#yes she is still alive~ whoo!

[stone-stars]

in which murph has a very normal time at the hands of his players

Transcript:

Murph: Wel-come back to Bahumia everybody! [Jake, Emily, and Caldwell echo him with "Bahumia!". Caldwell sounds incredibly enthusiastic.] Murph: He's so excited! Caldwell Tanner, thanks for being here. Caldwell: Ye-ah! Murph: It's not your turn yet, dude! Caldwell: I'm so sorry sir! Murph: Okay? I'm your Dungeon Master Brian Murphy, joined by Jake Hurwitz-- Caldwell: Bahumia! Jake: [laughs] Hey! Dude! Murph: Caldwell! Caldwell: Sorry! Emily: [laughs] Bahumia! Bahumia! Jake: I'm trying to rhyme, man! Murph: Quit stepping on him with your enthusiasm! Caldwell: I'm just so ready to go! Emily: Bahumia! Jake: I worked really hard on this. I di-- [sighs] well forget it. Fuckin' forget it. Murph: No you gotta! Emily: Bahumia! [Overlapping crosstalk as Caldwell and Murph encourage Jake.] Caldwell: You've got this. Murph: You got this. Jake, go ahead, don't let these two enthusiasms get in your way, alright? Jake: Yeah. Alright, no, yeah. I got this. I got this. Yeah. Caldwell: Whoo! He's got this! Jake: Fighting alongside-- Caldwell: You've got this man! Do it! Murph: Stop! You have to stop! Jake: I know I got it! I'm doin' it! (Calder voice) Fighting alongside a frog and a bard with my brand new sword, Shard. [Emily and Caldwell laugh.] Murph: Yeah! Pretty good. I do feel like we built it up though, at a certain point. And there was just-- there was no way you could fully deliver. Jake: Yeah. It would've been perfect if I got it out clean right up top as soon as you introed. Murph: Yeah, if we did a super low energy intro. [Jake: M-hm. Yeah.] Caldwell: I think it was great man, I think it was amazing, I can't wait to hear it again! Murph: Who is this person. And then of course we've got Emily Axford-- Emily: Bahumia! [Everyone laughs. The others continue laughing harder as Murph talks.] Murph: Ohh. Okay?? That's the name of the world. Her character's name is Calliope Petrichor. If for some reason episode 57 of campaign 3 is the first thing you've listened to. That's Emily Axford. (laughing) She plays Calliope Petrichor. She did say before we started, I think almost as a counter-bit to Emily's bit, before we started (laughing) Emily said "I'm not gonna do a rhyme I don't feel like it." And I said "wild energy to bring into the episode!" so Caldwell went the opposite and went overenthusiastic. They're just fucking with me! Everything we do is just an inside joke to make me upset. Caldwell: And now you're caught up! Murph: Yeah, and now we're caught up. Caldwell: Bahumia! Murph: And-- [laughs] and Bahumia. And-- Uh, and then of course we've got Caldwell Tanner-- Jake: (yelling) Bahumia! Emily: Yeah!!! Jake's in on it!! Caldwell: See, it feels good! It feels good. Murph: Okay. Caldwell Tanner, of course, plays Sol-- Caldwell: Ohhh, Sol Bufo [Murph: Okay.] I'm feeling fine, just found out I'm two of a kind, [Emily: ooh!] and now I'm gonna go and find out if Swag's still alive. I'm really trying to thrive here. Bahumia. [The others laugh. As they talk, Caldwell laughs too.] Murph: You lost me. But you had me for a moment. And that's more that can be said for the other guys. Jake: Wow. Emily: Bahumia. Murph: [laughs] Bahumia. Jake: Bahumia, guys. Murph: Sure. Hey guys, Bahumia. We did it. We did it everyone. Alright? Everyone settle. Settle? Okay?

[The others sigh as if relaxing, and chorus "yeah."] Murph: Ready? Alright. Let's do-- let's do-- Caldwell: Eldermourne. Murph: Not the right campaign. Not the correct campaign. Caldwell: Shit, sorry. Murph: Let's go ahead and do a little-- [laughs as Emily interrupts him] recap-- Emily: That's Calliope's middle name. [Everyone laughing.] Murph: (through laughter) Shut. The fuck up. Everyone. Alright. [Pause as everyone continues to laugh.] Jake: S-- sorry. Murph: So last time, you left Calder's home to pursue Gowan to the Ice Knife, but received a call from Albin along the way-- [laughs] Shut up, dude. Jake: Bahumia. Bahumia. [Everyone laughs.] Murph: This is precious information! Jake: Bahumia! Emily: Bahumia! Bahumia. Caldwell: (exaggerated) Bahumia! Murph: Yeah, okay. You guys are like pokemon now? [The others laugh.] Okay. Alright. Worst bit ever. Okay. [Jake: Bahumia] You recieved a message from Albin--

Murph: -- You were greeted by a ghostly message in the ice that said Friends… Murph and Emily: Betray! Emily: I remember! Murph: You remember. Good job, Em. Jake: Holy shit. She's back. Murph: You get a sticker. Emily: I wrote it in my notebook. Murph: Very good! [Emily: Yeah, yeah, yeah.] That almost makes up to your behavior for the first three minutes of the show [The others laugh.]

Murph: And that's where we are now. Caldwell: Alright! All my real betrayal heads get ready! Emily: Yeah! Caldwell: This is where it starts! Murph: [laughs] Shut up. All of you. [Everyone laughs.] Caldwell: (through laughter) I can't. I have to talk for another hour at least. I'm so sorry. Murph: It's all good. Alright. So--

Murph: Sweet, well we'll talk more about this over on our Patreon. That's patreon.com/naddpod that's N-A-D-D-P-O-D-don't sing yet-- [Emily and Jake start to sing "We"] Caldwell: Bahumia! Murph: Yeah, remember that. [laughs] D-- Do you guys remember that? Uh-- Emily: Bahumia! Caldwell: What are you talking about, man? Murph: Bahumia! Does anyone else have anything they'd like to plug? Emily: Bahumia! Murph: Bahumia, yeah. Jake: Oh, yeah, I would love to plug Bahumia. Murph: Yeah. Check it out. Campaign 1, campaign 3. Caldwell: The world. Emily: Oh! [Murph: uh-huh] Uh, actually can I plug Bahumia? Murph: Great. Really good job, guys. Awesome. Caldwell: It's an incredible world. Incredible place. [Murph: yep!] Check out all of the incredible environs there. Murph: Yeah. Check it out. Uh- You can follow us on, uh-- Emily: Bahumia. Murph: You can follow us on social media that we may or may not use. @ chmurph's me, @ caldy's Caldwell, @ eaxford's Emily-- [Emily: @ bahumia] -- @ jakehurwitz is Jake-- Jake: I'm actually-- I'm actually @ bahumia. Murph: Follow our campaigns on Bahumia-- Emily: I'm also @ bahumia. Murph: I don't think you are. And you can tweet about the show using #naddpod that's N-A-D-D-P-O-D. [They sing "We are, We are" as the audio fades out, but Caldwell and Jake replace the words with "Bahumia"]

[fwitolei]

The Dragon Prince Thoughts 6x08 - We All Fall Down

Previous Episode // Masterlist // Next Episode

Join the Taglist

Spoilers under the cut

Omgg i’m so scared—

AHH

And it starts

Omg sol regem banging into the towers and stuff too this is wild

OH NO THEY’RE TRAPPED

Shit—

OH SHIT

SOREN NO—

Plsbeokayplsbeokayplsbeokayplsbeokay—

HE’S ALIVE WHOO

Omg babeee ur bleeding—

Now he’s really gonna have a scar like corvus

“Get everyone out”

See he learned from the pyrrah incident in s2 he’s prioritizing the people now that he’s not in the whole “xadia is evil” mindset

Hey wait where’s he going—

“Take good care of Hat.”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??

SOREN—honey—wHaT aRe YoU dOiNg—

WHAT

AARAVOS IS CONTROLLING PHAROS—

Is this cuz the dark magic infection thingy

Omg viren’s been in there for a long time lmao—

“You have your other way! Dark magic!”

Notice how soren said “your other way” as if he still doesn’t condone it, but he knows it’s the only way to save everyone

Dark magic is so nuanced in situations like these like yeah it’s last resort but if you’re someone who hates it with a passion and then you end up needing it what are you supposed to do

Do you give up your ideals for the greater good or stand your ground and risk disaster

That’s why i love this show so much there’s no clear bad guy

“Take my heart.”

SOREN N O

S T O P

NO

I mean what else is he supposed to do yeah but STILL—

N O O O O O O o o O omg pls—

No not soren

Omg i’m so scared not soren PLEASE—

I’m actually gonna cry if he dies please no—

OH MY GOSH IS VIREN USING HIS OWN HEART—

GAHHH I CAN’T TAKE IT

Just as i forgave him too—

GAHH NO it’s the way he’s ACTIVELY DYING while doing the spell to the point he can barely say the incantation 😭😭😭😭😭😭

“I am a… servant.”

This scene pretty much speaks for itself idrk what to say

This shit is sad like fuck—

“My dad! I need to find my dad!”

CLAUDIA NO

Oooomg she’s gonna lose it if she finds him

Full azula mode

“What happened to your beloved mate who disappeared?”

Is he says he ate her imma pop off—

Who even is aithne solaire? Was she mentionedin something?

“In your fury, you buried her.. Alive.”

WHAT THE FUCK—

Like actually???

Not the way aaravos just dies laughing after dropping the darkest most depressing truth bomb ever—

OMG HE ATE PHAROS

“Choke on your own pride.”

HOW THE FUCK IS HE CHOKING ON A TINY LITTLE ELF

Oh my gosh—

This is just brutal

i'm terrified of choking too so it's that much worse

AND HE CATCHES ON FIRE—

“I don’t think you should see him like this.”

Ugh i love terry for being so considerate after everything she’s done

Like yes save the last of her sanity while she still has it

This episode is hard to watch—

The voice acting is impeccable tho like give claudia’s va a raise

OH SHIT SHE FOUND THE PEARL—

Lujanne giving no fucks about the crown is the funniest thing

But wtf is she talking about the diamond don’t tell me it’s fake—

“Her dad just died. Can’t she just take a moment to grieve?”

FINALLY Terry’s talking sense like shit aaravos at least give her a minute—

I KNEW IT

I FUCKIN KNEW IT

VIREN’S STAFF HAS A QUASAR DIAMOND

I literally said it like 2-3 episodes ago too

WAIT THAT MEANS—

“I can only save two of them.”

Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me—

Alright y’all it’s a wrap. Katolis is gone, viren is dead, aaravos is getting out, it’s a whole ass shit show. Ooooooomg i’m scaredddddd. Especially when callum finds out the real pearl was in katolis all along, i guarantee you he’s gonna spiral like he did in kosmo’s vision. This episode was really hard to watch, I was surprised, but in a good way. One more episode to go, then season sevennnnnnnnn whoooo

Time to cry :D

[askundeadbluelesbians]

Wide Right

CW: Mentions of death and grief, based off of real experiences

… Polly had decided she no longer liked funerals. She only vaguely remembered attending one in life: that of her grandfather, Vanya Geist, roughly around 2006. Of course, all of her other grandparents had passed on, but Polly’s grandfather’s funeral stuck in her mind for multiple reasons: mainly because he was the only one to pass not only when she herself was still alive, but was also old enough to remember it.

The second, and more prevalent reason, was because that was when her father’s drinking problem took a turn for the worst. Polly took to drinking herself not long after that, while still following her rule of thumb. In a way, she and her father bonded over drinking. Sure, she remembered fuck-all about her first drink, but he was there the entire time for it.

And now she won’t be able to share a drink with him ever again. His… well, second funeral was only a fortnight ago. He and her mother had moved on while Polly was on her road trip to California. Being so far away from family… hardly even knowing that her parents were close to moving on… learning second-hand of it happening.

Not only would she never be able to share a drink with him ever again, she’d never be able to play chess with her mom again, never engage in girl talk with her mother again… Never see them, happy together, ever again.

She could only imagine how it felt for Spencer, who was there in their final moments of moving on. How was he feeling? How long did he have to sit with this knowledge before deciding to call her? How did he feel when it turned out that they willed the house to him, so he didn’t have to worry about looking for an apartment? … How did he feel about now having no one to share this home with?

She spent almost the entirety of Sitting Shiva with him, so he didn’t have to deal with this grief alone anymore. Neither of them shared a word with each other in that time; they just knew how the other was feeling without needing to say it. Finally, after a whole week of mourning, Polly felt that she was ready to leave, making sure her brother was okay to be left alone in the house again.

So here she was, on her walk home, the December snow having coated the world in white while she was in black. The mourning period may officially be over… but she still felt empty. The sound of laughter as kids played in the snow did nothing to lift her spirits.

… Oh wait. That was no child. That was Scott.

“WHOO! Throw it again! Farther!”

“Alright, alright, Babe…!”

Polly recognized those two voices from anywhere: her best friend, Scott, was playing fetch with his boyfriend, Brian. They were enjoying themselves… and it made Polly wish she could feel the same way. She didn’t even need to say anything before both of them noticed her.

“Oh! Hi, Polly!” Scott greeted, scooping her up in a hug, wagging his tail. “I haven’t seen you all week, not since the end of the road trip!”

“Yeah… I’ve just been sitting at home…” Polly answered, not feeling the energy to hug her bestie back.

“H-Hey, Scott,” Brian called out. “Isn’t it time to meet with your subjects?”

“Ooh! Yes! I forgot! Thanks, bro!” Scott answered, kissing Brian before dashing off, leaving him and Polly alone.

“Is it really time for Scott to meet with his fanbase?” Polly asked.

“No. I just wanted us to have a talk,” Brian answered, sitting on a bench, with her sitting next to him. “Scott… doesn’t take talking about death well.”

“Funny, since he’s dating a zombie,” Polly halfheartedly chuckled. “I’m guessing that’s why neither of you attended the service?”

“Yeah. But, honestly, if Scott was there, he probably would’ve cried the entire time, because, well, you’re his best friend.”

“Yeah… dude doesn’t deserve to cry,” Polly agreed, wiping any tears that she felt coming. “Besides, he saw my mom as a mom too… Probably would’ve asked to Sit Shiva with me… and then run off when he’s told that includes no football for a week.” Brian gave a light chuckle in response.

“So… do you know when they’ve moved on?” Brian asked.

“Spencer said almost a week before we made it to Veranotone.”

“So… you were told second-hand.”

“Yeah…”

“… So was I.”

… Hold the phone. This is the first Polly was hearing of this: Brian actually ended up going through what she did?

“Who?”

“My grandfather. My mom’s dad,” Brian answered. “I was about… sixteen, I think, when it happened. It was a December day, like this one, back in 1989, right before Christmas vacation. I already knew beforehand that my granddad was sick. He was getting up there and the eighties were not kind for him. But one of the things you can credit him for? My love of football.”

“Oh?” Polly asked, looking up at Brian.

“It was one of the first things he fell in love with when he and Grandma immigrated here in the fifties. And he passed that love to my father, and to me,” Brian continued to narrate. “He’d take me to every game he could up until 1987. And that’s roughly about when I started to actually play football. In fact, I have an old jersey in my closet. Does not fit me anymore.”

“Your granddad got it for ya?”

“Yeah. He did. Number 56… ‘56 also happened to be the year my grandparents immigrated. So it was considered his own personal lucky number. And I picked that number when I started playing. We had actually finished my first season as a player when… it happened.

“My grandma, dad’s mom, was going to be the one to pick me up from school that day. Again, I knew my granddad was sick. So imagine my surprise when I saw my own mom pick me up instead. I… I thought granddad was feeling better.” Tears were starting to appear on his face as he continued. “He… he wasn’t.”

“Oh… Brian, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault… Just, it’s hard not being there to say goodbye yourself,” Brian concluded, to which Polly nodded in agreement. “Christmas was only a few days after the funeral, and it was probably the worst one of my either of my lives. The next year, 1990, would probably be the hardest of my life. I let my grades slip, almost to the point where it cost me my spot on the team. Days, weeks, months began to blur. Then September came… and Sundays started making sense again.”

“Hmm?”

“I very much latched onto my granddad’s favorite team. It was my way of grieving. They were good, but never really went far as they did this season. They made it to the playoffs, thirteen-and-three record, and every game they won after that felt like he was there with me.” A smile slowly began to appear on Brian’s face. “I woulda gone to Tampa myself to watch the game in person, but no way was some seventeen-year-old getting from Jersey to Florida, let alone get a ticket for the biggest game of the year!” Brian chuckled at his story, and Polly began chuckling as well. “So, like every other day that season, I was parked in front of the TV. But that day, I wasn’t alone.”

“Wow… that’s… umm…” Polly began, trying to put the words together, confusion forming on her face.

“I know it’s long-winded, but there’s a point to this story,” Brian chuckled. “Grief… it’s different for everyone. I could only imagine how my parents handled my own death just five years later… But, I swear until the day I die a second time, I felt him every time I watched football, every time I played. And I swear he moved that ball Wide Right.” Brian wiped his tears on his sleeve. “Grief doesn’t leave you. It morphs into the love you have for them, into the things you did together, into the things you continue to do without them there.”

Polly’s gaze went downward, staring at her gloved hands. What Brian said did make sense. He must’ve felt so vulnerable bringing this up with her. He… he trusted her. He trusted her enough to show her that he knew what she was going through.

“Fuck, Bri.”

“Is… is that your way of—?”

“Thank you.”

“… Well that answers that question,” Brian laughed, patting her on the back. “I’ll leave ya to your walk, then. Just think about what I said, ‘kay?”

“Will do,” Polly answered, giggling as she got back up and continued walking. She still felt down, sure, but not as down as she was earlier… Maybe she’ll go play chess and drink wine with Vera later. She thinks—no, she knows—it’s what her parents would’ve wanted.

[p-taryn-dactyl]

I! would like information on your MC please!

(everything rn is very very rough draft level)

hi!! thank you for sending this in <3 so sorry it's late (i fell so asleep) and i apologize for this not being very...put together. my mind is everywhere at once

MC: Lucina Fenice Moniker: "The Bastard Queen"

Ok so, I am still doing major world building for this story but right now this fantasy world is largely based on the Ancient Roman Empire (without a lot of the misogny) and the other/surrounding Empires at that time.

Lucina is the only child of her father, who is a baker renowned for his pastries and general good heart. Lucina never knew her mother, her father told her that she died in childbirth (this comes into play lol). I know this isn't that interesting right now and since a lot of things can change I'll share what I have so far about the furtherization of the plot (yes ik i spelled that horribly). please this is my original idea, no stealing i will cry and that's not something people want to see

In the Empire, they're ruled over by the Immortal Empress who has been in charge since the beginning of the Empire. Lucina has a dream of the Empress, magical dreams whoo hoo, and in her dream the Empress is dying and holds Lucina's face with her bloody hands, telling her to be prepared for what is coming. The Immortal Empress, since she has been alive for close to 2,000 years, has many children by many consorts (one at a time) and grandchildren. She is found dead and the Royal Court (tbn) calls for a public mourning where all of her potential heirs (one was never named bc, well, immortal empress) show their grief while also wondering who will be named Heir. Now here is something I haven't mentioned yet. The Immortal Empress is the daughter of Aililith, goddess of war (and other things) who's patron animal is the Lioness. The Immortal Empress, Aelia, along with her twin sister, were rumored to be raised by a giant she-wolf. I mention this because at the public mourning, the two animals who have been by Aelia's side her whole reign burst onto the platform where the descendants stand. The citizens who gathered, thousands, are obviously terrified as the she-wolf howls and the lioness roars.

Now, in the mythology/religion of this Empire, rulers are chosen by the trust of these two animals.

The she-wolf and the lioness end up jumping into the crowd, causing panic. They stop in front of Lucina and her father (forgot to mention that these creatures are fricking huge, very big very scary) the lioness and the she-wolf basically collapse in front of Lucina and she comforts them as they snuggle as close to her without suffocating her.

Long story short, this causes an internal war between the heirs and Lucina for the throne but also invasion could be looming from outside the Empire as the news of Aelia's death spreads. With the civil war brewing, the once strong military chooses sides weakening the Empire as a whole. Lucina, now the supposed Heir, is forced into a world where blood is something to be spilled, not something that ties people together.

Ok ik this made no sense but hopefully this was a little interesting?

thank you for reading!

[fritextramole]

Bombshell

a gossip girl musical episode

late season 2 Early college acceptances are coming in and Serena’s been accepted at Yale, where she plans to attend with Dan. Blair and Chuck decidedly aren’t a couple, but she’s still upset that Dan and Serena will be together for the next 4 years... at her dream school Jenny’s back at school after leaving her job at Eleanor’s and the minions seem to have nothing better to do than torment her while they coast towards graduation Lily and Rufus have recently started dating, and Lily is forced to confront her parenting style

tracklist under the cut

Let Me Be Your Star

the fire and drive that make dreams come alive they fill her soul she's in control

Characters: Blair & Serena (+Dan, minions)

Early admissions decisions are coming in, and everyone is eager to see where they got accepted. Serena got Constance’s Yale slot.

Dig Deep

i'll finally get to use my mind's interior and not only just my bust and my posterior

Character: Serena

Serena’s glad to feel like she’s being taken seriously for once.

Let's Be Bad

tonight the (whoo!) will hit the fan!

Characters: Penelope, Hazel, Iz, Nelly Yuki

The minions didn't get the early acceptance slots they wanted, and make that everyone else's problems to cheer themselves up.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

people who use their kitchen each night who'd never been in toots shor

Characters: Dan & Serena; Rufus & Lily

Rufus and Lily are getting more serious. Dan’s excited that he and Serena can go away to Yale together. We cut back and forth between both couples to drive the point home.

At Your Feet

it's showtime, let the dream begin!

Character: Lily

Lily finds out that Serena got into Yale and is excited her daughter is amounting to something. Serena isn’t actually sure if she wants to go to Yale but feels pushed out the door.

History Is Made At Night

no one here to disapprove as we review the lessons you've been missing

Characters: Chuck & Blair

Chuck crawls in Blair’s ear about how Serena got the Yale spot. He pushes her to scheme against Serena. They consider crawling into bed

Never Give All The Heart

as the wise men once wrote never give all the heart

Character: Eric

Eric giving advice to Jenny after a run in with the mean girls. Overhead by Lily.

Public Relations

"any advice for a girl in the city?" if you're two-faced, at least make one of them pretty

Characters: Serena (+ Blair)

Blair’s using gossip girl to scheme against Serena (unsuccessfully.) Blair’s up to her usual slut shaming.

Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking

she thinks she's queen and calls the shots as she sits on a throne she needs to learn she's only skin the next girl's waiting for a spin

Characters: Blair, minions

Blair is in full scheming mode against Dan and Serena (and Jenny, just for fun.)

I Never Met A Wolf Who Didn't Love To Howl

a wealthy wolf likes to buy his toys but he really is just one of the boys

Character: Serena

Serena leans into her charisma and sex appeal to thwart Blair’s scheming attempts.

They Just Keep Moving The Line

i handled every corner each bump along the track and when I saw the ribbon, well there was no turning back i won the photo finish i posed for all the men but before I got my trophy well, the race began again

Character: Jenny

After a run in with the minions. Frustrated about how her year has gone.

On Lexington and 52nd Street

hurry all you faceless men, and catch the end of a match of the century, you're just in time for the final round, 'cause i know when i'm beat

Character: Dan

Dan when Serena has gotten pulled into scheming against Blair. “I thought you were better than this! I thought we both wanted to get away from this world.”

Second Hand White Baby Grand

oh, the words are still unspoken now that mama's not around but that secondhand white baby grand still has something beautiful to give

Character: Dan & Jenny

Both in a low point, Dan and Jenny come together to reminisce about their childhood and comfort each other.

The Right Regrets

where he can find the strength to say what those he loves should hear and just erase mistakes she's made then make them disappear

Characters: Dan & Serena

They talk about the future of their relationship. She was acting out because she doesn’t want to go to Yale. He lashed out instead of hearing her out.

Hang the Moon

you'd reach out and there'd be my hand

Character: Lily

A sit down with Serena and Eric after Rufus has given her some perspective on her parenting.

(Let's Start) Tomorrow Tonight

let's climb together to reach that peak then baby, we'll shoot the moon

Characters: Blair & Serena

The girls agree to let Yale decide who attends, and go out to celebrate making peace.

[gayforjuza]

aw darn ur right I can't send images :(

and the only reason i'm just a BIT uncomfy is bcz ur super awesome and like. the person i imagine being in the middle of the party and then I'm just. here. with my weirdness LMAAAAO but anyway!! basically sakuya was actually a part of the original MANKAI company-but he died onstage in a tragic accident while the audience clapped [yk, part of the show, etc etc] haha so here's the funny thing he's still there as a ghost bcz his dream [to see the MANKAI Company bloom] hasn't come true, right?

so izumi comes in all "whoo! i'm stuck with this!" and normal meeting with sakuya goes through and she just doesn't question how he's the only one [i have this whole thing in my head where Matsukawa just found Sakuya one day (never met Sakuya when he was alive) hiding and asked if he wanted to join, Saku said yeah sure, a whole "you're hired!" thing goes on by Matsukawa, all that LMAO]

oh ye and they don't find out until in the middle of it with a phone call to Izumi's dad [if you wanna see the snippet i wrote for it I'll totes send!!] where they find out he dieded but hey wait a minute he's HERE how does that work?? so they confront him about it he gets all scared and he finally just breaks down expecting them to kick him out

but nope! power of FRIENDSHIP BABEYYY!! they take him in until the Company finally blooms

and then there's three options from there;

sakuya disappears, sad ending with a tearful goodbye

sakuya...stays there, apparently there's MORE "unfinished business" involving him staying.

crack upon crack upon crack. he gets a letter from an archangel somehow saying he can decide so he stays.

THIS AU IS SO SO SO SO ANGSTY THOUGH I CAN'T I LOVE IT BUT HATE IT SOOO MUCH!! T-T

omg im so honored that u think im awesome! i will have u know that irl in party environments i am the nonverbal dude watching people in the corner and i appreciate ppl sharing their "weirdness" with me so tysm!

also THIS AU IDEA IS SO COOL !! sakuya centered aus are always so angsty like this one, ocam, or my one where his parents died for gekka reasons he just radiates the vibes of pain and suffering i suppose

love the idea of finding out from izumis dad im imagining hes like "wait what, sakuma ? the dead guy?" and izumi is like "omg sakuya ur dad passed away?" and sakuya is like "well yes but ,,,uhh well how do i say this,,"

i think i fuck with the sakuya disappears ending most like maybe they win the fleur award or something and then hes like omg, my work here is done *fades away* *sheds a single tear*

[littlebetesofeverything]

Welcome to Night Vale Ep 24

Whoo, I survived driving through a massive storm yesterday and had a nice catch up dinner with an old friend. And today I finally turned on the heater and started rotating out my closet. Now to Cecil and the latest in Night Vale!

The mayor is missing? Well, that's wait and see if this is actually something. See even the assistant says so.

Ah yes, the whole of course I have the same powers schtick. Well, that was not what I expected to happen, wow.

Of course, all the phones are bugged in Night Vale.

This musical sounds incredible. I want a ticket, please. Cecil as Pippin? Oh my god, that is on point. I can see how that is perfect for him.

Kids, never stare into space. That's how you become nihilistic. The dead eye shit sounds cooler, actually.

"what if the void is not as void as we thought?" Thanks Cecil, that is gonna keep me up for sure. A "fun fact" for sure

Josie, is it a roommate thing, or a roommate thing? Either way, props to you.

I thought the Apache Tracker had been reformed? He had hung up the headdress, last time I checked.

Leather briefcase? didn't one of the travelers have one like it? Ohhh the plot thickens. I swear I have popcorn for this story.

Oh yeah, ad break time. Cecil that echo effect should be used in other parts of your broadcast. Guarantee that it will give me chills with other phrases. Wait is there another voice overlaying at the end? Sounds more female though.

Did the Apache Tracker do a hit on the mayor? Oops, they did a sacrifice to the little people, that's my guess.

no Cecil is right, he is a jerk. I have never seen elephants in mourning so hard to visualize.

Oh no, right now I do not dislike the politicians for party reasons. I do it for inciting violence against its own citizens and just be fucking dicks.

But yeah, I do get wanting to find the missing person.

Oh good, she was found. But why the dog park? and hooded figures are with her too, I'm worried.

Dana is alive! Wow. Wait, 2 months have passed in Night Vale. Get Carlos to check the calendar.

Huh, she is stepping down. That sure is a twist. I love how Cecil does care about the interns, enough if they do have a short life expectancy.

Even Cecil is surprised, which means I was right to side-eye it.

Can I hear how the past mayors got executed? please, I am very curious med student.

I mean, I do want to be turned into a tree when I die. Or get donated to science. It's a coin toss still.

I liked the twists and turns here. But yeah, this was good. Until next time, I need some sleep. That's if I can forget Cecil reminding me that we are all just passengers on a rock that is moving in a void of space.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

AAAHHHHH hey y'all 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Love my babeys :DD

AWW yeah a toast to Paul :DDD 🥰!!

Yeah you saved an innocent woman xD

Now most people probably don't need to have that rule lol but eh y'all are y'all XDD

WHOO yess you saved her and solved the case :DD 🥳🥰!!

Hmm yeah though why don't you look haoly about it?

AAAAAHHHHHHH CUDDLY TARLOS

Practically cuddly idc 😌😌

Anyway sorry continue lol

(themmm my babeys 🥰🥰🥰)

Hmm

Yeah surely there's gotta be something missing

Too much time left for just Tommy anyway XD

I mean yeah I do feel kinda bad for him :( :/

Oh hey bestie!

Fairrr xd

Hmm idk we know sus stuff is still gonna happen XD

Yess glad she said that bc I trust Owen enough so good thing they're on the same page xD

Ohh that's what it was lol

Hmm did she poison it 😬?

Did he o.o 😳?

Do nooot pour one out for him xdd 😭

Lookin sus girl

Uhh ohhh xdd

Hey again guys :D

Hmm

:O ay he got it!!

Hm her birthday?

OoO HE DID POISON IT DIDN'T HE

That's not an oooh btw lol that's a face xD

Uh oh uh oh uh oh 😬😬

Okay phew he answered before drinking it xD

UHHH OHHHH YEP

GIRL NO O.O

I knew she was gonna drink it xdd

But how do we get that shot of Owen falling then? Whatever more important things going on xD

UHH OHHHHH O.O DD:

OHHHH NOO

Okay yes good call 9-1-1 😬😬😬 :((

They'll probably get there sooner than you guys lol

I mean I'm assuming since you're calling xD

Anyway

AH (awh not aah) yes but you still have them!!

Okay okay good

Uh Oh 😬😳

Oohhh nooo

O.O OWEN NO

OWENNN

CORIWGNCMUSNLSPAM

But I mean to be fair he'll have more time still and I don't want her to die lol

AAAAAH tense 😬😬😬😳😭

AAAAHHHHHHH CAN WE TALK ABOUT CARLOS'S HAND ON TK'S BACK 😭😭😭🥰🥰❤️🥺🥺

Okay I'm paying attention I promise XDD I just love them a lot <33

😬😬😬😬😬 C'MONN OWENNN

Come on come on come onn 😬😬🥺

PHEW paramedics are here

Not liking the way your looking Owen xd 😬

Oh noo come on girly you can't still die after that 😬😬😭🥺

Come on come on come onnn

Aww TK talking to Owen 😭😭

I would say calling out to but that sounds a little too dramatic lol

Also hopefully they don't hear and think it's Owen xd just in case though say she again y'all xD

Ohh nooo 😬😬🥺

AYY PHEW yay she's alive :DD :'D

Uh ohhh Owen xdd

Y'all worry about him for a second 😭 xD

[wallflowerimagines]

Could you maybe write something with an s/o that is super hands on? Like, if they wanna see Moreau's cool teeth or Heisenberg's scars they'll really get all up in their business, grab their faces and take a look? They're not mean, just curious and handsy

PS, this Anon sent an update for all 4 Lords plus The Duke!!!! So first time duke imagine add on, let's get handsy!

Alcina Dimitrescu

Please keep your hands out of her mouth, Darling.

Alcina is... barely tolerant of this behavior, but also a little amused. You are fascinated by her canines, despite the fact that they aren't particularly sharp or pointed like you keep assuming they are. You have this image of "vampires" I your head, and while Alcina is close to certain stereotypes, she doesn't meet all of them-- specifically the sharp teeth. You cannot seem to get over it, no matter how hard you try.

She will occasionally indulge this little habit of yours, but it's mostly because she loves you. Keep your hands clean and your nails clipped, or else she'll flick your fingers away.

Still, as much as she loves you, Alcina does have her limits when being poked and prodded.

She will only let you do it in private. Alcina won't let you stick your fingers in her mouth in public-- it's not appropriate or befitting of her station.

If you're too enthusiastic, she will playfully nibble on your fingers as a warning, and lick up the small bead of blood that comes from the cut. Is that vampiric enough for you? After all, you taste divine, Darling.

If you're so fixated on the fact that her teeth aren't as long as they are "supposed to be", well, Alcina is happy to show you the error of your ways💕💕

She will definitely use your fixation as an opening excuse for intimacy. I hope you're ready for it...

Donna Beneviento

Not okay with it.

Donna's veil isn't just for mourning-- she's also cripplingly self conscious of the scar on her face, and the Cadou mutation did not help her self esteem at all.

If you try to run your hands over her mutation, especially without warning her first? Donna will just shut down. Normally Donna and Angie will both chat and spend time with you, but after this Donna will completely back away from the relationship, and let Angie take over for her completely.

Angie is her safety net, after all. And you've just crossed a boundary she was not ready for, or even aware that you wanted to cross.

You have to explain that you mean no harm, but even then it's not a great scenario. Donna regresses almost completely if you don't warn her beforehand. You're back to communicating through Angie until you give her a genuine, meaningful apology.

You really need to push the idea that 1) you love her unconditionally and the scar will not affect that, and 2) you were only interested in touching it because you love her so much and you want to be familiar with every part of her.

Essentially: Always, always ask for consent with Donna before you go poking around. She can be alright with it in specific circumstances, but never assume, and never engage unless you have explicit permission. She needs to psych herself up beforehand.

(Still, if you ask and then press a kiss to the writhing mass that she hates so much, she will absolutely cry. There's something about that gesture that really gets across how much you adore her. It's... reassuring. Safe. It makes Donna feel adored, unconditionally. You love her to pieces, and this a gesture that reaffirms that.)

Salvatore Moreau

You... want to mess around inside his mouth? That's a little--WAIT HOLD ON NOT YET!!!

You have to warn him first, for your safety.

Moreau's mouth is full of acid, and as much as you want to get all up in there to check out his neat chompers, you have to warn him first so he can make sure you can examine him safely.

He's proud of his mutation, to a certain extent. The fact that you love him not only despite it, but because of it? It strokes his ego a little bit.

Still, he wants you to be safe. No sticking your hands in there without warning! Moreau would never forgive himself if he hurt you, so do give him a heads up if you want to take a dive in his mouth.

If he's feeling brave, he might actually use this as an excuse for intimacy like Alcina. He might wrap his tongue around your fingers or pull you in for a kiss if he wants too. You've got this focused expression on your face, and it's entirely centered on him... Salvatore couldn't resist even if he wanted to 💗

If you choose to mess around with the growths on his back, it's a little less romantic. They are very painful some days, and unless you are giving him a massage he will say no. It's not because he doesn't trust you! But Moreau needs to manage the pain, and depending on how bad the pain is on that specific day, that means you can't touch his back. Just remember to ask beforehand, and you're golden 💛

Karl Heisenberg

Hell YES

Heisenberg isn't self conscious about his body at all, to be honest. Sure he has scars, and while not All of them have good memories associated with them, he has a surprisingly healthy mindset about them. The scars are there because he's alive. He survived everything life threw at him, and he's still going strong.

While he won't tell you all the stories behind his scars, he will share the more palatable experiences. Some are from dumb mistakes he's made while doing metalwork, and he's more than happy to tell you the less painful stories when you have your hands all over him.

Because, yes, that is the best part about this whole thing. You cannot keep your hands off of him, and it is EXCELLENT. Karl loves it. He's a pretty handsy guy himself (to the point where you're starting to suspect he's a little touch starved), so he does not mind that you return the favor.

You trace his scars with this focused expression that's just so entirely absorbed, so fascinated, Karl gets hit with this weird mix of fondness for you and pride in himself. Seeing you so absorbed in him and his body makes him really want to do the same with you. He wants to return the favor.

The light touches you give his torso are so delicate... It makes him feel important and valuable to you.

Honestly, it's almost intoxicating. Heisenberg will absolutely trail off in the middle of a sentence if you run a hand across his chest. The feel of your hands on his body is so, so good. He likes physical contact with you, but if you specifically trace his scars? All bets are off.

9 times out of 10 he just can't hold back and pulls you in for a make out session. The last 1 out of 10 has a tendency to... escalate😈

The Duke

More than happy to indulge your impulses.

You being handsy is something that the Duke actually really enjoys. He likes to keep you nearby, and when you seem so obsessed with running your hands all over him it's much easier to keep you close and safe💖

You're the most focused on his hands and fingers because...uh...whoo... something about him with all those rings just really does it for you???

It's really nice to weave your fingers in between his, giving little kisses to the inside of his wrist or the tips of his fingers, and the Duke is always happy to oblige.

It's very charming, watching you coddle his hands like they're something precious. He feels a little overwhelmed by the reverence in each gesture, so he does his best to repay the favor.

The Duke will definitely smooch the tips of your fingers to reciprocate any affection you give him, and the kisses will continue up your arms, past your shoulder, and climb up to your mouth. It's a half silly, half romantic, but 100% genuine.

He loves you, and it's always entertaining to watch you squirm in anticipation as his kisses slowly approach your eager lips. The waiting is half the fun💕

[padawansubscription]

Bucket List | Watch Eddie Play

Pairing: eddie x f!reader

Summary: Eddie regretted calling your music taste shit after seeing a flicker of hurt on your face. But it’s too late. He missed his chance to apologize and can only hope that you show up to see him play. Part of the “Glimpses of Us” (chapter one) but can be read separately!

Word Count: 1k

Warning: language

Themes: pure friendship?? but there’s something more???

A/N: should i be working on my script application? yes. did i write this drabble instead? yes. do i hate myself? yes. please enjoy.

He said your music taste was shit. It was a joke, another off-hand comment as he watched you make your first mixtape. Because c'mon. You were adding 'You Make My Dreams (Come True) by Daryl Hall & John Oates to the tape. How can he not poke fun at you? But the genuine hurt on your face made his heart plummet and the regret was instant. He tried to apologize but you quickly schooled your face to a neutral expression before talking about the latest gossip at school. He should've apologized then and there. Music was subjective. He, of all people, should have remembered that. He was Eddie the Freak, after all. He knew what it was like to be mocked, yet he did it to you. Unintentional or not.

He owed you another night of Top Gun for the fiftieth time because fuck, you were obsessed with that movie. He suspected it had something to do with the beach scene despite your blatant lie about being interested in the Navy because "it's such a different world, you know?"

"Fuck me," he muttered under his breath as he shouldered his guitar on the stage of The Hideout.

"You good, dude?" Gareth asked as he assumed his place behind the drums.

"Yeah, just peachy." His eyes roamed the crowd. It was his usual Tuesday group, plus a couple of stragglers.

"Whoo! Eddie, let's go!" Someone shouted.

Eddie whipped his head to the entrance, finding Steve, Nancy, and Robin. No you. Shit. He must've royally pissed you off. He gave a small wave to the group as they walked up to the bar, and for a second, just for a second, he thought he saw you. But it was just another metalhead girl with whom Steve shamelessly struck up a conversation. Of course, he would.

The show went on and the band played their favorites from Deos, Anthrax, Metallica, and a few new songs from Metal Church's latest drop. He was covered in sweat, fingers strumming along his guitar. He felt alive, he was in the zone. Yet, every time he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but look over the crowd and feel disappointed all over again.

The set was done and he packed up his gear when Steve and the others approached. "Honestly, man," Steve shook his head, "I don't know what that was, but I have to give it to you. You were good."

"Yeah, that was...um, something" Nancy added on.

"What's that? The approval of the king and queen?" He bowed dramatically, "thank you, my lady!"

Steve and Nancy blushed at the sudden attention they were attracting. "God, you're so annoying," Steve muttered.

"How do you not go deaf after that?" Robin asked. "Because, like, my ear's still ringing?" She patted her ears. "Seriously, you guys don't hear that?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's deaf." 

Eddie turned to the familiar voice. He had to do a double-take because holy fuck. You were covered in black from top to bottom; an oversized Metallica shirt clung to your figure, tucked under a pair of leather pants. And were those chains on your hips and neck? Fuuuuuuuck. It's as if the air was gutted out of him. And you even put on eyeshadow! You! Makeup! And your hair was mussed with wax.

"You came," he swallowed.

"Well, duh" you sipped on your coke. "It's one of my bucket lists, remember?" You grinned and tugged at your shirt. "What do you think? Think I can fool the others?"

And it just hit Eddie that you were the girl Steve was talking to at the bar.

"Where'd you get that shirt?" he pointed.

"It's Gareth's!" you grinned, waving at the drummer behind him. "Wanted to surprise you. Because, you know, you already think I'm lame."

A pang of jealousy coursed through Eddie. You could've asked him. He had plenty of shirts you could've worn, but your last comment grounded him immediately and he knew better than to feel anything but guilty.

"You," he cleared his throat, "uh, you guys want to check out the green room?" He jerked his thumb to the back where his bandmates were already headed to.

"What's a green room?" Steve asked, brows furrowing.

"Oh, Steve." Eddie clapped his back. "There's so much you need to learn, young padawan. C'mon. You can meet the others."

"Pada-what?" Steve turned to Robin, "you know what a green room is?"

She shrugged. "It's green. So maybe it's, you know, got pot?"

Steve widened his eyes and the three continued their conversation, allowing Eddie to casually step back and walk with you.

"Hey, I'm really glad you came."

"Aw, you going to cry, Munson?" You had your usual shit-eating grin.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm serious," he said. "And, sorry. About, you know, saying your music taste was shit." He scrunched his nose at his choice of word. "It's not shit. it's just..." he searched for the word, "not my scene? Didn't mean to be a dick about it."

"Yeah, that was pretty dickish. But I do know how you can make it up to me!"

"Already ahead of you." He mirrored your grin, "Top Gun. Your place. Tomorrow after school."

You laughed. "Holy shit! We've been hanging out too much because that was pretty close. But no, it's something else."

Oh no. He knew that look.

"I want to request a song." You played with your hair, feigning innocence behind mischievous eyes.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Just one song. Next Tuesday. By a certain Kenny Loggins."

"No, no, no! Don't you dare!"

"I want you to play Danger Zone."

"Really? Kenny Loggins isn't metal! You know that, right?" He frowned.

You inspected your black manicure and shrugged. "Up to you, Munson. But just so you know, this friendship is on its own, how should I say it?" You tutted, "danger zone."

"Oh, fuck off!" He laughed at your lame threat.

You gave him a lopsided smile. "Your choice."

He dropped his head back and groaned. "Either kill this friendship or my reputation, huh? Is that it? Fine. whatever. Just this once. Once!"

You nodded vigorously.

"Now," he leaned over, invading your personal space, "how'd you like the band?"

[alarajrogers]

upcoming WIP

This is the first part of the next 52 Story and I wanted to share it with you guys because I cannot think of another place where this would be as profoundly relatable.

This isn't autobiographical at all. I don't even use Slack. :-)

The following is a description of ADHD hell (not literally hell, this guy is supposed to be alive) and may be triggering to, well, probably all of us.

***

Jason had promised his boss he’d have a debugged version of the code checked in by morning.

He’d been tracking down a bug when he’d gotten sidetracked reading Stack Overflow. Dammit. He’d just lost an hour, and he still had no idea why his code wasn’t working the way it was supposed to, and it was 10 pm. Teresa was expecting a new version to be checked in by 9 am and she was expecting that it would run.

This was a job for more Coca-Cola. Jason got up, went downstairs and got himself a slice of pizza and a cold Coke.

His mom, also burning the late night oil at the kitchen table, hunched over her laptop, said, “How is it going? You think you’ll have what your boss is expecting by tomorrow?”

No. “Yes,” Jason said. “I just need a few more hours to track this down.”

“Well, you’re running out of them. You’d be better off getting a good night’s sleep, then waking up fresh in the morning early enough to work on it then.”

Mom was 57 and had apparently forgotten everything she had ever known about how night owls worked, despite having spent her younger years routinely staying up until 2 am. “Is that what you’re doing?” Jason couldn’t help saying.

“I’ve got a house showing tomorrow, I just have to make sure that I have my talking points memorized.”

“Why? Does the house really suck?”

“It doesn’t really suck. It’s a good house, really. Great bones, a nice big yard. But I’m gonna have to redirect the prospective owner’s attention away from how ugly the carpet is and things like that, because the seller? Whoo-ee. There’s people who have no taste, and there’s people who never fix anything, and there’s people who own dogs, and then there’s my seller, who is all three.” She sighed. “I tried to get them to rip the carpet out and install hardwood flooring before putting the house on the market, but the market is hot right now; I don’t blame them for wanting to charge forward. I just think they’d get more if their house didn’t smell like dog and look like water damage had a horrible transporter accident with the 1970’s.”

“That bad, huh?” He leaned up against the fridge, sipping his Coke. “You wanna go over your spiel with me, Mom? Some late night practice before you go to bed?”

“Yeah, actually, that sounds good.”

So Mom talked enthusiastically, if hoarsely, about the four bedrooms and the two and a half bathrooms and the recently modernized kitchen and how great the neighborhood was, and Jason listened, because he wasn’t contributing nearly as much to the mortgage as his mom was and she was also paying most of the utilities, so her career was important, not to mention what stress did to her heart.

When he got back to his computer it was 11:30 and he’d finished his Coke and pizza. He thought about getting ice cream, but best not to do that until Mom went to bed, if he didn’t want to get sucked into another conversation. Not that conversations with Mom were bad; they were much more entertaining than debugging code, which was the problem.

He opened up his coding window, stared at it for thirty seconds while doing nothing, and then convinced himself that maybe Reddit would have an answer to his question.

It didn’t. It did have answers to how to solve a particularly difficult problem in his current favorite game, a number of people who wanted to know if they were the asshole, some great reviews of movies on streaming that he hadn’t had a chance to watch yet, political rants, and some really entertainingly stupid coding mistakes that people had posted.

It was 12:30 am. Teresa was expecting this at 9 and she was expecting it to work.

His eyes glazed. The act of reviewing the code for the tenth time, looking for the bug he hadn’t yet been able to find despite knowing the general area it had to be in, was almost physically painful. He checked his brackets, again. The error didn’t look like a missing close bracket, but that didn’t mean anything. If he had a dollar for every time the error didn’t look like a missing close bracket but turned out to be one, he’d have maybe twenty dollars, which wasn’t a lot in terms of actual money but was a lot of times for the same stupid thing to happen in his code.

The software was supposed to warn him when there was an unclosed bracket, but half the time, if the code was particularly complex, it didn’t. It just re-interpreted the bracket locations and then his code broke.

One more time. Stepping through. Why the fuck was it stopping there? There was nothing there that could account for the error.

Time to go get ice cream. Maybe some sugar would help him stay awake and focused enough to get this done. Another Coke, possibly, too.

When he sat back down, he had Discord messages, so he needed to check them. And messages on Slack, which he could be checking in the morning, and probably should be, but maybe one of his co-workers had found an answer to his problem. They hadn’t, but Priyal had a different question and that one, he thought he could quickly get an answer to, so he fired up Google, dug in, and got her answer for her, which he sent. She’d have it in the morning. Unlike Teresa, who probably would not have what she was expecting.

It was 2 am. Stupid of him to get sidetracked with Priyal’s problem when he was having such difficulty with his own. He flicked over to Reddit again because this was unbearably boring and if he didn’t give himself a break from it, he’d fall asleep.

But he had to go back to debugging the code. Or to sleep. He could handle Teresa being pissed off in the morning a lot better if he got some sleep.

Third page of the subreddit he was on. Four. Man, he needed to keep up with this stuff, there was so much here he hadn’t read yet.

Fifth page of the subreddit. He really, really needed to get back to work. It was 2:30.

A screenshot of something really stupid from Cicada. Damn, someone actually posted something that stupid? Over to Cicada to see if there was context that explained it. There wasn’t, but there was a lengthy thread of people absolutely shredding the OP. Including someone he followed, and he should probably catch up with that.

No, he should get off Cicada and go back to coding. Or bed. His eyes were burning. Bed was probably a better idea. Give up on finishing the debug, tell Teresa he hadn’t found it yet and would need another day.

That was an interesting news article, though. He had to check that out.

No, he didn’t. He needed to go to bed.

Jason’s mouse clicked the link to the article. His eyes read the page, despite burning with exhaustion. Some frantic voice in his head was yelling, screaming, get up, put the computer down, you need to be awake to deal with Teresa in the morning, it’s late, you’re doing nothing useful, get up.

Back to Reddit.

Stop this. Get up. Go to bed. You need to go to bed.

3:30 am. He could barely keep his eyes open, but they were still riveted to the computer, his butt still glued to his chair.

Get up get up get up and go to bed, go to bed, turn the monitor off, you need to go to sleep so you can deal with Teresa tomorrow, get up, go to bed, go to bed

4 am. Look, there was his Firefox home tab, with articles from Pocket. A few of those looked interesting.

Don’t read them, you need to sleep, you need to sleep

Right, right, he didn’t have time to read them right now. He just needed to open them all so they would be there for him tomorrow. If he didn’t do that, Pocket would refresh and he’d lose all of them.

Wow, did they really find carbon deposits on the moon? He had to check that out.

Stop it, stop it, you have to stop it, you need to sleep, stop it

5 am. There was no way he’d be up at 9 to deal with Teresa.

Email. “Hey, I’ve been up all night bashing my head against this thing and I’ve made progress—” This was a lie. “—but it’s still not running. I’m gonna have to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. I’ll be logging in around 11 am.” This was also a lie, it would probably be closer to noon. But since he worked from home, all he needed to do was drag ass out of bed around 10:30 to send everyone a status update, tell them he was diving into the code and probably wouldn’t see incoming notifications until he came up for air, and then dive back into his bed instead.

Set an alarm for 9:30 am. Set an alarm for 10 am. He’d blow through them both, of course, but they’d wake him up enough to actually wake up when the 10:30 alarm went off, and then he’d convince himself to get up and send the status message by promising himself he’d return to bed.

Check out that article about a different way to manage your ADHD?

No. Go to sleep. Off the computer. Sleep.

Right, but obviously, he needed to put on his Spotify for music to fall asleep to, and adjust the volume because he couldn’t let it be too loud or it would wake Mom up, calm and peaceful or not.

Pop over to Reddit one last time.

5:30 am. Sleep!

The panic finally overwhelmed the inertia and he managed to drag himself off his chair, turn the monitor off, and stumble to bed. Now to get some sleep.

Oh, except now, he couldn’t sleep because he was overwhelmed by his anxiety and fear about not getting enough sleep to deal with Teresa even if he slept until noon because she was going to be seriously pissed off with him because this was the third time he’d blown the deadline.

It was another hour before exhaustion finally claimed him, and he knew that because the sun had risen.

***

He’d never set the 10:30 alarm.

He’d never set the 10:30 alarm, he’d blown through 9:30 and 10 just like he’d planned, but he’d never turned on the 10:30 alarm, so it was half past noon and he’d never sent that status message, so everyone would know he overslept way past the point Teresa would be okay with after an all nighter, and there was a meeting at 1 pm and he had to shower and shave because it was going to be a meeting with video so he couldn’t look like he’d just dragged himself out of bed.

Or maybe he could. He sent Teresa a message on Slack. I think I’m sick. My throat’s sore, and I’ve got a migraine. And I don’t have the program working anyway, so there’s really nothing to show anyone. Can we postpone until tomorrow?

The response was almost immediate. You need to figure out how to manage your time better. You’re sick because you stayed up all night.

Yeah, but I was trying to solve the bug.

If you can’t get something fixed by 11 pm, it’s not going to get fixed. You should have gone to bed.

I know, but I wanted to try. I was getting close. This was a lie. I thought I could get it done before morning.

Yes, and instead you made yourself sick and the program still doesn’t work. ☹ I’ll postpone the meeting this time, Jason, but we need results before tomorrow. Sorry that you’re sick but you know as well as I do it’s because you didn’t get any sleep.

Yeah, I know. I’ll pull myself together, have some coffee, and get back to work. I’ll try to have it done before 5. This was a lie. He knew perfectly well he wasn’t going to get it done by 5, not when he was this tired.

Do you want me to have Jorge review it? Maybe he can see something you missed?

No, that would be the worst possible thing, because then Jorge would know that he’d made basically no progress last night. I don’t want to add to his workload, but if I’m running into trouble later today I’ll pass it over to him, see if adding some eyeballs might help.

All right, I’ll let him know.

And now Jason was awake, the imminent terror of Jorge finding out that he had done basically nothing last night flooding him with enough adrenaline that he could focus enough to turn on his monitor and get back to work.

[theartofdreaming1]

Slightly paraphrased, but Peeta talking about that moment he developed his crush on Katniss is just too sweet 😊

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and random thoughts on chapters 22-24 are below the cut (sprinkled in some psychology thoughts again).

heart

Honestly, I think the people in Panem would perceive the whole everlark storyline the same way we perceive and react to our ships on tv (desperately wanting to reach through the screen, shoving the characters forcefully together, screaming “And now, kiss!”); especially the Capitolites who barely recognize the tributes (or people in the districts, in general) as people. The people in the districts would definitely view the whole thing more under a “reality tv” kind of lens, questioning how much of the relationship is real or not (we know that Finnick certainly thought that the entire thing was just a spiel, until Peeta hit that forcefield). The time spent in the cave must have been pretty convincing, though.

mind

I think that Katniss is still torn here - On the one hand, she kind of wants to believe that Peeta is actually into her (remember the happiness she felt when Peeta told her how his crush on her began, and it all added up and seemed so real), but on the other hand she’s terrified of that possibility because A) lingering trauma from her mom’s depression in response the Mr. Everdeen’s death, B) Katniss never even considered falling in love, so that’s a sudden unexpected thing to deal with, and C) maybe it’s just for the sake of the Games; and wouldn’t that hurt, getting your hopes up only to learn it was only for show? (How about we ask Peeta about that?)

soul

Yeah, that quote about Peeta only eating stale bread also struck me as quite sad. It just further adds to his understanding how there should be more to life than just survival, though. (One day, I’ll make that post about Peeta, Katniss, and Maslow’s pyramid of needs, I swear! I’ve already gathered some research material)

Chapter 22

My mother’s hand strokes my cheek and I don’t push it away as I would in wakefulness, never wanting her to know how much I crave that gentle touch. How much I miss her even though I still don’t trust her. - Ugh, I can’t... Katniss misses her mom, misses being cared for😢 I’m so glad we’re going to see her patch up her relationship with her mom in CF... On a different note, Katniss craving that gentle touch just perfectly illustrates why she’s so drawn to Peeta, who is generally such a gentle soul (I mean, he’s literally the person stroking her cheek here 😊)

He [Peeta] doesn’t seem angry about my tricking him, drugging him, and running off to the feast. Maybe I’m just too beat-up and I’ll hear about it later when I’m stronger. But for the moment, he’s all gentleness. - As I was saying... 😉

“I’ll go hunting soon,” I say. “Not too soon, all right?” he says. “You just let me take care of you for a while.” - I love them so much😊🥰 And then Peeta makes sure she’s well-fed and hydrated, he rubs her cold feet and tucks her into the sleeping back... and she let’s him! 💗

“He [Thresh] let you go because he didn’t want to owe you anything?” asks Peeta in disbelief. “Yes. I don’t expect you to understand it. You’ve always had enough. But if you’d lived in the Seam, I wouldn’t have to explain,” I say. “And don’t try. Obviously I’m too dim to get it,” he says. - Oof. This exchange here is interesting in many ways: 1) it highlights their different experiences, tied to their different socioeconomic backgrounds, basically, and 2)  that Katniss is very much aware of this difference, but we also see hints of her own ignorance here - because Peeta didn’t have to starve in his childhood, she thinks that he can’t possibly understand this level of hardship; but there are other ways in which one can suffer/lack fundamental needs, which brings us to 3) Peeta’s response about being “obviously too dim to get it”; I think this is a clue to his mom being also verbally abusive towards him: she called him “stupid creature” when he burnt those loaves of bread for Katniss and when he’s losing it in the attic of the Justice Building in D11 in CF he is mad that Katniss and Haymitch keep things from him “like [he’s] too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them”, which - to me - sounds like he’s tired of being treated that way (i.e. the way his mother treats him)

“I want to go home, Peeta,” I say plaintively, like a a small child. - God, this is a teenager in a murder-arena who feels like wanting to go home is a childish notion instead of a totally legitimate wish for anyone in that situation, regardless of age 😢

It’s not that Peeta’s soft exactly, and he’s proved he’s not a coward. But there are things you don’t question too much, I guess, when your home always smells like baking bread, whereas Gale questions everything. What would Peeta think of the irreverent banter that passes between us as we break the law each day? Would it shock him? The things we say about Panem? Gale’s tirades against the Capitol? - Geez, Katniss, give Peeta some credit here! A) It’s not like Peeta can walk around District 12 talking publicly about the injustices happening there - she and Peeta hadn’t even talked with each other before the reaping, whereas Gale is her best friend who rants to her while they are outside the confines of D12 and B) Peeta is literally the one who introduced the whole “not a piece in their Games”-idea to her; why would he be clutching his pearls over Katniss and Gale’s irreverent banter?! Just because Peeta didn’t live on the brink of starvation (she again brings up how his house smells like bread and - at this point - still thinks that the family running the bakery actually gets to eat what they produce just like that), doesn’t mean he doesn’t see how shitty life in D12 is - he can still want better conditions for those who are worse off than him!

“I did do the right thing,” I say. “No! Just don’t, Katniss!” His grip tightens, hurting my hand, and there’s real anger in his voice. “Don’t die for me. You won’t be doing me any favors. All right?” - Well, we’ll see this song and dance again in CF...

And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don’t want him to die. [...] And it’s not about what will happen back home. And it’s not just that I don’t want to be alone. It’s him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread.” - I wish CF Katniss would remember this moment when she is questioning her motives about saving Peeta’s life in the arena - You. Care. For. This. Boy! You. Value. Him. For. Who. He. Is!!!

This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware of. [...] This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another. - Whoo! Is it hot in here or is it just me? 😉

I’m struck by his immediacy now. As we settle in, he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow; the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep. No one has held me like this in such a long time. Since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother, no one else’s arms have made me feel this safe. - He makes her feel safe in a murder-arena!!! 😭 This is the kind of stuff that makes everlark just a top tier romance, tbh

Peeta telling Katniss about his crush starting on their first day of school 🥰😭 - and her reaction to it... For a moment, I’m almost foolishly happy - yes, because you have a crush on him, too! - and then confusion sweeps over me. Because we’re supposed to be making up this stuff [...] So, if those details are true... could it all be true? - YESSSSSSSS!!!

“You have a... remarkable memory, “ I say haltingly. - as a severely socially awkward person... I felt that lame response in my bones 😅

“You don’t have much competition anywhere.” And this time, it’s me who leans in. - God, this would be such an amazing moment if it didn’t get tainted by that immediate sponsor gift, which just serves to muddle Katniss’s feelings with her sense of survival, further complicating her relationship with Peeta... *sigh* 

Chapter 23

“What was that you were saying just before the food arrived? Something about me... no competition... best thing that ever happened to you...” “I don’t remember that last part,” I say, hoping it’s too dim in here for the cameras to pick up my blush. “Oh, that’s right. That’s what I was thinking,” he says. - Peeta is the master of being a cheeky little shit and adorable flirt at the same time

“So, since we were five, you never even noticed any other girls?” I ask him. “No, I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you,” he says. - I appreciate that while Peeta has had a crush on Katniss forever, he clearly didn’t spend the entire time pining after her, oblivious to the rest of the world - he has a life outside of Katniss Everdeen, but ultimately, it all lead back to her

A disturbing thought hits me. “But then, our only neighbor will be Haymitch!” “Ah, that’ll be nice,” says Peeta, tightening his arms around me. “You and me and Haymitch. Very cozy. Picnics, birthdays, long winter nights around the fire retelling old Hunger Games tales.” “I told you, he hates me!” I say, but I can’t help laughing at the image of Haymitch becoming my new pal. - Laugh all you want, this is going to end up being your future anyway 😄

He [Haymitch]’s at something of a disadvantage because most mentors have a partner, another victor to help them whereas Haymitch has to bready to go into action at any moment. Kind of like me when I was alone in the arena. I wonder how he’s holding up, with the drinking, the attention, and the stress of tring to keep us alive. - Katniss is already worrying about her “new pal”, I see ;)

Maybe he [Haymitch] wasn’t always a drunk. Maybe, in the beginning, he tried to help the tributes. But then it got unbearable. It must be hell to mentor two kids and then watch them die. - Honestly, that sounds absolutely awful...

Poor, Katniss, when she learns of Thresh’s death :( - But no one will understand my sorrow at Thresh’s murder. - It’s horrible how compassion and basic human decency gets construed as ‘weakness’ in the world of Hunger Games (esp. the Capitol)

Then I escape into sleep, comforted by a full belly and the steady warmth of Peeta beside me. - Honestly, I think a word analysis of THG-series could be interesting; how often does Katniss mention “warmth”, “steady/steadiness” “safe/safety/security” in connection with “Peeta”?

“We make a goat cheese and apple tart at the bakery,” he says. “Bet that’s expensive,” I say. “Too expensive for my family to eat. Unless it’s gone very stale. Of course, practically everything we eat is stale,” says Peeta [...] Huh. I always assumed the shopkeepers live a soft life. And it’s true, Peeta has always had enough to eat. But there’s something kind of depressing about living your life on stale bread - Katniss is starting to realize that the lives of the merchants isn’t a cushy as she thought; also, in a way, we see a “prettier” version of how Panem treats the districts overall -> feeding the districts just enough that they can do their work (plus/minus a couple of people who’ll die of starvation, but at a small, for Capitolites insignificant margin), but not so much that they are in good shape to rebel; here, the merchants of D12 have just enough that they can live a “decent” life (they know it could be worse -> the Seam), but they don’t have enough to live a free, comfortable, self-determined life either. This also just further drives a wedge between the inhabitants of D12 (the merchants won’t want to rebel because they don’t want to get ‘demoted’ in their lifestyle, starving like the people from the Seam, and the Seam folk feel resentful towards the merchant people, while also not having the resources to rebel, due to their awful socioeconomic conditions)

What would be my life like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I’m not really sure who I am, what my identity is. - It’s so sad who Katniss has been so consumed with ensuring that her most base needs are fulfilled that she barely has had the time to really figure out who she is and what she wants from life (If we’re talking Maslow’s pyramid of needs, Katniss would primarily be stuck on the lowest tier 😢)

At least, we’ll be friends, I think. Nothing will change the fact that we’ve saved each other’s lives in here. And beyond that, he will always be the boy with the bread. Good friends. - Honestly, Katniss counting on being good friends with Peeta after the Games is the highest honor she can bestow on him at that moment (she’s so into him, lol); of course, knowing that their relationship is going to be a bit rocky once they’ve come back makes this thought a little sad... but we also know they’ll make up (and out ;) in the future

Peeta licking his plate and blowing a kiss out to Effie is such an adorable goofball-moment 😊

I cover his mouth with my hand, but I’m laughing. “Stop! Cato could be right outside our cave.” He grabs my hand away. “What do I care? I’ve got you to protect me now,” says Peeta, pulling me to him. - This moment would be so cute (also, Peeta’s so confident in Katniss’s skills to protect him, which is adorable - toxic masculinity who?) but... Ugh, he’s just so giddy here, it kind of breaks my heart for when he learns later that (at least some) of Katniss’s reactions were just for show

“If we want food, we better head back up to my old hunting grounds,” I say. “Your call, Just tell me what you need me to do,” Peeta says. - Love how Peeta’s always ready to follow Katniss’s lead :)

Ideally, I’d dump Peeta now with some simple root-gathering chore and go hunt [...] “Katniss,” he says. “We need to split up. I know I’m chasing away the game.” [...] “Show me some plants to gather and that way we’ll both be useful.” - Teamwork! If it weren’t for Katniss worrying for Peeta’s safety, they’d be on the same page here

“What if you climbed up in a tree and acted as a lookout while I haunted?” I say, trying to make it sound like very important work. “What if you show me what’s edible around here and go get us some meat?” he says, mimicking my tone. - I really like how Peeta’s challenges Katniss here; he doesn’t just go along with everything she says, while still being quite reasonable

I feel like I’m eleven, again, tethered not to the safety of the fence but to Peeta, allowing myself twenty, maybe thirty yards of hunting space. [...] I allow myself to drift farther away, and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel to show for it. - I don’t know, but Katniss feeling tethered to Peeta makes me think of Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory, according to which children with a secure attachment to their primary caregiver use  their “attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment”... Of course, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation was conducted with young children, but attachment styles are supposed to influence the relationships we form with people in our later lives as well (including romantic relationships)... I dunno, just a random association that popped into my brain 😅

Chapter 24

Peeta’s a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood. - Heh, Peeta sure knows how to handle fire, huh, Katniss (or should I say: Girl on Fire?) 😏

I order him into the sleeping bag and set aside the rest of his food for him when he wakes. He drops off immediately. I pull the sleeping bag up to his chin and kiss his forehead, not for the audience, but for me. Because I’m so greateful that he’s still here, not dead by the stream as I’d thought.  - Aww, this is so sweet (and domestic)!

It’s funny. I feel almost as if it’s the first day of the Games again. That I’m in the same position. [...] But no, there’s the boy waiting beside me. I feel his arms wrap around me. - They are a team! Katniss doesn’t have to face the horrors of the Games alone anymore! It keeps boiling down to this.

[its-me-im-coraline]

Afterglow // Victoria De Angelis // Playlist Fics

words // 1060

warnings // kind of bad writing, mentions of sex

pairing // Victoria De Angelis x GN!Reader

author's note // if you want to be on the tag list let me know. Am i building the anticipation for the two very smutty fics I have to write? maybe unintentionally, but I hope you're excited lol

request // noooo

summary // Reader meets Victoria while traveling with friends. The two create a lovely summer fling and reader can not help but bask in the afterglow of Victorias influence hoping to encounter her again.

The night was still young as Y/N entered the beach bar, a small crowd of people filling it up with their conversation, laughing and dancing, the smell of smoke extremely apparent. After a rough year of work this mini vacation with their friend was the best getaway they could ask for, a place to let go of worries and let loose in general. But this could potentially turn out to be far less positive than they intended.

It all went smoothly, drinks coming and going, music loud overtaking them with a need to dance and sing along to the various songs playing - most of which they hardly knew the lyrics to thus their words coming out as plain blabbering, but it was not going to stop them. Victoria was just nearby, a drink in her hand and around her the band. They too had gotten there just a while ago, enjoying the music and drinks, never minding the lack of conversation. After all, it was their choice to spend their night at a club. Nevertheless both parties were too preoccupied until their eyes met from … well, it was just a 2 meters distance.

“Hey, Ethan!” Victoria Ushered her band member over to her, attempting to be heard over the noise. “You see that group over there? You mind if I call them over?” It was definitely a random statement for the woman, never having done that before, but it surely was not straying away from her personality.

Ethan simply nodded his head, asking a crucial question to his friend: “Which one do you like?”

Victoria blushed at the question, surprised that she was affected because she knew very well how perceptive her bandmate was. Besides, who would just invite a stranger over to their table if not because they were attracted to them. So, the woman pointed at the person she was interested with, Ethan nodding his head once again and going to let the other two men know of the situation.

Victoria stood there for a moment longer, looking at her friends to make sure they were all on board with it, after all she would not want to do something the rest were not comfortable with. Thomas had the same reaction as Ethan, saying a simple yes and giving Victoria a bright smile, while Damiano was a tad bit more reactive, whoo-ing at the girl and giving her the cheekiest of smirks in existence.

Now she did not hesitate, moving herself over smirking at the person she saw from her previous spot before talking. “Hey, sorry, I don’t mean to come off too strong but me and my friends saw that you two are alone and would maybe want more company?” Ever the polite woman she is.

Y/N smiled back at the woman before them, unable to form words, affected by her presence, thankfully their friend taking over.

“We would love to,” they said, pulling their friend and drinks and following Victoria back to her table.

Y/N swore, right then and there that they have never seen a presence so alluring before in their life, noting how sure they are she’d be trouble for them. And, man, how right they would be.

The night was a blur from there, the only thing they knew now is that they were in an unfamiliar room, in what seemed to be the same hotel they were staying at. Confusion was overwhelming all their emotions, the blond girl from the night before sleeping peacefully on the side, them sitting by the window, looking out and considering their next move.

They wanted to stay, oh how they wanted to, this woman was driving them insane. But they could not… At least they told themselves that as they dressed back up, maybe to eliminate the guilt they felt. In all honesty they were afraid of what would happen, not that, that was something they’d ever admit out loud.

A last look was shot at the sleeping figure, a small paper with their phone and name laying next to her, before leaving the room entirely. No hopes were alive that this would possibly happen again. Y/N was extremely sure it would stay a one time thing, but as they seem to be most of the time, they were wrong.

The same night Victoria called. It was a bold move, even for her, fearing for the worst at first but finding herself in the most pleasant position once again, and the next night and the night after and for the total of maybe four nights. It was starting to feel significant to Y/N, this was not just sex, it could not be just sex, no. They went on little dates, for dinner, for drinks, for breakfast… It simply could not be that.

After an especially intoxicated night, Y/N woke up with a pounding headache, alcohol still in their veins and someone kissing their neck as they opened their eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful,” said Victoria, a huge smile on her face, continuing her actions.

“Good morning,” said Y/N, mind wandering away, thinking how much they actually enjoyed this, wondering if this could evolve, maybe into something not of an entirely sexual nature, maybe something romantic.

“What are you thinking about, dreamer?”

“Nothing special. Just… thoughts,” they said, covering up the thoughts from before.

“Well, I am thinking of the past few nights, it was lovely as it lasted but I’m leaving in an hour.” And just like that, any sliver of hope was burned away with their slowly building emotions. They knew it was all just a dream, but hers was only past 17 and they did not involve feelings.

So Y/N stood there flabbergasted, no idea of what to say next, maybe to get her to stay or at least to come back. Words became hard and nothing could be said as Vic left a kiss on their lips before walking out the door. And they sat there, unable to move or talk, afraid of their mind and that woman's impact on it.

And her impact was deep, never leaving even after Y/N was back home, in the day-to-day life, the one with a job and responsibilities, but their mind wondered back to the memories in Cabo, never wavering and always wondering of what could’ve been.

tag list: @bieberhoodforever @tabi-toast @ginny-lily @moriro-da-regina @the-killer-queenie @makapaka11

playlist tag list: @cheese-toastie-11

[imaramennoodle]

it’s almost one in the morning but I can’t sleep so WHOO hcs for after the series/ war is over:

Sandor stays in the lost cities with Sophie for years

The gang eventually grows up and gets their own houses, but not before they’re introduced to the concept of neighborhoods and decide to build their homes near each other

Amy and Bex get married and adopt a kid, and Sophie absolutely loves them despite hardly being able to see them

The wanderling woods are suddenly a lot more full of saplings :,)

THE ELVES GET A BETTER PRISON THAN SHOVING THE CRIMINALS UNDERGROUND AND WIPING EVERYONE’S MEMORY OF THEM

Keefe showed up at Havenfield one day and Sophie basically yelled at him for half an hour before just crying because she was so glad he was home (he showed up at Everglen afterwards and Fitz and Biana did nearly the same thing)

sometimes there’s days where nobody in the squad can really fall asleep so they have a movie night and watch cheesy Netflix rom cons

elwin legally adopts keefe :) the council was like “yeah no” to both of his parents after the whole neverseen thing

della divorces alden! divorce alden 2k21

Alvar (if he’s not dead? im still not sure if he’s alive or what) and Ruy are eventually pardoned for their crimes (after a very long [and mentally painful for Emery] debate) and open a flower shop in Atlantis (yes I want ravioli leave me alone)

almost everyone who was in the black swan keeps panake (?) petals with them all of the time

stina becomes a doctor (what’s it called there I don’t remember 🏃‍♀️). no reasons for this I just think she’d be good at it

pyrokenisis is unbanned ! marella becomes a mentor for it at foxfire/ wherever her help is really needed

the elves ALSO get a better system of what they do with kids that would go to exillium

Jensi is talentless and joins the Council after someone retires

it is revealed that all along, fintan was the florida man (this is a joke but also 👀)

[amethystroselilith]

Seelies and Treasures

I was inspired by the Seelies in the current event, thus another Chilumi fluff

SUMMARY: An AU where Childe's free-spirited adventurer with a Seelie companion who wanted to find him the greatest treasure.

Can also be read in ao3: here

He watches as his fellow Seelies got adopted, no matter how much he glows in his bottle, he’ll always be overshadowed by the Rosé and Curcuma Seelies. 

Another day has passed as the owner closed her stall, the old owner looking at the leftover Seelie on the shelves, with a sigh.

“Don’t lose hope, little one,” she said as she picked up the bottle, “I’m sure you’ll find a great home soon.” she smiled.

The Seelie had heard that a thousand times and each of those times have only been lead to disappointment.

Curcuma Seelies are always in demand as it brings good fortune, making them the top choice for adventurers who seeks treasures. These golden Seelie are pretty rare to find in stock in stores.

Rosé Seelies are known to bring love to whoever the Seelie had fancied, they are not typically the easiest to keep since the owner would have to prove the Rosé Seelie they’re worthy for their blessings, some of these powder-pink Seelies will even abandon its owner in favour of someone else. However, gaining the Rosé Seelie’s favour will lead them to a life full of warmth and love.

And there’s the Dayflower Seelies, the least popular choice. These sea-blue Seelies aren’t really popular for leading people to a chest full of mora or bringing romance in someone’s life, they are known for just tagging along to keep you company in adventures. 

They used to be popular before, but as time pass, people would prefer Seelies that guarantee to get them what they want as soon as possible. All Seelies are great companion, the Curcuma and Rosé ones just have a little advantage over the Dayflowers.

The old lady placed the Seelie bottle back in its shelf, ready to retire for the night until a voice came.

“Ah, I guess I came to late.” the visitor sighed in disappointed.

The old lady chuckled at the young man, “Unfortunately. The Curcuma and Rosé Seelies are sold out.” 

A blue glow came from the shelves, making it stand out from the darkness.

“Oh, looks like there’s still one!” the man’s face brightened up, causing the glow to grow intense in its own excitement.

“Ah, yes, we still have a Dayflower Seelie left, the last one actually.” the old woman said.

“Can I adopt it?” he asked.

“Oh, but you do know what Dayflower Seelies are, dear?” the old woman asked, though she would like to finally give the lonely Seelie a home, she doesn’t want it to be abandoned when someone learned that they’re not the most efficient treasure finders nor they guaranteed a happy love life.

“I’m fully aware, miss, they sound like the best adventure companions to me!” he grinned, “I don’t need an easy way to get a treasure, sounds like a dull adventure, nor am I really looking for a lover at the moment.” he blushed at the last part.

“My sonny, with that dashing looks, you wouldn’t need a Rosé Seelie to find you love.” the owner chuckled before picking up the bottle, smiling warmly at the glowing Seelie inside, 

“Your time has finally come to shine, little one.” 

After finishing the exchange to become a Seelie owner, the young man made his way, going in a quiet area before releasing the Dayflower Seelie from its bottle.

The happy Seelie excitedly jumped around his new owner, looking at him in different angles, curiously studying him.

“I’m glad to see you’re excited as I am, comrade!” the man chuckled before the Seelie settled in front of him, “I’m Childe.” he smiled.

~~~

“Ahaha! Did you see that Little Comrade?!” Childe excitedly asked the Seelie after the last Ruin Guard fell down, “Whoo, that was a great warm-up.” he sighed happily after having a thrilling battle against 4 Ruin Guards at once, his bow dematerialising to wherever Childe stores it.

Little Comrade did a happy spin before he and his owner walked to the chest.

“Whoa! A Luxurious Chest! Haven’t seen these in a long while! You did amazing Little Comrade!” Childe said excitedly, petting the Seelie before opening the chest and collecting the loot.

It’s 2 years since the Dayflower Seelie had found his home. Childe is the best owner the Seelie could ever ask for. They went to various adventures, slew a lot of enemies, and loot a lot of treasure. The free-spirited adventurer lived for thrilling battles, always aiming to be stronger as their adventure progress, so it’s no problem when the Seelie will sense a treasure locked around challenges. 

Childe gets annoyed with puzzle challenges though, and it usually takes them so long to get the loot, and treasure is still a treasure. Even common chests are still valuable as it gives some mora, artifacts, and some materials to make him stronger. 

“Well, now that I’ve warmed up, let’s get to work on commissions, yeah?” Childe smiled at the Seelie before they used a warped point to teleport to Liyue Harbor.

The ginger-haired man continues talking with the Seelie listens, “Do you ever wonder how these teleport points work, Little Comrade? Cause like…” 

The Seelie never meant to doze out on Childe, and this is one of the times his thankful he can’t talk or else he’ll get easily caught when Childe asks something for his opinion. While Little Comrade would always listen to Childe, something is just bothering him.

Childe is really kind to him, he never shouted at him when he accidentally leads them in circles when the treasure was just a few steps away from them in the start, never got annoyed with him when he only received cabbages from beating up an unusual hilichurl, or when they got surrounded by dozens of treasure hoarders in exploring ruins.

Little Comrade wants to do something in exchange for all those times, the little Seelie had been trying so hard to find Luxurious chests, but unfortunately, he doesn’t attract the same luck as a Curcuma Seelie does. It doesn’t stop him from trying though, he sensed a Luxurious Chest earlier, and just like how he’s been patient in that shop a long time ago, he’s determined to never lose hope.

They have arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild, Katheryn giving Childe a list of commissions before informing him of a letter.

“You know, you’ll get more benefits if you actually joined the guild.” Katheryn of Liyue reminded.

Childe shrugged, “I like adventuring freely, plus Little Comrade is doing great in giving us a comfortable life with what I currently earn from these commissions.” 

Little Comrade nodded, he also knows of Childe’s tendencies to go… a bit overboard in defeating an enemy. It happened one time when a group of treasure hoarders threatened to go after his family. Childe had taken care of the entire group, the Seelie is not sure what happened to them when they left them barely alive, but he knows they’ll never bother them again. 

The whole scene can be traumatic and will cause most to immediately fly away from Childe, but the Dayflower Seelie had pledged loyalty to this man and would accept his flaws as much as the great qualities. 

Katheryn just sighed, “I knew you’ll say that.”

“Then what’s the point of asking?” Childe chuckled.

The woman just shrugged, “Would still be worth it if you actually agree. There’s also a pair of travellers that just arrived in Liyue a few days ago. They’ve also been taking commissions but hasn’t officially joined yet.” 

“New travellers, huh?” Childe hummed, “What are they like?” his curiosity grew, will there be finally worthy opponents in this place?

“Well, they’re great at what they do, that’s for sure. The only people that’s been taking the dangerous ones aside from you.” Katheryn hummed as she checked her logs.

Childe’s eyes widened, “Huh, looks like we have some rivals, Little Comrade.” he smirked at Seelie.

Childe always loves challenges and Little Comrade will make sure his partner will win.

~~~

Childe and Little Comrade were having lunch in a ruin, “Ah, that’s a really good meal, huh, Little Comrade?” Childe stretched before leaning on a large rock, “I guess we can finally read our family’s letter.” he remembered the letter Katheryn passed him before he left.

The sea-blue companion hovered on Childe’s shoulder, he doesn’t really know how to read, he just likes to sit on Childe’s shoulder when he reads.

It was the usual contents, them scolding Childe when he told a story that sounds dangerous, them telling stories from their end, and the usual ending…

“Still waiting for the day you’ll bring the brightest treasure in your life.” Childe ended with confusion.

“We already brought loots from a luxurious chest last time, and it’s still not enough?” Childe sighed before closing the letter.

Little Comrade lowered his ears, disappointment once again in himself for failing his partner.

“Don’t be sad, buddy, even I’m confused with what type of chest is better than luxurious.” Childe cooed as he gathered the Seelie in his hand to pet it.

The Seelie perked up, showing a new determined glow.

Childe chuckled, “That’s the spirit, Little Comrade!”  he said forming a fist with a hand.

Little Comrade bumped it before doing a backflip, the best he can do for their secret fist bump.

“Well, that treasure isn’t going to find itself, so let’s get walking, Little Comrade,” Childe said as he extinguishes the fire he used for cooking.

They were about to walk out of the ruin until a noise was heard, Childe immediately summoned his bow, eyeing his surroundings careful.

A loud noise was heard and the ceiling trembled.

The pair silently followed the noise, Childe climbing up through a gaping hole in the ceiling. Carefully peeking from the wall, his eyes squinted in curiosity. 

There was a blonde girl climbing what seemed to be a geo construct, Childe watched as the girl summoned another geo construct on another pillar, the girl jumped again, gliding to the other rock, unfortunately, her stamina didn’t seem to be enough.

“Ojou-chan, hold still!” Childe had run, Little Comrade following. 

There’s a giant hole on where she’s falling, Childe jumped over it, catching the girl before they rolled around on the floor. 

“Lumine, are you okay?” a new voice arrived.

They turned to the newcomer, whose face burned red in anger, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted.

It was too late for Childe to realise how they look like. The blonde girl was under him looking at him with wide eyes and a red face, her arms trapped under his weight while one of his is on her waist while the other beside her head. In a no context view, he looks like he was about to force himself on her.

“W-Wait-” 

It was too late for Childe to explain as an anemo force threw him on the other side of the room.

~~~

“I’m really sorry for my twin’s action.” the blonde apologised with a bow, a Rosé Seelie beside her doing the same.

“You can’t really blame me for that,” her twin mumbled as he carried Childe’s weight out of the ruin, a Curcuma Seelie hovering beside him watching curiously at the Dayflower Seelie frantically checking on Childe.

“Ah, it’s really fine, ojou-chan. And don’t worry, I would’ve acted the same if I saw my sisters in the same position.” Childe smiled weakly, an arm hugging his torso to ease some pain, “And I’m fine Little Comrade, you can stop fussing now.” he chuckled at the blue Seelie who had been worriedly hovering around its owner ever since he was thrown to the wall.

“So, Lumine and Aether,” he learned their names, “what are you guys doing here? I don’t see a lot of people venturing in these areas.” 

“Commission.” the twins answered in unison.

“We’re supposed to find someone’s belongings here,” Aether explained, “We already have it, but we like to explore the ruins, there’s usually a lot of treasures, I just wish my dear little sister wouldn’t be so careless.” he sighed as he looked at his twin.

Lumine blushed in embarrassment, “It was a time challenge.” she defended avoiding any eye contacts.

“You could’ve waited for me.” Aether rolled his eyes.

Childe watched in amusement as they began to bicker, his eyes staying far too long on Lumine. 

Their eyes met one another, causing them to flinch and look away. 

Lumine’s Rosé Seelie pushing her face to turn to him again.

“Hey!” Lumine’s face burned red as she quickly turned away again, glaring at her Seelie who just twirls around happily.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by Aether who clenched his jaw in annoyance, not wanting to think about it, the male twin looked at the Dayflower Seelie, “A Dayflower, huh? It’s rare to find it with an owner. You saved it?” he asked.

“No, I adopted him about 2 years ago, been the best adventuring buddy, right, Little Comrade?” Childe grinned before initiating a fist bump, to which Little Comrade followed.

“That’s cute.” Lumine smiled.

Usually, Childe just smiles when people are impressed with his Seelie, but somehow the blonde was giving him a weird feeling in his stomach. He chalked it up as some injury from his hit earlier though.

“I just saved mine earlier and we’ve never got this much mora in a single day,” Aether said, smiling at the Curcuma Seelie, who jumped excitedly at the praise.

“Lumi’s was found a few days ago. We finished clearing a hilichurl camp when this one just started following her.” Aether explained.

The Rosé Seelie twirled as if to introduced itself before nuzzling on Lumine’s neck, “She’s been a delight so far,” Lumine giggled and Childe never thought giggles could sound so beautiful.

Aether rolled his eyes, “And we all know what Rosé Seelie means… Whoever bastard dare come close to my sister better have a ton of Curcuma Seelies because there’s no way in hell I’m giving her away that easily.”

Little Comrade who had been observing Childe and Lumine glowed a determine glow.

Challenge Accepted.

~~~

“How are you feeling?” Lumine looked at Childe with worry.

Childe looked like he was really in pain when they arrived in Liyue Harbor, the twins had immediately brought him somewhere to patch him up. Only to discover that something with a bit of cursed energy had stabbed him. Luckily for him, it was only a small sharp rock and it’s not a complicated process extracting the toxins from his body. It took them until night, but Childe is safe.

The bandaged man just smiled from the bed, “Eh, I’ll live, are you worried, ojou-chan?” he teased.

“I just feel bad, it’s my fault in the first place,” she mumbled before awkwardly taking a seat on the sofa placed in the room. 

It’s not like she isn’t comfortable with Childe, it’s just there’s something in him that also makes her feel suddenly self-conscious. She chalked it up as her guilt though.

“You shouldn’t be, but you should be careful when adventuring.” Childe just chuckled before reaching for the food that was set in front of him, an arm was bandaged, making it useless until it was fully healed, so Childe had to use one hand for a while.

Little Comrade perked up, he looked at Childe, Lumine, and the Rosé Seelie, who seemed to have the same thing in mind. 

The Seelie looked at each other for a minute before Little Comrade started taking Childe’s hand, “Hey, hey, calm down, buddy.” he said as his Seelie took over his palm, nuzzling in it needily as if seeking for comfort.

Childe had seen him act like this before, it was once where Childe was gravely in danger from a fight with a Cryo Abyss Mage and a Ruin Hunter during a rainy day. The Seelie was panicking at losing his partner, it refused to leave Childe’s side for a long while after that, even ignoring a few treasures when it sees in a shady area.

“Looks like he was really worried for you.” Lumine observed, “I’m really sorry the trouble, little one.” she sighed until she felt her own Seelie nudging her, “Huh?” she looked at it with confusion.

Using all its might, the Rosé Seelie pushed Lumine off the sofa and near the bed. 

“W-what…?” Lumine watched the Seelie then nudge her hand to a spoon on Childe’s plate.

Childe’s and Lumine’s face burned but for some reason, Lumine had grabbed hold of the spoon and letting the Seelie guide her hand gently to Childe’s mouth.

The Snezhnayan isn’t usually like this, he’s always staying unfazed even when he had walked into two treasure hoarders getting it on in one of the ruins a couple of runs ago. 

But this time feels so different, he’s lost at what he should do, and maybe, just maybe there’s something in him that seemed to love the attention he’s getting from the blonde girl.

Lumine is also not one for being easily flustered, after travelling worlds with her brother for so long, there’s just so little that will leave her speechless, but this is a new thing. She would never admit it to anyone, but Lumine had always been curious what a relationship would be like. She used to be in love with the thought of being in love, but after no luck for so many years, she just gave up and accepted that maybe love was just not something she’s blessed with outside of her familial relationship with her twin.

The twins have learned of the Seelies in Teyvat, so when Rosé Seelie started following her, Lumine can’t help but have those feelings started blossoming in her chest again, she’s used to disappointment though, so she tries to keep the feelings down, convincing herself not to expect anything out of it.

But why can’t she do that right now?

Childe opened his mouth, accepting the food and smiling at Lumine after swallowing, “Thanks, ojou-chan.” 

They don’t know how, but it’s as if the Rosé Seelie had shot them with cupid arrows, making them fall easily comfortable with each other.

They started talking and sharing stories, completely getting lost in getting to know each other.

Childe didn’t notice Little Comrade freeing his hand.

Lumine didn’t notice her Rosé Seelie had stopped guiding her hand.

Both didn’t notice a fuming brother peeking through the door.

~~~

Little Comrade watches as Childe excitedly scribbled words on a paper, it’s almost that time where they will go back to see their family. Childe had been busy buying gifts for his family for the past few days.

“Hey, you.” a pair of arms, gently wrapped themselves around Childe’s neck, “It’s getting late.” she hummed before brushing his hair up with her hand and kissing the side of his forehead.

Childe released a content sighed, leaning back to his lover’s arms, “I’m almost done, though I’ll have to drop this to Katheryn after.” he explained, shuffling a bit to pull Lumine on his lap.

Lumine chuckled making herself comfortable in his arms, before seeing the letter, “What are you writing about?” she teased as she poked Childe’s cheek.

“Hm, just talking about how wonderful my ojou-chan is.” he grinned widely when Lumine blushed.

“Very funny.” Lumine rolled her eyes with a huff.

“No, really, look, we can read it together,” Childe says as he held the paper up for them to read.

Lumine’s heart leapt in joy, she can’t help but bathe in that happy feeling as her lover shares something personal to her. As their relationship progress, Lumine started to feel comfortable with her feelings, letting them blossom without the fear of disappointment as her Ajax continues to prove himself as the best man for Lumine. Well, best man next to her twin, of course. No one will ever replace Aether in her heart.

Aether who had tried so hard to drive Childe away by sabotaging every move he tried on Lumine. She still remembered that night a few months ago where she had been feeding Childe. Aether straight away took her place as his nurse and had tried to choke him with a spoon as if it wasn’t enough that he’s the reason Childe’s there in the first place.

 “...instead of her falling on the ground, she fell for me instead…” Lumine read before giving Childe a look, “Really, Ajax?” 

“Little Comrade agreed it sounded cool.” he defended, “Right, buddy?” 

Little Comrade agreed before nuzzling himself against Lumine’s chest.

“Hey, hey, buddy, that’s my woman.” Childe playfully scolded, poking the Seelie gently.

“To be fair, I wouldn’t be your woman if it weren’t for him and Primrose.” Lumine teased.

She had finally named her Rosé Seelie. She and Childe thought about it together actually. Originally, Lumine wanted to call her “Love” corny, but simple. Childe protested that if Lumine’s going to call someone “Love”, it’ll only be him.

Upon hearing her name, Primrose appeared and sat on Childe’s head, “There you are, little one, are you excited to go to Snezhnaya?” 

Primrose did a happy twirl.

“Well, finish up your letter, yeah? I’m going to call Aether to see if he’s ready for Snezhnaya.” Lumine said before kissing Childe’s lips softly before looking for her phone with Primrose following.

Childe hummed happily before finishing his letter.

After sealing the letter in, he shouted to Lumine he’ll be out.

As he and his Little Comrade walked the quiet streets of Liyue, he turned to the Seelie.

“Thank you for bringing me the brightest treasure I could ever ask for, Little Comrade.” 

[srose-foxfire]

Damirae Week 2021 - Day 3

A/N: Happy Damirae Canon Anniversary Day!!! 

Whoo, day 3 is upon us! I hope you don't mind this prompt being particularly longer than my last two, I couldn't get myself to ‘cut-off’ some parts since I want to keep this AU storyline with the Week’s prompts. Some of the next prompts will be long as well to fit everything that needs to stay in the AU to make it run smoothly. Enjoy and see you all tomorrow for Day 4! ~~ Simona

“Joyfulness before Despair” Day 3:  Holidays

It been years since the castle had ever felt alive. The end of the year celebrations had arrived at the castle. Raven busied herself to get the parlor ready to spend the New Year’s Eve with Damian and his family. After her little incident two months ago, Damian seemed to have changed and Raven had done the same. Since he has revealed himself to be a beast, Damian allowed her to venture outside the castle, and the spirits, which turned out to be Damian’s family were allowed to talk with her and not keep distance.

Dick Grayson, the eldest of all of them had explained to her what happened. Centuries ago, when Bruce had just appointed his youngest son; Damian would be the one to take his throne as the next king. A witch came to their door. Damian who had been studying and groomed by Bruce allowed the witch to rest in their castle as an honored guest. The witch thanked him and gave Damian her blessing, it wasn’t uncommon to allow visitors to take refuge in the Wayne Castle. Though the witch had another agenda, when everyone had retired to their chambers, the witch entered Prince Damian’s room, she was to slay him in his sleep. The witch didn’t count that the young prince was a skilled swordsman and so Damian easily bested her. Furious that she failed, she shrieked and announced she had been hired to bring the prince and his kingdom to ruin. Words of an ancient language spouted from her old weary lips. She cast a curse on Damian and his family. His half-siblings became spirits, binding their souls to reside forever inside the castle. As for Damian, she cursed him into a beastly form so that whoever laid eyes on him would be repulsed.

After Dick finished telling of their tale – he left out what had happened to Bruce - Raven now understood why Damian had been cold towards her. He had allowed himself to be open to a stranger, which then cost him his family’s life and his kingdom. Though she could never recall of ever hearing of the Kingdom of Gotham. Dick explained that it was a mystery as well, King Bruce Wayne was loved by many and an ally to the neighboring kingdoms. They could not understand why their people never came to their castle looking for the royal family after they been cursed.

Just then Jason, Stephanie, Cassie, Kori, and Tim came into the parlor with boxes filled with assorted candles and some golden decorations.

“I can’t believe we are doing this.” Jason grumbled as he set the old box down. It fascinated Raven to see them able to handle physical objects even if they had all a ghost-like form. Tim, who considered himself quite a scholar, believed the witch may had not said her curse properly. If they put their minds to it, they could lift and carry anything if they so wished. They could even open and close doors, though floating through it was easiest.  

Stephanie scoffed and placed her hands on her hips, “Seriously Jason? Have some holiday spirit, we haven’t done this in such a long time. I could almost recall when the whole castle smelled of cinnamon and spice, gosh how I miss Alfred’s cooking.”

Having heard the name for the first time, Raven couldn’t help but ask, “whose Alfred?”

Everyone became stilled and remained silent. Raven could sense that the mention of Alfred’s name had sadden everyone. Though these siblings jested and were always carrying a smile, Raven could always sense they were hiding their sadness. She could only imagine what the witch’s curse had truly taken from them. They all been so kind to her, Raven wished she could do something in return.

“A dear friend.”

Everyone turned their heads towards the doors, Dick was standing there with a silver platter, filled with assorted biscuits and brewing hot tea. He too seemed to be saddened at the mention of their friend’s name.

Raven didn’t know what to do to lively their moods, just then Jason who had busied himself to finish setting the last candles over the fireplace, cleared his throat, “I thought you were supposed to help Damian with the food?”

Shaking his head, Dick tilted hid head to the side and gave his brother a lopsided grin, “I thought I bring Raven some snacks she’s our guest-”

“Demon Spawn kicked you out, didn’t he?” Tim added while he fixed a small round table and prepared two seating arrangements. Raven couldn’t stifle a small giggle at the mention of Damian’s pet name.

“He did.” Dick grumbled.

Raven raised a brow at him. “Are you not allowed in the kitchen.”

Jason walked over and grabbed the silver tray from Dick, he then turns his gaze towards Raven. “After we were cursed, we tried helping out around the castle as much as we could, then someone had to set the kitchen on fire one morning.”

Dick was beyond annoyed and gave out a heavy sigh, signaling he was tired of being reminded of his faults. “What? I was trying to be a good older brother and prepare Damian a tasty breakfast.”

After placing the silver tray on the round-coffee table, Jason scoffed at Dick’s remark. “Tasty? You were practically cooking lumps of coal! If the curse wasn’t enough, Damian would also have to endure your horrible cooking!”

The two brothers continue to bicker, while their sisters went to complain to Tim, asking him to stop the feud. No one had noticed that Raven had left the room. She wanted to feel useful and believed she could lend Damian a hand in the kitchen. Walking down one hallway, Raven noticed the amount of work the Wayne family had put to get the castle ready for their little festivity. A week before the end of the New Year, everyone had pinched in and clean the castle from top to bottom. There were no more spiderwebs on every crevice, the walls that only appeared to held darkness were now illuminated by candlelight. Everything had been dusted off, revealing beautiful golden tapestries, vases, and marble statues of legends. The castle was truly brimming with light and happiness.

When she finally arrived at the kitchen, Raven cautiously entered. She peeked from behind the large wooden door and saw Damian moving some pans over a small fire. He looked almost as he was in his own small word. A world where only he existed. There were still things Raven wanted to speak to him about but didn’t know if she was allowed to ask.

“May I come in?”

Damian quickly turn around and his eye widen for just a moment. “Hello.” He nodded and turned around and tossed some ingredients in the air. “I apologize for the delay; I’m getting our dinner ready.”

“Let me help, just tell me what to do.”

“Very well.” Damian gave her a small yet gentle smile, he then pointed at some dough that need to be rolled out and portion to make garlic bread. They worked in silence, but every once in a while, Raven would catch herself side glancing and just admire Damian. For being a great and large beast, he was very meticulous with his work.  He grabbed a kitchen knife and perfectly thinly sliced some basil leaves. Which he then tossed into a pan that seemed to have crushed tomatoes and ground beef.

“That smells delicious.”

“I hope you enjoy it, it’s a dish an old friend would prepare every year. Beef Ragu.” Damian said proudly as he grabbed a small tasting spoon and handed it to Raven to taste.

“This friend wouldn’t happen to be Alfred?” Why… why did she allowed her mouth to run off on itself? Raven hated herself for letting the name slip from her lips.

“Yes, he is.” Damian added rather nonchalantly. He continues to stir the beef ragu, “Alfred Pennyworth was my father’s royal advisor. He been a friend to the Wayne family since before my father was born. He acted like a grandfather to me, once I came to live with my father.”

“Can I ask, what happen to him… and to your father?”

“The curse affected them differently… they were turned into stone. We don’t know if their alive or gone.” Raven could notice that this hurt Damian greatly, she saw that he was trying so hard to fight off his tears. All she could do in that moment for him was wrapping her arms from behind him.

Once dinner was prepared, Damian and Raven were seated in the small round table in the parlor, they ate in silence. Raven grimaced having his siblings just lounging in the parlor and not have a bite to eat. Kori explained that they never got hungry. They could however smell the food and that was enough for them. After dinner, Dick started rambling off some nonsense and twirled around the room. Tim whispered into Raven’s ears that Dick enjoyed acting like the court jester. Kori left the room and came with assorted instruments in her hands, she gave one to each of her future siblings-in-laws and everyone started to play off-key. Damian couldn’t help but grumble and sighed heavily in his seat as he tried very hard to hide in his black cape. Raven clapped and giggled as everyone gracefully floated around the room.

~~~~~

As the festivities continued to roar inside the castle, outside was slender-hungry harpy; her feathers a dark shade of bloody red, and her body a pale ghostly white. She silently watched the cursed Wayne family frilly and dance around the fireplace with an unexpected guest. She huffed an annoyed grunt and flew off into the dark night. She flew over treetops, meadows, and valleys; until she reached the side of a long lonely mountain. There near the top of it peak was a dark cave, she screeched and flew into it. Darkness enveloped her for a few moments, then green boiling water, erupted from an old black rusty cauldron. The harpy landed next to it, tucking her winged arms to her sides.

“Show us what you found, my pet.”

From the shadows two figures emerge. The old witch that cursed the royal Wayne family and a second fellow who shielded his face with a black and orange mask. The harpy screeched and plucked one of it feathers out, placing it the cauldron. The green waters disintegrated the feather, like it fallen in a pot of acid, and then it started to swirl revealing an image in it waters. It was of the royal family prancing and laughing with one another. Then at the corner of the room stands a raven-haired maiden who reaches for the paws of the cursed prince and bring him to stand next to her. She smiles at him and urges him to dance with her. They move to the off-key music and laugh all together. The witch curses under her breath.

The masked man, the one who employed for her services centuries ago, scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. “Don’t tell me if the boy falls in love then the curse will be lifted.”

Just like her harpy, the witch screeches angrily, and points her boney-old finger towards the man beside her. “You peg me for a fool? Love is a strange power, but I made sure none of my curses to ever be lifted by ‘true love’s kiss’ or ‘sacrificing oneself for love’. No this is worse, that girl, she holds magic of her own. She is the daughter of a demon and of a sorceress from Azarath. Their magic is far greater than any witch’s enchantment, she could break the curse.”

“Well then, this changes things.” The man said as he hovers over the boiling cauldron and inspected the maiden more closely. She was very beautiful, he thought to himself.

“I can have my harpy go kill-”

“No. Don’t harm the girl. I find her to be quite interesting. Daughter of a demon, you say? Well now, wouldn’t that make for a most pleasant queen to be by my side?”