#vespertine thoughts

[soldier-poet-king]

Ok not gonna actually put my replies on someone's post bc that's RUDE (and it's not borne out of ill will I genuinely like discussing this stuff but idk if that is appropriate here!! I don't know this person!! I am bad at knowing when to open my mouth!) but I really liked the theology of vespertine? I didn't take it as things done in the Lady's name are Valid Religious Actions, nor did I take it that both good and evil come from the Lady. Its clearly based off of Christianity, and i thought the questions it asked about theodicy were quite interesting (and perhaps my favourite bit of the book, and why I found it so moving).

It was less that the Lady causes xyz bad thing to happen, and more that the Lady /allows/ xyz bad thing to happen only so that ultimately some good can be brought out of it. Which, imo, is very in line with a Christian view of theodicy, esp in the Pauline epistles (and Job, and obvs the Gospels). Evil is brought into the world by human action, but that human action is allowed to happen (BC free will) and ultimately is transformed toward the Good. That doesn't mean that ppl aren't shitheads who claim that their evil is divinely sanctioned, nor that hurt people do not (understandably) blame the divine and lash out in their hurt. But that ultimately, for whatever ineffable reason the inexorable will of god PERMITS evil to occur, knowing in divine wisdom and grace it will be transformed to the Good.

That's not a comfort. Not really. I think it is frightening and terrifying and awe-inspiring and horrible all at once. I have my own personal feelings on the subject. I just think it's an important distinction, and fwiw much closer to my own reading of the book. Its the same sort of troubling not-answers to questions of divine providence, grace, and the will of god that the sparrow duology examines (in a much less harrowing way, albiet, the sparrow is heavy).

Idk man I think I'm just fascinated by theodicy and conceptions of evil in non dualistic universe where evil exists despite an omnipotent and all-good divinity. I think the Augustine Brainrot got me.

[bookishintherain]

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Ok. I FINALLY read this. And absolutely loved it!!!

I’d started it on audiobook a while back and just wasn’t paying enough attention so I gave up.

But I went back and read it finally and I could not put it down! I think it’s my favorite Rogerson book so far, which is saying something because I’ve loved all of them. But this one. Just *chef’s kiss*

The characters complemented and meshed together so well. The plot kept moving and the stakes kept rising and the climax was perfect.

Ugh. I loved it so much 😭

That’s all.

[virgovirgo]

bjork album ranking that nobody asked for:

vespertine > post / vulnicura / homogenic > debut > medulla > volta / fossora > utopia > biophilia

[the-modern-typewriter]

January Book Recs

My favourite books that I read in 2023! (In no particular order!)

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo (M/M, codependency, Supernatural Dark Academia vibes)

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (delicious little YA horror!)

Vampires, Hearts and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston (A lover letter to vampires stories and grief)

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi (Got me in my fairytale loving heart. Exquisite writing style.)

Fraternity by Andy Mientus (M/M, 90s dark academia, demons)

Yellowface by R.F Kuang (Tense, fascinating)

Once Upon A Broken Heart/The Ballad Of Never After by Stephanie Garber (JACKS!!!)

In The Lives of Puppets by T.J Klune (M/M, Pinocchio retelling)

Honourable mentions go to:

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (I love the dynamic between the protag and their demon companion), What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher (retelling of The Fall of The House Of Usher, got me obsessed with this writer) and Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day (thought-broking, memoir style non fiction, about how we talk about friendship).

[neesieiumz]

| ֍ ⸻ 𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚 ⳼ 𝙯𝙚𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙧

「 synopsis 」 ⸻ zeke yeager is a good person, said no one ever

「 warnings 」 ⸻ 18+. minors do not interact. infidelity. lawyer!zeke. trophy-wife!reader. fem!reader. afab!reader black-coded!reader. reader comes from old money, has a wealthy family and has a huge inheritance. that's basically the whole reason why her husband married her. reader's husband is an OC named Michail Palakos. he's also very condescending to you. mainly Zeke's pov, but there is a transition from zeke's pov to your own but it isn't explicitly said. manipulation on zeke's end. pwp. cunnilingus. fingering. missionary. couch sex. bathroom sex. zeke wraps his hand around your throat but he doesn't choke you. hair pulling. degradation. he calls you a slut as well. multiple scenes and transitions, with dividers. zeke bends you over your bathroom sink. zeke had a plan and he finally got his platform.

「 writer's notes 」 ⸻ this is so late 💀💀💀, I was so lazy with getting this out. I did an exercise for myself to come up with fic ideas and this one and the professor!shunsui idea are the ones that stuck with me. it was originally named dianthus but it thought vespertine was a better fitting name for it. after I finish eren's part in gold rush and the next chapter of basorexia, that shunsui idea is definitely the next one

「 word count 」 ⸻ 6.7k.

Zeke Jaeger believes he’s a good person. 

As he sat around the small ballroom, overly bored out of his mind as he swirled around a glass of brown liqueur. The suit he wore was a tad bit too tight around his neck, and the bright lights were giving him a slight migraine. He let out an internal sigh, before laughing along to another joke one of the many old geezers sitting at his table let out. One of the many parts of his job he hates, pandering and pampering people who held the key to everything he needed and desired for the real parts of the job that he loved. The smile he wore was pretentious in nature as his eyes began to drift across the room. Lifting his hand, he took a long sip of his drink, before his eyes landed across the room. 

The lights reflected and shimmered against gold glitter, etched into the main hem of the skirt. His eyes moved up, seeing your beautiful braids trail down your back oh-so beautifully. His heart twisted as they landed on your wide smile. You held a drink in your hand, a champagne flute as Zeke’s eyes darted towards the hand wrapped around her waist. The man holding her close held a pretentious smirk, as he flaunted his wife off like a trophy, which to be fair, is exactly what she was meant to be. Her beautiful skin shined in the room, it was obvious she was meant to be looked at. 

Zeke took the last sip of his drink, before standing up, excusing himself from the conversation of which he had no idea the main subject of. He pushed past other tables, smiling, waving, and nodding at those who acknowledged him before making his way across the room. He gently excused himself past people deep in their own conversations. His partner saw him approach first, eyes lighting up slightly as he basically shoved past you to get to him, hand reaching out towards them. 

Zeke let off a smirk, before reaching out before pulling him into a handshake converted into a side hug. The person the two of you were talking to quickly gave Zeke a small greeting, before walking off to refill his drink. You smiled at Zeke, much softer and felt more real than the other smile you were once adorning. Hold your arms open, and you pull him for a hug which he reciprocates, placing a soft kiss on your cheek. Your grip on him slightly together for a moment before fully releasing, taking a step back. In doing so, your husband wrapped his arm back around your waist. 

“I thought you found these kinds of parties to be pretentious, Zeke?” His co-worker, Michail Palakos, spoke first. 

Zeke shrugged his shoulders, shoving his free hand into his pocket, “just reaching my monthly quota with the big bosses.”

You let off a giggle this time, covering your plump lips with your hand. The sound was sweet in his ears, it twisted his heart just a little. He wondered what other sound he could hear from you? What else could you show him? 

“I feel you on that, these types of things can be so exhausting,” Michail spoke, suddenly grabbing the flute of your handi and basically downing the rest before gagging, giving you the empty glass. 

“Ugh, I don't know how you women can drink things like that,” he complained, taking a step away from you. 

Zeke saw the way your statute deflated, hands clasping and coming up in front of you, stopping your fidgeting hands. He shook his head slightly, humming a little before lifting his glass, and taking another sip only to taste cold water. He blinked, before looking down at his glass, nothing but melting ice in there. Michail noticed his empty glass before turning towards you. 

“Be a dear and get us some more drinks, preferably something actually enjoyable.” he said before fully turning away from you, facing Zeke. 

Zeke glanced over at you as your mood only dampened, before turning away, and walking towards the open bar on the other side of the room. His eyes didn't leave you as you reached the bar until the man beside him spoke up. 

“This latest case has got me stressed, you?” 

Zeke shrugged his shoulders, swirling his empty cup, “I’ve finished my parts in it, if you need help with yours, it’s not a problem.” 

Michail let out a laugh, sarcastic in nature, hand popping out, slapping Zeke on the back. Zeke felt a level of disgust run through him as the man acted as if they were close friends. He only dealt with it, as he couldn't do much else within the firm. Heels clicking again the porcelain floors brought his attention back as he turned, seeing you walking back to them with two identical drinks in hand. You smelled of a luxurious vacation, of sweet honeyed neroli oil and sugared coconuts. It was intoxicating, you were intoxicating. You handed the two of them the drinks, smiling over at Zeke before moving to stand beside your husband. Michail took a sip of the drink, humming and shrugging his shoulders. 

“Least you can get one thing right,” he mumbled before taking another sip.

You let out a nearly slight sigh, straightening up your figure before looking at Zeke, a smile appearing back on your face. 

“So back to this case, Zeke,” Michail started, but Zeke shook his head. 

“Rather not talk about working during things like this, just wanted to come over and check in with you. We’ll talk tomorrow,” He said, taking a sip of the drink you brought over. 

Michail’s eyebrows quivered but still nodded in Zeke’s direction. Zeke began to turn away from him, but not before he reached out towards you, taking one of your hands, before placing a soft kiss on it. He could feel your hand tensing within his hold, glancing up at you, seeing your eyes soften at his gesture. With that, he bidded the two of you good night before walking off towards the exit. He finished his drink, handing it off to the servers ambling around the room, before escaping into the night. 

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──

He could only roll his eyes at the way Michail flipped his phone upside down after swiping at it for the fifth time within the last 45 minutes. It was quite obvious who was calling him, as it was etching into 9 o’clock at night. It was the two of them and some other associates, preparing for a big case. Zeke looked at him along with the other people in the room, all wondering the same thing. 

“You should probably answer it, if it’s important?” One of the younger associates called out. 

Michail only rolled his eyes, “it’s just the wife, wondering why I’m not home yet. Something about a dinner party tonight? I don’t fucking know…” he trailed off, mumbling at the last part. 

Zeke blinked, mind thinking back to you, the constant point on your face he would see you with. His thoughts only broke when the sounds of vibrations were heard throughout the room. Everyone gleaned down at Michail’s phone once again, before looking over at his face, flushed with annoyance. He picked up his phone once again, before suddenly standing up, his chair nearly flying back.

“Excuse me,” he mumbled before stepping out of the room. 

The atmosphere was slightly tense but everyone mainly focused on getting back to their work. Zeke was flipping through a huge packet, highlighting important information before the door flew back open. Everyone looked back up only to see Michail enter back into the room, hands in both of his pockets as he sat down, before focusing back on the piles of papers in front of him. Zeke looked at him for a few more moments, before rolling his eyes once more, focusing back on his work. He knew Michail wouldn't bother to actually go home to you. 

Three hours rolled by and everything was set, most of everyone had already gone home as it was etching onto eleven o’clock. It was only Zeke and Michail left, with Zeke soon reaching the last part of his work. Just as he finished dotting the last sentence of his notes, he heard a loud yawn as well as the creak of the desk chair before glancing over to his right and seeing Michail stand up. As the man packed up his papers, he glanced down at the watch on his wrist. 

“She should be asleep by now,” he mumbled under his breath, placing his laptop and papers in his bag.

Zeke said nothing, watching him sling the bag over his shoulders. Michail looked over at Zeke and gave a one-handed wave before heading off into the night. Zeke could only sigh, placing his pen down as he tried his best to relax his mind. As he did so, his mind began to pump fantasies of you asleep on the bed. What would you be wearing? A dainty little nightgown, riding up your beautiful dark thighs, or would you wear nothing at all? Zeke groaned, through his hand back as he began to palm his growing hard-on. He could see himself towering over you, drunk off of your sleeping presence. He imagined himself, grabbing at your legs, peeling them back, spreading them wide open.

He let out a groan as he envisioned your eyes fluttering open just as he sunk himself into you, stretching you out like so. Your melodious voice crying out to him, begging him for more, your hands digging marks into his arms as he pummeled into you. Fantasy upon fantasy amassing within him, Zeke could only let out gasp-like groans, throwing his head back as his seed spilled out, bleeding through his khaki-colored pants. Breathing heavily, moving his head back down, he could only let out a sound of slight disgust as he looked down at his stained pants. He stood up and began to pack up his own work, before heading towards his office for a change of clothes. As he pulled off the stained pants, his mind wandered back to the events that had just happened, how his reveries had overflown at that moment.

And how he has finally made his decision. 

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──

Zeke stood up straight as he rang the doorbell, before taking a step back. It was mid-day, and it was one of the few days Zeke decided to take. He tucked his hands in his pockets after glancing over at his watch. He heard noises getting closer before the sound of the deadbolt clicking, and the intricate door slowly opening. He found himself facing an unknown figure, one glance at her outfit and she was obviously someone who had worked for you and your husband.

“Yes, may I help you?” She asked him.

He cleared his throat, but just before he could speak, another voice cut through. He glanced up as your form peeped behind the maid.

“Riza, who’s at the door?”

Your eyes landed on his, almost immediately lighting up, “Zeke! What a surprise, come in!”

Once you said that, the maid stepped back, nodding slightly towards you before scurrying along into the house. Zeke took a few steps into the house, taking in the vaguely familiar surroundings. The last time he had been in here was when Michail had hosted his housewarming when he arrived at the firm three years ago, that's when the two of you had first met. All that time had passed by between you two and yet, it was his second time stepping into the three-story luxury mansion. 

His eyes locked onto your form, seeing your hips sway as you led him past the anteroom, towards a more casually designed, yet still obviously opulent living room. You wore a two-piece silk lounge outfit, the hems of the arms and legs fitted with tulle ruffles. Your hair was wrapped in a silk scarf, it was obvious you weren’t expecting company today. You gestured for him to sit, taking the seat two cushions down from him before looking over at the maid standing close to you. You told her to bring some snacks, as well as any bottle of wine that would pair well. Zeke tried to interject, but you were already sending her off. You were vague with your instructions, he noted, you must have trusted this maid very well. 

Riza, the maid, nodded before scurrying along, most likely headed to the kitchen to prepare what you have asked for. Once she was gone, it was just the two of you, and it strained Zeke to keep his eyes right on your face as you gave him a soft smile. 

“This really was a surprise, I haven’t seen you in here since… well since we actually moved in. I always see you at Michail’s work events and such… but never here. What brings you by? Shouldn’t you be at work right now?” You ended your spiel with a question. 

Zeke hummed, shrugging his shoulders a bit before leaning back against the back of the couch, “took the day off, my parents actually live around here, and was visiting them when I passed by your place. Thought I should stop by.” He lied through his teeth, his parents preferred to come and visit him at his penthouse than for him to come by. 

You hummed, eyes widening slightly, “From what I heard, you barely take any days off. It’s good to go and see them though. I’m sure they’ve missed you,” you smiled at yourself, turning your body slightly to face him. 

Before he could respond, footsteps interrupted you, the two of you glancing over at the same time, seeing Riza enter with a tray of snacks, along with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. Whilst you were looking away, Zeke's eyes looked towards you, trailing down to your exposed cleavage, the thin, shimmer-like fabric pressing up against your breasts. 

The sound of glass clinking against glass broke Zeke out of a trance, giving him just enough to look away. Towards the maid placing the tray on the table in front of them. You turned yourself once again, facing forward, thanking Riza as she tableed everything, before taking the tray with her as she took her leave. He reached over, immediately grabbing the bottle of wine, before taking a closer look at it. With one twist, he easily broke the seal, before grabbing the corkscrew, and fully opening it up. He poured out the red-purple alcohol, seeing you reach over for a glass.

“Should we be drinking wine this early in the day?” he asked, placing the bottle down on the table. 

You grabbed a glass, raising it up slightly before winking, “I won’t tell if you won’t tell.” you grinned, before taking a sip.

Zeke let off a downturned smile before grabbing his own glass and taking a long sip as well. 

The two of you carried conversations well into the day, sharing the bottle of wine between the two of you. He barely took any of the snacks, keeping his focus mainly on you as you partake in them. 

“So how is Michail at work, he barely talks to me about his day,” you mentioned, bringing your newly-filled glass to your lips.

He took in the slight change of mood within you, the once joyous light in your eye, dimming down to a more mirthless one. Zeke hummed, lifting his foot to rest up against the knee of his other leg. 

“He’s… hard-working, but very friendly to the staff, they enjoy his presence more than me.” He took on a humorous tone but kept his eye on you as your body deflated just a bit more.

“Really…? Friendly how?”

Zeke pondered for a minute before shrugging his shoulders, “just talking to people a lot, sometimes about work but most of the time he’s not. A lot of friendly touches, especially with that new assistant of his.”

Your eyebrows quirked up, “assistant?”

“Yeah, assistant? He didn’t tell you about that?”

You shook your head, sighing before taking another long sip of your fermented alcohol, “he doesn’t tell me anything, least not anymore… most days he just comes home and doesn't say a word to me.”

You mumbled out the next part, most likely thinking that Zeke wouldn't hear you, but he heard you loud and clear. 

“Doubt he’s even noticed I don’t sleep in the same bedroom with him anymore.”

Zeke said nothing but locked that into the back of his mind, another piece of the complex puzzle of your and Michail’s marriage. Zeke shifted the conversation away from you and Michail, bringing back your joyous mood. You continued talking until the sun went down, and soon after the two of you personally exchanged numbers. You stood by the door, waving him off as he got into his car, driving off and away from the large house. 

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──

You were lonely. 

Zeke could tell this from the way the two of you constantly talked. You grew up in a cold home of cold cash and empty mansions, which is how he could guess you were used to your own husband’s condescension and cold attitude. You were used to faking smiles and pretending to be interested in things that had no merit in your life. However, Zeke could tell, from the way you constantly messaged him, to always inviting him over whilst your husband was away. You craved companionship, for a long time you ached for someone to be interested in you and not the check attached to you from your parents. You came from old money, with a huge trust fund as well as stocks in your family's multiple companies. You served on the board of the main enterprise, led by your brother as your parents had retired after you had gotten married.

You hadn’t spoken to them in two months apparently, as there was nothing to really talk about. You were closer to your younger sister, as she went to the luxury private college in the city. You were like a fountain, spilling all of your life for Zeke to listen to, and he took it all in. Your phone calls lasted all the way through his lunch period and sometimes he would be on the phone with you while he was working, by himself of course. Before you knew it, three months had passed, and Zeke was a more constant thread in your life than your own husband. 

Zeke couldn’t lie, something within him jumped every time you sent him a message, but his goal was still high in his head. This was why he stood in his expensive penthouse, in his recently cleaned kitchen as he gleaned over at his dinner table, two silver dorms covering the dinner he had just prepared. He had invited you over for dinner, just the two of you. Just as he buttoned the last of the cufflinks, a loud ring echoed through the home. He took one good look at himself before walking over to the door, twisting the deadbolt, and unlocking the door knob before swinging the door wide open. You stood there, a smile on your face, one hand at your side, the other holding the strap of the orange clutch you brought with you. 

Your braids were pulled back into a low ponytail, showing off the obvious low cleavage of your chain-strapped orange dress. Zeke smiled at you, arms reaching out before swooping you into a hug, your own smile widened as you reciprocated, giggling as you were lifted off the ground slightly. He didn’t break the hug as he pulled you into the home, turning around. The two of you soon let go of the hug, with Zeke turning sound to go and close the door. While he did that, you took the time to engage within your surroundings, seeing the environment Zeke lives in. 

“Oh wow, your home looks amazing,” you said, spinning around to take in everything. 

“Thank you,” he spoke back, coming up behind you, placing a hand at the small of your back before gently guiding you towards the slightly decorated table over by the window wall.

He stopped right at the table, before stepping away, pulling out your seat before gesturing for you to sit. You thanked him, placing off your clutch before placing it right on the table and sliding right into the seat. You gasped as he stood right behind you, body heat radiating off of him as he pushed your chair in with ease. You kept your eyes on him as he walked around the table, taking a seat right in front of you. He lifted the domes off the plates, seeing your eyes light up at dinner. You had off-handly mentioned smothered lamb chops and mashed potatoes as your favorite meal your old housekeeper used to make while you were growing up. Zeke knew it wasn’t going to be the same but just having the same dish was enough for you. 

You had thanked him for the dinner before y'all began to eat. The two of you ate with little words, as you were both raised in households that valued quietness during dinner. Once finished, you had moved from the table to the living room, holding another glass of red wine that you had paired with the dinner as he moved the bottle to the living room. 

“I just…” you started, reminiscing on the journey you and your husband have taken, “I wish I made more of my life… rather than constantly relying on the connections my parents made for me. Maybe, I’d be strong enough to leave him.”

You had kicked off your heels at this point, toes covered in the skin-colored pantyhose you wore underneath your dress. You had rested your legs on the couch, bent and tucked away as you took another sip of your glass. Your dress had risen up, past your knees, but still covering up everything. 

“Connections?” Zeke questioned.

You nodded your head, “yeah, his parents were close with mine, and he was the only boy around my age that my parents approved of. Only for me to be stuck in a loveless marriage, all for money.”

Zeke’s hand reached out, placing it right on your knee. Your body slightly jolted from the sudden contact, the feeling electrified like static electricity. His rough hand moved up and down, caressing you. Your heart sped up just a bit, but you couldn’t stop him, or rather, you didn’t want to stop him. His touch was warm, a contrast to everything else in your life. You said nothing as he scooted closer to you, his other hand coming up and pulling you close to him.

“I’ve tried my best to make it work, but he’s made it quite clear that the check my parents send every month is much more important than him,” you said, taking another sip of your wine.

Your mind flashed to your wedding, everything was perfect, and you believed your life would be perfect. You believed he loved you, he made you believe he loved you, but his love was really money, it was an almighty consumer of his life. It wasn’t enough, not enough in his professional life, not enough in his personal life. Cold hard cash was he visioned for, and he’ll do anything to get it., even if it means throwing away the warmth of his wife.

“You deserve more than a man that sees you as his next paycheck,” he said, leaning his head down towards your ear. 

Zeke’s hand rubbed up and down on your arm, the warmth relaxing you, and before you knew it, you were laying your head on his shoulder. The negative thoughts about your failing marriage soon began to break away as thoughts of the man beside you began a subtle influx in your mind. Zeke smelled of blackened teakwood and a subtle sense of mahogany and lavender. His scent had you relaxing in his hold, it was the opposite of your husband, who usually smelled of spiced whiskey, from his cologne or his collection of alcohol. You couldn’t help but snuggle further into him, as lines were beginning to blur. You knew this was treading about muddy waters, but you couldn't find it within you to care. The hand resting on your thigh began to creep up, your breathing hitching just a little as your heart began to race. The hand that had once been resting on your upper arm and shoulder left for a moment, before feeling his large hands wrapped around your own, easing the half-full glass of wine off your hand before reaching down and placing it on the table. 

“Lemme take care of you,” he whispered to you. 

That diminutive ache that had been building within you the moment you laid eyes upon Zeke opened the door for you. This was wrong, you knew this was wrong, you thought to yourself once again as Zeke’s hand joined his other, each right on your inner thigh, massaging deep circles into the skin. 

“Zeke,” you let out a gasp-like breath, hips moving and grinding against nothing. 

The thong you wore underneath the dress was drenched, head thrown back in growing ecstasy. With ease, he lifted you up into his lap, trembling as you felt his hardon poking through his slacks.

“Zeke…” you let out again, tongue unable to say anything else as his fingers dipped underneath your dress. 

This was wrong, this was wrong, this was wrong. However, the care you were supposed to feel, the notion to push off your one and only friend never came. Instead, it was replaced with a growing ache, and the need for touch, his touch. His fingers curved up and around the thin string before slowly pulling the sky fabric away from your pussy. Cool air hit your wetness as his fingers rubbed up and down between your slits, gathering your juices up. 

“This is wrong… I shouldn’t do this…” you finally spoke up, but your hands didn’t move as he slowly sunk a finger into you. 

Zeke’s hums vibrated through you, “but if I don't… who will? You deserve to be spoiled, touched upon. He does not appreciate who he has… so let me.”

His words enthralled you, enamored you as he began to move his thick finger in and out within you. Your dress had ridden up to your hips and his free hand slowly pushed your legs wide open. It allowed more room for him to finger-fuck you deeper, his hand reaching and wrapping underneath your knee, lifting it up slightly. Spit drooled from your mouth as your sticky arousal coated his finger and the knuckles of his hands. You could feel his slightly abrasive beard grazing against your skin. Letting out another choked moan as Zeke bullied another finger into you. Your hips bucked, giving in to the pleasure as he twisted his long fingers inside of you. 

“That’s it… let me in,” he whispered in your ears, seeing your eyes squeezed shut. 

“Let me do what your husband has failed to do.”

You could feel Zeke’s mouth upturn against you as you let out a high-pitched moan, climax rising. Your abdomen slowly tightens, heat swelling, sweat dripping as you let out a final high-pitched moan. Your cunt spilled your juices excessively coating his fingers and hand as you came all over him. Your hands had dug into his shirt, finding an anchor to try and stabilize yourself. Slowly coming down from your high, you found yourself slumping against him, breathing heavily. Your eyes were heavy, barely able to keep them open, only able to feel Zeke slowly pulling his finger out of you. His other hand slowly left your thighs, allowing your legs to slump down, feeling touching the ground. 

You could feel your body moving, shuffling as you slowly were laid across the couch. You could feel his now warmed hands slide right back under your dress, moving his fingers underneath the thin fabric of your thong before slowly pulling it down. Your eyes fluttered open, seeing Zeke tower over you. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his toned chest. Your hands reached up, the palms of your hand grazing over the slightly textured skin. Zeke pulled off your thong, taking the soaked underwear in his hands before pocketing it in his pockets. Your hands slide up and around his body, unable to take your eyes off of him, his hands soon reaching down to his fly. You could see his erection fighting against the seams of his pants, seeing the way he slowly unzipped his pants before unbuttoning them.

Zeke pushed his slacks and boxers down at the same time, his cock springing out of its entrapment. He pushed down his clothes to his knees before bending over, hands falling to your thighs before grabbing them, slowly pushing back, knees going as far as they could towards your ears as he spread wide open for him. 

“Zeke,” you whined, as he felt the tip of his cock swipe between your lips, teasing your clit. 

With no other warning, you felt pushing himself into you, letting out a sudden cry. No matter the amount of prep Zeke took, you were still so tight, more evidence of how little your husband touched you. Zeke ignored your pleas and cried for him to “slow down” and “stop.” He let out a loud groan, head thrown back as he felt your walls squeezing him around him, the only thing of yours he heard was your high-pitched moans. This was everything he envisioned and more, seeing you crying under him, begging for him, your hands gripping his bare waist. His fantasy came back in full force, god the amount of time it took to make it a reality.

Zeke glanced down at your tear-streaked face. How your braids were undone from the cleaned-up ponytail you had done for the dinner. Seeing your makeup also get ruined, seeing you get ruined whilst under his body, under his hand. Oh, he could come right here and now, he thought to himself.

He held himself back, not wanting to ruin everything and end it all so quickly. He could feel your long nail breaking his skin further, using the temporary anchor, you pulled the man closer as your slightly pained please turned into a passion-filled gasp and moans, calling and screaming out his name. 

“Don’t stop, aahh,” you let out a prolonged moan, tongue drooling out of your mouth as ecstasy hit at full blast. 

You were like a virgin all over again, from the way you screamed, chasing an inevitable high that you have never tasted before. You never felt like this before, even after losing your virginity to some dunce in college before getting married. Even after consummating your marriage, your husband was always weak and underwhelming, Zeke was just the opposite and it was delicious. You didn’t know what to do with yourself but fell deeper into the nirvana he has placed out for you. 

You find yourself keening and drooling over the bearded man above you. An even heavier and deeper climax was building within you and once again, hitting you like a ton of bricks, you squealed. 

“Coming!” Was your only warning before your body shook with complete orgasmic pleasure. 

Eye rolling out the back of your head as Zeke gave off one last grunt, before leaning down fully, capturing your lips into a messy, wet kiss. You could feel the wetness of the sweat dripping down his beard but you don't care, your body still shaking from the aftershocks of your orgasm. You could feel his seed filling you up as he kissed you, your legs unconsciously wrapping around his waist, keeping him closer,

Breathing heavily, your head slumped up against the couch, legs slowly releasing Zeke from your hold, before the two of you locked eyes, Zeke still holding you. With no other words, squealing as Zeke suddenly picked you up, before carrying you in his arms, possibly heading upstairs towards his bedroom.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──

Since that day, everything has changed.

You couldn’t let go of him, no matter how much you tried. Like you even tried at all.

From Zeke having your legs spread across his kitchen countertop, to you two having a heart-racing quickie in the bathroom of a mutual work event. It was complete madness, and you loved it. It was different, it was unique, and it was oh-so-wrong. His large hands roam your body, causing vast reactions within you. He soon learned everything that made you tick.

You had changed, your relationship with your husband had changed, and your relationship with Zeke had changed. Your conversations were constantly shifting, and every time you would visit him or vice-versa, you would find his hands on you. Your texts constantly consisted of lewd wording and imagery, you found a new use for the lacey, expensive lingeries that were almost collecting dust within your dresser. Pictures, videos of the two of you, solos of you, and solos of him. It was madness… it was freedom.

Zeke was good, so much better than the few times your husband has taken you. He towered over you, and his every demand you couldn't help but fulfill. You fell deeper and deeper into ensnarement, and you truly didn't know just how far you’ll go for him. Which is what led up to this moment right here. 

You had sent Riza home early, and your husband was on a “work trip.” Giving you free rein as Zeke had you bent over your bathroom sink, silk robe bunched up at your waist, revealing your wet cunt to him. Zeke wasted no time, licking and sucking away at your pussy, your juices dripping down against his beard. Your hands gripped at the counter, head bowed down as your legs trembled. He didn’t let up, his hands attached to each cheek, spreading you wide open. 

“Ooooohhhh,” you mewled, body slumping against the sink as he ravaged you. 

His chuckle rattled you, causing your body to jerk and jolt against his lips. He lapped and sucked away at your clit, licking up all your juices as he did so. The bathroom smelled of soft vanilla and pink lilacs, the golden-dimmed lighting providing an extra ambiance to the scene before you. Zeke devoured you like a madman, not letting up no matter how you screamed and squirmed in his hold. 

“Zeke,” you cried out his name, “s’too much, fuck fuck fuck.”

He said nothing, but his actions spoke even louder as his sucking action intensified, causing you to let out a vocal choked moan, spit flying out of your mouth, and splatter against the sink counter. With a sudden jerk, your orgasm washed over you like a rapid wave, unseen and unbeknown to you. You shook violently as you lost your footing, feeling yourself slipping for just a short moment. Zeke’s hands slid up, allowing his arms to wrap around your waist, holding you completely steady as he drank your juices down. You could feel his moans and groans as he did so, providing extra overstimulation to your clit. 

Inhaling deeply, catching your sled as you dropped onto the counter, feeling Zeke behind you as he fully stood up. You glanced ahead, staring at his tall figure in the mirror, before eyeing one of the glasses of wine you had brought with you. Quickly grabbing it, taking a couple sips as you felt that familiar pressure creeping and pressing inside of you. You let out an elongated hum as you swallowed the wine, your head bent back, looking at him in his eyes as one of his hands gripped the flesh on your hips. His other hand slides up your body, before wrapping around your throat, squeezing ever so slightly. He pulled you into another deep kiss, tasting the tanginess of the wine and you taste the mint of his gum. 

Letting go of the kiss, you could feel his hand apply pressure as his hips slowly began to move in and out of you, your cunt squeezing around him. He easily maneuvered your body, bending you back over the sink, his hand leaving your throat before joining the other right at your waist. His pace easily picked up as you found your balance, holding onto the bathroom counter as he fucked you against it, his pace slowly picking up with every few seconds. One of his hands left your waist before easily wrapping your braids around his neck, suddenly pulling your head back with a sudden force. The pain echoed through your body, but it only pushed your pleasure to even higher heights. Your mind went hazy, your eyes swelling with your salty tears, obscuring your vision, slowly dripping down your freshly-cleaned face. 

There was no reason to hold back your moans, as there was nobody home as your loud moans reverberated against the walls. 

“Hmm, aww are you crying baby? Is it too much for you?” He teased you, hand leaving your hips before feeling him leave a loud smack against your deep-toned skin. 

The red-hot sparks of his hand, combined with his hands still in your hair had you keened, full-on sobbing as tears and sweat dripped down your face to your neck, all the way down your body. He pulled your body all the way back up, keeping your legs spread as he let go of your hair, hand-cupping your face, squeezing your cheeks as he began pressing his lips against your face, tasting your salty tears. 

“Zeke,” you pleaded as he released your face. 

With no other warning, you squealed as you were suddenly hoisted into the air, Zeke’s large hands sliding right underneath your thighs. He held you up by the backs of your knees before continuing to slam hiscock into you. His sudden actions awakened something in you, letting out a sudden shout as you convulsed in his arms. Your hands scrambled, reaching for something to hold onto you as he pounded into you once again. 

“Squeezing around me like that,” he murmured in your ear, his deep voice causing you to shudder. 

“Open your eyes, look at yourself in the mirror.”

Slowly, you pried your eyes open as best as you could, blinking away the tears before gazing at yourself in the mirror. Your robe had come fully undone, revealing your breasts bouncing every movement Zeke made within you. 

“God,” he said as he looked at how debauched you were, how in so few months he easily wrecked you from the inside out. 

“Who do you belong to?” He groaned in your ear next, feeling your pussy tensing and spasming around him. 

You opened your mouth but were barely able to answer as your mind succumbed to pleasure, but Zeke was having none of it. You could feel his nails dig into your skin as he spoke again. 

“Answer my fucking question, slut, who do you belong to?”

“You!” you struggled to get out, but once you did, it was loud, bouncing against the walls. 

He chuckled, his pace becoming sporadic in nature as he continued to speak, talking you through what would be your inevitable orgasm. 

“Yeah , you belong to me? What about your little husband, huh?” he breathed out, huffing as he began to reach his own limit. 

“Mmmh fuck I don’t care about him, fuck fuck fuck I’m gonna come, please, please let me come…” you sobbed out, eyes rolling to the back of your head as rock-solid pressure began to build within you. 

He only smirked, “come for me.”

With that, you let out a loud cry, body jerking in his hold as convulsions took hold of you. You squirted all over the two of you, juices spread all over your inner thighs as well. With a final grunt, he followed right after you, easily pulling out of you, cum easily staining your inner thighs as well, getting on his lower abdomen as well. 

As Zeke took one last look at you, seeing how to spit drooled down from your plump, wet lips, breathing heavily from the strenuous activity. Slowly he pulled you off his now-soft cock, with ideas to take you to the shower to clean you up once again. 

Neither of you hears the door beginning to click open. 

[vesper-tinus]

Hi Vespertine!! First off I wanted to say that I’m super impressed with how amazing your writing is considering English is your third language!! It is mine too, after Spanish and French, what about you?

Anyways I say your requests were open and I thought I could jump in and give you an idea. It’d be a König x female reader, in which she is a worldwide recognized sniper, but they only know her alias, so when she accepts a job at KorTac, König is smitten with her instantly, maybe she’s in the shooting range training at night and he comes up to her? What do you think?

Hello, anon!

What a lovely message, thank you so much! My languages are Danish, Italian, followed by English 😙 I took Spanish & German in school, unfortunately I don't remember much!

I love the idea! Hopefully I managed to write something you can agree with!

𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 König x F!Reader

Summary: On a late night, you find more at the shooting range than you expected. Keywords: König, female Reader, reader is a sniper, you have fun shooting guns in a safe environment 👍 König is giving puppy fanboy energy. Wordcount: 1206.

Bang.

Another shot rings throughout the empty, indoors shooting range. You lower your weapon, and unsurprisingly, your bullet ripped through the tacky, free sticker that came with a pair of shoes you bought recently. It might not be a normal use of stickers, but hey, you’re anything but normal… and the sticker was free. 

You press a button and the long-distanced fiberboard creaks towards you. 

They dubbed you "Lovelace''. After the mathematician. All due to your sharpened mind being able to perform extraordinary feats of warfare and calculations, all through the small scope of a sniper rifle. Companions have been noted to refer to you as either 'Love' or 'Lace', depending on the situation (and your relationship)—but those companions have been left behind for the time being. KorTec’s mercenaries are your companions now, though you have yet to actually meet any of them. 

With the board coming to an abrupt halt in front of you, you peel off the damaged sticker, replacing it with another, before sending the target away again, tracking it through your scope. 

Your ears perk at the sound of someone entering—even with the noise cancelling headphones—so you hold your fire and listen. 

From their footsteps, you can tell they are not attempting to disguise their approach towards you. So you mind your business, emptying your lungs before taking the shot—bullseye—and lower the rifle onto the desk before turning towards the newcomer. Sliding down the ear-protectors to rest around your neck. 

“Late-night practice?” Comes the question from the stranger, and you clock the Austrian accent almost immediately. You have toured there before for a mission. Great coffee. 

The answer to his question is an obvious one, but you humour him, and offer him a curt nod and pleasant smile. “Got it in one,” you say with welcoming tone, wiping your hand on your thigh as you approach him for a handshake. “I’m—”

“Lovelace. I—I know.”

You blink. You had not expected to hear your callsign to be said with such… enthusiasm. While you cannot see his face, the awe is undeniable on his tongue. His infatuation showed freely in his eyes—almost sparkling. Such piercing blue eyes, you think absentmindedly as your hand is shaken. He seems almost reluctant to let you go, and you cannot help but quirk a smile. You are rarely, if ever, met with such boyish fascination. 

“I have been following your career,” he says, straightening his back. “You’re an incredible sniper, it’s an honour to have you on the team.” His fingers twitch. It’s almost overwhelming meeting you in person. “I’m König,” he says, finally remembering he (rudely) interrupted your introduction. 

His stature is impressive, formidable even. And your eyes never leave his as you step backwards until you can lean against the desk—and funnily enough, he follows you. The image reminding you of a puppy trotting after its master. “I’m honoured you keep me in such high regards,” you say with a chuckle, mirth arising from your throat as one leg comes to cross over the other in a casual, relaxed posture. “It’s all very cute.” You glance up at him, a smile pulling up one corner of your mouth, your eyebrow raised just enough to tell him that he is not as subtle as he might think. “King.”

You translating his callsign should not affect him as much as it does, aber Scheiße does it cause him to do a double take. He clears his throat, coming to stand near you. He doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what to say. So he goes for whatever the both of you have in common. Guns—more specifically, sniper rifles. 

“I, uh. I tried becoming a sniper once,” he says, eyeing the discarded rifle on the surface behind you. You follow his eyes, the only thing you can see of his face, and you unceremoniously hold the rifle up to him. Brow arched.

“Then you must have some training. Mind showing me what I’m working with?” Your tone is inviting, almost playful, as you encourage him to let loose. “-and if you want, I don’t mind giving pointers.” The last thing you want is him thinking you find yourself superior. You know how frustrating it can be, when others force “suggestions” on your techniques. Unfortunately, you have been the victim of many such men. 

Thankfully, König seems thrilled to have your expertise at his beck and call, and lines himself up in the booth. You give him the space he needs. “Hold fire,” you order, inspecting his posture, his grip on the rifle, and suddenly you can’t help but imagine yourself back at the many sniper courses you’ve attended. You see his trigger finger twitch, not enough to fire, but enough to make you comment on it. “Steady fingers, König.”

“Apologies. I am… excited,” he admits with a faint chuckle. He cannot help himself. He cannot help himself so he sneaks a glance at you, and he’s thankful that his expression is veiled, because he’s smiling.

“Alright, I’ve grilled you long enough. Compensate for bullet drop, and impress me.” 

He’s not sure if you caught him staring or not, but if you did, he’s thankful you didn’t mention it. “Yes,” he says, exhaling to empty his lungs as he prepares his shot. 

A short silence follows, and then… 

Bang.

The rifle shot echoes around you. Both your ears are, more or less, insensitive to it at this point. 

You squint your eyes as you check the target. Not a bullseye, but a few centimetres north of your original sticker-shot. You find yourself nodding in approval. König hasn’t moved a muscle after the shot, awaiting any further instructions. 

“Not a bad shot, König.” You pause, quirking a smile. “Go ahead and finish the magazine. Rapid fire.” Might as well put him through his paces, you’re curious to see how well he aims when pressured. 

“Yes, ma’am.” Comes the response.

Shot, after shot, after shot, after shot rings out. You are quick to notice that the more shots he’s firing, the less stable his posture is. But when the rifle empties its last bullet, König breathes a sigh as a hand disappears beneath his hood to rub his jaw. The gun rests on the tabletop, spent. 

Wordlessly, you press the button to call the fiberboard. 

“You have a hard time standing still,” you comment in a light-tone. A casual observation, not a reprimand. “Your pinky started twitching after the fourth round, and you kept repositioning your left leg.” Alright, that might have come off as reprimanding. “...but otherwise, good. Very good, even.” 

König rubs the back of his neck, almost embarrassed at the observations. “I doubt you would be surprised to know, that’s what kept me from graduating. That and my height.” 

You reach up to pat his shoulder before turning to the board.

What you find is not what you expected. 

A perfect circle encasing your bullet-hole. The shots almost perfectly aligned with two centimetres between each. You look to König, baffled at your discovery, and he chuckles as he notes your expression. You wait for an explanation, and he gives it after a moment. 

“Der König beschützt die Königin.”

The King protects the Queen.

[jayvespertine]

“Do me a favour, drive a knife through my heart, cut my hands and watch as I bleed the memories out of my veins. you're in every part of me, in every thought and every action. I can't escape the memories of you, they're ingrained in every cell of my body. I can't help but behave like you, to smell like you, my heart beats like we share the same soul. I'm forever entwined with you, my past, my present and possibly my future. I couldn't ever get rid of you, not even if I wanted to. You're a part of me, forever etched in my mind and my being

You've become my obsession, my addiction, my downfall. I can't help but think of you, even when I try to push you away. I've built my world around you, and now it crumbles without you. You are my everything, my light in the darkness, my guiding star. But now you're my destruction, my demise, my undoing.

I've become a slave to your memory, unable to move on or let go. I'm trapped in this never-ending cycle of longing and pain, with you as my captor and my saviour. I beg of you, drive that knife through my heart, end this torment and set me free. But even in death, I know I'll be forever bound to you, in this love-hate relationship that consumes me whole.”

— Jay Vespertine

[srbachchan]

DAY 5879

Jalsa, Mumbai Mar 23/24, 2024 Sat/Sun 10:23 AM

🪔 ,

March 24 .. birthday greetings to Ef AMIT Trivedi .. 🙏🏻🚩❤️

..

March 24 .. World TB Day .. prayers .. 🙏🏻

Spending the time with the words of Babuji is not just an education but a revelation of a poet's mind and soul .. a mind that wanders in the visionary hemisphere unknown and unseen in a relative World, but yet possessing the intelligence of the probability of a higher philosophy ..

For it all to come to me now , is a shame .. a shame of lost opportunity and time to have been spent in the research and his presence to be able to understand the deeper meanings in his thought ..

I did on the odd occasion give intent of his interpretation and reason for many of his thoughts .. and they were most revealing .. but then .. time passed away .. as did his presence ..

It is a known and accepted fact that genius of creative art, writing, painting, music or whatever form, has always been overlooked and never given its due during the lifetime of the artist .. and it has been recognised fact of this phenomena that coerces me to, yet again , mention here for consumption of the mass ..

A pity ..

But the efforts of time , or whatever is left in it for me , shall endeavour to give some exposure to Babuji's works and his incredible genius ..

The World has very seldom seen or experienced the greatness of such ..

Last night I spent time on one such random thought of his from a published work :

नई से नई, पुरानी से पुरानी

it contains works of his in short verses, or abstract from , blank verse - short and expressive , but of immense value for us all to think and wonder of how certain thoughts and the express of them , do get created ..

The title of the Poem :

KAVI KA RAKT .. A POETS’ BLOOD

meri band mutthiyaan dekhkar .. seeing my closed fists jis-jis ne mujhse poocha, .. all those that asked me “ismein kya hai” ? .. ‘what is inside them’ ? maine imaandaari se bataya , .. i told them with all honesty “ismein kya hai ? .. ‘what is in them ismein kadamb ka phool hai “ .. in them is the kadamb flower ? "(Neolamarckia cadamba, with English common names burflower-tree, laran, and Leichhardt pine,[2] and called kadam or cadamba[2]) aur logon ne is par .. and the people on this sahaj vishwaas kar liya .. did keep their instinctive believe

vo to jab .. that is, when meri mutthiyaan se .. from my clenched fists rakt ki boondein choone lagein .. drops of blood did start to drop tab logon ne mujhe avishwaas ki nazaron se ghoora, .. then, did the people did stare at me in disbelief mujhse kaha .. and they told me “mutthiyaan to kholo ।” "at least open your fists" aur jab maine mutthiyaan kholein .. and when I did open my clenched fists to unmein .. in them kantkeela dhature ka pahal nikala । .. did come out the thorn laden datura fruit !

(Datura is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family. They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets. Other English common names include moonflower, devil's weed, and hell's bells.)

main sharmaya, .. I was ashamed mera jhoot pakda gaya ,.. my lie was caught mujhe apne par aashcharya hua, .. I was filled with wonder , kyunki maine apni ankhein kholkar .. because I had with my open eyes kadamb ka phool apni mutthiyon mein liya tha । .. taken the kadamb flower in my clenched fists !

shayad mai apni bhavatishayata mein ।.. perhaps in the belief of my aatma , the self , the soul kante ko phool samjha, .. I thought the thorns to be a flower par kaanta , kaanta hi kaise reh gaya , .. but how did the thorn , remain a thorn phool kyun nahin bana , .. why did it not become a flower usnein toh ek kavi ka rakt piya tha । .. it had consumed the blood of a poet !!

the word भावा ति शय यता , bhavatishayyata seems to have been taken from a form of the mention in the scriptures of Hindu philosophy, saints and religion , which is why i believe it refers to his aatma, his soul , his inner .. perhaps a more 'cultured way' 😁 of expressing his thoughts ..

DATURA

KADAMB .. CADAMBA 👆🏼

My love and more ..

Amitabh Bachchan

[fantasybooktournament]

Book Reveals for Round 1 of Mystery Book Tournament

titles and descriptions under the cut

The One with The Obnoxious Legal System is A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland

The world's most obnoxious old man has been arrested for charges of witchcraft by the world's most obnoxious legal system. The story follows him utilizing every tool at his disposal to escape death including his fruity apprentice, his ever-tired lawyer, and most of all stories. Half of this book is the old man telling a story to someone he is either trying to sway, trick, or simply entertain.

The One with the Rightful Heir is Magyk by Angie Sage

A child soldier nearly freezes to death and so must join the escape of the rightful heir, a powerful wizard, and the rightful heir's bumbling dad, brother and dog.

The One with No Indoor Plumbing is In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

Have you ever thought ‘hey going to a magical fantasy land might suck a little’? Our intrepid hero has been invited to a school for future heroes in a land of elves and trolls, harpies and mermaids…and there’s no indoor plumbing. Also they’re training children as warriors and have little to no respect for diplomacy.

The One with Vampires and Farms is The Queen of Darkness by Miguel Connor

In the far-flung future, the earth is irradiated and vampires rule the world. Humans are kept in farms, and our protagonist is sent to one to learn about an illness that is appearing in the humans which can infect and kill vampires. There he learns about the human cult, and gets told by them that vampires were once human.

The One with Possessed Nuns is Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

A young nun in fantasy-France lets a powerful revenant take possession of her body in order to protect her monastery from possessed soldiers. No one believes she can possibly control the evil creature, but as she uncovers a sinister plot at the very heart of her country, she finds herself growing closer to the revenant by the day.

The One that Becomes Queernormative is A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows

Protagonist starts off in a queer phobic society and is bound to marry a girl from the neighboring kingdom against his wishes, being gay. When his sexuality is dramatically revealed after he's being assaulted, the political bets seem off, but the other kingdom is queernormative and instead offers to marry him to his bride's brother instead.

The One with Sisters and Unsuitable Men is An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughto

The main character's older sister has run away with an unsuitable man so it's up to her to marry a suitable one. But as she worries for her sister and hopes to find her, she encounters a strange man, rumored to have been kidnapped by the fae.

The One with the Magic Italian Notebook is City of Masks by Mary Hoffman

The main character, a young boy, is seriously ill but his life is transformed when an old Italian notebook gives him the power to become a stravagante, a time traveler with access to 16th century Italy. He wakes up in another time and place during carnival time and meets a girl his own age who is disguised as a boy in the hope of being selected as one of the Duchessa's mandoliers. Political intrigue ensues.

The One with the War Against Colonizers is Fire Logic by Laurie J Marks

The last living member of a border tribe, a deadly philosopher-soldier, a truth-seer, a gentle man, and a man who can see the future form a beautifully queer family around a drug-addicted blacksmith who holds the power of the land itself so that she can end the war against colonizers that has continued for 30 years

The One with the Healer's Quest is Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier

The first in a mystery fantasy trilogy about a wrongfully imprisoned healer and her quiet but strong prison friend who get busted out of prison by an otherworld being. In exchange, for seven years she must endeavor to help anyone who asks for it. A gentle local prince has fallen for his fiance through their sweet and poetic correspondence but is shocked by her cruelty when she arrives, can the healer discovers what has happened and help solve his problem?

The One with Imaginary Friends is Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

A pre-teen girl who relies heavily on the advice of her four imaginary friends goes into the local patch of woodlands one day and discovers it's much bigger on the inside. There, she meets a depressed sorcerer/assassin who makes a child out of her blood and his to fight against his enemies on another planet. Meanwhile, someone on Earth has started up a machine that's said to be able to make dreams come true, and this is a big problem for the evil interstellar megacorp that's been dumping prisoners on Earth and stealing their flint.

The One with a Time-Traveling Dragon/Furnace is If That Breathes Fire, We're Toast! by Jennifer J. Stewart

A boy moves with his mom to a new place where he meets a girl and a time-traveling dragon/furnace who teaches him about himself.

The One with the Multiverse is Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

An amnesiac man finds himself embroiled in deadly political scheming, thrust into a strange multiverse in the hope of trying to claim from out under his various rival siblings feet the throne to the city at the center of reality.

The One with Mage Trials is Spellslinger by Sebastian de Castell

In a magical society one must complete their mages trials by 16, or else become a slave to that society for the rest of their life. The main character is a 15-year-old boy who has one last chance to complete his trials. Only, his magic is gone. With his fate looming, he meets a mysterious traveling stranger who shows him a different path than the one that has been laid out for him by his people.

The One with the Loser Noble Scholar is Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Loser noble scholar shacks up with the best swordsman of the city and makes him fight a bunch of duels mostly out of boredom but also a bit because of politics. Feels slice of life ish though there are stakes

The One with the Nonbinary Cleric is The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

In this novella set in an imperial Chinese inspired fantasy world, a nonbinary cleric investigates the story of an empress and her ...controversial rise to the throne, as told by an elderly handmaiden who knew her.

The One with Geese is Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, the Princess has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince, the princess embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future. When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs the princess of both her identity and her role as princess, the girl seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

The One with the Teenage Witch Coven is The Scapegracers by H. A. Clarke

Lesbian teenage witch accidentally becomes adopted by popular girls. They form a coven and vow to get revenge on those who have been wronged. Chaos ensues.

The One with the Angel and the Demon is When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

A demon and an angel decide to go to de goldene medina to search for a girl they know who's disappeared on the way over.

The One with an Unsettling Future is Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

High in the mountains, a young girl lives with her mother, who insists they have all they need -- for they have each other. The girl's life is peaceful and protected -- until a chance encounter changes everything. When she meets a beautiful young prince at the market one day, she is profoundly moved by new emotions. But the girl's mother sees the future unfolding -- and she will do the unspeakable to prevent her daughter from leaving her...

The One with the Bioweapon is Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

It's post an apocalypse, that was started by a cult, that twists people into horrible body horror monsters. A trans boy raised in the cult is infected with a bioweapon by them and shortly after escapes. He joins a group of queer teens where he finds friends a community, and he bands together with them to take down the cult.

The One with Arabian Nights AND Hades & Persephone is Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Arabian Nights + Hades and Persephone! A mysterious danger plagues an unexpected kingly visit, and a young woman embarks on a quest to find her one true love before all is lost...

The One with the Lion is Sarah's Lion by Margaret Greaves

A princess longs to travel so is locked in her room. A lion comes to her. Eventually, she has to choose whether she will stay or go.

The One with the War Veteran is The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

War veteran with chronic pain contracted by a goddess to save her chosen queen

[destined-if]

You and your family moved to Glove City. However, the house caught fire, and you're the sole survivor. Oh, but that was two years ago... you're not still stuck up on that... are you?

After your family died, being 20 with no job or nearby family, you had to live in alleyways, sleep on park benches, and steal food from vendors... until you met them. They hesitantly welcomed you into their little group after you saved their asses, and you've stuck with them ever since. One day, you got commissioned to steal a necklace from a family in the rich part of town for a hefty price, so obviously, your group accepted and prepared for the trip. What you didn't expect is that the family you're stealing from might not be as innocent and powerless as you thought.

Trigger warnings: Violence, drug intake of minor characters, alcohol of main characters (Optional for MC), violence, death, theft, and slight mention of animal cruelty. This list will be updated as the story progresses.

NOTES: Romance options have a ♡ next to their name. Melody is male or female. Optional Polyarmous Route with Melody and Elias. I'll go into more detail with their personalities (As well as appearances) in their character profiles, I've started on them, but they most likely won't come out for a couple days.

Ian/Ivy ♡; A street rat the moment they were born. Kinda a jackass, but they keep you and their friends out of harm's way, so are they really as cold as they pretend to be? Possible Tropes: Opposites Attract, Found Family, Slowburn. Isla "Wren" Hill ♡; Best thief you know. The first time you met, she stole your packet of gum without you ever finding out until a year later when she told you. She's playful, affectionate, and a little bit of a smartass. [Healing Mage.] Possible Tropes: Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Found Family. Valerie "Val" Hill; The little sister of Isla. You think it’s nice how she steals for others free of charge, but don’t understand why. She’s sarcastic, bold, and surprisingly attentive. Oh, and also a bit of a smartass. Trope: Found Family. [Made by @dvoilds] Elias "Eli" Wynn ♡; His life before he met you guys is a blur, or at least what he says, but you don't really think that's true. Other than that, he's as sweet as a thief can be. He's caring and considerate of other's feelings, and your group's peacemaker. Will you get him to uncover his secrets? [Water Mage.] Possible Tropes: Mutual Pining, "You came?" "You called." Melody "Mel" Rose ♡; They got tangled up in this mess, and you're not quite sure how it happened. As far as you can make out, they're actually pretty understanding. It's kinda freaky how nice they are to you guys, even after you got them knee-deep in all this shit. You think they're here to stay, but it's not like they have a choice. Do they have an alternative motive, or are they just this kind-hearted? Possible Tropes: Frenemies to Lovers, Love at First Sight (More like Attraction), Strangers to Lovers. Casper Vespertine ♡; The son of the family you stole from and the man you're running away from. He scares you shitless, and it doesn't help that he talks like a robot. Will you outrun him, or will you let him catch you? Possible Tropes: Rivals to Lovers, Slowburn, Right Person, Wrong Time.

and more!

Customize your MC. Choose your gender, personality, pronouns, assets, appearance, name, and sexuality.

Decide how your MC feels about stealing and how they deal with their family being... dead.

Be a mage or a human.

Run from your problems!

Found family <3

Cute stray animals.

Create close bonds, or break them.

A fully platonic route for those who don't wanna romance anyone!

LINKS; Demo [TBA], Pinterest, Playlist, Character Profiles, Mage Profiles

posted july 19, 2023

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 46: Gallifrey at War Part 7

Spoiler warning for new content - Dark Gallifrey: Morbius.

The Doctor was involved in the Last Great Time War for millions of days. (Novel: The Day of the Doctor)

While on the planet Dust, the Third Doctor was shot in the chest by Magdalena Bishop and left to die in the street. Sarah Jane found Jim and cradled his head as he slowly began to regenerate. He thought this was very, very wrong. This weakened the Doctor's immune system, leading to the Doctor's infection with a biodata virus, which by the time of the Eighth incarnation would convert the Doctor to the perspective of the Faction Paradox. (Novel: Interference - Book Two)

As a result of this virus, the Eighth Doctor had lost his shadow. (Novel: Unnatural History)

A ghost of the original timeline's Third Doctor remained in the TARDIS databank. When the TARDIS was corrupted into the Edifice and the Edifice hung over Gallifrey, the Eighth Doctor used the TARDIS defense systems to destroy Gallifrey and Kasterborous, making the universe choose between the new timeline or the Metebelis timeline the TARDIS remembered. (Novel: The Ancestor Cell)

The civil war Morbius was involved in - usually called the Great Schism - involved the Time Lords using time as a weapon for bloodshed for the first time. (Audio: Morbius) This would technically make it a time war.

Early Time Lords destroyed the Hydran homeworld by dropping their own future on top of it. (Audio: Morbius)

By some accounts, the High Council was nervous to engage directly with the universe during this civil war as that was exactly what Morbius had said they should do, so they fought using a proxy- the Fifth Doctor. (Novel: Warmonger)

While the Supreme Coordinator, the Fifth Doctor wore a black military uniform. The Doctor’s army was composed of a mix of Sontarans, Cybermen, Ogrons, Draconians, and Ice Warriors. They defeated Morbius's forces, but the Doctor made sure Morbius would survive his 'death.' (Novel: Warmonger)

The final battle of Morbius's civil war occurred on Karn and resulted in the deaths of most of both armies as well as Karn's native population. (Short story: The Legacy of Gallifrey)

During the Vampire Wars, Gallifrey developed Anathema - a warship the size of an entire planet. It was armed with the Cold, a weapon so devastating it would break through the space-time continuum and suck everything into an alternate universe. (Novel: Interference - Book Two)

After regenerating on Karn, the War Doctor refused to allow his TARDIS to be equipped with weaponry (she would have been block transferred into a battle TARDIS) as he did not want to force her to change as he had. (Audio: Light the Flame)

Cass Fermazzi was present at the Battle of Skull Moon and was so horrified by the massacre that it embittered her to the Time Lords. (Novel: The Day of the Doctor) This hatred ironically led to the Eighth Doctor regenerating into the War Doctor, the precise incarnation who earned the title "the Butcher of Skull Moon."

The Dalek Time Strategist tried to manipulate the Eighth Doctor by finding an alternate universe version of Alex - his dead great grandson - and putting him in cryogenic stasis. The Doctor took the casket he was in and woke him up. (Audio: Restoration of the Daleks)

Bliss had been a companion of the Eighth Doctor, but due to changes in the timeline as a result of the Last Great Time War, this changed, leaving the Doctor and Alex without memory of Bliss. However, the Doctor felt as though someone was missing. They would eventually learn of Bliss from a memory recorder. (Audio: Vespertine)

Indeed, the Doctor eventually recalled enough to tell River Song about Bliss at some point. (Audio: Companion Piece)

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[marrogerson]

just finished all of your works and I loved them all! they are exactly what I'm looking for in books and I'm absolutely gutted to have finished them all. I know you said you weren't writing a sequel to vespertine and I completely respect that and you have to do what is right for you! would you ever considering writing some bullet points of where you thought the plot might have gone or some headcanons we never got to see? <3

Hi anon,

Thank you so much! Honestly, I've considered sharing an outline of where I was going with the story to give readers some closure, but Vespertine stands decently on its own—things would be different had it ended on a huge cliffhanger. I can give you a couple of tidbits, though. One thing that I was enormously looking forward to writing was Leander becoming the revenant's part-time vessel and Artemisia getting to interact with it in a separate body. (The revenant, for its part, was excited to play endless games of "Stop hitting yourself!") And then there's the main unanswered question in the story, about the origin of revenants:

As I suspect many have guessed due to foreshadowing, the revenants are each a piece of the Raven King's sundered soul, which is why our revenant knows so much about Old Magic. I would have fully revealed that in Vespertine if I'd known I wasn't writing a sequel earlier in the process. (Side note, this doesn't make the revenant male, it's still a genderless entity!)

[terapsina]

Okay, it's been a while so here's an additional list of fantasy and sci-fi books with little to no romance in them that I've read recently and really loved.

---

First post with books not heavy on the romantic subplots HERE.

---

Once There Was ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Kiyash Monsef.

An Iranian American girl discovers that her recently dead father was a veterinary for magical animals and that she - like him - has inherited the ability to help these animals because of a family line reaching back for hundreds of generations.

The story deals with grief, rage, neglect and how it all intersects.

But it's also an incredibly magical story that wakes up all the wonder and love for animals that most children have and some never lose.

Interspersed through the book are also short fables and legends that Marjan's father used to tell her when she was young and are now gaining new meaning as she understands that they were more than stories.

(totally also recommend the audiobook version for those who enjoy good narration. Nikki Massoud does a freaking excellent job)

(Marjan does develop subtly budding feelings for someone in the story but it's kept very, very background. On a scale from 0 to 10 the romance reaches barely a 2).

---

Vespertine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Margaret Rogerson.

A story about a girl named Artemisia who is training to become a Gray Sister. A nun who cleanses the bodies of the dead so that their souls would not return as ravenous spirits that would then threaten the lives of the living.

But then her convent gets attacked by possessed soldiers and she's forced to pick up a sword holding the spirit of a very powerful revenant - a malevolent spirit of mass destruction that could possess her and kill everyone around her indiscriminately - despite not having the training of a Vespertine. So the only one who can teach her what she needs to know is the Revenant itself.

(The main character is autistic, antisocial and extremely introverted. And as for the romance, there is someone who develops feelings for her and we as the reader kinda notice it, but Artemisia the character notices nothing (also, the someone in question is not the Revenant, just thought I should clarify that). Amounts of romance in the book, like 1/10)

---

A House With Good Bones ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by T. Kingfisher.

A Southern Gothic light horror with a bit of humor thrown in.

Sam Montgomery is worried about her mother so when her Paleoentomology dig falls through after she's already sublet her apartment for the next few months, she temporarily moves back in with her mother.

The mother who seems to be very stressed out while saying she's fine, and also seems to have acquired a sudden personality transplant. More specifically, she seems to have changed the house from the bright and colorful place it's been for decades, into the cookie cutter, bland (and slightly racist) fifties commercial kinda place it once was under the iron thumb of Sam's dead grandmother.

Is this some kind of weird delayed grief? Early onset alzheimers?

And why isn't there a single bug or insect in the entirety of the back yard's rose garden? Or why does she wake up to thousand's of ladybugs crawling all over each other - and Sam - one night in her childhood bedroom? And what's up with all these vultures staring at their house 24/7?

(Sam's POV is hilarious, her relationship with her mother one of the most genuinely emotional aspects of the book, and the story creepy enough to be exciting without reaching the point that would have made me throw the book down a hole for my own peace of mind. The romance... eh, there's a very nice dude Sam wouldn't mind going out with but it's not all that relevant to anything so amounts of romance don't reach past 2 out of 10).

---

And finally some special shout outs to some other recently read books that I also enjoyed and that don't really have a lot of focus on the romance but that I don't feel like getting into rn.

Thornhedge ⭐⭐⭐⭐ by T. Kingfisher, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Heather Fawcett (okay this one's a bit heavier on the amount of romance but it gets points for not being annoying and still doesn't reach past 4 out of 10 in its amount, would recommend this book for people who enjoyed The Memoirs of Lady Trent), Translation Slate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐by Ann Leckie, The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter ⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Theodora Goss (the daughters of classical book scientists like Frankenstein, Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde, Moreau and others come together to solve some White Chapel murders and maybe uncover a society that has been doing human experiments on women. 0.5 out of 10 on amounts of romance).

[rosie-yan]

Sometimes i wish we didn't have to exist. Wouldn't it be so much better if we could just be an abstract thought? An image in someone's head? An idea? A concept? We wouldn't need to be apart, because 'apart' wouldn't be real to us. The only thing that would exist in our unexisting world would be eachother, and that would be the only important thing, the sole reason of our unreality.

Yours truly, Vespertine.

[disease]

BJÖRK // UNISON (LIVE) [VESPERTINE: LIVE, 2004]

I never thought I would compromise

[yunarim]

ಇ. broken melodies | chapter 1

⇢ ⁺ SMILE-LESS SOIREE˖ Yuu starts to adjust to the RSA and its inhabitants.

— PREVIEW (read for tags and synopsis) — MASTERLIST (open to read previous chapters) — AO3

⁺ w.c : 11k+

One day a little butterfly asked—well, fluttered its fragile wings rather than asked—Yuu what was the reason to get up so early in the morning. Back in Fairy Queendom, Yuu used to start her day with a benevolent moon radiating its light at her face at the time of the day Fairy Godmother enchantingly claimed as ‘morning’. 

The ‘time’ itself was an unfamiliar matter for Yuu before she met Cinderella. The Princess patiently taught her how a gentle morning changed into a lambent afternoon, how a flamboyant day left a room for a mysterious evening, and finally, how everything fell into Morpheus’s caring arms during the night. 

Cinderella undoubtedly was quite attentive to the atmosphere changing during the night and how drastic the changes were. Yuu would find herself doing chores at the very back of the kitchen; Cinderella’s hands smelled like soap and were still quite dry and covered with little calluses. 

“I still do wonder how there’s no change of day in the Fairy Queendom you’ve mentioned,” Cinderella chuckled, sweeping the floor.

“According to what you’ve told me, it's an everlasting night where I live,” Yuu answered, wiping hands on a damp cloth. “Fairy Godmother says it’s quite gloomy… Maybe it is me who is wrong since I find night rather enchanting.”

“Vespertine darkness doesn’t suit her well,” Cinderella answered vaguely. “She herself resembles the brightest light, the ray of hope. And hope is always vivid.”

Yuu wondered if Cinderella thought that somber night would fit her well but decided to remain fairly ignorant, dreaming of being called light-radiating herself one day.

Yuu thought that living under a perpetual night’s vastness led to her not needing sleep. And yet she desperately had been fighting her drowsiness, eager to stay awake for a little longer. It was suspiciously humanic of her and right now when she needed sleep hopelessly, it seemed that it wasn’t the best timing.

Yuu stared at the smiling expression on a cheeky face of an intruder and tried to blink it away, first assuming it was the hallucination formed due to received stress. The silhouette did disappear but Yuu felt something wasn’t right.

“Show yourself,” she demanded.

“Hmmm~” A stranger’s amused voice echoed in the room, its owner nowhere to be found. 

Yuu turned around, revealing her magic wand and furrowing her brows. The stranger’s purple hair locks flicked in the moonlight, before her very eyes as she jumped, ready to cast a protection spell. 

But the person (his humanity was under question yet) positioned himself on the thin windowsill and remained silent. It seemed like a play of glances between them, his cocky and playful, and hers cautious and observant. Yuu didn’t know how many minutes passed while she was trying to read at least one clear emotion on his face, yet the stranger wasn’t quite eager to analyze her appearance at all. His gaze penetrated through her, giving Yuu the impression he somehow managed to grasp all the gist he needed already, now only enjoying the little show the two of them held. 

Purple striped tail—Yuu refrained from making a remark on how fluffy it looked—wiggled playfully, but her cautiousness remained solid and firm. He didn’t radiate danger, nor did Yuu manage to catch a glimpse of ill intentions, but his mysterious play was slightly concerning. 

The stranger wasn’t saying anything to the extent it was getting rather strange, so Yuu thought if she can’t make him talk, she would do it herself. Small steps formed a rigid base to start from.

“... My name is Yuu,” she almost whispered, but the stranger’s lip corners turned upward slightly. “Who would you be?”

“Who knows, Pointy ears-chan~”

Pointy ears— Anyway, this act wasn’t of importance. Yuu straightened her nightgown and let her magic wand disappear with bright golden sparkles. In case something happens, she can defend herself even without the weapon.

“... Hm~” A boy hummed suddenly. “How peculiar.”

“Yes?..” Yuu reasked in confusion. “... Huh. I will report to the headmaster about you if you won’t reveal how I can help you.”

“How curious,” a person smiled. “Not want but help? I see you’re quite an interesting human… Or should I refer to you as… Well, nevermind!”

Yuu blinked, wondering why his gaze couldn’t manage to put her on guard. His eyes were the embodiment of a mystery, containing something more of a value underneath. 

“I’m Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker,” the stranger finally answered. “A third-year student here.”

Yuu sighed, massaging her temples with fingers and trying to follow his sudden introduction. 

Would be understandable if you knew Anastasia, Yuu thought, remembering her dear friend's name sounded quite similar, was it Anastasia Nikolaevna? 

It was highly unwise of her to spill her friend’s name so easily without thinking twice, but she was already tired enough to care dearly. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

“Nice to meet you, Artemiy-san,” she bowed slightly. “Though I’m afraid I don’t follow how I can be of help at this late hour…” She couldn’t process everything that was happening in the past ten minutes, including an unexpected encounter with a teacher and another boy she thought was a student.

“It’s understandable that you’re confused,” Artemiy grinned. “We all are. That is what makes us curiouser.”

“... Isn’t there already a curfew?” Yuu decided to try changing the subject, glancing at Artemiy and catching his penetrating gaze, which contained realization of what was happening so painfully obvious to him when Yuu herself couldn’t grasp even a glimpse of comprehension. 

“Fun always happens at night.”

At night… Does it really? Yuu lowered her gaze right to the ground, imagining how she could have been watering the flowers in her garden. Magically grown flowers couldn’t compare to the real ones, waking up under the bright sun and full of vivid color palette shades. Was night really that fun?

“Actually,” he teleported on the corner of her bed, no sound coming from his movements. At this point Yuu decided to give up trying to analyze why would he behave that way. “I came to say that if you seek some fun, just let the road to me loom before you.”

He spoke riddles so tangled Yuu started experiencing a heavy headache.

“Yuu-san,” his cheeky voice sounded playful and full of energy. Yuu could feel an abrupt ardor running through her veins while a cheerful notes of his voice echoed in her mind, but she brushed off the thought quickly, mentally grounding herself back to earth. Or whatever this planet was. “You seem interesting. Can you stand on your head?”

“... Huh? I’m not aware if I can… I have never tried?”

He was so alien in this empty room drowned in a cold moonlight. Or was he the only normal while she was getting crazier with every passing second of their conversation?

“You should try one day,” Artemiy proved his unvoiced confirmation that he most definitely could stand on his head, turning midair and performing a pirouette-like move, causing Yuu to gasp in awe. “Who knows what things you might see from this perspective.”

Yuu approached him carefully, strands of his lilac hair brushing against her stretched out fingers. Artemiy seemed majestic, almost fairy-tale like character, despite he was a very human-like to her at this very second, his eyes of dandelion petals stared right into hers with flickers of curiosity.

“... What do you see then?”

Artemiy hummed, touching her ear once again before returning to the solid ground.

“One day you’ll tell me,” he answered vaguely, leaving Yuu blinking in incomprehension. “Well, see you tomorrow’s today, Wanderer~” 

The boy dissolved within dust particles glowing light gray in the moonlight, leaving Yuu all alone. 

Huh?

Yuu sighed. What was tomorrow’s today anyway? Also, Wanderer? Yuu turned around to hopelessly try to find the boy to ask him what he meant by that. 

No one saw her actually landing in this realm, right? She might have been confused all along and maybe a person like Artemiy would notice her right away, or at least feel her presence, but was that really the deal? He didn’t look like a normal Prince to her, and even if the Beast didn’t look humanic at first, Artemiy resembled someone else to Yuu. In any case, it didn’t matter at the moment. Even if he wasn’t human, then he might be a.. Cat? Could a cat really tell Yuu came from another dimension? 

Then the question was how much did he know. Yuu swimmed at the back of her mind, deepening in her own thoughts and trying to figure out if Artemiy named her that way just because she was the only girl attending an all-boys school or did the case lie deeper further than she could guess? 

“Ah, right!” Artemiy reappeared before her face, his only head remaining. “Call me Che’nya. Bye-bye!”

“Arte— Che’nya-san, wait!! And he’s gone…”

Yuu fell on the bed, covering her eyes and sighing loudly. She had no right to complain right now. The reason why she ended up appearing in this foreign world was that someone was in danger. Yuu questioned if there was a princess to be saved or maybe destiny itself played a little trick, reversing the story current and demanding Yuu to save a prince instead. And even if she was wrong, there was no denying she must have accomplished the foredoom predestined for her. 

Someone needed to be saved.

And with that thought Yuu allowed herself to finally rest, her eyelids feeling leaded. It was a rough day, but what will the following one offer to her tomorrow?

Once upon a time in midwinter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red on the white looked so beautiful that she thought to herself, "If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame."

Yuu stood right in the pile of the whitest snow glimmering under the gentle sunrise, and dared to touch blood drops, wondering if she was seeing things. The blizzard felt suffocatingly real, causing Yuu to shiver. The story seemed vaguely familiar, but before she could observe the place she happened to appear, a gray fog covered the surroundings, transporting Yuu to another place.

Soon afterward she had a little daughter who was as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood, and therefore they called her Little Snow-White. And as soon as the child was born, the queen died.

Yuu frowned, hands wrought in a praying gesture, the grief splashed into her heart, pricking it with thorny glacial snowflakes. 

A year later the king took himself another wife. She was a beautiful woman, but she was proud and arrogant, and she could not stand it if anyone might surpass her in beauty. She had a magic mirror. Every morning she stood before it, looked at herself, and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

Who in this land is fairest of all?

To this the mirror answered:

You, my queen, are fairest of all.

Yuu tried to look at her reflection, trembling before the Queen’s arrogant gaze aimed at herself, but couldn’t see what was hiding underneath the glassy reflection. 

When did all the sorrow penetrate her soul? 

“Ugh…”

You slowly opened her eyes, getting adjusted to the light coming through the window and tenderly sliding down her face. Her head was still covered with a mist of yesterday’s events, making her slightly dizzy. Sleepiness she thought she would never experience crashed down on her. Everything seemed surreal, resembling a vague delirious dream. 

She has never seen a light so bright and gentle in her whole rather long life. She turned to the window frame, meeting the sun rays happily welcoming her, and had to close her eyes for a brief moment before the brightness could burn her vision. 

Yuu slowly got up, bare feet touching a cold marble floor. She might have needed shoes to use in the so-called house in the future but it was okay for now. Yuu made her way to the window, opening it and exhaling fresh air, enjoying the sounds of nature playing in every leaf, every flower petal, in a puff of wind. Her gaze fixated on the sun slowly rising from far away, and she stretched out her hand, as if trying to reach such a majestic miracle of gold, and tender rays praised her with its shining once more, skimming over her pointed face features, as if trying to tickle her.

Yuu chuckled to herself bitterly, turning away from the window and sighing. Such wonderful mornings might become addicting. 

She wondered what time it was. Probably the morning was still just rising, given how low the sun was positioned, and tried to guess with her own abilities. It was quite hard for her to concentrate on the day changings since she’d been living in an eternal night all these years. 

“Ha~ah,” she sighed. “There’s no use.”

No matter how long she was listening to nature singing, no reply was received. Yuu assumed it was around six in the morning, but she needed confirmation before she could visit the headmaster and ask him about the details she needed to know.

She then remembered how Ambrose said that she’s currently staying within a clock tower. It would be only logical to check the clock itself now, so Yuu headed to the hallway. 

The hall that she couldn’t really observe with Ambrose leading her to her room and with the night guests visiting her so unexpectedly looked different when sun rays were lighting it up. Apparently the clock tower was quite glassy with how many tall windows it had. She ran up the stairs with clear amusement on her face, and looked out of the window, enjoying different views. Despite the hall being fairly empty, it did impress Yuu with its powerful yet elegant columns and marble floors. A whole academy could be seen from this point, and Yuu decided to observe it today as carefully as she could.

The clock itself should have been on the highest floor, so she overcame another spiral staircase and saw a huge archway leading directly to the clock mechanism. There were enough stairs in the building, so she had to climb another one before she faced a gigantic room, the main highlight of which was an immense window. The gilded dial was framed with a gold rounded frame. The rays of the sun solemnly made their way through the transparent surface of the glass, illuminating the entire room, and revealing to the light the variety of attributes within. Extinguished lanterns in bizarre vessels suspended on golden chains. Tall bookcases with an incredible number of book volumes, as well as a lot of bizarre paraphernalia, apparently intended for the study of Astrology and basically anything space-related.

Yuu gasped, staggered, and stared at all this beauty looming before her. She forgot about checking the time and approached intriguing scrolls on the table made of wood. Yuu took a glance at familiar circles and symbols, frowning. She couldn’t identify all of them, as well as the meaning, but at least this realm had something similar to what she already knew.

“Solar Return chart,” she mumbled to herself, noticing Pluto being in 8th house in that one particular chart. “... I wonder whose one is that.”

Yuu wasn’t extremely good at interpreting charts but Pluto falling in that position was quite an observation, leading to significant change in one’s life. She chuckled and turned abruptly, regaining her thoughts and remembering she went here to check the time.

It was five in the morning. Yuu nodded to herself and returned to her room. It was the perfect time to decide what she could do. Everything seemed really quiet at the moment, so lessons must have not started yet. She didn’t know how much time she had before classes either, but decided to take a little tour around the clock tower and observe if there was anything needed to be done in terms of chores. 

Yuu walked around the whole building, realizing that it was all well lit by daylight due to the prevailing number of windows. Yuu also saw a room that appeared to be a guest room. It looked a little simpler than her own. There was also a simple living room with a small fireplace and a coffee table, where there was a painted tray with one mug without any dust on it, but Yuu did not feel human energy there. Going deeper, she stumbled upon a small kitchen and pantry, which contained nothing of great value, except for the various types of cereals.

After sorting the kitchen utensils, Yuu also dusted the kitchen and tidied up the pantry. Summoning her magic wand, she pulled up the boxes and containers resting on the upper shelves, which were not so easy to reach with her small height, and then packed cereals and other non-perishable products in them.

Sighing heavily, Yuu lifted her head and looked at the light seeping through the windows, becoming more and more bright and gentle. She went outside of the tower, her eyes meeting with a free space which could be used for gardening purposes though she wasn’t sure if it was okay to use it, given she didn’t plan to stay here out for too long. The smell of morning dew floated in the air, shimmering from coniferous freshness to a salty sea aroma, embraced by the sand chilled after the night coolness. Not so far away, the flooding singing of seagulls and salty waves gently rolling on the shore could be heard.

This place wasn’t her home. Yuu shrugged the thought and a sudden sensation of getting excited over doing arrangements and chores and missing the feeling of doing routine she was fond of. Cleaning helped her to keep the mind in peace, letting all the worries sort out a little, but when everything was already done, she felt how a heavy anvil of unresolved problems dropped on her, pressing and crashing. 

“Just what am I doing…”

Yuu summoned her magic wand, her fingers enveloping its base, and took a deep breath before taking a position and closing her eyes. 

She tried casting a mirror to her home once more. This time she was going to try remembering how Mirror Hall looked in her memory. An enormously huge ballroom with mirrors hanging on the walls, different aura colors around Princesses’ portraits radiating from golden frames. Her Sprites cheerfully flying everywhere and dancing with butterfly maelstrom, Fairy Godmother teaching her how to hold the posture and—

“Argh!!” Yuu screamed, dropping the magic wand like it happened yesterday, and hissed out of pain, falling on the ground.

She opened her lidded eyes, white noise particles flooding her vision, and felt her veins setting ablaze. Pulse in her vessels were beating fast, every beat sending a wave of pain running underneath her skin and causing the veins to shudder, following the rhythm. Her mind was lost in the labyrinth of memories and strange hallucinations, dissolving in images of the mirror in her mansion getting blocked by thorny veins. 

“So it’s not the spell being wrong,” she whispered, trying to get up. Her white nightgown became covered in stains of green grass and damp soil. “The mirror itself is blocked?..”

Yuu picked up her magic wand and tried to sort out the thoughts swarming in her head, but all in vain. Everything she could think of at the moment was her dearest Fairy Godmother.

“I want to see you again,” Yuu mumbled, hardly making her way to the entrance. 

Maybe her magic still wasn’t advanced enough to make it through the block on the mirror? Yuu gasped, realizing that if it was the case, then she could practice more once she regains her energy after such a miserable attempt. 

The problem was that she had no idea about block-removing spells. Her knowledge was embarrassingly limited due to Godmother teaching her only simple ones, allowing her to grow plants quickly and some basic attacking and defensive incantations. Yuu first found a book about potionology in Snow White’s realm, learning a few potions when she managed to take a glance at them. 

Worlds she visited opened many doors of opportunities to Yuu that she was too humble to observe but did it nevertheless. It felt wrong to do something she was always prohibited to do — Fairy Godmother taught Yuu not to seek information she’s not provided with. Yuu remembered shivering in horror at the mere thought of doing something that Fairy Godmother advised her not to. Yuu couldn’t resist the urge to write a spell or two on the parchment, then throw it out, reaping in a myriad of pieces out of fear that her Mother would find out she was messing with magic spells.

Yuu knew it was insanely dangerous to practice unsupervised, so that her hysterical nights of delirious writings of spells enchantment turned into nights full of Yuu secretly writing down possible combinations she wouldn’t be able to test ever again, guilt filling her heart, consolidating with an unknown to her feel of rebellion. 

Detailed, rather safe one, spells changed into small incoherent-looking notes, resembling silly scribbles, which actually contained more dangerous conjuration combinations she could have never tried casting. 

Yuu gulped and took her magic wand again, the conscious restoring and clearing. 

“Á lelya,” she whispered, waving a magic wand and causing a cheerful swirl of golden particles to reveal a slightly dilapidated book. “It’s been a while.”

Yuu touched yellowed with age, slightly damp pages with ink stains around the edges. She felt an indescribable relief because if she accidentally left her magic spell book at home, a catastrophe might have been caused. She looked through the pages, delicately flipping them one by one until she found her old invocation conjunctions. 

She covered the book with a shield, leaving it levitating near her, and tried to transfer her consciousness to the Fairy Queendom realm, concentrating on her mind floating to the Mirror Hall, but all in vain — the image remained dark and hazy. The sun was shining brightly, its rays dancing on her skin, and Yuu gave up, sighing in defeat and deciding to try again later.

Yuu went to her room, changing into the ceremonial robes she happened to wear yesterday, and removed the coat to not stand out too much. Trousers felt alien and unfitting on her, but she was also excited to try something new. Yuu went to the bathroom near her room and checked her outfit in the mirror, nodding to herself, and went out of the clock tower. 

The clock tower was located on a small ledge, being the farthest point on the campus from which one could see the entire academy. Yuu wondered where the rest of the dorms were, because the number and size of the buildings didn't match the number of students she saw yesterday at the ceremony.

She remembered the way to the headmaster’s office, so she immediately followed there, observing every candelabra she saw. The academy seemed even more welcoming and cozy in the morning, enveloped by warm sunny lights. The silence, covered by the morning dawn, did not seem as heavy as yesterday, and therefore it was not so uncomfortable to cut it with the sound of heels.

Yuu knocked twice, hearing a joyful “Come in!” and followed further in Ambrose's office.

The headmaster was drinking tea, Yuu smelled sea buckthorn notes and a variety of herbs mixed in there, and bowed to him in a greeting way.

“No need in bowing, child,” Ambrose smiled at her, gesturing to have a seat, and continued right after. “You’re quite diligent, aren’t you? I was planning to wake you up much later.”

“I can’t burden you more than I am already,” Yuu lifted her surprised gaze at him. “

“We need to do something with that extreme politeness you have here…” Ambrose said to himself and continued before Yuu could ask what was that about. “How did you sleep?”

Yuu recalled two strangers appearing in the clock tower at midnight, then Che’nya appearing in her room, and laughed sheepishly. 

“Ha-ha… I did sleep well.”

“I see you’re adjusting to a new place,” Ambrose nodded. “Have you explored the clock tower yet?”

“I have!” Yuu smiled brightly, remembering the clock itself and all the astrology things in the room. “You’ve mentioned that someone comes for checking purposes. Do they study Astrology?.. They’ve left their notes.”

The headmaster smiled even wider, pouring tea into a cup and giving it to Yuu. 

“Indeed. You will meet the person soon. Don’t worry and feel free to observe his notes, I believe he would be happy for you to join him in his studies.”

“Is it… really okay for me to do?” Yuu asked humbly, not sure if she could have looked through the notes made by another person who apparently worked really hard. “I will not offend him?”

“Of course not, child. If it bothers you a lot, just ask him if it’s alright when he comes. And now come here.”

Yuu followed Ambrose to the other wing of the office. He took out a small, neatly folded package and a box from the mahogany cabinet and handed it to Yuu. She looked at him questioningly, tilting her head to the side, but accepted the things.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Your school uniform,” Ambrose answered, chuckling at her funny startled reaction. “I thought I would find one uniform set of the smallest size, but it needed to be adjusted magically, given you’re quite… tiny, I would say. Forgive me for the rudeness.”

“H-huh?..” Yuu mumbled absent-mindedly and stared at him in bewilderment. “It’s okay! Thank you very much, how could I repay—”

“One more word about repairing, and I will use magic to silence you for a minute, child,” Ambrose said cheerfully but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“Yes sir,” she answered.

“Well then,” he continued, making his way to the desk, Yuu followed him like a lost kitten. “Let me provide you with the information you need to adjust comfortably.”

Yuu nodded and took a seat in front of him, sipping the tea Ambrose prepared for her, a new obtained uniform resting on her lap. 

“First, here’s a manual for you to always check it in case you forgot something or lost somewhere within the campus. Studies start from 8:30 am, so be sure to wake up by that time. I see you had no problem today with that though.”

“Understood,” Yuu nodded, opening the manual she was given and gasping in surprise. “It’s so detailed!”

“Glad you find it useful,” Ambrose smiled. “You’re in class A, and your seat number is 27. You can find your class location here,” He pointed to the map in the manual. 

“Right to the teacher’s room,” Yuu commented. “I see.”

“Yes. Your class teacher is Emery der Licht. He is an impressively talented magician, as well as an incredible Teacher. Don’t hesitate to ask him in case you have a problem or don’t understand something. Okay?”

“Okay,” Yuu nodded and felt an excitement rising up. It’s been a while since she talked to someone, not to mention study with someone. “Uhm, headmaster…”

“Yes?”

“How many of the school staff are aware of my situation?..”

“Only me and the one who comes to the clock tower from time to time,” the headmaster said. “And Excalibur, too. Though he’s not really a school staff member.”

“It is ‘he’?..” Yuu asked. “I think he would be sad to hear it… I thought he was a… a teacher?”

“Haha!” Ambrose laughed genuinely at her answer. “Excalibur would be actually delighted to hear it! In any case, please don’t spread any more information about your origins to others, especially students. We’ll study your case together, and if nothing helps, I’ll report to the government.”

“Understood…”

“By the way!” He exclaimed. “If you want to find more information, come to the library. I think you might find something useful there.”

“Library!!” Yuu lit up, jumping from her seat, and apologized right after for her behavior. “I will do so, thank you!”

After a discussion which lasted for over an hour, Yuu thanked Ambrose, bowed to him again (despite him giving her a certain look so she decided that maybe she did something wrong) and got back to the clock tower to change the clothes.

She opened the box, revealing a pair of shoes and clothes. Upfolding the uniform and looking at all the elements of it, Yuu fell deep into the thoughts of how exactly it should be worn. Imagining the look in her mind, she waved the magic wand. All clothes elements danced around, the elements of ceremonial robes floated midair while other pieces of clothing were pulling on her body by itselves. 

“I hope I did it right…” Yuu said, making her way to the bathroom to check out what she did. 

The uniform was noticeably large even after using the shrinking magic, but Yuu didn't push it any further, thinking she would mess up intertwining two magics together. A white blouse with loose, wide sleeves was tucked into dark blue trousers with golden stripes on the sides. Seeing her pants being not so comfortable and big at the waist, she sighed and waved her magic wand again, and a wide belt appeared around her waist, fixing the problem. Yuu also tried pulling on a white blazer with navy blue inserts on the sleeves, but it was too bulky. She grimaced at the realization that she was not up to the task (namely, putting on the uniform properly) and decided for one moment to simply throwing the jacket over her shoulders, fastening its two sides with a golden chain on her chest, tucking it under the golden bow on the collar of her blouse.

She nodded approvingly to herself as she took one last look at the dark leather boots with not-too-high thick heels laced with white satin ribbons and a pretty bow at the top. Her hands felt bare and alien to her without the gloves she used to wear in the Fairy Queendom, so she made final touches and added almost transparent white mitaines and smiled.

“I hope I don’t stand out too much…”

And with that she opened the manual to check her destination. 

Yuu… was scared. 

She was sure she had never seen so many people gathered at one place. Even if she visited many Princesses' realms, she remembered people celebrating on the streets, she even recalled how Rapunzel insisted on having some fun together during the festival, but what was happening right now—

She couldn’t comprehend it. Somehow yesterday at the ceremony when people were coming to Excalibur one by one and the others were just standing beside her, right now all of them were moving. She stared bewilderedly at students who were fooling around, talking, laughing, gossiping, talking again… She could have endured that, but they were talking about her. Her instincts sharpened, making hearing range absolutely uncontrollable. Every smallest piece of information reached her, pounding loudly in her ears, and she tried to calm down as fast as she could.

“Oh, is that the girl that we saw yesterday? I thought it was a mistake?..”

“I know right? Who could have thought they would enroll a girl here.”

“Isn’t it like, against the rules tho?”

“Maybe they’ve decided to make the school open to all genders?”

“I guess so. She’s quite a cutie!”

Ugh… Yuu was getting dizzy. Yesterday she was too shocked to pay attention to the number of people surrounding her, and she also seemed fine talking to the headmaster and even Che’nya. She suddenly slipped out of her previous thoughts, remembering an unexpected encounter that happened at midnight. 

Right, Che’nya! Yuu nodded in a greeting way absent-mindedly to two or three students who were staring at her while she walked, and thought about finding Che’nya. He said he is a third-year student here, so it shouldn’t be a problem… But then again, it actually might be quite a challenge to find a person who was appearing midair randomly just if he wished so.

“Ayo come look at this,” someone suddenly said quite loudly. 

Yuu finally managed to concentrate on one particular group of students walking behind her, and listened.

“It’s Neige’s new project advertisement,” a student said. 

“He’s starring in a new movie?! It’s been only two months since he won an award in a previous one!”

“He’s nailing it,” the boy seemed to be extremely proud. 

“Agreed,” the other one said. “How in the world does he manage to study so well and also participate in all those projects? It’s insane!”

“And you’re just a first-year,” the boy said edifyingly. “Neige is a second-year by now. Must be tough.”

“I heard he’s also a dorm leader?”

“Yeah…”

Yuu hummed to herself, whispering the boy’s name to herself. Neige, she mumbled, rolling his name on her tongue as if trying to figure out what it reminded her of. He must be fairly diligent, given how others were speaking about him. And before she wanted to return to her thoughts again, she realized that practically everyone was discussing Neige, all of the people praising him and adoring. As much as Yuu wanted to continue hearing people talk, she took a deep breath and entered the Academy. 

The interior of the Academy fascinated with its immense scale and abundance of spiral staircases. It flowed like a ballerina in a dance, and the fullness of warm bright light in the building filled ones with good and joyful feelings. Yuu stared at the central wing of the Academy, as if fascinated, not even imagining how much more unknown things were awaiting her. 

Yuu, shifting her gaze from the manual to the corridors of the school, observed the interior. The huge difference between the calm and cozy atmosphere in the morning and the current liveliness and cheerful spirit seemed quite attractive to Yuu. The students got to know each other, discussed the beginning of the school year and looked quite enthusiastic. Yuu allowed herself to relax a little, despite the tenacious glances that followed her silhouette here and there, and reached the auditorium (located on the 8th floor) that Ambrose was talking about.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. The classroom was an auditorium with several rows rising up and a stairs in the very center. Opposite the stairs, near the entrance, there was a huge blackboard and a tribune for the teacher. Fancy lamps hung from above, but they weren’t litten up, thanks to the sun rays seeping in through the windows.

Yuu made her way to the seat number 27, trying to ignore all the stares locked on her. She was quite early, sitting on the middle row on the edge, and wondered who was the one who’s got to sit beside her. Yuu wanted to make friends.

She lowered her gaze, remembering Princesses calling her their dearest friend, and chuckled bitterly. Was she really?.. Yuu decided that if making friends was equal to helping them, then she should start doing exactly that, but she also couldn’t manage to find someone who needed help at the moment.

She was observing the classroom more closely, hearing people discussing first her (right when they walked to the class), then Neige again. Yuu also found copybooks and notebooks as well as a fountain pen lying on the hanging shelf under the table and opened the notebook ready to write. 

The bell rang, and Yuu jolted in her seat thinking something happened, but apparently she was the only one panicking over nothing. As she heard from the boy behind her, it was indicating the start of the lesson. And indeed, a teacher came.

“Good morning to you all!”

Yuu stared at the teacher who entered in surprise. Familiar, unbelievably long blond hair almost reached the floor, and Yuu was sure it would have curled across the floor if it hadn't been styled in a stunningly beautiful braid decorated with small flowers. In the light of day, she was able to see his eyes in more detail. Green chrysolites of his big eyes gleamed charmingly in the sunlight. Pink shades predominated in the color palette of his clothes, giving the impression that he was very young. Yuu wondered how old he actually was but realized it was quite rude to think about it, even though whispers here and there were heard. It was the person who she saw this midnight in the clock tower! The one who jumped after the boy.

“Is this boy really our teacher??”

“He looks so young!!”

“Just how long is his hair?!”

“Young gentlemen, I can hear you,” he grinned, but his eyes weren’t smiling joyfully. “In any case, nice to meet you. My name is Emery der Licht, I’ll be your classroom teacher. I teach everything magic-related and alchemy, which makes us the closest friends ever from now on~ Don’t think about skipping my lessons, alright? It wouldn’t do anything good for you.”

Yuu nodded more to herself, and wrote down his name in the notebook. 

“I see Class 1A is quite interesting this year, hm?” Emery looked at Yuu, making her tilt her head. “Yuu-san, right?”

“Yes!” She answered excitedly. He was teaching magic!! It was unbelievable. “That is me.”

“Hmm,” Emery chuckled amusingly at her pronouns choice. “How peculiar. I look forward to working with you, Yuu-san.”

Emery explained the freshman curriculum. Yuu found his words very entertaining and revealed her heightened interest in what was happening. She first entered an educational institution, and everything about the educational process seemed extremely new to her, mysterious, but infinitely broadening horizons of the mind.

The first lesson turned out to be an introduction to the structure of alchemy, a kind of acquaintance with this entertaining science. Yuu was so engrossed in taking notes that it wasn't until the end of class that she noticed her desk mate hadn't shown up.

She heard students claiming they were hungry, and hummed to herself. She didn’t need much food intake, but wanted to see the cafeteria and the food people eat there. 

She slowly walked along the corridors of the Academy, studying the portraits of great figures in the field of magic, memorizing their names and surnames. Yu was interested in the curve of every fancy lamp, every shelving and every column capital.

Descending another spiral staircase, she finally found the cafeteria. A large number of oblong rectangular tables were located on the first floor, but Yuu noticed several round tables designed for a smaller number of people on the second one. On one side, from a wall-to-ceiling window a garden could be seen. And on the other side, beside the counter and the showcase, food was  handed out by…

“Are those gargoyles?!”

“What the?!”

Yuu heard students’ surprised tone and could actually relate to their shock. Come to think of it, she… saw someone similar once?..

“We have names,” One of the gargoyles said loudly, giving a cupcake to one of the students. “Mine’s Vittorio.”

“Uhm, thank you.. Sir?..” Another student took his lunch from the gargoyle with the tallest horns.

“Hugh,” another gargoyle answered.

Yuu watched in amazement. Real gargoyles were handing out food to the students!! As soon as she looked at the vegetable salad, another gargoyle, apparently the smallest of them, immediately flew up to her and served a portion of the salad that Yuu had looked at ten seconds earlier.

“H-huh?” She said. “Thank you, sir!!”

“I’m Lavont.”

“I’ll remember. Thank you so much!”

And just when she straightened from bowing to him, Lavont already went to another student with a tray full of different dishes. Yuu made her way to the second floor where a lesser number of students were, and took a seat. 

Despite the cafeteria filled from top to bottom with the noisy voices of students and the clatter of plates, Yuu felt isolated. However, she had to dine alone very often, which was not something unexpected. Yuu had time to grab the cutlery and was about to try the salad when a ticklish "Hello nya~" was heard behind her ear.

“Huh?!” She exclaimed, turning around but seeing no one. 

“What are you doing here all alone?” 

A familiar face appeared before her, and Yuu recognized Che’nya from purple hair strands, and exhaled in relief.

“Che’nya-san,” she greeted him with a little bow. “You sure manage to surprise me. For the second time today.”

“Life’s full of surprises, right?”

“I guess it is…”

Even despite Che’nya’s randomness, Yuu realized she actually felt better after his appearance. He was easy to talk to even considering his strange way of doing that, and also his voice was quite nice to hear. He waited for her to try the salad and smiled at her when she swallowed the first bite, making sure she was eating. Yuu wondered why he would do that in the first place, but decided not to comment at the moment. 

“Che’nya-san, I wanted to ask you why you came to me today.”

“Hm~” Che’nya hummed, leaning a bit closely but not making her uncomfortable. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s quite obvious,” she told him, fixing her gaze on his eyes, and continued consuming food slowly. “I just want confirmation. My guess is that… well, isn’t it quite strange? I seem different not only in terms of gender, but also in the dormitory no one else lives. It’s just suspicious.”

Che’nya stared at her with an unreadable look for half of a minute before sighing in defeat, causing Yuu to startle a little. Did she say something wrong? But her words were only logical.

“Here in my dorm we appreciate curiosity,” he said suddenly, thanking passing by Vittorio who gave Che’nya his meal consisting of fish and a salad too. “Thanks, Tori~”

Vittorio chuckled, pouring a cup of tea for Yuu and going to another table before she could have thanked him.

“Anyway~” Che’nya regained her attention on him. “Your guess is far from renyality.”

“Oh,” Yuu gasped. “Then what is it?..”

“No fun in telling you that simply~” Che’nya consumed fish almost in one bite, making Yuu widen her eyes in surprise. “Well well, I have no choice other than to spend more time with you to help you find out.”

“Yes?.. I understand you less with each second.”

He didn't respond to her statement, only his fluffy tail wagged playfully. Yuu pondered over his words when a "curiosity" suddenly popped up in her mind.

“Che’nya-san,” she called him. “May I ask you a question?”

“Not ‘may’,” he said. “You should! Ask right away, especially if it’s about directions. I’m good at giving ‘em~”

“No, it’s not that… You’ve mentioned that you appreciate curiosity in your dorm. Do other dormitories also have features they associate their dorms with?”

Che’nya smiled brightly at her.

“Nice one this time! Nyep, they do. Want to hear?”

Yuu nodded eagerly. Che’nya looked around, as if scanning their surroundings, and returned his gaze to Yuu, making her follow his.

“The dorms here are divided into seven kinds. You can easily distinguish them by colors~ For example, that one person with a turquoise brooch on his jacket. See, nya?”

Yuu followed his glare, easily spotting a student Che’nya pointed out. Indeed, a brooch with  majestic shades of green and blue sparkled beautifully in the light. 

“That’s Merheronelle. If you see people wandering around and being all lively and vivid, they must be from there.”

“What a beautiful sounding name,” Yuu nodded but got startled when she saw another student with a warm, light beige-colored brooch. “Oh, and that one person?”

“A~ah, he’s from Dýnamieisos!” Che’nya replied with tail’s wiggling. “Quite valiant individuals, I would say!”

“Valiant? How come?”

“Don’t make me regret calling you Wanderer, mm?” He returned his gaze to her, meeting with her confused one. “You seem curious enough to fit in our dorm though.”

“Ah, forgive me,” Yuu covered her mouth with a palm in surprise, ashamed of herself. “I forgot to ask what your dorm is called in the first place… I’m sorry for being rude and unattentive.”

Che’nya sighed, releasing a sound similar to cat meowing but rather… annoyed cat meowing?

“Our dorm name’s Pandora Charm,” he replied. “Quite charming, right?”

“Oh, it really is!” Yuu agreed, letting her lips curve in a small smile but also not noticing a brooch on his uniform. “What’s your dorm color?”

“Bright blue, nya. Woah, watch that guy!” Che’nya managed to switch her attention to a boy with a bright orange-colored brooch. “You don’t see Huriirada students that often. Must be a first-year.”

“Hm? Why is that?”

“They’re rather determined but sometimes they look quite… lonely,” Che’nya’s smile dropped for a mere moment before she could have asked what he actually meant by that he switched her attention again, making her gaze fixate on another student somewhere on the first floor. The boy was surrounded by an insanely large number of people with red brooches. 

“He’s from Edelwiese,” Che’nya said, his tail wagging cheerfully. Were they acquainted? Or maybe friends? “I think the most popular ones! The school staff wanted to ask Excalibur to rethink his choice because the number of Edelwiese students was quite large this year.”

“Huh? That many?”

“They’re all very kind,” Che’nya hummed. “But I don’t think that’s the only reason…”

Yuu narrowed her eyes, but he was already pointing at another student with a pastel pink brooch. 

“It looks so lovely,” Yuu said. “The color. Reminds me of gentle peonies...” Yuu grew peonies of a similar light pink color in her garden, knowing how much the Fairy Godmother loved them.

“The name of the dorm is rather floral too. It’s Florevel, the students there also remind me of flowers sometimes.”

Yuu decided not to ask how a person could resemble a flower, and nodded at the boy who was running up the stairs when another two with similar bright yellow brooches were chasing him, causing quite a commotion.

“Aaah, them~” Che’nya laughed. “Kifurijua dorm members are rather dauntless. But those are… those seem reckless. In a good way, nya.”

Yuu wondered why this group of students were in such a hurry, but she continued to discuss school life with Che’nya and asked about various things. After a while, she glanced at the watch, horrified at how quickly time had flown by and how empty the cafeteria had become. Time always went too fast for her, as if it didn't exist at all. After bowing and making Che’nya promise to greet her normally next time, she hurried back to the classroom.

“I see you’re already socializing, Yuu-san,” Emery greeted her at the entrance, and allowed to make her way to the desk. “Ah, youth~”

Yuu blinked twice but decided not to push it. Getting ready for the class starting, she pulled her notebook and jolted again at the sound of the bell ringing, furrowing her brows. Loud noises were a bit painful for her ears, but she decided it was just a matter of time until she got used to it.

“Alright,” Emery said, grabbing a piece of chalk and writing down the next topic on the blackboard. “Our next subject is… wait a moment.”

Yuu noticed the teacher glancing at the door and wondered how far he could hear. She also heard a rapid sound of someone approaching this classroom by running. The next second the door was shut open instantly, and a boy she saw in the cafeteria entered the classroom.

“I’M REALLY SORRY!” He said, trying to catch his breath and straightened his back, greeting the teacher. “Good morning, sir!!”

“It’s professor der Licht for you.”

Yuu widened her eyes. So young and already a professor?! This Academy was amazing…

“So,” Emery crossed his arms. “Care to explain? You skipped two lessons already, and it’s literally your first day here.”

“Aagh, yeah yeah, hehe,” the student didn’t appear to be guilty at all. “I just kinda… overslept?”

The sudden silence put Yuu on alert. This student fluttered his eyelashes innocently as he watched Emery slowly walk over to the table and take something out from under it. No one had time to blink an eye, as a dull sound of contact between something metallic and something solid was heard.

“Ouch! Sorry!”

“EEEEGH?!”

Emery held a frying pan in his hands, looking at the student with a look that expressed something along the lines of "Uh-huh, hopeless." Yuu couldn't figure out which was worse, hitting a student with a frying pan, or the fact that the student looked completely unharmed and more like slightly puzzled.

“Go take a seat,” Emery sighed. “And don’t make me hit you tomorrow’s morning too.”

Yuu followed the student making his way to his seat and parted her lips slightly when he sat right beside her. So he was the one missing this morning! What a deskmate she encountered. 

Yuu listened attentively to Emery, noticing that she already knew some of the facts, and allowed herself to take her eyes off the board to switch the gaze to her new desk mate. The boy in a good shape and with strong looking arms was tilted slightly forward, as if listening to the teacher, but his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. His carefree look of sky-blue eyes fascinated with its crystal purity and innocent brightness, though a hardly noticeable shade of mischief was hiding underneath. His wheat-colored hair curled slightly in bangs that fell a little over long eyelashes, a pair of front strands of the hair matched the color of his eyes. 

And the part that seemed extremely adorable and eye-catching to Yuu appeared to be a pair of animal ears (lion ones, maybe?), one of them was twitching at the sound of the professor slightly raising his voice so he could be heard on the further rows. Yuu swallowed, trying to erase an unexpectable eagerness to touch a fluffy-looking fur of a color matching his hair, and felt her heart beating a bit faster at his cuteness. 

She also observed how messily his uniform was arranged, and how the bright yellow brooch almost fell off the short-sleeved shirt, not to mention the jacket tied around his torso. Something moved under his jacket in a jolly wave, and she saw a tip of a tail. It was much thinner and longer than Che'nya's. 

He turned to her suddenly, causing her to drop the pencil she was holding, and smiled so brightly she thought the sunrise was just a mere joke before his cheerful expression. 

“Hello!” He tried to whisper but it came out a bit loud. “I’m Luan, you?”

“Yuu,” she answered, not getting why he would continue staring at her without saying anything.

“No, you.”

“I’m Yuu,” she repeated and realized the pun. “My name is Yuu.”

“Eh,” he looked at her in surprise. “Mīnne? Idk what’s that. Anyway, nice to meet you!”

Yuu stared at him dumbfoundedly before saying something like ‘Nice to meet you too’ in return. She was almost getting used to people talking about her being a girl and not really trusting her and only Che’nya casually starting a conversation. But this boy looked so nice and apparently genuinely didn’t care, so she decided to give it a go.

“So we’re desk mates, right? So cool!”

“Y-yeah, it is!” Yuu tried to follow. “Oh, right,” he turned to her again. “Are you a girl? You look quite feminine.”

Yuu blinked at him. Did he not hear?

“I am.”

“Oh, cool,” he just shrugged it off, seemingly he really did not care at all. It was rather refreshing. “Btw do you know the teacher’s name?”

“It’s Emery der Licht, Luan,” she answered in a whisper. 

“Super, thanks, Yuu!” He laughed. “It’s lame to call him by his surname anyway.”

“You know I can hear you, right?”

“Yep~”

Yuu smiled at how genuinely sunny and joyful his laugh was and decided to return to taking notes. Somehow the only presence of the boy around managed to put her heart to peace, leading to the realization that apparently not everything invoked her sudden anxiety over a big number of people talking about her in an overwhelming way. 

“If you want to find more information, come to the library. I think you might find something useful there.”

Yuu remembered Ambrose’s words and right after the lessons she was heading out straight there. Some students hurried back to their dorms, others began to bond and gathered in the garden to get to know each other better, some preferred to enjoy the atmosphere all alone. Yuu, on the other hand, continued to walk slowly through the ornate corridors until she reached the giant doors, near which hung a gilded sign "Library".

Opening the doors, Yuu seemed to find herself in a parallel reality. Obviously, she really was in another universe, but still, what appeared before her was beyond praise.

In contrast to the predominantly marble decoration of the academy, the library was made of wood. Myriads of wooden bookcases sprang up in front of her, never knowing the end of the edge. Everywhere there were shelves with various kinds of relics, memoirs and other bizarre scrolls. The library featured dimmer lighting, maintaining a note of mystery. Yuu walked past a giant bookcase at least floors long, curiously touching a wooden step ladder that allowed one to climb to the topmost shelf. The floor was covered with dark blue carpets sheathed in gold to match the school's uniform.

Yuu went deeper as the light seeping through a window somewhere far ahead illuminated the whirlwind of dust particles dancing in the passageway. Yuu turned her head to the left, meeting the cylindrical bookshelves filled to the brim with books and the stairs leading to the mezzanine. On the right side there was a gigantic reading room filled with tables. There were cozy-looking table lamps on them, dozens of books were stacked in careless piles. From the reading room one could proceed to the next seemingly endless rows of bookshelves. Another spiral staircase also led to the second floor.

There were few students, and their small number created a special, very personal and indestructible atmosphere of mystery and hidden knowledge. Yuu walked up the three steps and ended up near what appeared to be the librarian's desk. It was a cylindrical stand, behind which a giant clock towered on a bookshelf-shaped stand. Yuu tilted her head up, meeting her gaze at the glass ceiling, over which the setting sun danced playfully, drowning in the crimson hues of the sunset.

Yuu walked over to the librarian's desk, peering under it curiously and noticing a mop of dark brown hair that looked like melted bittersweet chocolate. The person raised up, and Yuu gasped at his extraterrestrial beauty. Silky curls framed his face with neat, dreamy features. His solid elegant posture reminded her of royalty. He blinked, his lush eyelashes covered sandy eyes. 

He held his chin high, not shying away from looking majestic, but not supercilious. The librarian gave her a curious eye, fixing a steadfast gaze on Yuu's eyes. At that moment, her own glare flickered over his features, and she couldn't help but notice the charm of the mole under his right eye.

“Good evening,” his voice appeared to be quite deep. “My name is Aell, I’m a librarian. How can I be of help?”

“Good evening, sir Aell, I am Yuu.” She bowed to him but he didn’t seem surprised or annoyed at her action, unlike others who she happened to meet. “Could you please tell me where’s the section with…”

Revealing her intentions to a librarian was a risky move, so Yuu smiled slightly and continued after a pause.

“Books about the history of monarchy kingdoms?”

The librarian nodded, seeming unsurprised at all, and turned to the right. Yuu still was too preoccupied with observing his features to follow his eyes, but noticed another mole on the tip of his sharp nose, staring at him in reverence.

“Second floor, section eight. There will be six tables. Come near the third. Somewhere in there.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Call me if needed,” Aell added, lowering his gaze to the book lying on the table behind his counter, lowering his gaze to the book lying on the table behind his counter, which distracted Yuu for a split second again. Some inexplicable aura of elegance and quivering charm of the librarian forced her to look at him again, and she noted how charmingly his eyes were distinguished by the presence of only one double eyelid on one of them and the absence of it on another.

Yuu followed his directions and indeed found the right section. She ran her fingers along the spines of the books, thoughtfully examining their bindings and reading the titles, when suddenly she heard a speech, one of the voices seemed suspiciously familiar to Yuu.

“Ya, don’t tell me!”

Yuu peeked out from behind the bookshelf, peering at the two figures sitting at the reading table. She saw the back of a familiar person with copper-colored hair, his voice resonating within her mind. 

Opposite him sat (more like rested) a boy she did not know. He was laying on the table with his head resting on his hands, which were folded on the table in the shape of a frame. The setting rays of the sun made its way through the window frame, leaning against the silhouette and caressing his pale skin. Above his refined figure and golden curls of silky hair, slightly tangled and glossy with ornate ringlets delicately appeared because of his sleeping posture, trembled a mirage of something extraterrestrial. His eyelashes quivered reverently in the sleep, and his eyebrows drew down to the bridge of his nose, emphasizing something restless appearing in his dream. Motes of dust, lazily bending around the contours of the furniture in the library, did not reach the top of his head, dissolving in the light of the rays of the setting sun.

“You’re asleep?! For real? What in the world…” The boy was sitting with one leg pulled up to his chest and clasping it with one arm, hastily swinging the other one back and forth. “Yo, that’s insane dude… Gotta record this.” 

Right, it was the boy who appeared in the clock tower this night and disappeared in a hole which was created absolutely randomly, and dissolved just the same way! His voice was rather loud and vivid in the gentle warm library atmosphere, even if he tried to restrain it, making it a bit lower.

Yuu's eyes flickered over their silhouettes in interest before dropping to the floor. She was torn apart by curiosity, she wanted to clarify what was the reason for their sudden so-called meeting that night, but at the same time ... Despite the fervent and friendly mood of the boy, she could not approach him so easily. In addition, his apparently friend had a dream, and, as it seemed, it was not so pleasant. The violent nature of the nightmare clouded his wonderful features.

A sudden loud thud from behind distracted her from the thoughts which started swirling in her head, making her mind hazy. Yuu turned to her left, noticing a book which fell off the highest shelf.

“A book, huh,” she said, intending to pick up a book which fell from the highest shelf, and turned to the two students, the sleeping one apparently waking up. 

Yuu felt a familiar sensation of air trembling slightly when already extremely familiar purple hair locks appeared before her eyes, and then Che’nya’s face was revealed.

“Che’nya-san,” Yuu let out a sigh. “I thought you promised you would greet me normally?”

“I haven’t greeted you yet~” He hummed, this time not revealing his whole body and letting his head float midair. “Anyway, it’s still a bit early. Don’t rush it.”

“Yes?” She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Who knyaws~” 

“Che’nya-san,” Yuu frowned. “I suggest you speak to me in a clearer way. Otherwise…”

“Othernyaise?” He reasked her playfully. Maybe it was the right moment to start regretting life choices? At this point Yuu felt a strange sensation, causing her to almost roll her eyes at his words, but quickly shrugged it off. What was this feeling called in the first place?.. 

“Remember I told you today,” Che’nya grinned with the eyes closed, the smile exposing his teeth. “Fun always happens at night.”

“I’m starting to believe I must have found a translator from your language instead,” Yuu sighed.

“As I’ve mentioned,” his purple strands flicked before her eyes. “I think I need to spend a bit more time with you. And that means…”

He disappeared again, but his voice could still be heard in the back of consciousness. “Next time I’ll greet you properly. I can’t break promises, after all~”

Yuu rubbed her temples with the fingers and thought that there was enough shock and strangeness for today. Turning around to talk to those two students, she realized that they had already disappeared while she was talking to Che’nya. Had his remark served as a vague hint that she should not approach them now? But for what reasons? Che’nya, nevertheless, was woven from riddles.

She picked up the fallen book, intending to put it back on the shelf, but became interested in the title, engraved in gilded letters: "Dead Kingdoms. Stories that have sunk into oblivion." Well... Maybe there really was something fateful in this meeting with Che’nya. Taking the book and realizing that the sunset rays began to change into cold evening ones, Yuu threw a quick glance at the place where the two students were sitting, and came closer. A suspiciously familiar smell of tea hovered over the table, and a playful sensation of something familiar and magical, tickled his veins. Yuu shifted her gaze to the table, where she found a colorful flier.

“Neige LeBlanche: Grand première”.

Yuu tilted her head, observing a boy’s silhouette. On the poster, he was turned with his back, his head slightly tilted to the side. The black poster stood out with a single element — a bright apple clasped in thin fingers.

She returned the flier to where it lay and decided it was time to head back to the clock tower.

Yuu hadn't yet taken this road back to the clock tower, but she wanted to take a walk to get a better view of the area. As Yuu passed by the garden railings, she felt an inexplicable attraction.

A feeling of unbearable longing penetrated her to the bones, penetrating into every cell of her body and responding with unbearable pain. She missed her mansion garden, her surroundings, the whirlwind of mischievous Sprites and tender butterflies.

She wanted to go through the gate and restore the clarity of her mind, when suddenly a distinctly sharp smell of blood hit her nose. Yuu winced, gripping the book tighter in her hands. Blood was one of those smells that unpleasantly tickled the nose, made fairies writhe in dislike, and was generally unpleasant to her kind. … Or so Fairy Godmother taught her, and in particular she instructed her to avoid the source of the scarlet liquid.

However, despite the obvious unpleasant associations, Yuu did not feel such a persistent, painfully unbearable rejection. Someone could be in trouble, and she had no right to wonder what to do when there was only one answer.

The smell grew stronger closer to the edge of the campus, outlined by the forest. Yuu approached the entrance, touching the barks of the trees and feeling unequivocally calmer. The trees whispered to her to move on, every blade of grass shuddering with her step, and Yuu's frown deepened. 

Yuu came to a small meadow, in the center of which was a small youthful figure. She silently moved a little closer, and greeted the person in a low voice.

“Good evening?..”

“Ah!!”

A startled person turned to her, revealing his stunned expression. Yuu was silent for a while, studying in amazement the delicate, most beautiful features of the youth who appeared before her. His eyes shone dark brown in the evening's cold hues, and his jet-black hair was neatly styled under a pretty beret. It took Yuu a moment to notice a few pomegranate drops of blood on his thin, graceful fingers.

His gaze followed hers, and he realized what she was staring at so intently. The boy smiled radiantly at her, and an unprecedented tenderness shone in his eyes with a quivering gleam.

“You must be surprised!” His voice seemed marshmallow-sweet to her, it was lulling and infinitely warm, like a warmed milk. “I hope I didn’t startle you? Please worry not, the blood’s not mine…”

“I know,” she nodded. 

You don’t smell like this one, she wanted to say but refrained from doing that. Yuu sat beside him instead, finally noticing the one who was bleeding.

A small cute rabbit with a wounded leg.

“Ah,” she gasped. “A poor thing!”

“Indeed,” the boy replied with a note of genuine worry in his voice resembling a nightingale’s trill. 

The movements of his fingers were full of caution, parental care and sincere concern. 

“Did you come to help?”

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the rabbit. Yuu wanted to use healing abilities, but wondered if it could be revealed yet. Did they exist here? But before she could do anything, the boy frowned.

“If only I had something to bandage the wound…”

“Don’t worry,” Yuu answered. “I can help.”

“Huh?..” He blurted out on an exhalation comparable to the light touch of a cloud in the morning mist.

Yuu ripped off a piece of her sleeve, taking a guess that this move wouldn’t be considered something strange. She handed a piece of cloth, leaving the bandaging process to the boy. 

His slender fingers deftly bandaged the wound, and the bleeding soon stopped. The rabbit looked up at the boy, blinking a couple of times before limping to his knees and perched there, falling asleep. In his huge eyes—two precious stones—a bright childish hope was born, supernovae flashed, and a radiant happiness resurrected. A burst of laughter escaped his scarlet lips, and he turned to Yuu, completely oblivious to the two crystal tears that rolled down his cheeks, not from oppressive sadness.

“Your eyes,” he said suddenly. “Resemble a ripe apple. They’re very beautiful.”

Yuu shivered. The only thing she heard about her eyes was that they’re quite terrifying because of their color resembling blood. And yet his gaze painted everything in a radiant sunny hue, and Yuu forgot for a moment where she was, fascinated by the gleam of his bottomless eyes.

“My name is Neige,” the boy said, and Yuu gasped again. Neige? The one she heard about today? “And you?”

“I am Yuu. You’re very kind, Neige.”

He closed his eyes, and the corners of his lips pulled up, forming the most tender smile. Neige was so guileless in his innocent kindness and gentle friendliness that Yuu felt how the natural skepticism that wrapped her mind in thick vines began to melt like liquefied cotton candy.

“Hmm,” he nodded. “Thank you for your help. You too are very kind.”

“No, I…”

“I need to get going, it’s already late.” Neige stood up, carrying the rabbit extremely carefully to not hurt it. “See you around, Yuu.”

Neige waved goodbye to her with his free hand, and the moment he turned around, Yuu smiled back at him, feeling an unexpected stab of a longing feeling, alien to his image, pierced her very heart. The corners of her lips slowly dropped as soon as she noticed the fading spark, vibrating with viscous yearning in the bottom of his eyes.

“Have a nice dream today.”

“Yes, good night… Neige.”

Yuu watched the boy's receding silhouette. Thoughts did not obey her attempts to sort them into the shelves of her mind, confused by the illusory sadness, which flashed in the amber of Neige's eyes, resembling an autumn wind.

And yet she hoped for a nice dream today nevertheless.

★﹒﹒NOTES

✧˖ Yuu uses an archaic Japanese feminine form 妾 (わらわ / warawa). It was humble and self-effacing, but in most of historical anime/novels/etc it's used by female characters of high social standing. ✧˖ Mīnne — variation of Old English form 'min', meaning 'my/mine'. Another way of emphasizing Yuu's pronouns choice.

✧˖ Characters speak Japanese, but Yuu-You puns were inevitable, so don't be surprised :)

✧˖ 'Á lelya' — Appear (in a demanding, impreative way). Yuu uses Quenya (a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien) in her speech when casting magic spells.

✧˖ The dorm names are revealed! I'll provide you with detailed meanings of word formation used, but try doing your own research and of course have some fun!! (like we did with my bestie creating all of them~)

✧˖ Three new characters were introduced! Have fun guessing them too, given we deviated from the originals in terms of their appearances ha-ha... ✧˖ In case the dorm colors aren't compitable with your tumblr color palette choice, here's the names in a list: — Merheronelle — Dýnamieisos — Pandora Charm — Huriirada — Edelwiese — Florevel — Kifurijua

© yunarim 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧.