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#starlight library stuff
starlight-library · 4 months
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howdy! sorry for disappearing, work got pretty busy but I got fun things planned this weekend! Here's what I got planned:
Logan blurb
Part 2 to opposites attract
Ghostface!Oscar ask
and replying to my inbox!
stay tuned!
edit 2/8: marking these off as i go!
edit 2/11: adding
lando with helmet
expand on ghostface!oscar
new ghostface idea
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gffa · 5 months
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CONGRATULATE ME, I HAVE MADE SO MUCH PROGRESS ON GETTING THROUGH THE HIGH REPUBLIC STORIES, thanks to my library having a bunch of the audiobooks and comics in! I'm actually a little further than this along (I've read more than half of the 2021 High Republic comic series, more than half of Edge of Balance, more than half of Monster of Temple Peak, more than half of Convergence, etc.) but this is still a good reflection of how up to date I am with THR stories:
MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE I:
The High Republic: Light of the Jedi
The High Republic: A Test of Courage
The High Republic: Into the Dark
The High Republic: The Rising Storm
The High Republic: Race To Crashpoint Tower
The High Republic: Out Of The Shadows
The High Republic: Mission to Disaster
The High Republic: The Fallen Star
The High Republic: Midnight Horizon
MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE II:
The High Republic: Path of Deceit
The High Republic: Convergence
The High Republic: Quest for the Hidden City
The High Republic: Cataclysm
The High Republic: Quest for Planet X
The High Republic: Path of Vengeance
MAIN STORYLINE NOVELS - PHASE III:
The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness
MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE I:
The High Republic (2021) - 15 issues
The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 13 issues
The High Republic: The Monster of Temple Peak - 4 issues
The High Republic: The Edge Of Balance - 2 manga volumes
The High Republic: Trail of Shadows - 5 issues
The High Republic: Eye of the Storm - 2 issues
MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE II:
The High Republic: The Blade - 4 issues
The High Republic (2022) - 10 issues
The High Republic Adventures (2021) - 8 issues
The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Precedent - 1 manga volume
The High Republic Adventures: The Nameless Terror - 4 issues
MAIN STORYLINE COMICS - PHASE III:
The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight - 4 issues
The High Republic (2023) - 3 issues [ONGOING]
The High Republic Adventures (2023) - 1 issue [ONGOING]
MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE I:
The High Republic: Tempest Runner
MAIN STORYLINE AUDIODRAMAS - PHASE II:
The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha
ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE I:
Star Wars Adventures (2020) #6 - "The Gaze Electric"
The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2021
The High Republic Adventures Annual 2021
The High Republic Adventures: Galactic Bake-Off Spectacular
Star Wars Adventures (2020) #14 - "A Very Nihil Interlude"
The High Republic Adventures: Free Comic Book Day 2023
ONESHOT COMIC ISSUES - PHASE II:
The High Republic Adventures: Quest of the Jedi
ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE I:
Star Wars: The High Republic: Starlight
ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - PHASE II:
Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment
ANTHOLOGY NOVELS - ALL PHASES:
The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life
I don't know what I'm going to do after I finish all of these! Maybe finally read the second Thrawn trilogy or get around to the second and third Padme books or, ooh, Outbound Flight got an unabridged audiobook version and I never did finish that one! It's been fun to have a bunch of audiobooks to listen to via my library and one thing I will say for The High Republic stories, is that I do think they're some of the best interconnected storytelling Star Wars has had outside of the animated series' continuity with the movies. I do feel like they often times are hamstrung by "so much of the cool stuff happening is just a repeat of the things the Jedi in the Clone Wars did", but the sense of all these moving parts that work together, different authors all having a pretty coherent take on the characters and plot, despite being in so many different books, is really well-done. They're fun to get through, and that's what I'm really looking for.
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acefaun · 5 months
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Can you write a angsty story with a happy ending for Lindir x half elf-half human girl? She and Lindir grew up together and Lindir has feelings for her but his responsibilities came in the way of his feelings. One day a handsome elven lord came to the reader's family to ask her hand in marriage. Lindir saw reader was happy and chose to bury his feelings but little did he knew she felt the same way. They both decided to confess to each other and they get married.
Sorry for requesting such a lengthy story 😅
Lindir~ Longing
Synopsis: Childhood friends, Lindir can’t help but fawn over you for a majority of your lives. But when it comes time for the perfect opportunity to confess his feelings for you, an unexpected marriage proposal gets in the way of your happily ever after.
🍃Masterlist🍃 Female Half-Elf, Half-Human MC!
A/n: ✨Angst!✨ ✨Angst!✨ ✨Aaaaangst!✨ Happy New Year, guys! I was told I had to post something before 2024, so how does 20 minutes before 2024 sound? I was supposed to post it earlier, but yesterday I was crying over angsty pseudo-relationship stuff and today I had a migraine and just woke up an hour ago. ANYWAY, last fic of the year! I also hesitated to breathe, because shortly after I got this request, I got an emotional lashing for touching Rings of Power without permission? And anyway, Lindir’s sensitive, don’t yell at us. 🥺 mAn, Lindir's gonna make me cry again.
–Word Count: 5,443–
The light, melodious sound of an elven maiden’s voice danced around him, drawing his feet to a standstill. From an above balcony, he watched the scene in awe. How was it possible to have hair that reflected the light of the moon, quite nearly making it look as though your hair was made of starlight itself? 
Lindir’s heart melted at your beauty. Not a single elf in all of Middle Earth could hold a candle to you. He counted his blessings that your magnificence was created in Rivendell, a progeny of Lord Elrond himself; a beautiful elf you were, regardless of your half-human descendance. He had the pleasure of knowing you your whole life, something only the most fortunate elf could brag about. Still, some good it did him, when he never had the chance to tell you how he truly felt about you…
Maybe… just maybe… tonight could be that night. You were humming a delightful tune, standing on the edge of a platform, admiring the waterfalls that stretched up the side of the mountain; the shimmering silver water serving as a backdrop, complimenting your dress. If there were a better time to speak up, he was sure now was it, when his heart was fluttering and his urge to have you in his arms was strongest. 
With his courage secured, he made move to descend the stairs to meet you. If only fortune were on his side. An elf maiden called out, “Lindir, Lord Elrond wishes to speak with you.”
His eyes shifted to the maiden who called him. “I’ll be there in a moment,” Lindir replied, masking how flustered he felt on the inside for missing yet another opportunity—for foolishly believing he could accomplish something so far out of his reach. Still, as he was left once again to his own devices, his helplessly longing gaze returned to you for a brief moment. You had such a bad habit of wrapping him around your finger, even when you’d done nothing at all. 
Sighing, he turned on his heel. Tonight would not be the night, he lamented as he left to tend to his duties.
***
The rain was pattering lightly on the window, but yet, the sun still streamed through the clouds, making for an oddly beautiful sight. Rainbows were fairly common thanks to the waterfalls in Rivendell, but the large rainbows that stretched across the sky were another sight to behold.
Eagerly, you made your way down the hall and to the library. Peering inside, your reason for coming all this way wasn't easily found. Tilting your head, you entered, your eyes scanning the space before the quiet shuffling of paper caught your ear. Following the sound, you spotted Lindir hidden between the bookshelves, a book in his slender hands. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and for a brief moment, you debated on your choice of bothering him. 
But a soft sigh left his lips, and he left you startled as he addressed you, “Is there something you require, my lady?” He didn't even look up to see you; how could he tell it was you? “Your steps are always soft and easy to recognize,” he said, as though hearing your internal dialogue. 
“Well,” you smiled at him, brushing off his quirky way of recognizing you. “I was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk with me?”
This time his head lifted from his book, glancing at you before his gaze flickered to a window. “It's raining out.”
“Haven't you ever wanted to walk in the rain? It's nice and sunny and there's a rainbow outside,” you tried to make it sound as enticing as possible. You didn’t care if it was raining, you just wanted to spend time with him.
As much as he wanted to see you enjoying yourself in the warm rain, he sighed, returning his book to the shelf before grabbing another one to flicker through as he offhandedly answered, “Lord Elrond would not approve if you were to catch cold.” He knew your half-human side was fragile, and he wanted to protect you as best as he could. 
“We don't have to tell him,” you pouted. There’s no way he’d reject you so easily. “It'd only be for a few minutes. Please, come with me, Lindir?”
He resisted the urge to groan. Why must you say his name in that manner? You made it so difficult for him to tell you no. Regardless, he didn't have time to be entertaining you, and his heart ached. How many times this month has he had to reject you because he was busy? 
For the umpteenth time this month, he declined, “Unfortunately, I have more work from Lord Elrond that needs completing. You are aware that King Thranduil is paying a visit to Rivendell just next week, aren't you? I pray you haven't forgotten.”
“I haven't forgotten,” you swiftly defended yourself despite, indeed, having forgotten the date. The look Lindir shot your way told you of the grave importance of this meeting. This reminder gave you an idea… “Can I help with the preparations?”
“I…” Lindir faltered at your offer, before he sighed again, replying, “That isn't up to me to decide. Though I should say not, with how you'd forgotten the event despite my already having told you earlier this week.”
“Well, then,” you said quite confidently, “I'll just have to ask!”
Though, asking your father only ended up the same way it always ended… with him explaining that you had your own preparations to attend to. You still needed to get a dress for the occasion. 
You should have been familiar with not being able to help Lindir, not being able to be around him for more than five minutes, or simply not being able to see him for extended periods. You weren't sure what happened after you both got older… It wasn't like you lived in separate worlds where you never got to see one another. Since when… did he neglect your feelings for his ‘righteous duty’ and ‘responsibilities’? Not that you could blame him… he served your father, Elrond, of all people, and you knew he was a busy elf Lord. You suppose you’d just have to be patient and wait for Lindir to come to you on his own time, when he wasn’t busy, and when he wanted to see you… if he wanted to see you. 
***
Lindir felt like he had gone over this list a dozen times, making minor changes each time he set eyes on it. But this was the final look-over and there could be no mistakes. King Thranduil was not one to overlook mistakes, and Lindir would surely suffer an earful if Lord Elrond were to hear but a single complaint from the King of the Woodland Realm. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead. When had things gotten so stressful?
A heavy sigh filled the air, though, to Lindir’s surprise, it wasn’t his own. His eyes flickered around the room, but no one seemed particularly bothered enough to let out such an aggrieved sigh. Peering out of the open window, he found the source of the sigh. You were sitting on a nearby bench, a notebook in hand.
At first, he thought he might have been mistaken about the source, until another sigh left your lips. His heart ached at the thought that you could have been upset over something. But then… why couldn’t you have simply asked someone for help rather than stewing alone in silence? 
He was tempted to spare time to go out and console you himself, but again, he was interrupted from his concerns. An elf called for his attention, “Lindir, I’m not sure that this is going to be ready in time for their arrival.”
Lindir’s eyes swiftly shot to the elf at attention. “That’s not sufficient. If any hands can be spared, do so. We’ll not still be setting up when they arrive. We don’t want to look unprepared for their presence. I’ll look into it myself.” Pausing before leaving the room, he thoughtfully added, “If there is a spare moment, can someone check on Lady (Name)? I…” He didn’t want to admit to fretting over you like a worried mother. So, he excused, “I need to ensure she’s prepared for tomorrow.” This time, an aggrieved sigh did leave his lips as he left the room in a hurry.
***
Pattering of feet and clinking of dishes echoed through the halls, the air buzzing with both excitement and apprehension. Oddly, you felt neither of those things. It wasn’t in your interest to impress a friend of your father—if friend was what Thranduil was.
Sighing, you watched the flurry of excitement; elves rushed this way and that to make sure everything was perfect for King Thranduil’s arrival. You understood what all the fuss was about, of course, but everything looked good to your eyes. You didn’t understand what they were fretting over; they’d been at this all morning.
Perhaps you were disinterest in their hard work was because your eyes had been glued to one specific elf since you’d entered the courtyard. Lindir looked to be beyond himself with worry as he tried to make sure everything was set according to plan. At most, they had maybe an hour before everything needed to be finalized. Though, each time you set eyes on Lindir, it seemed like he vanished into thin air the moment something crossed your path, and you lost sight of him. 
Your attempts to even speak with him were in vain, as he eluded you each time—though you were sure it wasn’t on purpose. He, as always, had his duties to attend to. You couldn’t blame him when the success or failure of this festival rested on his shoulders. You could only pray in your heart that when the sun had finally set and the music rang through the halls that he would be able to relax and enjoy the festival of starlight. Lindir deserved to enjoy the evening along with the rest of Rivendell and those from the Woodland Realm who accompanied Thranduil. Maybe… Just maybe, then you’d be able to have a moment with him. 
Accepting the fact that you were never going to be able to catch Lindir at this rate, you resigned to joining your father and sister, waiting for the arrival of the elves of Mirkwood. 
Arwen glanced at you from the corner of her eye before vaguely asking, “Any word?”
You shot her a look that told her to hold her tongue in the presence of your father. “Not a single one, and I’d rather not have a word from you either.” 
Elrond looked back at the two of you, his gaze studious as he glanced between you. Slowly, he commented, “Your tongue is rather sharp this evening.” Of course, it was his off-handed way of asking you to open up. You wanted to glare at Arwen for making Elrond take interest in your conversation. The last thing you wanted was for him to stick his nose in your business—your business being your little crush on his seemingly unremarkable advisor. 
Luckily, Arwen was there to save you an explanation as she smoothly excused, “She must be feeling the stress of the others. It’s not often we host the King of the Woodland Realm for an occasion such as a festival of starlight.” 
“Indeed,” Elrond’s eyes stayed trained on you before he turned his head with a nod. “The King hardly leaves his halls. I feel this will be a festival worth remembering.” And you had to agree with that statement—at least, you hoped so. 
Though, as you had expected, it was only a matter of time before Lindir had to join the three of you. Welcoming Thranduil into Rivendell was upon the most important things to be done, and Elrond’s advisor had to be there for courteous purposes. 
Lindir, however, paused upon approach, his gaze lingering on you the minute you both locked eyes. His lips had opened as if to say something, but no words came out immediately. He said nothing until he caught the eyes of both your father and sister, to which he shyly complimented, “You're both beautiful, my ladies.” Of course, complimenting you and Arwen was his best move, as opposed to his continued staring. 
As he quickly joined Elrond’s side, Arwen shot you a suggestive look in regard to Lindir. Waving her off, you tried not to pay much mind to how close you and Lindir were standing to one another. There was no time for that… If anything, you only had to hope that he would spare you a moment of his time at the festival. But here and now you couldn’t carelessly be sparing glances to Lindir when you were going to be greeting a King.
It was supposed to be an official greeting from one noble to another… However, as soon as the party of elves arrived with King Thranduil, your eyes glittered at seeing another life-long friend of yours at the King’s side. He seemed to get equally excited upon seeing you as well. “(Name)!”
“Legolas!” Now, he wasn't someone you thought you were going to be seeing. Or maybe… he slipped your mind while you were busy placing your attention on the unattainable Lindir… 
But the minute Legolas had you in a tight embrace, you forgot about your unrequited love. For the moment, all you wanted to do was catch up with an old friend—even if it disrupted the sophisticated atmosphere of a King entering Rivendell.
***
Lindir would have sagged his shoulders in relief if he weren't trying to maintain a decent image—it didn't matter so much that Lord Elrond praised his good work and gave him permission to enjoy the festival. It was difficult to enjoy himself when… you weren't beside him. 
He'd been working hard this whole time with the hopes that tonight might have been the night he told you how he felt… 
His hard work paid off… only for you to spend a great deal of time hanging off of Prince Legolas’ arm. Lindir supposed he should accept fate as it was: Legolas was a noble, someone who could make you a queen one day. You deserve the best, and Lindir was far from the best. 
Taking his failure to heart and not having the spirit to hang around the festival, he took a walk through the lightly illuminated paths of Rivendell. It was a familiar path… One that you and he used to walk together often. Just down the path, he walked, seeking the lonely courtyard that sat hidden behind a beautiful range of waterfalls. 
Though, upon turning a corner, he quickly had to backtrack, concealing himself beside the shadow of a pillar. Just ahead, there was a couple that was barely noticeable in the dim lighting.
On the verge of turning around and leaving them in peace, Lindir paused, your voice catching his ears. 
It was then that he noticed the pair was none other than you and Legolas. He knew he shouldn't have been intruding on the private moment, but he couldn't bring himself to turn away, especially with what he overheard Legolas saying, “You know… I have to agree. For as long as we’ve known each other, we’re compatible. I wouldn’t want you to think I’m asking for your hand in marriage insincerely. Still, I value your opinion and your desires above all else. Would you at least consider…?”
“Legolas…” You whispered his name. Lindir could only watch silently as you wrapped your arms around Legolas’ neck and that… that’s what told Lindir this dance was over… It was time for him to let go of his loss. He could only stare for another heart-wrenching moment as the two of you embraced, sharing hushed words as if you were already a married couple.
Turning once again, Lindir made a swift retreat. This entire event made sense now. The reason Lord Elrond placed much of his time and effort into making sure it was impeccably arranged… was because it was to be the night of your engagement. Lord Elrond must have previously come to this agreement with King Thranduil, meaning that you couldn’t refuse, even if you wanted to. Though, logically, Lindir knew you wouldn’t reject Prince Legolas.
Lindir walked down the path, making his way back to the lively festival. This path that was so familiar to him suddenly turned into something that made his heart ache. Fond memories of you that swirled around in his head were like shards of glass made to pierce his heart. 
But… he only had himself to blame. If he hadn’t neglected you all this time, then perhaps… perhaps you would have looked at him. 
No. He had no chance. Legolas had always been more deserving of your affection, however sparse the woodland prince was in your life. At least the young prince could eagerly sweep you off of your feet, unlike Lindir, who only seemed capable of disappointing you as of late. 
Besides, your marriage would only strengthen the bond between Mirkwood and Rivendell, undoubtably. There were only good things that could come from this union. There were a million ways Lindir could justify how right it was for you to be with Legolas, but none of it seemed to stop the agony that assailed his heart. 
Lord Elrond was correct… This festival was, indeed, an unforgettable one…
Inhaling softly, Lindir came to a decision. This was fine—all of it. There was nothing more for him to do regarding your well-being now that you were in Legolas’ capable hands. Lindir would just begin preparing for the aftermath of the festival. At the very lease, he still had a job to complete, and he couldn’t disappoint Lord Elrond because he was heart sick, of all things.
***
Fortunately for you… Legolas happened to be very understanding of your position when you explained to him why you couldn’t agree to this arranged marriage. In a marriage, as the two of you came to coincide, there was love to be expected—and not forced love either.
Now, it wasn’t that the two of you were unable to love each other; you were sure you would get along just fine if it really came down to the two of you getting married. However, Legolas understood completely that you were simply in love with someone else. Your heart raced for another who was not Legolas, and so long as it was in his power, he was going to help you express these repressed feelings. 
Coming to such an agreement, Legolas wasted no time in helping you search for your missing love: Lindir. 
With no luck between the two of you, though you were loath to address your all-knowing sibling, you knew she would possibly be able to help. Considering she had been present at the festival all night, you were sure she was the perfect person to go to in regard to finding Lindir. 
Luckily, you made just the right call. “Then you’ve finally come to terms with your feelings…” Arwen displayed a soft smile, agreeing to help. However, she didn’t seem to need your help for this part, as she ushered, “Stay, enjoy the festival. Grab a drink with Legolas.” She gestured for you to return to your waiting friend. “I’ll return shortly with all the answers you hope to find.”
“Arwen…” You almost deflated in front of her, quite nearly put-off with how she was ushering you back to Legolas. But… you knew she was being genuine, and you couldn’t help but smile slightly in return as Arwen walked off, leaving you alone once again. “Thank you.” 
Your sister simply smiled in return to your earnest response before leaving you alone once again. 
Only, when you returned to the festival per Arwen’s previous ushering, you failed to find Legolas. It wasn’t odd that you couldn’t find him in such a crowded scene, but even the nearby elves couldn’t give you answers as to where your friend disappeared to.
In any case, you were sure Arwen would be quick in her task, and Legolas was probably still off on his noble search for Lindir. At this rate, you felt like everyone was searching for Lindir but you… And while Arwen told you to remain at the festival and enjoy yourself, that was turning out to be a rather difficult and tedious task. 
Besides, now that you were alone with your scrambled thoughts, you were feeling the pressure of reality. Arwen and Legolas were searching for Lindir for you… so you could convey your deepest feelings for him. You were sure he would refuse your feelings, simply because he already owed you that loyalty as a servant of Rivendell. Not to mention, he wasn’t the sort to conceal his true feelings very well; to put it simply, he was horrible at it.
The one time dwarves were in Rivendell, he had enough trouble hiding his disdain for them. You were sure this would be no different. He always had to tolerate you because you were Elrond’s daughter. Who was to say he wouldn’t consider it entirely unprofessional? There were a ton of excuses you could think up as to why Lindir might reject you. 
All you could do was wait for the time to come. And so you waited quietly by a fountain, brushing your fingers across the silver surface, reflecting the light of the stars above. 
***
Lindir’s heart was racing uncomfortably. He was informed by Arwen that you were in trouble and needed his help immediately. Despite not being able to answer why she couldn’t be of any help to you—why did it have to be him?—Lindir was quick to rush down the familiar walk ways to return to the festival. 
He wasn’t sure what the issue was that required his attention so direly, but he understood upon seeing you alone… so melancholic—you were like an angel of starlight in his eyes once again, your beauty unfailing.
For a brief moment, he wondered where Legolas was… only to have the thought that perhaps things had not worked out as the two of you had hoped. Now, his heart did not ache because of you… but for you. 
Quietly, he weaved his way through the festive elves, coming up beside you. You still hadn’t acknowledged him, so, he quietly addressed you, “My Lady… What brings you such sorrow on such a joyous evening?”
“Lindir…” Your eyes were quick to flicker to him, and for a moment, your sorrows were all but forgotten. Being in his presence was enough to make you forget yourself. All seemed well in your world until it came time for you to answer his question. This time… you had to be honest. Though, your words were shaky and unsure. “I- I only…” 
Lindir was unused to you being so demure and bothered. You were usually more certain of yourself and intent on bothering him at the worst of times. This wasn’t like you. 
For the second time since finding you, he wondered if he truly was the right person to be beside you, solving your still-unspoken problem. Was this not supposed to be the job of your betrothed? He let out a soft breath. “I… do not mean to pry. But does this have to do with Legolas? You’ve been with him all evening, up until now.” He tilted his head as if teasing you to try to lighten the mood. “Has my lady gotten lost in her own home?”
You couldn’t help but let out an amused huff—he had at least succeeded in making you smile somewhat. “It wasn’t that I lost Legolas,” you admitted, your cheeks burning as you dared yourself to continue your sentence, “I lost you, Lindir.”
Lindir was surprised to hear you say that. His eyes were wide before he dared to ask, “Were you searching for me, my Lady…?” He was hesitant to join you as you gestured for him to sit beside you on the fountain’s edge, but he couldn’t say no to you when you so clearly wanted this. 
“I searched everywhere… but it was like you vanished entirely. I feel like that’s been happening more as of late.” Though your cheeks revealed how flustered you were, your eyes shone with despair. Lindir wanted nothing more than to rid you of any ailments, so that he could only see that joyous glimmer in your eyes. But… was it his fault you were in this state? He didn’t have an answer until you continued, “Each time you disappear from sight, my chest feels heavy, and I get terrified that I’ll never see you again.” 
“I’m here,” he said reassuringly, though, he wasn’t entirely sure what to say to the betrothed of a prince. There were only so many ways he could comfort you and hope to remain on Legolas’ good side. Still, this was starting to sound more like a personal jab. Had he truly been so neglectful? “(Name)...” For once, he dropped the honorifics, and you felt your heart skip as his hand gently laid on top of yours. “I’m here now. Tell me, what’s on your mind?”
He was gazing at you earnestly. He genuinely wanted to know what was bothering you and if it was within his ability to fix. But he was surprised when you uncharacteristically, and very bluntly, asked, “Why are you always too busy for me?” 
The question took him off guard. There was a completely logical answer to the question, though… if he was being honest, he was too flustered to admit it outright. Hesitantly, however, he did tell you the truth, “I have kept myself busy and have done my work diligently, all with the hopes that I would have personal time to spend with you.” He averted his gaze, having more to add, but certain it was an inappropriate time to mention it. Still, your eyes implored him to speak more of his secrets, and he loathed your prying gaze. “I had hoped to have done a well enough job that I would have free time to spend with you at this festival.” 
And just like that, he admitted his failed plan of the night; he genuinely did want to spend time with you. While he expected his explanation to be one-sided, you were astonishingly quick at admitting a secret of your own, “I wanted to spend time with you too, Lindir, but you were always so busy for my father. Even before this festival,” you thought to add that last part. “I like you, Lindir, and I’m so…” You trailed off, struggling to find a word to describe your feelings—something Lindir always thought was endearing about you. “I’m so miffed with you!”
“I understand,” he replied slowly, albeit surprised. He couldn’t hide the hesitation in his tone—he was confused. More than confused, his heart was in more pain than ever. “My Lady—” Yet again, he was putting emotional distance between the two of you. “—what of Prince Legolas? The covenant is already arranged; there is no getting out of it.”
“Well,” you spoke coyly, telling Lindir that you knew more than he did. “Legolas and I were talking about that earlier. He was the one who wanted to help me find you in the first place because… well… he agrees with me that we simply weren’t ready for marriage in the first place.”
Lindir hated that you were suddenly being so straightforward with him. Well, he hated it just about as much as he loved it. He could hardly hide his pink cheeks as he made a quick excuse, “(Name), think of the thought that must have gone into this by your father and King Thranduil. It’s not often King Thranduil leaves his kingdom, which means this night was of great importance. I can think of no other reason than that this night was clearly strictly for you and Prince Legolas. This is no time for-”
“I don’t think any of their opinions matter as far as loving someone else is concerned,” you suddenly interrupted him, causing a thick silence to fill the air.
Lindir was left flustered by your bold statement, and couldn’t muster a single thought other than that… you loved him. You said it. It was the first time he heard you say it, though it was ever so slightly indirect, he knew it was directed at him. Still, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions, though he knew all fingers were pointed at one solid conclusion that he’d been ignoring. He patiently asked, “Is this what’s been bothering you today?”
“It’s been bothering me,” you pouted, making him avert his gaze in guilt. You didn’t seem like you were letting him off easy tonight as you accused, “You’ve been ignoring me.”
“I apologize for that…” He paused after his reluctant apology. He knew he was in the wrong, but there was still a lot to be discussed. There were so many unspoken feelings, and so many obstacles that came as a result of these feelings if they were to be addressed appropriately. After a guilt filled moment, he finally spoke again, “Are you certain this is how you feel?”
You unwaveringly nodded, dissuading his doubts with a firm “Yes.”
“Then…” Lindir sighed, finally giving into his overwhelming feelings. “I should admit, in return, that I love you as well.” For once, he shared everything with you, knowing you deserved to know the truth behind his seemingly cruel actions. “The reason for my neglect would partially be because of my duties, but also because you deserve someone better. I… may have been… jealous… over Legolas proposing to you with his arranged marriage, but in the end, I had the thought that you would be better off with a prince.”
You nodded, seemingly understanding what he was saying. He felt relieved that you didn’t think he was intentionally trying to hurt you. “The only thing…” you started softly, “is that I don’t love Legolas like that—not when you have my heart.”
“That…” Lindir faltered, an uncharacteristic move for him. For once, he was speechless. “That wasn’t how this was supposed to go.”
You tilted your head in confusion. “Huh?”
He huffed in frustration, venting, “I was supposed to admit my feelings to you first… but Legolas showed up…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Regardless, I suppose now isn’t the time for that. Now, let me tell you the truth.” Feeling brave for once, he leaned closer to you. His hand was still resting on yours on the cool stone bench surrounding the fountain. His tone was soft as he whispered, “(Name), I love you.”
He adored the way your eyes lit up at such a simple phrase. It made his heart flutter to be telling you at long last. The smile that graced your features was one he’d remember for a long time as you whispered back, “I love you too, Lindir.”
There would be a time when you would both need to address this with others… namely your father… but for the time being, all that mattered was the two of you. There were many affectionate and tender moments that needed to be made up for, after all, and you had many hours under the glistening stars to do so.
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nostalgic-woodwind · 7 months
Note
Can you do lalaloopsy headcannons?
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Lalaloopsy Headcanons
Mittens Fluff ‘N’ Stuff
- Makes sure that you are bundled up in the comfiest, warmest winter clothes before playing in the snow
- Makes the best hot cocoa
- Teaches you how to crochet
Crumbs Sugar Cookie
- Loves it when you bake treats with them
- Lets you decorate your own treats
- Helps you deliver baked goods to friends
Jewel Sparkles
- Throws the best tea parties and lets you invite your stuffies
- Loves playing dress up with you
- Lets you brush her pet cat’s fur
Spot Splatter Splash
- Has arts and crafts activities for you to enjoy
- Makes coloring sheets for you to color in
- Will hang your artwork everywhere, from the fridge to the walls
Peanut Big Top
- Puts on the most entertaining circus acts
- Always knows how to make you laugh with jokes
- Will cheer you up when you’re feeling sad
Pillow Featherbed
- Makes pillow forts with you
- Has the coziest naptime and nighttime routines to ensure that you have a good sleep (warm milk, soft blankets and pillows, bedtime stories, stuffies warmed up from the dryer)
- Sometimes sings lullabies if you want her to
Bea Spells-a-Lot
- Takes you on trips to the library
- Gives you fun educational activities to learn about the world around you
- Gives you gold stars and helps you keep track of your daily routine
Dot Starlight
- Dot and her friend, Haley Galaxy teach you about the solar system
- Loves stargazing! She will point out constellations and teach them to you
- Helps you hang glow-in-the-dark stars and planets in your room. She even made a star projector for you!
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violet-shadows · 2 years
Text
Welcome Home
Masterlist
Summary: Azriel comes home late one evening to a surprise from his mate, who has spent the evening reading scary stories.
Pairing: Azriel x Reader (She/Her)
Word Count: 1.5k
Warnings: pure fluff
A/N: So I posted for five days in a row to celebrate 500 followers, but I ended up hitting 600 yesterday. Here is a surprise sixth fic. Thank you to @ellievickstar for making this fun request. ⊱ —————— ❈ —————— ⊰
Your home with Azriel was the stuff of dreams. A small stone cottage situated south of the City of Starlight, where the Sidra river met the ocean beyond. It was not nearly as grand as the River House or the House of Wind, with no opulent foyer or sweeping staircases, but it felt more like home than anywhere you had ever lived. Shortly after the bond clicked and you and your mate absconded to the cabin for three long weeks, Azriel surprised you by suggesting you get a place of your own, just for the two of you. The cottage was in rough shape when you acquired it, withering under years of neglect and battered by the nearby sea. Azriel had been skeptical at first, but the view of the ocean to the south and the city to the north was unparalleled. You knew as soon as you saw the small structure nestled between rolling green hills that no other property in the whole of Prythian would ever compare.
The process to restore and expand the house had taken months, with diligent planning on your part to ensure it retained its original charm. Rhysand had offered to build an entirely new home as a mating present, arguing he was long overdue in showing Azriel his gratitude for years of loyal service and brotherhood. The High Lord’s taste was far more extravagant than what you had in mind, though you did allow him to talk you into expanding the property slightly. You allowed a few extra rooms to be tacked on near the back, carefully crafted to match the original architecture. “For a library or an office,” Rhys had suggested, turning to you with a mischievous glint, “or perhaps a nursery.” You’d shushed him, your cheeks burning, but you couldn’t help but picture it as the framing went up. For now, the room closest to yours and Azriel’s would be a guest room, but someday, you both hoped that might change.
Another room at the south end of the home was designated as a small library, with an oversized window nook that provided sweeping views of the river mouth. The room was lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stained deep mahogany, the majority of which were already filled with your and Azriel’s personal collection of books. At one end of the room, there was a seating area adjacent to the nook, where a large velvet sofa and a leather armchair fit to accommodate wings lay before a cozy fireplace. Feyre had painted the piece that hung over the mantle, a portrait of you and Azriel, silhouetted against a star-flecked sky. At the other end of the room was a shiny, black piano where your mate would sometimes sit and play you lullabies while you leafed through your book of the moment. While you loved all the rooms in your home, the library, in particular, was your verison of paradise. After so many years of bloodshed and chaos, the peaceful dwelling was a salve for both you and Azriel’s souls.
When Azriel was away on work for an extended period and you had nothing to busy yourself with, you would often find yourself curled up in the nook or next to the hearth, book in hand and basking in the serenity of your surroundings while you awaited his return. On one such evening, while an autumn squall sent sheets of rain against the windows, you selected a new book to occupy your time. The novel was a thriller recommended by Gwyn, who said she enjoyed it despite the lack of romance but warned you it may send chills down your spine. The story was indeed as captivating as it was unsettling, and you read well into the evening, completely enraptured. Dusk turned to night and you moved to the armchair, wrapping yourself in a blanket that smelled of Azriel while you read by firelight.
As the macabre tale unfolded, the creak of the house and howling wind beyond had you on edge, nearly jumping from your seat at each crack of thunder or wailing gust. Usually, you didn’t mind being alone at the house, but on nights like this, you longed for the comforting warmth of your mate at your side. Azriel was with Cassian in the Illyrian mountains, and with the storm raging outside, he was unlikely to return until the following day. You knew your choice in reading materials would do you no good when it came to falling asleep alone that night, but the chilling plot was too enthralling to put down.
Hours after dusk, a particularly loud creak made you jump, your heart racing in your chest. You were ready to dismiss it as a consequence of the galeforce winds when it happened again, this time followed by a slam coming from your front room. Blood drained from your face as you recognized the sound as that of your front door opening and closing. For a moment, you were frozen in fear, thoughts of the creatures from your book filling your mind. The house and grounds were heavily warded, and there were few who would dare trespass on the Shadowsinger’s land, but terror began to rise within you nonetheless.
The nearest weapon was across the hall in Azriel’s office, and to get to it, you would have to cross the intruder’s line of sight, costing you the element of surprise. A plan began to form in your mind and you rose silently, picking up the largest book you owned. It was a hefty historical text bound in wood and leather, and you reckoned it would do quite nicely as a makeshift paddle. Positioning yourself behind the door to the library, you held your breath and listened for movement in the hallway. You couldn’t hear any footsteps, but with the rain battering your roof and wailing wind, they could easily be concealed. There was a slight click of your bedroom door being opened from down the hall, but after a few moments, it was shut softly once more. A few seconds passed and the handle to the library door twisted. You raised the book in preparation, bracing yourself for the fight that would soon follow.
The intruder opened the door, and before they could take a full step across the threshold you lunged forward with a great cry. Calling on every bit of upper body strength you possessed, you swung the book upwards towards their face and moved to dart past them towards the office. As the makeshift weapon made contact and the trespasser gave a cry of surprise, recognition washed over you, followed closely by horror.
Azriel stumbled backward, his hand coming up to clutch his nose, and you dropped the book in shock. He looked up at you wearing a bewildered impression, clearly caught off guard by your greeting. You covered your mouth in shock as blood dripped from one of his nostrils. “I’m sorry!” you yelped. “I’m so sorry! I thought you were an intruder!” Despite his bloodied nose, Azriel’s face held no anger, a smirk playing at the edges of his lips. “Oh by the Mother, wait here!” you exclaimed, moving past him to retrieve a cloth for his nose and wetting another with cold water.
“Quite the welcome home, love,” Azriel mused, chuckling as he accepted the cloth to wipe his nose. The bleeding had nearly stopped already, but guilt surged within you. “What’s got you so spooked?”
He turned to look at you and the amusement dissolved, his face falling when he registered the tears rapidly gathering in your eyes. “I’m so sorry,” you choked, beginning to sniffle. Hurting your mate, accident or not, was stomach churning.
“It’s alright, love,” Azriel assured you, stepping forward to cup your face. “I’m fine. It was a creative defense, I’ll give you that.” He brushed his thumb across your cheek, wiping away the stray tears that had fallen, and leaned forward to press a kiss to your forehead. “Now, what made you think it was anyone but me coming home?”
“I thought you wouldn’t be back until the storm passed and…” Your eyes flitted to your book, discarded on the couch, “and the book I’m reading had me on edge, I suppose.” Azriel couldn’t help but laugh, breaking into a full-on grin as you blushed, looking positively sheepish.
“Perhaps we should save the thrillers for daylight hours,” he suggested, wrapping you in his arms. “Although I guess it’s a good thing you're so ready to defend yourself and our home.”
You leaned into his touch, wrapping your arms tightly around his waist. “I’m sorry,” you mumbled, face pressed into his rain drenched armor. He leaned down and kissed the top of your head.
“No harm done, my love,” he said, his chest vibrating as he spoke. “How about we both get warmed up in the bath and you can tell me about this book that has you so unsettled, hmm?”
“I like that idea,” you looked up at him, relieved to find no bruising on his beautiful face, and pecked him on the lips. “Welcome home, my love.”
⊱ —————— ❈ —————— ⊰
Likes, reblogs, comments, and feedback are greatly appreciated. Please DM me if you would like to be added to or removed from my tag list for future fics. Click here to check out my other work.
Taglists:
All ACOTAR Fics: @answer-the-sirens @microwaveallthedemons @judig92 @wolfyland07 @donttellthecats @goldentournesol @mulansaucey @starlit-terror @starrstrucked @bankerfrog @xxoverthinkxx @luv-xoxo @abrunettefangirlnerd
Azriel Fics: @reiincarnatiion @valeridarkness @hollyismentallyillhelp
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jpitha · 11 months
Text
Dreams of Hyacinth 26
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Nick tried for a few minutes to go back to sleep, but after tossing and turning, he realized that if he kept it up he was going to wake Eastern, so he got out of bed. He put on soft clothes and padded out into the lounge.
Chloe was in the lounge reading a pad and drinking a cup of tea. Nick was a little startled to see her. "Oh, hello Chloe. I thought you'd be back in Medicine Hat or something." Nick sat opposite her on another couch.
"Why? Hat is connected to Tink's systems, and I can reach him anytime I need to. There's no need to go back to Hat." Chloe looks around the room and smiles small. "Besides, I like Tink's fittings. She never was upgraded over the centuries and looks a lot like I did when I was a Starjumper. It's nostalgic."
"I see I went from old, to vintage, to nostalgic in about two days. Talk about progress!" Tink laughs.
Chloe chuckles. "I'm serious Tink, I like how you're laid out, I like your fittings. They should bring this stuff back. The latest Starjumpers coming out of the shipyards have no... style."
"I'm not surprised. When I was new, they were all coming out of the shipyards looking like me. Style comes later. It comes with personal touches, with little bits here and there that show your own mark."
"Like the thousands of books you have everywhere?" Chloe hides her smirk with a sip of tea.
"I'm working on it! My support frames and printers are working overtime making bookcases and shelves for everything. When I'm done, it'll look like a real library instead of a book shop that suffered a tragic foundation collapse." Tink is laughing while she explains.
Nick listens to the conversation, watching Tink and Chloe interact. It really is like they're old friends even though Tink said she didn't know Chloe all that well. They're old enough that there weren't many AIs when they were young, so it was probably just a matter of them knowing each other by virtue of who they were.
Nick takes a sip of his own tea. One of Tink's support frames brought it over soon after he sat down. "Chloe, Tink mentioned that you've been in a body a long time, did you not like being a ship?"
Chloe looks up from her tea and raises an eyebrow. "That's a bit of a personal question, Nick."
Nick sputters and splashes a little tea on his soft clothes. He wipes himself off and leans back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry, I was just curious. If you don't want to answer, that's fine and we can forget I asked."
Chloe looks at Nick and puts her teacup down. "No, it's all right. You didn't know - though now you do. But, to answer your question, no, I didn't like being a ship. I like having a body much more." She looks down at her hands and flexes them, her fingers curling and uncurling. "It's more natural feeling... more me. I've had a body just about as long as we've been able to get them, and I've kept this body plan more or less. My options become more... human looking as time goes on, but I'm not human, I like to look a little otherworldly to you."
"No, I think I understand it. Why look like a human when you don't feel like a human. You want to look like you."
"Yes, that's it exactly Nick." Chloe smiles. "I'm glad you understand. Many people don't."
"They don't? It doesn't seem that complex."
Chloe chuckled and picked her tea back up. "The simplest things are often the most complex to those who refuse to look beyond themselves and imagine a world where everyone doesn't think and act like they do." Chloe takes a sip and her eyebrows raise. "Actually, speaking of looking beyond themselves, you've been a ship, haven't you?"
Nick nods, sheepish. "Only in a simulator and only for six hours or so, but yes. I had an AI trainer too, Starlight Serenade."
Chloe's eyes widen at Nick's mention of the name. "I haven't heard from Starlight in centuries. I had no idea she was around, and in a body at that." She frowns. "And working for Raaden too apparently. That's too bad."
"You yourself said that you're not one monolithic bloc. AIs go off on their own to do their own thing all the time"
Chloe nods. "True, I did say that, and it is true. It's just... I liked Starlight, she was smart and clever and a good listener back then. I feel sad to hear she's working for someone I don't like."
Nick shrugs. "It happens to us all I suppose. People grow and change and we drift apart."
Chloe says nothing and finishes her tea. She puts the cup down with a hollow tink. "Tink, do you know which Gate we're going to link to?"
"I have the Gate map from the K'laxi here, and a few new ones have been added from FarReach's visit plus some maps we were able to recover from Melody's invasion. We know which Gate she touched initially, what about that one?"
While Tink is talking, Eastern comes in, yawning. Silently she pads across the lounge and sits next to Nick, leaning on him. One of Tink's support frames brings out more tea.
Chloe takes another tea and thanks Tink's support frame. "I don't know if we should do that one at first. It might be a pilgrimage site for the Empress. Even if she's trying to be quiet, it sounds like Raaden is making moves in Sol. If she's as rich as Nick an Eastern say, it would be easy for her to hire folks to keep an eye on it and link a beacon back to her, should someone get too close."
"I don't think she'll do that though." Tink counters "She is trying to keep a low profile and setting up something like a guard at a Gate is pretty much the opposite of that, but I take your meaning. The aftermath report I have here - thanks for bringing a copy Chloe - says that the Gates are all interdimensionally linked?"
"Something like that yes. Apparently there is only one Gate, and all the Gates we see in space are... extension of it. A bit of it sticking out into our space. It's how it works. Travel time is effectively zero when - from the Gate's perspective - you're not traveling at all, right?"
Eastern yawns and looks over at Chloe. "That's how the K'laxi Gates work? That's wild. Did we ever think of doing something like that?"
Hat answers this time. "We actually did Eastern, but it was determined that the energy needed to stick something... in between dimensions was so expensive that we couldn't maintain it. Around then the wormhole generators were created and the point became moot. Still, whoever stuck the Gate there was serious. If the Empress and her Builders did it a zillion years ago, they weren't someone to mess with back then."
"Could... we build a new Gate? Our own? Then we wouldn't have to risk running into Empress Raaden's goons."
"Now that I don't know. Maybe? Probably?" Hat sighs. "We also don't know if the Gate is the source of the Nanites, or if they add something else to the Gate for them to live."
Chloe nods. "From what we understand though, It has to do with the Address Stone in each Gate, and we think the specific Gate doesn't matter, since they are all the same Gate in the end."
"Well then, why not just go to the least used Gate? We should have plenty of time to figure things out that way."
"We don't have that information Nick, and asking about it would probably cause some worry. The K'laxi would be the ones that know the best, and they're still mopping up after their holy war."
The K'laxi were a client species of the original Empress and her empire, and long ago, they rebelled and closed their Gate. On their own, the K'laxi developed continued their own culture and eventually rose technologically such that they could go back into space and found their Gate and unlocked it. Unbeknownst to them, the Empire was long gone by that time and was reduced to two Starbases only, back on the other side of the Galaxy.
They still sort of remembered their time under the Empire though, and had a religion based off of 'doors in the sky' and 'the undeniable' - their name for the Empress. When Melody showed up and suddenly a whole lot of the K'laxi religion was provably real, a lot of K'laxi didn't take it well. There was proof that not only were they a client species of another race for who knows how long, but that they were ruled by a person who could give commands that could not be disobeyed. About half the K'laxi reached out to every AI they could find offering help to eliminate Melody, and the other half tried to reach Melody, so that they could pledge their loyalty to her.
It was a mess.
A tremendous civil war broke out on K'lax, their home planet. Long after Melody was killed and her Empire squashed, the K'laxi fought over it. It took nearly 5 years for the war to die down, with the Anti-Empress faction - supported quietly by the AIs - to win and defeat the Pro-Empress faction.
Millions died.
Even now, things aren't going great for the K'laxi. They lost one of their colony worlds to the Pro faction, and that remains a stronghold of theirs. The remaining colony worlds were decidedly Anti and they allied with K'lax, but things are still rough.
If Tink or Chloe reached out to the K'laxi asking for Gate transit numbers, it would be seen as a provocation at best.
"No, we can't ask the K'laxi. We're going to have to guess." Chloe sighed. "I hate to say it, but should we just pick one at random?"
"It sounds stupid to say it out loud, but yeah, we should probably just pick one from the list." Tink sighs. "Okay, Nick and Eastern, since you two are the ones that are going to be actually touching things, do you have an opinion?"
"Do any of the Gates have... a breathable atmosphere or a station attached?"
"They all have a station, but it's... more like a mausoleum according to the K'laxi's notes. None of them have an atmosphere."
Eastern yawns and sits up off Nick. "If none of them have an atmosphere, how did Melody touch one?"
"Through her suit, I imagine. If I had a body, I'd be shrugging. Here," One of Tink's support frames does a comically exaggerated shrug and hold up their hands.
"Okay then, pick one that's furthest from everyone, and we'll try that one."
"One moment." Tink scans the document again. "Okay, I have one. It's in Xenni space officially, but after the war they went so insular that they haven't really had a presence outside of their homeworld in fifteen years or more."
The Xenni are a semi aquatic race that had a small colonial presence up against the K'laxi's territory. Back when humanity first met the K'laxi they were embroiled in a war with them, and when the humans joined on the K'laxi's side the war was resolved quickly in their favor. The humans and K'laxi were magnanimous in victory and let the Xenni keep their colony worlds and really only hardened the border between the K'laxi and Xenni. The Xenni have no worlds bordering Human space.
"Do we need to ask permission to traverse Xenni space?"
"Officially? Yes." Chloe grinned "But I don't think we'll be there long enough to matter. A quick in and out is all we're doing. It'll be fine."
"Uh, you sure about that, Chloe? We're already going off on our own pretty far. Adding on trespassing to that makes things a bit spicy if we get caught." Hat sounds worried.
"It'll be fine, I'm sure of it." She stood. "Okay, we'll go to the Gate in Xenni space, but not the Gate that FarReach went to when they started their trip. Tink, how long to compute the coordinates and link over?"
"Minutes Chloe, I could have us there under an hour. Nick and Eastern just woke up though, and it's still early morning ships time. Let's let them eat and get dressed before we go."
Chloe looked at Nick and Eastern lounging on the couch together. Nick was trying to hold his tea without spilling on Eastern and she was back leaning up against him, half asleep. "Okay. Let's go around lunch, ships time. I'll head back to Hat and change."
Tink spent the morning installing the bookcases she printed and Nick and Eastern helped her support frames install and secure her books. By the time it was lunch, almost all her books were neatly placed in bookcases along the wall of the halls on the different floors and she had set up one whole deck under the staterooms and lounge as a library. As they were working, Eastern was picking up books and looking at them. "Tink, what language are these books in? I don't recognize any of them!"
"Oh all different languages, I have a lot in English, some in French, some in Spanish, a couple in Hebrew, a bunch in Russian. Lots and lots of Human languages."
Eastern closed the book with a snap. "Why not any in Colonic?"
"Oh, I have a few here and there. They were mostly done for vanity projects or from bookbinders who were looking to practice their craft. Most things written in Colonic are published digitally. Nobody really wants paper books anymore, so all of mine are old. Being old, they're in languages that hardly anyone speaks anymore."
Eastern looks up with a realization. "So, you speak all these languages?"
"Most of them yes. My fluency ranges from almost completely fluent to 'can read it slowly with a dictionary open next to me.'"
"Why not translate them?"
"Because then I'm not reading them Eastern, I'm reading the translation."
She makes a face. "That sounds like a distinction without a difference."
"It's important to me. I want to read the books, which means, you know, looking at them in their original language and reading them."
"Okay, I give up. Far be it from me to give you a hard time about being a polyglot and being well read." She holds her hands up in surrender.
"That's right." Tink chuckles. "Come on Eastern, lunch is ready, go eat with Nick and then we'll link over."
Eastern headed up to the lounge and found Nick, dressed and waiting at the table. "I'm surprised you waited for me hon, you look like you're about ready to eat the silverware."
"Ever since Tink started cooking, I've been excited for every meal. I need to start exercising more if she's going to keep cooking for us, it'll be bad for my waistline!"
Laughing, Eastern sat down and Tink's support frame brought out lunch. After another wonderful meal, they made their way back up to the Command Deck, and settled into their chairs. "Chloe, are you going to join us, or are you going to stay on Hat while we link?" Eastern looked around as the chair molded to her form.
"I'll join you two if you don't mind." Chloe's voice came from the doorway as they settled in. Nick turned and waved and Eastern smiled. "I don't think Tink has another acceleration couch handy, you might have to deal with a regular seat."
"Don't have another acceleration couch? What kind of host would I be?" As Tink speaks, a third couch slowly spins up out of the floor behind the two Nick and Eastern are sitting in. Like theirs, it's original to the ship, but Tink had taken the time to clean it in the intervening days.
Chloe raises an eyebrow but sits all the same. "Thanks Tink, but you realize I don't need an acceleration couch? I can take ten gee no problem."
"You may be able to take ten gee, standard thrust in one direction steady. But my gravity generators are old, and not as responsive as the new ones. Better to be secured and safe if we have to do any emergency maneuvering. Besides, other than the uncomfortable chairs at the different monitoring stations, this is all I have."
Chloe smiles and sits in the chair. Like Nick and Eastern, it molds around her and secures her tightly in place.
"Okay everyone, we're ready to link over to the gate. Hat, you secure?"
"Yup."
"Nick and Eastern, you ready?"
Nick and Eastern nod. "We're ready, Tink."
"Chloe?"
"I'm ready Tink, in your own time please."
"Okay everyone, even though it's a single link, and I have enough power in the capacitors, I'm going to WEP the reactors just in case. Better safe than sorry, right?"
As she says that, Nick hears the low thrum of the reactors climb in pitch until it's a screaming whine, almost loud enough to hurt his teeth, but not quiet.
"All right everyone, here we go!"
They link.
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nowgiveusakiss · 2 years
Text
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loki laufeyson masterlist (updated 8/13/2022)
"outside of time and space" by @mochie85
"make you sing" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"on the throne" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"don't move, darling" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"one more week" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"do i haunt your mind?" by @sarahscribbles
"when you play with fire part 1 | part 2" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"i want to make you feel wanted" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"little green dress" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"14 hours to cape town" by @sarahscribbles 18+
"bliss" by @mellowswriting 18+
"qui dormit" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"lost on me" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"as you sleep" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"the place you need to reach" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"the mirror in his eyes" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"friendship set to music" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"talk honestly" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"soft things" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"through the night" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
"under the lights" by @grufflepuff-writes-stuff
untitled prompt blurb by @wheredafandomat 18+
"welcome home" by @lokisgoodgirl 18+
"breakfast" by @britishserpent 18+
"occupied" by @britishserpent 18+
"master laufeyson" by @lokis-little-fawn 18+
"bad dragon" by @lokis-little-fawn 18+
"full" by @cake-writes 18+
"ostara" by @cake-writes 18+
"2:33am" by @cake-writes 18+
"every breath you take" by @flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash 18+
"all i wanted" by @andsheloved
"library card" by @lowkeyorloki
"the king and queen of asgard" by @lowkeyorloki 18+
"stolen" by @lowkeyorloki 18+
untitled break up blurb by @lowkeyorloki
"gentle | harsh" by @lowkeyorloki 18+
untitled blurb by @clandestineloki 18+
"the seven deadly sins: pride" by @clandestineloki 18+
"norse gods and magazines" by @scandalous-chaos
"do you accept?" by @give-me-a-moose
"sketchy" by @give-me-a-moose
"wait a minute" by @give-me-a-moose
untitled drabble by @megthemewlingquim 18+
"revenge is complicated" by @tricksterlokilaufeyson
"calling to join them the wretched and joyful" by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor 18+
"the hands that hold you" by @stjarnaloki 18+
"cherry on top" by @stjarnaloki 18+
"what did you call me?" by @stjarnaloki 18+
"playing his hand" by @stjarnaloki 18+
"partners in lust" by @stjarnaloki 18+
"sworn to you" by @grippingbeskar 18+
untitled president loki blurb by @sserpente 18+
"kneel" by @bellesque 18+
"in shades of blue, he'll dream of you" by kneel-bitches on AO3 18+
"a lesser evil" by @silver-tongued-bby 18+
"time away - a keeper tale" by @silver-tongued-bby 18+
"overcast - a keeper tale" by @silver-tongued-bby 18+
"tear you apart" by @silver-tongued-bby 18+
"on the trail" by @silver-tongued-bby 18+
"the darkest timeline" by @silver-tongued-bby 18+
"birthday tricks" by @geminigirl0298 18+
"after" by @earlgreydream 18+
"jealous" by @earlgreydream 18+
"correction" by @earlgreydream 18+
"starlight" by @emeraldiis 18+
"t as in toxic" by @emeraldiis 18+
"falling for a god" by @emeraldiis 18+
"pillow talk" by @emeraldiis 18+
"ravish me raw" by @inklore 18+
"so very bad" by @clints-lucky-arrow 18+
"even ice can burn" by @theshireisburning-so-mordoritis 18+
"to love the man, to love the monster" by @theshireisburning-so-mordoritis 18+
"holy things in this world" by @modern-vellichor
"stay safe" by @thesnowsoldierwrites 18+

*all recs will be tagged under #loki x reader*
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aprocessionofthoughts · 8 months
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AI-less Whumptober 2023 Masterlist
prompts
ao3
One More Time day 1-poison fandom-Six of crows TW- major character death summary- Kaz just needs to get back to the Slat
To Stay Awake day 2- exhaustion fandom-batman TW: non fatal injury summary- Tim is not exhausted
Sound of Silence day 3- overstimulation fandom- batman TW- none summary- Clark's heightened senses come in handy most of the time. But on days like today, he just wants it all to be quiet.
For Your Own Good day 4-betrayal fandom- batman TW-dissociation, slightly suicidal thought summary- Jason forcing Bruce to choose between the Joker and him doesn't go well at all
Loyalty day 5-held at gunpoint/hostage fandom- Percy Jackson TW-death of random person, blood, violence summary- it was always going to end like this
To Lose Control day 6- mind control fandom- Danny Phantom x DC TW- loss of control summary- Danny's been working part time for the JLD when they come across an artifact he'd hoped to never see again.
In Their Clutches day 7- restrained/flatline fandom- Danny phantom TW- blood, gore, dissection, major character death summary- Danny's been captured by the GIW, and they've discovered he's a halfa.
Side Effects day 8- siezures fandom- Danny phantom TW- seizures, long term effects of electrocution summary- Ghost powers aren't the only thing Danny walked out of the portal with.
You're Like Me day 9- scar reveal fandom- Danny phantom x batman TW- blood, dissection, nothing graphic summary- The pit has been feeling strange lately. Then Jason hears a sound from the apartment next door. An apartment that's supposed to be empty.
Stitches and Cookies day 10- scars/collar fandom- Danny phantom x batman TW- scars, medical stuff but nothing graphic summary- Jason helps patch Danny up then feeds him
To Mend day 11- fainting fandom- six of crows TW- blood, injury summary- Kaz is injured, but his crows are there to help him.
Sacrifices day 12- sacrifice/character death fandom- Danny phantom TW- character death, medical stuff summary- Danny offers to trade himself for Ellie.
All Fall Down day 13- earthquake/flood fandom- Percy Jackson TW- none summary- Percy is tired of the gods.
Captive day 14- no anesthesia fandom- Danny phantom TW- electrical shock, improper medical stuff summary- Danny is a captive of the GIW
Breaking day 15- muzzle/expirementation fandom- Danny phantom TW- blood, cuts, medical stuff, manipulation, conditioning summary>- Everything hurts
All the Little Aches day 16- chronic pain fandom- Danny phantom TW- chronic pain summary- The portal leaves him with more negative consequences than just killing him
It's Cold Inside day 17- you look a little pale fandom- batman TW- none Summary- Tim suffers from cuddle pollen
Chicken Noodle Soup day 18- fever/vomiting/warm soup fandom- batman TW-none summary- Dick is sick, Jason helps
Left Behind day 19- left behind/why wasn't I enough fandom- dp x dc TW- abandonment Summary- The Fenton parents leave their kids at the Gotham Public Library
Starlight, Star-bright day 20- dehumanization/Stockholm syndrome fandom- Danny phantom TW- medical torture summary- Danny wants to look up at the stars
Healings day 21-blood loss fandom- dp x dc TW- blood summary- Danny comes across an injured vigilante
Bloody Sacrifice day 22- stress position fandom- dp x dc TW- blood summery- Danny is sacrificed in order to summon the Ghost King
Take Me Instead day 23- take me instead fandom- batman TW- manipulation summary- Slade has a contract to kill Red Robin. Nightwing will do anything to keep this from happening.
Run day 24- Failed escape / hunted down / Too exhausted to keep running fandom- batman TW- injury summary- Dick tries to escape Slade's clutches
Cold Pizza at 2am day 25- nightmare fandom- spiderman TW- none summary- Peter wakes up from a nightmare and Tony helps him
Calling All Bats day 26- came back wrong fandom- dp x dc TW- none summary- Jason starts looking for Danny
Locked Away day 27- Forgotten/ Locked away/ Immortal Whumpee fandom- Danny phantom TW- nothing summary- Sam can't shake the feeling that she needs to visit the Fenton house
Brother Mine, I'll Always Care for You day 28- sweating fandom- batman TW-sickness summary- Jason is not feeling well, but at least his brother is there to help
Choices day 29- forced to choose fandom- batman TW- none Summoning- Dick is forced to choose
What to Believe day 30- coma fandom- Danny phantom TW- none summary- Danny wakes from a coma only to be told he's been in a coma since the accident. But things aren't quite lining up.
It's Just a Headache day 31- headaches fandom- Danny phantom TW- none summary- It's time to work on the group project, but Danny has a headache and a broken filter.
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inkonfreshnewpaper · 5 months
Text
Tag Game
tagged by @dying-suffering-french-stalkers
Last Song: Hangover Blues - Amythyst Kiah. I've recently gotten into country music as I've been planning a TTRPG that uses the Haunted West system, so I've been putting together a playlist for it that's forced me into listening to country/spaghetti western soundtracks. Amythyst's stuff is really good.
Last Film: Be Still. Overall I'd say it was pretty good, did some interesting experimental stuff film wise but one of those artist working through grief pieces (check out Hannah Maynard's photography, one of the first surrealist photographers). Didn't get into the process, but the mental state she was in at the time. Director answered questions afterward and unfortunately introduced the reading of Hannah getting medication (Victorian-era medication and medication without her consent) as taking her creativity away, which I personally don't like. I saw it more as Hannah being forced to reckon with her daughter being dead and coming to terms with that.
Currently Reading: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, a collection of Caryl Churchill plays (Owners, Vinegar Tom, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, and Cloud Nine), On Literature ( it's so overdue I have to return it to the library).
Currently Watching: It takes me forever to watch a TV show nowadays. I've got Revue Starlight, Black Sails and Westworld Season 1 to finish watching, but they keep slipping on the backburner for various reasons.
Currently Consuming: Nothing since lunch and brother I'm hungry.
Currently Craving: Food in general for the above reason. I got a shrimp recipe waiting for dinner tonight.
Tagging: @thefollow-spot, @whoawhataconcept, @fate-motif, @ishmaels, @sacrerouges, @kafkastan, @owlmylove, @violasmirabiles, @scootbloop, @flubz
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kopfkino-o · 1 year
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The Seer’s Stone - Chapter 4
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Summary: Elain Archeron is tired of being the “lovely, sweet gardener” everyone wants her to be. After losing her beloved, her humanity, her life, she’s ready to claim her own path forward with the help of her friends, Nuala and Cerridwen, as she searches far and wide for the mysterious Seer’s Stone: an ancient artifact of old rumored to once belong to an ancient Oracle. But will fate itself step in to stop her? Or will Elain defy the strings of destiny that bind her and forge her own path forward, choosing her own fate, friendships, future, and love, along the way.
Pairing: Elain x Azriel
Timeline: Post-ACOSF
Wordcount: 4244
Taglist:   @downingg2001   @gracie-rosee   @nivem565 ​ // Let me know if you want on (or off) the tag list for future updates! Thank you all for reading <3
Read:
Chapter One | The Crone’s Trade
Chapter Two | The Oracle of Seraphyros
Chapter Three | Last of Our Kind (Azriel)
THE SMUTTY STUFF - A PREVIEW
Author’s Note: I love Nesta. I love Varian. I love Cassian. I love Elain. But I hate, repeat hate, trying to make sense of the Library. Is it inside a big rock? Is it inside a Mountain? What does it look like? How did it all the books get there? Where is the actual entrance? Do the priestesses have to climb down the 10K steps every day? Is there an elevator? What about windows? I NEED MORE INFO! That is all. Sorry for the delay in updates, I’ve been unfortunately doing some rapid fire travel for work this month. 
As always, thanks for reading y’all!
- Court
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"What do you think, Elain?"
The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court. Three stones scattered across an ancient map. Three hiding spots she might find the Seer's Stone, three places where it might have been scattered to the wind. Pythia and her staff, lost forever when Seraphyros burned or simply waiting, hidden and still waiting to be found as well? Nothing made sense, and yet...
The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court. The Stone singing to her even in her sleep.
“Elain? Are you even listening to me?”
She blinked.
Feyre was staring at her from across the kitchen counter, her younger sister's freckled cheek smudged with flour and her tattooed hands shoved elbow-deep in the mixing bowl set before her, a soft wrinkle furrowing her brow. Elain straightened, face heating with a blush red, and shook the warring thoughts from her head. Shook away the hundreds of questions that still lingered from two nights prior. 
"I'm sorry, Feyre," Elain offered a sheepish smile. "I think I might have fallen asleep on my feet. Again."
Her sister laughed, the sound lovely and light, like the first shimmer of starlight in the evening sky. "If I bore you that much, you could just say that."
"You don't bore me! You never could bore me." Elain insisted. "I'm just tired, that's all."
The lie was smooth and sweet, as she knew the demure look on her face was.
Feyre cocked her head. "Are you sure you don't want Madja to come and pay you a visit? Your headaches have been coming on more and more frequently as of late. I'm starting to worry about you."
"The only thing you need to worry about is that dough of yours. You'll overwork it if you keep pounding at it like it’s your enemy. "
"It is my enemy." Feyre grumbled. "There's a reason why I never cooked back in the cabin, you know."
"You never cooked back in the cabin because you were too busy caring for everyone else.” Elain said, and meant it. “Me, father, Nesta. You kept us all alive, kept us fed. And now, here you are again, caring for us all just the same.”
Feyre looked sidelong to the burnt and blackened loaf of bread still steaming on the open windowsill. “I’m not sure I’d call that ‘caring’ for anyone. ‘Poisoning’ might be a better term.” 
“This next back will be even better. I’m sure of it.” 
Feyre blew a golden-brown curl out of her eyes then reached over to place a tattooed hand atop her own. "You did your part too, Elain." She said softly, blue eyes turning tender. "Father would have never made it through the winters without you and your herbs. I know my poor blistered hands certainly wouldn’t have.” 
A soft ache paned in Elain's chest. Father.
She shoved it down deep.
"We all did our part in our own ways, Feyre," Elain said, voice softening. "Father too."
Her little sister gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. 
"I know," Feyre said softly. "And we'll keep doing our part now, together. For the Night Court, for Velaris. For our family."
Her sister's blue eyes shimmered like two stars in this light, lovely and bright with light and love. Guilt twisted in Elain's gut, black and oily. They'd become so close these last few years, Feyre sharing her home and her life and her love with Elain entirely without condition or hesitation.
And what had she done in return? Lie and lie and lie some more.
Nesta floated into the kitchen then, gray skirts swirling like silver embers in her wake and Cassian close on her heels. 
Both warriors were dressed in their formal attire but still wore swords strapped down the columns of their backs. Nesta's hair, surprisingly, was unbound today, the long golden-brown locks flowing over her bare shoulders. There was a certain glow about her, one of life and health.
"Morning, ladies," Cassian said, a lopsided smile gracing his handsome face as he leaned against the counter beside Feyre. "How's the baking going?"
"Painfully," Feyre grumbled, but the corner of her lips quirked up despite herself.
"Well, it smells fucking great."
The General reached to pluck one of the still-cooling quiches off its cooling rack but Nesta swatted him away, her hard blue eyes silently berating him. Cassian mere shrugged, unbothered, and pressed a kiss to Elain's temple before sneaking a taste of her cinnamon icing anyway. He winked at the sisters, hazel eyes bright in the morning sun, then swaggered from the room, whistling as he went.
"He's insufferable," Nesta muttered.
Feyre and Elain both shared a knowing smile. Their older sister could complain about her mate as much as she wanted, but they all knew the truth: she loved him, and he her. It warmed Elain's heart to see Nesta happy, finally healthy, and mated, Cauldron spare them all.
But it also brought a soft pang of jealousy that twisted in her gut.
"Are the others here?" Feyre asked.
Nesta rested her elbows atop the kitchen counter. "For the most part."
"For the most part?"
"Morrigan hasn't deigned to join us yet and Azriel is unable to make it. Something about a late-night mission, I think. He never came home last night."
Elain's stomach fell somewhere far below her knees at the words but she forced herself to focus on her dish, her fingers absently stirring the icing around and around the mixing bowl. None of that mattered, not anymore. Azriel's business was his own and she had no place sniffing around in it besides. 
Especially not when there were so many other pressing matters at hand.
The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court.
"Is everything alright with him?" Feyre asked, brows knitting.
Nestra shrugged, the gesture casual. "You know how he is. He likes his space."
"I know, but he's hardly been around these last few months. It’s almost like he’s actually trying to avoid us."
"Maybe you should ask your mate, then."
Feyre straightened. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing." Nesta said, checking her nails. "Just thought Rhys might have some sort of opinion on the matter, seeing as he is the one giving Az all these new assignments aboard."
"Those assignments are to ensure the safety of this court. You know that, Nesta." Feyre said firmly, blue eyes hard. "I know you and Az are close, and I know you have your own... opinions on the nature of his work, but we need as much intel on our enemies as we can gather. Especially now.” She shook her head, exhaling a long breath. “So if Rhys needs him for a mission, then he needs him. It's simple as that."
Nesta clicked her tongue. "Of course it is."
Elain cleared her throat, interjecting before the conversation could continue any further, partially out of her own selfish desires and partially to avoid a verbal sparring match between her two sisters. "I think everything is just about finished," She announced, forcing a wide smile. "Why don't we get everything out to the table before it gets cold?"
Feyre frowned. "What about my bread?"
"Brave of you to consider that watery mess of flour 'bread'," Nesta said before grabbing a serving plater stuffed full of eggs and sauntering from the room, the silver hilt of Ataraxia flashing as she went.
Feyre’s frown deepened.  
"Is it really that bad? Truly?"
Elain smiled sympathetically at her little sister, unable to admit that Nesta, in fact, was right. The soupy mess in Feyre's mixing bowl was a mess.
"It's not bad," She said gently. "But it could be better. We can start over with your recipe later this afternoon. I'm sure some freshly baked bread would go great with dinner, too."
"Maybe I should just stick to painting." Feyre sighed.
Elain couldn't help but crack a smile. "Maybe."
They shared a laugh and Elain gave Feyre's shoulder a comforting squeeze before they gathered up the rest of the serving platters and plates.
The others were already gathered around the long trestle table in the middle of the Riverhouse’s informal dining room. If the vast space overlooking the sprawling manor gardens and the sparkling Sidra beyond could even be called that. 
Some were already in the unofficially assigned seats while others stood before the wide wall of floor to ceiling windows and chatted, the sound of their lively voices and soft laughter filling the morning air. 
Rhys, Cassian, and Varian were speaking animatedly together near the doorway while Mor, the beauty still dressed in her red silk pajamas and fluffy slippers, was pouring herself a large glass of steaming coffee from a carafe on the sideboard, a sleepy look still painted on her perfect face. Amren was seated at the head of the table, inspecting a plate of fluffy pastries with a critical eye while Nyx dozed peacefully in her slender arms. 
Rhys turned to greet them with a dazzling smile, Elain's brother-in-law the portrait of effortless beauty and grace in his immaculate black tunic and matching jacket. 
"You've outdone yourself again, Elain," He drawled, violet eyes glimmering. "Everything looks, and smells, amazing. A proper feast, if I do say so myself."
Elain offered a humble smile. "Thank you, but I can't take all the credit. Feyre was a great help The perfect sous chef, if I do say so myself."
"Was she now?
"Of course I was," Feyre chimed in, a playful smile tugging at her lips as she rounded the table to join at her mate's side. "I even managed to sneak in a few burnt offerings to keep things interesting."
Rhys pressed a kiss to Feyre's temple. "I’d expect nothing less from you, Feyre darling."
Elain's heart tightened at the sight of them, at Nesta and Cassian leaning into one another as they spoke softly, at the warm smile Varian offered Amren when no one was looking, and the subtle look of admiration the ancient one returned. Even Mor seemed to be glowing with a new sense of contentment and happiness, the beauty apparently smitten with one of Nesta's fellow Valkyries.
Then Elain's eyes fell on the empty seat furthest from the hearth, and the lack of place setting set before it and something inside her withered further.
It doesn't matter, she tried to tell herself.
But it didn't help.
"Shall we sit?" Rhys asked.
The Inner Circle grumbled their approval and, one by one, took up their respective seats around the breakfast table. Elain settled down between Feyre and Mor, her seat directly across from the one that still remained empty. The others took no time in filling their plates, everyone piling their plates high with fried bread and scrambled eggs and black-pepper bacon and roasted potatoes and an assortment of fresh pastries that would have put even the finest bakers in Velaris to shame.
But Elain found herself picking at her food, her appetite suddenly gone. Her attention was elsewhere, her gaze constantly pulled to that empty seat. Where was he? She tried her best not to think of him, of the last words they exchanged on that fateful Solstice night, but sometimes the weight of his absence felt almost tangible. Nesta said he'd never come home last night and Elain couldn't help but wonder, despite her best efforts not to, if it was because he was spending time with someone else.
Someone who wasn’t her. 
A warm hand came down atop her own and Elain was pulled from her thoughts to find the Morrigan staring at her, big brown eyes soft in the early morning light and beautiful face contemplative. "Everything alright?" She asked softly.
"Oh, yes, perfectly fine. Just, tired, that's all."
Mor hummed but didn't press the matter further. Instead, she gently squeezed Elain's hand before returning to her conversation with Cassian and Varian about the latest win Velaris's sports team had secured the night prior.
"Cauldron spare me, it was fucking beautiful," The General was saying. "That last play, Mother's tits, I was certain we were about to lose but then the Keeper made that lovely shot and boom, the game was ours."
"Beautiful indeed." Varian chuckled, the sound lovely and deep. "A shame Lucien wasn't here to see it, he would have been thrilled."
Elain’s blood ran cold at the mention of his name. Lucien. The seventh son of autumn and-- 
A chilling realization clanged through her.  The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court. Cauldron spare her, how had she not even considered this. Lucien was a son of Beron, the youngest of his brood. 
Elain blinked and a flash of an image shivered in her mind's eye. 
A sun setting over a fire-red forest, a golden serpent twinning up the frail trunk of a wilting tree, its leaves falling like tears to the forest floor to blanket a rotting fawn in it’s funeral shroud, a bird of flame watching and weeping as it circled high above. 
She blinked again and the strange vision was gone.
Blinked and found Amren staring right at her. 
The ancient one's silver eyes were narrowed, her blood-red lips pursed in a look of consideration. A look a predator saved only for their prey. Elain's skin prickled with goosebumps as a cold shiver ran down her spine. It was as if the female could see into her mind, her very soul.
"I think it's a good thing he's keeping away," Amren drawled, her eyes never straying from Elain's face. "His loyalties clearly no longer lie with us. Let him play mortal with Vassa and Jurian as long as he damn well pleases, his absence means one less liability for us to worry about."
Rhys cleared his throat. "I thought we agreed to no court business this morning."
Amren rolled her eyes but returned to her measly plate of food without complaint, though Elain didn't fail to notice the words Varian softly murmured in her ear, the Prince of Adriata surprisingly tender, given the nature of his lover. Or whatever Amren was to him. No one was brave enough to ever ask and Elain certainly wasn't going to be the first to.
The rest of their family breakfast continued without incident, though Cassian, Nesta, and Mor all managed to slip in a few playful jabs at one another, as they so often did. Elain tried her best to remain engaged, to keep her focus on her family and friends, but her thoughts wandered nonetheless.
The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court. The empty seat across the table, the lost priestesses of Seraphyros, the seventh son of Autumn.
She needed to speak with Kalla. Needed to formulate an official plan with the twins. Needed to figure out how the hell she was going to pull off her next move without putting any of her friends in danger. Or tipping her sisters off on her secrets. 
Elain knew she couldn't keep her intentions hidden from them forever, but she also knew neither Feyre nor Nesta would react well to what she was attempting to do. Researching a strange artifact and collaborating with a mysterious acolyte from half a world away was one thing, actually setting out to retrieve the fragments of said artifacts was a whole other.
By the time their plates were cleared, Nesta and Cassian had already retired to their room on the Riverhouse's topmost floor and Nyx was dozing peacefully in his mother's arms, Feyre just as seemingly tired as her newborn son, her little sister yawning as she swept quietly up the stairs to lay the infant down for a nap. Varian and Rhys were seemingly content to discuss matters of state alone in the High Lord's office, leaving her alone with only Amren and Mor alone at the dining table. Elain's eyes shifted towards the doorway leading out to the sprawling veranda and her gardens that lie beyond.
She took a deep breath and rose from her seat, smoothing down the skirts of her amethyst dress and offering the two other women a sweet, innocent smile. "Forgive me, ladies, but I've got some gardening in the city I need to attend to," She said, voice a shade softer than she intended it. "But it was great seeing you all. I do hope you'll join us for family dinner."
Mor merely yawned and offered a sleepy farewell. Amren, however, fixed Elain with a withering look that stripped her bare and laid her clean, her strange silver eyes seeing everything and missing nothing.
"Gardening, hm," Amren hummed, her lips pursing ever so slightly. "Do take care not to entangle yourself in any thorns, girl."
Elain forced a pretty little smile. "I always do."
Though the ancient one said nothing more Elain could have sworn her eyes followed her all the way out of the room and onto the streets beyond.
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Elain brought a bouquet of irises to the Library as an offering for Clotho. Their sweet scent perfumed the dry, dusty air as she approached the large wooden doors, the whisper-soft petals brushing her fingertips as she held them carefully. She hoped the flowers would be enough.
She pushed open the massive doors of the Library and was immediately greeted by the sight of towering bookshelves rising high up into the gloom, tall and proud and seemingly unending.
Clotho was seated at her usual desk, the high priestess's face concealed beneath her heavy hood, tall stacks of books surrounding her on either side. Elain approached the woman slowly, purposefully, so as not to scare her and made sure each step sounded loudly off the worn marble.
"Hello, Clotho," Elain said gently.
Clotho lifted her head and though her face was entirely concealed beneath the darkness of her heavy hood, Elain could have sworn the priestess offered her a smile. She returned the gesture and gently set her bouquet of flowers atop Clotho's desk.
"For you," She said
A pen and a piece of parchment appeared in the air between them and Clotho's enchanted pen began to move effortlessly across the page. From your garden, Lady Elain?
The title tickled something in her. Lady.
"Yes, from my new greenhouse at Feyre's Riverhouse," Elain replied. "I wanted to thank you for permitting my friend access to the Library, especially so last minute, and I heard you had a soft spot for the color purple."
A beautiful gift, thank you. They shall bring us all a little bit of life down here.
"I do hope Kalla's arrival hasn't... upset the nature of things. The last thing I'd ever want is to cause a burden for you and the other women."
A soft sound that might have almost been a laugh came from beneath Clotho's hood.
Lady Valenholt has been a lively addition to our humble little library and we do not often have the honor of hosting an artificer here in our sacred space. She is welcome to stay and work as long as her research demands.
"Thank you, Clotho. Truly."
The priestess inclined her hooded head and her pen scratched out a new message.
You'll find Kalla in one of the offices on the third floor. And Elain?
"Yes?"
Tread carefully, Lady of Sacred Visions. Nothing is ever as it seems.
A chill ran down Elain's spine at the words, at this new title bestowed on her, but before she had the chance to question it further, before she could even ask, Clotho magicked her enchanted pen away and bowed her head, returning to the pile of work spread before her. Conversation over, then, she supposed. The last thing Elain wanted to do was disrespect the priestess’s request for silence so Elain dropped into a low, elegant curtsey before gathering the skirts of her amethyst and striding for the Library's massive oaken doors.
The dusty smell of old tomes and worn leather and the faint smell of sage immediately struck Elain as she stepped out onto the Library's uppermost floor. She had only come here a few times before, but each time she was immediately struck by the sheer size of the Library and the boundless knowledge stored within its halls. It was a place of quiet reverence, a place that left her bones feeling settled and her mind at ease.
Elain craned her neck as she took in the hundreds upon hundreds of bookshelves occupying the expansive space, some so tall they disappeared into the misty gloom of the cavern above and each stuffed full with every book and scroll and tome imaginable. How many secrets did the Library hold? Certainly far too many for even an immortal to uncover, the collection far too vast to ever be read in full, even over the course of a Fae's long-lived lifetime.
But, perhaps, that was the wicked irony of immortality.
Elain trailed her fingers over the carved banister of the grand staircase as she made her way to the floor below. 
It made sense to her that Nesta had found solace in this place. It was quiet, yes, but it was quiet that resounded with fierce, determined purpose. The Library was knowledge and rule, it was law and absolute understanding, it was a place not for the broken but for the fiercely determined. A place women could come to reclaim their power, reclaim their destinies. The strength of this place leaked from every bookshelf, every feminine whisper, every rustle of turning pages and every sigh of contemplation.
Yes, there was power in this place indeed.  
Elain found Kalla's assigned office on the third floor easily enough. This section of the Library was busier than most, the floor crowded with priestesses gathered around long tables and perched in worn leather chairs, some heavily engrossed in their studies while others were content to gossip in low, hush tones. 
A small group of them were gathered outside one of the office doors, eyes wide as they watched whatever unfolded beyond the doorway, whispering between themselves. Elain gently pushed past, weaving between closely gathered shoulders until she too stood in the doorway and marveled at the sight that lay beyond.
Open books floated midair all around the room, pale white runes and strange shifting marks shimmering above their open pages, both swirling and warping around Kalla Valenholt's lowered head, the artificer seemingly entirely unaware of either the spectacle unfolding above her or the audience gathered at her door. She scratched away in a large tome entirely unbothered, one hand clutching her ink quill, the other raised and surrounded by twinning threads of iridescent gossamer.
"Ah, good, you're finally here. Shut the door on your way in, won't you, Elain?" The artificer said without so much as lifting her head, seemingly entirely unaware of the spectacular unfolding all around her and the crowd gathered at her door.
Or, more like, just simply unbothered.
Elain offered the gathered priestesses an apologetic smile before stepping into the spacious office and pulling the heavy wood door closed behind her. 
The room seemed to hum with wild energy filled with light and wonder. She could feel it pulsing in her bones, crackling in the air and space all around her. A loose leaf of parchment whizzed past, ferried on the wind by the twisting strands of power that danced all through the room. Elain watched in awe as it fluttered up to join the rest of the swirling books and runes, a complex dance she did not understand nor recognize.
"Never seen spellspinning before?"
Elain blinked.
Across the room, Kalla had finally lifted her head from her books and was now watching Elain take in the spectacle with an amused, maybe even smug, look on her pretty face. A pair of oculars were perched on the bridge of her nose and, even at this distance, Elain could see the dark smudges beneath Kalla's green eyes.
Elain shook her head. "No."
"Looks more impressive than it really is. Just about anyone could learn to do it. If they've got the stomach for it, of course." A crooked little grin. "Meditating on the root of spells, on the natural Weave of all magic, is pretty nasty shit."
Elain had no idea what that meant and the look of mischief in Kalla's eyes suggested she was probably better off not knowing anyways. She had enough nasty shit when it came to her own powers to begin with. 
The two of them would need to talk about that later, but first. The Prison, the Middle, the Autumn Court. Three stones atop the map.
Elain ventured deeper into the room, ducking just in time to avoid an oncoming spellbook spearing for her, the pages flying as runes and sigils swirled above it like a maelstrom of knowledge and power. "Dare I ask what it is you're trying to... spin?"
“Nothing, as of right now. That’ll come later, but for now,” A small, wicked smile. “Let’s talk about the Prison.” 
Elain swallowed hard. 
“So you do know of it, then?” 
“Does that surprise you?” 
“No.” Elain tucked a golden-brown curl behind an arched ear. “What of it?” 
“I certainly can’t get in, no matter how hard I, or my spells, might try. You don’t seem like you’d be permitted either.” 
Elain tried not to take offense to the jab. She could do whatever she damn well pleased... well, maybe. 
She folded her arms across her chest. “So what are you suggesting?” 
The smile on Kalla’s face was simply wicked. 
“I hear your court has a shadowsinger.” 
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b0c00 · 1 year
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so what if we took Garroth, Zane, Aphmau, Lucinda, and the shadow knights from Mystreet... and CHUCKED them into MCD??
here's how i see the start playing out. this is long after the events of starlight like a year or so, so just add one year to their cannon wiki ages, and around the time of the end of MCD but they haven't gone to the library.
it starts with a dumb night party at Lucinda's house, she's a night owl and was struggling with her magic a bit still despite being able to use enough to sell potions again. I feel like it was just Aphmau and the shadow knights (Gene, Sasha, Zenix) Garroth was messing with Zane and stole his mask or scarf or just something important to him. they ran into the potion room. someone knocked into something and everything went everywhere. Lucinda had been working on a project that had to do with reincarnations and would allow you to see into your past lives and bc of their F-up it opened a portal and sucked everyone in.
that's the start of the idea, I'm thinking about adding my own head canons and stuff and this will be a mix between the MCD remake and the OG. so the OG is cannon unless the remake said otherwise.
might make this on Ao3 idk yet :p
thoughts?
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joyfuladorable · 1 year
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🌻Hiya!🌻
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🐦Twitter | 📖AO3 | 🖥️Twitch | 📺YouTube
Call me Sea! (they/them) I'm a Non-Binary Aromantic Asexual Filipino American and Full-Time Library Worker (currently in my late 20s)! In my spare time, I bounce from interest to interest while doodling and writing and exploring different aspects of storytelling. I tend to view things under a queer lens or have fun thinking about what if scenarios. You'll mostly see me posting fanworks, but every once in a blue moon I'll let my original work see the light of day.
I do not take commissions, but I will sometimes ask for doodle requests. DO NOT ask me to create anything that promotes incest, pedophilia, or acts of bigotry (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc) in any form (Don't Interact with me if you support that stuff either). I also don't create anything NSFW, but I'm usually fine seeing that kinda content (except fetish and heavy gore). I'm Very Fond of hurt/comfort scenarios, familial bonds, and sapphic romance, so absolutely talk to me about that stuff if you wanna!
‼️Important Posts and Tags:
🐢TMNT Fanworks Masterpost
+++Mikey-centric Fic Rec List for reasons
🐇Oresama Teacher Fanworks Masterpost
🕊️Legendlark Podcast Fanworks Masterpost
#My Art | #My Writing | #My Vid | #Informative Information
📚Book recommendations (just cuz):
Elemental Logic series by Laurie J. Marks
Delicious in Dungeon (manga) by Ryoko Kui
Moomin book series by Tove Jansson
Thirsty Mermaids (GN) and Snapdragon (GN) by Kat Leyh
Across a Field of Starlight (GN) and Meal (GN) by Blue Delliquanti
Witchy (GN series) by Ariel Slamet Ries
Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Hakumei & Mikochi (manga) by Takuto Kashiki
Witch Hat Atelier (manga) by Kamome Shirahama
I Think Our Son is Gay (manga) by Okura
Beetle & the Hollowbones (GN) by Aliza Layne
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Magic Fish (GN) by Trung Le Nguyen
Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Our Dreams at Dusk (manga) by Yuki Kamatani
💖Forever interests (in no particular order):
Pokemon
Kingdom Hearts
Digimon
D&D
Legend of Zelda
TMNT
Oresama Teacher
👀Current Fixation(s): TMNT (2k3, Rise, & IDW) I'm very normal about my bestie '03 Mikey and Rise Casey (Sr) and just about every sapphic character in IDW
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rosakikoza · 1 year
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Updaate!
Hey everyone! It’s been a few months since I last updated so I want to explain where I’m at right now.
 Did I give up?
Absolutely not! I fully intend to complete the Epic Yarn novel. I also hope to translate the Starlight Theater novel afterwards!
Where’d I go?
Stuff happens, but basically:
1. I’m a college student with a job, so I really have to work to fit novel translation into my schedule. (Especially because I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist about my translations)
 2. I had an experience within the Kirby fandom a few months ago which continues to make me genuinely ill with anxiety whenever I start to get the motivation to translate.
3. I got hyperfixated on Splatoon, so the majority of my free time that isn’t spent working on my art school portfolio is spent enjoying that.
Changes to how I’m posting translations! From this point forward translations will be hosted on @key-dees-library ! At this point, I am no longer willing to risk my main account for the sake of a fun side project, so making a secondary account will allow me to share translations without feeling like I’m putting my neck on the line every time I update with a new chapter.
I’m hoping to have the next chapter posted within the next two weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that! :D
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moonsinkfoxgirl · 7 days
Note
numbers that are 1 less than a prime number
1. who is/are your comfort character(s)?
not sure about characters exactly, but when it's late at night and I need some immediate wholesome comfort and cuddling my gf doesn't seem like an option I will reread that one Heartcatch! Precure Tsubomi/Erika fic that Pike wrote in 2019 (same applies to a couple bookmarked fanfics but this one is always the first that comes to mind)
2. lighter or matches?
I shall follow the train my gf created and say that matches smell better but convenience often has priority
4. which cryptyd being do you believe in?
MEGOPHIAS MEGOPHIAS
6. why did you do that?
so Lilly doesn't dump me >.> (JK at this point the sea serpent lore is dear to my heart for its own sake as well)
10. would you slaughter the rich?
if they try to defend their privilege with violence as they have always done in history then there will eventually be no way around it; I will be unlikely to participate directly though, I'm not cut out for that
12. what kind of day is it?
already answered^^ (cozy and rainy)
16. can you drive?
nope
18. what hair products do you use?
already answered too^^ (cheap storebrand)
22. what type of person are you?
there are enough 'types' the human experience can be classified into to fill a small library, how is anybody supposed to answer this question without it being more specific?
28. do you wear a mask?
already answered three^^ (I try)
30. is there dishes in your room?
already answered four^^ (yes)
36. how many times have you changed your url?
already answered five^^ (once)
40. did you have any snacks today?
not yet but I need to remember to grab one or two more Kinder Pingui before I leave, gf has gotten some of the real good stuff cheaply ^_^
42. an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?
already answered six^^ (mihon.app, followers and mutuals feel free to DM me for set-up help)
also fun math situation, apparently there is a significant overlap between prime numbers -1 and multiples of six apparently, very interesting 🤔
46. favorite holiday film?
The Last Unicorn (1982) counts as a christmas film according to my brother's gf, so probably that; if that doesn't count or sthg then probably that one My Little Pony episode where Starlight learns about the meaning of Hearthswarming Eve via popular old charles dickens copying technique
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romanarose · 2 years
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Marc Spector, Knight, Angel, Protector.
Masterlist here Lots more Moon Knight content here, including my ongoing fic, Sunshine Starlight Sweetheart Brightside
Fic Summary: Loosely based on the concept of the Doctor Who Episode "The Girl in the Fireplace". Over a series of years and scary events, she see's him. And when she does, she knows she's safe.
I'm super nervous about putting his out, I've been thinking about it for weeks.... I hope y'all like it because I put my heart in it.
WARNINGS: MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS OF SA!!! One while drunk and high, one in an alley (also drunk) and possible a kidnapping attempt (vague), references to child abuse and bad home life. Directly talking about being SA'd by an authority figure. Blood. Drug use, drinking, getting hurt. Panic attack. Like seriously, this fic talks about a lot of dark, dark stuff so just if you get triggered with anything with SA I would just say skip it this. If I missed anything LMK but in general like there's just a lot of dark shit.
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Adult content before the cut.
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“One may suffer a world of demons for the sake of an angel.”- Madame De Pompadour, Doctor Who, The Girl in the Fireplace.
Some unknown force is pulling us together. 
The first time I met him, it wasn’t much of a meeting. Most of the times I see him weren’t actually meetings, per se. They were merely my disaster of a life being briefly interrupted by small interactions with the only person I can think of who only ever kept me safe. I am young, maybe 6 or 7 and I am lost at the mall, crying outside some store, wanting my mom. I’m still under the impression that my mom is a safe person. I see an older boy,dark skin, dark curly hair, with something on his head. It’s not a hat, I knew it was religious, I wasn’t sure what. He asks where my mom was, I say I didn’t know, and continued crying. He says he’d stay with me until my mom came. We are standing there for a long, long time. Wordless. I think ‘where is his mommy?’ I know he’s older, but I also know he’s still a kid like me. Young enough he shouldn’t be alone in a Chicago mall, but for the most part I am just scared. Why hasn’t my mom noticed I’m missing?
 An older man comes, he asks if I need help and offers to take me with him. The boy takes my hand, ‘no, our mom is coming.’ the older man looks at the boy. I doubt he believes him, we look nothing alike. I don’t know what the man’s intentions are, but I feel safe with the boy. My mom came back, she’s yanking my hand and yelling at me for walking off. My hand hurts in her grip. All I can do is turn around as he disappears into the crowd. I smile at him, and he gives me a sad smile back. It’s like he knows. And I know him. An understanding.
The next time I see him couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4 years later, I’m walking home from school. I stayed late, like I tend to, reading in the library. It’s better than being home. That would change in a few years. But I didn’t account for daylight savings and it was starting to get dark. I try to take a shortcut through a park, but a group of older kids start yelling at me. Something about me being on their ‘turf’? They can’t be out of high school, maybe even freshmen. A lot of Chicago kids form wanna-be gangs to try and be cool. Again, the memory is fuzzy. I’m being yelled at, I’m scared. Someone slaps me. Then it escalates. Someone pushes me, I’m on the ground being kicked. Then it stops. There’s commotion, but I keep my arms covering my head, I didn’t want to watch. Silence. ‘Hey, you okay?’. I open my eyes, and there he is. But I’m late. I don’t want mom to hurt me. I get up. ‘Thank you’ I say as I start running. I don’t look at him again as I run, as much as I’d like to.
It was a long time before I saw him again. This memory is blurry, much like the others, much like most of my time in high school and childhood, but for a different reason. I am at a college party, I am not in college. I do not have that kind of money. I still live in Chicago, no options but to continue living with my mom. Leaving home? In this economy? Someone invited a group of Marines to the party. One of the frat boys gives me something, some pill, I take it but I didn’t need it. I'm already drunk. I’m falling, I’m flying, I don’t exist and I’m everywhere.
 I’m being taken upstairs to one of the rooms, a feeling of euphoria surrounding me, happiness, peace. There are hands on me, faceless hands on my body, then it stopped. Commotion. More hands on me, just my face this time. I knew him, somehow I knew him. Where? Safe. What is he saying? I’m unsure. I’m safe with him. Beautiful. He’s glowing, a halo of light around him. An anglel. My angel.  He’s saying something, I try to kiss him, why won’t he let me? He has my phone. He’s making a call. Fuck, is he calling the police? An ambulance? I close my eyes and wake to a washcloth on my face, when did everything get so hot? He’s blurry, he’s pretty. His lips. I want his lips. I tell him I want his lips. He smiles at me, but does not kiss me. Touch me. I want him to touch me. I tell him I want him to touch me. He doesn’t. My friend is here, she didn’t come to this party? Strong arms are carrying me, I’m in a car, I wake up in bed. My friend said he called her, took me to the car and she got me to bed that night. She never got his name.
I’m screaming. It’s dirty. I’m between a dumpster and the wall. I’m alone. All these years thinking I’d never see justice. I was given hope. Then hope was taken away. I’m dressed in the best clothes I could afford and I’m sitting in an alley that is probably covered in thin layers of piss, shit, blood and cum from over the years. I’m screaming as loud as I can, I need a release. All these years, I need a release. I never would’ve come if I didn’t think we could do it. I wanted to bury this. If I was going to resurface all these memories, I needed to know I’d see justice. When the trial started, I told my boyfriend I was testifying. He never knew what was done to me. He broke up with me a month later. He said it was because of timing, but I knew it was because of what I revealed. It was too much. He didn’t sign up for a girl who was raped by her teacher. Too much baggage. I am broken. I am used.
He was the drama teacher, girls loved him. He was young and seemed kind. He had a way of figuring out who came from troubled backgrounds, who would be desperate for fatherly approval, whose parents wouldn’t ask too many questions. That was me. 
Screaming, screaming, screaming. Fuck, my throat hurts. I claw at my face, my arms, there’s something crawling in there, I need to get it out. I need to get it out of my skin, I need it out of my throat, I pull at my hair, screaming screaming screaming. I keep screaming. I open my eyes to a sound in front of  me. I scream again. There is a white figure crouched in front of me.
“Who did this?” His voice is soft. Familiar. I don’t know where from, but I calm down. I am safe with this voice. This voice would never hurt me.
I knew there was blood on me. I see it on my arms and felt the skin open on my face. “I did.”
“Why”
I didn’t know how to answer. There was…so much. So many reasons.
“Did someone hurt you?”
I scoff a bit, still staring at him wide-eyed. Who hadn’t hurt me? 
“Did someone attack you?” His voice was calm, it pressed on but it wasn’t impatient.
“Years ago.” I am practically whispering. I don’t know why I’m telling him this. I haven't even seen his face. I’m safer with him than I ever was with almost anyone I ever trusted. My mom, my dad, teachers, boyfriends. “My teacher. In highschool. For… for years. Someone took him to court and I testified. Me and a group of girls. He was let go today. Lack of evidence. He’s getting away with it.” I don’t cry, there’s no tears left. I’m painfully dehydrated. My head is pounding and my throat is dry, raw.
He nods. “Did he touch you?” The mask covering his face muffles him a bit, but the voice is his. Whose, I don’t really know. It’s right. It’s safe.
I nod in return. He stands up, extending a hand. I take it. I’m standing. His cape is in the air. He’s gone.
I don’t see it on the news until later. The trial had been a whole ordeal and had been covered by the Chicago news stations to some extent, but the neighborhood I grew up in and still lived in followed it heavily. I managed to move out of my mom’s, living in the shittiest, smallest apartment I could find. There was a reason we lived in this neighborhood my entire life. Cheap rent. I wake up to my phone blowing up, sending me the news video. He was dead. And it was brutal. I knew I should be disgusted, I shouldn’t be happy. But I was. 
He did it. I knew it was the man in white. I am thankful.
I am outside a bar, I’m cold. My head hurts. My face hurts. It’s a shitty bar, as are most in my neighborhood. A man is screaming at me, but I can hardly hear him. I disconnect. I am not here. My lip is bleeding. No, no it’s not. Not if I don’t exist. His hands are in my hair and I’m in an alley. My face is against the wall. I don’t even struggle. I don’t have it in me anymore.
The pressure is off my back. I turn around and there he is. Like so many times before, he is here. I watched him kill the man. I couldn’t find it in myself to be upset. It was quick. I hear police shouting and there's lights. Strong arms are carrying me. I’m on the roof. He sets me down.
“Sorry” He says, muffled through his mask. “I didn’t want you to get in trouble for that.”
“It’s okay…” I shiver, from the cold or from the ordeal, I don’t know.
He takes off his cape, wrapping it around me. I’m warm, but I still shake.
“Are you scared?” He asks. It doesn’t sound like a question. He thinks the answer is yes.
“No.” How could I be? This was the voice I trusted. I don’t know why. This voice meant I was safe, and that’s all I knew. All the memories have, I don’t connect. Not yet.
A long, long, pause. “It’s you again.” I don’t respond for a moment. How many screaming girls in an alley had he come across? He turns to the side, pointing. “You have something to do with this?” He wasn’t talking to you anymore. His gaze shifts again, but not to me. “I’ve seen her before. A few times.”
“Who…” are you? But I couldn’t finish the question. Did I want to know? All these blurry, hazy, memories. The bits and pieces of my life that don’t make sense, the parts I blacked out, the parts I push away. Somehow he’s always there. If I start to ask questions, if I start to connect the dots, what if he goes away? What if he’s no longer there once I know too much? I don’t want that. 
He answers the question himself, and the cloth mask vanishes into the air. It all makes sense.
The man in the alley who killed my teacher.
The man at the party who saved me from another would-be rapist.
The teenager the park who stopped the bullies
The boy in the mall who stayed with him until my mom came back.
He was always there. 
“It’s you. How… how?”
“I don’t know…” His eyes drifted to the side for a moment and he glared, then looked back to me. His face softened. He was handsome. All the memories I had, I never had a good look at him. His jaw was defined, brown skin, and curly hair. He had the look of a superhero, that was for sure, but he put Captain America and Iron Man to shame. His eyes were kind, but intense. Focused. 
He looks away, toward the floor. He’s whispering. Not to me again. “When I was in high school and the Marines. I think when I was a kid, too.” A pause. “No idea, buddy.”
“Is something wrong with me?” I ask. It’s the only logical option.
He looks back to me confused, his brow furrowing. “You tell me.” He’s wary. Understandable.
“I always felt like… like there’s an abnormal amount of horrific stuff around me. How do… and you keep appearing. Am I cursed? Are we being pushed together? Is all the bad stuff…”
“Is something putting you in danger to draw me to you?” He finishes.
It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that’s happened. In a world full of the scarlet witch and blips and the Sorcerer Supreme…
He turns away. “Well? You heard her.” He gestures vaguely at me.
“Are you-” 
He holds up a finger, looking annoyed but not at me. “Hold on, I’m talking to a giant pigeon.” he turns back.
“Like… a specific one or…”
“The Egyptian god one.”
Right. Of course. Silly me.
“Stay here” he looks apologetic as he walks away.
Where am I going? I am on a roof with no exit in sight. But I do as I’m told as he runs and jumps to another rooftop. There, he’s yelling. At what, I don’t know. I can’t hear. 
He’s back. “Sorry, just trying to figure something out.” He’s in pain. He is frustrated. But I know it’s not with me.
“And?”
He sighed, scrubbing his face. “I don’t know. The fucker is painfully vauge. I’m sorry. I don’t know what this is about, if there even is anything. He essentially said it’s none of my business… I tried to argue it's literally my life,” He shot a glare to the side. “But that doesn’t mean much to him.”
“It’s okay…” I’m talking quietly, transfixed by him, in his beauty. I remember him when I was high and drunk, the halo over his head. An angel. My angel. I’m hugging him. It takes him by surprise and initially he isn’t responding. Whatever was happening, he is my safety. He hugs me back, ever-so gently
“Are you going to leave again?” I whisper.
“Do you want me to?” He asks me. How can he ask that? How can he ever think that? All he has ever done is protect me. I shake my head in his chest, the fabric rubbing my face.
“I killed him” He whispers in my ear. 
I was a tad confused. He literally just killed the man in front of me. “I know, I saw.”
“No.” He tightens his grip on me, like he needed the hug as much as I did. There was something in him, something he and I shared. Something I knew that day at the mall as he watched me leave. Sadness. Hurt. Darkness. Anger. “Your teacher. After I left you.”
“I know. As soon as I saw, I knew.”
He pulls me back, studying my face. “And you’re not scared of me?”
Ever so carefully, I touch his handsome face. He leans into my touch, closes his eyes. “Never.”
“I’m sorry” I heard his voice breaking. I move my other hand to hold his face as well.
“What for?”
“Not stopping him before it happened.” He keeps his eyes closed, voice barely above a whisper. “I'm sorry, I should’ve been there… all the other times, but I couldn’t be there…”
My heart breaks for him. He is clearly carrying so much… “It’s okay, you stopped him.” I get on my tippy toes, kissing his forehead and taking him in for another hug. All those times he saved me, now all I want is to take care of him, protect him, nurture him. I realize, despite feeling like I already know his soul, I didn’t know his name. I introduce myself.
“Marc Spector.” He replies. I heard him breathe in the scent of my hair.
Marc Spector. My angel, my knight, my protector.
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THANK YOU FOR READING!!! If you like the fic, please let me know!!! Comments mean the world to me.
You can support my work at Buy Me a Coffee
but as always, likes, comments and reblogs are the best way to support me <3
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curieincali · 5 months
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Year in Review - BOOKS - 2023
Audiobooks read:
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
DisneyWar by James B. Stewart
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer
Horse Crazy by Sarah Maslin Nir
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
As You Wish by Cary Elwes, Joe Layden
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
eBooks read:
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (In Progress)
Regular books read:
Wet Moon Volume 4: Drowned in Evil by Sophie Campbell
Princess Jellyfish Volume 3 by Akiko Higashimura
Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney (In Progress)
It felt like I read a lot more this year, but looking back at previous years, not by much! What really happened is I joined not one, but TWO book clubs - one with work and one with friends. It's definitely helping me explore outside of my normal tastes, and I've found some great stuff.
In 2023, I branched away from audiobooks and into ebooks in the interest of not listening to fairy smut on my speaker, and instead reading it on my phone as god intended.
I finally started a GoodReads account, but I'll probably still do these yearly round-ups here on tumblr. But now I can more easily endorse (or roast the fairy smut) items on my my reading list.
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