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#I pity the darkling for the mother he was forced to grow up with
ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes · 10 months
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My Moon and Stars
pairing: nikolai lantsov x fem!reader
genre: mild angst with comfort
el's thoughts: this was requested by @writingmysanity for my 1.3k follower celebration
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Nikolai!” Y/N called as she lifted the skirts of her dress and hurried through the tunnels of their underground hideout. “Have you seen Nikolai?” She turned to different grisha as she passed them. No one had given her the answer she desperately needed to hear. 
She was separated from him during all the chaos caused by the Darkling’s shadow monsters. Her dress now in shreds from when she stood to the side rushing everyone else ahead of her. 
Her heart was racing while her feet ached and forced her to slow to a stop. She leaned against the dirt wall trying to hold back her tears and the choked sob that crawled its way up her throat. “Nikolai.” She craved to be in the comforting hold of her husband’s arms. The arms that she had found solace in over the years of their marriage. He was always kind to her and built a relationship with her based on friendship. Over time she had fallen for the prince and truly grew to love him. 
“She um-” Y/N could hear her father clear his throat, “She should be here any minute now. My most sincere apology for making you wait.” 
“It’s no matter really.” An unrecognizable voice spoke up before silence settled into the room, the only sounds being her parent’s harsh whispers. 
Y/N quickly hid herself behind one of the stone pillars lining the large hallway. The two wooden doors slid open and the clicking of heels were heard making their way into the hallway. The princess held her breath as she waited for the footsteps to finish their walk down the hall. 
“And what do you think you’re doing out here?” 
The y/h/c haired girl spun around and muffled her scream with her hand. Once she saw the voice was her mother’s lady-in-waiting she straightened out her light blue summer dress. “Oh well, I… I was just playing-”
“You’re too old to be playing anything now, don’t you think?” The older women tsked teasingly. “You have guests kept waiting in the Great chamber.” 
Y/N grasped desperately for an excuse. “You can tell them I’ve come down with a terrible terrible cold.” 
The graying woman smiled in pity at the girl before her. The girl whom she’d watch grow into the beautiful young lady whose father is now trying to give her hand in marriage. “You know I can’t do that.”
“It was worth a shot.” The princess sighed and foled her hands together in front of her as she walked to the doors of the Great chamber. She kept her voice low. “And here we go.”
The heavy wooden doors swung open and Y/N was met with the sight of her family and the Ravkan prince with his older brother and parents. She dipped into a shallow bow keeping her head down as she made her way to the empty seat beside her mother. “Please excuse my tardiness, your highness.”
Her father nodded, “Yes, please forgive her.”
The Ravkan prince waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t fret, we are here for a few days afterall. We are in no rush.”
Y/N took the time to look over Nikolai’s features while he spoke with both of their fathers about arrangements. His blonde hair fell across his forehead gracefully, framing his face in such a way that made his facial features sharper. Not sharp enough to be threatening. No, his face still held a softness that she had only seen in children. He carried a youthful spirit with him.
The gray-haired queen that sat next to him smiled smugly at the princess when she noticed her staring at Nikolai. 
Y/N looked down at her lap bashfully. Her lady-in-waiting placed a soft hand on her shoulder and rubbed her thumb against her skin in comfort. ‘It’ll be okay.’
“Y/N!” Tamar called for the princess. “Nikolai is here.”
Y/N’s head snapped up and she wiped under her eyes as she walked quickly down the tunnel and turned the corner. The familiar mop of blonde hair came into view and she felt a new wave of tears spring to her eyes. Her feet carried her faster until she crashed into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. 
“You’re okay. Saints you’re okay.” Nikolai kissed her head repeatedly and ran his hand through her hair. “I thought…” He swallowed thickly instead of finishing his sentence. 
“I thought I lost you.” Y/N murmured quietly into his shoulder, trying to suppress her tears. She felt Nikolai shake his head. 
“You’re my moon and stars,” he kissed her head again. “My compass, my direction, my home.” He pulled back enough to look her in the eyes. “It’s all you. It’s always been you. I’ll always find my way back to you. Not even death could keep me away.”
“Don’t say that.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t speak of death right now. Please.”
“Okay, okay.” He brought her back into him and placed his lips on top of her head. “But remember that it’s true. You’re my moon and stars.”
They may have been arranged from the beginning, but their love had nothing to do with their parents. Their love had grown after moonlit walks and spring picnics in the gardens. Breakfast before a busy day and ranting about the day before bed. Traveling together and telling stories of their childhood. They both knew they’d have each other through this war, and that was all they needed.
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howtostandinsilence · 3 years
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“Know that I loved you,” she said to the Darkling. “Know that it was not enough.”
Quotes that make you hate Baghra Morozova.
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justice4harwin · 3 years
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Light’s Corruption-Chapter VII
Summary: With few friends at the Little Palace, Alina must work to win the favour of her fellow grisha and their commander, who makes her feel light headed every time she sees him.
After training in Os Alta for two years, the king grows tired of waiting and demands the Sun Summoner joins a western post near the Fjerdan border along with the rest of The Second Army to test her abilities.
Something happens. Suddenly, Alina wants blood to run down the rivers and those who stand in her and The Darkling’s way will be blinded by her light and swallowed by his shadows.
It won’t be pretty.
Pairing: The DarklingxAlina
Rating: 18+ (better safe than sorry, u know)
Anyone fancy a playlist?
As usual, the tags are in the comments; if you no longer want to be in the list or wanna be added, please don’t hesitate to let me know :)
Click here for chapter VI
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Chapter 7: Within the Palace's Walls
 Dear General Kirigan,
Dear General
Dear Kirigan
Dear Darkling
"Ugh!" Alina let her face drop on top of the paper, not caring if the ink got into her face, and groaned, loudly and at length. "Why?!" She asked into the nothingness of her room.
She had no reason to write to him. She knew he must've had frequent reports of the ongoings of the Little Palace, so she had no other excuse except to admit the truth, which was that she craved his attention, even if he was days away.
This was so pathetic of her; letting go of a life-long unrequited love just to fall into the arms of the first man who complimented her, even if she did feel a strange pull towards him.
What she needed was time for herself. Yes. She had finally said goodbye to Mal, falling for someone else so quickly would do her no good.
Oh, but Saints! The way in which he had kissed her, like he'd been waiting for centuries, like she was a treasure, like he truly wanted her. She had kissed people before, but never like that. She had enjoyed it, sure, but always stopped it before the clothes started to disappear. It usually bored people, but Alina didn't mind that much. It wasn't like when Genya was in the room while she bathed, helping her get to whenever she needed to be in time by pulling at the knots in her hair and handing her a towel. Genya was trustworthy, she was her friend and she had never given her one of those looks that had made her uncomfortable during her training at Poliznaya, nor made an unwanted comment or advance on her figure.
But The Darkling… That day, she had felt more than willing to let him have his way with her; nobody had set her body aflame the way The Darkling had done that afternoon a few weeks prior; she dreamt of it at night and woke up sweaty and hot, and it was a real effort to not daydream about it during her day.
General Imbecile Brute,
I write to you on this day to let you know of the first snow at the Little Palace. It makes quite the pretty paint...from the inside.
Also, I cannot stop thinking about you and your kiss, and I've been staring at the rose you gave me for such long amounts of time I fear my eyes will cross and I'll be stuck like that forever.
Please, tell me: do you feel the same? Mark 'yes' or 'no'.
Forever at your service,
Alina Starkov, Sun Summoner, Idiot.
Ps: You're not an imbecile, only a little rude; and you're not a brute, but some of your manners need polishing. Other than that, you're perfect.
Signed again,
Alina Starkov, she who lacks decency.
She looked at the letter, a low, prolonged, pitiful sound parting from her lips that turned into an animalistic groan. She grabbed the piece of paper, scrunched it into a small ball and threw it into her fireplace.
The snow covered the grounds of the Little Palace almost entirely, the lake would soon be completely frozen, and finalize the beautiful picture. Some Grisha were excited over the opportunity to skate. Alina had never done it, but Marie and Nadia promised to teach her.
From her horse, Alina moved uneasily. She still wasn't used to horse-riding, but Nina had invited her along with a few of her friends, who were all of different orders. It was a chance she wouldn't miss.
She tugged her kefta closer and held onto the reigns, advancing slowly along with the group, heading to the edges of the woods that surrounded the place.
A Fabrikator passed her a flask of kvas, and despite her dislike for the strong drink, Alina took it anyways and tried not to grimace as the liquid went down her throat.
If she were honest, she'd rather be inside the warm walls of her room in the Little Palace, chattering the afternoon away with Genya. She hadn't need to ask if the Tailor could join them at the stables; Alina was well aware of how little regard the other Grisha had for her -until they needed something-.
"I heard a few of you have been working on new keftas." she tried to make light conversation with the woman as she handed her her kvas back.
"Yes." she answered politely, "We're making a special fabric that should give us more freedom of movement during battle."
Alina rose her eyebrows. It wouldn't help her much if she didn't improve her fighting skills, but it was an interesting idea.
"How's it coming along?"
The woman tried to hide a grimace.
"It's complicated, but we're making some progress."
Alina smiled.
"Maybe you can tell me more about it during dinner." she suggested. "I, for once, would love a different type of trousers."
The woman smiled starkly, her blond hair getting on her face.
"They are rather stiff, aren't they?"
"I can barely flex my legs as it is."
The woman, whose name was Lada Alina remembered, agreed.
"I know. They're not suitable." she said in a strange tone, to which Alina gave her an odd, sideways look.
"Did you hear Zoya is back?" Fedyor interrupted, marching up to keep up with them.
Alina stared at him, groaned, and rolled her eyes.
"That's great." she said dryly.
Her absence was nice while it lasted.
"Maybe if I get under her skin and she attacks again, The General will send her off for a longer time. Or better yet, I could actually beat her."
Who was she kidding? Zoya was a formidable fighter, and Alina was just starting to win every now and then. Also, she suspected that Nina might have gone easy on her during their first sparring match a few weeks prior. She hadn't won against her ever since.
"Tell me about it." the woman in question said, rolling her eyes. "I don't understand her obsession with being on The General's inner circle."
"Says the one who is in the inner circle." Fedyor pointed out.
"Barely." Nina made a gesture with her hand, as if trying to rest importance to the matter. "Besides, it's not such a big deal. I don't know why everyone makes such a fuss about it."
"Well, the higher we are, the better we can protect other Grisha." Alina said, almost hesitantly. "I mean, if we have The General's ear, more ideas will flow about. I'm sure everyone has something to contribute to the cause."
"You don't need to worry about that, sun bean;" Nina smirked. "You're the Sun Summoner, it's likely he'll listen to you."
Alina's cheeks flushed as everyone in the group turned to stare at her.
"I think it's good to aim high;" Fedyor said, drifting the attention to himself, thanks the Saints. "As long as it's for the better of the Second Army."
Nina looked away and uttered something only Alina heard.
"Oh, yeah, betterment of forced servitude."
The Summoner stiffened on her saddle at the bitter words. Was Nina unhappy at the Little Palace? Why? She was one of the most powerful Grisha there; she lived in the most secured place in all Ravka, and her General held her in high regard.
A part of Alina wished she had never hidden her light. Maybe it would've been for the better to leave Keramzin, to leave Mal behind sooner.
It also made her think of someone who scarcely passed through her mind those days: her own mother.
She shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts. She was thankful for the commodities and safe life she had at the Little Palace. Even if she was one of a kind, everyone else seemed to be adapting well to her, especially since she began to summon on her own and join in their little games by the lake.
She had been hesitant about it at first, but Genya insisted that going would be a great opportunity to both show her power and make allies.
"Besides, they won't believe you're a snob or a fraud if you show them a little." she had said, lazily lounging on a chair as they shared a nice tea one afternoon, while the queen took an especially long nap the very same day the Duke of Balakirev had arrived at court.
Lately, Alina felt more normal, and she was sure that her latest choices had a lot to do with it. From showcasing her powers, to sitting in different sections on different tables during meals and just talking normally about trivial things -even if those did exhaust her mind- and wearing an Etherealki kefta, she was more approachable, and the other Grisha seemed to slowly start to notice it too.
"It's not enough."
"We surely do deserve some more credit." she spoke, even if she didn't fully believe in the sentiment. The First Army was full of otkazat'sya, and they didn't have the advantages of bullet-proof clothing, private tents, furs for the winter and three decent meals per day.
It was all so difficult for Alina. She had once envied the advantages The Second Army possessed over The First, yet she couldn't deny there were other kinds of dangers for the Grisha, that not everything was perfect inside the walls of Os Alta.
Like the distrust of those who weren't like them, their fear, tamed only by their usefulness due only to the Black Heretic's greed.
All around her, her fellow Grisha nodded their agreements.
She wondered, briefly, what would Grisha life be like in Ravka if The Fold hadn't been created in the first place. What would happen if she ever managed to tear it down?
She didn't want to dwindle in those thoughts further.
With the Winter Fete approaching, everyone at the Little and Grand Palace seemed to buzz with all kinds of different energy. The servants were comprehensively nervous and stressed as they ran from one place to the other. Alina's fellow Grisha were either excited or indifferent, but none the less they all put the same amount of effort into practicing their yearly demonstration.
As for Alina herself, she had received the news that she was expected to showcase her power in front of the royal family and the other nobles of Ravka.
"The king wanted to throw a bigger party; invite diplomats from all continents and such, but General Kirigan insisted that it wasn't necessary yet." Genya said one afternoon, as Alina braided her hair.
She was seated very still, her eyes continuously darting from one side to the other as if trying to peek at her friend's work, concern etched on her face.
"He seems impatient." Alina commented, to which Genya huffed, accommodating her friend's new possessions on her vanity with a precision that seemed borderline obsessive.
"You have no idea. He can't wait to see the mighty Sun Summoner." she said, pouting and trying to imitate his deeper voice.
Alina frowned, said nothing, and continued braiding, her movements slowing but almost precise.
The Darkling
 Miss Starkov,
Due to my sudden absence, I had no time to notify you that I shall oversee your training personally from now on.
Being far away, I do not wish for you to stall, so I leave you some instructions on what to practice and how, and a few reading recommendations fo-
He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
He was being a fool, and he hated it.
Writing to her with instructions on how to practice her summoning was a foolish idea. She was barely starting and needed overseeing, and the only one besides himself who could help her was his mother, who remained bitter at the woman. He really wanted to know what Alina had said to Baghra to make her so upset.
He almost smiled, feeling something wickedly, childishly happy in his chest at the possibilities.
Tossing the letter into the fire, he leaned back in his chair.
Teaching her through letters would only lead to disaster, but how else would he know about her? How else could he earn her trust while being so far away?
Pathetic.
"Moi Soverennyi." Ivan presented himself, bowing before further entering his tent. He offered him an envelope. "A letter from the Grand Palace."
The Darkling took it and quickly read it, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Although he had convinced the king that inviting foreign diplomats was not yet a good idea, the stupid man insisted that the Sun Summoner performed alongside the other Grisha. Alina was finally able to summon on her own, but he knew a part of her still feared her gift; putting on a show for an audience was not the best idea.
He…worried? for her?
"We will have to be back in time for the Winter Fete."
Ivan grunted. "I hate that thing."
The Darkling nodded in agreement. After all those centuries, he was more than bored of them. It was always the same waste of time and resources for his army, only to entertain the nobles for a few hours. As if they would not go back to turning their back on them the very next day.
Those fools often seemed to forget that his Grisha could have them for lunch if they so wanted it.
Privileged as The Second Army may seem, people were wary of them, even the nobles who lived in the surrounding areas.
"But they will not attempt anything so long as they need us."
"We have little choice, Ivan."
"We could always host it near The Fold and accidently push the royal family inside it." he said, sardonic as usual.
"Tempting." The Darkling smirked, setting the letter aside with little care.
The Heartrender stepped aside to allow him out, and The Darkling marched towards the river, where a few of his fabrikators were working on a new skiff. It wasn't nearly as grand as the one Alina had boarded that fateful day, but that was due to a different purpose.
There was a strange device being placed underneath it.
"Are you sure this will work?" he asked Petya.
The woman hesitated for the briefest moment, and The Darkling reminded himself internally to summon new graves for his Grisha.
"Such a pity." he thought, sincerely.
"Yes. So long as the Squaller sets a slow pace and nobody exerts themselves too much, they should be able to pass in relative tranquillity."
He had a feeling it would not work. His Grisha had already tried several times to cross through the river, but David Kostyk was sure his new invention would cancel out the soft sounds of the skiff against the water and dwindle the sounds of a heartbeat.
"Do not expect the path to be clear." he said.
"That is exactly why we're going, sir." a Squaller, Igor, approached and bowed. "If this works and we can clear the path, we should be able to make it to the other side eventually."
"Let us hope it does not take too many tries." he said.
Too many Grisha lives, he had wanted to say.
"David is rarely wrong, Moi Soverennyi." Petya said.
That was true. David was one of his best Grisha, which was why The Darkling tried to keep him inside the safety of the Little Palace's walls unless absolutely necessary.
Still, The Darkling though the plan stupid and a waste; but it was either that or forcing Alina into The Fold, and she was far from being ready to make a crossing, even through its thinnest point up north.
As a Squaller, a Heartrender, two Healers and two Inferni boarded the skiff, followed by a few strong otkazat'sya men from the First Army, The Darkling thought of David.
He thought of Alina.
And his thoughts returned to David.
With a sharp nod, he sent off the small team to do their last test and headed back to his tent, where he began to write a letter addressed to Mr. Kostyk.
Click here for chapter 8
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casvist · 3 years
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hello my lovely peaches , *puts my clown wig on bcs i’m shy* i’m back at it again, being a greedy bitch and bringing you my second  and super fake muse, yeva.  remember that part where the darkling’s fake ass pretended to be all nice and wholesome. well, yeva is faker than that. she probably has severe back pain from single handedly carrying all her lies on her back. anyway, i could slander her more but i will probably do that later. if you want to plot please LIKE this post or IM me/message me on discord and i’ll bring some clown shoes and ask for some plotting ( but in.... greedy )
PINTEREST  . PROFILE .    BIO (tba) .  VIKTORIYA.     discor*d     six of hoes🔪#7888
[ yeva zudina ], an [ twenty-eight ] year old grisha in the little palace. she is a [ tidemaker ] and are known in the little palace as the [ mountebank ]. they are known to be [ adaptable ] and [ devious ] and vaguely resemble [ davika hoorne ]. 
( okay my soc ass had to make her grow up in ketterdam i’m sorry )
- before yeva knew that she was a tidemaker, she was what one might call an “ordinary” girl in ketterdam. ( as far as anyone can be ordinary in ketterdam )
- as many people living there, she didn’t really have the best time of her life there. her father, well, he was just a name causing an uncomfortable silence whenever one would mutter it. her mother, she tried her best to survive in that hellhole. although, yeva knew how much her did for her, the only person she really could get close to was her step-sibling. ( a wc i’ll elaborate more on when i’m finally requesting that wc). though not bound by blood, they meant the world to yeva and little yeva felt as if she had to protect her from whatever was lurking in ketterdam’s (shady) alleyways.
- despite of her noble intentions, realistically she wasn’t strong. and how so? no one taught her how to protect herself and she was still a child. however, yeva didn’t want to wait around for nothing. instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands and looking back this idea was really stupid, but she wholeheartedly believed that messign with some other kids would be a brilliant way to improve her combat skills ( all my muses have to be stupid at some point i’m sorry, theyre all dumb)
- of course this plan failed terribly ( and instead she was the one getting her ass beaten  ).  luckily someone witnessed that (comedic) unfortunate scene and helped yeva out. and this somehow became the turning point of her life. yeva, completely awe-struck with the stranger, wanted to know more about him. truth to be told, he didn’t do much and his presence alone somehow scared the kids away ( poor kids almost got into a fight with a grown-ass man) but yeva didn’t really care. turned out he was a drüskelle (retired though (as much as one can), thus he didn’t really have to rely on any grisha “magic”, something yeva really admired.
- long story short, he not only became a mentor to yeva ( who successfully convinced him to show her some “cool” drüskelle tricks) but also a father-figure. yeva really trusted him and his beliefs also became hers. which we might say weren’t exactly grisha friendly. at first she didn’t get why he hated grisha so much, to her they didn’t seem too bad but as time passed his words left a mark.
- however, what actually made her end up despising grisha was a certain incident. as much as this day affected yeva, everything happened within a second. a short moment of exchanged laughter, cruelly disrupted by two grisha. tidemakers ( a cruel twist of irony ) . looking back at it now, yeva figured that these two grisha had a long and unresolved grudge against him ( which wasn’t too surprising with him being a drüskelle) and had their eye on him ever since. 
- to put it briefly, yeva was forced to witness the death of someone whom she considered a father to her. yet, fate couldn’t be more cruel on her and it was also the moment her abilities were triggered , and , of course, she turned out to be a grisha as well. make it worse. a tidemaker.
- skipping over all the formalities (bcs this is getting too long) and luck not really being on her side she was brought to the little palace. her mother wasn’t too surprised and knowing that yeva wouldn’t have a future here at ketterdam, she thought that ravka was far more appealing.
- yeva wasn’t happy of course. not only was she forced to be with the people who she despised she herself was one. at first, she refused to do anything at all, she didn’t mind if she were to be punished for her stuborness. no one knew why she was behaving this way, they just shrugged it off as her being a spoiled brat refusing to be useful. yeva, however, didn’t continue to be like this forever and what happened next surpirsed everyone. suddenly, she was eager to train and improved quickly. all they saw was a hardworking grisha but what they didn’t know was that yeva’s intentions weren’t noble. 
- instead of wasting her time at pitying and hating herself, she realized that she was at the perfect place to learn everything about her ‘enemies’. 
- basically, she has that grand plan of trying to destroy things from within, being the wolf in sheep’s clothing (cutting this short bcs this is getting long again). 
personality
- honestly, as i’ve mentioned before she’s fake. and not in that way where she’ll just pretend to smile and go on with her day, she really goes out her way in acting as if she was the sweetest and kindest girl out there. however, everthing she does serves some purpose. she helps you with some training ? she gives you some advice on a personal matter ? she compliments you on your smile ? lets say she doesn’t do it out of kindness. not when you’re a grisha. of course, she isn’t perfect at keeping this act up all the time.  and if one pays a little more attention to her actions, they can see her facade crumbling. still, where vika is all about being straight-forward and accidentally hurting one’s feeling without meaning it, yeva is all about sugar-coating when she needs to but also deliberately using one’s weakness against them.
traits ( adding some bcs i want to redeem her a little bit but i also don’t respect her so..) 
[+] adaptable, decisive, loyal , observant 
[-] ruthless, doesn’t think through consequences, blindly faithful, intrusive
headcanons
- tba ( but i just had to add that yeva prbly wouldn’t hesitate to push someone from the ship when they’d travel through the shadow fold.)
- every time she must do more than simply tolerating grisha, like saying that they’re great she probably loses one year of her life
- trying to keep her reputation yeva is known to give exceptionally good advice
- as much as she despises that “grisha magic” she believes in things like card reading, fortune telling and is quite faithful to the saints (regardless of being grisha or not)
connections
someone who sees through her (shit) facade and unlike everyone else who perceives yeva as that sweet angel, they find her suspicious and doesn’t trust her.
a grisha who is the complete opposite of what yeva think they are and might as well be someone yeva tolerates and might add that 0.1% of character development 
listen an unrequited love bcs i’m laughing at the idea that someone might fall for her super fake persona and the more time they spend with her they start to realize that it is just an act.
someone who turns for advice to yeva bcs of her reputation
*sneakily puts my step sibling connection here so if u r intreested hmu ;) but i’ll also request it later but rn i’m too lazy*
HONESTLY EVERYTHING i love angsty and dramatic shit, but i’m super open for other ideas bcs my two braincells need that wonderful input and inspo so gimme all the connections PLS !!! *types this in thirsty for all ur wonderful muses*
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