#nehl things

[orchidyoonkook]

To What We Were Before, And All The Things After | JJK | Ch. 1

Title: Assembly’s and Introductions 

Pairing: Prince!College Student!JK x Fine Arts Major!(F)!Reader

Series Rating//Genre: (M) | College AU, Smut, Angst, Fluff, S2F2L, Mild Indiffernce to lovers, sloooowwww ass burn

Summary: There’s a new kid at your prestigious university, he’s tall, tattooed and muscular, and oh yeah, he’s the Prince. 

Warnings: PG13, mild swearing, a general ‘lets get the ball rolling’ first chapter

Word Count: 5410

Release Date: January 26, 2023, 12:40PM

A/N 1: I’ve been working on this since September 2022, got 80K in, and have accidentally taken an extended break from Dec 1st until now. I need a kick in the pants to continue writing it so here’s the first chapter. I hope you enjoy as I have read this about 400 times and I’m sick of editing it.

A/N 1.5: it’s pronounced ‘Nehl” not “Neal”

“Come on, come ooooon!!” Yuri says as she drags you by one arm down the corridor, the other filled with books and study notes. You’re being dragged from your mid morning study session and she's starting to stretch your favourite sweater from how hard she’s pulling.

Slipping from her grasp to save it from any permanent damage, Yuri uses her new freedom to take the lead.

“Not everyone cares as much about this as you do,” you say, rolling your eyes. “I get you’re here because your parents put you here but I worked for it. I can’t just abandon my study plans for some guy,” voice echoing in the corridor as you succeed in keeping up with her quick pace.

Yuri mocks your words in gibberish, matching your tone, just more nasally.

She’s heard this hundreds of times since becoming your best friend in first year after being assigned your roommate. She may force you to go to places and parties you don’t find nearly as important as she does, but you also know she’s the only reason you’ve had any fun since starting university.

That doesn’t deter you though.

“I’m serious,” you insist, refusing to back down.

A look you know well flashes over her face. One that’s a mixture of absurdity and exhaustion— specifically at you.

“You know, sometimes I can’t even believe we’re friends. He’s not just some guy YN,” she looks over her shoulder to make eye contact. “He's the prince.”

Ah yes, the prince.

How could you be so foolish?

The fancy name given to the poor bastard who doesn’t get to decide his future—or work for it for that matter. Just has it handed to him because he was born at the right place, right time.

The prince who’ll be king to the biggest nation in the west one day.

The prince everyone freaks out over.

Sure, he’s cute enough, and will eventually have lots of money and power, because those are so important for someone like him.

But what’s money and power if you’re miserable or an asshole or you don’t know what to do with it? What’s money and power for someone who’s never known poverty and helplessness?

The title of Prince means nothing if you don’t earn it. Means nothing if you don’t know how to use it properly.

Who knows if this one does? So why should you particularly care?

Unfortunately, most people can’t get past the ‘young, handsome, future king of the Western Shores, hunk-a-hunk of dreamy’—blah, blah, blah, the media splatters over every magazine cover they possibly can, earning the prince a hefty social following of adoring, screaming—slightly brain dead if you had any say about it— ‘followers’ aka fans.

And Yuri, like every other girl on campus, is one of them. Minus the brain dead and screaming.

Well…Sort of minus the screaming.

She has screamed, in the past at least. So maybe just minus the brain dead part…

Anyways, she’s grabbing your wrist and you sigh, wringing yourself free of her near iron grip, again. But you can’t blame her.

Yuri’s focused on one thing, and one thing only.

And it’s beginning in 15 minutes.

“Plus I want good seats!”

You scoff.

“He’s just a person, Yuri. I get he’s got an important title and fancy job, but that’s all that separates him from us.”

She glares at you as you reach the courtyard of your school.

Trees surround the perimeter in evenly placed lines, a large running fountain at its center. There’s plenty of open grass space the students use to study, picnic or throw a ball around on. And its cobblestone walkways are currently covered in rows upon rows of filled up seats.

Most of those filled seats are in the middle though, which surprises you. You would’ve thought girls would be lining up at the front row to see their prince.

“Yeah, just the title and fancy job,” Yuri says, taking her turn to scoff and opens her hand to count on her fingers. “Let's not count the fact that he’s insanely hot—have you seen his body? His face? Or what of the land he’ll inherit on top of the land he already owns? And money! Can’t forget that. Or clothes. Not enough? I can keep going,” she switches to her other hand. “How about control over the largest kingdom in The West? They don't call him ‘Prince of the Western Shores’ for nothing, Sweets. Also the mass of adoring fans, security and advisors following his every move, nice cars, fancy vacation houses…should I keep going?”

You’re pretty sure she only stopped because she ran out of fingers and you don’t deign her with a reply. Yuri seems content to have made her point and she did. 

But you’d never admit that to her. Instead you keep walking, taking in the sights around you.

Your school is The Royal Academy of Business and Fine Arts. Anyone can study here if they have the cash, or the brains, though one method is much more abused than the other.

It’s one of the most prestigious schools in the world because it’s where nearly every royal on this half of the continent goes to university. Hence the “Royal'' in the title.

Ladys, lords, dukes, duchesses, princesses and yes, princes all go here—are most of your classmates, actually. But there is only one prince everyone cares about. The one who, in the next few short years, will not only be at your school for whatever it is his father deems appropriate for him to study in his post secondary education, but the one who is also first in line and heir to the biggest kingdom in The West—if it hadn’t been mentioned before.

His Royal Highness, Prince Jeon Jungkook.

Okay… look.

It’s not that you don’t like him, he hasn’t done anything to make you hate him, and you’re sure he’s a decent guy once you get to know him.

It’s just that you don’t really feel any type of way about him, positive or negative. And that confuses so many people around you.

Which in turn, confuses you.

Most people seem to think he’s some sort of god sent angel carved by the hands of whoever created the universe. Fawning over him and thinking he can do no wrong. But what they all fail to see is that he’s just like them.

Got a bit more of a leg up on life than most, sure, but still human. Like you, or Yuri.

He eats and showers and uses the bathroom. He gets a runny nose and puffy eyes when he’s sick. He has bad hair days and ties his own shoes… you think.

He’s just a regular guy with an irregular job. So no, you had no opinion on him other than disinterested neutrality.

But if you had to feel something? You guess you probably felt pity.

You worked your ass off in highschool to get where you are. You and your mom screamed until your voices were hoarse when you got your acceptance letter two and a half years ago. One of 25 scholarship students accepted on a full ride every year.

You were doing a major in fine arts and a minor business, wanting to milk your education for all it’s worth on their dime. Lucking out that your two areas of interest were not only at one school, but at one of the best schools in the world for both subjects.

You chose what you wanted for your life and you worked for it for years. And now you sit comfortably at the top of your class in both fine arts and business, not taking your opportunity for granted for a second.

Jungkook though? He’s expected to go here. Doesn’t have much of a choice about it, and he doesn’t have to work for it either.

A small part of you that has yet to mature envies him for how easy he has it, for the privileges he is given simply because of one six letter word in front of his name. That he didn’t have to put in 60 hour weeks and give up his teenage years just to prove he was good enough to be here.

He was born good enough.

But that’s a small part of you, and you can ignore it if you try hard enough.

The point is you felt pity because he’s probably never had to work for something a day in his life. He doesn’t know the satisfaction of working towards something, to not only succeed, but to be the best.

To earn what he has.

He won’t know what to do when real life hits him.

Yuri lets a baby scream loose as she spots her desired seats and yanks you out of your thought spiral. 

The front of the courtyard is still relatively empty, middle still filling up faster than anything else.

“Yes! Score! First row, left side, that’s perfect! He'll definitely see us.”

She grabs your arm a third time and it’s an effort not to drop your books and groan at her.

Yuri’s like you in the sense where she is not royalty, but unlike you she—or should you say, her parents—are loaded.

Family business perks.

She’s here because she can be, because her family can afford to send her and make donations, not because she wants to be or because she worked for it.

But don’t misunderstand that, Yuri works hard. She just happens to party more than she studies most days. That and plan her future with a very rich and handsome guy who has yet to be determined.

You’d jokingly deemed her a royalty hunter after about an hour of meeting her for how badly she wanted to ‘marry up.’

“See you,” you correct, or has she forgotten about Nel, your boyfriend of 5 years? Your high school sweetheart and who is currently, much to your dismay, at school about 5000 miles away.

“I’m sure Cornelius wouldn’t be mad if the prince charms his girl just once, seeing as his royal highness can do that to most people just by breathing near them,” she quips. ”And even if he would get mad, Jungkook can just have him thrown in a dungeon for being overprotective and jealous.”

“The royal palace doesn’t have dungeons, but they do have a series of interrogation rooms on the third lower level,” you inform her. You did a project on the history and architecture of the royal palace in tenth grade—and Nel really wouldn’t care, he knows where he stands, just like you do.

“How do you just know that!”

Yuri didn’t know you in highschool and you used that to your advantage every single time you could, laughing bright and loud.

She starts dragging you down the walkway again, a habit of hers. Like she’s worried you’ll try to slip away if she isn’t forcing you where she wants you to be.

It’s a good instinct on her part.

You're nearly there, so you focus more on the trees just starting to turn colours overhead, casting slightly pigmented shadows on the ground. Fall is just starting to creep up on the heels of summer, the days of sunscreen and chlorine slowly being replaced by pumpkin spice and crisp apples.

She sits exactly where she wanted too, and you plop beside her, glad you’re wearing a light sweater and tights. They are just warm enough to keep the slight breeze from giving you chills, but also keep your legs from sticking to the plastic seats.

For such an expensive school to go to you’d think they’d have better assembly furniture.

You notice a news camera off in the distance and suddenly understand the empty front seats. No one wants to publicly embarrass themselves on national television from seeing the prince, rewindable and replayable, forever seared into the internet.

It’s times like these you’re happy you’ve never been one to get starstruck. They’re all just people, why be shocked or surprised when they exist near you?

Opening up your books on your lap, you figure you can kill the next ten minutes in a productive way, considering what happened to your original plans for the mid morning.

And as you do, you feel the seats around you begin to fill, not a single one empty by the time the event starts.  Not even the ones up front.

A jerked movement catches your eyes and you see that two seats closer to the pedestal from Yuri is Adaline.

Great.

Adaline Dupree is basically a princess from the Eastern Shores. ‘Basically’ because she’s not, but she certainly acts like she is. A fake princess, an even bigger royalty hunter than your best friend and your not so secret arch nemesis.

She’s in your fine arts classes—all of them, unfortunately—her proper title being ‘Duchess of…’ some province you never bothered to learn the name of, and she’s one of the most well known people on campus.

Tall, with beautiful blonde hair, hazel eyes, freckles, a slim figure and quite the socialite. You’re surprised she went into fine arts and not modeling. She’s got the ego part of the job down pat.

Good for her for being pretty. But anyone could be beautiful on the outside with enough money and a surgeon. That’s not why you considered her your nemesis, you don’t give a shit about any of that.

She was your nemesis in the academic world. Because not only was she beautiful, she was also brilliant at her craft.

Which happened to also be your craft, and it pissed you off to no end.

Where you were first, she was second and where she was first, you were second. Always neck in neck with one another, always trying to one up each other.

You only considered yourself better than her because unlike her, you hoped at least, Adaline was a complete and total bitch. She took what she wanted without remorse and she wasn’t above sabotage to get it.

You learned that the hard way in your first year. And you’ve always wondered if that was her privileged upbringing speaking or if she’s just like that naturally, so unused to not getting what she wanted that she’d take it.

Therefore, it is of absolutely no shock to you that she’s sitting as close as she possibly can to where the prince will be standing. Directly in front of the pedestal at the base of the fountain in the center of the courtyard.

A door opens to your right followed by a couple screams, and you can only assume the man of the hour has arrived. A red camera light flicks on in your peripheral vision and you take that as your confirmation and cue to close your books.

The Dean of Schools, a few advisor looking people, a good handful of terrifyingly large security guards, and a head of black hair you conclude to be the prince all make their way towards their destination.

A smirk graces your face at all the girls batting eyelashes or screaming his name, as if that would get his attention. You’re about to mention that exact thought to Yuri, but you notice her eyelashes looking awfully similar to those around you and can’t help failing to stifle a laugh.

She catches it. “What?”

“Nothing,” you say. “You might just want to pick your jaw up off the ground.”

Her response gets cut off when a voice comes over the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for such a warm welcome,” says the Dean, calm and assured. She knew exactly the welcome they'd receive. “I’ll keep my introduction short. Today, I present to you not only the newest addition to The Royal Academy of Business and Fine Arts, but the future King of our great nation. He has requested to formally address the student body before he starts classes this fall semester, so without further adieu: His Royal Highness, Prince Jeon Jungkook.”

Riigghht. Did you mention he was the prince of the country you’re living in?

Well…he is.

The crowd soars in volume once more, a couple “I love you’s” thrown in for good measure as the prince steps up and you zone out.

From your angle, you can see his whole body from the side, and that even though he’s holding cue cards, he doesn’t use them, placing them face down on the pedestal.

His dark hair is swept back in a suave styling and he’s wearing a simple navy long sleeve button up, black dress pants and matching leather shoes.

The outfit makes him look ever so princely and very much not like a student. More like one of the faculty.

However, what you don’t expect are the small patches of ink on his arm peeking out of his right sleeve. Or just how tight the clothes he wears are on his apparently very muscular form.

You remember Yuri’s words from earlier, only now registering. You knew he had muscles, no one ever shut up about them. But seeing them in person… wow.

You kind of want to sketch him—for anatomy practice, of course.

The prince begins his address to the crowd and an eerie silence replaces the roars from earlier. You take a quick look around and notice that not one person isn’t completely transfixed on him. Even the dean can’t keep her eyes off him.

You give him credit for not balking under the intense gazes of literally everyone. You know you sure as hell would have, never being one to like being the center of attention. At least, not like this.

You clue into his speech as you look back at him. He’s talking about how he found himself as a teenager thinking of what he wanted his future to look like and what he wanted to do with his schooling, which is not only why he took a couple years to explore the continent before enrolling, but why he will be doing a major and a minor at the school.

One for his career, and one for his heart.

You won’t admit to yourself that the sentiment very closely resonates with you.

He continues.

“All that said, I asked to address you all today for one very simple reason, being that, for my time here at the academy, I wish to be treated like any other student. I am not unaware of my celebrity and how I am seen to the outside world. It is not lost on me my place in the world and who I am to become. I know for some that it may be… difficult to see me for anything other than who I am, and this is why I ask you humbly, just for the short while that I’m here, you all treat me no differently than you already do one another,” he pauses for a moment. “I extend my request most deeply to those who will be studying alongside me in my business administration major and photography minor, as I don’t want it to affect my studies.”

Yuri slaps her hand down onto your leg causing you to jerk forward and you clamor to not drop any of your books. Business administration is her major. Her parents want her to take over the family biz after school.

That was probably why she partied so much. Living as much as she can before being thrust into a job she doesn’t want for the rest of her life.

Pity creeps back up your throat at the thought.

Jungkook notices your jerking movement, but only for a second. His eyes meet yours and you hope yours convey ‘sorry for interrupting’.

You may not care about him, but just like him you are not unaware of his status in the world outside the walls of your school.

Yuri, of course, thinks he’s looking at her and not only does her grip on your leg tighten to the point of circulation cut off, she returns to her earlier routine of batting her eyelashes.

You roll your eyes away from her sight, but unbeknownst to you, well within the gaze of Jungkook.

He suppresses a smile at your response to your friend's clear attempts to gain his attention.

You, on the other hand, seem indifferent to him. He has the entire student body watching his every move with hawk-like precision, enraptured. Normal, for him.

But you?

You just seem to… not care. Like he wasn’t anyone special. Like the word in front of his name meant nothing.

And if it wasn't the most freeing feeling he’s felt in a long time.

“Thank you so much for your time, and I’ll see you all around campus,” he finishes before stepping down, security wrapping around him again until he’s barely visible. The dean pops up to conclude the gathering but you aren’t paying attention anymore, too busy trying to peel Yuri’s hand off your thigh.

“Yuri, retract the claws please!” you whisper-yell to your friend. And she does in fact, retract instantly.

“Shit, sorry. My brain is running a million miles a minute,” she says as she pinches herself, shaking her head and smiling. “I’m three years ahead of him in his major. His major YN! But he’s still older than us, which is so hot. I'm so glad he did that tour in the east and whatever else that kept him back for a couple years, it makes this whole situation even better,” you start to worry at the look in her eye as she continues.

“What if he needs a tutor? What if I become his tutor, and we fall in love like a cliche romance movie. I could be the future queen. YN, this could actually happen for me. I could actually get the prince, it’s not some wild dream anymore. I could talk to him and he would talk back and this could happen.”

You can feel that she’ll just keep spiraling, nothing being able to stop her train of thought at this point, so you try your best to at least have her do her thinking in her head.

“Maybe! I wish you nothing but luck!” And you mean it. You don’t think it will happen the way she does, but you never know. And you don’t want to give her false hope.

You’ve always been the realist to Yuri’s optimist.

With the assembly over, most of the crowd files out of the courtyard quickly, prior plans calling to them or classes starting soon.

Only a few stragglers are left behind. You and Yuri are two of them, as well as Adaline, and a couple more you don’t know.

Security starts to spread out and you watch as Jungkook makes his way to the people farthest from you, much to their delight.

It’s a group of guys, all of whom look muscular enough to be varsity athletes. Maybe Jungkook will want to do sports while he’s here. You know that he’s an accomplished rugby player, greatly to his fathers dismay, but to the pleasure of anyone who has about $10 and has access to magazines or wifi.

“Oh my god he’s making his way over. Do. Not. Move. I want him to come to us,” Yuri says, forcing you to stay in your spot. It would be fruitless to try anything anyway. Another lesson you learned the hard way in first year.

She starts fluffing her hair and asking you to check her teeth. You do. She’s in the clear.

Unfortunately, you two would most likely be the last people he greeted, so you had to watch as he made his way down the line of people.

He greets the guys with a handshake and a clap to the back, and the girls with a kiss to the top of the hand.

One thing you notice as he meets more and more people is that everyone still calls him ‘prince’ or ‘your highness.’

It’s automatic for them, they’re not even thinking twice about it, but it’s also completely besides the point of half of his whole speech. He wanted to be treated like everybody else.

It especially irked you when it was Adaline’s turn and she put on her most feminine, formal, and ridiculously overly flirty, “Hello, Prince Jungkook,” before curtseying, blasting her full facade of charm and courteousness.

Ever the dainty, prim and proper duchess, she’s all small laughs and less than subtle flirting, never impolite, and never speaking out of turn.

You wanted to gag, and you’re quite sure that’s exactly what your face conveyed. But Jungkook smiles wide for her, and is as kind to her as he was to everyone else prior. He even flirts back a little bit.

Yeah, you definitely want to gag. What a match those two would make.

But just as soon as he greets Adaline and her friend, he politely steps away and moves on to you and Yuri.

“Hello ladies, what might your names be?” he asks ever so formally.

You gently laugh at being called a lady and Yuri shoots you a look. Jungkook doesn’t appear to take offense though.

“Hello, your highness!” Yuri chirps in the most ‘I'm trying to flirt but trying to not sound like I’m flirting’ voice you’ve ever heard her use. “My name is Yuri Yeun, and I’m actually a business admin major too, just a few years ahead.”

Jungkook lifts her hand to his mouth, giving it a light kiss and she looks like she’s about to explode.

“It’s lovely to meet you Yuri, I’ll look forward to seeing you around the halls,” he says in the same tone he’s used for everyone else. He’s about to face you, but Yuri cuts in quickly.

“If you ever need any help with your studies, just let me know. I’d be happy to help you with anything you might need help with. Having already been through it, I may be able to give a students insight versus a professors.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for the future. Thank you for your generosity.” Again that same tone, you mentally dub it his ‘greeting the public like the ever so good royal I am’ voice.

He turns to you and extends his hand for yours.

You reach for it, twisting it so that instead of a hand turned upright to be kissed, it’s a regular handshake. If he wanted to be treated like anyone else here, you sure as hell were going to.

“I’m YN, it’s nice to meet you Jungkook.” At the mention of his name untitled, he pauses, eyes widening ever so slightly. It’s not a bad pause, just a surprised one. And by the looks of the small smile on his face, a good one.

Yuri's eyes, on the other hand, almost bug out of her skull at your informal greeting.

“Likewise,” he manages to get out, completely unlike his usually composed self.

You're the only one who hasn’t addressed him with his title, and it’s the most like him he’s ever felt.

Twice in one day—in one hour—you’ve managed to make him feel more human and more like himself than he ever has. With your distinct indifference to him of all things.

Jungkook decides then and there he’s very sure he wants more of it in his life.

He still hasn’t stopped shaking your hand, and you don’t know why that’s the only thing you can focus on. His hand is firm and calloused, the kind that can only be built over years of hard work.

Releasing you the second you think it, he looks as if he hadn’t realized he was still holding on too.

Quick to step back into his princely role, Jungkook says, “Pardon my forwardness, but I just have to say that the two of you are beautiful, and that it’s been lovely to meet you both.”

You swear you see Yuri’s soul ascend from her body at his words. “Thank you, Your Highness! That means so much coming from someone as well met as yourself,” she nearly fawns, and you roll your eyes out of her sight for the second time today.

And for the second time today, Jungkook does not let the gesture go unnoticed. How you hold no fear in showing how you feel in front of others, even those you’ve just met. As if it holds no consequence. 

It doesn’t for you, he realizes. 

You can freely show how you feel without worry of anyone over-analyzing your every facial tic. No fear that a slight misuse of a lip quirk or eyebrow raise could give away national secrets or offend a visiting diplomat.

He envies you for it. For having that freedom he so rarely does.

“You’re most welcome, Yuri. I’m glad you hold my opinion in such high regard.” He flashes her that well practiced bright smile and you already know what she won’t be shutting up about it anytime soon.

“I’ve always been told I have my fathers bone structure but my mothers beauty. I’ll be sure to let them know their Prince thinks the combination is worth complimenting,” you respond, not braggadocious or sarcastic in the slightest.

You know it would make your mom so proud to hear the future king found you pretty, even if you knew the compliment was given to every girl here.

Your father wasn’t in the picture, but that didn’t matter and the prince didn’t need to know.

“I hope they won’t mind a stranger's compliment on their daughter then,” Jungkook says, ducking his head slightly and giving you a smaller smile.

This one felt genuine, like he wanted to hold it back but couldn’t. So you return a small one of your own, to let him know this was an even exchange. You may not feel any type of way about the prince, but you were raised to be kind.

“Any praise for their daughter from the future King would be welcomed any day, I’m sure,” Yuri cuts back in, killing his smile along with it.

You’re sad to see it go.

“I’m relieved to hear it,” he responds, princely public persona back on. Stupid flashy smile back on. “What will you two be heading off to do now?”

“What I wanted to be doing for the last half hour in the first place before being hauled down here by this one,” you point a thumb at Yuri. “Finishing my study hour at the library,” you add quickly, before Yuri can get out her answer. You almost wish you hadn't because the hand that had your thigh in a death grip earlier now only somewhat playfully swats your shoulder.

“YN!”

“What!? I’m just being honest. He wants to be treated like anyone else right? That comes with people being honest to you instead of glazing over their answers with pretty little white lies to appease you.”

Yuri looks ready to rip you a new one, but she’s cut off again before she can open her mouth. This time by the prince.

“No, no it’s okay,” Jungkook says before she can swat you again. She stops mid swing at his words, eyes as wide as saucers at being stopped. “YN’s right, I appreciate the honesty, and I apologize for the interruption. I hope your studies will not be too greatly affected because of it.”

“Guess we’ll find out during midterm season,” you say with a smirk that turns into a genuine smile as you see Jungkook look panicked, like he actually thinks he messed up your education by disturbing your study session.

Relief quickly replaces the panic when he sees your smile and realises it was a joke.

Being treated like a regular person also meant being joked with at their expense, and he takes it in stride as his small smile from earlier makes a comeback.

“Well I have class in half an hour,” Yuri says, finally answering his question, “So probably grabbing a coffee from the cafe near the biz-admin building… I could show you if you want?”

“That sounds great actually, I’m still trying to figure out where everything is.”

“Great! Let’s go.”

Jungkook, ever the gentleman, lifts an arm for her to take and you watch them walk off, Yuri absolutely beaming as she glances back at you. You give her a thumbs up before collecting your books and heading back in the direction of the library.

Chapter Two: Unknown Numbers and Sharp Tongues

A/N 2: and so it begins.

[corporationsarepeople]

Well in a way this idiot is right. If trump were brought in to handle this, he would ally the US with Putin and Ukraine would soon cease to exist.

Lots of people would be dead & the free world would be at even greater risk. But the war would be over.

Please stop putting republicans in charge of things.

[valoisfulcanellideux]

Some plotty thoughts about Paix and Mhenheli

I'm plotting out how Paix's and Mhenheli's relationship in These Stones Remember is going to change in the wake of the maelstrom* and oh my goodness is this going to be lovely.

I will be adhering to the NRR tag that I gave the story on AO3, since I am a firm believer in not changing tags partway through a story. If nothing else, changing such an important tag as NRR can be misleading to readers who might not be interested in reading about romantic relationships, and who might (rightly) feel betrayed that - all of a sudden - a fic they loved and trusted has veered into territory they're not comfortable with. (And I need not remind you that I'm uncomfortable myself with the whole 'RPF' tagging thing AO3 has going on for some MCYTers. My stories are about the characters, not about the people behind them).

However, everyone will have their own definition of what a romantic relationship is, and some might worry that what Paix and Mhenheli will end up as might stray into their own definition of that, but for my definition... it won't. And I'm writing this thing, so the NRR has been my own definition of it all along. You've trusted me so far, so please keep on doing that.

I won't give any details, because y'know... PLOT, but the change will be subtle, and it will be beneficial to both of them (not to mention healthier for both of them, as all of that previously-repressed emotion isn't good for a person, right?) Just think of the tender and affectionate way Paix behaved toward his old nurse Nehle-aalh - which was definitely not a romantic relationship! - and you'll be on the right track, for both Paix and Mhenheli.

You'll see the first subtle changes in the next chapter. And you'll also see why they begin to happen :)

*As an aside 'the maelstrom' is pretty much how I've been referring to the destruction of the city. I really need to come up with a word for it that Paixandrians can use for their recorded histories. And now that I've typed that, I really want to write one of their recorded histories of it, as it would have been set down at the time. (So yeah, that's getting added to the 'Part 2 sketches' list.) God, this world just keeps on building itself, and I fucking love it.

[trollbreak]

Pondering Potentiality

[The morning is cool as the dawn strolls in, a gentle fog gathering over the ocean outside. Carver is going to bed and Mawris is out to visit someone, and so Discos is alone with the sound of the waves for the foreseeable future.

It’s a thing that can make her feel more herself than anything else.

She’s got a warm mug of cocoa in her hands that she won’t drink until the ceramic has long grown cold, and her hair is freshly braided, and for a moment she lets herself wonder: what could she have been? If she was still alive? Could she become something great, like the Gracious Provider? Something like miss Nehl Perasi, perhaps?

…Would she have turned out more like Carver, instead?

She sits at the edge of the dock so her shoes can skim the low waves with a sigh. Discos loves the woman, but she heard about his life, and how he died, and she’s seen how carver carries on even still, and… she honestly can’t blame the troll that killed her. And some part of her wonders if Carver really even should have come back.

She rubs a hand down her face with a sigh and swirls her coca to watch the steam dance above it a moment. She wants to say that she’d never cave fall succumb develop into the sort of person that Carver had, but how can she be so sure? What if just being around her is going to make Discos worse? Mawris is already-

She sets her mug aside and takes a breath, ignoring how her damaged lung makes her mushrooms shake. It’s time for a swim, she think. Maybe she’ll even visit a new friend.]

Nehl and the Gracious Provider are from @sasster !! Ty again for letting me reference them :3

[cosmicmote]

A Neurobiological Look at the Presented World

a bit of reading for today

I may paint something later

but for now I recommend the indoctrinated brain

as you don't have to be one of those people

partaking, genocide isn't limited to just Gaza and the West Bank

and the whole world is Palestine, as a model

where autobiographic memories have long been discouraged if not erased - and

there are biological mechanisms in all of this

exploited, predated

predated

throughout our lives

implanted

and by whom

the reality is

we live in a world where

so often even the blind can see

clearly

clearly

it's war

this book gives different insights into Artificial Intelligence too. much is made about the "threat to our elections" but truly the media focus on this type of thing is simply to mislead, as it's all a far more genuine threat elsewhere and hits a lot closer to home.

words ©spacetree 2024

editing to add here:

Just as offensive is the internal Times memo’s instruction that reporters should not use the word Palestine “except in very rare cases.” This is another jaw dropper. Several million people call themselves “Palestinians,” and Palestine is represented at the United Nations. The United States claims that it still favors a two-state solution; how can you describe the second state without saying “Palestine?”

It isn't just the New York Times, but fully coast to coast at USC in today's news too

and a vote at UN for full membership on the 18th from what I've read, but we'll see how that goes. it was reported there was no consensus there but "two-thirds of the members were in favor of full membership," globally. the behaviors and actions exhibited by these ppl of bad faith are predictable as *&%$. but ..

from every river to every sea, we will all be free.

[sasster]

Star did Nehl really die?

Yeah.

Quite tragically, actually.

I feel like I talked about it once before, so I'll keep it brief.

She and her matesprit, General Cruxis "Failsafe" Cathar, were stationed on Narathix (a planet named for the goddess it's plantoid natives worship). They spent a few sweeps there thinking stratagem, before the invasion became.

Nehl fell in love with the planet and its people. So she was part of the few members of their crew that tried to help evacuation from densely populated areas to mitigate the amount of casualties.

Ultimately, the invasion failed because the people of Narathix were able to counter the attack.

There was one very eager foot soldier that wanted to impress Failsafe so badly, that when he saw Nehl there evacuating a burning generation forest. (those are the forests where their young are born! so it was full of kids, kids man) And he gunned her down. They didn't even collect her body when Alternia backed down from the fight.

Remember how Orfuse once told Nehl she would forgive him long before he forgave himself?

Failsafe is the he in that fortune.

[sunnetrolls]

Dear Shepard,

I am unaware of your actual name, so I ask you forgive my use of your title, however I've been informed by my employer of your existence. I'm curious of you, if you wouldn't mind humoring me with any tales you or any you've come across may have.

My work takes note of strange happenings to learn the workings and ways of worlds as we move around. I do wish to hear from you, if you don't mind, but no pressure, of course.

Be well, Abbris, The Archivist

@lashydsdomain

You have just settled down with an armful of letters. So many delightfully interesting trolls have been writing you letters recently-- it's wonderful! You recognize most of the envelopes just by touch alone, familiar with the stationary that most of your correspondents frequently use.

You recognize a letter from Gordon immediately. He spares no expense with these things, opting for high-quality customized envelopes and recycled paper that feels nice in your hands. They're always perfectly wax sealed, as if this is something he's done countless times. It likely is, you think, as you run your thumb over the seal. It's of a stylized crescent moon emblem. Nocyon tells you his handwriting is very similar to yours in that it's flawless cursive at the expense of readability. You set this letter down for now, though.

The next letter you know is from dear Nehali. Nehl's letters aren't as meticulously crafted as Gordon's-- but still packaged with care, of course. You can feel something inside the envelope in addition to the letter, and smile at the prospect of what she has sent you along with the letter itself. It's enclosed with a sticker, which you always take care to preserve when you open her letters, as according to Nocyon they're personalized and very cute. He also claims her handwriting is his favorite to read because she 'writes normally' or 'has cute bubbly handwriting,' and also doesn't use 'awful old people cursive.' You think he's being overdramatic.

The third is from someone you've only started writing to recently, but are quickly learning to recognize letters from. Kitevh's letters always come with small packages, so truthfully, you knew one from him had arrived when you'd picked up the mail. Supposedly, their letters are very distinctive, but as you can only feel the plasticy gold details rather than see them, you have to take Nocyon's word on this one. That's your only tell, really, as it seems she likes to experiment with how she packages her letters. Sometimes sealed with wax, stickers, tied with twine, or just adhered normally, sometimes drawn on, even. You almost feel a bit guilty for not being able to properly appreciate his efforts, but you enjoy the plushies enough to make up for it.

The next-- oh! This one is new! the envelope is made of glossy paper and is sealed with wax. The symbol stamped into it is one you don't immediately recognize by touch, and judging by the lack of pen marks on the back, the name must be printed onto the envelope. That helps you very little to deduce where it's from. Regardless, you don't feel anything besides presumably the letter itself inside the envelope, so it can't be from someone you write to often... Well. There is one quick and easy way to solve this mystery, you think.

You open it first.

Nocyon is already behind you, leaned over your shoulder. He'd likely heard you get up to fetch the mail and figured you'd just call for him anyways.

"This one's new! I wonder who sent it-- I haven't given out my address to anyone new recently, I don't think."

You unfold the letter and hold it up for Nocyon to read. The paper feels like standard printer paper, in contrast to the refined nature of the envelope it arrived in.

The message makes you chuckle-- 'any tales you any tales you or any you've come across may have'? That's your thing. You've got more tales than any one person should have mental access to ever.

Before you even get to reading the other letters, you fetch a pen and paper to write with. You ought to write back to this Abbris and let them know that they'll have to be much, much more specific in their request.

[doubleattitude]

Radix Dance Convention Nationals, Las Vegas 2021 Results

Core Performer:

(Top 3/4 in Bold)

Mini Female

Top 20:

Emily Jungmann

Isabella Kouznetsova

Skylar Wong

Madelyn Murphy

Carrigan Paylor

Kate Baldwin

Madison Carmody

Karyna Majeroni

Elizabeth Bilecki

Sasha Milstein

Diana Kouznetsova

Ellary Day Szyndlar

Tiara Sherman

Fiona Wu

Savannah Manzel

Camila Giraldo

Victoria Martinez

Georgia Beth Peters

Addison Price

Regan Gerena

Winner: Carrigan Paylor

Mini Male

Top 7:

Elias Elkind

Karson Koller

Santiago Sosa

Julian Aranda

Michael Cash Savio

Nico Dahl

Josh Lundy

Winner: Michael Cash Savio

Junior Female

Top 20:

Kendyl Fay

Daniela SanGiacomo

Kinley Andrews

Laci Stoico

Haileigh Brennan

Crystal Huang

Giselle Gandarilla

Kira Chan

Rylee Young

Kaili Kester

Taytum Ruckle

Maddie Ortega

Angelina Elliott

Anya Inger

Gracyn French

Aaliyah Dixon

Brinkley Pittman

Breanna Bieler

Alexis Mayer

Madison Ronquillo

Winner: Crystal Huang

Junior Male

Top 6:

Johnny Gray

Zachary Gibson

Haiden Neuville

Wyatt Brisson

Ayden Nguyen

Coltrane Vodicka

Winner: Coltrane Vodicka

Teen Female

Top 25:

Destanye Diaz

Izzy Howard

Kaitlyn Ortega

Jada Specht

Emily Madden

Harlow Ganz

Sabine Nehls

Dyllan Blackburn

Antonia Gonzalez

Brooklyn Law

Isabella Lynch

Avery Cashen

Charlie Kautzer

Valadie Cammack

Kiarra Waidelich

Isabel Joves

Olivia Magni

Rachel Loiselle

Mia Ibach

Cydney Heard

Madison Marshall

Kaylinn Rees

Hayden Frazier

Addison Middleton

Carly Thinfen

Winner: Kiarra Waidelich

Teen Male

Top 21:

Trent Grappe

Jack Brokaw

Luke Barrett

Nathan Scott

Antony Curley

Sam Fine

Louis Sloot

Rosendo Archiga

Harrison Robinson

Christian De Jesus

Xander Perone

Noah Ayden Grady

Jonah Daquigan

Samuel Sharp Jr

Jackson Koressel

Gavin Warfield

AJ Storey

Nicholas Bustos

Tucker Gokey

Ronnie Lewis

Sam Suro

Winner: Antony Curley

Senior Female

Top 22:

Camille Fehr

Rina Kanamaki

Elisabeth Pabich

Kayla Pereira

Sara Eberhardt

Ava La France

Selena Hamilton

Anna Miller

Skye Notary

Priscilla Tom

Mackenzie Jarrett

Libby Wiley

Makayla D’Ambrosio

Camryn Bridges

Maddie Thanos

Lola Coghill

Zoe Lemelman

Makenna Okamoto

Vanessa Valenzuela

Peyton Martineau

Erin Wienke

Izzy Burton

Winner: Erin Wienke

Senior Male

Top 13:

Wysdem Caesar

Garren Garcia

John Mays

Seth Gibson

Raiden King

Alec Brown

Bronson Dahmer

Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl

Sam McWilliams

Levi Sherman

Konnor Kelly

Zach Buri

Thiago Pacheco

Winner: Sam McWilliams

Finals:

High Scores by Age:

Cash Prizes:

1st: $200

2nd: $100

3rd: $50

Rookie Solo

1st: Mila Renae-’Soldier’

2nd: Lucia Piedrahita-’Fields of Gold’

2nd: Aliya Yen-’Loyal, Brave and True’

3rd: Melina Biltz-’Welcome Home’

4th: Zoey Brooks-’My Boyfriend’s Back’

5th: Lexi Menjivar-’I Will Survive’

6th: Moriah Peralta-’Up, Up & Away’

7th: Kaiya Carrillo-’Love Shack’

8th: Kinsey Fitts-’Can You Imagine That’

8th: Shale Herrera-’Dream’

9th: Madison Skapyak-’Songbird’

10th: Eden Hernandez-’Chocolate Box’

Mini Solo

1st: Camila Giraldo-’Welcome to Miami’

2nd: Skylar Wong-’Lovefooll’

3rd: Carrigan Paylor-’Orange Colored Sky’

4th: Regan Gerena-’My Boyfriend’s Back’

4th: Michael Cash Savio-’Rhythm’

5th: Tiara Sherman-’Cielo’

6th: Isabella Kouznetsova-’Trouble’

6th: Emily Jungmann-’You Sleep On’

7th: Winter Eberts-’Hit The Road Jack’

7th: Esme Chou-’Unravel’

8th: Addison Price-’Je Te Laisserai Des Mots’

9th: Avery Maycunich-’Wild is the Wind’

10th: Abigail Pucylowski-’Menace’

Junior Solo

1st: Crystal Huang-’Moonlight Sonata’

2nd: Gracyn French-’A Character of Quiet’

3rd: Angelina Elliot-’Out’

4th: Aaliyah Dixon-’That’s Life’

4th: Alexis Mayer-’Vanished’

5th: Laci Stoico-’Mein Herr’

6th: Daniela SanGiacomo-’Restless’

7th: Lexi Godwin-’Debut’

7th: Brenna Bieler-’Moonlight Sonata’

8th: Naia Parker-’Lit’

9th: Vivienne Robillard-’Immigration’

9th: Zoe Zielinski-’Z’

10th: Maddie Ortega-’A Winged Victory’

10th: Zachary Gibson-’Unknown’

Teen Solo

1st: Sophia Cobo-’Do You Feel Real’

1st: Izzy Howard-’Mer de Velours’

1st: Cydney Heard-’Je T'aime’

1st: Kiarra Waidelich-’The Resemblance is Uncanny’

2nd: Angelika Edejer-’One Giant Leap’

3rd: Kaitlyn Ortega-’Ain’t No Sunshine’

3rd: Harlow Ganz-’Breaking the Surface’

3rd: Antonia Gonzalez-’Like The Wind’

4th: Xander Perone-’Elijah’

4th: Dyllan Blackburn-’Silver Screen’

5th: Charli Ortiz-Ringenbach-’Is This Love’

6th: Ava Greendwaldt-’Countdown’

6th: Sammi Chung-’Eight’

6th: Isabella Warfield-’Nicest Thing’

6th: Jadyn Saigusa-’Wonderlust’

7th: June Hurley-’Don’t Think Of Me Like That’

7th: Kenzie Jones-’Flightless Bird’

8th: Finley Williams-’We’ll See’

9th: Sarah Laskowski-’For You’

10th: Addison Middleton-’ERROR’

10th: Rosendo Arechiga-’Thanks for Asking’

Senior Solo

1st: Thiago Pacheco-’The Poet’

2nd: Selena Hamilton-’Black Car’

3rd: Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl-’Darkness’

4th: Maddie Nemeth-’Sycamore Tree’

5th: Olivya Sessing-’House on the Hill’

6th: Sheridan Naugle-’Irreplaceable’

6th: Mia Tassani-’Mam’

6th: Seth Gibson-’Mind Bugs’

7th: Makayla D’Ambrosio-’Consider’

8th: Leigha Agins-’Prerogative’

9th: Milan Furtado-’As We Appear’

9th: Georgi Carmack-’Creature’

9th: Minda Li-’On Her Shoulders’

9th: Britton Moore-’Radiator’

9th: Libby Wiley-’Running Up That Hill’

9th: Sara Eberhardt-’Sticks and stone’

10th: Yasmine Quintana-’Hate’

Rookie Duo/Trio

1st: Danceplex-’Stand By Me’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’It Must Be Love’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Never Enough’

4th: Notion Dance Concepts-’MILK $’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Don’t Go Without Me’

Mini Duo/Trio

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Yesterday’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Something’s Gotta Change’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gracious’

4th: Studio X-’Vogue’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Gonna Get Ya’

Junior Duo/Trio

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Go Girl’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Everything Is In Line’

3rd: Elements Dance Space-’Separate’

4th: Danceplex-’This Is Me Trying’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wild Life’

Teen Duo/Trio

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Make Me High’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Last Light’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Hey’

4th: Evolution Dance Complex-’Before You Go’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Crystalized’

Senior Duo/Trio

1st: Mather Dance Company-’Trust Me Again’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’3′

3rd: MVP Dance Elite-’Bitter

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Revolution’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’June 7th’

5th: Studio 413-’Black Flies’

Rookie Group

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Danceplex-’Lets Hear It For the Boy’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Lullaby’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Girls Night Out’

5th: Notion Dance Concepts-’Firework’

Mini Group

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

4th: Evoke Dance Movement-’I Think I Love You’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Queen Bees’

Junior Group

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

2nd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

3rd: Prodigy Training Center-’School of Prodigy’

3rd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Sing, Sing, Sing’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Un Momento Finale’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’What Is Love?’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Wolves’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’1977′

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Alright’

Teen Group

1st: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

2nd: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Cellophane’

3rd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Heavenly Bodies’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Overdose’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Unchained’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’The Cuckoo’s Nest’

5th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Boom POW’

Senior Group

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’I Love America’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’We The Soldiers’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hard Voices’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’Fame’

4th: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

5th: Mather Dance Company-’For All We Know’

Rookie Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Ooh La La’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wash & Set’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’Bat Dance’

Mini Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

1st: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Go Your Own Way’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Always’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Booty Swing’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Distance’

Junior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

3rd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’Hallelujah’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’It Wasn’t Always Like This’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

Teen Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

3rd: Project 21-’Post That’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Dream Girls’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

Senior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’No Colors Anymore’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

4th: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Cody Banks’

Rookie Extended Line

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Brave’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Mini Extended Line

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Choo Choo’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Boy Meets Girl’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Dream In Color’

Junior Extended Line

1st: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Hold Your Own’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Better Than Ever’

4th: Studio 413-’Girl Boss’

5th: Studio 413-’Goodbye’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Lose Control’

Teen Extended Line

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hush Up’

3rd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

4th: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Adios’

5th: CanDance Studios-’The Colony’

Senior Extended Line

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’My House, My Rules’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’So What Now?’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’The Ravens’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Terrified’

Junior Production

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’One More Time’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Eminence’

3rd: Studio 413-’Electricity’

Teen Production

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Fly Away’

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gone Too Soon’

High Scores by Performance Division:

Rookie Jazz

1st: Danceplex-’Lets Hear It For the Boy’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Girls Night Out’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Ooh La La’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wash & Set’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Spice Up Your Life’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Material Girl’

Rookie Contemporary

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

Rookie Lyrical

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Lullaby’

3rd: Notion Dance Concepts-’Firework’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Brave’

Rookie Musical Theatre

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Rookie Specialty

1st: Cypress Dance Project-’Bat Dance’

Mini Jazz

1st: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’What Have You Done For Me Lately’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Money Heist’

Mini Ballet

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’This Way’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whistle A Happy Tune’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Rosamunde’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Cats’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’A Lovely Night’

Mini Hip-Hop

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Queen Bees’

2nd: Prodigy Training Center-’JR Prodigy’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Get Up’

4th: Prodigy Training Center-’Money’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’Work It Out’

Mini Tap

1st: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’L.O.V.E’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Booty Swing’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Choo Choo’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Swing in the Mood’

4th: Studio 413-’Critical Level’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Charleston Charlie’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Aye Carumba’

Mini Contemporary

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Distance’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Lying’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Glad It’s Raining’

Mini Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Go Your Own Way’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Always’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Lego House’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Soon You’ll Get Better’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Dream In Color’

5th: Artistic Motion Dance-’What A Wonderful World’

Mini Musical Theatre

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Wedding Bells’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Revolting Children’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’I’ve Got Rhythm’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’All That Jazz’

Mini Specialty

1st: Evoke Dance Movement-’I Think I Love You’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’

3rd: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Come Little Children’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Youth Strong’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Child of Light’

Junior Jazz

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’One More Time’

2nd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

4th: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

4th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Can You Dig It?’

Junior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Combust’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Spring’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Bathers’

Junior Hip-Hop

1st: Prodigy Training Center-’School of Prodigy’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Eminence’

2nd: Studio 413-’Girl Boss’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Lose Control’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’Plain Jane’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’Up’

Junior Tap

1st: Cypress Dance Project-’What Is Love?’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’I Love It’

3rd: Studio 413-’Into The Night’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Valerie’

5th: Cypress Dance Project-’Halftime’

Junior Contemporary

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Hold Your Own’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’It Wasn’t Always Like This’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Un Momento Finale’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Wasted Air’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Wolves’

5th: Studio 413-’Goodbye’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Alright’

Junior Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Hallelujah’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’You Are The Reason’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio-’Dawn of Love’

3rd: Impact Dance Studio-’Time After Time’

4th: To The Pointe Dance Centre-’It’s All Coming Back To Me’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’When I Look At You’

Junior Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Cypress Dance Project-’Elle’s Big Day’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’West Side Story’

Junior Specialty

1st Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Sing, Sing, Sing’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Better Than Ever’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’You’re Mine’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’1977′

5th: Stars Dance Studio-’Spa’

Teen Jazz

1st: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

2nd: Project 21-’Post That’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

4th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Boom POW’

5th: Studio 413-’Social Media Overload’

Teen Ballet

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’To The Pointe’

2nd: Cypress Dance Project-’Hunted’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hush Up’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Panaramic’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Runnin’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Clones’

5th: Studio 413-’Ready or Not’

5th: Studio 413-’Savage’

Teen Tap

1st: Studio 413-’No One’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’I’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Go’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’25 Miles’

Teen Contemporary

1st: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

3rd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

4th: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

5th: CanDance Studios-’Can I’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Unchained’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Cellophane’

5th: Stars Dance Studio-’Through our Strength’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Heavenly Bodies’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Mather Dance Company-’Overdose’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Take Me’

3rd: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Particles’

4th: Danceplex-’If I Say’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’He Loves Me’

Teen Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Singular Sensation’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Almost Like Being In Love’

Teen Ballroom

1st: CanDance Studios-’I Got the Boom’

Teen Specialty

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Dream Girls’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’The Future Is Female’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gone Too Soon’

4th: Heat Dance Studio-’Freedom’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Pale’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Flashing Lights’

Senior Jazz

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’My House, My Rules’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Fame’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Prisoner’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Need U Tonight’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Cleopatrs in New York’

Senior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Illumination’

Senior Hip-Hop

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’CrAzY’

Senior Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Funkytown’

Senior Contemporary

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’No Colors Anymore’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’I Love America’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’We The Soldiers’

3rd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’The Ravens’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’The First Time’

Senior Lyrical

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

4th: Mather Dance Company-’For All We Know’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Wash’

Senior Specialty

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hard Voices’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’Cody Banks’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’So What Now?’

4th: CanDance Studios-’I Won’t Complain’

5th: Cypress Dance Project-’To This Day’

Best of Radix:

Rookie

Winners: 

The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

Mini

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

6th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

Junior

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

6th: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

7th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

Teen

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

3rd: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

4th: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

Senior

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

3rd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

4th: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

Best in Show ($10 000):

Winner: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

[kurogoesinthedas]

What happened to Fael's brother? Sorry I don't think I've followed your blog long enough to see anything related to that.

Anonymous said: I’m new to the blog who is Nehlarien and what happen to them?

Hi! I’ve actually never talked in full detail about it, so I’ll take the chance to do so now ;D And here’s a small presentation of da golden boy Nehl if you want to see what he looks like.

sO. Nehl. Dear Nehl. He was 24 when he died, and Fael was 16. It happened during a pretty cold winter, snow covered everything, and  Fael and Nehl had been sent by their mother to gather some firewood and find certain particular herbs she needed for some ointments. Everything was going fine with Fael being a moody teenager and Nehl the usual bright teasing big bro when they stumbled over a pack of wolves. Except they were not ordinary wolves, they were starving from the long winter, and for some ungodly reason Fael never cared enough to investigate, they were under the influence of demons, specifically a Hunger demon and a Fear demon, who had turned them into mindless beasts desperate to eat and survive. 

Now, Fael had never actually fought a battle before, he didn’t have a great control of his destructive magic yet, and, maybe it was the demon’s doing, or his own, but he was paralyzed by fear, unable to help his brother. Nehl’s bow was useless against an entire pack, so he had drawn his knives and yelled Fael to run away and call for help back to the clan, but he just couldn’t move, staring uselessly as his brother fought to keep the wolves off them both. 

At some point, the fear demon focused on Fael, drawn by his terror, and approached him to try and possess him. Nehl threw one of his knives at it, successfully killing it, but in doing so he left himself open and a wolf lunged fo his throat. Finally, the demon being driven away and something terrible happening, Fael snapped out of his stupor. He snarled, sending a wave of fire all around them that drove the wolves away and burned to a crisp those too slow to run (headcanon: Fael’s storm magic is more precise and controlled, but his fire is directly tied to his emotional state and much more powerful when unbridled). Still, it was too late. Nehl died chocking on his own blood in Fael’s arms, Fael’s weak healing skills unable to do anything. 

A group of scouts of the clan, alarmed by the ruckus and smoke, later found Fael kneeling in the bloodied snow, terrified and sobbing over his brother’s corpse ( ͡o ͜ʖ ͡o) 

[zumpietoo]

At the top of the heap of people whose names shall live in infamy are GOP Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, who led the coup in the Senate to overturn the will of the people. After the fires started burning, Ted Cruz very poorly paid lip service to trying to cool things down, after he had helped commit the arson. Hawley could hardly be bothered to do that. Those two garbage fascists were joined in objections to Arizona and/or Pennsylvania by Tommy Tuberville, Roger Marshall, John Kennedy, Rick Scott, brand new Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, and Cindy Hyde-Smith. Let the record show that these people went ahead and kept up their objections even after the US Capitol building was attacked by domestic terrorists they and their shithole Dear Leader had incited. In the Senate, it was only those assholes. In the House, though? Holy shit. They objected to Arizona and somehow even more of them voted to sustain the objection to Pennsylvania in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, as if yesterday's terrorism put a spring in their step, as if the blood in the hallways of the Capitol gave them sustenance. Again, all of this was after the terrorist attack. And in the House it wasn't just Arizona and Pennsylvania either. Reps like Louie Gohmert stood up to object to other states too, even though the GOP senators who had originally planned to support those challenges had put down their guns and agreed to end the standoff peacefully. (It was particularly pleasing to watch Vice President Mike Pence glare at Gohmert, who just got finished unsuccessfully suing Pence to make him overturn the election, and tell him his objection to the electors in Wisconsin "MAY NOT BE ENTERTAINED," since he couldn't get even the Senate's dumbest Republican Ron Johnson to sign his treason permission slip anymore.) Overall, 139 House GOP members voted to object to the electors from Arizona and/or Pennsylvania. These are their names. They should not be allowed around your children, you should kick them out of your chicken restaurant, and they should always and forevermore be referred to as seditious traitors to democracy in the United States of America. They really should be expelled from Congress. They're listed by state, to make it helpful for people to know which chicken restaurants to ban them from, specifically. Alabama 1. Robert Aderholt 2. Mo Brooks 3. Jerry Carl 4. Barry Moore 5. Gary Palmer 6. Mike Rogers Arizona 7. Andy Biggs 8. Paul Gosar 9. Debbie Lesko 10. David Schweikert Arkansas 11. Rick Crawford California 12. Ken Calvert 13. Mike Garcia 14. Darrell Issa 15. Doug LaMalfa 16. Kevin McCarthy 17. Devin Nunes 18. Jay Obernolte Colorado 19. Lauren Boebert 20. Doug Lamborn Florida 21. Kat Cammack 22. Mario Diaz-Balart 23. Byron Donalds 24. Neal Dunn 25. Scott Franklin 26. Matt Gaetz 27. Carlos Jimenez 28. Brian Mast 29. Bill Posey 30. John Rutherford 31. Greg Steube 32. Daniel Webster Georgia 33. Rick Allen 34. Earl "Buddy" Carter 35. Andrew Clyde 36. Marjorie Taylor Greene 37. Jody Hice 38. Barry Loudermilik Idaho 39. Russ Fulcher Illinois 40. Mike Bost 41. Mary Miller Indiana 42. Jim Baird 43. Jim Banks 44. Greg Pence 45. Jackie Walorski Kansas 46. Ron Estes 47. Jacob LaTurner 48. Tracey Mann Kentucky 49. Harold Rogers Louisiana 50. Garret Graves 51. Clay Higgins 52. Mike Johnson 53. Steve Scalise Maryland 54. Andy Harris Michigan 55. Jack Bergman 56. Lisa McClain 57. Tim Walberg Minnesota 58. Michelle Fischbach 59. Jim Hagedorn Mississippi 60. Michael Guest 61. Trent Kelly 62. Steven Palazzo Missouri 63. Sam Graves 64. Vicky Hartzler 65. Billy Long 66. Blaine Luetkemeyer 67. Jason Smith Montana 68. Matt Rosendale North Carolina 69. Dan Bishop 70. Ted Budd 71. Madison Cawthorn 72. Virginia Foxx 73. Richard Hudson 74. Gregory Murphy 75. David Rouzer New Jersey 76. Jeff Van Drew New Mexico 77. Yvette Harrell New York 78. Chris Jacobs 79. Nicole Malliotakis 80. Elise Stefanik 81. Lee Zeldin Nebraska 82. Adrian Smith Ohio 83. Steve Chabot 84. Warren Davidson 85. Bob Gibbs 86. Bill Johnson 87. Jim Jordan Oklahoma 88. Stephanie Hice 89. Tom Cole 90. Kevin Hern 91. Frank Lucas 92. Markwayne Mullin Oregon 93. Cliff Bentz Pennsylvania 94. John Joyce 95. Fred Keller 96. Mike Kelly 97. Daniel Meuser 98. Scott Perry 99. Guy Reschenthaler 100. Lloyd Smucker 101. Glenn Thompson South Carolina 102. Jeff Duncan 103. Ralph Norman 104. Tom Rice 105. William Timmons 106. Joe Wilson Tennessee 107. Tim Burchett 108. Scott DesJarlais 109. Chuck Fleischmann 110. Mark Green 111. Diana Harshbarger 112. David Kustoff 113. John Rose Texas 114. Jodey Arrington 115. Brian Babin 116. Michael Burgess 117. John Carter 118. Michael Cloud 119. Pat Fallon 120. Louie Gohmert 121. Lance Gooden 122. Ronny Jackson 123. Troy Nehls 124. August Pfluger 125. Pete Sessions 126. Beth Van Duyne 127. Randy Weber 128. Roger Williams 129. Ron Wright Utah 130. Burgess Owens 131. Chris Stewart Virginia 132. Ben Cline 133. Bob Good 134. Morgan Griffith 135. Robert Wittman West Virginia 136. Carol Miller 137. Alexander Mooney Wisconsin 138. Scott Fitzgerald 139. Tom Tiffany These are the people who either incited yesterday's attackers, gave them aid and comfort as terrorist sympathizers, or both.

https://www.wonkette.com/here-are-all-147-members-of-the-terrorist-inciting-gop-sedition-caucus-may-their-names-forever-be-stained

[creepingsharia]

Texas: Somali Islamic leader - in the U.S. illegally - is arrested for alleged sex crimes against children

Mohamed Omar Ali, a Somalian national living in the U.S. illegally, “ has a very fluent understanding of the Quran.”

The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office has arrested an Islamic religious leader for alleged sex crimes against children. Mohamed Omar Ali, age 59, was charged with one count of sexual assault of a child and three counts of sexual indecency of a child following his arrest on Jan. 3.

At a press conference Monday morning, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls stated that all four victims were children under the age of 14. Ali is a Somalian national who was living in the U.S. illegally. According to Nehls, bail for Ali was set at $125,000, but due to his illegal status, Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a detainer on Ali, and Ali is being held at the Fort Bend County jail.

According to Detective Michael Alexander of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, Ali gained access to his alleged victims by gaining the trust of the victim’s families, who invited him into their homes to teach the Quran to their children.

Shariq Abdul Ghani, Director of the Minaret Foundation and representative of the Muslim community, added that Ali was not an employee or official volunteer of any particular mosque, but he traveled to different mosques and schools in the area, establishing himself as a defacto religious leader. “He has a very fluent understanding of the Quran, and he’s fluent in Arabic, which makes him an ideal teacher,” he said.

Surveillance of Ali began in September of 2019, after victims reported the abuse to the FBI, but investigators believe the alleged crimes date back to 2013. Investigators believe there are many more victims that have not come forward, and the sheriff’s office urges those victims to come forward.

The focus now, according to Nehls, is finding these potential victims, which can be a challenge due to some of the nuances of Muslim belief regarding sexual assault. Said Nehls, “You will hear that if a child in the Muslim community is assaulted in any way sexually, that child may be considered unclean, and will that child be able to get married in the future?”

Alexander stated that the stigma has already made the investigation difficult, and his office has not been able to move the investigation as quickly because of it.

Nehls added, “Put your religious affiliation away, folks, and do what's in the best interest of your child, and reach out to us.”

Ghani is working with the sheriff’s office to ensure the Muslim community’s full cooperation with law enforcement. Ghani is working to make sure the community knows that it is safe to speak with the authorities. Ghani also hopes that destigmatizing sexual assault within the community will encourage more victims to come forward. “In every culture, there’s a different definition of survivor’s trauma, and some people who are ashamed to come forward may be from a culture that has this idea of how society might treat them,” Ghani explained. “The most important thing now is to help identify a victim and connect them with law enforcement.”

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who is a potential victim to contact Sgt. Jonathan Howell at (281) 341-4797. Nehls emphasized that all victims will remain anonymous with their identities protected. “They can come in with total confidence and talk to us, and we will not release their identity in any way,” he said.

[valoisfulcanellideux]

About AToTD and These Stones Remember - updates

[Cross-posted to Dreamwidth]

I've spent part of the evening beginning to work on language and grammar rules for the next story I'll be writing, once These Stones Remember is finished. For now, I'm only referring to this new story by the title's initials - AToTD - since I will probably be writing this in full before I start posting it on AO3.

I've done something for AToTD that I've never done before, and that is commission an artist for the story's cover (which I will also use as an updates banner when posting notifications on Tumblr & Dreamwidth that a new chapter has gone live). The artwork is getting closer to completion, and I'm incredibly excited to see it, based on the initial draft I've been sent. I won't spoil who the artist is right now (and I won't confirm or deny any speculation that may occur in the comments!) but once it's ready and I'm deeper into writing the story, I'll start teasing it ;)

The new story will be another Copper King one, so Pixlriffs peeps you'll have a new fic from me next year to get your teeth into. But be aware that it's probably going to be a bit darker than These Stones Remember, and I very much doubt that it'll be as long as that, either. It'll be as descriptive as my work usually is, but rest assured that I won't be veering into anything too graphic (at least, I hope not; I tend to infer things like that and leave any 'graphicness' to the reader's imagination).

The above is one reason why I want to write the story in full before I start posting. As yet, I'm not sure how dark it's going to go, so whether it needs to be tagged as T (Teen and up) or M (Mature) based on that is a decision I don't want to make at the start of the story.

What does this mean for written content from me between posting the end of These Stones Remember, and the start of AToTD? Well, you'll still get one-shots and shorts from me as the inspiration strikes. I have ideas for short follow-ups both for I Stand Amid the Roar and Hoard - or How Curiosity (Almost) Killed the Goblin, and I fully plan to begin work on These Stones Remember II, which will be a series of standalone things, from worldbuilding notes to tranches de vie to AU and deleted scenes, so those who loved Paix, Mhenheli, Nehle-aalh, N'dachVeip, Hadita, Xsia-Minai'Te, et al will still have plenty to read.

As to These Stones Remember, tomorrow (Friday 14th Dec) is the day when the final story chapter (actually Epilogue I) will post, sometime between 8pm and 9pm GMT, so look out for that.

Lastly, I plan to create a free, downloadable PDF version of These Stones Remember sometime early next year, so that you can keep a copy of it. I'm also 90% decided toward commissioning more artwork (same artist) for the cover of that PDF, but since I want to format the whole thing properly, as well as tweak a few tiny bits in earlier chapters and include the two remaining epilogues, please don't expect that to arrive anytime soon! When it does, though, I'll include a link to it in the author's notes at the end of Chapter 80. (I have my own website, so don't worry that I'll be using Mediafire or any site that may take it down for some weird reason.)

[emyorkbossb]

What are some of your favorite solos this season?

This is gonna be a long one!

Fave of the whole season is definitely Mackenzie Couch with Dark Paradise!!

I also love

Brightyn Brems- Creeper

Sabine Nehls- Otriad

Ella Horan- Kind

Kiarra Waidelich- Ocean Eyes

Katie Couch- Crazy Little Thing

Elli Mannella- Body Memory

Kalea Hidalgo- Fire in My Bones

Elli Walmsley- Patterns, Sticks, At the Mercy of the Waves (so many ik, but the choreography is all SO GOOD)

Cami Voorhees- Stations, Painting Greys

[sasster]

Sometimes there are Gods in your Brain.

-

Nehl felt as though her body was being torn in half, starting right at the center of her mind. Narathix lives there, or at least part of Her does as it was explained to Nehl. But now, as it stands, there is a stranger in there!

Now, prior to this Nehl thought that she'd had a pretty good handle on sharing a part of her mind with a God, but the presence of Diollea was proving to test her resolve. For starters, He was heavy in the same way His light made it difficult for Him to be looked at in the waking world, the energy He expelled was nearly impossible to withstand, and if Nehl had to put a number to it she would say He took up 10x as much space as Narathix did. In short, she had never felt as powerless and vulernable as she did right now in all of her mortal and immortal life. There is nowhere to escape to when what you want to escape is taking place in the back of your mind, oh yeah and also you're unconscious. Nehl could only watch the two Gods settle their differences. If all goes well, this would be her last hurt. Right? The scene that was painted for this discussion was supremely dull and starkly contradictory to the feelings stirring inside of her. There was no doubt in her that this was entirely for her sake, and Diolleas doing. Narathix never had much tact. It looked like an office space,  a small room with a long table that sat between Diollea and Narathix. If Nehl didn't know any better, she would mistake this meeting for a business transaction in some fashion. Diollea, as Nehl perceived Him, was as large as He always is, and He took up a considerable portion of her field of view. He sat with his arms folded over his chest, and though she couldn't see his face she could tell he was staring daggers directly into Her. The short curls on his head seemed to emulate his feelings, they licked out as if they were angry flames. Almost like the beams of light from the sun itself, like when a child draws it. Compared to him Narathix was small, and She looked kind of afraid. Sunk back into Her seat, wringing Her tail in Her hands.  She had the appearance of a plulean, only modified with a mouth with which to speak. Nehl always wondered why She would need that in a mindscape of all places, but She did she guesses. Her plumage presented as a bouquet of all different sorts of flowers, from the top of Her head down to the tip of Her tail. Nehl always joked that it looked like the floral section of a craft store. Yes, if she didn't know any better, this would just be a perfectly mortal Cardali and a perfectly mortal Plulean having a casual business conversation. She couldn't help but wonder what it would have looked like if her wellbeing were not being cared after. When Diollea spoke, she could hear it all over her head and she felt it in her core. She could admit to herself that He was absolutely terrifying, and she could sort of kind of see why Squish presented the way that he did. Imagine having to tell this guy you've failed whatever task he gave you. Probably not ideal. "Who do you think you are?" Despite the projection, Nehl still recognized it the calm voice He usually used. It calmed her nerves, but not by much. He did not wait for a response, he unfolded his arms and placed His hands on the table. "I need to know what gives you the right." Nehl needed to know, too. "It was only a small favor." Cat that ate the canary indeed; Narathix shrunk back from whatever sour face the response elicited from Diollea. Nehl didn't need to see it. Ever the diplomat, Diollea adjusted His posture so that it no longer looked like He was going to eat Her. He sat back and crossed His left leg over His right. "I only needed her help to find Cruxis. He wasn't answering me, you know, she knows her way around the colonies better than I do..." She trailed off, trying to look around Diollea to get a glance at Nehl. Diollea purposefully shifted in a way that block Her. "And this excuses your behavior?" "I never did anything but observe!" Nehl was ready to object, but before she could interject Diollea held a hand up, a motion that seemed to shut Narathix up as well. "Certainly you know me better than to imply that I would make any form of baseless accusation." His voice held steady, but Nehl could feel His agitation rising. He turned briefly and gave her a sort of apologetic smile that mostly confused her. Then he seemed to pull something seemingly out of thin air. It kind of looked like a little ball of light. Nehl's voice lodged itself in her throat, she wanted to ask, but she already knew what it was. Before long, one of the little balls of light started to project into the air. It was a memory. And suddenly she understood why it was an apologetic smile. She could feel it all. - Nehl felt like he was moving in slow motion when she woke up, she could still smell the smoke and ash from the forest that burned down around her an indeterminate amount of time ago. She would have worried about the smoke filling her lungs if not for the burning feeling that radiated from her chest. To distract herself from the pain, she tried to blink the grogginess from her eyes, Gods it'd felt like she'd been asleep for eons. If not for the fresh smell of burned plant life she might have believed that she did. Finally she sat up and looked around the assess the damage around her. If there was anything alive here, then it was doing a damn good job at hiding itself from her -- It was all gone. The entire generation forest in smolders. Before she was able to really take it all in and process it, a booming presence seemed to take over all of her senses.

“Forgive me, it has been quite sometime since I’d even seen one of yours in the flesh.. Let alone put one together.”

Immediately, Nehl recognized her as the Goddess that the planet she sat on was named for. The planet she’d just finished letting down big time. Guilt started to grip at her, and it had claws.

“You can make it right Nehl!  You can help me fix all this damage caused by your people!” Nehl remembered this day crystal clear, but she did not remember the anger that started to pool itself in her gut, or the resentment that joined it the more urgent She sounded.

-

“Nothing?” Diolleas voice snapped Nehl out of reliving the memory, the pain was gone but the resentment did not go anywhere. It must be how she feels now. She didn’t feel bad about accepting Diollea’s help anymore, that is for certain. “You took advantage of her guilt from day one.” Nartahix said nothing, seeming to focus Her attention on the other memories that floated in the air. “You’re a predator, you’re vindictive.”

“No it wasn’t supposed to sound like that.”

“No?”

“No!”

He leaned onto the table again and swiped at the balls of light, it appeared to Nehl like He was shuffling through for something very specific. Maybe she should have been more concerned about his ability to recall her memories, but she was still reeling from the guilt pushed upon her by Narathix to focus on that. She never noticed how much She played into it.

Narathix really was using her has nothing more than a puppet, and she felt sort of ashamed having let herself be toyed with so easily.

“No?” Ye repeats and Nehl could feel the resentment burning in her chest quickly be replaced with anger. His anger.

From her perspective, it looked as though he was giving Her an opportunity to better explain Herself, but He was getting increasingly angry. It was almost unbearable.

Narathix looked at him, hopeless, looking for a way out of the mess that she’d made. Irritated, Diollea clicked His tongue and pulled out the memory he’d been looking for, letting it project itself as he did the last one. Strangely, this one was new to Nehl.

-

Nehl was laying flat on her back, staring up at the night sky lit up by the stars and bioluminescent plant life. She had been laying in this position for so long, she couldn’t put a time to it but it certainly has been the calmest she’s been in a very long time. 

“What do you think you’re doing? Hm?” Nehl was shaken from her bliss by the voice that boomed from within her. “Do you think he’s just going to fall back into your lap? Do you even care about the pain he must be in? The pain that I’m in?”

She was right. How could she just be sitting back relaxing while her family suffered in this way? Guilt started to settle in her stomach. So what if she’d already had plans to hitch a ride back to the colonies, here she was doing nothing when she could have been making a plan or figuring out where she’s gonna go from there. She should not be relaxing right now.

“How could I have brought back someone so useless and selfish?”

Nehl imagined the unpleasant expression Narathix might have had as She spat this venom out to her. She winced as a migraine began to throb, she noted that yes she’d been feeling a lot of those lately. Tears formed in her eyes. How could she have been so selfish?

-

Nehl was crying when Diollea broke the memory again, he was standing with His hands slammed onto the table. It took her a moment to get her breath between her own grief and His anger.

“You are nothing but a pest. Do you know that? Do you understand?”

Narathix flinched away from Him. “I was upset! I made it go away. I helped her forget it happened..”

“You hid it from her to curry her favor.” If this wasn’t some weird mindscape table it would have splintered under His grasp.

“She was so sad.. I needed her to be happy.. She would be more effecient if she was happy. So I made it go away. She was happy again.”

That was likely not what he had wanted to hear from her. In an instant the table between them was gone, and it kind of looked like the room around them was beginning to buckle. Nehl did not have the time to quantify the betrayal of Narathix having hid a memory from her before Diolleas anger flooded out any other emotion she could possibly feel. It burned red hot and she briefly wondered if it was possible to lose consciousness from her subconscious. Gods, she wished that she could.

As Diolleas closed the space between the two of them, Nehl could pick up the bits of fear that came from Narathix. She looked so small compared to Him. He was so angry.

“Worst than a parasite, I would say.” He seized Her, digging his nails deep wherever He grabbed Her from, Nehl would speculate that from the way She screamed when He did. Lords above, did she scream.

“I am very good at handling parasites. Don’t you worry about it.”

Nehl would have to take his word for it because that is when His  anger overtook her and everything went black.

[sunnetrolls]

Hey taz! How go the letters? Do you have any favorites in terms of word choice?

"Ahah! About that. You all were correct when you claimed I had new penpals-- I'm not certain how, but that is beyond my figuring."

"I suppose I can just describe some of the... Surprise letters, so to speak, that I have received as of late."

"The first I received that I didn't recognize was actually from someone that I saw once very briefly quite a while ago. I doubt that he remembers me-- not everyone has my memory, of course. You never know, certainly, but judging by his letter he seemed to not recognize my name. Besides, he was a friend of a friend of a friend, ahah, so it's not like we had properly met."

"Anyways! The letter! I mistook it at first for one of Gordon's, but it was a delightful surprise when Nocyon corrected me that it was instead from one Muiren Neille. How he came to know of my existence and especially my address is beyond me, but there are much worse trolls who could stumble upon that knowledge, certainly. I can trust a friend of Thanat's to use that knowledge wisely."

"The envelope and stationery was not the exact same as Gordon's, of course, but it had the same feel-- I'm just not familiar enough with different types of paper to dictate it properly, ahah. High quality, though! I appreciate someone who puts the care into a letter like that. Wax sealed, but with no symbol or other emblem; I can guess why. And, for once, Nocyon wasn't reluctant to read for me-- apparently his handwriting is quite pleasant and easy to read."

"It is nice to get to meet him after so many sweeps. He has a very intriguing reputation, you know."

"But I have other letters to talk about rather than spilling the poor man's history. It's not mine to tell. I recently received a letter from a much more out of the blue individual-- made poor Nocie do a double take when he read the name, ahah! Her Beloved Annihilation himself. I'm not all too familiar with the higher-ups in the Fleet, but Nocyon served and Planhz was with Kallia for however long that was, so I can recognize a few names. But Nocyon was shocked to say the least."

"I haven't heard him that wordy about a letter I've received since Kitevh sent him a sewn plush of his own.

By what I could tell, the letter itself wasn’t particularly special, but-- I’ll call him Monark for clarity, he didn’t offer a first name-- he apparently has excellent handwriting, if a bit messy, but much more readable than some of the other letters he has to read. Oh--! The paper he used did have gold detailing. I could feel the trim. Expected from the Empress’ personal bodyguard, I’d think. And sealed with my hue, which was… A little unnerving, sure, but it’s not like that information isn’t easy to find.” 

“He seems delightful for someone so close to the Empire. A pleasant surprise.” 

“Now, the last letter. This one really tricked me, ahah! I was convinced I’d recieved a letter from Nehl until I realized it wasn’t sealed with a sticker. Nocyon, who so wisely forgot I can’t see, corrected me like it was obvious that the envelope wasn’t even the typical soft green. As if that was something I could figure… He tires me sometimes. Both of them use envelopes with this specific sort of recycled paper-- it’s almost soft to the touch, or, as soft as paper can be.” 

“Regardless. The letter was from another troll I have heard plenty of, but never met. Ariele Pricit-Kenshe, the Mapmaker-- matesprit to one of Planhz’s good friends, Ofelia. I haven’t heard much of her, but Planhz always only had good things to say, and now I see why. Nocyon as well was delighted to read another letter from someone with easily legible handwriting. 

“That’s all the new letters I’ve recieved lately. But I’ve been in good contact with several others, of course! I wrote back to Mollie and convinced her to handwrite a letter this time, which arrived not too long ago. And that archivist fellow Abbris finally got back to me-- I’ve actually been in the process of writing out something for him! It’s taken a while as I have absolutely no shortage of detail for recollections, ahah. But on the other hand… Come to think of it, I haven’t heard from Redivi in some time, which is… Unlike him. He’s usually a spectacularly cordial correspondent, so that’s a tad concerning… Well, he is a busy man. I’ll worry about it in another month.” 

“I hope that all wasn’t too boring! I can get a bit carried away, my apologies.”

[kurogoesinthedas]

A bunch of Hogwarts Au facts

Dalish elves culturally have no concept of pureblood/mudblood. Mages get their vallaslin after graduation.

Elves are rarely sorted into Slytherin. Fael is the only Slytherin elf of his year.

The few dwarves in the school are either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, as they are surface dwarves. The dwarves that live in the cities underground have their own magic school.

The Pavus family is a line of Slytherin purebloods... That Dorian broke being sorted into Ravenclaw like the nerd he is.

Ages in this AU are as follow: Fael, Linna Sera and Dagna same year, Numin Dorian Mae and Felix 1 year older than them, Josephine Leliana and Cullen 2 years older, Cassandra is 3 years older, Nehlarien 4. Cole is a friendly ghost of the castle. Bull and Krem are from Durmstrang, and meet the group at the Tri-wizards tournament. Solas is the History of Magic teacher.

Maevaris instantly welcomes Fael as soon as he's sorted. She later introduces him to Dorian and Felix. They become fast friends.

Honeydukes Sweetshop is Linna’s favorite place in the entire world.

Sera and Dagna are the Fred and George of this generation of wizards. The whole school is filled with fear and awe. 

Fael and Dorian relationship is the slowest burn to ever slow burn. Fael starts to have feelings during his 4th year. Dorian start hardcore pining for his best friend halfway through his fifth. 

(half of the school had placed bets by that point)

A worrying amount of magic equipment start exposing Dorian’s hardcore pining. Everyone realizes BUT him.

They get together during Dorian's last year at Hogwarts, becoming that kind of couple everyone lowkey hates because they’re a) top tier and b)they’re just so damn sweet it’s sickening. 

For real at some point pink heart shaped sparkles may or may not have physically appeared around Fael while he was dreamily eyeing Dorian from the other side of the Great Hall.

Nehlarien and Cassandra hook up at some point because I said so. They’re the Gryffindor quidditch powercouple.

Nehlarien dies in a magic accident the summer between Fael's fourth and fifth year. It's a hard time. Grief brings Fael and Cassandra together to a weird but honest friendship.

Fael was a Chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team up from his third to his fourth year. Afterwards, he left due to discipline issues following Nehl’s death.

After Dorian's graduation, Halward tried to get him to marry a pureblood girl from Beauxbatons. He discovers Dorian's relationship with Fael. Things go south.

After months of not receiving letters during his last year at school, Fael puts together a rescue party Weasleys-in-chamber-of-secrets style and that's when Dorian meets the entirety of clan Lavellan.

His stunt nearly costs Fael the school year, but Headmaster Flemeth found that amusing. She’s weird like that.