#*  thread

time to time, luciel spares a little portion of his day to reading, even if it’s just one chapter these days from his trainee life. it’s a little unfortunate he’s spending lesser time on reading, and his busy schedule makes him realise how quickly time passes when he’s sucked into reading. so he has to set up an alarm to remind him that he needs to continue with the rest of his schedule.

a while ago, luciel would dedicate more time to reading on sundays, but with the debut project, he’s been doing that even lesser. though, this time on the way to the company building, he drops by the bookstore. it’s not a huge one, nor does he goes here often, but the those slightly musty whiffs of books is enough for him.

ahyoung often runs into problems. that's a good general vague statement that could be true of anyone, but especially her. maybe more accurately, she often causes problems. she hasn't done anything this time, though, and actually, that's exactly the problem.

she really wants to be part of a band. the thing is, she doesn't want to put the work in to make one herself, and none of the people in bands that she knows will let her into theirs. their loss, as far as she's concerned. she knows, in her heart, that it would probably be more fun in the end to start something herself, playing music with a group of people that she's sure she actually likes, or that at least don't suck, but god. ahyoung hates putting work in. she would much rather be making an over-elaborate meme right now.

instead, she's with sua, which honestly isn't a bad thing. she likes sua! they're friends! and more importantly, sua was receptive to the idea of starting a band when ahyoung randomly floated it by her. ahyoung thinks a girl band would be really cool, but she thinks it would be even better if she could get sua to do most of the work in pulling people together and managing everything.

"okay, so, i think yejun is in to play drums for us. actually, you should talk to him and fully convince him because he never listens to me," ahyoung says, over her apartment's tiny dinner table and a pile of halloween candy she convinced her mother to ship to her from california. she's happy to share with sua.

"i guess if we actually wanna do this we have to find somebody that can sing, though. wait, can you sing? i mean, i can sing, but i don't really wanna be a frontman. i'm way more pete wentz than patrick stump." will sua even get that reference?

“you should come over.” fingers splay across the tabletop and palms press flat against the cold formica surface as nora looks resolutely at dan and not at the glint of eyes in the reflection of the window beside them. there is a finality in her voice ; this is not so much an OFFER as it might sound at first blush. “you would like it.” he would not like it. it’s not kind of her to offer but nora cannot find it within herself to act on that knowledge ; it might not be kind, but it might be helpful. 

“well,” tongue darts out to wet chapped lips and the reflection shifts when someone walks past on the sidewalk on the other side of the glass. gaze flickers to it and then away. “you would find it interesting,” her voice is reedy and her smile distant, but neither is unusual for nora, “i think.”

She’s quiet as she approaches, demure--hands twisting together in nervous knots as she approaches the blue-haired figure. “Father?” Even her voice betrays hesitation, and Lucina winces. It’s unlike her--but so much has been new lately...and...who else could she turn to?

“Father, I was hoping...if it’s alright with you, that is...I have a--a question I’d like to ask you.” She hardly liked broaching this topic herself, the memories bittersweet and cloying in her mind, a childhood tainted beyond repair; a kiss so soft and sweet, Lucina thought she might melt into it.

“It’s...about mother.” Not the monster that took her place. Gods, was this too personal? Lucina hesitated for a moment longer, steeling her resolve. “How did you...know?” How specific. “That you loved her, that is.”

A battered journal open on the table in front of her, Lysithea ran through her list once again. She was sure of it. Seeing him with that red liquid...it was the final piece of evidence she needed. Hubert was a vampire. And she was going to prove it. What else would explain his dark, brooding personality, skin paler even than hers--how he seemed to hang around Edelgard like a shadow. It was so obvious. He was clearly Edelgard’s vampire bodyguard, the Empire’s best-kept secret...until now.

With a sharp inhale, she snapped the cover shut, pale eyes tracking a shadow as it passed in front of the Golden Deer classroom. That silhouette...there was no mistaking it. Shoving her diary into her bag as quietly as possible, Lysithea poked her head around the corner just in time to see Hubert disappearing into the reception hall.

She followed him with quick steps, careful to keep her distance. Vampires had enhanced senses after all...Lysithea would need to be especially sneaky to pull this off. With a jolt, she realized they were headed towards the sealed forest...wasn’t it against the rules to go there? It made perfect sense...it would be the ideal place for Hubert to feast on blood without alerting any of the others. But...it was approaching dusk, the sun hanging low in the sky. If she followed him, she may well end up lost in the woods...alone...at night.

The dining hall of Garreg Mach never ceased to amaze. An near-endless supply of food (as long as Nah ignored the looks the staff gave her--a growing manakete needed her food!) with no rations in sight. It was heaven. As Nah happily filled her plate--and then some--she hummed happily as she took her seat across from a purple-haired girl she hadn’t seen before. 

“I’m Nah,” she introduced with a smile. “You’re a big eater too, huh?” Was the girl a manakete? She wasn’t supposed to ask here, but upon closer inspection, Nah didn’t smell any dragon blood on the girl. Just another food afficionado then. Nah was always happy to indulge. “The food here is divine--I don’t think I’ve ever had anything so good! They always have so many dishes...Fodlan must be a very fertile place, to make all this each day. Isn’t it amazing?”

a starter for @vcjiseok !

daehyun has found his first few weeks at the campus of victoria college confusing and scary. it's no surprise, seeing as he's just sixteen, barely old enough to be attending the school, and the youngest child in his family. he's been babied all his life and to suddenly find himself largely independent despite all the help available to him, is intimidating.

in his opinion, one of his greatest strokes of luck after coming to victoria college was meeting professor kim. he isn't that much older than most of the students, and so he'd insisted that he be called "jiseok ssaem," rather than "professor" like many of the other teachers. for daehyun, though, lost and uncertain as he is, afternoons in jiseok ssaem's office have been a saving grace.