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mimibtsghost7 · 4 years ago

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Fuck you and all your little brain washed rats sending people hate because you cant take responsibility for your actions!! But go on stay silent like you always do, pretend its nothing of your business, keep being a fetishizing racist delulu like you love to be while pretending to be the best blog on tumblr!!!

NOT like anyone will see this but YOU will so LET’S GOOO!!!~~

TW: mental health and more (if you feel like this can trigger you, pls don’t read this, breathe in and out and listen to this HERE and remember I love you), loads of tea and Mimi NOT being a friendly and kind ghost.

funny enough:

I never pretended of said I was the best blog. But I guess the fact that you say it might be because you heard it frequently? Thanks for thinking so^^

I sent hate to no one and u r the one sending it to me rn ^^ In my whole 4 year journey on Tumblr I received a lot of love but also worse hate that you can imagine. Yes you are saying now you are receiving hate ... funny how it’s bad when It’s addressed to you but when it’s at me and my dear followers it is not. Still, I never told anyone to go hate on you. You were the idiot that tagged my old blog and as soon as my blog was gone pple searched me and found out you were the reason behind this. But as you keep hating on me. Let me tell you I am kind but don’t mistake that for me being a coward.

I am not into insulting others and I don’t care much if you insult me. BUT don’t YOU DARE touch my dear followers. Insulting ain’t hard. Let me try: The only rat here is you hiding in your hole as an anon. I went and compared your writing with this ask and previous hate asks. And it was you~ Good for you~ the sewers smell just like your filthy mouth spilling sh*t left and right. So on brand. However, I know who you are @hobisbeautifulass Hi ^^

Me racist? HAHAHAHAH you truly know NOTHING about me nor my ex-blog’s message. It was a place when you were welcomed no matter your skin color, religion, gender ... proof? well it got deleted thanks to you. but ask around this time and search for who reblogged my posts as they were always the top of the tags (even if I don’t trust how bad you are at research). I supported the BLM movement and still do and will always do but I did so veeery early without anyone telling me. Not for the notes but because of my humanity. I wished my dear followers’ happy holidays no matter their religions. And never cared about those things. Why judge someone on something based on religion or how they were born. As for the LGBTQ+ community, I was always and will always be there for love being love. I talked about mental health and opened venting nights. I helped left and right and when I was receiving hate because of people like you spitting lies about me. What did I do? Did I go online and called people bad? No. I looked back at myself and asked myself if I did anything wrong. I tried to educate myself and apologized sincerely when I had to. I read books and watched documentaries to learn how to become a better human. AND never repeated a mistake twice. You tend to forget that our cultures are different and sometimes you grow up to see some things as normal when they are not. This is not an excuse tho, so I always believed that I was lacking and if someone had something to say against me, there is a chance they are right and just in case I should reflect on myself. But for your case it was pure nonsense. ME? a stalker? how can I stalk when I have social anxiety and at that time couldn’t even leave my room? I am even afraid of taking public transportations and just the other days I was crying from joy when I took a taxi alone. they said I was in Japan stalking Jimin and Jungkook and took a pic when I was NEVER EVER was on that land. You put me on the same list as people who bought info about BTS’ flights to be on the same plane as them? I was stalked before and let me tell you it ain’t cute and fun. I am even scared of the idea of being followed. that’s why I never shared openly my age, country, or anything about me on my blog. that’s why I have no personal social media to this day and that’s why making my ex-blog was some sort of miracle in my life.

Silent? yes I was silent when I received hate and didn’t even vent to my dear followers or pointed fingers. Why? because I thought as my day was hell I shouldn’t make anyone’s day worse. I was worried about my dear followers with mental illnesses being triggered. I tried to take my life so many times I lost count but I still came here and smiled. It was my safe place and you took it away. Yet, I should pity you? You hated on me first for no reason and you know it deep inside but right now you are trying to convince yourself that you are the angel and feel no guilt. Compared to you. I pointed fingers at no one and didn’t name you when my blog was gone. Why? because compared to you, I thought you will not be able to manage the hate and what was done .. I didn’t want you to suffer the same way I did when you are the one who made me suffer the most the past couple of days. But the kind Mimi is someone you will never remember because you dared touch the friends I love and calling them names. I don’t mind people insulting me but don’t you dare touch my people. I know myself best. My dear friends/followers know me best. I thought ... I could leave without this mess but you keep barking in my ask box and it’s annoying. I left this backup account just to talk to my friends and yet you are here to ruin things again? I should stop being kind to the ones who deserve non of it. I ignored you when I had so many followers and you went silent too because you were scared of me. But as soon as I lost my blog because of you, you went, edited and then reblogged that stalker post. How can I be a stalker? do you even know the definition of a stalker? do you even know shame? well .. I don’t think so.. you said it yourself. You are NOT ashamed (and you reblogged that so many time lol).

Death threats? this is no competition but thanks to people like you I have been there and wish no one to be there not even you. The only difference is that you almost killed me for real. You were not the sole reason? Great job walking away from you beloved word: RESPONSIBILITY. And I didn’t get just anon hate, I got literal tagging by people like you, DMs, and people pointing guns at me. That’s why I didn’t mention you. I was worried about the one who took away what I worked for for 4 YEARS. I was more sad and concerned about the ARMY fandom here. Do you know how many rely on my updates? do you know how many people said I helped them? do you know any of that? do you think 200k people were “rats”? Do you think if I did and say wrong thing I will not be questioned by those people. I always told my dear followers: “friends, if I do or say anything wrong or share anything that hurts anyone please tell me. I am willing to learn from everyone.” But what did you know? what did you do? Well .. guess you love notes? As the most notes you ever got and the most attention was when talking about me?

Love how you talk about fetishing when my blog was what people call “family friendly”. I also like BTS. I love them for their music, talent, personalities and the happiness they give me. I also enjoy BTS’ bond and love their interactions. I posted content of all kinds of interactions JM X JK, JK X V, V X JIN, JIN X SG, SG X JH, JH X RM, RM X JM ... If you are calling this fetishing asian men just because I scream over BTS as a fan and love their bonb. Then aren’t you against the idea of being an ARMY? I was a clear OT7 and you were told that you weren’t right:

Then you answered this without even explaining the nonsense about me:

idk .. I am trying to find sense in your nonsense so .. wait wait let me look at the definition of fetishism first.

Fetishism /ˈfɛtɪʃɪz(ə)m/ noun: a form of sexual behavior in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, activity, part of the body, etc.

Then .. judging from your URL alone hmmm ... cute. I won’t even talk about the SMUT you write that is full of kinks and fetishism. Well I have no problem with fan fiction but the irony you spit is out of this world.

Also, I made money out of mimibtsghost? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH no lil one. I worked day and night for FREE. At some point when BT21 just came out and there were no products on AMAZON or anywhere but S.Korea, someone reached out to me to offer 20% off or something for my dear followers. When they asked what I wanted I said what about international giveaways for my dear followers. Basically, made gifs, found content, updates, analysis, edits, and so on for free. Again, w-wait .. Aren’t you the one asking for commissions? Well .. It’s not wrong. But again THE irony.

So, I went to see that post you made about me with “PROOF” and it was just another person who was salty as I got them blocked I can’t even recall who they were but oh well. Their arguments according to YOU and many should be taken as FACTS just because they said them? You said HERE that your first comeback was MOST:7 that came in just last year (2020) SO what the hell do YOU know about what happened years before you came when all the proof you pointed at where baseless without any backing?

Let’s see this so wise person you used to delete my blog and what I have done ^^

The gifs: There is a story to this. The first week I came to Tumblr, It was my first time on this site and the first time I share anything. I shared some content and my analysis had a lot of notes for a small creator that started just a week ago. But I made a mistake, I found a gif and posted it while crediting the gif maker. At the time I had NO idea it was wrong. I logged off and after 5 hours I log in and there was a WAR for that ONE gif. The big blog had me blocked and her friend was telling me to take it off. As soon as the person told me I did IMMEDIATELY and apologized againa and again and told them to tell the original gif maker to deblock me as I want to apologize directly and that they can block me after that. They did and I apologized but they just kept insulting me. Of course it was MY mistake and that’s why I apologized. But for them. for a mere gif (yes I say a mere gif because I made so many gifs and they were used on all platforms but I never thought it was necessary to hate that much on someone like they did to me). That blog was big and had big blog mutuals. Thanks to that, I became someone you do NOT become mutuals with but block and never reblog content from. Without any big mutuals. Without any shoutouts. Only my love for BTS, my dear followers’ support and my hard work.. My blog, became bigger and FAST (I got 10k in less than 6 months after I started) and that brought loads of jealousy and thus more rumors. Even if, I apologized and since then made my own gifs. And I made SO many gifsets that I can’t remember how many there were. What I can recall is at some point I made them daily and many times a day.

Ships Jikook? I posted content of ALL the members interactions. I was here at a time where Jikook stans and Taekook stans where always fighting. BUT I posted about both and even made so many posts to encourage loving all the members and all the interactions. I also used the tags solely used for shipping with other big tags to show that BTS’ interactions are all important and their bond is beutiful. That our fandom shouldn’t hate on a member just because they are not part of a ship we like. And wait .. even if I shipped Jikook? I got called ALL those names by someone who ship the members with readers and write sexual scenes? Like, wait ... I am truly confused. Like, write fanfic and do all you want as long as you hurt no one I guess but why am I getting hurt for doing non of it? Like according to you, the person you should be cancelling is yourself?! I am also not into cancel culture like you so hahah whatever.

Posted stalker pics: well wow the story changes each time. Next thing you will hear that I was the one holding a camera for a member in a Vlive lol. Let me teach you about this update thing I was doing. I follow accounts I trust and that’s how we get info circulating fast. I always do reasearch but sometimes mistakes are made. For example when lately people shared pictures of BTS leaving their virtual concerts and schedules. There was a watermark of a news outlet. Normally we trust those but only later we realized that those people stalked BTS. You clearly can’t know it all. But I still didn’t share many pics related to many events (I will not name those as pple can search them even now because some pple never deleted those). And all big accounts shared many pics then deleted later. This happens all the time but it happened like ONCE for me. However, I am called a stalker for that?

When Jonghyun passed away ... I don’t even wanna recall that night as the memories just ... when that happened I posted about it and send my condolescences. that post had over 10k notes and was at the top the tag. Why did I do that? I was devastated. Yes, many were but I will talk about me rn: I was suicidal the days before that and one of the songs that I listened to when I was broken where by him. I has been in the kpop world since 2006. And learned about his group since their debut with ‘Replay’. I was never a stan but I still knew of many groups and listened to all the songs I liked. I was very sad when he was gone and ANGRY mostly. Why is this angel leaving? Why is someone like me still here? Why did I not leave instead of him? How much did he suffer? And in the midst I posted a post from twitter that stated how agencies usually put down pple with mental illiness and hide it in the industry. Yes, that was important but NOT at that time. I shouldn’t have posted that and I realized after 5 min of doing so that it was WRONG. So I deleted it FAST but it kept being reblogged and I kept getting hate and people telling me: “Go kill yourself”... the sad part is that I almost did as my answer was “true ... why am I still here?” I apologized and logged off then to this day won’t forget crying at 3 AM while walking outside next to my dad. I was outside as I couldn’t breathe anymore and the idea of seeing the walls of my room was hell. I cried and cried and the teary eyes that my father looked at me with are something I am ashamed of to this day. To add one more thing while I am spilling the beans. I hate learning about someone dying. My grandma passed away sometime before that and it was so shocking to me. and some people came and told me when I was mourning her: Go follow that bitch of grandmother of yours. And for what? At that moment I didn’t think I would live to see the next year but I went to therapy and took medecine that was hurting and made me shake all day just to turn somewhat sane. No one knew tho ... I smiled all day and cried all night.. Even on the blog I fought no one of the ones who hated me. I just blocked them but even that was an insult to them?

Again, you said no one should defend me. Yet, you were ready to fight whoever touched anyone around you. What about changing your URL to beautifulassirony

Also THE hypocrisy. If you are sorry then why are you answering an ask of someone isulting someone you want to apologize to? Just make a post wher you apologize or ignore it from the start?

One more thing but surely not the last. You said you were good with research which you are NOT. So, let me show you what an OG detective ARMY can do. But first, as I was scrolling I saw some of your “work” (let’s not even talk about those gifs) and I am just giving my point of view here: I hate how you painted Namjoon as this horny-idiotic-make-dog. Like I get it it’s a fanfic or Namjoon as a dad but ... Namjoon is such a smart man who is very respectful and ofc he is a human with needs like many but what the hell is this way of portraying a character? Also a character is not cool, amazing, and a strong woman just because they curse and belittle their partner.

Oh well, only you kept reblogging that as it show 36 reblogs when only 33 as still there when I looked and out of those 13 reblogs are yours? (you might have reblogged it more) but again some people might have liked ... people have different taste ... so ... whatever.

Let’s continue, shall we ^^. You said you were the victim here when I was the one getting robbed right? How can I believe someone who reblogged the post below and was proud calling themselves an abomination or how the Oxford dictionary defines it: a thing that causes disgust or loathing. For once you weren’t wrong.

What can you expect from someone who has the “I am not like others” kinda mentality while stating relatable things that everyone goes through?

This is getting pretty long. So to sum this up. You are now telling others that hate is NOt ok and that they should be ashamed of themselves when you yourself is not ashamed of hating on me?

I am not the type that sends anon hate. I might ignore some barking but the past days you came and bite me hard. I face the ones I have to face without fear. I know I am not the bad guy here and I don’t care much what you think about me. Even BTS got haters. This says a lot. BUT do NOT dare talk badely of my dear friends/followers. You said you do research well? Start by deleting the post below that was originally by ME from your blog ... oh how meticulous you are. From your baseless receipts to your twisted logic. Indeed people on the internet can say anything and it will be FACTS. You painted me as the devil and painted yourself as this researcher? What’s next you receiving a Phd in ‘pity me’ after your MBA in lies and irony? Whatever~

Whaaatever~ Karma will have upcoming talks with you. No need for you to apologize. I never cared about you and you only got attention using me. But I am not here anymore how will you get that blog running now? Are you gonna add me in a fanfic next? No need for you to send me my appearance fee when you do so~ And no need for you to apologize to me just apologize to you conscience if you have any left. As for me @hobisbeautifulass you are just someone I will forget soon anyway~~

And because according to what you said HERE when you described the things you hate about people and I thought that was VERY close to how you treated me. Thus, you might really not stand yourself rn.

Do.Not.Worry. BTS are starting the Love Myself campaign again and just in time for you to jump in (you are good at jumping to conclusions about me so I won’t worry about you). I know you don’t like me or my friends but be sure to love yourself at least ^^

You are a Hobi stan? Then learn from Hobi to share some sunshine not bring the storm. Have a good day~

#Anonymous #hobisbeautifulass #don't mind the typos as I wrote this in one go #just because I am someone who do not punch back when someone hit me do not mean I will stand nicely when you touch my people #anyway~ bye~#mimibtsghost

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the-bjd-community-confess · 3 years ago

Text

More Divaz confos

Mod: Round two of these, previously: link. There’s some interesting customer reviews in this batch (5 and 8) which may be useful to readers.

1.Vic3mage "the secret bjdivaz vip group is just pictures of boxes coming in and going out". Yeah, between the bitching about d0llshe, asking people to post on doa for them, dunking on ex-customers, posting pics of random doll parts that they can't identify which doll they're supposed to go with, whining about how little money they make, whining when ppl e-mail them, whining. Yeah, other than that it's just boxes, and alpacas u can buy off amazon anyway lol.

~Anonymous

2.The butthurt users crying and guilttripping under every Divaz confession who have never been seen before elsewhere on this blog are extremely unsuspicious and unproblematic and definitely unconnected to Divaz and unbiased in every possible way

~Anonymous

3.idk shit abt bjd1vas but v1cemage i can absolutely tell you the shit about ch0o is 100% accurate, fucker's got a long, long history of being an awful little man that stretches well beyond his involvement in the doll community. between the two i'd still trust bjd1vas over ch00 ch00 the fool any day!

~Anonymous

4.The Z3st and Div4s thing is really silly and both entities were being shady but did they really have to take the DZ waiting room down with them? :( He had even made a separate thread about it......

~Anonymous

5. RE: BJD Divaz

I’ve been a customer of BJD Divaz since they first started, when it was only run by Chart3rline. I even contacted other BJD companies trying to persuade them to work with Divaz as their US representative. Most declined because they didnt like D's commission fee, but I was able to persuade a few of them.

I asked them to purchase a doll off DOA because I couldnt afford the asking price, and while they did, I found out later that instead of agreeing to purchase the seller's price, they negotiated the price to be lower. This significantly cheaper price was not passed down to me. I paid the full price +the commission fee based on that full price. I am disappointed I was not told this. This is when I stopped viewing them as a "friend" and instead, as a business. I dont hold this against them, it’s context to what Im going to say later.

I’ve stopped purchasing from D after my recent order from them. This company usually takes 3 or less months to make a doll. I’ve ordered the doll from D and it took 11 months. They let me know it arrived to them in March and that it will be shipped soon, except it only shipped on July, and only after I sent them several "reminder" emails. Before people in the comments try to put the blame on me for not sending a reminder soon, please keep in mind that I acknowledged the email in March and confirmed everything and they keep stressing to not send them emails because they are busy, I’ve emailed once every month since. I’ve since switched to ACBJD and Ive been happy with communication and the dolls ordered. I imagine ACBJD gets the same amount of emails, but they dont berate their customers if they email more than once.

I regret when people wanted a D0llshe, but not deal with him, I always recommended D. I would warn people of ordering directly and instead go through D. They assured buyers they would be handling communication and all the efforts so they wouldnt worry, except they didn’t. A person that I’ve recommended D to, who surpassed 2 years, keeps messaging me for help because D wouldnt reply to their emails. She is respectful, sweet and a timid person, not a Karen. This person, emailed D without a reply so would email a week later, only to be told that their email would be pushed down to the bottom if emailed again. No response, so she goes to FB and IG, who both tell her to email because they arent the person running orders. Finally got a response that they would get their refund, after D0llshe sends D's payment, but minus the PP fees. 3 months later and theres no refund, only a promise of them getting it later. Why is the customer missing out on fees when they have no doll? Customer emails d0llshe and he says he cant offer refund, because they didn’t order through them, which is understandable, but when all options are out for a customer, do you blame them for chargebacks?

If anyone files a chargeback, D will be blacklisting them from every company they rep, as in blacklisting you from buying direct from those companies. I urge everyone who has negative experiences with D to email the companies they rep instead of venting on confession blogs, and writing your experiences on social media. Make it count and send letters to the companies they represent, and please provide proof because they will try to make you out to be a liar.

Speaking of, they made vague posts on cl0ver singing for charging paypal fees, and that they offer guarantees as an official dealer, except when offering refunds, to non delivered products I might add, they are keeping the fees, and offered no help with d0llshe, even before they ended their dealership with them. Someone on DOA was told to not email them unless the wait time surpassed 1.5 years. They are even so petty that they post screenshots with the full name and address (dox) of the customer on purpose and then delete it out a day later as if they just realized their "mistake".

Before you try to make excuses for them about the fires, keep in mind, I am dealing with a business. The lower price negotiation with the DOA sale, I am in no way obligated to give them a pass or treat them as a friend when they made it clear that our relationship is strictly business. Their issues, are not my issues. D0lk got dragged for not shipping in time, others, including artisans, got dragged for being so late with communication and sending back refunds for cancelled orders. Why does D get to be exempt?

The supporters are the worst part of this, because of instead of being honest so D can improve, they support them for being "real". For example, look how micemage words it, to make it seem like this criticism is from one person, when there are people on addicts who didn’t have good experience. Check the bjd dealers tag here, you will see the supporters in the comments going off on any and all criticism of D. Some have sane comments, but the majority are cult like and try to identify the person venting as if it’s one person. Addicts deletes threads with criticism asking people to instead direct it to their feedback group; which lets be honest, no one is going to do because its "not that bad", and most dont want to join a new group, which is mostly dead.

This is my first and last confession on D, I’ve emailed each company they rep and told them my experience as well as contacting the 3 month wait company, with screenshots of my order, how they handled it, and the excuse they used to put blame on the company for being so late (package arrived march to D, 4 months to be shipped is on D, not the company). I’m not using company or order details because I know they are petty enough to try to identify me and publicly shame me like they have to others. This and the threat of suing is why not many people like to go public with their experience. They just keep feedback neutral, move on and never deal with again.

~Anonymous

6. Listen, I can't take you seriously in regards to BJD!vas because you're posting on a confession blog. If you were serious, you would have posted in buyer beware groups, DoA reviews or the board to get things resolved, or you would have made a complaint to the BBB. And your language makes you come off more as someone with an agenda rather than someone who is trying to warn people. If shipping is the issue, stop buying with standard shipping and pay the extra price for express shipping. I saw one of you complain that it sat with them for 20 days; that's probably because you're not the only one and they more than likely have a queue to check and then ship out. Do mistakes happen? Yes, because we're human. I've been in this hobby for a few years now and it seems like most people know you're going to have to wait, sometimes even outside the expected wait time. And shipping something as big as a doll is a timely endeavor. I shouldn't have to say that.

My point is simply to stop complaining on an confession board and either take it to the places previously mentioned. Posting here behind the anonymous mask makes you sound like a petulant child who didn't get their way right away.

~Anonymous

7.My only issue with BJD Divaz is how I never get any updates. Every email, they tell me to join their facebook page for status updates. I dont have a FB and I dont want to create one. I bought my doll through their website, updates should be posted on their website, or they could send me an email. That isnt asking much.

~Anonymous

8. Since there seems to be a lot of either "completely negative everything sucks" or "everything was sunshine and rainbows" confessions about bjd!vaz I thought I'd chime in with a neutral review.

PROS

-They were always polite and professional in their emails, and gave me very detailed answers to my questions.

-I got exactly what I ordered, so no mix ups or missing parts or anything like that.

-I think them being forthcoming about personal issues (only one person on staff, illness, the flooding isue etc.) on social media is good, since it keeps customers updated as to why there might be delays.

-If you live in the US their shipping is very reasonable.

CONS

-Reply times were varied. Sometimes it could take over a week, sometimes a couple hours.

-My order took about 10mo which, when comparing to other people who ordered through the same company around the same time, was about 3x as long as if I bought it direct and 2x as long if I had gone through a different dealer. I get some of the waiting time is out of their control, but it was kind of ridiculous.

-They dont necessarily ship the same day they send you a tracking number. I wish they said something like, "Here's your tracking number, our pickup is Xday so it should start moving after that" just so I could be aware.

All in all no major complaints. I got my doll and all that. Their lone employee is clearly overwhelmed. I hope they hire another person, if only to give the one a break.

Truthfully, I most likely won't buy through them again. I'd rather pay the international shipping and go direct, than deal with the extensive wait time. I'd still recommend them to someone looking for a very long layaway, though. I paid in full, but if I had a 12mo layaway I would've never known they weren't ready to ship my doll until month 10.

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #TrueBJDConfessions #BJD Dealers

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stressy-enby · 4 years ago

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Hey there! What do you say ab making some headcanons featuring Hawks discussing earnest topics with his s/o? For instance, s/o perceives how hard Hawks is working to make the commission content and fulfill their everyday request. There's certainly lots of pressure put on his back but he shrugs it off and says that he's doing just fine. However, he initially let her in on particularly nasty stuff they needed him to do beforehand and she's asking him whether it makes sense anymore to discriminate villains when heroes have their own faults just as much. S/o is conflicted but she's not blaming it on him. So how is he going to respond? What would be his reaction? Will he act all defensive of heroes or will he agree with the statement?

I did this as a one-shot, because this is an interesting topic and I wanted to spend some more time on it than I would if I did this as headcanons. Enjoy!!

Heroes?

Warnings: off-hand mention of rape and sexual assault. It’s not important to the overall story, but it’s still in there and I don’t want anyone else to be unpleasantly surprised.

. . .

He left you on read.

He never left you on read.

Keigo always responded to texts fairly quickly. Even if he was working, it never took him longer than 5 minutes to reply.

So when you checked your phone at 8:38, finding your 8:13 text still unanswered, naturally, you began getting nervous.

You transferred your phone between your hands, weighing the options of sending him a second text. He had clearly seen the message, so maybe he was unable to answer it. But then again, this was Keigo. When was the last time he left you on read? Never. This was the first instance.

You sighed loudly, and your fingers flew across the screen and hit send before you could over think this any more than you had already.

Hey, when do you get off work? Wanna have a movie night?

Read at 8:14

- Lmk when you get a minute, k? Hope everything’s ok

You watched the delivered pop up as you put your phone to sleep.

Unable to sit still, or even look away from your phone for even a moment, you woke it back up almost immediately. You gripped the device as if it were your lifeline when the read message appeared.

Finally, finally, the texting ellipses rolled across the left side of the screen.

Omw to your place. See u soon

I don’t like how blunt that is, You thought, brow furrowing. You texted a quick thumbs up, and went about putting the kettle on.

Something curling in your stomach told you that this was going to be a long night.

. . . . .

“Why were you so late tonight?” You asked your boyfriend, handing him his steaming mug.

Keigo, who was still in his hero costume, sans goggles and jacket, excepted the tea with a gracious, yet tired smile. “Meeting with the Commission.”

“Ah,” You nodded in immediate understanding. “That certainly explains your uncharacteristic bluntness.”

“Heh, yeah,” He ran a hand through his hair, and took a sip of his tea, avoiding your gaze. “Long meeting.”

“Uh-huh.” You raised an eyebrow. “What was it about?”

“Ah, you know.”

“In point of fact I don’t know, because you never tell me.”

Keigo grimaced, still refusing to meet your eyes. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to tell you.”

“Yeah? Well fuck that.” You planted your drink on the coffee table and turned his face towards you. “You’re never this out of it. I know those meeting aren’t fun, but you don’t stay depressed for this long afterwards. What was different?”

Keigo was quiet for a minute. He placed his mug next to yours, before leaning into you. He hugged you and buried his face in the crook of your neck.

“Fuck them,” He muttered “Fuck those fucking fuckers.”

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pet his hair. You decided to stay quiet as he began to quiver.

I’ve never seen him so distraught.

“We talked about my infiltration mission.” He finally admitted. “With the League.”

“Oh.”

What else could you say. You waited for elaboration.

“The League wants me to do something to prove my loyalty, and I wanted to talk it over with the Commission. It’s....extreme.”

“Uh oh. What is it?”

Keigo was silent. He hugged you tighter. “They want me to kill a hero.”

Your hand froze in his hair, and your blood ran ran cold. “What? What did they say? The Commission.”

He whimpered into your skin.

“Keigo,” You whispered, placing a comforting hand on the back of his neck. “They didn’t give the OK for that, did they?”

“(Y/N), I don’t know what to do. I can’t do this.”

You rubbed his back, astonished. “Of course you don’t! Who would? That’s ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry,”

“Hey, don’t apologize, Birdy. It’s not your fault. The whole situation is just royally fucked.”

He hummed pathetically. You felt your skin dampen as Keigo wept into it. You rocked yourself and him as he let it all out.

“God, the Commission sucks ass.” You muttered. “They don’t care about you or any of the other heroes. They just want to keep up their appearances and keep making money. They’re no better than the villains themselves.”

He remained quiet, but seemed to be listening. He buried a hand into your hair and gently pulled you even closer.

“Does it really make sense to keep demonizing villains the way we do when we’re just as bad?” You mused.

“Wait, what?” Keigo detached himself from your neck, eyes red. “What do you mean, just as bad?”

You leaned back into the couch, taking his hands in yours. “Well, it’s just that I’ve seen heroes get away with some stuff that shouldn’t fly. Sometimes it feels like they’re just as villainous.”

“I guess,” Keigo frowned, whipping his eyes.

“You seem unconvinced.” Your lips twitched. “Remember last month, when there was a scandal with the hero Twister? About how he treated his female sidekicks and employees?”

“I think so.” Keigo bit his lip in contemplation. “There were like, 8 different rape and sexual assault allegations against him, but he got off easy.”

“Yeah, the Commission paid the court a shit-ton of money to drop the case. He got off with almost literally a slap on the wrist.” You growled, gripping his hands tighter. “It’s absolute bullshit. The whole hero structure and society is bullshit, at least the way it is now.”

“Huh. I think I see where you’re coming from.” He whipped his eyes again. “God, this sucks.”

“Indeed.” You hugged him again, burying your face in his neck this time. “I just wish there was an easy way out.”

“We could run away,” The winged man offered, returning your hug. “Pack our bags and book it, never come back.”

“I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.” You chuckled.

“Mean neither.” He admitted, laughing lightly. “Is there anywhere you’ve wanted to go? Out of the country, I mean.”

“Y’know, I’ve always liked to visit Sweden. It seems cool.” You remarked after some thought. “They’re pretty tight on hero laws, can’t get away with any bullshit over there.”

“I’m sold. Let’s go!”

“Keigo, we can’t just-”

“We can and we will, babe! Pack your bags!” He dissolved into giggles, resting his forehead on your shoulder. “Sorry,”

“Silly bird.” You laughed, kissing his forehead. “I’d go anywhere with you.”

#bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #hawks #keigo takami #hawks x reader #keigo takami x reader

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chiara-klara-claire · 2 years ago

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So Quick rundown about my life, I applied for an internship in Denmark at a big company, I got a call today offering me the job, got the email with details & the salary is quite low like 800€ of which half would go for the rent, and the whole thing is exciting but scary af cause I am scared to starve ✨ ✨✨🇩🇰✨The last 3 days had me busy and burning my own brain cells with an endless assignment from a German company, which I wouldn’t have if I had got the call a week earlier, (🇩🇪 kind of feels more like home I have to say.. closer, €..) then I wasted the entire day being mentally busy about the fact that the salary is low, INSTEAD OF writing my fucking cursed godforsaken thesis which I have to hand in literally when I’d leave for dk��and thank god were currently not that busy at work 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 I finish working on the 26th July, I’ll leave for 🇳🇱 to my bf on 28thfor 2-3 weeks and come back home just 2 weeks before I’d have to leave again for dk, and then I’d go back home for my degree in the end of sept, so I thought maybe I’d have at least a month of peace but Not really? for a person like me it’s quite destabilizing I must say, and I am also anxious about his family’s judgement about me going abroad to a country which is not NL…….Another odd thing is that they have offices both in aarhus and brande (village where the brand is as founded) and I’d have to get lifts at least 3 times a week wtf what if one doesn’t find one ?? 🥹🥹🥹 🚗 👋 🥹🥹🥹Wanted to wait for the German company’s reply but I have to answer within Monday, 2 DAYS, so great 🤪 but ironical how when I was supposed to apply to Erasmus which I eventually didn’t I wanted to go to Dk for some reason?? and now I feel like I like NL more than dk (besides the population density) .. this would be like the Erasmus I didn’t do somehow, even better paid, but I still have to work 37h/week for this 💸💸💸🤯🤯🤯🤯I am SUPER confused, if the salary were higher I’d be totally up for it, but I’m just like, is it worth it? I hate how everything is also SUPER SHORT TERM, like I read companies start recruiting even one year prior than the job start😨 not like I will make a lot of money with such an internship so being calm for 3 months wouldn’t be bad but oh well … that’s what I got honestly I wish I could have some income with language lessons & art commission but I’m lucky if I make 50€ a year with that… like last summer I was super busy with German lessons for high school kids and made 600€ in an entire summer, and I don’t think I’ll get more 🥹🥹 and u know what’s also ironical? That at first when dreaming about this a month ago I was thinking, yeah I could even meet this and this and suddenly I feel like I don’t care anymore about seeing anyone and that’s… why am I NEVER happy with what I get? Germany was too mainstream, I was already used to NL, dk is not that appealing anymore, and most of all I always complain about I hate my home country but today my aunt came and I thought I wouldn’t want to leave home in a way, even if I always curse on it…. I am really not made for life sweet heaven

#diary #wish I had someone telling me what to do and whatnot #wonder if I’ll see spel idiot again but it’s my least thought #feel like maybe I’d just better off home? but then I’d feel hopeless about being stuck here? i don’t know really #im jaur anxious about my bf & family judgement #that they’ll think I’m stupid for going there and get so little money

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allenmendezsr · 4 years ago

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Forex Auto Millions (fam) Best Forex Robot

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Forex Auto Millions (fam) Best Forex Robot

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Customer email testimonials:

These are comments sent via email by customers. There is no guarantee that you will experience similar results.

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Risk Disclaimer

U.S. Government Required Disclaimer – Commodity Futures Trading Commission Futures and Options trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose. This is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this web site. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.

CFTC RULE 4.41 – HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.

No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. Hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk in actual trading. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.

All information on the Forex Auto Millions website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advice. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold Forex Auto Millions and any authorized distributors of this information harmless in any and all ways.

Forex Auto Millions is a software provider, we do not offer investment advice or execute trades. The software provided is a tool where the settings are input by the end user to design their own trading strategy. As with any trading, you should not engage in it unless you understand the nature of the transaction you are entering, and the true extent of your exposure to the risk of loss. These products may not be suitable for all investors, therefore if you do not fully understand the risks involved, please seek independent advice. By purchasing this software, you acknowledge that we are not providing any financial advice whatsoever. We will not take any responsibility for any loses.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. The vast majority of retail client accounts lose money when trading in CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Do not invest with money you cannot afford to lose. There is considerable exposure to risk in any foreign exchange transaction. Any transaction involving currencies involves risks including, but not limited to, the potential for changing political and/or economic conditions that may substantially affect the price or liquidity of a currency. Investments in foreign exchange speculation may also be susceptible to sharp rises and falls as the relevant market values fluctuate. The leveraged nature of Forex trading means that any market movement will have an equally proportional effect on your deposited funds. This may work against you as well as for you. Not only may investors get back less than they invested, but in the case of higher risk strategies, investors may lose the entirety of their investment. It is for this reason that when speculating in such markets it is advisable to use only risk capital. Trade the Forex Market at your own risk. Forex Auto Millions will not take any responsibility for any loses. This software is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell stocks, forex, futures, options or any other trading instrument.

Results are based on historical data. There is no guarantee of future performance. You should understand the risks involved with trading. Different brokers can produce different results due to spreads and liquidity. Your capital is at risk. Beginner traders should research and learn about trading before using any forex software.

Your purchase of Forex Auto Millions serves as your acknowledgement and representation that you have read and understand these TERMS OF USE and that you agree to be bound by such TERMS OF USE (“Agreement”). You accept that the agreement can be changed at any time and that you must comply with any changes made to the agreement.

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seo1code-blog · 7 years ago

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aureliusbrighild-blog · 7 years ago

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N E K H B E T | he isn't used to not being clad in a cloak to be fair, he feels /almost exposed/ in a way. it is odd to mix and mingle at this sort of thing, he preferred to stick to the shadows; but it was never bad to garner connections, so he rightfully couldn't complain. still the thought of sanda mel much less a ball made him want to roll his eyes, he doesn't of course because kael wouldn't but the thought is there all the same. idly he finds himself observing everyone pooling into the ball room before he even tries to interject himself into any groups or conversations. A U R E L I U S | the invite did say one /needed/ a date did they not, to think he doesn't have one...unless one counted the healer perhaps but in the company of others this was simply not viable. still he is here and he is at least ever the happy (if a bit nervous) sort to be around his friends and fellow countrymen. this ball gives him hope that all will be well after everything, he tries to shake off any foreboding feelings otherwise as he enters, looking around to see if he spots anyone he knows. to be honest though when had he ever really converse at these events, he quite felt like a ghost that haunted them more than anything else, he is fine with this though never the less. K H A I L E E | Khai looked only slightly less put together than she usually did for these events. She hadn't had the money to have a new dress commissioned for the ball like she normally would have, so she wore an old one. She also no longer had servants to help with getting her ready, so instead of some elaborate up-do she'd left her hair down. But if anything had survived the invasion and the fire, it was her need for a good glass of wine before the night's festivities could begin. As she was making her way over to get herself some, she brushed shoulders with someone, and upon looking up and realizing who it was she couldn't help but smile a bit. "N--" Remembering his new cover identity, Khai cleared her throat and started over. "Kael. I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight. Do you not have a date?" N A T H A N I E L | his own event, one he figured would be best as the holiday approached and yet he wished to be elsewhere. wasn't that how recent events would go in his position? after being bedridden for so long he'd been granted permission to roam the halls and attend his own festivities. with his cane in one hand, the one that had been gifted to him long ago by a certain ironhaven knight, he gently stepped into his ballroom. he nodded to those who gave him a glance, forcing himself to keep a smile on his face. nathaniel was sure he still appeared quite fragile and bruised but he needed everyone in the kingdom to understand he would not let it kill him. M A G N U S | He really didn't want to go to a ball even less a Sanda mel one, last year he would have found some girl to bring and surely sneak away before the end to go to his room but now he was the king and he couldn't do that, not that he had any desire to do that anyway, but he should go and seem to enjoy it for at least a few hours V I O L A | it is becoming, as the weeks pass and the days slip by, quite harder for the queen to balance upon her feet. but the months have been hard for them all---not least of all for their family, she thinks, fingers tightening around nathaniel’s own---& now is not the time to cower in their rooms, covers pulled up to hide her head. sanda mel is a time for JOY, a time to show all the world that their family has stayed strong. an arm looped through her husband ( to support him, as much as herself ) & her head held high, viola smiles serenely as they walk inside the ballroom. “it looks lovely, does it not?” C L E O | Cleo couldn't believe a whole year had passed already, last year they were in the middle of the war against the pirates and now here they were, everything seemed to finally be able to go right, and everything looked lovely as well L U C R E Z I A | the moment the night's festivities were announced, there was no doubt in the girl's mind that she would attend. sanda mel was one of her favorite holidays and she wanted to enjoy her time in the bearorian kingdom. she had always dreamed a charming man would sweep her off her feet one sanda mel but as she grew, she had become more accustom to how silly her dreams were. dressed in a beautiful teal with her hair in light curls, lucrezia made her way into the room. A V E R Y | he didn’t see her at first – he was, once again, in it for the free food and not necessarily the company, or so he told himself – but then a casual sweep of the room revealed her, and he stopped to stare for a minute. he had to admit it. she looked damn good. and just the person he wanted to talk to, too. he walked over, offering her a pastry he’d grabbed off a platter. “you’re here.” N E K H B E T | the vulture doesn't see anything wrong with khai, she is as pretty as a picture still and ever effervescent looking in the way she holds herself. had anyone else brushed shoulders into him and he might of found himself slightly annoyed, yet it is her and can't help but offer her a cheeky smile in return when she speaks to him. "I wasn't expecting to be here my lady, yet how could I miss such an event to mingle with the likes of you." He cooed, as if he'd only came there for her, it isn't a complete lie, he had thought she might be here and while he never would hate to see her it hadn't been his complete intentions truthfully. "i don't believe i do, unless someone snares me away that i don't know of." it was entirely possible, he'd probably slept with enough people he figures. N A T H A N I E L | he held onto his wife tightly, the overwhelming feeling of danger filling his chest. big rooms had always made him a bit nervous but his suspicion had grown. as much as he knew he shouldn't have been worried, to have so many ironhaven men in the same room as him bothered him. how many of them had been the ones to bruise and beat him weeks ago? doing his best to pay no mind to the past, nathaniel turned to his wife and smiled. " yes, it does. " a simple response, feeling ease in her company. " if you believe this is lovely, wait until i show you my gifts. " it would be hard to beat the year before, yes, though it hadn't stopped him from trying. K H A I L E E | She rolled her eyes at his cooing, swatting him gently in the arm. But even in the midst of their usual playful banter, she couldn't help the anxiety that clogged her throat. She'd slipped a letter under Matt's door earlier that day and hadn't seen him since, and she couldn't help but be a tad antsy as she awaited his reaction. But Nekhbet of all people could help distract her a bit till he showed up, so she nodded toward the wine and responded, "I'll snare you away, even if it's only for a little while. Come, take a drink with me." L U C R E Z I A | " oh, avery! " she gasped, skipping forward and taking his gift with a bright smile. " sanda mel is my favorite holiday, i wouldn't miss this for the world! if it is a shock for either of us to be here, it is you. " lucrezia takes a bite into the pastry, jam covering her lips. she swallows and clears her throat before defending her words, not wanting for him to take them incorrectly. " oh, but i am glad you're here! a pleasant surprise. " A V E R Y | once upon a time he might have jerked his hand out of her grasp immediately. resistance, however, was something he’d come to know as futile, and not at all necessary, either. “i wasn’t going to stay,” he said, almost defensively. he had the feeling that now he would be. staying, that was. “but you’re fucking right. i’m not here for the holiday side of things, that’s for fucking certain.” P A N D O R A | Before passing through the doors, Pandora smooths down the front of her dress. The dark green hue compliments her skin tone nicely, but the simplicity of the number makes her wants to snub her nose at it. Truly, it's a fine dress that suits her well enough, but it's simply not her taste. Still, despite her unhappiness with her outfit, as she scans the room carefully, she is please to see King Magnus already present. With practiced grace, Pandora nearly glides over to where he stands and offers him a curtsy. " Good evening, your majesty. " N E K H B E T | of course he would get that reaction from her and he quite enjoyed it, he snorts in amusement when she swats at him. something still did seem off though, she hadn't told him and he hadn't yet asked; as usual he was happy to offer her a life distraction at least. his thoughts go back to the notion of a date though, briefly picturing a perfect world where perhaps he could have formally invited hadrian with him. he is happy to be equally distracted from that thought with the presence of khai. he offers an arm to her, nodding his head softly. "Oh it would be a pleasure," He replies back his eyes adverting towards the wine as they head that way. "Now tell me, do you have a date or are all the men in Zenan too cowardly to extend an offer." K H A I L E E | She loops her arm through his, the action as familiar as breathing. It was a routine they'd been following for years now. Her heels clicked as she walked across the stone floors, the sound drifting up into the air and getting swallowed by the chatter and noise surrounding them. "I usually attend these things with Lord Matthias, but..." A quick glance around the room. "I haven't yet seen him." Khai snorted then and added, "And of course, I always have to turn a few unwanted suitors down each year." As they came upon the table with the wine, Khailee released his arm and moved to fill two glasses. Handing one to him, she turned her amused gaze back on his and added, "Oh, and I do believe I haven't said it yet: Happy Sanda Mel." L U C R E Z I A | her face falls slightly at his confession and the nurse struggles to keep somewhat of a smile on her face, not wanting her reaction to be too obvious. of course she would want him to stay, but did /he/ want to? her hand gripped his and her fingers interlocked with his, wondering for a moment if he was disgusted by her actions. " you don't have to be here if you don't want to be. " she reminded him, almost a bit hurt. lucrezia knew how he was and yet, for some reason, she thought he would want to stay. for her, out of all things. how ridiculous was that? maybe it was the holiday or her feelings high on love, but the way she looked at avery in that moment was different from how she usually did. " one of my patients gave me flowers today, maybe i could find him if you'd like to leave. " M A G N U S | Magnus smiled faintly at the girl, "Hello Pandora." He said and really by the tone of his voice it would seem that he was actually having a good time, and maybe he wasn't having a bad night, everything looked great and it was nice that things were returning to a normalcy,but things would never feel the same to him "Are you having fun?" V I O L A | there is a TENSION in his grip, a sort of anxiety in his gaze that makes her press closer, & her fingers squeeze his own. it’s alright, she wishes she could tell him, nothing will happen. if only she could believe it herself. she had /trusted/ octavius. or---she had tried to. who else could there be, lurking in the shadows for a chance to strike. she settles---as she must, for a reassuring smile, lips brushing across his cheek. “you spoil me,” she says, instead, opting for the easier conversation. “you did not need to get me anything, nate. you’ve already given me so much. ---i do have a gift for you, as well.” A V E R Y | she seemed a bit disappointed, and he frowned. "don’t mind stay now. just didn’t much fancy it without–” he nearly said he wouldn’t have fancied staying if lou hadn’t been there. “there’s no good food left. all we’ve got’s conversation. and i don’t know if you knew this, but i don’t want to fucking talk to anyone here ‘cept you. so there’s that.” he’d sort of said it anyway, he supposed, by why not? it was the truth. there was nothing more to it. “not the same patient that got crushed by a horse, surely.” N E K H B E T | it wasn't often that he'd so /willingly/ allowed somehow else to be as close as he had with her, yet khai had seeped into his cracks for so long that they'd had their routines; their second nature habits for one another like now. it is a familiar comfort that this offers him, one he won't admit to or complain about. "what a shame for him," he comments, adding "and a gain for me, at any rate perhaps he will show up." nekhbet gives a gesture of his hand before taking the offered wine once they get to it. "of course, i can't imagine you coming to an event like this with anyone less than wanted. honestly it reminds me of the events we used to attend together." he could hardly forget the nights they'd annoy her husband, it had been amusing for a time. "only now we lack, what was his name again?" he acts as if he can't recall her late husbands name, a jest they had done before. "ah it doesn't matter now." there's a slight laugh and before he knows it the holiday is being brought up. he takes a long sip of the wine, surely he needs it upon the reminder what this ball was about. "happy sanda mel to you as well, although you may be the only person i perhaps mean that towards." another snort this time it's indifferent, he'd mean it to the bard too he thinks, he just tends to hate anything pertain to the idea of love. A N Y A | anya wasn't quite in the mood to celebrate but figured she didn't have anything else to do with her time. she's wearing a simple gown, the black fabric contrasting with her porcelain skin. perhaps, this was a funeral after all ?? she takes a seat at a nearby table and eyes the wine closely before deciding on grabbing some bread. her fingers began picking apart the bread, leaving the crumbs scattered around her. N A T H A N I E L | the king leans into her, his forehead pressed against hers. there is much he has to thank her for and though all the gifts in zenan will not make up for any of it, he of course must spoil her any way he can. " you deserve the best, " he assures, giving her a genuine smile. " ah, you got me something and thought i would not return the favor? " nathaniel leans back and his smile grows into a chuckle, shaking his head. P A N D O R A | She gives a shake of her head as a smile plays at the corner of her lips, " I think it might be too early to decide if I am enjoying myself. " Her eyes wonder for the briefest of seconds to those in the center of the room, socializing, dancing. How nice it would be to freely indulge in this night. " Did you receive anything of note for Sanda Mel ?? " She asks lightly, wondering what his thoughts were of the rabbit foot. L U C R E Z I A | just as her expression had faltered, there was suddenly a bashful grin back onto her lips. her cheeks had turned a bright red and she couldn't help but gently squeeze his hand. " then you will talk to only me. " she returned, nodding her head. " oh, no, absolutely not. he's a bearorian native and he's very kind, he even asked to escort me to the event tonight. " her heart sped up, wondering if she should admit she only said no because of avery. still, she remained quiet, eyes scanning the room to take in the atmosphere. E M E L I N E | she's been greeting the people of dracborough ( and who else wanted to greet the queen ) but as she finally got a moment to herself, emeline walks out onto the balcony, admiring the sun that began to set. her arms lean against the railing, a chalice of wine in her hand. there was a pit of loneliness in her heart but how could that be solved ?? she feels the faint heat on her skin as she takes another sip of her drink. H E N R Y | knew good and well he was late. but the previous night had been a hard one, with the wolf taking its sweet time, and even staying an hour after the first glow of daybreak. still, henry wouldn't allow his lateness to hinder him from going to the ball - or the bags under his eyes and the limp in his step, from when he'd woken with a deep gash in his thigh. the first thing he did when he entered the ballroom was look for nate, but upon seeing him... busy, henry quickly turned his attention elsewhere to prevent himself from becoming jealous or angry. looking immediately for cleo, he went to her as quickly as he could with the small limp, and smiled warmly at his daughter. "cleo," he greeted, leaning down to affectionately kiss her forehead. "happy sanda mel." C L E O l Cleo smiled widely at her father, she knew that he was probably tired from last night, after all some nights were harder than others at least on her experience and she could see that he was tired "Happy sanda mel... Did you like your present?" She asked smiling "Have you spent any time with your person today?" she asked in a faintly teasing tone so anyone asking would think she was talking about the queen of norden B R Y N | bryn's cheeks were fiery with anger and embarrassment. he'd all but forced himself to come to the ball, if only to keep up appearances now that he was a duke, but he wasn't happy with being there. he'd schmoozed the minimal amount, and downed maybe a few too many goblets of wine. the words of the letters he'd read in lotte's handwriting, praising and doting on silas, were swimming through his mind. knowing he would have to speak with her again at some point (even though their previous conversation on the matter hadn't gone well), the tipsy duke made his way over to charlotte, interrupting any conversation she was having. but before he could speak, his eyes traveled over the immaculately dressed and gorgeous form of his former betrothed. his anger drained slightly, and bryn closed his mouth and looked up to her face. "lady charlotte," he said, his voice a bit husky. he took a few steps towards her - maybe a little too close to be a friendly stance - and tried not to smile... he /was/ supposed to be angry, right? "you look... look... well, you look ravishing." A V E R Y | avery couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased that lou had turned the bearorian down. and a little resentment towards the man, whoever he was. he told himself it was merely out of concern for lou’s sanity. avery couldn’t think of anything worse than being handed flowers and asked to go to parties. then again, he was pretty damn sure lou didn’t feel the same way. “fine with me. let me know if you ever want me to scare him the fuck off.” K H A I L E E | She smiled again at his flattery but found her mind wandering back to Matt once more. He usually beat her to these events and would find her in the crowd somewhere when she finally walked in, but she hadn't seen him yet and the thought of his not attending because of something she'd said in her letter was almost unbearable. Khai bit her lip for a moment thinking about it but, remembering how observant Nekhbet had always been, forced herself out of the involuntary action and tried to refocus on their conversation. She smiled again as he pretended to forget her old husband's name, remembering all the fun they used to have toying with him when they were younger. "Ah, yes, such a tragedy he couldn't be here tonight. I truly don't know how I've managed to go on without him all this time." Khai raised an eyebrow at his final words. "I'd better be." She took a sip of the wine and after a moment of contemplation found herself saying, "I was going to slip a note into your chambers but I feared someone else finding it first. I didn't want to risk exposing you in any way." Her words were low and quiet, only loud enough for him to hear. "But what I was going to say in that note is that I'm very happy I've had you around all these years." It was a singular moment of affection, one she knew he needed from time to time even if he wouldn't admit it to either of them. N A T H A N I E L | as he breaks away from his wife, he stumbles around the room, nodding his head in the direction of his guests. there are few people he wants to speak to and while one of them is preoccupied, another is standing on his balcony. he makes his way outside, joining queen emeline and he's suddenly disappointed to not be holding a drink. " happy sanda mel, your grace. " he greets, steadying his balance by holding onto the edge of the stone siding. C H A R L O T T E | Charlotte had always loved any type of balls, though her enjoyment of them had dwindled with all the things that had happened recently, but this one felt like old times, well almost, back then she would be around Niamh, Pollux and Silas talking about how silly some people looked. She had arrived with Silas but she moved away as fast as she could. She was now talking to a friend of her mother when they were interrupted by Bryn, and a wide smile formed on her face, she had wanted to see him all day. "Thank you, your grace. You look very handsome yourself.." H E N R Y | Henry smiled easily, the tension left in his shoulders from the day melting away in the presence of Cleo - as it always did. His smile only widened when she mentioned his gift, and he moved the robe from his side to show her the dagger, sheathed on his belt. "Gods, yes. It must be the most beautiful blade I've ever seen - and I've seen quite a few... and maybe a bit too closely." He moved his head enough to show her the now old scar on his cheek, courtesy of the pirates. He chuckled, though, and continued. "Thank you, darling. It means the world to me." His smile faded when she spoke of his person, and while he tried not to steal a glance at Nate, he shook his head. "Not as of yet," he said. "The queen is a very busy woman." M A G N U S | I "Ah well usually this parties are quite fun...is the first time coming to one?" He wasn't surprised since she wasn't nobility and it was only recently that it seemed everyone was invited no matter the rank. "I liked the present by the way thank you...you liked yours?" L U C R E Z I A | she giggled at his offer and while she would never agree to such terms, to have avery offer such a thing warmed her heart. maybe he did it out of jealousy or kindness, or maybe it was an excuse to punch another man in the face. either way, she decided it was best not to think too much into it. then, suddenly, she questioned if turning down the bearorian was a mistake. whenever she was nervous, lucrezia had a habit of rambling and letting her thoughts get the best of her. unfortunately, her nerves were as high as the clouds. " avery, " she began, tilting her head, speaking quickly. " would you have cared if i agreed to his date? " C L E O I Her smile only grew when he said he liked his present "I send it to have it made almost a month ago" She sighed and her smiled faltered when she saw the scar on his face, her father getting kidnapped and hurt by those pirates had been easily the worst moment of her life, she would take getting poisoned again before something like that ever happening again. "Well yes, but I am sure that she is very excited to spend time with you, it is Sanda Mel after all." P A N D O R A | finds herself nodding at his words. " Yes, " she says. " Any advice for a newcomer ?? " Her smile grows wide. For some reason, the comment makes Pandora feel exceptionally pleased with herself. " The flowers were from you ?? Yes, they were lovely. Thank you. " E M E L I N E | she hears a clink on the floor along with labored breathing before she turns her head to greet the stranger. as it turns out, it was no stranger; instead, a dear friend. "aye, i suppose it's meant to be happy ?" perhaps she shouldn't have had a glass of wine before the ball as well. "happy sanda mel, nathaniel. you look brilliant. 'ave you seen henry ?" she was being a bit too loose with her words but there were scattered people on the balcony, especially when the king and queen began talking, many seemed to leave out of courtesy. N E K H B E T | perhaps she had been thinking of whoever this lord matthias was, he could hardly blame her to be honest; he'd thought of hadrian himself. still she could have merely had a great number of things on her mind, given whatever happened back in her homeland. he wanted to pull the answers out of her still, like pulling strings from a frayed shirt or rather moans from her lips as he had done in the past. there might have been a time when he was more disgusted at himself for feeling fond of her, wanting to help her even; now is not that time, not anymore. "easily i'm sure." he chuckles, he would have killed the man sooner to be fair for her, if it wouldn't have cause problems for his work relationship with her father. "why you're still the only one who knows my name even, who else would i wish such things on this day. " his voice is also a hushed whisper, although this ball is so loud he doubts anyone would hear that anyway, not that it matters without context. "well i thank you, also should i be offended that you think i have people in my chambers?" it's an obvious joke, mostly because she knew as well as he did just how he was. still he grows quite for a moment at her admission, his face slightly flushing crimson for only a second. "i'm," he pauses another sip of his wine being swallowed down. real admissions had always been hard to him, it was easier to hide them is jests. "i'm happy as well, after everything in ironhaven if i hadn't found you, i think my world would have been rather bleak." M A G N U S I "Dancing and drinking seem to be the best things to do do have fun, and there is a lot to drink or so I've heard." Surely she would find someone wanting to dance with her easily, she was very pretty and tonight she looked great "Ah yes, i suppose i should have signed it." B R Y N | Upon hearing her voice, Bryn no longer saw or heard anyone else in the ballroom. There was just them, and even though he had been angry, he couldn't find a reason to continually be mad at someone he loved so much. Lost in the moment and overcome with wine and forgiveness, Bryn all but ignored her compliment. Instead, he took her by the waist and pulled Charlotte against him and pressed his lips down on hers without a thought. N A T H A N I E L | " it is. " he assured, nodding, letting out a breath. " i look terrible, but i do appreciate you trying. i have seen him with his daughter and yet, i have not spoken to him. the less i can be seen with this cane, in my state, the better. " he referred to the balcony, looking out over his kingdom for a moment. " i am sure you've received hundreds of gifts from men, women, and citizens alike. " C H A R L O T T E | She was taken by surprise, of all things she didn't expect him to just take her and kiss her, not that she was complaining but they were surrounded by people. But the moment his lips met hers she forgot about the world around them and she kissed him back her arms around his neck L E V I | he was fashionably late he thinks, although that might have ever been the /only/ thing fashionable about him; not that he looked bad he just really thought he looked better out of such formal clothing, his hair was still messy as ever however and his expression someplace between happiness and trepidation. he'd spotted many familiar faces as well as many not so familiar ones, he didn't know where to start either; they all seemed rather busy either way. A V E R Y | what kind of a question was that? avery felt caught. it seemed lou knew him: he couldn’t imagine the question being that much of a coincidence. trouble was it was difficult to come up with a satisfying answer. no was too final, and definitely a lie. yes carried implications. he wasn’t sure he liked all the implications. there were some, though, that again almost rang true. “sure. what of it?” P O L L U X | Unlike his usual behavior, Pollux had been minding his own business. On a day like Sanda Mel -- a day of happiness and love -- he found it was always best to allow the world to work as it would. However, as he spoke to an old duke about his land investments, Pollux found his gaze wandering. Almost immediately, he saw Brynjolf and Charlotte together. His interest was piqued. With Silas nowhere to be seen, Pollux knew he had to do something. Giving a hasty goodbye to the duke, Pollux quickly stepped to the center of the ballroom, wanting to put a stop to whatever it seemed was about to happen. Unfortunately, he was paces away when the two of them kissed. Affronted, Pollux put grabbed for Charlotte’s arm to pull the two of them apart. " What the hell are you doing ?? " He demanded, shocked. B R Y N | The kiss was warm and comfortable, and it felt natural; and it was not soon to be forgotten -- by more people then just them. It was only a moment before Charlotte was pulled from Bryn's arms, and he immediately met the gaze of Pollux. Oh, Gods. "Kissing the woman I love," he hissed lowly, taking a step closer to Pollux and attempting to take Lotte's arm from the Prince's grip. "I'll thank you to let go of her, aye?" P A N D O R A | " I'll have to find the refreshments table then. I doubt I'll be doing very much dancing. All the good partners seem to be taken. " Taken, or standing off to the side. " It might've helped. The gesture was kind. In truth, I had not expected to receive anything. Do you send flowers to everyone in your kingdom ?? " L U C R E Z I A | the woman gave a slight shrug, her mind spinning. had she overstepped? should she have left things unspoken? what if she was about to make a fool of herself? " you are saying that if i was to come here tonight with another man, you would care... as in, not want me to be with another man. " she stated, tilting her head and ignoring eye contact as she rambled on. " if you would not have wanted me to attend tonight with /another/ man, then, perhaps... you would want me to attend with you? which, i suppose i did, as we are here, together? yet, not /together/, but we are talking together. i... " lucrezia closed her eyes and let out a sigh, trying to make sense of the scrambled thoughts in her mind. " is it too late to ask you if you would attend the event with me? as in, a sanda mel date? i understand that these events are not a favorite of yours and i do not know if you even consider me a friend, yet my offer still stands. " her cheeks are red as she awkwardly stares at the floor, waiting for a response of any sort. C H A R L O T T E | Charlotte was returned by reality abruptly for a moment she wanted to snap at whomever pulled her away from Bryn, but she intimidatingly remember where she was, not to mention the one grabbing her arm was Pollux and she just knew...this was bad "Pollux...I..." E M E L I N E | "nonsense, nathaniel." a roll of her eyes follows her statement. her hand grasps his, squeezing it tightly. "you may as well be the most handsome man here. viola," her voice drops to a whisper. "and henry are both lucky to have you." at his next assumption, she lets out a boisterous laugh, thank gods for their lack of an audience. "you couldn't have been more wrong." but her head whips around to the commotion going on inside and instantly sees pollux' face. "what is happening ?" she leaves her chalice on the railing before entering the ballroom to where pollux stood. "what is going on here ?" A N Y A | her bread suddenly seems less interesting but still keeps it in her hand as her attention is caught by the tense conversation happening in the middle of the ballroom. there's a certain prince that she spots-- along with silas' soon-to-be wife. with furrowed brows and the bread, she joins them, grabbing the prince's arm gently. "charlotte ? where's-- where's silas?" L E V I | In one fell swoop he spots his friend in what seems to be a sudden heated exchange, he also spots his queen and a few other people he fails to recognize. of course levi approaches the scene, concerned at the louder voices and the crowd gathering. "i could say the same thing," he chimes in with emeline, eyeing the scene. P O L L U X | His eyes narrow as Bryn's words cut over Charlotte's. His grip tightens around her arm. He doesn't want to hurt her, it's more of an involuntary action. " No one was talking to you, you -- " His words cut off as he hears Emeline's voice and her feels someone touching his arm. " Charlotte, " he says sharply, his gaze refocusing, " you are engaged to Silas. " E M E L I N E | despite being ignored-- or perhaps unseen due to pollux' blatant anger-- she understands the situation all too clearly now. and her gaze goes directly to bryn. making her way over to him, her hand comes up to give him a blow behind his head before she can stop it. "brynjolf !" N A T H A N I E L | he lets out a calmed sigh, a feeling of safety and warmth as his friend squeezes his hand. she has always been one of the most important people in his life and he owes her many thanks for the everlasting support she has always showed him. " i am much more lucky myself... i don't know what i'd do without either of them. " he responds, a small smile unable to be hidden. " then by the gods, they have no idea of what beauty they are missing. " to know emeline is still an unmarried woman is shocking to him, yet he knows her kingdom will always come before a man. at the distraction of something happening, nathaniel grips his cane and makes his way back inside, slowly but surely. he is in no position to handle such a situation. " is there something the matter here? " B R Y N | Bryn was seething, and his breath was heavy with anger and wine. He waited for Pollux's insult, but when it didn't come, a smirk formed on his lips. "Just say it, you coward," he spat, taking yet another step towards the prince and making to grab his arm. Just as his hand wrapped around Pollux's arm, however, he feels a smack on the back of his head. His head turns and he meets the gaze of Em, and his cheeks darken immediately. "Your majesty," he said, turning again to notice Nate joining the gathering crowd. He looks back to Pollux, and with great effort, he lets go of his arm and waits for his punishment. C H A R L O T T E | Charlotte's face was growing red, and as more people surrounded them she was even having trouble breathing, she loved Bryn and she wished she could be with him openly but she was still engaged and everyone that knew her was here. "Pollux...your majesties.." P O L L U X | He releases her arm as Nate speaks. Pollux curses under his breath. " Nothing, " he mumbles, sounding like a child who knows he's about to get lectured. He finds himself slowly backing away from the pair, almost hiding behind Anya's skirts. L E V I | just what the hell was going on, levi felt so out of the loop, he was usually so perceptive but this time it took him longer to put two and two together, and when he did...perhaps because he thought the best of bryn; either way he still did. "perhaps there is a better time ta' settle things-" he implores his friend to listen, he'd back him up but...the matter stood there were kings and queens getting involved and this didn't bode well. S I L A S | He had went outside for a moment to talk to his father, when he returned he frowned when he saw a group of people that were obviously having a problem, his frowned deepened when he saw who were there, he approached his best friend and Charlotte "What is going on" Hie finally saw Bryn and he now had an idea still he wanted to know "Charlotte, darling. May you tell me what is going on?" A N Y A | suddenly, there is a king and a queen in front of her. her eyes are widened with shock and she wants to hide the bread-weapon before she can be thrown in the dungeon for the potential harm she was going to cause. she feels the prince shift behind her and she feels all the more exposed. but her gaze softens as silas joins them and her frown deepens. "silas, my lord--" she greets but what is there to say ? how do you tell someone their fiancee is cheating ?? B R Y N | The voice of a friend calmed Bryn only a little. His gaze traveled to Levi, and his words rung true - he would only get thrown in the dungeons for harming the prince. He nodded and gave Levi a look that said 'perhaps you're right,' but just as he began to back up, he saw Silas enter the room. Suddenly, all rational thought was gone, and he rushed over to him with a heavy step. "Let us settle this," he said, his voice quiet but heavy with bitterness and anger. "Once and for all." S I L A S | Silas stared at Charlotte for a moment before looking at Bryn again as he came closer, he knew best as to try and fight someone when the king and a queen were next to them "Settle what? " He looked at Pollux "Would you tell me what is happening and why does he wants to fight?" P O L L U X | " Because, " he said, stepping forward just a tad, " this asshole was kissing your fiancée. " Gods above, he regretted giving Brynjolf the benefit of the doubt. He couldn't believe he almost allowed him at his wedding. E M E L I N E | her arms crossed over her chest in confusion and agitation but her eyes eventually drift to levi who also seemed interested in the commotion. but she doesn't let her gaze dwindle on him for too long, no, because bryn decides to take a threatening step towards a duke she's never seen before. perhaps, the fiance of the woman before them ? "bryn, you need to calm down." she gives levi a look along with a nod to hold the duke back, hoping he understood what she was implying. C H A R L O T T E | "please..." She said weakly the last thing she wanted was to Bryn to get in trouble by trying o fight Pollux and Silas and they were surrounded and people were watching and she knew word of this would get to her parents N A T H A N I E L | in all the nonsense, as his brother talked, it dawned on him that he had no matter in the situation. he would be a hypocrite to say anything about what brynjolf had done. yet, it was public knowledge now and it was something he could not tolerate to escalate anymore. " brynjolf, stop this immediately! " he hissed, slamming his cane onto the ground. A V E R Y | lou startled him out of keeping an even expression; by the time she’d finished speaking he was looking rather shell-shocked. that she was staring at the floor seemed like something of a blessing. it wasn’t as if he’d had no part in the direction the conversation had gone in. the thing was– “the fuck, lou,” he said. it was instantly regretted. “i hadn’t thought about it,” he confessed. “or any shite like that.” he frowned, and tried out an answer: “yeah. i would.” it felt right. “don’t know what a fucking date is supposed to be like. that’s on you.” B R Y N | Fists clenched and jaw grinding his teeth together, Bryn was all but panting with emotion. He's eerily close to throwing a punch when Em's words reach his ears, and she whips his head to look at her. "Your majesty," he said, his voice transforming to a calm tone, though it shook with anger. He nearly said something else, but the sound of Nate's cane slamming onto the stone sent a chill down his spine - he'd never seen the king so angry. He looked back at Charlotte for a moment, his eyes widening slightly in guilt. He shouldn't have started this mess. A N Y A | suddenly, this was all the more overwhelming to witness. the duke was in silas' face and perhaps anya should've thought about her actions before following through. but with a clenched fist full of bread, she gives a blow to the man, coming to silas' defense. L E V I | levi takes a step closer, trailing after his friend, placing a /firm/ hand on his shoulder. "there are other ways ta' handle this, i'll will help you if i can mate, but this has ta' stop, come on mate why don't we take a walk..." he doesn't want to see something happen to bryn, doesn't want his anger to get the better of him. S I L A S | Silas had to take a very deep breath not to lose control and his temper right then and there, he suspected there was something going on, he wasn't stupid but that he kissed Charlotte in front of everyone, that was too much. he blinked when he saw Anya hit Bryn, with a lot of bread in her hand, it was nice to know she was on his side. "I...think this is not the time for this...Charlotte, I think we should go out and talk." He is practically giving an other he looks at Pollux "will you come with us? " He asked as he grabbed Charlotte’s arm

P O L L U X | As Anya threw the bread at Bryn, he found his jaw falling open. The smile wasn't lost on his face, however. She was a force to be reckoned with. Despite the humor of the situation, Pollux kept his eyes on Silas. He was worried for his best friend. At the look from Silas, he grimaced. " If you'd like me to, " Pollux said. He wasn't entirely sure why he was needed, but if Silas needed him, he would go. B R Y N | Bryn was at the point of dizziness from both the wine and constant swiveling. This time, the duke turned to see a woman who had just... hit him with bread? "What in the gods' name ??" He stared at her, flabbergasted and becoming more and more angry. "Who the hell are you?" He asked, before he could stop himself. Then he felt a firm hand on his back, and turned yet again to see Levi. He looked at him skeptically, but upon glancing around at the crowd, he nodded in agreement. When Silas grabbed Lotte's arm, though, he grabbed Silas's. "If you so much as hurt a hair on her head, you will live to regret it - I swear to the gods above us." He let go, hoping he grabbed him hard enough to bruise. With one more glance at Charlotte, he smiled slightly at her and looked back to Levi. E M E L I N E | gods how had this happened ?? but as the tension begins to fade, her eyes catch sight of the woman between this all. her anger dissipates but she sends a deathly glare to the woman for her unladylike actions. of all days, she chose the day of love to cheat ? surely, there was no hope left in the world. but as levi grabs bryn, she gives a nod his way to show her thanks before her interest lacks and she is back off to the balcony to retrieve her wine and continue on with the lonely night. C H A R L O T T E | Charlotte seemed to have lost the ability to talk but as Bryn grabbed Silas she knew that she had to say something before a fight did broke out "Please...just stop." She looked at Nate "I'm sorry your majesty this is my fault." She looked at Anya, Pollux and Bryn's friend before sighing "Fine let's go" At least the distance would make them stop fighting L E V I | he looks towards emeline momentarily, as if to assure her he had the situation under control, he didn't but he was trying. the closer he got to bryn the more he realizes that he'd probably been drinking, nothing ever good from women and alcohol; it was like water and oil and he knew the feeling all too well. bryn yells at him but levi takes it all in stride, he knows it's not bryn, knows he doesn't mean it. he offers a smile in return it's soft and concerned, this is no time for laughter like usual. "he won't hurt her," levi assures, he doesn't know the situation but he glares daggers at silas all the same. "tha' i am sure o', why don't ya' come with me, alright? fresh air might do ya' some good, ya' can think about this all when there's less people." less assholes he wants to add as he idly looks to silas. L U C R E Z I A | her lips began to tremble and she blinked back tears as the nurse waited for avery's response. she was absolutely terrified. what if she had ruined everything? at his cursing she sucked in a deep breath and glanced up at him with a pout. " i'm sorry. " she apologized quickly, her face bright red. through the whole scene they'd been holding hands and as he spoke, she immediately pulled both of her hands behind her back. it was as if she'd been scolded for doing something she shouldn't have been doing. in truth, she wasn't sure what she was doing. " i... i don't know either. i just, you know, it's sanda mel and... i like you, avery. " her words are quiet and she presses her lips together, nerves at an all time high. K H A I L E E | She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes again at his joke, but in the end she settled for an amused shake of her head. As she took another sip of wine, she noticed the red tint in his skin. She knew this outright affection was as strange to him as it was to her, but still, she couldn’t help but poke fun at him: “Why, Nekhbet, I do believe I’ve made you blush.” As she spoke, she butted her hip into his softly, a hint of laughter on her lips. “Of course it would’ve been bleak. I’m a breath of fresh air, darling.” Khai’s mind went back for a moment, back to a past that was so long ago that it felt like it was another life entirely: nights spent at Kradaecan balls, Nekhbet at her side, her family surrounding her and her husband’s face turning red as they teased and tested him. It all used to be so much simpler, and she’d taken it all for granted. What was worse was that she still hadn’t even told this man whom she trusted so much what had happened to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but just as the words fluttered up into her throat, they got trapped. Her lips shut, reopened as she tried again, and then shut once more. She hadn’t said any of it aloud before and wasn’t sure she’d be able to now. N A T H A N I E L | he lets out a groan, jaw clenched as his gaze goes back and forth between those in the crowd. can not one night be off limits to the dramatics? the king hears charlotte's apology and yet says nothing, disappointed with the way his citizens have acted. he wants to speak to his brother but instead watches him go with charlotte and silas. " you have all had your entertainment for the night, go back to enjoying your sanda mel. " he announced to those that looked on. with an exhausted sigh, he lifted his hand to rub his beard. B R Y N | Bryn's breathing had not swallowed nor slowed. But he followed Levi all the same, glaring at Silas for as long as he could before the three disappeared on the balcony. "Levi," Bryn whispered, walking away from the scene with his friend. "I must hear what they say. I have to know." His eyes widened in question, as if to say 'will you help me?' S I L A S | Silas needed Pollux to be there because he knew if his friend wasn't there he would really lose it and that wasn't a good idea. once they were out side he took a deep breath "So, you decided to put out a show in front of everyone we know, on Sanda mel. How could you Charlotte, if Pollux hadn't stopped it I would have returned to see you kissing him? I get you're infatuated with him but I am your future husband and I would think that after so many years together I would deserve some respect." He took a breath A V E R Y | “well, shit, lou. i like you too.” when she had her hands entangled with his he rarely payed it any mind, but when she pulled them away her absence was always felt. tonight was hardly an exception. he reached out and took them back. “it’s–” if someone had told him, the night before, that all this would happen if he showed his face at the sanda mel celebration, he would have called them bloody mad. “fuck it,” he said, and kissed her. P O L L U X | He leaned against the wall, awkwardly bearing witness to this conversation. He agreed with all of Silas' points. The way Charlotte had acted tonight was horrifyingly disrespectful. H A D R I A N | Hadrian was sure that he’d never stop hating himself for how long it took him to finally convince himself to come to the ball. He was /nervous/... he didn’t get nervous. That wasn’t normal. And he usually quite enjoyed the holiday itself - it had never meant much to him, personally, but he was admittedly always interested in other people’s love lives. But the very reason he thought he might be so strangely nervous was also the reason why he /had/ to go. So he arrived, horribly late but he was /there/ (and he hadn’t missed the opportunity to dress up, of course). He didn’t care much for mingling just yet; he wasted no time locating his /friend/... who seemed to have a friend of his own nearby. “Well. Fancy meeting you here,” he said as he came up behind the pair. L E V I | he hadn't expected bryn to ask such a thing from him, he didn't have the heart to tell him now, he did however had the sense to in some form; in the end he decides on a compromise. "listen mate, i'll go listen, ya' don't need ta' be in tha' middle o' that right now, i'll tell you what i hear when things have calmed down tomorrow, tha' sound fair?" he eyes him, he thought bryn might go listen if he didn't stop him; thinking it was better for someone not drinking to handle the situation; gods only know what might happen if bryn heard something he didn't like. C H A R L O T T E | "I did not planned this okay...and honestly is not like I am happy anything of that happened, you think I wanted to create a scene where even the king was there?" Finally she was able to talk. "You know that things changed and you know I have feelings for him and things will be much better if we just stop this. I know that by now the only reason you want to marry me is because you don't want someone else to have what you think is yours because let's be honest Silas we don't love each other anymore...maybe we never did, and I really don't want to marry you. We would just be terribly unhappy." A N Y A | after silas and pollux left, anya suddenly felt silly for intervening. the group dispersed and she was alone once more, on sanda mel. her thoughts drift to lucien and wonder what he's doing ?? had he gotten her gift ?? but as her thoughts take over, her eyes catch a pair of lips that she didn't think would be together, kissing. a large squeal erupts but she doesn't want to ruin their moment. at least someone was having a happy sanda mel. she takes a bite out of her bread, chewing it angrily and with frustration. B R Y N | bryn's fogged mind mulled over levi's offer for a moment. while he wanted to hear what was said himself, he trusted levi to tell him the truth. then again... if he waited to hear it, he might not be able to act as soon as he'd like. but, bryn concluded, if it was something that needed to be acted upon, he would have time to plan. and so bryn nodded, his lips pressing together in cooling anger. "aye," he said, nodding. "you're not wrong." he pulled a smirk onto his lips for a moment, patting levi's shoulder sloppily and making a head motion towards the balcony. "listen close and remember well, aye?” L U C R E Z I A | her blushing was accompanied by a small smile, one she attempted to hide as she bowed her head. for someone who had expected her words to reap awful consequences, the situation had turned out quite nicely. at least avery didn't hate her. she glanced up at him, about to speak, when his lips were quickly pressed against hers. her heart jumped in her chest and her stomach was filled with butterflies. it was something she never felt before and it was incredible. she pulled back, for a moment, to look at him with shock. though, to assure him she was thankful of his actions she took her hands away from his once more, only to cup them against his cheeks and pull him back into another kiss. P Y R O S | His brother-in-law was an idiot, that much was obvious. Starting a fight on Sanda Mel was a stupid ass choice. However, he figured there was enough of a crowd and found himself sitting away, close the the refreshments so he could healthily munch away. He is surprised to see Anya coming out from the dispersing crowd. " What happened there ?? " Pyros asks in amusement as he moves to sit closer to her. S I L A S | He couldn't stop his anger anymore and he went and grabbed her by her arms, he didn't care right now if he hurt her. "Things changed because you wanted them to change, because you can't move on from a stupid mistake that you don't want to remember you were part of it too, as was Pollux and Niamh and still it seems all your issues are directed at me. And now you want to be with that fucking stable boy because it reminds you of how things were when you were young and innocent and dumb." He was yelling at her. "You don't love him Charlotte you'll get bored of him soon enough but we we have been together for years now, and maybe if you stopped acting like you are a saint you would see that too." He laughed "Never? For fucks sake Charlotte, is that what you tell yourself so you feel better about what you have been doing?" N E K H B E T | she hadn't made him blush, nope he wouldn't admit it even if she had, even if he believed her; part of him does. "somehow i don't think that would be the one thing you've ever said to me, to make me blush." he has to stop himself from practically waggling his eyebrows suggestively, instead he gets a very cheeky sort of look; plasters it on his face like a mask. he refuses to blush again, absolutely refuses (as if he can control it). he'd almost forgotten how nice it was to spend time with the women, oh how he'd missed it and the little hip butt doesn't go unnoticed with him. "that you are my dear, that you are." he agrees with her, when doesn't he usually though. she seemed as though she wanted to say something, had he managed to get her to speak of what happened back home? tugged at her memories with ones they once shared, she shuts her lips though as soon as the all too familiar bard arrives. it an instant nekhbet has to compose himself from grinning almost stupidly, the things this man does to him rivals many. he opts for a still devilish smile all the same. "hadrian, i'm glad you decided to come, i was hoping to see you." he's especially glad to see him all dressed up and looking as /delicious/ as ever. it takes him a moment, before he realizes that introductions are probably in order. "hadrian, this is lady fell, khai this is hadrian." he hadn't thought about khai not knowing that hadrian knew of him. A N Y A | anya's eyes widen at the presence of pyros before trying to calm her composure. he knew of the baby, what was she scared of ?? "a cheating whore, i suppose ??" it's not as if she had anything against the woman, other than the fact that she /did/ just cheat on her fiance in front of everyone. "i hit someone with bread," she mumbled, taking another piece to nibble on it. "again." she was relentless, especially with bread. "i received your gift. thank you, pyros." her hand reached out to give his a squeeze along with a smile. P O L L U X | He realizes now, as Silas' voice raises, that his role was meant to be the adjudicator of the fight. " Silas !! " Pollux shouts as he grabs Charlotte. His anger is warranted, but the abuse is not. " That's enough, " he says sternly, a hand on his best friend's shoulder. The words also sting Pollux, a little bit, but he knows the reaction is wrong. P Y R O S | He gives a low whistle. " Was the Charlotte ?? I always thought they deserved each other -- Silas and Charlotte, I mean. They both seems so... shallow. " That was, ignoring the fact that Pyros himself lacked any depth. He gives a loud snort. " Again ?? Who do I need to punch this time ?? " At the mention of his gift, Pyros grins. " I'm glad. I made it myself. The painting is nice. I like it a great deal. " K H A I L E E | Khai knew he picked up on her hesitation and knew she'd probably have to answer for it later, but she was forced to wipe her face clean of all anxiety when another man came up. She recognized him, and as Nekhbet introduced them officially, she pursed her lips. Khai held a hand out in greeting as she said, "I do believe we've met before, but it's a pleasure seeing you again." And then, just to the side of Hadrian's face, she spotted Matt in the distance and her heart leaped into her throat. She swallowed hard and tried to collect herself as she glanced back up at the two men before her and dismissed herself. "I believe my date has just arrived, so if you gentlemen will excuse me." She bowed gracefully and then stepped away from them, her feet carrying her in Matthias's direction. But halfway there, she stopped suddenly, unable to move further. Had he read her letter? What did he think of her now? Would he even want her if she wasn't a Lady anymore? A million troubled thoughts swirled around in her brain as she stood there, motionless, eyes glued to the only man that had ever made her truly feel anything. C H A R L O T T E | she stares at Silas and she can feel her eyes beginning to sting as the tears begin to form. "It wasn't just that... though you know that the one that started all that was you." She takes a deep breath as he keeps talking. “ And is not just that, feelings can change..." Didn't Pollux love Niamh more than anything in his life and now he loved Sybill... though of course Niamh was dead.. "Okay fine maybe we did but can you honestly say we do now?" B R Y N | He was smirking at Levi still when he saw it, in the corner of his eye. All smiles gone, he screamed out before he could stop himself, "SILAS!" With no thought or control, he pushed through the crowd and grabbed Silas by the shoulder, spinning the duke away from Charlotte. He warned him; if he hurt her, he would regret it. Bryn stepped back and balled his fist, putting all of his weight and muscle into a punch that hit Silas square in the jaw. POLLUX | As Bryn comes bursting through, Pollux' jaw drops. Fucking. Drops. What the ever loving shit is happening. C H A R L O T T E | "Bryn!" She screams as she sees him running towards them "Pollux...do something.." L E V I | he'd merely wanted to have a nice evening, he didn't regret helping bryn for a second of course but this was not his idea on how the evening would go. "if anything is ta' happen i'll step in, /i promise./" he assures his friend, but before he can say anything else bryn is already spotting something that sets him off. dear god this wasn't going to end well. levi turns on his heels, spinning around after his friend, catching the tail end of pollux stopping silas from grabbing charlottte. so that's what set him off, greattttt. S I L A S | He was taken by surprise so after he was hit he truly didn't know what was happening but soon enough he recovers himself and takes out his sword "What the fuck are you doing." A V E R Y | he didn’t know what to do with her expression. he told himself he didn’t care what she did. if she wanted to refuse him, he was alright with that – they could go right back to being friends. but though he would accept it, he didn’t /want/ it. he wanted to kiss her again. when lou took care of that for him, he smiled against her lips. yes, he hadn’t been expecting any of it. he’d been expecting nothing. which was why this was a thousand better than his expectations. "good thing you said no to that bearorian." A N Y A | "i like silas," she answers, coming to his defense softly. he was acting incredibly normal despite the information he knew about her. but her smile grows as pyros threatens to come to her defense once again. he was being awfully sweet and it made her heart ache. pyros was here-- on sanda mel and yet, lucien was nowhere to be found. "you.. made it yourself ?" her heart grows. "i'm sure the baby will like it." anya's smile never fades and she nods happily. "i spent some time on it." P O L L U X | He supposes that he should also pull out his sword. Then again, he has children to consider. You know, Vi and Nate's children. Anya's future child. With a sigh, he also draws his sword. L E V I | "woah, woah, woah now." he sputters out, trying to get between bryn and silas once the latter brandishes a sword, he doesn't yet pull out his own blade, this had all gone too far and he didn't want to see a drunken bryn get caught in the scuffle. HELL of a punch though, he'd have to commend him for it later. C H A R L O T T E | "Gods stop fighting all of you" She screams at them "And put away all of your swords what are you doing. Do you want the king to come here again? and find everyone trying to kill each other?" M A T T H I A S | it is ODD, for once, to find himself at a ball without his clara toddling at his heels. he does not mind her company---far from it, in fact--- but he cannot deny he is glad for a few hours of /adult/ conversation. "---yes, i agree, the queen is quite...” the men about him turn to empty small talk as they walk; after a moment, matthias tunes them out, letting his gaze sweep to their surroundings instead. a handful of candles give the room a cheerful glow that warns away the encroaching night, and he smiles to hear laughter in the air. and then---OH. the lord bites his lip, lost behind his eyes—then his gaze focuses like the strike of lightning and he breathes, “khailee.” his mind is spinning. a letter still sits upon his desk, the parchment worn from worry and streaks of ink left to stain his palm. be careful with my heart, she had asked of him. how could he be anything but? the lady fell has not made this decision lightly, and neither will he; and yet, as he meets her gaze with his own, there is no uncertainty in his heart, no uneasiness to give him pause. he SMILES, face relaxed and open in the gold glow of dying sunlight, and his hand reaches for her. “my---my khailee,” he says, dipping into a bow, lips brushing across her palm, “i---my apologies for being late.” P Y R O S | A smile pulls up the corner of his lips. " That's the first time I've ever heard that. " Then, his eyes narrow. " The baby ?? What baby ?? I made the sweater for Ghost. " B R Y N | bryn was close to pulling his own sword, though he had never done so in a fight before. but the voice of levi slowed his hand, and the furthering words of charlotte stilled it altogether. he backed up a step, and then two, and then three... and soon, he was next to levi, and he gave him an 'oh shit' look that screamed that they should leave. S I L A S | He glanced at Charlotte and Pollux and it was just because of their presence and Charlotte's words that he puts out his sword. "Charlotte...I think is time we leave for the night." They had arrived together after all "Pollux...thank you." L E V I | "bryn you head out i'll be there in a minute," he pauses, eyeing him motioning with a slight nod towards the exit. he steps forward towards silas once he lowers his sword, "i don't know n' i don't care what's going, but if ya' ever, n' i mean ever lay a hand on him." he motions his head once more. "ain't nobody gonna stop me, n' i ain't bryn mate, these fancy clothes ain't me, this sword...this sword is me." he's perhaps never been more serious in his life, glowering at the man before he moves to walk back toward bryn. K H A I L E E | Khai remains frozen as he approaches, worry clear in her eyes. It was so strange, to feel so anxious and out of control all the time, to no longer be the collected, confident woman she once was. But she knew that Matt was the last person in that room that would think any less of her for it. It felt like the weight of the world lifted off her chest as his face broke into a smile, little warm beams of light reflecting off of his skin and making him more captivating than ever. 'My Khailee.' She'd never heard anything more comforting in her life. A small smile of her own graced her lips as he kissed the soft skin on her hand, and instead of releasing him afterward, she stepped closer and held on, fingers curling gently around his as she faced him. "Nevermind that. I'm just glad you could make it." There was a fight breaking out at the opposite end of the room, but Khai barely even noticed the commotion. Her mind was only on one thing: "Did you... Did you read my letter?" L U C R E Z I A | at his words she giggled, biting her bottom lip as she blushed once more. " good thing. " she agreed, giving him a nod. her hands fell back to her sides, one reaching forward to intertwine with avery's. as much as she wanted to question things and get answers, she figured she had done enough blabbering on for the night. lucrezia wanted to stop on a good note. " oh, by the way, did you get my gift? i hope you liked it. " P O L L U X | Following Silas' lead, he also puts away his sword. " It's nothing, my friend. " Still, he throws a weary glance at Charlotte. He doesn't want to see his friend bother with her still. She had once been as close to him as Silas, but she had been making so many stupid choices because of Brynjolf, he was tired of her. B R Y N | bryn was all too quick to take levi up on his offer. nodding at him gratefully, he stole one more apologetic glance at charlotte that lingered for a moment before he turned and left the ballroom, ignoring the countless pairs of eyes on his back. A N Y A | so he didn't know ? anya is flustered that she managed to out her secret and takes the bread. "i--i have to go," she says quickly, attempting to leave the ball as urgently as she can. A V E R Y | “i did.” he supposes he should have gotten her something. then again, he hadn’t been aware they were going to kiss. or really that she would be there – should have seen that one coming, though. he reckoned he could make it up to her in little ways, if things continued the way they’d begun that night. “we can share the wine.” C H A R L O T T E | Charlotte stared at Silas and pollux the people that not that long ago meant the most to her, and it seemed all that happened that night and honestly even before this night she just started to cry, she knew she loved bryn but she guessed he hand't really thought of the consequences and just wished all would be fine, She wiped her eyes quickly though and faintly nodded, she really just wanted to go to her home. M A T T H I A S | “ah---yes.” a pause, he pauses for breath as if he means to continue, but his gaze is drawn again to the smile upon her face, the worry in his eyes, and instead he sighs. carefully, he reaches out to cover her hand with his, reassurance and tenderness and something deeper, something /nameless/ that belongs only to the two of them. the letter she speaks of is his pocket even now, re-folded along its crisp creases, the words read and read till he is sure he will see them in his sleep. ---they do not matter. they might have, years ago, when his REPUTATION was still foremost on his mind. there are far more important things in the world. clara’s laughter in the morning, the kitten chasing a ball of yarn. khailee, here, a mere few feet in front of him, her heart and soul bared. “i simply---why did you not tell me, when your parents... i could have helped you, khai. i would have, you must now that. i would never---i could never leave you behind.” L U C R E Z I A | "i'm glad." she's too high on adrenaline, on happiness to say much. her head is spinning and her heart is pounding, something she hopes isn't loud enough for avery to hear. "i would love that." she returned, swinging their arms happily by their sides. with a giggle, she glanced back at him. "have your feelings about sanda mel changed?" K H A I L E E | The more he spoke, the more she felt the walls she'd put up around her heart after this tragedy begin to break down. She hadn't let anyone in on it yet and the only time she'd given herself to process things and grieve over her lost family was when she was alone at night -- and half the time, she was too drunk on those nights to be able to feel at all. Her pain had been lurking deep down ever since the attack on her family's estate, and she hadn't dealt with most of it still. So now, as she was faced with the understanding and compassion in Matt's gaze and voice, those emotions were beginning to break free. "Matt..." Khai could feel that familiar shame creeping back in and lowered her gaze. "I'm nothing now. I have nothing. And that isn't anyone's problem but my own. I didn't want to burden you with it and-- and--" A deep breath, eyes still on the floor. "And I didn't know if you would even still want me if everything that had made me a noblewoman was stripped from me. A man like you can't be seen with someone without a title." H A D R I A N | He remembered briefly meeting the woman before, and recalled finding her pleasant to be around and interesting, so he greeted her with a genuine smile and a nod. "Good to see you." He didn't know whether to be relieved or anxious when she left so soon after he'd gotten there. He didn't have to put in the effort to fake a casual attitude towards Kael now that they were alone, but there also was no buffer, no excuse not to talk directly to him. /Gods/, when the /fuck/ had he become that person? He always spoke his mind, usually to a fault, without even the slightest hesitation. It had gotten him into trouble more times than he could count, in fact. /Why/ was this so different? "I, uh..." He scratched his head, visibly cringing at his own awkwardness. "Thank you. For the gift. It's a bit unusual... Not something most people would think of when picking out gifts for me, but I suppose you are unique. I wasn't... expecting anything at all from you, so..." He sighed, finally smiling at the other man. "It's beautiful, but it's wasted on me. I don't know how to use it." N E K H B E T | "i've known her longer than i've known anyone really." he comments, "you don't have to worry about any acts around her, at least concerning me- /she knows/." he doesn't elaborate on what she knew because it being a public place but still. "i used to work for her father, years back." another comment he adds with a shrug. he has to admit though hadrian seemed so, what's the word hesitant? nekhbet wonders if he's done something wrong or said something wrong. he doesn't think he has, should he not have given him a gift on this day? he knew that sanda mel was a bunch of bull shit after all... "i don't think i've ever given any sort of gifts for the occasion before, your expectations would have been usually right." there he'd admitted in one way or another that hadrian was different, he couldn't quite explain why..why had he been? what made him so special, the answer was more like what didn't?! "like i said in the note i can show you sometime...but if you really don't want it then trash it i suppose, or sell it." his heart almost pangs slightly at the thought, eyes advert away briefly but they come back to hadrian's smile and all is well again. "nothing beautiful is wasted on you. /nothing/." nekhbet's voice is low, it's quiet, almost like a prayer set in a hushed whisper. A V E R Y | he grins at her. “fuck nah. it’s not sanda mel. this is all /your/ fault, lou.” though just for the night, his feelings for the holiday have changed. it doesn’t seem likely that the night would have reached the same result if traditions were different. M A T T H I A S | she says his name and he watches her lips shape the word, lingering on the curves and points of each letter. his heart is pounding in his chest. the room is heavy with sorrow and something deeper that he cannot quite breathe through it. instead, he feathers fingertips up her neck, over her jaw, letting them slide into her hair; she calls herself a burden and his heart twists. “khailee---how could you ever burden me? i---i WANT to care for you, to be there to give you aid when you need it. it is not a burden. i just cannot bear to see you hurt,” he says, and his voice is gentle. “look at me." it takes both hands on her shoulders, gentle but steady, and he leans to peer into her face, forcing her to meet his eyes. “of course i want you. that was never in question.” K H A I L E E | She found her eyes fluttering shut as his fingertips traced gently over her skin and into her hair. His touch was warm, and she could feel the heat in his fingertips sinking into her skin, drifting down into her ribcage, and wrapping around her heart. Khai's eyes opened again and reluctantly moved back up to his at his lighthearted command. She could feel them stinging ever so slightly, but she blinked quickly to try to rid them of their pesky tears. "I know, I.... I know. I've just never /needed/ anyone's aid before, and I hate the feeling." Khailee reached a hand up and rested it gently against the side of his neck. She was in heels, so their height difference wasn't as drastic as it usually was, making it easy enough for her to lean in and nuzzle against him, just under his jaw. "Thank you. For everything."

M A T T H I A S |

he does not miss the fluttering of her eyes, and neither does he miss the swift blink she gives, as if at dust—or at tears. uncaring of the people about them---the fight still, a mere few paces away, he pulls her close, cheek brushing against hers.

“everything will alright, khailee. i do not know if i can do much, but i will do my best to see you in safety and comfort. i promise you.”

his hand glides through her hair, in easy, familiar reassurance, and his lips brushes her head.

“there is nothing to thank.”

K H A I L E E | To think she had nearly run from him when she'd first developed feelings for him. Her emotions had terrified her so much that she'd almost idiotically given up one of the best people she'd ever known. Her free hand wrapped around him, fingers twisting around the fabric of his clothing tightly, as he was the only source of stability in her life anymore and she never wanted him to let go of her. But every moment must come to an end, and after this one passed she pulled back.

Khai sniffled once, but with a deep breath and a slight shake of her head, the tears dried up and her face returned to its usual expression, her emotions expertly concealed for the time being.

"Now, My Lord, I do believe you owe me a dance." There was a warmth in her voice that was surprising even to her own ears. It was one that came out only rarely. She realized in that moment that she trusted Matthias as much as she trusted Nekhbet and Nicolette, who had both been in her life for so much longer, than the man standing before her had.

H A D R I A N | "Oh. I see." Hadrian had been curious how he'd known her, but he hadn't thought to ask. He was a little /more/ curious now that he'd said that he'd known her long. "She's pretty," he commented with a grin, and he left it at that. He would have been happy to keep the conversation on her for awhile; the fluttery feeling in his stomach when the topic shifted back to him was absolutely /ridiculous/, and terribly distracting. It made it even harder for him to say what he wanted to say.

"No! No, no, no,"he clarifies almost frantically, resting a reassuring hand on the other man's arm for a brief moment. "I would never. I love nice things, you know that,"he adds with a grin. "The greatest archer in all the world probably doesn't possess as fine a bow, and I've never so much as held one. But I would absolutely love for you to show me. I'll teach you to play the lute, in exchange."

It's a humorous thought, but then, he is certain the thought of him using any sort of weapon was probably humorous to most. He almost can't /believe/ the next words out of Kael's mouth, and the long, silent stare he gives him makes that much obvious. "I..." /Need a drink/, is what he wants to say. Why had he thought it a good idea to come here sober?

"I hope that that's true. You have a certain sort of beauty to you, yourself. I would hope that I'm worthy of that."

N E K H B E T | "that she is, /fiery too/ don't let her fool you." nekhbet couldn't really recall a more stubborn women either when it came down to it, had been on the the qualities about her that he'd always liked though. the assassin takes a long sip of his wine, finishing it off. he'd been more apt to actually drink his alcohol recently, he wonders if that was more hadrian's doing than his own. perhaps he hadn't been the only one wearing off on the other, nekhbet doesn't mind though; the alcohol was always a good way to ease himself from thinking too much...usually. only now he wasn't drunk by any means, he wishes he was. then hadrian is speaking again and it's /practically frantic/, that was...different, amusing even to see such a reaction; hadrian when he wasn't drinking seemed to be more easily flustered. nekhbet could get used to that he thinks, it's better than himself getting flustered. "i do," he nods, hadrian liked nice things and nekhbet liked him is was that simple, or was it- "if he did you know i could just off him so you would." he jests, laughing a bit, he keeps his words back down mostly because although it was intended as a jest, it's really less of one than he intended. "the lute?" eyebrow raise curiously. he'd never held any instruments, he thinks he has about as much talent as hadrian believed he did with the bow, still the thought of the bard teaching him how to use his fingers and blow on anything amuses him more than it probably should.

"it's settled then, we'll make a day of it sometime." he wants to crack a joke, tease the other but there is nothing to be said beyond a long gaze back to hadrian's. nekhbet licks at his lips, he wants to leave but not alone, he wants to get away from the crowd now because it's starting to feel like it should be just them. "i lie about a lot of things..." he admits, shrugging as if it is nothing. "but i'm not lying about that..." it was true and all the while when hadrian tells him he's got a beauty about him he can't stop his face from flushing fast enough, can't cover up his cheeks like some young smitten child.

so he gives a defiant look towards the side instead. he'd been told many things in his lifetime, but they always sounded the most sincere coming from the bard. “ thank you," is all nekhbet can mumble out for a moment, adding; "you are worthy of a lot, in fact can a get you a drink." anything to look away and stop his stupid face from feeling warm.

gods the vulture at a dammed sanda mel ball all flustered, who would have thought.

#sanda mel #sov.recap #i didn't small text it because this was tedious enough but ily u guys #i hope this is okay tho???!

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enchanted-refuse · 7 years ago

Note

maple, orchard, cocoa

maple - is there a hobby / skill that you’ve always wanted to try but never did?

Okay so. There are a lot! But number 1? ICE SKATING. I love ice skating but I can’t do it for long, I have weird feet and also I’m very bad and a weenie. I found out in like high school that apparently??? My mom learned to ice skate as a middle/high schooler, and was so good that somebody offered to teach her (she had to pay of course), but then she was offered free lessons??? And her teacher even wanted to take her to a competitive level!? But her mom (my grandma) said nope nope so she stopped but? I love ice skating and I soooo wish I had learned to do it as like a 3 year old. Seeing little kids skating backwards does bad things to my confidence lolol.

orchard - share one thing that you’d like to happen this autumn.

I’d like toooo. Hm. One thing okay. Probably? Open commissions on my art blog. People really like the things I’ve been planning to sell, but I’ve got a huge backlog of them I wanted to finish for family and friends before I started actually selling them. Maybe I’ll finish a few more and go ahead and open them up? That’d be nice! I like money.

ALSO??? BEING ABLE TO PASS OUT CANDY OKAY. I have missed out on it the past 3 years and I stg I will do it this year if it kills me.

(2 things sorry)

cocoa - if you could have any type of hair, what colour and cut would you have?

I tell people all the time (u know this my friend) that I’m totally gonna chop my hair off but again, I’m a huge weenie, so! Ideally, if I was not a coward? Probably like…Auburn? Some kind of dark red hair, and maybe chin length? Perhaps a little longer. I’ve always had long hair so that’s a pretty drastic change, but if I had the money I’d definitely get my hair dyed regardless. If I’m feeling really brave, a pixie cut, but idk if it would look good on me. :P

Thanks for the ask! :DDDD

#ask #ask meme #animepieceoftrash #your ask is my command #this is actually the first one of these #i've ever gotten #and yet #from a friend #does it still count???#who knows #¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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katzuyas · 8 years ago

Text

to keep you warm

pairing: victuuri words: 8374 rating: teen and up tags: emerald city inspired fantasy au, witches, ice and fire powers, fate & destiny, opposites attract, pining, fluff, mild gore, happy ending, kissing, implied chris/phichit, yuri is the best wingman even if it’s chris who is more helpful, heavy on metaphors

summary: How do you love someone who you can't touch? Simple – with a force of burning fire, enough to melt your heart.

- or simply the fic where Victor is the Witch of the North and Yuuri is the principal apprentice of the Rising Sun and they can't be around each other without someone getting hurt (it's Victor, it's always Victor)

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A/N: below you will find the fic, accompanied by art the incredible @maniacani did for me, so please go take a moment to appreciate her beautiful work! I’m so happy with how everything turned out ahhh YALL GO COMMISSION ANYA RN SHE’S WORTH ALL THE MONEY I PROMISE!!!!!

ps. it might be a good idea to read on ao3 ^u^)b

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***

The snow hissed under the heavy weight of their sleigh as they raced through the white hills. The skies were clear and the sun was shining down with fierce dedication, reflecting off the ground and almost blinding. It did nothing to melt the snow, however, the crisp chill that followed behind Victor's cape, tugged on by the wild winds, kept everything perfectly frozen – the ground glimmering as if it was layered with diamonds, trees fanged with icicles that made the winds sing, snowflakes dancing and shimmering in the air around.

Victor didn't necessarily hate the brightness, but–

"Why the fuck do we even need to go there?"

Yuri was angrily kicking the crystal ledge the reins of the wolves pulling the sleigh were tied to. It didn't bother the beasts, but the echo was breaking the peaceful beauty of the scenery and ruining Victor's contemplation.

"It's all pointless anyway, unless you're planning to kick the bucket soon, which I think we'd all notice," Yuri continued with a snide curl of his lip, shooting him an irritated glance. "So why does anyone even bother? This is a complete waste of my time."

Victor only took a deeper breath to resist from rolling his eyes. Yuri could be such a baby.

He smiled at him instead.

"And what else would you rather be doing? Wrecking havoc on some innocent villagers' crops?" he suggested, watching the grin, violent as a spring storm, show up on Yuri's face.

"Better that than being stuck in a tiny room with four disasters of your calibre," Yuri chipped in. "Who knows what kind of a disgusting tea party you’ve got prepared."

Victor’s smile turned into a sharp grin as well and he looked over his shoulder at Yuri. "Who said anything about tea?"

It made Yuri snort and Victor chuckled.

Oh, he had no idea.

Somehow, Victor was starting to enjoy himself just a little bit more.

***

They arrived at twilight. The sun was already setting in pinks and oranges, bleeding over the width of the horizon, as it dipped down under the crust of the earth. It came as no surprise that Chris was already waiting for them, veiled in shadows of the incoming night and holding out his arms to Victor in a warm welcoming gesture.

"Brother," Chris greeted him, and Victor stepped into the embrace, their elements curling around them like old friends – darkness creeping up to his thighs like a dog expecting to be pet and frost laying a arm across Chris’ shoulders, joining in on the hug.

"It's good to see you again, Chris," Victor replied. "How have you been? I see your friends are as well behaved as ever."

Behind the Far West, hidden from view of ordinary humans, the shadows curled and bended, shapeless but taking form and shifting, changing, wild and untamed beasts with eyes looking straight into the void of the universe. They were relaxed now, lazy even, but Victor knew well that at a second’s notice they’d be ready to pounce and devour anyone who dares to offend their master.

He smiled, and Chris returned it.

"Of course they are," he said as if the beasts were only trained kittens. "The rest of you have your primas here, but what would I be doing on my lonesome with no one to talk to? At least they're happy to keep me company."

He pouted lightly, looking at Victor with accusatory eyes, which Victor laughed off immediately.

"You know you’re always welcome to spend time with me and my winds," Victor told him, and he felt the shadows tighten around him, purring in approval. Chris laughed, too.

"I might just take you up on that." He winked. "But seeing how much my little friends like you, I'd rather not. I'm the jealous type, you know that."

It made Victor chuckle, the subtle tone of teasing light on the syllables, but before he could reply to Chris, there was a sudden whoosh of air around his back.

"Disgusting," Yuri clicked his tongue.

Without as much as turning around Victor knew Yuri was up to no good. When he glanced over his shoulder, he instantly knew he was right. The sleigh seat was empty and the air smelled thickly of the spring storm and rain, which has carried Yuri away. Probably as far away from them as possible.

"That your prima?" Chris asked, discreetly sniffing the air.

"Who still has a lot to learn, yes," Victor nodded, amused. "Is everyone else already here?"

The atmosphere between them thickened and the last rays of the setting sun disappeared, leaving the Temple grounds shrouded in darkness. Chris seemed to be glowing now, a faint light coming from his eyes and skin, like the soft halo of stars across the sleeping, foggy sky. When he opened his mouth to answer, he breathed the night, which hung around his face gracefully, almost a veil of black lace.

"Mother East is here," Chris said and the dark pulsed around them as if it was fighting against something to keep them tucked away in the shadows.

"What about–?" Victor started, but Chris beat him to it.

"Still waiting for the South. It seems like it'll be another day at least."

"Well then." Winds curled around his fingertips like a glove, cold and comforting, before Victor took Chris under the arm. "Let's have some fun while the night is still young."

Chris’ laughter in his ear, they climbed the stone steps to the Temple while the night caressed their backs and bathed the world in darkness.

***

The time went by fast, and the oppressive feeling of the Rising Sun was back too soon: harsher and closer, coming from the east wing of the Temple and making Victor cling to his mantle of snowy storm for salvation. He never enjoyed being this close to the Witch of the East, but sometimes it was required. Victor dreaded every second of it, but from the playful light and slight upcurl of his lips no one would ever be able to tell. No one, except for Mother East herself, as always.

He was walking down to the Northern Altar, planning to make an offering to the primordial gods who bestowed protection upon him, but something didn’t sit right in the world somehow.

There was nervous energy in the air, vibrating across Victor's frosty skin and echoing in the cracks of ice over his face. The winds were abuzz, shaken and uneasy. He tried to reach out to them, but they shied away from him, making him frown.

That was, until one of them brought him back a whisper.

A whisper, nothing else.

A scrap with no explanation.

No voice, no tone, no meaning; nothing. Just the words:

"Come to me, my child."

"Come."

"Come to me..."

And so, Victor closed his eyes, and allowed Mila, the Breeze of the Midlands, to take his hand and lead him towards it.

***

His shoulders were glowing, light on his fingertips, but when Victor caught the man's eyes, expecting to see stars, he was engulfed by a feral inferno of burning passion. His breath stuck in his throat, heavy like the scent of smoke which hung in the air around them like a perfume. Storm curling around his ankles protectively, gusts of icy northern wind hugging him tight to keep him cool, Victor stood frozen in place.

The warm light radiating from the man's very presence was melting layers of his skin into precious diamonds that dripped down to the stone tiles in splotches of frost, but he couldn't help himself from getting even closer.

"You should leave," the man said with spooked eyes that only drew Victor in.

He blinked, a veil of glass before his eyes shifting his vision in a myriad of colours like a kaleidoscope.

"You're starting to melt."

Concern was now tangible in the airy tone, but Victor was always selfish: he disregarded everyone's wishes except his own, and he did so now.

"Who are you?"

He took another step closer, off the garden path and into the grass, frost forming right where he set his foot, but neither of them paid any attention to it. Their gazes remained locked in a curious pull, yet Victor noticed that the man took a step back just as he stepped forward.

The air sizzled with something he couldn't quite place, but desperately wanted to know more.

"Stay back," the man warned. "You'll get hurt if you come any closer. I don’t want that."

Victor stared.

It’s been so long since anyone denied him anything, he was grounded in surprise. The empty hole in his chest, the heart that he believed was a stone, a deadweight, for centuries; it was waking up suddenly – a shiver, a tremble, a breath of life through his parted, cold-bitten lips.

"Who are you?" Victor repeated, more insistently.

The man's fingers moved, only a slight hesitation to the curve of his knuckles, but it straightened as soon as he steeled his back. Victor's eyes, drawn inexplicably to the slightest shift, followed the movement: up from the man’s side, clad in a beautiful golden gown that made him shine brighter; to the lips that looked dry and parched, and Victor's muscles jumped as if he was about to move, but forced himself to still; and finally to the left of his chest where the heart was.

Simple beauty and grace in every move, the man performed a perfect greeting before Victor, showing him full respect his station deserved. The winds hummed in sweet appreciation, a caress of cold satisfaction rubbing against Victor's temple.

After an elegant flip of the wrist, the man knelt before him, gliding on the very air itself.

"I'm the principal apprentice of the Rising Sun," he introduced himself, and Victor's lungs were squeezed by the invisible pressure the name of the Witch of the East evoked.

Despite the burning heat on his face, he took a step forward, watching with delight how surprise flashed in the man's eyes. They were wide, expressive, always moving like two orbs of plasma just waiting to swallow and drown him. When Victor went to one knee and lifted his hand to push up the respectfully lowered chin, his fingers steamed from the contact of their skin.

"Your name," he breathed out a string of freezing fog, excited and careless. "What's your name?"

The smell of smoke clung to his shoulders now, heavy and oppressive, but Victor welcomed it. Dehydrated lips parted and the fire searing inside the man's mouth made it hard to look away. Not that Victor would, he was too enraptured by–

"Yuuri," the man said. "My name is Yuuri."

Victor's fingers were blistering, the hissing of melting flesh loud in the silence of their locked gazes. Before Victor could say anything, Yuuri was moving. Swift and fast, not a blink later he was a few steps away, putting distance between them again. He bowed, his hand still on his chest, angled towards Victor with respect.

"It was a pleasure to meet you," Yuuri said, words ringing true in the chill gathering protectively around Victor's cape.

And in another blink he was gone, only the stinging touch of heat on Victor's face and his half melted fingers a sign of his presence.

Walking across the ground layered with glittering snowflakes to where Yuuri previously stood, Victor looked up at the imposing Tree of Destiny. It had brought him here, the blessed whisper that pulled him away from his duties right into the orbit of the small, budding sun, like a breath of wind leading a bird back to its nest.

Maybe sometime before here and now Victor would have questioned it, but as his skin covered in fresh tissue of cracked ice, he couldn't find it in himself to curse his fate. Not this time.

"The pleasure was all mine," he whispered to himself, a treacherous gust carrying his words to whisper them right against Yuuri's ear in a soft caress, a promise, a prelude of spring.

***

He saw him again after that day, a glimmer of gold in the sea of reds, blacks and oranges, in the tail of the Rising Sun. And he saw him again, atop the Morning Tower, looking out towards the east and soaking in the first rays of the sun, which was lifting its head from slumber. And once more, overseeing the preparations for the morning ritual, focused face, drawn eyebrows, a frown around his lips... glowing.

Victor was enchanted.

It was one thing for the winds to play together, to fool around and kiss and tell. Victor had done it all before. He wouldn’t mind doing it now, either.

But Yuuri was not a wind.

He was not of his domain, he was not like him, like them. He was different. He was dangerous.

His touch churned flesh, melted Victor's skin, left imprints on his body – marks that he couldn't help but crave, but which, if not careful, could turn him into a puddle of water with no soul, no heart, no future left.

Yuuri was everything, when Victor was nothing. He was warmth, when Victor was cold. He was order, when Victor was chaos. He was life, when Victor was death.

But the draw, the invisible pull of the opposites was pressing on Victor's back. The hand of Destiny was guiding him towards Yuuri: to his doom or glory, he didn't know.

Yet he was ready to find out, even at the highest price.

***

In a whirlwind of sand the Flower of the South arrived two days later. The inner courtyard covered in greenery with each step he took: vines climbing up the stone walls, grass spilling from the soles of his bare feet, and flowers, beautiful and aromatic, budding on the tips of his fingers and falling down only to multiply and turn the area into a glowing meadow of colour and life.

From the window up in the Northern Tower they watched as the vines climbed higher and higher, until one peeked over the ledge of where they stood and, tilting towards Chris, it sprouted a flower in greeting. A single flower, white and pearly, pale in the light of the day. It blossomed slow, as if it was fighting against the sun sitting high up in the sky, a seemingly futile fight, but so easily won now.

The moon flower spread out its petals, charming and soft.

Victor heard Chris scoff next to him as if he wanted to say "Show off," but was holding back. A smile was hiding in his eyes as he reached out protectively to shelter the plant in his hands and breathe the night into its small veins.

"He loves it," Victor said to the boy still standing on the steps of the Temple, a helpful wind carrying his words down so that he could hear them.

"Hey, don't tell him that," Chris protested. "He'll get ideas–"

But when flowers one after another started popping up on the vine, faster and faster, betraying Master South's excitement, and making Victor laugh, Chris couldn't resist joining in.

Lord Life was here, and he brought the spring with him.

***

The Conclave of the Four was always an incredibly boring thing. Victor sat in his high-backed chair, frozen, ice-cold, comforting, as a violent tornado of winds cloaked his body to ward off the insufferable heat radiating from the Rising Sun to his left. With one ear he listened to the proceedings, but never took his participation in them seriously – he was the Northern Wind, capricious and free, too wild to tame and bind in one place for long... unless something piqued his interest enough to stay.

And this time, it did. Because this time, right behind Mother East, hidden in the brightness coming off of her gold-bathed silhouette was the person Victor's mind was occupied by constantly.

Yuuri, gaze lowered diligently, stood in perfect obedience slightly to the right of the smoking chair of charcoal. He looked stunning, dark where his mistress was light, but no less intimidating – his eyes burned in silence, restless pools of magma ready to break through the crust of the earth and consume everything in their path.

Victor had found himself watching him, more than he was following the conversation, and only when Mila whispered in his ear, did he realize he was being asked a question. He blinked, snowflakes whirling before his eyes to sharpen his vision.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," he smiled. "What was it again?"

Master South who was sitting opposite of him sneaked a glance over at Yuuri and then back at him, his smile sharpening without a single word. It was Chris who answered him, propping his chin on his hand and leaning his weight fully on the armrest of his shadow-padded chair:

"Phichit asked about your prima," he explained. "I know you've brought him with you, but we'd like to see him, too."

"Ah," Victor smiled again. "Of course. He's the one playing outside right now, so please forgive his manners – he hates being called away when he's having fun."

As if to give credit to his words, a thunder slashed through the sky amongst the gray, heavy with rain clouds. Victor called out to Yuri and it took no less than a second for the door to the chamber to fly off its hinges as a powerful wind tore through it, violent and unrelenting.

"What do you want," it barked, circling around Victor's chair impatiently. "I'm busy at the moment."

"Come join us," Victor replied, careless of the tantrum Yuri would no doubt throw. "Everyone wants to meet my successor."

At the words the wind hushed down and the rain bombarding the dome above their heads lessened its attack to a light drizzle. Taking on his corporeal form, Yuri appeared at Victor's side: arms crossed, glaring, scowl firmly set on his face. To the rest he must have looked unfriendly, but Victor could see the pleased glint in the wild eyes, and he smiled.

"My principal apprentice," Victor swept a hand towards him. "Yuri, the Spring Strom."

Chris whistled, eyeing Yuri carefully as if he was an easily angered beast. Phichit cocked his head to the side, his face unreadable. But the thing that caught Victor's attention was neither of them.

It was Yuuri.

He twitched at the similarity of the name, head shooting up, eyes wide and unguarded. Victor felt again like he was being drawn in, a calling too powerful to resist, too sweet to deny. The surprise that shone golden turned to yearning in a flash and then darkened into something sombre, that shadowed over Yuuri's eyes before he dropped his gaze to the ground again.

Victor wanted to speak to him, tell him... what, he wondered himself, but the urge to act was warm set in his bones.

"What a coincidence," Mother East broke his musings, voice amused. "My prima's name is also Yuuri."

Coincidence, Victor thought as Yuuri stepped forward from behind the tail of the Rising Sun and took a graceful bow, a perfect picture of manners and respect unlike the unruly wind standing next to Victor. The gentle hand of Destiny caressed Victor's nape, sending an electric shock down his spine, while he couldn't tear his eyes away from the crown of dark hair framing Yuuri's glowing face.

None of them believed in coincidence.

***

"Yuuri," Victor greeted him, feeling the full blast of his proximity inch into the cracks of his face, melting down the ice that held him together.

It was nothing. It was worth it.

Yuuri smiled at him, a somewhat fondly exasperated quirk of lips, just as he dipped down in a quick bow.

"Northern Wind," he greeted back with his head low. "You should not be this close, you'll melt again."

"Ah, a few diamonds are worth being in your presence," Victor replied with a crisp laugh, taking Yuuri's hand – the one he kept pressed to his heart – and brushing his lips on the warm knuckles. His skin sizzled when the heat of Yuuri's body spread into the harsh ice of Victor's, a frail trail of steam rising from where they touched. "It's lovely to see you again."

"I'm honoured you think so," Yuuri replied, a dusting of pink on his cheeks, a colour of the setting sun.

Victor drunk it in greedily. His very presence made the air sharp with cold, but a barrier of golden light kept it at bay from touching Yuuri. He glowed, from head to toe, the fractals of snow glittering around them. The hand that Victor refused to let go of was scattering shadows across his chest, glimmering, shining, burning.

"Have you ever been up north?" Victor asked, curious how bright, how beautiful, how blinding Yuuri would look across the expanse of the crystal halls of his palace.

Yuuri shook his head, hair like charcoal stroking his nape and drawing Victor's eyes to the flesh above his collar. He could see the life thrumming in the red veins, like magma circulating under the husk of a dormant volcano. And Victor craved it, even if it would bid his demise.

"Never," Yuuri replied. "I was to the south and even far off west, but never the north."

Victor hummed. "I'd like to show it to you."

The surprise on Yuuri looked breathless. It was stunning to see the light shake around him, quiver like a leaf brushed by the wind. Victor found himself surprised back, reacting to Yuuri in a way he never had to anyone before. Crystals of excitement coursed through his body and prickled across his spine in elation.

The blush that blossomed across Yuuri's face, draping over his cheeks, ears and neck, was as sweet as the first winter snow. A virgin expanse of beauty and charm, and charmed Victor was.

"I'd like that, too," Yuuri admitted quietly.

He smiled a small, tender smile, looking at their joined hands instead of Victor’s face, but it was alright. With his melting hand, Victor squeezed Yuuri's lightly, the pressure shedding off more diamonds of his skin and sending them scattering across the floor. Yuuri's thumb brushed across Victor's knuckles, a swipe of hot delight, right before he pulled back his hand and stepped away.

"Maybe one day," he added, a flash of yearning crossing his face so fast Victor almost missed it.

But he didn’t. And his heart swell with hope.

***

"You'll get burned," Yuri told him, tone none too gentle.

"You'll take my place then, what are you complaining about?" Victor replied, not bothered in the least.

"That's not– I don't–" Yuri stopped himself and clicked his tongue. "I want to beat you for it, not get it just because you were stupid enough to get scorched by that flame guy, who by the way has no business having my name."

Victor chuckled, which somehow made Yuri even more irritated. Wind kicked around his ankles, but he didn't mind it much. It was far too amusing.

"Destiny brought us together," he told Yuri, whose face turned into a picture of disgust. "You can't fight against it. What's meant to be, will be. It's as simple as that."

"I abhor destiny, then," Yuri replied to which Victor only smiled.

"Your time will come, too."

Yuri made a noise of disagreement, and Victor let it slide.

"Thanks for caring about me, though," Victor said instead, waiting for the–

"I don't!" Yuri yelled at him, voice rough with thunder. "Go and get turned into a puddle of gross for all I care! We'll see who's gonna come out on top then!"

Yuri stormed out, shifting into a violent gust and flinging the window open. He disappeared into the sky, drawing clouds to his body, tight, tight, tighter, until the whole expanse of blue was covered in greys and droplets of rain started falling... almost like tears.

***

From the stone steps Victor could see Yuuri's curious eyes watching his wolves play in the snow Victor's presence shaved off of the clouds. There was a tilt to Yuuri's head, slight and wondrous, awe in his expression of parted lips and wide, shining eyes. He looked stunning, meltingly beautiful, and Victor glided down to stand next to him without much thought, led by the hand of Destiny like a child in the darkness.

"Do you want to pet one?" he asked with a small smile, blinking when Yuuri's blinding smile was directed at him.

"Can I?"

Victor only offered up his hand. Yuuri looked hesitant for just a moment, before he put his gently on Victor's palm, the hiss of their skin meeting loud in the still air between them. Victor smiled encouragingly and pulled him along.

"Makkachin!" he called and the biggest of the wolves jumped up from where he was half buried under a heap of snow.

He bounced over, stopping only to shake off the remnants of the snow clinging to his rich, brown fur. Easily the size of a small elephant, Makkachin sat on his hind legs, head only slightly above theirs. Victor sunk his free hand into the fur on Makka's neck, fingers dipping into the fine hairs, so soft and warm, he just knew Yuuri would love it – he couldn't help a grin from stretching over his face.

"It won't bite?" Yuuri asked, eyeing Makkachin carefully and Victor wanted to be offended, but... it was too cute.

"Makkachin is a he," Victor explained. "And he only bites if you want him to," he added with a wink that make Yuuri's cheeks flush, the air around them warming in tune with his embarrassment.

"I'd rather not. Thank you for the offer, though," Yuuri said directly to Makkachin, who opened his terrifying jaws to pant: teeth glinting, air huffing out, tongue rolled down.

Yuuri chuckled, a sound that set Victor's chest on fire with want. He pulled Yuuri closer, almost nestling him against his side. The smell of charcoal and smoke was strong, and the heat of Yuuri's body made Victor's skin melt again, crystal droplets rolling down his cheeks and neck to fall at their feet, but Victor relished in it.

There was something intoxicating about it, about playing with fire like this, yet he wasn't allowed to dwell on it longer. The warmth that engulfed him in a tight embrace eased up and with surprise, Victor looked down at Yuuri. He wasn't glowing as much, the light seemingly trapped at the centre of his chest, as if he was holding back in order not to hurt them both: Victor and Makkachin.

Fractals of snow danced around them when Victor's emotions slipped his control for just a moment. Yuuri was so sweet. Bright and violent like the burning flames, but devastatingly kind at the same time, and Victor's heart responded to it like it never had to anything else before.

He sighed, leaning his head closer and pressing a kiss to the side of Yuuri's head. Nose and lungs full of smoke, he smiled. Yuuri's eyes were wide, but he was smiling as well when Victor pulled back to look down at him and guide his hand to Makka's luxurious fur.

"Don't singe him," he warned teasingly, and Yuuri scoffed at him.

"I only singe people I don't like," Yuuri replied, carefully petting Makkachin.

"Does that mean you don't like me?" Victor asked, half-joking, half-starved for the truth.

When Yuuri turned to him with a small hum, it felt like forever before he admitted: "You're a small exception, Lord Wind."

But all Victor heard was: you're special.

***

There were four days every four years where the Conclave of the Four gathered to deal with the respective issues of their realms. In order of seniority, they dealt with matters in either swift or painfully slow way, and on day three Victor's shoulders were just too heavy to keep straight. Gathering the winds close to him to mend some of the cracks across the tissue of ice covering his body, he stepped outside the chamber for a breath of fresh air.

Sweetness of spring wasn't his favourite, but it wasn't the loathed summer heat, so he took a mouthful of it in silent acceptance. The unmistakable taste of smoke curled on his tongue and before his mind could catch up to what exactly it could mean, Victor's eyes were already searching for the familiar silhouette. And indeed, Yuuri stood among the entourage of the Rising Star, chin lowered respectfully as his Mistress relayed orders to him.

"You've got it bad," Chris stopped next to him, following his line of sight.

With Lord Night at his side, it was a little easier to see. The light dispersed as if it was chased away by incoming darkness and the heavy warmth settled into just an annoying tingle. Victor smiled at Chris, thankful and a little helpless.

"I know," he replied, because there was nothing much to say.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised," Chris continued as they watched Phichit take Yuuri by the arm. They were both smiling and talking about something animatedly, a vivid picture of light and beauty. "You didn't seem to give him much thought before."

"Before?" Victor asked, eyebrows drawn in confusion. "Isn't this his first time here?"

Chris' lips quirked suddenly. "Ah, you don't remember."

"We've met before?"

He was trying to remember, but his memory was as fleeing as a wind and just as full of holes. He couldn't imagine ever meeting Yuuri and forgetting such a bright, vibrant presence. It was inconceivable. A single glance at Chris told him, however, that it was entirely true.

"At Master South's naming ceremony all those years back," Chris supplied helpfully, taking amusement in Victor's blank stare. "You should remember that, it was quite a celebration."

Leaving people in the dark was Chris' forte, but even as the shadows wrapped around Victor, he couldn't help the breathless expectation, because at the end of it all there was a light – one that shone brighter and brighter with each step he took towards fulfilling his destiny.

***

Forehead pressed against the thousand-year-old bark of the Tree of Destiny, Victor allowed his eyes to fall shut. Stripped of all emotions, cold and blank, he opened up his mind, his heart, his soul for the Destiny and waited.

Memories, like snowflakes, started falling before his eyes.

Yuuri with hair pushed back, smiling at him in a way that made Victor's cold, cold heart beat for the first time in forever.

Dancing, there was a lot of dancing, people in a wild crowd and Yuuri – with his hands around Victor's waist, burning but not oppressive – pulling him into a dance, their bodies close. Electric energy buzzing around them, light pressing against the cold, warmth seeping into his lungs, filling his mouth, caressing his face...

Yuuri's face pressed against his neck, smoke and fire curled around them with perfect harmony and joined by the icy northern wind, so different, but irresistible together.

Hot hands running through his hair, and Yuuri's eyes close enough to see the burning flames in their depths. Searing lips and tongue that made fires sprout to life.

Breathing hard, with a weeping heart as it thawed in the crevice of his chest, Victor pulled away from the Tree.

***

"We've met before," he told Yuuri the next time he saw him.

"I think I'd remember that, but nice try," Yuuri smiled at him, and despite the nervous winds circling in his belly, Victor smiled back.

"Maybe normally you would, but we were both quite inebriated. Lord Life's wine is always the tastiest."

Yuuri blanched. It was the first time Victor had seen colour leave his expressive face, and concerned, he took his hand, squeezing the hot fingers despite the melting of his own.

"I didn't remember it myself until Far West pointed it out to me," he explained. "I cannot believe I could've forgotten meeting someone as extraordinary as you."

The colour was back on Yuuri's face, a shy, tender pink of the morning sun, which Victor soaked in for just a moment.

"When...?" Yuuri asked, and Victor hurried with a reply.

"Lord South's naming ceremony. We were all invited, naturally."

Yuuri's face scrunched up like coals shrivelling in the fire, and Victor watched him trying to remember. Finally, Yuuri shook his head, eyes dimmed apologetically.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't remember," Yuuri said, bowing his head lightly in shame.

Victor had none of it, though. He pushed Yuuri's chin up, smiling while his fingertips slid across the strong jaw.

"How about I remind you, then?" he proposed.

Taking Yuuri into his arms and leading him to the soft music one of his winds carried over, Victor pressed his cheek to the side of Yuuri's head. Yuuri's chest was pressed against his, pulsing and pulling at his heart, calling out to it like a bird does to its lover, a soul reaching to another.

Wrapped in a tender embrace of chilly wind and warm light, they danced.

***

"So," Chris stopped him on the fourth day, right before they were to begin the final offering, "any progress?"

Victor didn't need to ask what Lord Night was referring to, it seemed pretty obvious. He searched for Yuuri in the crowd of gold-clad servants to their left and when their gazes met, Yuuri smiled at him before giving him a short bow, much less proper than the first ones he'd received.

"I'd like to think so," Victor told Chris, his lips quirked. "I'd be lucky to have him, you know? He's so beautiful and kind, and warm... he's making my heart melt."

Noticing Chris' pointed look, Victor waved his hand as if to swat an annoying fly.

"Figuratively," he added. "He's melting my heart figuratively."

"Just don't forget he could melt it quite literally as well," Far West pressed, but smiled right after. "Though I doubt Yuuri of all people would do that."

Victor smiled as well. Yuuri was too kind for that.

***

Taste of ashes on his tongue, Victor yearned. Closer, closer, just a little more... If he could lean in the rest of the way, pull Yuuri towards him, cover the distance between their lips... But Yuuri was avoiding his advances, turning his head away, ducking his chin, inching out of reach just when Victor had already started hoping–

"Master Wind," he'd whisper, just like he did now. "Please."

And Victor would be forced to step back, the force of Yuuri's plea settling between them with the strength of the summer sun that spread heat deep into Victor's body, hissing angrily as it melted the fine line of tissue on his flesh.

"Why?" Victor couldn't help asking this time. "Why are you pushing me away, Yuuri?"

"We can't," Yuuri simply said.

"Why?" Victor insisted, storm curling around his mouth while Yuuri kept his eyes lowered. "Do you not want this?"

The light on Yuuri's face twitched as if he flinched, a shadow play of emotion too fast for Victor to decipher.

"We can't," Yuuri repeated again, quieter. "You'll get hurt."

"Is that all?" Relief was cold on him, like a freshly fallen snow brushed with chill. "Yuuri, you won't ever hurt me. I trust you."

For the first time he could see the searing lips pull into a frown when Yuuri looked up at him, a burning determination in his eyes. "How do you know that?"

Victor simply smiled. "You're far too kind for that. You wouldn't hurt a fly."

The silence was heavy and long between them, Yuuri just continued looking at him while Victor smiled. Finally, Yuuri's mouth parted, smoke escaping from the corners as he sighed.

"You're not seeing the real me," Yuuri said, making Victor frown in turn.

"But I am," he replied. "I'm looking at you now, no?"

The dim, snarky smile on Yuuri's face was a first. "Then maybe you should look at yourself."

Startled, Victor looked down at his chest, hands, legs, the pool of melted diamonds at his feet. He didn't understand. What was it that Yuuri wanted him to see?

The confusion must have been visible on his face, because Yuuri lifted a hand and pressed it to his chest. Like crystal tears, melted ice fell to the ground, filling the silence with the soft pitter-patter against the stone tiles.

Yuuri's smile was sad, a lonely sun dipping behind the horizon at twilight.

"You're melting," he told Victor, retracting his hand. "Even more so when we're this close. I know it's because of me, and I know that you're pushing yourself. I don't want that."

I don't want to hurt you, his eyes pleaded with him right before Yuuri stepped back.

The distance made the winds curl around Victor more, protective and filling the chunks of melted ice with new shields to protect him from the heat radiating off of Yuuri. There was a sad smile on his lips, a painful yearning in his eyes, a guilt in the slump of his shoulders, and when he spoke, resignation was heavy in his voice like the oppressive heat of summer.

"Let's end it at this, Lord North," he said.

And Victor watched him go, for the first time unable to speak through his frozen shut lips.

***

Yuri, the Spring Storm, raged around him, but the angry rain and winds didn't bother Victor as he stood by the Tree, looking up into its crown in contemplation. The water froze as soon as it hit his skin, covering his face with blisters of ice: uneven, imperfect, blemished. He didn't care.

Why did Destiny bring them together? Why make them suffer? If it wasn't possible, if there was no chance for them, why... Was it just a joke? Were they just a passing amusement to the hands that guided the universe?

Victor let his own hand rest on the old bark, the rough wood scratchy under his palm.

And nothing happened.

The Tree remained silent, his destiny a mystery he was left to solve all on his own.

"Just go talk to him," a voice barked from behind him, startling him out of his musings. Yuri materialized behind him, a deep scowl on his face. "Watching you mope is so damn annoying."

"He doesn't want to talk to me, though," Victor replied, lips quirking in a sad, lonely smile.

"Who cares?" The sky rumbled to the grit in Yuri's voice. "Didn't you say Destiny brought you together? What happened to that, huh?"

There was nothing Victor could say. Yuri snorted.

"Suit yourself," he said, feet already wisping away into the centre of the storm. "But don't dare complain to me later when you do nothing but stand here like an idiot and look at a goddamn tree instead of trying to talk to your destined other half."

Disgust on his face, Yuri disappeared, leaving Victor alone again.

The wild winds tugged on the branches of the Tree, gray skies cried rain and wet the world and Victor... Victor stepped back, new determination chilling his spine into the finest crafted ice – strong, unshakable, unbendable.

***

His hand was melting, but he refused to let go. Yuuri's fingers were curled around his, hesitant, as if he wanted to pull back, but at the same time wanted to cling on, and Victor didn't give him a chance to decide.

"I want you," he was saying. "All of you."

Yuuri's mouth was parted, the fire within burning strong and Victor felt like his own throat was affected by the flames. Bright, wide eyes looked at him with a mixture of fear and pleading, surprised and scared, begging him to stop.

"I want you even if it means this," Victor squeezed Yuuri's hand with his own melting one, shedding more flesh. "I don't mind–"

"But I do!" Yuuri pulled his hand away forcefully, and Victor let him, for the first time seeing the angry glimmer of light around Yuuri.

It was bright, blinding, and strong – a heat burst around them. Victor's winds whined, clinging closer to him. Yuuri's eyebrows were drawn, his mouth firmly set and Victor caught the slight tick of his jaw when he swallowed before continuing.

"Did you even stop to think about that?" Yuuri hissed, the smoke escaping through his parted lips turning his face darker. "I don't want to hurt you, but if that's the only way to make you see..."

Hands, hot, sizzling, bright red from heat, were pressed to the sides of his face and Victor's eyes widened. The heat choked his breath, filled his nose and wet his eyes enough for tears to steam down his cheeks and blur his vision. His whole face was melting, the crown of ice on his temples slipping down to the floor. It crushed into a million pieces, a stark reminder that just like it, it could be Victor's turn next.

Yuuri's face was close. Eyes like magma pools looked deep into his own and Victor could see the sadness hiding deep inside them, sadness that mirrored his own. With a shaky smile, he reached for Yuuri's wrists. He locked his fingers around them, gently, and let his hands rest there, melting but steady.

"You won't hurt me, Yuuri," he said softly. "Nothing you do can ever hurt me."

Yuuri laughed, a high, nearly hysterical laughter. "Your face is burning."

It was true. Victor could feel his cheeks sink lower, exposing skin, flesh, bones...

"And it doesn't hurt," he lied. "Even if you melt all of my ice, even if you melt my very heart," He took one of Yuuri's hands and pressed it, palm up, right to where his heart was hidden beneath the flesh of ice on his chest, "I'll never stop wanting your touch."

Yuuri's face contorted, and he bowed his head, escaping Victor's eyes, his smile, his soft acceptance. The wrists that Victor was still holding trembled slightly and then they fell limply in Victor's hold. Fresh frost covered Yuuri's skin, slick and beautiful, and Victor stroked his thumbs across it soothingly before it melted away from the heat boiling in Yuuri's veins.

"Destiny brought us together," Victor said, repeating what Yuri had told him, what the Tree wanted him to do, what he himself wanted to believe. "And I'm glad it did."

Letting go of one of Yuuri's hands, he lifted Yuuri's chin with tender fingers. His eyes were glowing red with unshed tears, fiery and beautiful, like gemstones made of the setting sun. And within them, deep beneath the veil of fear and guilt was yearning, so intense, so breathtaking, craving and pleading for Victor despite the danger to them both, despite the pain, the hesitation, despite everything.

"I want to be close to you," Victor said, fingers brushing Yuuri's jaw and sliding up to cup his cheek in his cold, frozen hand that dripped diamonds at the touch of Yuuri's skin. "Please, Yuuri, let me?"

Yuuri's shoulders shook and Victor waited, impatiently, with held up breath, until finally Yuuri bit down on his bottom lip. Tears like lava, hot and bright, slid down his cheeks when he nodded his head, leaning into Victor's hand with no more resistance.

Victor's heart, the frozen stone in his chest, the thing he never believed could've been able to do it anymore – it gave a sharp thump against his ribs. Before he knew it, he was cradling Yuuri close, breathing in the smoke of his hair, the sharp heat of his skin, turning the floor into a field of diamonds and melting, melting, melting into the embrace of Yuuri's arms around his shoulders, his mind made up and finally at peace.

***

"Northern Wind."

"Lord Wind."

"Master North."

He walked through the murmured greetings without acknowledging anyone. Time was of the essence. Diamonds at his feet, snow hurtling around him in a protective vortex, he was far from melting, but the cracks of his face were already leaking as soon as he set foot into the eastern wing of the Temple. His steps were loud, stone crunching under his feet like ice.

Mother East was kneeling at the golden altar, giving thanks to the Sun on the final day of the Conclave. Even with her back turned to him, the pressure of her presence was too much for his eyes. Victor squinted, holding his breath, as his whole body burned. With the mantle of wind wrapped around him tightly, he stopped as close as he dared.

"Rising Sun," he called her attention, feeling the air shift as her focus bore on him in full. If he was still breathing, his lungs would've filled with smoke, choked him. He tucked the winds closer to his body, breathing shallowly through his mouth. "I've got a deal for you."

"A deal?" He voice made his ears pop.

"Your principal apprentice," Victor said, ignoring the ringing in his ears and relying on the comforting whoosh of the winds to carry their words. "I'm stealing him away."

"For how long?" she asked.

Victor's lips curved into a smile. "For however long he'll have me."

"And in return?" her voice was clipped.

"The thing you wanted most," Victor reached into his robe and pulled a vial of small frost-covered pearls.

"Ah, your tears, how lovely," she commented, a sharp amusement in the glow of the light around them. "It's not enough."

"It's all you get," Victor lifted his chin. "Take it or leave it, but he's going with me."

The pressure of the Rising Sun was stifling and if Victor was anyone else he would've crumbled. The Northern Wind, his own, rose behind his back like a sleeping dragon, stretching its wings and breathing down on the heat that batted against him with fierce passion. The forces clashed and pulled back, curling at their master's feet, ready to pounce again if needed.

"He'll come back to me," Mother East finally said, turning her attention back to the ritual, a clear dismissal and an unvoiced agreement.

Victor's lips quirked. He threw the vial into the hands of one of the attendants with no care if he caught it or not.

He got what he came for.

***

She wasn't entirely pleased. He wasn't either. Neither of them liked to share, after all.

But just a glimpse of Yuuri waiting for him by the Tree, just like they agreed, just like that first time they met, was enough to make him forget the bitter taste. Light drawn to his silhouette, Yuuri shone from afar: bright and beautiful, calling out to Victor without even knowing it.

The ring woven out of the heart of the fifth Master North was icy in Victor's fingers. He twirled it around, gathering courage – him! courage! – which was ridiculous, but true, and Victor loved the feeling of having to prove himself, Lord of the North, to a mere principal apprentice. A mere principal apprentice who commanded his heart with the tips of his light-blessed fingers…

The closer he came, the more he felt the pressing warmth on his skin, the heat that melted off his ice and made his frozen blood boil. He put a hand on Yuuri's hip, pressing himself to his back, close enough to get a mouthful of the smoke. It choked him for a brief moment, or maybe it was fear, but when Victor's lips pressed to the hot skin below Yuuri's ear it was hard not to shake.

"You said 'one day'," Victor said without a greeting.

Yuuri stiffened in his arms, but relaxed at his familiar voice. Victor brought out the ring to show him.

It was the colour of frostbitten flesh – a little blue, a little purple, covered with a thick layer of crystal ice. There was no other ring like it, it was unique: a single frozen band that would never melt, never disappear, never bend under the heat of even the strongest Rising Sun.

It was perfect and Yuuri's fingers slid over Victor’s hand to take it reverently.

"Today," Victor said as Yuuri turned in his arms, melting the layers of ice on Victor's neck where his breath touched him.

And then he amended himself, because he was only a beggar who needed Yuuri’s answer for as long as he wanted him. For their deal to stand, he needed Yuuri’s explicit permission, and suddenly nervous – for the first time in centuries – Victor was cold.

"Can it be today?" he pleaded.

Yuuri looked down at the ring in his fingers and then up at him, searching, confused, but wanting.

"What is it you're asking of me, Lord Wind?"

"Victor," he replied. "Call me Victor."

The "Yes," was seared into his lips moments later, a brand of Yuuri’s on his skin, sealing them together.

***

"Victor!"

Yuuri's voice echoed through the frost-covered chamber over the howling of the tornado curling up from the Wind Temple. The crystal walls lit up with thousands of lights as he walked through, the glow of his presence sinking into the icicles and reflecting in an endless array of rays throughout the room. Yuuri’s feet tapped over to the open door leading out onto a balcony.

"There you are," he said with a small huff. "Didn't we agree to meet and watch the sunrise together?"

Victor smiled down at him, the harsh warmth across his face feeling like a tender caress now that he was back north. He took Yuuri's hand, only a fizzle of steam rising from his fingers. He pressed a kiss to the knuckles and then the ring that sat atop one of the fingers, unmelting and as solid as the day he gave it to Yuuri decades ago.

He smiled again, leaning in to press a chilly kiss to the corner of Yuuri's mouth.

"Let's watch it from here," he said, pointing with his chin out east.

The sky around the faraway glaciers was greying and soon the sun would peek from behind them to drown the world with light. Standing at his side, Yuuri pressed their shoulders together. His warmth seeped into Victor, slow and careful, mindful of his melting, and Victor in turn pulled the winds closer around them, locking them in a cold whirl of crisp air.

Together, they watched the new day rise.

THE END

#victuuriwriters #victuri #victuuri #vikturi #viktuuri #yuri on ice #my fic #holy sheet #I can't believe I'm finally posting this #man #it's been so long I almost don't remember what's happening in this fic anymore ahahah #BUT GUYS #GUYS #LOOK AT THAT ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#I'M STILL SCREAMING AHHHHHH

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