#tse appreciation week

[wanderingwolpertinger]

TSE Appreciation Week 2023

Day 2: Favorite Quote

(Panel redraw of Apen and Berlyne from 20x34)

@tseappreciationweek

[sunflowerjune]

Aquamarine

Chara's gaze wandered out over the ocean. It was calm today, and the sun made bright glints of the wave tops. She was almost surprised she found it beautiful, after the day they'd had yesterday. But it was the underside of the waves that caught Chara's eye now. The light shone through and made the most lovely shade of blue-green. Like a gemstone, she thought. It reminded her of Enel's eyes. She called down to Berlyn. "What's that fancy for hmmm... teal? Or turquoise? I think there's a gemstone called that too." Berlyn raised an eyebrow. "Why are we thinking about gemstones?" Unhelpful. It was almost like she knew what Chara had been thinking. She stuck out her tongue. "Aquamarine?" Apen asked. "That's the one!" At she had one helpful sibling.

Written for The Silver Eye Appreciation Week! The Theme I went with for today is Aquamarine. @tseappreciationweek

What's this? Me writing something? It's been three years. 3 yeARS bucko! I'll put this on ao3 at some point but I don't have time tonight and I'm determined to get this out on the proper day for TSE Week! I read the Silver Eye this year and I love it so much! So happy to participate in my little way!

[tseappreciationweek]

Hello! Welcome to the The Silver Eye Appreciation Week for 2024, running July 22-27 (not 22-24 as was incorrectly announced originally)! We have two sets of optional prompts this year: uncommon words (definitions here if needed) and relationships.

Prompts:

July 22: Melliloquent OR Friendship

July 23: Glaik OR Familial Relationship

July 24: Astriferous OR Romantic Relationship

July 25: Talion OR Antagonistic Relationship

July 26: Quiddle OR Human-Animal Relationship

July 27: Contumacious OR Free Day 

There is a submission box which will be open, if you want to participate that way. When you post, please include a tag of @tseappreciationweek​ in the post itself and tag with #TSEWeek2024 in the first five tags.

If you have any questions at all, please drop a note in the ask box or refer to this post for more information.

We hope to see you in a few weeks for TSE Appreciation Week!

[aceofstars16]

Since I hopped on to share about the TSE Secret Santa, I thought I’d give a little update/prayer requests ✨

1) I have started only going to PT once a week, it’s a trial run, but so far it’s been okay. It is nice to have more days open for other appointments and to hang out with people. I’d appreciate prayers that it continues to go well

2) I have been attending a “Freedom” group at a new church and this coming weekend (November 15-16) they are having a conference for it. I’m doing okay right now, but prayers especially for spiritual health and that this conference would be encouraging/help with a lot of the stuff I’ve been struggling with, and protection leading up to it/that I’ll actually be able to go

3) I also met a few other young adults at the church, one offered to take me to the YA service they have every week, I didn’t get to go this week, and riding in a new car with someone I don’t know is kind of intimidating for me. I’d appreciate prayers just for being able to connect and wisdom and peace about if I do ride with her to the service this week or any coming weeks.

4) Im not very excited about winter and the time change, some for reasons I’ve dealt with for a while but some things connected to recent hurts as well. Prayers for wisdom and actually being able to enjoy some of the season would be appreciated

Thanks! 💕

[lover-of-the-starkindler]

TSE Appreciation Week 2024 Day Four: Talion

"Let me do it."

comic reference: 23x05-06

@tseappreciationweek Spider doesn't like Marcus

[valiantarcher]

TSE Week 2024, Day 1 - Friendship (@tseappreciationweek)

I am appreciative of how Noah and Chara balance each other in their friendship. Chara, of course, provides much needed cheerfulness and encouragement to Noah, slipping under his guard with exuberance and sketches but also providing a helping hand and eyes to see. Noah, on the flip side, provides some caution and protection, shielding her during the storm and pulling her back when she accidentally strays into Weaver territory.

[icwasher]

"AQUAMARINE" TSE Week Day #1

I have been so excited to participate in TSE Appreciation Week ever since I learned it existed! For today's prompt, aquamarine, I have drawn Delaney in an aquamarine-themed gown. She's probably my favorite TSE character to draw.

As for today's other prompt, favorite landscape...I mean, I love them all, but I think my absolute favorite is Amethyst. It looks like such a lovely place to live.

Originally I forgot all about Delaney's scars and I even put the un-scarred version in this post before I realized my mistake. :|

@tseappreciationweek​

[mythologyfolklore]

Liù'ěr Míhóu joins the jttw gang, or: How to redeem an all-hearing celestial monkey with a superiority complex and a seriously bad attitude

(A/N: Trigger warning: misgendering, light violence, implied SA, Bājiè being Bājiè

Chapter seven: Do NOT hit on the Six-Eared Macaque!

.

The next weeks went by without any monk kidnappings or people conspiring against them in any other way.

Tripitaka was quite chipper, which he himself found odd, since he considered himself a very sober person. Maybe getting kidnapped so often was taking its toll on his mental health.

“Isn't this wonderful?”, the monk sighed dreamily. “No one has been trying to kill, marry or seduce me in over a month!”

Next to him, Wùkōng nodded dutifully, but the monk could tell he was bored out of his mind and itching for a fight.

The other disciples seemed to share in their master's good mood though.

Except for one.

Liù'ěr Míhóu – no, Sūn Wùhuàn – kept her distance from the group. Only for chores, meals, night watch or Tripitaka's lectures did she join the rest.

Wùkōng claimed, that he didn't care; the less he had to deal with her bitchy attitude, the better. Also, he still didn't trust her anywhere near them.

Bái Lóng Mă seemed indifferent, but once in a while Tripitaka caught his horse trodding over and nudging the Six-Eared Macaque with his snout, until Wùhuàn would give him the desired attention.

Zhū Bājiè was suspicious. More than once he had just walked up to the Macaque and demanded to know what she was plotting. She snapped back, he snapped back and just like that their arguments evolved into bitch fights.

Shā Wùjìng, as always, was the most accepting of them, but he had quickly figured out, that Wùhuàn most likely just needed time and space.

That was fine with Tripitaka. He still had a hard time trusting the Six-Eared Macaque. Wùhuàn kept insisting, that she hadn't even struck the monk that hard, but frankly, she could tell that to his aching back.

But for now …

“Wùhuàn, get me some water”, the monk ordered.

But instead of obeying, she scoffed: “Tse! Get me some water, he says! What's the magic word?”

For a moment Tripitaka was stunned by her impertinence, before his astonishment gave way to anger.

His eye twitched and he had to take a deep breath to compose himself.

“That is no way to talk to your master”, the monk scolded her.

She bared her teeth at him and he winced. “If you seriously believe that I'll accept a 28-years-old¹ slaphead as my master, you're sorely mistaken! So you can ask one of the others, or you can say the magic word!”

“I don't even know what that means!”

“She's asking you to say please, Master”, Wùjìng helped him out.

Tripitaka blinked. “Wait … you just wanted me to say please? Well, why didn't you just say so?”

“How could you not know please is the magic word?!”, Wùhuàn retorted.

“I was raised in a monastery!”, the monk huffed.

“Yeah, I can tell”, scoffed the Macaque, “You wouldn't be so unworldly, if you'd actually had some experience with the outside world!”

At that the monk couldn't help but chortle.

Wùhuàn gawked at him. “Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry!”, giggled Tripitaka, “It's just … Wùkōng told me pretty much the same thing, after he became my first disciple!”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Wùkōng shrug. But the Monkey King kept his mouth shut, which the monk appreciated.

“Anyhow, let me try this again”, Tripitaka spoke and held his calabash out to Wùhuàn. “Will you please get me some water?”

The white monkey took the calabash with an eerily saccharine smile, nodded and flew off to find a clear water source.

As soon as she had disappeared between the mountains, Wùkōng demanded to know: “Why do you let her get away with this? If I criticise, it's headache time for me, but she gets satisfaction?!”

“It's another lesson. For me”, the monk added at seeing Wùkōng's outraged mien. “As the merciful Bodhisattva has told me: A true master knows that he will always be a student, who never stops learning. I suppose the lesson in this case is 'learn to accept criticism'? Of course it could also be 'be kinder to your disciples'. I have yet to figure it out. But you'll receive the same decency from now on, Wùkōng, I promise.”

The Monkey King didn't seem to believe him, which … honestly hurt a little.

.

Soon the Six-Eared Macaque returned with a full calabash and instantly was accosted by Zhū Bājiè.

“Soooo … you can hear the future, huh?”, the pig demon drawled. “You gonna share it with us?”

She gave him an underwhelmed look. “No.”

Bājiè adopted that honeyed tone he used for flirting. “Come on, sister~ shouldn't we know about the many hardships that lie ahead of us, on this arduous journey? Share your knowledge with us! We would be soooo gratef-”

.

“Look, I don't know what you expected”, Tripitaka remarked, as he tended to Bājiè's swollen cheek. “I've told you time and time again, that you are not to flirt with anyone and now you're trying to butter up a being on par with Pilgrim? Not to mention she is now a Buddhist disciple like you! Really, Wùnéng, when will you finally get your mind out of the gutter?!”

The pig demon complained: “How was I supposed to know she'd go off like that?!”

Bājiè's sweet-talking earlier had earned him a hard slap and a wild rant from the furious Macaque.

“IF YOU THINK I'LL TELL THE FUTURE TO EVERY CREEP WHO TRIES TO SWEET-TALK ME, YOU'RE A SPECIAL KIND OF STUPID!!!”, she had shrieked. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY ARSEHOLES HAVE TRIED THAT ON ME??? I HAVE ENDURED UNSPEAKABLE THINGS AND GUESS WHAT – I'VE NEVER ONCE SPILLED A THING TO ANY OF MY TORMENTORS, SO YOU BEST BELIEVE I WON'T TELL YOU SHIT!! NOW DON'T EVER TRY THAT AGAIN, OR I'LL RIP OFF YOUR EARS AND PUNCH YOU INTO THE NEXT MILLENNIUM!!!”

Now Wùkōng was cackling at Bājiè's misery, Shā Wùjìng was hiding his face in his hands and Wùhuàn was glaring daggers at everyone from a tall rock.

Wùjìng sighed: “Well, if she didn't want to share anything before, she certainly won't now. But does it matter? Sure, it's cool that we now have one more person, who can warn us and stuff, but that doesn't mean we have to chew her ears off!”

“Finally, a reasonable person!”, Wùhuàn exclaimed.

Tripitaka's mind was elsewhere.

“… I endured unspeakable things … my tormentors …”

He did not like what that implied.

.

---

.

Well, this chapter became darker than I intended. I'll keep it this way, though.

1) In this story Tripitaka was twenty, when Guan Yin chose him as the Scripture Pilgrim.

[septimaseverina]

It's kinda weird that I had a dreamt about Bae Yong Joon last week, because I didn't rewatch his works for almost six years. But I still love him, since he is my first Korean actor crush. I remembered when I was teenager, I did my hair style like him (in mid 2000s; the long hair era) and tried to learn Korean language (and fail, due to the regularity. I also study Japanese back then, too).

So, that strange dream makes me revisiting his works, especially with period drama 'The Legend' or 'Tae Wang Sa Sin Gi'. My all time favourite. And also reminds me to do the research about ancient Korea before Goryeo era. Aka, finishing what I have started many years ago.

Buuuuuuuuut, the obstacle is the sources are rare. I've searched for books and other resources as much as I can, but they aren't thoroughly enough to fulfill my curiousity.

So I hope I'm gonna find more of them, this year. I prefer them more than ancient Chinese history. It's difficult. I must confess. Although my paternal ancestors were living in Guangdong region before Mao Tse Tung's rule, then migrating to Hong Kong, and to where I live right now. My father told me, I'm the third generation and he didn't expect me to know everything about China and speaking Cantonese. I'm grateful and appreciated.

The point is I'm gonna continue my research on Ancient Korean history. No one can force or tell me otherwise.

[brookston]

Holidays 1.10

Holidays

Aerial Photography Day

Common Sense Day

Cross the Rubicon Day

Dawn Appreciation Day

Fête du Vodoun (Benin)

45 Record Adapter Day (a.k.a. 45 RPM Day)

Houseplant Appreciation Day

Incwala Day (Eswatini, f.k.a. Swaziland)

Inner Wheel Day

International Take the High Road Day

International Tintin Day

Laughing Day

League of Nations Day

Margaret Thatcher Day (Falkland Islands)

Martyrs’ Day (Panama)

National Cut Your Energy Costs Day

National Day of Loneliness

National Shareholders Day

Peculiar People Day

Rasputin Day

Recorder Day (Germany)

Save the Eagles Day

Sinulog begins (Philippines) [Through 20th]

Speck Day

Sturdy Flat-Heeled Shoes Appreciation Day

Unicycle Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bittersweet Chocolate Day

Champagne and Fries Day

Fritkot Day

Indian Tea Day (UK)

National Booch (Kombucha) Day

National Oysters Rockefeller Day

Where's the Beef Day

2nd Tuesday in January

Majority Rule Day (Bahamas) [2nd Tuesday]

National Poetry at Work Day [2nd Tuesday]

National Shop For Travel Day [2nd Tuesday]

What You Don't Know Day [2nd Tuesday]

Independence Days

Hanseatic and Confederate States of Achsen (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs (Armenian Apostolic Church)

Bodhi Day (Buddhism; China) [8th Day of 12th Lunar Month]

Geraint of Dumnonia Feast Day (Wales)

Gregory of Nyssa (Christian; Saint)

The Hungry Family (Muppetism)

Leonie Aviat (Christian; Saint)

Mao Tse Tung Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Menu (Positivist; Saint)

Mid-Winter Festival (Ancient Rome)

Obadiah (Coptic Church)

Peter Orseolo (Christian; Saint)

Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)

Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Day (Pastafarian)

Vaudoun Day (Vodoo Festival; Benin)

William Laud (Anglican Communion)

William of Donjeon (Christian; Saint)

World Hindi Day

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [6 of 32]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [5 of 60]

Premieres

Alice the Golf Bug (Disney Cartoon; 1927)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Play; 1941)

Common Sense (Pamphlet; 1776)

Fraggle Rock (TV Series; 1983)

The Greatest Show on Earth (Film; 1952)

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Film; 1992)

Introducing… The Beatles (Album; 1964)

Metropolis (Film; 1927)

Paradise City, by Guns ’N’ Roses (Song; 1989)

Silvertone, by Chris Isaak (Album; 1985)

The Sopranos (TV Series; 1999)

Timber (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Underwater (Film; 2020)

Today’s Name Days

Leonie, Paulus (Austria)

Agaton, Aldo, Dobriša, Dobroslav (Croatia)

Břetislav (Czech Republic)

Paul (Denmark)

Talva, Talve, Talvi (Estonia)

Nyyrikki (Finland)

Guillaume (France)

Leonie, Paul (Germany)

Melánia (Hungary)

Aldo (Italy)

Dorisa, Karmena, Tatjana (Latvia)

Agatonas, Ginvilas, Ginvilė, Palemonas, Vilhelmas (Lithuania)

Sigmund, Sigrun (Norway)

Agaton, Dobrosław, Jan, Nikanor, Paweł, Wilhelm (Poland)

Antipa, Grigorie (Romania)

Dáša (Slovakia)

Gonzalo, Nicanor (Spain)

Sigbritt, Sigurd (Sweden)

Bethany, Darby, Derby, Dermot, Kermit, Kermore, Rhett (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 10 of 2023; 355 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 2 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Beth (Birch) [Day 17 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Dōngyuè), Day 19 (Wu-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 17 Teveth 5783

Islamic: 17 Jumada II 1444

J Cal: 10 Aer; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 28 December 2022

Moon: 88%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Moses (1st Month) [Menu]

Runic Half Month: Peorth (Womb, Dice Cup) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 21 of 90)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 20 of 30)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 1.10

Holidays

Aerial Photography Day

Common Sense Day

Cross the Rubicon Day

Dawn Appreciation Day

Fête du Vodoun (Benin)

45 Record Adapter Day (a.k.a. 45 RPM Day)

Houseplant Appreciation Day

Incwala Day (Eswatini, f.k.a. Swaziland)

Inner Wheel Day

International Take the High Road Day

International Tintin Day

Laughing Day

League of Nations Day

Margaret Thatcher Day (Falkland Islands)

Martyrs’ Day (Panama)

National Cut Your Energy Costs Day

National Day of Loneliness

National Shareholders Day

Peculiar People Day

Rasputin Day

Recorder Day (Germany)

Save the Eagles Day

Sinulog begins (Philippines) [Through 20th]

Speck Day

Sturdy Flat-Heeled Shoes Appreciation Day

Unicycle Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bittersweet Chocolate Day

Champagne and Fries Day

Fritkot Day

Indian Tea Day (UK)

National Booch (Kombucha) Day

National Oysters Rockefeller Day

Where's the Beef Day

2nd Tuesday in January

Majority Rule Day (Bahamas) [2nd Tuesday]

National Poetry at Work Day [2nd Tuesday]

National Shop For Travel Day [2nd Tuesday]

What You Don't Know Day [2nd Tuesday]

Independence Days

Hanseatic and Confederate States of Achsen (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs (Armenian Apostolic Church)

Bodhi Day (Buddhism; China) [8th Day of 12th Lunar Month]

Geraint of Dumnonia Feast Day (Wales)

Gregory of Nyssa (Christian; Saint)

The Hungry Family (Muppetism)

Leonie Aviat (Christian; Saint)

Mao Tse Tung Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Menu (Positivist; Saint)

Mid-Winter Festival (Ancient Rome)

Obadiah (Coptic Church)

Peter Orseolo (Christian; Saint)

Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)

Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Day (Pastafarian)

Vaudoun Day (Vodoo Festival; Benin)

William Laud (Anglican Communion)

William of Donjeon (Christian; Saint)

World Hindi Day

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [6 of 32]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [5 of 60]

Premieres

Alice the Golf Bug (Disney Cartoon; 1927)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Play; 1941)

Common Sense (Pamphlet; 1776)

Fraggle Rock (TV Series; 1983)

The Greatest Show on Earth (Film; 1952)

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (Film; 1992)

Introducing… The Beatles (Album; 1964)

Metropolis (Film; 1927)

Paradise City, by Guns ’N’ Roses (Song; 1989)

Silvertone, by Chris Isaak (Album; 1985)

The Sopranos (TV Series; 1999)

Timber (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Underwater (Film; 2020)

Today’s Name Days

Leonie, Paulus (Austria)

Agaton, Aldo, Dobriša, Dobroslav (Croatia)

Břetislav (Czech Republic)

Paul (Denmark)

Talva, Talve, Talvi (Estonia)

Nyyrikki (Finland)

Guillaume (France)

Leonie, Paul (Germany)

Melánia (Hungary)

Aldo (Italy)

Dorisa, Karmena, Tatjana (Latvia)

Agatonas, Ginvilas, Ginvilė, Palemonas, Vilhelmas (Lithuania)

Sigmund, Sigrun (Norway)

Agaton, Dobrosław, Jan, Nikanor, Paweł, Wilhelm (Poland)

Antipa, Grigorie (Romania)

Dáša (Slovakia)

Gonzalo, Nicanor (Spain)

Sigbritt, Sigurd (Sweden)

Bethany, Darby, Derby, Dermot, Kermit, Kermore, Rhett (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 10 of 2023; 355 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 2 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Beth (Birch) [Day 17 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Dōngyuè), Day 19 (Wu-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 17 Teveth 5783

Islamic: 17 Jumada II 1444

J Cal: 10 Aer; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 28 December 2022

Moon: 88%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Moses (1st Month) [Menu]

Runic Half Month: Peorth (Womb, Dice Cup) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 21 of 90)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 20 of 30)

[sunflowerjune]

It's day 5 of The Silver Eye Appreciation, so I'm posting about my favorite antagonist! (art from 17x34 of the Silver Eye, in the notes)

I choose Melete! I don't trust her as far as I could throw her (I am very weak - I couldn't throw her at all). I don't think we've seen her do a single action out of pure compassion - she only seems to do things that benefit her. She clearly has some grand plan and big goals, since she has layers and layers of schemes. But we don't know what it is that she really wants!

She lies so much, even to Velvare - she told him she killed Antigone and Aetius! She also stole 2 of Gudrun's children, and told her at least one of them was dead.

Given the fact that Aquil ended up with Aetius, perhaps she's also working with Aetius and Antigone?

Then there's this picture, which seems to imply that she had something to do with the creation of the Weavers. And that she's blood-soaked. Nedarian blood? Was their fate another of her failed curses?

Also, Greenway despises her and says that she is bad at curses/magic. We see this borne out in Walter's curse. His hatred seems to me to have a deeper cause that we haven't seen yet.

Then there's the extremely circumstantial but suspicious fact that Syllor's curse is purple/periwinkle - the same color of her magic. Wonder if it shouldn't be called Melete's curse instead? We know that spouses' magic isn't the same color because Aryan's wife's ring is purple.

I dunno, I just have the feeling she was deeply involved in the collapse of the Nedarians, and that she's way more involved, in a bad way, in events of the present. Velvare is a pawn piece to her. Or maybe more like the king, but she definitely manipulates him as she sees fit, even though she's fond of him, in her way.

[tseappreciationweek]

We’re pleased to announce the dates for the 2024 The Silver Eye Appreciation Week: July 22-24! Please be keeping an eye out for a daily prompt list to be released in the next few weeks. In the meantime, mark your calendars - we hope you’ll join us for another week of TSE appreciation!

[effiethebookworm]

TSE Appreciation Week Day 4!

Hi! Wow, it’s already Day Four. Tempus Fugit. Today’s story was recently unearthed from Levantine Archives. It’s from the journal of Ezra Damir, royal guard to Princess Delaney Hollingsworth, and later, husband to Queen Delaney Damir-Hollingsworth. I hope you find it enlightening!

This portion of the journal of Ezra Damir, the future husband of Queen Delaney Hollingsworth, has recently been rediscovered in the Royal Levantine Archives. Historians may note the presence of certain notable persons as 'side characters,' the cursed man as Sir Noah St. Claire, (who journied on the Novalog with King Apen Shephard, Queen Berlyne Shephard, Former King Enel Alvarado, neé Hollingsworth, Chara Alvarado, and the others) and his wife as Lady Ruya St. Claire. Other portions of the journal may be read in the Royal Levantine Archives. Public browsings are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

He caught my eye as soon as he walked in. He looked familiar somehow.

“Ez?” He looked like... No. “Cris-”

“Ezra?” She poked me in the shoulder. “Are you in there?”

“Oh!” I snapped out of my daze. “Forgive me, my princess.”

“Were you saying something, Ez?” she said. I smiled. She had finally omitted the 'just call me Delaney' that usually followed.

“No. Just someone here for Syllor's.”

“Better get to it, then.” She winked at me. No, it had just been a blink. The eye-patch made it hard to tell sometimes. Anyway, why would the princess of Levant wink at a guard? She pivoted on her artificial foot and grasped her cane more firmly by the head and pulled at her hair so that it completely covered the right side of her face. She put her hand over her heart and started reciting the now-familiar words. Her soft, humming voice sounded kind as she spoke to the cursed man.

“Welcome. I am continuing the tradition of my father. Please step forward and I will break your curse.”

The man stepped towards her tentatively, and she rested her hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes as she broke the curse. I smiled. Another poor man that the princess generously helped. She moved her hand back, and he opened his eyes wide. She smiled gently.

“Thank you for-” The man interrupted.

“It didn't work.” Her eyes widened. “What?” The man ran his hands through his hair, frenzied.

“I know what it felt like- when your father would break Syllor's Curse, you've changed nothing.”

I stepped forward to support Delaney. She tried again, putting a claw of three fingers over her heart and resting it on the forehead of the man. I could see hopelessness in her turquoise eyes.

“N-Nothing.”

Delaney frowned. “I'm not sure that- that I believe you. After all, the others today-”

“They might not have it as bad as I do. They might just be paranoid and just imagined Syllor's Curse to begin with, and convinced themselves it's gone. Or they wanted an excuse to meet royalty. Either way, you know how to break it or you don't.”

I could see her panicking.

I can't lose you to the fear, I thought. Not again.

The man started to step towards Delaney. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away, but he started screaming.

“Putting aside all the lives destroyed by Syllor's Curse on a day-to-day basis, it would only take one Dolan descendant to take over the world again. And what are you doing about it?”

I could hear Delaney suck in her breath. Although I couldn't see her, I knew her eyes had changed from a brilliant aquamarine to a searing crimson. The man looked down at his shoulder and started shaking.

Hallucinations, I thought, only come with the most serious cases of Syllor's Curse. A woman standing at the entrance of the throne room shrieked, “Noah, stop!” I couldn't hear all of what she said next, but I heard “Let me through!... husband... talk him down!” He kicked the other guard holding him, and I tightened my grip on his arm. He grabbed the guard's spear and started stabbing more guards. I focused on keeping my grip, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the woman, probably the man's wife, break through the guards restraining her and rush to his side. Before she could get to him, though, he pushed her backwards, hard, with the handle of the spear. He fell to the ground and started clawing furiously at the air. The woman ran to his side and knelt down next to him.

“Noah?” She started stroking his hair. “Noah, it's me. I'm here now.” He was shaking so hard, but he managed to get up onto his knees. Four guards, including me, were restraining him. I noticed with a start that Delaney was on her hands and knees and struggling to get up. Several guards were lying on the ground. The man had stabbed them all. Delaney inched closer to the man, and her hands started glowing the same crimson as her eyes. She tried to heal him three times in a row.

“Come on...”

Blood was running down his face.

“Please...”

She was crying now, and she reached out for a fourth time. But I grabbed her hand.

“Del.” I hadn't called her that since we were children playing in the palace gardens, before the attack that took her leg and eye and left all the horrible scars, the scars inside and out. She stared right at me, into my soul. Tears were running down the left side of her face. We looked at each other for a long moment and I stupidly forgot about the man. He took advantage of my distraction and bit my hand. It was so deep a bite, it is still trickling blood while I write this hours later. I screamed. He lunged forward, but I, his wife, and two other guards barely managed to keep hold of him as he pulled towards Delaney. Blood from my hand was dripping out of his mouth, mixing with spit, sweat and tears and dripping onto the throne room floor. She must have heard something, because she yelled “Stop!” right as an arrow embedded itself into the man's chest. His wife screamed as he slumped to the floor.

It's him, I thought. I had forgotten he was there. Delaney stood up painfully. The man was lying on the ground with his wife quietly sobbing over his barely-breathing body. Guards were lying injured, some dead, all over the throne room floor. I looked over to the throne where Imperator Nathan, Delaney's brother, sat with bow in hand, the string still quivering.

“Well, I guess everyone can go home now.”

[toomanystoryideas]

This is my oneshot fic for Day 3 of TSE Appreciation Week 2020, run by @tseappreciationweek !

Summary:  Delaney plays her first harp recital for her family. It... well, it doesn't really go as planned.

Comments and kudos would be much appreciated! :)

[wanderingwolpertinger]

The Silver Eye Appreciation Week

Day 1: Trust

Melete can have my secret, does she even spend enough time around other people to have the chance to spread it?

@tseappreciationweek