#Ariel baby do you know how hard you are to draw (that's how you know she's pretty)

[hercarisntyours]

the nutcracker (click for better quality)

[hai7ani]

divorced parents au / with your faves

When your daughter turned two, you and your husband had brought her to Disneyland as her birthday gift. Growing up, Umi was always fond of the 12 Disney Princesses ー more specifically Princess Belle ー and she keeps a photograph of her and Belle at a meet and greet on her nightstand. Her father's half-expected her favourite to be Ariel, given that Ariel and Umi do go pretty well together. (Ariel and the sea.)

In Disneyland that summer your baby has had the time of her life, so she starts asking for it every birthday (which slowly turned into every milestone) and up until then you both have had no issues with bringing her there. He'd told you once that if going there makes her happy then he was willing to visit again, no matter the amount of times and the slight boringness he'd have to face when waiting in line to go on rides or booths.

Today she had learned how to properly draw a flying bird in art class after failing a few times and drew flying chickens instead. When you picked her up from school, the first thing she said after showing you her art proudly was, 'Let's go to Disneyland, Mama! Let's go with Daddy!'

You would bring her if you could. You know you would in a heartbeat.

But it has been two years since her last visit to Disneyland, and you and your husband aren't together anymore.

So when he comes over for dinner tonight ー just like he has been every Friday without miss ever since your divorce ー you show him Umi's drawing of the flying bird.

"Can I bring this back with me? I'd like to frame it up." He asks. In his head he plans to hang it on the wall of his living room, right on top of his television, next to your family portrait.

You eat a piece of the orange he'd peeled. "Of course."

/

At noon when your daughter asked, you told her no. So at night she is tugging on her father's shirt with a red face full of tears and she is begging for him to stay.

"Stay here, daddy. Don't go." She cries to him at the foyer. Only one side of his shoe is put on and he kicks it away quick when she attempts to climb into his arms.

"You'll see me again on Sunday, Mimi." He attempts to console her. "We're gonna go to the mall together 'n we'll find the toy you've been wanting."

Her father scoops her into his arms and sits on the floor. She kicks her feet in the air and wails.

"But I want to go to Disneyland with you and Mama." She sobs into his arms. He pecks her crown and shushes her a little.

When your chest gets too heavy you push yourself off the wall you've been leaning against and turn your back to them.

(You've been watching the duo since the moment her father was putting on his shoe, ready to leave, and your daughter came running after him in her pyjamas with wet tears already streaming down her cheeks.)

And Umi continues to cry while her father rocks her in his arms, trying his best to console her.

While walking away from the scene, you pick on the skin around your thumb. Your nose sours and you try pinching it in hopes of soothing it a little.

"Why d'ya wanna go to Disneyland?" You hear him ask before you disappear into the hallway. It's funny how he still asks even though you and him both know that going or not going to Disneyland was never the problem.

Umi sniffles. Her father hums for her to say it.

You hide behind the door of your bedroom.

"I want Mama, Daddy and Umi together again."

Just the three of us together in Umi's favourite place.

You cry.

/

"She's asleep now."

You pause from folding laundry at the couch and look up. He's got both hands in his pockets and a soft smile planted on his face.

He's also a mess, you notice ー his shirt a little stretched and out of place from how hard your daughter had been tugging on it earlier, the fabric wet from tear and snot stains, his hair a bit disheveled (you figure he was resting beside her when putting her to sleep), and he's moving to sit beside you on the couch now.

You smile back. "Thank you. I haven't been able to calm her down easily these days."

He picks up one of the garments from the pile and starts folding it beside you. "It's fine. You know I like doing it." I like being a dad, is what he wishes to say. But he knows you know it already and he holds his tongue.

Neither of you say a thing to each other after that and he continues helping you with the laundry. He folds your bra the way you prefer and your daughter's school uniform neatly so that it doesn't crease.

You steal a few glances at him without shame while stacking his sweatpants onto his pile of clothes.

"Your hair's getting long." You comment.

"Is it?" He raises his brows, genuinely wanting to know.

"Yeah." You reach a hand up to comb through his soft strands of hair. You push them back and try parting it on the middle.

"I've been busy." He's got a boxy, kind of nervous smile on his face when he explains. "Can't really see well through the mirror anyway." He rubs his nape.

You chuckle. "Want me to cut it for you?"

"Okay."

/

You still keep a room for your ex-husband even after the end of your marriage and he's given you the house.

You like telling yourselves it's solely for the sake of your daughter, for when she misses her father a little too much and refuses to let him leave.

But both of you know that's not really the case.

Somehow it didn't feel right when he was in the process of moving out to his new apartment somewhere in Meguro, and you slowly realise that you'd be having an empty room all to yourself.

(Back then you didn't think you could cope with living alone in the house you used to love each other in ー in the house you'd both created a life in.

You still don't now. Not really, anyway.)

So you transform the room that used to be his study into his own bedroom just right across the master (yours). He didn't reject the idea when you told him so.

And because of this, you leave your bedroom door open whenever he stays the night.

Tonight you do it again, and you watch him across the hall, in his room, drying off his freshly cut hair. Your head is resting on the edge of the bed with one hand tucked under your cheek and the other playing with a plush toy he'd gifted you many years ago.

When he turns to hang his towel on the wall he sees you like this. You don't shy away when he smirks.

"Goodnight." You mouth to him. You stay like that until he leaves his door open and finally gets in bed ー until he, too, shuffles around, and dangles his head off the edge of his own bed.

"Goodnight." He mouths it back to you.

You spend some time looking at each other like that ー really taking your realities in ー in rooms across each other with heads dangling off the edge of your beds, two hearts connected by the sea, and your daughter asleep in the room next to yours.

On most nights he comes over sometime during the night and helps you back on your pillow when you accidentally fall asleep like this, and every time, you'd unconsciously tug on his arm and beg him not to go.

He stays every single time.

Tonight, however, he pads over to your room while you're still awake with a pillow clutched in one hand.

"Hi." You scoot on the bed to make space for him as he throws his pillow next to yours and lays down beside you ー face to face, heart to heart. "Hey." He sighs upon getting comfortable on the bed he'd grown to find so much comfort in.

You bring the blanket up to cover his shoulders. He scoots closer to you, sneaks a hand under your shirt, and rubs a warm hand up and down your spine. (You always sleep better when he rubs your back like this.)

And while falling asleep you think to yourself that perhaps someday you'll get to try again as lovers.

You know for a fact that you'll always love him in your heart, and you'll never stop loving him even though it doesn't really make sense anymore ー just like how he'd sworn to never love again after your divorce.

Perhaps someday the both of you would be ready to move on ー still loving each other, but ready to move on from your past, from your love.

And perhaps someday the two of you wouldn't have to argue about money or time anymore. Perhaps someday he'll find a suitable work-life balance, and you're able to trust him enough to keep himself safe at work.

But for now, he's content with rubbing your back as you fall asleep next to him in the bed you'd once shared. You're content with the flowers he still buys you from time to time and cutting his hair whenever it grows out.

For now, you know that you're not ready to move on just yet. Both of you are not, and both of you have something else in mind...

You want to try again.

And you know that trying again will not be easy, but you both also know that you're willing to start all over again with everything you have if given the chance, the opportunity.

Maybe someday.

Maybe you'll give it more time.

(You feel a nudge on your elbow.)

Or...

"Wanna go to Disneyland tomorrow?"

(You smile.)

"Yes."

...Maybe tomorrow?

(He reddens all over.)

"Okay."

You'll see.

(just some characters i have in mind) TOKYO REVENGERS RAN, RINDOU, KAKUCHO, DRAKEN, NAOTO JUJUTSU KAISEN GOJO, NANAMI BLUE LOCK SAE, RIN HAIKYUU KITA, OSAMU & your faves

(i have never been to disneyland before. 😹)

© HAI7ANI ON TUMBLR. DO NOT STEAL

[starrynightmuse]

HOTD Inktober

Hey guys, I am planning to draw some halloween inspired art for our favorite HOTD characters. Keep in mind, I'm a busy college student so I might not finish all these by Halloween — I might not even complete the list at all — but I'll try to draw for as many days as I can and drag the challenge out into November to give me more time. This is my first time participating in Inktober and I'm soooo excited 😁

Here is what I have currently planned (subject to change):

All Hail the Pumpkin King: Aegon as Jack Skellington

Down the Rabbit Hole: Helaena as Alice in Wonderland

Hellfire: Aemond and his son as Frollo and Baby Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Stitches: Alicent as Sally the Ragdoll

Black is Such A Happy Color: Rhaenyra and Daemon as Morticia and Gomez Addams

Nyctophilia: Aemond as an Edgy!Biker

Nevermore: Jace and Baela as Nevermore Academy students

"Why So Serious?": Daemon as the Joker.

Psycho: Young Rhaenyra as Harley Quinn

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Hogwarts AU? Witchy vibes? We shall see.

Little Mermaid: Alicent as Dark!Ariel

Murder House: for some reason I want to see Aegon as Tate Langdon

Dead Men Tell No Tales: Aemond as a Dark!Pirate

Freak Show: I'm thinking something with Helaena and her twins...

The Overlook Hotel: Baela and Rhaena as the twins from The Shining

Hawkins, Indiana circa 1983: Stranger Things AU

"I, myself, am strange and unusual" : Aegon as Beetlejuice and Helaena as Lydia

Til Death Do Us Part: Helaena as Corpse Bride

The Count: Aemond as Dracula

"Nothing here is vegetarian": Daemon as Hannibal Lecter

Mystery Incorporated: Alicent as Daphne Blake

Ice Cold: Rhaenyra as Jadis from Narnia

Haunted Mansion AU

The Phantom of the Opera: Viserys and Alicent as the Phantom and Christine

“I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?”: Aemond as Frankenstein's monster

Underworld: Aemond as Charon, the Ferryman of the Dead, or Daemon as Hades.

Barbenheimer: this is going to be a piece for the 3rd generation characters...

Dia de los Muertos: Alicent and Rhaenyra as sugar skulls

221B Baker St: Jace and Luke as Sherlock and John.

Voodoo: I want to see Aemond as Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog

The Headless Horseman: Criston as a headless horseman.

Some additional ideas that I might use as backups for inspiration:

— Zombie!Lucerys

— Helaena as Dark!Sleeping Beauty

— Alicent as Ophelia from Hamlet

— American Midwest Gothic AU of Alicent and her kids (they have the vibes, am I right or am I right?)

— Alicent and Aemond as Norma and Norman Bates

— Aemond as Michael Myers

— Tale As Old As Time: Aemond as The Beast

(Can you tell I love drawing Aemond and Alicent?)

I also want to draw Alys as Malificent, Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame), Jennifer (Jennifer's body), or Bellatrix Lestrange (and also a spooky drawing of her summoning Ghost!Aemond) but it's gonna be hard because we don't know how Gayle Rankin is gonna look in her Alys getup and how her vibes are going to be on screen. So I suppose I'll just have to postpone all my art ideas for her til next Halloween. This goes for Cregan Stark, Gwayne Hightower, and Alyssane Blackwood too. (Ugh, I have a spooky idea for Cregan that goes something along the lines of "there's something lurking under the ice".)

[ducknotinarow]

2k7 Mikey Ariel - #

| send me “#” for cell phone headcanons about our muses including

  "I don't like you snooping through my phone, but I guess I don't mind talking about one of my nieces either? Nah it's chill go ahead!"

                         

 - what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone          

'Squirt'

"I guess that losses it's meaning seeing how big she got! I mean have you see her dude! She's is damn tall! Comes in handy though, if I need a hand grabbing something she doesn't mind helping out. Very much like her dad that way. But nah it was never about her height in the first place. Maybe cause I was one of full 'adults' around that just played with the girls when they grew up. And one more often around with not much to do. I got to spend a good deal time around Ari. Since Sums would go to school here and there. Ari was like my little sidekick ya see? And what I?" he waits for any chance to figure it out "I'm a big turtle, and back then she was a little turtle. Well sorta turtle. Anyway! were like Crush and Squirt! that's why shes still Squirt in my phone. I still call her that but I don't think she knows I don't mean it in terms of her height."

                 

- what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone                

    [image description] A clearly obvious kid's drawing it may be hard to make out to others but it's clearly Mikey as the Turtle Titan his framed super hero persona. with another standing beside him smaller in size but also dressed up like a hero. Clearly meant to be Ariel's hero character.

"Course, I remember Ari's drawing. It's been on my phone since well forever. Once Don made her own t-phone? I new exactly what I was going put for her photo. It's sorta embarrassing but having someone look up to you? when you feel like the family screw up? it's well nice. I guess that's why it hurt so much when she got mad at me for a time. Ari always made me feel like I was no different from my brothers. And seeing how I always sort was down on myself and compared to them too much? Yeah. Having Ari always excited to tell me about her swims show me things she found. Want to see what comics I had or ask about stores about the turtle titan? I dunno maybe I just ate up the attention. Might not be that deep heh."

- what your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone                    

  Firework by Katy Perry

'Cause baby, you're a firework

Come on, show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go, "Oh, oh, oh"

As you shoot across the sky

"I love Katy Perry, but this song always makes me think of Ari, shes very him timid and quite reserved even would be a good way to put it I guess. Sure sure we're mutants and such but Ari's always been even more like that even around her family and such. I don't know I feel like she lacks confidence why Sums is a good match to her cause shes more daring. Helps her sister to move and such. But I feel if Ari really just found it in herself to drop what holds her back? I think she find shes just as bright. I just find this song very fitting for her and wish she find it in herself to not hold her self back too much."

 - my muse’s last text to your muse

[text] Ari how do emoji's wok?

[text] 🍎🐕🥤🏫🤣

[Text] summer sends a ton? I'm confused ._. Do they mean different things?!?!

---

[Text] ari I made sure we got more peqnut butter for Pudg3 don't worry!!

---

[Text] squirt hey squirt!!

[Text] gues

[Text] what!

[Text] coney Island closing down for the season. Means?

[Text] you me and sums gonna go have fun!

[Text] it's fine casey helped out there I know I turn stuff on there

----

[Text] ari I'm sorry really (not sent)

[Text] I didn't knkw I really didn't! (Not sent)

[Text] can we talk? (Not sent)

[Text] hey I saw we had no peanut butter so wanted to see if you needed it for the fish? (Not sent)

[phykios]

this one is dedicated to mi amor mari @perseannabeth, who is a beautiful bird and a wonderful friend and i am v v vvvvv grateful to have crossed the airwaves with her :”)

Today Was A Fairytale [read on ao3] T, modern royalty, fun at disneyland!

She stares at him. 

He stares back. “What?”

“Really?”

“What?”

“You really think this is going to be enough?” Annabeth points at her head, the blue Yankees cap squishing her curls. 

“Of course! It’s the Clark Kent effect.” As if to underline his point, Percy slips on his fake hipster glasses, except that stupid grin of his is too bright not to draw attention. 

“That’s not a real thing.”

“Sure it is. Studies show that glasses are actually good enough to alter your appearance if someone doesn’t know you well.”

“Then why didn’t you bring a pair of glasses for me?”

“Because your hair is definitely the prettiest thing about you,” he says, automatically tugging an unruly curl which peeks out from under the brim, a gesture so practiced she almost doesn’t register it--until he blinks, dropping his hand, blushing lightly. “I mean--the most noticeable thing. You know. A hat should be fine.”

He looks away. Heat rises to her face, too. Because it’s so hot out, obviously. 

“Anyway,” he mumbles, “um. No--no one’s going to give you a second look if your hair is hidden.”

Chewing her lip, Annabeth can’t help but worry. Percy’s face is extremely well-known, possibly more than hers, and they’ve both spent the better part of three weeks with their faces plastered all over the media on their diplomatic trip. This is probably a really, really bad idea. Then, a thought occurs to her. “How about,” she says, perking up, “you give me your glasses, and I’ll give you mine.” From her backpack, she fishes out a pair of sunglasses, big and nondescript. He’ll practically be wearing a superhero mask with these.

Percy smiles again, and Annabeth thinks she might fly. “Perfect.”

Which is how Her Royal Highness Anna Elisabeth Ingrid Irene of Sweden and His Serene Highness Perseus Alexandros Ioannis of Thera play hooky from their day of boring meetings, insufferable dignitaries, and stuffy security guards, to go see the eighth wonder of the world: Disneyland Resort in California.

And how Annabeth eats her words as they make it past the security gate unchecked. “Eh?” He beams, nudging her with his elbow. “Eh?”

Rolling her eyes, she shoves him back. “Shut up.”

***

[description: a tiktok video which depicts a line at Disneyland. the op, a black girl with braids, covers her mouth and looking into the camera, turning the camera to focus on the two people behind her. one is a tall boy with black hair and sunglasses, and the other is a blonde girl with a yankees hat and glasses. both are white. video text reads: “p sure the people behind me are prince percy and princess annabeth??? um?????”. background audio is a dubstep remix of the fight theme from undertale. end ID]

***

Maybe it’s a little weird, on account of her being actual royalty and all, but Annabeth has always been interested in princesses, both as a matter of historical record (history is awesome) and in the general sense. Like millions of other people, she, too, was raised on Disney movies and tales of princesses and true love, and she was just as captivated as the rest of them. She and Percy used to watch the Disney catalogue whenever their families held state visits for each other, staying up into the small hours of the morning, sharing some popcorn and singing along. 

Luckily for Annabeth, her favorite princess is holding a meet and greet at the Royal Hall.

“Excuse me,” Percy says, approaching Princess Ariel. Well, her cast member, anyway. “Could I get a photo for my friend?”

“Of course!” she trills, her blue eyes sparkling. “It would be my pleasure.” Holding her hand out, perfectly poised and graceful in a way that would impress even Annabeth’s stodgy etiquette instructor, she smiles, warm and welcoming, pivoting to bring Annabeth in for one of those weird, semi-awkward half-hugs. “What’s your name?”

“Anna,” says Annabeth. Hey, it’s not untrue. She’s a little leery of using any of her names, but Anna is common enough. Annabeth? Not so much. Even with her glasses and hat disguise, a little paranoia is justified, she thinks.

“It’s so wonderful to meet you, Anna,” she says, cheerful, with all the grace and charm of someone who doesn’t spend hours saying the same thing over and over again to excitable, temperamental children. What a trooper, she thinks.

“Don’t you recognize a fellow princess when you see one, your highness?” Percy says, grinning that stupid, smarmy grin of his. 

Annabeth glares. Oh, he thinks he’s so damn clever. 

“Oh, of course,” says Ariel, smoothly. “How could I have thought otherwise? Your highness.” And she curtsies to Annabeth, a short dip, her hand placed delicately against her chest. “Perhaps I can introduce you to my friend Anna, princess of Arendelle?”

Still smirking, Percy takes some more pictures, trapping Annabeth into smiling for the camera. She can’t be glaring daggers in her pictures, nor can there be video evidence of her kicking him--no matter how much she wants to.

And she definitely doesn’t miss the way Ariel not-so-subtly checks Percy out, eyeing him up and down.

“You fucking asshole,” she hisses as they leave the photo area, swatting him lightly, and he giggles. 

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“Ugh, I hate you so much.”

It’s hard to stay mad at him, though she definitely tries as they enter back out into the park proper, giving him just the barest hint of a cold shoulder. 

“Aw, come on,” Percy says. “I was just teasing.”

“You shouldn’t go around tempting fate like that,” Annabeth says. “Do you want to cause another international incident?”

Percy winces, no doubt remembering the Gateway Arch incident of 2008. 

“If someone recognizes us, we don’t have Zoe or any of her team to protect us,” Annabeth goes on. “Not that I think anyone here would try to hurt us, but…” But it’s a little nerve-wracking, being on her own like this. She hasn’t been alone like this for a really long time.

Wincing, Percy rubs the back of his head. “I guess I forgot you’re a little higher profile than me. Sorry.”

She doesn’t like to think about it, but it’s true. Percy, by his nature as the younger son of a largely defunct royal house, doesn’t have quite the same number of… issues… that someone like Annabeth might have.

Deflating, she uncrosses her arms. “It’s okay.”

“I should have asked you first.”

“It’s really okay,” she says. “No harm no foul.”

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asks, entirely serious. “I can call someone up.”

She knows just how long they’ve planned this, how many favors he’s called in and policies he’s sidestepped. Backing out now would just be a waste of a day. She shakes her head. “It’s fine,” she says. “I’m just… feeling a little exposed, I guess. But, I don’t want to ruin all our plans. Let’s keep going.” She grabs his hand, squeezing a little.

“...Okay,” Percy says. “But say the word, and we’ll call it a day. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good.” Like he doesn’t have any other expression today, he smiles at her again.

It hits her, suddenly. He’s so much taller than she remembers. Once upon a time she used to be taller than him; now, he’s basically a whole head above her. 

It’s annoying. But also… not.

Spying something over her shoulder, his eyes light up, and he practically gasps. “Cinderella!” he points with his free hand, like a five-year old. “Come on!” And he takes off to one of the park corners, dragging Annabeth along with him. 

He has to wait in line behind a pair of twin girls, six or seven years old by the looks of it, in identical Cinderella dresses for a photo, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, and when it’s finally his turn, he nearly trips over himself to go up and ask for a photo. 

Cinderella agrees, and now Annabeth is relegated to the job of cameraperson. Percy slides in next to the princess, his hand on her waist, but, ever the respectful gentleman, loosely held, so the cast member can slide out of his grasp without any difficulty at all.

Taking a few shots, it does look kind of strange to have Cinderella’s beautiful, shining face, and Percy’s enormous sunglasses blocking his. “Take off your glasses?” she says, lowering her phone for a second. 

Dutifully, Percy slips them off, smiling again for the camera. 

Cinderella’s smile doesn’t falter, a credit to her professionalism, but Annabeth can see her eyes widen, just a touch.

Annabeth snaps off a few more photos, “Got ‘em!” and Percy once again gushes over the princess, thanking her for her time. Grabbing Annabeth’s hand again, he practically skips off, leading them in the direction of a nearby candy shop. 

***

me: IM SHAKING GUESS WHO I JUST TOOK A PICTURE WITH????

sis: prince percy?

me: HOW TF DID YOU KNOW

sis: its on twitter already

***

They’re walking along, Annabeth slurping up a Dole whip, when she suddenly stops in her tracks, outside of one of the many, many gift shops. “Wait up a second.”

“Hm?” Percy says, around the giant lollipop in his mouth. 

“I want to get some Mickey ears.” 

Very quickly they get lost in the sea of Disney merchandise, walking the labyrinth of Star Wars and Marvel and Pixar goods. There’s a surprising amount of black for the so-called happiest place on Earth, but things do brighten up when Annabeth finally turns a corner and finds the enormous selection of Mickey ears. It’s a wash of sparkles, flowers, bows, and occasionally characters, for children and adults alike. Annabeth eyes a pair designed like Baby Yoda, eyes wide and ears adorably huge, before she fingers a pair of white Mickey ears that have a bridal veil attached to them, contemplating its counterpart, the black ears for the groom, each ear emblazoned with a sparkling silver “Happily Ever After.”

She looks around. Where did Percy wander off to, anyway? 

Well, wherever he is, hopefully he hasn’t gotten mobbed by a horde of excitable fangirls. Given that she can’t hear any screaming--well, any unusual, non-Disneyland-relevant screaming--that’s probably a good sign. 

Running her fingers over the ear selections, she finally picks out a pair of silver sequined earrings with a shiny gold bow, a tiny, rhinestone Cinderella’s castle placed delicately in the middle. 

Yeah. This one. 

Percy finds her as she is paying for her ears, a pair of his own already on his head, red balloons inside of plastic circles. The sunglasses, she notes with a tinge of nervousness, are tucked in his shirt, and not on his face, protecting his identity. “Oh, check mine out--they light up!” he says, giddy, pressing the button on the side, not that she can tell in the brightly lit shop.

“That’s not why I was looking.”

Walking out of the store, ears firmly in her possession, she looks around again. Percy’s face is out there for the world to see, and no one is giving them a hard time. 

And her hat is really sweaty. 

Ah, fuck it.

She removes the Yankees cap, shaking out her sweaty curls, sliding the ears on in its place.

And the glasses, for good measure.

“Cinderella?” Percy asks.

“I thought you’d approve.”

Outside the shop, next to a corn dog cart, Percy pulls her aside, out of the way of a whole classroom’s worth of children, holding up a plastic plag. “So, confession.”

“Percy…” He didn’t. “We said no gifts!” They had agreed to it that morning!

“Well, see,” he says, fumbling around in the bag, pulling out a black t-shirt. “I saw this, and I thought--I thought you might like it.”

He unfolds it, and Annabeth frowns at the shirt design. 

It’s… a drawing of a man in a purple mask against a solid black background, glaring at the viewer. Circling him, in distressed, white-grey military font, are the words “BARON ZEMO,” and the logo for the show he must star in, Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. She doesn’t really watch superhero shows, though, and she’s pretty sure Percy doesn’t, either. Maybe he’s started this one and he really likes it? “Thanks,” she says, confusion coloring her voice despite her best efforts. 

But he doesn’t look too disappointed. “I was looking through their pride merch, and they didn’t have any stuff with the ace flag, which totally sucks, but then I thought that maybe you might like something a little more subtle? So, yeah.” He shakes it. “Ace pride!”

Oh. Oh, this boy. 

She remembers, so vividly, visiting his father’s summer home on Kalymnos, a few years ago, the summer she turned nineteen, waking up to a banging in the kitchen, noisy pots and pans making a real racket. Granted, it had been one in the afternoon, and Annabeth probably should have been awake sooner, but she had stumbled out of the guest room into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, to the sight of Percy wrestling with the standmixer, making bright, neon purple frosting. The night before, sometime around three or four AM, that weird, liminal hour where the shadow of night just starts to recede, the sky a sweet, soft, dusky blue, she had come out as demisexual to her best friend, saying the words aloud for the first time ever. Loopy from lack of sleep, the moment had passed without much fanfare.

But Percy, dark-circled and still yawning, had woken up early to make her a chocolate cake. By the time she had woken up, he had baked the cake, chilled it, and made two out of the three frosting colors, a beautiful, moist, dark chocolate cake which ended up being frosted with a marbled mix of purple, black, and white, all folding into each other into a kind of colorless, grey sugar. 

Here, now, in Disneyland, she throws herself at him, wrapping his arms around his neck. His arms automatically come up to circle her, hugging her tight. 

She had been worried it had been some kind of defense mechanism. A young girl with an alarmingly high profile, Annabeth had been the subject of intense scrutiny with regards to any romantic entanglements, with critics, tabloid reporters, and fans alike attempting to invent gossip-worthy relationships with every boy she ever talked to--most usually Percy. They did grow up in the public eye together, attending all kinds of events and functions together over the last fifteen or so years. And they did tweet at each other. Like, a lot. They even had their own portmanteau hashtag. But no relationship ever materialized.

She thought maybe she was just being stubborn, unwilling to play the media game. But it hadn’t been stubbornness. It wasn’t about shyness or inexperience. It was real, and it was her.

And Percy hadn’t even blinked.

“I love it,” she murmurs. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” he says, swaying her from side to side, just a little. “It was my pleasure.”

***

What’s happening: #percabeth (Entertainment • trending)

@kndrck__ STREAM CHROMATICA: um @TheraUS @SwedenRoyals i think i found your sick royals? #percabeth #disneyland

@wasabiviking: omg werent they supposed to be at some hospital opening today #percabeth

@ChampionSno brando he/him: LMAOOO NOT #PERCABETH PLAYING HOOKY LIKE IT’S ROMAN HOLIDAY

***

“Holy shit,” Percy moans, his mouth full of food. “Oh my God. Dear God in Heaven.”

Annabeth kicks his ankle under the table. “Don’t be rude.”

He swallows, eyes fluttering. “Oh my God, Annabeth. Holy shit. This is the best damn sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

“A monte cristo?”

“A deep-fried monte cristo! In sweet batter!” Taking another bite, he moans again, just this side of indecent. “Oh my God I love Americans. They are absolute culinary geniuses.”

“Better than Bistrot Chez Rémy?” They had both been to Disneyland Paris, separately, sadly, and Percy had recommended the restaurant to her with great enthusiasm for her upcoming trip. As usual, he was spot on with his food recs. 

He nods, eyes closed in rapture. “By a mile.”

“You’ll have to learn to make your own when we get back home, then.”

He jolts, straightening up, cheeks full of food. Roughly, he swallows. “You’re right! I need to take notes.” And he takes out his phone, hurriedly typing down whatever scent and flavor notes he must be able to discern. “This is definitely challah…”

Plucking another piece of chicken with her fork out of her jambalaya, Annabeth lets her attention wander a little, content to watch the passengers on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as they float on beside them, down in the artificially constructed bayou river. 

Truth be told, she’s kind of tired. They’ve been walking around all day, and even with the brief reprieve of rides, her shoes really aren’t the kind that deal well with huge amounts of walking. She can already tell that she’s going to crash, and crash hard, whenever they get back to their hotel. You know, if their security detail doesn’t eviscerate them first. 

When Percy had first presented his idea to her, she had agreed without hesitation. They had had a long, dense schedule of public appearances planned for their excursions to the states, and the days had begun to seriously wear them out. Together, they had worked out the kinks, coming up with contingencies, negotiating things to do, all over Discord so no one else would get wind of what they were doing. Prior to this trip, she hadn’t seen him in… probably almost a year. She knows his father had been keeping him close to home for whatever reason, and Annabeth had had a handful of official functions to deal with. Their paths just never managed to cross, up until now. 

She hadn’t realized how much she had missed him. 

It’s lonely, growing up in the public eye. It’s cliche, but it’s true. And while Annabeth is afforded a metric ton of various intersecting privileges, she thinks she’d probably give it up in a heartbeat. It kind of sucks being a living, breathing tourist attraction. 

Growing up, she had her cousin Magnus, and a handful of other assorted children to play with, but she would never say that she had a best friend, or even a good friend, until she’d met Percy. Her mother and his father, famous for their mutual dislike, had put aside their differences to host some kind of charitable dinner for the disgustingly wealthy, and had trotted out their respective children in all their finery. Annabeth, being all of twelve years old, hadn’t really grasped the gravity of the event, and had gotten into an itty bitty little food fight with the then-unknown Prince Perseus, the result of an extramarital affair whom his father had so graciously decided to acknowledge and adopt. 

After that night, they became fast friends, and she decided that, if she ever left the royal life, she’d make sure to take Percy with her. He’s one of the few things that makes her life bearable. 

She thinks about it, sometimes. Renouncing her title. It wouldn’t exactly be hard. There was Magnus, just in line behind her. And it’s not like her family held any executive power anyway. They’re just fancy, historically interesting celebrities. 

Would Percy give up his, she wonders?

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

He looks at her oddly over their dessert, two vanilla-bourbon creme brulees. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she says. “Just tired. Long day.”

“You want to call it a night?”

She frowns. “What’s left?”

“Well, we did Space Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, a few others,” he counts off his fingers, “saw the princesses, got Mickey ears, ate at Blue Bayou… I guess all that’s left is walking around the pier, if you want.”

“Sounds like you two had a full day.”

As one, they almost leap out of their seats, Annabeth choking on her spit. “Jesus, Zoe,” Percy pants, his hand over his chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Oh?” says Zoe Nightshade, the head of their security detail, who had just apparently materialized out of thin air. “Funny. I could say the same about you, sir.”

Coughing, Annabeth eventually manages to get her air back. “Hey, Zoe,” she wheezes. “How was your day?”

“Eventful. Let me tell you about it in the car.”

Annabeth glances at Percy, who’s looking a little bit like a deer in headlights. Honestly, she’s surprised they even made it this far without one of their own tracking them down. Still, it looks like their game is up. 

...Or is it?

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a large tour group, approaching on the horizon.

“Sure,” Annabeth says, getting up. Luckily, they’ve already paid, so they can just head out; they don’t need to wait for another big group of people to cross their paths. “Will you let us go to the bathroom, first?”

Zoe squints. She’s always been able to see through Annabeth’s bullshit. But Annabeth has her best, Percy-patented baby seal eyes on, perfectly innocent. Surely, Zoe wouldn’t deny them a physical need such as relieving themselves?

After a moment, she nods. “Make it quick, if you please.”

“Of course,” Annabeth says, looking over at Percy, hoping he gets the message. He stands up, slow and stiff, eyes darting between the two of them. “We’ll be right back.”

They wander through tables and chairs towards the bathroom, her eyes always on the tour group as it just starts to pass by. Reaching out, Annabeth grabs Percy’s hand, and with a turn that would make her track coach proud, sprints out of the restaurant, using the throng of people as cover. 

She thinks she hears Zoe yelling behind them, but maybe it’s just her own laughter. “Come on!” she shrieks, breathless, as Percy’s long legs keep pace with her. “To California Adventure!”

***

darthbingus said: the monarchy are fucking parasites but percabeth is pretty cute i guess :/

ladyofsandwiches reblogged and said: it’s obviously a publicity thing lmao, also prince Percy is gay???

eowynning reblogged and said: he’s dating rachel dare, right? he can’t be gay 

ladyofsandwiches reblogged and said: That was a publicity thing too obvs, and Annabeth hasn’t ever been linked to a guy. The king of thera is hardline greek orthodox, there’s no way he’d let his son come out publicly. They’re both gay and pretending to date because homophobia

lardoftheprks reblogged and said: people can be bi and ace and pan and all sorts of things you know

batgirlcock reblogged and said: can you animals leave them alone fr

***

Zoe only spots them after the ferris wheel starts moving. Sprinting over to them, they’re still a full forty feet off the ground by the time she reaches the operator. “Sorry!” she yells down to her, hands cupping her mouth. “We’ll be down in ten minutes!”

“Ananbeth!” he chokes, giggles still escaping him. 

“What?” she laughs. 

“We’re in enough trouble as it is!”

“Exactly,” she says, settling back on the ride. “You’ll probably be grounded for life.”

“Me?” he squawks, playfully offended. “What about you?”

She scoffs. “Please. I’ll just pin it all on you.”

Leaning back, he pouts, arms crossed. “Wow. I plan this amazing day, violate a few embassorial rules, and probably put both of our countries on a massive red alert, and this is the thanks I get?”

“I helped plan it, too.” But he does have a point. “Thank you,” she says. “I had a lot of fun today.”

He turns his head to her, a grin stretching across his face. “Me too.” 

His voice is so soft, so fond. They share a look, a moment, no words between them, only the silence of a true, deep companionship. They don’t need to say anything else, because they already know what the other would say. 

As one, they break away, looking back out into the California evening. 

They don’t talk much as the ferris wheel climbs higher and higher. Honestly, Annabeth is kind of impressed with how well he’s handling himself--she knows heights are a bit of a weakness of his. He grabs the edges of their gondola every once in a while as it drops a few feet, knuckles white and face a little green, but he manages to keep his dinner down, even as the ferris wheel grinds to a halt, Percy and Annabeth at the top of the world. The swing back and forth a little, hot faces against the cool evening breeze. 

And they stay there. 

And stay there. 

And… stay there. 

Annabeth checks her watch. How long have they been up here?

Percy taps his feet, a little too frantic just to be ADHD. 

Finally, there’s a burst of noise from below them, garbled and static. “Uh, yes, excuse me--” the voice says, amplified through a megaphone. “Yeah, um, it appears we are having some… uh, technical difficulties with the Pixar Pal-A-Round. Please remain calm, as we have our best technicians on it, and we are working on evacuating the ride in a calm and efficient manner.” Then the voice cuts out. 

Annabeth glances towards Percy. He has his hands in his lap, fists clenching and unclenching, over and over again. “Uh… you okay?”

“Hm? Oh, sure,” Percy says, “just fine. Peachy keen.” He squeezes his eyes shut, slowly blowing out his breath through his mouth. 

“Hey.” She reaches over, and takes one of his hands in hers, lacing their fingers together. After a long day of holding hands, somehow it still manages to surprise her, how well they fit together, how her skin tingles as she rubs her thumb against his finger. “It’s gonna be fine. We’re gonna be just fine. They’re going to get us off this ride, and then we’ll fly home and be grounded for life.”

“I thought,” he wheezes, “you’d blame it all on me?”

“As if you could come up with a plan as genius as hiding from our guard in It's A Small World.”

He nods, shakily. “Right. All you. Definitely not my idea. Everyone knows I’d have looped back to Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“Definitely.” She squeezes his hand, scooting a little closer. “Just breathe with me a little, okay?”

They breathe together, slowly and evenly. At some point, Percy takes her hand in both of his, running his thumbs over her palm, tracing her lifelines like a map. His hands are big, and warm, and it seems to calm him down a little, so she doesn’t mind all that much. 

Twilight darkens, stars twinkling against the grey, dusky sky, and still they are holding hands. Eventually, Percy relaxes, slumping against his seat.

“You good?” 

He nods. He still doesn’t let go. “Yeah. Just…” he sighs, stretching his arms up, taking Annabeth’s hand with him. “Not super looking forward to the dressing down I’m going to get.”

She winces. Annabeth’s dad is a little more flexible than Percy’s when it comes to breaches of protocol. The king of Thera is somewhat famous for his paranoia. “I hope it was worth it.”

He whips his head to her, eyes wide. “Of course it was worth it!” he says, as though the opposite were even fathomable. “You kidding? This was the best day of my life.”

“Better than your sixteenth?” His father had officially acknowledged him that day. Annabeth had spotted him in a deserted hallway with his mother, the two of them fighting off a few happy tears. She knows just how special that day was for him. 

“Not even close.” Squeezing her hand, he smiles again, that smile she knows almost better than her own by now. That smile she grew up with, a quiet oasis in a whirlwind of ancient tradition and modern media coverage. That smile is safety, familiarity. That smile was there to greet her when her mother chose to leave her family, when her uncle died without heirs, thrusting the position of heiress on her, whenever she had a rotten day or a bad grade or a lonely night, just on the other end of a phone, or down the hall, or in the kitchen. 

Whatever happens, she knows, Percy will be her best friend. Her anchor. 

Her…

She swallows. “Thank you,” she says again. “I needed this.” A day without an agenda. A day just for them. 

His eyes are dark, and soft, like the water beneath them. One hundred and fifty feet in the air in a broken ferris wheel, there’s nowhere safer she can be. “Me too.”

So she’s not really surprised at herself when she says, “I’d really like to kiss you now.”

Eyes widening, just a hair, he opens his mouth, momentarily speechless. “You--are you sure?”

She nods, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

“Cool. Uh, me too.”

“Cool.”

Neither of them move. 

“So, do--do you want to--”

Annabeth leans in, her other hand cupping his cheek, and kisses him. 

His lips are soft. His mouth tastes like vanilla and bourbon. They are trapped in a metal box, one hundred and fifty feet off the ground, about to get the punishment of their lives when they get down, and it is absolutely, utterly perfect. 

And when Annabeth pulls back, there are fireworks. 

Quite literally.

Percy’s face glows with pink and green and purple, and a little fire in his eyes that’s all him. The pops of the fireworks, loud and brassy, and muted, completely overshadowed by the pounding of her heart in her chest. 

They rest their heads against each other, breathing each other’s air, quiet and intimate, the calm before the storm that is surely coming. But that’s fine. Let it come, she thinks. She’ll be safe with Percy.

When the park technicians eventually get the ferris wheel moving again, Percy and Annabeth disembark from the gondola like nothing’s even gone wrong, waving to the crowd of people, fans, and reporters alike, who have swarmed the pier, phones and cameras held aloft in a constellation of light, before being quickly hurried away by Zoe and her crew, ushered to the end of the pier where Annabeth’s embassy’s car is waiting. 

Percy doesn’t let go of her hand once. 

***

KALYMNOS, GREECE--Prince Percy has arrived on the island for his family’s annual summer retreat, bringing his girlfriend, Princess Annabeth of Sweden, with him for the fifth year in a row, and the third as his official partner. Lifelong friends, the couple were most recently seen at Disneyland Tokyo, continuing something of a tradition for the two royals where they visit Disneyland parks across the globe. Our sources inside the castle are hinting that the family is planning something big this year. Could we see a proposal by the end of summer? Be sure to subscribe for more updates!

[redpanda-roleplay-hoard]

Markiplier, muyskerm and Lord_Minion "Raft" Let's Play Sentence Starters

“That’s ‘Mr. Sister-Cousin’ to you.”

“If I can draw it over, I can stab it.”

“Oh God, I drank it! I drank the seawater! I didn’t mean to.”

“How in God’s name do I make rope? I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Look, listen, you can keep finding things to complain about, or you keep finding solutions.”

“Come lay your eggs over here so I can eat your babies.”

“I’m going to kill you! I will actually murder you.”

“I have second thoughts about what you’ve done, but it’s too late now.”

“Oh your mom! I know! Great tits!”

“Yeah, I guess drowning isn’t ideal.”

“Hold your breath better, you pansy.”

“I suffer from rude disease.”

“Oh, you need to encourage the lower classes? I learn something new everyday. Unlike the lower classes!”

“Oh, I’m drowning. And by drowning, I mean dying of thirst.”

“He dead, mans! I pick up his flesh!”

“From hell’s heart I stab at thee!”

“Good murder, team!”

“Why don’t you just calm down, Judgy McJason.”

“You gotta be cold and you gotta be hard to succeed in life.”

“Clams are balls? Does that mean Ariel was wearing balls on her boobs?”

“I’m about to absolutely chef you out of your mind holes.”

“Dude, chef my hole!”

“Teamwork really does make the dream work.”

“You have arms like a god. All you must do is outstretch them.”

“That’s the most savage shit I’ve ever done to a tree.”

“What is that a bucket of? It looks like a bucket of jizz.”

“Whoa, I just sneezed so hard that my butt hurts.”

“I’ve never seen bigger asses being hauled than what we’re hauling right now.”

“It’s an actual joy to have to figure out what the goddamn hell is in each of these boxes all the time.”

“I’m not mad, I’m short!”

“Gimme your sweet, sweet flesh, and I will use it to construct my home further.”

“I was experimenting to see what happens when scientists starve. Are scientists so smart that they don’t die like the common pleb? No, in fact, they still die. My hypothesis was correct.”

“His blood soaks into our potatoes as we speak.”

“You can count, wow.”

“Instant karma is as bad as instant coffee.”

“God came to California and said: ‘thou shalt say weed bruh’.”

“We’ve got a lighter and a bullet. Is that enough to make a bomb?”

“I’m on the boat and alone, yanking my dong.”

“Oh, black void of oblivion! Come hither to claim mine soul!”

“I don’t like the way he speaks.”

“This is the best I’ve looked since birth, and even then I was an ugly ass baby.”

“You’re so breathy. I don’t like the way you breathe.”

“Screw it! Organization is for dweebs.”

“Are you guys fucking with my brain again? Cause I can’t take anymore brain fucks.”

“Nobody do horse tranquilizers, please.”

“The bees! The bees are boozin’.”

“Starboard is right, port is left, half-mast is how I woke up.”

“Just hold your goddamn chode for one second.”

“I’ve gotta keep breathing constantly?! Shit!”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never met a person who’s drowned to death.”

“My toes look like a seaweed!”

“Risk it for the biscuit!”

“Does that bird have explosive powder in its ass?”

“The bees have never stung me. They’ve always been bee-ceful.”

“I’m gonna milk the fuck outta this goat.”

“You’ve gotta have classes. How else will you know who’s better than you?”

[fckinsupreme]

30 with Michael please

I’m doing this one for Hawthorne Michael!!! Oh, and just a little disclaimer, reader & Michael are both over 18 in this!

———————

Michael Langdon had always been a fascinating man to you, from the moment you met him. There was just something that pulled you to him, a magnetic energy that you could never get enough of. Since arriving to Hawthorne with Cordelia to conduct “official Council business,” as she called it, you & Michael did nothing but flirt. His cockiness, which usually would have been a turn off for you, only drew you deeper into his mysterious web. The whisperings in the dim hallways were that he was going to be the first male supreme—the Alpha, they called it. You hated the terminology, but it made you question everything. Was this why you were so drawn to him? Was it your destiny to seduce & possibly bring down this mysterious being?

Did it even matter?

One day, you decide to pore over your notes in the common room. Not many of the warlocks are present, either in classes or doing studying of their own elsewhere. It was quiet, perhaps too much, but the silence is soon broken as Michael approaches. You hear his footfall before you see him, looking up from your papers to see him striding into the room. His hands are tucked behind his back, a smirk on his face as he walks over to you. He takes a seat beside you, his eyes glancing you over before tilting your chin to face him.

“How’s my favorite witch doing today?” Michael asks, his fingers swiping under your lip.

“She’s doing better now that you’re here,” you say, turning your whole body to face him. “It’s a good excuse to stop this boring paperwork.”

He smirks, pulling you close to him and pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. “That’s good to hear,” he says. “I think you should focus your attention elsewhere, anyway.”

“I think I know one place I’d love to focus,” you tease, biting your lip before nodding toward the exit of the room. “Let’s get out of here.”

“And go where?” Michael asks, his brows knitted in confusion. “Ariel won’t let us leave—“

“I’m not talking about the building,” you say with a chuckle. “I think it’s no secret that we’re both attracted to each other, and I want to act on it. I was talking about us going up to my room.”

Michael looks down at his hands, wringing them for a moment as he draws away. You offer a confused glance, and he meets your gaze with a shy, apologetic smile. You’re worried that you overstepped your boundaries, and you shake your head before reaching for his hand.

“What’s wrong?” you ask worriedly. “I didn’t go too far, did I? If I did, I’m so sorry. I—“

“No, you didn’t,” he assures you, averting his gaze again. “It’s...Well, I’ve never actually had sex before.”

Your eyes widen in shock, your jaw agape. “Wait, you’re a virgin?”

“Yes,” Michael says, looking at you with a dangerous glare. “Is that such a surprise to you?”

“Well, yeah,” you say. “You act like you’re hot shit around here, but you’re actually not? It’s a big surprise.”

“I see,” Michael says, hurt flashing across his face for a moment as he stands. “Well, if that’s how you fucking feel, then—“

“Wait!” you say, a hand on his arm as you shake your head. “I didn’t mean to come across as making fun of you. I just mean that it’s a shock because I thought you were this big ladies’ man, but...you’ve never actually done anything. It was just something that threw me off for a minute, that’s all. It’s okay that you’re a virgin and I’m not gonna laugh at you for it.”

He smiles a little, calming down as he runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to act anymore. I want to be real and I want to be everything that I am pretending to be. I don’t want to be a virgin anymore; I’m tired of living the lie.”

You chew your lip a little, eyes cast to the floor for a moment before you meet his gaze. “I could always help you there. I mean...if you wanted me to.”

“You would do that for me?” Michael asks, and you nod. “All I ask is that you’re careful at first. I don’t know what could happen if you aren’t.”

“I get it,” you say, extending a hand to him. “You’re on track to be the next Supreme, so your powers are still unpredictable.”

He takes hold of your hand, and you lead him up to your room. For the first time, perhaps since you met, you’re aware that he’s anxious. You can feel it radiating off of him, almost like heat, and you squeeze his hand reassuringly as you reach your room. You open the door, ushering him inside before closing it behind you. After making sure it’s locked, you turn to face him. You shrug off the grey cardigan you were wearing, letting it fall in a forgotten heap on the floor. Michael watches you, his tongue running over his lips as you start to slowly strip your clothing. You give him a moment to take you in each time an article is removed, remaining in your matching black bra & thong as you see the prominent bulge in the front of his pants.

“Liking what you see?” you tease, walking over to him and positioning yourself in his lap.

“Yes,” he says, his hands roaming your back and stopping at your bra to seek permission. “Can I touch you?”

“Of course,” you say, rocking your hips against his. “You can touch me any way and anywhere you want to. Can I kiss you, Michael?”

He nods rapidly, and you smash your lips to his in a hungry kiss. He groans softly, your hands tangling in his messy blond curls. He runs his tongue along the roof of your mouth, taking in every ridge and every inch, his hands on your ass as he pulls you closer. You grind against him as you make out, feeling his cock growing impossibly harder against your cunt. He smirks against your mouth, evidently noticing how wet you were, and you start working his tie loose.

“I’m gonna take your clothes off,” you whisper. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah,” Michael says, shivering as you unbutton his shirt and kiss the skin exposed with every undone button. “I...”

“What is it?” you coo, looking up at him. “Tell me, Michael.”

“I’m getting close already,” he says, his tone full of embarrassment as his cheeks heat crimson. “I can feel it...”

“You poor thing,” you say with a teasing pout, grinding hard against him as you both groan. “I think it’s time I help you out of those pants then, huh?”

He gives a soft nod, and you shift your body so that you can unfasten them. You slowly work his zipper down, teasingly brushing your fingers against his shaft. This was apparently a mistake, for Michael’s hips began to stutter and his breathing was getting quicker. Before you could tell him to hold off, he was cumming fast within the confines of his boxers, your name a sigh as it passes his lips, his hips rotating upward. You observe the wet stain forming in the front of his pants, tsking as you try to fight a smirk. He’s too far gone for a moment to realize what he’s done, but once his high dissipates and he comes back to reality, his cheeks turn bright red and he looks away from you. You can’t tell if he’s angry or embarrassed at first, but the answer soon becomes clear.

“I’m so sorry,” he says, his eyes meeting yours as the color in his cheeks rises. “I thought I could hold off. I really did.”

“Shh, it’s fine,” you assure him, kissing each of his cheeks. “It happens sometimes. It’s totally normal. We can always try again later, when you’re—“

Michael seems to know what you’re going to say, and a wide, cheeky grin forms. He takes your hand, placing it over the wet spot on his bulge. To your surprise, he’s still rock hard, his orgasm not making him soft at all. You don’t question why; you already know how it could be possible. Michael Langdon, the enigma, the next supreme, seemed to have more abilities than you initially believed. Abilities that seemed more human, rather than completely abnormal.

“I want to be inside of you,” he whispers in your ear, roughly tugging the lobe between his teeth before moaning hotly. His embarrassment from moments ago has seemingly melted away, giving way to something much more confident. A bit feral, even. “I want to feel what it’s like. I want you to cum for /me/ now, and I want it to be all over my cock. Think you can do that for me, babe?”

“I think so,” you say, watching with hungry eyes as he pulls his erection free. He’s far bigger than you imagined, his cock slick and red, veins prominent all over the shaft. You reach out to jerk him off but he slaps your hand away, resulting in a whine from you. “Michael...”

“No,” he hisses, positioning your hips over his cock. With a nod from you, he sinks you onto his cock, your hands tearing at his skin and hair as you try to adjust to the massive feeling. His cock stretches your tight cunt, resulting in a burning, stinging sensation that isn’t entirely unpleasant. “Fuck!”

“Michael,” you whimper, looking at him through hazy eyes. “You feel way too good.”

“So do you,” he says, hoisting you up a little as he guides your movements along his cock. “Don’t think that just because I’m a virgin, I’ll go easy on you. I truly don’t believe you know what I’m capable of, and it would be a shame to have to show you.”

“What if I want to see it?” you ask, building a steady pace with your hips as you ride his cock, his hands massaging your ass. “I want you to show me.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?” Michael asks, his lips wrapping around your nipple and sucking generously as your head falls back.

“Mmm hmm,” you hum, grinning as you tug his curls. “Try me.”

——

Baby taglist: @littledemondani @with-dandelions-in-her-hands @codyfernmorelikedaddyfern @wroteclassicaly @leatherduncan @dark-mei-rose @littlegirlsdontplaynice @melodylangdon @xavierplympton @blakewaterxx @whatcodysaid @frenchlangdon @babyyyodas @xavierplymptons

[wickedgamesoyaoya]

The thrilling saga of Hanamaki, the hero of stench continued well past forty-five minutes. And if the conversation would stray away from the subject, the comments issued by those seated nearby would immediately return the group’s attention to the humorous topic. At this point, the poor male was unsure whether his ego would ever heal from the damage it sustained today. But what swelled the sense of embarrassment colouring his cheeks was the fact it was all because of a bodily reaction he could not control. Truthfully – the absence of understanding was quite rude.

Dejected, the pink haired male sunk into the leather seat, until his chin was nestled against the lower part of his neck.

“Stop that. You’re going to hurt your neck.” Iwaizumi tugged at his shirt collar to dispel the second-hand discomfort he was experiencing as Hanamaki squinted at him, refusing to budge from the stance.  

“Who needs a neck anymore. I don’t. What’s the point of going on like this? I may as well die.” The unemployed male sniffled, allowing his arms to go limp on either side of him. He was searching for sympathy and yet, all you could submit to him was your laughter. If only you could grab a photo – he could easily be turned into a meme.

“Stop being so dramatic. None of these people know you, and I doubt they will remember you after today.” Steadying his elbow against the glass table, the trainer curled his fingers into a fist then supported his cheek against it. “Sorry to break it you, but you’re not that important.”

“But I will remember.” He countered, his eyes now shifting into your direction, where you were seconds from pinching Iwaizumi’s exposed cheek. Pausing mid-motion with your finger’s inches away from his face, a sheepish smile decorated your features.

“What? Maybe this is karma for calling Tooru smelly yesterday.” While the response was clearly aimed at the sulking male, your y/e/c irises remained fixated on the one you deemed your favourite. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow in partial interest as his attention went to your hovering hand.

“That’s funny, I don’t remember your name being karma.” A low growl rumbled inside of Hanamaki’s throat, earning him a reassuring pat from Matsukawa. He would have interjected more often if he was not preoccupied by the delicious dessert plated in front of him. Dessert took priority over drama when it was the embodiment of heaven. “Look, she’s not even paying attention me anymore!”

“Now, now children. We’re all friends here.” The funeral home attendant offered without much enthusiasm, before sticking a fork coated in cream into his mouth. “Y/n, say sorry so he won’t break his neck and die.” Upon hearing his suggestion, you jutted your bottom lip into a pout in protest.

“I don’t want an apology. How am I supposed to go celebrate with your boy-toy’s business partners smelling like mutated pig?” Despite knowing no one would notice the movement, Makki crossed his arms under the table, mimicking the stance of a stubborn child.

“I’ll buy you a new outfit, cry baby. We still have some time.” After being shot down by Iwaizumi three times, defeat was grudgingly accepted. Your reflexes were no where as cultivated as his were. “Let’s settle the bill and go shopping, boys! Your sugar mama is buying!” As the declarations registered with the boys sat around you, the napkin settled onto your nap was placed onto the table.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass. I do need to grab something though for work, so I’ll meet you guys at the shop.” The trainer removed his wallet, then began removing some bills as the other two males celebrated your announcement by completing a high-five.

“I’m still buying something for you, Hajime. You cannot stop me if you are not there.” Tapping a single finger on the side of your head, a little ‘hmph’ was blown out.

“I won’t accept it.” He did not bother to lift his gaze, knowing well what silly expression would be adorning your visage. But what he did not account for was the threat falling from your lips.

“If you don’t, I’ll scream daddy at the top of my lungs right now.”

Matsukawa stifled his laughter at your threat, while Hanamaki finally adjusted his position on the chair, grinning ear to ear in amusement. Iwaizumi exhaled a long breath, pressing two fingers against the bridge of his nose. He knew that you were shameless enough to follow through with said warning.

“Fine. I’ll accept it.”

“That’s what I thought.”

**

One of the positives of being a model is that people generally trust your intuition when addressing matters of fashion. It was for this reason that both of your friends did not debate you on any purchases that were made on their behalf. Hanamaki’s only request was that you did not purchase anything Osamu would wear since the cook’s wardrobe consisted only of t-shirts and jeans. Within twenty minutes, both men were dressed in semi-formal attire, radiating a sense of prestige they would not otherwise have. You fit perfectly between them with your chosen ensemble – a black cocktail dress paired with shortcut boots. Heels may have matched far more, but the pain accompanying them was not worth it.

With an arm hooked to one best friend on either side, you felt royal even if they were not your escorts.

“What time is it now? Are we almost there?” The question was hummed out to Matsukawa, who was responsible for directing the trio. His eyes focused on the GPS on his phone before returning to the area ahead.

“It’s 7:25, y/n. We will be arriving according to the GPS at 7:29. We won’t be late… For the tenth time.” Casting a glance down at the shorter girl, he shook his head with a laugh leaving his lips. “So, you’re no longer Ariel, huh? Now you’re Cinderella.”

Hanamaki snickered at the observation, prompting you to lightly dig your nails into his arm in warning.  “I don’t want to mess up and be there late. Nakamura said to be there at 7:30 sharp. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“You’re stressing too hard for no reason. I’m sure he will be surprised if you’re there a minute late or early.” Leaning down, the funeral home attendant rested his cheek against your head in effort to sooth you. 

“You’re right…” The admission was accompanied by a weary laugh. “I just feel kinda weird in my chest. I don’t know.” Instinctively you tightened your grip on their arms, hoping to destroy the insecurities plaguing you with the warmth their bodies provided.

“I’ll text Iwa. We’ll go inside together. You’ll feel better if he’s here.” Hanamaki padded away on the screen, alerting their mutual friend that his presence was needed.

“Mm. Okay.” You were beginning to realize the negative emotions afflicting you was because you missed Oikawa. Celebrating achievements without him placed a hole deep inside of your heart – one that only he could fill with his dramatic facial reactions and goofy laughter. Little did you know the hole would only grow in size very soon. 

“Alright… So. It should be the shop right here.” Matsukawa’s voice led your attention back to the busy street. Blinking to readjust to the light, you paused when your friend did, then instinctively turned to the large windows of the shop. It was a normal reflex, one that your two friends mirrored. But none of you were mentally prepared for the scene melting into view.

Stood behind the transparent barrier was your fiancé, with three other figures. You did not pay any mind to the two men. No. Your focus was on the short blonde woman.

The same woman who was drawing your fiancé into a kiss with a fluidity that conveyed a sense of normalcy. No… She kissed him as if it were the most ordinary gesture in the world.

As if he was her lover and not yours.

Let’s do it again, shall we - human bomb

Masterlist - Previous - Next

A/N: o.o

Taglist: @idiot-juice-enthusiast @vicassa @iloveanime691 @bringmelily @newfriendjen @hikarichannn @anime-simp @tsukkismamagucci @laughingismorefun @astronomyturtle @shegrewupwithoutafather @hyskoa1998 @deephumandragonperson @pretty-setter-bois @raenebalgaire @sugawarabby @justanotherfangirl2 @keijisworld @90s-belladonna @momoinot @sempiternal-amour @cherryblosom111 @yqshirov @haikyuufairy @volleybloop @bloody-bella @sadkaashistan @seikamuzu @namyari @toaster-stick @shakiraisawesome @coconut-dreamz @roseestuosity @prcttylittlcthing @uzumakioden @nerdynstoned @kenmasgameboy @unstableye @ouijaeater15 @aquariarose @fandomtrashpandasposts @helloalex80 @stfucanunot @envyusshades @cuddlesslut

[candied-peach]

ao3: “how bad can i be?” rating: T warnings: food, remus typical stuff, age regression, sympathetic remus, sympathetic deceit, creativitwins genre: fluff description: Roman ends up with babysitting duty.

A knock on the door drags Roman from his work and he frowns, looking up from the impassioned scribbled ideas for Thomas's next video.

"Yes?" He calls, willing the irritation out of his voice. He did forget to say he'd be working all day at breakfast, after all.

"Roman, are you busy?" Deceit's strained voice comes through the door. Roman's eyes widen in surprise. Deceit never seeks him out. Never seeks anyone out, really. They've accepted him, but it's still tentative, especially from Patton's side. He tends to stay in his room or hang out with Remus.

Speaking of Remus...

When he opens the door, Deceit stands there, flustered, one gloved hand raised to knock again. Remus clings to Deceit's side, a stuffed octopus slung under one arm and kraken-printed pacifier stuck firmly in his mouth.

Oh.

"Thomas needs me," Deceit explains breathlessly. "One of his friends is having a hard time with their parents, and Thomas, as you know, has a hard time with-" He gestures to himself. "But Remus is regressing, and he can't be left alone. Can you watch him for me? It shouldn't take more than an hour."

"Of course," Roman answers, belated. How hard could watching his brother be? He might even be able to get his work done. "Would you like that, Remus?" He asks, addressing his brother. Remus shyly nods, before looking up at Deceit with distress.

"Leaving?" Remus asks, popping out his pacifier. Deceit brushes some of the hair out of Remus's eyes.

"I have to help Thomas, little kraken," he says. "Just for a little while, and then I'll be back. Okay?" Remus looks like he's pondering for a moment, before he nods.

"Okay," he says. "Come back fast."

"I will," Deceit promises. "As fast as I can." He turns back toward Roman. "He isn't allowed to watch the movies he normally likes when he's regressed, but he asks for them anyway. He's an unholy terror if he's bored. He likes coloring and it usually turns out a little gory, but praise it anyway. He can have snacks, but only edible ones. No deodorant sticks." Deceit's nose wrinkles. He looks past Roman into his room, furnished with pristine red, white, and gold, then frowns. "Maybe you should watch him in his room. Or mine."

"It'll be fine!" Roman dismisses with a wave of his hand. "I've watched Virgil before when he regressed. How bad could he be?"

A funny look passes over Deceit's face, but it's gone before Roman can properly examine it.

"Sure," he says. He passes Remus's hand over to Roman's. "Remember, I'll be back soon," he says. "Behave for your brother, Remus. Okay?"

"Okay," Remus says, around his pacifier. Spit slides down his chin and Roman has to hide a wince of disgust. "I'll be good."

As soon as Roman shuts the door behind them, an enormous grin comes across Remus's face, the kind that bodes no good for any of the parties involved.

Roman's heart sinks down to his toes. What have I gotten myself into? He thinks.

"Revolution!" Remus shouts, and charges toward Roman's bed, stuffed octopus flapping madly in one hand.

"Whoa there!" Roman exclaims, reaching a hand and snagging Remus's sleeve, jolting him to a stop. "Where do you think you're going?" Remus cocks his head to one side, looking at Roman like he's an idiot.

"The bed," he says, as if he's talking to a baby. His pacifier dangles by its clip.

"Why?" Roman asks. Remus grins and Roman discovers that he has a gap in his teeth when he's regressed.

"Jump," Remus says, cackling. Before Roman can process what he's just said, he tugs free of Roman's grip and scrambles on the bed, bouncing on his knees.

"Get off the bed!" Roman demands, all too cognizant of Remus's dirty boots now making their way over each and every inch of his perfectly pristine prince-sized bed. Remus sticks out his tongue.

"No," he says. No longer content with bouncing on his knees, Remus clambers to his feet and begins to jump, nearly hitting his head on Roman's oversized canopy. Roman wracks his brain, desperate. Think, Roman, think, he chastises himself. Aha! He conjures up an enormous Disney coloring book, one with princesses and villains, and waves it enticingly in the air.

"I have a coloring book for you," he cajoles. Remus pauses, glancing his way, interest brightening his eyes.

"Coloring?" Remus repeats in a hopeful tone. Roman nods, trying not to seem too desperate.

"And a jumbo pack of crayons," he says, pulling a fifty-count box out of thin air. Remus's eyes really light up at that, and Roman has to smile, even if his bedspread is now covered in Remus's boot prints.

"Color!" Remus cheers, hopping carelessly off the bed in a way that scares ten years off Roman's nonexistent life span. He barely stumbles, though, and makes his way toward Roman, his stuffed octopus now perched on one shoulder, plush limbs looped around his neck.

"Here," Roman says, conjuring up a desk and chair. "You color. I work on stuff for Thomas." Remus's face droops a little at his last remark, but he accepts the coloring book and crayons willingly enough, clambering up in his new seat.

"Hey, Ro Ro," Remus interrupts him a few minutes later. Roman looks up from his idea pad, biting back his frustration. This was supposed to be the perfect distraction for Remus. How could it work if Remus kept interrupting? "Which red is good for blood?" He holds up a handful of red crayons.

"Uh, that one," Roman says, picking one at random and hiding his shudder of revulsion. It's not Remus's fault he is the way he is, he reminds himself.

"I like to color," Remus chatters. "I like to draw too. One time I drew everyone, you and Dee Dee and Lo and Virgey and even Pat! On a big paper-" He stretches his arms out comically wide to demonstrate. "And at the bottom I drew lots of skulls. Like a big pile of skulls." He beams.

"That sounds...delightful," Roman manages to say, narrowly avoiding an inadvertent Deceit summons. Wouldn't that be awkward. Unbothered, Remus nods happily, coloring away. The tip of his tongue sticks out between his teeth.

"I'm coloring Ariel," he says. "And a kraken comes and eats her up." He shows Roman his progress. Even regressed to a child, his art skills are nothing to sneeze at, Roman thinks. If only they weren't quite so...gory.

"Well done!" He praises. Remus practically glows, and Roman feels a pang of guilt stab him. Remus really is doing his best after all. It's not his fault that his imagination runs to- well, that, even when a child.

"Would you like a snack?" Roman asks. Remus nods eagerly.

"Deodorant!" He chirps. Roman shakes his head, alarm bells ringing in his head at the sight of the pout forming on Remus's mouth.

"Dee said you couldn't have deodorant," he says, cheerfully passing the blame to Remus's primary caregiver. "Edible snacks, kiddo. Do you have any favorites?"

"Goldfish!" He says, excited. The brewing squall seems to have passed, much to Roman's relief. "I like biting off their heads!" Of course you do, Roman thinks as he conjures up a sippy cup full of strawberry juice and a plastic bowl full of goldfish. Remus accepts both, cramming a handful of goldfish into his mouth as he colors. A few droplets of juice stain his coloring page and Roman expects him to tear up over it, but instead, he incorporates them into his artwork.

"More blood," Remus announces brightly. With an indulgent smile, Roman gets back to his own work. See? He tells the Deceit in his mind. He's not so bad. Sure, there has been a minor hiccup or two. I have to wash my covers, for instance. But really, he's not at all like you portrayed him to-

"Look, Ro Ro, I can fly!" Remus announces from the top of the wardrobe and Roman's heart stops.

"Remus!" He shouts, diving toward the wardrobe just as Remus bends his knees and jumps. With heart-stopping slowness, Roman makes it just in time for his brother to land on his back, driving him to the floor with a painful whoosh of breath.

"You got in the way," Remus accuses, disappointed.

"Get off me," Roman says. Reluctantly, Remus rolls off him, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Roman tries to still his frenetically beating heart as he glares at his brother.

"That was very dangerous," he says, breathless. "Don't do that. You could have been seriously hurt." Remus shrugs, unconcerned.

"Not really," he says, popping his pacifier in and out of his mouth. "Dee Dee says I'm like a bouncy ball."

"Be that as it may," Roman says. "Dee is not here right now. I am. Please don't jump off the furniture. Why don't you finish coloring?"

"I did finish," Remus says. "You didn't see 'cause you were too busy with your dumb work." He crosses his arms over his chest and looks away, scowling.

Another splinter of guilt wedges itself in Roman's heart.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm sorry, Remus. You're right. I'm supposed to be watching you and I'm not doing a very good job, am I."

"Better than Pat," Remus says. Roman wonders at the story there, but decides to ignore it for the time being.

"Would you like to watch something?" He tries. "Just me and you, no work involved?" He expects Remus to ask for one of his favorites when he's older, like Repo! or perhaps a true crime documentary. Remus looks up shyly.

"Finding Nemo?" He requests. Roman smiles.

"Sounds good to me," he says. "Come on, let's make a blanket fort and watch it that way."

"And then I have more snack?" Remus asks hopefully. Roman laughs.

"Sure," he says. "Then you can have another snack."

tag list: @k9cat @paravigilant-virgil @croftergamer @airiervessel @bexxbeauty @ambersky0319 @yalltookmyurlideas @did-he-just-hiss-at-me @ihateitwhenyourejustvague @matthindavick @killjoy-3000 @littlestliu

[stvpidinlove]

[ RONEN RUBINSTEIN, HE/HIM, CIS MAN ]  —  [ SHILOH ECKHAUS ]  is a child of  [ THANATOS ]  with the power of  [ DEATH NEGATION ] .  they were born in  [ 1994 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2010 ] .  with the change, they  [ HAVE GRADUATED FROM ]  the  [ STANDARD ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ READING BIOGRAPHIES & WATCHING NATURE DOCS ] .  if you’d like to meet them try the  [ MOON ]  building .

anyway...i have a disease where i have to write angsty men regularly

BASICS

hometown: boone, north carolina

eye color: blue

hair color: brown

height: 5′10

sexuality: bisexual

birthday: november 7, 1994 ( scorpio )

BIO

i think...thanatos has a thing for damaged women, and another thing for women who just want to help others, and ruth eckhaus was both. he draws women in who either hate themselves or can find the good in him, which isn’t easy to find. thanatos was cold and often volatile but there was something in him to love. so she didn’t do anything wrong in falling for the literal personification of death, but she made a mistake when she got pregnant.

even if he had been mortal, ruth never thought he was the kind of man who would stick around, even less likely when the ultrasound revealed she was pregnant with twins. part of her was unsurprised, since he’d mentioned having a twin brother.

the twins were born after a hard, long labor, which ruth swore was ripping her apart inside. but she survived, and she was happy for two healthy babies, because she knew she could never put herself through that again.

she met a man when the twins were still young, who wasn’t bad, especially compared to the father of her children. but he said a similar mysteriousness and she often didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. it got better once they got married, but when the police came knocking asking about his whereabouts on the day a young woman was taken (and later killed) a few miles away, she didn’t have a good answer.

with very little evidence, her husband was sentenced to life in prison, and while she never once wavered in her belief of his innocence, it wasn’t as black and white for shiloh. the prosecution had presented a compelling argument, at least that’s what the jury had thought. and at the age of eight, shiloh might have agreed.

his already tenuous relationship with his step-father became even more strained, visiting prison regularly with his mother and sister, but as he got older, it became his choice and he didn’t often want to be there, in that place, seeing the only father he’d ever known like that.

shiloh had always been a quiet, slightly moody child, which only got worse once his father was sent away and his mother was forced to pick up the slack on top of paying the newly incurred legal fees. since shiloh and ariel had each other, they didn’t always notice how harried their mother was, or how isolated they had become at school, because no matter what they’d always have each other.

when the twins were fourteen, riding bikes but already dreaming of getting their permits, ariel challenged shiloh to a race and set off down the street. she looked behind her shoulder to jeer at him when she was hit by a car. she died almost immediately on impact, by which time the driver was long gone.

shiloh didn’t know about his power yet, or...not really. he’d once seen a dead baby bird, the sight twisting his stomach, a nausea which only grew stronger when the bird suddenly got up and started squawking for its mother. he wasn’t sure why the relief of being wrong about the bird made him feel worse, or why he had a headache for the remainder of the day.

but when he ran over to ariel and watched her breathe her last breaths, he grabbed her hand and begged her not to leave him. he’d never wanted anything so desperately in his life, and after a few minutes of crying, he was starting to feel faint himself. his breathing grew more and more shallow, as if the life was leaving his body, but then he saw ariel inhale. in fact, it was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.

he awoke in a hospital bed next to his sister, who by all accounts, was perfectly fine aside from some cuts and bruises. somehow, shiloh was the one sore all over and struggling to get air into his lungs. they looked at each other, simultaneously understanding what had happened, and quietly agreed not to tell anybody else.

but their mother, knowing the truth of their paternity, was immediately suspicious and terrified, so she sent them off to nemean lion the next year in the hopes that neither of her children would die before her.

RANDOM FACTS

sooooo yeah shiloh is an Emo Boy but can you blame him, no <3 maybe he’s valid but i’ll only say that once

basically he brought his sister back to life when they were kids and nearly died himself with the energy exerted and he’s never brought another human being back to life since (and doesn’t plan on ever doing it again)

i guess you could say he...respects the circle of life? he doesn’t want to play, ahem, god, so when someone dies he just accepts this as being a part of life. but ariel’s death was so sudden that he didn’t think before bringing her back, nor did he fully know what he was doing

but he’s pretty sure he could never survive without her and he doesn’t actually know, realistically, what he’d do if she ever died again

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

maybe someone he dislikes but is friends with ariel, or vice versa?! they’re both assholes so this seems unrealistic but uwu

that said, someone who wants to be his friend fsr, or just acts like one without him ever actually acknowledging their friendship /:

i suppose he could bond with someone over not knowing what the heck they’re doing here or what to do with their life or ahhhh!!

he’s been at nl for a decade so mb he do have at least one good friend who he’s almost actually kind of vulnerable around and knows him better than most people

someone who just likes to annoy him bc he is no fun but it entertains them to get on his nerves idk u kno the vibe

[alindakb]

Can I Please Wake Up Now? - Lydia - by Alinda

Her pen keeps scratching nonsense in her notebook, while Lydia reads the same line for the hundred time. She shifts around in her chair, trying to concentrate. She’s been on edge ever since Jordan left the house. She leans away from her reading and checks her cell phone. A small sound comes from the baby monitor. She listens closely, only to hear that Aiden is just playing around in his crib. Lydia clears her throat and starts reading again, her pen still drawing things in her notebook.

Was it this hard to get back to work the last time? Lydia can’t remember. It was a hectic time, with the witches and their dragon causing havoc. So, it should be easier this time around, no monsters, no people dying, just peace and love all around. Still, Lydia is tense; she consciously has to force herself to relax.

Aiden makes another noise upstairs. Lydia needs to leave this room, stop worrying about the case in front of her. She gets up and walks upstairs. She checks in on Ariel. The little girl is sleeping in her pink bed, her stuffed pony in her hand. Lydia carefully kisses her temple and walks out of the room.

A dim light is shining in the nursery so Lydia can see Aiden lying in his crib. His hands try to catch the cars that hang on his mobile above his crib. It was a gift from Ethan. He was so proud that this little one would carry his brother's name. He almost broke Lydia’s ribs when he hugged her when they told him.

Aiden coos when he spots Lydia. She smiles at her little boy, only weeks old and already the man she loves more than any other. She was planning to just say hello and smile at her baby boy, but now that she’s here, she just needs to hold him. She picks up Aiden from his crib and holds him close.

“I love you, little one.” She strokes his soft hair and walks towards the stairs, picking up one of his toys before she leaves the room. Her phone is ringing down in the study.

“I think we need to answer that. It’s probably daddy calling to tell that he’s going to be out all night,” she tells Aiden. Jordan was called in because of a car accident. Lydia walks back into the study and reaches for her phone. Her hand stops midair when her eyes slide over her notebook. Her chest aches. The page is filled with one name. In capital letters, in small letters, spelled backwards, in bold letters. She’s been writing down his name since moments before Jordan had gotten his call.

Her phone has stopped ringing and the silence is deafening. Even Aiden is quite like he can sense something is wrong. A single tear escapes Lydia’s eye, rolling over her cheek. She doesn’t feel like screaming, but she can feel it in her bones. She pulls Aiden closer to her and tries to look away from the piece of paper filled with Stiles his name.

Her phone starts ringing again. She forces herself to look at the damn thing to see who’s calling her. It’s Jordan. Her hands shake when she reaches for the phone. She had started scrolling down Stiles name moments before he was called out to the car accident. He had said that there was a possibility of fatalities before he left. She answers the call.

“Stiles is dead,” she says without wavering. She’s sure of it. Silence greets her, her husband lost for words. “He is, isn’t he?” she asks. Maybe she’s wrong, for once let her be wrong. Jordan clears his throat. He sounds broken when he answers her question.

“I’m sorry sweetheart.”

They both cry, not knowing what to say next. She wishes Jordan was home right now, so they could hold each other, cry together, and not over a phone. Lydia walks towards the living room and sits down on the sofa; her legs feel heavy and she’s afraid she will fall over if she doesn’t sit down.

“I can’t leave,” Jordan says after a while. “It’s going to be a long night. The sheriff… He’s here and…”

Jordan sniffs, not able to finish his sentence. Lydia can’t imagine how hard this must be for him, knowing he needs to step up now, that he can’t break down. He’s the second in command at the country. He’s responsible for the aftermath, needs to make sure the other deputies do their work. Even though the victim is their friend, his partner, his boss’ son. A friend of most people picking up the pieces right now.

“Jordan, I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

“I’ll be fine. And waiting for you at home as soon as your job is done.” And she isn’t lying, she will be fine. The feeling of losing a loved one isn’t new to her. She has survived Jackson’s death, Aiden’s, Malia’s. As long as she has Jordan and her kids, and the pack, she will be fine. The pack will heal like it had before. The pack will, but Derek…

“Does Derek know?”

The man has already lost so much in his life. His parents, his first pack, his sister, his beta’s, his niece. Will he be able to survive this? Now that his rock is gone. The only person that had been able to heal his wounds?

“I called Isaac, he’s on his way to him as we speak. I couldn’t tell him this over the phone. He needs to hear this from someone that can control him if he loses it. I was afraid if I would send one of the deputies he would hurt them.”

Lydia makes an agreeing noise.

“I still need to tell Scott… and Cora.”

“I’ll call them.” Lydia offers without hesitation. Jordan should focus on the aftermath at the crash site, not about telling their friends and family.

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

Silence follows.

“Maybe you should also call Danny and Ethan. I know they are on holiday…”

“I will, don’t worry about it”

“I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“I know, I’ll be here when you do.”

Jordan tells her one more time he loves her before he hangs up. Aiden stirs in Lydia’s arms. She puts him down in his playpen and looks at him with tears in her eyes. Little Talia is only two weeks older than Aiden. She’s not even four months old and already she has lost one of her fathers.

Lydia sits back down and hides her face in her hands. She cries.

After a while, she takes some deep breaths and tries to calm herself down. When she feels she can talk again she picks up her mobile and speed dials Scott. The phone rings, but nobody answers. After a while, the call goes to voicemail. Lydia hangs up and dials again. She wishes that she didn’t have to be the one to tell Scott that his best friend died tonight. And how is she going to tell Cora that the father of her daughters is dead? Scott still doesn’t answer his phone, so Lydia phones again, wishing she would wake up from this nightmare.

[revengerevisited]

i found this vanqua fic the other day, it’s only a couple chapters but i like it so far. :3 it does have a ‘creator chose not to add warnings’ label though, so please be cautious. also baby-xemnas aka kotbysleep (nsfw) aka nekokat42 (also nsfw) is a much better vanqua artist than me so please check him out. X’D (heads-up those twitter threads are way longer than you think so make sure you see eeeverything~).

anyway, more wip art below the cut, plus my endless rambling (i talk about 18+ topics, just a warning)—

i’m still working on venqua week and i’ve got 2 more prompts to go, one i haven’t started yet and one i’m halfway done with—

~aaand yeah i’m re-using it for a vanqua pic too... X’D am i lazy, or just resourceful? you decide. ;P

but yeah, both of these pics will have an 18+ version as well. i admit i’m super anxious about posting it next week, as i’ve seen just how absolutely toxic fandom is on twitter. like, you thought tumblr was bad? i’ve spent the last few days preemptively blocking literally hundreds if not thousands of antis just so i can feel a little safer posting my content without some asshat calling me a pedo or telling me to kill myself over cartoons. XU i somewhat worry that i’ve accidentally blocked some people who were just joking around and weren’t actually harassing anyone, but it’s just so hard to tell sometimes. if i’ve accidentally blocked anybody here, just let me know so i can unblock you. :3 (idk why that sentence came out so sinister sounding but i’m legit being sincere X’D).

but seriously, idk when fandom suddenly got such a stick up its ass (around 2016-17 from my guesstimate) and decided aging-up a fictional character by a year or two is such a crime, but i guess that’s just the state of things. :T i could draw vanitas as a centaur or make him blond or whatever and no one cares, but aging him by one year? suddenly big problem! yeah, right. XP like, i know i said every character in kh is 17+ as of khmom (ignoring any weird timeline retcons of course), but heck i could make an honest case for the wayfinder family all being adults. hear me out—

it’s been 13 years since bbs, right? and for 12 of those years, aqua was in the realm of darkness, terra had some awareness while being possessed by xehanort, ven experienced some of sora’s life when he was in a coma, and vanitas was almost certainly in ven/sora’s heart as well, so all four of them could be said to be 31, 33, and 29 respectively. it’s not like their character models were any different when they were young teens as opposed to older teens, so can we really be sure they’re not all 30~ by now? heck, since ven is from the age of fairytales i could say he’s 1000 years old if i wanted too! (psst, it’s almost as if these are all fictional characters living in a fantasy world with time travel and whatnot and their ages are completely arbitrary numbers nomura made up on the spot, numbers which he has retconned before! :P).

now i don’t actually think they’re that old, but if people are gonna hassle me over a goddamn 2-year age difference, i might as well say fuck it and have fun with it, right? ;P it’s not like antis even know what the canon character ages even actually are, like when they try to say that skuld is underage when (assuming she’s subject x) she’d be around 28~ by now, or axel and saïx’s age. (maybe i’ll draw some saïx x skuld art and watch the antis lose their minds. ;P it wouldn’t even have to be nsfw to rile them up).

anyway, i do admit i’m feeling a little burned out on art recently. XP i’ve been trying to get one art piece out per week plus venqua week, and yeah it’s kinda taken its toll. i know this really isn’t anything anyone wants to hear, but i’ve been kinda thinking of moving away from fandom projects to work on my own original work. now, i’m not saying i’m abandoning a heart and a half nor anything as drastic as that! but i have spent like 2 years of my life on it just to get to the halfway mark, and i’m not sure i can spend 2 more doing only that.

i’ve got an original story idea that i’ve been working on-and-off on for the past 7 years or so, and i’m thinking of going back to it again (it does need a pretty big re-write). its main pairing is actually pretty vanqua-ish, now that i think about it. like, imagine the realm of darkness but instead of the heartless it’s infested with demons, and the main characters are the demon-slaying duo of a serious yet kindhearted half-angel and a feral, snarky half-demon. i even aged them up from 14 to 18 so none of my potential fans have to suffer the same anti bullshit that i have. XP

what else can i ramble about... oh, i got these super cute pins for christmas! :D the heartless is by xkirakira, and vanitas and aqua are by maxxmerch. they’re just so cute! X3 i hope everyone had a merry christmas and a happy holiday! i’ll see you guys later. ^3^ 

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*looks around sheepishly* ó3ò alright... confession time. spoilers for a heart and a half for the rest of this post—

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sooo~ i’ve kinda hinted at this before, but yeah i’ve always planned on adding a sex scene to a heart and a half; when i started writing back in 2018 i hadn’t realized how hostile fandom had become compared to only a few years ago, and it worries me that some readers might drop the fic because of it, or be angry with me over the underage aspect. :(

idk, i could go on about how i just wanted to explore every aspect of a romantic relationship, or how other disney/square enix characters married or had kids young (ariel, sarah hawkins, héctor, claudia strife, possibly jasmine), or how attempting to apply real-world rules to a videogame fantasy setting is inherently silly and pointless, but really it’s just ‘cause i love vanitas and aqua to bits and i just wanted to write a cute and funny mild sex scene between them (this fic is rated mature, not explicit, so much less graphic than confection affection), and at the end of the day they are just fictional characters, after all.

i guess all i can hope for is that i’m a skilled enough writer to pull it off in a believable way, and that my audience won’t be too put off by it. >_> i know vanitas and aqua have technically only known each other for about 2 months so it might not be ‘realistic’ for them to go so far into a relationship so soon, but i think it’s important to remember that ultimately this is a romantic fairytale, and other canon disney couples haven’t seen nearly as deeply into each other’s hearts as vanitas and aqua have (and this video also helped me feel better about it).

i also wanted to finish that nsfw venqua fic i started a few months back, it’s set just before the mark of mastery so yes ven would be 16. i suppose it’s a way of testing the waters to see what kind of reception i’d get (hopefully positive) before i get to that part of a heart and a half. i was also thinking of including some of the uh, ‘keyblades as erogenous zones’ aspect from this terraquaven fic as well... w-why are you looking at me like that?! it’s funny! *sweats nervously* o3o’

in all honesty, i’m probably just overthinking all this (which, knowing me, is almost a guarantee >_<) and i should just *ahem* let my heart be my guiding key, and just write what i want to write without worrying about it all the time. i just get so anxious so easily... buuut that’s not really news to anyone, now is it? ;P well, i think that’s the end of my endless ramble, thanks for reading if you got this far. X’D and i really hope i didn’t actually upset anybody about a heart and a half. ;_; i just felt like i needed to vent a little, but don’t worry about me, i’m doing fine. anyway, i really should stop typing and get back to work on venqua week, sooo... bye! X3

[storiesforallfandoms]

picnic ~ harry styles au

part one   part two

word count: 1679

request?: no

description: after showing her the town of eroda, harry decides to take his mermaid friend to see his favourite spot to be alone

pairing: harry styles x mermaid!female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

series masterlist

After showing (Y/N) around Eroda, Harry led her up to his favourite peak that looked out over the beach. Harry watched as she excitedly raced up to the near edge to look down over it.

“It’s beautiful,” she called to Harry.

“It is,” Harry laughed. “Come in before you fall over!”

The two sat on the bench in the overgrown grass. Harry placed his backpack on his lap and started to pull food from it.

“What do mermaids eat when they’re swimming?” Harry asked.

“We usually don’t have to eat,” she said between bites of sandwich. “We don’t really get hungry while swimming. It’s usually only when in human form.”

“I have so many questions,” Harry said. “But I really don't want to bombard you or bug you. I’m sure you get questioned every time someone new meets you.”

(Y/N) shrugged. “I understand being shocked. Mermaids have been fairytales and legends for hundreds of years, no one believes they’re real until they see it firsthand.”

So many questions were swirling in Harry’s head. There was so much he wanted to know, about mermaids and about (Y/N) in general.

He watched her take another bite of her sandwich. The wind blew her hair from her shoulders as she looked at the view ahead of her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was absolutely gorgeous. He wondered if that was a mermaid thing, or if she was just naturally gorgeous.

“Where do the mermaid legends come from then, if they’re actually real?” he asked.

(Y/N) smiled. A question she had heard countless times before. “Obviously you know of the tales of sirens, right?” Harry nodded. “Sirens are what mermaids started as. There’s no definite reason, both in your world and in the mermaid world, but the hundreds of years ago pirates would sail into the waters where the mermaids lived, which angered the mermaids. They’d come to the surface and sing to lure the pirates to their deaths. One man, it’s unclear if it was an actual pirate of one of their hostages, faked his death to escape them and return to his home to warn everyone. They all thought he was crazy, so no one believed him, but his story travelled through town and ended up becoming a folktale for years to come. Anyone who could ever confirm that it was real were killed by mermaids.

“That’s dark,” Harry breathed.

“It’s the truth, “(Y/N) shrugged. “It took some time and a lot of fighting but some time later be became much more friendly and less violent. We decided to stay hidden as not to frighten humans, because we thought that we had been branded evil killers. We had no idea that humans had turned us into lovely creatures, into princesses for the amusement of their children. We were, and still are, honored that the evil that we were once connected to is no longer attached to the name of the mermaid.”

Harry nodded, allowing (Y/N)’s story to digest. He stopped as realization crossed his mind, “So wait...is Ariel real too?”

(Y/N) giggled. “No, Ariel is just a story. We don't have a monarchy like that in the mermaid world. We all just sort of...exist as we wish to. Obviously, if any of us are still violent like our ancestors we denounce them, but that’s really it.”

Harry hadn’t noticed that (Y/N) had finished her sandwich until she was reaching for his bag again. She dug through his bag until she pulled out a plastic bag of cookies and her eyes lit up excitedly. Harry figured he wouldn’t be getting any of those today.

“What about families?” he asked. “Do mermaids have families? Do they worry about you when you’re gone for long periods of time?”

(Y/N) paused with a cookie raised to her mouth. She lowered it slowly, unable to meet Harry’s eye. “We have families, yes. We fall in love and we procreate more mermaids but...no, they...they don’t worry about us. When a young mermaid is old enough to explore on his or her own, they separate from their family and they go off by themselves. They cross paths every now and then and have a short reunion, but it’s not the same as what humans do.”

Harry looked at her in shock. “They just...let their kids go? Not knowing if they’ll ever see them again?”

She nodded, looking down at her lap. “It’s hard to stay together when the nature of mermaids is to want to swim to explore the world. And it’s hard to meet back at a specific location when mermaids are able to swim so far in just a short amount of time, and often lose track of where they are and where they’d been. It was decided, some time ago when I was just a baby, that instead of trying to restrain the youth and to not allow them to explore, that parents would allow their children to be on their own once they’re old enough. Again, there’s nothing to enforce that, if a parent wants to keep their child from leaving they’re free to, but they also must give their child the option once their old enough.”

“Did you choose to leave?”

She shook her head. “No. It was an accident, I was much younger than the average mermaid who goes off on their own. My family and I were swimming and I was caught in a strong current. By the time my parents noticed I was being whisked away and tried to save me, the current had gained too much speed and I was pulled away. I tried looking for them, but it was no use. That was when I started exploring on land, it felt safer than being in the sea all by myself as such a young age sometimes. I fell in love with the human life, so I tend to visit places on land from time to time, just because.”

Harry wrapped his arms around (Y/N) without thinking, pulling her to him. The action took (Y/N) by surprise, but she soon melted into Harry’s arms, resting her head on his chest and taking in his scent. Wow, he smells really good.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” he said. “That’s...that’s really terrible. My parents left my choice, they never cared for me or for my problem, but yours lost their daughter unwillingly...that’s terrible.”

“It is,” (Y/N) agreed, biting back the tears she was feeling form in her eyes. “I’m hoping they’re still alive so I can find them again some day, and I can be with them again. But for now, I’ve started to enjoy my life alone. Swimming from place to place, meeting new people, seeing how the world changes while I’m under the water. It’s a fascinating life, I will admit.”

Harry pulled away to look at her. (Y/N) noticed how green his eyes were. Greener than the grass surrounding them, although the grass didn’t exactly seem to be very healthy.

She found herself leaning closer to Harry, still looking into his eyes. Harry raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Your eyes,” she responded. “They’re beautiful.”

Harry’s face turned red as he finally broke eye contact to look at the ground. “Oh...well...thank you...so are yours.”

She smiled brightly and sat back on the bench, beginning to eat the cookies yet again.

“Do mermaids still sing?” Harry asked. “Is it still...dangerous to hear a mermaid sing?”

(Y/N) shook her head. “It’ll capture your attention and draw you to them, but it’s not dangerous. It never was, only the mermaids in general were dangerous.”

Harry nodded. He hesitated before asking, “Can you sing...for me? I’d love to hear it.”

(Y/N) munched on her cookie and swallowed before she responded, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Well...okay.”

(Y/N) placed the cookies aside and stood in front of Harry. She looked at the town behind him. It was miles away, and the beach was deserted. There was no way anyone would hear her, she wouldn’t risk drawing attention to them.

She opened her mouth and began to sing an old song of her people. It was one that was once used to lure pirates to their deaths, but when the mermaids decided to turn over a new leaf and to become more peaceful than their ancestors, they took the song back and made it their own. It was their call to one another, a song they sang to help instead of to hurt, or just something they sang to calm themselves during tough times. (Y/N) spent many lonely nights singing to herself, hoping that maybe her parents would hear her and find her.

Harry was captivated from the second she began to sing. He sat forward in his seat, having to stop himself from jumping up right then and there and taking (Y/N) in his arms. He was shocked to find, however, that he knew which parts of his admiration were the siren song and which were his actual feelings. The desire to hold (Y/N), to be as close to her as he could possibly be, he knew that was the siren song, but the genuine feeling of admiration for her was real. He had been feeling it since he first met her.

(Y/N)’s eyes flickered to look behind Harry every so often just to make sure no one else had heard her. When she was sure no one had, and that it was enough of her singing, she stopped. Harry began to clap, smiling his bright smile. (Y/N) giggled and took a bow.

“That was amazing,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a seat next to Harry.

They ate in silence then, feeling as though there was nothing else to talk about. They just watched as the sun went down, munching on their food in silence and enjoying one another’s company.

Tags: @daylightkissy​ @hufflepuff-always-and-forever​ @arypesanchez​

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future parts!

[lieberts]

tagged by @jidai​ and @zenien​ and @dicennio​​ to do these <3 not tagging anyone, but feel free to say i tagged you if you wanna do these

1. MUSIC TAG MEME Rules: Post your first twenty songs in a playlist on shuffle

can’t let you go by adam lambert oh god

the giant’s exit from the majora’s mask ost

sing for absolution by muse

all that we see by the black ryder

offering by black city lights

miss moneypenny by placebo

spusti svetlost na put by kralj čačka

dance of the knights by prokofiev

suspirium by thom yorke

the hills by the weeknd

i don’t like mondays by the boomtown rats

silence by azra

spirit of peace (part 3) by popol vuh

build that wall from the bastion ost

politik by coldplay

jenova from the ffvii ost

akira the wild from the devilman crybaby ost

jazzman by carole king

morning after by ariel pink & weyes blood

modern man by arcade fire

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2. Rules: MAKE A NEW POST, bold what applies to you and tag whoever you want to get to know better.

APPEARANCE I’m an I-need-to-pull-the-driver-seat-all-the-way-in kind of a person // i wear glasses or contacts // i have blonde hair // i prefer loose clothing to tight clothing  // i have one or more piercings // i have at least one tattoo  // i have blue eyes // i have dyed or highlighted my hair // i have gotten plastic surgery // i have or had braces // i sunburn easily // i have freckles // i paint my nails // i wear makeup // i don’t often smile // i am pleased with how I look // I prefer nike to adidas // i wear baseball hats backward

HOBBIES & TALENTS i play a sport // i can play an instrument  // i am artistic (ehh??) // i know more than one language // i have won a trophy in some sort of competition // i can cook or bake without a recipe // i know how to swim // i enjoy writing // i can do origami // i prefer movies to tv shows // i can execute a perfect somersault // i enjoy singing // i could survive in the wild on my own // i have read a new book series this year // i enjoy spending time with friends // i travel during school or work breaks // i can do a handstand (kind of...... not for long tho)

RELATIONSHIPS i am in a relationship // i have a crush // i have a best friend i have known for ten years // my parents are together // i have dated my best friend // i am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // i have a long-distance relationship // i am an only child // i give advice to my friends // i have made an online friend // i met up with someone i have met online

AESTHETIC i have heard the ocean in a conch shell // i have watched the sunrise // i enjoy rainy days // i have slept under the stars // i meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // i enjoy the smell of the beach // i know what snow tastes like // i listen to music to fall asleep // i enjoy thunderstorms // i enjoy cloud watching // i have attended a bonfire // i pay close attention to colors // i find mystery in the ocean // i enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favourite season

MISC i can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // i am the mom friend // i live by a certain quote // i like the smell of sharpies // i am involved in extracurricular activities // i enjoy mexican food // i can drive a stick-shift  // i believe in true love // i make up scenarios to fall asleep // i sing in the shower // i wish i lived in a video game // i have a canopy above my bed // i am multiracial // i am a redhead // i own at least one dog // i have a cat ---------

3. THIS OR THAT TAG GAME (1)

sage green or baby blue | moon or stars | paperback or hardback | piercings or tattoos (neither tbh) | drawing or writing | saturn or jupiter | line without a hook or mr. loverman | ancient greece or ancient egypt | prague or amsterdam | dark academia or light academia | indie aesthetic or cottagecore | stargazing or late night drives | strawberries or watermelons (these are hard wtf both??) | rings or necklaces | extrovert or introvert | dragons or griffins | ocean or mountain | silver or gold | dawn or dusk | creative or free spirit | early bird or night owl | cook or bake | dagger or sword ---------

4. THIS OR THAT TAG GAME (2)

indoor plants or gardens // cloud-watching or star-gazing // water or fire // paperback or hardcover // running or hiking // sleeping with socks or without socks // fruit or vegetables // hanging plants or succulents // dark wood or light wood // handwritten or typed // instagram or pinterest (both suck and are full of reposts but instagram is seriously bad) // braids or pigtails // books or movies // oceans or meadows // forests or fields // sweet or salty // ice cream or chocolate // hoodies or sweaters // long hair or short hair // piercings or tattoos // summer or winter // boots or sneakers // cars or motorcycles // curls or straight hair // castles or cottages // sunny days or storms // reptiles or birds // disney or nickelodeon // strawberries or watermelon // essays or posters // phones or laptops // glass or stone // dark or light // photos or paintings // circuses or theaters // reading or writing // dogs or cats // poetry or novels // monsters or ghosts // thrift shops or libraries // fiction or non-fiction

5. Post one picture from my camera roll (no new downloads) to sum up my personality!

6. 30 QUESTIONS TAG GAME RULES: Answer 30 questions and tag others

Name/Nickname: jeja, jeca, j, lena Gender: female Star Sign: aries Height: in a surprising turn of events im 167cm not 165 as i initially thought <3 Time: 10:30am Birthday: april 10 Favorite Bands: arcade fire, muse, placebo Favorite Solo Artists: hozier, chelsea wolfe, idk Song stuck in my head: vive la fete by noir desir Last Movie: interview with the vampire Last Show: i have no idea i havent finished a tv show in ages tbh When did I create this blog: i think january 2011? jesus What do I post: anime, art, video games Last thing googled: vive la fete by noir desir to see if i spelled it correctly Other blogs: wessobrunn but its inactive Do I get asks: i get bullied by sen a lot Why I chose my url: because i love the liebert twins from naoki urasawas monster<333 Following: 147 Followers: nah Average hours of sleep: like 7-8 hours? Instruments: none What am I wearing: beige sweatpants and a black hoodie fashion icon jelena Dream job: i dont dream of labor Dream trip: japan, asia in general, central europe Favorite food: too many im not a picky eater Nationality: montenegrin (derogatory) Favorite song: BRUH i dont have one fav song there are too many Last book read: mađarska rečenica by andrej nikolaidis  Top three fictional universes I’d like to live in: i think it says a lot about the kind of content i consume when i cant think of a single one that would actually be enjoyable to live in...........

[meepmorpperaltiago]

The Machine

Aka Jake and Amy travel through all my aus! This is a totally cracky idea I had to celebrate reaching 80 fics - I hope you enjoy this 2k crackfest of insanity!  

Neither of them notice at first when the machine shows up in the precinct. No one knows what it is or what it does anyway -  a group of officers stand around, trying not to press any of the buttons, not knowing whether or not it’s something dangerous.

It catches Jake’s gaze as he walks past on his way to see Amy, with its round shape, big buttons and silver shine and he asks the officers what it is.

“We don’t know”, his wife responds with a shrug, getting up and going over to the place where half of her beat cops are currently gathered. “Some crazy drunk guy who kept trying to tell us he was from a parallel world had it with him. It has all these buttons but we can’t figure out what any of them do.”

“Well you know what the best way is to find out what something is?”, Jake asks, taking Amy’s hand as he goes to push the biggest button, right in the centre.

“Jake no!”, Amy exclaims before a clap of lightning strikes and they’re thrown to the ground.

 “Jake what the hell!”, Amy yells. “Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know what to tell you Ames, I see a button and I have to push it”, Jake responds with a shrug, hoping to win over Amy with a smile.

“Even Mac would know not to push that button and he’s 6 months old!”, she sighs, before getting up and looking around.

They appear to be in a large mall and other than it being unfamiliar, nothing about their location seems to be particularly amiss. Until, after deciding to explore a little to try and figure out where on earth they are, they walk into a record store with a name they don’t recognise and see Amy’s face plastered all over a prominently placed CD stand. Clear as day, it reads at the bottom “Amy Santiago: Sugar – 05/18/20”

Jake’s face lights up at the sight. “You know what this means?” he says to Amy with excitement, grabbing her arms.

“That one of us hit our head real hard and is hallucinating?”, Amy says.

“No – this is a parallel universe! Excuse me maa’m, could you tell me a little more about this album?”, Jake says, stopping one of the people working in the store as they go past.

She gives him a strange look before speaking slowly. “You mean the new Amy Santiago album? Her 11th and first in like 2 years? Well, it’s been pretty hyped up, we’re thinking it’s gonna sell a lot.”

“Why has she not done an album in two years?” Amy then asks, growing curious whether this is some kind of crazy fever dream or not and slightly concerned for this parallel version of herself that she’s just heard of.

“Well, she was kind of busy planning and then doing her year-long residency at Madison Square Garden…” the woman says, as if that’s something everyone knows.

Both of their eyes grow wide at that – the woman decides that the two of them are both just crazy and leaves them be with a quick excuse.

“Wait, if I’m some kind of big celebrity here, how come I’m not like, being mobbed or something?”, Amy asks.

“Uh, I think I know why”, Jake says, staring into his reflection on the front of the CD. Amy looks too and that’s when she realises: they look completely different.

“The machine must create some kind of filter”, Jake says whilst reading the track list.

“Come on, let’s try and find that machine and figure out how to get home,” Amy says, walking out of the store.

“Come on Ames, aren’t you at least a little bit curious about how all this happened? Don’t you wanna explore a little?”, he says, gesturing to her glammed-up image on the cardboard.

“Yeah, I guess I am a little curious…”, Amy says as Jake drags her away.

-           

Hours later, they’re sat by the machine, having played the entire Amy Santiago Essentials Playlist on Apple Music whilst looking for it and googling both of them (Jake was slightly disappointed to find out that he’s still just an ordinary guy in this universe).

“Wow Ames, other you made some bops, even though it does seem like she had a nervous breakdown doing it.”

“Yeah, it seems like she didn’t have a fun time for a while…”, Amy says distractedly, whilst eyeing up the big button that brought them here in the first place. “Lets hope this can bring us home”, she then says, before pressing the button in the centre and triggering another zap.

-

This time, they land on a beach – they both share a disappointed look, realising that they’re still not home.

“I wonder what’s different about this universe? Am I in a rock band?”, Jake says, only half joking.

Then they see a tail coming out of the water and realise they’re in a world even stranger than the last one.

When mermaid Amy sees them, she quickly dives under the water with a scared look on her face.

Stopped in their confusion, then they see a very relaxed Jake coming out of a nearby house and realise they can’t escape meeting themselves. Even if the other versions of them won’t know who they’re talking to.

Without even realising who they are, other Jake still looks at them with surprise “Sorry, it’s just we don’t get a lot of people on this beach”, he explains.

“We?”, Amy questions.

“Oh my wife and I. It’s kind of nice that it’s so quiet – then again that’s not always worked out great for me…”

Neither of them inquire into this rather strange comment which clearly has a story behind it, as a now two legged Amy comes out from a nearby cliff.

“Did they see me?”, she asks her Jake in a whisper that’s probably not as quiet as she’d like it to be.

Feeling awkward, original Jake and Amy make a move to leave, but Amy slips and accidently presses a button further down. Given the looks that their alternative selves give them, something must have messed with the perception filter. Then other Jake says it, in a slightly surprised voice.

“You’re… us”

“Yep”, Jake says, feeling very awkward. “That machine has kind of been taking us through all these different wild scenarios…”

“Wait, why aren’t you more shocked?”, Amy asks.

He responds with a shrug, saying: “Well, I married a mermaid, my life is already wild enough”

“Jake!”, mermaid Amy says, elbowing him with a whisper. Clearly this is some kind of secret that he was supposed to keep.

“Come on babe, it’s us”, he points out to his Amy.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right”, she admits.

Jake finally asks the question he’s been itching to ask ever since he realised him and Amy are still together in this world. “How did you two meet anyway?”

That’s how they end up sat chatting to their alternate selves, exchanging stories and comparing their wildly different life experiences. They both love each other’s stories, although the mermaid one is of course slightly more strange. 

“Do you still miss being a cop?”, Jake asks the other version of him as he draws patterns in the sand.

“Y’know, I did for a really long time… but now I’m ok”. He smiles softly at his Amy when he says that, bumping her shoulder slightly and it warms Jake’s heart a more than a little bit.

-

“Ames, you’re basically Ariel here!”, Jake says excitedly whilst the other versions of them head back their beach house.

“I know!”, Amy says as she once again pushes that darn button.

-

They still don’t end up back at the precinct. This time, they end up in a place that seems distinctly… historical.

This time, they figure out their story with a simple look at a newspaper. The headline reads “SANTIAGO SCANDAL AS LADY AMEILA ELOPES WITH SERVANT”

“Amy… you gave up everything for me…”, Jake says, moved by the sacrifice that the other version of his wife made as he looks at the front page article in more detail. Amy simply reads along with him, resting her head on his shoulder unsurprised – she’d definitely have done the same thing.

-

They’re in a cheering crowd and they see themselves high up on a balcony. The other versions of them wave elegantly, with a boy in tow that looks distinctly like an older version of the baby who waits for them at home. It makes their hearts ache a little and increases their determination to get home. But first, they look at their phones to figure out how the heck they became royalty in this world.

Jake smiles as he imagines Amy going through the awkward process of becoming a princess: but then again, he can imagine she would make a great ruler. And she definitely has the beauty part down.

“Do you think we could just break that filter thingy again and chuck these guys down some stairs?”, Jake says in a joking tone.

“Jake we can’t murder ourselves, let alone assassinate royalty”, Amy says in a hushed tone and with a giggle.

-

As they keep pushing the button, they go through more and more scenarios.

“You had kids with Teddy?”

“I had a kid with Sophia?”

“Are we British here? What the heck are prefects?”

“Oh my god, we have such cool powers here!”

“Our kid has such cool powers here!”

“Gina and I are openly friends here? Rosa willingly sings on stage? And we’re in a girl band? This is weirder than our kid going to Hogwarts honestly” 

“What the hell? We’re nowhere near cool enough to be Youtubers”

“How come I was the one who got Thanos snapped?”

“We all go to jail here? That’s a bummer”

“Fuck is this the Handmaid’s Tale? Oh man, this is even more of a bummer than the we all go to jail universe”

“Ooooh we’re both suffragettes?” “But you being in World War One is sucky”

“Oh god I love Chidi and Eleanor, I’m so glad we got to be them”

“Teddy proposing to you again, what a surprise”

“Oh my god, Jake this is like that one tv show we watched, the one with all the fairy-tales”

“Even more fairy tales! I hope this Amy wakes up that Jake soon”

-

In a second, they zap onto a darkened Brooklyn street and Jake looks up to see all of his dreams come true. There he is, up on a building in a white shirt, grappling rope in hand, filling the role of his hero, John Mclane. But in his excitement, he steps back, pushes the button and they zap away before he can see himself saving the day.

“Ugh, why can’t I ever do anything badass?”, he complains with a stomp of his foot as they seem to land back in the precinct. After checking that everything is definitely still the same, they realise they’ve spent an entire day hopping from world to world and they finally head home. Then Amy makes a curious observation.

“It’s so weird how some of those stories just never finished huh? Like someone was too lazy to finish them off or lost interest?”

-

“You know what I really loved about seeing all those different worlds?”, Jake asks as they snuggle together on the couch later that night, having put Mac down to sleep in the nursery.

“What?”, Amy asks, looking up at her husband with a curious gaze.

“In every universe, we always managed to come together. Even in worlds where you were a superstar, or we were in different classes, different ages and nationalities or you were another freakin’ species. We’re soulmates in literally every scenario.”

Amy smiles at that and simply kisses him in response.

“I guess we really were just meant to be”, she says as she falls asleep on his shoulder.

“I think so too,” he says in response before following suit.

[jocelynscloset]

Special | Michael Langdon (Part 1 of 2)

Summary: The daughter of the Supreme, Katherine, seems unremarkable until her powers emerge at the age of 16, just weeks before the boys from the Hawthorn School for Exceptional Young Men arrive at Miss Robichaux’s to stay for one week, as is customary with the annual tradition of a masquerade ball celebrating the unity between the two sides of the coven. She intends to indulge in the festivities for the first time, as a newly anointed witch, and who better to steal a dance with than the man who threatens to dethrone her mother?

Word #: 5.7K | Accompanying Playlist for this story | Other Playlists

Author’s Note: This got really really long, so I'm dividing it into two parts. There’s smut in the second half, so be prepared for that. It’ll be out very soon, I’m just putting some finishing touches on the ending :) Please feel encouraged to leave your feedback and reactions, as well as leave a like and/or reblog!

PATREON | KO-FI | COMMISSIONS | MASTERLIST

Cordelia grew to value sharing her kindness more and more, the older she became. The generosity she extended to the young witches at Robichaux’s was beyond any teacher or mentor. Most of her students saw her as another mother. However, as she grew into her prime as Supreme, her longing to have a biological child of her own was reignited, and with her newfound radiant health, she made the decision to have a child on her own and raise it with the help of her sisters. To no one’s surprise, she was gifted with a baby girl, blonde like her mother with striking hazel eyes.

The baby girl was named Katherine, and she was raised between the walls of Miss Robichaux’s Academy For Exceptional Young Women, but for the first 16 years of her life, she showed no inkling of magical ability despite her mother’s power. Although her mother remained seemingly unconcerned, the older she got, the more Katherine questioned whether she had inherited the gene for magic at all.

One night while assisting Mallory with the ingredients for a potion, this ever-present frustration with her lack of ability bubbled to the surface. Mallory had been teaching her botany for the better part of the year since the herb garden began to revive with spring, but no matter how finely she ground the herbs or how intently she whispered the incantations, the spells simply wouldn’t work.

She was beginning to think that she wasn’t like her sisters. She started to believe that she was just like everyone else outside of the coven; completely average. Powerless. Helpless. Vulnerable. Expendable. She felt like a secondary character in her own life’s tale, and when the mixture laid there for the third time, completely unaffected by her words and her greatest mental effort, it happened.

The plant remained lifeless, but the light bulbs hanging above their heads began to tremble and brighten until they were so blinding that Mallory couldn’t avoid the brightness no matter where her eyes shifted. Katherine didn’t notice, as her lips continued breathlessly chanting the incantation, as if she was begging the plant to come alive again. Her eyes were screwed shut, her neck taught and her fingers gripping the edge of the table so hard it began to splinter. When she finally opened her eyes, all she saw was the plant, still dead.

A blood-chilling scream of rage and disappointment left her exhausted lungs, and the lightbulbs shattered, sprinkling broken glass about the room, nearly pulverized by the energy she released.

The smell of smoke reached her nose and she finally snapped out of her trance, looking around the room and seeing the glass dust covering every inch of the greenhouse. Mallory simply stood with eyes wide as saucers, her mouth agape and her hair white sparkling with the glass.

“Did I do that,” Katherine asked, her adrenaline making her heartbeat deafening in her own ears. Mallory could barely control her racing thoughts enough to nod her head.

Before Katherine could process what had just happened, her mother rushed into the greenhouse alongside Zoe, both with looks of pure fear on their faces as they sought out the source of the scream. When their eyes finally landed on the two witches, Zoe went to comfort Mallory and Cordelia slowly approached Katherine while taking in the state of the greenhouse. Katherine was visibly stunned, her eyes glassy and distant and glued to the floor, but when her mother rested her hands on her shoulders, a choked cry escaped her lips and she collapsed into Cordelia’s embrace.

“Something’s wrong with me, mom,” she cried into her mother’s shoulder. Cordelia only shushed her and held her close, stroking her soft blonde hair.

“You’re just special, sweetheart. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A dozen white moths fluttered from Katherine’s fingertips before Zoe’s eyes, contrary to the assigned task of conjuring butterflies. Although she had accomplished magic, it was simply another example of Katherine being so close to doing what was asked of her, but diverging slightly from the others. Cordelia reduced this to a mere lack of experience, as the girls she was practicing alongside had been honing their abilities many years before she had even discovered her own.

“It’s remarkable that she can accomplish even a version of what the other girls her age are going. You must mind the fact that she learned of her ability less than six months ago, and has already caught up to her peers,” Cordelia insisted, her eyes flickering to a glittering piece of glass that must have been left behind from her daughter shattering a vase during their one-on-one lesson the day before. “More or less.”

Zoe’s mouth downturned into a slight frown and her lips opened slightly before snapping her mouth shut. Cordelia didn’t miss it.

“What is it that’s got you so worked up about Katherine, Zoe?” Zoe pursed her lips, taking a seat across from Cordelia.

“Katherine is obviously a wonderful talent. It’s clear to see how quickly she’s progressed in the last few months. However...” Zoe trailed off before Cordelia cleared her throat expectantly. “I’m worried that her magical ability stems from some type of rage. Anger and pain is dark, Cordelia. It’s unpredictable and difficult to control. I wonder if it wouldn’t be in her best interest to separate her from the other girls and focus on teaching her to reach her ability from a healthier place.”

Cordelia knew that Zoe was making sense, and trying to protect everyone at Robichaux’s, including her daughter, by being prudent and cautious, but a small piece of her took her words and pressed them against one of her deepest insecurities.

“What rage?” She asked calmly. Zoe felt the air of the room shift with Cordelia’s kind gaze that never reached her eyes.

“Cordelia-”

“Pain? Anger? Unpredictable and uncontrollable rage? What exactly does Katherine have to draw darkness from?” Zoe distanced herself slightly from her Supreme, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Zoe should have seen this coming. If there was one sensitive, vulnerable spot in Cordelia’s heart, it was her daughter.

“Cordelia, nobody on the face of the planet and beyond would ever question that Katherine has had a very happy life here with you and all of us. She has seen nothing but love and acceptance and encouragement, but she dealt with living in the shadow of other girls her age her entire life, until recently. She watched you teach and bond with a hundred other girls who got your attention before she did, simply because that’s your job,” Zoe reasoned. “It’s not that you did anything wrong or that she’s angry with you. I think she just feels like she has something to prove, and that she’s willing to prove it by any means necessary, including drawing power from places that we don’t show her.”

“There’s darkness in everyone. It’s tempting to everyone, even me. I mean, look at my mother for god’s sake!” Cordelia folded her hands together and relaxed in her chair, despite her jaw remaining tense. “We taught her the difference between light and darkness. She knows how to be good and that she is supposed to rise above the evil. I raised her that way. She won’t devolve into the darkness out of a hunger for power because she knows better. I did not raise my daughter to become like my mother.”

Zoe nodded in surrender and knew that it was the end of the conversation. When Fiona entered the conversation, it was time to extinguish the topic.

“You’re right. I never should have doubted her. You raised her well and the last thing that this coven is going to do is turn their backs on her, no matter what.” Cordelia was visibly ruffled by Zoe’s dismissal of her reassurance, but she let it go for the time being.

“Can you let her know I’m ready for our daily lesson?” Zoe nodded and left the room quickly, leaving Cordelia with a storm of worries to ignore.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The sun was beating down on New Orleans with a vengeance when the warlocks of The Hawthorne School For Exceptional Young Men arrived, as they did every year to participate in the customary masquerade ball to come together as a united coven. The idea was wholesome and full of potential for fun and mischief amongst the young, budding adults but in reality, it was a tense glaring match between the witches and warlocks that share the highest ranks of the coven. Namely, Cordelia and Ariel. Behold when he was drunk, but he was largely harmless aside from the threat of his magically refilling wine glass staining the linens.

However, for the first time, Katherine was looking forward to the event. This time, she had power buzzing in her fingertips and she would finally feel at home taking part in the magical fun. She took it upon herself to buy a beautiful dress that accentuated her best features and a mask that would leave just enough to highlight her favorite facial features. Her new abilities left her with a refreshed sense of confidence, and she intended to show it to one or two Hawthorn boys in the ballroom.

So, when her mother called for all of the witches to report to the foyer to welcome their guests, she was overjoyed to be standing near the front with her mother, having the opportunity to get a closer look at who she’d be sharing the next week in her home with. Unfortunately for her, the entrance did not go at all as was routine for the occasion.

The second Ariel walked through the doors of Miss Robichaux’s, she and her mother both sensed a particular smugness that wasn’t usually as poignant in Ariel’s demeanor. He was a notorious misogynist, especially when it came to your mother’s supremacy, but he wasn’t usually so transparent. As soon as he took Cordelia’s hand, a smirk began to curl his features and he announced that he had an important matter to discuss with her. Cordelia clenched her jaw slightly but preserved her kind smile, but it was clear to Katherine that her mother was already annoyed with Ariel’s presence in her territory.

Ariel moved aside, announcing the boys and immediately an organized stream of well-dressed young men began to file through the entryway. You watched them pass patiently, sizing each one up as every other young witch was, making your selections and tucking them in the back of your head for later.

Your breath was cut short when your eyes raked over the final boy who walked with much more command over the room than any of the others, including Ariel. He was tall, maybe six feet, with neat blonde hair and light blue eyes that accompanied his gentle smirk nicely. You cocked a brow when his eyes met yours and his smirk grew, him nodding down at you as if he were reading your thoughts.

Maybe he had been.

Eh, so what if he was? He’s not even the most handsome guy here.

You could have sworn you heard a quiet chuckle as he left your sight. You inconspicuously looked behind you and nearly groaned when you saw at least three girls with their jaws sitting on their toes, and he just soaked it all up. He was going to be a pest.

A few hours later, after the boys were assigned to their temporary rooms and the girls were doubled up in theirs, Katherine made her way downstairs for her daily lesson with her mother. Her fist was an inch from the door when she heard Ariel’s angry voice pleading with Cordelia.

“Cordelia, you can’t ignore this boy’s power because of your fear to let go of power. Just give him a chance to show you what he can do—”

“You’re asking me to sentence this boy to his death. There’s no possibility that a warlock’s powers could rise to the level of supreme, let alone surpass it. I will not entertain your desperation to create a world in which men control the coven, because it is simply impossible. This conversation is over.”

“You become more and more like Fiona every day, and you’re too high on your mighty horse to see it—”

“Mother, it’s time for my lesson.” Katherine interjected, pushing the door open. She knew that if he’d said one more word in reference to her grandmother he would have left that room without a tongue. Cordelia cleared her throat and motioned toward the door.

“Have a good evening, Grand Chancellor,” she offered. She only received a huff in response before he stomped out of the room. “Three year-old man, I swear,” Cordelia muttered under her breath.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Now repeat after me, Solvo Liberatum Spirito Malus Nequam,” Cordelia guided, her hands resting in Katherine’s to assist with a routine banishing spell she was trying to learn. Katherine repeated after her mother intently, her eyes screwed shut in focus. After a few moments, her mother let go of her hands and hummed in content. Katherine opened her eyes, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“How do I know if it worked?”

“Well, if there were any evil spirits in the house, they would be effectively removed.” Katherine looked at her mother expectantly.

“And?”

“And, there were none,” Cordelia announced. “Congratulations.”

“Mom, I can handle bigger spells. I’ve learned so much in the last few months but I’m still behind and I have to catch up.”

“You will, sweetie, but you have to give your powers time to grow on their own. It doesn’t happen overnight.” Katherine chewed on the inside of her cheek, feeling tears of frustration gathering in her eyes.

“I just don’t want to feel useless anymore.” Cordelia’s mouth went ajar at her daughter’s confession before she rested her palm on the side of her face.

“You’re not useless, you never have been. You’re just as powerful as any of your sisters, and even if you weren’t you must know by now that the last thing that determines your worth is power.”

Katherine dabbed at the tears cascading down her cheeks and nodded, accepting a gentle hug from her mother before standing to retire to her room for bed. Before she could leave the room, though, her mother called her name.

“Sweetie, be careful around that Michael boy. He seems to be a bit troubled with the charm to match, and I saw the way he eyed you today. Just stay away, okay? For me?” Katherine nodded almost compulsively and promptly left her office.

As Katherine gently tiptoed up the stairs to her room, it occurred to her that this Michael must have been the boy Ariel was so passionately advocating for. But, if it was impossible for a warlock’s powers to rise to the level of supreme, then what exactly was he?

She wagered that in the following few days she would find out.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Katherine’s eyes traveled the page of her latest read, her surroundings having completely disappeared earlier that afternoon. Witches and warlocks had come and gone from the parlor and she remained, peacefully sitting at the table in the corner. However, as the second day of the warlocks’ stay extended into the evening, more and more students crowded into the room, leaving almost no place to sit, even with the added seating, compliments of your mother.

It didn’t surprise her that eventually, the voice of a young man interrupted her story, asking if she would mind him taking the empty seat next to you. When Katherine looked up to assure him it was fine, she met the eyes of none other than Boy Wonder. She tried to conceal the fact that butterflies had begun fluttering around her tummy, but the fact that she took a good ten seconds to respond probably gave him a clue.

“If you’d rather I leave you alone, it’s no problem.” She cleared her throat and motioned to the chair next to her.

“That’s alright. I mean, if you don’t sit here someone else will anyway.” He smiled gently at her and took a seat. She had just returned to her comfortable position and was about to return to her book when he leaned closer to her.

“What are you reading?” Her eyes flickered between his curious expression to the book in her hand.

“Um, a book?” He chuckled and raised his hand to turn the cover toward him so he could read the title.

“I see that,” he said. “But what is it about?” She swallowed a lump in her throat, desperately trying to remember what was going on in the story before he’d shown up.

“It’s a romance. A girl who falls in love with her neighbor. He’s a real douche, though. I don’t know what she sees in him.” She explained, getting a bit caught up as she expressed her thoughts to this complete stranger.

“Then why are you still reading it?” Her brows furrowed at his question. “If you don’t like the love interest of the story, then what’s the point in sticking around?”

“Well, he may be a douche, but I’m hoping that by the end of the story he’s grown up a little and eventually deserves the affection of the main character.” He laughed a little too loud at her response.

“I hope he does too, but people don’t change. If he didn’t deserve her to begin with, wearing nice clothes or playing with more puppies won’t change that. The main character is just as immature as he is if she’s interested in someone she has to change in order to love.” She was speechless at his bluntness, but she realized immediately that he had a point, and that it was probably the most intelligent thing she’d ever hear come out of the mouth of a boy his age. However, part of her wanted to quibble.

“But isn’t love about hope? Isn’t romance in the little things one does to make their lover happy, even if they don’t enjoy doing it?” It was his turn to be stunned.

“Maybe in teenage romance books, but real love is about being happy to do something because it makes your lover happy. Love should be worship, not servitude.” In that moment, she realized that she had no angle with which to play devil’s advocate.

“That’s really… sweet, actually.” The young man smiled at your reaction, reclining back in his seat.

“My name’s Michael, by the way.” He extended his hand to her to shake before pulling it up to his lips, which made Katherine blush.

“Katherine Goode.” His eyes lit up at that.

“So you’re the one the others are constantly murmuring about.” Her eyes widened at Michael’s remark, his smirk growing ever so slightly. “All good things, of course. The warlocks want you and the witches want to be you. You’re quite a supreme presence in this place.” She only scoffed.

“That would be my mother, actually. The only supreme thing about me is that I’m supremely ordinary.” Michael shook his head and chuckled, the sound of which was beginning to grow on her.

“Believe me, Katherine. I think you’re anything but ordinary.” She met his intense gaze and a delicate smile formed on her features as he squeezed her hand in reassurance.

“Well, Michael, that’s very kind of you to say.”

“I mean it. You’ll see. Nothing motivates an extraordinary person like being underestimated, and something tells me you’re not used to people seeing your potential.” Katherine looked down at her toes before he cleared his throat. “But for the time being, let me know how the book ends. I’ll bet you an Andrew Jackson that she believes she got him to change.” With that, Michael stood and retreated to whatever room he was occupying upstairs, leaving her alone again, but this time with the motivations of another boy to wonder about.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Thank you for coming, Michael,” Cordelia said, motioning toward the seat across her desk for him to take.

“Of course, Ms. Goode. What is it that you wanted to talk about? Did I do something wrong?” He feigned cluelessness, but he knew she was concerned about the level of power he had been displaying, especially during magical lessons the past few days.

“No, Michael. In fact, you’re an exemplary student and I think you have a lot of potential to be one of the most powerful men in the coven.” Michael smiled, pretending he didn’t already know that. “I’m not concerned about you or your actions, but it’s been brought to my attention that some of your instruction may be ill-tailored to your abilities. The Grand Chancellor has shown overzeal in the past when it comes to warlocks who have a tendency to have a connection between their emotion and their power, and I’m afraid that that is becoming the case concerning your lessons with us.”

“I assure you, madame supreme, I’m having no trouble with my lessons and Ariel has been nothing but gracious during my time at Hawthorn.”

“I’m sure he has, Michael, but I must question his judgement as he has made a suggestion regarding testing your abilities that would put you in mortal danger, and I would hope that if he ever asked you to perform a task you felt was beyond your current skill set, you would let me know. He may be a high-ranking officer of this coven, but we all make mistakes and your safety is my top priority.” Michael nods, his eyes very sympathetic.

“Of course,” he agreed, “But if I may ask, what was it that he wanted me to do?” Cordelia laughed with a sliver of discomfort in her tone.

“Truthfully, he wanted to sentence you to death by seven wonders.” Michael frowned at her lack of faith. “You’re very talented and a natural with your magical abilities, but a male is simply inhibited from performing magic at the same level of a female, and as harsh as that reality is, it’s much kinder to tell you now rather than let you learn that by getting stuck in hell for eternity.” Michael faked a thankful smile and stood.

“Thank you for your concern, Cordelia, if I may call you that?” She nodded apprehensively. “If I ever feel unsafe, you’ll be the first person to know.” With that, Michael left her office, his face turning quickly into a frown as he walked down the hallway. He was two doors down from his own temporary bedroom when he heard a giggle that sounded an awful lot like Katherine’s coming from the one open door on the second floor. He stopped for a moment, willing himself to just let it be.

Don’t get distracted.

She’s not important enough to occupy this much of my mind.

Stop thinking about her.

However, it only took her giggle echoing from wall to wall one more time for him to abandon his restraint and quietly walk toward her room, stopping just before crossing the opening. He listened for a moment, trying to deduct what was making her laugh, but all he heard was the rustling of fabric. His heart started to race as he thought of all the worst possibilities.

What if someone in there is flirting with her?

What if someone is taking her clothes off?

With that thought circling in his head, he peeked into the room and saw Katherine holding up two dresses, one held up to her neck and the other held in midair by her other hand. She stood in front of a large mirror, comparing the dresses she had collected over the years in anticipation of the masquerade ball. He allowed himself a moment to just… look at her. Her soft, shiny hair, her beautiful skin, the way her dress hugged her in all the right places, and the upturn of her painted lips made his heart race.

He reeled himself in quickly and silently repositioned himself so he was leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded over his chest and his signature smirk.

“I like the black one.” He said, startling Katherine for a moment before she looked at the two dresses again and cocked a brow at him.

“They’re both black.” He smiled and winked at her. She sighed and laid them neatly on her bed. “What’s up, Langdon?” He shrugs and looks around her room, observing the little trinkets scattering the various surfaces.

“I just spoke to your mother,” he said. Katherine froze, her eyes widening in fear of what he was about to say next. “She’s worried about me.” Katherine said nothing, praying to whatever was out there that he wasn’t about to tell her that her mother threatened him to stay away from her. “She thinks that the Grand Chancellor is trying to kill me.” Katherine gasped in relief, which made Michael slightly confused. “Oh please, contain your worry.”

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant,” Katherine said before stepping forward and taking his hand, leading him to sit on the edge of her bed. “I just thought you were going to say… something else.” Michael smirked knowingly at her, but he let it go quickly and began running his fingers over the fabric of the dresses. “What do you mean ‘kill you’? No offense, Michael, but I think that if Ariel wanted you dead, you would be.” Michael contained his amusement at her assumption, masking it by nodding in agreement.

“I agree. She said that he asked her to administer the test of the Seven Wonders,” he clarified, “on me.” Katherine’s brows furrowed and she shook her head in disbelief. “No, that can’t be right. Ariel is smart enough to know that only a female witch can master the Seven Wonders.”

Michael tutted, raising a brow. “Well, technically only a female witch can become the supreme. A strong enough warlock could, in theory, rise to the level of a supreme’s magic, but he’d be called the Alpha.” She only shook her head, standing from the bed and pacing the room.

“So you think you could be as powerful as my mother?” He nodded.

“Probably even more.” She scoffed at that.

“Sorry, Boy Wonder, but no matter how impressive your powers may be, you won’t ever be the one who dethrones my mother.”

“Oh really, and why is that?” Michael stood, looking down at her with a cocky smirk on his face. Katherine tried for a moment to keep her facial expression angry, and mean, but it faltered ever-so-slightly and gave way to her true fear. She stepped away from him, looking toward the window of her bedroom and folding her arms. Her eyes met the floor as she felt the weight of the words leaving her lips.

“Because if you’re rising, it means she’s dying.” Michael’s expression softened a bit, his jaw clenching before he took a deep breath. Silence filled the room and they were both still, stewing. Michael was the first to speak.

“I’m sorry, Katherine,” he spoke quietly, trying not to further upset her. He could hear the sniffles that gave away that she was about to cry. “I didn’t… I forgot about that.” Katherine turned, her red, teary eyes looking up at him, full of pain.

“It wouldn’t be your fault, Michael. You don’t make the rules,” she reasoned, mostly to herself. “I’m just not ready to lose her. I never will be, but I want her to see what I can really become before she’s gone, you know?” Michael bit his lip, feeling a bit guilty as her tears began to roll down her cheeks. She lets out a choked cry and begins to sob, and Michael pulls her into his arms, stroking her hair as she holds on tightly and just lets it hit her.

“It’ll be okay, Katherine. I promise. You’ve got time. We both do.” She nodded and for the next half hour she just cried it out. Michael had pulled away to clear her bed and let her curl up in his arms there. He held her and every now and then, he whispered that everything would be okay. He left just before lights out with his jacket, finding that the scent of his cologne comforted her, and he promised to come and check on her early the next morning.

She slept better than she had in awhile, that night.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Katherine sat quietly at the kitchen table one night, trying to memorize the incantation for a spell she was being evaluated on the next day when a boy from Hawthorn, who she hadn’t been introduced to yet, asked if he could sit next to her while he studied as well. She nodded, smiling graciously at him before he took the chair closest to her, despite there being 7 others that would have given her some personal space. She didn’t say anything though, not wanting to seem unapproachable.

The silence was comfortable for a few moments, until she felt his knee brush against hers, making her skin erupt in goosebumps. She thought nothing of it, and returned to the page of her spell book, but as soon as she read the next word, his hand was on her thigh under the table. She jumped lightly, scooting away, trying to get him the message that she wasn’t comfortable being touched, but he only tightened his grip on her flesh.

“Um… sorry but, could you maybe take your hand off of my leg?” He looked into her eyes, and instead of seeing the kind smile he’d flashed her before, he had a smirk on his face and a new darkness in his eyes, his other hand reaching to grab the edge of the chair and pull it closer to him. She tried to squirm out of his hold but he grabbed her shoulder and shoved his lips onto hers. She attempted to pull away but his grip travelled to the back of her neck and held her face against his.

She felt a wave of anger shoot through her veins and she bit his bottom lip as hard as she could, tasting copper when he yelped and pushed away, her chair falling backward and tossing her onto the hard floor.

“You bitch! You strut around these fucking halls in your slutty outfits and then complain when you finally get the attention you’re so desperate for?”

“She doesn’t want your attention, but I do,” said Michael, whose face was calm and collected. However, Katherine could feel the rage radiating off of him, hot as the sun. Michael bent his knees, gripping the collar of the boy who’d assaulted you, lifting him up so his toes were dangling just above the wooden floor.  “Listen to me, now, you fucking moron,” He began, his voice now low and bitter. “The only reason I’m not crushing your larynx and tearing it from your throat is because there is a lady present.” The boy cringed, his hands clenched into fists. “But do not think for a second that I will not do so if I ever see your face again. Do you understand?” Michael dropped him without warning, the boy nodding profusely and scrambling away, his breath ragged and his face red.

Katherine remained on the floor, now propped up on her elbows with her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Michael bent and looked her in the eye, as if asking permission to touch her. She nodded, reaching her hands out. He gripped her gently and pulled her to stand, brushing a loose curl from her face as she straightened her dress.

“Thank you, Michael.” He smiled, genuinely smiled down at her offering her his hand once more, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

“If you want, you can come sit in my room with me while I study. I thought maybe you’d want some company for a bit.” Katherine’s heart warmed and her eyes softened before she rested her hand in his, letting him lead her up the stairs and to his room, which he occupied alone somehow, and where he went to his closet, grabbing a dark grey hoodie that would nearly reach her knees. “Here, it’s more comfortable than what you’re in now. I also have a t-shirt and sweatpants you’re welcome to anytime.” She giggled, motioning for him to turn as she closed the door and dropped her dress, sliding the hoodie over her head with only her spanx, underwear, and bralette underneath.

“This is a little intimate for friends, don’t you think, Michael?” He chuckled, taking a seat at his desk and motioning for you to sit on his bed.

“We’re not friends.” Her face fell a bit, before a blush crept up her neck.

“Oh, right.” Michael sensed the disappointment in her tone, turning around once more and leaning toward her as she sat cross-legged at the foot of his bed.

“We have something better, don’t you think, Katherine?” Her eyes widened and the blush on her cheeks deepened as she shrunk under his intense gaze. She nodded, shifting inside the fabric of his hoodie before he turned back to his books, beginning to study again.

“Relax for a while, I’ll come lay with you in a few minutes once I’ve reviewed my spells for tomorrow’s class.” She slid under the neat covers of his bed and snuggled into his rather large pile of fluffy pillows, breathing in his scent, which lulled her into a satisfying sleep. When she was woken by slight shifting of the mattress, she opened her eyes to see Michael in a t-shirt and boxers. He was joining her under the covers and pulling her into his arms, which she helped with by resting her head on his chest and sliding an arm to rest across his abdomen. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her arm with the warm tips of his fingers, whispering a quick goodnight before using his magic to shroud them in the night’s darkness.

He prayed to his father that he’d have more of these moments with her before he’d have to destroy everything she’s ever cared about.

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