#did you know there's a flower that means declaration of war

[warlordfelwinter]

reworking. i love overthinking things that don't matter

[ggsbooks123]

Memories — part two of memory garden

warning: gets pretty angsty here and character deaths 😓 mentions of suicide (jude bby is guilt ridden)

summary: you don’t know how much longer you can take it. The thoughts eating away at you telling you to kill someone in your heart you knew was pure good… but what happens when the voices turn on you?

a lil disclaimer yall i mixed cressidas name with cresta without thinking and realised half way through… i couldn’t be bothered to go back and fix it so i continued using it 😭 cresta is cressida!

— —

The next morning I woke up to Boggs shaking me and asked me to step outside, the sun was only just making its ascent.

I notice my restraint is off, Boggs must have taken them off before waking me up, I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure why he had done it, I was in no right mind.

My eyes lifted at the doorway, Peeta was right there… No. I shook my head, following Boggs out the door.

He stood gazing over the destruction of the city, I tightened my fist when the echo of a voice tried to break through. Not now. This was the outcome of war and nothing I did to them now would prevent this. But the voices never agreed.

“Wanted to check how you were feeling after your first night” He explained once I joined him at his side, it was nice that he cared.

I shrug, glancing back over my shoulder “I don’t think it’s a good idea that i’m here, I was getting help back at the district… I don’t know why i’m here” I definitely didnt think it was a good idea, Coin had sent me here knowing i was far from recovery.

“Coin always has a reason” Boggs muttered like he’d been reading my thoughts “I think she has no use for Katniss and Peeta anymore-“ He eyes filled in the blanks his words didn’t…

“She sent me to kill them” I whisper back realisation smacking into, I was a weapon, again. But it wasn’t the capital this time, it was the rebellion.

When will i be free?

The voice sounds almost sad and I realise that it’s not a voice, it’s my own thoughts. My own depressing and given up thoughts.

“She can try and turn you into some psycho killer but the people in that room care about you, even if you don’t see it. So do I, the three of you kids have seen more hell than anyone deserves” Boggs explains, finally turning from the city to face me. “You’re just kids”

I frown, glancing down at my hands. Kids. We weren’t even eighteen years old, it was something that defined so much about someone and id forgotten.

“Thank you” I whisper, movement from inside alerts me and I reach for my gun, what if Peeta took this distraction as an opportunity but then Katniss stepped out, my heart didn’t slow but my hands dropped.

“What’re you doing out here so early?” Katniss asked stepping closer but keeping a respectful distance, my hand clenched.

She’s with Peeta, they will kill us all. The desire to kill Katniss was easier to push down but when it came to Peeta is was a thirst for blood like no other.

I shake my head, not hearing what Boggs responded with.

“How are things?” Boggs doesn’t respond to this question so I glance up and see they both have their attentions on me.

How are things? I wanted to scoff, but I knew that I was an accident waiting to happen, they didn’t know what would set me off. Apparently just saying how are things is one example. I shake my head and I notice the flash of concern.

“I can only get better right?” I spit, I don’t mean for it come out like that but she flinches and Boggs places his hand on her shoulder.

I feel it, my hand moving on its own before my right slapped down on it, instantly both their eyes slammed to me and without further explanation i declare, “We need to put my restraint back on”

And with that Katniss went inside and woke the others and Boggs cuffed me again.

Finnick was the first to step out, alongside a girl with a vines blooming flowers across the left half of her shaved head “Jude, I wanted you to meet Cresta, she’d one of the directors for this whole thing”

I smiled lightly at her, hoping to be polite since she no doubt had to stay up for an hour and watch me last night. “Nice to meet you, are you from the Capitol?”

She nods, “Do I give off that capitol ignorance?” She asked as a joke but in her eyes I could tell she was pleading I said no which made me smile slightly wider. I liked her.

“No, no. I was just asking didn’t mean to hit right on the money” I shrugged, “Maybe after this I could read palms?” I raise an eyebrow at Finnick who seems to just be smiling at me. “What?”

“Nothing, just glad you’re finally started talking about an after this” And with that Cresta and him left me, sending my mind reeling.

After…

— —

The next few days were especially hard, we had to travel a few streets at a time due to these devices called pods, the game makers had created them, no death should be boring apparently.

One of the pods had contained thousands upon thousands of snakes, luckily they seemed to stop at a certain point. Just like in the games except we could activate them from a distance.

Some of the other pods though, made it harder to remember where I was and who my friends are. Boggs had set off the last pod, four explosions had destroyed the road before them and each explosive made unbidden thoughts enter my head.

Now we were slowly making our way through the Capital streets, it seemed bizarre to think that it was once luxury.

“How’re you feeling?” His voice breaks through everything, and my neck snaps to him as I take a step back, bumping into Finnick who seems to have noticed why and is already guiding me to walk again.

Peeta frowns, turning away for a moment before looking back at me “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” Maybe he was trying to be nice, because we both knew it hadn’t been the reason.

“It’s- It’s okay. Really. Just a lot going on, and I think I’m feeling better. The questions that i’m asking help” I respond, trying to stay calm and push the voices away, though they’re not really there at the moment.

He seems to perk at my words before shooting over his shoulder “Ask one now, can’t hurt” I blow a breath, rattling through my brain for anything and then it clicked.

We’re back in the 75th Hunger Games, it’s a couple days in and we look utterly spent, I don’t even look like i’m making my next five steps.

I try to remember when this was, must’ve been right before the arena been destroyed, Peeta and I had run into the Careers and I’d paid with three strikes to my chest, Peeta not much better off.

The thought of the wounds made me reach for my chest, but they were gone. Magically healed by the Capital just to be tortured mentally.

I watch myself trip slightly but Peetas there in an instant, arm looping around my waist, holding me for dear life.

It looked so natural. Right. Together, his eyes never leaving me, concern dripping with every blink.

I hear him whisper like he’s next to me “We’re almost at the beach alright, just a little further” I can feel the desperation in his words, he needed me to make it.

I remember the exhaustion now, the utter fatigue I felt. The thought to close my eyes was over bearing but I couldn’t let Peeta down… win, I couldn’t let him win!

I snap out of the memory, luckily Finnick has my arms in his hands because i’ve stopped again and Peeta is looking at me with concern over his shoulder every few seconds. “Jude?” Finnick whispers and I take deep breath.

“In the last Hunger Games,” I began, trying to sort out the memory, he was saving me or was he the reason I ended up at the Capitol? “You saved me after the Careers attacked us, real or not real”

He frowned at the question, was it concern or hurt in his eyes, I didn’t know because when he blinked it was gone but then he stopped turning to face me. This time Finnick doesn’t push me forwards. He didn’t save you, and now he knows that he can’t get away with his lies anymore. Kill him!

Before I could act on the voices that abruptly awokened he speaks up, “I got you to that beach, then the arena went out and the Capital got you. So yeah, I saved you from the Careers but I couldn’t save you from the Capital and it’ll kill me everyday that you had to go through that and this and I couldn’t do anything”

His voice grew more anguished and devastated with each word and I found tears falling down my own face as he took deep breaths in front of me. The old me would’ve known how much this was eating at him, would’ve helped him but how could I?

I didn’t know me anymore. Or what I could do before I snapped.

I didn’t know what to say so I said “Haymitch told me that I- I told them if it came down to it, to save you” His eyes sharpened on me somehow, “I don’t blame you for what happened in the Capital, I never will. I’m sorry”

The air hung still as Boggs turned to them finally, breaking the moment “Keep up! We haven’t got all day” Peeta sighed, glancing at Boggs before solely landing on me again.

“Real. I saved you from the Careers” I smiled lightly, kill him, I shoved it down not paying any attention to it.

“Thank you” Finally, we began to follow the others down and around another corner. Soon we were arriving at our next pod, this one had a large arch with completely and utterly destroyed walls surrounding it left to right.

More destruction passed as they continued, how long before it’s too much, until the city isn’t even salvageable. Boggs told us to hide behind the walls while he set it off the next pod and then checked for anymore. We did as told, I took position between Finnick and Katniss and two other guys i didn’t know, Peeta and Cresta, Jackson and Pollux on the other side.

I felt anticipation, the voice had free roam when the pods went off. Too much going on at once, I couldn’t control it.

The pod detonation sent my mind spiraling, as I assumed, this one, four guns emerged from the wall and rained bullets into the archway destroying bits of the wall they were behind.

If you killed them their symbol would be gone, who would push that hope and if not for Katniss and Peeta, it would die with them. The voice stronger than it’d been in days.

No! I crouched further agaisnt the wall we’d taken cover behind, I’d been given my blank gun back for the promo but this was all too much, I felt the butt of the gun against my temple as I curled into my self.

I bring my head up and smack it against the gun, get out of my head. Get out. Get out! “My favourite colour is purple, I can’t wear red bows. Peeta saved me. My favourite-“ I repeat the words, whispered and keep bringing the butt of my gun to my temple.

A hand on my shouldern brings me back, at first my eyes catch the utterly devastated ones across from me. Peeta. He looks like he’d burn the world… For me. I break the eye contact quickly and the look in Finnicks eyes said it all. He didn’t have to go through what I had to understand, I didn’t know if I’d be able to do this without him, or Peeta… No matter how much I wanted to kill him sometimes.

Suddenly an explosion going off catches us off guard, did they set off another pod? “Boggs!” Katniss screams break the air, Finnicks hands move under my shoulders and lifts me to my feet, hauling me around the corner.

We both freeze at the sight, easily three of our squad members had been hit by the bomb. But it’s Boggs who lays in Katniss’s arms that makes my stomach drop and I’m almost sure I would have crumbled if not for Finnick. Bogg’s legs were gone, nothing but two stumps and onrushing blood.

Oh god, oh god. I slam my eyes shut and a ringing breaks out in my head. This is my fault, it’s all my fault, I never should have trusted them, Boggs should have never trusted them. The thoughts come harsher than they have in weeks and I can’t break away from them.

Kill them before they kill us all. This one isn’t my voice and I snap my eyes open sure I’d see his old and drawn face in front of me, but he’s not there. Relief fills me, but the twitch in my hand isn’t as my eyes dart to Peeta.

He must’ve been hit by the backlash of the bomb, Jackson was helping him to his feet as Cresta was helping one of the twins, who’d I forgotten were even there amongst all the chaos. His blue eyes darted around until they met mine and then they drifted to my hands.

I was holding my gun… I didn’t remember grabbing it, and it was full of blanks but it could still be a weapon. Kill him, I shake my head taking a step back at the same time I hear a click from afar, my head shoot’s up and I look to see l the other twin had rushed to help the other and had set off another pod.

I flinched ready for another bomb but instead the walls to the archway we just entered and the three others all begin to close, Katniss now standing from Boggs and holding the device he had seems to catch sight before anyone of us and the look of horror on her face is enough “Run!”

An arm grabs me and yanks me forward but my hands tighten on my gun, it was his fault. I can’t shake away these thoughts anymore, not after Boggs.

“Jude, keep it together!” Finnick spoke from beside me but nothing could bring me back, not after everything, everything that he’d done.

I felt my mind unscrewing, going barbaric at the thought of Peeta being so close and safe, he would make it out of this courtyard. And I tried to fight every single part of me that wanted to change that.

I couldn’t… Not after Boggs. You’re just kids, Peeta was a kid that had been the reason of hundreds and thousands of people… He had to die.

The air thrums around us as we rush up the stairs and I take this moment to look over my shoulder, a wave of black liquid lurches towards us and with utmost certainty I don’t want to find out what happens if it reaches me but then my mind flicks.

No consequences, kill him and die knowing you saved innocents. I wanted to shake these thoughts away, Peeta rushing up behind me tells me that he’d probably only run when he realised I was safe but a larger part of me knew he had some hidden agenda to kill me and cause more harm than good.

I had time.

It was the last confirmation I needed, shoving Finnick off me and throwing myself at Peeta, I let one of hands release the gun as I grab for his shoulder but his foot catches something and I only manage to grab his shirt as we go rolling down a few of the steps as he tries to fight off my grip, I hoped I had timed it right.

“Jude! Don’t” He cried out, finally managing to grab my wrist so I raise the gun in the other, “You have to die” I whisper, unsure why I needed to say it before I bring down the gun and finally, finally-

I’m shoved, NO. Snow’s voice screams in my head and I let out a cry, the yell breaks my skull open and I feel every ounce of rage pouring from the word.

His anger becomes my own and fuels me as I jump up from the ground and grapple the man from our squad who had ruined ruined ruined everything.

I knew it was wrong, some part of me as my ears rang and my mind exploded, but I couldn’t stop stop stop. The liquid rushed behind the man in my arms now, we’d spun, had I done that? Before my foot lifted and connected with his middle and I sent him into the abyss of oil.

Then it was all gone, the ringing, the voices and my mind was clear. I just killed a man. Someone must have grabbed me because i’m moving but I don’t feel it and I don’t care I’d killed someone, killed killed killed.

I feel the tears now as a door slams shut behind me and I hauled up my stairs, these are wooden not stone. The voices come back but they are no longer on my side. And it’s my own voice.

You killed an innocent. You need to die, you’re a danger. And I agree, I scream and scream that I want nothing more than to be dead and I must’ve actually been screaming because soon all I see is the same abyss I had forsaken another to.

— —

An explosion wakes me up and proceeds to remind me of everything that had happened before I succumbed to the darkness, I took in my surrounding the only light coming from the curtained window that Katniss and Gale were peering out of.

Whatever had just happened outside had affected Katniss more than Gale, and as I shift my position to get a better look but it’s useless, Gale lets the blinds close.

I let my eyes dance around the room, there’s more people in our group than I had realised, two men sat together checking the other for injuries, another man I seen but still didn’t know the name of stood with Cresta while Finnick and Peeta sat watching the window that Katniss and Gale were at. Jackson was no where in sight, I didn’t want to see her anyways, the guilt would twist even further. The twins… gone.

I swallow the sickness I feel, I had been so crazed I hadn’t taken the time to even get to know them.

All of the squad was far from me, I realised I was placed on stairs and the rail along it is what my hands are cuffed to.

Now you can’t hurt anyone. That hadn’t changed, no longer would I fight the urge to kill Peeta, somehow my wish of not killing him had been granted. Now I had to try not to kill myself, though that statement was half hearted.

Suddenly the familiar ring of the Capitals announcement played and my veins grew cold until one of the squad members spoke up “All the tvs in Panem are connected to the announcements, if the powers on then the shows running”

I rolled my eyes, the power that they could flush into abandoned apartments was incredible when some districts could barely keep the lights on for an hour or half.

The anthem continued, causing me to close my eyes but that only let the voices free reign in the darkness.

You could’ve been helping them stop this instead you let the Capital control you. I grit my teeth together not being able to take in what was happening on screen from the inner battle I was having with my own thoughts. You nearly killed Peeta and you were proud of it.

I nearly threw up.

My skin was on fire, pure and unadultered disgust and shame with myself, how could I have not realised that killing Peeta was the worst possible thing I could do, I would be nothing. Nothing, there was no way to put into words what would happen if he died.

And by my own hand, I closed my eyes. No. Never again would I let them win, hurt him. Never. I’d kill myself before I ever did something like that again… If I was even given the chance of redemption after what I did.

I open my eyes as I hear my name mentioned and see that the Capital is replaying everything that’s been haunting me since i woke up.

I watch the black oil like substance hurtle it’s way towards us, and I see it clearly now, Peetas eyes are on me waiting until I’m safe and clear before he runs after me and in that split second decision i’ve made one aswell.

Watching it on the screen was horrifying, my arm reaching for his throat but finding his shirt instead, us rolling together and still the look of murder on my face, so twisted it doesn’t even look like me before Mitch yanked me off and I thanked him by kicking him into the pod trap.

His scream echoed through the screen and I flinched, I’d been so full of rage and out of it I hadn’t heard it or seen as a metal cage lined with spikes shot from the oil, encasing the now dead Mitch.

I close my eyes unable to watch the rest. Monster, monster, monster. My voice spits over and over again, these I can’t shut out. It’s simply my thoughts the more I push it triples.

“Well, what’s next?” Jackson asked out of sight, I glanced around the room yet none of them seemed to look at me. I understood why they wouldn’t, some of them knew Mitch.

I killed their friend. Yet no one responded.

Was it not obvious? “I- I killed him” I whispered, all of their heads snapped like my voice was the last they expected “You should either leave me here or put a bullet in my head so no one else dies”

In the corner of my eye I see a hint of blonde flinch at my words, but I’d nearly killed him if it wasn’t for Mitch… Now he was dead, I didn’t get to live. “It’s the only reasonable solution, you can’t tell me i’m wrong”

“You’re wrong” Peeta cut in before anyone else could agree or disagree, I couldn’t tell by their faces and yet none of them cut into Peeta “You are restrained and we have a watch on you, Mitch knew what he was signing up for, we all did”

I looked away from him. This wasn’t right, my thoughts were against me now but what happened when they turned on him again? Because they would.

“You saved me once, you’ll be saving me this time aswell if you just-“

“No”

My eyes met his and I knew I’d never seen the fire in his gaze that he’d held this moment, Peeta was not budging on this. I frowned, I was a liability why couldn’t he see that?

My mind flashed to solutions, none came to mind. “There has to be a way where if I know i’m going to snap that I can stop myself” My words break at the end as I gaze around the room, there’s only silence “Please… please”

Gale steps forward and I see Peeta take a step but Katniss stops him, and I’m grateful as the brunette boy crouches down and pulls something from a hidden pocket.

A small pill, it was hard to think it’d do what i asked, delicately Gale pushed the pill into my own hidden pocket and patted it “It’s Nightlock, no pain and instant. Only if you have to”

I nodded, hesitantly but promising “Only if I have to”

And with that they set out, planning a course of action. The pods were too often now, they would have to stop constantly.

It was time to go underground

—

- … sooo part three?!?

—

DONT SCREAM AT ME IK IM AN ASSHOLE IM SO SO SO SORRY FOR MAKING YALL WAIT MY GOODREADS GOAL WAS SLACKING HAD TO CATCH UP HOPE YALL LIKE THIS XXXX

taglist girlies💓: @yazminetrahan @solarbxby @abbersreads @antonietta18

[ranhaitanisgf]

🤺back🤺🤺🤺back i say🤺🤺 it’s my turn to request something for hana’s event🤺

may i please request a scenario with baji + flower shop in which he goes to buy his mom flowers as an apology but doesn’t know what to get, so he just picks out random flowers that actually mean everything except “i’m sorry” so you help him out?

by the way, you don’t have to write this part, but i just thought it would be cute if he develops a crush on you and you see him at a different flower shop buying a small bouquet and you think he’s betraying you, but later he shows up at your shop, awkward and stiff, with that same bouquet to ask you out because his mom said that’s the proper way to do it. just wanted to share that little add-on with you!!

— baji keisuke // flower shop // love at first sight

☆ ˎˊ˗ heyyy ... arba idk if ur still active IM SRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG i disappeared D: we miss u come back ... also this idea was sooo cuteeee arghjhghjghjhg i actually went soo overboard w this but it was too good!!

☆ ˎˊ˗ fem!reader implied

☆ ˎˊ˗ wc ; 2.2k+

masterlist || 2k masterlist

you’d had your eye on him since he’d walked into the store. 

it wasn’t for any particular reason aside from the fact that he seemed to be feeling wholly out of place, which made you giggle a bit as he shuffled around, muttering and grumbling to himself as he awkwardly looked at different bouquet arrangements. 

he definitely didn’t seem like the type to be buying flowers either; his long dark hair and overall brusque demeanor didn’t exactly give you the impression that he was someone who would go around buying flowers, (and was that him that pulled up on a literal motorcycle?! he seemed like he was around your age!!). 

under normal circumstances you would have gone up to assist, but you decided to sit back and see how this boy was going to play this one out, (he was really cute, but if a cute boy like him was in a flower shop, he was undoubtedly buying flowers for his girlfriend). it was quite the entertaining spectacle to see him walking around, his eyebrows pinched together as he tried to find something that he found suitable. at one point, he even seemed to phone someone for help, though he hung up rather quickly after yelling that he definitely was not buying flowers!!

after minutes and minutes of walking around, he finally picked up two bouquets of flowers; geraniums and tansies. you had to restrain your laughter as he walked up to the register, damn near shaking to keep yourself from bursting out into giggles. 

“d-did you find everything, pff--ahem! did you find everything alright today?” you had let your giggles slip through on accident, and even though you tried to cover it up with a cough, you could tell that it failed immensely from the ticked off look on the boy’s face. 

“you’ve got a lot of nerve to be laughin’ at me-” he started, the deep tone of his voice taking you off guard. 

“n-no! i’m not really laughing at you per se…well, kind of.” you tried to explain. “see, okay, do you know what flower language is?” the boy quirked an eyebrow at this, giving you the sort of look that says go on. “well, it gives flowers different meanings, y’know? so unless you’re trying to pick a fight, i really wouldn’t suggest using these flowers.” 

“...what do they mean?” 

“geraniums and tansy flowers together…you would be calling the person stupid and then be declaring war on them.” the boy’s amber eyes widened, his lips pressing together in a thin line as his brows furrowed together once more. “if you’d like, i can suggest flowers with a more…caring meaning for your girlfriend.” the boy’s eyebrows shot up at your words, making you wonder if you’d said something wrong. 

“girlfriend? these’re for my mom.” 

“oh! sorry, i just assumed-ah, never mind. now, let me see…” you stood up from your seat, gathering the flowers in front of you in your arms and coming out from behind the counter. after you put the flowers back, you looked around for a moment, a few ideas floating through your mind. 

“hmm, why are you getting her flowers?” 

“...’cause…” he mumbled a bit, making you lean in a bit. 

“what was that?” 

“‘c-cause! i made her cry…” despite the fact that his voice had raised a little bit, all you could sense from him was embarrassment and shame, especially from the look on his face, (he almost looked like a kicked puppy). the sight made you smile softly; it wasn’t often that you got genuine customers like this, so you were going to make it your mission to help him. 

“alright, give me one moment…” your eyes flicked throughout the store, taking a few moments to weigh different options before making a decision. you ended up grabbing three bouquets; white tulips, daffodils, and some small filler greenery with bits of baby’s breath. 

you walked back behind the counter, setting the bouquets down in front of you. the black-haird boy had followed you aimlessly around the store, eventually ending up back in front of the register. there was a kind of quiet curiosity in his eyes as he watched your practiced movements, (truthfully, you weren’t used to someone watching you do bouquet arrangements with such an intent stare). 

“i’m doing this for you right now because i want to help you, but for future reference, you usually have to call ahead a day or two for this.” a smile played on your lips as you unwrapped the flowers in front of you, glancing up a bit to look at the boy. 

it was only for a moment, but his amber gaze staring right at you caught you off guard, making your heart skip a beat. you immediately looked back down, busying your hands and trimming the leaves off of the flowers. the rest of your work was done in silence; trimming the end of the flower stems, arranging them in a way that looks pleasing, opening some of the flowers to match the rest. it was relaxing work, so much so that you almost forgot about the boy in front of you. 

almost. 

the whole time you were working you could feel his gaze on you, looking up a few times just to look back down immediately. you felt a little bit anxious throughout the process, hoping that he would deem your work acceptable enough for his mom, (your anxiousness was also from the fact that a very cute boy was watching you, but that was aside from the point). 

you finished the final step, delicately wrapping the flowers in a thick brown paper and securing them in place with the tie of a thick ribbon. 

“there, all set! what do you think?” you asked cheerily, admiring the flowers you had put together. in your mind, you thought it looked pretty good, but it wasn’t your opinion that mattered here. 

“yeah…they look good.” 

“yay! i’m glad you like them!” you handed the bouquet over to him, a rush of happiness flooding through you at his approving words. “i hope you’ll come again!” 

“wait, how much was this?” he started to pat around his pockets for his wallet, but you shook your head. 

“don’t worry about it, it’s on me! just make sure to come back if you need more flowers, though i hope it’ll be for a better reason!” 

“i will…” he stared at you for a moment, a questioning look in his eyes. “hey, if you keep looking at me like that i’m going to take it back, so go apologize to your mom!” you ushered, waving bye to him. 

“thanks.” if you weren’t looking closely, you probably would have missed the small smile on his face before he left. 

˗ˏˋ ☆ ˎˊ˗

“isn’t that…” you squinted a bit, walking a few steps closer to get a better view. sure enough, there he was! the same black-haired amber eyed boy who you had helped last week, in another flower shop!! 

“oh my god, that total traitor!!” you huffed. “i told him to come back if he needed more flowers…” you watched as he got handed a bouquet of flowers, shaking your head in disdain. when you saw him head for the exit, you immediately panicked, scrambling away from the scene and jogging the whole way back to your shop. 

despite the fact that you had only seen him once, you still felt a bit of disappointment at the fact that he had gone to another flower shop, even when he’d said he would come back. maybe you scared him off? 

i didn’t even say anything weird though…

your thoughts kept you quite occupied while you were preparing the shop for open, though they were a bit burdensome when you happened to prick yourself on some roses, too distracted to be paying attention to the thorns properly. 

after some of the bouquet orders for the day, you flipped the sign on the door to ‘open’. you were about to go back to sulking behind the counter, but a glimpse of black hair outside caught your eye. 

looking closer, you realized that it was the same boy! he was seated on his motorcycle, chatting his a blonde haired boy who you assumed was his friend. 

maybe he had realized that the flowers from your shop were better!

however, your gaze narrowed when you realized that he was holding the same bouquet you had seen him with earlier, making your mood sour immediately. 

was he coming here to rub it in your face or something?!

while you were busy glaring, you started to notice that his blonde haired friend was gesturing and pointing wildly towards your shop, seeming to be shouting at the black haired boy about something. while you were still a little bit sour, you began to be intrigued by what was going on, contemplating going out there to see what all the commotion was about. 

the thought immediately perished as you made eye contact with the blonde, who could clearly see you staring at them through the windows of your shop. the two of you stared at each for a moment before you darted away from the glass, rushing back to behind the counter as you prayed that he didn’t actually see you, (he definitely did). 

“well, whatever! i helped him out and he went to another flower shop--so what!!” you muttered to yourself, throwing your hands up. “that’s the last time i ever do a nice thing for someone!!” you grumbled, preparing the flowers for the rest of the bouquet orders you had to do. 

it was a practiced routine at this point, so you were able to arrange the flowers properly without putting much thought into it, using it as busywork to take your mind off of things. you weren’t sure why you were so upset about the fact that this boy went to another flower shop, but it certainly wouldn’t help you to let it get in the way of things. 

hearing the bell to the door chime, you chirped out a ‘welcome in!’ as you continued trimming and arranging flowers, being careful this time to mind the thorns so that you didn’t get pricked a second time. 

“uh, hey.” the deep tone of voice immediately made you look up, feeling as if you would have snapped your neck if you looked up any faster. you shook off your nervousness, (and excitement) going back to what you were doing as you tried to look casual. 

“well, you’re back. whatever you want isn’t going to be on me this time because you betrayed me.” you said cooly, a bit of a frown on your lips. 

“betrayed--what? uh, anyways, i just wanted to give you these…” he cleared his throat, holding out a bouquet to you. when you finally looked up and took a good look, you noticed that the tips of his ears were red, (should you be having hope right now…? no, stop it! get a hold of yourself!). “and, uh, i got them with that flower language thing…” 

“what…?” you leaned forward across the counter, inspecting the flowers in the bouquet a bit closer. “calla lilies and white camellia’s…” looking up at the boy’s embarrassed and somewhat flustered expression, you paired it with the meaning of the flowers, and…

ah…

immediately, you felt your heartbeat speed up and felt the apples of your cheeks heating up, leaning back and looking away. you fiddled with your fingers for a moment as you tried to think of something--anything, really--to say. 

“i…uh…how, um, how did you come up with this…?” 

“my mom said it was a good idea…” he shifted a bit, his arm still holding out the bouquet of flowers. “if you don’t want them, i can jus’ take them back-” 

“no!” you grabbed the bouquet from him, smiling a bit too much, (you couldn’t help yourself though). “you’re giving them to me, so they’re mine now, right? you can’t take back a gift! and-and just hold on for a second!” you left without another moment to spare, running into the back and scrambling for a piece of paper. you picked up a nearby pen, quickly jotting down your name and number and then running back out, a big smile across your face. 

“here!” the boy in front of you grabbed the slip of paper, his amber eyes examining it before he smirked a bit, showing off the sharp bits of his canines. 

“(y/n), is that right?” 

“yes! what’s your name?” 

“baji. baji keisuke.” 

˗ˏˋ ☆ ˎˊ˗

bonus: 

“baji-san! how did it go!?” 

“i need a yakisoba right now, chifuyu…” baji grumbled, sitting on his bike and leaning back. 

“did you get rejected?!” chifuyu asked, a look of grave anticipation on his face.

“no!! she thought i betrayed her flower shop because i went to another flower shop! your idea was shit!” chifuyu’s face went pale at that, his mouth hanging wide open. 

“i didn’t think about that…” 

“yeah, this is the last time i take advice from whatever weird manga shit you got this from.” 

“...”

“...”

“i mean, she said yes, right? a win is a win!” 

“...shaddup.”

(chifuyu proceeded to pay for the yakisoba outings for the next six months.)

geraniums: folly, stupidity | tansy: hostile thoughts, declaring war | white tulips: apology, i'm sorry | daffodils: appreciation, happiness | calla lily: beauty | white camellia: you're adorable

[especiallythewomenandthechildren]

As If Destiny (part six)🌹

Part Five🌹

PLEASE READ WARNINGS FOR THIS PART! If any section makes you uncomfortable, please take care of yourself and stop reading. The beginning is especially dark so please feel free to skip ahead to the first line break:

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Warnings: Terminal illness, parent death, death and brutality (it is the hunger games after all) Witnessed death and accidental suicide. Insanity suspected and potrayed. characters may be ooc. I read the book a while ago but don't really remember much of Snows way of thinking (I mean I know its toxic and insane but yk the other things) so I will mostly be basing off the film and my own thoughts. Also I can't spell for the life of me so be prepared for bad spelling and grammar. Enjoy loves!

The flowers just seemed to keep on coming. And coming. And coming.

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Of all of the Capitals wealth, the flowers were only the deep color of blood.

It disgusted you.

But that's what it all looked like to your tear covered eyes. Your vision has been blurry since yesterday morning. Since the cold metal of the golden necklace hit your neck.

Reflecting the cold body of your mother.

The funeral feels as if it going on too slow yet too fast. The fake pledges of sorrow and shows of mourning were suffocating you. But saying goodbye is coming too soon. You've had months to say goodbye and yet you chose to run away, your consciousness hissed at you.

The necklace on your neck felt heavy as you picked up the two dangling rings. Those same rings have always brought a sense of comfort and nostalgia as they were a tell tale sign of your mother. You've seen them a million times but never noticed them.

One was a deep gold with vine engravings covering the entirety of the surface. In the middle was a beautiful light green colored stone that seemed to have endless mirroring panels that shone in the light. On the inside there was a small phrase: "To love, alive and ever lasting. "

The engraved words of commitment seemed to have brought new warm and silent tears streaming across your face. The ring must have been your mother's wedding ring as that was your father's declaration to always love her in his wedding vows.

Of course, you only know this because of the countless nights he stayed up watching her withering form. He kept on re-telling her his vows, remembering every word every time.

She never said a word back.

The other ring seemed far older due to the more dusty look of the gold surface. There were engravings of a family crest, symbolizing the Emberidges. Your mother's maiden name and what used to be one of the longest standing powerful families in all of Panem.

While the family blood lived on in you, the name was sacrificed as you took your father last name, the more recently powerful in comparison: Vaun.

You knew that your mother wasn't an only child but her funeral had no appearance of her siblings. Unlike your fathers dear sister who seemed to be in the act of consoling him in the moment and who has been a crucial pillar of care these past twenty eight hours.

No, any maternal aunts and uncles were butchered in the war. Your uncle Averic was deployed to District 12 and martyred in the dense woods. That day was a dark day for all of the Capital. Not only did the head of House Emberidge fall, leaving no children, but so did the head of House Snow, leaving behind only eight-year-old Coriolanus.

And of all the deaths that day, the one that crushed you the most, the heir of House Vaun. Your dear older brother. He was only fifteen when he reportedly butchered by the rebels. They did not deem him fit for a quick death.

While her brother and nephew fought across the nation, you aunt Fiora was behind in the freezing capital like most. She was the youngest of the siblings, only a mere twenty three years old.

When news came of Alerics death, she couldn't handle the suffocation she felt. And to all of the family's pleas to stay inside, she fled. It had been days of dread and being on the look out when you and sometimes Rhayen went searching for food. The coming day of finding her was a harshly rainy one.

You were once again scouring for something to eat when you had saw Clemensia doing the same. You both had shared a look of understanding in your sunken, tired eyes. Something that should have been beyond the years of two eight year olds.

You scoured for any viable sources of nutrition, jumping over and running around the countless dead bodies. Neither of you look at them too long. The sight horrifying for your young eyes and any in general. Clemensia noticed a few bags of moldy peaches and potatoes. You both nearly ran into the nearby wall in excitement. Splitting it evenly, you bid eachother goodbye and wished thr other to be safe. The streets of the crumbled capital were crawling with vultures and bandits who were more than willing to kill for any food. It could be the peaches and potatoes in your hands.

Or more grimly: your hands.

Those thoughts were intensified when you heared the crush of glass behind you.

Please no.

Please just let me get the food to my family.

You didn't have much of a choice but to run as fast as your little legs could take you. As soon as you picked up speed, so did the clearly heavier and older feer behind you. It was clear that you couldn't outrun them so you had to do what you were always warned of: run into the alleys.

You ran through murky puddles as the rain somehow intensified. The alley twisted and curved leading to who knows where. The feet behind you were not distancing themselves from you, motivating you as you began to naturally slow. You scanned the area for any stairs or holes or anything. Down the street, you found a shaky looking staircase. It was risky, but it was a better option than being someone else's meal.

Bags of food still in hand, you forced your tiny body to march the stairs, even taking two at a time.

As soon as you began stepping on the higher level stairs, the previous wooden step broke off and shattered on the ground on impact. That only made your feet go faster. The scream of the man behind you was heard. The same could be said for the sound of his body hitting the ground.

By the time the roof came into view, you were completely out of breath and collapsed onto the solid surface. You had only grasped your breath when you realized you weren't alone. You looked up to see an extremely dishevelled looking woman. Her hair was all knotted and looked as if it was ripped out in certain parts. She was pacing back and forth mubbiling incoherently.

You weren't sure what to do, absolutely horrified by her presence but you couldn't go down the way you came as the stairs were destroyed.

The roof was completely empty expect for a small unit of machinery. Rushing to hide, you didn't notice a few stones in your path. You fell head first but saved yourself with now scraped hands. However, the thud of your body alerted the frantic woman. She seemed feral to you but as her wild eyes searched you, she was no longer just a maniac.

She was your aunt Fiora.

"Cloria? Oh Cloria you are so young!" Her tear stained eyes ran over your figure and she quickly made her way to you, caressing your cheeks. This was the first instance of the now common occurance of your identity confused with your mother.

"Aunt Fi?" You asked wearily, using the nickname to possibly bring her back to reality. But all did was enrage her.

"Fi? FI? How dare you!" Her rage fueled her hand to hit you straight across the cheek. You face felt as if it was burning and tears began forming in your eyes. Your skin felt raw in the place of impact.

But Fiora was off in her own world. Her voice softend but not in realization of her actions. She drifted off into memory and nostalgia.

"Aleric was the one who made it up. Everyone called me that but he made me feel special. He always protected me you know!" Her voice began to crack and the anger came back to fill it. "I'm going to make them suffer. Every last one of them. I will burn their woods to the ground as each of them are tied to a tree for what they did. I swear it! You hear me!" Her impossibly loud declaration was told to the wind as she seemed to have forgotten your presence.

You took your chance to run to the hiding spot you intended. You grabbed the fallen bags and were nearly there when shrieks of insanity hit your ears. You turned to see your aunt clawing at her face while mumbling threats and death wishes.

Blood began pouring and an especially painful scream was heared as she cut her eye. But she didn't stop, the pain only seeming as more encouragement.

You could do nothing but watch the horror show.

You could do nothing as she got closer and closer to the ledge.

You could do nothing as she fell backwards over the edge.

You could do nothing as the sound of her body splattering echoed.

You could do nothing as you heard a group of men with swords ensuring themselves dinner.

Her screams kept on ringing in your ears as they began mixing in with the recent screams of your mother. They sounded so similar.

Is that how I will sound when I am about to die?

Any further thought was cut off by a hand on your arm. You look up to see who it belongs to when a pair of warm brown eyes filled with sympathy meet yours.

"The funeral is over y/n." He says it quietly in the now abandoned graveyard. What goes unsaid is now you have to officially say goodbye.

You look up to him, pleading for just a little more time. But you both know, you have to say goodbye eventually. You take a deep breath and slide your arm into Sejanus's as you walk over to the casket. You didn't know what to say as the words "goodbye" felt too heavy on your tongue.

Your finger brushed the fine wood untill your hand fully stopped on top of where you assumed her heart to be. You were speechless in sorrow and could do nothing but bend over and kiss the top of the casket, near her head. You gave one last look and turned to Sejanus. He gave you an understanding nod.

You both turned as he slide his arm around you for comfort. The walk to your car where a clearly broken Rhayen stood was silent. When you reached the door, Sejanus opened it for you.

"Are you sure you wouldn't feel more comfortable staying with us? Just for a few days?"

You shook your head in response. "I might stay with aunt Aeris with dad. But I don't want to abandon her home too." You said it heavily and he understood.

Sejanus always understood.

He gave you a small nod and weak smile as he gently closed the door. The closer you got to your home, the more gray the sky became.

How fitting.

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The silence of your penthouse was eerie. It seemed to strangle you with the lack of movement. The house felt cold and empty, void of all life. Rhayen had politely retreated to his quarters.

He had basically lost a daughter. There was no way you were going go ask him of any favors or demands. Not like you needed anything. There was plenty of food sent over by ma plinth. It smelled and looked wonderful but you weren't hungry. Your stomach was full with nausea.

You walked into the foyer, lit up by the open windows displaying the gray skies dimming the Capital. The stone was cold beneath your feet as you surveyed the darkly decorated room. It seemed that in that empty moment, every ounce of emotion rushed through your system. All you could remember was crumbling to the floor in anguish. You weren't sure how long you stayed like that, but by the time you had been interrupted with a knock on the door, the windows showed a night sky. You assumed it was Sejanus or his ma checking in on you, so you just quickly wiped your face and blew your nose and not taking a real moment to clean your appearance.

Your feet took hurried steps to the door and opened it to see two tall blondes staring back at you. Tigris and Coriolanus are definitely not your expected guests.

Tirgis took one look at your state and leaned over into your space to give you a comforting and genuine hug. You were slightly suprised but readily returned it. You felt protected in her hug, a feeling you've felt absent of lately.

She pulled back to look into your eyes and check over your face. You nodded in reassurance that you will be fine and shifted focus to her cousin. In his hands were stunning white roses.

"We know how hard today has been for you and we don't wish to stay long. We just wanted to give our sentiment and see if you needed anything." Coriolanus said in a tone of fright that he will make you uncomfortable.

You smiled, something that seemed to surprise you all. "Thank you both truly. Please come in!" You opened the door wider so they could follow you but they shared a look of discomfort.

"Y/N, thank you but we wished to just drop by quickly. We don't want to be a burden. You don't have to treat us with those guest pleasantries." Tigris contrasted.

"You said you wanted to help in any way you could correct?" The pair nod in agreement. "Well I think if I had some company would certainly help me right now. Being on my own doesn't seem to be the best option." You softly confessed. There was a shared look between the two before you grabbed Tigris's hand and dragged her in, Coriolanus following after.

Your three walked into your foyer that opened into your kitchen. You motioned for the two to get comfortable as you took the flowers out of the younger cousins hands. Taking a closer look, you realized that these pearly white flowers looked home grown. You laughed grimly.

"A bouquet of grandma'ams roses."

Tigris looked between the two of you, with a sad expression as she took in your deflated form and Coryo's clouded over eyes.

You turned to find a vase to put them in as the tall boy mumbled. You couldn't really make out what it was but Tigris heard him loud and clear.

"You weren't supposed to get them like this."

He shook his head in defeat as you began watering the precious roses, your back facing him.

You turned back around as you placed the case down in the center of the cabinet island.

"Please tell grandma'am thank you, it means a lot." Tigris smiled back in response with a promise to relay your gratitude. The sound of grumbling stomachs filled the now empty room and you jumped to action.

"Y/N please! Just sit down, we will be out of your hair in no time, please just rest!" Tigris was quick to intervene as you scurried around the kitchen, fixing the two a plate from the plentiful food Ma Plinth cooked up. You refused any sort of opposition and claimed that it would be a waste of such food.

Tigris turned around, expecting support from her younger cousin but was met with nothing but distracted eyes. He knew what you were doing.

If you stood still too long, you would begin thinking. Thinking would lead you to drowning in your sorrow. That's why you took any distraction and threw yourself in it. He knew it wasn't healthy and reality would hit you hard.

But maybe when it does, he will be there to help you back up.

For now, he looks at you with such emotion and rawness in his eyes as he thanked you.

You felt that he was the one who deserved thanks, letting you work out your emotion. Eventually, Tigris realized that she wasn't getting anywhere and surrendered to the delicious meal set in front of her. You placed a small amount of food for yourself to not make them feel awkward. However, much to your relief, your conversation was anything but.

The topics ranged from literature to the most recent capital gossip and everything in between. Who would have thought that on one of the worst days of your life you would be laughing so hard. You may have drowned yourself in guilt if you thought too hard on it but it was impossible with every quip and bicker between the three of you.

It was a few hours in when the sudden thought of Coriolanus's pen hit your mind.

"Oh Coryo, I completely forgot to give you back the pen I stole!"

That made Tigris laugh a bit more. You seemed so concerned for such a small matter. The boy who was supposedly "robbed" try to assure you that no harm was done but you refused.

"I'll be right back! Please feel free to grab anymore food and don't you dare be shy!" You demanded as you walked backwards and turned around when you hit the stairs, rushing up to your room.

The path to your room wasn't very far and as soon as you entered, you saw the shiny white and red pen on your desk. It had been a useful distraction yesterday in the painful drive back to your home infested with death and sorrow. You took a deep breath, pushing away the thoughts and grabbed the pen.

You walked back out in a fast pace until you came to a sudden stop. You stood right infront of the doorway of your mother's old makeshift hospital.

Oh how quick the new becomes the old.

The room looked as if it had never even been touched. No cords, pillows, tissues, or mess anywhere. Clean, tidy, and no trace of a cold, decaying life. You weren't sure how long you stood brooding before the sound of glass shattering shook you out of your haze.

In a panic, you rushed down the stairs to be met with the screams of your enraged father. Rhayen was also there and seemed to try to calm him but he kept pushing the elderly man off of him.

"How dare you both! I know the Snows never had any shame but how dare you walk into my home after such a tragedy! Were my son and wife not enough for you?! What need do you have to take the last good thing in my life?!"

You could hear the rage clearly but the heartbreak in his voice was even more evident.

What broke your heart was the sight of Tigris, clearly holding back tears as she thought over all her actions to see what she did wrong. Your eyes shifted slightly to Coriolanus who no longer held the soft expression he showed around you and his cousin. He had his mask shifted back into place, simply taking the attack from the older man.

"Sir please! I know they meant no harm, they are friends of young y/n!" Rhayen's pleas did nothing more than shift your father's anger towards him.

"Friends? And you knew of this and yet did nothing?! You vowed to protect her and you let her associated with such monste-"

"STOP! They are nothing of the sort and simply came to check in on me! They care for me. Nothing but pure and good care and concern!"

You felt your emotion being held back but such a slim shield you put up to ensure as much authority and confidence in your voice.

Your sudden presence shocked your father as he tried to get you to go back up to your outright refusal. His patience had worn thin.

"Your mother is barely cold and you have brought shame upon her memory!"

You couldn't hold back the tears any longer. They weren't violent as you would have expected but silent and delicate. Your body felt nauseous and faint as if you had just been pounced on. The words cut your already shambled heart and formed little scars of pain.

With a deep breath, you looked past your so called father.

"Thank you Tigris and Coryo." You put and emphasis on the nickname as a message to your father. "I am so sorry, please make it home safely."

They both nodded solemnly and Rhayes began to show them the door before being violently pulled back by the man he was now employed under. Even after everything he said, your father still felt the need to show that the Snows were not even woth a servants time.

Tigris looked straight ahead as she walked past the hate filled man and a quick look at you, which you met with an apologetic smile. Coriolanus, however, met his eyes with no sign of emotion expect defiance. You knew how proud Coryo was of his family's name and it was one of the few possessions of his that he could flaunt.

And to have it so openly dragged was not going to be let down easily. You wondered if he would it against you.

But right before he would have vanished from your viewpoint, he looked back at you with those ever melting deep blue orbs. Even after all he endured, he wanted to check if you were okay.

Any possible communication you could have sent his way was cut off by your father moving in between the sight of you two. The blonde boy got the message and with a soft scoff, made his way out the tension filled apartment.

As soon as the door shut, your father turned his gaze to you. Noticing you were still crying, he softened. But you didn't care. You just shook your head and Rhayen's arms came over your shaking body in comfort. Even in the silence of the penthouse, it was hard to hear your paind and soft voice. But they were sharp enough to cut your father's fury.

"I miss mom.You made me realize just how much I miss her."

You didn't want to see his expression or hear any lecture so you made your way up to your room as fast as you could.

You broke away from Rhayen's embrace, leaving him to be in the uncomfortable presence of your father.

"I did the right thing Rhayen. History was repeating itself!" He tried to justify his actions towards the young heirs of Snow.

Rhayen walked past the disgruntled man to the kitchen where the shattered vase and flowers now lay.

When your father walked into your home looking for his daughter, he was met with two blonde heads who looked far too comfortable for his taste. Then the sight of the pristine white roses came into view and memories flooded his system and rage. He couldn't throw the vase against the marble fast enough.

Rhayen sighed, exhausted as he swept up the victims of anger. "You can't say history is repeating if it isn't the same story. Different story, Tyre."

The man in question wasn't convinced and kept on going, pacing back and forth on the other side of the mess.

"I thought she was with Sejanus. He is a good boy. She is safe with him. Why can't she be satisfied with safe? And his parents love y/n! They always rave about her, especially his mother. It even makes me feel jealous!" That made Rhayen scoff.

Oh Tyre sure was jealous but not of the Plinths.

The glass was nearly all cleaned up now, the long serving man was just taking extra measures as Tyre couldn't seem to stop ranting. He knew the man was struggling with the loss of his wife and taking it out on young y/n was just an unfortunate reaction to it.

"Do you know what Casca told me? The Snows are poor. Dirt poor Rhayen! And that peasant has the audacity to walk in here and act as if he is worth a second of my daughter's time! And did you see the way he looked at me! THE WAY HE LOOKED AT HER- Hey! Throw those out! I don't want to see them for a second longer."

Your father declared his distaste to the flowers Rhayen had brushed off and ensured protection.

"I am sorry sir but they seem to be gifts to miss y/n. And if what you heard was true, such roses as these must have been quite expensive and precious, a luxury the Snows could not afford. Yet, the bouquet was gifted." Rhayen offered and began his trudge up the large stairs.

Tyre Vaun couldn't think of anything that would change the elder man's mind. However, at the top of the stairwell, Rhayen turned with one last message.

"The boy grew up without his father. And I think in this case, it was for the best."

Maybe in the case of the son of Crassus Snow, growing up without the cold father really was for the best.

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You stared up at your textured ceiling as you twirled Coryo's pen in your hand. You stopped thinking a while ago. You just let your mind be taken over the fog as your finger played with the odd texture of the pen. There was clearly something engraved but due to the white surface, you couldn't tell what.

Your little escape of peace from today's activities was interrupted by the knock and subsequent opening of your cream colored door. You turned your head and a relieved sigh was breathed between your lips. Rhayen walked in with one hand behind his back.

He opened the small light near your desk for some light in your dark room but not the overhead ones as to to not burn your eyes. The small action brought a small smile and warmth to your heart.

But that warmth spread all over as you saw what he was hiding behind his back. The beautiful roses of Coriolanus. You looked up at him with a look that you warm even the coldest of men.

He smiled at your joy. "I couldn't save the vase, but I think these are what matter." You take the roses in you hands as you just sat there astonished.

Even though they were flung across the room and smashed, they seemed even more beautiful than before. In the dim dark light, their little rips and dips just added to their radiance.

You were so engrossed with the roses that you didn't notice Rhayen leave your room, closing the door behind him. Getting up, you moved the bouquet to the vase that stood proudly in the middle of your vanity with the other white flowers Coryo picked for you on your walk.

It brought you a great amount of joy that the flowers that joined it were from the same charming boy.

When you walked back to your bed, a small note caught your eye. You unraveled it and a shiny ring fell out. In fear of losing it, you quickly pick it up. Taking a brief look, it was a bright silver with small dazzling blue diamonds surrounding the surface. Your attention is returned to the note.

"This was gifted to your sweet mother when she was your age. You wear her face, her character, and now her rings. It would be an offense to her not to share this last part of her. Don't tell your father but be patient with him. And remember your mother's words: don't change sweet girl."

The letter wasn't signed but you could tell from the slightly messy and angled handwriting it was from Rhayen. He had taught himself to write and you knew he would use the skill whenever he had the chance. And you were most glad that he used it now.

Even though the note and the words within them suprised you slightly. You put the note by the flowers and took the ring in your hands.

Beneath the light, all the details were brought out. The small diamonds were more than there for show. In fact there placement was quite intentional. It seemed that thousands of miniature diamonds were placed to form a beautiful shape, each a bit different than the others on either side.

As you slid the ring in place with the others on your neck, you take a moment to look at yourself in the mirror. On either side, there was a golden ring but in the middle stood out a bright silver.

A ring that dazzled in the light and the dark.

The ring of a thousand snowflakes.

The ring of Snow.

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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if you got notification that it posted earlier and saw nothing, tumblr was freaking our on me and kept on posting my drafts! I know this was far longer than the last part, thank you for reading. And I am sorry if this was a bit too dark but I think it's important for context later in the story and especially readers struggle with the Hunger Games and morals. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Much love! ❤️

@notyourwildestdream 🌹@darktrashsoulbear🌹@fantasylovestoryme 🌹@nekee-lilac02 🌹@a-avengerparker 🌹 @queenofshinigamis 🌹@darlingisntit 🌹

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

Hey there! May I just say that I love your celebration ideas? I love this jukebox concept so much!

I'd love to request one. I remember loving the fic you wrote for my request during your previous event, and I love linking music to writing. My current favorite song is ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine, and I'd love to request it with Crosshair (surprise!). The song gives me very romantic but also melancholic vibes, and to me it means loving a place/situation/person so much that you just want the moment to last forever.

But of course, you may work your magic for this. I love your writing, and I'll be happy with whatever you choose to write 🩵 thank you so much in advance!

Thank you so much love. It means a lot that you like my crazy ideas. Love oo.

Now, your request had me stumped for a few minutes, and then the idea just flowed. I hope you like my interpretation of this song, because you're right, it has very melancholic vibes.

Love oo.

Ceilings

Warnings: Injury, AU of S2E16, tears, dream, kissing, implied coitus, promises, declarations of feelings, sacrifice, saving others, angst. I think that's it. If I missed anything please let me know.

Main Master List   | Star Wars Jukebox Roulette |   AO3 Link

Your eyes blinked as you saw the raindrops falling down on top of you. You don’t remember exactly what happened, but you see the railcars moving. They’re safe. You smile to yourself as your body screams in pain, you want to move, to get up but everything is telling you that wouldn’t be a good idea.

For some reason your eyelids feel heavy, you want to close them, to fall asleep for just a little while, but in the back of your mind you know that’s not a good idea. 

You know you need to stay away, but … something doesn’t seem right. Your mind must be playing tricks on you because you see Crosshair kneeling down beside you, smiling.

Gods, how you missed that smile. You close your eyes fighting back tears, as you feel his hand on your cheek. 

“Hey mesh’la”

“Crosshair?”

“Who else?”

“Wha … what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? It’s date night.”

You blinked as you were no longer lying on the floor of the valley on Eriadu, you were now in your living room. You looked down at your dress, it was the one Crosshair loved on you, the yellow one with white flowers on the bottom half of your skirt. You slowly sat up, shaking your head.

“I just had the craziest dream.”

“Really?” He smiled leaning in closer, “Anything you wanna recreate?” He smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

You giggled, shaking your head slightly as you rolled your eyes at him, “Not that kind of dream, anyways what took you so long?”

“Sorry, Hunter was being impossible, but I’m here now” he leaned forward, pressing his lips to yours, claiming your mouth the way he always used to. Used to, no that’s not right. Does. The way he always does. 

You pulled back, shaking your head.

“You okay, mesh’la?”

“Yeah, just … Crosshair where are we?”

He looked around and smirked, “If I’m not mistaken mesh’la, your apartment on Coruscant,” he answered, his eyebrow arching amused with his own answer. You simply shook your head, fighting the amused look on your face. 

As you looked into his eyes, you reached your hand up and caressed his cheek. You missed touching his cheek like this, trying to comfort him as much as you could … missed? He was right here, why would you be missing touching his cheek. 

“Well shall we?” You tilted your head smiling.

“By all means,” he took your hand in his, guiding you out of the apartment, towards 79’s. 

The night progressed, with a lot of dancing, a lot of touching, and a lot of drinking. 

You remembered how he started to kiss you in the taxi, how it continued as you got on the lift to your apartment, you remembered how quickly you both got undressed. How you held him so tight afraid it would’ve been the last time. 

The next morning you watched as he got dressed, and sat beside you on the bed, “I had fun last night, mesh’la.”

“So did I, Cross.” You smiled as you held his hand, “How long are you going to be away this time?”

“Not sure, they brought us back to help with some mission to find a spy or something; doesn’t matter one mission is the same as the next. I’ll be back.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“You promise?”

“Nothing could keep me away from you.”

You smirked as you looked into his eyes, “Liar.”

“Nope.” He held up his right hand, “I swear, if I’m not back it’s because I’m dead. Then you’ll have to deal with my brothers on your own.”

You let out a laugh, shaking your head, “Your brothers aren’t that bad.”

He let out a huff, “Yes, they are, but you’re too kind-hearted to know the difference. Anyway that’s always been the deal, if anything happens to me, Hunter will look after you. Alright? But nothing’s going to happen, so you’re stuck with me.”

You pulled him in one last time, kissing him with all the passion and love you felt for him, “I love you, Crosshair.”

“I love you, mesh’la. I gotta go. I’ll comm you when I can.”

With that he was gone.

A pain entered your head, as memories after that moment flashed through your mind, Hunter appearing at your door, telling you they had to run. Meeting Omega. Fighting for Crosshair all that time.

Your feet felt cold, as though the rain had filled your boots. You blinked and you were back on Eriadu, still on the floor of the valley. The rain was still coming down … was that rain? You touched your cheeks slowly, painfully, no… that was rain. It was tears. 

You glanced around hoping you’d see Crosshair one more time, but it wasn’t real… he wasn’t there. You breathed out one last time, unable to recall if that was really the last time you kissed Crosshair. 

Despite how hard you tried, your eyes closed as your world went dark. 

Main Master List   | Star Wars Jukebox Roulette |   AO3 Link

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[hannie-dul-set]

plz matthew for the reverse harem hell

[a losing game]. seok matthew may not be the most perceptive person in the room, but even he could notice the underlying competition going on within the publication office. well, it can’t even be considered underlying because even if there’s no explicit declaration of war from any party—

“s—seonbae, this is for you!”

“nice hair clip. it suits you.”

“are you free tonight? do you wanna grab dinner together?”

the gifts, the flowers, the compliments, the attention can all be considered as firearms and attacks in this funny, seven-way tug-of-war.

“oh, actually—” 

and seok matthew simply can’t miss out on all the fun.

“sorry, hyung!” target locked. calculating move. matthew quickly maneuvers past the flower bouquet wielding kim gyuvin and the observant kim jiwoong to cut in between you and hanbin. he arms with himself with an easy smile, bright and wide as he throws an arm of your shoulder, pulling you into his chest in a half-hug. “she’s already eating out with me.”

matthew decides that he has won this skirmish when hanbin’s face freezes. “oh,” his editor in chief says, followed by a pause, finished by a laugh and the resumption of his smile. “oh! well, i hope you two have a nice dinner!”

“hahaha, yes, thank you, hanbin,” you force out, a streak of discomfort in your expression even though you’re smiling as politely as you can, and it’s just too out in the open for matthew not to notice. 

“if you’re gonna be out late, my line is always open if you need a ride home.”

with that, hanbin shuffles back to his desk, and matthew is declared victorious. at least until you wiggle yourself out of his grapple and look at him with the same strained, same forced politeness that you were giving hanbin earlier. “haha, anyway,” you cough out, and matthew bites down his tongue because it would be inappropriate to laugh at you right now. “i still have some articles to copyread. if you’ll excuse me—”

“oh, i already did them, seonbae! the papers are on your desk!”  

now, matthew isn’t even sure he likes you. and quite frankly, he doesn’t care to know. he’s just in this fray because he’s irredeemably competitive and doesn’t like it when he’s left out of things.

“gunwook! why would you— i never asked you to—”

“hold on.”

oh. he has one more reason.

“there’s something in your hair.” reaching out to the side of your temple, matthew gently bristles away some hair out of your face and very boldly unclips the hair clip that jiwoong allegedly got you. it’s a frontal attack. the silence in the office is tense. “you’re prettier without it.”

you look at him. then your eyes dart down to his hand, holding the accessory. then look back up to meet his eyes again— confused, flushed, and flustered.

“uhm— oh, uh— thanks…?”

the last reason that your reactions are always cute and funny whenever he strikes an attack.

the tension is palpable. matthew hums and goes on with his day until daybreak comes, and it’s finally evening. meaning, it’s time to have dinner with you and he can finally escape from the drilling stares jiwoong has been sending him all day. you finally come back to the office— gyuvin in tow, and while you were out, matthew was doing some thinking.

if he thinks you’re cute, wouldn’t that mean he likes you? but he doesn’t think he’s as passionate as ricky or as earnest as hao when it comes to you. he’s just having a bit of fun. a bit of excitement to spice out the usual boring day-to-days in the publication office. 

well, he can just confirm his feelings over dinner. and so he does. you’re both sitting by the window at this nice thai restaurant he recently discovered. the vibe is nice. warm lights. good food. a live band in the corner. and seok matthew is currently very intently staring at your face— brows furrowed and all— because he’s trying to figure out if thinking that you’re still pretty even after a full day of work means that he does indeed like you.

“what?” you prod, setting down your water on the table because his staring interrupted your hydrating. “is there something on my face again?”

“yes.” now, you’re just giving him an opening to make an attack. matthew simply cannot help himself. “prettiness.”

this time, matthew doesn’t get the same reaction as he usually gets in response to his attacks.

huh.

you set down your fork. you wipe your lips with a napkin before setting them down, too. you’re looking serious. you don’t look flustered or uncomfortable at all and it’s starting to scare him a little. his heart rate picks up. his palms get sweaty. and for some reason, you’re looking like you’re just about to break his heart in the worst way possible.

“matthew.”

wait—

“there’s something i want to tell you.” 

—if he’s scared of getting his heart broken—

“i’m dating someone.”

—wouldn’t that mean he likes you?

“h—huh?” matthew stammers. “come—come again?”

you pressed your lips together, a sharp inhale before repeating, “i’m dating someone already.” wow. he shouldn’t have asked you to repeat that. “i only agreed to see you tonight to tell you this...so that you’d stop...you know, trying anymore.”

matthew is quite for a moment. “is...is it hanbin hyung?” he asks after the pause, and you don’t respond. “jiwoong hyung?” but your phone answers his question for you in the form of an incoming call from someone that he didn’t even think was in the competition.

“taerae?”

right when he had just realized his feelings, seok matthew just realized that he had lost.

“sorry, i need to take this.”

maybe he’d lost more than just this dumb competition. maybe this had been a losing game in the first place.

send me a kpop boy (txt/enha/zb1/bnd/dream) to toss into reverse harem hell! [taerae]

[ickadori]

Ok hear me out what if satoru from poly au starts to fall for reader too 💀 how would each of them react omg

if this is before everything goes down and reader is ignorant to how they really feel about them, i’d imagine nothing would happen, really. satoru would just stop playing favorites and would give equally in the relationship. getou would be happy, because while gojo played favorites, he did not. he was very fair with his love and affection, and that’s part of the reason why you had stayed ignorant for so long. what gojo lacked, getou made up for and never left you wanting for anything.

now, if this is after everything happened and reader knows that they’re pretty much second place when it comes to who they love the most, i feel like they’d be a bit hesitant to believe him. you had thought he loved you equally in the beginning, had been so sure of it, only to have your delusions ripped from you so suddenly. what if this is simply another one of his grandiose lies? a ploy to get you back simply to appease and pacify getou, the one who had made all this happen in the first place?

gojo would feel guilty, rightfully so, and would probably bombard you with gifts and gaudy declarations of love. obnoxiously large bouquets of flowers, expensive jewelry with their shared initials on it, clothing you could have hope to afford on your own, your favorite foods (which he had to learn from getou, because of course he had never bothered to learn your favorite things) delivered hot and fresh to your door whenever you had a bad day.

he was constantly in your space, smiling and teasing as he told bad jokes and apologized in a smooth way that seemed far from genuine. he’d follow you around and pick at you like you were both teenagers with a crush - tugging at your hair, poking at your cheeks, pulling you into hugs and nuzzling against your cheeks. he fully believes in the proximity principle and will make sure he’s around you as much as he can be.

he uses getou, too, because you’re a bit softer with him. gojo had been the main perpetrator, so most of your hurt and anger had been directed at him. he’ll get in his ear and whine about how you’re treating him, how it’s unfair and how he’s apologized so many times - what’s their deal? i said sorry, don’t they know i mean it? won’t you talk to them, suguru. make ‘em like me again, yeah?

getou will brush him off in the beginning, it’s karma after all, what goes around comes around. he had watched you silently pine after gojo’s attention and affection while in the relationship, and now he would watch gojo pine after you. now, getou wasn’t blameless in all of this, and he’s sure his karma would come to get him, some way or the other, but he’d enjoy this game of tug-o-war in the meantime.

[laismoura-art]

Hello!! I want to ask you something, do you have thoughts about how Kuairumi wedding would animate? Because I'm so rooting for them and I can't even wait to see them together 😩♥️💛✨

Hi Meme!!

Thanks for the ask! I'm honoured that you, @orbitinytheworld and @thedragonholder want to hear my thoughts on this wedding!

Dragon already blessed us with her thoughts and it made my day that she used my take on Harumi's clan as inspo!

You guys are all amazing and I feel so flattered right now!!🥹💕

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Now for starters, I hope I don't offend anyone by saying that I am sooooo glad their wedding won't be looking like this:

Cause look, it might be just my hating on S1 Invasions, but I truly think this wedding looks like shit.💀

From the (non-existent) decoration to the wedding gowns, everything looks so plain and boring, there's no colour, texture, volume or personality, there's NOTHING here that screams Kuai and Harumi! I hope I'm not offending anyone with this, but from the bottom of my heart, I HATE how this wedding looks🤦🏾‍♀️

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With that out of the way:

Let's talk about the new wedding!

For once, we got our first official look on the brand new Fire Gardens and NOW WE'RE TALKING!

Seriously, just look at it!

I don't know if that's it's normal look of if it has been specially decorated for the wedding, but either way, it's great!

Look at the scorpion tails on the roof! The fabrics hanging, the rug, the lanterns and textured floor!

Look at all the golden pieces and candles surrounded by flowers! THE FREAKING FLOWEEEEERS!!!

Oh! And these statues! Can we talk about them? These are just like the statues found on the Wu Shi Academy, and I SO hope they are of the Elder Gods! Cause then it means we are one step closer to the Order of Cetrion! :O

We also got to see Kuai's gown too!

SO MUCH BETTER! It has texture, depth, details, and it actually feels like Kuai Liang (I mean, the Invasions gown even got people mistaking him for Bi-Han :P)

I still feel it's a bit too simple for his grand day, but it has potential (plus, I strongly believe he had some extra layers on that he discarded once he had to engage in combat)

We are yet to see Harumi (;-;) but Kuai's new vest does make me hopeful!

And look, you may argue that the Invasions gowns were traditional japanese/chinese gowns, but this kinda leads me to my next issue:

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Kuai and Harumi are fictional characters from fictional clans and are more than allowed to have fictional lore!

Heck! I'll give you some of my own lore right now, so bare with me!

Kuai descends from dragons and Cryomancy and Pyromancy are different outcomes from a same source of power! Meanwhile Harumi is a warrior of Cetrion and her clan protects nature!

Imagine what you can draw from it!

Kuai gets to wear a gown with texture that resembles scales and an overcoat that resembles wings! Harumi wears a dress with a white to light pink gradient, on the overcoat a beautiful hand-painted landscape of a cherry blossom forest and her hair adorned with golden pins and flowers!

Her bouquet made by Kuai to show he's finally learning flower language after years struggling with it!

Kuai: *hands Harumi a bouquet of tansy*

Harumi, teasing: Are you declaring war against me?

Kuai: wHAT???

I want more lore! And more unique traditions! Clothing, dances, rituals, food!

Be creative, NRS!

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Back to Canon again.

First of all, I got to see Shirai Ryu warriors (Raiden included) and Wu Shi warriors fighting the Cyber Girls. Very cool, very nice!

Now where are Harumi's warriors??

I find it hard to believe they weren't invited! So where are they? What do they look alike?

Please tell me they are all women and they don't all dress black with a singular piece of coloured fabric to tell them apart.

NRS, you were more creative than that... right? (ಠ_ಠ)

Also, you did invite the Umgadi, right NRS? Cause Harumi was one of them and now Kuai is their ally.

Kuai invited his allies, the Wu Shi. So Harumi invited her allies, the Umgadi. Correct?

Tanya is Harumi's old friend and now is her maid of honour, yes?

Yeah, thought so! Don't you guys love when NRS is creative? I sure do!😊

Now, to wrap this all up!

@thedragonholder suggested in her post that Bi-Han secretly attended the wedding and that ended up with him being caught by Titan Havik!

I absolutely LOVED that idea! But allow me to add:

What if Bi-Han told Cyrax and Sektor he was going to the wedding but he never got there cause Havik intercepted him first?

He never got too warn the girls and they think the Shirai Ryu had him captured the moment they spot him!

And that's why they decided to invade the wedding!

One big misunderstanding, it's on brand for MK, really :P

Kuai and Harumi manage to prove they got nothing to do with Bi-Han’s disappearance and begrudgingly they decide to help look for him because "he's a jerk and I'm still mad at him, but if he's really in danger than I won't just stand here and let him get hurt😑"

And that's how the whole adventure starts for them!

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Sooooo, yeah! Those are my thoughts so far! I really enjoyed brainstorm it all and I hope you enjoy reading it all just as much!

Gang, any thoughts, additions and theories? Please I'd love to talk more about it!!👀💙🩷

@mikka-minns @madamealtruist @moody-bloos

[luckhissoul]

Name: Mat Cauthon Nickname(s): son of battles? gambler? Relationship Status: verse dependent on here - but in canon he ends up married to an evil empress lol plz send help Gender: male Romantic Orientation: heterosexual Preferred Pet Names: he doesn't like pet names for himself. just call him by his name, he's good with that. but for the person he with? he'll use just typical things ? or he'll also use ones sarcastically, to be annoying. or he'll come up with something that's more like just for that person, something "cute". he's mush sometimes just don't tell him that.

Opinion on True Love: it's chill for anyone else but he'd say something like it ties you down and makes you act like an idiot kinda thing. he considers himself removed from the idea. like when he realizes he's in love it's literally in the strangest way possible. about to go to war and nearly die for them he's like crap, i actually love them, huh? and i think that kinda just shows the sort of person he is in regards to the way he thinks and how he's actually pretty devoted in spite of it. Opinion on Love at First Sight: he doesn't believe in it at all. he mistrusts most people on first meeting so that's kind of hard to get past. and he thinks that it takes some work to get someone to love you. although one wouldn't have to work half as hard to get him to love them but it's certainly not happening at first sight. he wouldn't even be aware of it if it did happen. so -

How ‘Romantic’ Are They?: he likes to do things like give gifts, flowers, extravagant dates, say a lot of "nice things" but it's usually not ROMANTIC and more i want to hook up and will this make you want me? not classically romantic. when he actually gets involved though - i don't think those things would stop. but he can be closed off and even a bit unsure or reluctant with expressing or examining his feelings. so i don't think he'd be able to be romantic in the sense of declarations and things like that.

Ideal Physical Traits:""The world is full of beautiful women, and Mat wants to romp barefoot with them all. He's slept with lots of women; he's slept with women old enough to be his mother..."' ---robert jordan pretty much saying that he has next to no preference Ideal Personality Traits: ; like he's always pulling the mean aggressive ones and really he can't resist. even tho you know he hates it ....or does he? --- Unattractive Physical Traits: i mean he's got no actual preference here. maybe if they stink or something lol like hygiene is important Unattractive Personality Traits: like he'd love to say people who look down on people or take advantage or control / abuse people. but then you'd take one look at his wife and wouldn't believe him. he means it but ---

Ideal Date: probably something like going dancing , spending the whole night together kind of thing.

Do They Have a Type?: like he always kind of ends up attracting these very domineering, opinionated and demanding women. is that his type? he certainly hopes not. but - Average Relationship Length: lolol mat doesn't do relationships. flings at the most, a few nights and that's it. Preferred Non-Sexual Intimacy: deep down under every layer mat just wants to be cuddles. dancing

Commitment Level: this tho is one of those things -- like he does not want to be tied down, kept in one place with one person. if things aren't exactly SOMETHING he's gonna see other people, he's naturally flirtatious and won't think anything of it. he'll let people flirt with him and figure if he's not reacting it's ok. but like also on the flip side when things are acknowledged and spelled out as a thing then he's very committed, he's very tied down, very loyal. he won't cheat or look anywhere else.

Opinion of Public Affection: yes, from making out with someone at a party to like little tender touches for no reason at all. he's thrives off of it, he loves it. any physical affection is a thrill to him. but telling you that he loves you in front of everyone? not gonna happen. Past Relationships?: lolololololol okay he's had one - one singular past relationship. and she was a dark friend that tried to turn him against rand, then when that failed tried to kill him. and then that ended up with him killing her. so yeah, good times, great relationship. totally didn't leave any emotional damage at all. and he was with her for about --- six months?

Writer’s Note: he's too emotionally closed off ( even to himself fml ) to get close to easily, too adaptable to get to know for real, too much of a contradiction to understand entirely, moody and overly sensitive so you can ALWAYS say the wrong thing. verbal about EVERYTHING but any sort of tender feelings. he's A LOT to deal with, very complicate. and unless you're willing / able to handle it ( like rand wait wut ) like you might want to rethink there.

tagged by: stole it from @bloodtwin tagging: @caracarnn x @xhideyourfires x @agoldenlily x @godresembled

[aquamarine0710]

Snippet #9

Cw: violence

“I dont understand why you don’t get it. It simple, really. Just cut their head off!” [Villain] scoffed, leaning back in the chair and fiddling with the handcuffs to no avail.

“Slice- WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I don’t want to kill them!” [Superhero] said, flabbergasted.

[Villain] rolled their eyes, “ You said you want them to look at you and only you-“

“In a less violent way!”

“Which is like, literally impossible unless you chop their head off!”

“Surely there must be a way to worm myself into their heart.”

“ Not unless you-“

“Stop! Don’t continue that sentence.”

[Villain] shrugged, “Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? They don’t care about you in the slightest.”

[Superhero] scowled, “They do!”

[Villain] leaned forward in their chair, “Oh yeah? What proof do you have?”

[Superhero] opened and closed their mouth, hesitating.

“So I was right-“

“A flower! They put a flower in my hair during our last fight!”

[Villain] was stumped, “Huh? What makes you think that proves anything? [Supervillain’s] power is manipulating flora! It could have been an accident for all I know!”

“W-well..” [Superhero] blushed as they pulled out a tansy.

“That looks like a weed.” [Villain] said bluntly.

“It’s not a weed! It’s called a tansy you uncultured henchman!” [Superhero] screeched and immediately put the flower back in their coat.

[Villain] squinted their eyes cynically, “You are acting like you know the meaning of plants. If my memory serves me right, the fool who thought beanstalks were upright snakes yesterday was you.”

A bowl came flying, “Shut up!! I asked the florist what it means and they said it means protection and immortality!”

‘Ah.. that explains it.’ [Villain] smirked, “That florist was being nice. The tansies have another meaning- a declaration of war.”

“Then why did they give me a literal note asking me to meet them in the theatres at 5?!”

“Probably to ambush you. [Superhero], you trust others too easily.”

“Surely you’re lying! Then what did that kiss in the bedroom the other day mean?”

“You mean the one where you tripped while saving hostages, accidentally fell on my boss and kissed them?”

“W-why do you know about that?! I was certain there wasn’t anyone around me!”

“Seriously.. with detection skills this bad, how’d you become the leader of all heros in this area?”

“AHEM. But no, I was not talking about that embarrassing moment of stupidity. I was talking about the other one where they kissed me. For 30 minutes. On the lips.”

“ Oh that one was- Wait. 30 minutes? 30? As in half an hour???”

“Um.. yeah. What’s wrong? [Villain]?”

‘ Thirty minutes… without a break… thirty-‘

That day [Villain] didn’t get any sleep.

[cartoonrival]

hii can you tell me more about that time sonic yelled at silver in a hospital (◕‿◕✿) <- imagine that thing is fluttering it’s lashes convincingly

HELLO i would love to. so silver's story in archie is that they are CONVINCED that there's a traitor amongst the original knothole freedom fighters. in archie, their future is a lot more in tact, so theyve been doing research in decrepit libraries and stuff trying to figure out what happened, and they're certain that 200 years ago, one of the freedom fighters double crossed their teammates and doomed the world.

silver tends to. jump to conclusions. a lot. and this is understandable considering everything is fucked and its scary and terrible and the weight of fixing it is on One Teenager's Shoulders. so they are wrong A Lot. they bring it up pretty much every time they see sonic, accuse rotor, etc, and the ffs find it a bit ANNOYING that someone would think one of their closest friends would turn against them, but ultimately its water under the bridge once silver realize each theory wasnt true, apologizes, they move on, silver keeps searching.

the hospital scene is sonic's final straw. ixis naugus took the throne, sally was roboticized, and antoine is in a coma. quack can't even be sure he'll wake UP. and while sonic is grieving in his room, picking at his guitar listening to amy sobbing in the living room with his parents, silver shows up and declares that they've FINALLY found the true traitor of the freedom fighters: it's antoine. and sonic fucking LOSES IT. he grabs silver by their quills and DRAGS them through the city, bursts into antoine's room where he's prone in bed, unresponsive, surrounded by flowers and balloons and well-wishing cards, and throws silver against the foot of the bed so they can see the man theyve just accused of being a traitor. really looks like he's about to walk off to join eggman doesn't he.

sonic's closest friends, the people who he has lived and fought alongside for basically his entire life, are kind of being shot down like FLIES, and here comes SILVER THE HEDGEHOG (who the hell even is this guy, where did they even come from), waltzing in and insisting that THEY know sonic's friends better than he does, so well in fact that they're sure they've been lying through their teeth to him.

that moment is veeerry much an explosion of a LOT of pent up anger and grief over the current state of things; the freedom fighters are LOSING. the people who carried sonic through some of the worst points of the war are being captured, dying, nicole was banished from the city, bunnie feels so guilty over antoine's fate that she's RUN AWAY without saying where she's going, geoffrey is back and ruining everything, its all gone to SHIT.

sonic doesnt really give a shit how well-meaning silver is, if theyre going to show up without having experienced any of the horror that sonic is currently living through and accuse the ONLY PEOPLE who have been with sonic through EVERYTHING of being BACKSTABBERS, several of whom have all but SACRIFICED THEMSELVES to save the world, then they should get fucked. to put it simply.

[bittersweetarts]

The Great War - Chapter 1 (Aemond Targaryen Fanfiction)

Summary: A war is brewing, but only some know this – Camyla Peake, daughter of Lord Unwin Peake, is sent King’s Landing to wed the Hand of the King. It is a shame though, that she garners the attention of his grandsons instead.

WARNINGS: Arranged marriage with Otto Hightower, sexism. 

AO3 - Spotify Playlist 

Chapter 1: The Flowering

Camyla Peake was not opposed to the prospect of being betrothed to an older man, but Lord Otto Hightower was a little older than she would have preferred.

Not that it mattered to Camyla’s father, Lord Unwin Peake, whose ambition overshadowed any fatherly concern he may have towards a child; let alone a daughter, because what utility did daughters have outside of marriage and childrearing.

It did not help that Camyla was also old by Westerosi standards, and Lord Unwin Peake had openly resented his daughter for not being wed. Most of the girls Camyla grew up with have long started families and fulfilled their duties. The Head of House Peake often moaned, usually over dinner and wine, that he regretted not arranging her betrothal when she was a child, and had long already arranged a betrothal for Myrielle, Camyla’s younger sister. Myrielle had yet to celebrate her seventh nameday.

Unfortunately for Camyla though, most considered the girl to be barren, until she finally bled for the first time, a few moons before her twentieth name day. It was a miracle really, and when the maids at Starpike Castle discovered the young noblewoman in bed, clutching her sheets, attempting to conceal her flowering. These maids went to Lord Peake right away, to inform him of this, despite Camyla’s begging. An ambitiously cunning man, Lord Unwin Peake set out right away to arrange an advantageous match for his eldest living daughter, and this sadly did not surprise the young woman in the slightest.

What Camyla Peake least likes about herself is how much she takes after her father. Like her siblings, Camyla takes after him physically, with abundantly ash hair and dull gray-brown eyes. Unlike her brothers and sisters though, Camyla was clever and shrewd, like her father. She was not always like this though.

When Camyla was young, she thought herself to be a princess. Her father, an affluent lord, was not affectionate, but her mother, Lady Amyra Tyrell, had compensated for this, bathing her children in love, and impressing upon them their value. Her elder siblings, Titus and Taliya, used to be her playmates, and together, they pretended to rule an imaginary Eighth Kingdom, which was unseen to the common eye; Titus was the gallant King, Taliya was his benevolent Queen, and Camyla was the Princess which their common folk adored. There were no dragons or mean fathers in their Kingdom, and it was Camyla’s favourite place in the realm. Too quickly though, these games became too childish for her siblings, who had to grow up and leave home. Titus was sent to serve their grandsire Lord Redwyne, in Arbor, and Taliya was wed to one of Lord Frey’s sons.

Camyla still lived in her fantasies though, and remained tender hearted. Though her siblings stopped playing, Camyla never did when she was younger, and would imagine countless tales which took place in their imaginary world.

But when their mother had died giving birth to her youngest sister, Myrielle, Camyla became changed. Ten and three, Camyla had to learn to take care of her babe sister, for her father did not.

And when Taliya died giving birth to her first child, while still a girl herself, a part of Camyla died as well. This was when Camyla changed, and as the years passed, Camyla grew to become more like her father, which is why she was not shocked when her father, mere days after her flowering, hastily declared during their supper.

“The Hand of the King. That is who you are to impress when you leave for King’s Landing on the morrow. For your own sake, you should secure this betrothal, for you will not have a home here no more. I have cared for you long enough.”

And that was it. It only took some blood for Camyla Peake’s life to be completely changed. As her father demanded, Camyla spoke her farewells to her younger sister and home at Starpike, and departed on her weeks-long journey, leaving with only what could fit in a carriage and the stern Septa Maris, who would watch over her conduct at the Red Keep (and inevitably report her every movement to her father). Camyla expected sadness to consume her, for she was leaving the only place she had ever known, home not only to her, but to the memories of her mother and older sister; but no sorrow took hold. Camyla only felt empty.

It was not easy to astound Aemond Targaryen, but when his brother, Aegon, declared one afternoon that their grandsire was about to wed a girl half their mother’s age, Aemond Targaryen was truly astounded. Surely this could not be true, because why would the wise Lord Otto Hightower betroth himself now, especially to a girl younger than some of his grandchildren?

No. The one-eyed Prince could not believe it, it must be a malignant lie. His grandsire would not get betrothed for companionship; that was what whores were for, Aemond heard him say once. No, his grandsire would not bind himself to a girl, but rather to her House. But marrying a girl so young, at his age, was a shocking notion, and Aemond could not be the only one astounded by this. It must be a misunderstanding.

But Aegon declared it to be true, and jovially asked the Hand about it over supper the very same evening, in the presence of their mother, the Queen Alicent, and their father, the King Viserys Targaryen.

“It is true.” Lord Otto Hightower answered plainly. Aemond immediately noticed how his mother was silent and did not touch her food, and he noticed how his father appeared rather pleased that evening, weakly raising his goblet while coughing.

“Congratulations, friend. What House does the blessed woman hail from? And when is the wedding to be? We must host a tourney and have a grand feast. It has been long since joy has been spread in these halls.”

Helaena had given birth to Maelor only a few moons ago. Bitterly thought Aemond.

“Thank you, your Grace.” His grandsire tightly smiled at his father, taking a sip of his wine before answering. “It is Lord Peake’s eldest daughter, and as we speak, she should be journeying to us from the Reach. I am to meet her first, to decide whether she would be a suitable wife.”

“What could be wrong with Lord Unwin’s daughter?” Queen Alicent finally spoke, her speech devoid of emotion. Aemond’s eye was still helplessly fixed on his mother; he felt like he was the only one that cared for her behalf and hated that it was so.

Clearing his throat, the Hand answered his daughter awkwardly.

“She is not very young but has never been betrothed. I would like to see her defects for myself before accepting her.”

“Well, how old is the spinster?” The King asked, in a lighthearted tone, but choked on his wine as his Hand answered.

“Twenty.”

The conversation tensed, and their grandsire quickly tried to change the topic. Not very young? She is merely a year older than I am. The one-eyed Prince dubiously thought.

“How I love fresh meat at the Keep.” Aegon whispered crudely to Aemond, who ignored his brother’s insipid comment. Instead, the one-eyed Prince continued watching his mother, who he realised was picking on her nails yet again. His mother was not the only one he worried about, however. Glancing at Helaena, Aemond also contemplated whether she heard what Aegon had said, as she vacantly stared down at her plate.

“Sevens, the scent is revolting.” Camyla Peake declared, pinching her nose.

“Camyla!” Austerely chastised Septa Marris, sharply glaring at Camyla. The middle-aged woman who was not overly fond of her, as of yet. “The Seven’s name should not be said in vain!”

The carriage carrying them was slowing down now, having passed through River Gate. They were not far from the Red Keep now, but Camyla could not see anything beyond its silhouette yet.

“Apologies Septa.” Camyla responded nonchalantly, looking out the window again. The smell really was awful, but at least Blackwater Bay was a better sight. The sky was dull, despite the rising of the sun, and the waters were devoid of colour, but Camyla preferred it to staring at Septa Marris’s scowling face concentrating on her boring needlework.

The journey had taken weeks, and Septa Marris made for poor company, in Camyla’s opinion at least. To pass the time, Camyla tried reading, but it only made her nauseous, and so, with nothing to do, Camyla just sat in silence during their travels. Consequently, there was nothing to distract the brunette from her thoughts.

Camyla was not nervous about being wife to Lord Otto Hightower, for she already knew what her duties would entail: play the role of a nice little bride, and birth a child or two. Camyla also understood her fate all too well – it was to be a pawn, either at her father or soon-to-be husband’s hands. Frankly though, Camyla did not care all that much, or rather, could not be bothered to care. Though the prospect of her life in King’s Landing, being caged in a loveless marriage and the walls of the Keep, bored her, Camyla was also not interested in her father’s games. All he wanted was to make House Peake the greatest in Westeros, but what was so great about it? Most of her family were cruel, bigots, or cruel bigots, and her father was no exception. Moreover, her father did not respect her, simply because she was born without a cock between her legs, so why should she try to vie for his approval?

No, Camyla would not try, not anymore. The young woman had decided that she would not be trying to create a life with Lord Otto Hightower for her father. Should he agree to the betrothal, Camyla would try to pursue some semblance of a happy marriage, only for herself, and if that fails, then she would hopefully have at least a child who she could love. There was the concern that she would not bleed as a woman again, and that she was indeed barren, but Camyla chose to ignore this. It was an irrational fear, for no other woman in her family was barren, so why would she be the first?

Camyla also no longer wanted to return to Starpike, nor did she want to live with her unkind father. Though she missed Myrielle, Camyla did not miss Unwin Peake and the way he ‘showed love’. There was something in Camyla’s stare, defiant by nature, which seemed to infuriate Lord Peakem, and when he had a lot of wine, he would ensure that Camyla knew his fury.

King’s Landing never was where Camyla imagined her home to be, but she welcomed the notion of it. The idea of being a lady wife to an important man was appealing, and her new life at the Keep would be hers to forge. All she had to do was please Lord Otto Hightower well enough. Surely it should not be too difficult. Thought Camyla as she stared at the moving sea waters.

Upon arriving at the Red Keep, Lady Camyla Peake and Septa Marris were greeted by Lord Otto Hightower, rather indifferently, in front of a large crowd of unfamiliar faces.

Camyla did not expect warmth or affection from the Hand of the King, and was actually surprised; not by his attitude, but by his physical appearance. Camyla had expected a man bearing in resemblance to her father, in that the Hand’s countenance would be heavier and more rounded. Instead, Camyla came to meet a tall slender man with a kind face, which made her feel at ease, that is until she actually got to speak to him more directly.

Following his cold welcoming, Lord Otto Hightower practically demanded that Camyla meet him in the Gardens during the afternoon, so that they could properly speak to each other. Camyla wondered what he thought of her. She knew that she was no great beauty, with a wider figure, pale skin and darker hair, but maybe her youth was appealing to him. However, when Septa Marris proceeded to fret over her appearance the entire morning while she unpacked Camyla’s belongings in the guest quarters, Camyla became grow irritated. Why was her beauty the only quality that mattered?

“You were a mess upon arrival – How could I let you meet Lord Hightower like that!”

“It matters not.” Camyla chimed in a bored tone, staring out of the window. The view overlooked the pillars of the Keep and King’s Landing, which was intimidatingly grand. Starpike Castle scarcely compared in scale.

“Of course it matters! Lord Hightower is judging you in everything. He is Hand of the King for a reason.”

Sighing, Camyla snapped back, in a mildly irritated tone. “It matters not to me. If we do not get betrothed, it will not be the end of times, no matter how much my Lord Father tries to make us believe otherwise. I am doing as he demands, but I cannot force the hand of Fate as well.”

Again, Septa Marris chastised Camyla and ranted to her about the importance of acting agreeable and soft-spoken, especially to Lord Hightower and all who are important at King’s Landing. But Camyla quickly grew bored of the speech, and ignored Septa Marris as she began intricately plaiting her thick hair.

Eventually, a comfortable silence lulled over the quarters, and Camyla became distracted with other thoughts. She wondered about court life at the Red Keep. As far as Camyla was aware, the King’s children were the only people close to her age (disregarding anyone not of noble blood), but the young woman hoped she was wrong about this, because otherwise, her life at King’s Landing would be rather solitary and lonely, for Camyla did not expect that the Princes and Princess would be keen to befriend the young wife of their grandsire. Perhaps there were some Lords at the Keep, maybe part of the King’s Small Council, who had daughters living with them. Or perhaps the Princess has some ladies-in-waiting close to her age. Camyla could only hope.

Naturally, Camyla knew of the members of House Targaryen, as well as their reputation. Of Queen Alicent’s children, Prince Aegon, was infamous in Westeros for his unpleasantness, and shamefully indecent past times, meanwhile his sister-wife, Princess Helaena, was often described in conversation as kind, but peculiar in character. Camyla has heard little about Prince Aemond’s character or attitude, but the story of how he had lost an eye when he was little, in exchange for Vaghar, a fierce dragon that had aided in Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros, was well-known. Camyla Peake expected that Prince Aemond would bear some similarity to his older brother in character, and she knew it better to avoid both.

The only Targaryen children that Camyla did not expect to meet was Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daeron. Princess Rhaenyra, heir to the Iron Throne, is a woman grown, with her own family, and she lived away from King’s Landing. Prince Daeron, though younger than his siblings, resides in Oldtown, serving as a cupbearer and squire for Lord Ormund Hightower; at least that is what Camyla’s father had said once during dinner with guests, a few moons ago. Either way, Camyla did not expect to meet either of them tonight, which she was fine with. In fact, Camyla wished she did not have to meet anyone from House Targaryen, for none of them, if shown by history, were good companions if one valued their life.

When Camyla finally greeted Lord Otto at the Gardens, the sun was harsh and unforgiving, and the young brunette regretted Septa Marris’s choice of attire for the walk; a hugging, heavy fabric gem-coloured gown, which seemed to trap the heat. Camyla tried to keep her cool, but it was rather difficult.

“Your father and I have known each other for decades. He has never mentioned you to me before now.” The Hand stated simply, his hands clasped behind his back as he strode ahead of Camyla, who walked more slowly, lifting her gown to appear more lady-like.

“I do not why.”

Actually, Camyla did know why, but she would not make Lord Otto privy to that knowledge. Camyla’s answer did not satisfy the Hand though, who stopped walking and turned to face the young woman, his brows furrowed.

“I am going to ask you plainly, and it will be without consequence for our arrangement. You have my word. All I ask is the truth. Have you given up your chastity to another already?”

Camyla’s eyes widened, taken aback by Lord Otto’s forwardness, and immediately responded, her low voice in shame.

“Of course not.”

As she spoke, Camyla’s gaze wandered to her feet. She knew that her age would be an issue, but she did not realise that others would suppose she was unwed because she had whored herself out. Lord Otto Hightower, on the other hand, seemed satisfied in her response, perceiving it to be truthful, and continued to walk, not waiting for the young girl to follow.

“So why has Unwin not wed you off yet?”

Glancing back up, Camyla rushed to keep pace with the Hand, her sight still set to the ground.

“I cannot speak for my father. He is the one who decides on these matters.” Camyla uttered a response. She did not want to lie, but she did not want to reveal the truth to Lord Otto either. Thankfully, he did not press upon the subject anymore, and began to speak to her about his expectations (they were as Camyla anticipated: remain silent, be faithful, and to do as he says). Camyla found that her input was rarely asked, that Lord Otto preferred to speak instead of listen, and Camyla tried to not to be irritated by this. Eventually, his conversation ceased, and he turned to face her again.

“My family dines together most evenings. You are expected to attend tonight’s supper. You will be in the company of the King, my daughter and their children. Dress appropriately and behave as expected.”

Pressing her lips together, Camyla nodded, and this seemed to satisfy Lord Otto Hightower.

“At sunset, I will send for a knight, Ser Arryk, to escort you. You are to be ready by then.”

Having spent some time with Lord Otto Hightower, Camyla formed some semblance of a judgment on him. Similar to her father, Lord Otto was proud and brusque, and Camyla knew how to act around men like that. They preferred women to be quiet and unseen, and Camyla could do that just fine. But did she wish to? Camyla Peake was undecided.

Camyla also knew that Lord Otto Hightower had once been dismissed from his post as Hand, but she did not know why. Did it matter? Camyla did not foresee a close companionship with Lord Otto as her husband, and while this was disappointing, it more importantly meant that she had to look out for herself, because Lord Otto would not. He gave her no reason to trust him. While she could ensure that their betrothal did not happen, what better prospects did Camyla have?

As demanded, Camyla was ready by sunset. Septa Marris had helped get her ready again, and Camyla sat in silence as her hair was undone; it was decided that having her curled locks loose but secured away from her face would best present her features. Septa Marris had also ranted how Camyla should act during the dinner, and to be careful about what she ate, as her hips made her appear wider than most other ladies; this greatly tested Camyla patience. Septa Marris had also tried to get Camyla to profess a detailed account of her conversation with Lord Otto Hightower, but Camyla stubbornly kept her descriptions short and vague. Camyla was no idiot. She knew that Septa Marris would quickly send a letter to her imposing father detailing everything, and Camyla intended to make this difficult, simply out of spite.

After Septa Marris finished getting Camyla ready, the young woman found herself idle with nerves. The sun had long set, but no one had come to get the young woman, and Camyla had no idea where to go. When Ser Arryk finally arrived to escort Camyla, the brunette felt like she could finally breathe again, despite her tight crimson gown, which was sinched to the waist too forcefully for comfort.

Camyla was normally quite forward, but Ser Arryk was intimidatingly large in stature, and despite his friendly face, he was in a seemingly bad mood, so Camyla did not try to ask about why he had arrived so late, and the pair walked silently, for seemingly forever. Camyla was amazed by how large the Red Keep was, and by the time they reached to the dining room, Camyla felt tired and her feet slightly ached.

“You are late.”

A voice echoed the room as Camyla entered. The room was dim, illuminated by candlelight in the hundreds. Camyla had always been drawn to flames and found herself momentarily distracted as she entered, not expecting the room to be set so beautifully.

“Nonsense, Otto. She is right on time – Come sit, Lady Peake.”

Despite his cheerful tone, Camyla went speechless, having been addressed directly by King Viserys, a character previously confined to her books and her father’s conversations. In all honesty, Camyla felt almost stricken just by the notion of the Targaryen King being aware of her existence.

Camyla Peake, still stood by the entryway, was practically frozen in place, and Prince Aemond Targaryen, who was watching her closely, could not help but notice how similarly the young woman resembled a lamb sent for slaughter. With her dark eyes wide and her full lips slightly parted, Aemond Targaryen quickly understood that his grandsire’s future wife was incapable of concealing her emotions very well. The one-eyed Prince could have shown compassion and smiled at her when their gazes briefly met, but instead, he maintained his usual frown. Still watching her, Prince Aemond Targaryen decided that he would not show kindness to the girl, not when her very presence at the Red Keep wounded his mother so deeply.

“Come Camyla, sit.” Lord Otto Hightower spoke up again, and the young woman quickly collected herself, and rushed to the only vacant seat available, between Princess Helaena and her future husband.

Camyla. Prince Aemond Targaryen mused. The name rolled off the tongue very tenderly, and the one-eyed Prince noticed how well it suited the girl. Though her features were simple, there was a graceful humility in her stride, and Aemond Targaryen now found himself incapable of looking away.

The room was silent as the young woman seated herself. When she glanced to her right, Princess Helaena smiled at her, and Camyla forced herself to return the smile, before turning to face the King.

“Thank you, your Grace, for welcoming me into your home. I am honoured, and truly appreciate it.” Camyla lively spoke, mustering all her conviction.

Camyla Peake had thought herself to be well-prepared and did not anticipate her confidence to waver in the presence of the King and his family. Unfortunately, Camyla was wrong, found herself unprepared at the sight of all the fair-haired Targaryens gathered, as well as Lord Otto’s daughter, the Queen Alicent, whose intimidating gaze was piercing. But Camyla knew that she could not show any frailty, not now that she was alone at King’s Landing. So naturally, she attempted to hide her weakness with a lie.

“Please forgive me for my cloddish entrance. I fear that I have not been able to eat since breaking my fast this morning, and do not function well without nourishment.” Camyla spoke in a lighthearted tone, hoping that her attitude could be perceived as endearing.

“Let us begin eating right away then!” The King declared, a grin plastered on his face. Perhaps it was due to the small amounts of milk of the poppy a Maester has Viserys Targaryen consume, but the old King could almost see the face of his dear cousin, Princess Rhaenys, in the Lady Camyla. Though the young girl did not possess his cousin’s lilac eyes, they did have similar darker hair, and the King found their personas to be akin. It was comforting having her around, he decided.

“My love, a prayer before we begin?” The Queen Alicent asked, her voice soft but domineering.

“Yes, of course.” Viserys Targaryen responded nonchalantly, smiling at his wife before placing his goblet back onto the dining table, as though he was merely humouring her.

As Alicent Hightower spoke prayers, thanking the Seven for the bountiful feast that was spread before them, Camyla Peake made a few observations. Not particularly pious, Camyla did not close her eyes during the Queen Alicent’s speech, and she was not the only one.

Daring to lift her head and look across, she saw the one-eyed Prince Aemond, who was sat with his eye firmly shut and his hands devoutly clasped together. At the sight before her, Camyla felt herself flush, realising that the young Prince was actually quite handsome, in an almost rugged way. How was he still not betrothed? Camyla thought to herself, unable to tear her sight away.

Camyla Peake then became mortified, when she glanced to Aemond’s right, and saw the Prince Aegon deviously grinning at her. Immediately, Camyla shut her eyes and began listening to the Queen’s prayers.

“… as well Lady Camyla’s safe arrival to King’s Landing, and may the Mother Above, font of mercy, also bless Lord Father and Lady Camyla’s union, if it comes to be.”

As the Queen’s prayers came to an end, Camyla understood that despite the Queen’s comity, she was not pleased with her father’s choice to remarry, and Camyla could not blame her. Camyla Peake would not be ecstatic if her own father decided to marry a lady half her age.

When Camyla opened her eyes again, she was met with Prince Aemond’s stare, and immediately looked away, her breath hitched. She hoped that Prince Aegon would not tell him how she was staring at him herself during the prayers, but knew that this would be unlikely. What does it matter? It is not them that I need to impress. Camyla attempted to rationalise to herself.

Sudden rough coughing caught Camyla by surprise and the young woman instinctively turned to the head of the table, where the King sat. As she looked at the sickly King, their eyes met, and Viserys Targaryen warmly smiled at her.

“This old man knows that it is not certain yet, but humour me the privilege of a toast, my friend.”

The King turned to Lord Otto, who forced his mouth to turn upright, and nodded. It was not that Otto disliked Viserys’s attention towards him at that moment, but rather because the Hand realised something critical, which did not please him. Otto Hightower realised that the King has developed an endearment towards Camyla Peake, something he fails to show his children (aside from his first born). Otto Hightower also understood that he had to wed Camyla Peake, not only because an alliance with House Peake was imperative, but also because now, the young girl would be useful with the King.

“A toast to my Hand, Otto, and his fair future bride, the Lady Camyla.” Raising his goblet, the King took a swig and everyone else followed in suit and proceeded to eat.

Camyla turned to her left, to look at Lord Otto, and found the man ignoring her completely. Camyla sensed that the Hand was unhappy with her, which made her sigh, perhaps a little to loudly, as the Princess Helaena giggled out loud, making herself known for the first time that evening. Everyone turned to look at her, and the young Princess merely tilted her head and smiled vacantly. Dismissing Princess Helaena’s queer attitude, everyone continued to eat and talk amongst one another. Only Camyla knew why the Princess had giggled, and it felt like a little secret between them.

“I am particularly fond of lamprey pie.” Camyla said quietly, turning to face Princess Helaena, who was pleasantly surprised to be addressed to.

“Did you know lamprey consume the blood of other sea creatures?” The Princess responded, rather loudly, smiling at Camyla, whose eyes widened in shock.

“Surely not.” Camyla answered apprehensively, placing her fork down in slight revulsion. Blood and violence made the young woman feel uncomfortable, and she was not keen on eating a creature that now seemed so vicious. Her new-found disgust seemed to attract the attention of some in the room.

“My sister is correct. Lamprey fish possess many sharp teeth which they use latch onto their prey, in order to draw their blood.” Prince Aemond coolly spoke up. As he did, Camyla abruptly faced him, and found the young Prince smugly smiling at her, as if entertained by her horrified state.

“There is no need to talk about such violent matters in front a lady, brother. Surely you should know that.” Prince Aegon said amusingly, evidently no longer sober. Immediately, the one-eyed Prince’s mood darkened, as though he had stepped on horse shit.

“I was merely making conversation, brother.” The one-eyed Prince responded coldly. Perhaps because Camyla was embarrassed to be discussed about like this, her eyes were glue towards the table, and she noticed how the one-eyed Prince’s hands gripped the silverware that he held, his veins protruding.

“I am sure the lovely Lady Camyla would prefer more pleasant conversation–”

“Lady Camyla is perfectly fine. Thank you for the concern, my Prince.” Camyla interrupted, forcing her tone to remain girlishly sweet, hoping that their bickering would end. She really did feel mortified, having caused a scene yet again that evening.

“Always, my Lady. You are to become family after all, and Targaryens are very concerned with family.” Prince Aegon spoke jovially slurred, though his double meaning was blatant.

The room had gone tense, and Alicent Hightower seethed quietly, astounded and irritated, unable to comprehend how her father was ready to wife a girl who behaves like a child, just as his own grandchildren do. Aside from Camyla, who felt herself flush at Price Aegon’s implications, everyone else ignored it, as that is what they do when Aegon behaved like this. Normally Otto Hightower would intercede and force civility between his grandsons but decided against involving himself in case the conflict escalated.

And so, the evening proceeded as such. Conversation flowed like a river flood, in that it was unsteady, and at times chaotic.

Camyla Peake tried to become invisible once she understood that Lord Otto Hightower was ignoring her, but failed; the King would ask her about her upbringing and life at Starpike, as well as her father, and Prince Aegon attempted to bait her into conversation through lewd remarks. Like her father, the Queen ignored Camyla Peake’s very existence, but the young woman took little notice of this, as her thoughts were elsewhere.

For some inexplicable reason, Camyla felt herself drawn towards the one-eyed Prince, Aemond. Though they scarcely addressed each other again that evening, their eyes would frequently meet, and Camyla felt herself flush under his demanding stare.

Camyla ascertained though that she simply found the one-eyed Prince handsome, and as she drank more wine, her stare strayed towards him more frequently. Prince Aemond Targaryen did not mind it though, and in fact quite liked it. Thankfully, only Prince Aegon and Princess Helaena noticed this silent exchange.

In low side comments, Aegon attempted to bait his younger brother by teasing him about wandering eyes. Princess Helaena, on the other hand, made no mention of this at all, merely vacantly smiling at Lady Camyla and providing empty responses when the young woman attempted to make conversation. Though Lady Camyla liked Princess Helaena well enough, she did find the young Princess to be a little odd.

And as the evening drew to a close, everyone slowly began retreating to their chambers, beginning with the King and Queen, the former of whom had felt unwell. Camyla Peake was again escorted back to her bedroom by Ser Arryk, at the behest of Lord Otto, after politely bidding goodnight to the Hand and his grandchildren. As Camyla and Ser Arryk approached her quarters, Camyla felt bold, perhaps due to the wine she had, and posed a question to the Kingsguard knight, breaking their mutual silence.

“Are they good? The Hand and his family, I mean.”

Camyla’s voice softly echoed the hallway, her eyes fixed to the ground beneath her. Ser Arryk abruptly stopped walking, surprised by her question, and stared at her with his brows furrowed. He had no thoughts about the young woman, and was surprised to hear her address him, as ladies rarely ever did. The tall knight paused for a moment, thinking on his response.

“It is not important, my Lady.” Ser Arryk stated simply, and began slowly walking again, patiently waiting for Camyla to follow him.

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this new story! I cannot really explain how I came up with this plot idea, and really, I am here to see how much chaos and angst I can write into it. I will be publishing chapters every week on Wednesday, to make the wait until Season 2 a little more bearable. Though ambitious, this story is going to be quite long, and it begins in 127 AC, two years before the Dance of the Dragons.

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Chapter 2.1

Masterlist

Warnings- Usual PB violence, swearing, allusion to SA at the very end

2 years later

All of us were gathered around Freddie's casket. Tommy stepped forward. "I promised my friend, Freddie Thorne, that I would say a few words over his grave if he should pass before me. I made this promise before he became my brother-in-law, when we were in France, fighting for the king. And in the end, it wasn't war that took Freddie. Pestilence took him. But Freddie passed on his soul and his spirit to a new generation before he was cruelly taken." The service ended right after that.

I took a little walk with Thomas and Ada. 

"We thought now that Freddie's gone, you might come back to Birmingham."

"We really miss you, Ada."

"God, do you know how funny it is that Tommy's got chauffeurs in uniform now?"

"It's just for the occasion."

"Do you know how unfair it is that you have 4 Bugattis when half the country's starving?"

"So now they've made you ashamed of us, eh?" We stopped walking.

"Sometimes when I think about how I used to be, it makes me embarrassed." Tommy and I glanced at each other. 

Polly walked up to us with a smile. 

"Karl is with his cousins. I caught them trying to pinch flowers off a grave. Ada, are you coming home?" 

"I'm going home."

"We make her embarrassed," I mumbled. 

I looked at Ada who rolled her eyes. 

"That's not what I said."

"There's another reason we want you home. We're planning an expansion. I'm taking premises in London."

"Tommy, it's a funeral. Business can wait."

"Polly, if Ada was weeping, then I'd stop. But she's not. The expansion means it's gonna be dangerous to be a Shelby in London for a while."

"Yeah. Well, I'm not a Shelby anymore. And I'm not a Thorne now either. I'm free. I've got to get Karl home." She walked away. 

She left the 3 of us standing there. Polly turned to look at Tommy. 

"I told you to let me do it."

"It's alright. I'll have some men watch her house till the danger passes." We watched a man on a motorbike ride up to Arthur. 

He quickly whispered something to Arthur. Arthur waved Tommy over as he started walking toward us. Aunt Polly leaned over to me. 

"Till danger passes."

"That'll be the bloody day." She nodded as we walked towards the crowd. 

Tommy, Aunt Polly, a few of our men, and I went to the Garrison. Someone had blown it up. We walked underneath the chains to get a better look. A copper was already there waiting for us. "It happened at exactly 7:00 a.m. Nobody saw anything. Our patrols were not in the area. Mr. Shelby, you got any idea who might have done it? I'd say it was something to do with the gas." 

We both know that's not true. We knew exactly who did it and why. He handed money to the copper. "Just been fitted." Aunt Polly walked inside. "Madam, the structure hasn't been declared safe. Madam," he yelled after her. 

She bent over to pick something up off the ground. ​​"This is all over the place." She handed some to Tommy. It was green confetti. What the hell? Tommy nodded to the copper.

"You can go."

"Right." He walked away. 

We stood there looking at the building. "Who? Who did this to us," Aunt Polly asked. Tommy and I went to a pub to find the people who did this. "Whiskey, Irish. None for her." He flopped his hat down on the counter. The bartender poured him the drink. Tommy put the money on the counter only for it to be pushed back to him. 

"Heard there was a bit of a bang in your part of town."

"Gas and electric don't mix. Who would've thought they would, eh?"

"How's business otherwise, Mr. Shelby?"

"You know something? In these times of hunger and hardship, business is surprisingly good." He turned to lean against the counter. 

He took a swig of his drink. A little boy walked down the old wooden steps. His heavy footsteps echoed through the small building. "Which one is the Peaky Blinder devils?" Tommy downed his drink to follow after the little boy. I was right behind him. We followed the little boy through backyards and alleyways. 

We had no idea where he was taking us. We walked inside a warehouse with one pig hanging up on a metal hook. It was naked and gutted. 2 men grabbed us from behind. They stripped us of our hats, guns, and coats. They put bags over our heads before pulling us along. They sat us down on wooden chairs before taking the bags off. 

We were sitting in a tiny room. A man and a woman sat across from us. There was an old table separating us. There was barely any light in the room. The only light was from the spaces between the boarded-up windows. 

"Thomas and Anna Shelby."

"You blew up our pub."

"Anger defeats fear. Good."

"You blew up my pub." 

"Tommy has a reputation to uphold," she looked over at her partner.

Her partner looked Tommy up and down. He finally spoke. 

"A reputation for not being scared of anything."

"In all the world, violent men are the easiest to deal with," she seemed to almost laugh.

Tommy glanced at me then back to them. "So tell me, which brand of rebel are you...eh? I read somewhere that you Paddies started fighting amongst yourselves now. The king offers you a peace treaty and you start a war about it. That's funny, don't you think? A war about peace." It went silent as the 4 of us stared at each other. 

"So are you for the treaty or against the treaty? Forgive me, I get confused," he leaned back in his chair. Her partner slowly reached for the gun. He got up from his chair, dragging the gun on the table as he walked over to me. The lady crossed her arms over her chest.

"You are one decision away from your deaths, Mr. Shelby." 

"So stop fucking smiling," her partner snapped.

I cleared my throat as I shifted in my seat. "Your name is Irene O'Donnell. You have a son at the Cherry Wood Road School in Harborne. He has irons on his legs. His name is Sean. He comes last in every race...poor boy. Poor boy, race is important. If you know what I mean, Irene." The gun was cocked and held to the side of my head. 

It was cold on my temple. Her partner didn't seem too smart. "Oh, she speaks. There are other ways of carrying out this mission. Please allow me to put the bullet in the scum tinker's head." Irene watched as she waited for my reaction. She wasn't getting one out of me. 

She still stared at me. 

"No. They research their enemies. That's why they've been chosen."

"We are chosen," Tommy asked. 

I looked at her partner. "I'm chosen."

"Can the chosen one smoke," Tommy asked again. 

The gun was taken from my head. Tommy reached in his pocket for his cigarettes. 

"A vacancy has appeared and you are going to fill it."

"Chosen by whom?"

"An informed consensus."

"We have things to do. So perhaps you could tell the chosen ones what we've been chosen for."

"From now on, you shut your fucking Gypsy mouthes and listen to your instructions." We were ushered out of the room. 

Our jackets and guns were hanging on the hooks next to the naked pig. We didn't say anything to each other as we got dressed. "Fuck," Tommy yelled as he knocked over some boxes. I stood aside as I watched him. Why can't anything just be normal? He wiped his mouth with his hand before putting on his coat and hat. 

I went home as Tommy went to his office. I guess the look on my face told Aunt Polly that I didn't want to talk about what happened. She could hear it from Tommy. We had a family meeting soon anyway. We sat around waiting for Tommy to get here. Finn was pacing back and forth. "Sit down, Finn," Arthur snapped. 

Finn finally sat down next to me. John looked at Aunt Polly who was staring out of the window. 

"Where the bloody hell is Tommy?"

"He is on his way."

"Alright then, while we're waiting patiently...Whiskey. Left over from the explosion. Good stuff." He put a crate on top of the table. 

He started pouring us all glasses. After the day I've had, I wasn't going to say no. John cleared his throat. 

"Right, before Tommy gets here, I think there are a few things we need to get straight between the rest of us."

"You think?"

"Yes, Anna. I want to know...when did we take a vote on this expansion south?" He waited for an answer. 

Aunt Polly turned around, walking closer to the table. 

"You have anything to say, you wait for Thomas."

"Polly's fucking right," Arthur agreed. 

"I see all the books. Legal and off-track. So stuff you don't see-"

"I see the books too, John-"

"And in the past year, the Shelby Company Limited has been making 150 pounds a day. Right? A fucking day! Sometimes more. So what I wanna know is why are we changing things? Polly, look what's happened already. Haven't even set foot in London yet, they've already blown up our fucking pub."

"Who said anything about Cockneys," Arthur asked. 

"Who else," Esme asked. 

"Do you know who did it," I asked as I turned to look at her. 

"No, she doesn't know who did it," John interjected. 

"I'm told only family is allowed to speak." She looked back down at her book. 

Tommy walked into the room. No one saw him until he spoke. "Everyone is allowed to speak. On your feet, Esme. Let's hear what you have to say." John cleared his throat. He stood up a little straighter as he planted his feet firmly on the ground. 

"I speak for your household. So could-"

"John, this company is a modern enterprise and believes in equal rights for women. On your feet, Esme." Esme looked at John as she put her book aside. 

She slowly stood up. 

"I'm not a blood member of this family. But perhaps indeed because I'm not a member, I could see things in a different light. So I'll get to my point."

"That would be nice."

"Aunt Pol," I whispered as I gently nudged her. 

She shrugged as she lit her cigarette. "As my husband said, Shelby Company Limited has become very successful. But London...I have kin and Shepherd's Bush and Portobello. It's more like wars between armies down there. And the coppers fight side-by-side with them. And there are foreigners of every description. And the use of bombs is the least of it. I have a child. Blessed with the Shelby family's good looks. I want John to see him grow up. I want us to someday live somewhere with fresh air and trees. And keep chickens or something. But London is just smoke and trouble, Thomas. That's all I have to say," She sat back down. 

Arthur stared straight ahead. "That was a lot of words. A lot of words. Wash them down with a nice drink." He handed Tommy a glass of Whiskey. "Thank you, Esme." Tommy finished his drink. 

He lit his cigarette. 

"Firstly the bag in the pub had nothing to do with London, understood? The bang is something I'm dealing with on me own. Secondly, we have nothing to fear from the proposed business expansion as long as we stick together. After the first few weeks, nine-tenths of what we do in London will be legal. The other tenth is in good hands. Isn't that right, Arthur?"

"That's right."

"Some of you in this room have expressed your reservations. Fair enough. Any of you who want no part in the future of this company, walk out the door. Right now. Go raise your chickens. For those of you with ambition, the expansion process starts tomorrow." Tommy walked out of the room. 

The next morning, I was invited to go on a holiday with the boys. Arthur and I waited outside of John's house for Tommy to get the car and for John to come outside. I called up to his window. 

"Tommy's here."

"Alright, hold on." Tommy got out and stood next to the car. 

"John," Tommy yelled this time. "I'm coming!" John's voice sounded louder this time. 

Arthur took a swig out of the bottle he was holding. Tommy looked over wondering what it was. "Seven o'clock, twelve, ten if I'm still sober. I got it from the doctor." He handed it to Tommy. "It keeps me nice and calm." Tommy smelled the brown liquid. 

He pointed it at Arthur.

"Same thing they gave us in the trenches, stop us fucking wanking."

"Polly said it's good for me temper. It slows me down. "

"Arthur, there are some things Polly doesn't understand." Tommy turned the bottle over to pour it out. 

"Tommy," I shouted. 

He shook the bottle to get the remaining drops out. "I need you fast, not slow." He tossed the bottle to the side. John finally came out of the house.  "She wouldn't let go of me fucking leg."

"I bet that's not all she wouldn't let go of," Arthur laughed. 

"You know she's against this, Tom. She's got opinions."

"Nothing wrong with opinions, John."

"Get in the fucking car."

"Shut up!" We all climbed in. 

I sat in the back with John as Arthur climbed in front. "Peaky Blinders are going on fucking holiday," Arthur shouted as he stood up. "Sit down, you mad bastard." John pulled him back into the leather seat. We drove until we hit the field. The boys got out to take a pee break. I got out of the car to stretch my legs. 

They were making jokes about raising chickens and living in the countryside. As we walked back to the car, Tommy ripped up a tarp from the very back seat. There was a body in the back.

"Who the hell is that?"

"It's Irish business. I thought it'd be best to deal with it meself."

"I was sitting that close to a random dead guy? I'm not helping." I hopped into the front of the car as they buried him. 

We finished our trip to London by night. We walked into a crowded club. It was full of drunks and druggies. The music hurt my ears. The people dancing around us were giving me a headache. John seemed to like the atmosphere. I did not. 

We found a table in the middle of the room to sit at. They brought out a bottle of booze. "Isn't this Sabini's club," I yelled over the music. Tommy nodded as the waiter put the bottle down. 

"Jesus Christ. Everybody in here is a fucking face."

"Just the lieutenants, John. No sign of the officers." 

"Let's line 'em up," John smirked as he lined up the glasses. 

He started to pour us all a drink. A different waiter walked over to our table. 

"There has been a mistake. I'm afraid you are going to have to leave."

"We just bought a fucking bottle," John shouted.

"A couple of the men know you from the tracks in the north."

"We get that a lot."

"They say you have no business coming south of the line without prior agreement."

"What line would that be, my friend?"

"They say, this is provocation."

"Right, well, you tell them we're on holiday," I smirked as I held up my drink.

I took a drink as did Tommy. "You're breaking the rules. They say you are the Peaky Blinders." A glass was thrown at our table. It shattered everywhere. "Peaky scum," someone shouted. Tommy immediately turned to that person. 

A giant fight broke out. We fought until a gun went off. The waiter was pointing a gun at us. "Get out," was all he said. We had no choice but to make our way outside. "We came here not to make enemies but to make new friends. Those of you who are last will be first. You know where to find us," Tommy announced on our way out. We took the bottle of booze with us. 

We walked back to the car. Arthur reached into his mouth. 

"I think I lost a fucking tooth. At this rate, I won't have any. Some fucking holiday this is."

"Yeah. You lost without your fucking medicine now, Arthur?"

"Here, this'll fix you."

"Give me that." He took the bottle of Whiskey from Tommy. 

Tommy pointed to John as we walked along. 

"You John-boy, eh? How are you? Or should I ask your fucking wife?"

"Give over!"

"No more talk of chicken, you hear me?"

"Fuck the chickens," Arthur slurred as John broke out into a fit of laughter.

Tommy walked a little further ahead of us. "Got 50 quid in my pocket. Let's go paint the town, eh?" That's exactly what we did. We didn't get back home until late morning. We were all exhausted and drunk. It was a miracle that we made it home in one piece. It was the most fun any of us had in a while. 

I sat with Tommy in his office late at night. He sighed as he looked up from his paperwork. 

"Polly is pissed at me."

"Why's that?"

"I poured out Arthur's medicine and this came in an hour ago." He handed me a slip of paper. 

'Let's break bread.' It didn't have a name but it came from Camden Town. I sighed as I put the paper down. "Do we go see Alfie?" He shrugged as he took a drag of his cigarette. After he finished his drink, we made our way out to the garage. We didn't feel like walking home in the rain tonight. 

I flinched at the sudden cold raindrops. Luckily, we didn't have to walk far. I sighed in relief when we made it under. I put my hand on the cold door handle. The back door creaked open. A man with a gun pointed at me stepped out. I held up my hands as I backed up. 

Another man came out, then another. We tried everything to keep them off of us. They just kept coming. Tommy and I were both on the ground in seconds. They were punching and hitting us as if we were trash. I had no idea how many men there were now. I didn't even care at this point. 

I knew one or both of us were going to die. I was drifting in and out of consciousness as I lay on the wet ground. They were still working on Tommy. I wished I was unconscious. I was surprised I already wasn't. The pain was too much. "Get her over here," one of them screamed. 

They pulled me away from Tommy as I screamed. I couldn't move. Fire ripped through my body every time I did. I couldn't fight them anymore. I got a glimpse of Tommy. It was almost too dark in the garage to see. He was lifelessly laying there.

I was barely above the surface as they pulled me up. The last thing I felt before everything went dark were hands on the buttons of my pants. 

[distant-velleity]

back at it again with the crack fics

summary - i love you scarabia student B (not)

word count - 900+

warnings - dumbasses

tagging - @thehollowwriter

~

Ace sighs, flicking a card out of his sleeve. “This is so boring. Anyone wanna play cards?”

“Not with you,” says Deuce, his legs draped across Jack’s lap.

“Y’always cheat,” agrees Epel from his seat on the couch’s armrest.

“It’s pointless to play with someone who plays unfairly!” declares Sebek, seated on a pillow on the floor.

Jack nods in solemn agreement.

“You all suck.” Ace sits up to look at Chrysos, who’s leaning against the windowsill and staring outside. “What about you, Mr. Poker Face?”

“Don’t feel like it,” mutters Chrysos, narrowing his eyes intently at the sight beyond the glass.

“Ya look like a maiden whose husband went off to war,” Epel comments sarcastically.

Deuce shrugs. “I mean, Santiago did go outside to spy for us…”

A huff comes from Sebek. “For what noble cause? It can hardly be considered a war.”

“And he’s not my husband,” adds Chrysos, a little too late.

“Sure—”

Before Ace can finish, a parrot comes soaring in from the hallway. Santiago transforms in the middle of the Ramshackle lounge in a burst of feathers.

“You guys!” he exclaims. “You’ll never believe what just happened outside.”

It’s like he flipped some kind of switch—all the freshmen are instantly energized again, paying full attention and bombarding him with questions.

“Did that Scarabia guy say something?”

“How’s Yu?”

“Tell us the details!”

“You didn’t get caught, right?”

“Okay, wait, slow down!” Santiago holds up his hands. “‘Kay, so that guy who asked Yu to step out and talk with him for a bit. The August dude. He had an envelope with him and said the contents were really important. So I didn’t think much of it ‘til he shoved it into Yu’s hands and waited for him to read it.”

“Most improper behavior,” Sebek mumbles (which would just be normal volume for most people) distastefully, and no one disagrees for once.

“Right?” Santiago asks. “Anyway, listen to this: Yu asked him what his intentions were, ‘cause apparently the entire letter was just poetry, and then August bowed and asked Yu to go out with him?? So that’s where we’re at right now—”

The group explodes into a cacophony of shouts and protests.

“So he’s the guy who’s been leaving those poems in front of Ramshackle?!”

“First he chased you and Yu to Octavinelle during winter break, and now this?”

“Yu’s gonna say no, right? Tell me he’ll say no!”

“This is absolutely unacceptable!!”

“I’ma give him a piece of my mind—”

“Guys.” Jack’s ears twitch. “We can stand here yellin’ about it all day, but it’s happening right now. We gotta act.”

“Say less,” Ace replies immediately, rubbing his hands together.

They all make a beeline for the front door, tripping over each other, but with a clear goal in mind.

…

Compared to the last few times he was crushed on, Yu has never been in a situation like this.

“—I’ll get you flowers every day, I’ll do whatever you want,” insists August, a little aggressively desperate. “Won’t you date me?”

It’s very uncomfortable.

“Um…” Yu acts shy, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear. In reality, he wants to get away from the demands he’s endured for the past few minutes. The poetry was good, though, and that’s about it. “I don’t know, really… I think—”

“YU!”

August pales as Ace runs up to them, planting himself firmly in front of the TA.

Yu is equally dumbfounded, though more innocently. “Ace?”

“Yu~uuuu,” whines Ace, playing the part of a bratty boyfriend as he leans forward to cup Yu’s cheeks in his hands. “Didn’t you promise we’d spend more time together today? What are you still doing with this guy?”

“Wait, you’re taken?” August asks incredulously, just in time for Santiago to swoop in as a bird, transform, and blind him with an explosion of feathers.

“Sorry, Ace,” Yu plays along in a placating voice. “As soon as this is taken care of, we can do whatever you’d like.”

Ace’s eyes light up with mischievousness only Yu can see. “Promise?”

Behind him, Epel kicks August in the shin. Deuce, Chrysos, Sebek and Jack work together to drag the Scarabia student away silently. Santiago catches Yu’s eye and offers him a thumbs-up.

Yu sighs in fond exasperation and looks back at Ace. “Haha. No. Whose plan was this?”

“It was an unanimous group decision. Aren’t you gonna thank us?”

The rest of their squad, with poor August in tow, exit Ramshackle’s gates and head down the path to the Hall of Mirrors.

“Maybe,” Yu concedes. “When they get back from tormenting him.”

“Cool.”

Ace grins.

“And for the record, I would still definitely be a better boyfriend than that guy if we were actually dating.”

Yu punches him in the shoulder.

(BONUS:

Jamil can only watch as Yu’s band of menaces unceremoniously dump one August Ventus at his feet. He almost feels bad for the freshman. Almost.

“He’s all yours,” Jack says gruffly, and turns to leave Scarabia through the mirror. Everyone else but Santiago follows suit.

Except for the desert winds, there is silence.

“So,” Jamil finally says, “what happened here?”

“You can ask August for the details,” Santiago replies, sounding unusually happy considering the situation.

August groans.

“I’m sure he wants to tell you exactly what happened,” continues Santiago. At this point, he can’t stifle his smirk.

“You suck,” August complains weakly, rolling onto his back to sit up.

Santiago snickers at him. “Sucks more to be you.” He turns to Jamil and beams. “Have fun dealing with him. See ya.”

He runs off towards the dorm building without elaborating.

Freshmen. Jamil watches and shakes his head in resignation, then turns back to August. “…So, again, care to explain?”)

[historicalasiandramas]

CLJ Recaps

The first 12 minutes of this ep is the previous Moon Supreme making excuses for his abuse, naturally. He says that DFQC was the hope of the Moon Tribe's survival. Seems like a lot of pressure to put on a teenager but OK!

Me & DFQC upon hearing this:

He then asks his father an important question: If you could turn back time, would you make the same choice? The previous Moon Supreme answers that he would do it all again. Neither DFQC nor I are surprised.

The previous Moon Supreme tearfully pulls the "I had no choice" card, but this only further enrages his son. In the past, his father was fierce, strict, and firm. He demands to know why the old man waited until death to say that. In response, we get a flashback of when Shuiyuntian was winning the war against the Moon Tribe.

DFQC accuses his father of using him as a tool to fight against Shuiyuntian. Old Moon Supreme denies it ofc, saying that he couldn't bear to watch his son suffer.

Sir, you are literally the cause of your son's suffering!! You put a teen through a ritual that was so painful that he begged for death instead. What the fuck do you mean you "couldn't bear it"? The previous Moon Supreme said that he chose death rather than bear living with the thought that he'd hurt his son, which IMO is a cowardly thing to do.

Teen!DFQC's emotions were removed, so he wouldn't have been able to feel resentment towards his father for the ritual. The old man merely had to step down and allow his son to take charge, but he was selfish instead. But Orchid gets fixated on the old man's wording.

She says that she read the secret book and nowhere did it say that killing a loved one was necessary for the ritual to work. Old Moon Supreme explains that emotions are hard to kill (ofc) and that every time they recover, it takes another 1000 years to completely remove them again.

He says that his death was to ensure that DFQC's emotions did not recover. The old man recognizes that his son's emotional root has recovered and says that's why he's in so much pain. He asks, "Do you want all your previous suffering to be in vain?" which is honestly so cruel. He tries to goad DFQC into killing him, claiming it will free him from his pain, but DFQC says he can't do it.

Rather than have the decision made for him like last time, DFQC wants to make his own choice.

He chooses mercy and says he doesn't want to forget what it's like to feel. He remembers the good times and the bad and can experience joy and sorrow on his own. During this lull, Orchid offers DFQC the ball he played with when he was younger. He is still emotional and can only stare at it, but the previous Moon Supreme recognizes it immediately.

He reaches out and the ball materializes in his hand. Orchid & DFQC watch as the old man turns the ball over and relives when his son was young. He holds the ball out and DFQC sees a flash of his father from happier times. He kicks it towards his son in an attempt to connect, but DFQC hesitates. The flower is about to burn out and he doesn't have much time left. Orchid urges him to kick the ball back.

He doesn't. He looks up and the flower and his father's soul both fade into dust. I'm honestly really glad that DFQC didn't kick it back because wtf even was that scene? He made the decision not to permanently destroy his father's soul, but also not to forgive him.

Back on the surface, it's Xunfeng's designated execution by lightning day. Apparently in the Moon Tribe you can summon lightning with a special drum, which I think is really cool! Orchid steps forward to protest but DFQC eventually raises a hand to stop after 30 hits. He asks how many strikes are left, and an attendant answers: 51.

Moon Supreme declares that he'll take the remaining blows for his brother, and both Shangque and Orchid protest. Xunfeng is so weak that he has to be held up by guards, but he still doesn't trust DFQC. Moon Supreme removes his top and orders the executioner to summon more lightning. Naturally, he hesitates to harm his ruler.

The main theme plays as he is struck my lightning over and over, and Orchid can't bear to watch. With each strike, Xunfeng gets more shaken. Why is his brother doing this? At the last strike, he falls to his knees and Orchid and SQ rush over. XF refuses to thank DFQC and vows to avenge their father even in death.

This upsets Orchid, who heard the truth from their father himself.

She says that he doesn't know the truth between their father and DFQC and calls Xunfeng selfish. During her rant, Moon Supreme stares at her in awe. Orchid has been awfully brazen lately, but who doesn't find a woman defending you sexy? ;) She leaves behind the mirror that captured her interaction with the previous Moon Supreme so she wouldn't forget.

DFQC is supported by Orchid & SQ back to his quarters where he promptly passes out. Orchid worriedly consults with the physician who says that lightning is powerful. Even though DFQC isn't going to die, he still needs to recover.

I'm really into the aesthetic of the palace staff, and I'm kinda sad that DFQC and Xunfeng don't have painted lips or elaborate jeweled headdresses. Maybe I just miss Arthdal. Orchid is about to leave when DFQC suddenly grabs her wrist in panic. She's delighted that he's awake, but Moon Supreme weakly asks where she's going. "I'm not going anywhere. Your medicine is almost ready and I need to keep an eye on the fire."

This is the first of many gentle touches in this episode. Though he reached out in panic at being left alone, Orchid takes DFQC's hand in both of hers to soothe him. Seeing this needy side of him is actually very endearing. Orchid is used to taking care of herself, but treats her loved ones kindly so she's the perfect person to take care of DFQC while he recovers.

However when Orchid returns with his medicine, the bed is empty. She searches for him and finds DFQC crumpled on the floor of the previous Moon Supreme's room and holding his childhood ball. When he hears Orchid approach, he tries to wipe his tears but is instead wracked with grief. Orchid sits beside him and reaches out but he puts a hand up to stop her. He's shaking too much and when her hand makes contact with his, he wraps his fingers around hers.

She wraps her arms around him and he clings to her and sobs. He's experiencing grief for the first time since his father's death.

He asks if killing his Love Tree will make the suffering end, but we already saw him fail at that. Orchid holds him and silently cries with him as he sobs that he doesn't resent his father anymore.

Orchid continues to care for DFQC as he recovers and catches Xunfeng looking anxiously through the window of his brother's room, unable to enter. Now that he knows about their father, I'm sure he has a lot to say! Meanwhile Moon Supreme is sitting in bed reading a book with his hair down.

This is the first time we've seen him this vulnerable with anyone. The disheveled hair and open robes mean that he's completely relaxed and doesn't care that Orchid sees him this way. He's even started to act bratty around her! DFQC refuses to take his medicine because it's too bitter, and Orchid chastises him and says that's why it's taking him so long to recover.

She bribes him with flower cakes and he takes the medicine, but Shangque appears and says that Xunfeng wants to see DFQC. He's annoyed but immediately stands up and straightens out his clothes, much to Orchid's shock. He'd just said that he needed her help to walk, but clearly it was a lie!

XF does the Chinese equivalent of a mano (touching forehead to an elder's hand, or in this case, ring) and asks about DFQC's recovery. Now that he knows the truth, XF is being incredibly meek and Im kinda into it! But he's not just there to ask how his brother is doing: he has information.

When DFQC was sealed away 30,000 years ago, everyone thought he was dead. This led to mutiny in Cangyan Sea. In the midst of the chaos, a mysterious man approached Xunfeng. That was Ronghao, who would later become the Lord of Haishi City. RH said that as long as XF helped him build the city, he would help control the Northern and Southern Kings.

DFQC is not impressed that his brother left the fate of their people to a stranger. XF says that when he discovered that Ronghao was using the primordial spirits of people from the Moon Tribe, he carefully examined his memories and found something strange: every time it seemed like Xunfeng was losing, Ronghao would help him. But when XF had the advantage, the Northern and Southern kings always got away. He was playing them against each other.

XF feels guilty towards his people for dragging them into a civil war and allowing the power of the Moon Tribe to dwindle. He says that being pardoned was a mistake and he should die for his actions.

Orchid is listening in and after hearing that DFQC didn't pardon XF, she looks a little sad. He goes on to say that in order to correct his mistake, XF must win future battles. XF looks up in shock at his brother and promises that he will. DFQC dismisses him but XF hesitates, causing Moon Supreme to think that there are perhaps more details to report.

The problem is that Xunfeng was hoping to speak to his brother instead of his ruler. When they're alone, Orchid brings this up to DFQC. She says instead of always scolding XF as the Moon Supreme, DFQC needs an intimate gesture to show that he's forgiven.

Unfortunately, DFQC's training was solely in fighting & conquering. He has no idea how to be a person (much less a brother) outside of being the Moon Supreme. Orchid says he should try smiling, but DFQC's attempts are a little unsettling. Orchid gives him some assistance, which only makes him look more ridiculous. After smiling training is done, she suggests that DFQC hug his brother.

But he has no idea how to hug! Orchid opens her arms to show him but accidentally gets too close to his face and embarrasses herself. They're starting to be Conscious of each other and it's so delicious! Back in her Siming Hall replica, Jieli catches Orchid smiling and even calling the Moon Supreme cute.

She praises Orchid's "acting" and says that even she herself was fooled. When Orchid hesitates, JL jumps up.

Orchid denies any real feelings and says that of course she's just acting! But JL's staring unnerves her. She's definitely aware that there's Something There That Wasn't There Before ;)

While this is going down, DFQC is meeting with XF to tell him about how to free the 100k soldiers that are trapped in stasis. He's tracked down the next reincarnation of Chidi Nuzu, who is apparently named Xie Wanqing. He gives XF the order to go to Yunmeng Lake when she is born and take her to Xuanxu Realm. Putting her soul into the Shuofeng Sword will break the seal of the spell. XF is speaking excitedly this entire time and is eager to show his brother what he's capable of.

As he's leaving, Moon Supreme tells him to wait and attempts to put theory into practice. When he raises his hand, XF visibly flinches and seems alarmed. When DFQC's hand comes down on his shoulder, he jumps a bit.

These are two men who are not used to being affectionate with each other and it shows! But the gesture is not lost on XF, especially now that he knows his brother previously had his emotions removed. He manages to smile awkwardly back and then excuses himself. In the background, SQ is grinning like a madman with his teeth showing. That kind of smile is a bit too advanced for Moon Supreme atm.

SQ is happy to act out the encounter for the ladies and Orchid says that DFQC is still shy about showing his emotions to others but the fact that he's trying shows great improvement! The thought of his master making up with his brother delights Shangque, but he is worried about something.

Since Yannu was betrayed by her lover from Shuiyuntian, the two have been mortal enemies. An emotional Moon Supreme is unheard of. Orchid doesn't understand why there must be hatred in the heart of a leader. She says that DFQC is different and JL is on the cusp of calling Orchid's bs when the man himself appears.

Moon Tribe custom dictates that to thank someone, you must apply your own blood to the other person's face. He knew that Orchid wouldn't like real blood, so DFQC replaced it with cinnabar instead. I read up on it and while it's toxic to humans, it's apparently been used in Chinese lacquerware for centuries! Orchid is hesitant, but DFQC insists that this tradition is important because it's the first time he's ever thanked somebody.

Orchid relents and offers her cheek to Moon Supreme. He touches her SO GENTLY that I want to explode!!!!

They are both starting to be more conscious of each other and Orchid seems to be catching real feels. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS TO UNFOLD!!

[balanceoflightanddark]

Alright. A while back, I answered a question regarding Claude.

The post was not good. I'll be the first to admit that I have problems with replaying games on multiple routes because I'm the kind of person that gets overwhelmed easily by so much stuff being thrown at me at once. Couple that with my issues in regards to playing games and actively making things worse (I mean I'll be the first to admit that I doom search stuff when I feel awful) AND my assuming I could just wing it without any regards to proper research, which led to a really badly worded and misrepresentation of the character. Regardless of my feelings towards Claude, nobody should get the shaft like I gave him.

For that, I apologize and I'm releasing this...I guess you could say an updated continuation of the post. I also rereleased the original and included a link so you know where I'm coming from so you can judge it in full. Here I'm just going to go through some of the big sticking points and screw-ups I made one by one.

A big thanks in advance for my friends on discord for pointing them out.

Not well-liked in either country due to his mixed heritage, he was raised in the Leicester Alliance and basically is representative of their policies.

Claude was actually raised in Almyra, not in the Alliance. He only made the transition till he was old enough to understand the situation between Fodlan and Almyra in greater detail. The two countries were political enemies, so the idea of somebody of Fodlan descent because of their parents (King of Almyra and a Duchess of Leicester) becoming king didn't win him any favors back home. Neither did his being from Almyra make him popular with the Alliance. Really part of the reason he made the transition between countries was that he wanted to open up borders and ease tensions between Almyra and Fodlan from within Fodlan's system. Which is an admirable goal, obviously.

Sadly, I screwed up since I inadvertently downplayed his childhood with Almyra by implying he was raised in the Alliance. While he definitely picked up a few habits from the Alliance, he also got a lot of his habits of secrecy since he likely wasn't all that well-liked back home. I mean he did have allies, obviously. Nader served as his combat instructor and was willing to lend his forces when called upon. But it wasn't universal. As such, I apologize for muddling up his motivations and downplaying his heritage.

Speaking of Nader...

Which comes to a head in the war. When Edelgard declares war on the Church, Claude effectively decides to stay out of it. Mainly, he essentially locks the nobility of Leicester in a bit of a stalemate for 5 years to keep themselves out of the war. His long-term strategy is to get reinforcements from Almyra so they could effectively steamroll the Kingdom and Empire who bloodied themselves from all the fighting.

And his focus on relying on his Almyran reinforcements isn't even foolproof in of itself since...well, he's relying on foreign troops arriving in a country that hates their guts. Even if the war goes in his favor, that's a bit of a hill to climb.

Yeah. I really screwed up here. While it is true that Claude probably would've used the chaos created by the war in order to restructure Fodlan similar to Edelgard and probably wouldn't have wanted to get involved in the war right away, I was wrong about the nature of his reinforcements from Almyra. Again, in Verdant Wind, he called upon Nader in order to take the strategically important Fort Merceus in his campaign against the Empire. In Crimson Flower, he only called them when Edelgard invaded Leicester. There was no indication that he would use his forces to steamroll Fodlan in a colonialist matter, which I implied. He was fit to rely mostly on Alliance forces until the need demanded help from Almyra.

As a result, I misrepresented his character, and I apologize. While I'm still not a huge fan of Claude and don't think Verdant Wind is the best route for Fodlan (it ends with another leader backed by the Church in charge with Byleth...which is the same structure that led to this whole mess to begin with), I got his character wrong and made him worse for it. I...understand why people weren't happy with the first post and feel free to call me out on that. I promise to do more research in the future on the other routes if I make any more Three Houses posts.