#yearnstarved

the stands were already alive with noise by the time kai settled into his seat , not high enough to be removed from it all , close to the field . close enough that the dust lifted by hooves and wheels carried on the air and settled faintly against his skin . close enough that he could feel the vibration of the ground each time a chariot tore past . he rested his forearms on his knees , fingers loosely laced , the makeshift bracelet at his wrist stirring whenever he moved . rosemary , thyme , lavender , all long since warmed by his pulse . it had been there for days now . maybe longer .

he wasn’t here for the spectacle . not really . the shouting , the crashes , the sharp joy some campers took in near misses and harder impacts , none of it ever quite sat right with him . but @yearnstarved was racing today . so he stayed . he watched . he hoped , quietly , that everyone would come away bruised at worst and smiling at best . that the gods , for once , would let a game be just a game .

the chariots blurred past in streaks of colour and metal , sunlight flashing off bronze rims and polished wood . kai tracked one in particular without meaning to , his gaze following it each lap as naturally as breath . elly leaned into her turns with reckless confidence , reins tight , the crowd roared every time she surged ahead , and kai felt something like pride press warm against his ribs . he rolled the bracelet once around his wrist , a grounding habit , the scent of crushed herbs briefly cutting through dust and sweat .

"Is that what you're trying to do?" More than anything, she sounds curious. She isn't judging, mostly. She'll fight if she needs to, though.

Alice shifts her weight from one foot to the other, keeping her stance light. "I know what I look like, but I wouldn't go to me for advice about a good job."

The word superhero only leaves her lips when she's describing something she's not.

if this was a meme i can't find it rip

Amelia had figured she wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. If she thought Wally's death added baggage to her life, it certainly added some to her death. But she tries maintain her usual pep, even if she would rather not get on the subject. "Oh, that might be because my uncle's...here, too. Amelia Clark-Porter. My mom is Wally's sister."

" 𝐎𝐈, 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐀, " Amy called, her gaze fixed on something blue poking out from behind the rubbish bins in the alleyway. They'd been on their way to, what Amy liked to call: I Survived The Doctor Club. When the tip of a very familiar blue box had caught the corner of her eye. Where the TARDIS was spotted, trouble of some kind usually was quick to follow and Amy wasn't sure if she was more excited or nervous about the implication.

Waving for her friend to come over to her, the redhead pointed to the tip of the box and its light. " I think we just got the first Doctor sighting of the year... did they... paint it ? The colour looks different... " her eyes squinting as she took a few steps forward. ( @yearnstarved )

@yearnstarved 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓: 10th Doctor to Clara

The bell over the door rang as he stepped inside, and he almost kept walking, almost treated it like any other place, but something about it held just a fraction longer than it should have, enough to make him slow and take a proper look around. The room had the right shape to it, worn booths, polished counter, everything where it ought to be, but it felt arranged in a way that ordinary places never quite managed, like someone had taken care to make it look effortless.

He wandered in without hurrying, fingers brushing lightly along the back of a chair as his attention moved from one detail to the next, following that faint hum beneath the surface that did not belong to any simple diner. ❝Funny thing about places like this,❞ he said, voice easy and thoughtful, as though he were finishing a thought rather than starting one, ❝they’re usually a bit rough around the edges, but this one knows exactly what it’s doing.❞

By the time he looked at her, properly looked, his curiosity had shifted focus entirely. She fit in a way that made the rest of it make sense, and that only made her more interesting. He stepped up to the counter and leaned there, hands slipping into his coat pockets, settling in like he had nowhere else to be. ❝Which usually means there’s a reason for it, and I like reasons. Much easier to follow than accidents.❞

A small, thoughtful smile touched his expression as his gaze flicked briefly around the room before returning to her again, warmer now, more engaged. ❝So either I’ve just walked into the most carefully placed diner I’ve ever seen, or I’ve found someone who’s gone to a lot of trouble to make it look like one, and that’s usually where things get interesting.❞

He let that sit for a moment, not pressing, just watching her with open curiosity, perfectly content to wait. ❝And I do like interesting,❞ he added lightly. ❝So… what’ve I walked into?❞

@yearnstarved gets a starter from Lumi! (for Vivi)

"Well, isn't this a surprise?" There was no point in trying to pretend she wasn't who she was, just as it was the same for the other runaway princess before her. While neither was known that well to the public outside of their kingdoms and sometimes even within, they knew each other. It was hard to not know other royalty nor forget them after meeting at World Summits.

Lifting her drink to her lips, her gaze flicked over Vivi's shoulders to the group she'd clearly walked in with before returning to the other princesses. "Hello, Vivi."