#what the hell is amaranth

[juvenile-mudcrab]

Tes lore is like you look up one thing really quick then catch a glimpse of something you never heard about so youre like "ill just take a quick look" and then your brain crumbles to dust

[mister13eyond]

Funniest part for me of all my oc world building is it is about shit happening entirely off screen. I have all these thoughts about the culture in heaven and hell and yet the majority of my characters don't even fucking live there. They live on "earth that is exactly like ours except there are a handful of magic beings hiding on the outskirts of it". They're reverse isekai. Most of them don't even have that much magic. All the lore about what demons and angels Do and Are and How they are is just like. Happening to the side while these fucking dingdongs hang out playing video games and hooking up

[seabeescribbles]

Oops I disappeared and now I'm coming back with magical boy Artemis OOP

Heavy on the fairy rose and amaranth, the flower of the goddess Artemis, and I based a lot of it off of her imagery and circlets made with her symbols. Trying to incorporate his style so much that it isn't jarring while still being obviously magical girl inspired. Imagine a world where human magic used to manifest in this way, but died out a hundred or so years ago after a massive battle. Then Artemis' acquired magic and reincarnation sort of kickstarts his innate human magic and uh oh, first new magical boy in a very long time, and the nearly forgotten tradition continues. And with that resurgence of human magic, so too manifests the monsters they used to fight against.

I just want an excuse to do this. So I invented worldbuilding about it.

He keeps it a secret because he's technically the only person actually able to beat the monsters, and there's no way in hell his friends wouldn't try to involve themselves and get hurt if they found out he was taking this on by himself. The guy develops a bit of a hero complex after he comes back to life. Thankfully the magic also obscures his face on camera, and people forget what he looks like immediately after looking away from him when he's powered up.

I wanted one person to know the secret, and I asked myself who the funniest option would be. So, the only person who knows Artemis' secret identity here is Mulch. He thinks this is fun as hell. Pretty much takes it upon himself to be Artemis' "manager" and keep people away as he fights.

I imagine there would be a sort of magical entity guide because that's a classic trope in magical girl stuff, but they would be kind of a dick. Old and frustrated and very reluctant to be here, but still trying to prevent Artemis from dying. It's in a device that is probably modeled after the C-Cube.

Artemis pretends to try and figure out who this mysterious magical human is who's suddenly out there protecting Ireland, even having a pin board where he puts a bunch of fake leads that could feasibly make sense, but always point in the wrong direction. The fairies are intrigued by this as well, and eventually will try and track down the magical human to interrogate them on how they got their powers. Fortunately, Artemis is very well-versed in fairy technology, and dodges them at every turn.

The most suspicious thing about this is the fact that Artemis is suddenly paying attention in Butler's fighting lessons.

Ireland, meanwhile, is absolutely thrilled that they get the first magical boy/girl/something in so many years. TAKE THAT, EVERYONE ELSE. GO IRELAND. HE'S EVEN GOT THE FLAG'S COLORS. WE GOT ONE, LADS

Anyway that's about all I have about that for now apart from a bunch of jokes. Hope this is interesting to someone

[kairiscorner]

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ choso's hands are pretty cold to the touch.

choso has never known what it's like to be held by someone he loves.

hell, he can't even recall when the last time he felt anything remotely close to what humans would define as "love". when you two engaged in this sort of arrangement, where you and choso would be able to do things together that friends or family couldn't really quite do together, he had always had this sort of longing that centered around you. you and your touch.

he's not the bravest person (or rather half a person) that you've dated, he is a little rough around the edges and pretty reserved, but you never shunned him or shamed him for being so. he hadn't been properly loved when he was younger, and unknowingly, he had that need in his heart to want to be loved properly, to be loved in general.

luckily, you were more than willing to show him what being loved by you is like; and he was a little taken aback at first by how sweet you loved him, but you never forced him or imposed on him the kind of love you gave him, teaching choso little by little how being loved by you was like. he loved it, loved every bit of it; but he also wanted to give back, to love you, too. but he didn't have the faintest clue on how, or where to even start, showing you how much he loves you.

he did notice from the human couples around you two when you'd take him out with you on some evenings, a lot of them tend to walk side by side, their hands clasping each other's, with some leaning against each other, one having their arms wrapped around the other's; smiling and talking and giggling... this was what choso wanted to give you, a blissful, happy moment between you two.

he takes a glance at your hands, they look so nice to hold, he thinks to himself as he approaches you. he doesn't know how to go about this, he's sweating buckets and chewing the corners of his lip, trying to think of what to say. "you're, um... could i, ah... you..." he stutters, getting impatient and frustrated with himself that he can't even ask something so simple that mere humans could do so flawlessly.

you give him your attention, looking into his amaranth colored eyes and waiting for him to finish, but he fears he never will be able to say it, not with him overthinking things to the point that he's scolding himself in his head for being such a wuss about it. he takes a deep breath and mumbles out, "can i have your hand in mine?"

...

"of course." you tell him softly with a smile, and steadily, you wrap your hand around his hand; it's cold, cold to the touch. you expected that because he was able to control blood that he would be quite warm, that was the sign that a living creature had blood, a pulse, had life, right? but choso's hands were like blocks of ice, frigid and cold. but when you looked up at him, he didn't just seem tense, he also seemed to soften up at the same time. the markings running across his nosebridge became a little thicker, a little redder and pinker. his nose was a little red at the tip, and his ears seemed to be flushed with some pink, too.

choso was blushing. in his own unique way, he was blushing. it made you giggle seeing him like that, and hearing your bewitching giggle, he tightened his grip around your hand by just a little bit; and his shoulders slowly became less tense, he seemed a lot less like a block of ice, and was melting into a puddle before you.

your touch felt really nice, way nicer than he could ever dream it to be. you two walked down the streets like this, going here and there, all over town, not letting go of each other's hands until the night was over. you never let go of him, not even for a second; you held choso close to you, and he... he could feel his hand warming up by your touch, little by little, until his hand felt hotter, felt... alive.

choso finally knows what it's like to have warm hands for once, and to be held by someone so important to him.

he wouldn't let this be the last time, he'll hold your hand as often as you'd let him—and like you... he'll never let you go, because you mean too much for him to do that to you.

[cindersnows]

with victim being such a jesus figure its making me think again about tsc being The Second Coming... its meant to mean the second coming of the chosen one ofc but i cant help but remember this theory i read a few years ago, saying she could possibly be the second coming of victim instead (their similar fighting styles, using their environment to their advantage, being peaceful until alan threatened them, and their lack of powers <- at first, for tsc). and then the sparks we see in the video. i dont know where im going with this?

whose hand is that . they seem to be the one doing the powers thing so what the hell

who the hell are these guys . amaranth and sapphire . thats what im calling them until further notice

also who is this??? i thought it was ballista when i first saw it but i doubt it so like .... what

bisexual dance floor, obviously this is bi victim confirmation,

i saw someone question whose hand this is . im guessing just a worker of some sort since the grey seems similar to me and theyre in some part of the facility, i presume. im going to die next week.

[yerimacoustic]

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙚 ( 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪 )

part summary : the first day on the amaranthe, the largest ship on the world’s most reclusive cruise line, proves to be one for the books.

chapter content warnings : s coups x reader, mingyu x reader, photographer!reader, security guard!s coups, bartender!mingyu, love triangle, angst, fluff, suggestive content near the end, lots of swearing, pining, mentions of alcohol, anxiety around water, social anxiety, customer service things, rich people are jerks. 8k wc!

author notes : please like and reblog if you enjoy and keep up with the rest of the series ( masterlist here )

join my taglist : @02shuuu @smiileflower @tokitosun

the salty sea air was oddly soothing every time you took a deep breath through your nose. the amaranthe hadn’t even left the dock yet and your heart was ready to burst from your chest completely. the excitement that came with a much needed change of scenery mixed with anxiety of water travel seemed to provoke your increased heart rate. 

you’d never been on a cruise before. in fact, most of your memories with the water involved canoeing or kayaking on the lake in your youth, the wobbling from the tiny boats heightening your anxiety. come to think of it, you weren’t exactly sure why you’d taken the job as a cruise line photographer. after all, you could only reassure yourself so many times that the 200,000 ton ship was highly unlikely to sink. 

besides.. you weren’t one to complain about free food, drinks and a chance to finally see the caribbean.  

with the pink and blue patterned strap around your neck, you held on securely to your camera with both hands. one advantage of being a staff member (technically) was boarding the boat and getting situated before anyone else. waivers had been signed, allowing you to snap beautiful candid shots of every aloof and eccentric guest boarding the large ship. 

you’d never seen so many chanel pantsuits in your life. or giant hats, for that matter. a few guests nodded towards you with decently friendly smiles, a few ignored you. one man, whom you immediately recognized from countless newspaper headlines and good morning america appearances, caught one tiny glimpse of you with a camera in your hand and glared harshly after the flash’s impact barely reached his eyes.

“delete that,” he barked at you.

you chuckled nervously, feeling your heart drop to your stomach. “what?”  

“delete that. right now.” 

you could have argued with him. you could have chewed him out for signing a waiver he clearly didn’t properly read through. you could have pleaded with him not to yell at you, someone who was just doing their job. hell, even a simple explanation for his hostility would have satisfied you. yet.. the sight of his insufferable friends laughing sleazily at the exchange was a righteous contender for your most embarrassing moment of all time. 

so you complied. you stepped closer, showing him the perfectly timed photo on your tiny screen. his eyes were narrowed in your direction, his knuckles white around his large suitcase- you would’ve laughed if he wasn’t currently breathing over your shoulder. you quickly deleted it, the previous guest’s photo taking its place on the tiny screen.

“there. it’s gone.” you looked back towards him, managing a decent enough smile with false sympathy. “i’m really sorry about that, mr. carlisle-”

he grumbled in response, leading the rest of his team further onto the ship. snickers and guffaws filled the air as they shuffled through the main hall, only furthering the aching sensation in your chest and giving rise to a dry, awful taste in your mouth. years spent working in customer service clearly had done little to train you for a little berating every now and then. 

“i wouldn’t think too much of it.”

a gentle voice behind you captured your attention, shocking you away from your trance and prompting you to whip your head back. a man with jet black hair to his neck and a modest button down shirt stood not too far away from you, his features angelic and his smile laced with the utmost sympathy. 

you chuckled and shrugged your shoulders dismissively. “i guess you’re right. i should’ve known some of these guys couldn’t be bothered to read the fine print.” 

“especially not carlisle,” he chuckled, a knowing smirk twisting his pouty lips. 

you raised an eyebrow, stuttering as you asked, “you know him?”

he brushed off your apologetic expression with a nod, explaining, “i’ve been working with him for a while now, yeah. i recently got promoted to the rank of senior salesman at his company. so.. i guess you could say i know better than anyone that he can be..”

“arrogant?” you offered, snickering.

“i was gonna say a bit of a dickhead, but that works too,” he laughed, and it must have been the most infectious sound you’d heard. he extended his hand, a silent offer for you to do the same. “jeonghan.”

“y/n,” you cautiously let go of your camera in favor of shaking his hand, offering another smile of gratitude. it wasn’t long before the kodak found its way in the security of both of your palms. “i should get back to it, but.. it was nice meeting you.”

“yeah, see you around.”

he left your side but his presence seemed to linger.. there was something about the young stranger that was incredibly captivating. the mysterious knowledge in his large eyes, the smirk that seemed to be fixed upon his lips.. he looked, for lack of a better word, quite devilish. but in the best way possible. you’d love to spend even just five minutes with him and attempt to pick his brain apart.

eventually, the withdrawn captain announced that the boat would be leaving the port very soon. your expensive camera, being the top priority, lingered around your neck without your hands leaving either side of it for even a split second. you found the closest empty seat (a barstool, which was a lot less desirable), trying to think about anything besides the fact that in just a moment or two, you would be stranded in the middle of the sea with a bunch of snobby, uptight strangers. at least the ship had enough buoyancy not to rock just as you remembered the tiny canoe from decades earlier had.  

everything’s fine, everything’s just fine… 

you must have taken to audibly reassuring yourself this time around because a faint chuckle sounded from behind the bar. as you hurriedly lifted your chin, you weren’t sure how you hadn’t noticed the bartender until now; he was handsome. so, so incredibly handsome. he didn’t even seem real. 

he was tall with beautiful tanned skin and short jet black hair. he wore a dark polo, accentuating his broad shoulders and biceps.. you couldn’t help but stare as he shook the cocktail bottle vigorously. he went wide eyed when you caught him in his gentle, quiet fit of laughter, resembling a deer in headlights. 

“oh- sorry, i didn’t-“ 

“no, no it’s fine,” you laughed, feeling blood rush to your cheeks and hoping to hell that your smile didn’t look too idiotic. “is it obvious i’ve never been on a boat before?” 

he raised his eyebrows, surprise taking over his features. “never?”

you shook your head, smiling hesitantly and sheepishly. “no. i mean, i’ve been to the lake as a kid, of course but- i’ve tried to stay far away from the ocean. until now, i guess.” 

he nodded with a bright smile, pouring another guest’s drink into a frighteningly large martini glass and setting it aside. then he devoted his full attention to you, wide eyes filled with warmth and.. dare i say curiosity. normally, this particular bartender prided himself upon his exemplary customer service.. but normally he was never gifted with a pleasant distraction. the least he could do was chat with you, at least for a little while. 

“so.. what’s someone with a crippling fear of the ocean doing on a cruise ship?” he asked with a gentle laugh. 

“good question,” you snickered, holding up your camera. “i was hired to take some photos for the line this week. i guess.. rich people anywhere means good publicity.” 

he nodded again in understanding. “is it worth the seasickness, though?” 

you pressed your lips to a thin line- the possibility of dabbling in seasickness somehow never crossed your mind. “maybe.. but i mean- i’m basically being paid to go on vacation so i’m not complaining. i’m sure you understand. it must be really cool, working as a bartender on a cruise ship.” 

he chuckled again, bowing his head for just a moment and pondering. suddenly the space, the bar, between the two of you seemed too prominent. too much of a reminder that technically speaking, both of you were still on the clock. “hmm… i guess i’ve been on this boat too long to call it a vacation at this point.” 

“really?” you chuckled in disbelief. 

“i mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still really cool. i get to travel a lot, see places i never thought i’d see.. but-“ he paused, briefly tilting his head to the side and biting his cheek. “i don’t know. maybe that’s how disneyland employees feel. the magic’s not really.. yours.” 

you understood where he was coming from. after all, the luxuries on the ship weren’t really his to enjoy.. sure he got free meals, drinks and a decent enough view of the water from the bar. but the activities, the sunbathing, the leisure in and of itself didn’t belong to him. it could always be worse, of course. or.. so he kept telling himself.  

“you know how they call them cast members? not employees?” you chuckled, watching the man in front of you smile giddily at your response. “do they call you guys anything special?” 

he shook his head and you couldn’t help the snicker that escaped your lips. he was so charming without even trying too hard, so funny without so much as a word.. no one had been able to bring that same heat to your cheeks or that giddy smile to your lips in quite a while. you quickly found yourself wanting to chase that feeling..

“i have no idea what they’d call us anyways. sailors?” 

“good point.”

you bowed your head, suddenly feeling quite bashful. both of you sat in silence for a moment while you inwardly berated yourself and searched for another conversation starter. really you were desperate to keep talking with him. he was so.. so cute that you couldn’t pull yourself away. 

luckily, he spoke first. he pointed towards your camera, a small towel still in his hand. “is that a kodak?” 

you perked up upon hearing his voice, more so the genuine curiosity laced within his words. you quickly nodded your head, feeling all the more flustered since he’d shined the spotlight on you, so to speak. and his curiosity felt.. real. like he wasn’t just making conversation to pass the time.

maybe you were reading into things too much, but you replied with a beam, anyways. “yes. i’ve been saving up for one for a really long time. glad i finally get to use it.” 

“it looks really cool,” he noted with a tilt of his head. “i’d love to see more of your work sometime..”

“yeah, that would be awesome. and.. i’ll be taking a lot this week so i’ll be sure to show them to you, maybe get your stamp of approval.” 

the bartender chuckled again, surprised at how he felt so comfortable around you in a matter of minutes. he stared at you for a moment through curled lashes, maintaining that bright, vibrant smile. once he finally seemed to catch himself staring, he cleared his throat and snickered. “yeah! yeah, absolutely. keep me updated.”

“perfect.” 

another pause of silence.. but oddly enough, this didn’t feel awkward. neither of you felt pressured to speak up next, the strong, aching feelings that customized natural anxiety around strangers melting away. was it truly so crazy to feel so comfortable around someone you just met?

he was the first to speak up, his gentle voice lowered. “do you want a drink? on the house?”

you were quick to shake your head, grinning. “no, thanks. i probably shouldn’t drink on the job.”

he laughed again, just a little harder than you expected. it was charming, of course. “we’ve got more than just alcohol, you know. we got iced tea, coffee, bottled water..”

you chuckled, listening to his voice trail off and watching his head tilt to the side. he resembled a puppy in every sense of the word; his friendliness, his enthusiasm.. really, the bartending position suited him so well. you wouldn’t have been surprised if he, alone, contributed to a majority of the line’s great reviews.

however, you would soon learn that he had a horrible habit of getting distracted (and would soon feel guilty knowing that you were the main cause of it). someone to your right cleared their throat, terribly loudly at that, startling the two of you and even causing the brawny man across the bar to jump a little bit. you whipped your head in the direction of the untimely cough, preparing an apology before a frown tugged at your lips.

for who else would have been the suspect if not the particularly rude man from earlier?     

you felt that you didn’t owe him another apology. you watched in silence as the bartender’s smile fell from his lips, which were pressed to a thin line as he stepped closer to mr. carlisle’s seat. he kept his voice quiet, afraid the man would take offence to any tone even an octave higher. “sorry..how can i help you?”

the man sat a few stools away from you, his prideful exuberance filled to the brim and positively dripping with condescension and self-importance. even the knowing, cocky smile that tugged at his thin lips made you want to reach across the bar and slap it off on your new friend’s behalf. however, a small part of you found the change of expression in the older man’s irises fascinating, witnessing, in real time, a realization hit him.

“mingyu?” he asked in disbelief, chuckling in a manner that made your skin crawl. you hated the way the handsome man’s name sounded coming from this other horrible man’s lips. “well.. isn’t this rich?”

the bartender stayed silent for a moment, clenching his sharp jawline. immediately, you were filled with dread and confusion.. evidently, these two had a really terrible history. 

the older man barked out another laugh that would have startled you if you weren’t watching mingyu so intently for a reaction. you were quick to empathize with him, of course, your heart aching at the sight of such a lively man appearing to feel so dejected in the blink of an eye. you, obviously, were the only one who shared that sentiment. 

“i gotta say- of all the places i imagined you washing up, i never pictured seeing you here. taking orders for a living, once again.. but i guess if the shoe fits, wear it. right?” 

mingyu didn’t dare to look in carlisle’s eyes. he felt blinded, overcome with rage as he stared at the marbled bartop, the combined sound of clinking glasses and muzak playing through the speakers growing muffled as he focused only on his slowing heartbeat. “i didn’t come here for that,” he bit back miserably. 

carlisle’s ever present laugh annoyed you for multiple reasons, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. “no, no, i get it,” he ‘reassured’ him, the condescension in his voice palpable. “after you left us, obviously you must have been desperate. it’s completely understandable. gotta pay the bills somehow.” 

mingyu refused to look up, even as annoyance filled his voice. “i didn’t leave.”

you finally chimed in, having had enough of witnessing such blatant entitlement. “excuse me, are you gonna just shut up and buy a drink or keep harassing the poor guy?” 

he seemed taken aback by your words, by the challenge. as if it was such a rare occasion for him to be put in his place. carlisle quickly brushed off the flustered sentiments, biting back, “or what, you’ll snap a few more photos of me without my permission?”

“yeah, i just might,” you snapped.

“oh, alright! then i’ll just toss that shitty camera of yours overboard.”

it was your turn to laugh, the surge of newfound confidence unfamiliar yet.. incredibly alluring. quite the contrast from your encounter with carlisle earlier. “i’d like to see you fucking try.”     

he rose to his feet and your hands instinctively fell to shield the camera resting on the bartop in front of you. mingyu drew in a deep breath, parting his lips to throw in an interjection before someone beat him to the punch. another man dressed similarly to mingyu but donned with a radio and a bright gold badge stepped between the barstools, effectively putting much needed distance between you and carlisle and blocking the sleazy old man from your line of vision.

the way he seemingly blipped between the two of you felt supernatural. one blink and he was there, hands resting on his hips. oddly enough, despite the circumstances, you weren’t unhappy to see your long lost love standing beside you, his authoritative presence immediately defusing the situation. what were the odds.. 

“everything alright over here?” the guard asked, looking from you, to carlisle, and then back to you again. as the words left his lips, you couldn’t recall a time you’d felt more shame; you were never one to cause a ruckus. and for him, of all people, to notice and step in? 

you were quick to chime in, ignoring your flustered state, ignoring his notable performance (how could he pretend so easily not to know you?). “not really. this man’s being really rude to my friend so i asked him politely to stop.” 

friend? 

mingyu tried not to let the one beautiful yet inconsequential word, your gentle phrasing, echo throughout his mind for too long. biting back a tiny smile, he quickly shook his head, effectively tousling his gentle curls. “it’s fine, seungcheol.”

he hummed, seeming thoroughly unconvinced. especially considering you, of all people, were behind the altercation. for as long as he’d known you, you never proved to be one to cause a scene.. whatever this man was telling mingyu, a man whom seungcheol had only worked with on two previous occasions, must have been terrible for you to put a man with power and influence in his place.  

he turned his attention to carlisle, whose face was beet red with frustration; he appeared to have been holding his breath out of spite. he seemed unbothered by the esteemed patron’s demeanor, his own expression blank as he instructed, “just.. keep your thoughts to yourself, okay, pal? don’t want to agitate the guy handling your drinks on the first day of the cruise. or disturb any of the other guests, for that matter.” 

carlisle furrowed his eyebrows, scoffing. “seriously? why aren’t you getting mad at him?” 

“because from the looks of it, he hasn’t even made you a drink yet and you clearly have no reason to be provoked by him.”

“i think that speaks more to the insubordination of the crew,” carlisle huffed. “maybe i’ll have a little chat with your superior.”

seungcheol chuckled shortly, folding his arms across his broad chest. “go ahead. he’ll tell you the same thing i told you.” he paused, picking up his radio and showing it off to the older man. “i could call him over here, if you want?”

carlisle gazed at the radio in his hand, as if to be seriously contemplating seungcheol’s ‘offer.’ he avoided your gaze, opting instead to stare daggers at mingyu. then, he finally spoke, his words filling you with so much more rage than you thought possible, “just.. make me an old fashioned.”

seungcheol chuckled bitterly as mingyu got to work, snapping the tiny mouthpiece back into place. “good choice. and if i were you, i’d keep the threatening remarks to a minimum, too.”

he walked off with a dismissive nod of his head, leaving you dumbfounded and slightly.. hurt. not for the first time.. you looked towards mingyu, telling him you’d return shortly, before following seungcheol out of the dining area and around the corner. god he was just as handsome as you remembered. his hair was still long and wavy, somehow he’d gained even more muscle during your time apart, though he was still just as tall. and god it angered you..  

you called out to him before you could fully comprehend the fact that you were standing not five feet behind him. especially after he’d left you unsure if seeing him ever again was at all a possibility. 

“hey.”

he stopped in his tracks, pausing before turning on his heel to face you. his expression remained somewhat stoic, emotionless as he gaze slowly shifted from your head to your toes. then... it seemed to finally catch up to him. “y/n? what are the chances?”

“apparently, pretty high,” you retorted.

he scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “i guess so.” 

you hated how awkward things had become between the two of you. how both of you seemed to forget all about your time together, how it felt like meeting just another acquaintance. the exchange with him earlier only added salt to the wound, allowing him to see you in an unflattering light.

he kept his distance as he spoke, not just physically speaking. even his tone suggested indifference of a sort. “so.. what are you doing here? besides starting fights with random strangers.”

“that wasn’t what you think,” you sighed, glancing down once more at the camera in your hands. “but i’m here to take pictures for the website. i’m a professional photographer now.”

“right..” he hummed in response, briefly turning his attention to the camera. he furrowed his eyebrows and you couldn’t help but wonder if he was struggling to remember your mentioning of an interest in photography. “well.. just try to be more careful next time.” 

“careful? what do you mean by that?” 

“believe it or not, some rich people don’t really like it when photos of them wind up on the internet. no matter how innocent the photos are.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, scoffing. “well.. everyone signed a waiver before they boarded. they’re bound to at least show up in the corner of a photo at any time. it’s not my fault they didn’t read the terms and conditions before throwing their money away.”

“you don’t know what these people are like,” he spoke ominously, finally taking a step closer to you. there was a note of hesitance within his words and he looked around, briefly surveying his surroundings before his dark eyes fell to yours. “he threatened to throw your camera away because $4,000 is nothing to him. who’s to say he wouldn’t do something worse?” 

“i can take care of myself,” you assured him with a cocky smile. “besides.. i’m not so concerned about a camera i keep on my person at all times as i was for mingyu.”

he raised his eyebrows, almost appearing vaguely amused by your words. “you know him?”

“no,” you answered a little too quickly. “we were just talking. then carlisle started pestering him for no reason, just like i told you.” 

“mingyu can take care of himself. both of you should just forget this ever happened or you could get in a lot of trouble.”

although you hated to admit it, seungcheol brought up an excellent point. you would hate to find out that carlisle, choosing to add insult to injury, got him fired from the cruise line (especially considering their mysterious history). you were sure he could easily get you fired as well; a man with that much wealth and influence undoubtedly had connections in the media. 

you sighed, “fine. i’ll mind my own business from now on.”

“good.” 

you watched him take two steps backwards before turning his back on you fully. helplessly, your eyes remained fixed upon his broad shoulders and arms.. you would have loved nothing more than to run down that hallway to him and allow the man you once loved to catch you in a warm embrace. 

instead, you called out to him once again, this time with unwanted bitterness, “you’re still as bossy as i remember.”

he stopped again, and unbeknownst to you, a tiny smile crept upon his pouty lips. “funny,” he spoke, keeping his eyes on the floor. “you’ve got a lot more bite in you than i remember.” 

–

for the rest of the day, you complied with seungcheol’s request and went about your own business. group activities on the upper deck seemed as good an opportunity as any for some website-worthy photos with decent lighting. the first day involved dance classes. tango, mostly. even if you didn’t get many pictures, watching lots of patrons without a graceful bone in their body was entertaining enough. 

oddly enough, feeling so high above the beautiful green and blue waves felt.. comforting. close enough to witness the waves crash against the boat without feeling the gentle splashes against your skin. far enough to stop contemplating the risks of falling overboard and drowning. 

among the class attendees, oddly enough, was jeonghan. he had partnered up with a young woman close to his own age, most likely a stranger, judging by the way he spoke so shyly with her. you took a few photos of the two of them as they waltzed along the deck, smiling to yourself; they actually made a lovely couple. 

after group photos were taken and you had a sufficient gathering of material, you leaned against the railing and skimmed through your works. you couldn’t help but smile proudly to yourself while skipping through the gallery on the tiny screen, for there was barely a blurry photo in sight. 

“fancy seeing you up here.”

you looked up to see mingyu standing in front of you carrying a small tray of champagne flutes and donning a bright smile. you watch him set it down carefully, brushing off his hands on the tiny apron wrapped around his waist. his waist… 

you snapped out of your daze, returning the smile. “so we meet again. is your shift almost over?” 

he nodded, keeping that same grin and stepping closer to you until he was leaning back against the railing. “i’ve got about an hour left. what about you? or.. are they just letting you do your own thing?”    

you chuckled, nodding. “for the most part, yeah. i’ve covered a lot of ground today so i should be good for the rest of the night.”

“oooh what are you gonna do with your time off?” 

“i’m not sure yet,” you confessed with a small laugh, looking over to him with wide eyes. try as you might, you couldn’t get over just how much larger he was than you, how he seemed to have more energy than you could conjure up even on your best day. it only hurt you to remember someone on the boat, for whatever reason, appeared to have it out for him. “listen.. i’m really sorry about what happened earlier. i didn’t mean to cause a scene; i just hated seeing him talk to you like that.”

his smile faded a tiny bit, his eyes filling with melancholy as he reflected on the embarrassing moment back at the bar. truthfully, he wouldn’t have thought much of it if you were not there to witness the entire exchange. he shrugged his shoulders, allowing a half hearted smile. “don’t apologize. i appreciate you sticking up for me like that; you really didn’t have to.”

you shook your head immediately in reassurance. “i worked in customer service for a long time, too. i know what it's like to deal with pricks that think minimum wage employees aren’t even people.”

“yeah..” he sighed, shrugging once again. “it’s nothing i haven’t heard before. i’m just upset i’m stuck on this boat for a whole week with him, of all people.” 

you nodded in understanding, snickering. “hopefully he found something wrong with the way you made him that drink earlier. then he’ll avoid you like the plague.”

he laughed softly and it relieved you to see him in good spirits again. he had such an infectious little laugh, his smile only growing brighter in his ministrations. “no kidding. we can only hope.”

there was another gentle pause, the two of you watching the dance class attendees slowly break apart from each other in favor of lining up to walk below deck. a few of them lingered, conversing lowly as they partook from the drinks mingyu’d just brought to them. however.. both of you seemed uninterested in anyone else on the deck. 

“this is gonna sound crazy,” mingyu started with charming hesitance. “but would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” 

“oh, uh-“ your eyes went wide as that familiar heat rushed to your cheeks.. immediately, you didn’t want to seem too eager. “are...employees usually allowed to eat with other guests?” 

mingyu tilted his head, as if in pondering. “well.. not usually. but i’m sure it won’t be a big deal; technically you’re a staff member this week.” 

you really didn’t want to get him in any more trouble after the incident at the bar.. but technically speaking, he was right. you were showed to your room before any of the customers, you had a staff identification lanyard, and you were basically on the clock at all times (in a sense). 

he seemed to read your mind, already too familiar with your conflicting thoughts. the look of hesitance in your eyes, alone, was a dead giveaway. “don’t feel pressured, please,” he assured you. “we don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable. i just thou-“ 

“no, no,” you interrupted, your eyes immediately finding his again. “i want to.”

“great,” he laughed gently and smiled in relief. “yeah, yeah that’s great. should we just meet in the dining area around.. seven, maybe?” 

“seven sounds great.” 

“great,” he let out another little laugh, speaking more to just how flustered he felt. “sorry, i gotta clean up now, but i’ll see you then?” 

“yeah, yeah, of course. i’ll see you then.”

it was almost comedic, the way you both waved awkwardly to each other, nodded, and parted ways. once your back was fully turned on him, however, you broke into a giddy smile and chuckled to yourself- this was definitely not the direction you expected your (not so) vacation to go in. 

—-

moving on from a serious partner years after a relationship was one thing. having dinner with someone while on the same boat as the aforementioned partner was another thing entirely. it seemed more like a plotline from a sitcom than your own experience; especially seeing as you were technically on the clock. 

you had to smile at the absurdity of it all, a small laugh leaving your lips as you stepped out into the deserted hallway. the few hours you had to kill before your ‘date’ seemed unending and you were dying of boredom. what better time to figure out the layout of the ship? 

near the staff’s reserved floor was a mysterious door, just at the end of the hallway. it wasn’t numbered, there was a gentle glow peeking from the cracks in the doorway, there was a faint humming coming from the other side.. perhaps a security control room? 

the door whipped open before you could contemplate being even more nosy. you stepped backwards, stumbling a bit, before seungcheol stepped out and glared at you. it wasn’t harsh by any means..moreso conveying his confusion. 

“what are you doing down here?” he asked, placing his hands on his hips.

“i’m staying down here,” you stated a little more haughtily than intended. still..you couldn’t bring yourself to apologize.

“oh. would’ve assumed you’d be staying up with the rest of the guests.”

you snickered, “i wish.”

seungcheol seemed annoyed to be crossing paths with you once again. not that you could blame him, of course, it was incredibly awkward. the tension between the two of you was palpable and both of you felt pained to even make eye contact. he drew in a deep breath, his chest rising with the impact before he finally sighed heavily.

“can we talk for a second?” he asked, tilting his head towards the mysterious door. 

“in there?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“why not?” he shrugged.

once he opened the door by just a tiny crack, you were unsure why you bothered to comply with his request. the room was tiny, most of the space taken up by a large desk donned with monitors. live footage of several parts of the ship were displayed upon the screens, most notably near the edges of the ship. wires were scattered all over the floor, making it difficult to take a step without the fear of tripping. or worse, compromising the expensive equipment. 

you stood in front of him with your arms folded, finally tilting your head up to look in his eyes. god you’d missed his eyes.. “what?” you demanded quietly.

he sighed again at your response, moving a hand to brush through his hair. “i’m sorry about the way things went down earlier. carlisle’s company has been cruising with us for a while, he’s been cruising with us for a while.. so i know how he reacts when people provoke him.”

there it was, that sinking feeling in your chest. seungcheol’s words, gentle and unassuming as they may have been to anyone else, sounded ominous. “i understand. you’re just trying to keep the peace.”

“more than that,” he chuckled faintly, briefly looking down at the floor. your feet had no space on the ground, your ballet flats nearly kissing his tennis shoes.. you were less than a breath’s distance away from him, yet.. you seemed so far away. 

putting his complicated feelings aside, he continued lowly, “i don’t think you know how powerful he really is.”

“i already told you i’d mind my own business,” you reminded him with a shake of your head. “i don’t need you looking after me. alright? you had your chance and you blew it.”

he paused, allowing you to watch him part his beautiful lips once he seemingly drew a blank. it felt as if you were watching your spiteful words sink in for him, and admittedly, you hated the sight. “you..” he started, swallowing. “you can’t put what happened between us in the past?” 

“i already have. but have you?”

it felt cold in the tiny room, the tiny hairs on your arms rising, as if being called to defense. you kept your arms folded across your chest, hanging onto hopes of a response from him, an explanation for his abandonment, perhaps even an apology.. but it never came. the unnerving silence only reminded you of the cold, over and over again.. 

“alright,” you finally forced a smile, sighing heavily. as you reached for the door, it brought you closer to him, your chest briefly pressing against his. and you hated how it brought butterflies to your stomach. you hated reflecting how you’d spent month after month missing his embrace. 

he took half a step backwards, bringing his back to the wall to give you more space. you heard him sigh, the sound filled with annoyance. he always did have a habit of muttering under his breath after an argument. but that was long ago. you didn’t have to argue with him anymore. 

you turned around to face him one more time, your gaze softening. “let’s just..get through this week without any drama. can we do that?”

“yeah. yeah we can.”

there was so much more he wanted to ask you about the whole exchange..for example, why were you so quick to jump to mingyu’s defense? were you lying about a history with him, or lack thereof? he also wanted to explain his reasoning for pretending the memory of you eluded him. 

but he had no time. he watched you walk down the hallway, resisting the urge to follow you. to call out for you. to do anything. because he’d finally come to realize that maybe you were right. maybe the time for him to speak up had come and gone and he was now left at a standstill of his own making. 

—

you kept resisting the urge to pinch yourself while walking down the hall and through the dimly lit dining area; never in your wildest dreams did you imagine living out your titanic fantasy in real time. you never imagined finding yourself on one of the most expensive cruise ships, on a free trip, for that matter. yet in hindsight, you only wished you’d brought one of your nicer outfits; a tanktop and shorts just didn’t feel like the standard uniform for fine dining.  

the first date jitters seemed to finally catch up with you. any move you made felt awkward, you weren’t sure what to do with your shaking hands, your stomach was beginning to twist into knots.. and once you got a whiff of the salty air, it only heightened your anxieties. 

but you found it so easy to talk with him just a few hours earlier.. why were you just now feeling so nervous?

you spotted him sitting near the railing, keeping his distance from the other patrons. you were relieved to see he dressed similarly to you in a checkered button down and dark blue shorts. his hair seemed to get even more curly during your time apart, somehow, his dark locks just barely brushing against his infuriatingly long eyelashes. he seemed a little nervous, tense, but overall calm- he barely made a move besides wringing his hands. 

before stepping closer to him, you allowed yourself a deep breath- reminding yourself that at the end of the day, he was just another man. there was a small chance that anything would become of this dinner, anyways; there was no point in overthinking it. even if mingyu had seemed to occupy all of your thoughts.. 

“hey,” you called out to him timidly.

he perked up, grinning and clumsily rising to his feet once his eyes found yours. “oh, hey. long time, no see.” 

“right?” the two of you shared a quick hug, one that quickly left you wanting more the moment he broke the embrace. he was so warm, his broad arms carefully draping around yours in a gentle, comforting manner, almost like a heated blanket. maybe you were just imagining things, but you could have sworn you heard his heart racing near the shell of your ear.

after your orders were put in, mingyu leaned forward a little bit, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he stared at you with such heartwarming attentiveness. he waited for a moment before asking, his tone low, “why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself?” 

you chuckled after taking a sip from the tiny bottle of sprite, hoping it would soothe some of the seasickness. “well, what do you wanna know?” 

“anything and everything,” he chuckled sweetly. 

it felt as if you’d forgotten literally every detail about yourself, large and small, after being put on the spot. you chuckled again, letting out a gentle hum of contemplation. “well..i don’t really know. i work freelance most of the time-”

“wait,” he interrupted, gently holding up his other hand. “i’m so sorry, but- can we not talk about work? i just.. want us both to forget about that stuff for a while. i wanna know more about you.”

in your mind, it was a completely understandable request. to be completely forthright, you rarely wanted to talk about work with anyone else in a social setting if you could help it. there always seemed to be something more interesting to talk about. if a worthy distraction from societal pressures presented itself, wouldn’t you want to entertain it?

so you laughed lightly, watching his gaze fall to your hand as you tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. “trust me, i have no problem with that,” you assured him before pausing. “honestly.. i don’t do a lot in my free time. i’m growing tomatoes and peas on my terrace, i read, i love seeing movies, i have a cat.”

he hung onto every word you spoke, nodding with his chin in his palm. one word stuck out to him in particular, however, bringing him to raise his eyebrows. “ooh, i love cats. what kind do you have?” 

“she’s a manx cat, she’s really sweet. here, i have so many pictures.” you heard him let out another sweet laugh as you pulled out your phone, displaying almost an entire gallery of pictures of the beloved cat. “her name’s bella.”

“awww,” he beamed, carefully swiping through the unending photographs. “bella. wow, she’s really cute; i’m happy for you. i’d love to have a cat. or even a dog.”

“no time for pets?”

“not really,” he shrugged. “i’m out at sea most of the time, probably home one or two days out of the week. if that.”

“maybe some day,” you nodded, offering a smile of hope and reassurance. “but i’m talking your ear off. tell me- what do you like to do on the ship whenever you have downtime? or on land for that matter?” 

mingyu chuckled again, the gentle laugh warming your heart. “well.. it depends on wherever we land, but most of the time i’ll try to see at least a little bit of the attractions before i get some rest. i..really love trying new food so i’ll check out some of the restaurants. but..yeah, i don’t know. i like movies too, thank god i can bring my laptop. i love going to the theatre. a lot lately, especially.”

“movie theatres are the best. i feel like no one appreciates theatres these days, with all the streaming services and whatnot.”

“agreed. honestly it makes me really sad; going to the movie theatres always makes me feel so nostalgic. like i’m escaping the here and now.”

“i totally get that. hopefully that changes soon.”

he shared a few bites of his own meal with you and it surprised you to see how openly generous and sweet he was. it was a breath of fresh air, honestly, yet it was so typical that you could only meet a guy like this on the ocean. he spent most of the meal staring into your eyes, if not brushing his fingers through your hair in his imagination.

“can i ask you something?” you spoke shyly.

“go on, ask anything.”

“that guy, carlisle-” you paused, guilt creeping up on your heart as you watched his expression slowly change. “it sounded like you used to work for him, right?”

he nodded, his jaw subtly clenching at the horrible memory. “yeah, that’s right.”

“and he..fired you?” you asked him cautiously, afraid to reopen the wounds.

he shifted a little bit in his chair, crossing his legs under the table. “i worked with him straight out of college. it was great at first; i made friends at his company, i made enough to start paying off my student loans. then.. i started working more closely with carlisle and saw his darker side. there’s a lot that goes on behind closed doors no one knows about, like.. he sees people below him as.. really below him. 

“i don’t really wanna go into specifics, if that’s okay, but..just know he was really horrible to some of his staff. really horrible. i did something really stupid and threatened to expose him and then..”

“and then?” 

he sighed heavily, his gaze falling to his now empty plate. “he planned this party for me, celebrating that promotion he’d offered me a few weeks back. he invited the whole company, all his friends. then he.. showed everyone a video of me threatening him and i’d never realized how pathetic i looked in front of him. then he fired me.”

you felt like crying as he told his story. actually, you felt like doing more than crying, more than giving carlisle a verbal berating. from what you’d come to learn about mingyu, he didn’t seem like the type of person to deserve such a devastating public humiliation. 

“i’m..really sorry,” you frowned. “i always thought something about him seemed so fake. it’s always the filthy rich people.”

he shrugged. “it’s over now. i’m trying to forget about it and enjoy this next chapter, whatever it might bring. i’ve.. met some really great people. like you.” 

“yeah, definitely. i’m glad to have met you too.” 

you both shared a smile, your eyes falling to the table as mingyu laid his palm upwards, silently reaching for your hand. without much of a thought you let your hand fall into his, let him wrap his fingers gently around your palm. his touch was gentle yet assuring, soft yet strong.. it was hard not to get addicted to any semblance of physical contact with mingyu.

“are we finished up here?” he asked, gently squeezing your hand.   

“yeah. yeah, i think we’re finished up here.”

your hands only broke apart within the brief time you collectively rose to your feet and pushed the chairs back. once your hands fell together again, neither of you needed to say a word; you led him through the hall down to one of the lower floors of the ship. however, both of you were completely unaware that a certain security guard took notice of your joined hands, the smiles you shared, and was able to brush it off in the blink of an eye.

mingyu walked alongside you, briefly gazing at your hair, your tanktop, your side profile out of his peripheral vision. he felt grateful to even be allowed the smallest glimpse of you. then his hand gently tightened around yours once you both had reached your bedroom door, feeling as if the wonderful moment between you had ended too quickly. 

he stood directly in front of you, his other hand eventually finding yours and squeezing it just as tight. both of you shared a laugh, as well as the sentiment of not wanting to leave each other.

“would you..wanna come in for a little while?” you finally asked, hating the shy warble in your voice.

“are you sure?” 

“i wouldn’t have asked you if i wasn’t,” you pointed out with a snicker.

“then.. in that case, yes. i will.” 

 it wasn’t a suite by any means, but you were in no position to complain. you traveled light, the suitcase standing upright near your bed still unpacked. you also kept your room clean, nothing on the table except your camera and laptop. it was dimly lit by a small lamp in the corner of the room; overall it was very cozy. 

you turned around, facing him again with a small smile and trying to ignore your now racing heart. “well.. this is me.” 

“it’s nice,” he laughed sweetly. “you keep it really clean in here.” 

“i guess it’s only been less than a day-“ you chuckled, “but..thanks.” 

silence fell, the kind that welcomed tension. you watched mingyu swallow and step closer to you, moving his large hand to cup your jaw. “can… can i-“ 

“please-“ 

your anxious heartbeat, your shaking hands.. you forgot all about it once his lips finally found yours and his arms fell around your waist. he lets out a gentle sigh into the kiss and your heart immediately melts as you feel his contentment, his relief. he’s so attentive towards you it brings a smile to your lips, which he quickly returns. 

soon, with your arms draped around his neck you took a step backwards until the backs of your knees reached the bed. neither of you broke the kiss as he gently maneuvered you onto the tiny mattress and settled comfortably against you while still ensuring you, too, were just as comfortable. 

he broke the kiss in favor of connecting his forehead with yours, his hand still practically glued to your cheek. he smiled through his chuckle as he felt you cling onto his biceps to ground yourself, tugging at the fabric of his shirt- 

“is.. there anything off the table?” he asked you shyly. 

“no.” 

( stay tuned for part 2 )

[duskiily]

i dont think anyone is as interested in a gore x GLENMORIL as i am LMAO

with how linear glenmoril is compared to that of VIGILANT, and especially considering the themes and how GLENMORIL touches upon very personal aspects of the player character, thinking about how gore could possibly fit into that storyline is SO fascinating to me (can you tell GLENMORIL is my favorite out of vicn's tetralogy? 😭)

// MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GORE X VIGILANT, VIGILANT AND GLENMORIL BELOW

ive been thinking about how gore could possibly play into the events of GLENMORIL ever since i first played through gore x vigilant and a potential for a gore x glenmoril/unslaad was teased. im a massive nerd on vicn's tetralogy, so forgive me if i ramble.

GLENMORIL is the black owl's/the gardener's/hermaeus mora's eras long plan finally coming to fruition. hes had this plan - this plan to escape the cycle (CHIM/amaranth), eras in the making to do so, but can't do it on his own. its why we've caught his attention, us, a prisoner, the only being not bound by fate. VIGILANT was our testing ground to see if we are what hermaeus mora has been looking for all this time - its GLENMORIL where this eras long plan has finally come into play.

i think the main thing gore x vigilant manages to portray is gore's mortality, and it constantly drives this home at any chance it gets. gore is a mortal man - hes no legendary dragonborn, prisoner not bound by fate. hes fragile in coldharbour; hes been picked apart, soul torn in half. gore isn't special like you are, and hes a mere mortal. its also apparant with the amount of opportunities you have where you can get gore killed/kill gore in the base game - for example when you first meet him, namira's/boethiah's quest also comes to mind. hell, even his personal quest in blood ties. gore is just a mere mortal. the world of skyrim, the elder scrolls, is so unbelievably cruel. normal people, people like gore are not meant to handle daedric realms and tangle with daedric lords. they're just not.

the events of GLENMORIL are so extreme its honestly hard to think how gore could possibly survive it. coldharbour almost tore gore apart, and it can if you dont be careful. but the thing is, is that GLENMORIL is beyond cruel - all your well-intentioned actions end up making everyone suffer, and you get an UNBELIEVABLE amount of people killed throughout the storyline. could you imagine how gore could end up feeling? i feel like i could see him begin to doubt your actions, wondering if they're well-intended or not. his VIGILANT line pops to mind - 'do you think we're bad people'?

another thing i want to mention - the blood curses. i'll be rambling into more act 4/act 4 ending drafts that were published on the owlc0da discord, so apologies if some things seem non-sensicle. the blood curse that your dragonborn gets during the events of GLENMORIL hints at you becoming this amygdala in the final stages - but in reality this isn't the case. the blood curse originated from laza - its the concept of nostalgia given form and driven to extremes. it gradually takes over the victim and makes them hallucinate loved ones in those around them (this is why felix always referred to you as ozwald).

- i find it SO interesting to think about how the dragonborn with the bloodcurse could tie in with gore. could you imagine if you began to hallucinate gore throughout GLENMORIL? - from what you thought was gore travelling alongside you, wasn't gore - and infact he was long gone, possibly dead. its also interesting to think about if gore was made to drink the chalice when we are also made to drink it when he first meet the black owl. could gore join the witch hunters alongside us? maybe unwillingly.

gore isn't the type of person to leave the dragonborn - he shows this constantly, in VIGILANT (both in the early acts and dialogue in coldharbour; that he doesn't want to be left alone) and in the base game (the thalmor embassy comes to mind). gore WOULD stick with you through GLENMORIL, even if it would kill him. and unfortunuatly, i can absolutely see him having multiple opportunities to die in the events of GLENMORIL - its actually difficult to think about how he could possibly survive.

theres so many smaller things i want to add, like the anatomancer, how one of the ending drafts for glenmoril seem to SUGGEST that the ldb becomes the anatomancer, and how that could possibly play out for gore, how gore would act WERE he to join the witch hunters (would he begin to go back to his roots of being a cold blooded mercenary like he was with the ravens??), the black owl's/ja'zel's influence on him, his possible connection with lalanoah and how her death could absolutely shatter him - its so interesting for me. gore is by FAR my favorite cvf - with him having an addon for VIGILANT, and the lore of his own story within coldharbour being a HUGE vicn tetralogy nerd - god, no other cvf rivals him for me. i do fear the day a gore x glenmoril happens though LMAO 😭 ITS SO HARD TO JUST. SEE HIM SURVIVING IT?? although a gore x unslaad was confirmed, so

anyways - rant over<3

[livingasaghost]

just developed a string of (tentative) bone season theories everybody...i'm sure somebody's already dived into this but i don't care because i want to talk about it!!

(spoilers for the dark mirror)

this is a scene from book one that i entirely completely forgot about. i logged it when i was vlogging, assumed it was referencing something i forgot about from a future book. i don't think it is?????

then i was thinking about the first card of the tarot reading, the card which symbolizes the past and/or the root cause of the situation/challenge

and initially i think we all just brushed past it because paige was adamant it was her father and that's all there was to her past

but the more i think about the dark mirror the more i'm...skeptical

we have so many references to cade's family and heritage, the way fitzours and mahoney both reference bears, the vagueness of paige's mother (who was she? did she die? did she disappear? was she a dreamwalker?) and on top of that there's the mystery of paige's relationship with the poltergeists + the scars on her hand that read KIN

paige's relationship with the poltergeists starts when she's young, it helps awaken her gift (and the poltergeist who first touches her is a woman she sees in a poppy field), but more than that, there is that prophecy from book four that references "THE SCION" which you'd think would just the scion republic, but "scion" also means descendant (kin), which could suggest that paige is a descendent of [blank]

which brings us back to the five of cups — was the thing paige lost not her father but her mother? if he is the one whose cups of water are spilled, it's HIS GRIEF and HIS DISAPPOINTMENT and HIS LOSS that he cannot move on from - paige is standing behind him (trying to talk him out of his grief?) but he doesn't answer...

but we do know that her father left her something in his will, something that jaxon doesn't understand (because it's irish? because it's amaurotic? because it's a secret or a message between paige and her father? because it's a family heirloom?)

and all of this family stuff - with her father yes but also the hints at her mother and the absence left by her disappearance/death - suggests that if that memory of blood is from paige's past, and it doesn't have to do with the dublin incursion (which happened when she was six and did not yet understand or know about her gift), then surely it has something to do with her early childhood and/or her mother and/or her father

but if we go back to the five of cups for a second, the five of cups is associated with the element of WATER, and water is often a symbol of feelings or emotion

i haven't been able to figure out what the hell she's implying by all this talk of water (am i stupid or are we all in the dark here) but there's no way this isn't all connected!!!!

this is just someone else's interpretation of water in tarot (The Moon card it sounds like?), but it's an interesting idea that speaks a lot about ancestors and reflections and judgement and life after death...

i do wonder how much of this water / dark mirror stuff comes back to the her (first) memory of blood - especially because there's the age old adage "blood runs thicker than water" etc etc

admittedly i also wonder if any of this also has to do with the prometheus and pandora stuff (or any of the other greek myths like adonis or persephone etc) because assuming jax is right (unfortunately, he usually is, isn't he?) then if the greek myths are correct and real and true and all came from the rephs, then is each myth about a different reph or are the stories all about the same reph(s)?

because adonis's story uses blood as well and his story is the origin of the amaranth WHICH BLOOMS WHEN PAIGE AND WARDEN KISS...

i just feel like if samantha shannon is listing out myths for us to pay attention to.......this one has some serious weight to it, especially when we know that paige and warden's connection made the windflower bloom in the real world

that would imply that arcturus is adonis (NASHIRA GREW SO JEALOUS OF THE PAIR THAT SHE SLAUGHTERED HIM AND PAIGE CRIED THAT SINGLE TEAR WHEN HE WAS "DEAD"...) and i guess that means that [Zeus] allowed [Arcturus] to spend half the year in life and half the year in death, even as paige is implied by jaxon to be persephone who would spend half her time in the syndicate and half her time in the free world...

and of course, we can't forget that death is an external influence, that it works differently for paige (and arcturus) - and even now the world is changing around her (them) but ultimately that change occurs because the two of them choose to stay together as the lovers

now here's where we get a little crazy - because i still don't know if this passage was cut because sam changed her mind and the story (and it's now and always will be irrelevant) OR if this passage was cut because she had to backtrack and rewrite this or reintroduce this at a later moment. if i was smart i'd assume it's dead in the water but she didn't entirely cut the word "thaumaturge." it's mentioned in passing by jaxon in book one and then in passing during didion's interlude poem in book two.

and yes, in theory this is a comment made in jest, about a concept that is suggestedly not real, but you have to wonder...because of objectively, zeitgeist aside, paige is someone with unprecedented mastery of the aether's secrets, whether she's aware of it or not.

this is one of the opening passages of the dark mirror - when paige is still trapped by the white aster - and even though it could be about anything, especially because she gets taken to oxford against her will, i have to wonder if it's bigger than that

then there's the "old secret" that seb mentions in book one, that paige has some sort of strange connection to death (the netherworld? the aether?) - initially i assumed that the "cords" he mentioned were the silver and gold cords, that it was her connection with arcturus that occurred in oxford that joined her to flesh and sarx but now i wonder...i wonder if she had that connection the whole time, even before warden...or rather, before she met him...[in this life?]

(sorry i do also also wonder if paige has a connection to the rephs and the netherworld that she ummmm was made to forget about ...)

(are we sure her early memory of blood is from earth and not the netherworld?) ((yeah yeah that's a little crazy.....or is it.....))

i know jax said this is in passing, as a snide comment (and possibly a real warning) but fatal flaws are very important in greek mythology and to the gods themselves and i wonder......i guess i just wonder if these two have been through all this before.......if he's ALWAYS been her fatal flaw....

then again, there are frequent mentions to paige's mortality

and that last one specifically will haunt me until it gets resolved, i think!

if we're all thinking the same thing - surely prometheus would be arcturus, if paige is implied to be pandora - then what crime did arcturus commit? (he's been known to commit two - acting against the suzerain and loving paige....) if he's the one who "pilfered fire from zeus" then possibly that could mean giving clairvoyance to the humans......?

side bar, i do find it interesting that arcturus' specific gift is "wisdom in the past" and memory and looking backward - especially because that can feel like a curse...or a mountain...like wouldn't it be crazy if he was punished for [x crime here] by being given this gift?

especially when he uses it later to help paige get her memories back from the white aster

and if we look at pandora's story, she's the first human woman (jaxon calls paige EVE...) (relevance of dreamwalkers here? maybe it isn't necessarily paige herself but her kin?) but then each god gifted her with things. she supposedly brings a jar to earth with plagues and evil, and after she lets out nearly all of them on earth, the last thing that remains is hope....

and then of course there's the unspeakable transgression by the mothallath that rended the veils in the first place...

i do wonder if that transgression is either rephs partnering with humans or giving clairvoyance to humans (or it could be both in theory)..... but i feel like that goes against the golden cord in a lot of ways. because it seems like paige and arcturus' connection strengthens the veils. - if only because the amaranth bloomed when they kissed plus paige can bring arcturus back to life from latency and ALSO there's that whole crazy moment in the colosseum when she kills all the emim because of the power of the golden cord

it's almost like the golden cord (the connection, the love, the care, the partnership between rephs and humans?) is the hope that pandora saves in the end - especially when we know that rephs can safely take aura from offering humans, to seemingly no detriment

there's no end to this just as there's no real concrete theory to this, i just needed to put all my thoughts and questions in one place. i do worry that i'm just the last person to come to all these (vague) conclusions but that's what i get for putting off my read of the dark mirror, i guess!

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

May I request Nathan with a masculine presenting/tomboy s/o? Only if you're ok with it! Much love <3

I'm so sorry this has taken so long!

Nathan Bateman x GN!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | request info • buy me a coffee? • ask-travaganza masterlist •

Warnings: references to hard ons, not beta read, please let me know if I have missed a warning!

Word Count: 251

No matter what clothing style you’re into, Nathan is into it. Suits? Baggy clothing? Tight-fitting clothing? Whatever it is, he’s simping and letting you use his credit card to buy whatever the hell you want as long as he can look at you will you wear it. 

Will totally get you a personal tailor so that you can have things to suit your taste and body shape.

Would you like to work out with him? Could you hold his punching bag while he boxes? He’s not using it as an excuse, what are you talking about?

Would you like to wrestle? No reason, of course, it’s just a thing he does, with everyone, please don’t pay attention to why his baggy shorts are suddenly very tight. 

Will say he ‘lets you win’ (he doesn’t) and that you have an ‘unfair advantage’ (his boner).

Please, please, I beg of you. Put this man in a headlock. He’ll get so hard, so quickly. 

Manhandle him a bit, he needs it for his mental health. 

Loves hearing you talk about your hobbies and things you enjoy, would watch you for hours if you let him. 

Will fight anyone who says anything rude about your appearance or style choice. Even when you manage to convince him to back down, it’s really odd, because someone seems to have hacked their social media accounts and released their porn viewing history.

Gives you a jar to open for him and nearly comes in his pants when you do.

Thank you for reading!

@pleasurebuttonwrites @raven-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @whatthefishh

@romanarose @strangerhands @saturn-rings-writes ho

@steven-grants-world  @eyelessfaces @angel-of-the-moons @minigirl87 @lunar-ghoulie

@silvernight-m @autismsupermusicalassassin @apesarecuul @reallyrallyauthor @basicalyrandom

@alwaysmicado @mangoslushcrush @marc-spectorr @spxctorsslxt @novarosewood 

@pygmi-cygni @hammerhead96 @emma23 @sub-aro @killerdollz

 @maplemind  @mwltwo @loonymagizoologist @dameronshandholder @queerly-anxious

@homuraak3mi @swiftiegirliepop @oscarssimp @milkypompon @eternallyvenus 

@mandytrekkie @lounilu @avengersinitiative2012 @pigeonmama @marcsb1tch 

@iolaussharpe-24 @chaithetics @DowBaStan @faretheeoscar@lonelyisamyw-0love 

@queerponc @twwcs @Spnwhore2430 @mari-thesimp @ominoose

@ierofrnkk @have-you-seen-my-sanity @to-be-a-sunshine @blushingrn @missdictatorme

@musicalnacho @buckyssugarchick

@krakenkitty @sapphossongbird @purple-amaranthe @marcsb1tch @pigeonmama

@mystic-writings @sapphossongbird

If you'd like to be taken off the tag list please let me know here

[bellamyblakru]

WIP WORD GAME

RULES: You will be given a word. Then you will share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with each letter of your word.

i was given the word "DAINTY" by @joanna-lannister thank you so much for tagging me marie🥺i alway love seeing your work!!! talented queen💖

D: Did I look dumb? I looked down at myself, confused, the dress laying sadly in my arms. Shrugging it off, I figured looking dumb wasn't the worst insult I've received.

A: Amanda stared at me with much too wide eyes, almost like she still couldn’t believe my answers. A hand reached out to my forehead, her brows now scrunched in thought.

I: I’m real, I’m alive. I say it until my throat is burning, until my body refuses to let me speak anymore. I think it as they put another round of something into my system, as they cover my mouth to stop me from screaming it.

N: “No need,” he reassured. “I think they mostly wanted me for my blood—only shot me up a few times afterwards. It’s been a few weeks since they’ve been in here.” I remembered a brief moment where he told me what they were hitting me with, but I couldn’t remember what he had said. Would it be rude to ask again?

T: The scars on my body trembled just by his proximity. My wrists, my back, my face—each part of me vibrated with a hatred so deep it could destroy the world. This rage has been simmering under my skin, a dragon violently thrumming its fire throughout my bloodstream without reprieve. It threatened to burn me from the inside out.

Y: “You let me live despite knowing my occupation. You let me live believing the best of me, that I could become better, be better than I was.” Yikes. Should I tell her she had the wrong person now or after she finished? One simple decision to let her go led to this? What type of sick hell was I living?

tagging some beautiful humans: @fluffypotatey @sourdough-morbread @aquarimint @kays-paper-and-pen @lightasthesun @amaranth @feuxx @fancypantsshitstain @dollopheadsandclotpoles 💖

Consider yourself tagged if you want to do it. Should you accept, your word is: "WOMEN"

[florsial]

It's been a while since I looked at flowers so here are Marauders era characters as plants:

James Potter: Sunflowers since he's commonly associated with the sun. Or delphinium for positivity and a big heart!

Sirius Black: Ivy, the common ivy, or English or European ivy. It's a symbol of loyalty and fidelity. Fits enough for me.

Remus Lupin: Wolfsbane. Believed to repel werewolves, and it's used in a potion in the Wizarding World. But if we want a less angsty plant there is also the tropical white morning glory. It's also known as a moonflower and symbolizes the ability of beauty to emerge in dark times, and is used to provide hope.

Peter Pettigrew: Burgundy dahlias for betrayal, for obvious reasons. But also purple hyacinths for a desire for forgiveness. Cuz I'm hell bent that Peter was regretful of what he did in canon

Lily Evans: I'm not gonna give her lily, that seems a little too obvious lol but, peonies! They symbolize love, honor, happiness wealth, romance, and beauty. Which yk, works well in my eyes

Mary Macdonald: Poppies for remembrance of the death and consolation. It's based on the headcanon she obliviated herself sometime before to during the first wizarding war because everything was getting too much for her. Also, poppies are used to create opium, which relieves pain. It's pretty sad ngl, that hc always gets me.

Marlene McKinnon: King Protea, it's very sharp-looking flower that symbolizes strength and resilience. Not much info is given about Marlene during the war except her entire family was wiped out, but given her personality in fanon. I imagine she put up a hella good fight. I would give this to Dorcas but I have another one for her.

Slytherins! (Including Pandora!)

Regulus Black: Thorns! Rose thorns mostly, but just thorns in general. From what I read, rose thorns show adversity and sacrifice. Regulus had the misfortune of being born into a family with shit views and never having a morally correct input his entire life and he basically sacrificed his life to bring down the Dark Lord. Thorns are always ways for a plant to deter herbivores from eating them, take that as you will!

Barty Crouch Jr: Bleeding hearts, cuz yeahhhh, everlasting love? Unrequited love?? Tragedy compacted into one. His daddy issues too?? Him pleading for his dad to love him?? HIS MOTHER GIVING UP HER LAST MOMENTS FOR HIM??? EVAN AND REGULUS???? CMON CMONNNNN

Evan Rosier: Venus Fly Trap for persistence. This man was not willing to end up in Azkaban and took Moody's fucking nose with him. Venus fly traps are also known to die right after digestion aka eating a fly so it fits! (I LOVEEE carnivorous plants)

Dorcas Meadows: Laurel leaves for victory and achievement. Specifically, laurel leaves in a wreath. I think it's neat since she was powerful enough that Voldemort had to kill her himself. Mf was takin them out one by one until Voldy decided she was too op. LOVE HER FOR THAT

Pandora Rosier: Not the most hottest flower (lol), but the amaranth, while it could also mean everlasting last love, but it also means hopelessness or hopeless love. This only really works if you see Pandora as a seer. Something I think is interesting is the fact that fate is fate, it's sealed and final, and there is never a way around it. If you try to get around fate, you walk right into it because you never a chance. Pandora as a seer would've saw her friends and classmates dying and can't do anything about it because fate is sealed from the very beginning. It's hopeless.

[danikamariewrites]

Heya! I’ve had this cassian x reader idea in my head for ages but I’m not a writer at all so turning to you because you’re 100% my all time favourite and because you’re so good at angst and wondered if you’d be able to write it?

So basically cassian/reader are mates but get into this big fight then reader ends up getting stuck with Rhys UTM. So like angst with their fight, angst with reader getting stuck/cassian realising what’s happened, then a beautiful happy ending with a dash of angst because trauma of 50 years going by 🥺

Love you!!! And thank you so much for all you work

Things Left Unsaid

Cassian x reader

A/n: you’re too sweet anon love you too😘

Warnings: angst and eventual fluff

Every night of Amarantha’s reign your mind had been consumed of thoughts of your and Cassian’s last words to each other. They we’re not kind or full of love. You had fought about you accompanying Rhys to the party. Cassian didn’t want you anywhere near that vile woman.

You had yelled at him. Told him you were a grown female and you could take care of yourself. What could possibly happen when you’d be surrounded by High Lords? Especially Rhys. But the worst did happen.

Amarantha trapped all of you. You were turned into her personal assistant, but really it was so she could keep you close to kill your hope of ever getting out. She belittled and abused you. She took great joy in watching the light leave your eyes every day.

Like Rhys, you turned paler and became exhausted with each day being a new kind of hell. Rhys had the worst of it. Being used by Amarantha in ways that would make you break down to the brink of no return. It was unfair and cruel.

Not a day went by where you didn’t think about Cassian. You wanted to tell him that you forgave him. That you regretted yelling at him and you wish you and Rhys never went to this stupid party. You just hoped he’d forgive you if you ever saw him again.

When Cassian got Rhysand’s message he fell to his knees. His worst fear had come true. Amaranth took his mate and his brother. Azriel tried to console his brother but his anguish quickly turned to rage. It took all of his self restraint for fifty years to not go Under the Mountain and rescue you himself.

After Feyre freed you all Rhys finally winnowed you two back to the Town House. You were so lost in the daze of being free and home that you didn’t even hear your family. You just sunk to your knees, your eyes distant as you just felt everything.

As Cassian came into the foyer he was beyond shocked. He couldn’t believe it. His brother was home. And there you were. Alive. Home. Cassian felt like he was going to be sick from the overwhelming force of the bond pounding in his chest, dragging him closer to you.

He knelt in front of you, reaching out to hold your face but pulling his hand back at the last second. His mind was racing. Did you know that he forgave you? That he didn’t blame you for any of this? Finally your gaze found his, your eyes locking with his glimmering hazel ones.

Your first words to him broke his heart in two. “I’m sorry.” You whispered, your voice raw like you had been screaming. Tears fell down your face as you began to sob. Cassian began to cry, pulling you to his chest. He eventually brought you up to bed and you stayed up all night crying in each others arms.

It’s been a month since that day. Cassian tried to apologize for the fight and so did you, but you both forgave one another the moment you left.

You told him everything you could about under the mountain. He was patient and listened to you. Recovering from this trauma wasn’t going to be easy. But Cassian was there for you every step of the way. Your hope for a better future returned.

Once again you could see life with Cassian. Your home that he built you. You children running around, playing with their father. Nights spent reading, cuddled up on the couch together. And if enduring pain meant getting that peaceful future you would do it all over again.

tags: @rigelus @nyotamalfoy @auggiesolovey @bubybubsters @baybay123455 @msiecrane @aroseinvelaris @twsssmlmaa

[shinysparklesapphires]

showtime precure!

chapter 14: Lyna's painting from the heart!

cw: mentions of irl organs (nothing graphic)

🎀: @baileypie-writes @harufallinwonderland @xryptik

"Reel wake up!"

"Huh- what?" Reel picked his head up from his desk and rubbed his eyes to see Amber and Lucia standing over him.

"Amber said she said Headmistress Debreux coming over here!" Lucia shook him to make sure he was awake.

Reel shot up, and rushed to the whiteboard and started acting like he was writing something down for class.

"Mr Rilu." He froze.

"Yes headmistress?" He turned his head nervously.

"I'm sorry I had to interrupt your class but I must ask Ms. Amaranthe a favor."

Everyone turned to Lyna.

"M-me?" Lyna asked surprised.

"Don't worry you're not in trouble, it's more of an...extra credit assignment," she cleared her throat, "I've been informed of your artistic talents by some of your upperclassmen in the art course, and they and I have made the decision to ask you to paint a mural for the school."

Lyna gasped.

"I'm honored Miss but-"

"Nonsense, the upperclassmen will help you with whatever you need, they've agreed to give you the supplies needed as well."

"But what am I supposed-"

"I must go, I have other matters to attend to," the headmistress walked off.

"Wow Lyna a whole mural? That's amazing!" Lucia clasped her hands together.

"Yeah I mean the entire school's gonna see it," Amber pulled her headphones off.

"Yeah but what do I paint?"

"Hmmm..." Reel sat back down on his desk, "Maybe all the things you like about the school."

"There are things to like about school?" Lucia looked at Reel unamused.

"I know it's insane but true," he leaned back against his chair.

"The things I like about school..."

Dominique was humming to herself as she brushed out Nosferatu's feathers.

"AUGHHHH!" The water pillar shot up, revealing Tragedy's silhouette.

"Eek!" Dominique shot up, causing Nosferatu to freak out and start running around the bandshell.

"DOMINIQUE!"

"h-hello Master Tragedy! Lovely day isn't it?" She stood straight up like a soilder.

"Where are the other two?"

"Oh Lacey and Nicolette? They're um-"

"I DONT HAVE TIME FOR THIS! LOOK HERE!"

the water swirled around, revealing Lyna standing in front of the giant wall in the courtyard waiting for something.

"The red one is on her own. Use this opportunity to prove to me that you aren't completely useless and can actually collect her ribbon this time!" She threw a coin from the pillar into Dominique's hands, "Don't disappoint me." The pillar collapsed.

Dominique gulped. Nosferatu had since calmed down and was lying down in a corner.

"Yes ma'am."

"You're Lyna right?" Lyna turned to see a tall boy standing in front of her holding a crate of art supplies.

"H-huh? Oh yeah that's me!" She chuckled nervously.

"Oh we've heard a lot about you! Me and Enid saw the set pieces you made for the winter ballet and we couldn't believe a freshman did all of those!" He set the box down and shook her hand rather roughly.

"Wait who's Enid?"

"Jac quit getting all up close and personal with her you're gonna scare her." A girl with long ginger hair tied up into two braids walked over with another crate.

"Oh, sorry!" He gently let go of her hand.

"Sorry about him, name's Enid. Me and Jac are both 4th years in the art course."

"H-hi..." Lyna waved nervously.

"But yeah your art is really impressive! I'm pretty jealous to be honest." She set the crate down and turned back to Lyna, "well we'll be over there if you need anything," she pointed to the cafeteria.

"Oh yeah I'm hungry as hell right now," Jac followed Enid into the cafeteria.

Lyna sighed, "Ok, all the things I like about school-um."

She had planned the sketch out fairly quickly but once she tried to transfer it to the wall it didn't quite look right.

"Dang it..." She tapped her paintbrush to her chin.

"Lyna!"

"Oh hey Vi," Lyna jumped back a little.

"Oh yeah Lucia told me about this! The headmistress asked you to make a mural right?"

"Y-yeah.."

"Well I'm sure whatever you come up with will be great!"

"That's the thing...I can't figure out how to make it feel...real yknow?"

Violet cocked her head to the side, "What do you mean?"

Lyna sighed, "I mean it's supposed to be all of the things I like about the school right? But what if everything I like about the school is something everyone else hates? Or what if the painting comes out looking awful??"

"Well it's your painting right? It's supposed to reflect how you feel not how everyone else feels right?" She pat Lyna's shoulder, "You're an amazing artist Lyna, you don't need to worry about how everyone else feels about your art because its yours." She smiled at her.

Lyna felt her face heat up.

"Thanks Vi."

"No problem!"

Suddenly Lyna felt something cold hit her face. She looked up and her heart almost stopped. A dark storm cloud had appeared and the rain had smudged whatever part of the painting that was finished, ruining it.

"No, no, no!" Lyna watched in horror as all her hard work went down the drain. She held her hands to her face and just started crying. What was the point anymore. All that work was gone in an instant.

"Lyna..." Violet wrapped her arms around her.

"It's fine," she sniffed and wiped her face, "I can just start over..."

"Oh boo hoo, you're all sad because of your lame ass painting?"

"Dominique!" The girls turned to see Dominique drenched in water, her makeup running down her face. She just stared at them blankly and held up her coin and threw it at the mural.

"Facade. Wreak your havoc."

"SAWWW!"

"Violet!"

"Right!"

"Precure, Rollback! Lights! Camera! Action!"

"Facade. Crush them."

"Saw!" Action dodged the attack.

"Action Grande-OOF!" the Facade shot a brick at Action sending her flying into the ground.

"Ow! Motherfucker my leg!"

Set grabbed her palate and summoned her lasso, "Set-" the lasso snapped in half.

"What? Why did it-"

"Are you seriously still all mopey about the mural? Look if it makes you feel any better I technically improved it-"

"SHUT UP!" Both Action and Dominique froze.

"I PUT TOO MANY FUCKING HOURS INTO THIS MURAL. NONE OF YOUR TACKY ASS LITTLE FACADES CAN COMPARE TO THE BEAUTY OF MY OWN HEART!"

"Damn, I didn't know you could yell that loud." Dominique yawned.

"SHUT IT!" Set summoned her palate again.

"Precure! Set Lasso...Net!"

"Saw?" The Facade got captured in a red web of light.

"Set! Action!" Showtime and Wright landed just in the nick of time.

"Let's go!" The girls put their hands together.

"Our hearts desires will destroy your evil! Precure! Roccoco Lovely....Shock!"

The light disappeared, leaving Dominique standing there in the rain. She fell to her knees and sobbed.

"Why..."

The cures turned to her.

"WHY ARE YOU ALL SO DAMN STUBBORN?! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GIVE UP ALREADY?!" she screamed as her breathing got heavier.

"NOW TRAGEDY'S GONNA KILL ME AND ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!" she started sobbing harder, and it eventually turned into laughter. She clutched the ground as hard as she could.

"Why-"

"Dominique."

"Catwalk!" She looked up at the boy.

"Miss Tragedy is very displeased with your performance."

"Catwalk please tell her to give me just one more chance and I-"

The cures ran over to try and help but Catwalk blasted them away.

"Shush. This is a private matter." He turned back to Dominique, "Unfortunately you've used up all your chances so.." he shoved his hand into Dominique's chest and tore out her heart, turning it into a corrupted coin as she watched in terror.

"Oops."

Dominique reached her hand out for the coin but Catwalk moved his hand away, causing her body to disintegrate into dust, flying away with the storm's wind.

Wright covered her mouth as if she was about to throw up. Action looked like she was about to cry. Set just stood with a blank expression on her face.

"What? She wasn't doing her job properly, so she had to be punished. Farewell." He disappeared.

"Hrk!" Showtime covered her mouth.

"What the actual fuck just happened?!"

"I don't know."

"Where's Dominique? We were only out for a little while." Nicolette sat down on the bandshell steps.

"She was probably walking her goose or something I don't know." Lacey opened her compact mirror.

"Girls." The water pillar shot up again.

"Master Tragedy!"

"I've come to inform you that Dominique has been terminated from her job here."

Lacey froze.

"W-what do you mean terminated...?"

A small purple coin was thrown into her hands.

Nicolette felt her stomach drop.

"No way..."

"If you don't want to end up like her I suggest getting the ribbons without fail." The pillar disappeared.

"Honk!" Nosferatu ran up to hide behind Lacey's leg. She picked up the goose and cried.

Nicolette just stayed silent.

"Wow Lyna the finished mural looks great!" Jac stood with Enid admiring the finished painting.

"Thanks." Lyna was still shaken from what had happened. She did agree that she was proud of the mural. It was full of the the things she loved about the academy, the courses, her teachers, her friends.

"I knew I made the right decision choosing you for this job," the headmistress smiled. Lyna smiled back.

Back in the theater classroom everyone was silent. Even with Violet there everything felt gloomier than usual. Lucia was sitting with her head down, Reel was filling out some papers, and Amber just sat with her headphones on and her hands in her pockets.

"Guys I-"

"Lyna it's fine," Lucia picked her head up, "it's not your fault for what happened to Dominique."

"I know but I still feel guilty yknow?" She bit her lip.

"I'm sure we can save her, just like we saved everyone else's wishes." Amber beamed, though it was clear she was still pretty distraught.

Lyna smiled, "alright!"

[tessa-liam]

Isle of Misfits 

Chapter 9 – Inconvenient Truths 

Fandom: TRR x Platinum x OH x CoP x TNA x ?

Series: Isle of Misfits, Round Robin 24, hosted by @choicesprompts 

Word Count:  1405

Characters: TRR – Liam Rys, Leo Rys, Olivia Nevrakis, Madeleine Amaranth 

                       RoE – Katie Rys 

                       TNA – Sam Dalton 

                       CoP – Trystan Thorne 

Warnings: M *(swearing, references to depression, alcohol abuse, suicide, infidelity) 

“Something’s burning…” 

Leo stopped short. The scent was subtle, but unmistakable. 

Smoke. 

Olivia and Leo exchanged worried glances, before darting down the corridor, following the faint acrid scent to its source. 

It didn't take them long to track down the fire, the smoke was now billowing out from beneath the door at the end of the hallway. 

Olivia pushed Leo back. "Get back! I'm calling the fire department!" 

"But—" 

"Just do as you're told, for once in your life!" the fiery redhead ordered, already stabbing at the numbers on her mobile phone. 

Leo's shoulders raised in defiance. But no sooner had he complied, than the door to the suite burst open, and a large plume of dark grey smoke billowed out. 

Coughing and spluttering, Sam Dalton, was waving the acrid haze out of his face. 

"Sam?" Leo exclaimed concernedly, stepping forward. "What the fuck, man.!?"

"I'm okay!" Sam assured him, trying to clear his throat. 

Olivia put her phone on hold, her eyes darting over the wayward billionaire, looking for any injuries. "Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure..." Sam said, taking a few shaky steps into the corridor. 

Olivia's sharp eyes narrowed. "Are you drunk?" 

"No," Sam scoffed, before reconsidering his statement. "Well, a little. I may have had one or two shots." 

"Or a whole bottle," Olivia murmured, rolling her eyes. 

"I don't know about that..." Sam muttered, looking around himself in bemusement. "I was just trying to put together some food, and... well, next thing I know, there's a fire. Must have forgotten to turn off the hot plate." 

"Are you kidding me?" Leo exploded. "You nearly set the building on fire, just because you couldn't be bothered to make a sandwich?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Sam mumbled. "It was stupid." 

"I'll say!" there is a Michelin star chef here on the island, why are you even trying to cook?"

"It wasn't like I was trying to kill myself or anything," Sam grumbled, as he staggered off in the direction of his room. "I just couldn't remember if it was gas or electric. It's a common mistake." 

"No, it's a common sign of early dementia," Olivia retorted. 

"Nah," Sam scoffed, raising his middle finger and slammed his door shut.

The sound of an elevator sounded down the hall. Countess Madeleine Amaranth, a member of Liam's council and Leo's former betrothed, strode towards Leo and Olivia.

Madeleine's cold green eyes took in the smoke damage to the door. "What's going on here? The building is still standing, I see."

Liam had enlisted Madeleine to help reform Leo as a role model for royal decorum since she was a stickler for etiquette and was the queen of spin. True to his promise.

"It's called karma, you idiot," Olivia muttered back, folding her arms and smirking. 

"Oh, what fresh hell is this?" Leo growled.

"Ah, Madeleine," Leo greeted her, turning on the charm. 

"Leo," Madeleine acknowledged coolly. 

"What brings you here, on this fine evening?" Leo asked.

"Liam has requested my assistance. Apparently, you need remedial lessons in proper manners." 

"Remedial...?" 

"Yes. We have already seen that you cannot handle an engagement," she says, glancing at Olivia, who glared back, "or a marriage, or a mistress, or even a simple friendship..." 

"You're not seriously still mad about that, are you?" Leo exclaimed. 

"About being publicly embarrassed, or humiliated? Oh, no. That is water under the bridge," she mocked. "However, Liam has asked me to tutor you in proper decorum. So, if you are finished with your tantrum, perhaps we can begin?" 

Leo's jaw tightened. 

"Well, I think we've got things sorted here," Olivia said, laying a hand on Leo's arm. "If you'll excuse me, Maddy." 

Madeleine's eyes narrowed. "You're not going anywhere. You are to meet with Trystan Thorne. I'm sure he'll find that your presence will be beneficial during his sessions." 

"What? You're not my superior." Olivia objected, glaring at the tall blonde. 

"I am if Liam says so," Madeleine shot back. 

Leo's shoulders raised as Olivia's grip tightened painfully. 

"Now, if you don't mind," Madeleine continued imperiously. "I need to have a chat with my wayward student." 

"Your wayward—!" 

"Ow!" cried Leo, wincing. "You're going to leave a bruise, Livvie..." 

"That's the plan!" Olivia retorted, digging her fingers into his bicep. 

"Come on, Olivia," Leo implored, gently prying her fingers loose. "Let's just get this over with." 

Olivia looked like she wanted to argue the point, but Leo's pleading gaze eventually softened her resolve. 

"Fine," she growled. "But you're on your own next time, your highness." 

"Sure," Leo agreed, sighing. 

Olivia gave him a warning look, before stomping off down the corridor. 

"Shall we?" Madeleine prompted Leo to offer his arm for her to take.

*** 

"This is pointless," Leo announced, leaning back on the lounge chair and closing his eyes. After many hours of intense etiquette lectures, role plays, quizzes and more, he felt his stomach rumble as they waited for lunch to be prepared by the Michelin chef, sans alcohol. 

"What's pointless is the amount of money Liam has spent on trying to make you a decent human being," Madeleine bit back, flipping the cover of her personal binder of court decorum closed. 

"I am a decent human being," Leo countered, frowning. "I'm a far better man than you'll ever know." 

"Oh, really?" Madeleine challenged, raising her eyebrow. "Then how come your wife is threatening divorce?" 

"That is none of your business, or Liam's for that matter," Leo snapped, opening his eyes. "And just for the record, my life is none of yours either. You don't know the first thing about love, or me." 

"I know you can't keep it in your pants," she retorts, rolling her eyes. 

"So do I," a voice came from the doorway. 

Leo turned towards the speaker in shock.

"Katie," Leo breathed shallowly, pushing himself upright. 

"Don't get too excited," Katie told him, folding her arms. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for the kids." 

"You're... you're..."  Leo stammered nervously. 

Looking at her husband, she almost felt sorry for him. Almost. 

"Why are you here, Katie?" Leo demanded, standing up. 

"Your brother sent me to help," she explained, looking everywhere but at him. 

Madeleine excused herself and quietly sauntered out with her binder in hand.

"Yes. He thought it might help to have me here. Help you remember what is important. Family, love, loyalty." 

Leo shook his head, moving slowly towards her. "You don't get it. I'm not the same man anymore." 

"Then maybe it's time to prove it." Katie said. 

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Leo shot back, stopping in place. "I'm here, aren't I?"  

At that moment, Leo understood why Liam sent him to the island. His epiphany.

"I have to go," Katie said, her eyes softening. "I'll be back later, when you've had time to process this." 

Leo watched her walk away, a sense of unease settling in the pit of his stomach. 

*** 

Later, Leo found himself sitting on his balcony, staring at a glass of scotch. He had resisted the urge to drink it, but he was still tempted. His phone buzzed on the table, and he reached for it. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey," came the reply. 

"I made a grave mistake ..." 

Leo paused, relieved at the sound of his fellow 'in-mate'.

"Thorne." 

“How so?” 

"Well, remember when we met at the bar with your brother. I should have believed your brother. That he would be true to his word with his threat." 

“Oh boy, this sounds painful.” Leo smirked, already knowing where this conversation was heading.. 

“Who did he partner you with?” 

“Olivia Nevrakis! She is terrifying! Put a dagger to my throat when I dissed her. She threatened to go lower if I didn't pay attention.” 

"Did she now? Maybe she's the one you need to focus on," Leo mused. 

"She's so intense, it's scary. And she has no interest in me. She is only here because Liam asked her to be.” 

"And here I thought she was coming here for me," Leo sighed, taking a swig of the scotch. 

"Hey, what happened with that countess?" 

Leo paused. "I... I... what did you hear?" 

"That she's going to stay a couple more days." 

"That's just great," Leo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just what I need." 

>>next writer @twinkleallnight

[threestargirls]

9, 12 & 3 :D

HIIIIII amaranth thanks for asking diva <3 however someone already did ask for 3/9 so i’m just going to add a one in front of those…….

12. Is your OC self-destructive? In what ways?

- hell yes she is…… poor girl lmao…… in little ways lik biting her tongue/cheek, purposefully holding her breath, keeping her emotions from most people around her, starving herself, and then eventual suicide.

13. If you met your OC, would the two of you get along?

- well she’s me if i were in the 90s and put in a severely traumatizing situation. still me though so. she’d probably annoy me

19. How does your OC behave when enraged?

- i’ve actually been thinking about this one a lot and it’s genuinely hard for me to picture her mad. just very scared all the time. she blames herself too much and everyone else too little…….

[berrypass-de-murdler]

3 - 69 The Last Protest in Paris

I spent a lot of effort writing a short murdle essay and one person read it even though it wasn't cartoon related

Welp shouldn't have expected anything

Bluey Cloud to ruin your day

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

Irratino receives a call, but it’s not from Logico or SPY. It’s from Blackstone, Esq. - a lawyer! That’s never good. His friends must be causing chaos outside of the Institute. Or worse, all his own crimes finally caught up to him!

It’s neither. It’s worse! The blue-tied marshmallow man screams in desperation.

BLACKSTONE: IRRATINO! There’s been a riot. You have to get to France! NOW!

He rushes to Europe as soon as possible. Swarms of humans carrying signs and torches flood the streets. Irratino encounters Blackstone in the hospital, next to an unconscious and very wounded rat. 

BLACKSTONE: Thank god… Irratino… find who did this… find who did this, please… they can’t get away…

Irratino can’t speak, but kneels down by the bed and gently pets Amaranth’s cheek. At least he’s warm.

Outside, he spies a ghastly-looking Champagne, who arrived here before he did. Either jet lag is literally killing him, or something else is very wrong.

He also finds that Taupe is

Still.

There.

IRRATINO: My guy! What do you… [hhhh] Do you need something? I mean you’ve just… 

Taupe nervously steps closer to him.

TAUPE: .- .-.. --- -. . IRRATINO: It’s okay… it’s okay.

Irratino knows how it feels to want to stick to someone and never leave. And maybe Taupe can help! It runs behind a building, and suddenly Philosopher Bone comes flying through the sky and lands in pieces next to Irratino. He’s fine, though.

BONE: What the FUCK do you want? IRRATINO: I want to know who tried to kill President Amaranth. BONE: Why would it be me! I don’t even KNOW the man! He is a man, right?

Storm clouds are summoned immediately, but not by that comment. Sister Lapis is on top of the Eiffel Tower, and is chanting in an unknown language! 

LAPIS: YOU WILL NOT GET ME TODAY, INSPECTOR IRRATINO! IRRATINO: HOW ARE YOU CONTROLLING WEATHER??? LAPIS: I have God on my side. Irratino knows that that is NOT God, but has no time to argue. He hears Blackstone’s scream! Taupe lifts him onto its back and rushes to the hospital.

IRRATINO: What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? BLACKSTONE: Sorry… they put a needle in him ><

Goat Lord is a little pissed. If Logico were here, the suffering would seem easier. Why did SPY have to separate them? What good is it doing? 

As if by magic, a piece of paper flies by in the raging wind - but gets caught in a branch! Irratino runs over and grabs it, and just as he thought, it’s from Logico! 

“Comrade Champagne wants to seize power and then institute a terror.”

Normally Logico’s incorrect grammar would make him smile, but he turns around and looks back at Champ… he’s just sitting there, in the pouring rain, with no cover, staring at one specific text on his phone. It’s from Tangerine. All it says is, “I’m not proud of you.”

IRRATINO: …Champagne. What… the hell. CHAMPAGNE: It wasn’t my choice.

Naturally, he says nothing more. Irratino runs back to the hospital to tell Blackstone the news. But he has his own news to share.

BLACKSTONE: I found this in his jacket. It’s… for you.

A royal envelope addressed to Tino! He opens and reads it - 

“If you find me, I am not dead. The answers to the questions you seek are found within.”

Although that’s realistically bullcrap that can be applied to literally any problem ever, Irratino takes it to heart, and as he leaves for his next mission, Amaranth smiles.

The end! 

I pulled an Irratino stunt, read the beginning, thought about what might happen, solved it, decided I liked my own version more, and wrote that instead

I hate myself.

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!