#surviving romance incorrect quotes

[kai-zenkira]

Surviving romace as AO3 tags. I am gonna do. The last one could also be Rina and Minwoo but I didn't have the right photo for it...

[release-the-mccracken]

Anthony: Would you like some tea? Frank: What are the options? Anthony, confused: Yes or no.

[incorrect-ember-knight]

Najin: hold on, did i tell you my name??

Marsha: *smiles mysteriously*

Marsha: *dramatically looks off into the distance* so you don’t remember… you used telepathy to whisper it to me ❤️

Najin, internally: *in shock* do i have that ability?

[enha-roza]

MASTERLIST

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

Enhypen (엔하이픈) is a South Korean Co-ed group formed by Belift Lab, a joint venture between CJ ENM and HYBE Corporation, through the 2020 survival competition show I-Land. Enhypen consists of members : Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Roza, Sunoo, Sooyoung, Jungwon & Ni-ki. ENHYPEN debuted on November 30th, 2020 with their mini-album “BORDER: DAY ONE” and title track “Given-Taken”.

Lee Roza !۶ৎ

profile & facts // trainee life // ships with the members // idol friends // dating history // inside her phone // solo career //

Kang Sooyoung !۶ৎ

profile & facts // trainee life // ships with the members // idol friends // dating history // inside her phone // solo career //

Social Media !۶ৎ

instagram //

Tiktok // 2 //

youtube masterlist

Enhypen !۶ৎ

New dorm arrangement

Old dorm arrangement

Contacts for each other

incorrect quotes

Eras !۶ৎ

Border : Day One

Border : Carnival

Dimension : Dilemma

Dimension : Answer

Manifesto : Day 1

Dark Blood

Orange Blood

Romance : Untold

I-Land !۶ৎ

episode one // episode two // episode three

Masterlists !۶ৎ

Roza Imagines Masterlist

Sooyoung Imagines Masterlist

Hyung line poly Masterlist

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

note : i will be primally writing for Roza as she's the main focus of this account but i will still occasionally be writing for Sooyoung.

[augenblicklich-lila]

cod incorrect quotes #6

I'm really enjoying posting these. Love y'all ♡

the usual jazz, mainly Y/N/Reader stuff, platonic and romantic. Also has some Soapghost & Alerudy!

I think the König/Y/N & Alerudy one might be my favorite in this batch uwu

- Lila

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.✭・♛ ♛ （ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)つ━━✫・*。 ⊂　　 ノ 　　　・゜+. しーーＪ　　　°。+ *´¨)

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.✭・♛

Gaz: It’s Christmas! Are you all in a Christmas mood?! Ghost: Merry crisis. Soap: Jingle bells, jingle bells, single all the way. Y/N: Hoe hoe hoe. Gaz: Guys, please.

Soap: Today at 7 am, Y/N poured a Monster energy drink into their coffee, said "I'm going to die" and drank the whole thing. Gaz: I watched Y/N brew their coffee with Monster instead of water. Three cups in two hours. I think they ascended into the astral realm. Price: The survivability of the human race never fails to amaze me. (Price is definitely NOT going full dad!mode on the inside what-)

König: I give up. I am so tired. Soap: Get the emergency supply! Price: carries Y/N and places them in front of König Y/N: smiles König: AND I AM BACK BABY, LET’S GOOO + Alejandro: I give up. I am so tired. Y/N: Get the emergency supply! Soap: carries Rudy and places him in front of Alejandro Rudy: smiles Alejandro: AND I AM BACK BABY, LET’S GOOO (WHY ARE THESE SO CUTE T-T)

Gaz: My life is a little too much panic and not enough disco. Ghost: My life is a little too much fall and not enough boy. Soap: My life is a little too much chemical and not enough romance. Y/N: My life is a little too much imagination and not nearly enough dragons. (The way my grammar program only wanted to correct Soap's part-)

Gaz: Where's Soap? Price: Don't worry, I'll find him. Price, shouting: Y/N sucks! Soap, distantly: Y/N is the best person ever! Fuck you! Price: Found him.

Soap: Why is Y/N crying on the floor? Gaz: They're drunk. Soap: And? Gaz: They saw a picture of Ghost's spouse. Soap: But they're Ghost's spouse. Gaz: I know.

Gaz: I told Y/N to grab snacks for everyone. Price, looking through the options: Why did you grab fruit snacks? Are you five? Who even likes Fruit Snacks? Gaz, Y/N, and Ghost raise their hands

Soap, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it- Ghost, whispering: Should we call the exorcist? Y/N, also singing: The taste of his cherry chapstick. Price, appalled: Call the exorcist.

Ghost: I have the sharpest memory here - name one time I forgot something! Gaz: You left me, Y/N, and Soap in a Walmart parking lot at 2am a day ago. Ghost: I did that on purpose, try again.

Y/N: You know, Soap gives Ghost flowers every day, I wish you'd do that too. König: Okay. Later König: gives Ghost flowers Ghost: ??? König: I don't know, I'm confused as well. (these dumbasses I stg-)

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.✭・♛ 　 ∧＿∧ （｡･ω･｡)つ━☆・*。 ⊂　　 ノ 　　　・゜+. しーＪ　　　°。+ *´¨) “Hie thee home, little wanderer.”

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.✭・♛

[alkaline-wtr]

MY MASTERLIST

**This blog is 18+. MDNI.

About Me

**Everything will always be tagged appropriately. (More thorough tags on actual post.

SERIES:

“We Will Survive” Ghost x survivor!reader, fem!reader, zombie apocalypse AU, gore, violence, death, weapons, explicit language, multiple chapters (ongoing) CH 1 CH 2 CH 3 CH 3.5(optional) CH 4 CH 5 CH 6 CH 6

ONESHOTS/IMAGINES:

"K.I.A." fatherfigure!Price x grieving!Reader, dead!Ghost, hurt/comfort, angst, mentions of death, imagine

"Skipping Class" teen!Konig x stoner!reader, anxious!Konig, mentions of drug use, fluff, wholesome, imagine

"Biker!Ghost" biker!Ghost x fem!reader, smut, MDNI, imagine

"Vanilla!Ghost" Vanilla!Ghost x fem!reader, smut, MDNI, imagine

"Crush" yandere!reader, obssessive!reader, TW blood, death threats

HEAD-CANNONS:

"Coming Home" 141 and Konig x reader, military husbands, fluff, head-cannon

"Self-Conscious" self-conscious!Konig x reader, stoner!reader, insecure!Konig, fluff, head-cannon

"Drinking" 141 and Konig, how the boys would drink, head-cannon

"TikTok Dancers" Soap x Gaz, how they film dances for TikTok, head-cannon

OTHER:

Soap x Ghost x reader Soap x Ghost x reader, silly, incorrect quotes

Soap x Ghost Soap x Ghost, incorrect quotes, silly

Y/n 'Mulan' scenario Ghost x reader, imagine, headcannon reader quote Soap x reader, silly, incorrect quotes

MY RECOMENDATIONS:

Call of Duty 💚

SECONDARY BLOG:

**TW: My secondary blog is dedicated to dark content!! DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT, Dark romance, Taboo, smut, 18+, MDNI

Dark Masterlist

primary blog: @alkaline-wtr secondary blog: @royal-wtr

[fourraccoonsinacoat]

FourRaccoonsInACoat Masterlist

Thanks for stopping by my masterlist, I am thrilled there are people who are interested in my writing! You may be asking, did I really create a logo for a nonexistent book series that only exists in the BG3 universe and features Malta the crime-fighting cat, all for the sake of a gag?

Yes. Yes I did. I will speak no more on the matter.

My fanfiction is centered around Baldur's Gate 3 and explores the romance between Astarion and the Dark Urge. The Durge MC in my works is based on my first BG3 Durge, a female half-drow warlock named Eli. I currently have one ongoing chapter fic, as well as a few one shots that all take place in the same universe.

I write fanfiction for myself as a way to decompress from life and because I enjoy sharing my stories with others. It legitimately makes my day when someone is entertained by my writing, so thank you for every comment, like, message and kudo. Much love and appreciation to you all!

Also, if you're here for BG3 Incorrect Quotes, follow that link for the masterlist.

____________________

AO3 Account - All of my works are crossposted to AO3.

Ongoing Work

Head Full of Ghosts:

Current Rating: M

Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Eli has spent a lot of time combing through her fractured psyche, trying to piece together any semblance of facts about who she was before she awoke on a mind flayer nautiloid. In all that self-reflection, she has concluded there are two things she is very good at. Killing people and drinking.

Neither of which is proving very useful as she tries to navigate interpersonal pitfalls after being appointed leader of a ragtag group of maladjusted misfits who are trying to source a cure for the illithid tadpoles in their heads. As if that isn't problematic enough, she's also having to contend with the growing affections between herself and the group's resident vampire spawn, Astarion.

Between fanatic cultists, goblin raids, murderous urges and cryptic memory loss, Eli figures a relationship is the last thing she ought to get herself wrapped up in. And from what she's seen of Astarion, the cavalier rogue seems to have his own breeds of specters haunting his steps.

Neither one of them has any business mucking about with romance. But, neither one of them is particularly good at staying away from things that entice.

____________________

One Shots

In chronological order:

Fall for Me ---> Faint of Heart ---> Midnight Prayer

Fall for Me

Rating: E NSFW18+

Astarion wakes from a nightmare and goes to Eli, seeking reassurance as he struggles with the denial of his feelings. The last thing he wants to do is give someone else control over him, not after he’s so recently regained a taste of freedom. Over the past 200 years, every relationship Astarion was involved in had been nothing more than a means to an end, with Astarion either playing the role of manipulator or the one being manipulated. Attachments were leverage, giving someone a hook they were able to dig their claws into in order to gain ground. Isolating himself from connecting with others was how he had survived.

This, however…this was different. 

Rating: M

Faint of Heart

Somewhere along the way, more and more truth has begun to slip into the words Astarion has been using to charm Eli into his bed. He's not sure when it started, but sometime between their passionate nights and hard fought days, genuine feelings began to stir.

It all comes to a head after the crew stages a prison break out of Moonrise Towers. Now, during a rare evening of respite, Astarion is determined to make a confession, regardless of his fears over the fallout.

Rating: M

Midnight Prayer

Neither Eli nor Astarion knows what they're doing when it comes to romance. Their combined histories with healthy relationships adds up to an unsurprising total of zero. Astarion once admitted to Eli that he couldn’t remember ever bedding the same person twice. And Eli…well, she can't remember anything, frankly. Her memories of past lovers are nonexistent…at least…

At least until today. Today, when they’d finally met the infamous Enver Gortash.

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: Bee Movie

I have, on occasion, been accused of being unable to take a joke. As a nerd with an analytical mind and a brain in a frustrating inbetween-y zone of neurodivergence and -typicality, I can see where the criticism comes from. I do however, maintain that I am able to catch jokes, but that I may also chose to opt out of catching the joke if the joke is stupid. This is all to say that many of my criticisms of Bee Movie can be thusly disarmed: relax it's just a dumb comedy. This is fair enough, although I would argue the thing isn't really funny either, but more on that later.

Bee Movie is, in essence a singular breed, a comedian passion project in animated form. Born from the mind of Jerry Seinfeld, this absurd little thing follows the story of one Barry B. Benson, a young bee who, on his first trip outside of the hive, encounters a human woman he falls in love with, as well as the seemingly forbidden knowledge that humans harvest and sell their honey. Now that's a lot to take in, but as it is the only major developments in the movie until a particular groaner in act 3, more on that later, you'll have plenty of time to digest it. Hope you like the inherent absurdity of an adult human man being cucked by a bee for like an hour, because that is, frankly, a lot of it.

Much ado has been made about the beestiality, if you pardon the terrible no good pun everyone and their grandmas have done at this point, but honestly I find it more interesting to view this movie through the lens of economics and politics. Yes, I am serious, I assure you I'm going somewhere with this.

So, in essence what happens in this movie is that a young man discovers that his labor and the labors of his community is being absorbed and used to enrich the people who exploit them. Is man not entitled to the nectar of his brow, and so on and so on. Bee Movie is interesting, I suppose, in that it is a fable-style animal tale that describes capitalist alienation and exploitation and actually goes on to changing that. Shame, I suppose, that the ideas that guide this tale have the stupidest Champagne Liberal-ass take on what succeeding such a task may entail.

See, Barry sues humanity for bees to gain the right to their own honey, an affair that takes up the parts of act 2 that aren't filled with bee-human romance. In the end, the bees pull out a W, which I consider an optimistic estimate to any case where nonhuman sentience in any way is involved, but let's go for it. Humans can't just take the honey any more. Barry B. Benson has single-handedly taken all of beekind into a post-scarcity society, where their ability to produce what is necessary for survival so vastly outstrips their needs as to rend them negligible. Sure, humans can buy the honey from them, but what does a human have that a bee really needs? There's just two small problems. One, "it's just not the same," to quote one character who is so freaked out about not having to work with the threat of a death and destitution hanging over his head he can't function in a world where these swords of damocles are taken away. Two: Complete and utter biosphere collapse.

It is, I believe, pertinent at this point to talk about Bee Facts. See, I firmly believe that knowing about how bees work is a major disadvantage in watching this movie because the movie either doesn't know, or care, the first thing about actual bees in the real world. Barry, for example, comes from a nuclear family type arrangement and not one single egg laying biomonarch, and he is, as far as anyone can tell, a man and not a drone whose only job is doing their part in reproduction. There are those that argue that one should view worker bees as female, and those that argue that imposing an animalian reproduction binary (or should I say beenary?) is incorrect in its entirety. Either way, he probably shouldn't be a suave lad. That's one thing, but I suppose part of "the joke" here is that bees don't act like humans but in this movie they do.

Where this becomes pretty important, though, is in the third act with the aforementioned biosphere collapse. See, one Bee Fact that bee movie does indeed know about is that bees are important pollinators, and now that bees don't have to ride that pollen grind like it's the pony express, plants start dying, and they die a lot. Now never mind that honey bees aren't the only pollinators in the world for a second, even people who know Bee Facts can be guilty of that one. What knowing some Bee Facts will tell you, though, is that this absolutely would not be a problem with honey bees. We know what honey bees do when they produce more honey than they need. It's a process we can see. With our eyes. Once their honey stores are so packed there's no space for new bee larvae to grow, the bees fuck off, leave the hive and the Midas' horde of honey and get started elsewhere. It's not ideal, obviously, but the bees keep at it, they're good at building hives and making honey and by jove they're not going to stop doing that for anything short of fire or storms.

This, to me, is where the movie fails both as a movie about bees and a comedy of "hey what if bees had to exist in capitalism?" It's not a movie about bees because the entire third act would not exist, Barry and all his friends would move hive for like the sixth time that month and otherwise all would be as before. Neither is it a particularly inspired take of "hey what if bees were like humans," because the movie stumbles into a star trek-ass post scarcity situation for these tiny bee-shaped humans and have to bring the fact that they aren't bee-shaped humans but indeed bees (and somehow the only pollinators in the world?) for the movie to go on to have a plot.

I try to not make unflattering psychoanalysis of the people behind movies, whether I like them or not, but on the other hand I don't think I can put into words how heavy the thought "Jerry Seinfeld can't imagine a world where people aren't exploited for their labor because he benefits from that very same system that exploits people for their labor" weighs on my mind when discussing this movie. The movie is so terminally incurious about the ideas it brings to the forefront of its plot that it manages to, with no sense of irony, say that "maybe having to work to live is actually better than the alternative for no particular reason?" There is no room for worker bees to be anything other than just that in Bee Movie's world. They must struggle to survive like the lower classes struggle to survive or the world would end, so says the guy who made a fortune off of (admittedly pretty funny) go-nowhere comedy in the 90s.

In the end, does any of this matter particularly? No, not really. Bee Movie exists now mostly as a meme, a variation of the Shrek ironic enjoyment, although I'd argue the first couple of Shrek movies were actually good movies. Still, I do live under the constant self-imposed pressure of wanting to take movies seriously no matter how obviously flippant they are. That means that some times you write 1.3k+ furious words about the politics of Bee Movie. I suppose we all have our lot in life.

[ladyzirkonia]

Welcome my dear fellows.

I made another bigger update to my main Masterlist now The Bad Batch season 3 ended. Added some OC stuff (we love OCs in this house!) and a lot of GIFs and Edits. Have fun! 🖤

RP-blogs:

Renegade 99 Squad Crosshair - @toothpick-man

Nite Owl RP-blog - @nite-owl-with-attitude

Knife skill challenge - Hunter and Nite Owl

bg3-blog: @lady-of-waterdeep

Z's suicide squad

Jurij ''just Doc'' Vega - Cybernetic specialist, mad scientist and clone activist - Doc's Masterlist

Ekaterina ''Captain Z'' Zhakov - Ex-Imperial, starfighter pilot and Rampart's chaotic pain in the ass - Introduction

Fanfiction

Collecting some data - Tech x Reader (''Fascinating'')

The perfect drift - Tech x Reader

Eye Rolls & Travel-Biscuits - A little Rampart One-Shot

The Bad Batch Modern Tattoo Shop AU - Tech and Crosshair/OC

Commander Ghoul x Doc - OC x OC (Part 1 - Part 2)

The Clone x Reader Bingo Event

Masterlist here.

My Edits (please credit if you use)

The Bad Batch

Tech in ''The Crossing''

My favorite twins - Tech and Crosshair

The First Battle Memorial of Geonosis - Crosshair

Tech in ''Faster'' - Part 1

Tech in ''Faster'' - Part 2

Neon lights Part 2 - Hunter

Neon lights - Crosshair

Angry boy Crosshair

Looking respectfully - Tech and Hunter

Good morning - Crosshair

Grumpy Crosshair, Wrecker and Lula

The clone/Twi'lek couple

Commander Mayday

Tech in ''The Metamorphosis''

The Bad Batch Season 3

Masterlist - PART 1 - PART 2

The Clone Wars

Juicy Jesse looking at me - with Kix

Look at these crazy boys - Bad Batch (Clone Wars)

Sassy Cody and Baby Rex

Phantom Liberty video edit - Commander Fox

It's hard to be the one who survives - Commander Cody

The faces of Commander Wolffe

Code red - Commander Fox

Masterlist Here.

The Bad Batch and Clone stuff

Incorrect Quotes

Commander Wolffe and Commander Fox

Our favorite twins - Tech and Crosshair

Bad Batch incorrect quote

Memes and rumbles

Mr. tits and Mr. I'm standing there like a model - Jesse and Tech

Every day I wake up meme with Tech

Lost my fucking cat - Crosshair

Shoutout to all my clone- and tech-girlies - Tech x Phee

protective clone (The Last Of Us) submission

The Tech-Turn

I belong with Wrecker but I fear for my spine - Bad Batch quiz

The Kinner Brothers and Cidgor

I have to confess this man does something to me - Dr. Hemlock

Hunter - Joel Miller era

Echo and some grief

The Crossing

Just some random Star Wars stuff

Mandalorian armor culture

Mandalorian tenets or the six actions

Patental divorce - Mando'a

Real talk - about shipping and romances

Space Utah appreciation post

Grief - Tech x Phee and Kanan x Hera

Ahsoka Trailor Star Wars Celebration - Screenshots

I'm so excited for my favorite blueberry! - Ezra Bridger

Were is Captain Rex? Is he safe? Is he alive? - Ahsoka Trailer

Jedi Survivor got me like this

Hottest shit on the Mandalorian throne - Darth Maul

Mandalorian women and light saber - Bo-Katan and Sabine

Cyberpunk 2077 (photomode)

Chippin in - Johnny

Who allowed you smiling like that? - Johnny

Just hanging around - Johnny

Hey choom - Johnny

[ninadove]

Nina’s quotes 💌

Incorrect quotes and textposts

🐞 Miraculous 🐈‍⬛

Characters: Felix | Kagami | Senticousins | The Awful Adults

Episodes: Emotion | Representation 1 | Representation 2 | The Last Day

Miscellaneous: Queer-coding | Bored with movies | You can be mean for 10,000 years | Would you ever snitch on your cousin? | Jane Austen really said… | Please send me an angel | It’s Pride Month, Gabriel | How are you such a nightmare? | Chat (Film) Noir | And then he stabbed me | Your blorbo shouldn’t be at the club | They should invent someone who’d fall madly in love with me | But will the horrors survive me? | Also I love making out

🎩 Professor Layton

Bumbleby Bots | I had helicopter problems | Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Clive? | A good romance starts with a good friendship

🌱 East of Eden

So I have decided to trust you

🔱 EPIC

You can excuse dropping infants from a wall…? | Self-fulfilling prophecy

⚔️ Les Trois Mousquetaires

Porthos fucking fell off

🦉 The Owl House

A CHILD

[fallout4-reacts]

Masterlist

Rules

You're free to continue to ask; I did not close them

Thank you for your ongoing encouragement

Stay tuned, I didn't give up the list

Meanwhile : No Skip November

2024-11-20

Thank you for continuing to provide me with such creative ideas. I'll do what I can to soon end the current queue (Up to date)

Sole who cries in their sleep

Sole's reappearance as Nuka World's Overboss after months

Sole jerryrigging a prosthetic arm (4 companions)

Deacon try to make a joke to Curie (incorrect Fallout 4 quotes)

Sole who still sees feral ghouls as human

Sole who hums or gets watery eyes when super comfy

Sole who goes to freakish extents to keep up with their pre-war skincare/hygiene

Sole "adopting" a baby deathclaw and keeping it like a pet

Sole with a low int but max luck

Danse is dense

Sole recruiting Kellogg and/or post!quest Virgil?

Sole getting infected with FEV but not a super-mutant yet (Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4)

Fem/gender neutral Sole who used to be a spy/special agent pre war

Sole romancing Kellogg

Sole lost a lot of weight (comp seeing a pre-war photo)

Sole jokingly flirts but panics when companion flirt back

Potential dialogue (situation) that’s missing from the game (part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - Bonus)

Companion walking on a nude Sole (non-sexual)

Skinny Malone orders his goons to eliminate Nick

Sole betraying the BoS to save a child synth

Sole is actually an Enclave remnant

Sole finding a former degree/award for some massive achievement

Sole with a really slow reaction time

What did the companions do to stop a Frank Horegon brought back to life by a mad scientist

Sole getting surprise adopted/kidnapped by a very protective Mama

Sole who has a mutation like a Big Horner's horns from FNV? (Romance -smut warning) (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3)

MY VISION OF THE COMPANIONS

Ideas about every important NPC (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 -

Sole having nature powers

A very touchy Sole (crushing companions react)

How companion+ Sturges + Desdemona + Kent would react to SS asking for $#% (smut warning?)

Nora being the notorious serial killer the Boston Butcher

Sosu saying "dildo of consequence rarely arrives with lube." To Mayor MacDonough

Random kisses whenever Sole feels a surge of affection

Sole becoming the mayor of Diamond City and...

Sole staring down at a nuka cola and they ask "How the fuck did bottle caps become a currency"

Sole drag the companions (as a group) to an old baseball/basketball court

Companions and Maxson (minus Strong) reacting to a pretty young sole knowing how to survive

Companions react to a sole that has become a conspiracy theorist

Companions react to a super genius SS

Companions reacting to someone reestablishing broadcast on TV

Companions confession being interrupt (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5)

Companions react to Sole negotiating an alliance between the Minutemen, the Institute, and the Railroad (Titan ask)

[maybeamagpie]

Maria's Ornithology Lessons

For @incorrect-quotes-of-moonacre, thank you for all the care you give us and for the community you built :)

[Read on AO3]

Chapter 1 - How to Survive in the Country

When Rosie told Maria she was to live with her uncle in the countryside for the year of her father’s work abroad, Maria knew to expect very little. She wasn’t a romantic - some kind of Austenian romance in a beautiful mansion didn’t happen in reality. Not the one where she lived anyway. When Rosie said that the Silverydew high school paperwork had already been completed and apparently her uncle and his wife were more than happy to spare a room, she seemed apologetic. The secretary and Maria had a friendly relationship, exchanging gifts on Christmas, Rosie giving Maria some very good books for her birthdays and being the only link between Maria and her father when he was working, were just the cherry on top. Despite Maria’s indifferent expression when Rosie dropped her off, inside she wished to stay in the car.

“Well,” Rosie pulled the parking brake and let go of the clutch and brake pedal. “We’ve arrived.” Maria glanced antagonistically at the big and beautiful but also in a state of half-ruin mansion. She turned to Rosie. “You really can’t stay here for a night or two?” she asked and hoped she didn’t sound too childish. Rosie shook her head and the many braids gently swayed. “I’m sorry, Maria, you know how I’d like to help you, but your father needs me back tomorrow.”

It took them six hours to get here. The ride was awfully long for human standards - luckily enough Maria’s cat was happily sleeping in his crate on the backseat. Maria pursed her lips. Out of nowhere a chicken ran across the road, jumped on the hood of the car and, followed by a small bird, disappeared into some bushes. Rosie giggled. Maria’s grimace just darkened. “How am I supposed to live in the country? It’s so full of countryside!” She pointed at the bush with a bewildered face. Rosie solemnly nodded. “It’s really not that bad, Maria,” she assured, “I grew up in Wales in a village with no more than twenty people. It was very… it was a very insular community.” Maria, used to the hustle and bustle of London, muttered mockingly: “it was the ass of the world, that’s what it was.” “Maria!” reprimanded her Rosie. “I’m sure you’ll find it at least pleasing. Did Laura or Clarisse text you back?” Maria, for the uncountable time this car ride, checked her phone. “There’s no signal!” she exclaimed and slumped into the carseat. She turned to Rosie with a pitiful face. “How am I supposed to survive?” Rosie gently petted her knee. “I’ll inform them to write you SMS messages.” “Gods! They might as well write me e-mails!” She narrowed her eyes, “or actual letters. Rosie, we really can’t just go back?” Rosie deeply sighed. “You know there’s no one to take care of you in London. And the paperwork is done!” Maria waved it off as if the legal matters of this were just a small bump in the road. “I could live with you!” she argued helplessly. Rosie shook her head. “My apartment is not big enough for the two of us, Maria.” “We can live in our townhouse, please, Rosie!” Rosie bit her bottom lip. She furrowed her eyebrows before sighing defeatedly. “Do you want to know the real reason you were sent here?” Maria nodded her head rapidly. Rosie thickly swallowed. “You know how you’ve never been sent here for a summer vacation?” “It’s not like I’d like this middle of nowhere anyway.” Rosie shook her head, “your uncle and your father… they had a fight. I think you were about five or six - about a year after your mother’s passing.” Maria watched Rosie collect herself. “I don’t know what it was about, but your father was under a lot of pressure at the time and your uncle and he had a… well a screaming match. Over the phone, of course. He was screaming about how instead of doing anything useful, your uncle just holed up in here and refused to help your father.” She pursed her lips. “It was nasty.” “Then why am I here now?” “I think this is a sort of olive branch,” she rolled her eyes as she continued, “a… a peace offering.” “Peace offering,” Maria deadpanned. “To a man who refused to help father when he was down. And it’s in the country!” “I heard as a child you really loved it here.” “I’ve wised up since then!” she crossed her arms on her chest, “and anyway, I don’t remember any of it.” “Maria, if I could-“ “-you’d keep me in London I know. I’m sure father wouldn’t mind! Are you really going to leave me here with a bunch of strangers-“

She was interrupted by the big door of the mansion opening and a heavyset balding man with a face Maria could only describe as the epitome of a blank expression came out. He smiled widely at them, which made him look endearingly silly. “Is that uncle Benjamin?” she asked warily. “No, I believe that would be the housekeeper, Mr Digweed.” “Well if he’s the housekeeper I see why it’s in this state.” “Maria, don’t be rude,” Rosie reprimanded her again. Before Maria could argue her case, from the back seat came a loud, insufferable meow. Maria quickly turned around and reached for the crate. “Oh Zachariah!” she called, “I’m sorry, kitty, you’ll be out soon, I promise.” Rosie gently smiled at the girl next to her. “I’m sure Zachariah will like it here more than he did in London.”

Zachariah, as Maria liked to say, was fluffy. Rosie would describe him as chubby and George Merryweather didn’t mention him by any other name than the Fat Cat. In short, Zachariah was a big tomcat with a bit too little to do and a bit too much to eat. 

“He’ll be the only one,” muttered Maria. The supposed Mr Digweed meanwhile walked over to them and knocked on Rosie’s window. “Are you Ms Lapinfort?” his voice was muffled by the glass. Rosie rolled down her window. “Yes, I am. Mr Digweed I suppose? We spoke on the phone.” The man said yes and they shook hands. Up close he was nicer than standing in the door and older too - he reminded Maria of some fairytale magical grandpa, which didn’t help his image in her eyes at all. He was probably sentimental about the royal family, owned a chunky woollen sweater with the British flag and listened solely to the Beatles because they were the last “real” music. “And that must be Miss Maria!” he said excitedly, “nice to see you again, Miss.” He was short on the introduction. Maria greeted him quietly and then let him speak to Rosie while she awkwardly nodded.

The first thing Maria did when they got through the whole “do you need help unpacking?” “Oh yes if you’d be so kind,” small talk, was open Zachariah’s carrier. The cat jumped down, stretched his paws and purred as Maria scratched him between his ears. He then began to trot over the yard as if it already belonged to him. As far as both him and Maria were aware, it did. The small bird Maria saw before following the chicken flew above his head, chirped and Maria didn’t understand. That calmed her down some. Zachariah watched the small bird, then turned away and ignored him. Just moments later, out of the door flew a big black ball of fur. It huffed and barked. Zachariah, for the first time ever in his life, sprinted away in fear and up Maria’s leg into her arms. She turned away from the lion sitting at her feet. Zachariah hissed. Maria screamed. The monster barked.

“Wrolf!” Came an admonishing shout from the inside. Out ran a tall, tan blonde whose hair must’ve been recently struck by a tornado. Her face was bright, young, decidedly friendly and held just a bit of mischief in the corners of the woman’s mouth. “He won’t hurt you! He’s just excited!” She called to them as she ran to the giant thing that seemed desperate to eat a Zachariah sized snack. “Hi, Maria, nice to meet you,” the woman pulled away the probable dog by its collar and with the same amount of effort she put out a hand. Maria shook it, trying to shield Zachariah from Wolf with her body all the while. “I’m Loveday, I’m your aunt.” Maria stared at her for a second. Then her mouth, without consulting the brain, blurted out: “I have an aunt?” Loveday grinned. “You do.” The man who suddenly appeared on the stairs to the house definitely looked like her father’s brother. He had less wrinkles, but his eyes were the same dark grey full of seriousness and even the way he nodded to Maria as an acknowledgment was the same. His dark hair had no silver in it yet, though the curls were the same. He snapped twice. Wrolf ran to him and sat down by his feet, tongue out, tail wagging. “Hello, Maria, welcome to Moonacre.”

_-_

The manor was in a better state inside than outside. Despite its vast hallways, it was warm. Maria stared at the pink geraniums glowing on every free windowsill, nook and cranny. Benjamin obviously noticed her staring around. “Those are Loveday’s,” he clipped. “How many are there?” Maria couldn’t stop herself from asking. Benjamin flashed her a small smile. Somehow the corners of his mouth felt weighed down. “Ninety-nine.” Maria stopped at one. She carefully inspected it. It had seventeen blooms, but she could already see an eighteenth one ready to blossom. Benjamin stood a few steps ahead of her. “I’m sure you can admire Loveday’s flowers just as well after you see your room.” Maria didn’t like his tone - all cold and firm, like marble. “Right.” He opened and closed his mouth. “We tried our best to modify it to your standards. Well, Loveday did. I trust her taste fully but-“ he stopped to consider his next words, “it’s no London.” It certainly isn’t , thought Maria, but didn’t say anything. “Do you like reading?” She silently nodded. Benjamin seemed to have expected her to say something. For a long second he worked through that situation. “Good. Good, the shelves in your room are very well stocked. Made sure of that myself.” Maria massaged her left hand. “Thank you, uncle.” “Hm,” he cleared his throat, “unfortunately, there’s no internet.” “I noticed.” “Yes, well… we have a landline and there are a few places with signal but it’s not… the coverage isn’t ideal.” What else was to be expected of this end of the world where just behind the vast garden lay a dark forest like a bad omen? Benjamin tried to conjure up something insightful, but instead said: “I hope you don’t mind.” Maria felt her right eye almost twitch. She instead smiled but it was an unhappy grimace. “I’m sure I’ll find the right places to hear from my friends.” Benjamin nodded. He gestured vaguely to the hall behind him. “Your room,” he reminded mostly himself. Maria followed him in perfect silence.

They walked up and up and up and when it seemed not possible there could still be more stairs, they walked up. Maria might’ve been exaggerating, but her legs ached after they finally ascended to an empty hall. Aside from some windows, dust and paintings covered in white cloth to be protected against said dust, there was an ornamented door. Elaborate metal spirals swirled on it in mesmerising patterns. The door was certainly child-sized, which Maria certainly was not anymore. Well by the law she was, but she was mature. The fact she barely had to bend to go through it was insulting and Maria was determined to ignore it. “I’ll call you down for dinner. Loveday will bring you some snacks but if you need anything-“ “Thank you, uncle,” Maria cut him off and closed the door. With a tired sigh and closed eyes she slid down until she was sitting on the cold wooden tiles. She heard Benjamin start a sentence before huffing and walking off. This was going to be one long stay.

The room was, and Maria hated to admit it, very pretty. Back in London, her room was simple - neutral colours, some pink and blue accents. She covered her walls in her mother’s paintings and posters of old movies and had a corner dedicated to photos. Her mother’s and father’s wedding day, her last birthday before the unfortunate incident and first after. She also had some polaroids of the friends she made during the… the incident and a bunch of them of her Clarisse and Laura. Neither one of those two knew about the incident - Maria made sure of that.

This room was different in every way, but equally as nice. Unlike the rest of the house, there were no paintings and surprisingly enough no geraniums. The walls were covered in recently restored murals depicting a forest with a myriad of animals. Maria followed the eyes of a fox up to a tree where some black bird was sitting. In a bush she found a cute rabbit and in the sky was some grey marbled bird of prey. She examined the fireplace. It too was ornamented like the door, but also had beautiful white horses on it. The ceiling was painted like a night sky, but somehow there was still enough light in the room. She fell on the gigantic bed. There was a painted bird motif on the head of it, Maria really couldn’t give a damn what kind of bird it was. Except the fact it was the same one as the one sitting on her window, chirping away. Maria rolled her eyes and turned away. She was used to cars and honking, but these incessant trills were eating away at her nerves.

She stayed motionless until a loud meow and a softer knock roused her up. The bird was long gone. “Enter!” she called. Loveday did so, smiling all the way. Zachariah slipped between her legs and jumped on Maria’s lap. Loveday put a plate of various pastries on the small table next to the fireplace. She watched Zachariah nuzzle into Maria’s hand. “He likes you a lot,” she noted. Maria curtly nodded.  “I’m good with animals.” “Really?” “Yeah,” Maria chuckled as Zachariah got up on his hind legs and put his front paws on her left shoulder, “it’s like I can really get what they’re saying.” She froze for a second. “I mean it’s not like I can actually understand them, right? That would be crazy.” Loveday shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. I know that some of the horse breeders really talk to their horses.” She lightly caressed the fireplace ornaments. “And besides, in Moonacre nothing is impossible.” Zachariah settled on the blanket behind Maria. “Are you allergic to anything?” she asked suddenly, “I know we asked, but sometimes people forget and…” “I’m not,” Maria shook her head. Loveday smiled. “And do you mind flowers? Ben forbid me from putting any geraniums into your room, but I think they would fit this room perfectly, don’t you?” Maria shrugged. Loveday’s attempts at getting into her good graces were more than obvious, but she found she actually didn’t mind it. Despite being very talkative, she didn’t seem overbearing. More so awkward. When had last been Loveday in proper contact with a teenage girl? Let alone one she was to basically become the parent of? Loveday pointed to the writing table with many drawers, which sat under the window. It was made from very dark wood, first of its kind in this house as far as Maria was aware. “You’ll find all your school things in there. We bought you some pens and notebooks as well as the schoolbooks.” “Oh,” Maria said but felt it was very anticlimactic, “thank you, but you didn’t need to.” The woman just waved it off. “We wanted to give you a good welcome since… well you know.” Maria noncommittally hummed. Loveday pursed her lips. “I’m sure you must be tired. We’ll go over the details during dinner, hm?” She left before Maria was able to respond.

It took her a few more minutes before she got up to actually look at the- at her school stuff. Starting with the uniform. It was neatly folded on her desk, a sad blue and grey thing. It looked just about Maria’s size, Rosie must’ve sent over the measurements so that everything would be ready. There was a light blue sweater, a grey blazer, a white shirt and a pair of black pants. Next to it, to Maria’s surprise, a black skort with white socks. It didn’t hold a candle to her previous one (which had a beautiful wine coloured blazer and a black and white tartan skirt. The socks were also black with a red band at the top. Maria wistfully recalled putting it into her drawer to be hopefully pulled out sometime in the future. Instead this. Her complexion was going to be washed out - gods, she’ll look like a corpse!) She sighed and instead began sorting through the table itself. All drawers but the top one were full of notebooks with animal and flower motifs. Maria was quite sure the “we” Loveday said meant “I.” The first drawer was locked. The last drawer was probably just for her own use, as the notebooks there had no accompanying text books. These too had various patterns on them. Polka dots, checkers and stripes… very fun. Maria tiredly walked over to one of her boxes and pulled out one of the sleek faux-leather bound notebooks she accumulated over the years. There simply was no better feeling than writing in what could pass as a diary of some lady. She opened it and started sketching various items in her room. This lady was stuck in a boarding school and desperately writing her parents letters about how she wanted to go back home.

_-_

The universe had it out for Maria. As if things couldn’t get any worse, apparently the Merryweathers owned a car but only for “emergencies”. And Maria getting to school was no emergency. Afterall, it was half an hour on foot, all downhill, Maria could definitely do that daily. Or, Benjamin suggested, you could go on horseback. Maria had never ever ridden a horse before, but just imagining the long haul up the hill of the manor made her legs ache and so here she was, the first day of school, early September, in the stables. She had a backpack since her handbag was too small and inconvenient for travel. Loveday had two bags on the horse. “I just have a few check-ups in the town. Mrs. Aldering brought in a new cat, and the Greenworths’ canaries are apparently sick with something.” Loveday was the first vet who ever rode to her patients on horseback. The woman looked out. The sky was perfectly clear and sunny, except for one lone bird circling above the manor. She grimaced before getting into the saddle. “Ready?” Maria, who was not ready, but definitely didn’t want another impromptu horse-riding lesson after the last one, nodded.

The thing about her horse Periwinkle was that the mare probably wouldn’t startle even if someone threw an aggravated goose at her. The horse was beautiful, white and dappled with grey, but had she been more apathetic, she would have fallen asleep walking. The perfect horse for Maria, really. She saw how Loveday had to manage her much livelier mare Waterlily. While Loveday was able to force Waterlily into not eating any edible plant in sight, Maria was struggling to stay seated. And she knew Periwinkle noticed. Whenever Maria began slipping, the mare slowed down, gave her a moment to settle and then continued with the steady speed of a snail.

“Periwinkle likes you,” noted Loveday. To her dismay, Maria had to agree. “She’s very gentle,” she admitted. Loveday grinned. “Periwinkle?” she laughed, “she can be one devil of a horse I tell you! When me and-“ she suddenly cut herself off, cleared her throat and shook her head, “she’s very adaptive to the rider.” She looked Maria over and their eyes met. Loveday smiled, but just like uncle Benjamin, the corners of her mouth were turned down. “Relax, Maria, you have to be in rhythm with the horse.” Easy to say, but what did it mean? Maria tried copying Loveday. The veterinarian nodded. “That’s better, but don’t be a rag doll. Any wilder horse would throw you off. Remember yesterday.” Also easy in words but difficult in practice. However, Maria wasn’t one to give up so easily.

What did she do yesterday? She kept her arms firm but her hips free. She sort of rolled with the horse… “Wonderful!” exclaimed Loveday, “you’re a natural.” “I told you I’m good with animals.” Loveday shrugged, “that doesn’t always translate into practice.”

Maria looked up, the bird she saw when they were in the stables was still circling them. Like the… she struggled to remember, the… the bald one. Wide wings, scavenged carcasses… oh screw that, it was ominous. All around them small songbirds chirped - none of them looked like the one Maria saw on her window. “I bet London doesn’t have nature like this.” Maria smiled and shook her head, “no, but we have pigeons.” “The Fird-Laviers have pigeons.” “Aw shucks,” giggled Maria, “bested once again.” “Speaking of Fird-Laviers,” began Loveday, “Thomas Fird-Lavier will be your homeroom teacher. If you have any issues with the curriculum, just ask him.” Then she thought it over, “not like you have that many choices anyway.” “What do you mean by that?” “Oh!” Loveday pet Waterlily’s crest, “our high school is very small. Some lessons the students take all together so you have about seven teachers to ask.” Maria gave her a wary look. Loveday shook her head. “I got into Cambridge, top of my class. Last year one student got into Harvard on merits. It’s a good school. Just not a London one.” That calmed Maria down a bit. She could deal with small. Hopefully.

Loveday leaned over and clasped her shoulder affirmatively. “You’ll be fine, Maria.” “I’m not nervous,” she argued. Loveday raised an eyebrow. “Of course not,” she nodded, “I’m just saying that you will be fine.” “ Hm,” hummed Maria. But you are nervous, muttered Periwinkle. “I’m fine,” grumbled Maria angrily. “Did you say something, Maria?” The girl shook her head, looked around and then flashed Loveday a smile. “Oh, nothing I was-“ she gave Periwinkle a confused stare, but the horse was quiet and most definitely horse-like, “-just thinking out loud.” “Alright.” But her stare still felt much too pointed for Maria’s liking.

_-_

While Periwinkle was used to just waiting around and no one in Silverydew dared steal a horse, let alone a horse that belonged to the Merryweathers, Loveday took the mare with her. She and Maria were to ride back together anyway. Maria didn’t mind. There was something slightly surreal about getting off a horse to go to something so common as high school. Was this why people rode motorcycles to school? She thought they were just flexing, but there was thrill  to arriving in a special manner-

“Hey princess!” a shout interrupted her train of thought. She looked away from the aged school building to a trio of boys smoking by the gate. They looked like the exact type of person to take a motorcycle to school. Not that Maria suspected there were many in Silverydew - that’s most likely why they settled on the cigarettes instead. They had to compensate a lot for the uniforms, but did manage to look cool and aloof just a tiny bit. One of them, a sharp-faced and fox-resembling ash blond waved at her. He put out his cigarette and with a trick shot threw it into a trash can. He poked the side of one of his friends - a taller brunet boy who was lanky and strangely contorting himself to look smaller. “Told you she’d listen.” The brunet glared at him. Third, shorter than the second, but taller than the first, all muscle and overall a hulky presence between the two of them, dryly chuckled. He fixed a few loose maroon strands of hair. “Anyone would listen if you shouted loud enough.” “You’re Maria Merryweather, right?” asked the second, ignoring the first with perfected mastery. Maria pursed her lips and slowly nodded. The boy put out his right hand. “I’m Henry Fird-Lavier, I’ll be your gui-“ “The love of your life!” interrupted him the fox guy. Maria raised an eyebrow. “My guy?” Henry stomped on his friend’s foot. “Shut the fuck up, Richard,” he hissed, “your guide,” he corrected Maria quickly, “designated by my father.” He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Maria smirked. “Thanks, but I don’t need help.” She vaguely waved to where Loveday rode off to. “Loveday and Benjamin already explained to me how it works here.” Henry raised an eyebrow. “And you don't have any questions?” She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Do I have to have any?” “Aren’t you from London, princess?” interrupted the first - Richard. Maria stayed quiet, but apparently Richard didn’t need any actual answer. “We’re different here in the country.” You don’t say. “I noticed,” she muttered under her breath. Richard scoffed. “Well aren’t you a-“ The third dug his heel into Richard’s foot. “-a pleasure!” Richard choked out. “Do you have anything to say to me or are you just a coward?” Richard gritted his teeth. “Ignore him,” thundered the last boy, “Richard’s an idiot.” He cleared his throat and politely put out his right hand. “I’m David. Nice to meet you, Maria.” They shook hands in a small moment of civility. Maria attempted a smile, but it came out strained. “You were forced to move, right?” he continued. “Yeah.” He scrunched up his nose, “that stinks.” Then he leaned closer to her. “There’s some signal in the common room,” he whispered, “Henry can take you there.” She raised her eyes to him. David nodded encouragingly. She turned to Henry with a timid smile. “Alright, how about we strike a deal? You take me to the common room and finish your task as my guide and I won’t bother you any further.” Richard threw his hand over Henry’s shoulders. “That’s one hell of a deal, Henry, if I were you, I’d take it.” Henry considered it a moment longer. He threw a suspicious look to David. “Sure…” A small bird flew over them. The same Maria saw on her window. It chirped. Henry took a deep breath and threw off Richard’s hand. Maria noticed that the three were wearing matching bracelets with small reddish feathers on it. “Let’s go.”

The moment Henry returned, Richard blew up on David. “Why were you so nice to her?” he demanded, “she’s a prissy bitch!” David shook his head and lit another cigarette. “You wouldn’t get it.” “Then how about you explain? I’m not going to stand for her-“ “She was perfectly fine in the clubroom,” Henry gently interjected. David scoffed. “Of course she was. Does neither of you realise that she’s here without family or friends?” David shook his head in disbelief. “She has her uncle, not to mention Loveday!” argued Richard still as fiery as before. “Sure, an estranged uncle and an aunt she’d met for the first time like a week ago. What a support system,” David snarked. “Well I-“ Richard stuttered, “she’s still a bitch.” Henry jabbed him in the shoulder. “Then don’t be a dog.” “I’m not-” “She might be our chance.” Heavy silence settled over them. Richard deflated like a balloon on a cactus. “Are you serious?” He looked at the sky above them. Nothing but a nice blue. “I wouldn’t joke about this,” hissed David. The small bird, as if in protest, chirped above them.

_-_

Apparently, Laura had another boyfriend and Clarisse already sent Maria a care package. She refused to tell Maria what was in it, but if there was one thing Clarisse could be relied upon, it was good gifts. Laura said she tried to get involved, which Clarisse denied and then they settled on Laura admitting that she just drew on the box. With permanent markers, in case the rain got it on the way. ‘And any and every packing paper inside,’ added Clarisse grudgingly, though Maria was sure she was grinning when she wrote it. They checked the address with Maria once again and she confirmed that yes, Moonacre Manor was a real place. ‘Girl, sending actual mail is torture. How did people do it in the past?’ complained Laura, who did all the bureaucracy to balance out Clarisse’s work. ‘They had people for it,’ answered Maria. ‘Since you live in a manor, do you have staff?’ Maria said one, the housekeeper Mr Digweed. Clarisse then asked if it was really just one and not even the chef.

So true. Maria didn’t see the kitchen and she knew for a fact Loveday didn’t cook the lunches. And as far as she was aware, Benjamin stayed cooped up in his study and dealt with business. It was vague and Maria wasn’t very interested in it. Something to do with the town, most likely. What would it cost her to investigate just a little bit? Nothing. Zachariah investigated a lot. Or so said the increasing amount of half-eaten mice carcasses he brought to her door. Benjamin showed her most of the house. But she didn’t see a sunroom. And she knew for a fact houses like this always had sunrooms. Another thing nagged at her brain. Periwinkle. From what she could see, the mare was a perfectly normal horse. Though her experience with horses wasn’t great by any stretch of the word, she knew for a fact perfectly normal horses didn’t speak. Maybe… maybe it was just some other noise that Maria misheard. A bird overhead. Or a huff. Or maybe Loveday did say something and Maria just didn’t focus enough. Her hands were full of learning how to ride a horse, after all. Or, and this thought made a shiver run up her spine, the incident was back. She shuddered. Clarisse and Laura wrote another few messages mostly wishing her luck on her first day and praying that the care package would arrive intact. Maria barely paid it half her mind. Gods, what if this really was the great return. She didn’t want to go through it all again.

“Hey, princess, phone time’s over. We’re starting in five minutes.” Henry barged in. Maria checked the time. Five ’til nine. “Oh!” she exclaimed and shot him an apologetic smile, “sorry, I was…” her voice trailed off as she looked out the window. “Woah,” she breathed out, “that’s a big bird.” Henry turned around like it was a speed competition. The raptor on the window sill was grey, striped and had blood red eyes. It screeched and flew off. “That was a-“ But Maria didn’t particularly care. She checked the time again. “We have two minutes, Henry.” He took a quick look at his watch. “Shit,” he mumbled. He quickly grabbed Maria’s hand and began dragging her off into their classroom.

They could already see the door (labelled simply “3”), when someone called out to them. “Henry?” They both froze mid-step and turned around, probably looking like a pair of rabbits facing a hungry fox. Said fox was short, stout, dark haired and dark eyed with red cheeks, a kind smile and hands with long fingers fit for a musician. “Hey dad,” said Henry awkwardly, “we were just getting into class-“ “Aren’t you a bit late?” Maria watched the father-son duo. Henry pursed his lips. He knew not to argue - it was three minutes past nine. “Couldn’t you let it slide just once, dad?” Mr. Fird-Lavier shook his head. “Not if you were off with this young lady - are you Maria Merryweather, my dear? - philandering about-” “No, sir,” interrupted Maria, her throat was dry, “I just- uh. I am and I was texting my friends. It’s my fault I should’ve checked the time. Had Henry not come for me, I’d have been late.” Mr. Fird-Lavier visibly cooled off. “Oh, I can forgo that. At least Henry isn’t running around forests all the time anymore,” he glared at Henry, “and sorry, Henry, I was just-“ Henry waved it off, “it’s nothing, dad. I know why you’re worried.” Then he whispered to Maria: “but philandering with girls is Richard’s specialty.” Maria turned to him, a surprised “him?” clear on her face. Henry shrugged to say he wasn’t sure how either. “Are you happy here so far, Miss Merryweather?” The startled look of a cat on the wrong side of the fence from the dog was back. “Uh- I-” “Aren’t we late, dad?” Henry saved her. Mr Fird-Lavier cleared his throat. “Right, students, in you go or I’ll have to write you up.”

There were around forty or so students in the classroom. Sitting at the desks, standing by the windows, chattering about. Back in the corner by the window was a small couch. It wasn’t fully occupied, there was room for two more people, three if they squished David and Richard a bit. Henry dragged Maria there. Richard made a long face but let them sit down. “Prissy,” he hissed. “Get over it,” whispered Maria. Richard opened his mouth to object. David once again strategically (read: painfully) moved his foot on Richard’s. “Didn’t you say you’d leave us alone?” “Not like I had a choice,” she muttered. Henry snickered. “Yeah, sorry about that.” “You four!” called out Mr Fird-Lavier, “anything to share with the rest of us?”

All their heads whipped forwards. Everyone’s eyes were turned to them with undeniable sparks of mirth. “Well sir,” started Richard and stopped immediately. All wit dissipated - not that there was much to dissipate in the first place. “We were just, erm,” continued David who also came out empty handed. “Commenting on the seating arrangement,” added Henry, not a lot more confident in his words but enough to not make a fool out of himself. “How so?” asked Mr. Fird-Lavier. Maria smiled innocently. “Richard was complaining about the lack of pillows, sir. I said that we should get some more so that everyone sitting on the ground could have a proper place and wouldn’t have to resort to… couch theft.” Mr Fird-Lavier approvingly nodded. “That’s a good idea,” he said to the entire class, “can someone tell me how many pillows are in the literature class?” A short but muscled girl with mousy brown hair raised her hand. “Thirteen, sir.” Mr Fird-Lavier looked into his papers. “Oh well we shouldn’t change that. Hm…” he moved some documents around aimlessly before continuing, “I’ll talk to school leadership about it.” And the introductory lesson commenced.

Why shouldn’t thirteen be changed? Such an odd number both figuratively and literally. Maria pulled out a small red faux-leather bound notebook and began making notes. After all, this wasn’t London and Loveday and Benjamin hadn’t attended high school in some ten years at least.

_-_

Sun hung just about at high noon when Maria walked out of the school building to meet with Loveday. She got on Periwinkle with some strain - though outside it must’ve looked almost effortless, she was out of breath when she sat up straight. “You’re getting better,” smiled Loveday as they rode back into the manor. She looked over at the girl. “Did you get to talk with your friends?” “Yeah, apparently they’re sending me a care package.” “That’s very nice,” nodded the vet, “I hope they’re sending it in a waterproof box.” “What? Why?” Maria questioned. Loveday shrugged. “There will be a lot of rain next week.” “How do you know that?” “The geraniums speak better than any radio station.” Oh right, Maria remembered, people are stuck in the previous century here. “So you predict the future from plants?” Loveday threw her a surprised look. “Exactly! Herbs work the best, but I prefer geraniums. In fact, they told me you’ll bring a cat.” Maria furrowed her eyebrows, but quickly composed her face into a tight smile. “That’s nice,” she mumbled. The forest around them was quiet, but seeing Maria’s experience with nature, she couldn’t tell whether it was normal or some strange anomaly. Apparently, Moonacre was full of those. “Why do all the geraniums have seventeen blooms?” Loveday's face was overtaken by surprise before an amused smile settled on her lips. “You checked?” Maria nodded. Loveday grinned at that. She fixed something on her bag. “They’re mine, they listen to my heart.” Cryptic. How lovely. “How was the first day?” Maria deeply sighed, but mustered up a polite smile nonetheless. “I’m sure it will get better.”

@theargopriestess @stabat-mater @hotpotatoburn @lalla0019 @immergladsss @bedofthistles

[bakugouaaa]

Please for my beloved Winter,, 9, 10, 15, 18, 20, and 22

ask meme!

9. If your OC were to imagine their idyllic life (realistically or otherwise) what would it be like?

honestly, winter wants a life of ease and to be able to rest. she wants to be able to settle down and not worry about all of the ways that the world is broken. it’s why she partially retires post 6.0 — she wants to live a life for herself rather than other people. she also desperately wants to be a mother; it’s not a necessity for her by any means, but in her perfect world. she’s settled, she’s married with kids, and she’s happy. it’s a big wish for her.

10. What piece of moody poetry or novel quote best encompasses your character?

i admittedly don’t read as much as i used to so i’m very behind on like, what poetry is what and all that. but there’s an excerpt from three women by sylvia plath i think of a lot for her: 

The silver track of time empties into the distance, The white sky empties of its promise, like a cup. These are my feet, these mechanical echoes. Tap, tap, tap, steel pegs. I am found wanting.

15. What is a common misconception about your OC? (Alternatively, what do people assume about them which is either incorrect or misconstrued?)

that she’s a cold and cruel person. while she does have a very icy demeanor upon first glance, winter loves a lot and has a very big heart. she does fall into common mean girl tropes at first, given her upbringing and privilege that comes with wealthy parents - but that iciness is a guard that comes from fake friends using her only for money and status. i won’t ever call her like, overly warm or anything, but she’s definitely not an ice queen like people view her. she loves deeply and she loves fiercely. 

18. What is one thing that they only let those closest to them see?

vulnerability. winter tries very hard to put on tough acts, or rather like. she doesn’t want people to see her for how she sees herself. she thinks she has to be a perfect example of heroism. she thinks she has to be strong and steady. so when one gets to know her on a level deeper than what she puts on for the public, they do see into like.. the more vulnerable side of her that’s just. so very tired.

20. What was the moment at which they knew they were in love, or was it a slow buildup?

rubbing my little hands together. with aleksei, it was a slow buildup after the initial shock she felt when their eyes met for the first time. at the time, she was with orrick, and as you know that relationship was just for show at best and extremely toxic at worst. so, fast forward to the end of a realm reborn, when the world feels like it’s broken for her for the first time. while she has river with her, and alphinaud and tataru, she still feels incredibly alone, because it’s her first time losing everything. she doesn’t think much on romance. she doesn’t think much on anything beyond survival and the next step that comes in the path she and river were guided upon. but then there’s aleksei. a like mind and someone who seems to see beyond the facade. it’s the first spark of something, it’s the first time she thinks of him beyond a mere acquaintance. the more time they spend together, the more spark she feels - soon enough, it’s a full blown fire. while it was a slow build, it definitely came rushing forward all at once. every smile, every passing glance and every written word - she treasures them all. and, she keeps every note he’s written.

22. What is some advice or guidance they received that had a big impact on their lives or outlook? Was it a positive or negative impact?

genuinely. i don’t think winter has ever received guidance or advice of any sort that has bettered her, or really made her worse? there is that bit about like, the legacy of parents etc, but like.. she had already decided for Herself so long ago that she was never going to be her parents. even if she was given advice it’s like... a 25/75 chance she’d take it lmao. we love to see it <3

[so-lychee]

Cheram Han: Hewwo.

Mihui Yang: Hihiiiiii!

Jinhui Choi: Greetings, Humans.

Chaerin/Huisu: Three kinds of people.

Jihyeon Jung: I want pudding.

Hana Do: Four kinds of people.

Juri Ma: WHAT’S UP FUCKERS?

Shinbi Yun: Five kinds of people.

[blacksurvivalnostalgichanges]

Hyunwoo:Wish I could touch my red string of fate. I’m about to start yanking my soulmate towards me.

Nicky:Jeez, is that why I’m so clumsy? Because my soulmate is an impatient little bitch?

Hyunwoo:Tell me if it ever works and your soulmate yanks you to her, I want to learn her ways.

Nicky:My heart goes out to yours, poor guy’s going to suffer so much.

[woozten-x]

#. 𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 | 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤

‹𝟹 gif originally posted by leemarkies

[ ; M.List including other Neos! ]

─ Synopsis: Late in the night you are watching a movie generalized in romance and your roommate returns back to the shared apartment. Upon greeting your tired roommate, there was a sudden confession shared between the two of you. At first, you couldn’t believe what you heard - what did Mark Lee say? ─ Pairing: Mark Lee x Gender-Neutral Reader (no specific address of pronouns) ─ Genre: One-Shot, Fluff/Wholesome Content, Angst (if you squint) ─ Content Warning: Some profanity, but it’s not a lot or extreme ─ Concepts: college au, friends to lovers, roommates with Mark Lee, Mark being the cause of second hand embarrassment and trying to run away by stuttering his way out of it and hiding, “bro was flabbergasted” aka you, just Mark regretting his life choices ─ Count of Words: 2.5k ─ Inspiration of the work: An incorrect quote i’ve read and automatically thought of Mark. The quote(s) will be bolded in the story, so it does not go unnoticed 

ෆ

Late hours overtook this relaxing Saturday. The schedule of responsibilities comes to a refreshing pause for you, especially without the worry of schoolwork for college or any calls from your boss asking you to work - for once, it was one of those days where you had downtime and had no expectation of the next day, but sleeping in and possibly relaxing more. Thus, you sit on the couch of your shared apartment with a warm blanket settled on top of you whilst a movie plays on the television screen.

The bright light illuminates your face, becoming the only ray of light to contrast the darkness surrounding you. Although the streetlights outside would glow faintly behind the closed curtains, there was no disturbance whatsoever; you were in your own world with the romantic movie playing before you. If you were to be completely honest, the movie wasn’t bad nor was it exactly good - for you, it was one of those movies that had scenes where you can’t help but pick up your phone to scroll through in hopes of amusing yourself once again.

Supposedly, this is one of the moments of being bored of a particular scene and you were busy on your phone with half of your attention paying attention to the dialogue shared between characters. Thoughtlessly an arm reaches over to the bowl of popcorn sitting beside you, picking up a piece with ease and tossing it in your mouth; the buttery snack melting at the tip of your tongue and you chew quietly, continuing to scroll through your phone.

Suddenly, the sound of the door knob of the front door jiggled and movement was heard behind the door. Momentarily, you panicked and looked towards the door, the thoughts of endless possibilities paralyzing you just for a moment - ah, it was given that you would never survive a horror movie. Despite the thoughts intruding your mind for a split second, the door opens and reveals your roommate - Mark Lee.

Mark Lee, your roommate and a good friend of yours since highschool, it was only fate that the two of you were attending the same college and were looking for roommates to have a stable living. He is an awkward yet easy going male and you could remember the funny moments shared with him during Creative Writing class, an elective you took merely for fun during highschool. From what you could recall, Mark was one of the few students who had a passion for writing and held a reputation of rapping his verses, he personally crafted himself.

He doesn’t seem to notice you watching him from the couch, the snapback taken off his head while he slips off his shoes with an audible sigh leaving past his lips. Mark’s tensed body seeming to relax once he closes the door to lock it once again, seeming to find comfort in the familiarity of his home; he lets his fingers run through his tousled hair, before he lifts up his head to meet sight of the television screen playing and glowing on your attentive expression.

“Oh my jesus-” the sudden surprise leaves him with furrowed brows, his body becoming tense once more as he seems more aware of his surroundings. Lifting up his snapback and placing it back on his head, he lets out a tired chuckle - “You surprised me. I didn’t expect you to be there since you are usually home after me.” He said, reaching out to flip the lightswitch and let the lights above come alive to brighten the apartment. You smiled towards him, feeling a tad guilty for giving him a scare - it was obvious your roommate is exhausted from who knows what.

“Sorry about that. Popcorn?” you offer while picking up the bowl of popcorn, the phone in your hands long forgotten on your lap. A smile uplifts his lips from your generosity, his feet shuffling towards you and he plucks a few pieces from the bowl, his dark eyes naturally moving towards the movie on the screen. He tilts his head while chewing, showing a sign of slight confusion on what could be playing - he has no clue what was playing.

“What movie are you watching?” Mark questions, the inquiry to be expected as he spares a glance towards you.

You let out a low hum, meeting his eyes for a brief moment before he looked away to look at the screen  - “P.S. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The popcorn between your nimble fingers halted, your lips parted for another bite, however it never came. You gaped at your roommate, trying to comprehend his serious words and it seems like Mark hasn’t registered what he just said - were you hearing things? Is this a dream? The thoughts racked your brain while you try to find a reply. Instead you let out a soft ‘what?’ and Mark seems to have returned to reality, his head slowly turning back to you in slow realization.

“W-What? Wait… Wait.” Mark felt his own breath hitch, noticing your shock expression and suddenly your own bewilderment is becoming mirrored. What the hell did he just say? Mark backs away like a fool trying to explain after being caught red-handed, a defensive hand lifting up to rest on his head, feigning the idea of having a headache - “D-Did I just say that? For real? No, I didn’t. W-What did I say?” he stumbles over his words, his eyes frantically searching any hint of amusement from your expression.

You must be joking with him. You always liked pulling these jokes, where he seems like an idiot in the conversation - there’s no way he said that.

On the other hand, you were unsure if he had grown bold and decided to play with your feelings or he was genuine.

“I did not mean to confess to you like that.” he blurts out, not exactly helping the situation any further, as his words aren’t supposed to be taken lightly. Mark Lee had a crush on you and he had no expectations of confessing his feelings now or confessing like this! He was embarrassing himself like always, and Mark did not want to make things awkward with his damn roommate and one of his close friends.

Before you could muster up a reply, wishing to seize the regret your roommate had, Mark had turned away and quickly walked away to his bedroom. “I am so sorry.” He apologizes without looking towards you, rushing to his room and avoiding the idea of seeing you or interacting with you - it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, but he felt his own confidence shatter once he came to terms with how unexpected his confession was. 

Poor Mark didn’t mentally prepare himself for rejection! His heart felt like it was going to drop out of his ass at any given moment, if he stood in your presence any longer.

Blinking away the astonishment, you hear his door slam close and you jolted at the loud sound; you felt incredibly guilty, but it was plain obvious it wasn’t your fault whatsoever. Or maybe it was, but all you did was answer his question! You purse your lips, the appetite of snacking away long gone, as you turn off the television and stand up with worry decorating your features. If you weren’t wide awake before, you are now - the awkwardness of the whole ordeal becoming a large elephant stuck inside the shared apartment.

You decide to sleep it off, rehearsing a script in your head to hopefully say something to Mark and smooth out the sudden difficulties in your two’s friendship. As you lay on your bed and stare up at the ceiling after getting comfortable under the covers, you try to sort out your feelings - after all, Mark does like… No, love you. When the hell did his feelings grow to be that strong? You have no clue, but you let out a sigh.

You never exactly thought about it, especially towards Mark…But, the sudden thought had made you smile before turning on your side, where you faced the wall of your bedroom.

“Mark, you cute idiot…”

. . .

‘Mark, you petty bastard!’

You mentally cursed, the giddiness of last night gone, as you sit in your room with irritation present on your face. You glare at the laptop screen on your desk, your fingers impatiently tapping on top of your mouse - the sour mood since this morning had never faded, but grown even more irritable. The person you wish to reciprocate your feelings to, is hiding away in his room and is not leaving it whatsoever!

You knew he did not leave in the morning since you heard him use the bathroom, when you shut the door of your bedroom to tidy up a bit. Once, you tried to peek your head out, you see the sly bastard enter his room and shut the door quietly - was he trying to fool you? You knew he remained in the apartment and was acting like a damn hermit crab. With an attempt to speak to him, he did not answer you when you knocked and called out to him. He was seriously being petty or was simply overreacting.

Regardless, you were determined to confront him and confess your feelings to him also. After all, it was what you wanted.

Sighing, you close your laptop and rise from your desk. Walking over to the nightstand sitting beside your bed, you pick up the keys and let them obnoxiously clang together; you walk out your room, closing the door behind and a habit you always had - in fact, it was a habit that Mark knows too well. Before you leave the apartment, you always close your door. You walked up to the front door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

Your eyes flicker over your shoulder before closing the door once again, locking the door and quietly leaning against the wall with arms crossed over your chest - two can definitely play the game, as you knew Mark was waiting for you to leave. After knowing him for a few years, he can be quite predictable; as you thought, the door of his bedroom opens and you could hear him step out of his room.

Hearing his footsteps approach you, or more likely the front door in expectation of seeing you gone, he turns the corner to see you and his eyes grow wide. “Mark Lee!” you cry out, like a battle cry echoing throughout the battlefield, Mark turns around to hopefully run towards his room - however, he was not quick enough. Before he could hide away from you, your hand grasped onto his arm in a tight manner and you yanked him back.

The sudden force has him stumbling towards you and he bumps into you, the collision causing you to lose balance and fall onto your bottom. Letting out a groan of pain, your grasp weakens and the ache remains on your body. Mark easily escapes from you, but he stops in his tracks once he sees you on the floor and guilt expresses from his handsome features - “Are you okay? I am so sorry.” He says with concern, seeming to forget the remnants of the night before and prioritizing your well-being more than anything.

You look towards him and see him reaching out, and you sigh - “I am fine...” you assure him, knowingly the crease between his brows will become permanent if he continues. Taking a hold of his hand, you were pulled up onto your feet and were facing him once again, you sigh and pull him towards you again; Mark stumbles towards you, your arms wrapping around him into a tight hug and he stiffens under your grasp.

When was the last time the two of you hugged? It was definitely one time. The one time where Mark saw you at your worst, and he held you all night until all tears were gone and was soaked up by his own shirt. Never did he complain once, but it was the realization of falling for you - falling for the idea of where he would never want to see you hurt, ever again.

Holding onto him, you sigh - “You really pissed me off this morning.” Despite the words stinging Mark’s heart, you let out a small laugh while resting your head on his shoulder. Mark became reflective of his childish antics and he apologizes quietly near your ear; his voice gentle and sensitive, as though he had no intentions of breaking you.

Breaking this glass-like bond he had with you, he is willing to admit his mistakes to avoid the disappointing yet heartbreaking shatter of it all.

“You know…I thought about it last night and honestly, I am not sure about being in love with you.” you start to explain, pulling away from the male but keeping your hands onto his hoodie; your fingers grasping tightly onto the cloth, as you prevented the idea of running away from you again. Mark stares back and he nods his head slowly, “I know. About that, I really am sorry that happened…Can we please be friends still? I don’t-”

“Mark, I am not done.” Easily with those words, he shuts his mouth and stares back with a tinge of sadness in his round eyes. You sigh, “But, I do like you. I like you very much and I think it can become something more, if we try together…” you say with a soft smile, Mark’s eyes observing every detail of your face - your beautiful face - he couldn’t believe his own ears, as he doubted this could be reality. Not like Mark had never had a crush before, but he seriously fell hard for the person in front of him.

It couldn’t be a simple crush, at this point.

“Together…You mean like we get together?...On dates?” He tries his very hardest to process your words, his hands coming up onto your waist and he is holding onto you with bits of doubt reflecting back to you. You laugh and nod, “Yes, like a couple, Mark.”

Mark blinks back at you before a smile sprouts from his thin lips, the solemn expression before melting away and he laughs - “O-Oh…Oh wow.” he says in disbelief, a blush appearing on his cheeks while he looks away to hide his embarrassment. He definitely acted like an idiot this morning and last night, but a happy ending for all of it? Maybe it was worth it. You smile towards him before placing your hands on his flushed cheeks, turning his head to face you.

The two of you meet eyes and Mark stares back with love and maybe, just maybe, you might fall in love faster than you had anticipated.

“You know, what is my favorite scene in a romance movie?”

“What?” Mark confusingly asks, tilting his head.

Leaning forward, you meet his lips in a feather-like touch, both your lips briefly touching. However, the very same touch had made your own heart skip a beat and cocoons of butterflies had swarmed in your stomach; suddenly, that very moment, you wished to never forget it.

You had completely fallen for Mark Lee.