These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends || Morgan & Adriel
@firestarterm
The heavy rain coupled with the darkness of the night made driving home a task Adriel dreaded. The winding roads surrounded by forest on either side were already a rough journey to navigate. She made the trip up to her friend’s house every weekend, but that night the road seemed unfamiliar and threatening. The only thought on the girl’s mind was to make it home as soon as she could so she could be out of the dreary weather, and thus her hurried frame of mind if what caused her to notice the headlights of the oncoming car only after it was too late.
There was a bend in the road, and after having been the only car driving down the path for the last half hour, Adriel made the mistake of becoming too comfortable behind the wheel. Her car had drifted into the other lane when she made a tight turn, and the blaring horn and blinding headlights of the opposite car caused her to spin the wheel too hard.
The tires of the car couldn’t find any traction on the slippery road, and in a split instant the girl’s car sped off the road only to be stopped by a tree on the edge of the forest line. The airbags deployed on impact, crushing Adriel’s nose with its pressure. All she could feel was pain, as the front of the car had crushed from the hit with the tree trunk and trapped her legs with it. Glass shards littered the front seat of the car, and if the girl could’ve looked down at her torso, she would’ve seen bits of broken glass lodged in her chest. The rain splattered the once pristine hood of the car and added to the bloody seats. Adriel could barely move any part of her body without a shot of pain accompanying her attempt, and resolved to a feeble call for help, that was no doubt drowned out by the sound of the rain drenching the ground around her.
Walking quickly up to them, she stepped on their right hand until they let go of their wand. She picked it up and snapped it. Their expression made her laugh. They looked angry, sad, frightened, vengeful. But really, what could they do? Unless they were skilled at wandless, non-verbal magic. But the boy laying beneath her was most likely a Hufflepuff. Horrible of her, really, to take such an easy opponent. But war was war.
She aimed her wand at them “Crucio,” she whispered, watching the moment the curse hit them and they began to wither in pain, fighting back a scream. Well that wouldn’t do, would it? “Crucio,” she barked. The word rang out, louder and angrier, she wanted to hear him scream. And even with all the background noise, he finally did, and she heard and she grinned. Aryana stopped the spell and kicked at his side. “That was fun, yea. We should do it again sometime.”
The witch turned to leave, paused, and looked at her fallen opponent, small tremors running through his body. Aftershocks. “Avada Kedavra,” she said, the wrist movement coming naturally to her. The green light hit him in the chest and he stopped moving. He wasn’t all that much fun to play with. He was too easily broken. She repositioned her silver mask and made her way back to the battlefield.
Ary blocked and sent out a few curses before catching someone from the other side going for her fellow Death Eater. Her ally had their back turned. Defender of the Light? Weren’t they supposed to fight fair? “Petrificus Totalus,” she yelled out, watching as their body hit the ground. She ran to the familiar looking mask, purposefully stepping on the girl’s still body. Aryana put her back to the Death Eater’s so both of them had their backs covered. “Cora, fancy meeting you here,” she joked before sending out a blasting curse.
Turning over he stared at the woman lying next to him. God, she was beautiful. In sleep, she looked like an angel. Her curls were spread out on her pillow, some gently covering her face, her lips were slightly parted, and best of all, she was snoring. He had to be the luckiest man alive, because this goddess was his wife.
Adrian picked up one of her curls and caressed her cheek with the tip of it. He watched as she shifted slightly, and smiled. He did it again, this time trying to tickle her nose. That earned him a swat on the arm. “Don’t do that,” she mumbled out. Instead of answering, he let go of her hair and leaned in to kiss first her lips then her neck.
“Lissa, you’re going to make us late for classes. And may I remind you, it’s your fault we’re even taking them,” he softly bit into her skin before pulling away. “We could have stayed in bed... All day, and do what married people do,” he wiggled his brows at her and she laughed, her magical little laugh. He would probably kill for her if she asked. His wife shook her head and began to get up. “Hurry up Mrs. Belluci... Unless you want me to join you,” he playfully smacked her behind. Unfortunately for him, the answer was no, so now he would just have to wait his turn.
***
They were not late for their first class and they even got perfect seats right in the middle of the classroom. Adrian wasn’t in the class for the same reason Bellissa was. She was there because she wanted an education. He was there because he had time to kill. Plus, call him clingy, but he would follow her anywhere.
Class was about to start and he couldn’t help but stare at Lissa, she was setting up her desk, had a notebook, laptop, pens, pencils... She looked like a nerd. He was just about to tell her this when he heard someone clear their throat. He faced forward and simply stared at the professor. And stared. And stared.
Because by simply looking at this man, bursts of... color? began to appear. The wall was no longer a light shade of grey, it was white. Quickly, he turned to look out the window and began to see more of these strange colors. He looked over at his wife. She was even more beautiful in color. Sparkling green eyes, hair a fair blonde, and rosy pink lips. But turning back to the professor... Was he ever even in love with Bellissa?
Adrian realized that while he would kill for his wife, not only would he kill for this man, but he would die for him too. He didn’t even know the professor, didn’t even know his name but he was entranced by every one of his movements. Whatever spell he was under, he didn’t want to be released.
Had he noticed Adrian yet? Would he be the only one affected by this? Oh God, let this man feel it too. And then the professor looked up, and Adrian didn’t have to worry.
The moment their eyes met, his whole fucking world aligned itself. Everything felt right and good. And if this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. He needed this class to be over. He needed for the professor to send everyone out on their merry way. He needed to know what it would feel like to simply touch him. Surely a fire would start in his veins. He would burst into flames. And it would be fine, because it would be perfect.
March Madness Bingo is themed off of Alternative Universe! You can choose to write these prompts out as solos (self-paras), partnered paras, or even group paras! The sky really is the limit!
*Sounds fun, how does it work exactly?
You can write self-paras or work with others off of a thread built just for your chosen theme/space off the bingo board. Lone-starters (those placed under the wildstatestarter tag) will not count. Members should have at least 6+ notes (back and forth replies with the partner) on these paras–or better yet complete them–to officially check off a bingo square.
Pro Tip: If you are looking for a partner to write with, try directly sending an ask or IM to a player that has caught your attention before! We’re all friendly folks here at Wild State and at times asking in the OOC Chat can be an intimidating affair. Don’t wait for someone else to act, reach out and touch faith make a friend!
So, AU, how far are we allowed to take that?
The sky is your limit! Take each prompt in any direction you care to. For example, the Fashion AU could be about a photographer, model, fashionista, shopping assistant, even a retail worker or fashion student. Take it next level; fashion week or competitive pageant, magazine editorial or award show. Next level? Devil Wears Prada inspired drabble or para! Get a partner in your mix? All of these avenues can lead to endless possibilities, yo!
How will it count?
Be sure to make a note either in the post or in the tags as to which Bingo space each thread counts toward. Once you have completed a line of solos/threads (*after meeting requirements) submit your list to the main with links to each successful writing task! (See example here)
What happens when I get Bingo?
We have come up with three prizes for you to choose from:
An Interaction Ticket. This ticket can be used to request a thread, drabble, para, etc from another member of your choice in the roleplay. It can be an au situation or something dramatic as long as both muns agree on the outcome (we don’t want anyone to kill someones else’s character without agreement or any forced upon pregnancies/marriages)
A lovely drawing of one or two Wild State original characters from Mod Blue! Waist up, with color (x)
or, An aesthetic graphic for your Wild State original character(s) from our lovely member Julie!
Do I have to use the same character to get a Bingo?
Nope! You can use one character or all of them if you want to finish a bingo!
When does this task end?
March 31, 2017
If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask us. Just remember to tag your completed self-paras and your custom para starters with wildstatebingo3.
Adriel tried not to think about the miserable face of her father as he pleaded for her not to take his place in the gloomy castle, and how her heart panged with sadness when he was escorted out and the sound of his voice faded with every passing second. What other choice did she have? The cell he was thrown into was cold and unforgiving, and his old age would not have given him much chance against the harsh conditions with winter just around the corner.
The girl sat in the bedroom – which, to her surprise, was where she would be spending her life sentence – and thought back on how the beast had treated her. He was well-mannered for someone who’s appearance almost gave Adriel a heart attack. His wolfish figure terrified her, especially the fangs that protruded from his long snout. Yet, he was polite in offering her a room to stay in rather than a freezing cell, and even invited her to dinner.
“Sorry to interrupt your pondering, but you should get ready for dinner soon,” A voice called out from inside the room. Startled, Adriel stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and her eyes bounced around the room.
“Who said that?” She said after not being able to find a human source.
“Over here, darling!” To Adriel’s amazement, the wardrobe across the room was speaking to her. Out of curiosity, Adriel stepped further to investigate the furniture. “Well now, what shall we dress you in for dinner? Let's see what I've got in my drawers. Here we are… Ah! There, you'll look ravishing in this one!”
The wardrobe’s doors had opened and a pink dress was pulled out to be displayed in front of the girl. Adriel chuckled at the scene, but placed the dress back inside the wardrobe. “That's very kind of you, but I'm not going to dinner.”
At that moment, a walking clock came in through the bedroom door and bowed to Adriel. “Ahem, ahem, ahem. Dinner...is served.”
Adriel, both astonished and overwhelmed that more furniture seemed to be talking, walked straight past the clock and into a corridor, hoping to get her mind off the whole debacle. Once she had put enough distance between herself and the bedroom, she turned down another hallway and found an unlocked door. She quickly turned the knob and went inside.
The summer season meant a shortage of customers for an underground tattoo shop. As most of her customers were part of different yakuza - Akumi made deals with whoever walked in her door because money was money after all - there was a shortage of crime in the summer months due to all the festivals celebrated throughout Japan. Even gangsters had families to go home to...
Except Akumi. Her profession wasn't looked highly upon, and thus her family relationships were anything but normal. She strived to be an artist when she was a child – which would explain the numerous doodles in her notebooks instead of complicated kanji she was supposed to be learning. Her parents wouldn’t pay for her college education if she were to continue pursuing art, and thus Akumi ran away and found a career in a tattoo shop.
It was one of the slow, boring days at work when a delivery came for the girl. She was about to start closing duties, since she was the only one working for the national holiday and there had been no customers for the past hour. The delivery man – a disgruntled middle-aged man who would most likely rather be at one of the nearby festivals – knocked on the door and presented Akumi with an extravagant bouquet of flowers, all fresh and lively. Whoever had sent these obviously put in a lot of work – the way the flowers were arranged complimented each other so nicely – which led Akumi to think it wasn’t for her. She picked up the card from the bouquet and read it with furrowed brows.
Akumi, I hope your Obon is fun, even if you’re at work. Hopefully these will cheer you up!
That’s all the card had to it – no name, no address, and no clue as to who it could’ve been from. Akumi ran through different options as to who it could’ve been from – a customer? a coworker? Family? – and decided that a coworker must’ve sent them to her because they felt bad about her being stuck at work and merely forgot to sign it.
Yet, when everybody came back from their hometowns, nobody claimed to be the mysterious sender. She racked her brain over it for a while, but then eventually forgot about the whole incident and carried on with her routine life.
If there was one thing that Akumi needed to stay awake, it was coffee. Every morning she stopped by her favorite coffee shop and ordered a black coffee with some sugar before going to work. A couple of months after her surprise flower delivery, Akumi walked into the coffee shop and ordered her usual, only to find that someone had paid for her drink already. According to the cashier, the person wished to be anonymous and only wanted to give the girl a free drink.
That week started an almost clockwork delivery of flowers. Every week, Akumi would look forward to some bouquet being delivered to her shop with an encouraging message written on the card, or even warning her to bundle up for the coming cold days. Though she wouldn’t show it to her coworkers, the flowers always brought a huge smile to her face.
It was not uncommon for the girl to get a request from a client for a tattoo based on whatever the artist chose. The customer would always approve of the design before it was permanently etched into their skin, but the design would be up to the artist.
Akumi usually took long strolls when she needed inspiration. Sometimes she’d see a bird perched on a branch, or cross a bridge and see the water steadily flow over a rocky formation and use that for an inspiration. That day, however, she kept walking – not being satisfied with the spring cherry blossoms or the butterflies fluttering around – until her feet brought her to a flower shop. Deciding to try her luck there, Akumi opened the door and walked in to hopefully find a flower that would inspire her to draw up a beautiful design.
“いらっしゃいませ～” Came a soft voice from the back of the shop, welcoming into the establishment.
Akumi knew nothing about flowers, so when the shopkeeper came up and asked if she needed help, the girl explained her situation without hesitation.
“I’m trying to come up with a design for a friend, and it can be anything, so I decided to see if any of these flowers would be the one,” The girl paused and made eye contact with the man. He was taller than her, and his reddish hair – most likely dyed – was long enough to cover his forehead in side-swept bangs. His smile was soft as he listened to her descriptions. “I’d be willing to pay if I found something, of course.”
The man smiled again and shook his head at the girl’s offer. “美術のためにだたっら、ただです。” (if it’s for art, there is no charge.)
He helped her find the perfect flower in less than a minute – a bundle of orange osmanthus that Akumi would leave black and white. The man refused to take any payment from the girl – despite her persistence – and Akumi promised to come back and treat him to a meal for his generosity. On her way out, something in the corner of the shop caught her eye and made her stop in her footsteps.
A bouquet of flowers, the exact kind she’d received so many times in the past year. There was no mistaking it. She took a few steps toward it and eyed the display carefully.
“あの。。。” her voice trailed off as she turned to face the owner of the shop. “このお花は有名ですか。”
She had asked if the flowers were a popular item to buy in the store. The man’s cheeks reddened to match his hair as he fumbled to get out an answer.
“No, not really…” His answer caused the girl’s eyes to widen. She could easily put two and two together – the mysterious sender was standing right before her. The person who had put so many smiles on her face, wished her a good week so many times, was standing before her.
“You… sent them?” She asked in a soft voice. The man looked down sheepishly before nodding.
“はい。。。”
“Then, looks like I need to buy you a lot more than one meal for all of this.”
Thank You for the Music (Musical Theatre AU) || Self Para
Nothing, nothing was more exhilarating than the rush of nerves on opening night. The bonding circle of cast members, the murmur of the audience just beyond the closed curtains, and the jitters every actor experienced no matter how many long, tiring rehearsals they’d been through contributed to the huge catharsis of putting on a performance.
Even more nerve-wrecking was that thought that Adriel’s family was in the crowd, waiting to see her appear as a lead for once. Years spent in high school bettering her skill, the hard work and dedication she put into characterization had finally paid off. It’s not like she was on Broadway, but landing the role of Sophie in Mamma Mia! was a dream come true for the girl.
The stage crew was urging all the actors into their places, causing Adriel to take a deep breath before getting to her spot on stage left. She would be the first person the crowd would see, so she had to start off the show strong. Ignoring the anxiety she felt from that pressure, she focused on calming herself as the lights in the audience dimmed and the opening music began to play.
Intermission came quickly, and the entire ensemble congratulated each other on their amazing performances in the first act. Adriel’s counterpart – Sophie’s love interest – even embraced her in a hug after their duet together that was troublesome for her to pull off in rehearsals. The smile was so wide on her face that she felt going back out there to be angry at her ‘mother’ would be impossible.
Adriel managed to sneak a peek at her phone in the dressing rooms while she got touch-ups done and saw a text from her brother, Noah.
You’re doing amazing! Mom and Dad told me to wish you luck on the next act! 😊
The text only caused her to smile even wider. She quickly texted back and let the makeup crew work their magic on her.
In show biz, it’s called ‘break a leg’ 😝
Act 2 almost whizzed by with no hiccups, but a line was skipped over here and a cue was missed there. It’s typical for opening night to have a few bumps in the road, anyhow. Soon enough, it was time for Adriel’s last solo song – and one of her favorites.
She stood on stage with her counterpart, and onstage ‘parents’. Even though it was only opening night, she sang with all her energy and emotion as if it were the last performance. In that moment, she felt a surge of melancholy and joy at where she was.
“I have a dream, a song to sing...”
The auditions process and how badly she wanted to get a role, even as a minor character. She remembered being in a room with other girls, and how they bonded even though they were competition.
“To help me cope with anything.”
When she saw the cast list and saw her name listed as Sophie, she nearly had a heart attack. Her hard work had finally paid off, and she could show her parents they were wrong about her pursuing theatre.
“If you see the wonder of a fairy tale…”
The cast was an ensemble of amazing people. Their first rehearsal was only bonding exercises to get to know each other, and everybody got along surprisingly well. Adriel even ended up getting meals with some of her cast members after rehearsals.
“You can take the future even if you fail.”
Rehearsals were hard work, and she’d spend hours with the same people, going over the same scene over and over again. She felt stressed, but she wasn’t the only one. Tensions rose as opening night drew closer and people were itching to make a perfect show.
“I believe in angels…”
Yet, everybody managed to make amends by the end of the day. They were there, after all, because of a shared love of theatre, and any snappy remarks or agitations were only because everybody wanted to make the show perfect.
“Something good in everything I see.”
Of course, nothing is perfect, or else it wouldn’t be theatre. Every show is different – the mess-ups, the crowd’s reactions, and the energy is different every night. Even if you rehearsed for a year, you’d never have two shows that were exactly the same – and that’s what Adriel loved about live performances.
“I believe in angels…”
How do you describe the relationships you make when you’re part of a theatre performance? You spend months with the same people, experiencing the same tragedies and victories. These people help you when you feel inadequate after not remembering a line, and cheer with you when you finally nail that difficult note. They’re there for you, they become your family.
“When I know the time is right for me.”
Then, the show ends. You’re left not spending full days with the same people, though you may get coffee sometime to catch up, but it’s different. You don’t bond over the same uniting thing – a common goal – and the closeness disappears.
“I'll cross the stream, I have a dream…”
It disappears, but flickers and ignites with the next show. A new ensemble – usually – and a new family to create, and Adriel loves it. She never wants it to end.
And for her, though she doesn’t know it yet, it never will.
