#i'm glad i had to search for them though because the three Important Things i need for work are 1) meds 2) work laptop 3) headphones and i

[spacecrows]

slightly late for work, vivdly remember i put my adhd meds in A Special Place last night so i Don't Forget to take them before work (usually work from home but leaving the house today) (higher stakes) but now i can't find them (should have seen this coming) but that's okay that's cool i have a bottle of backup meds in one of my bags (i know myself) except i can't find it in any of my bags but not to worry! i have a second bottle of backup backup meds in a cabinet for dire situations like this (i know myself) but ah. by talos this can't be happening

[rea-grimm]

Weapon Levi

You were given a mission by the guild and this time you had to work with another master and his weapon. You knew the master and his weapon personally. You liked his weapon but didn't like the master because he treated his weapons like things. As if they weren't living things at all. 

But these disagreements had to go aside for you to accomplish the task. But this was worse than you knew. And as much as you wanted to get it done as soon as possible, there was no way you could rush it. 

You had your weapon with you, your old friend who was with you when you joined the guild. It was a spear, and while it was your kind of weapon, it wasn't your real weapon. 

Levi was a demonic weapon, and while he wasn't a true weapon for his current master, the master wasn't looking for another one that was meant for him. 

Instead, the master constantly yelled at Levi and humiliated him for his incompetence. But the worst part was that he didn't object to it. You could see it was getting to him, but it only got worse when he tried to fight back. 

You stood up for him whenever you could. You didn't mind arguing with his Master because you didn't think Levi deserved that behaviour. If he couldn't stand up to his master, you did. 

 During your quest, an incident happened. To you, actually. During your journey, you encountered another group of masters from another guild. They were nice people that you sat down with. Well... maybe you, your weapon and Levi. The other master couldn't even smell them.

But that wasn't the point. What was important was that one of the masters in that group was the true master of your current weapon. You saw how perfectly they matched and you certainly weren't going to stop them. 

But now you were without a weapon. You didn't mind. You were planning on getting one in the next town. You thought about getting a regular one for now. You didn't want to part with another weapon again. 

The rift between you and the other master was getting bigger and bigger, and now you didn't even have a weapon to defend yourself with. 

All you did was make fire to make camp and you didn't care what the other master did. He watched you for a long time before he got an idea. He took Levi like a spear in his hand and slithered with him behind your back. 

As the master was betrayed, Levi realized what he was up to and refused to participate. He would not be the weapon that wounded someone standing on his side. Truth be told, Levi admired you, even if he sometimes worried that you said nice things about him without meaning them. 

Levi defied his master and refused to hurt you. It was during these moments that you realized something was wrong and turned to the master. Levi could no longer resist this and the master attacked you. Fortunately, you were prepared and easily avoided the attack. 

You were able to take advantage of the situation, and in the blink of an eye, you knocked Levi out of the master's hands and turned his spike on him. However, something unexpected happened to Levi in your hands. The classic spear became a majestic trident. 

None of you three expected this. Master tried to take Levi from you but to no avail. Then he tried to stab you with the dagger hidden behind his belt, but you knocked him out with the blunt side of the trident.

After that, Levi changed back and looked at you with big eyes as if he couldn't believe it, Even though he knew inside that it was true. He felt the same way you did when you first took him in your arms. 

"... I understand if you don't want to stay," you said, knowing how the previous master had treated him and not knowing if he was ready to trust someone else again.

"I can't tell you how long I've been searching for my true master," Levi said, taking your hand and you saw his cheeks flush. "I'm not going to miss this chance now, " he said with determination. You had never seen him like this before and you were just glad he decided to stay with you.

Obey me! Masterlist

[ninja-muse]

So yeah, that happened… (Not as bad as it looks, though. The top half is books I own and read this month, not books I've acquired.)

November has been a month of highs and lows for me. Mostly lows, if I'm being honest. The US election kicked my brain back to 2020 for a couple days and I don't think I've really reset yet. (It's taken me three years and counting to reset from 2020 itself so I'm not surprised.) For any American reading this, I'm still very saddened for you and I wish there was something I could do beyond listening and sympathizing. I wish the world was a better place to live in.

And speaking of 2020 mode, I haven't been writing. I was at a crossroads at the end of October with a difficult scene, and even though I've fixed it so it's better, I still haven't continued. It's hard for me to write cheery, upbeat things when I'm scared and angry, and work's getting busier for the holidays, and both Bake Offs I follow were airing and that just seemed more important. At least this time, it's definitely writer's block rather than a terror of traumatizing people by writing diversely. (2020 was fun, y'all.)

And I also didn't write for five days because my mom and sister and I went to Disneyland. This was, of course, the high of the month! It was good to spend that time together, and do the rides and the whole experience, and see Disneyland as an adult. I'm especially glad we went when we did because I don't think I'm ever going to visit the States again.

It was also a fairly lukewarm reading month for me, which I don't think it helping the mental stuff. The best book I read was intense and heavy, a few of the others also dealt with dark stuff, and pretty much everything was "fine". No new favourites, though I've added the rest of Claudia Gray's Austenian mysteries to my TBR and I'm still thoroughly enjoying the Lady Trent novels. A couple of the other books (the Clarke, the Stearns) were ones I was hyped for but which didn't live up to expectations.

That said, for all that it's my lowest ranked book, The Price of the Stars was surprisingly fun. It's completely mindless, cliched space opera that reads like an off-brand Star Wars novel and I'm sure I'll have just as much fun with the sequel (also on my physical TBR). But I also recognize that the writing's on par with mediocre fanfiction or cult 1980s B-movies.

Books and otherwise, here's hoping for a better December.

And now, as always, here’s my list of everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

Submerged - Hillel Levin

A journalist dives into a 1990s murder case—the disappearance, the first suspect, the second investigation, the innocent man in jail, the family secrets…

8.5/10

warning: grooming, molestation, rape, victim blaming, failures of the justice system

reading copy

The Murder of Mr. Wickham - Claudia Gray

The Darcys, the Tilneys, and sundry other friends and relations are attending the Knightleys’ house party when Mr. Wickham (uninvited) is killed. The murderer’s still in the house but everyone had motive.

7/10

major autistic character

warning: homophobia

off my TBR

The Empress Letters - Linda Rogers

A mother in the 1920s writes her life story in a series of letters to the daughter she’s searching for in China.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (bisexual), Jewish protagonist, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic, gay), Jewish secondary characters, Chinese secondary characters, 🇨🇦,

warning: death of parent, sexual exposure, adult-teen relationship, anti-Chinese racism, fetal remains, homophobia

off my TBR

The Voyage of the Basilisk - Marie Brennan

To create a taxonomy of dragons, Isabella Camherst takes a voyage around the world—but as always, she runs afoul of politics, social mores, and other perils.

7/10

Middle Eastern-coded secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (third gender), Polynesian secondary characters

library book

The Secret History of Audrey James - Heather Marshall

In 1938 Berlin, piano student Audrey steps into danger when her Jewish hosts are arrested and she must turn housekeeper to Nazis to protect her best friend. In 2010, Kate takes a job at a hotel to restart her life after tragedy—and must convince Audrey, the owner, to let her stay.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), major Jewish secondary characters, secondary character with partial leg paralysis and a cane, 🇨🇦

warning: antisemitism, murder, police brutality, misogyny and sexism

library book

The Wood at Midwinter - Susanna Clarke

A young woman enters a midwinter wood alone and encounters a fox, a crow, and a bargain.

6.5/10

library ebook

Under a New and Brilliant Sky - R.E. Stearns

Elys, on the run from Republic authorities, is brought to Alyansa to fix a failure in their city’s AI. But the Republic knows where to find her, and she can’t quite trust that the Alyansans will keep her safe.

6/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), protagonist with auditory processing disorder, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (trans woman), brown-skinned secondary characters

warning: xenophobia, colonialism

digital reading copy/won

Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble - Alexis Hall

Paris isn’t really sure why he’s on Bake Expectations and he definitely isn’t sure how he feels about the contestant he keeps flirting with, if you can call it flirting, oh god, how do you relationship when anxiety?

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (gay), protagonist with anxiety disorder, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, sapphic), major Bangladeshi Muslim character, fat secondary character, Bangladeshi Muslim secondary characters, Chinese-British secondary character

warning: realistically depicts anxiety disorder and panic attacks

library ebook

Rivers of London Vol. 12: Stray Cat Blues - Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel with José María Beroy (Illustrator)

Abigail and the foxes are “hired” by a cat-woman to break her fellow hybrids out of a brothel. Easy, right? Out in December.

7/10

wajor Black British characters, disabled secondary character

warning: sex trafficking

purchased/off my TBR

The Price of the Stars - Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald

When Beka’s politician mother is assassinated, her father gives her his warship in exchange for her tracking the assassins down. Cue a pan-galactic adventure!

6/10

warning: sexual assault, gun violence

off my TBR

Currently reading

The Stardust Grail - Yume Kitasei

Maya’s put her thieving past aside to pursue academia, but when a chance to find the legendary stardust grail (and save her friend’s species) falls into her lap, she can’t help but be tempted—even if Earth wants to use it to save itself.

protagonist with Japanese heritage, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (achillean, nonbinary, alternate gender system)

library book

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin

A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

Victorian detective stories

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 10 Yearly total: 116 Queer books: 4 Authors of colour: 0 Books by women: 6.5 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 2 Classics: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 5 ARCs acquired: 2 ARCs unhauled: 2 DNFs: 0

January February March April May June July August September October

[angelynmoon]

Eddie starts writing Buck letters after Frank suggests it in Therapy, it makes some things easier, but harder too.

-

Dear Evan, (Eddie isn't sure why he chooses to write Evan rather than Buck, not yet, but it fits better, reminds him that this is important, that it needs to catch Buck's attention.)

I know you'll never read this, because I'm never going to send it. I need to apologise, maybe someday I'll do it out loud, but I'm sorry, I'm sorry I said you were exhausting, you're not, youxre fun and I know you'll be there, you're a safe place, not just for Chris, but for me too.

It made it easy to say that, because I knew you wouldn't stay mad, and I'm so sorry, you're not the one that's exhausting, I am, I know I amn I don't know how you and Chris put up with me but I'm so very thankful you do.

I don't know what I'd do without you, Buck, so thank you for having my back.

(Eddie doesn't sign the letters, not a single one of them, Buck knows his handwriting well enough, and since Eddie will never send the letters it doesn't matter. The letters go in a shoebox, like the one he keeps Shannon's letters in, like the one he keeps the pictures of Chris and the 118s celebrations in but this one is just for Buck, it's where Eddie tucked his happy little heart drawing to keep it safe.

Eddie doesn't think anything of it as the box fills up with more and more letters, each one baring his heart and soul more openly with each one. It helps, itxs everything he knows he can never say, can never change and it gets easier with each sealed envelope to keep from ruining what he and Buck have.

Admitting he loved her had ruined his friendship with Shannon, his father always told him thag men don't say that to each other the one time he said it to him and so Eddie hasn't said those words to either of his parents in years, but he tells Chrisn he can't help it because he needs Chris to know, needs him to know that Eddie will always love him, even when his kid doesn't love him.

Eddie doesn't blame Chris for that, Eddie doesn't much like himself most days either.

On those days Eddie writes to Buck.)

Dear Evan,

I'm glad you felt safe enough to tell me about Tommy, that you knew I'd support you. It really doesn't change anything for us, but, dear God, I wish it did, I wish I could tell you, wish it was that simple to say, that I felt safe enough to tell you.

That's not your fault, though, don't even think it is, it's me, me and my stupid brain telling me that I can't ruin the best thing I ever had by telling him I love him and have for a while.

(And oh, that felt good, felt like a weight lifting off his shoulders. Eddie stared down at the words he'd written and smiled, just a little.)

I love you, Evan Buckley. (It still felt good, felt right, felt like the world wouldn't implode because he'd chance the words.)

I love you, Evan, I think I have since I realized you went under a firetruck to drag me to safety.

You asked me what I remembered about getting shot and I... I lied to you, Buckn I lied because I remember everything about that moment.

I remember seeing the blood splatter on your face and thinking that they could take my life as long as they spared yours, not just for Chris' sake but for mine too. I couldn't bare to watch you die, that three minutes and seventeen seconds felt like the longest moments of my life, it felt like I couldn't breathe, like a panic atteck but ten times worse and I knew that was what the rest of my life would feel like if you never woke up.

Is that love? If it is I don't understand why so many people want it. How can they go searching for something and give someone else the power to destroy them so thoroughly.

I didn't feel like that with Shannon, I loved her, yes, but I don't think it was the right kind of love, not the one she wanted, that she needed in order to stay, not the way I love you.

It's why I won't ever tell you, you wouldn't want to hurt me, not like that but saying something would change everything, it did with Shannon and I couldn't bare the thought of us changing.

You're happy, you're in love, Tommy's... he makes you happy, that's enough, that's what matters.

It's okay, Buck, I love you and it's okay you don't love me too.

(Eddie seals the letter, pens the date and slots it in it's place in the box, it's getting full, he might need to get a bigger box, but that's a problem for future Eddie, present Eddie has to get ready for work and prepare himself for Buck to gush about whatever date Tommy took him on over the weekend.

It should feel wrong, Eddie should feel jealous about Buck and Tommy because he was in love with Buck himself, but he didn't feel it, hadn't really felt much of anything since his parents took Chris back to Texas.

Chris hadn't called, Eddie understood, at least Chris was calling Buck, that was good, at least Eddie knew his son was okay, Buck had given his parents a list of stuff to follow for Chris, and they were adhearing to it according to the updates Abuela was giving him.

His parents hadn't called to check in with him either, Eddie tried not to let that sting too.

Eddie sighed, he was so tired, the house was so quiet that he couldn't sleep, he kept waking up and running to Chris' room, several times he'd had to stop himself halfway through dialing 9-1-1 to report his son missing.

He didn't know how to fix this, didn't know if it could be fixed and that hurt, it hurt almost as mucb as the fact that Chris had called his grandparents instead of talking to Eddie, instead of trusting him.

But Eddie had to try, he had to find a way to fix it.

But he was so tired of always being the one to fix things, why couldn't someone else fix it?

Why did it have to be him, because it seemed that no matter how much he tried he only seemed to make things worse.

Eddie shook his head and got up, he had to get to work, he couldn't be late, not when Buck would be so excited to tell him about his date, it was good that Buck was so happy, maybe it could rub off a little on Eddie, at least until he got home to his empty house.)

Dear Evan,

If you're reading this, then I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I won't be able to watch your back anymore.

I know you'll take care of Chris, I never once doubted that over the years, you love him like he's yours and he has been, for longer than either of us realized.

I..., I miss him, I miss you, I know neither of you are gone, but it feels like it, you both feel so very far away from men and you only seem to get further the more I hold on.

I'm sorry for being so needy, well it feels like I'm being needy.

I love you, Evan, and this isn't a goodbye, it's a see you later, much, much later.

It's a just in case letter, I write a new one every now and again, because tomorrow is never promised, not for you, not for me.

There's one for Chris too, and a couple for each milestone I might miss, I know you'll give them to him, they're in his memory box.

I hope, I hope you find happiness, that you find someone you can trust your whole heart to.

I'm sorry I was never brave enough to trust you with mine.

You love so easily, Evan, and you are so easy to love.

Falling in love with you, even when it hurt so much to realize it, was the best thing I have ever done after raising Chris.

It was so easy.

Thank you for letting me love you, even if I was never brave enough to tell you.

I'm sorry, I love you.

Thank you, Evan Buckley, for being so easy to love.

Goodbye.

-

A/n: did I kill Eddie? I don't know, Is Buck reading these letters after Eddie dies? Don't know that either. Am I going to add on to this? We'll see.

I'm sorry for the sad hours but this demanded to be written.

I need feedback, I started chapter 2 from Buck's pov but I'm trying to figure out whether this progresses to Tommy/Bucky/Eddie or if Tommy always knew there was an expiration date on his relationship with Buck, either way I'm going to try not to have character bashing... except Gerrard.

[twotangledsisters]

What do you think were some of the hardest choices to make when writing Two Tangled Sisters (or anything you want to talk about), and which ones just sort of came naturally? Anything that surprised you yourself? Anything you wish you could go back and change? What are you proudest of?

Wow, so many good question!

Okay, hardest choices... The hardest are probably unpublished at the moment, because, well... not every character will survive season three... So far we've only had a very minor character death (RIP Weasel) but there are certainly going to be some that hit harder later in this season.

As for stuff that is actually published... Probably Cass and Caine being a thing! I absolutely love them, but I wasn't sure if anybody else would. And I was very scared that them getting together would end with me losing a lot of readers. I know how people love their ships after all! It's part of why they take such a long time to get together, several whole fics of just them hopelessly flirting and thinking about it. I definitIe had quite a few moments of 'maybe I shouldn't'. But ultimately I did and I'm very glad about that!

Choices that came naturally!

The main one is probably just the family dynamic between Frederic, Arianna, Rapunzel, Cassandra and Eugene. I never really made any difficult choices about the direction it'd go in, everything just sorta of happened.

Cassandra and Eugene fell into their natural state of bickering.

Rapunzel and Cassandra had their sister dynamic.

Arianna made the decision to keep both girls as an official part of the family.

Even Frederic and Cassandra's bond kinda formed on it's own. In fact, I have notes for season 3 written before much of season 1 and it shows Cassandra and Frederic's relationship as A LOT more distance. Showing how I didn't plan or expect them to do so well, they just did! And I'm happy for them.

Anything that surprised me!

Arianna's declaration of 'After years of searching for it's lost princess, Corona now has two!' in the very first Tangled Sisters fic, caught me fully of guard! Changed the entire route of the series in the best way possible though.

Frederic and Cassandra forming the tight bond they did wasn't something I expected until quite far in!

Cassandra and Caine also I didn't see coming until a bit later!

Amaris! Eugene's ancestors who has a tendency to visit him in his dreams also just kinda happened and now she's a recurring character who whenever I write her I adore!

This fic surprised me and catched me off guard all the time! But I think everytime it does I just love the fic even more!

Things I wish I could change?

Well... not much, thankfully! Definitely some missed opportunities. Like I realised the other day while chatting in the comments that Cassandra should have given Lance her book on raising a child and given him a lesson. It would have been adorable and hilarious!

Rapunzel should have told the King of Koto about how Eugene's actually a prince of the Dark Kingdom when he claimed he was nobody to talk to him.

I forgot the fossil exhibition in Vardaros! There was supposed to be a fossil exhibition!

And other small things! But out of the big stuff... I can't think of anything I'd change.

What are you proudest of?

Cassandra and Caine! Probably because I was so nervous, seeing how excited readers are whenever they get a chapter just warms my heart!

Also, New Dream getting engaged before the series ends so they get to refer to each other as fiances for the entire third season! Very important.

And just the development of characters, the way they change and adapt yet still hold pieces of their past... I just feel like the characters change a lot without it ever feeling sudden and that's something I'm very proud of!

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me.

Thank you soooo much for this ask! It was amazing and really got me thinking about the series!! I hope my answers were interesting to you :D

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: supernatural season 4

well, i finished season 4. i did NOT finish the word search i was working on as i watched the last 3 episodes lol

i think what i'm most surprised about is how little i remember season 4 from my first watch a decade ago. i remembered nearly every episode of season 1, then a good majority of seasons 2 and 3. but somehow, nearly everything in season 4 blindsided me, to the point where i was considering the things i read on the wiki "spoilers" (lmao??)

i like what s4 had to offer, though i'm a little disappointed in the slight lack of tension. it felt like there were more "filler" episodes this season—not because there were, not really, since the plots always managed to circle back and relate to the overarching plot, and i don't think there were particularly more filler-ish episodes this season compared to the first three. i think it's because the stakes were so much higher as we approach the apocalypse, and the brothers do often voice my own thoughts in some of these episodes: why are they taking a detour now when they should be averting the apocalypse?

i don't necessarily think this was a mad thing, though. it seems very intentional, both from a writing standpoint and of course in-universe, since the angels were orchestrating the rise of lucifer. it all came together in the end, even if it felt somewhat meandering. perhaps what might have resolved this dissonance may have been a little more foreshadowing: introducing zachariah earlier, maybe, or giving the audience more of a reason not to trust ruby outside of dean's prejudices.

i think the ruby thing is very important, actually. because season 3 spent a lot of time painting demons in a variety of colors and shades, so the audience becomes inclined to believe that demons can be "good" and dean is, let's face it, kind of irrational when it comes to his us vs them mentality. thus we become distrustful of dean's judgment, even if he's right. him being right feels more coincidental than intuitive, and there isn't all that much to say otherwise. i think if season 4 had put in a little more work to break up that inherent distrust of dean's feelings, that could have really done a lot for the season as a whole.

i feel like this might not be a super common sentiment in the fandom, but i was actually surprised at how little shipbait there actually was in this season. which i suppose speaks volumes to how the first 3 seasons were more than anything—the wincest in s1-3 was absolutely unhinged. i guess i'd forgotten at how slow the destiel really started, and at the same time there was a wedge being driven between dean and sam. i remember how chummy dean and cas are in later seasons, so i was expecting them to jump right into it, and that did end up taking me by surprise. it's not as if this show is particularly subtle with its bait lol.

overall i think it was a pretty good season. i got sidetracked early on by a feverish need to read fanfiction(??? it happens from time to time) so it took me a bit longer than i was anticipating, but i liked what it was trying to do and i thought it was mostly successful at it. i think the big "OHHH" moment at the end which explained why dean and sam kept getting sent on wild goose chases, why uriel was helping alastair, why cas was so on the fence between helping and hindering—it really helped settle a lot of my reservations toward the season. zachariah was a good "invisible" antagonist. i still wish he'd been introduced earlier, not necessarily to the winchesters but to the audience at least. yknow, foreshadowing. give more pieces of hte puzzle to work with instead of dumping out the whole box at the last minute.

anyway, this just leaves one more season until i hit my goal. i'm pleasantly surprised that i'm still going strong, too! i had forgotten that i did genuinely enjoy the first 5 seasons of this show, and i'm glad i'm getting this refresher, especially now that i can appreciate better what it's doing since i'm 10 years older. still not sure what i'll do once i finish season 5—maybe i'll continue? i'm still thinking about it. but i'd like to sandwich another show in between before i make that jump at the very least (i'm currently debating between hannibal and the terror).

welp, onto season 5⸻!

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Azul Ashengrotto Halloween Personal Story: Part 2

"That's too refined!!"

(Part 1) Part 2

[Mostro Lounge]

Azul: Please, have a seat on the sofa before you.

Silver: Ah, thank you.

Azul: ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD.

Silver: ? Have I made a careless mistake somewhere?

Azul: Silver-san. Have you forgotten your reason for coming here?

Azul: Did you not come here to receive advice on how to lead Diasomnia in the absence of your Dorm Leader?

Azul: A person who is attempting to act on behalf of their Dorm Leader cannot be so humble.

Azul: As befitting a leader, you must be feared at least a little. First, cross your legs when you sit.

Silver: Like this...?

Azul: THAT'S TOO REFINED!!

Azul: You are lacking in intimidation. Sit deeper into the sofa. Clasp your hands over your knees!

Silver: I-I understand. ...How is this?

Azul: Acceptable. Now, next is the proper way to admonish students who have done something wrong.

Azul: It seems as though two students have quarreled. What should you say to them?

Silver: ...Hey. Don't do that.

Azul: Rejected! Who would even listen to such a lukewarm warning!?

Azul: The moment a Dorm Leader is looked down on, it's all over. You need to command them while looking down at them with a composed expression.

Silver: ...P-perhaps like this?

Azul: Raise your chin higher! Furthermore, the movement of your hands is also important. You need to control the room!

Silver: ...H-how is it this time?

Azul: Well done! That will result in your absolute victory if you are able to strike and penalize your opponent.

Silver: I-Is it a question of winning or losing?

Azul: Next, let me instruct you on how to flatter people into working... Ahem...how to praise people.

Azul: First, we start with applause. The impression others have of you can change just by the way you clap your hands, therefore depending on the situation――...

―One hour later

―Two hours later

―Three hours later

Azul: Phew...! Your demeanor is becoming more leader-like.

Azul: You're in good condition, Silver-san.

Silver: Thank you, Azul. I'm feeling more confident thanks to you.

Azul: I'm glad to hear that! Then, to continue...

???: ――HEY, SILVER!!

Silver: ...Hm? Sebek, do you need something?

Sebek: DON'T "SOMETHING" ME, YOU FOOL!

Sebek: You* didn't come back to the dorm for supper time, so I came searching for you thinking you had fallen asleep somewhere!!

*Sebek uses a very informal (rude) version of "you" here, as if addressing someone inferior to him.

Silver: "You," huh?

Silver: Oya oya, for a first year to speak that way to a second year. That's some courage.

Sebek: Huh? I've called you that many times. Why are you saying that now all of a sudden...?

Silver: I've been kind and forgiving, but that ends today.

Silver: As Acting Dorm Leader of Diasomnia, I order that until you change your attitude, you are prohibited from any access to Malleus-sama.

Sebek: Wha...Wha.........WHAT ARE YOU* SAYING?!?!

*Again, Sebek uses the same informal "You."

Sebek: If you're going to have that kind of attitude, I have something to say too!

Sebek: What is with that cocky sitting posture and over-exaggerated hand gestures? It's revolting!

Silver: It's "revolting"...?

Azul: ...!!!

Silver: ...I'm sorry, Azul. It looks like my training still wasn't complete.

Azul: Yes, well, you may have been a little too quick to assert your authority.

Sebek: Wait, what are you guys talking about?

Silver: Well――

Sebek: A...A.........ARE YOU* AN IDIOT?!?!

*Once more, Sebek uses the same informal "You."

Silver: Sebek, you've been so noisy for a while now. Don't cause a fuss in another dormitory, it'll just be a nuisance.

Sebek: The reason why the students don't listen to you is because you fall asleep mid-way through conversations! Shouldn't that be the issue, before even considering behavior!?

Silver: ...I see.

Azul: Oya oya, for there to be that kind of circumstance.

Sebek: Seriously! Stop with such ridiculous things, and let's hurry back to the dorm.

Silver: Yeah.

Silver: ...Azul, I'm sorry for wasting your time.

Silver: But thanks to you I think I understand a little more about what's necessary in order to act as a leader.

Silver: ...Really, thank you.

Azul: No, no, I'm just glad I was able to be useful.

Azul: Please give my best regards to Malleus-san and Lilia-san.

???: Fufufufu......Kusukusukusu......

Floyd: We saw that～

Jade: Yes, we did indeed.

Azul: Jade, Floyd. Is there something the two of you wish to say?

Jade: No, of course not. We were only thinking that coming from you, teaching him tricks to win people over was such a grand gesture.

Floyd: Yeah, but～ I don't think being domineering like Azul suits Kurage-chan, y'know?

Azul: How rude, to say I'm domineering. I was teaching him how to act as a leader in the only way I know how.

Azul: ...Well, it's as Floyd says, it doesn't quite seem to suit Silver-san.

Azul: That being said, I was able to force a debt onto Silver-san, and he seemed to have gained much from this.

Azul: I'm certain as the Diasomnia Acting Supervisor, he'll absolutely help liven up Halloween!

Jade: As I thought, you weren't teaching him out of "goodwill."

Azul: Of course. If the school's Halloween celebration becomes more popular, the number of customers will increase, and the Mostro Lounge will thrive...

Azul: In order for that to happen, I need for all the dorms to be doing their utmost best. That is why I gave him a sliver of assistance.

Azul: ――Now, that's enough talking. Our dorm must also endeavor to go all out for Halloween as well!

―Day of Halloween

Azul: BOO!!!

Azul: Well, it's like I said, is it not? ――That we would go all out.

Azul: We won't cut any corners when it comes to scaring, either!

(Part 1) Part 2

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

Waddle Dee went to Kirby's house every day after finishing work at Factory Dedede to help aid the search.

"It seems that our president has also started searching for the gears. He’s been walking around town with a map and a magnifying glass."

Kirby nodded. "Not only President Dedede, but everyone in town is searching for them. It's difficult, though. No one knows the shape or color of the gears." 

"Hmm ... Do we have any leads?" Kirby and Waddle Dee pondered face-to-face. At that moment, the doorbell, which rarely rings, made a noise.

"Who is it?" Waddle Dee said to Kirby. "You don’t get many guests."

Kirby jumped up. "Oh! Is it the pizza delivery person!?" he shouted.

"Pizza delivery person? Kirby, did you order pizza?"

"No! But ... maybe the pizza place made a special pizza to celebrate my 100th consecutive victory of the airplane races!" Kirby opened the door in a hurry. There stood someone wearing a large hood.

"That? That’s not the delivery person, is it ...? " 

"Good evening, Kirby! It's been a long time. It’s Magolor, yo~! " Magolor, the traveling merchant. He traveled often from town to town selling medicine. Kirby, himself, had also once taken Magolor's medicine after he had previously rolled around in the snow and caught a cold.

"Did you come to sell medicine again? But I'm not sick ... "

"No, no! It's different this time. There’s a big story."

"A big story?"

"It's about the search for some gears." Magolor came into the room, put the large trunk he had with him on the floor, and sat down on it.

Kirby was taken aback. "Are you also looking for the gears, Magolor?" he asked.

"Yep, it's my dream to get the prize, build a laboratory, and develop medicine." Magolor spread his hands. "Kirby, we both have our strengths. If we put those strengths together, I’m sure we could find the gears! What do you think about some cooperation?"

"Yeah, sure!" Kirby nodded. Waddle Dee, however, was a little worried. 

"Kirby, is it okay to trust this guy?"

"Eh? Why not? It's easier to find something with three people instead of two." 

"Hmm ... but ... " Waddle Dee didn't trust Magolor. He came out of nowhere—maybe he was trying to use Kirby by taking advantage of his kindness.

Looking at Kirby, Magolor said, "I know a secret method for finding the gears. If you have me, we’ll easily be able to find them."

"Really!? Great, then let’s do it!" Kirby was overjoyed, but again, Waddle Dee was more skeptical. He became more and more suspicious.

"If you know a method, why are you telling us? Why don't you search for them by yourself?"

"I would, but ... there’s a big issue." Magolor took a deep breath and spoke with all his might. "I can’t do it alone. Kirby has a certain something we need." Kirby and Waddle Dee looked at each other.

"Kirby has ... what? Huh?"

"Here’s the thing, listen carefully!" 

"Okay." Kirby and Waddle Dee sat down in front of Magolor.

"I'm nuts about ancient magic, so I’m the only person who understands ... the gears of the ancient machine cannot be found because they’ve been sealed."

"Sealed?"

"Uh-huh. Once upon a time, the gears were stolen by an evil wizard. It seems the gears had a magic seal put on them during that. The sealed object cannot be seen with the naked eye, however, a special tool can be used to find it. I know the location of that special tool."

"Special tool?" Waddle Dee said. "A special tool that reacts to magic ... Where is it?" 

"I told you, Kirby has it."

"Eh? I do?" Kirby’s eyes widened. "I don't have anything like that! I can't use magic!" 

"You ... you have the Star Compass, right?"

Kirby was surprised. "The Star Compass ...? Yeah, I have it, but, hold on." Kirby rummaged through some junk piled up in the corner of the room and pulled out a small, star-shaped compass.

"That’s a cute compass. What’s so special about it?" Waddle Dee asked.

"The old man of the Magic Guild gave me this as a present a long time ago, after I defeated a monster in the City of Magic."

"Not the ‘old man,’ the Elder of the Magic Guild. The great wizard Tottemo." Magolor looked enviously at Kirby. "Tottemo … Totteeemooo ... The Star Compass, such a precious artifact. If you study magic, you'd want it even if it were in bits and pieces. When I heard an airplane pilot from Diamond Town got it, I was so jealous!"

"Huh ... I didn’t realize it was so important." Kirby recalled when he received the gift.

("Really? You want me to take it?"  When Kirby asked, the old man of the Magic Guild—no, the Elder, smiled gently.

"It’s a thank-you item. Please, don't hesitate. The Star Compass—if it falls into the hands of someone with a bad heart, it will bring terrifying results. But if it's with you, Kirby, it will be safe."

"Huh?"

"Besides, this compass, don't you like it? Ho ho ho!" He waved goodbye as Kirby left.)

That guy that Kirby visited ... Even when he asked what he meant, Kirby didn't understand at all. 

"This compass, it doesn't move. I can’t tell what direction it points because of it. I'm sure it's broken ... "

"That’s just because you’re using it incorrectly." Magolor reached out and received it from him. "The Star Compass is a tool used to search for the power of magic. If it’s not used correctly, it won't move. Watch." Magolor opened his trunk and took out a small paper packet. Glittering, sand-like grains spilled out when he opened it. Using them, he began to draw a mysterious pattern on the floor.

"Like this, if you draw it with magical sand and put the Star Compass in the center ... "  The needle of the compass, which had not been moving until now, began to sway. It emitted a pale light like the glimmer of the stars.

"Ah, the compass ...! " Kirby shouted. 

"Get a map of the town!" Magolor said. Waddle Dee hurriedly brought a map of Diamond Town, which Magolor put the compass on. He chanted a spell. The compass needle spun around wildly, increasing in speed, until it stopped at a particular angle. After a moment, it began spinning again and stopped at another angle, and then another. Magolor nodded.

"Okay, there are three gears in all. Here, here, and ... here." Magolor put three marks on the map.

"Do we know the position of the gears, now?" Waddle Dee said with big eyes.

"Yep! The movement of the Star Compass can tell you exactly where our magical objects are."

Kirby looked at the map. "The first one is ... the field! That field is where the goal of our airplane races is," said Kirby.

"Second is ... around the clock tower in the west," said Waddle Dee.

"Third," said Magolor, "‘The Town of Light.’"

"You can't go into The Town of Light," said Waddle Dee. "’The residents of the Town of Wind must not go into the Town of Light without permission.’ That's the rule."  

"Aw man … The third gear is postponed, then. We’ll have to figure out some other way. Let’s find the other two, first."

Waddle Dee nodded. "There’s a guard at the clock tower that won’t let us in, so we should start with the gear in the field."

"Okay! Come on, let's go!" Magolor stopped Kirby from running out the door. 

"Now, it's too late. You should wait until tomorrow." 

"But ... "

"The night is dangerous. We’re the only ones that know the locations, so don't worry so much."

"That's right. Let's start tomorrow," Waddle Dee said. "The factory will be closed, too, so we can find it together. We’ll all meet in the field, first thing in the morning."

"Oh, actually, I’m sorry. I have something to do tomorrow. I can’t go with you ... Instead, let me give you a thing." Magolor took out a small bottle from the trunk and gave it to Kirby. "These are magical eye drops I made."

"Eye ... Drops ...? " 

"As I said, things with a magical seal on them cannot be seen with the naked eye, however, you’ll be able to see them if you use these special eye drops."

"Wow, that's convenient!" Magolor, again, stopped Kirby from immediately trying to use the eye drops.

"No no no, it doesn't last for long! Only about an hour. It'd be better to use them tomorrow!"

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Magolor."  

"You’re very welcome! Oh, and one more thing: once touched, the magical seal will melt. It will be so that the gears can be seen even without the eye drops."

"We just have to touch it," Waddle Dee said. "If we find the gears, let's deliver them to Mr. Fugo, together, and get the prize. We’ll divide it evenly!"

"Wow, sounds fun! Good luck Kirby, Waddle Dee."

"Yeah, we’ll do our best. Thank you, Magolor!"

Magolor headed home, dragging his heavy trunk behind him.

"Magolor is really knowledgeable and smart," Kirby said. "I’m surprised!" 

"I'm glad he’s on our side," Waddle Dee nodded. "Thanks to Magolor, we can get the gears. Let's do our best, tomorrow."

"Yeah! Good night, Waddle Dee." 

"Good night, Kirby." Waddle Dee waved and left the room. 

Meta Knight was sitting on the couch and thinking, of course, about the gears and the ancient machine that was discovered.

(Evil using an ancient machine ... What kind of machine could it be?)

A knocking sound was heard, and Butler Vul's voice soon after. 

"Excuse me, my lord."

"What is it?"  

"It seems ... a strange guest has come."

"A guest? At this time?"

"Well ... I told him to come back tomorrow, but he said that he wanted to speak to you as soon as possible. He spoke of gears—I didn't understand much of it ... What do you want me to do?"

" ... Gears." Meta Knight had also begun looking for the gears, but no one should know except Daroach. Not even Butler Vul should know. Meta Knight stood up.

"Okay, let me through the living room."

"Are you sure?  Somehow, he has a strange atmosphere about him ... "

"It doesn't matter."

"Understood ... " Butler Vul moved to return to the front door, however, he nearly bumped into someone on the way there. "Wahhh!?"

"Nice to meet you, Lord Meta Knight!" Standing behind Butler Vul was a person wearing a large hood. Butler Vul yelled at the intruder.

"Why—! Hey, you! You selfish—! How dare you just, come in on your own! I told you to wait at the door until my lord gave me permission!" But the guest just pushed Butler Vul aside and spoke to Meta Knight.

"I'm a medicine peddler named Magolor—"

"We don’t need medicine. Get out."

"—I want to talk to you, Lord Meta Knight. I have a story I want to tell you—"

"It's time for my lord to get his rest. Get out!"

"—A story about ... the gears of death!"

"Hey, why don’t you listen to a story about my wrinkles instead!" Butler Vul was furious, but Meta Knight just stared at the strange merchant.

"Okay, let's hear the story. Vul, you’re dismissed." 

"Eh!? But my lord ...! "

"I’ll call if anything happens. Don't worry." Butler Vul was so upset he left the living room with shaking fists. Meta Knight led Magolor to the sofa and sat down. Magolor spoke with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Lord Meta Knight. I’m sorry I’m here so late at night, forgive me ... " 

"Let's not waste time. About the matter at hand—what do you know about the gears?" 

" …………… " 

Magolor’s hood shifted and showed his expression. "Right to the point. As I expected from you, Lord Meta Knight!" Suddenly changing his tone, Magolor leaned back on the couch. 

"I know a tip for finding the gears. I want to tell you about it."

"What do you mean?" 

"What I mean is, Lord Meta Knight, I want you to find the gears ... " Magolor rephrased, seeing sharp eyes staring at him from behind the mask. "I’m telling the truth. I'll give you a tip because I want you to find the gears and win us the prize. I want to build a laboratory and develop new medicine."

"Why me? If you know a clue to finding the gears, you should look for it alone." 

"I can’t, it has to be you. You see, one of the gears is in the Town of Light."

" ... What was that?"

"As an aristocrat, you have the freedom to act in the Town of Light. If they see a merchant like me sneaking about, they’ll kick me out. To find all the gears, our cooperation is a must! Your help is needed at any cost!"

Meta Knight stopped to think. This medicine peddler, who called himself Magolor, was more than he seemed. He seemed to know important information about the gears, but Meta Knight was not yet convinced.

"If you need an aristocrat, I'm sure there are others. Why did you choose me?" 

"The aristocrats are a burden. Everyone, they’re sloths, annoying things. Out of all of them, the only one I can rely on is you, Lord Meta Knight."

Meta Knight didn’t believe it was that simple, but Magolor had a point. The aristocrats who lived in luxury had no adventurous spirit or curiosity. Meta Knight was the only one who was interested in finding the gears.

"Let me hear from you. What kind of hints do you know?" 

"Look at this." Magolor opened his trunk and took out a map. "The gear is here." A certain place was marked in the Town of Light.

" ... This is ...! " Meta Knight was shocked.

"Do you know where this is?" Magolor asked.

" ... Ah, yeah."

"Great! Then, do your best to find the gear. I'm going home ... Oh, one last thing." Magolor pulled out a small bottle. "These are magical eye drops I made." Magolor explained the eye drops and handed a vial to Meta Knight. "Good luck, Lord Meta Knight. Have a good night." He dragged the trunk out of the living room. After Magolor left, Meta Knight was still. He was staring at the map of the Town of Light. The gear—it was in Mr. Fugo's mansion.

"What does this mean?" Meta Knight murmured. "Regardless, I have to let Daroach know ... "

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

[hiimsociallyawkward]

aithusia

hi bestie @lady-ofmagic-andstars it's been a while. i said i would do this episode last week but i had to wait for the destiny and chicken podcast to come out so here we are. basically, all of my thoughts while watching aithusia.

ugh the opening scene. i actually love it

ok ngl i remember that this guy is the bad guy but he's like 🥵🥵🥵 jeez

ik it's not just on tiktok but that tiktok where it goes 'but momma i'm in love with a criminal'

wow nice key bud

ok him running in the forest is just like you cannot outrun your demons and i thought that was so funny

smh he's so violent but he's so pretty :,)

ok but how old is this guy?? he say it's taken 20 years of his life. why 20? is that because that's when the 'last' dragon died out?? and at what age was he socially concious enough to recognize the implication of what it means to have a dragon? his is so dumb but probably like 15? so this guy is 35ish? idk man thoughts?

ok if he just feel off the cliff instead of being able to pull himself up we would've saved ourselves a lot of trouble i'm just saying druids.

ok this is so pretty. my thoughts are like 25% me singing show tunes, 25% thinking of actual merlin things, 50% thinking about how pretty everything is

merlin is such a light sleeper. idk why that's important but he wakes up ALL the time

✨gaius is the worst ✨

ok colin's eye looked so good in this scene

aLASFLJDFA MERLIN AND HIS SOCKS

stop i literally dress like this

i love his sleep clothes. it's such a vibe

aw merlin saying 'save the dragons is so cute' omg it reminds me of the vsco girls and saving the turtles HAHA

i love how equal merlin and kilgharrah feel here

asjflsjdasjdfl like ik this is the point but i love that merlin's inherited his father gift and he's always going to remember him. not that merlin would forget his father but idek

aw kilgharrah is like 'i beg you' ok now that i think abt it maybe it's slightly manipulative but it's also really not

ok actually i don't know how many time merlin uses this scene but i guess i'm keeping track now. but look how pretty

wow the rising sun 🤪

OH HAHA THIS IS WHERE MERLIN CARTWHEELS??

literally merlin just breaks in everywhere

merlin seems so earnest about wanting to see the dragons. i want to see the dragons too please

omg HAHA the woodworm is this episode??

WHY IS MERLIN STILL SEARCHING AFTER ARTHUR TURNS AROUND WHAT?

this is a side note but i love arthur's key holder thingy it's actually pretty.

stop right now why is merlin using his magic to PANTS arthur

ok i'm pretty sure that agravaine is only in this episode this one time, and yk it's the little victories

i'm actually embarassed for arthur and merlin here. i don't like it at all

HOW DOES MERLIN DO THE HANDSTAND?? that's the one part i like

ok my question is how is he supposed to know where the last piece of the triskeleton is??

SECOND QUESTION WHY IS HE JUST STANDING IN THE VAULT WHEN HE SHOULD BE RUNNING

lasflkajsdljsad omg the betrayal. ouch my heart

these scene are just like. it's actually art

ok how did merlin stay there all night and no one saw him?? literally camelot guards need to step up

omg no not merlin zooming

sklfja;lsdkjfasdlfs amerlin and the cup

i love how long merlin and arthur look at each other before arthur reacts

lsjfa;lksdsl woodworm omg and the fact that arthur believes that merlin is this chaotic is so funny

HAHA THIS SCENE GAIUS LITERALLY YELLING AT MERLIN

i think this is the funniest thing because gaius is like 'don't people about your magic' while YELLING ABOUT MERLIN'S MAGIC

ok that's a good point gaius we don't know what borden's intentions are

alsdjfalsd stop why didn't they wait for merlin :,(. this reminds me of when you're in highschool and you're finishing lunch and as you pack up everyone is leaving you??????

ok but i love that merlin rides in front with arthur. like- of course he does

merlin being observant 😍😍

i want to go horse riding now

STOP I DON'T LIKE THIS

THIS KNIGHT/DINNER GAG IS NOT FUNNY TO ME. NOT IN THE SLIGHTLEST. THERE'S THIS FIC by @a-small-batch-of-dragons. i literally spent like 10 minutes looking for it because i had to include it here

this scene just.. i don't like it. i never have and i never will

like- who decided that putting this scene in here would be good. no thanks

the knights sleeping in a circle and merlin sleeping on the outside. idk bro that made me a little sad

but also. i want a cloak please. i think i'm just going to say i want a cloak every episode

ok i chuckled at the interaction of 'ever herd of the word sorry?' and 'no is it a word you made up?'

dude don't ask why but i love it when people walk through waterfalls

i don't know why arthur looked so stupid when he was doing it though

i love the nature of it all

yes merlin, you start walking toward the castle first

aw i love the knights working together. like, i know they work together- they're knights, but we love to see it

merlin and his sharp eyes again :,))

why are they making camp it's literally not even dark yet 😭😭

oh great another dinner gag. please stop. i dislike this immensely

wow i love that merlin can heal them. i also think it's surprising because merlin sucks at healing things but yk.. ✨plot✨

this looks like the type of building teens would either be convinced is haunted and try to stay the night there or the type of building that all teens would go to to take pics for the #gram

ok is borden dead here or..

yes i'm putting both of these picture here. who's going to stop me

just kidding it's three

ok so not dead

ok this is not meant to be creepy but colin has nice hands

borden is a creep please go away now

merlin use your ✨magic ✨ please

YES. tell him you're the last dragonlord. i stan. YES HIM AND HIS MAGIC

you better run boy

ok how he manages to get out of the castle is astounding

HAHA there was some CGI that fell and i laughed so hard because it looked so fake

LITERALLY. THE PRETTY CASTLE SCENE IS HERE AGAIN. PRETTY CASTLE SCENE COUNTER; 3

omg merlin getting excited about the egg is actually so precious

both of their faces here are SO precious.

oasfasldfjasl idk why but whenever merlin walks across with the eggs i have this feeling he's going to faceplant and drop it for the comedic effect but i'm glad that never happens

bruh 'back where it belongs' like yes that makes sense but also that doesn't make sense

dude

it's been a full moon for like 4 days now..??????

omg i actually love aithusa

tbh, i DO NOT know how to pronounce her name

why is she actually the cutest thing ever.

AW MERLIN CRYING

i love it when merlin cries, but not in a sadistic way yk? it's more the fact that he's allowed to cry

ok i have a few dragon fics that i love but the only one i can think of right now is Returning the Favor by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle it's actually perfect

there are so many more that i love but i can't think of them but also- PLEASE REC YOUR FAVE DRAGON FAMILY DOMESTIC FICS PLEASE AND THANK YOU

anyways. i'll be back tomorrow to rant more about the darkest hr pt 2 so i'll see you then! also let me know if you want me to stop tagging you @lady-ofmagic-andstars because otherwise i will literally tag you in everything :,)

[lauwrite1225]

Somebody to die for.

Finan x OC; The Old Guard inspired Alternative Universe

Summary : Victoria’s life is rather simple until she has a car accident from which she ends up miraculously unscathed. A series of weird events animates her daily life, everything seemingly bringing her to a strange man. Until this very man knocks at her door.

Spotify Playlist • Masterlist

A/N : It’s Finan Friday again my dudes! I hope you all are fine! This chapter signs the REAL beginning of the story, hope you will like it ;)

Warnings : none! For once! Won’t last I fear lmaoo

Chapter 4 : I’m not calling you a liar, just don’t lie to me

Victoria wakes up suddenly, a frightened scream escaping her. She is sweaty and panting, her hands resting on her chest as she stares at the darkness surrounding her. Soon enough, the obscurity is broken when the door of her bedroom opens, letting in the light from the corridor. Finan is standing in the doorway but she can't read his expression as she sits up on her bed. 

“Are ya alright?” He asks, walking carefully towards her. 

She nods quickly, catching her breath in slow inhales and exhales again, but she's still shaking. He sits on the edge of her bed, his worried eyes studying her face and his hand rubbing her back. 

“I'm alright.” She whispers. “It was just a dream.” 

Finan suddenly stops his movement, making her look at him, his eyebrows furrowed.  “D'ya still have dreams?”

“After I met you it stopped.” She explains, rubbing her face and then letting her hands slide in her hair. “But I was back in the forest, where you died. You were still here, but I was staring at that young monk.” Finan's fingers tense against the fabric of her shirt, but she doesn't pay attention to it. “It was just like for you. I felt him die.” 

Victoria sighs, confused and still shocked. Finan's palm leaves her back and she turns her head to him. “Is it the first time ya've been dreamin' of him?”

She shakes her head. “No… No it isn't.” She stands up, walking to her desk to search for a paper. She feels Finan's gaze on her before she hears him walking behind her. “When I started to dream about you, I drew you.” She explains, pointing at a portrait of Finan. He takes it delicately while she keeps looking for the others. “Here!” 

She grabs her drawing of the young monk and hands it to Finan. His face falls and he mutters something inaudible.

“I think I've seen him through your memories.” She continues, ignoring the way he retreats, his eyes still fixed on the paper, until his calves hit her bed and he sits on it. “Do you know him?” She asks, crouching in front of him to try to meet his eyes.

Finan's jaw clenches and she squeezes his knee, calling him softly, but he is desperately captivated by the young man from her dreams. His reaction however is enough for her to understand that he isn't a stranger to him.

“Finan, if I've been dreaming of him, maybe that means he isn't dead. Maybe he is like us.” She says, a hopeful and reassuring smile growing on her lips. 

She thought the news would have pleased him, especially after being lonely for a millennium. And it seems that this monk is someone he used to know, one more reason for Victoria to think that he should be happy. But there's not even the shadow of a smile on his face. Instead, he exhales slowly, putting the drawing beside him onto the blanket.

“I know.”

Vicky blinks, confused. “What do you mean, you know?” 

“I know him and I know he is alive.” He says emotionless, avoiding her gaze. 

She stands on her feet, her eyes wide open. She can't believe he has been lying to her and it's a strange feeling that boils in her chest, made of confusion, anger and betrayal. Finan looks up to her and is about to speak but she slaps him across the face. She's as surprised as he is about her action but she can't find the will to apologize while he rubs his cheek.

“You lied to me!” She shouts at him, her voice breaking in disbelief. “You said we were the only ones! You said you've been alone for all this time.”

“It's more complicated than ya think.” He grumbles.

Victoria scoffs. “It's no reason to lie to me! I trusted you!” Finan's jaw twitches but he says nothing, which upsets her even more. But she tries to calm down, wanting to know the truth. “How many are we?”

He hesitates, his fingers drumming on his thigh. “With ya, five.” 

“Fucking five!” She rolls her eyes and walks to her desk to take her two last drawings, handing them to the Irishman. His face darkens even more and she notices how hardly he swallows as he takes in the two men. “Is it them?” 

He nods, and even though she can see the emotions in his eyes, the way tears are threatening to roll on his cheeks, she can only feel anger. She pinches the bridge of her nose, walking in circles around her bedroom. “I can explain ya.” Finan eventually whispers, making her halt.

“I don’t want to hear your explanations.” She says sharply and he stares at her with as much surprise as when she slapped him. She sighs, rubbing her eyes now. “Just… Just leave.” However, Finan doesn’t leave, still fixated on her. “Fucking leave!” She shouts and he finally stands up. 

It’s only when she hears the door of her flat closing that she allows herself to fall on her bed. She feels so betrayed, even though she knows him for a short time, she has accepted that he would be the only forever she would ever know. The only constant when all the people she knows will disappear one by one. But everything was a lie. Well at least one part, but Victoria is blinded by anger. However, she does regret kicking him out of her flat as a hundred questions are rising in her mind and only he could answer them.

She feels that way for the rest of the week, having a thousand questions about the three other immortals, but too proud to accept Finan's excuses and ask him about them. Finan, on the other hand, does try to talk to her, sending her texts and calling her. And she just ignores him.

“Why don't you answer?” Rebecca asks her when they are taking their lunch break together in a small park, Vicky having declined the Irishman's call with a long sigh. 

“It’s nothing important.” She replies before taking a mouthful of her salad. “Is it still okay for dinner on saturday?”

Becca nods. “Yes, I’ll drive you if you want.”

“Oh, that would be great.” She smiles, grabbing her bottle of water.

“When are you planning on getting a new car, by the way?” Rebecca asks her. 

Vicky chokes with her water and coughs a little. “Hum yeah… Soon? I guess? I've got to see.”

Her friend narrows her eyes while Victoria averts hers. “You're really weird these days, Vicky.” She says with a more serious tone.

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know, you're always busy, and when you dare spend time with me, it seems like you'd rather be somewhere else.” She explains, resting her chin on her palm. And suddenly, a mischievous smile spreads on her lips. “Or someone else.” 

Vicky rolls her eyes, Rebecca definitely won't let go of that. She should have known better that after a week of not mentioning it she would return to the attack. “There’s no one, Becca.”

“Sure.” She smirks, pretending to look at something further in the park. “Well, when there will be someone, I would love to hear about that someone.”

“You’ll be the first to know.” Vicky grins exaggeratedly. 

Saturday comes earlier than she expected, and for the last two days, Finan stopped texting her. She can’t tell if she’s happy about it or not, she may still be angry at him, he is the only one able to answer her questions, and especially those about the three other men. So as she drives Rebecca’s car towards her parents’ house she makes a note to herself that she’ll have to text him tomorrow. But in fact she won’t have to do it because her phone rings, and she barely has the time to recognize Finan’s number until Rebecca grabs it.

“Oh my god, no Becca, don’t answer!” She says but her friend just wiggles her eyebrows and presses on the green button. 

“Hello?” She smirks innocently while Victoria is mouthing her insults. She can barely hear Finan’s voice through the phone. “Oh, no Vicky is driving right now, she can’t answer. But she’ll be very glad to see you later, I’m sure.” She grins at her, Vicky giving her a threatening glare. “She’ll be at home at 10.”

She then hangs up, visibly satisfied by her move but Victoria definitely doesn’t have the same opinion. “Why the hell did you do that? It could have been anyone else!” She shouts, raising a hand toward her phone in an annoyed fashion.

Rebecca simply chuckles, looking at the road again. “I recognized the number, you’ve been ignoring all his calls.”

“Indeed, and maybe there’s a reason for that!” She grumbles, trying to remain focused on her driving. 

“What’s that reason?” She asks curiously, something she maybe should have asked before.

Vicky rolls her eyes. “It’s complicated.”

“So, it’s the guy you’ve been seeing for the past weeks?”  She tilts her head.

“Christ, you’re really obsessed Becca.” She sighs, glancing at her quickly only to see her mischievous smile. 

When they finally arrive at her parents’ house Vicky is happy to notice her brother’s car while Rebecca’s face falls. The blond grins widely, she’ll have her revenge tonight after all. Since childhood, Rebecca has always had a thing for her older brother, Charles, and since she knew it, Victoria loves to tease her with that. As they walk to the front door, her best friend harasses her with questions about whether or not she knew Charles was here, and she just shrugs. And of course, it has to be him that opens the door and Rebecca can’t look more uncomfortable than when he leans to kiss her cheek after hugging Vicky. 

Charles is two years older than Victoria, and like she likes to call him, the intelligent one, while she is the weird one. For two years he’s been studying in Edinburgh and coming back home only occasionally, and usually without a warning. Obviously, with both Rebecca and Charles at home for dinner Vicky is far from being the center of the discussion, which doesn’t displease her as it gives her the opportunity to slip away to the kitchen when she receives a text from Finan. She can’t help but smile at his message saying that he suspects her not being consensual about their meeting later and that if she wants, they can cancel. Vicky hesitates a moment before answering. Maybe she can still be upset at him and see him to have answers. She’s yearning to know what made him lie to her, and who those men are and if maybe she could meet them too. So she texts back that they still should meet tonight anyway.

“Holy shit, the parents won’t stop with their questions.” Charles complains as he enters the kitchen with a pile of plates. 

Victoria slides her phone in her pocket and grins at him while opening the dishwasher. “That’s the problem when you’re the intelligent one.”

He laughs, his golden locks shaking. He puts the plates in the machine and leans against the counter once it’s closed. “Rebecca hasn’t changed a bit.” He says softly, with a shy smile.

Victoria raises an eyebrow at her brother, wondering what he truly meant by this comment but her mother shouts at them to bring the dessert before she can ask. During the whole rest of the dinner she keeps staring between her brother and best friend, trying to catch something that would betray him, but Charles is clearly better than Becca at hiding feelings. This new distraction makes her forget all about the past strange days she has been through, and she feels like a teenage girl desperate to learn every gossip around. But when dinner ends it makes her awkwardly sad, Finan’s warning about the fact that one day she’ll have to leave everything behind coming back to her mind. So, as if she’s just learned the date of her death, which ironically could never happen in fact, she decides to enjoy every moment with her family and close friends to have no regrets. 

That’s how she ends up talking of their future summer holidays with Rebecca in the car while she drives back to London. She checks destinations on her phone, both of them debating on which is better between Greece and Sicilia. Time goes quicker and soon enough Rebecca stops in front of her building with a teasing grin. 

“Have a good night.” She winks.

“Fuck off.” She replies after pulling her tongue out and leaving the car. 

She looks around until she finds Finan leaning against a wall, as usual, his hood covering his face. She steps toward him and he straightens, an apologetic smile shadowing on his lips. Before he could say a word, Vicky speaks. 

“I’m still mad at you.” She declares crossing her arms over her chest.

“It has the merit of bein’ clear.” He tilts his head, his mouth forming a straight line. 

She ignores his remark and continues. “But I still have many questions. The first being why you lied to me?”

Even in the darkness of the night, just a few lampposts lighting the area, she can see how his eyes suddenly seem lost in what she supposes are memories of long gone days. “It’s a complicated story.”

“As if there’s anything simple with you?” She wryly asks and he chuckles while nodding.

“Right.” He sinks his hands in his pockets and briefly looks up, his gaze hovering over the window of her flat. “Maybe I could explain ya inside?”

“Yeah, I’m freezing.” She admits before walking to her building’s door, Finan following her. 

They climb the stairs quickly, glad to feel the warmth of the inside. She searches her keys in her pocket when they reach her floor but when she stretches her arm out to open the door and push the key into the lock something is wrong.

Noticing her hesitance, Finan steps behind her, leaning slightly above her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“The door is open.” She says and then shakes her head. “I must have forgotten to lock it correctly.” 

She ignores Finan’s furrowed eyebrows as he looks at her and pushes the door open. She steps in her flat, and she has an unpleasant feeling of a stanger’s presence growing in her chest. She first thinks she’s being paranoid, but when she reaches her kitchen and finds herself face to face with a man pointing a gun at her she realizes she wasn’t.

A/N: Don’t kill me for this end :(((

Tag :​ @for-bebbanburg​ ​ @naps4bats​ ​ @osferth​ ​ @maggiescarborough​ ​ @finansarms​ ​ @dumbledoreisnotmyhubby​

[haloshornsinkstains]

Devildom Easter Egg Hunt

A little late, but the idea came to me at like 11pm last night and I'm old and suck at staying up late these days.

Anyway, Easter in the Devildom. With my MC Kore, because I missed writing about her.

Warnings: Female MC, Not a reader insert, polyamory, way too much description of baskets of chocolate, that's it.

“What the hell are ya wearing Kore?”

“Everyone come to the council room after classes, it’s important.” That’s what the text had said. The one sent from your phone to all of the brothers, and all three residents of Purgatory Hall. It was more than a little suspicious, for one Kore never wanted to stay longer at RAD than she really had to, and secondly she was usually much more polite when requesting a favour. But to use the council room she must have gained Diavolo’s permission so it couldn’t be anything too bad right? At least, that’s how they reassured themselves before turning up. Whatever scenarios they had planned out, none of them came close to what greeted them in the council room.

She looked down for a moment, before grinning back at Mammon. “You don’t recognise it?”

“I believe what Mammon means is why are you wearing that?” Lucifer sighed, shaking his head at the younger demon who had been momentarily rendered speechless.

“Well…” She started, still smiling happily at them all, “it’s Easter in the human realm, and since I already had the bunny costume on hand from that serving job we did, I thought I could share some of the festivities with you all. Technically I’m a bit late, Easter was yesterday, but I wanted Dia, um, Lord Diavolo to be able to join in and he wasn’t back until last night.”

The Prince in question was standing behind her beaming happily, nodding along with everything Kore said. “Now now Lucifer, no need to look so grumpy. I think it’s wonderful Kore wanted to bring something from the human realm to all of us!”

“But, that doesn’t explain why yer wearing that!” Mammon huffed. “Anyone could see ya like that!”

“Mammon… everyone already has seen me in this? And you’re all here anyway.” She shrugged. “In the human realm there’s an easter tradition where a rabbit brings chocolate eggs to kids. I know you’re not kids, but it seemed like fun. I organised an egg hunt and everything!”

“Did you say chocolate?”

“Yes Beel, chocolate eggs. The ones for the egg hunt aren’t, because it would give you an unfair advantage, but the prizes are chocolate eggs.” She laughed, pointing to the small pile of baskets behind her. “No touching until we’re done.”

Beel pouted a little, but stared determinedly at the baskets. Levi frowned beside him.

“So, this is a game? Are there clues?” His eyes flashed with interest, games he could do.

“Not really, I can give you some if you’re stuck though!” Kore laughed. “So, I hid 60 eggs, with Barbatos’ help so he’s going to stay here and keep me company guarding the prize baskets. He isn’t allowed to tell anyone where they are, including you Dia, and you agreed to not ask him.” Diavolo nodded. “So, the rules are; no magic,” she nodded towards Solomon and Lucifer, “no stealing from other people, if they found the egg it’s theirs,” a few sideways glances towards Mammon, “and no fighting. Everyone got that?”

There were assorted nods and murmurs of acceptance from the gathered Demons and Angels.

“Don’t look so pouty Luci, you don’t have to join in if you don’t want to. You can still have a basket of chocolates.”

Lucifer huffed. “Of course I’m taking part. But you neglected to tell us where the eggs had been hidden, unless you mean for us to search the whole Devildom?”

Kore blushed and shook her head. “Sorry! They’re in RAD, the Castle and their grounds. I would have hidden them in the House of Lamentation and Purgatory Hall but I didn’t get time between classes and Barb had duties to fulfill.”

“Then can we begin?”

She nodded at Lucifer. “The inaugural Devildom Easter Egg Hunt is go! Good Luck!”

Kore leaned back against the table, watching with amusement as the group scattered, most heading for the door to scour the school. Simeon and Luke stayed back, opting to look around the council room first instead. Simeon glanced down at Luke, standing on his tiptoes to try and peer over one of the taller plinths and sighed.

“Kore?”

She glanced over at the angel. “What is it Simeon?”

“Would it be permissible to work in teams for this game?” He nodded towards Luke, expression fond as ever.

“Of course Simeon! It’s not really as serious as all that, I only put the rules in place so no one spoiled the fun by magicking all the eggs to them or getting into a fight. It’s just for fun.” She giggled, patting one of the prize baskets. “Besides, I’d put money on Beel and Belphie already teaming up. Even if it’s just from Belphie’s laziness.”

As if on queue a shout echoed through the room from the corridor. “Oi! Ya not allowed to work together like that!”

“Kore never said working together was against the rules!”

“Mammon, let them be. Belphie isn’t likely to be much help when Beel is carrying him.”

Kore burst into laughter, shaking her head at their antics. “Well, I would wish you luck again Simeon, but I don’t think you’re in the most need of it.”

He chuckled in response, heading over to the younger angel to guide him out of the room. “Indeed, come on Luke. See you later Kore.”

She nodded, in response, leaning back and listening to the echoing voices through the halls as Barbatos came to sit beside her, letting her lean her shoulder against his.

That was how they found them two hours later, when all of the eggs had been collected and the hunters returned to the room, Kore tucked against Barbatos’ side giggling at something he’d told her while his arm rested around her waist.

“Ah, I’m glad to see you weren’t too bored while we were searching for eggs!” Diavolo boomed, chuckling at the sight before them.

Kore flushed bright pink, head shooting up to stare at the gathered group with wide eyes. Her gaze shifted quickly over Mammon and Levi, smiling softly at them to try and ease the tension from them. There would likely be time for a discussion later, but she was pleased to see neither jumped to chase Barbatos away from her, polyamory was hardest for the two of them but they were growing, learning.

“You should know already that Barbatos is excellent company.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “Go on then, how many eggs have you all collected?”

They handed over their eggs, letting Kore note down how many each had carefully before the next person handed theirs over. She paused half way through, looking at the ones Beel and Belphie handed over with a small frown.

“Um, Beel, why is this one half of an egg?” She asked, holding the slightly mangled object in her palm.

Beel rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet her gaze. “I, um, forgot you said they weren’t chocolate and I got hungry.”

“It was lucky he didn’t swallow it whole.” Belphie grumbled.

Kore giggled and nodding, noting down their score.

Once all the eggs were counted Kore jumped from the table ready to announce the scores.

“Alright gentlemen, the scores for the inaugural Devildom Easter Egg hunt are in! I’ll be going in ascending order of score, last place to first okay?” There were a few nods. “Okay, last place with two eggs is Asmo,”

“I knew I shouldn’t have stopped to fix my hair.”

“6th place is Solomon with three eggs, not bad, joint 5th place are Satan and the team of Simeon and Luke with five eggs each,”

“Well done Luke, you found most of those for us! I’d have been last without your help.”

“Damn, if Lucifer hadn’t beaten me up that tree using his stupid wings…”

Kore paused. “Wait, you climbed a tree Satan?!”

“Don’t worry Kore, I have it all on video. I may not have found many eggs, but I did capture most of the best moments on camera. Satan was very cat-like.”

“Thank you Solomon, I’ll be getting all of those from you later.” She grinned, looking back to the list. Okay, so 4th place is Lucifer with seven eggs. Then in joint 3rd place we have Mammon and Diavolo with eight eggs each, congratulations both of you,”

“I guess third place ain’t too bad. At least I beat Lucifer.”

“Oh excellent! I think that was very good for my first Easter Egg Hunt, don’t you?”

“Yes Dia, that’s a very respectable score. In 2nd place with ten eggs is Levi,”

“Damn, I guess it’s not bad for a game that involved physical activity…”

“Which means in 1st place is the team of Beel and Belphie with twelve eggs. Congratulations you two.”

“It was pretty much all Beel.” Belphie yawned. “As soon as he knew there was food on the line I mostly just napped.”

“Honestly I’d have been very impressed if anyone beat Beel in a competition that involved winning something edible.” Solomon chuckled.

“Alright, so Beel, Belphie, you get first choice of the Easter baskets.” Kore smiled, gesturing towards the table behind her.

“Are they not all the same then?”

“No Luke, they’re all the same value but the contents differ slightly. Different shops and types of chocolate. Some just have big eggs, there’s a couple with lots of small things, some are a mix of everything… you know? Also Barbatos baked a couple of treats, so there’s one in each basket too.”

“You put a lot of thought into this.” Diavolo hummed. “It’s very impressive Kore.”

She rubbed the back of her neck, looking down at the floor. “Well, Barb helped a lot, and… um, I just wanted to make sure it was fun?”

“You did an excellent job on your own, I merely offered a helping hand.” Barbatos sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Do not sell yourself short Kore.”

“Ah… Thank you. Okay guys, pick your baskets.”

Beel, to the surprise of no one, picked a basket full of large eggs, Belphie went for one with small sheep shaped chocolates. Levi picked a basket with a mix, including some small pink flower shaped chocolates that looked just like ones from an episode of the anime he watched the week before. Mammon’s basket also had a mix, mostly white chocolates dusted with golden sheen. Diavolo picked a basket of large eggs, dark, white and milk with intricate decorations across their surface. Lucifer’s basket of choice was filled with the darkest chocolate, more bitter than sweet and perfect with coffee. Simeon and Luke picked matching baskets, large and small chocolates in marbled milk and white. Satan’s basket was small chocolates, full of unique flavours and combinations. The final two baskets were fairly similar, a mix of sizes and types, though Asmo’s leant more towards fruity flavours than Solomon’s. With all the baskets collected Kore grinned at them.

“Happy Easter everyone!” She paused, glancing over at Barbatos. “Oh, Barb, your basket should be in your room.”

[juminsmysticmc]

Omg. Requests are open. I'm so happy. Can I have rfa and minor trio helping their kid with math homework? Like these adult people vs. math. Thank you and have a nice day

RFA + Minor Trio helping their kid with Math 

Hello my love! I love these kind of requests and I was so happy to write it! I hope you enjoy it! Tell me your opinion!

Jumin

,,Mommy…?’’ a young boy called through the penthouse, getting out of his room and walking towards the door of his parent’s bedroom.

Just when he was about to open the door, the boy’s father quickly stepped out.

,,Mommy is sleeping. She’s not feeling well, did something happen?’’ Jumin asked his son and took him in his arms.

Usually, his son would play alone in the afternoon for half an hour or do his homework and then spend some time with his family, but today he was pretty long alone in his room.

,,I need mommy,’’ he repeated.

,,I don’t understand Math,’’ the boy whimpered, tears in his eyes.

,,Daddy will help you since Mommy needs to rest. You will be a big brother soon, that’s why Mommy needs to sleep a lot,’’ Jumin told him and took his son and went into his room.

Jumin looked at the worksheets.

,,So, Mommy is in one room and I join, how many people are there?’’ Jumin asked him.

His son looked at him with panic.

But then the young father had an idea.

He got up and returned a few seconds later with a few sweets in his hand.

,,Here, have one,’’ he said and saw how happily his son took the candy.

,,Do you want to have this candy too?’’ he asked him then.

,,How many candies would you have had then?’’ he kept asking his son.

Finally, the young student understood the question and with his father he kept working on his homework.

Zen

,,MOOOOOOOMMMMMYYYYYY!’’ a little white haired girl ran through the house, her book in her hands.

,,Baby, psssst…’’ Zen quickly caught his sunshine and kissed her.

,,Mommy is trying to get Hana to sleep,’’ he explained and kissed his ten year old.

He then asked her if she wanted to show him anything.

He was surprised when she proudly showed him her homework. However, everything was wrong.

,,Come, baby, let’s go over it together,’’ Zen said and carried his princess into her room and sat next to her.

He first erased her wrong answers and then slowly asked her, ,,Imagine you have to count the number five, five times… take a piece of paper and draw five circles,’’ he told her.

She followed his instructions and then looked at him.

,,So, now we have to count them five times,’’ he explained.

,,One… two… three… twenty… twenty-one… twenty-five…?’’ she asked him, looking at him.

,,Right! Twenty-five!’’ he smiled and patted on her head.

He thought that it was kind of cute that her solution was fifty-five.

And so, father and daughter tried to solve all the problems together.

Yoosung

Yoosung looked at his daughter’s worksheet.

Since when did children have such difficult questions? He asked himself and tried to look up a tutorial to help his fifteen year old son.

,,Okay,’’ he mumbled and paused the video.

His son was unmotivated, bored, and depressed that he couldn’t solve that one question.

,,I got it, son. Together, we can do it!’’ Yoosung tried to stay positive.

Indeed, Yoosung could explain the task and didn’t even fail at finding a solution. 

,,We have ten balls: two red, three white, and five blue. The probability of getting a blue ball is five to ten since we have ten balls in total and five balls which are blue,’’ he explained and drew a picture.

His son nodded as he began to understand what his father tried to tell him.

Half an hour later, they finally finished with the homework.

,,You were good! I will give you a cookie for your hard work!’’ Yoosung praised.

Since then, his son always asked his father for help when there was something that he didn’t understand in his homework.

,,I feel as if I am in school again,’’ he whined one night at you while you giggled.

Jaehee

,,Oh dear,’’ you sighted as you looked at the question over and over again.

You hated these kinds of questions.

You were just as depressed as your daughter.

Spending half an hour on a question with only three points, wasn’t the best start.

Luckily, Jaehee saw that both of you were helpless and quickly joined you on this beautiful Saturday afternoon.

,,So, you have these three lines and they are parallel, aren’t they?’’ she asked both of you and quickly could tell you what the task was about.

Indeed, this seemed to be pretty easy for Jaehee.

,,Okay, you will be in charge of math and I will take over everything else. Just don’t make me work on math ever again!’’ you laughed and got up, ready to go for a walk with your beautiful family after working on the hard question for such a long time.

Saeyoung

You expected Saeyoung to be good in math.

But you never thought that he would be that good.

You just spend half an hour on a single task, reading and reading the same question over and over again.

However, you didn’t understand anything.

Your twin girls looked at you.

,,Yesterday you said that mom knows everything,’’ one of your red haired angels told you.

You didn’t want to disappoint them, but for god’s sake, this single question was making you nervous.

It was as if someone would tell you that the sun is yellow and the house is green and ask you how long they took to build up the city.

,,I am home!’’ Saeyoung said after coming home, kissing his girl’s heads and your soft lips.

With a glance, he looked at the topic of his children’s homework.

,,I love this topic! LOLOL, this answer here is wrong,’’

And with that, you demanded that he explain the task to you, his children, and at some point, friends of his daughters.

And you were really glad that Saeyoung was by your side, supporting you as a wonderful father.

Saeran

Helpless.

This was the only thing Saeran felt when he looked at all the numbers of his daughter’s worksheet.

He gulped. 

He was good at hacking and he was good at math, but this was totally bullshit.

He looked at the clock. You were still away for a few more hours.

,,Daddy, you don’t need to if you don’t get it either,’’ his little girl mumbled and was about to close the book and put away her stuff.

,,Don’t worry, I will try it again,’’ he whispered and read the task over and over again.

He tried to write down the most important information of the question and wrote them down.

Step by step, he tried to solve the mystery until he succeeded.

Finally, the solution seemed to be logical.

,,Now, step by step, that’s their question and here is what they give you,’’ he began to explain.

The both of them began to work on the three pages his daughter had as homework.

When you came home, a big smile was on your face.

You softly brushed Saeran’s cheek and kissed your daughter’s head as their sleeping faces laid over their hard work.

Jihyun

,,I wanna go to mommy,’’ Lucy said. A few tears dripped down on her book as she held the pen with a trembling hand.

,,I know, Lucy,’’ Jihyun began.

,,But first, we need to work on these tasks and then I promise that we can go to mommy and your little brother in the hospital, yes?’’ he asked his adopted girl.

The girl looked at him and nodded.

Jihyun knew that the relationship between mother and daughter was different, but he never knew that there could be such a big difference.

And so, the mint haired man sat next to his daughter and observed his daughter’s studies.

,,Lucy, are you sure that 365 divided 5 is 74?’’ Jihyun asked her.

She looked at him and all over again she made the same mistake.  

,,Look,’’ he told her and took a pen in his hand and wrote down the question.

,,If you write down 365: 5, and you only take 36 : 5, you get the number…?’’ Jihyun waited.

,,Seven…?’’ she asked him.

Her father nodded.

,,So, we write down 365 : 5 = 7, but there isn’t a 36 in the multiplication of 5, right?’’

,,No, there’s just  5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and so on,’’ Lucy mumbled.

,,Perfect! So, below the 36 you write down 35. You subtract the numbers and take down the 15.

How often does 15 go into 5?’’ he asked.

Finally, Lucy understood what her father wanted to tell her and since then she calculated the problem his way.

Btw, it should look like that ( I sat 5 minutes at that question because I got confused)

365: 5 = 73

35

——–

  15

  15

——-

    0

Vanderwood

You rubbed your temples and stroked your belly as your son kept crying.

Suddenly your husband stepped in, asking the both of you what was happening.

,,I…I can’t help him anymore, Vanderwood,’’ you began to sob.

Vanderwood patted your head and told you to go to rest since you were already eight months pregnant.

,,The hero of the day will explain the question to him,’’ he told you, trying to make you feel better.

As soon as you stepped out, Vanderwood asked his son if crying would make him intelligent.

,,No? Then stop sobbing. I’m here to help you,’’ Vanderwood said, muting his son in lighting speed.

,,Look,’’ he began.

,,If you draw a point here, here, here, and there, and connect them, it gives you this curve right?

So now we need to use X to find out the calculation for this point,’’ he went on.

,,Let’s calm down and search for an easy walkthrough,’’ Vanderwood told him.

Indeed, the both of them found a way and could easily work on all the questions that were left.

Vanderwood tried his best to teach his son so that he would do well in the exam, which was around the corner.

And even though you couldn’t support them mentally, you decided to bring over some snacks and help them in your own way.

This was really funny, I used my mother as an example. My dad never successfully taught me maths XD I always began to cry with him, lol and I still do because I HATE MATH!

MASTERLIST 1

MASTERLIST 2

MASTERLIST 3

02.04.2020// 00:51 MEST

[your-ace-cousin-clover]

ahhhh hi sorry for the LATE response, life's been kinda wild lately

anyway, i'm really glad you liked the poem & i don't mind you sharing it :)

(plus, a new prompt sounds nice)

(&btw, richard siken's new book is gonna be called "blue jupiters" (as far as i know copper canyon press will publish it))

also, happy you liked the recs! i found it cool how you said "the way god chooses to escape from his own reality through someone who does not believe enough in him to question him at first"! couldn't have put it better myself.

(sorry if this ask seems all over the place, i just have to get somewhere and i'm gonna be mad late - but i really want to finally send a response)

i enjoyed your recommendations a lot so let me elaborate real quick-

the problem with travel:

right off the bat, same.

traveling does always make me feel like i'm starting a new chapter and i should act accordingly.

love "kill the kid stuff, start to act my numbers" - the choice of words you use when writing is so important. (thats why i cant judge anyone who spends a long ass time on thesaurus! sometimes writing really does feel like looking through a lost & found or fishing the right word out of a goodwill bin! flipping through a magazine in search for the right word to cut out and stick on your collage!) imagine how substantially different the poem would sound if limon had written "start to act my age" instead of "start to act my numbers"

"[...] - we’re small

and flawed, but I want to be

who I am, going where

I’m going, all over again."

this^ part kills me in a good way

accident report in the tall, tall weeds:

"my ex got hit by a bus"

gets right to the point. kinda like a short story? an immediate jump into action

i might've said this before but i like it when poems tell stories (i mean i guess they all do, in a way, but i specifically mean the ones that have clear characters? if that makes sense)

"No tampering with the great universal brake wires."

ahhh yeah - when you feel like a thought can cause real life consequences

"When the plane went down in San Francisco,

I thought of my friend M. He’s obsessed with plane crashes.

He memorizes the wrecked metal details,

the clear cool skies cut by black scars of smoke.

Once, while driving, he told me about all the crashes:

The one in blue Kentucky, in yellow Iowa.

How people go on, and how people don’t.

It was almost a year before I learned

that his brother was a pilot.

I can’t help it,

I love the way men love."

^ don't you love it when a poem beats your heart to a pulp?

"What I saw in the men who came before,

sometimes I don’t want to say this out loud,

was someone I could hold up to my ear

and hear the ocean, something I could say my name into,

and have it returned in the inky waves."

self recognition through the other! yeah! sometimes people are people and sometimes people are mirrors and i know this wasn't her point but aren't we all just saying "hey! this is how i feel! do you feel like that too?" and sometimes "language is complicated but i think you know exactly what i mean and i know what you mean too!" and "when our experience overlaps the cosmic alone-ness becomes bearable!"

shit i'd love to drop another rec but i REALLY have to go now! hope to hear from you soon

-cat

Well, lmao Cat now, I'm the one who's late in replying, but yeah, I've been really busy. Now, I've got a bit of a time to reply to your ask.

First of all, "Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?" by Tracy Smith is a really interesting poem especially centred around Bowie. I love how the poet makes Bowie into a mythical being, like a sort of a spirit rather than a mortal man.

"Not God, exactly. More like-

Some thin-hipped glittering Bowie-being"

I love how the poem takes in the spirit of Bowie as something that will keep living on -

"Saying nothing is lost, that everything lives on waiting only

To be wanted back badly enough?

Bowie will never die. Nothing will come for him in his sleep

Or charging through his veins. And he’ll never grow old,"

It's just a beautiful way to think of the artist living on despite their death. They live through those they have touched with their art as well as their art themselves.

"In which I’m forever a child looking out my window at the night sky

Thinking one day I’ll touch the world with bare hands

Even if it burns."

And I just simply love these lines ^^^ . I love the poem touches up on reincarnation. It's interesting as it mentions how people are reincarnated a few times and then, they go to the beyond.

"And how many lives

Before take-off, before we find ourselves

Beyond ourselves, all glam-glow, all twinkle and gold?"

And finally, I love how the deification fo Bowie continues making him into a cryptid? That's the best way I can describe it honestly.

"When a man his size can meet

Your eyes for just a blip of time

And send a thought like SHINE

SHINE SHINE SHINE SHINE

Straight to your mind. Bowie,

I want to believe you."

(I followed your style of picking up lines and talking about them - it's a pretty fun thing to do)

{Purple happens to be my fav colour so, yeah I annotated with purple}

And yeah, language is funky like that. Honestly, I love the fact that people swap art with each and it's like every though we're different, you go through the same emotions. No matter whatever niche emotion is, someone has already written about it! If they haven't, you can always write it!

This reminded of a favourite poem of mine (tw : homophobia and sort of death ? though) which reminds me of the awkwardness of telling people I'm queer / coming out to them. It's called Three A.M. by Jill McDonough.

Also, I've been reading some more stuff to rec them and to hear your thoughts on them. It's all food - themed because I really got into food poetry last week. And as I was talking to a lovely mutual about the intimacy of cooking food and feeding someone.

I'd highly rec the movie "Big Eden". It's a wonderful gay rom-com movie with no homophobia at all and a lot of intimate cooking and wanting to make sure that your crush is loved and taken care off.

But anyway -

Having a Coke with You by Frank O'Hara

Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo

The Orange by Wendy Cope

For Grace, After A Party by Frank O'Hara

Eating Together by Li-Young Lee

And these two posts are where I got these poems from, so perhaps you could read the other ones in the list.

Food Poems 1

Food Poems 2

And also, you're into Succession! Yay!! Are you into Tomgreg? If you're not, that's chill. But, like more Tomgreg people the better. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the show too! :) And like I said before, I really enjoyed your Kendall edit! Did you get a chance to watch my Tomgreg edit? It's called Don't Blame Me, I put it on my Tumblr. (No pressure if you can't)

And I have to ask, because I forgot, what are your pronouns, Cat? I use she/they. I just wanted to ask what you want me to use while referring to you. And let me know if you wanna do another poetry writing swap again.

Anyway, that's it for now! Let me know what you think! I hope to hear from you soon :)

[neshabeingchildish]

Road to Dystopia Pt. 2

I added a few people to the tag that interacted with me since the previous update, but y’all let me know if you want to be taken off. I don’t have the next update written out yet (this one, I wrote mostly when I wrote the first chapter), so the last update might be a little bit further away than the space between these two, but regular readers know that generally, I try to keep turnaround time for updates pretty concise. They get harder the longer a fic is, but fortunately, this little guy only has one more chapter. Thank you to all of you taking this short journey with me, because while it is one of my smaller works, I still am putting the same big amount of energy into it that I put into all of this work for us. I hope you enjoy this part as much as the last.

@sunbeameyes @kiddangers @bitchmilsky @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel @daintyurbanprincess @ciara-knightly @famousflowermagazine @imma-sensitive-btch @junknstu1f @grymrayven 

Listening to Charlotte

Charlotte wiped her eyes and dried her hands on Jasper's chest before pacing, catching her breath, and giving herself a low volume speech. "Okay, Charlotte. A plan. What next? If Henry's… if the Man Cave… if… Schwoz!" She snapped her fingers. "We have to contact Schwoz. He'll have backup supplies somewhere.” She patted herself, "My phone! It was on the table." She looked expectantly at Jasper, because his was usually in his pocket.

"I left mine on the couch," Jasper said, miserably, not ready to wipe his own tears yet but trying not to bawl in front of Charlotte, because she was really pulling herself together and trying to think things through. 

She was brilliant. She always saved the day, somehow, or at least helped to the point that it couldn’t have been done without her. Maybe not hands on, but definitely behind the scenes. He was grateful for her right now. Without her, he'd be freaking out and wailing to the skies. Maybe even calling out Henry's name himself and breaking down. But, Charlotte's brave face was giving him something akin to hope, or maybe he was just desperate to cling to the one friend that Henry's last words to him were to save her. Henry. He couldn't stop wondering about him, but Charlotte’s mood changed and broke into his Henry worries… "Fuss at me. Tell me how let down you are by me," he heard her say, with a small voice.

"What?" He asked. 

When he looked at her, she'd stopped pacing and was just staring angrily at the sky with her fists and teeth clenched. She was coming up short for ideas and her motivational speeches became voices of the Man Cave, voices that she was a little too weak to combat. "That's what usually happens, even when I'm doing my job. Now, I’ve completely failed Henry. Why aren't you complaining about me? Why aren't you talking to me like I'm an idiot? You've done it for less. THIS is the time for it!" She said. 

"I'm… sorry. I never should have done that. There was never a time to talk to you like that. You're no idiot, Charlotte and you didn't fail anybody."

"Tell that to Henry," she mumbled, and as though on cue, they heard a loud crashing noise and looked to see an explosion that tore part of the Swellview sign off of Mount Swellview. They both screamed. A series of explosions and the collapse of the sign and rocks, they watched in horror. Charlotte covered her mouth with both hands and Jasper fell to his knees, the breakdown finally imminent. 

"Charlotte?" She heard through her headset. It was Piper. "Did you see that? What the heck happened?" Piper didn't know that Henry went down with the blimp and Charlotte couldn't find her voice, but she realized something.. the headset was connected via a network outside of the Man Cave… which meant that she should still be able to reach Schwoz!

"I'll get back to you," she told Piper, knowing her voice betrayed her feelings, but there was no way that she was saying something when she didn’t have anything good to say. She tapped her ear and called softly, "Schwoz?"

Schwoz told her, "Charlotte! You made it out of the Man Cave!" He had never sounded more excited to hear her voice. "I am collecting Ray in a helicopter. We're going to go to the mountains and search for Henry."

"Can you pick up me and Jasper? We're outside of…" she looked at the rubble, sadly…"What used to be Junk N Stuff…" she watched Jasper, now clenching the ground, toppled over and shuddering with cries. 

"Yes. Stay where you are… I'm glad you made it, Girlfriend." Schwoz said. 

Jasper couldn't hear them or anything else. The sounds of the explosions and the mountain falling was roaring in his ears. Each new loud sound made him jump and started a new flow of tears. He couldn't hear anything else until he heard Charlotte say his name. "Jasper?" His eyes stung and he was grief stricken, but he faced her. She got down on her knees and said, "Hey..  Schwoz is coming to get us, okay? You.. wanna hold my hand until he gets here?"

"He must've been so lonely…" Jasper said, his dirty hand taking the one that she extended and hanging on to it, for everything sacred. She had been thinking about that too. Henry's reaction when he realized that they were leaving him for school literally broke her heart. She didn't want his last moments to be anything like that. "How was I gonna just leave him?" Jasper asked her. "How was I gonna just go away to school?"

"You deserve a chance to leave this place, Jasper. Don't beat yourself up. Henry… wouldn't have held it against you."

He wiped his eye, but then got ground dirt into it and groaned, "I am so stupid!" 

"No you're not!" She squealed. He used his shirt to clear his eye, then looked at her. She was pointing at him, but not touching him as she punctuated, "You're brave. You're strong. You're a hero. You fought for us. Freed everybody from the Cavemen. You just saved my life. Henry would be proud of you for moving forward. I know he would be, because I am." She sighed, "and right now, Buddy, I need you to be brave and strong again, one more time, then you never have to, if you don't want to.” He was staring at her with puffy blue eyes, waiting for whatever she had to say next, attentive, because he could tell it was important. “We might find Henry, we might not, but… we've gotta try. Whatever we might see, it’ll be SO hard, Jasper. It’ll be hard for both of us, but..”

"Got it. I'm… I'll be brave and strong. For you."

"And Henry," she added. He nodded. She noted that he still wasn't saying his name. But, at least, he was picking himself up off of the ground and he helped her up, as well. 

.

Whenever they checked into the hotel, Jasper and Henry carried their stuff to the room, and upon opening the door, they looked at the provisions. It was meant for one person. They weren’t rich, and the guys decided to join her on pretty short notice, so this was what it was for the time being. A simple and clean spot for a temporary charity worker. “I talked with the leader of the team and she’ll try to get us a bigger room after a few months or so of service. They’re a charity, so you know… They can’t just snap their fingers and give us resources,” she said.

Jasper and Henry both answered at the same time. “This is better than my house,” and “I thought I was gonna be in a coffin, so…” respectively. They followed her lead on how to set the room up as best as they could for the three of them and when it was all done, they all stared at the bed. Up until then, they had been together pretty much since Kid Danger’s death, but they also had more space for this type of thing. They’d been pretty much sleeping over at Charlotte’s house and even pushing the beds together and using them as one was a little more room than what they had here. 

“It’s too small for your height and too small for your weight,” she told Jasper and Henry. “We need to reinforce the frame, and maybe set up a footstool on the end.”

“Whatever it takes,” Henry said, with a shrug. She nodded. It was new, getting used to them just listening to her, so she didn’t want to get too comfortable with it just yet, but she did like that little rejoice of not having to explain and argue with them as to why her ideas worked.

“Where do we get what we need to do that?” Jasper asked.

“Well… First, I need to install my security system in here, so that nobody can break in while we’re gone. Then, you guys can come with me to report to the charity base. I’ll figure out where we can start trying to get supplies and stuff on the way?” She said it uncertain, because of the newness, but both of them simply nodded their heads, trusting that whatever she said - it was the right thing.

.

"I feel useless! I need a computer or something!" Charlotte fussed. Jasper was operating a drone, Schwoz was flying the helicopter, and she was looking through binoculars. Piper and Ray had taken a separate copter, and she honestly couldn't figure out how Piper could manage, but Piper insisted that she could "just feel" that Henry was okay. Charlotte didn't know that feeling at the time. "Schwoz, do you have anything that I could use to help, or scan, or something useful?"

"Well… I do have an experimental cyberchip implant that could put an interactive computer inside of your brain with nanotechnology."

"What?" Jasper asked, while Char asked, "You have it on you?"

"Yes, it's in my pocket, but the implantation would be crude because I don't have tools and we are in a helicopter. And it will also hurt a lot going in."

"Okay," she said and nodded.

"NOT Okay!" Jasper said. "I'm not one of the smarties, but I know that "experimental" means that neither of you know what to that's gonna do if you try to use it!"

"It's gonna help us maybe find Henry," Charlotte said.

"Or make us lose you! Getting a "crude" implant of an experimental chip on a helicopter, Charlotte…" Jasper was panicked. 

"Jasper. It's gonna be okay. Schwoz is a genius."

"Awww," Schwoz said.

Jasper rubbed his temples with his fingertips, shaking his head at the mere thought of things going wrong… "Jasper. I'm not leaving you, okay?" She said. He sighed. He hated it, but he had to take her word. He nodded. "Let's do this, Schwoz." Schwoz wasn't kidding. It hurt like hell! The first incision was okay, but the chip entering her head and trying to function was excruciating and she tried not to show it because Jasper was already losing it. 

"Is my vision supposed to change?" She asked, trying not to sound alarmed by the way her eyesight felt like she was receiving stats in a VR game or something. "I have like… robo-vision…" 

"Well, that can happen…" Schwoz said. "You don't have any additional hardware besides your brain available."

"How do I change these settings?" She wondered, wanting to change the mode of vision. She was worried, but she needed to try to act cool. Jasper had lost all of his shit when the blimp crashed, and even though she was a mess on the inside, she knew that she had to be cool headed through this mission. She tried not to think of it as recovering his remains, but she knew that everybody but the denial stricken Piper was thinking it.

Schwoz handed Charlotte his cell phone and opened the app he made for the microchip. That was more like it. She began to change the way her vision was set up, Jasper noted her eyes changing color and form as she did, and whenever she set it to bioscan, she looked over the mountain and began to search. He resumed his drone duties.

Piper hung back in the helicopter that she was flying as Captain Man scoured the crash site, inch by inch, moving him as needed and occasionally checking her phone to see if the connection had picked up the signal of Henry’s, and to ignore messages from their parents, asking to be in the loop when they straight up left them to blow up in the Man Cave in the first place. Henry would probably forgive them for that, but she wasn’t going to any time soon.

“I see something,” Charlotte said on the radio. “Piper… I’ll send you coordinates to bring Ray. I… I think that I found Henry’s bioscan..” She said. She knew that the equipment in her noggin was experimental, so the fact that it was reading as a living person, she wasn’t going to say… just in case. But, also… she hoped… and also… she wondered if the chip wasn’t just giving a false reading altogether and there was nothing there.

Whenever she heard Ray ask, “Where are you, Kid?” in the saddest, softest voice she had heard from him yet, even today, she figured that it was a fluke in the chip, but she heard something. Muffled groaning, but… DEFINITELY Henry! “Right here, Dude.. Ugh. It’s gonna take forever. This is… this was not my best idea. From now on, I should really listen to Charlotte. Well… some babies lived…”

“Henry?” She called out.

Ray said into the radio, “Okay, so I’m not the only one who heard that?” 

“Get my brother from under those rocks!” Piper squealed. 

They landed and hiked nearby to try to work on freeing him. Charlotte rolled a huge rock that Ray and Jasper had been struggling with away, to everybody’s surprise and Henry was there, glowing green. “It’s really him!” Jasper cheered and laughed in disbelief. They began to pull away all of the rest of the rocks to get him uncovered and he stopped glowing green and passed out. “HENRY???” Jasper called out, saying his name finally, after hours of not being able to even mutter it. 

Charlotte tapped on the screen of Schwoz’s phone and scanned him, “He’s exhausted himself. I think he was holding that forcefield this entire time, scared that he might get crushed if he stopped.”

“Let’s get him to the Man Cave… Oh…” Piper said and dropped her shoulders. 

“I’ve got a place,” Schwoz said. 

Ray lifted Henry into his arms and everyone wanted to be on the helicopter with Henry, so after a little bit of the team fussing, Charlotte said, “Let’s just come back for the second helicopter after we’ve gotten Henry settled.” Everyone. Listened. She laughed and wondered, finally relieved because Henry was okay, “Did this chip give me ‘being listened to’ superpowers?” 

“It’s not programmed for that,” Schwoz said. She didn’t care to explain that she was joking, but he didn’t give her a chance to, anyway. “It’s also not programmed for the strength to move an extremely large rock. What happened there?”

She furrowed her eyebrows and said, “If YOU don’t know, I CERTAINLY don’t!”

“We’ll check it out in the Man Nest.”

“In the what?” She asked. He just smiled and looked over at Ray, hoping to make eye contact, but Ray was looking at Henry, in his arms, and only looked up after he felt eyes on him. 

“The Man Nest,” Schwoz repeated, not expounding, because soon, they would see it.

.

Charlotte groaned and took the chip out of the side of her head and set it into a tiny bowl. Henry peeked into the bathroom and watched as she pulled the purple locks of hair up, away from her face and examined the tiny slit in her face. "What's going on?" He wondered.

"Got the new and improved cyberchip in the mail," she said. "Schwoz says that with the upgrades, I'll be able to get the Dystopia police records as well."

"Uhhh…" Henry said, trying to respond like he knew what that meant…

"I'll know beforehand which cops are dirty. If someone who's flagged as such is closest to the scene, we at least know that we won't be able to trust them," She explained as she worked on implanting the upgraded chip into the side of her head. 

"That looks SO uncomfortable," Henry said.

"Only during this part. When I get it into place and the nanotechnology works with my DNA, it's almost like I become the information… Ooh!" She yelped, pained.

"Ooh, what? What do you mean by Ooh!?" He asked.

Jasper came barging in, asking, "What was that "Ooh" for?" 

Charlotte held both of her hands out and stared at her reflection as her vision began to change when her mind downloaded the information and her body integrated Schwoz's chip with her body. Her eyes changed and Jasper and Henry gasped and held on to each other. She tapped the side of her head and her eyes returned to normal. "This upgrade SLAPS!" She said. 

She heard a beep and looked down at her arm to see a little screen, "Oooh, new feature!" 

"What is.. how is it doing that?" Jasper asked.

"If I waste my time explaining the science, you still wouldn't understand. So, I'll just say this.. there is technology in my body, but I STILL am not a robot." She laughed and slapped Jasper on the butt. "Stop looking all scared. You weren't scared of me not being me last night." She winked at him. 

"Good point," he said, nodding. Henry laughed. 

She picked up the previous one that she had since the day they were looking for Henry. "Is it stupid that I want it for sentimental value?"

"No. It helped you to find me." He took it from her fingertips, "I can turn it into a pendant for you?"

"Cool," she said with a smile, and headed for the bedroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and put it in a little trinket box for later. Whenever he came out, Charlotte was already snuggling up to Jasper, both of them in boy shorts and tank tops, the standard issue sleepwear that Charlotte ordered for the base. Henry hated those things on himself, but on them… 

He came to bed too and Charlotte reached out and collected him by the hand, to pull  him into the snuggle. They’d talk for hours, just like this and fall to sleep in their tiny bed. Most of the conversation that they had was either at the base, where they did their charity work, or here, at home. They couldn’t really do this in public. 

Dystopia streets were always searching for a weakness and somebody close to you definitely qualified. People walked next to spouses like they were strangers heading the same way. Sometimes, whenever they were on the train, Jasper and Char would play a game where they tried to guess if two or more people knew each other. Is that her lover? Is that his kid? They’d quietly discuss why or why not. Henry would linger nearby, keeping an eye on them, but not engaging. They were already doing too much playing those little games! But, it brought them a little bit of joy, so he couldn’t deny them. They deserved all their moments of joy, as far as he was concerned. 

But, he loved being able to do this with them every night. And... once they started listening to each other, he realized that Charlotte was actually smarter than he even ever knew in the first place and Jasper was wildly attentive and low-key hilarious. He talked the least, of the three, but they always pulled him into conversations. They liked the way he would start talking about one thing and go on an entire long tangent to several other things, forgetting his original point, sometimes, but at least being open with them. He liked that too. He hadn’t had a lot of time in the past to just openly talk about things, casual or crucial, and he had not previously had anyone there to not only just LISTEN to those thoughts, but to actually admire him for speaking them. He was usually the first one to go to sleep. The other two tended to watch over him for a while longer. 

Charlotte called it the wind down reverse. Whenever it was time to jump into action, she was first, then Jasper followed, then Henry. But, whenever it was time to settle. Henry was first, then Jasper, then herself. They spent their waking hours making sure that they didn’t rest until she was definitely safe, and she didn’t rest until she noted that little fact to herself every night.

[wrathfulspark]

@jjwxlf

Jaylah stared the witch in the eye as the distance between them closed in. Elidi’s first question, she did have an answer to, but stayed silent almost knowing more was to come. Tamryn hadn’t developed a partnership with anyone so this situation was most definitely unique, but of course she wasn’t going to give Elidi that satisfaction in knowing that she was Tamryns first most serious fling. “I did the same with Dallas, yes. A werewolf that she once dated. They were a really good pair and he liked me, but I’m sure she’s told you about him.” Her thoughts spoke back to Elidi with a unphased stare. By staying silent, more answers came out from the dark haired female which was what Jaylah wanted. Instead of doing the predictable, the redhead lifted her eyebrows like a surprised brat to display interest and to show she was listening.

The younger sibling stayed stone cold towards the witch as Elidi seemed to fire back questions. Her eye contact not leaving for a second to waste, they only moved as her lids narrowed when Elidi spoke about how Jaylah wasn’t Tamryn keeper but not understanding the weight of what it meant to be blood to back up her accusation. Still, her words pursed in between her sculpted lips that sealed shut to the womans surprise, and her emerald orbs stayed locked on the target, observing every word and every action behind it. Shifting for a slit second once Lupe’s name was mentioned, she snarled at the remark about her understanding anything about the incident, but realizing it was a test to see how Jaylah would predator-idly react. However, when Elidi said that she didn’t agree with Tamryns ways on how it was handled caused Jaylah to stand up a bit from her hunched posture. She looked down to fix her clothes as Elidi followed up the false empathy only to insult her in the following sentence while she debated the conversation in her head. The impulses of her nature were screaming at her to leave the pointless conversation, but Jaylah stayed before the witch while she continued.

In that moment the redhead brat was glad she stayed for she was pleased to know she had successfully gotten inside Elidi’s mind and twisted all reality and things questionable. Raising her folded arms from across her chest to over her head to lean back like a headrest, she continued to listen to the rant. Head games were common within the pack to test each other and others, but perhaps there were reasons to her madness that she had been trying to convey that was blinded by Elidis infatuation with Tamryn. The debate on whether to be helpful and form allies or to sworn enemies to keep the rotation going was beginning to stir in the same melting pot. Though the wisdom witch claimed to see right through Jaylah, she allowed those to see what they wanted to.

After stretching out in all her confident glory, the two stood in silence until the other broke the silence, that being Elidi declaring her love for Tamryn. The tension was clear though there was an ounce of communication in the air, Jaylah allowed her arms to fall to her sides.

Scratching at her hairline, she gathered to find the words to say back. The one thing she could sense from the other was honesty, and she debated whether it was wise to do the same. Her eyes shifted from the blue sets of hues back on the green grass a couple of times until it was time for something to be said.

“I know you care about Tamryn...” Jaylah deflated as she dropped her fidgeting hand down to her side where she then connected her fidgeting digits through her belt loop.

“And I know she cares about you....” Her eyes distanced themselves from the others stare to concentrate on what needed to be said.

“Maybe it’s the familiar long black hair, or the way you two look at each other and protect one another, but you remind me a lot of Lupe.” She swallowed the large lump in her throat before making eye contact and continuing, “She was half human too... and Tamryn got rid of her like... an old book.” Her eyes wandered to the romance book in hand before looking back up. “I don’t agree what she did either, but I will more than likely forgive her in unnatural ways only to leave myself broken once again like before. Listen, if you choose her, you let go a piece of yourself because it’s the most sacrificing thing you can do for the person you set as the most important thing on earth... and that’s based on both love and fear. I’m not saying I care about you because I don’t know enough to know you, but like I said, there’s a part a Lupe I see in you, so take it as a compliment because she the best thing that’s ever happened to me, she’s my saving grace and I’m lucky to have her, she’s..mi rosa especial enviada del cielo para guiarme en la tierra.”

A smile faded to taking a deep breath, Jaylah continued, “Lupe didn’t have a choice to become part of the pack, you do. If this is what you want, then you have to see not only Tamryn but fit yourself into the pack as well. Lupe is still strugging with that, but she’s trying. You have to put yourself behind which means, you have to protect me too, which means... I have to trust you.”

“I may be young and have done stupid things in my lifetime, but I know what it’s like to feel and be in true love. I know all the signs. I bet you two have had late night talks, sharing each others biggest secrets. Bet you two have made promises to one another that you’ve never promised another. Maybe done some things out of your comfort zone to prove your love, bend the rules for loyalty?... You are the closest thing to Lupe and I when it comes to you and Tamryn. I mean...how do you honestly expect me to react? The only difference between you two is that I am imprinted with Lupe, and Tamryn doesn’t even know what a soulmate is if it slapped her in the face. I barely knew what love was until I turned an innocent person, that happened to be my soulmate... and I nearly lost myself because I lost them... all because my sister didn’t approve of them. But... but I’m suppose to be okay with whatever happens b-because I’m just a beta... right? Well, you’re not in any rank so what say do you have? Oh oh, wait a minute, you’re the girlfriend... I’ve known Tamryn since the 18th century a-and you’ve known her since Tabula Rasa opened so... fuck me right?”

Jaylah began to pace as she thought out loud with all of her concerns.

“Three years ago you would have been dust based on how Tamryns mind works, Elidi. You’re only lucky enough to roam around and see the light of day because Tamryn chooses to.” Her words were beginning to build the more she correlated Lupe and Elidi together.

“You are a powerful witch, so it makes sense as to why you would be an addition to our pack. But what if it doesn’t work, huh? What if in a year or two one of you decide running with the wolves is not for you, hmm? What if.... what if I let you in and it doesn’t work out?” Contemplating emerald hues swept the ground like a mop before making their way back to Elidi, Eyes flickered with emotion as they fought the urge to show it. She took a deep breath and sucked in her tears that formed. She dismissed the thoughts of losing her mother, father, and lover all because of being naive and trusting the unseen unfortunate outcomes. “Then you’re just another person I get close to, and lose.”

Her eyes searched the other for a chance to read the thoughts that were going through the womans mind. She feared of rejection and humiliation and almost preferred to be enemies than a temporary high, something she had been chasing over the last couple of decades since her father passed. A thumb massaged the inside of her palm, almost to distract herself momentarily while she debated what to say next or listen to what was to be said.

“If you want to call me a liar, or say that I’m playing games with you,or or... or say that I’m weak.... that I’m nothing like my sister then fine! So be it! I don’t care! At least you’ve heard my side of things.” Taking a few steps closer to insure that Elidi would take in her next words, she allowed the space between them to get uncomfortably close, “...But if you love her, you better be damn sure you’re right about it, because there’s no taking it back. Don’t make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions, and that’s coming from me, Elidi.”

Arms resumed back to their original fold as she awaited the response, almost anticipating a defensive response and the woman to walk away.

Jaylah talked so much. There was so much to unpack and process what the beta was telling her. Not that her opinion was regarded highly but to give her the same attention she had given Elidi, even if it was clearly forced. The witches expression remained stoic, her brow quirking every now and again as the wolf spoke her piece. Her hand rubbed at her temple, her eyes shutting as it seemed Jaylah was finally done speaking. Overhead grey clouds rolled in, a heavy scent of rain lingered about the air, the wind gently tossling their locks.

"I suppose I'll start at the beginning. I am nothing like your Lupe, however if that makes this entire process easier for you than so be it." She exhaled a sigh, lucent hues examining her nails, her brow quirking as she spoke plainly, "I'm not... dust as you put it, because I am a worthy opponent. However your earlier statement is correct, I am a good witch." She paused to let her eyes meet Jaylah's own, hues similar to Tamryn's yet foreign one in the same. "Then you brought the conversation back to you. This is about Tamryn. You don't care about me, I don't care about you." A heavy sigh is pushed past her lips, her irritation getting the better of her. She's silent for a moment, wondering if that was too harsh to say while Jaylah was being passive. Even if it were true.

Elidi averts her gaze, confused even more so by Jaylah's emotions, the words she spoke now conflicting with the personality she had grown to know, the image she's seen of the beta. "We haven't discussed the pack much, so I wouldn't stress over that litltle detail. However, something you said earlier, has drawn my attention completely." The witch paused, optics intently set on Jaylah as she tucked a dark strand of hair back behind her ear.

"You said, you're young, yet you've been around since the 18th century. You're not young Jaylah, you're ignorant." Dark brows furrowed together as the words left her, her tone even, not malignant in nature but firm, "You've been around for hundreds of years and have yet to grasp the concept of change? With the things you've seen, the way the world and the people evolved. 18th century..." Her words trail off as do her thoughts, digits moving to press to the back of her nape, while her gaze lifts to the sun, a quiet huff leaving her. "People change everyday whether you have your eyes open to see it or not."

"I'll admit you're puzzling, which I don't really enjoy. I'm beginning to wonder if you're bipolar. In the nicest way possible." The book in her hands feels heavy, her grip tiring the longer she held onto the novel. This entire exchange left her feeling exhausted. "I believe you are all of those things, it's true. I don't believe you really intend on being close to me either, unfortunately I don't see myself trusting you all that much. The car crash may not be important to you, something you can easily forget about. No one died, right? Not seriously injured sure..." Bright eyes narrowed, her lips settling into a frown, "but I know you did something. You can not fool me and I don't let go of those types of things so easily. You have to right your wrongs."

"You're important to your sister and she loves you dearly, that much I know for certain, and for her I would.. do anything." Elidi let her gaze fall to the ground, her lips quirking upwards slightly, "Ella es mi única excepción, that being said, I'm willing to try to form a better relationship between the two of us, because I don't plan on going anywhere princesa."

"If that's not something you're interested in, then I'm happy to play pretend. I've grown tired of our game, Peter Pan."

[snicketstrange]

Beatrice was alive many years after the fire at her house

This is part 7 of Strange Interpretation by Jean Lúcio from Brazil.

To understand this text, it is necessary to read some of my previous texts.

If you have understood the Great Hiatus theory well, you will understand why I believe so much that Beatrice survived for many years after the burning of her house.

It is important to remember some important facts about the letter of R. The letter indicates that Lemony was captured that night of the Masked Ball to which the letter refers. In the letter it is written:

"You took a terrible chance in contacting me, but I'm glad you did. I am so sorry that I was unable to prevent, or least delay, your CAPTURE at my masked ball that evening, and I have been worried sick ALL THESE YEARS THAT YOU WERE DEAD, despite rumors of your activities spreading through the network of loyal members . "

Remember that what started the Great Hiatus was the capture of Lemony in this Masked Ball. This capture of Lemony occurred after he had published the books TBB, TRR and TWW.

Please note the following:

"I can not, however, help you answer the question YOU WROTE ME ON THAT GUM WRAPPER." That was the LAST PUBLIC EVENT the members of the organization dared attend together ... Mr. Snicket, everything you kept in my home is gone. BULLFIGHTING COSTUME IS GONE ... Everything in that guest room is gone, and all the things in the guest room next door BEATRICE, OF COURSE, IS FAR PAST COMPLAINING ABOUT LOST POSSESSIONS - THE VERY REASON, I AM CERTAIN, THAT YOU HAVE DEDICATED YOUR LIFE RESEARCHING THE LIVES OF THOSE THREE POOR CHILDREN ... "

Beatrice was in that Masked Ball that happened after the publication of books 1, 2 and 3. As it was explained, When the book TRR was published, it had been years (in the plural) that the main events recorded in the TRR book had already happened. Thus, Beatrice was fully alive years after the fire at her house. According to the letter, Beatrice stayed in the guest room next to the room where Lemony stayed. It is interesting that the pamphlet "13 shocking secrets" says:

Secret 10: "Lemony Snicket was disguised as a bullfighterwhen he was captured."

If R was talking about a Masked Ball that happened more than 15 years before the Beatrice house fire, the letter would not make any sense.

In the first place, this would mean that the ball that took place 15 or more years before the mansion would have been the last until the day R wrote the letter, and since then R would have been in doubt whether Lemony was alive or dead until the day he saw arrive the manuscript of the book 4. But, proof that Lemony would be alive would be the publication for the Great Public of the books TBB, TRR and TWW. According to Lemony, when he wrote the book TRR there was no doubt that he was alive or dead, as he attended dinners, such as Madame d'Lustro's dinner. 

Similarly, when Lemony wrote TWW, he had not yet been captured, for he was still in his house, in his room. He wrote:

" I wish I had the power to go back and tell them that they were wrong. But of course, I cannot. I am not on top of the hill, overlooking Lake Lachrymose , on that gloomy morning. I am sitting in my room, in the middle of the night, writing down this story and looking out my window at the graveyard behind my home."

In addition, according to chapter 9 of the UA, there was at least one masked ball after the events recorded in TRR. In a letter to R, Lemony states in Sebald Code that he will go to the Masked Ball of the Duchess of Winnipeg. In the same letter, Lemony states that his enemies are searching for Unty Monty's reptiles. Notice what is written in this letter:

"Your Royal Duchessness,

The bell of regret, I'm sorry to say, must ring. ATTENDINGyour Masked Ball is impossible. Though I'd love to attendYOUR Masked Ball, my enemies are unlikely to cancel their plans - MASKED Ball, perhaps, or a Regular Ball or another kind of BALL - of finding and capturing me. Deep, deep, deep, deep regret IS what I feel for refusing your invitation, but it's too DANGEROUS. They're searching furiously for the survivors of Dr. Montgomery's collection, BUT imagine how furiously they'll search for me. So I'LL run. I'll hide. I'll run to hiding places. I'll do everything except BE at your Masked Ball, even though I'd love to be THERE.

Maybe nest time. I hope so.

With all due respect,

LEMONY Snicket

P.S. Ring, bells of regret! "

The message in Sebald Code is: "ATTENDING YOUR MASKED BALL IS DANGEROUS BUT I'LL BE THERE. LEMONY"

But in addition to the code message note the following snippets:

"They're searching furiously for the SURVIVORS of Dr. Montgomery's collection."

When I talked to D., he explained to me that the classical interpretation of this passage is that there were several moments in history when the reptiles in Dr. Montgomery's collection were lost. According to classical interpretation, the loss of reptiles at the end of TRR can not be regarded as a "Time Mark", because of Daniel Handler's tendency to create duplicates of events to confuse the reader. Thus, D. explained to me that the classical interpretation considers Beatrice's death as a true Time Mark, and all other evidence that all other Time Marks pointing to a possible Beatrice survival would actually be an attempt by Daniel Hanlder to deceive the reader. But of course, I disagree with the classical interpretation. I respect classical interpretation quite a lot, and I can not prove that classical interpretation is wrong. What I do know is that for the classical interpretation to work you need to believe that Lemony Snicket would never lie to his target audience, and that Daniel Hanlder made chronological mistakes.

On the other hand, the Strange Interpretation of Jean Lúcio from Brazil, has as premise that Lemony Snicket tells lies to the Great public of his universe whenever he believes it is good and necessary and that Daniel Hanlder did not make chronological errors. The assumptions are different, and so the results are different. And that is why in the Strange Interpretation of Jean Lúcio from Brazil, the death of Beatrice was removed as a time mark. In my understanding, in this letter from Lemony to R the word "survivors" leaves no doubt as to when Lemony's enemies were searching for reptiles. Individuals from a group of people or animals are called "survivors" when part of the group dies in a single tragic event. Although Uncle Monty had lost his reptiles on a few occasions before the TRR events, he recovered them. However, after the events described in TRR, there was a real death threat to the reptiles and amphibians that were part of that collection.

Bruce explained in TRR chap. 13:

"These snakes need to be taken care of, so we're giving them away to other scientists, zoos, and retirement homes. Those we can not find homes for we'll have PUT TO SLEEP. "

"Put to sleep" is an expression that probably means "to kill some animals".

These links contain a list of meanings in English for "Put to sleep":

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put%20to%20sleep

www.yourdictionary.com/put-to-sleep

Among the meanings is: "to give drugs to animal that will make it die without pain".

Thus, the Masked Ball in which Lemony is referring in the letter to R in chapter 9 of the UA happened after most of the reptiles in Uncle Monty's collection were killed. This happened after the events described in TRR. Thus, the LAST MASKED BALL that happened in the R mansion could not have happened before the events described in TRR. Moreover, in Lemony's letter to R, Lemony states the following:

"My enemies are unlikely to cancel their plans of finding and capturing me ... They're furiously searching for the survivors of Dr. Montgomery's collection, but imagine how furiously they'll search for me."

This means that in this Ball, Lemony was sure that his enemies could search for him to capture him. As we all know, this is exactly what happened at the masked ball described in TAA and UA.

Apparently Lemony had to remove his bullfighter costume when he was captured, and left the costume at the Duchess's house. Soon after, the costume was destroyed in the fire. Why is this significant?

Note the description of this Masked Ball as found in TAA cap 11.

"I once attended one of the famed masked balls hosted by the Duchess of Winnipeg, and it was one of the most exciting and dangerous events of my life. I was disguised as a BULLFIGHTER and slipped into the party while being pursued by the palace guards , who were disguised as scorpions The moment I entered the Grand Ballroom, I felt as if Lemony Snicket had disappeared I WAS WEARING CLOTHES I HAD NEVER WORN BEFORE-a scarlet cape made of silk and a vest embroidered with gold thread and a skinny black mask-and it made me feel as if I was a different person, and because I felt like a different person, I dared to approach a woman I had been forbidden to approach the rest of my life. -the word "veranda" is a fancy term for the porch made of polished gray marble-and costumed as a dragonfly, with a glittering green mask and enormous silvery wings. As my pursuers scurried around the party, trying to guess which guest was me I slipped out to the veranda and gav and her the message I'd been trying to give her for fifteen long and lonely years. "BEATRICE," I cried, just as the scorpions spotted me, "COUNT OLAF IS--" I CAN NOT GO ON. It makes me weep to think of THAT EVENING, AND OF THE DARK AND DESPERATE TIMES THAT FOLLOWED. "

Another important detail is that the masked ball in which Lemony was captured dressed as a bullfighter was the last to occur until the time when the letter from R to Lemony was written. The letter was written when Lemony had already begun his research on Beatrice's children. Lemony only began his search after the fire of the Baudelaire mansion. Between the day Lemony once used his bullfighter costume and the day the letter was written, there was no other masked ball. The letter was written after R had seen the arrival of the original TMM book. Then all this indicates that this masked ball happened after the publication of TWW and before the publication of TMM.

Please realize that the only time Lemony ever used a bullfighter's guise (at least until he wrote TAA) was when he went to that particular Masked Ball. He was captured on that Masked Ball. After that, he became a fugitive, he had his death published again in the newspapers, and he spent several years abroad. In the book TAA, Lemony refers to these years as THE DARK AND DESPERATE TIMES THAT FOLLOWED the Masked Ball.

In the book TCC chap. 6, Klaus finds written information about a masked ball. But it's not the same Masked Ball. Klaus finds a paper where it says:

'' My Dear Duchess, Your masked ball sounds like a fantastic evening, and I look forward to ... '"

According to ATWQ, there have been many Masked Balls in the house of R. This is a duplicate event. The difference lies in the fact that in just one of these Masked Balls Lemony was disguised as Bullfighter. And it was in the Masked Ball that Lemony was captured. The masked ball that Klaus read about it on paper, happened before or during the main events of ASOUE. However, due to the evidence we have already considered, I believe that the Masked Ball in Lemony was captured happened 15 years after Olaf's death.

According to the description in TAA, Lemony gave Beatrice information on Count Olaf. "COUNT OLAF IS ..." I can only imagine a word to close this sentence. "COUNT OLAF IS DEAD!" Lemony told this to Beatrice 15 years AFTER Count Olaf's death. After all, just like Kit, Olaf died on a desert island with few witnesses. Lemony states that he can not expose the phrase to the Great Public. If he did this, all the readers of the Great Public of his universe would realize that Beatrice survived the fire and was still alive after many years had passed. My conclusion is that Beatrice survived for many years after the fire at the Baudelaire mansion.

If we continue analyzing chapter 9 of the UA using the premises I have listed, we will come to the same conclusions.

After Lemony's letter to R, there is a letter from an enemy of Lemony to someone named Genius. It's interesting that the letter is not for Olaf. By this time Olaf had evidently died.

Below I've copied some highlights from the letter

"Dear Genius,

Gathering information on Dr. Montgomery's reptile collection, as you requested, is a simple as you find a needle in a haystack, if there were a sign over the haystack reading "Needle Here!" with a brightly colored arrow pointing to the exact location of the needle. Finding the reptiles themselves are the difficult ones falling off the log, if the log were so sticky that it was practically impossible to remove oneself from it ...

With my disguise in place, I went to my local library, and it was decorated with a new sign that looked like this

"The World is at your Fingertips at Libray! Please Quiet Here."

Whistling one of my favorite tune, I entered the building and found the librarian, and old man with neatly trimmed gray hair and the mustache that tuned up at the ends. ... When I told him he was looking for information on the reptiles in Dr. Montgomery’s collection, the old man ... said, "well, young lady, have you been good to your mother?"

"What?" I replied. "Never Mind" he said quickly, and led me to the Children’s Room, where to my amazement there was a book all about Dr. Montgomery’s collection and three obnoxious children who visited it. The book is called The Reptile Room, so I was quickly able to find several passages describing the collection. "

After that, we find excerpts from the book TRR. Why is this significant?

As Lemony described in the letter to R in Chapter 9 of the AU, this enemy, at the request of one of his leaders, was searching for the survivors of Uncle Monty's collection. He was looking after the end of events recorded in TRR, and so some of the reptiles probably had already died. After all, he found information about the collection in the TRR book.

According to chapter 9 of the UA, after searching for information in the book TRR, the enemy of Lemony disguised like a cow.

He searched for reptiles in various places. Finally, note what happened:

"7 - Approached a married couple who apparently own the Prospero to ask if any reptiles had recently boarded the ship.

Couple, alarmed by talking cow, refused to participate.

8 - Saw signs indicating there was a dairy nearby. Did not approach due to fear of being milked. "

After this letter, in chapter 9 of the UA, we find a personal note from Lemony. Notice what he wrote:

"Note to file:

The library at Prufrock Preparatory School was a pleasant place, with comfortable chairs, huge wooden bookshelves, brass lamps in the shapes of different fish, and bright blue curtains that rippled like water as a breeze came in from the window. The librarian was an old man with neatly trimmed gray hair and the mustache that turned up at the ends ... As soon as I began to sing the coded song, the old man, whose back was straight, saluted me as if I were a soldier and said "Well, young lady, have you been good to your mother?" a phase with here means "I have a message for you." I gave the coded reply - "The question is, has she been good to me?" - and received the following note in return: "

Thus, we can conclude that the enemy went to look for information in Prufrock Prep, because like Lemony, he found exactly the same librarian, and this librarian spoke exactly the same message. The librarian was confused because coincidentally Lemony's enemy was whistling exactly the same song that Lemony whistled.

Thus, we can conclude that the book TRR was already published in Lemony's universe before the closing of Prufrock Prep.

From my point of view, this confirms the theory of the Great Hiatus, and shows that the TAA book was written many years after the writing of the TRR book, since in the TAA book, Lemony states that during the writing of the book TAA Prufrock Pre was closed many years ago. More than that, this confirms that the Ball in which Lemony was capithed, happened after the writing of TRR. In the very book TRR, we find the passage in which Lemony states that Klaus years after the events described in TRR, had difficulty sleeping.

What was the message to Lemony? It was a message from a couple. The couple that the enemy of Lemony disguised as cow approached. The message read:

"Dear Mr. Snicket,

Dr. Montgomery's reptiles. "We're not going to do that," he said. Do not worry - we did not mention anything about our assistance with the Incredibly Deadly Viper - but we fear that the henchman cold use his disguise to cause trouble at Valorous Farms Dairy. The world is quiet here. "

1 - Klaus, Sunny, Violet are adopted by Uncle Monty.

All of this leads me to believe that Lemony knew about the enemies looking for the SURVIVORS of Uncle Monty's collection through this message. Knowing this, Lemony sent the letter to R, talking about the Masked Ball in Sebald code. This to me, is a logical sequence of events.

More than that, this confirms that the Ball in which Lemony was captured happened after the writing of TRR.

All this indicates that Beatrice survived for many years after the destruction of her house. Knowing this, you can begin to create theories about Beatrice's motivations.

In a future text I will explain better on this subject, according to some hypotheses that I have created. But before moving on to try to imagine Beatrice's motivations, we need to be sure of what really happened.

1 - Klaus, Sunny, Violet are adopted by Uncle Monty.

2 - After a few days almost all reptiles and amphibians of Uncle Monty are taken to the Herpetological Society.

3 - After some time, most reptiles are killed.

4 - A few years later, Klaus finds it difficult to sleep because of what happened while he was at Uncle Monty's house.

5 - Some time later, Lemony publishes TRR.

6 - Some time later Lemony publishes TWW.

7 - Sometime later, Lemony's enemy looks for information about Uncle Monty's collection in the book TRR in Prufrock Prep.

8 - Some time later, Lemony goes to Prufrock Prep and receives a letter, where two volunteers inform him about this enemy.

9 - Lemony then receives the invitation letter to a Masked Ball of the Duchess of Winnipeg.

10 - Lemony answers the letter, using Sebald code, and informs the Duchess that the enemies are looking for the survivors of the collection of Uncle Monty.

11 - Fifteen years after Olaf's death, Lemony goes to the Ball disguised as a bullfighter. It is the first and only time he wears these clothes. There he meets Beatrice, who was alive, and tells him that Count Olaf was dead.

12 - Lemony is captured, but escapes and becomes a fugitive.

13 - Lemony's death is published again in the daily Punctilio. A little later, Lemony flees abroad in Prospero, and spends many years out of the country.

14 - The Prufrock Prep stops working at some point after Lemony's departure abroad. 

15 - Lemony returns from the outside and sends a letter to R along with the original TMM.

16 - R realizes that Lemony is alive, and then she answers the letter with another letter.

17 - The TMM book is published in Lemony's universe.

18 - The TAA book is published in Lemony's universe. In this book, Lemony reports how the Masked Ball he was captured in, and states that Purfrock Prep has been closed for many years.

In the next Text, I will write about the secret message that is in TSS, and why I believe it is a message to Beatrice. And because I do not believe in the classical interpretation of ASOUE that that letter is evidence that Lemony wrote ASOUE during recorded events, and then sent it to Kit, and then revised it and then published years later. Thanks for reading here. Until the next text.