#what striking pantaloons!
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More Victor doodles cum colouring practice plus some other guys
The watsons are @ask-victor-grantzcampbell 's fault. Kind of. Not really but still
#identity v#victor grantz#idv postman#identity v postman#idv#unconcerned art#aesop get ur goddamn boyfriend out of my head /j#evidently i started out with the kyoto neo victor n then i started to fill up the empty space#watson grew on me so fast im so sorry ill see myself out#jose is rocking the lestrade outfit what????? richard also looks so good. sussu baka#alice is there cos i had an obsession with victorian era dresses so i couldnt help myself from doodling it#im definitely not forgetting anyone else from the collab /j#i can also strike off pantaloon from my to draw list#hes such a pain to draw. i love the design but god. what the fuck#anyway im sorry for making watson serve cubt it will happen again /shot
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This one goes out to my homies with the "William would be homophobic" headcanons, I see u, and I love reading yr rambles 😘
I am of the personal opinion that William wouldn't be homophobic but he wouldn't exactly be tolerant, because he's not tolerant of anyone. He strikes me as the type who was far too concerned with hunting witches to even think about romance let alone gay people. He didn't know what they were until he was woken up by Luz and all he knows is that if Luz supports it then it's probably a sin. Of course over time he learns to not care, same with not caring about women wearing pantaloons. Instead he just only cares when it's specifically Luz doing those things because he is petty and won't accept that she's both human and a witch.. not yet at least.
But I absolutely love reading how other people interpret William from the small bits of info we do have of him.
#the owl house#toh#the owl house fanart#toh fanart#the owl house hunter#toh hunter#the owl house au#the owl house luz#toh au#toh luz#toh william wittebane#toh william#toh pilot#toh beta luz#toh lumity#the owl house lumity#toh amity#the owl house amity
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Twenty One Pilots random lyrics
Use them for prompts or whatever lol
No Phun Intended
“(…)the tears and fears begin to multiply”
“I’m caught under water and I’m falling farther”
“I’m calling my father”
“Am I screaming to an empty sky?”
“Can I understand you?”
“Lights, camera, action, satisfaction”
“(…)just to blow stuff up”
“Lights, camera, stop! We’re killing ourselves”
“Let’s talk about me, and how everyone thinks I’m just so free”
“I want to be alive”
“Today is gone”
“Tomorrows sure to come”
“Here I come again to you”
“Can you wash me/can you drown me?”
“I wanna be stronger”
“Failing miserably, drastically and then I crash dramatically into a wall I’ve hit a hundred times before”
“I still ignore the dark red blood stains on the floor, and I’m back in front of you, Lord, is the blood mine or yours? Don’t wanna do this anymore!”
“(…)his heart is broken all and all this is his call”
“Is there a way for me to grow?”
“They say the ocean’s blue but it’s black right now”
“But come this September…”
“I try so hard”
“Pollution’s in my eyes”
“My disguise will take me, break me”
“My decision for living isn’t mine to decide”
“I won’t take much of Your time”
“It’s as good as I can be”
“This is all I can be”
“Head tilted down, knees on the ground and I will ask, ‘please save me!’”
“I deserve for You to turn away”
“I was ashamed to speak Your name”
“I can’t believe that all You see is that You have covered me gracefully”
“You’re all I’ll ever need”
“(…)in my head, repeat track, of everything you’ve ever said”
“(…)crack the doors to the hallways in my dreams”
“But it seems my hallway keeps closing in on me”
“(…)making me think about you and how you’re gone”
“I know it’s selfish of me to say, but I need to know if you’ve thought of me today”
“I am taken by sleep”
“And somebody told me they saw you cry and break down”
“I tried to live for you”
“I want to be with you when I am weak”
“I failed to live for you”
“People look at him and think that he will live his life so perfectly but what they don’t know, is he wants to die”
“You’re scared when you say you talked to them again today”
“(…)tomorrow’s gone just like yesterday”
“I won’t be afraid”
“I’ll live another day”
“What is wrong with me?”
“Your love is unfair but you will never change”
“Sometimes I live for you”
“Cuz I believe in love”
“I don’t believe loves for me”
“So won’t you come around and prove me wrong?”
“I realize that it’s gone”
“The old man sits all by himself”
“(…)would dream away his fears”
“You walk around like you are fine…so confident in life, so right”
“I would laugh away the pain”
“(…)had to say goodbye as time ran out”
“Sail across the sea, just to find a pearl on the other side”
“All I can do is give you this”
“Have you ever tasted a ray of sun?”
“Fake faith”
“(…)a means to an end and then we die”
“We pretend we have such perfect lives”
“(…) because we love you”
“I seem to close all the windows in my room”
“Just pray someone hears me now”
“I think I saw the kingdom gate”
Self Titled
“I know you’re not a liar”
“Strike me down I am calling your lightning”
“Reign down and destroy me”
“I mean no disrespect, I am simply perplexed by your ways”
“I don’t wanna fall away”
“I disguise and I will lie”
“But I don’t want your way I want mine”
“I’m dying, I’m trying but believe me I’m fine! But I’m lying, I’m so very far from fine.”
“I don’t know if I am dying or living”
“(…)abuse grace”
“Your grandpa died”
“They said he had lost his mind”
“You should never trust the Pantaloon”
“Now it’s your turn to be alone”
“(…)find a wife and build yourself a home”
“You are tired, you are hurt”
“The end can’t come soon enough but is it too soon?”
“Your bones are held together by your nightmares and your frights”
“Hello, we haven’t talked in quite some time”
“I know, I haven’t been the best of sons”
“I haven’t found a drop of You”
“I try desperately to run through the sand as I hold the water in the palm of my hand”
“I’m being dramatic”
“Of course I’ll be here again, see you tomorrow”
“(…)end of my ways as a walking denial”
“My trial was filed as a crazy suicidal head case”
“But you special in dying, you hear me screaming father”
“And I’m lying here just crying, so wash me with your water”
“(…)when did you believe you were alone?”
“Petrified of who you are and who you have become”
“You will hide from everyone, denying you need someone”
“I know you want to leave”
“But friend, please don’t take your life away from me”
“Living like a ghost, you walk by everyone you know”
“Would you let me know your plans tonight?”
“I just won’t let go until we both see the light”
“I will listen to you all day”
“There’s miles of land in front of us, and we’re dying with every step we take”
“But I’ll fall in line”
“Heaven forbid they see you cry”
“I ask myself the question why I fall in line”
“(…)hear a voice inside my head ‘follow me instead’”
“The wages of war will start”
“The emotionless marchers will chant the phrase ‘this lines the only way’”
“I don’t wanna march here anymore”
“I realize this line is dead, so I’ll follow you instead”
“He stays home from work this time”
“He never really told his wife, he never really told a lie. But this time he decides that it’s alright”
“He has fallen in love”
“You’re my pride and joy!”
“I will carry all your names and I will carry all your shame”
“Oh, Ms. Believer, my pretty sleeper/weeper”
“I will tell you I love you”
“We get colder as we grow older”
“You’ve stolen my air catcher”
“I won’t fall in love with falling”
“I think you would beat the moon in a pretty contest”
“But you’ve stolen my air catcher and I don’t think I want it back”
“Cuz I’m not sure if I want to give you tools to destroy my heart”
“Now I’m here to give you words as tools to destroy my heart”
“He wakes up early today, throws on a mask that will alter his face”
“Nobody knows his real name, now he just uses one he saw on a grave”
“He pretends he’s okay but you should see him in bed late at night, he’s petrified”
“Everyone gather around for a show! Watch as this man disappears as we know”
“He thinks that faith might be dead! Nothing kills a man faster than his own head”
“He used to see dreams at night, but now he’s just watching the backs of his eyes”
“Cuz nobody knows he’s alive”
“I wanna crack the door”
“But then I remember when you packed my car. You reached in the back and buckled up your heart for me”
“I began to understand why God died”
“The demon sat there waiting on her porch”
“The breath I saw was not my own”
“You told me to hold this jar. And when I looked inside, I saw it held your heart”
“Either way your by my side, til my dying days”
“Don’t be afraid, we’re going home”
“So the hearse ran out of gas”
“Driving once again, but now this time there were three men”
“‘We had to steal him from his fate, so he could see another day’”
“There were three men up front, all I saw were backs of heads and I asked them ‘am I alive and well, or am I dreaming dead?’”
“Then one turned around to say ‘we’re driving toward the morning sun, where all your blood is washed away and all you did will be undone’”
“The clouds above will hold you”
“Now is the climax to the story”
“And honestly, we’re probably, more suicidal than ever now”
“And He is waiting”
“Your soul knows good and evil, your soul knows both sides”
“It’s time to pick your battle, and I promise you this is mine”
Regional At Best
“Hey, wouldn’t it be great, if we could just lay down and wake up in Slowtown?”
“I wanna go away, cuz things are too fast now”
“There’s a stomach inside my brain”
“I don’t wanna be heard, I wanna be listened to”
“Does it bother anyone else that someone else has your name?”
“I scream, you scream, we all scream cuz we’re terrified”
“We stay in place cuz we don’t wanna lose our minds”
“(…)white flags are hoisted”
“The stomach in my brain throws up onto the page”
“I don’t understand why everything I adore takes a different form when I squint my eyes”
“That’s not what you’re supposed to see”
“My tree houses on fire, and for some reason I smell gas on my hands”
“This is not what I planned…this is not what I had planned!”
“We are all stranger creatures than when we all started out as kids”
“We all have romantic fantasies about what dying truly is”
“I know there’s someone at the door. They called for help, of this I’m sure”
“I’m holding onto what I know”
“And what I know, I must let go”
“We all know somebody who knows somebody who’s doing great”
“Make them stop…make them stop!”
“Because a kitchen sink to you, is not a kitchen sink to me”
“Go away, leave me alone”
“Won’t you go to someone else’s dream?”
“You say things with your mouth, cobwebs and flies come out”
“I hear a second voice behind your tongue somehow”
“So try and love me, and I’ll try and save you”
“Won’t you stay alive? I’ll take you on ride!”
“I will make you believe you are lovely”
“God, hit me straight on”
“I’ve waited all this week, for you to walk my way”
“Your mama painted your room, a shade of pink she said”
“___,take my hand, please lead me to the promised land”
“___,your royalty, in your homeland they all call you queen”
“You’re an angel fallen down, won’t you tell us of the clouds?”
“You’re true and pure…you hold the cure”
“We’re all diseased”
“Tell our dad I’m sorry!”
“I’m scared of my own head”
“Taken for granted, trust is damaged”
“I pass the test with flying colors”
“You are the pearl”
“Then my new father drained by dirty blood”
Vessel
“I’m pleading, ‘please, oh please!’ on my knees repeatedly”
“Take this weapon forged in darkness, some see a pen, I see a harpoon”
“I’ll stay awake cuz the darks not taking prisoners tonight”
“Why am I not scared in the morning? I don’t hear those voice calling…I must’ve kicked them out”
“They told me I was gone”
“Why won’t you let me go?”
“I’m insignificant”
“I will set my soul on fire”
“Metaphorically, I’m a whore, and that’s denial number four!”
“What have I become? I’m sorry.”
“You can’t trust me”
“You should take my life. You should take my soul”
“And the windowsill looks really nice right?”
“You think twice about your life, it probably happens at night, right?”
“This ain’t a noose, this is a leash and I have news for you, you must obey me!”
“Entertain my faith”
“And i’ll be holding onto you!”
“I’ve got a migraine”
“Cuz Sundays are my suicide days”
“But I know, we’ve made it this far, kid”
“Cuz sometimes to stay alive, you gotta kill your mind”
“She asked me, ‘son when I grow old, will you buy me a house of gold? And when your father turns to stone, will you take care of me?’”
“I will make you queen of everything you see”
“We’ll make pretend that you and me, lived ever after happily”
“And now I just sit in silence”
“Sometimes quiet is violent”
“It’s on my sleeve, my skin will scream reminding me of who I killed”
“I hate this car”
“Cuz somebody stole my car radio”
“One thing consists of consistence, and it’s that we’re all battling fear”
“Oh dear, I don’t know if we know why we’re here”
“I liked it better when my car had sound!”
“Peace will win and fear will lose”
“He leaves a lot”
“I’m double sided”
“I kinda like it when I make you cry”
“My prayers schizophrenic”
“I’m standing in front of you”
“Everything together trying to be so cool”
“I can’t see past my own nose”
“That’s a train”
“And while you’re doing fine, there’s some people and I, who have a really tough time getting through this life—so excuse us while we sing to the sky!”
“We’re broken”
“Pa, I’m not the one you know”
“I have killed a man and all I know”
“You’ll have to watch me struggle from several rooms away”
“But tonight, I need you to stay”
“In the night, headlights call my name”
“I will never be what you see inside”
“You say I’m not alone, but I am petrified”
“You say that you are close, is the close the closest star?”
“I’ll fake you out, all I wanna”
“What kids are doing, they’re killing themselves”
“If you’re one of them then you’re one of me”
“Our brains are sick but that’s okay!”
“It shows what you have done.”
“And you swear to your parents, that it will never happen again”
“I know what that means”
“Don’t take it!”
“I’m trying to sleep but I can’t”
“But there’s hope out the window”
“Lets go outside and all join hands”
“I simply tell them they should shoot at this”
“And that’s where I am”
“Standing cowardly”
“I can feel my death”
“I wanna know you”
“I wanna say, hello”
“Now the night is coming to an end”
“The sun will rise and we will try again”
“Stay alive for me”
“I will fear the night again”
Blurryface
“Just another attempt to make the voices stop”
“Can you save my heavydirtysoul?”
“I didn’t understand a thing you said”
“Sayin stuff like ‘you only live once’”
“Death inspires me like a dog, inspires a rabbit”
“(…)I’m insecure and I care what people think”
“We used to play pretend, give each other different names”
“Wake up you need to make money!”
“I think about the end just way too much”
“(…)it’s fun to fantasize.”
“‘Who would you live for? Who would you die for? And would you ever kill?’”
“I’ve been thinking too much”
“Help me.”
“I’ve been around”
“She’s the tear in my heart”
“I’m alive”
“The songs on the radio are okay.”
“You fell asleep in my car”
“She’s a butcher with a smile”
“Don’t trust a perfect person”
“When the leader of the bad guys sang something soft and soaked in pain”
“He must’ve forgot to close his door”
“And his four walls declared him insane”
“Hell’s hot for good reason”
“Three lights are lit but the forth ones out”
“I forgot about the drought of lightbulbs in this house”
“(…)I’m not good with directions”
“Fear might be the death of me”
“Don’t forget about me”
“Shaking hands with the dark parts of my thoughts”
“You’re all that I’ve got”
“Hope you haven’t left without me”
“I wanted to be a better brother, better son”
“I think I lost my halo”
“I don’t know where you are…”
“You’ll have to come and find me”
“We don’t believe what’s on tv”
“We have all learned to kill our dreams”
“I need to know that when I fail, you’ll still be here”
“I used to say ‘I wanna die before I’m old’ but because of you I might think twice”
“What if my dream does not happen?”
“And we’ll make money selling your hair”
“I’m wanted and on the run”
“Remember the morning is when night is dead”
“Together we’re losers”
“Where we’re from, we’re no one(s)”
“I look outside and see a whole world better off without me in it”
“You are out of my mind”
“You aren’t seeing my side”
“I’m sorry”
“I wanna be known by you”
“The ghost of you is close to me”
“Don’t let me be gone”
Trench
“I can’t believe how much I hate…”
“Spirits in the room, friend or foe?”
“I’ll be right there”
“I’ll stop my plans”
“If you need anyone”
“(…)everyone’s asleep”
“I am a vulture who feeds on pain”
“Are we still in love and is it possible we feel the same?”
“I’m just a ghost”
“They always try to stop me”
“He’s got no friends close”
“Anybody listening?”
“I’ll go with you”
“I’ll grab my bat”
“If they’re here to smoke, I’ll go with you”
“Just keep it outside”
“I’ll be back when it’s all complete”
“I’m running for my life”
“I plan my escape from walls they confide”
“I’m so sorry I forgot you”
“Let me catch you up to speed”
“You know, I’ve always been collected, calm and chill”
“You know, I never look for conflict for the thrill”
“For you I’d go step to a dude much bigger than me”
“For you I would get beat to smithereens”
“I’ll be in the corner taking notes”
“I’d go write a slick song just to show you the world”
“They think it’s messed up to sell out for your girl”
“We glorify those even more when they…”
“An earlier grave is an optional way, no.”
“I could give up and boost up my reputation”
“They say ‘how could he go if he’s got everything? I’ll mourn for a kid but won’t cry for a king’”
“Promise me this…”
“(…)if I lose myself, you won’t mourn today and you’ll move onto someone else”
“Thinking I’ll teach them!”
“Well I’m refusing the lesson”
“(…)just pleading that it doesn’t get glorified”
“(…)life they were dedicated…now that should be celebrated”
“I don’t believe the hype”
“I don’t know which way I’m going”
“But I can hear my way around”
“East is up”
“___don’t control us”
“They wanna make you forget”
“A complete diversion”
“We’ll win but not everyone will get out”
“I’ll keep on trying…might as well”
“I cut my lip”
“I keep on going back…even though it’s me I abuse”
“I created this world to feel some control”
“Destroy it if I want”
“I wanna stop time”
“I’ll sit here til I find the problem”
“(…)down in my basement”
“I’m done with tiptoeing”
“I’ll stay in my room”
“You were one of those classic ones”
“I wish she knew you”
“You’re a legend in my own mind”
“My middle name, my goodbye”
“You were here when I wrote this”
“I’m sorry I did not visit”
“When your eyes did not know me, like I know you”
“I look forward to having a lunch with you again”
“I’m tired of tending to this fire”
“They know that it’s almost over”
“In time, I will leave the city”
“(…)for now, I will stay alive”
“Though I’m far from home…in ___ I’m not alone”
Scaled & Icy
“I can feel my saturation leaving me slowly”
“(…)broke the news on moms vacation”
“Would you say you depend on the weather?”
“My sunshine…”
“I know it’s hard to believe me, it’s a good day!”
“Lost my job, my wife and child—homie just sued me”
“I don’t bother anyone”
“Self sabotage is a sweet romance”
“Pain is just a middleman”
“When your body’s screaming out, trust your minds listening”
“When I get home you better not be there”
“Searching for that feeling”
“Just like an ‘I love you’”
“You get home you barely recognize the pictures they put in a frame”
“I’ve got a long drive, I’ll tape my eyes so I don’t feel asleep just yet”
“(…)take a hit, join the club”
“Am I on the outside?”
“I’m vibing”
“Weeks feel like days”
“Medicare in the afternoon”
“I just pray that I’m not losing you”
“We’ll never take it”
“(…)when they keep lying through their fake teeth”
“Taught myself to play guitar”
“There’s nothing wrong with this!”
“Keep your bliss”
“Keep your pills, save your breath”
“Welcome to ___!”
“Ain’t no sunny skies, til you finally realize, everybody relies on synthetic highs”
“You are formidable to me”
“I’ll follow you”
“I just can’t believe that I’m for you”
“And I know we just met…”
“I wanna see it all”
“I won’t break your heart if you can break my spell”
“Fast forward thirteen years now…”
“I’m afraid of you now more than I was at first”
“Can you take me everywhere we’ve ever been?”
“I don’t know if you’ve got your phone cuz this went straight to voicemail”
“And my wife saw your face on the nightly news. Oh, boy, what’d you do?”
“(…)then you head to Mexico”
“Running it away don’t make you wrong”
“If you don’t reply, I’ll know you must’ve crossed state lines”
“She’s been crying but I’ll her you’re fine”
“I told you all along”
“We got people on the way”
“We want you home in one piece now”
“We get bodies everyday”
“(…)ride or die, my son”
“I don’t wanna go like this”
“(…)At least let me clean my room”
“I don’t wanna leave like this!”
“Blankets over mirrors, she tends to like it”
“She’s not afraid of her reflection but what she might see behind it”
“She had plans to change her name, just not the traditional way”
“One night she got cold with no blankets on her bed”
“She ripped them off the mirror, stepped back and she said…”
“Should I keep it on display or redecorate?”
Clancy
“Welcome back to ___”
“(…)overtake your former self”
“Days feel like the perfect length I don’t need them any longer”
“Can’t break down”
“I don’t wanna be here!”
“Can you die of anxiousness?”
“What about to happen?!”
“I remember certain things…”
“(…)what I was wearing, the yellow dashes in the street”
“I prayed those lights would take me home”
“Then I heard ‘hey kid, get outta the road!’”
“(…)can’t feel my legs”
“There’s a pressure in my chest”
“Can’t change what you’ve done, start fresh next semester”
“I don’t mind if it’s lonely”
“I don’t wanna backslide to where I’ve started from”
“I should’ve loved you better”
“You should let go”
“Thanks for asking”
“You can be so cold”
“You make me sad and second guess myself”
“Running late so I didn’t have the time to scrape the frosted windshield”
“Did you pull up yet?”
“Not yet!”
“Did you forget we’re tight on time?”
“I requested council with the counselor and he canceled twice”
“I’ll be pulling into the parking lot before the heat kicks in”
“What’s your ETA?”
“Two minutes!”
“Chill out man, we’re right on time.”
“And I want love and sunny days”
“Imma bit too old to runaway”
“While all the worlds asleep, I walk around instead”
“I’ll probably jump on the next one”
“I’m keeping my eyelids up no matter what”
“So beautiful, the space between…a painful reminder and a terrible dream”
“I’ve been here before”
“(…)reoccurring, days blurring, I’ll still learning what this is”
“Just keep me company”
“(…)flesh covered in bites”
“Man, it’s been a long night”
“Where do I go from here?”
“He’s thinking ‘there’s no way I’m headed there’”
“Now he can’t hold out his hand without it shaking”
“No, not me, it’s for a friend (denial)”
“‘I don’t know a lot about you still…’”
“Seems I get in my own way…”
“I just hope I communicate the craving”
“Now I see intentions don’t mean much…”
“Did I let her know?”
“(…)and hope she looks for me”
“Now I see a gesture don’t mean much…”
“Cuz it’s the fear of the unknown that cripples every step we take”
“Welcome to the new way of living, it’s just the beginning of lavish”
“You’re fighting for the front row, that’s a nice try”
“(…)’cross linoleum”
“I say whatever and whatever that I want”
“Sip a Caprisun like it’s Dom Pérignon”
“I’m talking tough happily with someone in front of me”
“NDA’s for the folks that talk to me”
“I see your problem is, your proctologist, got both hands on your shoulder while you’re bottomless”
“I can’t seem to turn the page”
“I’m navigating my head”
“Dissociate…”
“Give me some advice”
“I am wasting all this time!”
“How things change so rapidly…”
“Kind of feels like everybody leaves…feeling the reality that everybody leaves”
“Got a bad feeling that imma about to break”
“Been a good streak…”
“Have I burnt all my bridges?”
“All of that progress lost today”
“Running from a thing that I kicked in 17”
“It’s a new adaptation!”
“I have seem to run out of excuses for why I am this way…”
“Only consistency is your periphery is fear and the bridge of your nose”
“Futures coming fast you’ve got nothing in the tank!”
“In a season of purging things you used to love…everything must go”
“Make an oath, then make mistakes”
“Start a streak you’re bound to break…”
“When darkness rolls on you…push in through”
“(…)found your capacity for love and tragedy”
“Embracing how things always change”
“You learned what you can and can’t take”
“You don’t quite mind how long red lights are taking”
“Your favorite song was on the oldies station”
“You have it down that old fight for survival”
“You’re in the crowd at her first dance recital”
“I don’t wanna anyone know me or not, see me at my lowest”
“You don’t have to drop by…nothing you can do this time”
“Check on your friends”
“At the risk of feeling dumb check in!”
“(…)it’s not worth the risk of losing a friend”
“I can’t be alone”
“Just a glimpse of visual aid of you on the other shoreline”
“I’m gonna make it”
“Can’t be sure that I’ll make it”
“I’m past the point of no return”
“So few, so proud, so emotional…”
“Hello ___.”
Extras
“Please don’t make any sudden moves”
“You don’t know the half of the abuse”
“You’ll never know the psychopath sitting next to you”
“But you’ll think, ‘how did I get here sitting next to you?’”
“But after all I’ve said, please don’t forget…”
“We don’t deal with outsiders very well”
“You have trust issues”
“Why’d you come? You knew you should have stayed…”
“I tried to warn you just to stay away”
“It looks like you might be one of us”
“World has gone insane”
“Just tell me we’re alright, tell me we’re okay”
“In a world, where you could just lie to me…and I’d be okay, we’ll be okay”
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OUT OF TIME || A DEAN/CAS REGENCY FIC Posting Sunday, 13th September 2020
SUMMARY: Team Free Will is fighting with angels when Dean is sent back in time to 1812. His only hope of trying to get back to the present is to work with Cas who is currently inhabiting a female vessel and 8th great aunt to Jimmy Novak. But the more time they spend together, the less Dean wants to return to his own time.
READ A SNEAK PREVIEW BELOW THE CUT!
The last thing Dean remembers is fighting in a warehouse. It was the Winchesters versus the wrath of Heaven kind of battle. Angel blades flashed. Powerful Enochian spells were thrown. Dean had almost been hit, but Cas had shoved him out of harm’s way. He remembers hearing Cas yelling his name and then two powerful strikes directly into his chest as he’d stared into the deep blue eyes that held his heart and soul. Blue that swirled with galaxies, clear skies, and secrets of time. And then Dean’s world had faded to black, his name in Cas’ desperate shouts the only thing he could cling to.
“Cas!” Dean pants breathlessly as he sits up. He’s nowhere near the battle. Where the fuck is he? He looks around, confusion twisting his stomach into knots. Candles glitter around the room and everything looks fancy and old-fashioned. There’s violin music playing somewhere and the sounds of laughter and idle chatter. Dean looks down and is confused by the two things he sees. One is a fainting couch. The kind from black and white movies that he used to watch on motel tv’s at three in the morning when he couldn’t sleep. Movies with hopeless romantics and swooning women, their corsets tight and their smelling salts handy. The second is his outfit. He’s dressed in clothes that he would never wear. The only word that comes to mind is pantaloons. The coat is nice if not snug. He’s used to his loose jackets and jeans. Right now, he’s strapped up tight in a waist-coat and cravat.
“What the fuck?” he mutters, standing up to inspect his outfit as he spins in circles. The tails of his coat swish and he smiles a little at it. That’s fun and completely ridiculous. His boots make that pleasing noise on the hardwood floor. So it’s not the worst outfit he’s ever found himself in. He crosses the room to a mirror and inspects himself. He looks gentlemanly and a little strange. His hair, though not gelled, looks kind of awesome. He can work with this until he finds Sam and Cas.
He walks to the double doors that have been shielding him from whatever weird party is happening on the other side and takes a deep breath. If he’s here, Sam and Cas should be too. He just has to find them and figure out what the fuck is going on. He opens the door and wonders how he was transported to the pages of a Jane Austen novel. Not that he’s read any of those. Only Pride and Prejudice. And Sense and Sensibility. Okay, so he’s read a few, but that still didn’t bode well for him if he was suddenly at a ball from one of those books. How did he get here?
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Remembering My Early Training
I feel really quite fortunate to have stumbled into classical martial arts when I was a kid. As opposed to the more generic and significantly less exciting forms of kick-punch arts out there, my experience of Ryukyu Kempo was infinitely more colorful and arguably deep, if not at times in unintended and unexpected ways.
The first several weeks of training in Ryukyu Kempo consisted of wearing normal clothes to a class of black (yes black) dogi clad students practicing an array of empty handed kata, alongside kobujutsu, and distinct grappling maneuvers called tuite. I, however (like most new students at the time) was slated to make my way to the edge of the training area to watch class, and more importantly, to make friends with “Mr. Suburito.”
A suburito is an extra large, weighted wooden training sword. Despite its already bulky nature, the more senior students of the school would bore out holes along the blade of the veritable branch and fill them with lead for extra difficulty. My adult-sized, but not otherwise modified “Mr. Suburito” was quite enough for me to handle in awkwardly learning how to carry and draw him, so as to perform a great many downward, centerline cuts subsequently. I mean wooden swords are cool and all, but it was admittedly a little curious way to begin training in what I expected to be generically open handed karate art. Fast forward 20+ years later and I’m still discovering the nuance of that particular exercise in reference to my open handed skill set (including both striking and grappling) and my practice of kobujutsu at large.
After a few weeks of learning to relate to Mr. Suburito, I was introduced to Naihanchi Shodan as my first kata (solo exercise), rather than a taikyoku or kihon (typically low block and middle punch) manner of pattern.
The instruction given for the seemingly arcane Naihanchi kata was that the interestingly venerated Master Choki Motobu famously noted it was the only thing needed to gain a complete knowledge of karate. Beyond that, according to the Guiding Principles of our school “in the past a single master studied a single Kata for more than ten years…” and that if we just wholeheartedly threw ourselves into the practice of the kata (which follows a single horizontal, line enbusen [floor pattern] that sees the student moving left and right in a side-oriented kiba dachi [horse stance], while performing 27 duplicated movements at the left, right and center of the body, including two seeming ritualized double handed “salutes”) we would be well on our way to becoming truly skilled and wise practitioners of the art.
All of these things about the Naihanchi Kata were of course true, and after quite literally hundreds of thousands of repetitions of that particular 27-movement form over the course of more than two decades, I still cannot pretend to fully grok the contents and blueprints contained within that one archetypal form. Nonetheless, the unspoken fact was too that Mr. Suburito and the arcane Naihanchi Kata (despite the realities of the respective, intentionally subtle and skillful physical conditioning technologies contained within them) were really about slowly introducing a potential new member of the dojo into the actual training methods of the style and school without revealing anything too obviously dangerous, should the new recruit to prove to not be of the “good moral character” demanded by the Dojo Kun. Should that be the case, and should such a recruit find themselves to have worn out their welcome, the public was nominally protected, and the secrets of the school were further safeguarded by those deemed trustworthy enough to receive them. To return again to an examination of the Guiding Principles “the eagle with the sharpest talons hides them.”
As you can imagine, the onboarding process was a little more lengthy than that at a typical karate school. I recall distinctly having to memorize and be able to recite on command the five statements of the Dojo Kun (school code) and the ten paragraphs comprising the Guiding Principles (about a typed page and a half combined) before being able to progress beyond Mr. Suburito’s lone company.
After Naihanchi Shodan was sufficiently committed to mental and physical memory, and an exercise or two beyond simple striking sets with Mr. Suburito, two more similarly single, horizontal line enbusen comprised Naihanchi Kata (Nidan and Sandan) would follow, before I (the student) would actually be introduced to anything clearly resembling combat in posture, gesture, or movement in the truly unique “Tomari” Seisan (which is in fact a rather intricate white crane form, as opposed to most other forms sharing its name). For me this took about a year (without receiving or testing for a single belt rank along the way; curiously even the black belts didn’t wear rank belts, only a unique form of pantaloons called nobakhama, with but a couple of students who had here-and-there tested for a colored belt donning one).
However, it’s notable that within three or so weeks I (who hadn’t been yet taught how to do a simple block or strike in the manner of the system) would suddenly find myself introduced to the chizikun bo, a type of paired koppo (6” sticks with leather finger loops drilled through their centers, used as weapons, which are placed over the middle fingers of both hands). As it turns out a 7th Dan Kyoshi (Master) of the art would be teaching a rare form for the weapon at an even rarer full weekend training camp alongside a river at a distant and rural campsite.
You see, Kyoshi was always on the verge or “retiring,” and taking his still undivulged body of genuinely unique knowledge with him. Kyoshi never could quite get a successful dojo up and running himself (in fact the dojo was quite transient and moved or closed at least once a year) but nonetheless he (due to a mixture of actual skill and cowboy charisma) kept a pretty dedicated band of students within his orbit.
Whenever Kyoshi was strapped for cash a special training called a “Spirit Class” (a four+ hour day of Mr. Suburito and Naihanchi-esque kiba dachi chudan tsuki [horse stance middle punches]) could be scheduled for a nominal fee, inclusive of a custom screen printed t-shirt. If the bank was really coming to task though, a new, and somehow legitimately rare kobujutsu kata could be transmitted, replete with a custom printed t-shirt (for one low price) over the course of a weekend, and all hands were to be on deck. At no extra cost came the knowledge that if you open the advanced chizi kata the wrong way it “looks like you guys are trying to tear your peckers off” (LMAO, seriously) and that if you want to shower at a rural campsite you should stop and get quarters first, and that when you stop and get quarters first you should make sure that the item you’re buying to break cash into change with costs an appropriate amount so as to retrieve quarters in change. Twelve and thirteen year olds have to learn this stuff sometime! 😉
At this point I feel it worthwhile to note that Kyoshi did eventually retire and move out of state and out of touch, with some yet untaught and authentically rare and valuable skills in tow. I still practice that kata, or what I think I was taught at the time, and I’ve met very few people that know the “advanced chizi kata.”
Picking back up in week five of my training (and far beyond) Naihanchi Nidan and Sandan were gradually learned, and suddenly I had been indoctrinated and inducted properly into the tradition. By then I practiced my kata and exercises single mindedly while lusting over a copy of the Grandmaster’s newly self-published textbook. The textbook was sold only by a single school in his association for what was then (and now, but then especially) a very steep price of $65 (and a far cry from the $15 cost of his senior student’s very useful introductory manual sold in the same venue).
Speaking of those students and that venue, it was around this time that I recall that I began to realize that our faction of the art was no longer in the good graces of the Grandmaster’s association, and that there existed some really bad juju between the two camps. But regardless, we were all agreed that we were far superior to, and would not associate ourselves with, the third group of people accused of having stolen some of the secrets of the Grandmaster’s art at a few generous public seminars.
But I digress. For us, our “classical” system (as opposed to “traditional,” or the even more anathema “modern” styles) of karate was supreme (and admittedly the older I get the more my bias does swing that way among Japanese and Okinawan striking arts). Labeled sell-outs like Gichen Funakoshi of Shotokan fame were but “shamisen players with silver tongues who only ever learned the outside of karate” (or so said that curious younger Master Motobu again…the older Master Motobu was quite more refined in manners and skill). In short, if you wanted to real deal, you had to come to us.
My early life experience in Ryukyu Kempo introduced me to some of the most wonderful and valued friends and mentors in my life who I have been blessed to have cherished relationships with for decades now. Too, it broke (early on, in life and in training) many of my romantic conceptions of humanity, while also providing me an all but stereotypicalized idyllic training milieu. I really couldn’t have had it better anywhere else.
~Sunyananda
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Vanished
AU where Agnarr rescues Iduna as the mist descends and she loses her memory. He takes her to Arendelle and keeps her past a secret from everyone including Iduna herself, thinking it will keep her safe. Thank you @the-spastic-fantastic for developing this with me through brainstorming, mutual all caps excitement, skillful editing, Elias’s and Mrs. Calder’s best lines, outlining help, and this amazing moodboard!
Rated M, 20K, to be posted in four parts.
Part One
“Say it.”
Agnarr looked at his friend, then back down to Iduna’s sleeping form on the overstuffed mattress tucked into the corner of a small room near the kitchen, meant for a servant. There was nothing about it that resembled the homes or beds of the Northuldra. But she wouldn’t remember that.
“I rescued her from a ship attacked by pirates, the only survivor.”
“And what will you do if she speaks Northuldra?” He brushed the hair away from Iduna’s cheek as he spoke, tracing his fingers along the bruise there that was already a deep purple. He was more worried about the hard lump on the back of her head, but didn’t want to touch what was already so tender. She had whimpered in her sleep when he had last tried to feel it for blood.
“Tell her she must speak in the tongue she hears from me.”
“Elias, you have to be sure of that. We passed bodies on the way here. The Northuldra traders who were in town, they’ve been murdered. I will calm the chaos but it will take time. She must stay safe. Burn her clothes and boots. Give her something of Linnea’s or Thea’s to wear. Please keep her safe.”
“I will. I swear, Agnarr. My father too.”
“And if she remembers anything…” Agnarr trailed off, the urgency and horror of his previous statements still heavy in the air like smoke after a battle. Like the mist around the stones.
Elias put a hand on Agnarr’s shoulder. “If she remembers anything, I’ll keep her quiet and we’ll get word to you.”
***
“The King is dead! Long live the King!”
Agnarr waved from the balcony and it was a chore to keep his face impassive and his arm steady. People were spread out in the courtyard below and he could even see sailors manning the rail on the ships in the harbor. He looked up to the sloping hill of the fjord and saw families waving from roofs and upper windows with handkerchiefs in their hands. He waved to them all, dipping his head in acknowledgement, brief prayers on his lips for courage, for wisdom, for his kingdom, for the soul of his father, but most of all, for Iduna.
***
Iduna woke with the sensation of a scream unfinished on her tongue and smoke in her lungs. She raised a hand to her tangled hair and felt a lump, pulsing with her heartbeat. She groaned and the grimace brought a tight feeling to her cheek. She put her other hand there and felt a tight knot.
“Oh! You’re awake! I’ll go run and fetch Father. Stay still, the physician said you must.”
Iduna turned her head slowly to the sound of the voice, but only saw the swishing skirts of the speaker as they disappeared around the doorway. The language was familiar, but not her own. And the bed was comfortable, but not her own. She felt the echo of shouting in her ears, and a wind whipping around her as the very earth shook and rolled beneath her. As she stared at the ceiling, waiting for whoever the young woman had promised, her heart seized with all that she couldn’t recall. Where am I? What happened to me? An even more terrifying question gripped her. Who am I?
She opened her mouth and screamed.
***
“You must get married. The coronation soothed some fears, and your speech banning reprisals against the Northuldra showed your leadership and compassion, but the people are anxious.”
Agnarr sighed and nodded to Lord Hannesel. “I understand. But alliances and diplomacy are delicate. Father had several inquiries out, and nothing ever came of them. Marriages of State take time. I can’t imagine we can do this quickly.” He tensed, waiting to see what the council would say in response to that. He didn’t say that the reason for the stagnating negotiations was his own refusal to enter into them. His heart and his hand were already bound to Iduna in a ceremony all their own in the forest on a night when the northern lights danced their approval.
“You’re already twenty-five, Your Majesty.” Captain Calder rubbed a hand over his eyes. “We could skip all that.”
Agnarr looked at him, wondering what he meant. He knew he had to provide heirs, that it was the only way to make his small kingdom feel secure again after the mist closed off the north with the better part of their Army missing in the forest. But until he could find a way to make Iduna his queen, he would not marry.
Elias said she remembered nothing but her name, and even that took two days before she could recall it with any certainty. She was still physically recovering and his sixteen-year-old sister Linnea stayed with her throughout the day. Iduna had insisted on doing housework to earn her keep but Linnea convinced her that it was an affront to the good name of Calder, and that she must recover slowly and at peace.
Agnarr was relieved that her memory was as altered as the trolls had said it would be. If she didn’t know she was Northuldra, no one else would either. She would stay safe. But selfishly, he also mourned. If she didn’t remember anything, she wouldn’t remember him.
He longed to hold her hand again as they watched a sunset from the top of a rocky cliff. The scent of cloudberries on her fingers as she pressed them to his lips, the wind softly wrapping them in a current of crisp air. To laugh over shared memories of how he had fallen into the river when they first met, how they stayed up talking by the village fire on summer nights as bright as noon.
Captain Calder cleared his throat and Agnarr realized his attention had wandered. He nodded so the captain would continue. “My daughter loves the story I learned while sailing to France, of the king there who ordered a ball be hosted for his son the prince to find a bride. All of the unmarried women in the kingdom were invited to meet the prince and his bride was selected from them.”
Lord Hannesel laughed, a short bark that startled the other council members. “It would allow us to avoid the delicate and months-long process of communicating with the other kingdoms. We can call it an act of healing for our land. We announce that to secure the line of Arendelle, the king will take a bride from our own kingdom.”
Captain Calder looked at Agnarr, asking permission. He felt the eyes of the rest of the council as well. He sighed. “Fine. Let’s proceed.”
As the council discussed plans for invitations and the proper way to communicate their intentions internationally, Agnarr stayed silent. He thought of how his father might have run this meeting, eager to stoke the violence between Northuldra and Arendelle, still angry about Northuldra’s rejection of a dam and their resistance to formal relations even after seven years of emissaries and goodwill visits. He felt a wave of relief and then one of guilt. Being free of his father was the only good that had come from the battle. And yet, it still did not allow him to be with Iduna. The chaos had robbed her of her memory and thrust him into kingship.
He thought of how trying it would be to shake so many hands and dance with so many ladies while his heart longed for Iduna. Perhaps he could find a way for her to attend, to make her his choice? He thought of sending a dress for Iduna, with a note that she was to wear it to the ball, a mystery as great as the presence of fairy godmothers on the continent. They could be introduced and dance and no one would be suspicious if he chose the beautiful woman, recently rescued by the king’s best friend. Valencia had a princess who had washed up on their shore, and no one thought worse of Prince Erik for it. The council could even frame it as a sign of Arendelle’s strength - not needing to marry their king for a military alliance or riches.
His heart soared at the thought, but then he thought of Iduna unconscious in his arms, her head bruised and the troll’s hands over her, telling him that the price for her healing was her memory. How could he seek her out but not tell her who she was? How could he tell her who she was without putting her life in danger?
She was safe at the Calder’s house. And as king, he would do all he could do ease the fear and anger his citizens had for Northuldra. He would bring the leaders of the lynch mobs to justice, he would make it known that though their troops were trapped in the mist, it wasn’t clear that anyone had been killed besides his father. He would do all he could to keep her safe. And that would have to be enough.
****
Linnea tossed dresses out of the closet, a pile of brightly colored frocks that seemed to float before they fell onto the bed.
“See? I have so many! Father always brings some home when he travels! So wherever you’re from, I bet there will be one in here that feels comfortable to you! And you simply must go to the ball. You’ve been sad and lonely for too long. A ball is just the thing to lift your spirits.”
Linnea hugged one of the dresses to herself. It was a shade of pale yellow that made her dark hair and skin look even more striking than usual. Iduna reached to touch the silk of one dress, the muslin of another. She rubbed the stiff boning of a petticoat that stood on the bed like the skirt itself was sitting down for a visit with them.
“I think…I don’t think I wore dresses.”
Linnea laughed. “What did you wear? Breeches? Pantaloons? I think your head must not be healed quite yet.”
Iduna shook her head, then gingerly touched it. “No, that’s not right either.” She sighed, frustrated.
“Time for tea then, and perhaps the krumkake I saw Mother hide away for Father. The ball isn’t for another week. That’s plenty of time to find the outfit that will make the King mad with desire.”
***
The lanterns were lit from Market Square to the Castle Courtyard. The black buntings and veils of mourning had been lifted in favor of sprays of crocuses and wheat, a reminder that Arendelle still stood, that it had a future of hope.
Agnarr kissed hands and said his greetings and danced with the ladies. He didn’t step on any toes and made sure the refreshments were well stocked and that he could guide them to the food when the affections of any particular woman became too much.
Because he didn’t plan to pick a bride tonight. He could follow the direction of the council to host a ball, and he certainly owed a lot to Captain Calder. But he could not choose a queen while Iduna breathed the same air, was in the same city, while she needed him in ways she didn’t even know and he needed her in a million ways he could name but didn’t because they had to remain strangers. If she came tonight he planned to nod, smile, and look elsewhere for a dance partner.
But then he saw her.
She was on the arm of Captain Calder, Elias behind them with his fiancée Thea, and Linnea linking arms with her mother next to them. The herald announced them all together as “The Calder Family and Guests!” The orchestra played a merry tune and he was vaguely aware of Lord Hannesel at his elbow, complaining about a missive he had received from the Southern Isles. Agnarr left him and walked toward Iduna, an unsteady feeling in him like the first time he climbed with the Earth Giants’ help. He bowed to her and ignored Elias’s eyes, certain they held warnings or judgement or both. She didn’t curtsey until Linnea whispered in her ear, and then stumbled through it, her cheeks reddening and her movements awkward. Agnarr was relieved to see that her face was no longer bruised. He held out a hand and she placed hers in his.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Arendelle. I was so glad to hear of your rescue and recovery.”
Iduna attempted a curtsey again, this time more fluid in her motion. “Thank you, Your Highness. I’m most grateful to the Calders.”
The sounds of the orchestra swelled, or perhaps it was his own heart, but soon his hands were on her hand and waist, asking her for a dance and she placed hers on his shoulders in reply. Their eyes met and he saw her deep intake of breath. Did she remember? Was she remembering? She faltered in her steps.
“Would you mind if we sat down for a bit? I find I’m tired quite quickly these days, perhaps my injuries aren’t as healed as I had hoped.”
Agnarr apologized immediately, hating himself for not noticing her struggle. He walked them past the refreshment table and saw Elias dancing with Thea, his adoring eyes so focused on her that he didn’t see Agnarr escort Iduna away from the dancing crowds. He led her to a private garden where he ushered her to a bench by a pool of water. As she sat down, she kicked off her shoes and sighed.
“You’ve heard of me I suppose? The house guest who was rescued from pirates? I’m afraid I don’t remember the daring tale of my rescue, or anything else for that matter.” She laughed, and he was relieved that her laughter sounded like he remembered, not tinged with bitterness. “I’m probably the least interesting person to talk to here tonight. I know absolutely nothing about Arendelle or its ports or its trade or its harvest or even about the frightful sea battle I survived that would surely be a good tale. I know nothing that could intrigue you or capture your interest. I hardly know what I find interesting!”
He couldn’t help it. He reached for her hand and squeezed. “Then you’re the perfect person to talk to. Everyone else here is vying for my attention and a proposal. It’s exhausting. Perhaps we can talk for a while?”
She smiled, and it was like he could breathe again. The wind rushed around them and for a moment he thought she remembered too.
“Yes, let’s.”
He wanted to clutch her to his chest and murmur words of love, to run fingers through her hair, once wild. Instead he squeezed her hand and said “Good. Now tell me. Does Elias sneak out to meet Thea at night as much as his mother fears?”
She laughed again and he thought how wonderful it was to hear his favorite sound in the world once more.
***
When the clock struck midnight, they were still talking. She jumped at the chimes and put a hand to her cheek. “Oh! The Calders planned to leave now. I should go find them. I still don’t know the kingdom well, I would surely be lost if I left on my own.”
Agnarr reached down to where she had kicked off her shoes, bending low to pick them up. He kneeled in front of her with the shoe in his hand. “May I?”
Iduna untucked her feet from under her skirts and soon his hand was on her heel and ankle, gently placing the shoe on one foot and then the other. Iduna shivered a bit and he realized he was still holding her foot, still looking in her eyes. He stood.
“Are your shoes not comfortable, that you take them off when you sit down?”
She stood as well, taking his proffered arm. “The Calders are kind and had new shoes made for me. But they feel strange on my feet. I’m not sure where I’m from or what shoes I used to wear, but I am certain they weren’t dancing slippers made of canvas and covered in satin.”
“Perhaps you would allow me to take you to the cobbler, to have some others made. Reindeer hide boots are a specialty here, and I would like for you to see the best of Arendelle.”
Iduna smiled, ducking her head, a redness to her cheeks as she answered. “I believe I already have.”
***
Agnarr took Iduna to the cobbler the following day, on a tour of the wheat fields the next, and to examine the clock tower from the inside on the third. Elias gave him looks of warning each time he came to call on her at the house, but Agnarr was adept at using his guards or his schedule as a means to avoid the conversation that Elias clearly wanted to have with him. He knew it was a conversation he should at least have with himself – What are you doing? How can this end well? Shouldn’t you let her build a new life here, apart from you? Apart from the havoc your people have brought upon hers? But when he was with Iduna, it was like breathing the air again after suffocating. He told himself he was making sure she was acclimating well, that he had her best interests at heart. That he was fulfilling vows they had made to each other.
On the fourth day, he was prevented from calling on her because of a council meeting. He had arranged for the castle kitchens to send chocolates and farikal and arrived at the meeting late after agonizing over what kind of a note to send with the basket.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty!” Lord Hannesel greeted him with a clap on the back and a large smile. “We’re already drafting the announcements.”
Captain Calder puffed up proudly. “I’m delighted to know that my suggestion worked. And with our own houseguest as the bride! What a lovely and lucky girl. Linnea sighs all day over the romance of it all.”
Agnarr stuttered in his reply, unsure of what to say. “N – no, I haven’t…”
Lord Hannesel clapped a hand on his back again. “King Agnarr, we promised the people – we promised the world - that you would find a bride. And it seems you have. You spent the entire evening with one young woman, and have seen her every day since. If you haven’t asked her yet, you should.”
Other business was discussed, but Agnarr could hardly pay attention. He could marry Iduna! The council wanted him to marry Iduna! But just as quickly as the joy rose in his chest, a dark cloud of fear covered it and pushed it down. How could he marry her when she didn’t remember who he was? Who they had been and still were to each other?
***
Agnarr and Captain Calder went to the captain’s house as soon as the meeting ended, the words of congratulations ringing in Agnarr’s ears. He found Iduna sitting outside in the garden with Linnea, who was quickly ushered away by her father. Agnarr sat down next to Iduna and after a moment’s hesitation, took her hand. He felt braver at the touch. Iduna squeezed it and smiled at him.
“I like this house. I would like a home that feels this way. It’s so full of love and affection. I hope I had this once. And I hope to have it again.”
Agnarr gripped her hand more tightly and cleared his throat. “I would like that too. With you. If you are not yet recovered, we can wait. I will wait for you. But I want to give you that - a home with love and affection. Would you- would you marry me?” His voice caught as he said the words, remembering the Northuldra wedding they had witnessed together, how Iduna had whispered the translation to him and he had been filled with the desire to say those words to her in front of their own fathers, to promise her a warm fire and heavy furs, plentiful food in winter and a hand to hold in the summer sun. How he had asked her to marry him later that night and she had hugged him so tightly it knocked both of them over, their laughter echoing through the trees and causing a rush of ptarmigan and quail to hurry out of the brush, roused by the sound of her shouting “Yes!”.
Iduna reached for his other hand and squeezed it too. “Yes. I would like that. I would like that very much.” She leaned forward and he was amazed that the heat of her body, the scent of her, was the same even so far from the forest. He tried to erase his memory, to make it vanish like soldiers in the mist, to make this their first passionate kiss. He tried to think of this as the first time he found bliss with her lips on his, the sweetness and thrill of it so welcome after weeks of fear and terror. But he remembered being in a cave by a quiet stream, words said solemnly in handfast, his body covering hers, both eager in the pledge and the promise of it. A vow he would never break, but would renew time and time again.
***
There was so much about her identity that was uncertain. She didn’t know her favorite dessert or how to take her tea, which hymn to select for the ceremony. But this she knew. She wanted to be his wife. It was almost like remembering. The feel of his hand in hers, the press of their lips; his every touch felt both thrilling and reassuring. Sometimes when she was with him, she had half-memories of the time before her injury. The sensation of leaning into his body as they walked underneath the trees brought back a sense of comfort and peace, the wind swirling leaves around their feet brought a rush of joy and the desire to run and feel the strong gusts of it against her face. But even though those memories couldn’t have been of him or made with him, they made her feel closer to him somehow.
Linnea was enchanted by the news, clapping her hands and falling back on her bed with a sigh. “What a way to start your new life – Queen Iduna! Perhaps I should see about getting some pirates to help with my matchmaking!”
Elias hadn’t seemed pleased, but then, nothing much pleased him as he grew increasingly eager to wed his fiancée. He was probably just upset that the royal wedding was taking place so quickly while his engagement had been set at a year, a request from Thea’s parents so they could set up a new house for them as dowry.
She couldn’t explain to Linnea or Elias that she wasn’t excited to be queen, that it was a bit overwhelming to help lead a country when she still wasn’t sure which one she was even from. But the safety and attraction she felt for Agnarr defied all logic. Why was she so eager to take his hand, to talk in the moonlight until the first rays of sun reflected on the sea and he had to hurry to the castle to prepare for meetings and petitions and ceremonies? She wasn’t sure who she was, but she felt the most like herself when she was with him.
Mrs. Calder had urged her to live in the present since she couldn’t remember her past. She had encouraged her affections for Agnarr after the ball, though she told her she would always be welcome at their home as a daughter, and that she should only marry the king if she wanted to. Mrs. Calder also spoke of the good man Agnarr was, and how she had similarly trusted the kindness of her husband before she had known him very long, watching how he treated his sailors and her family while conducting trade. She talked about growing up in Trinidad, not accepted into society fully, not fully rejected. And how sailing to a completely new country was both a thrill and a terror, but one that led her to much happiness. At the end of their talk she had hugged Iduna tightly and told her to call her by her name, Elsa. Iduna thought This is a mother’s love.
***
The Calders hosted a small dinner for the royal couple the night before the kingdom-wide wedding and celebration the following day. Elias had taken Agnarr by the arm and dragged him into the shadows before letting him come into the house.
“Ag, you know this is crazy, right? You have to tell her. Tell her who she is and who you are to each other. Tell her about your secret marriage and your plan to make your father accept it.”
Agnarr shrugged him off, looking around him. “Don’t speak of that! It is still not safe for her.” He hissed in a low voice, glancing at his guard who stood nearby, hopefully out of hearing, but watching the pair with open curiosity. “What else can I do? The council demands that I wed. Is it better to marry someone I don't love while I still love Iduna? Doesn't that ruin an innocent life? Three lives?"
Elias shook his head. “I just know it’s wrong. It’s a hard way to start a marriage. Or in this case, continue one.”
Agnarr was firm. “I have to marry for the kingdom now. And she is the only one I will marry. There is no time for anything else. I can fix this. It won’t be a secret forever.”
Despite Elias’s cold welcome, the dinner was filled with laughter and joyful teasing. Mrs. Calder lamented that there was going to be one less person in the house to help her prevent Elias from sneaking out for nightly visits to Thea’s house.
“I promise you, Elias, if I have a grandchild born one minute before nine months after your wedding, the full wrath of the Arendelle navy will be dispatched upon you.”
Captain Calder choked a bit on his wine, laughing. “What’s that dear?”
Linnea tried a sip of the wine and made a face. “Oh Mother, please. We know Elias was born on a ship while you and Father sailed to Arendelle from Trinidad. You didn’t even make it to port for the wedding reception!”
Thea and Elias laughed, Agnarr and Iduna joining in with hands clasped under the table. Mrs. Calder put a hand to her chest in an exaggerated gesture of horror. "We were married on the ship! The wedding reception was just a formality to celebrate what had already happened on the ship!"
Linnea snorted. “Oh, we know what already happened on the ship!”
***
Later, when Elias walked Thea home and Agnarr walked with Iduna in the garden, he pulled at his collar, adjusted his sleeves and let go of her hand to wipe the sweat on his jacket. “I’m sure you’ve heard talk of heirs and securing the line of succession, but I want you to know that I don’t expect that, certainly not tomorrow on our wedding night. We can wait until your memory returns, or until you feel more settled. Or…uh…never.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I am happy to continue holding your hand and remaining your friend. I’m sure this has all been so much. We have time to get to know each other and for you to get to know yourself.”
Iduna again had that half-remembering sensation, hands joined and kisses on skin, promises and the trust of a long friendship. “I don’t want to wait. I would love to start a family with you. To have children. It would make me feel less alone, like I have a place here.” Agnarr put a hand on her cheek and she nestled into it, a heavy sigh of satisfaction escaping like smoke from the hearth.
“You will always have a place with me.”
Iduna closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his hand on her cheek, but then opened them as a thought came to her. "I don't even know if I'm a virgin. I know I’m not...with child. That has been made quite clear in this past month. But I can’t tell you about my past at all. I don’t know what’s expected of a queen, but I know purity is."
Agnarr pulled her closer, tucking his chin above her head, his hand running up and down her spine, calming her. “It doesn't matter.” His hands paused and he corrected himself. “I mean, of course it matters, your life and experiences matter. But I will cherish you no matter your past. Even if you were a pirate. I've pledged myself to you and I meant it.”
She laughed at that and they walked back inside, ready to make promises in front of the kingdom.
***
He brought a bottle of wine into their bedchamber, but she waved it off.
“My head has already been too altered. I want to know all of this, all of you, and to remember it clearly.”
She turned her back to him and when he stayed at the door, clutching the wine glasses and bottle, still and uncertain, she spoke over her shoulder. “Help me with the fastenings.” He could see the slight flush in her cheeks. It was a more enthralling red than the Bordeaux in his hands, one that was already sharpening his senses rather than dulling them.
“The maids put me in this dress; I don’t know how to get out of it.”
He set down the glasses and the wine and walked towards her slowly, deliberately, pausing at her sharp intake of breath when he put a hand on her shoulder. He kissed her there, and then began on the buttons that ran the length of her back. He moved cautiously, unfamiliar with the pearl buttons, not wanting to tear the lace fasteners, and waiting for her breath to sound even and calm. He kissed her each time a button was undone – on her shoulder, on her neck, on her ear and paused when she shuddered. He smiled faintly. That had always been her favorite spot and it comforted him to know it still pleased her. When he got to her waist he untied the strings of her petticoats, his fingers working the knots while he nuzzled his head into her neck. He whispered into her ear.
“Should I keep going?”
“I think I can step out of it now.” Her voice had a husky quality that he recalled too keenly, its effect on him immediate.
He helped her slide the dress over her hips, the yards of silk and heavy layers falling away and she shivered as it pooled on the ground. She turned to face him and shivered again, a tremble that ran the length of her body. She stood in her chemise, hugging herself tightly, and there was a moment when they were both very still and quiet, looking at one another. Agnarr was trying to control his breathing, to keep any expression of the desperate want he felt off his face, determined not to frighten her. He put out a hand and she took it and stepped out of the dress.
“Are you alright?” He swallowed.
She nodded. “Yes. Just cold. Warm me?”
He reached to cup her cheek with his hand and she turned her mouth to kiss it, then took it and placed it on her chest, holding it so he could feel her. His heartbeat quickened.
“I like when you touch me.” Her voice was soft and he was unable to tear his gaze from her mouth. To feel anything more than her heat burning through the thin cloth that separated him from her skin. “You don’t have to be so slow. I want this too.”
His intention had been to go slowly, to just sleep with her in his arms, to ease her through their transition from acquaintances to newlyweds. But the smell of her hair and the curve of her body against his all night was no longer enough. He wanted this too. He had ached for it ever since he had been told she was safe and whole, save her memory. He had missed the comfort of her warmth and the wordless, gentle love and acceptance she had communicated through their act of joining together during their Before.
He moved closer and kissed her, running his tongue along her lips and then breaking away to kiss all the places he knew would earn a shudder of pleasure, a gasp of excitement, a plea for more. He could prevent his words from betraying that he knew her, but their bodies spoke to each other in a primal way that was heady and familiar. Mouths found favorite places to kiss and nip, hands instinctively knew where to gently press or tightly grip. They turned as they kissed, rotating towards the bed and soon the back of his knees hit against it. He lifted her up and laid her down, then undid his buttons before joining her there.
Later, with her head on his bare chest and his arm around her waist, she stroked his arm and said something that made his heart remember what he had tried to forget.
“I don't think I could have done that before. I surely would have remembered.”
***
“How the fuck is she already pregnant, Agnarr?”
Agnarr looked at Elias. His friend’s mouth was in a tight line, no smile in his eyes. “The usual way.”
“Does she know? Did you tell her?”
Agnarr’s silence was the answer and Elias hit the table in frustration.
“Don’t forget, I’m your king.”
“Yes, you’re my king. And a much better man than your father, or so I thought. Is there something about the crown that makes you forget other people have feelings worth considering? Should I be impressed you waited until her injuries were healed before you took her to bed?” He scoffed, derision dripping from his voice. “Such self-restraint.”
Agnarr glared at him. “She was eager to start a family. I didn’t pressure her. She wanted this too.”
“This is wrong. And it gets worse each day you don’t tell her. The lie grows bigger and when your wife finds out, the lie will be so big between you, you won’t even be able to see each other over the chasm it created. You can’t let Iduna think you don’t know her, that she doesn’t know you.”
Agnarr’s face again took on the familiar lines Elias knew, ones of worry and self-doubt and concern. “But she doesn’t know me.”
***
On walks in the woods and the gardens he had to pretend he didn’t know which smells she’d like best or which animal she would delight in spotting the most. And it was a pang in his heart each time she had to be told the names of trees and flowers and herbs once so familiar to her that she could brew tea with them, create a poultice, play a prank with itchy nettles on her interfering brothers.
It was easier, now that she was pregnant. Everything was new to both of them. Her cravings, the way her body grew and changed, the names they discussed, the fluttering of kicks and the wonder of a life forming inside of her. A new world was opening before them and they could enter it at the same time, equally novice, equally eager, equally delighted to turn two into three.
#agduna#frozen#mama and papa arendelle#king agnarr#queen iduna#agnarr#iduna#baby elsa#amnesia AU#vanished#frozen fan fic#blame the-spastic-fantastic for the wedding night scene#I'm still blushing#and I took out a paragraph#to be made available upon request lol
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Ch. 2 (Excerpt) Draft 1 | “Halathion” | Untitled
Halathion rubs his eyes. Sunlight radiates from the cobblestone below as he watches children skipping through the streets. Elderly and frail, a beggar sits alone on a grey blanket as ox-driven wagons squeak pass him. Halathion grunts as his brother climbs dozens of steps.
Wait for me. I will return. Halathion promises himself in silence.
Upon reaching the top step, Korostykos leans down and lifts his little brother from his shoulder. Halathion stands with his arms flapping wildly, his balance faltering for only a moment. Korostykos messes his brother’s bright red hair.
“State your business.” Agor stands in front of the ornate gold-and-black gates.
“By His Sovereignty’s orders, his brothers have come.” Korostykos crosses his arms, his dark hairline moving with his forehead as he furrows his brows.
Halathion yawns. He nods and steps next to his brother in solidarity.
The reflective black helmet twists as Agor looks between the two. The suit turns and knocks the gate twice; ting, ting. The Sil’davar crest decorating the gate splits as the right panel slowly opens.
Korostykos glares at Agor as the two brothers pass it. Halathion looks up at the suit helmet, seeing nothing but darkness inside.
Their footsteps echo as they enter—reverberating endlessly as the sound escapes into the high ceilings. Carefully molded marble archways decorate each side of the entrance hall. At the very highest point above hangs a spiral chandelier; amethyst crystalline beads sparkle against the invading sunlight. Another staircase leads Halathion and Korostykos further into the entrance hall. Mosaic tiles stretch from corner to corner and they both recognize the image easily: the gold serpentine dragon from which the Sil’davars claim to hail.
“My, my. Halathion, how you have grown!” The familiar and exhausted breaths of none other than their oldest brother, Aetas Sil’davar.
Korostykos uncrosses his arms and follows after Halathion as they climb the red-carpeted stairs into the foyer. Halathion waves sheepishly.
“Your Sovereignty.” Halathion cants his head downward as he reaches the last step.
“Your Sovereignty.” Korostykos repeats as he stays behind Halathion.
“Come, come. Come!” Aetas waves them further in. Nameless advisors, wearing indigo silk robes, circle around the High Sovereign. They stare and say nothing.
Halathion approaches with Korostykos. Despite their shared surname, none of them share features; Aetas’ brilliant blond locks with his thin and delicate physique; Korostykos’ swarthy black brows and hair with his wide, tall frame; Halathion’s bright red curls and his short yet well-built stature.
“How did you find the early morning travel?” Aetas drapes his shaky arm around Halathion’s shoulder as he approaches. Halathion supports his weight and smiles.
“Quiet.” Korostykos interjects knowing full well the question was not his to answer.
“Yeah, quiet!” Halathion nods.
“Very good. Very.” Aetas wheezes as he waves his hawkish advisors away. “Come, let us catch-up in the botanical garden.” He gestures to the open corridor to their left.
Korostykos steps forward and takes Halathion’s place; he offers Aetas his meaty right arm. Aetas’ left eye twitches in its socket but he accepts without a word.
Halathion follows closely as his gaze climbs the white marble walls. Empty of furniture, the massive rounded foyer leads to three different parts of the Lower Arm: the botanical gardens, the archives and the dining hall. Tall white pillars decorate the ramp leading up to the archives. Small corridors on opposite sides of the foyer house separate elevator lobbies. One for the garden and the other for the dining hall. The archive entrance sits under expansive velvet indigo banners bearing their family crest.
The pitter-patter of their footsteps compound the silence between the three as they enter the room housing the garden elevator. An empty room save for a glyph-marked wall.
Tal stands at the ready in front of the gilded scissor gate. The lobby, despite its size, gives them space to breathe. Thick marble blocks surround them on three sides.
“Dismissed.” Aetas says as he struggles to speak. He coughs madly into his closed fist.
Tal bows his dark helmet before maneuvering around the three. His steel greaves ring against the tile outside the room. The sharp noise diminishes as time passes.
Korostykos steps forward to open the gilded scissor gate. As he does so the counterweight raises from below and the pulley squeaks obediently. The elevator car lowers into sight; a large steel square with a worn oak bottom. Halathion enters first and looks back at his two older brothers.
Aetas pats his chest to calm his cough. His indigo velvet cloak jerks with every heavy-chested heave and Korostykos rolls his eyes. He grasps Aetas by the back of his collar. He picks their oldest brother up from the floor and steps into the elevator before placing him back down. Aetas squirms in his grip but his coughing subsides when inside the steel walls.
“What is the meaning of this?” Aetas tugs his cloak close as his forehead wrinkles with annoyance. “You cannot just—”
“Call your freak.” Korostykos smirks. He crosses his arms.
Aetas’ tongue recoils and catches in his throat. He has no words.
“Tal!” The name booms across the foyer as Aetas fumes.
The distant ringing grows louder and faster as Halathion tilts his head to look around his larger brother. Tal enters, its chestplate jostling as it hurries over to the elevator. Tal presses its hand against a glyph embossed on the wall nearby. The counterweight shoots down past Aetas, Korostykos and Halathion; their steel cage jolts up and begins ascending Heavenshand.
The trio travel upward in silence, their eyes avoiding one another as the rope whines through the pulley far above. The creak echoes down and accompanies them as they ascend.
“I am thankful you two came. The others wait patiently.” Aetas says. His soft wheeze follows.
“Others? Oh right, the recruitment notice.” Halathion itches his nose.
“Speaking of…” Korostykos interjects, his gruff baritone voice commanding attention.
“Yes?” Aetas asks as he locks his hands behind his back. He doesn’t turn to look.
“Why?” Korostykos crosses his arms as he glares down at his eldest brother.
“Do I need permission?” Aetas scoffs.
“You do not ask for help.” Korostykos says.
“Let us say things are different now.”
“Different how?” Halathion pipes in, his wide blue eyes and bright red hair appearing from around Aetas’ right side.
“You too?” Aetas’ left eye closes as he looks down at his youngest brother. “Patience, you two.”
Korostykos snorts with derisive force before averting his brown-eyed glare.
Halathion returns to the back of the elevator car with knotted red brows. Why not tell your own family? Your brothers?
Squeaky metal grows louder as they ascend.
The inner machinations of Heavenshand marvel Halation. Floors wholly dedicated to supporting the spire—sporting endless rows of massive stone pillars; floors with nothing inside but small square windows; floors once used for commissioned painters and sculptors. Halathion gasps as a half-finished statue passes them by. Why is this place so empty? Halathion bites his lip.
Korostykos gently pats his shoulder. The two exchange expressions before Aetas interrupts.
“Ah, here we are.” One final squeal from the pulley above as their elevator car stops and sways. A narrow corridor stretches out before them, large family portraits adorning both walls. Candelabras light their way in as Aetas struggles to step over the gap between the elevator and corridor. Korostykos clears his throat and plucks his oldest brother from the ground. Aetas writhes and gesticulates as Korostykos steps into the hallway with ease. He returns Aetas to the floor.
“No more of that, I say!” Aetas dusts off the olive fabric of his pantaloons. He huffs before beginning another coughing fit.
Halathion joins them. His eyes immediately trace the sterling platinum frames as the candlelight dances in their presence. Each frame bears a plaque with a name at the bottom. Halathion steps to the closest portrait to the scissor gate. He reads the name before studying the face: Alpos Sil’davar, First in Name.
“Come now, Halathion.” Aetas reaches for Korostykos’ support after catching his breath. Korostykos rolls his eyes, but obliges. “We have kept them waiting long enough.” The two start the short walk down the hall.
“Coming!” Halathion says as he walks backwards down the corridor. Alpos stares off into the distance, his blue eyes contrasting well against his vibrant red hair. Halathion commits the name to memory as he turns and hurries after his older brothers.
Their feet move quietly against the plush indigo carpet. Each new portrait strikes a different chord within Halathion as he reads their expressions. Why do they look so sad? He wonders as they approach the door. Korostykos reaches for the curved handle. It clicks and opens inward.
Yellow sunlight greets them. Brilliant and exhilarating—Halathion welcomes the warmth.
Carpeted steps lead down into a dome-shaped space and crystal-pane windows shine from every corner. Giant spruce trees reach toward the ceiling from the room’s center. Joshua trees grow on the outside balcony, reaching for the sun with open arms. Purple roses, white lilies, yellow irises and blue tulips; the garden basks in variety of color and species. Lavender and nightshade hide under the spruce trees, visible only when the three brothers approach. An open door-frame across the room leads to the balcony.
“Now.” Aetas stops to catch his breath, his hands reaching for the flat stone partition around the looming spruce trees. He sits to rest. “I ask for your best faces. Truly.” His left eye opens and turns to stare at Korostykos.
“Not until I meet them.” Korostykos crosses his arms and stares back at Aetas.
“Always, Your Sovereignty.” Halathion nods as he settles down next to his oldest brother.
Aetas breathes heavy and slow, his right eye meeting Halathion’s gaze. He smiles.
“I have no worry for you, Hal.” Aetas’ left eye stays trained on Korostykos.
Halathion looks up at Korostykos. The dark haired giant sighs.
“Whatever.” Korostykos grunts before uncrossing his arms.
#my writing#oc#writing#fantasy#untitled#wip#sil'davar#halathion#korostykos#enjoy!#feedback appreciated
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LOVER means shhhhh
One of the reasons why it’s not about that dude in The Favourite, as always. Also, this are just some of my thoughts and these are nothing compared to the huge blogs uniting kaylors out there .
(pardon , but the chemistry was just ydqwbeasdagb)
Going back…
First , the term “lover” is kinda peachy. Why not “ Darling”, “ Honey”, or “ Dear” or something British? jk! Well, maybe because Lover sounds better? I don’t know, we can only speculate. So let’s speculate shall we?
Upon learning that the title of the new album is “Lover”, the first thing I thought was that it sounded and still sounds so delicate ( not the song but also that “song”), something illegal. I think I’ve read enough novels and watched enough movies to have the impression that the term lover actually refers to a third party, a paramour, a valued dirty secret.
If we google the term “ Lover” , results show that :
Further scrolling and it would lead you to this:
“Seven Ages Of Man”, from Shakespeare’s As You Like It?
( Seems like Shakespeare is kinda influential to someone, well Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by W. Shakespeare so yah)
Seven Ages of Man
William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
From “As You Like It,” Act II.Sc. 7
ALL the world ’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,
His Acts being seven ages. At first the Infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining School-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
And then the Lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow
. Then a Soldier,Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard;
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the Justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances,—
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered Pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,—
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
IN short: Seven Ages of Man
infant,
schoolboy,
lover,
soldier,
justice,
Pantaloon
old age, facing imminent death.
CoINciDences? I don’t know. Well maybe the song lover was placed on the 3rd spot because maybe it was influenced by W.S . or lover ,the person, was born on the 3rd, or maybe both! that I don’t know!!! Regardless, it kinda leads us to the word “mistress” and for us to think of a secret lover.
Now, let’s go check the lyrics!
Personally, I think Lover is something related to New Year’s Day. The first sentence of the Lover just gives the vibes.
We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January This is our place, we make the rules And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?
What if these words were taken from the love letters given to her lover.
The line” We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January” shows that she wrote/told her lover this line before January.
Another thing ,
I’ll be there if you’re the toast of the town babe Or if you strike out and you’re crawling home
( she could use any other term for sad moments but for Taylor to used a term from baseball/softball means something)
( Google dude’s name with baseball and the only result related was dude wearing baseball cap with Tay)
GOING back
Don’t read the last page
But I stay when you’re lost and I’m scared and you’re turning away I want your midnights But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day
( The mystery of what was written in the last page of something, a love letter maybe, is kiling me!)
I want your midnights = I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, but I want ‘em all = (to be with you till death do us part)
Assuming that lover is actually a continuation of NYD, dude is definitely not the Lover as he only entered the scene around 2016 and the album 1989 was released in 2014 so yah…
My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue All’s well that ends well to end up with you reminds me of I can tell that it’s going to be a long road
For Taylor speaking these words don’t fit a perfect straight white couple love story, unless you’re gay or cheating or both.
( To any anti-gaylor out there, go do your homework)
And well the latest
When did dude ever refer NYC as his favorite town…unless lover is not a dude.
Adios!
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Monster Family (Monster Roommate AU) CH5
Getting this part moving along before IT CH2 comes out. Leech is not a happy camper right now and Pennywise is in huge trouble. Protip: Don’t let the clown drink.
Pennywise stumbled back and howled in pain as leech stomped forward grabbing the other woman with a horrible shriek that could shatter glass. “Get you face off my clown bitch!” she hissed rearing a clawed hand behind her in striking position. The woman in question threw a pouch that burst into black smoke against the vampires face and trotted off leaving the couple to sort out the mistake.
"Who hit me?!" The eldritch snarled and swayed.
"I did you idiot!"
The clown groaned "Too many Peachies foul poison playing tricks."
"There's just one of me here jackass." The vampire spat and grabbed her mate by the ruff causing him to stumble.
"Hey Fangs when you get a minute we have good news and bad news!" Freddy called out to his friends and the vampires skeletal face hissed at him in warning.
"Oopssss?" The eldritch choked out trying to smile despite the claws now digging into his neck ruff.
"Yeah fucking oops! This is a big fuckin oops Pen!"
"L-love y-you?"
Leech's eye twitched before releasing him. The clown was still very cross faded and beating the deadlights out of him wouldn't really accomplish much at this point.
"I'm not happy." She huffed as she dragged him to a booth and away from the staring eyes of her fellow fiends.
"Mistkate." He snarled and fixed his ruff. "I made a mistake."
"You also owe me a crockpot." Leech mumbled as she carefully sat down hand on their trilling offspring who enjoyed the thrum of the bass from the speakers around them.
"Actually I won that back for ya! You lost the first round though." Freddy called to her holding up the coveted cookware. "You owe me big Fangs this thing is nice!"
“And now I owe the devil a favor fantastic.”
Pennywise's eyes went wide as he stared at her bump. "Peachy you're pregnant?!"
The vampire turned to her two companions "You let him drink more while I was playing didn't you."
"Hey he was just grabbing any colorful drink he saw! You try controlling a 6 foot murder machine like that"
"Did I...did I do this?" The clown chittered leaning over her stomach and poking it.
"Congrats again baby daddy." The vampire sighed and slumped back in her booth.
Pennywise swayed and stumbled a bit the room swam when he remembered all the events from the past few months. Then he stopped and turned to throw up into an ice bucket containing a very nice champagne bottle.
"JINGLES!" Chucky and Freddy shouted at once.
The clown made a face of disgust his long black tongue rolling out of his mouth. Before anyone could stop him he grabbed the bottle and chugged it down wiping his chin. The trio stared in disbelief.
"So did everyone believe that time?" Leech asked quietly. To which she got two nods. "Fuck."
"IS THIS A JOKE?" Someone shouted upon receiving the bucket of clown sick.
"Shit give me him." Leech hissed.
The vampire grabbed her dizzy mate and searched for his pantaloons for his pockets the clown made a husky growl groping at her rear.
"Oh! Well look at you tasty little treat what cha lookin for in ol Pennywise's pants hmm?"
"That wallet you perv, we need to pay off that champagne before I get banned from here….again."
"Suree it's not something else?" The drunk eldritch growled and groped her breast causing it to leak a bit. Leech snarled and swatted his hand causing the clown to actually yelp in pain.
"Uhh Fangs your tit is bleeding." Chucky winced at the dark patch of red on her shirt.
"Yeah it does that now." She growled and tossed her friends her boss' wallet.
"That’s….not normal?"
The vampire rolled her eyes and grabbed her clown's cheeks causing a spittle of drool to fall from his mouth as she turned his head. "Yeah dont expect normal when this is the father."
"Meee?" The clown giggled and grinned from ear to ear then hiccuped violently giggling some more.
It was hard to be furious with him when he genuinely didn't even know where he was and was a bouncing mess. Leech sighed to herself wishing she could be giggling with him. At least it would help her block out the image of the love of her life kissing some random witch out of her mind. Leech slumped back and rested her wrist on her forehead.
"Krueger move we're gonna take care of that ruined bottle service." Chucky nodded at his undead companion
"I just sat down I'm not movin for shit."
The doll growled and slapped the back of his head. "Move you idiot." He mumbled out through gritted teeth gesturing to their emotionally drained friend.
"What?"
"My god you're clueless give the chick and her moron some space." The doll kicked his companion till they were out of the booth "You get ten minutes Jingles. Fix it."
The clown blinked in confusion then turned to his mate noticing the very uncomfortable gap between them. "Peachy? Are you still mad?"
"What do you think?"
Pennywise giggled and slowly leaned past the gap letting gravity pull his massive head down till it bumped with hers. He then chuckled wildly with his big buck teeth sticking out over his lips. It was frankly adorable but Leech could still smell the woman he'd mistaken for her on his skin and she scowled instead.
"You're verry pretty! Pretty eyes, pretty skin, big pretty ears hehe!"
"That's not gonna work"
The clown slumped to the side dramatically and leech shifted her glare to the side refusing to look at him. Pennywise was relentless in his pursuit ever the hunter he was not giving up. His finger slowly inched toward her poking her nose and making a honking sound when he did. His vampire hissed and snapped at him in response. He snarled back at her and limply swatted in her direction falling forward over the table and growling in frustration. Leech finally found herself smiling at that. Her mate is a complete mess when drunk but he was definitely her mess. "Mmph" he groaned and twisted his spine so he was now facing the ceiling.
"Pen what are you doing?"
"Trying to get to you." He growled continuing to tie himself in knots until he felt a cool hand on his cheek. The clown stopped his fighting and melted to her touch that soothed his skin that was warm with drink.
"You're a full on disaster." Leech sighed and kissed his forehead. The clown instantly unfolded and shook then stared at her with a wide victorious grin on his face.
"You still have to make it up to me." The vampire crossed her arms over her chest but was quickly grabbed by her mate and hastily pulled from her seat.
"Pennywise where the hell are you taking-" Leech began to scold him but his grip was strong and the crowd of people on the dance floor was large. Somewhere in the mess of lumbering masked killers she no longer felt the warm soft glove on her wrist. Great she had lost her idiot again. The small vampire shoved her way through the other towering members of the crowd looking for a tuft of fiery hair that rose above the sea of gray and rot. A warm gentle hand touched her shoulder and a strangers raspy deep voice calmly asked her "You alright little lady? Not the best place to be lost." She turned to the unfamiliar person he reminded her a bit of a middle aged Johnny Cash with peppered gray hair and crystal blue eyes. "Well that's quite a cargo you're carrying miss why don't you come sit down."
"Im actually looking for my uh baby daddy. He had a bit too much and tried to dance with me until we got separated." Leech sighed and eyed the stranger wearily as he sat down. "I haven’t seen you here before who are you? Demon? Witch?"
The man chuckled and sipped a half full beer. "Just an old blues man here to visit a very old friend."
"..I...I should find my idiot."
"Sweetheart you put too much stress on that bun in your oven have a seat an' tell me what that boy looks like. I'll drag him back here by his ear."
Leech narrowed her eyes "You sure about that? He's the boogie man of Derry."
"You don’t say? So the critter has a heart after all! Who knew!" The man laughed "How did a pretty thing like you end up with a nasty bug like that?"
“He can be charming if he wants to.” The vampire chided as she cautiously sat down. It did feel better to be off her feet. Her body was strong but carrying eldritch half breeds take a lot out of a girl even an undead one. "Alright this is a bit better. Gotta love my shitty friends for ditching me."
"Don't expect the company here to look out for you." The man chuckled "I take it a little lady like you ain't that type either."
"Yeah I'm post deceased." Leech smiled removed her wig and pointed to her ears "Nosferatu. You?"
"Like I said just an old sinner passin through."
"Fair enough." Leech sighed and glanced to her left at the beaten guitar case "There a guitar in here?"
"What kinda blues man would I be if there weren't?"
"I just started playing again myself." She smiled "Not any good yet but I can do a bit of Zeppelin."
The man smiled and took another sip of his beer "So tell me darlin bout that nasty bug of your’s."
"Well truth be told I’m mad at him...he accidentally kissed another woman with the same hairstyle as me."
"Haha! Can't say I haven't been there myself! Has he ever drank? I admit I don't know much about him other than the whispers."
"It’s mostly my fault. I’d say we’re even now anyway." Leech smiled "I broke his nose."
They both laughed at that.
"FANGS!"
Leech's ears perked up at the sound of Chucky's voice then turned to the stranger. "That’s uh my friend I think I need to go."
"Go on darlin set things right with your nasty bug, he'll come around. I gotta set up cross the street soon anyway." The stranger patted his guitar case and raised his beer. "You take good care of yourself and them little ones."
Leech slowly got up and began to walk into the crowd looking back to wave but the man was gone. A sudden hand on her wrist startled her and Freddy found his throat in Leech's claws.
"JESUS FANGS ITS ME! Also who the fuck was that? Never mind, we uh probably should get out of here Jingles stole a designer lamp."
".....Why?"
"No idea.Think he's proposed to it three times now."
"I'm not getting banned from here again. Where is he?" She sighed and the dream demon pulled her along through the gathered crowd. Sure enough there he was the Monster of Derry himself declaring his undying love to a lampshade.
"Peachy, darling, my queen! Eternally mine! The deadlights hum only for you!" the clown twirled dangerously while trying to dance with the fancy appliance. He was clearly black-out drunk at this point and Leech was genuinely surprised that he hadn't fallen over.
"Hey Fred, please tell me you've recorded this."
"You kiddin?! I've already sent it to you."
"This is why we're friends." She smiled and patted his shoulder. Leech strode forward and pushed the appliance out of her mate's hands "That was a lamp Pen."
The clown blinked clearly blitzed out of his mind then fell back giggling and drooling.
"Oh." He chuckled. "Hi Peachy."
“Do you want to say something to me?”
“S-sorry.” he stuttered still grinning like an idiot.
"I think you've humiliated yourself enough tonight Ruffles." She sighed and pet his fluffy orange hair "I'll forgive you if you forgive me tomorrow when you inevitably try to kill me for the hangover." The clown nodded vigorously shaking his bells as he did. Her lips touched his softly and Pennywise sighed in ecstasy deepening the kiss. He was all teeth and drool but Leech didn't mind his sloppy drool filled kisses were her favorite anyway. "Wanna get out of here?" she breathed quietly as the crowd of people quickly began to leave in mild disgust.
Her clown smiled wide and grabbed his mate vanishing in a jingle of bells before anyone could protest. Leaving their two companions without a ride and a very heavy crockpot.
#pennywise#pennywise fanfiction#it fanfiction#slasher fanfiction#pennywise x oc#nosferatu oc#horror fanfiction#freddy krueger#chucky#monster roommate au
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Desert & Reward: Chapter 6
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Obiyuki Week, Day 1: Pragma Practical love, founded on reason or duty
Obi is buzzing when he steps back into that darkened room, every nerve prickling under his skin like the air before lightning strikes. Not even velvet and down can muffle the feeling; it’s worse when he feels it settle against it his back, when he stares up at the ceiling and his body remembers a night just like this, a conversation so different from this one --
He worried then, how he would bear it. How he’d live with a heart in his chest. Ha. Ha.
In three days time, he’ll be married. To Miss. Unimaginable to that boy in a bed three sizes too large for him, to that boy in the biggest bed he’d ever had.
Until he became a lord. His head aches. How did he even let himself get here, how did he get himself tied in so tight with all these princes and titles and intrigues?
He rolls to his side, letting his eyes drift shut. In three days time, he’ll be married --
But he’ll never be a husband.
Against all expectation, Obi sleeps.
Sleeps. Not a fitful doze, woken up every hour by some noise, a lump in his lump-less mattress, or an intrusive thought but -- an actual full night of rest, the sun sitting high outside his window when he finally wakes to the soft sounds of drawers and doors opening and closing, of cloth being pulled out and then hurriedly put away.
Obi blinks, lets out a four-letter groan, and mutters, “Is it after ten?”
“We’re at court,” Yori tells him in his entirely unnecessary way. He putters about, industriously picking out something for him to disagree with before breakfast. “Mr Morel said I was to have you keep city hours, though he begs that you do not get used to it.”
The idea of “getting used” to regular sleep would have him on the ground, if this bed wasn’t so damn comfortable. Instead, he rolls himself upright, feet dangling over the carpet. The pattern marks it as Watese; just as out of place here as he is. “Morel would rather keel over from an aneurysm than beg anything from me.”
Yori clucks, affecting the sort of shock that reminds him of a softer, more lined face. That he's homesick for any part of the south surprises him, but that fact that it’s Mrs Carre at least takes the sting out of it. “You are his lord. Mr Morel is ready to accommodate your every whim.”
Hilarious. Amazing that the kid could say it with a straight face. “Like you?”
“Of course, my lord.”
“Well, in that case...” He plucks the cravat laid so neatly on the bed, and tosses it. It flutters, like a bird with a broken wing, before crumpling on the floor. “I won’t be wearing that.”
Yori stares at it as if one of the barn cats has brought in a less-than-lively gift. “Well,” he says, so mild, “I can’t allow my lord to embarrass himself either.”
He can’t help the way his lips spread, the way his teeth bare, the way even muscle of him coils like he’s spoiling for a fight.
“Which is it, Yori?” he presses, waggling his eyebrows in challenge. “You can’t have both.”
“--And that is all they were able to come up with.” His Majesty settles back in his chair, head tilted back, long fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose. “A list of encryption that it cannot be.”
Obi pulls at his cravat, tied punishingly tight. He should know better than to antagonize domestics -- they always win. “Well, knowing where not to look is almost as good as knowing where to look.”
“Almost,” His Majesty agrees. “But not quite.”
The king has always seemed young to Obi, especially when he’s always next to lords and councilors that could have been his father, but the way his shoulders round in as he sits, the way small lines crinkle at the edge of his eyes --
He looks his age. Older maybe.
It’s almost too intimate seeing him like this, seeing him frustrated, and Obi drags his gaze down, staring at the list in his lap. Nearly two dozen clerks working for months, and all that they’ve made is a list of things they don’t know.
“I am sorry though.”
He blinks up from the list, head tilted. “Sorry?”
From beneath lidded eyes, midnight blue stares back at him, fixed. “Of course. I hate to be wasting your time when you have such a happy occasion to prepare for.”
Only His Majesty could make it sound like an accusation, a challenge. Obi shifts in his seat, glad that he wore the stupid cravat -- now, at least, the king wouldn’t see the guilty flush working its way up his neck. “No trouble at all, Elder Highness. I’ve been told it’s all well in hand, so --”
“But surely you have some preparations of you own to make.” His Majesty slides a pointed gaze over his jacket, his trousers. “Fittings for your new clothes, at least.”
Obi stares. “My what?”
A smile curls dangerously on his mouth. “Oh my. It seems there’s some work to do yet, Lord Obi.”
The thing is: he has clothes. Nice ones, trunks full of them, all made from fabrics he can hardly pronounce and animals he’s only vaguely aware of. Damask. Jacquard. Ermine. Vulcana. There can’t be a need for more.
“It’s not about having clothes, my lord.” Yori speaks with the sort of impatient patience that implies that sainthood is certain from this conversation alone. “It’s about having the right clothes.”
He has more clothes in those trunks than he’s had the whole rest of his life put together, even as Master’s aide. “I have a dozen types of pants.”
“Trousers,” Yori corrects, weary. “And none of these are meant for a wedding, let alone your own.”
Life was easier when any fancy party just required him to wear dress blacks. “Then what are they for?”
“Oh I don’t know,” his valet drawls, flicking pointedly through endless black. “Perhaps a funeral?”
Obi pulls his mouth thin, trying to stretch his spine, to gain a few imperious inches. Yori remains unimpressed. “I doubt His Majesty has to put up with this from his valet.”
“His Majesty owns a pair of pantaloons,” Yori claps back flatly. “And knows about colors outside of a monochromatic scale. Yesterday, I saw his pocket square was scarlet.”
Obi refuses to believe that he might have a point.
“Black,” he starts, “is always in fashion --”
“Fine,” Yori concedes with a sigh, eyeing the mess of finery littered across the room. Every flat surface has been press-ganged into service, waistcoats and jackets and all conceivable level of pants and hosiery have been strewn over them, a gallery of unworn clothes his new life has acquired without his knowing.
Any of his old clothes -- his black pants, the filmy black shirts, his good boots -- are suspiciously absent. Obi doubts it’s an accident.
“I’ll grant you the black suit.” Yori’s tone implies it would be easier to give up his first child than this. “But only if you will have a colored waistcoat.”
Obi lets a sharp smile pull at his lips. “If you insist --”
“Not including the brown wool,” he amends quickly, casting a dubious look at the thing. “No wool at all. And a real color. Watered silk or finer.”
Victory has never tasted so sweet. “Then I think we’ve come to a harmonious --”
The door knocks so hard it rattles.
Yori’s eyes dart to his, ask him a question he doesn’t know how to answer. No, he doesn’t know who this is; yes, it could very well bee a majesty or a highness or a your grace.
Somehow, when he hadn’t been watching, that became his life.
Reluctant, Yori turns toward the door, moving jerky, slow, like broken clockwork. “I...suppose I’ll get that, my lord.”
Obi bites down, caging the no, please behind his teeth. It wouldn’t do him any good; he’s served Wistal for far too long to think he can avoid what’s on the other side of that door by keeping it shut.
It opens, revealing dark hair, a casual lean, and a rugged scar right across an equally rough nose. He knew he should have kept that door closed.
“Good, you’re already halfway to naked,” Shidnote drawls smugly, sauntering into the room like he owns it, casting an appreciative eye over the tornado of finery that litters the room. “Saves us some time.”
Yori casts an anxious look between them. “Should I--? Are you --?”
“It’s Sir Shidnote.” His Majesty’s me. Obi bites back a grimace. “His Majesty’s aide.”
The looks shifts from anxious to accusatory; his valet far too well trained to blurt it out now, but Obi can see that he had perhaps -- perhaps -- been remiss in relaying his exact position at court.
“Well, we can’t all parley our connections to a title,” Shidnote notes, as if he isn’t a count of somewhere, like his use of sir isn’t just considered an eccentric affectation of some country noble at this point. “In any case, are you coming, Sir Obi?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Just where am I supposed to be going?”
“His Majesty said you needed new clothes, didn’t he?” His mouth twitches at the corners, ominously. “Well, in his infinite generosity, he asked a personal favor of his most favorite tailor, and now you have an appointment to be prodded with the same pins that touch his royal ass.”
Shidnote is enjoying this far too much.
He gives a mocking bob, holding out a hand toward the door, his grin so wide it crinkles his scar. “Now, I’m sure you’d just love to come this way, my lord.”
“I couldn’t possibly,” Obi hems, giving the man’s hands a wide berth. “The wedding -- it’s hardly two days away, and --”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that, Sir Obi,” Shidnote drawls, arm hooking around his shoulders like a vice. “His Majesty’s got is so everything will be ready in a real hurry. Practically shutting down the shop to dress you.”
Obi just manages a, “How…thoughtful.”
“Oh yeah,” Shidnote says, in something just more subdued than a crow. “Izana’s got a whole lot of those.
He expects Yori to be there – after all, he is Obi’s valet, and he gives him a token amount of control over his sartorial choices, even if he tends to nix three-quarters of them. What he does not expect, not at all, is –
“Well,” Kiki hums, steam curling off her tea, legs crossed, “I don’t think even the maestro will be able to fit you with all those clothes on.”
He spins on his heel, the door barely a meter away but Zakura catches him, using those few extra inches to keep him firmly planted on the carpet.
“Come on now, Sir Obi,” he grunts, the both of them struggling at the door. “Take your fittings like a man.”
“You get undressed with a peanut gallery,” Obi growls back, straining against their deadlock. “I’m sure I have something frilly enough in a trunk somewhere.”
“You don’t,” Kiki deadpans, “unless you want to make a wedding suit entirely out of shoulder capes, so I’m told.”
Obi glares at his traitorous valet, but Yori remains unrepentant – even if he does angle Miss Kiki and her seat between them. “They’re dashing.”
“Is that what Shirayuki says?” Kiki inquires mildly, eyebrows twitching above her teacup. “Come on, it’s bad enough it’s last minute, and there’s so much to do.”
Obi relents, stalking over to where the dais lurks, unassuming. He knows better; people with pins and opinions use these things. “It’s just a wedding suit.”
Three pairs of eyes settle on him, a mix of pity and incredulity.
“Oh no,” Kiki says, setting down her cup. “You don’t just need a wedding suit.”
“But I have clothes,” Obi insists as the racks are wheeled out, endless trousers and waistcoats and cravats surrounding him. “Even things for parties –“
“You need new ones,” Kiki tells him, firm. “Ones that aren’t entirely black.”
“I have waistcoats –“
“Of watered silk in solid colors,” she finished, unenthused. “I’ve heard. Not enough.”
Obi huffs, shoulders rounding. “I just don’t see why I need one for lunch and for the wedding and for breakfast –“
“Oh, that’s just to start,” Kiki says, “wait until you hear about your honeymoon wardrobe.”
“My --?” He turns, fixing Shidnote with a glare. “Just what are you doing?”
The man’s dropped his hulking form down into a chair, looking for all the world like he’s just stumbled into a dramatic, personal duel. “Oh, just taking in the show. Don’t mind me.”
“I don’t --”
“Don’t worry, Sir Zakura,” Kiki drawls, corner of her lips twitching, “I’m used to ignoring useless commentary.”
He’s given a reprieve around the time that food should be coming into the picture – which of course is another thing people want to discuss with him, though that at least sounds pleasant. Being plied with a hundred hors d’oeuvres while the maestro and his team frantically stitch together the first of his clothes sounds like the sort of break he can get behind, even if he is under strict instructions not to gain weight – not a single pound, sir, the Maestro had impressed up him, it might ruin the lay of your trousers.
A great pity, Miss Kiki sympathizes, entirely too amused.
Obi picks at his shoulder, certain there’s still pins trapped there, feeling them prick wherever his shirt brushes against his skin.
“Must you be so dramatic?” Kiki sighs as they take the corner, scowling as his shoulder twitch, trying to dislodge any wayward pins.
“I can feel them,” he insists. “They’re right --”
And that, of course, is when Her Majesty turns the corner, her gaggle of young maids bobbing behind her like ducklings trailing their mother. He tenses, taking in the pleased curl of her smile, the way her eyes light when she makes him at the other end of the hall, and he can’t understand why, not until –
Not until her ladies part, just so, and he catches red flash between their finery, and those wide, familiar eyes --
“Obi!” A small hand darts out, grasping at his arm, just below the elbow – “Ow!”
“Oh, Miss! I --” He watches her pluck one of those wicked pins from his sleeve. “From the fittings. I think they’re all over. I’m a very handsome trap, I know.”
She giggles, ducking her head. “Me too. I think --”
“Lady Shirayuki, it’s about time --”
“Obi, we’re on a schedule --”
He meets her eyes with a grin. He leans in, muttering, “I heard the groom wasn’t supposed to see the bride before the wedding, but this is ridiculous.”
She flushes red, but smiles back, leaning in –
Her Majesty comes up behind her, guiding her forward with a firm hand about her waist, only moments before Kiki does the same, just – less gentle.
“You’ll have plenty of time to see each other,” the queen promises with an arch smile. “…On your wedding night.”
He stumbles at that, and by the time he’s recovered, Miss has been firmly swept away, only close enough to meet his gaze before they turn the next corner.
“Come on,” Kiki grunts, shoving him. “We don’t have time for this.”
“I should be about to see my fiancée alone,” he grouses, “let alone with a half dozen chaperones in a hallway.”
“Nope.” Kiki pushes him along, towards the delicious aromas wafting down the hall. “You’re a disaster.”
“What, afraid we’d find some way to cancel it?” he taunts, pulling himself to his full height so he can properly loom. “Two of us alone together, there’s nothing we can’t –“
“No,” she sighs, rolling her eyes. “If we leave you alone, Shirayuki will find some way to get you to elope.”
“I think the fit is wrong on the trousers,” Kiki drawls, holding out her cup for one of the assistants to fill. “Do you have a cut that’s tighter?”
“Tighter?” Obi yelps. “What, do you want them to paint them on?”
“If they must,” she informs him mildly. “Anyway, maestro – tighter?”
“Of course, my lady,” the man says, scurrying off.
“You’re indecent,” Obi accuses, only half joking.
She lifts her brows, pointed. “I’m fashionable. And if you have the thighs to pull it off, I’m not quite sure why you’re complaining.”
His mouth pulls thin. “I have a valet, you know. I can dress myself.”
“I was under the distinct impression having a valet meant you didn’t dress yourself.” She sets down her cup. “Besides, he’s paid to agree with you.”
Funny, how that has never come up in his time with his. “Yori, what do you think?”
Yori looks like he might faint from the attention. “Whatever pleases you, my lord, I’m sure will be --”
“You don’t need to impress me with obedience, sir,” Kiki informs him. “I’ve already seen him dress himself for four years.”
“Hey –“
“Oh, in that case.” Yori’s eyes narrow, taking in the roominess of the trouser. “Tighter, definitely.”
The luncheon is billed as an informal affair, but Obi’s been in Wistal long enough to know what that means: look as fancy as you can, but don’t look like you’re trying. He’d tried to pitch his normal trousers, loose and comfort, but he’d hardly gotten a word in before Kiki had said, buckskins, and now here he is, in a pair that was cut to please everyone but him.
Miss’s hand burns even through his coat, and when she squeezes it, reassuring, he’s sure his knees wobble, just the slightest bit.
“You look very nice,” she murmurs, body swaying into his as they take their seat at the head table, just the two of them. He’d worried that she wouldn’t be able to do this, play the pleased, loving fiancee, but in the palest pink silk and lace, her eyes gazing up at him so wide and earnest --
He almost forgets that this is all just an -- an arrangement.
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” he teases, sliding in her chair. “It’s my job to tell you how pretty you look first.”
She flushes, ducking her head to hide it. “I thought it might be nice for you to hear it for once.”
His hands clench on his thighs, slick. “Miss is too kind. I’ll get spoiled if you keep up like this.”
Her hand tangles with his beneath the linens. “Good.”
“Shirayuki!”
They startle apart, glancing up to see who calls out --
“Garrack.” Miss goggles, cheeks flushed. “I didn’t know you were invited.”
Garrack is hardly dressed much different than normal, save the lack of a white coat. True to form, she took the invitation at face value, and is wearing the sort of smug expression that says she knows exactly how much it’s annoying the glittering crowd behind her.
“I may be lacking the heap of titles that usually is a prerequisite to these things, but I have one that matters.” She grins, all teeth. “It seems these nobles are a superstitious lot. They treat Chief Pharmacist like it means Head Evil Fairy and invite me to everything, just in case. I usually do them the courtesy of declining, but --” her eyes run knowingly over the both of them -- “how could I miss the luncheon of my favorite student?”
Miss demures, flushing all the way to the tips of her ears, and Obi can’t help himself -- “Higata will be heartbroken.”
“Oh, he knows where he stands,” Garrack says, nonchalant. “I hope you don’t mind, Shirayuki, but I know you won’t have much time the next few days, so if we could...?”
“Oh!” Miss gives him an apologetic look. “Do you mind? I didn’t have time to send a report before I left Wilant.”
His chest tightens, thinking about the hurry she had left in to make it here before him, how she must have left the lab in complete disarray -- “Don’t worry,” he manages with a warm smile. “I’ll hold down the fort.”
He watches her go, swaying through the crowd as Garrack leads her onto the balcony, the only place where it’s possible for them to have privacy.
“I suppose I’m obliged to congratulate you on your happy nuptials.”
He drags his gaze away, letting them fix on black hair and bird-blue eyes. Kihal looks as comfortable in her dress as he does in his trousers. “Though I hope you know, Shirayuki’s a saint to take you.”
“You know, I’m a bit vague on the whole…peerage bit. But marquis does outrank countess doesn’t it?” His widens his eyes, so innocent. “Why, am I your liege lord?”
“Thankfully not,” she bites out, “gods forbid. And to think, you’ll kiss Shirayuki with that mouth.”
He won’t, but there’s no need for her to know that. “Jealous?”
“You wish.” Her smile turns sly as she gives the balcony a pointed perusal. “Or maybe not.”
He doesn’t deign to give an answer, not when they both know it so well.
“I suspect you must recognize the room,” Kihal begins, in a completely different tone.
“Not even slightly,” he admits. “This was all arranged by your soon-to-be beloved brother. I could put names to faces if I tried, but...”
“Is that so?” He voice is deceptively light. “It seems like half the south is here. Not the Forenzos, of course, they never come to anything, but everyone else...”
Obi looks out over the room -- Count Luigis there, half the coast over there --
“They must be quite pleased,” she remarks, “after all, a margravine? From Tanbarun? What opportunities that will open up.”
“There you are.” Master steps up beside her, hand solicitously at her back. Kihal leans back into it, just slightly; it’s not a conscious move, but one that shows their ease with one another. Obi cannot help but wonder just what Master has been doing with these years in Wistal. “I see you’ve rushed to give Obi your congratulations.”
Kihal’s mouth twitches, fighting the urge to scowl. “Something like that.”
“I’ve been trying to make my way over for the past quarter of an hour,” Zen admits, “but my brother keeps throwing people at me.”
“Funny,” Obi drawls, gaze fixed on him. “Been a lot of that, lately. Must run in the family.”
Zen stares at him, cheeks flushed. “Obi--”
“You boys can talk later,” Kihal sighs, tugging at Zen. “Let’s go give our congratulations to Shirayuki now.”
“I want to see the green again,” Kiki says, head balanced on two fingers. “And maybe that gold. And the scarlet, there on that rack, with the white.”
“My lady,” Yori interjects nervously. “My lord prefers darker –“
“Your lord’s entire wardrobe is black,” she drawls, flipping through the rack that been rolled over to her. “His opinion is invalid.”
“He’s still standing here,” Obi reminds her.
“And he’s going to try on the scarlet damask with the white suit.” Her eyebrows tilt in challenge. “Isn’t he?”
Obi deflates. “Yes.”
Yori stares at Kiki like she’s revealed herself to be superhuman, and angel in human guise. “I think the gold, my lady.”
Kiki considers the suggestion. “And definitely the gold as well.”
It’s only meal service that brings Miss back to his side; once she leaves her impromptu meeting with Garrack, she barely makes it more than five steps total, completely overrun with well-wishers and old acquaintances. Obi makes more than one attempt to reach her -- after all, if they’re going to sell this whole happy couple thing, they might try being within arm’s reach -- but he’s ambushed by his own parade of speculative mamas and young bucks eager for tonight.
“My, my.” It takes everything not to jump at the words, spoke too close. His Majesty emerges from behind him, champagne bubbling in his flute and smile curling one edge of his lips. “You’ve been quite busy, haven’t you?”
“From what I’ve been hearing, I’ll be busier tonight.” Obi takes a moment to sip at his own drink. “Is there some wedding tradition I’m missing?”
“Why, I thought you of all people would know.” His Majesty looks uncomfortably close to gleeful. “Isn’t it considered common for young grooms to go out before their wedding night, drink unlikely amounts of alcohol --?”
“A stag night?” he yelps. “This is -- they’re talking about my stag night?”
And eyebrow lifts, challenging. “Surely you didn’t think my brother would be remiss in his duties.”
“No...” He’d just thought it would be a think only commoners did, something Master only knew about from slumming with the guardsmen, not --
Not some grand soiree, inviting every nobleman old enough to hold his liquor and young enough to enjoy it. He’d expected Master and Mister and maybe even Miss Kiki, but this --
“Why, even I have to admit I’m eager to see what he’s come up with,” His Majesty drawls.
Obi stares. “You...you’re....to...?”
“Of course.” He steps closer, expression shuttering to something far more serious. “Though we’ll have some far more pressing business to take care of before then.”
“What else could there be?”
His mouth pulls flat, expression guarded. “Why, the marriage contract, of course.” His Majesty fixes him with a meaningful look. “Tanbarun will be....eager to see it, when all this comes out.”
#obiyukiweek18#day 1#obiyuki#akagami no shirayukihime#desert and reward#my fic#ans#i had HOPED i would get to the part i'm DYING to get to this chapter#but unfortunately that looks like it's still TWO CHAPTERS AWAY#but Obi suffering is always good#especially mutual pining suffering#MUTUAL PINING WHEN THEY ARE GONNA GET MARRIED suffering#delicious
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Critical Role Miniature Rollout: C2E35
With Andrew Harshman
A review of the minis used on Critical Role.
Lots of internet buzz about how amazing the map was this session, all of which is wholly accurate and entirely well deserved. This encounter is a great example of how miniatures and maps can elevate your Dungeons and Dragoning experience. Not only was this combat setup beautiful to behold, the visual aid helped make very clear what could have been a rather confusing encounter. The only complaint I can scrape together is that no one rolled for “dockside crane attack”. Fortunately, the campaign is young and there’s plenty of time for crane combats in the future!
Get out your forgery kit and raise the Jolly Roger, it’s time for Critical Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 2 Episode 35!
The List
Campaign Coins DEVEN RUE COMPASS ROSE
Mats by Mars: Sunny Caribbean
Sarissa Precision Small Treadwheel Crane
Amber's Secret Cove Harbor Master's Pavillion
Amber's Secret Cove Fleet in a Box
Dwarven Forge LED Torch Stand
Dwarven Forge Barrel
Dwarven Forge Dungeons
Dwarven Forge Erinthor Mountains Set
Dwarven Forge City Builder System
Dwarven Forge Wicked City Fruit Stall
Tiny Furniture Agricultural Sacks
Legendary Realms Wooden Large Open Crate
Legendary Reams Hirst Arts Wooden Chest
Icons of the Realms Adventurer’s Camp Treasure Chest and Keg
Rusty Dragon Inn Dressing: Barrel
Rusty Dragon Inn Dressing: Crate
Mantic Games Terrain Crate Dungeon Debris
Hero Forge Custom Miniatures Painted By Iron Tusk Painting
Steamforged Games Critical Role Miniatures
Waterdeep Dragon Heist #004a City Guard
Waterdeep Dragon Heist #004b City Guard
Waterdeep Dragon Heist #039 Lord Victoro
Rusty Dragon Inn #023 Bugbear Tyrant
Tomb of Annihilation #022 Artus Cimber
Storm King's Thunder #015 Bandit
Archfiends #02 Dalelands Militia
The Terrain
Dock Waters Mats by Mars: Sunny Caribbean
How to pronounce Caribbean, the great debate. Well if you ask me, it’s pronounced: “exceptional water mat!” This is a mighty fine looking play mat. The aquatic nature of the texture is communicated very clearly and the optional grid does not distract from the beautiful watery visage. Full marks for Mats by Mars for this mat!
Dockside Crane Sarissa Precision Small Treadwheel Crane and Rusty Dragon Inn Dressing: Crate
Not nearly enough cranes in D&D these days. A very handsome and intricate terrain item made of individually laser cut components. When mixing plastic, resin, and in this case wood-based terrain, you run the risk of the components visually clashing. The paint job on this crane is of such fine quality however, that this potential problem is completely averted. A really radical addition to this map.
Docks Amber's Secret Cove Harbor Master's Pavillion
Dem docks! These boardwalks and pylons are really slick. I’ve had reservations in the past about the lack of grid on them. But now that I’ve seen this product in use, I feel thoroughly reassured.
Boats, Oars, and Cargo Amber's Secret Cove Fleet in a Box
Nice boats here in Nicodranas! Proper, hearty, resin vehicles also from Amber’s Secret Cove. I have a tough time believing Fjord’s ship went down if it was as high quality as this.
Group of Barrels and Group of Crates Mantic Games Terrain Crate Dungeon Debris
There are many miscellaneous crates, barrels, and chests in this dock scene, most of which have been discussed in previous Miniature Rollout entries. There are however some new ones. Mantic Games just released a new line of plastic scatter terrain called Terrain Crate.
Two Terrain Crate models are on the docks. The first is a large stack of crates located curbside near the crane. The other is a collection of barrels on the dock leading to The Mist. These pieces are very handy because you get a lot of physical table presence with just one model. Instead of having to put out five separate tiny barrels, you can throw down a single barrel collective. Wait a sec, make a note of that, “barrel collective” is an animated object swarm monster concept that needs to be explored.
Dockside Cityscape Dwarven Forge City Builder System, Dwarven Forge LED Torch Stand, Dwarven Forge Dungeons, and Dwarven Forge Erinthor Mountains Set
The buildings and streets are made of an assortment of Dwarven Forge products, mostly the City Builder system. Looks really seamless. Pretty nice looking neighborhood actually, probably good schools too, certainly worth a look on Zillow.
The NPCs
Marius Waterdeep Dragon Heist #039 Lord Victoro Mini images in this section sourced from minisgallery.com
This is the kinda outfit and pose you strike when you’re doing an album cover shoot for your Forgotten Realms gangster rap EP. These pantaloons are out of control. Surely the best pantaloons in all of D&D prepaints. I greatly enjoy this miniature.
Zolezho Guards Waterdeep Dragon Heist #004a City Guard and Waterdeep Dragon Heist #004b City Guard
Well sculpted and painted guards. This is the proper way to make a town guard mini and furthermore, the proper way to do an alternate miniature pair. There are quite a few prepainted city/town guards, but many of them have a “generic armored dude” look to them, you can’t really tell they are guards. These two have a distinct and matching armor uniform that makes it clear what their station is.
The D&D Icons of the Realms series has featured a lot of alternate mini pairs, these may be the best. The differences in the figures are significant enough to warrant having an alternate. It also helps offer some visual variety when you have a big group of the same mini (as seen in this episode). This is most appropriate for guards, you’re very likely to encounter many of them in one place. Some alts in the past have felt unnecessary, these are anything but.
The Villains
Held Person Pirate Rusty Dragon Inn #023 Bugbear Tyrant
A really excellent pick for a seafaring, piratey character. An alty haircut, stylin’ eyepatch, and one wicked lookin’ scimitar. Quite a good Pathfinder Battles miniature. Interestingly, the bugbear’s armor is vaguely lingerie-like. You can see exposed sections of the bugbear’s thighs, just a peek on the front and significantly so when viewed from behind.
It’s refreshing to see some semi-revealing armor on a macho character. This is all worth mentioning because the original artwork from the Pathfinder books does not include the exposed skin, these areas are just in shadow. I have to wonder about the production process. The contrast of yellow flesh tone and obsidian armor certainly makes the model pop. Perhaps this was a very intentional choice.
Boat Bowman Archfiends #02 Dalelands Militia
What do you call this type of hat? A peasant cap? Peon bonnet? I imagine a lot of Waterdeep hipsters wearing these. This is an old timey prepaint from 2004 and it’s just a common, many of these were produced. It truly was the heyday of D&D prepainted miniatures, even the commons were gloriously detailed and durable. Perhaps not the most exciting clothing color palette, but still reasonable paint work.
Melee Boatman Storm King's Thunder #015 Bandit
The resolution of this sculpt could be better, but it’s detailed enough. What I primarily like about Bandit is the pose, it has a certain animated quality to it. This is the second miniature in two episodes with a ponytail and the sides of their head shaved (the previous one being a dwarven bodyguard). Is this enough evidence to establish that this is a quantified hairstyle in Nicodranas? Might be tough to verify at this point seeings how they can never go back.
Archer Mans Tomb of Annihilation #022 Artus Cimber
This figure works well as part of an enemy mob. If you need a bunch of thugs with bows, this is a fine option. However, I think this mini missed the mark as it were. Artus Cimber is an important NPC, but his mini makes him look utterly average and unimportant. Unfortunately, this miniature works better as a goon than a properly impressive plot character.
The detail in this model is rather poor, the geometry of the sculpt is ill defined. If it had a more interesting pose (like Storm King’s Thunder Bandit) this would be a far better mini overall. It is however most appropriate looking in this setting. And it should be noted that Artus Cimber has a sweet beard and some rockin’ hair. Of course it would look better with the sides shaved, Nicodranas style.
Closing Remarks
Well that escalated quickly. Both the violent action and map intricacy. Fingers crossed for some naval combat next episode.
#criticalroleminiaturerollout
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Regency AU
Hey, it’s not too late, right? ML Regency AU, channelling Georgette Heyer, kind of Ladynoir, with a hint of one-sided Nino/Adrien. I started writing this literally years ago, so yay, thank you @auyeahaugust finally motivating me to finish. AO3 link to follow.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Masquerade Ball is far too disreputable an event for a Young Man of Character and Breeding to attend.
Such was the Conviction of Mr. Agreste, a gentleman of considerable Fortune and the Father of one such Young Man. It was an Opinion formed and firmly held in complete disregard to those of his son.
A Son he might have been proud to boast of, had he the inclination or the interest. His Child was Obedient and Dutiful in all things. Under his father’s quelling influence, he had resisted all the calls of Frivolity and Fashion made upon the Younger Set. Rather, he upheld at all times the Seemly Fashion and Decorous Appearance and Behaviour of a True Gentleman.
Such was the confirmed opinion and belief of Mr. Gabriel Agreste.
Therefore, the Reader may imagine, his surprise would have been considerable had he beheld the sight of Adrien Agreste, Paragon of Filiality, escaping from his bedroom in the Dead of Night. With agility betraying much practice, his Only Child swung himself from his window into the waiting boughs of a nearby tree, and from there to the ground.
Given his son’s carefully controlled athletic pursuits, limited to fencing and horsemanship, this in itself might have shaken Mr. Agreste’s confidence in his former assertions.
Had he been privileged to know his son’s intentions, he would have repudiated them completely.
For, Liberated from Parental Tyranny by the Cloak of Evening and Paternal Ignorance, Young Mr. Agreste was Bound and Determined to experience the reportedly licentious and certainly unsupervised delights of a Masquerade Ball.
In tribute to his own Spirit of Adventure and Mystery, he had elected to dress almost exclusively in black, save for a white shirt and cravat, from the breeches his Father would have considered deplorably form fitting, to the Opera Cloak and Mask he wore in Honour of the Occasion.
He believed he cut a very fine figure, as he scaled the wall dividing the street from his family property. And he continued unchallenged in that belief as he swung his silver handled cane and sauntered to the corner of the street to hail a cab.
He was not to be disappointed, and in short order – though to him it seemed an eternity – he was deposited before the entrance of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, which hosted the event.
Given the lateness of the hour, the festivities had sufficiently advanced to impress the late arrival with the fulfilment of all his wildest dreams.
Music spilled and soaked the air, accompanied by laughter and conversation. The night was balmy, and lamps lit the way down a wending path towards an impromptu ballroom, glowing, it seemed, with good cheer as much as torchlight.
By comparison, the rest of the park seemed dark, and, indeed, as he made his approach Adrien could not fail to hear telltale rustles of clothing and snatches of whispered conversations that caused his face to burn.
A disreputable place, indeed.
However, such considerations were thrust from his mind when he finally reached the edge of the improvised dance floor.
Everywhere he looked were costumes and masks from every era and culture he could imagine. Animals. Monsters. Opera. Domino. All were present in a spectacular array of ever shifting finery.
The young Agreste had chosen for himself a simple domino mask, black, like the rest of his attire, with pointed tips, like the ears of a cat. He had been very pleased with it at home, but here, amidst such a riot of colour, he felt himself sadly drab. What had been elegant simplicity now seemed plain and the striking, nay, romantic darkness of his apparel was nothing more than the cloud of his Father’s Disapproval.
As he hesitated, a sudden movement drew his attention. How it endeavoured to do so was impossible to say, amidst the constant motion before him; had he the leisure to reflect he would have surely named it Destiny. As it was, a flash of red caught his eye, no more than an impression of the colour, dotted with large black spots.
He stepped forward unwittingly and was instantly drawn into the current of the crowd. The Lady was lost to view, but the Agreste Family were nothing if not determined. They had escaped The Terror and rebuilt their Fortune in England, after all.
So Adrien sidestepped a portly gentleman in unfortunate mustard pinstripes and neatly (if not politely) imposed himself between a pair of women wearing peacock masks and was rewarded for his efforts. This time, he was honoured with a glimpse of a face, turned in his direction; dark hair, framing a heart-shaped face and the bluest eyes he had ever been privileged to see, not quite obscured by the red and black dotted domino mask she wore.
And they appeared to be addressing him silently, piercing his very Soul.
Adrien could not blink. He felt a peculiar sensation, like his heart had been squeezed and his stomach thrown at the same moment. His breath shuddered out of him and he opened his mouth to speak.
And then a young man staggered forward, impelled by hands or alcohol Adrien could not say, and stumbled into his shoulder.
“I beg your pardon,” he said breathlessly, once he had recovered himself. Agreste disclaimed any need for apologies unthinkingly.
“I insist, I really must apologise. A fine greeting I have given you! Are you quite well, Mr. - ?”
“Chat,” Adrien supplied distractedly, having already decided on a pseudonym. He attempted to lean surreptitiously, but the Mysterious Lady had already vanished. Resigned, he redirected his attention to the Thwarter of his Hopes. “I am M. Chat this evening.”
The young man’s eyes lit with a warm smile. He was himself wearing a light blue opera mask outlined in black around the eyes that complimented his blue coat and red waistcoat.
“So I see,” he agreed amiably. “And you are a Frenchman! It’s good to see a fellow countryman, M. Chat! My grandmother hails from Paris, you know.”
“As does my Father,” Agreste admitted, surprised and pleased by the chance encounter, rancour forgotten. “How fortunate we met!”
The young man concurred heartily and introduced himself as Nino with a thrilling disregard for social niceties, as if they were already old friends.
“Have you ever been to a masquerade ball before, M. Chat?” he eventually inquired.
Adrien confessed that he hadn’t, prompting Nino to declare: “Then I shall be your guide!” Before seizing his arm and dragging him ever deeper into what seemed to be a veritable maelstrom of movement.
For his part, Adrien was too surprised to resist. Never in his life had anyone, besides his mother, touched him in so familiar a manner. He should, perhaps, have protested the familiarity, but under cover of darkness, at a forbidden masquerade ball, it barely occurred to him to question the presumption.
Nino introduced him to his friends, a group his father would have termed racy, and of whom Adrien was silently in awe. The Red Spotted Lady was not among them, but they were lively and certainly did not hesitate to sample all the illicit delights of a ball, merrily leading the young Agreste down the Path of Moral Ruin.
“I have never tried champagne before,” he confessed, after this third glass. “My Father does not believe it is a - a fitting beverage for a young Gentleman.”
Beer was a workman’s drink, champagne a lady’s. Port was the tipple of a Gentleman, M. Gabriel Agreste believed.
Adrien explained this pearl of wisdom to his patient Confidant. It was a laborious process.
“Well then, you may give it to me,” she suggested, when he eventually concluded.
Adrien blinked and endeavoured to focus on his companion.
“You are a woman!” he exclaimed.
She was.
Shockingly dressed in pantaloons and a cloak, just like a man, with hair cut very short. Her eyes seemed to flash in the lamp light and Adrien was entranced.
“I am,” she agreed, somewhat pugnaciously. “My name is Alix. How do you do?”
She held out her hand to shake his, as if in challenge, as though she were a man, and M. Chat grinned and accepted it.
“All the better for meeting you, Alix.”
He bowed suavely and brushed his lips daringly over her knuckles, in the French Manner. Or he would have done, had his aim proven true. As it was, Nino wisely chose that moment to intercede.
“You are a little foxed, my friend,” he remarked with a faintly bemused smile, taking care to steer him in another direction.
“No!” Adrien replied, outraged. “I am a cat. I should have thought that was - that was obvious.”
“Indeed it is,” Nino allowed, peaceably.
Adrien permitted himself to be settled, leaning against Nino on a stone bench by a small hedge maze.
“It is a very fine thing, to be a cat,” he confided abruptly. Nino only hummed encouragingly, so he continued. “Just so. I can - I can go anywhere now that I am a cat. And I can do as I like. Father wouldn’t know. I am - I am disguised.”
“That you are,” Nino agreed, rather dryly, and it took Adrien a few moments to grasp his meaning, his thoughts dripping slowly, like pouring treacle.
“I am not drunk,” he complained.
“Are you not?”
“Of course not. A gentleman never drinks to - to excess, my father says. I could not be drunk. He would never allow it.”
“Your father is not here.”
“No!” A blinding smile broke across his face. “You are right! I can be drunk. Can I not?”
His face fell again with such tragic and sudden despondency that Nino rushed to assure him.
“Certainly, you can!”
“Good. I am Chat. I can do as I please. And I am drunk. And you are - you are Nino!”
“That is actually my given name.”
Adrien wasn’t listening. Instead he mused aloud.
“Yours is a very fast set… My father was right. Masquerade balls are terribly improper. I am so glad.”
Nino made a sound unbefitting a gentleman and Adrien grinned, craning his neck to peer up at his faithful sentinel.
“I like you very much,” he confessed.
It was surely a trick of the lamplight, but his new friend seemed a little flushed.
They lapsed into silence for a time, their conversation resting comfortably, rather than stifled by Paternal Disapproval or Youthful Awkwardness.
They could hear music, but Adrien noted that, away from the main body of dancers, it was quieter and a little darker here.
He recalled the Whispers in the Dark, and thought quite suddenly of the Red Spotted Lady. What a fine thing it would be to steal away from all the others and converse privately! He was certain she had a very beautiful voice which, he was convinced, must accompany a very fine mind. There had been intelligence in that keen gaze, he knew.
“I saw a Ladybird,” he confessed.
Nino jerked, apparently not expecting further conversation.
“I beg your pardon?”
“A Ladybird. That is to say, I believe I did. Her dress and mask were red and spotted black, like a ladybird.”
“Oh, I see,” Nino replied. “La Coccinelle. We call her the Ladybug here. It is the American phrase. ‘pon rep, M. Chat, you can’t call a Woman of Character a lady-bird.” He lowered his voice, and appeared most uncomfortable. “Didn’t you know? That is what they call a Woman of - ah - Easy Virtue.”
Adrien was aghast.
“I did not know that,” he admitted. “I would never say such a thing about anyone.”
Nino patted his hand understandingly and Adrien considered himself forgiven. Confidence restored, he pressed on hopefully.
“Do you know who she is, by any chance?”
Nino rolled his eyes, for his own inscrutable reasons, but nodded and obliged Adrien’s curiosity, though rather unsatisfactorily.
“No one knows who she is. Upon my soul, she is a Lady of Mystery. But she must be very fond of masquerade balls, as she never fails to attend one, and always, as I said, as La Coccinelle. And all the ladies of my acquaintance agree that her modiste must be all the crack, because her turnout is unerringly exquisite.”
Adrien, who had noticed nothing about her clothes, other than that they were red, made a noise of agreement. Nino smiled knowingly and tapped his knee.
“You will have to attend the next Masquerade, will you not, mon ami? If you hope to set your cap at her.”
Adrien agreed with alacrity and Nino laughed, seeming gratified.
For his part, Adrien treasured hope and the promise of another Masquerade Ball in his heart.
Blissfully forgetting that his Father, had he known of it, would have had a Conniption.
#auyeahaugust#miraculous ladybug#regency au#ladynoir#adrien agreste#ml nino#marinette dupain-cheng#I will add a regency slang dictionary if need be#au august
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The servant who had let (Victor Hugo) in brought an immense basin, filled with water. M. de Chateaubriand took off his handkerchief, and began to take off his green morocco slippers. Victor was about to retire, but he detained him. He continued to undress himself without ceremony, took off his swan's skin pantaloons, his shirt, his flannel under vest, and got into the basin, where his servant washed and rubbed him. Wiped and dressed, he made the toilette of his teeth, which were very fine, and for which he had a full case of dental instruments. Enlivened by his bath, he talked with spirit while working on his jaws, and charmed Victor. He spoke of the censorship. " What a government! They are wretches and imbeciles. Thought is stronger than they, and they will wound themselves by striking it. If they injured only themselves! But they will lose the Monarchy by this game !" Victor received from this second interview a better impression than from the first.
Victor Hugo , By A Witness of His Life
...I feel like Chateaubriand created a lasting legacy in French Literature circles here which was Not what he was expecting
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Every Twenty One Pilots Song
I saw someone do this and thought it would be a good way to procrastinate everything I need to get done. So here are my favorite lyrics to every tøp song and a some of NPI.
"Let the water wash away
Everything that you've become On your knees, today is gone
And tomorrow's sure to come" - Blasphemy
"Depression and drowning singing now the full parts
Of lightning reveals where the ocean stops and the sky starts I’ve been told by the sky that the ocean I shall win
But it’s hard for me to see where ocean stops, and where sky begins A random strike of light reminds me of what is true But right now the ocean is blacker than black, the sky is too" - Drown
"And my own two hands
Will start bleeding again And floor will turn to
To a hole in the ground" - Hole In The Ground
"It's as good as I can be
This is all that I can be" - Save
"And somebody told me they saw you cry and break down
Do you know how hard that is to get around and think about?
It's not like you to let emotions get the best of things Especially when everything is hanging in the air we breathe" - Taken By Sleep
"I can't live this way
Just to write a song to play
Just to stay alive
Just enough to breathe away
Another day, another face
And I will lose another race Save me now 'Cause tomorrow's gone just like yesterday" - Just Like Yesterday
"The point in life must be
Pretty dark and hopeless
Terrifying And if you’re asking me when that is It must be tonight" - Tonight
"I would laugh away the pain
Did you know I'd run all day
Just to maybe hear you say
That you are falling too" - Falling Too
"Reign down and destroy me" - Implicit Demand For Proof
"I'm dying and I'm trying But believe me, I'm fine, but I'm lying
I'm so very far from fine And I, I can feel the pull begin
I feel my conscience wearing thin
And my skin, it will start
To break up and fall apart" - Fall Away
"A moth ate through
Your favorite shirt" - The Pantaloon
"End of my ways as a walking denial My trial was filed as a "crazy, suicidal head case"" - Addict With A Pen
"You say that you're fine, but you have lost your sway and glow" - Friend, Please
"I realize that this line is dead So I'll follow you instead" - March To The Sea
"We all need you now" - Johnny Boy
"Your twisted thoughts are like snow on the rooftops Please, take my hand, we're in foreign land" - Oh Ms. Believer
"So I'll write my fears" - Air Catcher
"And he pretends he's okay, but you should see, oh
Him in bed late at night, he's petrified...He thinks that faith might be dead
Nothing kills a man faster than his own head" - Trapdoor
"I began to understand why God died" - A Car, A Torch, A Death
"Don't be afraid
We're going home" - Taxi Cab
"Look in the mirror and ask your soul if you're alright Put on the glitter that your soul hides behind You're in my mind" - Before You Start Your Day
"We find our worth in giving birth, and stuff We're lining our homes against winding roads
And we think the going is tough We pick songs to sing, remind us of things that nobody cares about And honestly, we're probably more suicidal than ever now"
"So bold and fearless in the risks we'd take, laugh in the face
Of gravity as its laws we'd break
On trampolines so high we reach for the sky But I do not look up anymore and I don't know why" - Slowtown
"My brain has given up, white flags are hoisted
I took some food for thought, it might be poisoned" - Forest
"We all know somebody who knows somebody who's doing great
I know some people who know people who are flying straight But I'll kindly enter in to rooms of depression
While ceiling fans and idle hands will take my life again" - Glowing Eyes
"Are you searching for purpose? Then write something, yeah it might be worthless
Then paint something, and it might be wordless
Pointless curses, nonsense verses
You'll see purpose start to surface" - Kitchen Sink
"I'm caught under water and I'm falling farther My heart's getting harder, I'm calling my father
Am I screaming to an empty sky?" - Anathema
"The only difference between life and dying
Is one is trying, that's all we're called to do
So try to love Me and I'll try to save you" - Lovely
"We're all diseased" - Ruby
"I'm lying cause I say I am fine" - Be Concerned
"Introspection is the name of this session
Spread this infection, reflect it on the next one" - Clear
"A mask that portrays that we don't need grace" - Ode to Sleep
"Fight it, take the pain, ignite it, tie a noose around your mind
Loose enough to breath fine and tie it to a tree tell it, "You belong to me, this ain't a noose
This is a leash and I have news for you You must obey me!"" - Holding On To You
"I did not know it was such a violent island
Full of tidal waves, suicidal crazed lions
They're trying to eat me, blood running down their chin And I know that I can fight, or I can let the lion win I begin to assemble what weapons I can find
'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind" - Migraine
"And since we know that dreams are dead
And life turns plans up on their head I will plan to be a bum
So I just might become someone" - House of Gold
"I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I could pull the steering wheel" - Car Radio
"Night falls, with gravity The earth turns, from sanity Taking my only friend I know
He leaves a lot, his name is Hope" - Semi-Automatic
"We're broken people" - Screen
"You'll have to watch me struggle
From several rooms away But tonight I'll need you to stay" - The Run and Go
"What kids are doing
They're killing themselves They feel they have no control of their prisoner cell
And if you're one of them then you're one of me
And you would do almost anything just to feel free... Our brains are sick but that's okay" - Fake You Our
"Together, let's breathe
Together, to the beat" - Guns For Hands
"I can feel your breath
I can feel my death" - Trees
"Stay alive, stay alive for me" - Truce
"This is not rap, this is not hip-hop
Just another attempt to make the voices stop" - Heavydirtysoul
"Out of student loans and tree house homes, we all would take the latter" - Stressed Out
"Yeah I think about the end just way too much
But it's fun to fantasize On my enemies I wouldn't wish who I was
But it's fun to fantasize" - Ride
"Yo, you, bulletproof in black like a funeral The world around us is burning but we're so cold" - Fairly Local
"Sometimes you gotta bleed to know
That you’re alive and have a soul" - Tear In My Heart
"But I know a thing or two about pain and darkness If it wasn’t for this music I don’t know how I would have fought this" - Lane Boy
"I'm thinking
'Wow, I probably should've stayed inside my house.'" - The Judge
"I'm not sure if I can see this ever stopping
Shaking hands with the dark parts of my thoughts" - Doubt
"It's deciding where to die and deciding where to fight" - Polarize
"I used to say I wanna die before I'm old
But because of you I might think twice" - We Don't Believe What's On TV
"These lyrics aren't for everyone
Only few understand" - Message Man
"Put away, put away
All the gods your father served today
Put away, put away
Your traditions, believe me when I say" - Hometown
"I don't know why
I just feel I'm better off staying in the same room I was born in" - Not Today
"Don’t let me be gone" - Goner
"I crumble underneath the weight
Pressures of a new place roll my way" - Jumpsuit
"You can learn to levitate with just a little help" - Levitate
"There's no above, or under, or around it
For "above" is blind belief and "under" is sword to sleeve
And "around" is scientific miracle" - Morph
"If you find yourself in a lion's den
I'll jump right in and pull my pin" - My Blood
"I despise you sometimes, I love to hate the fight" - Chlorine
"I never look for conflict for the thrill" - Smithereens
"Promise me this
If I lose to myself
You won't mourn a day
And you'll move onto someone else" - Neon Gravestones
"And you know you're a terrible sight
But you'll be just fine" - The Hype
"Save your razorblades now, not yet" - Nico And The Niners
"I don't mind at all, lean on my pride
Lean on my pride, I'm a lion" - Cut My Lip
"I created this world to feel some control
Destroy it if I want So I sing Sahlo Folina" - Bandito
"I can feel pressure start to possess my mind" - Pet Cheetah
"Then the day that it happened, I recorded this last bit
I look forward to having a lunch with you again" - Legend
"In time, I will leave the city
For now, I will stay alive...In Trench I'm not alone" - Leave the City
#twenty øne piløts#twenty one pilots#tyler joseph#josh dun#no phun intended#self titled#regional at best#vessel#blurryface#trench
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Latest Fancy Party Wear Sarees For Every Occasion
Online Cool Collection Of Latest Party Wear Sarees Trends To Slay At Functions!
Online shopping is the future, and we all know how famous it’s currently. People are always looking for beautiful websites to buy their attire. Also, saree shopping is now substantially done online, and there are various reasons why. Fashionable Sarees are flexible and comfortably worn by Indian women on nearly every occasion.
E-Commerce platforms are getting a lot of recognition recently because of how provident and easy it’s to buy products from them. Let us tell you that there are a lot of benefits to buying the Sarees Online from any of these E-Commerce platforms.
You save time
It’s the most egregious one, ladies. We know it takes longer to buy a saree than say a brace of jeans. There are no Pantaloons for sarees after all. Indeed if you find a section of Latest Party Wear Sarees the options are nearly always too limited to choose from. The time you would save by jilting the tedious traditional shopping process is inestimable.
Hottest trends come online first!
Imagine you want the Chiffon Party Wear Saree that Deepika Padukone wore in a movie released last month. It would take you a stroke of luck to find the exact Bollywood saree in the original request.
Discounts And Offers
When you buy Party Wear Sarees Online there are a lot of procedures through which you can get discounts and offers. Numerous of the merchandising stores present on the internet and dealing in saree are furnishing a lot of openings for the buyers to get and mileage redundant abatements and offers. The customers are handed a lot of openings through which they’re evil to take the benefit of the attractive discounts which are available on the website.
The significance of a saree!
A saree is the oldest apparel on our earth, and in India, it’s believed that a woman looks fully draped in a saree. With time, though Western culture has largely told the way a woman in India dresses when it comes to the artistic roots of an Indian woman, Shaadi Party Wear Saree is the only choice.
So, what is it that entices the womenfolk in India to still beautify saree as a mark of respect?
One of the most unique features that make a saree so applaudable is that each type of saree reflects the unique culture and art of the region it comes from.
The Fancy Party Wear Sarees are a striking vesture that unleashes a sense of respect, attractiveness, and beauty of a woman. It makes for amazing vesture for any social event that gives a sense of pride with calm control over herself for any woman.
Wearing a brace of jeans and any other dress might feel easy, but a saree will need fineness and poise wearing a saree. The sense of meekness, modesty, stability, and character is conveyed through a saree. In Indian culture and beliefs, a saree is the symbol of a deity, and wearing it portrays addition and pride for any woman.
How to Pick the Right Saree?
Saree is the most hallowed ethical garment, and just like you, we can not get enough of its ever-changing versatility. Though A Saree is the most perfect outfit for all occasions, it can be a laddie bit delicate to choose the perfect one for you, from the plethora of options available on the Sarees Online shop.
The online shop has a collection of Sarees and blouses that knows no boundaries. Read a gorgeous collection of Georgette, Chiffons, Cotton, Silk, Developer and much further is just a click down!
You name the occasion, and you will get the rarest and latest Party Wear Saree for Girls collection staying just for you! But, at the same time to make Saree shopping flawless and fulfilling, there are many tips and tricks to keep in mind.
However, choose a Black Party Wear Sarees that hides that redundant elevation on your bust; stomach areas, If you have an Apple-shaped body. Silk Saree with delicate is each you need in times like these with a smashing brace of Jhumki earrings to elevate the style status of your entire outfit.
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Last But Not the Least!
From matrimonial lehengas in Banarasi & Dola Silks to special occasion lehengas of satin and net and exquisite flowery exaggerations and stonework, Jayalakshmi Silks is home to the widest range of the rearmost trends in comforting lehengas! Protect to your hearts’ delight with outfits matching your tastes and budget! Buy your Fancy Party Wear Saree Online and enjoy the event.
If you want to buy sarees in bulk for events and are unable to decide when to head towards the market, then Get in touch with Suvidha Fashions, Sarees Online Shop. You will get plenty of options with discounts on every Party Wear Sarees.
Source: Fancy Party Wear
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AYUMI’S WARDROBE, END OF 5.X - INTO ENDWALKER.
The order from left to right, and top to bottom, will be below the cut due to the length of all the items included. (Any dyes used are in parenthesis. The weapons are not included. If there’s a desire for what weapons Ayumi uses, please let me know! This also applies to gear in general; not just the glams shown.)
FIRST ROW
Generic (any job): No headgear Red Moonfire Happi Summer's Flame Wrist Torque Peacelover's Pantaloons Rebel Boots
Healers (ast, whm, sch): Head Bandage Paglth'an Chestwrap of Healing YoRHa Type-53 Gloves of Healing YoRHa Type-53 Bottoms of Healing YoRHa Type-51 Boots of Healing Exarchic Earrings of Healing Exarchic Choker of Healing Exarchic Bracelet of Healing Exarchic Ring of Healing x2
Striking (sam, mnk): YoRHa Type-53 Headband of Striking YoRHa Type-53 Cyclas of Striking YoRHa Type-53 Gloves of Striking YoRHa Type-51 Halfslops of Striking YoRHa Type-51 Boots of Striking Exarchic Earrings of Slaying Exarchic Choker of Slaying Exarchic Bracelet of Slaying Exarchic Ring of Slaying x2
Casting (rdm, blm, smn): Black Cherry Blossom Corsage Paglth'an Chestwrap of Casting Dirndl's Wrist Torque Paglth'an Breeches of Casting Paglth'an Sandals of Casting Exarchic Earrings of Casting Exarchic Choker of Casting Exarchic Bracelet of Casting Exarchic Ring of Casting x2
SECOND ROW
Tanks (gnb, drk, pld, war): YoRHa Type-53 Headband of Fending YoRHa Type-55 Jacket of Fending Pagos Field Dressing (Soot Black) YoRHa Type-55 Bottoms of Fending Neo-Ishgardian Sollerets of Fending Exarchic Earrings of Fending Exarchic Choker of Fending Exarchic Bracelet of Fending Exarchic Ring of Fending x2
Scouting (nin): Dried Blue Oldrose Pagltha'an Chestpiece of Scouting Dirndl's Wrist Torque Paglth'an Hose of Scouting YoRHa Type-51 Boots of Scouting Augmented Cryptlurker's Earring of Aiming Augmented Cryptlurker's Choker of Aiming Augmented Cryptlurker's Bracelet of Aiming Augmented Cryptlurker's Ring of Aiming Cryptlurker's Ring of Aiming
Aiming (dnc, brd, mch): Scarf of Wonderous Wit Paglth'an Chestpiece of Aiming Paglth'an Fingerwraps of Aiming Paglth'an Bottoms of Aiming No.2 Type B Boots Augmented Cryptlurker's Earring of Aiming Augmented Cryptlurker's Choker of Aiming Augmented Cryptlurker's Bracelet of Aiming Augmented Cryptlurker's Ring of Aiming Cryptlurker's Ring of Aiming
Maiming (drg): Scion Rogue's Bandana Adventurer's Hooded Vest (Soot Black) YoRHa Type-53 Gloves of Maiming YoRHa Type-55 Bottoms of Maiming YoRHa Type-53 Boots of Maiming Exarchic Earrings of Slaying Exarchic Choker of Slaying Exarchic Bracelet of Slaying Exarchic Ring of Slaying x2
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