#(don't tell Myth shhh)

[iron-sparrow]

I don't know if you feel the same as I do but we could be together ⸺

⸺ if you wanted to ♪

feat. @mythandral

[flusteredfools]

Finally got the rough sketches done so now it's time for voting!

Snips from each AU below! Both will eventually be written, this is just for me to know which to focus on first!

Fazrule Fitness Plex:

(Legend of Zelda/Fnaf Crossover world) As a way to promote more interactions among the various Hyrule races, FazCo has opened up a fitness center so all races can bond over sharing their more natural exercise methods and explore new ones. Learn swim methods from Zoras, rock climbing and cave exploration from Gorons, balance and air gliding tricks from the Ritos, learn how to make healthy meals in the Gerudo's bar and relax in the spa or let retired Hylian guards teach you the basics of self defense!

The Fitness Plex seems to have trouble keeping on someone for their mixed species daycare next to the swimming lakes and falls. Something about complaints that watching over the mixed race's young alongside the swim instructors judgmental eyes is just too much to handle...

The Lighthouse Keeper's Keepers:

(sort of Detroit Become Human/Fnaf crossover world)

Sun and Moon have proven their sentience, have gotten married and retired from working at the daycare; letting newer androids take over their old position. They've responded to a job listing in a rather remote village where an old fisherman who cares for the village's almost neglected lighthouse is getting too old to look after himself much less the lighthouse. So they've agreed to the position, both of caring for the fisherman until he passes as well as the lighthouse once he does. The years they spend being caregivers to the fisherman and listening to him tell tales of the Mer he befriended in his youth make Sun and Moon think the poor man must have been losing his mind with age. They never thought that on the day they would be spreading his ashes they would happen upon the myth he befriended.

Secret Third Choice:

Shhh... Is a secret. Very hush hush. But if you can't decide or don't care which... maybe this option is for you.

[ask-unpleasant]

hey chat sorry for the month of inactivity. i was unmotivated to do anything with this blog

but then i looked at some of the art on here and realized that i just lost my love for the character designs. so you know how we're gonna fix that? we're redesigning some characters bayybeeee 😈

starting with the man the myth the legend, here is UNPLEZZIE 2.0

he's probably the only one i had genuine problems with other than not being very aesthetically pleasing. he seemed too boring, his proportions were always a bit wonky, and the way he became more and more simple the more i drew him dumbed him down to just...awkward.

for this redesign, i kept all the features that made him my unpleasant. the only really signature thing i changed was his hair, sorry not sorry he had to fire his barber. i changed his scars to be far less opaque as to not clutter him up (which was the main reason i left them out most of the time), the only drawback is that i'm no longer just scribbling them in with a brush, they're actual geometry, so i cut back on the arms just for my own sake. also his tail now looks (and acts) like an actual docked tail.

next is the QSWX GVCTXMG AMXLSYX VIEPPC FIMRK GVCTXMG GLEVEGXIV SJ XLI CIEV, here is CREEPY 2.0

creepy was probably my least favorite character to draw. its head shape with the hair that always ends off screen, the 4 arms, the lack of any real way to move visible, it has always been a mess of a character. don't get me wrong, creepy is my second favorite character to write for (beaten only by neuro), i love its personality and its inflection, i just never got the chance to show that because i hated drawing it so much.

so for the redesign, i've basically reimagined it. its face hair now has an actual definitive ending, it has a more unique shape, and is just much more expunged-friendly in my opinion. it looks even more like its mom now...

next is this one, i thought she was american. here's PARANORMAL 2.0

i'm gonna be totally honest i have no idea what i was doing when designing para for the first time. that outfit was 100% subconsciously stolen from some other character i can't think of right now. it also really just didn't fit her character at all. also i dont know why i gave her boobs???? what????

anyways for the redesign she's basically a whole new design now. i wanted to play with some shape language. also, para always had a sort of inhuman quality to me, despite her personality, so i've given her inverted eyes and some animalistic features. i guess it adds irony or something, i dunno.

and finally, the moment GERIATRIC CAT you've all been waiting for, UNNERVING 2.0

in truth nervy's design is my favorite. the only gripe i had is the lack of legs, like with creepy. also i had to give her one of the same pride flag ass gradient as the rest so she'd fit in with the rest. other than all that i love her she is perfect just the way she is with minor adjustments

that's all the redesigns done!! i only did these 4 because stabby is not mine to redesign and NEURO is perfect just the way it is. feel free to give me any constructive criticism for these redesigns, i can always tweak em a bit. also the more stripy gradients wont a pattern that follows the contours of the body but rather just unmoving plaid always. i hope this lengthy yap sesh contributed something to something, maybe gave some insight into my characters.

and if you got this far i put a public discord server link in the intro post. you dont gotta ask anymore. dont tell anyone....shhh....*lovingly puts my finger on your lips* *smirks* *bolts away* *gets hit by truck* *instantly fatal*

[underworldboss]

"Let's Separate the Myth from the Gospel Truth..."

"Okay, so, lots of you crazy kids know your Greek mythology, but let me just tell ya straight up: the stories you know are like the results of playin' a game of telephone over thousands of years. Distorted mumbo jumbo! So I'm gonna set the record straight and give you fine people the full and true story of Hades! And this time those pesky Muses aren't gonna misconstrue what I've got to say! So relax, pull up a chair, and grab a bag of Feta Puffs. Let's get this show on the road!

"Back when the world was new, the Titans were running things and really driving everyone's cosmic property value into the dirt. You know the song and dance number, so I'm not repeating it. Cronus was the king of the titans, and he was the most powerful one of them all, controlling the universe with three gems that let him bend time and space to his will. But with great power comes great paranoia. See, he and the other Titans overthrew his dad Uranus to gain power, and the Fates gave him a prophecy warning him that his own kids would do the same thing to him.

"Well, as my rotten luck would have it, my mother, Cronus's wife Rhea, was pregnant with me at the time, and Cronus's solution to that prophecy was to swallow me whole so that I could never usurp him. And my mother just let it happen! She just drank lots and lots of wine to make herself forget about the atrocities she was party to (don't think I've ever see her sober). Cronus did the same thing to my brother Poseidon and the other children of the Titans, the future gods. And yeah, I know your myths say that all the gods are related to me, but that's just another example of mythology telephone. We were in my daddy dearest's stomach together, but Poseidon and Zeus were my only blood related siblings.

"But then along came Zeus. Apparently, Rhea grew a conscience after letting her first two kids get eaten by their father, and so she used her magic to make a rock look like Zeus and fed that to Cronus instead. Can you believe her? Doesn't give a satyr's ass about me or Po-Po, but her golden boy Zeus was just a smidge too far. Mother of the year right there. Well Zeus grew up in secret and trained for years to defeat Cronus, and then he came back, gave Cronus a potion to make him up-chuck, and well... you get the gist. Suffice to say I was free at last.

"And okay, lemme just address this one thing right here: I am the first born son of Cronus and Rhea, but I was the last god freed from Cronus's stomach, which is why Zeus calls me his little brother... Also because me being younger helped legitimize him taking the throne for himself, but I'm getting ahead of myself. So me and my fellow former contents of Cronus's stomach join forces with Zeus, and the Titanomachy war breaks out. Big fight, lots of lightning booga-booga, and, hey, I hedge my bets by double dealing with both sides under Zeus and Cronus's noses, but the gods win in the end.

"Zeus defeated Cronus in battle and banished him to spend eternity locked away in Tartarus. He then took the Gems of Cronus and scattered them across the cosmos, hoping they'd be lost forever... except the one he kept locked away on Olympus for a rainy day, but shhh, you're not supposed to know about that one. The other Titans got locked away in Tartarus too, except for, get this, Rhea. I wanted to lock her up and throw away the key, but Zeus had a soft spot for mommy dearest and just banished her to a cosmic golf course retirement villa. Oy, it still BURNS me up that she got off scot-free.

"Well, Zeusy names himself King of Mount Olympus even though it should have been MY gig, but the other gods supported him, so, hey, what'cha gonna do? Bolt Boy starts delegating jobs for all the gods, and in his infinite wisdom, he sticks me with the Underworld to be the Titans' jailer and keep track of the dead people. Sound like fun? No it isn't. And let me just tell ya, the Underworld was a PIGSTY when I got it dumped on me. The plumbing problems with the five rivers? Forget about it! But you're not here to listen to me kvetch. Suffice to say, I start plotting to take Olympus for myself from that moment forward.

"The Underworld job came with two 'perks', if you can call 'em that: a pair of imps, Pain and Panic, to be my personal servants. And, hey, they're not the best minions, but at least they were housebroken. Gave me someone to talk to and FRY when things went wrong. But it was a lonely life down under, bein' far away from the other gods on Olympus, and a god has needs, if you know what I mean. It was time to find myself a wife to be Queen of the Underworld by my side, and that's when I saw her: Persephone.

"Persephone was a total knockout and the Goddess of Spring, Demeter's daughter. You'd get a flare up just lookin' at her. Now, see, she didn't want anything to do with me since she was so wrapped up in her hippie nature lovin' shtick, so I tried everything to get her attention. I chained myself to a giant olive tree to keep it from gettin' chopped down - nothin'! I had Pain and Panic pose as cute helpless animals in distress so that I could 'save' them - nada! So, I decided, hey, why try to be someone else? I'll just go with my strengths, namely being evil. So I kidnapped her and dragged her down to the Underworld.

"Now I know how that sounds, but it wasn't so bad. I built her a mansion in the Underworld on Styx front property, and that was NOT cheap! But I found somethin' out real quick after I started livin' with that girl: she was annoying. Total militant vegan annoying. She threw out all my red meat, started tryin' to hook the Underworld up with green energy, and nagged me constantly about goin' 'Cruelty Free." ME! The Lord of the DEAD! Oy, romance was NOT everything it was cracked up to be. I was THIS close to kicking her out and sending her back to Demeter...

"...But then along came Zeus... and Hermes and Demeter. Apparently kidnapping 'Seph triggered an eternal winter up above, and, hey, who am I to say no to the world above dying? Zeus said I had to give Persephone back to her mother, because of course he had to stick his big orange nose where it didn't belong. No way was I gonna let Bolt Boy boss me around this time, and when I was doin' my home improvements in the Underworld, I found a little somethin' special to give me what I wanted...

"Erebus. The most ancient of all darkness. That stuff was old when my dad was King of Olympus. Do NOT touch it! Erebus has an appetite that puts Ursula to shame. It can eat through a universe if you get enough of it! After Zeus and Demeter annulled my shotgun wedding to Persephone, I tried to use the Erebus to keep her there. A handful of pomegranate seeds imbued with raw Erebus would've made 'Seph toxic to any place outside of the Underworld. Zeusy would've had no choice but to make her stay in the Underworld. It was all so perfectly planned.

"Unfortunately, Zeus caught wind of my plan. Before she could eat the seeds, Zeus pushed me and the seeds into the Phlegethon to 'save' Persephone. Never mind what that all-infused mineral bath did to his 'baby brother.' But, hey, some cosmetic changes end up bein' for the best. Wouldn't have my fiery hair without it! They took Persephone, high tailed it outta there, and now Demeter does the whole winter thing once a year to commemorate the occasion or somethin'. So needless to say, I HATE spring because it reminds me of my ex-wife. Moving on.

"After Zeus dunked me in the River of Fire, I decided that I'd put off my schemes of conquest for too long. Went ahead and made an alliance with Echidna so that she and her many many kids would join my team for the uprising. She even gave me a puppy to guard the Underworld as a show of good faith, and, boom, that's how I got Cerberus. I also made an appointment with the Fates to get the dish on how best to overthrow Zeusy-High-and-Mighty! They revealed that in eighteen years, when the planets aligned, I could free the Titans and topple Olympus with their help, but with one big catch: Zeus's little sun spot kid Hercules could muck up my hostile takeover bid.

"I had a special potion tucked away for a rainy day that could turn gods mortal, and trust me, it wasn't cheap to get it. It only worked on gods who hadn't come into their full power yet, which made it perfecto for the bouncing baby brat. I sent Pain and Panic to kidnap the kid and turn him mortal, but, of course, they BOTCHED THE JOB! He didn't drink the last drop and retained his godlike strength, and they didn't kill him!

"Now the timeline here gets a little fuzzy for me. Had a bad run in with some Lethe Water at some point during Hercules's teenage years. But once I figured out Jerkules was alive, I started hatching a bunch of different schemes to hedge my bets and take control of Olympus. None of 'em panned out, but ya can't blame a guy for tryin'. Met Jafar for the first time during that time period, and he helped fill in some blanks later on. But, basically, had a run in with Lethe Water at some point, lost all memory of Jerkules bein' alive, and went right back to blissfully settin' things up for the prophecy.

"I invested in a new minion at the time, a girl named Megara. She desperately sold her soul to me to save her boyfriend's life, and, look, I'm not sayin' I made him abandon her, but it sure cleared her schedule up havin' him gone. Of course, it wasn't long after that when I found out Jerkules was alive and well again. I threw everything I had at the kid, but he just wouldn't DIE! So I tried a different approach: I threw Meg at 'im. And he fell for the girl, hook, line, and sinker.

"I used Meg as leverage to take Wonder Boy off the board, and then I finally released the Titans and defeated Zeus! What we in the biz call a two-for-one special! Power was MINE at LAST! ... For about ten minutes! We tripped at the finish line because little Nutmeg had to go all noble! She sacrificed herself to save Herc, then he sacrificed HIMSELF to save HER, and all my plans just sorta fell apart, ending in me getting knocked into the Styx by Jerkules.

"But, hey, I got outta there with a little help from my old friend, Jafar. You can't keep the Lord of the Dead down, and the devil's always gonna get his dues! Bolt Boy and his little sun spot better start countin' their days, because I've got a hot spot reserved for both of them DOWN UNDER!"

[sunflowersandforgetmenots]

A Bond Like No Other ~ Werewolf Kassandra x Reader

You’ve known Kassandra all your life. She was your closest friend, your greatest encourager, your strongest desire. You kept her secret faithfully, knowing that other mercenaries would jump at the chance to hunt down a Lycan. But the night before a full moon, Kassandra doesn’t feel well at all, and she’s left alone in your care. And her own desire isn’t being held back.

RAGH I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm SO sorry this took so long!!!!! I just wasn't feeling it for a while and now I will be able to write other stuff!!!! I hope you all like it!!!!!!

Note: Please don't tag this as Furry or other related stuff. I am uncomfortable with NSFW Furry stuff. This is monsterfucking. Thank you

Potential CW: Drawing blood

Tagging: Werewolf, size difference, voice kink, Switch Kassandra, Switch Reader, Monsterfucking, Attempted Knotting (if you squint), overstimulation (mentioned)

Word Count: 4973

               Kassandra of Sparta was a beast. Not just on the battlefield and, if rumors were to be believed, not just in the bedroom. No, the misthios from Kephallonia was literally a beast of myth and legend. A human that, during the full moon, unwillingly changes her form to that of a wolflike beast. A lycan. A bloodthirsty werewolf. Something that would shake the knees of even the burliest of soldiers.

               But here she was, sprawled out on the floor of your living space, nude and asleep. How she had gotten out of the room you lent to her; you had no idea. If she had killed anything or anyone, that you also had no idea about. As soon as you had come down into the living space, your hand slapped over your eyes. Now, you’re slapping around for a blanket or a rug to toss over her to keep her decency. (Though you had dreamed about seeing her naked, you have hoped before that it wasn’t when she was passed out from exhaustion.)

               You find one, a thicker blanket meant for the winter months, and you toss it over her. Finally, you remove your hands from your eyes and examine the room for any damage. The table is cracked, and the door to the room she stays in during the full moon was torn off the hinges entirely the night before. Surprisingly, however, there are no trails of blood, there is no damage outside. Did she not leave the night before? What did she do?

               “Kassandra.” As you nudge her with your foot, she groans, rolling onto her side. Her hair is loose and tangled, face covered in drool, and your heart skips a beat because of it. “Wake up. You broke my door again.”

               “Shhh… you are so loud, (Y/N).” She grumbles, hiding her face with her forearms.

               “You destroyed my door!”

               “And I will have it fixed, spitfire. Come lay down with me.” She shoots you a sleepy grin, peeking up at you. She’s lucky she’s charmed you already. If you were any less in love with her, she would be paying for far more than just the door at this point.

               You settle down next to her, laying flat on your back to look up at the ceiling. You feel her fingers brush against yours for a moment, and as you look over, you are very starkly reminded that Kassandra is naked underneath blanket you draped her with.

               She’s looking at you, and those brown eyes are ringed with gold even after her transformation. The look is intense and makes your face flush. You turn away, heart pounding, and you hope that the next month she comes to your little abode, you’ll have the courage to tell her how you feel.

                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               Kassandra does have your door fixed, but no explanations for you. She had left, only leaving you with a quick hug, money for the door and the room (though you insist that it’s not renting), and the broken door. You had watched her from your step, her tall form slowly disappearing into town where the Adrestia was docked. Then you turned back into your home to clean up, kicking yourself for not confessing.

                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               “Chaire, my friend!” Kassandra is beaming as you open the door for her. In her arms is a chest, small, though it seems to be heavy. “I’ve brought you gifts!”

               You look at the box warily, closing the door behind her as she sets it down on the table. “Gifts? Why? Did you do something?”

               “Must you always think that I’ve gotten myself into trouble, (Y/N)?” She laughs a bit. “Come open it, I promise, it’s just a gift. Another thank you for taking care of me and putting your life at risk.”

               Your heart melts a bit, though you frown. You’ve talked to Kassandra about this before, that for some reason she’s never even growled at you, much less threatened you, so there was no reason for her to fear for your safety in her presence. It weighs on her, being a lycan, and you know that the only reason she kept the Adrestia and her family near her is because she has a safe place to stay during the full moons, far from people and her friends and family. Except for you.

               Despite this back and forth, her insistence of her danger and your return of her safety, you accept her gifts. They were signs of her affection for you, though platonic, and you know it brings her comfort that you are being paid for your service to her, though you see it as a favor more than anything.

               “Fine.” You sigh, sitting across from her. You flip the box latches open, the wood creaking as you let the lip drop. “Oh my gods.”

               Inside is the most beautiful tapestry you’ve ever seen. You’re a weaver, and you pride yourself on your work, but that means your home is covered in fabrics of your own creation and of others’. The collection was sizeable and it seems that Kassandra has brought you the crown jewel of them all. As you hold it out, it shimmers in the sunlight. Depicted upon it was the tale of Eros and Psyche, beautifully designed and woven in a way that made you nearly swoon.

               “Kassandra, this is…” You run your hand over it gently, then look up at her. “This is beautiful!”

               “Only the best.” She says in response. As your arms toss around her neck, squeezing her tight in a grateful hug, she holds you back, strong arms wrapping around your waist. She presses her face into your neck, picking you up a bit as she normally does when the two of you hug.

               Then you feel her sniff, pressing her nose against your skin and taking a deep smell of you. Her hands grip you just a bit tighter, sharp nails digging into your hips painlessly. There’s a rumble in her chest, and if she wasn’t literally a dog-person, you would say that she’s purring.

               “Kass? You… You okay?” There’s no fear, only confusion, but the stutter in your voice must have scared her. She sets you down quickly, taking a step back.

               “Are you okay? I don’t know what came over me, fuck.” She curses, looking over you worriedly but not reaching out to you at all. Instead, her hands are fidgeting, running through her hair, twitching a bit, and her foot taps.

               “I’m fine!” You insist. “You didn’t hurt me.” You step forward, causing her to step back. “Kassandra.” Another step, another backstep.

               “I can’t control myself well building up to full moons, I should have been more careful. Let my instincts take over.” She moves around the chair she was sitting in, not letting you touch her at all. “I’m sorry, (Y/N), even if I didn’t hurt you.”

               “You didn’t even upset me, Kassandra. Will you please, let me be a good friend and comfort you?”

               “If I give in, I might start turning early.” She says, though she stops in her tracks despite her slight protest. Even in her armor, so tall and big as she is, Kassandra looks nervous, like she is much smaller than she was. Whatever she is worried about, it’s something that the ever-confident misthios couldn’t fight with her own will alone. It worries you, but you can’t let her see that, it might make her run off to the room before you can actually spend any time with her.

               “What does your instinct want you to do then?” You ask, keeping your distance for her comfort. “I promise, you won’t hurt me. And if your instinct wants you to hurt me, we can go ahead and get the room ready, and we can talk in the morning about it. I’m not afraid of you, but I want you to feel safe and comfortable when you change.”

               The expression you get in return of your little speech is one of surprise and, you notice with joy, relief. Her shoulders relax and her hangs a bit, much like a puppy who might be in trouble.

               “I don’t want to hurt you, in any way. But I do fear that what I want… might hurt you on accident.” There’s something under her tone that sends a thrill down your spine to a spot you now try to ignore. Her eyes are slightly glazed over, like whatever she was thinking about was too distracting, and there was only one thing that you could think might be what she wants.

               “And what is that?” You step forward, and this time, she doesn’t move backward. She watches you, and now both of you are aware of the obvious tension in the air. Her eyes flick down over you before meeting your gaze, slowing over your curves as she does so. Her teeth are sharper, nails already starting to turn into claws as she starts to give into whatever desire she had.

               “I want you.” She breathes out. “I want you to be my mate, I want to be yours. I want…” You see her press her thighs together. You can’t help but breathe a little harder as you get closer. “I want you to crawl into my bed and stay there until I’m satisfied. But I might lose control. I look different when I’m transforming, when I’m transformed. Do you really want that risk?”

               You’re standing in front of her now, only half a foot away. If you get any closer, you might not even make it to her bed.

               “For you? I would risk everything.”

               That consent, that resounding ‘yes’ to her desire, seems to snap the last bit of resolve she has. You crash into each other, hands roaming like you were on a time limit to hold each other like this. Your lips press into each other, messy and rough, more teeth than lip. Her hands, so strong and capable, scoop you up under your thighs to carry you into the room she stays in.

               A whine escapes you as she pulls away, tossing you onto the bed that’s much more a pile of blankets and pillows so she can close the door. Then she’s back to you, on top of you now, pressing her lips to your neck and throat, barely skimming her teeth over your skin. You want to warn her to be careful, to make sure that no blood is drawn to avoid cursing you, but you hesitate. Does she want to be in charge, or…

               You take the risk. Tangling your hand in her braid, against her scalp, you tug her head back to look you in the eyes. You sit up, and to your amazement, Kassandra follows submissively, expression quickly changing into surprise and a tinge of excitement.

               You hover your lips over hers, holding her back to keep her from reaching your lips. “No biting, Kassie.” The husk of your tone surprises both of you, but neither of you seem disappointed. “You want me in your bed until you get what you’re satisfied? You have to be a good girl.”

               The last two words have her straightening her back, and she nods as much as she can against the firm grip you have on her. You let go, and she carefully goes back to your throat, kissing and sucking on the skin now instead of near biting. You praise her, noting that the words have her rut against the bed a bit. You praise her again, voice soft and sweet, and she lets out a little moan. Her claws dig into your hips a bit, and you wrap your legs around her hips, pulling her in.

               “There’s….” She pants out. “There’s an olisbos in my.. in my bag.”

               “Then go get it.” You encourage, untangling from her. The moment you do, she’s running for her bag she left in the living space, and you hear her armor drop carelessly to the floor. When she returns, she’s in her chiton, short and stained from countless battles, and she’s holding a black phallus in her hand, along with some kind of belt. Her eyes, now golden, are blown out, teeth and claws dangerously sharp, features shifting to a more wolfish form, and her skin is taking on a greyish tinge. She was close to transforming, but this, whatever this was, was keeping her semi human.

               “Good job.” You coo, and she grins at you, rejoining you on the bed. The olisbos and belt are set on the side table and she kneels between your legs obediently.

               “What… what do you want me to do now?” She’s shying now, clearly a bit out of her element with this submission, but luckily for her, you were just as floundering as she was.

               But there was something in your brain that knows what it wants, knows how to handle this, and so your hands slide up her arms teasingly. “If you’re careful with your teeth…” Her ears perk up. She’s already so wolflike in appearance and behavior, and it makes you feel a little more daring. She was being so… obedient, something you had previously thought wouldn’t appear in the bedroom. You take the risk. “You can eat me out…” It came out shyer than you intended, but it’s enough to have Kassandra taking action.

               Her hands slip under your chiton, ripping it off you in a smooth ripping motion. You protest slightly, moving to close your legs, but you earn a growl from her, her lips already pressing against your stomach. She slips off your undergarments, being a bit more careful with her claws. Kassandra rumbles a bit, pressing a kiss to the skin of your hip, sucking gently to leave a mark. A whine escapes you as her claws run down the inside of your thighs.

               “Kass…” The breath leaves you in short bursts, you curl your hands into the blankets, sitting up on your elbows to watch her descent upon you. Gold eyes lock onto yours as you can feel her breath against your wet heat. They were intense, glowing in the afternoon light that streams through the window.

               “You smell perfect.” She says, voice low and warped, closer to growling than actually speaking. You pray to the gods that she doesn’t notice it causes you more arousal, finding the fact that her voice can turn you on first of all embarrassing, and second of all, ammo for Kassandra to use against you.

               “Go on.” You urge, using a hand to pet her cheek. “Pretty Kass…”

               Another rumble from your werewolf, then she finally goes down, swiping her tongue flat against you. Your back arches a bit, and you whine from the pleasure. It felt like electricity, to finally be touched by her like this. You feel her tongue enter your folds, shallowly running between them. You feel her groan, like your taste got her off all on its own.

               The short flicks of her tongue set your nerves on fire, sending shocks up your spine to make you gently cry out her name and praises as she carefully eats you out. She was being so careful with you, her teeth only barely graze you occasionally. Her hips shift behind her, and your gaze meets, two sets of eyes both heavy with arousal.

               “Come up…” You bade her to come closer, despite your own dripping cunt, because you know she needs relief far more than you do. “Come on, Kassie.” Your hands cup her cheeks as she pulls away just enough, the wetness on her mouth and chin glistening in the evening sun. You pull her up, guiding her over you.

               You kiss her, delightfully tasting your own bittersweet nectar, and she kisses back eagerly, the wolf woman pressing you into the blankets and sheets. Kassandra groans against your mouth, and you shift your leg.

               “You wanna get off, pretty girl?” Your breath is heavy, overtaking your voice in a way that makes it come off as more domineering than you were really expecting you can do. She nods, whining into your hair.

               Her hands roam your body, pressing you into her body while she tries to find friction. “(Y/N)…” She groans, pressing her face into your cheek before you slither away, propping yourself against the wall of pillows. “No…” The look she gives you as you separate is near heartbreaking, but despite that, you take in her appearance.

               She’s half transformed, face a strangely alluring combination of human and wolf. Her skin is tinging grey, fingers elongated into claws, already large form slightly larger. Her golden eyes are blown out still, staring at you with the saddest puppy eyes in the whole world. You position your legs comfortably, running your hands down your front to rest on your thighs.

               “Right here, Kassie.” You hum, patting your left thigh. “Sit here, and we can both get off. Does that sound okay?”

               “More than okay.” She whispers, moving over quickly to take the position you offered her, stripping her clothes off along the way. You move your hands, resting them on the slightly furry surface of her thighs and hips. Her knee presses against your warmth, making you sigh at the pressure. “I am… not crushing you?” The words seem to take a lot of effort from her, and you tap her thighs gently.

               “You’re not crushing me, Kassandra.” You assure her, stroking her skin before running your hands up over her stomach, her chest, her neck, finally stopping at the sides of her head. You have to sit up slightly, reaching as far as you can to do so. “Are you okay? We don’t have to do this. I don’t want to… take advantage of this.”

               “You’re… not.” She shakes her head. “I want this.” She leans over you, pushing you back into the pillows, pushing her own hips against your thigh and making her shudder. “This… it’s so good.” The misthios whines, continuing her ministrations with increasing enthusiasm, her leg pressing into you in the same rhythm her ruts take on. “I want… to take you. To ruin you. Make you beg for me… but it’s so nice, just to have this…” She punctuates her words with soft whines and moans, pressing her lips and tongue and teeth against your neck, against your throat. “To do what you want. I can do more.” She insists, nibbling on your ear in a way that has you shuddering against her.

               The pressure between your legs and in your abdomen build, making you tense your legs and try to squeeze them tight to no avail. The werewolf on top of you chases her pleasure, leaving you senseless in the wake of her rocking thigh and her wandering mouth. You were close, and Kassandra knew it, with her lips pressed against your collarbone. Her hands grip your hips, keeping you still despite your pleasured squirming. But you want her to come first. You want to see her unravel on top of you, to focus on herself for once.

               You reach up despite the growing haze and grab her by her chin. The motion makes her pause and you take the advantage to use your other hand to brush her hands off your hips. A pillow falls to the floor as you shift, moving away from her leg pressed against your cunt, but keeping hers against your thigh. You bump your leg up, pressing into her more, and take your free hand to slither between your skin and her warmth. Two of your fingers press into her slowly and stay there, butt of your palm against her clit.

               She arches her back, looking down at you with clouded eyes. She groans, low in her throat, and you pull her down to rest her forehead against yours, still gripping onto her chin. You know she can break it if she wants. You know that she won’t. Kassandra holds herself up with her arms on either side of you, staying still as she waits.

               “Cum on my fingers, Kassie.” You whisper to her. “Be a good girl and chase your own pleasure.”

               She whines once more, deep, low, and long. Nevertheless, she rocks her hips, gasping and moaning out garbled curses and versions of your name. Her walls squeeze around your fingers, warm as her wetness drips down your hand and thigh. You glance down between the two of you, watching as she grinds against your hand.

               As she finishes, legs tightening around your thigh, panting in your ear, you pump your fingers in and out of her in rapid succession, pushing her through her orgasm. The sun finally dips below the horizon with perfect timing, the room finally going dark as you slip your fingers out of her and lick them clean. She stays above you, breathing heavily.

               “You did such a good job.” You assure, petting her face, watching the slow change of her face.

               “I want…” She pants out, reaching behind her with a clawed hand, pawing for the olisbos and it’s attached belt. “To make you feel that… ten… ten times over.” Her voice is so deep it’s nearly a growl, and she uses the last bit of her concentration to fix the phallus onto her hips.

               No… that wasn’t the last bit. She leans forward, kisses you tenderly on the forehead, and points to the set of drawers next to the bed. “Silver… in there… just… just in case.” She’s sweating a bit, eyebrows screwed up in concentration. There’s no point in fighting her on this point. You nod and pet her cheek.

               “Take me, Kassandra.”

               She surges forward, adjusting quickly to kneel between your legs and split them open. She looks more wolf than woman, but you still see her in there, beneath the changes. She grins at you, her normal, heartwarming grin, and pushes her full length into your warmth.

               You cry out as she fills you out, pressing the back of your hand to your mouth and holding onto her arm as though it would steady you. Thank the gods she has enough sense in this form to wait, sniffing at your face and cheek with a gentle concern. You wrap your arms around her neck and shoulders, pressing your forehead into her neck, and she thrusts into you in an exploratory way. After a few of those gentle thrusts, when you have no complaints other than a very gentle “Please”, she thrusts into your cunt with vigor, pounding into you with enthusiasm.

               Your hold on for dear life, digging your nails into her skin, feeling the fur under your fingers and against your front, the long olisbos drilling into you. It hits deep inside of you, stretching your opening out in a sweet and painful way.

               “Ah- Kass-“ Your moans ring out through the little room, likely carrying out through the window. Already, the thought of neighbors was slipping through your mind. You grip tighter onto her, being pierced through by her cock over and over again.

               She grabs your hands, forcing you to stay on your back as she sits above you, rocking her hips into yours in a perfect, steady rhythm. Her hands, her claws, grip onto the soft under of your thigh and lifting it to rest your calf on her shoulder. She angles you, pushing you onto your side to split you open more, drive into you more. The base of the olisbos meets your opening, making you squeeze around it as you prop yourself up just a little bit, reaching for the hand at your hip.

               She growls a little, and it startles you, making you pull your hand back, but before you can, she grabs your fingers, holding onto them tightly as she thrusts into you. She leans forward a bit, stretching your leg out just to kiss the tips of your fingers. Her kisses aren’t soft anymore, more teeth than lip, but just the press of the two of them together makes you sigh happily, relaxing into the mattress as she fucks you.

               You reach your first orgasm with a crash, squeezing your walls around her with a loud moan. You tense, squirming as the previously lost crest finds you again, and the force of it, the way that Kassandra speeds up to fuck you through your orgasm, makes you hazy as you come down, moaning and going nearly limp in her grasp. You press your face into the pillows, overwhelmed by the feeling.

               The werewolf bringing you to this point pulls out of you, leaving you empty and dripping and cold. She says nothing, merely cooing and pushing you onto your front. She lifts up your hips, bending down to nose at your entrance.

               Her tongue, warm and alarmingly human laps at your cunt, catching the dripping wetness from your orgasm and devouring it. After she essentially cleans you, she rises up again, pressing the olisbos against your cunt.

               You turn your head to look at her over your shoulder, starting to prop yourself up on her arms. Your actions are met with a soft growl, and she pushes between your shoulderblades, pushing you back down into the mattress.

               “Stay.” She growls out.

               “Kass…” You moan, pressing your hips back against her in an attempt to goad her instincts. You need her in you, you need her to take you viciously. She takes the bait eagerly, bending over you to fuck you properly into the mattress. Her teeth press against your shoulder, against your nape, against your face as she slams the olisbos into your warmth. Her nails dig into your hips drawing a bit of blood, but the pain makes it all the sweeter as you gush around the smooth stone of the olisbos.

               She holds you down, her weight on top of you keeping you in place as she keeps her brutal pace. You rock back with all you can, trying to meet her halfway, and the futile efforts of moving urges her on more, groping at your bleeding hips, your shaking thighs, your quivering chest. You note, just barely through your blissed out haze, that she focuses a lot of her attention onto your chest, holding you close to her own by grabbing at your soft skin.

               Kassandra growls into your ear, her pants growing louder. She presses you into the bed with more of her weight, slowing down but not letting up on the force of her thrusts. It was too much, the sensory overload of the noises she’s making and the warmth of her transformed body distracting you from just how many times you had cum from this onslaught of pleasure. You feel wetness on your cheeks as you turn your head to rest your cheek into the pillow. You can’t feel your legs anymore, you can barely feel the rest of your body as the werewolf on top of you claims you over and over again. But it's perfect. It’s exactly what you wanted, what she needed. The complaints of the pain will come in the morning, but right now, it was the only thing you could ever ask for.

               Then, the onslaught stops, Kassandra pressed hilt deep into your weeping cunt as she grinds into you slowly. Her mouth opens, resting her sharp teeth on the side of your throat as her hips twitch. You freeze, keeping as still as you can as your lover rides out her orgasm, growls slowly fading away as she comes down.

               She doesn’t pull out of you, though her teeth are removed from your throat. She nuzzles into your face, cooing softly at you with a garbled, twisted up voice. “Perfect… mine.” Kassandra rumbles, holding you close as she flops to the side. She slips out of you a bit, but with enough finagling, she finds a position to keep you close, to keep herself sheathed into her warmth.

               You lay on top of her, head resting on her furred shoulder and straddling her hips. A blanket is draped over the both of you, though the warmth from the misthios under you has a thought of ‘too warm’ drift through your hazy mind.

               You wake the next morning naked, sticky, and hot. You lift your head, blinking blearily in the sunlight streaming through the window. Kassandra snores from underneath you, human now, and her arms fall from around your waist as you sit up.

               The blanket slides off of your shoulders easily, and you shift to take it off completely, only to be starkly reminded of the thick object still pressed all the way inside of you. Still sore, you wince as you slide off, face burning. It glistens with the wetness of your spend last night, and as you look at Kassandra, sweaty, muscled, handsome with the olisbos still secured to her hips, a very stupid part of your brain urges you to clean it off with your tongue and give her a surprise.

               Instead, you poke her shoulder and face, earning a grunt and two strong hands grabbing your shoulders and pulling you in, rolling to keep you against her chest.

               “Kassandra-!”

               “As I said last month, (Y/N), you are so loud.” She whines, pressing her nose into your throat. “Lay with me a bit longer, my love.” Your silence and the heat of your face cause her to laugh. “Just a bit longer, then we can bathe. How does that sound? A bath and a massage for those perfect legs and hips?”

               You huff and roll your eyes, affection building in your chest. She loves you. This wasn’t a one-time thing because she loves you. You muster all of your affection, love, and patience into your next sentence.

“Stop flirting and go back to sleep, you big dog.”

[grace-bladee]

living with Technoblade

Tw: abuse, fighting , sexual relationship

-WHEN HE STARED TO BE ABUSIVE-

Grace was walking home with her Best friend Puffy. " so Grace how are you and Technoblade? " Puffy asked Grace as she stops walking" Well... We are doing alright ...I think... " Grace said as she mumbles the last two words. They get to Graces and Technoblades house. Puffy said goodbye and walks to her home . Grace walks inside The house and locks the door behind her. She sees her boyfriend on the couch reading a book about myths and legends. She sat next to him looking at him waiting for a ' hello ' or a' kiss '

" Hon...Are you alright... " Grace said quietly as she places a hand on his shoulder . " Get of me " He said taking her hand and pulls it away from him. " ...I- what did I do??i- B-baby ... " she said quietly . He looks at her with his red eyes and Stands up and leaves the room and goes to the bedroom and slams the door shut. She jumps and goes to check on him " Baby? Are you mad at me...Please tell me what I did so I can make it up to you .. " she said but in a flash of light ...

He slapped her so hard that she started crying.

" Why the fuc!k are you hanging out with Quackity! I told you NOT to talk or even Look at him " he said throwing his hands to her face again slapping her " ..I was with Puffy?! " she said quietly as she crys and holds her cheek in pain.

she did hang out with Quackity before Puffy took her away to hang out.

" Before FUCKING puffy !!! " He said as he takes her hands of her face and slaps her again.

" He is my friend!! Can't I be friends with him !? " she shouted back at him. " NO YOU FUCKING CAN'T !! YOUR FUCKING SAID YOU PROMISE ME TO NEVER NEVER GO NEAR HIM " He pins her to the wall as she crys out tears harder " I didn't want to hurt you but you broke a promise .... " He stops pining her and takes his blet off.

" i -i- techno ....pl-please don't do this !! I won't do it again!! ... " she said shaking and crying out for him not to hurt her . He lifts up his blet and hits her bear legs again and again and again......

She cried for hours and hours in pain and hides her face in the blanket he stoped after a while ....

He gets in the bed as she cried ...he did feel bad but at the same time didn't.

" stop crying ..... " he said as he puts a arm around her waist and pulls her closer.

".....get ....of ..me !? " she said trying to get out his grip but he didn't let her . He turned her around to face him . He wips the tears and kissez her head " Shhh..... Just forget about it... "

[tomster1274]

I can't keep this in longer anymore. I made ANOTHA mandela au, that's like a thousand now. Anygoo.

SO SO SO.

WHat if. Whatt if. What if the Gabriel and alternate happenings weren't actually real?

You see. In this AU, neither of them exist, only the actual biblical figure of the angel Gabriel and not the Satan version lol. Instead, it's regular murders being covered by lies and delusions.

We are focusing on about FOUR events that are loosely connected together, not really, but shhh.

The FIRST is the murder of Mark Heathcliff. Him and Cesar Torres got into a fight where Mark proclaimed he was no longer Cesar's friend, and Cesar got so heartbroken over it, he went to Mark's house and stabbed him to death, but unfortunately, he persuaded himself he didn't murder Mark, it was An Intruder of some kind. And he's kept up the story so well, he believes that's what truly happened, most likely because of his heartbreak and the stress of murdering another person, even though evidence shows he killed Mark, and he was sent to a mental hospital for his obvious delusions in thinking he didn't kill Mark and that it was a home intruder.

The second was a mother, Lynn Murray, who was undergoing stress from her recent divorce with her husband Jude, and couldn't handle the crying of her baby Adam and so strangled him with a pillow and buried him in her backyard, where she then took plenty of pills and called the police, claiming her baby was taken by a man she saw on the TV. Her dead baby was easily found buried by dogs, and the cause of death was easily found, though she also stuck to her story of a man on TV taking her baby most likely from delusions from the overdose of pills. She also was sent to a mental hospital where she unfortunately killed herself from falling off a high place to seemingly join her missing infant from notes she wrote.

The third is O'Brian, who was heavily a man of God and a priest, and started to hear voices telling him they were from the angel Gabriel, and told him to do things like harass his friend Dave into trying to cone to church, before it finally told him to force Dave to come to the church so Brian could blind him for his sins against God, which he did convince Dave to come when it was all closed up and stabbed him in the eyes, killing him from blood loss. The body was found days later when church resumed just sitting on one of the bench, and O'Brian told police what he did but said that it was because Gabriel told him to and how could he say no? He was sent to prison.

Lastly, there's the case of Jonah Marshall and his friend Adam Mullay. Adam and Jonah were best friends, and were in a club of their own they called "BPS", where they went out to usually abandoned places to see if they could catch ghosts. One day, they got into an argument where Jonah mentioned Adam's dead mother and effectively angered Adam enough to crash the car and kill Jonah but not himself miraculously, and he called for 911. He made up the story that they saw something inhuman on the road and he accidentally crashed them, which unfortunately the public had to believe because even if the inhuman part is kinda silly, the whole seeing something on the road and crashing was believable. He's the only one not in any kind of prison or etc.

What connects two of these cases is Cesar described this intruder and police publicly showed the sketch before finding the evidence Cesar killed Mark, which the mother took inspiration from the sketch when describing the man. The other two aren't exactly related to any of the others though.

What's the kicker about them though is the cases got popular in Mandela County, sparking panic about men on TVs or home intruders who don't look exactly human, but eventually the panic died down and these stories become somewhat of living myths, even if some people believe still thete WAS that home intruder or etc.

[mythicalmyles]

"you little slut...you fucking love this don't you? you're getting off on this aren't you, mm. you're fucking gagging for it boy."

can you tell it is late and i am in horny shambles? because i am in horny shambles myth

– 💤 anon

God n ur just sitting there whimpering as the man twice ur size plays with your cock. “Shhh goodboy, dont want everyone on the bus knowing youre a little cockslut?”

[orchidbutch]

shhh notifications don't tell me i'm waking up in nine hours. i'm making a list of associations for a JJK-verse legendary figure the normal humans got a hold of and make a whole series of rituals and myths and shit around. that's what i'm doing right now

[zoerocksand1]

thinking about one of my characters (one of my favorites- SHHH! Don't tell them i have favorites!!)

She's gonna be in a far distant comic, i have to get through a few other stories and introduce a few other characters first, before it's her turn

but i think i might just write a full fairy tale for her?? about her?????

this won't be her comic, overall, but her world needs myth and magic, it'll be a story within her story (also im rewatching ouat again so there's that too)

It will be called The King and The Witch

[selenophile-toska-hiraeth]

Milenials lived there life on the rules of their parents and inherited these beautiful myths and mind-boggling rules from em' and then they grew and learnt up communication and using internet like things(and the feature of 20th century they loved most was copy-pasting, omggg don't tell me you got there without even reading further...still move on and continue, ahh that's what we all do?!!) and started believing that they have begun to become cool dudes and would be great parents so they f*cked up and created puppets. Since we all know they are cool dudes they know much better for us and all the things they have experienced and learnt till date they started copy-pasting them(ahh you see their fav thing..they like to do it so they do it everytime) on their puppets(ya that's the name I can think of) and made them dance on their fingers.

Then came our beautiful society..ohh myyy god I can't emphasize how much I love this society thing, they give us both humour and trauma simultaneously (so much talented people around us?? Right?? U knew that before huh??!!) They have nose like us but the funny thing is that it is never there where it is supposed to be and always there where it is not supposed to be, ohh they do this thing trust me, they manage to control where their nose would reside, till when and how...so much powers they have(ahh that's a secret you know bcz they themselves never managed to know this so shhh don't tell em' about it!!! You know why!?? they will get hurt huh!! So bite your tongue and stay shut) and the owners of these puppets become puppet of these society dieties, dancing on their fingers, ohh gosh u know they will never bother themselves by asking a simple question that " why the heck in this world they are dancing without their own will having this feeling that the moves are their own "....and then make their little puppets dance according to their own moves. But God blessed these little puppets of 21st century they bother themselves with this question everytime or I shall say this question bothers them everytime our 'great society' tries to step on their toes...

Now they bother their masters with this question...you see?? To bring some change bcz, why not!!?? But these experienced and cool dude masters dancing vaguely know well about their puppets, you know??! They are smart huh!!! Very much experienced huh!?? So they shut the mouth of these little puppets either by bribing them or by grounding them. Yeah that simple ... now they are raising puppets who will grow up and they'll for sure cut their own strings to which they were made to dance for years and they will escape, grow, enrich their knowledge, explore, build buisness, love and definitely live rather than just existing making sure not to f*ck up just to create puppets rather they will create children with values, high self esteem, intrigued for knowledge and simply much muchhh better than their all ancestors and their ownself also.

Not planned at all it's just like my mind exploded and all the lava decided to take the form of words.. with this I just hope whosoever reading this will never ever f*ck up to create puppets rather will try their best to cut the string of the puppets around them. I know really well that it is easier said then done but who knows that your one try could provide a whole new life to someone....

[old-hyper-super-clover]

Squeeze that bunny tail!

Part 3

Description: The RAD student council as well as the exchange students help out at a bar where, oops, the staff´s dress codes are those sweet bunny outfits that we all know and thirst for. The MCs, Violet and Clover, play a game of who can touch the most bunny tails over the evening without getting caught. Prepare for fluff, funny innuendos as well as my thirst over hot boys in bunny outfits.

Find the first parts on my masterlist.

Story continues under the cut. Enjoy the thirst!

[The amazing artwork belongs to @tokamiart, permission to post was granted, don´t repost!]

Clover and Simeon were giving out drinks at the bar.

The girl was handing over all sorts of bottles, glasses and ice cubes if needed. Simeon then put it all together with such grace and beauty that Clover often found herself gazing at him, until the brunet would turn to her with a smile and ask her to let go of whatever she had been wanting to hand him.

At one point, without any customers walking up to the bar, Clover sat down for a quick break.

"Tired?" Simeon asked, having decided to clean the counter in the meantime.

Clover chuckled at the sight. "Oh, is this going to be the classic 'I tell the bartender of my problems' scenario?"

The angel blinked in confusion. "I am afraid I don't know what you are talking about... But I'm always there to lend you an ear, if that's what you're aiming at."

"I'm fine", she laughed. "I was only joking... I must admit, though, you really suit this job. I'm sorry if I'm misjudging you, but how come an angel is looking so perfectly fit for serving drinks?"

Simeon blessed her with a chuckle. "Thank you for the compliment. As for your question... You might be surprised, but angels do know how to have some fun, too."

"Oooh" Clover grinned. "So the whole turning-water-into-wine thing wasn't just a myth?!"

At that, Simeon only put his finger close to his lips in a "shhh" sound, giving her a secretive little wink before both broke out in soft giggles.

A little while later, their attention got caught up by a situation at the tables.

Luke was cleaning dirty dishes off of an emptied table, when a demon approached him.

A little flustered, they exchanged a few words before Luke gestured towards the public toilets.

"He's doing so well" Simeon hummed, leaning on the counter as he watched his angel friend with a proud smile. "It had been very difficult for him to adjust to life in the Devildom... But I'm glad to see he is finally finding his own pace of things."

Clover's head jumped back and forth between the two celestial creatures.

"It's because he has a great friend who's watching over him" she smiled.

"Huh? Oh, no, I don't want to take any credit for that. It's all thanks to Luke's own strength that he's able to go through this so well."

Suddenly, Luke hurried over to them, a full tray of dishes in his hands.

He looked SO disgusted.

"Waaah... What's wrong with those demons...!" He let the tray slip onto the counter. "Has nobody here learned how to properly behave in a restaurant?! The tables are sticky, the food is all over the cutlery, or even worse...!"

He held up a fork.

... Or better, what was left of it. Which was only the handle. The upper spikes got bitten off almost completely.

"Who eats a fork?!?!", Luke cried out. "That's... That's... Ridiculous!"

Clover gave an awkward laugh, she got over the point of wondering long ago.

"I am pretty sure I know who would..." she mumbled.

And truly, stepping out of the kitchen, the culprit looked at the fork with a guilty expression.

"... Don't tell Lucifer" Beelzebub mumbled as he came closer. "He'll get mad if he sees that parts of the cutlery are missing..."

"... 'parts'?!" Luke repeated in disbelief. "You mean this isn't the only one?!"

"... Those were accidents..." Beel whined, holding his grumbling belly.

He let himself plonk down on a chair next to Clover, then huddled over the counter in a pout.

"Ugh... And what am I supposed to do with that now...?" Luke said.

"Hm..." Simeon thought. "Clover, Beel, could you watch the bar for a moment? Luke, let's go bring the dishes to the kitchen... And that thing into the trash."

They excused themselves after Clover gave her okay and Beel gave some kind of grumble.

The girl´s head drifted over to look at the demon...

And her heart skipped a beat.

She checked the situation.

His tail? Exposed.

His thoughts? In some far away land about food.

The others? Gone.

The perfect chance for a squeeze? Right fucking NOW.

Clover swallowed the raising anxiety in her stomach.

She had lurked around the angels in hope of squeezing one of their tails, but now that they were gone, she had missed that chance...

The more she thought about it, the more did Clover feel like hyperventilating. It was such a stupid thing to fuss over, but sadly, her habit of over-contemplating would always stress her out in unnecessary situations.

After what felt like eternity of convincing herself, she moved her arm.

Beel almost immediately turned his head.

"... You look like you want to eat me." He said.

"Wh-what?!"

His grumpy face mustered her.

"But I will eat you before you could possibly eat me, so don't even try."

Clover's already red face curled in confusion.

"I didn't want to..." she mumbled.

"Why were you staring at me, then?"

"I-I... Was thinking about how to help you with your hunger..." she lied.

"... Oh. Sorry for accusing you of something else, then."

"N-no, it's fine..."

Before Clover could talk herself into more bullshit, Simeon came back, and the holy boy was there to save her from her own misery.

"Beel" he called out. "Luke and I will soon return home for a bit. I can bring you some sandwiches, so stay strong, okay?"

"Simeon...!" Beel cheered as his euphoria made him stand up and engulf Simeon in a hug. "You're a true angel...!"

Clover felt quite shitty afterwards.

Beel hugging Simeon was an adorable sight, but she hated herself for being such a coward.

After dodging another encounter with Solomon, she had pulled back to help Belphie at the casino area, trying to get her mind off of the competition for a little...

-----------------

Alright. I hope you´re not bored yet, because the chaos hasn´t even properly started yet.

Also, nearing ourselves to half-time, now is a good opportunity to sum up a few events as well as the overall squish-score so far.

Violet was leading with a total of 12 points. Besides the mentioned scenarios, she had also encountered Mammon a second time, and she was lucky enough to find Luke having a life crisis over another eaten fork.

Heck, Violet even managed to squeeze Clover's tail once, and her friend hasn't noticed!

Clover, on the other side, has had a great start, but did rather poorly the later it got.

With five points, she only had another chance with Asmo, who, tbh, had been begging for someone to pay attention to his booty. (But to be clear, he did not notice the squish.)

Over time, she got desperate, but that only fueled Clover's fears of getting caught.

It nearly let her to internally quitting, if not for Violet to pull her back into the game once more...

-------------------

Most of the crew was busy working when the clock struck midnight.

A nearby bell tower announced the change of day -- and with that, also the change of clothes.

The customers as well as the staff looked up when a certain voice echoed through the speakers.

"Good evening, my sweethearts~!" Asmodeus cheered, sitting on the bar counter and waving at the crowd. "Or should I say good night? Good morning? I hope you are having a good one, to say the least!"

He gained a small round of laughter.

"Yes, yes, a cheery mood is what we want! And now that we passed midnight... It's time for a special surprise!"

He stood up onto the counter, striking a nice pose while smirking widely.

"Those with weak minds -- and weak ovaries -- should brace themselves, cause things are about to get hot~!"

The crowd applauded and cheered. A group of thirsty (asmodeHoes) fans threw in some... naughty exclamations, but Asmo had already jumped onto the floor again, gathering the staff members around him.

Barbatos at his side, he was handing out another set of clothing. "Please get dressed quickly", the butler said.

And so they went off...

--------------------

"VioLET."

"Cloverrrr..."

"I CAN'T go out like his."

"But... But Clover... You know what must be awaiting us outside..."

"ARGH... I'm not ready for that either..."

Clover was sitting on the floor again.

This time, their outfit consisted of a classic black playbunny suit, ears and tail still included of course, arm sleeves as well as a shirt's collar that was held together by a bow tie.

"Come onnn, I don't wanna go without you..." Violet protested.

"But HOW am I supposed to face those frickin´ snacks” Clover cried out. “I'm a fucking potato compared to them, also Violeeet, the moment I see any of them my mind will SIN and I won't ever be able to look into Simeon's eyes ever agai-"

They heard voices on the other side of the door.

"Woohooo, is that Lucifer?! Shirtless?!" They heard Asmo go. "And and, kyaaaa, Beel, those ABS!!"

The girls exchanged a glance.

Then dashed out of the womens' toilet once again.

Stumbling out of the room, however, there was no one to be spotted at all.

A little confused, the girls noticed too late how a cheeky Asmodeus had been hiding behind the door, pushing the latter shut to have a perfect view on his girls.

"Got you~!" he hummed, leading the girls to turn around.

He had a camera in his hands and seemed to be already filming.

"What a view~", he continued. "Could you do me a favour and turn around as well?"

"Asmo!!" Violet hissed, her cheeks gaining a pink blush out of angered embarrassment.

Not as much as Clover's face was heating up, though, as she prompted the demon to put his phone down.

"Not going to happen, sweetie~" he chuckled. "Devilgram will love those bashful expressions...!"

"WhAt?!" Violet covered her body immediately. "You WON'T upload this anywhere!"

"Uhmmm... That's kind of not possible, you know? This is a live broadcast."

"WHAT."

Then, another person stepped out of the males' bathroom.

"What's all the noise about?"

Lucifer's annoyed voice echoed through the corridor.

When he stepped closer, however, his attention got caught up by the girls' appearance.

"Oh~?" he purred, inspecting the girls (but Violet in particular hehe) with a pleased smirk on his lips.

"L... Lu..." Violet's voice broke off.

She just... Died. Nothing more to say about this, really.

Because only now both, Violet and Clover, realised that not everything of Asmo's bait had been a lie...

The demons were actually shirtless, their chests bare as they were wearing only arm sleeves and, in Lucifer's case, a bow tie around his neck, while Asmo's neck was decorated with a ribbon. Rather tight-fitting black trousers and the bunny accessories completed the look that had left the girls speechless.

Lucifer's smirk grew wider.

"No, that's no good... I think I will have to speak to the manager. Those outfits are way too distracting... Isn't that so, Violet?"

"H-huh?!" The girl did a little hop.

Thankfully, Asmo jumped in to her aid.

"Fufu~! Lucifer, do you mean the girls are getting distracted by us, or is it that YOU are getting distracted, hm~?"

Lucifer crossed his arms in a contemplative manner.

"Well... I admit to a pleasant view when I see one, so..." He pinned Violet down with his eyes. "I guess I will have to be extra careful from now on... Then again, I might need a more detailed view, just to be sure..."

Asmo gave an excited giggle.

"Lucifer, you beast~!"

Then Asmo turned to Violet again.

"But judging from her red cheeks, I feel Violet might think the same... Isn't that so, darling~?"

"U-uhm...", Violet stammered, trying really hard to make her brain function again. "Well I... Think there's no point in denying that... Uhm..."

She glanced over at Lucifer, but every time she did, her head got dizzy all over again.

"Go on, please" Lucifer suddenly said. "There is no need to deny what, exactly?"

And her brain got stuck in an endless loop of not being able to cope.

Lucifer seemed to have plenty of fun with that, so he kept teasing her for the time being.

-----

We do remember, however, that there was another still girl left to completely destroy.

And Asmo took it upon himself to achieve exactly that.

"Don't worry, Clover!" He said as he tackled the girl into a hug, simultaneously dragging her away from the two lovebirds. "You're just as charming, of course."

"Th-thanks..." Clover mumbled.

"Hm? You don't seem to believe me."

Clover pulled away, now only holding hands with him, giving a shrug. "You know what I think of my looks, Asmo..."

The avatar of Lust gave a sigh.

"There we go again... If you're so self-conscious… why don't we go ask for some opinions?"

"Eeh?!"

And if the god of fateful anime encounters had planned it, the remaining demon brothers happened to have finished changing as well. The door to the men´s bathroom swung open…

"Oh!" Asmo smelled his chance. "Look, there comes our audien-"

He got cut off by the weird sound Clover made.

In a single movement, she had let out a squeal that a human throat should not be able to do, had completely destroyed Asmo's pretty hand by squeezing it in excitement, while in the end she was hiding behind Asmo, only peeking over his shoulder to glance at the mass of hotness coming out of the bathroom.

"Clover…?" Asmo sounded confused.

"Too much hotness", she mumbled into his shoulder. “I can´t-“

"Huh?" Asmo sounded genuinely confused for a second.

Then a smirk curled his face.

"What?!" he spoke extra loud, extra dramatically, so everyone could hear. "What did you say, Clover?! You think they're all sooo hot?!"

"A-asmo, be quiet...!" Clover mumbled.

But he continued.

"What? You love how much skin we are showing?!" he yelled.

"Stop...!"

"Whaaat?! You'd even pay them to strip down even more?! Clover, you wild animal!"

She punched the demon in embarrassment.

The next second, a certain scumbag stood beside them.

"DiD I hEaR 'P-p-p-PAy'?!" Mammon stuttered, literal cash-symbols in his eyes.

Asmo grinned at him, covering Clover's mouth so she couldn't protest.

"Our dear Clover here wants you to strip for her~"

Clover shook her blushy head.

"That's not trrngh..." she tried to press out between Asmo's fingers.

Mammon stared at her for a moment.

"… 10.000 Grimm."

Clover had freed herself again.

"... What?"

"15.000 and I'll do pole dance too."

"MAMMON WHAT THE HECK."

The second born looked almost disappointed when Clover declined his offer.

But Asmo was already moving on with his mischiefs.

"What? Clover?? You want to do WHAT with Beel's abs?!?!"

"ASMODEUS, I'LL KILL YOU-"

"No you won't~" Asmo grinned, turning to give his brothers a view on Clover. "Guuuys, I need your help! I dare you to give this little lady a rating in this sweet costume of hers."

Most of them looked confused at first,

but, seeing one, her outfit, and two, how much she was unable to cope, a few were ready to assist in Asmo's tease.

"I'd need a full view to judge" Satan grinned.

"Yeah" Belphie agreed. "Could you turn around slowly, Clover? Maybe do some poses as well?"

Clover shot them some angry glares.

"... You could do that pose were you form ears with your hands…" Levi dared to add in a mumble.

"Hrrrgh...!" Clover was fighting her embarrassment. "All of you are awful... Beel over here is the only nice guy, honestly...!"

She glanced at him in a pout, hoping he'd defend her... Or at least say something as well...

"... So you're not going to pose for us?" Beel said in a pout.

Clover.exe stopped working.

"Fufu..." Asmo grinned. "See, my dear? Even Beel demands a show... Now come on, we're waiting~!"

--------------

You can probably guess that Clover wasn't going to get out of this situation anytime soon.

While this part of the group enjoyed this mess of a person, let's switch back to the other girl whose brain was doing about as poorly.

Lucifer had kept Violet by his side, making sure she wasn't going to help Clover in her dilemma… Or going elsewhere in general.

However, one certain jealous bean soon couldn't bear that Lucifer was hogging Violet all for himself.

"Oi, Lucifer, back off of Violet already!"

And Mammon pressed himself in between them. "She's one of my humans after all!"

Visible displease grew on Lucifer's face as he got cockblocked yet again.

"And what would give you the right to claim her for yourself?" The eldest grumbled.

Mammon crossed his arms.

"... Because I just said so."

Lucifer pressed out a sigh, to then simply push Mammon's body away again.

"LUCIF-", Mammon hissed. "STOOP...!"

"You are distracting us, Mammon."

"B-but... That´s not fair…” he shouted. “M-maybe I want Violet to notice me as well!!"

Lucifer stopped, while most of the surrounding people went silent.

Then Levi gave a laugh.

"Oh my god MAMMON, that was so desperate lolol, SO uncool!"

Belphie spared him a pityful laugh. "Are you really that desperate for some attention, you idiot?"

The avatar of Greed was gritting his teeth.

"Hnngh... Shut up, all of you...!"

The situation around them escalated a little, even more so as Diavolo and Barbatos joined in on the chaos, having changed clothes as well.

But Violet felt bad, especially since she wouldn´t have expected Mammon to act like this. So, in a silent second where everyone seemed busy in their personal chaos, she sneaked over to Mammon.

After -- of course, what did you expect -- quickly poking his bunny tail, Violet also gave his shoulder a tap.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Mammon looked a little surprised, responding with a huff.

"...'s a wolf..."

"Huh?"

"Lucifer's a wolf!" Mammon repeated, awfully loud and both feared that the eldest brother had heard him.

A bit more timid, Mammon continued as Violet could only look at him in confusion.

"... Ya can't just go hop around in such an alluring outfit when there're guys like Lucifer around. He could go full beast mode and, dunno, do some weird stuff to ya."

Violet suppressed the nasty thoughts approaching her brain, her heart beating drastically as she mumbled a faint "I see".

"Ya human should better stick to the great Mammon! I'd treat you nicely, y'know."

Violet raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"... 'Treat me' how, exactly?" She asked in an almost teasing manner. "What were you planning to do, Mammon?"

And it landed a critical hit.

"I-I-I-I mean tr-treat as i-in... I'd protect you from all those beasts around you!" he stammered, his cheeks a blushing mess. "Nothin´ weird, I swear!! Its just… There's plenty of those beasts! Actually, maybe you should go home. If all the customers see you like this... Argh... I have to tell Clover, too...!”

He turned his head to search for the other girl, only to realise the group was about to return to their work. "Ahh... Oh no, she´s already been caught..." Mammon pressed out.

"Mammon" Violet called out again and treated him with a smile. "I assume you´re saying this because you´re worried about us, right? Thank you for that, you´re really a good friend. We're having a shift together later, right? So, until later, okay?"

He seemed confused again, but nodded in the end.

"Ugh... Fine... Just stay safe, ´kay? Promise!"

"I promise" she laughed, then Mammon finally seemed to have calmed down.

At least he was fine enough to turn around and go bother Levi with something.

Violet was watching them in amusement, then felt a presence behind her.

"Turning your eyes off of me already?" A deep voice purred almost right into her ear.

Ah, yes, there it was again, the drastic heart rate.

"Lucifer..." Violet turned around at the mellow voice. "I just wanted to tease Mammon a little. He seemed a little down."

"Sure, suit yourself..." Lucifer mumbled casually. "But I seem to be a little down as well... To think you'd end our conversation so quickly..."

Violet exploded into a puzzled blush.

"N-no... That's not... I ... You..."

Lucifer was pinning her down with his gaze, waiting for a coherent reaction. “Then how abou we pick up where we left? I think there´s something you wanted to tell me…”

"Y-you look... A-... Amazing..." she stammered.

"Hm? Could you say that again? Your voice appears to be awfully thin."

She breathed a heavily stressed breath. So Lucifer continued.

"Pardon me? Violet, you appear to be overheating. How come? I would assume your clothing is revealing enough skin to make that impossible..."

Aaand Violet's brain shut down as well.

"Should I help you?" he hummed, stepping even closer. "In comparison to you, I seem to maintain a way cooler head than you do..."

And, being the most flustered he has ever been, Lucifer continued to tease the shit out of Violet for as long as he felt the need to...

-------------

The group was about to dissolve and (finally) head back to work.

The girls, however, had stayed back for a strategy meeting.

"This is bad", Clover blabbered as she was trying to calm down. "I couldn't get up to them with shirts on, how am I supposed to even TALK to any of them when they're in maximum sexy mode?! And it's not only maximum hotness, but did all of them collectively agree to unlock their secret teasing-modes, too?!"

Violet gave a blushing shrug. "... Are you complaining, though?"

"Hnngh... No... But I'm so short on points... If I don't start playing risky, I'll loose..."

Violet smirked at that.

"Yeah" she agreed. "That's a good idea. Look, Solomon's over there all alone, why don't y-"

"Nope” lover interrupted her immediately. “Not going to happen. Nope. I'd rather go up to the demon prince himself. I'd rather get killed by Barbatos TBH."

"Oh, you would get killed..." Violet shivered, thinking back of what happened in the store room earlier.

"Don't care" Clover persisted. "Like, come, demon lord, if I was to touch Solomon's tail today, you may kill me right this instant...!"

[thewidowsghost]

The Daughter of the Sea - Chapter 4

(Y/n)'s POV

We tear through the night along dark country roads. Wind slams against the Camaro. Rain lashes the windshield. I don't know how Mom can see anything, but she keeps her foot on the gas pedal.

Every time there is a flash at lightning, I look back at Grover sitting beside Percy in the back seat and for a few moments, I wonder if I'd gone insane, or if he is wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants. But no, the smell is one I remember from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo - lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.

The only thing it seems Percy could say is, "So, you and my mom . . . know each other?"

Grover's eyes flit to the rearview mirror, though there are no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he says. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."

"Watching me?" Percy asks.

"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he adds hastily. "I am your friend."

"Um . . . what are you, exactly?"

"That doesn't matter right now," Grover answers.

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey -"

Grover lets out a sharp, throaty, "Blaa-ha-ha! Goat!" he cries.

"What?" Percy asks.

"I'm a goat from the waist down."

"You just said it didn't matter."

"Blaa-ha-ha! Some satyrs would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"

"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like...Mr. Brunner's myths?"

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" Percy says accusingly.

"Of course."

"Then why -"

"The less the two of you knew, and weren't together as much, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover says like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination, Percy. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."

"Who we - wait a moment, what do you mean?" I ask, highly confused.

The weird bellowing noise rises again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever is changing us still on our trail.

"(Y/n), Percy," Mom says, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."

"Safety from what? who's after us?" Percy asks.

"Oh, nobody much," Grover asks, obviously still miffed about Percy's donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."

I let out a soft noise of disbelief and Mom glances over at me before yelling, "Grover!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

I try to wrap my mind around what is happening, but I can't do it. I know this isn't a dream. Even I, with a vivid imagination, could never dream up something this weird.

Mom makes a hard left. We swerve onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and 'PICK YOU OWN STRAWBERRIES' signs on white picket fences.

"Where are we going?" Percy asks.

"The summer camp I told you about," Mom's voice is tight; she is trying for our sakes not to be scared. "The place you want to send you."

"The place you didn't us to go," Percy asks and I swallow thickly.

"Please, dear," my mother begs and just the desperation in her voice makes tears well up in my eyes. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're both in danger."

"Because some old ladies cut yarn," Percy says.

"Those weren't old ladies," Grover says. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to...when someone's about to die."

"Whoa. You said 'you.'"

"No, I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

"You meant 'you.' As in me."

"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."

"Boys!" my Mom yells.

She pulls the wheel hard to the right, and I get a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid - a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.

Percy's POV

"What was that?" (Y/n) asks, fear creeping into her voice.

"We're almost there," my mother says, ignoring my sister's question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."

I didn't know where there is happened, but I find myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.

Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I think about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs go numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.

Then I think about Mr. Brunner...and the sword he had thrown me. Before I can ask Grover about that, the hair rises on the back of my neck. There is a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom! and our car explodes.

(Y/n)'s POV (Again)

I feel weightless like I'm being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time, and my head slams against the dashboard.

Stars erupt before my eyes and I hear Mom yell, as if in a long tunnel, "Percy! (Y/n)!"

"I'm okay . . ." I hear Percy say.

I try to shake off my daze, as blood drips down into my eyes. The car had swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors are wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain is pouring in.

Lighting. That is the only explanation. We'd been blasted off the road.

My head, feeling as though it was made of lead, I lift my head and it falls against the head-rest.

"Percy, (Y/n)," Mom says, "we have to . . ." Her voice falters.

My head lolls back, and in a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I see a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it makes my skin crawl. It is a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seems to be holding a blanket over his head; his top half is bulky and fuzzy, and his upraised hands make it looks as though he has horns.

I swallow thickly, "Who is -"

"Percy, (Y/n)," my mother interupts, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."

Mom throws herself against the driver's-side door. It is jammed shut in the mud; Percy tries his as well.

"Climb out the passenger's side!" Mom tells the two of us. "Percy, (Y/n) - you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"

"What?" Percy asks.

Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I see the tree that she means: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.

"That's the property line," my mom says. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."

"Mom, you're coming too," I say softly.

Mom's face is pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.

"No!" Percy shouts. "You are coming with us. Help me carry Grover!"

"Food!" Grover groans, a little louder.

"He doesn't want me or Grover," my mother tells me. "He wants the two of you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."

"But . . ." I start to argue.

"We don't have time. Go. Please."

"We're going together," I say, slamming my shoulder against the door.

Together, the three of us escort Grover, stumbling up the hill through wet waist-high grass.

Glancing back, I get my first clear look at the monster. He is seven feet tall, easily, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine. He wears no clothes except underwear; the top half of his body is so scary. Coarse brown hair starts at about his belly button and gets thicker as it reaches his shoulder.

His neck is a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns - enormous black-and-white horns with points you just can't get from an electric sharpener.

I blink the rain out of my eyes, "That's -"

"Pasiphae's son," Mom interupts. "I wish I'd known how badly they wanted to kill you."

"But he's the Min -" Percy begins.

"Don't say his name," she warns. "Names have power."

The pine tree is still way too far - a hundred yards uphill at least.

I glance behind me again.

The bull-man hunches over our car, looking in the windows - or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I'm not really sure why he bothered, since we're only about fifty feet away.

"Food?" Grover moans again.

"Shhh," Percy hisses. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"

"His sight and hearing are terrible," she says. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."

As if on cue, the bull-man bellows in rage. He picks up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raises the car over his head and throws it down the road. It slams into the wet asphalt and skids in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop; the gas tank explodes.

Not a scratch, I remember Gabe saying. Oops.

"Percy, (Y/n)," our mom says. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way - directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"How do you know all this?" I ask, fear creeping into my voice again.

"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping the two of you near me."

"Keeping me near you?" Percy asks. "But -"

Another bellow of rage and the Minotaur starts tromping uphill.

He'd smelled us.

The pine tree is only a few more yards, but the hill is getting steeper and slicker, and Grover isn't getting any lighter.

The Minotaur closes in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.

Mom must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy, (Y/n)! Separate! Remember what I said."

I didn't want to split up, but I have the feeling she is right - it's our only chance. I sprint to the left, turn, and sees the creature bearing down on me; his black eyes glowing with hate. He reeks like rotten meat.

He lowers his head and charges, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.

The fear in my stomach makes me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I hold my ground, and at the last moment, I leap to the side.

The bull-man storms past like a freight train then bellows with frustration and turns, but not towards me this time, towards Percy, whose standing in between my mom and Grover, and me.

We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side, I can see a valley, just as Mom had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But It is half a mile away; we'd never make it.

The bull-man grunts, pawing the ground. He keeps eyeing Percy, whose eyes are wide. I sprint towards my brother as the Minotaur charges at him. I dive forward, knocking Percy over as the horns were mere inches from his chest.

The bull-man lets out a roar of anger then eyes Mom, who was just setting Grover down in the grass.

He keeps eyeing Mom, who is now retreating downhill, back towards the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.

"Run!" she tells me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"

But I stand there, frozen in fear, as the monster charges at her. She tries to sidestep, as she'd told me to do so, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shoots out and grabs her by the neck as she tries to get away. He lifts her as she struggles, kicking and pummeling the air.

"Mom!" I cry, stepping towards the monster.

She catches my eyes, which are welling with tears, and managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closes his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolves before mine and Percy's eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form as if she's a holographic projection. A blinding flash and she is simply . . . gone.

"No!" Percy wails, collapsing to his knees.

Anger replaces my fear; newfound strength burns in my limbs.

The bull-man hunches over Grover, whose lying helpless in the grass. The monster hunches over, snuffling my brother's best friend, as though he were about to lift Grover and make him dissolve too.

I strip off my red rain jacket.

"Hey!" I scream, waving the jacket, running to the one side of the monster, Percy doing the same with his own red jacket. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"

"Raaaarrrr!" the monster turns towards me, shaking his meaty fists.

I had an idea - a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and wave my red jacket in front of the Minotaur, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.

But it doesn't happen like that.

The bull-man charges too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I try to dodge.

Time seems to slow down as my legs tense. I can't jump sideways, so I leap straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.

How did I do that? I wonder. I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slams into the tree, and the impact nearly knocks my teeth out.

The bull-man staggers around, trying to shake me. I lock my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning are still strong; the rain is still in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat bringing my nostrils.

The monster shakes himself around and bucks like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed into the tree and smashed me flat, but I am starting to realize that this thing has only one gear: forward.

Meanwhile, Grover starts groaning in the grass. I want to yell at him to shut up, but by the way, I am getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth, I'd bite my tongue off.

As if reading my mind, Percy does yell at Grover, but Grover just groans, "Food!" again.

The bull-man wheels toward him, paws the ground again, and gets ready to charge. I think about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage fills me like high-octane fuel. I get both hands around one horn and I pull backward with all my might. The monster tenses; gives a surprised grunt, then—snap!

Percy's POV

The bull-man screams and flings my sister through the air. She lands flat on her back in the grass. Her head smacks on a rock. I catch sight of a horn in (Y/n)'s hand and I dart over, grabbing it out of her hands and roll to one side as the monster charges. As the monster barrels past, I drive the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.

The bull-man roars in agony; he flails, clawing at his chest, then begins to disintegrate - not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.

The monster is gone.

The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbles, but only in the distance. I smell like livestock, and my knees are shaking.

I stick my hand out and pull my sister up from the ground.

My head feels like it is splitting open, and it doesn't help as I look at the back of my sister's head, which was bleeding heavily. I feel weak and scared and trembling with grief. I'd just seen my mother vanish. I want to lie down and cry, but there is Grover, who my sister had stumbled her way towards and was trying to lift the limp figure on her own. Both my sister and my best friend need my help, so I manage to haul him up and my sister and I stagger down into the valley.

(Y/n)'s POV

The pain in my head was almost blinding - from it slamming against the dashboard and the rock - and I hear Percy crying out from our mother, but we both hold onto Grover - neither of us letting go.

The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's. They both look down at me and Percy, and the girl says, "They're the ones. They must be."

"Silence, Annabeth," the man says. "They're still conscious. Bring them inside."

Word Count: 2896 words

[punkscowardschampions]

Jac & Amelia

Jac: what did you do that for Amelia: What? Jac: the presents Amelia: I had to go 🎁🛍 for my parents and it took like 10 minutes Jac: you went to three different shops, at least Amelia: yeah because what else was I going to do before they picked me back up Jac: study for your theory Jac: be one Amelia: 🥱 Jac: I ain't got you nothing Amelia: I don't want anything Jac: then that's a present in itself, I guess Amelia: yeah, you getting another from me by taking the out you were just given Jac: it was already 3-1 do you really have to add to your score Amelia: Always Jac: 🙄 Jac: were you invited then Amelia: to? Jac: Is' party Amelia: Yeah Amelia: but I don't know if it was by Is or her mum Amelia: or if we're talked enough that she'd really want me there Jac: yeah Jac: interesting choice, on her part Amelia: If I get there and her mum engineered it or it's obvious Is doesn't want me around I'll just give her the 🎁 and go Jac: you're going? Amelia: I have the 💌 I think I have to Jac: unlucky then Amelia: don't worry, I won't insist that you're my date Amelia: as a favour Jac: to her, so that's not another gift to me Amelia: it definitely is Amelia: you don't want to go Jac: wasn't invited Jac: but I do have somewhere better to be, which is unlucky for you Amelia: I'm not inviting you or mourning the loss of not having you with me Jac: well I was going to invite you to a party that wouldn't be sad as shit Jac: but if that's how you feel then alright Amelia: no you weren't Jac: Why would I say I was if I weren't, weirdo Jac: you know those really cool twins in 6th, Nat and Vee? Amelia: because I've already said I have to go to Is' and I don't really want to and you want to make me feel even worse Amelia: here's what I could've won Jac: Rude Jac: At Christmas, you have to tell the truth Jac: I thought you might wanna come and stare at them Jac: that's all Amelia: my parents literally lied to me about 🎅 for 8 years so no, you don't Amelia: and I don't know who you mean Jac: you can't lie about myths Jac: he could be real, they can't confirm nor deny Jac: anyway, yes you do Jac: Vee especially is pretty gay looking, she's Bi, I think Jac: [sends her these gals pictures] Amelia: if there's mistletoe I'll come Amelia: after I've been to Is' Jac: they throw really good parties, so I've been informed Jac: don't waste too much time then Amelia: okay Jac: I knew you'd like her Amelia: you sound like a really creepy mastermind in a lair Jac: I do live below ground now so Amelia: you can be mole, I'll be rat Jac: I suppose you've just been as insulting to yourself Amelia: 😂 Amelia: I'd have bought you that 📖 too but I know you've already read it Jac: It's good to have as many classics under your belt as possible Amelia: How did you know I'd like her? Jac: I've got eyes, don't need to be a huge gay Amelia: you just need to be hugely 🥴 Jac: Nah, I fucked their brother Amelia: I meant to 'like' anyone, I don't want or need to know that Jac: 🤷 Amelia: I'm serious Jac: Alright whatever Jac: and it's not true anyway, if it was I wouldn't be in this fucking mess would I Amelia: what mess? Amelia: you're going to need to be more specific Jac: ha ha Jac: if I only liked people when I was wasted, literally would not be here having this conversation Amelia: you're having this conversation because you can't bring yourself to say thanks for the gifts, Amelia Jac: If you expected a thank you, you wouldn't have given them to me Jac: if Sav was still here, this wouldn't be happening at all, is the point Amelia: we're dancing around it, that's okay, I'm a good dancer Jac: you aren't that good, humblebrag Amelia: at Christmas, you have to tell the truth, supposedly Jac: what, your ego is big but not big enough to deal? 😏 Amelia: giving me a compliment won't cause you to immediately wither and die, I'm sorry Jac: Precisely why I'd never bother, my dear Amelia: you've done enough anyway Jac: have I Amelia: I'll get loads at the parties Jac: cocky Amelia: I'm thinking they can't all be unwanted ones, naïve or optimistic if anything Jac: probably Jac: least you won't have to help Isabelle blow out her candles Amelia: if her mum made the cake they'll probably be lopsided and a 🔥 hazard Jac: true Jac: they usually tasted pretty good though Amelia: true Amelia: I'll stay for some Jac: don't offer to get me a party bag then Amelia: I'll just do it, whether you say you want one or not Jac: gift giving is your top love language, I get it Amelia: I just know you, that's all Jac: you know that I'm fat, is it Amelia: oh please Amelia: I'm not giving you a compliment that easily or obviously Jac: I'm probably not in the mood to work for it Amelia: 🤷 Jac: 🥱 Amelia: if you've got something better to do, go do it Jac: getting ready for the party, aren't I Jac: avoiding my family Amelia: right Jac: everything's always an ulterior motive with you Amelia: no it's not Jac: why can't we just have a conversation then Jac: we've done worse Amelia: because you're not in the mood evidently Jac: you're the one that's got fuck all to say Amelia: everything's always my fault with you Jac: I'm bored and you're doing nothing about it Amelia: that isn't my first priority Jac: then I'll find someone who's it is Amelia: okay Jac: 👏 Amelia: Sav's not here, remember Jac: don't bother coming to this party Jac: and if you show anyway, don't bother coming to find me Amelia: It wasn't about you, it's about the hosts Jac: I invited you, not them Amelia: and now you've uninvited me so same difference Jac: doesn't magically mean you're wanted Jac: I'm not gonna just turn up at Isabelle's house Amelia: I'm used to the feeling by now, so again, it's not going to bother me Jac: you're all being extra infuriating today Jac: jesus christ Amelia: yeah well Amelia: I don't know what to say to Is or to do Jac: you can't do anything Jac: but she's literally the most forgiving person to doormat degrees Jac: you'll barely have to say anything and she'll happy cry Amelia: Please come Jac: She won't wanna see me Amelia: re-read what you wrote before that Jac: it's different Jac: I'm not going to make her be my friend and forgive me, just because I know she would Jac: you didn't do anything wrong, really Amelia: I walked away, that's worse than anything you did Jac: it really isn't Jac: I'm too drunk now even if Jac: I'd only be a bitch by accident if not on purpose Amelia: at least wait for me then Amelia: we can go to the other party together Jac: Jesses got a show tonight Amelia: I know, I was invited to that too Amelia: everyone is Jac: not me Jac: I can't be here when they're leaving or everyone will try to force me and I'll die Jac: Jude is bad enough Amelia: Go to my 🏠 no ones there Jac: where are your parents Amelia: some dinner party thing Jac: alright Jac: thanks Amelia: I'll be back to get you after Is' Amelia: and my parents won't get back until we've left Jac: I can be gone before you, I just don't want to be here Jac: and Jude owes you her life so you can cash that in whenever you want Amelia: I don't want you to go without me or before me Jac: as long as it's for the right reasons Amelia: what are they? Jac: you know Jac: I'm just saying, if you're just saying that because you think I need to be on suicide watch or something too then I'll just have to hit you instead Amelia: I'm saying it because nobody shows up to cool parties early Jac: okay Jac: I'll wait Amelia: if you go through my 🎨 I'll be the one hitting you Jac: you shouldn't have said that Jac: but alright Jac: your parents are going to think I'm robbing you if they come back Jac: your mum better not get one of her famous migraines Amelia: I'm in danger of that if anyone is, don't worry Amelia: and it's clients of my dad's so she can't Amelia: he needs the 💸 Jac: take a nurofen and shut the fuck up 🐠 Jac: gotcha Amelia: 😂 Amelia: it's beyond unfair that she pretends to get them and I actually do Jac: it's because you're gay Jac: [that article 'cos it's true lmao] Amelia: oh my god Jac: actual proof of punishment from god or something else, you decide 🤔 Amelia: shhh Jac: oh, I'm sorry, is it your head Jac: I'll be quiet Amelia: no exorcist-ish apologies tonight will do fine Amelia: the dark room is being supplied Jac: at least you got one Jac: Jess is probably still waiting Amelia: he can hold his breath for a really long time 🏊🏼 Jac: helps with the singing Amelia: the show'll be online right? Amelia: I totally want to see it Jac: no doubt Jac: everything is Amelia: yeah, I figured Amelia: does that girl who's like obsessed with him still help him edit or did he finally pick up on her weirdness? Jac: I think she's still around Jac: I don't really ask Amelia: she's intense Jac: I hadn't really noticed but yeah Jac: I guess she is Amelia: maybe that's because I'm gay too Amelia: I could solve crimes Jac: no because it's only 'cos I was so into Sav that I don't know anything about it Amelia: that makes sense, I was so into you that I know too much about it Jac: that's not about me Jac: sounds like part-timer energy tbh Amelia: he's your brother Amelia: in your ⚪ Jac: if you say so Jac: maybe you're obsessed with him and you want rid of the competition Amelia: 🤢 Amelia: I'd more likely be obsessed with her and he's the competition so no because he's still living if not breathing while he holds his breath Jac: well I'm not even sure she exists now Jac: this is all some fantasy in your 🧠 Amelia: 👻 editor! Jac: ha 🤓 Amelia: 😎 Jac: yeah, I'll forward that to Vee, you'll be so in Amelia: you can't because I already wanna die Amelia: I'm so underdressed for this Amelia: everyone's 👗 Jac: what are you wearing, excuse the creep line Amelia: 😏 Amelia: but literally 👖 Jac: oh Amelia Jac: I've got more on to come sit at yours alone Amelia: it's because I'm gay, isn't it? 😕 Jac: yes but you always have been Jac: I doubt Is was expecting you to put on a party frock Amelia: she did say she liked my birthday one and that does haunt me Jac: well I think she was in a state of shock Jac: for good reason, as we all were Jac: myself not included, of course Amelia: 👧🏻 Amelia: thanks to my mum for everything Jac: cold ears for christmas Amelia: ear muffs gay or beanie gay? a fun quiz Jac: you want to be beanie but you're ear muffs Amelia: true Amelia: you're oversized scarf Jac: blanket but make it fashion Jac: duh Amelia: 🤗 Jac: Is is those massive felt hats everyone wears in Autumn Amelia: that's so accurate Jac: I know Jac: it's what I'm going to use my Psychology degree for Amelia: 😉 Amelia: what else is all that debt good for Jac: builds character Amelia: her 👗 is great though Amelia: I wouldn't but she won't be devastated that she did Jac: yeah? Amelia: Yeah Amelia: unlike me she doesn't seem to be having a really shit time Jac: has she talked to you? Amelia: not yet Jac: that's rude Amelia: Obviously she's said hi and thanked me for coming but I assumed that isn't what you meant Amelia: do you think I should leave? Jac: who's there Jac: is Kiersten with the braces Amelia: how did you guess? Jac: 'cos she's wanted to be mates with Is for ages but she thinks I'm stuck up Amelia: THAT'S rude Jac: she probably heard me and Savannah talking about her in Chemistry Jac: so she's got grounds Jac: who else, Gemma with the frizzy hair, Paige who told on you that time and got you your first detention... Amelia: Okay, before I tip this drink subtly over her, what did you say? Amelia: yeah and yeah Jac: it would've been Sav she overheard Jac: I'm quiet Amelia: and she's 📢👄 Amelia: sound probably really carries in Sligo Jac: I think she's got a boyfriend already Amelia: of course she will have Amelia: what else is she going to do at Catholic school when she isn't doing homework Jac: don't Amelia: I'm sorry Amelia: it's this, being here, I shouldn't have Jac: I don't think you can just leave though Jac: she probably doesn't want to talk talk like right now and ruin her party Jac: at least say you will, book in and a coffee in or something Amelia: it's not just that, it's too weird Amelia: there's like no place for me Jac: she's moved on hasn't she Amelia: yeah Jac: I shouldn't have made you walk away from her Amelia: you didn't Jac: I still feel like I did though Amelia: well whatever way you want to look at it, she's got new friends now Jac: so do you Jac: or could still Jac: Jess said everyone knows what your ex was like Amelia: he could've warned me Jac: I told him so Amelia: it doesn't matter, I don't have the energy Amelia: like you said, I should study more for my theory Jac: if it's any consolation, I am totally alone, and not just literally right now Amelia: you've got me, excuse you Jac: no, not friends, remember Amelia: ugh, fine Amelia: what are you doing though? Jac: I was about to ask if your parents were still as militant with their drink stash Jac: idk how they kept such a close eye on levels, crazy Amelia: they are but I'll be taking the risk and the punishment when I get there so feel free to start without me Amelia: as long as you don't get too drunk to go Jac: doubt they're so cool they need bouncers Amelia: I mean, I'll give you a 🐷y back or hold your hair but if you're 😪 there isn't much I can do Jac: 😇 Jac: me, you, you decide Amelia: me, clearly Jac: 🙄 Jac: braceface would HATE you Amelia: she can join in with Paige who's blatantly whispering about me Jac: she's the biggest goody-two-shoes Jac: she'd thrive in catholic school Amelia: She'll be plotting how to get me in trouble with Is' mum since school's out and there's no looming detention for me Amelia: I know how to make that really easy for her Jac: you'd think she was 7 not 17 Jac: what are you gonna do? Amelia: shut her up, the same way I always do Jac: don't, come here instead Amelia: but she's so annoying Jac: I know she is but I want you Jac: so come here before I change my mind Amelia: okay Jac: okay Jac: make sure you tell her you'll talk to her later Amelia: I did Amelia: 😇 Jac: good girl Amelia: I didn't get any 🎂 though Jac: I'd make you one Jac: but I might burn your house down so Jac: I have an idea though 💡 Amelia: what is it? Jac: hang on Amelia: no, I'll start 🏃 Jac: ta-da Amelia: 😳 Amelia: thanks for not telling me that's what you looked like when I was talking about being underdressed earlier Amelia: and for having that 💡 so I don't care anymore Jac: you always look perfect anyway, it doesn't matter what you wear Amelia: you do Jac: you too Jac: and you won't feel underdressed when you undress me Amelia: I look 😍 but I'm fine with it Amelia: as long as my parents don't get back before me Jac: I'm quiet, remember Jac: it's fine Amelia: it's not you I'm worried about Amelia: but I'm not that worried Jac: 😍 Jac: you're so adorable but also so hot Jac: it's rude Amelia: says you Amelia: you're the rudest person ever if that's the criteria Jac: oh no, Kiersten was right Amelia: she can have that one thing Jac: only if I can have you Amelia: there's no if Amelia: you have me Jac: good Jac: I need you, you know Amelia: I need you more, not because you love a competition, although if you do want to get competitive about it, that's cool too Jac: We can make it into a competition but what would I win? Amelia: 🤔 Jac: I can't think, I want to see you too badly Amelia: I get it, trust me Jac: You're the prettiest Amelia: no, I'm not Amelia: but I do love you the most Jac: don't be mean to yourself Jac: 😣 Amelia: sorry Jac: I can make you believe me, don't worry Amelia: I'm not worried about that either, I know you can Jac: you don't need to worry about anything Jac: not now Amelia: not now Amelia: I promise Jac: 😇 Amelia: 🥰 Jac: have you got a headache? Amelia: you don't need to worry either Amelia: not about me Jac: I just wanna know if I need to make that go away first before letting you touch me Amelia: I do have a headache but I would literally come back from the dead to see you so Jac: 🥰 Jac: still means I get to go first 😈 Amelia: 😇 if anything Jac: see what you think when we're waking up your neighbours Amelia: I'll be thinking the same thing because nothing's changing my mind about you but okay they'll probably think 😈👹👻👺 Jac: I've never heard you, properly Jac: either we have to be quiet or it's too loud to hear anything Amelia: but you know how hard I find trying to be quiet Jac: I wanna hear everything Amelia: you won't want me to 🤫🤐 once you have though Jac: yeah? Amelia: we'll have to find new places Jac: or I'll work out ways to make you louder at parties Amelia: okay Jac: only okay? Amelia: emphatically Amelia: like ! Amelia: like that's the best idea I've ever heard Jac: my nerdy baby Amelia: well now I don't want to correct it to 😎 Amelia: you win Jac: 😄 Jac: come here and be my prize Amelia: [will let you show up gal cos why not you've been running like a needy gay and it's not that far] Jac: [enjoy hens 'cos this is gonna be intense] Amelia: [the softness and love never lasts soz ladies] Amelia: [more importantly soz to these neighbours] Jac: [💔] Jac: [but love that lmao] Amelia: [thank god her parents aren't coming back yet because there is no being quiet if their lives depended on it now] Amelia: [I had an idea that while Jac is getting ready because even if she doesn't change her outfit she'll probably wanna fix her makeup etc whereas Amelia isn't wearing any she should start a new portrait, this time of them doing something intimate but not saucy lol because 1. that's gay 2. they're at her house so all her art stuff is right there 3. she can make it fit whatever vague af prompt she was given for holiday homework] Jac: [that's a good idea, I won't Katy Perry spoil it rudely, but just like, it better be vague enough that everyone in Art won't be 👀 lmao] Amelia: [don't worry gal we won't out you but actually those Katy Perry dramatics would be a good idea to remember if we ever want them to have a big row haha] Jac: [there is always time lmao, though for tonight I think it's easy enough to have the level of drama we want because like this all happens but then you're not allowed to be together at the party like you aren't even friends still so it's like the base level of getting along at a party vibes, which would obvs be upsetting every time, poor Amelia] Amelia: [agreed we'll keep it in our back pocket for later because tonight has enough going on, like literally every time you have moments like this and then she pushes you away after would be 💔] Jac: [let the fun commence] Amelia: [we all know she's kissing that girl under the mistletoe but is there anything else you want to happen] Jac: [I've got a picture to post in jealousy to that but nothing is gonna actually happen on her end, just pretending luvs, as for other party goings on, literally anything could, she's probably gonna blank their brother which will probably give Amelia that false hope] Amelia: [love that by which I mean hate that lol cos she's already got false hope from Jac inviting her to the party instead of just going on her own] Jac: [I know, the gag is it isn't really false hope but like it still is 'cos we aren't coming out at this party obvs lol, even if they can be more friendly 'cos it's not their year or their usual crowd] Amelia: [I like that because it's a less messy and more friendly vibe even though it means it'll hurt more the next party they go too that won't be like that/when shit hits the fan in like 2 days because of Savannah's love life] Jac: [just waiting for that confirmation hens, bit rude to ruin xmas but there we go] Amelia: [how dare you Savannah you know blocking someone means nothing because you have blatantly also stalked Jac to see what she's doing] Jac: [oh gals, i hope you think some boy is buying her channel] Amelia: [oh she do and that's one of many reasons we're getting with this boy now after hinting all month] Jac: [sorry to dis man but nah] Amelia: [he's not a sweetie like Ty we don't stan] Jac: [when you said one time that he reminded her of Jac LMAOOO] Amelia: [nobody is having a good 2 years is the point but I am DECEASED] Jac: [this is true, you're all going through it, that's the point] Amelia: [Sienna and Is are the only ones thriving] Jac: [god bless lol] Amelia: [can we say they go back to Amelia's after this party and then Jac has to sneak past her parents in the AM for the lols or is that too friendly, like the spare room does exist and I feel like she doesn't wanna go home after missing Jesse's gig] Jac: [yeah, I feel like tonight we would because the family drama is more than the amelia drama rn so we're not gonna turn down the spare room, it will be amusing and also, less funny, can worry the fam some more about where we are, ahh the joys] Amelia: [soz JJ soz everyone but I shall cackle because it's probably more like the afternoon when they wake up so Amelia's parents are just there living their vanilla life] Jac: [hope you don't use your spare room as a dressing room or something babes lollollol] Amelia: [they're just casually eating lunch while Jac tiptoes away] Jac: [oh god bless, at least you did have normal clothes to change into and you won't be in your hoe outfit to walk of shame] Amelia: [or have to borrow clothes off Amelia like this is awks but] Jac: [still a prepared bitch even at our lowest] Amelia: [virgo energy] Jac: [we can skip to them if you like, now we've got the energy of the night] Amelia: [fine by me boo] Jac: did your parents see me Jac: or hear Amelia: No, I captured all of their attention with that loud explanation of my 🎨 Jac: can put it on the fridge Jac: 👍 Amelia: not until it gets graded Jac: it's an As only appliance, gotcha Amelia: 😂 yeah that's why looks nothing like a gallery Jac: even imagining the sound of a 🎻 rn is making my head wanna burst open Amelia: if you're going to keep checking it, turn your phone brightness down Jac: why would I be Amelia: I'm such a great conversationalist Jac: so I hear Amelia: 😏 Jac: don't 😏 @ me Amelia: *😉 Jac: idiot Jac: how was she then Amelia: who? Jac: don't who at me either, you know who Amelia: okay but I don't know what you expect me to say Jac: then I don't need to check my phone, thanks for saving me Jac: and as I gave her to you, that makes us 2-4 Jac: I'll even the score later Amelia: you didn't give her to me, you gave yourself to me Amelia: and I gave her my number Jac: cute Amelia: why do you want to hear this? Jac: It's a while back to mine, even catching the bus Jac: got time to kill and nothing to kill it with Amelia: you should read the 📖 I gave you once the 🤯💊 kick in Jac: I doubt I'll have time with the bollocking I'll be getting once I finally get back Amelia: probably not Jac: looks like Jess' show is online though Jac: no one phantom'd him so there you go, there's your entertainment 'til she texts you Amelia: she might not Jac: yeah right Amelia: parties make everyone 😍🥰😘 Jac: she's definitely full time gay Jac: not gonna pretend she don't know you now Amelia: no, you were right the first time about her being bi Jac: same thing Amelia: it isn't Jac: when you're fucking her, it'll feel the same Amelia: it was just a 💋 Amelia: I don't even know if that'll happen again Jac: do you want it to Amelia: I don't know Amelia: why I do and why I don't are the same reason Jac: sounds confusing Amelia: Yeah Jac: couldn't be me Amelia: like I said, what do you expect me to say? Jac: nothing you haven't Amelia: you're not the only one 🤯 you know Jac: don't moan Jac: go outside Jac: fresh air helps Amelia: you're repeating advice my dad already gave Amelia: at least he's asking for 🛒🍌🥚🥕🍞🧀🍅 Jac: what the fuck is he making Amelia: that's not the full list Amelia: artistic licence if anything Jac: 🙄 Jac: not really A for effort Amelia: you're going to start marking me now, are you? Jac: maybe Amelia: okay Jac: it's cold Amelia: is that why you wanted me to go outside? Jac: to freeze to death or confirm that statement? Jac: neither seems worth it, so no Amelia: how far away are you? I don't have a blanket scarf but I can bring you something Jac: no Jac: you're right, Is' dress was quite nice Amelia: I'm right about you not needing to freeze to death too Jac: says you Amelia: it doesn't have to be like this Jac: like what, an Irish winter? Amelia: you're as stubborn as an Irish winter Jac: artsy Amelia: I'm supposed to be the dramatic one as well Jac: I'm not going to die of consumption on the bus home Jac: you're still the dramatic one, you can mope about how I won't accept help if you like Amelia: and you're getting the wrong kind of inspiration from the classics you've read Jac: have I spoiled the ending of this book? Jac: I'll pass it on, like Amelia: I'm not telling you the ending, read it Jac: you want me to write a book report so you can grade me too? Amelia: 😂 maybe Jac: 🤓 Amelia: ❌ Amelia: and it's not moping, it's caring Jac: no one asked you to either way Amelia: it's really cold Jac: the bus has heating, it's only gonna be a few minutes wait, then I can run back Amelia: I could wait with you Jac: why would you do that Jac: obviously not Amelia: because you're right about fresh air Amelia: and it might  🌨⛄️ Jac: then go to the park with all the other little kids Amelia: you want to know what kissing her was like, it was the opposite of this Jac: talking would get in the way of it Amelia: that's not what I mean and you know it's not Jac: I don't care what you meant Jac: I'm not threatened by Violet McLaughlin Amelia: it's not about her Jac: not for me it ain't Amelia: you make everything 10x harder than it needs to be Jac: if you can't cope Jac: then you don't need to worry about that, because we're not friends Amelia: for fuck's sake Jac: just go Jac: the supermarket is gonna be full of frantic people fighting over sprouts Amelia: if we're not friends there's literally no reason for me to make things that easy for you Amelia: so no Jac: we're not friends so I'll happily tell you to fuck off if you come anywhere near this bus stop Amelia: you either want me to 🛒 or you don't Jac: for god sake Jac: can your parents not take you Amelia: the whole point is he wants me to get out Jac: could he not come with so you don't go do some more reckless shit Jac: lazy parenting, tbh Amelia: he doesn't know about most of the reckless shit I do Jac: 🙄 case in point Jac: but don't worry, I won't call yours Amelia: it doesn't matter to me if you do Jac: I'm not interested enough to get you in trouble Amelia: unlike you I talk, it's no challenge for me to say whatever they need to hear Jac: you want an easy life Jac: I don't Amelia: I want a fucking life Jac: and the dramatics, right on cue Amelia: right Jac: you want a life, go do something about it Amelia: I already told you I'm not leaving Jac: we all will before you know it Jac: then we'll have no reason to stay in contact Amelia: we'll always have a reason Jac: How is it that Is has got it before you? Jac: she didn't need either of us at her party Amelia: I'm not Is, and guess what, I'm not Savannah either Jac: Yeah, you're not Amelia: they're gone and I'm not going anywhere, keep tipping your hourglass over and pretending like it'll be any different any time soon Jac: oh, fuck you Amelia: the bus stop is way too public for you Jac: you're not funny Amelia: it's not a laugh out loud kind of moment Jac: don't come here, get the next bus Amelia: I'm not going to, I've got 🎨 to finish Jac: Good Jac: because I would have to slap you even if it is a hate crime Amelia: you'd try Jac: I'm not fucking bragging, I wouldn't know what else to do Jac: I don't, these days Amelia: me either, I would still stop you though Jac: maybe Amelia: try it Jac: I'm not saying I want to either Jac: just leave me alone Amelia: no Jac: I'll leave you alone Amelia: that's never been what I want Jac: then it can be a threat Amelia: yeah, and it existed ages before you bothered to say it Amelia: it's all I think about already Jac: You knew what this was before it started Amelia: and? Amelia: I still know what it is Amelia: that doesn't mean it's okay Jac: then you should say no Amelia: You knew how I felt before this started Amelia: I can't Jac: and I'm committed to being a shit person Jac: I can handle that, if you can't then you have to address it Jac: I'm not doing it for you Amelia: I got that, you're not doing anything for me today Amelia: in the cold light of Jac: That's how it's been from the start Jac: it's not changing Amelia: it did change, last night was different Amelia: for a bit Jac: you just want that to be true Amelia: you just want to keep lying and gaslighting Amelia: I'm not stupid Jac: I was so drunk I can barely remember any of it Amelia: no you weren't because if you had been there would be nothing to remember Amelia: nothing would have happened Jac: you don't like being accused of things, neither do I Amelia: the predatory lesbian angle is tired, that's all Amelia: so am I Jac: I didn't wake you Jac: your parents dancing 'round the kitchen like this is a rom-com did Amelia: I know that Amelia: and you knew what my parents are like when you decided to sleep in the guest room Amelia: maybe 🧔👩🏻👧🏻 is their rom-com Jac: needs must Amelia: exactly Jac: I didn't say shit about your parents Amelia: we're not fighting about them Amelia: why would you? Jac: Then can you get to your point Jac: because this is tiring, and unnecessary, agreed Amelia: I've made them Amelia: points multiple Jac: Cool, bye then Amelia: 👋 Amelia: I've got no interest in dating Savannah Moore Jac: That's good, she's straight and gone Amelia: you sounded just like her Amelia: everything she said to you, repeated more or less word for word to me Jac: So? Jac: and you don't know what she said to me, you weren't there, you have no idea Amelia: so goodbye then Amelia: you told me, remember, that she said how beautiful you were etc Amelia: you're becoming an echo Jac: It isn't the same Amelia: she hurt you because everything she said didn't mean that she wanted to kiss you, be with you, any of the things you wanted Amelia: this is the same for me Amelia: you'll never kiss me how Violet did, you won't even take my fucking coat when it's about to snow Jac: it's different because she's fucking straight and you know I'm not Jac: but if that isn't enough for you then yeah Jac: bye Amelia: I know loads of things but how can it be enough when you spend have the time trying to make me doubt them Amelia: half* Jac: There's nothing I can or will do about that Amelia: you could be honest with me Jac: I have been, for fuck's sake Amelia: no, you lie to hurt me, that's literally the opposite Jac: No, I've told you loads of things, things I haven't told anyone else, and you admit that because you know them Jac: what you want, Amelia, is for me to come out and declare my love for you Jac: and I have never, ever, said I would do that Amelia: what I want, is you Amelia: not the person you're pretending to be to everyone else Jac: If I could be that person still, don't you think I would Jac: I'd do it for me, not you Jac: it's like I'm dead Jac: there isn't a switch where I can just bring that me back, she's gone Amelia: sometimes you are, so even if there's no switch, there has to be something Amelia: I'm not that crazy and you're not that dead Jac: well if you work it out, let me know Amelia: obviously Jac: It's not the same Jac: you can say it's fucked Jac: but you aren't being led on Amelia: okay Amelia: I'm sorry Jac: it's fine Amelia: it's not, I know you don't want to talk about her Jac: it's not how you think it was Jac: no one else would get it Amelia: it's between you and her Amelia: I don't have to get it Jac: yeah Amelia: has the 🚌 come yet? Jac: I'm going to town instead Jac: I'll buy a cheap coat, don't worry Jac: but work is open 'til Christmas eve, and they didn't expect me to work after term-time, but I'm gonna go offer Amelia: did the 🤯💊 really work that well? Jac: I think it was the cold more Jac: and I still don't wanna be there yet Jac: you know how big a thing Christmas is with my family, everyone will be coming over from wherever the fuck they reside, it's too much Amelia: yeah Amelia: at least your uni app will benefit Jac: and my pockets Jac: no presents really means I could save up Amelia: not if you spend all your money on coats Amelia: I'll bring you one, I'm serious Amelia: to work or wherever you are now Jac: likewise if you waste all your time on me, your 🎨 will never get finished Amelia: my 🎨 is technically a bigger waste of time Amelia: and when I go to uni I won't have any time for it anyway Jac: but still, a really good grade will help you get there, even if the subject isn't totally relevant Amelia: I'm already getting a good grade in that subject Amelia: are you out of excuses why I shouldn't help you now or what? Jac: Ugh Jac: you're so stubborn, it's rich you're trying to have a go at me for it Amelia: you're just annoyed that I'm giving you something else, but it's a borrow Amelia: I'm not 🤶🏻 Jac: maybe God can be a woman but Santa categorically is not Jac: what does his wife even do? Amelia: discipline the elves because he's a soft touch, obviously Amelia: are you still at the bus stop then? Jac: no, the bus came, but they're pretty regular, even from yours 🏡 Jac: assuming they'll have me for this shift...you can meet me whenever you get to this part of town, they're really good at giving breaks Amelia: I'm familiar with the bus schedule, my parents don't drive me EVERYWHERE, just a lot of places Amelia: okay then Jac: you're an only child, it'd be weird if you weren't a bit spoilt Amelia: it would mean I was an accident but I'm literally the opposite so Jac: n'awh Amelia: at least they cherish me Amelia: you literally do the opposite Jac: 😂 Jac: you aren't a miracle in general you know, only to them Amelia: rude Jac: sometimes you have to hear these harsh truths Amelia: ear muff gay remember Amelia: you'll have to sign it Jac: [video saying something offensive that Amelia should remember lol] Amelia: 😂 Jac: 😏 Amelia: Jess doesn't deserve all the free advertising he'll be getting on this bus ride but I'm not going back for my 🎧 Jac: You're so common Amelia: after what you just signed Amelia: hypocritical Jac: unless someone has their 👀s on your screen, I'm fine Amelia: or on you as you did it Amelia: which they probably did Jac: this bus is packed Jac: fucking Christmas Amelia: people look at you, it doesn't matter where or who else is around Jac: you make it sound like I'm something special Jac: people look at you too Amelia: it's not the same Amelia: people are usually looking at me because I'm doing something I'm not supposed to Jac: nah, it is Amelia: 😳🚏 Jac: you'd notice if you weren't so busy looking at me Amelia: if that's the criteria I don't want to notice Jac: such a line Amelia: No, you're SO nice to look at, is a line Jac: I know you're too much of a 🤓 to ever think you're smooth Amelia: I haven't got the misplaced confidence of a teenage boy, if that's what you mean Jac: you aren't your ex, yeah Amelia: I fucking hope not Jac: all the girls I've seen you go for Jac: have really dark hair Amelia: I guess Jac: and are ethnically ambiguous, but like, more noticably than I am Amelia: where are you going with this? Jac: it's just what I've noticed Jac: you have a type but it isn't me Amelia: or you are my type and they're not Jac: I knew you'd say that Amelia: because it's true Jac: saying I defy all types would be more of a line Jac: so I'll believe you Amelia: Do you want to get ☕ with me? Jac: I can't Jac: like, genuinely Jac: we got up late, now I'm here begging for work, I better actually do some Amelia: okay, I'll bring it to you Amelia: and there'll probably be loads of people from school everywhere anyway Jac: yeah Jac: loads of people in our year reckon they're trying the pubs Christmas eve Jac: as if half of them look serve-able Amelia: are you going to go? Jac: I don't think so Jac: it's just for the brag of getting in and getting served, they're especially militant this time of year Jac: easier ways to get drunk we use every other day of the year Amelia: true Amelia: but you do love a competition Amelia: and a brag Jac: if I wanted to get served that bad, I'd go to my granda's Jac: I dunno Jac: are you gonna go? Amelia: I doubt my mum will let me break tradition for that Jac: of course Amelia: though I should probably go see your great grandad before they notice how much of their drinks cabinet we raided Jac: 😬 Jac: can't exactly break my no present rule to buy them a bottle or two Amelia: that'd be offensive, you won't break it for me Jac: spoilt brat 😂 Amelia: we missed a really good show 🎸🎵 Jac: I can't believe you're listening to it out loud Amelia: of course you can Amelia: it's exactly the kind of thing I'd do Jac: I'd be so embarrassed Jac: I'd move Amelia: if you were here I'd be able to steal your 🎧 Amelia: you never forget anything Jac: it's not hard Amelia: I was rushing Jac: you just really wanted a ☕ right Amelia: why else Jac: indeed Amelia: I can't believe how hard creepy editor is going with some of these close ups Amelia: it's really ruining it for me Jac: disgusting Jac: I won't be tuning in Amelia: if only it was so easy for you to avoid him in person, right? Jac: it's pretty easy Jac: though unfortunately he keeps all his music crap downstairs so Amelia: have I ever mentioned how great it is being an only child? Jac: 😒 Jac: fuck off Amelia: 😂 Amelia: I'm going in the wrong direction to Jac: I punched the wrong sibling though Amelia: what? Jac: not close enough to clock the concealer 👎 job editor Amelia: you did that? Jac: yeah Amelia: what happened? Jac: he tried to stop me going out Amelia: why? Jac: 'cos he's an idiot Amelia: okay Jac: I didn't think he'd actually try to stop me Amelia: it doesn't seem like something he'd usually do Jac: everyone's stressed Jac: obviously Amelia: has he tried to stop you since? Jac: I think we've mutually done our best to ignore each other Jac: it was a while ago, actually Jac: after your birthday Jac: time is weird Amelia: Jac Amelia: that was ages ago Jac: not THAT long ago Jac: what's your point? Amelia: I don't know Amelia: I feel stressed now Jac: why, you didn't punch him Jac: or make me Amelia: 😕 Jac: Come on Jac: calm down Amelia: this bus doesn't have a calming atmosphere Jac: how many screaming kids Amelia: they're the majority Jac: ew Jac: I have too many cousins Amelia: me too and I don't have hardly any in comparison Jac: I'm dreading it Jac: xmas Amelia: I wish we could just skip it Jac: same Amelia: my parents think I'm oblivious to the fact they're planning to use their New Year's party to set me up with someone Jac: that's cute Jac: how have they even found another gay for you Amelia: they've found more than one, it'll be a speed dating event with my entire extended family in attendance Amelia: that's not cute Jac: no, it's not, it's weird Jac: but I was trying to be polite Amelia: you're nicer to my parents than you are to me Jac: you'd have a go at me if I weren't Amelia: 🤔 Jac: what are you 🤔 about Amelia: if I should have a go at you for acting like I have a go at you all the time Jac: go ahead and answer your own question Jac: then you'll have a go at me for making you have a go at me over whether or not you're always having a go at me Amelia: 😣 Jac: 😏 Amelia: am I? Jac: just now Jac: but I treat you like shit so if you weren't it'd be more damning Jac: not before Amelia: oh great Jac: what do you mean? Amelia: I mean what I just said, I'm thrilled to hear that Jac: 🤨 Jac: okay Amelia: Where do you want me to meet you? Jac: I'll come out Jac: you remember where it is, my work Amelia: Yeah Amelia: I only have a couple of stops left Jac: I thought you were getting me coffee Amelia: there's a place right near there, I remember that too Jac: fair enough Jac: carry on Amelia: I'm not THAT hopeless at geography Jac: your memory is decent, you can have that Amelia: thanks Jac: don't mention it Amelia: 🤫🤐 Jac: I'll pay you back, for the coffee Jac: can't afford any more gifts from you Amelia: feel free to put the money in my coat pocket when give it back Jac: good idea Amelia: maybe I'll find something else I had no idea was in there when I do the search Jac: knowing you Amelia: yeah, a miracle, we all know ✨ Amelia: next year I'll just get you one big 🎁 Amelia: then we can have ☕ together Jac: if you pull 🥖🐟 out of your pocket, that's gonna seem more disgusting than miraculous Jac: at least next year, we'll both be able to drive Jac: and this will all be that much closer to being over Amelia: I'll actually know what I'm doing with my gap year if buts and maybes, that'll be weirder Jac: will it be backpacking in Thailand or building orphanages in Africa Amelia: my parents would still prefer 🥖🐟 Amelia: so if they get their way it'll be neither and nothing Jac: if you're gonna do it you have to do it properly Jac: or it's just a waste of time Amelia: the entire point is to waste more time after 🎓 and before 🤓💻📝 Amelia: it's a stalling tactic Jac: 🙄 Amelia: 😏 Jac: you're gonna be 2 years older than half your class by the time you get there Amelia: so? Amelia: it's not a speed dating event either Jac: so they're all going to seem really immature Amelia: boys always are Amelia: I've coped with that all through school Jac: Uni is about not dealing with that Jac: having a fresh start Amelia: exactly, I'll be there to 🤓💻📝 Jac: yeah right Amelia: not much of a fresh start otherwise Jac: exactly, you aren't going to have a personality overhaul in a year or two Amelia: 😂 Amelia: I'm thrilled you don't think 💔 has changed me Jac: only for the worse, obviously Amelia: you sound like my mum now Amelia: she's texting me 'please don't act like this when your grandparents arrive tomorrow' Amelia: like what? 🤶🏻 okay Jac: ooh, no 🥛🍪 for you Amelia: 🥺 Jac: you'll be fine Jac: just don't ruin christmas by being gay Amelia: that was last year's drama Jac: precisely why you don't need to go for 2 Amelia: why I'd find a new way to ruin it if I was going to Jac: 👍 Amelia: it was Is who copied you, I'm fine with letting you do your own thing Jac: they'll be too busy to care Jac: and not talking isn't ruining anything Jac: enough loudmouths running about Amelia: if you leave it at that Jac: what else would I do, shit in the christmas pudding Amelia: punch one of your other family members Amelia: just an idea I pulled out of nowhere though Jac: only if they get in my way Jac: which they're unlikely to do now Amelia: Jude isn't Amelia: getting in your way is her number 1 skill Jac: and mine happens to be avoiding her Amelia: it's in the top 10, I don't think I'd put it first Jac: I've managed not to punch anyone since Jac: it's fine Amelia: you were threatening to hit me not long ago Amelia: but alright Jac: because you were threatening to get in my space Jac: everyone just needs to leave me alone when I tell them to Jac: it's not hard Amelia: it's my fault, that's really what you're going with? Jac: yes Jac: you were going to get in my face when I explicitly warned you not to Jac: I didn't just attack you, and I didn't just attack Jess Amelia: okay Jac: fuck's sake Jac: it's alright for you all to push me and ignore my boundaries Amelia: because I can't keep up with what your boundaries are Jac: no, you just think you can push through them Amelia: no, you keep moving close to me and then away Jac: and you only accept one of those Amelia: so do you Jac: whatever Jac: this is pointless Amelia: any time I try to do anything that looks remotely like moving on, you know exactly what you do, so don't pretend this is all me Jac: I weren't talking about that Amelia: no, you were talking about how much you want me to fuck off Amelia: come outside and I can Jac: [does] Amelia: [we giving her this coat and coffee like okay bye as if we didn't come all this way/have anywhere else to be, oh gal] Jac: [kissing her on the cheek like we would've done without thinking as friends but now it's a big deal, but then running like bye] Amelia: [we're all dying and running away nbd]

[kyliwrites]

HELNIK

"I can't believe you don't like Disney movies."

Pairing: Nina x Matthias

Word Count: 2k+

Fluff or Angst?: Fluff

Oneshot?: Yes

Proofread?: No

Unsurprisingly, when Nina suggested a stay-at-home movie night, there was a good deal of discourse about which movies to watch. As usual, everyone had a certain Opinion™ about which Marvel films were trash and which were alright (which dissolved into a debate about Marvel vs. DC; poor Wylan was clueless and shrunk into the sofa when the choruses of “SPIDERMAN!” and “IRON MAN!” grew to a screaming match that became a pillow fight between Inej and Jesper). And most of all, Kaz’s choices were… well, they were a far cry from the general mood Nina had intended to set for the night.

All she’d wanted was a night of peace and relaxation, and maybe to shove everyone else off the sofa to cuddle with Matthias, but no one needed to know that part. The point was, she hadn’t planned on the utter chaos that her friends left in the wake of determining a movie to watch, though she probably should have.

Her entire living room was trashed.

“Did you guys really have to shred my favorite throw pillow?” Nina groaned, flicking a feather off of her sleeve with a pointed glare at Inej. The girl hoarded knives like a madwoman, and Nina had no doubt the mess of stuffing strewn across the navy carpeted floor was her doing.

“I’m sorry,” Inej said, ducking her head sheepishly and looking decidedly unsorry.

“Mmhm, sureeeee you are.” Nina glanced to Jesper, who sat covered in little white wisps of pillow insides. He grimaced and made an attempt at defending his honor, but Wylan spoke first.

“He deserved it. He threw one first,” he said, sounding unbothered by the catastrophe that had befallen Nina's apartment. He smirked at his boyfriend from where he’d curled up a safe distance away from the rough-housing. Kaz, leaning against the wall, raised his brows in dry, contented amusement.

“What!?” Jesper placed a hand on his heart, mock offended. “You wound me, merchling. Aren’t you supposed to jump to my defense? Go on, love, yell, 'He’s not to blame!’”

Satisfaction danced across Inej’s face as she slid off of the sofa and dusted feathers off of her leggings. “You’re the one who insulted Spiderman. You got only what you asked for.”

Matthias huffed out a breathy laugh and strode forward to wrap his arms around Nina. He placed a kiss to the top of her head. “Regardless. I’m sure we can all agree that the best superhero of all time is Thor.”

There had been a time when he would have recoiled at the very thought of such public displays of affection, back when he’d just immigrated to New York, but now it was their trademark. Where Nina and Matthias were, little whispers and giggles followed - bets on when they’d forego common decency and, point blank, start making out.

It never happened - well… not often, anyway. There was that one time when two of her managers had walked in on a somewhat passionate kissing session in the back of the restaurant Nina worked part-time at, but that was a story for another day (and a miracle that she wasn’t fired then and there). She didn’t like to think of Zoya’s disappointed face or Genya’s broad smirk at the moment… regardless of the fact that Zoya’s disappointed face was Zoya’s regular face and Genya always smirked.

Nina leaned back into Matthias’s embrace and smiled up at him with an, “In your dreams, Thunder Thighs” and a grin.

Amused exasperation replaced the sweet smile that had been on his face moments prior. “You’re all uncultured swine. Thor is the best superhero, and that’s that. You can’t change my mind.”

Jesper arched a brow. “That sounds vaguely like an invitation to change your mind. Ever heard of—” Inej smacked him with a pillow.

“You can’t seriously intend to argue yourself into another pillow fight, Jes,” Wylan retorted. He shifted away from Matthias, Inej, and Jesper, ever the pacifist.

Actually, that was a lie. He had once shoved Kuwei Yul-Bo into a garbage can on Broadway Street when he asked Jesper on a date—coincidentally, it was while Wylan and Jesper were on the way to see Kinky Boots. On a date.

Wylan was by no means a pacifist—it was more that he was currently done with everyone's shit

Nina sighed, knowing she was going to have to break apart World War III on her own. Kaz was watching them with narrow eyes, humor evident in his wry smile, and Matthias, Inej, and Jesper seemed ready to face off like it was a three-way nineteenth century Russian duel.

“Okay, guys, stop. No superhero is the best—”

All three offenders opened their mouths to object.

“—let’s stop arguing about Marvel and DC and… watch a Disney movie?”

Jesper and Inej closed their mouths, and after a moment, they nodded in reluctant agreement. Wylan beamed, and Kaz merely shrugged. He had a sadistic streak when it came to Disney—cracking jokes when Bambi’s mother died, pointing out continuity errors, essentially ruining their childhoods—the like. Nina had suspected he loved witnessing their discomfort from the moment he had the audacity to laugh at the scene in Pocahontas when John Smith was shot and say, “They died of STDs. Fucking idiots.”

But Matthias had never watched a Disney movie with them before - he was the only ‘yes’ left before they could get on with picking which movie (another battle to be waged later).

When Nina turned to gauge his reaction, a look of pure disgust and confusion was etched on his face. Disbelief sprouted across her own.

“Matthias… don’t tell me. You’ve never seen a Disney movie? What kind of household did you grow upon?”

He frowned. “We didn’t have Disney movies. My family does not support the company.” Nina caught her friends' gazes as they all rolled their eyes simultaneously.

“Let me guess, you were put to work the second you could lift your refrigerator at the tender age or six months,” Jesper drawled, leaning back on the sofa.

“I could not lift my fridge at the tender age of six.”

“Ohh, right. Your parents never taught you what a joke is. You have my sincere apologies, Thunder Thighs."

“Matthias,” Matthias corrected, but before this debate could get out of hand, Nina flung her arms out and shouted, “Well, this has been great and all, but is anyone concerned that Matthias has never, not once, seen a Disney movie?”

“No offense, but it’s not exactly on my bucket list, love.” Matthias brushed a strand of copper hair out of her eyes.

“Well, now it is on my bucket list to get you to watch a Disney movie. Oh, I’ve got it! Hercules. Since you’re the classics major.”

No one offered any objections, aside from an attempt from Matthias that was quickly silenced by a kiss on the lips from Nina that left him red-faced and speechless.

And thus, five minutes later, the lights had been flicked off and all (most) of the couples were not-so-discreetly cuddling. Inej and Kaz were… sort of sitting together underneath a hand-woven blanket, but that was as close as it got with those two. Nina counted it as a silent victory.

Wylan and Jesper were literally just spooning, and Nina’s head was in Matthias’s lap as the sounds of sweet mythological-themed jazz filled her ears. Bless these powerful African-American ladies for their roles as the Muses.

The peace didn’t last, of course, because their group was undeniably the most dysfunctional gang ever to exist.

"Hercules? You mean Hunkules!”

“That was the worst joke I have ever heard,” Matthias growled, making a face.

“Shhh, you oaf, you have to listen to the story.” Nina swatted his chin affectionately.

“I don’t want to listen to the story,” he insisted, rubbing at his stubble where he’d been Swatted. “I know it already. I’m majoring in classics.”

“Sh! Save it for later.”

He obeyed with an uneffected roll of his eyes.

She was surprised he’d managed to keep his biting remarks to himself throughout the introduction, but it wasn’t too much of a shocker when he started at Hades’s appearance on screen.

“That is not Hades. Tell me that’s not supposed to be Hades.”

“It’s supposed to be Hades.”

“That is wrong!”

“It’s a kids’ movie and he’s the villain, of course he looks wrong. Now shut up and watch it.”

Matthias let out a beleaguered sigh and cast his gaze back toward the television screen.

Most of the movie progressed uneventfully from that point onward, but during the ending, Matthias sucked in a breath and Nina just knew he was going to rant about the inaccuracy of a children’s movie and Greek myths for a solid twelve and a half minutes.

“First of all, why was Hades portrayed so *horrendously?*”

“You laughed at his jokes.”

“I laughed because they were stupid. But why was he so- so-”

“Gay?” Nina suggested with a wriggle of her brows.

Matthias’s neck was red with the determination of a man who was not going to back down from a fight. “Yes? Well…” He considered it for a moment. “No, that part was actually spot-on. All of the Greek deities were tragically bisexual—”

“Can I get a pin that says that? ‘Tragically bisexual?’” Jesper laughed.

“Make it yourself,” Matthias retorted and returned to his rant. If Nina was being honest, she tuned him out after the words, “scrawny golden white boy" were uttered, opting instead to watch his entire face move with his mouth.

It was addicting, seeing his eyes alight with passion and flare. He seemed so relentless, so full of emotion that he was bursting at the seams with it, and it was a relaxing change to what Nina was accustomed to seeing… the frigid, daunting mask of stoicism he wore around everyone else. It was why she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. He was strong, well-mannered, but most of all, he had conviction in his beliefs, a fire behind his ice that melted it into water—even if he hadn't always clung to the... correct... beliefs. He hadn't always been so open-minded.

She liked to believe that she'd somehow changed him, that the goodness in his heart had been stirred into awakening by her hand. That she'd made him a better man. That she'd taught him to love her as an equal. She liked to imagine that one day they might return to his family and spread what he'd learned. The Helvars were good people deep down, but uneducated in the ways that mattered—in the emotions and hardships of those less fortunate than them. They had prejudices of their own that Nina dreamed of helping them overcome... and some people had prejudices against them she wished to eliminate. Maybe these were the foolish ramblings of an optimist, but she had her hopes, and if they worked together they might overcome the biases of the world.

Nina cursed herself. Oh, this heart of hers. She was getting sappy in the midst of an argument about Disney.

“For God’s sake, Matthias,” Jesper was saying when she finally tuned back in, as exasperated as ever. “It’s Disney.”

“That’s precisely the problem." Matthias’s eyebrows were knit together. "Children are being educated wrong! All of them will grow up having learned the myth incorrectly. Do you know how difficult it is to relearn a topic after years of—"

Jesper cut in with an, "Okay, I can’t sit here and listen to this anymore. I’m leaving.” Wylan made a noise of protest, clearly unwilling to be deprived of the warmth of his boyfriend’s arms, but Jesper tugged the blanket away and started to rise.

Nina, chuckling fondly, gestured to the door. “Then get out of our apartment. I’ve got classes and work tomorrow, and I’m not staying up any later than this. Besides, Matthias needs his beauty sleep.”

“Alright, alright,” Jesper grumbled, slinging an arm around Wylan as they took their leave.

Matthias poked her chest with an affectionate glare. “My beauty sleep? Isn’t that what you need?”

“No, because I”—she prodded him right back—”am already stunning, thank you very much.”

Matthias’s teasing expression fell, and was replaced with something kinder, softer. “I know. You, Nina Zenik, are the most stunning, gorgeous, beautiful—ridiculously beautiful, might I add—”

Nina grew flustered.

"Obviously," she said, though her cheeks were pink, and she pushed him gently.

Matthias was undeterred. He was gazing at her with depthless tenderness. “—most amazing, talented”—at this, Nina snorted—”woman I know.”

An awkward clearing of the throat interrupted Nina before she could even reply to that.

Kaz. Oh shit, she thought.

“Oh shit," she said.

“If you could take that elsewhere, that would be just stellar,” Kaz whispered.

“No, why don’t you leave my house? And why are you whisper—oh.”

Inej had lain her head on Kaz’s shoulder and was out like a light.

“Yes, oh.” Kaz scowled, shooing them away. “I don’t intend to move, because this one sleeps about as often as I do. Now go cuddle elsewhere.”

“Kicking me out of my own living room? Brekker, you’re a riot.”

“Fuck off, Zenik.”

Nina snickered and Matthias whisked her away with a firm glare at Kaz. He practically carried her towards their bedroom, ignoring her giggles and protests, and kissed her sweetly before drawing the covers over her shoulders.

“So how did you really feel about the Disney movie?” She asked when they were both comfortably snuggled beneath the comforter.

Matthias groaned. “It’s midnight, Nina.”

“Answers, Helvar. I demand them.”

There was a pregnant stretch of silence, and just when Nina was sure he wasn’t going to answer, he said, “...It was inaccurate and a mistake was made by ever producing it, but… it was alright.”

She let out a whoop of victory at which Matthias rolled his eyes and turned on his side.

“I win!” Nina cawed, drawing him back towards her. “Ha!”

“Oh, lovely. You’ll be insufferable now.”

“You love me, though.” Nina kissed the back of his head, content to breathe in the scent of him as she buried her nose in the crook of his neck.

“That I do. I most definitely do.”

“Good,” she murmured. “Because I love you, too.”

[bellamyblake]

Hey, Iva. Did you see the script for 6x11 with the blakes moment? The greek mythology? I was wondering if you could write a moment between them like this when they were kids and he was telling her teh story? you don't have to but if you do i'd be grateful.

Well…I tried…I hope you like it? Blake siblings as kids on the ark AU.

He feels the tap on his shoulder and his sister’s breath tickling his ear.

“Bell” her childish voice calls for him. He groans and rolls on his back to find her wide awake.

“O, what are you doing? Go to bed!”

“I can’t sleep.” she says sheepishly and pulls their blanket up her neck. He sighs. This has been happening a lot lately, maybe because they were really low on rations this month or because the electricity in Factory was often cut off so the quarters were colder than usually and they had to sleep together to keep each other warm. He could hear their mother’s quiet tired snores from the bunk above and he knew that Octavia went to bed with her but sneaked out only recently to his bed because her little feet which she was pressing to his were cold as hell.

“O, I have to work tomorrow. I got an early shift.” he says seriously and rolls on his side to face her. Her big brown eyes were staring at him with both fear and hope. But one thing was for sure-she was wide awake and she wasn’t going to just fall asleep.

“I’m sorry…”

He reaches to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and rolls his eyes, pretending to be annoyed when in fact his heart was growing sizes at the sight of her like this. She was so slim and pale, sometimes he feared that if she tripped and fell she might just break her entire body. He hovered nervously around her whenever she jumped around the metal box they called their home and kept his hands on both her sides like when she was a baby learning to walk-unstable but stubbornly persisting forward.

“Come here.” he wraps his arm around her and pulls her to his chest. She embraces his body too and hides her face in the crook of his neck. God, she was cold. He throws the blanket over their heads and pushes her even closer to himself, hoping she won’t get sick and repeating it in his head like a mantra.

“Tell me a story, please.” she mumbles.

“O…”

“Please, Bell.” her bony fingers dig deeper in his back and he groans. She knew he will bent. He always did. Even if he has been lacking sleep himself lately, even if he had to get up and go off to work in the machine section where he’d breathe in the horrible messy air and lift off heavy things and try to move levers and use hammers with the risk of his own thirteen year old life like many other Factory kids.

“Fine” he rubs her back to get her to warm up “Which one do you want?”

“Medea, please.” O whispers back and cuddles in his chest again, settling down to listen to his voice lull her to sleep.

“You really love that one, don’t you?” Octavia just shrugs and pulls him closer.

“Medea was of the people of the far edge of the Black Sea where the world ended for the Greeks. She was a sorceress like her father Aeetes of Colchis, granddaughter of the powerful god Helios and her sin was falling in love with Jason, captain of the Argonauts.”

At that Octavia curls her toes and tightens her embrace so much he struggles to breathe and gives her a fake cough so she would losen her arms. She always loved that part.

He then proceeds to tell the story quietly so they don’t wake their mother and with every word Octavia’s body goes more and more slack against his, her arms wrapped up around his own slim torso, going limp. He tells her Medea helped her love overpower her father’s obstacles so he could win and even killed a giant serpent for him.

��Then to slow her father, she killed her brother Absurtys and cut him into little pieces, scattering his body on an island, knowing that her father would want to gather all the pieces and bury his son properly.”

“But how could she kill her own brother!” Octavia exclaims as she looks up at him.

“Shhh, mom’s sleeping.”

“She won’t wake! She never does.” Octavia whines and she’s not wrong.

When Aurora slept nothing could wake her up, she was just exhausted to the point of passing out and very little could stir her back to reality.

That’s why he became the light sleeper.

Every little noise would jolt him and keep him up for hours. He always worried that someone would come, open the door and find Octavia sleeping on the cot with either him or his mom.

That’s why he always pulled the blanket over her when they slept together, not just to keep her warm but to instill that fake-believe in himself that somehow he was making her invisible to any danger in the world and keeping her safe at the same time while he was asleep and could not protect her.

“She just loved Jason very much.”

Octavia huffs at that.

“Is that why when they got exiled to Corinth he found a new bride!”

“Octavia!”

“I’m just saying! Falling in love is stupid. Family matters more. She killed her own brother!”

“Okay, easy there, smarty pants. It’s just a story.”

“It’s not a story, it’s a myth and people used to believe in it, Bell!” he chuckles. For an almost six year old, she was quite the smart ass, he’d give her that.

“Fine.” he agrees because he feels his own eyelids drooping. “Let’s sleep now”

“But you didn’t tell me how she killed her children too”

“O, you already know it. I’ve said it a thousand times.”

“Yes, but I love your voice.” her hand finds his and squeezes it.

“I know but it’s time to sleep. I’m tired and we’ll wake mom up. I’ll continue tomorrow night, I promise.” Octavia sighs and cuddles closer again. She’s not freezing anymore, at least not as badly as before and he lets himself take a deep breath.

He’s drifting off when he hears her mumble.

“I’d never kill you, Bell.”

“That’s good to know, O.” he chuckles and kisses the top of her head “That’s good to know.”