#but first here's matilde

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles Leclerc

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 44/45 Word count: 3247 Co writer: @mistrose23

Story summary: Matilde Jørgensen, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, faced the nerve-wracking challenge of reviving the team's fortunes and aiming for a championship. Leading a historic team as a 'newbie' and separating her work and personal opinions posed a significant challenge. The big question: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

Chapter 42. Inhale, Courage. Exhale, Fear.

After the national anthem, Galileo followed Matilde towards the pitlane. As they were walking, he saw Matilde share a quick, almost unnoticeable glance at Kevin. When they reached Charles' car, she briefly waited and wished him good luck, but most of all, to have fun. She wished his people good luck as well.

A few steps further, she said the same to Carlos, and she thanked him. Galileo noticed how she lingered a fraction longer than usual after speaking to Carlos, her eyes searching his for something unspoken. They both knew this was goodbye in a way. Not officially, not yet, but the moment carried weight.

Galileo was probably the first one to know that Carlos was leaving. It was a rumour at first, Matilde heard it from Max, and Galileo heard it from Matilde. She was frustrated, but she wanted to hear Carlos' side of the story before jumping to conclusions. The strong woman she was.

This weekend was something special; families and friends were walking around, final points were being given away, and trophies were about to be handed out.

Galileo stepped away when Matilde stepped away. He was proud and happy to be her assistant. He started to adore her a long time ago, but they weren't a match at first. They didn't share the same interests, not the same vibes and perhaps not even the same goals. When he got assigned to her, he didn't know what to expect because he didn't know her, but he assumed she wouldn't be the best person to work with and that she would fail in everything. Just like many people, he expected her to fail, he expected to lose his job quickly because of her failure, he expected everything but success. And even he doubted her ability to lead a team.

But she proved wrong, she proved everyone wrong.

They had a rough start, she had a rough start in the team, which caused him to have a rough start as well. She was different. He didn't want to see her warmth at first - no one wanted to. Of course, she made mistakes: taking some things personally, having too much fun, showing too many facial expressions at the wrong occasions, or dancing with the Dutch at Zandvoort - which was highly inappropriate. But it was her first year as a team principal.

She had walked into this role with the world stacked against her, whispers of failure trailing her every step. They had underestimated her, doubted her resilience, her intelligence, her ability to lead. He had been guilty of it, too. And yet, here she was, standing on the precipice of something extraordinary, having built a team that believed in her just as much as she believed in them.

Within a year, she managed to move from "being too present", "not being interested" and "leading a sinking ship", to leading a dream team. Then people would say that she was having too much fun, but Matilde genuinely enjoyed working eventually. And because she genuinely enjoyed her work, she projected it to her team, who started to enjoy their work more and more. She cared about everyone; she cared more about her people than the results, resulting in the team working in good spirits.

Galileo looked next to him; Matilde was blowing up her cheeks. Of course, he had seen her nervous before, but he had never seen her this nervous. Monza was nothing compared to this weekend. However, she still handled everything like a bitch ass boss.

He had so much admiration for her.

He had never been the sentimental type. He worked in a world where results mattered more than emotions, where precision and strategy outweighed personal connections. Yet, as he watched Matilde walking beside him, radiating both confidence and vulnerability, he realised just how much she had defied every expectation; not just his, but the entire paddock's.

She exhaled slowly, her shoulders rising and falling as she steadied herself. Galileo noticed she held her hands behind her back, folding her fingers tightly together, a small, unconscious habit he had come to recognise as a sign of deep focus. Even though she was nervous, she wasn't afraid. That was the difference between her and so many others. Matilde now didn't let the weight of expectation break her; she turned it into something greater.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he crossed his arms. "Held og lykke," he said, wishing her good luck.

"Tak," she said back to him, then turned her head toward him. Wow, what?"

"Observe and learn," he grinned. As they approached the pit wall, he stopped in front of her. "You got this. Whatever happens, everyone is proud of you."

"Thank you," she smiled. "Grazie di tutto."

Matilde stepped towards the pit wall and put on her headset. For one more time, she turned towards the garage, where she looked at the organised chaos. She stood still for a second, taking it all in. This was her world, the world she had fought for, the world she had bled for. And today, she wasn't here just to prove anyone wrong. She was here to win. With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and sat down on her chair, turning to the screens, her expressions becoming unreadable but her presence commanding. No hesitation. No doubt. Just focus.

Galileo, still standing nearby, caught the moment; the flicker of steel in her gaze. He smirked, knowing exactly what it meant.

She wasn't here to play. She was here to conquer.

--

Max was driving first.

Charles was in second place.

Max had the fastest lap.

Charles was driving five seconds behind Max.

Max was on his way to winning the championship with a one-point difference.

And there were only three laps left in this race.

Oh, and Carlos was twenty-one seconds behind Charles.

Matilde's eyes darted between the screens, absorbing every flicker of data, every tiny shift in numbers. She wasn't just watching the race; she was feeling it. The damped roar of the engines, the rhythmic beeping of the telemetry, the murmurs and commands being exchanged over the radio - it all blurred into a hum in the back of her mind. Her knee bounced uncontrollably, a nervous tick she couldn't suppress no matter how much she tried.

Max was first. Charles was second. Five seconds apart. No room for a perfect pitstop. Three laps to go.

Her breathing had gone shallow.

She kept watching the screens, as if she could control the numbers with a blink of an eye, as if she could change the numbers. But they wouldn't. The gap was too big, the laps too few, and Max was driving like a machine; flawless, untouchable.

The data kept changing. Charles was told to push hard, to almost ruin the car. Max was told to do the same, obviously. It was close, yet so far away. Matilde held her hand up in the air, as the team had agreed. Eyes shot up to her hand, the entire focus on that right hand. Mechanics sat on the edge of their seats. The chief strategist looked at Matilde and sat ready to nudge Charles' engineer, who kept observing the screens. Matilde held her breath and waited. And waited. And... Her thumb was up.

And the dominoes fell over.

"Plan Z."

The unofficial plan made people move. The people who needed to know about this plan were informed, but this wasn't official. All eyes shot to the Ferrari garage when the engineers ran out with a set of soft tires. It was like the time froze when Charles, the runner-up, the potential World Champion, entered the pitlane. Confusion and disbelief entered the multiple garages, a shock wave went through the grandstands, the media began to yell - or stayed silent due to the shock, and the fans at home...

Matilde inhaled deeply and turned around in her chair as Charles entered the pits. For a split second she doubted her decision, but she knew that if they didn't try this, their chances were thrown away. With Charles driving the second position, his only chance to become a World Champion, was to get the fastest lap. No one could help him. Only he could do it himself.

It was on him.

One mistake by the crew and Carlos would pass Charles. One mistake could cost them the championship. Everything had to go right. There was no room for the tiniest mistake. They had a one-second margin. The entire season, everybody in Ferrari had worked for this moment. This was it.

The car came to a stop in front of the garage.

The mechanics lifted up the car, removed the tires and put on the new tires.

The red number 16 drove away.

Everyone who sat at the pit wall, everyone who stood beside the pit wall, and everybody who was near the pits, looked closely at the pitstop. It was like that pitstop was the only thing that mattered in the entire world at that moment. Even the race itself seemed to fade into the background for a fleeting second.

Matilde clenched her hands together, nails pressing into her palms as the seconds ticked by. The stop was smooth; too smooth, perhaps, for something so bold and reckless. The pit guys didn't react to the stop, they didn't even thank each other. They quietly moved back inside and acted like nothing had happened. Matilde turned around, and her eyes fell on the time of the pitstop. 1.9 seconds. A perfect execution. The kind of pit stop that would be remembered. But was it enough?

She exhaled sharply through her nose, her eyes immediately flicking to the sector times. The tyres were fresh, but Charles needed to warm them up instantly. There was no margin for error. No second chances. Her entire body tensed as the cameras cut to Charles exiting the pit lane. He was still second, but the gap to Max had grown, and Carlos was close. No matter. That wasn't the goal.

Lap 57 was useless, it was an out lap, but an out lap that had no margin for errors. The sector times were good, but not perfect. But it all came down to the last lap, the one that would confirm whether this gamble was worth it.

The world was holding its breath.

Matilde's lips parted slightly when Charles began his final lap, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

And then...

Purple sector one.

"What the fucking fuck," Matilde blurted nervously. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs.

Her eyes shot up to Max' times; his second sector turned purple. She knew he was told to push hard. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she got up from her chair, unable to sit still any longer. She stepped behind it, her arms crossing tightly over her chest as if to contain the nervous energy threatening to overwhelm her. Her palms rubbed against her shoulders, slick with sweat. She glanced toward the Red Bull pit wall, where the atmosphere was just as tense. Christian Horner sat there, his gaze flickering between his screens and the track, the same anxiety etched into his features. Just like her, the nerves and tension were written all over his face.

He held her gaze for a moment, giving her a quick nod, before turning back to his screens, his mind racing. This was the moment they had all been working toward, but it was a situation he hadn't quite anticipated. If he was honest, he never thought Matilde would even make it to this point. Her start to the season had been rocky, her position as team principal was questioned by everyone; himself included. When he heard the news that she would be the new team principal of Ferrari, he had to laugh and thought it was a joke. He had to admit that she had the ability to lead, but he didn't think that she could handle everything. But she had proved everyone wrong, clawing her way back, turning the tide in Ferrari's favour. Now, she was here, fighting for a title with two drivers in contention, while he only had Max. All Christian could think about was how Matilde proved everything and everyone wrong.

The data showed Max was still gaining, his last sector looking to be his best yet. The car was at its limit, every corner a delicate balance of speed and control. But then his eyes flicked to Leclerc's data, and his stomach twisted. Leclerc was pushing too, pushing harder than anyone expected. Did that insane pitstop work? The second sector time for Leclerc flashed purple on the screens. Red Bull had a victory within reach, but nothing was sure yet.

Matilde's breath was caught in her throat as she watched Charles' second sector turn purple. She was close on opening a radio line to Charles to yell at him, to yell he needed to push harder, to find that extra bit of speed, to do whatever the fuck it took to snatch the fastest lap from Max. She was hoping her decision was the right decision. Even without the call, Charles would end up second. It didn't matter what the decision would be.

Then her eyes fell on someone who got a first purple sector. "No," she said and shook her head. She frowned and sighed. And even if Charles got the fastest lap, he needed to keep it to his name. If Norris kept up that pace, it wouldn't matter what Charles or Max did, Norris could steal the fastest lap from both of them, handing the championship to Max by default.

New data flashed on the screens, and an engine came closer to them. Matilde held in her breath and prepared for the numbers. Max had crossed the finish line first, having an outstanding last sector. It was the fastest last sector ever. A record. He could be the world champion. Matilde bit her lip and looked at Red Bull again; it was silent on their side. Every single person in the team was frozen as they watched the final moments unfold. The championship was within Max' grasp, but it hinged on the next few minutes.

Charles shot into the final sector, colouring the second sector purple. Matilde put her hands on her hips and reminded herself to breathe. New numbers showed up on the screen, each fraction of a second dragging her to her nerves. "Come on," she muttered under her breath. The words were a prayer, a plea, as if it could push him that tiny bit faster.

Every millisecond counted. Every apex, every straight, every fraction of throttle mattered.

The engineers who sat at the Ferrari wall, didn't dare to move. There was nothing that they could do anymore. Charles had to do it on his own. It was like they were hypnotised by the screens. Unlike the silent engineers, every mechanic in the garage was shouting towards the screens.

Matilde's chest moved heavily up and down as Charles moved through the final few turns. Then, in an instant, it was over. Charles crossed the finish line. With a third purple sector, a time so fast it took everyone by surprise. Matilde's heart skipped a beat as she saw the fastest lap sign pop up behind Charles' name. He had done it.

But it hasn't been decided yet.

"Fastest lap, still waiting for the rest to finish," Charles' engineer mentioned calmly.

"Okay," Charles breathed. "Keep me updated."

Matilde looked at the four drivers who were pushing for a fastest lap. She didn't have time to celebrate this accomplishment. She placed her hands at the back of her neck and wiggled her feet. Soon after Charles, Carlos finished. It was wrong, but everyone only had an eye for Charles because he could become a world champion. Carlos came third in the race and in the championship.

One thing was sure: Ferrari had the Constructors Championship.

Matilde congratulated Carlos and thanked him for everything. It became silent over the radio again, this time only hearing Charles' breath, who was patiently waiting for the results as he was informed about Norris, Alonso, Stroll and Kevin, who were pushing hard for the fastest lap. Norris, fortunately, didn't make it. One down, three to go.

The Red Bull pit wall was equally tense. Christian stood like a statue, his gaze never leaving the screens. Stroll was next. He had been strong all race, and now he was gunning for the fastest lap. The tension was unbearable. Christian's face was a mask of concentration, his hands clenched at his sides. The entire Red Bull team was holding its collective breath, waiting for the moment when they could either celebrate or be crushed by the final result.

Stroll crossed the line, and the data flashed on the screens: green sectors, but no purple. He hadn't beaten Charles' time. The relief was almost palpable, but Matilde knew better than to relax. Alonso was next, and the veteran driver was known for pulling out surprises in moments like this.

"Stroll didn't make it as well. Magnussen isn't in the running for the fastest lap anymore. We are only waiting for Alonso."

Christian's heart pounded in his chest. He could barely think, every thought drowned out by the roar of engines and the numbers flickering across the screens. Max had done everything right, had set a blistering pace in the final sector, but it all came down to this. The championship was within reach, but it could just as easily slip away.

The first sector was ruined by Kevin, but he was flying through the last sector. Matilde's stomach twisted into knots as she watched his sector times. Green, purple... but no second purple. Her breath caught in her throat as Kevin crossed the line. He hadn't done it. Charles' time still stood.

Fernando Alonso was the last threat; the final challenge that stood between Charles and the championship. He was pushing, he was tearing down the Aston Martin. His car screamed through the final sector. The seconds ticked by, each one stretching out like an eternity.

Christian couldn't breathe, his chest tight with the weight of what was at stake. He watched, helpless, as the data streamed in, praying that Alonso would find that extra bit of speed, stealing away the championship at the last possible moment from Leclerc. He couldn't look at the screens, to watch the data that would confirm or shatter his hopes. Instead, he watched Matilde. She would know before anyone else; she would be the one to react first.

Then Matilde raised her arms up in the air, the engineers stood up, and the mechanics appeared in the pitlane. Ferrari erupted in an explosion of cheers, the tension of the last few minutes breaking all at once into pure, unbridled joy.

"Charles Leclerc, you are the World Champion! Sei il campione del mondo!"

A loud roar came back on the radio, a roar that had never been heard from Charles. He had never sounded like this before, his voice raw with emotion, filled with a fierce sense of triumph that had been building up for years.

The Ferrari garage was a sea of red, every mechanic, every engineer, every member pouring out to join the celebration. They danced and hugged. The noise in the garage was deafening; cheers, applause, and the sound of engineers and mechanics clapping each other on the back. It was chaos, but it was the kind of chaos every single one of them had been dreaming of since the start of the season.

The impossible had been done.

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @crashingwavesofeuphoria @maryvibess @ironmaiden1313 @sltwins @heart-trees @npcmia @llando4norris

[italian-lit-tournament]

Evangelina Alciati - The reading - 1905 private collection

Italian 🔥Lit(erature) Tournament Bookclub - first edition

After the Commedia dell'Arte micro-tournament ended and the start of the Beef Edition - that will be postponed just one week more, to reach enough options for a complete poll, it's time to present a long term project that I started to think about since this January: the ILT bookclub, a daily, weekly or monthly reading challenge, on the model of Dracula Daily.

My personal aim with the Italian Literature Tournament, since its start a year ago, is to "promote" certain italian authors that maybe outside Italy, or in a literature school program, aren't very famous; I already started it two years ago with Pinocchio Weekly and meanwhile I want to relaunch it now as a parallel project, at the same time I'm thinking to try with other Italian novels, as long as are all public domain.

I've already written a draft list (it's proposed at the end of this post, under the cut) but at the same time I want to engage all of you to the choice of the first novel, so guess what I opened another google fom so all of you can send to me your ideas, yaaay. When a certain quota of names will be reached, I'll open a poll here and we'll decide together the first title to our bookclub. In any case, check carefully the list below if the title that you have in mind is already present.

The novel that you want to propose must follow these criteria:

must be in the public domain - and digitalized: I want to use substack so anyone will have the chapter easily to read in its email address and follow its preferred reading pace;

translated in english - and of course the translation have to be like the point one: it depends actually (check point 3). The English translation will be an easy point for anyone who can't read italian, so must be out of coyright and already digitalized. The copyright for translations according US law usually is of 70 years after the death of the translator - in any case the terms are always written at the start of the book copy/index card on the editor website;

the second point fall if we all decide to read in Italian - in this case only the original work have to be public domain: non Italian speakers don't worry, I will search all the possible translations in english/other languaes and will link the other options beside the challenge post, so if anyone want to read it translated borrowing it from the library or in different terms - it could be possible!

In the end: how to understand if a book is public domain? Easy: you can search it in various websites that collect and digitalized literary works, like Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive (attention: not all the works present there are open access, some are still under copyright but still present because Internet Archive makes them bookable like a virtual library for the subscribers), Wikisource, Google Books Advanced search (check "only complete visualization/solo visualizzazione completa" or use the publishing time option at the end). You can just search the translated version of the novel on amazon/google books/the press page and find when it was translated, in the colophon is written if it's still under copyright or you can calculate youself if it expired. Other useful links: wikipedia category for all the recent public domain entries.

A draft list of titles that I first thought under the cut

Public domain both in italian and english:

Malombra by Antonio Fogazzaro: One of the few gothic novel from italian literature, which inspired four movies (a silent film in 1917, a 1942 one that is aviable on Raiplay, a 1974 one that's actually a TV movie also this aviable on Raiplay, a 1984 one that's actually a porno).

The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni: A classic of italian literature with various movie, theatre and musical transpositions.

The Decameron By Giovanni Boccaccio: same as above.

The conquest of Rome by Matilde Serao: Francesco Sangiorgio is a newly elected deputy from a small province in Souther Italy. As he travels to Rome, he start to feel the weight of ambition, personal history, and the vibrant life of the city. The story unfolds against the backdrop of political and social dynamics of the time.

Fantasy by Matilde Serao: The novel is about the absolute but unhealthy friendship between the two female protagonists in the Naples at the end of the 19th century.

The Land of Cockayne by Matilde Serao: It explores the lives of various characters from the lower social strata of Naples, particularly focusing on their aspirations and struggles, centered around themes of fortune and despair, often represented through the lottery.

After the divorce by Grazia Deledda: Murder, catholic guilt, innocent people in jail, true love vs fail marriages, forbidden and ultimately destructive affairs!

Nostalgia by Grazia Deledda: Regina is a a young bride who has recently moved from her home in Sardinia to Rome with her husband Antonio. The novel explores the stark differences between her expectations and the reality of life in an unfamiliar environment, and Regina's struggle with homesickness and her journey of self-discovery amidst the vibrant yet isolating backdrop of Rome.

The house by the medlar tree (I Malavoglia) by Giovanni Verga: it follows the failing fortunes of the Malavoglia, a family of fisherfolk who are living through a period of political change following the country's annexation to Italy.

The late Mattia Pascal by Luigi Pirandello: a novel that explores the complex themes of identity and existential crisis through its protagonist, Mattia Pascal. After escaping an unhappy marriage to Romilda Pescatore, Mattia finds himself in Monte Carlo, where he unexpectedly wins at gambling.

Heart by Edmondo De Amicis: a children's novel which was the best known work from its era. Set during the Italian unification, and includes several patriotic themes and has been remade in various transpositions, including an anime.

The Devourers by Annie Vivanti: the author was italo-british and wrote this novel first in English then she translated in Italian. The book explores themes of family, loss, and the complexities of relationships through the lens of Edith Avory and her new family dynamics following the arrival of her half-sister Valeria and Valeria's baby. #familydrama #toxicmotherhood #motherdaughterism.

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi: if anyone is interested click here.

Public domain in italian but not in english (translation exists but still under copyright):

Any novel from Emilio Salgari

Fosca by Igino Ugo Tarchetti: another of the few gothic novel from italian literature, there is a translation by Lawrence Venuti as Passion: A Novel. Is the basis behind an Ettore Scola movie and an awarded Broadway musical.

Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo: translation by Penguin Classics.

The Viceroys by Federico de Roberto: translated by Archibald Colquhoun, published by Verso Books (they often do discount if interested).

The Priest's Hat by Emilio de Marchi: translated by Steve Eaton & Cinzia Russi for Italica Press.

The Beautiful Summer by Cesare Pavese: translated by Elizabeth Strout for Penguin Classics.

[rita-rae-siller]

Into the Abyss

(Please, feel free to listen to the song before, after, or during reading) TW: Suicidal ideation, talks of suicide

Alura stared down at the ground far below the roof she stood on. The courtyard of the city’s keep was littered with dead from both sides. Many were White Cloak soldiers. Warriors that trusted her with their lives, worshipped the ground she walked on, gave their lives to defend and uphold her. What was the point of all this? How many more would she have to bury before the killing ended? Before her part was played, and her price paid? 

“It’s a long way down,” Eyre’s voice whispered in her ear. Her presence felt like a cold pressure on her back and a ghostly hand on her shoulder.

“Not long enough,” Alura replied. It was only six stories high. She’d be lucky if she died on impact. “Is it time, yet?”

“Not today. Do you truly wish for oblivion that badly, Golden One?” Out of the corner of her eye, Alura could see the goddess’ spectral form. She looked like the heavens on a new moon. A faceless, formless mass of pure darkness, whose shape changed randomly between animals and humans alike. 

“I want peace. I want an end to the madness. Is that so terrible?” Alura asked. 

“Which one? The ideal, or your means of achieving it?” Eyre asked in return.

“What difference does it make in the end?” Alura shrugged helplessly. She was being pulled in so many different directions, hanging on by a thread which was only moments from snapping. When would her own desires fit into the equation? What remained of her own life to claim for herself?

“Look at where Grandmother Shadow has led you; to ruin and misery, as she has with countless mortals before you.” Itep chimed in with his wicked laughter. His voice brought the smell of brimstone, death and rot with it. “You will go down a tyrant and a murderer no matter what you do. Why not simply end it here, on your own terms?”

“The Undying wants you to die for nothing. The root of his evil will continue to fester unchecked in Eredahl. Until Gora is freed, you will never be free, even in death,” Eyre said.

“His madness will bleed into you and like all the others that have come before, you will be consumed by him. Do you think your death will break the cycle? That some other warrior will not come along and take your place, as has happened for the last thousand years of imperial history? All this work will be for nothing. Their deaths will be for nothing. You will die for nothing.” Itep countered. “Gora does not care about you, and you cannot save him from himself. I have tried for millenia.”

“What happens next doesn’t concern me,” Alura said, unsure which god that was truly aimed at. Her race was run. Matilde had outplayed her at every turn. There would be no returning to Eredahl. The White Cloaks had lost over half of their numbers and were now powerless against Itep’s Red Legion. Morvaara refused to even acknowledge the work she had done for them. She was a dead woman walking no matter what she did.

“The world you leave behind for your little boy doesn’t concern you? What kind of mother are you to not want a better world for her child?” Eyre scorned.

“This isn’t about him,” Alura replied. Achaedon was safe now. She’d done her part.

“No, it has always been about you. Your pain. Your suffering. As though the entire world does not suffer under the crushing weight of your empire’s ceaseless hunger that you have fed violently for years. Just like every Shepherd before you, you are violence and murder incarnate.” There was a mocking sting to Itep’s words. “You are pathetic. Weak. A wicked little girl, full of greed and blind ambition. How many thousands have you killed to get to this moment? And only now does the sight of their blood horrify you? You are Gora’s through and through.”

Alura closed her eyes.  Not a single thing he said was a lie. In her youth, she was proud to serve, took awe in the privilege that was her life. The first woman in imperial history to take the title of Rahmut, to bear Gora’s holy tahlivora. For so long, she viewed battle as a game. Proving her might was a sacred sport. Why should she get to walk freely out of the hells just for tearing down what she helped to build? 

“Still thinking about jumping, hmm?” Eyre asked. “It is a shame, really. You showed such promise.” When Alura did not reply, she continued. “And my poor Mara. What will I tell her of your end? That you have been planning this blaze of suicidal glory from the very beginning? I don’t think she would be very happy.”

There was an ache so deep in Alura’s chest, it felt as though her very ribs were breaking. “One day she will understand.”

“She loves you.”

“I know.” Holding back the tears, Alura prepared to take the last step off the edge. 

“Look upon the setting sun,” Itep told her. “Why not see your lord’s brilliant glory one last time before you spit in his eye and spurn his gifts?”

Alura opened one eye as the sun broke through the burning haze of the city. It was nearly touching the horizon. Something stirred in her chest as she opened her other eye. Her tahli began to glow faintly, and a fire began to build in her belly, warm and comforting. The wood beneath her feet began to smoke and sizzle before bursting into white flames. 

“Gora has not given up, Child. Inside of you, he rages on,” Eyre’s voice whispered in her ear. “Embrace him, and free yourselves.”

“Just jump and end this foolishness. Gora is not worth saving. Why not save what is left of your soul?” Itep hissed. 

Alura was hesitant at first. The last two connections had gone wrong. Gora was wild, his fury untamed. It swallowed her whole in its endlessness. But now, in a city surrounded only by enemies, there seemed little to lose in the situation. What better place to let him take a swing at the forces of his oppressor? They could burn down Itep’s holy city together.

She spread her arms to embrace the setting sun as she teetered on the ledge. Somewhere in the distance, Red Legion war horns called for a retreat, and White Cloaks sounded the beginning of an offensive push. 

They will all burn,  Gora told her as she closed her eyes. The Undying forgets that We are the Sun, not just War. Let them taste of our divine fire. Remind the world that the Sun cannot be chained forever.

Every night we fall, and every day we rise anew, Alura replied.

And she jumped.

taglist (Ask to be added or removed): @gabeorelse

[ark-inkweaving]

hello can u explain ur characters to me, gimme the highlights, or do u have an intro post abt them somewhere maybe? i need to choose a favourite asdasdasd

heya, happy to see you again! this is going to be a long post, so imma put it under a cut lmao

rn i don't have full intros for the characters of In Destiny We Trust (Not) so here's a short intro:

Zeno is the main character. he comes from a family of spirit hunters (also known as Exorcists) and has been fighting "spirits" for close to 6 years by now (he's 18)

Zeno has an older sister, Diana, whom he's very close to. she's been fighting spirits for 8 years now and is the de-facto leader of their exorcist team

other people on the team are Stefano (Diana's boyfriend), Matilde (Stefano's sister), Andrea (the kid of Stefano's boss, friends with Zeno), Sara (Diana's friend from university) and through a failed attempt to get Gaia (Diana's childhood best friend) on the team they got her boyfriend Elia

technically Zeno and Diana's grandfather and mother are part of the team but they're assholes and don't count

on the opposite side — childhood best friend of Zeno, Diana and Gaia and love interest for Zeno — there's Ike. and Ike is a junior member of an international organization known as the Harbingers of the Otherside, whose goal is to study magic and defend the "spirits"

(they're not actually spirits but an original type of magical creature that is a mix of a personified concept and jjk's curses)

alongside Ike, his family (mum: Mia, stepdad: Guido, younger sibling: Ari, younger twin sisters: Sefi and Misa, plus too many cousins and uncles) are also Harbingers. save for the twins tho, they're, like, five

i do, on the other hand, have full character intros for Revolve, i literally hit 90% of them just last thursday. there's a masterlist at the bottom of the wip intro or you can find them in the revolve character files tag. however, have a summary of the ones that pop up most often

Aira is a university student on Earth. she is not human tho, and she has been cut off from magical culture as well as her own mana, and that's making her phisically ill. she used to have a twin brother, but he died 12 years ago in an accident she doesn't remember the details of

her best friend is Ele, who is perfectly human but has the brain for theory-based magic, such as artificery and runology

Ele's partner is Beriel, a genderfluid not-really-a-shapeshifter who really really wishes the authorities were more trustworthy (but alas...)

Aleji is Aira and her brother's childhood friend who disappeared 13 years ago. Aira recently met them in the nearby magical colony. they are constantly overworked because they own the studio where they work as a tattoo artist to cover up their actual job as a researcher. they are also engaged to Luz

Dani is Aleji's pseudo-brother and Luz's best friend. owner of the collective braincell 80% of the time but comes off as prissy most too often. Aira and him hated each other at first sight and now refuse to admit they're friends

i won't say much about Luz because i'm trying to keep her a plot twist, but she does have a character tag that is filled with clues

Syphe is my favorite criminal <3 he's a mix of an informant and a vigilante trying to pretend he doesn't have abandonment issues nor a soft spot for his team. he's also under a mana lock and way more ill than Aira since he lives in an area with very little ambient mana

Dajsper is Syphe's pseudo-sibling. xe's the kid of the CEO of an IT security company, and xe's a technomancer and hacker. not the ethical kind

Dajsper is both married to Irami and in a relationship with Tumaril, who is in turn married (in secret) to Ideli. and Ideli is the imperial princess of where they live and Irami's younger sister. Irami and Ideli are perfectly aware of this, very okay with it and joke about it constantly

in the team there's also sometimes Meiviza, who is trying very very hard to get the fuck away from her mother and join the others

and lastly the idiot polycule

Lukiat is the Xire of Esluxia (leader of fantasy EU) and for all that he is wise and a good leader he is also blind as shit, both physically and emotionally

Niev is one of Lukiat's personal guards, but he's also a bounty hunter in the criminal underground of Esluxia. he's a really good dad to his adoptive son tho

and Reyenn is Niev's old we-never-got-to-date who is now in a really toxic "relationship" with his boss to look for evidence that the man is corrupt and expose him

that should be the majority of them, methinks. have fun perusing the tags if you'd like!

[lordheis]

hi, all! i realized that as long as I've owned this blog, I've actually never made a singular, cohesive post explaining all of my headcanons regarding karl's biological family and their history. I've touched on this briefly through discussion and ask memes -- but for reference, and for other verses, I wanted to make THE POST talking about them as I have ..... many thoughts. lol. i will emphasize again that this is all completely my own personal headcanons that came to be after some daydreaming and browsing the RE wiki pages. more will be below the cut!

i’ll begin this by saying that the main inspiration for all of these headcanons are the very early concept art drafts you can find on Heisenberg’s wiki page. in the early rendition, Heisenberg Factory was supposed to be a series of “ mini bosses, “ featuring the entire Heisenberg family line. this means, in the first draft — the factory was inhabited by Heisenberg, his brother, his mother, and his father. much of the overall aesthetic stayed the same, but there used to be significantly more people all occupying the factory together. it's interesting to think about how busy it used to be before miranda's influence. here's the concept pieces:

there is sooo much that fascinates me in these. heisenberg's mother was obviously depicted as either sick, immobile, or perhaps already deceased -- playing heavily into the whole "modern prometheus" characterizations we see in heisenberg's work. heisenberg's ending boss fight with the large, motorized transformation was originally drafted to belong to his dad (image 2.) what’s also noteworthy in these concept pieces is that Heisenberg is a twin!!!! I, for one, fell in love with this concept, so I applied it to my karl with literally no hesitation. lol. with all of that out of the way, I'll go ahead and write out my own interpretations: . . . Karl's father was a man by the name of Lord Alwin Barduwulf Von Heisenberg. He is many things. He is a businessman, a mechanical engineer, a tradesman, a soldier. He is highly intelligent and well-regarded in his society for his practical skills. He resides in Munich, Germany, where he establishes his wealth and desires to have a family after serving in the military during his twenties. The Heisenbergs have been recognized as a family of hard-working, middle-class people who build strong foundations. The country is overswept with wartime tension, and Alwin recognizes the risks of remaining in Germany during severe economic depression. He refocuses his goals on relocating his assets and acquiring new land. While still in Munich, he marries a woman-- Lady Matilde Meier Heisenberg. A year after the marriage, 1938, she gives birth to fraternal twins ; both boys, named Karl and Alfons. When Karl and Alfons were around 5 years old, the Heisenbergs relocate to a remote mountain village in Romania. Lord Alwin purchases land for very cheap and commissions a new estate to be built there -- thus leading to the full construction of Factory Heisenberg. It is both a business and a home to the family, allowing Alwin to stay close by as he works. The Factory is a powerhouse for the village ; providing new power grids, mechanical production, metalsmithing, building houses, and serving significant improvement to the economy. A local figurehead takes notice of this, and rather quickly, an alliance is established between the Heisenbergs and the Village overseer, Miranda.

It is around this time that Matilde's health begins a steady decline. Routine visits to House Moreau, the Village physicians, serve little purpose as their medicine is experimental and rudimentary. She is diagnosed with brain tumors, and little can be done to prevent the damage. Each month, she grows more unresponsive. The twin boys are unable to cope with the loss of their mother, and both are struggling to recognise her in her decline. Lord Alwin is struck with a vicious grief and begins to dabble in medicine and surgical study as a means to cope. He is fueled only by the belief that if he studies hard enough, he will be able to cure her. He is neglectful, if not outright aggressive, towards his own sons. Matile dies in the year 1948, when Karl was 10.

The remaining years Karl has with his family are strained and difficult to recall. Nothing was ever the same after the death of his mother. His relationship with his father was tense and strictly professional. Karl and Alfons leaned heavily on each other for emotional companionship. While Karl was far more inclined to follow in his father's footsteps and take over the factory as he grew, Alfons drifted in the opposite direction -- seemingly lost after his mother's passing, and despondent towards their home life. Alfons was far more of a "creative," and desired much that the village simply could not give him. Discussion between Miranda and Lord Alwin had been ongoing during these times. Miranda herself had been present at Matilde's funeral. What no one could have anticipated was the sabotage that would occur sometime in 1950, when Karl was only twelve years old. It is at this time that Miranda decides Karl Heisenberg is the next choice for her experimentation with the Cadou, in attempt to create the perfect vessel for Eva. Of course, she was well aware of the fact that Lord Alwin would not consent to such experimentation, especially given his own sensitivity to medical traumas and his family. Miranda makes a difficult, deemed necessary, decision. In the early morning, the living quarters of the Factory are aggressively invaded by a horde of lycans under Miranda's manipulation. The lycans find Lord Alwin and Alfons, and bring them back to Miranda's laboratories. There, they are both held and questioned about Karl, before being killed, dismembered, and disposed of. It is framed as an accidental attack from wild animals. Karl is approached by Miranda mere hours after their deaths, where she takes him under her wing as her own ward. Karl is twelve years old. Somewhere in his heart, Karl knows better. He knows this was not a mere coincidence. He is experimented on with the Cadou, and that leads us to the Karl Heisenberg we know now. :)

OKAYYY THERE YOU HAVE IT. jeez it feels good to get this all out on paper where I can actually read and reference it. hope this was an agonizing read for you all LOL!!!! like I said I have many many many thoughts about this family and I love to include them in other aus / verses where deemed appropriate. none of this even matters really I just hope it's able to shed some light on my interpretation of karl's character. :) tysm for reading if you made it all the way down here! bye bye

[lashysdomain]

@mageofspacemultiverse and @memurfevur 's Oc Name ARG Data

for those who AREN'T me who've spent the last 4 days and almost every waking and sleeping hour thinking about this, here's what we have so far + puzzles i've not yet been able to solve

characters: [name] - (blog they're at)

arceel - (memurfevur)

how we found out about ynygme (from here on referred to as E). ex moirail, used to be known as Balerion. this is the name that E knows him by.

Ynygme - (mageofspacemultiverse)

We have found E's name. it's recommended not to say it, just in case. they're currently in hiding while we find a tether and figure out how to decode the spell we need to bring them home.

the subjugate video

one of E's captors. we've been told to hide from them, so DNI. please. i know, villian, but dni. summoned by us guessing S

the warden video (loud)

another of e's captors, 110% fucked up on this one. i didn't notice, both of these are my fault.

current puzzle objective is solving the spell to get back to E and helping find any parts of their body to create their tether

extra characters and unsolved puzzles/extra info under the cut

watch'r - (memurfevur)

bound to arceel, knows what's going on to some degree, will take gossip as a bribe for clues, unsure what he'll give. that's my bestie

For now we're good on clues, but we might need more soon?

matild kirada - (memurfevur)

gilf. who said that mentioned in the poem posts image, likely whos help we need to find e's body

unsolved puzzles

i'm currently still trying to solve these, but i'm at my wits end in a way

possible code could be from the polls, setting the positions of letters in another key the letters and their resulting poll result numbers are: e2 r4 p5 i6 c6 h3 (the letters spell cipher. kilant you bitch.)

p is interesting, and has the options of 20 5 20 8 5 18 which when put into an alphanumeric substitution cipher gives us "tether" could be nothing but that seems purposeful? every other poll has just 123...

the pastebin clues, found from the description of the subjugate video.

these are settings for the enigma machine. what we put into it probably hasn't been sent out yet, it's also a clue about E's first name more than likely.

as dr el fj ky mt ob qx uz wh I 10 1 III 17 2 VII 6 4

A grandpre grid from the watch'r drabble and following judgements roman numerals gives us a likely second set of plugboard settings for the enigma machine.

the rest of the settings were found on a past post leading to a soundcloud link

ap cm dv gq iy ne rj sw uf zk V 4 6 IV 6 2 VIII 16 6

from the tags of the last ask + settings for another machine from the post where E told us about their past with balerion. it's unclear if the setting for the third rotor is 22 1 or 2 21

RC EY BF SG JM ID LQ KZ TU HO V 18 3 VI 1 5 III 2 2 1

from a poll with some sort of poem? poem might not actually be important, but the poll post is here

vuypo xu klt syet ya g rukobq crmgp fpkose kkmexf wkzoec knm bwbx qgzkem

Jcif xgs aphwvx rxdgdk jc boyf Irmm g inbfjh b qrqqevn onmzf Mcuvh omeccn diegypgp

from E's latest ask and pulled from the captions of the Warden video. if this is the spell, we're missing the last third piece still

i believe it might be a beaufort vigenere cipher, but we don't have it's key. could also need to be spit through specific enigma machine settings. there are far too many for me to brute force, so we'll just have to wait.

the words that bring them together are likely just the spell, not anything super complex (well more so than finding it all)

current state of the reset conspiracy board

[animation-is-my-jam]

Hey!! I just read through you're blog and I noticed youre Tobecky kids! I wondered about them! Why did you choose those names for them? and how they were received by both Becky and Tobey?

Hello! And Thank you for the ask. (^_^)v

Ngl, I do get very excited about questions regarding any fankids from future AU since they have been the biggest fixation I have regarding my AU. And of course, plus it's Tobecky.

For the names, for context of anyone who doesn't know my Tobecky fankids bc maybe its been a while, it goes:

-Tori (Anactoria) [The oldest]

-Luis [middle child]

-Matilda [youngest]

(They're on my banner now. The easiest way to tell them apart is by their obvious color coordination) (Tori is in purples, Luis dark magenta/crimson, Matilda aquamarine/green-blues)

But yeah, the names!

I came up with their names about in 2018. Yeah, the same year I got fixated on the Wordgirl fandom. At first, I just had the concept of future AU only going from when Becky and the gang went to college, but I got worms in my head casting a vision of a next generation wordgirl story and of course the idea of domestic older Tobecky shenanigans with kids. And I have been sick ever since...my brain it has not recovered.

At first, I only designed one kid, Tori. Which was initially short for Victory since it fits her character, but then I remembered like a dumbass that there is literally a character named Victoria. And I tried to change it in lore that no....um her full name is actually something embarrassingly unique like Anactoria (based on one of Sapphos poems, because local literature nerd Becky might name her daughter that) so she shortens it to Tori. Where then some ppl mistake that she was named after family friend Victoria, and that's the gag for her name. She's named after a poem subject and real funny that it's from Sappho considering who Tori is lmao, but also fits some of her Greek aesthetics.

Luis. Now Luis was a strange one. As I said, I only intended at first for Becky and Tobey in future AU to have one kid, and I only focused on her character. Eventually (aka like 5 months later), I wanted to design other tobecky fankids since the family didn't feel complete for me just yet. So I thought of a little brother, like a TJ to a Becky. But I wanted a baby in there too, so um, middle child Luis was forced to be/lh. But you can tell with some of his characterization and how the family treats him. He was supposed to be the youngest or at least act like the youngest, but nope, he's the middle kid, but he is the most spoiled. His name when I designed him was Lewis, as both references to the protagonist of Meet the Robinsons and to Lewis Carrol of "Alice and Wonderland" (for another literature reference and cause his aesthetic is fairytales). However, I realized that I at least wanted one kid of their's to have a more Hispanic sounding name since y'know I can't lose the culture here, just because Becky married a Brit. So I just had his name and pronunciation easily changed to Luis! (Not said like Lewis or Louise).

Matilda is funny because her name has not changed at all. From her creation, I always imagined her as the youngest and mysteriously smartest of the family. Where Tori and Luis would be messes, she's the one who apparently has it together. She's the Dexter of the family, born a genius, and acts above her age, like a little scientist. I also made it that she's the one with the unique ability of telekinesis and eventually other psychic powers. And for that, she was named after another iconic smart little girl with such abilities. Yep, her name is refence to Matilda from the book and movie (and ig musical too) (that also counts as a literature refence, Becky was 2 for 2 in the naming, too bad Luis couldn't make it 3 lol). She's also nicknamed Matilde, Matty, and Tilly by her siblings and friends.

As for how Tobey and Becky reacted to each of them...hmm while I could just say that they just appeared one day because that's the funniest answer but not canon. I'll just say vaugley how they reacted to them knowing about a kid/how the kids were when they arrived.

All three are ages apart, mainly Tori, since she wasn't intended to have siblings, and I first had her be 12 when Luis came home, but I retconned that a year ago. Where she was 7. The timeline of the McCallister-Botsford family is kinda all over the place, but I'll make it more streamlined one day. (Grrr, I'm now mad at "Stars that shine in your eyes is what matters" because it implies that Luis isn't born yet when now he should be)

So first things first. Tori. Tobey and Becky, after two years of marriage, wanted a kid. And even though, in retrospect, they probably should have waited a bit, they still had their energetic gremlin. They were prepared, excited, and, of course, nervous. And even with the planning they've done, they still didn't anticipate how much of a handful their first would be. Tori was a chaotic little thing, her half Lexiconian abilities definitely causing headaches. There was also her headstrong personality, which made playtime with her an exercise. Tobey and Becky were really preoccupied with her and their own adjectives that there's even a plot line about how they haven't been romantic in years and realize it one day.

When Tori was 7 and she started to become quickly independent, like her mom was at that age (maybe it's a Lexiconian thing), it gave Becky and Tobey time to think about their family more and how it will be smooth sailing from here with Tori getting older...Until Luis happened. He was a surprise, and unlike Tori, he would be a handful too, but in a different way. Tori never cried as much or fussed when she was a baby. The tiredness of taking care of her was all her bountiful energy. However, Luis was clingy, reactive, and sensitive. He was a heavy crier, and it wouldn't go well if they didn't read him a bedtime story. He acted more typical of a human baby, then his sister (and later other sister). He liked to be picked up or carried. Usually, he would also cling to people like some sort of koala.

4 years after Luis was Matilda. She was another surprise. The thing with Matilda is that as a baby, she was already pretty gifted, both in her mind and powers (which were one). Matilda was born with gradual paraplegia. She was given a few chances to learn to crawl and walk, but by age 3, she did have to use a wheelchair. She had other health problems by her birth, but her and the rest of the family learned to adapt. Matilda and Luis formed a bond since they were only 4 years apart versus Tori, who was almost a decade ahead of them. Surprising since Luis would easily get jealous of anyone stealing their parents' time, but he didn't mind being a big brother now and protective of his sister.

[angellayercake]

Daddy Secondo ask gameeeee tell me more

Something special for you seeing as most of this was your idea! And i think this was the thing we screamed about the most (other than the staff 😏)

He blinked, suddenly awake and needing a moment to get his bearings. As his surroundings started to make sense he could feel her in the bed behind him, curled comfortingly against his back. That was not what woke him though he realises as he feels the tapping again at his calf.

'Papa?' Her voice is so quiet he can barely hear her but when he looks down the bed she is there, hair pillow mussed and standing on end and her blanket clutched in her arms. Her eyes are wide and scared, a look he was unfortunately getting used to but whatever it was that sent her here must have been worse than her fear of him.

'Matilde, what are you doing out of bed?' His voice came out sterner than he would have liked. His recent sleep only exacerbating his usually gruff voice. She flinches back and his sleep fogged brain scrambles to think of a way to reassure her.

'Papa I had a bad dream,' she sobs into her blanket and he tries to search back through his memory to his own childhood, not blessed with as caring a nanny as Matilde. He and Terzo, in their cold nursery, curled around each other trying to soothe each others fears. He knows for certain he doesn't want that for her. Sitting up, he looks to the sleeping figure behind him but she has barely stired. Part of him wants to wake her, she would know exactly what to do, but she is sleeping so peacefully he is loathe to disturb her and he can do this now. Be there for his daughter when she needs him.

'Can I stay with you and Bambi?' He nods dumbly not knowing exactly what to say and worried he would scare her further. When he reaches out to her she takes his hand hesitantly, as though she can hardly believe he is willing to help her. She climbs up on to the bed and he settles her in between them hoping the close presence of her nanny, even if asleep will offset any discomfort he brings her. But as he settles back down into the bed it is not her nanny she gravitates towards.

Looking at him shyly she lays her comfort blanket across his torso before snuggling into his chest. Her small head laying just over his heart and he can feel the moment she finally relaxes. He freezes entirely unprepared for this sequence of events, feeling over large and useless as his little girl takes comfort in his presence. On autopilot he wraps her in his arms one hand stroking her soft curls and the other holding her securely as if one movement would ruin the bubble of safety they have created.

'Thank you, Papa,' she whispers sleepily and he has to swallow around the lump forming on his throat. It hits him then all these moments he must have missed out on in her short life. His selfish reasons for keeping away pale in comparison to what he now realises he has done, leaving her scared and alone on countless nights exactly as his father did to him and his brothers. The only difference for her was the incredible women that she had as her nanny.

He looks over to her only to see she had awoken. Her soft, kind eyes looking over them and it's only then that the first tears begin to spill.

I made myself cry writing this by the way 😭😭😭

[corcordium1983]

Not to be sappy on main... but I'm going to be incredibly sappy on main. Six years ago I was Not Doing Well™ and I found an escape in books and films, and I fell in love with a story about two boys somewhere in Italy in the mid-eighties. I recently reread the book and realised it doesn't quite resonate with me anymore, but that's OK, because it gave me one of the most precious and treasured things in my life: my friendship with @timobeechalamet. Matilde, who always makes me laugh and, bless her, has to listen to basically every waking thought that goes through my head. Matilde, who never judges me when I admit I'm struggling with something, and who is always willing to lend an ear if I need to vent. Matilde, who has introduced me to so many great artists, so many good books and films, which has in turn enriched my life infinitely. Matilde, who despite adversity is doing amazing things and will go on to do even more amazing things, and I will be so happy to see it. Matilde, who despite living on opposite ends of the continent, never lets the distance come between us (perks of being introverts I guess). Matilde, who I literally could not picture my life without. If my calculations are correct, we met IRL for the first time exactly 6 years ago to this date, when we went to wave Elio and Oliver goodbye at the Prince Charles Cinema in London. I've been pondering lately how on earth it's only been six years, when it feels like you've been in my life forever, so to honour the occasion I came out of poetry writing retirement to write you a little poem. I don't say it enough, but I love you. 🖤 For Matilde

What does it mean - Before I knew you? I have always known you My essence always reaching for yours Through the ether

I observed our elliptical orbits Slowly, then surely, congrue In times of twilight I could sense Your silhouette whispering with the promise Of a hand to hold

Time folds in on itself I watch your sun-dappled childhood Through a lens of knowing That only comes with age

Your memories were gifted to me retroactively I cherish them like I do my own And you know my mother Though you never got to meet her

Flicking through the photo album Of pictures from my childhood I see the sepia-hued ghost Of future-you, readying to take form I hope I haunt your pictures, too

For now, we can rest in the comfort Of finding someone  Whose trajectory matches your own When the universe does not always comprehend Your singular, brilliant, spark

I want to see you into old age With memories shared - not just borrowed My whispered secrets and shouted truths All of them, I want to give to you

So don’t you say “Before I knew you” I was always waiting for you You were always already here

Thank you, for holding my hand

[arayamahidol]

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i hadn't rped since 2017 and during the pandemic around dec 2020/jan 2021 i was sooooo bored since all my work turned remote so i went through the "royal rp" tag and hshq was the only rp other than like one other in the tag at the time. i don't remember any specific plotlines, i just remember being thrown into the nye event on the yacht or something? and that's when hijacking was first introduced iirc. and now i'm trying to buy a house and that makes me want to vomit!

which characters have you written over the years ?

haera, san, io, araya, meixu, okeyo and inna

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

i think meixu's life in general. i thought she would have found someone and gotten the family she wanted and the happy ending ( w a few struggles ofc ) but she ended up alone and more jaded about life! something more comedic would probably be when araya and ireti got tattoos during the monaco event and she thought her tattoo said ja rule instead of jaurel. and def lawnchair gate.

what about other people's plotlines ?

when matilde pushed arnauld into the pool. the english plotline was supes fun to watch unfold.

who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

meixu because she's the most different from me personally. she deserved the most and the best, but always ate shit asjfhsadkf araya was the easiest to write. she had some good one liners. going to miss my flat assed baddie ♡

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

lawn chair or the lunch thread with the solets. evy, kit and i were in shambles about it. we still bring it up every now and then and idk why it's still just as funny to us as it was back then.

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i don't think so

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

probably meixu, she feels the most incomplete. i wish i could have wrote more on how jianguo's death affected her and how that changed her relationships. the other one would be auraya since i honestly did not think they'd last, but here they are, still sharing a single brain cell ♡ if the africa plot actually took off, that would have been fun.

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

when e and i were writing lawnchair gate, giggling nonstop beside each other. we tasked ourselves to a challenge where if i wrote a two word reply, she'd have to write a three word reply, and then my next reply would have to be four words ( you get the idea ). we would count how many words the other person wrote because we'd lose track and then mess up and have to count again. whenever there would be a red carpet event like the oscars or during fashion week, j and i would always play this game of who in hshq would wear it. it was fun. when kit and i spent an entire night trying to pronounce all the characters names and we'd attempt it at first and play the actual pronunciation after and die about how inaccurate we were. and ofc, throwing tomatoes at jo in the disc chat ♡

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

discord, but i'll probably not be that responsive sdfhsdf i'm not that great with keeping in touch with people 😭

what else would you like to say ?

i know i joined a bit later and haven't made as big of an impact as others, but i honestly thought i would last two weeks and end up becoming inactive because established groups are intimidating! i'm glad i gave it a chance, i met some really good friends on here that are beyond just "rp friends"! this feels like a high school graduation since this will be the last time we all see each other on the dash like this and it's very bittersweet! hshq was a great distraction for me during the pandemic and i feel honoured to have wrote alongside you all and i'm happy i was able to make so many gifs of so many different faceclaims. loved seeing you all use them.

[grantmentis]

U18 Women’s World Championship recap

A few different levels finished their tournament, so here’s a brief summary of the top division and division I!

Top division

Final standings

United States - gold

Czechia - silver

Canada - bronze

Finland

Sweden

Slovakia

Switzerland

Germany - regulated

Award winners:

Highlights:

For the second year in a row, a non-north American team was in the finals, and Czechia women capture silver for the first time !

Chloe Primerano, in her first U18 WWC tournament, broke the record for the most points by a defender in tournament history with 16 points. She had 8 goals and 8 assists

Adela Sapovalivova, in her last u18 tournament, finishes as the highest scoring Czech player in u18 women’s world championship history; after a tournament where she adored 9 goals and 2 assists she finishes with 16 goals and 10 assists in 26 u18 WWC games. Forward Tereza Plosová finishes just a point behind her with 25 points in 26 games.

17 year old Finnish player Emma Ekoluoma continues her big year, with 8 goals and 3 assists in 6 games.

To me, the best goaltender was between Aneta Senkova (czechia) and Livia Debranova (Slovakia.) Senkova had the fantastic game against Canada where she made 45 saves. She finished the tournament with a .913 save percentage in 297~ minutes played and 139 shots against. Debranova was also spectacular playing 281 minutes and a .915 save percentage with 201 shots against

Star player Nela Lopušanová (Slovakia) unfortunately saw less ice time than expected due to illness, according to her coach

Division 1A

Japan - promoted to the top division

Italy

Hungary

Austria

France

Denmark - relegated

Highlights:

17 year old Italian forward Matilde Fantin was the top scorer, with 7 goals and 4 assists in 5 games. She currently plays in the SWHL as well, and will be key for an Italian team gearing up for the Olympics in two years

15 year old (!!) forward Umeka Odaira of Japan had a clutch tournament, with a hat trick in the game that got them promoted to the top division. She finished with 9 points in 4 games. Defender and captain Kohane Sato also had a spectacular tournament, with 6 points in 5 games and stellar two way play. Goaltender Haruka kuromaru was also a difference maker, playing all 300 minutes of the tournaments, and ending with a .962 save percentage

Division I B

Norway - promoted

Spain

Poland

Australia

South Korea

Chinese Taipei / Taiwan - relegated

Highlights:

Claudia Castellanos, who recently moved to New Jersey from Spain to play with the ironbound in the 19U AAA league, took a huge step this year on top of already dominate international play and had 11 goals and 3 assists in five games

17 year old Norwegian forward Tilde Simensen played in her first U18 WWC and dominated as well, with 10 goals and 3 assists in five games. She has spent this past season training in Sweden in the division below the SDHL

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles Leclerc

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 32/45 Word count: 1848 Co writer: @mistrose23

Story summary: Matilde Jørgensen, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, faced the nerve-wracking challenge of reviving the team's fortunes and aiming for a championship. Leading a historic team as a 'newbie' and separating her work and personal opinions posed a significant challenge. The big question: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

WARNING: 18+ content, reading this chapter is your own responsibility if you're a minor

Chapter 30. I Came. I Saw. I Conquered.

As Matilde and Charles continued walking to the hotel, their steps fell into a comfortable rhythm as they returned. They ended up in a deep conversation about the race; not the technical part, but more like the fun part and the happenings around the race. It was so deep that they forgot to go their own way when arriving at the hotel. Matilde walked with Charles to his room while they exchanged words.

Charles opened the door of his room and stepped inside. Immediately, he spotted his wallet on the desk. He grabbed it and turned around. "Got it, let's- oh."

Matilde stood close to him, which he did not expect, and the same went for her. She could feel his breath on her skin, and goosebumps started to form on her arms. They were standing a few centimetres apart.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking into his eyes. I should go to my own room. I don't even know why I walked with you here."

"Yeah," Charles agreed, but he kept looking at her.

For the first time, he noticed a small mole under her eyebrow and a little scar on her chin. His eyes almost hypnotised Matilde. They were green, but she also saw specks of blue and gold. And his lips. His lips were so kissable. It took her back to last week, when they kissed in Amsterdam. They both hadn't mentioned it, and now she couldn't stop thinking about it. She wanted to feel his lips on hers again, she craved it. Matilde slowly placed her hands on his chest, and she moved them towards his neck. Charles followed her every move, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. When her arms were draped around his neck, she gently pulled him towards her, and she pressed her lips against his. Charles instantly grabbed her waist and tugged her closer to him.

Then, Matilde realised what she had done, and she shyly pulled herself back. She even took a step back and stared at Charles. She bit her lip and observed his face for a reaction; he was smiling. It was a similar smile to the one he showed this afternoon after the race.

Charles confidently stepped forward and placed both his hands on her cheeks. "Thank god," he whispered, putting his lips on hers again. He felt her smile against his lips, making him smile as well.

He took some steps back, pulling her with him towards his bed. When he felt the back of his knees hit the bed frame, he turned them around and gently lowered Matilde onto his bed. Charles crawled towards her and he kissed her again, this time he deepened the kiss when his hands found her cheeks again and he caressed her lovingly. Matilde responded by tangling her fingers into his hair and she pulled him even closer, she wanted to feel every single part of him. A moan escaped Charles' lips when she tugged on his hair, and they finally broke apart. His forehead rested against hers, and Matilde's chest heaved because she was trying to catch her breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her. He leaned back and tilted her chin with one hand so that she had to look at him.

"Yes," she answered determinedly. "Do you?"

He chuckled softly. 'Yes. God, yes."

She smiled, and she tugged at the hem of his shirt. "Take it off, please."

"Only because you asked so nicely," he said, and he attempted to wink.

He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off in one go. She couldn't take her eyes off his upper body. She slowly lifted her hands so that she could caress his toned pecs and abs. Charles smirked and he slid back, he was now standing in front of the bed. He kicked his shoes off and unbuckled his belt. Quickly, he stepped out of his pants and then his eyes were focused entirely on the woman lying in front of him. Matilde whimpered. Charles's eyes were hungry, and she longed for his touch. Plus, she felt overdressed. It felt like he was reading her mind, because he placed his hands on her ankles and he took her shoes off. Then, his hands moved to her calves and he gently grasped them. His hands slid up further along, and he pushed her dress up. When he reached her thighs, he squeezed the soft skin and kissed her inner thigh.

"Charles," she moaned; one hand was tugging his hair while the other clutched the duvet.

She felt him smile against her skin, and he continued kissing her. His head disappeared under the fabric of her dress, and he nibbled on her thigh while also making his way further up. She could feel this hot breath against her skin, and his nose nudged the damp fabric of her panties. Matilde whimpered, which gave Charles even more confidence. He savoured the sounds that she made, and he pressed a kiss just above her panties. His fingers skimmed over her thighs, brushing her sensitive skin with a touch so soft, it left her trembling. She arched her back slightly, her body responding immediately to his touch. He hooked his fingers around the waistband of her panties, and he slowly slid them down her legs. His head appeared again from under her dress, and their eyes locked.

The intensity in his gaze made her shiver.

He dipped his head again, and he pressed his lips to her bare skin. She moaned, and she pushed up her hips, desperately wanting more. He chuckled against her, and without a warning, he teased her with his tongue. She gasped and her fingers tightened in his hair, she pulled him closer, and Charles sucked her clitorus. He savoured every reaction he drew from her and his hands grabbed her thighs even more firmly, he held her steady as he moved with precision. Her breath hitched, her moans and gasps growing louder and desperate. She barely couldn't think. His tongue flicked in just the right way, sending wave after wave of pleasure crashing through her body, her legs were trembling.

"Charles," she gasped, her voice barely audible.

Just by hearing her whisper his name, she made him push even further. He shifted slightly, and with one hand, he trailed up her body, his fingers brushing over her waist and higher until he reached the zipper at the back of her dress. He pulled it down, undressing her slowly. Matilde lifted her arms to help him. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath. Charles pulled the dress off her body, leaving her in her bra. His eyes darkened with desire as he gave her an one over, he took in every curve and every dip of her skin.

"You're so beautiful," he muttered, his voice hoarse.

Before she could even respond, Charles towered over her again, and he kissed her. His kiss was hungry, and Matilde could only comply. She tasted herself on his lips, which only heightened her arousal. Matilde wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, pulling him closer, she needed to feel him against her. Charles groaned in her mouth as their bodies were pressed together, she felt his hard dick through his boxers. He moved his hips, grinding against her bare pussy and he teased her with enough pressure to make her squirm, but not enough to satisfy the burning desire between them. He stopped grinding, and gently pushed a finger inside of her. She gasped and moaned, urging him to continue. He happily obliged. He added a second finger in preparation, and the sound of her moans and groans was music to his ears.

"Tell me what you want," he told her. He was panting, and he could barely hold himself back.

"You," she answered, her voice soft but clear. "I want you, Charles."

Charles let out a chuckle, satisfied that she said that. "I want you too."

He quickly pushed down his underwear, his body was fully exposed to her. Then, he reached behind her, unclasping her bra, and he tossed it aside. For a moment, he paused. He wanted to remember this moment and he took in the sight of Matilde, she was trembling beneath him and looking up at him with lustful eyes.

"Condom," she remembered, and she looked at the nightstand. "I have one in my bag."

Charles nodded, reached into the purse and grabbed a condom. He opened the package and put it on. With a careful tenderness that made her heart swell, he positioned himself at her entrance. He kissed her softly, his forehead resting against hers as he pushed into her, slowly, allowing her to adjust to him. She gasped at the sensation, and her fingers dug into his shoulders.

"Matil..." He couldn't finish saying her name of the sensation he was feeling. "You feel so good," he breathed a few seconds later, and he stilled for a moment.

"Don't stop," she begged.

She tightened her grip around his waist again, urging him to move. He began to thrust, slow and deep, and his pace was steady, but each stroke ignited more desire. She arched her back, and he aimed for another angle, which resulted in more moans. She could feel the pressure building, her toes curled, and she knew she was close. Her nails scratched his back, and she lifted her hips to help him. Every movement, every sound and every touch was electric, their bodies were in perfect sync as they lost themselves in each other. Based on her breathing and her moans, he knew she was close to orgasm. He increased his pace, his thrusts becoming more urgent, more demanding. She felt the pressure building, and she was close to her release. She cried out his name, her body trembling beneath him.

"Charles, I'm close," she gasped.

"Come for me," he whispered in her ear, and he kissed her again.

She felt his hand move, and a second later, he massaged her clitoris to help her come. All of that together shattered her; her climax was washing over her in waves. Her body was clenching around him as she moaned his name. He was in awe, and it brought him over the edge. He moaned her name as well, and he placed her forehead against hers. Their bodies were shaking in the aftershocks of their shared pleasure. They stayed like that for some time, tangled in each other, breathing heavily and unevenly. Charles kissed her face softly before pulling out and rolling to the side. He grabbed her hand, and he grinned at her with a smile. She smiled as well, and she snuggled into his side. Her heart was still racing. Neither spoke for a while, and neither did they need to. The silence between them was comfortable, warm and pleasant.

Finally, Charles broke the silence, his voice a soft murmur. "I've wanted to do this for so long."

The corners of her mouth curled up. "Yeah. Me too."

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @crashingwavesofeuphoria @maryvibess @ironmaiden1313 @blodwyn4u @sltwins @heart-trees @npcmia @llando4norris

[italian-lit-tournament]

The participating authors for the Italian Lit(erature) Tournament: the general list WITH the new ADDITIONS + the link to the google form to add the last proposals

John William Waterhouse - The Decameron

The Italian 🔥Lit(erature) Tournament is approaching and new names have been submitted in addition to the ones from the original list! This post is only to remember that the google form will remail open for a while to add the last proposals, plus other few details 👇

You can find the first part of the rules here and link to the survey to add new names here!

Under the cut you'll find the usual list but with the addition of the names from the survey so far, all in italics. Other names that have been submitted but already present on the first list remain in a regular font.

There are 13 new names, of the 18 submitted (5 of them already present as written above).

Dante Alighieri

Sibilla Aleramo

Vittorio Alfieri

Cecco Angiolieri

Pietro Aretino

Ludovico Ariosto

Cletto Arrighi

Matteo Bandello

Anna Banti

Giambattista Basile

Giorgio Bassani

Maria Bellonci

Pietro Bembo

Matteo Maria Boiardo

Giovanni Boccaccio

Giordano Bruno

Dino Buzzati

Italo Calvino

Luigi Capuana

Andrea Camilleri

Giosuè Carducci

Guido Cavalcanti

Fausta Cialente

Carlo Collodi

Vittoria Colonna

Gabriele D'Annunzio

Giacomo da Lentini

Tullia d'Aragona

Alba de Céspedes

Cielo (Ciullo) d'Alcamo

Jacopone da Todi

Federico de Roberto

Edoardo De Filippo

Antonio Fogazzaro

Grazia Deledda

Umberto Eco

Beppe Fenoglio

Dario Fo

Marsilio Ficino

Ennio Flaiano

Ugo Foscolo

Fruttero & Lucentini

Veronica Franco

Carlo Emilio Gadda

Natalia Ginzburg

Carlo Goldoni

Guido Gozzano

Carlo Gozzi

Amelia Guglielmetti

Francesco Guicciardini

Tommaso Landolfi

Giacomo Leopardi

Carlo Levi

Primo Levi

Carla Lonzi

Niccolò Machiavelli

Alessandro Manzoni

Giovanbattista Marino

Giovanni Meli

Alda Merini

Pietro Metastasio

Eugenio Montale

Elsa Morante

Alberto Moravia

Anna Maria Ortese

Giuseppe Parini

Goffredo Parise

Giovanni Pascoli

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Cesare Pavese

Francesco Petrarca

Luigi Pirandello

Angelo Poliziano

Luigi Pulci

Salvator Quasimodo

Gianni Rodari

Lalla Romano

Amelia Rosselli

Umberto Saba

Emilio Salgari

Jacopo Sannazaro

Goliarda Sapienza

Leonardo Sciascia

Matilde Serao

Gaspara Stampa

Mario Rigoni Stern

Italo Svevo

Antonio Tabucchi

Igino Ugo Tarchetti

Torquato Tasso

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Pier Vittorio Tondelli

Giovanni Verga

Renata Viganò

Elio Vittorini

Giuseppe Ungaretti

[rita-rae-siller]

Last Line/Excerpt Share/Proud of Tag~

I was tagged by @gabeorelse! Thank you for the tag! I have been meaning to post more story writing and this gives me an excuse to do so. Here’s an excerpt I’m very proud of. Introducing Alura’s honorary dad figure, Aalvor.

Excerpt that I am immensely proud of: (fair warning, it is a bit long because this is one scene from an entire chapter. But the whole scene is too good to not share)

Smoke and fire were visible from Minos, even a hundred miles away on the coast in Hellske. With a weary sigh, Alura took a swig from the bottle of red wine in her hand and rested her head against the window frame she was sitting in. Part of her wondered if the soldiers left behind were still fighting futilely. That she had to leave anyone behind at all left a bitter taste in her mouth. She knew full well that they couldn’t have stayed another day with the daily bombings and raids going on. But that didn’t make it any easier to wrestle the guilt down. Perhaps if she’d done something different, been more aggressive in establishing a perimeter for the men to fall back to, more of them might have been able to get out. With a tired sigh, she downed the last of the bottle and rose to her feet to fetch another from the rack on the wall by the dresser. Just as she pulled the cork free, there was a knock at the door. Hoping that the intruder might take the hint and leave, Alura ignored it and returned to the window seat. It was well after midnight. If she couldn’t fall asleep on her own, she wanted to enjoy drinking herself into oblivion undisturbed.

The door opened without her approval, much to her annoyance. Alura could just see Aalvor out of the corner of her eye, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. She took a long, slow drink from the bottle, maintaining her silence as he shut the door behind him. No words were necessary to know exactly what the cause of his displeasure was.

“Is now a good time, Your Grace?” He asked quietly.

“Well, you’re already in here. I don’t think I have a choice,” Alura replied, keeping her gaze on the smoke in the distance. He never had approved of her drinking, but it was a vice she couldn’t quite bring herself to give up. Life gave her a lot to drink about. “Is there a problem, Captain?”

Aalvor took a seat beside her and slid the leather dossier she’d brought with her from Eredahl into her lap. “Why didn’t you tell me the emperor planned to let Minos fall?” 

“I take it you didn’t just stumble upon this out in the wild?” Alura took another swig of wine and tossed the dossier across the room to her bed, where it promptly slid across the silk sheets and onto the floor with a loud thud. Foolishly, while she was working her way through her first bottle of wine, she’d left it on her bedside table to walk about the battlements of the keep. Hellske wasn’t as cold as Eredahl or Minos at night. In vain, she’d hoped the fresh air would clear her head. Aalvor must have come looking for her earlier and taken it while she was out. Its disappearance led her to open a second bottle, and then a third.

“You should be more careful with information that sensitive,” He said. “So, why didn’t you tell me anything?”

“You didn’t need to know. It was a delicate situation, and I couldn’t risk anyone else finding out,” Alura replied. That wasn’t a lie, but she refused to even think about the subject. Avoiding another spiral into despair was exactly why she’d started drinking in the first place. 

“Was it because of Her Eminence?” He asked. 

“It doesn’t concern you.” Alura frowned at the mere mentioning of her. Magistrate Serbyris had been kind enough to offer her—and her alone—board in his castle while Matilde stayed in the Temple of Gora. The split up triggered another colorful outburst, just as Alura knew it would. It all seemed worthless now. Even with the physical distance between them, Alura couldn’t get away from her.

“Did you know we were going into a stirred up hornet’s nest back there?”

“You read the dossier, didn’t you? It’s all in there.”

“I wanted to hear it from you.” 

“It’s not like I had a say in anything. I’m just a dog following orders, same as you.”

“It’s a simple question, Your Grace.” 

“Why do you want to know so desperately?” Alura raised the bottle to her lips again, but Aalvor snatched it away. 

“Mother’s Mercy, Alura; get a grip.” He tossed the bottle out the open window before she could take it back. “You’ve been quiet ever since we left Eredahl, even more-so since Minos. How many times will you let her break your heart?”

“You’re assuming I had anything left of it to break in the first place.” Alura rose to her feet, cursing the pins and needles in her leg as she hobbled back to the wine rack and browsed what the magistrate had brought in for her. Spotting a familiar bottle of port wine—something thick, sweet, and most importantly, fortified with hard liquor—she opened the bottle and turned to face him, shamelessly downing half of it in one go while he scowled at her. Now, after two full bottles of red wine, part of a third, and a fresh brandy infusion settling in, she was beginning to feel a bit better about it all. Maybe Matilde was right. Perhaps the emperor really had sent them east to die. But what did she care? An end to the madness didn’t sound so bad. It took a lot of effort to try and keep a crumbling empire afloat on her own, and it brought her a dark sense of satisfaction to know just how violently the place would go down in flames without her. 

“You’re drunk,” Aalvor said flatly, crossing his arms in a very fatherly fashion.

“And you’re not my father,” She replied, leaning against the dresser for support as the room began to tilt steeply to one side. He never liked seeing her in this sort of state. The subtle look of disappointment, much like the one gleaming in his eyes now, never failed to make her crumble. As of late, she’d seen that look frequently from him. 

“I’m as good as. No one else cares to tell you when you’re embarrassing yourself.” Aalvor gestured for the bottle. “Give it here.”

“Are you going to throw this one out the window too?”

“No. If I’m to put up with your theatrics at this hour, I may as well join you in your drinking,” 

Suspiciously, Alura took a step forward and handed him the bottle. In true soldier’s fashion, the remaining contents disappeared down his throat in a matter of seconds. He made a face as the last of it went down and patted the seat next to him. With a heavy sigh, she sat down beside him. She had to slouch to rest her head on his shoulder, but the discomfort was worth the warm arm he wrapped around her. 

“Did you really read the dossier?” She asked. There were a great many plans and plots crammed and condensed within its pages. Most of it she didn’t even read, just glanced over apathetically. All of the words bled together into one overarching theme:

Garmora’s fate rested completely in her hands.

“Yes. You know how horribly nosy I am when it comes to the schemes and plots you get mixed up in.” He squeezed her shoulder tightly. “Are you scared?”

“Terrified.” Alura buried her head into his neck. Most of the orders she had been given were unclear, incoherent, or talked of battles and enemies long past, some before Alura had even been born. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to navigate such dilemmas. Deviating from her orders was a guaranteed whipping or branding, even if her refusal to follow orders resulted in victory. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“You can and you will, for you are the next Hariiv; sent by the heavenly father to lead our people through the storm of war to paradise. We have known this for decades.”

“The Hariiv is always male. The priests say it is so,” Alura snorted in amusement. Maybe if she had been lucky enough to be born a man, she wouldn’t have the same struggles that bore down on her at every waking moment of the day. 

“You are named after one of the greatest Hariiv of all time, and she is the reason Garmora lived to become the empire it is today. Let the priests say what they will--being a woman has nothing to do with your ability to lead and protect."

“I don’t stand a chance if it comes to an election by the College. Taking the empire by force will cause widespread chaos.”

“Who could challenge you when the entire imperial army stands behind you?”

“She’s currently sleeping in that temple down there by the docks,” Alura replied. Soldiers wouldn’t help her convince the masses that she was their divine guardian. Matilde held the reluctant favor of the temples, and many at court preferred her over Alura. At least Matilde was human. “He wants her dead. Soon. I worry what will happen when it happens. If it even happens.”

“I have told you many times since you first accepted the task that I would happily take that burden from your shoulders. Stain my hands instead of your own with this deed.” 

“She’s never struck me before. How stupid I was to think I would ever get through this unscathed.” It took all of Alura’s might to keep her lower lip from trembling at the thought. It was childish of her to weep over something so insignificant, but the throbbing ache in her chest was unbearable. “Can everything she’s done ever justify taking such actions? What sort of monster have I become to even consider doing such a thing?”

“Matilde is not just a harmless victim of circumstance,” He said, gently squeezing her shoulder again. “The woman has committed evil atrocities, and transgressed against you without remorse. We should have left her in Minos.”

“The final order hasn’t been given yet. Unless I catch her in the act of something treasonous, I have to stay my hand until He says otherwise.” 

“Will you tell me when the time comes?”

“If you insist.”

“Is my help so distasteful?” Aalvor chuckled. “You’ve never wanted it, even when you were a little girl learning how to hold a blade.”

“Don’t get sentimental on me now,” Alura groaned, but couldn’t fight off the smile that twitched at her lips. He had been the only constant in her life. The only good one, anyway. She’d never admit it to his face, but he was the closest thing to a father she had. No one else showed her such devotion, or kindness.

“I’m an old man. It’s what we do.” He gave her another squeeze. “Can you promise me something?”

“You know I’m terrible at keeping your promises.”

“Yet I keep asking anyway.”

“What am I promising?”

“That you’ll let me kill her the next time she causes you harm—directly or indirectly. I have watched you suffer enough at her hands.”

“What a bloodthirsty thing to say. I’m surprised at you.” Alura nudged him and sat up to spare her back that was now beginning to ache. “I’ll entertain the thought.”

“You should get some rest, Your Grace,” Aalvor said as he rose to his feet. He shook the empty bottle in his hand at her. “You’ve had enough of this. That’s an order.”

“Yes, Sir,” Alura saluted him with a flourish and a smile. “Goodnight, Captain”

“Good night, Your Grace.”

Tagging: (feel free to engage or decline!)

@theink-stainedfolk @sidebyside-withafriend @jonquilandlace @maggieharlan

[lottiepumpkinofficial]

31st oct and 1st nov

chap’s 13,14,15,16,17,18

guys i’m so tired right now but let’s go, let’s do this

lilies kinda smell gross honestly, i’ve never liked the scent of them

yes everything is your fault rat twins

“a strange blemish”? nonono the moon is a gorgeous celestial being (just ellie self hatred)

this is one of my favourite chapters

matilde just knowing everything that’s unsaid makes me so happy, obviously she’s not a perfect person and has done not great things and made mistakes but she’s definitely the best person in the royal family, and there’s nothing like a loving mother’s intuition

i love the way connie shows manipulation and abuse through ingrid- the way we know this organisation is wrong and mistreating her, but the way she believes it’s her fault and she needs to be better- and then the utter confusion when someone (jamie) treats her like a human being and suddenly she doesn’t know what to think

i find it so funny that ingrid stays fixated on lottie, instead of moving her sights to ellie- like she’s a girl that does not give up a grudge easily (i think it also goes to show that she’s here to prove her own personal things and not just be a part of the main mission, she has her own stuff going on)

PART TWO BRAVE

it’s nice that they offer her a therapist, but not nice that they dismiss her

god all the parental issues in this series, i think binah must be the only character who doesn’t have any parental issues

okay as much as i love ani and saskia, to invite lottie to paris to speak to the partizan council, knowing it’s her last hope to speak to ellie or the royal family, and knowing nobody will hear her out, just to declare your undying love for each other in front of a Very Heartbroken lottie who literally can’t do anything about it is a very mean thing to do. i know their intention is to get her to open up and let her know it’s okay and all that jazz but fucking hell i would be so upset with them

seriously, was there not any other way to get lottie to admit she’s in love with ellie without really hurting her

that’s a big fucking burden for lottie, she’s already dealing with heartbreak, terrorist threats, losing a job, not knowing what to do with her life and now she’s got to worry about people being in love with her?? that shouldn’t have to be her problem, none of this should have to be her problem

“what are you going to do about it?” idk that’s up to jamie, really, he’s the one with the feelings

this is kinda why i don’t like jaru so much, haru was manipulated into seeing jamie like a god and jamie is not in the right place for any romance

i love the mixed genderings everyone gives ellie

the hope of ellie being herself is so strong and then heartbreaking when it backfires

ouch, the first paragraph of chapter 18 hit me personally

i wanna see raph all ready for story time

okay but how does one claim to be a long lost princess from an abandoned royal line? “hey instagram, just wanted to let you all know i’m actually the great x10 granddaughter of liliana mayfutt and my proof is a tiara 🩷”

idk i feel like emelia is just kinda mean for not giving lottie the plus one- what do you mean you don’t trust lottie? she’s literally spent the past three/four years fighting the same cause as you, getting kidnapped and threatened multiple times and you don’t trust her because she cares about her friends? idk man, that’s weird to me- especially when literally your best friend and all her friends have vouched for her despite not liking her either at the start

don’t get me wrong, emelia is badass and i love her, but what the fuck

[olliesmoreno]

prologue - undercover princess - day 1

- here we go again (my up copy is begging to be euthanised)

- writing style is 💞 when i first read it a lot of the vocabulary flew over my head but every time i reread i grow an appreciation for it

- ellie ur gonna find ur magic place and person. it’s gonna be so exciting. go ellie!

- ‘The Maravish king held his wife's gaze for what felt like the longest few seconds of his life. She had that effect on him.’ this is cute ngl

- the description of the royals and even their mannerisms reflects their characters really well. such as ‘Matilde […] delicately repositioning her cutlery in front of her so that each fork, knife and spoon was perfectly in line.’

- ‘I know you wish you’d had that chance.' alexander lore drop… very curious, bc i don’t remember any other parts of his life

- mentioning jamie makes me mad ngl. remembering how much he was mistreated still genuinely gets me outraged

- i actually wonder what fully persuaded him to send ellie to rosewood. yeah, i don’t remember if this is mentioned. this reread is well over due.

- this chapter is so nostalgic, genuinely. it’s rich with nostalgia!