#I also did it out of spite towards Disney since it's that time of the year again....

[themattress]

A NUANCED LOOK AT THE SEQUEL TRILOGY’S CONNECTIVE TISSUE.

A post brought about by my recent rewatch.

People always bitch about the bad part of this subject given Disney/Lucasfilm’s lack of a solid visionary plan and the trilogy being tossed between different directors with different styles. But what about the good? Because a lot of good still managed to come through despite this.

........Ah, fuck it. Let’s just get the bad out of the way first.

THE BAD:

Finn - If there’s one character that everyone down to the actor himself agreed was screwed over in the Sequel Trilogy, it was poor Finn. He was a huge part of The Force Awakens, and even if the marketing making him look like the new central Jedi character was a lie to hide that it was actually Rey, the film foreshadowed him as Force-sensitive which meant he could still become a Jedi by the end of the trilogy. Instead, his importance was drastically reduced in The Last Jedi, he was treated more as comic relief than a leading man, certain scenes that could have set up a good arc in the last film where he leads a Stormtrooper rebellion were axed, and nothing was done to further explore his Force sensitivity. In The Rise of Skywalker, his Force sensitivity is confirmed but not explored or even told to Rey, and out of all the main characters his arc is the smallest and least consequential-feeling in spite of him playing a pivotal role in the final battle. In many ways, it feels like Poe ended up usurping Finn’s originally intended role, which is ironic since Poe was originally supposed to die after Finn busted him out and they crash-landed on Jakkuu, his last act being to eject Finn to safety. The character was meant to be a springboard for Finn, but it went the other way around.

Maz Kanata - She was introduced in The Force Awakens as a Mystery Box of a character, living for thousands of years and running a space cantina while dealing in less-than-legal activities, but also attuned to the Force and very wise about the cycle of imbalance it’s been through, and having personal connections to Han and Leia. Despite how intriguing the character was, absolutely nothing was done with her in the following two movies. We never learn any more about her, nor does she do much for the plot beyond helping in an ill-fated space mission in The Last Jedi and providing Leia-based exposition in The Rise of Skywalker to run interference for Carrie Fisher’s death. Oh well, there’s always the expanded universe...

Anakin’s lightsaber - Speaking of Maz, how did she recover Anakin’s old lightsaber, which was lost along with Luke’s hand in Cloud City? “A good question - for another time”; another time which never comes in the movies. And that’s not the only issue this damn thing has - it’s also used for the fake-out of Finn as the main Jedi hero only to say “Psyche! It’s Rey!”, it’s used for the notorious cliffhanger ending to The Force Awakens and the even more notorious follow-up of Luke tossing it over his shoulder in The Last Jedi, it’s used for Rey to unfairly best Luke in combat when they were fighting with staffs, it’s used to kill Snoke with, it’s used for awkward archive footage of Carrie Fisher twice, and it’s used for a controversial callback where Luke catches it and says “a Jedi’s weapon deserves more respect”. I agree; it does.

General Hux - He has a solid set-up as an antagonist in The Force Awakens, then when he takes his villainy further in The Last Jedi we get more development of his obvious animosity toward Kylo Ren which might lead up to him betraying him. But when he finally does in The Rise of Skywalker, it’s “I’m the spy!”, then about a minute later Bam! Dead. While some of this is The Last Jedi’s fault for using him for broad comedy too often which neutered any menace he might have once had and that naturally made using him as a major villain in the final film feel ill-advised, he still could have accomplished a lot more then he ultimately did.

Captain Phasma - Even Hux had it better than Phasma, who appeared early into The Force Awakens, then disappeared until one largely comedic scene near the end, then resurfaced in The Last Jedi’s third act only to be killed off...and in the much less climactic way compared to another version that was shot. Geez, why hype up this character yet do so little with her!?

Vice Admiral Holdo - While new characters be in every Star Wars movie with some of them being one-offs, Holdo is a case where making her a one-off feels like a grave mistake. The character is introduced out of nowhere in The Last Jedi as someone who’s been with the Resistance the whole time and has a deep history with Leia, yet we have never seen her before and her appearance makes her someone it would be hard to miss in a crowd. Then she makes herself as frustrating to the audience as possible, fucks up and then redeems herself by sacrificing her life in a blaze of glory. That sacrifice is designed to make us feel something, but we hardly know nor like Holdo so it falls flat. In retrospect, I think Admiral Ackbar should have stuck around long enough to make the sacrifice play and Holdo ascended to Admiral rank which she would carry forward into The Rise of Skywalker. We then could see her develop more and get to like her more, and she could do a lot of heavy lifting needed due to Carrie Fisher’s passing. The Holdo Maneuver was awesome, but Holdo being the one to perform it and die in the process, all her potential left untapped, was not.

Canto Bight - If we had to be put through this God-forsaken casino planet in The Last Jedi, at least make it mean something in the end! Let the fathiers be the ground team’s mounts in the final battle of The Rise of Skywalker, let Canto Bight be the planet that funded the Final Order’s creation, bring in the broom boy to do something instrumental, have fucking DJ return and do something instrumental, anything! Because otherwise, what was even the point?

OK, now for the good!

THE GOOD:

Kylo Ren - I have zero complaints as to how Kylo Ren was handled in this trilogy. I frankly don’t care that we never saw how Ben Solo was corrupted or got all the details behind his mindset spelled out to us; the character we saw on screen went through a perfectly natural progression that lived up to the initial pitch of “Darth Vader in reverse��: from conflicted and vulnerable to self-assured and ruthless to “killed” and reborn as a heroic Jedi who deals with his mother’s death in a positive way and is able to save the woman he loves through pure selflessness. Adam Driver’s performance helps sell it all as a grand, cohesive character arc.

Rey - And I’m talking specifically about Rey’s character. Her personality. This is something that Daisy Ridley carried across all three films; I was always interested in Rey and liked her and wanted to see what she would do and how she would overcome the challenges placed in her way. If she’s the start of a new Jedi Order, then the galaxy is absolutely in good hands.

Rey’s heritage - Yes, I’m going there. I think the films as a whole actually tell a good story about Rey discovering her heritage. She’s uncertain about it in the first act and wants to believe her parents were exceptional people who had a good reason for abandoning her on Jakkuu, then in the second act she comes to grips with the fact that they weren’t and for all she knew just sold her off for drinking money but that’s fine because she’s found a new family to belong in now, and in the final act she learns that her parents did love her and abandoned her for her own protection from her grandfather, who is exceptional in the worst possible way and at direct odds with the new family she has found. In the end, Rey defeats her grandfather and embraces the name and purpose of her found family, because that’s the family her spirit connects with in spite of her blood. It’s a beautiful message that deserves more appreciation. 

Rey’s power - Again, I’m going there. The explanation that she is so powerful in the Force so naturally because she’s part of a Dyad in the Force with Kylo Ren due to them being the grandchildren of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader makes perfect sense when you consider the depth of the relationship between Palpatine and Vader and how instrumental that relationship is to the entire Skywalker Saga. Oh yeah, and speaking of that Dyad...

The Dyad - Everything about this concept is fascinating and portrayed superbly. From Kylo Ren sensing something special about Rey immediately, Rey seeing Kylo Ren in her vision before meeting him, and Rey reversing Kylo’s Force probe on her mind back at him before defeating him in lightsaber combat in The Force Awakens to the Force-based conversations from entirely different locations which culminates in them touching from that distance in The Last Jedi to fighting through the Force from different locations and even passing objects back and forth between one another through the Force and Ben giving all his life force to Rey in order to resurrect her in The Rise of Skywalker, this was an awesomely executed plot point.

Han Solo - Given Harrison Ford’s notorious dislike of Star Wars and the character he played in it, it’s something of a shock that he ended up as the best utilized old character in the Sequel Trilogy. His role and development in The Force Awakens is perfect and although he dies by the end in a failed attempt to turn his son back to the Light, this death is never forgotten and reverberates across the rest of the trilogy, culminating when he appears as a Leia-induced memory that completes his son’s turn to the Light in The Rise of Skywalker.

Snoke - Yeah, I’m kind of surprised too. But Snoke ending up being a literal bad clone of Palpatine who is the puppet he uses to lead the First Order and manipulate Ben Solo through makes his whole character kind of genius. When he is introduced in The Force Awakens, the musical motif from “the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise” from Revenge of the Sith plays, which led many to suspect Snoke of being Darth Plagueis back in the day. But now that the trilogy is completed, its meaning is more clear: that scene was actually about establishing Palpatine’s knowledge of ways to use the Dark Side of the Force to cheat death, and Snoke is a direct product of that knowledge being put to use. Then there’s the fact that Snoke is so much like Palpatine: from the hatred of everything Light, Jedi and Skywalker, to his throne room adorned with crimson-clad guards, to his decrepit appearance, to his use of Force Lightning, to him attempting the exact same gambit in The Last Jedi that Palpatine did in Return of the Jedi. Everything about Snoke now feels like foreshadowing that Palpatine is pulling the strings from the shadows, which honestly makes Snoke a stronger character for it.

Ach-To - This place features in all three movies, and it’s great. Not much else to say, really.

The Battle of Crait - For all of The Last Jedi’s milling around, its conclusion ends up being highly impactful. Kylo Ren is now Supreme Leader of the First Order and on the verge of wiping out the Resistance, who have sent out a signal for help but no-one in the galaxy answers. Then Luke Skywalker, the Legend, appears to face Kylo Ren in a duel. They fight, only for Luke to disappear like magic in the end after he’s bought the Resistance enough time to escape. The story of this battle spreads like wildfire across the galaxy and in The Rise of Skywalker, despite Poe’s fears and doubts, when the Resistance calls for aid in a climactic battle again, this time the galaxy answers the call. It’s a dramatic pay-off not just to a situation in this trilogy, but from the observation by young Anakin in The Phantom Menace that the galaxy’s biggest problem is that not enough people help one another. Well, they do now.

Lastly, things I’m half-and-half on.

THE IN-BETWEEN:

Poe Dameron - Aside from stealing Finn’s originally planned position as the leading man on the side of the Resistance, Poe’s character changes in every movie. He’s an admirable, upstanding guy in The Force Awakens, then a hot-headed, reckless and paranoid moron in The Last Jedi who has to learn how to be more admirable and upstanding, then a frequently angry guy struggling under the weight of leadership and embarrassment of his criminal past in The Rise of Skywalker. Even Oscar Isaac soured on Poe by the end, feeling maybe he should have stayed dead in the first film! But with that said, I feel that the screenwriters’ dialogue and Isaac’s performance helps keep a consistent likability to Poe even when he’s at his worst, and there is at least a semblance of a consistent character arc of becoming Leia’s successor as the Resistance’s leader. He could’ve been better, but he could’ve been worse.

Rose Tico - On the one hand, I am perfectly fine with her reduced role in The Rise of Skywalker compared to The Last Jedi; given the circumstances of the story it makes perfect sense that a character we only met in the previous film takes more of a back seat in the Skywalker Saga’s finale. But on the other hand, the bad editing on the film cutting her role down that much (approx. 2 minutes of screentime in an over 2 hour film) is unforgivable, especially considering the harassment that Kelly Marie Tran received from “fans” in real life.

Luke Skywalker - Once it got going, Luke’s character arc in The Last Jedi was amazing, and his contributions as a Force Ghost in The Rise of Skywalker were pivotal to its conclusion. However, early into The Last Jedi he was depicted as way too much of a grouchy asshole for my liking, which didn’t match how he looked when we saw him at the end of The Force Awakens. Even if Luke had depression and given up everything, I just can’t see him being so rude and hostile toward a perfectly nice young girl he just met who only wants to help. Rian Johnson could have stood to listen to Mark Hamill’s concerns more, it would have helped.

Leia Organa - Leia was infamously meant to be “the key role” in this trilogy, particularly in Episode IX. And she does play a major role, completing Rey’s Jedi training (with Rey also completing Leia’s as a result), sacrificing her life to save Rey and bring about her son’s redemption, and helping Rey from beyond the grave through both her spirit and her lightsaber. However, she does all this with limited time on screen, because Carrie Fisher passed away before The Rise of Skywalker could be filmed and they were stuck relying on archive footage and body doubles. And before this, Leia was honestly pretty underwhelming in the movies where Carrie Fisher was actually alive and playing her, especially in The Last Jedi where after a narm-tastic moment where she floats through space like Mary Poppins, she is put into a coma for a good portion of the movie and does little but shoot Poe and have an emotional reunion with Luke after waking up. I don’t get it - giving Leia and Carrie Fisher a major role was a huge goal for Kathleen Kennedy, yet she didn’t allow her to be utilized as much as possible when alive and on set. It just can’t help but feeling as though the character and her actress got screwed over one last time, just as they often were in the Original Trilogy.

The other old characters - Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Lando Calrissian, Admiral Ackbar, Wicket the Ewok, the Force Ghost of Yoda, the helmet of Darth Vader...all of them were fine. Sometimes there were issues, like Chewie and Threepio being relegated to pure comic relief filler in The Last Jedi, Ackbar being unceremoniously killed off in the same movie, and Lando’s screentime being cut short in editing while also losing the firm confirmation of Jannah being his daughter in The Rise of Skywalker, but otherwise there was nothing offensive here.

Emperor Palpatine - I love that Palpatine was brought back as the mastermind behind everything and the Final Boss of the trilogy and Skywalker Saga; it made the most sense and you will never get me to budge on this. However, the execution of his return was admittedly ridiculous. The Dead Speak! Palpatine sent out a broadcast to the galaxy that we never hear! Less than two minutes after the opening crawl and we see him! No explanation is provided as to how he’s alive! Somehow Palpatine returned! It’s both way too much and way too little, and all in such a short amount of time. Plus, we could have used a little more solid foreshadowing beyond just Snoke that Palpatine was at large in the previous two movies; it really would’ve gone a long way. Aside from this, Palpatine’s presence as the Big Bad is most welcome.

The Knights of Ren - They’re purely perfunctory; I’ve got no strong emotions toward them either way, though I wish we had some of them in The Last Jedi for consistency’s sake.

That Force vision - The vision Rey receives when touching Anakin’s lightsaber in The Force Awakens is a pure Mystery Box style scene from J.J Abrams, not really meaning anything. With hindsight, though, you can easily read meaning into it: Rey being told by the Jedi who have joined with the Force that she is key to saving the galaxy (”These are your first steps”), Rey getting her first hint of being part of a Dyad with Kylo Ren, and Rey’s parents leaving her being related to something important about her lineage. So in that light, it’s pretty damn cool.

The Resistance vs. the First Order - My biggest mixed feeling on the whole trilogy is its primary conflict. Doing such a direct rehash of the Rebellion vs. the Empire from the Original Trilogy is just so lazy, and the lack of advancements in many of the characters, technology and situation in the galaxy makes Return of the Jedi almost feel like it was all for nothing. However, there are just enough new factors to still make it an interesting conflict I want to see through to its conclusion, and it really pays off in side material such as books, comics and Disney theme parks. So I ultimately like it, but wish that it could’ve done somewhat fresher.

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

Well now I gotta ask further. Since Tank still gets some weekends and Holidays with his first child, do you have any headcannons for his first kid, alongside how are they with Charlotte and Lucas?? How are they with you yourself??

It’s complicated, as this child was from his old universe. But for the headcanons about his first child? It’s going to sting a lot

TW: Relationship issues, infidelity, losing family, depression

Emma Dempsey: The First Born

Her parents aren’t married. They were supposed to be out of wedlock since their short-term relationship had happened in the barracks. Her name was Jane Eisenhower, nicknamed Calamity Jane. She was the entertainer turned barracks bunny that had a fun relationship with Dempsey until they found out they were having a kid by surprise.

Tank really made an effort, and so did Jane. The first three years were mostly smooth sailing. It wasn’t until Tank realized Jane wasn’t home as often, leaving the baby to be watched at his mother’s house. What the hell?! Turns out after many cold shoulder arguments and rocky issues in their relationship, she had been cheating on him. Tank got very depressed over it and fought to take Emma with him to protect her from Jane’s irresponsibility. Unfortunately, the damn US court system is beyond corrupt. He lived separately but would get to see her on every alternate weekend and some select holidays like Easter and 4th of July. His spiteful fling of an ex-girlfriend made sure he only had Christmas eve and never the day of.

Emma was a happy girl. She had a big imagination and loved to read, draw and spend time with her father and orange tabby named Rocket. Tank encouraged his little girl to always be adventurous and to take on the world with courage. She adored the Walt Disney cartoons and always carried a Minnie Mouse around. Emma’s favorite movie was Bambi. Seeing those private cartoons Disney made in the 40s for the military men was bittersweet for Tank. Surely he’d come home to his sweet pea, right?

Unfortunately, after being captured by Group 935, the memory loss made him forget a lot of repressed trauma. It’s why he might act out without knowing why. He puts a lot of blame to Richtofen and his grand scheme being why he’s so upset. But truthfully, it’s more than that. Nobody knows what happened to the rest of the world during the apocalypse. I would’ve helped rescue Emma if I knew about her. Without our knowledge, she grows up to be apart of a tenacious zombie-fighting clan. In another world, she’s a seamstress/fashion designer for a big name company. She is very successful but doesn’t want to talk about her father at all.

What if she could meet Lucas and Charlotte somehow?

It would feel a bit weird seeing who’s essentially half-siblings at first. But Charlotte would be ultimately more outgoing and help bond with her! Emma looks up to her a lot because of her energetic, go-getter attitude towards everything (just like Papa Dempsey!) They would often draw together a lot and play with dolls. However, Emma would have to get used to how Charlotte plays with her barbies. It isn’t simple stuff like playing house, no no. Charlotte turns into barbie kung fu storylines and she also has a toy tank+GI Joes per her father’s idea. I do appreciate that he agrees there’s no restriction in playing with whatever toy you want! But Emma half the time will banter about it

Emma🐣: YOU CAN’T DO THAT! BARBIE DOESN’T DRIVE A TANK

Charlotte🍭: YES SHE DOES! SEE? ITS GREEN AND HAS STICKERS ALL OVER IT (They’re butterfly stickers)

🐣: But-but she’s supposed to bake a cake for Ken…

🍭: No she’s not!

🐣: Is too!

🍭: Is not! “Hey Ken! Girl power!” “AAAAAAAAAAA!!” *blows raspberry as she runs over the Ken doll with the toy Tiger Tank*

And the two start laughing so hard, it causes commotion

As for Lucas? We have to remind them to not forget him. But he has a lot of fun too! He is more likely to encourage his sisters to play outside with him. They will usually have bubble wands, RC Cars for racing, jump ropes and Tank bought one of these inflatable wheels. Lucas is a bit more level-headed compared to Charlotte, so he’s more likely to stop the other two from acting as chaotic catalysts for disaster. Charlotte may get mad at him for being a “tattletale.” Emma always appreciates his kindness, as he’s the one more likely to share something with her and the first to notice when she needs cheering up.

[aquaaquila]

She was grounded, not banned from a ball. And if Ella is willing to do anything for those she loves as she states in "get your hands dirty", she would go to the ball regardless of the ban for Bridget's sake. There is a set up and there is a pay-off, it's just not as satisfying and you're looking at this point at stereotype of subverting expectations, where's satisfaction in that? Nothing new is happening because we are in the past. The very thing that is new is prank not happening and Bridget and Ella meeting two girls that soon will look like their daughters.

We're not supposed to witness the prank, we're supposed to prevent it long before it happens. We didn't came here to dance. And Chloe explains perfectly: without the book, the very prank that traumatised Brudget won't happen, so no point in wasting their time in the past anymore.

My bad, missed that part, got distracted + I already seen too many "Ella did it", so a force of habit. And Ella did hurt Bridget but once again, it was not the prank that was an issue. Bridget said herself "stupid I would forgive". Like seriously, no prank that ELLA would pull be anything serious as Ella would not hurt her best friend, and even if it do south, Ella would apologize profusely and Bridget would forgive as mistakes happen, even Bridget said she once mate gingerbread people that bite. So no, narratively it doesn't make sense since Ella is too close to bother doing harm to Bridget. The only way she hurt is by "abandoning" her which really can tie back to "must be home before midnight". Making a character act OOC to make plot work does not serve narrative. And mind you, Ella is kind, but not necessarily nice. There's a difference between the two and while Ella acts kindly towards Chloe in the past, she also does give her attitude due to Chloe's privilege, which isn't exactly "nice". So Chloe already has a reality check that morality isn't simple.

Honestly about no. ASTV still has clear lose threads whereas D4 achieved its initial goal. The point of the movie was to change the past and change the heart of Bridget. Consequences of such actions were not part of the narrative. If QoH remained unchanged, there would be zero payoff. If the future is however too different then there's also no real payoff. The movie ended with its objective, QoH remained sweet and that's what mattered to the plot.

Or maybe you expected something else?

It isn't. We didn't saw how Maleficent grew into a villain in the first film while arguing with her mother in spite of being told as such in Evil Like Me. We were never told how Mal figured out Hades is her dad. The characters have their lives outside of the movie and we as the fan base should have a chance to imagine what happens outside of the focus of the camera. Like seriously, we literally have Audrey singing in D3 "there's nothing to lose when you're lonely and friendless" and it's not as if we saw how exactly Audrey became friendless but saud motivation did reasonate with people because being alone can hurt a lot and Bridget was alone and bitter for 40 years. And said dance number also included VKs dancing along, in musicals you dance with anyone regardless who they are. Said number is introduction to the world through Bridget's rose-tinted glasses.

The movie was still released and for all we know that's all we have. As life sometimes is unfair and Disney likes to cancel nice things if they don't do right by the executives. The movie can be said is more complete because sequel just may not be guaranteed, so good the story at least has some resolution that Red achieved her goal of this movie.

Descendants: The Rise of Red is kind of a bizarre movie to talk about critically because, imo, it almost doesn't make sense to talk about it in the usual terms of good vs bad or enjoyable vs not enjoyable when the way more obvious tension is finished vs unfinished.

Because, more than any other movie I've ever seen, it does *not* read as a full movie. And I don't mean in a "this movie has a cliffhanger" kind of way. The Empire Strikes Back and Across the Spiderverse fit that description. They end on big dramatic cliffhangers that point to a resolution in the third installment.

But Rise of Red just sets all this stuff up and then...ends without concluding anything. It doesn't feel like the first movie in a trilogy (or duology). It feels like the first act of a two-act musical. It very specifically reminds me of the end of the first act of Into the Woods where all the main characters sing the song Ever After about how they all fixed their problems with magic and nothing bad will ever happen to them again and then the narrator ominously says "To be continued" before the curtain drops. But in Into the Woods you know there's a second act and this movie wasn't sold as the first act of a bigger story. Like sure, it has the, "You didn't think this was the end" tag at the end like all the other movies, but those movies were complete, self-contained stories even though they had sequels. This was NOT a full story. It's half of one story.

Like, if we're supposed to take this as a full story, there are so many bizarre choices:

Why did they make sure to mention that Cinderella and Charming fell in love at the ball at the top if it wasn't meant to set up Back to the Future style, "Oh no, I accidentally got my mom banned from the ball so she's not gonna fall in love with Dad and I won't be born" shenanigans?

Why did Maddox very pointedly have that bit about "you could lose your mom completely" if that was never going to come into play? Red never did anything to endanger Bridget or endanger her own birth so it doesn't make sense as a warning in that way.

Why was there all this focus on this Carrie on prom night moment for Bridget if we LITERALLY NEVER SAW CASTLECOMING? Why dance around this moment and talk about it all cloak and dagger with no specificity if they weren't building up to some big reveal that it wasn't as straightforward as it seemed? And like, they leaned in HARD with making Bridget the nicest, sweetest, cotton candy princess as a teen so I need WAY more than, "She got pranked by known bullies she's been enduring with a smile very handily up to this point" to buy that she went from that to "murderous dictator". And even if she did become murderous, I find it insanely hard to believe that she'd include her best and only friend on the list of people she wants to suffer unless there was a betrayal. I find it INSANE that there wasn't a falling out scene at any point in this movie with how thickly they were laying on the admiration and camaraderie.

(Note: And adult Cinderella def has guilty vibes re: the Queen at orientation. Which I know I'm not imagining because it's literally spelled out in the Jr Novelization!)

Before the time travel element of the movie started, I thought they were going for something like they go to the past and realize that Bridget was bullied not by the VKs but by the spoiled royals, and Ella ends up joining in the bullying once she gets with Charming, betraying Bridget and justifying her whole "Love Ain't It" philosophy. Or Ella ditching her at the last minute to be with Charming meaning she has to deal with the monster prank alone and it was the being alone rather than the prank itself that hurt her (though that is NOT a good enough reason to go all off with their heads on your subjects). The fact that, as far as we know right now, it literally was just a relatively mild and reversible prank that caused all of this is just, such flat storytelling, you know?

But! All of this makes way more sense if this is meant to be the first act of a single contained story. And I don't wanna be all "Pepe Silvia, secret good 4th episode of Sherlock" about this but I did see this picture:

Which seems to indicate that this was written as a Part One. Which, if so, idk why they wouldn't advertise it that way but whatever. The point is, if that's the case then it means that we're potentially in bad pacing territory rather than straight up bad storytelling territory. Because this isn't a bad place to be halfway through your story:

The heroes, warned that time travel is dangerous, have gone back in time to change the heart of a brutal tyrant before she can stage a coup. They seemingly succeed in their mission and when they come home, everything is great! But then, the side effects of time travel start to catch up with them. Chloe realizes that, in breaking the vase, she prevented her mother from going to the ball and falling in love with her dad (who was conspicuously absent from the final scene btw) which means she's starting to be forgotten and erased from the timeline. And Red realizes that though this new version of her mom is as sweet and kind as the teen she once met, she's a complete stranger to her (fulfilling the Hatter's warning that she could lose her mom completely). So they have to go back in time once more to make sure the Ella and Charming fall in love again, perhaps at the cost of whatever bad thing that happened to Bridget happening again and bringing back the original version of her future self. But, now with more context of how her mom became that way, Red can now talk to her mother and persuade her to give people another chance.

Boom, that gives us time to go back and hit everything we haven't yet hit. We can pay off the time travel tropes that were set up but not explored. We can go to Castlecoming which feels so obviously set up to be the centerpiece of this story (like, come on, Back to the Future literally does the school dance thing. This is Time Travel Storytelling 101). We can actually get info about what the prank was and why it affected Bridget so completely.

(Note: This is a side thing but it really strikes me as so crazy that Bridget would so SUCH a big 180 here. Like, I know the Queen of Hearts is a silly, goofy, campy villain, but she straight up murders people and there's no way to get around that if we're taking her out of the surreal story she comes from and putting her in a (comparatively) grounded story. If I wasn't doing a betrayal plot, I would make the twist that the spell that turned Bridget into a "monster" didn't just have a physical effect, it had a mental effect and it magically twisted her personality to be the way it is now. So they broke the physical half of the curse, but neglected the other half and it's been festering the whole time, turning her as evil as she was sweet. Because like, a simple physical transformation isn't that big of a deal to have such heavy security--Bridget made cupcakes with a transformative effect and that was totally fine. I'm not saying that that's what's gonna be the case. I just think it would be an explanation that makes sense for why she changed so crazy much that makes more sense than a simple prank or even a betrayal. Her mom wasn't even evil! How did she go from zero to murder without even an evil mom to push her onto the path? But I'm super digressing right now.)

(Note #2: OK, one last thing. The trap on the book presumably would have hit the VK's and trapped them in Merlin's office regardless of what Chloe and Red did, right? That's like, net zero influence on the timeline. I genuinely can't tell if that's a straight up plot hole or set up to be like, "Oh no. Actually when she said that she was turned into a monster in front of everyone it was meant in a less literal way." Like she was just made to look bad and that was the real thing that pushed her over the edge. Like idk. It really feels like the only thing they really did that would change the timeline was get Ella banned from the dance and presumably out of the way where she couldn't hurt Bridget. OK NOW I'm done.)

Anyway, my point is that this is not how I would have structured my movie and I think this was a super weird way to go into the second era of Descendants movies, but they can still tell a complete story if that's their plan. I'm genuinely really curious to see if this pans out to be a fairly competently told story that just happens to be split over two movies or a complete fumbling of the narrative bag because it could really be either at this point and it's fascinating to me.

[dovechim]

the happiest place on earth (m)

➾ 24k 

➾ summary: in this life, you have two goals. 1. get park jimin to notice you. 2. get into Broadway. (not necessarily in that order). you and jimin have been crew members at Disneyland for over a year, but he’s no closer to being your boyfriend than you are to getting into Broadway. when you get promoted from a fur character to a face character, your hopes and dreams of playing Princess Ariel opposite his Prince Eric are this close to coming true. But what happens when you’re tasked to play the Evil Queen instead? 

slice of life au, incredibly cheesy towards the end. basically a lot of fluff with some smut :)

➾ warnings: protected sex, oral (f receiving) this one is pretty mild tbh

➾ a/n: for the purpose of this fic, let’s ignore that Sesame Street and Disney are own by two different companies 🙃 happy 25/26th birthday to one mr park jimin, the only Prince Charming I'll ever fall for 💓 this is just a warning of the cheesiness to come 🧀

The sounds of joyful music are slightly muffled, not just by the constant excited chatter around you, but also by the heavy costume that drags your entire body down. The incredible buildup of body heat is seemingly exacerbated by the sheer amount of bodies around you, little kids who are scampering to get a hold of your soft yellow fur.

“Mommy! I want a picture with Big Bird too!” A toddler’s voice wails from a distance, and you struggle to see out of the tiny little eye holes in the yellow neck of the costume.

Well, the good thing about having to wear this is that you don’t have to fake a smile for the cameras. The permanent grin on Big Bird’s face- er, beak, convinces everyone around you that you fit right in at this place.

The kids are all in giggles as they take turns hugging you with joyful screams and giggles, being towed away by their parents once they’ve got their shot. You can see your handler, Joy, keeping a watchful eye from a distance away to make sure things don’t get too out of hand. Your movements are heavy and cumbersome, but luckily you don’t have to move much because all the kids just crowd around you anyway.

Your time is nearly up. For the safety and well-being of all cast members who are required to wear full costumes, often referred to as fur characters, shifts are restricted to 15 minutes at a time, with a 45 minutes rest time before you go again. And with this weather, you feel as if the 15 minutes can’t go by fast enough.

You glance over enviously at Oscar the Grouch, your usual character, having a much calmer time with the noticeably thinner crowd around him. He’s never been a very popular character, especially not with the kids, since they tend to prefer the bright and cheerful personalities of Big Bird, Elmo and of course Cookie Monster. The blue furry character is dancing energetically on the street, rousing delighted cheers and screams from the kids as he pretends to queue at prop truck selling cookies.

You curse at the management’s decision to have you take over Big Bird’s character today. Better yet, you curse the guy who originally plays Big Bird. Why’d Kim Namjoon have to call in sick today of all days? And why, for heaven’s sake, did middle management think it’d be a good idea to get someone your size, to take his place?

Miserable and sweating bullets, you try your best to wave and move your arms around in some semblance of a dance to entertain the kids.

“Last photo, folks,” Joy waves her hands to get the crowd’s attention with a grin on her face. “Be sure to give Big Bird a big hug, alright?”

Your head jerks sharply in her direction with a steely glare, but it loses all effect because of the stupid goofy Big Bird head. As if the grubby kids around you needed any encouragement to squeeze and grope you in this costume. You swear, one more little kid mashing his face into you, stepping on your feet in the huge orange shoes, and you’ll just scream-

“Alright alright, Big Bird’s gotta go help Cookie Monster bake some cookies now,” Joy gently pries a little boy wearing glasses off you. She loops her arm around your fluffy wing to give you some support as the two of you start shuffling away slowly. “We’ll be back at 3pm! See you all then!”

Even if you hate every second being in this sweat soaked costume, you can’t deny that you’ve definitely noticed a change playing a slightly more popular character. Kids don’t pull faces at you the way they did when you were playing Oscar the Grouch, instead they tell you they love you, their faces light up when they see you, and they fight to be the first in line at for a photo opportunity with you.

There is a small warmth in your chest as you walk painfully slowly and turn down a discreet corner into the staff rest area. Once out of sight from the public, you strip off the bright yellow head as Joy opens the doors of the air-conditioned break room for you.

“Oh my god. That was the longest 15 minutes of my life,” you groan, collapsing down onto the floor dramatically. Joy winces in sympathy as she quickly gets a bottle of water for you, rummaging in the pantry for the good snacks.

“It was extra hot today, wasn’t it? Ugh, I’m dreading my shift next,” Joy tosses you a packet of biscuits.

The door bursts open, and Cookie Monster comes in singing and dancing, his energy seemingly limitless. When he strips off the character’s head, Jeon Jeongguk’s voice comes out even more clearly, the grin on his face still at full power as when he started his shift.

His hair is messy as he runs a hand through it, casting a puzzled glance at you laying down on the floor.

“Wasn’t that a great shift?” Jeongguk enthuses, a happy puppy grin on his face as his handler Kim Taehyung unzips the back of his costume. “The kids were all so cute. This really is the happiest place on earth!”

As if on comedic timing, Oscar the Grouch bursts into the room, and you can hear Min Yoongi cursing and swearing as he can’t get the character’s head off fast enough. From your position on the floor, sipping your water and nibbling at your crackers, you cast a jealous, spiteful glance at him.

What does he have to complain about? Oscar is practically the easiest character to play on Sesame Street!!

The buddy system consists of one character and one handler, and they switch shifts throughout the day. Kim Namjoon calling in sick means that the buddy system is one short today, and Yoongi doesn’t have anyone to switch shifts with. Which means he’s due to go again in less than thirty minutes.

Feeling your strength returning, you sit up again and start to unzip your costume so that Joy can start getting ready. There isn’t any changing room here, but all of you aren’t exactly naked under the costume, so no one has any objections changing in each other’s presence. Your light workout shorts and tanktop are soaked with sweat and sticking to your skin when you climb out of the yellow costume, kicking off the orange shoes before you turn to help Joy into it.

“Goooood afternoon!” A cheerful, happy voice sings out as the door opens, and your entire being perks up in recognition.

His presence brightens the room immediately- even Yoongi looks relieved to see him.

“Jimin? What are you doing here? It’s your day off,” Taehyung is half-way into his transformation into Cookie Monster.

“Heard Namjoon was sick today, so I volunteered to come in to cover,” he says with a happy grin, his eyes creased into a smile. His fluffy dark blue hair looks so soft, and he casts a brief glance across the room, eyes landing on you and Joy, Jeongguk and Taehyung, and then Yoongi, obviously doing the math. “I guess I’m up next in Oscar the Grouch?”

Dammit. One more reason why you’re cursing Min Yoongi, or more accurately, your rotten luck. You could have had a chance to partner with Park Jimin today if you’d stayed as Oscar the Grouch, something you’d been waiting for ever since you joined the park as a character actor.

Unfortunately, your schedule never seems to coincide with his, until today.

“Oh thank fucking God,” Yoongi mutters as he strips himself out of the costume in a hurry. “I’m so happy I could kiss you.”

Park Jimin giggles, a sound that sets off butterflies in your stomach. But nothing prepares you for the way he casually strips off his grey sweatpants to reveal the tight booty shorts underneath, preparing to step into the costume.

You belatedly realise that you are staring at Park Jimin’s very supple ass, and Joy is left to struggle into the Big Bird costume all by herself, with time running out. Turning away with a reddened blush on your cheeks that you hope the others attribute to the heat, you zip her up and hand her Big Bird’s head, leaving her to finish dressing herself as you quickly slip on some jeans and the standard issue polo shirt that handlers wear.

Your throat is dry as you glance at him shyly, wishing more than ever that you could be the one helping him into his costume. Min Yoongi catches the longing glance that you give him, but he can’t be arsed enough to tease you about it.

“C��mon guys, time to go!” Jimin’s smile is blinding as he gets ready to put on Oscar’s head, shuffling towards the door with the garbage bin around his waist. He makes eye contact with you, and your heart skips a beat. “Let’s make this a great shift!”

You’ve never been one for optimism. But somehow, it’s almost bearable when its coming from Jimin.

As you hold Joy’s hand and walk her slowly out to the main street, your attention remains on Jimin in the Oscar costume. Somehow, even in his grimy garbage can, nothing seems to dim his bright personality. He is like the sun as he dances on the street, crouches down in his garbage can, teases the kids and makes them scream with laughter. His movements are large and exaggerated, the way you were all trained to do, and you can’t help but admire his natural talent that can’t be hidden by a costume.

He is an incredible hit with the kids, an unusual occurrence. Someone like Park Jimin really does fit in here. Every bit of his personality suits the happiest place on earth.

Unlike yours.

*

It’s been almost a year since you joined as a character actor, and by now, practically the whole crew knows about your crush on Park Jimin. Everyone but the man himself, unfortunately. Luck just hasn’t been on your side so far, and most of the time you’re left admiring him from afar.

“So… that was an unexpected surprise,” Joy says as she wipes her face with a tissue, glancing at you in the mirror.

You pretend not to know what she’s talking about as you tie your sweaty hair up into a bun, getting ready to clock out. You and Joy are familiar with this routine, sharing the same schedule ever since the both of you decided that working as an amusement park character would be the best way to boost your resumes and eventually earn you the chance to audition for Broadway someday.

They were big and lofty dreams alright, but as long as you take a tiny step every day, you know you’ll make it eventually.

“You won’t get anything done hoeing around like that you know,” Joy giggles as she spies the nonchalant look on your face. “You need to go out there and get your man. Honestly. Or someone else will.”

You whip your head around to stare at her in panic. “Someone else has their eye on him? Who?”

Joy shrugs carelessly, but you can see the caution on her face as her movements slow. “Well… there are some rumours going around about him and Dahyun…”

“Dahyun? The girl who plays Ariel?” You frown, picturing them together in your mind. “I didn’t know they knew each other.”

“_______... they’re in the same rotation schedule,” Joy says with a hint of pity in her voice. Being the more outgoing of the two of you, she seems to be in on the latest news and gossip.

Or maybe that’s because you always leave the crew group chat on mute.

Sighing in frustration, you toss a used baby wipe into the trash. “How am I supposed to make a move if I can’t even talk to him? We barely even know each other, we’re just co-workers!”

“You and Jeongguk are co-workers, that doesn’t stop him from stealing your Pringles every time you leave them in the pantry, or you from play fighting with him when he does,” Joy points out.

“That’s different!” Your brows furrow in consternation, but you leave it at that. “Anyway, we don’t even have the same shift lined up.”

“Girl, you’re working in the happiest place on earth, where magic and fairytales and your Prince Charming is infinitely possible,” Joy sighs dreamily, waving the wand of her lip gloss around as if it were a real magic wand. “Make it happen.”

It seems like the whole wow factor of working at Disney hasn’t worn off on your best friend. As for your naturally cynical self, you can’t exactly say that you’ve never been amazed by the fact that you work at such a magical place, but it’s not really like you to get sucked in by all the illusion that this place offers.

“Ooh!! Can you imagine if he played Prince Charming, and you played Sleeping Beauty?” Joy almost falls over in her excitement as she grips your arm. “That’s like a magical love story waiting to happen!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” you grumble at her, but even you can’t help but let a small smile tug at the corners of your mouth. “It’s only been a year since we started, and all new joiners have to start at the bottom for god knows how long. Promotion is practically unheard of. Maybe we’ll be stuck playing Sesame Street characters still we’re old ladies.”

“Don’t say that!” Joy swipes your arm with a pout. “It’s got to do with vacancies as well. As soon as they need someone playing a face character, they’ll bump one of us up. That’s how Dahyun got Ariel within 6 months of joining.”

“Well, let’s hope one of them gets chickenpox or something, that’s the only way I’ll get a lucky break,” you say with a deadpan voice as Joy bursts into giggles, chiding you as you turn to exit the bathroom.

“What’s a princess character like her even want with Park Jimin anyway? Shouldn’t she be romancing, I don’t know, one of the Princes instead?” You can’t get your mind off that rumour of the both of them together.

You find it hard to believe, seeing as there is a very obvious social hierarchy amongst all the crew. The Disney princesses are the queen bees, the very top of the pyramid, along with the Princes. Somewhere around second tier are the less popular princesses such as Mulan, Pochahontas, or Tinkerbell, still very well sought after by guests, but a lot less well known as compared to, say Ariel or Sleeping Beauty. All the furry characters rank at the very bottom, with the only exception perhaps being the classic Mickey Mouse himself.

The hierarchy is so ingrained into the system that you don’t even talk to or hang out with anyone outside of your level. Even in the staff cafeteria, buried in the underbelly of Disney World itself, seating is segregated according to which character you play. It’s like high school all over again.

That’s exactly why Joy’s dream of playing a Disney princess is far-fetched, to say the least. It would be like jumping straight to the top of the hierarchy in the blink of an eye. The best you can hope for is a promotion to a face character. Any face character. Just so you don’t have to wear the unbearably stuffy, disgusting costume anymore.

“What should we eat? I’m in the mood for pizza- oh!” Joy stops in her tracks, and you smack into her back.

“Give me a heads up, would you,” you groan, massaging your forehead, moving to walk around her as you scan your card at the train gantry.

“Oh my god. It’s Park Jimin.” She sounds breathless, and you look up at the mention of his name.

And there he is, seated on one of the benches with his thighs spread in his grey sweatpants, white shirt almost hanging off his shoulder sinfully, and blue backpack slung casually over the other shoulder. He is scrolling through something on his phone, completely absorbed in what he sees on his screen.

“Here’s your chance!” You hear Joy hiss at you, shoving you forward. “Talk to him!”

You are reduced to a blubbering mess, somehow losing control over your limbs as Joy continues to push you forward until you are in his line of sight.

“-don’t want to- agh!”

Jimin glances up at the sound of your voice, a smile of recognition immediately lighting up his face as he puts his phone away.

“Hey! ______, right?”

Even the way he says your name reduces you to a pathetic pile of goo. The mere fact that he knows who you are…!

“U-uh, hi, yeah!” You smile awkwardly at him.

Jimin scoots over and pats the seat beside him invitingly, looking over your shoulder. “And Joy, right?”

“Mhmm, going home?” Joy responds so naturally; you wish you had her ease when it comes to talking to guys. Or anyone, in general.

“Yeah,” Jimin grins his heart melting smile again, this time directing it at you. “Hey, you did great with Big Bird today. It’s tough playing such a tall character­- his head is the heaviest, I swear.”

“It-it is,” you stumble a reply back to him. “I don’t usually play Big Bird…”

“I know, your usual is Oscar right?” Jimin beams back. “I don’t know how you do it; it’s so hard to get his character just right! Especially wearing that costume- I feel like I’m behind a mask.”

Now you know he’s also painfully kind on top of everything else; complimenting you even though he easily plays Oscar better than you on your good days. Even the way he takes notice of your usual character makes you feel… dare you say… special.

“Hey, I forgot something back at the park, I’m gonna go back,” Joy says with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she bids the both of you goodbye. “You two go ahead! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

That sly little minx! You stand up involuntarily, panicking over being left alone with Jimin. At the same time, he grabs your arm to get your attention.

“Hey! The train’s here,” Jimin seems unperturbed by Joy’s sudden departure, getting up and starts walking towards the doors.

You hastily follow him into an empty cabin, struggling to keep your composure and cool your heated cheeks. There aren’t many people going in the opposite direction at this time of the evening, and the both of you find a seat easily.

“Which stop are you getting off at?” You ask, glancing at the map above the train doors.

“The second to last,” he grins with a slight wince. It’s absolutely adorable, the way he scrunches his nose. “I know, long ride right?”

“That’s my stop too!” Your eyes widen as you realise that you’ll be sharing the entire ride with him.

“Guess it’s my lucky day to have company then,” Jimin grins. “I think we joined at around the same time, but we haven’t really talked much.”

“Yeah, about a year ago, I think our schedules just haven’t really matched up,” you smile at him, having to avert your eyes as he ruffles his dark blue hair casually.

He flirts so effortlessly; his smiles are charming, and he draws you in with every word of his. It’s more than you could ever hope for, sharing a nearly empty train ride back with Park Jimin.

“So, is working at Disney everything you ever dreamt of and more?” Jimin asks, his eyes shining bright.

“You mean, did I dream of being stuck in a stuffy, sweaty and smelly costume for four hours a day? Totally,” you say unironically, but it makes Jimin giggle.

“Yeah, that part isn’t the best,” Jimin admits with a hand covering his mouth, still giggling. “I always make sure to air our whatever costume I’m wearing, so that the next person doesn’t have such a bad time.”

And he has a heart of gold too.

“It’ll get better once we get to play the face characters,” Jimin reassures with a few pats on your hand. The physical contact makes your heart skip a beat. “I think it’ll be soon, if we keep doing a good job!”

“Who are you hoping to get?” You desperately hope that he doesn’t see the blush on your cheeks.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. I guess I’ve always been a fan of Aladdin. You know, how cheeky he is and everything. Of course, I don’t think I’ll get a monkey as my sidekick, but still…”

“You’d make a perfect Aladdin,” you can already picture him charming all the little girls, sweeping them off their feet even without a magic carpet.

“What about you?” Jimin asks, a curious gleam in his eyes.

“Uhm… well…” you almost say Jasmine out of pure instinct, but you stop yourself just in time. To be honest, you never really thought about which face character you wanted to play. Getting a foot in the door to work at a Disney Park alone was a dream come true, and you’ve been so absorbed with the toiling labour of playing a fur character that you simply didn’t have the time to dream of something better.

But Jimin’s words have set you thinking. Of course, anyone’s answer might be to play a Disney Princess. It would be an incredible add to your resume. But could you really muster up enough of your acting skills to be in character around people all day? Not only would it be physically tiring like it is now, but it would also be mentally exhausting.

Unless you can find a character that suits you to a T, the way Aladdin suits Jimin. Or rather, the way Jimin can mold himself to suit any character he’s playing. It’s a talent you know you don’t have, and you know it’s an area of improvement for you as an aspiring actress. But somehow, you still can’t bring yourself to give up on your dream of standing upon the Broadway stage one day.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” you admit finally. “I guess… anyone would be fine. As long as it’s not Pluto,” you add in as an afterthought, and Jimin bursts into his musical laughter that travels throughout his entire body.

“You could be Elsa,” he says after a moment, after he’s calmed down. “Cold, a little aloof, but beautiful. I think you’d suit her well.”

The sincerity with which he says this makes your heart flutter. Moments ago, the thought of playing the ice princess and having to sing ‘Let It Go’ to dozens of grubby children would have put you off. You’d never liked that movie, but with Jimin’s suggestion, you ironically find yourself warming up to the idea.

*

Life has a way of smiling down at certain people. Park Jimin is one of them. And with just one encounter with him, you can feel his good luck rubbing off on you already.

When you check your schedule for the next quarter, your eyes catch on his name along with yours, side by side as handler and character. This time, as your usual: Oscar the Grouch.

You are in a good mood that morning as you clock into the park, heading to the utilities room to retrieve your costume and sign for it. When you reach the desk, you realise that Jimin somehow got here earlier than you did, and already signed out on your behalf.

He’s waiting in the common dressing room, drinking a protein shake and dressed in a muscle tee that shows off a dangerous amount of skin. You catch a glimpse of nipple as he raises his shake to his lips, and your throat goes dry. No one ever comes in for the morning shift this early, so the two of you are alone.

“H-hey, you’re early,” you clear your throat as you slide your backpack off your shoulder.

Jimin turns to face you, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Hey! Yeah, thought I’d get in a workout and start my shift little earlier today. Did you eat yet? I got you a bagel!”

He tosses a warm, buttery package across at you, and you just barely catch it. It’s only when you bite into it and a moan escapes your lips that you realise how essential breakfast is.

“Do you want to go first? Or me?” Jimin abandons his chair to come sit next to you on the couch. “I’m fine with whatever, but I’m a little sweaty right now, so…”

He grins bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck as he does so. It’s incredibly cute, and you have to distract yourself, tearing your eyes away from his almost transparent muscle tee.

“Sure, I’ll take first shift,” you push yourself up from your seat, feeling an intense need to put some distance between you and the dangerously charming man.

You usually dress the same way for work every time- jeans and the standard polo tee, with exercise shorts and a thin tank top underneath. It makes things easier when you have to rotate between being character and handler.  With Park Jimin in the same room, you feel a little self-conscious at stripping down in front of him, so you attempt to hide behind the locker as you quickly get rid of your jeans and shirt.

You feel painfully naked as you start to wrangle yourself into the Oscar costume. Jimin sets aside his drink and helps you by holding the bottom half of the costume open for you to step into, his face dangerously close to the apex of your thighs. You can feel his hot breath on your flesh as you gingerly step into Oscar’s trashcan.

Putting on a costume has never felt this intimate before.

“It’s like you were made to play him, you fit perfectly!” Jimin giggles, patting the top of your head. “How cute!”

“You’re one to talk,” you grumble back at him, if only to hide the growing smile on your own face. “You fit into it pretty well last time too.”

The moment is shattered as the door flings open, and Jeongguk and Taehyung come chattering in. They give Jimin a fist bump each, in the natural camaraderie that boys have with each other.

“See ya at break, ______!” Jeongguk calls out playfully, waving a tube full of your Pringles with one hand just to taunt you. Even though you can’t see him with Oscar’s head on, you hear the telltale sound of the chips rattling inside the tube, and you actually growl in annoyance.

“Jeon Jeongguk! I swear if you eat even a single one-“

“I’ll save you the empty can! Hey, does Oscar do recycling or is he just in a normal trash can?”

*

The difference between your Oscar and Jimin’s Oscar is painfully stark. When it’s his turn, he gets no less than 20 children crowding him at one time. His natural charisma just oozes through the suit.

But rather than discourage you, it actually makes you work even harder. You actually learn a couple of things from observing how he plays Oscar, and by the end of the day, you’re proud to say that you’re on par to compete with even Cookie Monster sometimes.

“Good one today, ______!” Jimin grins as he strips off the green, furry head, pushing his sweaty hair off his forehead.

“You weren’t too bad yourself,” you say with a tiny smile, offering him a pack of wet wipes.

“Hey, I was thinking we should grab a bite to eat,” Jimin turns to look at himself in the mirror, styling his dark blue hair as he rakes through it carelessly with his fingers. “You down?”

You have to stop yourself from grinning from ear to ear, instead answering coolly. “Sure. Where did you have in mind?”

“Cafeteria? I’m craving a Dole Whip myself,” he’s back in his muscle tee again, pulling on a pair of his favourite grey sweatpants.

You’ve never actually eaten anywhere other than the staff cafeteria, and even then, you avoid doing so after shifts because you don’t want to deal with seeing the rest of the crew. But Jimin has such a sweet smile that you don’t have it in you to refuse.

The two of you exit the dressing room, making your way down to the staff cafeteria, buried out of sight from the guests. To be honest, park food isn’t that bad, and the cafeteria serves a selection of it weekly, at a heavily discounted rate for staff.

Jimin’s just pondering over what he should have before Dole Whip, when a small tap on his shoulder makes him turn around.

“Oh- Dahyun! Hey, I didn’t know you’d be here,” Jimin greets her with a grin, and you can’t help but peer around him to get a glimpse of her as well.

She is exquisitely beautiful in a way you know you could never be, her features are dainty and delicate, and you can see why she’s such a good fit for Ariel. She moves with a grace and elegance that comes only with years of dance and stage training, and even in her loose-fitting pants, you can see that she has a figure to die for.

It’s people like her who make it to Broadway.

“It’s my shift starting soon,” she says in a soft, tinkling voice, casting a curious glance at you. “Anyway, I was just coming from the manager’s office. They want to see you.”

“Oh really?” Jimin frowns as he checks his phone. “I haven’t checked my email yet-“

“Yeah, something about a character change,” she smiles in excitement. “Seo Joon’s quitting, so they asked me if I had anyone to recommend to take his place, and I said you! Isn’t that great?”

Jimin seems genuinely enthused as he widens his eyes in realization. “Oh… oh wow! Prince Eric! I… I didn’t think it’d be this soon!”

“You should hurry down so they can give you the official new schedule,” Dahyun claps her hands as she giggles. “There’ll be character training sessions, outfit fittings, oh, and we also have to train together for a bit!”

The two of them almost forget that you are there, and you awkwardly take a step back, which makes Jimin look at you. His elation disappears a little.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I’ll just go attend the meeting real quick. I’m sorry about lunch, we should reschedule and it’ll be my treat!”

“No,” you shake your head and swallow hard, struggling to express that you are really happy for him amidst the all the envy and jealousy swirling in your chest. Because you truly are, he deserves this and so much more. “Go for your meeting. Don’t worry. I’ll just… I’ll uh… just head home.”

“You should get a Dole Whip! It’s the perfect treat after a shift,” he calls over his shoulder as Dahyun shoots you an awkward little smile, turning to follow him.

You watch as the two of them exit the staff cafeteria, already excitedly chattering to each other about god knows what. Yeah, somehow, you don’t think a Dole Whip is about to make things better.

*

“Prince Eric?” Joy frowns. “Well, I can’t say he doesn’t suit that character, because he would suit any prince, but…”

Now that Jimin had to be swapped out, the only good thing about it is that Joy is back on the same rotation as you again. So it means you can whine to your best friend about how unfair all of this is, how you wish Dahyun would actually get her voice sucked out of her by Ursula.

“They’re gonna look perfect together,” you say glumly. “This is why I don’t hope for anything. The moment I do, it just gets taken away.”

Joy winces as she watches you avert your gaze, untying and tying your shoelace. Your sandwich remains untouched as the two of you hide away in the dressing room during lunch break.

“Sweetie… I’m sorry,” she sighs as she pulls you in so that you can rest your head on her chest. “I’m sure our big break is coming soon. It’s all about that stroke of luck, you know?”

“Only if that lucky break comes in the form of Dahyun’s broken leg,” you grumble. Honestly, you should have seen this coming. Someone as bright and talented and golden as Park Jimin deserves to be with someone who can match him. Someone who can look as good beside him.

In other words, definitely not you. Children run away from you when they see you. They cry when they see your face. Even when you’re hidden and concealed behind a costume, they still can’t bring themselves to come any closer to you.

Your thoughts are interrupted by Jeongguk throwing open the door, still stuffing his face with a Mickey ice cream sandwich. His eyes land on the both of you, take in your disgruntled expression, then he continues to scarf down the rest of his sweet treat. Taehyung follows close behind, holding a bunch of snacks in his arms and dumping them all on the table.

“Whats wrong with her?” Jeongguk gestures with his sticky hands, stomping around in his heavy Timberland boots.

This dressing room is somewhat of a cosy reprieve, not only from the sweltering heat out there, but also away from all the other crew members. It’s long been established that it belongs to the select few of you who have the misfortune to be playing the fur characters, while the face characters are assigned the bigger, more luxurious dressing rooms for them to do their makeup and hair in. However, since the fur characters don’t need much prep other than climbing into a large furry suit, this dressing room only has the bare minimum.

You don’t mind though, because over the past year, it has come to feel like home. Ending a shift and collapsing on the couch, bickering with Jeongguk about the snack stash, coming in early to find Yoongi pulling an all nighter on the couch from the day before, getting annoyed with all of Taehyung’s junk everywhere. Getting secretly drunk after park hours with Joy and sneaking out to avoid getting into trouble.

As much as you hate to admit it, the few of you have become family.

“Not in the mood, Jeon, run along,” you shoot him a warning glare, but he is all too used to your caustic words, and sometimes you think he even enjoys riling you up.

“Might this have something to do with a certain Park Jimin getting to play Prince Eric?” Jeongguk is more astute than he lets on, but then again, it could be just because he actually bothered to read the crew schedule today.

“Who’s playing who?” Yoongi enters with a cup of cold brew in hand, sucking it down like it’s his lifeblood. All this while, you’ve never actually seen him eat something solid.

“Jimin is Prince Eric, opposite Dahyun’s Ariel,” Jeongguk repeats in delight, all too happy to take part in your misery.

Joy shoots him a glare and moves to cover your ears. “Gee, I don’t think you could rub that in any harder, Jeon.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he snickers, moving toward the lockers in the corner for his bag to start getting ready for the afternoon’s shift. At the last minute, however, he turns back to glance at you, still lying motionless on the couch, with a look of mild concern on his face. He looks like he’s about to say something, but lets it go at the last minute.

“I hope when we get promoted, we all get it at the same time,” Taehyung says earnestly, looking around at the rest of your faces. “I just wanna stay with you guys forever. Park can go play Prince Eric for all I care, honestly.”

Yoongi finishes his coffee, discarding the cup into one of the trash bins. “Can’t say he doesn’t deserve it though.”

With a resigned sigh, because the older man is right, you go about getting ready for your shift. Something tells you that today is going to be harder than it usually is.

*

You go through the motions of your job like you do every single day, stooping inside your little garbage can, twirling little children around, taking pictures and trying your best to be in character. It’s just the start of your third shift for the day, when something out of the ordinary happens.

You first catch wind of it through the children’s excited chatters.

“Pwincess Ariel is coming!” A little girl with a lisp says, pulling at the arm of her sister next you. “Huwwy up, we gotta go see her! Leave Mister Oscar alone!’

Her sister all but shoves you away in her excitement, causing you to nearly topple over in the heavy character suit, but luckily Joy is there to support you. All the children around you suddenly scatter, screaming and crying as they tumble toward the other end of the street.

“It’s Ariel! And Pwince Eric!” The same girl yells, and your breathing slows to a stop.

What? Why would they come down to the Main Street? Princesses and Princes usually stay in their own zone, in their castles if they have one, unless it’s parade time, which it most definitely isn’t. In a matter of minutes, your side of Main Street is left deserted, you and Joy standing pathetically alone in the middle of the road as you watch all the kids surround the perfect royal couple.

Jimin is absolutely radiant in his white blazer and dark blue pants that fit him perfectly. He looks every bit like royalty with gold embellishments on his shoulders, gold buttons down the front, and a sash to accompany his top half, while his long legs are accentuated by his boots. His newly dyed black hair is parted down the middle, swept back off his forehead to expose his sweetly smiling eyes as he greets everyone around him.

He walks as if he is on a runway. The audience is captivated by him; he steals the show even from the beautiful Ariel herself. Girls are falling at his feet to take pictures with him, children are asking if he has a white horse with him, and parents are sighing with adoration over how perfect he and Ariel look as a couple. It’s like a Disney movie come to life.

Everyone coos in admiration as the handsome Prince Eric gets down on one knee to a tiny girl dressed in an Ariel costume, takes her hand and kisses the back of it. Then the real Princess Ariel sweeps in with her green dress and flowing, shiny red hair, on the other side of the little girl, and the three of them pose for a picture together.

You are awestruck at how realistic they look together. They look as if they’ve just stepped out of a live action Disney movie.

“God damn,” Joy says under her breath as Jimin offers his hand to Dahyun, and the two of them continue their mini parade down the street. “He really does look perfect.”

It’s as if Jimin was born to play Prince Eric.

The two of them are fast approaching you and the other Sesame Street characters. Cookie Monster spreads his arms wide in welcome, doing a little jig that has the children screaming with laughter. He pretends to ask Prince Eric if he has any cookies, and their mini impromptu skit delights the audience. Worse still, Jeongguk in the Cookie Monster costume fawns over Princess Ariel too, gesturing for them to hold hands as he pretends to act as their royal butler, doing a deep bow that nearly has him toppling over.

Your legs feel weak and you opt to crouch down in your trashcan, making Oscar the Grouch look even smaller and more pathetic, all alone on the Street.

“Hey, are you okay? Do you need to have a rest?” Joy crouches down beside you in concern.

“…fine…” you mumble, but you can’t really be heard inside Oscar’s head. But then, it actually might be a good idea to escape back to the dressing room before Jimin and Dahyun make it down here. You turn to tell Joy that you want to go back, but then a little child approaches you out of nowhere.

“Mister Oscar?” A tiny, petulant voice calls, and you turn around to face it.

It’s a little boy with glasses, dressed in an Oscar T-shirt and with an Oscar headband. He looks shyly up at you, but even from inside Oscar’s head, you can see his eyes are filled with wonder and amazement.

“Can I have a picture please?” He asks politely, and Joy jumps to her feet.

“Of course! And would you like an autograph too? Where’s your book?” She helps the little boy with his book and pen, and glad for something else to focus on, you take the pen and open the book to the right page.

“Whats your name?” Joy asks, so that you can write it along with your autograph.

“Seokjin,” he pronounces clearly. “You’re my favourite Sesame Street character,” the boy says with a proud smile, pointing to his Oscar T-shirt. No matter how foul your mood is, that’s bound to melt your heart a little, and you express it through your actions, holding your hands to your heart for a second before spreading your arms for a giant hug.

As you feel the squirmy little body in your arms, you hear a familiar voice behind you.

“Ah, how sweet!” It’s Prince Eric, and he looks on at the scene with his sweet smile. “Mister Oscar, thank you for keeping our streets so clean always!”

You release the child from your hug and look up at Jimin. His smile seems a little bigger than it was just now, and his eyes are trained on the exact spot where yours would be if you weren’t wearing the suit. For a moment, you wonder if he knows that it’s you inside the suit.

“Mister Oscar is smelly!” A child yells out from somewhere, and a dozen giggles follow. “He loves trash!”

Ouch. As much as it’s true, children can be rather thoughtless with their comments sometimes. You struggle to stay in character even as your character head droops a little, retreating into your trash can.

There is an awkward silence from the crowd, and even Dayhun’s smile is frozen, at a loss for words, and there’s even a look of pity in her eyes. You can feel Seokjin beside you grasp your hand a little tighter in defensiveness as he puffs his chest out.

But before he can say anything, Prince Eric frowns, turning to face the general direction of the child who had insulted you. “That isn’t very nice, is it?” He reprimands the child gently, and the crowd quiets down. “Mister Oscar has feelings too, and how do you think he might feel if you say that?”

The girl who had called you smelly looks guilty as Jimin admonishes her. “Sowwy, Prince Eric and sowwy, Mister Oscar.”

Prince Eric’s radiant smile is back on his face as he pets her head once. “That’s better. Now, you have a great day and enjoy yourselves in the Magical Kingdom. Have a great day, Mister Oscar!”

You pretend to bow as the royal couple take their leave.

*

“I don’t get it,” you say in a fit of anger as you sponge the sweat off your neck. “Why would he- they- come all the way down to Main Street?”

“Forget about it,” Joy soothes as she digs out a tube of original flavoured Pringles from her bag and offers it to you. “Shall we have soju or beer today? And chicken? It’s my treat.”

You take the tube from her and open it, shoving a stack of chips into your mouth, feeling better once you taste the salt. You’re no stranger to getting insulted by children, but somehow today stings more than usual. “I bet Ariel doesn’t get any children telling her she’s trash.”

Joy sighs, but doesn’t say anything.

You gather up your things to leave, pulling your hair back in a drooping ponytail. “Rain check? I’m not really feeling it today.”

“Sure,” Joy agrees, watching you pack your things, not even bothering to hide the tube of Pringles somewhere Jeongguk can’t find it. “Call me when you get back!”

The trek to the train station is longer than usual, lonelier without Joy to accompany you, but it’s better for you to be alone with your thoughts anyway.

*

You’re no stranger to fielding slightly abusive and insulting comments from children. Usually, you’re able to just brush it off because you tell yourself that children don’t really mean what they say. But the past incident has taken a toll on your psyche, and you can feel yourself dragging your feet to work.

On top of the next month’s schedule, you get another email from management asking you to drop by their office before your next shift.

Jeongguk catches you on the way to the management’s office, in the midst of finishing a Dole Whip from the cafeteria. The sight of it reminds you of Jimin and his promise to make up that missed lunch date.

“Here to see management?” Jeongguk asks, following you inside and offering you a spoon of the sweet yellow dessert. You open your mouth grudgingly, and the taste is not bad as it melts on your tongue. It does calm your nerves a little, though.

“Let’s hope it’s nothing bad,” you mumble under your breath.

Knocking on the door, you enter the corporate office, which looks very ordinary. No such trace of the Disney magic here. The receptionist directs you to the head of Character Management.

The head of Character Management is a stern looking lady with her hair pulled back into a bun. Kim Sejeong bids you and Jeongguk to sit down, lacing her fingers together.

“I’ve called the both of you in for some very good news today,” she begins, a hint of a smile on her otherwise serious face. “A career advancement. The two of you are being promoted to face characters.”

Your heart leaps in your chest, and Jeongguk can’t help but grin.

A lucky break. This is what you’ve been waiting for all this time. You can barely contain your excitement as your mind starts to race. Who could it be? Dare you even hope that you might be playing a Disney Princess? You’d be thankful even if it was one of the lesser known princesses. Mulan? Alice in Wonderland?

“First of all, Jeongguk.” She turns her gaze towards the boy with the bunny grin beside you. “You’ll be playing Gaston from now onwards.”

You nearly snort in laughter. Vain, idiotic, attention seeking Gaston who can’t read nor spell his name? It’s a perfect fit for Jeongguk. You can already see him in your mind’s eye, flaunting his muscles and bickering non-stop with the Beast.

Just as long as you don’t have to play Belle.

“And you, Ms _______,” she turns her gaze to you next. Your heart completely stops in your chest, trying to anticipate what’s coming next.

Maybe you’ll finally get a likeable character. Someone like Cinderella, and then kids won’t say mean things to you anymore.

“You’re going to play The Evil Queen, Snow White’s stepmother.”

*

“Oh my god!” Joy can barely contain herself when she hears the news. “I’m so happy for you! Finally, you got a face character!!”

Somehow, you don’t really share her excitement. It’s one of your last few times playing a fur character, and you can’t say you’ll miss it. Jeongguk was the first to break the news to everyone the moment he got back to the dressing room. As one of the first few to be promoted to a face character, it is definitely liberating, but a part of you is unsure of the uncertainty that lies ahead.

“At least you can attend the character crash course together,” Taehyung says gloomily at the prospect of losing his best friend.

“She’s lucky to be accompanied by my dashingly handsome self,” Jeongguk pretends to flex a bicep, already getting into the role of Gaston. It doesn’t seem like he’ll need much training to assimilate.

“It’s the Evil Queen,” you say quietly to Joy. “Who likes her? It’s even worse than Oscar the Grouch.”

Everyone knows that the fur characters occupy the bottom of the hierarchy. But what they don’t acknowledge is that the villains are barely a rung higher than them. It’s even worse now that you won’t have the character costume to hide behind. You’re going to have to step up your acting skills, and actually talk to and interact with guests who might be snarky and even meaner to you now.

“C’mon, it’ll be great for your resume. I can already see it. You’re gonna ace it, then you’ll snag the audition for Maleficient,” Joy is already thinking ahead. “And the role is practically perfect for you! Honestly, I was a little worried because I didn’t see you as the type to go around cooing at little children and hugging them and everything. This suits you way better.”

“Wow, thanks for the compliment,” you shoot back at her.

Joy only sighs. “You know what I mean.”

“We have a bigger problem,” Taehyung interrupts as Jeongguk continues to flex at himself in the mirror. “Who’s gonna take your places? It’ll be like breaking up the Fabulous Five. We won’t even see each other anymore. You’ll be using the huuuge dressing rooms. We’ll become like strangers!”

You sigh at Taehyung’s overreaction. “That won’t happen, Tae. Even if Jeongguk and I graduate from fur characters, it doesn’t mean we won’t hang out anymore. We’ll still come back here after shifts and all. I mean, this is the only dressing room that has a TV!”

“I guess…” Taehyung doesn’t seem convinced. “You’ll still come and visit though right?” He pokes Jeongguk in the ribs, causing the younger boy to flinch in the midst of practicing one of his Gaston poses.

“Of course he will, the bigger dressing rooms don’t have nearly as good a snack selection as we do,” Yoongi says off-handedly from his position stretched out across the couch. “And Jeongguk’s got all his weights stacked in the corner there. It’ll take him ages to move it over.”

As much as Yoongi seems to be aloof most of the time, the eldest crew member actually does seem to have a heart at times. His words do the job of reassuring Taehyung well enough, and the subject is left alone as everyone starts to get ready for their shifts.

“Hey, you on for the all-nighter today?” Jeongguk nudges you with his arm as you slip past him to put away your bag. “We gotta watch Beauty and the Beast and Snow White at least three times each before we start character training.”

“Who said I wanted to watch it with you?” You turn your nose up at him.

“Together? Ew,” Jeongguk expresses his dissatisfaction in a similar manner, scrunching up his nose. “I didn’t mean it like that, you idiot! It’s just, I know for a fact you’re too poor to afford a TV at home, and we happen to have both films on hand here…”

Jeongguk pauses for a moment as he looks at Taehyung, Yoongi and Joy, all of whom are currently absorbed in a discussion of whether the turkey leg tastes better with or without mustard.

“… unless you guys wanted to watch it too?” He has to raise his voice to be heard over Taehyung’s valiant defense of ketchup.

“No thanks, I hate fairytales,” Yoongi grumbles, waving the offer away. You all know Yoongi only came on board because he’d been offered the chance to play Darth Vader, but at the last minute got scammed into Sesame Street.

“Why would we wanna be holed up in here watching the same movie over and over when we could be getting fried chicken?” Joy grins unapologetically, and Taehyung chimes in.

“With extra ketchup!”

“Alright, fine!” You toss one of Jeongguk’s white shirts at him. “I guess it’s just us.”

“… I brought snacks,” he holds up a bag of Pringles with a mischievous smile.

And you’re sold.

*

“Did you actually shower?” Your eyes widen in disbelief as Jeongguk returns to the dressing room after both your shifts have ended, hair wet and dressed in fresh clothes.

“I’m not a slob, you know,” he grumbles as he makes a futile attempt to dry his hair one last time. “I got us some food from the cafeteria on the way back. They had orange chicken from Nine Dragons.”

“Really? That’s different,” you sit up in interest. “Oh my god. Are those pork belly buns too?”

“How’d you know? You never go down to the cafeteria anyway,” Jeongguk opens up another box containing shrimp fried rice, and the whole room smells so good.

“I don’t like navigating that political jungle,” you say with a mouth full of delicious, savoury pork. “You ready? I’m gonna start Snow White first.”

Jeongguk begins to devour the food as the two of you settle in to watch the movie. You have a pen and pad by your side to take down some notes on the Evil Queen’s character, how she interacts with the other characters, and some of her more iconic lines.

She’s overall a very snarky and witty character, and the more you watch, the more you think you might enjoy playing her after all. Her personality is not unlike your own, and some of the things she says are straight up savage.

“Oh! You should definitely call people peasants,” Jeongguk chimes in, a fistful of chips in the air.

“You think? Wouldn’t that be too much?” You are doubtful, but you write it down anyway, figuring you could always run it past the trainer during the sessions.

“Please. You’re a Queen. Everyone else simply must bow,” Jeongguk does a horrible impression of a British accent, which sends you giggling so hard that you nearly drop your plate.

“Maybe I’ll even come by as Gaston and steal all the attention from you. How’s that?” Jeongguk grins cheekily, and you roll your eyes.

“Oh please, as if your ugly face could ever.”

The two of you are laughing so hard that you don’t hear the knock at the door until it creaks open.

“Um… hi?” A familiar, honeyed voice makes you turn around.

It’s Park Jimin, the last person you expected to see. You’re suddenly aware of how this must look, of how you must look, dressed down in your sweats and junk food all over the place.

“Jimin! What are you doing here?” You attempt to straighten your shirt and sit up straight, pausing the movie.

“I know it’s late, but I hoped you’d still be here, so I decided to come and check,” he says shyly, averting his gaze to the floor. “I thought you’d be leaving soon… and maybe we could leave together.”

“We’re in the middle of a movie,” Jeongguk states the obvious, and you slap his wrist to get him to shut up, but he ignores you. “It’s for our character training.”

Realisation dawns across Jimin’s face. “Oh- oh! That’s right! I heard the good news. You’re being promoted to a face character! Congrats, that’s so great. I know you’ll do so well.”

Is he saying that to compliment your acting skills, or is he maybe insinuating that someone like you has the personality akin to an Evil Queen? Knowing pure, sweet Jimin, it’s probably the former, but your traitorous mind can’t help but doubt it.

“Um… thanks,” you smile hesitantly back at him. “I… I saw you as Prince Eric. You were… you were great.”

He blushes cutely, and you can feel Jeongguk rolling his eyes beside you.

“Well, um… glad to have you as a face character too. Maybe we’ll see each other more often. I think our zones are pretty close to each other,” Jimin ruffles his jet-black hair once, bringing your attention to the metal rings on his fingers. “So… see you around!”

“Wait!” You spring up from the couch, making it to the door before he can disappear fully. “I’ll um… I’ll walk you out.”

After not seeing him for more than a month, you can’t let him slip away that easily. Especially not when he looks this good, dressed down in a black shirt and black ripped jeans.

“If you need help with getting used to face characters, I could give you some pointers,” Jimin grins as you start to walk alongside him. “Or if you need help coming up with ‘outs’.”

“’Outs’? What are those?” You’re unfamiliar with the term.

“It’s when someone asks you to do something you’re not allowed to, like accepting food, or even hugs, if you don’t want to,” Jimin explains. “Or if they ask weird questions you don’t know how to answer. Usually it involves weaving in your character’s backstory to make it more believable.”

“Oh wow. I had no idea being a face character would be so difficult,” you can’t help but start to worry about how different it is from what you’re used to.

“It’s not that hard. This girl asked if she could marry me, right in front of Princess Ariel!” Jimin giggles. “Dahyun wasn’t very pleased.”

You go quiet at the mention of her, and the easy, joking atmosphere between the both of you fades. The park is dark and quiet, all the shops are shuttered, and in general, it is a much gloomier and more eerie place than you’re used to.

“Anyway, I think you’ll do a good job.” Jimin has a way with words that always seems to reassure you.

You come to the entrance of the train station, and you stand awkwardly as Jimin looks for his train pass.

“I’ll see you around?” You offer hopefully.

“Of course!” Jimin grins, turning to tap his pass. But then he hesitates. “Hey, um… maybe we should exchange numbers. In case… in case you need help with the training or something.”

“Y-yeah, that’s a great idea,” you fumble for your phone and present it to him, noting how cute his fingers look as he types in his number, giving himself a missed call so he’ll have your number too before he gives it back to you. You notice that he’s named himself in your contacts with a cute little chick emoji.

“I should be getting back now,” you have to stop yourself from fawning over how cute he is.

“Oh yeah! Shouldn’t keep… uh… Jeongguk from waiting too long,” Jimin scratches the back of his neck. “It’s kinda dark, will you be okay walking back alone?”

“I’ll be fine, I do it all the time,” you wave his concern away.

“You should text me when you get back,” Jimin says over his shoulder as he taps his train pass, then crosses the gantry. It’s only then that you realise that he might think you and Jeongguk are something more than friends, judging from the way he said his name.

“Jeongguk! He’s just…” You blurt out, causing Jimin to turn around, a few steps into the train station with a slightly confused look on his face.

Your cheeks are burning as your voice trails off. “He’s um… just a friend.” You finish lamely.

“Oh.”

Maybe it’s a little hard to tell in the dark, but you could have sworn you saw the smile on his face get a little brighter.

*

You can do this. This is only a tiny step of a multitude of challenges to come.

Knocking timidly on the door, you let yourself into the unfamiliar dressing room, Jeongguk close behind you.

“What if they eat us alive?” Jeongguk stage whispers into your ear.

“Don’t be an idiot,” you elbow him in the ribs in irritation as you attempt to swallow back your intimidation, walking to the dressing room with what you hope is a confident stride. “The worst they can do is stare us down.”

It must be at least three times the size of your old dressing room. There are two rows of dressing tables and chairs on their side, with brightly lit mirrors and bottles of makeup gathered neatly on the tables. At the back are two private changing rooms, one male and one female.

A few of the dressing tables are already occupied, and you don’t recognize most of the crew members currently here. But by the looks of their costumes, you gather that they play Princess Jasmine, Cinderella, and Aladdin respectively.

Walking cautiously to one of the dressing tables in the back, you set your bag down, realizing that there are private lockers stowed beneath the dressing tables themselves. You’ve never had this much space for your stuff before, even a dedicated hanger beside the mirror for you to hang your costume.

Jeongguk sets up shop beside you. “This is weird. It’s like there’s too much space.”

“Where’s Taehyung’s junk when you need it?” You attempt to make a joke to ease your own nervousness, even as you pull up a picture of the Evil Queen herself and start working on your makeup the way the character trainers had taught you to.

Being your first time playing her, you want to get everything right, so you make sure to come more than an hour before your shift is due to start. As the next half an hour passes, more and more crew members start to fill up the dressing room, but they keep mostly to themselves, and leave you and Jeongguk alone at the back.

Dark purple eyeshadow, dramatic brows, and red lipstick. You had been practicing this by yourself at home all weekend, so it goes pretty smoothly. To finish, you layer on the blush to complete the look. Now all you have to do is get into your costume in the private changing room.

A purple ankle length dress with sleeves, and a dramatic black cape with a high white collar to match. You have to tie back your hair so that you can secure the headpiece of the costume and affix the golden crown on the top of your head. When you look in the mirror, you don’t even recognize yourself.

You look tall. Intimidating. The thick layer of makeup has completely transformed all your features. You look like the witch from the nightmares you had as a five-year old. You try an experimental swish of your cape, and the resulting action makes you feel powerful.

There is a knock on the changing room door.

“Hello? Are you done in there? We still have to get changed.”

You open the door to see Dahyun’s slightly annoyed face morph into a semblance of a smile as she takes in your appearance. “Wow… um, ________. You look… um… great.”

The girls behind her giggle, and you know it is far from a compliment she’s paying you.

And maybe it’s because going through the ritual of transformation into someone else has truly changed you, because you can almost feel the Evil Queen’s aura that prevents you from doing something you usually would, like lowering your head or scurrying away in shame.

“I know,” you say, and you walk away in a swish of velvet fabric and shocked stares trailing after you.

*

It’s a hot afternoon as usual, but nothing you can’t handle. After being stuck in a stuffy little costume, getting to feel the slight breeze on your cheeks as a face character feels like heaven.

You hang out by the Wishing Well, practicing your cape swirls and finding that you enjoy it a lot more than you’d thought. It’s a quiet start to your first time playing the Evil Queen, and you try not to let the nerves get to you. Most of the visitors just walk by you and smile awkwardly without doing anything.

Your first customer is a child wearing the trademark Mickey Mouse ears. She approaches you timidly, holding out a red apple to you. The Evil Queen never smiles, so you glance down at the child, clasping a hand to your chest as your eyes widen in approval.

“Why hello there child, is that apple for me?”

The child nods so hard that their Mickey Ears nearly fall off, and you have to admit, they are kind of cute.

“Are you absolutely sure? Well then, thank you very much, I must say you have great taste. Even if you do like to wear rat ears on your head…” You take the apple gently from the child and raise it high in the air. “Behold! The most gorgeous apple in the kingdom, only suitable for the fairest queen in the land of course!”

You glance down at the child again, who seems to be more than excited that you accepted their gift. “Would you like a picture child? Alright then, where is your caretaker?”

The child grasps a fistful of your cloak in their hands as she points to her parents, waving a camera, and you pose for the picture, arms folded regally and eyebrows raised. When you see that the child kind of just freezes up for the camera, you take it upon yourself to bend down so that you are eye level with her, gently helping her to fold her arms and copy your facial expression.

You can feel her parent’s laughs of delight when they finally take your picture again, the child a carbon copy of your regal and intimidating self. When they come to collect their child, they flash you a grateful smile, and that tiny bit of affirmation is all you need.

After the ice has been broken, you feel much more at ease with the crowd. A few more people approach you for pictures, and you manage to maintain a friendly bicker with them while still staying in character. You ask for compliments, admiring yourself in their front view cameras, dissing Snow White when they bring her up, and when they leave, they bring a new crowd in along with them, all of whom are entertained by how self-absorbed and vain you are.

“Queen, queen! Oh, my queen,” a teenage girl raises her hand. “Who do you think is better looking, you or Gaston?”

“Gaston!?” You gasp in horror dramatically. “That terrible excuse for a man? You must be joking.”

“But I asked him, and he said he thinks he’s the most handsome!”

You wave them away with a roll of your eyes. “Oh please. Have you seen that pathetic little stallion tail he has for hair?”

“I heard someone was talking about me?” A loud, blasting voice sounds from behind you, and you turn to see Jeon Jeongguk dressed up as Gaston approaching, hands on his hips.

His costume consists of a large amount of shoulder and chest padding, and his red tunic is stretched tight across his naturally huge thighs. You have to say, he does have the body to play Gaston, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t look ridiculous. You almost want to burst out in laughter, but somehow you manage to keep it in.

“Only about how ugly you are,” you say with a wave of your cape.

“Ugly?” Jeongguk is affronted. “That is a word I’ve never heard in my life.”

“With how small your vocabulary is, I’m not surprised,” you examine your flawless nails, and smirk in satisfaction when a few people around you clap in delight at your comeback.

“Look at all these people here to see me!” Jeongguk goes on as if he never heard you, spreading his arms to flex his biceps to welcome the cheers of the crowd. More and more people are now gathering around the two of you. “They must be amazed by how handsome I am.”

“They are here to see me,” you clarify. “That is, before you barged in so uncouthly. Don’t you have better things to do? Like groom that monstrosity of a dog in your backyard?”

“Did she just refer to the Beast as a dog?” Hushed whispers and giggles come from around you, and you don’t have to do much to hide your smirk.

“They’re admiring the size of my muscles, of course!” He strikes a pose down on one knee, flexing one bicep, and some of the girls actually swoon at his good looks. A part of you secretly thinks that he ignored the second part of your insult because he doesn’t know how to respond to it in an appropriate PG manner. Instead, he focuses on making sure everyone around him can see him flexing his biceps.

You can tell that he is enjoying every bit of the attention he gets, as some of the crowd ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s at his show, and the competitive spirit inside you gets ignited.

“A true Queen does not need to compliment herself, for she has her servants to do it for her,” you gesture at the crowd impatiently. “Well? Compliment me!”

“The fairest in all the land!”

“Snow White is ugly!”

“My Queen, you are so beautiful!”

With every compliment, you nod in approval, and it’s clear the crowd is having a great time. Some of them are even recording your impromptu little skit with Gaston.

It’s the most fun you’ve had playing a character since you started working here. For once, you can kind of let go and be yourself without worrying if you’ll be good enough.

Jeongguk gathers his little fanclub that has formed around him. “Come on, let’s go tell Belle how handsome I am.” He struts off, one arm around a girl each as they follow him back to his zone giddily.

“Ugh, good riddance,” you sigh and continue to admire yourself in a mirror someone gives you. “I dislike him almost as much as Snow White.”

Some of the crowd actually looks a bit upset when Gaston leaves, and you observe with slight surprise that they really enjoyed this impromptu skit between you. You make a mental note to yourself to talk about this with Jeongguk after your shift, to see how the both of you can arrange more regular visits for him in the future. The fact that both of your characters aren’t even in the same story means you have even more freedom to come up with their interactions.

The afternoon passes quickly, and you feel more settled into your role, even starting to have fun once you realise that you can pretty much just make up your lines on the spot. It’s even more enjoyable once you realise that playing a villain is essentially getting paid to insult visitors.

You’re just about to get ready to end your shift when you spot a large crowd approaching your area. At the very front, you spot Dahyun as Ariel, striking with her red wig and flowing green dress, and slightly behind her is-

Your throat closes up as you see Jimin in his prince costume again, the navy blue of his blazer making his white ruffled dress shirt stand out even more. His black hair is side parted, his eyes are smiling as he trails after his partner. It’s been a while since you last saw him in character, but he never fails to take your breath away.

When Dahyun spots you at the Wishing Well, you can almost swear that she slows down, turning behind her to reach out a hand to Jimin. At first the prince doesn’t notice her outstretched hand, as he leans to take a selfie with a visitor, but once he catches sight of it, he takes her hand without a second thought, tucking it into the crook of his arm in one smooth, natural motion.

You school your features into a look of disdain, but you don’t even have to pretend to begin with.

Making sure that they are within ear shot, you swish your cape in disinterest. “Does anyone smell anything fishy? Oh. It’s that fish-girl.”

You swear you can actually see the look of shock cross her pretty features, and she opens her mouth, but no words come out.

“Gaping like a fish too,” you say with a wave of your hand, and the visitors around you gasp at your savage comment. “Begone, trespasser, shouldn’t you be in an aquarium somewhere?”

Some of the visitors near you are laughing and even taking videos of you, and they are just loving the savagery that you dish out. Their impressed murmurs only serve to boost your confidence, especially when you see Dahyun’s reaction.

She only attempts to smile prettily at the crowd, unable to come up with a witty comeback, but you can see her grin is forced and doesn’t reach her eyes.

You haven’t dared to look straight at Jimin yet, but your eyes land on their joined hands instead. Clasping a hand to your chest in disgust, you roll your eyes. “Ugh, they’re holding hands. Someone please remove them from my presence.”

And then, even as you’re trying your very best not to look at the one person who has undoubtedly captured all your attention, your eyes can’t help but be drawn to the way his eyes widen when he sees you.

Suddenly a bead of insecurity creeps up in your chest. Surely he must think you look revolting like this. That’s what everyone thinks when they see a Disney villain. You are, quite literally, playing the villain in the love story between him and Dahyun. You might not be from the same fairytale, but the idea is there.

She’s the princess, he’s the prince.

And you’re the villain.

The two of them approach your Wishing Well at a steady pace, Jimin’s pretty eyes have now thankfully returned to their normal size as he runs his hand through his silky black hair, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. He doesn’t even spare you a single glance, and it stings.

You can imagine your face is a really bright shade of purple, if your emotions are anything to judge by.

“Ma-madam,” a whimpering child approaches hesitantly at your feet, and you nearly startle. You didn’t see them approach, all your attention being focused on the prince and his princess.

“Yes, child, what is it,” your voice coming out a little more huffy than you wanted it to. But still, no one around you sees this as out of character, and you suddenly remember who you’re supposed to be playing.

You’re allowed to be a little mean.

“Are you… are you a witch?” The child’s large, inquisitive eyes gaze up at you, and you stare back at her with your chin lifted high.

Jimin and Dahyun are within earshot now. You can feel as if the crowd is holding its breath expectantly, waiting for your answer.

“A witch?” Your voice rises, scandalized. You do a graceful swish of your cape as you spin around, arms spread dramatically. “How can a witch be this beautiful, child?”

It’s a lie. All of it is a lie, because you don’t feel the least bit beautiful. Especially not in this getup, especially not in front of Dahyun with her porcelain skin and fiery red hair that compliments it so well.

But the crowd eats it up with cheers and laughter, clapping and chanting your character’s name. All the attention is now on you, and the prince and his princess are left to pass by quietly.

Maybe your acting skills have improved, but you’re pretty sure that you’re the only one in the whole crowd who didn’t buy that act one bit.

*

“You’re viral!!! Oh my god. Have you SEEN this?” You’re attacked by some kind of rabid animal the moment you step into the fur character’s changing room.

It turns out to be only Joy, who seems beside herself with excitement. She’s currently still in her Oscar costume with the head off, that’s why you mistook her for a rabid animal in the first place. The fur of her costume nearly suffocates you as she’s all up in your face.

It’s late, you’ve just finished your last shift and all you want to do is collapse on the couch for a few minutes before you have to muster up the energy for the train ride home. Today took more out of you than you realized.

“You’re viral,” Taehyung grunts from a corner, attempting a few sets with Jeongguk’s weights that are clearly too heavy for him. “She’s been saying that over and over for the past few hours.”

“What are you talking about?” You say wearily, trying to focus on the phone that Joy is waving around in your face before you just grab it from her in your impatience.

It’s a Youtube video titled “EVIL QUEEN PUTS GASTON IN HIS PLACE” and it was just uploaded only a few hours ago. But it already has a million views and counting.

Slightly more awake now, you start to focus on the short three-minute video. It was just taken today, and you hear yourself insulting Gaston for a bit, before actually bickering with him when he shows up. The camera work is shaky, clearly taken by someone in the audience.

“Did you read the comments yet?” Joy says breathlessly as she peeks over your shoulder. “Read them. They’re gold.”

You start to scroll down to the comment section, your heart racing as you read them.

disneylover012: Oh my god. The Evil Queen is the best. She’s so savage!!

walkingonsunshine: Imagine getting paid to be mean to visitors. I LOVE HER

starwarsfan48: We need more of this. MORE

chipndale29: I’m gonna go to Disney tomorrow just to see her!!!!

sunnyreds: she and Gaston are actually kinda cute together… arguing like a married couple. They should totally date!! (4 replies)

        potatocakes: imagine if they ACTUALLY WERE DATING IRL

        luckycat7: THAT’S SOOOO CUTE OMG I TOTALLY SHIP THEM

chimchim013: why’s everyone saying they should date??? They’re probably just friends in real life…

nochu019: @chimchim013 lol don’t hate him just cuz u ain’t him… I ship them too

“Oh my God, they ship you and Gaston,” Joy is falling over herself with laughter, and you put aside the phone for a moment to help her get out of her costume, seeing the threat that she poses to anyone in her near vicinity.

“Who ships us?” Jeongguk arrives with his hair wet and shirt clinging to his body. He dumps his bag at the door and plops himself onto the couch.

You feel a little weird after reading that comment. Joy is safely out of her costume by now, and you hand her back the phone. “Nothing. Just some random people on Youtube.”

“They aren’t just some random people,” Joy admonishes. That’s the top liked comment, and that video has a million views now. And counting. _______, you’re famous!!!!!! The star of our little park!!!!!”

“Not forgetting who else starred in that video, are we,” Jeongguk raises an eyebrow, popping open the lid of a Pringles can. “I was, after all, your co-star.”

“Oh shut up, you were totally getting owned- hey wait. We didn’t even show you the video yet. Why do you seem like you already know which video that is?” You narrow your eyes in suspicion, turning to look at Jeongguk.

Jeongguk turns red immediately, stuffing his face with more of your chips. “Mmf- happened to see it…”

There’s a loud clank in the corner as Taehyung gives up on working out. He massages his biceps as he paces around the room, eyes bright with excitement. “This is huge. Bigger than we could have ever imagined!!!” He grabs you by the shoulders. “________, you might even win Employee of the Month if you keep this up! The crowd loves you!”

“Oh please,” you wave away their optimism with a hand. “It was only one video.”

“It’s not just one video,” Joy corrects you as she scrolls furiously on her phone. “This account also uploaded another one. This time it’s called…”

Joy gets cut off with a snort of laughter. “Oh my god, you bad bitch.”

The door opens, and Yoongi walks in, hair in a mess and eyes half-open. “Who’s a bad bitch?”

“_________!” Joy squeals. “You fucking called Ariel a fish.”

“No way,” Taehyung grabs the phone to see for himself.

EVIL QUEEN DISSES PRINCESS ARIEL, CALLS HER A FISH

“…Oh. It’s that fish girl.” You hear your voice blasted loudly, and then the rest of the video is drowned out by boisterous laughter, cheers and screaming.

It’s chaos. Taehyung is running around the room. Joy is jumping up and down, replaying the video over and over. Jeongguk is rolling with laughter on the couch and falls off, knocking his knee on the table. Yoongi, true to his quiet self, only smirks at you with a look that resembles admiration, a tall order for the man of few words.

“Not bad. Guess you are serious about getting your man.”

“Wh-what?” Oh my god, guys shut up for a fucking second,” you say to your friends, but they aren’t having it. They are completely beside themselves with mirth, and a part of you can’t help but smile either. The animosity between fur and face characters has been an ongoing war ever since you joined. A video like this going viral just feels like a score for you and zilch for them.

“I thought we’d lost you and Jeongguk over to the Dark Side when you got promoted to face characters,” Taehyung says, still half doubled over from the exertion, face red. “But now it’s totally us against them. You’re a double agent!”

“She’s a fucking champ is what she is,” Jeongguk says with a look of pride on his face. “Insulting them while keeping character. I don’t know how she does that.”

You don’t really have much to say as you watch your friends replay the video over and over, but there is a warmth in your chest as they celebrate and dance. A warmth that completely erases the feelings of insecurity still lingering after seeing how beautiful Dahyun was today. The validation from your friends is just what you needed to chase those doubts away, and you plop yourself down on the couch, snuggling closer to Jeongguk as you settle in to watch the rest of the videos uploaded by that account.

Yoongi only partially grumbles about all of you squeezing onto one couch, but even you can see the tiny, proud gummy smile on his face as he watches from his standing position behind you all.

There may be shitty moments in this job. But moments like this make it all worth it, and you tell yourself to hold on to it no matter what.

*

Jimin collapses into a chair in the dressing room. To be honest, he prefers the fur character’s dressing room to this one. Always cosy, with that soft couch perfect for taking a nap in between shifts. And the main plus point: the people. Ever since he got promoted to a face character he felt weird going back there, but it seems like you and Jeongguk still treat it as your dressing room. He hardly ever sees you in here, even when your shifts match.

A bigger dressing room also means more people, and more strangers. It’s noisy, impossible to relax for a moment in between shifts. So he pulls out his earphones and plugs it into his phone, opening Youtube and idly browsing his homefeed.

He comes across an interesting video that catches his eye immediately.

EVIL QUEEN PUTS GASTON IN HIS PLACE

That’s you in the thumbnail. He’d know your face anywhere. Jimin clicks on it, and the video begins to play. You and Gaston are bickering away, back and forth with an undeniable chemistry, and Jimin feels a lump growing in his throat.

It’s partially overshadowed by the pride when he notices that it’s gone viral, over two million views now, and he grins happily. Watches the way you throw yourself into your acting, how confident you look making up your lines impromptu.

His mistake is when he decided to scroll through the comments.

sunnyreds: she and Gaston are actually kinda cute together… arguing like a married couple. They should totally date!! (2 replies)

        potatocakes: imagine if they ACTUALLY WERE DATING IRL

        luckycat7: THAT’S SOOOO CUTE OMG I TOTALLY SHIP THEM

He frowns. You and Jeongguk? Hm. Not if he has anything to say about it.

He types furiously on his phone and presses submit before he has a chance to think twice about it. Satisfied with his reply, he continues watching to the end of the video, but not before another ping interrupts him.

It’s a notification that someone has replied to his comment. He opens it and scrunches his brow in disapproval.

sunnyreds: she and Gaston are actually kinda cute together… arguing like a married couple. They should totally date!! (4 replies)

        potatocakes: imagine if they ACTUALLY WERE DATING IRL

        luckycat7: THAT’S SOOOO CUTE OMG I TOTALLY SHIP THEM

chimchim013: why’s everyone saying they should date??? They’re probably just friends in real life…

nochu019: @chimchim013 lol don’t hate him just cuz u ain’t him… I ship them too

He starts typing furiously again but can’t come up with anything intelligent to say. Finally, he deletes everything and clicks on the offending user’s screenname to check out his channel.

It’s primarily focused on gaming and streaming, although their latest video does look like it was taken in Disneyland itself. Jimin sees a familiar silhouette in the corner of the video’s thumbnail and clicks on the video to get a better view, though the figure is never clearly outlined.

Frustrated he scrolls through the rest of the channel’s videos, but it’s all lame gaming streams.

It’s probably just a loser gaming nerd, Jimin tells himself as he returns to the viral video of the Evil Queen. Nothing to get worked up over.

He’s interrupted by the timer on his phone signalling his next shift, and he sighs, tossing it away and starting to get ready.

*

The view count only goes up and up. Throughout the weeks that follow, more of your fan accounts pop up, uploading numerous videos of you sparring with Gaston, entertaining the crowd solo, insulting and bickering with guests. The list goes on, and your fanbase grows bigger.

Now you have a sizeable crowd at the Wishing Well every time your shift comes on. It energizes you, gives you the motivation to act better, think of wittier lines. The recognition that you’re getting every day makes you shine even brighter, giving you the hope to aspire towards your eventual big-picture dream of Broadway.

“It’s totally possible,” Joy gushes as she takes off her makeup at the end of the day.

You’re sitting on the couch in the small living area, face already scrubbed clean of all your makeup. You tear into a face mask and carefully align it on your face. With the extra makeup that comes with playing a face character, you also run the risk of breaking out more, and blemishes are even harder to cover. So you put more effort into your skincare routine to make sure that your skin is as flawless as can be.

“With all this fame you have, you could totally have an edge at auditioning for Broadway,” Joy continues on.

“Maybe…” you say, closing your eyes and tipping your head back for a moment of relaxation. “No one knows it’s me playing the Evil Queen. They can’t find out my name, or Disney will fire me. You know the rules.”

“Yeah, you could send it in as a highlight reel or an audition tape,” Joy answers. “Those are kept private anyway, so the public won’t find out. Win-win.”

You roll over to face her. “You think that’ll work?”

Her response is interrupted by a polite knock at the door of the small dressing room. You both know that none of you ever knock before entering, so whoever is outside must be a visitor.

“I’ll get it,” you say, walking toward the door and opening it.

“Um, hi.” It’s Park Jimin again, hands awkwardly in his pockets and looking freshly showered in a black shirt and ripped jeans. His favourite combo. “I thought I might find you here.”

You hastily rip off your face mask, cheeks turning red at your disheveled appearance compare to his flawless one. “Hey! Um, yeah haha guess I’m pretty predictable!”

You almost cringe at your awkwardness. Jimin only smiles gently, eyes looking past you into the room.

“Are you busy?”

“Um… no! Not really. Just relaxing after my shift, Joy’s here too, you know her, right?”

Jimin acknowledges her with a nod. “Actually, I kind of ran into senior management just now, and they asked me if you were still in the park. I think they want to see you and it seemed kind of urgent, so I came over to see if you were here.”

A slight tinge of disappointment makes itself known in your chest. So Jimin didn’t come here to look for you, he only came because senior management asked him to.

“They- they want to see me? I didn’t get any email from them though…” you pull out your phone and check it, only to realise it’s out of battery. “Oh. No wonder. Um… sure. I’ll go see them right now. Thanks for letting me know.”

You start to slip past him, but he catches your arm halfway.

“I’ll walk with you, if you don’t mind,” he says with a shy little smile, flipping his hair off his forehead with one hand.

“You sure? I don’t want to hold you up… you must be tired.” Both of you start to stroll toward the head offices.

Jimin smiles companionably, taking a deep breath of the crisp, cold air. “I’m okay. Not that tired. It’s a really fun job, and seeing the crowd gives me energy. So I always end the day with more energy than I started it with.”

You can kind of relate to what he’s referring to, and for the first time you realise how important it is to receive so much love and attention from your audience. “Yeah, totally. It’s like a two-way dialogue. You give the audience your all, and they give it back to you tenfold.”

“Exactly!” He grins at you with a little skip in his step. “You’ve been killing it lately. I heard you’re going super viral on Youtube. The first video of you and Gaston has, what- five million views?”

“Oh, yeah… it’s crazy. I have no idea how that happened,” you blush a little under his intense gaze, focusing on the path in front of you instead.

“I know how it happened, your acting skills are amazing,” Jimin says with a shrug, saying it as if it’s obvious. “Watching you makes me feel like you were born to act. When you’re acting, you just steal the spotlight even if there isn’t a stage. I think you should give yourself more credit.”

He turns to you with a sweet smile, eyes warm. It almost makes you stumble over a non-existent rock.

“Thankfully neither you nor the crowd are mind readers, because I was doubting myself like crazy that day,” you attempt to laugh it off, but your confession only makes Jimin even more curious, his hand brushing against yours. You ignore the hitch in your voice. “It was more like tiny little questions. ‘Like is this okay? Am I doing a good job? Was that too mean? Do they hate me?’ ”

“Wow- that’s… I couldn’t tell at all,” Jimin admits. “From the outside you just looked like you were born to be there. You looked so confident and comfortable in your own skin, and… it was attractive.”

Your heart skips multiple beats as you shakily bring yourself to make eye contact with him. Jimin is still looking at you, and the words are left unsaid between the two of you, but his gaze makes it loud and clear.

I was attracted to you.

You’re saved from a response as you approach the head office. Thinking he’d probably do the normal thing and leave now, you turn to say goodbye to him, but Jimin follows you into the office.

“I can stay a little. Don’t have anything after this anyway,” he says with an easy smile, and part of you is glad, because you’re nervous at the thought of meeting with senior management.

Though you’ll have to go in alone, the thought of Jimin waiting outside for you makes you a little less anxious.

“Good evening, _________,” the head of Character Management, Kim Sejeong greets you.

It’s strange to be meeting with management so often, the last time being when you got promoted. But this time, the rest of the management is also in the room, sitting on either side of a long table, looking important and intimidating.

“Hi- Good evening, I believe you wanted to see me?” Your voice comes out small, and you hate it.

“Yes, we have some very great news for you,” Kim Sejeong smiles tightly as she ushers you to a seat at the end of the table. “I’ll let our director of HR deliver it himself.”

His nameplate reads Jung Hoseok. He clears his throat, adjusting his tie as he smiles at you. “Congratulations, ________. You’ve been made employee of the month.”

There’s a stunned silence for a moment as you digest the news. Finally, you bring yourself to utter a response. “Um… I… wow, this is amazing, I had no idea… Thank you so much, Mr Jung.”

Jung Hoseok laces his fingers together, smiling again as he looks at the other members of the senior management. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that we’ve definitely noticed how you are shining in your new assignment. We’ve taken note that you’ve gone viral, and we estimate that park visitation numbers have gone up by 5% ever since you were promoted. You’ve brought very good publicity for our park, and we think you deserve this title.”

“In fact, we decided to modify the title slightly, you’re now employee of the month for the next three months. Of course, we’ll be announcing your title in the official staff newsletter later this month, but we just thought you’d like to know in advance,” Sejeong interjects smoothly.

This has to be a dream. Some cruel nightmare where everything is ripped away from you at the very last second. There’s no way something this good can happen to you… is there?

“It’s not just a title,” Jung Hoseok corrects himself. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the Employee of the Month is also rewarded with a small voucher. But since this is Employee of the Month for the next three months, we thought the prize should be similarly inflated.”

You glance at Sejeong expectantly, not daring to get your hopes up. What could it be? Cash? A month off work? A bonus?

“Two pairs of VIP tickets to Disneyland, redeemable at any time with no expiry,” Jung Hoseok grins as if he thinks he’s awarding you the Nobel Peace Prize. “And, a free night’s stay at the Disneyland hotel, two rooms inclusive.”

You’ve never really been a fan of Disneyland and its hotels, but this is slightly ridiculous. The reward for doing well at work is… getting to spend more time at work? You supposed you can always sell the tickets or something… you just have to find a way to be discreet about it.

You realise that a longer than socially acceptable amount of time has passed in which you’ve just been staring at senior management, and you clear your throat, mentally slapping yourself out of your stupor.

“Thank you, Mr Jung. I truly… truly appreciate this, it’s such an honour,” you force the words out alone with a stiff smile on your face.

Jung Hoseok seems satisfied with your gratitude. “Thank you, Ms______. Please keep up the good work. Well, that’s all we have for you today, unless there’s anything on your side, Sejeong?”

“Nope, nothing from me,” Sejeong shakes her head. “You may go now.”

You thank them one more time before letting yourself out of the room, still trying to process everything. Jimin sees the slightly overwhelmed look on your face, and he immediately meets you at your side, arm around your shoulder to guide you to the door.

“You okay? It wasn’t bad news, right?” He asks, worried.

“No… no it wasn’t. Quite the opposite, actually,” you say still in a daze. “I was awarded Employee of the Month. For the next three months.”

“Oh my god. That’s amazing! You totally deserve it!” Jimin expresses his joy with his entire body, skipping ahead of you a few paces and even doing a spin, giggling in that cute way of his.

“It is,” you smile, genuinely happy now. “But get this, guess what was the reward.”

“A 13th month bonus?” Jimin guesses excitedly, his eyes bright.

“Two pairs of VIP tickets to Disneyland. And two hotel rooms, one night stay,” you say in a deadpan manner. “I know, right? How stingy. Employees already get a 20% discounted rate off everything, and yet…”

“You could always sell them. Or, I mean… take the chance to just be a normal person at Disney. I guess that’s easier said than done, with all the things that we’ve seen as cast members…” Jimin bites his lip in a way that highlights how plush they are.

“A normal person at Disney?” You’re intrigued by the idea as the two of you start to walk back towards the cast member’s dressing rooms. “I’ve never really thought of that before. I mean, this is our workplace, so I don’t think I could ever think of it as a place to have fun.”

“I could show you, i-if you wanted,” Jimin stumbles over his words, and you can see a slight blush on his cheeks as his smile rounds them out gently. “I think it’d be fun. To just forget what we’re really here for and enjoy the park as Walt Disney himself intended it.”

From anyone else, those words would have rubbed you the wrong way. But coming from Park Jimin, it’s genuine because you can tell he really believes that this park was meant to bring joy to people.

And after all, spending a day with Park Jimin in Disney doesn’t sound all that bad. Especially when you think of the hotel room waiting for you after.

“I think it’s a deal,” you grin at him, a fluttering in your stomach when you see his face light up.

*

“Oh my god. Please,” Jeongguk begs, practically on his knees in front of you. “I’d kill to stay in a Disney hotel just once. And besides, this would be great for my channel!”

“You have a channel?” You frown at him. This is news.

“I recently just started one! It’s mainly gaming for now, but I thought of branching out into vlogging too! And what better place to vlog than Disney itself?” Jeongguk grins and stretches his arms, spinning in the small dressing room and nearly knocking Yoongi off his feet.

The older man glares as he shields his Americano with his body. “Count me out. Spending more time in this place is the last thing I want.”

You sigh under your breath. “Me too, bud.”

“C’mon, you have three tickets! Just give one to me, and Tae and Joy can take the other two! It’s perfect!” Jeongguk folds his arms petulantly, as if he can’t believe you haven’t done the math. “We can do the ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’ and then crash in the hotel room at night. It’ll be like old times again, just way fancier!”

“We can just sneak Yoongi hyung in for the ‘crash at hotel’ part,” Taehyung chimes in. “We’ll get snacks and alcohol and shit. It’ll be great!”

“Um… well, about that…” you shift your weight from foot to foot. “I… kind of only have two tickets left.”

“What? Where’d the last one go?” Jeongguk immediately questions this unexpected wrench in his well laid plans.

This catches Yoongi’s attention too, and he stops scrolling on his phone to fix his eyes on you. Eyebrow raised, as if he can tell what you’re going to say next.

“I don’t think you have any other friends than us,” Jeongguk is thinking hard, and you punch him in the shoulder just for that comment.

“It’s Park Jimin, that’s who,” Joy pipes up from the corner as she’s examining her skin for any breakouts.

Jeongguk frowns. “Wait. Prince Eric? He’s your friend? You guys are close?”

Yoongi snorts at that naïve response. “Dude, she has the biggest boner for him. Everyone in the crew knows that. Well, except for you and him, I guess.”

“Shut up, everyone does not know that!” You throw a cushion at Yoongi, but he raises an arm to deflect it, unbothered as always. “I’m gonna put salt in your Americano tomorrow.”

“Two slots and three people, that’s gonna be interesting,” Yoongi says, going back to his phone.

“Well, I volunteer Tae as tribute. He’s the only one whose shift doesn’t match ours for the next month,” Joy shoots you a quick glance as she says this, and you understand what she’s getting at immediately.

If it’s just you, Jimin and the two brats, you’ll be spending the whole day taking care of them like they’re your overgrown children. But with Joy along, hopefully she can distract Jeongguk long enough for you and Jimin to have some time together, and hopefully even hit the end goal of-

“Oh, right…” Taehyung says with slumped shoulders. “Who plans the shifts anyway? Why’d I have to be left out this time?”

Feeling a little guilty for all the unspoken planning going on between you and Joy, you ruffle Taehyung’s hair fondly. “Hey. You can still join us at night. We’ll just sneak you guys all in.”

You almost regret the words coming out of your mouth the moment you say it, because Joy shoots you an ‘are you sure about this’ look. You return her look with a shrug. As much as you want Jimin, it doesn’t feel right to exclude your friends like this, friends who have been like a family to you.

You’ll just have to find a way to get Jimin alone, because this is your best chance.

*

“Hey everyone! What’s up guys, today we’re doing a ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’!! Woohoo!” Jeongguk’s boisterous voice attracts the attention of a few other people around him.

He holds out his vlogging camera further to capture the rest of the party. Joy is walking beside him, doing a great job of being the physical buffer between Jeongguk, you and Jimin. She waves half-heartedly, more concerned with shielding herself from the merciless sun with her sunhat and making sure Jeongguk doesn’t crash into anything while mindlessly vlogging.

You’re a few paces away with Jimin, matching your pace to his and already feeling the exhilaration of the day ahead. Even just walking beside him is enough to get your heart racing. Today he’s dressed up slightly more, in a white button-down shirt with cut-off khaki shorts that show off his muscled thighs. To complete the look, his black hair is parted in the middle, showing off his forehead, black sunglasses hung on the vee of his white button down shirt.

“Did I miss the memo or something?” Jimin turns to you with an amused smile on his lips. They look soft, pink and even a little glossy, as if he’d taken the time to apply some tinted lip balm. “Eat everything at Disney Challenge?”

“Don’t worry, I missed it too. If I’d known, I would have worn something a lot looser than this,” you gesture down at yourself. If only Jimin knew that you had spent hours agonizing over your outfit last night, panic calling Joy for help and realizing that you have absolutely zero date worthy clothes in your closet.

It figures because the last time you went out for something other than work and auditions and grocery shopping was never.

Finally, you’d settled on a yellow plaid dress with thin straps to fight off the summer heat, and sneakers to make walking a little easier.

“You look great though,” Jimin says boldly, biting his lower lip. “How about this: he’s here for the all you can eat challenge. We’re here on a date.”

The words make your stomach flutter dangerously, as if you’re on Space Mountain just before the big drop. There’s something slightly different about Jimin today, he’s a sassier, more flirty version of himself, and it only makes you wish you could have come alone with him even more.

*

No more shy smiles or cute grins today, Park Jimin is going all out in his flirting. He’s going to get the girl today, Jeon Jeongguk be damned.

The four of you stop at a churro stand, and Jeongguk announces to the camera that it’s the first stop of the day.

Jimin’s never been one for the sugary treat, but he spies an opportunity as Jeongguk begins to scarf down his churro on camera, getting sugar all over his shirt.

“Hi, can I have one pineapple churro please?” He asks before turning to you. “Share one with me?”

“Sure,” you shrug as Jeongguk approaches the two of you, his original flavour churro already gone.

“What’d you guys get?” Jeongguk squeezes himself in between you and Jimin. “Oh. Pineapple? I didn’t know they had that flavour.”

Jimin hands over some cash to the vendor and takes the still warm, yellow churro dusted in bright yellow sugar. “They have all different kinds of flavours, look.” He points to the menu board on top of the booth. “Hey, you know what’d be cool Jeongguk?”

“Hmm?” Jeongguk turns to him with a questioning look in his eyes.

“You should try all the different flavoured churros, it’d be a really cool addition to the vlog!”

Jeongguk lights up at the suggestion. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He turns to the vendor and points at the menu. “Can I have one in every flavour? Oh, and employee discount please.”

“Sure, but we’re fresh out of churros and it’ll take about fifteen minutes to make the next batch, would you be okay with waiting, sir?”

Jimin discreetly tugs at your hand and pulls you away with him while Jeongguk haggles with the vendor about the waiting time, too preoccupied to even notice the two of you.

A safe distance away, Jimin grins as he glances you up and down as if he suddenly realized something. “Here. Take this.”

He shoves the churro at you, and you take it from him, brows knitted in confusion.

“It matches your outfit, and you look really cute. I wanna take a picture of you,” Jimin explains with a giggle as he takes his phone out of his pocket, positioning you so that the Magic Castle is directly behind you. “One, two three…”

You make him laugh in his signature way, with his entire body, when you pretend to play the churro like a flute. He snaps a few more pictures with a satisfied smile on his face, and you drop the pose, walking over to him to check the picture and half hoping you don’t look horrible.

“So pretty, see,” Jimin shows you a candid of you laughing at him laughing, and you realise it’s the happiest you’ve seen yourself lately. His proximity as he shows you the other pictures makes your heart race, and you almost don’t want to move away.

To cover up your fluttering nerves, you take a bite of the churro, feeling the sugar melt on your tongue, and the tangy taste of pineapple spread across your tastebuds.

“Good?” Jimin asks, putting his phone away, casually letting his arm skim past your waist as he tucks it into his pocket. “Lemme try?”

Before you can offer your end of the churro to him, he closes one hand around your wrist and lifts the other end of the churro to his lips, taking a bite of it. The sugar dusts his plush lips, and he maintains direct eye contact with you as he chews, his smoldering eyes such a contrast with the cute bulge of his cheek full of churro.

The slight height difference means the churro is tilted in between the two of you, and your end of the churro remains slightly out of your reach. Feeling as if his eyes are daring you to, you lean forward slightly and take a bite from your side while he takes another bite from his end.

God damn if this isn’t the most romantic thing you’ve ever done. You’d thought these things only happen in movies. Feeling your cheeks heat up from his stare, you break away first and brush some sugar off your chin.

“It’s really good,” Jimin comments, licking his lips to get every bit of sugar. “Tastes just like the Dole Whip. Pineapple’s really good for you too.”

“It is?” You ask before you can fully comprehend what he’s said, mind already addled by his close proximity and how outrageously cheesy he’s being. You see a stray granule of sugar on his bottom lip, and without thinking, brush it away with your thumb.

Jimin pairs his answer with another bite of the pineapple churro, a slight smirk on his lips as he chews. “Yeah, it tastes good, and it makes you taste good too.”

You understand his double entendre immediately and wonder where the hell this side of Park Jimin was all along. A moment ago, everything was straight out of a rom-com movie, and a second later he’s looking at you like you’re the lead actors of Fifty Shades.

“Hey guys, I got it!” Jeongguk bounds over with his two fists full of churros, his camera balanced dangerously in the crook of his elbow. Joy trails behind with a slightly apologetic look on her face at not being able to successfully keep him busy. “Guys, can you film me? I’m gonna try to break the world record for eating churros the fastest.”

You oblige, stepping away from Jimin to rescue the camera from Jeongguk. “There’s such a record? What’s the time to beat?”

“Dunno,” Jeongguk shrugs, his eyes already focused on the multi-coloured churros in his hands. There’s pineapple, plum, green apple, strawberry and blue raspberry. “I’ll make one if there isn’t.”

“Don’t choke, Kook,” you caution him, taking out a bottle of water from your bag just in case, and position him in the camera frame. “Three… two… one… action!”

Jimin looks over your shoulder at the camera’s viewfinder as Jeongguk begins to scoff down the churros at record speed. In the blink of an eye, he’s already downed three, and he shoves the last two in his mouth at the same time, chewing furiously as if he’s eating two Pocky sticks at the same time.

“And… time!” You call out, figuring he can just add in the timer below later in post editing. You keep recording though, and hand him the bottle of water with your free hand.

Jeongguk looks satisfied with himself, though his eyes land on how close Jimin is standing behind you as he chugs the water. With a petulant pout, he lowers the bottle from his lips.

“Do I have sugar on my mouth?” He asks you, looking at your face rather than at the camera.

“Yes, yes you do,” you say with a laugh. “It’s all over your face and chin.”

“Wipe it for me?” Jeongguk asks with a shameless grin, glancing at the way Jimin’s expression tightens. “I can’t see where it is.”

There’s a brief pause as you hesitate, and then you pull a pack of tissues out of your pocket, tossing them at him. “Here. Use these.”

Jimin’s laughter sounds angelic to you, but it grates on Jeongguk’s ears.

*

“Hey, can you walk ahead of me?” Jeongguk turns to you with his camera still focused in front of him. “I wanna do a ‘follow me’ shot. And I need a model.”

“I’ll do it!” Joy chimes in enthusiastically, although you can obviously tell how forced it is judging from the smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. The heat is definitely taking a toll on her. You owe her a huge debt after this.

But Jeongguk frowns a little. “Hmmm, can ______ do it instead?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Joy crosses her arms defensively.

“Have you seen the way you walk?” Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “You’re like a drunk elephant.”

Joy’s eyes widen in outrage and you can tell this is about to turn into an argument between your two best friends. Before she can say anything, however, Jimin cuts in.

“I’ll do it,” he says, pushing back his black hair from his forehead.

Relieved, you chime in. “Y-yes! Jimin walks really well. You should see the way he walks down Main Street when he’s Prince Eric. He turns the whole place into his private runway!”

Jimin shoots you a fond little smile, glowing from your compliment and you feel Jeongguk’s eyes tracking this tiny moment between you.

“What do I have to do?” Jimin asks, already walking in front of Jeongguk.

“But… ‘follow me’ shots are usually done by a girl because they get more viewers,” Jeongguk protests weakly, especially when Jimin appears in the viewfinder of his camera. “And… and we have to hold hands.”

“You have no idea how handsome I am from the back,” Jimin smirks, running a hand through his hair again. “I’ll get you way more views than Joy and ______ ever could.”

“God damn. That confidence is so hot,” Joy whispers beside you, watching the two men squabble over having to hold hands, and then finally settle for no hand holding.

You don’t doubt he could get way more views than you or Joy, especially with the little smirk he shoots the camera over his shoulder as he starts to walk toward the Magic Castle. Jeongguk follows while filming, leaving the two of you behind for a moment.

“You know what’s hotter?” Your eyes don’t leave him for a second. “That ass.”

Joy giggles in tandem with you for a second before she stops with sudden realization. “Oh my god. I just realised something. I hope the walls between the hotel rooms are soundproof.”

*

“And… here’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen today…” Jeongguk suddenly turns the camera on you as you pick at your candy floss. “We’re waiting to go on the carousel!”

Suddenly camera shy, you hide behind the giant pink cloud. “What’s with you? Why are you complimenting me?”

“Because it’s true,” Jeongguk shrugs, one hand reaching out to move your cotton candy away from your face so that he can see you.

But his view is suddenly rudely interrupted by Jimin who sticks his face right in front of the camera. Jeongguk jumps back in slightly shock, a scowl etched across his features as Jimin blocks you entirely.

“How about me? Aren’t I the cutest guy you’ve ever seen?” Jimin checks himself out in the camera lens, and you have to stop yourself from agreeing. He fluffs up his silky black hair, taking the sunglasses that hang in the vee of his shirt and putting them on.

Jimin continues to check himself out in the camera’s viewfinder, and you laugh at him, watching him smooth his hair and lick his lips, and suddenly you find yourself envying the viewers of Jeongguk’s channel. That is, if Jeongguk decides to even let this make it into the vlog in the first place.

Jeongguk is making noises of disgust, trying to get Jimin out of frame, and the two of them are squabbling like little kids.

Jeongguk passes the camera to you. “Hey, film me.”

He grabs a piece of popcorn and tosses it into the air, trying to catch it with his mouth. Joy giggles when he fails, and Jimin snorts with laughter at his reattempts.

“C’mon, that’s easy,” Jimin says as he grabs popcorn from Jeongguk, and you turn to focus the camera on him instead. Jimin tosses it into the air and catches it easily, shooting the camera a little smirk.

“I’ll do it again,” Jimin says, grabbing another piece of popcorn and tossing it in the air. It lands in his mouth effortlessly, and the way he looks at you while chewing makes your mouth go dry.

“One more, and if I succeed…” his voice trails off so that you have to strain to hear him over all the background noise of the park. “You have to ride me tonight.”

Then he throws it into the air and catches it with his mouth, and your heart skips a beat when he catches your eye after.

“Um, what?? I’ll have to ride… what?” You feel like that piece of popcorn has gone down your throat instead, from the way you’re stuttering.

“You’ll have to ride with me,” Jimin says with a wink, nodding at the carousel. “What did you think I said?”

You’re saved from replying when the gates in front of you open, signalling the next batch of carousel riders.

Joy tugs you along, unaffected by what just went down whatsoever. Her only aim is to choose the prettiest unicorn so she can take millions of selfies, and you follow her, not realizing that Jeongguk isn’t behind you. By the time you do realise, you’re already standing beside a white pony with a pink mane and tail just behind Joy.

“You go ahead, I wanna film the carousel from here,” Jeongguk focuses on getting the perfect frame on his camera. Jimin glances over his shoulder and realizes that it’s focused on you, following you as you go from pony to pony, laughing and giggling with your cotton candy still in hand.

He narrows his eyes in suspicion. “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’? Why are you filming ______ like, exclusively?”

“Because I wanna eat her, that’s why,” Jeongguk mumbles under his breath, and Jimin nearly explodes.

“What did you just say man?” He’s ready to grab Jeongguk by the collar for referring to you in such a crude manner.

“Calm down dude, it was just a joke,” Jeongguk’s eyes widen in fear. “I say stupid things sometimes without thinking! You know I’d never treat _____ like that. She’s like one of my best friends! I can’t help if I’m attracted to her like that!”

“Kook? What are you doing? Get over here!” You gesture at him and Jimin, who are still in the queue even though there are more than enough spaces on the carousel.

You notice the two of them having a seemingly intense conversation, at the end of which Jimin backs down and shoves his way through the gate, with a hard set to his jaw as he approaches the horse you’re about to ride. But by the time he’s on the carousel itself, the annoyance has vanished off his face.

“You should ride on this one instead,” Jimin gestures to a horse on the inside of the carousel. “Switch with me.”

You were just about to get on the horse, but at his insistence, switch to riding the one on the inside instead. Jimin stands just behind you, making sure you’re securely on the horse before he climbs up on the one next to you.

He glances at Jeongguk still in the queue trying to get a shot of you on the carousel, but he purposely angles his body so that he’s blocking you entirely. Especially when he sees your exposed thigh when your dress rides up from your position on the horse. Jimin doesn’t want anyone but him to be privy to this view, that’s for sure.

The ride slowly creaks to a start, and the whimsical music starts up. Now that the sun has gone down, the glow of the carousel lights casts a magical tinge over everything, and when Jimin looks over at you, he isn’t ready for the surge of butterflies.

*

The four of you make it to the hotel to check-in, half exhausted and just wanting to collapse onto cool sheets for a while before coming up with a plan to sneak in Yoongi and Tae, who insisted on bringing the snacks and alcohol so that they wouldn’t be left out.

“Here you go, two rooms, across the hallway from each other. 503 and 504,” the hotel clerk smiles at you, and you thank her, grabbing the keys and joining the other three in front of the elevators.

“Fifth floor,” you mumble to no one in particular as the four of you enter the lift. Joy reaches out to punch in the correct number, while Jimin boldly wraps an arm around your waist and you press your cheek into his chest.

“Why’s Kook sulking?” You refer to Jeongguk who’s been silent ever since you got off the carousel ride, looking through shots on his camera with a sullen look on his face.

“His blood sugar is low, he needs some snacks probably,” Joy says, stifling a yawn herself. “God, I can’t believe it’s only 9pm and we’re dying to go to bed. When did we become boring ass adults?”

“Ever since we got jobs and started paying bills,” your voice is muffled by Jimin’s shirt.

The elevator dings and you stumble out, navigating the lush hallways lined with red carpeting to find the correct unit number. You stop in front of 503 and tap the key card to the sensor, tossing the other one to Joy who opens the opposite room.

The sight of the neat, luxurious hotel rooms perks even Jeongguk up, as you dump your stuff and throw yourselves onto the soft beds.

“Oh god. Who was the one who suggested The Spinning Teacups? I hate you so much right now,” you mumble into a pillow, all your energy sapped up.

“Jeongguk did,” Jimin helpfully supplements your memory even as you feel the bed dip slightly beside you.

All of a sudden, you are painfully aware that the two of you are alone in the room together… the door is locked securely and there’s no one, not even Mr Walt Disney himself, who could interrupt your moment now. You turn to see Jimin flat on his back beside you, eyes closed and hair brushed away from his face. The outline of his sharp jawline leads you down to his Adam’s apple, then further down into the v of his shirt that exposes his chest…

He catches you looking with a playful smirk on his plush lips, turning onto his side so that he can regard you better.

“I waited all day for this…” Jimin whispers in a low sultry tone as his eyes undress you, and he sits up, running his fingers through his hair. “Remember what I said about riding me?”

You can only gape at him for a moment, before you reach out to smack his chest. “Oh my god, I knew I heard that! You made me feel like such a pervert!”

Jimin laughs, reaching across the bed to pull you into his lap so that you are indeed straddling him. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

You forget about how sweaty you feel when Jimin pulls you down for a kiss, and you finally taste those plush lips of his that you’d been dreaming of forever. You feel as if all of this is a dream, only it can’t be because the sensation of his warm body beneath yours is all too real, his tongue begging for entrance is making all of your fantasies come true and-

Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong!!!

The doorbell rings persistently and doesn’t stop. Such an obnoxious act can only be the work of one person. Sighing, you extricate yourself from Jimin’s grasp with one last kiss to his bottom lip and go to check who’s outside in the doorhole.

But all you see is darkness.

“What are you guys doing in there! Come out! Yoongi and Tae are here!” Jeongguk’s voice sounds from outside, and you can only surmise that he’s covered the door hole with his hand. Real mature.

Sighing, you turn back to Jimin still on the bed. Inside here is Jimin with his cute smile and sinful promises of the night to come, and out there is… Jeon Jeongguk with a penchant of cock blocking you at every turn he gets.

“We should join them for a bit. Then sneak away if we can.” Jimin sighs when the doorbell continues ringing, twitching an eyebrow in annoyance. “Or else he’ll never leave us alone. We need a game plan.”

Jimin turns to rummage through his bag for some comfy clothes to change into, and you do the same, only retreating into the bathroom to try and freshen up a little first. Five minutes later you emerge, dressed in comfy sweats as you open the door, only to stop the incessant ringing of the doorbell.

“Kook, you’re disturbing the neighbours,” you chide him gently, pushing him towards the other hotel room as Jimin emerges behind you in an oversized black hoodie and shorts.

It seems like the party already started without you, chip bags open and strewn everywhere, beer cans crushed and strewn around. You plop yourself down on a pillow and reach for some Doritos, moaning as the salty, cheesy goodness hits your tongue and you feel renergised.

Yoongi comes in bearing pizza, and for a moment no one speaks as you all hungrily devour the food.

“So Kook, did you manage to finish your ‘Eat Everything at Disney Challenge’?” Taehyung asks with a hopeful grin, for he’d contributed to the idea himself.

“Obviously not, or else he wouldn’t be stuffing himself right now,” Joy says through a mouthful of pizza, chasing it down with a gulp of soda. “He started off strong with the churros, but I think he kinda got sidetracked along the way…”

“Oh,” Taehyung says, not really looking all that disappointed. “Bro, there’s always next time! I told you, you need me!”

Yoongi settles back with a can of beer, looking as though the day has thoroughly worn him out. “So, how’d you losers like Disney? As visitors, not as cast members.”

“Eh, was okay I guess,” Jeongguk picks at a piece of pineapple on his slice. “Vlog turned out slightly different than I wanted it to.”

“Too hot,” Joy complains, before realizing her mistake. Her eyes widen as Taehyung tosses an empty crushed beer can at her.

“Try an entire afternoon in costume!” Taehyung says indignantly, before bursting into laughter.

While they bicker back and forth, Jimin nudges your knee with his, and mouths the words ‘game plan’. Your eyes dart around the mess in front of you, then at each of your friends.

Jeongguk is stuffing himself with the rest of the pizza, and if you know anything about him is that he goes out like a light after meals. Yoongi is already more than half asleep, Tae and Joy are distracting each other. Now’s the perfect time.

You start to stand up slowly, making your way to the door to let yourself out quietly. You don’t dare to turn and see if Jimin is following behind you, all you can do is keep going straight without making any more noise…

“_______? Where are you going?”

Shit.

Jeongguk’s sleepy voice interrupts you, and you turn around, a hesitant smile on your face. You see that Jimin is still seated in the circle, and you root around in your head for an excuse.

“Just- just gonna get more beer, we’re already out!” You say, and Jeongguk seems to accept this as he shifts his position to lie his head on Jimin’s lap instead. “Hyung- can I call you that? Hyung, lend me your lap for a while. You’re comfy.”

Ignoring Jimin’s silent protests for help, you let yourself out of the room, breathing a sigh of relief once the door closes behind you. You let yourself into the other room with the spare keycard in your pocket, thanking the heavens that you decided to ask for an extra card at reception just now. The original one is with Jimin, if and when he manages to extricate himself from Jeongguk’s grasp…

You sigh and slide under the soft, warm sheets, deciding that you might as well take a nap while waiting for Jimin.

*

Beep-beep….

The sound of a key-card being scanned stirs you from sleep, and you crack open an eye, but all you’re met with is the darkness of your hotel room. Then there’s a weight on the bed beside you, and Jimin’s soft voice.

“Did you fall asleep?”

“No, no I-“ the sleep in your voice betrays you, though, and you sit up hastily, taking in Jimin’s ruffled appearance; hair messy and cheeks slightly red. “What time is it?”

“Just past 2am,” Jimin rubs a hand down his face, reaching for a bottle of water on the bedside. “We were deep into some drinking game before I managed to escape. They’re all passed out in the other room.”

Jimin tilts the bottle and drinks deeply as if to chase away the sleepiness. He replaces the bottle on the bedside and moves to take off his hoodie, revealing the thin black shirt underneath. Unable to stop yourself, you push yourself into a sitting position, grabbing his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss, continuing from where you left off earlier.

You can taste the remnants of beer on his tongue, his hands slide around your waist to feel your soft curves, pull you closer to him so that you feel the hardness of his abs and the heat of his body.

“Finally,” he groans, trailing his kisses down your neck. “Fucking finally. This was all I could think about when we were playing 7 Up.”

His hands slide down to lift your shirt over your head, his lips marking the top of one breast as he works at the clasp of your bra. Jimin’s roughness is welcome as he sucks purple and blue into your skin, tossing away your bra like it’s nothing.

“You had the nerve to fall asleep while I was stuck entertaining your friends?” Jimin emphasizes this with a particularly harsh suck on your nipple, his fingers twisting the other one and your thighs clench together, trying to seek some sort of friction. His palm gropes your breasts, squeezing it roughly as he marks the other with his teeth and tongue.

“Shi-t I’m sorry!” You squeak out, but this side of Jimin you’ve never seen before is so fucking hot, and you can feel yourself already craving his touch on your body, inside you, and just everywhere.

His anger translates itself into his actions as he pulls down your sweatpants with a yank, but his fingers are always gentle on your skin as he travels up your inner thighs, traces across your sensitive lower lips. He witnesses how soaked your underwear is, pulling it away from you as he settles himself in between your thighs.

One flick of his tongue sends your thighs trembling, and he concentrates all his efforts on your clit, his fingers digging into your soft flesh in an attempt to keep your legs spread for him. Two fingers spread you for his viewing pleasure, he eats you like a man starved, not caring if your juice smear on his chin or cheeks.

When his fingers start to tease at your entrance, you buck your hips in a silent plea for more, and Jimin obliges you by sliding in one finger. Even though you’ve pleasured yourself in the past, it doesn’t compare to the feeling of him filling you up with his fingers, stretching you out and watching how well you take him.

One thumb is still rubbing circles around your clit, fingers stroking that special spot inside you as he coaxes you to cum all over him. Finally, Jimin goes in for the kill, replacing his thumb with his lips wrapped around your clit, and sucking until you see stars and your thighs are wrapped tight around his head.

You are panting and out of breath when your muscles loosen up, and Jimin is licking his lips, staring at your cunt. Without giving yourself time to get shy, you move to straddle him, ripping his shirt off in a hunger to feel his chest and abs, grinding against him.

“Fuck, are you really going to ride me like this?” Jimin has his hands around your waist as your tongue swirls in the shell of his ear, feeling your wet cunt grind against his abs. He lets you get a fill of his rock hard muscles for a few more seconds before aligning you where he really wants it, just over the bulge in his sweatpants.

“A bet’s a bet, right?” You reach down to pull the waistband of his sweatpants lower, bringing his underwear with it.  You can already see the red tip of his cock, hard and angry and weeping with precum.

You grasp him with your mouth watering at the thought of swallowing his thick cock down your throat, but that will have to wait because you think you might die if you don’t feel him inside you this very instant.

“You know, I always look at your ass in your Prince Eric costume when you walk past the Wishing Well,” you admit to him, stroking his cock a few times and relishing the deep groans from Jimin.

“Sounds like you have a kink for Princes. Maybe I should fuck you while wearing my Prince outfit?”

“Bonus points if we can roleplay. You can save me from this big, towering castle, and when you climb all the way up I’ll thank you by sucking your huge-“ You’re unable to finish the sentence, bursting out into giggles only to be met with a puzzled look from Jimin.

“Wait, you weren’t being serious? I was getting into that!” 

“Only if you call me Queen. And I get to call you a peasant.”

Jimin mock pouts, but then when his cock brushes against your clit, he suddenly remembers that he’s supposed to be punishing you for falling asleep while waiting for him.

He delivers one spank to your ass, causing you to moan as he reaches for the condoms thoughtfully provided by the hotel.

“Ugh, they’re Disney themed,” Jimin groans in distaste as he tosses aside the Mickey Mouse wrapper, unrolling the red and white polka dot condom over himself and swearing even more. “Who the hell would be turned on by this!”

You giggle at his obvious distress over how the condom makes his cock look.

“You’re laughing?” Jimin frowns in disapproval. “I’m here in danger of going soft before I can even fuck you and you’re-“

“Then I’d better help out,” you stifle your laughter as you grip him by the base and sink down onto him, and immediately all thoughts of Mickey Mouse, Disneyland and his cock going soft flee from Jimin’s mind.

All he can think of is the feeling of your warm cunt surrounding him, how tight you are as you take him all the way. You alternate between bouncing on top of him and grinding your hips in circles when you want more depth. Your thighs are burning, but you promised you’d ride Jimin till he cums.

When your pace slows down just a smidge, Jimin bends his thighs under you and meets you halfway for a while, before finally wrapping his arms around your waist so that your upper body is pressed tightly to his. Then you feel him pound into you, using his lower body strength to keep up the pace.

Although you’re on top, he seems to be doing most of the work, and the most you can do is to tighten around him. You can feel his grasp tight around your waist as his breaths quicken against your skin.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” Jimin is clearly trying to hold himself back, but you gather the last of your strength and start bouncing on him, trying to push him over the edge. A few more squeezes of your core around him and Jimin is groaning, gripping your waist as he thrusts up into you and spills into the condom.

A few brushes of his thumb around your clit is all it takes for you to follow him over the edge, collapsing against his chest in exhaustion as you both come down from your high.

Jimin goes soft and slips out of you, and he rolls you to the side so that he can take off the used condom. He grimaces as he ties the end and tosses it into the trash. “Never a-fucking-gain.”

“Does that mean we aren’t having round two here?” You tease him as he comes back to bed, snuggling deep into the covers with his cold feet pressed against your thigh.

“I think I could maybe deal with that… are there any Donald Duck ones?”

*

“My queen! I brought you a new servant!” A teenage girl excitedly drags her friends towards you, holding a camera up to film your reaction.

More and more of your visitors have been filming you, but you take it all in stride rather than feel pressurized by the thought that this will end up on Youtube. You pretend to check yourself out in the camera’s front view for a moment before noticing her and her friends.

“My new servant? Well everyone’s a servant, what are you talking about?” You glance dismissively at the crowd around you, holding up your mirror to catch the sun’s rays. “Well, if you’re my servant, you may bow.”

The girls giggle as they attempt to curtsy.

“That was terrible,” you swirl your cape in response. “It needs work. Now off with you!”

You turn and begin to stroll in the direction of the Magic Castle, aware that your little entourage is following you. Children are running after you and a few of them ask to hold your hand, which you allow graciously.

“Come, come, walk with me. The Wishing Well is filthy, Snow White hasn’t been doing her job lately. Out of my way! Out of our way, peasants!” You proclaim loudly, making everyone aware that you’re currently conducting your own parade.

Your shift is due to end soon, but you can’t resist passing by the Magic Castle just once. If you get the timing right, Jimin should be doing his rounds there while Ariel is stuck inside at in a photo session…

From far away you spot the bright blue jacket of his blazer, his dark black hair glowing in the sun and his pretty smiles as he twirls a child around in his arms. The sight of Park Jimin as Prince Eric nearly makes you want to smile, and you barely manage to keep your smirk of disdain on.

“My Queen, what do you think of Prince Eric? Isn’t he just the dreamiest?” One of your followers sighs from behind you as they catch a glimpse of the Prince. “He would make a great servant!”

“That’s precisely the reason why I came here, to recruit a new servant,” you concede, waving your mirror in the air as you approach Jimin. “I think a poison apple or two should be enough to take care of Princess Ariel, and then he’ll be all mine!”

Your laughter makes Jimin glance up at your approaching entourage, and well-mannered as his character is, he gives you a slight bow.

“Well, to what pleasure do we owe your presence to? Not here to give out any poisoned apples, are we?” Jimin holds a child’s hand as they attempt to hide behind him.

“Not at all… not yet at least,” you smile deviously, gesturing to all the people following you. “Someone here suggested you’d make a good servant… and I came here to see for myself.”

“Ah, I’m afraid I have to politely decline,” Jimin says with a small bow, but you can see the slight smile on his face. “As much as it would be an honour to serve you, my Queen, I’m afraid my allegiance lies elsewhere.”

“Hmmm,” you consider his rejection with a finger on your chin, checking your reflection in your mirror before you answer. “Well, at least he has manners. Which is more than I can say for his other half, that fish girl. I guess he needs to make up for the both of them.”

You can see it takes everything Jimin has not to giggle with his entire body like he usually does. Swirling your cape, you turn around and stride to the nearest exit, waving goodbye to your followers.

A few minutes later, Jimin follows you into one of the dressing rooms already laughing.

“You did it on purpose! I nearly broke character because of you,” Jimin points an accusing finger at you, but his giggles take all the sting out of it. He takes your hand and the two of you start to walk back to your fur character’s dressing room, taking the shortcut through the tunnels so that god forbid, no one in the park sees Prince Eric and The Evil Queen holding hands and giggling together.

In all the fairytales you read as a child, it’s always the Princess who gets her Prince and her happy ending. Never in your wildest dreams would you imagine that something like this would be possible, and yet here you are, walking hand in hand with the Prince of your dreams.

Maybe you don’t have to be a princess to get a happy ending after all.

“I should come by more often, you’re cute when flustered,” you tease him as he opens the door to the dressing room, and you’re thankful that no one can see the silly smile on your face that definitely doesn’t fit the Evil Queen.

“Ugh, get a room,” Yoongi peeks an eye open and closes it immediately at the sight of the two of you.

“This is a room,” you say, and Jimin only reluctantly lets go of your hand to let you take off your makeup.

Yoongi only grumbles and goes back to napping, and the two of you quieten down in the unspoken agreement that a sleepy Yoongi is like a bear that should best be left in hibernation.

You retrieve your phone to check your messages that you missed while being away for the past few hours, only to see that you have five missed calls and three messages all from the same number.

Opening the latest message, your heart skips a few excited beats.

Dear ______,

This is Mr Kim, Casting Manager for Broadway’s Maleficient. I refer to your audition tape sent in a few weeks back, apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I’d like to formally invite you down for an audition at your earliest possible convenience. The directors are all very excited to meet you, especially after watching your audition tape of your current role as The Evil Queen at Disneyland. You’ve become somewhat of an internet sensation, and we would love to have a chance to meet you in person. Please let me know what date works for you, or give me a call any time.

Your hands are shaking. It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room.

“What? What is it?” Jimin asks in concern, peeking over your shoulder to read the text.

Then he lets out a loud whoop that makes Yoongi grunt in annoyance.

“You better not be giving him blowjob right in front of my salad or I’m kicking the two of you out on your naked asses…”

“______ got a fucking Broadway audition! She’s going to BROADWAY!!!!”

Jimin is beside himself with excitement, and you turn to kiss him, not because you want to shut him up (though it does accomplish that too).  

You kiss him because you feel like every happy ending deserves to end with a kiss like this, only then does it count as a happily ever after.

[hafanforever]

Reflections of a Mad Man

In my analysis “Through a Mirror Darkly”, I described how Runeard is a unique Disney main antagonist to be an evil counterpart to not only a heroic character, but to another main antagonist, that being Hans. Between the events that occur in both Frozen and Frozen II, I see that Runeard is arguably a dark reflection to Agnarr, his own son, his granddaughters, Elsa and Anna, and as I said, to Hans, another evil monarch.

Agnarr: 

Both were kings of Arendelle.

Both held a fear of magic, which ultimately caused them to lose their lives.

Both married a woman from a different land with whom they had children.

However, Agnarr was able to look past Elsa’s magic and still love her as his daughter and a person, rather than his heir, along with his other daughter Anna and wife Iduna, both of whom he also genuinely loved. His fear of magic was well-intentioned because Elsa accidentally injured Anna with her ice powers due to having trouble controlling them. Agnarr was also determined to protect his daughters, which he did by separating them, and to help Elsa learn to control her magic to prevent further accidents.

On the other hand, Runeard's fear of magic was entirely self-centered because he viewed it as a threat, but only to himself rather than his servants and subjects. He blamed all of his problems, including those that happened in Arendelle, on magic because he did not want to accept responsibility for these problems and his own misdeeds, and instead took the easy way out by blaming magic since magic cannot defend itself. Additionally, Runeard never even loved Rita and Agnarr and only saw them as assets to his status and Arendelle based on their own royal positions. He forcefully married Rita to create an alliance with her kingdom and increase his power and rank, and became annoyed and impatient when she grew sad over missing her home and yearning for freedom. When Rita left Arendelle for good, Runeard scolded Agnarr for weeping over her absence and lied to him about her being carried off by "evil spirits". He subsequently assigned Lieutenant Mattias to be Agnarr’s official guard so he wouldn’t have to be responsibility for Agnarr’s well-being himself.

Therefore, Runeard serves as a dark example of what Agnarr could have become if his father was much more personally involved in raising him.

His older granddaughter Elsa:

Both are very powerful monarchs who were the sole rulers of Arendelle (Elsa never married, while Rita eventually abandoned Runeard, leaving him as the only ruler of the kingdom).

Both kept big secrets about themselves from their kingdom, which related to their deep-rooted fear of magic.

However, Elsa feared her own magical powers since she believed that she would harm innocent people with them if she lost control, especially the people she loved. Eventually, she overcame her fear and learned to trust herself and others, despite her powers.

On the contrary, Runeard feared magic because he considered it to be a great threat and competition to his royal status and power, and to be something that made people think they were so powerful that they would defy or challenge a monarch like himself. His fear twisted into paranoia, hatred, and bigotry, which clouded and corrupted his judgment over trusting people and giving them a chance if they were magical or had magical ties. Because the Northuldra follow magic, it was that reason alone that Runeard flatly refused to ever give them a chance and believed they could never be trusted.

Therefore, Runeard serves as a dark parallel of what Elsa might have become if she allowed her fear to consume her.

His younger granddaughter Anna:

Both are rulers of Arendelle.

Both lose and/or face a disconnection from a family member due to magic. Runeard’s wife Rita leaves him after having her memories of him erased by Pabbie in order to freely exit their loveless marriage, and Anna is separated from Elsa after accidentally being injured by her, then loses her parents when they drown while trying to cross the Dark Sea to find Ahtohallan.

However, despite their separation, Anna still loved Elsa and yearned to reconnect with her. When Elsa’s powers were revealed, Anna held no spite, fear, or bigotry towards her sister, even for being magical, and instead sought to help her. She is also a very selfless extrovert who loves people, not just her sister and parents, but her servants and the citizens in her kingdom, and is always willing to help them, without holding any kind of prejudice towards those in different social classes.

At the same time, Runeard held a great amount of wrath and prejudice towards magic and anyone with ties to magic, with one of his reasons being because he blamed it for Rita leaving him. This made him instantly distrust people or beings who had anything to do with magic and stubbornly refuse to give them a chance. Since Runeard only cared about himself and the power and social rank his position as king gave him, he looked down on everyone else, especially people of the lower classes, including his servants, family, and the Arendellian citizens. He never truly cared about his wife and son or for the welfare of his people, so any concerns he ever had were only selfishly for himself.

Therefore, Runeard serves as a dark counterpart of what Anna would have become if she gave up on Elsa and learned to develop prejudice and fear towards magic.

Hans: 

Both men are monarchs who are very obsessive, manipulative, ruthless, and cruel, but fool the public by pretending to be kind, charismatic, trustworthy, and benevolent in order to gain the trust and loyalty of people just for their own personal, but selfish, interests and benefits. 

Both are also very power-hungry individuals who only care about about the power they have/crave, and have no qualms about committing treachery and murder to get what they want and protect their power.

Both sneak up on people sitting on the ground and try to murder them with their swords since they view those as standing in the ways of their goals. But while Hans failed to kill Elsa due to Anna’s intervention, Runeard successfully killed the Northuldra leader.

Therefore, Runeard is what Hans could have become if he had successfully murdered both Elsa and Anna and been crowned king of Arendelle.

[sakurapiss]

more!! heartless!! headcanons!!

characters belong to @abd-illustrates

- Flint listens to Dolly Parton (or the heartless world’s equivalent, although the idea that she jut like,, exists in this fantasy realm is delightful)

- Whenever they are in a more urban/commercial area, Alchemy will go on a shopping spree for the rest of the group and will surprise them with the goodies once the group is on the road again (they usually disguise the gifts as little chachkies in a pouch)

- On one of these trips they got Eira a dress and he refused to wear it until Flint said he thought it’d look nice on him in passing. (He wore it to some kind of formal event since he didn’t really bring any clothes but the uniform)

- Dock refuses to remove his mask under any and all circumstances

- Bandy doesn’t really care about the anonymity of the mask, but he’s never really been seen without it. One day he just kinda forgot to wear it and the whole Jury freaked out about actually seeing his face

- After Lorelai’s black swan moment. Lance cracks a joke like,, idk something stupid about it, and Lorelai grabs him by the neck and lifts the Scary Dragon Man twice her weight, and forces him to apologize. They all elected not to fuck with her after that 

- River’s a flautist, Alchemy’s a pianist, and Flint plays guitar

- Alchemy has a tendency to shift into whoever they’re hanging out with

- Heartless and Alchemy are the resident Flexible Bitches™ and like to jokingly try and outdo each other in crazy bendy poses and stuff in their spare time

- River went to the Disney Princess Academy of Having Random Woodland Creatures Adore You 

- Animals also really like Dock and it freaks the shit out of the rest of the Jury when like,, birds n stuff just land on his shoulder because Big Murder Doctor 

- Heartless is a dog person, but he only likes them a little more than cats because most dogs can keep up with him when they play

- Flint is a cat person, River’s one of those people who isn’t partial towards either, a stray cat bit Eira when he was little so he’s a dog person out of spite, Alchemy’s a cat person, Glass is a dog person, and Doppel is a ferret person.

- Alastor pretends to be oblivious towards Lorelai’s weird infatuation with him to get her to stop, but it just results in even more obvious and ridiculous attempts to earn his affection (i.e. “Did you see the flowers i left on your desk?” “You mean the platonic workplace relationship bouquet? Yes, I received them.”)

- Bandy is constantly insulting, complimenting, using pet names, taunting, etc. etc. in French just to keep his opinions and relationships as ambiguous as possible to everyone else

[thatasianstereotype]

Damn, You’re Looking Fine.

To my utter delight, my crack writing Fuck. I’m Gay. got a good reception. I was not expecting to write more for this AU/pairing. But why not? I got some ideas and a computer to write them down on.

So this fic is the took-a-while-to-put-together sequel. It’s focused on the downfall of one certain Liar-la, Damian wooing Adrien with all the flair and romantics as his Chaton deserves, and Adrien being a blushing hot gay mess. 

P.S. Damian’s formal way of talking is an utter pain to write but hilarious to read.

P.S.S. Creative liberties were taken. Again. I just feel this needs to be mentioned. 

.

.

.

So Status Update:

Adrien and Damian are definitely dating (It is totally official. Told you ya boi got game).

Adrien still calls him Hot-And-Sexy from time to time much to his utter mortification (He can’t make himself stop. Please send help). And Dami gets amused by it every single time, that arrogant smug jerk.

Marinette still puts the fear of god in Damian and he is wary of her. She feels very proud about that. Adrien wants to facepalm.

Fuck Gabriel Agreste.  

And Lila Rossi is still a bitch.  

Adrien and Marinette were made aware about Damian’s alter ego —well mostly because he is utterly terrified of Marinette’s seemingly sweet (icy) smile she gave him when she politely asked how he obtained the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous and partly because of Adrien’s pouting kitten eyes. 

They truly were a pair to reckon with. 

.

“I am not sure why the Justice League dismissed your concerns and pleas for assistance. So I am taking the initiative. My name is Damian Wayne, the son of Batman and the current Robin and leader of the Teen Titans.”

He’s a superhero too?! And it’s Robin!!! One of his favorites!! Can you hear him internally squealing in excitement?

Adrien bit his lip to keep from fanboying right then and there. But a slight pink hue spread across his face. 

“You’re not lying.” Mari has gotten pretty good at deciphering through people’s bullshit. Whether it’s because she is now a Guardian or because Lila’s bitchiness made her a human lie-detector remains unknown.

Damian took it in stride. “I am not.”

“Paris is still our city.”

“I am only offering my assistance.” He won’t barge in on their superhero duties to the city. He has more class than that.

Mari didn’t have to look at Adrien to know his decision.

She smiled, a bright genuine smile. “Then we’re allies.” Before her eyes gained a spark of mischief and her smile turned teasing. “Hot-And-Sexy.” 

“Marinette!” Adrien immediately covered his blushing bright red face with both hands, utterly mortified. 

His sister was evil. E. V. I. L. And why is Damian smirking and looking so smug? Fuck! He even makes that look completely hot. Curse his Adonis genes. And curse his teenage hormones. 

He regrets introducing the two of them together. What a pair they make. Truly a couple of fur-midable terrors here. 

.

Back to the matter at hand, Marinette is able to ensure that Hawk Moth and Mayura will never be out again and another akuma won’t be made. She already made sure that the miraculous were better protected. 

Damian has enough evidence to put them behind bars for their crimes but Marinette wanted to go through it and make sure that Adrien won’t suffer the repercussions of having a villain for a dad so they held onto it until they figure out how best to protect their sunshine. 

.

Ah Shit. 

“Duusu? Where are you?” 

Did Gabriel lose the miraculous again? 

But when he looked into the last place he left it, he groaned. Fuck. His brooch was a fake again.

He knew he shouldn’t have made a miraculous fashion line and had replicas of the miraculous jewelries made. It was his most popular items to date. He has gotten lot of praises for getting the details just right and capturing the essence of each miraculous holder. No surprise there. He deals with them on a daily basis. He should get the details fucking right. 

It’s a wonder he only came up with a line because there was talk that he was becoming obsolete with no new ideas coming forth and if there is one thing that Gabriel Agreste isn’t, it is being obsolete. 

The line was just a joke, a parody of the heroes and villains if you will, but apparently people like it. Ladybug and Chat Noir were the most popular obviously (he should’ve seen that coming to be honest). Hardly anyone buys Hawk Moth or Mayura and he is left with boxes of fake brooches. 

It is annoying.

Especially since he keeps fucking misplacing his miraculous. 

.

Adrien felt like he could be a Disney princess and just skip his way to school and sing for the world to hear. 

Now that the Butterfly miraculous were safely with Marinette, he doesn’t have to worry about another akuma. He could just die happy right now. His dad doesn’t have a hold over him anymore. He doesn’t have to put up with Liar-la anymore. But if they put up a fuss? Well, worst case scenario is he becomes a Dupain-Cheng. 

And he doesn’t mind. He’s already an honorary one. 

And if that somehow doesn’t work out (which he highly doubts), Damian offered to make him a Wayne. 

.

Françoise Dupont High School experienced a shock that morning. Specifically Ms. Bustier’s class. 

When they saw Adrien and Marinette walking in class with arms intertwined, laughing and smiling together. 

What the actual fuck?

Did they cross into an alternate universe? Marinette is a nasty bully and Adrien’s a pure sunshine child. Why would they be acting like they were the best of friends? 

Lila glowered darkly when she saw them walking towards the back and sitting at the same table. Didn’t Adrien care about what his father thinks? Doesn’t he want to still be able to go to school? 

She bit her lip and turned on the waterworks, her eyes close to bursting into tears. She made herself be the very picture of a pitiful woe-is-me victim as she cried out in a hurtful and betrayed tone. “Adrien, what are you doing with her? I thought we were close friends.” 

The sheep class instantly catered to Lila, pointing their fingers at the pair. 

Alya, her biggest supporter, led the charge as always. “Adrien! What do you have to say for yourself? How could you cheat on Lila like this? And with her?” 

Adrien narrowed his eyes at his former friend. Bitch, how dare she implies he was in an actual relationship and had feelings for that harlot. 

Wow. 

He has been spending way too much time around Damian. 

"Yeah, bro!” Kim said, raising his voice. “How could you do her dirty?” 

“Okay guys.” Adrien cut in. “I don’t know where you heard that but me and Lila are not dating. Like at all.” 

“Please.”Alya waved him off like he didn’t know what he was talking about (he was highly offended at the notion he didn’t know what his heart yearns for). “We all know you have feelings for Lila. You’re just in denial over them.”

Bitch, what?

Is no one catching onto his chaotic gay vibes here?  

And oh, how his fragile little heart was betrayed yet again when he saw Nino supporting his girlfriend. He still couldn’t believe the first friend he made all by himself was a part of their rabid pack. He deeply mourned the loss of such a great friend in the midst of that deceiving fox’s claws. 

“How many times do I need to say it?” At this point, Adrien was about to throw hands. “I don’t like Lila like that. I feel nothing but pure spite for her. Also, me and Marinette are not dating if anyone’s wondering. We’re just really good friends.”

“But Marinette’s a big bully.” Alix piped up, a hard edge in her voice. “She treats Lila horribly.”

“Marinette didn’t do anything to her. Rossi is lying.” 

“Oh Adrien.” It was Mylene of all people who spoke up. “Did Marinette get to you with her lies?” 

He was done. 

Completely and utterly done. 

He looked over at Marinette who shared his exasperation at the class’ antics. 

Adrien already said it before. But it bears repeating.

Lila Rossi is a bitch.

Luckily (or maybe unluckily), that was the moment Ms. Bustier chose to step in the room and class started. 

When the teacher’s back was turned, Adrien pulled out his phone and proceeded to spend the rest of the time alternating between taking notes and texting with Damian. 

They were currently at the stage of their relationship to be sending animal pics and memes back and forth, with a few puns added from time to time. 

He really does have the perfect boyfriend. 

.

They cornered him after school. 

One: Rude. 

And two: Double rude. 

He was excited to meet Hot-And-Sexy (daMn iT! It’s Damian! Get it right brain) at the bakery and spending time with his two most favorite people in the world (Tom and Sabine don’t count because actual parents don’t have a ranking). 

His former friends were looking all concerned and everything because they somehow collectively came up with the idea that Marinette actually brainwashed him to believe Lila was evil. 

The fucking irony. 

They actually had the audacity to say that Marinette —sweet and honestly badass Marinette— was no good and just wanted to use Adrien to get ahead in the fashion industry (as if Mari actually needed him for that). He shouldn’t be around her. Lila was a much better person to keep as company. 

Adrien laughed in their faces and left. 

.

Onto happier events, Adrien was having a blast hanging out with Mari and Dami. His boyfriend (he still can’t believe he managed to score such a hottie!) fit right in the everything-that-matters siblings’ dynamics. 

They were in Mari’s room. Adrien was cuddling with Damian on her bed. And Mari was at her desk working on fashion designs. 

“So what’s your family like?” He played with Dami’s hair. It was so soft. Like what the fuck. It is so unfair. 

Damian thought about it for a few seconds. “My family is a bit...crazy. We drive each other insane every other day but at the end of the day, I have no doubt they have my back as I have theirs.” 

“You guys sound close.” 

“We were not always. We had an extensive amount of issues to work through before we actually bonded as a true family.” 

It was quiet for a minute until Damian casually said. “I would appreciate it a great deal if you can make time to visit Gotham for the summer.” 

Adrien stopped playing with his hair to look at him with wide incredulous eyes. “Summer’s only two months away.” 

“I am aware.” 

“You really want me to meet them? Isn’t it too early?” 

“I met yours the day we started dating.” 

True but....

Adrien averted his eyes. “Do you think your family will like me? You guys fight criminals and my dad’s a villain.” 

Damian put his hands over Adrien’s and gave them a light squeeze, making his Chaton look back at him. 

“My mother is a villain and I was raised as an assassin. Yet despite of that, my father accepted me. And I am fairly confident he will do the same to you. Mon amour, you have a pure and selfless heart. You are a better person than I am. I have no doubt that my family will love you from the start. 

“Are you being fur real right meow?” Adrien tried to lighten the atmosphere but he could feel his eyes tearing up. 

"I wouldn’t lie to mew.” 

He let out a small laugh, wiping his eyes. How did he ever get so lucky to land such an amazing guy? “You always know the purr-fect thing to say.” 

“We get it you’re in love. It’s amazing. Now stop it with the puns.” Mari rolled her eyes, utterly exasperated at these idiots who just ignored her and pulled out even more cat puns. “You have got to be kitten me.” 

Before she noticed what she said and groaned in faux despair. “Oh you two are so dead.”

Adrien stuck out his tongue playfully. “You can’t catch me. I got a handsome knight in shining armor to protect me.” 

Damian interlaced their fingers. “Always, mon amour. I’ll protect you from everything like your wicked father.”

“Does that make me the dragon here?” Mari joined in. “Cool. I can breathe fire and torch people. Too bad I can’t do that to a certain liar.” 

“Liar-la is totally the witch here.” Adrien said before thinking for a few seconds. “Does this make me the princess?” 

“Well, knights always have to save the damsel in distress.” Mari said. 

He frowned before crossing his arms indignantly. “Dami, I love you more than Plagg loves his stinky cheese, but I’m no damsel in distress.” 

Damian rolled his eyes. “Tt. Of course not. You can destroy things with a single touch. It would be not be in my best interests to downplay your abilities.”

Adrien relaxed and beamed a sunny smile. “Good. Remember that.” 

“Mon amour, I look for an equal as a partner, not some weak spoiled harlot that can not defend their self.” Damian placed a flower crown (that was just sitting on Marinette’s nightstand, must be one of her projects) on Adrien’s head. “Having said that I do believe you are a prince that deserves all the love and care in the world.” 

And oh my. 

Adrien can feel his face burning scarlet and his heart almost bursting at how sweet this incredible, conceited Adonis was. 

He was falling in love with Damian over and over again each time they meet up. 

“You deserve love too, Dami.” 

And sweet, caring Hot-And-Sexy (Ah, fuck it. He will never grow out of that) placed a soft kiss on his cheek. 

Oh dear, he didn’t know his face can burned any redder. 

He could almost hear Mari cooing in the background. 

And in case anyone was wondering, Tom and Sabine adores their everything-that-actually-matters son’s boyfriend. Damian Wayne seems like a responsible young lad. And he makes Adrien really happy which is a major plus. Anything that makes their son happy is good in their books. 

.

Lila was not at all pleased. 

Why was Adrien suddenly hanging out with Marinette? Yeah, he doesn’t buy into her lies but she was confident he will be lured into her charms. Why wouldn’t he be? She was young and way more beautiful than a baker’s daughter. He was supposed to be hers. 

She and Gabriel are going to have a talk about his rebellious son. 

Except when she arrived at the Agreste mansion, Gabriel was apparently too busy to see her. 

He was too occupied with searching through boxes of fake miraculous to find Duusu to bother with her. 

“I don’t have time for you.” 

“Excuse me?!” 

She was aghast. How dare he speak this way to his biggest supporter —well, besides Mayura and Nathalie. 

“You’re excused. Now leave the premises.”

Before the door shut in her face and she was left fuming, her face an unflattering angry red. 

.

Being Damian’s boyfriend, Adrien has come to learn that Damian does nothing by halves. Including asking him out on a date. And the actual dates themselves. 

Today as the sun fell down and night came about, Damian and Adrien were taking a stroll in the park. It was relaxing and it was nice. They talked about everything and anything. 

Adrien did not think Damian planned anything more. 

But he really shouldn’t underestimate the son of Batman. 

Because when the last of the sun’s rays were gone, Damian led him to a gazebo strung up with beautiful lights giving the whole place an ethereal feel. And with the bright moon out tonight, it looked like fairies dancing in the garden. 

He didn’t notice Damian pressed play on his phone and classical music filled the air. 

He definitely noticed Damian bowing with a flourished and holding out his hand with a charming smile. “May I have this dance, Chaton?”

Adrien would have to be a huge fool to say no. 

“I’ll loved to.” He placed his hand in Damian’s and let the Adonis lead him in a simple waltz. 

This was his life. 

His life was one big sappy romance novel. And you know what, he doesn’t care if it is. Between dealing with his shitty father and Liar-la, this kitty deserves some happiness. 

.

It was a scene from one of those Disney fairy tale movies Adrien used to watch as kid. The magic. The love. The romantics. He felt like Cinderella and wished this night will never end, that the clock will never strike midnight. He just wanted to stay in his Prince Charming’s arms forever. 

Under the starry night sky, the lovebirds danced to their heart’s content and when another song ended, Damian tilted his head down to place a tender kiss on Adrien’s lips. 

“I harbor a great deal of non-platonic affections for you, mon amour.”

“I love you too, Hot-And-Sexy.” 

.

What the fuck?!

Seriously. 

What the actual fuck? 

Lila was simply walking home after her disastrous meeting with Gabriel (She was still not over how he simply dismissed her like she was nothing. How dare he). 

When she saw them. 

Adrien and some guy (she’s pretty sure that was a guy) dancing in the park. She can feel that disgusting jealousy just burning in her veins, a cold anger thrumming underneath. 

Things were not at all going her way. 

First, Adrien is back to being friends with that Mari-whore. Then, Gabriel ignores her. Her. And now, she is seeing her Adrien in the arms of someone else. 

Oh this will just not do. 

She took out her phone from her pocket and snapped a couple of pictures, making sure Adrien can clearly be seen. She didn’t care too much about the other guy. He’s probably just another pretty airhead Adrien knew through his father. He’s not important. 

A cruel smirk appeared on her face at the thought of the perfect revenge. Adrien was going to have a rough time at school tomorrow. After all, he should’ve known better than to make a move against her. 

.

“Seriously?!”

“Wow.” 

“I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

“Yeah. Adrien is obviously gay. That’s the only explanation.” 

“....Maybe not? There could be another reason.”

Lila had watery eyes and a sad frown on her face but inside, she was fucking smiling like a Cheshire cat. She made sure to be at school early so she can show the class the picture of Adrien’s little date last night. Who —predictably— were shocked at their sunshine child being with a guy and made plans to confront him about his supposed sexuality. 

She glowed at the thought of her plan working. This will teach Adrien to know his place or become a social pariah like his little friend Marinette. 

“I thought Adrien had feelings for me.” Lila wiped the “tears” from her eyes. “How could he lead me on like this when he’s been gay all along?” 

Alya —predictably— comforted her. “I’m pretty sure he’s just confused. He doesn’t know what he’s feeling.”

“I’m sure that’s it.” 

The pair didn’t notice Juleka and Rose glaring at them. 

.

Damian was not at all pleased. 

He was rightfully angry. 

How dare that poor sense of fashion taste trollop tried to shame his mon amour for being gay. How dare she try to say he was simply confused and didn’t know any better. How dare she defame his reputation because he holds nothing but spite for her person. 

How dare she. 

As Adrien’s boyfriend and future husband, it is his duty to correct this travesty and defend his Chaton’s honor. 

.

When the Damian Wayne, youngest son of Bruce Wayne, appeared at Françoise Dupont High School, you know that people are gonna stare and talk. 

When he headed towards the courtyard where Adrien and Marinette were sitting at, boy are things going to get juicy. 

Lila and her followers who were sitting a bit father from the outcast pair were utterly confused. They could possibly get Adrien knowing such a super hot celebrity but for him to be on good terms with Marinette too? How inconceivable. Absolutely flabbergasted. 

“Hey Lila didn’t you tell us you knew him and his family?” Max brought up. 

“Uhhh....” Lila knew she dug herself in a corner here. She never thought that the Damian Wayne would ever visit here. At this second rate school. 

“Well, let’s go, girl!” Alya exclaimed. “I’m sure Damian just hasn’t seen you. That’s why he didn’t walk towards you.”

Before proceeding to practically drag Lila to where Damian was talking with Adrien and Marinette. 

Lila, on the other hand, was cursing out Alya in a bunch of different languages in her mind while trying to come up with something to dig herself out of this mess. If they talk to Wayne, the class will realize she was lying all along. 

She was not going to lose control of her kingdom like this —well, not without putting up a fight. 

But when they and the rest of their classmates walked close to the trio, they were shocked when they saw Marinette playfully punching Damian in the arm. 

“Okay. How the hell are you so close with Damian Wayne?” Straight off the bat, Alya was on the offense as she glared at Marinette as if it was Mari who did something wrong. 

Damian answered before the bluenette could. His face was impassive and his glare cold. “I’m Ms. Dupain-Cheng’s top model for her fashion business.”

What? 

Even Lila was taken aback at the news. She knew that goody two shoes likes designing but she didn’t think anybody would actual buy her stuff. She didn’t think a Wayne would like her stuff. 

She could feel her fists clenched. How dare Marinette steal the spotlight again. 

“I’m also Adrien’s boyfriend.” Damian continued casually as if that wasn’t a huge bombshell. 

Everyone’s minds screeched to a halt. 

They knew about the possibility of Adrien being gay since Lila showed him on going on a date with an unidentified but clearly male person yesterday. But they didn’t think there was actually something there. 

Lila could feel her anger clouding her mind. Adrien was supposed to be hers. He was her ticket to fame and fortune. 

“And what about Lila? Aren’t you guys best friends?” Alya put her hands on her hips. How could Damian just ignore someone he is close friends with but give Marinette all the attention? Lila deserves better than that.  

Damian was unamused. “I don’t know her.”

“Yeah, you do.” Alya ignored Lila’s gestures to stop talking. Lila was too shy about her achievements and she was going to have her amazing best friend’s back. “She’s the one who helped your family out multiple times.”

“She did not. And I am appalled that you believe I would know a harlot like her in the first place.” Damian’s face twisted with disgust as he glanced at Liar-la like she was a mere insect. “Please. I have class and dignity.”

“Take that back!” She screeched. “You are so rude.” 

“Are you honestly going to lecture me on my rudeness when you plebians are being hypocrites?”

“What? I’m not a hyprocrite.” 

“Lila Rossi is a pathetic liar who begs for attention like street dogs beg for scraps. She never once saved Jagged’s cat nor does she help out with green charities. Lastly, she is not on close terms with myself nor with my family.”

“No! You’re lying!”

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Ok then. Look her up on the internet. If she is as grand as you lot seem to think, she should have articles dedicated to her. Show me proof of her actions that isn’t your subpar blog and I will give you an exclusive.” 

Alya’s eyes gleamed at what should be an easy challenge. But when she pulled out her phone and typed Lila’s name and what she did in the search engine, her smile disappeared. 

She spent the next few minutes scouring the net for anything, any mention of a Lila Rossi that wasn’t on the LadyBlog. 

She found nothing. 

Lila Rossi was a fucking liar all along. And Alya and the rest of the class believed her. 

“We tried to warn you.” Marinette said in a soft voice. But anyone who knew her knew she was trying to hold back her laughter. 

“Marinette,” Rose cried out as she realized the class has been total jerks to the one person who always had their backs. “We were horribly wrong. Can you ever forgive us?”

She shrugged. “I forgive you. But this doesn’t mean we’re friends again. Because we’re not. Seeing how easily you drop me for that liar without even looking for any kind of proof hurts and I’m not eager to be friends again. Maybe in the future but not right now.”

“That’s goes ditto for me.” Adrien added his two cents. 

Their former friends classmates wore gloomy expressions, utterly devastated at ruining their friendship with their Everyday Ladybug and Sunshine Child. 

And with that, Adrien and Marinette left the courtyard, with light hearts and heads held high. 

Damian shot the class a razor sharp grin. “Well, it’s been nice to meet you.” 

Everyone knew he meant anything but. 

“I always knew teenagers were prone to be foolish imbeciles. But seeing the collective stupidity of you people today made me realize that the bar can in fact be lowered.” 

.

Adrien was fucking ecstatic. 

Elated. Overjoyed. Jubilant. Drunk on happiness. All the synonyms associated. 

Because Lila was finally exposed. The class realized what utter assholes they have been. His father will receive his due (soon according to Mari and Dami). 

He was happily humming a tune as he swung his and Damian’s intertwined hands back and forth. 

He was entirely grateful that Damian showed up to school today. Although he was a bit mean for Adrien’s taste. 

But oh man. Payback was so sweet. 

He smiled giddily. 

Mister Hot-And-Sexy definitely earned himself a kiss. 

Previous

Next

[twh-news]

[Spoilers ahead, whole article below cut]

One of the many delights of the God of Mischief having his own standalone series is that we not only get to admire Tom Hiddleston’s acting chops, but also get to see him dance gleefully and maniacally right before the entire ancient city of Pompeii is washed away by lava. In Episode 1 of Disney Plus and Marvel Studios’ “Loki,” viewers got to familiarize themselves with The Time Variance Authority (TVA) and its futuristic office hub, and see this new Marvel Cinematic Universe territory through Loki’s eyes.

During Episode 2, much of that worldbuilding was put on hold for tense time travel adventures while wielding Loki’s “Mindhunter” abilities to catch a more evil version of himself. The episode also focused on the blossoming bromance between Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the trickster the agent is sure he can sort-of reform. It dove deep into Nexus Events (emphasizing the importance of knowing these terms as Marvel fans, given that the concept is referenced both in “Loki” and in “WandaVision”) and showed off more of what the TVA actually does to protect the Sacred Timeline from “chaotic alterations of a predetermined outcome.” Additionally, why Mobius loves jet skis so much was revealed (a wholesome moment).

There was a lot learned in this episode, but so many more questions “branched” out of Episode 2. Here are the biggest ones:

How did the TVA agents not figure out Loki’s “apocalypse time branch” theory beforehand?

I’m calling Marvel’s own bluff: The TVA agents absolutely did know about Loki’s loophole since they know everything and anything about the Sacred Timeline and its deviations. Thus, they should also have had at least an inkling of what trouble they could (potentially) get away with without screwing up the order of things — like taunting villagers mere seconds before the tragic volcanic obliteration of Pompeii.

Loki explained this “new theory” in the second episode as: “So, let’s just say your salad is Asgard. … I could go down to Asgard before Ragnarok causes its complete destruction, and I could do anything I wanted. I could, let’s say, push the Hulk off the Rainbow Bridge. There he goes! And I could also set fire to the palace. I can do whatever I want to do, and it would never matter. It wouldn’t go against the dictates of the timeline. … It could be any apocalypse. It could be a tidal wave, it could be a meteor, or it could be a volcano or a supernova. If everything and everyone around you is destined for imminent destruction than nothing that I say or do will matter because the timeline is not going to branch because it gets destroyed.”

How Mobius and co. didn’t catch onto this beats me. Are they so obsessed with being bureaucratic do-gooders that they’ve created their own blind spots? It may be why Loki is so valuable in spite of the risks he poses to the TVA — he’s able to figure out that The Variant is hiding in apocalypses, carrying out malice undetected.

What is the significance of Roxxcart?

It appears extremely likely that the creepy, flickery-lit supermarket wherein Loki got in a — to put it bluntly — dick-measuring contest with Loki 2.0 and the visages of possessed victims, is owned by Roxxon Energy Corporation. (Get it? Roxxcart, Roxxon.) The massive fictional gas conglomerate has regularly made appearances, by name or in-scene, both in Marvel Comics and in Marvel series and films, including ABC’s “Agent Carter” and “Agents of SHIELD,” the “Iron Man” trilogy, Freeform’s “Cloak & Dagger,” Netflix’s “Daredevil” and Hulu’s “The Runaways.” Every time the petroleum industrial giant has made its way, on-screen or on-page, Roxxon has consistently been nefarious and at odds with superheroes. If The Variant is giving away candy (Kablooie chewing gum) during nexus events that are sold at Roxxcart between 2047 and 2051, then the incorporation of Roxxon’s evil ties was a conscientious one — and one that should have some greater significance in the series.

“It’s real”— what’s real?!

While Loki was sizing up his time-traveling, shape-shifting opponent somewhere between the pet supplies aisle and hurricane-discounted azaleas, TVA agent Hunter C-20 (Sasha Lane), was found by Mobius and co. She didn’t seem to be injured physically, but mentally, she was shaken up, constantly repeating, “It’s real, it’s real” while rocking back and forth. What caused this agent to spiral? And is the “it” she was referring to a person, a place or a thing? Episode 2 didn’t provide us with much clarity, but there may be more ominous forces afoot than “The Variant.”

Why is Lady Loki hellbent on destroying the Sacred Timeline?

“Loki, I am your… lady?” In a juicy reveal that echoed Darth Vader’s reveal in “Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back,” The Variant’s shroud was removed and we got our first glimpse at Lady Loki (Sophia Di Martino), the Mistress of Mischief with golden horns and all. What’s her beef with the Time-Keepers or the TVA? Other than the fact that she’s on the run from the omnipotent organization, L.L.’s motives have yet to be unveiled. She wordlessly hopped through a time portal with Loki following before the nitty-gritty of her tricky time-manipulating scheme could be revealed. What we do know is that, in the comics, Lady Loki is just the female version of Loki (and she’s also canonically gender fluid and pansexual). During her appearance in Marvel’s “Dark Reign” comics from 2008 to 2009, L.L. is in cahoots with the villainous likes of Norman Osborn (aka The Green Goblin), Emma Frost, Namor and Doctor Doom. Holding out hope that any of these high-profile baddies will make their way onto “Loki” might be futile, but Lady Loki’s official introduction into the televised Marvelverse may carve a path for “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” characters to pop up in the future.

Did Loki really betray Mobius to go off and commit time shenanigans with Lady Loki, or is this all a ruse? What is his game plan?

*Extreme Owen Wilson voice* Wooow, what a cliffhanger! After trying to bond with Mobius throughout most of the episode, Loki pulled a Loki and trailed off with his new friend/foe, effectively betraying Mobius and the rest of the TVA agents that put their faith in him. But then again, what were they expecting with the Prince of Lies? It appeared that (at least for now) there was a rift in that budding partnership. It should be noted, however, that Loki dropped a massive hint toward the beginning of the episode that there’s way more than meets the eye — he’s been “10 steps ahead” of the TVA, and he’s been playing a game of his own, all along.

Crossing our fingers that it ends up with Loki riding off into the sunset with Mobius on a jet ski.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Teenage!Chucky x Fem!Reader || Oneshot

Title: There Are Worse Things You Could Do

Notes:

This is, of course, based loosely on the song from Grease that Rizzo sings, ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’. 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a repressed childhood memory. I know I watched it multiple times, but I forgot everything. This is only barely relevant.

I’m obsessed with teenage!Slashers x Readers... I don't think I’ve written for normal adult Chucky, oops. 

Plot: 

You’re having an emotional night, when all the things build up and you just feel like crap. And on the top of the list? Why, what everyone else seems to think of you, of course! Its always the way.

Don’t worry though, your no-judgment friend comes to lay out the law. There are worse things you could be doing, babe.

And, theirs also romance brewing if you read the bonus part XD 

Warnings: Talk of slut shaming, sexual references, swears- a general PG rating though I think? Not worse then How I Met Your Mother I don't think, except it contains more swears. 

~~~   

“Hey, sexy legs. You’re usually in bed by now aren’t you?” Chucky’s voice calls through your open window and your phone, and you look over to see him there rather then at his home, talking to you on the phone. Your eyes widen from surprise, appropriately. As one would do when someone climbs through your window without warning.

“What are you doing here??” You get up quickly and close your bedroom door. Everyone else in the house is asleep, but you aren’t taking any chances, and lock it as well. You should be in bed, honestly. You’re in your pyjamas and everything -Oversized hoodie and undies, -. You know you would probably feel better about… the world in general, or more specifically yourself in this particular instance… if you did go to sleep for a while. You’re aware. You know this. But… no. Something in you says to just stay awake and suffer through it.

Its lovely.

You two sit down on your bed, getting comfy at the headboard beside each other as he explains, coarsely and shortly, that he doesn’t like talking on the phone. You don’t know why you’re comfortable with Chucky -he’s crude and reeks of bad decisions, -, but… eh. You started talking to him at the start of the year since he was the only other person in one of your new classes that didn’t have a friend there, and he stuck like a bad smell. You are pretty attached to it -him, - though, you guess. Gathering a pillow to your chest and raising your knees up to chin level, you chew the inside of your cheek instead of responding again. You don’t know what to say. He knows how you feel right now- maybe he’ll impart some wisdom onto you.

Peaking over at him and his frustratingly untaken care of hair, you roll your eyes. Yeah right. Chucky cant even take care of his, now, thicket of hair.

When he doesn’t say anything, just looks down the bed at your doona cover, you gather the courage to fish for an explanation. “Why are people so mad that I’m a-a... a… “Suddenly, the word ‘slut’ dies on your tongue as your heart makes a pained yelp about it. Usually, you don’t have a problem with the word. Why should you? Its’ just a word. But… but the looks you get from the people who say it, those hit a different hit a different way. And that’s what has messed you up tonight. Cold looks and disgusted mouths, like you’re a used rag… full of fucking STD’s, or something… Touching your lips instead to the pillow, you shake your head. “Why are they so mean?”

You’ve never hurt anyone. Any guy that you engage with is fully aware what’s happening; You never lead them on to think it’s anything more then just sex. And the last thing you would ever do is make someone uncomfortable- in fact, you probably do too much to avoid that possibility.

But people still… you don’t understand. You don’t understand. Why can’t you just do something you like? What do you have to do to make it okay??!

He rolls his head against the headboard to turn and face you. You don’t shy away from his dull, deadly serious gaze. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? People suck.”

“I, don’t suck.” You press your lips firmly together in a straight line. Even if you are feeling crappy, you wont sink into a puddle of self-despising gruel… even if that is, in fact, how you feel inside. Saying it would only make it real, and some things just don’t need to be made real. Fake it until you make it, cry-baby. You nod to him. “You don’t suck… “Then your lips quirk up a bit, to lighten the mood. “Much.”

“No, see, that’s why I hang out with you! So supportive and encouraging.” He forces a grin for your benefit, looking forward again but this time towards the ceiling. Why is he so down, you wonder?

You force a laugh from your chest. “Yeah.” Closing your eyes, enjoying a little bit the cold of the wood of the headboard against your cheek. “I just don’t understand- “

“Y/N.” The sternness and the steely annoyance in his voice suddenly, cause you to open your eyes and see what’s on his face- ah, it matches his voice. “The only thing you haveta’ understand, is that those people that talk about you because you fuck around, are worthless. Bitch,” You raise your eyebrows and widen your eyes at the name he just called you and he let’s out a dry laugh, looking amazed for a moment as he thinks about those people. Then, leaning into you and talking like he has all the wisdom in the world in his head, he assures you. “There are worse things you could be doing. Trust me.”

Letting out a deep breath and the tension, your roll your eyes and turn forward, thinking about that. Its true, you suppose.

Hugging the pillow tighter and scooching over to collapse into his side, suddenly wanting his affection as well as his words, and because you’re drained, you sigh. “Sorry, I don’t feel much better, but thank you for saying that.” It may have been put kind of crudely… or very crudely… but you’re aware that he meant well. So, you are grateful. Wordlessly, like its somehow the most natural thing in the world, like you’ve done this together before which you most certainly haven’t, Chucky situates himself to make you both more comfortable. Raising his arm so you can fit under it and resting it over your shoulders and shuffling to fit better against you. “You want to watch a movie with me?” Honestly, you just don’t want him skipping off just yet.

Its nice to connect this way with your friend.

You didn’t realise how nice it would feel to spend time like this with him. You would be very, very discontented if he left now.

“Yeah, but I’m picking which fucking one. Leave it up to you in this state, and you’ll put in freaken Sound of Music.”

A few minutes later, after Chucky has thoroughly looked through and critiqued, -and you use ‘critiqued’, very loosely. He mostly insults your five movies, - your small DVD stack and put something in, and returned to the bed and your position from before -even throwing the doona over you both, saying his legs are cold. Which, to that, you give him a slow nod. Yeah right. Sure, - Disney’s opening scene plays, with the castle and Tinkerbelle, and you suppress a snort. But you can’t hide the grin, or stop the words from coming out of your mouth. “’Sound of Music’s bad, but ‘101 Dalmatians’ is okay?” The less you think about your feelings before, the less relevant they seem when you look back two minutes in hindsight. You feel more and more your normal self.

“It was this or fucking ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, and that’s not happening. Your collection sucks.”

“My collection rocks, you dumbass.”

“Shush, its about to start, No talking during the movie.” His eyes are glued to the screen now, as the beginning credits roll. You grin, but scrunch up your nose too.

“Jesus Christ, you’re one of those? - “A wide, spiteful grin rips across his mouth.

“You betcha! Now shut up, theirs a punishment if you talk.”

Quickly, you turn to the TV. “Oh, jeez.” You shut up as he demanded, at the mention of a punishment.

OPTIONAL BONUS! The next morning- you had to see this coming

Waking up in the morning, you rub your eyes and look over to see Chucky’s blurry figure, still fully clothed from what you can tell including his jacket -hopefully not his boots, - you flash the sleeping boy a courtesy smile for how nice he was to you last night and move your stuff body slowly off the bed and out from under the covers. You imagine your stiffness if from staying in one position the whole freaken night- it was nice, but now your back and your arm are dying.

But… as you put up your hair in a quick ponytail and walk by the mirror, ready to get dressed and wait around for Chucky to wake up so you can see him off, you realise something is… missing, here. Looking down immediately, you realise what it is, and your eyes grow wider then ever before. Like, a full on ‘Oh-My-God-I-Didn’t-Even-Realise-Or-Remember!!’ face and you would have gasped loudly if you hadn’t thought quickly and pressed your lips hard together.

Your underwear. Your underwear is what is gone.

“Goddamnit Y/N, tell me you didn’t… “You whisper, panicking shortly as you pull on some clean ones, and then tip toe around the bed, looking for any sign that Chucky’s pants are anywhere but on him. When you don’t find it, you go ahead and pull up the blanket at the end of the bed and check -not pulling up high enough to see anything but his legs below the knee at first, -  that his legs are covered in the pants. You let out more and more of a relieved breath as he continues to be covered all the way up to his waist. If anyone were watching this, they would laugh like a hyena at your antiques and your expression.

But, even as you discover that he still had his bottom garments on, memories come right back to you from the night and you realise how doomed you are.

It happened. It sure did. You and Chucky Ray fucked last night. Oh god! Oh, dear god!

“I mean, thank God I had condoms in here at least?” You mutter to yourself, sinking down on the bed and covering your face in your hands in embarrassment. “Ugh… “

Also, you think as you remember the events, face still in your hands, it was really good. Not the point right now, but you did learn an important thing last night.

It sure ain’t about size- what they say is true. It really is about what you do with it.

Y/N goddamnit that is absolutely not the point here.

“Aghhh, I knowwww… “You whisper back to your own thoughts.

A minute later, Chucky wakes up and you peak over your shoulder at him when he sits up, as guilty as a child with jam on your hands. You don’t actually have any jam of course, but there certainly is a stain somewhere. And a certain sticky sensation still under your underwear. “… Hi Chucky. Do you… happen to remember… what happened last night?”

He but smirks at you.

You respond by deadpanning. Well, in that case, you’re not embarrassed anymore either. Getting up, you scratch the back of your head and move to goon with your day. Shower, first of course. “Okay, well if you’re done here I gotta take a shower and clean up what is probably a nasty mess,” You squint pointedly at him. “That you left, wherever you dropped the condom.” You can’t imagine Chucky was courteous and found a bin for it.

“Goodbye kiss?”

“Wh- “You look back at him from the bedroom door that you were about to leave out of, see him grinning and roll your eyes. Ah, joking. He’s joking. Funny man! Not that you would have kissed him it was a legit request… aha, not at all! You didn’t want that! … hahahaha… “You’re very funny.” Then your eyes widen, and you rush back to your dresser for your body lotion. “Oh! I forgot my- “Focusing on rifling through your dresser, you don’t really pay attention to what Chucky is up to. You do hear him get out of the bed, but you suspect he’s headed for the window. When you find the pretty purple bottle, you go to turn and waive bye to him but end up stuck in place.

He's behind you, and his hands are on your hips again. Keeping you in place this time as you hug your lotion bottle and look like a deer in headlights, vaguely sceptical about this, and find his eyes in the mirror. “… yes?”

“Y/N, I was serious about that goodbye kiss.” A wicked grin catches his eyes that sends a surprising, new feeling down from your heart to… let’s just say another place... “Unless you want me to join you in the shower.”

For a moment you just pause and take in the moment for what it is- very arousing and also the beginning of a wonderful new chapter in your friendship. Then you scoff and smack him gently with the purple lotion bottle. “My parents are awake now, are you crazy? Now go home, I’ll text you later.”

You turn around, as if you’re going to fly past him and out the door but he manages to press forward in time and stick you to the dresser, hands on your waist and knee between your legs now. With the golden morning light slipping through the still open window from last night that he had crawled through, in the perfect light of day and not the secret stars, like you’re actually a couple, Chucky gives you a kiss that you reciprocate all too eagerly. Its just as good as last night, maybe better.

“… Hey Y/N? I have a solution to your problem last night that I think you’ll like. By definition, a slut is a woman who has many fuckbuddies. I have a special onetime only proposition for you babe that’ll grind that number down to just one.”

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Witcher of the Night (Chapter 22)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER.

CHAPTER 21

WOTN MASTERLIST

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: Sorceress Ingrith might be going on far more ways to plan your early demise for you and your unborn child without the witcher around. The queen also thinking of plans to punish you without the use of drudging.

Warnings: Derogatory, plans attitude and words. Mention of the Witcher character named ‘Auckes’. 

Words: 5.6k

A/N: I’ve been feeling on and off with my mental state since last month. I just don’t tell anyone. Anyways, Feedbacks will be nice to receive. Thank you. I plan on writing two more last smuts for Witcher of the Night in the future chapters. So, watch out for that. I needed more of my Geralt fixation. LMAO. I’m sorry if my fic  is beginning to be boring for you, but I needed to write this for the sake of the story. I know I’m not the best writer out here. So, I’m sorry for any disappointments. Stay safe, Bb’s.

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE! Sorry for the grammatical errors and such because English isn’t my mother tongue! PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK AFTER READING, BB! I apologize for errors!

Disclaimer: PNG’s and pictures used in edits are not mine even the GIF’s too. Character development and personalities are based from my understanding and how I want them to be. I only own my original characters in this fanfic. Geralt GIF from the Tumblr account named (B-N-A-O)

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

It's been a day of hearing from Eanraig that your witcher has started his journey over the hunt for the lost witch.

Hours have also passed after hearing such devastating and surprising news from the druid about your unexpected 'cursed' pregnancy whose father was a witcher that is expected to actually be infertile. The happenings intentionally given by a genie you only knew and expected to watch and read through fairytales; Disney fairytales.

Sleep was hardly your partner last night. Thoughts coming over the idea of a maddened witcher and your pregnancy, having only minutes of light slumber that has gotten you waking up with every single thud you hear from outside your chambers. Thinking that it was someone who wanted to hurt you again especially that Geralt wasn't around for you to hide from behind.

The early knock received before sunrise has got you scrambling on your feet, latching off the locks of your door for the queen of Kaedwen to emerge from your doorstep with more than a trio of servants following her while she trespassed inside your chambers.

She stood before you in her silk, expensively designed, black night gown. With her head held up high and hair bedazzled before she even decided to pay you a visit in her usual lavish gowns.

"You are quite the woman. Also, your witcher is as well."

Queen Makeda interrogated, gaze raking all over the room to check any evidences of her necklace being thrown around. She huffed to herself when there was no traces of her enchanted, Cobalt amulet that has been stolen by your doppelganger.

"---Demanding for a soft bed for you to sleep on while he hunts for the witch who has cursed my son?"

"Not even my young daughter would approve of this," she spoke in animosity, spitting the words like how she truthfully felt, "---Your horrible kind," the latter continued, taking heedful steps forward as you've stood on your ground; firmly and never backing down.

The queen was undeniably taller than you. She'd peered down, glaring into your narrowed eyes fighting back for her attempt on intimidating you. After everything they've done, feeling scared was running through your veins. It was pumping wrath and distaste for how they've treated you like an animal for pointing fingers over the woman who has stolen her necklace---even asking such favors for Geralt when they knew how he acted towards you; using it to their advantage.

"---You and your witcher. It disgusts me,"

"Look who's talking, guess Geralt is the only way to save your cursed son then? But, you still manage to hate his kind when you're depending over him to save your prince,"

Out of the blue, you've felt fingers clasping around your throat. Her long nails sinking through your skin as her hold was tight, ceasing the air passing through your throat that has gotten you growling beneath her palm.

She intently given you a death look, bequeathing the opportunity of laying a hand on you without the witcher who has never left your side from the moment he arrived.

"Give me back my necklace. It was a gift by the king that I hold dearly,"

The bitch was barking when she had no evidence at all. You mindlessly thought in the back of your head whilst being choked at the same time.

"Your h-highness," you dryly coughed out the air she was trying to cut you off with. You've given her a menacing glare as well, your mouth in an obvious lour. Her hold shifting around your neck as she tried to shift your jaw out of its current position, making you tilt your head to give her a sharp, side-eye.

You can't help but bark out a mocking giggle, appearing to be sicko while being manhandled by your very own gender while a taunt left your fuming mouth.

"---what's your kind? I doubt your kind may be human,"

Queen Makeda scoffed after hearing that, pushing you to the ground which has left you heaving breaths and coughing out from the lack of it. Your fingers quickly grabbing onto your growing belly to protect whatever Eanraig believed there is to be inside of you. A child that he was cognizant of; slightly still leaving you in disbelief because of how you weren't seeing any changes at the image of your belly.

Until, you've realized that your period haven't visited you since the last week.

The realization had you staring at the ground you were currently sitting upon while the queen stood before you with all her might and certainty. Your instincts telling you to cease the in-denial for your pregnancy because it was the truth.

"You are awfully disrespectful. Just like your mutant."

At the mere acknowledgement of that towards your witcher, your longstanding antagonism for her has given you all the willpower of spitting on the ground she was standing on, tilting your head up at her from your seated position with utmost spite, glaring from below her in the greatest hostility you can ever give.

"You're not my queen. So I give you the least amount of my respect, Ma-ke-da. That's your name, right? Is there another word for Bitch here?---You're a bloody skank! Have I got the accent correct for everyone? Or should I continue my fake British accent? would you like it to be Scottish?"

Hushed gasps has been audibly heard from the queen's maids who stood aligned in vertical. Their posture slightly curved in a bow and never giving their gazes towards their majesty and had them glued to the ground. Howbeit, their hearing couldn't be helped as it was a natural instinct to listen despite of being ordered not to.

They've been disoriented from their prior poses, taking heed of how you've disrespect the queen who was reigning the whole kingdom. She reached out behind her, ushering over the court lady who was holding onto the used golden kirtle that seemed to be owned by a maiden who left the castle or has been punished to death.

In a cruel gesture, Queen Makeda has balled up the dress with her hands. Throwing them over your head that felt too impetuous and disfavourable because of how her servants felt the need to slyly giggle from the background.

"Womanly hands are needed in this palace," she brashly scoffed, tip-toeing over her tone like a taunt, playing over a prey she decided to amuse for the moment. You heedlessly yanked off the dress overthrown on your head and avoided their loathe-filled peepers who find your vulnerability entertaining their day.

The evil queen couldn't help but laugh beneath her breath, watching you bask in your own solitude and hopelessness---being a woman they believed as a thief or a girl with no name nor worth of living a happy and abounding life. A renegade in their kingdom that deserves the least amount of attention and respect.

It was probably your doppelganger's reality as she lives in Kaedwen; thriving in the most difficult way to live in their world---more desperate to stay alive more than you back in earth.

"I suggest you must help the maids as they serve us through night and day," she nonchalantly reiterated with a slip of her laughter every now and then. Her offhand way of talking resulting in giving her the most stony lour you could muster.

Queen Makeda spurned your woebegone with a simple simper, passing over the sepulchral spirit radiating off you. She'd turn her heels away, parading through your chambers with her servants following suit, but not forgetting to leave without a ridicule.

"Better than any corporal punishment. Am I right, tramp?"

Sundown came earlier than you've calculated. Being given the job of a scullery maid for this certain day has been backbreaking. You've scoured the dirtiest pots and plates with all your healing strength, straining your energy for the heck of it all because of how heavy their utensils and equipment can be. More than how the stuff in your workplace were much more lighter than ever. It wasn't a punishment you've expected from them considering how they've injured you in the flesh, taking Geralt's words accountable or was this just a hoax of their upcoming plans?

You knew that it won't be the only job given. Five days living in the castle has been a crestfallen experience that not any normal earthling could handle well.

Which has probably been also the reason why you were too stressed and angry with everyone and anyone including the father of your unborn child, raving in bluster for his slow-witted self in terms of one's feelings.

That was probably one of the disadvantages of being in love with a witcher. Geralt hardly receives love and care that he doesn't know how to distinguish it even for himself.

Laying on the cold surface of such mattress; back flat with aching muscles and healing wounds, one palm reached up to your slightly bilged stomach. The feeling of another human growing inside weren't obvious yet. Thinking that it was probably just because of the pastry they've fed you with which has gotten your stomach swelling.

"Are you really in there?" you quietly muttered to the ceiling, feeling your chest tighten from being all alone and dealing with what the witcher has said to you before he left. His words becoming an echo of your regret and sadness.

"---Or am I just bloated, Little princess?"

Soft caresses over your slightly curved skin has given you goosebumps all over your body. The act feeling too real for you to be talking to a baby that has probably never learn to kick yet. Simultaneously, a sigh left your mouth when you truly believed and hold on to Geralt's infertility tales when he has gotten you pregnant out of the blue.

Magic. Right. All of what was going on between you both was magic after all, even your growing child. He has been right after all.

"Am I really having a baby grow inside of me when I haven't expected this at all? your daddy probably has great swimmers---oh, wait. He should've been infertile." the train of thought has been ceased, your mouth curling in the opposite of a smile. Frowning being your constant expression the past few days with a round-the-clock dismal mood once you wake up and try to have a nap when you were hardly being given the chance to just like how your insomnia tries to eat you alive again.

It hasn't even visited you since before you've woken up from a different dimension. Insomnia has never been an issue when you've arrived in the continent. Perhaps, the witcher may be one of the reasons for your inner beasts to hide. Though, with the mist surrounding you both---it started to pay you a visit especially after experiencing physical and mental struggles through out your stay in the castle.

No matter how disappointed and angry you were with Geralt, he has still been your refuge from all the danger that his world can cause.

"Is this really happening? I'm going to be a mother now?" you went on in talking to no one in particular, caressing your stomach against the palm of your hand like how a mother would.

"---with the brooding witcher as your father?"

The mouth curled downward languidly pulled the strings to a solemn smile. Memories of Geralt and how he was finding you unappealing as each day passes was like a reality meant for you because even men in your world eventually leaves when you were showing them your humanly capabilities---the darker part of you that nobody can ever tolerate.

Even the witcher found you pathetic---a man from another world seeing what you actually were. Not an angel that all men believed you to be.

With a growing baby inside of you, it would be difficult to forget Geralt because of how he'd left a part of him inside of you and will eventually be born in a world you were fearful of.

When you said back in earth, that you wanted a child with Legolas. You didn't mean for it to happen in real life. Especially from a man who don't take children as a gift---something worth to be proud of as you remembered how Eanraig said that he would rather have his own child as a bait for monsters than to let him live in the continent.

Your heart was tightening further as you continued talking to your unborn offspring and into the brisk, solitary midnight with nothing but shadows to comfort your forlorn soul, "Your poppa' certainly won't accept you if he knows about your existence. Based on how we got into a fight over feelings we both don't understand." Pause.

"---If I shave his white head, will it be worth the revenge? You think he cares for his hair? Or maybe hide his witcher potions somewhere else where he would have a difficult time seeing it?"

You couldn't help but slightly giggle to yourself. The sound dethering and fading in the end from how forced it sounded; faking the happiness and trying to uplift your spirits by thinking that Geralt would still accept you in his life after tying him in a responsibility that he will surely detest.

"---I still can't help but think of him though. Especially after knowing you're growing inside of me now. I doubt he actually thinks of me more than I do,"

"Maybe the witcher might want to say that he loves you and that he is still on his witch hunt!"

Catching you off-guard, a squeaky, upbeat, childish voice resonated in your chambers. Hushed to the most quietest voice she could do, standing before the end of your bed was a curly haired child who was grinning amongst the shadows she tries to hide herself in. Her two front teeth sitting apart which has made her appear more adorable than ever. The features she had slowly coming to a point that it seemed to be familiar---like you've seen her face and heard her voice back in earth.

The child standing before you was a little demon known in your dimension. Delilah Cincinnati. A child who has always made your work more difficult than it can ever be---a nuisance who could always get you tripping when you were serving food for customers. You've had a nickname for her, Deli-the-menace that came from the character 'Dennis-the-menace' but this one was a little girl and her devilish grin suited her name.

But, her grin seemed to be different in this world. It was more sweet, utterly masking in pure innocence that made you sit your back on the headboard. Your fingers reaching below your pillows to grab onto the kitchen knife you've managed to sneak in because of how you didn't trust anyone in the castle---taking Geralt's advices seriously.

People would probably think you were crazy, but you've been thinking that this child in front of you would transform into an evil gnome and eat your unborn baby because she was hungry for flesh.

"Delilah?" your voice turned squeaky as well. Swallowing the nervousness back down the pit of your stomach, you crumpled your legs under your thighs, shifting away from the child when she dragged her feet upon the foot of the bed; crawling towards you with a smile.

She jumped the half of her body beside you, tucking her little legs under the bed sheets. The ends of it pulled by her tiny fingers and tucked under her chin whilst turning her whole body with a ceaseless smile.

"You're a silly lady! I'm no Delilah, miss witcheress."

The adorable child snuggled closer on your side, hiding behind your body as if she was sneaking from someone.

"Princess Corinthia of Kaedwen. You can call me 'Coco' instead. Just don't tell my mother!" she placed a finger in between her pursed lips, giggling behind as she thoroughly sneaked her miniscule body in between you and the headboard.

You've inhaled a deep breath before being cut-off by the princess and her mischievous warning, "Shh. The knights are searching for me!"

She pointed towards a large sized painted picture of the whole royal family hung over the stone walls, enclosing her mouth with her small palms while she whispered.

"---A secret door."

Princess Corinthia offered another giggle that has kept your mouth zipped because of how untrustful she still is to you. Though, you dropped the knife back under your pillows again when she seemed to be harmless than what you imagined her to be; a little devil or a tiny monster that she might be in the witcher's dimension.

"I am a curious child. I've been hearing the tales of a white haired beast slayer stepping foot in our fortress! The maids even said that he has brought a frog for him to protect and this frog is his bride as every single person in the palace has gossiped about. Are you the frog? Do you have a curse like my brother too?"

At the mention of that, the scowl suddenly became one prominent expression since the moment you arrived in the castle. Huffing out a breath of exasperation over what nickname you've gotten. The witcher's frog. It didn't sound too appealing for you and even for the child because she was giggling through it all.

"A frog?! Seriously?! They were calling me ugly. How rude of them," you stated as a matter of fact.

"Our maids are just probably thirsty whores who may want your witcha'!" your eyes grew from the profanity that left her mouth. A single, plain warning of a look has been given to the child.

"That's a bad word."

The castle princess ignored your upbraid, palms covering her mouth with her eyes turning into big saucers that looked like to be as if she was guilty over saying such blasphemy.

"---because of the epic that his humble bard has created, many have been less frightened over their kind. Though, some are quite suspicious and still looking at them in disgust just like how most of our servants are. Is he handsome? they were chattering about him last supper in the kitchen! Also, they've talked about how they have seen how he didn't think twice to point his sword at any of our men---Chivalry at its finest from a butcher as said by them,"

From the way she has mentioned it came with astonishment over the witcher's valiant and chivalrous actions. Your mind in a blurry mess when you have seen him the first time---being brought to a room where Geralt has reacted in an aggressive way towards everyone in the room that not even a king can scare him away when you were a bleeding mess shoved on the floors. Your heart constantly being poked by a knife after realizing that a fight came after his magnanimity, the other side of you thinking that he has done it out of affection and care. Expecting it to be more than just how a sentiment is towards a friend because you've been seeing him more than just your confidante.

Was this how friends with benefits is in their world?

You couldn't help the crinkles on the side of your eyes. A small, close mouthed smile warping your face at the thought of the witcher you were highly proud of deep inside.

"He is quite dashing, brooding and utterly like a knight in shining armor, don't you think?"

"I may want to have a husband like him in the future!"

"I doubt you could," you simply testified, remembering that princesses in the medieval era are forbidden to marry a commoner. More so, for a witcher whom everyone repels towards their kind.

"---A princess can only be with a prince. Unless, you're in a Disney story. Then you can be like---"

She immediately cut you off with a sad pout, "Aren't witchers like a prince? beast slayers but still a prince?"

You've turned to look into her eyes; genuine and seeming to be in a different state of mind as you sincerely implored, "To me---he's a knight. An imperfectly, perfect scarred knight who always saves my life." pause. "---Sometimes, picking a commoner is better than being with a perfect prince because they always make you believe in fairytales that don't exist. The witcher's a mutant. A freak of nature that they always see of him. An experimented human who had no other choice but to accept his lonely fate. But, this doesn't make him any less human, Princess Coco."

Princess Corinthia had her almond, doe eyes peering up at you. Her spirit filled in utmost inquiry for what your witcher really actually is. Unable to perceive how he also looked like because she had only seen his armored, broad back as he gently dropped you on the bed. Both of you seeming to be in a debate while his face inches away from yours, seeing him lean all the way forward to give you a pucker of his lips. A gesture that the princess has always seen from servants who had a secretive relationship with their knights. The opposite of what she sees from her parents because you never leaned away from Geralt unlike how the queen avoids her husband's affections.

Endearing to be seen from you both because her parents hardly appeared to cherish one another.

"Geralt has a kind heart that no other prince may let me see from and I wish for your future to be best and full of love like how I wish to have,"

"Geralt? is that the witcher's name?"

You've heard loud stomps of footsteps banging outside the room, knowing that it was probably chevaliers searching for the young princess. She was quick to pull the blanket over her head, forcefully shoving herself on your side for cover. Hence, it also made you slip under the covers, grabbing onto her fragile shoulders to pull her inside to veil away from the night that wanted to pull her in for a nightmare. The cloying feeling swaying your insides because of a young child that could delicately press onto your heartstrings, showing you how precious it was to have a daughter who was utterly sweet and gullible.

You couldn't help but giggle under the covers with her, subtly reaching for your growing stomach with a hidden caress.

"Yes it is, Princess. Now, hide!"

Morning came after and the night has still given you beasts as your foe, battling through the hours which has never given you enough sleep. The queen's princess having more sleep as she laid on your arm, telling you that she also had her own monsters to challenge with because she slept alone in her bed, thinking that it was all a lie when she dozed off after half an hour of your stories about Geralt and his adventures.

An understanding hitting you like a freight train when she began snoring as she slept on your bed.

The princess just needed someone to cuddle with. Comfort from another woman that the queen should've been doing because it was her daughter and not yours to begin with.

Dressed in your servant's clothes and standing in the middle of an empty kitchen, most servants have been called to be in the queen's chambers except for you. With a gurgling stomach and a set of pastries lined up in front of you and on the decrepit, wooden table---your fingers reach out for a piece of marzipan cakes until it has been whacked away from your hands with a tolerating slap of strength.

You were too hungry to even process that you have grabbed onto a kitchen knife, seeming to be in a greater starvation as each day passes by due to cravings for more food everyday. The blade has been hastily pointed upon the man's weak spot on his neck---remembering Jaskier's teachings about what vulnerable spot does it take to slash one's neck for him or her to bleed till her death.

Stunned forest green eyes were all wide as you point the tip upon his jugular. Your teeth barred and appearing wild before the familiar gallant whom you remembered to have seen back when Tybalt has forced his entry through your home. He was the cavalier who wanted nothing to do with Jaskier being shoved to the ground. The hesitant knight that you awfully remember.

"What are you going to do to me? Hurt me again?" you bark out loud, your fingers slightly trembling as the blade was close to his porcelain skin,  "---You knights are---!!!"

The obsidian eyed gallant raised his palm to covers your mouth, his gaze shifting around the empty kitchen before he talked, "Shhh. Don't eat those."

"---Mmmh!" you battled against his hold, shifting away but he forcefully kept you close by, never risking for you to scream or run away.

He shook his head, seeing him anxiously bite on his lower lip and looking away. His hand promptly leaving your mouth as he reached to grab onto one dessert that he saw one charmed servant bake and pour a nasty vile in the batter, "They're poisoned. I've heard it from Tybalt that you might be having a cub growing inside of you. One of the maids have been enchanted, poisoning your food."

You couldn't help but shut your eyes close in exasperation over people wanting to put you in danger. Your hunches immediately thinking about Ingrith because she has been the only person who couldn't stand you and the child you were bearing.

"Notice how no one eats them?"

"But, I seen them eat before I'm around,"

"But, not these. Correct?"

The maids have never eaten any dessert---nor had it look touched. They were devouring food, right. But, not desserts because somehow they suddenly had no sweet tooth over pastries; slyly knowing that you had a penchant over sweets.

It was probably the reason why they were simply poisoned.

You couldn't help but bite the insides of your cheeks, pulling out a chair from the table to tiredly sit and sigh about how stressful it is to stay alive in Geralt's dimension when people wanted you dead since the moment that an out-of-the-blue child has been living inside your stomach.

Was it a mistake made? was the child a mistake so that was why people were scared for it to be born? Eanraig has said that she would be born with a purpose to save their dimension---receiving such help to save humanity and cease chaos.

As much as how difficult it was to understand that, the only thing that has ever been a mistake was trying to honestly tell Geralt you love him before being cut-off by your witcher.

"Is it true?" the gallant curiously inquired, leaning his hip on the edge of the table as he crossed his arms in front of you.

"---that the Witcher is your child's father?"

It was still quite awkward to tell knowing that he was supposed to be infertile. But, being in a world where magic exists probably isn't the only thing peculiar after all.

"Yes."

"Oh, great. It wasn't just plain gossip after all," he momentarily exhaled a breath, rolling his shoulders back. Quietly moaning as he stretched his limbs, his youthful, juvenile timbre in his tone turning squeaky and nonchalant, "---They'll loathe you more especially that you're up the spout with the witcher's child,"

You could see the disgust in their eyes. People in the castle who somehow managed to see you. Though, the case with Eanraig, princess Coco and this chevalier was different because they looked at you as if there was nothing wrong which it should've been.

"Why?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head, grabbing onto another set of pastry that looked like some pudding as he raised it to his nose, subtly sniffing the food before calmly throwing it back away again, "That's not a question. Think of it---you're pregnant by a monster slayer who had tales of his kind that he is completely barren due to his genetic mutations. Then, you're suddenly carrying his sprog for magical reasons,"

Your eyes quickly narrowed with how sarcastic he sounded.

He continued his chatter, sighing every once in a while as he said his words that seemed to be a quote coming from another, "---Witchers are the offspring of foul sorcery and witchcraft. They are unscrupulous scoundrels without conscience and virtue, veritable creatures from hell capable only of taking lives..."

The latter exhaled one last long breathe, dramatic enough to pay heed over how you were trying to see through him; thinking what kind of person he was because after being injured within the castle has made you wary of anyone who wanted to talk. It even got to the point that you were guessing he wanted to talk and seek out information from you.

"---I've always remembered Amaury and his beliefs over witchers since he has encountered one before he was killed by him," he gave a small beam, showing teeth while he was in a flashback of memories from his journey before with a deceased close friend.

"I remember he goes by the name Auckes---maybe your witcher might know him,"

You simply nodded. Still cautious of his presence while you hugged your stomach from him.

"There are other witchers too?"

Geralt has left that question unanswered, back when you were serving ale for him. You've tried to remember that name for when you try to ask your witcher---that is if you're still planning on talking to him after the fight you and him had or if he would even care to answer.

Eventually, it was needed to talk to the father of your own child of surprise. A child of surprise that had no law being given or said.

He noticed you were dazing off, too deep in your thoughts that got him sauntering over the kitchen cabinets, slipping a hand inside to try and eyeball some fruit he tried to hid this morning. The man was thinking you were starving already which tells why you were staring out of nowhere, considering that you were eating for two.

"---Auckes became an assassin. He was formerly a witcha',"

You've snapped out of your stupor, the empathy you had for people swiftly slipping through your mind, "I'm sorry to hear that. May your friend's soul rest in peace."

"Amaury might be having a good time where ever he is right now,"

He strolled back to where you sat, standing before you with a bundle of apples, oranges and boiled eggs. His hands reaching out to give them while whispering the next sentences like he was forbidden to do it from the start or even talk to you, "Watch out for anyone. They have an entire repugnance for his kind and anyone related to him," you've taken the food out of his hands, placing them all on your apron and bunching them to yourself.

The lean built gallant took a step back, hands behind his back and realizing that he was younger than you thought. In the same age as Jaskier when he gave you a boyish smile, "Take care of yourself. Especially your child,"

You've finally beamed before him, slowly loosening up around his infectious presence. Self deciding that he was worth to trust after he took a bite of his own apple hidden inside the pocket of his breeches, showing you that the food he gave was poison free.

"Do you have a name?"

"Of course. The name's Otker."

"Thank you for the warning, Otker." the latter gave a toothy grin before it fell in a hot second, reaching to cup his nape in sheer embarrassment for whatever he was thinking.

"Forgive me for I have not helped you through Tybalt's plans," he honestly apologized.

Without warning, there were voices echoing outside. Voices of maidens chewing the rag over what the queen has told them and it made you shot up from your seat, the bulwark surrounding you suddenly building itself from hearing other people closing in---people who weren't worth the trust.

"It's fine. You had no other choice. You can't betray the man who you work for. Evil or not."

Otker cocked his head to the side with a knowing smile, his mouth in an amused straight line as he walked away with his steps going backward. He was agreeing to what you've said but also somehow disagreeing too.

"Tybalt's not all evil," the green eyed gallant pursed his lips from his psychoanalysis over the higher vampire after working with him for half a year or so; having faith over his ungodly gestures like his appearance had been a misunderstanding for his wicked characteristics that you find in him.

"---but, he isn't good either. Just being whispered words of propaganda by everyone surrounding him,"

A simple shake of your head was enough to get Otker shrugging his shoulders because he knew you weren't convinced after Tybalt basically stabbing you on the hip before he walked away as the judging servants came in the kitchen one by one again---planning to continue the stress they have been pouring.

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General taglist for any Henry Cavill fics: @agniavateira​​, @iloveyouyen​​, @rahdaleigh​​, @silverkitten547​​, @henrythickcavill​​, @kaatelyyynn​​, @marvelousell​​, @madelinelina​​, @summersong69​​, @raynosaurus-rex​​, @fckdeusername​​, @evansislife​​

[florenceandthemachine]

sleeping in the same room with buck is proving to be extremely annoying to eddie because at 2am, they'll be trying to sleep and buck will randomly start singing this is halloween from the damn nightmare before christmas and it's the middle of fucking june, and the only way eddie can get him to stop is to kiss him (for the first time)

“Wait, what do you mean you’ve never seen Toy Story?”

Eddie’s voice is in a weird balance of shock and accusatory, the tone making Buck squirm a little on the couch. Chris had all but conned (well, not really, Buck was just a sucker who didn’t know how to say no) Buck and Eddie into a movie night to start off what was affectionately being called ‘birthday week’. 

After all, it wasn’t every day that your kid turned ten. Double digits were a big deal—Buck may not know the Toy Story, but even he knows that. 

“I don’t know, no? We weren’t really a Disney family growing up.” 

“How is that possible?? You’re basically a Disney prince!”

Eddie has that look on his face, the one he gets whenever Buck tells him something that he thought was normal about his childhood—it’s a combination of sad, and desperate, and a little angry, though Buck can’t figure out why—but he has figured out that defending his childhood doesn’t usually go as well as he hoped.

(“I had food and shelter. What more could I ask for?” Buck asks, one particularly exasperating night, after Eddie gives him that look again. Eddie’s response is so soft, Buck almost misses the “So much more.”)

So they watch Toy Story. It’s not a bad movie, at least. It’s... nicely made. He definitely doesn’t feel his entire body tighten up as the toys strap themselves to a rocket and race after a moving truck. And in no way does he breathe a sigh of relief when they fall through the sunroof. 

The movie was nice, but the bet part of the evening is, by far, Chris falling asleep against his arm. It didn’t register immediately—he just put his arm around Chris instinctively to keep him comfortable—but as the credits roll, Buck can’t help but smile as he looks down. Somewhere in between gently pulling Chris’ glasses off and scooping the little man into his arms, he catches Eddie’s gaze, and he actually feels his breath catch in his throat. 

Because the look on Eddie’s face fills Buck with want. Buck’s seen it before—the soft, dreamy look that Eddie gets more often than not when Buck and Chris interact with one another—but lately, he’s been noticing it more and more, when Chris is nowhere around, at work, on calls, when they’re just hanging out, and it’s dangerous enough that Buck catches himself seeking it out.

Which is a terrible idea, really, one that would only end poorly for him. 

Buck clears his throat to break the spell, nodding to the crutches that Chris left by the couch as Eddie jumps up. “Wanna grab those, and we can get little man to bed?”

Eddie doesn’t know when Chris and Buck fell so in synch with one another, but it lifted a weight on his heart that he didn’t even know was there, knowing that even though Chris didn’t trust easily, he could still trust those that deserved it. He followed Buck’s lead as they got to his room, and had to literally grab onto the doorframe to steady himself as Buck tucked Chris in and kissed his forehead. 

Wishing Buck a goodnight was never easy, but somehow that night was harder than it had ever been. Eddie wanted to reach out, to tell him to wait, to stay, but all he could do was swallow and smile and wave when Buck pulled out of the driveway.

--

Unfortunately, fires did not wait for birthday weeks, and Eddie and Buck were both stuck on an overnight shift a few days later. The beginning of the shift had started out easily enough—back to back calls could keep anyone busy—but Buck felt himself lagging as the night wore on. 

Around three AM, Eddie swooped in and saved him, as he had a knack of doing. Pulling Buck into the media room, he all but dragged him over to the couch, picking a DVD off of the shelf and putting it in as he claimed his space next to Buck. As soon as the Disney castle became clear in the opening credits, Buck snorted, turning toward Eddie as he rose his brow. 

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. Chris said Disney would be good for you. If I don’t at least try to fill this apparently horrendous gap in your life, I’m not sure he’ll ever speak to me again.” Eddie said defensively, raising his hands in surrender as Buck laughed. It was always nice to know that Eddie was a full grown man who was so totally bent to the whims of his son. 

More dads could be like that, Buck thought. 

He had to admit, though, he definitely didn’t expect what was coming next. While Toy Story had been emotional, the Lion King was kind of a fucking wreck, hitting him with sucker punches left and right in the first half hour of the movie. 

“What the fuck.” Buck actually found himself whispering as the dust cleared, only to be confronted with Mufasa’s whole fucking corpse, because apparently that passed for okay in a G rated kids movie in the 90′s. “Eddie, what the actual fuck!” he said again as Simba entered the scene, not entirely proud of how his voice cracked. 

Eddie must have heard it too, because the movie was immediately paused, Eddie giving him a concerned once-over before he had to actually hide a smile, the bastard. “Eddie, it’s not funny! This is fucked up! How is this a kids movie!” Buck hissed, reaching out to shove Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie did laugh at that, even if it was a quiet one, and Buck found himself smiling in spite of himself. 

“You want me to continue the movie, or do you need a break?” Eddie teased, but Buck could see it for what it was, an easy out. Waving his hand as he wiped at his cheeks, he sunk deeper into the couch, watching as the scene continued. He didn’t realize how close he had been to Eddie until the other male spoke, voice low in the darkness. “You know, whenever something like this gets to Christopher, he usually lets me hold his hand... just a thought.”

Buck almost laughed at the absurdity of the offer until he turned and faced Eddie head on, the words dying in his throat as he saw just how... soft Eddie looked. The trace of teasing was long since gone, the only proof that he had spoken were the way his lips were slightly parted, and Buck felt color rise in his cheeks once again as he shrugged. 

“Well... I suppose that would be alright. If you do it for Chris, anyway.” he murmured, letting himself move a little closer to Eddie, their shoulders and arms flush against the soft fabric of the cushion beneath them. He felt a shiver dance along his spine as Eddie gently brushed his thumb over Buck’s wrist, never breaking eye contact, and Buck could feel himself drawn in, moving in closer, until—

—until he jumped about a foot in the air as the siren went off, awake and more high-strung than ever as Eddie doubled over laughing.

(The call was a false alarm—and as annoying as that was, when they got back to the firehouse and finished the movie, Eddie didn’t let go of him until they were off the clock that morning. So, Buck reasoned, it wasn’t all bad.)

--

Chris had all but begged to have a sleepover the night before his birthday, and who was Buck to say no?

Granted, he thought that Chris would be inviting his friends over, like, friends from school, and not just Buck, but... that was fine by him. 

(Eddie was a gracious host, at least—he seemed to realize how weird Chris’ request was, and he had given Buck about ten outs at work before Buck had easily shut him up. They had been... flirting? For lack of a better word, for the past few days, and Buck wasn’t afraid to use that to his advantage.

“Eddie, are you telling me you don’t want me to come over and stay the night?” he asked, a grin spreading on his face as Eddie blushed, he actually blushed, and just like that, Buck knew he won that conversation.)

He figured he may as well move up the ranks in Chris’ friend group, so he showed up with pizza and soda, depositing his winnings onto the kitchen counter before joining his Diaz boys on the couch. “Alright, nearly birthday boy, what’s the movie pick for tonight?” he said with a grin, the juxtaposition of Chris’ answering smile and Eddie’s near grimace catching him for a loop. 

“Nightmare Before Christmas!” Chris almost shouted, as Eddie let out a sigh. “It’s his favorite movie.” he explained, making sure that Chris was looking forward before mouthing “I hate it.” Buck only barely managed to catch his laugh as he sat beside the pair, pizza at the ready. 

The movie wasn’t bad, honestly, but even then Buck could absolutely understand how Eddie suffered through the movie whenever Chris demanded. The kid was absolutely entrapped in the entire movie, from skeleton to Santa Claus (”Sandy Claws”, Chris corrected, and Eddie actually groaned). 

One good thing, though, was that the movie was short.

The bad thing about the movie was that meant Chris could ask to watch it again, and neither Buck nor Eddie could find it in their heart to say no. 

The other bad thing—the worst thing, even—was that no matter how hard Buck tried, even as Chris was tucked in and read to, he could not get some of the fucking songs out of his head. He didn’t know the words. Hell, he barely knew the tune. But that didn’t stop him from humming as he and Eddie got ready for bed. 

They were no strangers to sharing a bed—when you were on a twenty four hour shift, you slept where you could, and if that meant sharing a bed, it meant sharing a bed. At the very least, Eddie didn’t have a twin sized bunk. Buck also wasn't a stranger to death threats, which Eddie was full of the longer that Buck hummed.

“Buck, please.” Eddie groaned, one hand reaching over to smack Buck on the chest. “You’re cute and all, and I love how much you’re enjoying your Disney binge and I love that you’re having a good time but if you don’t shut up right now and get some sleep I will actually kill you.”

Needless to say, it works, though probably not for the reasons Eddie intended. Buck can almost feel Eddie drifting off again beside him when he clears his throat—ignoring Eddie’s groan—as he says “You think I’m cute, huh?”

Buck actually felt Eddie freeze for a minute before he rolled over, and the smug grin on Bucks’ face only grew as he came face to face with a scowling Eddie. 

“Yeah, I do. You got a problem with that?”

Buck’s smirk softened into an outright beaming grin, only encouraged as Eddie started to smile back at him. He brought his hand up to Eddie’s hip as they both moved closer together—Buck let his eyes close as he tugged Eddie chest to chest—and then they were kissing. 

It was soft, and it was sweet, and it was perfect. 

The best part, though was the blush that was painted across Eddie’s cheeks when Buck opened his eyes. He brought his hand up from Eddie’s hip to his cheek, stroking it with his thumb. Eddie was cute as fuck, and that was undeniable, but... Buck couldn’t help himself. 

He brought Eddie back into another kiss, painfully—unpleasantly—aware that a kiss was about as far as they would be able to go tonight, with an impatient Chris in the next room. 

That might have been part of the reason that Buck decided to open his mouth—the other reason was probably because he was a child at heart, and nothing would ever change that.

“You’re blushing, you’re blushing! I can’t believe my eyes.”

Eddie actually beamed for a moment, before realization clicked on his face, and he shoved Buck away, groaning as he covered his face with his hands.

“Buck, oh my GOD.”

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Happiest Place on Earth

You’ve had a rough go of it recently. Your boyfriend, Chris, schemes with your boss to give you the vacation you deserve.

-

           You couldn’t lie. Your day got a million times better when you saw Chris’s contact picture light up your phone. It was a picture you’d taken of him at the beach, smiling as he held Dodger in one arm and your old dog in the other, and it made your heart melt like anything in the Los Angeles summer sun. You picked up the phone right away, walking away from where everyone was editing.

           “Hey,” Chris’s voice said brightly. “How’s my favorite girl doin’?”

           “Not great,” you responded honestly. “A bunch of files got corrupted, so then we had to get different cuts, and that means re-shoots, which means more work, and…” You sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining.”

           “It’s okay to get frustrated. I was going to ask when you think you’ll be done this afternoon?”

           “I don’t know, maybe seven? I know that ruins dinner, but…”

           “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry about it. Just get home when you can, bubba, alright?” You melted again at his sweet nickname for you and sat down at your desk, flicking your Nomad Steve bobble-head that you’d gotten as a joke when you’d started dating Chris.

           “Okay. I’m sorry.”

           “Don’t say that, you’re just doing your job. I’ll see you around seven-thirty, okay?”

           “Okay.”

           “I love you.”

           “I love you too.” He hung up a second later and you rolled your chair back over to the large computer where everyone was reviewing footage. You were lucky enough to get a job in Boston right after you finished working with Marvel, so while you had an amazing job editing, it took the life out of you. Computers were finicky, and you’d just lost half of what you’d done so far because someone had dropped the hard drive and corrupted everything. You were about to cry and it was barely 10 AM. But you loved it, so you stayed, despite all of the bad. You just wanted to see this video get edited, even if it took until the middle of the night.

           Chris sighed as he hung up the phone on you. He could hear in your voice that you were frustrated beyond belief. An idea popped into his head and he scrolled through his phone until he found the phone number he was looking for. Your boss, Jenna, had gone to school with Chris, and he just so happened to have her number. She answered right away, and Chris explained everything. That you were completely burned out, your fifteen year-old dog had died last month, and that even though you desperately needed a vacation you weren’t going to do it yourself. So he took ten out of the twenty-five PTO days you’d saved up over the past year, since they rolled over and you hadn’t taken a vacation the last year or the six months before that when you first started. Your boss said she’d send you home at seven even if you weren’t done and she’d send an intern to take your spot for a few days, and Chris grinned to himself as he hung up.

           He went directly to his computer and the website auto-filled before he even typed the entire thing in. He picked out the resort that your family used to stay at when you were kids, hoping he remembered it correctly, and he calculated how much time it would take to drive there and back because he knew you would be even angrier at him if he spent money on last-minute plane tickets. Then he got tickets, one for each park, and a whole extra day for the Star Wars park because he knew you were excited to go, and typed in his credit card. Would you be pissed? Probably. But would it be worth it when he drove through the gates and saw you smile? Definitely.

           You were a little alarmed when your boss sent you home, especially with that grin on her face that meant something was going on, and you tried not to be suspicious. You got to the house to see that the SUV had moved – you’d taken Chris’s car that morning, since he wasn’t planning to go anywhere, but he must have because it was backed in close to the back gate. You stuck your hands in your coat, locking the car in your pocket, and went in the front door. Dodger greeted you like he always did, jumping up on one of your legs until he could see that you weren’t hiding a treat in your hand. You greeted him with ear scratches before deciding to look for Chris.

           “Chris?” You asked. You saw him coming up the basement stairs and walked over to him. He was holding your laundry, which he usually complained about doing. “Why are you doing my laundry? Did you break something? Are you trying to butter me up?”

           “Not everything is about you, sweetheart,” he said as he put the white bin down. He greeted you with a kiss that he just smiled into.

           “Why are you so smiley?”

           “Can’t a guy smile at his girl?”

           “Nope, not you. Spill, Chris, what did you do?” He giggled, actually giggled, and took your hand. “Are you going to give me a hint?”

           “Nope. I’m going to lead you to your suitcase…” He took you up the stairs and then let you go in your bedroom, where he’d already gotten your suitcase out. “… and you’re going to pack for approximately eleven days. Bring triple the underwear, because you know why, at least three swimsuits, and your Chacos, and two cute outfits, but mostly functional. We’re going to be walking a lot.”

           “What?” You glared at him. He was just smiling, a shit-eating grin on his face, like he was waiting for you to figure it out. “Are you why Jenna sent me home early?”

           “Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll never know. But we need to leave within the hour, and we’ll be in the car for quite a while, so download some podcasts and music for us to listen to because you’re the DJ.”

           “Have I ever told you how much I hate you?”

           “Yep. Every day, gorgeous.” He cupped your cheeks in his hands, kissed you, and then called Dodger’s name. “Dropping the dog off at Carly’s, I’ll be back in about, eh, half an hour? What snacks do you want?”

           “Uh, the usual road trip snacks?”

           “So combos, sour patch kids, and Chick-Fil-A on the way out of town?”

           “Well, if you’re offering.” He rolled his eyes and left the room. You weren’t going to say no to whatever he had planned, because he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t think you would need it. So you packed everything he told you to pack, throwing in exactly what he told you to, but you went and grabbed some of his shirts to sleep in just to spite him.

           You finished packing your makeup, because he hadn’t really said anything about that but you just assumed, and shoved the bag in your suitcase. You packed up your personal computer, knowing he would kill you for taking your work computer, and gathered all of your chargers. He was back in a few minutes and you loaded everything into the SUV, grabbing a pillow and your favorite fuzzy blanket like he told you to, and you changed into road trip clothes, also known as shorts and one of Chris’s sweatshirts.

           “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” You asked as he pulled out of the house. He moved the GPS mount to the other vent, by him, so you couldn’t see.

           “Nope. You’re either figuring it out on the road or when we get there. So turn your location off.”

           “Whatever,” you said, showing him that you were turning your maps off. “How long are we driving? It’s almost 9.”

           “We’re driving until sunrise. And then I’m checking into a hotel, we’re sleeping, and then going on.”

           “Why couldn’t we fly?”

           “You would’ve been even more pissed off.”

           “Yeah, you’re not wrong.” You turned on your road trip playlist for about an hour before turning on the true crime podcast you and Chris liked to listen to whenever you got the chance to, which lately wasn’t very often. You fell asleep after a couple of hours and Chris turned on cruise control, since there wasn’t really anyone on the road, pressing the button to adjust it every so often. But for the most part, he was looking over at you and smiling, trying to figure out how the hell he managed to get you there.

           He herded you into a hotel as the sun was coming up, and you were so tired that you didn’t even care where you were. You just passed out on the bed and Chris tucked you in, heading to shower before joining you. When you woke up you checked in on Dodger, FaceTiming him, and then he got the two of you breakfast. You decided that he had to be driving down the coast because you kept seeing signs for beach highways, and that meant you were probably going to the Outer Banks or something like that. You were curious, but you trusted Chris. He wouldn’t take you anywhere he didn’t think was worthy of ten vacation days. You ignored most of the signs, but you determined after looking at freeway signs that you were going south.

           “Can I drive?” You asked, noticing that Chris was getting a little tired. He had moved his left leg a little bit and even though he’d been holding your hand for a few hours, he was getting antsy.

           “Nope. But I am stopping here.” He pulled over at a rest stop for the two of you to go to the bathroom and stretch your legs a little bit, but you were back in the car first. He looked happy as he walked back. He was wearing his gray sweat pants and a t-shirt and his Red Sox hat over the mop of hair that he hadn’t brushed that day. He threw away your food trash and then walked back, noticing you were looking at him.

           “What?” He asked. “If you’re going to keep looking at me like that, let me know and I’ll find another hotel.” You rolled your eyes, elbowing him. He scratched at his beard a little before moving his hand in between your thighs underneath the blanket, gripping your leg with his gigantic hand. He squeezed it three times – I love you – and then let you go so he could drive again.

           You spent most of the night blasting music, mostly bad pop-punk music from your childhoods, and probably listened to most of Blink-182’s discography along with the Top Gun soundtrack and even some Disney soundtracks, before moving back to podcasts. You saw a sign that said welcome to Florida and looked over at him.

           “No fucking way,” you said, suddenly catching on. He was heading toward the middle of Florida, not the coastal highway anymore, which meant you were either going to Orlando or the Keys, and the amount of hours added up to…

           “You okay?” He asked, grinning. “You understand now?”

           “Did you seriously steal my vacation days so we could go to Disney World?” He turned down Creep with his right hand and reached over to anchor his hand at the back of your head before leaning over to kiss your hairline.

           “I did. If you’re okay with that?”

           “Definitely. I love you.”

           “Yeah, I love you too.” It would be the second time you’d gone together, the first time being Disneyland at a Marvel event where he’d asked you to be his date. You usually just drove up to Maine or something for a couple days to relax at the beach, or there was one time when he took you to New York for the weekend to see your favorite show on Broadway.

           You were eager and sitting up as you listened to the last couple of podcast episodes you’d downloaded. Chris drove into the sunrise for another few hours before you finally saw the gates of Disney and you took your phone out, taking a video for your Instagram story. Chris just smiled at the camera, making it known that this was all his doing, and he slowed down. He made you cover your ears for what resort you were staying at, but when he pulled into the Port Orleans resort you realized it was because that was where your family stayed when you were a kid and you always talked about how you loved the French Quarter section. When he led you up to the room you found out that he’d gotten a view of the lake.

           “Have I ever told you how much I love you?” You said as you put your suitcase down.

           “Nah, you don’t need to.” He handed you your magic band from the last time you’d gone together – you hadn’t really gotten a choice since Marvel had sent them to Chris, but when he realized that it Peter Pan on it, who was your favorite Disney character, he’d given it to you while he took the Mickey one.

           “Yeah, I do. I love you.” You hugged him tightly and he just smiled down at you. His beard got caught in your hair and he had to un-tangle it before you could part ways.

           “I love you too. We should probably take a couple showers. Since it’s the smallest I figured we’d hit Magic Kingdom today, eat dinner there, and stay for the fireworks? If you’re not too tired we can stay after hours.”

           “Sounds good.” The two of you hopped in the shower together, mostly just to save time because you were both eager to get to the parks. You grabbed coffee from the shop downstairs and waited for the bus to take you there.

           You spent almost the entire day there, until it was a couple of hours until dinner. You’d both chosen to get on a water ride even though you weren’t dressed for it, so you had to go back and take another shower before then. You decided to dress up a little bit, since he’d told you what restaurant you were going to, and saw him smile as he emerged from the bathroom. You went back out to eat dinner and then he dragged you over to where the fireworks would be, even though they weren’t for half an hour, trying to get the two of you a good spot. He was like a little kid. You were both sitting on one of the fountain edges, sipping at beers, and then the fireworks were starting. You finished your beers and stood up, throwing them away before making your way back to Chris. He stood behind you, guarding you, and put his arms around you from the back, squeezing you into a hug as the music started.

           “Thank you,” you said to him, smiling as you turned to kiss him.

           “It’s the happiest place on Earth, babe.” You laughed and started watching the fireworks. They were over way to soon and you both decided just to turn in. You were exhausted, and you nearly fell asleep on him on the bus ride back to the resort. You took your clothes off, deciding to just deal with your leftover makeup tomorrow, and watched Chris as he got ready for bed.

           “What?” He asked you, looking you up and down. He finished what he was doing and walked over to you, a smile on his face, and pulled you close to him. You could smell his cologne even though he’d taken his clothes off, too. His skin still had a sweaty sheen on it from how hot it was outside, but you didn’t care.

           “I’m going to say something so cheesy you’ll want to punch me in the face.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around your waist, kissing your neck and your shoulder until they were red.

           “What would that be?”

           “I’m glad you’re here. You’re my happy place. Even if Disney kind of is too.” You had both known you were in it for the long haul awhile ago, but you’d never admitted that to him; that you were never as happy as you were when you were with him. No matter where you were, or what situation you were in.

           “You just had to steal my spotlight, didn’t you?” He said against your skin.

           “Sorry.” He squeezed your body closer, tangling your legs together.

           “No. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’d do anything to make you happy. I love you so much, bubba. And I’m sorry I stole your vacation days.”

           “I love you too. We’ll discuss your punishment for that when I wake up.”

           “Ooh, punishment, I like the sound of that.”

           “We are in Disney World, Chris, get your mind out of the gutter!” The both of you laughed against one another for another few minutes before your conversation shifted to the next day’s plans, and with a final I love you, you were both asleep.

A/N: This is literally my dream so thanks to whoever requested! I loved writing this one so much! 

Taglist (if you’d like to be added, send me a message!): @an-adventureland, @firstangeldragonranch, @ssebstann, @winterreader-nowwriter

[kirstinmaldonado]

CHAPTER TWELVE 2.0

I started the last two chapters, happy to have something of substance to talk about, me being at home, improvements I was seeing, maybe even some rightful disappointment at some people’s lack of care in their actions…but like clockwork the beginning of the week brought in new developments and my mind drifted focus. My fingers lost the spark to write about feel-good situations when the chaos in the world seemed to extinguish the flame.

I was in Texas just two weeks ago but it honestly feels like forever, as if time is confused on what pace its on. The USA seems to be confused as well.

Theme parks across the nation are opening up. Some flights are back to full capacity. The world seems caught on a pendulum of thought: “Are we good enough to pretend and pass like we can go back to normal?”

Meanwhile, people are still getting sick. People are still dying. Protests are still happening, although it apparently doesn’t serve the media to still be airing that. Justice has still not been served for those we’ve lost: Breonna Taylor, Vanessa Guillen, Elijah McClain, and so many more. The media and internet is ablaze with people ridiculing, attacking, or making fun of each other, on top of everything going on.

I wonder if I’m a part of that sometimes. While I still think protesting for “bar lives” is unfathomable and tone deaf, while it was so easy to ridicule because it was so insanely insensitive to compare to the BLM movement, did I help to further a narrative full of spite? Did I egg on anger and divisiveness, did I unintentionally help create arguments online? Did I give a platform that I don’t agree with more attention by calling attention to it?

I’m all for the hard but important conversations. I love them, to be honest. My family and I had many thought-provoking conversations when I was home, about what they’ve experienced with racism, about our opinions on all sides. It was wonderful to expand our ways of thinking using past and present! I think we all walked away with more rounded backing to our opinions, me included, and I’m thankful to have a family that can be so open and willing to discuss.

Yet, those conversations can’t be condensed into however many characters can fit in to a tweet. The art of negotiating is not all about winning, it’s also about empathizing. It’s about explaining and getting the opponent to understand your side and school of thinking; if you just tear them apart for their lack of understanding or different opinion, how can they ever fully understand or want to, especially if you are the one trying to teach them something not in their wheelhouse?

Racism, of course, is non-negotiable.

Everything else, and it’s a lot, that we have encountered in the last few weeks (mainly dealing with COVID) feels like it’s cumulatively driven us to a breaking point, to a point where I don’t really feel like I live in the “United” States of America. I feel like we are now all pitted against each other, immediate to defend our point, and jumping to 10 because honestly we are tired of the bullshit.

I get it. I do. But in the last few days while I’ve watched coronavirus cases develop, “Karens” making a fool of themselves in public places and endangering people’s lives with their sense of entitlement, while watching Hamilton for the first time and seeing good and bad critiques, Kanye running for president, while I’ve cried over Vanessa and what happened to her only to have someone try to belittle my reaction compared to others we’ve lost, I realized something.

Chaos. All chaos.

How can we make real change when we are all just screaming? How can we move mountains when we are pushing from two opposing sides? And while we have made progress, will we have the sensibility to keep with it or will our boiling frustrations overrule and distract us from our end goal, lasting and transformative change for the betterment of BIPOCs and everyone?

I’m not hating on our progress. And I’m not vilifying people’s reactions to things not in your school of thought, albeit insanely frustrating things. I’ve been there and am there. The amount of Facebook posts I’ve written novels for, the shock I feel on a daily basis for some people, is all still there. Yet, my sadness for this world and how to heal it has crept in and bated me.

What can “I” do to make a difference?

Hating and bashing things is our new normal, our humor has become intertwined with it so much that we ridicule and make jokes out of everything. Click-bait headlines only stoke the flames. Coronavirus is still surging every day, and you know what, some people can’t pretend to go back to “normal” amongst it all.

The entertainment business, for example, won’t be back up and running for… who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if Broadway was closed for longer than a year. We rescheduled our tour in hopes that we would be able to go, but with the way things are looking I can’t help but feel distressed about the outlook for the entertainment industry/shows all around. So many people’s “normal” won’t come back at all until we get a headway on this virus, and it’s gonna take us all coming together for that to work as well. We have to truly be THE UNITED states of america.

As a side-note, Pentatonix has never been this stationary since we started…and that’s bittersweet too. Never take anything for granted, guys.

So while I dissolved into a puddle over Vanessa and how I don’t even know how to help mediate the world anymore, with people at each others throats literally and figuratively all the time, with good people and bad people on every side, I returned to a very old school of thought for myself. 

Be kind. 

What can “I” do every day? 

Yes, use my platform as a strong voice of advocacy, try to filter through everything to make sure I’m posting facts and not scare-mongering or leading anyone astray from what they should be seeing.

I’ve protested. Signed petitions. Written emails. I tried to raise awareness and bring everyone along with me on my journey as I learned, which I thought was helpful.

But I forgot about the most important thing, the thing that’s been ingrained in my head since I was a child for better for worse, the one thing that even though practiced vehemently, never always comes back guaranteed.

Be kind.

I lost that somewhere along the way, a bit. I could feel my soul hardening at how cruel some people can be, I felt how easy it was to smite and bash people’s names who have done far worse. I felt my eyes cloud with hate.

For a long time I thought the battle was human vs earth and I was always so sad to see how easily we destroyed such a precious gift. 

Now I know at its core that the real problem is human vs human: how to one up each other, how to be more successful, how to win, how to be MORE all the time. That feeling has been slowly poisoning us and our empathy and compassion towards others. That feeling is not about bettering oneself, it’s about greed and it spreads like cancer. 

For a long time, I didn’t want to “be kind” like a Disney princess anymore. I was tired of trying to use kindness as a shield as if people’s actions did not hurt me. I was mad at my kindness for blinding me and letting me get hurt. I thought the phrase “kill them with kindness” was stupid, because I was the one that kept getting hurt.

But my kindness did not do that to me. I did not do that to me.

People did. Hurt people. Confused people. People that had problems within themselves that were in no way a reflection of me. People with opposing views. Those people are not my fault. Those people don’t get to have their anger bleed in to my life, they don’t get to poison my disposition with their greed and animosity.

What can I do?

Every day, I can make a point to not be divisive. To not so easily make fun of things, belittle, call names, etc.

I can tone down my “complaining” online. I can not get so upset and rush to attack people that would be hard to get my point across to anyway online, so I don’t work myself up for hours about one internet troll when I could be doing other more important things. Why lose sanity over someone only wanting to argue? Why revert to the name bashing, why invite more stress and anger in to my life, even though there’s enough anyway with what’s going on in the world?

As I uncovered more history, had more awakenings and understandings, and dealt with my own personal stresses, I felt my strength oscillating and now I know why. I was so hardened with hate and disbelief, I felt like a fool living in a world that said it was something else. And...I left my best ally behind in my own rush for MORE.

Kindness. 

Empathy. Understanding. Patience.

So for July, I’ve decided to take care of myself a little more. Take care of others. Make sure that I am not contributing to anyone’s pain, and only being an ally to amplify voices that need to be heard. 

There’s a kinder way to say everything. There’s a kinder way to live. Amongst all this chaos, maybe if we were all a bit kinder, we could ease the waves of tension and calm the storm. Maybe if we could see past ourselves, we could make a lasting change for us all.

I changed my bio the other day. We must be like the sunflowers, pulling toxicity from the ground and air. Nature’s helper. I said I would be like that.

They don’t contribute anything negative, they just stand tall and strong, a mediating force in a world that needs purifying. 

So, I will armor myself with my strength, knowledge, and kindness. 

And see about tomorrow. 

[megalony]

Teacher’s pet- Part 8

I know it’s been a while since I updated this dad! Ben Hardy series but I finally had the inspiration, I hope you will all enjoy this part, feedback is always lovely.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogermeddow @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez @jonesyaddiction @rogahs-drowse @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me @peterquillzsblog​ @im-an-adult-ish @crazylittlethingg @allauraleigh

Series taglist: @im-an-adult-ish @gwilymleeisbae

Series masterlist

Summary: Gwilym sets Ben up on a date with (Y/n) who teaches at the school Ben’s kids go to. But Ben is hesitant in the relationship, desperate not to make the same mistakes and needing to put his kids first.

Enjoy.

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

"As if you've never made homemade pizza before." (Y/n) looked across the island in the kitchen to lock eyes with Ben whose head tilted up to look at her, his brows raised like he was challenging her or daring her to carry on with that sentence.

"Hey, we've made it before and when Carter was little it was the only thing he would eat but we don't make it anymore."

"Well why not?" There was a seriousness to (Y/n)'s voice even though Ben and the boys knew she was only trying to rile Ben up and mess around. But homemade pizza was something (Y/n) always used to have as a child and whenever she had her nice and nephew over, this was the go-to meal because it was something they liked and it was something fun to do to actually make it from scratch.

It had been (Y/n)'s idea to make this for tea because she thought it would be fun and it seemed like a good way to get the boys to do something together and to do something with her. James was very attached to (Y/n) already, he had clung to her hip all day, Carter seemed fine with talking and joking with (Y/n) even if he was a bit uneasy at times. And Finn was slowly getting used to being around (Y/n) and seemed much less anxious around her which (Y/n) was overjoyed at.

Today was the first night (Y/n) was going to spend over at Ben's house with all the boys here too. It was a big day for them both as a couple because if tonight didn't work it made their future a bit tricky. (Y/n) had to see what Ben put up with on a daily basis, she had to see how God awful Carter's sleeping pattern was for starters. The eldest boy either got a few hours of sleep in the early morning or he got no sleep at all and it didn't hardly affect him or his hyperactivity.

(Y/n) would have to put up with Carter either being hyper and bounding about early in the morning, she might hear him trying to sneak out of his room or hear Ben telling him to go back to bed or hear Carter throwing a tantrum because he was tired but couldn't sleep.

She would also have to see how well Finn settled, and this was crucial. Even though Carter might not settle or might be hyper or play up intentionally because (Y/n) was staying over, he would eventually calm down after she had stayed over a few times. But it was Finn who they had to worry about because his sleep pattern was always disrupted. It took Ben a while to get the three year old to actually go to sleep because he seemed to panic a lot at night but Finn usually had nightmares. He would wake up crying a lot of the time and if he was really distressed or panicked he would scream or panic to the point he couldn't breathe.

If Finn got too unsettled with (Y/n) staying over or didn't dare join her and Ben in bed then it meant she couldn't stay over when the boys were home.

"We don't have time to do this, normally." Ben's response was sombre but (Y/n) looked over at James standing next to her when the middle boy sniggered.

"Carter couldn't make the dough and threw it at daddy and then daddy burnt his hand getting it out the oven."

"Stop giving away my secrets." Ben chided, narrowing his eyes as he pretended to be angry even if James was right. The last time they made pizza was admittedly when Finn wasn't even one yet and it hadn't been fun. Carter couldn't make the dough properly and it agitated him so much he threw it at Ben and then the pizza got burnt and Ben burned his hand on the tray getting it out. He hadn't bothered trying to make it again because it took a lot of time and it was more hassle than it was worth when Ben was on his own with the boys.

But right now they wanted an activity that all the boys could do together. They had all gone out for the day to the arcades and out bowling and since Carter refused to bake, cooking was the next option. Finn joined in where he could, James loved trying to cook and Carter would try as long as he thought or knew it was something he could do and he had been persuaded that this time it would work better.

When Ben was on his own with the boys he had to keep them apart so they didn't rile one another up. Carter would either fight with James or worry and scare Finn who didn't normally want to play any games and James could annoy Carter if he wanted. But with (Y/n) here it was a lot easier to keep the peace between them and keep them all entertained.

"That explains a lot. So, what are you having on yours?" (Y/n) looked at James who was scanning the toppings curiously before he grabbed a handful of chopped ham, a bit of bacon and then some sweetcorn before he rolled it up neatly. "Don't you like cheese?" There was apprehension in (Y/n)'s voice as she watched him make his pizza. He had the dough, then tomato sauce then his toppings but no cheese.

"He's lactose intolerant, the last time he had cheese on a pizza he spewed it everywhere." Ben tried not to laugh at the memory and because James frowned and gave him a certain, annoyed look but he couldn't help it.

"Lovely. What about you honey, what do you want on yours?" (Y/n) leaned her head to the side and smiled gently at Finn who was sitting on the edge of the counter, helping Ben sprinkle cheese onto their shared pizza but he was mainly tossing the cheese in great lumps rather than spreading it round.

"Pepper." Finn's voice was quiet and shy but he maintained eye contact with (Y/n) as he spoke which was a very good start.

"We have peppers and ham, don't we bud?" Ben threw on some ham and let Finn chuck on a handful of red and green peppers before he rolled it up.

(Y/n) went for plain and simple pepperoni and Carter went for a meat-feast option with a lot of pepperoni. When they were all made, they were placed in the oven and the five of them were left with a kitchen covered in sauce, flour and bits of chopped up meat and veg sprinkled everywhere. But the mess didn't compare to the fact that all the boys had actually managed to do an activity together and none of them tried to wind each other up or mess around.

"Can we watch a movie with tea?"

"Sure, go pick one out." Ben nodded with a smile at James who hurried out of the room as soon as he'd washed the flour from his hands. The living room had a rather large collection of movies, most of which were either Disney movies or some kind of animation movie.

Turning to the left, Ben dipped his hand in the tomato sauce beside him before flicking his fingers over at (Y/n) and he didn't miss the brief smile on Finn's lips when (Y/n) gasped and blinked in shock.

"You cheeky sod." (Y/n) reached for the tea towel and swiped away the sauce before hitting the towel against Ben when he passed her. "Do you want to get down honey?" (Y/n) smiled gently at Finn but her nerves were already starting to jump around in her stomach. She didn't want to just reach over and pick him up in case she scared or worried him and she didn't even know if he would want her to help him down even if he did want to get down and wander off.

Finn feebly nodded his head and moved his arms out towards (Y/n) but his arms were very stiff and held rather close to his chest to the point he looked like he had frozen up and become a statue. His eyes were full of caution when (Y/n) slipped her hands under his arms and gently lifted him up before setting him down to his feet. He looked like he was about to say thank you but thought better of it or couldn't find his voice so he settled for maintaining eye contact for a little while longer before he disappeared into the lounge along with Carter.

"What are you doing?"

(Y/n) watched Ben with intrigue when he walked over to the end cupboard above the counter next to the door and reached up for something on top of the cupboard. Due to his height Ben didn't have to go on tiptoes or even climb on the counter like (Y/n) would have done to reach up there but it seemed like an odd place to put something rather than just stuff it in the cupboard itself.

"I'm gonna go have a smoke." Ben turned around to face (Y/n) and waved the new unopened pack of cigarettes and a new bright red lighter in front of her.

"You hide them up there?"

"I've found Carter messing with my lighter before and he's hid my smokes when he was mad at me. I'd rather not take the chance of him setting the place alight." There was a hint of a smile on Ben's face but the memory seemed to come to mind and dampen his smile. He hated that he had to hide a lot of things from Carter but it was a necessity with him.

Sometimes Carter took Ben's keys when he didn't want Ben to go to work or when he wanted to stay with him. Other times he had taken Ben's cigarette's from his coat pocket and wouldn't say where he hid them. When Ben found him playing with his lighter he bollocked him for it and since then he hid them where he knew none of the boys could reach or could find them. It was too much of a risk to have them lying about. When Carter got mad he would get vengeful as well as physical and he would play up and hide things or smash things or just be spiteful. He didn't always mean it but it meant Ben had to take precautions.

(Y/n) nodded, attempting to tidy up the kitchen but her eyes followed Ben when he stopped walking abruptly to fish around in his pocket for his phone when it started to ring.

"Fuck, it's Jamie." Ben whispered the words to himself but the confusion and anger on his face was enough to make (Y/n) concerned and wonder who Jamie was. "It's Carter's mum... I haven't spoken to her in six months." The apprehension in Ben's voice showed he didn't want to answer the phone but knew he had to. She could be ill or in an accident or something could have happened for her to ring out of the blue like this.

Ben always tried to get her to be involved with Carter after she left, he tried to get her to come and see him just for an hour or so or just to ring him and see how he was doing. But he gave up in the end. Whenever she used to ring on odd occasions it upset Carter because she didn't talk on the phone for long and then that was it. He didn't see her or speak to her for possibly months at a time. It was easier for her not to talk to Carter at all than to unsettle him and rile him up by calling out of the blue and then disappearing again.

Quickly putting the cigarettes and the lighter back in their place above the cupboard, Ben answered the phone and whilst walking over into the back room to be out of the way and earshot of the boys and (Y/n).

"No. I don't hear from you in six months and then you ring out of the blue and now you want to talk to him? I'll gladly talk to you about him and how he's been doing but you can't speak to him that's not gonna be fair."

Ben dragged his free hand through his hair as he took to pacing up and down the back room. He always knew when Jamie rang she would either be ringing out of spontaneity and just wanted an update on the son she left behind or she was in a very funny mood. She got in moods where she felt bad and felt sorry for not calling sooner or coming round and she wanted to know about Carter and talk to him. Ben knew a few times she had been in that mood was because her parents kept telling her she had to talk to Ben and have updates about Carter.

Her parents weren't happy Jamie wanted nothing to do with Carter but they couldn't change her mind. They only made her feel bad and she ended up ringing when she was in an upset or drunk mood.

There was no way Ben was letting her speak to Carter. After he'd stayed with Ben's dad two weeks ago he had been on his best behaviour and he was doing well at school and he wasn't acting out yet. Ben couldn't jeopardise that and let him speak to Jamie because it would send him up the walls when she wouldn't come and see him or ring him the next day. It would set back his progress and agitate him and that wasn't fair on Carter. It was so much easier to have Jamie out of their lives right now.

"Ben please, just let me say hello to him, I... I've not been a mother to him and I do miss him and think about him a lot."

"The only way you're getting to speak to him is if you commit to him. I'm not hurting him because you're drunk or someone told you to stop and rethink your life. Someone always reminds you that you left him and you feel sorry for a few days and then that's it, I hear nothing from you. I'd rather he forgets you than gets his hopes up for you to disappear again."

Ben knew Carter didn't understand the situation and that was partly because he was too young and partly because of his problems. He didn't consider why Jamie didn't want to see him or speak to him, he just focused on the fact that she wasn't around. But whenever she rang he wanted to speak to her and didn't get mad until after the phone hung up and she didn't call back. It was as if the moment he spoke to her he forgot that she had left him behind.

Ben prayed to God that in the years to come Carter would realise that Jamie didn't want to be in his life because if he didn't he would forever be hoping she would come and see him or ring him and it was going to get worse for him. He couldn't be waiting around for her to ring and be in his life when Ben knew deep down she wasn't going to. Jamie wasn't the most reliable person and she had problems herself. If Carter didn't have his disorders or his anger or his issues then maybe she would have been a good or even a perfect mother to him.

But the fact was that she couldn't handle him and she didn't want to.

"Dad, Finn picked Coraline again but we've already watched that like-"

"Buddy I'm on the phone, go back through there please, I won't be long." Ben pressed the phone to his shoulder and pointed at the door, gently ushering Carter to leave the room so he could continue his argument.

"Who is it- is it nana? Can I speak to her please?" Carter immediately tried to reach his arms up to take the phone from Ben who held it up higher so he couldn't reach whilst shaking his head. All the boys were in the habit of taking the phone off Ben if they knew who it was such as if it was Gwilym or Ben's mum so they could speak to them.

"Buddy go sit down it's not your nana. Carter I mean it."

Ben tried to give Carter a nudge in the direction of the door but Jamie spoke up at just the wrong moment and Carter caught wind of her voice. It took him a few moments to register whose voice it was after not hearing her talk for many months now but the pieces seemed to click in his mind like a light bulb turning on above his head. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped before he suddenly jumped at Ben, trying to grab his arm and pull it down so he could reach the phone in his hand.

"It's mum! It's mum let me talk to her! Dad please... daddy give me the phone!" There was a lot of urgency in Carter's voice that rose higher and higher in pitch but his breath got stuck in his throat when Ben suddenly pulled back and walked out of the room to try and stop Carter from talking to Jamie.

Ben barely made it back into the kitchen before Carter jumped him from behind, doing his best to grab the phone that Ben wasn't handing over to him in a hurry. (Y/n) watched the scene in shock as Ben managed to get Carter off him, only to have the eldest ram his hand into Ben's stomach, shocking him enough to make him lean over which gave Carter the perfect opportunity to snatch the phone.

Carter clutched the phone in both hands and held it forcefully to his ear as if Jamie's voice was so faint he couldn't hear her at all. He started talking rapidly- something he did when he was over-excited, and quickly hurried over near (Y/n) to get away from Ben so he could continue talking on the phone.

"Carter give me the phone." When Ben advanced over to him Carter simply backed away and shook his head. "I mean it Carter, give me the fucking phone!"

"Ben he's not going to give you it now... just wait until he's finished or you'll make him worse." (Y/n) reached over and grabbed Ben's upper arm to pull him back. If he took the phone now Carter would have a meltdown because he couldn't finish his conversation with Jamie, even if he got distressed when the call eventually ended, it wouldn't be as bad as if Ben took the phone from him now.

"Put the phone on speaker and stay where I can see and hear you." Ben held the kitchen counter so tightly his knuckles turned white and he could feel the sharp edge cutting into his palm but he didn't care. If Carter was talking to Jamie he wanted to hear what was being said and he needed Carter in his line of sight.

Carter happily obliged since he was now getting what he wanted and he sat down at the counter, holding the phone tightly in his hands in front of him just in case Ben tried to snatch it back from him.

(Y/n) didn't know whether she should walk away and go see Finn and James or whether to stay because it felt like she was intruding but Ben kept glancing over at her like he wanted reassurance so she decided to stay. Both Ben and Carter's tempers flared around each other, they loved one another so much but they set one another off and riled each other up very badly. It was one of the reasons they argued as much as they did because if Carter shouted Ben would shout back to get him to listen and (Y/n) didn't fancy walking away in case they had another argument or even a fight.

Something pulled at (Y/n)'s heartstrings as she watched Carter talking to his mum. It was very clear he was a child deprived of having a mother and the way he held the phone and leaned down to speak into it showed he was desperate to talk to her and have her around. But hearing the way Jamie was unsure of what to say yet very desperate to talk showed (Y/n) she seemed unstable.

She sounded just as Ben described her, jumpy, up and down with her emotions and certainly incapable of looking after or even being around Carter. But that was no reason for her not to be in his life, if she just rang him even once a week at a scheduled time and stuck to that time then it could settle Carter down immensely even if he didn't see her.

"Are you coming to see me?"

(Y/n) and Ben locked eyes for a split second before Ben reached across the counter and snatched the phone back whilst Carter's guard was down.

"Daddy!" His shrill scream tore through (Y/n), she had heard many kids having tantrums but they were never nice to hear, especially when they screamed like that. Carter tried to lean across the counter to get the phone back but he couldn't reach and he was too late anyway.

"That's enough now." Ben didn't bother to say anything to Jamie before he hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket. He couldn't get Carter's hopes up because it would be cruel and unfair when he was sure Jamie wouldn't be calling again very soon and even if she did she wouldn't be very likely to want to talk to Carter again.

"I want to talk to mum! Why won't you let me speak to her or see her? I want to see her I want my mum why are you being mean-"

"The last time you spoke to her was six months ago and you haven't seen her in years so don't you dare start telling me I'm the mean one when she doesn't bother to call either of us. If she wanted to see you she would come here but she hasn't, has she? It's not my choice whether she calls or sees you but I don't want you getting your hopes up for nothing."

"That's not fair!"

(Y/n) felt like reaching out and wrapping her arms around Carter when he started to cry but she knew it wasn't a good idea. But her arms itched out like she wanted to do something or intervene when Carter started violently sobbing. In the few months that (Y/n) had been with Ben, she'd seen the bite marks, the scratches and the bruises Carter gave him without intentionally meaning to hurt him and she'd seen Ben shout and tell him off. But she'd never seen Carter actually hurt Ben until now.

The ten year old screamed again before he reached out and scratched his nails down Ben's exposed arm like he was a bird with talons that he wanted to drag across its prey. Ben reacted in split second timing and grabbed Carter's wrists in his hands just after Carter landed a rather lightweight punch to Ben's stomach before his wrists were constrained and held above his head. Carter bent his knees and tried to pull away and he wriggled continuously until Ben wrapped his other arm around his boy's waist and pulled him closer.

The moment Carter stopped wriggling Ben let his wrists go and leaned down, wrapping his arms properly around Carter so he could pick him up. Despite him now being ten and rather heavy Ben picked him up and held him effortlessly and he clung to Ben like a monkey. He caged his arms around Ben's neck and his legs around his torso. It was moments like this when Carter had meltdowns that he wanted to be a child again, he wanted to be a little boy so Ben could hug and hold him like this because soon enough he wouldn't be able to be carried around or held like this because he would be too old and too big.

"It's not fair buddy, but it's not my fault." Ben whispered in his ear before he kissed his temple, trying to calm him down because dinner would be ready soon and if he was riled up or upset then he wouldn't eat.

Ben was about to shake his head at (Y/n) when she walked over to them because when Carter was upset Ben didn't like anyone around him as he became volatile. But to his utter surprise, (Y/n) instinctively started to card her fingers rhythmically through Carter's hair and the eldest boy didn't push her away or scream or violently react. He almost whimpered at the touch but said nothing at all, he kept his head buried in Ben's neck but Ben could feel the anger disappearing from him as (Y/n) continued to run her fingers through his hair and brush it tentatively out of his eyes.

[jemmahazelnut]

Laxus and the magic lamp

Summary: Laxus is the sultan's grandson, but when he’s deceived by his father, he’ll find himself trapped in a cave together with a strange genie with long green hair. [Freed/Laxus]

Link: AO3

This is a very light story, hopefully funny. Obviously, it's based on the Disney movie Aladdin, but there’s no thief and no princess. Instead, there is a prince and a genie of the lamp (plus a joker magic carpet and a dangerous tiger). Hope you like it :)

Laxus and the magic lamp

-1-

Laxus couldn't believe his eyes. A boy with long green hair had just materialized in front of him with two strange strands of lightning bolt on top, stretching his legs and arms as if nothing had happened. It must have been a dream, maybe he had hit his head too hard and was now hallucinating. Laxus knew that wizards existed, he himself was the son of a wizard -quite a powerful one, to tell the truth- but that was too weird even for him. He looked at the lamp in his hand. That boy had gotten out of there, Laxus was sure of it. How it was possible Laxus didn’t know.

“Who are you?” Laxus asked the stranger, who turned to him, scrutinizing him. He looked quite bored actually.

“Freed, the genie of the lamp. You’re my master, I can fulfill three of your wishes and then I’ll pass into the hands of someone else” the boy said tonelessly. Laxus frowned, was about to ask him for an explanation but Freed anticipated him: “Where’s Bickslow?”.

“Bickslow?” Laxus asked confusedly.

“Yes, a flying carpet. He's quite spiteful, you should recognize him. We were together last time, he told me he wouldn't run away without me” Freed said as he began to walk around the cave. The blond blinked more and more hallucinated. Okay, it wasn't the first time he'd seen a wizard or magic in action, but he certainly had never seen such a weird guy come out of a fucking lamp and flutter around with big purple wings looking for a flying carpet. Had he told he was a genie? “So? Did you see it or not?” Freed asked again annoyed.

“I... yes, I think” Laxus muttered, pointing at it with a finger. It was that annoying carpet that had unnerved him ever since he entered that fucking cave, so much so that Laxus had decided to plant a stone on it and immobilize him. He had grown tired of his stupid jokes, he was already pissed off on behalf of him for letting his father screw him like that.

Once again.

God, if only he had gotten out of there, and if only he could use magic, he’d have made him pay for it. As every time he hated his helplessness in front of his father, who remind him from the day he was born how useless he was. How weak he was without magic. Constantly making him weigh the fact that he was just an inept despite being the grandson of the sultan and the strongest wizard in all of Fiore. As if it were his fault that he was born like that.

He let go of those thoughts when Freed started talking to the rug and scolding it. Laxus looked at Freed more and more skeptical. Genie or not, that guy wasn't right with his head.

“You got fooled by a human, I guess you deserve to be in this condition” he was saying. He paused as the carpet moved the tassels. “I don't believe you even one bit, and if you keep complaining I won't free you” he said.

“Where the fuck did I end up?” Laxus wondered more and more thrilled. That situation was far too crazy. He was stuck underground in a fucking cave in the company of a mad genie and a flying carpet. Meanwhile, his father was out of there doing who knows what.

Laxus darkened at the thought and looked back at the lamp. Ivan had wanted that. That was why Ivan had brought him here to get the lamp. He had told him that it would be an invaluable source of power and that with that, they could heal his grandfather of the disease and empower Laxus. The blond didn’t know how much of that his father actually wanted to do, he doubted that Ivan was so worried about Makarov, he’d probably only use it for his personal purposes. Actually, maybe it was lucky that Laxus was left trapped in there. He dared not imagine what his father would do with that lamp.

Laxus turned the object over in his hands thoughtfully. The crazy guy said he was a genie and could grant three wishes. He looked up at the boy, who had now cleared the carpet that he had resumed fluttering around.

“You said you were a genie, right?” Laxus asked. Freed turned to him.

“How many times do I have to repeat things? Yes, I’m a genie, you’ve three wishes and I can grant whatever you ask. Maybe you can wait a little while before fulfilling them, so I can finally stretch my legs? You know, I think I've been locked up there for at least thirty years. A day off would do me good” he said pointing to the lamp. The carpet fluttered and Freed turned to it. “Thirty-two? Well, it's thirty-two years, even worse” he commented annoyed.

“Do you understand the carpet?” Laxus asked confused, since he hadn't heard even a sound from that object. Freed stared at him, for some reason he seemed to hate him, yet Laxus didn't understand why. They had never met before, he was sure of it.

“Of course, otherwise I wouldn't talk to him” he replied coldly. Then he arched an eyebrow. “Of all the humans I have found in front of, you’re definitely the most idiot.”

“What?” Laxus snapped, starting to get irritated. “Shouldn't you show some respect to your master?” he blurted out. Freed made a face.

“Well, if you ask for it as a wish I’ll be obliged to do so. But I suppose you’ve other wishes in mind, like becoming rich or powerful” the genie commented sourly. The carpet fluttered in front of Freed and moved strangely. Freed frowned slightly. “Oh. You’re a prince. So, you’re already rich and powerful, what more do you want? Humans really can't get enough of it” he commented as if he was pissed off. Laxus found himself quite stunned. Had the carpet just told the genie that he was a prince? That was proof that Freed could really understand it. How could he do it Laxus struggled to understand, but he decided not to think about it.

“Are you so hateful with all masters?” Laxus asked.

“Yes” Freed replied quietly starting to walk, probably just for the sake of moving. “I’ve spent over a century fulfilling the wishes of you humans, all similar wishes, mind you. There were those who wanted to be richer, those more powerful, those who wanted to be recognized as king, and those who wanted to have a lot of women. Every now and then I also happen to some moron who wants a statue in honor of him. I mean, I can destroy whole mountains and I have to use my power for something as trivial as a stupid statue. Not to mention the sultan who asked me to become the king of the whole world. I mean, what did he need it for? He already had a kingdom. However, it didn't end well for him, someone would kill him immediately. It was quite satisfying…”.

“Shut up for a moment” Laxus said. All that information was beginning to confuse him.

“Right, I guess you don't care. I haven't been able to talk to anyone for thirty-two years, so you could at least be more understanding. But why do I tell a prince?” Freed muttered increasingly irritated. Laxus ran a hand over his face wearily.

“So can you grant any of my wishes?” he asked him, he wanted to be sure first.

“There are some clauses” Freed said pragmatically. “I don't kill, I don't make people fall in love, I don't raise the dead” he clarified. Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“So, if I asked you to give me a powerful magical power, could you do it?” he asked. Freed rolled his eyes.

“Really predictable” he commented sourly “Yes, I can do it” he added immediately after.

“Don't judge my wishes” Laxus growled. Freed snorted.

“Is this your first wish?”.

“No!” Laxus exclaimed. The genie smiled in amusement and Laxus found himself snorting. For a genie he was quite an asshole. He became thoughtful wondering what he could ask him. To tell the truth, he already had two very specific wishes in mind, but he didn't want to waste them right away, he wanted to think about them first. Well, before actually the most important thing to do was get out of there or he wouldn't have fulfilled anything at all. He stood up and walked over to the wall of rocks looking for something to hold onto to climb.

“If you're looking for a way out, I remind you that I can do it with a snap of my fingers” Freed said. Laxus gave him a grim look.

“I won't waste a wish this way” he objected.

“Well then, squash yourself, so you won't be able to grant any wishes” Freed commented. Laxus rolled his eyes as he looked for a way to climb up. But it was impossible unless he was flying, and he didn't have wings. He adjusted the lamp to his side and tried to climb up the wall, ignoring Freed's gaze which was clearly amused.

“You're funny, when you fall, I'll laugh even more. You will be the first human to have died without granting even a wish” he said. Laxus turned around ready to insult him but was surprised when the carpet flew past him, stretching out under him and pushing him up. Laxus widened his eyes and a small exclamation escaped him, while the carpet carried him higher and higher towards the exit. Freed flew past them with wings. “Bickslow, why are you helping him? I really wanted to see him fall” he said.

“You're an asshole for a genie” Laxus grunted. As annoying as that carpet had been to him before, it was definitely kinder than that genie.

“I know” Freed just said. In a short time, they came out of the cave and as soon as they were there, they found themselves in the middle of an expanse of sand. It must have been morning, the sun was low in the east but they couldn't see anything even in the distance. Which was obvious, he had traveled extensively with his father to get there. Laxus actually didn't even know which way he should go, he was pretty sure he had to go southeast, but he had no idea how long it would take him to get home.

“Would you take me home?” he asked to the carpet. He felt a bit stupid talking to it, but if Freed could do it, he probably could too, right? The carpet looked pleased at the question and spread out beneath him, so Laxus sat cross-legged on it while Freed frowned at him.

“I am the genie here, with a snap of my fingers I'd take you home” he reminded him as if he were almost offended. Laxus smiled slightly.

“Yes, but you’re an asshole. This rug is nicer than you, and I’ve other wishes in mind to ask you” he clarified. The genie snorted as Bickslow approached Freed, who slapped it badly.

“I'm not going to get on top of you, you idiot” he growled. Laxus chuckled for the first time in a long time. Seeing that guy talking to a rug and making fun of him was starting to be fun. Of course, his primary thought was to go home as soon as possible hoping that his father hadn't done anything wrong, but at least he could finally enjoy some freedom.

After a while they left. Laxus on the flying carpet as Freed flew past him. As much as the genie enjoyed teasing him, it was refreshing to talk to someone after months, and Laxus found himself smiling more than he thought.

-2-

They hadn't arrived yet, they had flown for a while until Bickslow felt tired, so that evening they stopped in a small oasis. Laxus ran the water over his face to cool off and filled the bottle with long sips. Freed, on the other hand, didn’t eat or drink. He said he didn't need it, since he was a genie. Laxus watched the boy, who had stretched out on the sand and was looking up at the dark sky above him. As much as he enjoyed teasing him throughout the day, he knew that life must be frustrating for him. Over a century to fulfill the wishes of other people, to be a slave to anyone. Laxus had no idea what it was like, but it sure wasn't supposed to be pleasant. If he had been Freed, he would have been a lot more pissed off at everyone.

He sat on the sidelines, not wanting to disturb him any further and his thoughts fell back to his father and grandfather. He wearily ran his hands over his face. Three wishes, he could finally solve his problems. But what could he want? Certainly, healing his grandfather, that was undisputed. The other two, however, were a problem. For years he had wanted to be a wizard, so that he could finally be recognized and respected, mainly by his father himself, but now he wasn't so sure he wanted to. Sure, he wanted magic, but to crush Ivan rather than for recognition of him. To put an end to his wickedness. And then he… he wanted a happy life. Being locked up in the castle was extremely boring.

“Are you thinking about your wishes?” Freed asked. Laxus turned. He hadn't even realized that he had approached him. He probably teleported himself, he enjoyed doing it just to annoy him.

“More or less” he replied in a mutter. He wasn't in the mood for joking at the time, but the genie seemed to understand this without him having to tell him.

“I guess there’s something that worries you. If you’re unsure what I can do, you can ask” Freed said. Laxus gave him a surprised look.

“I thought you hated granting other people's wishes” he commented. Freed smiled slightly.

“In fact, I do. But if they’re good wishes, I only enjoy helping people. And it really looks like something is bothering you” he revealed. Laxus nodded thoughtfully. They remained silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, until Laxus decided to speak.

“Can you... heal someone from an incurable disease?” he asked him. He felt Freed's gaze on him, but the blond continued undaunted to observe the small pool of water in front of him.

“Yes, I can recover from any disease. Even if one is on the verge of death, I can do it” he replied calmly. Laxus nodded and felt relief grow in his stomach.

“Good”.

“Who do you want to save, if I may know?” Freed asked. Laxus hesitated for a moment, but there was really no reason to hide it, sooner or later he would have known.

“My grandfather” he replied “He's been sick for a few months and no one can find the cure, and... he seems to get worse and worse. I searched everywhere until my father told me that there was a strong power in that cave that would be able to save him. Well, I don't know how interested he really is in saving grandpa, but he didn't lie, he was referring to you” he explained. He glanced briefly at Freed, who was silent for a moment.

“If this is your wish, I can't wait to fulfill it” the genie told him with a hint of a smile. “How come you say your father isn't interested in saving him?” he asked. Laxus snorted.

“He… he's the kind of man you described afternoon. Only interested in power, when my grandfather fell ill, he almost cheered knowing that he would be the next sultan” he explained, darkening his face. “And now it's obvious that he only brought me here to take the lamp and give it to him. I’ve no idea what he wants to do with you, but sure no good” he added. Freed listened silently and Laxus snorted, realizing that the genie had probably seen many such people. “You know, I'm sorry for you. I mean, I understand you hate us. You’ve no idea how many times I've seen men who want to marry their daughters to me just to get my wealth. I see these things almost every day, and at least I can send them to shit, while you…” while you just had to obey, he thought without saying it. Freed shrugged.

“It's not your fault. And I know they're not all selfish, I met a good soul from time to time. Once a princess asked me for help to make her people feel good. It was a nice gesture” Freed said. “These are the things I think about when I'm in a bad mood, which is quite often, as I spend years in a tiny lamp alone” he commented wryly. Laxus didn't laugh, there wasn't much fun. In fact, he was beginning to sympathize with him.

“Were you born like this or did you become a genie?” he asked.

“I became” Freed replied immediately. “I was a pretty powerful wizard and I had unnerved too many people, so they locked me in there” he explained briefly.

“Won't you tell me more?” Laxus asked. Freed snorted.

“Are you really interested?” he asked. Laxus nodded and so the genie began to tell his story. Laxus discovered that he had been one of the most powerful wizards, a scholar, and that he had always been fascinated by dark magic. For years he had studied a way to increase physical abilities and had succeeded by imprisoning a demon inside it, but he had lost control, so he was locked inside the lamp, and forced to use his powers to fulfill the wishes of others. Laxus listened in silence.

“How long have you been in there?” Laxus finally asked. Freed shrugged.

“Two centuries? Maybe a little more” he commented.

“So, in theory you can live forever?” Laxus asked. Freed nodded.

“Yup. I’m immortal. An eternal sentence of slavery” he replied dryly.

“And... isn't there a way to free yourself?” he asked him. Freed smiled.

“Of course, the master should give up a desire for him and ask to free me” he replied. “At that point I’d become a human again and live the rest of my life like anyone else” Laxus's eyes widened slightly. Oh. Well, it made sense.

“So... I could free you”.

“Don't say it” Freed said coldly. Laxus turned to him, scanning his face. He didn't look sad, just… resigned.

“I don't have many desires, then, once my grandfather is healed and I have the magic, I can arrange to do the rest” he objected. Freed turned to him looking intently into his eyes.

“I'm sure you'll think of something else” he said harshly. Laxus started to object but Freed wouldn't let him. “Don't start, I've heard a similar promise before. Rather, it appears that you’ve decided on the first two wishes. While the first appears to be altruistic, the latter really don't understand it. You're the next sultan, right? Why would you want to have magic? You'll already have enough power” he said. Laxus felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't like talking about that, he always made him feel out of place.

“I don't have any magic” he objected, hoping that would clear everything up. Freed, however, didn’t seem at all surprised by that revelation.

“Then?” Freed asked.

“So… so I don't have any magic and I'm the sultan's grandson. Nobody will take me seriously. Fuck, nobody does it right now” he blurted out instinctively. He didn't want to scream like that, but he felt quite nervous. It was a sore point.

“You don't need magic to be recognized” Freed retorted. “In any case, it's late. Goodnight” he said and then disappeared in small purple bits that flew into the lamp. Laxus observed the magic in surprise, finding himself at the same time amazed and a little shaken by the conversation they had just had.

-The day after-

That was going to be his room then. They had just arrived at the castle and the prince had told him that he could sleep there. Which was nice, as Freed had been forced to sleep in a tiny lamp for years. That bed, on the other hand, was spacious, he had an entire bathroom all to himself, a terrace overlooking the internal garden and… perhaps he had misjudged Laxus. He seemed like a really nice guy, nothing to do with the old folks who had asked him for money and power solely for their own interests.

“This time you found yourself a pretty hot master” Bickslow commented, fluttering in the air. Freed gave him a dirty look. That rug talked too much, luckily Laxus couldn't understand it or was sure Bickslow would enjoy embarrassing him in front of the prince.

“Yeah, too bad he's like everyone else” he commented coldly pushing the good thoughts about Laxus to the back of his head. After fulfilling his three wishes, however, he’d never see him again, so it was useless to think about it. Bickslow stretched out on the mattress, spreading and moving the tassels.

“Really? Because you're not as sour as you usually do… you like him” it said.

“No, I don't” Freed retorted immediately.

“Oh yes instead. Your heart melted when he told you about his grandfather”.

“Stop” he snapped dryly. At that moment the door opened and Laxus entered.

“Are you still talking to the carpet?” Laxus asked. Freed turned to him already ready to answer badly, when he noticed that a tiger was walking beside him. He looked at her curiously and attentively. Laxus must have noticed his gaze because he smiled slightly amused. “She’s Evergreen, I advise you not to piss her off” he said, leaving a small caress on the animal's back. Freed raised an eyebrow.

“Your pet?” he asked skeptically. The sultans were strange. The tiger growled at him and Freed jumped slightly taken aback and glared at her. Laxus chuckled.

“She doesn't like being called that, but she seems to like you” he commented as the tiger approached him. Freed remained motionless just so as not to show his fear, while the animal sniffed him and ran around him growling.

“I don't think she really likes me” he objected.

“If she didn't like you, she’d have torn you apart already” Laxus replied calmly. Freed stared at him even more skeptical, that wasn't reassuring at all. “Come on Ever, leave him alone, he's shivering with fear” said the blonde with a hint of amusement in his voice, at which Freed got irritated. Of all the masters he had ever had, never had one made fun of him like that. The tiger walked away and crouched aside.

“Why do you have a tiger? Couldn't you have taken... a cat?” he asked. Laxus shrugged.

“I like tigers, and she's a bitch, she scares anyone who breaks my balls” he replied with a shrug. “On the other hand, since you saw it, you’ve dropped your wings” he then added with a mocking smile. Freed got nervous. That wasn't true at all, he was just surprised.

“I’m a genie, certainly the most powerful being in this castle. I'm certainly not afraid of a tiger” he immediately objected. A more powerful growl made him jump and immediately after the tiger jumped on him, if Freed managed to avoid it, it was only because he disappeared and appeared on the other side of the room. Laxus was laughing big. “You should tame her” Freed said between his teeth.

“Nah, I like having a free spirit next to me” the prince replied even more amused. “And it will be fun to see you run away from her”.

“If I wanted, she would already be ashes, and I don't do it just because I have moral values. But I could turn her into a sweet kitty” Freed threatened with a hiss. The tiger blew at him even more pissed off as Laxus raised an eyebrow.

“You know, she doesn't like you that much anymore” he said tilting his head to the side “Keep it up and you'll find yourself mauled within hours”.

“Just try it” Freed retorted. That tiger seemed to really understand him anyway, as she stared at him as if she were planning a surprise attack. Well, better be careful, he didn't want to end up with his clothes in tatters. He watched Laxus soften his smile as he scratched the back of the animal, which finally crouched partially.

“So, do you want to take me to your grandfather?” Freed asked changing the subject and Laxus frowned.

“I’ve to do something else first. It won't take long, you can go around freely, just… don't let my father see you” he told him and hurriedly left the room, leaving him alone. Just so to speak, since the tiger and Bickslow were still there. Since he didn’t want to risk being discovered by Ivan, he decided to stay there, took a book and lay down on the bed, not without glancing at the tiger, which in any case seemed to have dozed off partially. He sank into the mattress and smiled satisfied. For the first time in many years, he was not upset about having a master.

-4-

Laxus had noticed that something was wrong in the castle. He still hadn't figured out what, but he hadn't seen the usual waitresses wandering happily through the corridors, nor had he felt the usual cheerful atmosphere. Something must have happened, and he wanted to figure it out before walking around with a lamp that could be stolen. But when he was about to approach the kitchens, he heard an all too familiar voice.

“What do you mean you saw Laxus? It's not possible” his father was growling. Laxus paused in the middle of the corridor unsure what to do. He wasn't sure how to deal with him, and the anger was already starting to rise but he forced himself to turn around so he could see him. The man turned the corner and Ivan widened his eyes as soon as he saw him. Laxus glared at him without saying a word, while the man's expression went from surprise to angry.

“Laxus, how... when did you come back?” he asked him. Laxus shrugged.

“Before” he replied vaguely. “It was really nice to throw myself into that cave” he commented ironically, shooting a dirty look at the red-haired girl next to him. Flare, that bitch must have warned him that he was back.

“Son, you know I didn't throw you out. You offered to come in” Ivan said softening his tone. Laxus raised an eyebrow, increasingly irritated. He remembered the scene all too well, but as usual, his father had to turn things around in his favor. He didn't want to waste time with that anyway. “So, I suppose to be here you must have found the lamp” he added inquiringly. Laxus tensed slightly, and just hoped Ivan didn't notice. Shit. If Ivan had known about the genie, he would have done everything to have him under control and that was definitely the last thing he wanted.

“No, I'm back on my own” he then replied “And a little luck, a wagon was passing by. It took you very little to abandon me, since I went out two hours later and there was no trace of you. Did you want to get rid of me?” he asked him. Ivan narrowed his gaze.

“You are always so malicious with me, son. Of course not, I didn't think you survived. So, tell me, how did you get out of there?” he asked. Evidently, he didn’t believe him. Laxus was about to answer but couldn't say anything that shikigami wrapped around his arms. He gritted his teeth and wriggled, breaking them with the strength of his arms, but shortly after other figures attacked him directly. “Don't tell me you're so stupid that you left the lamp there” growled the man. Laxus glared at him. Obviously, he understood that. He tried to free himself but it was useless, against that power he couldn’t do anything.

“What the fuck do you want from me, huh?” Laxus snapped.

“The lamp” Ivan growled. Laxus grinned.

“Well, unfortunately for you there isn't. However, I’d never have brought it to you”.

“Bastard” Ivan growled and other shikigami shot out of his hands. Laxus struggled not to moan in pain, even though the papers burned his skin. Then he was yanked by the arms and thrown to the ground. “You'll end up like that old man, dead behind bars. Flare, Nullpudding, take him there” Ivan ordered the two underlings, who obeyed instantly. Laxus at that moment regretted not having immediately expressed his first wish, if he had the magic, he would have got rid of them in an instant. Instead, he could do nothing but be dragged to prison.

As soon as he was thrown in, he saw that his grandfather was there too, lying in a corner and trembling.

“Grandpa” he said worriedly as he approached. The old man opened his eyes weakly and sighed slightly.

“Laxus, I thought you were dead” Makarov muttered hoarsely. Laxus took off his jacket and put it around him, hoping it might be of some comfort. The old sultan, however, continued to tremble.

“What happened?” the boy asked “What the hell is father doing?” he blurted out irritably.

“He… wants to take up the position of sultan. I told him that he’d never have the kingdom and that if I died, he would pass to you” the old man coughed for a moment “That's why I thought he killed you” he added. Laxus put a hand on his forehead, worried about his state. He was even worse than the last time.

“Well, he won't be” he said dryly. Hell, that he would let him do something like that. After all, now he had Freed. Freed… shit. How the fuck did he talk to him from behind bars? He just hoped his father didn't find out the genie was there.

-The day after-

He didn't know how he found himself in that situation, he just knew that that shouldn't have happened. Freed coldly stared at the man in front of him, who was smiling sadistically as he stroked the lamp in his hands.

“I’m your master now. Three wishes, right?” he asked, widening his smile. Freed stared at him contemptuously. He honestly didn't understand how that man could be Laxus's father since he didn't look like him at all, and what the boy had told him was enough for Freed to understand that this man would be the last person he wanted as master.

“Yup. With three clauses, I don't kill, I don't make people fall in love, I don't raise the dead” he acted much colder than he had been with Laxus. Ivan nodded thoughtfully.

“Too bad, I was hoping not to get my hands dirty. In any case, I want to become the sultan of this country” he ordered. Freed felt anger boil under him but could do nothing but raise his arm. This was one of those moments when he hated his position. Purple magic began to come out of his hand, surrounding the man's body and shortly thereafter Ivan was covered in the typical clothes of the sultan. A big white hat on his head, a scepter in his hand and an even more satisfied smile on his face.

“Well, the time has come to begin to reign and change the rules” the man said, walking towards the large terrace that he overlooked the city. He began to speak loudly to people. By now everyone considered him a full-fledged sultan, they acclaimed him and Freed could only watch, just hoping that someone would put an end to that story. He glanced at the lamp. If only Laxus had taken it, he’d have stopped all that mess. But Freed was bound, he couldn’t in any way hinder the plans of his master.

“Now, I want to talk to Laxus. Guards, bring him to me” Ivan said as he went back into the main hall. Freed's eyes widened slightly, he hadn’t really expected it.

Shortly after two guards entered the room dragging Laxus and badly knocked him to the ground. His wrists were tied in handcuffs, and he was full of scratches on his arms. The blonde looked at Freed and darkened, immediately understanding what had happened.

“Bastard” the blond growled. Ivan hit him with his shikigami and Freed felt himself seething with anger again. But still, he couldn't do anything.

“Do you dare to talk to your father and your new sultan like that?” Ivan growled. Laxus narrowed his gaze.

“I’ll never give respect to you. You may be the sultan, but you're not worth anything” he spat. Ivan hit him again with the spell, making him stagger and Laxus gritted his teeth, evidently in trouble.

“You better change your attitude if you want to stay in my kingdom” he warned him. Laxus grinned.

“Your reign won't last a day” he objected. Furious Ivan hit him a third time and Freed shuddered at that point, seriously caring for the boy. There was no way anyone could take all those attacks passively. It was already surprising that Laxus was still standing and that he didn't let any emotion but anger show through.

“Did you poison your grandfather?” Laxus asked. Freed's eyes widened as Ivan chuckled.

“How did you find out, huh?” he asked.

“I suspected it, but I got confirmation from him. You never cared about his life, did you? You just wanted to take his place” Laxus snapped, his gaze growing furious. Freed swallowed hard, glancing at Ivan, who did nothing to deny it. In fact, he laughed openly. Asshole bastard, he thought. Of all the people he had met in his life, Ivan was definitely one of the worst. But the worst part was that Freed could do absolutely nothing to stop him, in fact, he was helping him.

“Well, in any case it doesn't matter anymore. He’ll die shortly and you’ll follow him if you don’t help me in my plan”.

“Forget it” Laxus immediately growled. A new burst of shikigami left from Ivan's hands and Freed watched more and more helpless and more and more worried the boy, who despite everything, was standing up to endure that torture.

“You will, unless you want to be blasted by my magic” Ivan threatened. Laxus grinned.

“Go ahead, this stuff just tickles me” he invited him. Stupid, Freed thought. He was a human without any magic, how could he even think he could endure something like that? Ivan didn’t wait and started hitting him again, and Freed looked away, unable to bear that treatment anymore. As annoying as Laxus had been, he had been one of the few people who hadn't treated him like a slave. The only one who had treated him as an equal and who had joked with him almost as if they were friends. He just didn't want to see him die in front of him.

“Have you become weaker as you get older?” Laxus scoffed. Ivan looked more and more pissed off, and at that point he turned to Freed.

“Slave, my second wish is to become the most powerful wizard in Fiore” he ordered. Freed gave him a dirty look, raised his hand again and without saying a word the magic activated itself, forced to please his master, enveloping him in a purple and black aura and drastically increasing his power. Ivan grinned and lifted himself into the air, raising his hand above him and attacking Laxus again, who this time fell to the ground groaning. Freed wanted to rip those damn handcuffs off his wrists and attack Ivan himself.

“Now you don't laugh anymore, do you? So, will you help me?” Ivan repeated.

“No” Laxus spat. Ivan seemed pissed off again and at that point Freed intervened unable to take it anymore.

“What do you need from him that I can't give you?” he asked. Ivan turned to him frowning at being interrupted by a slave.

“You won't be faithful to me forever, and I want my son to follow in my footsteps. Of course, I’d have preferred a wizard rather than an inept like him, but I'll have to settle for it. I’ll make him a powerful magician in my service”.

“I never will” Laxus growled. Ivan grinned.

“Well, if you don't do it of your own free will, then I'll have to ask for the third wish. I wanted to use it for something else, but it'll be okay too” he said with a grin. No, Freed thought in panic. That was absolutely the last thing he wanted to do. “Slave, I want ...”.

“Why he?” Freed interrupted him before he finished the sentence. “Just because he's your son? Wouldn't it be better to have a wizard in your employ? A powerful wizard?”. Ivan stared at him contemptuously.

“What the hell are you trying to do?” he growled him.

“Help you. As a genie it’s my job to do so, I cannot in any way embarrass my master by contract” Freed replied promptly. “Laxus clearly has no power, it makes no sense...”.

“I want my son's respect!” Ivan shouted. Freed glared at him. So, was it all there? That was out of his mind, totally nonsense. He heard someone giggling behind him and turning around he noticed it was Laxus. Freed found himself admiring him for his strength, he was hurt and yet he still hadn't lowered his head.

“Really? Do you just want me to respect you? And I thought you wanted Grandpa's power” he commented. “Weren't you looking for the Lumen Histoire? A long way to not have it?” he asked. Ivan immediately changed expression to that name and seemed to go crazy.

“What do you know about the Lumen Histoire?” Ivan asked furiously as he approached Laxus.

“Not much actually, it's just the biggest secret power in the world” he replied. Ivan grabbed him by the collar lifting him off the ground.

“Where is it?” he asked him. Laxus shrugged.

“I'm not your slave” he replied badly without looking down. Ivan threw him badly to the ground and turned to Freed in anger as never before.

“Slave, I want the Lumen Histoire, now!” he thundered the order. Freed didn’t even know what it was, to tell the truth he had never heard of it, despite this, the magic came up by itself from his hands, and shortly after a small pink crystal appeared in the hand of the man, who stared at him with sparkling eyes of desire. Freed didn't have time to think about anything, that saw Laxus punch his father in the stomach. Ivan gasped, while the blond badly grabbed the lamp from his hand.

“Freed, take all the magic off Ivan” he ordered. Freed smiled and didn't think twice. He raised his hand in front of him and acted quickly, while Ivan in panic began to attack with the shikigami all around him. Laxus was swept against the wall and the lamp fell a few meters from him, Ivan's guards were hit full-on and flew into the windows. Freed narrowed his gaze as he increased his magic. The shikigami diminished until they disappeared completely, and Ivan fell back to the ground, breathing heavily and incredulously. He looked at his hands from which now nothing came out.

“You... bastard!” he yelled as he turned to Laxus, who was rubbing his head trying to recover. Freed flew right beside him.

“Everything good?” he asked worriedly. The blond nodded slightly moaning and Freed ran his hand gently on his arm.

“I can cure you if you ask me” he reminded him. Laxus shook his head and stood up, taking the lamp back in his hands and glaring at his father. He was breathing hard, still shaken by the attacks he had had to endure. Freed stood next to him, ready to fulfill any wish of him, not that he could have done otherwise, but if Laxus had asked him to attack that asshole he would have done it with great pleasure.

“Freed, go save my grandfather” Laxus asked. Freed's eyes widened.

“What?” he asked, stunned, turning around.

“Get the fuck up. It’s my desire and he’s dying”.

“But you need help” Freed objected. Laxus gave him a dirty look and Freed found himself turning against his will. “You're a fool, Ivan isn’t destroyed yet” he reminded him as he walked away.

“No” Laxus agreed. “But he will be shortly, and I'll do it myself”.

-That evening-

Freed sat down at the well-laid table in the building. The real sultan smiled in front of him, now full of health and life, and continued to drink wine saying that he had never felt so good.

“Old man, you'll have a heart attack if you continue like this” Laxus muttered, even though he had a hint of a smile on his face. Freed smiled. Although it made no sense for him to eat, as he’d survive anyway, it was tasty to taste all those foods.

After Ivan was thrown in prison along with his subordinates, harmony had returned to the castle. Laxus had explained everything to Makarov, and had introduced him to Freed as the genie of the lamp. The old man had thanked him heartily for saving him and helping his grandson, but Freed just smiled. After all, he had been forced to. True, he would have done it anyway, most likely.

“And is that a flying carpet?” Makarov asked pointing curiously at Bickslow. Freed turned to his friend, who was flitting around the tiger making her nervous, so much so that the animal had started chasing him even though the carpet fluttered in the air escaping his ambushes. He smiled in amusement.

“Yes, you can climb on it if you want. Bickslow is always happy to have passengers on board, as he says” he replied.

“Does it speak too?” Makarov asked surprised.

“Nah, it's just Freed who's hallucinating” Laxus retorted. Freed gave him a dirty look.

“Says the man who talks to the tiger” he objected.

“Do you compare a tiger with a rug? There’s no story, at least the tiger is a living being”.

“Bickslow is a magic carpet” he immediately objected.

“Yes, and he'll be mauled by Ever if he keeps bothering her”

“I doubt it” Freed objected immediately.

“Well, boy. In any case you’re welcome in our castle, after what you’ve done for us” Makarov said interrupting their speech. Freed turned to the sultan and smiled in thanks. “You can stay as long as you want”.

“Thank you” Freed said, even though it occurred to him -with some regret- that after Laxus' last wish he’d never see them again. He turned to the boy, he was about to tell him if he had decided what he wanted to be his third wish for him, but the blond had started talking to his grandfather. He was in such a good mood that Freed just didn't feel like interrupting that moment, and he decided to put it off until later. After all, he wasn't even in such a hurry to get out of there.

The evening went on quietly. Laxus at one point told him that after what he had done for them, Evergreen had accepted it too, and prompted him to scratch behind her ears. Freed wouldn’t have wanted to do it, but Laxus would have teased him endlessly if he refused, so he reached out and almost had it detached from the tiger's jaws.

“Damn” he snapped to Laxus, turning pale, and the blonde laughed.

“Hey, I didn't think she reacted so badly” he apologized, but it was evident that he was somewhat amused by his abrupt reaction. Freed snorted. “Sooner or later I'll really turn her into a harmless kitten” he thought to himself, throwing her a dirty look. Evergreen, however, stared at him defiantly, while Laxus stroked her without any problem, with an amused smile on his face.

When they finally walked to the bedrooms Freed felt some relief that he’d sleep on a comfortable bed. It wasn't really a bad prospect. He almost didn't want Laxus to express his last wish. He was definitely the best master he'd ever had, even better than that kindhearted princess. He was the only one who had offered him a nice room and some food, the only one with whom he had joked and with whom he had really treated himself as an equal. Despite this, he knew that sooner or later he would have to say goodbye. That thought gave him a certain melancholy in the stomach and he called himself stupid for his. After all, he had known Laxus for only three days, he certainly wouldn’t miss him. Maybe he felt that way because he had spent too many years alone.

“Laxus, have you chosen your third wish?” he asked as he walked down the hall giving him a brief glance. Laxus nodded.

“Um… actually yes” he said.

“So, what are you waiting for to ask me?” Freed asked indifferently. Laxus, however, stopped turning towards him preventing him from continuing.

“You're right, better do it now” he said. Freed raised his eyebrows.

“Great power, right?” he remembered him. Laxus just smiled.

“I want you to be free”.

It took Freed a few seconds to figure out what he had asked him, and the magic started without him being able to do anything, still stunned by what the prince had asked him. It was definitely the last sentence he expected to hear. He was enveloped in a purple aura, the cuffs on his wrists broke and fell to the ground in a jingle but Freed just stared at his own hands, incredulous and speechless.

He was free.

He was really free. No more masters, no more lamps. Still stunned, he looked up at Laxus, who had a sweet smile on his face.

“I don't believe it” Freed whispered in a voice hoarse with emotion. Laxus chuckled, perhaps amused by his expression, but honestly Freed didn't care right now. He was free. After centuries of living in a lamp he was finally free. He no longer felt the powerful magic in his fingers, nor the weight of the handcuffs, nor the strength that compelled him to be loyal to his master.

“Well, you should” Laxus said.

“Did... did you set me free?” he asked as he slowly realized what that meant. No more desires, no more lamps, no more eternity, no more slavery.

“I did” the blond nodded. Freed looked up at him. The blonde had a sweet smile on his face, and Freed, seized by a rush of excitement, pushed against him and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you” he whispered against him on his shoulder. “Thank you, really” he repeated still incredulous. He felt Laxus' arms wrap around him.

“Thanks to you” the boy softly replied. The breath tickled his forehead and Freed looked up, crossing his eyes, and for the first time he gave Laxus a sincere smile, which had nothing to do with the mocking smiles he had given him up to that moment. He didn't even know what to say. It was the first time he felt at a loss for words. And he was so excited that he didn't care at all to keep his composure.

“Do you know what you are going to do now?” Laxus asked without removing his arms from his body.

“I… I’ve no idea. I honestly never thought about it” Freed replied and giggled slightly. “I didn't expect it would ever happen” he admitted.

“Well, you can stay here until you decide. Sure, it's a bit boring but the old man is grateful to you, he’ll give you free meals and you’ll have a nice room. And if you want to escape, you have your carpet friend who would drag you away” Laxus told. Freed smiled and closed his eyes for a moment wondering for the first time in years what he wanted. Spend his life in the castle? The idea was good. Spending life with Laxus? The idea seemed fantastic. Travel? That thrilled him. Traveling with Laxus? That would have been ideal. He opened his eyes meeting the blond's gaze.

“Well, while I decide I’ll take advantage of your welcome” he replied not knowing what to do yet. Laxus chuckled.

“Dirty profiteer” teased him. Freed chuckled too until he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Kiss him, idiot” it was Bickslow of course. Freed found himself blushing and quickly broke away from Laxus, thanking for the umpteenth time that the blonde couldn't understand the carpet. Stupid Bickslow and stupid his ideas.

“I'm not stupid, free meals and roof? Not a bad perspective at all” Freed said then starting to walk back to his room, ignoring Bickslow's constant comments behind them. He cast a spell behind him to silence it as he continued to walk alongside Laxus. “And if you start to get too annoying, I can run away with Bickslow” he added, stopping at the door of his room and turning to the prince.

“Well, that sounds like a good plan” Laxus just said with a half-smile. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Freed made up his mind to speak.

“Really, thanks for everything. Of hospitality, of having freed me... you wanted to have the magic and you gave up for me, even if you’ve known me for only three days” he said sincerely. Laxus looked uncomfortable and scratched his head nervously.

“Yeah, well, it's not really that important” he said shrugging. Freed smiled gratefully.

“No, but I know you wanted it” he retorted.

“Like you said, I don't need magic to be a good sultan” Laxus muttered. Freed nodded.

“Yes, and as far as I'm concerned, you’re the best prince I've ever met. You’ll surely be a good sultan” he added. He thought he saw the blond blush slightly, but he decided not to worry by opening the bedroom door. “Goodnight” he greeted him and then shut himself in. As soon as it was just a smile it filled his face and for the first time in a long time, he fell asleep and had peaceful dreams.

-A few days later-

Laxus was now used to seeing Freed walking around the castle and for the first time in a long time he wasn't bored at the palace. Freed had even managed to get Makarov to let him out more often, since Freed was a wizard, he could protect him. Not that Laxus needed protection, but if that idea was enough for his grandfather to feel comfortable, he would have come to terms with it. And walking around with Freed wasn't bad, on the contrary, it was fun. And even when they spent entire afternoons at the castle, he enjoyed teasing him, and the flying carpet was always nice. It seemed to somehow make Freed nervous, for reasons Laxus still couldn't understand, but as long as he saw Freed threaten an animated object, he would have fun.

The more the days passed and the more Laxus thought he had done well to free him, Freed was definitely less cold and more prone to jokes, and Laxus was discovering new sides of him that made them get along more and more. New sides that pleased him with his friend more than he should have, because more than once he had focused on his figure. He knew what that meant, but he tried not to think about it thinking that if he ignored those thoughts, they would vanish on their own.

Besides, Evergreen had also accepted Freed. She even let him caress her, which Laxus was quite surprised by. Well, if that bitch Evergreen had accepted him, then it was certainly a good sign.

Laxus knew that Freed would leave the castle sooner or later, more and more often he said he would like to take some trips. A castle was definitely bigger than a lamp, but being locked up wasn't going to be easy for Freed anyway, after he'd been for most of his life.

That's why he wasn't surprised when he saw Freed sitting on the flying carpet that evening, walking out onto the terrace. The boy was saying something to Bickslow, who fluttered just beyond his terrace. Laxus walked over but as soon as he leaned over Freed fell silent.

“You leave?” Laxus asked. Freed smiled slightly.

“Yes, there are islands overseas. I heard about them at the market and everyone says they're beautiful” he replied. Laxus felt his heart go flat. Was he leaving and not even telling him? He thought that when he made up his mind he would warn him well in advance, not two seconds before he left. Sure, Freed didn't owe him anything but Laxus now regarded him as his friend and was pretty sure it was the same for Freed.

“Yes, I remember, you even bought a book about those” commented the blond trying not to show all his disappointment. He would miss him, now more than ever he realized it. He had never thought about that moment hoping it will never arrive, but now that he was there, he wasn't ready to say goodbye. Not with those new feelings that were being born in him. And if he let Freed go without even talking about it or showing it to him, Laxus knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.

That was the reason why Laxus took courage and without thinking twice pushed himself towards Freed. He passed a hand behind his friend's neck pulling Freed against him and kissed him.

His initial thought had been to leave him only a chaste kiss, but when he felt Freed reciprocate and his hands running through his hair, Laxus tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss. He pushed forward, leaning over the terrace. He was definitely an awkward position but definitely worth it. It was undoubtedly worth it. To have Freed's soft lips on him, to smell his scent, and his hands running down the back of his neck. That was much more than he had expected.

After a few moments they parted and stood for a moment in silence, looking into each other's eyes. Freed had red cheeks and was still close enough that Laxus could feel his breath on his face. Only then Laxus realized that Freed had approached during the kiss, or perhaps it was the carpet that had approached. It didn't matter much, what mattered to Laxus was that Freed wasn't breaking up, and it seemed like he wanted that kiss as much as he did. Then why was he leaving?

“So... are you leaving anyway?” Laxus asked. His voice came out hoarse and more uncertain than expected. He didn't want to show how bad he was, but hell... if Freed liked it, why did he have to leave?

“I... yes, you can come with me” he replied in a low voice. Laxus wanted to, get on that carpet and run away with him, but he just couldn't. He didn't even want to leave his grandfather there alone.

“No, I can't” he said then. Freed's expression became confused and then the carpet waved under him. Freed looked down, probably Bickslow was saying something to him. After that Freed looked up at him again.

“Wait, I'm not leaving forever. I'll only be away for five days” he said. Laxus's eyes widened slightly, wait what? Freed let out a short chuckle. “Did you really think I was leaving without warning you properly?” he asked him. Laxus found himself blushing.

“I... you said you were leaving” he said embarrassed. Freed gave him such a sweet smile that Laxus found himself at a loss for words.

“Yes, but I meant for a few days” the boy explained. “And… well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with me. Your grandfather already said you can come” he added. Oh. Oh, that was… nice. Laxus didn’t even realize but by now the embarrassment had passed, replaced by something similar to a euphoric feeling in the stomach.

“Then I'll come too” he immediately decided. Freed reached out a hand to him and Laxus took it with a slight smile on his face as he stepped onto the carpet and sat down next to the boy. “About... um ... what we did...” Laxus muttered a bit awkwardly. Freed's face flushed again as he shrugged.

“Well, we could talk to the islands about it” he said shyly. Laxus glanced at him briefly without understanding why he was holding back, and Freed blushed and leaned towards him lowering his voice even more. “Anyway, I'd like to do it again” he admitted not without embarrassment.

Laxus smiled and taken by a further surge of courage leaned towards him to kiss him again. It was a simple and brief touch of lips, but it was enough to excite him and the two boys looked at each other silently again with smiles on their faces. When Laxus turned his gaze to the starry sky ahead of them, he felt as elated as he had never been before. That was definitely the beginning of something wonderful.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

i havent been here in a hot second is there a reason for the makoto hate specifically? like the rants go back to p5's writing issues but the spite for makoto seems very specific did she kill someones dog in one of the spinoffs or what?

You're all good. So here's the thing, she did kill my dog-I'm joking.

When I say “I’m the residential #1 Makoto Hater” it’s a joke, partially cause it probs looks that way (and probs cause it might be true, who knows if you could quantify hate then maybe I’m at the top of the leaderboards 8U but you can’t so we’ll never know). But I’m saying it at as a joke, to own myself and everyone here that knows what I think of her, rather than wear it as a badge of honor or some silliness. It’s just a “oh haha yeah there goes Silly, dunking on Makoto again! She’s basically Makoto’s #1 hater haha oh she’s so silly.” (so please don’t look too deep into it, I just want to have fun).

Anyway, me hating Makoto isn’t new, but I do hold a similar ire towards Futaba, Goro (tho I have camaraderie with his fans, I relate to their struggle in terms of my own brown hair and red eye fav and Atlus screwing them over u_u I may hate your fave but I respect you and will be in your corner), and Yukari (as well as Chloe from LiS if you want a non-Persona example). Makoto might be talked about more because 1) She hits my buttons that much faster (Futaba/Goro are more like a festering wound, and when I talk about them it’s hard to pick a starting point), 2) Her fans tendency (early on in the fandom) bringing her up frequently.....was a bad combo with #1 (overexposure+pushing all my buttons really fast=disaster). Obvie not blaming her fans, but it was hard to curate how I was able to curate my content online (esp with gaming news websites calling her “best girl” when showing off a figure announcement or some BS when I just want to know what new games have been announced >.> I can do without you trying to start a waifu war in the comments Siliconera -_-)

Anyway, I think I’ve made my reasons for hating her very clear (you just have to search her name on my blog and you’ll get a ton of essays I’m sure, too many to count). And a lot of it is the failure of P5′s writing. “So it’s just the writing you hate, not the character.” No. Because that doesn’t make sense. Except under certain circumstances (which I’ll provide examples of below with Luke Skywalker), you can’t separate the writing from the character. The character IS the writing, the writing IS the character. If you can’t hate/dislike the char because “of the writing” then you also can’t love/like them either. The character and the writing/writing choices for that character are connected. The writing embodies that character. They are the same.

Now I said there was an exception, and that’s....”different writer/director,” tho it’s not ALWAYS the case (sometimes the new writer really gets the original writing, like Saito for MM.....they are very good at emulating the clusterfuck of P5′s writing). P5′s writing is the original basis for Makoto’s character, that’s her. You can’t separate it from her. Same thing with say....Luke Skywalker from the OG trilogy, that’s him. But then we get to the sequel/Disney trilogy, new writer/director....and yeah that’s a mess (from what I understand OG trilogy=Hopeful and tries to see the best in people, 2nd Disney=Cynic and tried to kill a child, 3rd Disney=Hopeful again for some reason). There’s character development, then there’s just straight up changing the character just cause you need them to be this now. 

*writes how this can apply to Persona spinoffs but deletes because I was getting too off track* Look at me exercising control. It’s probs best I save that for a meta after I’ve replayed all the spinoffs again.

But....if you want me to boil down my issues with Makoto, I hate the message we get from her. I hate the lesson we learn from her. What is supposed to happen vs what happens.  It’s supposed to be about a girl who is blindly following authority and becomes disillusioned with it after being burned by it, on top of “immense pressure” she has as well, and then comes to our side (we know this because Atlus told us). We don’t get that (we know this because we saw the execution). We get two adults, yes TWO ADULTS, one of which is her sister and wants her to do well in school (but isn’t like.....a tiger mom about it, because Sae can’t be TOO horrible because we need to like her later), who in retrospect seems very busy with her job (which gives Makoto freedom), but also feels burdened by her younger sister (in which she has one shitty slip with her and then NEVER again). And the other is a dumbass principal who asks a really strange and stupid task for Makoto that snowballs into bullshit. That’s IT! THAT’S IT! That’s all we get from Makoto and “authority.” Strawmen. We don’t really get much of her personality either (I’m not saying that cause “she’s cardboard” I legit just.....don’t get her? Like I don’t get enough of her to get a solid foundation, you get me?) Like as the player, what we see of her is she’s just studying in the library (Kamo arc), then the principal calls her in, she mentions the rumors about Kamo, he asks her to look into the PT in exchange for a recommendation (to which she’s surprised and says thanks, not no, she looks like she’ll accept JUST BASED ON THAT) but before she can even say Yes (OR NO) he threatens Makoto with her sister, to which Makoto hardens and then agrees. Then she acts like an asshole and yadda yadda stuff happens.

But if she’s supposed to blindly follow authority, she’d say yes, but then they don’t let the character breathe so she can make the “wrong” choice because the Principal goes STRAIGHT to threatening her.......so now the message is muddled, or really it’s non existent. The whole Sae thing is a nothing bag too, it’s just family drama. Her sister is, no HAS to be absent a lot for her work, just so Makoto can have the freedom to be a PT....which means....it hurts her lack of freedom and other stuff associated with Sae being a big pressure on Makoto’s life. You know, I’ve said before they’ve squandered Sae, and that Makoto’s presence really harmed Sae (iirc it was this post). But at the same time, how they handled Sae really screws up Makoto’s character. Neither are allowed to breathe. Neither are allowed to make a true, horrible choice...and then learn from it. They aren’t allowed to have an actual arc. Altus played it safe, took choice away from them, didn’t want to take risks with either character and have meaning. Instead we just have this nothing contradiction thing dicking around until they join our team. 

What really sucks about that....is we got that with the Kamo arc. With Anne, Ryuji, even Yuki and Shiho. Kamo was manipulative, and his manipulation caused people to make....not the best choices, all out of a means to survive. Ryuji physically acted against Kamo, and he got his leg broken, team disbanded, and outcasted. Anne was trying to protect Shiho’s position on the team, which lead to her almost getting harmed by Kamo, Shiho getting harmed, her not seeing the truth about what was going on around her, and she didn’t tell Shiho (because she didn’t want Shiho to think she didn’t get on the team for her own merits), and so on. Shiho didn’t tell Anne what was going on because she wanted to protect Anne from Kamo (and was afraid Anne would, very much blame herself), and her and Yuki and the rest of the teams helped keep quiet about Kamo so they wouldn’t be next on the physical chopping block. This isn’t me blaming them, this is me showing their choices, their attempts to fix their (hopeless) situation, to help themselves or others, and the dramatic irony being it just made everything worse. BUT, even tho Kamo was the real one to blame, each character is aware of the actions that were made, and the consequences of each action (esp Anne/Ryuji/Shiho). And in their CoOps, they identify this, and take strides to learn from it so it doesn’t happen again. That’s an arc. That’s character development. They were allowed to make errors, mistakes, decisions that negatively impacted themselves/other’s. We see a solid foundation of their character from the get go, and how it changes over that small time. We don’t get that with Makoto. The group is like solid concrete to Makoto who is like shifting sand. 

Sorry got a bit off topic, anyway, I hate her message of boasting about her fighting ability but she only harms her friends (outside of shadows, but that’s not special) WHILE ALSO being a damsel that needs someone else to rescue her! I hate how when she gets called out, she wants to drop it, and gives gaslighty apologies, even tho she really ROYALLY screwed lot of people very badly. I hate how she demands us to help, only to literally be a detriment to our investigation. I hate how she gets to fly off the handle without repercussions (despite needing to be cool calm and collected for her job, especially since she miraculously can do that when needed so what the hell????). I hate how the text has her be shitty, say shitty things, be bad at her job, but will turn around and reward her time and time again. 

Sure she doesn’t break the lore like Futaba, or unravel P5′s plot like Goro. But as a character with a message attached to her, even ones that the creators surely overlooked (I’m sure they didn’t intend for her to only hit her friends), it’s simple but very annoying. Fast and easy to see, doesn’t require me to think of P5′s lore as well as the grander Persona lore. Doesn’t require me to dig through text for Goro bread crumbs and then unravel the entire basis of the P5 plot thanks to him. Makoto is easier to get into, it’s smaller scale and more personal I guess.