#point for delphine heads I guess

[bforblitz]

hey, i was really curious about your feelings on delphine? i feel like i saw you mention you had a specific take on her and i think you have a great tes takes!

If Delphine has a million fans, I’m one of them. If Delphine has one fan, I’m that one. If Delphine has zero fans, then I am dead.

But fr, Delphine’s one of my favorite characters in Skyrim. I think she gets a lot of flack because her writing is honestly pretty bad, but there’s potential there. She’s a very flawed character that imo wants to do good at the end of the day. I don’t even completely disagree with her take on Paarthurnax. She makes a lot of good points,I just think his writing is stronger than hers, leading to people siding with him more often (that and like. sexism. power fantasies. the usual culprits in bad Skyrim takes).

But I’ll never forgive her for what she put my boy Malborn through /j

[morihaus]

almalexia still somehow remains the most important female character, like, video game wise doesn't she? i guess at least delphine is part of the main questline of her game but past a certain point you can just ditch her. oh well i guess in terms of DLC you have serana being of central import to Dawnguard and in Dragonborn you have that Skaal lady. i'm sorry queen your DLC isn't really gripping i dont remember your name off the top of my head and it seems like no one else does either since all they talk about is dollar store dagoth ur

[all-the-dam-fandoms]

D&D OC Backstory

My friend and I made twin characters for our upcoming campaign because we wanted to be menaces lol. This is my OC’s (Delphine Azurewave) POV…I may have gone a ~little~ insane lol. The characters are sea elves, mine a ranger and my friend’s a fighter. Also, we used elven “baby” names for our child selves. Delphine = Talia & Atlantis = Thalia, DM, we regret nothing. If you read it, lmk what you think!

Here’s her character portrait:

Delphine Azurewave

The silent swish of our dresses was the only sound to be heard in the vacant hall where the library was. From experience, my sister and I knew a beating would come our way if we disturbed the dusty tomes with our voices. Thalia, the more outgoing and bolder of us, ran full speed ahead to the larger-than-life mahogany doors which guarded the library. 

“Thalia! Slow down and be quiet lest Father hear us and throw us out by the ears!”, I silently shouted. 

“Who cares? You’re no fun, Tal. Plus, don’t you want to know why Mother and Father are meeting with the high priest?”

“I-I guess so…I just don’t want to be caught,” I stammered. 

We slipped through the crack in the doors and paused to listen for our parents’ and the decrepit high priest’s voices. 

“I think they’re in Father’s study, let’s go,” motioning to Thalia for her to follow.

We found the study and then headed towards the bookshelf that shared the same wall. I hesitated for a moment then slowly opened the bookcase revealing a small room with a grate that allowed us to peer into our father’s study.

“Move, I want to see too!” Thalia whined as she shouldered her way next to the grate.

“Shut up or they’ll hear us,” I warned.

“…because of your insolence,” we heard the high priest spit.

“Please understand Father Albright, we are not trying to suggest our little ones are more important than the entire kingdom’s sake but that we simply want to protect our only children. Do they also not deserve to live?”, we heard Mother say.

Thalia and I exchanged frightened glances. Father Albright sounded angry and I still couldn’t understand what was going on. All I knew was that the ocean would freeze over before I let someone hurt my sister.

“Woman, the lives of two little elves are nothing compared to the fate of Lord Deep Sashelas’ realm, you will lose that bet. The reality is Talia and Thalia’s lives have never been their own. One is destined to save our people, the other to utterly decimate it,” said the combative priest.

“Tal, what are they talking about? I don’t understand, what are they going to do to us? Wha-”,

I cut her off with my response, “The high priest just told our parents that we need to die because of some stupid prophecy. We- are not safe.”

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I spoke. What am I supposed to do, how do I fix this? I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. I can’t sit here and do nothing. 

“Tal, where are you going, don’t leave me!” my sister pleaded while grabbing the hem of my dress.

My dress was ripped from her hand as I stormed out of the secret room connected to Father’s study. I bang on his door as loud as I can, no longer caring that I’ll get a beating for this later. Our father swung the door open to two angry little girls staring defiantly at him.

“Girls, what are you doing? You know this part of the library is forbidden,” Father barked, panic mingling with his anger.

“I-I, we-we heard…” my nerves got the better of me.

Thalia pushed her way past me and pointed a little turquoise finger at Father. She was shaking almost as badly as I was.

“You’re going to let us die! That old man said if we didn’t, bad things would happen because of me and Talia!”

Her lip quivered and tears threatened to roll down her cheeks as she screamed at our father. Before Father or Mother could speak, Father Albright snuck up behind Father and grabbed Thalia’s arm then yanked her into the room.

“Get off me old man! Get off! You’re hurting me!” she wailed.

I burst through the opening and tried to pull her back. We were both screaming and crying as the priest manhandled Thalia. Father drew up to his full height, his shadow almost swallowing all the light in the room. He grabbed Father Albright by the throat, and used his other hand to pry my sister from the high priest’s grasp.

“Leave. My. Girls. Alone. Or you will face the consequences of your disobedience. Leave my house before I decide to crush your throat here and now,” Father thundered.

Father Albright tried to choke out a few words while frantically grabbing at the hands restricting him but Father’s grip was too tight. Mother had her back against the wall, silently weeping as she watched her husband strangle this old man.

“Never come near my family again,” Father growled before dropping Father Albright to the floor.

He crashed with a thud and gasped for air.

“You…will…regret…that,” the high priest said breathlessly.

“You…will pay very soon and dearly,” Father Albright regained his composure.

He walked out of the room and made his way out of our home. Our father brought all of us-me, Thalia and Mother-into a hug and whispered, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I will keep you safe.”

***

“I wonder when the clouds will clear, it’s been raining for days,” I sighed.

“It’s not like you ever leave the library anyway Delphine,” teased Atlantis.

I stuck my tongue out at her and shifted my gaze back to the book in my hands. Even though my twin and I are polar opposites, we have been practically inseparable since we were children. Most of that is probably because we don’t have any other friends. We have spent decades in the grossly extravagant Azurewave manor, doing mostly whatever we pleased. I spend most days in the library, poring over any scroll or book I can get my hands on, searching for answers to an unknown question. Atlantis chose to spend her time pushing the servant’s to their wit’s end with her inane requests to run around with her outside while she swings around whatever pointy new toy she found or made Father buy for her.

She has always been more personable than I but it’s never really bothered me. I enjoy watching her as she trains and how she laughs when she bests someone in a sparring match. My greatest wish has always been her happiness and safety above all else. I’m not sure why but I have always had a weight in my chest that tells me to be prepared for a day when our peaceful life will be disturbed. A day when our peace will be destroyed. 

My eyes refocus and I realize I’ve lost my place in the book. “Damn,” I mutter to myself. 

I’ll have to reread the last page since I don’t remember anything I just read. This has been happening more often lately. Usually, Lantis will have to pry the book out of my hands before I even realize she’s there. I settle back into a reading position on the overstuffed chair I’ve perched myself on when I hear a terrifying scream. My book clatters onto the floor as I jump out of my seat and towards the library’s doors. 

I run into the hall and see servants running frantically every which way. Before my mind can make sense of the ensuing chaos I see an arrow zip past my face and thunk into the chest of a maid. She crumples to the ground instantly. Frozen in shock, I helplessly watch as a manservant dives to the floor towards the body and an agonizing scream escapes his lips while trying to shake the woman awake.

“Dead. She’s dead. I-I…” I stutter, trying to string together a coherent thought. 

Sister, my sister. I need to find her. My feet begin to run towards whatever opening I see and to where I saw her last. The library I just left was on the ground floor so the hallway’s “windows” aren’t covered by glass and just about chest height. I hoist myself through one of the openings and drop out to the courtyard. I have never seen a more horrific sight. I hear metal clashing against metal, the sound ringing in my ears. I see what I presume are soldiers wearing tunics with my family’s crest trying to hold back their enemies. The opposition wears a crest I have only seen a handful of times-that of the royal family’s. Before I can analyze the situation, I feel the wind get knocked out of me as a soldier from my father’s ranks crashes into me. His weight is crushing me, I’m stuck. 

“Well, well look what we have here. One of our marks, the Master will be pleased,” the opposing force’s man sneers. 

I try to slide the man on top of me off but before I can, the enemy soldier rips him off of me. I take a deep breath. I attempt to stand but the soldier pushes me to my knees before he shoves me against the wall.

“You didn’t have to get on your knees for me, darling,” he hisses in my ear. 

I cringe away from his hot breath and try to break free from his grasp on my shoulders.

“Get the hell off me you brute!”

He chuckles and says, “Pretty and feisty? I might have to keep you to myself.”

His grip on my shoulders tightens before I feel his fingers fly off of me. Bewildered, I look around to see where that disgusting excuse for a man went but my eyes unexpectedly meet Lantis’s.

“Gross, what a creep. C’mon let’s get out of here.”

My sister grabbed my hand and the rest of me followed. While we ran, I noticed that she was wearing an ungodly amount of weapons. Gods, where did she even get all those?

“Thanks for the save, sis. Now…where are we going?”

“Away from here. I’ll break it down later but now we just need to leave,” she said.

I scan the courtyard-turned-battlefield and I spot an armored black horse. I point my finger towards it and say, “Look! I think that’s our way out.”

“Hell yeah, Delphine! I’m always down for some petty theft,” Lantis said with a slightly concerning grin on her face.

“Yeah, we’ll discuss my concerns about that ridiculous look on your face later,” I say.

We sprint towards the horse and we hoist ourselves up. I grab my sister’s clothes to stay upright. Falling off of a horse right now would be inconvenient to say the least. Lantis smacks the reins and the horse canters away from the discord. We aren’t far from the front of the manor and have front row seats to the havoc that’s been wrought upon our childhood home. I start to feel tears well in my eyes when I feel my sister start to shake and choke on whatever she’s trying to say.

“Lantis, Lantis, what is it?” I shake her a little.

She yanks the reins up and the horse slows. Her face is frozen in pain and I see tears roll down her cheeks. I look at whatever she’s facing and I see someone I recognize from our childhood-Father Albright. The old priest, who looks just as he did on that day he paid us a visit, is looming over the two bodies on the ground with a vicious smile. The pieces of the sickening puzzle click in my head. I scream. 

[fodenswhore]

🌿Remain calm

{In which a nervous Gilbert asks you on a date and you accept}

masterlist

Gilbert wasn’t nervous for your first date at all.

Actually, that's a lie.

He was so nail-bitingly nervous, that he had taken to pacing in his bedroom as a way to pass the time that seemed to be going so painstakingly slow. At one point, Sebastian had stormed into his room and told him, "Quit making such a noise, you'll wake Delphine." before he gave the boy a sympathetic look and a knowing smile, "Stop worrying Gilbert, you'll be fine."

When Gilbert had first asked you on a date it was a warm, sunny day and you were spending it down by the river with your friends Anne, Diana and the rest of the girls. Gilbert was so full of confidence that he had quite literally strutted over to you, showered you with compliments and asked you to join him for a picnic (to which you obviously said yes - you would've been stupid to refuse such an offer.)

But now, it seemed as if his confidence had been ripped out of him, stomped on, and hastily shoved back into his body.

So yes, he was very nervous.

You, on the other hand, weren't nervous at all. You were sprawled out on your bed with only Anne and Diana this time for company. The two girls were both furrowing their eyebrows at your seemingly calm state.

"Aren't you nervous at all?" Diana asked you curiously.

You glanced over at her from your position on the bed, "Not at all, should I be?"

Diana glanced at Anne, "I guess not, I just thought you'd be rather flustered."

"Yes Y/N, you do seem very calm." Anne stated from her position by your window. She observed your calm expression and tilted her head as if she was trying to figure you out.

You rolled your eyes fondly and sat upright, “Stop fussing, i'm quite alright. Now, will you help me get ready?"

🍂🦌🍯🐻

As Anne and Diana were giving you some last minute advice, (some of which was quite absurd from Anne - due to the fact that she'd read an abundance of romance novels) you heard a knock on your front door.

"He's here!" Diana squealed excitedly.

Anne gave a firm nod of her head, "And not a moment too late, if he was any later I would've had to have given him a swift cuff around the ear for keeping you waiting."

Diana giggled at Anne's words before you she gave you a gentle push towards your bedroom door, "Go on Y/N, you don't want to keep him waiting."

You made your way down the stairs and to the front door where you slipped on a coat to keep away the spring breeze. You opened the door to see Gilbert standing there shuffling his feet anxiously, a picnic basket in one hand and some wild flowers in the other - you grinned at the sight.

When he heard the door open he smiled awkwardly and cleared his throat; this was not the Gilbert Blythe you were used to, he was usually so levelheaded, confident and, well, some people would even call him arrogant.

"Y/N! Uh- these are for you." He said, quite literally shoving the flowers into your hands.

The quick movement took you by surprise and you stumbled back slightly. You composed yourself and observed the flowers in your hand. "Oh Gilbert, did you pick these yourself?" You gushed.

Gilbert scratched the back of his head, "Yes." He said, squaring his shoulders slightly. "I did actually."

That was a lie. He'd gotten Anne to pick them for you, as he had no clue what flowers you liked and he certainly had no idea where to look for them. He had ran into the ginger haired girl earlier that very morning and hurriedly asked her if she could help him as he didn't want to disappoint you. Anne had stopped him mid ramble and agreed to help the poor boy for the sake of everyone on the island.

You gave him a toothy grin, "They're beautiful, I'll just go put them in a vase and then we can go." Gilbert nodded at your words as you shuffled back into your house. You grabbed a small vase, filled it halfway with water and carefully placed the flowers in it. Smiling fondly to yourself you placed the vase on the wooden kitchen table and wandered back outside to Gilbert, closing your front door softly behind you.

Gilbert, who seemed to have gained some of his confidence back in your short absence, held out his arm for you and grinned cheekily, "M'lady."

You laughed lightly and took his arm gratefully, "Lead the way Mr Blythe.”

[irondad-not-ironsad]

Ok so I feel like a see a lot of people who complain that Anne and Gilbert didn’t have a close friendship in season three before being shown to be crushing on each other and here’s why I think they actually became quite close over the (I assume to be around 9 month) gap between season 2 & 3. I will say a lot of this mainly highlights the closeness of the two families in general, seeing as the two are the only teenagers in this group that they’d have ended up spending a lot of time around eachother as a result

I’d like to note how obvious it’s made from the beginning that the Blythe-Lacroix and Cuthbert families seem to be at the beginning of season 3, I think part of it is bonding over them both being families despite not all being related by blood (and sadly also likely because the cuthberts seemed to initially be the only ones willing to welcome Bash into the community)

Actually I’d like to throw it back to the finale of season 2 to say how this development didn’t happen solely between season 2 & 3, but Gilbert sits with the cuthbert family at Bash and Mary’s wedding. Of course, it sadly appears that the Cuthberts were the only ones from Avonlea to attend which I suppose could also explain this

When Mary’s laundry sisters come from the big to visit her when she’s sick, they and Anne immediately recognize eachother and they embrace. Now, it seems that those women were Mary’s family in the bog, and while it is true that Anne is quite bold when it comes to meeting new people, I find it more likely that they were introduced to eachother. Now, I’m not super familiar with weddings in that time period, but it seems to me that it’s unlikely they would’ve introduced each person to everyone there (to my guess, there were around thirty guests). Rather, I think they would introduce their families to eachother and I believe that at this point, the cuthberts and Blythe-Lacroixs were already beginning to view eachother as close family friends

It’s obvious that the Cuthbert family is very fond of Delphine, and it seems to be implied that Marilla is often at the Blythe-Lacroix home helping Mary. Now, I adore my neighbors, but someone who is simply a good neighbor is not going to be coming to your house to watch your kid so you can take a bath. This to me glaringly shows they are family

“So dinner will once again be a spicy affair” now it’s true, it is possible that Marilla is implying that Anne adds spices to dinner at the Cuthberts, but it seems unrealistic to me that Mary was teaching Anne to cook and then Anne would return and cook an entire meal based on Mary’s recipes by herself. This may be more of a headcanon, but I personally took this to mean that Mary and Anne would cook meals together and their families would have dinner together to try them

Going back to episode one of season 3, Ruby asks Anne to speak to Gilbert for her. To me, the most plausible explanation for her picking Anne is that she knows Anne is friends with him and thus assumes she’ll have an easy time talking to him

Same goes for when the girls all push Anne to ask him about reproduction, while it’s possible they think she’s the only one brave enough I feel like that alone would not be enough to push her to be the one to ask

I forget if it’s stated in the show or just head canon that they are co-editors to the Avonlea Gazette, but it does appear that they both have some kind of shared leadership role amongst the class

Also, in the iconic dance practice episode there is a scene where Gilbert is discussing antitoxins with Ms. Stacey and Anne just casually joins the conversation. Gilbert doesn’t even seem startled by this, but seems quite used to Anne’s curiosity as he explains antitoxins to her

As much as it pains me to bring up Winnie, it does strike me as significant that when he’s spending time with her and her family at the fair, they make sure to go see how Anne’s cake does, and be introduces Anne to Winnie

I’ve also said before that I refuse to believe that Winnie just decided to ask if Anne spelled her name with an E, and believe that Gilbert must’ve spoken about her. Now, Gilbert can be an idiot, but I don’t see how he’d manage to work Anne into a conversation long enough for her to remember it that well unless he spend a decent amount of time with her and thus she was a big part of his life

He’s the only one who goes after her when she runs from the contest upset. Now you can say perhaps he followed her because of his crush, and that friendship had nothing to do with it, however when Marilla and Mathew saw him go they made no move to follow, telling me they trusted him to cheer her up

After Anne publishes “What is Fair”, Ms. Stacey directly asks Gilbert why he didn’t stop her, once again leading me to believe they both were co editors or something of the like

Also the next day when the confrontation happens about her article, Gilbert seems personally offended that she didn’t ask him, especially when she suggests that he was part of the problem. Specifically I think of him saying “it’s the same opinion I wouldve had yesterday if you bothered to ask me.” This may just be the same as the classes general annoyance, but it seemed to me to imply some precedence in them working together

His speech defending her. I firmly believe that speech showed how well he knew Anne

Further, the look they share when the girls embrace her and apologize. While they certainly have many romantic looks at eachother throughout the season, this one seems to me as if they had a brief conversation without having to say a word

When they’re shown standing together on the step waiting for everyone to arrive for the rally. I believe at this point Anne and Diana were fighting and it seems like in this period Anne seems to be with Gilbert at most events. Also the Cuthberts definitely picked Gilbert up on the way there, hence them all being there before everyone else. Also the teasing “jusy a suggestion, not telling you what to do” certainly seems to imply familiarity

There conversations at the celebration after this event and when studying at Ms. Stacey’s both end awkwardly when Winnie is brought up, but up until that point they both seem very comfortable with eachother

This isn’t really a reason I believe they had a good friendship, but I just don’t believe either Anne or Gilbert are the type to claim to be in love with someone they don’t really know that well

Honestly there’s probably more I could talk about but I’ve rambled enough. The pint I mean to make is that Anne and Gilbert were definitely good friends, and that while we didn’t see a whole lot of that in the show, they certainly did not jump directly from rivals to lovers. Their relationship was not the sole focus of the show, so while we didn’t see every aspect of their slowburn, to me at least I’ve always felt that while there’s was def an immediate spark between the two, it was there friendship that lead them to fall in love

[athys-obelia]

character/s: claude de alger obelia, diana of siodonna, felix robane

synopsis: it's...uhm....an empress!diana x concubine!claude crackfic 😭😭

warning/s: uhh a sprinkle of politics, the robane duchy is now siodonnan and not obelian screw canon, diana is lowkey mean to rogrog

a/n: i'm so sorry this is so bad

part one

felix's foot taps against the tiles of the empress' room impatiently. "you stayed up finalising the agreement all night, your majesty, perhaps some rest is due?"

diana spares him glance, turning sideways from her position on her bed. "what was his name again?"

  "pardon?"

  "the painter," she elaborates, pointing towards the painting on the ceiling above the bed. "i keep...i don't know, i keep finding new things the more i look at it."

  "is that so?"

the painting itself, a coronation gift from felix, depicts the goddess diana reaching out to the children of the world and vice versa. "if you look at the sky closely - remember our old siodonann classes?- 'for the people' is hidden in the stars. isn't that cool?"

the knight squints at the painting. "oh, i see it! i wonder why it's in old siodonann, though?"

  "i would guess it's because the imperial family wasn't worshipped in the old days," diana explains, "for example - right now, in some parts of the empire, my late father - bless him - and i may actually have shrines because people believe the imperial family's descent is from the gods. when the kingdom was just formed, though, kings and queens weren't allowed to ride alone in carriages as they greeted their subjects- they needed to have a slave with them at all times, who kept on repeating 'you are human' to them. 'you are human', 'we are all the same in the eyes of the true gods."

the sound of the army of maids behind the door is enough to pull felix out of his trance. "er...horatius calvus, your majesty."

  "hm?"

  "the artist, that's his name."

  "ah." diana turns to the painting once more, eyes staring at the goddess' hair that melted into the night sky. "would you be able to get in contact with him? i'd like to commission a piece."

felix bows gracefully. "as your majesty commands. oh, and - for the obelian delegates' farewell celebration tonight...has your majesty decided on an escort?"

she groans, falling back on the bed. "i've had so much free time lately, the harem is all i think about!"

  "very funny, ma'am. then...shall i prepare the usual?"

diana shakes her head. "i'll visit viscaria palace later and see for myself. the obelians brought some concubines with them as presents, it's be nice to weed through the bunch."

felix's eyes nearly pop out. "you're visiting the harem?! your majesty! did you find someone you like??"

she chucks a pillow at him before he can continue. "you weren't loud enough just now, fe, i don't think all of siodonna heard you."

  "...apologies, ma'am."

three years ago, when she had only just come into power, diana remembers being afraid of the large, gold doors between her and the council room. she remembers pausing before entering, regaining her breath, preparing her mind. projecting an image.

if there is one thing she has learnt, though, it's that only fools can be afraid of their own property. their assets. the larger-than-life doors swing at her command, allow or deny entrance with solely her permission. confidence comes easy when you act like you own the place - nevermind the fact that she did own most places.

but i have no reason to be afraid.

the obelian delegates stand at her arrival and bow like good little lords should before an empress. one of the more prominent ones stands to address her as soon as the meeting commences.

  "blessings and glory upon the sun of the great siodonnan empire," he says.

diana raises an amused eyebrow. this game, hm? "is that an obelian greeting, duke? how interesting. here, one would usually wish 'a long life to the protector of the siodonnan people'. that's all i am, after all - how could i be the sun?"

duke alpheus sputters. "er...i failed to acquaint myself with siodonnan culture appropriately, my apologies, your majesty. i shall do better next time."

how arrogant. still, she smiles, "i must confess, duke alpheus - i am slightly susceptible to praise, so i'll let you off this time."

  "thank you, ma'am."

  "although making the assumption that there will be a next time at all was quite courageous of you." diana signals the guards, who open the door to let the final participant of the meeting inside. "however -courage and bravery are traits best suited for kings and queens, duke. not lords."

the obelian delegates pale as they watch their - former - emperor, wrists bound, enter the hall with an entourage of knights.

diana glances at the newcomer. "although i suppose even for an emperor, too much of a bravado may cost a war."

anastacius de alger obelia glowers at her.

she frowns at the knights. "how come such a precious friend of mine is tied up like this? is this how we siodonnans treat our guests?"

felix bows deeply. "i apologise, ma'am - he was resisting far too much."

  "whatever the case. get a seat set up right here, beside me - after all," diana smiles at the fuming obelian, "we were dining together just a few months ago, weren't we?"

  "three months ago, to be precise," anastacius spits out, "after which you decided to switch tides and invade us like a coward."

she watches one of the knights set down a fancy chair to the left of hers, reaching out to untie the bindings on anastacius' wrist. diana frowns suddenly, waving over felix, "ah, is this the leash my brother used when he tamed his dragon?"

the former emperor flinches, staring down at it. "someone here tamed a dragon?" a light pink dusts his cheeks - did he really touch the actual leash of a dragon?

felix shakes his head with a small smirk. "this is the leash her majesty the late dowager empress used, ma'am. for her dog."

  "-ah, right, i remember now! all the ones marked with this little purple line are used for tying down senseless animals, aren't they?"

  "yes, your majesty." felix returns to his spot behind her, clear amusement swimming in his grey eyes as he watches the obelians try and maintain their composure.

diana gently lets the leash loose, a hand on the stunned anastacius' shoulder to lightly push him into the seat. "you aren't wrong - i did betray your hospitality, didn't i?"

roger alpheus winces at the sudden authority in her tone as the knights pass out a document to each of the obelian lords.

  "obelia's greeting and offer for peace was kind to me, so i must return this generosity. your country is now part of the siodonnan empire, so we should be parting on a good note. will a little present suffice?"

a brunette diana remembers to be a count speaks up, "...a gift, your majesty?"

felix moves closer to the table, watching the detailed map of siodonna carved into its centre. as he raises his hand, almost as if it were a chess piece, a small island moves to the left. its color flickers between a siodonnan purple and the obelian teal.

diana sighs. "i was planning on the island of delphine, since it not only contains a relatively large gold mine, but also much tourist attraction."

oh, she can see the stars in alpheus' eyes already. "thank you, your ma-"

  "but." he shrivels under her piercing gaze, "but, obelia doesn't need gold, does it? what you need is better foreign relations. and what better way to form an alliance..."

she eyes the map, and with a flick of felix's wrist, a small stretch of land connecting two continents switches from its original purple to a hue of blue.

diana looks up now, meeting even anastacius' shocked eyes. he eyes her suspiciously, "do you really-?"

she nods. "...consider it a gift from your sovereign. it is enough, yes?"

  "i- uh," duke alpheus blinks twice, "the isthmus of erven is...an adequate present, yes, your majesty. the people of obelia shall thrive due to your generosity."

  "it is not generosity, duke. your people are my subjects now. however, i hope you realise the isthmus isn't obelian property for obvious reasons. there is no trust between us. despite this, what i will allow is some access." diana stands, watching the foreign nobles mirror the action. "the terms and conditions of our relationship from this point onwards are in the papers before you and are, obviously, subject to change. feel free to approach me with concerns, should you have any."

  "you were firmer than i'd expected with the obelians, your majesty," felix comments.

diana recoils as his eyes light up at the sight of viscaria palace. "remember when i visited obelia for anastacius' coronation? i was only seventeen, but two years into my studies as heir - and they were all over duke renauld's son! poor cousin ronnie couldn't stop apologising."

felix snorts. "the renaulds wouldn't have dared challenge your majesty's claim, not while the late empress dowager was behind you."

  "ha! that's right, everyone was scared of mama." she grins fondly, "papa most of all."

the knight nods, murmuring a prayer.

  "i want them gone as soon as possible," diana admits, "but there's much to settle before that. i need to fix up anastacius before we can let him back, the second prince is still...what was his name, again?"

  "claude de alger obelia, ma'am."

she winces. "yes, he's an impo-"

a commotion sounds from within viscaria. felix raises an eyebrow at the shouts echoing from the beautiful building, a hand already atop his sheathed sword. "ma'am, stay back, i'll have a look- your majesty! where are you going-?!"

navigating through the decorated halls, diana halts before the entrance of the garden. the argument is between two men she doesn't recognise, as the older concubines gather to the side, amusing twinkling in their eyes.

  "attention!" felix roars, "her imperial majesty, empress diana celeste!"

the two freeze in fear.

  "disrupting my peace. how dare you?" diana demands.

one of them, dressed too finely for someone she hadn't even seen yet, steps forward. "your majesty, my name is xerre, i was only-"

she raises a hand, effectively shutting him up. tone softening, diana turns to the group crowding around the desert table. "lex?"

the group shuffles to let a young, silver haired young man forward. lex bows gracefully, laugh lines around his eyes crinkling. "yes, my lady?"

  "do you know what happened here?"

lex nods. "the monthly salary was being distributed, your majesty, and xerre - being a present from the kingdom of masur - had some trouble believing his amount was the same as a former obelian slave's. verhan stepped in to argue that your majesty was the one to decide this, and they began fighting."

  "shall i prepare for his voyage back to masur, majesty?" felix asks, as the rest of the concubines roll their eyes at his antics.

diana studies the masurian concubine, beckoning him closer. "it is common knowledge i do not generally accept gifted concubines from territories out of my own."

she watches his adam's apple rise and fall, tracing a nail over the well defined jawline. xerre shivers.

  "however, your king is new to his throne, and his queen one of my dearest friends. do you realise how our alliance will look were i to send you back?"

he nods cautiously.

  "i do not wish to withdraw support from someone i consider a brother, xerre. especially when he is engaged in armed conflict on two fronts."

  "i- i am prepared for any punishment your majesty deems appropriate."

diana sighs softly. "i would send you to work for me in the capitol, but the rules state every concubine entering must reside here for a certain amount of time. until then, bear with it. this palace, and a life of luxury, is only meant for my favorites. clear?"

  "yes, your majesty."

  "my apologies, ma'am," felix says once the crowd disperses, his head hanging. "i should've prepared for your arrival with more care."

she waves off the apology, heading to the guest hall to take a look at the new obelian  concubines.

  "vera leaves for her son's wedding for a week and we've already had an incident. honestly, felix."

  "...who's vera?"

diana pauses at the unfamiliar voice. her gaze falls on the figure sitting on the window seat, entirely immersed in the book in his hands. she blinks, stunned, watching the colourful window's filtered light paint the brilliant blonde of his hair.

felix is the first to address him, scoffing, "i believe your majesty's beauty has enchanted one of the gods - who else would dare address the empress of our nation so casually?"

diana chuckles, watching as the man stands, intrigued. she stays silent, breath hitched, as he towers over her, studying her with a curiosity that rivals hers from a moment ago. and only when he finally lowers himself to a knee does his hair part, and diana flushes at the red tinting his ears.

  "greetings to her imperial majesty, may the gods grant the protector of the siodonnan people a life long and blessed."

she offers him her hand. "rise. and tell me your name."

a beat of silence passes as he stares at her outstretched hand before hesitantly accepting. "claude, your majesty."

  "claude," diana tries, finding it rolls of her tongue deliciously.

he raises an eyebrow as she regards him. "your majesty...?"

diana smiles, her hand moving to touch the various jewellery adorning his fingers. gently, she slides off the gold ring off of his ring finger. "you must have a good reason to be donning an unauthorized magical item in my palace."

he doesn't answer, head lowered.

her hand lets go of his, raising to grip the blonde's jaw. diana tilts up his face, meeting his gaze. the dull grey eyes from before have vanished, replaced by glittering blues.

she inhales sharply. "you're...the obelian pr...the second prince of obelia."

he nods.

diana turns, more puzzled than angry. "why is he in my harem?"

  "... didn't your majesty wish for it?" felix tilts his head in confusion.

  "what? no?"

the knight frowns. "but i was so sure...your majesty said you didn't have an heir because you wanted a concubine as beautiful as me...when we took over the imperial palace, as the army swore their allegiance...your majesty said the prince was the prettiest you’ve ever seen?"

  "i- felix, i was kidding!"

  "...oh."

she turns to the prince then, "and you! you're a prince! how come you just went along with this??"

  "well...it was the most peaceful part of the palace..."

diana gapes at the two men, before finally sighing in defeat. "you're telling me i was scouring the lands for you, while you were right...?" she raises a hand to massage her temple, "...gods grant me patience."

felix cautiously steps forward, "your majesty...i understand this is shocking, but... tonight's escort..."

she glances up at the obelian prince. "allow them all to retire. i've found the perfect escort."

a/n: hmmm this was a bit empty claudiana wise, wasn't it? their development is coming though, i had to give empress!diana an intro :) also !! the situation may seem a bit confusing rn, but next chapter will clear things up! or you can just ask me for clarification <3

💕 felix is dying to find a concubine diana likes bc he really really really wants to be an uncle

💕 in siodonna, emperors/empresses are referred to by their first(diana) + middle name(celeste) and not a last name bc they technically can't belong to a house, they belong to the empire. but the middle name is important bc you have to ask for it (from someone you love and respect usually), you're never just born with one (so you could ask a parent / friend / mentor yada yada and they give you a name they believe fits best)

[esdithequeen]

Basics of Thievery

Read on AO3

Rijha gets mugged, but like, not really

Rijha revelled in the warmth of sunlight as it streamed down through the trees, the autumnal foliage of the Rift casting the road in a kaleidoscope of red and gold. Clear skies seemed to be a rare commodity in Skyrim, which made her dread the upcoming journey to Solitude for Delphine’s little plan; she had yet to travel so far north.

Below her Alfsigr nickered and pulled at the reins, prompting Rijha to run a hand up under the mare’s mane and found it damp with sweat, “Time for a break then, serush?” It certainly would hurt, they were still a few hours from Ivarstead afterall. They veered off the road towards the river. Alfsigr was quick to take a long drink, while Rijha used the remaining contents of her waterskin to wash off the sweat. They could probably do with getting her fur clipped, as even though winter was far behind them it was still thick enough for Rijha to run her fingers through. Perhaps someone in Ivarstead would be able to do it while she was up at High Hrothgar.

When she was certain that Alfsigr was cooled off, Rijha crouched beside the river to refill the waterskin, and took a swig. The sound of leaves under foot caught her ear, but she paid no mind to it. The ringing of metal filled the air.

There was a blade at the back of her neck.

“Hand over your valuables.”

Slowly, Rijha turned to her assailant. He was a scrappy little thing, bowlegged and knuckles white around a cheap iron dagger. She pushed the blade away from her face with careful hands, and tilted her head to get a better look under his hood, “What are you doing?”

“Fuck do you mean? I’m robbing you.”

Rijha gave him a scrutinising look, “With that stance?” The thief squirmed under her gaze. He seemed like he was about to back down, but then puffed his chest out and tried again.

“If you don't hand over all your stuff right now I’ll— I’ll gut you like a fish.”

“I’d like to see you try.” He lunged for her and she grabbed his wrist, disarming and knocking him to the ground in one swift movement. She stood above the thief, twirling the dagger that was now in her hands, “Now, see, your first problem is that someone of your size can’t just use brute force, it’s not our way and, well, it just doesn't work, you know? Especially up here where every other person is built like a stone fortress. Secondly, you’re way too stiff.” Rijha grabbed the boy by his arm and pulled him up onto his feet, “Right, point your feet forward, shoulders width apart, bend your knees a little and bring yourself up onto your toes. That’s it. Do you feel more mobile now?”

“I… guess so?”

“Good. Here,” she offered back his knife, “Relax your grip a little, as long as you hold it correctly you won’t drop it. Now the only time you should be facing someone with a knife is for self defence, so bring your arms up, your free hand by your face so you can guard if need be. Getting stabbed in the arm is better than getting stabbed in the eye, yes?”

“Yeah.” Rijha stepped back and let him make a few practice swings. The improvement was immediate.

“Much better! You’re more balanced, you can move around easily, all it takes is correcting your stance. But remember, this is just self defence, if you want to rob people you need to use less knife and more brain.”

The thief straightened his back, “Are you saying I’m dumb?”

“I’m saying my horse was right there, you probably could have taken my saddlebags without me noticing.” He looked back at where Alfsigr was grazing by the river.

“Oh.”

“The key is being subtle. Ditch the hood and the armour, if you just look like a passerby, another nameless face in the crowd, no one will suspect you. Cut their purses from their belts as you walk past or get a friend to act as a distraction while you pick a few pockets. Truth is, most people won’t notice you, but what they will notice is some shifty hooded person skulking around, and that’s what's going to get you caught.” Rijha returned to Alfsigr’s side, pulled out a small bag of coins and chucked it his way, “Here, I’ll give a head start.”

He looked down at the bag as he caught it, before looking up at her in confusion, “Who are you?”

Pulling herself up into the saddle, Rijha put on her most innocent voice, “Me? Oh, I’m just some middle-aged washed up adventurer making the rounds, no one special. Shadows hide you, friend.” With that, she pushed Alfsigr forward, continuing on towards Ivarstead.

-

The Ragged Flagon was quiet, as it often was these days. No one had the money to buy drinks, and Vekel was getting stingy about not giving anything out on the house. Brynjolf sighed into his ale as he looked over the guild finances. Nothing but losses. The door to the cistern opened, and Delvin nudged his shoulder.

“Look who’s finally back.”

Brynjolf turned his head to see the new footpad, exhaustion written all over his face, “Well, I’ll be, we weren’t sure you’d show up again, lad. Find anything decent?”

“Yeah, sure, I guess you could say that.” He dropped his pack onto the table, and Delvin nearly choked on his drink when he peeked inside. Brynjolf abandoned his paperwork to help clear out the bag. It was mostly coin, and a few trinkets, but it was more than anyone else had brought in all month. Delvin wasted no time in counting it all out, while the footpad slumped down in a chair, face hidden in his hands.

“You alright, lad?”

He let out a long sigh, “I just… had the weirdest experience of my entire life.” The two older thieves shared a look. This should be interesting.

“Go on then, lad. Tell us all about it.”

[pluviophile-bookworm]

AWAE 3x1 rewatch: thoughts and reactions

So we’re finally here, up to the (unfortunately) final season of AWAE. I will be rewatching and reacting to the first half of the season only, since I’ve already posted my reactions to episodes 5-10 when they were coming out. Just thought I’d say that here. 

For this rewatch, I will be adding onto the notes to myself I made when first watching the episode. Also, this is dedicated to Amybeth McNulty for her birthday today.

So, without further ado, I suggest we dive right in.

Can we talk about how Anne’s beautiful green ribbon gets untied and flies into the air while she is riding through the snow and she doesn’t even seem to care? I mean, she looks back and smiles at it, but doesn’t even think of trying to retrieve it… If I were her, I would have turned the horse around. Although it did seem like the ribbon was too high up in the air for her to reach. Also, her hair is beautiful flying loose in the wind… like we’ve never seen it before. [Present-day note: of course we’ll see it like that again, and from Gilbert’s point of view. That scene was magical. Truly magical]

So… Ruby still has it for Gilbert… and she has it going on strong… she’s supposed to be covering the hockey game for the school newspaper, but she’s dropped her notebook in the snow [Present-day note: again, my dislike of ruining material objects speaks here, but - I felt really bad for that notebook. It’s done nothing to deserve being ruined by the snow] because she only has eyes for one of the players… and so does Anne. I really hope the budding love between her and Gil doesn’t shatter poor little peach Ruby’s heart. [Present-day note: I’m so beyond happy she got over him before Anne realised that she was, as they would say on Friends, ‘under’ him.] She’s a dearie and deserves the best.

The hockey field (probably nothing more than a frozen lake, but this is the 19th century, so, you know) has apparently turned into a place of courtship, as Billy is giving his attentions to Josie and Moody to Diana… but her parents won’t allow it. “Too rich to be a minister’s wife?”, Josie teases. But then the attention shifts to Gilbert who stares at something undefined between Anne and Ruby, leaving it ambiguous which girl his affections are directed to. The whole thing is very awkward to watch, and with no Cole around to reassure Anne that Gilbert has a crush on her, and her only, she may as well think he’s finally returning Ruby’s sympathies. That scene is intense.

The natives appear – a man and a little girl, presumably his daughter, the girl that was mentioned in the articles promoting this season. It turns out the man is the one who makes the hockey sticks for the boys, and the difference in nature between Gilbert and Billy is once again emphasised by how they each treat him. Billy is superficially polite, saying “Thank you” when receiving his new stick, but he says it in a sort of patronising way, like the subtext here is “We whites are better than you”. Gilbert, on the other hand, is just as polite and respectful as he would be to any white man – or woman, for that matter. I mean, he lives with a black couple, so he can’t be racist at all. I mean, he’s an absolute cinnamon roll.

Anne is even better with the natives, as in, she doesn’t even notice anything about them that would make them superficially different than her and her peers. She asks if she could write an article about the man, but not about his lifestyle or different standards, but about the sticks he makes. She sees the quality work, not that the man doing it is non-white. And I bet she’ll be learning a lot about their life and culture later on, in a perfectly respectful and inclusive way. This is beautiful.

Billy comes back and is all kinds of disrespectful, so the girl, Ka’kwet, shows her dislike of him very clearly, and her father warns her against “stir[ring] trouble with the white man”… the tension can’t be ignored anymore. It can practically  be cut with a knife.

The man offers a great judgement of Billy – “The little man with the big ego” – in his own native language, so only Ka’kwet understands. But he couldn’t be more right.

Billy walks away, muttering “Savages” under his breath. Anne, however, isn’t shaken for a millisecond in her wish to visit and interview them later.

So, Billy won’t even be coming back to school, as he’s stepping into the family business. I’m hoping we won’t see much of him anymore. [Present-day note: Unfortunately, we will. And when I say unfortunately, I mean devastatingly. Before this season, I didn’t think this excuse of a guy could get any worse, but in the latter half he’s proven to be an absolute entitled monster. I loathe him, and I’m not even sorry for allowing myself to feel such negative emotions.]

Jane is “chaperoning” Josie and Billy as they walk back from the game? I mean, yes, she is his sister, but she’s younger than him, I think. But well, I’m not sure how chaperoning works in such a situation.

Anne arrives at the natives’… village? What is it, exactly? Anyway, her new budding friendship with Ka’kwet (which, the poor thing says, just means “starfish”; now she and Anne can bond over wishing they had a different name – although Anne isn’t as resentful of hers anymore, now that she’s signed the family bible as “Anne Cordelia Shirley- Cuthbert) is just so beautiful… this show is pure aesthetic. [Both visually and in terms of content.]

Marilla disapproves of Anne’s having fraternised with the natives… the tension builds up. I guess Anne won’t be stopped from seeing her new friends so easily, though.

At the Pye household, Josie’s mother is pressuring her to “get a hold” of Billy before someone else does. I mean, she’s a Pye – an unpleasant person as per the book, so she deserves him. Let her have him, as long as Gilbert is reserved for Anne and Anne alone. [Yeah, in retrospect, not even Josie deserves this imbecile. But I didn’t know back then just how bad he could be.]

So Anne’s words “seems to me I was destined to be the bride of adventure” from the teaser are part of her evening prayer – a change from the (apparently) usual plea to make her good-looking, which she now, on the brink of age 16, sees as a childish wish and not a real prayer. Anne has grown!

“Many suitors or even just one…” Come on, Anne, are you blind? You have one – The One at that. Take Notice of him… I mean, the Take Notice board will be returning as per a gif set I saw here on Tumblr, so I really hope Shirbert moves on a bit quicker than it has so far.

Bash and Mary have a baby! Since when? I don’t know, but I love it. Is Gilbert the godfather? Seeing as he is Bash’s best friend and honorary brother, he must be… oh dreams…. [Either way, he’s her Uncle Gilby]

Her name is Delphine? That’s beautiful. Also, Gilbert just kissed her forehead before going out to school… the dream has come true.

The unlikely duo of Rachel Lynde and Miss Stacy takes centre stage in the next scene where Miss Stacy says she doesn’t need a man as she has discovered self-sufficiency after her husband’s death. Mrs. Lynde, of course, wants to play matchmaker for her. As I said, this is an unlikely duo and I would very much like to know how this relationship turns out further.

Anne and Diana are dreading the nearing day of their separation as Di goes to finishing school in Paris and Anne goes to college in Queens. I really want to know how this separation will turn out. [Fortunately, I won’t have to find out, and neither will they.]

 Another line of tension builds up with the resurrection of the Take Notice board, as the girls discuss the pressure to get married soon and Josie teases Anne about becoming an old maid, as seen in the trailer.

Poor Ruby takes the blow instead of Anne as she, who will apparently be going to Queens with Anne and Gilbert – only in order to remain close to him (poor unfortunate soul), is desperate to receive any advance from him. I really don’t want her to suffer, but here she is now, crying about him not noticing her. I almost want her to not end up going to Queens, as that will most probably be the place where Shirbert’s relationship will finally bloom, and I don’t want her to witness that. [AWAE Ruby would have loved to be Book!Ruby, as she gets much more attention from him there - but she doesn’t care as much. However, seeing as how Book!Ruby ends up, AWAE Ruby should be glad she’s not quite her.]

Anne “bet[s she] can help” Ruby’s Gilbert issue – but if she is the root of the problem and she doesn’t know it, how can she possibly be of any use to poor Ruby?

I’ve never seen Anne ignore someone so hard as she just did Moody – he greeted her and she barely turned her head in his direction, muttering a quick “Hi” before returning to her conversation with the girls… good thing he is not one of her suitors. Although she doesn’t pay much more attention to Gilbert, you know. 

I see Moody has grown up a lot since last time he was seen, and he’s now a close second to Gilbert, at least the way I see it. That’s quite a glow up he’s had. But I kinda wanted Diana and Jerry to be a thing – and now I’m low-key shipping her with Moody “your dress is very… blue” Spurgeon. The poor guy has always been awkward around her; it’s obvious he likes her. [See, I told you I only ship couples that have explicit signs of potential to happen. Even though Diana and Moody didn’t happen even for a second, I’ve apparently seen something in her and Jerry stemming from that one single conversation they had. I mean, he did call her ‘the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen’, so that must have been what made me ship them - even before I had the slightest idea they were going to be a thing this season. I still can’t get over the fact that they were not endgame. In my mind, at least, they are - somewhere in that future we didn’t get to see.]

 And now the super famous “take notice” scene between Anne and Gilbert is happening… oh the tension. [You know, this scene reminds me of Vanessa Hudgens’ Rather Be with You. If you haven’t heard that song, go listen to it and then try to tell me I’m wrong here.]

Anne was apparently talking about Ruby in this scene, and Gilbert was blabbing on about “the right person” and stuff… Shirbert is on!!

Well, that was a turn of events! The second Anne mentions Ruby you can actually see Gilbert’s emotions change. Kudos to Lucas for portraying that only with his eyes. How to those kids do that? 

And poor Ruby has been observing him during the conversation, of course… she is so deluded, the unfortunate thing – she thinks his reluctance to post means he’s looking for a much more romantic advance to make… Poor thing. Shirbert will break her heart and might just ruin her friendship with Anne forever… and she dies young in canon. I just hope Moira finds a way to give her the happy ending she deserves… [And, as we know, Moira didn’t disappoint there. I’m so glad things turned out for Ruby the way they did]

Jerry can read long complicated texts now… he’s reading Frankenstein [Little did I know how important this book would be for his story arc this season], for goodness’ sake! I stan one (1) beautiful [inside and out] French farm boy!! And I ship him with Diana even more now. Although if her parents won’t allow her a future minister, how will they allow a farm boy?

Diana has actual royal ancestry… but that ancestry is “keeping [her] from Queens; from [Anne]”. Isn’t this a tragical Bro-mance right there? It is indeed.

Marilla is helping Mary with the baby… makes me wonder if she has been dreaming of one for so long but never got to have it and this is why she’s so attached to this one… this series is beautiful but dramatic… it really tugs on my heartstrings.

Diana stands up for herself and her own wishes in front of her parents… but she doesn’t achieve more than angering them that way… poor little rich girl, indeed.

Also, I just love how the Barrys express their anger. Diana sits at the piano and starts playing angrily, while her mother embroiders angrily and her father reads his newspaper angrily. [I had no idea two out of those three things could be done angrily. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which two.]

The Take Notice board has a note on it saying “Susan has her sight on Moody Spurgeon”. Who is this Susan and why is she eyeing Moody if he’s courting Diana?

Anne is super excited about turning 16… “Once upon a time this was the happiest day of my parents’ life”. I really want her to find out about her ancestry eventually. But I want her and Gilbert to finally get together more. [Of course, both of these will happen in this season. I sort of knew that even back then.]

Let’s sum up: Anne has beautiful hair, but, more importantly, dreams of finding out her family history; Ruby has it bad for Gilbert - but we already knew that; Ka’kwet and her father make their first appearance and create tension in the process; Billy is racist on top of everything - but we all expected that; courting is in full swing; Rachel Lynde plays matchmaker; lots of tension caused by the Take Notice board; eye (and eyebrow) acting; Jerry reads Frankenstein; Marilla is a really good mother, and not only to Anne; who’d have known embroidery and reading could be done angrily; who is Susan; Anne is nearing 16 and things are about to change forever.

[collecting-stories]

Enchanted - Gilbert Blythe

Request: Okay great! Can I request a Gilbert blythe x reader when they’re dating but then reader sees Anne and Gilbert having a friendly hug and she misinterprets it as something else and Gilbert tries to apologize. in the end they make up and it’s all fluff?

A/N: Based off Gilbert Blythe from the Netflix adaptation Anne With An E. 

\\\

The train ride in from Toronto was both longer and shorter than you wanted it to be. Gilbert sat beside you, fiddling with the cufflinks on his jacket sleeves as the train jostled along toward Avonlea. There had been a ferry ride from Halifax as well. The summer was setting in and Gilbert had asked you to come to Avonlea with him to meet his business partner and housemate Bash and Bash’s daughter Delphine.

“Ever since my father died, they’ve been my family.” Gilbert had explained.  

There were other people he had mentioned as well. Friends from school, Moody, Diana, a girl called Ruby who had been obsessed with him in her youth.  

“I didn’t know it at the time, obviously, but Moody’s told me in great detail.” A whole anthology of his life had been shared with you since September.  

And then there were the Cuthberts. He mentioned Marilla and her brother Matthew, both having been good to him when his father passed. But most of all he spoke of Anne. Close friends and rivals throughout their years together, she seemed to be the antidote to every story he told. The heroine in all his tales of the Island. And while you were excited to meet her, you would have been lying to say that you were also terrified. Who was this Anne and how could you compare to someone as magnanimous as her?  

You weren’t sure if the knowledge that you would be staying with the Cuthberts made it worse or better. He had written to Anne to ask if you could board there for the summer while you visited him, a mark of a serious courtship surely, but still you couldn’t find yourself totally calm during the ride.  

“Are the Cuthberts meeting us at the station?” You chanced to ask, realizing that you weren’t entirely sure what was going to happen once you arrived in Avonlea.  

When Gilbert had asked you to come home with him for the summer you had been surprised and, though you hated to admit it, a tad bit reluctant. You and Gilbert had met through a friend of a friend way back in September at the beginning of the school. Both students from small towns who had excelled. Both formerly betrothed, though you more than he, who had rebelled against the prospect of a richer future in the interest of an educated, self-fulfilling future. A rather progressive woman, in action and speech more than trend, like so many of the women who had been present in his life before.  

“I’m not entirely sure how I should go about this,” he had started, already proving himself to be clueless when it came to courting, “I’ve been to tea before and I’m sad to say I’ve forgotten all the rules.” The easy smile made up for his forgetfulness.  

You could hardly remember either, getting lost in the romantic nature of his eyes that Ruby and Anne had both experienced in his early school days. “It’s quite alright, surely between the two of us we can navigate.”

And so you did. Navigate. Through the beginnings of a relationship and the beginning of college. It was odd, to find someone who so championed your education and put priority on the finishing of college before anything else. You expected him to treat the relationship casually then, just friends who knew that they liked each other. But he didn’t. He was serious about it and, as such, invited you to visit for the summer.  

“I can’t wait for you to see Avonlea.” Gilbert mentioned, eyes fixed on the passing landscape.  

“I’m looking forward to it.” And you were. Spending more time with Gilbert, seeing where he was from, meeting the people he considered part of his family. That all sounded spectacular to you.  

-

The train arrived in Avonlea a short time later. Gilbert exited before you in search of the luggage.

“It’s never where they say it will be.”

You stood, waiting for him, on the platform. You’d taken plenty of trains in your lifetime but somehow stepping onto the platform in Avonlea felt different. It was as if you were a child again, riding for the first time, nervous of your surroundings and unsure who to ask for help. It was all very overwhelming and in an instant, the bustling crowd had seemed to swallow Gilbert up, his figure disappearing behind a cloud of smoke. You considered calling out to him. Should you chance him realizing that you were having the most pathetic of panic attacks.  

Off to a good start in Avonlea.  

Through the smog and the voices for the crowd your ears caught the distinctive sound of an accent, one native to an island, calling Gilbert’s name. You remembered his stories about his business partner and practical brother Bash and decided the Gilbert being called was yours. Heading through the smoke you arrived on the other side to find a small gathering of people, Gilbert at the front of them. You had come through in just enough time to see a young woman with long red hair hug him. A much friendlier hug then you would have expected someone to give, even with small town etiquette not being as reserved as the city.  

But you recognized that redhead immediately, regardless of never having seen her before. It was Anne, it had to be. The Anne that Gilbert had talked about from school. The Anne that he corresponded with.  

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry I was just coming to get you.” Gilbert’s hand at your wrist and his sincere apology carried you back to the reality of the platform. You were standing there, center of attention now.  

“Quite alright.” You smiled, filing the uneasiness away for later. You would be upset when you were alone. Though would you truly be alone? You were to stay with Anne after all.

“Let me introduce you.” And just like that Gilbert was going through the odd, makeshift family that he had assembled. You were hugged by Anne as well, and nearly everyone else. Bash teased that there would be plenty of appraising done that night over dinner though you seemed to win him over quite easily when you offered to hold Delphine during the ride back to Gilbert’s farm.  

Try as you might the carriage ride home filled you with dread. Even Delphine couldn’t distract you from the tortuous thoughts in your head. Had you come all this way to Prince Edward Island with Gilbert only to have him tell you he loved another. And what if he never told you, what if he just continued on, in some elaborate rouse where you were his intended (something he had made perfectly clear before proposing the idea of PEI) but he was thinking of someone else. Someone who had leagues more history with him than you could every accumulate.  

The first stop, once the carriage had arrived outside of the Blythe family farm, was the tour. While Bash took Delphine inside Gilbert took you along the grounds. Your hand was tucked in the crook of his elbow as he walked you about, pointing out parts of the land and supplying humorous antidotes to accompany the visuals.  

“And here Anne,” he began, telling the third story in a row that featured his redheaded best friend.  

“You have a lot of stories about Anne.”

“I suppose so.”

“More than anyone else.” You continued on. You were no longer on the train platform or in the carriage. You wouldn’t stay a moment longer to be second fiddle to Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, however charming she had already proven herself to be.  

“I...hadn’t noticed.”

“Well, unfortunately,” you took your hand back, here in the orchard grove, “I have. I didn’t come all the way from Toronto to be humiliated Gilbert.”

He looked rightfully confused. Everything until now had felt perfectly normal between the two of you. He’d hadn’t sensed the change in attitude, in fact it had come out of nowhere to hit him in the gut. “I don’t know what you mean?”

“Don’t you? I make a world of excuses for your correspondence with another woman, knowing how much Anne means to you but then we arrive here and it feels as if I've been making those excuses to myself as well. Have I? Am I so delusional to think that it’s only friendship you feel for her?” You confessed, thinking back to the hug at the platform. The way she had thrown her arms around him in excitement.  

“Anne and I are just friends. I’ve told you that.” Gilbert replied.

“Why don’t I feel like that?”  

“Avonlea is my home and the people here are my family. I love and care for them all deeply. And that’s why I wanted to bring you here. So you could know them too and so you could consider if, maybe, in the future, you could make Avonlea your home too. I love you, and I meant what I said before we came out here. I want a future with you, a family with you, and I want us to make a home. Here, if you could see yourself here.” Gilbert said, concern marring his features. Had he not been clear?

You crossed your arms and turned your head away, looking out passed the rolling fields of the farm. What could you say? You loved him too. The thought of starting a family with him here, on this island, was a wonderful thought and you wanted nothing more than to be part of his life.  

“Once, when I was much younger, I admit I felt something toward Anne but we’re only friends. She’s been a big part of my life since she came to Avonlea and helped me become the person I am. A person who loves you. Who would never hurt you. Please, you have to believe me. Anne is my friend but you and I...you’re the person I imagine spending the rest of my life with.” Gilbert continued.

“I love you as well...I guess I’m just nervous to be here. To meet your family and friends and know them.” You admitted, looking back at him. Gilbert looked near heartbreak, his usual bright eyes a sad, drowning, blue.  

“They love you already, trust me.”

“I really do like Anne...I think we would be great friends.” You had heard certain parts of her letters read allowed when he found bits funny or was reminded of something you might have said. You had thought that she sounded like she could become a good friend of yours, someone you could rely on here in Avonlea and you had looked forward to meeting. “I think I’m just so nervous I made myself jealous.”

“There is nothing to be jealous of.” Gilbert reassured. “Shall we finish the tour?”

“Please? I want to see everything before dinner.” You replied, taking the arm he offered once more. You looked back around the orchard one more time, “are we alone?”

“Bash is at the house with Delly.”

With that knowledge you leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Alright, show me the rest of this enchanted island.” You said, using Anne’s words from earlier. Enchanted. You imagined this summer would be.

-

I imagined this being done yesterday but my youngest sister decided to give me a minor panic attack and I spent most of the day freaking out when I meant to be writing. 

[afy2018]

She Prefers Wine

“There is no way anyone will fall for this, Fee,” Sarah huffed from her foster mother’s couch. “I mean, why can’t I just go?”

“Because we need you to go through the back and Sarah your way into the building. Besides, this is more fun. How does she look?”

Cosima emerged from the kitchen clad in one of Sarah’s leather jackets and a tight bun to mask her dreads. Gone were her pointed glasses with contacts in place so she could still see.

She tugged a bit at the jacket, complaining, “It’s a bit tight across the chest, do you just wear these open all the time?”

“See, I told you,” Felix smirked.

“Shut up,” his sister huffed, getting up to grab her keys. “Come on, let’s go.”

They drove to the function, Sarah tucked in the trunk of Felix’s car while he and Cosima switched between various genres of house and psychedelic music, all of which would most definitely be blared in a local gay bar. She always hated these covert missions, always annoyed to be type-cast as the idiot who breaks in while Cosima was stuck behind a computer or Allison needed to annoy people to death- or bury them in her garage. Being stuck in the trunk while not the more comfortable spot she’d been stuck in- was not the worst place she has had to hide. While reliving her life escaping from Mrs. S as often as she could manage, Sarah flew into the backseats as Felix came to a stop.

“A little softer stop next time, you arse,” she blurted from the trunk.

“This is your stop,” he responded.

“Then why did I have to hide in the trunk?” she asked crawling over the seats and out the backdoor.

“Come on, get into the spirit, agent Manning!” Cosima smiled.

“Well, it worked. I’m ready to slit someone’s throat.”

“Okay, okay, less slitting throats, more grab the money and ID cards then call me when you’re ready.”

“I still don’t know why you couldn’t just come with Cosima a Cosima and drop me off in the back?” Sarah wondered with her head between them.

“Wait, is that all she’s doing? So, I didn’t have to wear this off-brand Hot Topic outfit?” Niehaus asked.

“Watch it,” she warned.

“Let me have fun. Now go, there’s probably someone snooping about here,” he ushered, getting out of the alley to park their car. “Okay, getting into character, Cos, do you remember your signal phrase?”

“North and south- mouth,” she poorly mimicked.

“You’re trying to sound like Sarah, not the Artful Dodger,” Felix huffed. “You need a new phrase.”

“Or I could just not talk?”

“Sarah never shuts her mouth, you need a phrase.”

“Fine, but… I mean people will be drunk right?”

“Probably not that drunk. Try… north and south mouth?” She repeated to his mild satisfaction. “Just stay by my side.”

“Then people would be really suspicious,” Cosima commented in her accent. “This isn’t going to work.”

“It better. Come one.”

Walking to the entrance, Cosima asked, “How did you two get into this situation?”

“It was Sarah’s fault this time.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Fine, but it was mostly her fault. So, you know Vic has some connections-”

“I thought you were all done with Vic?”

“We are, god we are,” he muttered, “They just have some money and personal information on us.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t go in there?”

“They’ll have proof that we didn’t go into the back room.”

“But they’ll know you were in the area?”

“But we didn’t break-in.” Felix pulled out a note and knocked on the door for the bouncer to open. “I’m quite ecstatic to see you here tonight Bobby.”

“It’s been a while since you two have reared your ugly heads,” he nodded, unlocking the note and taking Felix’s banknote. “But you still remembered the password, but not my phone number?”

“Oh, see, I lost it…” he shrugged, slipping past him to follow Cosima inside.

“That’s not a great excuse,” she whispered.

“He wanted a rope bunny triad, what was I supposed to do?”

“Say no thank you?”

“I was just planning on waiting until he broke up with Mel.”

“Oh, now I get it. So, just have fun and pretend to be Sarah until she calls you?”

“That’s the plan!” he smiled, tucking his valuables into his underwear and pulling out some glow in the dark make up. “Now for the finishing touches.”

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Just adding some color, don’t be such a prude,” he scoffed as he painted her face with intricate designs.

“Fine, as long as it doesn’t include glitter.”

“I agree,” he nodded, putting the makeup back in his jacket. “I’m also glad you said that after I put this stuff on you.”

“Felix?!” she protested on their way in.

“Go have fun, Sarah, socialize and… get something to drink.”

Cosima approached the bar, feeling leering eyes on her while the bartender served his customers. She muttered her signal phrase under her breath, practicing the two she was given.

“I guess they draw in more than just college students,” a clearly familiar voice jibed.

Cosima looked just past her shoulder, catching Delphine curiously trying to read her. She kept up the ruse, the accent coming quite naturally. “We both know you’re not a bloody student, eh Delphine?”

“I guess we all have our secrets, don’t we?” Cormier sensed, cocking her head at her partner’s words. “What are you doing here?”

“I feel like I should be asking you that since you’re not even from the area. How did you hear about it?”

“I hope I’m not blowing your cover,” she whispered, sliding over a bottle of beer, watching Cosima’s reluctant reaction to it before she took a quick swig.

“Look, I’d love to flirt with you, I bet I fit right into your type, huh, but I have more important affairs to deal with.”

Delphine furrowed her brows, smirking at her cheeky demeanor now masked by the darker cockney accent her clone had. She slid her hand across her back, feeling Cosima instinctively lean into her before pulling away, grinning at how easily she broke through her cover. It was quite enthralling, seeing Cosima put on this badass act. It made her want to whisk her away as Niehaus had done with her at the Neolution speech.

Cormier tugged at the lapel of her leather jacket, fixing the durable material and finished, “Fine, I’ll leave you be, just try not to get caught, they may mistake another for you.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Niehaus stripped off Sarah’s clothes in the backseat, struggling with her pants while her cohorts talked in the front seat.

“You’re sure no one saw you?” Felix asked his sister.

“Not a soul back there. They were having some sort of party in the break room, so I just snuck in. I saw you found a friend in there, Cos,” she directed to her clone.

“Who?” he turned around to ask.

“Delphine.”

“Oh? What was she doing there?”

“I honestly don’t know, should I ask her?”

“No, then she’d know it was you.”

“Okay,” Cosima huffed, pulling out her contact lenses. “Take a left at the next light for a shortcut. How did they even get your shit?”

The siblings glanced at one another for a few moments before Manning pressed, “Fee.”

“I may or may not have promised to be a dealer, but it was when I was eighteen.”

“Really?”

“I was young and bloody stupid,” he reasoned. “Look, here we are, thank you for your help tonight, we can give you a cut for your time.”

“Makeup, Cos,” Sarah reminded, wiping the remaining glitter from her cheeks and forehead.

“Why do I get myself into these situations?” she mumbled on her way. “Good night, guys.”

“You’re a good kid,” Felix noted.

Cosima shook her head in response, the door closing behind her as she jogged up the steps to her studio apartment on the sixth floor. Seeing the light bleeding out from under the door, a slight wave of relief washed over her with the scent of dinner wafting out of the room. She walked in and set her belongings in their popper place- her desk and closet- then went to the kitchenette.

“Do you deep clean your dishes?”

“Deep clean?”

“Yeah? To get the oils and the crasse off,” she casually explained, approaching with a pan. “You still have glitter on your face, Manning.”

[calamity-bean]

the forbidden barkskins pilot scripts

So I’ve just read these May 21, 2018, versions of the Barkskins pilot and episode 2, and… assuming they ARE legitimate old scripts... where to begin.

The major beats are mostly the same, and so is much of the dialogue. Some of the dialogue is the same but is spoken by other people. (Reading Yvon’s words come out of Bouchard’s mouth was a bit of a shock.) And some stuff is very very different. It was also still set circa 1690 at this point, like the novel, while we’ve since established that the show is more 1670s.

The supernatural elements are more pronounced in this version, or maybe they just feel that way because there’s a script pointing them out? For example, the necklace Yvon retrieves from the dead Iroquois (dead Huron, in this script) is said to have a “strange black obsidian orb” in the center, which feels significant, especially considering pilot-Hamish later decides to wear himself. Right after the stone “GLOWS.” Okay fashion icon, rock that clearly cursed necklace, I’m sure nothing ill will come of that.

Oh yeah but definitely the most egregiously more pronounced supernatural element has gotta be the uh

CRICKET-HEADED CRAB DEMON

This is from the scene just before they find Renardette, which doesn’t actually happen till the beginning of ep 2. Hamish and Yvon would still just see the wolf, but through Clape’s eyes we’d see… that.

Speaking of Hamish and Yvon...

Yvon was supposed to be in his 30s... and Hamish in his 40s. SCREAM? Okay, just completely flip that dynamic, I guess! Granted, our Hamish is definitely still an old man at heart.

Overall, Hamish’s characterization is pretty much like we know him. Yvon… I’m deeply frustrated by how shallowly Yvon was characterized at this point. He’s got barely ANY lines, he does not have his wit or his levity or his love of poetry… You know the stereotype of the stoic, serious Native warrior? That’s the impression I’m getting. “Large,” with “hard black eyes,” says the script. Besides being stereotypical, think how much less contrast there would be in Hamish and Yvon’s dynamic if they were both so stiff and somber.

Hamish mentions that he helped “clear” Potawatomi and Huron from around “the lakes.” I did not love this. Like… I get that in every version, Hamish is very much an agent of colonialism and imperialism, but he starts out with still such a sense of ethics and honor, and finds it so difficult to believe how ruthless the HBC is willing to be, that I find it hard to imagine him having already participated in the direct, firsthand violence of clearing Native people from their land. And I just prefer not to think of him being directly involved in that.

On a lighter note! Hamish and Cross were still brothers-in-law, but Randall was not married to Hamish’s sister. Oh no. He was married to the sister… of Hamish’s wife.

MARRIED HAMISH… the mind boggles.

I mean, fuck, I’ll volunteer to be his wife, though, where do I apply.

Regarding other characters…

There’s no sign of Renardette till ep 2, because ep 1 cuts off before she’s found, and the pilot’s opening scene is quite different. Instead of Ren fleeing, we see a guy sinking a body in the bog — presumably Cross sinking that body he later wants passed off as his own?

The presence of the filles du roi is MUCH reduced. There is no Mother Sabrine. No mention of Melissande till ep 2, and she’s not actually present; it sounds like she’s still back in France, as Trepagny is negotiating to marry her via letters. We get one brief glimpse of Delphine in the pilot, which, although brief, does reinforce my suspicion that the writing has something planned between her and Duquet:

(We do still see that moment in the actual show, of course, but I feel like this script emphasizes that he’s into her specifically, not just the filles in general, and the mouthing her name… yeah.)

The thing about Melissande is interesting... She’s stated to be the daughter of an aristocrat, but even though we do (in the show) see her claim that she’s upper class, I personally never believed it. I always got the impression that she’s pretending to be of much higher status than she actually is, and that’s still my take on it.

Mari was still Mi’kmaq in this pilot, as she was in the novel. This accounts for a little difference in the scene where she and Duquet discover the marks on the ram; instead of calling them “a sign of Strendu,” she calls them a sign of Chenoo — both of which are, broadly speaking, man-eating giants, but the former is from Wendat culture and the latter Wabanaki. She also tells Duquet that the beast in the woods (which he thinks of as the loup-garou) is Chenoo.

Obviously I’m not going to get into every detail here, this is too long already, but… yeah! Interesting to see how things have changed — very much for the better, imo. I’m so relieved that subsequent development brought a lot more complexity to Yvon, expanded the presence of the female characters, and generally brought more nuance into the writing and characterization, including that of minor/background characters, which I didn’t even get into here.

Kinda wish we could’ve seen that cricket demon, though. I know that on screen, not seeing the monster is often more effective than actually being shown it, but come on… cricket demon… crab demon… cricket-headed crab demon!!

[crimsondelphi]

( tristin mays, 27, cis female, she/her/hers, april 13th ) Was that DELPHINE DESCHAMPS ? I heard a rumor they work for the FAUST family, but who knows for sure ? They can be a bit RESENTFUL & DESTRUCTIVE, but I also heard they can be RESOURCEFUL & VENTURSOME. You’ll usually find them at THE DEN in their spare time, when they’re not being the OWNER OF TONY’S GUNS & SPORTING GOODS/CARCANOS. You may want to keep an eye on that one !

guess who’s back? back again? it’s me! baz! and i’m so sorry lmfao. delphi is a brand spankin’ new muse, so bear with while i flesh her out! and i could ramble for days, so i’m going to try to not do that and just hit y’all with the facts so !!! here we goooooo!

pinterest. stats. someday a wanted connections page will be up, but today is not that day.

quick facts

full name: delphine odette deschamps. nicknames: del or delphi. anything else gets you shot. hometown: new orleans, louisiana. family: raimond & celeste deschamps - deceased, paternal uncle - deceased, an unknown half sibling - living. zodiac: aries sun, capricorn moon, sagittarius rising.  sexuality: pansexual. education: community college in new york - unfinished associates in arts. two year tattoo artist apprenticeship completed. 

that good ish ( death/murder mention tw, general spooky tw, violence tw, guns/weapons tw. )

born and raised in new orleans, delphine was raised on bourbon street. her father was a jazz musician and her mother owned and ran a voodoo shop.

her mother actively practiced voodoo while she was growing up, but stopped shortly after her parents’ deaths.

because of their unique lifestyles, del was the definition of street rat. she was well known within the community and almost every shop keeper and street musician kept an eye on her for her parents. she was v much raised by the community and she loved it. 

despite the turn her life would later take, delphine has only happy memories of her childhood. her parents, unconventional as they were, filled her life with nothing but love and adventure. 

( death/murder tw ) at the age of 13, both of delphine’s parents were killed on their way home from one of her father’s gigs.

it was later discovered that he’d developed a gambling addiction and it’s assumed that they were targeted for that reason. the case has never officially been closed and is considered a cold case. 

after the death’s of her parents, del became a ward of the state and bounced from foster home to foster home until her only blood relative was found.

( violence & gun/weapon tw ) a paternal uncle in new york that delphine had only met a handful of times was now her full time guardian and oh boY. 

shady was this man’s middle name. he owned a furniture company that operated as a front for his arms dealing operation. 

also v openly violent - got into a lot of fights and hid exactly none of it from delphine. 

not shockingly, mans had zero clue how to raise a teenager so kid gloves were nonexistent and a v impressionable and grieving delphine was thrust into a life of violence and crime that quickly became her new normal. 

del had always been smart and, because her uncle wasn’t super stellar at the healthy parenting thing, she quickly picked up on the family business and anything and everything involving firearms and weapons. 

ofc this meant her uncle was thrilled ( bc he’d be able to use her ) and that positive reinforcement was all she needed to dive head first into anything she thought would earn her that same positive reinforcement.

spoiler alert: none of those things were good. all bad. v bad. but delphine is a pro at figuring out what people want/expect from her and using it to her advantage. aka living with her uncle brought out literally the worst side of her and amplified it.

as soon as delphine was old enough to legally start working for the furniture store, she did. that meant she also got a closer look at the arms dealing her uncle was doing. by the time she graduated high school, delphi was her uncle’s right hand in the family business - helping him make major decisions and aiding in making new and more lucrative deals.

delphine did enroll in a local community college, where she studied art history for about a year before dropping out. during that time, she also started apprenticing at a local tattoo shop, mostly for fun and a way to take a break from the violence and guns of it all. even after she dropped out of college, del continued and finished her apprenticeship, continuing to tattoo part time until she moved to chicago.

( death/violence tw ) during a gun trade gone bad, delphine’s uncle was killed. to say she was devastated was an unbelievable understatement. as toxic as their relationship may have been, her uncle was the last of her biological family that delphine had. losing him felt like a finality she wasn’t ready to accept and, honestly, probably never really has.

it was 6 months before delphine was back to normal and, in that time, her uncle’s arms business had descended into chaos. as much as she dreaded staying in new york a second longer than she needed to, delphine couldn’t let that be her uncle’s legacy. so, del stuck around long enough to get the business back up and running with more competent and willing people running it. 

it was during that time that she encountered the faust family. after that, she learned everything she could about the family and their operations running out of chicago. at that point, her mind was made up.

as soon as she was able, delphine packed her meager belongings and moved to chicago with the intentions of joining the fausts. 

for the past two-ish years, delphine has worked her ass off to get to where she is now and she is thriving. dysfunctional as they may be, del considers the fausts her family, despite her gruff, prickly demeanor. she’s putting down roots, hopefully for the last time, but it is chicago, so who knows.

personality

okay okay, so del is 100% grumpy cat ( rip ). the rbf is strong and she takes exactly zero shit from anyone ( unless you’re her boss. she’s a v selective people pleaser? don’t ask me, i just work here ). she’s sarcastic and rude and generally an asshole even if she does like you. the only difference between how she treats people she likes and people she doesn’t is she threatens the people she likes with violence slightly less frequently.

possible connections

lord help us all - i’m the worst as these but !!! 

all the faust connections. pls and thank. bonus points if you get her even a little squishy. idk if it’s possible but let’s try. it’ll be a fun game.

employees at tony’s, pls and thank.

sparring buds! pls let her kick someone’s ass the reg. she needs to let out her aggression.

den buddies! has she been betting on fights? mayhaps. gimmie some friendly ( can she do friendly idk we’ll find out ) rivalry.

past hook-ups/flings. del is not someone who does serious, so she’s probably got a string of one night stands and fwbs all over the place. she’s a unabashed hoe and she ain’t sorry.

uuuuhhh, and literally anything else??? i’m open to absolutely everything always, so pls don’t be afraid to chuck any and all ideas my way!

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

Someone Must Get Hurt (Cordelia x Reader (Part 3))

This is set during around and through coven so she’s still Cordelia Foxx technically. 

I’m not American so any odd spelling, phrases or inaccuracies. I apologies for in advance.

Happy Holiday!

I wanted this out before or on Christmas (got one hour till 12). I finally came up with a name for the series "Someone must get hurt" its a song title by She wants Revenge. I'll change it after the series is done. I may come up with a better one but I doubt it.

Writing might be too squashed. Apparently, Tumblr had a limited I knew nothing about.

Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

You had already pulled two all-nighters this week. It wasn’t because of school- that was going slow as per usual- it was because you had lost track of time. You were meant to have a ‘lesson' with Ms Foxx this afternoon but after your third yawn in the first fifteen minutes of starting, she sent you to bed. So much for hanging out with Cordelia. 

“You don’t have to follow me, Cordelia,” You yawned out. “I know where my room is.”

“I don’t know, last time you said that I found you passed out by the stairs,” she kidded. It was true, last time she sent you to bed late after a lesson, she almost stepped on you on her way up to bed. 

She stuck around as you got changed. She had the curiosity to turn around. You hopped into bed before notifying her you were done changing. She smiled at the sight of you sitting there cross-legged smiling tiredly at her. You sat on top of your blankets fiddling with the fabric of your night attire. You were too cute for your own good. As she went to flick off the light, she caught the smirk on your face. She prepared herself, knowing you were going to make a smart-ass comment. 

“You’ve gone all this way and you’re not gonna tuck me in?” You were just messing with her at this point.

“I’m not your mother.”

She rolled her eyes. The suggestion, as it were, wasn’t the worst thing she could do. She knew you were just messing with her, but it almost felt like an invitation to get closer to you. Maybe not even physically. Keyword, almost. You had built your walls so high over the year or so you had been at the academy. She was desperate to unveil the mysteries of (y/n) but she was scared that if she moved too quickly, she would scare you off. 

She approached the bed, you readjusted yourself. Now under the blanket, you waited for her next move.

“Wipe that smug look off your face.” She wasn’t normally like this. You brought out something in her that had been tucked away in the deepest darkest corners of her being. She enjoyed your back and forth of snarky comments. It rarely happened, only when you were tired and/or comfortable. “And would you like a glass of milk too?” The question did come out in the same snide way as the rest of the conversation, but milk might help you fall asleep faster. 

“Actually, that doesn’t sound that bad.” You were back to your everyday tone. All sarcasm put to rest. 

“Okay, give me a minute.” She headed downstairs to pour you a glass of milk. It was just after dinner; Cordelia had worked through the mealtime to ensure that she would be able to go that lesson with you. It wasn’t important work, she needed to go through some emails and scour the internet for any news that sounded like a witch could have done it. After she delivered your milk and made sure you fell asleep, she would have dinner then head to bed herself. Working in the greenhouse didn’t seem as fun without your chatter. 

By the time she made it back to your bedroom, you were already fast asleep. She rested the beverage on your nightstand. She gathered the fabric laying it neatly over your frame. She leant down, leaning her body weight on one of her hands as she placed a kiss on your forehead, “Goodnight Y/n/n.” You smiled in your sleep. 

You’d heard the glass of the greenhouse shatter. Unaware of what it was you got up to check it out. “Shit.” Quick on your feet. You slipped through the back door, grabbing a branch on your way to the glass wreckage, igniting it with your mind. It was dark and had to be around ten. Fiona seemed busy yelling at someone and you had no idea where Cordelia was. Your mind screamed at you to find your headmistress. Chances were she was amongst the wreckage. She spent most of her free time there and the two of you were meant to have been in there tonight. You were thankful you weren't at the time, but it didn't ease your concern.

You called out Cordelia’s name but got no reply. You climbed through the wreckage scanning around looking for any person. One of your fellow students was on the ground bleeding from her stomach. You cursed and ripped off your jacket off, placing it on the wound (and applied pressure) to try and stop the blood.

“Queenie, stay with me.”  

 A voice outside called your headmistress name. You cried out for help. It didn’t surprise Fiona that you were there, she knew that you were close to her daughter- and unlike Cordelia’s Husband, she didn’t completely despise you. However, she was shocked to see Queenie bleeding out on the floor. Queenie moaned out in pain.

“Jesus, what happened?” Fiona asked. 

“I don’t know. I found her like this,” You said glancing up at her for a moment. 

“It hurt me really badly.”

“What? What hurt you?” Fiona asked Queenie. 

“Oh, God.”

The minotaur emerged from behind Fiona. Fiona whipped out a blade and slashed its throat before it could harm either her or the students anymore. It collapsed to the ground. It was sent by Marie Laveau for the soul purpose of tormenting Delphine.  She prayed the woman kept her damn mouth shut until this mess was cleaned up and forever long after. 

Queenie began convulsing. You cursed, tearing off your jacket from her wound. You laid your hands over her wound, begging for it to heal. The wound disappeared from Queenie. The pain seeped away from her, stopping her convulsing. You pulled away, chortled at your handy work as she patted herself down.

"You saved me." She engulfed you in a hug. 

"Yeah, I did." You paled. You were fighting the dizziness as best as you could.

"(Y/N)?" She asked.

"Your cut was deeper than I thought." You chuckled as you stumbled back clutching your stomach. Head turning over to Fiona, you weakly said, “Don’t tell Delia.” Your eyes rolled back into your head as you plummeted to the ground.

"Shit. Is she going to be alright?" Queenie asked, eyes darting between you and the Supreme. 

"Help me get her up," Fiona said. Together they managed to take you to your bed. "Get cleaned up and tell no one that you were the one attacked." Queenie was hesitant to do what Fiona ordered. Still in a state of shock of what happened to her, she went along with the Supreme’s plan. She was the supreme after all, she had to know best.

Fiona went to Cordelia's room and woke her daughter up.

"My God, what happened?" She rushed over to your side once she saw the blood-stained on your shirt. She moved the fabric around to find a tear in the material but there wasn’t one. How odd.

"This girl was attacked, near to death, while you slept."

"By who?" Cordelia pulled out a candle and matches to cast a spell. She struggled to light the match.

"Not who. By what. Some minion of hell or other."

"Summoned by who? Not one of our girls?"

"Christ, our girls couldn't pull a rabbit out of a hat. This was dark-art voodoo, flat out."

"Marie Laveau."

"No doubt."

"This is your fault. You went to see her. You deliberately provoked her."

"How would you know that?"

"Because she told me." Cordelia got the match to light. She hovered it over the wick lighting the candle. 

"Yeah? And what were you doing over on that side of town?"

"It was a personal matter."

"Christ, Delia."

The two argued ignoring the sick girl lying on her bed. Cordelia noticed you weren’t breathing. Her mother ordered her to move out of the way. She exhaled, using her power of Vitalum Vitalis to bring you back just enough so they can save you. You gasped and groaned. 

"I got a heartbeat. But maybe we should get her to a hospital."

"That is out of the question. From now on, we handle everything internally. The last thing you want is to have the Council show up on your doorstep and question your competence."

With that, the Supreme exited the room leaving Cordelia to take care of you. You began to mumble something, whether it was to her or yourself, she couldn't tell. You looked over to Cordelia through heavy eyelids. 

"Delia?" You croaked out.

"Yes, sweetheart?" 

"Hot."

"I'll get you cool in a minute, but I need to clean your wound first.” You weakly nodded. Her eyes asked for permission as she notified you that she needed to lift your shirt. Usually, you would make a fuss. No one had ever seen you in anything that didn't cover you head to toe with some form of jacket. 

As she pried the tight fitted shirt off your body, she was shocked to find more than the wound she was treating. A million different scratches going every which way, chunks missing creating divots in the skin. The more fabric she removed the more damage was revealed. She decided it was best to remove the blood-stained item of clothing completely of your frame. 

As she grabbed your right arm to help remove the shirt quicker, you lurched forward yelping in pain. She retracted before investigating the area she touched. The area was a deep purple (almost brown) with blotches of red. Cordelia’s best guess was that it was broken.

She tossed your shirt aside, taking a step back to total damages. The sight of the state of your body was taking a toll on her. She stared at your damaged body. She’d never felt so sick to her stomach. Your past was a mystery having shut yourself off from both your past and your fellow witches. If she hadn’t caught you in the greenhouse trying to learn more about ‘green magic’ she would still know next to nothing about you. No wonder why you dashed at the sight of blood, you'd seen too much of it. She wished she could take your pain away. 

"Oh god. who? What monster did this to you?"

She patched you up and washed all the blood that had bled onto you. She apologized after every whine. On point, you weakly tried to fight away her hands as she worked on your stomach. Mumbling words like ‘hurt’ to tell her to stop. “Baby, I need to fix you.” Not much was thought about her word choice, you were highly delirious and her, completely stressed out. “Shh~ I won’t be much longer, I promise.” She murmured to you trying to calm you down enough to stop fighting the help. “No- don’t do that.” She worried you would injure yourself further- mainly your bruised hand. 

 She carefully placed your hands at your sides. they didn't stay there long. She resorted to magically holding them in place. You whined louder, scared you were loosening control of your body. You called out for her, babbled incoherently as your mind mistook Cordelia for a stranger. Your sight worked against you, she blurred in with the rest of the fuzz. You calmed down towards the end of her working. The blonde worried as soon as she undid the spell you would attempt to undo her work.

She sat by your side, dabbing a cold rag on your forehead. You hummed contently at the contacted of the rag. Too tired to panic or care. The cold towel was welcomed.

She was disappointed to find out that your arm was broken. She made you a temporary cast, so you didn't injure it further. As soon as you were healthy, she would sneak you off to get a proper one. She didn't care what her mother said.

You woke up from your sleep dazed and confused. You felt as like a thousand knives had stabbed you. You grumbled as you attempted to sit up. Light was shining through the gap in the blinds. Usually Cordelia would open them for you in the morning before class. She was the one to wake up all the girls before the morning meeting otherwise they wouldn’t show up on time. 

You must still have time before the meeting. The pain would only stop you from falling back to sleep, so you decided to have an early start to the morning. 

As you go to sit up you noticed you weren’t alone. To your left, Cordelia was slumped in an armchair, fast asleep. You scanned around trying to figure out why she would have spent her night in the uncomfortable armchair that usually was in the corner of your room instead of her own bed. The world was airier on your body. You never found the mornings cold like the other girls complained about. This morning was your first taste of what they were talking about. You pulled your blanket up, feeling the fabric brush against your arm. 

To your shock, your top half was covered in nothing, but your bra and blood-stained gauze wrapped around your stomach. Your morning brain forgot about the incident. She saw your body. She was exposed to all your imperfections. She knows what you tried so desperately to hide. What does this mean for the rest of your secrets? How much does she know of last night? You couldn’t let her know that you had done this to yourself. Another student was injured, and you made an impulsive decision to take it away from them. You only added to the story. Someone would still be injured, if you didn’t help but now there’s your need to please others.

“Where are you going?” Her croaky morning voice broke the silence.

“To get ready for class.”

“You should be getting some rest.”

“I’ll be fine, just need something for the pain.” You shuffle through the vials on your dresser. You opened one and take a whiff before downing it. The plant-based pain reliever tasted bitter. “I want to act like nothing happened.”

“I can’t let you do that.” She stood up from the chair getting ready to physically drag you back to the bed if she had too.

“Good luck stopping-” Both your attention was drawn to the door creaking open. “Me,” you slipped the last word out as Nan made herself known.

“They’re here,” Nan said. 

“The girls?” Cordelia asked. 

“Not the girls.”

The two of you looked at each other confused by what Nan meant. Cordelia excused herself, telling you that you needed to go back to bed. To hell you were. You pulled on a black full-length robe. You removed your jeans tossing them out of sight. 

You wrapped an arm around your stomach as you used your good hand to keep you stable as you made your way downstairs. 

“I can guess why you're here.” You heard Cordelia’s voice say. “Last night's assault on Y/N was a horrific tragedy, but I can assure you she is resting comfortably.” Sticking your head around the corner to see who was there. 

“Are you sure about that?” The man said pointing over to you. 

Cordelia spun around to see you, “Y/N, you should be in bed.” She rushed over to you, helping you off the wall and allowing you to rest all your weight on her. She cradled your body in her arms.

“And I told you I didn’t want to-” She gave you a disapproving stare. “I’ll go back to bed,” you pouted. You tried to break away from her grip, but she didn’t let go. 

“I’ll help you back up. Please give us one second.” The council members gave a nod. As the two of you were about to leave the Supreme walked in. Cordelia didn’t like the idea of leaving them alone with her, especially when her mother was asking about why they were here, something she would also like to know. 

The people you didn’t recognize said something about a missing girl. That couldn’t be right. Who would be missing? Nan was there, you saw Queenie last night as well as the other two. They’re only five girls. So, who was gone?

They let Cordelia take you to your room and let her get changed before the started the questioning.

You were the second last person they interviewed. They had come up to your room which you were now laid underneath the blankets. Cordelia who had been witnessing all the questionings moved your chair back into the corner of the room as the question went on.

“When was the last time you saw or spoke of Madison?”

“Dinner last night before-”

“Before?”

“I was attacked,” you stated bluntly. “She was giving me advice.”

“Advice about what exactly?”

You lowered your head looking at your hands. You could not believe you were going to have to admit this aloud especially when the person you were trying to impress was in the same room. 

“How to get someone to notice you,” you squeaked out. They made you speak up. “Her suggested methods were distasteful, but she was nice about it (for once. She was probably excited I was making a move.). I thought she would have some idea because she was a movie star, she’d might know something.”

“Do you know anyone who would have the intention to harm her?”

“Anyone who has ever met her. She isn’t the nicest person.”

“Do you?”

“No~ I tend to stay away from her. The only time she ever talks to me directly is at dinner.”

“Before her disappearance, was Madison manifesting any powers, new ones, rapidly accumulating?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t really pay attention in class, I get distracted,” You admitted. “Sorry Ms.” You didn’t have the guts to look at her. “I’m in my room or the greenhouse for the rest of the time so I wouldn’t know. Sorry.” 

When their questioning was done, Cordelia made her way back to your room. She gestured for you to get up which you were more than happy too.

"I can't believe Madison's gone," you thought aloud. Cordelia supported your body as she guided you out of your room. She hadn’t told you where you were going. "The attack and then this. What if the culprit was on the inside?" She remained silent. "Are any of us safe?" She halted. 

Are any of her girls safe? One missing, another injured. She feared for the safety of her coven. They were already facing extinction, who knew how long they got left. If someone on the inside was against them then who and why? They already had to face the outside, why bring more trouble?

"Why did you go outside after I told you to go to bed?"

"I didn't mean to embarrass you, I just wanted to-"

"Last night."

"Oh. I heard glass shatter. I thought you might have been in there, you know cause we had planned to be there, and I wanted to make sure you were okay." 

She took you to her room. Allowing you to enter first, a strong arm wrapped around you the whole time keeping you close. Your arms found their place on her chest, gathering the fabric of her blouse in your fisted hands. 

"And you got yourself injured instead." She looked down at you. She wasn't happy with what you did even if it was out of the kindness of your heart. She was touched that you cared enough to make sure she was safe but the fact that you got hurt didn’t sit well with her. Nothing about last night did. What she saw. The state you were in. You were pushing her away, acting like nothing happened. Metaphorically, shutting the door and locking her out as if she was a stranger. You enjoyed being perched on your high tower, walls higher than most are willing to climb. She had joined you for a bit, but the walls were getting taller and she was getting sick of climbing.

"It's fine, I'm fine." There it was. Denial. Cordelia thought she got past that with you, but you were adamant that keeping your pain to yourself was right. Maybe you didn’t know the extent of what happened last night? 

"You almost died last night. You stopped breathing; my mother had to help you." 

You shrugged. It wasn’t the first time you got close, “I just want to forget about what happened." She couldn’t believe it.

"Y/n, with everything going on it's not the time to neglect taking care of yourself."

She helped you comfortable on her bed. She laid you on her side as it was closer to the door. 

"I'll be fine." 

No one who uses the word fine is fine, it's a go-to answer we are trained to use to not burton people with our problems.

You didn't want her to leave, but your constant reassurance that ‘I’ll be fine’ (which she used against you) made her want to prove that you weren��t. She'd been offered to get drinks with her mother, and activity that didn’t excite her. She told you about her mother's invite out and that if you wanted her to stay, you’d have to admit that you needed her help. She hoped you would. All the way until she was at the bar with her mother. She had her phone on, in case you called her, asking her to come back. 

If you knew what was going to happen when she was out, you would have begged her to stay with you.

“Fiona, what happened?” 

“She was blinded,” Fiona filled you in. 

“What? By who? 

You heard the tapping of a cane against the floor. The door opened to reveal your favourite blonde dressed in black and her less than favourable husband. 

“Probably the same that got you,” Fiona responded. 

“She made it up the stairs on her own,” Hank said.

“Of course, she did. She's tough. She's a survivor,” Fiona responded.

“She's right here.” 

“Why are there roses in here?”

“Why, I thought you might enjoy them. They're the very last of your heirlooms.”

“Roses pull in love and romance. That's not what I'm looking for right now.”

“She needs chrysanthemums. All kinds of them, for strength and protection,” you said without thinking.

“Y/n?” she lit up at the sound of your voice.

“Why is there a student in our bed?” Hank asked Cordelia. 

“She was attacked and since you weren’t here, I thought it would be nice to recuperate on the best bed in the house.” She was on edge. You wouldn’t blame her, not knowing what is going on around you would make anyone uneasy. She made her way to the loveseat in the middle of the room.

“Well, doctor said, uh, bed rest for at least a week, hmm?” Hank said going to help his wife find the chair. Cordelia gasped at the contact. He must have scared her, you thought.

“Who is she? Who is the redhead?” Cordelia snapped. 

What was she on about?

Little did you know that Cordelia had a manifest a new power after her blindness. 

“Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, baby. I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Enough bullshit! Anything else you want to tell me now? Because I will see it sooner or later. I had to go blind to see things about you I couldn't see before. A bad cosmic joke. It's a different kind of clarity, an absolute clarity I've never had. The images almost vibrate with light."

Her words confused you. 'Had to go blind to see things about you I couldn't see before' was she getting vision? The idea frightened you, but you were happy she was seeing the man for what he is, a piece of shit.

“Thank Christ she's finally got your number,” Fiona said. You hummed in agreement.

“She's high as a kite. You know what they gave her before we left the hospital?”

“I'm high all right, but it's not the drugs, and rest assured, you will be accountable for every single betrayal, no matter how deep you think your secrets are buried. Now get out of here. Get out!”

“Baby. Now, you're my... you're my heart.” The door banged open.

“I'd get out while you still can, jug head.” The door slammed shut behind him. Thank god he’s gone, you thought. 

“I wanted to sever his arms and throw him out the window. I had to stop myself.”

The man deserved that. Why would anyone want to cheat on her?

“You've been given the Sight. It comes in bits and pieces. It's the greatest gift to have. And the hardest one to live with.” Fiona said. She saw Cordelia starting to undress herself to get dressed into some more comfortable close and she offered to help. “Let me help, honey.” Cordelia gasped again. A vision of Myrtle burning filled her vision. Cordelia began crying softly, asking her mother why she hadn’t told her sooner. Fiona said she wasn’t to tell her, but she was in too much pain. 

“I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Ah. I think it's best if I... I’ll leave you with Y/N for a while. I'll ask Delphine to come and check on you two later.” The door squeaked as she left the room. 

You were alone with her.

“Would you like me to get you some comfortable clothes for you?” you offered.

“Yes please,” she choked out between sobs.

You rustled through her closest searching for a fresh pair of pyjamas. Having no luck, you settle for a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. In your search, you found a pair of gloves. Noticing how she only reacted when she touched someone, you thought it wouldn’t they wouldn’t hurt. You slipped them on your hands you only needed one because your other arm was in a sling) before walking out. She let you help her get changed into her new clothes, it took some time because she couldn’t see and you only hand on arm, but you made it work. 

"You know you don’t have to wear the glove; I can’t see anything. You don’t have to hide.” She mistook it for you want to hide yourself up. It was better than her being suspicious. You were almost fully covered up except for your head and parts of your right arm. She had no reason to suspect you were hiding something.

“Someone might walk in,” you played along. “Anyway, I only have one useable arm. Even if I could it would be too much work putting it back on.” She nodded understanding. The two of you were the cripples. 

You told her to lay down, letting her know that if she needed help, to ask you. You informed her that you needed to make a quick call. You didn’t bother stepping out of the room. You pulled out your phone and dialled the number. 

“Hey, this is (y/n), I helped you find your son a while back.” You waited for a few moments. “You offered me a free order; can I get a mixture of different types of chrysanthemums?” More mumbling on the other end. “No, they’re not for me, they’re for this amazing woman I know” It was obvious Cordelia was going to eavesdrop when you hadn’t left the room. “I’ll come and get them later today. Thank you.” 

You hung up the phone and sat on the left side of the bed. Cordelia laid on her back her. She turned to you when she felt the bed dip. She brushed away the tears escaping her. She tried her best to hide her feelings from you. 

“So, tell me about this ‘amazing’ woman?” Cordelia asked, you could tell she needed a distraction from the news she just heard. Everything was crumbling down on her. How could someone be this strong? She was always impressing you. 

“She’s the kindest person I have ever met, understanding and smart. Strong and patient even when most people would snap or break down and let’s not forget about how insanely ho- gorgeous she is.”

“Hmm~ really?” She crawled closer to you. “Do I know this woman?”

“Maybe~” you sung. You shuffled closer. You removed the fabric of the cloth sling in two motions, flinging it across the room. Her head darted in the direction of the noise when it hit the ground. 

“What was that?”

“My sling.” Your gloved hand gently tugged her closer guiding her to lay her head on your chest.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re asking too many questions Delia.”

Once settled on your chest, she snuggled up trying to get a comfortable position. She compared you to a soft cloud as you wrapped your injured hand around her. Your sleeves cover your hand completely creating sweater paws. 

Cordelia didn’t know if what she was feeling was right. You were her student and she was still (unfortunately to her) married. The man cheated on her and her she was lying in her bed with one of her students. Could she pass this off as something friends do? Females tend to be strangely clingy to their other female friends, kissing, hugging, where is the line between friendship and love? Does it draw down to feelings? She didn’t know your intentions when you pulled her in, you were trying to comfort her that was for sure. It’s you, there wouldn’t be more to it. Yes, she was overthinking every touch. Her brain was grasping onto something else other than the attack, burning and cheating. Oh, Aunty Myrtle, you couldn’t have done it, Cordelia thought. Someone was trying to hurt her sisters and she was left blind and defenceless in the arms of someone she couldn’t even tell was a friend or more.

She let it go. Finding comfort in you, she buried her face into your jumper, staining the fabric with her tears. All you could do was watch on, stroking her head with covered hands. 

“I-I’m sorry,” she sobbed out.

“Don’t apologies. Cry it out if you need to, I’ll be here if you need to talk.”

“What did I do to deserve you?”

You chuckled, nothing but be who you are. “Just sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

You weren’t.

When she didn’t wake up in your embrace, believed the worst. She sensed a change in the environment. As she fumbled about, she found a vase full of Chrysanthemums on her bedside table. She smiled as she leaned in to smell them. 

The door flung open, she prayed it was you. She was saddened to find out it was Delphine checking up on her like her mother requested. She asked the woman where you were to which she had no clue. She hadn’t seen you since she dropped the flowers in Cordelia’s room. 

Her worry was later diminished when she was informed you were in the now fixed greenhouse making a potion, you claimed was for her. 

The lone time allowed the both of you to think. Whether that was for the best, only time will tell. 

[lebelletemps]

Chapter 3: The Revolt (Part 2)

T/W: Blood...lots of blood, use of the N-word, slavery themes, lynching, death, cursing, threats of death, themes of the occult, violence, revenge, abuse towards children and women...

A/N: It’s crazy how this quarantine actually brought my writing bug back! I actually wrote so much I have to split this chapter so in conclusion, yes...there will be a part 3!

If you need a refresher of where we are in the previous chapters here & here

The new cast additions are here!

Delphine entered the back door, still fuming from her argument with Cyrille. “The nerve of that man, if you could even call him that!” she spoke to herself. She was about to head into her room until a voice called out for her. “Delphine? Delphine, is that you? Could you come see me please?” Delphine made her way over to the parlor where the slave owner’s wife Josephine Dupreé was sitting on the couch, a slim framed woman with long, flowing bosom length black hair in stark comparison to her pale skin and rouge lip. “Come sit with me.” she patted her slender hand on the seat adjacent to her. Josephine was the exact opposite of Delphine, she always held a bright smile on her face. She seemed kind to all she walked past her, even the slaves thought so outside of the home. But Delphine and the other house slaves knew better. Josephine Dupreé was a vile, vicious woman. Under the veil of her Debutantism, Josephine has verbally, mentally and spiritually abused all the slaves in the home; especially Delphine.

As a child, Josephine would personally whip Delphine for any infraction even if it wasn’t her fault. Delphine used to be close friends with her daughter Rose, but Josephine removed them from each other and slapped Delphine across the face one time they horse played with each other. Now she wants to act like this was a social call? Delphine cautiously approached the aging woman and sat down beside her. “How are you doing dear?” “I’m fine.” “Well I wanted to speak to you about something important.” She placed her hand on top of Delphine’s. Delphine had instant traumatic flashbacks of the abuse she suffered and instantly became uneasy. “I wanted you to be one of the first inhabitants here to know that… I am currently with child.” “Well congratulations ma’am, I’m sure he or she would make a fabulous addition to the family.” Delphine faintly smiled. “I know this child will and as you also know, we only have so much space in the home for all of our children to live here comfortably. You do understand what I am saying to you, correct?”

“I’m not really sure how all this pertains to me Madame Dupreé.” “Well my husband Jacques, God bless him has been more than gracious with you being here despite your poor household management and child rearing skills.” “I am sure I have done more than my fair share of–” “No, no this is the part where you listen child. Now, when this child comes, you will be placed back out onto the fields and removed from the servants quarters.” “M-My apologies madam, but I don’t think that’s right. I’m sure your husband would reconsid–” “My husband already agreed to the arrangement and we’re moving out your effects as well. Can’t have a field nigger tracking dirt and debris into our home, now can we?” “No ma’am, but where will I stay?” “In one of the nearby shacks, I’m sure one of your kind would let you stay with them. Besides, my daughter Charlotte always liked your room. It would be just perfect for her to reside in.” Delphine arose from her seat not speaking a word, she normally would protest Josephine at every turn until it became futile but she knew that she must spend more time in learning how to take over the plantation once Allix & Rayan awoke at nightfall.

“Oh, one more thing Delphine?” Delphine slowly turned around and smiled at Josephine. “Yes madam?” “I haven’t heard from your brother all day today. Do you know where he might be?” “No, not at all.” Delphine cleared her mind to see if Josephine knew anything about what transpired earlier that day. “Look at her, filthy mulatto is lying through her rotten teeth! I should’ve taken her and her brother and drowned them when I had the chance.” “Is that all you needed from me?” Delphine added. “My son also hasn’t returned from looking into the deaths of those men out in the woods this morning, have you seen him?” “I’ve heard about that and that such a travesty and no, I haven’t seen him either. I hope whoever done this is brought to justice.” “You’re a whore just like your filthy nigger mother, walking around here like you’re better than everyone. If your father hadn’t sold her off, I would’ve killed her too. He wanted to spare her husband, but I guess him trying to run away with y’all sealed his fate.” Delphine ceased prying through her mind and waited for her next command. “That will be all Delphine, thank you.” “You have a great evening madame.” “Same to you.” 

Delphine could feel Josephine’s eyes practically burning through her skull as she walked back to her room. Once Delphine closed her door, she began planning her scale of attack, knowing the quickest routes within the house and where everyone sleeps. She remembers the weapon’s shed where Rayan used to work close to by the stables, she knew she would have to clear that out first and get them to the other slaves without detection. The only way that’s even feasible is if she reveals that she is a vampire, knowing that she would put herself at great risk; she knew that liberation was more important than the consequences of exposing her secret. She went under her mattress and pulled out a box that contained an outfit she had made a few months ago. A pair of Burgundy long-leg trousers with black suspenders and a long sleeved off white cavalier shirt, this would be considered her outfit for when the war began. She knew that no one in the family should be spared, so that no one would know of what was to take place here. Eradication of the Dupreé legacy from history was all she truly desired.

Underneath the clothing were a matching pair of Flintlock pistols Rayan made a year ago for her while the slave owners were away given that their hands on the plantation were negligent to say the least. Their lax nature gave him more than enough time to create weapons and bullets off the Dupreé records. He wanted to spill their blood as much as she did, the only thing they needed was time… and now their time will be fruitful once Allix and Rayan awake as Vampire. As nightfall approached, she took off her work dress, put on her new clothes and placed her pistols in her deep pockets to conceal them. She stared into the mirror as she pulled her black, finely coiled hair and tied it into a mid ponytail. 

She revealed her fangs as she marveled at her new attire. Then she was startled by a loud, rapid banging at her door. “Just a moment please!” Delphine rapidly retracted her fangs & put on her old clothes on top of her new ones, grabbed the straight razor she hid under her pillow hiding it under her sleeve and opened the door a crack to see it was Camille crying. “Camille?! Camille are you looking for a lashing?! What are you doing here?!” “It’s Cyrille & daddy! Th–Th–They gon kill them!” “Who?!” “Massa! They found his son’s clothes in our house and claimed that it was my daddy and my brother who killed Jack & those other men in the woods. Massa and his men took em and now they called everybody out to the back to hang them!”

Delphine eyes widened as she remained speechless. “THEY DIDN’T DO IT AND YOU NEED TO HELP THEM!” Camille demanded Delphine. “What am I to do?!” “You have abilities I may not understand, but they could be of good use right now! My family will not be ruined because of you, now COME ON!” Camille ran out through the kitchen and Delphine was taken aback, but soon being careful not to discharge her weapons. When she caught up with Camille she saw the glow of the torches that revealed that all the slaves had gathered around the back of the plantation. As the young women both pushed through the crowd to the front, Camille quickly ran to her mother’s arms who was already sobbing and inconsolable. A tall, medium built white man with a full mustache approached on the balcony between the twin stairs. He had black hair with silver streaks on the sides and a black and bronze embroidered suit with matching trousers & a gold vest decorated with floral patterns. Delphine has never seen such an ominous sight since her mother’s husband was killed, then the stone faced man cleared his throat and began to speak.

“What seems to be going on here is that we have murderers on my property. Earlier this morning my only son Jackson and a few of my plantation hands discovered a few bodies not too far from this here location, the tracks from that scene lead straight to the Beaulieu‘s home. Then when my son went over there to investigate what was going on, he never came back home. So I took it upon myself to see what happened to him and everybody said he was last seen at the Beaulieu’s.” Delphine started to slip behind the other slaves in attendance. “So I thoroughly looked into the matter and I found my son’s bloody clothes underneath one of their beds!” The crowd gasped in shock and murmured amongst each other. “This family has a history of having their kin attempt to run away from our home, neglecting their duties & disrespecting our family. And for their defiance of our generosity, the suspected culprit is still on the loose.” The enslaved began to murmur amongst themselves as Slave master Dupreé looked amongst the crowd. “Bring them out here!” The doors behind him suddenly burst open with both Cyrille and Desmond bruised and bloody from the beatings they’ve endured at the hands of Master Dupreé’s plantation hands. The look of fear in their eyes as they saw the nooses brought a few of the other slaves to tears at their helplessness.

At this point Maudette was inconsolable and sobbing as she gazed upon her husband and only son mistreated so badly. Camille couldn’t bring herself to even glance at their present condition.

“Now, we’ll try this again. Where is your daughter Allix Beaulieu?” “Massa, we don’t know where she is. She hasn’t been home all day.” Desmond shook his head frantically. “We haven’t seen her, honest!” Cyrille added. “It’s interesting you would say that, cause several of the others said they saw her in your home. And with Rayan no doubt. So now I have a missing son, dead bodies on my property & the suspected culprit somehow was home/wasn’t home? I don’t buy it.” Slave master Dupreé stared into Desmond’s eyes. “Put his head through the noose.” “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Maudette screams holding her youngest child tighter.

Delphine was snuck around the back of the house trying to get to the weapons shed to get the artillery before they strike. She remained in the shadows to remain unseen, as she tried to peer out of the corner her arm was grabbed by one of Massa’s plantation hands. “Whoa whoa there lil house girl, where you think you going? The soirée is back that way.” Delphine struggled to get free. “Let go of me!” she grunted. “Hey, you’re Dupreé’s mulatto bastard aren’t ya? Almost didn’t recognize you in the dark, then again you darkies all look alike.” The man’s breath reeked of cheap ale and rotting tobacco between his teeth. “You know, I never knew what made Jean like y’all so much.” He chuckled in her ear as he groped her breast. “Maybe I should fuck you like he fucked your whore of a momma.” Delphine let the razor slide down her freed sleeve and spat in his face. He tried to grab her again but she quickly turned around and slit his throat open with the sharp blade in one clean motion. 

She watched the blood pour out of the man’s body like a fountain, wishing she could feed, but she had a more important task to handle. She took off her dress and revealed her new outfit below and took off running. She finally found the weapons shed and when she opened the enclosure she saw it was completely empty. “No, no, no! Where are they?!” she whispered in frustration. “You thought you was gonna get to the weapons first?” Delphine turned around to see her brother behind her with a shotgun in his hand. “You miss me twin?”  he revealed his newly formed fangs to her. Delphine took out one of her pistols and smirked. “Not a single Frenchmen on this estate will survive beyond tonight.” She exposed her fangs, then they heard a “NOOOOOOOOOO!” from Maudette and began to run back around to help save Desmond & Cyrille.

“If you lie to me again, he will die tonight. Spare your husband’s life and tell me where Allix is. WHERE IS SHE?!!!???!!” He screamed his demand with a rope in his hand. Desmond tried to keep his balance on the railing as he was barely able to keep his balance on. “I will give you lot till the count of three then he dies. “MASSA PLEASE RECONSIDER!” “One.” “WE DON’T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!” “Two.” “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!” “Three.” He released the rope and Desmond went over the edge and was hung by his neck. Maudette screamed in agony as she saw her husband’s legs swinging for his life until he was gone. “PAPAAAAAAAAAAA!” Camille cried out in anguish as she saw her father’s lifeless body dangle in front of her. The crowd gasped in horror at the ghastly sight, everyone at that moment felt completely helpless. “The son is next.” Master Dupreé continued. Cyrille began screaming trying to fight off the men trying to force his head through the noose as he tried to escape his hand restraints. He fought as hard as he could then he heard a shot that barely missed his head. The men and him stopped moving and he looked at Master Dupreé. “Put your head through the noose boy!” He pointed his pistol directly at Cyrille’s head. “I won’t repeat myself a second time.” Cyrille tried to catch his breath as hot tears entangled with his blood from his assault earlier streamed down his face. The whole plantation was silent with the exception of Maudette who was still sobbing with her youngest child in her arms. 

The men put the noose around Cyrille’s neck and tightened it. Cyrille eyed Master Dupreé as if he was trying to stare down his soul. Master Dupreé looked right back at him. “I’m sorry it had to come to th-” Cyrille spat in Master Dupreé’s face and furrowed his brow not speaking a word as he huffed angrily. Master Dupreé wiped off the thick saliva from his right cheek and chuckled. “I going to love seeing your nigger body hang. Throw him over!” He addressed his henchmen as they struggled with Cyrille to carry out his sentence. “You and your whole family will die tonight, mark my words! Your family’s blood shall paint these damn walls!” Cyrille grunted as he struggled with the noose tight around his neck. The henchmen threw him over the railing and when he began to choke on the rope, he felt a strong gust of wind brush past him. 

The rope of him and his father was cut and the bodies drop to the floor, he quickly got up and saw the slaves gasping and staring upward in horror he quickly turned around and looked up to see Jacques Dupreé being hung by the neck over the balcony, his two henchmen murdered within seconds with their blood was viciously splattered across the walls behind where they once stood. It appeared like someone’s hand was around Master Dupreé’s neck, Cyrille looked up higher for a better look and saw it was Allix. She was covered with dirt from head to toe with a mischievous look in her eyes which were cat-like in an amber color with her fangs exposed. “I would kill you right where you stand, but I made a promise to a friend.” she replied as she dropped him from the ledge causing him to land on his ankles which were now broken upon contact with the cobblestone floor below. He began to crawl away in agony from the cobblestone to the grass.

She then looked down to see her frightened brother and the lifeless body of her father and quickly ran downstairs when Cyrille looked at his newly transformed sister, his eyes radiated a mixture of sadness, rage and relief. Allix reached out to touch her brother’s face and he reluctantly pulled away from her. “My God Allix, what have you become?” He raggedly breathed. Allix furrowed her brow and then faced the frightened crowd. “Enslaved people of Dupreé Plantation, I am Allix Beaulieu. I offer you a chance to be free of Master Dupreé or being under any European man’s rule! Right now, Rayan & Delphine are raiding the armory. Tonight, we take back this land and our lives. We shall be slaves no more.” “What makes you think you can set us free? Cause you broke Massa‘s foot’s off?!” One slave interjected. “You must think we’re foolish!” Another added. “You killed a couple of his men and think you can give us freedom?!” “Why should we even listen to you anyway, you’re the reason why your daddy is dead!”

The Revolt continues...

[grouptalekindnesssoul]

The Dragon Guarded Weapon

Warnings: Contains darker themes

This is also a first draft! So, any feedback is appreciated. It’s also very rough. 

As if spawning into a game, a young woman appeared in the center of the street. She then shook her short hair out of her blue eyes before slipping through the crowd with practiced ease, headed for a weaponsmith’s. She nodded to two other girls of about the same age as she passed. The black dyed hair bobbed as one slung a bow over her shoulder. The second had no obvious weapons, but a satchel was hanging across her body. 

“You must be the adventurer newbie. Look around, find something to your liking. I’m guessing something lightweight?” The towering, honey-toned smith asked, his voice like boulders crashing together. I shook my head and looked around, hovering over a wicked set of knives before pointing to a hammer.

“That looks to be my style” He looked at me funny but handed it to me. I tested it out by swiping it through the air. I rested it on the ground as I strapped on the sheath, standing just taller than me. 

“It suits you. Where are you off to now?” He asked as I paid. “Guards building. I’m fighting the head so we can take missions. My teammates agreed to a one on one, with me as the representative.” I smiled maliciously. He chuckled softly. 

“Don’t be too inhuman with that. I’d hate for her to come to me in a fury and demand I change your weapon” I waved as I left, smiling proudly. As I walked towards the door, Rebecca and Maddie joined me, arriving just as they were starting to look for us. I brushed past them and emerged into the courtyard training area where Captain Valerie was waiting. 

“Ready?” She asked. At my nod, she raised her shield and started circling me. She tried to jab at me with a solid sword, but I hooked my hammer to the edge of her shield. Pulling it back, I tapped her chest lightly before she could get in a counterstrike. 

  “I believe that is a win for me,” I said with a bow. She scowled at me but yielded. 

“Meet me at noon tomorrow for your first assignment”. I followed my teammates out of the courtyard. We retired to the large house on the edge of the residential section that we all shared. They both had rooms on the first floor; the ground floor was the kitchen, living room and dining room; my room was the attic. The second floor was empty at the moment. We all enjoyed dinner together before retiring. Early the next morning, I slipped out to get to the weaponsmith’s just as they opened. 

“Well, what can I do for you, little badass?” The Smith chuckled, using his height advantage to tease me. 

“I was wondering if there was any way to protect the handle. I realized that it was vulnerable, but metal would make it hard to grip and my hold on it changes throughout a fight” I said as I unsheathed it.

“Plus this is a two-handed weapon which makes a shield useless.” He finished. I nodded, as he inspected it thoughtfully. I examined my hand as he processed my request. “The best advice is to try and move faster so they don’t get to destroy it, and carry some smaller weapons just in case” He handed me a few daggers and knives, which I paid for.

“Thank you. This helps Mr. Smith” I called as I left with a smile. He waved back

“Name’s Rhett! Better call me that or I’ll give you-” I wandered out of earshot and through town for a few hours, before returning home and changing into my travel clothes. My dark brown boots with shorts and a crop top. I swung a cloak over it all to complete the look and hide my hammer and satchel. I met Rebecca at the bottom of the stairs. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail, fingers tapping as we waited. Maddie was applying makeup since she insisted that despite leaving the town, she must still look fashionable. I played with the strap of my satchel as the time crept closer to noon. Finally, she came downstairs in a skirt and tank top, her bag draped over one shoulder. She sashayed out the door and we were forced to follow. I fell behind slightly, aiming to not be associated with that type of chichi behavior. Rhett was headed back to his shop as we passed.

“Hello, Mr. Smith!” I called cheerfully

“Why, Little badass! I thought I told you to call me by my first name!” He chuckled as I passed.

“I know! My name’s Katie by the way. Kat, Delphine, and crazy girl all work though!” I joked. I could hear his rumbling chuckle as we continued walking. We bumped into Captain Valerie just a few moments after the noon bell chimed. 

“You’re almost late. Anyway, here’s your assignment. I almost gave it to another team but I suppose since you're here I’ll still give it to you.” I glared at Maddie before glancing it over.

“This is too hard. Let us warm up to our new status by giving us something easier” 

“Hm...here, this is easier,” She said with a sneer.

“Perfect,” I said, headed out of town. I passed the paper to Becca as Maddie blew a kiss at a passing guy.

“You realize she gave us a harder assignment?” Rebecca asked as she looked it over.

“Of course. I was gloating her into that. We can handle it though, so don’t worry.” I shrugged triumphantly. There was a picture of a goat bodied, snake-headed and scorpion tailed creature. The subtitle read: 

Herd the triple-venimeux. 

“Well. Goodbye Bailymena. Hello triple-venimeux!” I drawled. Becca rolled her eyes in my direction. Our archer was fiddling with her hair. “Maddie, we’re going to leave you behind at this rate. So stop worrying about your appearance and let’s find these beasts.” I prodded her arm. She huffed in my direction before speeding up to walk beside Becca. Snatches of their conversation drifted back towards me

“Always controlling everything isn’t she?” that was Maddie

“I’ve known her...A teensy bit but...heart’s in a good place” Becca’s response was harder for me to hear since I stopped. I knew I was bad but...that bad? I started walking again to catch up. I didn’t want them to realize I’d been listening and had been affected like that. Once I caught up I smiled before pushing them down. A stream of discolored liquid landed on a tree hissing. It missed our heads by mere seconds.

“WE FOUND THEM! KATIE, LEAD THEM” Becca pushed me towards the origin. I stumbled to my feet as Maddie drew her bow. I could see that the lead one was large and brown. Behind it, upwards of a few dozens others crouched. The brown lead bared its fangs at me. I ran. Beelining for an enclosure in the distance. I ducked as I heard a hiss from behind me. Narrowly missing losing my head to another venom stream. 

“My head could use a little help!” I called over my shoulder. Maddie was busy driving a smaller poison green necked one away from Becca. I threw one of my knives at its tail, causing it to whirl around and zero in on me with a vengeance. A sapphire blue diamond-patterned one lashed out with its tail while my back was turned. I rolled out of the way just as the point of its tail hit where my heart had been. I slashed at the tail, hurtling onto its back. I tried to direct it towards the cage. The one who’d attacked first raced towards it. He apparently sensed something I didn’t. I leaped off just as the one I was riding ran through and the gate closed. I lay panting laboriously as I calmed down.

“You ok?” A voice said somewhere above me. I looked into a grease-streaked feminine face. Their brown hair was wild, despite being trapped in a ponytail.

“Uh...Yea. I think? I had a few close calls there.” I said standing up, brushing off my pants. 

“I tossed food in there. They would’ve come running once they smelled it. I’m Ross, designer of this monstrosity of an enclosure. I live in Bailymena as a mechanic usually though.” They wiped off their hands on dirty cloth.

“Katie. I’m a new adventurer with Rebecca and Maddie over there.” I nodded at the two running figures. “We come from the same place on our first journey. You may have seen us around.” 

“I have. Ross seems to always have their hands fiddling with some sort of machine. I’m Ki, the blacksmith who rooms with this crazy girl.” A curly brown head popped up from behind an anvil. The shorter girl it belonged to offered me a hand to get me on my feet.

“Nice to meet you Ki, Ross. Thank you for saving my hide.” I said as I took it. Ki’s brown eyes twinkled as she looked into my face. Ross grumbled as they fiddled with a screwdriver, muttering something about how it wasn’t anything huge and I interrupted their flow. They then shook their head, as if leaving behind the thought.

“Glad you weren’t harmed,” They said energetically as if returning from a trance. Maddie flopped on the ground once she reached us. Becca glanced over the two. 

“Come on. We have a long way to go before nightfall. Thank you both for uh...helping?” Becca poked Maddie with one toe with a scowl.

“Oh. Uh..See ya, I guess. Good Luck!” Ki said, deflating slightly. I hugged her before grabbing Maddie’s leg. She offered me a sad smile as Becca stalked off with a huff. I mouthed an apology as I dragged our prone teammate after her. Ross waved, tucking a stray clump of hair behind an ear. They seemed to recede back into her quiet concentration as we left them in the dust. I dropped Maddie and stalked up to my hazel-eyed companion.

“Why? Why did you run off like that? Nightfall is soon and we could have stayed with them!” I hissed under my breath.

“And return to town with only one task completed?! We’d be ridiculed. But you don’t care because you’re the one who can do no wrong!” Becca’s voice shot up several octaves as she shouted back at me. I threw up my hands in exasperation. I glanced at the sky to see the horizon held only the slightest hint of orange. The rest was the deep blue of night. Maddie was stacking some kindling as we fought. I bent next to her and struck one of my knives against a branch to produce a spark. Becca sat down heavily on the opposite end of the fire. I tore into a granola bar before being startled by a noise. My teammates were unbothered or didn’t notice it. I glanced around reaching for one of my weapons. I caught a pair of green eyes watching us through the fog that was forming, before disappearing back into the woods. I moved closer to the fire uneasily. Becca and Maddie went to sleep within the next hour unawares. I stayed up for a while watching the dying embers before I finally drifted off. I woke up to a gag around my mouth and my arms tied soundly behind my back. I had also been disarmed much to my embarrassment. I tried to pull my bindings over anything sharp on the ground like a rock, but there was nothing. 

“Whatcha gonna do with her now? That Captain’s, Valerie? Was it? tip paid off. But why’d you grab only her Boss?” A hiccuping voice interrupted my search. Another, smoother and silkier man’s voice answered.

“The others are untouchable. Adventurers she said. This one will be sold as a slave, if she’s lucky” A sinister laugh sent a shiver down my whole body. A steel-tipped boot kicked my side, causing me to curl up and cough up some blood. The owner grabbed my arms and forced me to my feet brutally. I stared into steely amber eyes on a deep skinned man in an immaculate suit. His black hair was carefully arranged. 

“We have a long way to go. Truman, keep an eye on her.” He said turning on one heel. 

“Ricardo. Boss.” The man, Truman, stammered out

“I told you, Ricardo is not to be used by any other than my family or business partners! And I will NOT HAVE MY HIRED HELP QUESTIONING ME!” I stood there limp as Ricardo grabbed me and threw me towards a wagon in the distance. I felt a branch tear into my right leg. I made a vague distressed noise through my gag as I watched blood gush from the wound. “GET BACK! I WILL DEAL WITH THIS ONE MYSELF” was hurled after Truman’s fleeing figure as he ran past me. He sprinted up to the wagon in the distance. I was fumbling to put something over my wound with my limited range of movement. Ricardo ripped me to my feet. “Of course you go and get yourself hurt. Maybe I can hide it with a longer skirt..” He mused to himself. I tried to twist away from him, and he let me. I fell the moment I tried putting weight on my leg. He continued on about how that would be a problem as well as he pulled me up once more. I tried to shout through the awful thing still muting me. He drew a jeweled knife from his sleeve. I shrank back as he moved it closer to me. He scoffed and cut the gag in one neat stroke.

“No screaming girl.” He said haughtily 

“Katie. My name is Katie. And I’m afraid I can’t walk since you threw me onto a sharp branch” I made known with the slightest hint of sass. He chuckled as he hoisted me into the air, still keeping my wound away from his suit. 

“Don’t get used to this. I only am doing this to make sure there’s no more damage that will result in money loss” He said, silencing any hint of humor. I glared at him, which he didn’t notice. The fog had thickened to the point I feared I was leaving a trail of blood without noticing. A scream ripped through the air near us, with a response of a hoarse roaring. Ricardo stopped as Truman came bolting out of the woods directly in front of us. A scrawny golden large cat was close on his heels. It sniffed the air and stared at me hungrily. The only thing that stopped it from approaching was my growl and a horrible imitation of its roar by Ricardo. It sprinted after the poor henchman. The unfeeling man holding me dropped me right in its trail as screams echoed through the fog. He rolled me over a few times until all I could smell was the choking scent. I was still gagging as I was once again hoisted into the air. I bit back a scream as pain from my leg made my vision blur. I moaned as my vision faded in and out with every small jolt. I finally gave up and let myself pass out. 

When I woke up, I was bouncing in the wagon, tied next to women of various ages, but I appeared to be the youngest. A few still had gags, but most were only tied at the hands and feet. My feet were free and my leg was bandaged up. The woman directly next to me was a short, medium-toned middle-aged one. My other side was facing the opening to the wagon, which was currently sealed. The woman beside me moaned slightly as she shifted, revealing bruises between her two-piece outfit, on the side she’d been just laying on. 

“Are you ok?” I murmured to her. She looked at me with warm light green eyes. After a quick acknowledgment, she looked away again. I looked away too just as the wagon’s flap was opened. A man stood there. I could hear someone complaining that they had to change a girl’s dressings since it had already been a day. The man who had just let light in grabbed me as I realized I’d been out for at least a day. Most likely closer to a day and a half or more. 

“Here you go Jayce.” The man carrying me grunted as he handed me off to a weedy, extremely pale older man. With uncaring precision, he changed the bandages on my leg. Ricardo walked over as I mumbled 

“Food? I’m really hungry” Jayce glared at me. Ricardo however, stood me up and untied my hands, leading me back to the wagon, where a short distance away a fire burned beneath a pot. He handed me a bowl with soup and a spoon. I hobbled a short distance on my own to sit down. I smiled that I could support my weight at least enough. I pretended to eat until barely anyone was watching then flung my bowl into the fire where it caused a huge ruckus. I pushed myself to my feet and moved as quickly as I could to the wagon. Grabbing a discarded knife, I jumped into the wagon and began cutting women free. I started wailing as well, hoping someone was nearby and would recognize it. Other women took up the cry as I pushed them towards the woods, finishing freeing them all. I hobbled after them as two women appeared, just as the first of the group reached the woods. They stepped aside as the freed prisoners rushed away. The taller of the two watched with unblinking eyes as the last of them besides me disappeared. The shorter brushed her brown hair out of her face as she turned to return to whatever they were doing. The black-haired girl snickered as men called for her to help catch the fleeing women. She led the way back into the forest as my leg finally gave up under my weight and the stress I’d been putting on it.

[seawolvesanddragons]

Anne With An E S3 E1 Thoughts: (Spoilers!)

Oh my god this season is off to such a great start. I’m simultaneously elated that I don’t have to wait till January and distraught that I have to wait a week in between episodes. 

In no particular order: 

-Most of the promo was from this episode, meaning we jumped right in with Ka’Kwet and Anne and I am LIVING for it, I really hope we see more of her and her tribe later on this season. Their whole interaction was just so wholesome? “They are the people I am like, so I am connected to them” man jumping right in with this season’s theme, I LOVE it. I bet that whole thing about needing more food and the train and the hunters will come back later. 

-Billy is still an ass. Nobody is surprised. What is more surprising is that Josie Pye is on friendlier terms with all the girls, including Anne (she was at the Birthday Party) and also that when Billy sprays Josie with ice, Anne laughs. I guess with such a small town you can’t hold grudges over everything? 

-”You can’t even add” god bless Jane Andrews 

-Every season has such gorgeous openings and this was no exception, seeing Anne gallop through the woods was heartstopping. 

-BASH AND MARY HAVE A BABY GIRL I REPEAT BASH AND MARY HAVE A BABY GIRL AAHHHHHHH

-THAT GILBERT KISSES ON THE HEAD AND BASH BABY SPEAKS TOO 

-Also first time we ever have Gilbert and Anne interacting in the first episode and I am here for it. 

-The entire “notice board” scene between Anne and Gilbert I was just like “ANNe NO sweetheart no dear darling no no no baby child no please just stop oh god no sweetie stop” 

-Least Gilbert is no longer in fucking denial.  -”Tillie has a two boy problem” “That’s no problem” fucking iconic legend Tillie out here slaying 

-Oh Charlie. Its not gonna happen. But points for trying 

-Moody shot up but is still so very Moody like. 

-Diana fucking SLAYING with her first wave feminism “my education is suffering” and blasting her piano to make sure she could celebrate with Anne yes girl get your goals. Don’t forget you have a rich aunt who would totally support you going against your parents wishes! 

-Diana and Anne’s friendship is still the purest thing. 

-Literally everytime I see Diana and Anne interact I am torn between lesbian Diana/Anne, Anne/Gilbert, and solo lesbian Diana. 

-JERRY. Jerry READING. Jerry playing along with Diana’s prank while staring at her with heart eyes. Jerry being crazy tall now. Just. everything. 

-Now I’m also torn between Lesbian!Diana and Jerry/Diana. Damn it. 

-Matthew Cuthbert is a sweetheart and I would die for him 

-Ms Stacy continues to be her awesome self (I like her a lot better now than I did when she was first introduced) and I am loving the tie. Also hope to see more of her and Rachel interacting. 

-Ms Stacy 100 percent ships different students. You can totally see it when she looks up from grading and smiles at them. 

-That printing press is absolutely going to be a “surprise tool that will help us later on!” Like, its coming back. Its gonna. 

-The notice board will probably show up again as well. 

-I’ve seen a lot of flack on Gilbert for just walking away when Anne was trying to figure out if he did like her via his eyes (child Cole told you this LAST SEASON) but honestly? The boy not 7 hours prior thought the love of his life was confessing to him only to find out she was trying to set him up with her friend. Its probably hard for him to be around her right now. Can’t WAIT to see what happens next episode with the train

- that being said, it looks like Gilbert and Anne are both the heads of newspaper and I want to see that come up some more. 

-Also, props to Gilbert for being the only one who seems to foresee what will happen when Ms Stacy calls on Anne to present her lineage. Look at his body language, he knows this is probably difficult. Props also to Ms Stacy for immediately apologizing in private. 

-Bash and Mary are adorable let them have all the happiness and no more trouble, please. Also I need more of Bash just dragging Gilbert. 

-Marilla and Mary are great buddies and I love it. Delphine is adorable. 

-Marilla and Bash totally gossip about their charges. She’s probably writing a note to slip him later right now, about how Anne is going to ask Gilbert if she can join him at the train station. Meanwhile, Bash is eavesdropping on Gilbert angrily doing his chores while muttering about notice boards and Ruby and Anne and taking note to share all of this with Marilla later. 

-THAT CHARM BRACELET OMG. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SCENE. 

-Matthew reading the farmers almanac upside down omg. Marilla giggling.  

-Oh no Marilla Anne would never leave you no no no my heart is breaking for them. 

-That fifty pence is also going to come back later on in the season. Calling it now. 

-COLE IS BACK NEXT EPISODE YESSSSSS