#am so excited Laurent is finally here

[katfreaks-hidyhole]

[helioooss]

midnight rain

synopsis: sana and y/n used to be the top celebrity couple in the entertainment industry. over a decade after a nasty break up, they meet again at a jimmy kimmel show

w/c: 5.2k

warnings: mentions of drug use and overdose, read at your own risk, angst with a happy ending

a/n: first story in ten years, creative brain’s a bit rough these days, haven’t been on tumblr since its golden days. also not proofread. hope ur all well and enjoy this one :)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Your heart was beating out of your chest, each thump pushing you further you into a downward spiral as your clammy palms tapped against your bouncing knee. Leaning against the chair, you refused to make eye contact with anyone — the worried look on your face was enough to push them away, anyway. In a situation like this, it would be strange to not feel anxious.

After all, it had been over ten years since you let the love of your life go and agreeing to see her on live television was a decision that you have been regretting since the day you said yes.

Two minutes, you blew a breath out as you stared up at the monitor in front of you.

"Welcome to the Tonight Show!" Jimmy trailed off with a smile, the audience in front of him clapping as they yelled in excitement. "Thank you for being here, tonight we have two very special guests —"

A staff member tapped your shoulder, pulling you out of your messy thoughts with his apologetic face. "Y/N, it's time."

Uncrossing your legs, you nodded your head with a shy smile. The fact that you could hear your own heartbeat amongst all the noise made you uneasy, so you stood there for a moment longer; wondering what Minatozaki Sana looked like in person.

You haven't been this nervous since the world found out about your relationship with her.

Taking a deep breath, you walked out with your heart in your throat. You bowed your head at Jimmy and waved your hand at the audience members, screaming can be heard from the other end; your name being chanted, their anticipation shining through from seeing you on television again after what seemed like an eternal hiatus.

It would be a lie to say it didn't feel good to relive what was once your life like, but you don't regret disappearing from the spotlight.

You were happier now, away from all the awards and glory, you think.

As if you were in a movie, time suddenly stopped as she emerged from the other side in the black Yves Saint Laurent dress you bought her all those years ago — brown hair flowing freely past her shoulders as she mirrored your gestures towards the crowd. Watching her fondly, you were reminded of the moonlight that illuminated the surface of the endless ocean; truly God's masterpiece in its purest form. You were frozen in your spot as you stared at her with the utmost adoration and respect.

Then, she finally settled on your eyes and suddenly you felt like a kid again.

"Hello stranger," she said with a sly smile, taking the seat next to yours with the crowd going wild at your first interaction. "Hi Jimmy, thank you for having me."

"Yeah, I'm gonna pretend that you didn't acknowledge Y/N first," he teased, making her and everyone else chuckle. "Anyway, wow, you look wonderful. And so do you, Y/N!”

You grinned, nodding as you try to remember the rough script on how the conversations would go in your head. "Thank you for having me back here, Jimmy, I appreciate it."

"It's the both of you this time," he raised his eyebrow suggestively. "Which is amazing, the world hasn't seen you together in twelve years. Am I right?"

"Yes," she looked at you, heaving out a breath as she laughed. "Sorry, it just feels so weird to see you again."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Suddenly, you were pulled back into past; during the last time you ever saw her in the alleyway behind Stanley's; your favourite getaway restaurant during midnights. Every now and then, you remembered it; the pain from losing her always came back like it just happened and you wonder if you've really moved on.

"We can't keep doing this," she said with tears welling in her eyes. "It's so hard, Y/N, and as much as I love you, our relationship is mentally breaking me."

You shook your head in desperation, cupping her cheeks with both of your hands. "That's what they want, you know that, our fans want us to break up. You don't have to do this, baby, I'm sure there's another way. We can talk to both of our managements —"

She sighed, pulling away from you. Both physically and emotionally. "I've spoken to mine and they respect my decision.

You paused, repeating the words in your head to make sure you heard her right. It felt like she just stabbed you in the back as you gawked at her with defeat in your eyes, shoulders slumping while piecing everything together. "The last time you spoke to them about our relationship was over a month ago, and you're only talking to me about this now? Is that how you've been feeling this whole time?"

Her tears rolled down her face, understanding the betrayal you felt. "It's not just the fans, Y/N, it's literally everything. I barely get to talk to you and see you. How can we both work it out when we can't even create time for each other?"

"I'll do anything for you, my love, just say the word and I will cancel everything - you know that! Every project, every interview, every shoot, literally anything —"

"No, I stand by my decision," she said firmly. "Perhaps, when you and I have achieved all our dreams...then we can work it out. This isn't the right time for us —"

"Four fucking years, Sana," you bellowed angrily, fists clenching. There was pain written on her face from hearing you call her by her name. "From the very beginning, we have been there for each other. What the fuck am I supposed to do without you?"

"Let me go — we'll both be happier without each other."

"No," you shook your head, tugging her closer towards you. However, she resisted. "Please, please don't do this. Don't leave me like this. What happened to forever?"

Her tears rolled down her cheek at the sound of your defeated voice. As much as it hurt her, she had to make up a lie on the spot. "I don't love you anymore. I — there's someone else."

Just like that, all of your hopes and dreams for the future shattered. Without her, the life you built meant nothing.

She really wanted you out of her life and there was nothing you could do about it. Shoulders slumping, you looked down - the thunderous roar of the oncoming storm startled her whilst it had no effect on you. "Okay, I see what you're doing. It's going to start raining, you should go."

She doesn't know whether it was the coldness in your voice or the wind, nonetheless, she shivered. "Y/N -"

"Leave, that's what you wanted, right?" you looked up at her, eyebrows furrowing. "I don't understand what I've done to you to justify what you're doing. I know I don't deserve any of this. If you're going to leave, leave now and never come back. And when I say never, I mean it, Minatozaki Sana."

She nodded her head, turning on her heel with a sob. Tiny specks of rain began to pour down on you, the rest of your world going down with it. You watched her walk away from you as if it were the easiest thing - did she ever really love you?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"I can't pinpoint whether that's a good thing or not, but considering I'm your ex, I'd say that's a bad thing," you joked, rolling your eyes playfully.

She laughed once more, shaking her head at you. You swear that sound never failed to put you on a pedestal. "It's just surreal, I haven't seen you in so long. You look younger than I can remember."

"You never reply to any of my messages," you put your hands up at her as Jimmy bursted into another set of laughter. You didn't know where the confidence was coming from, but you were relieved you were feeling something else other than being constantly nervous. "I'm joking, I don't have her number. I'm sure you don't mind giving it to me after the show, right?"

"God, get a room," Jimmy whined, turning you into a blushing mess. "Before you both propose to each other, Sana, let's talk about the dress you're wearing tonight. Somebody may or may have not told me that you're wearing something very special."

"We'll talk about my number after the show," Sana turned to you, winking; making the heat rise on your face. "Yes Jimmy, this dress is probably my favourite one out of everything - I don't wear it very often, obviously, but this beautiful Yves Saint Laurent piece was a gift from Y/N thirteen years ago."

You stared at her in awe, the way she spoke with so much grace never failed to impress you. The years had done her a favour - life always seemed easier on her than it was on you.

She left you behind, after all.

"Look, I'm just glad you kept it because this archival piece cost me a lot back then," you admitted with the biggest grin on your face as you looked at anyone but her. You couldn't place what it was about her that struck you so forcefully, but you simply couldn't take your eyes off her and you somewhat needed to feel in control of your emotions. "It was our first anniversary, I had just gotten a pretty decent check from Little Women and I wanted to give her something special."

"You got a big check in twenty-nineteen and the first thing you thought of was a dress for your girlfriend instead of a Lamborghini to flaunt on Instagram?" Jimmy scoffed as you and Sana giggled at him. "Get out of here!"

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Your anniversary was coming up and frankly, you wanted to give her the world. You were panicking inside; with the amount of things you've gotten her, none of them felt special. You hummed as you sat in Chou Tzuyu's kitchen, patiently waiting for her to acknowledge you.

"You know, if you weren't my friend, I'd have you sent out of my house already," she grumbled in a playful way. "Seriously, I'm telling you that she will love that Saint Laurent dress by Tom Ford."

You sighed, shaking your head. "It's our anniversary though, it's special. Do you think giving her a dress and taking her to Hawaii are good enough?"

"Jesus Y/N, that woman looks at you with stars in her eyes — she will love anything you get her. If you ask her to marry you right now, I believe she will say yes in less than a heartbeat."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The show was going very well, you felt relieved as time went by, and you were actually enjoying the things you found out about Sana after you had broken up.

She went on to become a successful solo artist and fashion model after Twice's disbandment, and you couldn't be any prouder. It had always been her dream and you always knew she was made to be a superstar - you prayed for her to achieve it, even if it meant she would be harder to reach.

You were able to open up about your past; the dark hole you fell into after the breakup — all the women, the legal troubles and the projects that failed because of your behaviour; it wasn't easy to talk about, but somehow, the way she intensely listened made all the fear go away. It would be an understatement to say you haven't felt this comfortable in years — just watching her talk about her passions put you in awe.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

You were barely conscious in a suite at The Ritz in Paris, an unlit cigarette resting on your mouth as you scrambled to find the lighter in your pocket. The only thing illuminating the room was that stupid lamp on the office table. And you hated it, you really did, because it was the same model she broke the last time you were here with her.

You felt so warm - breathing heaved and beads of sweat forming on your forehead. And you laughed to yourself because it was pathetic, really. You were all alone in the city of love because the love of your life decided she wanted to move on from you.

And suddenly, the door opened with Jongin appearing from behind it.  "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Kai..." you could barely mutter his name as the world spun around you. "You're here!"

He knelt in front of you, forcing you to sit up. He tapped both of your cheeks worriedly. "Look at me, open your fucking eyes!"

You cupped his face back with a chuckle, everything seemingly softer around the edges. "Eyes open."

"I need you to tell me how much of these pills you had and when," he dangled the two bags in front of you but all you could think of was her face; the way her eyes lit up whenever you told her you loved her and that smile of hers that never failed to put you in a spiral. "Momo, I need you to stop freaking out and call an ambulance right now."

You were lying against Jongin's chest, your vision blacking in and out.

"We're at the Windsor suite at The Ritz, we have called the hotel medic and they're coming," you heard someone frantically say. "Y/N looks really unwell. Please hurry, please!"

There was buzzing all around you, and you smiled to yourself before giving in and closing your eyes. "Happy 27th birthday to me."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"But how are you doing now?" Jimmy asked with a sympathetic look in his face.

"I..." you looked down, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt. "I don't think I know who I am anymore after everything. I regret everything that I've done - all the fame and the money, I don't think it was worth losing myself over the superficial things. Then again, rehab and lots of therapy helped me a lot, you know, I always thought I wouldn't make it past 27...but here I am. All thanks to everyone who held me together."

Everyone began clapping in the audience, your cheeks reddening at all the attention. Despite being a nervous wreck, you managed to let out a small smile. You could feel her eyes on you, yet you refused to look again.

"Would you change what happened in the past?"

Deep down, you were aware of the answer to his question. It'll always be a yes. Everything that you have now wasn't worth more than her.  As ridiculous as it sounded, you would've given it all up for her; without her in your life, it always felt like you achieved it for nothing.

It was supposed to be her and you against the world. As much as it sounded wrong, your love for her will always be greater than your dreams.

"Yes, I would've," you pursed your lips, looking down at your roughed up running sneakers. Compared to her look, yours was too casual. If you were younger, you would've been on the same level as her. You didn't belong to each other now, what else was different about her these days? "For most of you who didn't know, the world hated that her and I were together. Everyone criticised each move we did. We were young...really young, it felt suffocating to hear the same things from the public but god, I loved her so much. To this day, I'm firm on my decision that I would've given up on my dreams for her if it meant I could keep her."

You were truly not over what you had, but with everything that has happened after that, you don't think you could let her in again. Not now.

Not when you were still a mess.

She placed her hand on top of yours, gently squeezing it. "If I knew that letting the world find us would ruin what we had, I would've kept you a secret," she paused, looking at you with pure adoration plastered on her face. "For as long as I could have."

Jimmy nodded his head, satisfied with your answers. "Well, that's it for tonight's show everyone. Please give a huge round of applause to our dear Y/N and Sana!"

You stood up, stepping closer towards Jimmy as you wrapped his arms around him, whispering. "Thanks heaps for having us tonight, never thought we'd cross paths again."

He was smiling as if he understood how it felt. "Anytime, Y/N, my wife and I were big fans back in the day."

You didn't respond, eyes following her instead. There was a sudden sharp ache in your chest as you watched her walk away from you, not bothering to look back.

Jimmy noticed the change in your emotions, squeezing your arm in comfort. "Hey, she'll be backstage for another half an hour. Don't let this chance slip away."

You heaved out a sigh, a defeated look on your face. Perhaps, her actions were all for the show, but god, her face said it all — she missed you as much as you missed her. "I can't, Jimmy. I'm a mess. I think I'll always be a mess. Do you think I could leave without her seeing me or knowing about it?"

There was surprise written on his face at your question. "I thought you guys did great out there, don't you wanna rekindle it?"

"No," you frowned. "I still love her...but its been over a decade and a lot has changed. She rejected me the last time I saw her. She seems happier - I'm still working on myself. I can't risk it."

"I understand," he smiled at you with sympathy. "Come, I'll get one of my producers to show you out."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"Sana is here with her rumoured girlfriend," Lisa rasped out, closing the door behind her as she leaned against it - eyes wide and all that. "How are we gonna hide her from Y/N? She's literally sitting outside."

Jennie had horror written all over her face as soon as her eyes landed on your messy face - wonton soup smeared all over your mouth. "Actually...Y/N is here."

Lisa gasped at the sight of you. "I thought you went to order more drinks at the bar!"

You shook your head, standing up. "No, I ordered it through a QR code like I said I would. Where is she?"

"Y/N," Jennie held your hand to stop you. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'll be fine, Nini," you smiled reassuringly, rubbing your thumb against her skin. "I just wanna see what she looks like now."

"It's been seven years, Y/N," Lisa deadpanned, arms crossed and still blocking the door out of the private dining area. "She has moved on and so have you."

"We all know that's a lie."

With a mask of disappointment in her eyes, she took a step ahead to get out of your way, her shoulders slumped as she shook her head disappointingly. "This is going to pull you back a hundred times worst."

And it did. You wished you had listened to Lisa because as soon as Sana's eyes landed on yours, her smile faltered and turned into a worried frown. "Not now, Y/N, talk to me when you're sober. And in private."

"I am sober, Sana," you whispered frozen in place, a pang of pain rushing through every nerve end in your body. “Can we talk, please?”

She wouldn’t even look at you. “If you have anything important to say, I don’t want to hear it.”

You felt sick, stomach twisting in more ways than one and a sudden onset of frustration washed over you. “How could you be so cruel?”

She was once the constellations you admired, now the moon weeps at how she dimmed the brightness within you.

“We’re in public!”

“Nobody fucking knows us here,” your frail attempt at choking up your anger was visibly failing. “You know what? Fuck this, whatever. Have a nice life.”

“Y/N, wait,” she seemed taken aback at your outburst, quickly standing up to trail behind you.

“Fuck you, Sana.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The days that followed after your first public appearance became a blur. You were all over the news again, this time, they were all positive things about you (according to your publicists). Many old friends from the industry have been trying to reach out, some wanted to meet up for their own good - however, most were just glad to see you alive and well.

Since your hiatus, you have been away from the public eye; all of your social media accounts remained stagnant. Even the sleaziest paparazzi companies couldn't figure out where you were.

After all, you were and still are one of the biggest names on the industry.

"Here goes nothing," you said as you tapped on the 'share' button. It was a selfie of you in your bedroom - your bookshelf and art collection on the background. The caption was a simple 'this is 34'.

You closed your eyes as you inhaled a deep breath; it was your first post in nearly three years and you feel absolutely terrified. They were definitely going to judge the way you've aged, the books you read and a lot more other things that you should be prepared for and be used to - but you weren't.

Not long after, your phone rang; interrupting (thankfully) you from your dilemma. It was your mum on the other end. "Hey ma," you greet with a grin.

"Your dad, siblings and I wish you the happiest birthday today, my darling. Will you come and see us this year?" she asked with hope in her voice.

"Ma, I was just there last week," you playfully rolled your eyes. "Besides, if I come now, they will figure out where our family home is. And eventually, the public will find out where I live too."

"I know, I know," she hummed. "But you've been celebrating your birthday alone for years now. Why can't you invite your old friends? I'm sure Jongin and Momo and Lisa and Jennie and Jisoo and Jimin and Jungkook and —"

"Okay, okay," you chuckled. "I'm sure they all miss me too but I don't think I'm ready to let people in again. They're all living very busy lives. I enjoy my solitude right now and —" the sound of ringing from your front door cut you off, startled, you moved the phone away from your ear to make sure you weren't hearing things (again). "Uh, there's someone at the front. Must be one of my book deliveries — well, I hope."

"Aren't you gonna open the door?"

"No, why would I? Then they'll find out I live here." However, the doorbell rang once more. "Oh god, what if I accidentally put my location on my Instagram? Ma, I'll call you back."

"Y/N, it's —"

"Bye, I love you!"

You quickly hung up and turned your phone off before padding across your camera room to see who the person on the other side of the door was.

Your breath hitches at the sight of your ex-girlfriend patiently standing outside with a birthday cake on her hand. After a month of not seeing her, your shoulders slumped into a more relaxed state as you take another deep breath; pressing the red button.

"Sana?" you said with hesitation through the speaker. "You have red hair?"

"Hi Y/N," she waved at the camera. Damn that smile. "Happy birthday, please let me in before anyone sees. And yes, I had to dye it for a shoot."

You cleared your throat. "Uh, I'm coming," you walked towards the front door with your lips tucked behind your upper teeth. You pull the wooden door open, revealing the fiery-haired beauty on the other side. Your heart hammers against your chest and your fingers visibly shake as you step away to let her in. "It suits you."

"Thank you," she smiled shyly, looking around your place. "This is a lovely home, Y/N."

"Come," you took the cake off her hands as you walk towards the open kitchen with a view of the forest surrounding your house. "Pretty bold of you to assume caramel is still my favourite."

She frowned. "Is it not?"

You laughed. "No, no, it still is." As soon as you set the cake on the counter, you looked up to meet her gaze. "How did you find me?"

"Your parents," she quickly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, awkwardly wrapping her arms around her loose cardigan. "I called to see how they were doing."

"And why's that?" you curiously raised an eyebrow, attempting to kill the assumption that she missed you in your head.

She took a step closer towards the counter — the only thing separating you away from her. "Because I wanted to find you," she paused, biting her lip. "After the interview, you disappeared. Just like that. No goodbye, no nothing. Why?"

"Why not?" your tone made her flinch, reminding her of the same coldness you showed her in that alleyway.

"We were doing so well...the interview, I thought you would maybe want to catch up —"

"I did, then I remembered how you broke my heart and then many other thoughts came along after that. Remember when you told me there was someone —"

"An obvious lie, Y/N, there was only you."

A sigh escaped your lips as you avoid her eyes. "For years, I made myself believe that it was true just so I could hate you. And not even a year later, Sana, not even a year, you began dating someone else. A fucking CEO out of all people — a guy who was probably busier than most of us combined; that was such a massive slap in the face considering you told me it wasn't working because of our schedules."

"It was —"

You raised a finger, stopping her. "No, I told you to leave and never come back. I told you that, do you remember?"

"I do," she tilted her head carefully, gaze holding that same familiar hurt all those years ago. "I do, and that's the sole reason I refused to knock on your door again for a decade - no matter how much I begged myself to. I couldn't bring myself to, anyway, not after I hurt you."

"So why are you here?" you asked, voice strained.

"Because I'm still deeply in love with you after all these years, because I believe you're the love of my life and I still want to grow old with you. And I want to love you again if you'll let me, Y/N, please. I love you, that's why I'm here.”

You looked up to find tears pooling in Sana's eyes, she turned away before wiping them away with her fingers. All you could hear was the drumming coming from your chest, your head all over the place once again.

You remembered it so vividly, the moment you wanted to marry her...the cherry red box that was sitting untouched in your safe after all these years. And it hurt.

"Say something, please," she sniffled, pleading you with her eyes as she placed her hand on top of yours - her cold skin against yours now lingering for a moment too long.

"Look at me, Sana," you exasperated, arms flinging wide open. "Look at the mess I am. I've been to rehab more than I can count my fingers. I ruined my own reputation and I hurt so many people along the way. There were days where I could barely breathe, days where I wanted it all to stop. And those days still come every now and then. I have pushed everyone away - even my own family. There's a barrier between me and all of the people I love, the gap will always remain because of the things I've done. And you say you want me?"

"I want you, chaos and all. I have loved you all these years...what's so different about now?"

"Do you know how long has it been since our break up?" you scoffed, pinching the bridge of your nose to stop the tears from coming. "You are in love with the idea of me, not who I am."

"Then let me unravel you once more, Y/N, this is all I'm asking for. I know I walked away when you needed me the most and I'm so fucking sorry, I live with that guilty everyday - god, I was so worried. I didn't sleep for a year when we were 27 because I didn't want to wake up to find out you were dead like everyone else would say. I should've reached out then because I knew that I couldn't live this lifetime without you. I didn't want to, not if you weren't in it. I ask myself why I didn't, but I can never find the right answer. All I know is I'm here now, and I'm never gonna let you slip away ever again."

Your walls began to crumble at her intimate confession. This time, you took both of her hands under yours, unable to stop yourself now. "I was going to marry you but you didn't stick long enough for me to do that."

"W-what?" she stammered, her voice breaking. "You were?"

It felt as if there was a knot wrapping your heart and your chest together, squeezing in a way that it almost hurt to breathe. There were so many thoughts flying through your mind, a million of what would've, could've and should've beens.

She unexpectedly collided her body against yours, making you stumble in your feet. Your hands luckily gripped the edge of the counter, balancing her and you together. Her arms snaked around your waist, engulfing you in a tight embrace as she whispered a million apologies.

"I'm so sorry," she cried, pushing you away with her hands. "Oh my god, how did I fuck this up so bad? I love you so much, why?"

"We both were fuck ups, weren't we?" you chuckled through the tears flowing down your cheeks. "Too young to know how cruel the world was."

"Will you please let me in again, Y/N? Let me fix this. I want you and I want us again. I don't care what they all think.”

"I don't deserve you, Sana, I think I'll only end up hurting you. I've been alone for so long now that if you asked me what love was like, I would only be able to mutter your name and remember what ours was like."

"Like the way I hurt you?" she croaked out, intertwining her fingers with yours - thumb rubbing gentle circles against your cold skin. "We'll work through it, together. I know what I'm walking into, I'm not as naive as I used to be. It won't be easy, but I love you. And I can't let this go - I'll never love again if it's not you."

You braced your hands on her hips, pulling her again. You welcomed her in, arms wrapped around her body - never wanting to let go. You stayed like this for a while; the comfortable silence filling all the missing puzzle pieces in your life. "I'm scared."

"I know," she sighed, rubbing your back with her palms. "I'm here now."

For years, you were lost. But not anymore. She was here now and you were home. Again.

[tototalks]

Three quarters through King’s Rising! 🛡️🗡️

This will probably be my second to last post covering the main story, and honestly what am I actually going to do with myself after the end of this trilogy? 🫠

- Laurent and Jokaste finally meeting each other girlboss to girlboss. Blonde bitch to blond bitch. I’m living for it. Feels like watching a game of chess.

- THE BABY!!! 😨 Hard to know if she’s telling the truth on this one. But I like that either way Laurent may be a schemer and plotter, but he will not put a child in harm’s way. (Personal headcanon that after he becomes king, he outlaws underaged pets and calls it ‘Nicaise’s Law’)

- “I’m just here.” - Damen has been through so much in such a short space of time. It makes sense he just feels numb as is burned out. He’s been endlessly supportive and needs that support reciprocated too.

- The entire conversation between Damen and Laurent finally being their true identities and selves. So so vulnerable and bare. Finally all out in the open with no more secrets. Being scared and doing it anyway. I adored this. ♥️

- I also love that they’re sexually passionate for each other. Laurent especially is finally getting to take charge of his own sexuality with someone he loves and trusts. Truly stellar writing throughout that whole scene. My heart aches in a good way this time. They can finally just be in love.🙂

- I can really get behind the idea of Auguste and Damen getting along really well had circumstances been different. I feel so robbed of the fact they never got to be brothers-in-law.

- Veretians will never not confuse me with their “your ankles are showing” fully laced and buttoned modesty contrasted to the whole “oh yeah the council view the consummation of marriage.” thing - poor Pallas lol.

- Watching Laurent and Damen banter and tease and smile and laugh is literally everything I wanted for them.

- Someone should tell Kyrina snitches get stitches.

- Jokaste: “he’s a snake.”

Damen (heart eyes): I know 🥰

- Damen seeing Laurent in Akielon clothing and fully Looney Tunes dropping a pitcher of water. Iconic. That’s your man, hun, take it in. You earned it!

- LAURENT DID NOT JUST PRETEND TO BE JOKASTE 😂😂😂😂😂

- Imagine being Nikandros and trying to give your friend some advice to take his best rider on their next Metal Gear Solid mission only for said friend’s feral albino cat who hates you to butt in and declare himself just that person. Wild. Someone help Nik.

- I love that every time something goes down everyone is like “well Kastor is dumb af so this must be Jokaste’s doing.” As 👏 she 👏 should 👏

- “Is this how you do things in Vere?” “What? Effectively?” Lol okay Elle Woods

- The Akielons and Veretians bonding around the fire. There is hope for peace.🥺

- LAZAR AND PALLAS??!! I AM IN FULL SUPPORT!! (I did this with Jord and Aimeric too, so please turn out better than that, I beg.)

- As someone in an intercultural and interracial relationship, I love that Laurent and Damen can rib each other about the differences in their customs and laugh about it while also showing each other the best of it. Accurate and sweet ♥️

- And off we go through Akeilos!! I am so excited for the final chapters! 🥰

[sparksandspells]

for all our days and all our trials // the damen/laurent wedding fic

captive prince | rated E | 40k | post-canon | laurent pov | character study | worldbuilding | half sex, half politics (often at the same time) | a soft absurd future fic

When Laurent set out to plan a royal wedding between two 1) men, who are 2) actively ruling kings, of 3) tenuously peaceful lands, with 4) widely-known reasons to have killed, or possibly 5) still kill each other, he expected the process to come with a few difficulties. He did not expect getting his perpetually amorous new husband aroused on their wedding night to be the hardest of them. (Or: ‘Not in front of the court,' said Laurent, as if this were unspeakably foolish, 'in front of the Council.’)

Read on AO3.

it's here!! it's done!! after three years of sporadic work, it's finally out in the world!! 😭😭😭 i may be biased but this is my favorite thing i've ever written and i'm so excited to finally share it with everyone!!

big huge thanks to @ming85, @delilahsdaydream, and @i-am-a-story-goblin for responding to my call for betas two years ago; y'all's suggestions made the fic way better than it would've been otherwise. (a round of applause especially for ming85, who saved an ancient tapestry from the horror of grass stains and generally made the wedding event much more kingly than i, in my infinite unwordliness, had intended to.)

thanks also to @damiaanos for being my wall to bounce things off of more recently as i finally committed to getting this thing done no matter what. legitimately don't know how i would've managed it without your excellent balance of "you can do it" and "it's fine, stop stressing". if any other perfectionists are reading this, find people like that, they're great.

shoutout to @slecnaztemnot for throwing me the idea of putting Loyse on the Council when i had been stuck on the fifth member for a year, and gratitude to @kingsrising for being a visible fandom hub that i could turn to when i needed community and had no idea where to look for it

fandom is the best and i'm really excited to start being a more active part of capri's

as i mentioned, i've been talking about this fic on tumblr for over two years, so i will now proceed to tag every person who interacted with either of those posts, on the off chance that they would appreciate receiving an update on this fic that is now a real thing that they can go read (if they wish to, obvi)

from the kingsrising ask: @ladykyrin, @afantasyghost, @gildedgaze, @westealtoys, @timburtonknewmyoceans

@plushdragon, @blue-eyed-korra, @foreverskies29, @bumblebee-whiskey, @stardust-at-midnightt,

@brinkleyheights, @lavendercoded, @meraki-ii, @nonothatsano, @not-a-coral-snake

and from the call for betas: @caeli-phantomhive, @laurents-laces, @jaks21, @auroralunasoleil, @captaindamianos

@airebellah, @certainbirdkitty

@marrieddorks, @i-want-delfeur, @morgenti, @goose-fish, @farrukh-schumann,

@theoverlyenthusiasticwriter, @p1n4ta, @deleteitold, @lovelovelove, @hennike

@nczakiis, @theoraclephobetor, @angelshineyourlightonme, @naisvalta, @pienenpienileppakerttu,

@aristosakielon, @foreverfraancis, @fangirlfortress, @whynotme12, @naturaldisaster,

@gutstrings, @dreamerthief18, @aladybetween2majors, @k04, @burntpercy

[galadrieljones]

Zabel Interview, Team Delusional Round-up, re: the past few weeks (months?) 💫

(Based on an ask from @natural-blue-26! This post contains spoilers, pertaining to the script leak. If you don't want them, turn back!!)

First, let me say that @twdmusicboxmystery has posted an excellent video covering this topic over at her youtube channel. This post is jumping off of that, with some additional takes and analysis by me!

Also, note that I wanted to wait to post or to talk about this too much publicly until today, as I think there are a lot of genuine shippers who might be let down right now. Not all c*rylers are unhappy, unruly people. Many are shippers just like us, and even though I don't ship it, I support them. I am only putting this in the Team Delusional tag, so anyone who sees this is seeing it either because they follow me, follow the tag, follow someone who follows me, or they went looking for it themselves. I am not making drama or inciting a "ship war." If you're here out of anger, I suggest you turn back. I am just going to go over what I see.

The Facts

There has been a recent spate of events that have lead Team Delusional to a rare and more than modest resurgence. Until now, we were mostly just working with templates and symbolism, with a healthy dose of informed meta and speculation: We were seeing how the season 4/5 template was beginning to unfold toward the Grady arc, which includes Carol in a major role.

BUT. Let's check in with what's been going on over the past six months. A lot of this new resurgence starts with Emily's multiple trips to Europe for TWD cons in the past six months, integrated with her (yet unrealized) insinuation that she has been in studio recording one or more songs that Beth sang on TWD. Massive financial burdens aside, these are unusual undertakings for Emily. While she has done many fan cons over the years, visiting Europe twice in a four month period is bizarre (as well as expensive). She also talked openly and excitedly in the panel at French comic-con about how cool it would be if Beth returned. Further, Emily's "re-recording" of "Parting Glass" and possibly other TWD songs was a fairly big announcement for us at the time, but we haven't seen any more on it since. Speculation went everywhere from "She'll be singing in a flashback in Daryl Dixon season 2" to "Her songs will be part of the soundtrack" to "She'll actually BE in season 2, singing, in the present moment."

A lot of these things, if they were spread out over a 5 year period, wouldn't matter at all. But the fact that they're all taking place in the six-month run-up to Daryl Dixon s. 2, when we've already been able to speculate her tenuous return based on templates and other tells, is exciting. It's been almost ten years to the day of Beth's *death.* Why now? The timing on all of this is very suspicious.

Now, a few weeks ago, there was a LEAKED SCRIPT excerpt, which was claimed to be the final scene of DD 2.6. In the script, we learn that Isabelle has died and is appearing to Daryl in the form of a hallucination while he fights walkers in the Chunnel. This was confusing for many reasons. First, we already know, given their ruthless advertisement of the fact, that season 3 is already being filmed in Spain. So why are they headed to England? Also, where the hell is Laurent? Further, Isabelle's death, while unsurprising to many of us, creates some new questions. Many members of a certain *other* ship were ecstatic to learn about Isabelle's death, as Daryl/Isabelle ship rumors have been rampant in the fandom basically since season 1. Forget the fact that the same ship FREAKED out over Daryl/Leah three years ago (a clear nothingburger). Any time another female character even comes into contact with Daryl, a notable portion of fans must make their "displeasure" widely known.

Moving on. Yesterday, an article came out summarizing a yet-unreleased interview with David Zabel in SFX magazine. You can read it here. In the interview, Zabel makes the following comment about "C*ryl":

"The obvious thing to do, and the easier thing to do would be, 'Okay, now they're falling in love and they're a couple.' But I always felt like that would be a mistake, because it would feel like you were going into the TV book of tricks," he explains. "To me, there was never a question that [their connection] was something other than what it is, and what it seems to want to be, and why it works so well."

Zabel then goes on to hint at a highly-contentious romance with Daryl and Isabelle:

"What happened in season one was that you could see a connection forming, for sure," he says. "We didn't manufacture that but we left room for it. A lot of season two is about the development of that and where that relationship goes, and that little surrogate family of Isabelle, Daryl and Laurent."

Now, the full interview doesn't come out until September 4, at which point, we may get a clearer picture of what's going on. However, it seems that Zabel is politely declining the "C*ryl as romance" narrative. In the quote, he uses the excuse of wanting to avoid TV tropes; however, he then goes on to say (in a portion of the quote that is being wildly misinterpreted among the c*ryl ship) that "To [him]," there was "never a question that [their connection was something other than what it is." He then equates "what it is" with "what it seems to want to be" and "why it works so well." The misinterpretation is coming with that second part. "What it is" = friendship. Zabel is clearly saying that c*ryl "seems to want to be" exactly "what it is," aka: a sacred friendship and nothing more. He's basically saying that this already "works so well," and so why fix what ain't broke? Why create a romance between two characters who are clearly just very, very good friends when he could go another, more interesting direction?

Certain c*ryl accounts have misinterpreted that section of the quote. They seem to think he's saying that the c*ryl ship "seems to want to be" something else, something other than what it is. But if you follow the grammatical logic of the sentence, you can see that they're wrong here. It wants to be what it already is, which is friendship. Of course, to c*rylers, what it already is = romance, but that isn't canon. There's no proof of this. In fact, there's more proof to the contrary, that they're best friends. They're family. Carol was married to somebody else, raised a child with him, still holds a contentious relationship with the other man, allowed Daryl to toil away in the woods alone for five years because she needed to stay with her husband...

In addition to factual evidence from the show, the C*ryl Friendship Campaign has been going strong on social media for MONTHS. In her video this morning, twdmusicboxmystery also goes over quasi-recent comments from Angela Kang which are UNSUPPORTIVE of a c*ryl romance. The notion that this perspective is coming out of nowhere, which some fans are claiming as a way of blaming Zabel for either lying or betraying his fanbase (and the actors), is, frankly, absurd.

Please note that I'm not saying that nobody should ship c*ryl just because it isn't canon. That would be silly. I ship non-canon ships all the time. BETHYL is a non-canon ship! I've written whole fanfics for Beth and Daryl (well, I've tried lol, but most remain unfinished). It's one of the funnest parts of being in a fandom.

What I'm saying is that c*ryl is NOT CANON. It never has been. And the people who get angry about this, who want to get professionals fired over this, who think that they're entitled to getting exactly what they want, lest the show perish, are wrong. They're doing it wrong. It's totalitarian and, frankly, obsessive. This is not how you be in a fandom, and my interpretation here of the Zabel interview in conjunction with the C*ryl Friendship Campaign is that they are TRYING to let this highly volatile and frankly unpleasant faction of the fandom down lightly in an effort to get them off tptb's AND the actors' backs. They don't want to deal with this shit anymore. And by the way, they're actually not leading anyone on. They've been insanely clear here, in their rebranding of c*ryl to a platonic ship, as to what's happening and what's going on, and while I really do feel for the good people who may feel let down by this, I am GLAD to see that the showrunners aren't going to heed the demands of one tiny, loud faction of a giant fandom, and that despite the haters, they're going to tell the story they want to tell.

ANYWAY.

Over the past 48 hours, things have gotten...weird. Zabel's interview dropped less than a day after the TWD Skybound social media accounts appear to have...posted a Bethyl edit out of nowhere. @sweetz1919 also posted early this morning, bringing together a few more Beth-related posts on either official accounts or *near* official accounts, which post promotional material, and which are followed by AMC TWD. One of these posts is a repost on twitter by Scott Gimple, who so rarely posts on social media, that any time he does, it's like a unicorn, symbolically notable and certainly important.

Now, pertaining to the Zabel interview, another wide complaint taking place in the c*ryl camp is that Zabel is likely LYING or he is being taken grossly out of context, because if c*ryl isn't happening, AND Isabelle is going to die, then how could Daryl POSSIBLY get his happy ending?

THIS is where Team Delusional comes in. Of course, we have our theories. Most people think WE'RE the delusional ones. And maybe we are! Lol. I don't really care. Most of our theories are crafted through a TON of hard, circumstantial, pattern-driven, and symbolic evidence, evidence taken from IRL sources, and hypotheses made after paying very close attention to what's been going on and making LOTS and LOTS of connections over a period of many years. Me, myself, I've only been here for four, but some of you guys have been doing this for almost ten, and for that, I salute you! As I said earlier, TD has been theorizing Beth's "return" in DD2 based greatly on symbolic and template-driven evidence alone for a while. A lot of what we're seeing now on social media is playing directly into our hand.

Emily in Europe multiple times in a 4mo period, including a trip to Paris, with her latest stint being just a week before "official" filming for season 3 was set to begin? Emily re-recording tracks from TWD? Leaked script pages in which Daryl mentions Beth specifically AND suggest that Isabelle is going to die? Romantic!C*ryl = not happening? HOW could Daryl possibly get his happy ending now? The rest is TD theory, ie: WHY we think Beth will come back to manifest Daryl's "happy ending." Speculation and theories on how she could come back, the connection to Spain/England/France, that's basically all we talk about lol, each of us with our own interests and niche perspectives, all arriving at the same point.

SO while there is still no proof that she is coming back, all of this is a Good thing, actually. For us. Because while everyone is looking around, freaking out, wondering what's going to happen next, we are seeing and able to read a LOT of signs that others ignore. And rightly so! There's no reason the rest of the GA needs to think that Beth is legitimately coming back. That would overshadow Carol's role in season 2, which is significant. It's just important that the GA REMEMBERS who Beth IS, that she was important to Daryl, and that hey, people used to really like Beth, and they liked Beth and Daryl together, and that was hopeful, and nice for him, and he hasn't had much "hope" or "niceness" since, and wouldn't it be nice if he could have that again...? All of these things are really there to do just this: let the c*ryl ship down easy, and remind people that Daryl once held a very strong connection to a woman whose life "ended" too soon, and who has really never been mentioned again.

While I really have no idea what's coming next, I wonder if we'll begin to see more astroturfed discussion on Beth's *death.* How weird it was, what the hell was going on at Grady, etc. If we don't see it in promotional material, we may hear about it in-show. Because if Daryl is casually mentioning Beth (along with Merle and Glenn) to Isabelle's ghost/vision in episode 2.6, then this likely implies that he's told her about Beth before, and that he's talked to her about what happened. It implies that Isabelle knows who Beth is, which would be a truly insane development, since he's literally never talked about her to anyone, including Carol, as far as we know.

So anyway, as usual, we should all just keep our heads down, chins to our chest, keep hope alive, but with a balanced sense of anticipation. We still really don't know what's going to happen, so it's important to be rational, but it also won't hurt to have a little faith 💫

[freefromthecocoon]

"L'ame Perdue" Thoughts

I really liked this first episode. I am gonna put my thoughts below the line...you know the drill, lol.

Norman gives a very nuanced performance and some reviewers obviously lack the ability to see those nuances. There are subtle differences, but nothing that changes him from the Daryl we love.

He comes across a pair, a young woman and a man who wind up stealing from him and then some military types show up and Daryl's spear is used to kill one of them. Then the man knocks Daryl out and steals things from him. This is how he winds up getting back to the abbey/convent.

He is clearly dreaming of those he loves back home, Carol and Judith and I feel this will be a common thread throughout the series. It is a definite flashback to their final scene.

Thus far, everything going on between Daryl and Isabelle is clearly him making deals to get back home. Daryl is very cautious in what he tells them and from my standpoint, the hype over the bath scene was very much overblown. I know I won't change many minds on this....but it did not feel shippy at all. And again it was a brief scene. Daryl is being cautious with what he tells them.

I REALLY liked the scene between Laurent and Daryl. I know that some were upset that Daryl seemingly denied having a wife or kids, but it's obvious in the context of the scene that Laurent knows Daryl is telling a half-truth here. Laurent clearly "sees" through the front that Daryl is putting up which is made very obvious by something Laurent says to him... see @mcbride's latest gifset for context on this! (This scene in particular is where Norman's ability to play nuance is so very well displayed. He knows this character and he knows what Daryl's heart's desire is and that is Carol my friends)

We are being led to believe that Laurent can see things that are not clear to others. In another scene, Isabelle believes that he will save humanity. She calls him a messiah, (which I did not like this choice of words) but Daryl clearly does not like this either. He quickly becomes an advocate for Laurent. I know some don't like Laurent and let's face it...he has lived a sheltered life in the abbey and he is definitely a TWDU kid, but I can't help but love the little dude who is VERY impressed with Daryl from the moment they meet. Louis and Norman have a really good chemistry in their scenes.

Daryl most definitely is doing everything he can to get back home and even leaves the convent/abbey alone, but he notices Codron and the gang showing up at the convent looking for Daryl. (They found the pair Daryl met walking on the road and killed the man and made the woman go with them to show them were they found Daryl. Codron sees the walker with Daryl's spear and then he is instantly in revenge mode after he puts down his walker brother). Anyway...Daryl goes back to help the nuns with the military dudes and most of the nuns have been killed. He helps them bury their dead and makes a deal to help deliver Laurent to Paris if they will help him to get the port so he can return home. (Please keep in mind, I am leaving out the smaller details of the episode, I am just trying to show that Daryl is 100% trying to get back to Carol)

We do get a basic outline of how Daryl wound up in France and there is a scene at the end involving the cargo ship that was seen in the trailer. Any TWD: World Beyond fans will want to pay attention to this as the dialogue lends itself to that series. I doubt much else will crossover but I did like the idea that it could.

They also aired a preview for the season that showed Daryl speaking by a radio/phone device to someone about returning back. He mentions being in Maine. I wonder who he could been talking to....GRINS MANIACALLY!

I hope that I have given you all better insight into what to expect and I am genuinely excited to go on this journey with Daryl and experience the jubilation that will be felt when he and Carol are reunited!

Caryl on my peeps!

[thatgirliehan]

reflection: Her

Description: An idol who loves art and a museum curator who makes art. With their slightly crazy friends, a 9-week deadline , a world tour, and a big secret, what could possibly go wrong?

NOTE: This is a fanfiction. Any resemblance to actual people is a coincidence. This story is from my brain and not real life.

My phone dinged right as I got off the bus. I glanced down as I start walking, it was a calendar alert "BTS concert TOMORROW". My heart skipped a beat and I couldnt help but do a quick happy dance. It's finaly happening, the thing I had been waiting on for MONTHS was finally tomorrow! With that happy reminder in the back of my head I waltzed through the doors of the museum where I worked, ready to start another day, a little happier than normal. "Good morning y/n", said Bill the front door guard "you seem a lot more awake today than normal, finally get coffee before work?" "Ha. Ha. Ha Bill, you're hilarious! The concert I've been waiting absolute months for is finally tomorrow, I'm just super excited!" "Oh, those pretty boys you constantly listen to, right?" said Bill. "Theyre called BTS Bill" I mumbled under my breath. Bill is about 70 years old and is like my work Grandpa. I love him to death, but he doesnt really get the whole kpop thing, he's more of a Willy Nelson type.

"Well, I need to go!" I said as I started walking away. "With the head curator and the other junior curator off at a conference for the rest of the week, I was the one basically running the museum. I was freaking out at first when they told me that they were BOTH going, I mean, I've only been working here 2 years, and I am the junior, JUNIOR curator. That means I get the fun jobs of writing up the placks for the art, or at most dusting the art. I'm not even allowed to touch the art by myself yet, you have to be a junior curator for that.

I get to my desk, because junior JUNIOR curators dont have an office, just a desk in the supply room (closet) and set my purse down on my desk. It was 30 minutes to 10, which was when we opened. I still had time to dust the main exhibit and turn on all the lights before I had to open the doors. My art museum was a small one, but we had a few really good pieces from some very famous artists, so we drew a modest crowd every day. Honestly, I was really lucky to have this job. Not many people get their dream job right out of college. I popped in an airpod and turned on my favorite cleaning playlist. Mic drop shuffled on first so of course I danced the chorus as I dusted, dropping my duster at the end of the song like Suga.

I finish up all of my opening tasks and head back to the front desk, as I'm straightening some pamphlets in the front desk, I hear my phone chime. I look down at the screen and see an alert that says "Sorry y/n, I'm throwing up everywhere, I'm not gonna make it to work today. Xoxo Minha" "Greaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttt", I think, my good mood vanishing in a flash, I'm completely alone today. Minha is my friend and a year younger than me, she works the front desk. With her gone, I'm going to have to do her job...and then it hits me. I'm ALONE. And I'm supposed to be researching and writing the placks for the new exhibit thats coming next week. Greattttttttttttt. I check the time, 5 minutes before opening. "Shiitttttttttttttrake mushrooms" I mutter under my breath as I run to my office...ok desk....and frantically grab my laptop, planner, 3 enormous reference books and my pouch and run back to the front desk. Looks like I'm going to be doing both today. "Curse you Minha", I think to myself as I drop everything on the front desk. I check my phone and I still have 3 and a half minutes till opening. Which is good, because since I hadn't expected to be at the front desk, I had only done minimal makeups....and in my personal experience, people were nicer when I had a more girly makeup style. I grabbed my pouch and got out my favorite (fine, only) yves saint laurent lip tint, it was a beautiful shiny coral pink color and it made me feel like I was a member of twice. I popped it on my lips and went to unlock the door. If I was lucky, maybe it would be an extra slow day and I would be able to get the rest of the placks done.

I....was not lucky. It was a very busy morning. So busy that I didn't have a single minute to even look at my reference books until 12:30. There was finally a lull as the morning crowd left so I grabbed my reference books and laptop and got to work typing up those placks. I was so engrossed in my research that I didnt notice someone had walked up to the front desk until I heard "uh, excuse me". I was so startled that I let out a high pitched yelp, jumping out of my chair, knocking it over.

Standing at the front desk was a boy. Man? He was very tall, wearing fashionable street wear, a baseball cap that shieled his eyes and a mask covering the lower half of his face.

"Ohmygoodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize anyone was there!" I said quickly, closing my laptop and picking my chair up from the ground.

"Uh...sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you" the man said in a low, soft voice.

[kimium]

My thoughts on FEH channel:

I just want one... ONE free male book OC... I don't think I'm asking too much here. But clearly, I am.

So glad to see Kozaki back as lead character designer for this book... thank goodness...

LAURENT IS FINALLY IN THE GAME. It's been 84 YEARS.

I'm so excited to see Severa and Inigo out of Alt hell. A little torn about another Lucina Alt, but I suppose it was inevitable. I'll definitely pull on this banner.

[magicalyaku]

Happy new year! After the slump of the previous months and my last artist alley of the year, I finally had a lot to read in December! I bought so many books in November, I had to get at least through a few in order to include them in my yearly awards. xD Work was still shit but reading was fun again. :D

Dark Heir (Dark Rise 2) (C.S. Pacat): This was my last book of 2023 and easily my most anticipated. And did it deliver! Left me emotionally devastated for days! xD Seriously, I don't want to know what my neighbors thought what was going on, in case they heard me going "Aaah! No! No no no nooooo! Kya! NOOOO!!" during two certain scenes. /D The nice thing about this series is that I have absolute faith in Pacat's ability to write it well und give me an outcome I am satisfied with. I mean, go look at Captive Prince. The way the relationship between Damen and Laurent develops (even after MAJOR shit going on between them!), the political threads and all that, it's just done very well. And now, here's the Dark Rise series and I sit and watch the spiral of doom the characters are caught up in it and apart from maybe Sinclair not a single one of them is fully good or bad. And it's sooo interesting (and emotionally devastating)!! Hng!! I would actually like to write much more about what I loved and suffered through, like the whole thing with the Visander situation and how Sarcean made all of his worst enemies because he just couldn't keep it in his pants. And James. James. And Cyprian! And everything. But I can't because whenever I try I still feel the excited giggles in my brain and can't have a coherent thought. It's great, but also ... Hnggg!!

The First and Last Adventure of Kit Sawyer (S.E. Harmon): This was fun! At some point early on I looked up what other books the author has written and it's more than ten and I thought "Yes! It feels like being written by someone with a lot of writing experience!" There's just something about the liveliness of the characters and the dialogues. Also so much adventure with a slightly different flavor than usual being set in the jungle and all, I loved it.

By any other Name (Erin Cotter): I wonder why all of my historical fiction books are set in England. This is another highly adventurous story. I was a bit surprised as one thing that's mentioned in the summary already only appears like after half the book. But other than that it was pretty good. It has spies and theatre and pretty nice characters. And I did not anticipate everything that happened which is good!

Wren Martin Ruins it all (Amanda deWitt): The author's previous book Aces Wild: A Heist was one of my top books in 2022, this one does not quite reach those heights but it was still very good and very enjoyable. Wren is such a messy and fun character. As reader I absolutely knew what was going on and who was writing with whom but it was nice to follow the characters' path to awareness. In a way Wren's aceness is not as heavy as in other books (see the next one for instance) but at the same time it deals with a few of the social issues a_spec people are faced with which was nice.

Just Lizzie (Karen Wilfrid): This is a middle grade book about a girl coming to terms with being ace. The heroine has a really nice character arc. And the other characters are sometimes what you expect them to be and sometimes they are not. And maybe … that's ok, right? And I loved it and I cried through half of the book. I guess, it hit home a little more heavily than I expected. :'D (Like that one time where Lizzie is wondering how she will spent Christmas when her parents aren't around anymore? Haaa. It had just been Christmas when I read this and I'm in my 30ies and my Dad is above 70 now so that is a concern I actually have, you know. It's not nice to be reminded. :'D) It's a really good book, I think, thoughtful and well put together and empowering, too.

A Hundred Vicious Turns (The Broken Tower 1) (Lee Page O'brien): Now this was difficult. The cover is gorgeous. Easily my favorite one this year. I only lament that there's no real gold printed. The wasted opportunity. yAy The content is … difficult. I like the story on a whole. The premise and the magic system are really interesting. The characters … were interesting as well? They're fine, their motivations are not easily seen which, in a plot full of mysteries, is actually quite okay. I just didn't build the emotional connection. There's also a lot of anxiety, especially on Rat's part. There was one bit in the writing style that irked me a little. The overuse of pronouns. Because Rat was the only one with 'they' and in most scenes it was only one other person with them, so there often really long stretches where only the pronouns would be used instead of the names. It wa snot confusing because you could easily tell the characters apart, but it felt weird. I'm very used to reading the names a lot. Oh well. It's not a fun read, but it is intruiging and I will read the next volume to see where it goes.

A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea 1) (Judy I. Lin): I managed to squeeze in a YA heroine inbetween all the gay boys! And I liked it better than most other female-led YA fantasies I read recently. Doesn't mean I loved it, but Ning was pretty okay as a heroine. The thing is, the circumstances under which I started this book weren't the best and that probabbly reflected on the whole experience. I picked up the German audiobook for a very long bus trip, but listened to it only later while doing some hours of very boring tedious work. The audiobook itself was okay, except that the reader could not decide how to pronounce some names. For instance, Kang was Kong first, then Kuang before she settled on Kang. And that kind of thing drives me mad. How am I to connect with a character when I am left this uncertain how their name is?! The German translation also decided to leave some of the names in English (especially the teas) which in my opinion doesn't make sense because why would the teas in Fantasy-China have English names when everything else is either translated into German or left Chinese? D: I couldn't stand it and finally switched to my printed edition (in English). /D It got better from there, but it's hard to forget the echo. As for the story, I don't really like court intrigues. Cruelty and injustice are just things I really struggle with to read about. (They make me angry and I don't want to be angry at my books.) But it never tipped over the edge into annoying area. I have the sequel at home as well, so I'll it. The covers are beautiful after all.

That was 2023! Next up is my big Best and Worst award ceremony! uAu~

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Okay so I REALLY loved this first DD episode!! Now more than ever I am feeling hopeful for Beth's return. I mean, I've been here since day 1 (8yrs or something like that) but after all the times we thought she'd appear, this feels the most legit. It all comes down to what Judith said at the end of the flagship, "You deserve a happy ending, too." Like what else would a happy ending look like for D@ryl other than reuniting with Beth? I look at it this way, they had this line repeated, not once, not twice, but 3 times in the episode, and once directly to D@ryls face by Laurent. He even asks D, "Do you have kids, a wife, etc?" The look on his face says it all...this has been a major theme for D. R!ck mentions looking for a house together with Lori, trying to relate to him and his grief over losing his SO. Even Abraham asked him, "You ever think about it? Settling down?" Whether D wants to admit it or not, a wife, kids, a home, these are what he truly wants. Yes he loves TF and protecting them and all that, but what he truly wants is that romantic partner which we ALL know is beth. The only ppl who deny it are, well you know 🙄 This emphasis on his "happy ending" is making me so excited. Writers wouldn't start the ENTIRE show off on something like that without the payoff. Even if all we get is confirmation of her being alive, it's happening. It has to. D@ryl is finally getting his happy ending to his "damn romance novel" and his new found faith is instrumental in that!! Ahh, so excited! Thanks for all your hard work for TD! We love youuuu!!!!! 💚💚💚💚💚

Aww thanks so much. I love you all too!

And I completely agree with everything you said. You laid it out perfectly. I didn't mention the whole "do you have a wife" question because my mind was so much on other things, but it's super significant that they asked this in the first episode of the series. Just as, like you said, it's super significant that they start out with Judith talking about his happy ending. That's literally the thesis statement for the entire spinoff series. So yes, he's getting his happy ending one way or another in this spinoff, and I'll echo you in saying, we all know who that will be with.

I'm getting a lot of Asks where people are saying that, because the reviewers haven't said anything about Beth, she must not be coming.

That MIGHT be true for S1, though I would remind everyone that they were sworn to secrecy about the final two episodes. As in, if she shows up, they truly can't tell us. And if it's her name Daryl almost drops, they can't mention that. They would be all kinds of fired and sued.

But even if she doesn't actually show up the first season, I still think we'll get some clues about her. And, in the end, this show is about him finding his happy ending. So, it's gonna happen one way or the other.

My fellow theorists have also been looking into some of the weirdness of the filming in the Louvre. I have lots of things to post for you guys. It's just been a busy week and I haven't gotten around to much of it, but I'll try to get more of it out this week.

Anyway, love everything you said. Totally agree. Right there with ya! Xoxo! 🍁🍂😍

[vacantgodling]

gonna call the main brain rot ones here bc (1) still working on celestial weddings and i didn’t feel like being sappy about all of dag’s relationships quite yet. (2) carlos & jenna + lath & ensio don’t count as much as i’m obsessed with their relationships just bc they’re not “technically” romantic lol. and the romantic ones are what i’m talking about (3) i’m on mobile my fingers tired.

also as an aside it’s not nearly every relationship in any of my wips bc i have a lot. however these are just ones i rather enjoy and im going to wax fucking poetics about them thanks

anyway without further ado

some sappy shit:

darren x gabe (wip: vampires don’t take roadtrips)

their love to me is like a slow dance. meeting someone for the first time; at a weird place and a bit of a weird time, but settling into getting to know each other. of taking tiny steps towards the right place and a right time. it’s unhurried but no less intense. there’s embers underneath soft blankets, burning gently but still burning. it’s a feeling of home when home is a long way off. yet a feeling of excitement that stirs butterflies in your stomach or catches your words in your throat. it’s familiar yet unfamiliar. the excitement of the unknown and the thrill of a new adventure, but the dejavu that comes with a familiar path or road. they’ve known each other for so little but for so long. the coziness of how they melt into each other is unmatched. it feels natural, there’s no other way to describe it. just the natural order of things should be hands laced together and noses nuzzled into necks and homeliness amid the unfamiliar.

corsel x blackpeak (wip: vampires don’t take roadtrips)

their love is mending—they’ve been hurt for quite a long time. distractions can be bandaids but the wound is gaping and in need of salve. the salvation of communication, the terrifying barrier of just being fucking honest. the fear, of baring that last piece of your soul to someone who already knows what notes it sings; the fear to fall completely that keeps your cards close to your chest but the desire to lay them all on the table is icy hot, somehow bitter. wishing their face was that of a stranger but it’s one you’ve seen every expression of. it’s a final breakdown of pride, of ego, it’s finally saying enough. of this. enough pain, we’ve suffered enough. and if i am to suffer i’d rather it be at your mercy than to my own.

laurent x emily (wip: vampires don’t take roadtrips)

“til death do us part” — but still they can’t be parted. their love when they met wasn’t love but something hostile; a fierceness forged on the flames of alienation and misunderstanding; of distrust and disdain. one that was slowly mended. somehow a bridge was created to bridge the gap between human and monster and there was a sameness there, a shared othering that could be quelled in no one but each other. how bright that love burned, to turn a cold heart warm and a guarded heart soft. how it burned others around them in its intensity, how even age nor years could scratch the surface of the deep bond they shared—until one finally breathed their last. the other, humbled. yet alone. how moving on is something inevitable, but it will never be the same. how that love has molded and shaped and reforged a shining, glimmering steel out of a husk of iron. no one can compare to that love. but it is because of that love, that love can, eventually, be found again.

graves x dove (wip: the graves we dug)

only a lover could hurt me as sweetly as you do. you can run from your problems but darling, you can’t run from love. facing what your love has created; a reckless, sweet, shameless love in a world that beat the innocence out of it. a cruel love, a biting love, a love that demands you face it even if you can’t look it in the eyes. a love that is mean as it is spiteful, a love that rages as it bleeds. a love that is hellbent on getting everything you got back from it, until you have nothing left to give. a love that has haunted a love that hunts a love that is both the predator and the prey. a dangerous desire that poisons everything it touches but you can’t help it, you need it, you live for it and perhaps you’ll die by it. but what a sweet death, a sweet apocalypse; if their eyes are the last thing you see before you give into the dark.

hyacinthus x amon (wip: paramour)

a love found in things not said but actions that do. two alike souls two ends of a twin flame; that bare teeth before they spare kindness. a love that is a shield against the pain of those around them, as much as it hurts to admit it’s there. if it’s there, it can be taken, it can be used. a love not spoken of, if only for the fear of it. they’re drawn to each other irrevocably and once the train is in motion it cannot be stopped. their loneliness and desperation to cling to something that gets it, that understands, that would fight for it as easily as they would die for it is hidden underneath the easier to explain emotions like anger or bitterness or greed or grief. it is frightening to find someone who sees you as you are; it’s like looking in a mirror, and learning to love the person staring back at you.

forte x clear (wip: the chronicles of lathsbury)

a love that is a salvation, a guiding light in the dark. to find a love that will meet you where you’re at and hold your hand throughout it all. how can you be worthy of such a thing? but your shine is bright— the care and compassion that bleeds from one feeds the other in a never ending cycle of uplifting devotion and care. an easy symmetry between them that circles back and strengthens with every rotation it makes. a love that is unending and a love that is selfless; a love that puts the other first to eventually cede to the care being given. a love that is cool, calming, a love that is a peace for souls that have long been weary

jihi x cameron (wip: the chronicles of lathsbury)

a love that is giving, perhaps giving to the point of breaking. until there is nothing left to be given, and even then you give more. a love that is patient and waiting, one that is selfless but wanting. a love you couldn’t dream of having but it is given freely. a love that is unreciprocated in the way you wish but you continue to give because you love them so much its all you can do. a love that overcomes hardships and is willing to be mature; to mature from crush to infatuation to love that is unwilling to let harm befall you even if it costs life, even if it sheds blood. a love that can be started anew; a flower start in an unfamiliar garden, one who has seen much and lived long. but love is ever youthful, as flowers blossom in the sun.

di x toph (wip: the cardian restoration project)

a love hard one; a love that was fought for. a love that took time to finally see eye to eye. a love that was hindered but the hindrance caused it to grow, grow until it was not a wily flower or a small bush but a large tree, twisting and unyielding. a love that supports, that lifts up, that pushes through tangled vines to find the true heart at the center of it. a love that is hard won; a love well deserved. two people who have fought and died for it finally getting that bliss, that peace. to let their love cradle them forever more.

[yourladystar]

So, I was actually expecting to get a response from my last post confirming there was someone who was excited for Phila. What I wasn't expecting was how many people responded and how fast it happened. And I wanna say this now to make it nice and clear.

If you are one of the people who responded to my post or just saw it in passing who is excited about Phila being added to Heroes, good for you. I'm not being sarcastic, I am happy for you. I'm glad you were able to feel the satisfaction that every Heroes player wants to experience having their most requested character finally added. And I can guarantee that I will be the loudest b*tch popping off when Laurent and Shura are added.

So no, I don't begrudge anyone for being happy about Phila's inclusion. But it doesn't make me like it. Honestly, this whole banner feels a bit underwhelming, and not just because of Phila.

Only half of the banner is of actual new units with an additional freebie. The other half is taken up by Eir's ascended form, which I'm not bothered by since I was expecting it, and female Grima, who feels like the artist is just completely leaning into the "hot evil b*tch you wanna f*ck" archetype. Which I'm really f*cking sick of at this point.

Not only because I'm just so over all villains needing to be f*ckable for lonely straights to fantasize about, but because it feels like they're just forgetting who Grima actually is and what they've done. You do know this is the same being that brought about an apocalypse, horrifically traumatized the entire second generation of the Awakening cast, is the reason why almost all of them are orphans, and turned their own child into their servant?

If the fell dragon in Engage gets the same treatment, I don't think I can take it. Can't we just let villains be obstacles for our main characters?

Anyway, that's my follow-up to my last post and, as promised, here's the drawing I promised.

I would have gotten this post done sooner, but I made the mistake of letting my brother borrow my colored pencils. I assumed he would need them for a day or two, maybe three, only for him to borrow them for nearly two weeks and then leave them at his friend's house.

This is why I don't let my brothers near my stuff.

[dalmascan-requiem]

Dalmascan Requiem Moments: Carnations

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Sometimes, the best memories consist of the little things. And also swindling a merchant.

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Read on AO3 or keep reading after the jump

content warnings: none

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It's not the most obvious thing, but both of the boys wear a carnation earring, and it's something they both treasure very deeply. I had to sit down and just write how they got them really quick :)

Also, it makes for a nice story for Valentine's Day! Not that it happened during the FFXIV equivalent, but it's a sweet, romantic fic.

(I have a fic for Valentione's from last year!)

"You! Ma'am, yes, you! Over here!"

Gale chuckles inwardly as he turns towards the merchant. While Viera weren't the most uncommon sight in Dalmasca, many had trouble telling male from female--a fact he's used many times to his advantage--though he hadn't planned on doing so today. I wasn't going to buy anything… but maybe I can weasel a deal out of this man. He seems less than observant.

The merchant's eyes light up when Gale gives him an amused, inquisitive glance. "Ah yes! Come over, please!" The Hyur waves him over, and practically tugs Gale into the stall when he gets within arms' reach. "You, young miss, seem the type that would appreciate some lovely flowers."

"You've guessed correctly, sir." Gale quickly scans over the man's flowers. Quite a selection, I suppose. "But we are in the middle of a desert. How did you stop them from withering?"

"A very good question, miss." The merchant's smile falters slightly. Does no one ever ask him that? It would seem an obvious question to me. Or is he that poor a liar? "These blooms have traveled with me all across the Far East, and never once did a single petal shrivel up! With proper care, you can even grow them in the desert. I'm sure of it."

Gale looks over the flowers once again, before clicking his tongue. "No, I don't think I believe you, sir." Before the merchant objects, he picks up a bright bloom and lightly touches its leaves. "These flowers are already becoming sunburnt, it shows on the leaves. They're by no means a flower you can grow under the intense desert sun."

He then picks up a rose. "You can't fool anyone that these roses are different because they're from the Far East, if even that is true. They're cold--too cold, clearly preserved with a bit of ice magic. But when thawed, the blooms will quickly die, even faster than it would had you never done so in the first place."

"And these," Gale gestures at a large swath of flowers. "These… well, they're carnations."

Carnations, hm? Gale taps his chin in thought while the merchant tries to string together a rebuttal. It's been ages since I've last seen these. Reyna would love them…

The merchant finally finds his voice, though he still stumbles over his words. "N…Now see here, young miss--"

Gale raises his hand to cut him off. "It's sir, sir, nor am I young." He turns towards the merchant, a mischievous smirk on his face. "You'll need to be a better liar if you ever want to be a successful merchant." The Viera shakes his head as the other's face turns red. "But you have something I want. So let's make a deal, shall we?"

~

Laurent rubs his neck as he gets ready to enter the apartment. Did Gemna really need to reorganize everything today? I'm so sore…

The Viera quietly opens the door--you could never know who may be on the other side--and relaxes when nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "I'm home."

"Reyna!" He hears Gale's voice from another room, and the light-haired Viera quickly comes out to greet him with a wide smile on his face. "You're here! Come along, I have something to show you."

Before Laurent could say anything, Gale grabs his hand and gently pulls him toward the bedroom. What has him so excited? Eir's so cute when he gets like this…

Laurent lets out an amused chuckle and lets the other Viera lead him to the bedroom. "What's this about, Eir? It was a long day at the bar, I'm pretty tired--"

"Shush, just come here." Gale gives Laurent's hand another light tug as they get to the bedroom door.

"Oh, Eir, this is…"

The moment he steps into the bedroom, Laurent notices the flowers decorating every corner of the room. It was a veritable rainbow of carnations, carefully placed as to fill the room with color, but not overwhelm.

"All of these carnations! And in so many colors, too…" Laurent reaches out to gently touch one of the flower's petals, and he can't help but to smile. "They're real! We live in the middle of a desert, how did you even manage this?"

Gale chuckles and squeezes the other Viera's hand slightly. "I happened upon a mechant selling flowers, and by some stroke of luck they weren't damaged or sickly. So, I made a deal with him."

That sounds ominous. "…What sort of deal, Eir?"

"Nothing special. Just taught him how to ply his wares better." Gale steps in front of Laurent, and wraps his arms around his waist. "But that doesn't matter. I'd do anything just to see your smile."

Laurent feels his ears heat up and glances away from Gale, and the light-haired Viera chuckles. "You're too adorable, Reyna. I take it you like them?"

"I do, Eir… thank you. They're beautiful."

Gale offers a soft smile before leaning in for a kiss. "I'm glad… Oh! I almost forgot." The viera suddenly takes a step back and grabs a small box from the nightstand.

"The carnations won't last forever, but I do have something that will." He opens the box to show Laurent two small carnation earrings. "One for you and one for me." Gale lifts the white earring out of the box and holds it up to Laurent's ear. "I think the white one would look best on you."

Laurent nods and takes the earring, carefully putting it in. "I think I agree."

Gale looks back at him while putting the black carnation in his ear. "You haven't even looked at it in a mirror yet, my love…"

"I trust your judgement." Laurent pulls Gale into a hug. "Thank you, Eir."

"Oh, I-I…" Gale stumbles over his words for a moment while in the embrace, but after a moment wraps his arms around Laurent. "Of course, my love."

The two lean in for long, tender kiss, and when Laurent pulls back, there is the smallest hint of a smirk on his face. "Now Eir, what did you really pay for all this?"

"Oh please, my love. The merchant was gullible and a terrible liar--all I had to do was hint at knowing people that wouldn't take kindly to such tricks."

"Eir… you don't know anyone like that."

"He didn't need to know that. Now let's enjoy his goodwill some more, shall we? I can't believe he had blue blooms…"

[casspurrjoybell-30]

Howling Love - Chapter 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Amille Laurent

I'd said this before, I should've know more, now I was being hugged and patted on the back by another obnoxiously large wolf who could break me easily, he had introduced himself as Kyra, the shrieking lady was his mate Bonnie, she was my aunt, whilst he was what we all assumed my uncle, aunt Bonnie was the one with the biological link to dad, since they were siblings but I had no idea till now that my father actually had family here.

"Easy on the pats Kyra," Dad chides as he pulls me away from the not so gentle giant, his olive skin was tanned a bit, with piercing obsidian eyes that really caused one to question if they ever wanted to cross this man.

"He's not fragile Calvin let him see his nephew, you never told us he's so grown up, look at you so beautiful, argh... those curls are to die for," she gushed over me and I just smiled as she hugged and shook me in excitement.

"Bonnie calm down, let him breathe," Dad also intervened and I was so grateful as he pulled me to his side protectively.

"Sorry, it's just you never actually let us see your son, only pictures when he was a kid, then you stopped, which I am angry at you for but just seeing you here, finally... I'm so happy," she expressed and was now crying in dad's arms, I wondered what kind of emotional trip she was on, she had been very excited just now, the switch flipped she's bawling her eyes out.

"She's very emotional, a very very emotional person, she was worse when she was pregnant," Kyra explained with a chuckle and I found myself understanding what he meant, I didn't reply which was why Kyra frowned I was sure.

"You good?" my father asked his sister who nodded with a smile.

"Sorry, I guess I just had it all pent up," she apologized and I understood that even more, I tended to bottle things up when I was in my early teens, until I started talking to my father about it and he helped me through it, bottling things up tended to have a very bad outcome for everyone and yourself involved, I learned the hard way.

[Dad, I'm cold, I don't mind the reunion, can we just do it inside.] I suggested and he nodded.

"Yeah you're right it's getting chilly," he agreed but not speaking and signing had my aunt and uncle perplexed.

"Before you ask, he's capable of everything, he just can't voice out anything," Dad immediately explained.

"Oh, so that's why you..." Kyra began but before he finished I nodded, I knew he was referring to the statement he made I didn't reply.

"Well that's alright, I guess we have to learn sign language to understand you, something new, great," Aunt Bonnie excitedly exclaimed and I chuckled, she really was her own kind.

"Sorry the house is still covered in boxes, someone didn't want to leave anything behind, if he could've boxed the windows, he would've," Dad asserted and I narrowed my eyes on him, quickly went to find my tablet, text to speech came in handy with more people around.

[I didn't want to leave anything behind, you left a quarter of your stuff, then realized one of the boxes you left was important now the movers charged you for it.] I shot back and my aunt along with uncle both laughed.

"Yeah at least I didn't pack a whole box of stuffed animals," he teased and I grabbed Bunny from his clutches.

[Leave my bunny alone.] I glared at him whilst our guests laughed.

"Goddess you two really are father and son, only you would have a sassy kid," Bonnie laughed as she and dad went into the kitchen probably to start on dinner.

[Want to see the game room or my book collection?] I asked my uncle killing the awkward tension.

"Let's see the gamer consoles and I'll beat you at any of the games," he challenged and I grinned.

[You're on.] I replied with my tablet leading the way to the game room.

"Hmm, your dad outdid himself with this game room," he complimented and I smiled nodding, the best thanks I could give.

Soon enough we were playing table tennis on the large two way screen.

"Hah. I won." he cheered as the first round finished, we started again and the next round I won and cheered with a dance of my own, virtual table tennis got boring as we were tied  six six, so we decided to race and I eventually won, the reason why dad wont let me drive his car, I always end up speeding.

"You're not bad kid," Uncle Kyra compliments as aunt and my dad both walked into the game room.

"Not even a day here and I've already lost you to our nephew," she sighed dramatically.

"It's not like that babe, well almost not like it, he likes games, pretty good gamer too, I'm sure he loves gardening too meaning we have more in common, if he cooks as great as you, maybe you'll have something to bond over with too," Kyra exclaimed as aunt Bonnie looked to me with hopeful eyes.

"Come, dinner is ready and yeah, he can cook better than me." Dad stated in between a chuckle making my aunt squeal.

"Oh boy," Dad sighed as we all sat at the large dining room table.

"This looks delicious," Kyra commented after Dad said grace.

[It's southern style cuisine, it's supposed to look and taste delicious.] I answered earning chuckles from everyone.

"I'm actually sorry your cousins couldn't come Amille, they've had pack training all week long then catching up with school, it's been crazy," Bonnie stated apologetically and I waved it off.

"Can you fight Amille?" Kyra asked and I nodded with a smile.

I was Alpha Lincoln's special student meaning he just trained me harder than everyone else, one time I broke both my legs, it took a lot of healing serum to have them heal normally, after they healed, he broke my arms again in about four months.

I healed and he drilled me even harder, in the end, it toughened me up, it's why I wasn't easily terrified by wolves as a human, I was trained to kill with much more precision and skill, I'd always be grateful to Alpha Lincoln for that.

"So maybe one day you'll join us," he stated but dad made a growling sound, he was overprotective.

"He is not going to be fighting anyone, he'll be studying, then go to varsity become an IT major or what was that other one?" he asked.

[Architecture.] I signed.

"Yes, architecture and graduate, to live his best life," he corrected and I just ate.

"Oh well, who knows what the future may hold, maybe you'll join us too," Kyra winked at my dad who rolled his eyes diffused of his outburst.

The dinner went well as aunt Bonnie and my uncle helped me understand a lot more about the pack, the school, the city.

I had an inkling that my uncle wasn't just an ordinary wolf, he was the Beta of the pack, it made sense now why we were easily accepted.

Anyway after dinner as dad spoke with my aunt I was bonding with my uncle.

"Don't worry so much about school tomorrow, I'll have your cousins look out for you, if you have any trouble just text me or find me I'll sort it out, I probably need to start learning your language huh?" he stated and I shrugged.

[Not really, I always have my tablet and a spare phone for it with me.] I replied and he frowned.

"I still want to either way," he chuckled and I smiled, the giant of a wolf wasn't so bad.

As the night went on I had to say good night to my uncle and aunt.

"I'll have you over for a sleepover soon sweetheart, goodnight," she promised as I hugged her then hugged my uncle, he was much more gentle this time.

"Hey bud, ready for bed... how did you even get all your stuffed animals up here?" he asked in surprise and I scoffed.

"Amille magic huh?" he teased and I nodded.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions, why didn't I tell you about your family sooner, why didn't you grow up here... I wish it was that simple, maybe it is but I don't have the courage for the whole story, though I'll summarize it, the Alpha of the pack is an old lover, when we were eighteen and he got his mate, I was devastated, I didn't want to be here, reminded of what I had that wasn't mine, so I left, found myself in the Ascender pack, healed and had you, after all these years Bonnie made me realize I needed to come back home, accept what happened and try move on with my life, I don't know if my decision was the right one or not but it's been made, I hope you forgive me for not telling you and just hauling us over here," he explained and all I wanted was to hug my strong dad.

He was brave for trying to move on, not a lot of people tried, they just kept on hating and hurting until it destroyed them.

[I forgive you dad and maybe moving here wasn't so bad, I have the varsity of my dreams closer now and you have your dream job, we both have family closer now, we may not know what tomorrow is like but today, we're happy and safe, love you dad.] I responded as he sniffled and held me in his arms.

"Love you too kiddo, you're so understanding," he chuckled letting me go from his embrace.

"Now off to bed, you and I can't both be late for our first day."

He soothed placing a kiss on my forehead.

[Night dad.]

[the-firebird69]

There's a lot of people here who are assholes to him and the day never goes well there's a bunch of directs who are constantly yelling and saying stuff and they're always doing the wrong thing I don't think that you people should be allowed to do what you're doing and we are going to get back at you.

-there are a few other things happening we thought we would mention and one of them is they're putting the tropical storm watch out and it wouldn't even be here until like Wednesday so I'm not sure why and it's almost like they're asking for it do something to the max and others

-there's a huge number of people who are messing around with their son because the stuff that he's doing and supposedly gets hurt doing but really it's their friends doing it and saying that he's responsible.

-and there's some other things happening these people are seeing messing with people on a Non-Stop basis and they are getting hit and we're coming in to make sure that everything is okay and all over the place and the more lockers dwindling they slow down but now it's going to be Greenland and they're going to start speeding up I think that Greyhound occurs before the crabs because those ships would not be there after and we think that shrimping increases exponentially after the crabs and it's not legal for us to eat but there's going to be tons of it so we're not sure exactly what to do we are also in receipt of several orders from Olympus to end the bickering between us and they mean here and it is because it's becoming harsh it's not much of it but we're the ones who are saying we should stop doing it and our son and daughter say that we're being forced to and we understand that and I am too and they understand that too but they wanted to stop so we have a program to do it it's not like they're telling us to stop and the funny part is that they're the ones generating it so it's really in order to them so it's good they're going to get to it

-there's a few more things we are not excited about seeing your ugly fat girls faces on TV saying stupid things while this huge crisis is going on and it could be a lot worse than you think we do not want to hear from you every few seconds that you finally figured out how to cook something or open a restaurant correctly and we don't want to hear our son repeat the math every time and you never getting it I mean you're irresponsible morons we realize that. What we're going to do is penalize you your population on Earth is very low total morlock population all of you together is now 4% are you going to war with the clones all over the world at each ship each hole and Greenland is going to be a major major battle you're leaving from the Midwest to number Midwest to go up there with tons of ships with armament and arms a lot of the arms and armament you are putting on up to St Laurent because of our request and it's going to work and you'll be up there save down here and we are of course hitting anything that is going to fire on the ice you like to try and threaten it and you'll be destroyed immediately we are also going after you for threats you wish you on her son to try and contradict orders of ours and all day long we are hitting you here and you make it very loud over and boisterous and we silence you for your ignorance

-several programs are off the ground and as Hera said the construction project start Monday morning $300,000 additional and there are 8 million projects globally we added some and it's the update she didn't get yet I just got it myself and 3 million of them are in the United States and a lot of them are projects we own about 75% and we're going to use who we want and product and materials we want. It's a very large number of projects and it's a huge number here 300,000 in Florida but really there's 20,000 in Southwest Florida and only 300 in Charlotte county most of it is utilities about 90% so that leaves only 40 or so that are commercial institutional and government buildings being renovated and really it's only about two apartment complexes and two or three neighborhoods it's very bad but that's what it is and we awarded the contracts the apartment complexes that are to be removed and replaced and we're not saying where others are starting work on apartments very soon if not the same day. We do have a lot of problems with the building department and we shall be clearing them out everyday also since we found your value of your own life to be so low we're planning on just picking you up instead of slowing down and your Intel is terrible

And he's going to get dinner actually will take a break

Thor Freya

Olympus

We have a small problem with the neighbor John remillard I need people on it right now

Hera

[redwineconversation]

Laura Benkarth OL Interview

Posted on Youtube, was done in English, yet I am somewhat skeptical that people will take the 3 minutes and 39 seconds to watch it before judging her, so I am transcribing it instead.

I'm like 99 percent sure Timothee did the interview but a person's voice pitch changes when they're not speaking in their native language so I don't want to be wrong and incorrectly assign who did the interview.

Finally: @OL Comms Dept, this heatwave is insane, pls pitch in for the AC bill and/or Damo's frozen pup cups and/or Apollo's electrolytes.

LAURA BENKARTH OL INTERVIEW

Journalist: So Laura, we're really happy to welcome you here in Lyon. Can you first of all just introduce yourself for the people who don't know you yet?

Benkarth: Yeah. I'm Laura Benkarth, I'm a goalkeeper. I'm also really happy to be here at Lyon because I think it's one of the best clubs in the world. I'm really looking forward to the new season and the new challenge.

Journalist: Why did you choose to come here? Can you tell us a bit about the contacts, the exchanges, why you made the choice to come here?

Benkarth: Yeah, like I said, Lyon is one of the biggest clubs in Europe, even in the world, and they won a lot of titles. And I think it's a great challenge to be here, to train everyday at the highest level. I had good talks also with the coach, and so I chose Lyon.

Journalist: What image did you have of the club from the outside, what did you think about Lyon before coming here?

Benkarth: I think that Lyon's a really professional club, where you can do your job at the highest level in really good conditions. And yeah, I was really happy when I heard that Lyon wanted to have me, and so. Yeah.

Journalist: Were you able to ask for some advice from Saki Kumagai or Emelyne Laurent at Bayern? We have a few players there. Did they tell you about Lyon? What was your relationship with Saki and Emelyne?

Benkarth: With Saki, I was her roommate so of course I talked to her and asked her about Lyon. She only tells positive things. I also talked to Sara Dabritz, because I played with her at Bayern and Freibourg, and also on the German National Team. They also only said positive things about the club, the club is very professional, the team is really cool, that they have a lot of fun together. And of course they are really good and win a lot of titles.

Journalist: Obviously the goalkeeper role is quite special. Right now, as we speak, we have Christiane Endler who has spent the entire season as the No. 1. What do you think about her, first of all, as a goalkeeper? Are you excited to get to meet her, train with her, things like that?

Benkarth: Yes, of course. She's a great goalkeeper and I'm happy to train with her because I think we can learn from each other, and can bring us to the next level maybe through the competition. I'm really happy to train with her.

Journalist: The coach, when I talked to her just before, said that competition was important and that it's important to have people who are motived. Of course it has to be a fair competition as well. Are you ready to have this healthy competition and, like, pushing up with Christiane [Endler]?

Benkarth: Yes. I'm absolutely ready for that. It was also [the case] when I was at Bayern, where you always have competition with other players, because you're a top team and you have top players. So competition is always there, and I like it because I think it pushes me to the next level. But like you said it always has to be in a good way, because you're still a team and you still have to stand up for each other on the pitch and off the pitch, and yeah, help each other to grow.

Journalist: What would you say are your strengths in the game, what type of goalkeeper are you in a way?

Benkarth: I'm a goalkeeper who communicates a lot on the field, so I'm really interested how it works in French. But like I said, I will learn it, the language. And I think I'm also really good with the ball at my feet, I think the players are always safe when they play the ball back to me. I'm comfortable with it and that's a lot of fun for me to build the game up from behind. And I think that's one of my biggest strengths.