Fantasy 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘳 ! [𝘪𝘤]

[neon reverie]

 

[neon reverie]

Ch. 0

sharp knife of a short life

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they say death is easy, living is hard. they say count your blessings as you count your cards. you spend your time like you do your dime, hoping that one day, you will have achieved your prime. it's easy to be caught up in your passions and chase those dreams ― but life is rarely kind, and not everything is what it seems. you will find out, often too late, what it means to be alive. too busy with striving, you forget to thrive.

but it will hit you then, seconds before your eternal nightfall. in the blink of an eye, you will see the truth of it all. and you'd wish on invisible stars, that you'd never fought ― hoping in whispers, they would forget me not.

it is cruel and unkind;

it is the sharp knife of a short life.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[neon reverie]

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grrrr

the street

triples

haruna

Haruna doesn't do drama; it makes messes you can't walk away from without leaving something behind. Perhaps from a distance, the mayhem looks less ugly and more entertaining, like a storm from afar, but it doesn't lose its unpredictability. And when you got your eyes on the sky, you lose sight of the path. It can go away, but also lead to you.

Haruna is known to walk a straight and narrow path, knowing her rights and trying not to do wrongs. All she considers important in life is filtered through one simple question: does it contribute to her life plan or not? If not, then it was certainly not worth spending any energy on.

So, Haruna does not do any rivalry either. Healthy or not, she does not need anyone to push her into doing better, her own drive working just fine. And yet, there is a duel going on between her and someone else ― a guy who just knows how to push her buttons and charm the right people. Infuriatingly, he was wormed himself in between her and her goal, 'business expertise' and all.

Ha.

She is convinced his features do most of the business, his smile being so irritatingly handsome it is a topic discussion among colleagues on its own. Well, popular or not, Haruna won't let him take away this chance. His character might dazzle the office, but he will soon learn that her ambitions burn.

And burn they do, brighter than a thousand suns.

Haruna does not mean to start an argument, but it happens. She can take those whispers behind her back, mocking the person with plans on top of plans. Inflexible, suck up, workaholic, the nicknames roll off her with ease. What Haruna does not let pass, however, is comments questioning her capabilities. And she has heard them, right out of that scummy mouth of his. Such audacity, bashing her idea and claiming it isn't something anyone is interested in.

She remembers following him outside, telling him to say things to her face. Remembers the words spilling from her mouth, face reddening.

"-And just because you like to think you are the king in knowing people, doesn't make what you say true. Have you ever heard of reaching new target groups, Takao-san ? My app will just do that. It's called being original. Maybe you should try i-"

She remembers her sentence falling, just as the loud noise of a horn blares.

She remembers turning her head, watching how a truck grows bigger and bigger.

She remembers-

 

[triples]

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👁👁

the road

neon reverie

takao

Takao had just wanted to go home. Was that too much to ask for, after he had delivered the project early, slideshow and all? He hadn’t thought so. And, yet, there he was, a whole hour after the meeting was scheduled to end, still getting his ears talked off by the chief. He was almost starting to regret doing well for the presentation – perhaps otherwise, the day would have passed by differently. Ordinarily.

If he were honest, his idea hadn’t even been all that spectacular. His competition – Takagi, or the "uppity woman" as his juniors often addressed her – had an interesting concept as well. If not cleverer than his, then it had been at the very least more unique. It was a shame she’d brought it up to a panel only looking out for sensationalism, for the breadth of the product’s reach rather than its depth.

Well, that was her own fault, too, he supposed, for not having understood the real assignment.

Takao had little time to feel bad for her, when there were far more important issues at hand. As he made his way out of the excruciatingly slow elevator and out to the lobby, close to freedom at last, he checked his watch one more time. Ah, he was going to be late after all. If his colleagues had seen him look this concerned, they would have made their tired old jokes about whether he was was going on a date or "meeting someone special". And, usually, he would have scoffed internally at the notion. But this time they would be right; he was meeting someone special today.

He was going to meet the Dark Dreams! version of Thalyssa, from First Reality XIV, who was being released at 10:00 GMT this very day. Finally. The character he'd wanted all along to finish the final quest with, new and improved and waiting for him to come home. On a Friday, too. He was ready to do nothing else for the weekend. Work calls can go to missed call hell. He would think about the app, competitors and all, on Mon-

"Takao-san!"

He froze, head swirled around by the sheer force of anger in the voice calling out his name, barely noticing that he was right on the edge of the pedestrian walkway. Confused, he watched Takagi stomp towards him, sounding very unlike her composed self from this evening as she accused him of... what? He could barely grasp onto the contents of her argument with how rapidly she was giving it.

He called her idea useless? Something no one would be interested in? He had never done that, and if she would just stop speaking for a moment perhaps he could have sorted it out with her. He would never say any kind of idea was worthless. Except...

Who the hell wants an Eudora spin-off? Come on, he suddenly recalled ranting to his friend on the phone, when he thought that he was alone, it's good that it was rejected. Nobody would've cared for it, anyway.

Takao sighed, mostly in mortification at himself for what he'd caused, though that only seemed to trigger the woman further.

"Listen, I can explain,"

he'd began his attempt to untangle the situation, his calm words unfortunately overwhelmed by her tirade.

But as abruptly as she'd began, she'd stopped. Her gaze had widened. There had been a scream. He'd barely turned his head halfway around, when the blinding lights pierced his eyes and ringing of the impact exploded in his ears.

And later on, he would lament to himself again — working overtime was truly detrimental to one's health.

Takao had just wanted to go home.

 

[neon reverie]

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wtf, teehee, grrr

lake, garden, ballroom

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eudora

Haruna remembers waking up, heart thundering, body feeling light but heavy at the same time. She remembers the blurs of water all around, throat tight and lungs screaming for air that isn't there. Confusion and fear entangle each other as questions surface while panic sinks deeper and deeper. Black specks begin to obscure her vision and her hand, which looks abnormally small, reaches out to above, to the shadow amongst blue.

One final, fleeting hope bubbling out of her.

Coughing violently is all she can do when she suddenly finds herself on the surface again, the faint feeling of being pulled lingering in a mind thankful for being able to breathe again. Vague figures surround her, ones she can't quite recognize with her vision still blurry. The shouting and sobbing around her sound unfamiliar and incoherent as well, save for a name -- one that is uttered with such affectionate relief it feels weird.

"Eudora" a face sharpens close to her, one she jumps away from because it's a stranger. The name is repeated, this time with concern rather than relief. Haruna tries to speak, but coughs up more water instead. Her figure is immediately picked up and carried away from the lake, sparing her only one last glance at the waters.

Haruna remembers not so much about the incident, but she remembers this; it was certainly not her reflection in the lake.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•​

Eudora remembers the tea party vividly; it is not something she can forget as both a young lady and a twenty-six year old. It is the first time she decides to have some fun, having arrived at the acceptance stage of grieving her old life. All the planning, all the blood, sweat and tears to reach her life goal -- and for what? To just die before she could reap the fruits of all that labour? Yeah, no. She was not going to repeat that. Her life plan was completely fucked, so here was to saying fuck everything and truly living life.

Truth be told, she was not even that worried about reaching her original ending. Why? Because unlike the original Eudora, she absolutely hated Dimitri. Hated how he acted like he knew everything, hated that he chatted with the beautiful, innocent, Celestia like he wasn't completely undeserving of her. Eudora's love that became her unbecoming was practically non-existent, so she feels bold enough to drop a pastry or two on him. 'Accidentally' of course. Feels fun enough to flirt, even with the personal guard of her enemy.

It is a tea party that Eudora leaves with rumors in her wake and perhaps a target on her back.

But she doesn't care.

Because at last, she feels free.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
​

Eudora recalls graduation day with mixed feelings. Starting off so high, she remembers the rain of pride paired with the sunshine of compliments ---- everything was perfect. Right until that damn engagement. It might be her fault, being so distracted by praise to forget the original plot point set to happen this very night, but the news shocks her nonetheless.

Applause rings in her ears, one she can't quite match with the heaviness in her heart. Eudora doesn't quite know what to think, her train of thoughts crashing and burning just as the couple share a smile. Maybe she had hoped that her changing was enough to alter this part of the story too, had banked on them not falling in love with each other because, why would they?

She feels dejected, though not hopeless. Convinces herself that as long as they are not married yet, she can change minds ( maybe her and the original eudora aren't that different). Her fake smile stretches wide as she congratulates them on the engagement, gaze sharpening just a tad when it moves from Celestia to Dimitri.

Eudora excuses herself then, leaves the room with fire in her step and schemes in the mind.

Well, you know what they say;

All is fair in love and war.

 

[triples]

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u wanna fite bro

avellan

neon reverie

dimitri

It was all quite cliché. Opening his eyes to a warm stream of light, filtered through a tall glass window. The room, composed of pristine white walls, laced with gold and navy accents in a grand design. The searing migraine, slow realization, the scrambling to a mirror. The utter shock when the reflection of a boy, at most nine years old and with a sapphire gaze, stared back at him. A face that was so foreign, yet deeply familiar.

And as he had stood there, frozen, the ebony doors had swung wide open. An imposing figure, every feature best described as sharp, had stared down at him, at first with some surprise and then with a glacial severity.

"If you're awake, get dressed,"

the stranger told him, in a tone as frigid as it was confident, as though giving an order he should have no choice but to follow.

"And come out of your room, Dimitri."

✵❇ ──────✵❇✵────── ❇✵​

Dimitri was mature. Extremely mature. Yes, being forced through childhood and into puberty once more may have had inevitable influence on his mental state. Yes, the understanding that he was most likely never going back to his old life may encourage certain irrational decisions. Yes, the idea that this was a fictional world in which he was practically immortal because he was a leading character may-

The point is, as the elders often praise, he was still very much like an adult. Sharp. Capable. Mature.

Which is why, you must understand, the current situation was a testament, not to how childish they both were, but how absolutely frustrating Eudora was.

With each sweep of the grand melody, the lace edges of her gown glided across the glazed wood floor. He guided her spinning figure back to face him, fast enough that her head surely spun too, so she couldn't go through with her dozenth attempt to kick him — an attempt he had perceived from the annoying gleam in her violet eyes. She nearly loses her balance, and his lips lift, for the first time since the beginning of this lesson, into a mocking smile.

She glares, but as the notes pick up and he has no choice but to pull her towards him by command of the choreography, he catches the shadow of a smirk on her face as she takes the step forward, around the same time that he feels her heel dig into his right foot. He gritted his teeth to fight off a flinch; the building of the music served great contrast to the rapid diminishing of his tolerance and, in his mind, Dimitri concocted a petty plan.

When the last note rings through the hall, she twirls once more in dramatic fashion and, just before she came to a stop, he lets go of his hand.

It was comical for a moment, when her eyes widen as she finds herself doing a dance move she never anticipated — that is, the lean, just in the opposite direction. But when he felt her hands grab his jacket in a last-ditch effort, it wasn't so funny anymore. Dimitri found himself catching her, one arm around her waist and the other being held onto by her death grip, as all the physical training the Academy had put him through finally proved useful in holding them both off the cold, hard ground.

Passionate! Their tutor would later praise, about their little demonstration, and she was so right. He'd known it from the start. In fact, he'd known it since his literal previous life. This was an undying sentiment, a fate that stretched across universes! There was nobody else like Eudora Rozante, who could fuel the fire in his heart this way: the fires of passionate hatred.

✵❇ ──────✵❇✵────── ❇✵​

The night winds were sharp in Avellan, and even his graduation attire, for all its layers, couldn't block it from cutting through to his skin. Months ago, it had happened here, the scene that had begun it all. Celestia Starwell, back home, and Dimitri Auguste, trying to get lost. How funny. He supposed fate weaved with stronger threads than he had thought. She truly had seemed to glow like the moon, white nightdress and all; he could see how even that stone heart had fluttered.

Not his, though.

Why would it? When it was already anchored by Trystan? In fact, he was more confused on why it wasn't suffering more right now, when he had just announced his engagement to another woman in front of his beloved knight. Logic told him that was because having grown up with the man had brought him to view him as what the original Dimitri had called him, seconds before tragedy struck: a brother.

But that's impossible. Him? trystanisoursaviour555? Not absolutely in love with the arguably even more gorgeous real-life figure? How dare he.

He scoffed quietly at his own comedic thoughts, turning his gaze back from the dark woods to the more populated gardens. Immediately, though, his amusement faded. Because there was the wilder Rozante, laughing at something that Trystan had said. Laughing a little too enthusiastically, like someone with ulterior motives. And of course she had them; when did she not?

Dimitri's eyes narrowed. He knew something was fishy when she had flashed him that plastic smile while giving them her congratulations. Ugh. Was it just him, or wasn't she even more actively a brat now than she was in the story. Especially this early in? Had he done something to speed up her process? Questions he had asked many times before, coming up once again.

But, well, his answer was always the same: who cares?

First Diandra, and now Trystan. It was obvious now, what game she wanted to play; a battle of hearts. Dimitri pushed himself off the balcony's railings, heading back into the thick of the celebrations. Fine, he thought with some determination.

Let Eudora be the way she wants; she was just taking away her own right to complain later on. After all, everyone knows: all is fair in love and war.

 

[neon reverie]

Ch. 1

fests and fortune

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oh embrace that melody of festivity; it flows just for you, ready to free you from your blues. oh, feast upon the sight of lights; so colourful, so bright, your eyes might burn blind. can you catch those smiles wild? don't be afraid to be beguiled.

a festival is all it takes, to soothe those daily aches. a little bit fun during day and night,, so grab your friends; they will enjoy themselves quite.

oh, can you hear that music flow in the air? those joyous sounds travel everywhere !

but there is something else too.

can it be a tune of fortune,,

meant just for you . . .

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[neon reverie]

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let's go besties

Auguste Estate

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eudora

A fluorescence of colours adorns the crown city of Avellan. Spring has arrived, and with it, a playfulness awakens from its winter slumber. No longer are the days and nights awash with somber hues and cold tones; iridescence blooms around as light petals dance amidst soft breezes. Smiles shine brighter as does the sun, and the once muted scenes sing arias of bustling activity once again.

Spring in Avellan always brought something exciting with it; may that be a kaleidoscope of blooming flowers, a gathering of crowds in the streets or delicious springtime produce. Life just seemed lighter and more jubilant during spring.

At least, it is supposed to. . .

Figure slouched back in the velvet couch, the Marchioness lets out a jaded sigh, gaze tilted up towards the ceiling above. A book lies in her lap, one she can not bear to pretend to read any longer, not even for Celestia. Enough time has passed that even white nothingness looks more interesting than the written, philosophical blabbering of a man, and less sleep-inducing too.

To be fair, Eudora should have known a ladies social gathering at the Auguste residence would end up being something as uneventful as a reading session. Her beloved Celestia, after all, loved to read and study. It was partly how she won over Dimitri’s heart in the original; unlike the other girls he’d encountered in his life, including Eudora, her interests were that of education and discovery. A passion for learning all that could be learned and using her knowledge to help others -- because that’s what Celestia is above all. Kind.

Haruna admired that about her, does still, but that does not mean she isn’t dying of boredom right now. Anything to spend time with Celestia, a voice whispers in her head. Except,, any longer of this and she’ll truly fall asleep. And what then? Not only will she not be able to sneak glances over at that stunning figure, an annoying husband might do something as horrible as stealing away her female companions. No, that could not happen.

There should be something else they could do, something more exciting, like a stroll through the city or –

“The festival!” the memory verbalizes itself in an exclamation. Eudora immediately springs up, hands clasping each other. Right, that’s it. The perfect, fun activity. They could even wear disguises for the true, free experience.

Oh, how cute would Diandra look in a light, spring dress…

And how pretty would Celestia look in one too….

A grin spreads on Eudora’s face, and she turns to the other two ladies.

“Ladies, don’t you think it’s too much of a beautiful day to spend inside?” her hand gestures to the window, the sun high and bright amongst blue. “I heard there is a festival today, why don’t we go there? It’d be fun !! Oh, and we can dress up as commoners so we don't need any bothersome guards.”