#with the messed up dead family

[roseofthewind]

"Fun" fact about Sorawo's birthday that should be taken with a grain of salt because I only have secondhand knowledge:

May 5th is the last day of "Golden Week" in Japan. You may remember that there were no university classes this week in volume 6, and Sorawo was kind of frustrated about it because it meant she had to wait a week longer than anticipated to follow T-san after class to figure out what the hell his deal was.

May 5th itself is a public holiday- 子供の日、(kodomo no hi) or "Children's Day." It seems like a family holiday where parents celebrate their children's happiness, so obviously with Sorawo's fucked up family she probably personally hasn't had anything to do with this holiday in years.

So, we're painting a picture here: first of all, Sorawo manages to forget about Golden Week coming up. Then, after she is reminded, she stills manages to forget about her birthday when her birthday is also a public holiday. This shows a CLEAR disregard for holidays in general, not just her birthday.

(Oh I just remembered, Sorawo literally forgets about Christmas too. She doesn't realize that she spent Christmas Eve in an (abandoned) love hotel with Toriko until after the fact.)

[somnoir]

Gotham's newest Crime Lord - part 2

Part 1 | Masterpost

Wraith wrecked havoc like no other.

He was loved and hated by the masses. Defended by Gotham regardless of what they felt of him. A figure in the underworld that hunted down those who moved to harm one of their kin and executed anyone who laid their hands in the weak—children.

The first explosion had been explained by the scattering papers and the anonymous posts of an organization who went after children with malicious intent. Blatant evidence that had people rallying to the GCPD to demand for justice. It was glorious and horrific—especially once they found out that it was Wraith who tossed the Joker into the harbor.

The Bats, by all means, attempt to find him. Figure him out, at least. But the man was a mystery. It was worse considering the majority of Gotham were eagerly telling the Bats to fuck off whenever they tried to hunt down Wraith. The only thing they ever got out of him was that his second in command—Phantom—was the nicer one between them. If you wanted civil negotiations, try and look for Phantom instead.

As much as they wanted to go directly to Wraith, this was their best shot. Their only shot.

"Had any luck finding Phantom?" Dick's hand rested on Tim's shoulder, trying to support his clearly tired brother. Tim was a little to determined, kinda desperate to find this guy.

"Nothing. Their names are trigger words." Tim clicked his tongue, "It's fucking up the system. Remember Ghostmaker's ghostnet? Any attempts makes you want to shut off your systems because of how encrypted they could get."

"Searching up their names gave the Batcomputer a virus?!" Steph gawked, leaning over Tim and staring at the computer. They could all tell he was wary, trying not to type in certain words to keep the damn tech sage from that mania.

"Wraith and Phantom are either metas with technology altering powers..." Barbara hums, "Or they have someone else doing this. Imagine them having their own version of the calculator... But worse and more annoying."

"So our new crime lord has a hacker... That has given the Batcomputer a virus." Dick slowly said, "And is still operating without us finding out."

"Hood and Robin are out trying to find Phantom." Barbara points to the two dots hurriedly moving through crime alley. "Hopefully they find him."

"Any news on Wraith?"

"His latest stint involved tearing down one of Black Mask's operations. Several bodies were found in the harbor."

"Why the harbor?"

"It's his MO, I think. It's always the harbor where he dumps the bodies."

Tim frowns, "Like it's his trash can.... For bodies."

"Hasn't the harbor always been the body trash can of Gotham?" Steph sighs, before turning away to stare at Cass who was training in the simulators again.

Dick glared at her for the comment but once again looked back to the screen.

"Hopefully they find Phantom soon... before Wraith drops more bodies."

Phantom was the nicer of the two—claimes by many people who told them Wraith was a little on the quieter side. No one truly knew but he was quieter than a lot of them.

Crime Alley was Red Hood's territory, everyone knew that. But apparently, Wraith has been operating in the same area from time to time. Mainly to return kids to the alley (freshly claimed by that flaiming white symbol). But Wraith did so quietly. They checked in from time to time to see if the kids were alright.

To be specific...

Phantom came to visit to see if the children they had returned and claimed were safe. Often coming with resources that he mainly reserved for the kids.

"Found him." Jason muttered, voice distorted through the modulator as he narrowed his eyes at the young man dressed in monochrome colors. His binoculars zeroed on the young man with white (seriously??) boots and gloves. The rest of his outfit was black, with a jacket still in monochrome colors. Jason frowned at the hood that covered his head.

"Let's go, Hood. Nightwing and father wants—"

"Stay out of it, Robin." Hood instantly growled. Jason has never felt so territorial before but this guy was in his territory—doing good, keeping the kids safe, marking them so no one tried going after them. "Phantom is Wraith's lieutenant. We don't need to make an enemy of the nicer one and piss of the one who ordered the explosion."

"I can handle him!"

"You'll piss him off!"

Robin scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "And you won't? Phantom clearly is fond of children and I am a child—"

"With katanas. You're a murderous child. Wraith and Phantom claim children who are in danger. Not the danger." Jason scoffed, while Damian opted to look utterly smug at the statement.

"Stay here." Jason drops down from the building.

He, unfortunately, didn't account for Phantom pulling out a sword from nowhere and immediately pointing it at Jason. The kids behind the man were quick hide behind him, cowering in fear until the recognition sets in their eyes.

"Wait! That's the Red Hood!" A girl yells, standing between them. Stupid but very brave. "He's one of the good ones!"

Phantom, who wore a mask that covered half his face yet showed his eyes, immediately lowered his sword once the girl was between them.

Jason froze, unable to tear his gaze away from Lazarus eyes—no... That shade of green was much purer than the pits... Phantom narrowed his eyes at Jason, before turning back to the girl. "You go and take care of your little sister, yeah? If your mom forgets to feed you again, tell her I'll give her a visit."

The girl nods, but she whirled around and gave Jason the nastiest glare an 8-year-old could give. "You hurt mr. Phantom and I'll tell Wraith!" She pointed an accusing finger at him, frowning before she gives Phantom a quick hug and makes a run for it with the other kids.

Soon enough, they're left alone... Staring at one another.

"I was wondering when one of you Bats would finally find me." Phantom hums, sliding his hand over the hilt of his sword.

Jason warily watched it disappear from sight. Okay. Possible meta, definitely has powers. "You're a hard man to find, Phantom."

"Not for you, I guess. I come and go into your haunt to check in on the kids every week." Phantom laughs, tilting his head.

Jason could see snow white hair from under the hood, making him shudder as the deathly green eyes are brought back to his attention.

"Every week, huh?" Jason clicked his tongue. "I'll cut to the chase. Your boss's stint—" he swore that Phantom twitched "—pissed of the big Bat. He ain't happy tnag Wraith is bombing up buildings and killing people."

Phantom visibly rolled his eyes, "Too bad then. Wraith's pretty direct when it comes to this shit. Trafficking and pimping kids make him murderous but the fact that those bastards were killing them and selling their organs? He's damn genocidal at this point. Can't say I disagree with that."

Jason... Well... Jason can't argue with that. If he found out that some bastards were doing that to kids, he'd go ballistic too. But Bruce didn't agree with these methods and was rather reproachful about it. But Wraith wasn't going to back down. This wasn't a normal rogue that had felt fear of the Batman and his brood before. To be honest, Jason thinks he's pretty ballsy.

"I don't disagree with that shit either. But Batman ain't going to let him off the hook after that stunt." Jason warned, grunting as he spoke through the modulator. The pits were flaring up again. But not malicious, not murderous. It was curious as it warmed his chest and practically urged him to get closer to Phantom.

"Yes, well... Piece of advice—Wraith is willing to blow up an entire district if it meant keeping others safe. And besides, your rogues know not to mess with him. Not after the Joker." He didn't actually see Phantom's face but he's pretty sure that the bastard was grinning.

"So he really did it."

"If it makes you feel any better, the Joker might as well be cursing him from the afterlife. It was an accident." Phantom shrugged.

An accident, Jason breathed out. Holy fuck, that would have been humiliating for the Joker. His death. An accident. Unintentional and he still died, his body dumped into the harbor.

"Anyways, tell Batsy not to mess with the kids. I know he doesn't, but he let the Joker live, so..." Phantom gave him a thumbs up, "Make sure to not cross pass with Wraith or else you'll end up in the harbor."

Jason gawked, watching as Phantom slipped into the shadows and promptly disappeared. Meta. Definitely a meta.

"Hood, report." Batman's voice rang through the comms.

"Red Hood," he grunts, "Wraith sure as hell doesn't like you, old man. And Phantom might be the nice one but he might as well be as stabby as Robin."

"I agree with Hood. He has wonderful posture, father!" Robin spoke, sounding impressed and smug.

The little shit.

"Technus, stop bullying Oracle." Dan groaned once he caught the ghost tampering with the net... Again.

The crime lord turned towards Danny, who melted out of the shadows again. Technus was blabbering about pesky bats and birds before Dante clocked his younger brother's apprehension. He looked....annoyed and concerned.

"I talked to Red Hood."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Fun fact! He's a revenant!"

"THE FUCK YOU MEAN THE OTHER CRIME LORD IS A REVENAN?!"

"A very sexy looking one."

He was going to punch Danny. He was going to fucking punch Danny.

(Danny was not punched.)

"He said that Batman's pissy about you blowing up shit." Danny shrugged, shaking his head before floating over to the energy drinks and coffees by Dan's desk. "Good news though! I told him he'd end up in the harbor if he ever tried anything with us."

Dan gawked, "What the fuck is wrong with you?! You want to make the bats our enemies?"

"No! I'm commiting to our crime family bit!"

"We're not a crime family!"

"Tell that to Ellie. She's already got herself a new suit and everything."

Dan threw his hands up in the air, groaning at the insanity that was his younger siblings. Dear ancients, he was praying that Jazz wouldn't find out about the shit they've done in Gotham. She'd give them the worst tongue lashing the world has ever experienced if she did. Thank God she was in Yale right now.

"Ooh! A crime family, you say?" Technus grinned, floating closer to Danny who lounged in Dan's chair. (Get the fuck away from my crime lord throne, Danny! The leather is expensive!)

"That is perfect! The others have decided to migrate here, did you know? It's been quite... Boring back in Amity." Technus snickered.

Fuck. No.

"I bet my trust from Vlad that Johnny, Kitty, and Ember are already on their way." Danny cackled, "That'd be nice. Elle's been itching to steal Johnny's bike again."

"Splendid! We shall wreck havoc upon Gotham and exact justice that the Bats cannot give the people!" And like a supervillain, Danny cackled as he stood on Dan's desk, laughing maniacally.

(Just outside, the Wraith's goons peaked into the room and saw the insanity that was the nice lieutenant's villainy.)

Meanwhile, in the distance, the laughter of Johnny 13 and Kitty rang through the streets of Gotham.

Part 3 | Masterpost

[egophiliac]

I have never been more concerned for a JP update from your art than I am seeing a Cheka knowing the context of Leona’s dream.

My bois ok right?????? My sweet nephews ok right??????

well

uhhhh

I'm sure the real one is fine :)

[bet-on-me-13]

Misunderstandings really really suck Pt.2

Edit: Part 1 link since it took me all day to find it again

Damian had a Rival.

Scratch that, Damian had a Nemesis in the form of a girl in his class by the name of Danielle Nightingale. Although she insisted she be called "Ellie" instead.

The trouble started on the first day of classes. Damain had just arrived at the Manor recently, and unfortunately his father had decided that he needed to go to School in order to keep up a Civilian charade. So, he had been sent to Gotham Metro Academy, a rather prestigious school that he could not give less of a fuck about. Why would he willingly subject himself to the borderline preschool teachings of a Civilian school when the League had taught him everything he needed to know years ago? Of course, that was his attitude before he met her.

Danielle was in the seat right next to him for most of his classes, and at first they had not interacted all that much. She had attempted a friendly greeting at first, but Damian had quickly shut her down in a rather rude way.

It wasn't until the next time they took a Science Test together that they really regarded one another. It was supposed to be a test to see where their education level was, but Damian had decided he would Ace the test and move onto some more interesting stuff.

He finished his test within a few minutes and got up to turn it in, at the same time Danielle did. He looked over at her and saw that she was just as surprised to see him getting up. Later on, they learned that they were the top 2 scorers in the class by a wide margin. Danielle had gotten a 100%, while Damian had gotten a 99%. She gave him a smug Smirk, and that was when he decided that he would best her no matter the cost.

From there they made every class a contest. Always on opposite sides for PE, always competing for the best scores on Tests, they even made getting to the cafeteria a race.

Damain found that he genuinely enjoyed competing with her, since she was the only one who could keep up. And they could never decide on a good winner. Danielle always beat him in Science Classes, but Damian was the better in the Math Classes, and somehow they always tied in PE no matter the sport they played.

And after a while, they began to talk with eachother about stuff aside from their little contests. He learned that she was going to the school on a Scholarship, which was why she always tried her best to excel in exams. He learned that her older brother owned a small Shop a few blocks from Park Row, which he used to provide for the both of them to live comfortably. He also learned that he enjoyed his conversations with her as much as he enjoyed competing with her, it was genuinely fun to just sit down and talk to her once in a while.

He finally decided that they had grown from Rivalry to full on Friendship about halfway through their first year of school together. He had found her backed into a corner by some snobby rich kids who didn't like that a "street rat" was getting better grades than them so often. To her credit, she was holding back her emotions much better than he would have.

When he tried to help her, they turned on him. They began mocking his status as a bastard child, calling his mother many horrible names, and even began to make racist remarks about his Arabic heritage. He didn't even get the chance to retort before one of the kids was on his back clutching his broken nose, Ellie standing next to him with her arm extended. The other one soon followed, this time by Damian's hand.

Of course the incident got them both detention, but from then on he knew she was his friend.

...

Damian began noticing something was off about Ellie about 1 year after meeting her. Her 12th birthday had just passed, and the new school year was just beginning, and for some reason she was much competitive than usual. She didn't seem to think he had noticed, but she hadn't tried this hard to beat him since they had first met. She wasn't talking to him as much, distancing her self more and more as the weeks went on.

It finally came to ahead during a game of Dodgeball in their PE class. She had been competing with him relentlessly, but even then she wasn't preforming up to her usual level. He could see she was tired, exhausted even, from such a simple exercise, sweat pouring from her skin in buckets. Which didn't make any sense, since he had seen her do much more intense things without breaking a sweat.

He also knew that she was a Metahuman, and therefore had more stamina than a normal person. (She had told him over the summer, after deciding that she trusted him with her biggest secret)

Before the game had even ended, he was asking her to just tell him what was wrong. She denied that anything was wrong, right up until she collapsed in the middle of the game, unconscious.

He had immediately rushed her to the Nurses Office, where she finally opened up about what had been disturbing her so much recently.

She was dying.

She had a genetic disease, linked back to her Meta-Human abilities, that was slowly killing her. And they were running out of the medication needed to treat it.

She took out what looked like an Epi-Pen and injected herself with the medication inside. Damain could instantly see the color come back to her skin, her muscles got less tense, and her breath became more steady.

"That was one of our remaining Doses", she explained, "This dose will last me about a month. We have enough left to last until December, but after that there won't be anymore left. It was only ever produced by a single pair of scientists out of state, and they died in a car accident a few years ago."

Damian is extremely worried, his best friend is dying and he doesn't know how to help. He tried to offer his dad's help, but she refuses.

"I'm a Metahuman, if a person as high profile as your dad stepped in to help, it would draw attention to me. And Gotham is way to dangerous for a known Metahuman to live, especially a 12 yr old one." She says, "And besides, my brother says he's working on replicating it. I trust him, and he's been researching it relentlessly."

It takes a while, but Damian agrees to let her take care of this.

Over the next few months, Damian and Ellie act as if everything is normal. From time to time they will talk about it, but they largely try to ignore it for the most part.

Sometimes Ellie will joke about it though.

"At my Funeral, make sure they don't lie. I was a fucking Goddess of Chaos and I won't have them defiling my name by spouting out that whole 'heaven has another angel' bullcrap."

"In my Will, I'm gonna set up a whole Indiana Jones Style Quest for you to follow before you can claim anything of mine. You gotta work for it."

"Don't worry, I won't haunt you after I die. I'll be too busy conquering the Afterlife to manage anything like that!"

"At my Funeral, I want you to make a speech that's just 'this is so sad. Alexa play despacito'. Nothing else, just that."

It goes on like this for months, and both of them have mostly accepted that their time together has a potential time limit, so they try to make the most out of it.

Damian even forces her to formally introduce her brother, an older guy named Danny, who is very enthusiastic to meet him. Apparently Ellie had trouble making friends in her last school, and he was just so happy she had found such a good friend in the last year.

They even invited him to visit whenever he wanted. Sometimes he would even stay the night, sleeping in Danny's room while Danny took the couch.

He even found the Lab, or makeshift lab, that Danny had made to try and find a way to replicate the Medicine for Ellie. Damian had to admit, Danny was a certified Genius, and he had Hope that Danny would find a way to save Ellie soon.

He asks for an explanation on the Medicine, and Danny explains it as "Ellie's powers draw on a type energy called Ecto, which helps keep her body stable. Unfortunately, she has a birth defect that means she can't absorb it faster than she uses it up naturally. What the Medicine does is bolster the amount she already has in her system to make it more potent and last longer."

He even shows Damian his notes, and at his insisting he begins teaching Damian about Ectoplasm and the science behind it all.

Damian begins coming over on the weekends to hang out with Ellie and check up on the progress of the Medicine. He tells the rest of his family that he just wants to get a little more comfortable in his Civilian Life, and is indulging in his urge to actually be a kid. (They still don't know about Ellie's situation, cause she asked him not to tell anyone.)

...

A few months later, Jason comes back from patrol and informs the rest of the team that he just found a Scienist creating a Super Soldier Serum in the middle of Gotham.

Unfortunately, Damian was staying over at Ellie's house for the weekend, and didn't get the memo.

[littleprincefan]

this is my favourite character dynamic of all time and i dont even CARE i love found family so much

[goddessofroyalty]

i went through the zaun family au tag (plus a little of work/life balance but i prefer the former lol sorry!) and i dont think youve gotten into many details of how jayce and viktor cope with a newborn baby? clearly viktor wants to go back to the lab asap, and he does carry naph around in a sling, but it's not something he can do like. the next day after popping out that kid.

(admittedly i just want more of jayvik + their baby 😔 you manage to get them soooo right)

Glad you've enjoyed it.

I don't think I've rambled much about Jayce and Viktor with their newborn (more about once things have settled).

Because we are basing this in Zaun Family I'm going to stay with a comparison. I think where Silco during those early days after the birth kind of curls around the newborn to the point where even Vander has to convince him to be able to see them and that only getting more intense the worse the labor and delivery are, Viktor during those early days kind of dissociates and leaves the baby caring to Jayce and it goes on for longer/is more intense the worse the labor and delivery are. He's in a least a decent amount of pain, has gone through an intense experience, and hasn't been able to (and still can't) return to his lab to like 'ground' himself with his work. I've heard some people talk about feeling like their body wasn't their own in those very early hours/days after giving birth and I think Viktor falls into that camp.

I do think both Jayce and Viktor knew that Jayce would probably be doing the bulk of the baby caring in the days immediately following the birth. They didn't have a sit down conversation about it but they know Viktor will need to rest and recover and Jayce kind of needs to do it to help his own feelings of uselessness throughout the pregnancy. It does frustrate Viktor because they're meant to be partners and right now Jayce is doing most/all the work while he's basically stuck in bed recovering but also... Viktor did all(/most - Jayce was a very attentive support through the pregnancy) of the work to that point. Viktor doesn't do nothing but at the start all he can kind of do is hold Naph while Jayce organises things.

Obviously as Viktor heals and is able to do more (and return to his lab - that probably feels like a turning point day of being Himself again for him) the dissociation fades and they more find their rythm together and it does end up being that more equal split that I've talked about previously.

Ximena also probably basically moves in with them the last days before Naph is born and for that early period while they are adapting. But she is very much the Good example of a grandparent moving in when the baby's born. She's there if they need her but is mostly dealing with the day-to-day life stuff (you know organizing food, doing the dishes, emptying the bins) so they don't have to think about it while they adapt to life with a baby (and while Viktor is kind of out of action).

[cosmicourple]

stupid gow A.U’s #16:

A.U where Atreus sometimes rips out the throats of his enemies during combat. In human form.

Everyone is extremely unnerved n terrified of this, but when confronting Kratos about it, he just hums, basically saying “idk I didn’t teach him that,,,”

Him n Laufey gave up ages ago on trying to quell their sons inherited feralness, it’s a trait they both know can’t be simply gotten rid of ):))

[robby-bobby-tommy]

Since we don't know Viktor's last name, may I propose Viktor Reveck?? Singed is probably gonna bring him back as an experiment, so👀

[r6eduss]

THE BOOK OF CAROL SPOILERS!!!

First off, they completely fucking ruined Daryl’s character by making him kiss a girl that he had known only for a little while. This is the same Daryl that literally protected Connie at all costs, learned signed language for her, attempted to dig her up under all the rubble, and obviously liked her but completely REFUSED to make any moves whatsoever even when Carol endorsed it. They’ve spent years building up Daryl’s character showing us that he doesn’t trust easy, he doesn’t care for romance, and it would take A LOT for him to fall in love with someone. So why tf did they make him kiss Isabelle?? After only knowing her for what a month? I love Daryl but his character changed so much and I feel like that’s mainly because he’s overly sexualized and the most loved character in the entire twdu.

Also, we all know Daryl would never abandon his family for someone he’s only known for a short amount of time, so if he ends up staying with her by the end of the show I’m gone.

[copepods]

less gentle nurturing protective goddess c!kristin more amoral fickle petty divine being c!kristin who cares little for the affairs of mortals aside from her chosen favorites. more c!kristin who destroys lives with a flick of the wrist without sparing a thought, not out of malice but pure carelessness, as gods are wont to do

[echo-goes-mmm]

Moonflower #8

Masterpost

Previous

Next

Warnings: sexism, dehumanization

Iris refreshed her makeup, adding more concealer under her eyes. Half of it was ensuring her Aunt wouldn’t make a “you seem tired” comment, and the other half was pure procrastination.

Kit sat on the floor next to the vanity, watching her blend out the concealer. 

It was nice to have someone in the room that was quiet and didn’t demand her attention. Less lonely, without draining her energy.

She applied more lipstick and smoothed her hair. There was no use putting it off any longer. Aunt Nicole would just chide her for being late.

The walk to the dining room was too short for her taste. She half considered canceling, but then the next dinner would be even more insufferable.

Her family stood as she entered, and it was amusing to see their smiles turn to confusion when they spotted Kit trailing behind her.

“It’s good to see you, Iris,” said Alexander. Out of the four on her mother’s side, she liked him the most.

“Likewise.”

She took her spot at the head of the table; Kit to her right.

The slight didn’t go unnoticed.

“Won’t you introduce us to your friend?” asked Aunt Nicole, a faux smile on her face.

“Kit, this is my Aunt Nicole, Uncle Henry, and my cousins: Alexander and Richard.” She pointed each one out, and Henry offered a polite nod.

“Hello,” said Kit. Richard snorted, but covered it up with a cough. Brat.

Iris sat, and everyone followed suit.

Percy, and a servant she didn’t know the name of, appeared in a flash. 

“Tonight we have a seasonal salad with balsamic vinaigrette, roasted duck with rosemary potatoes, and chocolate lava cake for dessert. Chef has selected a light red with notes of cherry.”

The servant uncorked the bottle, and Iris gave it a sniff. “Lovely. Thank you.”

The servant began to pour the wine. Richard was too young, so she passed him over. Kit politely refused the wine, and Aunt Nicole raised a judgemental brow.

It was going to be a long meal.

___________________

“So, darling,” said Iris’s aunt, “have you started looking for a husband yet?”

Kit glanced up from his salad in alarm. Mistress had already told him she hated the marriage talk. 

“Not as of late,” said Iris, gritting her teeth. “I’ve been busy.”

“Of course you have. The kingdom won’t run itself,” Henry interrupted, casting a glance to his wife.

“I could handle the matchmaking for you,” suggested Nicole. Iris tensed. Nicole leaned over to place her hand on Iris’s. “I know that was supposed to be your mother’s job, but-”

Iris yanked her hand away. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m really not interested right now.”

Mistress grabbed her wine and took a long sip. Nicole frowned.

“Honey, I’m just concerned. Don’t you want children?”

Iris choked on her wine.

“Of course I do, but I don’t have the time to date. And I certainly don’t have the time to be a mother.”

“That’s what nannies are for, darling.” 

“We are not talking about this.”

Silence fell over the table.

“The weather is pretty good for August,” said Alexander, clearly trying to change the subject. “Very mild. Think that will hold for winter?”

“Probably not,” said Iris, her posture relaxing.

“How do you know? Did your magic pet tell you that?” said Richard. He shoveled salad into his mouth. It was supposed to be an insult, but it was weak and childish at best.

“Richard!” exclaimed Nicole.

“Kit isn’t a pet,” said Iris, her grip on her glass tightening.

Henry put his fork down. “Mind your manners, young man.”

“I’m not a winter. I wouldn’t know,” Kit said, neatly sidestepping the ‘pet’ comment. He didn’t think he could really dispute it anyway.

“Can you predict the weather?” asked Alexander. “In your season, I mean.”

“A little. I can’t tell you what will happen in a week, but I’ll know if it will rain the morning of.”

“How convenient,” said Nicole. “That must be helpful for event planning.”

“I suppose.”

___________________

Mistress was on her second glass of wine, and Kit worried about her. She was just so tense.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know any conversation topics that would calm her down.

Some servants cleared the table and brought in the duck. It looked delicious.

He carefully took a bite, and suppressed a wince. 

It was good, really good, but it was clearly seasoned with salt. It stung like tiny needles in his mouth.

Was it on purpose? Did he do something wrong, and this was his punishment?

He glanced at Mistress Iris out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t seem to notice anything.

Kit looked down at his dish. It would be rude not to eat what he was given. Iris would be so upset if he embarrassed her in front of the family she disliked so much.

He tried the potatoes.

No salt, thank the stars.

He ate the duck quickly. If he got it over with soon, it would give his mouth time to heal and hopefully he could enjoy dessert.

“So, Kit, what do you do for Iris?” asked Richard, a smirk on his face. “Y’know, if you don’t predict the weather.”

Kit decided he didn’t like Richard.

“Whatever Mistress asks of me.” 

He knew he’d made a mistake as soon as the word ‘mistress’ left his lips.

“So you’re not a pet, you’re a slave.” Iris sucked in a breath.

Henry stood up, grabbing Richard by the arm. “Come on. We’re going to have a chat.” 

He pulled Richard from the table, marching him out the door.

“I was just telling it like it is!” protested Richard as they went.

There was a pause. Kit poked at the remaining food on his plate.

“I am so sorry,” apologized Alexander. 

“I’ve heard worse.” Richard was right, but he was an asshole about it. No wonder Iris didn’t like her family.

Nicole said nothing, swirling her wine.

Kit attempted to swallow more of the meat, but he couldn’t help flinching at the salt on his tongue. It was beginning to burn in his mouth.

He grabbed his water glass and took a long sip.

He tried to eat another piece without wincing, but it was a losing battle. He choked it down. It really was too bad; he liked duck.

“Are you alright?” asked Iris, her brow furrowing.

“I-” there was no way he could answer without complaining. “There’s salt in this.”

“Percy!” called Iris over her shoulder. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” she said to him.

“I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose.”

“Of course it wasn't on purpose!”

Percy appeared in moments. “My queen?”

“There's salt in Kit’s food.”

Percy’s eyes went wide. He turned to Kit. “My apologies for the mix up. Chef specifically prepared a duck for you. I’ll switch it out immediately. It won’t happen again.” He whisked away the plate.

“Thank you,” said Iris, exasperated. She reached for her wine again.

Henry and Richard came back in. Henry looked as composed as before, but Richard’s face was red.

Henry kissed his wife on the cheek, and Richard slumped unhappily in his chair. He didn’t look at anyone.

The second duck was just as good as the first, without the pain. Percy seemed incredibly embarrassed.

“Percy isn’t going to be in trouble, right?” he asked.

“It isn’t his job to plate the courses, so no.” Iris reassured him. “Whoever did will be.”

“Oh. What if it was just a mistake?”

“I’d have them fired,” said Nicole. She turned up her nose. “No one wants to do their jobs properly anymore.”

“What are we talking about?” Henry said, picking up his fork.

“Someone put an allergen in Kit’s food,” said Alexander.

“Ah.”

“We’re debating if they should get fired,” said Iris.

“I don’t think so,” Kit said. “Maybe they just didn’t know.”

“They should know,” argued Nicole. “It’s unacceptable.”

“I’m with Kit on this one.” offered Alexander. “Salt is so common, and not usually something you have to worry about. No harm no foul, right?”

“Doesn’t salt hurt faeries?” asked Henry.

“Yes.”

“Well then there was harm,” he pointed out.

“Kit should still decide.”

“I don’t want them in trouble if it was a mistake,” he protested.

“And if it wasn’t?” asked Henry. “You can’t just let that slide.”

“Then I’ll fire them,” said Iris. “Obviously.”

“The real problem is lack of effort,” Nicole complained, “No one wants to work these days.”

The family debated back and forth, and Kit was just glad that Iris didn’t seem so wound up anymore.

___________________

“Well, now that it's over, I won’t have to see them for another month.”

Kit watched her remove her makeup.

“Why bother seeing them if you don’t like them?”

Iris pulled off her earrings. “They’re my mom’s family,” she explained. “I can’t just… not talk to them.”

She looked in the mirror. She did look tired without concealer. Damn.

“Oh.”

She got the feeling that Kit didn’t really understand. “It’s easier to keep the peace than to cut them off. Besides, Alexander and Uncle Henry aren’t so bad. Right?”

Kit hummed.

“I’m going to bed early. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, Iris.” Kit stood up and left, the door quietly clicking shut.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. It was only Monday, and she was already so sick of work.

Maybe tomorrow would be easier.

taglist: @paintedpigeon1 @cupcakes-and-pain @loserwithsyle @cepheusgalaxy @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight

[theoppositeofprofound]

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

Til sunrise

Word count: 847

Fandom: Lolirock

Characters: Talia, Amaru

Other: Pre-Canon, continuation of episode 6 - Xeris, angst, abandonment, optimistic ending

Created for the first prompts of @whumptober and #lolirocktober (prompts here and here)

She never realised just how cold the castle walls were, but now, hidden by a broken passage, she could feel the chill seeping in through her thin dress. She was still trembling, even when she ran out of tears to cry.

She watched her own reflection in the dark crystal until it got too dark to see anymore, and then she just stared into the blank night. She didn't remember the nights ever being this dark. Was it another spell of Gramorr's? If he could cover the ground with dark crystals, maybe he did something to the sky too? Or it was simply the smoke.

She coughed with another breath and the sound echoed through the empty rooms- ruins. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand. She listened. Her body was tense and she repeated Crystal Collidum in her mind, to execute it perfectly if she had to protect herself. She regretted not remembering any more spells.

Finally after minutes or hours she let her guard down. It was slowly getting brighter and she was now sure that there wasn't anyone but her around. At least not a living soul.

She closed her eyes when she caught a glimpse of another translucent figure with the corner of her eye. She was cold, she was lonely and she was scared. But the darkness under her eyelids was more pleasant than the darkness around her and she finally admitted to herself that above all, she was tired.

She shot up after what felt like mere seconds. Her heart was racing and her eyes darted around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Why was she sleeping on the ground...?

As soon as her gaze fell on the dark crystal before her, the horrors of last night came back to her. She felt a new wave of tears flood her eyes and she hid her face in her knees to at least not have to look at herself as she cried. It would only remind her that there's nobody here to comfort her.

Suddenly, through her own sobs she heard something that filled her both with hope and fear. It was a voice.

"Over there! Can you hear it too?" It was coming from above, from where the main hall used to be.

"The little guy seems to, at least. You really think someone would be here so soon after the attack?" There were more of them.

She pushed herself into the corner and tried to hold her breath but then she felt like suffocating, which would only make her breath more loudly, which would definitely make them hear her, and suddenly she was barely able to breath at all.

The sound of many footsteps was getting closer and she could now distinguish the sound of soft paws on stone among them.

Did Gramorr come back to get her too? Was it Banes?

She squeezed her sister's amulet in one hand and extended the other, trying to calm down enough to summon her magic circle.

"Everyone be ready. It's probably just a looter but..."

But how was she supposed to be calm? Her heart was louder than the patter of the approaching paws.

Her circle flickered and went out and so did her hope. Was he going to eat her? Did Banes eat princesses? Did he eat Izira too?

She clutched the amulet with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut, repeating in her mind all the prayers to the good stars for someone - for her sister - to come save her.

But she didn't feel sharp teeth bite into her flesh, or vicious claws tear her apart. Instead, something soft rubbed over her leg.

She risked opening her eyes.

A pair of big green eyes looked back at her.

She's never actually seen Banes, but she knew it couldn't be him. Banes was giant, could breath fire and was very, very evil. And this little puff of white and purple fur couldn't be evil in the slightest.

It put its paws on her knees and moved closer to sniff her. Its wet nose touched hers and it sneezed, knocking itself over in the process. Talia giggled.

"So who do we have here, little guy?" A pair of boots came into her view and a man bent down into her hiding spot. "Oh. Hello there."

Talia recoiled and her hands went back to the amulet.

The man instinctively reached for her but then stopped and instead put his hands up so she could see that he was unarmed. He knelt down far enough for her not to feel cornered but - as she realised when she was finally brave enough to look at him again - still close enough to obscure the horrible dark crystal.

"Hey, it's alright, we're not here to hurt you." He smiled gently. "You're safe now, the rescue mission is here."

The purple puff climbed back into her lap and Talia finally allowed herself to pet it. It was soft and she was starting to believe that perhaps the man was actually telling the truth.

[lemongogo]

me admitting that i dont hate ast*rion after all .

[pasta-pardner]

when arthur and john reconcile, it's too late and yet it's also just in time. (mostly acoustic indie folk)

spotify

[diamond-dangeresque]

Transcript from worldstate:

The eldest daughter of Revka Amell's five "cursed children", Damara was sent to Ferelden's Kinloch Hold not long after her magic manifested one night at a family party. Her noble stoicism and ladylike behavior within the Circle earn her the nickname of "Mage Princess" amongst the apprentices, a name which she despises but can't seem to dispel. Despite her successful Harrowing, it's her actions in aiding her friend Jowan and his paramour Lily that lead to Damara taking the offer of Warden Commander Duncan over facing the wrath of the Circle's Knight-Commander. Damara is spurred on by a strong sense of justice and order and refuses to judge others based on status or class, barring strong condemnation towards blood mages; she leads her companions, and later the Grey Wardens as its Warden-Commander, towards an ideal of not only protecting Thedas from the Blights, but possibly beyond that.

Transcript from worldstate:

The eldest son of Leandra Amell and Malcolm Hawke; older brother to twins Bethany and Carver. Trained by his father in magic, he also learns his father's many lessons: kindness towards those who need it, patience for those asking of it, knowing when to apply direct action towards people to whom "diplomacy is lost on", and a critical eye kept on the Chantry. Despite the tragedy that follows him around, Corrin maintains a good sense of humor and a strong bond with the company he keeps. Deep down, underneath the helping hands or the warm smile, is a pained heart from years of repeated failures. Those he saves, he holds onto tightly, fearing that letting go will mean allowing them to perish as well.