#. poppy ( a girl unmasked )

[nineteenthmay]

Good, selfless or noble things that Chuck Bass does throughout Gossip Girl

I have a feeling that people often ignore all the good that Chuck did in the series so I decided to make a list (not including all the instances Chuck complimented and supported Blair).

in 1x04 he saves Nate from Carter and pays his card debt without expecting return;

in 1x08 he buys the necklace Blair wants, gives it to her and comforts her; 

after the merging of the Basses and Van der Woodsen families he is good and supportive to Eric, including his sexual orientation; in 1x14 Eric says that Chuck as opposed to others doesn’t treat him as some freak; in 1x16 after the dinner where Georgina reveals Eric's sexual orientation the first person Eric turns to for support is Chuck because ‘he has never judged me’;

in 1x15 he helps Serena about Georgina and covers up for her despite the fact that Serena had blamed him for something Georgina did and it had resulted in Bart kicking him out of home;

in 1x17 he answers Blair's call for help despite their bad relationship at the time and he helps Serena; he and Blair schemes together against Georgina to protect Serena;

in 2x02 he sells Victrola, the club that means so much for him, to help Nate's mother and Nate with money;

in 2x09 he helps Blair to find and rescue Emma, the girl who was determined to lose her virginity to some stranger for wrong reasons;

also in 2x09 after finding out about Nate's living conditions he offers Nate to come to live to him despite their bad relationship at the time;

in 2x11 after receiving Vanessa's phone-call informing him about Nate's family problems he helps Nate to learn the truth about his father’s intentions and solve the problem despite the fact that Nate had repeatedly rejected him and his friendship;

in 2x16 he saves Lily from Jack when Jack tries to rape her;

in 2x18 he does everything in his power to help and protect Elle when he thinks she is in danger;

in 2x19 he goes with Serena to find Blair and tries to help Blair when she goes wild after losing Yale (he is not very successful in this but still);

in 2x21 he helps Nate to fix his relationship with Blair despite being in love with her himself;

in 2x22-23 he works to find out the truth about Gabriel, helps Serena to corner Gabriel and then with the rest of the gang implements Blair's plan to take down Poppy Lifton and regain the money she stole;

in 2x23 he "lets go" Blair lying to her about his feelings because he thinks he can't make her happy. He is wrong here but the point is that he puts her happiness above his own;

in 2x24 he organizes the perfect prom night for Blair despite the fact that she attends it with Nate and not him; he prevents the mean girls from sabotaging Blair and votes for her 150 times to make her prom-queen;

in 3x04 after encouraging Blair to not give up he pays a photographer to take pictures of Blair to make her feel confident;

in 3x05 he is protective of Serena and tries to get Carter away from her thinking that Carter has bad intentions; but once he realises that Carter's feelings for Serena are genuine he tells Serena about that despite his own antipathy about the man and encourages her;

in 3x09 he helps to mend Serena and Blair's relationship;

in 3x10 he rescues Jenny from drug dealers and takes her home;

in 3x11 he encourages Nate to reveal his feelings to Serena; after Serena chooses to go with Tripp and leaves Nate, he stays with Nate and comforts him;

in 3x20 it’s revealed that he applied for Blair to Colombia and got her accepted there;

in 3x21 being protective of Lily he does his share in unmasking her manipulative ex-husband William van der Woodsen;

in 4x08 he steps in and backs Blair in her effort to protect Serena; together with Blair and Nate he defends Serena against Juliet;

in 4x21 he desists from reporting on Russel Thorpe to police to avoid hurting Raina (not sure how right this is, but his motive was noble);

in 4x22 he saves Blair's life when she is captured by Russel Thorpe;

also in 4x22 thinking that Blair's happiness lays with Louis, and not with him, he "lets her go" again and encourages her to return to Louis. They both are wrong, of course, but the point again is that he puts her happiness above his own;

in 5x02 he helps Dan to find the publisher Vanessa sold his novel to;

in 5x07 he kisses Blair so that she would think the worst of him and that would help her to move on with Louis;

in 5x08 he stops Dan from ruining Blair's bridal shower and generally takes care of Dan, like hanging out with him, putting him to sleep etc.;

in 5x10 he tells Blair to stay with Louis despite him wanting Blair to return to him because he thinks it's selfish to break them apart given their baby;

in 5x13 he stops Cavalia from sabotaging Blair's wedding;

sometime prior to 5x19 he pays Blair’s dowry to free her from Louis without expecting anything in return;

in 6x01 together with Blair and Nate he goes to find and rescue Serena from whatever trouble she might be into;

in 6x02 he drops everything and goes to Blair after receiving a message that she needs his help;

in 6x03 he organizes Blair’s fashion show while she is unwell; after the fashion disaster he comes to her and comforts her;

in 6x09 he is ready to sacrifice himself and go to exile in order to protect Blair, Nate and Lily from Bart.

#Gossip Girl #Chuck Bass #Chuck/Blair

[libraryleopard]

Here’s all the books I read in 2021!

* = reread

Probably missing a couple comics because I read a lot this year, minus stuff I read for school

January

Loveless by Alice Oseman

The Folker Keeper by Franny Billingsley*

Mrs. Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan

Wayward Witch by Zoraida Córdova

Shadowplay by Laura Lam

Masquerade by Laura Lam

Thorn by Anna Burke

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Final Draft by Riley Redgate*

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska

Young Avengers Presents by Ed Brubaker etc.

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones*

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

February

Young Avengers: The Complete Collection by Allan Heinburg and Jim Cheung*

Young Avengers: the Children’s Crusade by Allan Heinburg and Jim Cheung*

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay

Young Avengers Omnibus by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie*

A Cathedral of Myth by Kat Howard

Empyre by Al Ewing etc.

The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi

Quicksilver: No Surrender by Saladin Ahmed

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Sympathetic Little Monster by Cameron Awkward-Rich

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor*

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Poppy War by R.F Kuang*

So many 90s X-Force comics hahaha why did I just do that

The Vision vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man by Tom King

The Vision vo1. 2: Little Better Than a Beast by Tom King

March

The Unstoppable Wasp vol. 1: G.I.R.L. Power by Jeremy Whitley*

X-Factor Investigations vol. 1: The Longest Night by Peter David

Angela, Asgard’s Assassin vol 1. Priceless by Marguerite Bennett and Kieron Gillen*

Angela, Queen of Hel: Journey to the Funderworld by Marguerite Bennett*

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

The Unstoppable Wasp Unlimited vol. 1: Fix Everything by Jeremy Whitley

Midnighter vol. 1: Out by Steve Orlando

Midnighter vol 2: Hard by Steve Orlando

Midnighter & Apollo by Steve Orlando

Like so many issues of X-Factor Investigations dear GOD

Astonishing X-Men vol. 10: Northstar by Marjorie Liu

Astonishing X-Men vol. 11: Weaponized by Marjorie Liu

Astonishing X-Men vol. 12: Unmasked by Marjorie Liu

Astonishing X-Men vol, 13: Frozen by Marjorie Liu

Die vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

New Mutants: Dead Souls by Matthew Rosenberg

Die vol. 2: Split the Party by Kieron Gillen

Iceman vol. 1: Thawing Out by Sina Grace*

Tithe by Holly Black

Iceman vol. 2: Absolute Zero by Sina Grace

Iceman vol 3: Amazing Friends by Sina Grace

Shatterstar by Tim Seeley

Extermination by Ed Brisson

Age of X-Man: X-Tremists by Leah Williams

Ruinsong by Julia Ember

X-Force by Ed Brisson

Crier’s War by Nina Varlea

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Dark Wolverine: the Prince by Marjorie Liu

Daken: Dark Wolverine vol. 1 by Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu

Daken/X-23: Collision by Marjorie Liu

Daken: Dark Wolverine - Big Break by Rob Williams

Daken: Dark Wolverine - The Pride Comes Before the Fall by Rob Williams

Daken: Dark Wolverine - No More Heroes by Rob Williams

House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman

X-Factor vol. 1 by Leah Williams

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo*

April

Excalibur vol. 1 by Tini Howard

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

Excalibur vol. 2 by Tini Howard

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes

Girl Woman Other by Bernardine Evaristo

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga by Christ Claremont

All-New Wolverine vol. 1: The Four Sisters by Tom Taylor

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

All-New Wolverine vol 2: Civil War II by Tom Taylor

Marauders vol. 1 by Gerry Dugan

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Iron Heart by Nina Varela

Silk & Steel edited by Janine A. Southard

X-Men: Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont

All-New Wolverine vol. 3: Enemy of the State II by Tom Taylor

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

The Wild Iris by Louise Glück

New X-Men vol. 1: E is for Extinction by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 2: Imperial by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 3: New Worlds by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 4: Riot at Xavier’s by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 5: Murder at the Mansion by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 6: Assault on Weapon Plus by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 7: Planet X by Grant Morrison

New X-Men vol. 8: Here Comes Tomorrow by Grant Morrison

May

I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan

New Mutants classic vol. 1 by Chris Claremont

All-New Wolverine vol. 4: Immune by Tom Taylor

Generation X vol. 1: Natural Selection by Christina Strain

Generation X vol. 2: Survival of the Fittest by Christina Strain

All-New Wolverine vol. 5: Orphans of X by Tom Taylor

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor*

New Mutants Classic vol. 2 by Christ Claremont

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge

Rogue and Gambit: Ring of Fire by Kelly Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. X vol. 1: Love and Marriage by Kelly Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. X vol. 2: Rogue and Gambit Forever by Kelly Thompson

West Coast Avengers vol. 1: Best Coast by Kelly Thompson

Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 1: Trust Me by Al Ewing*

New Mutants classic vol. 3 by Chris Claremont

Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 2: I Cannot Tell a Lie by Al Ewing*

Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 3: Last Days by Al Ewing*

Norroway vol. 1: The Black Bull of Norroway by Cat and Kit Seaton*

The Unstoppable Wasp vol. 4: G.I.R.L. vs. A.I.M. by Jeremy Whitley

The Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake*

June

All-New Wolverine vol. 6: Old Woman Laura by Tom Taylor

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

Marauders vol. 2 by Gerry Dugan

X-Men vol. 1 by Jonathan Hickman

X-Men vol. 2 by Jonathan Hickman

Persephone in the Late Anthropocene by Megan Grumbling

Magik: Storm and Illyana by Chris Claremont

Longshot by Ann Nocenti

West Coast Avengers vol. 2: City of Evils by Kelly Thompson

Ironheart vol. 1: Those With Courage by Eve Ewing

That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler

Black Widow: the Name of the Rose by Marjorie Liu

New Mutants classic vol. 4 by Chris Claremont

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Empyre: X-Men by Jonathan Hickman

Sandman vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

New Mutants classic vol. 5 by Chris Claremont

To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Madness by Sam Sax

X of Swords by Jonathan Hickman et al

New Mutants classic vol. 6 by Chris Claremont

July

X-Men: From the Ashes by Chris Claremont

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom

Constantine: The Hellblazer vol. 1: Going Down by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV

Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia

Heartstopper vol. 1 by Alice Oseman*

Heathen vol. 1 by Natasha Alterici

Age of X-Man: Prisoner X by Vita Ayala

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie*

All Systems Red by Martha Wells*

Heathen vol. 2 by Natasha Alterici

Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 2 by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie*

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 3 by Kieron Gillen and various others*

Artificial Conditions by Martha Wells

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

New Mutants classic vol. 7 by Chris Claremont

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

X-Men: Mutant Massacre by Chris Claremont

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 4 by Kieron Gillen

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

August

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 5 by Kieron Gillen

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 6 by Kieron Gillen

New Mutants: The Return of Legion by Zeb Wells

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 7 by Kieron Gillen

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 8 by Kieron Gillen

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

X-Men: Fall of the Mutants by Chis Claremont

The Wicked and the Divine vol. 9 by Kieron Gillen

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Midnighter vol. 1: Hard by Steve Orlando*

Midnighter vol. 2: Out by Steve Orlando*

Midnighter and Apollo by Steve Orlando*

Becoming a Man: The Story of a Transition by P. Carl

September

Inferno by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson

Marvel pride anthology

DC pride anthology

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Batman: Under the Red Hood by Judd Winick

Hellions vol. 1 by Zeb Wells

Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson

Suicide Squad: Bad Blood by Tom Taylor

Gotham Academy vol. 1 by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher*

Gotham Academy vol. 2 by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher*

Gotham Academy: Yearbook by various authors/illustrators*

Gotham Academy/Lumberjanes by Chynna Clugson Flores*

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Gotham Academy: Second Semester vol. 1 by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, and Karl Kersch*

Gotham Academy: Second Semester vol. 2 by Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, and Karl Kersch*

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman

Odd Spirits by S.T. Gibson

Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm by Al Ewing

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Jack of Hearts and Other Parts by L.C. Rosen

October

Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones*

How to Be Ace by Rebecca Burgess

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djéli Clark

Sandman vol. 2: The Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman

November

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco*

Hellblazer vol. 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Siege: Battleworld by Kieron Gillen

S.W.O.R.D. vol. 1 by Al Ewing

New Mutants vol. 1 by Vita Ayala

December

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love With the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gillibrand

Hellblazer vol. 2: The Devil You Know by Jamie Delani

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Boy in Bloom by Nina Powers

Marvel’s Voices: Identity # 1

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Eternals vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente*

Hellions vol. 1 by Zeb Wells*

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

Hellions vol. 2 by Zeb Wells

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism by Elsa Sjunneson

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djéli Clark

#hi welcome to lulu's year of reading a ridiculous amount of comics how may we help you #did read a good variety of actual books though #lulu speaks #lulu reads #books #2021 reads

[felixfeliciswriterblog]

"It’s Not That Simple” Masterlist

This post includes the “It’s Never Simple” series with links to AO3 and FFN. I’ll be updating the WIP section so that you can follow my progress.

COMPLETE:

1) It’s Not That Simple, AO3, FFN. Main fic. Severus weds Skyrah Riddle under orders from Voldemort, her father. She's capable of showing kindness despite her cunning. Severus can't figure her out. The problem is she might unmask him before he unmasks her. Meanwhile, Voldemort pressures the couple into conceiving an heir. The last thing Severus needs is to teach Potter occlumency, but destiny has always mocked him. Longfic.

2) A Not So Simple Valentine’s Day, AO3, FFN. Severus has always hated Valentine's Day. The problem is his wife does not look disgusted by the festivity... One-shot.

3) The Birth of the Augurey,  AO3, FFN. Lord Voldemort chose Bellatrix Lestrange to give him an heir. However, she ended up in Azkaban before that could happen. Now that she isn't in prison, she intends to fulfill the task. Unfortunately, someone beat her to it. One-shot.

4) Home Life Isn’t Simple,  AO3, FFN. A day in the life of the Snape family. Very fluffy. One-shot.

5) Snapetober 2020: “It’s Not That Simple” edition, AO3, FFN. Prompts 5, 18 and 30. Collection of one-shots.

6) Felines Don’t Make Things Simple Parts 1 and 2, AO3, FFN. The last thing the Snapes need while arranging their wedding is to cross paths with a meddlesome cat. In the second installment, the Snape children come across an adorable kneazle. One-shots. 

7) A Matron’s Simple Advice,  AO3, FFN. When Poppy notices the Snapes are stressed out, she becomes the perfect sex therapist. One-shot.

8) A Simple Photograph, AO3, FFN. Harry meets his grandmother Andraste and his little brother after the Final Battle. An important Severitus conversation takes place too. One-shot.

9) December Traditions Aren’t Simple, AO3, FFN. A Snyrah winter holidays!fic. One-Shot.

WIP (REQUESTS):

1) A Tale of Two Crows. TeenAU. Severus and Skyrah as Hogwarts students. I expect it to have 14 chapters (two per each Hogwarts year starting with second year + two post-Hogwarts chapters). Posted up to chapter 10.

2) Of Scorpions and Sunflowers (the title may change). In the last chapter of the main story, Draco is reluctant to start a relationship with Dione. In the epilogue, they are together. How did the couple come to be? This fic answers this question. It has been drafted, but it needs a lot of editing. Two-chaptered fic due to its length, most likely.

3) Simply Destiny. AU in which Voldemort learns to love. The fic will deal with the changes that would bring to the Riddles and to the Snapes. I have many ideas and have started writing it down. It is going to be a long fic for sure.

4) Untitled. An eight-year-old Corbin messes around in his dad’s lab. I’ve just started outlining this. One-shot.

5) Untitled. Teen!Corbin dealing with teenage drama. I still need to outline this, but seeing someone else asked about Corbin’s first crush, I’ll probably deal with that. One-shot.

6) Untitled. Ginny and Harry become parents, which means Skyrah and Severus become grandparents, and little Corbin and Brenna are now an uncle and an aunt respectively. I’ve got some ideas for this, but I still need to outline most of it. One-shot.

7) Going on Holiday Isn’t Simple (the title may change). The Snape family goes on holiday. I need to outline this.  One-shot.

Someone said they’d like to read about Skyrah and Severus healing from the war and Brenna becoming a daddy’s girl, so if I can find a way to make that fit in my other prompts, I will :)

The prompts are listed in the order they were requested. My muse, however, has other plans. So I cannot say this will be the posting order.

Also, I have other ideas, as a Regency Era AU, Muggle AU, a Halloween fic, and a Severus with amnesia AU. I’ve written some scenes, but they all need a lot of work.

#severus snape #severus snape fanfiction #severus snape x oc #professor snape #severitus

[windupalisaie]

unburdened & content

(alisaie/wol | romantic fluff  | post stormblood - a year after ala mhigo’s liberation | 3178 words) 

A pair of arms emerged from the dark and wound around Alisaie's waist. Her hand reached for the hilt of her rapier on instinct, only to remember that the blade usually strapped to her belt wasn’t there. For a brief, fleeting moment, she panicked.

"Guess who?"

The question was caught between velvet and silk, with a light rasp that clung to otherwise smooth words. The warmth of a familiar giggle danced against Alisaie’s neck and her ear, bringing with it the equally familiar scent of petals and spice that mingled with a rich thread of wine. Alisaie relaxed.

"You're far too adept at cloaking yourself in shadow, Warrior of Light."

She did her best to not make the surprise she'd briefly felt obvious and made sure the title was a sharp little knife when she spoke it—much like the ones its bearer often threw around without care. The shadow behind her giggled again upon being unmasked. 

"Caught me," Poppy replied in a rueful, singsong way and leaned forward to prop her chin on Alisaie’s shoulder. "Just wanted to see if my darling little wallflower is enjoying herself."

The jab was gentle, edged only with a hair of playful sharpness. Still, Alisaie glanced sidelong in a way she knew was petulant—eyes narrowed and lips pursed—at the woman who used her as a headrest. When she caught sight of the bright eyes that stared back at her, crinkled with a sweet and genuine smile, Alisaie couldn't help but smile in return.

"I'm enjoying myself as much as I can," she said, sounding droll. She crossed her arms and leaned back into her love's embrace, sighing lightly to punctuate her response.

Parties were never Alisaie’s preferred environment. Forced pleasantries and talk of politics were always Alphinaud’s forté, but she'd learned to endure it all in her own way. She was never sorely missed in the moments between conversations, even after slipping away to the darkened sidelines to catch her breath. 

It’d been a long evening of speeches and socializing. Ala Mhigans were a lively bunch, at the very least, and, to their credit, the celebration could hardly be considered stiff. Alisaie smiled again when she looked across the crowd and caught glimpses of her fellow Scions, who all mingled amongst members of the Resistance and leadership from the Eorzean city-states.

"I have to admit,” Alisaie said quietly, “it’s good to see everyone together again." 

A warm feeling of contentment tinged her words. The hum of agreement Poppy replied with held a similar warmth. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked.

The question gave Alisaie pause. The memory of the night they were all together last was vivid despite being years old at that point, and replayed in her mind as if through the clear facets of an unaspected crystal:

Having defeated the Warriors of Darkness and collected their missing comrades, every Scion had crowded into the Solar of the Rising Stones in attendance of an impromptu meeting called by Alphinaud in order to decide the course of their future. It felt like an epoch ago, before their entanglement in the war, in a time when Lyse still counted herself among their ranks and before Papalymo—

Alisaie shook her head to clear the thoughts away. The motion helped combat the stab of sadness that suddenly slipped into her gut like a knife.

"It has," she said in agreement, quiet and just a bit somber. As if sensing her tension, the arms around Alisaie's waist tightened their embrace.

"Well,” Poppy said, “I can see you're clearly having the time of your life here, but—" before Alisaie could even think up a quip in return, Poppy cut the teasing short to continue, "—want to sneak away with me for a bit?"

The question, along with the puff of breath that came with it, pushed against Alisaie's neck and made the skin there prickle into gooseflesh. She turned her head, enticed already, and smirked at the sight of the playful twinkle in Poppy's eyes.

"Lead the way," Alisaie replied. She didn't bother with hesitation, having learned long ago that it was best to just play along with her love's mischief, and was rewarded with a flash of sharp teeth.

Poppy's arms released her, but her hand slid against Alisaie's a breath later until their fingers tangled together, pulled taut as knots. The gentle tug that came soon after was a wordless command to follow.

Poppy led her through the darkened edges of the ballroom with the silence expected of one whose multitude of titles included the darkest shadow. It was a marvel how she seemed to thread the ambient aether around them both to form a cloak of darkness that shielded from prying eyes. Alisaie was ever-appreciative of the discreet ways Poppy always managed to rescue her from the boredom of parties with.

When they broke free of the confines of the celebration, Poppy let the shadows fall away. The palace opened up around them, all gold and buff marble and towering pillars holding up lofty domed ceilings that filled Alisaie with awe. She hadn't explored the massive place so thoroughly before, but noted how all previous manners of Garlemald had been expunged, replaced instead with rightful banners of rich purple and alabaster griffins.

The hoods of the Resistance were styled after the very same majestic beasts, with beaks that dipped down in respect towards the Warrior of Light and her companion, as they allowed the two women past their guard. A grand staircase was ascended, and Alisaie suspected she found herself on the famed Royal Menagerie when they emerged onto a sweeping terrace paved in ecru tile.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Poppy's question broke through the prolonged, though comfortable, silence that had slipped between them. Alisaie hummed her appreciation at the sight of flowers that swayed in chilled gusts of night air, painted in shades ranging from vermilion to rosy pink. Still hand in hand, they stepped towards the center of the garden and among rows of massive flowerbeds. When Poppy's hand slipped away from hers, it was replaced with a crisp coolness that made Alisaie miss her touch.

"This is where I fought him." Poppy moved towards the nearest plot and bent over to pluck a flower from its bed. There was a slowness to her motions that made it look like she was in pain, or that she feared the bloom she held might shatter at her touch. "A lot of things ended here," she added. The words seeped quietly into the night, heavy with the weight of troubling memories.

Alisaie knew that Zenos met his end on the Menagerie. She hadn't expected it to be a place so serene, though it was clear that the serenity didn't reach Poppy fully. Something about her demeanor changed as she held the flower up. Her eyes narrowed in deep thought and perhaps in anger as the sliver of moon that hung above them outlined her profile with a soft, pale glow. Though the light was scant, it still reflected off her eyes like a flicker of cold flame.

Alisaie watched her, unsure what to say. When her gaze fell to the jagged scar visible beneath the chest wrappings of Poppy’s sparse armor, the red of the flowers briefly brought the phantom, coppery tang of blood to her nose. Her own anger flared in an unbidden flash of heat, directed at herself for not being able to stand at Poppy’s side during that final battle. 

"Many things began here as well," Alisaie said after a moment. She unclenched her fists and shed her senseless anger—it would do her little good a year late, after all—then offered Poppy a determined little smile instead. "Ala Mhigo's unfettered future, for one."

Poppy remained entranced by the flower in her grasp. Alisaie’s words broke through her silent musing and she lifted her head to meet her gaze, seeming startled and unsure. She exhaled a breath that felt like it lasted an age, but also seemed to lighten her burden, if only just a bit.

"I didn't want this place to be soured, is all," Poppy explained with a shrug, sounding sheepish, and glanced back down at the flower that twirled between her fingertips. Its pink petals held fast to the stem despite the abuse. "It's too pretty for that. So I brought you. It can't be sour if there's memories of you here."

Alisaie huffed at the flattery, though a smile still tugged at the corner of her mouth just enough to betray her. Poppy caught sight of it in an instant—fast enough to act before Alisaie could squeeze in a retort.

"Enough talk,” Poppy said and waved a hand before her face, as if she meant to swipe the dreary cobwebs of old memories away. “Dance with me?"

The question caught Alisaie off guard. Her wide-eyed gawping was likely what pulled the smile back onto her partner’s lips.

“Dance? Here?”

Her incredulity sharpened that smile to a wolfish grin. “Why not?”

It was a challenge, if she’d ever heard one. Alisaie stared at the hand extended towards her for a moment before she rose to it. 

"If you insist,” she replied, tone tart. “I'll indulge my dear Warrior."

Fingers brushed together and a step closed the gap of space between them. Poppy's free hand deftly tucked the flower she held into Alisaie's hair, where it made its new bed just above her ear. She smirked at the gesture, though the gentleness of it filled her with warmth.

Poppy took both of Alisaie’s hands in hers. Alisaie looked down at them, feeling calluses brush against her own, seeing scars stretch pale lines across olive skin. Poppy's nails were filed down to minuscule points and lacquered a dusty, petal pink that matched the flower she'd just held. The charming style of it suited her.

Alisaie remembered, suddenly, something her mother often said to scold her long ago, when she was but a young girl who had a bad habit of chewing on her nails while she read: you can learn much about someone with just a glance at their fingernails, and thus you must needs care for your own. She'd never quite understood the meaning behind those words. Not until she saw Poppy’s hands.

She remembered long nails carved into menacing points on the eve of many a battle, ones that were sharp enough to be considered knives in their own right. She remembered the aftermaths, the bandages wound around palms, the nails splintered and shattered, with blood caught underneath, sullied in conflicts won. She remembered still how in the darkest hours they were left overgrown and haloed by purplish bruises, left untouched by self-imposed neglect. 

Those were the hands of the Warrior of Light, of the soldier, of the weapon. The hands that held Alisaie’s then were a stark contrast that bespoke contentment and peace, rather than the hardships of war.

Alisaie remembered, also, the scent of wine on Poppy's breath when she snuck up on her, and caught it faintly between them then in their closeness, still rich and sweet. She thought of how Poppy had always quailed at the sight of a goblet and eyed opened bottles with obvious suspicion. Alisaie was surprised that she'd indulged, especially after having confided in her long ago about the fears that followed after the night in Ul'dah, and the other at Falcon's Nest.

Then it clicked into place: Poppy felt safe. Her myriad of wounds, no matter how countless, had begun to heal. The realization warmed Alisaie further.

"Ready?" Poppy asked, snapping her back to the present with amused impatience. "Or are you stalling?"

"I assure you that I'm not," Alisaie replied, tone tart once more. She straightened her back and pulled Poppy closer. "Lead the way," she said for a second time that night, and knew how she sneered likely made it sound more like a challenge of her own.

Poppy, of course, rose to that challenge in an instant. Their positions were sorted out, with hands finding waists and shoulders and holding one another. And thus their dance began.

Alisaie thought it would be nigh impossible with no music to guide them, but Poppy managed to surprise her, as she always did. She pulled them both along with her usual ease, her movements fluid, following the thrum of some unheard melody that steered her. Alisaie kept up through sheer determination alone, loathe to be outdone by her partner.

"You look a bit impressed," Poppy said after a while. She twirled them around with an effortless grace that somehow managed to come off as smug. Alisaie rolled her eyes.

"Quite. I'm impressed you haven't tripped over me yet."

Poppy tutted her disapproval before a wicked grin lit up her face. She was clearly undeterred by the comment.

"Oho, but you haven't seen anything yet!"

Both her hands traveled to Alisaie's waist and wrapped around her back, pulling her closer before she was urged backwards again. She half expected to be dropped to the ground, but Poppy held tight, dipping her so low that her head brushed against the flowers beneath her. Alisaie stared up at her, silent with surprise, and instinctively wrapped her arms around Poppy’s neck in fear of falling.

The ornate bits of gold sewn onto Poppy's formal battle garb glistened beneath the moon's half crescent and clinked together softly as she shifted to lean over. The sharp pauldron that jutted from her shoulder cut into the night sky above her, and the fearsome daggers that hung from her hips shone as moonlight pooled along the faded scars that cut across her cheek and lips. She looked every bit like the gilded hero of legend she was oft made out to be, and Alisaie couldn't help but be enchanted by the sight.

Poppy's smugness melted into satisfaction, then turned to something even softer. Her lips grazed against Alisaie’s in a feather-light kiss that stole the breath from her lungs, and her eyes fluttered closed when a more firm kiss followed.

She was practically gasping when Poppy pulled away, only to peer down at her warmly from beneath long lashes. The florid sweetness of the blooms that danced all around them clouded Alisaie's already reeling mind.

"You—" words failed her for a moment, as she'd been completely disarmed. "You… you hopeless, senseless romantic! You were planning this all along, weren't you?"

The amorous moment was shattered when another grin broke across Poppy's face. She laughed at the accusation as she straightened her back, pulling Alisaie up with ease.

"Caught me again. It's your own fault, though," Poppy said in a singsong way while her eyes narrowed with mischief. "I love you enough to prance around like a fool, after all. Lucky you," she added, tail swishing behind her in satisfaction.

Alisaie should have been more irritated from the embarrassment of being briefly turned into a blushing, swooning maiden, but no such feelings of contempt ever came. Only a warm fondness filled her, along with an amusement that pushed past her lips as a chuckle that Poppy shared in.

Poppy released Alisaie from her grasp, but didn't back away. Their hands came together again in a wordless want for contact, and they swayed, fingers twined and cheeks pressed together. It was a ghost of their previous dance, though more pleasant with the added closeness.

"I am lucky," Alisaie said after a while, quiet and assured. When Poppy chuckled again in reply, Alisaie felt the sound rumble against her. 

"I'm glad you think so."

There was a frailty and shyness behind the words that made Alisaie's heart stutter. She caught the faint thread of wine on Poppy’s breath again, felt the subtle sharpness of nails against her palms, and her thoughts abruptly turned to the precariousness of it all. The state of the realm, their lives, their love—everything felt so delicate.

It felt like madness, sometimes, to think of the breadth of her love for Poppy. And it was madness, for how could she fall in love with a whirling tempest, or the harsh crackle of a roaring fire, or the sharpened end of a freshly polished knife, or the light, blooming warmth of hope? It was a foolish notion to fall in love with intangible, fleeting things, but Alisaie was stubborn and ever content in that folly, because she knew that the Warrior of Light was no weapon cast in metal to be wielded, nor a statue carved of stone to be worshiped—she was but a woman of flesh and blood who loved just as deeply as she did.

Their love was foolish, perhaps, and it was terrifying. The feeling was fragile, caught between them like a little bird, its frantic wing beats not unlike the fluttering of their hearts. Yet in all its fragility, it also held an unfathomable strength. It was an act of defiance to love a hero, Alisaie knew, as it was to be a hero in love. But together, they were both stronger for it.

"You're so quiet tonight," Poppy whispered, and Alisaie felt the warmth of her curious concern brush across her cheek. "A lot on your mind?"  

"Yes," Alisaie admitted. There was no point in lying, but she didn't quite know how to articulate the thoughts that occupied her. 

Poppy hummed. It was a thoughtful little sound. She pulled back just enough so Alisaie could see that her face was twisted into an unimpressed look.

"You think too much," she said, and it sounded almost like a scolding. And in that moment, Alisaie had to hold back the laugh she felt bubble up at the absurdity of it all.

“Well,” she began to reply without a breath of hesitation, "between the two of us, someone has to."

The jab pulled a pout onto Poppy's lips. Alisaie couldn't help but smirk.

"Seems like my wallflower is more of a nettle," Poppy said, speaking with as much sharpness as the mentioned plant. "Thinking is for politicians. In case you’ve forgotten, we're the ones who fight," she reminded her pointedly. She then heaved a dramatic sigh and moved backwards to step onto a flowerbed, pulling Alisaie along with her. "Though, I guess there's not much fighting to do for now,” she said with a thoughtful tilt of her head, before continuing with her usual mischief: “All that's left to do is dance!" 

They were surrounded on all sides by flowers. Poppy took Alisaie’s hands again and spun them both around. Alisaie conceded, grinning as she gave in to her love's whims, and the fondness that filled her heart made her feel as resilient as the blooms that bent against their movements.

"I suppose I can't argue with that."

Alisaie loved Poppy always, but loved her most as she was then: unburdened and content, twirling among petals, bathed in scant moonlight as she laughed. There were no titles, no duties, no pain. She was purely herself, and that was all who she needed to be.

#ffxiv #ffxiv fic #alisaie #alisaie/wol #ali/poppy #this is extremely sappy lol #my writing #writing has been rly hard lately #so i reworked this fic that i wrote a while ago to try and get myself back into it #i think i originally wrote this like a year and a half ago #but it's still one of my fav pieces #it captures ali and poppy's relationship well i think #god i wish i wasnt so embarrassed about posting writing fdksfhdf #im still unsure about posting writing on here in general but let's see

[dustedmagazine]

Dusted Mid-Year Exchange, Part 3: Writers’ Lists

Joe McPhee 

We wrap up our mid-year feature with writers’ favorites from the first half of the year.  If you missed them, check out Parts One and Two from earlier this week.

Tobias Carroll

SAULT — UNTITLED (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)

Irreversible Entanglements — Who Sent You? (International Anthem)

Cold Beat — Mother (DFA Records)

African Head Charge — Drumming is a Language 1990 - 2011 (On-U Sound)

En Attendant Ana — Juliet (Trouble in Mind)

Positive No — Kyanite (self-released)

Helen Money — Atomic (Thrill Jockey)

Matt LaJoie — Everlasting Spring (Flower Room)

Xetas — The Cypher (12XU)

Alison Cotton — Zener_08 (Sensory Leakage)

Coriky — Coriky (Dischord)

Błoto — Erozje (Astigmatic Records)

Gerycz / Powers / Rolin — Beacon (Garden Portal)

75 Dollar Bill Little Big Band — Live at Tubby’s (self-released)

Slum of Legs — Slum of Legs (Splurge Recordings)

The Soft Pink Truth — Am I Free to Go? (self-released)

 Tim Clarke

Activity — Unmask Whoever (Western Vinyl)

Alabaster DePlume — To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (International Anthem)

Drab City — Good Songs For Bad People (Bella Union)

Fake Laugh — Dining Alone (State 51 Conspiracy)

King Krule — Man Alive! (XL)

Owen Pallett — Island (Domino)

 Andrew Forell

Irreversible Entanglements — Who Sent You? (International Anthem)

Wire — Mind Hive (Pinkflag)

Peel Machine Dream — Agitprop Alterna (Tough Love/Slumberland)

Rowland S Howard — Teenage Snuff Film (Fat Possum)

The Wants — Container (Council Records)

Shabaka And The Ancestors — We Are Sent Here By History (Impulse!)

Davey Harms — World War (Hausu Mountain)

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore — Patchouli Blue (Ipecac)

 Ray Garraty

Rio Da Yung Og — City on My Back (#Boyz Entertainment)

Cash Kidd — No Socks (4746 Global)

The Jacka — Murder Weapon (The Artist Records)

Z-Ro — Quarantine: Social Distancing (1 Deep Entertainment)

Ka — Descendants of Cain (self-released)

Bandgang Lonnie Bands — The Scamily (TF Entertainment)

 Jennifer Kelly

Six Organs of Admittance—Companion Rises (Drag City)

Gil Scott Heron and Makaya McCraven—We’re New Again (XL Recordings)

Obnox—Savage Raygun (Ever/Never)

Cable Ties—Far Enough (Merge)

Lewsberg—In this House (12XU)

James Elkington—Ever Roving Eye (Paradise of Bachelors)

Jehnny Beth —To Love Is To Live (Arts & Crafts)

Destroyer—Have We Met (Merge)

Decoy w/ Joe McPhee — AC/DC (otoROKU)

Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers— Vodou Alé (Bongo Joe)

FACS—Void Moments (Trouble in Mind)

Elkhorn—The Storm Sessions (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)   

 Arthur Krumins

Gil Scott-Heron, Makaya McCraven — We’re New Again (XL)

The Giving Shapes — Earth Leaps Up (Elsewhere)

Wut — Now (Self-released)

Ranil — Ranil y su Conjunto Tropical (Analog Africa)

Ash Brooks — Temple of Roses (Flower Room)

Chip Langer — Songs for Melissa (Xylem)

Keenan Ahrends Trio — Live at House on the Hills Session (Self-released)

Jeff Parker — Suite for Max Brown (International Anthem)

Julius Eastman — Feminine (Frozen Reeds)

White Poppy — Paradise Gardens (Not Not Fun)

Pharoah Sanders — Live in Paris 1975 (Transversales Disques)

Waterless Hills — The Great Mountain (Cardinal Fuzz)

Jim White and Marisa Anderson — The Quickening (Thrill Jockey)

Aoife Nessa Frances — Land of No Junction (Ba Da Bing)

Andrea Cortez — The Secret Song of Plants (Aural Canyon)

 Patrick Masterson

Yves Tumor — Heaven to a Tortured Mind (Warp)

Squirrel Flower — I Was Born Swimming (Polyvinyl)

Black Taffy — Opal Wand (Leaving)

Mint Mile — Ambertron (Comedy Minus One)

Moodymann — Taken Away (KDJ)

Sarah Mary Chadwick — Please Daddy (Sinderlyn)

Andrea — Ritorno (Illian Tape)

Cable Ties — Far Enough (Merge)

Torres — Silver Tongue (Merge)

Russell Ellington Langston Butler —  Emotional Bangers Only EP (self— released)

Tan Cologne — Cave Vaults on the Moon in New Mexico (Labrador)

Future — High Off Life (Epic)

 Ian Mathers

Aidan Baker & Gareth Davis — Invisible Cities II (Karlrecords)

Anastasia Minster — Father (self released)

Helen Money — Atomic (Thrill Jockey)

Holy Fuck — Deleter (Last Gang)

Hum — Inlet (Polyvinyl)

Solar Woodroach — 7 Perversions on Pachabel's Canon (Nilamox)

Spanish Love Songs — Brave Faces Everyone (Pure Noise)

Stars Like Fleas — DWARS Session: Live on Radio VPRO (self released)

Well Yells — We Mirror the Dead (self released)

Yves Tumor — Heaven to a Tortured Mind (Warp)

 Special mention to the incredible Charles Curtis Performances & Recordings 1998-2018 box we talked about here.

 Bill Meyer 

(The last entry is not a record, but a festival of recordings)

Owl — Mille Feuille (SOFA)

Paul Lytton / Nate Wooley — Known / Unknown (Fundacja Sluchaj)

Six Organs of Admittance — Companion Rises (Drag City)

Elkhorn — The Storm Sessions (Beyond Beyond is Beyond)

*Waterless Hills — The Great Mountain (Cardinal Fuzz / Feeding Tube)

Powers / Rolin Duo — s/t (Feeding Tube)

Tashi Dorji / Tyler Damon — To Catch A Bird (Trost)

James Elkington — Ever Roving Eye (Paradise of Bachelors)

Chicago Underground Quartet — Good Days (Astral Spirits)

Steve Beresford and John Butcher — Old Paradise Airs (Iluso)

Irreversible Entanglements (International Anthem)

Sandy Ewen — You Win (Gilgongo)

Various artists — AMPLIFY 2020:quarantine

 Jonathan Shaw

Raspberry Bulbs — Before the Age of Mirrors (Relapse)

Mamaleek — Come and See (The Flenser)

Thou — Blessings of the Highest Order (Robotic Empire)

Sun City Girls — Live at Sky Church (2182 Recording Company)

Gil Scott Heron and Makaya McCraven — We’re New Again (XL Recordings)

Neutrals — Rent/Your House (Domestic Departure)

 Derek Taylor

Twenty from 2020: Jazz and Improv (order entirely arbitrary)

Decoy w/ Joe McPhee — AC/DC (otoROKU)

Stephen Riley — Friday the 13th (Steeplechase)

Damon Smith — Whatever is Not Stone is Light (Balance Point Acoustics)

James Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor — Live at Willisau (Intakt)

Jeremy Pelt — The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 1 (HighNote)

Peter Brötzmann/ Maâlem Moukhtar Gania/ Hamid Drake — The Catch of a Ghost (I Dischi Di Angelica)

Patty Waters — An Evening in Houston (Clean Feed)

Whit Dickey — Expanding Light (AUM Fidelity)

Brandon Seabrook — Exultations (Astral Spirits)

John Scofield — Swallow Tales (ECM)  

Paul Desmond — The Complete 1975 Toronto Recordings (Mosaic)

Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley — Birdland, Neuberg 2011 (Fundacja Sluchaj)

Kidd Jordan /Joel Futterman /Alvin Fielder — Spirits (Silkheart)

Sam Rivers — Ricochet (No Business)

Frank Lowe & Rashied Ali — Duo Exchange: Complete Sessions (Survival)

Dudu Pukwana — and the Spears (Matsuli Music)

Sun Ra — Heliocentric Worlds, Vols. 1 & 2 (Ezz-thetics)

Shirley Scott — One for Me (Arc/Strata-East)

Buddy Collette — The Complete 1961 Milano Sessions (Fresh Sound)

Lennie Tristano — The Duo Sessions (Dot Time)

#dusted magazine #midyear #lists #tobias carroll #tim clarke #andrew forell #jennifer kelly #patrick masterson #ian mathers #arthur krumins #bill meyer #jonathan shaw #derek taylor

[hayleysstark]

The Twenty-First Night of September

Chapter 1

Words: 4654 Warnings: None Summary: The Giver is just the sweetest, nicest, most thoughtful, most considerate troll in the entire village, because Poppy says so, and Poppy is never wrong. She just kind of didn't think maybe the Giver might be Branch. // The AU no one asked for. Pre-film. Multi-chapter. Eventual Branch/Poppy. Dual POV. Extremely slow burn. 

Notes: This idea has come an incredibly long way to tell you guys the truth. I initially thought up the plot right after S1 dropped LAST January ((dfghgfrhgfgb can you BELIEVE this series has survived an entire year)) but I didn't actually do anything with it - I typed up a couple rough drafts here and there, but none of them felt right, and at one point, it even got turned into an RP ((with my buddy @etheriumart, they have an account on here and Fanfiction, check them out u cowards)) and I was pretty much on the verge of abandoning it completely, but I decided to give it one more go. 

Fun fact, this is actually only my third time writing from Poppy's perspective ever (Just Friends and One Night being the first two) so I'm very much still learning. How have I been in this fandom for a solid two years now and only written twice from Poppy's POV? blasphemy. she deserves my respect. Anyway, though, the next chapter should be from Branch's point of view, so I'll get back to my regularly scheduled programming then lmao. Honest feedback's very very appreciated! I know I got lots of room to improve, and outsiders' opinions usually help with that.

Set several years before the movie, by the way, so Branch and Poppy are both in their teens for now!

Read on Fanfiction or AO3 

"Are you sure about all this, Poppy?" Smidge asked, for what had to be the thousandth time, big, deceptively soft-looking baby-blue eyes wide as they could go, apprehension and uncertainty plain on her little face. "Just think about what you're missing!" She swept a small hand through the air, fingers spread, and gestured loosely to the crowd of colorful trolls below, packed shoulder-to-shoulder, bodies swaying energetically to DJ's latest mix—which was amazing, by the way, as always, Poppy was going to absolutely shower the girl in hugs and compliments the minute the party wound down—

Oh. Right. Reassure Smidge. Gotta reassure Smidge. Focus, Poppy. This is too important for distractions.

She pulled her lips up in the brightest smile she could manage, and nodded enthusiastically. "I know, I know, it's all so super-amazing-tastic, I love it, but—but I—" if she let herself close her eyes she knew she'd see the lonely little figure in her mind, as dark and mysterious and unreachable as they always were, lingering nervously on the edge of the village with hungry, unseen eyes fixed on the dancing trolls below, watching and watching and watching and never joining—Poppy felt the grin on her face begin to falter. "—I can't," there was no way anyone but Smidge could hear her over the deafening pound of DJ's music, but she dropped her voice to a whisper anyway—no need to drag the whole party down with her, "I—I can't stand the thought that there's a troll out there somewhere who's not having fun like the rest of us. They deserve to be happy as much as we do, they deserve to be as happy as they've made us."

The words bolstered Poppy, even if they were her own—she even mustered the strength to hitch her smile back on her face. Somewhere out there, creeping unseen and unknown and, worst of all, unthanked, through the gloom of the village was a troll who cared, who cared so much they sacrificed their every Harvest Moon to bring the rest of the town a night full of wonder and laughter and love and happiness—somewhere out there was a troll who cared, who wanted with everything in them to make people happy, and Poppy would spend her whole life, if she had to, making sure they got some of that happiness back.

"But that's just it, Poppy," Smidge spread her hands out helplessly, "what if they're happy the way they are? And even if they aren't, it's not like we can do anything about it! We have no idea who they are!"

"I know," Poppy admitted—God, did she know. The music-playing, confetti-spraying thank-you cards obviously hadn't been special enough for the mystery gift-giver to reveal themselves—she'd even rigged up one to sing a song she'd written herself! Specifically for the Giver! Maybe the title had been too on the nose? "The Gratitude Song" didn't leave much room for imagination, she had to admit.

But the anonymous troll had even snubbed the parties! How many crazy-loud recognition parties had she promised to throw them if only they'd come forward?! Flashing lights! A minimum five pounds of glitter! Disco balls! A special thank-you mix from DJ Suki herself! What more could any troll in their right mind even want?!

Well—Poppy hastily fought off the giggle bubbling in the back of her throat—Branch probably would have snubbed the parties. Would have called them a "safety hazard", or something like that. He was really funny that way. Ooh, just wait 'til she got to tell Branch she'd found out who the Giver was! Of course, she still had to do the actual finding-out part, but when she did, ooh! She couldn't wait to rub his smirking face in it. He was so infuriatingly confident that no one would ever, ever know, and always asked annoyingly pointed questions that made her wonder—"If this 'Gifter' weirdo wants to remain anonymous, shouldn't you respect that?"—and shot her that snarky little half-smile at the end of it. Yeah, she was gonna have some serious fun with Branch, just as soon as she'd unmasked the Giver.

She threw her shoulders back and stood up a little straighter at the thought. If nothing else, she could at least have the satisfaction of giving Branch a big, fat I told you so.

"I'm gonna head out," she told Smidge, and bounced to the edge of the giant flat-topped orange mushroom. "See you later!" She threw herself straight down into the heart of the wildly-dancing crowd, laughing out loud into the breeze rushing past her face, and ripping all the breath from her lungs—countless pairs of gentle hands caught her, seized her by the arms or legs or dress, passing her smoothly from troll to troll—she surfed easily all the way to the back of the crowd, slid neatly from Moxie Dewdrop's arms, shot her a quick smile of thanks, and made her way out of the pod.

She didn't let her feet stop moving until she'd gotten a good way away from it all, pausing to adjust from the bright lights and blaring noise of the party to the sudden darkness and silence of the forest staring back at her—the air, when it hit her lungs, tasted uniquely of autumn, sweet and spicy and a touch smoky, too, like the amazing cider Biggie always made special for the Harvest Moon—ooh, she wanted another glass already—

No. No, this was too important to let herself get distracted. Eyes on the prize.

Right. The "prize" being the absolutely ginormous, record-breaking thank-you she'd finally finally finally get to give when she found out the mystery troll's true identity—ooh, she'd planned it all down to the last detail—the Giver would smile, of course they'd smile, who didn't smile when someone thanked them? Ooh, and she'd bet her flower crown that their smile would be the really nice kind that made their whole entire face light up like the sun and—!

There!

Poppy's heart nearly ripped itself out of her chest at the sight of the dark, hooded figure, smaller than even Smidge at this distance, darting nimbly from one pod to the next, enormous sack slung over one shoulder, cutting an awkward and lurching and hunchbacked figure in the ivory moonlight.

Oh, my God! It's happening!

Okay, okay, okay, stay calm, stay calm, she just needed to stay calm and catch up to them and convince them to tell her who they really were and then she could thank them and together, they could go back to the party and tell the village and everyone would swarm the Giver in hugs and thank-yous and the Giver would never ever have to be sad or alone on the Harvest Moon again, and everything would be all cupcakes and rainbows for everyone! Easy!

Focus. Poppy dragged in a breath, and shook out her hair to its fullest length—she wrapped the bubblegum-pink tips around the nearest tree limb, and swung herself up into the sky, swathed momentarily in a blanket of rich sapphire studded with a hundred thousand sparkling stars, landing lightly in the tree with the rough bark scratching painfully at the bottoms of her bare feet. She winced, and lifted her legs to rub at her stinging toes—no, no, no time for that! Poppy gave herself a shake. She had a Giver to thank!

For what felt like hours she flew, weightless, through the all-encompassing dark, with her heart in her mouth and the blood pounding in her ears—the wood sped by beneath her, moon-dusted, leafless trees gleaming faintly silver under the faint light—one branch, then another, then the next—nearly there now—nearly there—

There, that was it! That was the pod the Giver had disappeared into! Only just up ahead! Poppy shimmied across the last limb on her stomach and leapt, like a cat, through the open window—the impact jolted her a bit, reverberating up her legs—she wobbled lightly where she stood, and smothered a swear—Smidge could have pulled it off better—

Oh. Oh, God. Oh, God, the Giver was right there!

Ooh, she could scream—no, no, she couldn't scream, she couldn't! She didn't want to scare them! The Giver hadn't seen her yet—standing with their back to her, and hood pulled up to hide their hair—ugh, unfair, how was she supposed to try and guess who it was if she couldn't see their hair?

Nope, it'd just be more fun this way! She wanted to look the Giver in the eye when she finally unmasked them!

They'd ditched their sack right by the window—already half-empty? This troll worked fast. Respect!—and without the weight, their motions had become quicker, more fluid, actually kind of graceful—

—bet they're a good dancer, then—

The Giver knelt by the bed to put down the poorly-wrapped present in their hand, reached to reposition the bright yellow bow so it sprang up, arching cheerfully toward the pod's low ceiling, and took a little step back, as if to admire the effect—

A sudden, fierce swell of affection flooded up in Poppy's chest—if the gifts themselves weren't telling enough, the tender way this troll touched them certainly was—the half-second they took to spruce them up, make sure they looked their absolute best for their recipient—ooh, she just wanted to hug them! Right now!

No, no, not right now—plenty of time for hugging later—first she had to find out who they were—

Poppy couldn't keep from bouncing a little, up and down, on her toes, fluffy purple carpet muffling the sound. Finally finally finally! The moment was here! The moment had come! After years and years and years of getting the nicest, sweetest, most considerate and thoughtful gifts ever, and getting to see the rest of the village so happy, she finally got to say—

"Thank you!"

The Giver actually screamed out loud—Poppy really felt a bit bad about it, to be honest. They jumped a mile in the air—they'd even put on boots, she noted in the back of her mind when their feet left the floor—they must be seriously into this whole anonymity thing. She could only assume the dancer's elegance of only a minute ago had completely deserted them, because after a long minute of stumbling and tottering and flailing and just generally tripping all over themselves, they landed in a messy heap of dark cloth on the carpet.

Oops.

"I—I'm sorry!" Poppy barreled from her spot by the window and over to the crumpled form of the fallen Giver, hand rising on instinct to help them back to their feet. "Are you okay?"

"Amazing," The Giver grunted out, in a way that didn't sound like they meant it at all—which didn't make sense, why would anyone say something they didn't mean?

The Giver rolled over on the floor, rudely ignored her outstretched hand, and pushed themselves to their feet—no, his feet, she corrected herself, his feet—the thick hood of the black jacket and the dark glasses completely obscured their face, but what little she could see—broad nose, sharp jaw, hollow cheeks—what little she could see belonged to a man, that voice belonged to a man—no—no, not a man—a boy—definitely a boy, she decided, after a second glance, and a boy not much older than her—it took her a second to wrap her mind around the thought—she'd sort of imagined the Giver as an old man, to tell the truth, with grey-streaked hair and wrinkles, like her dad, but even in the shadows, she could see the dull skin was smooth—dull skin—the revelation jolted her—oh, no, oh, no, no, no! Oh, the poor troll, oh, no, his colors must be dimmed, oh, the poor thing—and his voice, it wasn't a voice she'd ever imagined for the Giver at all, even when she got past the way it had cracked right in the middle.

The Giver's voice was gentle, she'd decided, a long time ago, very gentle and soft and benevolent, like ocean waves lapping at the shore, the kind of voice that sounded nice all the time, the kind of voice that was just made for singing and telling stories and reciting poetry and lulling little children to sleep—the kind of voice that just made you want to keep listening—angelic, almost, she'd told herself, but this—this didn't sound like that sort of voice at all—no offense to the Giver, no, no, she didn't mean that in a bad way, just—well, it was all—rough and uneven and—

—and familiar—

The Giver tugged lightly at the edges of his hood and stepped past her, head down, face carefully averted—no, no, he was—he was leaving, no, he couldn't be leaving—

"Wait!" Poppy pushed her whirling thoughts to the back of her mind, and scrambled after him. "Wait, wait, wait!" She didn't really pause to think about the rest of it—she just sort of. Well. She threw herself at him, wrapped her arms as tight as she could around his black-clad legs, and hauled him back down to the floor. "I don't even know who you are!"

"Poppy—!"

Oh. Oh, God. Her name left his lips, and she froze. There was only one troll in the whole entire village who talked to her like that, with all that—that annoyance, and that exasperation, and that frustration, and—

The glasses slipped off the bridge of his wide nose, and he actually chose to press his face to the carpet before he'd let himself look at her, but—God, but it didn't matter anymore, did it, she didn't need to see his face, she knew, she knew and there was no going back—the dull skin, the dimmed colors, it should have been a giveaway, how had it not been a giveaway?!

The Giver was—the Giver—he—he was—

"Branch?!"

He stiffened and went still beneath her, gloved hands clenching up in fists against the vibrant violet floor. "I—" For half a second, it sounded like he was about to start yelling at her. "—I'm sorry, Princess," he said instead, in a very, very Not-Branch voice, "I think you must be hearing things, because I can assure you, I am not—"

"Branch," Poppy cut him off, and pushed herself up on her palms, swinging her legs over his sides to sit on him more comfortably, "give it up." In spite of the disbelief still roiling through her like a storm at sea, she felt a giggle bubbling up in the back of her throat at her choice of words. "Should be easy for you, huh?" She couldn't suppress the laugh anymore, and it erupted uncontrollably out of her, mirth merging with her shock to make the sound more than a little bit hysterical. "Guess you're pretty good at giving."

And Branch—Branch hissed at her! Actually hissed at her! Between his teeth! Like a snake! Ooh, she wished she could see his face! He always made the funniest faces when he was flustered. "Shut up."

"'Shut up'?" Poppy clamped her hand over her mouth, but the snort made its way out anyway. "A-and here I thought you had a—gift—for language!"

"Poppy, I swear to God—!"

Another loud shout of half-incredulity and half-amusement ripped its way out of her mouth, and she threw back her head—there was no way she could swallow it back anymore—her sides were already beginning to ache in protest, and she clutched weakly for her heaving ribs. Oh, God. Oh, God, Branch was the Giver. Did not see that coming. At all.

It was just—well, it was just—well, Branch didn't care. About anyone, or anything, except his bunker, but that—that didn't count, Poppy didn't count that, because the bunker wasn't real, it didn't have feelings, so it couldn't care about Branch back and—look. Look. The point. The point was this. Branch didn't care about things.

And that didn't mean he didn't have his good qualities, because he did! Sure, if it came down to it, he'd probably leave the village for dead, but he was funny, and he had lots of interesting things to say about the forest if she only waited him out or wore him down, and he was so fun to argue with, he always had a comeback for everything, and just because he didn't care about things didn't mean those weren't all good qualities, so there!

But—but if Branch was the Giver, then that would mean—

—that would mean—

"Branch," Poppy said, and the sound of her own voice in her ears startled her, far more than it should have, and she had to swallow and start again, "Branch, why are you doing all this?"

"God, Poppy," Branch's hands fisted against the floor again, and he shifted a little underneath her, "I don't have time for this. In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of in a hurry."

"No, why?" Poppy finally had the Giver in her grasp, and she didn't care anymore that it was Branch, she didn't care that he was grumpy and snarky and hated her parties and didn't like glitter and wouldn't let her hug him at Hug-Time and didn't care, she finally had the Giver in her grasp, and she wasn't letting him go, not until he'd told her everything there was to tell. "I mean, if you want to give us presents, why don't you just—give us presents? Without all—this?"

"I don't," Branch growled, "want to give any of you anything."

"Or—or better yet," Poppy decided to ignore that last part—obviously a blatant lie, right? Right? "Better yet, why don't you just—I don't know, not act like you can't stand us? I-I mean, if you care, why don't you act like it?"

"Okay, fine," Branch pushed himself up on his palms, and twisted over onto his back to look at her—she slipped a little with the sudden movement, but grabbed at his shoulder and held on, "I guess I have to break it down for you, huh? Okay. Here we go. I hate every single goddamn one of you."

"But," Poppy knew well the signs of a full-on Branch bitch-rant, and she needed to head it off like, ten minutes ago. The guy could really just go for hours if you were dumb enough to let him get started. "But you don't. Because you're the Giver."

"Oh, my God, Poppy!" He lifted an arm, and shoved her to the floor in one swift motion. "Okay, fine! I admit it! I'm the Giver! Now let me go! I still have about seven dozen of these left to deliver, the party could end any minute, I really don't have time for—!"

"The party!" Oh! Oh, God! Ooh, this was going to be even more fun than chasing the Giver! "Oh, my gosh, Branch, the party! Come on, come on, come on!" She jumped to her feet, and yanked on his arm. "Come on! Up! We gotta get back before it ends!"

"Um." Branch flicked at her knuckles until she let go. "Right. Yeah. Have fun with that." He got to his feet, and dusted off the front of his dark jacket.

"What? No, no, no," Poppy giggled—right, right, her bad! She kind of hadn't really explained that too well, had she? Oh. Well. Fixing! "We gotta tell the village, my man!"

"What?!" Branch tried to spin around to face her, but he really just did that thing again where he tripped all over himself and flailed. "No! No no no no no no no! No!" He clumsily regained his balance, and shook his head wildly back and forth, so hard he looked like he was gonna give himself whiplash.

"Yes!" Poppy countered, and nodded vigorously to prove her point. "Just wait until they hear about you, Branch! Oh, buddy, they're gonna love you!"

"If I did everything so the village would love me, I'd never have done a useful thing in my entire life."

"I didn't hear that!" Poppy clapped her hands over her ears. "Come on!" She motioned, with her elbow, to the open window. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"No," Branch repeated, so firmly she could read the word as it formed on his lips. "The village is never going to know."

"But—" Poppy deflated a little. Her hands slipped off her ears. But didn't he—didn't he want—? "But Branch, how are they supposed to thank you if they don't know it's you?"

"I—I don't—" the pale purple flush crawling up Branch's cheeks glowed like a beacon in the dim light of the empty pod, "—I don't want—" He dragged in a breath, and it sounded painful, like it snagged somewhere in the back of his throat and for half a second, Poppy thought he was going to say—something, she didn't—she didn't know what, but something important, something that mattered, something that meant something and she knew if he did, all the barriers behind his eyes would finally fall and she'd see—

His hands clenched back up in fists. "I don't need," he lifted his head, and stuck out his chin, "I don't need your stupid gratitude."

Branch turned sharply on his heel, and stomped over to the dark, half-empty sack still waiting for him by the window. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I—"

"Wait!" Poppy edged forward as far as she dared, as far as she thought he'd let her get before he stepped back. "Wait! Let me help!"

Branch dropped the sack again. "What?"

"You said it yourself! The party could end any minute!" Poppy jerked her thumb in the direction of the glowing pod, even though she knew it couldn't be seen from here. "If we split the gifts between us, we can get done with the delivery way before anyone comes home!"

Branch snorted. "Right. Yeah. Like I'm gonna do that." He swung the sack back on his shoulder.

Stubborn ass. Poppy was seriously about to stamp her foot. "Why not?! No, don't answer that," she added, when he opened his mouth, because that snarky half-smile was already curling up his lip, and she really just could not deal with one of his smart remarks right about now, "don't. This is, like, super important to the village! It makes 'em all really happy, Branch! I wanna help with that! Let me help with that!"

And—oh, God, here was officially the craziest part of the entire night—Branch looked at her. Just—just looked at her. It wasn't a glare, it wasn't a scowl, it wasn't even one of those tired, dead-eyed glances. It wasn't even a smirk, like when he'd just got in a really good jab at her, and had to show off how insufferably cocky he could be. He didn't do any of that. He just looked at her. Like—oh, God, like he was seriously considering—

"No."

What?!

Okay. Fine. That was fine! Time to bring out the big guns, Poppy supposed. All was fair in love and war, and all of that. Hmm. No. Gifts and war? Giftery and war? Giftery. Was giftery a word? It should be.

Oops. Sidetracked. She shook her head, and lifted her chin.

"If you don't let me help," she jammed her hands on her hips, and tried to look as intimidating as possible, "I guess I'll just—" she lifted one shoulder, and dropped it an instant later in a half-shrug, "—have to tell the village."

Every last ounce of color drained from Branch's face.

"Mm. Well." She headed for the window straight past him, and smothered a smile when he reflexively stumbled out of her way. Ha! She never made him step aside! She should try this intimidation thing more often. It was fun. "Nice talkin' to you! See ya, Branch!" She stepped to the edge of the window, and shook out her hair for good measure. "Ooh," she added, on impulse, "I'll have to help the kids with their thank-you cards tomorrow, that'll be super-fun!" Okay, now she got why Branch smirked all the time when he said something snarky! Ooh, this was so fun! Why had no one ever told her it was this fun to mess with him?

"W-wait!" Right on cue. Branch bolted toward her, stumbling over the clunky, awkward boots, and threw out a frantic hand. His fingers, warm even through the thick gloves, latched onto her wrist.

Poppy arched her eyebrows. Ooh, she was not gonna make this easy on him! Not in the slightest. "Yes?"

"You—you—" He looked anywhere but at her, purple flush returning to his face with a vengeance, "—you can help, okay? Th-there. I said it. Happy?"

"Yes!" Poppy bounced backward into the pod. "Oh, my gosh, this is gonna be so so so so much fun—!"

"Ground rules," Branch said coolly, and jabbed a finger at her, "no singing. No dancing. No running off and telling the village anyway."

"Branch, do you really think I'd break my word?"

"Yes. Without hesitation." He opened up the sack, pulled out a few brightly-colored boxes, and thrust them at her. "Now let's get this over with."

#trolls #dreamworks trolls #trolls fanfiction #emrys' spellbook

[rejectedusername-trashfics]

Madness is Contagious: Chapter 9- No I in Team

Summary: After the Mad King is put back in jail, one of two his nieces is appointed CEO of Monarch Labs. The niece seems disinterested in the company, but in keen on figuring out how to cure her uncle’s madness. His other niece wants to keep the madness alive. After an attempt at a cure goes aerie, the madness is transferred to Vav. X-Ray ends up getting captured along with the new CEO niece. Will Hilda, Rusty, and the sane King be able to make things go back to normal? 

Chapter 9/10

Word Count: 1,478

First / Previous / Next / AO3

The group was captured and at a loss. This situation was familiar to X-Ray and Hilda, only it was very different this time. Last time, it was Mad King who had captured X-Ray, Vav, Rusty and Hilda. This time, it was Mad Princess and Vav who had captured X-Ray, Rusty, Hilda, and Mad King, who was going by Ryan now. They weren’t exactly sure of what they should do next, but they had to do something.

“This is bad,” Hilda pointed out with a sigh.

Rusty shrugged. “At least I’m not zapped of all my strength this time.”

“Is that really what you’re thinking about right now!?”

“Well, what did you do last time?” Jeremy asked.

Hilda thought about it for a minute. “Well, I would have broken us all out, had I been given a super strength upgrade,” X-Ray complained.

Hilda rolled her eyes, then her head shot up as soon as she remembered how she was able to get everyone out of the cage last time. “I GOT IT!” then she turned to ORF. “ORF,” ORF turned in acknowledgement. “Run program ORF_Suit.EXE.” ORF shifted and became a full metallic suit of armor for Hilda to wear. The pieces latched on to Hilda. “Scan for lock to pick,” she told her suit.

“Scanning for lock,” ORF announced. “Scanning complete,” ORF said after she finished. “No locks were found on prison cage.”

“Dang it!” she called out. Then she started to fire lasers out of her palms. As soon as the lasers hit the bars, they fizzled out ass if they were nothing. “DANG IT!!!” she yelled.

“Love seeing your machinery, whatherface. But Pyro was able to inform me all about it, so proper precautions were made,” Mad Princess taunted over the intercom.

“I could have told you that wouldn’t have worked. If lasers did work, we would have been out of here already,” X-Ray said as he rolled his eyes. Hilda growled in response.

“There has got to be another possible solution,” Ryan pondered out loud.

Jeremy’s eyes lit up. “I have an idea,” he announced, excitedly.

“And that would be?” Rusty asked.

“Everyone’s seen me shrink, but you haven’t seen what else I can do.”

“What else can you do?” Hilda asked, curiously.

To answer the question, Jeremy began to grow larger. He kept growing, hoping his larger size would push the cage walls down. The larger he grew, the more everyone else was pushed against the cage bars. “Ow, ow, OWW!!” X-Ray screamed.

Jeremy shrunk back down to his normal size. “Sorry, I really thought I could break the cage down by being too big.”

Ryan’s eyes widened in realization. “Of course, we couldn’t break the cage open from the inside. Only a fool would make it so their prisoners could easily break out.”

“You put a lock on the inside of the cage when you captured us as Mad King,” Hilda argued.

“A fatal flaw on past-me’s part,” Hilda narrowed her eyes in response. “which I’m glad I made because you were able to escape and save they day like you we supposed to.”

“Only for us to end up in another trap,” X-Ray grumbled.

“What should we do, now?” Jeremy asked.

Ryan sighed. “I’m not,” he paused when he heard sniffling.

Everyone turned to see Poppy sniffling on the floor in the corner. Her eyes were puffy red, and there were wet streaks running down her cheeks. “POPPY!” both X-Ray and Jeremy called out.

“Hey, she said you’re not her boyfriend, so back off!” X-Ray growled at Jeremy.

“You’re not her boyfriend either! She doesn’t want one!” Jeremy argued back.

Rusty grabbed the two of them by their shoulders. “Children, calm down. This is a family matter,” he said as he motioned for the boys to look at Ryan, who was taking a seat next to his niece.

“Poppy, darling, what’s the matter?” he asked her.

Poppy sniffled. “Besides the obvious?” she asked.

“Besides the obvious,” he repeated back.

Poppy paused and took a deep breath. “This is all my fault.”

“Honey,”

“I was the one who decided I wanted to cure Madness. I was the one who shot you and Vav. I was the one who transferred your Madness into Vav. I started all of this.”

Ryan sighed. “Miss Hilda told me that ‘Mad Science’ wasn’t your specialty,” he attempted to argue.

“Maybe, I was the villain all along.”

“Poppy, that’s absurd,” Ryan argued.

“But…,”

“So, you didn’t get your sanity ray right on the first try, so what? I’ve still gotten to be sane for the first time in years. It’s nice to be back to being who I’m supposed to be, again. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“Yeah, you don’t know how to be an evil bad guy. I mean, you don’t know how to accept my advances, but you don’t know how to truly be evil,” X-Ray encouraged.

“I thought you were evil at first, but you proved to me that you weren’t. And you’re blaming yourself for this terrible accident, but accidents happen all the time in science,” Hilda added.

Poppy snorted. “Thank you.”

“Hug?” Ryan asked.

Poppy responded by grabbing on to him and gong in for a deep hug. “Daw,” Rusty added.

After a moment, Poppy’s eyes widened in realization. She started to pull away from the hug. Ryan released her. “What wrong?”

Poppy reached down her shirt and into her bra. She pulled out another bottle containing yellowish powder. “I thought they took all these off of me.”

“What is that?” X-Ray and Hilda asked.

“Pollen,” then she stood up and looked at what was around outside the cage. There was still one of her potted plants in the lab. “And they forgot to take all my plants out.”

Jeremy clapped his hands together. “Ooh, I see what’s gonna happen here.”

“What’s gonna happen?” X-Ray asked.

Poppy stood, strong. “I think I have a plan to get us out of here.” Then she looked nervous.

“You’ll do fine, sweetheart,” Ryan encouraged.

Poppy sighed. “I think I need a confidence boost first, so I want to try to do something stupid.” Then she walked over to Hilda. “Hilda, can I see you’re unmasked face?” she asked.

“Unmasking,” ORF announced.

“Why do you need to see my unmasked face?” Hilda asked.

“So, I can do something stupid that I’ll probably regret and you’ll probably hate me for. Do you trust me?” Poppy asked, seriously.

Hilda nodded. “Yeah, I trust you, but what are you,” Hilda was cut off by Poppy pulling her into a deep kiss. Hilda blinked in surprise. All of Poppy’s kindness, past compliments about her appearance, and eagerness to work with her, made sense all of a sudden. She finally knew what Poppy’s secret that everyone refused to reveal was. Everything made sense.

Meanwhile, Jeremy started clapping. Rusty called out, “Yeah, get it girl.” Ryan nodded his head in approval.

Poppy pulled away from the kiss and stepped aside. She uncapped the vile of pollen and snorted it up both nostrils. She blinked and both of her eyes turned bright green. She reached her arm out of the cage and motioned it as if she was directing something. The plant began to grow long vines.

"Yo, what the…,” X-Ray commented. Poppy ignored him and motioned for the vines to weave themselves in between the bars of the cage. Once the vines were finished weaving, Poppy began to motion a pushing away action. The vines began to pull the bars and they eventually started bunding the bars. Suddenly, the bars snap away, creating a cage exit for them. When she was finished, her eyes turned back to their natural green color and she slumped over, exhausted.

“So, plant manipulation based on having pollen in her system was Poppy’s power. That actually makes a lot of sense.” Rusty pointed out.

“Wait, you KNEW she had powers?!” X-Ray asked, angrily.

“Yes,” everyone except Hilda, replied. Hilda was too busy touching her lips, still coming to turns with the fact that she had been kissed.

Ryan quickly went over and threw Poppy over his shoulders. “Come on guys… we still need… to defeat… my sister and Mad Vav, or Pyro… or whatever the fuck he’s called” Poppy instructed, sleepily.

“Right,” X-Ray nodded. He and Rusty rushed out of the broken cage to exit the lab.

Ryan was getting ready to leave the cage too, but he noticed that Hilda was still standing there, thinking about the kiss. “Miss Hilda, we’re going to stop Pyro and my other niece. Would you like to join us since your suit would be a great addition to our efforts?”

Hilda snapped back into reality after hearing the question. “Right,” she nodded. Then the three of them ran out of the cage and off to Mad Princess and Pyro’s layer.

#madness is contagious #xray and vav #fanfic #rt fanfic

[rhysthehighlord]

Books I read

Abigail Gibbs:

Dinner with a Vampire (The Dark Heroine Series)

Alexandra Adornetto:

Halo (Halo Series)

Hades

Heaven

Ally Condie:

Matched (Matched Series)

Alwyn Hamilton:

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands Series)

Amanda Foody:

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game Series)

Amy Harmon:

Making Faces

Angie Thomas:

The Hate U Give

Anna Jarzab:

Tandem (Many-Worlds Trilogy)

Carolyn Macker and Jay Asher:

The Future of Us

Cassandra Clare:

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments)

City of Ashes

City of Glass

City of Fallen Angels

City of Lost Souls

City of Heavenly Fire

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices)

Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Princess

After the Bridge

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices)

Lord of Shadows

Queen of Air and Darkness

The Shadowhunter’s Codex

Catherine Egan:

Julia Vanishes (Witch’s Child Series)

Julia Defiant

Cecily von Ziegesar:

Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl)

It Had to Be You

You Know You Love Me

All I Want is Everything

Because I’m Worth It

I Like It Like That

You’re the One That I Want

Nobody Does It Better

Nothing Can Keep Us Together

Only in Your Dreams

Would I Lie to You

Don’t You Forget About Me

I Will Always Love You

The Carlyles

You Just Can’t Get Enough

Take a Chance On Me

Love the One You’re With

The It Girl (It Girl Series)

Notorious

Reckless

Unforgettable

Lucky

Tempted

Infamous

Adored

Devious

Classic

Cynthia Hand:

The Afterlife of Holly Chase

David Levithan and Rachel Cohn:

Dash and Lily’s Books of Dares

Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat, Pray, Love

Holly Black:

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air Series)

The Wicked King

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

J. K. Rowling:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter Series)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Jennifer L. Armentrout:

Obsidian (Lux Series)

Shadows

Oblivion

Onyx

Oblivion II

Opal

Origin

Opposition

Jenny Han:

To All the Boys I‘ve Loved Before (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Series)

P.S. I Still Love You

Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer:

Between the Lines (Between the Lines Series)

Off the Page

John Green:

The Fault in Our Stars

Kasie West:

Listen to Your Heart

Katherine McGee

The Thousandth Floor (The Thousandth Floor Trilogy)

Kerri Maniscalco:

Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper Series)

Kerstin Gier:

Ruby Red (Precious Stone Trilogy)

Sapphire Blue

Emerald Green

Dream a Little Dream (The Silver Triology)

Silber: Das zweite Buch der Träume (only available in German apparently)

Silber: Das dritte Buch der Träume

Kiera Cass:

The Selection (The Selection Series)

The Elite

The One

Happily Ever After

The Heir

The Crown

Krista & Becca Ritchie:

Addicted to You (Addicted Series)

Ricochet

Addicted for Now

Thrive

Addicted After All

Kiss the Sky (Calloway Sisters)

Hothouse Flower

Fuel the Fire

Long Way Down

Some Kind of Perfect

Laura Thalassa:

Rhapsodic (The Bargainer Series)

A Strange Hymn

Lauren Kate:

Fallen (Fallen Series)

Torment

Passion

Fallen in Love

Rapture

Unforgiven

Teardrop (Teardrop Series)

Leigh Bardugo:

Shadow and Bone (Grisha Series)

The Demon in the Wood

The Witch of Duva

The Tailor

Siege and Storm

The Too-Clever Fox

Little Knife

Ruin and Rising

Six of Crows (Six of Crows Duology)

Crooked Kingdom

Lisa J. Smith:

The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries Series)

The Struggle

The Fury

Dark Reunion

Nightfall

Shadow Souls

Midnight

Phantom

Moonsong

Destiny Rising

Unseen

Unspoken

Unmasked

Madeline Miller:

Circe

Maggie Stiefvater:

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle)

The Dream Thieves

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series)

Marie Lu:

Warcross (Warcross Series)

Wildcard

Batman: Nightwalker

Marissa Meyer:

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles)

Glitches

The Little Android

The Queen’s Army

Scarlet

Cress

Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky

Fairest

Winter

Stars Above

Renegades (Renegades Series)

Archenemies

Heartless

Meagan Spooner:

Hunted

Meg Cabot:

Airhead (Airhead Series)

Being Nikki

Runaway

The Princess Diaries (The Princess Diaries Series)

Princess in the Spotlight

Princess in Love

Princess in Waiting

Princess Lessons

Project Princess

Princess in Pink

Princess in Training

The Princess Present

Party Princess

Valentine Princess

Princess on the Brink

Princess Mia

Forever Princess

Perfect Princess

Royal Wedding

How to be Popular

Ransom My Heart

Michelle Rowen:

Dark Kiss (Nightwatchers Series)

Morgan Matson:

The Unexpected Everything

Natasha Ngan:

Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire Series)

R. F. Kuang:

The Poppy War (The Poppy War Series)

Rachel Ward:

Numbers (Numbers Series)

Rainbow Rowell:

Eleanor & Park

Renee Ahdieh:

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn Series)

The Moth and the Flame

The Crown and the Arrow

The Mirror and the Maze

The Rose and the Dagger

Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist Series)

Smoke in the Sun

S. Jae-Jones:

Wintersong (Wintersong Series)

Sabaa Tahir:

An Ember in the Ashes (Ember Quartet)

A Torch Against the Night

A Reaper at the Gates

Sarah J. Maas:

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses Series)

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Frost and Starlight

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass Series)

The Assassin’s Blade

Crown of Midnight

Heir of Fire

Queen of Shadows

Empire of Storms

Tower of Dawn

Kingdom of Ash

Catwoman: Soulstealer

Simone Elkeles:

Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry Series)

Wild Cards (Wild Cards Series)

Stephanie Perkins:

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss Series)

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Susan Ee:

Angelfall (Peryn and the End of Days Series)

Tahereh Mafi:

Shatter Me (Shatter Me Series)

Destroy Me

Unravel Me

Fracture Me

Ignite Me

Restore Me

Taylor Jenkins Reid:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Terry Maggert:

Heartborn

Theo Lawrence:

Mystic City (Mystic City Series)

Victoria Aveyard:

Red Queen (Red Queen Series)

Queen Song

Steel Scars

Glass Sword

King’s Cage

V. E. Schwab/Victoria Schwab:

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic Trilogy)

A Gathering of Shadows

A Conjuring of Light

German only books:

Ava Reed:

Spiegelsplitter (Spiegel-Saga)

Gesa Schwartz:

Nacht ohne Sterne

Herz aus Nacht und Scherben

Jennifer Wolf:

Morgentau (Geschichten der Jahreszeiten)

Abendsonne

Nachtblüte

Tagwind

Göttertochter

Laura Kneidl:

Light & Darkness

Lynn Raven

Der Kuss des Dämons (Dawn und Julien)

Das Herz des Dämons

Das Blut des Dämons

Blutbraut

Der Kuss des Kjer

Der Spiegel von Feuer und Eis

Windfire

Marah Woolf:

Liebe mich nicht (GötterFunke)

Sabrina Quinaj:

Teufelsherz (Teufel)

Teufelstod

#books I read

[danithebookaholic-blog]

Book of the Month - April 2018

The Girl Who Smiled Beads A Story of War and What Comes After

By Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil

This month's Book of the Month Club selections were, again, kind of all over the place, which always makes me happy! I like trying new things! A couple thrillers, a memoir, a historical fantasy and a sci-fi; what more could I ask for to choose from?!

Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall (A thriller, BOTM Exclusive):

This is a love story. Mike’s love story.

Mike Hayes fought his way out of a brutal childhood and into a quiet, if lonely, life before he met Verity Metcalf. V taught him about love, and in return, Mike has dedicated his life to making her happy. He’s found the perfect home, the perfect job; he’s sculpted himself into the physical ideal V has always wanted. He knows they’ll be blissfully happy together.

It doesn’t matter that she hasn’t been returning his e-mails or phone calls. It doesn’t matter that she says she’s marrying Angus.

It’s all just part of the secret game they used to play. If Mike watches V closely, he’ll see the signs. If he keeps track of her every move, he’ll know just when to come to her rescue . . .

A spellbinding, darkly twisted novel about desire and obsession, and the complicated lines between truth and perception, Our Kind of Cruelty introduces Araminta Hall, a chilling new voice in psychological suspense.

Circe by Madeline Miller (The Historical Fantasy):

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell (The other thriller):

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

The Oracle Year by Charles Soule (The Sci-Fi Debut):

Knowledge is power. So when an unassuming Manhattan bassist named Will Dando awakens from a dream one morning with 108 predictions about the future in his head, he rapidly finds himself the most powerful man in the world. Protecting his anonymity by calling himself the Oracle, he sets up a heavily guarded Web site with the help of his friend Hamza to selectively announce his revelations. In no time, global corporations are offering him millions for exclusive access, eager to profit from his prophecies.

He's also making a lot of high-powered enemies, from the President of the United States and a nationally prominent televangelist to a warlord with a nuclear missile and an assassin grandmother. Legions of cyber spies are unleashed to hack the Site—as it's come to be called—and the best manhunters money can buy are deployed not only to unmask the Oracle but to take him out of the game entirely. With only a handful of people he can trust—including a beautiful journalist—it's all Will can do to simply survive, elude exposure, and protect those he loves long enough to use his knowledge to save the world.

Delivering fast-paced adventure on a global scale as well as sharp-witted satire on our concepts of power and faith, Marvel writer Charles Soule's audacious debut novel takes readers on a rollicking ride where it's impossible to predict what will happen next.

Reading through the different synopsis I knew I was going to get a couple different ones (surprise, surprise!), but once I read the synopsis for The Girl Who Smiled Beads (the debut memoir) , I knew it was the one I wanted to read for this month's BOTM review. 

Some History:

Clemantine Wamariya is a storyteller and human rights advocate. Born in Kigali, Rwanda, displaced by conflict, Clemantine migrated through seven African countries as a child. At age twelve, she was granted refugee status in the United States and went on to receive a BA in comparative literature from Yale University. She lives in San Francisco.

Elizabeth Weil is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two daughters.

The Synopsis:

Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety - perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty. They did not know whether their parents were alive or dead.

When Clemantine was twelve, she and her sister were granted refugee status in the United States; there, in Chicago, their lives diverged. Though their bond remained unbreakable, Claire, who had for so long protected and provided for Clemantine, was a single mother struggling to make ends meet, while Clemantine was taken in by a family who raised her as their own. She seemed - at least on the surface - to be living the American dream: attending private school, taking up cheerleading, and , ultimately, graduating from Yale. Yet the years of being treated as less than human, of going hungry and seeing death, could not be erased. She felt at the same time six years old and one hundred years old.

In The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine provokes us to look beyond the label of "victim" and recognize the power of imagination to transcend even the most profound injuries and aftershocks. Devastating yet beautiful, and bracingly original, it is a powerful testament to her commitment to constructing a life on her own terms. (Crown Publishing Group)

The Review & Wrap-Up:

The Girl Who Smiled Beads is disheartening and powerful, heartbreaking and encouraging, hateful and angry, yet loving and kind. It will have you so twisted and knotted up in your emotions that you won't know what to think, much like the life of Clemantine.

While reading this book I felt so much pain and anger for Clemantine and her sister Claire, he amount of pain and suffering that they endured just broke my hear, yet to see their perseverance, and strength to make it through, alone and at such a young age is incredible. To have a minuscule of strength they had would be like being Wonder Woman times two!

I really enjoyed reading The Girl Who Smiled Beads. It reopened my eyes to the terrors and hardships that really do occur in this world, while I sit back and deal with my first world issues. It's hard to imagine the world that Clemantine comes from; a world that she longs to be a child in again. 

If you're into world problems: read this book. If you're looking to learn more about the world you live in: read this book. If you're even remotely human: Read. This. Book!

 From one bookaholic to another, I hope I’ve helped you find your next fix. —Dani

Dani's Score out of 5: 📚📚📚📚

Love this book? To learn more about the Rwanda genocide, check out Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak by Jean Hatzfeld.

The genocidal massacre of almost a million people in Rwanda more than a decade ago may be fading into history, but the killers are with us still, and so is the moral problem of trying to understand how such terrible crimes could have been committed. Jean Hatzfeld's astonishing account of conversations he had with some of the killers, now convicted and in jail - men who had rampaged across the fields, singing as they went, hacking to death 50,000 out of 59,000 of their neighbors - offers extraordinary insights into the nature of this collective crime. But, as Hatzfeld understands, the killers' words raise as many questions as they answer.

The ten men Hatzfeld interviewed had been friends from childhood who had stayed together during their genocidal "job," as they called  it, and then in their flight to exile in Congo, during their subsequent capture and trials, and no in prison. They freely spoke to Hatzfeld about what life had been like during those terrible weeks in the spring of 1994, and what they thought about what they had done.

There has never been testimony like this. "The offenders know more than the basic facts," one acknowledges. "They have secrets in their souls." Another simply says, "Killing was less wearisome than farming." "A man is like an animal: you give him a whack on the head or the neck, and down he goes," says another. Why were they willing to talk? Did they distinguish truth from self-defensive evasion about this gruesome killing spree? Did they seek reconciliation, forgiveness, understanding? Were they remorseless, or did they suffer the nightmares of the damned?

Hatzfeld's report on this horrific testimony is humane and wise, and he relates the unprecedented material he obtained from the génocidaires to what we know of other war crimes and genocidal episodes. It has sometimes been suggested that only depraved and monstrous men could perpetrate such crimes, but it may be, Hatzfeld suggests, that these terrible actions are within the realm of ordinary human conduct.

To read this disturbing, lucid book and to hear the killers' chilling voices is to consider in a new light the foundation of human morality and ethics. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Start a conversation: If you were in a genocide situation, would you be able to perservere? How? What are the strengths you possess that would pull you  through?

Have a book you’d like to suggest or one you’d like me to review? Please feel free to leave your comments down below.

#The girl who smiled beads #the girl who smiled beads by clemantine wamariya and elizabeth weil #clemantine wamariya #elizabeth weil #book of the month club #book of the month #our kind of cruelty #our kind of cruelty by araminta hall #araminta hall #circe #circe by madeline miller #madeline miller #then she was gone #then she was gone by lisa jewell #lisa jewell #the oracle year #the oracle year by charles soule #charles soule #rwanda #rwanda genocide #machete season: the killers in rwanda speak by jean hatzfeld #machete season: the killers in rwanda speak #machete season #jean hatzfeld

[shannaraisles]

Set In Darkness

Chapter: 32 Author name: ShannaraIsles Rating: M Warnings: Canon-typical threat and violence Summary: She’s a Modern Girl in Thedas, but it isn’t what she wanted. There’s a scary dose of reality as soon as she arrives. It isn’t her story. People get hurt here; people die here, and there’s no option to reload if you make a bad decision. So what’s stopping her from plunging head first into the Void at the drop of a hat?

Worries

"Well, for a Warden who's been at this for almost twenty-five years, you're in remarkable health, Warden Blackwall."

The bearded man frowned at her as he re-laced his gambeson. "What do you mean by that, mistress?" he asked warily. "Why, for a Warden?"

Rory raised her brow innocently. Don't you look nervous, Thom Rainier? "Most Wardens are touched by the Blight in some way," she explained, relying on her position as a healer to explain away the fact that she knew this. "You must have astonishing resistance. Have you heard the Calling yet?"

All right, perhaps it was a little mean of her to be saying this, but Rory thought the man deserved a chance to be honest with someone early on. She hadn't intended to be quite so blunt about it, but she'd overheard him commenting that morning to Harritt that a woman fighting on the front lines in war only made it uglier. She was feeling bristly on behalf of every female Inquisitor she had ever made, and Blackwall was getting short shrift because of it.

He was certainly looking a little cornered - apparently he really did know next to nothing about what truly made a Grey Warden. The Blight was scary enough in itself, but she could see him trying to work out what she meant by the Calling. The thoughts were obvious in his mind - had she recognized him somehow, or was she truly asking? Was she trying to trick him into revealing himself? All this passed through his expression in a flash, his decision made as he opened his mouth to answer.

"That's not something we talk about outside the Order, mistress," he told her mysteriously, holding onto his lie. He was daring her to denounce him as a liar, she could tell. She didn't dare; he had to unmask himself, or he would never throw off his disguise in response to Kaaras' hopefully good influence on him.

"I understand, Warden Blackwall," she assured him. Missed your chance to come clean on your own, dude. "However ..."

He stilled in the act of rising, dark eyes turning to her face in alarm. "Aye?"

Rory leaned forward, meeting his gaze as she lowered her voice. "I've heard you've brought the Grey Warden treaties to the Inquisition," she said with quiet sternness. "I don't think they should risk using them, do you? Since you are not a Grey Warden."

Blackwall's expression shut down entirely as he sat heavily on the stool once again. "And what makes you say that?" he asked in a dangerous tone, his hand twitching toward the sword at his side.

 Here's your moment, Rory. Don't let him know you know he's Thom Rainier. That's guaranteed to end badly - probably with you bleeding out right here.

"There's no trace of the Blight in your body," she told him, still quiet, as nonthreatening as she could be. "Every Warden is touched by the Blight. A Warden who has served as long as you ostensibly have should be showing signs of the advanced stages. There is a reason why Grey Wardens rarely serve more than thirty or so years, ser. Either you have only just joined their ranks, or you are no Warden at all. In both cases, you have no authority to use those treaties."

She watched him take this in; watched the panic recede as she made no mention of his assumed name or a past he was still hiding from. After all, she was a healer. If he could assure her that no harm would come from his deception, she wouldn't tell anyone that he wasn't who he said he was.

"I ... was intended for the Wardens," he told her, picking his words with care. "The man who recruited me - Blackwall - he was killed by darkspawn. None of the other Wardens knew he'd recruited me, and ... well, I was a wanted man. Many Wardens are before they join. I ... I took his name. Thought I could honor his sacrifice and stay safe at the same time. I never ... I won't let them use the treaties, mistress. You're right - if the truth came out ..."

"It could destroy the Inquisition's reputation," she agreed with a firm nod, glad he saw the danger he'd brought with his eagerness to please. She eyed his trapped expression, and sighed. "Look, it's none of my business who you were or what you're running from. My only concern is the well-being of the Inquisition. If you can promise me that no harm will come to the Inquisition from your past or present, I see no reason to reveal what I know."

Blackwall visibly relaxed as she offered him a get-out clause. "I'll set myself to keeping the treaties from being used," he promised her. "If you'll keep my secret, I'll make sure no harm comes from them."

Rory considered him for a moment. It wasn't ideal - yet another lie to keep - but it was better than the mess in-game those treaties caused. People were on edge enough without accidentally abusing Grey Warden privileges.

"You have my word," she said finally, hoping this wouldn't affect the dynamic of the inner circle.

But the misuse of the Grey Warden treaties had never sat well with her. The use and fall-out might be only shown on the war table, but having played The Warden in Origins, she was deeply protective of the Order, for all its faults. Despite his deception, though, Blackwall/Rainier meant no real harm. He was at least trying to be a better man, even under someone else's name.

"Thank you, mistress," he breathed, his relief palpable. "If ever I can do you a service, you will have my sword."

"Just give the Inquisition your loyalty, and we're even," she told him, relieved herself that this had gone so well. "But yes, aside from that sprain in your elbow, you're fighting fit. Try to rest your arm for a couple of days - take elfroot for the pain."

"I will." He nodded gratefully, rising from his seat once more. He gave her one last worried look, and turned on his heel to escape the clinic and her knowing gaze.

Here's hoping that doesn't have any catastrophic effects on the story. Rory sighed as she signed off on her report. It was odd - she'd never really had any strong feelings about Blackwall when she'd played the game, but face to face, she'd found herself very uneasy in his presence. Perhaps it was the sheer magnitude of the lie he was living under, or the knowledge that he had sanctioned the murder of children for money before leaving his men to suffer for his mistake. Everyone here was a killer, it was true, but Blackwall really felt like one. But then again, it was all subjective.

She glanced up as the door opened again, smiling at the sight of Luis balancing a tray which was loaded with plates and bowls - lunch for himself and Netta, and for their bed-bound patients.

"Need a hand?" she offered, rising to open the inner door for him.

"We've got this," he assured her as he edged past. "You should go and get your own. You know how the Herald gets when you miss meals."

"I thought the Herald was in conference with the council," she commented in confusion.

Luis shook his head, handing the tray to Netta. "Came out about an hour ago," he told her. "Prepping to head out in the morning; scuttlebutt says to Redcliffe. Someone saw that Tevinter in the Chantry before he headed off."

Rory frowned curiously. That must be Dorian, she thought, forcing herself not to smile in excitement. So Kaaras was going to the mages, after all. It was a relief to know that the Venatori were not going to get hold of a big army of magic users, but she couldn't help feeling a pang for the templars in Therinfal Redoubt being slowly corrupted by an Envy demon, helpless to fight the red lyrium in their philters. But it seemed that, even when the world was real, there was no room for compromise. Cullen must be doing his nut, she realized. At most, he had a month to prepare for the arrival of a large number of mages in the shadow of the Breach.

"Did you see the commander out there?" she asked Luis in concern.

He paused in the act of helping Netta prepare the patients to eat. "Uh, no, I don't think I did," he admitted thoughtfully. "He might still be in the Chantry."

I just bet he is, stoking his own paranoia. The prospect of abominations would definitely be playing on Cullen's mind, and with good reason. He'd lived through the worst that could possibly happen, after all. She couldn't blame him for his over-reaction to the imminent danger.

"All right," she said finally, rubbing her forehead. "I'll be back in about an hour - most likely in the Chantry if you need me."

"Right you are, mistress."

Leaving the two nurses to their work and their own lunch, Rory stepped out into the growing cold of Haven. It was strange to think that it must have been summer when she was dropped into this cold world - the seasons were turning, bringing even colder weather and more frequent snowstorms to the mountain village. Their greatest concern was keeping the pilgrims' camp sheltered from those winds; though more recruits arrived almost daily, the majority of the soldiers, agents, and horses were deployed across southern Thedas by now. Haven was diminished by their absence, and finally Rory could see around her a base of operations that was truly vulnerable to attack. She'd done all the preparation she could without rousing anyone's suspicion - four emergency packs now sat against the wall inside the clinic; she was making a habit of wearing a dress over her shirt and pants; she had a specific supply of triple distilled poppy juice on her person at all times. She sincerely hoped she wasn't going to have to use it, but if the clinic had patients unable to move when Corypheus attacked ...

These dark thoughts in mind, she joined the line for the kitchens, letting her eyes pass over the groups already eating, automatically seeking out familiar faces. Sera was sitting on top of the forge, dropping the vegetables she didn't want down to the sturdy Ferelden Forder in the pen below; Kaaras was sitting with Iron Bull, both deep in conversation with Krem. Cassandra seemed to have eaten already, beating a line of dummies into submission with a blunted practice sword; a pair of dark heads bent together between the tents behind her suggested that Rylen and Evy were either smooching or planning something. The other faces she considered to be closer friends were nowhere in sight, likely in the tavern or at work again. She did, however, offer Helene a sympathetic grimace when it came her turn to collect her lunch.

"You're still on kitchen duty?" she asked her friend as she held out her plate.

"The commander's not subtle when he's pissed at you," Helene intimated, shrugging diffidently.

"Two months is too much," Rory asserted. Helene really didn't deserve to still be paying for that mishap in Val Royeaux. "I'll talk to him. Has he eaten?"

Helene shook her head. "No sign of him," she told the healer in a resigned voice. "You want to take his, too?"

"I might as well," Rory agreed, watching as he friend laid another couple of skewers of roasted meat and vegetables on her plate. "See you later?"

Helene nodded. "One of these days, I'm going to get you sparring without dropping the sword and hiding behind your shield," she predicted, albeit with a teasing smile.

"I wish you the best of luck with that." Rory laughed, stepping away to retrace her steps into the village and up to the Chantry.

No one intercepted her on her way, for which she was grateful. Leliana and Josephine were talking in the spymaster's tent, the hopeful tension on their faces confirming the gossip Luis had relayed to her - Kaaras was going to Redcliffe. No wonder Cullen had failed to appear from the war room yet. Sleep was going to be even more of a struggle for a while, she guessed, inwardly bracing herself for more nightmares in the very near future. But that wasn't her immediate concern. No, her immediate concern was a harried-looking commander bent over the map table, who didn't even glance up as she entered.

"Take this to Knight-Captain Brycen," he ordered, thrusting a piece of parchment in her direction.

"Eat your lunch, and I'll think about it," Rory responded mildly, smiling as he raised his eyes from the table in surprise.

"Rory, I ... forgive me, I thought you were Jim," Cullen stammered apologetically, putting the parchment down.

"Because we're so alike," she teased, deliberately light. She set the plate down on the table. "If you ask me very nicely, I'll take it with me when you've eaten."

"Now is not the time for levity, Rory," he told her with a stern frown. "I have work to do."

"And at least four weeks to prepare for the mages," she countered. The alarm on his face prompted her to add, "Haven gossips worse than a tavern full of drunk dwarves, you know that. Kaaras is going back to Redcliffe; that means you've decided to ally with the mages. Eat your lunch."

"Circumstances took the decision away from us," he said wearily, reaching up to rub at his neck. She heard the vertebrae pop under his hand. Bath and massage tonight, then. "If we don't deal with the mages, we'll be leaving Ferelden with a foreign power holding territory within her borders."

"The decision was made for you," she answered calmly. "You have time to prepare, so there's no need to be skipping meals."

"There's too much to do," he tried to argue, but she wasn't having it.

"Cullen, if you don't eat, I am going to have to feed you," Rory told him, her turn to be stern. "And we both know that won't end well."

To her relief, that prompted a rueful smile. "I'd like to see you try," he commented, but obediently picked up a skewer and began to eat.

"Not today," she chuckled, moving to lean at his side as she, too, tackled a skewer. "So talk to me. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Aside from laying in supplies against an outbreak of violent skirmishes, I don't think so," he advised, his tone laden with dread. "Truth be told, there's not much I can do. There will be abominations. All I can really do is try to put safeguards in place to minimize the risk to us all, the mages included."

"What do you mean?" she asked, genuinely interested, around a mouthful of what tasted like nug. Should I be worried that my taste-buds now recognize it as nug, and not dusty rabbit? "Like glyphs and wards?"

"Among other things," he agreed in a thoughtful tone. "We'll have to find some way to securely accommodate them. Too many quartered together would be a beacon for the demons we know are only too ready to escape the Fade on the other side of the Breach."

"What about the templars?" Rory queried, indulging her curiosity. "There are a few still here."

"Too few for my peace of mind." Cullen sighed, setting the empty skewer aside and absentmindedly laying his hand at her hip. "We have ten templars here with the temperament for teaching. If each of them teaches ten recruits how to counter magic, we'll have just over a hundred who are capable of it. But I am loath to order anyone to learn - they would have to take lyrium to be truly effective.

She frowned with him, understanding his concern. But she knew, as he didn't, that the Venatori were going to be a challenge, and that potential one-hundred could be vital further down the line. "So don't order them," she suggested. "Ask for volunteers and make sure they know what they're signing up for. Don't let anyone go into it blind."

"You may be right," he said reluctantly. "But it doesn't sit well with me."

"I know, love." She laid her hand against the cool metal of his cuirass. "But sometimes we have to choose the lesser of two evils, when the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Thank you, Mr. Spock.

His gloved hand covered hers as he nodded slowly. "We all have to do things we don't agree with," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her brow. "But I would do far worse to keep you safe."

"Oh, you hopeless romantic," she teased gently, giggling as he dipped his head to press his smile to hers tenderly.

The door opened behind her, but to her surprise, Cullen didn't immediately pull away. He seemed to need this moment of loving contact more than he desired to keep his private life private, taking his time in softening, then ending, that kiss.

"Ah," she heard Cassandra say uncomfortably. "I had thought you were alone, but I see I was mistaken."

Rory's smile only deepened when Cullen drew back from her, no part of his countenance betraying that he'd been caught kissing her. He wasn't even blushing as he met Cassandra's eyes. Wow ... is he getting more confident, or am I losing my touch?

"How can I be of service, Lady Cassandra?"

Cassandra looked as though she wanted to strangle herself for interrupting such an intimate moment, despite the fact that no one really expecting to find the commander smooching in the war room. "I had hoped to go over the plan in better detail," she offered awkwardly.

"I'll leave you to it, then," Rory said through her broad smile, snagging another skewer as she pushed out of her lean. She pointed to what was left on the plate, eyeing Cullen sternly. "Eat."

"I will make sure he does," Cassandra promised when Cullen's only response was to roll his eyes at the healer.

"Thank you."

Rory winked at the Seeker as she left, pausing to blow the commander a kiss from the door and watch as his ears turned pink in answer. Now the Seeker and the commander's faces matched, she left them to it, confident that Cassandra would make sure Cullen finished his lunch. Now there was a woman who was more than capable of force-feeding Cullen Rutherford. With Cassandra on the case, he definitely wouldn't go hungry today.

#set in darkness #multi-chapter fic #dragon age inquisition #dragon age fanfiction #dai fanfic #mgit #cullen rutherford/original female character #cullen rutherford/rory allen #rory allen #cullen rutherford #blackwall/rainier #cassandra pentaghast #mages and templars #worries #preparations #cullen and rory are just as bad as each other