you know I do love anything with pink,” Biana said, letting out a small laugh. Sophie joined in, and soon Sandor knocked on the door and told them to quiet down.

“Well,” Biana said after a few more minutes of hushed giggling, “thank you for listening.”

“Of course! I’m here for you.” Sophie said, leaning over to give Biana a hug,

When they pulled apart, Biana asked, “Is it okay if I keep this?” She was holding up the paper with the flag.

“Yeah, go ahead. It’s all yours.”

“Thanks, Sophie. I really needed to talk to someone about this. Oh, and could you… not tell my family? I’m not ready for them to know this yet.”

“Absolutely. My lips are sealed.”

Biana smiled and raised her home crystal, whispering, “Bye,” as the light carried her away.

When Sophie woke up, the sun was high in the sky and Iggy was awake, flapping around his cage. Sophie scrambled to get dressed and feed him, then she headed downstairs.

“Afternoon, sleepyhead!” Grady called from the living room. Edaline was sitting on the enormous couch reading a book.

“Hey, guys. Can we go to Atlantis today?”

“Sure, but first you need to eat some breakfast. Or lunch. Whichever you prefer,” Grady added from his armchair.

“I will,” Sophie promised.

“Why do you want to go to Atlantis?” Edaline asked, setting her book down beside her.

“I want to buy a charm for Biana. She said she’s been feeling off lately, so I wanted to do something nice.”

“Well, that’s very sweet. We can definitely go today,” Edaline said, making her sappy my-little-girl-is-so-cute face.

“Thanks!” Sophie said, halfway through a ripplefluff pastry. When she was finished eating, she raced upstairs and brushed her teeth. She even managed to brush her hair and pull it back into a sleek ponytail, thanks to Vertina. 

Sophie dug through her closet, searching for a reasonable cape to wear in public. She finally found a red knee-long cape and clasped it around her neck, admiring the Ruewen crest for a moment before going upstairs to the Leapmaster.

Grady and Edaline were already there waiting for her, and together they called “Atlantis!” to the glimmering crystal gadget. 

When they finally arrived at the jewelry shop, her parents said they had other shopping to do, so Sophie was on her own. She approached the desk, asking the clerk if they could customize Sophie’s present to Biana. The clerk was very friendly, and he agreed. Within twenty minutes, Sophie had the perfect gift for her friend. Is “friend” the word you really want to use? Her brain whispered. She pushed the thought away.

Sophie had to catch up on cognate training with Fitz that day as well, so when she showed up at Everglen in the evening, she could give Biana her present.

Perfect.

When the massive golden gates of Everglan came into view, Sophie saw Biana waiting outside. 

“Hi!” Sophie said as the gates opened. “What are you doing?” 

“Just waiting for you. I wanted to tell you something else.”

Okay, but before you tell me, can I show you something?” Sophie asked, reaching into her bag to find the box.

“Sure.” 

“I got you a present! Open it, open it!” Sophie was excited to see Biana’s reaction.

Biana gasped as she pulled the wrapping off of the charm bracelet. “Oh my gosh, Sophie! I love it! Thank you so much!” The charm Sophie had gotten was a unicorn with the colors of the pansexual flag. It had a blue body, with a yellow mane and a pink tail. The horn was striped yellow, blue, and pink.

“You’re welcome,” Sophie said, blushing.

“Oh! Right, I need to tell you something. Last night I said I liked girls and guys, but I never specified who.” 

“No, you didn’t. . . .”

“So, the girl in question was… you.”

“Me?” Sophie was speechless. Biana had a crush on her?

“Yeah. I get it if you don’t feel the same way about me, but I just wanted you to know,” Bina said, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

“No, Biana, I… do like you. Like, like you.”

“Really?” 

Sophie nodded.

“Well then. That leaves one thing left to do.” And with that, Biana leaned up and kissed her. Sophie threaded her fingers through her hair, laughing when they pulled apart for air.

“So. . . would you like to be my girlfriend?” Biana asked, her face red from blushing. 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Sophie responded, quickly kissing Biana again. Together, they walked into the sunset, holding hands.

@permanently-stressed you wished to be tagged, so here ya go

[crippling-pages]

Tiana comfort hcs? (For ex: Tsm comforting Bianna throughout (lets say) Fitz joining the Neverseen)

*cracks neck* my dear fandom mate, i dont think you know what you asked for.

Going with what you said; Fitz joining the Neverseen.

Biana would cry. A lot. She'd cry on Tam's shoulder, cry into his chest, and Tam would just hug her tightly. He doesn't care if his shirt gets wet. He's going to be there for her, no matter what.

Tam knows that for a while, she needs to be sad. She has to feel what she's feeling, let her emotions out. He himself had suppressed his emotions for years, so he knows for a fact that it's unhealthy to bottle them up, especially in the beginning. So he makes sure that Biana knows that she can express what she's feeling safely.

Hugs. Lots of hugs from Tam. It's very rare that he's physically affectionate this much, but he hugs Biana, letting her know that he's there. And she clings to him like a lifeline. He's one of the only people she has now.

He comes over everyday after Fitz leaves. If he only has five minutes of time to himself, Tam would use those minutes to check on Biana.

After the first or two week, Biana's kind of numb? Less numb, but more of a sulking, slightly moody attitude. She has to force herself to wake up and get out of her bed each day. The most she said/say was "hmm."

Tam tries cheering her up now. He'd crack jokes while giving her a funny look. He'd try and get her to do her favorite activities again.

He took her shopping for clothes after a while. In the beginning, she didn't say much or do much. It was until Tam decided to dress up in a horrifying but hilarious outfit she finally cheered up. When Biana saw him come out of the dressing room, she started to smile, then giggle, then full out laughter was coming out of her mouth.

Tam starts to smile himself, because she's laughing. She's actually laughing and smiling and finding something funny and feeling joy.

So obviously, he wants her to keep feeling happy. He starts to loudly proclaim things. Everyone is giving them these amused looks and side eyes, and Biana's trying to shut him up while still laughing.

"DAMN, BIANA, YOU'RE LAUGHING? YOU CHOSE THIS OUTFIT!" // "tAM YOU SHUT YOUR mOUTH and go cHANGE" \\ "BUT YOU PICKED THIS??? YOU SAID A MINUTE AGO I WAS LOOKING HOT"//

Since that moment, Biana's been in a better mood. It felt good to laugh and have fun again. Especially with Tam.

Tam becomes a personal bodyguard for her. Once she starts to do foxfire again, he walks her to her classes in the morning, he's with her during lunch, and he's with her before she leaves. And Biana really appreciates it. She doesn't want to be alone, not at a time like this.

Sometimes she does though, and Tam respects that. Everyone needs alone time sometimes.

Biana will just go up to Tam and just. Hug him. And it doesn't matter if they're alone or in public, or with their friends, he hugs back.

She's still quiet. She still cries. She still is hurt. But it'll be okay, because Tam's right next to her, helping her get through it.

And thats that! :D I actually have more comfort hcs, especially with Biana comforting Tam when he came back from the Neverseen, but i might make that a separate post lol. I can tag you in it if you like! :D

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR THIS ASK <333333333 HAVE A BEAUITUFL DAYYYY

[swans-chirping-in-the-distance]

for the songs

New Person, Same Old Mistakes by Tame Impala

Killer Queen by Mad Tsai

Villain by Stella Jang

(ack sorry if these aren’t the best— they were the first songs from the top of my head 😔)

Ooooh okay

Maybe biana about her crushes? Like first she liked Keefe and then maybe her liking Tam or smth but feeling like it's unrequited

"Feeling it overtake/ All that I used to hate" she hated not having someone care for her like that other than surface level

"Wonder what if we trade" like she doesn't want to like someone who doesn't like her back

"All the signs I don't read" they're not interested right (although Tam kinda is in canon but maybe it's dex who is also kinda interested in canon??? Yk what. It's Keefe biana and insert person biana could have a Keefe situation with)

"Going with what I always longed for" she wants love

"Feel like a brand new person/ (But you make the same old mistakes)" she's changed sm but like same situation

"I don’t care I’m in love/ (Stop before it’s too late)" poor bbg

"I'm thinking it's worth the fight" she's trying tho

"Man, I know that it's hard to digest/ But baby this story ain’t so different from the rest/ And I know it seems wrong to accept" this sums up like biana having to go through that again

Gisela omg

"There was this girl/ The most beautiful in the world" leaving this here

"She would walk the halls/ And everyone would whisper and talk/ 'Cause all the girls in town wanted to be her" maybe kid Gisela??

"She's a devil in disguise/ The prom queen has blood on her hands" Gisela is so sweet idk what yall are talking about (lying)

"Every boy and girl she dates" very few believe in straight Gisela

"Disappears without a trace" she's just silly like that

"So be careful when she asks you to dance" if Gisela asked me to dance I would wake up to vesperas ghost torturing me

"She's a motherfucking killer queen/ A psychopath at seventeen/ A beauty in a blood-stained dress" she's so lovely wdym

"She'll fill your heart with kerosene/ And light you up 'til you can't breathe" soooo this is what she does to keefe

"If you cross her path you just might end up dead" *cough* vespera *cough*

"There was this girl/ Who was broken by the world/ 'Cause everyday at school they'd push and shove her/ But she had a plan/ One day she would get her revenge/ And those cheerleaders and jocks would be six feet under" this kinda sums up my theory for how she went batshi

"But behind those angel eyes/ Lies a devilish surprise/ The prom queen has killed for her crown" VESPERA

"Every boy and girl she seeks/ Never comes back in one piece" Cassius is fucked in the head and vespera is fucked in the existence

"She's dancing by herself" bro just left the neverseen

Omg this is Alvar to biana hear me out

"We all pretend to be the heroes on the good side/ Some things are black/ Some things are white/ You shouldn't look through colored lenses/ You're the good guy/ He's the bad guy/ Your boring world is in black and white" just the whole vacker legacy thing and how he's against the black swan

"So many shades of gray" He's trying to manipulate her

"Think twice before you like me" the reveal

"Because/ I'm a villain/ What makes you think otherwise?/ You don't know what a wicked little devil I am" basically the reveal

"You're a villain/ What makes you think otherwise?/ The villain you failed to notice breathes within you" this is so smth he would say to her

"I'm killing someone maybe/ You're killing someone maybe/ I'm killing you maybe/ You're killing me maybe" its so him!!

"We all pretend to be the heroes/ On the good side/ But what if we're the villains/ On the other" vacker legacyyyy

"The person you hate the most/ Is somebody's beloved child" he would!!!

"You don't know what wicked little devils we are/ We're all villains/ What makes you think otherwise?/ Look at us, the devils we failed to notice" eeekkk

[kotlc-deleted-scenes]

Keeper Summer Week #6

Third Deleted Scene from Neverseen

I removed this scene—even though I knew all of my shipping-obsessed readers would love it—because it felt like I was having the characters be aware of the flirting/romantic tension in a way that didn't feel natural to their personalities. I realized that just because I was incredibly familiar with all the crushes between them didn't mean that all of the characters were. Some were a bit more oblivious—and others weren't quite ready to act on that knowledge. So I cut this to stay true to where the characters were emotionally at in that moment. (Those with sharp eyes may notice that Fitz's hair stayed green for a bit longer in this draft—and the rules/process of matchmaking was slightly different.)

—Shannon

They were halfway across the bridge when Fitz shouted, "Wait!" 

His green hair made him look like an alien as he ran to catch up with them.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked Sophie, then noticed everyone watching them. "Telepathically?" 

What's up? she transmitted as she opened her mind to his thoughts.

I just wanted to say that if you can't sleep tonight—or if you wake up with nightmares or something—call for me. I've heard your transmissions from halfway around the world. I should be able to pick them up from across the river. 

But what if I wake you? 

Who cares? 

"Are you guys done flirting over there?" Keefe shouted. "Is this how it's going to be now that you're Fitzphie?" 

"Stop calling us that!" Sophie shouted back. 

"That's right," Fitz agreed. "We're Sophitz!" 

He grinned at her as her brows shot up. And then…he hugged her.

It wasn't a tight hug or anything. In fact, there was probably enough space to fit another person between them. 

But still—FITZ WAS HUGGING HER. 

Figured this ought to shut Keefe up, he transmitted, killing the moment. 

"Call me if you need me," he said out loud. 

Sophie turned and walked away, keeping her eyes on her feet as she crossed the rest of the bridge and ducked inside. Della was kind enough to head straight for her room. Unfortunately, Biana didn't let her off the hook so easy. 

"So, what was that about?" she asked. 

Sophie went for distraction. "I'm just worried about my family." 

"I know," Biana said quietly. "I'm sorry. I hope they're okay." 

"Me too." 

Sophie was almost to her room when Biana added, "But that's not what I mean, and you know it. Are you and Fitz…?"

Sophie waited. 

If Biana wasn't going to say it, she certainly wasn't. 

Biana narrowed her eyes. "You're going to make me bring up the hug?" 

Sophie cringed. 

This was dangerous territory. 

Biana had almost not become her friend because she thought Sophie was using her to get to her brother. And Sophie would never do that—but she also wouldn't have minded if Fitz noticed her on his own. 

Biana didn't need to know that. Especially since the truth was so much less exciting. "Fitz was just trying to annoy Keefe," Sophie mumbled, attempting not to let her disappointment leak into her voice. 

And maybe it worked, because all Biana said was "Hmm." 

Then again, when Sophie turned to leave, Biana called after her. 

"You know I don't care, right? If you and my brother…I mean, it'd be weird, but…" 

"We're friends," Sophie insisted. 

"I know. But just in case…” 

“Um. Okay." 

Sophie wondered if it were possible to have a more awkward conversation. Apparently, it was, because Biana had to go and ask, "What about Dex? And Keefe?" 

Now those were dangerous questions. Well, not the Dex part—but Keefe? 

“They're also my friends."

Biana arched one brow, clearly not convinced. 

"Aren't we all supposed to be waiting to be matched or something?" Sophie asked, trying to steer away from the trickier subjects. 

Not that being "matched" was any less weird. It was one of the strangest parts about being an elf. The elves had a complicated matchmaking system, and not following it had huge consequences. They claimed it was to ensure proper genetic diversity in their offspring, but the whole thing felt super unfair, and like a disaster waiting to happen. 

"I guess that's true," Biana agreed, looking somewhat mollified. "Can you believe we'll have to register next year? Well, assuming we're not still on the run." 

"Next year?" Sophie asked. 

"Yeah. We register when we enter Level Four at Foxfire. I mean, we don't get our matches right then or anything. That's not until we finish Level Six. But we register early so the matchmakers have time to prepare our lists." 

"That's…really soon." 

"I know." 

Biana didn't seem nearly as freaked out by this information. She even laughed at Sophie's stunned expression. 

"Good night, Sophie." 

"Night," Sophie mumbled, stumbling blankly back to her room.

[kale-of-the-forbidden-cities]

the idea that fitz is slowly being killed by the remains of the echoes in his heart (a fanfic this time)

yayyy death and angst :D

I'm not sure what else to say other than, i didn't mean for it to go this dark

that being said, TW for death, blood, a lil bit of gore, implications of s/h, suicide thoughts, etc. read at your own risk :)

friend @fitz-avery-vacker (tagging you ooc lol)

It didn't make sense. 

Fitz had thought he was safe from the shadows buried in his chest. They were supposed to be long gone. 

But Flori had never said that her songs would make the echoes go away. She had said it would just quiet them. 

So maybe it did make sense that Fitz was curled up on the floor of his room, barely able to move, let alone breathe, because of the painful pressure pulsing in his chest. 

Breathe, he told himself. In, out. In, out. You can't let anyone see you like this. 

Once it had passed, and he could breathe again, Fitz stood up, using his desk chair for support. Something in his peripheral vision caught his eye and he whirled around to see…

Nothing. There was nothing there. 

Hesitantly, Fitz sat down, picked up his pen, and forced himself to relax. 

It was probably nothing. 

-x-

About a week later, Fitz had forgotten about the entire thing. It was in the evening, and he was doing his usual weapon-sharpening for Grizel. His mind was elsewhere, and he wasn't really paying attention to—

"OW!" 

He muttered a few words his parents would not be proud of as he quickly fumbled to grab a clean cloth to put pressure on the stinging cut on his palm. "Idiot," he mumbled to himself. "Fucking idiot." 

He examined the wound. It wasn't too deep, so hopefully it wouldn't scar. Fitz wrapped the cloth around his hand and went to the bathroom to get a bandage. He was no physician, but he wasn't going to hail one for such a small, embarrassing mishap. 

Fitz washed his hands and bandaged the cut. It was then that he noticed the stain on the cloth. Red from the blood, but also, oddly, a few splotches of black. 

Was that normal? 

What did that mean? 

"Everything okay?" Biana asked, appearing in the doorway. 

Fitz quickly folded the cloth. "Yeah, I just… I cut myself while sharpening a throwing star." He held up his bandaged hand. 

"Oh. Shit." 

"It's not too bad, Bi," he assured her. 

"Then why do you look so scared?" 

"Scared?" he repeated. He was a little bit scared, but he didn't think it'd be showing. "I'm not really scared. Maybe I'm just tired." He added a laugh to convince her. And it seemed to do the trick. 

"Go to bed early, then," she told him. "Night!" She walked away, flickering as she did. 

-x- 

So maybe something was wrong. 

Fitz could maybe admit that to himself. Maybe. Possibly. Perhaps. 

Because the world was very dim. Like there was a shadow cast over it. His echo had affected him twice in the past week— both while he was alone— and now he stared at himself in the mirror, but it wasn't himself. 

He had to be dreaming. 

Those cobalt blue eyes did not belong to him. 

Alvar's face was hollow and haunted, but it was there. And when Fitz turned his head, so did Alvar. When he stumbled back in disbelief, his brother did the same. 

He hadn't realized how similar they looked. It chilled him to the bone. 

Fitz slid to the ground and pressed a hand over his mouth to stifle a scream. He couldn't see the mirror anymore. He had to get out of this nightmare. The echoes were pressing on his pounding heart— harder than ever. He dug his fingernails into his arms, telling himself to wake up. 

Wake up. 

Wake

Up. 

And he did. 

The world turned bright again, and there he was, on the bathroom floor, breathing heavily. 

"Fitz, hurry up! You're gonna make us late!" 

He scrambled to his feet and looked in the mirror. 

The eyes that met his were his own. 

He pressed a hand to his chest. 

What the hell just happened? 

It. It didn't matter. He was going to be late. 

He quickly combed his hair, brushed his teeth, and hurried with Biana to the Leapmaster. 

Today was another day of pretending. 

-x- 

Throughout the day, Fitz kept double-checking his reflection to make sure it was still normal. There were dark bags under his eyes that he hadn't noticed before. Which was weird, since he'd actually been taking sedatives to sleep these days. He didn't tell anyone, though, so they wouldn't worry. He just snuck them into his room from the bathroom. To keep away the nightmares. 

"Earth to Fitzy. Fitzroy. Fitz Vackerrrrr—"

Fitz's head snapped up. "What?" 

Keefe poked him. "You feel weird." 

Something about Keefe's touch set Fitz on edge. "No I don't," he snapped, a little too loudly. The study hall mentor shushed them. 

"I'm the empath here," Keefe reminded him in a whisper. 

"Well, maybe you're wrong." 

"Jeez, why so moody?" Keefe poked him again. 

Fitz shrugged him away and ignored him. 

He had no idea why he was so angry at Keefe. He was being concerned as a good friend should be. 

But Fitz's heart was beating so loud in his ears, he didn't hear what Keefe said next. He tried to focus on writing, but his handwriting came out shaky and not at all neat.

Maybe he wasn't okay. 

-x- 

Fitz kept seeing things. Not as terrifying as the first time he saw Alvar in the mirror, but he did keep seeing shadows and shapes of people who weren't really there. 

He couldn't concentrate on reading, either. Every time he had to read more than a few paragraphs, shadows dimmed his vision and made the words look splotchy. It was seriously frustrating. 

It was getting to the point where he'd considered telling Elwin or somebody about it, but there was always a voice that told him he shouldn't. It told him that admitting that he was struggling would make him weak and pathetic.

The voice told him he deserved all of this. 

He deserved this pain. 

And so he did all he could to deal with it. He did his best to act normal, even when everything around him turned dark and shadows poured out of every space. 

Fitz was fairly certain his physical appearance was changing as well. His eyes looked darker and strangely empty, and he noticed his pupils were all dilated. 

He also looked skinny, but maybe that was because he was losing his appetite. The very thought of eating made him want to throw up. His family didn't seem to notice him skipping meals. They must just assume he was eating later. Or maybe they didn't care. Maybe they wanted him dead. 

His heart hurt. His lungs hurt. The veins in his hands looked dark as well, as if the shadows were in his blood.

Fitz was starting to find it hard to breathe, even when resting. Sitting up in bed sent him into a violent coughing fit. He covered his mouth with his hand, praying nobody could hear. 

If they found out, he was selfish. 

He couldn't tell anyone. 

He looked at his hand once he'd stopped coughing. It was stained with splotches of black. 

Fitz quickly washed his hands so nobody would know. 

-x-

Fitz had run out of sedatives, and every night the shadows closed in closer and closer, swallowing him whole until there was nothing but darkness that was blacker than black.

The nightmares that always followed had him bolting upright in a cold sweat after only an hour, and the rest of the night was spent in fearful wake. 

The voices. 

They wouldn't stop. 

Those twisted, evil, voices. They told Fitz to do horrible things. 

Hurt people. Kill people. 

Hurt himself. 

He was so scared. 

He was so tired of this. 

He wanted to stab the wretched echo out of his chest. 

He didn't care if he died. 

He couldn't do this anymore. 

-x-

Fitz was fairly certain it was a sunny day when the echo consumed him. It was hard to tell. 

He dragged himself out of bed, shaking, stumbling. 

He rolled up his sleeves and ran his hands down the dark black lines on his arms. 

Normal cuts would be red and bloody at first, then scab over, then heal. 

These never healed. 

Fitz changed into his uniform and tried to walk normally down the hall into the bathroom. The voices wouldn't quiet. He caught a glimpse of Biana talking to Della down the stairs, and he wanted to strangle them. 

These horrible, horrible thoughts. 

He was a horrible, horrible person for thinking them. 

Fitz closed himself in the bathroom and prepared to face his reflection again. It had been getting worse and worse. 

He felt so sick. 

He clapped a hand over his mouth, suddenly feeling the urge to vomit. He rushed over to the sink and spat out all sorts of horrible blackness and blood. Every second he thought it was over, and more came out, like he was coughing up his organs. 

It hurt so much. 

He wanted to die. 

Fitz glanced up at the mirror, breathing heavily. The liquid blackness stained his mouth and his hands and the sink. 

How was he supposed to hide this? 

Fitz did his best to scrub it off of his skin and wash it down the drain. He couldn't tell how well he'd done. His vision was too dark. Fitz brushed his teeth to get the sickening metallic taste out of his mouth. It didn't work. The aftertaste still lingered. He felt so nauseous. 

He couldn't take deep breaths. He could barely breathe.  But Alden didn't notice as he rushed off to a meeting. And Biana didn't notice Fitz losing a bit of himself every time they leaped. And his so-called friends didn't notice either. 

He must be overreacting. 

When lunchtime came, Fitz didn't bother getting in line and instead went to sit down at the table he always sat at. The table where he could pretend to be focusing on a book while everyone else talked around him. 

But Fitz was shaking so much. 

And he just. Collapsed. 

The cafeteria dimmed and the voices dulled as a rushing sound filled his ears and darkness took over. 

He vaguely registered that he was coughing, coughing up darkness and blood. 

The sound was overwhelming. The voices told him he was dying. 

And the pain. 

The pain was unbearable. 

A sharp, stabbing pain that bloomed in Fitz's chest and synched with his heartbeat. It spread around his torso, squeezed everything out of his stomach, made his hands stop working and his head spin. 

The last thing he remembered was darkness. 

And voices. 

You brought this on yourself, Fitz. 

-x- 

But that wasn't where it ended. 

There were other voices. Coming from outside of his own head. 

"What happened?!" 

"He just collapsed, and started coughing—" 

"Someone get Tam!" 

And in the back of all of this, a constant screaming. The echoes had heard this scream before, when they'd first left their mark. It was a scream of death. Fitz felt a similar sound escape his throat. He was lying down now. Somewhere comfortable. 

He wanted to escape this pain and leave the shadows behind forever. 

Fitz couldn't place the moment everything disappeared. It was a slow and painful end. There was no way to move. No way to run, no way out. 

His senses faded slowly away. The last thing he heard was the sound of someone sobbing beside him. 

And the scream of death faded away. 

[winterfireice]

Keeper group angst!

taglist: @you-have-been-frizzled @did-i-say-you-could-get-up

@the-one-and-only-aroace @stopstealingtomatoes @amandayetagain

fic is under the cut

Keefe

– – –

I don't know what's happening. 

I mean some part of me must, I know Dex and Sophie have not been at school but I'm not even sure if I have been, I have a faint memory of my dad telling me to stop sulking and get ready for class though I have no idea what happened after that, I feel like I've been floating through these past few days, ever since, ever since Fitz called me, Biana was sobbing beside him, I don't think I've ever seen her cry that hard before, and Fitz, he was sitting there looking like he had lived through three lifetimes. But I guess he did outlive two. 

I didn't hear anything past the third sentence after the word “dead” 

I have never known anyone who has died before, Jolie was gone before I was born and I was barely four when Cyrah died, not at an age where I understood what death was, not that our families were even that close,

God, I wish I could go back to then, not that I want Cyrah to die again but so that my friends wouldn’t be… what they are or so at least it wouldn't hurt this much.

I don’t even know them that well yet, and I guess I never will.

I’m going to have to go to their planting. I don’t know what it will be like if they’ll have separate ones, I don't know if i’ll be able to handle that, I'm not sure i’ll be able to handle one.

I don’t know how I’m going to survive this, but I have to, for them.

Biana

– – –

I didn't know I could cry this much, I've hardly stopped since Dad told us what happened, and that was a week ago, now I'm looking at my few green dresses trying to pick which one to wear to my friends’ funeral without collapsing, I don't think I would have remembered to eat if it wasn't for my mom coming to check in on me and Fitz almost every hour, I keep sleeping in Fitz’s room, I'm not sure why, I think I just need to know that not everyone is dead.

I keep getting these almost flashbacks, his dimpled smile or a flash of her brown eyes, and I keep dreaming of them swimming, it makes me sick but it keeps coming back, sometimes it's them swimming farther and farther out, away from the shore, sometimes they’re fighting to bring their head back above the water, and sometimes I just see their registry pendants washing up on the shore, they’re nightmares and I don't know how to make them stop, Elwin tried to give me something but it didn't work, sometimes I hear them screaming, sometimes it's me that's screaming it just depends on the night.

I also see Sophie just standing there, crying or disappointment lingering on her face. I don't know what is worse, maybe it's that I never did and never will be able to apologize.

Fitz

– – –

I’ve never been to a planting before, I was so young when Cyrah died that mom and dad thought it probably wasn't the best idea to bring me. It was probably the right decision, easier for everyone, but standing here listening to the council spew some dry rehearsed speech I'm wondering if it would be any easier to have had experience with this kind of thing, I just want something to take away some of the pressure that's on my chest, I’m not sure if it really has sunk in yet, I mean sure I know they're dead but I don't think I really realize that I’m never seeing them again, they’re gone forever and nothing can change that. 

I've cried, but it was more of a stress cry, an overwhelming of all my senses at that moment kind of cry than a sob, right now staring at the back of their parents’ heads catching glimpses of the seeds with their dna in them and the looks of Dex’s siblings, It's making me want to sob, it's making me want to run away and never have to be around any of this again, it's like I'm hoping to wake up from some kind of sick and twisted nightmare.

Biana is leaning against me, I'm pretty sure I'm the only thing holding her up at the moment, I feel like I have to be strong but I don't want to be,

I was the one that called Biana downstairs when Dad sat down with Mom and told me he had something serious to talk about, tears were already starting to stream down Mom’s face and Dad looked like he was doing everything in his power to hold back some, I know I've never seen him cry. 

And I was the one that called Keefe to tell him about what happened, I didn't want him to hear it secondhand from someone else, maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell him that two of our only real friends were dead over the phone but I wasn't fully aware of my actions at that time.

Dex and Sophie’s dads just put their wanderling seeds into the ground, I do not see much else, that's when my eyes fill with tears and I feel like my heart is ripping into pieces, I barely register that my parents wrap their arms around us, I can hardly breathe, I'm not sure if that's because of how hard I'm crying or how hard my mom is hugging me but people around us are starting to look, like the fact that the Vackers are openly emoting in public is more interesting than the fact that two children are dead. That two people that were supposed to have an eternity never even got to see their graduation. That I'm never going to be able to see my friends again.

[rayniscatstatue]

“Books and Cuddles”

Word count: 656

Prompts: 11. “Can I lay my head in your lap?”

25. “don't worry, i'll be here when you wake up.”

90. "Yes, it happened. No, it wasn't your fault."

Character relationships: Fitz Vacker and Dex Dizznne (romantic), Dex Dizznne and Biana Vacker (platonic)

Description: Fitz and Dex are outed for dating one day. It turns into chaos as everyone realises that Fitz will be the first Vacker to be a bad match. The reputation strike hits him harsh.

————————————————————————

My boyfriend had been stuck in his bed for days. Refusing to leave it. No matter how hard Biana tried.

She had tried everything, besides get me to come over. Fitz had told her he doesn't want me there. But I need yo be there for him.

"Dex, your going to have to try yourself." Biana came up to me, putting a leaping crystal to Everglen in my hand.

"Is he that bad?" I ask on concern.

"Yeah, I can hear him crying himself to sleep every night. It shatters me." I can only imagine Fitz crying himself to sleep. The image refusing to leave my brain.

"Okay." Determination in my voice as I hold the crystal up to the light. I let the light drag me away to Everglen as I glitter outside the gates.

All I have to do is lick the sensor since Della and Alden added me, Sophie, Keefe, Linh and Tam onto it.

I make my way up to the door as I knock on it. Della opens it.

"Hey, Dex! Come to try get Fitz out his room I see?" She asks.

"Yeah, Biana gave me a crystal." I shrug as she lets me in. I start to guide myself to his bedroom. I am starting to know the layout of this place like the back of my own hand.

The hallways being like a maze. But a maze I have solved many times.

I find myself outside my boyfriend's door as I lift my hand to knock.

"Biana leave me alone!" I hear his voice.

I open the door. "Nice to know that your dating your sister." I laugh to myself.

His face flushes red. "Shut up, Dex."

"Love you too Wonder Boy!" I close the door behind me.

"Why are you here? We shouldn't even be seen together because of the scandal." Fitz stares up at the ceiling.

"Yes, it happened. No, it wasn't your fault." I start to sit down next to him.

He leans his head against my rib cage as Is start to brush my hand through his hair.

"Fine, can you kiss me?" He looks up at me with pouty eyes.

"Sure." I roll my eyes as I lean down to press my lips against his. My hand still tangled in his hair as the older boy pulls me closer. "Needy." I pull back, going back to kissing him.

"Shut up." We both finally pull back, I can see how swollen his lips now are. "Can I lay my head on your lap?" He looks up to ask.

"Of course." He sits up as he moves over to lay down in my lap. I run my hands through his hair. "Just don't cry yourself to sleep tonight."

"Ugh, Biana told you about that?"

"Yeah." I smirk down at him. "She was the one that gave me the crystal to get here." I shrug.

“I’m tired.” Fitz mumbles as he grabs into my hands. Holding them in his own.

“Then sleep.” I say.

“But I don’t want you to leave me.” He looks up at me. A sad look plastered on his face before me.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you wake up.” I lean back against the headboard, grabbing a book off of Fitz’s bedside table. It’s one he rambles about a lot.

“Night.” He whispers under his breath.

“It’s technically the afternoon, Wonder boy.” I start to slip through the pages of the book as Fitz drifts off to sleep.

A sleep without crying himself into for the first time in a few weeks.

“Biana Vacker.” I whisper into my imparter.

“Hey.” She answers.

“He’s asleep.” I turn the imparter to show Fitz asleep in my lap.

“Thank you Dex.” I see the girl smile.

“I’d do anything for him. Don’t worry.” I spend the rest of my day chatting to Biana on the imparter as Fitz lays there in my arms.

————————————————————————

It’s quite short but anyways-

[crymeariveronceagain]

Each KOTLC kid as a Shakespeare play that they could star in

Sophie Foster: Much Ado About Nothing. Beatrice. I love this idea. Like, she'd just have so much fun with her role and do so much with it. From the glint in her eyes as she argues with Benedict, to the smug toss of her hair, to the declarations of love and hatred. It's perfect.

Keefe Sencen: Romeo and Juliet. This kid would be a perfect Romeo. Like, he'd nail it. Effortlessly. There are real tears in his eyes as he cries over the body of Juliet, a tremble to his hands that cannot be faked as he drinks the poison, a look of sheer, ungodly horror when he sees her wake up, a choked last breath, and a silence as his foolish love is ruined by his own impatience and over-dramatic behavior.

Fitz Vacker: Henry V. There's just something so simple and glorious about the character of Henry, in that play. He's understandable, relatable. A young king who declares war, must rouse an army and head into battle? It's too authentic, watching Fitz portray the character.

Biana Vacker: King Lear. I've never seen another fictional character so suited for the role of Cordelia. Literally. Never in my life have my interpretations of two completely different characters hit so similarly. I can't cope.

Tam Song: Hamlet. He'd love everything about it. It's such a dark and dramatic story, it's exactly what he'd want to do with his acting career. Like, from the skulls to the murder to the intrigue, it would just be so much fun for him.

Linh Song: The Tempest. She would be an amazing daughter of the sorcerer Prospero. Just. She'd nail it.

Marella Redek: The Merchant of Venice. Marella could play Portia so well. Like, uhm, yeah. All those speeches about justice? Honor? Mercy? The role was made for her.

Dex Dizznee: Julius Caesar. Dex would play Marc Antony. I can see him giving that speech about "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause til it come back to me" so effortlessly and purely, I can feel the tears in my own eyes.

Stina Heks: The Taming Of The Shrew. Miss girl would fricking change the game when it comes to people watching this play. She's the pure embodiment of Katherine, and I think she would endear the audience a lot more to the character and her portrayal.

Maruca Chebota: Macbeth. She'd be an amazing Lady Macbeth. Legit. Think about her, hallucinating on stage, trying to wipe blood off her hands, trying to escape her own tortured mind. Imagine her character convincing her husband to murder for power, of turning the king's blood to her power at the command of a witch. I just. I love it.

Wylie Endal: Midsummer Night's Dream. He would be an amazing King Oberon. The stern, but creative king, seeking revenge on the wife he loves in a fluctuating, eternal fashion, content to play a prank on her that definitely leaves everyone but him embarrassed. Wylie would be such a good Oberon.

[gay-otlc]

And They Were Roommates- 3

Gay people finally communicate! By a gay person who does not communicate.

No content warnings that I can think of, but let me know if I should add any.

AO3

@synonymroll648 @rainbow-frog-earrings @an-ungraceful-swan @aphelea @rusted-phone-calls @solreefs @gaslight-gaetkeep-gayboss @squishmallow36 @silveredviolets @bookwyrminspiration

The good thing about being in close proximity to Keefe is, well, getting to enjoy Keefe's presence. Getting to live with him. Sharing meals and seeing his face right after waking up. When he first moved in, his only goal had been to avoid Alvar, but living with Keefe was... surprisingly domestic. And sweet. And Fitz is finding it increasingly hard to hear him say something endearingly stupid and not think I want to spend the rest of my life with him.

The unfortunate thing is that Keefe is now significantly more difficult to avoid. And uncomfortable conversations with him are also more difficult to avoid.

It's not that Fitz doesn't like talking to him. He does. He really, really does. He likes Keefe a little too much. Maybe if he liked him less, he would be less terrified of saying or doing anything to risk disturbing their shaky friendship. And that makes every conversation seem almost like a minefield.

But he still likes Keefe too much. So he can't stand silence between them for too long, even if talking is... potentially dangerous.

"Do you think he'll seriously still be there? The whole six months?"

He's clearly talking about Alvar, even if Keefe has refused to say that name the two weeks Fitz had been staying with him. Like just the mention of his name would be the thing to break Fitz. As if he wasn't long past broken. He snorts. "At least six months. My parents will probably just let him stay forever. I've called them a few times, and it's been full of, oh, Alvar seems so nice now, I think you'd like the new him, he took Biana out for ice cream in Atlantis, we wish you were here to spend time with your brother. Bullshit. As if they've just forgotten about all of the, I don't know, kidnapping and torturing and murdering. Just because he seems nice now doesn't mean he didn't spend years in the Neverseen. That's not exactly something to just forgive like that!"

He stops yelling, and the room comes back into some clarity after blurring into red fury. He sees Keefe, hugging himself and taking several steps back from Fitz. "Sorry. Sorry, I- I'll just go. I'll give you some space. Sorry."

Stay.

"Wait, it's- it's not your fault my brother's awful."

Keefe scratches his arm, leaving long red marks along his skin. "No, but you said being in the Neverseen wasn't something to- to forgive easily. And I get that. You have every right to feel that way. So I will... leave you alone."

Realization dawns on him; he's disturbed their shaky friendship. Badly.

"No, I didn't- Keefe, I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't talking about you."

Keefe laughs. Most of the time, Fitz would kill to hear another second of that laugh. This time it's cold, humorless. "No. You were thinking it, though. You're still upset. I understand. But please don't... lie to me and tell me it's okay when it's not."

He's right. Fitz can't fully reassure Keefe in a way that's honest.

So he lets Keefe leave. 

That night, Keefe sleeps on the couch.

In the morning, there's a sheet of paper lying on the dresser. Fitz looks at it, and his face stares back. A drawing of Fitz mid sentence, gazing off at something- or someone- with affection in his eyes. It looks like he's in love. 

Probably because he is.

There's a note attached, in Keefe's terrible handwriting.

Fitz,

That's the drawing I was working on. You can finally see it, congratulations I guess. I hope it lived up to all your expectations.

So we should

We need to

I think it's time we got over ourselves and actually talked about the problems in our relationship rather than just pretending they don't exist. But if you're not ready to talk, that's okay. Just let me know when you are.

Love, 

Keefe

Fitz clutches the paper so tightly it crumples. Keefe wrote love. He crossed it out. But he wrote it.

And, annoying as it is, he's right. They do need to get over themselves and talk.

That was, quite frankly, homophobic. 

"You saw the drawing?" is the first thing Keefe says when Fitz sits on the arm of the couch.

Fitz nods. Words don't seem to be moving past his tongue for a moment, and then he says "It was really good. The note, not so much."

"It's much easier to not acknowledge things, but that didn't seem to be working great." Keefe looks down and pulls a loose thread out of the couch. "I'm sorry. I've said that already, but I'm sorry. Running away was stupid and it hurt a lot of people and I just- I'm sorry."

"For what it's worth, I don't hate you like I hate Alvar. He joined the Neverseen to hurt people. You joined to help people, in your idiotic messed up way."

Keefe slowly moves his hand across the distance between him and Fitz, but waits for Fitz to make the decision. He rests his hand on Keefe's. "I'm glad you don't hate me."

"I'm not sure I could hate you." He moves down from the arm of the couch, sitting so close to Keefe their shoulders nearly touch. "I l- I care about you, a lot. That hasn't changed. But trust is important to me, and it's... it's hard for me to trust you, now. I'm trying, but it... it's going to take time."

Keefe lifted their tangled hands and softly pressed a kiss to Fitz's. Fitz tries very, very hard not to explode. "I'll wait. As much time as you need."

"And you won't run away from me again?"

"No. Never again. I thought it was the right decision, I thought you would be better off without me, but then it was-" his voice breaks. "It was awful. For both of us. So no, I won't run away. You're stuck with me."

Fitz rests his head on Keefe's shoulder. "Hmm. I can think of worse fates."

Keefe puts an arm around him. "So, if we're stuck together, do you think we can try to actually communicate about... whatever mess we want to call our relationship?"

"Ugh. Fiiiine. As for what we want to call this mess, how does boyfriends sound?" That was... surprisingly smooth for him.

"Yeah. Yeah, boyfriends sounds good."

"Well, that's settled, so... may I kiss my boyfriend?"

Keefe turns bright red. I did that. I made him flustered. "Yeah," he chokes out. "Yeah, I might like that."

Fitz turns his head, and-

Wow.

Yeah. Yeah. He might have liked that. 

---

"You kissed him!?" Biana screams.

Fitz blushes furiously. "Not so loud, Bee! I don't exactly need Mom and Dad to know about this!"

"Actually, I forgot to tell you- I'm staying with Linh now."

"Okay, well, shut up anyway so Tiergan doesn't hear. I really don't need my telepathy mentor hearing all about my love live from my annoying little sister."

"Fine, fine, whatever. You kissed him. I owe Linh five dollars-"

"You were betting?" 

"Yeah, I thought you wouldn't get over yourselves until at least next month."

"I hate you so much."

"Love you too, Fitz."

Fitz sighs heavily. "Anyway. Fine. Yes. We kissed. We're boyfriends now. This did not magically make our relationship great and uncomplicated but we're working on it."

"Keep me updated!" She waves enthusiastically before hanging up.

Keefe laughs. "She seems happy about this."

"Ugh. Yeah."

"Hey, I'm happy about this too."

Fitz kisses his boyfriend's cheek. "Yeah. So am I."

[aphelea]

the superhero au: chapter one

Summary: The story of how Biana became Blink.

Taglist: @winterfireice @gay-otlc @aroace-dadwinstan

Warnings: non-graphic violence, death

or below the cut:

It starts when she’s brushing her teeth. 

She chokes on her toothpaste as she meets the eyes of her reflection – or rather, meets the eyes of what should be her reflection, but is now only an image of the room behind her. Where Biana stands, there is only a vaguely human-shaped shadow that seems to move of its own accord; taunting her, beckoning her closer to the glass that, as she watches it, cracks slightly where the light should be reflecting her face. 

She almost screams. 

Almost. 

It’s nearly midnight, and the last thing she wants is to wake her mother and brother, asleep in their bedrooms above. It’s a large house, but even Everglen’s glimmering crystal interiors can’t muffle her shrieks. 

So she merely stumbles backwards in silence and jumps into the bathtub in some feeble attempt at hiding; even then, however, the meticulously polished tile reflects its nothingness back at her, and that sick, shadowed being greets her once more on the walls of her bathroom. She can’t escape it, this monster with no name, and it wants her –

There’s a banging on the door, and Biana’s heart stops.

“Biana, are you alright?” comes the accompanying shout, and she starts breathing again. 

She jumps to her feet, wincing at the water stains both on her new nightgown and her face.“I’m fine, Alvar!” she calls, but her fear must be evident in her voice, as he doesn’t back down. 

“Biana,” her brother repeats, his voice now low and serious. “What’s going on in there? Should I call for someone?” Biana imagines her mother, trudging downstairs and finding her daughter hidden in the bathroom, with a cracked mirror and tears streaking her face.

She probably wouldn’t take that well. 

So Biana instead stumbles over to the bathroom door and swings it open. There stands Alvar, dressed as if he’s just returned from the city with dirt all over his face. 

His eyes land on her right side, and he sucks in a breath. Biana raises an eyebrow. 

“What?” she asks, suddenly self-conscious.

He’s silent for a moment. Then he lunges forward and pushes her into the bathroom, slamming the door behind them. 

“Biana,” he hisses. “Stand in front of the mirror.”

She thinks back to her missing reflection. “No.”

“Biana, stand in front of the fucking mirror.”

“Why?” she snaps. “What do you want?” There’s no way he knows. Not unless her powers are going haywire again, but it’s been months since that happened, and she would know if she was accidentally Vanishing again. 

…Right?

A quick glance at her right arm – or, rather, a glimpse at where her right arm should be – proves her very, very wrong. 

See, the issue with trying to hide the fact that you have superpowers is that they tend to leak through the cracks anyway. No matter how much Biana tries to hide her Vanishing, there’s always the occasional morning when she wakes up with a missing leg or without a physical form at all. There’s also the issue of trying to avoid mirrors when she’s in public – it’s a well-known fact that Vanishers don’t have reflections, and the last thing she wants is some stranger realizing what she is. 

Though her brother seems to have figured it out already.

So she stands in front of Alvar, entirely invisible, hoping to God that he won’t use this information against her; that he won’t spread the rumor around the city like a disease. 

(A superpowered Vacker. Ha, the very thought would destroy the Nobility.)

Instead of lecturing her or cringing away, though, Alvar only grins, widely and madly. “Well, well— looks like I’m not the only Vacker disappointment here, hmm?” 

Biana stares at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Don’t lie to me, Bee. You just Vanished in front of me. If I wanted you Exiled, all I’d have to do is call for Dad.” He chuckles. “Though I think he would have a heart attack if he knew that he had two superpowered children.”

“Two?” she asks, and then it clicks. “Wait. You’re—”

“—a Vanisher, yes,” he says. “Why do you think Dad always preferred Fitz to me? Fitz is the perfect son: no abilities, unquestionable loyalty to the Council. But you and me, Bee? We can destroy this Vacker legacy, once and for all. And that terrifies him.” 

Biana has to admit that the idea does sound tempting. She’s spent all these years living in her brother’s shadow— though Fitz is kind to her, it’s hard not to resent him sometimes. And it’s hardly the first time she’s fantasised about destroying the pillars that hold up the false Vacker ideals.

“Could we really do it?” she asks. “Destroy the legacy, the expectations, all of it?” 

Alvar seems surprised at the question. After a long moment he says, “Not alone. But there are others like us, out there, others with superpowers who want to free us once and for all. I’ve made sure that destroying the Vacker legacy is part of our mission.” He pauses, then adds, “We want change, Biana. And we’re going to stop at nothing to get it.” He looks at her, and the unasked question hangs heavy in the air. 

Biana stares at him for a long, hard moment. The decision is easy, isn’t it? If she has a chance to change something, to train in her power, she might as well take it. “I want to help,” she says, and Alvar smiles. 

“I think the boss will be happy to hear that.” 

-

Some days, she is more Blink than Biana. 

It’s easy to forget, when she’s running along the rooftops of Eternalia, that she’s also supposed to be a normal high school student by day. That somewhere out there, her mother and father are sleeping peacefully, none the wiser to their daughter skulking around the city twirling glistening knives in her hands. 

She doesn’t think about her father when she slits the throat of The Lady’s next target. She doesn’t think about her mother as she takes down the guards, piling the bodies in the foyer one after the other.  She doesn’t think about Fitz as the target’s teenage son peeks over the railing and catches her eye, his eyes wet with that horror that only comes with your first sight of blood. The boy must be barely older than she is – perhaps sixteen? Seventeen? His naivety makes up for whatever years he has on her. 

The boy gags at the sight of the dead guards, and Biana turns away. This is The Lady’s target. She shouldn’t care about what happens to his family. 

So she walks away and returns to the Neverseen base with her head held high. 

“Blink,” the Lady greets as she enters the meeting room. “I presume the mission was a success?” 

Fintan rolls his eyes. “If it wasn’t, she wouldn’t be here right now. Must you always ask the obvious questions?”

The Lady glares at him. “It’s protocol. Mission debriefs are essential to proper functioning–”

“– I don’t want to hear any more of your protocol. Just talk to the girl and get this over with.” A small flame dances around Fintan’s finger, and he toys with it like a kitten with string. 

She purses her lips. “Fine,” she says, turning to Biana. “We have another mission for you.” 

Biana glances at the clock mounted on the wall. “It’s nearly three,” she replies. “I don’t have time for anything else tonight.”

“This is a long-term project,” the Lady responds drily. “Time is not an issue.” 

Biana forces down a yawn and takes a seat across from the Neverseen leaders. She has school tomorrow, she knows, but after two years of doing these late-night missions for the Lady, she’s grown accustomed to running on very little sleep.

“Alright,” she says. “I’m listening.”

The Lady stands, but Fintan remains in his seat, glancing at her with a bored expression. 

“We believe,” the Lady begins, “that the Black Swan are attempting to rebuild their Collective.”

Biana raises her eyebrows. The Collective had been a legendary superhero team until their disappearance twelve years ago. With the fall of the Collective came a dark age for the Neverseen as well, which leads Biana to think that the two incidents were closely intertwined. But nobody will tell Biana exactly what happened the day of the fire, and she’s not sure she quite wants to know. 

“They’ve gathered a team of five agents with superpowers,” she continues. “Their exact powers are unclear as of yet. However, they’ve been spotted both in the Neutral Territories and in the slightly… less savoury parts of Eternalia.”

Fintan snorts. “The parts of Eternalia the rest of us frequent, you mean. You’re the only one here who tries to maintain any sense of dignity.” 

“Is the new group dangerous?” Biana interrupts, before anymore childlike fighting can break out. 

The Lady sighs. “Dangerous? Likely not. The Black Swan have always been far too cowardly to cause any real damage.”

Fintan’s expression darkens at that, and somehow, perhaps illogically, Biana’s sure it has something to do with the fire twelve years ago. 

“In any case,” the Lady continues, “these seem to be fairly new agents, and as such do not pose much of a threat. Which is why I chose you for this mission.”

Biana rolls her eyes. Of course she’s being underestimated again. What more could she expect from Gisela?

“Your mission is to track them. And take them out, by whatever means necessary.”

Biana stares at her. “You mean… kill them?” It’s not an unusual request, but for such trivial targets it seems… excessive. 

The Lady levels her signature glare on her. “Whatever is necessary to render this new superhero initiative obsolete.”

Then she spins on her heel and walks out of the door. 

Biana moves to follow, but freezes as Fintan says, “Wait.” He stands and makes his way to her, his crystal-blue gaze dark and sharp. 

He places a hand on her shoulder. “We still don’t know what the new Collective want. Be careful, Blink. The Black Swan never do anything without an ulterior motive.”

Kind of like the Neverseen. 

But something about the way Fintan says it – and the fact that it’s Fintan warning her – makes her stomach turn. 

She doesn’t know much about the Black Swan, or the fateful fire of twelve years ago that caused the downfall of both groups. But after tonight? She’s determined to learn more. 

Especially if the Neverseen don’t want her prying. 

[bookwyrminspiration]

Requesting headcanons on how the characters would react to Tam randomly latching onto them because ;0;

yes! I would love to! I'm assuming this was in response to me saying I'd expect Tam to be very comfortable with close physical touch from growing up banished with Linh. Because I think they would've huddled together for warmth and comfort, and that would carry over into how he interacts with others.

(update I got a little away from the "latching on" prompt, but there's elements of that in there!)

Sophie:

oh she'd love it. she'd love it so much I can't even articulate it. She said herself (in book one) that her human family was very physically affectionate and she'd missed that in the lost cities.

she might be a little flustered and confused at first just because it's been so long since she got a solid hug or touch without something motivating it (like grief or pain)

but as soon as she realized he's just showing he cares in his own way she'd be like oh. oh. this is nice. please never stop. I am in desperate need of just cuddling someone without it meaning anything more

i may be biased because I love platonic Sotam, but I feel like Sophie is the person Tam would let himself get the closest to physically aside from Linh.

they feel like they'd lay their head in each other's lap

Biana:

they give me shoulder vibes, but just let me explain what that means.

Tam rests his arm on her shoulder and stands close to her, he stands behind her with his chin on her shoulder as he looks at what she's doing from behind. Biana rests her head on his shoulder.

Biana doesn't really know what to make of it but she's not opposed.

I imagine her just grinning at him and teasing him slightly, but she appreciates the sentiment and having someone there

she might think he's being protective at first and be a little insulted he thinks she can't protect herself, but coming to the realization it's both for her and him shuts her up.

he comes up behind her one day and rests his chin on the top of her head, hugging her from behind for a moment when she's frustrated and that's when she realizes just how much he's been unintentionally communicating with all the little moments

Keefe:

sleepy. they feel like sleepy cuddle people. Tam doesn't show any sign that he likes Keefe when he's awake but in the middle of the night Tam grabs his hand and scoots closer.

Keefe would be a little uncomfortable at first because he's never felt Tam's emotions before, but upon feeling them he'd just spend some time thinking it over.

because Tam wasn't feeling anything about it except trust. He latches on to people he trusts, and especially with Keefe it takes a lot to let someone else feel your emotions.

I feel like Keefe would be suspicious, waking up to find Tam right next to him, but he wouldn't move. He wouldn't disrupt it.

wrists. Tam grabs Keefe by the wrist to lead him away from a group of people when he sees him getting stressed.

Palm to palm is a lot sometimes for Keefe, so Tam grabs him by the wrist. and just that little detail shows how attentive and deliberate he's being. how he knows Keefe reacts more than him and is cautious about it

Fitz:

it starts with Tam fixing Fitz's hair. just a few strands falling out of place and Tam pushing them back into place without a second thought. Fitz stumbles over his words for a second before stopping entirely, glancing to Tam in question. but Tam doesn't acknowledge it, so he continues

and then it become more frequent, Tam adjusting his shirt and his crest and his cape

until the next time they're close together, and tam just leans against him on the couch, pressing their shoulders close during an uncomfortable conversation--maybe with the Black Swan or parents

and it's just a little "i'm right here, too." and Fitz doesn't want to respond out loud in front of everyone but he sends a little thanks mentally.

and after that one moment it's just second nature. Tam tosses his legs atop Fitz's when they're next to each other, they sit back to back when working on something on the floor.

they're not talking, but they're communicating. that they're there.

Dex:

floor. they lay next to each other on the floor and Tam grabs Dex's wrist when he starts to fiddle with something to keep him from accidentally hurting himself on the metal, because he's being reckless and not paying attention.

but tam is. he always is. and he grabs Dex's wrist just for a moment but it shows such awareness and unspoken care.

and when the two of them stay up late and fall asleep on that floor, Dex waked up to Tam's arm thrown over his chest, just a few inches away. it seems like he was almost pulling him closer, pulling him to his own chest for comfort.

and unconscious thing, and Dex with his wild family, is used to that kind of thing.

so he just laughs faintly to himself and presses closer, because it is a little chilly in his room.

they both feel like cuddlers. like full out cuddling on the floor.

this isn't all the characters but it just some of the ones I could imagine him actually being physically intimate with platonically! they're also the more popular characters, but that's because that's who Tam spends the most time with rn, as opposed to say Maruca or something.

but Tam being touchy from his childhood is something I absolutely love. all the secret meanings and little things revealed from the briefest of touches that fit how he actually interacts more than just saying he flops on top of everyone without reason

so good. I love him so much

[archived-and-moving]

Neverseen Band AU Teaser

Word Count: 1,322

Notes: This story was based off this post by @fintan-pyren What have we learned from this? I apparently like sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. But that aside, I actually really like this au, and I have so many ideas where this could go, if anyone’s interested I could keep writing it.

Summary: Alden gets suspicious after he sees his son sneak off, but he never would have guessed that Alvar was getting a band together.

             ALDEN AWAKENED TO the sound of creaking wood. He had been tossing and turning for a while and decided to finally get up after the noise had awoken him.

           He slipped out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door, careful not to wake his wife. After the door was shut tightly behind him, Alden tiptoed through the house to where the noise had come from. He wasn’t too concerned, it was probably just Biana sneaking about, but he still wanted to make sure.

           When he rounded a corner, he paused. He was right about the sound belonging to one of his children, just not the right one. In front of him, fiddling with a long, black cloak, was his oldest son.

           Alden opened his mouth to confront Alvar but decided against it. He hid slightly behind the bend to see what his son would do.

           He wouldn’t lie, he was curious to see what he was doing at such an early hour. So, a few steps behind his son, Alden followed Alvar to their Leapmaster and waited as he once again started fiddling with the cloak he had on.

           His son was digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole, but Alden was going to let it play out, see what he was doing.

           Finally, Alvar seemed to steel his nerves and whispered, “Babbling Brooks.”

           To Alden’s surprise, the crystals lit up. He’d never heard of Babbling Brooks before, and he was almost sure that he was familiar with all of the places on Everglen’s Leapmaster.

           He seemed to however, been proven wrong as Alvar leaped away on a beam of light. Alden made up his mind as he picked up a nearby pair of boots, (which were thankfully his) and repeated the same process that his son had.

           He welcomed the familiar feeling as light pulled him to the strange location.

           As Alden materialized, he realized that whatever he was thinking his son was doing, was very, very different than what his actions were playing out to be.

           Around thirty feet ahead of him trudged an Alvar sized figure, with their hood up. Alden was growing more and more panicked as he followed a few meters behind his son.

           He was lost in thought, wondering what on earth Alvar was doing when he stepped on a twig. Unfortunately for him, the wood was very dry, and it made a resounding crack that Alvar would have been deaf not to hear.

           Alden pretty much dived behind a bush to avoid being seen and would probably come to regret that decision later. But for now, he was safe as Alvar’s head snapped up and he whipped his head around, searching for the source of the sound.

           Still, Alden couldn’t help but hold his breath as his son returned to his stroll. When Alvar was far enough to be out of earshot, Alden grumbled about rebellious teenagers and his body being older that it used to be.

           The thought to read his son’s mind had popped into his brain, but Alden didn’t believe that this situation called for breaking the rules of telepathy. Yet.

           Alden slipped down the now-narrowing path after his son. The view was breathtaking. A narrow trail winded through a flowing river that arched above and below the dirt path. If he were in a hiking mood, Alden would have been delighted to see such a breathtaking example of nature.

           But he let out a stifled groan as he sloshed in the mud that covered the path. Chasing after his son on a mysterious midnight field trip was not on his bucket list.

           But, as the humans say, curiosity killed the cat.

           Alvar’s destination was finally clear when the path widened and straightened out to lead to the opening of a cave.

           His son took one more look over his shoulder before ducking into the entrance. Alden’s anxiety levels were now peaking. His son wasn’t involved in… anything dangerous. Was he?

           No, Alden assured himself, as he marched to where his son had just disappeared, Alvar was at the top of his level throughout Foxfire, and he never caused too much trouble.

           But as Alden strode into the room, his stomach dropped. His son wasn’t the only one who was dressed mysteriously, around him were four other figures, each wearing the same black cloak, which Alden now realized had a white-eye symbol stitched on the sleeve.

           He gulped. This might have been much bigger than he initially thought. Alden then steeled his nerves. He was a respected Emissary for the council, he would just break this meeting up.

           With one more deep breath, Alden stepped out of the shadows where he was hiding.

           “Alvar Vacker,” He boomed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

           All five figures whipped around to the sound of his voice.

           He took them all in. The cloaks mostly covered their faces, and made it hard to distinguish body types, so he was left guessing on who these hooligans might be.

           He straightened to his full height. “As a member of the nobility, and an Emissary to the council, I demand to know your reasoning for what looks to be treason.”

           They all stood there, looking back and forth from each other for a moment until the shortest one spoke up.

           “We’re- uh, we’re making a band, sir.”

           Alden stood for a second and blinked. “A…band?”

           The kid nodded and pulled down his hood. “The Celestial Festival’s coming up, and we wanted to enter the human music competition.”

           Alvar also pulled down his hood, running his hand through his hair. “Yeah, dad, we’re trying to get enough members to enter this year.”

           Alden came to his senses. “So, you came out here,” He gestured to their surroundings, “without adult supervision to… start a band.”

           “They had permission.” A rough voice behind him said. Alden quickly turned to find the Fintan Pyren standing at the entrance of the cave.

           Fintan gave him a quick smile before continuing. “I assumed that our members would also get parental approval as well.” He looked over Alden’s shoulder and threw a scolding glance in Alvar’s direction.

           He made his way over to Alden and held out his hand. “Fintan. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

          “You’d be correct. Alden Vacker.” He introduced, shaking it.

          “Your son seems to be really interested in the arts, Lord Vacker. He and a couple friends came to ask me about running a band, and I couldn’t exactly say no to such a brilliant idea.”

          Alden stepped beside his son, surprised but proud of him for this decision.

          “Is practice going to be…here?” Alden asked, gesturing to the empty cave.

          “No, no.” Fintan assured. “I just agreed to meet up here to get everyone in one location, practice will be twice a week at my house in Atlantis.”

          “Could you make sure that Alvar brings his instrument?” He finished.

           Alden glanced over at his son, whose head was going back and forth between him and Fintan during the whole conversation.

           Alden wrapped his arm around Alvar’s shoulders. He was relieved that this was all that he was doing, but he still had some explaining to do.

          “Well, Fintan, I’ll see you when I drop Alvar off next week?” Alden prompted.

          Fintan gave him a warm smile. “Of course. I’ll see you both then.” He told them both. With that he turned to the others and lectured them about telling their parents about where they were going.

           Alden led Alvar out of the cave, interrogating him on the way back into their property.

          When they reached Everglen, Alvar followed Alden through the winding halls, saying nothing after Alden’s light scolding words.

          He suddenly stopped. “Where are we going?”

           Alden turned halfway to smile at him. “Why, we’re researching human music.” He said, leading Alvar into one of the libraries.

          “We have to get you ready for the Celestial Festival.”

[silveny-dreams]

The KOTLC Squad as Lyrics from Inside by Bo Burnham

ignore me my friend just had me watch it and now I have all the songs stuck in my head all the time and I have to do something with them

Sophie: it’ll stop any day now (any day now………………any day now)

Keefe: could I interest you in everything all of the time; a little bit of everything all of the time

Fitz: and I’ve been totally awful; my closet is chock-full of stuff that is vaguely shitty…all of it was perfectly lawful, just not very thoughtful at all and just really shitty—and I’m really fucking sorry

Biana: do I have your attention...yes or no? I bet I’d guess the answer but I don’t wanna know

Tam: sorry that I look like a mess….I booked a haircut but it got rescheduled

Linh: fresh fallen snow on the ground, a Golden Retriever in a flower crown…is this heaven…

Dex: how we feeling out there tonight? Hahaha, yeeeaaaahh…..I am not feeling good

Marella: the world is changing….the planet’s heating up…..what the fuck is going on

BONUS:

Wylie: I used to wake up with a smile, and go to bed at night with a dream….now I’m turning 30 (noooooo)

[an-ungraceful-swan]

OKAY SO

psyche is pretty, like, really fucking pretty but nobody will marry her because she just too pretty. she’s also a princess btw. anyway, her parents ask the oracle who will psyche marry, and the oracle says she’ll marry a monster. and lets remember shit like the minotaur right mow.

also beforehand, people started worshiping her over aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. aphrodite did not like that so she sends eros down to make psyche fall in love with a monster, but psyche is so pretty eros accidentally stabs himself with the love arrow and falls in love with psyche

so her parents leave her of a cliff for her monster husband. zephyr, the west wind (?) takes her to a palace where there’s no servants besides invisible wind spirits. then her husband comes back at night and he’s invisible too. psyche is fine with this because a) her husbands actually kinda nice and b) she lives in a fucking palace. only rule is she can never see her monster husband.

then later her sisters come to visit and it’s safe to say they’re more than a little jealous. they tell her to look and see if her husband is really a monster. she does because idk, psyche’s smart but kinda dumb here. she takes a candle and a dagger and looks at her husband while he’s asleep to see if he’s a monster.

she learns he is in fact not a monster, but fucking eros. she regrets not trusting him and goes to leave put some hot wax falls onto eros and he wakes up. and it’s safe to say seeing your wife standing over you with a knife isn’t going to make you happy so he nopes on out of there fueled on ‘how could you betray me’ juices.

anyway aphrodite is pissed. she kidnaps psyche and makes her do a bunch of tasks, psyche is also pregnant at this time so this is even more of a dick move at this point. eros is most likely in the background going, ‘mom no, that’s still my wife’. psyche is real depressed because she actually loved her husband but animals keep completing the tasks for her.

her last task is to go and collect some on persephone’s beauty, whatever the fuck that is. she does and she also explains her predicament to persephone, who is presumably sitting there forcing a smile and says ‘oh, okay’ as psyche talks. she gives psyche a box of her beauty and psyche goes off to give it to aphrodite.

this is when psyche makes her biggest mistake and sees she looks like shit. she opens the box to freshen up but lo and behold it wasn’t beauty in the box it was the fucking essence of death. now eros is exceedingly pissed at his mom, who is presumably going ‘oh shit’ at this point.

eros goes and begs zeus to make psyche immortal so she can you know, not die. zeus complies, even going beyond and making psyche a goddess, presumably just for fucking with aphrodite. psyche becomes the goddess of the soul and loves happily ever after with eros.

also their daughter is voluptas, the goddess of pleasure and delight. so yeah. that’s the myth. yes, i have an obsession with greek mythology. i’ve been fixated on and off since third grade

I love this myth

Essentially Sophie is psyche and Biana is gayly jealous so she sends glimmer to get dirt on Sophie and they fall in love but glimmer is kind Of hiding/doesn’t tell Sophie who she really is and Sophie tries to find it and glimmer cuts it off so Sophie goes to Biana and they fight and gay gay gay

[theogony]

A hazy shade of winter~ kam!on ice

So this collab (for @kotlc2021collab !!) which both me and Elizebeth have gone feral over is finally available to be shared with you and-

*high pitched screaming*

I'm super proud of this?? My first multi chapter fic and it's on these two idiots,,,,,on ice,,,,, I mean-

(PS: check out the companion artwork for this chapter by @shadymcsilverbangs I am in love with her art go stan that~~)

Genre: Kam! ice skating au

tw: Minor swearing, self depreciation by Keefe??

Words: 2.2k

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～

The sound of the rain against the windshield of the car gave him some kind of comfort. Despite being only 8, Keefe hadn't been able to sleep more than a couple of hours during the last days and the dark circles under his eyes were enough proof.

"......Are you listening to me, Keefe?"

Having finally been anchored back into reality, Keefe stiffened as he looked down demurely in his father's gaze.

"....M'm..sorry.."

Not even bothering to look back from his side, Cassius Sencen tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as they neared their destination.

"Your mother insists on another outlet for that brilliant brain of yours, always scheming for pranks. And while I don't agree on this particular activity, I can't help but agree with her on the topic...."

Tuning out his father's voice for the umpteenth time that day, Keefe yawned, failing to hide it behind his hand, his moves a little delayed as he was still a little bit sleepy, his movements not fully coordinated yet.

Though his eyes loose almost any touch of sleep in them as soon as he gets a better look at the building he's father had just taken him into.

He'd learnt to expect surprises from life. But he'd never expected the vast ice rink in front of him, unoccupied and foreboding in the pale fluorescent lights that illuminated it only briefly, and the neatly folded ice skates his father had just presented with.

"You're going to learn ice skating."

-

The skating rink is always empty at six in the morning. It's how Keefe liked it: cold and empty, the ice a pale grey-blue under the glow of the overhead lights. In the summer, he would skate under the light of dawn where it filters through the rafters, but in winter, the darkness outside the pool of ice makes it feel as though it's all that exists in the world.

He smiled, a quip that Biana once said briefly passing his mind as he laced up his skates, something about moonlarks and gliding across ice that alluded to Keefe's lanky movements. Of course, those days were long gone, where he learnt at a small, joint studio famous for its ice skaters.

{{and where he met-

but then again, it's been so many years so perhaps not, but then again — perhaps he would, he would have remembered.}}

He shook his head harder as he rose up the cool ice and quickly set off, chinks of ice showering the cool ground as he began his latest routine. Such memories were nothing but a liability, and to quote his father (or coach), "Nothing but banale obstacles for the diable." He was the magnificent Devil of France - renowned for awing others, leaving nothing but misery and spite in his wake, not nostalgic recollections of simpler times.

Gliding effortlessly across the ice, Keefe hummed, for the time on the rink had always belonged to him, being both an escape and comfort. It was his own personal world; away from all of his trauma and the stupid tabloids and articles about him. He could lose himself in the beautiful motions, finding his personal balance. He loved the slight adrenaline of landing a difficult jump. He was almost always able to lose himself in the choreography and the powerful movements, losing himself in the happiness of being good at something. Closing his eyes, he jumped, spinning mid-air in slow-motion, completing one, two, three whole rotations, he prepared himself to land when a loud bang distracted him from his jump. Turning his body towards the sound instinctively, he felt his right toe pick catch the surface of the ice and he stumbled, landing sprawled across the ground.

Pain coursed through his body, at first numbing and cooling from the ice, then severe and jolting. Keefe could hear another loud bang, the sound of the rink's gate closing, and the swish of blades across the ice moving closer towards him. Picking himself up off the ground, he got a good look at the source of the noise, which rewarded him with a pale hand belong to a Vietnamese boy in a similar skin tight out fit as Keefe (though in shades of blue) staring at him, almost unimpressed by the almost complete routine he performed.

"Who're you?" Keefe mumbled, arching an eyebrow as he pulled himself up, rubbing the tender spot where he was sure he would soon be nursing an ice pack as his father screamed at him for yet again abandoning the specified routine. Which, to be fair to him, he certainly did - though for a change, it was because of this irritating idiot who'd just interrupted his performance - though he still couldn't figure out why he wasn't as angry as he was apprehensive, filled with this strange sense of deja vu and awe as he tried to halt chant of his brain going holy fuck this guy is attractive-

The boy sniffed, gliding away in almost eerie silence, but not before Keefe caught sight of the small lanyard that peeked out from his duffel, eyes almost comically widening as he peered up curiously at the now turned around skater.

Huh. So this was Tam Song.

-

It had barely been two months since he qualified for the top before another emerging competitor arrived. Word spread around that in South East Asia, a competitor known as Tam Song had arrived from Vietnam, making his way through the ranks, before becoming one of the top skaters in Asia. Some whispers say that each time he spins he jumps just a bit higher, and each time he twirls he freezes, just a bit more peaceful, his angelic face framed by the jagged silver tips that no one knew the backstory of. Others say that this angel, the one standing in front of him, can supposedly beat the Diable at his own game - the angel and devil, both evenly matched, locked in a battle for eternity.

But Keefe can't afford a tie.

{{He can't afford one-

-and the torn picture in the only sentimental object he owns - his  locket stands a testament to that .}}

He doesn't doubt the fact that Tam knows who he is, for one of the biggest events of the season was the selection of the skaters for the World Championships - despite both of them not being the youngest, the announcing of their names for the singles category was still no surprise to anyone who was an ardent fan. While the ceremony did lead to some (inexplicable? Weird?) fan fiction between him and many of his fellow competitors, his father had still prohibited him from viewing any of Tam's  previous shows - other than an extremely blurry clip of him and his twin sister performing at an awards ceremony - though he was almost quite sure of the fact that he had seen Tam somewhere before.

"Um, hello? You do remember how to speak, is that not?"

Cheeks flaming, Keefe jolted back to reality as he stammered out a quick reply to the now skeptical ice skater, who looked equal parts unimpressed and hot - which certainly did not help his thought process become any clearer.

"Why are you here?"

Opening his mouth wide, Tam seemed to almost collapse in disbelief as he replied, "What do you think I'm here for? Baking cakes?"

"I was wondering what you were doing so early when the competition is clearly-"

"What are you doing here then?"

"To practice, duh-"

"And me as well. Tomorrow, my performance is the first - and therefore must set the bar for all others. And while my routine is good, I need it to be perfect. So if you don't mind me being so crass, I would implore you to leave."

Though his hip still smarted from the fall, Keefe indignantly shook his head as he replied, "No way! I was here first!"

"You're being a child."

"You say that as though you're not older than 18 by a few months-"

In an almost more condescending tone than earlier, Tam deadpanned, "I've seen the way you skate - and trust me, you're not the one who needs the practice out of the two of us."

"Well, your moves look like-"

Wait, Keefe thought, as his brain suddenly short-circuited, did my extremely hot and posh rival just compliment me?

Or was that just a ploy to throw me off my game?

Or was it-

"Look, forget what I said earlier. Just, Make sure you stay on the left half, ok? I'll take the right."

Keefe looked carefully into the Vietnamese boy's inscrutable expression, for any signs that he was mocking him or trying to joke with him. Seeing none, he nodded stiffly, before turning around to practice the same move.

{{He was the diable. And the devil didn't succumb to anyone.

-not even to him.}}

-

Keefe repeated the steps, almost unconsciously. Twisting and turning, looping over and gliding, the icy air skating over his face, for this routine was an old one - improvised for a charity event earlier, but having been practised for the past half an hour or so - now second nature to him.

It'd been way too long since he'd practised in front of a crowd this size. He was used to many eyes watching, whispers always surrounding him as he twisted and turned, the whispers becoming crescendos after a particularly spectacular turn, or empty rooms, with no one to judge him, complain about him or to try to gaud him.

He was aware of the new arrival on the ice next to him, but yet again he zoned it out, zoned out the sounds and movement around him, focusing on nothing but his two feet on the ice. Backwards and forwards he looped the rink, pushing himself till sweat rolled off his forehead, till his muscles burned with use.

But the more time that passed, the more he became intensely aware of the other man skating alongside him, the only one who'd decided to join him on the ice so far.

The man- no, Tam Song, skated like he had nothing to loose. But there was something breathtaking about the way he moved, the way his feet seemed to dance like second nature.

{{It reminded him of a deeply buried memory, of a boy with wings-

-but he pushed that dream down because there was no point to it, no point to it at all.}}

Keefe's motions were sharp and precise, practised to perfection; but this man moved like it was as easy as breathing like the steps took no thought at all.

Keefe was impressed, to say the least, for he'd never seen someone skate with such passion. He was almost tempted to introduce himself before he caught a glance of the man's face as he noticed that he was whizzing towards him at an alarming rate-

oh shit-

He winced internally, eyes scrunched up as he waited for the inevitable collision with the floor, his sore hip almost crying out in exasperation-

-before realising he had landed snug into Tam Song's arms, which were now holding him upright as his legs gave out uselessly on the ice. Considering the Vietnamese's short stature, and the fact that Keefe was quite tall compared to him, they both seemed to be on the verge of collapsing on to each other and on top of each other in a very, very snug pile.

Realising this less than a second later, Tam's cheeks seemed to burn red as he bent closer to Keefe, his lips moving dangerously close to Keefe's neck as he attempted to hide the huge blush that seemed to cover his face.

"So...."

Keefe's voice hitched as he turned his head a fraction to the left, as he realised the only way out of such a situation was to pull himself flush against his competitor - no, his arch enemy - and lean against him for support.

Muttering a silent prayer that Tam wouldn't be too scandalised, he looped his hands around Tam's waist, using him as a support to regain his lost footing on the ice (though a squeak was something he may or may not have imagined), before finally raising his hands up to his shoulders as he pushed against them lightly, enough to help break him out of his inner monologue of "ohshitohshit-" and pull away from Tam, now left with only an awkward silence that hung in the air.

"Um..thank you."

Tam looked up, a smile flitting across his face as he faced Keefe.

"No problem."

It was only then Keefe noticed the pale silver chain that hung from Tam's neck, which swung gently with every movement he would make, the engraving on the chain now visible for everyone to see.

"Thiên... than?"

{{A rush of memories seemed to come flooding back as Keefe realised the entire deja vu, the painful but hidden smile Tam had given him in the start-

-it was always, it was always him and only him-)

A storm of emotions passed over both their faces, leaving them both vulnerable for a few seconds, unflinching and naked in each other's stares, one realising just who the other was, while the other realised that he truly, truly did not know anything about him anymore-

Keefe had always dreamed of seeing him, hoped in all his heart that he would get just one more chance-

{{but they were the angel and devil, locked in eternity in polar opposites, destined to fight, for that is what nature decreed.}}

"You...you didn't remember me?"

{{he wanted to scream at Tam, remind him and hug him and show him that he kept it, he really kept it and-

-but he was the devil. And nothing but the devil.}}

And therefore, he did what he knew best.

He closed his eyes and ran.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.☪ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AHHH FIRST CHAPTER FINISHED FINALLY-

I'll probably update in one and a half week gaps, so,,,expect another around 25th?? Anyway hope you enjoy this meanwhile-

>:)

Tag list: @enbies-and-felonies @brilliantblindinglights @shadymcsilverbangs

//Reblogs, likes and comments always appreciated!//