Hey Wilson! Did you have any doubts or worries when adopting the kids with Whisper? Or was it relatively easy for you? --🐺🌲
"To be completely truthful, I did have my doubts. Keeping oneself alive is already a challenge here— the added responsibility of a child seemed too much. But... if we didn't look out for them, who would?"
"I think that is what caused her to grow so attached to them in the first place, and it would have been cruel to ask her to disregard her feelings. I am a man of science, but I am not heartless."
"I am grateful that it is not just the two of us.. it takes a village right? Heh.."
Wilson! How long have you known Whisper? -mothfoxington
"Hm... time... that is a surprisingly difficult question to answer. Time here... it doesn't operate like what you are used to. I have taken to reffering to it as cycles, for everything here seems to repeat on itself."
"Even then, it is hard to tell how many cycles have gone by— perhaps 9 or 10? It's been a long time, in a way it feels like she has always been around. Simultaneously, the fickle nature of time in the Constant makes it seem like the blink of an eye. In the end, the only thing I am sure of is that I hope to stay by her side for much longer."
❤️ - How do you express affection for one another?
"I am... I'm not a man that was used to expressing affection, not before her, anyway. Whisper doesn't talk much about her past but- well- it may sound silly, we are married after all but... this is relatively new, for the both of us."
"It is easy with her —scarily so I would say. Half the time I don't even have to think about it before I have her hand in mine. I suppose that is one way..."
"Hmmm... I find that answer reductive, as it doesn't capture the scope of my affection for her... or hers for me (as misplaced as I think it to be). I try to show her my affection in everything i do: when I hold her and when I talk to her and when we spent time together."
"Likewise, I can be sure of her love with everything she does: when she stays by my side, with how she listens to my ramblings, and looks after my health."
"The fact of the matter is, we express affection in the way we live every moment we have in this wretched place."
💝 - What was your first date with them like?
"... You will think it ungentlemanly of me, and you'd be right to do so but... we didn't quite have a first date. At least, not in the common sense of the expression."
"Our first date only took place after we became a stablished couple —otherwise I doubt I would've ever gathered the courage to ask her on a date, it was only after knowing for sure that my affections were returned that I could think past the asking part. I know, I know, quite the gentleman."
"I am not a lost cause though, once things mellowed out around camp I was able to set up a nice dinner night with Warly's help! It did kind of end abruptly, thank to hounds conveniently deciding to raid our camp... To be honest I still don't get why Whisper did not leave then and there."
"In the end, we were able to enjoy a full moon together, we just laid together and stargazed— a rare opportunity here in the Constant. Despite it not going according to plan... it was a good day. I only hope she regards it as fondly as I do."
Ship: Vivia Skonos x Maven Calore (mostly just pining)
Word count: 1K
Summary: Queenstrial has arrived, everyone is waiting on Cal's choice, except Vivia. She's waiting on Maven's.
Warnings: A tiny bit of fantasy classism, there's also angst.
《 ♡ ♡ ♡ 》
Queen Elara is speaking.
Vivia knows this because she sees her majesty’s lips move, and far away, there’s a sound resembling her voice but the words don’t seem to make sense to her anxiety-riddled brain. Vivia shifts in her seat, willing her brain to process the very important speech Queen Elara is giving.
For a second it works. The name Ethan Titanos comes through the brain fog before her attention slips away once more…
Who will Maven choose?
Vivia places a hand on her own knee, hoping to keep it from bouncing nervously. She doesn’t think of herself as a prideful person but she certainly feels like one for being so certain of who that person is.
Me.
Vivia has to fight her own smile at the thought. She’d be lying if she said marrying her best friend didn’t appeal to her, especially (she looks around) considering the other options.
She blinks the thoughts away, noticing the queen has stopped talking and she is looking behind her. Vivia turns to look, finding another girl her age at the top of the landing, she looks stoic and beautiful and she is wearing the colors of house Titanos.
“My friends, please welcome back to us Lady Mareena Titanos, daughter of Ethan Titanos. Lost and now found.”
Mareena walks toward the royals, all the way to the front row seats, right next to Evangeline Samos. Vivia shudders, definitely not an enviable spot.
The Queen explains her story, how’d she’d come back home. Vivia furrows her eyebrow, why would the Queen make such a big deal out of Mareena's return before announcing the Queenstrial winner?
“...the joining of House Calore and the resurrected House Titanos.”
That sounds about right.
The eligible ladies of Queenstrial gasp and a part of Vivia feels bad for them. They’ve trained their entire lives for this, and now the king and queen wouldn’t even pretend to give Cal a choice. Her eyes flit to Evangeline, who looks about ready to eliminate the remains of house Titanos before the entire royal court.
Maven steps forward and the world comes crashing down for Vivia as everyone in the room exhales in relief. She notices how he winces at the reaction and her heart clenches painfully. For him, for her.
“Lady Mareena,” Vivia looks to her lap, “In the eyes of my royal father and the noble court, I would ask for your heart in marriage. I pledge myself to you, Mareena Titanos. Will you accept?”
Vivia screws her eyes shut, wishing to anyone willing to hear that Lady Titanos rejects the proposal.
“I pledge myself to you, Maven Calore.” Vivia sucks in air between her teeth, the words cutting deeper than any blade. “I accept,”
Vivia can’t bring herself to look up, not when there’s a collective intake of breath in the room; not when Cal starts his speech, sincerity thick in his voice; not when he calls Evangeline’s name. Her acceptance means nothing to her, not when Mareena’s acceptance took it all anyway.
Vivia knows she’s not the only lady in the court enduring emotional distress over the choices, she can hear sniffing and quiet sobbing behind her. But she is the only one who wanted to be chosen by Maven. The only one that wanted to be chosen for her personality rather than her political power. She thought Maven didn’t care about court politics and there’s a tiny voice telling her he doesn’t, that he was talked into it; but it is largely buried by the pain of not being chosen.
She thinks back to that night, when he kept talking about Queenstrial, about his choice. Since he had brought it up, she had assumed…
No matter. He is engaged to Lady Titanos, and there’s nothing to be done about it. So what if that means Vivia won’t ever marry and her house will die with her?
《 ♡ ♡ ♡ 》
Vivia really wanted to skip the feast, but alas, the duties of being a best friend very clearly include congratulating your friend over his politically motivated engagement, and Vivia is a lot of things, but a bad friend isn’t one of them.
Or so she wants to think, but seeing Maven leaning in and whispering in Mareena's ear about everything is really putting that to the test right now.
Her eyes fall on Lady Mareena, who is very clearly not used to being a Silver, if the way she sits, eats, and drinks is anything to go by. She is currently working her way through a glass of champagne and by the way she looks, it is not her first one of the night.
Maven gently takes the glass away from Mareena, placing a glass of water in front of her instead. The simple gesture makes a knot on her throat and Vivia has to keep her voice from wavering as she excuses herself from the table.
Sara, her distant cousin, looks at her alarmed but no one is paying them any mind.
"No one will ask us to toast anyway," Vivia mutters bitterly, would the royals let a lesser house toast? The house of a rebel who had her tongue taken away from her?
Vivia walks away, ignoring the burning stares following her and the burn of tears in her eyes.
《 ♡ ♡ ♡ 》
Maven's eyes catch movement in his peripheral vision, he finds her just as she is turning to leave, her skirts fluttering around her as she disappears into the hallway.
He tries to ignore the painful pang in his chest at her retreat. He was hoping to talk to her after the feast, sneak away on a dumb and very minor injury; anything to talk to her, and explain how he'd ended in this situation.
Something came up, he tells himself, someone got hurt, and she is not the head of her house.
"Is she here?" Mare asks, clearly uninterested but pretending to be, "The girl you would've chosen?"
His eyes flit to the Skonos seats and find Sara is already looking at him. Silent and judging.
He hesitates but figures his feelings are none of Mare's business. He shakes his head, "No, I didn't have anyone in mind. But it was nice to have the option of a choice, you know?"
The choice to choose her.
《 ♡ ♡ ♡ 》
Taglist (please let me know if you no longer want to be tagged): @glitched-ships @logixlight @fangedwife @werewolfpine @www-gin-ca @sugarmapleships @fool-shipps @blackbirdcrime @raynards-rambles @autumn-ships
Ship: Viviana Orvell & Toby, a teeny tiny bit of Viviana x Sweeney (pining)
Word count: 583
Summary: Toby has a bad feeling about Mr Todd.
Warnings: none, food is mentioned like once but that's it. It's just good ol' worry / i don't know if it classifies as hurt/comfort but there's comfort there
《 . . . 》
The door slammed shut behind the last customer of the evening. Viviana leaned into the door, heaving and keeping it shut as if any minute it would burst open with a new wave of hungry clientele.
Toby rolled his eyes and chuckled, but he looked just as weary as the young lady felt.
After a few seconds of stillness Viviana pushed herself off the door and turned the sign definitely for the day. 'No more pies.'
"It's done, we have survived." She declared dramatically, much to the amusement of the teenager watching her from the stools at the counter. "I feel like today lasted a week."
Toby let out a sound trapped behind a sigh and a laugh. "I agree with you on that."
"I wonder if Mrs Lovett needs any help before I leave, it's almost time for supper." Viviana mused, she sat close to the entrance, just in case any passerby needed to be reminded the store was closed.
"We aren't allowed into the bakehouse," the boy pointed out meekly.
"Yes, I know, I know…" Viviana sighed. "It's fine, I can tell Mr Todd that I oughta leave, he's sure to understand."
Viviana smiled involuntarily at the thought of Sweeney. He was always so polite and nice to her, it made her heart flutter to be around him. She felt special when he was around, when he would smile or talk more than in the presence of others. Once, he had hummed while she was around sweeping the barber shop, oh how she longed to hear that melody again…
"Vivi?"
Viviana snapped into attention, cheeks flushing once she realized what her mind had wandered to. She tried her best to discreetly clear her throat. "Um, yes, Toby?"
"You have to be careful of Mr Todd."
She frowned at that, confused, "Mr Todd is a good man Toby, why would I need to be careful of him?"
Desperation marred every line on the young man's face, he seemed truly distressed and it made Viviana soften and worry for him all at the same time. "There's something wrong with him, Vivi, you have to believe me."
Viviana stood up from her place and walked towards the boy, she placed her hands on his shoulders in an effort to reassure him. "Hey, Toby, it's okay."
He shook his head urgently, "No, Vivi you have to believe me." His voice sounded thick with tears and it broke the woman's heart.
She drew him closer into a hug and they stayed like that until his sobs became tiny hiccups.
"I think Mr Todd is a bad man, and I don't want him to hurt you."
Viviana ran her fingers through his uneven hair. "Is that why you insist on cutting your own hair?"
He nodded against her.
The lady sighed, letting his locks go in favor of rubbing soothing circles into his back. "I get that you worry, but I am a strong woman, I can defend myself. And, Mr Todd would never hurt me, Toby."
The boy sighed. He wanted to argue until he convinced her that the man was suspicious but Viviana was just as stubborn as him and he knew it would take long to make her see what he saw.
"Just promise to be careful and tell me if you don't feel safe, I'll be there"
Viviana hesitated, but she saw genuine worry in his eyes so she nodded. "I promise I will. Do you wanna come with me to tell Mr Todd I'm leaving?"
Ship: Bianca Cabrera x Newton Geiszler, Bianca & Vannesa & Hermann Gottlieb
Word count: 1.1K
Summary: College!AU — Bianca has late classes and she hates walking alone when it is dark.
Warnings: Food mention, implied fear of the dark. Bianca and Newt have a total of 0 brain cells between the two of them.
《 . . . 》
"...Are you sure?"
"Of course, it's on my way!"
Bianca looks at him, her eyes search his face intently and she opens her mouth to say something but promptly closes it once more. She sighs.
"I just hate to be a bother."
Newt scoffs, his arm snakes around her shoulders to drag her close in an awkward half-hug that has her blushing. Bianca turns her face away from his chest, trying very hard to ignore the smell of his cologne.
"You're no bother at all! After all, that's what friends are for, right?"
Bianca smiles a little and nods.
"And as I said, it's on my way. Basically, you are doing me a favor, giving me company-"
The girl laughs, "Yeah, sure."
"Of course! You know how much I love to talk and I hate late classes, I need a little boost of motivation, and who's more perfect for that than you?"
"I motivate you..?" Bianca can't force herself to look him in the eye, not when she is blushing so obviously at the off-handed comment.
Newt feels heat creep up his neck, suddenly hyper-aware of what he has said. He tries to laugh to ease the tension a little, though the sound comes out as more of a strangled scream. "I- I mean- Of- Of course you do, you are like a breath of fresh air you know?"
Bianca smiles, finally gathering the courage to look up at him. "Thank you for saying that, Newt."
"No problem," he beams. Newt checks his wrist where he definitely doesn't have a watch. "I think we'll be late if we don't start walking."
Bianca breaks off the hug to look at her phone, she nods. "Yeah, I think it's like a 20-minute walk."
As she pockets her phone Bianca jolts at the feeling of someone grabbing her hand. She looks up to see Newt smiling, his brows are drawn in worry though and he seems to be gauging her reaction. When she doesn't break away his whole body relaxes and his grin becomes brighter.
"I don't want to lose you." He jokes.
Bianca smiles right back, she laces their fingers together as they walk through the school campus. Soaking in the warmth the other provided as the sun sets behind the faculty buildings.
《 . . . 》
"One would think getting invited to lunch means your friend actually wants to talk to you." Vanessa reaches to grab a fry from her friend's plate.
Bianca playfully swats her hand away. "Those are mine."
"You pay attention to the fries and your phone but not to me, figures."
Bianca blushes, setting her phone away. "I'm sorry I was just texting Newt"
Vanessa wiggles her eyebrows at her.
"It’s nothing like that, he was just wondering if I have a late class today. He's been walking me to them since they are on his way."
"Isn't your last class super far from the dorms?" Vanessa points out with a stolen fry on hand.
"Yeah, but he has a late class too, by the same building."
"Um. No?" Hermann, who had been silent the entire time, says.
"What do you mean no?"
"Newton chose all his classes early in the day because he likes having free time or something. "
Bianca blinks at him. "No. He told me himself he has a class just right by mine"
"Oh yeah? Which class?" Vanessa challenges.
Bianca sputters. "I- I didn't ask- I had no reason to ask but that doesn't mean he lied-"
"He most certainly did," Hermann says and Bianca has to watch as both her friends high-five, completely on sync when it comes to bullying her.
"C'mon Hermann, when have you heard Newt lie? he's terrible at it!"
Hermann shrugs.
"Look, Bi, I'm not saying he lied but maybe he just likes walking you to your class," Vanessa says gently, too gently, like she’s trying very hard for Bianca not to think about it—
Bianca buries her head in her hands. "I've been making him walk me almost every day. God, I am the worst."
Silence. "Did you ask him to or did he offer?"
Bianca unburies her head to gape at her friend and then sinks right back. "He offered, but I mean- I practically asked because I was complaining about how badly lit the entire campus is-"
"Please," comes Hermann's incredulous response, "getting Geiszler to do something he doesn't want to is impossible."
"That's what I'm saying!"
"Similarly, getting him to stop doing something he wants might be even harder. The only reasonable conclusion is that he likes walking with you."
Bianca decides staying with her head buried is the best course of action for her friends to not see her growing blush.
"I think you killed her with facts and logic, love," Vanessa says, glancing at the brunette still trying to become one with the table.
"I don't think she'd recognize those if they hit her in the face," Hermann says, and Bianca isn't sure, but she thinks she can hear him smiling.
Bianca rights herself up and guffaws. "Um, rude? I'm right here."
"I know." Bianca can now see, clear as day, Hermann's toothy grin. She glares at him.
"Yes, we know," Newton says, nonchalantly plopping himself on the empty space beside Bianca. Impossibly, her face grows hotter. "What do we know?"
Vanessa's eyes glint with what can only be described as mischief. "We know that you've been walking Bianca to her classes."
Newt stops; a stolen fry from Bianca's plate halfway to his mouth. "Oh yeah," he clears his throat, "I have a class close by."
Hermann squints at him. "That's not true."
Newt smiles with ease, "Of course it is, I just didn't tell you."
Bianca gives Vanessa a triumphant smile, completely missing the panicked look Newt sends to Hermann.
Vanessa’s confidence doesn’t waver though and it makes Bianca hesitate for a second.
“It is awfully kind of you, though, very…” She pretends to look for the word, staring at Bianca the whole time, “chivalrous.”
Bianca has to count to ten to keep herself in her seat. Newt laughs nervously, completely oblivious to the murderous vibes radiating from the five-foot-tall woman next to him.
“I mean,” he chuckles, “I wouldn’t say that, I’m just being a good friend.”
Vanessa is not one to give up though, “Still, the walking in the sunset holding hands? Very romantic.”
Bianca startles, “How did you- Who told you we- We don’t-”
Vanessa smiles, “You guys are holding hands right now, figured it was out of habit.”
Both Bianca and Newt turn to look and indeed, they are. Suddenly there’s silence and the dinner feels almost impossibly hot. Neither of them lets go.
Vanessa stands up with the smugness of someone who just got an A on a final exam. “Well, I have a class and I would hate to be late, Hermann, walk with me?”
The aforementioned stands up comically fast and they both start to walk away, purposefully hand in hand. Vanessa looks over her shoulder at the two very awkward forms avoiding eye contact.
