#male institutions. Oh so a kiss is a crime there huh. Tell me more about love as crime conceptually

[mummer]

the way the story mance tells has no kissing in it so it’s not related to that soooo it’s kinda just like Okay who were you kissing at castle black such that it was a crime? 🎤

[khaleesiofalicante]

bestie do you really think it's funny to make me cry?

OK WHERE DO I START AUJHUJHDSDUJHFV

deep bre-INCOHERENT SCREAMING

That's it. that's all I have to say.

THEY PASSED THE CHILD PROTECTION BILL I'M GONNA BE CRYING IN A CORNER IF ANYONE NEEDS ME

All those shadowhunters who ran back to Idris I hope you starve to death there. have fun!

Anjali is so awesome OH MY GOD I LOVE HER ALREADY

Rafael is THAT kid I see...it suits him so well.

It had been two very long years stuck in this small office room. But every time Alec saw the way David giggled when Lexi called her father Jalapeno poppers or some other equally ridiculous name, Alec knew it was worth all the trouble.

THIS OMG I'M NOT OK

Alec wondered if that’s why so many leaders before him had been awful. It was easy to be a bad leader. But it took effort to be a good one.

This is so true...I'm so proud of him...

Dani...bestie THAT IMMORTALITY CRISIS WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME. I know it's gonna happen but I was having a very good day. why do you hurt me in such ways... (I'm pretty sure my family thinks I'm mentally unstable after the way I screamed reading)

“Anjali,” Diego sighed. “What have I told you about doors?”

“Knock them down?”

“I said knock on them!” Diego corrected, shaking his head. “Not knock them down!”

I'm in love.

HUHYUHKSDYKFVYUFVYU ALEC'S CONSUL VOICE I'M SCREAMING

SIMON BESTEST!! HIM SORTING THE STUDENTS INTO THESE GROUPS I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! AND ANJALI BESTIE GOOD LUCK AT BEATING THE SEELIES!! (good luck with stealing the weapons)

well, Rafael do you perhaps have a little crush? (Grammarly ik I'm writing in lowercase stfu)

ok ok I know this is pretty sad but every time someone gives Magnus or Alec the "you haven't talked to him yet?" look I start laughing-

ALEC'S SO CLUELESS ABOUT MAX AND DAVID I CANT-

“So, you are just going to leave me here and go to York then?” Max demanded now; all puppy dog eyes. “Like my mom left me at the academy?”

Yeah. He took the news a little too well.

MAX PLAYING THE ADOPTED CARD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

“Is it because you don’t like me?” Max pouted again. “Like my mom…Who left me all alone.”

“You can’t play the adopted card with me, you lil shit,” Rafael laughed. “I’m adopted too.”

I'M SO IN LOVE LEAVE ME ALONE

AWW MAX SEEING THE INSTITUTE AND IMMEDIATELY GOING "David would love this" ISTG THIS KID I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

“Weren’t you listening to a podcast on Mayan Civilization during breakfast?” Alec raised an eyebrow.

“Bapak said it’s historically accurate!” Rafe argued.

“Bapak is not that old!” Alec countered.

“Maybe he is,” Max said, analyzing the paintings on the walls. “Maybe you don’t know it.”

“Excuse me, I know how old my husband is,” Alec said indignantly.

“Then where are the receipts dad?” Max asked. “Show us the receipts!”

Where are the receipts, Alec? EXACTLY!

THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE HAS CAUGHT ON TO MAX'S VERY OBVIOUS CRUSH

“I think he likes David,” Rafe whispered.

“Of course he does,” Alec whispered back. Why were they whispering? “David is a sweet boy.”

“No. I think he ‘likes him’ likes him,” Rafael giggled.

Alec looked at his son sharply. “But-He is..Da..They are children!”

“You’ve never heard a childhood crush?” Rafe grinned.

“No, I was too busy…studying,” Alec sniffed.

“That’s not what I heard,” Rafael bit his lip. “I heard you had a thing for boys in motorcycle jackets.”

“Okay that’s it! You are not allowed to hang out at Hotel Dumort anymore,” Alec said.

Really Alec? Studying? REALLY???

MAX AND RAFE RACING TO THE TRAINING ROOM!!!

the reference to the infernal devices...I'M GONNA KILL THE ALREADY DEAD STARKWEATHERS! I'M ABOUT TO DO SOME NECROMANCY SHIT TO BRING THOSE FUCKERS BACK JUST TO KILL THEM SLOWLY

Hugs max it's gonna be ok buddy.

In that moment, Alec remembered all the talks.

He remembered how his mother had lectured Izzy about not going out alone late at night, but she hadn’t said anything to Jace or Alec.

He remembered the way Jem spoken quietly to Mina in soft Mandarin about how people might call her names, but he hadn’t said anything to Kit.

He remembered the way Julian had told Ty to be careful about kissing his boyfriend in public, but he hadn’t said anything to Dru.

I hate this so damn much. I hate it. It sucks how there will always be people who will be targeted for being born the way they are. Whether it be skin color, sexuality, body type, or anything, people will always fucking talk and make the world unsafe for certain people just because they aren't generic male cishets. If you're a girl you're in danger. If you're a POC you're in danger, If you're neurodivergent you're in danger. If you're a member of the LGBTQ community you're in danger. If you're disabled you're in danger. If you're part of any minority you're in danger. If you dare to be different you're in danger. Fuck people. I'm a queer POC female and it's scary. I don't want to be always checking my surroundings when I'm out. I shouldn't have to feel this scared walking out of my own house but I do and it sucks. Ok, I feel like I'm derailing from the main point here.

Sorry for that just got really heated for a second there.

NO NOT THE NIGHTMARE. BABY NO

DAVID MY CHILD!! OMG, HE'S GONNA TAKE UP ARCHERY SOMEONE HOLD ME WHILE I CRY!

“This is who you are,” David said, his voice oddly soft now. Softer than usual. “And you’re beautiful.”

Alec blinked at that.

“Blue,” David said quickly. “I meant you’re blue. Uh, yes.”

BESTIE I SAW WHAT YOU SAID THERE. WE ALL DID

Also, alec sitting outside max's room...IM GONNA-

“David is in there,” Alec whispered. “I just wanted to…check…if everything was okay.”

“Alexander, are you spying on our child?” Magnus demanded. “Without me???”

“What? No! I-”

“Move over!” Magnus sank down next to him. “What are they saying? Are they kissing?”

“WHAT? They are not kissing!” Alec said in alarm. “Wait. Are they???”

He couldn’t hear anything now. Alec panicked.

“I haven’t talk to the kids about kissing yet,” Magnus pointed out. “We can’t talk to Max without talking to Rafael first.”

“Wait. Is Rafael kissing people???”

“Rafael is not kissing people,” Rafael replied as he walked past them to the kitchen. “Also, you guys are shit at whispering.”

Alec rolled his eyes at him and turned to Magnus. “It’s stressful enough that we need to talk about racism in the shadow world. Now we need to talk about kissing??”

“And other stuff,” Magnus chuckled.

Alec groaned into Magnus’ shoulder. “By the angel. Fine. We’ll just tell them there is no kissing. Until they are 30.”

“Hypocrite,” Rafael coughed into his hand as he walked back to the table with a bag of chips.

THIS WHOLE SCENE OH MY GOD.

And srsly alec? 30? really? whips out the extract "kissed" from cassie's website According to my files here-

“And David?”

“Yes, sir?”

“The bedroom door stays open from now on.”

David blinked, his cheeks pink. “I…What?”

“Door stays open,” Alec said, lowering his voice, just a register. “Is that understood?”

AYY ALEC DAD MODE YUCDUHDFHFUHJIUHC THIS IS SO AMAZING IM GONNA SCREAM

Alec advising David with the bow is so close to my heart...IDK WHY IT JUST IS

That conversation...PEOPLE FUCKING SUCK I HOPE HUMANS GO EXTINCT BECAUSE I SURE AM READY TO DIE SO LET'S TAKE THE EARTH DOWN-

“Why don’t shadowhunters have acne?”

"What?" Alec blinked.

“Their skin is like so freaking perfect and smooth and they can just freaking go through puberty without a one freaking pimple and don’t even get me started on the freaking dimples and then-”

Magnus started laughing. Alec felt a little confused.

EXACTLY MY THOUGHTS !!!!! THAT DAMN ANGEL BLOOD

That part about how we normalize these little things which are actually hurtful...I didn't realize that. I guess we really do, huh? This just made me want to be more careful with others and if I feel others do this with me, to stop them and correct them.

I loved this chapter so much. You're such a great writer.

I wanted to share something of my own now!! I FINALLY GOT MY COPY FOR RWARB!!!! I told my parents it was a thriller about how the first son and the prince forge a friendship and discover secrets about the government and the monarchy-

The place I bought it from sent me a very cute bookmark. It's a pride bookmark and it's just my first ever pride merch and I'm close to tears. Let's just say my family isn't the most accepting so this bookmark's really precious to me

Sorry, the quality isn't the best. I was in a hurry. It's almost 4 am now I'm gonna try and sleep (I'm gonna reorganize my bookshelf). See you on Tuesday!!

Thank you so much. I love reading your comments. They are so honest and full of life. You are going to LOVE rwrb. It's such a good book and it's so romantic and raw and perfect. Lmao about your parents. What they don't know can't hurt them ;) And I loooooooooove your bookmark. Be gay. Do crime.

PS -

"It sucks how there will always be people who will be targeted for being born the way they are. Whether it be skin color, sexuality, body type, or anything, people will always fucking talk and make the world unsafe for certain people just because they aren't generic male cishets. If you're a girl you're in danger. If you're a POC you're in danger, If you're neurodivergent you're in danger. If you're a member of the LGBTQ community you're in danger. If you're disabled you're in danger. If you're part of any minority you're in danger. If you dare to be different you're in danger. Fuck people. I'm a queer POC female and it's scary. I don't want to be always checking my surroundings when I'm out. I shouldn't have to feel this scared walking out of my own house but I do and it sucks. Ok, I feel like I'm derailing from the main point here."

THIS IS THE MAIN POINT. YOU GOT IT. SO CONGRATS <3

[mama-m1na]

Soul Drivers: Chapter 1

~~~I~~~

It was extremely loud on the buses that were currently transporting 59 students through the Tokyo settlement of Area 11.

This particular group of students had just come from the homeland of Britannia to have their last two filed competitions of the season and participate in a few parade competitions as well.

This was the Trinity Institute’s Platinum Regiment, a marching band that had recently gained prowess in the capital for their sudden high scores and performance ability.

“Can you guys be quiet for once?!” snapped a twenty-one-year-old male from a seat closer to the front as he turned around to the multiple teenagers that made up the band.

“No you, Kassim! You just want an excuse for you to cuddle with Mina again!” came a response from the back causing a red heat to spread across the male’s face.

“And I’m definitely awake now,” groaned a ravenette who removed her head from the male’s shoulder.

“Sorry, Your Highness,” sighed the male as he turned to face his seat partner, “Your kids are extremely annoying.”

“I know, but I love them anyway,” she chuckled before turning to the back of the bus, “And y’all are perverts by the way!”

“Shut up and kiss already dammit!” was the response from one of the boys as he sat with his girlfriend, “The tension between you two literally frustrates everyone!”

“Ha! What you see does not exist,” laughed the ravenette as she turned back to the front, pulling out her phone and reading fanfiction before she positioned herself so her back was against the window.

“Why do you always do that?” the male asked as he observed the barely shorter female.

“Do what?” the teen hummed as she kept her eyes focused on her phone.

“You always hide your screen from everyone,” the male replied before a smirk crept onto his face, “I bet you’re reading porn or some shit.”

“Hun, do you take me for one of my siblings or something?” scoffed the girl as she rolled her eyes, “Why do you want to know so bad anyway?”

“Don’t I have a right to be curious?”

“You do but if I catch you looking through my phone without my permission, I will not hesitate to gut you,” she chirped with a bright smile on her face.

It was around three in the afternoon when the buses reached their stop, Ashford Academy, a school made for Britannians in the Tokyo settlement of Area 11.

Even though none of the students in the program were born Britannian, almost all of them were gifted with honorary Britannian titles due to various reasons.

For some their parents were honorary Britannians, some passed a test, some had parents who served in the Britannian military, and there were others who earned the favor of a Britannian noble.

“Alright! Hey, Band!” the ravenette exclaimed as she stood in the aisle of her bus, earning the undivided attention of everyone there.

“I know I already said this before we left, but I’m saying it again,” the seventeen-year-old began, eyes sweeping across the students to make sure they were paying attention, “As fellow honorary Britannians we all know that there will be many here who discriminate against us, but as we do in homeland, we have to ignore it. Do not give in to their taunts and let their comments of us being lower life forms than them ring true. If you have problems with someone, talk with me and I will personally take it up with them.”

“Mina, what happens if a bully happens to, let’s say, disappear without a trace?” asked an older member of the band.

With a short chuckle, the female licked her lips, making sure no adults other than Kassim were on the bus before replying, “It isn’t a crime if you aren’t caught.”

This statement caused the others to yell in excitement, knowing the only crimes their Drum Major would allow them to commit involved getting back at those who discriminated against numbers.

“However,” continued the female, “You must be wary amongst these people after last year’s Black Rebellion, they are sure to be on edge.”

“Yes?” she asked with a smirk on her face, dark pleasure shining in her brown irises littered with gold flecks.

“Yes, Ma’am!” came her reply before she as well as the others began collecting their things from the overhead storage compartments.

Waiting at the gates of the school stood three students, doning the academy’s uniform.

The first was a female with shoulder-length blonde hair, fair skin, blue eyes and a curvy figure.

The second was another female with long orange hair, fair skin, yellow/green irises, and stood a little taller than the average teenage girl.

The third was a short male with semi-long, bright blue hair, and grey eyes.

As they looked to the buses the first one to exit was a teenaged female who obviously was not born Britannian.

She had golden-brown skin, long black hair that reached her upper thighs, and a curvy figure. When the female turned to face them the group noticed a strange and quite literal, golden sparkle coming from her brown irises.

The female wore a black t-shirt littered with white lightning bolts, a pair of denim shorts, and brown combat boots with a three inch heel.

The oldest of the students took it upon herself to approach the ravenette as she watched the others unload from the bus and said, “Hello there, I’m Milly Ashford, president of the student council. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Rhamina Miyu, Head Drum Major of the Platinum Regiment,” the foreign female replied with a smile as they shook hands, “Nice to meet you as well.”

“Oh, you’re the one who is joining the student council!” the blonde beamed with a large smile, clasping the girl’s hands in her own.

“Um, I guess?” Rhamina asked, eyes flicking back to Kassim for help, but it was already too late as the president had dragged her off to the other three students. 

“Well, these are the other members of the student council, Shirley Fenette and Rivalz Cardemonde,” Milly introduced as she gestured to the other two who still stood by the gate, “We have one more but he left with his little brother a little earlier today.”

“Milly, is this the Drum Major?” the blue haired male asked earning a nod from the ravenette.

“I’m Rhamina Miyu, Head Drum Major of the Platinum Regiment,” she spoke with a slight bow, “It’s a pleasure to be able to attend school with such a welcoming student council.”

For a few moments Shirley stood there confused at her statement before remembering that almost all of the members of the band were not of Britannian origin.

‘Poor things,’ she thought with a slight frown as the ravenette returned to where a taller male stood by the bus, ‘They must have had a hard time.’

Once the rest of the band were settled into the dorms, Rhamina along with Kassim accompanied Milly to the Student Council room where they began discussing things involving the program.

“Where is Lelouch?” huffed the president as they took a break, “As my vice president, he should be here for these things.”

“He went off somewhere with Rolo,” Rivalz replied as he turned on his laptop.

“He’s off gambling again?” Shirley asked with wide eyes, “And with his brother too? His bad habits are going to rub off on little Rolo.”

“Sounds like a certain someone, wouldn’t you say, Princess?” Kassim asked, nudging the ravenette with his elbow.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rhamina sung in reply as she returned her focus to the notebook in which she was writing down notes throughout the meeting, heat spreading across her cheeks as she turned away.

“Holy crap!” the blue haired teenager exclaimed while standing up, the force knocking his chair to the ground, “Zero, and the Black Knights are back and they’re holing up in the Chinese Federation building!”

“Huh?! But isn’t Zero dead?!” Shirley asked as she and the others gathered around the screen to see the masked figure known as Zero, alive and giving a speech.

Kassim and Rhamina looked towards each other as they stood at the back of the group, the latter with a dark smirk on her face as her eyes flicked back to the screen momentarily.

“Well, thank you all for having us today, but I think I’m going to head back to my room and get some rest,” Rhamina spoke, expression changing to a light smile.

“Yeah, I’m going to do the same,” Kassim added with a yawn as he made his way to the door, “Peace.”

“Bye, Kassim, love you!” the ravenette chirped as the male disappeared before she walked back to her seat to grab her things.

“Wait, are you and Kassim a thing?” Shirley asked in surprise.

“Huh?” the foreign teen asked before realizing what she just said, “Oh, no we aren’t dating. We’re just really close friends! I tell all of my trusted friends and kids that I love them because I don’t know if they hear it enough from others.”

“It’s not a lie though,” she added as she reminisced about her previous band experiences, “I truly do love each and every one of them despite the fact the can get on my nerves sometimes.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” a new voice said, earning the attention of everyone in the room.

“Lelouch, Rolo, you’re back!” exclaimed Shirley, immediately rushing over at the sight of the two boys.

The original members of the student council glomped the male with violet eyes that had just walked in.

“Weren’t you at the casino that was attacked by terrorists?” Rivalz asked, leading the male back to the table while the ravenette stood off to the side gazing at the five as they interacted.

“Yes, but I managed to escape somehow,” the male spoke before turning to the unfamiliar female, “but who is this?”

“I’m Rhamina Miyu, Head Drum Major of the Platinum regiment,” she replied for the third time that day as she held out her hand to shake, “I’m going to be working with you guys from now on.”

With a small smile, the noiret shook the female’s hand and said, “I’m Lelouch Lamprouge, nice to meet you as well.”

Before any more conversation could be made, the ravenette’s phone began buzzing in her hand and she shook her head.

“Well, I really have to go now, but it was nice meeting you all,” she said, declining the call she was getting, “I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

As she made her way to the door the shorter, more timid, violet-eyed male could have sworn the ravenette’s eyes flashed gold, if only for a split second.

Once she was out of the room, Rhamina pulled out her phone and opened up a group chat consisting of all of her leadership.

With a small smirk on her face she sent one, simple phrase.

“Target identified.”

The next morning the ravenette woke up to her alarm going off in her individual room.

She was fortunate to have been roomed on her own since their band had an odd number of girls, so this allowed the teen to take her necessary breaks from socialization.

“Fuck!” she groaned while standing from her bed, multiple pops coming from her various joints 

“Why am I so fucking broken?” the ravenette growled as she limped towards her closet, the female’s deformed left knee not taking well to the cold temperature of the dorm.

Once she had finished her morning routine, Rhamina exited the bathroom and looked at herself in the floor length mirror that was already there.

“Jesus, this skirt is kinda pushing some limits,” she huffed as she looked down at the black skirt that barely reached mid thigh, “But at least I won’t overheat in the blazer.”

Hearing her text tone go off, Rhamina checked to see it was from one of her siblings saying that she was outside her door and to hurry up because she was hungry.

The ravenette only shook her head before she grabbed the necklace that was on her nightstand and put it on, letting the purple and aged pewter cross pendant dangle over her chest.

Upon opening her door she was greeted with the sight of a familiar, dark-skinned female standing in front of her door.

“God dammit, Tijarah, you could have gone ahead of me you know?” Rhamina sighed as she locked her door.

“I could have done that,” the other female said with a shrug, “But I don’t like these fucking people.”

“Almost all of them kept making comments yesterday,” scoffed Tijarah as they reached the cafeteria, “Very loudly I might add.”

As the two girls got their breakfast, Rhamina very quickly noticed that her kids were separated from the others, the Ashford students making an effort to avoid any of the new faces.

“Why the hell would they let so many numbers into this school?” was one of the whispers, the sharp ears of the teen picked up, “It’s so disgusting.”

Rhamina’s eyes flicked to the side where she heard the voice and flashed for a moment before the male student let out a yelp, dropping his now frozen solid drink as he cradled his hand that was burned by the cold.

Tijarah snickered from the ravenette’s left side before the pair took a seat amongst their fellow band children to begin their meal.

Rhamina had barely finished her meal when the voice of a certain female caught her ears.

“Mimi! There you are!” an orange-haired female called as she made her way over to the isolated tables earning the attention of the entire cafeteria.

“Mimi?” the ravenette asked as Shirley approached her.

“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind,” she chirped with a bright smile.

“Not at all, but did you need something, Shirley?” Rhamina asked as various members of the band eyed the new character.

“Yeah, we’re having a party today after school to celebrate Lelouch and Rolo’s escape from the terrorist attack and all of you are invited!”

“Alright,” the ravenette said as she pulled out her phone to put it in her calendar, “I’ll tell everyone about it when I get the chance. Thanks, Hun.”

“No problem,” the female chirped before she turned to leave, waving before she disappeared.

“Who was that?” asked a male from originally Area 6 as he was eating some chips.

“A girl from the student council,” came the simple reply from Rhamina as she sent out a mass message to her band about the party.

“Well, I’m done so I’m going to start heading over to meet my homeroom teacher now,” she sighed while gathering her things and standing, “Love you guys, see you later.”

“Love you, Mina!” came the reply from a smaller girl with short hair.

With a short wave, the teen walked out of the cafeteria and began walking to her class  eyes scanning the hallways, walking past various students whose whispers never seemed to stop.

‘Jesus, and I thought the gossip in Homeland was bad,’ she thought, sending a quick glare at a pair of girls that had sneered at her.

Upon reaching her new classroom the girl knocked before entering, her teacher greeting the teen with a smile.

When the class started the ravenette stood in front while the teacher introduced her, eyes scanning over her class to see three members of the student council.

“Class this is Rhamina Miyu, she and many of her peers have come over from Homeland to compete in our band brackets,” the woman spoke before the ravenette gave a slight bow.

“It’s nice to meet you all and I hope we can get along,” Rhamina chirped with a smile before walking towards an empty seat near the window.

“Filthy six.”

“Shit!” a male student exclaimed as he dropped his pen, now encased in ice as some of it stuck to his hand.

“Tyler, to the principal’s office!”

Rhamina sat down with a small smirk as she released the grip on her pendant, not noticing the pair of violet-eyes that were on her.

Once the day’s classes were over Rhamina began picking up her stuff when she was approached by Shirley and Lelouch.

“Ready to go?” the female asked as Rhamina stood up.

“Yep, I’m good, so what are we going to do first?” the ravenette asked as she walked with the other two back to the student council room.

“Well, Milly and Lelouch are going to handle making the food since Rivalz and I aren’t really that good in the kitchen so you can either help them or you can help Rivalz and I set up the decorations,” Shirely replied with a thoughtful look on her face.

“I’ll just help wherever I can, I guess,” Rhamina chuckled with a shrug, “Though, I might be more useful for decorating than in the kitchen.”

“Shirely, be careful!” called Rhamina as she watched the orange-haired female standing on top of a wobbly ladder as Rivalz tried to hold it steady.

“Jesus, I should have been the one to put this up instead,” she muttered watching as Shirley reached out to hang something on the ceiling only to slip.

Crash! “Crap!”

Upon hearing the loud noises, Lelouch and Milly rushed outside to see Rhamina on her knees holding Shirley while the ladder was on its side next to them.

“Oh, my god! Are you okay, Mimi?” Shirely asked as she got off of the ravenette.

“What happened?” Milly asked as she rushed over and held out a hand for her.

“I was putting up streamers when I fell and Mimi caught me,” Shirely recounted as the ravenette waved her hands around dismissively.

“I couldn’t let you just fall like that now could I?” Rhamina chuckled as she took the president’s hand.

“Yeah, but are you okay?” Milly asked like a concerned mother would.

“I’m fine,” the girl chirped, only for her body to betray her as she winced upon trying to stand, her knees not allowing any pressure, “Nevermind.”

Lelouch then surprised the members by bringing a chair forward and saying, “Shirley, go get the first aid kit.”

He then assisted the teen into the chair when he noticed something, she was extremely warm.

His eyes flicked up to her face in confusion, but she was focused on the large bleeding patched on her legs.

“Nice,” she chuckled while attempting to straighten her legs only to regret her decision as pain ran up it, “It’s always my knees.”

“Do accidents like this happen a lot?” asked Rolo, who the ravenette didn’t even notice was there.

“Yeah that and my knees aren’t really that good to begin with,” she explained as Lelouch began to disinfect and clean the area with the first aid kit Shirely brought back, “I injured my left knee when I was younger and it never healed properly so my bones are literally deformed.”

“You can visibly see it too,” she said pointing out a bump below her left kneecap once it was cleaned, “Makes it pretty hard to function sometimes, especially when it’s cold or when I first wake up.”

“That must have been uncomfortable while you were marching then,” Milly commented as the noiret finished patching up her knees, “It’s good that you’re just conducting now.”

“Actually, it’s getting worse as I grow older so it actually hurts worse now,” Rhamina chuckled sadly and she played with her hands, “I just hope that they can last till I graduate until I become a band director, at least then I won’t be doing work that’s as strenuous.”

“I’m sure you will,” chirped Shirley as she placed a hand on the female’s shoulder, “From what I saw of you yesterday and today, you’re very hardworking, so I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

“Thank you, Shirley, you are very kind and I’m sure you will find a bright future as well,” the ravenette said with a smile before she tried to stand only for multiple hands to keep her seated.

“Oh no you don’t!” Milly said with a small smile, “Just take a break and we can finish the rest.”

“But-” “Seriously, we can do this, you’ve done enough for us already and I’m sure you’re tired from your first day,” Rivalz reassured, “Just rest up so you can be ready to party later!” 

The ravenette tried to continue her protest but was immediately shut down by her new friends, so as they finished the set up, Rhamina just sat in a chair off to the side while playing with her phone.

As the time for the party approached the female stood up, not just to stretch a bit since the pain was starting to go away, but also because her own friends were arriving and she wanted to greet them.

“So this is where you’ve been for the past hour?” Kassim asked as she wrapped an arm around the ravenette’s shoulders before he noticed her knees, “What happened?”

“I did an oopsie,” she replied with a shrug, earning a glare from the male before he swept her to an isolated corner of the room.

“Princess, you really can’t afford to be getting clumsy right now,” he said with his hands on her upper arms, “Especially with what we’re about to do.”

“You think I don’t know that, Kassim?” Rhamina replied with an awkward smile as she placed one of her hands on his, “With our next move, we’re for sure to shake the world. Don’t you think I realize that? I’m terrified, but we’re doing what it takes to move forward so please just let me act like a normal teenager when I get the chance.”

  From across the room Lelouch watched as the older male brought the ravenette into an embrace.

“Jesus Christ, one of them needs to just get on one knee and fucking propose already,” Tijarah scoffed from next to him at the snack table.

“Are they together?” the male asked with a raised brow as two more females and a shorter male walked up.

“Nope, but you would think one of them would have the balls to confess by now,” scoffed the dark-skinned female, earning the attention of the three.

“You talking about Mina and Kassim?” asked a female with dark hair and tanned skin from next to her boyfriend, “yeah, they both obviously have a thing for each other but none of them will admit it, it’s hella frustrating.”

“Yeah, but I kind of understand why they don’t,” the female with brown hair and emerald eyes commented, “I mean think about it, Kerstin, it would be dangerous for them to be in a relationship given their circumstances and it will be for a while.”

They all just stared at the brunette, speechless until Kerstin broke the silence by saying, “Jesus, Sam, rhat’s fucking depressing.”

“I’m not wrong though, am I?” she continued as the group of three walked away from the snack table, bickering back and forth.

“Fucking, wackjobs,” scoffed the dark-skinned female before she turned back to Lelouch, “You don’t want to hang around them.”

“Like you’re one to talk, Miss Aquaphobe,” chuckled Rhamina as she walked back with Kassim at her side.

“You two done making out?” the female retorted, causing the ravenette to shake her head before turning to Lelouch.

“I hope this one hasn’t been saying anything weird,” Kassim chuckled, placing a hand on Tijarah’s shoulder.

“She was only answering one of my questions,” the taller male replied with a small smile.

“Oh, dear lord,” came Rhamina’s response as she looked to her sibling who only shrugged.

“Oh, Lelouch, before I forget!” chirped the ravenette before she bowed in the male’s direction, “Thank you for helping me earlier! I really appreciate it.”

“You don’t have to-” “Hey, Mina!” called a younger girl with blonde hair and glasses.

“What is it, Jamie?” the seventeen-year-old asked as she was dragged to the center of the room where a harp and chair were set up.

“Do you know how to play this?” she asked pulling out her phone as others began turning their attention to the instrument.

“I-um, yes I can, but why do you need to know that?” chuckled the ravenette as she began to tense up.

“Can you play something for us?” the blonde asked with bright eyes, “Please?!”

“Do I have a choice?” Rhamina asked as she noticed that she was surrounded by her peers.

“No,” came the unified response from everyone she knew.

“Fine,” grumbled the female as she took a seat at the chair and thought of a song to play on the stringed instrument.

With a sigh she lifted her hands to the strings and began plucking, earning the attention of the whole party.

“In the woodlands low, born of ice and snow, there's a maiden weeping tonight. Snow falls softly 'neath the winter moon,” she sang, trying to ignore the multiple eyes watching her, “Forest bare and white, she dwells there by night. Listen to her cry sorrow's song. Snow falls softly 'neath the winter moon .”

“Breathless, icy, bright. Daughter of the night. Oh, who do you cry for? Keening softly 'neath the winter moon,” the room seemed to grow darker and colder as she sang, the moon seeming to appear above the female’s head, “Fuyu no tsuki, fuyu no tsuki, kanashimi utsusu fuyu no tsuki. Kogoeru fuyu no tsuki no yoru ni yuki no otome hana o mistuke ni yuki ni umoreta sanrin no naka o tabi tsuzukena sai.”

“Traveler passing through, feet all bare , his smile was true. His eyes shone with starlight he waked softly 'neath the winter moon,” as Rhamina continued her tale, she looked up to see everyone entranced by her song and smiled softly, “Love made my heart soar, you're the one I've waited for. Stay with me forever she cried softly 'neath the winter moon.”

“In the snow he stayed, from my side he did not stray. My hands could not warm him. He died softly 'neath the winter moon,” the ravenette sung, closing her eyes, “Fuyu no tsuki, fuyu no tsuki, kanashimi utsusu fuyu no tsuki. Kogoeru fuyu no tsuki no yoru ni yuki no otome hana o mistuke ni yuki ni umoreta sanrin no naka o tabi tsuzukena sai.”

“Fuyu no tsuki, fuyu no tsuki, kanashimi utsusu fuyu no tsuki. Kogoeru fuyu no tsuki no yoru ni yuki no otome hana o mistuke ni yuki ni umoreta sanrin no naka o tabi tsuzukena sai.”

“In the woodlands low, born of ice and snow,  there's a maiden weeping tonight. Snow falls softly 'neath the winter moon.” 

“Breathless, icy, bright. Daughter of the night. Oh, who do you cry for? Keening softly 'neath the winter moon.” 

As Rhamina strummed the last note of the song she was greeted with applause and the afternoon sun filled the room through the victorian styled glass windows of the student council room.

Standing, the ravenette let herself be swarmed by other students before her eyes met with a pair of violet irises from across the room who just watched her, even as she was swept away by the crowd.

“Lelouch?” a voice asked, calling the male from his thoughts.

“What is it, Rolo?” he asked, now focused on his ‘younger brother’.

“Are you alright, Lelouch? You’ve been staring at that girl for quite a while now,” the brunet commented as he looked over at the teenager who was currently trying to run from Kerstin and Sam, “Does something about her bother you?”

“Yes, actually,” the pale teen replied as his eyes narrowed slightly, “Her presence reminds me of someone, but I can’t place my finger on it.”

Just then the television which was being used to play music in the background switched to the news channel.

“Breaking news, in response to Zero hiding himself within the Chinese Federation building, Gilbert G.P. Guilford, the personal knight of the second princess Cornelia, has brought out all of the imprisoned Black Knights!” the reporter stated as it showed two large containers holding prisoners, with some of them restrained on top.

The camera then switched to the knight himself as he said, “I personally challenge Zero to a duel tomorrow, if he fails to show up then these comrades of his will be executed at noon.”

This statement brought shock upon the entire room as Rolo looked up to Lelouch who could only stand wide eyed.

The various students of Ashford Academy immediately began to whisper to each other about the new uprising of Zero.

Which left the Platinum Regiment to wordlessly look at each other before their heads snapped up to Rhamina who hid a smirk behind her hand.

‘It looks like our turn has finally begun.’

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

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Song Used: Winter Moon - Erutan

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