#this might be the ONLY time she's mean to Darius's face

[swan2swan]

Keep your eyes on the road at all times.

[sydsaint]

Friends to Lovers, anyone? <3

Summary: HOOK and reader have been best friends for a while now. But the reader slowly starts to notice that her friendship might not be the only thing that Tyler is after.

You sit in the plane terminal, headphones on, playing a game on your switch. Tyler is sat next to you on the floor, headphone also on and doing something on his phone. There is a comfortable silence between the two of you as you wait for your boarding time. Your legs are draped over Tyler's lap, his arm that's not holding his phone, drapes over them casually as he scrolls.

Daniel strolls up with Darius at his side. He spots you and Tyler and snorts, nudging Darius on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Check those two out." Daniel snickers.

"Who?" Darius replies and follows Daniel's outstretched finger. "YN and Tyler? What about them?" He turns back to Daniel.

Daniel shoots Darius a snarky look and drops his hand back to his side. "They look awfully cozy, don't they?" He points out.

"I guess, yeah." Darius shrugs. "They're friends, remember?"

"We're friends." Daniel corrects him. "And you don't see me all up on you like that." He nods back to you and Tyler again.

Darius roll his eyes at the observation. The two of them walk up to you and Tyler. You're busy with your switch so you don't see them approach, but Tyler spots Daniel coming and pulls out his headphones to greet his friends.

"What's up, Daniel? You waiting for your flight too?" Tyler asks Daniel.

"Yeah." Daniel nods. "What's up with her?" He nods down to you when you don't greet him and Darius.

Tyler grins and taps your legs, still draped over his lap to get your attention. "She's locked in on whatever game she's playing. Can't hear you." He explains.

You look up from your Switch when Tyler taps your legs, finally noticing Daniel and Darius. You pull your headphones out and smile at the pair.

"Danny! Darius! Hey, guys." You greet them both warmly.

"What's going on, YN?" Darius smiles back at you.

Daniel nods to you as well. "What's up, shortie?" He asks.

"Not much." You shrug. "Me n Ty are just waiting for our boarding time."

Daniel nods and sits down with Darius, so everyone can chat and wait together. You chat for a while and decide to make a quick bathroom trip as your boarding time nears. So you get up and dismiss yourself to the bathroom. Leaving the boys to chat without you for a few minutes.

"So." Daniel turns to Tyler as soon as you are out of sight. "You and YN seem like you're getting pretty close." He comments.

"Yeah, YN's great." Tyler nods.

Daniel snickers, clearly meaning something more. "Great, right. Yeah, I bet she is, man." He teases Tyler.

Tyler narrows his gaze at Daniel, not getting why he's laughing for no reason. Darius scoffs and pushes Daniel's shoulder lightly.

"He's trying to imply you got a thing for her." Darius explains. "He just ain't very smooth with it." He makes a lighthearted jab at Daniel.

"Hey!" Daniel protests.

Tyler cracks a grin as he watches his friends bicker. He goes to reply to Daniel's claim, but he spots you walking back over to the group and clams up, his gaze fixed on you as you make your way back to the group.

"Oh yeah." Darius cracks up when he notices Tyler's staring. "He's definitely got it bad."

Daniel notices as well and shares a laugh with Darius.

You make it back over to the group and sit back down between Tyler and Daniel. You notice the smiles on Daniel and Darius' face, and can't help but wonder what they talked about while you were gone.

"What's got you two so cracked up?" You ask Daniel and Darius.

"Just something Darius said." Daniel snickers. "An inside joke."

You nod and check the time on your phone. You notice it's almost time to board, so you start getting your stuff packed back up.

"That time already?" Tyler notices you packing up.

"Yeah." You nod at him.

Tyler sighs and moves to start packing up his stuff as well. He gets most of his stuff ready to go before running to the bathroom as well before you go.

"So, YN." Daniel wastes no time in grilling you about Tyler. "About you and Tyler,"

"Me and Tyler?" You turn to look at him. "What about us?"

Darius is the one to laugh this time. You whip your head around to stare at him, unsure what game he and Daniel are playing with you.

"Alright guys. What are you two doing?" You ask them.

"Nothing. We swear." Darius insists with his hands up.

Daniel snickers and nudges Darius in the side. "Yeah, unlike her and Tyler." He jokes.

You watch both men break out into laughter with a confused look on your face.

"Me and Tyler, what?" You ask them. "You two are fucking weird." You grumble after they don't answer and just keep laughing.

Tyler comes back over to the group and notices Daniel and Darius laughing hysterically.

"What are those two so riled up for?" Tyler asks you.

"I have no clue." You reply. "Come on, Ty. Let's go before they start being weird again." You pick up your bags.

Tyler nods in agreement and picks up his bags as well. The two of you walk away shoulder to shoulder.

"You think they know?" You glance at Tyler after you've put some distance between you and your friends.

"About us?" Tyler grins. "Nah, they're idiots." He muses and grabs your hand.

You laugh and nod at his statement about your friends being idiots. "Yeah...we are going to have to come out about it eventually, though." You remind him.

"Just say the word, baby." Tyler replies casually, interlocking your fingers with his.

"Really?" You look over at him.

Tyler cracks a grin and nods, bringing your hand up to his lips to press a kiss to the back of your hand. "I'd be a fucking idiot not to want to show you off." He teases you.

"Awe, Ty!" You gush with a wide grin.

[alltheboysandgirlsiloved]

I keep thinking about Ben in jwct season 2 and what he was going through.

The situation with Brooklynn is clearly layered. At first, along with everybody else, he thought that she died, but remember that he was the first one who suggested that her death was no accident. We can only guess, but I assume that before he traveled to Darius in s1, Ben spent a great deal of time coming to terms with whether he should bring his theory up. Think about it - this is not an easy choice; he was aware that everyone was trying to make peace with her death, and here comes Ben to basically smash all the peace they have established in favor of a theory. He had to choose between "letting them exist, knowing only a fraction of a truth" or "changing the course of his life". Of course, later it became clear that this person was going to come after the rest of them but still...

So Ben was the first one who really understood the danger of the situation they were all in. And how that threat has manifested - in Brooklynn's "death". And then Ben is also the one who learns that Brooklynn might be alive. Mind you, at first all he has is a memory of a grainy video. And once again he faces the exact same choice - either protect this tiny peace that they have or smash it all again and turn his friends' world upside down again. So what he does is - he decides to gather more evidence because (and that's so valid) it doesn't feel right to give his friends a spark of hope when at first he's not even sure if his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Then, he learns that Brooklynn is alive. She calls him and he talks to her but it's obvious - even from the awkward cut of the videocamera and the little information Ben gets out of Brooklynn - very obvious that she is in danger. What does it mean? Remember that we are now dealing with people who don't shy away from murder. So it means that Brooklynn is alive now, but may very well be in mortal danger which may end up, potentially, in her dying, this time for real. Brooklynn asks him to keep her status a secret, makes him promise her that. And he does, but he still has his doubts whether he made the right call. But- Let's put yourself in Ben's head for a moment and see one of the possible outcomes: as I mentioned before, he understands that Brooklynn is in danger. Now imagine he tells the rest of the Nublar 6 that she is alive, but she later dies anyway without meeting them. The emotional shock that the group would go through upon such development is life-shattering. They would be devasted - they got her back (even if not physically) only to lose her again? I feel like it would be more traumatic than her "first death" was. And I think that Ben could have been afraid of that too.

Ben not telling the rest of Nublar 6 about Brooklynn being alive was so much more than fulfilling a promise to her. He says it himself - he didn't want anyone to get hurt. He wanted to keep Brooklynn safe, of course, he knew that the less Nublar 6 knows, the smaller the chance that they'd end up acting irrationally, but I also think that he feared that by telling them that she's alive, he'd "promise them" (not directly) seeing her again, and that's something he couldn't know would fulfill.

[numericalbridge]

To be frank, i think that even as a villain Darius didn't do anything irredeemable or particulary evil. At least not to the extent of what fandom confesses ascribing to him pre ASIAS. Exceptionally cruel? Irredeemably power-hungry? Automatically without standarts and willing to hurt children? Cowardly?! All of these are just not true.

Let's see, what does he actually do in ER? Looking strictly at one episode as if he is meant to be a villain.

Conducts Raine's ceremony, while looking quite pleased and then grumbles when they fumble it.

Then together with Eber sets up the trap for the rebels, captures the Batts and translocates them to the Conformatorium. There is no gloating when he captures them, no targeted malice, nothing beyond punch-clock villainy, really.

Of course, he attempts to capture the 'turn cloak', with a lot of grumbling about missing his 'me time' and how the forest is gross; and, sure, it's a villainous role, but there is nothing particualry cruel about his conduct, and his fixation on the 'turn cloak' part might even contradict the selfish power-hungry aspect and paint him as someone who is loyal to his cause (again, looking at it as if ER is the only episode we have). He does, of course, 'threaten' Raine and Eda with 'hand yourself over before things get nasty' and there is something personal with his fixation on the turn cloak, but this is not something so exceptionally evil that, for example, season 1 Lilith wouldn't have done it.

Then he gets angry after he gets the dirt thrown literally onto his face, but this is also not something that makes an irredeemable villain. There are no additional threats from him ala 'i'll destroy your family and friends' either.

And when he captures Raine and Eda - he should be able to straight up see Eda btw, since i doubt she had time for the invisibility glyph - he lets Eda go, even though he is smart enough to set up the trap for the rebels in the first place:

And, as i've said before, despite nearly getting killed, and then Raine painfully cutting his arm, he doesn't even bring that up (which is a strange behavior for even the most vain person), and when the confrontation with Raine happens there is more focus on his cloak and his threat is fraimed as a comedic moment rather than scary. There is nothing that paints him as 'the worst' or particulary cruel. Comparing ER to, for example, the first episode and Warden Wrath and the way he treated Eda - while his scenes were also mainly comedic there was something real-world creepy about his attitude.

And the scene with captured Raine at the end of the episode. It starts with Darius grumbling at Eber and then he mentions them tormenting Raine, who is caught in the abomination. Obviously it is not a good behavior. But still it is quite telling that what Darius says is 'tormenting Raine', not even 'torturing'. And this is probably the worst Darius does in the episode.

And on the meta level i think the way the scene is framed is quite notable: the scene is comedic, the focus is on Darius being done with Eber's antics and Eber annoying him, not Raine's PoV of being afraid of the supposed torment. And Raine themselves looks done and annoyed, not terrified or actually hurt:

Compare it to how they react when captured by Kikimora, even before Kikimora does anything:

Also this might be a stretch and simply a case of not drawing details from far away, since on the screenshot above Raine doesn't have scratches, but they are shown to have scratches only after being caught by Kikimora:

And then Darius's role ends with him saying he and Eber didn't need help from Kikimora and grumbling about Alador. Neither moment is exactly villainous, and he isn't even particulary disrespectful towards Kikimora (who in return literally ignores him and doesn't respond).

There is nothing exceptionally evil about any of this, nothing really power hungry, nothing that means Darius would not have any standarts at all and is someone who would be willing to hurt children. There is nothing about Darius's ideals or thoughts on the Covens/Empire except wanting to catch the turn cloak and disliking Alador and his inventions.

But actually his interactions with Eber are much milder than you'd expect from a vain individualistic villain. It doesn't show well through screenshots, but when you listen to the voice acting even the 'mutt' comment doesn't seem to have malice to it, and his "Eber, help me out here" (on the screenshot it seems like he is mad at Eber, but when you watch/listen that's not the case) and the way he connects them together with 'we' when talking to Kikimora are not hostile in any way and seem kinda comrade-ry.

And the show could have chosen 'Eber and Darius are villains so they hate each other' route and show them trying to backstab each other or be truly mean or competitive; or even make Darius have a 'kick the dog' moment towards Eber. He also could've been shown actively trying to torment Raine by threatening Eda or Batts... But nothing like that was shown. So why did the fandom immediately chose the worst possible role for him?

And the 'coward' part? Explicitly contradicted by the episode and his (non-)reactions to the corrupted spell that had almost killed him or Raine hurting his arm.

And yet the fandom just admits to immediately jumping to the conclusions and seeing him as the 'the worst'. And instead of writing him as an interesting, worthy adversary or exploring his backstory and villainous friendship with Eber, popular fandom writers admit to - before ASIAS even aired - rushing to write Darius hurting/betraying white child Hunter, and painting Darius as a coward - which seem like very racialized tropes. And in general the fandom's obsession with writing villains of color as someones who hurt/abuse specifically white children? Gross.

And it's quite telling that the people in the fandom still gleefully laugh about ascribing racialised tropes to Darius instead of just not bringing it up and reflecting on why they had done it.

And i wasn't in the fandom when ER aired, but i was when Labirinth Runners aired, and i remember how the immediate reaction to Graye - who actually did hurt children on screen - was to invent all the theories how he is a secret basilisk with a traumatic backstory and wonder about the horrible visions he had.

So something tells me that if Darius was white, the fandom would have noticed all the discrepancies in his behavior like his non-reactions to almost getting killed or hurt and letting Eda go, and the fandom metas about his deep depression and sob backstories would have been finished before the episode's end credits rolled.

So, yes, i think that even as a villain Darius didn't do anything to warrant the fandom's reactions.

[strangledwires]

Urbz Cut Dialogue [masterpost]

[NOTE: you might see Kiki's face often, but she's just a placeholder. All of these are from different Urbz.]

Darius' dialogues / an alternate beginning?

When using Debug Cheats in the Urbz: Sims in the City, there is an option to show all dialogues. This function mostly shows unused or unfinished dialogues. Which many are from Darius that shows the game might've had a different beginning.

Judging by these, it sounds like the game would've originally start in Darius' penthouse. Instead of will.i.am introducing you to Darius, Darius would've personally summoned you himself. The reason for this? Because he needs a "nobody" to take down a new crew that's been harassing people -- this crew likely being the villains, Kiki, Urango, and Harry. He makes a deal to give you the penthouse if you succeed, it seems he reminds you of this deal, too. So, it's very important to him.

I think this scrapped beginning explains the story better. As much as I love the Urbz, it really does feel like Darius is just helping a random person become famous out of the kindness of his heart. Him initially making the deal to get rid of the villains, it just makes more sense to me for a highly famous guy to help a stranger only if they're helping him.

Dialogues from Urbz

You know those missions where you're supposed to mug Urbz or take their pictures? The ones that are given to you by another Urb? Apparently the "targets" of these missions would've said something about it as well.

[NOTE: I don't really know if these are "unused" or not. However, I've played this game many times and I haven't been able to trigger them in normal gameplay -- even when I'm intentionally trying to.]

Neo Flange acknowledging that Toots wants to tag his face. (Obvs him by the art references)

These are about the same mission from Fergie & Ally. It's harder to say which dialogue belongs to who. But I'm gonna assume it was Ally who called her hat a "dead pink rat" lol! There are more unused dialogues for most of the missions. But I'll just transcript them rather than showing the images to avoid hitting Tumblr's image limits. Plus, they all look the same (sometimes without Kiki's portrait tho) just different text.

Transcripts

"No one, and I mean NO ONE, is gonna take my picture. Are you listening to me? I hope so, cuz that Cash Monet punk never did." - Unspecified Urb referring to the "Paparazzi Panic" mission.

"I just hate having my picture taken. You never know where it's gonna show up. That Cash Monet guy has been trying to snap my mug for weeks now." - Unspecified Urb referring to the "Paparazzi Panic" mission.

"Yo, you know Roxanna? She's trying to get me to change my look. My shirt looks fine, right?" - Unspecified Urb (Loop d. Loop?) referring to the "Style and Substance" mission.

"So, what do you think of my shirt? That chick Roxanna Hardplace is always trying to get me to dress more like her. I think she needs to power down." - Unspecified Urb (String Bean?) referring to the "Style and Substance" mission.

"No WAY am I going to pay that Laruffle loser. He'll have to get someone to beat the cash out of me." - Unspecified Urb (Jet Rockit?) referring to the "Mug People" mission.

"That thug Luke Laruffle has been after me for some cash. Word on the street has it that he's sent someone to mug me. I better watch my step." - Unspecified Urb (Kidd Chaos?) regarding the "Mug People" mission.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't tell Luke Laruffle that you saw me. I owe him some cash and I hear he's sent some thug to mug me!" - Unspecified Urb (Prof. Chewy?) regarding the "Mug People" mission.

"I find I could tell most anything to someone I truly love, especially after a sweet kiss. I wonder if you would fit the bill." - Unspecified Urb regarding the "Love Triangle" mission.

"I never kiss and tell unless I really love someone." - Unspecified Urb regarding the "Love Triangle" mission.

"Ghengis Lincoln is out to get me. You're not a friend of his, are you? You wouldn't STINK BOMB me, would you?" - Unspecified Urb (Sara Tonin?) regarding the "Stink Bomb" mission. [NOTE: Genghis' name is misspelled in the original text. Unsure if this was the original spelling of his name or a mere typo]

"Ghengis Lincoln has it in for me. I beat him arm wrestling and now he's been messing with me, always getting Urbz to throw stink bombs at me." - Unspecified Urb (Polo?) regarding the "Stink Bomb" mission. [NOTE: Genghis' name is misspelled in the original text. Unsure if this was the original spelling of his name or a mere typo]

"That BEAST Genghis Lincoln has the audacity to suggest that he could improve my odor. Do you have the slightest idea what he is talking about?" - Unspecified Urb (Diva Roma?) regarding the "Stink Bomb" mission.

[SPECIAL NOTE: Oddly, these also appear in the Sims 2 Prototype, specifically the M4 20 build]

TUTORIALS & SCRAPPED GOALSS?

"§500" seems like a specific number, so this could've possibly been a scrapped goal.

There's also something from the delivery guy that actually says "obsolete" lol. So, this might've been a cut scenario?

As well as these too. Except, I don't know if these don't appear in the game or if they do, I just don't recall. The "Hey kid, I'm heading over." sounds like it's possibly from Darius. I would assume it's a successful invite urb message, but the "see you at 6:00pm!" seems oddly specific. Therefore, it makes me think this is a cut scenario, too.

The "You lack the money" message I'm also uncertain about -- but I don't recall a moment where this would be valid unless it pops up if you try to gamble with no money? I've never tried that, so it could be the message for that event.

Scrapped tutorial messages that are never seen in the game.

There might be more scrapped dialogues. Sometimes when you run the "show all dialogues" cheat, different messages pop up. And there are also some dialogues that might not actually be in the game, but I'm very uncertain about -- so I'd have to see if I can trigger them or not. If I find any more scrapped Urbz dialogues in this game OR the Sims 2 prototype, I'll be sure to make a part 2! If some of these actually do appear in the game and I'm incorrect, I will also correct myself in a part 2!

Final statement: I really don't know why most of these were scrapped. The beginning makes the story slightly more complex, and the dialogues add a little more character to the Urbz we see. It could be that the developers were struggling to implement these (as this game went through development hell) or in the end, they just deemed them unnecessary.

[necros-writing-stuff]

Doggy Darius adopted and ending up with a smug, prideful, lapdog-dog person. A little Corgi, Cavalier Spaniel, or Pomeranian. Their fur is always cut and brushed to perfection, and they prance about like they’re the hottest dog around, absolutely basking in their human's attention and being spoiled.

Teases Darius, always flicking up their tail, daring them to ruin their tight tiny holes in front of their human, but always sticking close by said human so later on he wouldn't try to pounce on them. Occasionally, he steals little treats from him. The bones are too big, and Darius might actually hurt Lapdog if they took them. Bites and claws little holes in his clothes, also might fuck another person in front of Darius just to screw with him.

One day Darius manges to catch Lapdog off guard and finally relives all that pent-up irritation and sexual frustration by fucking them into the ground, ignoring their yelps and the lack of lube. He uses every position he can think of and every sexual act mercilessly ramming into any hole he can force to fit him. Forces him to take his knot, knotfucking them and cumming them every time, bloating them with cum.

Leaves them ruined, stained, and fucked silly. Darius thinks that'll be the end of it. He’s finally taught that vain pup his place until just a couple of days later, lapdog comes bounding up to him and presents themselves to him, begging to be fucked senseless again. Agrees on the condition Lapdog submit as his mate.

Yeeting the part where they fuck someone in front of him because Darius would not let that happen on any occasion. He'd rip the damn other person apart.

Everything else, though? Hell yeah.

I'm establishing here that when both Dare and reader are dog people they get adopted by a kind older lady named Sophia. She got you as a companion, Dare because some hooligans tried breaking into her home and she wanted some extra protection.

She insists on the two of you getting along, getting matching collars and making you pose for photos together. You use the photos as an excuse to nuzzle up to Darius and test his patience in plain sight.

Sophia, good egg she is, sees only the best, most caring side of you. Darius seethes every time he watches you get her food, popping your ass out and lifting your tail to give him a teasing view as you put the plate down on the table for her. He holds in a growl when you look over your shoulder, batting your eyelashes at him. Wants to curse when you ask him if he's okay with an evil smile on your face.

No, he's not fucking okay. You've got him hard as a rock by basically doing nothing and now Sophia wants to jam a thermometer in his mouth because his face is red.

And then there's all of the theft. His favourite treats when Sophia isn't looking, his favourite shirt that he wanted to wear that day. Entitled fucking brat.

"Oh let them be," Sophia chides when he complains. "You make them feel safe, the way your clothes smell must comfort them. The break-in has left them a little shaken up, you know?"

Yeah fuckin right. That's not why you do it. The shirt is too big, especially the neckline. It means you flash poor Dare every time you pick something up in front of him, the dog man drinking up your bare chest every time despite his knowing not to.

He might be able to put up with it, but every time Sophia brings up the break in you're chewing the wrist cuffs and the collar as if to pretend that you're really that torn up about it.

He has enough of it all eventually. Sophia is at a doctors appointment for her arthritis. It's just the two of you. It's the perfect time to show you that you're no better than him, that you can't get away with acting all superior.

It's your bed he pins you to. Your room he violates you in. Your sanctuary, where you feel safest. He isn't meant to be in there, but you're allowed in his room all you fucking want. Pathetic double standards.

He hikes up his chewed up shirt, exposing your bare core as you kick, punch and snap your jaws at him.

"You stupid brute," you growl, "you aren't good enough to take me!"

You aren't good enough to stop him. Which one of you worked for years in a combat role? Oh thats right, Dare worked. You sat on your ass looking pretty.

"Shut the fuck up, mutt." He presses your face into your pillow, muffling your continued venomous barks. You don't like being called a mutt. Had thrown a shoe at him for it once.

He's hopes you bleed when he takes you. Hopes you wince every time you sit next to Sophia to eat or watch those game shows with her. Hope you learn to keep your mouth shut and your thieving little hands to yourself.

It's frantic and desperate, rough and feral how he takes you. He can scent your tears in the air, he can scent a little bit of blood mixed in. You grasp at the sheets, clawing at them as you try to get away but he doesn't let you do it. He puts his whole weight on top of you, satisfied when you gasp for breath. Darius let's up every once in a while to ensure he doesn't smother you.

When he's done you're a complete mess. His shirt is all creased and damp with yours and his sweat. Hopefully now the scent will disgust you and you'll give it back. He can fix the stupid holes, or just keep it as a trophy of sorts.

The way his seed drips out of you almost makes him want more. Almost. But it won't be long till Sophia gets back, so he just gives you one last smack on your backside before he slinks away for a quick shower and change of clothes.

Dinner is quiet that night. You don't tease, just make conversation with Sophia about her appointment. Tell her you watched a cooking show while she was away, that it was a re-run you'd already seen together. You aren't wearing his shirt. You wince when you adjust your seating positions. It brings a smile to his face, it really does.

He gets three more days like that. Three more days of peace and damn quiet until Sophia heads out for the afternoon to meet the old man she's seeing. Dare doesn't like him - didn't like the last one, either - but Sophia likes him well enough.

His favourite treats in hand, he lounges on the couch and puts on some re-run of A Touch of Frost. His limbs have a good ache from his work-out. He can smell food being done. You're a damn good cook, he'll give you that.

Just as he's about to pop another treat in his mouth, a hand shoots out from behind him and snags it from his grip. He growls as he looks back, peace and tranquility ruined. Its you, of course. And look at that, you're in his fucking shirt again.

You lean against the back of the couch, looking him in the eye as you eat his treat. Your tail strokes up his neck. There's a hint of amusement in your eyes at how angry he is.

"Dinners gonna be another hour. I'm making your favourite, those nice tender steaks with peppercorn sauce."

He knocks your tail away, eager to go back to his show and not let you ruin his damn mood. It returns, and he can smell the arousal emanating from you when he takes a deep breath in.

Your hand strokes down his chest as you lean in to whisper in his ear.

"I want a proper thank you before it's done."

It goes lower, Dare's breath stutters. Your teeth nip at his ear. He swallows hard, body feeling electrified.

"You should use your tongue on me this time. Call it an appetiser."

How would you taste? He forgot to test that last time. Its hard to admit to himself that he'd love to know.

Lower still, till you're cupping his cock through his pants. His hips jump, eyes closing. He has to grit his teeth to keep any semblance of composure.

"... you gonna be my bitch, then?"

You scoff at his phrasing, he can bet you're rolling your eyes.

"Do you have to be so crass like that? Mate, Darius. Mate is the word."

"Oh well, sorry, your Majesty. Didn't realise I was in the Palace with the royal fucking hounds, did I?"

You go to pull your hand away, but he catches it before you can.

There's a pause. "Do a good enough job making me finish and I'll think about it."

That's good enough for him. He's up out of his seat, following after you as you sway your hips and head for a bedroom - his or yours he doesn't know.

"And ask before you take my shit."

"No."

Well he can't win every battle all at once.

[jeannereames]

So I know you were the historical consultant for the Netflix "Alexander: Making of a God." I just read a post that said this, and wondered if you can comment on it?

"Btw, not the documentary commented by professors in history and archeaology, saying Stateira, wife of Darius III, died giving birth to Alexander's son (and that Alexander rubbed it in Darius' face) because Plutarch - who was born 369 years after Alexander's death - said so. Other sources invalidate this theory (like the age of the child, being 4 to 7 years old when Stateira died, meaning he was already born when Alexander first met her). And other sources say Alexander only met her once, when he took Darius' camp and that was it.

However her daughter Strateira II (who might have been Barsine or her sister) did marry him but had no children with him.

He had 1 known son from Roxana, that's all. That's in part why his empire was so easily taken apart by his diadochi.

So I don't know why, except for drama) they went for that version nor why the professor corroborate it when it's the least likely."

Yes, this quoted bit suffers from some mix-ups. I’ve not seen the full post, although I have read a few others with similar misunderstandings. Most of these seem to arise from reading (bad) online potted entries about Statiera and/or Alexander. At least go for Heckel’s Who’s Who in the Age of Alexander the Great or The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Anyway, apologies if the below sounds overly critical. It’s obviously not personal. I’m just cutting through the confusion.

We’re told about Statiera’s death only by Plutarch, Justin, and Curtius, and all probably owe to the lost source Kleitarchos. Even if Plutarch isn’t (technically) part of the vulgate while Diodoros is (who doesn’t mention it), Plutarch still used some of the same sources. (Diodoros no doubt left it out as part of his typical telescoping.) Yet all three disagree on the cause of her death, even if they do agree it wasn’t long before Gaugamela and Alexander gave her a sumptuous funeral. But the timing means, if she were pregnant, it couldn’t have been Darius’s child. I’ve discussed Statiera’s possible pregnancy before, so won’t again here, but it boils down to: if not Darius, it had to be Alexander. He wouldn’t have let anybody else touch the Queen of Persia.

In any case, ALL our surviving sources are late. The OP doesn’t seem aware the other source alluded to (Curtius) dates to the same period as Plutarch: late Julio-Claudians/early Flavians.* I checked Wikipedia, which gives a date for Plutarch’s birth (46 CE); I assume that’s where the OP got it, as it lines up with their estimate of “369.” But we don’t know his birth year except during the reign of Claudius after the acquisition of Britain and that he died early in Hadrian’s reign (see Lamberton 2001, 1). Anyway, Curtius probably lived a little before him, and Justin somewhat after.

Ergo, none of these sources are any closer to Alexander’s day, and trying to say one is less reliable than the other based on their dating only underscores the OP’s unfamiliarity with them.

Justin and Plutarch suggest Statiera died from complications related to pregnancy. Plutarch (30.1) says she died giving birth, while Justin (11.12.6) calls it a miscarriage. Only Curtius (4.10.18-19) says she died of, essentially, exhaustion. That’s the “other sources” the OP mentions, not realizing it’s just one. Only in Curtius do we hear about a young son of Darius named Ochus. The OP seems to have conflated that child with the baby born before Gaugamela. Looking at Wikipedia’s entry on Statiera, it mistakenly calls the baby that killed her a boy, but in fact, Plutarch doesn’t say (ἀποθανούσης ἐν ὠδῖσι). Again, a good example of why Wikipedia is unreliable as a resource.

In any case, these are two different children, and there may not have been a son. Either Curtius made him up or Alexander quietly did away with him not long after their capture, as the child disappears from Curtius after and is never mentioned by other sources, which might not be a surprise. But I’m a bit more inclined to think Curtius simply invented him as part of his “Good Alexander” pre-Gaugamela narrative arc. Ochus is used as a comparative to his father (3.12.26). The son is unafraid of Alexander and lets him pick him up while the father lost his nerve and fled the battle. See what Curtius did there?

In addition, Barsine/Statiera, not just Roxana, was pregnant at ATG’s death, which is why Roxana offed her. And there’s the supposed bastard, Herakles, from Barsine, Memnon’s widow. So, the OP is missing a couple (possible) kids who Alexander also fathered.

They seems to assume drama is the reason for the choice to make Statiera his lover. This, I’d like to address, as I happen to know why they did do it, and it’s something I support.

They were very, very interested in the fact Persian women had authority, and wanted to portray them as strong, even as advisors to their husbands (which they were). That becomes Statiera’s role with Alexander, too. This is part of their larger goal NOT to portray the Persians as just fall-guys for Alexander. Because they couldn’t show all the women—both for reasons of cost as well as to avoid confusing viewers with too many unfamiliar names/people—they settled on Statiera as representative, axing Barsine as his mistress, and Sisygambus as well. Statiera’s pregnancy, which is present in the sources, added context, not just “drama.” Historically speaking, it suggests the Chivalrous Alexander trope in both Plutarch and Curtius is more mythos than Realpolitik. Although see my earlier post on Statiera’s pregnancy, linked above. I don’t necessarily assume Alexander raped her.

--------------------------------------

* If an earlier date for Curtius is correct, then he was active under the later Julio-Claudians and may have written his history during the reign of Claudius—the same emperor under whom Plutarch was born. The Lives are later works, so probably date to the Flavians, or even Trajan. For more on Curtius, see Elizabeth Baynham (1988) and for Plutarch, Robert Lamberton has a more recent study (2001) than Hamilton’s classic commentary (1969).

[drabbles-of-writing]

as the OG source of the A Little Kindness AU aka Raine adopting Hunter I would LOVE to know how you would change it to be canon compliant. i mean obviously the reveal would be after everything, but god just imagine Hunter worrying about his anonymous friend/caretaker and he finds out its the FUCKING OWL LADY'S PARTNER and hes just so happy theyre ok and to know who helped him out all the time but also OH TITAN LUZ IS GONNA BE HIS SISTER EVEN MORE NOW!

~adoption anon

the little gray box who started it all!!!! welcome back

good lord there would be so many overhauls...just so incredibly many I gotta try to break it all down to smaller sections to even get. a glimpse

1) okay so as we have learned Raine was NOT, in fact, under any mind control, just pulling the biggest brained move on Snapdragon she ever did see. so raine doesn't even go missing in the first place, if anything they might halt the notes altogether but still remain in the castle just because they were under constant vigilance and meeting eda again mightve made them triply afraid of getting other people involved with their work. hunter stresses about it, as you do, but flapjack isn't freaking out cause HE'S seen raine's face, and he knows that they're fine, but he has no idea what happened, so Hunter is less concerned since Flapjack isn't. not by a lot tho.

2) so INSTEAD of Hunter booking it to Luz to plead for help on some criminals, he instead takes all of this suppressed fear and worry and stress and just kinda. balls it up. and then shoves all of it out in the open during Eclipse Lake. he goes HARD trying to get that Titan's Blood and the thing where he tried to relate to Amity over being a failure? he doubles down on that shit TREMENDOUSLY and their shared failing to live up to what other ppl wanted and pushing away their friends (granted Amity actually pushed Willow away to try and help, Hunter didn't push Raine away he just thought he did). you think his breakdown in Eclipse Lake was concerning? hes about to make it even more concerning. hes very very afraid for Bat and he would really rather they hate him than anyone found out they'd been talking to him and they got murdered, so he better try and beat the shit out of Amity! if Belos is pleased with him, maybe he'll hesitate on whatever punishment Bat might be having right now

3) Raine, bless 'em, keeps trying to help Hunter how they can, dropping these tiny hints they don't mean to drop. Hunter's part of setting up and preparing everything for the Coven Day Parade and Raine is noticeably always checking in on the Golden Guard. we know now that Hunter started showing his face more after the Palisman incident, but Raine isn't seen around often, so I imagine it's around the Coven Day Parade that they finally see what Hunter looks like--and good lord that IS a literal teenager what the hell did they DO TO HIM---alright scrap all the plans. darius, eberwolf, change of plans. everything stays the same, but we're kidnapping Hunter on the way out

4) Any Sport in a Storm is pretty much the same, Hunter is just even antsier & more desperate to get these new friends to like him bc. Bat. and also punts Darius twice as hard. Darius for his part is only marginally nicer because he knows Raine's weirdly attached to this little rat of a child--oh wait nvm he sees why now. alright valid point. Darius is a firm believer in "for the love of god just tell him you're Bat it will save everyone a lot of stress" but unfortunately Raine subscribes to "if anyone i really care about is within fifty feet of me we are All Going To Die"

5) mostly everything would stay the same in Hollow Mind, i think? Raine, Darius and Eberwolf might actually go up to the Owl House and speak when Hunter and Luz get trapped in Belos's mind since its both Raine and Darius that are stressed as fuck over the kid? in that instance then everyone teams up much quicker (and in confusion) but Hunter still books it out at fast speeds into the woods and somehow makes it to Hexside. he's a slippery little bastard, but luckily now theres a whole gang teamed together to track him down and hes found by Darius pretty quickly after the Owl House is evacuated and torn apart. however Hexside is VERYYYYY on edge over coven heads claiming to want to "help" and "have betrayed the Coven" so they're all beating Darius back like a rabid raccoon and Hunter thinks he's here to kill him. so thats fun. eventually Darius gives up, scruffs Raine, and throws them down at Hexside and demands they finally clear shit up. its a very cute scene of Raine sneaking in and slipping little notes under the door of whatever classroom Hunter's hiding for his life in, wherein he realizes Bat's come back. and Hunter's finally brave enough to yank open the door to---RAINE?????

6) more stuff that mostly stays the same. Hunter however is very stressed over Raine when they're trapped in the human realm which eventually leads to him and Luz talking a lot and him realizing "im sorry waht the fuck do you MEAN that the owl lady and raine whispers were a THING??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERES STILL SOMETHING THERE????" but above all i want to fuck this boy up so insanely bad and at least give him a GLIMPSE of Raine's puppet body being possessed by Belos. even if there is no interaction other than Hunter seeing them for a brief flash I know in my heart that would fuck him up so bad. he would blame himself so so much. Belos really here to kill everything he loves before he can finally be free huh

7) MOST importantly they finally get to hug when everyones reunited and hunter feels SO INCREDIBLY GUILTY when he sees all the fresh new scars Raine has courtesy of Belos. to which Raine, in peak parent fashion, just goes "nah, i dont mind 'em. now we match :]" and Hunter's just god u are missing the point so badly but i'll let it slide. how'd you know my new scars were from belos. and raine just stares like "how did i know your new scars were from WHAT????? oh im so glad i killed his ass" "YOU DID WHAT"

[wixhing0nastar]

Raine’s Final Lie

I noticed something interesting about Raine and how they really lean into the Scary Shiny Glasses troupe. Specifically, how this is prevalent when they’re lying or otherwise acting deceitfully and how it ties into their final scene in King’s Tide.

TL;DR: Raine’s in love with Eda (shocker) and they both know it.

Right off the bat, literally the first time we see them their eyes are covered by the sheen of their glasses. This entire scene we do not see their eyes because Raine is in deep right now and can’t risk their mask slipping even a little.

The next time is this little thing on Eda’s phone when they’re being named head of the coven. (Also interesting, you’ll notice that of all the coven heads before Darius are cloaked in shadow while Darius, Eberwolf and Raine are lit up).

This next one is my second favorite when Raine is trying to turn down Eda’s offer to work with the BAtTs.

What’s super interesting about this one is that while Raine is just facing the BAtTs, both eyes are hidden because they’re lying about them not excepting new members/not wanting Eda there. What’s super interesting is how when Raine turns to look at her, the glasses on the side of their profile that’s facing her loses it’s gleam... because unlike the BAtTs and other people Raine has been lying to/around, Eda can see right through them.

Which actually ties right into the next time this happens during Follies at the Coven Day Parade.

What isn’t included in this gif is how Raine’s glasses lose their shine basically the second they hear Eda’s voice behind them (and likely put the last pieces together about what’s happening). Again though, Raine is putting on a show here, they don’t actually want to attack Luz, they just need everyone to think they’re still loyal to Belos.

The second to last time this happens is during the iconic reveal scene. Interestingly, this might be one of the first indicators that Terra already knows... because both times we’ve seen Raine drink the tea, their glasses either had no sheen or it goes away as she approaches.

The last time we see this (so far anyway) is during King’s Tide... the only time it’s directed at Eda.

It took me a minute to figure out why exactly their eyes are hidden in this scene. Everything’s out in the open, it’s known that they’ve betrayed the Emperor and are working with Eda and while removing someone’s arm is a little traumatizing, it’s not like they had a ton of other options or any immediate regrets.

And then it hit me.

“I promised a special kid... I’d protect you.”

This isn’t a lie per se, however, it is hiding one.

Because Raine didn’t need Luz to ask them to protect Eda. They were going to do that no matter what because they love her, even if it means fighting through excruciating pain to tear her arm off so at least she can live.

And the thing is? Eda knows. Eda knows, which is why their glasses lose the shine as soon as they turn back to her.

Because Eda can see right through them.

[creativia10]

Hexside Starts and Locker Haunts

Hunter is looking forward to attending Hexside where he can see most of his friends. He didn't expect his new ghostly guardian to look out for him while there.

Warnings: reference to past child abuse

Let me know if I've missed anything

Word count: 3215

Notes: This is going to be the second one of a series about Hunter and Ghost Caleb. I really like this concept. I don't know how many works this series will have yet.

Hunter could hardly believe this was happening. He was going to go to Hexside and learn alongside other kids his age. Including his friends. Well, hopefully he would that was. Apparently, he had to take a placement exam, where enrollment wasn’t guaranteed. At least, not when he wasn’t a full witch like most of the students would be. He knew Luz had to deal with that, they’d talked about it.

He needed to know two spells on his own in order to not be placed at the lowest level in the school, the baby class. He only had one ability on his own, the teleportation and flash step from Flapjack. He couldn’t even use the glyphs that Luz had been able to. Ever since Belos possessed the titan and the battle ended, the glyphs hadn’t seemed to work. He didn’t really understand why. He had a feeling Luz would know more about that, as she seemed to.

He could do more with his artificial staff though, which he would have to start using again. Part of him didn’t want to, but it might be his only option if he wanted to go to this school. And he did.

He didn’t understand why this presentation was like a show for himself on the stage before the principal. He could appreciate the showmanship though. At least, he could have if he wasn’t so nervous.

Darius stood backstage giving him encouraging hand gestures. Darius has been there for Hunter now. More than just giving him somewhere to stay, which Hunter appreciated. It did seem like Darius was stepping into more of a guardian role for Hunter now. If the check-in after Hunter went on his own, the day Belos was defeated, said anything. Still, Hunter wasn’t quite used to a safe guardian who only had his best interests in mind. So, Hunter was having a hard time believing that was going to be the case. For now, he could just accept that Darius was safe and there for him. And really, that said a lot there.

Hunter had his artificial staff off to the side, easy to reach backstage, in case he did need to grab it. He wanted to try on his own first though.

Hunter took a deep breath and walked onto the stage.

“Hey, Principal Bump,” He said a bit awkwardly. Bump’s face was a bit hard to read, but he just nodded in response.

“Yes. G- uh, what is your actual name again?”

“Hunter,” He said.

Hunter’s eyes were drawn to a flash he caught from the back row of the seats. Odd, Hunter was sure it was just supposed to be the three of them in there for this exam.

Hunter’s attention was brought back to the conversation though.

“Yes, Hunter. Given your history in the emperor’s coven-“

Hunter couldn’t help but wince at that.

“-I’m well aware you have the magical abilities to be able to attend here.”

“…right.”

Of course, not everyone knew he was a powerless witch on his own. Only his friends knew that, and he didn’t exactly want everyone to know.

“So by all means, show me what you’d like. To give me an idea where to place you.”

Hunter took a deep breath and then flash-stepped to the side. He also teleported up into the air and then quickly back down, as his staff wasn’t in his grasp to catch him.

“Does that count as two?” Hunter asked.

Bump scratched his chin.

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Is there anything else?”

Hunter hesitated and then walked to the side to grab his staff.

“Well, if I may ask this not leave here, not really without my staff. As the glyphs don’t work anymore.”

Bump blinked.

“What, really? But many have seen you use powers. And you have,” He gestured to Hunter’s ears. Hunter reached to touch one on instinct.

“Uh, yeah. I’m a powerless witch, or I was. Belos gave me this artificial magic staff to be able to use magic abilities.”

Bump hmmed.

“I see.”

“But with it, I can do this!” Hunter held his staff up, making sure not to point it at anyone, and let the staff build up an energy blast at the end.

“I can also move earth with it.”

Bump nodded.

“Well, you have certainly shown you’re magically capable before, considering. Although, you may have some limitations with what tracks you can take though.”

Hunter sighed. “Yeah, I figured as much. I can live with that.”

“Very well. With this in mind, I welcome you to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics.”

Hunter smiled and bowed to him.

“Thank you sir.”

Bump raised his hand.

“That’s not necessary. I’ll let you look over the tracks before you start classes. Let me know if you’ll need any help testing out which ones you are able to do.”

Darius asked Hunter if he was okay while they on their way back home from the entrance exam.

Hunter shot him a confused look.

“Why do you ask? I got what I wanted. I can go to Hexside.”

Darius hmmed.

“I know, but some topics got brought up in there that I could tell you weren’t thrilled about.”

Hunter sighed and shrugged.

“I don’t know. I mean, it was bound to come up. Of course, I’m going to have to consider that I’m fundamentally different from other witches. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. At least I’m able to go to that school at all. Gosh, I need to be able to see my friends there.”

Darius nodded.

“Know that you can talk to me though, alright?”

Hunter hesitated. Trust was a hard thing. He was not used to opening up at all.

“I appreciate that,” Hunter said.

Darius pursed his lips, probably seeing how that was a non-answer. Hunter didn’t know if he was ready yet though. Maybe he could focus on one thing at a time. And at that point, it was figuring out his tracks at Hexside. He was used to working hard, so surely doing so for classes of his own choice would be better. Right?

*

Hunter was surprised that he came to the school his first day with so much trepidation. More than he had the first time he came onto the Hexside campus. Maybe because then he had a mission as the golden guard. And a lot of false confidence for some reason. But this time, he was just Hunter. Not even a full witch. Entering a building of normal witches and demons around his age. Which was something he was very much not used to. It was actually a bit overwhelming.

So he stood there for a moment just staring forward as students milled about the campus.

“Hey, Hunter. Are you alright?” Darius asked. He hadn’t left yet. Hunter took a deep breath. He didn’t know the answer to that. But he didn’t want to worry the other.

He did want this. He just didn’t feel fully prepared.

“Hunter!” Several voices shouted.

Hunter glanced over and his shoulders relaxed some as he saw his friends. Gus, Willow, and Amity made their way over.

Darius shot him a smile.

“I’ll see you later Hunter. Let me know if you need anything?”

Hunter nodded at Darius with a smile, before the other left.

Gus and Willow immediately hugged him.

“You’re finally here!” Gus exclaimed. He let out little illusion fireworks in celebration.

“Yeah, I know right?” Hunter said.

“It’ll be great to have you on the Emerald Entrails flyer derby team full time!” Willow cheered.

Hunter smiled at that.

“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that.”

They chattered a bit more as they headed into the school. Being among familiar faces did wonders to help Hunter feel more at ease. It was a great reminder of why he wanted to go there in the first place, even if he was different.

A flash of light would be harder to see in the daytime outside. Hunter had a good sense of when someone was looking at him though. That had developed from moments with Belos. Sometimes he didn’t know when his uncle was understanding or in a bad mood, and he needed to be on guard.

But there are a lot of people at school there. He tried to reassure himself that it’s possible it was nothing. He was new after all, and some did know he was the golden guard. Maybe it had been a passing glance. There was a difference between one look and being watched though. Hunter could usually feel it, but that was likely no magic though. Just an instinctive intuition, or maybe even paranoia.

Still, he looked around, not seeing anyone.

“Hunter?” Willow asked. “Is everything alright?”

Hunter turned back to his friend group.

“Yeah, I think so,” He said.

She didn’t seem convinced, but let the conversation continue. Hunter couldn’t shake the feeling though.

-

Hunter went into Principal Bump’s office first, as he was told to. So he could choose his tracks and get to class.

He had been doing a lot of thinking about this. Yet still, he looked over the choices. He understood why Luz had a hard time choosing. Unlike her though, he probably couldn’t do all of them.

Potions was easy to tick off. It was the easiest for a low or nonmagical person to learn.

Beastkeeping. He liked palisman, so maybe he would like working with other magical creatures too. Construction seemed to be the closest to what he could use the earth-moving abilities for.

He pondered Healing, it was an ability he would like to know how to do.

“Can I add more later?” Hunter asked.

Bump thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Yes. With the new addition of multiple tracks learning, many students have been adding more tracks later.”

Hunter nodded. He held off on that one for then, since he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to do that. Illusion was also a no.

He supposed plants could be similar to earth, but he had moved the ground itself more, not so much growth.

He was almost good with his three tracks, but then he paused on the oracle one. He had read up a bit about that. He was less interested in knowing the future, as it was hard to think about that when you didn’t know how long you’d live. But the pamphlet had said those on the oracle track communed with spirits. He wanted to understand more about that world given recent events. He could at least learn more about the spirits. Besides, he was pretty sure that moment with the ghost of Caleb wasn’t going to be a one-time thing. Even if he wasn’t sure when he would see the other again.

So, he had decided on four tracks for then.

-

 Hunter was surprised he hadn’t seen his friends in classes yet. He supposed they did have different track focuses, and the ones he chose didn’t overlap, but still. There had to be some classes everyone took. He hoped they would have some in common.

Anyways, there was something in the schedule called a break? That was not something he expected. When he trained to become the golden guard, his learning was pretty intensive. He didn’t quite understand why there was a break, and so early. It had only been a few hours. Still, he wasn’t going to complain about the chance to see his friends some more if he had time. He was still figuring out the layout of the school.

As he walked through the halls, he walked past a group of students with a girl in the middle who looked familiar. Boscha he thought? She had been that pseudo-leader when the students hid out at Hexside during the Collector’s games. He hadn’t been able to catch everything that happened. He thought Amity had managed to convince her to go against Kikimora who had been taking over though.

So, that in itself could have meant she was an ally. But the Isles were no longer in emergency mode, at least not in the same way. He had heard his friends talk about this girl before. She was a bully. So it was probably best to steer clear of her. At least, that’s what he tried to do.

He was starting to wish he had asked even more about what to prepare for at this school. He caught her looking him up and down before she scoffed.

“Wow, someone’s a bit ambitious. Try hard much?”

Hunter rolled his eyes and kept going. Honestly, many students were taking multiple tracks now.

“Hey!” She exclaimed. “Don’t ignore me!”

Great. She was an attention hog as well. She then walked over to him and started following him.

“Who do you think you are? You’re not the golden guard anymore, nothing special about you now.”

Hunter paused and turned to her.

“How did you know about that?”

Boscha rolled her eyes and smirked.

“Oh, please. Word goes around fast here.”

He really hoped that didn’t extend to other parts about him.

“So you won’t be able to get away with stuff like before. This is Hexside, my school.”

“Oh please, you’re just a student here,” He said.

Boscha laughed. “Did you ever think about why I was the leader when everyone hid out at the school? People listen to me. And ignoring me isn’t gonna fly.”

“Why do you care if I give you attention? You don’t even know me. If you had as many fans as you imply, there would be no reason to make a scene at me walking past you.”

She glared at him and clenched her fists at that.

“Because you’re not just anyone. Most students here know their place by now, but you’re new. I can’t have you think you’re better than me. I’m most popular for a reason. The losers need to stay down. Especially half-witches.”

Hunter’s eyes widened at that last part and took a step back.

“What?” He asked.

She put her hands on her hips and smirked at him again.

“What, you think I didn’t notice your limited use of magic? And that you always have a staff with you now, even when it’s not a palisman.”

Hunter pulled his artificial staff slightly behind his back.

“Why were you even watching me for that?” He asked.

“I look out for the important things. Such as threats and the wastes of magic that need to be avoided.”

Just after she said that, a nearby locker door swung out and banged her in the face.

“Ow!” She cried out, stepping back and holding her face.

Hunter startled and looked on in surprised.

Boscha continued to hold her face, but glared out and looked around.

“Okay, who did that!?”

Some students fled at her yell. Hunter looked around, but he couldn’t tell. He hadn’t seen any spell-casting circles. His friends didn’t seem to be in the vicinity either.

Just then, he saw another flash at the end of the hallway. Okay, that couldn’t be a coincidence.

A faded figure formed the silhouette of a familiar man for a moment. The figure then drifted around the corner of the hallway.  Hunter sped walk in that direction right away.

“Hey!” He heard Boscha shout behind him, but Hunter ignored her. He went around the corner to a subsection of the hallway off to the side away from things.

The ghost of Caleb reformed to appear as he had when Hunter first saw him. Hunter stared for a moment.

“You found a way to follow me,” Hunter said.

Caleb nodded, “I can’t exactly say I understand why. Perhaps I was able to attach myself to you when my former reason for haunting died. Or it could be because that staff is from the castle.”

Hunter glanced to his staff at the mention then back to Caleb.

“You slammed that locker door into Boscha’s face.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“I said I would look after you. I wanted to protect you.”

Hunter huffed.

“I wasn’t in any real danger. She’s just a brat.”

Caleb hmmed.

“Perhaps. Doesn’t mean you have to deal with that.”

“I’ve been through worse,” Hunter said.

Caleb sighed. “I know. Trust me, I know. I don’t have to like any of it though.”

“So what, you’re just going to try to throw things at anyone who gives me a hard time? I don’t need that.”

“Do you know what you need?”

“Maybe not to be coddled!”

Calen floated back some.

“I don’t think one instance of retaliating against a bully counts as being coddled. She had no reason to be like that to you.”

“I mean, yeah. Of course she didn’t have a good reason. But I don’t need you to do that.”

“I know. I wanted to. She was annoying me.”

Hunter huffed. “Yeah, she was definitely annoying.”

“See?”

“How often are you going to do something like that?”

Caleb shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“Because, if that becomes commonplace, someone is going to figure out I have a ghost haunting me.”

“Well, it’s more watching over you than haunting. Are you expecting this type of thing to happen often?”

Hunter opened his mouth and then paused. He didn’t really know what to expect if he was being honest. Caleb seemed to sense that. He smiled.

“Well, then I’m definitely not going to stop.”

“Caleb!”

“My brother caused irreversible damage to this world for years. It’s the least I can do.”

“You are not responsible for his actions.”

“I know,” Caleb said. He looked sad now.

“But if I can do something good in spirit after my brother cut my life tragically short, then I want to be able to.”

It was hard to argue against that. Not like Hunter didn’t appreciate this ghostly ancestor wanting to look out for him. He just wasn’t sure if he deserved it. Especially over something like a mean girl. His life hadn’t even been in danger or anything.

“I suppose that’s fair…” Hunter started. He wasn’t really sure what to tell the other. Could a ghost be reasoned with? It’s not like it would do much harm. Hopefully. This was still new to Hunter, so he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Before he could say anything else,

“Hunter!”

Hunter turned to see his friends running towards him. Hunter turned back to Caleb, or where he had been. Caleb had disappeared again. Hunter sighed.

He still had questions about this whole thing. Like, why did the ghost keep disappearing on him like that?

The school bell rang signaling that the break was over. Other students around started to head to their next classes.

His friends were talking over each other. They mentioned how they heard something happened with Boscha. Concerned that he ran away after. He walked with them to start heading to his next class as well. He tried to answer their questions, without mentioning Caleb. He was honestly still in a bit of a daze over what had happened. He was really dealing with a ghost now even with everything else going on? Well, at least Caleb was a nice ghost, but still. He didn’t know anything about this stuff. He supposed he was going to find out.

[thevoyageurmoteplass-writing]

Evangeline was done with keys. Another had turned up in her room and instantly she had taken it to the others. Teddy had suggested throwing it in the lake; Dexter had insisted that they kept it safe, that they took it in turns so she wasn’t left with that responsibility hanging over her all over again.

Yet still she couldn’t stop playing with it, couldn’t keep it off her mind.

She sighed, stopped fiddling with the cold metal and looked out across the lake.

‘You suck at sneaking,’ she said evenly. She’d know that the stranger was there, knew that they had been trying to find a good time to step forwards. Always just on the periphery.

‘I was just checking,’ a male voice said, wavering slightly uncertainly. The branches creaked as he stepped forwards, as he moved and she finally turned to face who had been following her.

The boy looked a little older than her, but there was something much older about his eyes. For a moment she almost looked away, but she refused. She levelled her gaze on him.

‘Checking what?’

‘That you got the key,’ he admitted, pausing a little way from the back of the bench. He heaved a deep sigh, ran a hand through his hair. ‘I don’t mean to be all secretive –’

‘But you’ve got to be?’ Eva asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

He scoffed, and there was an odd kind of agreement behind his expression. ‘Nope. But this is just harder than I thought. But you’re no stranger to magic doors, are you?’

A ripple of unease shivered down her back.

‘Sorry,’ he apologised quickly, ‘way too cryptic. I’m Isaac. That key goes to a café place and I’ve been asked to take you there so the owner can give an explanation.’

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and even then Evangeline wasn’t sure it made much more sense. ‘An explanation?’

Isaac chuckled carefully, inclined his head a little behind him. ‘Yeah, weird someone’s offering one then. Any door’ll do though.’

Evangeline only briefly contemplated not following him. But she was up before the thought could properly take hold. She followed him, only once nudging him another way as it was a closer door, and her brain screamed for answers, no matter how she got them.

‘You sure about this?’ Isaac asked as she put the key quickly into the lock. This was her world, no matter what he might have thought.

Evangeline shot him a withering look before pushing the door open.

The noise level hit her first, the din of food and drinks being made and chatter mingling with it all. But, as she stepped through the door, the uncanniness of the whole thing hit her. There weren’t just people there, all looking at varying degrees of weariness, but also a mixture of creatures she only recognised from stories. Giants and elves. A unicorn outside steamed up the window alongside an old looking car. A fairy and a tall figure she could have sworn only had one eye.

‘Yeah, it’s something,’ Isaac murmured. ‘Darius!’ he called, snapping Evangeline’s attention to him. He shot her an apologetic smile before motioning to a booth. ‘Darius’ll fill you in while I go get Lukas. Anything I should know?’

Despite everything, Evangeline contemplated telling him he had to bow, or he needed to speak in rhyme. But a tall man lopped towards them and the thought faded ever so slightly.

‘Evangeline, welcome. I’m Darius,’ he explained and she felt rather than saw Isaac leaving. She just hoped that he was really going to get Luck because at least then there was someone familiar there with her.

Lukas couldn’t believe that it was over. Or, at least that it was almost over. He hadn’t expected to feel at such a loose end, but he did and it was horrible. He itched to do something, to prank someone even if he weren’t going to get a punishment like before.

A cough forced his attention away from the piano and towards a young bespectacled man standing in the doorway. He looked a little awkward, as if he wasn’t really meant to be there. In fact, his clothes alone marked him easily as someone not of Fortuna House, or this area at all.

‘Who are you?’ Lukas asked carefully, and bad habits he had picked up from The group gone in an instant.

The man sighed, shifted his glasses carefully up his nose. ‘My name’s Isaac. I’ve come to explain where that key came from.’

For a second Lukas merely stared at him. The key had randomly appeared in his pocket not long after returning to the Spirit World. He had assumed one of the poltergeists had put it there, a kind of goodbye to his time with the Human World. He remained silent, waiting to hear more.

Isaac didn’t appear to falter though, he merely glanced around the room, as if scouting out any possible danger.

Reluctantly, Lukas shifted around on the stool. ‘Where did it come from?’

‘The Voyageurs Möteplass. A café in another… world to the rest.’

Lukas chuckled. ‘Nobody needs another world.’

‘Daruis, guy who owns it, would disagree,’ reasoned Isaac, carefully closing the door behind him. ‘Evangeline’s letting him explain.’

Lukas’s chest tightened at the mention of his friend. He knew it was meant to calm him but it didn’t. He was instantly on the alert, hands raised and ready for a fight.

He was surprised by how quickly Isaac’s stance went to mirror his own. A flicker of uncertainty behind the eyes but an assurance of an attack being met.

‘Try the key in the lock,’ Isaac said, worry betraying him in a waver to the voice. He carefully stepped aside but didn’t lower his guard.

Without thinking Lukas stepped forwards, craving something to do. He took the key from his pocket, where he had left it, and put it easily into the lock. One turn and he was pushing the door open, looking in on another world entirely.

It reminded him of a bustling coffee house, with some of the more modern appearances that he had seen a little of in Torna. The people there all looked like they came from different times; worlds that went far beyond the three he now knew existed.

‘Luck!’

Evangeline’s voice forced his attention to a nearby table. She was sat with an imposing figure of a man, smiling brightly nonetheless; he recognised the inquisitive look behind her eyes. The spark of figuring out the answers.

He stepped forwards, eager to join her, but paused. ‘Thank…’ he said, turning to find that Isaac was gone. ‘You,’ he finished lamely.

‘Isaac went to grab Veronica,’ the large man explained as Lukas turned back, Eva motioning him over. ‘Darius, by the way.’ The man extended a well calloused hand.

‘Lukas, Sir,’ he introduced, shaking the proffered hand and sharing a questioning look with Evangeline.

She offered him a half-dismissive shrug. ‘I wonder how he plans to persuade Ronnie,’ she admitted, the familiar mischief obvious behind her words.

Luck couldn’t help but smirk. That would be quite the sight to see. Yet he was just glad to see her, and hopefully Ronnie, again. For a moment, nothing else mattered because they could face anything as long as they were together.

The key had baffled Ronnie. She had found it on her vanity table, as if it had always been there. She hadn’t needed to ask her family, she knew that it was new, that it had just somehow turned up. Even trying spells on it she’d come up with a blank. Nothing garnered any results, gave her any clues as to what it was for, let alone who had left it there.

A tentative knock on the door barely pulled her attention away from the cool silver as she turned it over with her magic, spinning it as if even mild magic might answer something.

Another knock, slightly more insistent this time.

Ronnie groaned, hit the crown of her head against the back of her chair.

‘Veronica?’

Instantly she was sitting bolt upright; the key all but slammed into a drawer and her hackles raised.

‘My… my name’s Isaac. I know Evangeline and Lukas… kind of,’ the voice said.

Everything inside Ronnie told her to distrust, told her to use her powers to protect herself. But also she wanted to investigate. The names of her friends from worlds that nobody knew.

‘It’s about the key.’

Ronnie had flung the door open as soon as the final word was out of his mouth.

The boy that stood there looked momentarily startled. It shifted to awe quickly; fast enough to assure her that he wasn’t from here.

‘You know what I can do, obviously,’ she said calmly, twirling her hands in an almost threatening manner, ‘so explain.’

‘I’m just the messenger,’ Isaac told her, but there was a waver of uncertainty.

‘So?’

‘The key leads to The Voyageurs Möteplass. Probably means noth –’

‘The travellers’ way place,’ she breathed. It was a myth her mother had once told them. A place for heroes to rest before the next big adventure.

‘Yeah,’ he said uncertainly, and she felt his eyes on her as she gathered the key up and moved to the door. He stepped aside, allowing her to close it. She put the key in the lock, turned it and forced open the door.

Her attention found Eva and Luck before anything else. They stood slightly and she started towards them, gaze straying around the place. It was filled with different kinds of people; the kinds she read stories about, wanted to be a part of.

‘Ah, Veronica,’ said the large jovial looking man sitting with them. ‘Welcome.’

Ronnie’s thoughts scrambled for the name, for who he was.

‘Darius,’ he said kindly, moving to let her sit with them

Ronnie nodded her greeting and took the space with her friends. She watched as Isaac moved to the other seat.

‘Everyone’s got a story,’ said Darius, nodding to a passing server for drinks, ‘but here’s a place to relax, to try and settle between adventures.’

‘Adventures?’ asked Eva excitedly.

‘Between?’ questioned Lukas warily.

But Ronnie was leaning forwards keenly, eager to learn everything that she could about this place brought to life; but then again, she was beginning to get used to stories coming to life around her.

[pollyperks]

honestly I wish huntlow got a kiss just to stick it to the antis. it feels like m/f ships are getting pushed to the side in the show and in the fandom to prioritise same sex ones and it's honestly weird. like they get one kiss and are on their high horse for the rest of it

yeah, i mean, long answer, sorry it took 3 days, but i know i'm personally totally squealing happy with what we got and i'm just ?????? confuzzled over people saying that it could be platonic? because they didn't kiss? does that mean raida is platonic too? no kiss on the lips???? lmao platonic lap sitting but seriously. i'm gay i want representation i'm super happy that lumity got kisses and that raida happened like i'm not bitter at all about those ships being canon i'm super super happy! and the huntlow content we got was freaking adorable. but if they got a kiss then antis would probably find some way to say it was one-sided or non consensual or whatever, WHATEVER ANTIS! anyway, luz is obviously the protag so her romance should take front and center but it does feel a little weird when peeps are like 'omg gus and mattholomule (sp? i don't care enough about him) and omg darius and alador' like that's another confuzzlement when 3 second interaction=canon when it platonic hand holding durrr. but tumblr has always loved its slash shipping so why am i even pretending to be surprised idk

also?????? why do these people not want willow to have things? like, i'm trying to think of another show where the side character who is plus sized (and wow is it ever more acceptable for men to be large!!!!) ends up with the 'bad but sad boy' (or a serious love interest at all ughhhhh don't@me with grenda from gf) like bad boys (i mean, calling hunter 'bad' sort of makes me crack up, but that's how he was introduced and he has the appearance down) usually either end up with the protag or in a love triangle with the protag, not with a character like willow. even if willow is buff as fuck in the timeskip, she's still muscular and of a larger build than the other girls, so i love love love love love that for her and why do people want to say huntlow is platonic when it's super great to have not only that body representation in an animated show but to punch the idea in the face that those characters shouldn't be able to experience love interests like everyone else?

(also hunter's relationship with willow and gus was part of what really pulled him into the group so it makes sense from a writing standpoint if they wanted either of them to have a love interest for it to be with each other)

so yeah idk i haven't seen anyone on their high horse exactly, mostly just people being happy about their ships! and their same sex ships! but the antis are driving me nuts they're not here to be happy about anything they just want to scream about how huntlow sucks and isn't real and i think half the time (and this might be what you were talking about anon) they just don't want it to be canon because it's m/f and that's...why don't they just take their hate and push it somewhere else?

unfortunately we just have to try not to listen and find the good content

[chesterleprince]

Delirious Samson

//

seamless strings pull me, bulling.

senseless maid, my senses made,

the endings waste, I sense a nay.

raiding my empty state,

lay in my letters, saint.

strangely I'm set in ways,

raging like "miss you babe".

magis mace is laced,

laced, but her love is late.

waiting, the dove is fake,

why is this oven caked?

her size like above me raised,

I cry for her substance, mamed.

Im the mime that is sullen, lame,

so lame, see me ruptured cased,

cased in a lustless lake,

submerged under rain,

allure is above the cain.

the sinner stands,

look into a mirror,

see that the mirrors damned.

leave me, I'm in the sand,

little lamb, her glasses hiding her face.

a face ready for war,

her face, one that heaven adored,

she's truly jeshua born,

over me sentinals walked.

I'm not ready for anything,

but Ill be dead if you want.

If you desire I'll be your pawn,

I'll be your dwarf,

I'll be your sword,

that cuts nothing, except every liar you saw.

But I'm a liar, I'm a fire that burns you,

If I find you I hurt you.

involuntarily,

my skin crawls just forget me,

never miss me.

I'm the bricks that drown you,

a foul fool just listless.

kiss me, don't kiss me.

kill me but don't kill me.

strip me of my insides,

catch my heart in your palm,

stab my love, it is yours.

light me on fire,

just don't fight me I'm tired.

not alive in this quiet,

cut my wire Im silent.

only silent for you,

cut my rise into two.

gold is your iris,

cold in your eyelids,

hope that I'm dying,

a pool that I dive in.

you're soothing lightning,

If I make a move just strike me,

since I'm doomed, fucked, bite me.

feeling the pain that I'm causing,

stealing your faith like I'm lawless.

you're a goddess, I am only sawdust.

since I am so appalling,

live your life like I'm no cause in,

the cause to your demise.

If I'm the prophet paul,

just scavange my organs, and write it copper gone.

sell these valuables,

dwell in a dragons home,

heat you can't fathom, nope.

seizing, I let you go.

shaking, my rope it is quaking.

dangerous, loathed by,

the famous, approached.

if you want I am taking an oath.

Should I be racing towards,

you like a rhino?

am I just casing your home, or beside you?

You changed me to job since your arrival.

a cape or a cloak? I cant decide. You?

lately Im roped into sailing your boat,

I am tailing your hope,

close to where it leads,

but you rose above me,

or so it seems.

it seems like it.

leave me and see me turn into a cheap lycan,

Justify the means like this,

the end it just seems frightening.

I seek guidance,

and you might just be the type to,

keep fighting,

Achieve highness.

or better put you're god and I'm just a leased sideman.

but the lease is running out,

never been this fucking proud,

but it seems like time is running out.

running quickly,

rummage this fucking city,

till I find something simply.

simple and nice, like me but not quite.

siege the last castle,

appear before me like that's that,

the last laugh.

but yours is never the last.

my corpse is steadily smashed.

merrily manned, as married as man is, Mary is man.

stirring my casket,

scratching, she's curing my madness.

delirious samson,

until the day I die,

I'm like the curious cat is.

I'm a murderous manic?

the only thing I've ever done is murder our marriage.

so nervous,

nervous around you.

in earth sitting like turnips I'm serving.

her allure's hitting me like scalpels from surgeons.

I know no one,

a damaging person.

it's sad but hilarious.

unearthed from the dragons den,

necropolis, darius.

I'm searching for remington,

bullets of adamantium.

silver the dagger that's piercing my lariat.

licked clean?

there's nothing on that dagger.

only her hope,

slowly, very slowly I'm laid.

the cloud that carries us,

only for angels, she's carried up.

burn if I go there,

surely I'm nowhere,

appear clear,

in my lair, that's rare.

omen is unopened,

only elope if sun's stolen.

sleeping silently,

dont believe in lionry,

only feed feats, I feel cyrusly.

demise is rising,

sir rye is ryeless.

halo of paper,

ceylon is savoured.

the mason is mayoured.

raise mo to mayham.

elate rope, reaps razors.

goodnight and a bye,

survive not arrive.

constant cold core,

warring woes, walled,

the wows wrought.

I vow force will never blind me,

my course is seeded blindly.

no remorse, my weeping sightly,

so sighlty but silently.

I'm rising out the advisory,

revising my effort rhymelessly.

I seek a better livelihood,

I unsheath my dagger silently,

achieve that my letters, milelessly.

no reason for my debauchery,

I'm seasoned at the fire of shaytans lava leak.

I reak of my sire, his chains are comradery.

free is the wire that hangs me at the waterwheel.

sinning still praying,

stilled by your sacred.

satiated by your famous faces.

race against mace.

the lady I love doesn't want me anymore

the lady I loath is still the lady that won't.

[dailyaudiobible]

8/5/2023 DAB Transcript

Ezra 1:1-2:70, 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5, Psalm 27:7-14, Proverbs 20:22-23

Today is the fifth day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today, just like it’s fantastic to be here with you together around the Global Campfire every day. It's a joy that we even have this place that we can gather together. And so, I'm thrilled that we can do that, gather together and take the next step forward. Yesterday, we took a step in the Old Testament that brought us to the conclusion of a book named Second Chronicles, which means that as we move into our reading today, we have brand-new territory to move into, although it might not feel exactly like that we’re not moving into a completely different story, at a completely different time. We’re actually just picking up where Second Chronicles leaves off.

Introduction to the Book of Ezra:

The children of Israel are in exile in Babylon, they were carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians who came and conquered, as a result of the rebelliousness of God's people. So, Ezra, as we read this, will cover about 80 years of time and three different kings of the Persian Empire: Cyrus the Great, Darius and then Artaxerxes and each of these kings use their power, influence and their kingdoms to favor the Israelites who are returning to their homeland, so that they could rebuild the temple of God and resume worship of the most high God in Jerusalem. In fact, that's the first kings' mission, Cyrus the Great, begins all of this with the desire to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem to worship God and he gives permission and resources for it. And about 42,000 of the exiled Israelites, who had been crying and weeping for restoration, finally actually make the trip back. So, we’re going back, and they will be under the leadership of a person named Zerubbabel to rebuild. And once they get there, we will find that they have all kinds of things that they have to face, all kinds of things to endure opposition to overcome. Some of that comes through the intimidation of the people that are nearby. Some of it comes through like political maneuvering. Some comes through just threats that we watched them stay true to the mission and the task as the rebuilding takes place and like most of the things that we find in the Bible, it becomes the mirror as we observe our own lives, our own faithfulness, our own endurance, to that which God has called us to accomplish in our lives. And we can find encouragement. We’re not the only ones to face opposition. So, let's see what is modeled for us as we begin, today, Ezra chapters 1 and 2.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for, well, we've graduated now into new territory in Old and New Testaments. And so, as we begin to engage with the book of Ezra and as we continue to move through Paul's letter to the Corinthians, come, Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth, lead us to what we need to hear and what we need to see. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear that we might obey You. Come Jesus and lead us we pray. In Your name we ask. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

My precious Father in heaven, thou art worthy. Thou art worthy, Lord. You are the king of all kings Lord. I have a daughter, Tina, who is suffering from non-alcoholic liver disease. She’s down to 100lbs. She can’t eat. She’s trying to get a feeding tube. Please Lord, allow them to do a feeding tube so that she can get nutrition into her. And Lord, I pray for a doner for her liver. She’s a good Christian woman and believes that God will heal her. And Lord, I pray that You will find a doner and give her strength, give her peace of her mind, body and soul. Lord, thou art worthy. And people, if you would just pray for her and pray for a doner and feeding tube and her bodily comfort and comfort of mind. Lord, I just pray that Tina will come through this and be of glory to You. Thank you, people, for praying. You are my sisters and brothers in the Lord. And I would have it no other way than to be a Christian and love Jesus. Bye.

Intertwined, this is God’s Life Speaker. I heard you on the second day of August and you were pulling up to the gates of the jail which will be your home for the next couple of days. But I didn’t think I have ever walked through these kinds of gates with anybody in my imagination because you were able to describe it feelings and the place and you said that you knew that we were with you, and this was gonna be so hard, but you were just in such a spiritual state of mind. That you were able to paint a picture for the rest of us so that we would know how to pray into something with you and for you, even better. And so, thank you for that invitation. Thank you for that visual. Yeah, and this whole time, like we, we are with you. We are together in the spirit just praying for each other. So, Holy Spirit, we need to pray for Intertwined. Man, this is a such a Hebrews 12 lesson. And someone else on this morning's call, just called in about that and Lord, it is, we don’t like this kind of discipline. But God in it, let us be trained. Give Intertwined the training that You want her to receive. So, that she can come out of this with the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So, strengthen her feeble hands and knees. And Lord, just give her the footing and the pathway that she needs so that she can come out of this to draw others, will be so drawn to her because she is walking out You and the light will be seen. So, we just pray for strengthening. We pray for her to just come up out of this and to be stronger still. We know she will because Your word is true, and we believe this. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Jermaine from Clarkesville, Tennessee. I wanted to call and pray for the woman who was pulling up to the jail. I believe she said her name was Intertwined in God’s Love. Sister, I’m praying for you. Father, in the precious name of Jesus Christ, we come to You now, oh God, with our sister in mind. Father, she has to go into this institution. But God, we ask that this time will be an opportunity to grow closer to You. It will be moment of divine fellowship with You. That Your Holy Spirit will be with her, comforting her, leading her and guiding her to the people that she’s supposed to go to while she’s in there to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, I pray that You will invigorate her with Your strength. And I pray most of all, Father, that when this is over, when she leaves, that people, through her, through Your will, will have given their hearts to Jesus Christ. Father, I pray for her protection, I pray for her peace, and I pray, oh God, that this will go by so fast that it’ll be like a blip in her life. We thank You for Your love. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.

Good morning, this is Abundantly Blessed Tanya from Massachusetts calling for Intertwined in God’s Love for Intertwined in God’s Love. And I just wanna say that is what you are, love that your name, your handle is actually reflective of who you are. You are not separated in any way from the Lord, and He’s always with you no matter where you are. The Bible says whether you’re on the far side of the earth or you make your bed in Sheol and at this point in time you have a hard thing to do but yet He’s with you in the challenge. And you will have a glorious time. There’s going to be such revelation for you. I believe this is time that is meant for you and Him, so that it is precious time for you to learn some things that He wants to share with you. Personal time of intimacy and time to be spoken to your heart, to go places in your heart that fingers can’t go, that massaging can’t go, that your friends' words can’t go, because it was only designed for Him. So, I just want you to look at this time that you have as a vacation with God, even though the surroundings don’t look like such. Where God is, He turns it all into a wonderful access. So, I’m gonna say enjoy, rejoice in this time. He’s gonna bring you through mightily.

[sergeantsporks]

Dadrius Week Chapter 1: Shopping

“What’s wrong with the clothes I have?”

Darius paused, midway through a rack of pants. “You only have three outfits? And one of them is your school uniform?”

“Yeah? Do I smell? I can do laundry more often if—”

“It’s not about the smell. Little prince, you’re not in the emperor’s coven anymore. You aren’t restricted to wearing the same uniform day in and day out.”

“I can still do that, though.”

“Mmmmm if you wanted to, I suppose. But unlike the golden guard uniform, your other clothes are not outfits for every occasion. Different social situations require different styles of clothing. It would have been COMPLETELY over the top for me to wear the outfit I wore to important events as a coven head to the mall.”

“Which is why you don’t have a cape,” Hunter realized, “And… why your clothes aren’t so form-fitting today?”

“Well spotted. My work outfit is formalwear. I won’t wear it to the mall, and I certainly won’t wear it around the house. What I’m wearing now is more casual than my work outfit, but still not something I’m likely to wear when I’m relaxing at home. So, you need outfits that you can wear out with your friends, outfits for formal occasions—though I doubt you’ll need to wear that to horribly often—and outfits you can wear for just hanging at home. Not to mention variations for the weather.”

“I—” Hunter jogged to keep up with Darius as he moved on to the next room. “Okay, maybe that’s all true, but I don’t want to take up too much of Ms. Noceda’s space, I—”

“You won’t be. I’ll keep it at my house.”

“Your ho—I mean, thank you, but won’t traveling between realms every time I need a change of clothes be—”

Darius halted, turning to face him with the smallest of smiles on his face. “Let me more direct about this. Hunter, would you like to live with me?”

The words hit Hunter like a sledgehammer to the stomach. “I—uh—what?!”

“Last week, you mentioned that you worried that Ms. Noceda was letting you stay for now, but you weren’t sure how long that door would be open. You said she might be offering a transitionary space, but would expect you to move back here, to your home.”

“Y-Yeah, I said that, but…”

“Well, I am offering you a home to stay in. Is that something you’d be interested in, or not?”

Hunter sputtered. “I—well—why?”

Darius went back to the racks, eying Hunter critically, and then holding up a jacket. “What do you mean, why?”

“Why—why would you want me in your house? You ignored me for years!”

Darius handed Hunter the jacket and moved on to shirts. “Call it reparation. For the ignoring you thing. Are you bothered by necklines that come up against your throat?”

“No. Hey—wait, I haven’t said yes yet!”

Darius sighed. “Look, I am relatively certain that Camila is not planning on kicking you out. You were with her long enough for her to figure out your situation, she knows that you don’t have a place to stay here. I don’t doubt that she will keep her home open to you as long as you need. But if you want another option, and if it would make you more comfortable to know that the door is open, you can move in with me. And you will have a space for yourself, with a closet that has your clothes in it, where they will be there to stay, and not packed in a duffle bag under your bed.”

Hunter eyed him. “I’ll still be going to school?”

“Yes.”

“And playing flyer derby after?”

“Yes, yes, yes. You can go out with friends, and play sports, and go to school, and all those other things that teenagers usually do. You’ll just be living here, instead of in the human realm.” Darius dumped a conglomeration of shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, and jackets in Hunter’s arms, dislodging Flapjack from Hunter’s shoulder. “Go try those on, see if there’s anything you like.”

He shooed Hunter to the changing room, and Hunter sat down on the bench with a whump, the clothes still clutched in his arms. “So… that happened…”

Flapjack chirped an agreement.

“Do I say yes? I mean, I don’t want to take up space in Ms. Noceda’s house, she’s already been so nice. But I’d just be taking up space in his house instead. But he seems to be okay with that?”

“Think we should say yes.”

“Hm.” Hunter twisted the top of a hangar in his hands. “He’s never… I don’t know. I mean, like I said, he ignored me for so long, and he was a coven head. I know I’m not exactly one to judge, but…”

“But he’s adult. Chose it. You? No choice,” Flapjack finished.

“Yeah. I just… I don’t know, it wasn’t just that he ignored me, it was everything. The cold shoulder when I tried to ask him questions, the open hostility, the fact that if he was a coven head, then he was around, he knew, he had to have known—he just let everything happen, he let…” Hunter heaved in a frantic breath. “Everything that Belos… but he didn’t care then, and I… what if he stops caring again? I don’t know why he suddenly decided to care, what, just because I let the team go? I can’t trust that—that I won’t do something that will make things go back to the way they were before, and…”

“Breathe. One problem at a time.” Flapjack waved a wing at the pile of clothes. “You won’t need all that.”

Hunter rummaged through the clothing pile, discarding a few of the outfits almost immediately and taking time with some of the others, changing into them, trying them in different combos. Some still got discarded. “Should I do this? Accept all these clothes, I mean. If I’m not sure if I’ll live with him?” Hunter buttoned up a shirt. “Do I really even need any other outfits?”

“You have three.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that? It’s fine, that’s a good number of outfits. Besides, it’ll be expensive, and—”

There was a knock on the door. “It’s a price I don’t mind paying, Little Prince, if it means you have outfits that don’t look like you just rolled out of bed.”

Hunter jumped, quickly yanking his original clothes back on and opening the door. “How much did you hear?”

Darius hesitated just long enough that the question was answered, and Hunter eyed the door, everything else tunnelling away as his mind focused on one thing: escape. Darius was standing in the door, but it was the only way out. Hunter ducked and ran, pushing past him. He expected a heavy hand to grab his collar, for a long tendril of abomination to snag his leg, but Darius let him go.

Escaped, and out of danger, the emotions that he’d been pushing away came flooding in all at once.

He heard.

Hunter’s breath hitched in his chest, and he twisted around, looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide. He finally pushed under a set of stairs, hidden from view by a large potted plant, and curled his knees to his chest. Flapjack settled back on his shoulder.

“He heard,” Hunter whispered, gasping for air, “He heard everything, that’s it, it’s done, that’ll be the thing—”

I ruined it before I even said yes.

I never stood a chance.

[doodle-nerd]

We will be married one day... || Part 1 || Aladarius

Word count: 2420

Note: I will definitely write another part :) Stay tuned!

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"I wanted to have kind of... Agreement with you" he started. Alador noticed, that he looks a bit nervous. It worried him.

"Agreement?" he asked, hoping, that Darius would make a further explanation.

"Yes" he breathed in and then out. "If we won't find anyone until the age of twenty five, we will marry each other" Darius sighed in relief, that he managed to say it out loud.

- - - - - - - - - -

Alador hated cleaning. The reason behind it was, that he didn't really find his workplace dirty. Sure, there was a bit of abomination goo here and there, but nothing too big. He had bits of that purple goo on himself as well and no one ever judged him for it (at least not loudly). His wife sometimes looked at him with a slight disgust on her face, especially if he showed like that on a business meeting, but never said a word.

Today's cleaning wasn't only about getting rid of work leftovers from the tables. Every home inhabitant was ordered to go through their things in wardrobes and shelves and throw away stuff that isn't needed anymore. It was Odalia's idea, of course. She told him and kids that she cannot find anything in this house because of the amount of trash gathered, but Alador didn't quite believe her. It felt like she wanted to separate them and make each of them focus on work.

If he was right, then her plan worked quite well. Everyone locked themselves in their rooms, not wanting to let anyone else look through their private stuff. Alador wondered, if it also works like that in other houses. Probably not. Sure, everyone has their little secrets, but hiding every personal thing from their family? That's quite weird.

But why would Odalia want them to distance from each other? His theory was that she got jealous or even scared. His relationship with Amity improved and so did with Edric and Emira. He let them do more things that she would. Their reunion might mean loosing her power in that house.

He actually wouldn't mind sharing with kids. He'd gladly tell them more about Bonesborough Brawl, especially after discovering how interested Amity was in this, or his school times. Technically it wasn't anything that Odalia didn't know about, as she was there as well, but their relationship looked different back then. Talking about Darius might make her mad. Even if they acted like rivals and enemies now, Odalia still was attacking him sometimes, saying that he didn't get over his highschool crush.

He couldn't really be mad at her, because it was true, even if he told her otherwise. Alador caught himself thinking about Darius once in a while. He wasn't sure if he missed him in a romantic or a platonic way, but would love to spent as much time with him as when they were younger.

They weren't actually dating in school times, but obviously had a thing for each other. They were inseparable, going to every class together, sitting together during the lessons and the lunch. Alador remembered some kids joking, that they are "love birds". He tend to blush hearing it. Darius always corrected them, that they are soulmates and best of friends. It was both sweet and sad in some way.

Alador shook his head to focus on cleaning. Too many memories went through his head at the same time for him to process it. He opened another drawer in his deck and took everything out of it. Something round and hard was between two sheets of paper. It felt out and hit the bottom of the drawer, making a weirdly vibrant, rattling sound. Scientist placed the documents on the floor to look through them later. He looked into a drawer to find a ring in it. It was plain, made from a cheap metal, with small, green, fake stone at top of it. Alador gasped. He was sure that he have lost that ring! One good thing happened because of that cleaning after all...

* * *

"Alador, why so slow?" Darius chuckled, running up the hill. "We really need to work on your condition!" He shouted, looking at his friend from the top of the hill.

"What were you expecting from a guy spending little time on exercises?" Alador answered, smiling. Darius looked pretty. Sun already started to set, making sky slightly pink. Soft rays of sunshine surrounded his silhouette. View caused Alador's heart to beat a bit faster.

"You need to take care of it or I'll leave you behind one day" he laughed. Alador rolled his eyes. He would never actually leave him behind.

When Alador reached the top of the hill, Darius had already prepared the blanket for them to sit. He patted the place next to him, suggesting that brunet should sit there. Alador took that place.

"The view really is amazing. You were right" brunet nodded, admiring the landscape. This place wasn't located that high, but they still could see great part of the island.

"I'm never wrong, sweetie" he said in playful voice. Alador knew, that he was joking around, but 'sweetie' caused him to blush anyway. Darius smiled. His friend was really cute.

"Why here and not our usual place?" brunet asked after a few minutes of silence. Darius took something out of his pocket, but didn't show him. Whatever it was, it was tightly hidden in dark skinned boy's fist.

"I wanted to have kind of... Agreement with you" he started. Alador noticed, that he looks a bit nervous. It worried him.

"Agreement?" he asked, hoping, that Darius would make a further explanation.

"Yes" he breathed in and then out. "If we won't find anyone until the age of twenty five, we will marry each other" Darius sighed in relief, that he managed to say it out loud.

Alador could feel his cheeks getting warmer. He could marry him right away, as soon as they were old enough to do it... He didn't know what to say, it sounded like a dream.

"Because, you know... Nothing better than spending a life with your best mate" Darius added, visibly stressed by the silence. Alador realized, that he is still staring at him without a single word.

"Sure. Yes. I agree. I would love to. I mean, it's really good idea. Spending a life with best friend" brunet answered, still blushing and smiling softly.

Then Darius unclenched his fist. It hid quite ordinary ring with green stone.

"If I promised to marry you in the future, it's almost like a proposal, right?" he said, handing a ring to his friend. "So we need rings. I also have one" he pointed at his hand. The similar ring with yellow stone was resting on his finger.

"I guess" Alador responded with a wide smile and put ring on his own finger.

"It's really pretty" he added.

"I hoped that you will like it. They match our eyes!" Darius seemed proud of himself. Alador looked at his ring. Green, yes, just like Darius' eyes. How could he not realize it right away?

"They do" brunet smiled and rested his head on friend's shoulder.

The view was amazing.

* * *

Darius was awfully bored. He had to look through the new planes for abominators and accept or correct them. He was doing it for too long to see it as something exciting.

It was, when he did it for the first time. Correcting Alador's work, he never thought that he would do this. His childhood friend always had a bit better grades, so he wouldn't expect himself to upgrade his projects. He also took it as a chance to reconnect with Alador. He tried to leave notes at the plans, hoping for him to answer. Sadly, he ignored any scribbles Darius left, so coven's head finally gave up.

Man took off his gloves and placed them next to the sheet of paper he was currently staring at. He started playing with the ring on his finger. It was a bit rusty and not so pretty anymore, but Darius couldn't make himself stop wearing it. Fake yet real proposal was the closest he got to confessing his feelings to Alador.

He had a crush on him when they were at school and suspected Alador to have a thing for him as well, but he never confessed to him openly. He was afraid that he misjudged brunet's feelings and telling him about his own will ruin their friendship.

Offering age of twenty five as deadline sounded reasonable. Eleven years wasn't that much, he could wait, but also enough to make it sound not "suspicious" at all. They got pretty close to making their agreement come true. Darius wasn't in any serious relationship throughout these years and Alador was focused on other matters than finding himself a partner.

But then, Odalia happened. They were friends with her before, but it was different. She somehow sneaked into Alador's life and became his fiancée in a really short time. Few months before Alador's twenty fifth birthday, they got married.

Both Alador and Darius were focused on improving their skills with abomination magic, so they had less time for each other. They began to grow apart, meeting less and less often. Brunet's marriage was a breaking point. Darius couldn't make himself ask Alador out anymore. He was mad at him, actually. He kept hoping that they will have their happy ending for over ten years, only to have his dream crushed few months before "due date".

Darius could feel growing anger. The longer he was looking at the ring, the greater his rage was. He hit the table in front of him with his hand, but it wasn't enough. He took one paper sheet with the project and tore it to pieces. Another one became a paper ball and hit the wall.

"Enough work for today" he murmured to himself. He left the room, living the mess behind him. Emotions inside him were so strong, that he forgot to take his gloves with himself. His look didn't matter that much now. Only thing he wanted was to get back to his room and calm down.

When he reached his destination, he locked the door behind himself and sat on the bed. He took a fast glance on the framed photo on the bedside cabinet. Alador and him. Photo taken during the grom.

He couldn't look at it any longer. He opened the drawer and put the frame in. He rested his head on the pillow. Before closing his eyes, he took a quick look on the calendar. He had a feeling that he forgot about something...

It was the anniversary of their "proposal".

Darius suddenly felt enormously heavy. He closed his eyes and got lost in his thoughts.

* * *

"I don't think that I would go to grom, actually" Alador broke the silence. He took a bite of his sandwich, waiting for his friends' reaction.

"Why? Come with us, come on, Alador. Don't be such a stiff" Odalia said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not sure if it's my type of entertainment. I prefer less crowded and more calm places" he explained. Too many incentives at the same time made him feel uncomfortable. He was getting distracted by something every few seconds and finally ending up with the headache.

"Sounds fair. I will stay with you, then, so you won't feel lonely" Darius announced.

"Why? You like places like that. We both know it" Alador answered, clearly surprised.

"It won't be that fun without my best friend" dark skinned boy rested his head on his hand. Alador could see the ring on his finger. He was sure, that he did it on purpose. It caused him to slightly blush.

"I don't know... Maybe I'll go?" Odalia made a really funny face when she heard that. Why was he more convincing than her?

"I can ask you to go with me if it will make the decision easier for you" Darius added, smiling widely.

"Fine" Alador chuckled. Odalia turned her head away from them. Her mood decreased.

Grom went really well. Darius and Alador danced a bit and spent some time outside, so brunet could rest and experience some quietness. They took a photo to capture that moment. Darius was hugging slightly blushing Alador with one hand. They both were smiling.

 * * *

Alador found the same photo. Keeping it out, in a place visible for others, would be something amazing. Sadly, placing this type of things on his desk might mean them being destructed by Odalia. She already tore one photo of him and Darius.

She wasn't jealous of coven's head, it wasn't it. Or maybe was it? Alador wasn't sure. His theory was, that his wife didn't want to have an affair. How would it look like? Her husband showing signs of being into his old friend? She couldn't risk destruction of their "perfect marriage" image.

Scientist placed freshly found ring in a little bag, which was lying in one of the drawers. He hid it between the documents and abominators plans; these with Darius' scribbles on it. Alador wondered, why he stopped writing these notes... He responded to every single one, placing both text and small drawings with pencil on next projects. Maybe he got bored or something? Who knows...

Rest of shelves, drawers and boxes didn't bring any new memories to Alador's head. He had enough, actually. Thinking about it all was painful for him.

Marriage with Odalia wasn't something that he wanted. His parents put lot of pressure on him, seeing potential in this turquoise haired woman. Odalia was his old friend, she was reliable and responsible. They were sure, that it's a perfect fit for their son, because she will be able to keep him focused on important matters and also will perfectly run the house. Well, it was true, that he got distracted quite easily and burned few pots because of it, but he could take care of himself and didn't need a babysitter. He tried explaining it to his parents, many times, but they supported Odalia, not him.

For her, it was a good chance. Marrying into rich and respected family. She did everything to keep this image and make herself part of the clan. The effect was that Alador felt less and less like a Blight. He would prefer to have Darius' surname...

But it was too late. He was married and way older than twenty five. Only thing he could do now was dreaming about things going differently in the past.

In the evening, when Alador was falling asleep, he made one promise to himself. He won't ever let Odalia make any of their children marry someone they don't want to.

"Goodnight" his wife whispered. He turned away to look at the moon.

Darius was looking at the very same moon at the exact same moment. If they only knew, that they were both dreaming about the same thing...

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NEXT PART < - - -