#cassandra releasing the red stars

[orionis13]

FINALLY ALMOST CAUGHTBUP WITH FHJY OHHHH MY GOD THE THEORIES IM COOKING HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD ON SCIENCE IN MY HEAD I CAN MAKE THIS ABOUT THE PODCAST DIETIES

[plutonicbees]

cassie sandsmark star jorts from issue #23 of yj98 you have always been famous to me

(before pic + additional photos and unnecessary ramblings under the cut)

I made these jorts in 22 hours over the course of 3 days! pure willpower via my love for cassie sandsmark because I am a total novice in sewing and i am still not very good at it. (i really just combined various tutorials and improvised on measurements and then regretted improvising measurements later on).

I thrifted these jeans last year for cassie vibes (even though I had already made her star-spangled red bellbottoms at that point) and wasn't a fan of how they fit + I couldn't figure out how to style them. I enjoyed sewing in the panels to flare them out and then everything else (cargo pockets and sewing in stars) was hell <3

the pockets are not placed well (nor are they particularly well-made), the hem is uneven, the stars are quite janky (and I think I stitched on too many), I probably stabbed my fingers a million times, and I am so in love with them

[mccoyquialisms]

my fantasy high red-string-conspiracy-theory-board-of-the-main-mystery lore tracker (a long ass post) (because I love both mysteries AND organization of inconsequential information):

rough chronology of events:

In ages past there is a wedding attended in the Chaos Mountains by Sol and Galicaea of their sister the Witch Goddess to an unnamed giantkin god. This god is a summer god, sibling of the giant winter goddess Ruvina

Over centuries, the unnamed god's domain changes from the sun and summer to fire

This unnamed god is killed and their name was wiped from history. The other gods remember who this being is, but due to obliviati mori, cannot reference them directly to mortals. Red shatter stars appear around this time

850 years before present day, the Witch Goddess's name is erased by her followers (encouraged by followers of Galicaea) and she is transformed into the Nightmare King. Before she does she performs the 4 trans-substantiations to resist being "unmade". Her familiar Kalina becomes a plague and begins to spread through the mortal populace. These events likely happen after the death of her spouse, as there is no reference to a spouse when the Witch Goddess was previously mentioned

Roughly 4-6 years before modern day, the pit fiend Bakur attempts to resurrect his god, whose name was lost "so they could not be worshiped." The return of this god is felt to be a significant threat to the world. Lydia Barkrock and her adventuring party stop him by sealing Bakur in a red gem in Lydia's chest, where she keeps him imprisoned with her rage

The Ratgrinders, then called the High 5 Heroes, meet in freshman year and consist of Kipperlilly, Oisin, Mary Anne, Ruben, Ivy and Lucy.

They xp level up by killing rats, twig gremlins and other small magical creatures in the woods behind Aguefort

The events of freshman year happen and Kalvaxus is released. During prom, Ragh spots Jace Stardiamond talking to Arianwen. He is later "barbarian healed" by Porter and after this can see Kalina. Kalina finds Ragh later and threatens Lydia if he talks about what he's seen

Sophomore year spring break happens and the Nightmare King is transformed into the goddess now named Cassandra

At some point Lucy began to return to the woods after party sessions to revive the rats they killed. She did this long enough and with enough regularity that the rats remember her name/face well and think of her fondly

Paperwork is submitted for Lucy to change her god from Ruvina to a god whose name cannot be read, just before her disappearance. A few days later a second request is submitted to withdraw this change. Neither form was ever seen by Lucy's teacher Yolanda Badgood

Lucy was killed near Lake Shimmerstone by multiple assailants with both weapon and magical damage towards the end of sophomore year, in the period of weeks after grades were complete, but before summer break. The area has multiple uprooted trees, some of which were used to hide her body. Unholy rites were performed over her body to force her soul to the beyond, so she cannot be revived.

Lucy is reported as dead but her body was never found. She was described as "not alive in this material plane" via divination

Because of the timing of her death, her party was not moved to pass/fail as all grades for that year had already been submitted

Night Yorb and the long dark summer happens

Buddy Dawn, a cleric of Sol, is specifically requested by the Ratgrinders to be their new cleric for junior year

Also over the long dark summer, the Loam farmers are accused of embezzlement and the Frostyfair festival is moved from there to the Thistlesprings tree at the recommendation of Lola Embers. Sklonda Gukgak is assigned as the Loam couple's public defender

Kipperlilly finds or is found by the rogue teacher and has passed the whole of junior year

Junior year begins. On her first day, Kipperlilly questions Jawbone on where YES! was created

Kipperlily announces she is running for student body president and her primary platform is for uniform equity under the rules without "favoritism"

In the mall of the Synod, the event that kicks off the battle is Cassandra becomes angry hearing Kristen isn't coming to help find followers. She says "This isn't fair!" as a razor-sharp flickering star of red light emerges from her chest. 24-point, red shatter stars infect nearby wizards and turns them into rage-filled, violent, giant versions of themselves. The people taken over by the shatter stars are instructed by an unknown voice to attack Cassandra

Cassandra is able to be calmed by a high persuasion and when she does, she expels multiple shatter stars. She seems to recognize them and says "I thought you were dead.”

Before Kalina is taken over by the shatter stars, she looks to Riz and says "Ragh Barkrock". She then slits Cassandra's throat, triggering a new round of rage in Cassandra

Cassandra suffers multiple attacks and begins to transform into a giant, red raging version of herself and attempts to kill the party. Before she's successful, the gang are swept away in a time loop back to Spyre. The Bad Kids see the Synod is destroyed, and Kristen finds she has shards of Cassandra in her pocket

Kristen attempts to commune with Cassandra and hears a voice say "She is at my side once more." The voice then mocks Kristen with YES!'s body and then tells Kristen it is coming for her, and it will break her irrevocably.

Ivy sees Fig disguised as Lucy at the party at Seacastor Manor, and has an inscrutable reaction to it, but did not seem surprised

The cloud rider engine in Fabian's basement is broken and a piece is found missing

Kipperlily does the food truck event with the subliminal OK messaging on the packaging

Ruben Hopclap performs at FrostFaire when he is attacked by Principal Grix. Grix is eventually killed by Fabian. The Bad Kids determine Ruben was doing some kind of ritual with a song about anger above an arcano-tech array in a 24 point star pattern, successfully releasing a large amount of some type of magical energy.

Simultaneously, Yolanda Badgood is killed at Lake Shimmerstone by immense concussive force damage, and afterwards her body is expertly hidden. She is subjected to the same unholy last rites that Lucy was.

The Bad Kids find Lucy and Yolanda's bodies, and Kristen releases their souls, who travel to the beyond on a "trail of moonlight"

Sklonda's clients are found murdered

Mazey reveals that the Vice Principal (i.e. Jace) does not become the Principal, and it would be the student body president who becomes the new principal of Aguefort

additional info we can reasonably infer or that don't fit neatly in the timeline:

Buddy's grandparents, and likely Buddy himself, have a vested interest in his grandfather becoming the cleric teacher. He went to Aguefort and is familiar with the school. Presumably he wants this to be able to preach about Sol and spread his influence

At some point before her death, Yolanda told Jace about her concerns regarding Lucy's deity-transfer paperwork

Cassandra is not dead, but is "beyond reach"

Lucy and Yolanda were noted to be in "realms beyond", which Brennan specifically noted they were taken from and "whatever was happening there"

The Ratgrinders are gunning for the bad kids and seem to be orchestrating situations to try to get them to take drugs

Porter's philosophical discussion with Fig regarding the concept of protection and how that is often inextricably tied with rage, that one can act as a fuel for the other

Porter is a paladin of the ancestors, and at some point was mentioned to be a goliath, though this seems to be debated in canon. If true, it's possible he's a descendant of giants

Kristen bring's up Sol's wrath and Buddy does not refute this, agreeing Sol's wrath is a well known aspect of him and he has been quite angry because of the dark summer/night yorb situation

As above so below. What the gods do affect their mortal followers, but conversely, what the mortals who follow them do also affect the gods

A god can only come back from death in a place a god had been born or created, meaning Bakur's decision to try to revive his fallen god in the Red Waste was what doomed it to failure

Bakur's documents are written in the language of giants, and his deity is said to be from the same region as Ruvina. Combining this with Adaine’s research, and the “mitochondrial magic print”, Bakur’s god is Cassandra’s former spouse

The cloud rider piece was likely stolen by the Ratgrinders as Kipperlily asked Aelwyn to research schematics of the device

Kipperlily seems to be keeping information from some of the other Ratgrinders, telling Aelwyn she needs to "protect Oisin" from their shady deals

Kipperlily's mother works for the city treasury and her father is in real estate. Neither are super wealthy, but Kipperlilly has been paying Aelwyn large amounts of money to obtain arcane components. Given the timing of this with the disappearance of a large sum of money from the Frostyfair accounts, the timing of the murder of the people who were blamed for it, and that the new chosen location happens to be the home of one of the Ratgrinders rivals, the Ratgrinders involvement is thought to be likely

Cassandra's whispered clue of "spies, tongue, curse"

Places outside Spyre, like the Synod, are easier for dead gods to reach

For whatever the Ratgrinders have planned, a student being the principal of Aguefort is essential for it. A lot of people have had to be conveniently absent or dead for this circumstance to occur.

This is all not even touching Aguefort's whole journey through time and possible time quangle issue and whatever the fuck Fig's Bad Luck Thing is. I'm not convinced that these are related to the god stuff and are likely their own separate issues. also, I am tired lmao. If you want to hear my rambling theories, I'll be making a separate post.

[bee-nutauthor]

Dimitrescu Sisters If they were Content Creators Headcanon (for fun)

Bela Dimitrescu

-The most wholesome, mom-esque content ever

-Will give you good life advice, whether it be shopping tips on how to get more groceries for less, or tips on how to manage your finances

-Makes cooking videos, sewing videos, make up videos, candle making videos, nail painting vidoes- basically anything to do with crafts and she's probably done it

-Speaks in a calm tone, has mellow music in the background

-Uses very calm colors in her videos, meaning her shirts are in cool tones of blues, grays, whites, and blacks.

-Her backdrop is a clean and organized space- a light wood bookshelf, plain walls, some minimalist flower vases, and a diffuser

-Is very organized with her schedule. Her videos are always up at the same time and day, and she follows a rotating schedule of what topics she will make videos for

-Controversies? None, unless you count the time she roasted a company who wanted her to do a paid promo for actually being toxic and causing them to shut down

-She is affectionately called 'Internet Mom'

-She does not understand the 'sorry, mommy' jokes and does not wish to

-Does not collab with other content creators, which lead to a conspiracy theory whether she actually existed in real life or was a robot

-Is sponsored mostly by clothing brands

Cassandra Dimitrescu

-She is a storytime channel, telling the most outlandish stories ever

-And they're all true. Her life is just like that

-She travels a lot for work so often she'll film travel vlogs or behind the scene vlogs

-Collabs all the time with other content creators

-Always has famous people on her channel

-Does Q and A's

-Her video uploading schedule is not super consistent due to her traveling a lot, and sometimes she'll post several videos in a row and then there will be nothing for a long time

-She has cycled through 5 public relationships within the first three months of her channel

-Has released music videos on her channel and is planning on releasing a full album. She always puts a lot of effort into her sets and costume design. Her singing is amazing as she's classically trained and can do opera too

-Has starred in other content creator's mini series on youtube and always draws the most views in

-Outfits are always changing depending on if she's traveling or making music videos

-Has made a few comedy skits here and there

-Controversies? There is a lot of drama circling around her and who she's hooking up with or who she'll go for next. A few people tried to call out her melodramatic behavior and instead of making an apology video Cassandra winked at the camera, sent the viewers a kiss and said "you know you love me like this," and ended the video like that.

-She was right. Her views only skyrocketed after this

-Gets many sponsorships, but donates the money from them to art or dance studios

Daniela Dimitrescu

-A streamer, she streams several hours a day in a row

-She does games mostly, with the occasional video filming her attempt to cook some horrific dish she found on the internet such as the toducken

-Has posted a few videos of herself doing tricks on her skateboard

-Has posted a few videos of her work out routines. Those have millions of views for reasons relating to her crop top and abs

-Has a set up with RGB lights in the back, and a mini fridge full of energy drinks

-Has the latest technology to play games on, but wears the same outfit almost always to her streams: a black tank top, a black hoodie with neon green writing on it, and a pair of headphones with cat ears on top

-Has dyed her hair many times but commonly sticks with her red hair, shaved on one side

-Has tattoos of her favorite video game characters on her arms and legs

-Will stream with other players and has done a handful of collabs but prefers playing single player games

-Rarely sleeps and has done several 24 hour streams for charity

-Controversies? She was accused of cheating when doing a speedrun but it was only the haters claiming she couldn't play

-Sponsored by raid shadow legends and other game companies

[thecruellestmonth]

Jason Todd 2023 fic recs

Some of the best Jason Todd fics that were posted or updated in the year 2023.

"Beneficiary" by sirsparklepants https://archiveofourown.org/works/44845189 - The beneficiaries of the estate of Jason Todd. Wonderfully bittersweet. A story about "the logistical demands of death" and "the banalities of death and grief".

"The Extremely True Story of the Titans Tower Attack" by Wisetypewriter https://archiveofourown.org/works/45011785 - Red Hood evilly dragged the iron maiden Talia had gifted him in the Titans Tower’s kitchen. He cackled to himself, so deliciously happy to be able to test it on Robin. -- The most "Titans Tower AU" ever of all time. A must-read masterpiece for anyone who hates or loves fanon.

The Foreigner by somecaveats https://archiveofourown.org/works/44992420 - Jason had played out Bruce’s first words to him again and again, the blame, the disgust, the rejection, and then, sometimes, when he was feeling sentimental, tears and warmth and muttered prayers about the miracle of his return. He had thought he was prepared for anything. --Or; Immediately after the Lazarus Pit, Jason comes back. -- You know those fantasies of Jason returning to the family in a neater and more palatable way? And all his loved ones react so sweetly and supportively and sensitively—as if Jason's own behavior were the singular deciding factor for whether the family is functional and healthy in canon? This isn't that. Or; in which Jason receives a damningly tepid welcome home, has several ugly ugly panic attacks, and expertly deduces that one of Bruce's Wayne ancestors got it on with the portraitist John Singer Sargent. [work in progress/incomplete]

"how it feels to be immune" by maangoes https://archiveofourown.org/works/44490682 - He spent a year in a villa in the Hindu Kush. He doesn’t remember most of it. There were people that cleaned and made him food. The whole house smelled like Talia, like rose and jasmine flowers. This is a soothing little vignette, like a calm before a storm. Talia shines in her competence and in her tenderness, while also struggling to make the right choices for Jason's post-resurrection recovery.

whether a beast or a human being by Goldmonger https://archiveofourown.org/series/3417622 - The Red Hood has been recaptured by the Batman and consigned to a private prison, one buried deep beneath Gotham City. The Dark Knight has encountered insane and deadly criminals before, and knows the havoc that can be wreaked from allowing them any kind of freedom. The Red Hood will spend the rest of his life under observation, and will be cared for according to the directives of the Batman. It is unlikely that he will rejoin society, but that is a sacrifice that must be made to protect the citizens of Gotham. Or: "The Wide Sargasso Sea: Jason Todd Edition." Now serendipitously even more relevant after Gotham War! This story contains extreme and unmitigated pain, and severe medical abuse. In the words of the writer: a story "of how even the closest relationship with the most love in the world can fall apart under the right conditions." This is an ongoing/incomplete story, but each installment feels like a satisfying pausing point.

"catch and release" by hellsreluctantheir https://archiveofourown.org/works/50457703 - Dick & Jason hurt/comfort, with POV Dick. In the words of one commenter, this is a sweet story that really appreciates Dick's "constant worrying & planning & trauma and huge sense of responsibility that he’s always got going there" with respect to the ups and downs of his history with Jason.

"Neighbours" by Aingeal98 https://archiveofourown.org/works/40132554 - Bruce loved his son. Bruce was delighted that his son was making new friends. But there was something odd about that family, and no it wasn't just because Cassandra's mother outvoted him at the last PTA meeting, Jason. (That may have played a small part. Sue him, he's human.) PTA AU starring Cass and Shiva, with Jason as a supporting character. A feel-good story with comedy, friendship, family, and tiny pre-teen urban justice crusader Cass as our intrepid hero!

"EURUS" by cowboymater https://archiveofourown.org/works/50555239/chapters/127711369 - "Eurus is a continued interrogation of our own beliefs […] the record seeks to capture the feelings of dark woods, dry branches, dead leaves, and wondering who had migrated — you, or your flock?" OR: Jason Todd, his convictions, his forgiveness, and the cycles of violence and hope (violent hope, sometimes) he may never be free of.

"Ages 12 & Up" by motleyfam https://archiveofourown.org/works/52384984 - See, the real reason that Damian always refuses painkillers is that he cannot swallow a pill. Cute and fun Batfamily fluff. Damian is a tough little guy, and Jason is an obnoxiously annoying big brother.

"YOU MUST KNOW LIFE TO KNOW DECAY." by orpheusaki @damianbugs https://archiveofourown.org/works/48513616 - For as long as Jason can remember, it's always been raining. Jason's memories of rainy days throughout his life. The rain continues, and so does Jason.

"Get Joker" by chucklesbuckles https://archiveofourown.org/works/49377664 - Harley tries to bond with Jason over their singular shared point of trauma, obsesses over the dead bird's hands, and alienates him by having a platonic hard on for his dad. Jason just wants to make bets over who on their team will bite it first. In which Suicide Squad: Get Joker! is scrapped for parts and melted down. Harley's retrospective on having knowingly loved someone who tortured Barbara Gordon and killed Robin. [POV Harley Quinn.]

"Down to Dust" by Sparkypants https://archiveofourown.org/works/47407291 - It's not the warehouse that Jason has nightmares about. It's Bruce. Bruce deciding to cremate him instead of bury him. Because if he had, what would Jason be now? An infinite number of pieces, cast into the wind. Smoke hanging in the air and never whole or home again, part of him always missing. A spiral of psychological horror, then some hurt/comfort.

"the shadow of violence" by shipyrds https://archiveofourown.org/works/49059019 - Jason shoots someone to protect Damian. Bruce, as usual, has opinions.

"promises" by sunspikes https://archiveofourown.org/series/3413851 - After a nightmarish premonition, young Jason makes Bruce promise not to bury him.

"through death and time" by sparkycap https://archiveofourown.org/works/45733813 - After a mission that takes Batman and Nightwing back twenty years in the past, they end up with time to kill. Bruce does what he does best: he finds a kid. Luckily this one is already his. The fluffiest feel-good fluff available, featuring Bruce & Dick & Jason. Sweeter than WFA.

"The Daughter of the Water" by chucklesbuckles https://archiveofourown.org/works/46605205 - “To walk the world!” it croons, bright gold spilling over it’s cheeks, highlighting the springy white curls crowning it’s head. It bends, cold wet hands cradling Talia’s face, wiping her tears away. It places a soft kiss to her forehead, tucking a loose curl of hair behind her ear, torchlight eyes burning. “Thank you for the body.” The Lazarus Pit takes Jason's body for a long and productive joyride. A creepy and wet story featuring Talia & Jason, with POV Talia.

"Confessional" by Temeritous https://archiveofourown.org/works/45307363 - Jason gets hit with a truth spell and uses it in an inadvisable manner. Ooh, the emotional pain here is exquisite. It's like helplessly watching a glass bottle of olive oil drop and shatter and spill all over the floor.

"Oracle Movie Trailer" by centreoftheselights https://archiveofourown.org/works/47940070 - A screenplay for a trailer for a Oracle: Year One origin movie, featuring Robin II as a supporting character. We love the idea of a movie following Barbara's recovery and journey to becoming Oracle.

Red X by ilovelegendsalot https://archiveofourown.org/series/1211157 - Mostly following the canon events of the Teen Titans cartoon, from the perspective of the second Red X, Jason Todd.

"salt in the wound (and a kiss on my cheek)" by pseudonym123 https://archiveofourown.org/works/52471159/ - A RHATO #25 canon divergence fic where Roy doesn't come to Jason's rescue that night on the rooftop. Bruce and Jason deal with the fall out. [incomplete/work in progress]

[2022]

[daisyswift3]

The Story/Secret of Us

So I believe I may have just solved a major piece of the puzzle and finally figured out WHY the tortured poets have been sending us these anonymous messages to help us solve it. I think this entire rabbit hole is a gift to us true fans which is why we got all of those cryptic present 🎁 anon messages. Alllll of these songs are dedicated to us (except for So High School and I will explain why I think this in more detail later). THIS is The Story or Secret of Us. The "secret" is this rabbit hole of connections and this secret language or code of symbols and metaphors we've all learned how to speak (sunshine/daylight/gold/yellow = Karlie/being out of the closet/queer love/happiness, 3 = Speak Now, orange = karma, etc). The "us" is the tortured poets and us true fans who share this secret language.

Another important part of understanding this puzzle is that some of these songs are time sensitive 🕰️ and like a prophecy (The Prophecy) waiting to be fulfilled. So after a certain point, some songs can no longer be applied bc that "scene" in the movie has already passed (If This Was A Movie). They want us to essentially play our part in the story they've written. Right now we are playing the part of Paul Revere or Cassandra warning swifties of what's coming (likely on Sept 28). And we're also acting as Taylor's wings/angels catching her when she falls off her pedestal (see this post). They want us to think of these moments when we listen to these songs bc they want them to be personally relatable bc that's part of our gift. I think this is what Taylor meant when she said

"Let me tell you my secret little dream for this evening. These are songs that I have written about my life or things I've felt at one point in time, whether I was a teenager, in my 20s, or a couple yrs ago. But after tonight when you hear these songs out and about in the world, my dream is that you're gonna think about tonight and the memories we made here together" (x)

and what present anon meant when they said

"Reach those lanterns a little bit higher. For you shall receive a metaphor so dire" (x).

"Then the actors (us true fans and the tortured poets) were hitting their marks and the slow dance was alight with the sparks and the tears fell in synchronicity with the score" // "It's a normal thing to fall in love with movie stars when the lights are low and red at all their favorite bars. And the story you want is the story you get. Are you special or was this all scripted in his head?...Don't worry, I know I'll see you again. Uh-huh, you'll make me cry when it comes to an end. You were all that we hoped (The Prophecy), but I can't recommend getting close, I should've known, but I'll see you again" (x). The tortured poets have invited us to "dance" with them by being a part of this movie. If we accept this invitation, then we essentially become the muse of these songs.

I think Gracie playing In Between as a surprise song on 9/19 was an easter egg for Lizzy’s song Pushing It Down and Praying that was released 9/20. I think the mv for this song is the visual representation of the 🫚 message about the audience member (us true fans) becoming a part of the magic show and also the teenage love triangle in folklore. In this story, we are playing the character Wendy/Betty while the tortured poets play the character Peter/James. Swifties or the fans who don’t see this metaphorical story are Augusta/Augustine, the girl that James cheats on Betty with in august. So even though the teenage love triangle is technically fictional, there are seeds of truth in it. This is what Taylor was trying to explain during the eras tour betty speeches when she said she created these fictional characters and she was acting as the narrator of their story (x). Role Model, who stars in the Pushing It Down and Praying mv, is also the opening act for Gracie's TSOU tour which is another connection.

And to add even more evidence to this theory, the teenage love triangle also makes an appearance in Gracie’s discography. Gracie has a song called Augusta on TIWIFL which just so happens to be the name of one of the characters in the love triangle. It is also the name of a town in Maine which is where Gracie’s family is from. There are 3 songs in total on TIWIFL that are named after towns in Maine—Camden, Augusta, and Rockland. If you put the first letters of these songs together, they spell out “CAR.” “Standing in your CARdigan, kissing in my CAR again,” “And when I felt like I was an old CARdigan under someone’s bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite," 2:46 in betty ("She said 'James, get in, let's drive'") corresponding with 2:46 in august ("Remember when I pulled up and said get in the CAR").

august, betty, cardigan (the 3 sides or perspectives of the love triangle) are “ABC” bc the alphabet or capital letters are one of the major keys to solving this puzzle. As I mentioned in this post, I think Audrey has been helping to plant easter eggs. She posted Capital Letters by Hailee Steinfeld on her insta 3 times which is quite interesting and she also included this song in her Summa playlist.

What makes this even more suspicious is that she specifically chose timestamps in the songs (1:11 and 1:23) that have these lyrics ⬇️ and she posted the 1:11 timestamp TWICE which indicates that she really wanted to emphasize it. "God I'm jumping in the deep end, it's more fun to swim in. Heard the risk is drowning but I'm gonna take it."

Another thing that I think ties in with all of this is the Stephen Colbert interview. In this post below, I explain why I think the pizza on the mood board represents PR/bearding/showmanship/magic. I also explain how the letters that spell out Stephen's name are a huge clue and are related to the Peter Pan metaphor that is a through line in both Gracie's and Taylor's music. This is another example of "capital letters" or the alphabet being the key to solving the puzzle.

Going back to what I said in the first paragraph, this entire rabbit hole of cross-referenceable songs is dedicated to us except for the "pizza" So High School which is the one song she dedicated to 🏈 This is why Taylor's mood board had one slice of pizza while every other picture was of Stephen.

[taylorswiftandx]

Taylor Swift and Myth/Legend/Fantasy

Note: huge thank you to @meandmypagancrew who collaborated with me on this post! This one is very subjective - I ultimately chose to include references specifically relating to the story elements of religion/myth/legend/fantasy/tales, in order to determine what to include here versus what appears on TS and Religious Words/References. TS and Literary References may also be of interest.

'Taylor Swift'

Picture to Burn: State the obvious, I didn’t get my perfect fantasy

'Fearless (Taylor's Version)'

White Horse: I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale

The Best Day: Don’t know if Snow White’s house is near or far away

The Best Day: It’s the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarves

Today Was A Fairytale: Today was a fairytale

'Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’'

Long Live: I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

Superman: I watch superman fly away

'Red (Taylor's Version)'

State Of Grace: These are the hands of fate, you’re my Achilles heel

'1989 (Taylor’s Version)'

You Are In Love: You understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars

Now That We Don’t Talk: You part the crowd like the Red Sea, don’t even get me started

Suburban Legends: I didn’t come here to make friends, we were born to be suburban legends

Suburban Legends: I had the fantasy that our mismatched star signs would surprise the whole school

'reputation'

I Did Something Bad: They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one

'Lover'

(no myths/legends)

'folklore'

invisible string: Isn’t it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?

invisible string: A string that pulled me out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar

mad woman: And women like hunting witches too

'evermore'

willow: As if you were a mythical thing

champagne problems: Your Midas touch on the Chevy door

gold rush: My mind turns your life into folklore

ivy: I wish to know the fatal flaw that makes you long to be magnificently cursed

cowboy like me: Now you hang from my lips like the Gardens of Babylon

'Midnights'

Anti-Hero: Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby and I’m a monster on the hill

Labyrinth: Lost in the labyrinth of my mind

Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve: I would’ve stayed on my knees and I damn sure would’ve never danced with the devil at nineteen

Dear Reader: When you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss

You’re Losing Me: I’m getting tired, even for a phoenix

'The Tortured Poets Department'

So Long, London: I saw in my mind fairy lights through the mist

But Daddy I Love Him: Screaming, "But, daddy, I love him"

Guilty as Sin?: These fatal fantasies giving way to labored breath

Guilty as Sin?: If it's make believe, why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?

Guilty as Sin?: What if I roll the stone away? They're gonna crucify me anyway

Clara Bow: Beauty is a beast that roars down on all fours demanding more

The Albatross: Locked me up in towers, but I'd visit in your dreams

How Did It End?: My beloved ghost and me, sitting in a tree, D-Y-I-N-G

I Hate It Here: And in my fantasies I rise above it

thanK you aIMee: I pushed each boulder up the hill

thanK you aIMee: So I pushed each boulder up that hill

The Prophecy: Cards on the table, mine play out like fools in a fable, oh, it was sinking in

The Prophecy: Poison blood from the wound of the pricked hand

Cassandra: So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst and tried to tell the town

Cassandra: I was in my tower weaving nightmares

Peter: Forgive me, Peter, my lost fearless leader

Peter: And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired

Peter: Lost to the Lost Boys chapter of your life

The Bolter: But none if it is changing that the chariot is waiting

The Manuscript: He said, "No, just a good samaritan"

Other Songs written by Taylor

Beautiful Ghosts: Is this hope just a mystical dream?

Crazier: I was trying to fly but I couldn’t find wings

Official Alternate Releases

Cassandra (Clean Version): When it's "Burn the witch" they're shrieking

[crepearchives]

CRK Profile: Cream Puff Cookie 💫

Gacha Drop Animation Provided By Icingdome on YouTube: Here on This Link

⚙️ Cream Puff Cookie is an Epic Support Cookie who is prioritized towards the rear. She was added to the game alongside Latte Cookie on March 21, 2021 as one of three new Cookies in the Flames of Unity update. Although she’s usually very clumsy and has a low self-esteem, she’s warmhearted, sometimes even courageous, and has a track record of never giving up and often tries her hardest to make things right as a growing wizard of Dessert Magic. It’s also been recorded that she has untapped magical potential within her, just waiting to be unleashed. Previous discussions with her about past years in arcane academia have proven this point to be completely true, as she slowly but surely unleashed some of that potential right here! And having played a pivotal role in staving off the Red Velvet Dragon during its assault on the city of Parfaedia by casting a powerful spell known as “Jellius-Blastius” and reigniting the Beacon to revive an old League of Guilds, she was named a true Wizard despite countless missteps and collateral damage. Because of these traits, she plays a key role in suppressing dark forces back to whatever dimension they came from.

To accompany this transitional arc in confidence and magical powers, Cream Puff Cookie also got a new wardrobe and design change with a new powdered sugar cap, sophisticated dress, blue cape that flows from her bowtie, brown shoes, longer cream hair with a gold hairband on the end, and a new upgraded wand.

All of this was completed with a magical girl transformation from her first design and wardrobe in Ovenbreak and Kakao, as she is currently the only non-Kingdom-exclusive Cookie to undergo a character arc that dictated a total appearance update without the need for a costume. See the right image for her original design in CROB and CR-Kakao.

In order to meet such a potentially powerful wizard, you won’t find her in the normal gacha. Instead, you can only meet Cream Puff Cookie by finding her (and her Soulstones and/or Soulcores) in the Guild Gacha. That means you’ll need to find a Guild first! Why? Because YOU CAN’T ACCESS THE GUILD GACHA WITHOUT A GUILD!

Class: Support ⏫

Position: Rear

Rarity: Epic

Pronouns: She/Her

Resonant Ingredient: (Puffy Little Cream Puffs)

Release Date: March 21st, 2021

CROB/KAKAO Designer: Seo Yeokyeong

Voice Actors

KR 🇰🇷 - Lee Da-eun

JP 🇯🇵 - Furuya Shizuka

EN 🇬🇧/🇺🇸 - Cassandra Lee Morris

TW/MD 🇹🇼 - Lin Peiling

Thai 🇹🇭 - Tassanaplern Tanseriskulpat

DE 🇩🇪 - Julia Fölster

FR 🇫🇷 - Caroline COMBES

In-Game Story

Sweet Cream Puff Cookie makes you feel delighted just by looking at her. Made of soft and delicate cream puff, this cookie is as fragile as can be. Something always makes you worry about her, but it's certain that great power sleeps within her. Cream Puff Cookie used to study magic on her own, but now she is a graduate of a prestigious Magic Academy! Will Cream Puff Cookie be able to become a famous wizard? Let's find out!

Basic Attack

⚙️ Cream Puff Cookie’s basic attack is a simple bolt of star-shaped light that she casts from her wand as a standard spell. It targets one enemy with moderate range, but is somewhat slow to cast.

💫 Observed ATK Speed: 2.9 Seconds

🪄 Range: Moderate

💥 CRIT%: 5.00%

🎯 Number of Targets: 1

Skill: Jellius Extremus!

Conjures a tornado of Jellies over a large area, causing area damage and restoring the party's HP. The spell cannot cause CRIT DMG, but instead, there is a chance to conjure it with great success depending on the CRIT%. Cast with great success, the spell will inflict greater DMG and heal a greater amount of HP. While Cream Puff Cookie is using her skill, she will briefly become resistant to interrupting effects.

⚙️ Cream Puff Cookie conjures a magic scroll, winds back her wand, and casts a whole tornado of Jellies in a massive magic circle to heal everyone and cause widespread damage, sending enemies flying into the air for a short time. While Cream Puff Cookie is casting her spell, she becomes resistant to interrupting effects.

Unlike other skills, “Jellius Extremus” doesn’t abide by standard CRIT rules where the damage and healing dealt on a critical hit increases by a singular set multiplier. Instead, Cream Puff Cookie’s current CRIT% as of casting the spell determines the chance that the spell she casts goes through with Increased Power Successfully. Successfully casting an Empowered Spell increases the damage and healing caused by special multipliers and percentages separate from usual CRIT rules.

💫 Single Hit DMG: 469.4% ATK + ~2.7% per level (Max 557.1%)

🍬 Healing: 113.9% ATK + ~0.7% per level (Max 135.1%)

🌟 Single Hit DMG on Success: 1,166.9% ATK + ~6.7% per level (Max 1,384.5%) + 100.0% CRIT DMG

🧁 Healing on Success: 250.6% ATK + ~1.5% per level (Max 297.3%) + 15.0% CRIT DMG

💥 Chance of Success: Equal to CRIT%

🎯 Area Coverage: Extra Large

💫 Observed Skill Duration: 3.3 Seconds

⏱ Initial Cooldown: 5 Seconds

🕰 Skill Cooldown: 16 Seconds

Magic Candy: Extra Cream

Cream Puff Cookie learned a couple of new tricks with extra cream! Upon using her skill, she will grant ATK Up buffs relative to her own CRIT% as of before the start of battle to all of her allies. Every time she manages to cast a Successful Spell, Cream Puff Cookie earns a stack of Cream Buff. Cream Buff will enhance her skill and increase DMG Resist.

⚙️ After creating her Magic Candy, Cream Puff Cookie’s “Jellius Extremus!” spell grants additional buffs. By default, she has a passive CRIT% increase buff that can’t be dispelled by any means.

💥 Passive CRIT% Increase: +10.0% + ~0.5% per level (Max 25.0%)

Upon casting the spell, she grants everyone an ATK Up relative to CRIT% buff at the start of the battle that increases everyone’s ATK proportionally to her CRIT%. For example, at level +1, if her CRIT% is 10.0%, she’ll increase everyone’s ATK by 5.0%. She also grants everyone a Stun Immunity buff that lasts just as long. These Cream Buffs can help Cream Puff outdo a LOT of CHEESE teams if you build them right.

💫 ATK Up relative to CRIT%: +0.50% ATK (+~0.02% per level, max 1.0%) of Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT%; capped at 37.5% and 1 stack

✨ Stun Immunity: Grants immunity to Stun. Does not protect against Shackle, Freeze, or Sleep.

⏰ Buff Duration: 15 Seconds

Upon successfully casting an empowered spell, Cream Puff Cookie also gains a literal Cream Buff. This Cream Buff can’t be removed unless it expires. Each Cream Buff stack increases the damage dealt by “Jellius Extremus!” in both instances of casting Normally and Successfully. Each stack also includes a DMG Resistance buff.

☁️ Cream Buff Stacks: Max 2

⛅️ Cream Buff Spell DMG: +3.0% ATK (+~0.4% per level, max 15.0%) per stack

🌩 Cream Buff Successful Spell DMG: +6.0% ATK (+~0.8% per level, max 30.0%) per stack

🌨 Cream Buff DMG Resist: +18.5% per stack

⏰ Cream Buff Stack Duration: 60 Seconds

Once enhanced to level +10, Cream Puff Cookie gains a CRIT DMG Up relative to CRIT% buff that increases her Critical Damage proportionally to her CRIT% for a short time after using her skill. The total CRIT DMG increase is capped at 25.0% and can’t be stacked beyond once.

💥 (+10) CRIT DMG Up relative to CRIT%: +0.30% CRIT DMG of Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT%; capped at 25.0% and 1 stack

💥 (+20) CRIT DMG Up relative to CRIT%: +0.35% CRIT DMG of Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT%

💥 (+30) CRIT DMG Up relative to CRIT%: +0.50% CRIT DMG of Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT%

Past Changelog

The War Under Shattered Skies - 1/19/22

Regular ATK +21.92%

Skill Cooldown: 18 -> 16 Seconds

Skill Damage (at level 60): 482.71% -> 517.6%

Skill Healing (at level 60): 78.03% -> 114.1%

“Jellius Extremus!” Spells’ Success Rate now based on Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT%, increasing damage and healing

Added resistance to interrupting effects

Invitation From the Slumbering Moon - 2/14/23

Base HP: 2,202 -> 2,844

Base DEF: 637 -> 728

Successful “Jellius Extremus!” Spells now incorporate percentages of CRIT DMG towards skill damage and healing

Added Magic Candy skill “Extra Cream”

Legend of the Red Dragon - 5/18/23

DEF: +4.5%

HP: +15%

Toppings

Juicy Apple Jellies: Given the nature of how most of her skillset operates on Cream Puff Cookie’s CRIT% to determine whether she can do significantly more damage and healing for the team, as well as gaining additional buffs from her Magic Candy, this should be your go-to option to maximize her chances of rolling for CRIT and amplifying her output in any mode.

Sub-Bonuses: CRIT%, Cooldown, then ATK. As stated above, Cream Puff’s CRIT% is crucial to her success on the battlefield. This order prioritizes maximizing your success rates while accelerating her cooldown where possible. Whether you can or should boost her ATK is trivial, as while it DOES carry some weight in her damage/heal output, it shouldn’t be a priority as it puts off your chance of actually getting those success bonuses.

Costume

Choir Sweetheart Time for the good ol' Parfaedia Institute Choir uniform! No wonder why Cream Puff Cookie has captivated everyone with her lovely and endearing voice. Thanks to the countless hours practicing those incantations and spells, her delivery is also spot on! Cream Puff Cookie's addition to the choir has added just the right amount of sweetness!

Rarity: Rare

Release Date: December 9th, 2021

Costume Set: The Snowflake Choir

⚙️ Now wearing tall black shoes, a blue hat with a black bow and a sky-blue star jelly pinned to it, sky-white-to-blue cream hair with a black hairband, and a blue dress with slightly different star accents, Cream Puff Cookie brings a black wand with a light blue cream topping and a deep blue star to match her ensemble. While wearing this costume, the magic circle that appears from her spell turns blue, and some of the jellies produced are holiday baked goods.

☁️ Ah, that outfit reminds me of my old choir days in school! We laughed, sang together, went on small road trips to sing in faraway venues, and that’s where I got some help with my own confidence issues!

⚙️ Wait. Meringue, you SING?!

☁️ Er… not well by myself. It’s a community thing. Auditions scare me; they make me freeze up like Frost Queen Cookie’s in the room giving me the cold shoulder. And it’s not every day where I have a friend to get me through it.

Conclusion

⚙️ Cream Puff Cookie can be an effective burst support unit with considerable burst damage and healing potential if she rolls CRITS a lot on her skill. Once you make her Magic Candy, this damage only increases as you boost her CRIT% and successfully roll for CRIT. Because of her massive circular impact zone highlighted by her sigil, she’s best at crowd control against massive or spread-out swarms of enemies. In the end, she can be the defining line between winning and losing based on how she rolls.

Remember: You can’t win if you don’t even TRY. And once you try, TRY HARD. Put everything you’ve got into it! Sure, you’ll lose sometimes. But how else are you gonna know if you’ll win next time if you don’t even TRY to win?! How else are you gonna analyze whether it’s because you fell short or whether your competition cheated?! It’s not all brute force, it’s also proportionally based on intellect, cunning, and dubious amounts of luck that determine your success just about everywhere!

[mylilcorneroftheuniverse]

Houston County Library Summer Reading Challenge 2023

 Start: June 1, 2023

End: August 31,2023

TBR List (I underlined the book theme I chose for some):

A Fantasy or Science Fiction Book: "Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell

A Book Recommended by a Librarian, Family member or Friend: "Kenobi: Star Wars Legacy" by John Jackson Miller

A Fairy Tale (or a twist on a Fairy Tale): "Part of Your World, A Twisted Tale" by Liz Brazwell

A book set in another Time and/or Place: "Ink and Bone" by Rachel Caine

An eBook or Audiobook: "Path of Destruction" by Drew Karpyshyn

A Book from a Series: Stars Wars: Heir to the Empire" by Timothy Zaine

A Book wit a Green, Yellow or Red Cover: "A Jane Austen Murder Mystery, Pride and Premeditation" by Tirzah Price

A Cozy Mystery or Suspense/Thriller: The Cellar" by Natasha Preston

A Book from your Want-to-Read-List: "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

A Book by a Favorite or Never Read Author: "Blood Rose" by Andera Cremer

A Non-Fiction or a Classic Book: "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson

A New-Release (2023) or a Display Shelf Book: "My Dear Friend Henry: A Jekyl and Hyde Remix" by Kalynn Bayron

A Book of Your Choice: "City of Fallen Angels" by Cassandra Claire

[camillahex]

hm okay okay giant's footsteps (?) with sand like shards of the red crystal embedded in the soil beneath them at the scene of the loam farm murder, similar to what was at the lucy/yolanda murder site; i think the rat grinders have maybe been doing trial rituals to summon

additionally, the twenty four pointed star is divinity without connection to any one particular god, and these red crystals seem to now be ultimately unaligned with any one particular emotion (in the same way the star is ultimately unaligned) but can be almost imbued with a particular emotion of its wielder

i wonder if the crystals are almost like shards of a god's like emotional essence (cassandra released hers at first when she was frustrated at kristen's neglegence), and once they escape they can be imbued with certain emotions or have the emotions of when they were released

and with the reveal of the blood pressurizing into red diamonds, potentially these practice rituals are to possess someone with the spirit of this rage god and then almost burst them from the inside out with the physical pressure form all that rage and adrenaline in their bodies - sowing the seeds for some later ritual to fully resurrect the rage god (which begs the question of what actually happened to cassandra to make her emit those crystals in the first place)

(i wonder if the rat grinders - if they are in fact the ones facilitating this - got the idea from the fact that lydia's barbarian rage and how it physically manifests in her body is what is controlling the crystal containing one of the rage god's servants)

[raymencranpin17]

Come Home back ewa apartment always ago Raymen Pin okay Yes ewa home safe better look okay OKay. DO A 5 Namie Amuro Sophie Monk Hilary duff Brandon Routh Ed Burns Angelic Come My Way Far Away from home 12.31.2017 Western ribbon necktie Sachen Carfend 12/31/2017 Calm Down Take it easy Raymen Hate everybody anymore again okay Yes. Indie Rock Enon English Eng USA English French Canada vs Japan Korean China Park Yoochun Jo in sung Zo So ji Sub Hate Cartoon Network so Nasty horrible no good anymore again okay Yes Dance Pop DJ Euro Gay Love Male always ago okay yes Male Boy Men Man Guy okay Yes Asian American okay Yes 조인성 소지섭 박유천 #소피몽크 #린다트랑다이

내길로와 #아무로나미에 #박유천 #더킹2017 #힐러리더프 #최원영 #인디락 #カムマイウェイ #조인성 #소지섭 #RaymenPin #Hilaryduff2004 #ComeMyWay #ParkYoochun #Joinsung #Sojisub #Ewabeach101 Uncle Waene Vance Ft Just Calm down take it easy okay Raymen Yes Krady Crestmere Trandy Crewmen Kirby Cran #KirbyCran Hate Supernatural never again okay Yes Dake Samk Castrie okay Yes Mom brother Danny Jenna Do not Lost Raymen Me anymore again okay Yes #Hilaryduff2004 #Jojungsuk GTA 5 PC Leifang Lei Fang Marie Rose Kokoro Jannlee Rig Bayman Leon Jacky Akira #DOA56crackit #DOA22hu34dGrandit Home Memory okay Yes #Westernribbonneckite #Calmdown #DynastyWarriors5empires DJ Spyroof Ryona Reverse Jung Woo Sung Bae woo sung not Ryu Jun Yeol Hoya Lee Howon Hyun Bin Son Hyun Joo Song Chang Eui Seo Kang Joon No Hair Asian K All Male Boy Men Man Guy with Bangs Long High Tigh with wavy slide head Forehead okay yes Hate Everybody otherwase he never let him come take back crisis Shelter never again okay Yes. My Mom never like you never help her not talk about Raymen Me him anymore again okay Yes Raymen Hate Everybody no good anymore He was aggessive So Boring anymore no more again okay Yes He was Throw Water around over people Pocket Sand make over okay yes. Heaven of the sky Lynda trang dai Come My Way English USA Japanese Asian Japan Come Home soon okay yes Phone a03s T Mobile not 5 years ago anymore Crying Sad Song always ago okay Yes. Headdress Be Release Come home soon Ewa beach okay Yes Their Pussy Bullshit He Raymen Angry Upset Call you pussy idiot Whorewipe like you it again anymore okay Yes Ma Danny Yes Be easily I behave calm down okay Ma Danny Yes Do not Hate me Do not Block me again okay Yes Save memory Vietnamese Khmer Cambodia Malaysia Hate Philipino Philipines anymore again okay Yes Joseph Lucas Joe Saron Ricky Blue White Red Purple Lavender be Bald always ago Bro okay Yes #SophieMonkEng Kyosuke Kagami Ingrid Enon Indie Rock #NamieAmuro Logan Lerman Dylan Everett Gay Love okay Yes Pho Beef Meat Rice and Chicken Wings Drumstick Food Pepsi Water okay Yes Ewa beach safe better always no Kids no Dogs no more again okay Yes Young Teen Granson Not Client Kid anymore Hate Arjay Raymen Hate him never again at 5 years ago anymore again okay Yes Colby Rank Gay Love Calm take it easy okay Yes Milky Way Starry Stars Pants Shirt Polo faded Guardian family Hane Boxer Ugly eek Hate Tekken and Dead or alive doa Hit anywhere PC Cheats okay Yes Asshalfbraidwipe 蘇楷盛 ដា រ៉ូ សំណាង បឹងព្រីង ប្រុស ពៅ 더킹2017

코미웨이 #thumpsdownsamjaredleftsidearmcrossed No Armcrossed Left and Standing Tray to not at left not Red and Blue okay #NoBlueNecktieSamandNoRedNecktieDean Danny Lim Evan Ghang Keonjik Lee Crady Rang Roof Mech Christmas Decmeber Be home soon okay Yes Edit Doobi doo dont be shy Tu vivi nell aria Miani Lo Sbaglio hate them so pissed no good again okay ma Danny Richard Luga Be Family guardian always accept okay yes. Achiemeideh Yes okay #DDRryonareverse Hp Laptop Hard Disk Sandisk Cruzer Glide Angel Rainbow Home soon Tin Pete MeanSaint m34nsa1nt okay Yes Angelic Home soon back again Come home always Prayer Home Save Memory healed your voice eyes okay Yes no be again okay Ma Danny Yes Hate Eric Ancheta anymore again I wanted come back home to Ma Home always Nobody cant beat me hurt me my granson always his Mom Granson alone okay Yes #SongSeungheon Gary Sinise Nichalos Cage Harvey Mike SBS MBC KBS TVN JTBS JBTS Phi Viet Volume 11 JTBC Trandy Crewmen Kirby Crying Cay Ratellite Kleep we are Eye eyebrow Hair Mouth Shut okay Rey Pin Khmer No one cant never stop beat me anymore Get out go home Beat it. Do not Leave the House last 1 years ago Danny Ma okay Yes I used it there at home ewa apartment safe better always accept okay yes Jo jung suk Crady Raecren Bobby Raecren

[cassandraclare]

The Whispering Room: James’ POV

Here it is finally — James’ POV of the Whispering Room scene from Chain of Gold. I wanted to wait until Chain of Iron was released to give more people a chance to read the book, and also because what we learn in COI does inform the scene. I hope you enjoy!

*art by Cassandra Jean

Cortana wove with her words, underlining each one with steel. She turned as her sword turned, and her body curved and moved like water or fire, like a river under an infinity of stars. It was beautiful—she was beautiful, but it was not a distant beauty. It was a beauty that lived and breathed and reached out with its hands to crush James’s chest and make him breathless. — Chain of Gold

James had felt a strange emotion when Daisy first took the stage at the Hell Ruelle. It was a mix of several feelings...

worry on her behalf, annoyance at Kellington, curiosity, and admiration for her bravery and poise. It was unfair of these Bohemians to force her to caper for them, and, he thought, a bit insulting to Shadowhunters in general. He supposed that Matthew had given them a rather unusual view of what the Nephilim were like in such circumstances.

And then she had begun to dance. And suddenly she was not Daisy, his old friend. She was Cordelia, whose name meant heart, whose every gesture was fire. Every earthly worry he’d had had been swept out of his mind. He was conscious only of Cordelia, whirling back and forth across the small stage. Cortana danced around her, shedding light like embers. The dull glow of the lamps illuminated her body, describing her every movement, her every curve as she danced. Her scarlet hair whipped around her in time to the music, and the golden light of the lamps in the Ruelle slipped across her skin, slow and hot, like beads of honey. The cadences of her voice, rising and falling, seemed to weave a cage of silken thread about her audience, and James was no exception.

Later, James would think it was odd that he had not compared her to Grace. Grace had never entered his mind at all. Cordelia danced, and by the end of her performance, James’s entire life had been disassembled and put back together in a new and different shape. He was conscious of Matthew, beside him, also staring as the crowd cheered, his sharp cheekbones flushed. He looked dazed; James couldn’t blame him.

Cordelia descended the stage and slipped through the crowd to come back to them, blushing at the looks and murmured comments she was drawing from the audience now. James could see the desire in the eyes that followed her. Everyone wanted her. He felt a dull fury. They had no right. They did not know Cordelia. She was more than just that dance.

When she reached them she let out a long breath of relief and smiled. She glowed with the exercise of dancing. Sweat beaded along her collarbones, shimmered between her breasts. Her eyes were bright as Cortana’s blade, strapped to her back.

“Bloody hell,” Matthew exclaimed.  “What was that?”

A look of uncertainty crossed Cordelia’s face. James said, “It was a fairy tale, Math,” and Matthew nodded. His dark green eyes searched Cordelia’s face, as if looking for the key to a locked room he had only just discovered.

Cordelia looked uncertain. James couldn’t bear that. She’d been magnificent; she should know it. But he couldn’t say that, of course. It would only make her self-conscious.

“Well done, Cordelia,” James said instead; when he unfolded his arms; his wrist hurt and he wondered if he’d been clenching his hands.

Cordelia. He hadn’t called her Daisy, and she looked a little surprised. It seemed inappropriate, somehow. Daisy was Lucie’s friend, the Merry Thieves’ compatriot; he found it a smaller name than she deserved. Cordelia, though—she had been a queen, hadn’t she? Queen Cordelia, daughter of Leir, ruler of Britain before the Romans had ever landed on those shores. Like Boadicea, a legendary warrior queen. A blazing white fire behind fathomless black eyes.

“Anna has disappeared with Hypatia,” James said, noting the empty settee, “so I would call your distraction a success.”

Cordelia’s lips twitched into a smile. “How long does a seduction usually last?”

“Depends if you do it properly,” Matthew said, with a wink. James felt it as a spark of relief, a bit of lightness amid the feeling that something heavy was sitting on his chest.

“Well, I hope for Hypatia’s sake Anna does it properly,” James said. He registered, with the reflexes of a parabatai, that Matthew had gone still next to him, and wondered what was wrong. “Yet for our sake, I hope she hurries it up.”

All hint of Matthew’s jocular tone from before was gone. “Both of you,” he said urgently. “Listen.”

Did he mean all the muttering about Shadowhunters? Was he only noticing it now? It had followed them since they came into the place. But when James followed Matthew’s gaze, he found Kellington staring with an expression of vexation, not at them but at the door. All questions were answered as through the door came Charles Fairchild, looking around him with a haughty expression. He looked like was about to raid the place; so much for whatever work Matthew and Anna had done for Downworlder-Shadowhunter relations here.

Matthew narrowed his eyes. “Charles,” he sighed. “By the Angel, what is he doing here?”

Charles was, James thought, probably looking for them. He was making his way through the crowd and gazing around him. Luckily for them, the crowd was not interested in letting him through, and he was moving very slowly.

“We should go,” James said. “But we can’t leave Anna.”

In one way, at least, Charles’s arrival was helpful; it threw a bucket of cold water on the roiling heat that had gripped James’s heart since Cordelia had begun her dance. Back to the matter at hand: a demon, a Pyxis, a plan.

“You two run and hide yourselves,” Matthew said, still keeping his eyes on his brother. “Charles will go off his head if he sees you here.”

“But what about you?” said Cordelia.

Matthew shrugged, but James could see the tension in his jaw and his shoulders. “He’s used to this kind of thing from me. I’ll deal with Charles.”

Not for the first time, James wished that his parabatai wasn’t in such a hurry to sacrifice his own reputation. He exchanged a long look with Matthew, but Matthew was sure, and determined, and his desire to rush into his own humiliation was an issue that would have to wait. Nodding, he turned and caught Cordelia’s hand with his own. “This way,” he said, and she nodded back in acknowledgement. As he pulled them into the crowd he heard Matthew’s voice calling, “Charles!” in a hearty tone of pleasant, if entirely false, welcome.

James didn’t know his way around the place, and the crowd made orientating himself even more difficult, but after some trial and error he and Cordelia managed to get behind Kellington and slip into a corridor leading away. This wasn’t safe in itself, since from the main chamber one would have a clear view down the entire corridor. In fact, they were temporarily more exposed than before, and James’s hope for the hallway to take a quick turn or to contain large statuary to hide behind was quickly dashed. He continued to hold onto Cordelia’s hand, not that he needed to; she seemed to know her way better than he did.

Partway down the corridor, James caught sight of an open door — its silver plaque labeling it the entrance to THE WHISPERING ROOM. Swiftly he drew Cordelia inside, out of sight. He slammed the door behind them, causing a loud noise, but he thought it couldn’t possibly be heard over the crowd in the main chamber. Only then did he release Cordelia’s hand and take stock of their surroundings.

The room was dimly lit, but not cold: a scented fire burned in the grate, filling the space with the smell of sandalwood and roses. It was a study, he guessed, based on the gigantic walnut desk against the wall and the bookshelves opposite, but it was too richly decorated to be solely a place for studious contemplation. Phoenix feathers and dragon scales danced across the gilded wallpaper; there were no windows, but the walls were hung with patterned tapestries, the floor covered with a rug so thick James felt his boots sink into it as he moved further into the room.

Cordelia had leaned her back against the wall next to the door. Her eyes were closed and she was taking deep, full breaths, calming herself down. Cortana gleamed gold over her shoulder; the firelight gleamed a deeper gold on her skin, which seemed to take and hold its warmth. James curled his fingers in against his palm.

He wanted to touch her. He half-turned away, pretending to study the books on the wall. Any other time, he would have been fascinated by the titles. Now they seemed distant, neither immediate nor imporant. He could have sworn he heard his own heart hammering. He said, “Where did you learn to dance like that?” surprising himself with the roughness of his own voice.

His gaze snapped back to Cordelia as she opened her eyes and gave a little shrug. There was something magical about the dress she wore: it followed the shape of her own body rather than the shape of corsetry or whalebone petticoats. It slid softly against her skin as she moved, just as her dark red hair tickled the bare skin of her throat, her shoulders. “I had a dance instructor in Paris. My mother believed that learning to dance aided in learning grace in battle.”

The word grace pierced James like an icicle. He could not quite picture Grace at the moment, it was true; could not quite envision her face. He had given Grace his heart — that was an immutable fact, something he knew as he knew that two plus two equaled four. But he had to admit that at the moment his heart did not feel given. It felt like a thrumming machine inside his chest, pumping blood and heat.

“That dance,” Cordelia added with a quirk of her soft mouth that struck James like a blow to the stomach, “was forbidden to be taught to unmarried ladies. But my dance instructor did not care.”

“Well,” James said, keeping his voice steady with practiced control, “thank the Angel you were there. Matthew and I could certainly not have pulled off that dance on our own.”

Cordelia turned away from him, the smile still on her face, as though she were keeping it secret from him. She trailed her hand along the top of Hypatia’s desk. At one end was a stack of papers held down by a large copper bowl of fruit, and she brought her hand up to trace its rim.

James may have been distracted beyond the capacity for distraction he’d known before, but he was still a Shadowhunter. “Be careful,” he said warningly. “I suspect that is faerie fruit. It has no effect on warlocks—no magical effect, at least. But on humans…”

Cordelia pulled her hand back as though stung. “Surely it does not harm you if you do not eat it.”

“Oh, it does not. But I have met those who have tasted it. The say the more you have of it, the more you want, and the more you ache when you can…have no more.”

Cordelia was looking at him now, and though it took a great summoning of courage, he returned her gaze. In her dark eyes the silver and blue flames of the fireplace danced. James could not catch his breath. He had never felt this before, this breathlessness. It was like pain, but with a sweet, sharp edge. Like licking honey from a knife. He said, in a low voice, “And yet. I have always thought…is not knowing what it tastes like just another form of torture? The torture of wondering?”

The door shook on his hinges suddenly, making a clatter that made both he and Cordelia jerk their heads around to look at it. The knob was starting to turn.

Cordelia paled. “We’re not meant to be in here —“

James’s world closed down to just this: Cordelia was here, she was with him, and she looked frightened. He would do anything to stop that look on her face. He caught her in his arms, and the relief was incredible — he had not realized how much he wanted to be touching her until he was. Until he was holding her, and her strength and warmth and softness were all pressed against him, and her face was so beautiful it hurt, and her lips were parted in surprise and without another thought he kissed them.

He could feel her sharp intake of breath with his hands, clasped together at her lower back. She gasped, but did not draw back, or away — he thought he would have died if she had — she leaned into him, her full lips opening under his. She was kissing him back. He tasted honey, smelled jasmine and smoke. His hand slid up her warm cheek and into the soft fall of her hair.

Time stopped.

Cordelia’s arms were around his neck. Her lush mouth opened a little against his, and the kiss deepened. He moved his hand to the back of her neck to bring her closer. Her teeth grazed his lower lip, and he couldn’t help it; he moaned, and felt her tremble against him.

Very far away, a voice chuckled and the door closed with a soft click. This whole thing had been intended as a ruse, he knew, for the benefit of whomever was trying to get into the Whispering Room. Probably some Ruelle attendees, Downworlders most likely, who had snuck off for a rendez-vous.

Ruse accomplished, then. With intense regret, James drew back from Cordelia. Her hand, warm and soft and wonderful, was against his neck; her fingers stroked his pale white scar. Her eyes were fixed at the level of his shoulder. He could hear himself say her name — Daisy, my Daisy — instead of responding, she whispered, “I think more people are coming.”

He knew it wasn’t true. He didn’t care. He knew what she was saying: that she was asking and giving permission at once. All James’ life, he had struggled for control: control over his sudden falls into shadow, control over the dark world he could see, that was invisible to everyone else. He had worked and fought and trained for control every day, and for the first time in as long as he could remember it deserted him.

The walls he had put up burned to the ground in an instant as he caught Cordelia to him. He groaned against her mouth, his hands slipping over the silk of her dress, the hot satin of her skin. He undid the strap that held Cortana, got rid of it somehow — carefully, he hoped — and let himself fall back into delirium.

He did not ask himself why he had never felt desire like this before. He could not. He was lost in the feel of her, the incline of her waist, the flare of her hips, the rise and fall of her chest as she gasped. They were kissing wildly, uncontrolled; they fetched up against the desk, Cordelia’s back to it.

Her body bent backward in an impossible arch, her hands going behind her to brace herself. Her eyes half-closed, her head fell back, revealing the bare column of her throat. He pressed his lips there, eliciting a gasp of surprised pleasure.

His hands trailed up the sleek material of her dress — he could feel the heat of her skin through it — from her waist to the neckline of her gown. His palms followed her curves until the tips of his fingers were pressing into the bare bronze skin just above the neckline of her dress. She was sleek and soft and hot all at the same time, like nothing else he’d ever touched. He heard her whimper; she was saying his name, and his heart beat in time with her words: James, James, Jamie please.

The please undid him; shrugging off his frock coat, he caught hold of her around the waist, lifting her until she was perched on the edge of the desk. The material of her dress bunched around her knees, her thighs, as she took hold of his shirt by the starched front and kissed him. His mouth drove against hers, hot and demanding, even as he clambered onto the desk after her. She reached up her arms for him and he sank down on top of her, bracing his weight with a hand above her head.

He paused, just for a moment, looking down at her. Her scarlet hair fanned out across the desk, her eyes glazed, her full lips red from kissing. He was cradled by her body, her legs on either side of his hips, her skirt rucked up nearly to her waist. She wrapped her long, bare legs around him and he shuddered. What was in him, what he wanted, was inchoate but insistant, a force he’d never known. A yearning like hot wires in his blood, the pain-pleasurable ache of unbearable wanting that drove him to kiss her again, kiss her harder. She tangled her hands in his hair, pulling at it as he kissed her breasts, flicking his tongue over the sensitive skin until she gave a low scream and clutched at him with desperate hands.

He sank down against her and kissed her, hot and deep and hard. She arched into the kiss, her breath coming in gasps. He felt her through the thinner material of his shirt: the heat of her, the swell of her breasts against his chest, her hands smoothing over his chest, his sides.

His hands aching to touch her in kind, to find out what she liked, what made her gasp, and do it again and again . . . Nothing had ever felt like this, nothing. He’d known desire before; so he remembered, so he had believed. It turned out he had stepped into a puddle and thought it was the sea. As Cordelia moved in his arms, as her lips, he realized there was a depth to desire he hadn’t even guessed at: that it was more than just desperation, but joy and need and wanting and being wanted back. It was a fever dream, his hands sliding up under the heavy satin of her skirts, the salt-sweet taste of her skin, the soft sounds of her pleasure as she urged him closer, urged him onward, the desk seeming to spin beneath them.

He heard, as if at a great distance, the sound of the door opening. He lifted his head, saw the slim fair-hared figure in the doorway. Ice washed through his veins. Cordelia stiffened, began to scramble to sit up. No, he thought, but he couldn’t stop her, couldn’t blame her. It — whatever it had been — was over.

He slid off the desk. Already the fever was vanishing, that feeling —the glorious freedom from the burden of his own will — receding. Grasping at his control, he drew it around himself,  reaching for his coat, turning to calmly meet the gaze of his parabatai.

“James?” Matthew said.

[infamous-light]

Chase The Night Away

Alcina Dimitrescu x Reader, Alcina's Daughters & Reader

Summary: Alcina had to be away for a single night but you didn't think it would affect you so negatively.

Suffering from a terrible nightmare, the daughters help comfort you throughout the night.

Word Count: 3.7K

AO3: Chase The Night Away

You curl up into a ball, bringing your knees closer to your chest as you nuzzle your face against the soft silken sheets held in your grip. It felt weird to sleep alone on such a large bed when Alcina wasn't here to rest beside you, holding you flush against her body. You always slept soundly in her strong arms. You felt safe and secure.

You realized that this is the first time you will be sleeping alone without her and quite frankly, you don't like it. You couldn't help but feel anxious. It reared its ugly head as small knots formed low in your stomach, twisting and churning about. You didn't think being alone in your shared bedchambers for a single night would cause you this much distress.

Yeah, this will be not be happening again. If Alcina has to ever leave for the night, you're going with her.

Earlier in the day, Alcina informed you that she would be away, just for the night, managing her wine business. You were surprised at first but you didn't think twice about it. You don't know the inner workings of it all but you have heard that a few of her business associates operate at odd hours of the day.

You stare out the window between the gap where the dark red colored drapes haven't entirely blocked the outside world from your view. Light rain patters against the cool glass, sliding down in rivulets, collecting on the window ledge. You're transfixed at the sight. You always liked watching the rain since it helped soothe your nerves.

Looking beyond the glass pane of the window, you could barely make out the few sparkling stars that attempt to shine their brightness through the dark clouds in the night sky. You wish you could see them more clearly. It would make for a beautiful night. Taking a deep breath, you slowly close your eyes as you listen to the continuous light tapping of the rain against the windowpane and the surrounding structure of the castle.

You pull the bed sheets further over yourself before you start to feel your mind slowly drifting away as you finally succumb to sleep, falling into a deep slumber.

***

You run as fast as your legs can take you. Long spindly branches from overreaching trees and large mangy bushes whip past you as you traverse the unknown territory. Your heart beats rapidly inside of your chest as you have no idea where you are going. You just needed to get somewhere safe.

And fast.

A cold chill suddenly shoots down your spine as you hear the loud growling surround you from all sides in the dense forest. Your breath comes out in short gasps, the muscles in your legs start to burn from how hard you have been pushing yourself. The hair on the back of your neck prickles, knowing that the monstrous creatures are quickly moving in on you.

A sharp snap from directly behind you causes you to cry out in terror. You don't look back, you just keep running forward. The vicious snarling moves ever closer, becoming more desperate and raring. Shadowy figures begin to emerge from their hiding spots, appearing from both sides of the forest and even up in the trees.

Their glowing yellow eyes shine brightly from within the darkness of the forest, drinking in your terrified state. You could see the hunger deep in their eyes as they continue to snap their jaws threateningly at you.

Tears start to well up in the corner of your eyes. You weren't sure if you were going to get out of this horrifying situation alive. It was just too dark. Everything was too damn dark!

You yelp as you trip over something. You slam roughly into the dirt, your breath quickly leaves your lungs. Without hesitating, you quickly scramble forward, trying to find something your hands can purchase on for protection.

The rustling of bushes and small twigs snapping sound deafening to your ears as thunderous stomps draw nearer to you. You swiftly glance up and your blood runs cold. You could see the silhouette of the monsters standing a few feet away from you now.

You flip yourself over onto your back and your eyes widen in fear as you realized that you were surrounded by lycans. They all howl in unison as they finally caught their prey. You lay there still as a statue, absolutely petrified.

One of them slowly creeps towards you, growling low in their throat, a blood-thirsty look in its eyes as it hovers over your prone form.

"N-no..." You whimpered, your body now trembling in fear.

It bares its long jagged teeth at you while raising its sharp claws, preparing to strike you. They all stand above you now and you begin to hyperventilate. It can't end like this.

They all lunge at you and you let out a blood-curdling scream.

***

You scream out in pure terror as you quickly shot up in bed, frantically scrambling to remove the bedcovers off of you, wanting to escape. You jump out of bed, running to the corner of the room, pressing your back against the wall while bracing your hand over your rapidly beating heart. You bunch the front of your shirt up in a tight grip as you try to get your breathing under control again. You blink a few times, slowly taking in your surroundings. You start to realize that you're not in a forest but back in the castle. You never left your shared bedchambers.

You could cry tears of happiness.

You almost jumped out of your skin from fear when the doors to your room suddenly slammed open, bouncing off of the wall quite loudly. Cassandra immediately entered while in her dark nightgown with her sickle in her right hand, ready to face any attacker.

She swiftly glanced over the room until her golden eyes landed on you. Her features morphed from fierce protectiveness to confusion.

"(Y/N)... are you ok?" Cassandra asked cautiously. She set her sickle aside gently, placing it on the drawer dresser, her gaze never once straying from you. You noticed how tense you still were. You must still look like a frightened little rabbit, cornered by a bunch of big hungry wolves.

You were about to answer until you heard the sound of loud buzzing quickly making its way over to you and Cassandra. You watch as Bela and Daniela appear out of the swarm, merging back into their whole form once more.

"What's going on?" Bela demanded as she entered the bedroom as well, looking over to Cassandra for answers.

"I'm not sure. I arrived shortly before you did." Cassandra shrugged, still staring at you intently.

Daniela peeked her head over Bela's shoulder, wanting to see what was going on. Once her eyes connected with yours, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Bela finally turned to look at you, her calculating golden eyes observing you from across the room.

She slowly made her way over to you, now standing a few feet away from you, her expression softening a little. "(Y/N), do you want to tell us what happened?" She asked gently, attempting to calm your nerves with her voice.

You didn't realize that your heart was still racing inside of your chest and that they all could probably hear it from a mile away. You finally release a long deep breath you weren't aware you've been holding in for this entire time.

You push yourself off of the wall, giving a slight nod as you answer Bela's question. "I-I just... I had a terrible nightmare. I never experienced anything so vivid before. I didn't even recognize where I was for a moment..." You trail off quietly, looking everywhere but at Bela.

Bela stared at you in silence for a moment before taking a step closer to you, resting her hand on your left shoulder, gently squeezing it. "Will you be ok?"

You nod feebly again. "I think so..."

"Let's get you back into bed." She placed her hand on your lower back, gently guiding you back over to your bed. You climbed back into bed as she slid the bedcovers over your body, tucking you in. "Are you sure you will be fine, little one?"

"Y-yeah..."

Bela doesn't look convinced but you know she won't push you for answers. "If you need anything, just call for any one of us, understood?" They were all prepared to leave but you felt an uncomfortable feeling wash over you.

"Wait!" You blurted out. They suddenly stopped in their tracks and they all turned to look at you, staring at you inquisitively. "I actually don't want to be alone right now..." You could feel yourself already blushing at what you were about to ask of them. "C-could you all stay with me for the night? Like, could we... um, all cuddle together in bed?"

Oh, this was embarrassing. Maybe you shouldn't have asked.

You couldn't help but cringe internally when all three sisters shared a silent look between each other.

"Oh... of course we can!" Bela sounded surprised, almost baffled. You could tell she was trying to act composed but she was failing to mask her shock. She turned back to face Cassandra and Daniela. Cassandra's eyebrows receded into her hairline, clearly surprised as well while Daniela tilted her head to the side in curiosity, but seemed excited at the prospect. "Right, sisters?"

Cassandra appeared to snap out of her stupor and smirked in response, her eyes shining in amusement as they landed on you once more. You awkwardly smile back at her and she snorted quietly to herself, finding you endearing in her own way. "We can absolutely cuddle with you."

Daniela squealed in delight. "Yes! We definitely can!" She immediately bounded over to your bedside, excitement rolling off of her in waves while her two sisters began to make their way over to you. You pulled back the bedcovers as they all climbed into your bed together.

You all attempt to huddle together, trying to find the most comfortable position to be in. Bela ends up in the center with you laying your head on her abdomen while your legs are entangled along with hers. Cassandra is on your right side, resting on the other side of Bela as her head is settled on the eldest sister's stomach as well, her face near yours. She grabbed one of your hands, intertwining your fingers with hers.

Daniela is pressed against your back, wrapping her arms around your waist, hugging you tightly in her embrace. They were cool to the touch but not unbearably so. You sigh contentedly as they all cuddle you, surrounding you from all sides. You let your mind drift off to a peaceful place with not a single worry in the world.

Your eyes slowly drift closed as Bela lightly combs her fingers through your hair.

Daniela hums, nuzzling her face in your neck. "So warm."

The redhead somehow managed to meld herself even closer to your body, subconsciously squeezing you around the waist even tighter until you let out a small squeak in protest.

"Daniela, you're holding them too tightly!" Bela lightly chastised.

"Sorry..." Daniela sheepishly said as she released her hold on you just enough where you could breathe in a little air again. You could hear Daniela mumbling to herself again, something about 'humans' and 'so warm'.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at her youngest sister before a mischievous smile spread across her face. She tightened her grip on your hand, purposefully tugging you closer to her. Daniela whined loudly in response.

"Stop pulling them away from me, Cassandra!"

Daniela swiftly pulled you away from Cassandra, huffing in exasperation while doing so. The brunette narrowed her eyes at Daniela, yanking you back closer to her. All you could do was let yourself be pulled back and forth between the two sisters, reminding you of your early childhood where you use to play tug-of-war with your friends. Except, you're the rope in this situation. You felt like a rag doll that was about to be torn to pieces between two children who didn't know how to share.

You could hear Bela mutter something under her breath before raising her voice. "Alright, you two! That's enough!"

"Cassandra started it." Daniela scoffed, pulling you back into her. You could feel her glowering stare pierce through you, landing onto Cassandra.

Cassandra cackled, amusement dancing vividly across her gold irises, clearly enjoying antagonizing her youngest sister. You stare off into the distance, left dumbfounded by the whole ordeal. You wondered if you should say something or not but decided not to, letting the girls maneuver you around until they found their comfortable position with you once more.

Bela returned back to running her fingers through your hair, chuckling lightly to herself. "Forgive my sisters' behavior, they can be a handful at times."

You tried not to laugh at that, thinking back on past experiences involving both Cassandra and Daniela. They definitely can be a handful.

Yeah, I'm all too aware of that...

"We're right here, Bela..." Cassandra glanced towards her eldest sister, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Uh... it's fine, really." You laughed awkwardly, unsure of what to say in response. It wasn't a big deal to you. You're just happy that you're not alone while Alcina had to be away for the night.

"Do you mind telling us what happened in your nightmare?" Daniela asked softly, changing the topic. You were pulled out of your thoughts at Daniela's question and you hesitated to answer, biting your lower lip in anxiety. You're worried that they may find your reaction to your nightmare stupid to begin with but you decided to answer.

"I-I was being chased by a bunch of lycans throughout a forest. I didn't make it in the end..." You swallowed thickly, quickly glancing downwards, prepared to hear them laugh at the brief retelling of your nightmare.

Cassandra scoffs. "Those foul disgusting creatures wouldn't stand a chance against us. They won't come close to you with us nearby." She gave your hand an extra squeeze, reassuring you that you are safe here.

You could feel Daniela's eager nod against the back of your head. "We'll keep you safe! We won't let any harm come to you!"

"I'm in agreement with my sisters. Those stench rotting beasts won't dare come near Mother's territory. You have nothing to fear, little one. We'll protect you." Bela stated as she continued to play with your hair.

A huge smile broke out across your face at each of the girls' responses. "Thank you so much for doing this for me." You said. They all spoke out at once, assuring you that they were happy to be of help and that they enjoyed cuddling you. You let yourself soak in their affections for you before silence filled the room again.

Bela stopped running her fingers through your hair to instead press your head firmly against her abdomen, letting her hand rest atop your head. Cassandra pulled your hand closer to her chest, enveloping it in both of her hands, relishing in the body heat that you give off.

Daniela managed to quiet down, her soft breathing brushing against the back of your neck.

To your surprise, Bela began to lightly hum a tune. You didn't recognize it but you liked it all the same. You let out a deep sigh. It felt soothing to be in each of their presence, being held securely in their grasp. Your anxiety and fears from earlier faded away into peacefulness.

You felt your hand being raised and you opened your eyes slightly to see that Cassandra has your hand nestled underneath her chin, a serene look on her face.

It was nice to see Cassandra's usually self-satisfied expression now replaced by a soft sleepy look and you secretly found it adorable. You wouldn't dare tell her though, knowing that she may decide to terrorize you- not in a harmful way- until the rest of your days.

Daniela was mumbling under her breath as she lightly dug her nails into your shirt. It seems that she already drifted off to sleep. You smiled to yourself, happy that Daniela already fell asleep by your side.

Bela continued humming her tune and you close your eyes once more, letting her slowly lull you to sleep.

***

Alcina returned early in the morning, shortly before the sun was to rise over the horizon. She released a long ragged sigh as she was finally happy to be back home after a long grueling night traveling to and fro between different business associates.

She slowly stretched the muscles in her neck, tilting her head side to side, attempting to ease the knots that formed across her shoulders from sitting in the carriage for too long.

After a minute of loosening all her muscles, she began to make her way to you, taking the staircase in the foyer, and walking down the many different hallways in the castle. She was looking forward to snuggling you now that she's back.

She stopped in front of the bedroom door, grabbed the handle, and slowly pushed the door open as to not wake you. She didn't have to bend and duck through the doorway as she usually does since she had the opening rebuilt for her height.

Her back thanked her for it. Eventually, she'll get the other doorways repurposed for the same exact reason.

She stepped into the room and paused at the sight before her. Her pleasant expression turned to shock.

She was in slight awe at seeing you cuddling her daughters in the bed you two shared with you laying partially on top of Bela as Cassandra and Daniela sandwiched you in on both sides. She never thought she would witness such a thing but her heart quickly warmed at the sight, a small smile appearing on her face as she quietly walked over to the bedside.

Though, that begs the question. Why were you and her daughters cuddling in the first place? What did she miss while she was away?

Daniela roused slightly in place, slowly blinking her eyes while sleepily mumbling. "Mother...?"

"Shh... go back to sleep, darling." She leaned over to brush her hand down Daniela's head, soothing her back to sleep. She lightly ran her hand down yours and each of her daughter's heads before soundlessly leaving the room to allow you all to get some further rest.

***

You awoke with a beaming smile on your face as the girls still surrounded you in bed. They haven't left your side for a single moment and you were grateful for that. Thankfully, the nightmare you had never returned during the night. They all started to slowly wake up at the same time you did.

"How did you sleep?" Bela asked you groggily, rubbing lazy circles on your shoulder.

"I slept great actually. Thank you all again for doing this for me." You slowly sat up, smiling shyly at each of them.

"I'd be happy to do it again!" Daniela hugged you tightly one last time before climbing out of bed, tidying up her nightgown. She was full of energy it seems.

Cassandra gave you a small smile as she brushed some hair strands out of your face. "You're very welcome, little one."

Bela hummed in agreement. "We're happy that we could be here for you."

After lazing about for a few more minutes, you all got yourselves ready to start the day.

***

You found yourself humming the same tune Bela did last night as you make your way to Alcina's study. You rapped your knuckles on the door a few times before hearing Alcina loudly say 'enter'. You pushed the door open and peeked your head inside, smiling once your eyes landed on Alcina sitting at her desk, sorting through a variety of documents.

She turned to look at you and she smiled brightly once you entered fully, closing the door behind you. You quickly ran over to her and hopped in her lap to wrap your arms around her neck, giving her a tight hug.

She chuckled at your overly excited state. "I take it you missed me?"

You pull back to look her in the face, rolling your eyes playfully. "No, I'm not. Why are you even here?" You laughed as she lightly smacked your arm.

"Watch that mouth of yours, dear." She playfully glared at you before smiling again and pulling you in for a much tighter hug.

"So, how was your night?" You ask.

"Oh, it was dull and uninteresting. Believe me, dear, the details would put you right back to sleep. Though, not much has changed logistics-wise." She trailed off as she stared out the window before looking at you once more, raising a single eyebrow in curiosity. "It appears you've had an eventful night. I wasn't expecting the girls to be asleep in our bed when I walked in this morning."

You quickly darted your eyes away from Alcina's face, furrowing your eyebrows when images of your nightmare flashed in your mind. You tried to formulate a response before Alcina responded again, her voice laced with concern.

"What wrong, darling?"

You shake your head slightly at yourself, realizing how silly this may sound to Alcina. You know the girls responded without judgment but you still felt nervous telling Alcina some things. "Ah... it was nothing serious. I just had a nightmare. That's all." You shyly glance down towards the floor, afraid to see how Alcina may respond to that.

You feel a cool gloved hand cup the side of your face, slowly dragging your gaze away from the floor, forcing you to look into her worried golden eyes. "It was not nothing if you required the presence of the girls to comfort you. You know that I would never dismiss anything you tell me. I do care about you, darling. Very much so."

"I care about you a lot too..."

Alcina found herself smiling softly at the thought of her daughters comforting you when you clearly needed it while, unfortunately, she wasn't there to provide that comfort directly herself. "I must say, it was an adorable sight to behold. They truly have come a long way when it comes to you. They warmed up to you greatly."

You tuck your head under her chin, closing your eyes as you nuzzle your face against her neck. "And I couldn't be any happier with that."

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (March 2nd, 2021)

___

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know! ___

New Standalones/First in a Series:

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira

Bones of a Saint by Grant Farley

Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi

The Bright & The Pale by Jessica Rubinkowski

The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel

I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre

Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme

The Secret Life of Kitty Granger by G.D. Falksen

The Lake by Natasha Preston

The Salt in Our Blood by Ava Morgyn

New Sequels: 

Good Girl, Bad blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #2) by Holly Jackson

Infinity Reaper (Infinity Cycle #2) by Adam Silvera

Dark Stars (Dark Stars #3) by Danielle Rollins

Chain of Iron (The Last Hours #2) by Cassandra Clare

The Queen’s Secret (The Queen’s Secret #2) by Melissa de la Cruz

Phoenix Flame (Havenfall #2) by Sara Holland 

Red Tigress (Blood Heir Trilogy #3) by Amélie Wen Zhao

Covet (Crave #3) by Tracy Wolff 

___

Happy reading!

[yourdeepestfathoms]

imagine Bela bathing in her own blood.

she’s lying naked in the bathtub, the porcelain freezing cold against her bare skin, but her blood is soothingly warm as it streams out from the slits in her skin. she knew the exact places to cut to release optimum blood flow.

the femoral arteries. her thighs grew hot and tingly. she couldn’t even feel the cuts anymore. her legs were just numb.

the ulnar arteries. it took some strength and a lot of digging through her flesh, which had made her see stars and almost black out a few times, but she eventually punctured those little threads through her arms. now, her wrists were spurting out a steady stream of blood, coppery and rank.

the cephalic, median, and basilic vein. she slid one wet claw up her forearm like she was gutting a fish, successfully snapping the vessels like they were weak strings. though the three veins didn’t bleed the same way as arteries did, they still provided amble blood flood, making her head fuzzy.

the jugular. she stabbed her claws into her throat and wrenched them around until the wound started spraying. she could taste blood and felt her breathing clog with red, but she didn’t really care. not like it would matter in the long run.

the blood slowly gathered around Bela. it would take forever to fill the entire bathtub, but she didn’t need to fill it up all the way. she would just stay in until she felt satisfied with her own draining life. perhaps all of her flaws would ooze out of her.

her blood was shiny red but had a slight green tint in the light. she was eating more fruit, resulting in the different pigmentation. she felt pathetic for it. she was a cold-blooded killer, but she was starting to feel bad for her own victims? Mother was surely disappointed in her.

the wetness began lapping at her waist. how long had she been in there already? she couldn’t remember. she couldn’t think straight. she was so very tired. the cut across her femoral artery was beginning to dry out, so she slit her claws across the gasp again. the Paine was bright and loud.

someone knocked on the door.

“Bela?” it was Cassandra. “what are you doing in there?”

“relaxing,” Bela answered calmly, spitting out blood gathered in her mouth from her gushing jugular. it wasn’t a lie. she felt fuzzy and warm. she couldn’t remember the last time she had ever felt so peaceful. none of her usual stress riddled her mind.

“are you taking a blood bath?”

Bela smiled weakly down at her bleeding body. “yeah. yeah, i am.”

[readaroundtherosie]

Most Anticipated Releases: January - June 2020 

The above is mostly just a preview, listed here is a slightly more elaborate list of the books I’m highly anticipating in 2020. It’s a mix of YA, SFF, and comics.I would highly recommend checking out all of these.

 Alot of these dates are different depending on which country you’re in, but most of the ones listed are whichever date comes first. 

All links are to Goodreads pages

January 7th - Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children #5) by Seanan McGuire 7th - A Heart So Fierce and Broken (Cursebreakers #2) by Brigid Kemmerer 14th - Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore 14th - Infinity Son ((Infinity Cycle #1) by Adam Silvera 21st - Spellhacker by M.K. England 30th - The Bromance Bookclub (Bromance Bookclub #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams (UK/AU release date)

February 4th -The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper 4th - The King of Crows (Diviners #4) by Libba Bray 4th - Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed 4th - A Conjuring of Assassins (Chimera #2) by Cate Glass 20th - Shorefall (Founders #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett 25th - The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

March 3rd - House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J Maas 3rd - Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare 3rd - The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu 3rd - The Midnight Lie (The Midnight Lie #1) by Marie Rutkoski 31st - Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke 31st - We Are Totally Normal by Rahul Kanakia  31st - Imagine Me (Shatter Me #6) by Tahereh Mafi

April 14th - Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey 20th - Loveless by Alice Oseman

May    5th - Aurora Buring (Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff 5th - The Notorious Virtues (Notorious Virtues #1) by Alwyn Hamilton 7th - Burn by Patrick Ness 11th - Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett 12th - House of Dragons (House of Dragons #1) by Jessica Cluess 18th - Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar 19th - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games Prequel) by Suzanne Collins

June 2nd - Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #2) by Tasmyn Muir 2nd - Igniting Darkness (Courting Darkness #2) by Robin LaFevers 2nd - My Calamity Jane (My Lady Janies #3) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows 9th - Cemetary Boys by Aiden Thomas 30th - The Empre of Gold by S A Chakraborty 30th - TRUEL1F3 (LIFEL1K3 #3) by Jay Kristoff

Graphic novels / Comics:  January 21st - Red Rising: Sons of Ares Vol #2: Wrath by Pierce Brown February 6th - Heartstopper Volume #3 by Alice Oseman March 10th - Sapce Boy Volume #6 by Sptehen McCraine April 7th - Check, Please! Volume #2: Sticks and Scones (Check, Please! Vol. #2) by Ngozi Ukazu June 25th - Fence: Rivals (Fence Volume #4) by C S Pacat & Johanna the Mad June 30th - Moonstruck Volume #3: Troubled Waters by Grace Ellis

For an extemely comprehensive list of 2020 YA releases, check out Book Birds blog, here