#and these flightless birds are RESTLESS

[tearductanatomy]

Vikings

I have known the warm comfort of silk and down, but the dead leaves rustle their call. The red moon is rising; I cannot stay still. 

I am a gazelle, running. I am a beast, chasing. I am the sum of generations, of blood and dominion, of servitude and jest, of song and dance. 

Touch my naked back and know: I am a flightless bird, but still, I fly. No cage can contain a soul transcendent, no band can hold these restless feet. 

In the night, I leave you. In dreams, I am someone else. My body stays where you hold me, but I am high above rumbling clouds searching for heaven. 

—h.s.

#writerscreed #poeticstories #poetry

[aston-reese]

The Pens will still take this series. We were just not destined to win Game 1. Jarry's gonna end up being a stonewall for the rest of the series.

🙌🙌🙌🙌

I get that every game in the playoff is important, but this happens to almost every team. Heads up and keep fighting

#and these flightless birds are RESTLESS #some damage is about to be done #(i hope) #Anonymous

[chief-of-restless-hearts]

(click for better quality)

This is based off Ionaperidot’s fanfic, Robins and Other Flightless Birds on Ao3(I don’t trust tumblr enough to post the link), and I just finished this today!

The fic circles around traumatized versions of the batkids from various universes, so their respective ages are different. Pictured are Talon!Dick, comatose Jason, Joker Jr. Tim(bottom left to right), and a relatively well-adjusted Cass and Damian(top left and right). (Cass is signing hello)

Made with ink and watercolor.

@ionalottabookmarks

#batfam #bruce wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #cassandra cain #bat family #dc art #batman #robins and other flightless birds #restless arts #my art

[winged-folk]

regular everyday annoyances with wings

Thought this would be fun to make as i often see having wings through rose tinted glasses, but damn would they be annoying as heck to have in a word designed for flightless people

🐔 Shoving open a door, walking through absentmindedly and it slaMS SHUT ON YOUR WINGS

🐧 Lying on your back weirdly, getting up to fly and you just fuckin trip and fall cause your wings fell asleep

🐦 Getting embarrased/flustered and trying to hide it but your wings puff up on their own, betraying you

🐤 Going to bed and having a restless sleep, waking up to your feathers matted and sticking out in weird places

🐔 Having to sit in a chair with a backing that goes around the sides, leaving absolutely no way to put your wings comfortably (you end up holding them awkwardly above your head like an angry vulture)

🐧 In class/at work, letting your wings droop to the floor while you're tired and being pleasantly awoken by someone stepping. on your feathers. (in their defense you shouldn't have been sleeping but still)

🐦 cARS. need i say more. WHERE DO YOU PUT THEM

🐤 Wanting to wear a certain outfit but it clashes terribly with your wings ):

🐔 Having to tailor all your shirts/tops/hoodies etc. grr.

🐧 Going for a swim and having what feels like sopping wet sacks of bricks attached to your back for the next hour, unable to fly

🐦 People touching your wings without your permission. stop it ))):<

🐤 Flying for ages, noticing your wings are starting to ache, and seeing absolutely nowhere to safely land for miles

🐔 Having about 10-15kgs extra to lug around while traveling on foot

🐧 Since we aren't shaped like birds, we can't really tuck our wings close to our body like our sharp beaked brethren, meaning two things: uncomfy x1000, and if its windy you're gonna be laughed at by your dumbass friends when you fall over from being the equivalent of a human sail

🐦 Being in an elevator with someone else wouldn't be fun, as you'd take up about 60% of the space instead of 10%, yeesh- awkward

🐤 Speaking of awkward, the where the heck do I put my hands??? dilemma is increased tenfold thanks to the ginormous, feathered, attention grabbing appendages you now possess

all things considered, being flightless sucks ass but whos to say having wings wouldn't suck too? I know being earthbound isn't fun, but at least we don't have to deal with the above 😭😭😭

#made this specifically for feathered folk but the more scaly/leathery winged of us would experience a lot of this too #wings #winged folk #wingkin #angelkin #birdkin #batkin #dragonkin #therianthropy #otherkin #alterhuman #winged therians #therian #therians

[gaysimpsstuff]

I was wondering, maybe some fluff of hawks just making a bunch of bird sounds to his s/o

Awww that sounds so cute!!!

I’m assuming this is just an ordinary request and not a suggestion for Flightless Birds so I’ll write it as such!!

We just love Tumblr deleting my progress and forcing me to start over again.

Requests are very much open! Just check out my intro (pinned message, also in linktree) for rules!

Sorry this isn’t all fluffy, also sorry it’s a little shitty.

Genre: fluff, minor angst, hurt/comfort

Warnings: cursing, guns (in one section), mentions of death

Other: most of the warnings happen in one section and there will be a note next to it so you can skip that one if you need. Also, I’m sorry that some sections are way longer than others, but some of the scenes need more context than others.

There are a few different noises your boyfriend makes. Most of them are human, human speaking, human laughter, human crying, etc etc.

But some of his sounds were less than human, more bird-like. You weren’t complaining, it was drop-dead adorable when he would make bird noises.

Purring (Contentedness)-

The first time you heard him purr was when you invited him to your house the first time. You’d made chicken strips for him. You could never forget the way his eyes widened when he bit into the piece and then he sort of… vibrated?

You could hear a deep rumbling coming from him, and he just looked so at peace. It was then you realized he was purring. Your little heart leaped into your throat and you wished you could purr just like him.

“That’s really cute, Kei~” you murmured and he looked up at you, face reddening.

“Uhhh- was I-“

“Purring? Yeah, it’s really cute. I like it.” You smiled, cocking your head to the side. His face split into a goofy grin and he giggled a little.

Humming (Happiness)-

You beleived this was more human, but it just happened so much that it had to just be instict. The constant sound of him humming the last song he heard on the radio or whatever tune was stuck in his head.

You noticed it the first time when you were watching movies together, then suddenly you heard him humming a couple notes, stringing some more along before he was humming a song.

Not just any, you’re favorite. Did you sing that song that much? Did he know? Either way, you didn’t comment. Instead, you hummed the harmony and leaned against him.

Chirping (Excitement)-

This one happened when you first said ‘I love you.’ He had flown you home after a date, and you’d been together for three or four months now.

He landed on the balcony outside your apartment, and you climbed out of his arms. He let out a disappointed sigh.

“Do I have to go?” He asked.

“Sorry, Kei.” You told him. “But I have to wake up early and if you’re here I know you’ll keep me from sleeping.” He frowned, nodding sadly. “Hey look at me, babe?” His golden eyes flicked up, meeting yours.

“I love you.”

There were no words from him in that moment. He just wrapped his arms around you, chirping loudly right in your ear. You could feel his smile against your neck. If you ever smiled that wide, you’d probably break your jaw.

⚠️Screeching⚠️ (Fear)-

This one wasn’t scary just for him. It was something you didn’t usually think about before it happened, and didn’t talk about after.

Your dates with Keigo usually went uninterrupted, but on occasion something happened. You went to a cafe with him this time, and he left to use the bathroom. Not a second later, a large black van drove up onto the sidewalk. People were barely able to get out of the way.

You stood up, turning to head to the bathroom and call Keigo out to help. Then you heard someone shout.

“Grab some people and fucking run! We need hostages!”

Great.

There were arms grabbing you, yanking you backwards. You kicked and punched at the guy, but another man pointed a gun at your head. You froze instantly, you weren’t in the mood to die today.

They dragged you around to the back of the van, a couple other villains were dragging other civilians to the van.

Then you heard it.

It was the loudest thing you’d ever heard, and the most frightening. The scream was loud as a fire siren, but worse because it was so animal. You turned and saw him.

Keigo was staring at you with wide eyes, pupils blown out until you could barely see his golden irises.

The sound of the villains cursing about Hawks’ arrival barely reached your ears before feathers shot out on either side of you and the other civilians, grabbing the villains and trapping them all against the walls.

You stumbled forward, and he raced to you, grabbing you and holding you close.

Hissing/Squawking (Anger)-

This one happened before you started dating, and it was the first animal noise he made around you. The two of you were just hanging out in his office when his (now fired) secretary walked in, rolling her eyes at you.

“Hello, Hawks!” She smiled cheerfully, handing him some papers. “What’s this person doing here?” She asked.

“Oh, this is my friend Y/n! Fuka, say hi!” Fuka, the secretary, pursed her lips and gave a little wave to you before turning back to Hawks.

“You know, someone like you really ought to pick your friends carefully.” She spoke lightly, glancing at you.

“What are you saying?” Hawks narrowed his eyes at her.

“I don’t know… just that they don’t seem… like they fit you? You know, you’re friends should be more like you.”

Hawks’ upper lip curled up, and you heard what you thought was a snake, you glanced at him, he looked angry.

“Fuka, are you saying that Y/n doesn’t deserve to be my friend?”

“I mean… basically.” Fuka shrugged. “You’re the number two hero, you deserve more than Uh… this.” She waved at you, disgust evident on her face.

Hawks was on his feet a moment later, letting out a loud squawk and flapping his wings. For the next few minutes, he just yelled at her for the next two minutes to get out.

Singing (Love)-

This one happened late at night, when you were half asleep. You were cuddled against his body, warm beneath the blankets. You heard his soft voice, harmonizing with the sound of the fan, branching off and making up random lyrics.

You melted, it sounding so sweet, you never would have guessed he was a singer, or that he was any good at it. But here he was, lulling you to sleep with his silky smooth voice, tugging you closer into his body as your eyes drooped closed.

⚠️Cooing⚠️ (comfort)-

You had never meant to cry. But Keigo hadn’t come back home in three days. He hadn’t answered your texts, or your calls. You’d been pacing the apartment, restless. Was he okay?

“Keigo!” You practically screamed when he finally walked in. Through the front door. The front door. You ran into his arms and just grasped at him, trying to double check if he was actually there.

“What happened to you? Where were you? I was so scared, baby I thought you died!” You felt your eyes overflow with tears, and he softened, wiping them away. It was then that you noticed he was covered in bandages, and his wings were tiny.

“I’m so sorry, babe.” He murmured. “I never meant to scare you. A fight went on longer than I expected, my phone got broken. I needed to stay at the hospital for a few days.”

“Why didn’t you get the hospital to call me?”

“Probabalg because I wasn’t conscious.” He responded. You welled you again.

“Keigo!”

“I’m sorry baby, I’m so sorry!” He pulled you into his arms, and swayed back and forth with you. You heard a soft curling noise coming from him, similar to his purring but different.

Cooing.

“I’m sorry, Y/n. I love you so much and I promise I won’t do it again, okay? I’ll call for backup next time, I’ll always return to your side.” He cooed. “Always, always, always, always.”

#bnha #mha #keigo takami #mha hawks #bnha hawks #bnha x reader #hawks x reader #hawks x y/n #mha x reader #takami keigo #hawks fluff #hawks angst #hurt/comfort #hurt #hawks comfort

[scftvali-writes]

Hi there! Bare with me as I have to ask you to write a scenario of our bird boi....Losing his ability of flight either through losing an arm or his wing get clipped. Cause my god! Also, hope you're a having a fantastic day~!

more angst with fluff for the soul! hope you don’t mind, i wrote with a hylian-rito hybrid scenario :> feel free to request if you wanted a different version!

enjoy!! thanks for requesting and waiting oh so patiently!!

---

the devastating news hit revali like a truck. princess zelda had revali stay near to rito village and had several members of the rito to cover more ground to the tabantha stables. His wing feathers had been burnt severely closer to their roots. there has been a glimmer of hope that they would return to they’re normal state, but only if he continues to preserve his arms. 

a flightless rito. he felt so helpless. like he lost his title as a rito champion and as a rito overall. what good is he without his wings and aerial combat. 

he was summoned to the castle for the champion meeting. he sulked most of the time, but what he did not realize was his replacement standing in his place. he set his gaze on the smaller form, much like the height of link, who turned to meet his emerald gaze. the gaze of his champion replacement was piercing and captivating.

they smiled kindly, “hello, champion revali. my name is y/n, i’ll be covering for you until your full recovery.” 

he was taken aback. until his full recovery? no...that’s mockery right? nearly everyone in the kingdom fell through on his path to recovery. his wings showed no progress and the comments of his poor recovery killed his hopes, but did you actually believe in his recovery? or were you gloating about your new title?

“i see...well, don’t get too comfortable now.” he pokes, and they simply laugh, sounding like a melody.

the princess makes the announcement for revali’s replacement. as she was speaking, he could not help but glance over at your smaller form. he took note of your neatly folded wings and the well crafted bow on your back. you sent a kind glance back to him before facing forward once more.

a few months later, his wings showed progress of returning. you and revali would commonly be assigned to tasks in scouting the village areas and near the sheikah tower. revali, at first, wasn’t too keen on these changes, but now...he didn’t mind once he learnt more about you.

it took a couple years before his wings finally gained back their aerial ability. when he was summoned once more, he expected to see you at the meeting but...you were no where to be seen. he looked around in confusion and urbosa caught wind of that.

“she went home. her duties were relieved once you came back to your spot. just as you said, ‘don’t get too comfortable.’“ she explained, causing revali to disappointingly nod in confirmation.

“i see, well...let’s get on with this meeting. no use dilly-dallying over trivial matters.” as he said that, urbosa glanced at him and noticed the solemn look in his eyes.

time went on and the news of calamity ganon were spreading. forces were joining together and this put everyone on edge. the champions were doing their best against the growing evil and the princess was stressing over her powers. impa and link were following her every move and the king was growing restless with his daughters games of playing scientist in a time of dire need.

another meeting was called, this time at the temple of time. revali and the other champions pulled up like skrrt skrrt arrived to the church to be met with familiar face. 

“y/n?” mipha calls out first. you turn, dressed in fine clothing and adorning a crown made of f/c crystals and gems. you stood alongside the king and the princess.

“hello to you all. what a pleasure seeing you again.”

---

got a little carried away but a hint of angst is what i stirred up for us all hehe.

feel free to request a part 2! i kind of want to make a whole story just from this scenario alone LOL!! i might! who knows! :D

#botw x reader #revali x reader #revali scenario #breath of the wild x reader #loz x reader #slight angst #plot twist

[doubleattitude]

Radix Dance Convention Nationals, Las Vegas 2021 Results

Core Performer:

(Top 3/4 in Bold)

Mini Female

Top 20:

Emily Jungmann

Isabella Kouznetsova

Skylar Wong

Madelyn Murphy

Carrigan Paylor

Kate Baldwin

Madison Carmody

Karyna Majeroni

Elizabeth Bilecki

Sasha Milstein

Diana Kouznetsova

Ellary Day Szyndlar

Tiara Sherman

Fiona Wu

Savannah Manzel

Camila Giraldo

Victoria Martinez

Georgia Beth Peters

Addison Price

Regan Gerena

Winner: Carrigan Paylor

Mini Male

Top 7:

Elias Elkind

Karson Koller

Santiago Sosa

Julian Aranda

Michael Cash Savio

Nico Dahl

Josh Lundy

Winner: Michael Cash Savio

Junior Female

Top 20:

Kendyl Fay

Daniela SanGiacomo

Kinley Andrews

Laci Stoico

Haileigh Brennan

Crystal Huang

Giselle Gandarilla

Kira Chan

Rylee Young

Kaili Kester

Taytum Ruckle

Maddie Ortega

Angelina Elliott

Anya Inger

Gracyn French

Aaliyah Dixon

Brinkley Pittman

Breanna Bieler

Alexis Mayer

Madison Ronquillo

Winner: Crystal Huang

Junior Male

Top 6:

Johnny Gray

Zachary Gibson

Haiden Neuville

Wyatt Brisson

Ayden Nguyen

Coltrane Vodicka

Winner: Coltrane Vodicka

Teen Female

Top 25:

Destanye Diaz

Izzy Howard

Kaitlyn Ortega

Jada Specht

Emily Madden

Harlow Ganz

Sabine Nehls

Dyllan Blackburn

Antonia Gonzalez

Brooklyn Law

Isabella Lynch

Avery Cashen

Charlie Kautzer

Valadie Cammack

Kiarra Waidelich

Isabel Joves

Olivia Magni

Rachel Loiselle

Mia Ibach

Cydney Heard

Madison Marshall

Kaylinn Rees

Hayden Frazier

Addison Middleton

Carly Thinfen

Winner: Kiarra Waidelich

Teen Male

Top 21:

Trent Grappe

Jack Brokaw

Luke Barrett

Nathan Scott

Antony Curley

Sam Fine

Louis Sloot

Rosendo Archiga

Harrison Robinson

Christian De Jesus

Xander Perone

Noah Ayden Grady

Jonah Daquigan

Samuel Sharp Jr

Jackson Koressel

Gavin Warfield

AJ Storey

Nicholas Bustos

Tucker Gokey

Ronnie Lewis

Sam Suro

Winner: Antony Curley

Senior Female

Top 22:

Camille Fehr

Rina Kanamaki

Elisabeth Pabich

Kayla Pereira

Sara Eberhardt

Ava La France

Selena Hamilton

Anna Miller

Skye Notary

Priscilla Tom

Mackenzie Jarrett

Libby Wiley

Makayla D’Ambrosio

Camryn Bridges

Maddie Thanos

Lola Coghill

Zoe Lemelman

Makenna Okamoto

Vanessa Valenzuela

Peyton Martineau

Erin Wienke

Izzy Burton

Winner: Erin Wienke

Senior Male

Top 13:

Wysdem Caesar

Garren Garcia

John Mays

Seth Gibson

Raiden King

Alec Brown

Bronson Dahmer

Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl

Sam McWilliams

Levi Sherman

Konnor Kelly

Zach Buri

Thiago Pacheco

Winner: Sam McWilliams

Finals:

High Scores by Age:

Cash Prizes:

1st: $200

2nd: $100

3rd: $50

Rookie Solo

1st: Mila Renae-’Soldier’

2nd: Lucia Piedrahita-’Fields of Gold’

2nd: Aliya Yen-’Loyal, Brave and True’

3rd: Melina Biltz-’Welcome Home’

4th: Zoey Brooks-’My Boyfriend’s Back’

5th: Lexi Menjivar-’I Will Survive’

6th: Moriah Peralta-’Up, Up & Away’

7th: Kaiya Carrillo-’Love Shack’

8th: Kinsey Fitts-’Can You Imagine That’

8th: Shale Herrera-’Dream’

9th: Madison Skapyak-’Songbird’

10th: Eden Hernandez-’Chocolate Box’

Mini Solo

1st: Camila Giraldo-’Welcome to Miami’

2nd: Skylar Wong-’Lovefooll’

3rd: Carrigan Paylor-’Orange Colored Sky’

4th: Regan Gerena-’My Boyfriend’s Back’

4th: Michael Cash Savio-’Rhythm’

5th: Tiara Sherman-’Cielo’

6th: Isabella Kouznetsova-’Trouble’

6th: Emily Jungmann-’You Sleep On’

7th: Winter Eberts-’Hit The Road Jack’

7th: Esme Chou-’Unravel’

8th: Addison Price-’Je Te Laisserai Des Mots’

9th: Avery Maycunich-’Wild is the Wind’

10th: Abigail Pucylowski-’Menace’

Junior Solo

1st: Crystal Huang-’Moonlight Sonata’

2nd: Gracyn French-’A Character of Quiet’

3rd: Angelina Elliot-’Out’

4th: Aaliyah Dixon-’That’s Life’

4th: Alexis Mayer-’Vanished’

5th: Laci Stoico-’Mein Herr’

6th: Daniela SanGiacomo-’Restless’

7th: Lexi Godwin-’Debut’

7th: Brenna Bieler-’Moonlight Sonata’

8th: Naia Parker-’Lit’

9th: Vivienne Robillard-’Immigration’

9th: Zoe Zielinski-’Z’

10th: Maddie Ortega-’A Winged Victory’

10th: Zachary Gibson-’Unknown’

Teen Solo

1st: Sophia Cobo-’Do You Feel Real’

1st: Izzy Howard-’Mer de Velours’

1st: Cydney Heard-’Je T'aime’

1st: Kiarra Waidelich-’The Resemblance is Uncanny’

2nd: Angelika Edejer-’One Giant Leap’

3rd: Kaitlyn Ortega-’Ain’t No Sunshine’

3rd: Harlow Ganz-’Breaking the Surface’

3rd: Antonia Gonzalez-’Like The Wind’

4th: Xander Perone-’Elijah’

4th: Dyllan Blackburn-’Silver Screen’

5th: Charli Ortiz-Ringenbach-’Is This Love’

6th: Ava Greendwaldt-’Countdown’

6th: Sammi Chung-’Eight’

6th: Isabella Warfield-’Nicest Thing’

6th: Jadyn Saigusa-’Wonderlust’

7th: June Hurley-’Don’t Think Of Me Like That’

7th: Kenzie Jones-’Flightless Bird’

8th: Finley Williams-’We’ll See’

9th: Sarah Laskowski-’For You’

10th: Addison Middleton-’ERROR’

10th: Rosendo Arechiga-’Thanks for Asking’

Senior Solo

1st: Thiago Pacheco-’The Poet’

2nd: Selena Hamilton-’Black Car’

3rd: Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl-’Darkness’

4th: Maddie Nemeth-’Sycamore Tree’

5th: Olivya Sessing-’House on the Hill’

6th: Sheridan Naugle-’Irreplaceable’

6th: Mia Tassani-’Mam’

6th: Seth Gibson-’Mind Bugs’

7th: Makayla D’Ambrosio-’Consider’

8th: Leigha Agins-’Prerogative’

9th: Milan Furtado-’As We Appear’

9th: Georgi Carmack-’Creature’

9th: Minda Li-’On Her Shoulders’

9th: Britton Moore-’Radiator’

9th: Libby Wiley-’Running Up That Hill’

9th: Sara Eberhardt-’Sticks and stone’

10th: Yasmine Quintana-’Hate’

Rookie Duo/Trio

1st: Danceplex-’Stand By Me’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’It Must Be Love’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Never Enough’

4th: Notion Dance Concepts-’MILK $’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Don’t Go Without Me’

Mini Duo/Trio

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Yesterday’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Something’s Gotta Change’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gracious’

4th: Studio X-’Vogue’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Gonna Get Ya’

Junior Duo/Trio

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Go Girl’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Everything Is In Line’

3rd: Elements Dance Space-’Separate’

4th: Danceplex-’This Is Me Trying’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wild Life’

Teen Duo/Trio

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Make Me High’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Last Light’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Hey’

4th: Evolution Dance Complex-’Before You Go’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Crystalized’

Senior Duo/Trio

1st: Mather Dance Company-’Trust Me Again’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’3′

3rd: MVP Dance Elite-’Bitter

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Revolution’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’June 7th’

5th: Studio 413-’Black Flies’

Rookie Group

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Danceplex-’Lets Hear It For the Boy’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Lullaby’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Girls Night Out’

5th: Notion Dance Concepts-’Firework’

Mini Group

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

4th: Evoke Dance Movement-’I Think I Love You’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Queen Bees’

Junior Group

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

2nd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

3rd: Prodigy Training Center-’School of Prodigy’

3rd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Sing, Sing, Sing’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Un Momento Finale’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’What Is Love?’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Wolves’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’1977′

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Alright’

Teen Group

1st: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

2nd: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Cellophane’

3rd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Heavenly Bodies’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Overdose’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Unchained’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’The Cuckoo’s Nest’

5th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Boom POW’

Senior Group

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’I Love America’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’We The Soldiers’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hard Voices’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’Fame’

4th: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

5th: Mather Dance Company-’For All We Know’

Rookie Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Ooh La La’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wash & Set’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’Bat Dance’

Mini Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

1st: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Go Your Own Way’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Always’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Booty Swing’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Distance’

Junior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

3rd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’Hallelujah’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’It Wasn’t Always Like This’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

Teen Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

3rd: Project 21-’Post That’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Dream Girls’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

Senior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’No Colors Anymore’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

4th: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Cody Banks’

Rookie Extended Line

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Brave’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Mini Extended Line

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Choo Choo’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Boy Meets Girl’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Dream In Color’

Junior Extended Line

1st: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Hold Your Own’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Better Than Ever’

4th: Studio 413-’Girl Boss’

5th: Studio 413-’Goodbye’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Lose Control’

Teen Extended Line

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hush Up’

3rd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

4th: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Adios’

5th: CanDance Studios-’The Colony’

Senior Extended Line

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’My House, My Rules’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’So What Now?’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’The Ravens’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Terrified’

Junior Production

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’One More Time’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Eminence’

3rd: Studio 413-’Electricity’

Teen Production

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Fly Away’

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gone Too Soon’

High Scores by Performance Division:

Rookie Jazz

1st: Danceplex-’Lets Hear It For the Boy’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Girls Night Out’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Ooh La La’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wash & Set’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Spice Up Your Life’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Material Girl’

Rookie Contemporary

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

Rookie Lyrical

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Lullaby’

3rd: Notion Dance Concepts-’Firework’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Brave’

Rookie Musical Theatre

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Rookie Specialty

1st: Cypress Dance Project-’Bat Dance’

Mini Jazz

1st: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’What Have You Done For Me Lately’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Money Heist’

Mini Ballet

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’This Way’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whistle A Happy Tune’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Rosamunde’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Cats’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’A Lovely Night’

Mini Hip-Hop

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Queen Bees’

2nd: Prodigy Training Center-’JR Prodigy’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Get Up’

4th: Prodigy Training Center-’Money’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’Work It Out’

Mini Tap

1st: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’L.O.V.E’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Booty Swing’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Choo Choo’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Swing in the Mood’

4th: Studio 413-’Critical Level’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Charleston Charlie’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Aye Carumba’

Mini Contemporary

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Distance’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Lying’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Glad It’s Raining’

Mini Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Go Your Own Way’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Always’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Lego House’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Soon You’ll Get Better’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Dream In Color’

5th: Artistic Motion Dance-’What A Wonderful World’

Mini Musical Theatre

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Wedding Bells’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Revolting Children’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’I’ve Got Rhythm’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’All That Jazz’

Mini Specialty

1st: Evoke Dance Movement-’I Think I Love You’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’

3rd: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Come Little Children’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Youth Strong’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Child of Light’

Junior Jazz

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’One More Time’

2nd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

4th: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

4th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Can You Dig It?’

Junior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Combust’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Spring’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Bathers’

Junior Hip-Hop

1st: Prodigy Training Center-’School of Prodigy’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Eminence’

2nd: Studio 413-’Girl Boss’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Lose Control’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’Plain Jane’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’Up’

Junior Tap

1st: Cypress Dance Project-’What Is Love?’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’I Love It’

3rd: Studio 413-’Into The Night’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Valerie’

5th: Cypress Dance Project-’Halftime’

Junior Contemporary

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Hold Your Own’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’It Wasn’t Always Like This’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Un Momento Finale’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Wasted Air’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Wolves’

5th: Studio 413-’Goodbye’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Alright’

Junior Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Hallelujah’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’You Are The Reason’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio-’Dawn of Love’

3rd: Impact Dance Studio-’Time After Time’

4th: To The Pointe Dance Centre-’It’s All Coming Back To Me’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’When I Look At You’

Junior Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Cypress Dance Project-’Elle’s Big Day’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’West Side Story’

Junior Specialty

1st Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Sing, Sing, Sing’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Better Than Ever’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’You’re Mine’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’1977′

5th: Stars Dance Studio-’Spa’

Teen Jazz

1st: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

2nd: Project 21-’Post That’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

4th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Boom POW’

5th: Studio 413-’Social Media Overload’

Teen Ballet

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’To The Pointe’

2nd: Cypress Dance Project-’Hunted’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hush Up’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Panaramic’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Runnin’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Clones’

5th: Studio 413-’Ready or Not’

5th: Studio 413-’Savage’

Teen Tap

1st: Studio 413-’No One’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’I’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Go’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’25 Miles’

Teen Contemporary

1st: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

3rd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

4th: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

5th: CanDance Studios-’Can I’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Unchained’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Cellophane’

5th: Stars Dance Studio-’Through our Strength’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Heavenly Bodies’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Mather Dance Company-’Overdose’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Take Me’

3rd: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Particles’

4th: Danceplex-’If I Say’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’He Loves Me’

Teen Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Singular Sensation’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Almost Like Being In Love’

Teen Ballroom

1st: CanDance Studios-’I Got the Boom’

Teen Specialty

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Dream Girls’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’The Future Is Female’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gone Too Soon’

4th: Heat Dance Studio-’Freedom’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Pale’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Flashing Lights’

Senior Jazz

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’My House, My Rules’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Fame’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Prisoner’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Need U Tonight’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Cleopatrs in New York’

Senior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Illumination’

Senior Hip-Hop

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’CrAzY’

Senior Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Funkytown’

Senior Contemporary

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’No Colors Anymore’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’I Love America’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’We The Soldiers’

3rd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’The Ravens’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’The First Time’

Senior Lyrical

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

4th: Mather Dance Company-’For All We Know’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Wash’

Senior Specialty

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hard Voices’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’Cody Banks’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’So What Now?’

4th: CanDance Studios-’I Won’t Complain’

5th: Cypress Dance Project-’To This Day’

Best of Radix:

Rookie

Winners: 

The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

Mini

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

6th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

Junior

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

6th: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

7th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

Teen

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

3rd: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

4th: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

Senior

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

3rd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

4th: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

Best in Show ($10 000):

Winner: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

#radix dance convention #nationals #las vegas #2021 #dance #dance competition

[versesandvice]

Of Sparrows

they’re restless like sparrows, getting high on the marrow

they stole from their brothers’ bodies

like birds they’re flitting, dodging and spitting

on all their neighbors’ good fortune

addiction’s the price they pay forward thrice

and into the maw they fly

moths to flame, and who is to blame,

for leading them down the throat?

the journey begins with humble amends

and ends with bones and brothels

hands that were clean grow far too lean

miming a mockery of life

my dear pantomime, you ask who am i

to be casting these stones so sharp?

no one of luck, a bird cast from the flock,

too weak for that hard living

but lucky am i to be wasting my life

instead of burning it up in a spoon

soon they will learn they’ve been caught in the churn,

and envy my flightless plight.

#poetry #prose poem #prose poetry #poem #rhyme poetry #rhyming poem #poets corner #female poets #poetsandwriters #poets on tumblr #addiction #addiction poetry #of sparrows #my poem

[behindtherobinsmask]

tagged by @runnfromtheak

Rules: list the first lines of your last ten stories. See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. I write the most random things so if you can actually find a pattern then... let me know. Help a fool out. 

P.S. - I know it says opening line and not paragraph but come on, that doesn’t do any story justice.

Gonna do my tags before because this turned out to be longer than expected - @elwon @stevieraebarnes @epistemologys 

1. All The Times Damian Wayne Felt Loved 

This was a birthday fic I wrote for a darling friend of mine. The whole time I was writing this my biggest fear was that the characters were going to... just not be right. Still have that fear.

“Gripping onto a pillow, Damian walked down the dark halls of his grandfather’s house, uncertainty clouding every step that he made. At this hour of the night, no one seemed to be around yet he could feel eyes watching his every move. The eyes of the stars in the sky, the moon and the many trained soldiers that had years of practice when it came to blending into the shadows. It was their presence that forced him to walk with his head held high, to bat away the tears in his eyes and pretend that everything was alright. Pretend that he wasn’t afraid.”

2. To all the stars that are listening

Another birthday fic (maybe that was the pattern all along jk). I actually really enjoyed writing this fic because I felt like I was back in my zone (my zone being angst). Can’t wait to get started on the second part.

“Dick’s life had been anything but ordinary since he was a child. As someone who grew up in the circus, his morning was spent studying with the other kids that travelled with his troupe while in the afternoon, he practiced with his heart and soul to fly as beautifully as his parents. In the nights, he’d stand on the sidelines and watch them perform, absolutely awed by the way their bodies moved, each twist, each turn so seamless, every difficult stunt seemed easy in their skin. Clinging onto the edge of the tent, he wished with all his heart that someday, he could be just like them. A bird freed. With every wish, his voice grew louder and louder until somewhere, up above, a star heard his cry. It heard his desire to be free. The chains that grounded him slowly slipped away and he flew with practiced grace. And just as Dick spread his wings, his parents fell. Birds flightless.

Freedom he had asked for and freedom he had received.”

3. Come here, won’t you hold my hand?

Listen, I spend hours of my life playing genshin impact. Did you really think I wouldn’t write a fic for it? 

“After chasing the traveler away, Xiao sighed, wondering if now was the time to head back to Wangshu Inn. There he could stay away from the harbour and its people, away from the wishes made on stars that could never hear them, away from their fragile happiness that he could shatter with a single touch. Someone like Xiao, so burdened with sins, could never mingle among the mortals without bringing harm. Wherever he went, only misery ever followed. But even though he knew that it would be best for him to leave, a part of him, as silly as it was, worried that the journey back would make him miss out on the opportunity to see an old friend. While he never attended the Lantern Rite in Liyue, he always made sure to catch a glimpse of the Mingxiao lantern that always honored the adepti. It was only at that moment that he could lose himself to the past momentarily and remember a time when he wasn’t so alone, when his battle wasn’t only his to fight.”

4. Jon Kent Must Die

A jaydick flashfic challenge gave birth to this crack series and I will happily go down with this ship. I’ve written too many of these and maybe, in the future I’ll write more. Who will stop me? God? I don’t think so. 

“Damian was sick and tired of his siblings.

Never had he met two people who were so dependent on their partners that they needed them around 24/7. It didn’t matter whether it was day or not, whether they were at the manor or in their respective homes, wherever his brothers went, their fool boyfriends seemed to follow. The obligatory family dinner had been turned into a circus with Todd’s usual clownery that had Damian rolling his eyes so hard that sometimes he was afraid they’d just pop out of his skull. Kent was no better. In fact, on more than one occasion, he had encouraged Todd’s rambling as though he was God’s chosen prophet, sharing his truth with the world. Damian really wished, just for a day, the two of them would simply go away. It wasn’t that he missed his siblings or anything. He just wished to have a conversation with Richard that didn’t end with him wanting to stab someone. Hopefully a 5’11 man with black hair with a streak of white and deep green eyes that could find a conspiracy in Titus’s preferred pose for napping.”

5. I wanna be in your arms by the sea (studying your freckles so curiously)

Yes. It’s another genshin impact fic. Sue me. (Please don’t I’m broke).

“Every night, Zhongli saw the same dream.

Caressed by the gentle winds of the Guili plains, he watched over his people, Guizhong’s people as they lived in prosperity, enjoying the calm and gentle wind that wrapped around them. Serenity was a blessing and they had an abundance of it. In the beginning, when Guizhong had described such a scene, something knit carefully in her imagination, he had not believed her. But now that he was seeing with his own two eyes, he was glad that he had agreed to her terms. Glad that he had formed a contract that had been beneficial for all.”

6. I stay up late and talk to the moon (And I can’t stop telling her all about you)

A christmas exchange fic that I loved writing because it really got me back into the writing for jaydick. It had been a while since I touched anything fandom related. Then this story happened. 

“According to Jason, there weren’t many things that Bruce really got right. Not with his rules that could never be bent for anyone or his sickeningly righteous sense of justice. But if there was one thing Bruce excelled in, it was throwing the world’s most boring party ever. Every event that ever took place in the Wayne manor was the same. Classical music. Champagne flutes. Appetizers that could never replicate Alfred’s cooking and finally, the same old rich folks of Gotham who needed to be filled in on the latest gossip lest they melt into a puddle.”  

7. Now I’m going down on you (proving what I want is true) Who told me I could write smut? Please take away my license. “Click. Click. Click. With a heavy sigh, Dick switched off the TV and tossed the remote aside after an hour of clicking through the channels, unable to find anything that would keep his mind occupied. Two weeks ago, during a drug bust with the rest of the bats, Dick had suffered an injury to his shoulder which he considered rather minor. But Alfred and Barbara said otherwise as he was benched until he healed, his own city taken over by other vigilantes while he was forced to sit at home and entertain himself with murder mysteries with plot twists he saw coming from a mile away. Unfortunately, even when he hit the gym to let go of some restless energy, he could only do the most basic of workouts, the kind that simply weren’t enough for someone who was so used to being active all day long.”

8. Wayne Boys Unsolved

Another crack fic that I really enjoyed writing. Poor Yvonne though. She was really suffering. 

“Yvonne’s body was thrumming with excitement as she peeked out the window of her room, her eyes falling on the black car that just pulled up in front of her house. Four boys stepped out, ones that she was so very familiar with. After all, she had spent many nights watching every single video they uploaded on their blog. They were paranormal investigators of sorts, the kind that didn’t believe in the supernatural and lived to debunk the stories that revolved around each haunted location. Because people loved to watch them so, both alive and dead, the boys had become famous in every circle possible.”

9. You make me wanna die (I’m burning up in the light)

Another birthday fic and the first dark story I ever wrote. Writing this was fun but also nerve-wracking. 

“I think we need a break.

Two years, three months, four days and seven hours. That was how long it had been since Jason had said those words to Dick, sitting in the middle of the bed they shared, silk sheets pooled around his scarred waist, the white of his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat, droplets of it swimming down his throat and across his bare chest that was bruised red with bite marks, across the autopsy scar that he had been reborn with. He looked like a picture, each feature painted so delicately with colours that pulled, that hypnotised and drowned. The fingers of his right hand flexed, parted and then brushed across the back of his neck, tracing the bond mark that tied him down to Dick, shuddering slightly under the imprint, his heady scent spreading across the room like a drug. Strong, so fucking strong that Dick could still taste it on his tongue. Looking like that, after everything they had done, when he opened his mouth, when he said the words that had been sitting on the tipping of his tongue, it was only to end everything that they were.”

10. Come fire up the night (make me feel alive)

Who told me I could write smut (2)

“Staring at the ceiling of his apartment, Dick lay in his bed, tired but unable to fall asleep, the ticking of the clock haunting him. Tick. He took in a deep breath. Tock. He closed his eyes. Tick. He tried to sleep. Tock. Every memory of Jason came rushing back to him. The dark hair with a streak of white that framed his chiselled face. The plump lower lip that he often dreamt about kissing, pulled between his teeth until Jason was groaning. The freckles that were scattered across his nose and cheeks. Those deep green orbs that gleamed with mischief, teasing and taunting, burning with unbridled fury, one look enough to make Dick’s knees tremble. And as goosebumps spread across his arms, he found himself waking up, lest he did something that he knew he would regret. Like calling up Jason and confessing feelings that were better left unspoken, buried in a special graveyard from which there would be no sudden resurrections.”

[7-wonders]

Some Kind of Drug

Summary: Michael deals with his rejection in a much different way than most other people.

Word Count: 2548

A/N: Welcome back to Mad Love, friends! Sorry it’s taken so long, but life happens. Hopefully I’ll be able to post this now. As always, feedback is very much appreciated, and if you enjoyed I would love if you would like, comment and reblog. Shoot me an ask about this, my other works, or just anything!

(p.s....cw for blood ritual)

Read Mad Love (part one) HERE | Read Totally F***ed (part two) HERE | Read The Isle of Flightless Birds (part three) HERE | Read A Hard Day’s Night (part four) HERE | Read Pour One Out (part five) HERE | Read Where Angels Fear to Tread (part six) HERE | Read Naked & Afraid (part seven) HERE | Read Ironically Alive (part eight) HERE | Read Blame It On My Youth (part nine) HERE | Read Everything All At Once (part ten) HERE | Read Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) (part eleven) HERE

Flickering candles cast long shadows on the walls of the chamber as Michael moves around, making sure that everything’s in the exact position he needs it to be in order to conduct his ritual. Communicating with his father in this way is not new to him, but it is something that he’s neglected since you came into his life. Now, however, Michael’s done playing your games. He’s been patient with you, allowing you to determine the speed of the relationship. Sooner or later, he figured, you would stop fighting what your soul knows to be true and give into him. Obviously, he had vastly underestimated you.

He hardly flinches as he makes deep cuts down the length of his arms, watching with silent concentration as the thick blood quickly starts to pool on the ground beneath him. Falling to his knees, he starts to use the blood to paint an upside-down pentagram. The movements are almost robotic-like now, becoming second nature after so many years. The Latin that Michael’s chanting falls off of his lips with ease, the words echoing through the empty air.

“May you rise from the void, Father,” Michael says, switching to plain English as he begins to complete the summoning. “May your darkness guide me, power in Satan to overcome my weaknesses. Power in your name, strong within.”

A humming, high-pitched and ceaseless, sounds in Michael’s ears as his vision dances with spots. Every single sense is being assaulted as his demonic, Satanic nature takes the wheel. The candles begin to roar with each second that passes, the fervor building in Michael’s veins as he waits with bated breath for Satan to arrive. The bloody pentagram bubbles underneath him as the height of the flames reaches to the ceiling, unchanged by the sudden wind that whips through the room. When the wind stops just as unexpectedly as it started, the air growing stiflingly still, Michael looks up with pitch black eyes.

“Ave Satanas.”

To the normal human eye, nothing is in the chamber with Michael. To the son of Satan, however, his father stands just behind him, a ghost-like touch on his shoulder as he whispers into the ear of his son, the same ear that’s burned with the Mark of the Beast. The humming starts up again, but to Michael it registers as words.

“Father,” he calls, “I request your guidance! You’ve...tortured me with these images, visions of a future that I will have.”

He’s been plagued with these visions for months now, long before Ms. Mead stuck that needle into your neck. They often come to Michael in the form of dreams, but he has been known to collapse to the floor as he’s taken over by a premonition. They’re always vivid, and they’re always of you and Michael. Michael, holding you as a husband should hold his wife. 

Kissing you.

Making love to you.

In his visions, you rule alongside him. The new world has been ushered in, with Michael as its king and you as its queen. You love each other unconditionally, just as it should be. You belong to him, and he belongs to you.

(Usually, he’s holding onto at least one curly-haired blonde cherub, and you’re almost always pregnant with another. That desperate need for a family, however, can wait. First, he needs to win over your mind.)

“Her will is strong, stronger than anyone I’ve ever known. Our souls were created for one another, yet she continues to deny what is inevitable. The bonding ritual from the night of our wedding was a failure, and she continues to spurn any of my advances. I’m lost, Father. How am I supposed to complete your plans if I do not wholly have the one person who is supposed to be at my side during all of this?”

“Perhaps something more...permanent?” Satan’s voice sounds preternaturally deep in Michael’s ear, and he has to hide a shiver.

“I promised (Y/N) that I wouldn’t use magic on her without her permission.”

“And you won’t.” Michael’s arm is raised by an invisible force, palm facing upwards as his hand is outstretched. An apple, bright red and almost perfectly shaped, appears in his grip.

“I don’t understand what this will help with.”

Satan remains silent, allowing a vision to play out in front of Michael’s eyes as a response. Michael watches as you appear in front of him, silently asking for the apple with a familiar tilt of your head. He hands it to you, your shimmering mirage-like form holding it as if you’re actually there. You take a large bite out of the apple, Michael nearly moaning as he watches the juice dribble past your full lips and down your chin in a near-erotic scene.

There’s no sound coming from you as you gasp, the apple landing heavily on the ground. Your expression changes, and you blink rapidly, as if trying to see through a thick fog. When your eyes meet Michael’s, you smile softly. Michael’s frozen, enraptured as you approach him and sit in his lap, not at all bothered by his lack of clothes. Your arms loop around his neck, and Michael can almost feel the heat of your breath as you begin to lean in. Right as your lips are about to connect with his, you disappear as suddenly as you appeared.

“So it’s--” Michael’s chest is heaving, and he has to remind himself to breathe.

“Nothing that will harm her. One bite of this apple and she will be yours, my son. Body, mind, and soul.”

Michael could almost just take the apple and run, but something is stopping him. “That’s still using magic on her, whether or not it’s mine.”

“I bring a gift for you, and this is how you repay me? With ignorant questions and flippant reactions?”

“No Father, I’m extremely grateful.”

“Then take the gift. If anything, do not think of this as magic. Think of it--”

The dream (or maybe a nightmare) is the kind that’s forgotten as soon as you shoot up in bed with a gasp. You know that it was extremely vivid, your heart still pounding as you grab your phone to turn your alarm off, but you can’t remember the specifics. Lots of candles and Michael are the only things you’re sure were a part of your dream, but those could be used in any setting. Michael knocking over a candle and setting the house on fire? Celebrating Michael’s birthday? Lighting fireworks with Michael?

You shake your head, hoping maybe that will clear the fuzzy feeling in your brain like it clears an Etch-a-Sketch. You’re disoriented, like you slept for twenty hours instead of the eight or so that you normally do. Intense dreams tend to do that to you, so you’re careful with yourself as you crawl out of bed and head for the shower.

Even after you’ve washed the remnants of a restless sleep off of you, you still feel...off. You’re not sure if it’s related to the dream that you can’t remember, but you just feel weird today, like the world’s just slightly tilted on its axis and you’re the only one who notices it. Staring at your face in the steamed-over mirror as you comb through your hair, you frown slightly at yourself.

“Get it together, (Y/N),” you mutter to your reflection, watching as she says the words back to you at the same time. Swiping a towel over the mirror to clear it up, you shoot a couple of half-hearted finger guns at yourself before deciding that you need to stop procrastinating before you’re late. 

Michael, surprisingly, is leaning against the counter when you make your way into the kitchen. Normally he’s already in his office by this time, so to see him eating a bagel while scrolling through his phone is jarring. 

“Um, good morning?” you say, thrown off by this change in his ever-strict schedule. He must not have heard you come in, because he jumps when you greet him.

“(Y/N)!” He straightens up, trying to act like you didn’t just scare him. “You really are getting better at sneaking up on me.”

“Damn, and I wasn’t even trying.” You jokingly shoulder check him as you pass by, hearing him snicker under his breath.

“Do you nanny the two girls today?”

“No, I have to meet with my advisor on campus.”

“I thought class didn’t start for another couple of weeks?”

“It doesn’t, and please don’t remind me,” you groan, looking forlornly into the fridge. “This summer went by way too fast, I feel like I didn’t even get to do anything!”

“You would have been able to enjoy your summer if you had heeded my advice and not taken a job,” Michael points out, falling silent when you shoot him a withering glance.

“You may be the Antichrist, but I’ll still kick your ass if given the chance.” There’s nothing that appeals to you in the fridge, so you begrudgingly shut the door and look around for something that you can eat quick before running off to campus. “What are you up to today? Meeting with Putin?”

“The ghost of Josef Stalin, actually.” Michael smiles when you laugh loudly.

“Ah, well, be sure to break the bad news of the fall of Communism gently.”

“I’ll try, but my Russian’s pretty basic, at best.” 

Nodding as if you understand the downfalls of only being passing in the Russian language, your eyes fall on the fruit bowl sitting on the counter. Although all of the fruit looks pretty appetizing, the particular apple sitting at the top is practically calling your name. It’s shiny and bright red, and looks as if it was just picked out of a tree. The feeling that something’s off returns with a full force, making you pause right as you’re about to grab the apple. Figuring that you’re just hungry, you shake it off and take the fruit from the bowl.

Running it under some water, you look at Michael with a questioning glance when you feel him staring at you. “Do you have a problem with me eating this apple?”

“No, sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” he says quickly. “Just lost in my thoughts, I guess.”

“O...kay?” He still watches you as you turn the water off, shaking the apple dry and grabbing a towel to wipe your hands. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, absolutely. Why?”

“You just seem off today. Then again, maybe it’s the moon or something, because I’ve felt weird all morning, too.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, I had a really vivid dream last night, and I still haven’t been able to get over it.”

“Hmm, what was it about?” Michael’s mind is fighting a battle with his nature as he anxiously watches you toss the apple in the air before setting it down on the counter to grab a glass of water. 

“That’s the thing, I don’t remember. All I remember is that it involved you and some candles.” Michael’s pretty sure his heart stops, automatically knowing that you somehow inadvertently had a front-row seat to the ritual with his father. “I don’t know, maybe it involved you setting the house on fire?”

“Why would I ever set the house on fire?”

“Hey, I never said you did it on purpose! You could’ve dropped a candle? Can’t you light things on fire with your magic? Maybe you just got too excited.”

“Okay, you’re making me nervous talking about the different ways I could burn the house down.” He’s nervous for a few reasons right now, but you don’t need to know that. 

“And here I thought you couldn’t get nervous,” you tease.

For Michael, the next two seconds happen slow enough to make it feel like two minutes. He watches as you raise the apple to your mouth, heart jumping in his chest with a mix of glee and horror. Finally, it’s happening. He should be happy about this; he is happy about this, but he can’t deny how he guilty he feels. Still, he attempts to argue with himself, it’s not like you’re forcing her to love you. You’re just helping her to see what her soul knows.

But I’m making her feel that before she’s ready to acknowledge it, he fires back.

She’s had months now to acknowledge it! It’s time to speed things along.

The time that Michael spends debating with himself, he finds, is precious time lost. Instead of coming to a decision, you make the decision for him by biting into the apple. He stifles a gasp, feigning a cough instead as he waits for the inevitable to occur. The inevitable, however, occurs much slower than he was led to believe. One, two, and three bites are taken before Michael remembers how to speak. 

“(Y/N)?” he asks cautiously.

“Yeah?” He’ll forgive the fact that you talked with food in your mouth this time, since there are bigger worries at hand.

“Are you...feeling alright?” You eyes widen, and Michael’s sure that the magic’s taken effect. 

Then, you roll your eyes. “Perfectly fine, unless you poisoned the apples a la Snow White?”

“I was just curious.” You shake your head slowly, obviously not believing him.

“And I thought I was going to be the weird one today,” you mutter under your breath, checking the time and grabbing your bag like you would any other morning. “I gotta go. Don’t light the house on fire while I’m gone, okay?”

“I’m not planning on it,” Michael says, still in disbelief that you’re acting completely normal.

With a cheeky smile and a sarcastic wave, you’re out the door with a “bye, Mikey!” He doesn’t even bother to correct you on the nickname, standing in the kitchen in a frozen stupor as he tries to figure out what just happened.

Michael rushes over to the fruit bowl, unsure of if you grabbed the wrong piece of fruit or if you’re just impervious to any sort of mind-affecting magic. Flipping the bowl over, the various apples and oranges scatter across the counter. He allows the tendrils of his magic to extend out like extra limbs, hands grasping for each apple that he can find. Finally he feels it, the magic that fully coats the apple as if it’s caramel being drizzled on top. Michael cries out in relief, examining the apple to make sure it really is the one that was given to him by his father. 

With one look, the apple’s incinerated until there’s nothing but a small pile of ashes in Michael’s hand. He turns on the faucet, washing his hands of the ashes and keeping the water running until he’s sure that any trace of the rotten plan is down the drain, both figuratively and literally. Leaning against the counter, Michael flicks his wrist to put the bowl back on the counter like nothing ever happened.

He got lucky this time. Satan influences Michael, injecting himself into his son’s veins and manipulating him until he’s something he doesn’t recognize, something villainous and evil. He almost let the Devil do it again, only this time it involved you. “Never again,” Michael mutters, determined to escape the clutches of his father. 

Evil, however, comes in many different forms.

//

Tag List: @ccodyfern @sammythankyou @girlycakepops @ultragibbycentralworld @sebastianshoe @nana15774 @queencocoakimmie @lichellaw @grim-adventures58 @dandycandy75 @trimbooohgodplsnoooo @everything-is-awesomesauce @jimmlangdon @omgsuperstarg @queenie435 @dextergirl12345 @sloppy-little-witch-bitch26 @coloursunlimited @kahhlo @storminmytwistedmind @1-800-bitchcraft @langdonslove @cuddletothecake @born-on-stgeorges-day @xavierplympton @michaelsapostle @venusxxlangdon @idespac @hexqueensupreme @tcc-gizmachine @90sroger @gold-dragon-slayer @atombombastic @lvngdvns @nsainmoonchild @trelaney @blakewaterxx @yoheyyosup @forever1313 @ladyrindt @kaetastic 

#michael langdon #michael langdon imagine #michael langdon x reader #michael langdon x you #ahs #ahs imagine #ahs imagines #ahs apocalypse #american horror story #american horror story imagine #american horror story apocalypse #american horror story imagines

[cyclone-rachel]

Hi!! Do you have any Danvers Sisters fic recommendations? It's so hard to find ones that aren't necessary tied to sc or km.

yeah! sure!

twohearts has two really good Danvers sisters fics, Steel Roses which is a series of vignettes and Where We Hide which is a cyberpunk AU, I really like the latter especially but both of them are great.

Sensory Overload by JadziaDaxLover (about autistic Kara, featuring Alex being a good sister)

The Sacrifice by sashasul 

(summary: “She shivered and rolled down onto her side, pulling her legs up to her chest. The shackle that encased her ankles and was tethered to the ground rattled as it scraped across the concrete and she glanced over at Alex, lying curled in a restless sleep…”

What happens when there are no heroes left? Who will step up, what sacrifices will be made? A darker Danvers sister story.)

the works of swwf17, aka @stranger-who-writes-fiction! So much good Danvers sisters there, in AUs and canon situations

the works of miraculousagentsofkrypton, who can also be found on Tumblr as @miraculousagentsofkrypton! I especially like Imagine an Alien Sister, which is a sort of Calvin and Hobbes AU with Kara as Alex’s imaginary friend.

Staccato by DoubleDimension, which is an AU featuring Kara as a musician, there’s a lot of characters in this one but no real ships. A very interesting concept, for sure, one of my personal faves.

@wizardofahz definitely has some great Danvers sisters stuff, as does @arendellesfirstwinter I believe

It’s Only Been a Moment, It’s Only Been a Lifetime by EmsyPes, set after the season 3 finale

Agony, Such that Princes Must Weep by @youngbloodbuzz

(summary: aka the Pod Person Alex Extravaganza

aka an alien impersonates alex. it’s a grand ol’ time.)

Little Boy Blue by @ithinkthingsaboutstuff, which features the Danvers sisters meeting a mysterious visitor around the time of the Midvale flashbacks

and of course the two-body problem by @ultranos, aka the Otter Alex fic

also I have more bookmarks for fics involving them here

and I hope you don’t mind, but a couple of my own fics:

When I’m Missing You (She’s my Soul), set after the mind-wipe episode and featuring Kara going to meet with Earth-1 Alex

Flightless Birds, featuring smol Danvers sisters

I hope this helps!

(also I would say go talk to @motorcyclegirlfriends, @thatsjustsupergirl, or @iamdelta-s, they’re big Danvers sisters fans and I’m sure they have some great recommendations too!)

edit: Vv (that’sjustsupergirl) has her own fic, since I’ve been away, that is also worth recommending!

#papa don't look #rachel answers questions #danvers sisters #supergirl #fic recs #anon #alex danvers #kara danvers #kara zor el

[escapekissed]

there’s a certain. way. the final fantasy series portrays women. as sort of breathless, flightless birds, hands always clasped in prayer or behind their back as they arch and tease and commit to some bit that i as a non-binary lesbian written by myself for the benefit of women and not an out-of-touch video game man, cannot hope to understand.

with aerith, i tend to try to bridge the gaps. aerith is kind---but i rely more on her humor than anything. it’s a coping mechanism i understand. i say that she’s stronger than the game does---i say she cares a little less about femininity and a little more about cloud and tifa than the game lets on.

but with lunafreya... i’m aiming for a Heroine Gothic. taking ffxv to its more realistic, logical extreme with the very little we are shown of her.

luna is a woman that exists for men&god. she exists to pray, to motivate, to be consumed by the love of her people and noctis. her destiny is to die, and she knows this, and by all accounts, god & her people think that she should feel honored to be placed on such a pedestal to get to fall so low beneath them.

aerith’s affectation is saracastic and witty and quick, her voice is deep and smooth, but it drags, and it rolls, she drawls like a the kind of woman that says she’s ‘sweating like a sinner in church’ and like she’d love to commit any number of sins right now with u here.

lunafreya’s, in comparison, is blank. she sounds robotic, even as she smiles at u, and her eyes are dull and faded from restless nights, always spent praying, waking up and praying more, talking to god, pleading to god, healing the sick & taking on their sickness just as ardyn once did. she can speak in multiple languages, she can read and write and translate alll of them, but she seems to come with stock phrases, phrases that she thinks will make u happy, a script she follows to the letter, and when you do not respond the way she thinks you will, she repeats the script, changes a word here and there so that it will help you deal with your pain a little easier. if she could say nothing, simply smile and make you go away happy. she would do it.

lunafreya is a woman that has stared into the abyss, and the abyss has taken her for its own, claimed her body and soul. she does not speak to god anymore---she speaks to god’s despair under his patriarchal rule, and she falls deeper into the monarchy’s control everyday as nifhelm (and ardyn) grow more powerful.

she has no hope except to love & die, as most final fantasy women do. luckily i plan for luna to have a more yuna-esuqe ending than ffxv grants her, where she is literally saved by a divine goddess’s love as a representation of her feminine spirit to fight and be a holy woman in and within herself and not just a vehicle for a man’s reign---but at the beginning of the game. 

luna would do anything for god, and for the man she ‘loves’ to die alongside her ‘for the peace and prosperity of the world’, including hurting her own family, toppling empires, taking on the very plague itself. and she does do it. anytime she gets a chance to fight, she does it, and it’s very scary when she does get to fight. that blankness takes a form of pure, angelic light.

and that takes her mind to a very derranged and fatal place for a very long time.

i just think final fantasy heroines should be a bit unhinged. that’s all!

#fandom: DARLING STAND BY ME! | ffxv #hc: I SPEAK TO GOD; I LIVE FOR HIM; AND ALONE IN THIS WORLD; I WALK FORWARD ON BROKEN STAINED GLASS HEELS | lunafreya #ch: I SPEAK TO GOD; I LIVE FOR HIM; AND ALONE IN THIS WORLD; I WALK FORWARD ON BROKEN STAINED GLASS HEELS | lunafreya

[ziwangye]

     [ kiss ]      for your muse to come up to mine and kiss them without warning

it’s endearing,     in a pitiful,      hopeless    sort of way,    how he softens at the mere sight of Xie Lian’s    little disasters.      how his heart,    that     treacherous,    fickle limb,    flutters like the wings of a flightless bird restless to lurch him forth to the other’s   rescue.     fingers desist their meticulous fiddle of the wrapping of victoria roses he had just tied into a bouquet,     the     care and caution    displayed in his actions unrecognizable of someone as chronically   impatient    as him.     parallel from him on the opposite side of the wooden working desk,    Xie Lian stood immersed among a overgrowth of carnations;     a vision of loveliness    despite the confounding tangle of regal palms within fragile petals and the complicated expression casting a shadow over his starlit countenance.    his small mouth seems to tremble,    teeth sinking into the flesh of his bottom lip as he mussed over the appropriate arrangement of these flowers.    

a moment of    fond inspection    is spared to commit the sight to memory,      pale gray of his gaze glimmering with   unspeakable reverence   and the faint light of   remembrance;     an ancient knowledge coming upon him once more,     whispering in his ear that carnations were tantamount with     divine love.       anchored by the realization,    Jiang Cheng doesn’t know what,   if anything,    he should do with this newfound understanding.     chest heaves heavy with a sigh of longing so palpable it seems to stir   recklessness   within him.    before   clarity   returned to his mind,     he was already breaching the gap between them,      hands outstretched as his roughened palm captures the curve of Xie Lian’s cheeks.     gently,    his thumb tugs rosy lip from beneath the grind of pearly teeth and sweeps along its length,    callouses catching against the plush width.    

musing over the deepening flush staining the pallor of satin skin with   victorious delight,    Jiang Cheng pulls Xie Lian closer as he leans in over the table all the more.      lips brush with a second’s hesitation before they join,     the    softness   awakened within Jiang Cheng palpable in the languid movement of their mouths in a   tender kiss.     what more were they then,  in that singular moment,    but   two souls and one heart    twined in a love more pure than all what heaven’s blessing may concede  ?     Jiang Cheng,    heady with Xie Lian’s unique sweetness,    can taste their love across the span of   entire lifetimes;      thousands of years ago,     just as he did currently and as he would a thousand years from now,    he had claimed Xie Lian’s lips with the same    love-drunk affliction    ────     pressing the promise of tomorrow,   of   eternity,    amidst the tangle of their heavy breaths.     

︳︳︳︳︳    @fuyao​         /         prompted.          /         accepting.

#` MODERN. — lightning eyes‚ thundering heart. #fuyao #love how some of their sweetest moments don't even need dialogue....babies #` — i’m kissing you now across the gap of a thousand years. ╱ FUYAO.

[khanpial]

Fictober 2019 Day 7

Prompt 7: “No, and that’s final.”

Original Fiction

Trigger warnings: Captivity, organ trafficking (sort of), murder threats, and one swear word.

Rating: probably teen

It must be nice to be able to fly through the sky, to open your wings wide and just soar. Fate was against me though, I was not one of the chosen. I would never have wings of my own.

I was raised on the dirt and that is where I'll stay till I die due to some crime an ancestor committed long ago. So long ago no one can remember what it was, it must have been awful enough, however, to warrant all descendants to be cursed wingless.

My older brother, Dusken, had dragged me away from our usual path to school this morning, he'd been skywatching last night and I knew he had come up with some scheme or another. Watching others fly always seem to set him off.

I didn't protest too much as he lead me off until we came to the sketchy part of town that our father always forbade us going to by ourselves.

I dug my heels in as he tried to pull me into some derelict warehouse with scary looking men idling around it.

“Oh come on!” Dusken tugged at my hand, tugging me roughly after him, “don't be such a baby!”

I shook my head, “dad will have our hide if we don't leave now.”

“He'll only have our hide if he knows we were here,” he gave my wrist a tight squeeze, giving me a silent threat, “I'm not going to tell him. Are you?”

Knowing my answer even if I didn't say it aloud, Dusken succeeded in taking me inside the building.

I wanted to turn tail and run as soon as we had entered. Inside was much busier, with cruel looking adults gathered in batches standing around different tables. They were loud and coarse as they seemed to argue and barter with each other, creating a headache inducing din. A fetid smoke left a haze in the air, coming from those who were smoking. And a large majority were.

“What is this place?” I wished Dusken would just turn around, but he was moving towards a set destination.

Dusken gave me no answer but finally came to a stop. It was a table set in a quiet and dark corner near the back of the warehouse. A tall rough looking man was behind it, and he smiled when he saw my brother appear.

“Dusken my boy, you came!” He greeted, his voice sounded as rough as he looked. He saw me trying to hide behind my brother, “who's this little girl?”

Pushing me out from behind him, Dusken proudly introduced me, “Girren, this is my little sister Merlma. Remember, I told you about her last time?”

I gave Dusken a confused look, what was going on here? He had come here before? He had talked about me to strange men?

Girren gave a throaty laugh, “aye I remember now.” He looked me over, “just she's a lot better looking than you. Can barely see the resemblance.”

Dusken seemed to fidget impatiently beside me, “are they ready? Can we see?”

Girren shook his finger at Dusken, as if telling him off for his restlessness, “its in the back rooms,” he said, “being out here vexes it too much.”

I wanted answers as to what was going on here, but before I could voice my questions Dusken had yanked me along again. Half running to keep up with Girren's long strides as he lead the way back to whatever it was.

The back rooms were through a warren maze of passages, if Girren wasn't leading the way we would have been lost. By the time we got to where we were headed, it was so far back from the main part of the warehouse all I could hear was a distant murmuring from that direction.

In the middle of the room was a shrouded object, as our footsteps neared it, a nervous fluttering sound seemed to emit from it.

I didn't want to approach it, I stopped hesitantly in the doorway, shaking my head at Dusken when he indicated for me to join him and Girren by the object.

He gave a sigh at my cowardice and looked forward as Girren grabbed a handful of the dark cloth covering the object.

“Now don't be scared when I pull off the cloth,” Girren warned, “its jittery and might screech a bit if it sees strangers.”

I didn't know what I was expecting when the cloth was pulled off with a flourish, but seeing two winged children about my age in a giant gilded bird cage was not on the top of my list.

They cowered against the far side of the cage, blinking their eyes at the sudden bright light assailing them. Dusken awestruck, reached out an arm to try and stroke one of the wings closest to him.

The child it was attached to shrieked and batted his hand away.

“What is this?” I felt like crying, I didn't know if I was more shocked or angry in my disgust at the sight before me, “why have you caged them like this?”

Dusken turned to me, he was smiling so brightly that I wanted to hit him, “its something special Merlma – it's for us to have wings!”

“What?” What was he babbling about.

Girren gave me a smirk, “your brother here wants to fly, he's been working as a courier for the black market here for over three years now to afford this.”

“He can't,” I felt tears of frustration forming, “it's impossible!”

“Ah, see that's where you're wrong,” Girren gave a conspiratorial wink, “you see we flightless ones have managed to come up with a way of stealing wings and transposing them to ourselves.”

He gave a theatrical sigh, “the only problem is that after the wings get cut off they die, so it's all kept very hush hush here at the black markets. Those in power don't like it done. They say it's inhumane to do it.”

“That's because it is!” I shouted at him.

“Merlma,” Dusken laid a calming hand on my shoulder, “I've seen you watch them fly, just like I do. This is our chance to get what we were denied!”

I pushed him away, “and what would mother say? If she knew what you did to get those wings?”

Dusken glared back at me, bringing up our late mother was always a sore spot to him.

“Don't mention her, this isn't about her,” he muttered angrily before stalking back to the cage.

Girren laid a hand on the bars of the cage, and looked back at me, “so I know what Dusken's final answer will be, but what about you Merlma? Will you accept these wings and leave the dirt behind, or will you refuse your brother's gift?”

It's true, I do wish to fly. But, I looked at the faces of the winged children huddled together and watching their fate being discussed with fear in their eyes. Like they were no more than cattle off to the slaughter house.

What about their family, were they being searched for frantically right now by anxious parents who would never learn their cruel end?

I looked Girren in the eyes, “no.”

“Merlma, please!” Dusken begged, “I want you to fly with me. Leave father and his stupid rules behind, find a new life for ourselves.”

“No, and that's final.” I couldn't ruin the life of another to further myself, and I can't believe that my own brother would do such a thing himself.

“Such a pity,” Girren shook his head sadly, “you might think you are saving of their lives, but both will die anyway. Can't have our secret getting out after all.”

“You're a sick sick monster!” I truly believe he was enjoying the pain and fear he was causing.

Caught up in this, I barely heard the noise coming from the warehouse change its octaves.

“Dusken, when you're ready we'll prepare for the operation,” Girren looked from my brother to me, “but I'm afraid your sister will have to stay in a nice safe room while we do it. We can't have her running off by herself, who knows what evil miscreants she might run in to while we are busy.”

By the leer he gave me, I was sure that I would be safer away from him. There was no way that he was going to let me leave with what I knew and my objections towards his business.

I'm sure that while my brother will be getting his ill gotten wings attached, I'll be joining the winged children in the afterlife.

And I was just as determined to not let that happen either.

Girren was walking up to me nonchalantly, and Dusken had gone back to staring fervently at the wings he would soon have, I turned to run.

I heard Girren curse and start after me, he had the advantage of longer legs and knowing his way around but I had to try, I didn't want to die in some warehouse because my brother was a monumental bag of envious shit.

It didn't take long for Girren's hand to snatch my shoulder in a tight grip.

“You stupid little girl,” he shook me roughly, “you could have had wings for nothing, but you had to be all high and mighty didn't you!”

My heart quickened as he pulled a knife from his belt and shoved me painfully against the wall.

He gave a cold laugh and playfully danced the knife before my eyes, slowly teasing my last moments on the dirt for his own amusement. He most definitely is a sick monster.

Having eyes only for the knife, I hardly noticed the movement in my peripheral vision before Girren was slammed off me.

Choking back tears as I turned to see two winged figures wrestling Girren on the floor, I jumped as a hand landed on my shoulder from behind. Spinning around I was face to face with a grim looking no winged policeman.

“Are you alright miss?” Despite his looks he sounded kind.

I honestly didn't know, and I think the policeman saw it in my eyes.

“It's okay now miss,” he said, before the hand on my shoulder tightened its grip, “you haven't seen any winged children have you?”

I shakily pointed down the passage from where I had fled the room. I didn't trust myself to speak just yet.

Letting go of my shoulder, the policeman stood up, “this black marker has been under suspicion for some time,” he seemed to think twice before asking me, “were they alright, did they still... did they still have their wings?”

I nodded, knowing that they nearly did lose their wings.

“Thank goodness,” the policeman offered me his hand, “lets get you out of here while the rest clean up.”

Only then did I notice there more police in the passage besides the two winged ones who had finished their fight with Girren, he was sitting half senseless cuffed against the wall.

Taking the policeman's hand, he led me out while the others went on to find the children... and my brother.

Somehow the policeman had managed to procure a blanket for me, and we watched as those arrested were led out to the waiting vans. He didn't say anything yet, but I knew that sooner or later he would be asking me why I was in that warehouse.

The hardest part for me me, would not be telling him about my brother's actions, but having to tell my father what had happened.

That Dusken had thrown his life away for greed, that he had nearly caused the death of two innocent winged children, and of his sister as well.

I didn't want to see my father's heart break tonight. Tough with his rules he might be, he loved us with all his heart.

#fictober19 #captivity #organ trafficking #murder threats #original fiction

[edenmuses]

Of air, of mist

So far does her spirit go

To be met with cadences of blue

Ripples of effervescent grass

Gripping her soul in tune

Away she dances barefoot

Clad only in swaths of cloud

Twining slowly on a moon's ribbon

Entangled in misty shrouds

Plains and hills ensorcelled

Lend her the mountain's steel

As the decibels of winters hue

Replace her peal by peal

She seeks a robin's nest

To nurture all her tones

Met instead with flightless birds

Chirping discordant notes

Wreaths of flowers vines and leaves

Placate her aching bones

Coaxing her feet from beneath her

She hibernates alone

Silent figures wander here

In the turbulence of her dreams

Borrowed hands climb swiftly

Restlessness pulling at her seams

Time herself greets she of mist

With caresses of candour, true

Weighted eyelids, upturned lips

Rest- roaming cadences of blue.

#poetry #personal #spilledink #poems #spilledthoughts #spilled words #spilledwriting #creativewriting writing #writingpost #writingprompt

[maheeia]

    5 things

NAMES

mona

missy

little songbird ( lucan & aymeric )

kitten ( her mothers )

“hey ain’t that the bitch who stole the rolanberries off my cart yesterday” “what? get h

EMOTIONS

adventurous

restless

curious

lonely

wide-eyed

COLORS

white

pink

red

gold

deep brown

SCENTS

fern

honeysuckle

sandalwood

lavender

sea breeze

VICES

sweets

naivety

overexertion

restlessness

recklessness

CLOTHING

cardigans

sweaters

thighboots

sandals

floral accessories

BODY LANGUAGE

deeply expressive eyes

talks with her hands

grabs her shirt near her stomach absentmindedly

tense posture - always on alert

confidence ( normally )

AESTHETIC

nature ( flowers, forests, beaches )

pastel / kidcore

wild heart / young blood

vintage

ghosts of the past

OBJECTS

lyre

journal

flowers / herbs

over-the-shoulder satchel

necklace with lucan’s wedding band on it ( hidden beneath her shirt )

SONGS

goodpain - yoke lore

grass stains cut my blood knees it’s good pain, it means i can’t be phased and that little death inside my sides won’t make it right, he wins every time

flightless bird, american mouth - iron & wine

stole me a dog-eared map and called for you everywhere have i found you, flightless bird? grounded, bleeding

plant life - owl city

i’ve been longing for daisies to push through the floor and i wish plant life would grow all around me so i won’t feel dead anymore

april 8th - neutral milk hotel

crawl across toward your window i’m calling softly from the street always a lonely widow half awake and sleeping on my feet

first love / late spring

the night breeze carries  something sweet, a peach tree wild women don’t get the blues, but i find that lately i’ve been crying like a tall child 

tagged by: @ishgard​ and @aethernoise​ !! (possibly others idk im sorry i forgot)

tagging: anyone who’d like to!! :’>

#ooc #songbird #(crying) i love yoy missy my baby girl my angel my sunshine