affirmation.

@joeljihoo

What Sophia wanted to do most as queen consort of the vampire kingdom was give back to the community in any way that she possibly could. Her husband might have been responsible for taking a stance in the upcoming war, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t support Candoris in her own personal way. Acts of charity had always been high up on her list of priorities; she had grown up in Paris as a helpless street orphan, after all, and so she knew better than anyone else what it felt like to be alone and without support. She had several ideas in mind for the sort of organization that she wanted to fund - something to do with children, if she was given her way - but she wanted to do a bit of research before she presented it to her king. She was already trying so desperately to prove herself to him as it was, and the absolute last thing that she wanted was to look like a fool in his presence. She needed this - she needed something to keep herself from wasting away in the sprawling, luxurious castle that still felt like a barren prison to her. 

And that was why she had decided to spend the afternoon in one of Candoris’ finest bookshops. She had always been an avid fan of the written word - Laurent had made sure of that - but today’s readings would be solely-research based. She was certain that there was plenty to learn about charitable organizations and even orphanages depending on where she looked, and so it was with a sunny, hopeful smile on her delicate elfin face and two burly vampire bodyguards flanked at her sides that she pushed open the door leading into the bookshop and stepped inside. “Bonjour!” she chimed out in her soft, musical voice, gracefully fluttering towards the front counter and appraising the shopkeeper with a warm and friendly smile. For whatever reason, her two guards - Percy and Maxene - seemed to stiffen where they were flanked, but Sophia paid them no mind. They were men of very few words as it was. “S’il vous plait - I was wondering if I could ask for some assistance? I have quite the project in mind, and I was told that your bookshop was one of the best places to seek out information!”

It took a lot to get Joel to look up from whatever book he was reading or rereading at this point. There were only a few books in his keep that have not been paged through by him, those only being ones written in a language he has yet to learn or stories too sad for him to want to live through. Yet to find a book he has not read appear on his shelf was a rarity, and this one that was in front of him seemed to show up without him knowing. There was a lot of books on the shelves and they were in a land of magic. Fifty years amongst these copies were still too short to firmly understand every tale and every researched word that lived in his darkly lit shop. He relished the moments when he was discovering new words, and as it was, the shop only got a few visitors a week. Joel could say it was due to its elite quality and high standards, but there was a more obvious reason.

( &&. @joeljihoo )

“Excuse me,” Christian began, entering the quaint bookshop and glancing around. Books lined the shelves, an array of colors, binding, and stories, and Christian was a bit overwhelmed by the opportunities that had been presented to him. He stepped forward, picking a red leatherbound book off a near display table and flipping through it slowly, his fingers brushing against the soft, yellowed parchment.

“What would you recommend for someone starting out?” he asked, glancing up at the shopkeeper. “I’m–I want to find a present for my younger sister. Sometimes reading is…difficult for her.”

It was the softest of sounds, the small bell that announced a customer in the store. Joel preferred his bell to be as soft as possible, his ears trained to pick it up amongst the quiet that always settles over the store. He liked it because of the quiet, not wanting to disturb the peace inside, although that could be because he was usually the only one amongst the shelves, but even then there was something about books that asked for silent contemplation. 

“You didn’t know me well enough then.” Baz was a selfish creature. He had small moments with certain vampires, had expressed bits of generosity that was enough to last him the eternity in front of him. Joel hadn’t been one of them, even with the time they had spent together in the past, which felt so little and long ago now. “There’s more where that came from.” Though he said it as the other looked at the body, he knew that Joel wouldn’t indulge the way he did. Pity. “Not the first time, just the first I’ve run into you.” His position with the court didn’t confine him there. Besides quenching his thirst, venturing the way that he did had it’s benefits. Joel wasn’t one of them.

“Don’t be, it’s my own fault,” he reassured him, hand raised in hopes the other would believe him. He had appreciated everything Joel had done for him, but a part of Jon hated that he had to be babied - that he was so not in control of what he was that he needed a guardian. And a part of him wish he never finished his transition and just died in that alley. “How do I train it? Because I don’t want to focus and hear any of that. I want to feel as human as I possibly can. I need to go back home, Joel”

“Me and a good book and a fresh plate of bungeo-ppang?

“I would also like the baker too please.”

“Well, you bring me pastries when it’s too sunny out for me to walk comfortably. It’s scary accurate when you stop by too, as I’m reaching for my umbrella.” Joel pauses, his mind working on trying to formulate the right things. Although it was hard to do when all he could focus on really was how much powdered sugar was getting on his counter. “I guess I can say I love you because you remind me of how old I am, but also because you remind me how old I don’t look. Sorry, friend. There is some good things about immortality and this is one of them.”

“The short version is that you make my life eventful.”

“The long version is… it isn’t that you’re replacing the sibling I once had. It’s filling the space, the void that she’s left. Is it odd that, even though it was centuries ago, I still feel like a big brother? I need someone to look after? I see the light in you, the potential and I know you can be good. I love you because you don’t love yourself, but I will always love you.”

“Saria... for the longest time I thought it was a name that meant sun. Imagine my wonderful surprise that it actually means ‘princess,’ but the thing is I love Saria is sunshine. She is the sweet spring sun that shines so softly and brightly, slowly rising in the sky and brings light into the world. She is the one that wants to hang around longer but knows when to step aside for the moon. She is the one that brings warmth after the cold and ushers in the new. I love her for she is a sun that just wants to bring life, even to a vampire who definitely prefers the dark and the shadows.”

“Hm... I never thought you’d be so self-indulgent. Then again, the only reason we know each other is because I’m self-indulgent.”

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? I shouldn’t because I really don’t remember what those are. It’s... ironic. I’ve read so much that I can’t form my own words to describe. But maybe it’s because I’ve been around the wrong people, the people that were so closed off to love that to even think about it is hard. Is that even an excuse though? That was before your time and... that’s it really. It was before your time. You are so untouched by the world, but somehow still understand how bad and how wrong it could be. Yet you spend your time filling your life with the sweet and with the soft. 

You are a wonderful baker and even more wonderful little brother. I wish I could show you what you refuse to see, but I also wish I could be what you truly want, but that isn’t the point of this is it? I’m supposed to be listing what I love. So this is what I love about you: I love that you think I don’t notice that you went out of your way to learn how to make a Korean treat for me. I love that you are strong and soft at the same time. I love that you aren’t afraid to express your emotions. I love that you are so wonderfully in the moment and I love how much life that gives me. 

‘fitting. for a bookstore.’ mateo lowered his blanket concoction and took the umbrella when handed to it. joel hadn’t mentioned anything about this change but with all the commotion that had been occuring, mateo wanted to know. ‘okay. sure. and you need to see the mastermind behind the masterpieces too, joel, which is me. very well then. come on. tell me why you’re not holding the umbrella and if you have any answers? or advice? do we just take the cards that are given to us?

for a second, joel missed the cold. because it would have given him a different excuse to just want to throw his arms around the younger boy and basically snuggle against the wool and the wolf underneath. there was always a counter between them but even away from the bake shop, it was just the scent of mateo that was intoxicating. the smell of the sweet and the sugar mixing with the old pages in his store, joel was wondering if this miraculous shift had changed him into a wolf. but he knew it was something else. heartbeat and all, it was something else entirely. 

JOEL // MUGGLE BORN

HOUSE: Hufflepuff

“You might belong in Hufflepuff Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unfraid of toil.” – The Sorting Hat

Hufflepuffs value hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play. The house has produced its share of great wizards – not least Newt Scamander, author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

WAND: 14.5″ vine wood with unicorn hair core, quite flexible flexibility

VINE: The druids considered anything with a woody stem as a tree, and vine makes wands of such a special nature that I have been happy to continue their ancient tradition. Vine wands are among the less common types, and I have been intrigued to notice that their owners are nearly always those witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best. Vine wands seem strongly attracted by personalities with hidden depths, and I have found them more sensitive than any other when it comes to instantly detecting a prospective match. Reliable sources claim that these wands can emit magical effects upon the mere entrance into their room of a suitable owner, and I have twice observed the phenomenon in my own shop.

UNICORN HAIR: Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. 

Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing.

QUITE FLEXIBLE FLEXIBILITY: Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair - although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique. *the wand is like its master, it will help whoever needs it

PATRONUS: Marsh Harrier

Marsh harriers are medium-sized birds of prey. One hunted to extinction in the United Kingdom, the bird has since begun to rise once more in numbers in that region. Clearly survivors, this raptor Patronus will make sure its caster also survives – the Dementor’s kiss.

There had been a curiosity that Joel had buried for a while, a small snippet he read in a book long ago that he shoved into the back of his mind as new stories and be available for his friends took precedence than indulging in his own curiosities. Yet it was another day in the shop and another sun setting over the hills that saw no other soul enter his shop and Joel figured it was a better time to finally indulge in that piece that was nagging in his head. The story seemed too perfect, too good of a rendition of the Wilde Wood that Joel wondered if he followed the protagonist’s path if he too would stumble upon a pack of hell hounds that lived outside of the vampire court.

He closed the shop and had hoped to come across the book once more to skim the pages before venturing out, but Joel realized it was a book that he had come across in the library at The Vampire Court. With a sigh, he was not going to let his setback be another reason for him to postpone his small adventure, stepping out into the dusk sky and making his way into the Wood, primarily letting his predatory senses take over. The smell of wolves was everywhere and Joel’s nose did twitch at the overabundance. Only one did not hurt his nose, but that was only because it was coupled with the sweet smell of sugar and custard. He had to not turn, and continue into the wood. 

“I can see that, I’d say I’m impressed but I hate being scared,” he said, plastering on a happy and easy-going expression in hopes of fooling the other, and mainly himself. “Don’t vampires have unusually keen hearing? Shouldn’t I be able to hear you? Or is that supposed to be something that’s gained overtime?”

“would you rather i not be sappy and not remind you of how much i appreciate you? fine, no more of that, then.” he softly laughed, thinking that the only way he could actually do that would be if he somehow turned all his emotions off. “fine, so be it, be tall and annoying if you want to. yes!” he jumped up excitedly and bounced on the balls of his feet afterward. “great! let’s go… i don’t know. just out. we can go to the pub or we can set my hand on fire and see how fast it’ll take for me to find some water to put it out… endless opportunities.”