#hair conversion: memento

[infinitesimblr]

Nightcrawler Rhea 4t2 V7

Naturals & Mayhem Unnaturals, Toddler-Elder. The included mesh is Rented-Space's all ages/lower poly edit of Memento's original, polycount is 10143.

Download!

[delicatestones]

Various Parahuman Teen Couples Go To The Mall

Brian and Taylor: Going to the mall is a normal thing neither of them enjoy, which is precisely why they convince themselves that they should do it. Brian musters up hope that he will be able to carry Taylor's bags and wait for her on benches outside of clothes stores, which will affirm his value as a man. Taylor, who only wants to buy a single hoodie, anxiously refuses to let Brian carry her bag because she doesn't want to be a burden, which banishes Brian to the Masculine Insecurity Pocket Dimension in his own mind. They attempt to rally by going to the food court, where they try to have an awkward 'normal' conversation over greasy pizza slices.

Fortunately, a supervillain they have history with attacks the mall mid-pizza, and they rush off to change in the mall bathrooms and return to thoroughly beat the interloper's ass. Brian apologizes for the mall date going wrong (secretly relieved, also deeply compelled by watching Taylor break a guy's arm with a baton) while Taylor says it's no big deal (even more relieved, mesmerized by Brian's visible sweat on the back of his neck). They may or may not awkwardly touch hands at the fire exit before they flee the scene of the crime.

Krouse and Noelle (Pre-Simurgh): On a quest for limited edition Ransack merch at the Gamestop, which turns out to be all sold out or on reserve. Krouse tries to social engineer it out of the clerk anyway, but Noelle gets so visibly uncomfortable he desists. In the depths of excruciating failure he says something shitty about the guy's haircut after they leave the store and Noelle tells him he's being a dick, which he apologizes excessively for in a way that just makes it more awkward.

In a now desperate effort to turn things around, Krouse tries to lighten the mood by latching onto listing Alternative Mall Activities including one of those photo booth set ups. He makes fun of how cliche they are and how it would be completely lame if they went into one, which transitions into cajoling Noelle to join him in this extremely cringe activity for the bit. She says her hair looks dumb and she doesn't want to, so he gallantly offers her his over-sized hoodie so she can hide her face the entire time, a gesture he does not realize extends the shelf life of their relationship for a solid two weeks. His visible joy when she agrees to the idea adds another week to the tail end of that. They hold hands on the way to the parking lot.

His copy of their photos becomes an instantly precious memento he sticks on the wall above his bed; Noelle puts hers in her picture shoebox in her closet. He spends all night on E-bay overbidding for the merch.

Krouse and Noelle (Post-Simurgh): Twelve Injured One Dead In 'Food Court Nightmare'.

Dean and Victoria: It takes Victoria half an hour to get ready for a mall trip. Dean shows up too early to pick her up and engages Carol Dallon in small talk for twenty minutes, a time span in which Carol manages to list every single one of Victoria's deepest insecurities in the form of barely veiled criticism while Dean smiles like he's being held at gunpoint.

At the mall they get stopped outside the Gap by a gaggle of Glory Girl preteen fans. Dean holds Victoria's bags (many) while she goes through the New Wave Fan Experience Checklist. Victoria says something afterwards to him on the way to the next store that hints at the Dallon Torment Nexus. Dean continues smiling and offers the mildest possible effort at sympathy, which Victoria reacts to with virulent irritation, so he gives up and buys her a mall outlet jewelry store diamond tennis bracelet instead. Thus mollified, she proceeds to allow him to obtain Jamba Juice for the both of them. It's another normal (bad) day in Brockton Bay.

Aisha and Alec: There strictly to cause problems for the sake of causing problems. Alec 'distracts' the staff at Hot Topic by faking a fall into a rack of studded belts and loudly insisting he will sue them for emotional and psychic damages while Aisha shoplifts bracelets. They buy hot pretzels and perch on the edge of the mall fountain marked 'NO LOITERING' to conspicuously loiter while occasionally kicking each other in the ankle. When a security guard tries to get them to move they collaborate on roasting his bloodline back to medieval times, triggering rent-a-cop wrath and a threat to call the Real Cops.

Now officially Wronged By The System, they decamp to breaking into the mall's back corridors (going through an unlocked access door) to vandalize the security office while throwing gummy worms at each other's mouths and missing 70% of the time. In high spirits, they make their cunning exit (leaving through the same door) and sneak into a horror movie at the mall theater halfway through its run time. They heckle the on-screen slasher victims for being idiots until an usher shows up with the original security guard, and then book it for the outside world while laughing like small and charming hyenas.

They agree they should totally rob the mall for real later, preferably while Brian and Taylor are on their make-up mall date, because they are good and kind teammates who only want the best for them.

(This post inspired by the learned discourses of Wormblr character understanders, particularly users lakesbian and simurghed. Any mischaracterizations and errors are my own. These hypotheticals are a non-representative sample of Ways They Could Be At The Mall.)

[allidoishuynh]

First post or maybe second. I think there's a picture of stuffed animals from like a decade ago. But let's see how this goes.

Jason is having his death day, Danny wants to help. (Xey and xeir are used as pronouns for an alien species for whom English can't really cut it)

The day sucked. It fucking sucked every single year. Every inch of his body ached and screamed in pain with each step, turn, and movement. He could hear the incessant, unending beeping wherever he went. Of course… it wasn't unending. It had very abruptly and very importantly ended, once upon a time. Which led him to the next reason this day, every single year, was so unbearably shitty: the sweats. It felt like he was boiling alive on the surface of the sun and no matter what he did, no matter how he distracted himself, he always remembered why. Why he had to feel this way every year and how each torment served as a memento of that day.

Jason continued walking down the street in the vain hope to clear his head when he heard a voice.

"Yeeeeesh!" A boy said, "I think I can taste that."

As Jason turned, he noticed the boy, thin, no older than 16, with stark white hair, was staring directly at him. Staring at him and slowly walking closer.

"Hey there man," he started, "believe me when I say: I know today sucks. I don't know how badly or what exactly you're dealing with, but I know it's bad."

The teen was now standing right in front of him and yet Jason felt glued to the spot, like something was keeping him there and that the very idea of brushing off this boy and continuing on his horrid stroll would be an act of blasphemy. The boy reached out a hand and placed it gently on Jason's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. And to his utter shock, Jason didn't shrug it off. In fact, he liked it? For the briefest of moments the aches subsided, the heat receded long enough to feel the cool spring breeze, and the beeping faded into nothing. He could swear even the pits were calm. No wait, they weren't just calm; they were cooing? Pushing him to lean into the young man's touch.

"Mind if I join you?" The boy asked.

"Please…" Jason spoke, somewhere between a whisper and a prayer.

And they started back along the walkway. Jason couldn't help but feel like the world had stopped as they made their way through Crime Alley.

"You know," the stranger began, "there's nothing wrong with asking, 'GOD, why the fuck is this happening to me?'"

"Sure, you know WHY it's happening. But it seems pretty unfair, no? I mean, we go through this absolutely awful thing once, and then we have to deal with the shadows of it once every three-sixty-five for the rest of eternity? That's just brutal."

Jason knew he had trusted every word spoken to him so far, though he couldn't be sure why. But the small, rational voice in his head now confirmed exactly what the subject of their conversation was.

"Well the truth is," he continued "it's not some command by on high. No one made these rules. It's just how the universe operates. I've actually met quite a few others like us, but they didn't live on a rock rotating around a yellow star. One of them lived their whole life on a space station flying through eternity. And yet even they feel this once every so often."

"See, the thing is, humans operate on an annual time scale. We don't feel greatly connected to something that happened exactly 7 or 28 or 30 days ago. But three hundred and sixty five days… and six-ish hours puts us in basically the exact same spot in the universe. You can feel it, the same air blowing in your face, the same setting sun, even the same clothes you were wear-"

Jason collapsed. He felt the air ripped out of his lungs as he coughed and choked and desperately tried to restart his breathing. Everything hurt, everything was hot, and the GODDAMN BEEPING-

And then it was gone. The only thing he felt was a gentle hand rubbing circles into his back. He turned to look up at the… Spirit? God? "Boy" felt wrong now.

"Ope," he said with a look of concern, "so the clothes were a really important part. Starting to get a picture of what's going on here."

Jason gratefully received a second hand positioned on his chest as he was lifted back into a standing position. Then he turned back to his companion and urged him to continue with his eyes.

"Well," he started again, "basically, we live on a yearly timescale. We don't count months or decades nearly the same way. But that's just us, if we were turtles and the only big happening we saw was that every 23 years a squall split the bay we lived in, you and I would have much longer between our episodes. One of the ones I talked to said xey only experienced it once every 91 years when a certain comet makes its pass through the night sky on xeir planet."

"Anyway," he continued, "what I'm trying to say is that the universe is a fucked up place. But it has rules. Action-reaction and all that. So if you want, I can try and help you get through this as someone more familiar with those rules than you are."

"Please," Jason pleaded, "anything that'll help. I just, I just want it to be easier, I don't need it to be gone; I just want it to be bearable."

"Cool," he responded "glad we're operating on more reasonable expectations. But first things first, I'm gonna need to take a closer look at your core and it's not going to be a particularly comfortable experience. Is that okay?"

Jason nodded, though he wasn't quite sure what this being had meant by "core." He just couldn't help but trust it.

That trust felt slightly misplaced when a hand passed directly into his chest and the arm it was attached to shifted to several angles as if searching for something.

"Aha!" Came the exclamation as the hand retracted, now carrying a small red… was that a page? Like from a book?

"Well this looks cool," the being said, "jeez a bad boy with the heart of a poet. Jazz would have a field day. But let me see here… oh! A protection obsession, just like me. Put 'er there bud."

Jason felt a deep reverberation in his chest as he shook hands with the entity. But everything felt wrong, like his very being had been separated from him so quickly and quietly that he hadn't even noticed. It felt as though he might've gone on blissfully unaware if he hadn't seen the page come out of his chest. And then the world returned. The sounds of the city came to life and when Jason looked down, the page was gone and the hand that held it was pressed gently and flatly back against his chest. The spirit reached down to grab Jason's hand before turning to continue down the street. 

After a few minutes, they came to a stop at a park.

"Why are we here?" Asked Jason.

"Dunno," came the reply, "but look closely and I'm sure you'll find the reason."

Jason scanned the park. The homeless resting in the bushes, the trees full of green leaves, several families playing, an old man feeding pigeons, and another walking his dog. His eyes suddenly snapped back to the families. One family. The mother. A young woman with a long, thin scar along her cheek.

He remembered those eyes, that hair. The scar was a fresh gushing wound when he had last seen it, but he remembered that too.

"Her," Jason said, knowing the one beside him understood, "I saved her. Or helped. Back when I was- back before I was- Fuck. Was that a decade ago? Jesus she has a ki-oh man kids. Wait, is she my age? Shit, she seemed so little then."

"Someone you protected," came the voice, "someone for whom you risked your life. Someone who looks at those kids and thanks the universe for putting you on her path every single day."

Jason felt a lump forming in his throat.

"See," the boy started, "I think that's what people forget. Not just other people but us too. It's not about carrying someone through the pouring rain to a hospital. It's definitely not about the praise or detractors or even seeing someone pull through in the end. It's about this. It's about-"

"Seeing them get the chance to flourish," Jason finishes, "watching the world step on them over and over and being there to help them back on their feet the one time it would've been too much on their own. And then knowing they thrived in the end."

"It's hard," the spirit said, "to remember where we really sit in the grand scheme. It can feel like we haven't done anything or that no matter what we do, we'll never be more than one single moment. The reason today sucks every year is important. But it doesn't define who you are or what you'll do. Go visit Mr. Friedrichson at 2:03 today. One of his old tenants is gonna visit and I think you'll enjoy the reminder of why your home is a place worth fighting for, even in spite of the name. Talk to Jenny and Liu. They'll be on 5th Street tonight and they'll talk your ear off about all the good you've done and what it really means to bleed Crime Alley. And can I make one actual request, even if you don't do the other stuff?"

"Of course," Jason replied, "anything."

"Enjoy yourself," the voice spoke, fading as if it was getting farther away. "He's gonna come by as per usual, bearing gifts. But I'm begging you, forgive yourself, even if just for today, and try to enjoy some time with your brother."

"Hey Jason!" Came a call from his other side, "I've been looking all over for you. I got your favorite."

Dick lifted a large brown bag, undoubtedly from the greatest Chinese restaurant in the world… if you asked Jason that is. Jason couldn't help but let a soft smile creep across his face, before quickly hiding behind a groan and a hand pressed into his forehead.

"I can't get one day's peace from you can I?" Jason said as he closed the distance and took the bag.

"Uhh," Dick said, stunned by the more playful remark. "I… I thought you might want some company and I had a free-"

"Thank you Dick," Jason cut in, "I know you take this day off every year and I know you spend it mostly with me screaming and throwing things at you."

"It's not-" he began.

"But this year," Jason continued, "let's do something better."

He lifted the bag to his face and deeply inhaled the fragrant smell of nostalgia and stir fried vegetables.

"You even remembered my special instructions," Jason said, "come on. I know a few places we can go to enjoy this."

Oh boy that was long. Uhh, I hope Tumblr does the whole button to expand this automatically. I kinda only got halfway through what I was gonna say and then burnt out so we skipped Mr. Friedrichson's moment. Anyway have a good one y'all. Oh right, Danny says "bud" and "ope" because he's Midwestern just like me. I don't take criticism (on the Midwestern thing).

[mactavishsgfandwife]

141 and Their Embarrassing Childhood Haircuts (HC)

just a silly idea i had about what funny haircuts the 141 boys would have been given as children (that they would definitely find embarrassing) and how they’d react to you seeing it simon’s is a little sad (☹️) but mostly just silly fluff not proofread because it’s wayy too long (oops)

his aunt leaves the both of you alone in the sitting room, on her way to procure some tea for you all. on your own in the room with him, you begin to wander around and inspect the mementos that line the walls. your fingers trace a trail along the top of the bookshelf and over the filing cabinet, before you turn your attention to the collection of little family photos on the mantelpiece.

mostly, they’re photos of relatives you don’t recognise - wedding photos, holiday snaps, the compulsory photo of a toddler in a bubble bath - but right in the middle is a small blue picture frame, with little angels painted around it and, well, the photo inside…

you burst into a fit of giggles and his head turns from the random bowl he was closely inspecting, on the side table next to his seat, to you.

"what is it?" he grins as he looks up at you, amused.

but when you turn the picture frame to him so that he can see, that entertained chuckle turns into an audible groan…

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

i feel like simon was definitely that kid in class when you were about 6 who had a shaved head

like, a little boy with a buzzcut that was never allowed to be grown out

si probably got some judgement as a little kid for looking a bit ‘rough’ :( when in reality he was just a normal, sweet kid who liked batman and angel delight (this cheap pudding from the 70s that we have in england which you mix with milk to make a mousse kind of thing, it’s lowkey so good and it’s random but i swear simon would have loved angel delight as a kid)

i reckon his dad buzzed his hair and probably wasn’t very gentle about it

a photo of simon as a little kid, in his blue primary school uniform. he’s got no hair - well, as close to no hair as you can get without actually razoring it off. gappy teeth, a big smile and the beginnings of adult si’s strong nose. he’s pretty cute, and the photo is a little yellowed from age, with a little tear in the corner.

"oh, god…" he groans, finding the photo a little humorous, "don’t remind me."

"you look so cute!" you laugh softly, "how old were you here..?"

"pfft… probably about 6 or 7," he shrugs, seeming a little dismissive.

"have you ever not had a buzzcut?"

"you’re not seeing those photos, love," he laughs out loud, and stands up to take the photograph from you.

he goes to put the photo back, to bring the focus of the conversation to something else, but for a second you think you almost catch his thumb gently stroke the cheek of the little boy in the photo, a momentary sadness in his eyes. but that’s only for a moment, and as he places the frame back into its proper place, he grins and turns to you.

"what, y’think it’s a good look? reckon it’d suit you, we could match."

Captain John Price

bowl cut.

i just imagine price’s mum placing a literal bowl on his head and just cutting around it, as he sits on a stool in the kitchen

and he would have turned up to school the next day feeling like such a handsome little boy because his mum had told him how smart he looked 😭 bless

a photo of price, wearing his scouts uniform with pride, turned slightly to the side to display the ‘merseyside scouts’ patch on his sleeve and the union jack on his chest - but the star of the show was that ungodly bowl cut on his head. it was like something out of an old yearbook photo, and he looked very pleased with himself and all his scouts badges, despite the medieval squire-esque trim. it was funny, but he was also a really cute kid.

"ah," he chuckled, standing up to get a better look, "blimey, what a haircut…"

"i like it! i think you should go back to this, honey. it’s a good look."

"i’m not so sure about that," he teases, "but if you really want me to…"

Johnny ‘Soap’ Mactavish

johnny is pretty energetic, i feel like he would definitely have cut his own hair as a kid - terrible fringes and very wonky moptops galore. and he definitely did it more than once.

imagine his mum is just making tea, having left him playing with some arts and crafts supplies. but when he runs in giggling, a pair of paper scissors in his hand, she screams and almost drops the saucepan. much to his amusement

"JOHNNY, DÈ RINN THU?!" (johnny, what have you done?!) as she chases him down the hallway to take the scissors away before he can do any more damage

it’s a photo of johnny, aged 5 or 6, beaming as he poses with the glasgow rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor. you only know who he is because johnny’s mentioned once or twice before meeting the goalkeeper of some random scottish football team in 2002, as if he met brad pitt or the king of england.

at first, it looks like his hair was ruffled by the football player, but then you realise… it’s just cut like that? as johnny peeks over your shoulder, he laughs, wrapping an arm around your waist.

"oh, i remember! best day of my life at the time. until I met you, that is," he grins.

"i like the haircut," you tease, pointing to his uneven fringe in the photo, with random patches of long and short hair scattered throughout.

"oh, aye, i was a little hairdresser!"

"don’t quit your day job," you smirk, gently placing the photo frame back down on the mantlepiece. he laughs at the cheeky grin appearing on your face, and shakes his head,

"aww, y’don’t like it? thought girlfriends were supposed to be supportive, y’know."

Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick

honestly i wasn’t sure what to write for gaz, given i don’t think he would be rocking the literal bowl cut or walking around bald at 5 years old

but like every victim of curly hair ever (i can relate) i bet he got something stuck in his hair 😭 whether that was comb, or gum, or something really random (once i genuinely got a live snake stuck in my hair lmfao)

"kyle, look!" you laugh, beckoning him over to look at the photo you found. when he sees it, he lets out a groan…

"god, my scalp still hurts from that…" he laughs softly, rubbing his head as he looks at the photo of himself at 8 or so years old. with a superman action figure stuck in his hair. how did that happen? honestly, who knows. his eyes are a little red, and his cheeks are shiny from tears, but it seems like he’d cheered up by the time the photo was taken, giggling at himself with a big smile on his face, as his mum desperately tried to untangle the mess he’d gotten himself into.

"how do you even do that?" you grin, feeling his hand resting on your back, his thumb gently rubbing up and down your spine. he shrugs, with a laugh.

"i really don’t know. had to embrace baldness for a bit, but i think i was more upset that superman got thrown in the bin. that was the real tragedy."

"aww… i’ll buy you a new one, if you like," you tease, just as his aunt returns with the tea.

this. took. YEARS. to write. 😭 and it’s miles long. thanks for reading!

[y2sims]

Nightcrawler Galaxy in The New Hair System.

colors by pooklet.

texture by remi.

binned, familied, tooltipped and compressed.

all four colors are in one .package file.

23k~ polys.

ages cf - ef.

mesh conversion and bun edit by memento.

the mesh is included! 💜

requested by @kazewindkw.

mikexx2 already did their own new hair system -version, here! it's just a little shorter and doesn't have the buns. my version has the original memento alpha, which was requested by kazewindkw. (i also tried to do an edit with the shorter length plus buns, but on bodyshop it showed up with weird black strands of hair in the back so i gave up! 😄).

DOWNLOAD: sfs // mf

[luvsdive]

listen... i've been thinking about this...

stripper lisa who's fucking the club owner! and all the other girls hate her because she has So many perks because of it! all her outfits are designer and her jewelry is worth pretty much their entire years' salary and whenever the boss is in the club lisa doesnt even have to work and they don't think she's worth all of that! and lisa who is always acting so snobby and uppity towards them because she knows she's That much better than everyone else working there! turns her nose and scoffs at their conversations because they're so beneath her but none of the other girls really know what fucking the boss entails...

whenever the manager lets lisa know that she gets a day off because the boss wants her company for a 'business dinner', that a spa day and a hair appointment was scheduled for her to help her prepare, the girls rage and complain about how unfair it is, but lisa know they wouldn't last a night in her shoes, because none of them have what it takes to please you, to take what you want to give, like she does.

they don't know that if they walked into said business dinner, they would find lisa as the only completely naked person in the room, sitting in your lap with your hand fondling her tits, smacking them around and pinching the puckered skin of her nipples as your free fingers slam wildly into her cunt. lisa's moans sounding pornographic as she widens her legs to allow you better access, skin glistening with sweat three orgasms into dinner. the other occupants eye her with anticipation, because everyone knows what happens when you bring out your whore to dinner.

but you call the shots when it comes to lisa, and you always get first dibs on her. nobody touches her unless you give permission, and nobody gets permission until you've had your fill. she's already vocal, pleading and begging as she puts on the type of show she knows you like, and you curve the fingers scissoring and twisting inside her, slamming the digits against her walls and earning another loud, screaming orgasm, this time with a jet of clear liquid squirting out of her, earning a round of amused laughter from the expectant crowd. lisa pants loudly as you remove your fingers from her cunt, cleaning the juices on her face and pushing the girl to her feet without another word. her legs are wobbly, and she struggles to walk over to the table, but lisa know what to do by now, bending over the fancy table cloth and waiting for whatever came next.

what comes next is complete debauchery, orgasm after orgasm as she gets passed around from businesswoman to businessmen and back, holes abused and spanked and stretched and filled with cum, face stained with sweat and tears and drool and other people's cum, and lisa is sure she loses conscience at some point, but she doesn't get a reprieve until everyone is done with her, until the dinner slut has served her purpose, videos and pictures of her on the guests' phones as they carry their mementos from the pleasant evening, and lisa's ears are buzzing and her whole body is aching and her throat is sore but you give her a pat in her naked, sore and reddened buttcheeks as your personal driver helps her regain her footing, guiding back towards the luxury vehicle.

and if she kneels down on the car and goes down on you on your way back to your house, scalp tingling with the painful grip you have on her locks as she feasts on your juices and smothers herself on your cunt, desperately fucking you until you find your orgasm, before you send her home with a pretty gucci bag and 15 thousand dollars inside of it. pretty bag that she wears when she returns to work after 3 days off, making sure to rub it on the other girls' faces with a snooty glance, earning herself even more animosity in the workplace, but being unable to care less about it.

because they really don't have what it takes to be lisa.

[immortalmsmoon]

Holaaaa^^

Can i request Ren x Reader x Akira where the Phantom thieves suddenly got into some unpredictable accident in mementos thus creating Akira and now they have to live with two leader with the same face but different personality: Ren being the soft and patient lover while Akira is flirty and mischievous~

I'm dying for the AkiRen battle lmao XD

Two Boyfriends Is Better Than One!

A/N: THIS REQ IS SO CUTE AGHAHAGAGAHHG!! thank you so much!!

What's Better than one Akira? Two!

Warnings: None!

Wordcount: 584

the last thing everyone expected when they went into mementos was to come out with two Akira's.

it was strange, really. that there were two of them. especially because they were so different.

akira was a little jealous honestly. he wanted to have your undying attention, and technically he still had it, but he still that in the cat van pouting.

the other version of him, Ren, was an ABSOULUTE sweety.

blushing and giggling and smiling at you like an idiot!! he's kind of shy as well :)

Akira is pouting bit, but still keeping up with a little flirtatious banter here and there.

Ren and Akira go together very well, and they complement each other as well.

Ren's sweetness is so endearing, and Akira's flirtatiousness keeps you on your toes

It was an awkward drive around Memento's to say the least.

you weren't even sure how this happened to be honest. Everything was going smoothly, and then all of a sudden...things got a little rocky, to say the least. Well, rocky for your boyfriend. After all, he had competition.

you sat in the very back of the Morgana Car, pressed in between your boyfriend, and his exact copy, who you had all taken to calling Ren. he was an exact copy of Akira, with his messy soft bedhead, and the same soft face. the only difference was that Ren was a blushing sweetheart.

Honestly, you considered yourself rather lucky. Its not every day that someone gets lucky enough to have to boyfriends. You decided to take advantage of the situation, and quickly started up conversation with Ren, occasionally throwing flirtatious comments in and admiring the way Ren's face would light up a bright shade of red, and giggling at the way he would tuck strands of hair behind his ear's when you complimented him only to quickly shake it back when he could feel his ears getting hot.

as you continued to converse with Ren you noticed the way Akira had stiffened up. you threw a glance his way, noticing the way his jaw had clenched, and the stiffness of his arms crossed over his chest. you felt slightly bad that you had neglected him all this time, but honestly you were enjoying his reactions just as much as Ren's. You giggled as an idea lit up in your head, and you quickly turned over to Ren once again.

you giggled a little more as you placed your hand on Ren's chest. It felt the same as Akira's, toned with muscle, but still soft. he smelt the same as well, like rich coffee, and a tad bit of chocolate. You felt Akira stiffen next to you, and took notice to the way his finger's twitched slightly.

you decided to push your luck even more, spreading your palm on his chest, and pressing yourself closer to Ren, who was blushing so intensely you were sure he was bound to pass out. You moved your head up, pressing a swift wet kiss to Ren's cheek, before backing up a bit and looking at his face. he had frozen in shock, his face somehow a deeper shade of red than before. you giggled again, before feeling a sturdy pair of hands on your waist.

you were pulled into Akira's chest, his hands quickly wrapping around your body, squeezing you slightly. he pushed your head into his neck, before pressing a quick kiss to the crown of your head. you smiled into him, wrapping your arms around him as well.

[leonkennedygvrl]

leon kennedy headcanon

quick thought but surely i’m not the only one.

leon gets JEALOUS and i mean jealous and it’s pretty obvious with the way he is with ashley in re4r, i mean luis just took her hand and he gave him a full on death glare like yes!! that’s what we want :3

>:) so i’m going to write something quick about this because hehehh i’m creasing right now

fpov + mpov.

having an incredibly possessive boyfriend is tiring sometimes but you definitely love it. another guy could just acknowledge you and leon would be seething, call it toxic or whatever but he’s willing to just lock you in a basement so that only he could see you, feed you, talk to you and touch you.

the other day during a walk in the park because it was winter and snowing, the big fountain in the centre pouring it’s icy cold water constantly providing a comforting sound as you held hands with leon.

but.. oh no, your keroppi keychain (that leon gave you) seemed to fall a few feet back without you noticing because you were too indulged in the conversation with your leon. a guy walking behind noticed and he picked it up, quickly jogging over and poking your shoulder.

leon noticed before you did and his smile immediately turned scowl as you looked up at the guy who apologetically smiled and handed you the keychain, saying ‘you dropped this.’

you sweetly beamed, super grateful because you could’ve lost this sentimental memento that brought you comfort at the very sight of it. how silly you were to not realise it wasn’t in your grasp! damn leon and his corny jokes that always distracted you.

“thank you so much!” you exclaimed, taking it a step all too far when you shook hands with the stranger, who gladly accepted and then said his goodbyes and walked away.

“god, i need to be more perceptive.” you groaned, not bothering to acknowledge the way leon’s eyes were narrowed, staring at the hand you touched the guy with. “i could of lost this! noo, not my keroppi.”

suddenly, you were dragged off the footpath with leon near the trees out of eyeshot, quickly pinned to the rough bark, leon’s iconic move: kabedon.

he glared down at you, tilting your chin up with his other hand as you looked at him in surprised. “leon?” you chirped, innocently.

“you didn’t have to fucking shake hands with that bastard,” leon hissed through gritted teeth. “couldn’t you just say thanks and get on with your life?”

ah, now you know.

“leon, seriously?” acting like you aren’t enjoying it, hiding the mischievous smile begging to paint your face. “it was like, for one second? get over it! it’s in the past now.”

leon grabbed a bunch of your hair, just how you like. he leaned in close, hot breath touching your ear making you shudder. “really now? or is it that you wanted to touch that guy? wanted to piss me off?”

you pouted a bit. “what? no! i was just thanking him, you’re being dramatic.”

leon grabbed both your shoulders, shoving you on your knees in front of him, face directly in front of his crotch and the tent in his jeans daring to be touched. he looked down at you, god, he loved seeing you so helpless.

“leon? stop, i don’t want to do this in—“

he shoved your face into his groin, biting his lip at the friction but keeping a stern expression. “what’d you say? didn’t fucking hear you.”

and then all he could hear were the pretty and wet squelches of your throat as he fucked it against the tree, your gags with his big, veiny hands wrapped around your neck effectively squeezing the sides to cut off your circulation.

he loved the sight of your eyes rolled back, nose runny and wet with bubbly slobber all over your face, he didn’t care who saw. you were his, right? he might as well make it known.

[glymick-sims]

6 Hairs Recolored and Retextured in Clouds

Most of these are just recolors. The 3t2 braid was partially retextured, and Cazy's hair is fully retextured. I also decided last minute to swap which mesh I was using for Nightcrawler Sparks, so it may look a bit different than pictured here. Downloads on MediaFire SimFileShare. [Updated 05/16/24] Hair system by @osab

3t2 Braided Long > Unisex > All ages > 6k poly count > Converted by Trapping Download 4t2 Flat Twist Updo > Unisex > All ages > 4k poly count > Converted by @rented-space Download Cazy Autumn Breeze > Female > Teen to elder > 18k poly count > Converted by @profesionalpartyguest Download Chazzhay Kerryn > Unisex > All ages > 2k poly count > Age and gender conversion by @simborg Download Nightcrawler Nala > Unisex > Teen to elder > 24k poly count > Converted by @memento-sims Download Nightcrawler Sparks > Unisex > Child to elder > 22k poly count > Converted by Martini > Male conversion by Umi > Comes with original (A) and @brittany-howell's alpha edit (B) Download

[infinitesimblr]

Cazy Haley 4t2 V7

Naturals and Mayhem Unnaturals, Child-Elder, polycount is 16868. These are recolors of memento's texturing from their conversion.

Download!

[anicaaa67]

oneshot🤍💥

The city skyline stretched out before you, a dazzling array of lights that danced against the night sky like stars brought down to earth. You stood atop a skyscraper, the wind whipping through your hair as you surveyed the bustling metropolis below. This was your domain, your kingdom as a pro hero, and yet, as you looked out over the city, your thoughts drifted back to a simpler time.It had been years since you walked the halls of UA High School, since you trained alongside your classmates in Class 1-A, each day filled with laughter, tears, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow. And now, as you stood on the precipice of adulthood, a pro hero in your it right, you couldn't help but feel a tug of nostalgia for those days gone by.Beside you stood Bakugo Katsuki, yyqour longtime friend and partner in heroics. His crimson eyes gleamed with a fierce determination, his explosive quirk crackling with raw power. Together, you had faced countless challenges, fought against villains both petty and powerful, and emerged victorious time and time again.But tonight was different. Tonight, you were not heroes. Tonight, you were simply former students, returning to UA for a Class 1-A reunion, to reminisce about the past and celebrate the bonds that had forged you into the heroes you had become.As you made your way through the familiar halls of UA, memories flooded back with each step, the laughter and camaraderie of your classmates echoing in your ears. You passed by the classroom where you had spent countless hours training under the watchful eye of your teachers, the walls adorned with photographs and mementos of days gone by.And then, finally, you reached the gymnasium, where the reunion was in full swing. The room was alive with energy, the air thick with laughter and conversation as former classmates greeted one another with hugs and smiles.You and Bakugo made your way through the crowd, exchanging greetings with old friends and classmates as you went. Kirishima bounded over to you, his trademark grin splitting his face in two. "Hey, guys!" he exclaimed, clapping you both on the back. "Long time no see!"Denki followed close behind, his electric personality lighting up the room as he launched into a story about his latest heroics. "You won't believe the villain I took down last week," he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.Mina and Sero were deep in conversation nearby, reminiscing about their time in class together. "Remember the time we all went to that amusement park?" Mina laughed, her pink hair bouncing with each step. "That was the best day ever!"And then there was Deku, standing off to the side with a shy smile on his face. You felt a pang of nostalgia as you looked at him, remembering the countless training sessions and battles you had fought together. "It's good to see you, Deku," you said warmly, stepping forward to embrace him.Deku returned the hug with equal enthusiasm, his green eyes shining with unshed tears. "It's good to see you too," he replied, his voice thick with emotion. "I've missed you guys."As the night wore on and the laughter faded into quiet reminiscence, you found yourselves standing alone in a quiet corner of the gym, the rest of the world fading away as you were lost in each other's eyes."Can you believe it's been so long?" you whispered, the words barely more than a breath against the silence.Bakugo looked at you, his gaze softening with a warmth that was reserved for only you. "Yeah," he replied, his voice barely audible over the distant hum of conversation. "But some things never change."You smiled, reaching out to take his hand in yours, the warmth of his touch sending a shiver down your spine. "Like us," you said softly, your heart swelling with emotion. "No matter where life takes us, we'll always be there for each other."And as you stood there, hand in hand, surrounded by the echoes of the past and the promise of the future, you knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, as long as you had each other and your Class 1-A friends, there was nothing you couldn't overcome.

[reidsaurora]

"Left Behind" ~ S. Reid

Summary: When a little wooden box reminds you of all the good memories you share with Spencer, it has him thinking about the possibilities of losing them.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader

Word Count: 1,235

Content Warning: lots of angst, lots of talk about dementia, tiny mention of food, tiny mention of weapons in a joking manner, lmk if i missed anything!

Genre: Angst, lots of it too

Extra Notes: i hate the summary too

Based On the Prompt: "A Stash Of…" from this year's @domaystic prompts

Originally Written: 04/13/2023 through 04/24/2023

Beta Read By: @dungeons-are-too-cold

Criminal Minds masterlist can be found here!

You weren't actually sure what started your current conversation, but you knew it had something to do with the little wooden box you and Spencer were digging through.

"Do you remember this?" he chuckled, holding up a napkin with random X's and O's scribbled across it.

You smiled as you inspected the paper, the red ink inspiring a flood of memories to rain down in your head. "Our first date. That cute little deli in downtown D.C."

"Mhm," he answered, "Nothing like a good game of tic-tac-toe while you're waiting for your food." He continued sifting through the various items in the box, his eyes lighting up as he showed you what appeared to be an entry ticket. "Oh! Look at this!"

"The midnight premiere of The Force Awakens! Gosh, you were so cute in your Jedi cloak."

He chuckled, though his eyes darted away from yours. "Yeah, that was a pretty great night. Well, until security almost kicked us out of the theater for having 'weapons' on us."

Your hand met his jaw, your thumb lifting his face with a single touch. His eyes found yours again, only this time those honey brown eyes pooled with tears. The corners of his mouth were turned downward. It looked as though his whole face was falling.

Your thumb traced soft lines over the stubble on his chin, and it wasn't until then that you noticed just how tired Spencer looked. Too tired to shave, too tired to hold himself up, too tired to speak.

"What's wrong?" you pressed anyway. Your heart ached, like a bullet shot straight through it, as you started to ask, "Have I-"

His bottom lip trembled as he shook his head. "Believe me, you couldn't do anything this bad in a million years."

"Anything this bad?" A thousand thoughts raced through your head as you attempted to determine what bad thing he was talking about.

The tears welling in his eyes finally slipped and once again he parted from your gaze. "What if one day," he said, voice cracking, "these mementos are all I'll have to go by?"

You moved to sit beside him, pulling him into you. Your fingers swept through his hair, and the familiar scent of his cologne floated around you, a protective bubble, a shield keeping any harm away from you and him.

The room stayed silent as you waited for Spencer to continue. He felt helpless, weak, small inside your embrace, but with one kiss on his forehead, you reminded him that it was okay, that he was okay. And with one caress of the cheek, he was reminded that you were his safe place. The only place he was absolutely sure he could fall apart, because he knew you'd be there to pick up his broken pieces.

He swallowed hard, leaning further into you. Neither of you were sure where he started and you ended. "I'm scared. I'm so scared," he confessed, his tone quiet.

Your hand moved from his cheek to his back, lightly pressing your fingertips against the skin where his shirt rode up. "Why are you scared?" you asked simply, meeting him with an equally soft voice.

"What if I-" he said through broken sobs, unable to finish his sentence. "Mom's dementia-" He pulled away, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. "God, I probably sound so stupid."

You grabbed his wrists, dragging his palms away from his face. He'd pressed so hard, you could already see indentations, and you weren't so sure the plum-colored circles under his eyes wouldn't be three times as purple the next morning. "You don't sound stupid," you reassured him. "I can't imagine how scary that is."

"But what's even scarier is that you think I won't be there for you through it."

Spencer shook with silent sobs, his chest heaving as he attempted to catch his breath. He was a snotty, crying mess of man, and you wished there was some way you could take his pain as your own. He tried to get words out, but all he could manage was his throat getting caught on every syllable.

You leaned your forehead against his, and for a second, you felt like the world wasn't imploding. Like maybe things would turn out okay. But as soon as you met those golden brown eyes again, your heart shattered all over again.

"Spencer, I'm not gonna let that happen," you said, your voice thick with the tears you were on the verge of shedding. "Okay? We'll get through this."

"She's gonna be gone in a couple years, Y/N. What if I'm next?" By this point, he couldn't even hold his eyes open anymore.

"Then I will enjoy every moment I have with you, down to the last millisecond."

"I don't want this to ever be all I have of us. I want memories. I want inside jokes. I want you."

The two of you held each other until you'd both cried out every last tear in your body, your cheeks soaked and shirts dampened in the aftermath.

You felt weak, but he felt weaker, and somehow, that was the reminder you needed—two broken souls, meant to be broken together. But in your brokenness, you fit like panes of a stained glass window. You were pieces of a puzzle, who were nothing on their own, but came together and made a complete picture. It was where you both belonged: together.

"Spencer?" your broken voice shattered the layer of silence that had taken over the room.

He angled his head, heavy eyes meeting yours with a glimmer of hope. "Yeah?" he said, his voice wobbly, his bottom lip trembling.

"As long as my lungs are pumping oxygen, I will never leave you behind."

Your eyes fell back to the box, and you managed a teary smile as you spotted a sliver of slate-gray string you hadn't thought about in years. You tugged the box closer, happy tears mixing with sad ones as you pulled out the friendship bracelet you'd made for Spencer probably a half decade ago. "I can't believe you still have this."

"You remember what you said about being left behind?" he asked, taking the bracelet from you and slipping it onto his wrist. "I used to wear this every day to remind me that I had someone who thought so highly of me that they wouldn't leave me behind."

You curled into his side, your hand ghosting over his stomach as you pulled him impossibly closer. Maybe you couldn't prevent dementia, maybe you couldn't stop him from losing his memories, but you had this box, and you had each other. And somehow, that was okay. Because it meant you'd always have someone to pull you along beside them, not leave you in life's rearview mirror.

Welcome one and all to the first fourth day of DoMAYstic2023!!

ok so maybe i'm a few days late... i will be catching up on the prompts i missed at a later date, just not today. this was supposed to be posted yesterday but tumblr ate the post and i'm just now getting a chance to post it 🥲

so, just like with whumptober, my schedule is gonna be a little different! so, every odd number prompt will be a Steve Harrington fic that will be posted over on @honeysuckleharringtons! and every even number prompt will be a Spencer Reid fic posted on here!

i hope you all enjoyed my first doMAYstic2023 post! i look forward to posting more!

-> taglist: @lowsodiumfreaks67 @drayshadow @alexxavicry @nomajdetective @kbakery @leigh70 @darkloverfox @sammyrenae68 @cherrycandle @asgardprincess97 @gh0stgurl @esposadomd @randomwriter1021 @eddieharrington @lunar-affection @givemeth @lavhoes @rhyanishere @cat-lockwood @danielle143 @marsmallow433 @handsupforamiracle @topguncultleader @mente-sindescanso @reverieofmgg @spencer-reids-adventures @ah-blossom @encyclo-reid-ia @reidselle @thevisionthedream @dungeons-are-too-cold @wwwonzeee @louderfortheback @reidsbookclub @annahalstead5021 @cwritesforfun @soapiebear @maelartasch

[cross-crye]

𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔬𝔱𝔶𝔭𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢

twst & genshin x (gn) reader fluff

w.c. 0.7k

Cliche dates they take you on! (somewhat modern au)

~ lets pretend i didnt forget about dinner dates and picnic dates. shhhh. also there's some charas that fit more of the date types so choosing was a bit of a struggle.

ꜱᴛᴀʀɢᴀᴢɪɴɢ

Lounging with your head laid onto his lap he slowly strokes your hair as you share stories underneath the night sky. You’re comfortable on the blanket he’d laid out on the ground, listening intently as he points out all the constellations to you. The occasional forehead kiss as he leans down towards you, whispered confession of love that will be forever lost into the night along with the occasional gentle caress. 

malleus; zhongli; kazuha; xiao

'ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ'

Exploring the forests may seem bothersome to most, but not you two. It’s a truly special moment, breathing the fresh air while holding hands with your boyfriend, his gentle voice relaxing you further as you discuss the beauty of nature. Regardless of the original point of your visit, either it be a quick stroll, or something like foraging it’s no doubt that a bit of alone time with your significant other and nature was all you needed.

jade; rook; tighnari; ayato; gorou

ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱᴛᴏʀᴇ/ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ

Not only are there many possible conversation topics in a bookstore, but the atmosphere of small libraries is always comforting, and the quiet air makes you whisper to your partner. It feels like it’s just the two of you in the whole world. It’s certainly an unforgettable experience since the workers kept on shushing you after you laughed too hard at a comment he made. 

al haitham; riddle; jamil

ᴀʀᴄᴀᴅᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ

Playing air hockey against each other, groaning in frustration while he laughs when you score in your own goal by accident. Him trying one of those ‘test your strength’ games to show off only to get a stupidly low result and for you to laugh at his disappointment. After trying every game in the arcade (and also having made a few competitions to see who was the better gamer) exchanging all your tickets for the silliest prizes (a pair of course) to keep as a memento.

 itto; floyd; venti; deuce; scaramouche; idia (if the place were empty)

ᴍᴜꜱᴇᴜᴍ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ

Holding hands in the somewhat crowded corridors and taking way too long to read the explanations of every exhibit. Giggling at the automated voice of the interactive exhibits and taking silly photos of each other. Reluctantly asking a friendly-looking stranger to take a photo of you two in order to have a cute couple photo as a memento. Then finding something for each other in the souvenir shop (bonus points if it based on each others’ favourite exhibit)

azul; albedo; cyno; lilia (point at dinosaur skeletons and then make jokes about his age pls)

ʙᴀᴋᴇʀʏ/ᴄᴀꜰᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ

Choosing the corner booth so nothing distracts you from each other. Chatting over drinks and snacks when there's a nice atmosphere surrounding you. Leaning over the table and kissing his nose because there was some cream there. Looking away while blushing so much that your face is red because at the end of the day both of you are fools in love who still struggle to act on their feelings.

trey; ruggie; thoma; silver; kalim; sebek

ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ

‘Playing it safe’ by taking you to the movies. Only one bowl of popcorn so your hands brush against each other’s when reaching into the bowl. The classic yawning and stretch move in order to lay his hands around your shoulder. The movie being of the horror genre so he can have an excuse to hug you whenever there's a jumpscare because verbally admitting to desiring affection is unacceptable.

ace; kaeya; childe; jack; epel (wants to seem manly and protect u from the scary stuff)

ᴍᴀʟʟ ᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ

It’s not his fault he wants to spoil you, he swears it! But regardless of how crowded the mall is, walking hand in hand from place to place and talking is still a nice bonding moment. Even if you don’t actually buy anything and just enjoy spending time with each other and eat some shitty mall food at the surprisingly clean tables in the food court it’d be a nice date. The fact that he got to show you off, and effectively prove that he has the best significant other is an added bonus.

leona; cater; heizou; diluc; vil (if his fans wouldn’t bother him)

cross-crye © 2023.

no reposting, stealing, copying or translating my works.

reblogs, comments and likes are all highly appreciated

[y2sims]

Stealthic Psycho in The New Hair System.

colors by pooklet.

textures by remi (straight) & poppet (wavy).

binned, familied, tooltipped and compressed.

all four colors are in one .package file.

unisex + all ages!

3900 polys.

original m mesh conversion by memento, edited and flipped by nykteia.

two versions: original and flipped.

both meshes are included! 💜

DOWNLOAD: sfs // mf

💜 like my content and want to support me? please consider leaving a tip or requesting some hairs through my ko-fi! 💜

[headfulloflettuce]

The Human Who Fooled All of Prythian

19. Memento

The snow crunched underneath Ophelia’s boots as she made her way over to the public events center.

Did I really look like I lacked confidence that much?

Ophelia sighed.

I shouldn't blame her for being concerned, she’s not exactly wrong after all.

Ophelia didn’t want to admit how much she had grown used to that sort of treatment over the years. How she had learned to laugh it off, or ignore it. 

Pull yourself together!

Ophelia slapped her cheeks gently, startling a couple winter fae walking near her.

You are better than this.

She stepped inside the large building, shaking snow off her clothes at the front door, her expression determined.

Cosette had done so much to make this perfumery a success. I am not going to be a silent bystander benefitting from her actions.

Ophelia approached the front desk, behind which sat a slender fae male with a chilly expression.

“Hello.” Ophelia smiled, “I am here to request a table for the Winter Solstice fair.”

The fae looked up at her, gesturing to a sitting area, ���Please wait to be called.” 

Ophelia nodded apologetically, taking a seat in the rows of chairs where various faes, primarily males, were already sitting. After ten minutes of waiting and watching people get called up, Ophelia began getting bored staring at the wall and ceiling, falling into an old habit of hers; listening to nearby conversations.

A habit that kept me alive in Autumn Court.

“Is all the paperwork in place?”

“It is, just relax.”

“What’s the weather like?”

“Cold.”

“It’s always cold.”

Unfortunately, no drama.

Ophelia’s attention was drawn back to the front of the room when a familiar face was called up the counter; the silver haired perfumer they visited during their trips to the street that will not be named.

“I am here to request a table at the Winter Solstice fair.” the perfumer leaned on the counter, a cool expression on his face.

The fae behind the counter scrunched his nose in displeasure, practically thrusting the pass into the man’s hands, waving him off. The perfumer noticed her stare, his cold expression breaking into a small smirk, winking as he left, the paper held tightly in his hand.

“Next.”

Finally.

“Hello sir, I am here to request a table for the Winter Solstice fair.” she tried again.

“For what business or artisan?”

“For a perfumery called Serene Fragrances.” Ophelia leaned back and forth on her feet, waiting as the fae looked through a thick book.

The male clicked his tongue, “Unfortunately I cannot give you a spot as all of them have been taken.” the man drawled, “Next!”

Ophelia sputtered, “What do you mean taken? You just gave that fae a table!”

“Yeah, so?” the male rolled his eyes.

Ophelia stared at him, “Did he take the last spot?”

“No.”

“Okay, so then why-”

 “We aren’t allowed to give out tables to untrustable businesses. You might not earn us any money.” the man leaned in slightly, “Besides, that gentleman has ties with High Fae, you think I can tell him no?”

Ophelia’s fingers dug into the counter.

This little shit. You wanna play that game? Let’s go.

“Serene Fragrances is a trustable business.”

The fae’s face twisted into a scowl, “So I am just supposed to take your word for it? You and your group are new and therefore inexperienced. Besides, most responsible business owners order a spot in advance.” he chuckled, “They don’t beg for handouts at the last minute.”

He had a point.

“We didn’t exist until only several months ago, surely there must be something?”

“Well I guess you’ll just have to wait until next year, miss.” the fae smirked haughtily, “Unless of course you can provide evidence of your success, which I dou-”

Ophelia slammed a sales document onto the counter.

This is why I came prepared.

“Our results so far. We have reasonable prices and our profits are competitive with established businesses within the same vein of produce.”

The male fae stared at the numbers before him, his jaw dropping slightly.

“In fact, many shops in the perfumery district have experienced drops in sales within recent months.”

“Even so, they produce high end products!”

“Products that don’t sell as well as ours!” Ophelia didn’t relent.

“I am simply trying to ensure this event is successful as a loyal Winter Court citize-”

“You can ensure its success by selecting the option that will clearly bring in more revenue, since supporting a growing business is clearly not enough reason for you.” she argued.

“That’s not what I meant…” The fae tensed, an awkward expression on his face, “I just…”

“Just what?” Ophelia narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms.

The Winter fae’s cool features didn’t change much, but it was obvious he was starting to break under Ophelia’s persistence.

“Really miss, I wish I could help you but I just simply don’t have a table to give you.” he practically wept.

“Surely you must, the fair stretches for several streets and plazas! It even includes the main square!” Ophelia was slightly surprised.

“The Winter Solstice is a big deal around here, miss.” the fae rubbed his neck awkwardly, “People book spaces months in advance…”

Wow…it’s really as serious as the Autumn Equinox then. Yet how was the white haired guy able to get a table so easily?! Was it really enough to just be friends with some High Fae?

Ophelia felt slightly guilty for underestimating the Winter Solstice’s importance.

“Baha! What did you expect of a foreigner?” a voice interrupted the two.

Ophelia’s fingers left dents in the counter, making the Winter fae let out a small squeak.

“You…” she turned to face the fae who interrupted them, her blood boiling as she recognized him.

The damn fae who broke our stand!

“Me!” he retorted, “I mean, I thought you Autumn fae were at least a little smarter than that, but it seems you’re worse than Spring scum.”

Ophelia restrained the urge to deck the man in the face.

A physical brawl wouldn’t help. Besides, my fight wasn’t with him.

“Yes, it does seem I underestimated the Winter Solstice’s fair.” she acknowledged.

Although considering all the preparations businesses have been doing in recent weeks I shouldn’t have been too surprised. 

“Boo hoo, guess the new perfumery won’t be able to participate ”

Seriously…it was like watching a toddler yell nonsensically.

“Really?” Ophelia gave the male before her a look, “You’d give fae like them a table and not us?”

“They filed for it a year in advance…” the man had the decency to look apologetically.

Some of the other faes waiting were now watching the scene intently. Not surprising, as it probably beat staring at the gray walls of this boring building.

“Haha, seriously! Did you really expect to waltz in here all high and mighty and get a table just because you asked?” the oversized toddler throwing a temper tantrum taunted, “You little babies didn’t even exist a year ago! Why don’t you go back to your so-called perfumery and sell your knockoffs.”

Even the receptionist was cringing at this point.

“Yeah yet these ‘little babies’ have managed to outsell you in just two months with their ‘knockoffs’.” Ophelia snapped, making the perfumer turn red.

“You…You-”

“Now.” Ophelia turned back to the male before her, “Since you’re clearly willing to take on charity cases, I am sure you can spare us some space.”

“Space?” the slender fae tilted his head.

“Yes, space.”

Let’s try a different approach.

“I understand you cannot give us an official table, but what about a designated location?”

“Those are determined by tables, miss.” the fae sighed.

“Are you seriously telling me there is no several feet of empty space on the edge of this entire fair?”

Glancing at the still fuming fae, the receptionist’s lips twisted into a sly smile, “Well, perhaps we could come to some sort of agreement.” he deflected, rummaging through the papers before him, “We do technically have some space at the edge of one of the less desired streets.”

Good enough.

“Perfe-”

“But it sure would be challenging to squeeze you guys in.” The fae looked at her.

Ah, there it is.

Ophelia had prepared for this as well. 

Let’s see, the regular splitting of profits were 25%-75% with the vendor keeping the majority.

“The event center will take 35% of our profits.” Ophelia offered.

“Hmm, I think this deal is worth at least 40%.”

This prick, first he acts like we’re nothing then switches his tune and tries to extort us for money!

“36.”

“39.”

“37.”

“38.”

“Deal.” Ophelia agreed, sensing the fae’s growing annoyance at her attempts to bargain.

I don’t think I’ll get him to go much lower than that, and I am not about to lose this opportunity.

The male nodded, pulling out a form and writing down the adjusted payment distribution.

“You! You! This is against norms! Against everything we hold dear!” The toddler attempted to regain the duo’s attention with no success.

The only thing held dear in this building was money.

Ophelia smiled proudly as the receptionist handed over a form.

“Thank you for your time.”

The male nodded, waving her off, “Next!”

She practically skipped to the inn, her sparkling aura spooking off some of the passerbyers. Ophelia rolled her eyes internally. 

I and Cosette really cannot pass for natives. Guess it’s our luck that the outskirts towns had past relations with Autumn, so my presence here isn’t that insane.

Ophelia though couldn’t help but worry about Cosette’s current backup lie regarding her origins.

‘Some village in a forest.’

Most simply assumed they came from the same place, but if fae began asking they would need to start providing answers. Good answers.

No one was going to believe in the existence of a town that can’t be found on most maps and for which Cosette can’t even say the general location of. Perhaps I should look over the map of Prythian and pick out a small town from the faerie realms.

Ophelia passed by several stores that hung up modified schedules for the upcoming Solstice week, notifying customers that they would be closed for the holiday itself.

It was a good thing I secured us a table. Most fae would be at the central plazas and streets enjoying the fair, no one would be trying to visit regular stores and risk missing out on the festivities. Even if we were on the side, it was still better than nothing.

She exhaled. They were making good progress on Theo’s debt, but they still hadn’t reached the necessary goal.

Seriously, that girl’s kindness will be the death of her.

Ophelia couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Cosette.

Wonder what she was doing right now? Probably working as always.

Ophelia sped up her walk, determined to get back and show her friend what she had accomplished.

I’ll show Cosette she doesn’t need to worry about me. That I am not a burden.

Ophelia made it back to the inn quickly before it got too dark, greeting Blanche and Fermin who were beginning to serve dinner.

“Where is Cosette?” Ophelia asked, sneaking a piece of bread off a table.

“She’s upstairs. Holed up as always.” Blanche carefully set down a soup bowl before a faerie couple, “Can you bring her down? It’s time for dinner.”

“On it ma’am!”

“Cosette, I am home!” Ophelia swung the door open to the room they were still staying at in the inn.

Cosette looked up from her spot at the desk near the window.

“Hi! Did you do the thing you needed to?”

Ophelia approached Cosette’s alchemy set up carefully, “Yeah I did. What are you working on?”

Her friend kept insisting it was chemistry, but it seemed simpler to just call it alchemy.

“The masking scent.”

“Ah.” Ophelia pulled up a chair and sat next to Cosette, “Any progress?”

“Let’s find out.” Cosette added the last drop of a mixture Ophelia had seen her working on the past few weeks.

Ophelia leaned in curiously.

“It’s the essence and scent of the xeranthemum flower.” Cosette explained, swirling the solution, “With some additional natural undertones to spice up the flavor.”

“Why xeranthemum?”

“It represents eternity.” the human turned to face Ophelia, “I was thinking if a fae’s defining characteristic was immortality, one of the materials that represents such a trait has got to work. We’ve already gone through iris, cyclamen and amaranth.”

And countless others.

Ophelia still remembered some of the less successful scents, their presence haunting her nose.

“Alright, here goes nothing.” Cosette spritzed herself with the perfume, looking to Ophelia for a reaction.

The fae closed her eyes, breathing in deeply, letting the pleasant scent wash over her.

The mixture of magnolias with the xeranthemum’s sweetness- Wait.

Ophelia opened her eyes.

It was gone.

She stared at Cosette with wide eyes.

Cosette grinned.

“It’s gone.”

“It worked?”

“I-...yes. I mean, I can still tell it’s you, like the magnolia scent isn’t gone, although dampened, but your scent of mortality it’s…covered. I can’t smell it anymore. It’s this new…neutral scent? Almost a combination of the aforementioned smells?”

“Yes!” Cosette jumped from happiness, “I did it! I did it!!”

Ophelia was still sitting there in slight shock, “How? How is that even possible?”

It’s not that I didn’t believe she would succeed, but seeing it done is completely different from theories.

“Thanks to chemistry!” Cosette smiled, her face flushed from all her jumping, “Though to be honest I am not one hundred percent sure how it worked in this case. I only achieved the neutral scent through trial and error. It would be good if we could run some more tests but I am not sure how we would do that here…Either way, I hope that the masking scent works better than the fragrances I’ve been using up to this point since the latter only adds, while the first option actively works with the existing scent to create something neutral.” she rambled.

Ophelia had to admit she was a bit freaked out. One minute she could smell a human before her, the next the creature standing before her could pass for a fae.

Nonetheless, Ophelia smiled.

“I am proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Cosette said, “I suspect this perfume wouldn't actually work for every human. The xeranthemum most likely has a particular reaction with my natural scent, creating the neutral smell you can then perceive. Hmm, I wonder if this would also vary by fae then.”

“Although that’s possible, I doubt it.” Ophelia shook her head, “Just don’t go banging on Beron’s or Eris’s front door and you should be good. Those two have much stronger noses out of the whole Autumn crowd.”

Cosette nodded, her expression still worried.

“Hey, I have more good news for you.” Ophelia said, wanting to cheer up her friend.

“Oh? Does this have something to do with me having to go home alone?” Cosette put her hands on her hips.

“Mayhaps.” Ophelia did a dramatic twirl, revealing the paper she received at the public events office, “Guess who secured us a table at the Winter Solstice fair?”

Cosette’s eyes widened, “No way…”

“Yes way!”

Cosette tackled her friend into a hug, “Oh my Go-Mother Ophelia, you’re amazing!”

Look who’s talking.

“How did you even manage to do this with the event right around the corner?”

“Oh it was nothing.” Ophelia blushed. 

“Look how humble.” Cosette poked her cheek.

“Learned from the most humble person I know.” Ophelia poked back.

“We’ll need to tell Blanche though since she invited us to celebrate that day.” Cosette said.

“We should first congratulate Blanche for not having to deal with your stinky self anymore.” Ophelia gently bumped into her, taking Cosette’s hand and leading her downstairs.

“Hey!” Cosette tried to pinch Ophelia but the older woman kept her at a distance using her arm.

“There you two are, I was wondering if you would come down for dinner at all.” Blanche waved the two women over, taking her seat next to Forrest and Fermin. 

Cosette and Ophelia sat with the trio.

“This soup is amazing, Miss Blanche.” Ophelia had to stop herself from chugging the hot food, eating instead with proper manners.

“Thank you, and please, just Blanche. My tongue will fall off correcting you.” Blanche corrected, putting carrots onto Fermin’s plate.

The child proceeded to glare at them as if they were a bed bug.

“Guess what Blanche? Ophelia managed to snag us a spot at the Winter Solstice fair!”

“Oh my! That’s amazing!” Blanche congratulated them with Forrest nodding approvingly.

“Will you not come to the celebration then?” Fermin asked, Blanche taking the opportunity to stick a carrot inside his mouth.

“We will, but later in the evening.” Ophelia looked apologetically at Blanche, “We are sorry about this.”

“No worries, the Winter Solstice celebration lasts all night so you’ll only be arriving fashionably late.”

“Yeah by like five hours.” Fermin muttered.

“Young fae if you keep giving us attitude I’ll send you to bed before 12 on the Winter Solstice.” Blanche’s threat made Fermin quiet down and eat his carrots peacefully.

She woke up to the sounds of sobs and frantic scrambling for the third time this week.

“Cosette?” Ophelia quickly sat up, looking around groggily, finding her huddled in the corner. Ophelia carefully got up, crouching down to Cosette’s level, making sure to keep her movements slow and her hands to herself. The first time this had happened she tried to hug Cosette, which only resulted in a complete breakdown.

“Cosette, can you hear me?””

Cosette’s eyes frantically searched the room for evidence of whatever she saw in her nightmare.

“Beron…Beron h-he sent Aurelius into the kitchens…he’ll set the whole place on fire again. I…I don’t want to burn.” Cosette rambled frantically, shaking her head, “Isabella locked the door…I-I…” Cosette gasped for air.

“Cosette-”

“The smoke…there’s so much smoke.”

“You aren’t there anymore Cosette, you’re in Winter Court.” Ophelia kept her distance, trying to get Cosette’s attention.

I need to get her to focus on me.

“Winter Court…?” The human made eye contact with Ophelia.

“Yes, Winter Court. Not Autumn. We escaped Autumn, do you remember? We rode horses? I had to lead your steed because you didn’t know how to ride it properly. “ Ophelia's voice was soft as she inched towards Cosette.

“But Eris…Eris is going to be mad.”

“Eris isn’t here.” 

“He’ll yell at Isabella again.”

Ophelia paused, surprised that Eris would yell at a fae involved in such a crime. 

He'd yell at a fae for hurting a human?

“Isabella, not you.”

“But then Isabella will be angry at us. She’ll hurt them!”

“Who’s them?”

“Them.”

“The humans you work with?”

Cosette nodded.

“I couldn’t save her from Isabella.”

“Who?” Ophelia was now right in front of Cosette.

“Lucy.”

“Did Isabella hurt her?”

“She didn’t kill her, she just left her there.” Cosette sniffled, “I tried so hard, but the fire…and everything, it was too much…”

“You can’t save everyone Cosette.”

Cosette hugged herself, rubbing her arms..

“Are you hurt?” Ophelia decided to play along. She hated whenever she couldn’t immediately pull Cosette out of this state.

It hurt too much watching her suffer.

Cosette nodded.

“Let me see.” Ophelia waited patiently for Cosette to let her look at her arm. Ophelia pulled up the sleeve of Cosette’s nightgown to reveal burn scars.

“See, no burns. No fire.”

Cosette nodded, relaxing slightly.

Ophelia waited, watching her friend as she slowly came back to the present moment.

“Ophelia…” Cosette stumbled into the fae’s outstretched arms, sobbing.

“It’s okay, I am here.” Ophelia held Cosette close, “You’re safe now Cosette. Everything is okay.” She gently led Cosette back to the bed, helping her in and pulling her close under the blanket.

Cosette eventually quieted, falling asleep in Ophelia’s arms as the fae hummed.

Despite my hatred for her, I still sing her songs.

Ophelia tightened her embrace around Cosette, making the human squirm.

Breathe Ophelia, that woman cannot reach you here.

The fae took a deep breath, her own fears and nightmares weighing on her. 

Stop it Ophelia, you need to be strong for Cosette, you can’t be busy thinking about that sorry excuse of a fae right now. Not now or ever again.

Ophelia relaxed her hold on the human, looking at her peaceful face.

“I’ve got you.” she whispered into the night.

“Alright gang! Ophelia has good news!” Cosette clapped her hands, getting the elder’s and Theo’s attention.

“We’re going to have a table at the Winter Solstice fair!” Ophelia exclaimed.

“Wait, seriously?” Theo’s face lit up, “Me and father had tried to get a table whenever the celebrations took place and we were rejected every time.”

“Well, we don’t have a table but we have a spot.” Ophelia clarified.

“Ha! That’s no big deal.” the elder shrugged, “You didn’t even get a table”

Ophelia wanted to call this man countless Autumn Court insults, but refrained.

“I actually think that’s not a bad thing.” Cosette pipped in, sensing the tension.

“How so?” the old fae grunted.

“Well, if we just had a regular table like everyone else we wouldn’t stick out. We have an opportunity to make an impression this way so I was thinking we should go back to our roots.” she turned to Theo, “Do you think you can modify the stand you made for us to be a bit larger? Or create an additional stand to house more perfumes?”

“Oh can I?” Theo’s blue eyes burned with passion, “Prepare to be blown away!” He quickly disappeared into the back room to begin his scheming.

“Is the existing stand not enough?” the elder rolled his eyes.

“No, no it’s wonderful!” Cosette tried to mediate, “It’s just that we won’t be right next to the store during the fair, so we’ll need more storage space.”

The older fae couldn't come up with a counter argument, so he just huffed and followed his son.

Cosette smiled at Ophelia once the two were left alone, “Ready to open up shop?”

“Always.”

I just hope that man won’t discourage Theo. He can really get to him when he tries to.

Ophelia opened up the perfumery, checking that everything was properly stocked on the shelves, deciding to dust a bit while customers were yet to arrive. As she worked, Ophelia glanced at Cosette who sat at the counter, pouring over some papers. 

At least she bounces back from the nightmares quickly.

The front door opened to reveal a group of fae females, chatting happily amongst themselves.

“Welcome to Serene Fragrances, please let me know if you have any questions.” Ophelia greeted them.

“My friend here is visiting from out of town, could you show her the scents you have?” one of the women spoke up, gesturing to another fae.

“Of course. We currently have vanilla, cinnamon and mahogany teakwood .” Ophelia led the group over to a table where test bottles were displayed.

“Wow, the cinnamon is so gentle, I would have thought it would be more aggressive.”

“Our perfumer works magic.” Ophelia said, glancing at Cosette who was still deep in thought at the front counter.

She should really start using that office of hers. Makes it easier to lie and say she’s not here in case a customer gets rowdy when demanding to see her.

“She really does! Cousin, I think I will get this one.”

“Perfect.” the other fae nodded at Ophelia who led them over to the counter.

“Oh, will you be at the fair?”

“Yes, we will be.” Ophelia confirmed, packaging the bottle for the lady, and taking the payment.

“We’ll make sure to come by.” The group left with more customers arriving soon after. Despite the fact that there were only three scents, the novelty of the perfume’s quality kept bringing people back, especially those who were visiting from outside the capital.

Ophelia had never felt this good working. It was so different from Autumn Court where every ten minutes orders were being yelled at her, the only reprieve being near the Lady of Autumn. Yet now directions and decisions were made calmly. Everything had order and for the first time Ophelia felt in control.

“I have been thinking about it, we should make some sort of announcement that we’ll be at the fair, or spread the news some other way.” Cosette said. With the store temporarily empty of customers Ophelia was taking a break at the counter.

“Me and Theo can make some posters and hang them up at the bulletin boards throughout the streets.” Ophelia offered.

“Good idea…I also think it’s time we make a fourth scent.” Cosette pushed a couple papers towards Ophelia for her to look at, “It can be a special release during the Winter fair.”

Ophelia picked up the papers, looking over Cosette’s ideas, “That’s a good idea, I’ll make sure to include that in the posters. We should also start notifying any customers that stop by that we’re going to be at the fair.”

Cosette nodded, “I wrote down some ideas for scents. I am currently leaning towards a jasmine or goldenberry scent. I want to keep the scent more warm and sweet for the occasion.”

“I think jasmine would be harder to find right now due to the lack of imports from Spring. You’d have an easier time acquiring goldenberries.”

Cosette nodded, taking note of her advice.

“Do you think you’ll ever do more earthy or natural scents?”

“I am experimenting with them right now, but they won’t be ready to be mass produced in time for the fair.”

“Hmm, I’ll keep the new perfume a mystery just in case you decide to change it up. Plus, the air of mystery will help bring in more people!”

“Sounds perfect.” Cosette put the papers neatly away, as the doorbell rang and Amelio stepped inside.

“Miss Cosette, how are you?”

“I am well sir Amelio, how about you?”

“Not too bad.” he chuckled, “Busy with the solstice right around the corner, but otherwise life is good.”

“I am happy to hear it.” Cosette led the man away to her office, leaving Ophelia by hearse.

I hope he likes the scents she made.

Ophelia paced the ground floor nervously, checking on the perfume bottles, or sweeping the floor. She assisted any customers that came in with the same happy smile, but the back of her mind was worried.

This was Cosette’s first custom order - it had to go well. If it didn’t…

Ophelia didn’t want to think about that.

“Thank you so much for all your work.”

“Of course, I am glad you found a scent that you like.”

“I just hope my wife likes it, haha.”

“I am sure you know her tastes well.”

Ophelia perked up from her spot by the counter, casually glancing at Cosette and Amelio as she led him out of the perfumery.

The two women made eye contact.

“Well?” Ophelia asked nervously.

“He loved the citrus themed one.” Cosette couldn’t contain her smile as Ophelia punched the air in celebration.

“How much did he pay you?”

Cosette smiled, handing Ophelia an envelope.

Dang it’s heavy.

“A very, very decent sum.”

“You can definitely say that.” Ophelia nodded appreciatively at the money inside, “Is this enough to cover Theo’s debt?”

“Not yet, but we’re really close.”

Ophelia did the mental math, “We would need about 340 more gold. Do you think we can do it?”

“I don’t want to jinx it.” Cosette confessed, “By the way, have you thought of what you want to get Blanche and her family for the solstice?”

“Hmm, I have but I can’t come up with anything. You?”

“I am not sure either…”

“Any ideas for Theo and his father?”

“I have something planned for them though it’s not a gift in the traditional sense.” Cosette had a small glint in her eyes.

“Should I be worried?”

“Not yet.”

Ophelia shook her head, restocking some of the shelves, “We should head out once the perfumery closes to buy gifts.”

“We should. Better to get them now since we’ll be busy in the upcoming weeks.”

“Why is purchasing affordable gifts so hard?” Cosette complained, her voice slightly muffled by the rows of bookshelves separating her from Ophelia, “At this rate I’ll find gifts for myself rather than other people.”

“I don’t know.” Ophelia sighed, a bit frustrated. They had spent the past several hours looking through various stores, unable to find anything suitable for their friends.

Though she had finally found something for Cosette, she simply hadn’t bought it yet.

“I really don’t know what I am going to get Blanche.” Cosette sighed, eyeing the book in front of her, “I considered getting her a cookbook but that just sounds like a jab. Like ‘hey ma’am your cooking sucks so much you should read a book.'”

“I think you’re overthinking this.” Ophelia patted Cosette's back supportingly, “Well, shall we move on then?”

“Good idea.”

The two fae stepped outside into the cold again, with Ophelia purchasing a book of fairy tales for Fermin.

“That’s actually a very smart gift idea.” Cosette muttered, eyeing the book, “Fermin does seem to have a fascination with fantastical heroes and warriors.”

“I know.” Ophelia said smugly.

“I think I am going to try and get some of those goldenberries.” Cosette said, shivering slightly from the cold.

No matter how much we bundle you up you’re still cold.

“Ah, alright. I’ll keep looking at stores here. What about meeting up back here in about an hour?”

“See you then.” Cosette walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

With the Solstice around the corner, fae were trying to get their last minute shopping in before everything sold out.

Once she was sure Cosette was gone, Ophelia ran back into the bookstore to grab the text she had been looking at; ‘Fae Courts and Customs: A Comprehensive Guide’.

There was only so much I could help with when it came to questions regarding other fae courts. Sure I might be somewhat of an expert on Autumn Court and the important surrounding areas, but I for the life of me would not be able to explain to Cosette the details surrounding Day Court’s philosophies on work and pleasure, or Dawn’s specific protocols for treating patients and healing rituals. Cosette would need all the help she could get to maintain her lie, and this was a step in the right direction.

Purchasing the book Ophelia rejoined the fray outside, walking along the street.

Now, what would make Blanche and Forrest happy?

Ophelia furrowed her eyebrows.

Cosette was right, finding gifts for people was hard. Let’s try to approach this logically; Blanche cooks a lot, so perhaps I should look for a gift that could help her with cooking? What kitchen utensil could she possibly lack? Then there was Forrest who managed an inn. He was kind but didn’t speak much about his hobbies.

Now that Ophelia thought about it, it seemed like he didn’t seem to care for much besides the inn and his family. Deep in thought she wandered into a textiles and cloth shop, looking at the various fabrics organized by color and pattern. 

Perhaps she could get them new linens? Or napkins for the dinning room area?

“Hello miss, do you need any help?” a woman approached her, smiling.

“Oh, I am just browsing.”

“Perhaps you’d be interested in taking a look at some of our Autumn Court fabrics?”

“Autumn Court?”

“Indeed, they came in just a few days ago, please try them, they’re quite soft.”

Ophelia followed the employee to the back of the store where the new fabrics were being displayed. Gingham, scroll and windowpane patterns stared back at her. Ophelia carefully picked up one of the textiles, examining it carefully.

“You said these were from Autumn?”

“Indeed! They’re from the southern farms. Really high quality!”

Well that was a load of bullshit.

Ophelia smiled. These weren’t bad cloths, but they were not made in Autumn. 

Autumn’s fabrics often had a slightly rough texture to it due to the wool used to weave and knit them, while Winter’s were more soft. Winter Court’s sheep were notorious for their thick, yet extremely soft wool.

The female fae left Ophelia alone to look at the display, joining the male behind the counter, the two whispering amongst themselves. Ophelia pretended to be very interested in the products, straining her ears to listen in.

“I can’t believe we were able to secure that much venison.”

“I know right? It’s enough to feed several families.”

Seems like I have found my gift to Blanche and everyone else.

“Wow, I can’t believe you were able to secure such good fabrics.” Ophelia complimented, bringing one over to the counter.

“Oh that’s great! So happy to hear you like them!” the woman giggled, preparing to ring her up.

“Except that these aren’t from Autumn Court.” Ophelia leaned in, a smile still plastered on her face.

“Excuse me?” The fae did a double take, the male beside her getting annoyed.

“Hey, who the hell are you to accuse us like that?” his cold voice didn’t deter Ophelia.

“The quality and texture of this fabric is too soft for the type of sheep that are bred in the southern farms of Autumn. Any fae that works with textiles worth their money will be able to tell you that much.”

Now if you had said northern farms, I might have believed you. There sheep from Winter and Autumn can at times interbreed, although it’s not common. It wouldn’t be shocking for Autumn to set up a luxury farm where they tried to create a new subcategory of pretty sheep for noble ladies to fawn over. However, then they wouldn’t sell to a middle class store like this.

The two fae tensed, put off by her confidence.

“Truly, it’s a shame for two business owners such as yourself to lie to customers like this.” Ophelia raised her voice.

“Okay, okay we catch your drift, just lower your voice please!” the male shushed Ophelia, “Now what will it take to shut you up?”

“About the venison…” Ophelia said sweetly.

Ophelia walked out of the store, dragging a large bag of meat pieces that could feed more than seven people, earning side glances from Winter fae around her.

The human and fae eventually reunited at the shopping center’s main entrance.

“Did you find anything?” Cosette asked Ophelia, eyeing the giant bag with slight concern.

“You could say that.” Ophelia smiled, determined to keep the gift a surprise until solstice dinner, “How about you?”

“Well I got my hands on some goldenberries actually, and I figured out what I am going to get Forrest and Blanche.” Cosette held up two bags, one full of the goldenberries and the other full of cedarwood and lavender.

“Are those ingredients for perfumes?”

“Yep, I am going to make Blanche and Forrest custom ones.” 

“Will you have enough time to make them and the new release for the fair?”

“Well, there’s twenty four hours in a day!”

“I don’t like it when you say that.”

It means you won’t get any sleep.

“Have some faith in me, Ophelia! I promise to take care of myself.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Returning to the inn they were greeted with the familiar scene of Blanche rushing around to care for guests and Forrest helping to manage the front desk. Ophelia’s eyes fell on a sulking Fermin in the corner.

Poor kid must be bored out of his mind.

The inn had been busy compared to previous weeks with people arriving to stay in the capital for the upcoming festivities.

Meaning no one available to play with him.

While Cosette went upstairs to their room, Ophelia dragged the bag of meat into the kitchen, following Blanche.

“Blanche! Happy early Winter Solstice!”

“Oh….oh dear.” Blanche stared at the giant bag.

“It’s venison!”

“Venison? How…how did you manage to get so much?” Blanche took the bag from her, staring at the amount.

“I have my ways.” Ophelia winked, “I was thinking we could keep it frozen for the next couple weeks and prepare it once the Winter Solstice arrives.”

“Oh, Ophelia, that would be wonderful.” Blanche smiled.

Your family deserves a feast after all the support you’ve given us.

“I would love to help out in the kitchen if you let me.”

Perhaps I could even make some Autumn themed dishes.

“I would love to have your help.” Blanche said.

The two women stored the venison appropriately, discussing their plans for the party’s dinner.

‘Mother, mother! I have something for you!’ She had been impatiently waiting weeks for the Autumn Solstice. Curse her for being excited, she had worked hard on this gift.

‘Oh, Ophelia please don’t be so loud. Haven’t they taught you how to be quiet back in the palace?’

‘Sorry!’ Ophelia giggled, quickly helping her mother set the table. She had returned home for the holiday, being one of the lucky few given a vacation.

Praise the Lady of Autumn, one of the few kind souls in that wretched place.

‘You really should have stayed behind. They’re holding a ball, perhaps you could have met a nice male there.’

‘If I had stayed they would have had me work in the kitchens.’

‘A shame.’ The elder fae hummed, casually sitting in an armchair.

Ophelia sat down next to her giddily. The turkey, and beef stew were steaming, awaiting their guests.

‘Mother, I have something I want to give you.’

‘Is it evidence of a marriage?’

Ophelia laughed, ‘No, something better!’

The female looked at her skeptically.

Ophelia pulled out a bookmark detailed with pressed leaves and pieces of lace.

‘What is this?’ The woman took the bookmark.

‘It’s a memento!’

The woman raised an eyebrow at her.

‘You know? The one that females give to each other?’

Ophelia’s mother stared at her child with a blank expression.

‘It was in the textbook you had me read? It’s an Autumn Court tradition. Mementos represent shared experiences and memories between two faes, and are meant to commemorate and save those moments in time.’

One of the few things I willingly learned from the mass of knowledge you forced down my throat.

‘The flowers are from the palace forests and gardens. I bought the lace from a boutique in the capital with some of the money that I had saved up. It took a while to collect the perfect leaves, but the palace gardener was very supportive once he found out what they were for!’ Ophelia continued rambling, ‘I know you can’t visit often so I thought this would help remind you of the capital. I am not an amazing poet, but I hope it’s acceptable.’

All the things you love in one place.

Ophelia’s mother carefully tilted the bookmark in her hand, letting the setting sun’s light going through the cottage’s window fall onto it, illuminating the text written in its center.

Like a flower that blooms in Spring,

Your beauty is pristine.

You hold my hand through everything,

A love that’s like a dream.

‘How long have you worked on this.’

‘The past month!’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes!’

The fae looked at Ophelia, ‘You wasted a month on this? This?’

‘Oh, I wanted to surprise you-’

‘I send you to the capital and you bring back this?’

‘Mother-’

‘Seriously, did you think I would be impressed by this?’

‘I thought-’

‘No, you did not think, Ophelia. You never use that head of yours.’

‘I just wanted to-’

‘These kinds of things are useless.’ the older fae stood up, walking towards the fireplace, ‘It’s about time you learned that at your age.’

‘No!’ Ophelia tried to grab her, but her mother simply shoved her away, throwing the decorated strip of paper into the flames.

‘I just wanted to show you that I care…’ Ophelia felt tears prick her eyes.

‘If you cared for me or wanted to do something useful for this family you would have gotten married already instead of wasting your time on frivolous activities.’

The fire crackled, burning up the paper as Ophelia tried to get her emotions under control.

‘I love you.’ Ophelia whispered.

Her mother looked at her with disgust.

‘Please, I am sorry.’ Ophelia hated that expression, ‘I am so sorry.’

‘Clean up that face, we have guests coming soon.’ her mother turned away from her, ‘Once you’re back at the palace actually start using your time productively by meeting men. Your youth is not eternal.’

The fire cracked and popped.

‘Yes mother.’

Ophelia stood in the middle of the small dinning room by herself. As the walls closed in, a single question replayed within her mind.

Why don’t you love me?

Ophelia awoke with a start, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. Something warm shifted next to her, snuggling closer. She carefully looked over to see Cosette hugging her, fast asleep. Nothing could wake that human up when she overworked herself.

Ophelia took a deep breath, slowly calming her beating heart.

You were fine. That was years ago. More than half a century ago.

Ophelia took another breath, relaxing slightly. The stress of the upcoming festival was starting to get to her.

You cannot worry her with this.

Ophelia closed her eyes, letting the darkness envelop her..

Her love was always just a dream; stop hoping.

Cosette and Ophelia awoke early on the day of the fair. They had spent the last several weeks buried in nonstop preparations, warning customers ahead of time that they would be participating in the fair and that the store would be closed. Apart from the public bulletin boards, Blanche had kindly put up the posters Theo and Ophelia made in her inn.

After grabbing breakfast and rushing out the door, bidding a sleepy Blanche a goodbye, Ophelia and Cosette walked to the perfumery. Many fellow business owners participating in the fair had also gotten a head start on their day, already carrying boxes of various goods onto carts for easier transport.

Theo was already waiting for them inside - much to Ophelia’s shock. A couple months ago this man didn’t even want to scrub the floors, and now he was showing up early, preparing for an important event.

Maybe, just maybe, I judged him too early.

Ophelia was not, however, about to go back on her feelings towards Theo’s father, who was currently complaining about having had to wake up early.

“I began packing the vanilla, cinnamon and teakwood perfumes, but haven’t gotten to the goldenberry one.” Theo gestured towards a set of packed boxes.

“All good.” Cosette smiled, “That’s exactly why we got up early.”

The group began packing the remaining bottles into the boxes.

“So, how exactly will we get these to the fair?” Ophelia asked.

“I designed the new stand to be able to hold some of the boxes inside. We also have a cart that we can pull by hand from our wood working days that we can use. I can begin loading it up since we’re almost done here.”

“Oh, do we finally get to see this amazing stand you’ve been raving about?” Ophelia teased. 

The man kept her in the dark about the whole thing, only checking in with Cosette about its progress.

“I wanted to surprise you.” he smiled, leading them over to a large object covered by a blanket which he dramatically tore off.

“Oh…” Ophelia stared at the stand, cart-like structure. It retained the vanity aesthetic the original stand had but now it was larger, with more places to display perfumes. The top section of the stand had faelights illuminating the display. On the side, Theo had constructed a slight extension that functioned as a register and bookkeeping space designed to make packaging orders easier.

Theo looked at Ophelia nervously, Cosette giving him an encouraging thumbs up.

“It’s beautiful.” Ophelia confessed, making Theo beam from pride. 

“It’s adequate.” the elder muttered. His son instantly deflated, staring at the ground awkwardly.

Ophelia and Cosette exchanged a look.

As Cosette checked that they had packed everything, Ophelia and Theo secured the boxes into the cart. The trio set off to the Winter Solstice’s fair site, dropping the elder off at the inn.

Ophelia was already praying for Blanche’s forgiveness when they returned. 

There’s no way that man wouldn’t cause her trouble, I only hope he keeps it to a minimum.

It was a good thing they had come out early, as the streets were beginning to fill with other business carts and tourists exploring the city by the time they made it to the street where they would be stationed during the fair. 

The street wasn’t anything particularly special, in fact it was probably one of the worse ones, but it was acceptable. The trio stopped at the road’s farthest end, beginning to set up the stand, filling its shelves with perfume bottles, putting the new scent in the center. The cart with additional boxes was placed behind the stand, slightly underneath so it didn’t get in the way. Theo put some snow around the wheels to make sure the stand didn’t roll away.

“Alright, good work team!” Cosette smiled, her eyes full of pride, “Now we just wait for the customers to start coming.”

“Can I take a small walk around to see what people are selling at their booths?” Theo looked at Cosette shyly.

“Of course, but only if you bring back some tea and hot chocolate for us from your trip.”

“On it!” Theo rushed off, glancing from side to side at the booths being set up.

Cosette felt something warm and fuzzy get pushed onto her head.

“Eh?”

“Happy Winter Solstice Cosette.” Ophelia carefully put the hat over Cosette’s ears, making sure to not disturb the cuff earrings.

“Oh! Thank you, you didn’t have to.”

“I did, you’re always freezing.”

“It's not my fault Winter Court is so cold.”

Ophelia laughed, patting Cosette’s head as a couple fae approached.

“Hello!” a female fae rushed over, her eyes sparkling as she took in the stand, “Is that the new perfume you guys talked about?” she pointed at the center of the stand.

“Yes it is.” Cosette said, handing the woman a sample bottle to try.

“Wow, every time I try your perfumes I think you’ve outdone yourself.” the fae complimented, purchasing one bottle.

“Finally! We found you two!” The group of fae that had visited them two weeks ago joined the growing group around the stand also trying the new perfume.

“It’s quite good.”

Ophelia watched with caution the growing line to their stand.

That was a lot of faeries.

Theo returned quickly with the two promised hot drinks soon after leaving for his mini expedition having noticed how crowded the streets had gotten, assuming that Ophelia and Cosette might require assistance with customers. He had made the right call.

The two women were struggling, albeit managing to hold down the fort. Theo quickly began helping with restocking while Ophelia switched to talking and helping people pick out perfumes and Cosette stood by the side table for packaging and processing purchases.

Ophelia was glad Cosette had made extra bottles of the new scent as it was by the far the most popular item to no one’s surprise. 

“I am sorry miss but we have no more bottles of the new scent.” Ophelia tried to calm down the fuming female before her.

“I demand to speak to the perfumer!”

Cosette cringed, about to step in but Ophelia raised her hand signaling for her to stay back.

I’ve got this.

“What do you wish to tell her?”

“I wish to tell her that she should give me a bottle of the goldenberry perfume!”

Ophelia groaned slightly, “She will tell you the same thing as me; that we have no more bottles left.”

“Then she should make more!” 

“Ma’am she can’t just magic perfume into existence.” Ophelia tried to reason with her.

“If you’re not going to buy anything, leave the line.” The fae next in line spoke up, glaring at the woman causing the scene.

“You shut up!” the woman took a step closer to Ophelia, making her tense.

Is she seriously about to start a fight over some perfume?!

“What’s the problem here?” a cold voice interrupted the conversation. A Winter Court guard approached the stand, staring at the enraged woman cooly.

“They won’t sell me the special edition perfume!”

“We can’t sell it to you because we have none left!” Ophelia exclaimed.

The guard nodded, assessing the situation.

“Ma’am, unless you're going to make a purchase please step away from the booth.”

“But-”

“You’re disrupting the peace, please leave before I have to remove you by force.” 

The woman stomped away in a rage, huffing and muttering to herself.

“Thank you for your help.” Ophelia thanked the guard who stepped in.

“No problem miss.” he turned away, resuming his patrol route across the fair.

Praise Winter Court for increasing security during the solstice.

With the night getting very late, and them running lower on all their perfumes, Cosette began counting money, to prepare the funds for the public events office.

Cosette paused her counting, crying out happily “Ophelia!”

“No need to yell, I am right here.” The fae carefully gave the purchased teakwood perfume bottle to a customer turning to Cosette, “What's up?”

“We crossed the 3,500 gold threshold! We can pay off Theo's debt!”

“Wait…. you're serious?” Ophelia couldn’t believe her ears.

“Theo we did it! We reached the goal! You can pay off your debt!”

Theo poked his head from behind the stand, nearly dropping the boxes he had been packing away.

“You're joking.”

“I am not!

Theo smiled, practically crying, “Thank you ….thank you both.…” he looked at Cosette and Ophelia.”

“We did this together.” Cosette hugged Ophelia and Theo, the two of them returning the embrace.

The group made it back to the inn excited, their previous exhaustion replaced by adrenaline.

“We're back!” Cosette called out to Blanche who was carrying hot chocolate to the guests who chose to remain at the inn and her family.

“How was the fair?” Blanche smiled. The woman was out of her traditional inn uniform and in a pretty dark blue dress complete with a corset and a small snowflake hair accessory.

“It was wonderful!” Cosette rambled to Blanche about their success, “We managed to not only clear Theo’s debt but also make a profit!”

“That’s wonderful.” Blanche hugged Cosette, “Congratulations Theo!”

“Thank you Miss Blanche.” Theo couldn’t stop smiling.

“Please, just Blanche.”

Even the elder for once had nothing to say. Ophelia could swear she saw him even wipe away a tear at the news.

“Mama, everyone is here, let’s eat now!” Fermin suddenly appeared from behind a couch, dressed in a dapper dark blue outfit, matching with his mother.

“Aww, you’re such a cute little man.” Ophelia cooed, unable to resist the urge to gush over the adorable child.

“I am not cute! I am handsome!” Fermin’s face flushed red with indignation.

“The most handsome man ever.” Ophelia teased the gremlin before her.

Blanche let the two bringers of chaos squabble playfully as she brought out the food into their personal dining room, Cosette helping her to set the table.

“Is this venison?” Forrest took a seat at the table, glancing at his wife.

“Yes, Ophelia brought it for us. A gift from her to all of us.”

“That is really expensive.” he muttered, casting a glance toward Ophelia.

“That’s what you had in your bag!” Cosette exclaimed.

“What did you think I had?” Ophelia raised an eyebrow, joining them at the table.

“I was honestly half expecting you to have a dead body in there.” Cosette confessed, making Ophelia laugh.

“Ophelia also helped me prepare the food, look at the beautiful cornucopia she baked for us!” Blanche showed off her fellow woman’s accomplishments, as the elder and Theo also took their seats.

“Mama, bring out my present!” Fermin demanded.

Blanche ruffled his hair, adding to the table a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

“I made them.” the child proudly declared, awaiting the group’s praise.

“They look delicious, Fermin.” Cosette tried to take one but Fermin cried out.

“No! You need to eat a meal before the sweets!”

Cosette quickly retracted her hand, “I am sorry!”

“Look at what an amazing example my child is setting for all of you.” Blanche finally joined them at the table, sitting down.

“A true model citizen.” Theo complimented.

“Blanche, you forgot about the Spirit offerings.” Forrest reminded her gently.

“Oh to the Mother I have!” His wife exclaimed, quickly rushing back to the kitchen, returning carrying some shortbread cookies.

“I wanna do it Mama! I wanna!” Blanche rolled her eyes fondly, letting Forrest pick up Fermin to put the cookies into the mantle, as well as one of his own.

“Spirit offerings?” Cosette whispered to Ophelia, not wanting to draw attention to her curiosity, “Is this for the Spirit of Winter?”

“Yeah it is.” Ophelia confirmed, “It's tradition to leave out a Spirit’s favorite food during any major event as a thank you for all the work they do.”

“I see.” Cosette nodded, waiting for everyone to sit down before digging in.

“This is delicious.” Theo complimented.

“I’ve never had traditional Winter Court dumplings.” Ophelia said.

“And I have never had stuffed acorn squash.” Blanche tasted the dish, “It’s quite good. Will you tell me the recipe, Ophelia?”

“Of course, I am glad you like it.” Ophelia kicked her feet slightly.

Fermin happily gobbled up everything on his plate, impatient to get to the deserts.

“Now that we’ve moved on to tea and wine, I think we can begin to exchange gifts.” Blanche clapped her hands together.

“Me, me first!” Fermind waved his arms, earning a pointed look from Blanche, resulting in him adding a small “Please.”

“Here is your gift, Fermin.” Blanche handed her child a small box which he tore into to pull out a pencil set and a sketchbook.

“Since the most important member is getting their gifts first, here you go little man.” Theo handed Fermin another box.

“Not little, but your gift is appreciated.” Fermin opened the box, his eyes widening, “The great Lord of Snowflakes!” 

The child held the wooden figure in his hands, analyzing all the small details, from his sword and long cape.

“Here Fermin.” Cosette handed him a box that the child revealed to contain a plush dragon.

Fermin gasped, “The great Lord of Snowflakes can defeat the bad dragon!”

“Open mine too!” Ophelia handed Fermin her gift.

The kid stared in wonder at the book, opening it to stare at the gorgeous illustrations.

“Mama, can we read this before bed tonight?”

“Of course, if you don’t fall asleep before that point.” Blanche ruffled his hair.

Fermin jumped off his chair, rushing back into the main front area of the inn.

“You guys didn’t have to.” Blanche watched her child happily show some of the remaining guests the gifts he had received.

Cosette shook her head, “How could we not?”

“Yeah!” Ophelia voiced her support.

Children deserved presents.

“Now, for you two.” Cosette pulled out two boxes, pushing them toward Forrest and Blanche respectively.

Forrest carefully opened his, pulling out a perfume bottle labeled as cedarwood, with Blanche’s being lavender.

“I tried my best to tailor them to your preferences, however if there’s something you don’t like please tell me and I will adjust accordingly.”

“Oh Cosette, truly you didn’t have to go through all this effort.”

“You two housed us throughout all this.”

“You paid us money.”

“Would I be lying if I said you gave us a discount half way through?”

Blanche looked a bit sheepish, with Forrest looking away as if he wasn’t a part of the conversation.

“You either will take the perfumes or take the perfumes and let us pay the full price of the room we’ve been staying in.”

Blanche sighed, “I guess we have no choice but to accept your gift.” she smiled, “Thank you Cosette.”

Forrest spritzed some of the perfume on his wrist, nodding approvingly. 

“I-We also prepared a gift for you two.” Theo carefully handed off a large box to Forrest, who opened it.

“Since you run an inn I thought me and my father could make some decorations that matched your aesthetic.”

Ophelia would be willing to bet money no one in this room was buying Theo’s attempt to pass off the elder’s involvement in this project.

Forrest pulled out several wooden boards, each of which had a carved scene of the Winter Court or the nature surrounding it. Inside the box were also some small wooden animals and tree figures.

“Thank you, these will go perfectly over the fireplace.” Forrest said, Blanche leaning over to look at the pieces in detail.

“These are so detailed…” Blanche wore an impressed expression.

“Thank you.” Theo blushed, turning to Ophelia and Cosette, “I have gifts for you two as well.”

Ophelia and Cosette opened the identical long thin boxes to find matching pens, each carved with their own unique design. Ophelia’s had various Autumn details ranging from leaves to pumpkins, while Cosette’s had pretty swirling patterns, accompanied by a perfume bottle

“You two often work on the paperwork side of things, so I thought a pen upgrade might be in order.” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Thank you Theo.” Ophelia spoke before Cosette did, “These pens are gorgeous. I can only imagine how long it must have taken you to make these.”

I definitely misjudged your character.

Cosette hummed in agreement, examining the pen under the fairelights above them.

“You will have to forgive me, as I cannot give you your gift today Theo.” Cosette said.

“Oh, why’s that?” the elder snarked, earning a disapproving look from Blanche and a nervous expression from Theo.

“Because it’s not exactly an object.” Cosette looked at the elder and then at Theo again, “I’ll be able to give you the gift in a couple days.”

“I cannot wait!” Theo beat the elder to the punch, smiling at her.

“Well, since you all got to give your gifts, only fair that we now get to give ours.” Blanche signaled to Forrest who pulled out large boxes from a cabinet in the dining room.

“Look who’s giving gifts when they were just telling us we didn’t have to.” Ophelia gave the female a playful look.

“We are hosting, it’s only right that we give gifts.” Blanche waved Ophelia’s argument away, shoving a small box towards her and Theo. Forrest handed Cosette a large soft bag.

Ophelia opened the box, letting out a small gasp at the hair ornament. It looked a bit like Blanche’s but the snowflake was a different shape.

Blanche walked over to the woman, carefully putting the clip into Ophelia’s hair.

“Just as I thought, it looks perfect on you.”

Ophelia couldn’t help the small blush on her face.

Theo’s eyes sparkled at his gift - a set of carving tools. Cosette unwrapped her bag to reveal a very warm cloak.

“You’re always shivering.” Forrest’s rough voice was soft as he helped straighten out the cloak, “Wear this whenever you go out.”

Cosette nodded appreciatively, “I will, thank you for this.”

The group sat together, chatting happily with Cosette and Ophelia drinking some black berry tea, while the others indulged in the wine bottle Forrest had opened. One of the guests in the front room strummed a lute, a happy medley floated through the air.

Blanche pulled Forrest up from his seat, dancing with him to the sounds of the lute.

“Get me a man who looks at Blanche the way Forrest does.” Ophelia whispered to Cosette.

Fermin had fallen asleep on the couch, holding onto his new gifts. Blanche broke the dance to quickly cover her child with a blanket, rejoining her husband after. Theo’s father drunkenly tried to hum along with the instrument, while Theo looked content simply watching the couple dance.

Ophelia and Cosette toasted each other’s tea cups.

This was nice.

Ophelia and Cosette dragged themselves into their room, kicking off their shoes and collapsing into bed with a small ‘oof’.

“Who knew winter fae had so much energy to party…” Cosette groaned.

Ophelia giggled, slightly drunk from the faerie wine, “All fae have energy to party.”

“Good to know.”

The two lay in silence for a moment.

“Oh, I have a gift for you.” Ophelia pulled herself up.

“Same!” Cosette also sat up, leaning over to the small side table to retrieve her gift.

Ophelia pulled out the history book from her own side table, presenting it to Cosette.

“I saw you staring at it in the bookstore and thought it might be useful in your journey of pretending to be a fae. You’ll probably want to study up on the various fae cultures and their customs.”

I only know so much.

Cosette gasped, taking the book from Ophelia, “You mean to say you’re not a walking encyclopedia?”

Ophelia laughed, “Unfortunately no.”

Although I am probably the next best thing thanks to my mother.

“Thank you Ophelia, it means a lot.” Cosette smiled, “I’ll make sure to ask you any questions if I have any.”

“I’ll do my best to answer.”

“Okay, my turn!” Cosette shifted on the bed, holding something behind her back, “During my ‘stay’ in Autumn Court I experienced…a lot. One of those things was the culture of the palace and some of the practiced customs. I noticed that in the female fae community it was tradition to exchange special gifts with those who are close to them. So, I tried my best to make what they call a memento!” Cosette presented Ophelia with a bookmark decorated with dried, pine needles along the edge, with pieces of book paper and aesthetic parchment layered beneath. Various flower petals placed around or between the needles, surrounded the words written in the center;

In autumn you took flight,

In Winter you chose to land.

To showcase all your might,

No fae could dare withstand.

“I know traditionally autumn leaves should be used, and sometimes even lace, but since it’s meant to commemorate a shared moment between us I thought I would try and capture our time spent in Winter Court. I don't know what I would have done without you here, so…thank you.” Cosette looked at Ophelia nervously.

Ophelia felt tears in her eyes

It wasn’t fair.

“Oh no, did I make it wrong?” Cosette had a worried look on her face, “I was only going off of what I learned from other fae by word of mouth, I should have done more research.”

It wasn’t fair that a random human was kinder than my own parent.

“Ophelia, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Cosette pulled Ophelia into a gentle hug.

It wasn’t fair that the same random human was now apologizing when she did nothing wrong.

“I shouldn’t have assumed you’d want a gift like this.” Cosette felt guilty for not thinking ahead, or anticipating Ophelia’s reaction to a gift that would remind her of home.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair.

Ophelia sobbed, returning Cosette’s hug.

“Thank you.”

“Yes?” Cosette was slightly confused, still holding the fae, gently stroking her hair.

“I just wasn’t expecting you to give me something like this.”

Cosette gently rocked them back and forth, the snow falling outside. Laughter carried through the closed window, celebrations still in full force.

“I am sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize.” Ophelia sniffled, “It's a lovely gift.”

“You don’t have to lie, if you don’t li-”

“I love it.” Ophelia looked into Cosette’s eyes.

Do you think I’ll let go of the only memento I’ve ever received?

“I am sorry, I should have asked.”

“That would have ruined the surprise.” Ophelia gigged, calming down slightly, “I promise you that these are tears of happiness.”

“Alright, I believe you.” Cosette relaxed a bit, snuggling closer to Ophelia. 

The two lay there, watching the frost paint their window with sharp fragments and swirls. 

“Happy Winter Solstice Ophelia.”

“Happy Winter Solstice to you too Cosette.”

Next: Chapter 20 - A Party for Old Friends

Back: Chapter 18 - Family Meeting

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[rippedstitch-s]

( @leemalkovich )

It's something he's thought about since the auction. The frequency of their conversations about death, and escaping death, and what happens after death. A backing symphony as intrinsic to their relationship as 'I Think We're Alone Now.'

He's in the loft... again. In one arm is Hank, cradled against his chest like a shaking baby, while he sets things on the dining table - the one where they never got to eat that nice steak dinner. Their usual order from the nearby Chinese place sits in a sturdy paper bag to keep it all warm, while a few pre-loved cassettes sit with a simple bow wrapped around them to keep them together. ABBA, Frank Sinatra, and the BeeGees. Two tickets to The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art sit beside that. And then... a small, wrapped box.

If Lee were to open the little package, there would be an accessory he often wears - something that, perhaps, he already has too many of. But the one Asa has found is worthy enough to add to the collection - a memento mori, found in the illustrator's exploration into estate sales. More specifically - a ring, of black and gold. Vintage, and formerly someone's gift after death. A reminder from one love to another... now both gone.

The most fascinating thing about the ring - what had stopped Asa in his tracks - was the spot where a stone would be, nestled amidst black simple petal shapes. Instead, a glass inset... and upon further research, one would normally put their dead love's hair beneath. A literal memento of death. And so, inside the ring, woven so carefully, is Asa's dark raven hair in a braided lattice. A few thin gray strands intermixed- and set behind clean, lovely glass. From far away, it looks like any old dark stone. From up close, a textured marvel of something deeper.

He isn't dead - far from it. Never felt so alive. But in a world where two killers have found each other through a crime syndicate... well, perhaps a reminder of mortality, or the immortality of affections, is okay.

Can you settle for fancying the eventually dead, for now?

When he hears the door open, he turns, and both arms now hold the dog as he walks over, barefooted and wearing his comfortable clothes from being home most of the day. A kiss before anything else, as always, before a soft smile that glints in dark eyes. "Happy birthday, my love. You hungry? Hank and I nearly scarfed it all down without you."