#soupedepates

[cy-lindric]

Salut ! Je viens de voir ton post au cloître du Puy-en-Velay et ça me rend tout fuzzy de voir que ma ville d'origine est arrivée sur Tumblr akdkakdk

Tu as aimé les fêtes du Roi de l'oiseau ? Tu as bien aimé la ville overall?

C'était vraiment top, la ville est magnifique et la fête était super. On a pas pu voir beaucoup de spectacles mais rien qu'avec les camps de reconstitution, les animations de rue, le marché et les bals on s'est régalées. Mon seul regret c'est qu'on soit arrivées le mercredi et parties le dimanche matin ; l'année prochaine, on skippera le mercredi pour pouvoir rester voir le grand défilé dimanche. (et on s'y prendra un peu à l'avance pour avoir des tickets pour la finale de tir à l'arc, haha)

Sinon bravo pour ta ville, très joli centre et une cathédrale qui rentre direct dans le top 5 j'ai pas peur de le dire

[wolfythewitch]

This isn't a question but a huge thanks!! I love your artworks and, thanks to you, I'm now at peace with Catholicism and God in general. You've made me see the love within the Scriptures (this means a lot to me wkfnwkgjkwjrjr)

Also as a huge mythology nerd I can't stress enough that????? Omg your Iliad/Odyssey art is so masterfully executed????????

Oh wow that's so cool I'm glad I helped :D

[thal-ent]

pssssssssss

trick or treat?

I'm giving you all the treats you'd want darling <333

[hel-phoenyx]

Domhildr belongs to @soupedepates, Meili to @azeler and Oli to @thal-ent

Modern AU shenanigans

I do not look fondly upon my high school years.

It's not a period of my life I like to remember. and no, it's not like I had problems or anything. Never been bullied, never been dragged into shady business per se, at least not the delinquent kind. I had friends, even if those friends were in two different groups for. Several reasons. I had no difficulties whatsoever in class, even ranked top most of the time.

But god was I insufferable. Sometimes I wonder how Domhildr and Oli could put up with my self-inflated ego. The others certainly did a lot to encourage it.

I think the only thing that kept my head not too far from the ground was the fact I had to fight for the top rank. I still remember the classes, the tests, everything. When we didn't take the same options, it was good, I had miles between me and the second-ranked ; when he was there, I had to work for my shit.

It's weird to think he became my friend. That he was our friend.

No, not in this way. Weird in a good way. Like, in class we would have heated debates on slightly different answers, especially in philosphy and geopolitics. He was a die-hard right-winger, while I started to understand, because of them, that maybe free market was a bad thing. Both of us were still influenced by traditional upbringings. Loaded families.

Yet outside of class we would just talk about our days, families and other things. I would complain about the date of last maths test while he joked about such feeble things not stopping him. and then Oli and Domi would just yell at us to "stop flaunting the top-rank bullshit on us". Even though Oli were themselves good enough in class.

I had kind of a rivalry going on at the tme, and it got my head out of the gutter. Didn't help that we kinda crushed on the same guy. Not realising it, both of us were idiots (and probably raised in same kind of gay-no-way families) but it has to have played a role in the peculiar nature of our relationship.

And then he left school for the army. And I went into politics. And we lost contact.

I do not look fondly on my high school years. But I have to admit, recieving a message from him in the middle of my thesis kinda made me happy.

That's probably why I called upon the two others. To discuss. The message, and what happened afterwards.

Oli and Domhildr are bot sitting at the table at our café. We would reunite here, to talk about crushes and classes and art and jobs. And more often than not, politics. Domdom stopped wanting to punch me when I started talking about last time I kicked a Neo-Nazi in the balls. Good times.

But today we are not here to diss neo-nazis. We're here to talk about Meili.

"So, starts Oli. You say he sent you a message ? You ?"

"I mean, I'm probably the only one with the same phone number."

"Bullshit. I haven't changed mine since I got it. And I'm pretty sure Domi only switched once."

Domhildr nods, a big smile on her face.

"I knew there was something between you two. I mean, the whole academic rivalry was pretty homoerotic."

"Oh com'on, I have plenty other people I'm homoerotic with, you don't need to add Meili to the roster."

Their faces are unconvinced. Great. It's Kriss's teasing yet again.

Can't say I'm not used to it, tho. I have so many crushes. Had, too. I fall in love too easily with my friends. Luckily I don't have many.

My prosthesis hurt, as some sort of reminder. Yes, sometimes I am attracted to the wrong people. And the fact we made up kinda is worrying for my mental health, but to be honest I needed that introspection.

"Anyway. Yeah, he sent me a text, said he wanted to meet up. Apparently, army didn't work out. Didn't understand how before I saw him."

"Wait. You SAW him and you didn't warn us ?!"

"I knew I would never hear the end of this, so, no. Plus, he wanted to see me alone."

Domhildr laughs a little teasingly.

"Ooooh, someone got a date~"

"Or he just didn't wanted to show everyone from the get go the leg prosthesis and the amount of burns in his body, hell, he couldn't even open his right eye."

And I guess he contacted me because I lost my hand in high school, so he knew about it. And knew I wouldn't get too judgemental or pityful. Disabled power.

That shut up the two birds quite promptly. Domhildr even has the audacity to look shocked.

".... Well, shit, when you said army didn't work out, I didn't think THAT way."

"And yet. He's a war veteran now, and a high-ranked one. He just started a cursus in international politics, you know, the one I ditched for history. I did tell him about that, and he joked about getting something I wouldn't have."

Joke did fall flat, tho. Not like I've taken it personally, I mean, i am a PhD student, right now. More like he didn't put a lot of heart in it. I don't know what he saw on the front, but hell must it have traumatized him.

"War veteran, huh, said Oli, pensive. I take it he's still a right-winger."

"Yep. Couldn't believe his ears when I told him I voted far-left. Didn't want to start drama around politics, tho, so we kept it at that. He got pretty tame on human rights issues, by the way."

"Cool, so I won't have to punch him when I see him. Do we have a date, by the way ?"

I shrug.

"I'll ask him later. That could be good, indeed."

[noa-de-cajou]

Brynja (mentioned) belongs to @hel-phoenyx and is played by @corneille-but-not-the-author

Everyone else mentioned but not named belongs to @thal-ent , @azeler and @soupedepates

Some post-session Leonova content uwu

________

“Looks like someone’s in a good mood.”

If there is one thing I learned from being Leonova’s brother, it’s that when she comes back on the ship humming a tune and looking inexplicably cheerful, it’s usually a sign that things are about to go down very quickly. And the grin she flashes me doesn't reassure me in the slightest.

“Didn’t you leave with Brynja?”

They left alone, Leo pretexting that she needed Brynja’s eyes to find something she wanted to get, which sounded both like the truth and a lie.

“Well, Brynja finally found her long-lost first love, so I thought I’d let them have their little reunion in peace.”

Huh. Well that's certainly something.

“So… The famous Tyrfing whom she thought was dead is here, in this port, at the same time as us? What were the odds?”

The irony in my voice doesn't escape her, and her smile only widens. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew all along that we would cross paths with the Kraken’s King ship, but she looks so excited about it, it feels a little uncanny.

I can't remember the last time she was so happy.

“I've asked her to bring everyone at the tavern later tonight. Drinks will be on me, of course.”

I sigh. Deeply. From the bottom of my chest.

“And you want me to be there, don't you.”

“Of course I do! You're my second!”

Unfortunately, I am.

“You know I don't do well with strangers.”

“Oh, come on, you won’t even have to speak if you don’t want to! I just want you to see this! It’s a one-in-a-lifetime occasion, even for people like us. Kal, there’s an occultist rukkorn and a man with a Fol-Eye, even a fairy, can you believe it? And well, Tyrfing Harkyrsen, obviously. I’m sure there’s more people on their boat that I didn't get to meet, more very interesting people, you definitely want to be there.”

I smile abstently. Can't say I'm sharing her enthusiasm. Would it be interesting to meet those people? Certainly. Do I want to? Not really. I've seen rukkorns and fairies and mutilated men before. Brynja’s nice and of pleasant company on the ship, but I don't know any of the others.

Especially since I know all too well what Leo has in store for them.

But it doesn’t look like that's what's on her mind right now. She wants to know. To learn. She always does. And it's getting more and more rare for us to learn anything new with age.

I make the beginner mistake of thinking about the person she could have been if things had happened differently, and my chest starts aching a little. She's never looked more than my sister like she does right now.

A stupid part of me hopes that I might get that sister back. It knows I won't.

Yet she looks at me with the shiniest eyes and it’s all I can think about.

“So, will you be there?”

I huff, she grins.

“Pretty please.”

I sigh, I nod, and she knows she won this one. This is one of the few requests I could refuse without consequences, but I don't have the heart to do so.

It'd be so much easier if I didn't love her.

[bettabastardart]

First attack against the enemy >:3

Character belongs to the lovely soupedepates [ @soupedepates ]

[soupedepates]

Dionysus' outing with his wife Ariadne, Thysa, Methe and our girl Erato

yep my fanfic is going well, it's here

[thal-chandra]

Sometimes you need to doodle your protagonist, antagonist and first character you had a clear idea for lol

The Ultimate Rudaali, Ezio and Oscar, two of the 7 characters I have for the story Venenum Negationis (name up to change tbh) with @noa-de-cajou and @soupedepates

[thal-ent]

@soupedepates Domhildr

shoutout to girls who do not understand the difference between ‘the bit’ and ‘waging psychological warfare’

[thal-ent]

Zuza and Abramelin belong to @soupedepates , Anya, Sigi, Klara and Jakub to @corneille-but-not-the-author , Hanko and Nikolaj/Kolya to @noa-de-cajou and Irena to my sibling

Her lips are soft. So so so soft, against mines, and I have to thank our surprise audience for stopping me from thinking about it too much. I send a look to Jakub, a look we both know isn't real annoyance. But my traitorous mind keeps coming back to the lips of my friend, the girl that I call my friend, the woman I love to see being happy with her husband.

Her husband is just as red as her, and I find it just as cute on him as it is on her. But Hanko is not Anya, and I do not like him like I like her. They're my friends, they're my family, they're people I want to keep with me. And I never though I would like to kiss Anya.

Not just Anya, another girl all together.

I'm no idiot, I helped my own sister get with her wife but, for me ? To like girls as well ? I only thought about Jakub, my husband, to ever consider it.

Jan too, my mind unhelpfully reminds me as I slowly braid my hair for bed. Hanko as well, when our minds are linked and we know everything about each other.

**

I stay against my friend, looking at her son walking in front of us. We're slower than him, as she supports my back and my belly is rounder than it has ever been. I dont hate it, but I'm scared. Jakub and I agreed on names, for our child, I'm sure it's a girl, Zuza is pregnant too and she tells me I'm doing fine. But I'm scared, and I think Anya knows it, stays with me to reassure me.

I dont think about her lips, anymore, the feeling became normal after the thousand's one on stage, for a scene or another. I envy Hanko sometimes, to be the one to get her real kisses, but I envy her as well for getting Hanko's kisses. I think I love him, but it's not important to know what love I have for him, I think.

Anya talks joyfully, lets me think when I want to be silent. She's a ray of sunshine, I could see that when I first met her in the Fort that became the World Tree's roots. I think I like her, in a different way. I don't want to think about what kind of like I have for her, I just want to enjoy the feeling of her comforting me when I cry and wonder if I'll be a better mother than I am a sister.

**

Talmarys is running around, training her little sister along with her on the farm their aunts' own. Irena is talking to me about how she doesn't understand how I could have wanted two brats. I know she loves the girls, loves to hold her nieces in her arms too. Klara isn't home, gone hunting with Sigi. So the rest of us are looking after the kids, trying to stop the oldests from taking their youngest sister into their idiotic shenanigans.

Iekaterina is barely three, with her small legs and long hair. Unlike Kolya she dislikes having it braided, but that means the young changelin is being very quiet on my knees. Anya is running behind Abramelin, Zuza is too old for this now or so she says. Irena leaves my side and grabs with ease Talmarys, the little girl kicking in the strong arms of my sister. I laughs, and before I can get my other daughter, she runs into the arms of Hanko, who probably came out of the house to ask something to Irena.

He lets her get in his arms, talks softly to her. I've known I love him. I've kissed him, more than once, because we both wanted to, we also did more together. I think he likes Jakub like how I like Anya, and he knows about it too. He walks toward us, and smiles softly while talking to our daughter.

Our daughter ?

I secure Nikolaj's braid as I realize what I though. It's true that, in a way, all of the kids of the troupe are ours, to all of us.

But I think I want a kid with Hanko.

[hel-phoenyx]

20) A heated argument

Kaizarz belongs to @corneille-but-not-the-author, Meili to @azeler and Domhildr to @soupedepates

Childhood trauma incoming

They're fighting again.

My parents love each other. I think. They're always hugging and kissing and sometimes they take some time away from the capital, away from us, only the two of them. That's probably what love is. Wanting to be all alone with the other.

Is that what love is ?

But today they're fighting. And I know the reason why. It's me. It's always me. yesterday it was because of my sword. Today it's because I'm the only one integrated to the court. Because Kriss doesn't even go to the castle and I spend half my time in there.

Mom thinks that's unfair both of their children won't get the same chances.

Dad think it's stupid to display all my ascendance.

I don't know what I should believe. Who I should side for.

Kriss ran away a long time ago. She doesn't like them fighting, either. I think she's gonna see Gustav. She told me explicitely to not follow her.

But I don't know where else to go.

i'm not expected at the castle. But the graveyard is empty. I don't know where the others are. Probably working. I'm lucky I don't have to. I should be happy I don't have to.

But today I'm all alone.

I can still hear the voices.

"This is preposterous, Harald ! They're both my children, even if Tyrfing has the powers of your side of the family ! They all should be treated with the same reverence !"

"Karan, I told you a million times, this is not the point ! You'll only need one word too much for Matilda to kill you, and this time mom is not here to stop her ! You can't just go there and flaunt that both Tyrfing and Kriss are descendants of royal lineage !"

"I don't care about that ! I just want them to have the same chances !"

"Ironic from the woman that is trying to build a weapon ! Don't you dare think I don't know what you had in mind when you gave him Dainsleif ! He is not Hrogni, neither is he Odin !"

I don't understand anything. What do they want me to do ? i don't know. Was I born only for their sake ? Is this what love means ?

I don't wanna feel this kind of love.

I have to go. I have to be needed somewhere. Anywhere else. I wanna be needed for who I am, not who I could be, or who were my parents. But they're not here. I'm alone.

I'm not expected at the castle. Yet, when I appear, Kaizarz's face lit up. He's with Meili and Domi today, the whole gang's here. They don't have to work. Meili may be a Karibarn-in-training, he still has some time for us. They're all young, except him. It feels so different.

I can't show them I'm shaking. I need to be needed.

"Hey..."

"Hey, Tyr ! Didn't think I'd see you today," chirps Domi with a smile on her tiny face.

I give her back the smile.

Can't show them I'm on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, things got a bit heated at home..."

"Are you okay ?"

Kaizarz looks so worried. But I can't. I can't show them how cold I feel.

"Yeah, it's fine... Can we like, not talk about it ?"

I see on Kaizarz's and Domi's face they look unconvinced, still worried. But Meili nods sagely, and extends his hand.

"Sure. We were about to play a game of jacks, you're in ? We needed a fourth."

I smile a little more.

I am needed.

I am surrounded.

They put their hands on my shoulders and bring me to the playground and I think, for myself

I hope this is what love feels like.

[noa-de-cajou]

Day 31 : Bedtime / How long will it hurt ?

There's a bunch of mentioned character belonging to @corneille-but-not-the-author , @thal-ent , @soupedepates and @lizizquest featured here! And I'd love to mention @hel-phoenyx and Yaël for making the Ciel Fracturé what it is as well.

Thank you for motivating me to see this little october writing challenge through <3

_______

There’s a sniffle under the covers, in the bed where my oldest son is supposed to be sleeping.

“Klemens?”

Now it's a sob. I sit up.

“Klemens, what's wrong?”

“... Nothing…”

“You're crying. Why?”

“I’m not telling you. It’s dumb.”

I get up from the bed I share with Anya to crouch next to his.

“I’m sure it's not… Can I sit here?”

“Hm…”

And so I sit on the edge of the mattress. Klemens pulls back his blanket a bit, and I can see how puffed and watery his eyes still are.

“So, are you going to tell me?”

“I… It's just… I miss Iekaterina.”

Oh… Oh. My chest stings a little. Iekaterina Le Patriote died… it's gonna be four years this year. I still remember the letter I had to write to tell Antonina the news. Iekaterina was always here. And now there's a hole in the Troupe that will never quite be filled.

“... Klimek… That's completely okay. I miss her too. Why do you think it’s dumb?”

“B-Because I'm a big boy now and it was long ago and I shouldn’t be sad about it.”

A big boy… He’s only eleven. For me and Anya, he's still our baby.

“Klimek, listen. You’re allowed to miss her. You’ll still be allowed to miss her in ten years. Or in twenty. Or forever.”

“But… But it's been so long and…”

“And do you think Jakub doesn’t cry about it still?”

I've seen him do so, a bunch of times. Sometimes he lets me sit next to him for company and silent support. Sometimes he doesn’t.

“B-But Jakub is her son. It’s different.”

I sigh softly.

“Can you sit next to me?”

Klemens nods, sits up and wipes his face with his hand. It looks like he doesn't want to be touched just yet. That's fine.

“Do you remember the story I told you? About Bazyli?”

“Yeah. You look sad, when you talk about it. And it's been even longer than Iekaterina. Does it… Does it stop?”

I smile. I imagine it must look sad.

“No. There are some things… that never stop hurting, no matter how much time passes.”

“You said… I look like him. Does it… Does it hurt? When you look at me?”

Sometimes, it does. The smallpox scars, the green eyes, the smile, the hair. But he's not him. He’ll never be.

“A little, sometimes. But it's comforting, I think. You can be proud to look like him. You might be the best thing that's left of him in this world.”

“Hm…”

He looks at my belly. It’s starting to get a little round. Still feels as weird as the first time, but it’s nice too, in a way. And I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long one, but it's too early to tell.

“You cried a lot. After the ritual.”

“I did.”

And I still feel tears prickle my eyes when I think about Bazyli's clothes and cloak and earrings disappearing into smoke. But I know it was worth it.

No matter how much I cried or screamed, Yavana never stopped holding my hand.

“But everyone was there to support me. Just like I'm here to support you now. It’s like my scars. I’ve… told you about the scars too, didn't I?”

“Yeah… You got a lot because your parents were mean. And because you fought a lot.”

“Well, they still hurt. After a while, you become numb to the pain. But that doesn’t mean it’s good. Being numb… it just means you suffer so much you don’t know how to feel again.”

“But then… Do you just suffer all the time?”

“Well, the pain is still there. You need to accept that it's not going to disappear. But you’ll find that there are things much, much stronger than pain.”

I used to think that's all there was. That it was all I could give. But it wasn’t. I gave love. I gave life. I wouldn’t take any of it back. I know it’s the same for everyone.

“And if you miss someone, then it means you loved them enough when they were here, right? And that maybe, you still love them.”

Like I love Bazyli, Bronya and Milosz. Like Yavana loves Jan and Mi’Arach. Like Zuza loves her husband, or even Idalia, in a way. Like Jakub loves his mother. Like Sigi loves the people of Osowiec. Like Anya loves her brother. Like Marteau loves me. Like Likhoradka loved Maryla. Isn’t missing something the proof that you loved it once?

Despite what I say to Klemens, there's a reason I can't answer this question for sure. Two reasons. Two empty eyes looking at a sky full of stars that he'll never see again. Two eyes I miss without having to time to love them fully.

And the arms of Idalia wrapped around me in an inn in an embrace that didn't contain an inch of violence.

I don't have all the answers yet. I don’t think I ever will.

“... Dad?”

“Hmhm?”

“Can I get a hug?”

“Always.”

Klemens wraps his arms around me, buries his face against my chest. I hold him tightly.

“Thanks…”

“You’re welcome, dear. It’s always up to you how you deal with all of this. Just don’t do it alone, alright?”

“Hm… Do you think I can talk to Jakub about it?”

“You can try. I’m sure he'll be happy to share memories with you. He has a lot more than I do.”

“Okay. Can we make a lot more memories? Like, a whole lot? With everyone?”

“As many as you want.”

And I'll treasure these memories. I never want to forget again.

“And dad?”

“Hm?”

“For the baby… Can I name them?”

I chuckle.

“No. Yavana and I have already chosen.”

Likho Juliste, if it's a boy.

Radka Julia, if it's a girl.

“What?! No fair! You’ll have to let me name the next one!”

“We… don’t know if there’s gonna be a next one, love…”

“Well there has to be now!”

And I laugh, and he laughs, and we wake up Anya who scolds us both before joining the embrace, and my heart feels full. Full of love, of life, of pain, of everything that makes this life worth it.

It has always been worth it, hasn’t it?

Live, Hanko. You have to live.

I am, Bronya. I am.

[bettabastardart]

Hey @soupedepates have another attack >:3

[thal-chandra]

Four cards of Tarot with characters from the Original Universe of La Peste Moderne ! Funny enough, 4 out of 5 characters here are to people on here lol

2 : The high priestess, Nhan, belongs to @soupedepates

3 : The empress, Theodosia, belongs to @noa-de-cajou

4 : The emperor, Ansgar and Teodora, belong to @hel-phoenyx for the first one and the other to the Allmighty GF who is not on here

5 : The Hierophant, The Watcher, belongs to meeee

It's a lot of fun to draw so many characters and experiment a bit with my art lol

[noa-de-cajou]

@soupedepates this u?

i say i like tragedies and everyone’s all like ‘why do you like sad stories? are you depressed?’ and never ‘how was the catharsis? was the catharsis fun?’