#(i am forcibly dragged off stage by guards)

[seri-tonin]

Last post for tonight I swear but I can't believe kaoru lost the best vocals poll for undead... dead last too...

[pareidolla]

Your the only other STP self shipper I know haha

Uhh I love Cold v much, which is probably a odd opinion and F/O

JKSJSJXNSBDJS i am happy to be in the voice lover brigade but i cannot deny how flustered i was upon receiving this ask lol ♡ i promise there's more of us!! if anyone sees this please be louder about wanting to kiss the voices i can't be the only clown in the tiny car!!!

and what are you talking about voice of the cold is super hot he was ROBBED in the voice attractive poll i'd break my bones for him to⸻ (*guards pile into the room and i am forcibly dragged off the stage kicking and shouting*)

[mable-stitchpunk]

FNAF-TOBER Prompt- 9: Ice Scream

A new body was more than just a new exterior, it was a new life. It was taking a completely new form and watching as the world changed around you. For Eleanor, that thrill right after getting a new body was what she existed for, and that was why she frequently grew bored of her new appearances and moved onto the next. Today was the day she found her next target.

Eleanor’s targets were frequently children and young teenagers, the only ones who would fall for her ruse, but her newest plan seemed like it could work in a favor. Using her current body, she would befriend a child and find one with an older sister or young mother, then would follow them home, strip herself of her guise, and promise something she wouldn’t provide in full. It was worth it to become a true woman.

Which meant she would need a child, and the best place to find them was her old restaurant. Years ago, Eleanor had been mounted on a stage singing and performing to children of all ages, but had been discarded when another model had come in. While Eleanor hadn’t liked being on stage, she had a deep-set anger for being tossed in the garbage, so she didn’t feel bad in using the pizzeria to her advantage.

The body she currently guised in was of a preteen who looked a little too old for Circus Baby’s Pizza World, but nobody stopped her from walking inside and beginning to prowl. She smiled and pretended to peek at the arcade cabinets, tried to make her interest in the cupcakes believable, and wandered around with an awestruck look, all to cover that she was eyeing the children.

One was particularly of interest to her, and that was a girl who had came with what looked to be her older sister. She checked off all the marks. She was timid, hesitantly keeping to herself and by her sister’s table, and watched the other children with longing look. She would be easy to persuade; Eleanor could already see through her cracks.

But right as she was about to approach the girl, she started to wander off by herself into the pizzeria. Eleanor took this as a positive sign and followed, leading her into one of the back party rooms. The girl must’ve been there as part of a birthday party as the room was set up with tables and plates. There were only a few children left in the room. Eleanor followed her inside with the intention of finally approaching her.

Except that was when she noticed the stage against the back wall, and what was on it. Much to Eleanor’s disgust, there was her replacement, a large, bulky Baby model with childish features. Why anyone would choose that thing over her was beyond her, but it didn’t matter anymore. She had a new life, and she was going to have another in only a few days if she played her cards right.

Speaking of which, Eleanor turned back to the tables only to stop short when she saw something unexpected. Her meek little target was being engaged by two other children who were chatting her up and inviting her to play. Much to Eleanor’s dismay, the girl quietly agreed and they started to make their way out of the room, leaving her alone with her replacement.

It was an annoyance, maybe, but that was the thrill of the chase. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. This taste of friendship would be enough to convince the girl to want more of it. Eleanor would just have to watch and wait, and she prepared to follow her out.

“Hello. What’s your name?”

Until an unexpected voice chimed up from the stage. Eleanor looked back quickly, feigning exaggerated surprise, and tried to figure out if this was an automated response or something else. Baby was watching her and waiting for an answer, so she gave one.

“My name’s Ellie! Wow, I didn’t know you could talk!”

“I can sing too. Would you like a song?” Baby offered sweetly. Definitely had to be aware like she was, but seemed a lot more dense. Poor thing probably hadn’t had a day off the stage since she got here. Eleanor almost pitied her.

“Gosh, I’d really love to, but I got to catch up with my friends,” Eleanor excused. She gave an innocent wave, “See you later!” and turned to head out. 

“Oh... Alright...” Baby sounded downtrodden, though Eleanor cared little. Though what came next did catch her attention. “You’re just... So pretty.”

Pretty? This body? This body was full of imperfects- save the pouty lips and curved cheeks, which drew her to the guise in the first place. How Baby could find this body pretty was beyond her. If anything, it piqued her curiosity.

“You think I’m pretty?” Eleanor asked, feigning a tone of awe. Baby pulled her arms together as though she was shy and timidly nodded. “But... I look so boring. Nobody ever notices me, and people make fun of my ears,” she said, adding in the girl’s own comments into her assessment. 

“I think you’re beautiful...” Baby quietly assured. Eleanor was sure that this model had never seen anything except children, parents, and her own self. She didn’t understand true beauty, and what one could do with it.

“There used to be another girl robot on that stage before you. I think she was a Baby too? She was beautiful,” Eleanor clarified, feigning quiet defeat. Baby tilted her head.

“There was... Another Baby?” Baby asked. “What did she look like?”

“She was tall, and thin, and looked a lot like a real person. She had long lashes and rosy lips, slender curves, shapely legs and delicate hands. She was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Wow, she sounds so pretty. I wish I could meet her. Maybe she could make me pretty too...?” Baby almost sounded like she was asking for something, like she thought Eleanor could tell her where this ‘beautiful Baby’ was.

“She could’ve, but they threw her in the dumpster,” Eleanor said a little too coldly. She recovered quickly and smiled wide. “But that’s okay! We can still be friends... Oh, my friends! I better go!”

“Oh, okay. Have fun,” Baby said pensively. Yet right as Eleanor was about to leave, she perked up abruptly. “Wait, before you go...” She cut off with a humming and rumbling in her chest. Elanor watched wearily, just wanting to get away from this clown, until a hatch in Baby’s chest opened and she pulled out a freshly made ice-cream cone. “Here. All of my new friends get ice cream.”

“I don’t really like ice cream,” Eleanor said, her annoyance starting to come through. 

That was, until Baby said, “Then you can give it to your friends. Or to somebody new, and then you can become friends with them too. Everybody likes ice cream.”

That was true. Children especially seemed to become very friendly with those who gave out free goodies. She never considered it before, but giving candy and sweets could be a good way to get children to let their guard down. Then she could learn just enough that when she revealed her true self she could relay details back to them, making her look like some sort of magical being ready to grant all their wishes.

“Well, okay! Thank you!” Eleanor came up to the stage and reached up for the ice cream. Baby leaned over to hand it down to her.

Until suddenly her eyes went black and her chest opened up. A large claw shot out of her middle and caught Eleanor by the shoulder before forcibly dragging her inside.

It was a tight squeeze. Even with Baby’s large size, Eleanor was compressed tightly inside the storage tank, and though she didn’t feel pain she was very aware of the trouble she was in. Especially once the hatch closed tight behind her. 

“...Did you really think I was stupid enough to fall for that?” 

Baby’s voice had changed. Once gentle and innocent, it was now low and bitter, and angry. “You’re so vain that you thought you could put on a flimsy illusion and fool everyone. But not me. I saw through you the moment you stepped into the room. I know what you are.”

“Then you should let me go,” Eleanor smoothly replied. She stopped mimicking her victim’s voice and returned to her natural one. One that was painfully similar to Baby’s own. “I meant what I said. I could make you beautiful.”

“You’re lying... But that’s alright. I lied too, and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”

Right then, the tank’s walls compressed further, tightening further against Eleanor’s sides. Now she was becoming increasingly aware of the severity of the situation. 

“You thought you could come into my pizzeria and make it your playground. You thought I would just let you do whatever you wanted, didn’t you? There’s no sweet talking your way out this time. This is my pizzeria. I am the star. I can do whatever I want.”

Suddenly, Eleanor knew what her victims felt like in the moment they realized there was no coming back. A moment that would give her glee, seeing their hopeless faces, and now experiencing from the other side as the walls cracked the metal body hiding underneath the ruse. 

She screamed for help in her victim’s voice, but just like with her, nobody was there to hear it.

“We’ll see how pretty you are when I’m finished with you...”

[secret-engima]

I am horribly sick and just want to stab everyone that tries to make me use my incredibly sick throat. May I get a ramble on fangs and feathers? Or even Prompto-Cloud thingy bit thing. (Uuughgi. Sickness makes my memory WORSE. I can't remember its name and honestly F&F was a hit or a miss but it LOOKS RIGHT SO.)

I’m so sorry to hear that!! Ummm let’s go with the Prompto-Cloud thing (Clouds and Moonlit Skies verse btw). Actually *grins* let’s go with a nutty xover.

-Zack and Cloud are ten years old in this. They trip into another dimension and at first don’t realize it. They were busy exploring an old part of the Citadel, Seph is with them, having abandoned his paperwork on Zack’s puppy eyes and Cloud’s teasing. They have fun for a while, poking around dusty old rooms and discovering a new, spacious training ground to trash later.

-Then they get hungry and troop their way for the kitchens to grab a snack.

-They enter the populated part of the Citadel and come face to face with a Crownsguard.

-The Crownsguard isn’t human.

-Well, the upper half of him is, but his lower half is some kind of fluffy tabby house cat, like a centaur, but a cat.

-Both sides stare at each other in astonishment for several very long seconds before the guard shouts in shock and rears back, tail puffing out to stupidly huge proportions as he reaches for his com to ... alert someone.

-Seph acts on pure instinct, lunging for the guard and tackling him to the ground. He knocks the guard out, but not before getting a nasty claw-made gash on one arm and the guard screaming into his link something about “Drautos is here!” Which really shouldn’t be cause for alarm because he works here- except he doesn’t, because he’s half sitting on an unconscious, man-sized half HOUSE CAT person.

-A frantic game of keep-away-what-is-going-on starts up with Noctis, Prompto, and Titus all ducking into rooms and through camera blindspots to avoid the Crownsguard who are ALL centaur cat people (Zack: Cataurs? Cloud: Not the time Zack) eventually though, they get caught, because of course they do, the Citadel is different and the cameras are too many. They get cornered in a very large, grand hallway with lots of very potentially breakable art, surrounded by wild-eyed and tense Crownsguard who range from cat people to deer people to ... is that a ferret over there? Cloud is pretty sure that’s a ferret person.

-Also Cor Leonis is there, tail swishing madly as he clutches at his sword and eyes them, fur bristling slowly as their hunters all seem to finally realize that the “Drautos and unknown intruders” they’ve been chasing are NOT half animal of some kind.

-Zack is the one to break the silence by stage whispering to Cloud, “I thought he’d be a lion. You know, with the name and all.” Seph, uncaring of leaving himself open to attack, takes a moment to facepalm with a heavy sigh while someone in the Crownsguard gives a nervous, semi-hysterical laugh.

-Tension now thoroughly ruined, the three allow themselves to be herded by a stiff-legged, bristling Cor to the Throne Room where the Regis and Clarus of this dimension are. Zack smothers (badly) a giddy laugh at seeing his dad with lion hindquarters (so cliche! Lion King!) and ooing softly over Clarus’s tiger stripes.

-Seph notices something subtly relax in the king despite his bristling tail and the way everyone keeps staring at them like they’re cryptids. That is CONVENIENTLY when Gentiana shows up (as an actual centaur???) and explains that the three of them accidentally slipped through the boundaries between worlds from a nearby world, and that it should wear off within three days time.

-She disappears and the awkward conversations start. It quickly becomes apparent that the ... Taurs are a little bit in awe at the sight of their two-legged status (apparently, as the king explains, all taurs used to be humans but were turned into taurs at the FALL OF SOLHEIM. Cloud wonders if this was how Aerith felt when people gushed over her being an Ancient). It also becomes evident that none of them trust Seph. At all. They keep their eyes on him far more than Zack and Cloud (though Regis does stare at Zack a bit, no doubt it’s weird looking at his son with human legs). Cor looks two steps away from murder at all times while glaring at Seph even as Clarus and Regis argue over where to house them for the three days that will be secure and how to keep this from getting all over the media.

-Finally Cloud snaps at Cor that if he has a problem, come out and say it. Everyone stares at him in astonishment for reasons he can’t fathom (yet) and finally Clarus explains that the Titus Drautos in their universe was a traitor who tried to assassinate Regis and conquer Insomnia. Seph blinks very slowly at that because wat. Why would he work for the people who experimented on him AGAIN. Then he realizes that without his past life memories he probably would have been brainwashed into it yeah. “I can see that,” Seph muses aloud while Zack sputters and Cloud spaces out dangerously at the distance. At the sudden tensing he waves a hand and drawls, “Niflheim and I do not get along.” He pauses, then adds just in case it come up somehow, “I cannot speak for your Titus, but I was forcibly captured out of the Crownsguard, experimented upon, and implanted with an armor unit codenamed Glauca. It did nothing to endear them to me.”

-Zack flings his arms around Seph’s and yells loudly before anyone else can say a word, “He’s mine! You gotta problem with them then fight me!” Zack pauses then adds, “Actually, you gotta problem with him then I’ll sic Prom on you.”

-“I don’t think that’s a very intimidating threat unless you know our Prompto,” Seph points out dryly but Zack loudly shushes him.

-They end up in a guest suite meant for visiting royals, with a few Crownsguard outside to make sure they don’t leave and aren’t disturbed. Of course, because their luck is their luck, the rumors have spread far enough that Regis, Cor, and Clarus are unable to run damage control before the Chocobros of this world hear about it.

-A day into their stay, Regis reluctantly takes the children to visit with Clarus, Cor, and Aulea all as backup. They enter to find all the furniture pushed to the far sides of the room, Titus on one end of the room, all three having what appears to be a mini war complete with battle lines. All three pause in their war, Noctis-Zack calmly dangling from Titus’s fist by his ankle while Prompto-Cloud lies sprawled near the door, feet up by his own head, arms splayed like he’s just been kicked in mid-air and didn’t have time to land right.

-“Are we interrupting something?” Cor asks stiffly. Noctis-Zack just laughs and Cloud attracts more than a few stares as he flips himself upright in a smooth movement utterly impossible for a Taur. Seph casually drops Zack without warning and the boy easily twists to land on his feet. Regis ... reluctantly asks if they would mind meeting their child counterparts plus a few friends, which Zack is all for and the other two fold to his whim. So Regis reluctantly lets the children enter. Noctis thunders up to Zack with bright eyes and gapes at his two-legged status while Cloud finds himself suddenly face to face with 10,000 Rays of Sunshine wearing his face and wagging a tail like a mad thing. Gladio trots up to Noctis while Ignis just kinda watches from next to the adults as the Nocti exchange greetings and then Zack hastily goes to extract Cloud from Prompto, because Cloud looks two inches away from a panic attack and stabbing is not recommended right now (Cor sees the sheer difference between his son and this human version and something in him growls. Why is the human Prompto so quiet, so alert and wary, watching everything, even himself, like it might attack?)

-Prompto deflates a bit at his counterpart’s silence and wariness, not understanding why and Seph breaks the tension by humming, “You know, Zack,” (who is Zack? The Taur adults wonder until human Noctis perks up), “I find myself a bit surprised. I would have been certain that your counterpart wouldn’t be a lion.”

-“Why’s that?” Noctis asks with a head tilt.

-Seph smirks, cool and smug and positively catlike, “Because he’s nothing but a big Puppy.”

-“Oi!” Zack yells but he’s laughing, “I make a great lion!”

-Cloud’s lips twitch against his will and he adds, “Well, this is another dimension. Some differences in temperament are to be expected.”

-Zack puts his hands over his heart with a gasp, blue eyes big and watery, “Cloud- Cloudy- My Cloudy Prompto Cloudy Spiky Buddy! How could you betray me like this??”

-Cloud just raises an eyebrow very slowly.

-Their banter is interrupted by a laugh from Prompto, “You guys are weird,” he says with a tail wag.

-Zack grins back and despite having known his son as a lion cub all his life, Regis can almost see the matching wagging tail on the boy, “You don’t know the half of it! Wanna play something?”

-The kids end up playing a strange mix of tag and the floor is lava (which Ignis RULES at because Ibex and Cloud rules over right behind him because Stubborn Mountain Boi) while Seph watches with fond eyes and finds himself slowly dragged into a conversation with Aulea.

-Some questions are exchanged and answers given, Cor snarls under his breath at the news of Prompto being given up to a neglectful home until finally being adopted by Cor where he belonged, and Regis and Aulea clutch hands when Seph slowly admits that Zack (they’re going by Zack, Cloud, and Seph to differentiate counterparts, claiming it’s an “in joke” and “nicknames”) hasn’t noticed her because he doesn’t recognize her. Queen Aulea died when Zack was a year old.

-But it’s not all sad things with the adults, Seph tells them little anecdotes of his world, and Regis notes how much more ... mellow this Titus is. Cunning yes, and somewhat cold, but not pushy and angry. Much more patient, and there is clear devotion in his eyes as this Titus watches his Noctis and Prompto play.

-Cor ends up sparring with this Titus, because Seph isn’t going to turn down the chance to Throw Hands with a cheetah man anymore than Cor will a human.

-It’s a tie that ends with both of them wheezing and tired on the floor.

-Cloud ends up falling asleep at one point and Prompto flops down next to him and soon they are both out and cuddling. All the Pictures are taken.

-Regis and Aulea are bemused and horrified by just how much of an Energizer Bunny Zack is. Like- HOW. Where do you store it all child and they thought Prompto was bad in his puppy stage.

-The three days end and the three disappear as swiftly as they came, and Zack is gleeful to have all the photo evidence Seph thoughtfully took to prove that YES they went to a world with Taur people and LOOK DAD YOU MAKE AN AWESOME LION. SO DOES MOM. SO DO I. AND HAH IGGY IS A GOAT (Ibex, Cloud corrects with a sigh and is ignored by Zack).

Tagging @robininthelabyrinth because I’m pretty sure Nocturne is your fic? Hope you don’t mind this little silly xover. I just loved the story too much to resist.

[aseriesoffunfortunateevents]

OF GODDESSES AND MERMAIDS

Her breath came in ribbons. She was sprinting towars a door on the other side of the hall. With sideways manouvres she came past other items on display and tables filled with important books. Her legs started to feel heavy. Her muscles were aching from the amount of ducking she had done.

Behind her, there was the sound of hurried foodsteps and the rushing of thousands of wings. The sound filled her head like a typhoon, but she dragged herself towards the door.

A flash of light lit up the hall and she fell on the floor. Open fire! In a museum!

With complete disregard for all artefacts in the room, they had opened fire on her!

Her heart was in her throat as she jumped up again and lunged forward.

A sudden triangle of light lit up.

Before she could do anything, her momentum caused her to fall through the flames. Stumbling, she ran on and looked around her wildly.

Everything was green. There were flashes of blue and glitter.

She cursed. She clenched her fist around the shell in her hand. Her feet came down on a nonexistent floor. While screaming loudly she ran on into the unknown. It must be magic of some sort, but she knew it had opened for her followers, too.

There was another white flash.

The silence around her was broken by the sound of the slap of her feet on a paving stone. She had to use every muscle in her arsenal to not stumble and fall on her knees upon impact.

She stilled. Her surroundings made it clear she was not in Velsante, city of gods, any more. There were tacky sandy paving stones and houses of ordinary stone. There were many and they formed the borders of an alley. Above her there was darkness, save for a small circle through which she could see the sky and the stars. Odd. But it was important to find out where she was if she wanted to be able to escape. She tried to summon her magic to fly towards the sky, but her core sputtered and blacked out.

Grinding her teeth, she looked back at the portal. Right- magical portals zapped her powers away for a few days.

Shit.

The sound of wings echoed through the portal.

She cursed again.

"You own the fucking universe and you send them after me for this?"

Her feet were moving again. Her hand clung to the shell tightly. Once more she fumbled around her body for a hiding spot, but no. She would have to make do with one hand until she could afford to change clothes.

She turned the corner. The sounds of heavy footsteps started sounding on the slabs of stones behind her.

"Lead me, Anneir." She begged.

Further down the alley a door opened. Thank Anneir!

The man that walked out looked up. Her eyes were widened in fear, adrenaline and doubt. His clothing was blue and silver- House Atlea. But she was out of time. She grabbed onto the man.

With a powerful pull on his dress shirt she forcibly got him into the building and with the other hand she janked the door closed. The shell she pushed against his chest when the door slammed shut and he fell against it.

Before the creature could make a sound, she silenced him in the best way she knew how.

His lips tasted like sea weed.

The resounding steps of those in pursuit could be heard on the other side of the door. Brown eyes flew to the door and back to her. He wasn't sure about what to do, she realized.

With large eyes and a scared shake of her head, she secured her future.

The man pulled her closer with his two arms. Pandora let him.

Only after the footsteps in the alley faded away, did she catch another sound. It sounded like an interrupted version of something her friend Voljon, a musician, could have played.

Her lips pulled away from his and she looked around warily.

Behind her a hall filled with water sprites stared at them.

-----------

The silence in the room was deafening. Without consulting the man who was holding her, she let him go and stared back at all of them. Her iron will tried to seep into the room and make them focus on other things, yet her powers still eluded her. The amount of eyes on them were unsettling. Besides that, the man was still holding her and it was high time they became untangled.

Right as Pandora set about pulling his hands off her, there was a sound outside that she recognised. A pitter patter that made her frown at the man in front of her. Then there was a low sucking and squelching sound. Before either of them could do anything, there was a pounding on the door.

"DORA JANE , OPEN THIS DOOR!"

The voice was livid, but it filled the redhaired girl with a sense of relief.

"Pennie," she wondered.

"WHO ELSE!"

With a sharp twist she forced her way out of the arms of the man and back to the door. It opened just a crack, but the shine of silver hair and deep burgundy red lips was enough. With a rapid movement, the redhaired woman threw open the door and pulled in the water sprite that had barely formed outside the building. Then she janked the door closed again.

"Pennine," she sighed, pulling her close and hugging her. "I knew you'd come."

The woman in front of her pulled away with a spray of water that fell off her barely formed limbs. She was staring at the hall they were in now and the man next to them.

The silence was deafening.

"Why... are you in a hall hosting a sprite wedding," she stage whispered.

The auburn hair of Pandora fell off her shoulder as she shrugged.

"I needed a place to hide. The man opened a door."

Pennine's plump lips tutted as she looked back around at the girl, then set her hands on her voluptuous hips as she turned to the crowd. Curious aunts, uncles  and gossip machines had now come closer and seemed intent on listening in on their conversation. Not to mention direct family of the man who seemed hurt and peeved at the actions unfurling in front of them.

Pennine waved at all of them sweetly.

"Hi, there. Sorry, late arrival. Please, continue."

The bride and groom on the dance floor seemed miffed, but resumed their dancing and soon the music started again. Family members did not seem as appeased as they had been, though, but they were not jumping at the chance to attack, yet. Pandora sighed in relief.

The man next to them coughed softly and they turned to him.

"Hi. I'm Ciraeus."

He greeted them both with a bow and a slap to the heart. When turning to Pandora, he used two fingers to draw a circle around his heart. It made the woman with auburn hair flinch. Pennine turned to her, her blue eyes as everchanging as the sea. This time a stormy navy.

Before anyone could say any more, Pennine grabbed both their arms and dragged them to the nearest door. It led out into a halway that was, thankfully, deserted. When the door closed behind them, Pennine rounded on them.

"WHAT are you doing here? You're supposed to be running down this street and meeting me at the fountain at the end! With the shell of Moria!"

The young man put both his hands in his pockets and listened to them bicker.

"Fountain? I - y- you made the portal?"

"Of course, you never think things through! How would you leave the most well-guarded place alive?!"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO IT since it would make me lose my magic! By all the dragons, Pennine! Why am I here, you ask? I was chased and this was the best I could do in terms of hiding instead of being killed because all my magic is gone!"

The standoff between the two women was electric. Their auburn and silver hair glinted in the artificial light as they threw their arms up and out, dramatic even in their nonverbal communication. The silverhaired woman was plump and very attractive, where the redhaired woman was freckled all over and her beauty mostly gained from the flowers dispersed through her hair. The flowers seemed to magically appear more and more as her emotions heightened. Pennine, however, stayed level-headed. The older water sprite woman did not even glance at it, where the young male water elemental Ciraeus could not look away. His dark skin lit up from the amount of light in the hallway and his blue eyes watched them with growing interest. His eyes too were blue, but they were less stormy and instead hiding a deeper level current. A trait all water sprites possessed; blue eyes that reflected their emotions.

He fiddled with something in his pocket.

"Better the magic than you in general. Now stop bitching," Pennine demanded with a harsh voice. When the other woman opened her mouth she slashed her hand through the air and denied her. "No. Stop bitching and lets resolve this so we can get on our way while time is still on our side."

The woman pulled a face and looked away. After a long battle of wills, it had been logic that stopped the redhaired refugee. It seemed Pennine had won. The older water sprite looked back at the man, who still stood there, fiddling with his hands in his coat pockets.

When it stayed silent, the white haired lady took a deep breath.

"So... why is this man greeting you like he is," she asked calmly.

Pandora crossed her arms.

"I kissed him to shut him up. ...It meant nothing," she assured the man, Ciraeus, pointedly. Then she looked at her nails. The freckles that had made her look sweet before now added a touch of cool elegance to her presence. "Anyway, let's get going."

Her wet feet slapped on the floor when she walked. As she glanced down at them, she could see some gold starting to show through on the soles. She walked until there was a shaky sigh from Pennine. She turned her head.

Pennine held her nosebridge between her two fingers.

"What? Don't tell me that after all this time, you've grown sentimental."

"It's not sentimentality, it's covering our tracks. Do you want others to catch on?"

Pandora turned with a snarl.

"I'm not about to marry a man for the sake of his people's customs!"

Ciraeus coughed.

"He's an Altea. If you leave without explanation it will resonate through the houses. It will get back to Velsante."

The flowers in her hair drooped and she looked at her associate directly.

"I know."

Pennine's mouth was agape, but she said nought.

Outside, they could hear the rain pound on the slated pavement. The man took a step forward and shook his black hair out of his face.

"I don't mind my own reputation but my family... My sisters' marriages still need to be arranged."

The cornflower blue of his eyes met that of Pennine. She nodded resolutely. When they turned to Pandora together, her lips made a tutting sound.

The air around the woman crackled, but there was no magic to be seen.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. How do we fix it as soon as possible, Ciraeus?"

They stared at one another.

"Marriage?"

"Out of the question."

"A proposal?"

"No."

"Ask my parents for my hand?"

"Never."

He growled at her stony answers. Pennine was at a loss, too. Bristling, the woman with the flowers in her hair started walking up and down the hallway. Her eyes found those of her friend.

Pennine threw her hand in the air.

"Don't look at me- I'm short on solutions that are not kidnapping him."

The man's eyes snapped up. He stood up straighter. His necklace of pearls rattled as he eyed Pennine.

"Wait- yes. Can I join you? Is that - I mean - that would work."

The redhaired woman sneered at him as she walked by.

"No."

His eyes followed her light tread while cold seemed to emanate from her body. He moved his arms around enthusiastically, getting in front of her.

"If you want to leave without leaving a trail, it's the only option left. Ask to court me, then take me away from here and leave me behind somewhere on your trip."

"For all you know we've just committed murder."

"It's not murder."

He seemed very sure.

"Still, no."

A frown changed the look on his face. After he looked back at Pennine's blues, he moved into Pandora's path again. He faced her head on.

"It's the only thing that's not longterm. Agree to it."

"No, no, no. I do not travel well with others."

He pointed at the doors.

"Suffer through it for my sisters. Please."

Flowers fell off her head when she shook it sharply. They dissolved into nothing on their way down, like snow melting.

"No. I cannot be courting anyone. No one would believe it, anyway."

Behind them, Pennine was chewing on her lip. She pondered aloud.

"You're right, but it will create less suspicion and talk than leaving him in shame."

The air crackled again when Pandora turned on her heel. She looked back at her friend, throwing out her arm towards the boy.

"Let's just kill him now and be on our way. I have no time to court anyone and drop them on the way. No offense, Cyrus."

"Ciraeus."

He barely seemed to register the words though, rooting in his pockets for something. He stepped in front of their exit towards the main hall.

"Potato, Potahto. Pennine- let's just go."

"Your call," Pennine said and stood, the corners of her lips pulled down. She acknowledged the water sprite with a nod as they stepped past him.

When she had reached Pandora, Ciraeus made a triumphant sound and held up something in the air.

"You're leaving without this?"

As slow as a land turtle, the two of them turned around. When the jewel he was holding up sparkled, both women stilled. The one with the golden soles clenched her hands slowly and rubbed them together.

Damn; he had been fast, taking it from her without her noticing. She chanced a look at Pennine.

"What's that?"

"Don't pretend to be ignorant. It seemed plenty important before when you discussed stealing it and running waway from its owner."

His voice had changed. More quicksilvery, perhaps. The flowery woman raised one eyebrow. Pennine frowned.

"You can have it back if you want, Dora," Ciraeus said. He tucked the shell into his pocket nonchalantly and patted it. "But only if you take me with you."

Nobody moved. The lady frowned.

"What is it with you and leaving? I thought you needed your family reputation settled?"

His eyes moved from the shell back to her. They darkened.

"I do. The rest is my business."

The look on his face did not sit well with her. In fact, his blue eyes reminded her too much of Revox all together. But she had no choice - for she had no power yet. Her divine magic had left her due to that blasted portal. She glared at Pennine when she just stood there, motionless.

"See? This is what we get for using that portal. You do something, I'm powerless!"

Her blue eyes hit her like a tidal wave.

"You made the problem, you solve the problem. I'm not about to go up against all of house Atlea for you!"

An irritated grunt filled the hallway. Pandora mumbled something about good for nothing friends and then stomped up to Cyraeus.

"Fine. What do we do?"

She held put her hand but Cyraeus stepped back. He eyed her hand.

"You walk in there with me and announce your intentions to my father. Then when he has accepted the proposal to court- not marry - you leave. We see each other for drinks to get rid of any suspicion. When we leave, you get your shell back."

Her hand withdrew. It was impressive how well he knew how to negotiate, this man. She wondered what made this man so desparate to leave all the while protecting his sisters. A worry bloomed in her chest at that thought but she stomped on it and let it go.

Outward, she only sighed. Her eye fell on the shell once more.

"Fine. It's a deal."

[tbeofficial-blog]

LOCATION : LUCKY FOOT THEATER.

TIME : 12 PM.

     PROLOGUE ENDING : THE EXPERIMENT BEGINS.

Looks like this is the designated meeting spot, even though you still have no clue what lies beyond the curtain on stage, save perhaps the man in charge of all this, ready to deliver whatever it is he’d promised all of you -- incentive to murder? It still reeks of blood and there are piece of gore along the theater’s walkway, as if the victim’s body was dragged after all of you left last time, but there are no doubt a number of you eager to not put too much thought into what happened with Orion’s body. On stage, the same Sentinels stand guard, watching over all of you with unblinking eyes. If you look close enough, you can see blood on their clothes.

It doesn’t take as long for Kuma to make his appearance this time, nor does he seem to have any firearms in his hands when he steps out. He simply slips the curtain open and takes the stage -- no announcement, no fanfare. Just him, his lighter, and the casual lighting of a cigarette. He stands on the stage quietly as opposed to trying to get anyone’s attention, although there are already a number of you turned towards the stage, waiting to see what he has to say. Noticeably, a few of you have opted to avoid the front rows... it’s not a decision anyone can blame you for, is it?

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY HARE!!” Ultimately, it’s Zero’s voice that suddenly bursts over the speakers as his image pops up on the screens above the stage without warning -- he’s loud, obnoxious, and as energetic as ever. It takes barely half a second for him to begin bouncing around on stage, arms waving. “OOOOOOOOOOOOOH BOY!! Finally, we’re HARE! You all know what this is, right? The beginning of the experiment!! You didn’t think it was already underway, didya? Of COURSE you didn’t! Hahhahahahahaha, don’t worry, we’ll HOP to the point -- you all are probably juuuuust as eager as we HARE, so not point wasting time, right, Kuma Kuma? Why don’t we just tell ‘em straight up --

                          THE FIRST MURD-HARE INCENTIVE!!                                      EHEHEHAHAHAHAH!!”

“Shut up. Your voice is grating.” Finally, the Supervisor speaks, voice picked up by the same mic he wore the previous time. He stops only to blow smoke from between his lips, shooing Zero away in a gesture that only made the AI rabbit silently point. “But he is not wrong. From henceforth, we can consider this experiment underway. I asked you all to meet me here in order for us to begin -- from now on, get used to this ritual. We will meet every Sunday, here at the theater, at noon. This time it is in order for me to give you a motive to commit murder ; as, once again, I am sure you know by now what this experiment entails. If you still have not read your tablets, I honestly cannot help you and I am sure your low intelligence will make you among the first to die.”

It’s a hard objective to forget, isn’t it? He gives you an incentive to murder, ideally one or more of you take action and kill someone for it, and an investigation and trial follow afterwards. If no murder occurs, you all vote for someone in the group to be executed simply because someone MUST die, and majority vote wins. The ultimate goal -- find and eliminate three “butterflies” hidden among you, despite the mind-numbingly awful odds stacked against you. It’s ridiculous, but there’s nothing any of you can do about it. As awful as it is, all you can do is stand here and listen.

Kuma gestures to the Sentinels and as he does so, they begin to move off the stage, spreading themselves out around the crowd. Now they’re a little too close for comfort, all watching you more closely than they were before. Even on the upper floors, they seem to come out of the wood works specifically just to stare you down. How unsettling...

“Zero, you start. And if I hear one rabbit pun during your reveal, I will replace you with a bear.”

“...!! Hmph! Fine. You want to start it short and simple, right? Nothing too flashy yet... We’re gonna ease you all into this, so we’ve decided to go EASY on you for this first week! Hahaha, nothing too... dramatic... you see? After all, you gotta learn to PLAY the game before things start going hare-wire ( sorry, Kuma Kuma, it slipped out! ) and it looks like we may be getting a few unexpected visitors to spook you on our behalf, anyways... THE SHORT OF IT IS, one of you has got to DIE-DIE!! The incentive? Hahahaha, IRONICALLY, death!”

Death seems to be a common theme around this place : just short of butterflies, it’s the word you all keep hearing. What the hell are they going to do? Shoot someone else?

“Yes... If you all will take a look at your bracelets, you will notice a new timer has popped up below your assigned number, effective... now.” The Sentinels suddenly step forward, closer to all of you, and their eyes seem to focus on those closest to them. Though the movement is startling, it doesn’t distract from Kuma’s words -- below all of your numbers, a time counting down from 8640 MINUTES has begun to tick. “When that timer reaches zero in six days’ time, all of you will be injected via one of the needles hidden in your bracelets. Half of you will receive an injection of a simple medication that will put you to sleep for a few hours -- the other half, however, will be injected with poison.”

“Hohohohohoh!! You didn’t think we’d just let you have safety in NUMBERS, right? I said it BEFORE, but we can stand to lose, I’unno... about a hundred of you... at least. So HARE’S the dealio, buns and gents! Those of you who are in PAIRS have ONE person with a sleeping agent and ANOTHER with poison! If you’re one of the unlucky hoppies to be here with your friend, unless someone commits murder, ONE of you is TOOOOOOOOOTALLY gonna CROAK IT when the countdown reaches its end! ‘But Zero! What about those of us who are alone!? We want in on the game!’ Don’t you worry, bun buns, ‘cause about HALF of those of you who are here alone ALSO have poison in your bracelets! It’s just a game of chance, hahahah! Sooooo just to clarify for all the slow jos out there, one person in each pairing will die! Several of you who are singles will die! Poison alllll around, hahahah!”

“Of course, as long as someone is killed by this Saturday night, Zero will shut down the timer on all of your watches, saving the lives of everyone who would have been poisoned otherwise. In return, at least only one person has to die. It is not so awful a trade, is it?” He pauses to knock the ash from his cigarette. “In the event none of you decide to kill anyone, our numbers will be thinned and the experiment more focused. If you do, the experiment truly begins. It is a fitting way to start, yes? I do not think this is a particularly dramatic or difficult motive. Ah, but that is the thing... it seems there are some... issues with the simulation that have popped up unexpectedly. While the motive this week starting us off is not as particularly as exciting as Zero would have liked it, we do have some... unfortunate... interferences that may make things more... Mm. Well. You will figure that out on your own.”

Unfortunate interferences? He said this town was a simulation. There’s no limit to what that could mean for you, but... what could be worse than the threat of death?

“I did promise to address those bracelets and their functions to all of you next time we met, but I think it is best we leave it at that... Besides, they will be utilized in the investigations. Not to get ahead of ourselves, right?” There’s humor somewhere in his voice, like he’s mocking all of you -- not that it would be surprising if he were. The curl of his lips make it even clearer, but... Then he turns and leaves the stage without another word and compared to the last meeting it almost feels... anticlimatic? No, not even that. Something in the way he held himself just then, smugness aside... he seemed eager to get out of here, almost nervous even. Why? Even Zero disappears from the monitor without a last laugh or pun -- isn’t it weird for him to be quiet?

...

               Then you hear a loud metal SCREECH                                 and something akin to a CRASH

from outside the theater and you can’t help but think maybe being given this “incentive to murder” which has put all of your lives on the line collectively, as a group, somehow classifies as the calm before the storm... All of the Sentinels around you bring to life and, without warning, begin to grab you and forcibly push you out of the building, claws DIGGING in the shoulders of those of you not lucky enough to catch on and make a break for it before they have a chance of grabbing you --

      When you step out into the Quarantine Zone,         all the rain falling from the sky has mixed with ASH.

The Sentinels run past you, hurriedly making their way, collectively alongside the employees, to the burning METRO STATION not far from the theater. Flames lick the sky and a gaggle of shadowed creatures in clown-like rabbit masks seem to move around the light before disappearing into the bulk of the fire... There’s BLOOD covering the streets, corpses of people you don’t recognize -- faceless figures with bloodied fingers and missing limbs. Some are torsos, dragging themselves across the pavement, others cry and wail and moan as piece of their bodies melt in the fire -- the youngest of them call out for parents as something unseen rip them open and drag them down the metro’s stairs -------------

Wait... wait, something’s... not right...

A second passes, the vision fades and there’s no fire there at all... No ash, no clowns, no dying... Someone’s looking at you, concerned, wondering if they should offer a hand. Had the Sentinels pushing you out of the theater spooked you a little too much? There’s a few of them standing around the Metro Station, yet there’s no fire... When you ask about it aloud, a few people around you seem to know what you’re talking about -- but others just stare at the rest of you -- they say that you’ve just been standing there for a few seconds, completely spaced out. There wasn’t a fire, there were no clowns. All of you were just kicked out of the theater, that’s all. But you saw that just now, didn’t you?

A wave of vertigo overruns quite a few of you, some of you even feel close to fainting -- or vomiting... Maybe it’s just the ash in the air... but you think you might be hearing someone or... something... whispering to you... Yes, that’s right... the lighter your head feels...

There’s someone whispering to you... What are they saying...?

                   Almost as soon as you think that ----------                         THAT’S WHEN THE SIRENS START,                              and with them comes the thunder & lightning.

Now all of you -- all of you can hear that.

EVENT COMPLETED: PROLOGUE: ACQUITTAL WON OMEN ‘ERE.

CURRENT OBJECTIVE: COMMIT A MURDER.

… YOUR TABLETS HAVE BEEN UPDATED!

RED HAREING STATION -- A new location has opened up on the map! The underground train station previously guarded by Sentinels appears to have been forced open... In fact, the two Sentinels that were standing outside guarding it look like they’ve been ripped to shreds. If one looks closely, there appears to be blood staining the metal and a few teeth caught in the wires... Both their heads have been removed and apparently drug down to the station below, judging by the mechanical innards that trail down that way. The doors previously closed at the bottom appear to have been ripped open by something with large claws and the train on the left side has been ripped from its track and crushed. Yikes! Well, this place wasn’t supposed to be open yet, anyways, so it doesn’t really matter... None of the trains are running yet. You’re free to visit from now on, but it sounds like something -- or, rather, a lot of somethings -- might be running around in the dark... Did you see something in the corner of your eye just now?

DETAILS.

THE FIRST MURDER INCENTIVE: Cutting the numbers. Someone must die, or a mass execution will take place that will slice the cast in half. Each of your bracelets either has an extra needle containing more poison, or a sleeping serum. When the countdown runs out on Saturday, you will be injected. Those of you who fall asleep will continue on in the experiment. Those of you with poison will die. One member of each pairing has poison, the other has the sleep serum. Half of those of you on your own also have poison. Kill someone or don’t.

Either way, you’re facing the consequences.

               CHAPTER ONE : BUTCHERS RIB, I ACT                                             BEGIN !

OOC NOTES.

The crash / metallic screech was not a hallucination. Everyone heard that.

It is up to you whether your muses experienced the fire hallucination or not. They can be in the half of the group that did, or the half that didn’t.

If they did, they can now hear voices whispering to them on & off, but they can’t make out what they’re saying. It’s muffled...

If your muses did NOT see the fire hallucination, they are now acutely aware that something appears to be following all of you in the dark. Always in the corner of your eyes, but never out in the open. No matter what you do, you can’t see them properly.

The metro may now be entered, but the trains do not operate.

The Sirens (reference youtube link) are now CONSTANT. They do not stop. They will be going off NONSTOP for the next SIX DAYS. Along with constant, LOUD thunder & violent strikes of lightning in addition to the rain.

[iwonderwhenyousleep]

Bromeo and Dude-liet

A/N: Hello! so this is based off the prompt, QUICK I NEED A ROMEO AND I KNOW YOU KNOW THE LINES- oh you thought I was Juliet? Nah man I'm playing Benvolio, that dude is Juliet. Captain Swan with a good old helping of Captain Charming. Hope you like it! Please fave/review if you are so generous! Thanks!

Read at ff.net here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor am I William Shakespeare.

"Sorry!"

"Move!"

"Out of my way!"

In her haste, Emma Swan managed to bump into nearly every single person in the crowded hallway. She flew down the stairs, paying no mind to her hair which was falling out of the intricate braid that she had spent twenty minutes getting just right. Her mind was singularly focused and she could feel her time slipping away. Finally, she spotted her destination and ran into the men's locker room. Her eyes roamed the room, skipping right over all the half-naked boys who were staring at her like a ghost. She spotted the mop of dark hair she was searching for and began to elbow her way through the crowd to get to him.

"Jones!" She shouted, gaining the attention of every other male who had not yet noticed her presence except the one person whose attention she needed most. She yelled his name again, directly into his ear this time, and wondered why he hadn't heard her, or if he was simply ignoring her. "JONES!"

Thankfully, he turned around that time. The source of his temporary deafness was explained as he took headphones out of his ears. "Swan? What are you doing in here? This is the boy's locker room!"

She just rolled her eyes and forcibly grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the doors. "If I see something I haven't seen before I'll throw a dollar at it," she said. She was in no mood to waste any time. Already she was ridiculously late and could not spare a single second. They broke into the crowd of the hallway and Emma resumed her elbowing and running.

"Swan! Swan!" Killian was growing visibly more frustrated with his captor by the second. Most people would have seen the look in Emma's eyes and shut up and followed her, but Killian Jones did not back away from a challenge. "EMMA! You're going to dislocate my shoulder!"

At this, the ice in Emma's mind cracked and she turned to look at her captive. "We are going to the theater. And that is not a request."

"The theater? Why?" Much to Emma's horror, he had stopped running. He was obviously going to demand an explanation before going any farther.

"Walk and talk!" Emma rushed out and grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the backstage entrance to the stage. "We need a Romeo and I know you know the lines."

Killian's arm started to go up to scratch behind his ear, but he thought better of it considering the speed at which Emma was pulling him. "What do you mean, you need a Romeo?" For the first time, he noticed what Emma had on. She was wearing a floor length Renaissance dress, complete with a corset. His eyes went wide as he realized exactly what he was being dragged into.

"It's my drama final. Will Scarlet is currently in the boys dressing room puking his guts out into the garbage can." Killian was stunned into silence until they finally made it to the theater. Emma shoved the door open as forcibly as she burst into the locker room. They headed to the boys dressing where he saw for himself that she was not lying. Scarlet looked absolutely miserable. Emma's hands flew to Killian's shirt and she started to pull it off.

"If you wanted to see me shirtless, lass, all you had to do was ask." Killian put his arms up and smirks, falling into his flirtatious façade. But, he would be lying if he said his heart rate hadn't dramatically increased because of the person whose hands were now unbuttoning his pants. This was enough to crack his cocky facade. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you into the costume."

"Emma, I don't know about..."

His protests were sharply cut off. "Listen, Killian. If you don't do this, I'm going to fail drama and then I will never get into drama school. Not just that, the rest of my group will fail too. I know you know all the lines because you're always quoting this scene to me. Now, everyone else is already on stage, so there is no backing out. You have to do this. Please do this." The "please" caught him off guard. In that moment, Emma was giving him a choice. This was by far the most desperate and vulnerable he'd ever seen Emma. She was really panicked, that much was written all over her features. And, to tell the truth, he'd do anything to see her smile.

"Alright, love. Let's get me into that costume." As he was being stripped to his underwear by the woman who occupied practically his every waking thought, he had a little time to actually realize what was happening. He was about to play Romeo to the girl of his dream's Juliet. And, of course, there was only one scene that she could have been referring to. If he was lucky, he'd get to kiss Emma Swan. Obviously, this was not how he'd anticipated their first kiss happening. He'd held out hope that it would happen eventually, but realistically, Emma's walls were sky high and the very real possibility that he would never get that chance haunted his nightmares. But now, if he was lucky... he wouldn't have to live the rest of his life wondering what her lips felt like against his own.

When he was finally into his costume, Emma grabbed him just as forcibly as before and shoved him toward the wings of the stage, shushing him to not making noise so as not to ruin the current scene. He watched as actors from another group took theirs exits as their scene from Julius Caesar finished. Before he knew what was happening, he was being shoved onto the stage.

He turned to the ladder that was being used as the makeshift balcony, expecting to see Emma up there in her finery. But that is not what he saw. His eyes went wide with shock before he could stop them. His cheeks flared red. He cursed the entire world for giving him even the tiniest bit of hope that anything could have ever happened between him and Emma, on stage or off.

On stage, right where he had assumed Emma would be, stood his best friend. David Nolan. He was wearing a slightly more ornate dress than Emma had on, and a giant wig that added six inches to his six feet. His face was covered in white powder, giving him the complexion of a ghost. For his part, David looked less shocked and more mortified to see Killian on stage instead of Will Scarlet for all of three seconds before he got back into character.

Another few awkward moments before Killian finally managed to break through his shock (and disappointment) and began the monologue,

"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!"

It was David's turn to speak, albeit a short line. "Ay, me!" Two things happened then. First, Killian finally found the humor in the entire situation. Specifically, the cornucopia of mocking material that was just handed to him on a silver platter. He was never, ever going to let Dave live that falsetto down. He prayed to any god that would listen that someone was recording this. Liam would never believe this situation if he didn't have evidence. Hell, Killian wouldn't believe it if it weren't true and happening to him. Second, he was exceedingly, tremendously grateful that he had spewed Romeo's lines to Emma time and time again in an attempt to woo her and not Juliet's.

"She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head As is a winged messenger of heaven Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air."

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

The rest of the scene went by about as well as the beginning, once Killian got past his spot of giggles. Finally, David mercifully nodded at Killian to indicate that they had reached the stopping point in their scene. The lights went out and David hissed out, "Dude, you need to help me down!" Killian did as David had bid and offered him his hand as any true gentleman would for a fair lady. They exited into the wings and Emma was there waiting for them. Killian had expected to find her in stitches laughing at the fact that he and David had just performed what was the most famous love scene in all of literature. Instead, she just looked appreciative and wrapped David in a hug. But, David was having none of it.

"Seriously Emma! This is who you get to replace Scarlet?!" David whisper-yelled. His hands had already started to reach for the laces of his corset. Oh my god he is wearing a corset! Killian just couldn't keep his laughter in any more, and ran into the dressing room so his roaring laughter wouldn't disturb the other performances. Emma and David followed him and once the door was shut, Killian couldn't keep it in anymore. Within seconds there were tears in his eyes and he was actually rolling around on the floor. "Watch it Jones, or I'll really give you something to laugh about."

This threat only succeeded in making him laugh harder, Emma finally joining in. "Oh, come on David. Lighten up. It is pretty funny."

After taking a few deep breaths, Killian finally was able to ask the questions that had come to him once he saw what he had actually gotten himself into. "Okay, so explain a few things to me. Why is Dave here in a dress and playing the stunning Juliet to my dashing Romeo? And, Emma, if you weren't Juliet, why are you in that costume?"

"This is how Shakespeare put on the plays. Our piece was authentic." David spat through his teeth, then turned to Emma so she could get him out of the dress.

"What David is trying to say, is that Shakespeare worked with all an all male theater company, since women weren't allowed to act. So, I, as director, wanted to make our piece as if it was really being performed in his time period." She explained as her hands worked deftly on the strings tying David into the dress. "David here drew the short straw when we were casting. And I am in this costume because the Twelfth Night group needed extras for their scene."

The giggles hadn't quite left Killian's system, but he had managed to move to help get David out of his. Once David was able to get out of the dress on his own, Emma excused herself from the room to allow them privacy to put their real clothes back on and so she could do the same. The sight of David in his normal clothes, but still in the powdery white makeup was enough to get Killian laughing again.

"All right that is it. I am out of here!" David huffed and stormed out towards the exit of the theater.

"Dave, wait, I'm sorry..." While that was a bold faced lie and he actually did not regret a thing (How does one not laugh at something like that? Physically impossible! he thought to himself) he did not want to upset Dave anymore than he already had. When David was out of sight, Killian just shrugged and mentally made plans to make it up to him later. He followed the path that David had taken to exit the theater and found Emma waiting for him just outside.

She turned to Killian and threw herself into his (very) willing arms. Killian seized the opportunity and pulled her as close as he dared, inhaling the scent of hairspray and stage makeup. "I wanted to thank you, Killian. For coming with me in the first place. If you hadn't..."

"It was the right thing to do. Besides, now you owe me so big." He chuckled, still holding onto her until she loosened her grip and he followed suit. "But, I do know one way you can make it up to me." He raised his eyebrows to the sky in his signature move.

She surprised him yet again, and instead of slapping his arm or just rolling her eyes, as he had expected her to do, she raised her own eyebrows and responded, "Will this make us even?" She leaned in towards him, coming closer and closer until there was no distance between them. Their lips met and Killian knew in that moment that he was so screwed. There was no coming back from this. Her kiss was like a drug, and now he was a total and complete junkie.

She pulled away far too soon for his liking. "I was just going to ask for a picture of Dave in that costume but this is much better."

A devilish grin lit up her face before she leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry, I recorded one of our rehearsals."