[treason-and-plot]

Twenty minutes later....

Roy: I had no idea your mind was so twisted. I'm seriously impressed. But are you sure it's foolproof?

Mia: Oh my God, literally nothing can go wrong, Roy. These guys are professionals. Of course it's foolproof.

Roy: I hope so. Because I can't go to jail. I'm too pretty. How much money are we talking? Not that money's a problem, it just might take me a few hours to get my hands on enough cash...

Mia: Hard to say. You never know, they might just be happy to do it for fun. And because, like, it's something that's kind of morally necessary, you know what I mean?

Roy: Morally necessary? Exactly what kind of sick fucks are you involved with, Mia?

[pixelsinmyveins]

More pics of fishy pops

Anuvan 🖤

The twin Aspects

Had to take some more pics of their future Galaxa-selfs

Mum appeared and wanted a pic too

Wild to think she's going to become the Goddess who creates Galaxa, and Nemerites' and Neptunae's souls get reborn through her to become Neptune and Nemesis 🥹 She's like a mother to them already in the ancient times 💜 Hellion and Seirye are the oldest of the Aspects.

Funsies with the twinsies

[pixelsinmyveins]

Neptune 🩵

I've actually made quite a big change character-wise with Neptune. So when I first began writing the story of the Aspects, I wanted Neptune to be the Aspect of water, since her main element in my stories has always been water. But I also had so many cool ideas for Nemesis/Nemerites, so I then made the decision for Neptune to become Hiraani, the Aspect of Wind.

But I've now decided, there's actually two water Aspects. This change has fixed some issues I had with some plot lines. One of them being; Hiraani originally was supposed to be with Ivrakk in the ancient timeline, but then on Galaxa timeline, Neptune/Hiraani would choose Revan/Anuvan, instead of Ivrakk/Ivran.

But I never liked this plot since I love Hiraani and Ivrakk so much. And I also love Revan and Neptune, they're my oldest couple really. So I'm excited that problem is solved now! Also I was struggling with Neptune being wind, since like I said, she has always been water. This change has also brought so many new ideas, I'm so excited! So, a very long story short: Neptunae and Nemerites are the twin aspects of Water, and Hiraani has been separated from Neptune as a character! 💧

I love posing the different versions of them from different timelines together 🩵

[treason-and-plot]

Roy leaves Anya sleeping in his room and takes the elevator to the hotel bar. It's deserted at this time of the morning, as he was hoping. There's bar snacks available and he orders a selection of cheeses, which comes served on a platter accompanied by a chunk of fresh bread, as well as olives, figs, and some scattered walnuts. It is the most delicious and satisfying meal he has eaten in days. After he has finished he calls Joël, but Joël doesn't pick up. Roy leaves him an affectionate, expletive-littered voicemail and then calls Mia.

"Hey, Roy," she says. "Is everything okay?"

"Way better than okay," he says. He pauses for dramatic effect. "I think Anya and I are back together."

"WHAT?" she gasps. "Oh my God! That's fantastic! But what happened to the throuple? Gimme all the deets!"

"I don't really want to discuss the whole sordid saga over the phone. Where are you?" says Roy.

"I'm just about to buy a ticket to a movie," says Mia. "I got woken up early because Sofia wanted me to go to church with her and her Dad but I had to respectfully decline because dude, seriously? Can you imagine? Like my soul isn't already owned by the devil? Also I had absolutely nothing suitable to wear. Anyway Mum and Rennie were up early too because they'd planned some lovey-dovey picnic somewhere so I was at a bit of a loose end. Then I remembered walking past this cinema the other day so I came down here again after breakfast and I haven't seen any of the movies they've got advertised which is kind of exciting. I'm tossing up between this werewolf one and this other one that looks like it's supposed to be romance because the poster's got a picture of a hot couple on it except there's also pterodactyls in the background and a picture of a sheep who looks like he's holding some nunchucks? Which is super confusing but also I kind of want to see that one just to try and work out what the poster's trying to say-"

"But isn't the whole thing going to be in French?" says Roy.

Mia considers for a few moments.

"I guess," she says.

"I didn't know you were fluent in French."

"I'm not."

Roy feels a light, neurological pressure above his right eye.

"Okay, I'm too emotionally and spiritually exhausted to have this conversation. Besides, that movie sounds dumb as dogshit, whatever language it's in. Do you want to jump in a taxi and come and meet me in the bar of my hotel? I really need to talk to you."

"You just got back with your ex. Do you really want her knowing that you're meeting sexy blondes in bars?"

"She's asleep. But I want you to meet her, anyway. And you're an old friend. I'm not hiding anything. Besides, you have no boobs. Everyone knows I'm a boob man. There's no way she'd see you as a sexual threat."

"You know, it's a complete mystery why Anya left you," says Mia. "Like you're just soooo sweet and kind and charming."

[pixelsinmyveins]

Tavern in the Riverlands part 2

Ok so again I'll paste some lines from the story and summarize a bit what's going on in the pics!

In the previous post, Nemerites saw Nemeeri fill up a keg by summoning water from nothing, and that's not something a Draeki should be able to do. That power belongs only to the Aspect, so of course, Nemerites is extremely puzzled and needs to know more.

The evening turns into night, and eventually, the Tavern is closed and it's time for Nemeeri to head home. She's the last one to leave and closes the door behind her, locking it. Only to turn around to a pair of eyes focused on her.

Locking the door behind her, she turned around expecting to see the view of the empty seashore, and the ancient willow trees swaying in the gentle breeze. But instead, she gasped as a pair of aquamarine eyes stared back at her, and the strikingly beautiful face of the Aspect of Water - Nemerites, greeted her. He was leaning onto the wooden wall of the tavern, arms folded loosely in front of him. He looked as if he was waiting on something…or someone. For a moment, they just stood there in silence. She didn't know what to do or say, but each second as the silence went on, she felt more and more desperate for him to speak. He kept looking at her with a slight narrow in his eyes and a tilt of his head, like he was trying to solve some secret puzzle. "How long have you been able to summon water like that?" He pushed himself off the wall and took a few steady steps towards her. Immediately, she realised what he meant, and that she'd made a big mistake. They'd always managed to keep their unique abilities a secret with Lethelin, but now, the Aspect of water himself had seen her do it. She began searching the depths of her mind for some believable explanation, but as she did, he blinked slowly, his face morphing into one expecting her to lie, brows rising ever so slightly. He looked almost…amused. Sighing in defeat, she whispered. "Ever since I can remember."

He seemed to be analysing her response, holding onto his chin as if in deep thought. "Are you able to do it whenever and wherever you wish?" She nodded. "What's your first memory of it?" She tried to remember the first time she'd summoned water from nothing, but realised it would mean she'd have to tell him of Lethelin, and decided to lie instead. "I…I don't remember." Again, as if sensing her lie, he narrowed his eyes at her, glancing down at her hands. "And how does it feel?" Being interrogated by the Aspect himself, Nemeeri knew she should answer truthfully and without question. But something in the way he was speaking to her, like he was entitled to hear her entire life story, was beginning to annoy her. "Shouldn't you be the expert on that?" His brows rose at her tone, clearly taken back by her outburst. Nemeeri mentally cursed herself and was about to beg for forgiveness, when the Aspect chuckled, the sound pleasant and warm. "I apologize if my questions seem intrusive. I am merely curious, since in all the ages past, I have never met a Draeki with such power." His gentle tone only made her more embarrassed of the attitude she'd given him, and she found it hard to meet his eyes again. So she occupied herself by brushing off invisible dust off her dress, instead. "…Oh?" "Because there shouldn't be one." Her eyes shot up at him, looking for any hint of a threat in his words. But there was no sign of malice on his face, only a deep calmness, that somehow seemed to reach her as she observed him. "Can you show me?" For a moment, she hesitated. It felt as if she'd be breaking some sort of promise they had with Lethelin, to always have each others backs and to never reveal what they're able to do. But she'd broken that promise the moment she'd made the mistake of refilling that keg with her waters. The Aspect already knew. So, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she held up her hand and focused on her magic. Cool sparkling waters manifested in her palm and slowly drifted up in the air, forming small shapes that didn't really resemble anything at all. Just blobs of water. Nemerites immediately leaned in, inspecting them as closely as possible from different angles, the furrow in his brow carving in deeper the longer he observed the floating droplets. "Interesting." Just as he was about the reach out and poke one, she put down her hand and the waters dissipated into a sparkling mist. Annoyance flashed across his face for a split second, but then it was gone and replaced by the amused expression that seemed to be his favourite, at least around her. He chuckled. "I suppose I should've asked first." Nemeeri gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, then dipped her head in respect and in goodbye, hoping the Aspect's curiosity had been sated by her display. The moment she made to turn away and leave however, he spoke again. "Did you have a mentor?"

I'll summarize the last part! So the conversation moves to Nemerites offering Nemeeri his assistance in mentoring. Nemeeri and Lethelin have spend their entire lives trying to keep their abilities a secret, so they never really learned what would be considered as "basics" of bending water. Like I mentioned before, bending water is normal for a water Draeki born with the gift, but summoning water from nothing isn't.

Nemeeri has filled the keg with her water before, but to a normal Draeki watching, they'd assume/think there was a water source nearby or in the back rooms she's summoning from. But Nemerites being the Aspect - he's literally the element of water in the world, he of course sensed/saw what happened.

So long story short, he offers to mentor Nemeeri. He's incredibly curious about her abilities, and by becoming her mentor, he might be able to find the source of her unusual power. Nemeeri first is a bit sceptical, saying that she's just a Tavern worker and a painter, she has no need to learn powerful bending. To which Nemerites says; well you could do this, and summons a bunch of sea creatures shaped by his waters.

I mentioned before, Nemerites is an artist, and one of the art forms of the water Draeki is water sculpting. So using water to create different kinds of shapes, often creatures from the sea. And no one shapes water like Nemerites does, his sculptures are incredibly life like and move around. He summons a massive whale that jumps over them, and Nemeeri can see them reflected in it's surface as she looks up. He's basically showing off a bit lmao because he knows she's also an artist from the talk they had in the Tavern, and this might actually get her to be interested to learn.

Well it does, and Nemeeri realises she really has no choice but to mention Lethelin, her twin brother. This starts a whole new conversation, since Nemerites realises there's not just one Draeki with the powers that only the Aspect should have, but two. He offers to mentor him as well, and Nemeeri basically tells him she needs to talk to Lethelin about it. They eventually agree to meet in front of the Tavern next morning to talk, and she'll bring Lethe with her. Oh yea and he realises he never even asked her name. 😂

He begins to walk away, but suddenly stops and turns around. "I don't believe I got your name." "I don't believe you asked." "Well…I'm asking now." "…It's Nemeeri."

Thank you so much for reading! 💜

Link to part 1

[pixelsinmyveins]

Atlameria, capital city of the Riverlands

[treason-and-plot]

“I have videos of you,” says Tobi. Her demeanour is now sweet and sunny, a saccharine smile painted on her face.  “You and Jules. There’s a camera set up in my room. There’s a camera in the lounge area too. You know, I’m seriously thinking of sending a copy to Jules’ boss. He works for a well-known politician, did you know that? A famous politician needs to protect his reputation, he can’t let it get out that one of his staffers is a dick-sucking ho.” Tobi giggles and steps closer to Anya, who feels like she has been frozen to the spot, every part of her body numb. Tobi continues gleefully: ”Like the first night we met him, when you were passed out, I got strapped up and then me and Cas Eiffel Towered him. It was wild. You should see for yourself. You want to come back to the room and watch with me?”

Anya stares at her, eyes cold with loathing. “So you're not content with spiking his drink and causing him to have a seizure, you have to ruin his life for him too? What kind of evil, twisted-“

"Anya?" says a voice from the stairs, and Anya looks up to see Roy. He too stares at Tobi, his mouth agape. "What the actual fuck did I just hear?"

[treason-and-plot]

“I didn’t lie to you,” says Anya. ”I’m going back home to Bridgeport after I have breakfast. Anyway, how is it any of your business? I don’t owe you anything-“

Tobi’s smoky green eyes bulge with indignation.

“You ungrateful slut!” she says. “After all we did for you!”

“Excuse me? Who the hell are you to call me a slut? And what did you do for me, exactly?” Anya says. “Apart from use me for your perverted sex games?”

"Fuck off. You weren't used!" says Tobi. "You were totally into it! And are you forgetting how we saved you from that abusive arsehole? If it wasn't for me and Cas, your holiday would have been completely ruined! You wouldn't even have made it to the concert! How dare you say you don't owe us anything! Of all the fucking nerve. You owe us big time, bitch."

Anya feels her blood starting to simmer, her face flushing with anger. But it's anger at herself more than anger towards Tobi. She can't believe she let herself be seduced by someone so ugly and depraved.

"I owe you nothing, Tobi," she says. "Go away. Leave me alone."

"I'm not going anywhere," says Tobi. "And neither are you."

"You're a nutcase," says Anya. "I already told you-"

"I have videos of you," says Tobi.

"What?" says Anya. Now her blood feels like it has turned to ice, every part of her body numb with horror. "You....you have w-what?"

[treason-and-plot]

Anya is now wide awake, and feeling both chilled and sweaty. She lurches out of bed and towards the ensuite bathroom, sinking to her knees in front of the toilet mere moments before vomit gushes up her throat and into the bowl in a bilious yellow fountain. She wants to cry, from sickness and fear. Everything seems suddenly very wrong, and very unsafe. She sits on the tiles swallowing hard and trying to calm herself, and after ten minutes forces herself to stand and wash her face and clean her teeth. Get a fucking grip, she tells her reflection. As if Tobi meant it literally when she said she wanted to kill Cas. Jesus. What the hell’s wrong with you? Maybe you’ve got a fever as well as a stomach bug?

She feels much better after that, and also realises she is starving. She opens the little fridge in the kitchen area and finds some leftover chicken and rice and pops it in the microwave. Tobi’s phone is ringing in the bedroom. Who on earth rings someone at this time of the morning?Someone who is very insistent, because they keep calling, without pause, for the next two minutes. Anya rolls her eyes and removes her food from the microwave then marches into Tobi’s bedroom. Tobi is lying snoring on her back, oblivious. Anya fishes her phone from a pile of clothes on the floor and stares at the screen. The name of the person ringing her is ‘Fuckface’.

“Hello, Tobi’s phone?” she says.

“That you, Anya?” says Cas. He is speaking slowly, and she thinks he might be drunk. “It’s Cas. Where’s Tobi?”

“Tobi’s sound asleep,” says Anya. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“No. Not okay. At some hospital,” says Cas.

“What? What happened?”

“Jules had a seizure,” says Cas. “They think someone spiked our drinks.”

[pixelsinmyveins]

Some random pics of babes <3

Hiraani and Ivrakk <3

MOTHER

[treason-and-plot]

“Unhhhhh?” mutters Anya. “What time is it?”

“Fuck knows. Still dark, anyway. I just need to talk.“

Tobi’s breath is hot and sour with alcohol and cigarettes. Anya burrows her face deeper into her pillow.

“Baby, I was soooo crazy jealous seeing you kissing my brother at the concert. I wanted to kill him. “

Anya says nothing, nausea starting to prickle the lining of her stomach. She wants to turn over, away from Tobi, but that would be unforgivably rude, particularly as she is in Tobi’s bed. If she continues to be silent maybe Tobi will think she’s asleep and stop talking?

“Cas is such a fucking manwhore,“ Tobi grimaces. “And as for Jules….he was really fucking pissing me off tonight too. First he pissed me off at the concert with all his holier-than-thou animal welfare bullshit, and then at the club he really pissed me off because he kept telling us he used to be a DJ and the DJ at the club was shit. Like, sure, dickhead. Anyway, I decided to teach them both a lesson. But now I feel a bit… bad. But only slightly. Like, they totally deserved it.”

“What do you mean?” says Anya, her eyes now fully open.

“Nothing,” says Tobi. “Go back to sleep.”

Anya turns the light on and sits up in bed.

“Tobi! Where are they? Where are Cas and Jules?”

Tobi smiles and closes her eyes.

[treason-and-plot]

[previous]

Mia's eyes are blurry, her heart aching not only for Pablo but for poor Nora and Sofia. But there is also something resolute struggling to assert itself in the watery dregs of all this emotional turmoil: she needs to be strong, and she needs to help Pablo. She quickly blinks her tears away and after taking a few moments to compose herself, crosses the room to where he is standing.

"Pab?" she says.

He turns to face her, his expression blank. She takes a deep breath.

"Pablo, I know you're feeling guilty about what happened to Nora, but didn't you once tell me that guilt is the ingrown toenail of the soul? Which is, like, one of the realest and deepest things I ever heard anyone say, ever. If you don't deal with an ingrown toenail, it just gets worse and worse, and more and more gross and putrid and infected. The same with guilt. Guilt eats away at you. You need to accept the fact that you can't change what happened, and you can't apologise to Nora, so all you can do is forgive yourself. And make sure you love Sofia with every fibre of your being. That's it. That's just what you have to do."

"What if I can't?" he says.

"Can't what?"

"What if I can't forgive myself?"

"It's not an option," says Mia. "You have to. For Sofia."

[treason-and-plot]

“What are you talking about?” says Mia. “Are you saying that Sofia’s mother wasn’t killed by a landmine? Pablo, you’re scaring me. Again!"

“I laid the mine that she stepped on,” says Pablo. His voice is gruff and impatient. “I’m responsible for her death. I killed her.”

“You mean, when you were in the army?”

“When I was a Legionnaire, yes.”

“Well, shit,” says Mia.  She chews on her lip while Pablo continues to glare at her in the door frame.

“Do you want to come in and talk about it?” she says. Pablo’s countenance suggests that there is nothing that he would like to do less, but he squares his shoulders and walks inside the room. He sweeps several of Mia's magazines from the seat of an armchair and sits down. Mia perches on the end of the bed.

“Are you familiar with the Al Simharan War of Independence?" he asks her.

"I was never into history at school," says Mia apologetically.

"It only ended six years ago," says Pablo.

"Current affairs aren't really my strong point either Pab, sorry."

"I will give you a simple summary. Basically France was allied with the Al Simharans, who were trying to liberate themselves from an oppressive regime. We lay hundreds of anti-personnel mines on Al Simhara’s eastern and western borders during the war to prevent their fascist military from attacking French bases. And earlier this year, Nora, Sofia’s mother, stepped on one. She was chasing after a goat, apparently. So there you have it. I killed the mother of my own child.“

Mia gives a shocked gasp.

“But you don’t know that for sure-“ she says weakly.  

“We had maps. I knew where every one of those mines was. I killed her,” he snaps.

“Oh, Pab. How awful. Can….can I give you a hug?”

“I do not want a hug,” growls Pablo.

“Okay,” says Mia, holding her head in her hands. Her mind is reeling, in contrast to Pablo who is sitting completely still, staring at the carpet. “Do you mind telling me….how you and Nora got together?”

Pablo lifts his gaze from the floor.

“Her village sheltered us when our unit was under attack. I was wounded. Nora nursed me back to health.”

“Oh my God!” shrieks Mia, leaping to her feet. “That’s, like, the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard! Like something out of a movie! And then you fell in love, right? And had a whirlwind but doomed love affair? And that's why you've never been able to commit to any other woman, because Nora was your one true love? Your soulmate?"

[pixelsinmyveins]

His lashes 💜

[pixelsinmyveins]

His lashes 💜

[pixelsinmyveins]

Testing out the Solar Court build

Then I hosted a ball to make sure everything works

Absolute slay

[treason-and-plot]

Pablo regards her with a slightly bemused shake of his head.

“The female thirst for gossip and rumour-mongering never fails to amaze me,” he says.

“That’s offensive, Pab,” says Mia. “You can’t stereotype half the world’s population like that. Not cool.”

“I stand corrected. You and your mother’s thirst for gossip and rumour-mongering never fails to amaze me.”

“That's not true! We’re just curious, that’s all. And we care about you, Pab. Like you said, the situation with Sofia’s mother obviously caused you a lot of pain, and sometimes it can help a lot to talk about things. “

“I know that. That’s why I’m seeing a therapist,” says Pablo.

“Talking to a friend is different from talking to a professional. Friends genuinely care. Friends can give you emotional support. And talking to friends doesn’t cost a shitload of money, either!”

Pablo opens his mouth to say something but then frowns and impatiently shakes his head. He looks at his watch.

“I have to make my way back to the restaurant to pick up Renny and your mother,” he says.  

“Okay,” shrugs Mia. “But if you’re ever in the mood to talk, you know where to find me.”

Pablo raises an eyebrow at her, then turns to leave.

"Or if you're in the mood for wild sex," Mia adds sweetly. "I'm not fussy."