#h i draw a flowers now you all must validate me

[cadaverkeys]

you’ll be fine, you honeycomb.

[kirby-the-gorb]

reply roundup!

I didn’t realize how long it had been, whoops! below a readmore for length.

on [edgeworth]:

@isdisorigionalenoughforyou​ said: OH MY GOD OP I LOVE YOU

aahhh thank you!

@nokomitsu​ said: this is the only good edgeworth fanart i have decided.

that is high praise indeed :O

@jadeharleyofficial​ said: kirbworth kirbworth! edgeby...

both are very good options....

@escargon​ said: kirbworth.

I guess you’re the tiebreaker vote lol

@ow-the-edge​ said: :0

who knew he could be this unthreatening lol (nah edgeworth’s actually a big dorky softie under all the trauma)

on [float]:

@jeremy-the-bear-orca-hybrid​ said: *happy poyo noises*

he’s having a good time!

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: floaty orb

he’s very buoyant.

on [:0]:

@dragonofcupcake​ said: *axolotl yawning meme intensifies*

definitely one of my favorite memes lol. I’m gonna have yoshi’s island stuck in my head all day tho if I’m not careful!

on [thumbs]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: you always make him look so cute, i love seeing him whenever you post

aahhh thank you! your tags are always a delight too :’)

@knightmareindreamland​ said: gamer!

he’s a hardcore gamer! he only plays on easy because otherwise he’ll just embarass everyone else!

@dragonofcupcake​ said: the little chubby thumbs-

he can grow thumbs at will I guess. gotta push the buttons!

@tomhardyon​ said: :3

:>

on [yellow]:

@rick-the-hamster​ said: look at that smile

he’s having a nice day!

@dragonofcupcake​ said: hes just standing there... menacingly

wee-woo wee-woo wee-woo!

on [music]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: *plays my bologna*

I’m partial to “now that’s what I call polka” myself lol

on [tea]:

@kitten-solari-completed​ said: poyo

wise words. *nods*

@squawylaous​ said: Me but with soup

yeah! you can put whatever you want in a mug. tea, soup, cake....

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: i’m not a tea person but i would happily enjoy a cuppa with the gorb

he also has hot cocoa on hand!

on [detective]:

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: kirby the orbtective!!!!!! on the case (to find the best snack)

a tricky case indeed! can it ever be solved?

on [princess]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: absolutely adorable. im soft. i love princess gumdrop so much

;x; princess gumdrop.... an extremely good pair of words....

on [folk]:

@swiggity-switchface​ said: My son

kirby has so many parents! he’s very well loved!

@frankie1205​ said: he looks like every bland battle cat design

@pickls-n-pinks said: yeah.

hmm yeah that’s valid.

@tailgxted said: hm

-thinking emoji-

on [rest]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: me too gumdrop, always wrapped in a blanket

blankets are good! (they’re fun to make too! which is why I always have too many)

@berrykirby​ said: little kirby all curled up. op your tags about rest, needed that !

good! I’m glad you got a reminder you needed -u-

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: i wish i had a life-sized kirby plush to snuggle with in bed, that would be Very Nice. i love my lil pup one though his name is cobalt and i've had him for ages. he's a blue heeler c:

oh man, that would be so comfy. I’ve seen that giant one in person once before, that’s like 2′ diameter or something, it was fascinating. (and cobalt sounds like a very good pup!)

on [smash]:

@dragonofcupcake​ said: [Insert Koolaid Man reference here] wait a second maybe this is where he went-

(in reference to stroll below) ah! it must have been very important business!

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: H U Z Z A H

@akirenhell​ said: HE'S HERE

he has ARRIVED

on [green]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: adore this lil gumdrop

thank you :>

on [hello]:

@bubblesthesanddragon​ said: hello! o/

@victoryfanfare​ said: hello babie

kirby is happy to see you all! \o/

on [stroll]:

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: his tiny face just makes me so happy 🥰

same tho! small face. big heart.

@dragonofcupcake​ said: kirby has made his way to the town.

he has traveled at a reasonable pace.

@apollo-hemingway said: have a kirb to get u through these tough times

yes! that is what he’s here for!

on [stealth]:

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: goooood shit

lol ty

@the-halo-of-my-memory​ said: peekaboo! i def want to see him around plants and flowers, he's so wholesome ☺️

yeah I don’t know why I forgot I can draw him with cute friends! he pairs very well with plants.

@dragonofcupcake​ said: this reminds me I should water my plant-

good idea!

on [flower]:

@bubblesthesanddragon​ said: flower!!!!

yeah!!

@victoryfanfare​ said: rond....

he really is, huh

on [luigi]:

@gigilefache​ said: luigi orb

I’m trying to think of a funny portmanteau and I can’t -n-

on [jinbei]:

@inexplicably-spookified​ said: god i wish that were me

highkey same tho

@boopdamouse​ said: mood. thats really cute btw!!

thank you! :>

I hope everyone is as safe and well as possible right now. it’s important that we keep respecting each other and ourselves, and make sure decisions are being made with compassion. (and resting is very important! you make better decisions when you’re well-rested, and stopping to rest means you can give even more later.)

[floggingink]

Riverdale, “Chapter Seventeen: The Town That Dreaded Sundown”

SOME TENSE SHIT!!!!! SIT BACK!!!!!

Jughead should definitely know that a serial killer needs to have a body count of three to earn that sobriquet, so what Riverdale has is a sort of obstinate murderer

I LOVE his serial killer thought-mannequins

“Damn good coffee”: of course the Riverdale library has one light bulb per shelf and of course the librarian is dressed like that, with a big, big flower pin and half-moon readers

Jug should probably NOT say things like “Research, not for school,” unless he wants to be put on a list, like in Se7en (he has to raise flags verbally as it appears the library is offline)

Cheryl’s hair: there is very little Cheryl in this episode, but I take heart from the fact that her hair looks as bouncy and incredible as always, in the background

Alice rolling her eyes at Hal putting in a stronger lock seems to encapsulate much of Alice’s particular joie de vivre: She hoovers up every grisly bit of information, draws the most macabre conclusion possible, and spreads her vision to the masses for others to panic, but dares the danger itself to try and affect her, Alice Cooper

another slide transition wherein Alice and Jughead are more or less doing the same thing!

one of these days Jughead is going to cautiously open the door of his trailer and get absolutely pummeled

Archie made a little target out of printer paper with a Sharpie

I really like the long, serious, universe-appropriate fallout of the video. people are like, What the FUCK were you thinking? because it was a fucking insane thing to do!

Hermione is ON THE MONEY about Archie right now. Archie was a bumbling hero last episode, but at the end, VIA HIRAM, took it to “the streets” and is now “threatening violence,” because he has PTSTunnel Vision

Veronica’s hot pink miniskirt? seconded

Hiram beaming as he ticks off the “chaos and confusion” spreading around Riverdale, half of it brought about by his bequest, wishes he had a glass of port to swirl menacingly

the Coopers seem to have a centerpiece on their dining room table of a big bowl filled with napkins

Best costume bit: Betty’s cut-out paper snowflake shirt???

The Blossom spawn: REMEMBER THAT POLLY RAN AWAY AGAIN? it was like the fourth time she ran away

Mädchen Amick, MÄDCHEN AMICK: Alice’s HUGE DRAMATIC inhales as she cry-scolds Betty. “AND THEN YOU TRY AND MAKE ME THE MONSTER.” PUNCH THE TABLE

Hal’s extremely calm, blue American Eagle sweater

okay when Archie said he took the original video down on his own, I was slightly mollified, but you know, YOU KNOW HE WASN’T DONE OKAY

at Betty’s request that Jughead leave Southside, during lunch, to go to Riverdale, during lunch: “Betty, I have to try and at least maintain a semblance of being a student here.”

Sexy, aesthetic Southside: Sweet Pea’s computer is such a piece of shit, he is amazing

Toni has on some sort of incredible elastic headband from Claire’s

Gay?!: Fogarty wants to earn his “Serpent stripes,” which apparently means you need to...take something to the streets…

he and Moose would probably get along. they seem to be built from the same mold

Sweet Pea LOVES this idea and pounds the table!!! gerrymandered violence!!!! meanwhile Jughead is panicking because he is really bad at violence

Gay.: “I know this guy,” AKA I slept on his bedroom floor for a couple weeks

Jughead calls Archie “a milquetoast,” a word Archie would not understand

there is a BEAUTIFUL, eye-rolling Serpent along the wall behind Sweet Pea, with a nose ring, who does not care that Jughead does not like this

Sweet Pea’s sort of caustic bluster comes from someone who has probably never shot anybody. I think he is still trying to figure out Jughead, whom he just calls, proprietarily, “Jones”

Archie > Dawson: Archie strutting down the hallway, revelling inwardly at how badass his callout of the Black Hood was, crashing into a Veronica who does not give a shit, is almost perfect except that there isn’t literally a record-scratch sound effect

there is a girl in a pink sweater, by the way, who gives Archie what would be my expression, which is like, Don’t you, like, play the guitar?

Fifth period is AP English: Archie read Lord of the Flies but missed the part where it’s not about human nature in general but rather the nature of spoiled boys

Veronica is slightly stunned that Archie does not have a plan more intricate than basically what he outlined in the video. basically that Hermione was right

I don’t think Betty/Jughead and Veronica/Archie interact this episode, which means we do not get to read the screen of Archie’s phone receiving Jughead’s text: “nice video, YOU DOLT. ARE YOU HAVING SOME SORT OF PSYCHOTIC BREAK.” five minutes later: “is this because I stopped sleeping on your bedroom floor? tell me the truth.”

someone transcribed the audio of Archie’s video into Principal Weatherbee’s olive Moleskin dayplanner

if Episode 1-5 Archie saw what Episode 17 Archie has done to his music and football career, he would have a coronary

Kevin has “reupped” his membership to a hookup site for blue-state people in red-state states

OOH the soundtrack when Betty talks about getting the Black Hood letter was SORT OF opening-credits Se7en, but like, by way of the Riverdale theme

Betty makes a classic horror movie decision (good or bad TBD by the outcome) of deciding not to tell anyone about The Test

Kevin makes a valid point that Betty is not unionized FBI Special Agent Will Graham, or even trainee Clarice Starling

50 Shades of Betty: Betty’s eyeliner manipulates Alice’s dramaternal instincts

Alice assumed the Black Hood is “terrified” of her so he uses the second-best Alice, which is Betty

in another Zodiac move, Alice publishes the cipher in case an old retired couple takes a crack at it and solves it over breakfast (this is a great movie)

Reggie’s world is collapsing around his ears: “PLEASE, BRO. SIGN THE LETTER.”

Archie is taking Alice’s spin seriously that the killer must be a Southsider, like he took Hiram’s word to form…….I’m exhausted

this episode’s Archie is the same Archie as “The Outsiders” when he outs Jughead’s father as a Serpent, which was awful, except the awfulness this episode entertains me

Dilton just wants to watch the world burn, which at this point Archie should recognize since he says things like “The hunter becomes the hunted” and “And then there was one”

Summer + Blair = Veronica: Veronica quietly confronts her father, Slytherin to Slytherin, about Archie’s simpleness being both a pro and con

is it weird for her to have to sit facing a portrait of herself? (probably not)

the CW website dims when you pause it, so I can’t read Jughead’s notes, but he’s taking notes longhand, which is probably, like, calming

I want to say he’s put up a few of his movie posters! Jughead has a bedroom!!!!!

Toni prefers Jake Gyllenhaal’s Zodiac book from the movie (this is a great season of Riverdale for David Fincher)

Jughead is kind of adorable in this scene. he has never had a friend, EVER, who has not given him a weird look when he drops a reference to H. H. Holmes’ murder hotel or Dahmer’s sex zombies or whatever (Archie does not know who they are). his big blue-eyed gaze up at Toni is because he finally found someone else who listens to The Last Podcast on the Left

though Albert Fish stuck pins up his dick, so there’s a time and a place for all quips

“True crime is my crack” is an understatement

“True crime is my JJ” would work

the lock screen on Betty’s phone is like a pink Versailles print because Betty is a French Rococo princess

in a twist I never saw coming, Jughead chooses the “__ - __” version of a dash instead of an em dash

Veronica supports Archie’s dangerous side-project because right now it’s just Archie and his “comely crew” picking up Ethel on the side of the road. she does not know of the plan to go TO THE SOUTHSIDE, LIKE A MORON, for a confrontation no one else wants

I’d like to know what secret fund Archie is dipping into to buy Ms. Grundy $300 cello bows and $500 tactical Army gear

Jughead 1) brought his beanie with him to the door and 2) doesn’t bother putting it on when it’s Betty, because he is a special young man

Betty wants to see Jughead EVERY DAY

Jughead becomes the second television character in history to admit to having morning breath, after Sookie St. James

Fwoopy hair is the best hair: Jughead’s freshly slept-on mop of hair, Jughead’s bedhead, reinforcing the lesson that seeing him without his hat on is a privilege reserved for the few, the proud

Jughead eats: Jughead’s breakfast of coffee and cereal feels right, true

consider that Jughead could have lied and not told Betty that he’s been doing research on the side—and it’s not even on the side! it’s on his own time, at his school—with his ONE OTHER FRIEND, leaving her to “discover” this fact later when Toni “lets it slip,” what we might call the Gossip Girl route. instead Jughead’s like, I’ve been doing X with Z, by the way

Betty very cannily proposes a group project to steer this train barrelling down a hill and makes sure to haul in Kevin, an ally

Jughead’s resistance to fully embracing Kevin continues

“Are you saying I’m not rocking the scoop-neck look?”

Veronica was rich: Veronica’s late-night planning is impressive, as was someone’s ability to come up with a wholly original logo for a downtown office space converted into a restaurant only open for brunch and happy hour for her

Cheryl’s a chaos angel from hell: Cheryl agreed to help distribute the T-shirts, I can only assume because she knows she is spreading Hiram’s chaos and confusion

WHAT’S UP, TONI?

Kevin knows where his platonic bread is buttered: “ICONIC AND BEYOND REPROACH”

Kevin looks SO MUCH like his father in this scene!

Betty TAKES DOWN her ponytail, in an incredible soft-power move!

God bless jingle-jangle: Toni is right that people need to stop TOTALLY ERRONEOUSLY forcing themselves to assume everything bad is from the southside and Betty is right that Toni is TOTALLY ERRONEOUSLY forcing herself to assume Betty is Betty’s mother! it’s not Toni’s fault that she didn’t get that Blue & Gold issue with Betty’s huge “FP JONES PURE AS FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW” headline. however I do wish Toni’s defenses of the southside, that mostly it’s patriarchs like Clifford Blossom who are involved in drugs and that Archie’s Red Circle IS A GANG, were not so couched in obnoxious SJW verbiage

Every triangle has three corners, every triangle has three sides: also I agree with other very eloquent, thoughtful people that what Toni probably wants is for Jughead to just be a fucking Serpent already and that Betty, to the Serpents, is an almost out-of-nowhere anchor to the preppy, ancien régime northside who needs to go so Jughead’s transformation will be complete

CAN PEOPLE STOP TELLING JUGHEAD’S GANG SECRETS FOR HIM? CAN JUGHEAD LET PEOPLE KNOW THINGS HE WANTS TO TELL THEM ON HIS OWN TIME? CAN JUGHEAD HAVE ONE SINGLE THING TO HIMSELF?

Archie going to the southside, completely unbidden, is GLORIOUSLY HORRIBLE, OH GOD

if Jughead knew Archie was strolling around graffitiing vintage barn doors on his side of town just to intimidate the locals with a giant defacing threat of baby police state violence, Jughead would actually, literally kill him

some sorta sweet green muscle car parked there though!

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: as it is, Sweet Pea would be honored to do Jughead’s dirty work for him, except that Archie is PACKING HEAT

These students are legally children: Sweet Pea’s feelings look hurt that Archie escalated this so insanely and Archie’s hand is shaking because he wants to be a big scary guy but really he is an infant

Allison Anders’ camera pans so lovingly up Betty and Jughead’s semi-entwined bodies as a sort of cool-down exhale, like Everything is fine

Jughead confirmed big spoon

“Exhaustion. It’s not easy being us.”

Cheryl’s sheaths: Don’t miss Cheryl’s low V-neck in science class!!!

she’s partnered with Kevin, so...to be a fly on the side of that table…

Archie can TRY TO PRETEND like he’s still writing songs!

VERONICA’S READING GLASSES ARE BACK

HERMIONE IS GREAT AGAIN

“Let me tell you something about loyalty. AND I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.”

YOU KNOW I LOVE THE HUGE THEMATIC THUNDERSTORM

YOU KNOW JUGHEAD HAULED HIMSELF TO THE COOPERS’ AFTER HE READ THAT LETTER

Jughead CANNOT BELIEVE he was not immediately included in the intimate circle of two who knew HIS GIRLFRIEND got a PERSONAL LETTER from his PET SERIAL KILLER

oh my god, oh my god, someday I will be a good enough writer (@nimmieamee) to sit down and with cool confidence articulate all the ways that Jughead’s scene with Archie in the second episode, when he grabs Archie by the lapels and shakes him, with his words, begging him to TELL SOMEBODY, is Jughead’s defining, most fantastic, saddest, righteous moment, from a kid who screams at the sky that he doesn’t care about anything yet cares EXTREMELY about EVERYTHING. it gladdens me...it is my JJ...that Jughead does the same here, to someone else he loves, who is sitting on explosive information that is putting, you know, lots of people in danger, just because the information is too close or too scary. you know, Jughead can be on whatever side of the town he wants. but Jughead is a fucking moral compass. Jughead is like the Zodiac killer’s target symbol, except that his target IS JUSTICE

“I’ve been gone for two days.”

Jughead doubts it: at this point I honestly can’t tell if I think Archie would absolutely know that Betty isn’t to blame for anything or if he’d be like….But is it possible…

goddamn fucking Jughead like when Betty was like, AM I CRAZY, Jughead is like, GET IT TOGETHER

it was too much when he sat next to her and rubbed her shoulder. his signature move. can you believe this. it even calmed Archie once. Veronica, you’re next. sit down on a couch built for two and let your eyes start to fill. I need a Jughead right now because of all the emotion I’m feeling about Jughead

HE EVEN TRIGGERS ANOTHER BLUE & GOLD BRAINWAVE I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK

Veronica makes an instinctively uncomfortable face reaching into the tank, but the tank water is clean, for the record. I want to stand up for these bathrooms because they are so much immeasurably fancier than my high school bathrooms

Archie’s blackout speech to Veronica in his living room is the apex of his insanity, so it’s all going to be okay, but Veronica has to do all the work to get him there

“No, you just asked me to fetch your loaded gun.”

a Reggie will always defuse tension

Penelope’s looking good at the town hall! you can only barely tell her face is fucked up

“In the Book of Reg, that makes you a top-tier loyal badass.” basically what Serpent Daddy told Jughead about his father

GET IT? BECAUSE THE RED CIRCLE IS BASICALLY A GANG? they’re both gangs. case dismissed

Sweet Pea just gets cuter and cuter

SWEET PEA AND REGGIE, TOGETHER AT LAST?!

“You have crap timing, bro.”

Veronica calls them all “troglodytes,” which I think isn’t giving troglodytes enough credit

everyone promptly concedes to Veronica, who is far and away the most natural leader amongst them

Jughead and Betty break into the library to stop an actual killer and Veronica breaks into the school to get Archie’s gun, so you tell me who’s a better boyfriend (they are both excellent girlfriends)

okay maybe they go to the library, which is just open late, and calmly check out a Nancy Drew book, but once again Betty&Jughead’s plot is like THE SKY IS FALLING, meanwhile Archie is like, THIS PROBLEM I CREATED IS GETTING OUT OF HAND!

The 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie was a masterpiece: Mayor McCoy is about done with Alice

What damn high school in America: I don’t think Alice means that the Southside kids should integrate into Riverdale High so much as they should just end up on the streets like the hoodlums they are

THIS “PIT OF VIOLENCE WAITING TO ERUPT” IS A RED BUTTON LABELED DO NOT PRESS THAT ARCHIE ANDREWS CAN’T LOOK AWAY FROM

Certified pedigree: “Alice, you’re the one holding the cleaver.” WHERE IS YOUR SON FREDERICK

Fred saying “Meanwhile there’s a guy out there with a gun and a hood” overtop Archie, a guy with a gun and a hood, “bringing out the worst in this town”

Archie’s haymaker is really good, though

Sixth period is Intro to Film: the pullback along the line of Serpents and Bulldogs crashing into each other is straight out of Captain America: Civil War because it cannot be improved upon

does Hiram WANT Riverdale to get divided into two different towns so that he can buy one of the towns?

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: Veronica, in a cape, fires a gun into the air to stop the gang fight, because out of everyone there she is actually impressive

Dilton Doiley is a canonically great dancer: Does Dilton—stab himself? is Dilton ACTUALLY a psychopath?

Betty and Jughead with their post-investigation wet hair is classic

I am breathlessly waiting, BREATHLESSLY, for Alice’s hammer to come down on Jughead

Veronica uses the word “fraught,” which Archie will write down for later

The female gaze: Archie’s torso and Veronica’s thighs

the warm summer rain of perspective starting to mist in on Archie’s garden of trauma

Betty answers her the call from “Unknown,” because I suppose she’s never answered one and it’s turns out it’s from the car dealership in the state you don’t even live in anymore trying to tell you that the warranty on your Corolla is about to expire soon when you know very fucking well it expired like ten years ago and they just want YOUR MONEY

Please protect Betty: BETTY PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!!!

NEXT WEEK: Cheryl waves at me

[tenevaya]

2705 Words of IDFK what this is. Please Enjoy.

Give Me Sad Drabbles | Currently Always accepting.

            A little over a week’s time had passed since the ‘ assault ’ . Verona was told she was nothing short of LUCKY to be alive , that she should be grateful for the blessed breath in her lungs. However , rather than being treated as a victim , the young witch found herself facing potential interrogation. What really coated her veins was exposed , the corpse beside her showed signs of ritualistic disposal ( signs of which were drawn underneath the John Doe across the cobbles ) , evidence of arcane foul-play was found … Something , or rather someONE was very much amiss in the castle walls and all fingers now pointed to her. The little second-hand prodigy had survived all odds , but at what expense ? How ? WHY ?

           It seemed that par for course in dramatic fashion , inner circles tried to sweep the event under the rug to avoid suspicion and unwarranted effects. However , with one unnamed , unmarked grave to dig and the only known witness ( and potential suspect ) on their hands rather coincidentally muted from her injuries , answers would not come easy even for the brilliant minds tethered within the castle. Besides , forgeries and clever addendums could only get us so far , isn’t that right ?

            Now why would we need to protect HER and all her secrets … ?

                          UNLESS —

⋞ ╰ ⚔ ╮ ≽

            Pandora hunched as he bends by the open window , the feeble little flowers placed in the vase on the sill beneath him withering underneath the breath of his presence alone. He was BEYOND consolation , BEYOND furious ! Why ? Why would she ever do this ?!

            “Come away from the window , Pandora , please ,” Verona urges , pushing herself upright with a grimace. It was telepathy now that spoke for her , a rather invasive craft of communication but it would suffice. “I don’t need anyone else raising the alarm about us anymore than they already have.”

            The apparition rounds on her then , normally featureless face splintering and giving way to boned , avian-esque visage. “You shoulda’ considered that shit b e f o r e you got yourself caught up in all of this , girl !” Verona keeps her features placid , but cannot resist flinching at his tone. “Do you – ” He points a lean hook at her , crested mane shuddering as he stalks to the side of the bed , looming over her. “ – Have any gods-damned idea what you’ve gotten us into ? ANY IDEA ?! Tell me !”

            The young witch simply looks up at him , her skin prickling unpleasantly as he draws nearer , towering above in seething scorn. “Pan , p l e a s e – ”

            “No !” He bellows , swinging his hand off to the side. Hueless , soulless gaze dancing between the swordsmetal gaze of his master’s , trying to cling to any sense of remorse within her still-human heart. “Not this time ! You don’t GET to simply tighten the reins n’ say ‘ please , Pan ’ n’ believe it will all go away ! You don’t GET to hocus-pocus your fuckin’ way outta’ this one ! It doesn’t work that way , not ANYMORE ! And I don’t know how to make you understand that !” Permanent grin is shaped more like a sneer , colorless orbs in deepened sockets shining dangerously with his anger. “You’ve opened a door into some inescapable , hellish unknown. And LUCKY YOU ,” He waves his hands about , stepping away in a dramatic turning gesture , “You earned his undivided fuckin’ attention ! And lemme tell you , since c l e a r l y you haven’t figured it out : he did not SAVE you that day , he was the reason you’re like this now ! He was the reason our lives are bein’ ripped apart ! And he will not stop , Verona , I assure you , he will NEVER be satisfied !”

            The room falls quiet as Pandora finishes his tantrum , his gaze searching Verona’s face for something – ANYTHING – to assure him she had heard his words , that she u n d e r s t o o d. Instead , he finds she turns her head away , eyes closing. She’s chosen to run from him as much as she’s elected to run from the truth. But he can tell , by the way water stains the corners of her eyes , and her teeth pinch quavering lip , that she k n o w s what she had done. The shadow of the Peryton heaves a sigh and defeatedly sits on the edge of the bed , feathered tail flicking to and fro like an irritated whiplash.

            “… He’s goin’ to return , you know. And every time he does , there will be more n’ more to give. And believe me , there is no telling him he cannot take it. There’ll be nothing left when he’s through with us.” Unearthly face presses to palms. Resigned to their fate , he adds on , “If only I’d fuckin’ been there…”

            Verona takes a breath to steel herself , slowly looking over at her Familiar. She reaches out and gently takes his hand in her own , her skin unfond of the way the connection feels. For him , she offers a weakened smile , silently trying to tell him it will be o k a y , one way or another.

⋞ ╰ ⚔ ╮ ≽

            Ienzo stands , harrowed and shaken , outside the doorway. They had only been able to eavesdrop on one side of the conversation ( or was it an argument ? ). And by the sounds of it , there was plenty they had not been informed of. Verona neglected to tell them about whatever this all was.

            No , that’s not true , there were signs… They should have noticed ! They could have helped her ! Agitation bled through them , both at their outright incompetence and at Verona for choosing to keep them away from her. They couldn’t place where this ire spawned from , couldn’t explain why they felt the least bit betrayed by their friend ; did none of those moments beneath stars and playing pretend with their magic matter ? did none of the words - ?

                        Get a grip.

                                    Of course they meant nothing to her.                                      How could they be so easily manipulated ?

            … But Verona …

                        Would never , would she ?                          She was DIFFERENT. In more ways than one.

            Time spent inside their head , sifting through memories to discern fact from fiction , causes the young mage to nearly jump out of their skin when the apparition of Pandora pokes his antlered head out of the door. Still reeling from being startled , Ienzo prepares to explain themself – any number of lies could’ve dissuaded the Familiar , they figured – but the mistake of meeting his gaze sends World REELING , everything turning topsy-turvy , stomach lurching into throat and bile boiling at back of tongue. Hand shakily reaches out to grasp the wall , eyes closing , body swerving… What was this ?

            Arm hooks ‘round the plenty smaller form , and pulls them into the room , settling them into a chair. The Greater gives an offended grunt as if in reply to something. “How was I supposed to know your little boyfriend was outside ?” Pillow pelts the Peryton in the back of the head , one hand raising and pressing to temple as Verona begins to ‘ shout ’ at him. “Al – alright ! Alright ! RELAX ! They’ll be fine ! I’m goin’ , anyways…” The shadows slips out of view , disappearing somewhere.

            Verona quietly watches as Ienzo gains their bearings , fingers knitting and unknitting her lap. “I… Did not think you would be able to get out of your teachings today , Ienzo.” She offers in a soft tone. “I apologize for Pandora , he has um – attributes – that cause sickness in others. I would bring him around more often if it were not for that fact aha – ” She tries for a laugh , but it sounds restrained , hollowed , gutted. Her gaze departs from her friend’s face , still sifting between paled unease and curious attentiveness to her telepathy. “But I – I am glad to see you. I’ve missed you.”

            Ienzo manages to straighten in their seat , blinking away the remnants of Pandora’s influence in order to focus more fully on Verona’s words trickling through their thoughts. Telepathy… ? How did she happen to learn that ?

            They manage a small smile , a nod. “I missed you as well. It’s been some time since we stole away into the library in the middle of the night.” At least the remark earned them a smile. They press on , “Funny though that your… Familiar … Believes us to be an item of some kind. I have to wonder what you’ve been saying whilst I’m not here.”

            Verona sits up straighter , silvery gaze narrowing dangerously at the younger mage. “Fuck off.”

            It wasn’t the EXACT reaction Ienzo expected , but the outright remark was enough to make them laugh. She was always going to be the more brash of the two , both in magic and in tongue.

           The sound , though , of Ienzo’s own amusement was enough to make Verona’s features soften and warm considerably. She beams at them. “Why do you ask ? I never took you for someone who fed into gossip. Ah , are you interested perhaps in putting truth to the rumors ?” She was cruel , also , able to play the game of wits just as easily as they could. And she would not trade the staggered look on their face for anything in that moment. If she squinted , she might even dare say their cheeks flushed with her comment. What made it funnier ( at least to her ) was she could’ve sworn they muttered something in Russian. She snorted , shaking her head , “C’mon , I’m pulling your chain !” Another pillow is lobbed in jest. “Come here , make yourself comfy. We haven’t had time like this in a g e s !”

            … Moments bleed into HOURS , sun high in his roost begins to sink lower and lower across the horizon , casting the room in a dusky gleam , an evening chill wafting in through open window. The two little conjurers nestled together – just as always – and talked about everything , about ANYTHING that came to mind. Though one thing stuck out : no matter what direction Ienzo tried to take on the topic , Verona would disclose nothing of what happened to her and though they were not usually one to pry , the fact she tip-toed and danced around their every question raised valid concerns.

              There was something she wasn’t saying , something she desperately needed them to understand , they noticed , but they couldn’t figure out w h a t.

As she speaks to Ienzo as fondly as she always has , she senses an all too familiar lurking in the room. Ienzo must notice as well , they were keen and intelligent. They were the ‘ prodigal son ’ for a reason. Her heart trembles in its cage , the ichor in her veins burning wildly. It must show on her face :

            The FEAR , the KNOWING.

“Verona ,” Their voice is lowered now , gaze intense as they look at her. “You have to tell me what is happening , otherwise I – ”

“No ,” She whispers , eyes wide , unblinking , swordsmetal hues akin to silvery pyres in darkening room. “You don’t understand !”

“Don’t tell me that !” Impatient now , offended by the very phrase she’d used , and very much through with being strung along. “Tell me ! Let me help ! I am your friend , I cannot simply sit idly by and watch this happen !”

There is a sensation of the air growing unbreathable , shadows uncoiling from their posts and converging , w h i s p e r s leaking through the gaps in their untraceable seams and shapes. Unearthly , eldritch form paces across the walls ; one hoof over the next , over the next , great horned skull cocked in their direction as they talk in hushed tones , glimmering hues tracing like fire across the woodwork , setting it r o t and smolder. Aura of room grows more clamorous , ripples of otherworldly energy seeks to smother meager little magely lights under the blankets —

( Hurt them to PROTECT them )

Verona trembles , her hand reaching out and sneaking a touch over their cheek before settling on their shoulder , pushing them away harshly. “My friend ?” She echoes , the reverb of her telepathy growing stranger. “Are you sure ?” Their confusion palpable , she continues , delving into their thoughts , ripping open doors to memories and imprinting shadows of her own within them. “I don’t think so.”

They can see everything now : the truth , what happened , she was showing them… Giving them access to her thoughts as she rifled through their own. “Verona – ”

“We are two sides of a very unlikely coin , Ienzo ,” She continues , forcing her presence into their skull , making them flinch and grimace at the sound of her. “And I fear… The face of the coin as fallen on my own.”

What – what did that even mean ? She was so very good at being cryptic but why at a time like this ?!

Clawed digits suddenly fix into Ienzo’s slate hair by the roots , touch is rotting , corrosive , skin is set to blacken and tarnish as illusionist is lifted away from Verona’s company like ragdoll , aurum torches against crowned visage examining them. A disdainful rumble ; displeased by what ungodly creature finds in Ienzo. A huff , blowing CINDER into the younger’s face before thrusting them painfully out of the room. A few flicks of hooked tail , fire crackles , spurns to life , leaking across floor and walls. Verona has no voice with which to scream , however she desperately , painfully lurches from the bed , scrambling for the door in a moment of regret and indecision , reaching for her friend across the threshold. Shadowed tendrils snag her tight , reeling her back to where she BELONGS , great wing securing her in place almost possessively. Vision of demonic entity and friend is consumed by fire and smoke , door slamming shut and locking —

⋞ ╰ ⚔ ╮ ≽

            There was no real explanation for what happened. There was no sign of a fire nor anything of what Ienzo described. Verona just appeared to have left , without a trace , leaving not even a magical thread to go on and seek her by. The one thing – or perhaps one of MANY at this point – that Ienzo could not shake from their mind , was the look of KNOWING on Verona’s face. She knew this was coming. She knew what she’d opened the door to and evoked. She knew her price was due and it was only the beginning.

            However , perhaps unbeknownst to her new Master , she’d left Ienzo with the pieces to come find her in the shadows of memories lingering in their mind ; notes and clues to help them unravel what really happened. And they made a promise to whatever God would have listened , that this would not be how it ended. Not by a long shot.