#dear gOD save me from sleep deprivation

[notaflyeater]

Stupid new sleep deprived pfp ‼️‼️‼️

#dear gOD save me from sleep deprivation #also been listening to andrew wk recently so thats something

[willkatfanfromasia]

It's gonna be a long one y'all

A Matter of Chance -13

The birds cooed their customary morning calls, waking the forest inhabitants save the two who never slept

Nandini’s head buzzed with worried, hopes and ideas for tackling her situation.

Aditha’s head buzzed for a completely different reason

Nandini hadn’t yet given him an answer.

She’d retreated into her own world after listening to him and he was terrified.

He’d not given her much to go on except his affections. The thought of catty palace women who donned the finest, brightest clothing but had the ability to sting and bite as any predator sent her running he guessed.

Heavens, she probably still saw him as a delusional teenager who hoped for the impossible.

‘Tis true he turns into a lovesick lad when she’s mentioned – but that doesn’t mean the intervening years hadn’t affected him.

Years in the battlefield made him a cynical, weary old man before he could complete his 30th summer.

He had no patience to tolerate rose eyed young ladies far removed from reality. Nor was he willing to suffer scheming wannabe princesses who sought titles, jewels and more for their clan.

No fault of these ladies, he thought, not all young women can advance themselves without marriage.

War made him realise that life was fleeting and ideals of peace, love must be preserved no matter the cost.

And he wasn’t willing to let go of the only one who held his heart.

These philosophical musings were just an attempt to prevent his spiral into worrying about her lack of response.

---------------------

Nandini decided this was it. Krishna had not tested her with so much heartbreak since childhood for nothing. Afterall, why hadn’t these experiences broken her fully? Why did hope remain in her heart?

She’d decided that she wants to remain by Aditha’s side. He’d promised to protect her and she had nothing to lose. She feared her piety turning into a curtain for misery, more than dreading any royal dynasty.

Oh lord! What was she to do? Who must she tell first- her Anna or foster parents?

She, in her nervousness, bounced into a worried Aditha and started regaling him with plans

“We shall be engaged at the forest Krishna temple! Then we can head out Nay! We must visit your barracks first. Do you wish to marry here itself- or do you have another temple in mind?”

Aditha’s sleep deprived brain took the barest moment before it was flooded with euphoria

She still loves me. She wishes to marry me

He’d yell it to all the surrounding villages if he could.

He embraced her. Nothing mattered more. He dreaded to think what his life would be without her.

The couple giggled at their own reactions and decided to head to the temple for morning prayers.

This was Nandini’s first time walking unaided since her injury and she wished to thank Krishna for her recovery – both of body and heart.

She noticed Aditha unabashedly gawk at her during her walk, interspersed with moments of worry when she stumbled.

They prayed at the temple. Nandini cleaned the environs before lighting the lamps and placing fresh flowers.

She offered the deity fresh fruits and milk before singing prayers as Aditha looked on peacefully.

The hopeful couple thanked God for reuniting them and sought His blessings for their union.

They returned to the hut to plan their next course of action. The royal family’s disapproval stemmed from her lack of identity and the fear of people not accepting a commoner as queen.

Nandini had long lost interest in finding the identity of her father. She’s lived far too long thus for his identity to have any bearing on her life.

Even a king siring her won’t undo all her life’s pain, she wryly mused

Her foster family would worry given their past entanglement – she needed to maintain a foothold before telling them.

Thirumalai anna- her dear foster brother- was her only hope

On the other side , Aditha too thought of someone who could help him- his dear friend Vallavarayan Vanthiyadevan

A romantic at heart, awareness of his Liege ‘s heartbreak and in possession of cartloads of charm- he was the right man for this job.

Aditha said he’d take her to his barracks. He explained it’d be better to reveal the news in a controlled fashion to those around him.

Nandini agreed, thinking it’s almost time for her brother’s customary visit.

She’d always known her brother’s career was not quite as it seems. The secrecy and vagueness in his description, coupled with an erratic schedule made one thing clear.

He was extremely important to someone but can’t reveal how.

-------------

Aditha helped her pack the contents of her hut into cloth bags and helped her up his horse.

She was wrought with nervousness- how was everyone going to react? Those who mocked her as a child certainly won’t spare her now!

Her guilt over leaving behind the Krishna temple, that gave her livelihood and a purpose to live on too weighed on her.

En route through the village, she stopped by the old priest’s house. Few years ago, he’d taken pity on the pious Mournful looking young lady and offered her this responsibility.

She bid Aditha to wait outside as she conversed with the elderly gentleman. She hesitantly explained her situation seated on the thinnai, hoping he won’t see her as a deserter.

The old man’s eyes shined with comprehension. “Wheb I first saw you, you seemed to be completely detached and aloof. I had hoped Krishna would light our life with purpose and of course love. This must be fate- it is His will” he said and granted her leave with a blessing.

Her heart seemed a little lighter as they journeyed on. Aditha said he’d written to the soldiers to prepare for a guest but hadn’t yet given them details.

Aditha’s horse neighed as they approached the destination, with the guards outside immediately recognizing their master. As they neared the barracks, Nandini could see soldiers realize there was a woman atop the crown prince’s horse. They began lining up at the entrance.

Her heart raced “heavens, so many people”

“What if they misunderstand my presence here” “how can I handle the disapproval of so many?”

She instinctively accepted Aditha’s hand and descended. He began before she could worry more “By Shiva’s grace, I have found my ardhangini. I am extremely pleased for she has accepted my suit and wished to introduce her to all my brothers in arms. Gentlemen, behold your future pattathu arasi (empress)”

Various qualities are attributed to military barracks; silence wasn’t one of them. Nandini’s stomach lurched..

The concurrent thunderous cheering sent her into a mix of relief, joy and anxiety.

The soldiers who’d long resigned that their master, known for his bravery and honor, would never wed unless for political reasons were gleeful beyond relief.

War and administration were Aditha’s only priorities. He tried sharing the joys and sorrows of all the soldiers but his air of melancholy didn’t go unnoticed over the years.

They were surprised that he’d made a love match and were determined to make it work – even if others didn’t like a commoner wedding a prince.

Vanthiyadevan, lord of Vallam and Aditha’s dear friend, could barely believe his eyes when he received his message.

Lover of love itself, he had plans up his sleeve.

He marched forward to greet the couple with his signature grin “Welcome Welcome to your Highness and your lovely fiancée”

Nandini calmed down slightly seeing a friendly visage. “That was a glorious welcome, friends, now let’s head inside “ boomed Aditha’s voice.

The couple and some close associates entered the largest tent of that encampment. Nandini felt terribly out of place – a tent filled with enough finery to rival a palace.

She seated herself on a velvet lined stool, noticing the persian rugs, gold chalices and engraved furniture, trying not to let her insecurity show.

Aditha noticed and came to stand by her side, laying a hand over her shoulder. He was flanked by his 2 friends and grandfather.

Chieftain Malayaman certainly wished for a noblewoman to marry his eldest grandson. But witnessing his pain and desolation firsthand made him grateful for any joy in his grandson’s life.

Nandini noticed the reactions of the three new men, the elderly warlord who seemed to judge her without animosity, Vanthiyadevans friendly face welcoming her and the last one…. Parthibendran tried to seem civil but failed to hide his awe of her beauty.

He openly gaped at her, much to her annoyance. Her betrothed seem to notice and decided to draw attention “ you’re all here because you’ve stood by me over the years. I need your assistance once again”

Malayaman professed his support but requested them to marry after reaching the Thanjavur. “It will strengthen the validity of your union in the public's eyes “ he insisted. Nandini felt Aditha squeeze her shoulder, so she agreed when he said they shall consider it.

Vanthiyadevan merely wished them once again with a cheeky smile and said mysteriously “Do not worry my lady. While I cannot predict the nobility, the people will welcome your presence!”

Nandini highly doubted that, but decided not to contradict. Even though Parthibendran was testing her patience, she didn’t wish to lose a potential ally- regardless of which of her virtues drew them in.

@nashibirne @nspwriteups @vibishalakshman @thelekhikawrites @dr-scribbler @kovaipaavai @budugu @dosai-maavu @matka-kulfi @nirmohi-premika @yehsahihai @curiousgalacticsoul @rang-lo @harinishivaa @dr-scribbler @chiyaanvikram @celestesinsight @inveter @deepti1011 @vidhurvrika @itszhunotz @babayagahunt @thegleamingmoon @maisadalawa @ragkee @inlovewithfictionalbeings @happysharkdragon @gowrimenonop-1 @ramcharanobsessed

#ponniyin selvan #aditha karikalan #nandini x aditha #nandhini #ponniyin selvan fanfiction #nandini x karikalan #nandini

[stitchthesewords]

Any specific part of Iskall and Vault Hunters that you are feeing particularly normal about? Because I am very normal about the names of vault gems and vault gem ores. Also Iskall and the Vault Hunters sounds like a really cool band name.

Alas, dear anon, I have taken my Total Normalcy in a completely different direction. Observe.

Etho's hand was soft where it found itself just under the hem of Iskall's shirt. This was home. This was familiar. He nudged Etho's mask down, eyes tracing over the scar that went through his lip before leaning in for a kiss. Etho's lips were soft, pliable, and all Iskall could her was that his beard wasn't too itchy.

The cold seeping out from his gut was like waking up because he started falling. The familiar bite of something sharp buried in his stomach as the eyes of his loved one stared back at him. For a moment he couldn’t process anything but Etho’s face. A whimper made itself known past his lips, unable to ask the question he so wanted the answer to; ‘why?’

Iskall collapsed, the ground never coming to meet his body. Instead he fell past a cascade of familiar faces, familiar hands, feeling as cuts rained down upon his body as the hermits had their fill for blood. That was the only reason he was here. Bloodlust.

Iskall sat up in his bed, the quiet and desolate moon casting long shadows on the room. He clutched his chest, the other hand coming up to rub over his good eye. These nightmares were depriving him of much needed sleep. Ah well, there was always another day as he crawled free from the comforter to begin anew. To find better comfort in the arms of his lovers.

----

“You look exhausted,” Etho said, huffing and pushing some of Iskall’s hair out of his eyes. A tired chuckled pushed out of Iskall and dissipated into Etho’s chest. Iskall pressed his head just up into Etho’s neck, just a bit, feeling the soft fabric of his mask/shirt rub against his forehead.

“I feel exhausted, I suppose,” he replied. Iskall cleared his throat and turned to press a kiss into the underside of Etho’s cheek. “And - while this has been nice, I really need to get back out there...there’s so many missing still, and – Bdubs and Cleo need more materials to make half this base even useable.” He sighed and tried to lean away from Etho, but that masked man’s hand found its way to the back of Iskall’s head and held him in place.

“We’re all capable of doing things on our own, Iskall...You don’t have to do everything. Let them work, let yourself rest just a little bit longer.”

“The longer I rest, the longer someone stays trapped.”

He moved, just slightly, in Etho’s arms to look at the man’s face. Even with his mouth hidden, Iskall could see how worried he looked. “You won’t be any good to someone exhausted in one of those vaults...The two of us barely made it out when you saved me, how are you supposed to help someone in the state you’re in. Rest, let them build, let us work, let us help,” Etho shook his head as he spoke, his mouth pressed into Iskall’s forehead and the words escaping around the skin. Iskall took a deep breath, angry that he couldn’t really argue with that logic.

“...Only for a bit. Only for a bit, until I feel like getting back on my feet,” he muttered. Etho shuffled to free one of his hands and pull his mask down, wanting to kiss Iskall without the barrier in the way. He was beautiuful, was all Iskall could think as Etho dragged him up to give him a real kiss, one with all the love and support pulled into it the other man could muster.

He ended with his head rested on Etho’s shoulder and the sound of Cleo and Bdubs working outside broken up by the sounds of wind and wildlife before finally closing his eyes and letting himself be taken by warm, comfortable slumber. The first real sleep Iskall got since this ordeal began

----

"Wh-BDUBS- Oh my god-" Etho untangled one arm from where he pulled Iskall to safety in order to wrap it around Bdubs. His moss cloak was tattered and it looked patched up, but as far as Etho could tell, bdubs was okay. The shorter man scrambled to press as close to him as possible and it registered, as everyone talked over each other, that bdubs was thanking Iskall like his very life depended on it. Iskall, slumped into Etho's side, gave a small smile and a thumbs up. "I had to keep him from going into the vaults," Iskall muttered into Etho's shoulder. Etho couldn't answer, mouth blocked by bdubs's own, two small hands cradling his cheeks in desperation

----

"I'm going with you! The vaults can be run cooperatively and we have a better chance with two people going!" False snapped a stick and threw it over her shoulder as she spoke, watching the two ends disappear into the vault portal she blocked Iskall from accessing. "Then two people might die instead of just one! There's no point-" iskall huffed, trying and failing yet again to move around her. False was quick, stepping in from of him and shouldering him back from the portal. "Not gonna work on me, bud. I know what I'm getting into! I have all the same supplies you have. Let's do this together." False blew some hair from her face as Iskall started to argue. She felt the need to roll her eyes, looking back at the multichromatic swirls emminating from the portal itself. It felt like she was looking at her own stomach. With a deep breath in, iskall still trying to argue with her, she turned on her ankle and dived through before he could stop her.

#Asks #Anonymous #polyhermits #hermitshipping #vault hunters au #i swear ive been writing #but it all looks like this #hi friends im not dead #just tired #ethskall #ethubs #falseskall

[mixed-kester]

my three DPSes with the one support they all have in common

team: Kaeya, Keqing, Wanderer, Xingqiu tags: @zhongrin @meimeimeirin @ansy-tea

a/n: why the hell does tumblr not have two blue colors?

holy shit this team is...something. on battle, kaeya makes a good burst support along with xingqiu. keqing and wanderer fight for the onfield time, but they're both good at exploration.

off field, however...

kaeya ⇄ xingqiu = frozen

my first ever built DPS and support, oh where do i begin?

both friendship 10 as well, so they have a good relationship with me as their uh...handler, yes, let's use that word.

very good friends, brothers even. 

kaeya looking out for xingqiu when he goes on trips for rare books and xingqiu always being reliable in terms of that sweet sweet commerce guild discount in wine.

kaeya sees xingqiu as his little "brother of sorts", and is generally lighthearted at his pranks. 

he even pranks back. its all in good faith

"And so, our valiant hero now faces his final dilemma; will he save the family he was bound to by blood, or follow his friends who he deems his saviors?" Xingqiu writes triumphantly, his hands trembling from the hours he spent writing on paper. He rubs his red eyes, staining his face (and the mattress) with ink, and reclines back on his makeshift pillow-chair.

"Oh, still awake, i see? Now, our dear Esther wouldn't like that." Xingqiu looks behind to see Kaeya standing at his door, very tall, and sounding very deprived of sleep.

"You're one to talk, sir Kaeya." he would say back... but, Kaeya looks like he's not in the mood for banter.

At a loss on what to do, Xingqiu points to the chair on his bedside. "Bad dream?"

Kaeya doesn’t respond, but shuffles over and sits beside him.

"What do you want me to do?" "Hmm... how about you tell me all about the book you're writing?"

"Okay, but only a sneak peak! This is supposed to be secret.”

I'm worried about you.

keqing ⇄ xingqiu = electrocharged

respectful.

mainly because Xingqiu is like oH MY GOD THE YUHENG???? OH SHIT I GOTTA ACT LIKE A PROPER BOY (he isnt)

keqing is like that one family member who you don't know much about but somehow knows a ton about you and buys a shit ton of gifts to compensate for lost time.

except the thing Keqing isn't compensating for is lost time.

it's her appreciation.

This is the sixth rare book he has gotten this week.

The Man Who Stole the Lone Star is sitting in his desk.

The third volume of Vera's Melancholy, and supposedly the same series which perished amongst the flames of that one big library burning, is in his table.

Xingqiu dares not to touch the book. Besides the obvious, the book's cover is well cared for, the pages in mint condition.

Someone paid a fortune to send this to me, he thinks. But who? Everybody's best sense when acquiring a rare book is to sell it for the people who want it, isn't it?

"Has anybody seen Keqing?" Xingqiu hears Esther asking downstairs. Keqing is missing?

"She went out. Something about books." The blunt voice of the Wanderer answered his question.

"Huh. Oh well, you're up, Wanderer. I need someone to get 24 more Cor Lapis." Esther's voice turns icy.

"Are you sure it has to be me?" Wanderer asked icily.

Silence. Xingqiu coughs loudly.

"...fine, let's get this over with. That old hag better be with me." He grumbles.

Lady Keqing...hmm. Nah, she can't have. Xingqiu shrugs and lounges on his couch, finally reading the new book. Ah, that old book smell.

She might not even know me outside of battle.

wanderer ⇄ xingqiu = swirl: waves

where do i begin with this.

ever since the Wishing incident, I didn't pair him up with wanderer in fear of some kind of PTSD triggering him.

surprisingly, though, i found them together once outside the dinner table together. xingqiu's...cutting his hair.

of course, both of them denied it ever happened.

"E-Esther! Why are you still up?" Xingqiu snaps up, hiding the scissors behind his back.

"Excellent question."

Esther found the Wanderer and Xingqiu in a spare room. They found the Wanderer wrapped up in one of Xiangling's aprons, sitting and his hat off. Xingqiu is concentrating on his hair, trying to cut it as straight as he can. Without a mirror.

Well, was concentrating.

They walked forward, seemingly not seeing a very red Wanderer, and yanked Xingqiu's arm, showing an everyday scissor with indigo strands stuck in it.

Esther looked at it in dumbfounded silence.

"...stay here."

They left just as quick.

Xingqiu dared not look at Wanderer's very, very steely gaze at him, suddenly becoming very interested at his modest, worn out shoes.

Are they angry at me? Am i kicked out? WIll my artifacts be given away and tossed to the-

He feels the scissor being taken from him and....replaced with another scissor? Xingqiu looked up and saw Esther looking sheepish.

"You should have told me. Ah, no, scratch that. This guy over here will threaten you not to." They glare at Wanderer. He scoffs.

"It's good that i found you both actually, because you'll be transferred to him. Not permanent." They added hastily after Xingqiu looked shocked.

"Also, Wanderer. Treat him well. He's your senior. That good?" They looked down and smirked in Wanderer's face. Xingqiu can't see it from his angle, but he imagined that he looks very very angry.

"Fine."

"Alright, go to bed, both of you. The night is young, and the rain howls outside. Good night." Esther straightens up, nods at Xingqiu, and then leaves the room with a soft slam on the door.

An awkward silence fills the air. Xingqiu still stares at the door, at a loss for words.

...

"What are you waiting for?" Xingqiu snaps out and sees the Wanderer glaring at him.

Xingqiu straightens up and nods.

I'll try my best.

keqing ⇄ kaeya = superconduct

good friends.

initially, i was worried that they won't hit it off, but they do, fortunately.

i guess working with the public has its own problems, and having someone to relate to outside of work must be relieving.

keqing is frustrated about kaeya's "laziness", and kaeya feels like keqing is too fast and endlessly toils with her work

he got her to drink one sip of wine to relax, and it somehow devolved into drinking a whole bottle.

"They..they benched me!" Slamming her fist on the table, Keqing sniffles and downs another gulp of wine.

“They didn’t,“ Kaeya assured her. For the fifth time.

This time was supposed to be for relaxation. 

“They told me themselves. You just have, and i quote ‘a very unique fighting style’.“ He now moves his hand to the vice-grip of Keqing’s hand on the wine bottle.

“Now, let go of the bottle.“ He tries to pry her hand off, but she swats it away. 

“...Nooooooooooo.“ Keqing’s eyes are unfocused as she tries to glare at him, but she sways, the chair creaking as she laughs bitterly. 

“You’re not acting like the Yuheng right now.“

“I don’t care.“

The glints of the shards of wine glasses on the table makes Kaeya’s eye flinch. 

I’ll clean that up later. Right now...

Kaeya catches her from falling. Keqing scoffs, yanks her arm away from his hand and drags her chair closer to him, each second punctuated with a sharp crunch.

“You don’t...understand.” She points at him accusingly. “You’re favored. I...”

Her frame shivers as Keqing tries to wipe the tears away from her face. He looks at her.

“I’m unwanted. Do...you don’t know how it feels.” She now curls up on the table, heaving and sobbing. 

He reaches for another wine bottle.

I do. 

kaeya ⇄ wanderer = swirl: blizzard

Seemingly neutral.

Everybody who has been near 20m from them knows this not to be true. 

Kaeya’s banter with Wanderer has always been loaded with snarky double meanings and with more sass than ever before.

Wanderer’s, however, has been more brutal and more contemptuous than the previously mentioned team members. 

It’s like they despise each other or something...

"Ah, but you see, our dear Esther needs me to read these books in order to improve my skills properly." Kaeya drawls out, not-so-subtly showing off his newly made Amenoma Kageuchi in front of a seething Wanderer.

You see, Esther made the very wise decision, Kaeya thinks, to adorn him with a crown for reaching the pinnacle of his Elemental Skill. He will be the first one to be crowned.

Ever.

"That's fine. But don't you think they should crown someone as eminent as me? I mean," Wanderer scoffs, clearly not fine with it. "I have utility off the battle. I can fly, but you can only run."

"And what is that supposed to mean? Don't tell me that, oh, no, the ever grumpy Wanderer is...concerned about his role? I thought you learned your lesson already." Kaeya stoops down and raises Wanderer's hat.

He swats it away.

"Don't touch it. And no, I am not concerned. They clearly favor me before you, after all." He now glares at him straight in the eye, with absolute hatred hidden in lovely shades of purple.

"After all, what use does a Khaenri'ahn have on a team?"

Kaeya's eye widens. Wanderer laughs.

"You think you can hide it from me? The son of an Archon? I know who you are." Wanderer's voice now lowers to a deadly whisper.

The cavalry captain is silent.

"At a loss for words? No matter. This conversation served no purpose." Wanderer now straightens up and stares at his star-shaped eye.

If you ever betray them, I will drag you down to the abyss myself and enjoy tearing apart your limbs one by one.

keqing ⇄ wanderer = swirl: downburst

HERE IT IS, MY SHIP

Except no, at this period in time, this isn't a ship yet.

Wanderer has heard of Keqing's skepticism from the moment he stepped foot outside his room after... yeah, you'll see.

Esther warned him that some of her views are unorthodox for the people here, but he's more intrigued at the fact that a mortal is skeptical of the gods.

He has met many skeptics throughout his wanderings, but most of them border around "this god doesnt grant my wishes so i hate them."

Keqing is more concerned about other matters, though.

"Three condensed resin for Desert Pavilion, two resin runs for ley lines..." The Wanderer heard Keqing groan upstairs.

The house is silent, with the occasional snore of Esther as they sleep under the stairs, separated by only a silk screen.

Why they don't have their own room even though they're the owner, he never bothered to ask. They seem insistent on getting him his very own room, even though he insisted he's just passing by.

They think it's nonsense, even though i don't need rest.

He lounges on the couch, placing his hat on the floor. With nothing better to do, he goes upstairs to get a random book from the library.

"Wanderer. Why are you still awake?"

He looks behind to see the Yuheng, still as poised and tense as ever.

"I don't sleep. I could ask you the same question." He raised an eyebrow at her. She looked confused at first, but then remembered that he isn't human.

A reminder that I don't belong.

"Esther has relegated me the plans for your artifacts. Kaeya and Beidou will lead the team." She replies, hands behind her back and her voice as sharp as ever.

"Whatever. As long as they're out of my hair." Wanderer walked past her, no longer interested in reading a book.

He stops, seemingly thinking of something.

"How about we continue this downstairs?" He looks back on her.

She blinks. Then she nods.

"Might as well. I need to ask you a few questions."

Intriguing.

#wanderer: 黄鳥 #wanderer genshin impact #kesteam dynamics #genshin impact keqing #kaeya #keqing #scaramouche #wanderer #kaeya genshin impact #keqing genshin impact #sagau if you squint #sagau #i tried writing some drabbles #but the last time i wrote something was 3 years ago #so forgive me for the sometimes blatant OOC-ness.

[jabbage]

#Letters from Watson #lettersfromwatson

[sylleblosscm]

@infideliis:

"The only thing I want - the only thing I've ever wanted - was for you to be happy."

---

Reassuring Starters [accepting]

Lunafreya closes her eyes and tilts her face toward the Tenebraean breeze. It is exactly how she remembers it - until she opens her eyes and sees her once-teeming field of blue reduced to a smattering of colour here and there, and otherwise upturned dirt. More than a hundred generations of work wiped out in a day - but her people endure. As rehabilitation began after the Long Night, this famed garden was lavished with all the attention it could need, their people seemingly eager to see it restored more than anything else. It is, after all, the lifeblood of their home. And though it is a long process, little by little, Tenebrae finds herself more with every passing day.

 If only their Princess had been here to see it. 

 Though it was once her destiny to inherit the crown, Lunafreya always knew it would never be her place. She and Ravus are two sides of the very same coin, with half their mother’s legacy apiece. Oracle, and Monarch. 

 Luna married shortly after the Dawn, to the surprise of no one. And though she writes Ravus every day, it is nothing like living under the same roof. Her visits were once frequent, but as her duties as Queen and eventually a mother mounted, it left her with less and less time to return home.

 Her children are sleeping now, and Luna has made herself quite at home on the old porch, just as she once did. It was here, when she and Ravus used to be at odds, that they could find peace. They’d share tea and sweets, and all talk of Gods and the Empire was banned. Those moments were sacred and fleeting and remain some of the most precious in her life. 

 Thus, Ravus’ words do not come out of the blue - not to her. It is as if they are continuing a conversation from more than a decade ago, picking up where they left off as only siblings can. 

 She reaches across the table between them, and takes his hand. The air around them is quiet, save for the odd stirring of the wind and twittering of birds. ❝I know. I have always known. And I am happy, Ravus. In no small part, thanks to you.❞ She looks to him, offering a warm but sad smile. ❝You know, you’re the reason I wanted a second child. There is something…ineffable about a sibling bond. It is a gift I couldn't bear to deny my family. Nobody else could vex me so, and still be as dear to me. You are my first love of this life. Sometimes I look at them, and find my only regret is that we were deprived of that all too soon.❞ 

#( listen listen i've been thinking a lot about older luna and ravus getting a chance to mend their relationship #and it's making me sof ) #answered; #infideliis #⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ – v: au: there’s so much more; you can reclaim your crown / epilogue #⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ always try to be nice; never fail to be kind / ic

[righteouslysin]

⠀ ⠀ 𝓗e is extremely exhausted, however his agent managed to call him last night around 2:30 AM for an interview at 6:00 AM, all he wants to do is go home and stop being 𝐀𝐗𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒 and spend time with his family, but alas here he is sleep deprived and answering questions on live television 。

“ Axel, do you have any family ? Do you have children? What do you like about the job ? Why not go to larger gigs? “

He’s having trouble keeping up with this man, but alas he’s rubbing his eyes behind the glasses he wore, trying to think of an answer 。

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ❛ 𝓖ot a baby brother back home, though he is 39 I can’t say baby huh ׅׅ𖤠 Ya see, I raised Ace since he was an infant 。 Watched him take his first steps, watched him lose his first baby tooth, fed em’ hell I spoiled the boy, ah ya see the necklace I’m always wearin’ was the first gift I ever got from that kid, never took it off and I don’t plan to 。 ❜

“Why did you take care of him and not your parents?”

⠀ ⠀ ❛ 𝓜om died when I was four and Ace was a baby, our dad while he did his best to raise us was an obsessive bastard who would be gone for weeks, maybe months outta time, I raised Ace, not our parents 。Anyway, I don’t have kids , want ‘em sure when I find the one whether it’s adoption or ya know you get it , the gig is great because of the fans, seeing them makes me happy especially my regulars and newbies, and I keep it small for my own benefit, but I do concerts occasionally 。 ❜

Dear god will someone save him ׅׅ𖤠

#open starter #rockstar dean

[sempervirens117]

Bradley2024 This is What I Stand For Dear American 🇺🇸 People, In early 2022, an the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was hospitalized in Silicon Valley after suffering from extreme sleep deprivation brought on by a social media addiction and several painful years of steady unemployment despite having graduated in the humanities from Williams College and having two advanced graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins. My wife saved my life by calling 911 to summon police officers, who helped me locate a proper mental health recovery facility next to Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. There, I was misdiagnosed by my Kaiser Permanente doctors as Level I bipolar and prescribed medication with severe side effects. I have recovered both my sanity and my dignity during a two year recovery process and now work for $20/hour at a local winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. My dreams, however, are bigger than that. I want to become a successful writer on Amazon and use the proceeds of book sales to fund a We the People listening tour of America so that we can share stories of survival and plan a way to revitalize our democracy and heal our collective wounds and create a brighter and more promising future for our kids and grandkids. I will be running in 2024 as an independent candidate to become our country’s next President and intend to recruit both Republicans and Democrats to the cause. Would you please help me make America useful, funny, and cool again? With your help, and with God’s blessing, I know that we will succeed because we are a great, inclusive, and prosperous community, and we all deserve to succeed. None of us should have to feel like a zero ever again. I know what that feels like because I have been there. Many times. All proceeds from the sale of my book on Amazon will go to support this selfless cause. Why not gift a copy to someone you love this Fourth of July 🇺🇸? It’s the American thing to do. Bradley out. #amazon #usa #america #july4th2022 (at Kings Mountain, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfgbboVuJQB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#amazon #usa #america #july4th2022

[justafairytailofinnocence]

Can you do a part two to that volturi kings chess one like where she comes back?

Hello dear 💖 thanks for the request, I didn't expect someone to ask for a part two 😊. Please let me know if you want a part three. I'm happy someone enjoyed one of the fics.

I present part two of:

Volturi kings x chess player reader♟️🧛‍♂️

A game of life ♟️

Part two

You know that feeling you get when you wake up and suddenly your bloody old yeah, that’s me. Although I’m not an old lady thankfully, it’s been 5 years since I touched a chess board more so even played a proper game. I knew from the moment my dreams still haunt me of that day, I was about to die. So, if you’re still wondering if anything’s changed well, we moved and now I have a job, I guess you can call me the crazy cat lady that lives alone in her apartment. I haven’t really seen my parents in a while despite me being very close with them.

The memory of me collapsing in my parents arms was probably the most I’ve ever been relieved. I have no idea where the castle is and even more so it’s not like I want to go back. I would rather do an hour of running then ever meet them again. My luck and wit saved me plus even if I went back, I wonder what would happen. Would they make me a queen? Would they kill me? I don’t know. I was just a simple girl that cared for her family, sometimes I try to picture what power or “gift” as the weirdo put it. Mabey I could fly or shoot lasers out of my eyes, who knows but even if I did, I’m glad I don’t have to kill random people.

I was sleep deprived of course and it was 3 am, I wore a singlet with tracksuit pants, I know fancy right. I was watching videos on my phone when I felt restless, I decided to go for a late-night stroll. I zipped up my parker and went out, it was freezing of course, I walked from my block to the local park. I love it when I set myself in these situations for a murderer to grab me, my mind was zoning out to the sound of my music. I kind of like being alone it’s peaceful and no one talks about useless nonsense. I stopped when I saw something strange, the bush rustled, and I could’ve sworn I saw a blonde-haired kid. “Hey kids, you’re messing with the wrong person, I’m a cop” why I said that I don’t know, trying to scare people off is hard. I rolled my eyes and went off back to my block, my mind was playing tricks on me.

I eventually reached my apartment when suddenly I noticed a letter in my letter box, weirdly I thought it was kind of sketchy to have mail at 3am. I trailed my fingers against the paper picking it up, in that moment my heart dropped, and I fell to the floor in fear. The symbol on that letter, I knew exactly who it was. “Oh god, oh god they’ve found me” I got to my feet and picked up the encased envelope “V” the stamp read covered in crimson wine red. I tore through the paper to receive a note

“Dearest y/n,

How have you been since our last meeting, I must say I miss you terribly and I know we terrified you but my dear we don’t intend to hurt you.

My brothers and I have agreed it would be fair to start over, I must say you’ve fascinated us all. So, it was only fair to rid this feeling of loneliness with an invitation to a ball we are hosting.

If you agree we shall treat you with utter kindness.

Sincerely,

Your kings”

I ripped the piece of paper apart out of rage, did those morons expect me to come back after all I’ve been through. The word “kindesss” sounded so fake it was rather sickening, “When kings will fly” I replied with a hiss. I ran to my apartment hyperventilating, “why couldn’t jus have been handsome knights on horses” I huffed out of breath.

My mind was in a clutter, so I took the time to have a shower and hop into bed sleeping. My mind was adrift when I dreamed about the time, I was in Volterra:

My eyes were widened, no loner did I feel alive but merely dead; my dress was black going below my legs. It dragged along as I wore a crown. They waited for me, their crimson eyes following my movement as they glided up to touch my hands. All three caressed my cheek begging me for their permission to let me in.

Suddenly it was a ball, I was the main attraction as they came up to me each dancing within their own style.

Marcus danced slowly looking distantly into my eyes, his robes dragged along side my dress as we slowly danced in the moonlight.

Caius was the next person he danced somewhat faster; he was certainly more possessive as he gripped my waist as we spun into the moonlight.

Aro was more eager, he was more power hungry then the other two. We looked proper and he was showier than the others, dipping me as he smiled.

Suddenly, we stopped while I stared at all three of them, I felt their hands wrap around my throat as they all tried to claim me by biting into my neck.

I woke up cramping from the side, my neck felt bruised as my shoulders ached. It was only a dream of course, must’ve been that letter. It would’ve made sense but why in all of heavens did this happen now, were they waiting until the time was right. I assumed it was too good to be true and with that I’m finally convinced they won’t leave me alone unless I go.

I packed my things at 6 am along with the crappy sleep, I was going to book a flight to Volterra. I decided to leave my small abode to the devils cave. I wish I had my chess board right now and I wish my parents would just hug me saying everything is going to be alright. “Zombie y/n” my mother would call me mostly because I zoned out on my phone or my chess board. I was a lonely person back then but now it’s rather different, my parents weren’t going to see me again. To be honest I’ve gotten stronger since then if I’ve outsmarted them once before I can certainly do it again.

I kept my chest high, and my eyes set on beating them once again, they won’t kill me “a deals a deal”. Aro will keep to his word, he was rather more rational than Caius. I was certainly confused while dancing with each of them it seemed that Marcus was more sympathetic than the rest, he didn’t seem interested in the idea.

“Mam, can I see your passport” the flight attendant shook my shoulder “huh oh sorry here” I gave her my passport and boarding pass. I need to think if perhaps chess was the reason, I got out then they wouldn’t be stupid to verse me again. The head is tricky if he loses, he will certainly lose his sing song happy persona, even Caius wouldn’t speak against him. I could sense he almost snapped when I won that round, it was like hearing the devil growling at his future bride.

I sat down on the flight and looked out the window rather bored, so I’ll skip the boring details basically caught a taxi drove there and voila I’m at the town. My mind drifted off when I spotted the same beach, five years ago oh gosh. I really was an old lady, mentally of course.

I walked to past the towns people and through the town, it feels all to familiar. I still couldn’t understand Italian, and I’m not bothered to, learning another language takes too much time. I walked down the same path I remembered, the bushes and grass were overgrown; with luck perhaps they’re all dead.

I got a few scratches along the way ugh, I had no band aids, so the blood trickled down my arm and hand. After pushing through mother nature, I could see the castle in the distance, it seemed to have aged. I stared at the old castle, remembering those creepy twins, anyways I had to keep going unfortunately this isn’t one of those stories where I show up in a big ball gown wearing a crown. I was hot, sweaty, and covered in scratches, yep what a Queen I’ve turned out to be.

I’m expecting them to do the casual.

“Welcome to the castle my queen, we have a thousand big black dresses with riches available, you’ll be sleeping in a grand room with your best friend the torture twins, we all take turns revealing our deepest darkest fantasies about you”.

I certainly don’t know why I prefer that at least I won’t be dead. I watched as my hands touch the stone walls, I was out of breath of course. I kept walking around to at least find the front of the entrance but to no avail. I had no doubt that becoming a vampire would be the typical love story that everyone craved. I had a weirder version involving three kings.

“Y/n” a cold voice shouted at me from behind “The masters have been waiting come”. I was stunned, no “hello” or “welcome Frankenstein’s bride”. I replied “hello twiglet” all I got in response was a glare. I kept my mouth shout after that, I forgot she could snap my neck in a simple second.

We walked through the doors to the grand hall, I had a deep feeling in my gut Aro still hated me for beating him at chess. I watched as we made it to the throne room, “they await you in here” the girl stood to the side.

I slowly opened the doors and walked into the room looking like the fanciest princess they had ever seen, one covered in sweat and scratches that is. “Ah look who’s finally returned” Aro immediately noticed me, his voice still gave me shivers. “H-hello” I stuttered obviously afraid “she’s still frightened after all these years” Marcus whispered in a husk. “Even after all you’ve witnessed your still afraid, how fascinating” Aro clasped his hands together invested in the sight before him. “How was your little adventure” I wanted to run, run, and leave this horrible place. “Listen I know what you’ve said before, but I want you to leave me alone for good” I spoke determined however all he did was laugh, he laughed like I was just a dying doe.

“Silly girl, we don’t intent to kill you right dear brothers” he was keeping his cool it was obvious he didn’t want me to win. “You must be famished my dear” he came close to hold my hand “forgive me but your gift, it’s full of power” he was fascinated to see my deepest secrets. “So that’s what you’ve done after you left, settling in and oh…” His face lost his enthusiasm, he frowned at one scene of my memory. He no longer seemed happy more so concerned “is everything alright dear brother” Marcus spoke up seeing this new reaction they had never witnessed before.

“Indeed…” he was stone cold, like he had no longer a smile. I wondered what he saw in my head however his happy persona returned once he let go of me. “What did you see, was the girl plotting to kill us” Caius hissed “no it was…oh don’t worry mortals memories can be quite fiddly”. “You didn’t answer my quest-“ Caius was cut off with a hiss “and as I said everything is PERFECTLY normal do not doubt me brother”. I could see his annoyance, the man nearly snapped it was like if you cross him your bound to die. Caius silenced himself as Marcus looked the other way, he knew better then to speak against him.

“Can I go now, great seeing you” Felix grabbed me from behind “my dear we aren’t done yet” my eyes widened. “You see a ceremony is in order and we can’t have you leave” in that moment I knew exactly what that meant “Get her ready and one of us shall decide whom she shall claim the girl”.

The three walked away as I was dragged out into what looked like a bathroom, I was given a plain black dress why they had it I have no idea. I had no choice, I had to play along although one thing laid in my mind, what did he see that was so concerning. I could tell he was afraid of something all monsters are, even if it may be the most ridiculous thing.

I put my hair into a neater bun while washing all the grime off my face prepared to head into the kings coronation ceremony. I stuttered while trying to think of a way to out smart them when suddenly I remembered, I read this in lemony snicket somewhere.

I was prepared ready to head off to get hitched to the three kings, my mind was determined. I walked out of the bathroom with Felix guarding my every movement of course he was given permission to kill me if things get out of hand. It was me or the law obviously they were going to choose the law.

I watched as they stood there ready for me to turn “Magnifico” with a sly smile. I spoke above them before “wait shouldn’t I sign legal documents before I go through with this, I mean it’s human law” I smiled. They all looked at each other, Aro agreed to the decision he saw it was only fair for a human to have their side.

“Very well dear sign your deed away” I smiled before signing the documents with my left hand. You heard that right my plan was to sign with my left hand so that way it wasn’t in law. However, before I could even touch the paper Felix caught my hand “do you really think I’m a fool dear” he smiled. “You realize I’m not letting you escape; you fell into my trap silly girl” his voice raised with a joyous tempo.

With one movement he rushed towards my side and bent me to the floor as my fears stood correctly. I could feel the jarring pain as he sunk his teeth into my neck “brother this wasn’t the part of the plan” Caius sneered. “Our brother is correct; the girl hasn’t chosen” Marcus whispered, “Oh is that so forgive me my dear” Aro stood up.

I looked at him with tears filling my sockets “still frightened truly a shame” he placed his palm under my cheek. “I will never end up marrying either of you” I spoke firmly. “You will choose my dear or we shall kill you” he whispered with a laugh. With that I was pulled hard somewhere within the tower “You have three days, remember my dear we give no second chances”.

I tried to pull against Felix, but he was strong as the twins stood by merely watching the scene unfold. “We should just kill the girl she is annoying” alec smiled secretly, Jane smiled back at her twin “Indeed”.

Today I just met the cruellest men in the world, I escaped hell only to be brought back once more. I will be married in three days, whom I’m not sure it’s out of my control.

Mum, Dad if you’re hearing this,

I’m sorry.

Anyways that's all I have for now:

Ta Ta 💫

#twilight x reader #twilight oneshot #volturi oneshot #volturi kings x reader #marcus volturi x reader #caius volturi x reader #aro volturi x reader #marcus volturi #caius volturi #aro volturi #twilight #twilight saga #twilight saga fanfiction #volturi x you

[wordsfromthesol]

The Interview

Author: @wordsfromthesol Taglist: @zphilophobiaz @malfoys-demigod @pricetagofficial Pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader Summary: Your name slips in one of Dick Grayson's interviews and creates issues in every aspect of your life. Word Count: 1.2k

Part Two

"So I'm joined here with Richard Grayson, the eldest son of billionaire Bruce Wayne. And really there is just one question on everyone's mind. Where were you during his charity event this past weekend? You certainly weren't there, and Wayne enterprises had no recollection of a business trip. Have you had a falling out with your father?"

"Please, call me Dick. And I didn't know I would be bombarded with conspiracy theories this early in the morning."  Dick was attempting to buy himself as much time as possible to formulate a lie. "Unfortunately, the real answer is much less superfluous. Y/N was quite ill, so I thought my time was best spent tending to her." Why your name popped in his head, he still wasn't sure.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is your girlfriend doing better now?" The interviewer didn't know exactly who this "Y/N" person that Dick referred to was, but they were determined to find out.

"Yes yes, she's as good as new." Dick didn't bother correcting your assumed status. It was just one short interview on the morning gossip channel. What more could come of it? Or so he thought...

**

You always ran late on Monday mornings and today was no different. Racing through the office corridor, you didn't even notice the obvious stares from coworkers. Almost as soon as you sat down at your desk your coworker Josh darted towards you.

"Y/N  Y/M/N  Y/L/N. WHY WOULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!"

"Uh…you're going to have to be a bit more specific." Your eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Dick Grayson?!" Josh exclaimed the name as if something should be obvious.

"Okay…not very helpful. We've been friends for years? You knew this. Did something happen to him?" You were still utterly confused about his sudden outburst.

"Friends" he scoffed at the apathetic use of the word before pulling out his phone. Within seconds you were watching the interview clip from this morning's talk show.

"Heh, right. About that…can you just give me a minute?" Your voice unconsciously went up several octaves as you stuttered out the sentence. Josh glared at you with a suspicious look in his eyes as you scurried off to the bathroom. Anger bubbled up inside you as you made sure the bathroom was clear before punching Dick's number into your phone.

"Y/N, what's up?" Dick's casual greeting was the last straw.

"Are you KIDDING me?! WHAT'S UP?!" The exasperated words poured out of you.

"Heh…you uh saw the interview then." He quickly learned his mistake after the interview clip accumulated hundreds of thousands of views in a matter of hours.

"Want to explain further, please. I'd like to know why I'm involved in this lie. Which will be heard by millions of people." A sour taste lingered in your mouth as you waited for his response.

"It's no big deal really. I just kinda needed an alibi. For why I wasn't at dear old dad's latest soiree."

"Alibi? I'm sorry is my best friend a criminal now?"

"What? No. Don't be ridiculous." Dick tried to console you, but he was met with silence. You refused to budge on this matter, you needed a proper explanation. Dick finally let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine alright. I'll explain tonight. I can't talk about this over the phone."

"Seriously Dick, if you go to prison, I'm not waiting for you." Normally the quip would have been a joke, but at this point even you were unsure.

You took a moment to compose yourself before stepping out of the bathroom. Instead of walking back to your desk you immediately went towards your supervisor's office. There was no way you could get through the workday now; the barrage of questions would never cease.

Feigning a cough, you slowly entered their office. "I'm not feeling very *cough* well. I think it's *cough* best if I head home." There was no way your rouse was fooling them, but thankfully they let you go home anyways. If only you made it that far.

**

You woke up in a shitty motel room, arms tied to the headboard. "Aye Boss! The bitch is awake!" You heard the scream resonate through your mind as you blinked past the confusion.

"Finally," a brutish man plodded into the room. "You're that Wayne kid's girl. Right?" Though he phrased it as a question, he didn't wait for an answer. "Time to call the rich brat. You're gunna fetch me a pretty penny." A sordid smile graced across his lips as he grabbed your phone from the counter. It didn't take long for the device to start ringing, Dick's photo flashing across the screen.

"Y/N/N, I told you, we will talk tonight. I need sleep." You could hear the sleep deprivation in his voice.

"Oh dear boy, unfortunately, this is not your Y/N/N."

Dick's tone immediately changed into one you had not heard before, one laced with fury and panic. "Is she safe? What do you want?"

"Momentarily, and how do you put a price on human. On someone you love so dearly?" The sarcastic words fell effortlessly from your captor's lips. Like this was nothing, just a typical Monday. "Oh I know, how about 2 million."

"Let me speak to her." Had he done this before? The question rant through your mind as the gag was removed from your lips.

"Speak!" Your captor demanded.

"Dick…?" His name came out as more of a question. For some reason, you hoped he knew what was going on. Or perhaps this was all just some terrible nightmare.

"Sweetheart, just stay calm. I'm going to get you out of this. Are you hurt?"

"I…I'm fine…" you stammered out, knowing that one wrong move could make that statement obsolete.

"Alright lovebirds. That's enough. You have 2 hours to get the money." Before Dick could answer, the man hung up the phone and sauntered into the next room. "Well, looks like we got true love here fellas. The boy is gunna pay up." You heard at least 3 people howl with excitement…there goes your hope for escape.

**

The first hour passed by agonizingly slow and your mind began to betray you. What if he won't pay? He will right? He's been your best friend for years. Two million wasn't too much. He would pay. Even if he asked Bruce for the money…he would pay…Right? He wouldn't just leave you there at the mercy of these -- the intrusive thoughts were interrupted by an explosion emanating from the other room. A few screams and grunts later, Nightwing appeared in the doorway.

"Y/N! Thank God you're okay!" He raced over to you, tugging at the ropes securing your arms to the headboard.

"Uh…Thanks?" You said while rubbing your wrists, still confused as to why the vigilante was here in the first place. "If you don't mind, I need to go kill my best friend now."

"Really? After I just saved you?" A smug smirk formed on his face as your mind pieced together the puzzle.

"Dick?! Seriously? This is why you needed an alibi?!"

#dick grayson #dick grayson fanfic #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson oneshot #nightwing #nightwing fanfic #nightwing x reader #nightwing imagine #nightwing oneshot #batboys #batboys fanfic #batboys imagine #batboys x reader #batboys x you #batfamily #BatFam #batfam fanfic #batfam imagine #batfam x reader #batfam x you

[melanielocke]

Because I was following him

I rewrote the CoI scene where Alastair comes to Thomas’ rescue from Alastair’s POV a while back.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31310876

Alastair cursed underneath his breath when he witnessed what happened at the Golden Square. Of course Thomas had to let himself get caught by Inquisitor Bridgestock. Now everyone thought he was the killer, and Alastair was the only one who could testify on his behalf.

He quietly followed the Inquisitor and his patrol, who were dragging Thomas along with him. None of them had any idea he was there and Alastair intended for it to stay that way. Bridgestock did not like him much and might even use his presence as an excuse to accuse Alastair of the murders. Better to wait until the Consul was there, and then testify.

He had never intended for anyone to know about him following Thomas. He knew it wouldn’t change anything, he knew Thomas would not forgive him. Nor did he deserve that. But he would still do the best he could to keep Thomas safe, to make sure his recklessness wouldn’t get him killed. He could live with Thomas hating him, but he could not live with the idea of him dying. How any of those fools were still alive, Alastair had no idea.

He followed Bridgestock’s party into the Institute. None of them noticed he was there as they dragged Thomas to the sanctuary to lock him up there while Alastair stayed behind, and that gave him the time to think. He couldn’t go in like this, his hair was a mess and he looked very distraught. He would need to compose himself, to put on the mask from the academy, otherwise everyone would be able to tell that he loved Thomas.

He needed a good reason why he’d been following Thomas too, no one would believe him being there was just a coincidence and he couldn’t tell anyone the real reason he’d followed Thomas. As far as anyone else knew, he disliked Thomas as much as the Merry Thieves disliked him. Of course, Cordelia did like those boys. And he figured that was a good enough excuse. Cordelia was fond of Thomas, he was one of her husband’s closest friends after all. He’d made sure to keep Thomas safe because he didn’t want his sister to lose a friend.

Alastair slipped into a nearby bathroom, trying to fix his hair and his clothes, but no matter what he did his hair wouldn’t lie flat. Some of the black dye had faded and left a few patches of blonde is his predominantly black hair. He sighed. He guessed it didn’t matter, he looked like he had been on the streets all night, sleep deprived and messy. Some day soon he’d fix his hair but right now he had other priorities.

He took in a deep breath and made his way to the Sanctuary. Thomas’ friends had made it there already, and his older sister Eugenia was standing outside the door. She eyed him suspiciously.

‘What are you doing here, Carstairs?’

‘I’m here to get your brother out of prison,’ Alastair said.

‘How?’ Eugenia let go of her hostility.

‘I saw what happened. I’ve been following him ever since he started going out on these patrols alone. He didn’t kill Lillian Highsmith.’

‘You realize Bridgestock might try to pin suspicion on you instead, or claim that you’re lying on his behalf. He’s in quite a state and refuses to admit he’s wrong about having found the killer.’

Alastair shrugged. ‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take.’

‘Why were you there anyway? Thomas was caught very early in the morning, why would you be out at such an hour?’

Alastair sighed, letting go of the mask. ‘Because I was following him.’

‘You were… why would you do that?’

Alastair hesitated. He couldn’t exactly explain why he had been following Thomas to his sister. Nor to the Consul and Inquisitor. Good time to try his excuse. If Eugenia didn’t believe it, he’d know he’d have to think of something better.

‘Cordelia is fond of him and his friends, someone had to keep him safe. I figured it was the least I could do.’

Eugenia didn’t seem suspicious, at least. ‘Thank you. Alright, go in.’

Alastair put on the mask again and walked in. Chin up, posture straight, making sure he looked every bit the arrogant bastard he used to be. He hated that person, hated that mask, but it was a necessary evil. Everything so they wouldn’t realize he loved Thomas.

‘Dear God,’ said Matthew Fairchild with obvious loathing. ‘Could this day get any worse? What the hell are you doing here, Carstairs?’

Alastair glared at him. Even now Matthew Fairchild always managed to get under his skin.

‘Alastair,’ said the consul, ‘I’m afraid I must ask you to go, these are private.’ She frowned at Thomas’ father, who looked angry. At him, or because his son was wrongfully imprisoned? Alastair hoped it was the latter. ‘Has the front door become unlocked?’

Alastair glanced at Thomas for only a moment, he was absolutely terrified and Alastair suspected that was because of him. It stung, but Alastair kept his chin up. They wouldn’t see.

‘No, the door was not unlocked,’ he said, ‘at least not when I came in. Which was some time ago. You see, I followed Thomas here and came in with the Inquisitor and his patrol. I witnessed miss Highsmith’s death, the entire incident.’

Matthew Fairchild sprang to his feet. ‘Alastair, if you’re lying, I swear on the angel-‘ His mother didn’t let him finish that sentence.

‘Stop!’ the consul yelled, her hand up. ‘Alastair, say what you mean. Now.’

‘As I said, I was in the Golden Square when Thomas was passing through. I also heard Lillian Highsmith scream. I saw Thomas run to help her. She was already dying when he got there. He never harmed her. I’ll swear to it.’

Matthew sat back down. Alastair dared once more to look at Thomas, he seemed confused but at least he was no longer scared. Thomas’ father seemed rather pleased, which only made Alastair feel ashamed. Gideon Lightwood likely had no clue of the past between him and his son, and ought to hate him as much as the Merry Thieves did.

‘Er – what?’ Christopher asked.

The Inquisitor sneered at him. ‘So it’s a coincidence on top of coincidence, then. Tell me, Carstairs, what possible reason could you have had to be in Golden Square at the same time as Thomas Lightwood.’

Alastair looked disdainful at the Inquisitor, making no effort to conceal his hatred for the man. ‘Because I was following him. I’ve been following Thomas for days. I knew he was going out on these insane night patrols by himself, and I wanted to make sure that he was safe. Cordelia is fond of him.’

Thomas looked as him as if he was watching water as it burnt. ‘You’re the one who’s been following me?’

‘You knew someone was following you?’ Matthew shouted. ‘And you didn’t say anything? Thomas!’

As much as Alastair hated to admit it, Fairchild had a point. But Thomas was bloody stubborn, and of course he’d continued his patrols even knowing someone was following him. It might just as well have been the killer. How any of these Thieves were still alive today, Alastair had no idea.

‘Everyone be quiet,’ Charlotte said, calm but determined.

She reminded him of Charles right now, a thought that made him nauseous as he always was when he thought of his former lover. Determined not to show any emotion, Alastair studied his nails.

‘This is preposterous, Charlotte. Carstairs is lying to cover up for his friend,’ Bridgestock said.

‘They’re not friends,’ said James. ‘One of us might lie for Thomas. Not Alastair.’

That wasn’t quite true, Alastair would certainly lie for Thomas if it would save his life. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.

‘Then he’s probably mad with grief over his father’s death. Either way he’s not credible,’ Bridgestock snarled, looking at him with a rage that made Alastair suspect this was personal to him somehow.  

‘And yet we are going to hear him out, and Thomas as well, because that is the task that is appointed to us,’ Charlotte Fairchild said, her tone cold as ice. Again she sounded just like her oldest son. ‘Thomas and Alastair both will be held here in the Sanctuary until they can be tried by the Mortal Sword.’

Alastair suspected something like this might happen, but did not look forward to the prospect of being locked up with Thomas Lightwood. He wasn’t sure he could take Thomas’ anger, even if it was completely justified. He would have to wear the mask until the consul came back.

‘You cannot make that decision without me,’ Bridgestock said. ‘I would try them right now, if not for the fact that the Mortal Sword is currently in Paris.’ Alastair couldn’t place the loathing in the Inquisitor’s voice when he said Paris.

‘Fortunately, Will and Tessa will be here tomorrow morning with the sword,’ said Charlotte. ‘Now, Maurice, I fear your eagerness to make your arrest known has only stoked panic. You had best come with me to the courtyard, to communicate that the Enclave has the matter well in hand. The identity of the accused will not be released until the Mortal Sword is employed tomorrow.’

Bridgestock gave one last furious look at the consul and then stalked out of the room. Alastair wondered, if someone did manage to break in here and take matters into his own hand, would they come for him first? Certainly, he looked a lot more murderous than Thomas.

Cordelia slipped through the entrance before the Inquisitor closed the door. Had she been here all this time? Alastair hadn’t seen her.

‘I heard,’ she said, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. ‘I was outside with Eugenia. I heard everything.’

‘Ghoseh nakhor, hamechi dorost mishe,’ Alastair said, stroking Cordelia’s back. Everything will be alright.

He lowered his voice. ‘Listen to me, Layla. I haven’t wanted to fret you, but Maman has been told by the Silent Brothers to keep to her bed, for the sake of her health and the baby’s. I do not think we should worry her more. Tell her I’m spending the night at the Institute to keep Christopher company.’

Cordelia blinked, Alastair could tell she was trying to hold back tears. ‘Yes, I’ll send a runner with a message, but will she believe that? You hardly know Christopher.’

He kissed his sister’s forehead, closing his eyes, letting go of the mask for a moment. ‘She’ll just be glad to think I have a friend, I suspect.’

His mother was always so concerned about his lack of friends, and Christopher was at least believable, he liked anyone who was willing to listen to his ramblings about science. Thomas had told him as much when they’d made the antidote together all those months ago.

‘Alastair,’ Layla said.

The consul didn’t let her finish. ‘This room has become entirely too crowded. All of you, save Alastair and Thomas, clear out. You too, Gideon. We must be seen to be cooperating, you do understand that.’

‘Indeed,’ Gideon Lightwood said, but Alastair wasn’t so sure he understood.

He smiled at Thomas, and it hurt to see the way they exchanged looks. What was it like, to have a father like that? Someone who cared enough to defend his son when he was accused of murder, who was offended at the idea of Thomas being locked in here.

“But it’s ridiculous just leaving them here, they need blankets, food, they’re not being tortured, Charlotte.’

‘Indeed not. They’ll have everything they need. Now Gideon, Christopher, Matthew, James, and you too, Cordelia, you must go.’

Reluctantly, all of them left, stopping next to Thomas for some encouraging words. Cordelia released him reluctantly and left with the boys. She turned around one last time. ‘If they don’t have the Mortal Sword here by tomorrow morning, I’ll break you out with Cortana.’

Alastair guessed that was something to look forward to.

‘I heard that!’ the consul scolded, but Alastair could see a faint smile on her face that was very much unlike Charles.

Everyone left, with ultimately the consul locking the door behind them, leaving him behind with Thomas. Good thing he’d brought a book, as he’d need to avoid Thomas’ anger for some time.

#Alastair Carstairs #Thomas Lightwood #Eugenia Lightwood #Charlotte Fairchild #Gideon Lightwood #Matthew Fairchild #James Herondale #Cordelia Carstairs #The Last Hours #tlh #Chain of Gold #Chain of Iron

[starrywhump]

Another game for the whumpee to play with the caretaker. Live hangman, always stopping before the whumpee dies, but only to do it over and over again, the caretaker at the brink of collapse before *finally* getting it right and bringing whumpee home. Only for one day for another friend to suggest the game to pass the time.

I love this idea thank you so much for submitting it!  I hope the few small changes I made are ok, and I hope you all enjoy reading it!

Tw: Flashbacks, panic attacks

“Please don’t do this!” The caretaker begged, pulling against their cuffs.  A short length of chain held them from getting to the whumpee, from helping the whumpee.

“Since you refuse to cooperate I guess you just don’t care about them,” the whumper ran a hand through the whumpee’s hair.  

The whumpee was on their knees.  Their head was pulled taught by a chain looped around their neck hooked up to the ceiling.  They were struggling to stay conscious.  After hours of torture and days of sleep deprivation, they were so tired.  The lack of oxygen was almost too much to bear. 

The whumper yanked the whumpee’s head back by their hair.

The whumpee yelped.

“Maybe I should just put them out of their misery if you aren’t going to try to save them,” the whumper pushed the whumpee’s head forwards.  They turned and pulled at the other end of the chain, yanking the whumpee up so the chain pulled against their neck.

The whumpee gasped, grabbing at the chain to try and loosen it.

“No! Stop it!  Stop please, please!” The caretaker yelled.

“If you won’t play there is no reason to keep them alive.”

“No no please!  I’ll play, please don’t kill them!”  The caretaker cried, jerking away from their restraints.

“Excellent, this will be much more fun!” The whumper released the chain.

The whumpee crumpled to the ground as soon as the tension of the chain was released.

“Ok six letters, make a guess.”

“I- uh,” the caretaker’s mind was blank.  They couldn’t think of anything.  This was the most important time to be able to think and they couldn’t think.

“I-I... please don’t, please.”

“I?  Is that your guess?”

“No please-”

“Incorrect.  No I in this word,” the whumper grabbed at chain again, pulling down on it so the whumpee was once again held up by their neck.

The whumpee let out a strangled cry.

“No, please!  Please stop you’re going to kill them!” Tears flowed down the caretaker’s face.

“I’m simply playing out the rules of the game.  I am being perfectly fair,” the whumper smiled.

“Stand up whumpee, please.  If you can, please, it would be better, you could- you could breathe if you stood up, please!”  The caretaker pushed forward, trying to get to the whumpee across the room.  They pulled so hard that the cuffs cut into their skin.  Blood trickled down their arms.

The whumpee’s eyes were panic-filled, they didn’t register what the caretaker said to them.  They seemed to be on the edge of unconsciousness, kept awake only by adrenaline and terror. 

“Ok second guess, go,” the whumper looped the chain around a hook on the wall behind them, holding the whumpee in place.

“Please let them down!  Let them down and then I’ll try again, please.”

“That isn’t how it works.  Make a guess.”

“Ok, ok uh let me think.  Ok uh, um... e?”

“E!  Good job, very smart.  E is the fifth letter, now guess the other ones.”

The caretaker breathes a small breath of relief, they just needed to keep this  up “Ok uh...a?”

“Nope!”

“Wait-”

The whumper pulled the chain down again.  

“Ngggh- ‘lease,” the whumpee choked out a plea as they were lifted off the ground.

The whumper smiled at the whumpee’s struggle. 

“Whumpee, stand up, please.  Please,” the caretaker begged.

The whumpee scrambled to get their feet under them.  After a what felt like an eternity of struggle the whumpee managed to stand.  They gasped for air, holding the loop of chain around their neck.

The whumper looked disappointed that the whumpee was able to get up, their sick grin quickly returned to their face as they looked back to the caretaker. “Next guess!”

“Give them a second please!” tears flowed down the caretaker's face.

“Guess,” the whumper’s tone was dangerous.

The caretaker sobbed, “please stop this.”

“Don’t make me ask again.”

“Ok, ok, I- uh, is... is, uh... what about T?”  The caretaker’s breathing picked up, they couldn’t breathe.  The whumpee dying, right in front of them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

“Sorry no T,” the whumper grinned  

“No don’t!” The caretaker’s voice cracked as they yelled. 

The whumper ignored them.  They pulled the chain, more than usual this time, forcing the whumpee up onto their feet so they could just barely touch the ground. 

The whumpee pulled at the chain around their neck, the sound of choked gasps filled the room as they desperately tried to take in enough air.

The caretaker sobbed harder at the sight of them, “Please!  I’ll do anything, please stop!  Do whatever you want to me just let them go.  Let them go, please!”

“All I want is for you to play the game,” The whumper circled the whumpee, enjoying as they became more and more desperate to breathe, as the panic and fear grew in their eyes.  

“Ok I will, I will, just... can I have a hint or... or something?  Please?” The caretaker focused on calming down, they couldn’t help the whumpee if they broke down. 

“Hmmm a hint,” the whumper looked between the caretaker and and the whumpee, pondering, “I suppose a hint couldn’t hurt.  Alright here it is: the word you need to guess is what my dear whumpee is, and always will be,” the whumper smirked, confident that they succeeded in making the caretaker even more confused. 

The caretaker squeezed their eyes shut, desperately racking their brain for the right word.

Five, no six letters, six letters, the fifth letter is e, six letters.

Six, six minutes, would the whumpee live another six minutes?  How long could they last without being able to breathe-Focus!

Oh god oh god, focus!  

E is... six letters, five, e, focus, six-

“You have your hint, make your guess,” the whumper broke the caretaker out of their spiraling thoughts. 

The caretaker nodded tearfully, “is there a, um, h?”

The whumper grinned, eyes lighting up with glee, “Nope!  Wrong again!”

The caretaker’s heart fell, “let me try again, please!”

“You will try again, as soon as I dole out the correct punishment for your mistake this round,” the whumper walked back to behind the whumpee and slowly pulled on the chain.  They took their time, watching the whumpee’s feet lift of the ground.

Horrible, spluttering, almost-silent, gasps came from the whumpee, they weakly kicked their legs, trying to find purchase on any surface to relieve their pain and let them breathe. 

“No!  Please!  Please please stop!  Please!” the caretaker screamed, wrenching their hands away from the chain, thrashing to get to the whumpee.

“Next guess, and I suggest you hurry.  I’d say you have at the very most fifteen minutes before your friend here is dead.  Five if I’m lucky.”

No! Nonononono they had to focus they had to ok, ok they could do this just... just FOCUS.

The caretaker was hyperventilating, they could barely speak, they forced out a guess, “N?!”

“Hey!  There is an N!  Who would’ve guessed?  Well I guess you guessed,” the whumper laughed at their own joke, “N is the last letter, that means so far you have: something, something, something, something, e, n.”

“Ok ok, I uh,” the caretaker let out a sob as they glanced back at their friend, the whumpee wasn’t kicking anymore, their eyes were squeezed closed, but they continued to gasp weakly.

“Tick tock, time is running out,” the whumper spoke in a sing-song tone as if talking to a young child.

The caretaker shut their eyes, they couldn’t look at the whumpee, they needed to think.

Focus.  It is what the whumpee is and always will be.  Or what the whumper thinks the whumpee is and always will be, e, n, e, n-

Their eyes shot open.

“B!”

“Oh?” the whumpee seemed surprised by their guess, “that was luck-”

“B!” the caretaker interupted!

“Fine yes, correct, don’t be so-”

“R!”

The whumper’s face fell, knowing the caretaker had figured it out.

“O, k, e, n.  The word is broken!”

The whumper rolled their eyes, “I never should have given you that hint.”

“I guessed it let them down!  You have to!  Please!”

“Fine, fine, don’t be so pushy it’s rude,” the whumper moved as slowly as they could towards the whumpee.  Then in one quick motion they unhooked the chain, sending the whumpee slamming down onto the floor. 

The whumpee didn’t move from the position they fell to, crumpled in a heap, with their face pushed into the ground.

The caretaker hoped, prayed that they were just unconscious. 

 The whumper riffled through their pocket pulling out a small key.

The caretaker recognized it as the key to their cuffs, was the whumper really going to let them go?

“I am nothing if not someone of my word,” the whumper sighed, and dropped the key on the ground, “find a way to get that and you’re free.”

The caretaker took in a shaky breath, the key looked outside of their reach, but maybe they could get it with their foot, or maybe they could wake up the whumpee?

“See?  I am not a sore loser,” the whumper grined at the caretaker, “I look forward to our next game.”

Without giving the caretaker a chance to respond the whumper turned and walked out of the room.

********

“They’re going to be alright, really, they just need rest,” A doctor stood before the caretaker, they were writing something on a clipboard.  The caretaker couldn’t remember their name, they hadn’t been listening when they introduced themselves. 

The only thing they had been paying any real attention to is the whumpee.  The caretaker sat on a chair next to the whumpee’s bed, holding one of their hands with both of theirs. 

The caretaker’s wrists had been bandaged, but other than that they hadn’t needed much medical care.  The whumpee on the other hand was hooked up to so many tubes, the caretaker couldn’t count them all. 

The caretaker wasn’t sure what all the different tubes were doing, part of them wanted to rip them all out, to stop anyone from ever touching the whumpee again.  But the rest of them, the logical part of them knew that the doctors were helping the whumpee.

The caretaker flinched as the doctor laid a hand on their shoulder. 

“Are you alright?”

The caretaker noded stiffly.

“Well as I was saying, when they wake up we want to try and engage them, so we could use your help.  We need to observe them speaking and moving to do a final check that everything is working as it should.”

“O-ok.  How can I help?”  The caretaker tore their gaze from the whumpee to  look up at the doctor.

“Just speak to them, act naturally.  Maybe play a little game with them, something simple like tic tac toe, or hangman.”

The caretaker’s breathe caught in there throat.

The doctor didn’t seem to notice, they continued to speak.

The caretaker didn’t hear the rest of what the doctor was saying.  Dread was building up in the pit of their stomach.  

They couldn’t breathe.  

Panic filled up their head.

They squeezed their eyes shut.

nonononono please don’t, I won, you can’t do it again please.

Their eyes flew open and suddenly they were back in that horrible room.  In front of them the whumpee hung, thrashing and gasping for air.

“NO!” the caretaker screamed, pushing forward to get to the whumpee.

Hands were on them, holding them, grabbing them.

NONONONO.

“STOP STOP YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” the caretaker screamed as loud as they could.

This isn’t fair I won!  I played your game!

The hands pulled on them.

The whumper pulled on them.

Pulling them back away from the whumpee.

The whumpee was dying and the caretaker couldn’t reach them. 

Someone tried to say something to the caretaker.

It was the whumper, they couldn’t listen to them, they swung their arm towards the voice. 

“STOP STOP”

The whumpee spluttered in front of them, they stopped struggling.  

Red streaks of blood started to ooze from the whumpees eyes.

The caretaker screamed.

The whumpee was dead, they couldn’t save them.

“NO NO NO NO!” the caretaker’s voice broke as they yelled.

A sharp pain lit up the side of the caretaker’s neck.

The hands became more aggressive, forcing them to move. 

Dark began to creep around the edges of the caretaker’s vision.

The caretaker sobbed.

They didn’t fight the hands, or the dark, they let them take over.

If the whumpee was dead there was nothing left worth fighting for. 

#whump #whumpee #whumper #hallucinations #flashbacks #panic attacks #pain #torture #hanging #choking #sadistic game #platful whumper #whump game #asks answered #blood #restrained #caretaker #near death #escape #recovery #hospital whump

[yan-twst]

CYOA - Twisted Wonderland

aaand here it is, finally! Chapter one of my choose your own adventure fic for twst! This is the very first chapter; it’s a bit of a slow start, establishing the plot and all, you know? As was decided by the poll, the reader is in Diasomnia (however, I’m sure y’all can probably figure out a way to worm out of the dorm quickly and meet more characters). Anyways, without further ado, here’s the fic!

You sometimes wished that your dorm wasn’t so… Gloomy. Sure, Diasomnia had some cool things; the whole “Valley of Thorns Castle” aesthetic was cool, and the fact the hallways were lit with green torches always looked cool at night, not to mention the TVs and games in the common room, but… As you tried to study for the upcoming quiz, you quietly cursed the controlled climate. Yes, you knew that rain and storms were natural in the area; but didn’t the school control the dorm’s climate with fae magic?! It was way too difficult to concentrate on your potions notes when the rain outside felt like it was lulling you to sleep as it fell against your windows.

Your roommate was snoozing in his bed- either he’d already studied, or he’d given up on the quiz. Either way, you couldn’t deny that it was alluring to just forget the damn thing and go to bed. It wasn’t that late, but you’d been going to sleep at awful hours lately, and your body sorely demanded you get some sleep. And yet, glancing down at the recipe for the minor memory erasing draught you’d have to concoct tomorrow, you knew that if you went to sleep now, you’d be dealing with Crewel’s biting critique and a terrible grade tomorrow.

A snore from your roommate broke your concentration, and you glared at the sleeping boy. Usually you and him got along just fine, but in this moment, it felt like he was testing you, as he slept sweetly and your sleep deprived self stressed over a notebook. Hearing another snore, you decided to move to the common room- maybe there you’d concentrate a bit better, and also not be tempted by the siren’s call of your bed. Picking up your phone and your notebook, you left the room, closing the door softly so as to not disturb your roommate, and made your way down the eerie halls of the dorm.

“Vice dorm leader…?” immediately, you noticed that Lilia was in the common room. After that your nose registered a smell so odd it almost made you turn around and leave. It wasn’t a bad smell, just… Incredibly odd and off putting: and you quickly pinpointed the source of it to be some charred, blackened and bizarre dish that your vice dorm leader was holding. 

“Oh? Hello there.” he said with a chuckle. You wouldn’t call Lilia a close friend by any means, but you did know him well. As a vice dorm leader, he did his best to help out the Diasomnia students, and he was also fond of pulling small pranks here and there; you’d been a victim of his tricks and also gone to him for help a couple times in your two years of being at NRC. “It’s an odd hour to be hanging out… Or could it be the smell of my cooking that brought you here?”

“Your… cooking?” so that charred thing he was holding was… food? You’d been warned- mostly by your fellow second year Silver- that Lilia was not a good cook (in fact, Silver had made it seem like his food was somehow a health hazard), but you’d imagined the usual cooking oopsies. Too much salt, not enough seasoning, maybe burning some of the food; the usual mistakes people made when cooking. However, looking at the blackened and mysterious substance in the plate he held… You wondered if perhaps Silver had been right in making Lilia’s cooking sound like some sort of biohazard.

“Indeed, I’ve been cooking some cookies. I wanted to cheer Silver, since he’s been studying hard for a quiz. And there’s nothing quite like some cookies to snack on while studying, right?” said Lilia. Cookies…? You walked closer and squinted at the plate; so those were Lilia’s cookies…? You were pretty sure you could see eggshell shards on the otherwise charcoal black pieces of what you hoped was dough. Did he… Did he not see the problem with them?

“Oh, the potions quiz for tomorrow? Yeah, I’m sure he’s been studying… I doubt Crewel is going to go easy on us.” You said with a nervous laughter, trying to divert the topic from the so-called cookies. The last thing you wanted was for him to ask you to taste test or something. A bite of those cookies would probably take you out of commission for a good week or two, and while being sick to miss class tomorrow and avoid the quiz was tempting, you really weren’t sure if it was worth it to risk some crazy horrible food poisoning for that. 

“Fufu, you’re also working quite hard, I gather? Did you come to study here?” asked Lilia, pointing to your notebook. You nodded. 

“Mhm, my roommate was being a bit loud, so…” you shrugged with a smile. You weren’t gonna throw your roommate under the bus and tell Lilia he was snoring like a train and that drove you out of the room, you were at least kind enough to omit that particular piece of info. “Well, I’m probably just going to look over the notes a bit and then go to sleep. I can only study so much to make a potion without actually being at the lab, after all.”

“Ah, Silver did mention that Crewel was making you all make a draught from memory.” Lilia hummed. “Are you having trouble with this? I can always try to help, after delivering these delicious cookies to Silver.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly bother you with this, it’s ok, vice dorm leader!” you said, quickly shaking your head. You didn’t want to waste Lilia’s time; he was a third year, after all… If your work was hard as a second year, he was probably drowning in schoolwork and studying, right? Not to mention you kind of felt like you should show more respect to him: he was an ancient fae and you were pretty sure he was a war veteran despite being in high school. 

“Oh, please call me Lilia. We’ve known each other for too long for you to be using titles, (name). I still remember the day the magic mirror sorted you into Diasomnia, right after my dear Silver was sorted.” he said with a smile, his pointy fangs catching your eye. “You’re close friends with Silver, aren’t you? I’m quite grateful you spend time with him, he’s a good boy.”

“Oh, um, well… Then I’ll call you Lilia, if that’s really ok…” you said, a bit bashful. You didn’t miss how he talked about Silver; you knew that the 2nd year did constantly refer to Lilia as ‘old man’, but you’d brushed it off to perhaps him being close enough to Lilia to use that as a nickname, but… The way Lilia spoke, it almost sounded like a father being happy his son had found a friend. “Yes, me and Silver are close. We’re in the same class, I usually give him my notes when he falls asleep in the middle of lectures. He also helps me study, sometimes.”

“Oh, you do? I must thank you, then. It’s quite kind of you.” Lilia said with a smile. “Oh! How rude of me, I haven’t offered you a cookie, have I? They’re freshly baked, you should try them. It’s the same recipe I made for Silver when he was younger.”

“Er-!” you paled. Crap, this was what you’d been fearing. The stress of the request made you not even stop to think about the odd wording of ‘making cookies for Silver ever since he was younger’ or the implication Lilia had somehow raised Silver; your brain was blaring alarms telling you to NOT put those… Things anywhere close to your face. But at the same time, Lilia was smiling so happily as he picked one of the charred objects and stuck it out in your direction.

“Lilia. You shouldn’t be giving that to humans.” a deep voice made you freeze before you accepted the cookie with a reluctant hand. You quickly turned around to spot the dorm leader entering the common room, arms crossed as he stared at Lilia. “You’re going to kill them if you make them eat that.”

“Oh, come on Malleus, don’t say that! My cookies are delicious.” Lilia sighed, taking back his baked treat and taking a bite for himself. You internally cringed at the noise of what you now absolutely knew to be chunks of eggshell and god knows what else in the object. “Don’t you see you’ll give (name) a bad impression of my cooking if you say that?”

“... It’s my duty to protect my dorm members.” said Malleus, walking closer to you and warily eyeing Lilia’s cooking. You held back a sigh of relief- yup, he’d definitely saved you. If even Malleus Draconia was scared of Lilia’s hellish cookies, you probably would have keeled over and died if you’d put that in your mouth. “Besides, it’s late. Why were you baking?”

“I was making a treat for Silver, since he was studying. This little one just happened to walk in when the cookies were ready- they’re studying for the same quiz Silver is cramming for.” said Lilia, gesturing to you. “It seems Crewel is having his fun in stressing out the first years, fufu. What potion is he making you all make?”

“Oh, um, it’s… A minor memory loss draught. It’s got a lot of steps and ingredients, and it’s way too easy to mess up, so…” you said, a bit nervous. You felt… A little bit silly now, for stressing so much over it. Right now, you were surrounded by one of the strongest mages in the world- who was also the prince of the dark fae- and an ancient and wise fae who had probably fought in great wars and aided the Valley of Thorns royalty. To them, making a weak potion was probably as easy as blinking. 

“A memory loss draught… That does indeed have many steps to its preparation, if I’m not remembering wrong.” said Malleus. His words made you relax a little- you’d half been expecting some comment like a minor memory loss draught? That’s child’s play, why are you stressing out? or something. Your dorm leader was known to be a bit haughty at times. “You look exhausted. I assume you’ve been studying a lot?”

“Wait, I look tired…? Crap, is it showing in my face?” you said, cursing internally. You had a few friends in Pomefiore and you just knew they’d be fretting over you if your eyebags and exhaustion were so evident your dorm leader, who was not too good at picking up clues, could notice.

“I’m afraid so, my dear. You look like you’re ready to drop any second now- I know you’ve got a lot of work, but perhaps you’re pushing yourself too hard.” said Lilia. You grimaced; great, now you’d somehow managed to worry the two of them. It felt… Wrong to have two powerful and important beings even express concern over your wellbeing: you were just… Some puny human who got sorted into Diasomnia, you weren’t even particularly close to either of them. Hell, you’d only spoken to Malleus a couple of times before, for fuck’s sake.

“Hmm, Malleus, could it be that you still remember how to make that potion?” said Lilia, tilting his head. The taller fae nodded, making Lilia hum in understanding. “I see, I see. Well, (name), I’m sure you’d get an amazing grade if you were to study with Malleus. He’s quite good in potionmaking when he concentrates, I promise you. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt at all for him to get closer to his own dorm members now, would it?”

“That’s-!” you visibly stiffened, looking at Malleus. Sure, you weren’t as scared of him as some of the other students were, but…! You still couldn’t just treat him all willy-nilly like some random kid; he was one of the most powerful mages in the world and crown prince from the Valley of Thorns. The mere idea of dragging him off for a study session that benefitted only you made your gut twist. Although the idea was anxiety inducing, you couldn’t help but notice a spark of… Curiosity? In Malleus’ eyes, almost as if he was entertained by the idea of it all; still, you couldn’t just accept something like that.  “I couldn’t possibly-!”

“... or you could go study with Silver. I was going to go check up on him, so you could come with me.” said Lilia, perhaps sensing your panic. 

--- time to make a choice! vote in the poll linked below to choose how to advance in the story!

poll: https://www.strawpoll.me/20971117

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader

[wolf-and-bard]

Dead or Destitute

- a geraskier fic (warnings for blood, mild gore, swear words)

"What the fuck?" Geralt snarled at Jaskier who had just opened the door, wearing an amiable smile and the most ridiculous robe of silver-broquaded burgundy that flared out at the sleeves and the bottom with frilly cuffs. It was buttoned closed save for the top three which fell open to reveal a glorious patch of chest hair. Jaskier's lips looked wine-stained, his hair was tousled, but when he saw Geralt the haze of light intoxication lifted into a brilliant grin. A grin that went straight into Geralt's heart. Fuck. "Geralt. Didn't expect you to come calling, how'd you know I was around?"

"I didn't." "What? Then why are you here?" "Uh..." Geralt cocked his head. Sniffed. Yes, definitely red wine, but only half a glass. Jaskier wore a new perfume too, rose scented. He was partial to almost all flower scents whereas Geralt couldn't stand them. He preferred Jaskier's natural odour. "I'm looking for the Viscount de Lettenhove? Some Duchess from Novigrad sent me because apparently he owes her a large sum of money. You know this man?" Obviously, Jaskier knew this man. If the state of his appearance was anything to go by, he had probably been thoroughly engaged with this man before Geralt had knocked. Which caused an uneasy twinge Geralt pointedly ignored. So, Jaskier was courting trouble once more, nothing new here. "Sorry, what? Sent you? Geralt, are you playing debt collector?" Jaskier asked, stepping closer. The smile was persistent, stuck to his lips as he brushed a spot of Roach hair from Geralt's chestplate. The undertone of that statement, however, was accusatory which made Geralt defensive. "It's not like I enjoy it, but I've been going through a drought and it's like the monsters are hiding or something. Needed to feed myself." "Shit, that bad?" Jaskier crossed his arms, eyes raking up and down Geralt's body to look for signs of destitution. To the outside world, Geralt knew he looked like a regular old Witcher, but Jaskier might just be able to tell the smaller signs of his dry streak. "I will manage." He always did. "So, where is this man? Viscount. Whatever." "He's standing before you." "What... you?" "Surprise? Honestly, I had always assumed that you knew." Knew that Jaskier was secretly nobility? Geralt wrecked his brain for conversational fragments he might have overlooked, information he had simply forgotten, and came up short. "I didn't." "Well, now you do. Oh, but this is fun. Say, Sir Witcher," Jaskier licked his lips and peered up at Geralt from under thick lashes, the blue of his eyes stark in the waning light of day. Geralt furrowed his brow. "Are you entirely sure that I have to pay you back in coin?" Jaskier winked and something boiled over in Geralt's chest, bubbled up from out of nowhere. Gods, this man was infuriating. "Is this what you do when you owe people? Suck their cocks to get them off your back?" Geralt didn't give two fucks how that sounded. Jaskier might not be gifted with enhanced perception, but even he could comprehend jealousy when it was so blatantly put before him. As it was, Geralt's voice was drenched in it. Jaskier let out a humorless laugh, harshly contrasting his earlier mirth, and put his hands to his hips. "That's the road you wanna take with this? Truly? I had meant it as a jest, Geralt. In case you hadn't surmised from the fact that am a travelling bard, usually I'm not here when tax lawyers and debt collectors come calling and it's not like I constantly owe anyway. Besides, I can suck on whatever cock I like to." Technically, sure. It was just that Geralt wanted it to be his and only his. He couldn't very well say that, so he went for the second-best emotion he felt in regards to Jaskier pulling out sexual favours. "I just don't want you to whore yourself out, someone could hurt you," he said and was rather proud of how earnest that came out. "I'm not, I wasn't. I was just being flirtatious," Jaskier sighed, anger deflating. "Why would you be flirtatious with me?" "Why ever? Now that is a question I will only answer when I've had at least a bottle of Lambert's home-brewed vodka." "What?" "Never you mind. Come in, I may be dead broke, but I can still offer you a cup of tea." Jaskier stepped aside to let Geralt into a square foyer/living area which had a skylight and several settees and couches scattered around it. Three doors lead away from it as well as a winding staircase that disappeared behind a velvet curtain. The middle of the room was dominated by a table with half a dozen chairs, its light surface covered in parchments and dirty dishware. Jaskier's lute case sat next to the door, his traveling wardrobe was lain out over a dark purple couch. As if he had just arrived. Or wanted to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. "Sit, please," Jaskier said and gestured towards a back corner, the only couch without stuff on it. "Make yourself a home, I shall be right back. Chamomile, is it?" Geralt nodded absentmindedly and sat. This wasn't at all what he had expected. Neither from Jaskier nor from some Viscount. It was  a nice house, definitely excessive compared to a commoner's lodging, but it wasn't grand. It was....cosy. Jaskier returned with two mugs, plain, one chipped, and sat next to Geralt, close enough that their shoulders bumped together. "Did you wash off the perfume?" "Uh, yes. I know you don't much care for it, messes with your senses and all." Jaskier shrugged and sipped on his tea, then cursed and put it down, rubbing his lower lip. Geralt wanted to kiss it better, astounded by Jaskier's perceptiveness. Fuck. In terms of doing his job, this was going sideways. "How'd you accumulate so much debt anyway? You break an ancient relic or something?" "Ha-ha. Actually, no. This state is entirely due to my great compassion and sense of selflessness. See, I have this friend who was a gambling problem. Asked me to help out and I couldn't say no," Jaskier explained. "Are you the friend?" "No, Geralt, I'm not, but thanks for believing in me..." Jaskier mock-pouted and Geralt laughed, but quickly sobered up when he remembered how insistent his contractor had been. Either the money or the Viscount's head. Geralt would not behead Jaskier, or anyone for that matter. He had planned on a simple Axii strategy. Now... well. "You could have come to me," Geralt said softly. He emptied his tea in two drags to hide how silly he felt. Why would Jaskier have come to him? And even had he wanted to, how would he have found him? His mouth ran away with it. "We could have sorted it out, we still can." "That is very sweet of you, dear, but you literally just told me you only took this job because your short on coin yourself. Anything else, sure, yes, you will always be my first address when I'm in too deep. This is something I have to get myself out of. I could-" "No," Geralt interrupted, slamming his mug down onto the table. Tea sloshed over the rim of Jaskier's. "No. We find some contracts. Wasn't there a plague in Vizima? Sure to be loads of Ghouls and Graviers around. Besides, cities are jack-full with crowds for you to play. We could save up, there's still time." "There really isn't." "Jask," Geralt pleaded, and for what? Truth be told, there was only one simple way out of this. "The Duchess, what did she tell you to do if I couldn't pay up?" Jaskier asked, worrying his lower lip which was entirely too distracting. "Bring her your head." Jaskier gulped audibly. "Well, guess I will have to fake my own death then..." "No," Geralt said. On an impulse, he took Jaskier's hand between his own and pressed his forehead to Jaskier's knuckles. "Give me three days. If I'm not back by then, you run." "Geralt, what are you planning?" "Do you trust me?" "With all my heart," Jaskier replied without missing a beat. A dusting of pink clung to his cheeks when Geralt let go of his hand and stood. "Three days," he repeated. He promised himself to make it in half that time. Two days later saw Geralt back in Jaskier's house, exhausted from sleep deprivation and the hunt that lay behind him. He held his trophy aloft for Jaskier to see. The bard stood a few feet away from Geralt, back in his standard arrangement of doublet and shirt, all a faded, dusty violet. "Geralt, is that a head," Jaskier whispered, wide-eyed. Something clammy and cold wafted over from him, but was promptly replaced with little bursts of adrenaline that melted on Geralt's tongue when he inhaled them subtly. He grunted and dropped the head onto the table where it splattered the parchment collection and dirty silverware with blood. "Fuck me..."  Jaskier said, staring at it. The long blond curls were matted with grime, the once regal cheeks sunken in. Here was one Duchess past her zenith. "Are you not pleased?" Geralt asked and cocked his head. "This solves your problem." "It does, in a rather drastic fashion." Jaskier seemed to struggle with himself, mouthing words Geralt couldn't make out. Then, his shoulders dropped and he crossed the distance between them, put his palms flat against Geralt's chest. Tucked his face against Geralt's neck and Geralt grew very still. Careful to not give Jaskier cause to pull away. "But I thought you only killed monsters." The words came out shaky and when Geralt noticed that, he also picked up on the slightest tremor that hushed through Jaskier's body. What was going on? Had it been the wrong move after all? Geralt huffed in frustration, unable to read Jaskier after all the time they had spent together, and brought his hands up to cup the bard's shoulderblades. Jaskier shuffled closer. "Shouldn't have hired a Witcher," Geralt said. It' was a weak retort, didn't make all that much sense. The crystalline truth was that he had no ethical explanation for this, no code of conduct to refer back to. He had had more than ulterior motives for this one and, fuck, but it had been worth it. Even if Jaskier despised him for it, even if that made him the monster. He had done it to save a loved one from certain persecution, possible death. A loved one. Oh shit. "Suppose so..." Jaskier trailed off, nuzzled Geralt's neck and that was a weird feeling, created a tingle that made it hard for Geralt to swallow. The corners of his mouth twitched upward. He dared to splay his hands over Jaskier's back. "Jask?" "Yeah?" "Are you okay?" he murmured, hiding his smile in Jaskier's hair. "I'm conflicted," Jaskier admitted. "How?" "Uh... just thinking that this shouldn't turn me on as much as it does." "Oh." Jaskier peeled back a little to catch Geralt's gaze and they both burst into silly giggles. Those faded quickly, however, when Jaskier bumped his nose against Geralt's and his breath caught in his throat. Geralt tilted his head forward and dared to claim a kiss. Then two. Then a million, all at once. They broke apart for another stupid burst of laughter. Reaching behind himself, Jaskier brushed  the accumulated junk off the table, head incluced, and hopped on it, drawing Geralt between his legs. "My knight in shining armour," he sighed and kissed the corner of Geralt's mouth. "My beautiful princess," Geralt shot back. He had meant for it to come across as sarcastic, but it sounded more like a sweet declaration of surrender. "Thank you, love." "You're welcome." Geralt leaned down to kiss Jaskier properly, framing his face with both hands. They tangled up, got lost in each other, resurfaced only when Jaskier grew breathless. "Geralt?" "Hmm?" "We're still broke." Ah, fuck. Well. That was a concern for another day.

#the witcher #witcher #geraskier #geralt x jaskier #gerlion #geralt #jaskier #ficlet #idiots in love #cw blood #cw swear words #still endlessly inspired by tw3 #first kiss #fluff #humour #also posted this on ao3 #my writing #yes I named this after a line in the first Hamilton song #sue me #(please don't sue me)

[whats-rambled-rambled]

stuck in stories - I’ll be around

Neil x Reader

summary: aftermath of a panic attack

+ song: Garret Kato - I’ll be around (acoustic)

warnings: mentions of nightmares, panic attacks and loss

author’s note: Thank you so much for this request, dear anon, I feel like that was an important gap in their story to fill. And that’s why I decided to keep the song as the title of this one.

(As I am quite terrible at comforting others myself, I can just hope Neil did a better job than I ever could.)

This is basically chapter 5.5 from Stuck in Reverse series, so if you want to know a backstory behind this one-shot, you should consider reading at least chapters  4 and 5.

But even without that, there is plenty of softness here for you to enjoy.

A penny for your thoughts?

___

Another sleepless night.

It was different this time though. To be fair, how could you sleep after what had happened? 

You didn’t have enough time to process the events of last night. A part of you was scared it might have been yet another dream; your brain’s twisted attempt to make amends for the nightmare which made you spiral into a panic attack in the van. 

The fire flickering in the blue eyes. Neil’s forehead pressed to yours. His arms wrapped around you tightly, not willing to let you go ever again. That kiss. And how both of you had lost yourselves in that moment. 

You smiled as your legs carried you to the spot you’d watched the sunset from the day before. You would know for sure later. Right then you were too tired to think, but too afraid to fall asleep, so there you were at the cliffs again, just before dawn. You rolled out your sleeping bag on the ground and sat down, watching the fading stars as the sky became brighter with every minute.

When the first rays of sunshine were about to reach the mountaintops at the other side of the valley, you heard footsteps.

“Tea?”

You scoffed, glancing over your shoulder. 

Of course.

“Thank you, but how did you know where to find me?” you asked, reaching for a thermal cup.

“Had a feeling,” Neil shrugged, his lips curled in a knowing smirk. “Scoot over.”

You moved to the side, allowing him to kneel on the sleeping bag right next to you. 

Your eyes met as each of you tried to find answers in one another - was it all true? Or was it just a moment of weakness? 

Dumbasses.

When you both realized how mutual those doubts were, you started laughing.

“Oh, come here,” Neil grinned as he leaned your way, kissing you softly and sealing your new reality.

You chuckled against his lips, blinking away happy tears that made their way to the corner of your eyes. Your heart was singing in your chest. Neil wrapped one arm around your shoulders, shifting into a more comfortable position beside you as he pulled you closer. 

You took a sip from your cup, snuggling to his side. “Why did you choose tea over coffee though?” 

“I thought you may want to sleep for a few hours when we get back to the camp,” he said and gave you a warm smile. “You haven’t slept tonight, have you?”

You sighed. 

Neil’s hand was slowly rubbing your arm. “That’s what I thought,” he hummed. “So when I asked you if those sleepless nights happen often…?”

You could feel your body getting tense, and that was enough to let him know that you hadn’t been honest with him back then. Even though it made sense at that time - you’d just met after a decade of not talking to each other, and it hadn’t seemed like a proper occasion to unload all your problems on him. Still, you were embarrassed he caught you on a lie that easily.

“I just didn’t want you to worry,” you mumbled, fastening your gaze on your laps.

“I know,” said Neil, setting his cup aside. He put his hand under your chin and lifted it gently so he could look at your face. “But I worry when I don’t know what is going on with you. Especially if I can clearly see that something bothers you.” He placed a small kiss on your forehead and his eyes lit up. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. Try telling me that you’re fine or it’s nothing though, and I will toss you from that cliff,” he said as the corner of his lips twitched into a half-smile.

You snorted and rolled your eyes. 

At least he wasn’t mad at you.

You took a deep breath and started talking. As the sunlight slowly poured into the valley, you told him about your nightmares. How most of the nights you were forced to face your fallen teammates. About the crippling guilt from not being good enough or prepared enough to save them. And that every time you wanted to apologize for letting them down but you couldn’t.

With every sentence, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. When you started trembling, Neil shifted himself so he could hold you in his arms, his legs framing you on the sides. He took your hands and laced his fingers with yours.

At first, you barely felt any of that. You were too lost in your own head, sharing the memories of the nights when you were too afraid to fall asleep. And how you knew all that sleep deprivation made you prone to repeating your mistakes and risking even more lives. But slowly, with every stroke of Neil’s thumbs on your fingers, with his chest heaving steadily against your back, your breath leveled out; the warmth and safety of his embrace grounding you in the present.

Finally, you ran out of words. You pulled your hands to your chest, nestling inside Neil’s arms. He pecked your shoulder and pressed his cheek to your temple. For the next few moments, you sat in silence; taking in the views, the peacefulness of the early morning, the comfort of being close to each other.

“It’s impossible to prepare for everything, you know. Even if we try, some things will always be out of our hands.”

You sighed. “It doesn’t make it easier.” 

“I know, love,” said Neil softly, nuzzling your hair. “Still, it’s good to have that thought at the back of your mind.”

You nodded, exhaling slowly. Easier said than done. One thing is to know something, the other thing is to feel it, and that’s what you’d been struggling with the most. He was right though, and you appreciated the reminder. 

“What about the panic attacks?”

“They happen from time to time,” you said. “Most of them at night, when my guard is down. That one in the van…,” - you winced at the memory - “God, I can’t remember the last time it happened with people around, probably that’s what made it so much worse.”

“Does every nightmare trigger them?”

You shrugged. “No, not really.”

“What was different, then?”

You hesitated for a moment. Should you tell him? 

“My brain decided to spice it with a little game of what if,” you said bitterly. The image of the blue eyes behind the mask flashed in your mind, making you squeeze Neil’s fingers, still intertwined with yours. 

As if he could sense what was going on in your head, Neil wrapped his arms around you even tighter. “What a jerk,” he huffed into your ear.

“Yeah.”

Neil shifted to your side. As you turned his way, you met his worried eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” A sad smile, combined with his furrowed brows and his lips pressed into a thin line, gave you a hint at how helpless he felt right then. He moved closer and grazed your cheek with his knuckles. “If there is anything I can do…”

“Thank you,” you said softly. “You being there for me-... it means the world.” You brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and gently ran your fingers along his features.  “And you’re helping already.” 

A shade of smile on your face made Neil’s eyes light up. 

Those playful sparks were one of the only things in the whole world able to untie every knot in your stomach in mere seconds. You stifled a chuckle as you caught his gaze lingering on your lips. You tugged at his jacket. A little giggle escaped his mouth just before he kissed you, wiping away all the leftover numbness from your heart.

You stayed on the cliffs for a little while longer. 

On your way back to the camp, Neil got lost in his thoughts.

“How do you know they are judging you?”

That question caught you by surprise. You raised your eyebrows, “What do you mean?”

“Your teammates… How are you so sure? You said they are just standing there.” He tilted his head as studied your expression. “What if it’s not why they are there, and it’s your guilty conscience’s fault you read it that way?”

You opened your mouth to answer but you hesitated. 

It felt as if that one sentence kicked your brain off the rails. 

You weren’t sure if he was right, but for that moment, it was enough to unlock new paths in your mind. 

Neil shrugged lightly and gave you a half-smile.

“Something to think about.”

____

(continue to part 6)

#neil tenet x reader #neil x reader #neil tenet #neil tenet imagine #robert pattinson #stuck in reverse #stuck in stories

[hamabi15]

Oedipus The King In A Nutshell

So we've been reading Oedipus the King in English class and I do not lie when I say that so far I've found the story interesting, not to mention that the plot is intriguing and has the audience on their edge of their seats as the people of Thebes begin to discover the true nature of their beloved king, Oedipus. Upon reading the story, however, the highly (and sometimes dangerous) creative part of me blinked on like a lightbulb. And then I read another work that violently shoved me into writing this. Now, if you're looking for a serious interpretation of the story, then this is not for you (I got you there, didn't I--). If you just came across this by some sheer chance, then prepare to suffer the product of my currently sleep-deprived brain cells. Last but not least, nope, I do not own Oedipus the King (otherwise I would not even be here today and I would instead become ol' Sophocles), yes, I really should have a better control of my sleeping schedule and why am I even telling you this-- I have dedicated this full chapter to the notes, so flip onto the next for the full work. Enjoy! First written on paper, 12:03 am, 7th of May 2021 to be exact. I’m sorry. [A procession of priests and citizens come onstage. Doors burst open and out comes the King of Thebes, Oedipus.] Oedipus: Hello! It is I, the best king on Earth, Oedipus! My city is dying, but I’m such a heroic and generous person that I’ll do everything in my power to save it! You, old man-- Priest: I’m thirty seven-- Oedipus:-- speak up! Why are you all so gloomy? Why is there smoke and incense in the sky instead of those headless and limbless sheep we know as clouds? Speak up! Priest: The plague is killing Thebes, m’lord. Oedipus: [a pause] Do not fear! I have sent my brother in law, Creon, in an act of modesty to ask the Oracle for help! Priest: [throws arms up] Hurray! Chorus: [imitates Priest] Hurray! [Come Creon onstage] Creon: In order to get rid of the plague, we must find and either kill or banish Laius’ murderer... Oedipus: That sounds simple enough! Creon:... on which we have no clues. [a long silence] Oedipus: Why didn’t you avenge him earlier??? Creon: Remember the sphinx? Oedipus: Well, of course-- Creon: Yeah. Oedipus: Doesn’t matter, I shall deal with this right this instant! Chorus: There’s death everywhere! Woman: [crying] My husband is dead Man: What are you talking about? I’m not-- Woman: [cries harder] Chorus: Oh, the death! Gods be merciful on Thebes! Oedipus: [lifts arms for dramatism] I put a curse on whoever killed Laius! I also banish him from Thebes! [in a quieter voice] Oh, and Creon, you sent for Tiresisas, right? [Tiresias hobbles onstage] Tiresias: Who dares awaken me from my afternoon nap? Oedipus: I kindly and respectfully ask you to speak. Tiresisas: never! Oedipus: I will kindly and respectfully have you killed. Tiresias: Oh dear, well, look at that, you have forced it out of me. You killed Laius! [a silence] Oedipus: How dare you accuse me of such an atrocity??? I bet Creon told you to say that! Of course he did! [stomps off stage] Tiresias: Also, you live in the darkness of your marriage! Oedipus: [comes back onstage] you’re playing with fire old man-- [people in the Chorus usher Tiresias away as Oedipus goes back off stage] [Creon walks back on stage. Pauses by the throne. Glances around, sits on it.] Creon: Oh, woah, this is comfortable. Oedipus: [suddenly comes onstage] I knew it! You’ve been plotting against me! Creon: [jumps up] Wh-what are you talking about? Oedipus: You’ve been plotting against me! You want to be king! Creon: What ? But I don’t want to be King! Everybody already loves me and I get all the money and fame! Why would I want to have the responsibilities of the crown?! Oedipus: Liar. I will banish you! Creon: You cannot! Oedipus: Yeah, you’re right. I will have you killed for treason! [Jocasta comes on stage with an annoyed expression] Jocasta: Now, what did I tell you both about arguing? Creon: He wants me dead, sister-- Oedipus: For treason-- Jocasta: Boys-- [Creon and Oedipus continue to argue loudly. Jocasta turns to the chorus with an apologetic shrug, then stands between the two and spreads out her arms to keep them apart.] Jocasta: Oedipus, please believe him! Why would my brother want to overthrow you? Chorus: Listen to the Queen, o noble overlord! Oedipus: [stammers angrily for a few moments] Fine. Out, Creon, and out of my sight! [Creon exists stage, muttering under his breath] Jocasta: What happened here??? Oedipus: He had Tiresias tell me that I killed Laius! Jocasta: Do you actually have proof of that? Oedipus: well, no, but--J ocasta: Ohhh, the prophet. Well, get rid of your fear, dear; Laius and I, we once got a prophecy, that our son would kill his father and marry his mother. So we left him in a mountain, to die. And then Laius was killed by robbers, according to the shepherd who saw it, at a place where three highways meet. Oedipus: Wait a second. Highways? Jocasta: That’s right .Oedipus: Oh man. Flashback-- Oedipus: Old man, outta my way! Old Man: No. Oedipus: So you’ve chosen death-- End of flashback-- Oedipus: Jocasta, I think I could have killed Laius. I used to live in Corinth before, until a drunk man at a party told me that my parents were not my parents. It was stupid, but I went to the Oracle and I was told that I would kill my father and marry my mother. And so I bravely ran away.

Jocasta: [visible fear] I will, um, send for the shepherd now--

[Messenger comes onstage]

Messenger: I have both good and bad news for the King! [Turns to Oedipus] Your father, King Polybus, is dead, and the people of Corinth want to make you their king! Oedipus: What? Yes! I mean. Oh, what grievous news. I did not kill him, or perhaps the sadness of having been parted from me killed him. Jocasta: [relieved] See?! I told you prophecies shouldn’t be feared! Oedipus: I’m not going back to Corinth, though. My mother is still alive. I might accidentally marry her without realizing it… Messenger: But Merope is not your mother.

[A shocked pause]

Oedipus:... what? Messenger: A shepherd of Laius gave you to me, years ago. Your feet were tied and you were found in a mountain. Also, could you get me a cup of wine…?

Oedipus: Of course, my good man.[louder, to Chorus] Call forth the shepherd!

Jocasta: Wait--

Chorus: You already did! And, conveniently, it is the same shepherd who witnessed the death of Laius.

Oedipus: Well, isn’t that strange. [pause] Jocasta, are you--

Jocasta: [shrieks, runs off stage]

Chorus: That was strange.

[The shepherd comes onstage]

Shepherd: sorry, I suffer long-term memory loss, I can’t remember anything.

Messenger: You gave me a child, years ago.

Shepherd: No I didn’t.

Messenger:Yes you did.

Shepherd: Well, I don’t remember that--

Oedipus: Speak before I have you tormented!

Shepherd: Wait, wait, I remember now! Your wife, the Queen, she gave me an infant to kill, because of some prophecy--

Oedipus: No! It was me! I killed Laius! And I married my mother! The prophecy came true after all! [runs off stage]

Chorus: Oh dear.

[Enter a messenger from the palace]

Messenger 2: The Queen is dead!

Oedipus: [comes back onstage] And I have blinded myself!

Chorus: Oh dear.

Oedipus: Creon, you’ll be King now. You’ll banish me, too, and take care of my two girls for me. Wait, is he even here?

Creon: [steps from the Chorus] Yes. Sweet. Look, here are your two daughters.

Oedipus: I cannot see them. Oh, I can hear them now, Ismene and Antigone. My beloved, sweet children…

Creon: Now off you go, into banishment. 

[Exit all but the Chorus. A silence.]

Man in the chorus:...I guess the truth really does stab your eyes out sometimes.

[Curtains close, but the audience does not clap and instead just look plain confused.]

#oedipus the king #sophocles #tragedy #comedy #what have i written #writers #writers on tumblr #originally posted on Ao3