#“victory of the dark queen” costume

[roselyn-writing]

[anonymousewrites]

One Hell of a Love (Book 3) Chapter Ten

Sebastian Michaelis x Demon! Reader

Chapter Ten: One Hell of a Parade

Summary: The Sapphire Owls celebrate their victory, and (Y/N) and Sebastian have their own fun.

            “So this is the cox costume that has been passed down in Blue House for generations?” remarked Sebastian. He gazed at Ciel with a furrowed brow, and (Y/N) concealed a chuckle. “My, that is quite something…”

            Ciel was swimming in the costume due to being thirteen and small for his age. He huffed from beneath the long, cloak-like jacket.

            “Your appearance is far and away more than even I had expected,” said Sebastian.

            “It certainly is interesting,” said (Y/N).

            “Hold your tongue!” snapped Ciel. “Normally, it’d be an upperclassman in the parade. So we’ll have to make do. Sebastian, tailor these to fit, would you?”

            “There is no need,” said Sebastian.

            “Eh?”

            (Y/N) opened a chest they had brought in. “You said you would win.”

            “It goes without saying that we, as your butler and maid, would have made the necessary preparations,” said Sebastian, lifting an appropriately sized costume from the chest.

            Ciel smirked. “Very well done.”

            (Y/N) and Sebastian exchanged smirks.

            “Of course, my lord.”

l

            As the sun lowered in the sky over the Thames, the preparations for the boat parade concluded. While Blue House would sail towards Windsor Castle, remove their hats for the Queen, and cast their flowers into the water as the victors, the rest of the houses set up the parade. Once sunset appeared, Edward and Clayton organized the other students into teams to light all the lanterns from Saint George’s flame.

            And then it was the Sapphire Owls’ entrance. (Y/N) and Sebastian stood and applauded with the rest of the school faculty, students, and families as the well-dressed group emerged. They had a photo taken, and then they sat in their boat with the lanterns above.

            “Ready? Go,” said Ciel. “Catch, row. Catch, row.”

            The boat moved smoothly down the river, and in the darkness of the water, the lanterns reflected like stars. It was truly one of the most beautiful moments human beings could create.

            (Y/N) lifted their hand and linked their gloved hand to Sebastian’s. They linked their pinky with his, the movement small enough that no one but them noticed. Sebastian glanced down at their hands and smiled slightly.

            “There, on the bridge!” said someone suddenly as the boat approached. “Her Majesty, the Queen!”

            Ciel stood and gazed at the Queen, a somber look in his eyes. As everyone else saluted the Queen with deference and adoration, Ciel stood with deference and a grave expression. After all, he had sworn to do his job as the Queen’s Guard Dog. He had a job to complete at Weston College.

            “Long live Her Majesty!”

            Ciel extended his sword to the Queen. “Salute Her Majesty the Queen!”

            The rest of his boat stood. The moment after they saluted the Queen, they wobbled. (Y/N) and Sebastian chuckled. Apparently, Blue House had worked so hard on strategy for the games they hadn’t prepared at all for boating.

            Splash!

            The boat overturned and sent students and flowers into the Thames. Cheers and laughs went up in the crowd, and even (Y/N) and Sebastian let out chuckles at the amusing sight.

            “That’s Blue House for you!” cheered the students, no malice anywhere to be found.

            Above the crowd’s heads, fireworks exploded, sending showers of light dashing across the water.

            “Beautiful, isn’t it?” said Ciel.

            “It’s dazzling.” Bluewer smiled. “It’s so dazzling that I feel my eyes sting.”

            (Y/N) gazed up at the fireworks, and a slight smile appeared on their face. Their eyes softened, and Sebastian found himself unable to look away from their lovely expression and face.

            “My, my, humans are strange,” said (Y/N). “To go through so much and to yet have these moments…” They laughed. “How amusing they are.”

            “You, my—” Sebastian nearly let his pet name slip free and instead smiled. “Yes. How amusing.” He shifted his hand to properly hold theirs. “And you have that strength and so much more.”

            “We have that strength,” said (Y/N). “We.”

            Humans were transient—their own life had been—but all the briefness of their life, they found such joys within it. Even when they suffered and fail—like Blue House over and over—they found something to celebrate, something to smile about. (Y/N) supposed that is why they still found humans so amusing, so entertaining. They had predictable ways, but, every so often, they created a moment like this that made (Y/N) remember why their human self—the memories so faded—had done so much for others, even when it ended in nothing but their own ruin.

            They held no regrets.

            And now because of all that failure and their “fall from grace,” (Y/N) stood beside Corvus, the demon they loved and who loved them in return for all that they were.

            They had won.

l

            The celebration did not end with the parade, not at all. The people were having too good a time to leave yet, and everyone wanted to laugh and smile more, pretending the moment could freeze like that—joyous—forever.

            Ciel tried to escape, but Soma, McMillan, and Elizabeth dragged him back to the tables of food, tents of games, and crowds of people. The Queen’s Butlers, the Double Charleses, showed up due to being alumni, and the P4 had never seemed so nervous to talk to people in their lives (fans, apparently).

            Sebastian and (Y/N) carefully stepped aside to avoid them since the sharp eyes of Charles Grey might notice who they were. Fortunately, Grey was focused on food as much as ever and gorging himself silly. Phipps, on the other hand, had found a chicken and allowed it to sit on his shoulder. His tall, silent, and intimidating persona was very much disrupted by it, but it produced quite a few smiles and chuckles.

            Cheslock found his violin and approached the Blue House band. They were nervous for a moment that they would be reprimanded for their slightly underhanded strategy, but, instead of his usual abrasiveness, Cheslock asked for them to join him. Together, Blue House and Cheslock struck up and created energetic, playful music.

            People beamed, and they instantly cleared a space to dance. Elizabeth pulled Ciel to the dance floor, and her parents joined them. Francis was a strict woman, but she smiled softly as her husband offered her an arm. They did truly love one another, and the dancing was lively, even for their more proper stance. On the other hand, Elizabeth had pushed Edward and Paula to dance together, and the pair blushed, unsure how to proceed. Soma had no problem grabbing any willing partner for a dance and pulled Mey-Rin, who blushed as a servant, to dance. They linked arms and energetically spun around the dance floor until Mey-Rin and Soma were beaming and laughing wildly.

            Soon enough, a variety of students were also dancing. Bluewer was dragged out by one of his sisters, and his other sisters grabbed the other prefects and the prefects’ drudges, which was entertaining to say the least.

            “I believe there are several people who wish to dance with you,” said Sebastian, glancing at the various women looking at (Y/N).

            “It could be you they wish to dance with, Mr. Michaelis,” said (Y/N), smirking.

            “Both of us, then,” amended Sebastian.

            “I am not inclined to dance with them,” said (Y/N). They smirked. “Actually, I believe Mr. Noir will retire for the evening.”

            “Oh? Shall I accompany you—back to the house, that is?” said Sebastian.

            “Nonsense,” said (Y/N). “Wait here.”

            Sebastian furrowed his brow, and (Y/N) winked before disappearing. Sebastian tilted his head, but barely a moment later, someone approached on his other side. Sebastian smirked as he looked at them.

            “Hello, Mr. Michaelis,” said (Y/N), now dressed in a long black dress with all the markings of a titled family. “Might I inquire if you wish to dance?”

            Sebastian’s sharp grin became a true smile. “Ordinarily, the man asks, but I admire your forwardness. I admit I am enticed.” He offered a hand.

            “I’ve been told my fierceness is attractive,” said (Y/N) playfully while they took his hand.

            “I am inclined to agree, if I may be so forward,” said Sebastian, leading them to the dance floor.

            (Y/N) chuckled as his other hand went to his waist and their placed theirs on his shoulder. The music was still lively, and they moved gracefully across the dance floor among the other couples.

            Several women—and now men due to (Y/N) wearing a dress once more and them not noticing they had been Mr. Noir—stared in jealousy at the pair, but it merely added to (Y/N) and Sebastian’s amusement. After all, they loved each other, which made their dancing pleasant already, but to also have people wishing they held the demon that (Y/N) or Sebastian loved allowed them to thrive off of the jealousy. They were possessive demons.

            “What a skilled dancer you are,” said Sebastian, spinning (Y/N) before pulling them in again.

            “I had an excellent teacher,” teased (Y/N).

            “I must pay him compliments, then,” said Sebastian.

            (Y/N) rolled their eyes with a chuckle. What a vain demon they loved. Still, they loved every part of him, pride included. And he had no ego he didn’t deserve to have—he was as skilled as he acted. A man who pretended to have skill when he didn’t was terrible and (Y/N)’s least favorite kind of human, but Sebastian was no common man. He respected them, let them be who they wished, and didn’t need anyone to act less strong or skilled to feel secure in his own skill. Truly, it was one of Sebastian’s finest characteristics and one of the first (Y/N) that had attracted (Y/N) to him.

            “You should. He’s quite the man,” said (Y/N), playing along.

            “How lucky I am to steal you away from him for a time,” said Sebastian.

            “Be careful,” said (Y/N). They smirked and spoke under their breath as he pulled them in to the music. “He is quite possessive~”

            “I can compete,” said Sebastian. His eyes flicked to their lips and flashed fuchsia for a moment. Unfortunately, it would be improper to lean in and kiss them due to being “strangers,” but he was already imagining all he could do later—in privacy.

            “Oh? Can you? What a statement,” said (Y/N). They smirked. “You’ll have to prove it, sir.”

            Sebastian smirked. “I shall.”

l

            Sebastian lazily languished kisses across (Y/N)’s cheeks and neck as they lay on their bed beneath the moonlight. It streaked them in silver light, illuminating their every curve. Sebastian thought (Y/N) looked like deity, and, though he was a proud demon, he would gladly worship them. He already had, and yet he hadn’t had enough. He wished to adore (Y/N) every day.

            “Midnight is upon us,” said (Y/N), smiling as Sebastian looked up through his lashes at them.

            “The witching hour approaches,” said Sebastian, knowing they were referring to the tea party beginning but instead teasing them.

            “It is also the devil’s hour,” said (Y/N), chuckling.

            “Then if the pair of us together, it could be our hour,” said Sebastian, lifting his head to kiss them.

            “We have had quite a few hours tonight,” said (Y/N), chuckling and kissing him.

            Sebastian smirked. “Well, it takes quite some time to properly show you love.”

            “I know,” said (Y/N). “Because I ensure I use it to show my love as well.”

            “And you do so perfectly,” said Sebastian. He kissed them. “But I suppose we will have more hours in the future.”

            “Yes,” said (Y/N). “Shall we prepare until then?”

            “We shall,” said Sebastian, his hand tracing their contract seal before rising to dress.

            As much as he teased that they could spend longer together, they both knew they had to be prepared for danger. After the traces of nonhumanness with the Headmaster, Ciel could be in danger at any moment, so (Y/N) and Sebastian had to remain watchful.

            And so, they dressed one another, waiting for Ciel’s call.

            Barely ten minutes passed until Sebastian straightened. His contract seal glowed as he pulled his glove on, and his eyes turned fuchsia.

            “I have been summoned,” said Sebastian, throwing the window open.

            “And so the mystery shall unravel,” said (Y/N), smirking and taking his hand as he guided them onto the windowsill.

            Under the moonlight, the two demons stole into the night. It was time for the truth to be discovered—whether through words or blood, it would be revealed.

Taglist:

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[rpking99]

Ranger Auction

OPEN RP (Dark)

The crowd was alight with noise. Rita Repulsa had conquered Earth thanks to her powerful Green Ranger, and onto the stage strutted her general Scorpina

"Welcome, welcome, men and women alike! Warlords, queens of conquest, Emperors and Empresses of evil! Welcome to tonight's auction!" Scorpina called proudly, the room falling to silence. The beautiful armoured woman clapped as a pair of figures came out from behind the stage. Clearly pushed on stage, the sound of clicking heels letting all know the full extent of their costume change

In perverted, corrupted, versions of their Ranger Suits walked the Pink and Yellow Rangers. Arms bound behind their backs and bodies full on display

"Thanks to the corrupted Morphing Grid, these two are in a constant state of arousal. But are still virgins, and still have some fight left. We don't want the victory to be too easy, after all." Scorpina chuckled, winking knowingly at the crowd "Half the fun is breaking them after all, right?"

As she let the chuckle was over the crowd, she waited for it to end before clapping

"Now the rules are simple. Declare who you want, and bid! Let's empty those bank accounts, boys and girls!" Scorpina cheered "The bidding starts, now!"

[raddocwrites]

Do you even lift, Bro Una

Una carries this crew. Literally.

“This really isn’t necessary,” la’an informed una as the commander approached.

“Of course, it is,” chapel contradicted her cheerfully from across the room. “You won the bet, didn’t you?”

La’ans eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember any bet.“

 “I also do not remember committing to a wager-“ spock started.

Ortegas loud sigh cut him off. She rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her drink. “Whoever won the captains murder mystery dinner party, was to be carried in victory while the rest of us mere mortals cheered her name.” She shot them an impatient look. “It was in the invites.”

“It most certainly was not,” spock corrected her.

Uhura rolled her eyes and leaned towards him. “Just be glad we talked her out of insisting we call the winner the Supreme Investigative Detecting Queen of the Enterprise, for a week.”

Spocks eyebrow arched impressively. “Indeed. That would have been worse.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” the captain mused. “It might have been fun.” The scowl la’an sent him made him grin even more. He leaned casually into his counter with one hand tucked into the pocket of his 1920s style trousers, the arm holding back the large, beige coat and his other rested on a thin strip of elastic that held up his pants, cleverly called-suspenders.

“What I want to know,” Dr Mbenga started, tilting the fedora he wore so it sat more roguishly, “Is how you figured out who the killer was?”

“Yeah,” uhura added. Her shimmery white dress was full of fringe and sparkles. It seemed to flap and dance every time she moved. She had a white headband that complimented the outfit perfectly. “How did you know?”

La’an just tilted her head. She was in black trousers, a dark blue button-up shirt with a black vest. Una had tried to convince her to wear a black fedora with it, but la’an hadn’t been sold on it. Though, looking at Mbenga now using the hat to such effect, made her wish she had. “I AM chief of security.”

Una rolled her eyes. “Yes. But the captain has been working on this for WEEKS. Getting the scenarios and the clues just right. How did you figure it out so quickly?” She wore a dark blue gown that was the same color of a midnight sky during a meteor shower, with a large, feathery contraption draped around her neck and shoulders. The feathers were silver and she had on matching long, silver gloves that went up to her elbows.

La’an raised an eyebrow then opened her mouth.”

“Wait!” ortegas cut in. “Don’t tell us.” The pilot had on a slightly oversized suit, hat and tie, which she assured them all was ‘peak gangster attire’.

“What do you mean, don’t tell?” chapel asked, confused. The nurse wore dark slacks, a white button up shirt only half buttoned and black suspenders. She had shiny black cufflinks that gleamed and caught the light as she moved her hands and matched her shining black shoes.

“Well, I think she should tell us. Because I, for one, would love to know how miss smarty pants figured it out so quickly,” pelia remarked over the drink she held in both hands. The diminutive blonde wore pinstriped trousers and matching vest over a red long-sleeved shirt. She also had a confusing amount of paraphernalia with her costume-pocket watch, several broaches, embroidered pocket square, jewelry and neck scarf. Everyone had the sneaky suspicion they were all genuine, but no one wanted to ask where/how/when pelia had acquired them. They all knew how the louvre was still calling about some painting…

“But if she tells us, it will ruin it for next time,” ortegas protested. The others thought about this.

“There will be a next time?” spock asked, slightly alarmed. He wore dark trousers with a dark blue button-up shirt, light blue suspenders and a matching blue bowtie. A grey, wool cap sat awkwardly on his head, but only because Christine had insisted he wear it.

“Of course there will be!” the captain exclaimed excitedly. “Next month im thinking of…”

But la’an couldn’t hear what the captain was planning for the next obligatory staff bonding session since una stood right in front of her and motioned for la’an to stand up.

La’an raised her eyebrows. “Seriously?”

Una just smirked. “Its this or,” she made a small mock bow. “Supreme Investigative Detecting Quee-“

La’an held up her hands with an eye roll. “Fine,” she agreed and stood up. At least this way it would be over quickly.

Una grinned. She stood next to her friend, bent slightly, and grabbed la’an around the waist. She straightened and easily lifted the Lt to her shoulder, holding la’an in place with a steady grip on her legs. The room erupted into delirious cheers. Una carried la’an three times around the captains quarters on her shoulder, with the others roaring their approval.

By the end, even though she still felt a little self-conscious, la’an grinned giddily. She laughed and looked down at una. The sight of her friend, who normally towered over la’an, shorter than her made la’an laugh even harder.

Una grinned at the sparkle in her friends eyes. She winked and la’an squeezed her shoulder. Her friend leaned over and shouted, “Who was going to carry you, if you’d won?” she asked breathlessly.

Una looked over to spock who cheered somewhat stiffly, lifting the hat off his head and waving it methodically in the air. “I believe mr spock would have been called to fulfill that duty.”

La’an and una shared a look then they both burst out laughing. Finally, only somewhat regretfully, una set la’an carefully back on the deck. She kept a hold of la’ans shoulders in case her friend stumbled, but of course la’an was as steady as a rock.

La’an shot her that side eyed smile. “Thanks chief,” she said softly.  

Una smiled equally as soft and couldn’t stop herself from pulling la’an into a crushing embrace. Her friend hesitated only a moment before she returned it, then stood back.

“Come on,” una said conspiratorially. “Lets get out of here before the captain sets us to doing the dishes.”

La’an grinned and headed for the doors, not needing to be told twice.

[roobylavender]

Why don't you like modern takes on Selina?

i don't think she really has the capacity anymore to survive as a character without needing to be supplanted by bruce. the long halloween gets a lot of praise as a standalone story but i think bringing it (and dark victory and when in rome by extension) into canon with hush was one of the worst editorial decisions made with regards to her character bc not only did it reframe the nature of her relationship with bruce entirely, it also hugely undermined the independence selina had developed as a character in the first decade of post-crisis canon. there's a recurring theme in that trilogy of books of selina looking to be saved by someone: falcone, bruce, even her brief italian lover who is so inconsequential i can't remember his name. it stands as a stark contrast to the selina of catwoman (1989) and catwoman (1993) who recognized that the only way she could survive in the world was to fend for herself bc no man would respect her first as a priority. the entire thesis of selina's grand entry into post-crisis canon rests on the idea that catwoman is an identity birthed from a defiance of men and their violence and greed. the humiliating cat suit her pimp tells her to wear is repurposed and reclaimed bc no man owns her or can control her at their leisure

i think a lot of people, esp these days, tend to argue that they're tired of women needing to be fierce and strong and cold and that they deserve to be soft, but i can never really swallow that argument when it comes to selina bc of how clearly it's framed to support a certain interpretation of her relationship with bruce. no person who genuinely cares for selina can say she's only capable of ferocity and coldness. she has her moments of compassion and love but they're merely kept for the people she truly cares about rather than doled out at leisure. people have an issue with selina being fierce and cold bc it acts as a direct obstacle to her relationship and qualms with bruce. i'm always surprised by how people are so eager for her to rightfully call out bruce's hypocrisies only to want for her to be falling at his feet the next moment. there's a running joke that the ideal relationship between them is cohabitation where selina gets to go on heists at leisure. on a surface level i understand it's entertaining, but it offers no real narrative value beyond fan service. even more than that it's not realistic. the selina of the early 90s would never have been comfortable in that world of riches knowing how she had lived and struggled her entire life. she wanted to survive and she obv stole to survive but wealth wasn't her goal for the costume; her goal was notoriety and recognized defiance of the system and more than anything a life lived on her own terms. i'm always confused why there's such an aversion to selina standing her ground and making bruce do the work to come to her side of things when it would make for far more compelling storytelling that would challenge bruce as a character in ways that are desperately needed and it would honor selina's integrity as a character by prioritizing her needs over those of fans who simply want to see their two favorite characters together. there is an enormous potential to write a compelling romance between bruce and selina that balances their contrasting sociopolitical ideologies but bc the popular perception of romance is consummation and marriage readers aren't satisfied by anything less or anything more complex

on a more minor note: i really really hate the plot development towards the end of catwoman (1993) where selina becomes obsessed with wealth and power. i'm not sure if it's a consequence of writers trying to bring in more of the queen of the underworld vibe from golden and silver age depictions of selina but i don't think it really fits with what selina is crafted to be in the early 90s. to me it's more than enough of a clever nod to older iterations of selina that notoriety and defiance are priorities for her in the costume. those are very much character traits the golden age catwoman exemplifies down to her last appearance written by bob kane. i don't think pursuit of wealth for wealth's sake needs to be added to her character at all and while i understand readers love her role as a philanthropist millionaire from catwoman (2002) onward i, again, don't think it does anything for her as an individual. it is very much a development used to parallel her to bruce rather than afford her personal worldview anything of substance (well, beyond her brief phase of remorse). and this may be stretching it a bit but i think it reflects on the shame some readers feel at the idea that selina is from a working class background. it kind of goes back to what i was saying about how people want selina to call out bruce's hypocrisies but they don't want her to actually have to exemplify any of them. they want her to be able to criticize bruce within the comfort of her own mansion rather than be witness to any of the circumstances that make her so angry and fiercely protective of the people like her. and when i pointed that out once for some reason people got angry and thought i was implying selina deserves no stability in her life whatsoever, but that's not what i'm saying at all. she does deserve to be stable. more than anyone in fact. but she doesn't need a mansion to be stable, and she knows that. if she could live in peace with the people she loved without the threat of violence from men she would be content. she's never asked for more than that and i don't see why she needs to

[torchwood-99]

Torchwood Costume Carnage Round 2 Results

A resounding victory for Jack's waistcoat look. This is an excellent version of Jack's standard look (blue shirt, trousers.) The waistcoat and the watchchain really make it. Of all of Jack's classic in door looks, this is one of the best.

Also, it's kind of similar to what Ianto wears (watch and all). I'm dubbing this costume the Copy-Cat Look.

I had a bit of a quandary with this look, owing to the equal amount of votes it has received. I went for the above look because it took the lead for a while, which the other outfit didn't, and the other outfit was the same outfit that won in Tosh's first poll, for the sake of variety I put this one through.

However, as this was also the outfit I voted for, there was a judge's bias involved. Therefore I'm calling this the Ethical Quandary Outfit.

Jack's go to colour might be blue, but the winning combination for the team seems to be black and red. I love this outfit so much. I love red, I love stripes, and I love that this is the scene Ianto offers Gwen his arm.

See, black and red. Again, a classic version of Owen's go to wardrobe, at it's very best. He just looks great here.

Still, little sad that the cardigan didn't go through. Farewell cardigan!Owen, you will be missed.

Pretty, pretty, pretty. Pretty close poll this one, which makes sense as Gwen looks unfairly gorgeous in both entries. But it's Torchwood, so the red wins. I stand by my earlier statement that this shirt makes her look like Snow White, and in honour of the Evil Queen/ Princess in a dark fairy tale thing Suzie and Gwen have going on, I'm calling this the Snow White blouse.

Thanks to everyone who has voted so far! Round 3 will be up soon! Would love to hear your thoughts on the results so far.

[jotun-philosopher]

Good Omens S3 speculation playlist

These pieces have sort of drifted into becoming the soundtrack for all my wild speculations about what Season 3 might bring, acting as placeholder music until David Arnold works his Euterpean magic -- see what you think! :D

Dies Irae (Karl Jenkins Requiem (link goes to youtube playlist of the full album, 'cos it's awesome and seriously worth listening to)) -- this is far and away my favourite version of the Dies Irae; it feels particularly appropriate for GO because it's borderline bebop and sounds like something Crowley'd have playing loudly in the Bentley while driving like fury to save the world (or possibly invading Heaven to rescue his True Love) if he felt Queen wouldn't quite cut it. Plus, per this post, the four-note Dies Irae motif appears a few times in the score to S1 (appropriately enough!) -- why not try listening to the OST again and finding them all? ;D

Dancing Mad (Nobuo Uematsu FF6) -- bit of an oddball association, I know; I happened to be reading a post making jokes about Kakfa (as in Franz Kakfa) shortly after the release of S2, only I mis-parsed 'Kafka' as 'Kefka' (as in Kefka Palazzo) and was promptly deluged with mental images of the Ineffables being badass adorable together to the tune of Dancing Mad! XD Plus, I like the image of Heaven suddenly hearing the organ notes at 11:32 crescendoing in the background, and the elevator doors slamming open right when the vocal-ish bit kicks in at 11:51 to reveal a certain VERY cheesed-off serpent who's in a rescuing mood :D (He does love to be dramatic, after all ^^)

Adiemus (Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus) -- I just really like this track, and it feels kind of appropriate for a moment of renewed hope and building optimism after a moment of what Tolkien called 'eucatastrophe' and TVTropes calls 'Near Villain Victory' -- something we're almost certain to get in S3

In Caelum Fero (Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus) -- from the same album as Adiemus above (In Caelum Fero is the first track, actually, so I've make the link one that takes you to the start of the playlist). It sounds threatening and dramatic and hopeful by turns -- appropriate for the Apocalyptic situation that's brewing for S3 -- and the title translates from the Latin as 'I will bear you to Heaven', which matches up to The Final Fifteen in two or three different ways! ;_; (#FuckTheMetatronWithACactus)

Sanctus (Karl Jenkins The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace) -- ever since I first heard this track waay back in 2001, I've associated it with the image of hordes of angels marching to war; it certainly sounds ominous enough!

I'll Be Your Mirror (Velvet Underground) -- I got into Velvet Underground entirely because of Good Omens! I love this track in particular because it sounds so utterly perfect for one of the Ineffables trying to bolster the other's confidence (in my imagination, it's usually Crowley trying to boost Aziraphale, 'cos that poor angel's self-esteem is atrocious :( *hugs*)

Pale Blue Eyes (Velvet Underground) -- Crowley's fave VU song, I gather :D Plus, despite the title, this particular love song was apparently written for someone with hazel eyes (just like our angel!) :D

I Found A Reason (Velvet Underground) -- I can't offhand remember seeing this song mentioned in fandom discussions of VU, which seems a bit of a shame; it feels just so darn PERFECT as a summary of how the Ineffables feel about each other! <3

Edit/addition 18/02/2024:

The Dark Morris Song (Steeleye Span, Wintersmith album) -- this one's an absolute bop, is connected to Discworld (so Aziraphale would probably approve!) and is very thematically appropriate for the Ineffable Husbands; Pterry thought up the Dark Morris (danced in secrecy and silence, in black costumes, deep in the forest, to welcome the winter -- first mentioned in Reaper Man, becomes a plot point in Wintersmith) as a counterpart and counterbalance to the traditional Morris dance to welcome the summer. The whole 'balance of light and dark' thing is a big part of the Ineffables' story <3

The Good Witch (Steeleye Span, Wintersmith album) -- also a very good match for the Ineffable Husbands' vibe; the first half of the song is about a witch being good and loving and caring even if she is 'ugly' or gets tagged as 'wicked' for whatever reason (A. J. Crowley, anyone???), and the second half is the actual Terry Pratchett doing a spoken-word reading of his passage about what 'cackling' means for Discworld witches -- which matches up uncomfortably well with what the impossibly high standards Heaven imposes on Aziraphale have already done to his psyche in terms of c-PTSD and compassion fatigue, and what they might still do in the worst-case scenario...

Stranger In Paradise (Alexander Armstrong version) -- I just feel like this coincidentally matches the Vibes (tm) of bits and pieces of the Ineffable Husbands' story! "Won't you answer the fervent prayer/Of this stranger in Paradise/Don't send me in dark despair/From all that I hunger for!" -- The Final Fifteen/Ineffable Breakup, anyone? "If I stand starry-eyed/That's a danger in Paradise" -- danger of angel/demon relationships being discovered. "I saw your face/And I ascended" [...] "Somewhere in space/I am suspended/Until I know/ There's a chance that you care" -- bits of 'Before the Beginning' and The Final Fifteen! Plus, the title alone feels perfect for Azzy's feelings/situation at the end of S2... Brb, crying!

[arclassroom]

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[pinespittinink]

beer cheese & chicken noodle!

Beer Cheese Soup: A scene from your wip that made you laugh

there's this entire scene in chapter four of The Great Glavenisean Theater that i'm absolutely in love with because i think all the interactions at the cast party are spectacular, with Morgan as the extreme fish out of water. I've lumped the whole scene over here if you want to read it! (1.6k) 🎭 here's a teaser!

“You’re a designer?” Christina says, lowering her head toward mine enough that her hair brushes my ear for a moment, acerbic voice sharpened to be heard under the raucous clamor. “Do you have your portfolio then? Have you designed costumes before?”

“I’ve designed for shows, but not theater,” I say, fighting to keep conversation as Travis licks honey off Seonghwa’s fingers. “I have an appointment with the departments in Lisa Rollins tomorrow.”

“I used to have a dress from Lisa Rollins,” Christina says, a nearly comical dourness blooming over her face, pointing her dark lips into a nostalgic pout. “One of my boyfriends got it for me a few years ago. But I tore the whole thing from knee to hip at Squid’s one night—beads everywhere, silk ripped up to my panties.”

Chicken Noodle Soup: Your favorite hurt/comfort scene

Oh BOY, okay so I don't have one of these for TGGT yet, but you can expect some upcoming stuff with Zachary and Ariel as I get into the meat of them.

That said, Bloodlines has a decent amount that fits into this kind of thing; this is a scene in particular from the current draft that I wrote years ago.

“Lady Perfoliata, Enfriator and I are leaving the hospital,” he says. Enfriator carefully slips from his wings and drops from the nest to retrieve her boots, hanging her pack and discarded pietna leathers over her shoulders. 

“You are not,” Rain spits. Victory is hardly aware of her, concerned instead as Enfriator picks up her swords. The sheathed tips drag across the floor, and the guards move suddenly towards her. Victory strikes a wing in front of her, halting them again. He is not aware of his own trembling until Enfriator soothes a hand along his wing.

“Where is Polar?” he asks shakily, “Where is West?” 

“Down the mountain a little ways, I believe,” says the Successor. “They have been preparing the little villa you favor, in case you wished to return.”

Victory swallows tightly as Enfriator strokes his feathers. “That’s where we will go then.”

The moment he gets down from the nest, Victory crumples to the floor. 

Blinding flashes cross his vision in sheets; his throat constricts around emptiness, devoid of breath. Sound is distant and muffled in his ears, light too bright, too deafening. His body is dissolving into particles, feathers and hair and skin threatening to break away like the golden motes drifting in the air. All boundaries between his flesh and soul are disappearing like the dawn fog. 

Voices ring all around, words indecipherable and frantic, but one digs deeper than the others, urgently forcing the divisions of his spirit back together. Strong, safe hands touch his face, and Victory’s white blindness retreats like a lightning spike called back to the clouds. His body has weight and shape again, and he gulps in air, tears burning his eyes. 

Enfriator has dragged him into her lap. She holds him in her arms, hands cradling his face. She is solid over and beneath him, and he folds into her as much as he can. There is a choke in her voice, caught deep in her chest, and Victory burrows his face against her bare stomach, gasping. He can feel her fear, but her arms are strong around him and he shuts his eyes tight, shuddering. He feels like slack rope, like jelly, immovable and shivering. The other voices are still a resounding collision, Pulvia Queen and the Successor and the nurse all speaking in unintelligible sounds and harsh volumes. He understands only Enfriator, murmuring into his hair.

phew boy okay that was a lot, thank you!! Current wc for TGGT: 21793.

🍲 for every soup I will write a hundred words! 🍲

[haikyuuwaifu]

13.2

Genre: Drama

Warnings: Swearing, Alcohol Consumption, Mentions of Cheating, Atsumu being a shitbag

MASTERLIST

THE BIG PARTY|ATSUMU EXPOSED

ATSUMU EXPOSED

The party was in full swing, by the time Atsumu decided to show up. His costume was wrinkled and he was missing a shoe. He reeked of liquor and his face and neck were covered in lipstick marks. He couldn’t bother to care though. All that mattered was that he made it like he promised.

On the other side of the room, Kuroo watched on with bated breath as he watched the love of his life saunter his way through the crowds. It was too dark to see the marks, but Kuroo could see enough to know that Atsumu had been “preoccupied” before the party. He could feel the knots in his stomach, as he watched his boyfriend kiss anyone that offered. His image shattering with each new partner. As Kuroo watched on, Kenma and Shoyo gathered their friend groups and brought everyone up to speed. 

It was safe to say, that neither group was surprised by what they two men had discovered, and Y/N was absolutely livid at the fact that Atsumu was the reason why Nanako found out about the museum. Before she could say anything, a loud howl could be heard nearing the group. Looking up, Y/N’s mouth fell open in horror, as she watched Atsumu pull the girl in front of him in for a kiss. Kuroo’s eyes unable to leave the sight in front of him. 

After shoving his tongue as far as it would go down the woman’s throat, Atsumu released her and made his way towards his friends. Reaching out, he made to grab for his boyfriend, when Kuroo flinched back unable to meet Atsumu’s eyes. “S’wrong baby? You don’t want me to touch ya?” he cooed, reaching out in another attempt to touch his boyfriend. “I think that’s enough Miya.” Kenma snarled, pushing the setter back, and stepping in front of Kuroo. “S’not like ya have any say...ya had ya shot with him in college kozu-chan, and you were too much of a pussy to take it.” Shoyo stood next to Kenma, phone in hand. “You don’t have any fucking room to talk you trash piece of shit.” he hissed, placing his phone in Kuroo’s hand. “This probably isn’t the place, but it needs to be out Kuroo...he’s been going behind your back for months...” Kenma mumbled, never taking his eyes off Atsumu. “He’s the one who told Nanako about the museum. He’s the one that’s been going out all the time and sleeping with all these people...he’s just been stringing you a long...in hopes...” Kenma paused, his eyes flitting over to Y/N. 

Kuroo looked over to where Kenma’s direction shifted, and felt his breath catch when he spotted Y/N. She was talking quietly to Bokuto, trying everything to calm him down. Atsumu followed his boyfriends gaze, and scoffed at the sight of Bokuto and Y/N. “S’not like ya didn’t already know babe...Ya guessed it for ya self...side’s” Atsumu grinned, sauntering past Kuroo toward Y/n. “You’ve been the other man before, s’not like this is any different.” he snickered, ignoring the way Kuroo’s body started shaking. “I just...don’t love ya, the way...ya love me.” Atsumu continued, eyes on Y/N. “It’s always gonna be someone else better than y-” before Atsumu could finish his sentence, he found himself pulled back by Aran and Osamu. Both men had nothing but absolute disgust on their faces as they looked down at Atsumu. “Think that’s enough Atsumu...it’s time for you to get the hell out of here and go the fuck home.” Osamu hissed, pulling his brother back toward the exit. “Gonna sober ya ass up, and then we’re gonna have a serious fucking talk.” he snarled, gripping his twins arm tight as he and Aran made their way out. 

Watching Atsumu’s smile, Kuroo refused to let him see the tears that were threatening to fall. When Atsumu was out of sight, Kuroo felt his legs give out, as the emotions finally rushed through him. He could feel the tears trailing down his face, as his breath hitched and his body shook. Y/N wrapped her arms around him and began rocking back and forth. Unable to do anything but comfort the broken hearted man. Bokuto watched on, heart heavy and filled with rage, planning exactly what he was going to do, to make Atsumu pay. 

dabilove27 @elianetsantana @amberalisa @lia-faerie-queen @yafriendlyfangirl @adorable-punk-superheroes @ouijaeater15 @vhskenma @mushimoon14 @al3x1ss @black-rose-29 @swoonhui @sunnyflowers @oppositesunchild @that-chick212 @aurorahoneybuns @sugabeaniee @fucktheworlddude @elisamousse @victory-is-here @prettysetterboiss @marajillana @marvelousmimicry @loveinhaikyuu @koutayoomi @cuddlesslut @kookie-doughs @simpparty @its-the-aerieljeane @batgirljr72 @jeppiet @letmebreathepls @atria-avior @bongofrito @halesandy @fluffyviciousbunny  @fairybnha3 @honeybeelia @softiebadbitch @afire24 @nnmesis @undying-vagabond @missmaskedwriter @emogril @k3nma-fairy​ @syndellwins @chantalkate16​ @mus1caln0tes​​​ @dabi-sunflower​​​ @thegracerammy​​​ @mangobubblet3a

[sailormoonandme]

Usagi’s Evolution as a Healer Goddess

The other day I saw a post discussing the evolution of Usagi’s fuku and it occurred to me how Eternal Sailor Moon’s costume was her first Senshi uniform to ditch the tiara. 

That in turn led me to consider how that kind of makes Usagi weaker as it removes a very useful weapon for her. After all, if you include the movies, Usagi uses some variant of Moon Tiara Action in practically every season prior to Stars.

However, dwelling more upon it I realized how this tiny change was all too appropriate for Usagi’s character development.

Firstly, by supplanting the Tiara with her Moon planetary symbol, Eternal Sailor Moon more closely resembles both Queen Serenity, her own Princess Serenity form and her future self as Neo-Queen Serenity. 

Since all three are objectively more powerful than Usagi typically is as Sailor Moon I think the change emphasises how she has ‘levelled up’ in her Eternal form. When combined with the angel wings, Eternal Sailor Moon shifts Usagi visually closer to her future self as NQS, which in the anime is implied to be her most powerful incarnation.* It is almost as though the visual was communicating that the Divine Miracle Magic that she’d previously drawn upon as Princess Serenity in Classic-SuperS had now become ingrained in her standard Senshi form and thus was more accessible to her. 

It was in thinking of her previous efforts as Princess Serenity that I inevitably recalled her duel with Metalia/Beryl in episode 46 and realized that Eternal Sailor Moon was the first time since Classic that Usagi’s default attack was a healing  technique not a destructive one. 

Moon Healing Escalation was Usagi’s first healing technique but until Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss (and it’s later upgrade, Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss) it was also her only healing technique. 

Between regaining healing techniques and ditching her tiara/other destructive attacks/weapons, I think this represents her subtle growth in both her power and status. After all, it is a sad fact of life that it is easier to destroy something rather than fix it, thereby making the latter far more impressive.**

This skewing towards healing power rather than destructive power is also (arguably) thematically appropriate given the nature of Sailor Moon as a female power fantasy as (rightly or wrongly) the act of healing is typically coded as feminine. 

We can even take this further by examining things from the ‘opposite direction’ as it were.

Consider that in the climactic final episodes of Sailor Stars, Eternal Sailor Moon’s healing technique actually fails her when used against Galaxia. In later episodes, upon adopting her Princess Serenity form (complete with larger and more obviously angelic wings), she uses a sword to duel Galaxia.

Obviously a sword is, at least predominantly, an offensive weapon and can therefore be viewed as symbolic of aggression; let’s leave any Freudian or gendered interpretations alone for today. Her use of the sword is highly uncharacteristic (in the anime). Even her explicitly offencive weapons (like the Cutie Moon Rod or Spiral Moon Heart Rod) weren’t as clearly aggressive nor obviously violent. Desperate times calling for desperate measures? Perhaps, but we might also speculate it was her subconsciously reacting to grief. Not only can grief make you act in ways you wouldn’t normally, but a sword after all was a weapon wielded by her lover in his Prince Endymion incarnation. Her lover whom Usagi had just learned Galaxia had murdered. In other words, amidst her grief she reacts by going too hard in the other direction after healing her enemy proves ineffective.

However, when all is said and done the sword fails her.*** Ultimately is simply escalates the conflict by prompting Galaxia to become Chaos Galaxia and thereby make Usagi’s chances of victory all the slimmer. If we wished to stretch things, you could perhaps say that this is a commentary about how war and violence ultimately begets yet more war and violence.

Even if that is an over extrapolation though, it still served to emphasis the point that a sword is not befitting of Usagi, that she was doomed to lose if she continued to battle with destroying her enemy as the end goal.

In fact, her road to real victory begins when she not doesn’t attack Galaxia but makes it easier for herself to be attacked. In the end, Usagi doesn’t confront her most powerful enemy as the God-Queen of the future, the demi-goddess Princess of the distant past, the sailor-suited soldier of love and justice in the present, nor even a humble school girl.

She does it by literally stripping herself of all those things, of stripping herself of everything in fact.

Her weapons? Gone.

Her other items, like her Tiare? Gone.

Her comrades? Gone, and they’d be powerless against Galaxia anyway.

And finally, even her clothes? Gone!

Beyond the Silver Crystal (an outward visualization of her heart/soul) and the angel wings (symbolic of her role as a saviour) she is completely (but tastefully) naked.

Usagi visually and quite literally is more vulnerable  than she’s ever been, even more so than on her first night as Sailor Moon.

And yet this is Usagi at her actual most powerful.

It is her distilled to her absolute essence as a person, all other trappings removed. She’d just one person showing another they will categorically not harm them, that they bear them no malice and they have nothing to hide. That openness and compassion is what ultimately enables her to connect to the good within Galaxia and pull her away from the darkness that had corrupted her.

Usagi in this moment completely fulfilled her character arc.

·      In the Dark Kingdom arc Usagi destroys (or seals away depending upon your POV) Beryl/Metalia.

·      In the Hell Tree arc, Usagi resolves the over all plot via a healing technique (although it is functionally similar to a destructive attack). However, that only happens because the Hell Tree both instructs Usagi to do that and because it lets her. It is the equivalent of a sickly doctor instructing a nurse on what to do to make them better. The nurse might have the power but their agency as a healer is limited.

·      In the Black Moon arc, Usagi, with help, destroys Wiseman/Death Phantom. 

·      In the Death Busters arc, Usagi does save Hotaru and ‘purify’ her. However, like the Hell Tree, that was something Hotaru wanted. Additionally, her purification functioned as a way to heal the body of someone sick and who wanted to sacrifice themselves, not someone actually evil. The evil in question was Pharaoh 90 and it is presumed that Usagi destroyed him (although it might’ve been Hotaru or the pair of them together). 

·      Forgive me for skipping the Dead Moon Circus arc as Chibiusa is the real protagonist there, and Usagi’s role is chiefly as a rescuer. It therefore doesn’t really apply, although the Nehelenia mini-arc from Stars is a different story. There, Usagi was a healer again, but she did it with the help of her loved ones and with the aid of her Tiare device. Nevertheless, we can see by this point Usagi’s capacity as a healer heroine had been gradually growing until we get to the battle with Galaxia.

By the end of series, Usagi has successfully healed Galaxia and it is neither with the aid of her comrades, nor with the power of a weapon or device, nor with any instructions from her ‘patient’ or any other third party.

Additionally, Galaxia (unlike Hotaru) wasn’t someone’s who was saved from a noble self-sacrifice or had a physical ailment that needs to be addressed. In Galaxia’s case, her very soul had lost it’s way and become corrupted. She had lost who she was supposed to be and her purpose in life had been perverted.****

When combined with how powerful Galaxia always was, how Chaos and the Star Seeds empowered her further, Usagi’s victory here cannot be understated.

Her ‘patient’ was more powerful than all her other adversaries, was in need of more healing than her other ‘patients’ and was more resistant to being healed. Not to mention, since she’d directly murdered her beloved friends (and indirectly aborted her future daughter), Usagi would’ve been forgiven for not  even trying to salvage Galaxia 

And yet, with no weapons, no backup and just the power of her heart and soul basically, Usagi succeeded. 

After Stars the idea that Usagi could heal the entire planet after a global catastrophe and reshape it into a fairy tale crystalline utopia was all too believable.

What’s healing one planet when her ability to empathise had already healed a whole galaxy?

Who needs a tiara to reduce evil to dust when you can simply convince evil to be good?

*This is arguably symbolized by baby Hotaru’s vision of NQS transforming into Eternal Sailor Moon in episode 1 of Stars.

In fact, we might argue that a low-key subplot running through all of Stars (both the Nehelenia and Galaxia portions of it) is gradually transitioning Usagi closer to the person she is destined to become as Neo-Queen Serenity, hence why the first episode features the most explicit reference to her fate as Queen since R. 

**Personally I am an atheist, but nevertheless I and others like me can grasp why  deities in most major religions through history weren’t simply capable of mass scale destruction, but also of essentially manipulating reality to create  things too.

By that same token, it’s little surprise that perhaps the widest spread religious figure in history was Jesus Christ who rarely (if ever) engaged in aggression or destructive acts, predominantly employing divine healing powers.

I suspect the attraction of such figures to human beings lies in the fact that on some level we know that, given the right time and resources, we mere mortals would be capable of destroying anything. Given time it’s all but certain we will develop the technology to even destroy planetary bodies. On the flipside, I think we also intuitively grasp that  reversing  such damage, of reattaching a limb, of stanching bleeding, etc, is far more difficult if not impossible. Hence we attributed the ability to do such things to larger than life Divine Entities.

*** Now that I think of it, it’s also poignant that Usagi tries and fails to defeat Galaxia with a sword when we take Sailor Uranus into consideration. 

Uranus is of course associated with her weapon, the Space Sword and, like Usagi, tried and failed to use such a weapon against Galaxia.

Giving Uranus a sword is symbolically appropriate given her role as the leader of the more aggressive branch of the Sailor Team. Having her fail against Galaxia and Usagi consequently fail by in some way ‘mimicking her tactics’ is equally symbolically appropriate. Not only because of their ideological conflict in Sailor Moon S but also their tensions in Sailor Stars itself. In both situations Usagi’s more open, less aggressive, ideology was ultimately proven correct. 

Thus in using a sword against Galaxia it represented how Usagi was always doomed to fail by taking the aggressive/destructive route and how she was arguably not being true to herself in that moment. 

****It’s not to dissimilar to Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker now that I think about it. 

[daenerysstrangersagain]

Re-designing Colors of Game of Thrones

Some thoughts on costume design which I thought of while creating this post. The colors and outfits I chose are characters at the peak of their power, rather than for everyday wear, and the process leading up to each of them would be intricate.

Cersei and Margaery

Cersei's power color is red, not black, while Margaery's is green.

As Renly favors Tyrell green, I would have dressed them both in dark green throughout Renly's plotline. The green would make them stand out as their own faction (vs Stark grey/white, Baratheon black/gold, and Lannister red), while the gold would provide an echo of both a king's crown and the Lannisters' concurrent attempt to steal the crown.

When she comes to Kings Landing, no longer assured in her and her family's power, I would maintain the colors but make the green lighter. Reducing the bold colors she wore as queen to indicate the Tyrells' fading power, and be reminiscent of the king's last betrothed, Sansa, and her soft blue and pink gowns from seasons past.

Canon GOT costume in Season 3 vs the green I have in mind.

The costume designers for Game of Thrones said that they wanted to make the Tyrells show up in silver, in contrast to the Lannister's gold. They traded green for silver-blue, rather than trading out gold.

Instead I want to give Margaery and Cersei an inverse costume arc. In the early seasons, Cersei wears pale gold, not for House Lannister, but for Robert's house. Gold is a Baratheon color as well and it silences her Lannister red just as her marriage to Robert silences her voice. In later seasons, with Robert dead and her sons on the Iron Throne, Cersei wears Lannister red.

Joffrey wears gold with red highlights, as he's stolen a crown, but Cersei and Margaery are the ones fighting for it. I would give Cersei bold reds which are slowly covered by gold armor as she loses her influence over Joffrey. Cersei often wears false armor in GOT canon, and has expressed multiple times that she should have been born male over Robert and Jaime. As her power fades gold armor covers her Lannister birthright .

Margaery would start off with pale green, and as her power grows so would the boldness of the colors. The day she marries Tommen she would wear gold, and afterward true Tyrell green. This can also be echoed in the city and keep, Baratheon joined with Tyrell, and the Lannister red that once ruled now gone.

Arryn and Tully

Both Arryn and Tully would share blue as a major theme, rather than white or red. The first reason is shared, as major players own both colors; the Lannisters and Targaryens claim red while Starks wear white. Second, both houses serve a similar place in the narrative as allies of House Stark.

Arryns would have a softer sky blue, while Tullys wear a deeper shade to go with their red details.

This gives multiple visual links from characters we know (Edmure, Catelyn) to characters introduced later (Lysa, Robin). We also can match Tully banners with Robb in the earlier seasons to the Vale with Sansa in later ones. Viewers get used to seeing blue banners flying alongside the direwolf.

However while similar, they are offset by differences when next to each other. Beautiful, soft clothes for Lysa and Robin, who sit out the Wot5K, contrast mudded armor and red-toned leather for the Tullys.

Daenerys and Cersei

Daenerys ends the show in red and black, claiming the colors of the Baratheons and Lannisters along with the crown.

When she returns to Meereen from the Dothraki Sea, Dany trades the blue of the Dothraki and the green of Meereen (both for the Green Grace, as Dany gradually ceeds power to the masters, and as a parallel to Margaery), for black. Confident in her path, she burns the masters and claims their fleet, and leaves Meereen with a ruling counsel and an army.

In the North, Dany wears no white to honor the Starks, but black for her family, for her sons, for the last trueborn Targaryen, for the shield to guard the realms of men. Her armor is the same color as Drogon's scales, and when looking up at him her hair is the only indication that he has a rider and is not wild. Daenerys brings her dragons and her armies to bear against the Army of the Dead.

Cersei, who reclaimed Lannister colors with the death of Tommen and Margaery, awears a red that is echoed throughout the Red Keep. The last bastion of Lannister strength. As Daenerys destroys her armies and invades her city, her red turns to the black of mourning and loss. The black of her Baratheon husband, the last true king. In contrast, the red Dany wears grows stronger with each victory.

[moribundanchor]

The Pelle/Dani Receipts, Post Twelve: Runes

Big, huge Hårga hugs and thanks again to @daydreamers for expertise and editing on this post!

So. Runes. Specifically, the Elder Futhark runes, as Pelle tells Dani in the Director’s Cut, the “special little language” of the Hårgans. Throughout the film, runes are insinuated into basically every surface of Hårga and its people. So many tattoo opportunities, y’all. And it doesn’t even technically start in Sweden. Ari stuck a board featuring the whole Elder Futhark alphabet in Christian and Mark’s apartment. You can see it on the bookcase to Pelle’s right in the couch scenes. So, the film’s usage of the Elder Futhark is a deep, deep rabbit hole full of all the multivalent subtext we crave from this film, but they’re also absolutely blaring evidence for the Dani/Pelle ship. Throughout the film, like many of the background details we’ve discussed, the runes serve as a repetitive chorus of their fatedness for each other, but better still, the runes footnote the film’s ambiguous resolution as their genuine happy ending. So let’s dig in.

Dani has two main runes associated with her, Raidho and Dagaz, and they are both merkstave versions, that is backwards, lending them a negative reading. Oooooh, scary. Except negative readings aren’t necessarily negative either. All runic readings are subjective and contextual, which is why we decided to talk about these last. Let’s not forget that Dani begins the movie at the bottom of an emotional well.

Raidho, literally ride or wheel, refers to a journey. Yeah, Dani’s on one of those, seems legit. This is the only rune that Ari takes care to point out the meaning of within the film itself, when the elder Arne shows the Rubi Radr to Josh, pointing to Raidho on its side and telling him that that one stands for grief. Grief is a legitimate reading of Raidho merkstave, so let’s just take that interpretation at Arne’s word and combine it with Dagaz, Dani’s second rune. 

Dagaz is the last rune in the Elder Futhark, and it means day, symbolizing accomplishment, fulfillment, and new beginnings. As a symmetrical rune, it’s questionable whether it can be merkstave, but Dani’s Dagaz rune (technically runes, as she also has them on her shoes) does lie in opposition. Its negative reading in that case would be hopelessness, blindness, or cataclysmic change. Not fairytale stuff, right?

But Raidho and Dagaz appear together on Pelle’s drawing and on Dani’s dress. Also note that runic inscriptions are read right to left, and the tapestry of the “little love story” is an in-film clue to that reading order. With that in mind, together Raidho merkstave and Dagaz merkstave tell of a big change, even an ending, yes, but an ending to Dani’s grief, and that is what her journey in this film describes. Here, two “negative” readings equal out to a positive in the sense of Dani’s ultimate growth and transcendence. But wait, there’s more.

You will notice the runes on the Hårgans’ clothing, of course, as though they are their personal cult cutie marks, but the embroidered runes are often surrounded by other symbols, esoteric symbols and more complex runic talismans, which deepen the reading of the central rune, like footnotes. In Dani’s dress example, Raidho and Dagaz are flanked by merkstaved Tiwaz runes, with sun symbols above and below. Tiwaz (literally “the god Tyr,” the god of law and justice) is one of the runes featured on Christian’s robe during the sex ritual, and it describes justice, honor, authority, self-sacrifice. Its merkstave meaning then reads as conflict, imbalance, lack of communication...separation. And so, in the specific context of the dance competition, while Dani’s main runes shown in Pelle’s drawing forecast (or possibly straight-up spellcast, depending on your interpretation) an end to her grief, the more complex version she wears for the dance tells of that happening through a conflict and a break...but the sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow. It is a new dawn for Dani as the May Queen.

Her shoes, which we only see during the dance, are more complicated. First, the embroidery is done in faded red thread, and we know that red appears very selectively on Hårgan garments. Siv wears a ton of red throughout the festival. Maja and Inga also wear striking red additions to their costumes at the Fire Temple ceremony. Ingemar has a single red button on his waistcoat. So red may convey authority, fertility, sacrifice, or even be a brand of shame, but it always seems to mean something.

As for the symbols on her shoes, again we see the merkstave-ish Dagaz rune, but it is alone in the center, no Raidho. So we’re looking at a big change or an ending again. Instead of suns, we have snowflakes, recalling the Spoiler Tapestry in the beginning, the way it began in frosty dark death skullhead weather and ends in summer dinner and dancing beneath the scariest sun since Teletubbies. To the right, we have a bind of three Tiwaz runes, and to the left, we have an Ingwaz (seed) rune, combined with a merkstave Kenaz. The triple Tiwaz is a victory rune, taken from an Old Norse poem where a Valkyrie was woken from her slumber. Three is a holy number, and that’s definitely something we know the 9-multiple-loving Hårgans pay attention to. This rune means the sleeper Dani is about to be awoken through a victory. Meanwhile the Ingwaz rune refers to coming into harmony and reaching potential. It’s also a fertility rune. Kenaz (torch) is a rune that normally describes transformation, knowledge, and the harnessing of light; merkstave, it speaks to darkness, lack of illumination and a relationship breakdown. Taken together, reading right to left, Dani’s shoes basically say: there will be a great change where she will be awoken from her slumber through a victory, she will have a breakup and/or her illusions will be shattered, but that will bring her ultimately into harmony, and there is the added implication of her fertility, bolstered by the red thread, being part of this. THAT IS ON HER SHOES. 

For what it’s worth, you will also notice Hanna wearing Dagaz in opposition, like Dani, and the elder Sten wears a merkstave Raidho, in yellow no less. You can peep merkstave Raidho and Dagaz elements on the temple doors, too. So even if you eschew our deep dive here, these runes cannot be looked at superficially, as merkstave = bad = Dani doom. If Dani’s doomed, so is Sten and Hanna and the whole damn Hårga, and you may think that, but it’s not terribly likely they’d write it on themselves, is it? Sten doesn’t look doomed to us. Sten looks quite jolly, actually.

OK, time to obsess on Pelle. Pelle has one rune on his Hårgan tunic that he wears for the majority of the film, Fehu, and this seems more straightforward. Fehu means wealth, specifically mobile wealth, specifically cattle. As we mentioned earlier: moo, Dani; moo, sacrifices. And since Pelle’s the one bringing new blood and their new queen, the association of Pelle with prosperity is quite fitting. Add to that the way Fehu and Raidho tend to pop up all over the village, particularly on the maypole. The maypole combination of Raidho (not merkstave) and Fehu speaks to the way the Hårgans believe the dance around the maypole enacts (and reenacts) a ceremony that brings them prosperity, and having Dani and Pelle as Raidho Barbie and Fehu Ken is just kind of perfect in that light.

Pelle’s Fehu is surrounded by four symbols. Let’s have a crack at those, too. First we have what looks like a closed eye up top. At the bottom, we have a cross. The cross is not actually a cross; it’s a combination of four Isa (ice) runes, and we know this because there are four dots arranged around them, telling us, hey, these are four symbols not one. Then to the right, we have another talisman that looks like a crucified diamond with five dots. Again, the dots mean that these are individual runes drawn as one symbol as a kind of shorthand, so this symbol is actually Ingwaz again, quartered by four Isa runes. Finally, to the left, there is another Isa rune crossing a Tiwaz, and the absence of dots here means that they are a bind, or they are meant to be read as one thing (or are a spell for one thing).

The closed eye symbol is a bit of a guess here; it might represent Pelle’s unclouded intuition or maybe, in view of Dani’s suns and the association of Raidho with the summer solstice, it is meant to symbolize Fehu’s complementary association with the winter solstice. We prefer the association with his intuition given the events of the film. But what about the other symbols? Isa is a rune that describes the self or the ego. On the positive side, it is about will and focus, but on the other side, it is everything bad about ice: rigidity, blindness and self-preoccupation, being frozen. Again, symmetrical runes like Isa don’t merkstave, but they can lie in opposition, and so we have two pairs of Isa indicating, at the right, self-fulfillment, with the added implication of fertility, and coming into unity with the family after the will breaks through the metaphorical ice. At the bottom it is the same reading, only without Ingwaz. Will and self-control overcomes lassitude. And then again, one last time, Tiwaz crossed with Isa, read as one thing, not a series like the previous shorthand symbols, invoking justice and male energy to, again, break through the metaphorical ice. Taken together, it’s a formula for Pelle and the family’s triumph. Governed by his unclouded intuition, Pelle’s will overcomes that of his four differently-blind friends, bringing new blood and justice and unity with the family for the betterment of all, and the two breaks in the rightmost configuration carry the added implication of Pelle bringing into the family Christian’s and Dani’s new blood.

Finally, as discussed briefly in posts 10 and 11, Pelle changes his shirt on the morning of the dance competition, swapping Fehu for Wunjo (joy). There do appear to be a couple flanking symbols on this shirt, too, but we never get close enough to see, so we’ll just have to go with Wunjo’s face value. Again, this is the rune that emphasizes harmony, family, and the art of correct wishing, i.e. wanting (and getting) what is good for you. Pelle wearing Wunjo when he kisses Dani is a sign that he, the anti-Christian if you will, is her wish come true. This choice is not only incredibly positive for his relationship with Dani, but illustrative that there is a difference between Dani/Pelle and Dani/Hårga by virtue of the fact that he changes back into the Fehu shirt for the Fire Temple ceremony. Insofar as Dani is part of the family after the ceremony, the prosperity spelled on his Fehu-emblazoned tunic applies to her, too, but the Wunjo shirt is for her and for her victory...and his victory over Christian for her sake. The implication is that their story will not simply end with Dani assimilated into Hårga. They have special, personal significance for each other. While the ending shots of the film are a little ambiguous, the runes promise the May Queen and her consort are going to be just fine, y’all.

Again, would you like to see our fanfics?

Of course, there’s tons more to explore in the film that doesn’t speak specifically to Dani and Pelle’s love story, and even while we compiled this list, we were continually noticing and discovering the significance of new things. There’s no reason to think that will stop just because we’ve posted the Receipts. Still, we hope that you will enjoy the evidence we have compiled here for not only the legitimacy of the Dani/Pelle ship, but its promise of a happy ending for the OTP because, by Ari’s own admission, for better or worse, Midsommar is a wish fulfillment fantasy.

For more, click on The Pelle/Dani Receipts Masterpost

[conaionaru]

The Drowned girl

Raid

Synopsis: Siggy fights in her first battle

Warnings: violence, shit parenting (Bjorn), child abandonment, language, canon divergence, murder, blood, kidnapping, visions of death

Tags:

@pieces-by-me​

I don’t own the gifs.

The snow was falling all around Siggy. The cold wind was biting into her cheeks and numbing her toes. Any longer, and she would freeze. But fighting in her coat got her too sweaty, so she threw it off.

She glared at her enemy, standing there unbothered by her attempts to kill him. How arrogant of that bastard. The blonde charged forward again, hitting him left and right, his insides flying around the air. Siggy grinned in victory and hit him in the iron plate around his chest, the blade screeching in protest.

"You are gonna dull the blade like that." A voice called, startling her from her concentration. Siggy twirled around and pointed the blade at the intruder. But luckily, it was just Floki.

"A real warrior fight steel with steel. Christians have steel armor, and I want to destroy it." She bragged, slicing her opponent's neck.

Floki chuckled and skipped over to her. He picked up her coat and duster the snow off it. "Your Christian is dressed like a Viking. And he is made off straw." He plucked a piece of straw from her hair and pointed at the makeshift training dummy.

"You have to aim for weak spots: neck, head. Cut the legs to make it harder to walk, the arms to weaken the muscles. Think, don't just kill."

Siggy frowned and glared at the snow that fell on her nose. "Why overthink if I know that they will die anyway?"

"Thinking is so you survive, not that they die." He fixed the fourteen-year-olds stance and lightly slapped her shoulders. "Now fight. The gods are watching."

Siggy sat behind Rollo, picking at her nails with her freshly sharpened dagger. They were nearing a port which meant new provisions and probably bloodshed. Finally.

Floki kept looking at her whenever she went still for a little too long. He was so worried that she would have a vision in front of all these people. It was a well-kept secret, including her other skills. According to him and Aslaug, it was better if no one knew that she had a gift from the gods. People with her set of skills were cherished but also cursed as witches. It wasn't safe for people to know that she knew how to curse someone or see their future. Not that she got to decide what she saw.

It was nighttime by when they docked into the strange place. Siggy was one of the first people to jump off the ship. She drew her sword; it was specially made for her first raid, decorated with runes for strength and protection.

"The gods are watching." She whispered giddily and skipped behind Hvitserk into a marketplace. This one was far bigger than the one in Kattegat. The people were of darker skin and spoke in a foreign tongue.

Siggy walked between the people, watching their strange products and clothes. In her leather armor, she looked like an outsider. The blonde twirled in a circle, grinning at the fabulous view. The world outside her home was... breathtaking. The terrified screams of the dying people added a certain flair to it all.

With one last twirl, Siggy charged into the masses of fleeing foreigners and joined in the slaughter. It was like she was born for this. The scared look in the people's eyes before they drew their last breath gave her a new kind of rush. She had killed before, of course, but never so many and so terrified.

The shieldmaiden cheered while slicing through the merchants and costumers, ignoring the loots in favor of the battle. She pierced a woman's chest with her sword, stopping at the stall where her body fell. Blood poured from her chest and mouth, her eyes wide open while her body gave its last twitches.

The merchant that owned the stall hid behind the table, watching the bloodied Viking looking down at the poor woman, her eyes crazed and her hands shaking. He kept babbling something frantically, but the blonde couldn't understand a word.

The begging only reminded her that he was there. She looked up at him and frowned at the strange things on the table. He sold animals from foreign places. The horrifying creature in his arms was screeching and biting. It was small and hairy with a tail.

Curiously, Siggy reached her hand out to touch it, only for the merchant to flinch and loosen his hold on the animal. The monkey broke free and climbed up the beam onto the roof of the stall. Shocked, the man called out to it, reaching for its little furry tail.

Siggy frowned and looked between the man and the animal. She sheathed her blade and carefully climbed up onto the frail stall roof. She balanced on one foot and pulled the animal into her arms.

It fought back, scratching, screeching, and biting her arms in an attempt to escape. Siggy jumped back on the ground and held the fighting monkey out for the man to take back. He slowly took it from her arms and nodded in thanks while blubbering something to her in gratitude.

The blonde unsheathed her sword to return to her murdering spree with a smile, ignoring the stall owner and his animals. A spear pierced the man's head, the tip poking out of his open mouth. The man dropped to the ground, and the monkey escaped once again.

Siggy watched, shocked at the animal run away, her eyes following it till it got lost in the masses of people. She wiped at the blood he sprayed on her face and turned back to the corpse. One of her fellow men was robbing the body of the jewelry. "Rich fool."

He stood up and clasped the golden necklace around his neck in victory. Siggy glared at him and stabbed him. His shocked eyes watched her until his knees gave out, and he slid from her sword. Before he did, Siggy yanked the gold off him. Hiding it in her pocket instead, she kicked him away and left him behind.

Siggy walked through the slaughtered people and robbed stalls with heavy feet. It was strange to see so much bloodshed and death around herself, and it was different to imagine it and see it. She could smell burning wood but couldn't see any fire around her.

She stopped dead in her track and breathed in the air thick with smoke. Her skin burned as the world grew quieter. Her eyes grew milky white, and the world faded completely. Instead of the dark marketplace in Spain, she stood in a burning field.

Everything was on fire; she could hear screams as a burning corpse ran by. Siggy stood there as the flames surrounded her and slowly lapped at her delicate skin. She was dressed in expensive clothes, a sword by her side.

In the distance, somewhere hidden under the sound of burning people and crackling fire, she made out the sound of an arrow being shot. The next thing she knew, she felt a pain in her back. Her mouth opened in a silent cry as the impact made her take a step forward in surprise.

Siggy's trembling hand reached out to her back, feeling the arrow that was stuck in her body. A shaky breath left her mouth as the pain flared up, and she fell to her knees, the world burning around her, the flame igniting her dress.

"Witch." Someone whispered into her ear, a gust of wind ruffling her hair like a gentle caress on her cheek.

The world turned dark, the flames stopped burned, and all left was ash and bone. Bones littered the ground around her, serpents crawling all over them, slithering towards her. Siggy locked eyes with the reptile, its little tongue darting out before it jumped forward, biting into her hand.

Siggy cried out and ripped the snake's teeth from her palm; this alarmed the other serpents. They all attacked her, biting her one after the other. The shieldmaiden screamed in pain, falling to her side from all the venom in her system. She could feel them bite her, laughter surrounding her from all sides. People were cheering.

"Heathen." The snakes hissed out before striking again and again. Then they stopped. She laid on the ground, unmoving, just breathing and thinking. What is happening?

The ground around turned to grass, and the sky went blue while the birds chirped happily. Siggy turned onto her back, watching the sky turning into a familiar rooftop. Slowly she picked herself up and limped towards the door. A person stepped into the doorway; their silhouette was hiding the sun, dark but still familiar. The light changed, and there stood Aslaug.

The Queen didn't talk or do anything. She just stood there, blinking, watching Siggy with hard eyes. "Aslaug?" The vőlva turned on her heel, her red cloak soaked in blood. She slowly walked away, crows cawing behind her. Siggy took a few unsure steps towards her, but another figure passed her, he looked familiar as well, but she couldn't see who it was. The person followed after Aslaug, gates opened in front of them. When they walked through, the gates closed, and Siggy was left standing there. All lone and lost. She sobbed out a weak cry for help, only to wake up to someone shaking her.

"Siggy!" Hissed Bjorn, holding her by one shoulder from behind. Her eyes turned back to normal; she spun on her heel. Her sword aimed for his neck, but she knocked it away, glaring at her. "Get a grip before someone kills you. Why are you standing here?!"

Hvitserk runs up to them, taking the confused Siggy from him. "Got any loot, Siggy?" The disoriented girl looks at him and then sticks a hand in her pocket, and she pulls the golden necklace out and holds it out to him with a shaking bloody hand.

Hvitserks smiles at her while Bjorn huffs. "I promised Sigurd a lute from here. But I can't see any." She whispered to cover up the truth. Searching for a musical instrument sounds better than having visions.

Bjorn shook his head and stalked off with one last warning to watch themselves. Hvitserk pulled Siggy to his side and helped her unsure feet to follow the rest of the raiders. "What did you see?"

But Siggy couldn't tell him. She wasn't sure what she saw, it all happened so fast, and there was so much pain.

"Mother says it's better if you talk about it." Right yes. Aslaug... But how is she supposed to tell Hvitserk she saw his mother enter Valhalla? If it was even that.

"I don't know. I will ask the Gods." And with that, the conversation was over. But Siggy still clutched the necklace in her bloody fist.

She could see Rollo murdering a merchant easily; he looked in his element. "Did you miss it?" The Duke looked up to see her wide eyes and shaky steps.

"What?"

"Did you miss the slaughter? The raiding?" She pulled a crazy smile and giggled madly. "You looked so pathetic when you came on the boat. I mean the hair. The clothes."

Siggy kept on giggling and walked over to the corpse on the table. She trailed her fingers over the slit throat and used them to paint the rune for strength on his cheek. "You still look stupid. But I think that's just your face."

Rollo pulled her hand off his cheek and looked at her. The blonde looked deranged, shaking, covered in blood, giggling like a madwoman. Whatever he deduced from all that made him pause. "This your first battle?"

"What if it was?" She whispered as another corpse fell near them. Rollo pulled her closer and pried the necklace from her hold. He stuffed it in her pocket, followed by an arm hoop from his latest murder.

"Hide them well. Stay alert and don't freeze." He looked back into her eyes and brushed down her wild hair. "You have the same eyes, and I always hated those eyes on Ragnar."

"That makes two of us." Rollo patted her cheek and stalked off, leaving her behind. Siggy sighed and spat on the ground, moving into the city walls. She cut through the fleeing masses, stealing where she could to bring back home.

Helga ushered her to her side, a group of Vikings moved into a place with black curtains. A single man stood there, protecting whatever hid inside the building. He took out a dagger, staring at the raiders, terrified.

Bjorn tutted at him. The man charged forward with a war cry but fell dead the next second as Bjorn cut him down effortlessly. Helga ran off looking for something while they moved into a place where men kneeled on the ground, foreheads touching the ground, muttering the same words.

Floki was already inside, watching them do their strange ritual. Siggy moved around the praying men, watching them as they praised their gods. She passed by without harming anyone, too curious about their beliefs to stop them. Other than Halfdan, who cut off a man's head.

"No more killing! Not in here! Not in this place!" Floki ordered holding them back from harming any more Arabs. "I forbid it. If you want to kill these people, you have to kill me first."

Harald watched Floki for any sign of his joking manner but found none. He stepped back and looked at the men. "You heard what Floki said. We're not going to kill these people. Leave. Leave."

Harald left, but Halfdan stared the boatbuilder down, waiting for either a sign of weakness or an explanation. The man who killed Ragnar's Christian and paid the price, and now he protected some Arabs from the same fate. I Halfdan's eyes, it meant he grew weak.

Siggy slipped by Halfdan's retreating figure and tutted at his sour mood. "These people pray to different gods."

Floki looked at her with hard eyes. "They are devoted; it doesn't matter what gods they pray to. Half of the Vikings we know aren't as devoted."

The blonde took his hand in hers and stared him down for an answer. "Christians are devoted to their god, and I would never hesitate to kill a Christian. And you taught me that neither would you."

"People change."

"Not me."

Floki sniggered and ruffled her bloody matted hair. "If you say so." He walked away, watching the praying people, unbothered by the corpse in front of them. "It was never about faith in the gods for me, and it was faith in Ragnar."

What was so great about that shell of a hero? He was a mass manipulation with charisma and crazy dreams that became a reality. Siggy strived for real things. Like murder and mayhem, no matter where. Fuck what people think; one day, they would rue hating her. Spitting when she walked past would turn to cheering.

Siggy followed Hvitserk into a room filled with mirrors. Stopping by one, she stared into it. Her reflection was strange, and it looked so much how a Viking should, covered in blood and armed with a weapon. Yet it looked nothing like her. Her usually crazy eyes were dull; they looked empty and soulless like Bjorn's do when he is angry.

She snarled and drew her fist back to punch the mirror. A hand clasped her own and tugged her away from the mirror. "Quiet," Rollo ordered, dropping her fist. He mentioned with his head to follow Bjorn and Hvitserk.

Hvitserk engaged in a battle with a man; Siggy rolled her eyes and moved on, confident in Hvitserk's ability to survive. "Watch out!" Rollo called out; the blonde saw Bjorn move in from the corner of her eye.

The reflection behind him showed a bulky man with a small scythe-like blade gaining upon her. She spun on her heel and slashed at his head with her sword. Her attacker was faster, though; he stopped her attack and hit the weapon from her hand. Bjorn moved closer with his ax ready.

Siggy growled at him and slammed her fist into the man's belly. He stumbled back and slashed at her. The unarmed shieldmaiden spun out of the way. Her back hit a mirror, she ran up at him, jumping on top of his back.

The bald man was taller, bulkier, and older than her but stupider. He slammed himself against a mirror, trying to shake her off as she choked him out. He repeatedly kept hitting her against the mirror, hoping she would let her grip slip.

Bjorn slashed at him with his axe; the man moved away. Siggy used the next moment he tried to slam her against the mirror to plant her feet against it instead. She pushed them both off; the man lost balance and faceplanted the ground.

Siggy rolled off him and turned him on his side. He reached for her throat, but the young Vőlva swatted the hand away and pushed her thumbs into his eyes. The man screamed in pain as she squeezed his bald head and pressed his eyes in. He tried to push her off, but Siggy didn't budge.

Bjorn, Rollo, and Hvitserk stood by as Siggy slowly squeezed his head till it cracked like a ripe watermelon. What once was his head was now a mess of bones, brain, and bloody flesh. Siggy still sat on his belly, her hands squeezing the remains of her attacker's head.

She slowly stood up and lifted her gaze from his corpse; she flicked her hand at the ground, the droplets of blood and brain flying off. Her cold expression slowly lifted into a crazy primal smile; she giggled and mock bowed in front of the trio. "I don't need your help."

"Obviously," Rollo commented, pride visible on his face. "Let's move."

They slowly crept into a dark room, Bjorn leading the way with Siggy in the very back. Rollo stopped by a curtain and signaled at Bjorn to walk over. The Ragnarsson opened the curtain, ready to strike down the man if it weren't for Rollo.

"Wait," He mentioned at the open eyes of the guard. "He is already dead. He killed himself."

The men ignored him and moved on; Siggy walked past the man and her uncle with no concern for either. She just cracked a man's skull open; what was a suicidal man to her? She got to find a rag, or else the blood would be a pain to wash off. Obviously, her issues had a bigger value. Maybe because the man was dead and no longer had problems to worry about.

"What do you think he was guarding?" Rollo asked, showing off the key that the dead guard had in his hand. They kicked the now unlocked door in, startling the women hiding behind it. They ran off in fear, the group of men and Siggy walking inside. Hvitserk snickered and Rollo in the shoulder. He was giddy and horny, and honestly, it was so tiring for Siggy. He was like an excited puppy without a leash, and what was she supposed to do? She had no interest in women.

Despite that did she walk in, watching the room from her spot in between Rollo and Bjorn. "Suppose there is nothing for you." Rollo joked, only for her to roll her eyes. She stalked off and pulled a woman up from her cushions. The scared woman shrieked in fright, begging Siggy in a foreign language. Siggy tutted at her, reached for something on the pillow behind her.

Smugly, she held the instrument up for the men and woman to see. "I promised Sigurd an instrument. You do what you want to." With that, she stalked off, leaving the women to their fate. Stealing and murder were one thing; she had no desire to watch them rape, especially if anyone from her blood relations decided to participate.

On her way out, she passed Halfdan and Harald. "Siggy." Halfdan mussed, watching the bloody shieldmaiden pass them by with a lute in her hands. Siggy nodded at them and left the whorehouse. She was too tired for this shit, and her head felt heavy, hands and legs weak.

She let the crowd of singing Vikings push her towards the ships; her eyes are unfocused as the aftermath of her vision set in. Luckily it wasn't the worst vision she had, and it was tiring but not so much that she couldn't make her way back alone.

A slender hand took her by the shoulders and led her forward faster. Siggy's blue eyes trailed up the man's body to see Floki. The boatbuilder made his way up to Helga, who dragged some scared foreigner girl with her. "Helga!"

"Floki!"

"Who is she?" The girl tried to flee, but Helga tugged her back, shushing her while walking behind the other slaves.

"She is an orphan." Her eyes were pleading. Siggy glared down at the small, terrified child.

"So?" Siggy nodded sluggishly. The two already took in one orphan, and that was Siggy. And the girl liked being an only child, and it was nicer that way, with no annoying siblings to snoop around. That was Ivar's job anyway.

"She is the same age as Angrboda. The same age that she would have been." Helga explained, frantically waiting for her husband's approval.

"What do you want to do with her, Helga?"

"I want to take her with us."

The two struggle as Floki tries to pry the girl away, but Helga runs off, leaving her husband and adoptive daughter behind. Floki watched her in disbelief before softly turning to the confused Siggy.

He bent his knees to be her height and cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Did you have a vision?" He, eyes looking for a sign of injury or damage.

"I am alright. We have to let the girl go." She mumbled and stumbled after Helga. Floki watched her try to make her way back before he took her by the elbow and subtly guided her before she tripped and fell.

The next day, Floki left to join the men while Siggy stayed behind with Helga and the hostage. Because that is what Tanaruz was, to Helga, she was a new chance at raising a child. But the reality was that the girl was taken from her home and people and kept close as some sort of symbol. Tanaraz was an orphan because of the Vikings, and now they are forcing her to play house. Siggy pitied the girl.

"Not in front of Tanaruz!" Helga pleaded, hiding the girl's face in her bosom. Siggy sighed and looked up from her work. She stayed behind to talk to the gods, not to babysit Helga and her little prisoner.

Siggy dropped her dagger back into the wooden bowl and rolled her eyes. "I had a vision with Aslaug, and I need to know why. I am going to pray to Odin. Floki stopped me yesterday 'cause I was weak. Now I have enough energy and can't do it because of her."

"Her name is Tanaruz, and she is your sister." Helga insisted, shushing the scared girl. Siggy watched the shaking girl with skin the color of mud. Her eyes trailed back up to Helga, disbelief obvious on her face. "Go out the back of the tent; I will watch."

With a dramatic sigh and eye roll, Siggy stood up and stomped her way outside. She sat on the grass and cut a line down her palm. Slowly she watched the blood drip into the bowl.  Closing her eyes, she whispered the words to praise Odin.

"Hail to Odin, Allfather, breath-giver, seeker of wisdom, seizer of knowledge, a gift for a gift, value for value, pain for insight, all you know well. The sons and daughters of ash and elm call to you, wise one of many names. We give you thanks for our own might, we give you thanks for the gift of will, for choices offered, for the long view taken. Hail to Odin! Hail the wanderer!"

Her mind started to go blank; she dipped her fingers into the pool of blood and dragged them down from her eyes to her chest. The blonde bought the bowl of blood to her pink lips and chugged the red liquid. The iron taste in her mouth made her sigh in satisfaction. Her ears grew deaf, her eyes blind, and her mind blank. Odin heard her prayer and came to answer.

When she came back to consciousness, Helga was sitting by her side on the bed. Tanaruz watched the girl from her spot on the floor, her eyes trailing to the cut on Siggy's hand. "This was one worse than any before." Helga fretted, running to change out the water that she cleaned her face with.

That left Tanaruz and Siggy alone. The two watched each other with wary eyes. Finally, the blonde led in and rose from the bed. She trotted over to the table and drank the whole flagon of water. The sounds as it dropped to the ground startled the poor little girl. Siggy looked at her and threw something her way.

Tanaruz flinched; she hid her face behind her hands and waited for it to kill her. But instead, something hit the ground before her. The girl looked down at the ground from between her small fingers, and there laid an apple.

She looked at Siggy in disbelief; the tall blonde just stared back, another apple in her hand. Not breaking eye contact, Siggy bit into it loudly, the juices running down her chin. She raised her eyebrows at the girl and pointed at the apple.

Tanaruz picked the apple up and slowly took a tiny bite that made Siggy smile. With a finger in front of her lips, Siggy signaled for her to be quiet, and then she left the tent. By the time Helga returned with freshwater, Siggy was gone, and Tanaruz ate the apple. The older blonde sighed but praised Tanaruz for finally eating.

Rollo, Hvitserk, Bjorn, Halfdan, and Harald stood up on a cliff, watching the place they conquered. Siggy climbed up the cliff, the scarf she wrapped around her head whipping in the wind. The cawing of crows followed her like devoted servants. She could feel Odin's presence near, so she let it guide her to the men.

Further up, she could see Hvitserk and Bjorn wander off, probably looking at the crows. Finally, she made her up the hill to meet them. The others turned to face her as well. Rollo looked down at her bandaged hand and frowned. "Did that happen yesterday?"

Hvitserk looked at her and frowned; he knew that vacant look all too well. "Maybe you should rest, no?"

"Your father is dead." She spat, startling everyone present. "Killed by serpents. Cold in the cold, iron earth, Ragnar lies."

Silence fell over them, no one doing anything for a moment. It was like the world stopped. Hvitserk wracked his brain for an explanation why Siggy said those things. But nothing came to his mind. Luckily Bjorn spoke up. "So you heard it too... Odin came to tell us as well."

Siggy walked up to Hvitserk and frowned at him with a bittersweet smile. "Queen Aslaug, daughter of Sigurd and Brynhildr, Princess of Götoland is dead, and her blood is on the hands of the new ruler of Kattegat."

Hvitserk watched her with moist eyes, took her by the shoulders, and shook her. "Did Odin tell you that?!"

Siggy frowned, the cawing stopped, and Odin was gone. She was all alone now, surrounded by power-hungry men in need of answers. "I know what I know, and I said what I said." She hugged him and buried her face into his neck. "I am sorry. I thought she came to me to tell me of Ragnar. If I had known she came to say goodbye."

She pulled back and stared into Bjorn's curious eyes. "Let's return to the camp, and we need to go back." He replied and walked past his blood daughter. Siggy turned to see him go and frowned.

"They will pay in blood for what they have done. Odin said so. Ragnar requested it."

"I know."

[bakersstreetirregulars]

Costume of the Year- Round 1

💫 Hi, everyone! Cream Puff Cookie reporting in for Round 1 of the Costume of the Year Awards! How do you get involved? Easy! Vote for the costume you want, and get 100 Crystals for your first vote in the round! When the timer expires, the votes are counted and the winners move to the next round. We don’t know what happens for the winner, but it might be something good! Then again… Timekeeper didn’t win anything for last December’s Cookie of the Year Award. For fairness, most costumes of the same rarity will be matched in this first round. Legendary Costumes are going to be matched with Super Epic Costumes. We will also highlight the rarities as follows:

Common- 1 -> 0

Rare- 4 -> 0

Epic- 41 -> 24

Super Epic- 43 -> 22

Legendary- 3 -> 2

Cheerleader’s Pillow Fight VS Milk’s Herald of Victory [UNEVEN MATCHUP] (16-84)

Blackberry’s Elegant Respite VS Sour Belt’s Choc’au Latte F/W Collection (36-64)

Princess’s Royal Crown [ROYAL CLUB EXCLUSIVE] VS Snow Sugar’s Aurora Cloak (37-63)

Jujube’s Grand Marshal VS Carrot’s Floral Chef de Cuisine (54-46) [Close one right here, folks!]

Peach’s Garden of Delights VS Ion Cookie Robot’s Red Dread (88-12) [No chance!]

Cheesecake’s Party Royale VS Aloe’s Visitor From The Future (86-14) [Party like no tomorrow!]

Alchemist’s Forbidden Flask VS Mala Sauce’s Unyielding Rook (32-68)

Moonlight’s Blissful Full Moon VS Pomegranate’s Twisted Labyrinth (74-26)

Dr. Wasabi’s Twilight Outlaw [ISLAND OF MEMORIES EXCLUSIVE] VS Matcha’s Witherbark Shaman (18-82)

Roguefort’s Pursuit Of Lost Time VS Dark Enchantress’s Chaos Incarnate [LEGENDARY MATCHUP] (53-47) [What a fierce battle! It’s anyone’s game!]

Fairy’s Brushy Brushy Toothbrush VS Sparkling’s Star Guest (15-85)

Adventurer’s Accidental Host VS Tiger Lily’s Golden Warrior (61-39)

Skating Queen’s The Decisive Day VS Pink Choco’s Ribbity Water Beam (22-78)

Orange’s Summer Parade VS Lilac’s Midsummer Bliss (18-82)

Cinnamon’s Fortuneteller Apprentice VS Plum’s Sky Master (70-30)

Angel’s Voice Of Virtue VS Dr. Wasabi’s Wasabi Overdrive (83-17)

Wizard’s Azure Flame Staff VS Grapefruit’s Phenomenal Stuntmaster (31-69)

Vampire’s Insouciant King VS Night Raven [Wind Archer] (77-23)

Mustard’s Dawn Rebel VS Popping Candy’s Red Carpet Attire (9-91) [Ouch!]

Wind Archer’s Zephyr of Life VS Walnut’s Search For Lost Time [LEGENDARY MATCHUP] (86-14) [Time’s up!]

DJ’s Megastar VS Sandwich’s Midnight Snack [UNEVEN MATCHUP] (58-42)

Herb’s Sage of Ivies VS Sea Fairy’s Luminous Coral (21-79)

Muscle’s Warrior Tyke VS Cherry’s Water Bomb (39-61)

Devil’s Horns Of Gold VS Yogurt Cream’s Midsummer Plentitude (30-70)

Dark Choco’s Young Prince VS Salt’s Revenant Captain (76-24)

Fire Spirit’s Lord Of Flame VS Licorice’s Aberrant Conjurer (58-42) [Can Licorice put this fire out?]

Cream Puff’s Dark Magic Hat VS Ion Cookie Robot’s DinoBot No. 1 (74-26)

Alchemist’s Guileful Queen VS Sovereign Of Darkness [Dark Choco] (69-31)

Pirate’s Sea Overlord VS Shining Glitter’s Superstar Airport Attire (6-94) [OUCH, WHAT A CRUSHING BLOW!]

Sea Fairy’s Dread Trident Of The Abyss VS Roll Cake’s Menace Of The Circuit [LEGENDARY MATCHUP] (90-10) [No contest!]

Pistachio’s Virtuous Knight VS Mint Choco’s Magnificent Symphony [UNEVEN MATCHUP] (28-72)

Cherry Blossom’s Red Equinox VS Peppermint’s Ballad Of The Starry Seas (42-58) [It could go either way!]

Adventurer’s Explorer Tyke VS Gumball’s Water Bazooka (69-31)

Cocoa’s Enchanted Waltz VS Almond’s Commissioner Of Parfaedia (66-34)

Dino-Sour’s Pathfinder VS Squid Ink’s Pirate “Hunter” (20-80)

Fire Spirit’s Lord Of Ash VS Werewolf’s Shadow Lurker (31-69)

Hero’s Dark Force Suit [ISLAND OF MEMORIES EXCLUSIVE] VS Carol’s Picturesque Performer (8-92) [Devastating!]

Guardian Of The Millennial Tree [Wind Archer] VS Marshmallow’s Merry Year’s End March (36-64)

Gingerbrave’s Tuxedo VS Purple Yam’s Champion Of Valor [UNEVEN MATCHUP] (10-90) [No Commons Here!]

Kiwi’s Maverick Of The Circuit VS Chocolate Bonbon’s A.C.i.D F/W Collection (24-76)

White Choco’s Blazing Knight VS Yoga’s Enlightened Bishop [UNEVEN MATCHUP] (74-26)

Ninja’s Yami no Densetsu VS Beet’s Blooming Chef de Partie (47-53) [Beet’s barely hanging on!]

Lemon’s Unlimited Potential VS Pancake’s Unicorn Jammies (26-74)

Whipped Cream’s Night Of Reverie VS Truffle’s Rumorous Collector (51-49) [Practically a tie!]

Wizard’s Arcane Mage VS Rockstar’s Epic Year’s End Concert (40-60) [Too close to call!]

Moonlight’s Alluring Crescent Moon VS Cinnamon’s Jokester Of Hearts (68-32)

Cheerleader’s Crazy Cute Uniform [ISLAND OF MEMORIES EXCLUSIVE] VS Spinach’s Pouch of Wishes (13-87) [Everyone off the Island!]

Moonlight’s Milky Way VS Macaron’s Festive Year’s End Parade (60-40)

💫 …and that’s the bracket! Unfortunately, not every costume was added either due to their limited-time nature, the directors’ inability to find a proper matchup in the brackets, or the costume’s lack of popularity. One example being my “Almost Great Detective”. There was also only one Common costume in the entire bracket: Gingerbrave’s Tuxedo. Staring down Purple Yam, based on a short meeting with him, I would guess he’ll be out in the first round, but who knows? The post’s votes will be updated as needed, and winners will be marked. That’s it! Good luck to everyone in the bracket!

[honey-hippie-harper]

Walking through the dark

Hello :’) ahdjabndms well...I didn’t enter the gift exchange (I WAS HAVING A BREAKDOWN I’M SORRY) but...ansdhnsj yeah :’) @honey-harper-official like I had already told you...I wanted to do something for you. You asked for angst about Adrian talking about his mom...but this turned out to be kinda Nodrian, I hope you don’t mind :’)

Idk what to say :’) You were an important part of this fandom, and I’m going to miss you a lot. Still, I am (I think we all are) proud you’re doing what’s best for you. Carry on <3

I hope you like this <3

And thank you.

I’m a little rusty in all this writing straights businesses

Walking through the dark

Two years after the Supernova, they were trying to “get more creative” with the parade, while trying to make it more affordable at the same time.  

This year, it looked like an illustrated book. There were no paid actors, nor were the Renegades on top of a float. If anything, they were patrolling alongside the rest of the teams, and the only extra checks were for the marching band and the drivers.

The first float was about the lift of the city, and it had a city in ruins, with Ace Anarchy standing above everything. The background was in greys and reds, which made his gold and blue costume glow like a traffic light in the shadows. By the right corner, were Queen Bee and Cyanide, turning their backs at the audience, and staring at Ace Anarchy instead.

The second float was about the Renegades’ first public appearance, standing at the front, ordered by height, while the Anarchists’ silhouettes stood behind them, taller and bigger, so they could fit into six different people.

The next one was the Puppeteers’. He was standing on a Ferris Wheel, with the strings coming from his hands tied around the Anarchists and the Renegades’ shadows. The Renegades had blue strings, and the Anarchists had red strings.

The following one was new, because her parents had never been in the floats before. It was a beautiful car, with colors that resembled the Milky Way, and it showed David Artino, with a woman (Tala Artino) and a little girl (Evie, now Maggie Artino) standing behind him, placing a star into an older girl’s hands (herself). There was another, golden silhouette behind them, too.

The Day of Triumph came right after. Ace Anarchy standing on the cathedral, and Captain Chromium watching him from below, Silver Spear in hand, and a little capsule on his back.

Then came the scene after the cathedral, with the Renegades standing together outside the building. No masks. One of them missing. The rest, bruised but victorious. Captain Chromium was holding the Silver Spear above his head, and the Silver Spear had the helmet, which was on Max’s head the following float.

The supernova. Max being the one standing above them. The two of them.

Adrian and Nova. 

The supernova float had a lot of colors, and it was Adrian’s personal favorite. Maybe that’s why Nova remembered the floats so well in the first place. She had spent a good amount of time discussing with Adrian about them.

She also remembered them because she was watching them from above when she fell from the roof.

It was an accident, and it was stupid.

In order to avoid having people scattered all over the place, the teams were asked to split this year. While Danna and Nova watched from two different roofs, Adrian, Oscar and Ruby were left on the ground. From her roof, Nova could see Adrian, and if she went across it, towards the space where the water tanks were located, she could see Ruby. However, Danna was the one who could see Oscar.

When the floats arrived into their assigned street, the security camera started bothering Nova more than it should’ve had. It wasn’t really misplaced, but it surely looked so to her, because she had once been here, and she was one to know about the tricks a person who had bad intentions could play. She also knew that two could play that game, especially if they both knew those tricks.

Now, the camera wasn’t misplaced. It wasn’t. It really wasn’t. But Nova was stubborn, so she climbed on the edge of the roof anyway to go check on it. For some reason, the structure being slippery due to mold or water or whatever, never crossed her mind.

One moment, Nova was standing at the edge of the roof.

The next one, she was falling.

It happened so fast she couldn’t even scream or think, but somehow she managed to activate the emergency alarm in her bracelet, as the wind made her eyes tear up, and she felt her body suspended in time, though it was still falling, and falling, and falling.

First, the panicked swarm of butterflies reached her, careful not to block her vision because that would only make the death experience worse for her (yes, at the moment, Nova was sure she wouldn’t live to tell the story about how she fell from the roof) while also trying to help, perfectly knowing there was nothing they could do.

And, a few seconds after that, all Nova felt was a wave of overwhelming pain, when Thunderbird tackled her to stop the freefall and then wrapped her arms around her, flying all the way up to the roof, and then going down again. Nova had never been rescued by Thunderbird before, but she didn’t know one single person who said being rescued by her had been a pleasant experience. Her movements felt controlled and it was evident she knew what she was doing, but she was rough as hell, to the point where, despite knowing she had already been saved, Nova screamed for her life, until she was dropped on the ground in a mildly gentler way.

Upon stepping on stable ground, Nova realized this would be the dizziest she would ever be, and stumbled. Danna, who was already reformed, standing next to her, caught her by the arm so she wouldn’t fall.

At first, when she regained control over her senses, she heard nothing but Thunderbird’s ranting, and her voice demanding to see the entire Team Sketch, here and now, because, to put it lightly, Thunderbird was as blocked as her, and none of the two were able to hear Adrian in the distance, until they spot him.

He was bawling.

The parade was following its course, as they were trying to keep things as calm as possible, and Tsunami was still out there, acting as the only active council member at the moment, although aware of what was happening. Above all the noise and the commotion, Nova spotted Ruby politely nudging her way into the crowd, following Thunderbird’s call and, obviously, the emergency alarm sent by Nova when she was falling.

Oscar was also coming, although slower.

And Adrian was bawling.

Nova could see him knelt down on the floor, with Captain Chromium’s, who also happened to be his dad, arms surrounding him, holding his body tightly. The Dread Warden, his other dad, was there too, uselessly trying to block the scene.

Well.

Maybe his attempts weren't that useless, and it was only that Nova happened to be in the right spot, at the right time, from which Adrian’s silhouette was impossible to go unnoticed, even with the Dread Warden standing in the middle.

“Who’s riding with her in the ambulance?”

An ambulance.

The words almost didn’t make sense in Nova’s head, not even with Thunderbird’s voice, which was pretty clear most of the time, especially when she was talking to the recruits. An ambulance.

An ambulance, because Nova had fallen from a roof, and Thunderbird had caught her.

Half of her body was sore, because she had been hit by Thunderbird’s body after all, but Nova was pretty sure she didn’t need an ambulance. She didn’t need to go to the medical wing. If anything, maybe she needed some water, but she was sure nothing was broken, nor dislocated or sprained.

She was fine.

Adrian, in fact, looked way more affected than her. Nova’s heart was pounding, but she wasn’t bawling after all.

He was.

“I’ll do it.” Ruby said. “I’ll ride with her in the ambulance.”

She did understand that.

“I’m okay.” She said. “Literally, I’m doing good. I don’t need to…”

“Just in case.”

Thunderbird patted her shoulder, which made it hurt a little.

Even so, Nova was still convinced she didn’t need an ambulance.

Yet, said ambulance was already coming closer to her.

“I’m fine. I’m just fine.”

“Sssh.” Ruby came over and, as Danna let go of her hand, wrapped her arms around her, so Nova could use her as the human crutch she didn’t need. “It’s okay, Nova.”

“Don’t fight it.” She heard Oscar’s voice say.

Sweet rot, she was just fine.

Being bruised by Thunderbird wasn’t something that required her being taken to the medical wing, mostly because it hadn’t been her intention to hurt her. On the contrary, Thunderbird had saved her. She was okay.

They wouldn’t believe her, of course. It wasn’t a possibility.

It never was, when something as awful as this happened.

Ruby rode with her in the ambulance.

Adrian showed up into her room a few minutes after they started allowing visitors. His face seemed wet, and his eyes were red as cherries.

Then he got into the bed and rested his head on her chest, while she gently ran her thumb through the space below his ear, going all the way down to his chin, feeling the remnants of facial hair he had previously shaved, perhaps a couple of days ago.

For the next week, Adrian said nothing about it.

Nothing.

-.-

Nova had an intermittent schedule because, once she grew to accept the fact she also needed some spare time and do something besides work, she decided she couldn’t just work as part of the patrol units and work in the Vault. On the other hand, she also had refused to leave all the work to Callum, and it’s not like she didn’t like the Vault or hanging out with Callum. For instance, she decided she would be part of the patrol units for a week, and then she would rest from that the following one, working at night in the Vault instead.

So far, it was working. She felt more rested and relaxed, even on busy days.

The post-parade days were usually busy, if she wanted to be honest, mostly because of the things that had happened during the parade but nobody noticed them until everything was over.

Nova had covered a shift with the team when she was supposed to be getting ready to join Callum at night. In her defense, the parade was pretty stressful for everyone, even the Council, now that they have to work as staff. Still, that didn’t change the fact they were walking alongside the floats, following them through the entirety of the city by foot, with the patrolling teams working as their side view, checking if there was any threat in the spots they couldn’t see.

The Anarchists were gone, and so were the Rejects.

Both Winston and Leroy had stopped considering themselves Anarchists some time ago and, besides, they didn’t like the parade. If anything, Winston had speeded towards the Headquarters the moment they called to the house, saying Nova had fallen from a roof, but none of the two were among the crowd to see her fall.

“I would love to see them dressed in the patrol units’ uniform, though.” Winston said. Because, indeed, to make sure everybody knew they were part of the staff, they had chosen to wear patrolling uniforms, and not their official costumes. “But I won’t.”

And he didn’t.

At least, not a first.

The thing was…he did see them in the hallway when he came to the medical wing, but he was too busy freaking out to even make the slightest offensive comment.

It wasn’t until later, a few days after the parade, that, while laying on the couch, Winston started wheezing at how tight the uniform was on Hugh’s chest, how uncomfortable Kasumi looked (and how she had pulled up the sleeves), how Tamaya kept tugging on the fabric around her neck, and that photo where Simon was trying to get a little piece of tape off his clothes but, out of context, looked as if he were checking on his own butt.

Winston had a blast, but only after Leroy, Maggie and him were scared to death.

The Maggie thing was questionable.

A little. Nova wasn’t sure.

Because, just like Adrian, she didn’t mention anything about it after she snuggled up in bed with her as soon as she came home from the Headquarters.

But maybe that was just Maggie.

She was like that sometimes.

Adrian, from his part, wasn’t. He wasn’t one to be closed to his feelings. In fact, he was usually willing to talk about what was wrong and why he was upset, which was pretty useful to Nova because, even if she sometimes had some trouble admitting it, she wasn’t particularly good at reading signs. It was something she was working on, relentlessly, but Rome hadn’t been built in a day.

Maybe he was just worried.

Nova never called in sick. She rarely missed a couple of days at work, let alone the entire week.

The day of the parade, just like she suspected from the start, the healers didn't find anything unusual in her body. In fact, everything was as it should be apart from the bruises. Nevertheless, they did say she might experience some mild pain in the next hours.

And mild was only one way to put it.

Maggie had been asleep, curled into a ball, next to her, for a couple of hours already, when Nova felt the sudden urge to throw up, and when she tried to move, half of her body was so sore she couldn’t find the strength to run. Or walk, whatsoever. Instead, she somehow managed to reach for the trash can, and even that was painful as fuck.

People were right when they said Tamaya wasn't tender. Nova had had her doubts, but right now there were no doubts left. When she called to notify she wouldn’t be going to the Headquarters at all, nobody tried to convince her otherwise. People rather encouraged it, knowing Nova verged on workaholic.

Adrian texted her a couple of times, and they talked about stuff unrelated to the parade accident. Nova didn’t think anything about it, as she attributed that to the fact Adrian was as sensitive as he was open. Perhaps he thought talking about it would make her upset, despite her having left the headquarters seemingly unaffected when it happened.

Then, after Thursday, the texts stopped. They were having a conversation about pizza, and then he stopped. Which made sense, to a certain extent, because Adrian was part of a patrol unit after all, and Ruby had already told her they had a couple of night shifts these days.

Once again, she tried not to think much about it. Besides, once her muscles were a little less swollen, she agreed to paint flower pots with Winston.

Not that that was something she exclusively did with Winston. Everyone in the house had done it, because they were always trying to find ways to bond and, in this case, due to Winston’s suggestion, they had painted flower pots. So far, they  were trying their best. Maggie’s flower pot had pretty dark colors, because she claimed she liked those. Leroy’s was pretty simple, because he had just sketched some formulas and painted the top part in green. Winston had not one, but three different flower pots already, plus the one he was painting at the moment, all of them very colorful and with elaborate drawings. As for Nova...she was doing her best.

She wasn’t an artist, but, with tons of dedication, she had managed to paint her flower pot in black and blue. She was now writing her name in italics on it, thinking about how she might also draw some stars later...or tell Winston to help her draw some stars. It occurred to her it would look nice.

Their house was sort of small, meaning they had a small yard too, but it was big enough to have a small garden and to place a blanket, and sit on it while they painted.

Both Winston and Nova had awful postures, if she wanted to be honest, and hers was even worse now that half of her body was aching, though she could feel she was already getting better.

A lot, in fact.

At least now she could limp through the house without feeling like she was dying, and get into the shower without Maggie’s help (which she provided reluctantly).

Over the time they sat together, Winston and Nova did some small talk, not enough to get the other distracted from their work.

In fact, the sound of Nova’s phone vibrating distracted them more than themselves had managed to do.

Normally, she wouldn’t have answered any calls or text messages when she was in the middle of a bonding session but, somehow, she also figured it could be Adrian, so she discreetly lifted up her cellphone.

Adrian: Hey.

Adrian: Can you come outside?

“Is it Adrian?”

“It’s Adrian.”

Winston scoffed.

“Don’t make that poor guy suffer.”

-.-

Nova didn’t like bright lights, because she wasn’t used to them. Hence, when she was given the chance to decorate her own room, she chose to only illuminate it with night lamps instead of light bulbs. Not only did it make her feel more comfortable, but it also helped save money, especially when there were four people living in that house.

Her closet was right next to the door, and it was fairly messy, to the point where Nova managed to reach for a sweatshirt, without even opening the closet per se.

Oscar had given it to her as a present during her last birthday, and it was in full black. At the back, it had a phrase, written in a very small font: if you can read this, you’re too close.

Nova liked to wear it.

Maybe it wasn’t that adequate in this situation but, on the other hand, Adrian couldn’t even see it and, besides, it was more adequate than a paint-stained white t-shirt, which was what she was wearing underneath it.

Nova’s bed was made most of the time, as she rarely ever used it. It was a twin bed, of course, and she had filled it with cushions and some plushies, because one was never too old for plushies (she even managed to get a teddy bear that looked similar enough to Dolly Bear). On top of the bed, there was also a blanket Nova had been knitting ever since they had moved into this house. It was so long it fell to the floor, on the carpet, and it had several, several types of wool. Sometimes, when she felt sad, mad or stressed, she just knitted and knitted for hours, non-stop, sometimes until she got blisters in her fingers.

Needless to say, she was emotionally attached to that thing and Adrian, since he was her boyfriend, was aware of it, so he always tried to be very careful when he sat on it.

He was being careful even now, as he sat down on the bed, on top of the knitted blanket, and Nova sat on the swivel chair, although not without asking:

“Do you want something from the kitchen? I think Winston made some cookies yesterday. We also have orange juice and...pizza leftovers. The usual. So, do you...want something?”

Staring at her from the bed, through the light, Adrian smiled sideways, as he reached for her hand, lowering his gaze towards the small tattoo she had in her index finger. It was nothing special, just two dots, one next to the other. Each represented one of her parents. Adrian himself had helped her make it, back when Maggie arrived into the house and everyone was having a hard time adjusting.

(Nova had always had weird ways to cope with stress).

“Is there a reason why you’re so quiet?” Nova asked, carefully, knowing that’s what he had asked some time ago, when they finally sat down to talk about everything that had happened the previous weeks to the supernova. Especially, how he had taken her bracelet away in a rather personal way, and how that had hurt her.

They rarely ever talked about it anymore, mostly because Gatlon preferred not to talk about the supernova. Leroy often said that, like the Age of Anarchy, it was an event that had caused collective trauma. When people...people who weren’t the Council, or direct witnesses, that is, tried to talk about the issue, they automatically lowered their volume, though they knew there were no legal repercussions to the mention of the tragedy.

Still, it was delicate, so everyone just chose not to talk about it.

Nova, personally, and after some time of therapy, was open to tell her experience, though she rarely took the initiative to do it. Adrian was the same, more or less.

“Am I quiet?” He asked, his sideways smile widening. Nova tilted her head to the side, scoffing.

“Pretty much.” She confirmed. “And I don’t mean just in this very moment. Is there a reason why you’re pretending I don’t exist? You know...not texting back and such?”

For a moment, he seemed uncomfortable, and it occurred to Nova that, maybe, her tone hadn’t been the right one. Her voice was like that, but she usually managed to manipulate so it would fit in a situation the way she wanted it to.

“...I’m not mad, just so you know, but still, if you want me to know, then...I...I want to know too.” She cleared her throat. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Adrian pushed his glasses up, with the tip of his pinky.

“How are you?” He asked after a while. His voice sounded delicate, almost weak, and thin as a thread.

For a second, Nova didn’t understand.

“I’m...good. How are you?”

He laughed in response, but it wasn’t a genuine laugh. Nova knew him well enough to know that had been a nervous chuckle.

“No, I mean…” He coughed. “Thunderbird hit you pretty hard when she...when you were…”

“Oh! Yes!” Nova felt immediately stupid, so she chuckled a little too, before pulling up one of her sleeves.

Adrian’s eyes widened.

The massive bruise was getting better, but it was still there, and it still hurt to the touch. Besides, obviously, it wasn’t only in her arm, but also in her entire side, before it abruptly ended in her thigh. She wasn’t going to show that to Adrian, because one couldn’t just start getting undressed in a serious situation. He was good with just watching her arm which, on its own, was already making him uneasy for some reason. “For some reason”, she said, because this wasn’t the worst wound he had seen on her skin. These were just bruises. There wasn’t blood or anything.

“It’s getting better.” She said. “A few days ago, I couldn’t even move, but now I don’t feel as sore. Winston and Leroy brought an ointment for me, and…”

She wasn’t yet finished, when she noticed Adrian was already taking out his marker, which he usually carried in his pocket, getting it closer and closer to the bruise, to which Nova flinched, taking it out of his reach.

“Easy there.” She said, smiling and arching an eyebrow. “It’s not necessary. It's healing on its own just fine.”

“Don’t fight it, Nova.”

“Adrian, it’s fine. I’m okay. I’m doing okay. Don’t wo--”

“You’re not doing okay. You have a bruise.”

“Duh! But it’s healing. It’s fine.” Nova grabbed her own wrist, tying to get her arm out of Adrian’s reach. The bruise burned.

“It’s not fine, Nova!”

“Chill, Adrian! Chill! What’s gotten into..?!”

“IT’S NOT FINE, NOVA!”

“Why are you screaming?!”

“IT’S NOT FINE!”

The marker wasn’t directed towards her. First, because she knew Adrian would never. And, second, because she could tell it wasn’t particularly aimed at anyone or anything. Still, he threw it anyway. And given that, for some reason, Adrian appeared to be pretty distraught, letting his marker fall didn’t feel fair. Hence, Nova tried to catch it, but the chair was sort of stretchy so, in the moment she leaned backwards, it looked like she was falling.

Gasping, Adrian grabbed her by the left wrist, very tight, to the point Nova almost felt he was going to get that bruised too.

The marker fell to the floor, on Nova’s knitted blanket, and she just stared at it, while Adrian stared at her, not letting go of her hand.

Silence fell among them, as the sense of overwhelming confusion surrounded them, making them feel like they knew nothing, or that they were meeting for the first time, or that, simply, they weren’t on the same page.

As the marker laid on the floor, Adrian gulped, and finally let go of her.

“I...I think it’s not the time. I should go. I should just…”

“No.” This time, Nova was the one who grabbed him by the wrist, trying to be gentle, but also firm. “Stay. Please.”

Once again, Adrian’s eyes found Nova. He looked lost, almost like a small child, and where Nova had asked for a favor...kind of like a request, he had heard a command for some reason.

He didn’t move, but Nova did.

After picking up the marker, she moved towards the bed, sitting cross-legged, feeling the cushions behind her.

She placed the marker between them, but Adrian didn’t take it. Instead, he kept staring, until Nova took a deep breath and placed a lock of hair behind her ear, straightening her back.

“If you don’t want to tell me, then take your time.” She said. “But we can do something else. We can...paint flower pots with Winston. We could try to go on a date. Watch a movie. Nap for two days…”

That one last line was meant to be delivered as a joke, but Adrian didn’t catch it, and if he did, it wasn’t funny enough to get a reaction from him.

Sighing, Nova filled her cheeks with air, and then let it go, trumpeting with her mouth, and grabbing her own ankles, as she turned away, staring at the ajar closet.

“Nova?”

Upon hearing her name, Nova became alert, just nodding, so he knew he could go ahead, which he did after a while.

“I know it wasn’t your fault.”

“What are you talking about, Adrian?” She asked in a soothing voice, to which Adrian fidgeted with his own fingers, suddenly incapable to look her in the eye.

He was frozen.

And he couldn’t.

“When...when you were falling...when you were falling from that roof…” Adrian squirmed, frowning, and massaging the bridge of his nose. Hesitating. Maybe scared. Maybe a little confused.

Nova waited for him.

“When you were falling from that roof, before Thunderbird caught you… before we realized you were okay...before… before...before everything was okay.” He gulped, still not being able to look her in the eye.

“...It’s like…” he scratched his own arm. “...It’s like I almost saw her.”

Her.

Her, wh… ?

Something clicked inside of her brain, and all the dots connected with each other.

Suddenly, Nova remembered the one who had fallen from the roof, and taken half of the world with her in the process.

Georgia Rawles’ ghost was hanging from the sky, but not this one; she was hanging from another sky, perhaps the same one Nova’s parents were, and nobody could see her, nor hear her.

Nevertheless, they could feel her. And her absence stabbed the ones who had loved her in the stomach, perforating their insides.

Choking down a gasp, Nova took her hands to her mouth, remembering how she, too, had fallen from a roof, and for a second she saw nothing but Adrian knelt down on the floor, clinging on his dad.

“Adrian.” She whispered, in a suffocated voice. “Adrian, I’m sorry, I…”

She stared into his eyes once again. They were shiny as crystal, and red as blood.

Maybe it was time to stop talking and do something instead.

So, gulping, Nova reached for him, and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight and being corresponded. After a couple of seconds, Nova’s arms started to get a little tired, and the pain came back to her, but she didn’t let go. On the contrary, she just changed the position of her arms, putting her arms beneath his’ , and resting her chin on his shoulder.

For his part, Adrian kissed one side of her head, and Nova felt his breathing between her hair. Then, she felt his fingers, tenderly caressing her scalp.

His body became tense, and his heart started beating fast, for Nova could feel it in her own chest, and in her entire body.

As Adrian shivered, Nova made sure he knew she understood, and rubbed the tip of her nose against the fabric of his shirt.

“I’m here.” She reminded him.

“I know.” He said, in a broken voice. That, for some reason, made Nova feel some sort of relief, and she hoped Adrian knew how much she meant it.

Because she did. A whole lot, in fact.

“...I know it wasn’t your fault...” He said, once they had separated, and he had wiped the tears from his eyes.

Nova held his hand, and her bracelet shone under the soft lights.

“...I know it wasn’t her fault either.” Chills ran down Nova’s spine. “It’s not her fault she died...and sometimes I wonder if she knows that. That it wasn’t her fault. That I know she wanted to stay. That I know she loved me. That I know I miss her and that I…”

Adrian cut himself off.

“That I’m sorry.”

Nova resisted the urge to ask him how therapy was going, because she knew having intrusive thoughts didn’t necessarily mean therapy wasn’t going well. Still, she held his hand tighter, and gulped.

“I’ve heard many things about your mom.” She said, smiling sideways. “And I didn’t get to personally meet her, but I trust she loved you very much. Raising a child...while trying to take down a government...that is badass, Adrian.”

She gulped.

“... And if she was willing to do that for you...then I’m sure she knows.”

Adrian shivered again, visibly, and as tears started rolling down his face again, Nova placed her hands on his cheeks, wiping some of them away.

“And I’m sure she knows it wasn’t your fault, too.”

Adrian hiccuped, pressing Nova’s hand against his skin, calm.

“...When do you learn to see in the dark, Nova?” He asked in a low voice.

And for some reason, the answer was clear from the first second, as she, staring directly into his eyes, said:

“You don’t.”

Because she knew.

“...What you do learn, it’s to walk by the ones who have an excellent night vision and are willing to help you through, and you also learn to follow the voice of those who aren’t here anymore.”

Nova gulped.

“Your dads, Max, Danna, Oscar, Ruby… and me. We’re all here… maybe she’s also still here, somewhere up there, in the universe.”

By feeling him right there with her, Nova felt that they really were.

That they were.

And that they could.

Adrian smiled sideways, and when they laid next to the other to nap for two days, and Nova made sure they both knew they could use the blanket if they wanted to, she asked:

“Remember when you said that maybe you wanted me to be your nightmare?”

“I remember.” Adrian rested his head on his own arm. His eyes were still shiny for the tears, and they were very brown and very beautiful.

“I don’t want to be.” She said, slowly. “Let’s not be each other’s nightmare, okay?”

“Then what should we be?” He asked, scoffing a little.

Nova thought about it for a while. Then, she kissed him. A small kiss, that felt as if the other were a safe, warm space.

“Light.” She said.

“Let’s walk together through the dark, so we don’t fall.”

And for a while, the world was theirs.

Then, Maggie came to knock on the door, saying Leroy wanted them to take the car and go buy food, knowing Adrian would stay for dinner.