#every piece has felt unique still yknow

[midnight-mourning]

DCA Promptober Day 6: Hues

Content Warning: Implied mentions of blood/injury, reader discresion is advised.

I'll be making a very pretty piece of art to go with a very NOT pretty piece of writing, what can I say, it's what I do best (I draw yah in and then BAM pain) Anywho, enjoy!

Word count: 414

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Light is such an interesting thing. How it captivates, illuminates. How its able to provide so much to the human eye, to all eyes for that matter. How it reassures you.

How it tricks you.

Blinds you.

Harms you. Unintentional or not. 

Light is a gift that can hurt. Can wound.

Just as it's doing to you now.

You hadn't meant to mess up, though no one ever does, you could argue. You'd just wanted to help. To talk. To understand.

Sun had warned you, countless times, to be fair. You had never believed him. Something about needing to see things for yourself. And you had, oh, you had.

You don't think it had been intentional, certainly not malicious. You knew Moon. You knew what he was like. Even if he had hurt you, something deep in your gut told you that it hadn't been his fault.

You know, the Attendant was a great example of light and how it shifted. Specifically the hues they represented.

Yellow. Blue.

Fun and adventure, fits of giggles and play.

Yellow. Blue. 

Cool and quiet, peace and rest.

Yellow. Blue.

You hadn't realized how deeply your care for the two had grown until you'd decided to drive back tonight and tell them. Though first, you had to deal with why Moon had been hiding for so long, why Sun had insisted on no naps and no lights off. You'd quickly gotten the answer to that.

Yellow. Blue.

Yellow. Blue.

Purple.

Black.

White.

Red.

There's so much red in your vision now. It's practically all you can see. It's to the point you can’t differentiate what's dripping into your vision and what's actually on your shaking hands. 

You can see movement in front of you, glancing up slightly you see it's indeed who you thought it would be. They're panicking, more worried than you are about what's been done. You can't hear them. 

It's causing the two of them to continuously flip back and forth. It's almost, comforting, to witness, even if you know it's anything but. Maybe because the idea they both care soothes you. Maybe it's because you can still make out the shifting hues beneath the heavy, heavy red.

Yellow. Blue. Yellow. Blue.

Your eyes feel heavy.

Yellow. Blue. Yellow. Blue. 

You don't want to close them, but know you don't have much a choice.

Yellow. Blue. Yellow. Blue. 

You smile through the pain. Maybe things will be okay when you wake up.

Yellow. Blue. 

Black. 

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

yeOUCH (in more ways than one :)) Sorry all, my brain decided this is what we were writing when I wrote it at 1:00 am last night, I think she cooked ngl, maybe with a whole lot of onions, but she cooked fr fr. But anyway, if you want to read my other responses, see here. Thanks for reading!

[temiizpalace]

❥┊OPERATION: ANNIVERSARY

SUMMARY: you two decided to celebrate your anniversary every month. it was his turn to give you a gift, and he had nothing prepared for you! out of panic, he searches for backup. operation: anniversary!

CHARACTERS: first years

╰ ˙∘ …

GENRE: fluffy fluff with a side of fluff and fluff on top

WARNINGS: none

NOTES: pairings were randomly selected by wheel for more interesting interactions + lots of "ily's". please enjoy!

reader is g/n, reader is not specified to be you

❤┊ACE TRAPPOLA

ace huffs, staring at the chocolate that’s been resting in the fridge for what felt like ages.

fiddling with the nicely wrapped ribbon, he stares at the calendar blankly, dreading the upcoming days. “oi, ace. this entire week you’ve been spacing out in the middle of cleanup! housewarden will have our heads if the kitchen ain’t spotless.” deuce grits his teeth, brushing the dust from the floors into a dustpan.

“shaddup, deuce. can’t ya see im busy?” ace huffs in response, brushing his companion off with a frown. peering over his shoulder, deuce narrows his eyes and looks to ace, brows furrowed. “did you even get them anything back?” he asks, setting down his cleaning supplies off to the right. ace remains silent, wiping an imaginary sweat off his brow.

“not cool, ace.” he scoffs, causing ace to jerk his head back with a defensive expression. “im working on it! just you wait, my gift will be so good it’ll knock all competition outta the water!” he declares, storming out of the room with the chocolates in hand.

laying still on the couch, ace groans as he racks his brain for ideas, feeling lost and hopeless. “urrghh, why..” he mopes, putting a pillow over his face with a solemn sigh. love was such a struggle.. gifts were never this hard, so why was he overthinking it so damn much? somedays he wish he could just suck up these stupid feelings and toss them out to never see the light of day.

“woaahh, did somebody die in here?” cater exclaims, looking at ace’s lifeless body. he takes note of the chocolate resting in the first years hand, his mind putting the pieces together with a cheeky grin. “were those from [MC]..?” he asks, leaning against the armrest.

looking from behind the cushion, ace looks to cater’s face, then to the chocolate. with a slight blush, he covers the exposed parts of his face with his hand and grumbles. “so what if they were?”

“your monthly anniversary is soon, yknow. got anything planned?” the same damn question. ace frowns at his upperclassman and sits up. for once he doesn’t say anything, only earning a raised brow from the boy across from him. pulling out his phone, cater opens up magicam and plops himself next to ace.

“heree~☆! check out what’s trending for some fresh inspo!” cater grins, scrolling through the reels and reels of videos in the #anniversary tag. all the videos were nothing short of extravagant, insanely thoughtful acts of love to their partner. ace’s brows knitted together, side-eyeing cater.

“and how am i supposed to pull any of that off?” he scoffs, crossing his arms and leaning back. cater tuts, wagging his finger. “silly ace.. the trick is to show your love in your own way,” he explains with a wink. “your love is uniquely yours, and the ways you express it are accustomed to you. if [MC] really likes you, then any act of love you give them will be enough.”

sitting there for a moment, ace thought cater’s words over carefully. “uniquely mine..” he whispered, staring at the ground. with a small pat on the back, cater stands upright and waves as he exits. “i’ll be in the rose garden. text if ya need anything, kayy?”

ace has yet to budge from his spot, resting his chin on his hand. “uniquely mine, huh?” he repeats, images of you flashing across his mind. he smiled softly to himself, taking a glance at the chocolate in his hands. with a slight chuckle, he gets up and walks towards sam’s shop. “this love stuff stinks.” he murmurs with a grin.

❥˙∘ ✦

“this is for me?” you ask, holding the item in your hands. it was encased in a small velvet pouch, the material feeling very nice in your palms. you were surprised at how fancy this packaging was considering the one giving it to you was ace of all people. “yeah, yeah, sure. consider this a repayment for last celebration.” ace shrugs, trying to act nonchalant about this exchange.

he tried to mask the beating sound of his heart, desperately praying you were unaware of the way you make his heart race increasingly fast. you open the pouch to find a keychain. there were small charms on it, but the one that stood out to you the most was the ace of hearts charm hanging in the center. he averts your eyes, whistling as if he didn’t plan all this with a light blush on his cheeks.

you stare at it in the light, a smile forming at the corners of your lips. “ace..” you begin, trailing off, unable to find the words appropriate enough for your gratitude. “no need to thank me, i know, i know.” he smiled triumphantly, making you laugh.

“..i’ll cherish this.” walking over to him, you were going to pull him into an embrace, but he beat you to it. “thank you.” he murmurs softly, a contrast to his usual sarcastic tone and remarks. his voice was genuine, laced with raw emotion. patting his back, you smiled at him in response. “love you.” you coo, making his ears red.

“love ya, too.”

♠┊DEUCE SPADE

deuce sits at his desk, crumpling another piece of paper for the nth time before tossing it into the overflowing trash bin.

his side of the room was littered in tossed sheets of paper, looking like a madman who has yet to find a plan. to be fair, that was not far-off. deuce sighs as he lifts the parchment in the air to get a better look, smiling to himself proudly. it was then did he notice the small mistake on one of the letters, causing the poor boy to furrow his brow and crumple the paper. he tossed it, letting it join the rest of the stack.

ace kicks through the sea of discarded letters, frowning as the pile seemed never ending. “aagghh, couldn’t ya at least try to be neater, deuce?” he whines, picking up a letter and uncrumpling it to reveal the messily written handwriting.

“dont!” deuce shot upward, yanking the parchment out of his roommates hand and tearing it to shreds. “GAH—!” ace exclaims, holding his hands up in defense. “whatever, it wasn’t decipherable anyway.” he huffs, scratching the back of his neck. “look, we both know your tryna write to [MC]. just put down anythin, they’ll probably lose their mind over it anyway.”

deuce shakes his head, staring down at his recently written letter. rereading it in his head, he can’t help but feel unsatisfied, like something is missing from it. “but i don’t wanna give them a half-assed letter.. what if they don’t accept me? is this even enough to repay them?” he murmurs, holding it tightly to his chest. he felt he’ll never be able to give you enough, to repay you in a way that’ll truly reflect his love.

ace sighs, patting his friend on the back. “this might come off as a sick joke, but i do know one guy that could help.. just.. don’t freak out about it.” deuce looks up at ace, a look of expectance on his face. “thanks, man.”

..what?

deuce finds himself in front of idia’s room, contemplating as to whether ace was actually pranking him or if this was genuine advice. well, idia is an upperclassman.. surely he still has some advice to give. but then again, the guys a total shut-in. just as he was about to turn and leave, ortho chimes in from around the corner.

“deuce spade? what are you doing here!” he cheerily asks, catching deuce off guard. “ortho?! is your brother here?” he asks nervously, earning a nod from ortho. “yeah, he’s inside his room! we can go in together.” without giving deuce a moment, ortho is already knocking.

“ortho?” the voice from behind calls out. upon entry, idia is hunched over in his seat, one foot on the chair as he types away on his monitor. “deuce spade came to visit you, big bro!” ortho exclaims, causing idia to freeze. “..what..”

deuce waves awkwardly, clutching the letter in his hand tightly. “ace told me you could help me with something..” he murmurs, scratching the back of his neck. “..ya sure your not getting pranked?” idia sighs, narrowing his eyes at the boy across him. “even if he is prankin me, i’ll show him who’s the fool!” deuce grits his teeth, directing his frustration towards the redhead.

“what do you write to someone on their anniversary?” he asks straightforwardly, making idia’s eyes widening. “wh-what? and you th-think id know?! does it look like someone like me would have an anniversary?!” shaking his head, idia rolls back on his chair before hitting the wall. racking his brain for ideas, deuce tries to find ways to convince idia to help him. deuce was stubborn, and he doesn’t appreciate quitters.

“..ace said you of all people should have the most experience! you're a gaming guy, this is completely in your turf! shouldn’t you have years and years of knowledge?” deuce mentions, practically tooting idia's horn. he looks up from his curled position, letting the first years words register. his ego is boosted, confidence running to new heights. idia smirks, brushing off his shoulder. "well, i guess i do know a thing or two about romance.."

"im familiar with all the fan ships in games and manga. call me an expert." deuce lets out a sigh of relief as idia took the bait, rushing over to his desk to immediately ask for help. that was too easy.

❥˙∘ ✦

"[MC]!" deuce calls out, rushing over to you with a shout. you turn around in a hurry, noticing the poor boy out of breath. "deuce!? is everything alright?" you ask, suddenly getting an envelope shoved in your hand. "here!" deuce bows, giving the letter to you with two hands. "..what's this?" taking the sealed letter from his hands, you look to him as if asking to open it.

he nods in response, watching intensely as you unfolded the letter.

'dear [mc],

i dunno how 2 start this but thanks for the chocolate. you somehow made it exactly how i liked it and i thought it was really good. today, i wanna repay you for everything that you do for me cuz you really really deserve it. for our anniversary together.

every little thing about you, i want to celebrate on this day. ill return my feelings to you tenfold and promise you the awesomest day ever. we can do anything you want and maybe take a ride on my blastcycle after school. if you want i can bake you a cake as an even bigger thank you for today too. there's nothin out there that can really show my feelings so i hope this letter is ok

what im tryna say is thank you for everything. let me be the one to do something for you today and show you how much i really really like love you. happy anniversary to us ♡

-- deuce'

the handwriting was shaky, and dare you say this letter was awkward in some places. despite that, you can't help the heat sneaking up on your cheeks, the dopey grin on your face that says it all. deuce fidgets in place, his hands forming knuckles before finally breaking the silence. "th-the letter is pretty stupid anyway! here--let me just take it back!" he quickly exclaims, reaching for the letter before you hastily avoid his grasp. "no way!"

you instead grab the arm that reached for the letter and brought him into an embrace instead. he stands there, dumbfounded for a moment. "its perfect, deuce." you smile as he returns your hug, squeezing you tightly.

no words needed to be exchanged at that moment. the calm silence filled the air as you both keep your positions for a few moments more.

🐺┊JACK HOWL

mindlessly watering his cactus, jack's thoughts seemed to wander.

your monthly anniversary was just around the corner, yet he had no gift for you. he was disgusted with himself.. he had the whole month to think of something, anything you might like, yet he had nothing. what a sign of weakness, he thought, frowning as he set down the watering can.

during his reps, he barely kept count. all he thought about was what he could get you.. yet the feat seemed impossible. would anything he give even be good enough? the chocolate you gave him was great, amazing even. all his questions led to more questions, then even more questions.

not to mention during class did he look more sour than usual. students nearly paved the way as he passed through the halls, wondering what the hell put this guy in such a foul mood. "jack?" epel calls out, snapping jack out of his week long daze. "is everything alright? you looked seriously more intimidating today an' yesterday." epel shakes his head, trying to guess what this was about.

"..it's nothing." jack sighs, crossing his arms and walking far past epel before the interrogation could even begin. he can't handle this right now. nothing a good run can't fix. thankfully track and field met today, maybe then will he be put back to normal.

however, he still felt lost the entire time. not once has he ever felt this way before, the feeling is foreign. he has received chocolate, but never from someone he truly fell for. the unfamiliar feelings swallowed him whole, drowned him with uncertainty and confusion. he scowls as he ran, accelerating faster and faster after each lap. deuce notices jack acting more off, furrowing his brow during the break.

"jack!" deuce shouts, alerting the beastman. "what's going on with you? for the past month you have that same blank look on your face." he shrugs, watching as jack averted his gaze. "it's nothing." he states, ready to end the conversation before suddenly getting stopped by deuce. "it's not nothing! something is bothering you and keeping aint gonna do anything!" deuce exclaims confidently, practically forcing jack into a corner.

"..it's not any of your business." jack grits, trying to find a way out. "is this about [MC]? yknow, after the chocolates?" deuce mentions, causing jack to practically freeze in his tracks. "i told you it wasn't any of your business." he huffs, turning his back to deuce.

"if you're worried, im sure they'd be happy with anything you get them! even just being around you makes them happy, so don't beat yourself up over it!" reassuring the lost beastman, he pats jack on the shoulders and throws him a thumbs up. oddly enough, jack felt slightly relieved. knowing at least somebody had his back put him at ease, nodding his head at deuce's advice.

"okay, gotcha. thanks." with that quick talk, jack is already back to running. his pace is back to normal and his expression had been reverted to its previous glory. the track team sighs in relief, celebrating deuce for bringing their star back down to earth.

❥˙∘ ✦

"jack, this is so cute!" you squealed, grasping the silver wolf plushie in your hands tightly. he crossed his arms, staring at the space above your head rather than right at you.

“this is what i owe you after last month..” he murmurs, causing you so smile slightly. “mhm, your tail is wagging.” he tries to hide it, grabbing it to prevent it from moving rapidly. jack grumbles something under his breath as his face started to heat up.

“thank you.” pulling jack close, you wrap your arms tightly around him. he flinches, trying to find a reaction. gently, he returns the hug. his ears twitch, tail wagging and brushing against your leg. jack smiles, staring into your eyes.

“this was the least i could do for you. after everything.” he brushes against your cheek with his finger, unable to hide his loving gaze. “i love you, jack.” you coo, squeezing him tightly.

“love you too.” he whispered, kissing the top of your head with a lovestruck grin.

🍎┊EPEL FELMIER

epel scratched his chin, glaring at the mirror with intensity.

“dangnabbit.. stupid, stupid..” cursing himself for forgetting such an important day, epel stewed as he started scratching his scalp, racking his brain for even a faint idea. “nahh.. maybe— no..” he murmurs, shaking his head on occasion.

the chocolate you made him was delicious, he ate it all in one sitting! he was thinking of making you some back, but he’d hate to recycle your ideas as vil said it “wasn’t romantic enough.” salty about that comment, he didn’t dare ask his housewarden for help. but the gift completely slipped his mind, and now he was empty handed. “arrrgggghh… what a load of—”

“epel.” a voice breaks through the boys mindless sputtering, jerking his head towards the sound of the voice. vil stood there with a raised brow, silently demanding epel to stop scratching his chin. “are you trying to get acne?” he sighs, massaging his temple.

epel moved his hand back to his side, mumbling an apology before turning back to the mirror. “are you positive you don’t need my help?” vil frowns, crossing his arms at the helpless first year in front of him. “dang right.. ahem, i mean, im positive.”

vil shook his head. “right.. i have an errand for you to run.” he holds up a list and places it in epel’s hand. it was folded neatly and pristinely, but crumpled in the first years hand. “hah?”

“rush to octavinelle and pick up the items on the list. jade or azul should meet you there.”

unfolding the paper, different types of makeup and skincare products were listed below. “..don’t they run a restaurant?” epel frowns, raising his brow. “don’t underestimate azul’s desire for sponsorship.” vil notes, rushing the boy away.

walking down the halls, epel found himself spiraling back to the original problem. his brow is furrowed, trying harshly to concentrate and find something that was worthy, truly worthy of you. “..nah that won’t do either! what would gran think if i couldn’t impress ‘em?” he grumbles, looking around the lounge.

floyd looks over one of the booths and grins as he saw epel enter the lounge. “guppy!” he exclaims, startling the poor first year. “gah! floyd!”

“what brings ya to the lounge?” he asks, circling epel like a small piece of prey. brushing imaginary dirt off his blazer, epel sighs with a frown. “actually, i was looking for—”

“jade or azul? they’re plannin in the VIP lounge. this about beta fish’s studs? stuffs right here.” he holds up an elegantly patterned paper bag, purple streaks resembling seaweed and shells printed across. “ah, thank you.”

“you good, guppy? your face is a lot more frowny than usual. seriously, kinda cringe.” floyd shrugs, starting to loose interest. “what?” epel scoffs, shaking his head trying to stay polite. “argh, i mean, yes im fine, thank you.” he nods, gripping the bag tightly.

tilting his head, floyd stares unconvinced. “you suck at lyin. tell me! tell me! tell me!” with his interest piqued once again, floyd starts circling epel once more, giggling and grinning foolishly. “hey! i told ya it’s nothin! leave me alone!” epel tried swatting the eel away, but his efforts result in vain.

“tell me! tell me! tell me or ill squeeze the answer outta ya.” with a sudden shift in tone, from playful to murderous, he throws the first year a deadly glare. epel freezes, biting back his insults.

“fine! it’s [MC]..” he mumbles, looking to the side with embarrassment. “i dont know what to gift them.” he sighs, picking at his chin again. expecting floyd to leave disinterested after getting his answer, epel is taken aback as he heard said eel blow a raspberry instead. “pssshh, that’s easy.”

“..huh?”

“lemme guess, you wanna do somethin over the top or whatever?” he asks, clocking epel. “wh— so what if i did, hah?” epel retorts, looking to floyd with a glare.

“well the answers right under ya nose, silly! tadaaan, cooking!” floyd reveals, smiling with a dopey grin. “cooking?”

“geez do i gotta spell everythin out for ya? just cook em something and they’ll be all over ya. easy as that.” floyd states matter of factly, now looking at epel with disinterest. “this is gettin boring. later.”

and just like that, the large twin disappeared into the kitchen.

epel scratches the back of his neck, beginning to loose himself in thought. he wasn’t familiar with any types of fancy cooking, mostly things like one pot stews at home..

however, his last dish during the culinary crucible was a major success, he’s definitely got this in the bag so long as he puts his mind to it.

and besides, he’s always wanted to take you back to harveston for a second time. a nice home cooked meal? doesn’t that scream married couple?

❥˙∘ ✦

as you entered the dorm, you were hit by the smell of familiar spices and seasonings, thrown in with a hint of crisp fresh apples. smells like harveston, you thought, smiling fondly to yourself.

epel pops out from behind the corner, dressed in a nice apron while holding up a pot of stew. the top was still bubbling, steam clouded his face but not enough to hide his blooming smile. “you’re finally back! take a seat, i made stew!” he leads you to the table. it was decorated, albeit clumsily, but much nicer than how you left it.

“what’s gotten into you?” you laugh, taking a seat across from him. epel sets the pot onto the table, scooping a generous amount into your bowl. the carrots have been chopped in the shape of hearts and apples. “hah? don’t tell me you forgot!” he pouts, acting as if he wasn’t distressed for the last month.

“monthly anniversary? helloo?” he cracks some pepper on the top of your stew before sliding it in front of you. “hmm, so you did remember.” you smiled, seeing as he looked to you with mock offense. “ya think i’d forget or somethin?!” he exclaims, now wondering if he came off wrong this entire time.

“relax, relax, just teasing. this smells great, epel.” you grin, grabbing your spoon, eager to chow down on the goodness before you. “thanks! it’s a recipe meemaw taught me back home. she said i was basically a master at it.” he huffs triumphantly, puffing his chest up with pride.

you take a bite of the piping hot dish. flavors exploded on your tongue, the familiar and warm feeling exactly what you needed after such a long day. “feels like home.” you murmured with a smile, looking at him with a soft look in your eyes.

epel couldn’t help but blush, taking your free hand and squeezing it tightly. “happy anniversary.”

⚡┊SEBEK ZIGVOLT

sebek grumbled angrily as he kicked at the dirt beneath his feet.

he had been tasked with the duty of shoveling the horse dung into a pile. normally, he’d take such tasks with pride! being the one assigned by riddle to take care of such a strenuous and laborious task? why this must be complimenting his strength and stamina. (literally nobody else wants to do the job) ((nobody is more eager than him to do it)).

however, something was off about today.

“sebek, is everything alright? i’ve noticed you’ve been.. quieter than usual.” riddle asks, glancing at the pouting first year. his brow was furrowed and his glare was harsher than usual. anyone with a right mind would back away from such an intimidating figure. sebek shakes his head. “yes, im perfectly fine!”

the reason for sebek’s dismay wasn’t because of poop scooping duty. no, he had not the faintest idea on what to get you for your once-a-month anniversary. it felt like anything he could do has been done already. chocolate? check. cooking? ..ehh. restaurant date? check. he picked every standard date there was possible, but he was afraid nothing was enough to WOW you.

he grimaced as he imagined you growing bored and moving on, leaving him for another. he couldn’t even handle the thought, shaking his head aggressively before slapping his cheeks to snap out of it. silver and riddle jump slightly, unaware of the poor boys internal torment.

“sebek. you’re gonna scare the horses.” silver sighs, brushing the stallions mane. “agreed. not to mention, this behavior doesn’t exactly scream ‘perfectly fine’ to me..” riddle frowns, trying to grab the shovel from sebek’s hand. “might i suggest taking a break to clear your head?”

sebek frowns at the thought, the mere idea of being useless. “i can assure you, everything is alright! your concern is not needed.” he huffs, yanking the shovel back into his hands. continuing to scoop with agitation, riddle felt himself growing more irritated.

if there was anything anyone knew about sebek, if you were a superior he respects, he’ll follow your words to the letter. “sebek. by my order as a housewarden, i demand you to take a walk!” riddle shouts, forcing sebek to freeze. “b-but—”

“did i happen to stutter? housewarden’s orders!”

though they didn’t share a dorm, sebek wouldn’t dare disrespect his upperclassman. reluctantly handing the shovel to riddle, he’s shooed away to take a stroll in the nearby thicket. grumbling words to himself, he leans against a nearby tree and looks up at the sky.

his weakness was showing. he’s gonna be left behind. countless words stirred in his head, brewing and lingering doubts and negative thoughts.. it was beginning to grow overbearing.

gripping the thing closest to him, there was a soft squish before realizing it had stained his hand. “grrk! by the seven..” he grumbled, looking at the mystery plant he had just killed.

“oh dear, that was a hydnellym peckii..” a familiar voice sighed from behind, making sebek jolt. “a-a what?!” he exclaims, turning to see jade leech.

“also known as a devil’s tooth or bleeding tooth mushroom.. fufu it’s quite fascinating.” he chuckles, resting his hand on his chin. “..that is, before you had squished it.”

“bleeding tooth?!” sebek frowns, wiping his hand against the bark. “by no means is it poisonous, just incredibly bitter.” jade notes, picking up the remains of the fungi and placing it into a small plastic baggy.

“never mind that, what brings you to the forest, sebek? are you also out foraging?” the eel asks, smiling in anticipation. “no, i am out here clearing my head!” he exclaims, nodding affirmatively.

jade raises his brow, but chooses not to comment. “i see.. it has been known that you’ve been much quieter lately,” jade notes, thinking aloud. “could it be perhaps something is troubling you? we are always free at the lounge if you require assistance. fufu..”

narrowing his eyes at the vice housewarden, sebek scoffs. “i would rather not get myself involved in your dorms shady deals! my issues are entirely personal!” sebek retorts.

“yes, yes, about [MC]?” jade asked nonchalantly, catching the poor first year off guard. “where in the world did you obtain such information?!” he shouts, hiding the blush on his ears. “fufu, word happens to travel fast is all.”

“argh..” before commenting once more, sebek thinks about it for a second. jade, while shady, has always presented himself as a gentleman. even with his distaste, it is true he may be able to learn a thing or two.

“..you’re correct. if i have permission to ask, what would one gift their partner on a special occasion?” sebek asks, making jade smirk.

“are you willing to pay the price if i were to answer?” he asks, not willing to let a good deal go to waste. “would foraging for your fungi suffice? lilia had trained me to be able to search for plants and resources in the wild on my own.” sebek offers, not wanting to waste time with jade’s banter. pleased with his offer, jade nods.

“my, what a generous offer.”

“natural beauty is all around us. though most flora happen to ward us away, the most dangerous are also the most enchanting,” jade starts, leaning down towards a flower hidden in thorns. he picks it, holding it to the light. “additionally, the language in which nature speaks is endearing in its own right. each plant houses its own meaning, its own definition in a gift.”

“it all belies on how you choose to gift it.” with that, jade slides the flower into a small booklet and gives sebek a nod. “if you are in need of more advice. you may visit me in the lounge. i must take my leave now.”

jade leaves sebek in the forest alone, wading in his own thoughts. gazing down at the grass beneath him, he picks at the small flowers growing down below.

❥˙∘ ✦

“sebek, this is beautiful!” you squeal, holding the extravagant bouquet of flowers in your hand. sebek smiles proudly, blushing from ear to ear. “this flower exclusively grows in briar valley. i can assure you you’ll find nothing of the sort anywhere else.”

the sticks were less like branches and more like thorns, rigid and sharp at the ends. however, blossoming white flowers adorned the bouquet, leaving you breathless as it glowed in the darkness of the nrc halls.

“i love them, thank you sebek.” you smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek. he clears his throat, trying his best to not act shy.

“take this as a token of my gratitude, my eternal love. i will forever be in your debts and will cherish time we will and have spent. most of all,”

he brings you close, holding you in a tight hug.

“happy anniversary, my love.”

A/N: this was supposed to be the white day fic,,,,,,,, honestly i was gonna just scrap but i was halfway done with jacks so i tried salvaging it. sorry if it’s off in some parts. anyway hiii.

date published: 05/05/25

© temiizpalace — do not copy, steal, or put my work into ai. thank you!

[laurasbailey]

(feel free to not post this bc i don't wanna invite discourse to your blog lmao) to me the thing with ashton is that they feel like a character who would've been very fun and interesting in a different story, with a different party, but in this one just kinda sticks out like a sore thumb (from a storytelling perspective). for example their whole cryptic guarded and reserved thing is the type of shit i usually eat up, but in this context, with every other character being pretty open, some even to the point of over eagerness, you end up with a situation where i feel like i have a pretty good grasp on everyone's deal, except this odd one out. similarly the "i suffer in a very unique and special way and no one could ever understand me" thing ends up coming off suuuuuper grating when like. objectively. most of the characters around them had it worse to an almost comical degree. and obviously in real life trauma is not a competition etc etc but this is a story. so you end up with a character who sounds like a male loneliness epidemic think piece (and to be clear, not trying to imply anything about tal or ashton with that, I'm talking about this particular rhetoric thing only). which could all be very interesting in a different context yknow. but in this is Such a bad fit

i haven't thought about it from this perspective at all and it makes so much sense. in the mighty nein there were still huge secrets among the group that weren't revealed for 60+ episodes, bells hells is just not like that. caleb kept the details of his past secret from jester for an absurd amount of time bc he ultimately didn't trust that she would see him the same way afterwards. i don't think anyone in bells hells (beyond ashton) is capable of that? even laudna, who has one of the most horrific backstories across all campaigns, opens up about what happened to her fairly early. and whenever you compare ashton to laudna, like you said, it's almost comically jarring. when ashton said to her that she doesn't understand loneliness i was like ??? the woman who has been undead and ostracized for 30 years you mean ?????

i also find him to be very micromanagey and it especially stands out when nobody else in bells hells has an ego when it comes to leadership??? like when he tried to take charge in the effort to bring laudna back it felt extremely tone deaf when imogen, who had far more knowledge and influence in that situation, was standing right there.

[defunctblogtobedeleted]

6/25/17, 5:30am - idk

Another long two weeks on the books. I really like this update schedule, it’s like just long enough that I don’t forget everything that happened lol.

 I had a really weird dream sometime this week. It was kind of amazing, so I feel like writing about it for a sec. I was on some like cobblestoney/brickey kind of streets. A little bit Doctor Who London meets Chapel Hill I suppose, and all around me people were starting to riot. I think it was a feminist riot like I had encouraged Cullen to do months ago, and people were starting to shoot at each other. I was like duck this and took off running, but as I made my way down these outdoor escalators by a target I got scooped up by a group of five girls. Each of them grabbed a hold of one of my limbs and held me down and the last had a bat and was ready to smash my junk to pieces. I was like crying or something screaming not to hit my balls because they were still fragile lmao. When all seemed lost and I was about to take a beating one of the girls got bit by a fucking zombie on the neck and started gushing blood. All the girls freaked and I knew it was my time to get the fuck out of there so I bolted like hell. I ended up finding a laundromat tucked into a corner of this outdoor mall and so I decided to build myself a barricade there. I let in a little girl and her family, and they helped me move the washers and dryers, stacking them up (I guess I was superhuman or they weighed like nothing) to build a giant barricade at the entrance. We were safe from the zombies for a while, but some government agency started taking them down outside. What looked like an enormous leech made its way inside, and I held it up to see that it had a big mouth and teeth in the center of its belly. One of the zombies tried to make a big enough crack in the washers to get in, and I held up the leech who ate the zombie whole. But the government or somebody was trying to get us to come out of our hiding spot, saying they only needed one of us. When the family decided they were going to get rid of me because they didn’t know me I decided that this was bullshit because it was MY hiding spot, and furiously threw the leech out of the place. It landed in the middle of a small platoon of guys and exploded, turning them all into zombies. Then I was like holy shit this got even weirder and I woke up lol.

____

So anyway, Sunday I managed to get a nap in before heading out to pick up frankie. we talked for a while while fonzi was getting ready and all headed out to this food truck rodeo. We had some of the most delicious shit. Not gonna elaborate too much, but there were these pork belly bun sandwiches that exploded with a crackling of meat flavor and rounded with the savoryness of the fat in every bite. Holy shit I could eat them like every day of my life lol. We spent a good couple hours there, started doing this meme where Fonzi decided that Frankie looked like a celebrity from new york because her hair is all blonde too now. Since Sean and Angel didn’t come to meet us, we decided to hang out at angel’s for a bit. Just chilled and talked for a while while we deliberated whether or not to go swimming. When we finally decided to it was sunset, so his pool was closed, and then we tried to go to my pool but it was padlocked. Pretty damn disappointing, but we walked around catching fireflies and listening to music, which was nice. I took frankie home, but missed a turn and then a road was closed so we ended up detouring through chapel hill, and I decided we needed to stop and take a walk through the arboretum. Ended up going to one of the little grassy openings and in this big oak(?) tree up above us the fireflies must have been mating. In that particular tree they lit up every couple of seconds, making it sparkle in the night. There were so many fireflies that it was like a constant twinkling, like moving christmas light strung up between the leaves. It was beautiful. But not romantic in any sense unfortunately. lmfaooo she called me out asking if I was going to try to make out with her while we walked into the garden and I tried to play it off coyly like “who me? You were the one who kissed me last I remember.” and she had forgotten about this time that I may have actually imagined in my head so who fucking knows. The long and short of it is it seems like there isn’t an ounce of me that she’s attracted to. So that might work really well if I randomly decide to take her up on her aloof offer to move in with her in Boston one day. Who knows. I stll don’t know what I want to do.

Mon - work. Tony told me at the last minute I wouldn’t have patients that weekend, so I had to work mon and weds and take a hit on tuesday to follow through on my date with Katy

Tuesday I kicked some fucking assssss in doubles. Carried my buddy Will hard to get some experience for BMR. And Katy came after she got off work! I got to introduce her to ashleigh, it was sick. I was so fucking happy to have her there and so excited to get laid and so tired from burning out from doubles that I got demolished in singles and took off. Butttt unfortunately katy wasn’t feeling well so she fell asleep on me like Immediately when we got home. Was nice cuddling up with her though. Was torn for a while because I felt like I should be trying to hang out with Ashleigh and Aaron instead. Decided not to because she wasn’t feeling well and I should try to make her feel better because I’m a sappy fuck.

weds - work

thurs - had another really low key day with Katy. kinda just hung out until she got off work and then we just slept again. Bleh.

Luckily since I got the weekend off, it left me free to see Tony and Morgan for their birthday!! It was a fucking awesome weekend, showed up just in time friday night to smoke and go to dinner with everybody. Everybody fucking cheered when I came in the door, it’s like nothing ever changes with us I love all of em so much. Finally got to meet Tony and Morgan’s S.O.’s, and I like them both a lot. Once we were all a little stoned and being a little awk Laura made this hilarious offhand remark “ok, welcome to the conference. These are your friends.” that both became a great in-joke and also made me feel less terrible for being socially inept when I got high as balls for the first time in forever lmfao. Dinner was insanely good, we got like a whole bunch of small dishes at this place Pasteur or something, ate family style and got to try so many different dishes. I remember steak tar tar and this rib that was like eating caveman bacon on a stick being incredible. Also fried pickles and all sorts of stuff. Had a couple beers there, went to a bar and bought tony a tequila shot, got home, pulled the liquor out of my car and everybody got toootally fucking wasted. I don’t remember all that much, a little bit of a nostalgia fest with Alex for a while. Tony made the clutchest move ever ordering us a pizza super late in the night. But not too much later after gorging myself I puked my guts out and crashed on an air mattress with Erica lol. Was probably drunk enough that I might have tried to make moves otherwise, even though she has a bf now apparently you know me -_- . She’s lookin suppper fit nowadays. I think she’s still uniquely the only girl I’ve rejected in my life. Back when I was just a pure little kid and didn’t want to do anything sexual without it being special yet. Fuckin weird typing that now lol it doesn’t sound like me at all.

Saturday was river day, bought some beer and hiked with it about a mile to this river and spent most of the day there smoking drinking and chatting. It was fucking gorgeous out there, and everyone looked great together laying around on this rock. Got to know Dana and her gf much better, and tony’s gf. I think I drank like 5 or 6 beers floating around in the river, it was a lot of fun trying to ford across (it had poured that morning so the water was flowing pretty fast) without spilling any beers lol. Towards the end of us hanging out in the lake me and Laura floated around in this raft morgan had brought, and alex was reeling us in and casting us back out again like he was our dad. Such an excellent day. Until then I hadn’t told anyone about my vasectomy because I didn’t want to take attention away from everyone else, seeing how it had become such a talking piece on our family vacation and how much of my conversation with frankie had revolved around it. But I mentioned it in the river and said that it was because once I found out it was reversible I felt like the onus of birth control shouldn’t be put on the woman. Everyone was just like “huh wow that’s fucking awesome I totally agree,” and I like swam away for a bit instead of discussing it further. But when we were hiking back up to our cars Mike told me “yknow you might’ve started like a revolution back there with the vasectomy thing.” I was pretty fucking drunk and a little high so I honestly wondered if he was just fucking with me for a second, but I really appreciate that he said that after all the shit I got from my family. So that was a long ass afternoon of being out in the sun, and everyone got exhausted and fought to stay up but seemed like after we got back at some point everyone took a turn of getting too high and getting zonked out on the couch. I took a nap in Tony’s bed until his dad got there and got to see him for a bit. More great food was cooked, but I felt bad that I was so tired because I kinda wanted to rage again, especially since some new people came to hang that night, but not people that I knew. As a present Tony got the fire pit from their old house, and it was really neat to have another fire and sit around it with everyone. Sunday Tony and Morgan and some people cooked an enormous breakfast for everyone. Hung out with Mike and Erica and all talked about how good we look now lol. Eventually we said our goodbyes, I stuck around after everyone had left to chill with Mike and Tony for a while because I had nothing to do back at home. Katy decided she didn’t want to chill. I had waited on my dad for a long time to see him for lunch and so I didn’t smoke too much but got a little inebriated and watched nearly a whole season of Silicon Valley with Mike and Tony and his gf and Mary.  Sun - came back at 4, got home at 7, idr that night. Mon - Stayed up until like 6am watching Doctor Who, had to go to chapel hill for a JKCF function at 9, barely slept at all but met some new cooke friends so that was cool. Went to raleigh w/ will to play melee, got suuuper fucked. Went 0-2 in singles AND doubles, the worst placing I’ve had in... well ever, but it’s been months since I’ve had one that bad. Tues - Had a redemption tournament at Geeksboro. Got second place, actually won a little money. Disappointed that I threw away a few games that might’ve given me first but had a lot of fun. Katy told me she was sick that morning, and since she had been no fun to hang out with the last week and she bailed on our plans for Sunday and that day I decided to break things off with her. She was confused and hurt, of course, but I was just like “this is bullshit you’re treating me like I’m not a friend” and we hashed things out about her worrying about me having too strong feelings and that we’d just be friends who have sex and watch cartoons and stuff. So we’ve still been snapping every day but I still haven’t seen her in a while. I’m glad we’re still friends though, I was feeling helllla fucking self conscious for a hot minute.

Weds - I hung out watching Doctor Who most of the day, but went out to the bar Ashleigh was working to hang out for a while. She introduced me to her friend who was kinda plastered and seemed like she was leaning for a kiss on our introductory hug. So I was like woooooooh baby I love gboro people I can’t believe I have to play catchup at fucking 11pm lmao. Chugged a few free beers for this Shocktop promotion, and since I hadn’t eaten anything I got just tipsy enough that I could flirt with her without feeling like a Total asshole. We were chatting about some music and stuff, went inside and danced for the tiniest bit, and then she basically kissed me three times. Nothing egregious or any tongue or anything because I was still wary of her being a little off her ass, but I realized I got a text from ashleigh saying “come talk to me.” I was like “oh what’s up?” and she said “well it doesn’t matter now, it’s just that she’s married, they’re in a rough spot but I didn’t realize it was That rough.” ha haaaaaaaaaaa goddamn just my luck lol. She ended up puking on the side of the bar, I made better friends of a few of the regulars and played pool with them, I hung out with Aaron when he showed up at the end of the night and got to hear about the drama between him and his old roommate, and I sang a bunch of karaoke. Another fucking wonderful night, fshoooo. Got a philly cheesesteak and passed out, was super hungover the next morning lmao.

Thurs - got off work early story of that girl that I posted Fri - work, getting ready for bmr, finally got my spare setup in the office at work I’m so fucking happy it doesn’t make enough noise that it disturbs the patients. I’m gonna be a god one day lolol.

Also just as a benchmark I’m 4 episodes into season 8 of doctor who now. Comin along nicely. Def the hardest I’ve binged on a show in a longggggggg time.

OH and last I learned how to solder on weds. Finally did the work on that controller mod and it fucking brokkkkeee kinda tragic, I had to throw out the guts of the controller that I learned to play the game on. I thought I was going to be fucked for a while, but luckily Will had my back and lent me one of his spares that works even better than the one I had before. Might have actually been lucky as fuck despite being out $50 on the microchips and soldering kit lmao.

Anyway my life is amazing, I’ve been doing personal finance numbers in my head a lot but I think that’s because I’m just reassuring myself that I don’t have to worry about money much anymore. Eating well, still not doing much french fries, trying to quit soda. Started doing pushups+situps+pullups before my showers, so maybe I’ll be a little fitter, even. Life’s pretty great. So fucking excited for BMR2 next weekend, hopefully I’m gonna kick some ass. Gonna be a muchhh nerdier update next time I get on here lol.