#I don’t usually like dark wonderland stuff

[aeris-blue]

Q is for Queen of Hearts from Alice Madness Returns!

[wafflefries13]

First Date Ideas (Multi TWST Cast X Reader)

Summary: Short drabbles of where you would take your favorite Twisted Wonderland guy on a first date, and where he would take you.

AN: Pseudo part 2 to the asking-out fic I posted. Not really much else to say besides I really liked trying to come up with a bunch of unique ideas. Thanks for reading!

Cross-posted on my AO3 TheGhostInTheKitchen

Warnings: Fluff

Part 1: Asking them out

Ace: 

Where you take him: Arcade

It’s fun, it’s cozy, it’s classic, and it gives Ace a chance to show off. You both get a bunch of tokens, eat greasy pizza, and try your hand at the games. You take each other on in skeeball and Ace tries to convince you to go against him in the basketball game but you argue he has an unfair advantage. So you settle for the racing simulator. After, when you collect all your tickets, you pour over the prize counter, probably ending up with something not very impressive, or maybe a snow cone maker that stops working after the first three uses. But you’ll treasure it since it’s loaded with memories.  

Where he takes you: Carnival 

This boy is already a clown, put him back where he belongs.  Besides the fact that it gives him an excuse to impress you by winning prizes at the games alley, or trying to anyway, a carnival date fits Ace’s high energy. You can share popcorn and cotton candy while watching the circus acts and Ace will whisper to you explanations for the tricks the magician uses. There’s plenty of stuff to do and tons of fried food. It’s a classic for a reason. And he’d love it if you hold on to him on the rollercoasters. He ends up screaming more than you. 

Deuce: 

Where you take him: Petting zoo 

I just want to see Deuce fawning over baby chicks, is that so much to ask? NGL, I think he’d love it. You could go to some sort of tourist farm and check out the cows getting milked, sheep shearing or sheepdog herding, and collect eggs from the chickens (the kind that don’t hatch into chicks). I can also see Deuce getting into a grudge match against a goat that keeps bonking into his legs with his horns. At the end of the day you’ll sit at a picnic table eating some treats made at the farm and watch the sunset. 

Where he takes you: Botanical garden  

Deuce would want to do something classic, a surefire, tried and tested dating spot. I can imagine him being nervous, getting you flowers when you are already going to see more flowers. You’ll hold the flowers in one hand and Deuce’s, slightly sweaty, hand in the other. If they have a butterfly room, even better. They’ll have a little booklet with different species and you and Deuce go on a scavenger hunt to identify as many as possible. Winner gets kisses. 

Trey: 

Where you take him: At home food science experiment kits  

Did you ever see those at home science food kits where you made gummies and foam and other candy, usually themed to something really weird like monsters or worms? Yeah, you do those, half making fun of how weird it looks and half marveling at the cool effects of swirling all the different ingredients together. Will they taste amazing? Probably not, but Trey probably knows a few cool tricks to make everything a little more edible. 

Where he takes you: Chocolate factory tour 

Have you ever been to Hersheypark in Pennsylvania? There’s a whole section with a little dark ride that shows you the history of chocolate (that’s worse since they took the singing cow animatronics out), a cute interactive play, a trolly ride with chocolate samples, and two chocolate making experiences. You can stuff a giant Reese’s Cup (which is way too sweet IMO) or design your own chocolate bar including the wrapping. Anyway, there’s probably not a one-to-one replica, but with all that magic you can’t tell me there’s not something Willy Wonka-esque. You’ll both spend the day learning about the history of chocolate and chocolate making in Twisted Wonderland, capped off by making all kinds of treats. You’ll experiment with typical flavors, like raspberry, caramel, and nuts, to the more extraordinary, like jalapeno, lavender, and cheese. In the end, you’ll go home with a full box and a picture of the two of you, melted chocolate smearing your faces. (Trey will remind you at least three times to brush your teeth properly after all that sugar.) 

Cater: 

Where you take him: Thrift store

Listen, you find the right thrift store and you can find amazing treasures. And if not, well, you still find weird, kitschy stuff you can have fun ogling. You and Cater will take turns finding the best and worst outfits in the thrift store, having a makeshift fashion show by the changing rooms. Cater would, of course, take plenty of pictures for Magicam, labeling them #MeetMyNewPartner, #HeightOfFashion, #BestLookingCouple. You’ll also look through the aisles, coming up with backstories for all the various objects people have donated over the years. Whether or not you actually buy something isn’t the point. You end the day with plenty of pictures and at least three inside jokes that will drive everyone else crazy. 

Where he takes you: Crafting class

There’s been an emergence of cute crafting stores. Make your own bag, make your own candle, paint your own pottery, make a phone case, rug tufting, that kind of thing. Not only are they a cute and totally Magicamable couples activity, it also gives you both something to take home at the end of the day. Whichever you do, I can see you both making a craft for each other. Maybe you keep what you’re doing a secret until the end, filming your reactions when you reveal your crafts. If you pay close attention later on, you can catch him quietly admiring your gift. 

Riddle: 

Where you take him: Escape room 

Back during the NRC Halloween event, when everyone was stuck in the ghost realm, Riddle had a ton of fun solving those puzzles. I think he would love an escape room, finding clues and undoing locks, using logic and guile to uncover the story. He might get frustrated at the harder puzzles, but it’s all worth it when you work together to solve everything.  You get your picture taken together with a “We Escaped!” sign that you frame. It would be something unexpected but fun for the both of you. (TBH, I think he would love the Nancy Drew games. Maybe not the part where you keep breaking into people's things and stealing stuff, though.) 

Where he takes you: High tea and window shopping 

Riddle is going for a classic, something prim and proper for a prim and proper boy. I can see him reserving a table at a high class hotel for high tea, a table set with a beautiful porcelain teapot and a tower of tiny sandwiches and cakes. He’d order a bunch of different teas you could try. Afterwards, you would walk along the street, checking out shops and talking together. Bonus points if you both get to wear something fancy and cute. 

Leona: 

Where you take him: Picnic 

Look, while having the title of Ramshackle Dorm Prefect sounds fancy, you don’t have a lot of extra cash. You would need to do something simple and cheap but still meeting Leona’s royal tastes (You can’t tell me this boy isn’t a picky eater.) Thanks to the Culinary Crucible, you have a few new skills to test out. You find a big blanket in some old trunk in Ranshakle and pack everything together in a cute wicker basket. Maybe you’ll eat in the gardens where Leona always takes naps or go out on the beach to watch the waves. You both end up falling asleep with full bellies. (Leona won’t admit it, but he feels like that was the best food he’s had in a long time.) 

Where he takes you: River cruise with a fancy dinner 

Leona is going to see your cute picnic date and immediately one ups it with a super fancy and elegant river cruise with a full five course meal. It’s on a beautiful private yacht sailing down a river in the Sunset Savannah. You’ll sit on the deck, candlelight table, while perfectly dressed waiters serve you. This would probably backfire on Leona, though, as you tease him for acting the most prince-ly you’ve ever seen him. Not that you don’t have a ton of fun. By the time dessert rolls around, you’ve both ditched the fancy setting and started skipping stones in the wake of the boat. 

Jack: 

Where you take him: Canoeing 

Something relaxing and outdoorsy and fun. I’m thinking you’ll find someplace like the Ocklawaha River or Crystal River in Florida. A beautiful river with plenty of turtles and fish to spot, surrounded by lush forests or Everglades. If you’re more confident on the water, maybe you each can have a kayak, but I imagine something like you both share a boat. It would be fun to have a sort of eye-spy sheet, like who can spot the most turtles, identify fish, maybe catching sight of a manatee, and, wait, was that an alligator? You’ll end your journey at a natural spring. Dumping your stuff in the canoes, you’ll jump in and spend the rest of the day swimming in the cool water. Maybe you find a good vine or rope and swing out over the water. 

Where he takes you: Zip Lining and high ropes course 

More high energy and involved than a lazy day river trip, but it gives you two the chance to be close. I can almost guarantee Jack found out about the place you go to from Coach Vargas. You’ll get hooked up into harnesses and climb up to a vast network of bridges and ladders and obstacle courses hung between the trees like a giant athletic spiderweb. Maybe at one point you slip, and, although you’re perfectly safe with the harness system, Jack still lunges forward to catch you, blushing hard after as he realizes how close you too are. 

Ruggie: 

Where you take him: Food festival 

I imagine something like the Plant City Strawberry Festival, the Wilton Blueberry Festival, or the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Heck, even throw in the Epcot Food and Wine Festival if you want to have another Disney reference. Something county fair-like with plenty of free samples. You’re not sure who convinced who, but at some point you end up getting those cheesy headbands with springs on top and plastic versions of food bobbing around your heads. There always seems to be sketchy fair rides at these things, too, so you definitely cling to each other going down a log flume ride, kind of regretting how much you ate beforehand. But that’s not going to stop you from chowing down after. 

Where he takes you: Farmer’s market 

Listen, if something is good at a farmer’s market, then you know it’s the best. The big ones not only have plenty of great food, but also local performers and plenty of fun extras to buy. Even if you don’t want to buy anything, it’s fun walking through the crowds and seeing all the different stands. You definitely get some super fancy ice cream, probably with some ridiculous flavors like lavender, parmesan, or licorice. Serving sizes always seem huge too, so you both definitely go home with plenty of leftovers. (You totally don’t notice that Ruggie has been paying with Leona’s credit card this whole time.) 

Azul: 

Where you take him: Game shop 

One of Azul’s vignette stories has him practicing throwing dice so many times until he’s able to completely control what numbers will come up. Sure, he might be in the board game club for fun, but also because he likes to win. So a game shop that hosts weekly game nights would be perfect not only for him to show off and impress you, but also a cozy space to have fun and take the pressure off first date jitters. Whether you have a game with just the two of you or join in with other patrons there, you can team up to strategize and win. I personally think something like One Night Werewolf would be perfect. (He does feel bad when he accuses you of being the werewolf, though. Too bad he’s right.) 

Where he takes you: Fancy restaurant 

It’s nothing compared to the Monstro Lounge, of course, But Azul is putting his best foot forward with a classic first date spot. Azul plans everything down to the most minute detail. He double and triple checks the menu of where you’re going before you even leave to make sure there’s nothing you’re allergic to and there’s something you’ll like. He goes all out: flowers, pulling out your chair, getting a bottle of something fancy and expensive to drink (non-alcoholic if you prefer). Of course, the moment you start complimenting him he turns red and starts tumbling over his words. Maybe you lean into that, enjoying teasing him, the switch from having everything under control to a mess of complex emotions. Still, you slide your hand across the table taking his, and you both have a perfect night. 

Jade: 

Where you take him: Make your own tea blend shop

Jade is an experimental guy. I think if he wasn’t the founder of the mountain lovers club he probably would be in the science club just to mix together every kind of chemical just to see what happens. You would take him to a small tea shop, maybe in town on Sage’s Island or somewhere else through the mirror portal. You would pick out matching tea cups then choose different flavors and leaves from the jars of dried tea. You could make up little packets of different custom blends, some of them stuff you actually think would taste good, some that just sound interesting all together. You and Jade could trade and drink them together back at the Monstro Lounge. 

Where he takes you: Mountain and cave hike 

This is kind of a gimme, but I think he’d want to show off all his knowledge of local mountain flora and fauna. He’s the only member of his club, which gives you plenty of time to be alone together and use the club’s budget however you want. He would surprise you by showing you an undiscovered cave entrance. Hopefully it’s not the kind where you have to crawl on your belly to get in. I like imagining something like Ruby Falls in Tennessee. He’d bring you in, turn off his lantern, and crowds of bioluminescent mushrooms would glow around you. 

Floyd: 

Where you take him: Roller derby 

You can’t tell me this boy would not absolutely love watching a bunch of people going super fast while trying to beat the hell out of each other. He would immediately pick a favorite team and buy all their merch. Even if it’s just a small local circuit he’ll make his own merch for the two of you to wear while you cheer them on. Floyd already likes shoes, specifically sneakers, so I think he would really like the idea of roller skating, going as fast on land as he can in the sea. Your next date will be at a roller rink. 

Where he takes you: Laser tag 

Similar to going to a roller derby, Floyd would love the energy and competition of laser tag. He’d be vaulting over the barriers and launching sneak attacks against other players. Maybe you two would team up and top the leaderboard or maybe he’d hunt you down in the glow-in-the-dark black-light game room. Afterwards you can catch your breath in the lobby and eat junk food. You’re not sure if you’re excited or nervous when he mentions paintball. 

Kalim: 

Where you take him: Hands-on science museum 

Coming up with a first date idea to impress Buys-A-Restaurant-Chain-Because-You-Said-You-Liked-Their-Breadsticks-Once-Kalim is a little harrowing. Sure, you know he would like whatever you have planned, it’s the thought that counts, but that doesn't mean you don’t want to try and show off a little. You eventually find a hands-on science museum. Think the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia or the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose or even WonderWorks. It’s something that keeps you active, jumping from exhibit to exhibit to try out all kinds of new things while pretending you're learning. Sure, most of the other people there are kids, but that doesn't stop either of you from having fun. With Kalim’s experience with all his younger siblings, you soon have a small army helping you with the replica dinosaur dig site. 

Where he takes you: Fused glass class 

Kalim’s first instinct is to go big. Throw a parade, rent out a theme park, buy a private island. This little ball of sunshine is way too excited to think anything through. Maybe Jamil mentions that you might be intimidated by such an overwhelming show of wealth on a first date, or maybe he implies you need to work up to something that extravagant. Whatever the case, Kalim agrees to start small. He’ll take you to a stained glass shop that offers classes in Silk City. You’ll take a fused glass class together, where you take shards and rods of other colored glass, placing them gently together in a shape. The owners fire the final product leaving you with a beautiful hand-made ornament. Kalim hangs it by his window back in his dorm room, smiling whenever the light catches it. (He’s still thinking about that private island, though.) 

Jamil: 

Where you take him: Aviary 

Jamil mentioned in one of his vignettes that he would want to own a parrot one day. So why not give it a test run with a variety of different parrot species, and throw in some parakeets, falcons, lorikeets, and canaries while we’re at it? You buy cups of food and the birds will fly down to perch on your arms and heads.  The parrots, in colors ranging from green and yellow to blue and purple and red, show you how they dance and talk. There’s a game you can play with them where you hold up different objects and they’ll tell you what they are and what they’re made of. There’s even a falconry show where the birds swoop out into the audience. At the end of the day, the tour guide makes a joke about lovebirds that you both pretend to ignore. 

(BTW, did you know President Andrew Jackson had a parrot that cursed so much it had to be removed from the room during his funeral because it kept swearing? The more you know.) 

Where he takes you: Dance class 

Mr. Jack Of All Trades, Master Of All over here is definitely going to want to show off. No matter who asked who out first, he wants to reassure you, and himself, that you made the right choice agreeing to go out with him. So he sticks with something he knows best, something he has fun with, and something he can easily introduce you too. Whether it’s a classic ballroom dance, salsa, or classic Scalding Sands folk dancing, Jamil just loves the chance to be close to you. It might be better if you have two left feet so he can show off leading you. By the end, you're both sweaty and exhausted, muscles aching pleasantly, but you're also both laughing and wondering if you should enter a couples dance competition. 

Vil: 

Where you take him: DIY spa night 

Like I said before, you don’t exactly have a lot of extra cash, so I can see you relying on a lot of DIY tricks. You’re hoping to impress one of Twisted Wonderland's biggest triple threats with scented candles (bought half-off at Sam’s), homemade avocado hair masks, coconut oil and honey face masks, and a jade face roller and gua sha set you have no idea how to properly use. Vil definitely appreciates effort, so he’ll love whatever you have set up. He’ll even show you how to actually use that jade roller and gua sha. 

Where he takes you: Private movie theater 

Let’s be honest, Vil isn’t exactly the most humble person. And you, a magicless student with pretty much no frame of reference for any pop culture or just plain cultural insights in this new world, are in the perfect position for him to show off. Vil would rent out a private theater showing the best and most iconic movies in all of Twisted Wonderland. Of course, he also shows you all of his films (Like I said, not so humble). He may give you the side eye when you insist on sharing a bucket of buttery popcorn, but if you gasp and laugh and applaud in all the right places I don’t think he’ll mind. 

Rook: 

Where you take him: Art museum 

Quelle beaute! No matter what kind of art museum you choose, modern, sculpture, impressionist, classical, whatever, Rook is sure to love it. He’d be the kind of person to carefully read each plaque to discover more about the artist and what inspired their work. He’ll praise each and every piece, only to turn around and compare it to your beauty. While this definitely will get you a few looks from some of the other visitors, you won’t mind because you know he’s being completely sincere with every word. At the end of the day, you’ll probably end up with an art book from the gift shop and you get each other prints of your favorite paintings. 

Where he takes you: Zoo 

You can take the boy out of the hunt but you can’t take the hunt out of the boy… Or something. We know Rook has a penchant for stalking the poor beastman students at NRC (I bet they have to warn the Savannahclaw first years every year), so I think he would also love admiring animals in a place where you’re actually suppose to watch them. Extra points if there are baby animals. Extra extra points if the zoo has one of those programs where you can go back and get close up encounters with some of the animals, like sloths or elephants. You both definitely get plushies of your favorite animals after. 

Epel: 

Where you take him: Motorcross 

Give the farm boy blood. We know from his dorm uniform vignette that he can ride a blast cycle. Checking out a motorcross race or just a show exhibition would be a high energy outing for you both. Cheering in the stands gives him a chance to cut loose from the stricter rules of decorum in Pomefiore, and sometimes it’s just fun to watch things go fast with a chance of crashing. Maybe you can rent one, or borrow one from Ingenhyde back at NRC, and go for a drive. He’ll probably go a little too fast, maybe from nerves or excitement or just to have to hold him a little tighter. 

Where he takes you: Ice skating 

Do you know how to skate? Great! He’ll take you out to a frozen lake in the middle of a beautiful forest near Harveston. Some place only the locals know about. It’ll be something right off a Christmas card with glitter snow and a perfect clear blue sky. Don’t know how to skate? That’s fine too! You’ll go to an indoor rink, somewhere where the ice is guaranteed to be smooth and won’t crack under your feet. If you’re just learning, please hold on to him and let him teach you, it’ll make him feel super manly and swell with pride. No matter where you go, you both get hot apple cider after, maybe cuddling together in front of a warm fireplace and sharing a warm quilt. 

Idia: 

Where you take him: Cat cafe 

You’re going to need a good excuse to get Idia out of his room, and this is a pretty good reason. Ideally, you would find a place like Tashirojima, the cat island in Japan, but a good old cat cafe will work just as well. You’ll find the least busy time to go which should help Idia’s social anxiety. But once you both settle into plush low chairs and get surrounded by cute kitties, he won’t even notice anyone else. The cafe sells cute frozen cat treats shaped like cat paws that you buy to encourage the cats to come closer. You snuck in some catnip, and you both spend the day enveloped in cute warm kitty cuddles. 

Where he takes you: Video game night 

The boy is a nervous wreck around other people on his best days, so when he decides to venture on a date he’s going to go with something he’s most comfortable with. You’ll camp out in his room for the date. He’s gone to great lengths to make it nice, plenty of snacks and soft pillows and blankets. He’ll introduce you to some of his favorite but entry level games first. Maybe something Animal Crossing adjacent, but I have a soft spot for point-and-click adventure puzzle games. Eventually, you’ll end up playing doubles on something more action oriented, Idia showing you all the best tricks and combo moves. (Ortho is secretly taking pictures to show at the wedding he’s already planning for you both.) 

Sebek: 

Where you take him: Salmon fishing and grill  

You like it because it gives a chance to get out in nature and be alone together, he likes it because he gets to catch his favorite food and prove he can be a provider. Sure, it just might be a first date, but Sebek likes to think ahead and he’s definitely taking your budding relationship seriously. You two go out into the woods, probably near where Camp Vargus was held, and set up next to a river. While most of the day is hanging out on the bank and talking, there’s always a jolt of excitement when one of your lines starts to tug and you pull out a beautiful gray and pink salmon. Sure, there was that one time when the fish slapped Sebek with his fin until it slipped from his hands, but you both agree to forget about that (you don’t forget, in fact you think about it often). Around midday, you both realize you’re kind of squeamish when it comes to cleaning fish. Sebek puts on a brave face and cuts them up while you make a campfire. Is it the best meal you’ve ever had? No, definitely not. Are you picking fish bones out of your teeth for the rest of the evening? Yeah. Did you two have a ton of fun and are already planning your next date? Of course. 

Where he takes you: Tournament 

Does Twisted Wonderland have Renaissance fairs? Who knows, but considering Briar Valley still has knights, they definitely have tournaments. The Bead Brawl is sort of similar to what I’m thinking, but there’s more of a focus on what we would think of as traditional medieval events. Stuff like jousting, sword fighting in full armor, and archery. I don’t think you go all the way to the Briar Valley for this, it’s probably more of a smaller local fair with less serious competition. I think Sebek will be a spectator at this event, but that doesn't stop him from commenting on the participants. He tells you about his own training with Lilia and Silver. He’ll be boastful and loud, but you know him well enough at this point to tell he’s nervous under all the bravado. He wants to make sure you’re having a good time but is too stubborn to actually ask. There are definitely giant turkey legs, homemade soda and mead, and chimney cakes to stuff yourself with. He’ll enter a visitor competition, something fun and light like an obstacle course, and win you a prize. At the end of the day there will be a traditional dance at the fair and you both twirl together under lantern light.

Silver: 

Where you take him: Bookstore date 

Whether a big chain store or a cute local owned place, the idea is the same. First, you both find the cheesiest romance novel cover in the store. Next, you checked out the cook books, looking for the weirdest and worst sounding recipes (you joke about getting it for Lilia then laugh at the glare he gives you). Finally, you both choose a book for the other that you’ll read then reconvene to talk about at your next date. You find him an adventure book, something you would have called epic fantasy back in your world. He gets you a collection of well known fables and myths from across Twisted Wonderland. He’s slightly worried that you’ll be insulted in his reference to your lack of cultural knowledge of your new world, but you love it, especially the gorgeous illustrations for each story. 

Where he takes you: Horse riding along the beach 

This can go one of two ways, depending if you know how to ride a horse/are comfortable around them. If you know how to ride, Silver will borrow someone’s horse from the equestrian club for you to ride. If not, you’ll ride behind him, arms hugged around his middle as you cuddle close. Either way, you’ll ride down to one of the beaches along Sage’s Island. You’ll ride along the beach, darting in and out of the waves. Silver will probably have packed a small picnic that you can eat while watching the sunset. He ends up nodding off for a little while you take a break lounging on some dunes, but you kind of like him leaning on your shoulder like that. 

Lillia: 

Where you take him: Concert in the park 

A few steps down from a full on festival, I’m imagining a lush green park, couples and families spread out on blankets, food trucks surrounding everything making the park smell amazing, maybe a couple of craft tents with knick-knacks for sale. There will be a large stage set up for the bands. Lilia prefers heavy metal, but I think he would like any show that plays something high energy. You’ll set up an umbrella to give you both some shade as you watch the acts. Lilia will regale you with tales of his travels and he’d probably love hearing about all the places in your world. At some point, you both definitely spend time dancing ridiculously. Lilia takes plenty of pictures to show off back at Disamonia. 

Where he takes you: Esports competition 

When Muscle Red told his online bestie Gloomamurai he was trying to come up with ideas for a date, the later said, “I got you,” and set him up with front row seats to the premier esports competition in all of Twisted Wonderland. Arriving at the indoor arena, you get a giant bucket of popcorn to share and Lilia buys you some merch of his favorite team. If you don’t know a ton about esports or the game they’re playing, Lilia will be more than happy to explain the rules to you. You’re surrounded  in deafening cheers when your team makes a last minute score to win, hugging each other while jumping up and down. On the way back, Lilia promises to help you set up an account for the online game and teach you the ropes, while trying to remember to thank his friend when you kiss his cheek. 

Malleus: 

Where you take him: Mini-golfing 

You can’t tell me it wouldn’t be adorable to see a giant Malleus hunched over a mini-golf club trying to gently tap the ball into a hole. I can see him at the first hole swinging like a normal golf course, sending the ball twinkling away, Team Rocket style. Mini-golf is a classic first date, and I think he would like the normality of it all. You’re not trying to super impress him, just treating him like a normal boyfriend, a normal date. And it gives you both more time to focus on each other, between desperately trying to hit the ball through the moving fan blades of the windmill hole. 

Where he takes you: Historic castle ruins 

I can imagine Malleus panicking at first about where to take you for your first official date. Does he bring you to a ball in the Briar Valley? A romantic opera in perfect box seats? Do you start picking out your engagement rings? Instead, he finally decided on an old reliable choice, harking back to how you both first started bonding in the first place. He finds beautiful old ruins, either in Briar Valley or somewhere else, and you just stroll and talk. He’ll tell you about the architecture, maybe the history of the location, pointing out whatever interesting gargoyles he spots. You both understand you don’t need grand gestures or impressive and expensive dates. You’re both happiest being with each other.

[bubbleddisasters]

Stupid Shit I’ve done/Gotten myself into by accident/been dragged into as Twisted Wonderland Characters:

—————-

Ace : Heard my sister screaming bloody murder downstairs and didn’t do shit because I assumed she was watching a horror movie. Turns out there was a fire in the oven.

Bonus: Sniped my friend in the eye from across the Cafeteria with a Ketchup Packet, Meant to hit his glasses, but he repositioned them at the last second.

Deuce: Answered Maine four times on a Historical Geography test and was wrong all four times.

Cater: Threw my phone out of the window in a panic after seeing one of my Idols followed me back.

Bonus : Accidentally convinced a transfer camper from Wales I was from London after I quoted something in the accent to myself in the showers and was too awkward to tell them I wasn’t when they struck up the conversation.

(I am from America, and the camp is in America.)

Trey: Accidentally created a puddle of Dark Red Icing and Stepped in it four times in a row while making a cake at 2 am.

Bonus : Befriended and helped out the owner of a French Bakery down the street when they started out, they ended up becoming really popular (rightfully so, her stuff is amazing) and now I either get free shit and/or Friends and Family Discounts.

Riddle : I have read the dictionary on multiple occasions out of sheer boredom.

Bonus: I once read the bible and marked down verses. Im not religious I just needed to win an argument.

Leona: Slept through an earthquake and 3 ambulances coming to my house bcs my sister was hurt.

Ruggie: Waited for families going inside to pass by and asked them to hold the door for me so I could sneak into a VIP rooms for free food. (Usually only at fancy hotels but luckily this strategy is flexible when your 5’2 with a baby face.)

Jack: Used to Smash open large rocks containing Crystals or Quartz at the beach as a kid, and now I have a large collection of them.

Bonus: I have extremely good hearing, to the point I hear into the negative decibels up to -15 - -20 (according to the audiologist this is rare but i literally don’t know shit about audio and decibels) so my old dormmates used to try and bribe me to tell them what I heard about certain things or themselves.

Bonus 2: Almost got shot by an illegal hunter while in the woods with my sister.

Floyd : Cracked my skull open at the pool, lost consciousness for a few seconds and woke up in the water calling for help, then got confused on why I was calling for help.

Bonus : A Sea lion once came up to me while I was scuba diving and did little circles, bumped its snout on my mask and just followed me the whole time in a very gleeful manner as a temporary homie.

Bonus 2: Apparently ate / took bites of my moms library books as a little kid (????) according to the librarian.

Jade: Taught myself to untie my hands with my hands behind my back, tie by hands behind my back with my hands behind my back, deciphered, translated and memorized a fictional hieroglyphic language, Read from Act 1 to Act 6 of Homestuck, and accidentally discovered how to disguise Chocolate Ice Cream as Pistachio; all within the span of 2 weeks. (I had covid and was A-Symptomatic)

Bonus : Lived in the Woods for 7 months (in total), had a large bag of mica and Almost Drowned in a tent when there was no moving water nor rain. (Basically, I was asleep, Woke up underwater, nearly went back to bed, then shot out of my tent screaming “My Tent Titanticed!” )

(It was like 3 am don’t judge me)

Azul: Somehow ended up with $2200 dollars in $100s in Monopoly at the end of the game. Also have been stuck between two identical twins while talking with both and boi that shits TRIPPY. (I also almost died with them later but it was fine)

Bonus: I lived on a middle of fuck knows where island during the spring and summer up until covid, yet I absolutely despise eating fish or Shellfish, and the smell often makes me nauseous.

(Bonus 2: I love shiny things, but very specifically fancy looking keys. I also had a weird obsession with signing a shiny contract after watching Ariel. Another tiny thing Is I own a Flotsam and Jetsam Scarf which I chuck around when Floyd or Jade pisses me off ingame.)

Kalim : Got distracted by a cool leaf while at a fancy resort in Xatapa, Mexico, and waddled off from my parents and explored around to try and find more, somehow managed to get extremely far and ended up lost in a whole different city for 6 hours while trying to find my way back.

Bonus 1: I had an obsession with Kiwis for awhile as a kid, and our neighbors house had a Pangium tree that reached over to our yard. (It was planted before either families moved in so we didn’t know) I thought it was some kind of strange Kiwi and ate one. I didn’t like it and was like “Oh maybe its not ripe” and waited 3-5 months then tried it again, same reaction, repeat process one more time.

I went to my parents out of curiosity and asked them what it was, and so after some process I am unaware of but I think my mom brought one of the fruits somewhere, we discovered what it was.

Pangium contains Fatal amounts of Cyanide if not properly prepared. I was fine but for the love of anything please don’t try eating it like little me did.

Bonus 2: I’ve Almost died more times than I can count on both hands and feet. Im not an heir or something fancy I just have wackass luck.

Jamil: Once had to talk my sister out of jumping off a tour boat because our cousin dared her to.

Bonus : Managed to make French Toast in the middle of the woods with Dehydrated Milk, Cinnamon, Three Eggs I stole, and a loaf of bread we got once a month. Also made 3 kinds marinated chicken in the middle of the woods.

(My Cooking Style is literally “just trust me bro.” I’m like Lilia except it actually works and is edible)

Epel : Whenever we went applepicking at my Grandfathers house, I’d climb into the trees and throw or pass the apples down. Sometimes I actually wish I could sit in trees more often shits comfy.

Bonus: My Mom was a Champion Horseback Rider as a kid, and sometimes took us to this Ranch I shall not name for my own privacy, but I’d run around with this group of kids and this one herding dog like a damn movie protagonist, sometimes go riding horses, or the one time we stole a tractor and near crashed it (THE REGRETS I STILL HAVE-) etc.

The WHIPLASH from that to going back to a whitewashed Northeast suburban town is insane.

Rook: My Cousins and I, and sometimes the kids at the priorly mentioned ranch, would play the most intense games of manhunt (basically really intense hide n seek at night) ,

I mean wearing camo if you had it, alliances, little dollar store walkie-talkies, code words, binoculars, climbing in trees or hiding in bushes/tall grasses/Hay to “scout”.

I hid in a large pot/vase more than once and another time on a roof, and (ONLY ONCE, DO NOT DO THIS IM STUPID) under a car.

I still remain the top in last man standing points. Mostly bcs I’m stingy with rescues but shhh

Vil - Accidentally poured a lot of liquid eyeliner into my eye, was literally crying out Eyeliner for 30 minutes. Also taught myself to run and jump in heels as a kid because I thought it looked cool in movies.

Ortho : Unknowingly was Hacking my Elementary School Databank for several years,

I genuinely thought it was normal to go on the school website, press a few buttons and be able to find a friends address if I had a playdate and needed to tell my mom where the house was, a parents phone number if needed communication with my friends parents , and mostly ignored the other general info.

I didn’t even know I did this until my dad told me a few months ago that I almost got suspended for it but by the time they found out it was the end of my last year there. ;—;

Edit: I feel I should elaborate that my dad had somewhat recently told me that I almost got suspended for that in elementary school, but all that happened 5 YEARS ago. Hence why I was so surprised because I was never told back then.

Idia: Accidentally acquired both a Nahida and Eula in Genshin and was genuinely annoyed at the time, they are now my most powerful DPS’s…

Bonus : I own a shit ton of original Japanese first edition Pokemon Cards my cousin gave me, (they are probably worth more than me which is neat), and I have a giant pile of Pokemon plushies I have infact fallen asleep on or in on multiple occasions.

Bonus 2: I was playing Breath of the Wild, and my very first thing I did after getting off the plateau was beeline for the castle. I actually got all the way up and took out 2 blights but the Wind one kicked my ass.

Bonus 3: Got confessed to and asked out by a guy I did not like nor knew very well, and I panicked, said “Maybe, Sorry no.” And ran into a wall. Also have crawled through a chute to avoid an awkward situation as a kid (do not recommend its dusty and definitely not safe)

Bonus 4: Once didn’t sleep for 5 days.

Malleus : Accidentally attended a Private Party and a Private Funeral in the same week. I was not invited nor knew anyone present. Stayed there for most of it because I was too nervous to say I wasn’t supposed to be there. Whoop.

Bonus: Got nicknamed the “Trip Curse.” By my Old Dormmates because everytime I went on a trip with them everything seemed to go to shit or get hella chaotic.

Bonus 2: Another camping one: Once woke up at night with a shit ton of fireflies just chilling in my tent. It was serene but also I genuinely thought I was hallucinating for a few minutes.

Lilia: Literally will hang upside down anywhere I can, its so fun bro.

Bonus : I know an extremely large amount of useless historical information, and once genuinely realized I know more about poison than what flour and eggs are used for in baking.

Silver : Once befriended a wild horse ( Im like 90% sure he was a Chestnut).

I called him Clover the Dog like horse because he was honestly just a golden retriever in the body of a horse.

This is great and theres alot of sweet moments, but then theres the times you have a giant horse galloping full speed at you for attention or trying to nudge you affectionately and nearly pushing you into a creek in the process.

Sebek: Got groundstruck by lightning once. Also I am often told I have a loud voice.

Che’nya : a good friend of mine and I have an inside joke at school where if we see eachother through a window (my school has alot of indoor windows for some reason?), we’ll text the other “Behind you.” Or “To your left.”

——————-

Theres more things I can think of but I have run out of characters and this is getting too long, so ye!

[aventurineswife]

Christmas celebration with Sebastian from Roblox Pressure

Christmas Celebration with You

Summary: On Christmas Eve, amidst the bleak surroundings of Hadal Blacksite, you find yourself spending the holiday with Sebastian, the snarky and unpredictable shopkeeper. In an attempt to bring some cheer to the desolate space, you decorate his shop with a makeshift snowman and tattered lights. Despite his gruff exterior and dark humor, Sebastian reluctantly shares a moment of peace with you, showing a rare, softer side as you both take a break from the usual tension. In this unusual holiday encounter, you discover that even in the darkest places, a little light can make a big difference.

Tags: Sebestian Solace x Reader, Christmas Eve, Friendship, Platonic Relationship, Slow Burn, Holiday Cheer, Humor, Lighthearted, Fluff.

Warnings: Mild language, Slight violence, Mentions of experimentation and betrayal(?).

The cold, damp air of Hadal Blacksite pressed against the worn metal walls of the makeshift shop. The flickering light from the overhead bulb cast eerie shadows across the piles of strange and dangerous items that lined the shelves. Sebastian leaned against the wall, his three arms folded across his serpentine body. His sharp teeth glinted as he grinned, eyes watching every movement you made.

It was Christmas Eve, but you were far from home, far from any sense of normalcy. Yet, you couldn't help but feel a flicker of warmth as the holiday's spirit drifted through the Blacksite, somehow managing to seep into the cracks of this desolate place. You had brought a small decoration with you—a tiny, hastily made snowman, crafted from scavenged materials you’d found on your way here.

“What's this? You planning to turn my shop into a holiday wonderland?” Sebastian’s voice, dripping with his signature sarcasm, broke through your thoughts as you placed the snowman on the counter next to him. His third eye flickered as he studied it, his expression somewhere between amusement and mild distaste.

You shrugged, trying to keep the mood light. “It’s a little festive cheer. I thought it might brighten up the place. Besides, you could use some holiday spirit.”

He snorted, his snake-like tail flicking slightly. “Holiday spirit? In this hellhole? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

You chuckled, inside Sebastian’s shop, there was some semblance of life. Despite his monstrous appearance and prickly attitude, Sebastian had an air of familiarity, something akin to comfort—if you could ignore the threat of his short fuse.

“You sure you don’t want to join in?” you asked, trying to keep the conversation casual as you rummaged through a small bag, pulling out a single string of tattered lights. “I could hang these up.”

Sebastian’s sharp gaze followed your every movement. “I don’t need your pity decorations,” he growled, but the edge of his voice didn’t seem as sharp as usual. His gaze lingered on the snowman again. “What kind of idiot makes a snowman in a place like this, anyway?”

“Me, apparently,” you quipped. “Maybe I’m just trying to make the best out of a bad situation.”

A brief silence stretched between you, the only sound being the hum of the dim light overhead. For a moment, it almost felt like the holiday was real, like you weren’t trapped in this nightmarish place.

Sebastian shifted, his tail curling around his waist as he slithered over to the shelf where he kept his wares. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood tonight,” he said with a grunt, not looking at you. “I’ve got some stuff I’d be willing to trade. But you’d better make it worth my time.”

“Isn’t that your thing?” you asked with a raised eyebrow. “Trading. Bargaining.”

He shot you a sideways glance. “I’m not your damn therapist, kid. Don’t get too cozy.” But his voice was softer than usual, and there was a hint of something unspoken beneath the snark.

You hesitated, glancing at the snowman and the small strand of lights in your hands. Something felt different tonight. The usual tension that defined every encounter with Sebastian was missing. There was a subtle shift in the air—an odd, fleeting connection that couldn’t quite be explained.

“Well,” you said slowly, a mischievous grin tugging at your lips, “maybe we could just… enjoy the holiday for once. No business, no bargaining, just a little break. Even you deserve that.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, his third eye twitching slightly as he considered your offer. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and just when you thought he was going to shoot you down again, his lips curled into a sly, almost begrudging smile.

“Fine,” he muttered, stepping aside to make space on the table. “But if you screw with my setup, I’m kicking you out.”

You smiled, setting the lights down on the table and carefully starting to untangle them. As you worked, Sebastian remained in the background, watching you with a mix of curiosity and annoyance, though it was clear he was less irritated than usual. The tension had softened, and for the first time in a long while, there was a quiet peace in the air between you.

When the lights were finally strung up and the snowman stood proudly on the table, you stepped down, surveying the scene. It wasn’t much, but it was something. The dim glow of the lights flickered against the cold metal walls, casting a soft, warm hue across the room.

“Well, there you go,” you said, wiping your hands on your pants. “A little Christmas cheer, Sebastian style.”

Sebastian didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he stood there for a moment, silent, looking at the small setup you’d created. Then, with a sigh, he leaned forward on the table, his fish-like mouth quirking into an almost affectionate smirk.

“Guess you’re not as dumb as you look.” he muttered.

You raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in your eyes. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Sebastian smirked again, though there was something softer in his gaze than you were used to seeing. He didn’t say anything else, but for once, the silence between you felt comfortable—like two people sharing a brief, fleeting moment of peace in an otherwise harsh world.

As the night stretched on, the glow of the lights filled the shop, a small but meaningful reminder that even in the darkest places, a little light could make all the difference.

And maybe—just maybe—Sebastian wasn’t as immune to the spirit of Christmas as he let on.

[crush-itis]

ྀི. ̞. ১ ✿ ㅤ𓈒 crush-itis

ㅤㅤ . ‿‿ ‿‿ ୨ ୧ ‿‿ ‿‿ .

ㅤ. 𓂂 Twisted Wonderland ⊹

💐 it’s almost Valentine’s Day!

✿ ͡ ݂ Epel, Lilia, Ace, Cater

ㅤㅤ. ‿‿ ‿‿ ୨ ୧ ‿‿ ‿‿ .

♥︎： Valentine’s Day special! I selected only a few characters this time because writing all of the students took so long! I hope you guys liked it anyway!… Guys, I actually don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, so if it sounds like something you wouldn’t do in Valentine’s Day or found it kind of unusual, I apologize 😓😓😓 Anyway, besides that, writing these silly headcanons are kind of fun

♥︎： He’s nervous, but very excited for this day. He even highlighted the holiday on his calendar. He prepared these candy apples for you, carving them into abstract, and cute shapes. He had even written, and made you this childish, but lovely Valentine’s Day card. Inside, there’s the cheesy, infamous pick up line “you’re the apple of my eye” written in cursive, and in bright red ink. Be grateful, because he spent all day crafting it up. At first he’s nervous to give it to you, but he sucked it up, and watched you closely try his candy apples. He’s so proud of them, that he kept on babbling “is it good? Is it good?”—his hidden dialect slipped. Then when he catches his excitement, he’d probably blush in total embarrassment.

♥︎： He’s so experienced with the upcoming holiday. He knows all sorts of things ladies covet for in this romantic occasion. He was originally going to try something new, and cook up his “special” dish for you, but thankfully Silver nagged him enough not to. So he bought, and prepared the usual heart-shaped box of chocolates, a bouquet of your favourite flowers, a stuffed animal of your favourite brand with his cologne sprayed on it, candy, perfume, a specially handwritten card in his signature dark, gothic stationery, and jewelry of your favourite kind. He’s those types of boyfriends who would go far to make you the Boo baskets or whatever. He knows what could make you swoon, it’s his thing. But you can’t help but wonder how he knows so much of your interests. Then, when the holidays came, and the moon was taking it’s throne, he’d lure you into the dark cobblestone paths of Ramshackle, and surprise you with the basket, and the little knick knacks he made, carefully arranged inside.

♥︎： He’s broke af, so he decided to craft everything. Listen, he never has the time to pick up new hobbies besides shoot a basketball into a hoop, or be a twink with Deuce, and slack off in his studies, but since he really likes you, and favours you… it’s just one time. He had enough pocket money to buy these candy strips, and make them into these edible roses—he definitely found the tutorial on Youtube Shorts. He also tried sculpting you this really ugly jewelry dish; he knows it’s ugly, but he hopes you like it. It’s smothered in glitter of your favourite colour, and he even wrapped it in a satin ribbon! Then, of course, he made you a card. It’s poorly coloured in crayons, the letters are wonky, and even F is written backwards. But you know, he just hopes you’re happy. Then when it’s time to give it to you, he’d slip the gift bag into your hands, foolishly smirking at you.

♥︎： It’s the time of the month for showing off his editing skills, and surprisingly, he’s pretty good in that Alightmotion stuff. He edited this photo album of you, putting in your favourite song, and adding these sick effects in it. He posted it in his Magicam story, but it ended up getting only 3 likes (from you, him, and his alt account). He can’t help but be a little disappointed, but since it was meant for you, he’s happy only you two got to see it. He also bought you a Djungelskog—the money came from his patron—and of course, the usual card, and a cheap box of chocolates. He’s especially teasing today, always sneaking pictures, and recording you while you open up his gift. He’s so proud of the edit though.

ׅ ׅ 𝒯hank 𝒴ou !!

[sagethegaywitch]

Dimensions: Ignihyde

Male reader

TW: drowning, yandere behavior, memory erasing

Genre: yandere

Here's the link for my other Dimensions: Twisted Wonderland Overblots.

The story will take place in the Underworld, the one from the original “Hercules” that the Ignihyde dorm is based on.  As the overblot eats away at the characters, they start to resemble and act more like the Disney characters they are based on.  The reader will be called Y/N and Megara/Meg.

It's not one of my best works and this one is a bit more Ortho focused rather than Idia.

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

You feel a dampness on your face, drawing you out of your slumber.  You groan as you blink your eyes and take note that you’re lying face-down on the cold and wet ground.  When you finally open your eyes, you’re met with shadowy hands grabbing at your face.  You scream as adrenaline pumps through your body and forces you into action.  You push yourself up and scoot yourself as far away from the river’s edge as you can.  You only stop when your back collides with a stalagmite.  You gasp as you watch the ghostly figures groan and continue to reach for you, unable to get out of the river.

“What the hell?” you murmur to yourself as you take in your surroundings.

It’s dark in here and you’re enclosed by rock, like a cave, with dripping stalactites and tall stalagmites.  The river in front of you seems to flow with spirits instead of water and they wail in despair as they move downstream.  Beside the ghosts, there seems to be not another soul in view.  You take this opportunity to pat yourself down for injuries, also checking to make sure you’re not a ghost yourself.  You find yourself wearing a light purple toga with a darker purple sash wrapped around your waist.  It’s comfortable, but unfamiliar on your body, like it’s not your usual style.  You push the thought aside as there is suddenly a loud commotion on the river, a speedboat appearing in the distance.  The souls exclaim sharply as the boat takes dangerous turns and swerves before it parks in front of you.  You press yourself closer to the rock behind you as a fiery blue boy hops down from the speedboat and makes a squealing noise of joy as he runs toward you.

“Meg!  There you are!” he declares as he stops in front of you.

He’s strong for a kid as he pulls you into a standing position and wraps his arms around your waist.

“W-Wait, who are you?’ you question, not having the heart to push aside a small child.

“I’m Ortho, silly.  How did you end up over here?  We agreed to stay within the gates for our game,” Ortho tells you, looking up at you with his yellow eyes.

“Game?” you question as the boy lets you go and grabs your hand.

“We were playing hide-and-seek, don’t you remember?” he asks as he starts to lead you to the speedboat.

“No, no I don’t,” you say as you carefully slip your hand out of his.  “I don’t remember anything?  Where are we?”

Ortho pauses and his eyes whir a bit as he stares at you.  He mutters some statistics and facts to himself before responding to your questions.

“That’s odd, maybe something took you while we were playing and stole your memories.  There’s a lot of bad stuff down here,” he offers.  “But don’t worry, Idia will know what to do.”

Seeing no better option and not wanting to stay at the edge of the creepy river, you take Ortho’s hand as he helps you up into the small speedboat.  You sit down on one of the benches while Ortho uses voice commands to start the journey back to wherever he’s taking you.

“So, who’s Idia?” you try to make some small talk while still trying to orientate yourself.

“He’s my big brother!” Ortho responds, seeming happy to talk about his sibling.  “He designed this body for me and runs the Underworld!  It’s a lot of work and he doesn’t have a lot of time to play, but that’s why you’re here!”

“So we hang out together while Idia runs the Underworld, like the afterlife?” you ask, the information shocking you.

Ortho just nods and you’re concerned by how casual he’s treating this topic, but he’s probably numb to it all having lived here so long.  Before you can ask anymore questions, you can feel your jaw drop as a giant skull-shaped structure comes into view.  It has hollowed eyes and its mouth seems to be in a permanent scream.  The boat docks itself at a pier that leads to a long spiral staircase leading up.  Ortho jumps down onto the dusty floor and offers his hand to you to help you down.

“Do we really have to climb all that?” you question, getting ready to become a panting and sweating mess by the time you reach the top of the seemingly never ending staircase.

“No, of course not silly.  They’re just for decoration,” Ortho giggles as he points to some elevator doors that seem out of place on the rocky surface.

He calls for the elevator and steps in after you before he pushes the top button.  The ride is enjoyed in silence with the classic elevator music playing in the background.  Once it dings, signaling the desired floor has been reached, the doors open into the inside of the rocky skull.  Contrary to its outside appearance, the inside is covered in technology and has a futuristic vibe.  From giant computer screens to floating holograms, the room is somehow both neat and messy at the same time.  Behind all the screens is a sickly pale male with flaming blue hair, the ends tinged with orange, nervously pacing back and forth, checking the holograms projecting security footage.  He’s clad in a black armor-like material with inky tendrils dripping around his waist plus a creepy smile face mask (Idia is in his overblot form).

“Idia, look what I found!” Ortho cheers as he runs up to his brother, clinging onto his waist.

Idia jumps at the sudden contact before absentmindedly patting Ortho’s head, his glowing blue right eye twitching a bit, “That’s nice.”

He seems distracted as he continues to look at the holograms before he looks through one right in front of you, finally noticing that you’re actually standing there and not a part of his online world.  He yelps, his hair tinged a hot pink color before he calms down and pushes the screens aside.  He reaches for you, but pauses before attempting to touch you again.  Seeing his inner dilemma, you gently reach out for his hand, causing him to flinch when you make contact.  With some sudden bravery, Idia pulls you into a hug, smashing your face into his chest as he strokes his hands through his hairs, trying to reassure himself that you’re really there.

“I was so worried about you.  Where did you go?” he asks, his voice shaky as he continues to hold you.

“This is kind of awkward,” you chuckle, carefully pushing yourself away from him so you can look him in the eyes.  “I woke up next to the river and Ortho found me.  I don’t really remember anything from before.  Ortho told me your name’s Idia, and mine is Meg?”

He takes a step back and looks everywhere but your eyes, nervously fiddling with his fingers as he mumbles, “Megara, actually.  I’ll have to start researching your sudden memory loss.”

Idia grabs a floating tablet and starts furiously typing on it while you try to think of a way to create some small talk.

“Hmm, I have a nice name,” you smile, the gesture making Idia blush a deep red color.  “So, what exactly do we do here?”

“Well, I mostly just stay here and do my work.  I try to game in my free time,” Idia responds shyly, not looking up from his tablet.

“And I help him!” Ortho beams as he flies a circle around his brother.

“I’m sure you’re a great helper,” you tell the younger brother, offering him a head pat.  “Is there anything I could help with?”

Idia looks up from his tablet and looks around at the computer screens mounted on the walls, “It’s boring work, I don't want to make you do busy work.”

“Well you looked stretched thin, let me help a bit,” you offer, seriously worried about his pale complexion and the deep eye bags under his eyes.

Before he can object his tablet startings ringing and announcing that it’s dinner time.  Idia quickly shuts off the alarm and resumes his work.

“How about I help make some dinner, seeing as you’re busy,” you suggest as you walk around to the corner of the room, looking around for some sort of cooking area.

“Oh, it’s okay.  I can just heat up some leftovers,” Idia responds, trying his hardest not to get too close to you.

You give him a pointed look that has him cowering behind his tablet before he quickly leads you to the kitchen.  In the far corner there is a doorway that leads into a small kitchen space that’s equipped with a small stove and oven, a fridge, a sink, and a small counter space.  You walk over to the fridge and open it to find a good amount of supplies, but you also see a bunch of leftover boxes from various takeout places.  You take out a few ingredients from the fridge: soft tofu, mushrooms, pork slices, an egg, a stalk of green onions, and various sauces and seasoning.

“I think I’ll make some sundubu jjigae (A/N: Sorry, I really miss Asian food, my college doesn’t have a lot of options),” you call out to Idia who had made himself comfy on one of the sofas in the other room.

He gives you a quick nod before his attention is back on his device.  While you prepare the ingredients Ortho hovers over your shoulder, watching you make the dish.  You even allow Ortho to help you with some simple tasks like mixing and pouring some ingredients.  Although he reassures you he can use a knife, you do all the cutting and handle all the hot stuff.  While the stew boils over the stove, you take the time to wash the dishes, blowing some bubbles for Ortho to chase around and pop.  When the soup heats up, you take it off the stove and pour it into three bowls.

“Hey, Idia, food’s ready,” you call out carefully carrying the bowls to the sofa.

You place it on the table while Ortho brings over some sodas and utensils.

“W-Wow!  This looks great,” Idia gawks before picking up a bowl and quickly removes his face mask before starting to dig in.

“I hope you like it.  I’m not much of a cook but I know the basics,” you tell him, passing a bowl to Ortho and taking one for yourself.

Idia eats in silence, but by his awestruck expression and his empty bowl, you knew he must have enjoyed the food.  He thanks you once again before offering to wash the dishes, but he’s quickly distracted by his tablet buzzing and flashing a warning sign.

“It’s okay, I got it,” you tell him, taking the bowl out of his hands as he gives you a grateful smile.

He sighs as he picks up the device and walks off to deal with whatever the problem is, snapping his face mask back into place.  Ortho hovers over your shoulder, helping to dry the dishes after you washed them and put them away in their shelves.  When you return to the living room space, Idia is nowhere to be seen so you decide to ask Ortho to give you a tour.  The boy bounced in excitement, promising you an awesome tour as he grabs your hand and drags you through a door you hadn’t noticed earlier.

Ortho showed you Idia’s room…well the door anyway.  You can hear muffled voices from inside so Idia is probably in there dealing with the problem that arose earlier.  Ortho then shows you his room, which also looks extremely high tech, but has some components you would see in a child’s room.  There is a bookshelf filled with books, a few toys, and a few electronic devices as well.

“Actually, I was wondering if you could read a book to me,” Ortho asks shyly, looking down with a bright blush on his cheeks.

“Of course, which one do you want?” you respond, taking a seat on the edge of Ortho’s soft bed as the boy cheers and races to the bookshelf.

Ortho spends a bit looking through the bookshelf, picking up books before putting them back down before grabbing one and bringing it over to you.  He quickly tucks himself into the bed and plugs some wires into his body.  You hadn’t really noticed before but apparently Ortho is more robot than human, and you’re a bit surprised that you’re not weird out by it.  It’s almost like you knew this already, hidden down deep inside your memories.  You’re brought back into the moment when Ortho places the well-loved book into your hands.

“Pinocchio?” you question, tracing the lettering on the cover and flipping it open to the first page (A/N: I just had to put an AI movie reference).

“Yeah, I love this one,” Ortho tells you as he snuggles into the blankets.

“I can tell,” you laugh as you carefully flip through the pages, reading through the story.

It’s in the format of a chapter book with a few watercolor illustrations, clearly for more advanced readers.  Ortho relaxes into the sheets as you continue to tell Pinocchio’s tale, and you find yourself so enthralled in the story that you don’t even notice that Ortho had fallen asleep until you feel a weight on your shoulder.  You finish the chapter and close the book before placing it on Ortho’s nightstand.  You sit there for a minute, contemplating your choices: get up and leave or stay by Ortho’s side.  You don’t really know where your room is anyways and you don’t want to wake Ortho, so you decide to get comfy and lean your head back to rest against the wall before drifting off to sleep.

~

A beeping noise awakens you in the morning and you groggily open your eyes to see that Ortho’s charger is beeping to exclaim it’s at full battery.  You look down to see that Ortho had somehow slipped off your shoulder and is now fast asleep on your lap, completely ignoring the alarm.  You decide to stretch a bit before waking up the boy, only to find that a blue blanket had been draped over your shoulder at some point in the night.  You smile, thinking that Idia must have wondered where you two had gone and had found you both asleep in Ortho’s room.  After getting all the aches and sores out of your joints, you gently nudge Ortho, asking him to wake up.  The boy makes a rebooting noise as he “wakes up” before sitting up and looking at you in mild surprise.

“Did you stay here all night?” he exclaims as he rips the wires off his body.

You chuckle nervously as you rub the back of your neck, “Yeah, you fell asleep on me and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I’m so sorry, you could have woken me up, I wouldn’t have minded,” Ortho reassures you before getting up.  “Let me show you your room, I’m sure you want to freshen up.”

You nod as you stand as well, keeping the blue blanket wrapped around your shoulders like a cape.  You exit Ortho’s room and he walks you a bit down the hall before opening another door.  Inside is a room similar to Ortho’s, minus the childish objects.  There aren't many decorations and it almost looks like the room is a guest room.  You thank Ortho and tell him you’ll probably take a shower before heading to the kitchen to make a meal.

“Alright then, see you later.  If you need anything, just press that button,” Ortho tells you before leaving you be.

You look at the red button on the wall by the door, the button looking more intimidating than it should be.  You take off your blanket cape and fold it before placing it on your neatly made bed.  You take a look inside the closet and find more versions of the light purple toga you’re wearing now so you just grab one and a towel before heading to the bathroom.

You pause when you step into the safety hazard of a bathroom that is connected to your room.  Inside are all the normal items like a toilet, a sink, and a shower, but there are electronics everywhere, just waiting to burst into flames or shock someone.  You hesitantly turn the water on in the shower, and when nothing explodes you fully undress and rinse off all the stress and weirdness from yesterday.  The two brothers seem nice, and you’re lucky that Ortho found you before you got lost in the literal Underworld.  While everything is a bit too sterile and technologically advanced, it’s a safe place and you really want to recover your lost memories.  After your shower you carefully step out and dry yourself off before putting the new toga on.  You’re drying your hair off with the towel as you step out of the bathroom and you nearly scream when you see a dark object run across the carpet and scurry under your bed.  You jump onto the bed, worried that a rodent or some sort of creature had found its way into your room.

“This can’t be happening,” you groan to yourself before steeling yourself to take a peak.

You lean over the edge and slowly lift up the bed covers to see under the bed.  It’s a bit too dark to really see anything, but two blue eyes and two blue triangles look back at you.

“Human!  Is that you?” is asks as it comes closer.

You quickly sit up again, dropping the sheets as you crawl to the center of the bed, scared out of your wits.

“Human, don’t be afraid,” the creature continues as it stumbles out from under your bed.  “It’s just me, Grim.”

Now that it’s climbing onto your bed, you can get a better look at it.  It appears to resemble a cat, the blue triangles you had seen earlier were its fiery ears.

“Stay back, don’t come any closer,” you tell the cat who calls itself Grim.

“What’s wrong?  Did Idia do something to you?” Grim asks, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Who are you and why are you here?” you question him.

“You don’t remember me?” Grim sounds hurt as he looks into your eyes to find that you aren’t lying.  “You don’t remember about the overblots and all that?”

“No, what are overblots?” you ask, now a little intrigued.

The cat grumbles a bit before quickly describing them to you, “Seriously, Y/N, how could you possibly forget all this?”

You pause as you feel your brain reboot, suddenly allowing all of your memories to flood your mind.  You remember it all and you feel a shiver run down your spine.  You're in a lot more danger than you thought you were.  Snapping fingers in front of your face brings you back to reality and you look down at Grim who removes his paws from in front of your face.

“You still with me Y/N?” he asks, looking at you in concern and slight panic.

“Yeah, I just remembered everything,” you tell him.  “We need to find a way out of here.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Grim cheers.  “So what's the plan?”

“We’d probably need to distract Idia and Ortho, or we'd need to disable all the technology here,” you muse, rubbing your chin.

“Would cutting the power work?” Grim asks.  “I think I saw a power box somewhere.”

“That would work.  Then when it's dark I can make a run for it and we'll regroup before finding a way back home,” you explain.

“Sounds like a plan!  You just got to keep them distracted while I go shut this place down,” Grim smiles before he gives you a salute and scurries away.

You sigh and finish drying your hair before leaving the towel out to dry.  You exit your bedroom and make your way back to the living room space to find Idia lounging on the couch with his tablet in hand and Ortho clicking away at a hologram screen.  You sit beside the older male and try to peer over at what he’s doing.  Idia shyly looks over at you and shows you the game he’s currently engrossed with.  You don’t really understand it but it appears that it’s a team battle of sorts.

“I’m guessing it’s not a busy day?” you suggest as you watch Idia’s character attack his opponent.

“Yeah, the security system is taking care of a few bugs, so it’s really just a maintenance day.  I’m waiting for some software to download and such,” Idia explains.

You feel your heart clench in worry for Grim.  If the security system is having issues, that means either Grim can safely sneak to the power box or he’s the problem.  You take a deep breath, you have to have some faith in your furry friend.

“Umm, I actually have something for you,” Idia’s interrupts your thoughts, his hair becoming a tinge of pink as he reaches into his pocket.

You look over in curiosity as Idia presents a brooch with a vaguely familiar symbol.  It is of a three headed dog surrounded by blue flames.  You don’t really want to accept the gift, but you have to keep up appearances.

“Oh my gosh!  Thank you so much,” you say, layering it on a thick.  “Are you sure I can keep it?”

“Of course, it was yours originally.  I’m just returning it,” Idia responds, his hair now fully pink with a light pink dusting his cheeks as well.

You nod, maybe it’s safe to accept the gift if it was yours to begin with.  You pin it to your toga as Idia returns to his game.  You watch him for a bit before reminding yourself you have to act natural so you get up and say you’ll start preparing food for lunch.  Idia gives you a nod, while Ortho suggests having sandwiches for lunch.  You smile at the boy and disappear into the kitchen.  You rummage around in the pantry, finding some bread before poking around in the fridge for some fillings, only finding some lunch meat and vegetables.  You get to washing and preparing the vegetables when the lights suddenly flicker.  You can hear Idia make a noise of concern and Ortho starts running a diagnostic check.  You peek into the living room and see Idia panicking as the lights continue to flicker and he lets out a yelp as the lights turn off completely.

“Ortho, what’s going on?” he asks, his face barely illuminated by his tablet screen.

“I’m not sure.  I’m troubleshooting now and trying to pinpoint the issue,” Ortho’s glowing yellow eyes speak.

You hadn’t anticipated for it to be so dark as you try to stumble to the door.  You muffle some winces as you bump into furniture, apparently not as familiar with your surroundings as you thought you were.

“Oof!  Meg is that you?” Idia’s voice asks, surprisingly close, his hands ghosting over your shoulders with intentions to grab you.

You curse under your breath before shoving him aside and making a wild dash to the door.  You swing it open and race down the darkened halls, trying your best to remember the first day you were here and Ortho led you up from the docks.  After stumbling down a few wrong hallways and smacking into walls, you eventually locate the elevator.  You groan in annoyance, realizing that the elevator won’t work without power.  You quickly locate the stairwell and sigh as you make the long descent down into the darkness.  In the distance you can hear Idia yelling for you to come back and bumping around in the blackness.  You almost fall down the rest of the staircase as the lights suddenly come back on and everything starts to reboot.  Luckily you’re at the bottom of the staircase, but a voice on the loud speakers startles you.

“Meg?  Where are you?  I’m sorry that you got scared by the darkness,”  Idia’s voice projects.  “Everything is good now, so you can come out now.”

You ignore his pleas as you look around the area for Grim.  You feel a smile spread across your face when the cat bounds out from around the corner, an equally big smile on his face as well.

“We did it.  Now we can escape on this sweet ride,” Grim cheers before pointing to the fancy boat Ortho drove you in once.

You feel a bit bad for leaving the brothers behind, but you need to leave and fix everything.  You approach the boat and Grim starts yelling commands.

“Start engine!  Take us to the exit,” Grim orders.

You both wait a moment, but the boat doesn’t do anything at first.  Then the screen flashes red and starts blaring an alarm.

“Unauthorized personnel.  Unauthorized personnel,” it kept repeating and the two of you quickly run off before the boat .

“Now what?!” Grim asks, clearly in distress.

“Maybe we can go back up and find another way out,” you suggest, but the sound of the elevator moving alerts you that your position has been discovered.  “Okay, nevermind.  I think we’ll just need to swim for it.”

“In that!?” Grim argues as he points to the souls floating in the river.

“Maybe we can get across, if we swim fast enough,” you offer, but Grim looks unconvinced.

“Meg!  Stop!” Ortho’s voice shouts as the elevator doors open and he races toward you, Idia following close behind him.

“It’s now or never,” you tell your friend as you take a running start before diving into the river.

You can hear a splash behind you, but you can barely focus with how cold the water is.  It seeps into your bones and chills you, but you manage to start swimming toward a rocky outcrop.  The more you swim, the more tired you become and you’re shocked to see your hands grow wrinkly and spotted with age.  It doesn’t help that the souls of the river seem to be dragging you down and screaming in your ears.

“Human!  I’m not sure how much longer I can go,” you hear Grim call out from behind you.

You pause to tread water to try and find Grim, but the cat is nowhere to be seen.  Now that you’ve lost your momentum, you can feel how tired you really are.  Maybe you should just let the hands drag you down, maybe now is a good time for a little nap.  You’re snapped out of it when something abruptly drags you upward before you’re deposited on a wooden surface.

“Is he breathing?” you can hear Idia, but his voice sounds so distant.

You can barely lift your head to see Ortho poking your body and showing a display of your vitals while Idia wraps a towel around you.  Your vision is all blurry, but you can see your heartbeat slowly taper off before stopping.

“That can’t be good,” you think before promptly passing out.

~

You shiver in your sleep before trying to burrow further into your blanket.  The cold seems to be freezing your core and you can’t seem to get warm.  You groan in discomfort before something shuffles around behind you and a warm body gets pressed against your back.

“Are you awake?” a voice asks softly, their hand lightly threading through your hair.

You hum in acknowledgement before opening your eyes.  The room is dim, but has a soft blue glow from all the devices inside.  You turn over onto your other side to see Idia looking at you in concern, his face mask missing so you can see the worried frown on his face.

“What happened?” you ask, bundling tighter in the blankets and leaning into Idia’s body heat.

“You were playing hide-and-seek with Ortho and you fell into the river.  Luckily we were able to find you with the tracking device in your brooch, but we almost lost you,” Idia tells you, his grip around you getting a bit more tight.  “But you’re okay now.  We’re all together again.”

As if on cue, the doors burst open and Ortho appears with a tray, “It’s good to see you awake again, Meg.”

Ortho hurries over to your side and Idia helps you sit up, your body still a bit weak from your dangerous swimming attempt.  Ortho offers you a cup full of tea, the floral taste paired with pomegranate warming you up.  You sigh, content to be safe again, but there is a weird gap in your memory, like you don’t belong here.  You push it aside, thinking it’s just a side effect of almost dying.

“Thank you.  I’m glad to be back,” you tell the duo.

“We’re glad you’re back, Meg,” Idia whispers.  “Till death do us part.”

[stayinguplate]

Chapter 1 falling down

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Okay so before I get into this this is an AU created by @moshispace I had offered to write the story for them and they agreed but most of the credit is for them since they came up with this amazing AU , I’m just the writer the only thing I own and will be doing is the art for the story ( reader as Alice in picture above). So this is a yandere ROTTMNT ( rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles)AU Alice in wonderland and you can check out @moshispace to see more on how they describe it .this is going to be a mix of the live action and animated movie.also I’m going with the reader having they /she/her pronouns please don’t attack me ₍^ ܸ. . .ܸ ྀི^₎ʃ

Okay enough yapping from me . WARNING: this story will have yandere tendencies if you are uncomfortable with that topic please don’t read, there will also be some dark themes so please be aware. There will also be some slight bad language

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As a child reader always had an odd imagination

but they always had amazing ideas her father

was always encouraging them to keep going with

their ideas ,reader always told her father about

her ‘friends’ and how they had odd but amazing

and crazy adventures ,always mentioning the

snapping turtle with a pocket watch and a trench

coat who led them to the entrance to

the adventure with the others ,at first readers

father was worried that there was an actual

dangerous snapping turtle but after observing for

30 minutes he knew that no snapping turtle was

there because they didn’t have or live near a

pond .

As the years passed reader grew turning 8 and

their adventures grew more less frequent , they

Had just stopped playing outside and started to

Get more interested in painting and spend their

Time in their room painting out unique

landscapes that have never been seen before they

seemed so wonderland like it was odd .

( not me having to do math to get the years right on readers age ㅠ ㅅ ㅠ ♡)

Though readers father adored the art that they

had made it was just as unique as there odd

personality .

more years passed by and reader eventually

became a beautiful young woman turning 20 ,one

day readers friend sunita had came over offering

to go to the flower field by the river just to read

And hang out ,reader had agreed thinking it

would be fun, they had told their father and

headed out with sunita.

After 10 minutes we had finally made it to the

flower field we had finally settled down in a nice

spot, sunita had been peacefully reading her book

that she had brought while I had been working on

a flower crown , After I Finish, The Flower, Crown I

Realized that sunita fell asleep I smiled softly as I

gently placed the flower crown on her head, I then

heard a ticking sound ,a sound of which a clock

makes , it felt so familiar I got up, stretching as I

look around, not hearing anything. I shrug as I

was going to wake. Sunita to go home, but then I

heard it again the soft ticking .

I looked and walked around to see if I would hear

it again not even a second later I heard it again it

was coming from the forest. It wasn’t like a scary

force, though it was just the one that always had

the usual river that people will go to have a picnic.

Sometimes I remember my dad and I used to go

sometimes when my mom was alive.  as the

sound kept ticking I decided to investigate and

see because there couldn’t just be a random

clock in the forest. 

I had inside the forest looking around. It seemed

like the tick kept getting farther and farther away

or that’s what I thought until it stopped. I walked

around confused before I felt something, grabbed

my ankle and tug as I screamed in shock as I trip

and fell. 

I looked down as I fell. It seems like I was falling

into a hole, except there was stuff my adrenaline

was rising. I couldn’t really focus on what I saw

but my falling didn’t last too long as I fell to the

floor. 

I grunt softly in pain as I lay on the ground for a

few seconds before slowly sit up extremely

confused I then slowly stood up as I then looked

up seeing the place I felt from I then began to see

my surroundings as I saw a small door I crouched

down on my knees as I tried to open the door but

as I twisted the doorknob I realized it was locked i

sigh as I looked around as I then saw a glass table

that had a key and a small glass bottle that had a

note tied to it saying ’ drink me ‘ and a small little

cookie that said ‘ eat me ‘ .

I then paused as I then felt like I was

hearing whispers. I turned around and looked to

see my surroundings.’nothing.’ I thought to myself

as I grabbed the little bottle and little cookie. 

I then took a sip of the bottle I grimaced slightly

from the bitter sweet taste ,but then I felt my

stomach twist as I then realized I was shrinking I

let out a small gasp, confusion as I look at myself

I then realize my clothes did not fit as I grabbed a

pice of fabric to look like it would fit and tied it

together. I was happy with my work as I got out

from under the big piece of clothing that I shrank

out of . I realize then that i left the key on the table

i sigh as i then realized i dropped the cookie i then

scurried to it as took a bite it was surprisingly very

good but then i dropped the cookie as I felt

myself grow, as i grew to the ceiling i grunted as i

carefully, picked up the key, I then grabbed the

tiny bottle drinking the last of it I went a little as

the taste was still very bitter. I then shrink down

to tiny again, thankfully I had the key now and I

was the right size enough to fit through the Door .

I then put the key in the door and unlocked it. The

door creeped open as it showed as somewhat

cloudy sky, but it was still blue and a garden like

landscape I then walked through after taking a

few steps. I hear the door creaking close behind

me. As I walked down the stone steps with the

Mossy greenness on the steps a few odd

insects pass by I looked around confused, there

was odd large flowers odd insects I didn’t

understand what was happening, but it all felt so

familiar deep down.

As I turned around for a moment walking

backwards through an overgrown plant stone

Entrance “ this is all so odd but so …familiar “ I said to myself

“ see i told you it was her!”

I jumped in shock as I then heard a voice I then

quickly turned around as my eyes widened in

absolute shock

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Okay so hopefully this was good and i really hope you all liked it especially the original person I offered to write it for but other than that, I hope you all have a good day or night or even afternoon. I’ll see you later. 

[fbfh]

curiosity is a wonderful thing - ch. 3

wc: 3.1k

pairing: slow burn childhood best friends to lovers ben x reader, audrey x reader

warnings: ben is stressed, audrey is a bad gf, mild claustrophobia/dark spaces/being under ground warning (description of falling down the rabbithole into twonderland but it's fun and you love it so it's not scary lol), mild exposition dumping

summary: ben prepares for the arrival of the Isle kids, and gives audrey the benefit of the doubt a little too much. you have time to sneak away to your favorite place in the world, and the only thing that's missing is ben.

song recs: in a world of my own - kathryn beaumont, welcome to wonderland - scarlett rose, wish you still felt this way - sophie meiers x 90sflav

a/n: i love this fic. i love this series. this started as a comfort daydream and now it's a thing and I hope yall are ready for the next chapter cause it's gonna be good. I hope this brings yall the comfort it brings me <33

tags @yesv01 @magcon7280 @hopefullhearts @thatawkwardlittlefangirl  @sunshineangel-reads @strawberry-cake1 @dustyinkpages @kiara7777

After about a week of constant meetings, arrangements, and press conferences, a week of even less sleep and even more coffee than usual - something Ben didn’t know was possible to achieve - it’s finally the day he’s been working tirelessly toward. It’s the day the kids from the Isle are finally on their way to Auradon. He rushes back to Auradon Prep with you at his side after a very stressful, successful press conference. Even though he seems totally composed on the surface, you can tell he’s a bundle of nerves. You walk quickly beside him as he goes over the agenda for their arrival. 

“Their rooms are all set up, Fairy Godmother said Jane can help them get settled into their classes - god, what am I forgetting?” Ben rambles, fumbling through all the papers in his bag. His eyes land on his copy of his press conference note cards, and that jogs his memory. 

“Right,” He continues as you look up at him, and he knows he has all your attention. “I don’t think I’m going to have time to write a new speech for their arrival…”

He pauses for a moment, seeing if there’s some little pocket of time he can find to make this date extra special for them. 

“Ben, you’re more jam packed than a tea cake. You can’t overwork yourself and run into the ground, not when you’re this close.”

Ben considers for a moment, realizing you're right. 

"You have a point…" he agrees with a reluctant chuckle. "I'll use the same speech I used for the press conference." He decides. You’re silent for a moment.

“...Alright.” 

“What?” Ben asks, able to read your expression like a book. 

“Nothing, just-” You hesitate, then give him an earnest look, like you don’t want to hurt his feelings. He chuckles and braces himself, knowing whatever you’re about to say will be a necessary - albeit, hard - truth. 

“You don’t think it’s a bit much?” You ask gently. “Too formal, given the circumstances?” 

He considers for a moment. He thought it did great at the press conference, but maybe there are a few parts he can revise for the arrival of the Isle kids. 

“Uh… yeah. I- I can cast eyes over it, we still have a little over an hour. That should be enough to make any tweaks.” He finishes. 

You nod as you follow him into the conference room that he’s turned into a makeshift headquarters for all of his first proclamation business. He sets down his bag and pulls out all his paperwork and his planner. He hears you set your stuff down a few seats away from him and looks up. You’ve been working so hard and helping him out so much with all of this. He couldn’t possibly have accomplished a fraction as much without you. He walks over to you, gathering up your stuff. 

“Look bunny, why don’t you, uh,” he starts, leaning over slightly to make sure no one’s about to walk through the doorway. “Why don’t you head down for a while. You have enough time if you go now.”

Your eyes light up at his words. You’ve been keeping your Wonderland visits to a minimum to help Ben and support him as much as you can, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Really?” You ask softly. 

“Yeah, I’ll cover for you.” Ben lets out a soft grunt as you tackle him with a hug. He chuckles lightly, giving your back and shoulders a gentle pat before you pull away a moment later. 

“I’ll run my speech by you when you get back-” He begins, then cuts himself off, remembering something. “We got your watch fixed, right?”

You’re glad he remembered, and you fish around in your tea pot bag for a moment before pulling out the weathered bronzy pocket watch. Time works differently in Wonderland, and it’s hard to keep track of. You've tried everything you can think of, and your pocket watch is the only thing that seems to keep you from constantly being late. Granted, you're still late or nearly late a lot, but it’s much better than it used to be. 

“Yes,” you nod, showing him the little ticking hands, currently resting at the words ‘on time’. A fresh bubble of excitement pops inside you and you let out an excited giggle, hugging Ben tightly one more time. 

“Thank you!” you exclaim in a soft whisper before he sends you off. You run over to the corner of the room to summon a rabbit hole. Ben watches in fascination as the tile floor begins to crumble in front of you, giving way to grassy dirt before continuing to crumble, going down, down, down. It’s a large, vaguely irregular circle about half as wide as your wingspan. You look back at Ben with another silent thank you, before jumping straight down into the hole. As soon as the last of you is out of sight, the tiles rebuild themselves without leaving a trace of you. Ben stares at the spot where you disappeared, feeling vaguely melancholic, but mostly happy that you’re getting to spend time doing what you love. That you’re happy. 

“There you are, Bennyboo,” Ben whips his head around at the sound of Audrey’s voice, and he’s relieved she hadn’t shown up sooner. It’s not that sneaking off to Wonderland is a bad thing, but most people tend to discourage you from visiting too often. Wonderland is a timeless domain, like Neverland, and it and all of its inhabitants are much different from those from Auradon - usually referred to as Overland or the Main Land by people from Wonderland and Neverland. 

Wonderland runs on pure, neutral chaos and nonsense, which is a very hard concept for people from Overland to grasp. Overland runs on a fundamental structure of good vs. evil, so it’s easy for people to perceive things from Wonderland as good or bad  when they’re really just made up of madness. The reason people try to keep Wonderland contained is because you can’t fight nonsense with sense, you can’t fight chaos with logic. If something powerful from Wonderland got into Overland, like the Jabberwocky, or any number of powerful plants, animals, or magic, Auradon would be practically defenseless. That’s one of the reasons that Belle and Adam decided to reach out to your mother, and continue to form such a strong bond with her. If Wonderland nonsense managed to get out into Auradon, it would be uncontrollable chaos, and the only person who could stop it would be your mother - and now, you. 

It took Ben a while to understand Wonderland, to understand you. You and your mother are very special cases; Alice was from Overland, but adapted to be part of Wonderland, and Wonderland became a part of her. You, however, were born in Wonderland and raised in Overland. You’ve adapted as well as you can, but you always do much, much better when you can sneak away for regular little trips. Ben has asked to join you before, but it’s too dangerous. People from Overland rarely adapt to Wonderland nonsense and usually end up going mad, which is why your mother is such an asset to the Auradon government - she’s actually able to serve as a liaison between Wonderland and Auradon, and keep an eye on things.  

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of stigmas surrounding Wonderlandians, stigmas Ben has grown to resent more and more over the years, but most of it boils down to Wonderlandians being weird, crazy, dumb, and volatile. The more Ben has come to understand you, the more he hates the small comments and little stares directed toward you. Luckily Ben has been able to protect you from a lot of it. People very quickly found out that if they said anything bad about you or Wonderland, it wouldn’t end well for them. He can’t get rid of the stigmas, but he can protect you from them as much as possible. 

Audrey flounces over, sitting next to him.

"You are never going to believe what Arabella just told me at cheer practice."

“Uh-”

“She said-”

“Um, Audrey.” Ben finally manages to interrupt. She looks confused about why she’s not the one talking right now. 

“I want to hear all about this, I really do,” Ben says, “but we’re going to be greeting the kids transferring from the Isle soon-” Audrey huffs, already disinterested.

“And I wanted your feedback on my speech.” He finishes, handing her the papers. 

“Oh, sure. There’s that…” Audrey says, pretending to read it over for a moment. Before she finishes, she sets the papers down on the table, and gives Ben a chipper look.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Bennyboo. You never disappoint.”

She sits on the table in front of him, continuing to tell him all about what Arabella said Herkie did. Ben tries his best to listen, he really does. He just can’t keep his mind off his speech, and he can feel himself beginning to spiral and overthink. He has so much riding on this, he can’t afford for his speech to be fine, he can’t afford for anything about this whole ordeal to be fine. Her words keep echoing in his mind, you never disappoint, Bennyboo. He knows she meant it to be supportive, but he feels like all the pressure he’s been convincing himself he can handle is just reinforced. He was hoping to get some real feedback from Audrey, maybe a little encouragement, but- 

He stops himself before the thought can go any further. Audrey is his girlfriend, and Ben should be able to trust her word. You would never lie to him about something this important, so he chooses to trust that Audrey wouldn’t either. He tries to shut up the worries clouding his mind and tries to pay attention to what Audrey is saying. She’s probably just trying to distract him from worrying, give him something else to think about for a while. You can always tell when he’s overthinking, so Audrey is probably trying to show him that she cares, that there’s nothing to worry about. That if she’s talking about something like cheer team gossip at a time like this, when Ben is getting ready for one of the most important days of his life, then everything must be under control. Besides, if he needs to he can look his speech over by himself after Audrey leaves. He might have time to. It will all be fine. 

The moment you let yourself fall into the dark rabbit hole, your stomach flips as you begin free falling through the darkness. A little dirt sprinkles down on your head from where it closes up above you, and you narrowly manage to avoid some roots snagging in your hair. After a few moments, your descent slows. You spin slowly as you glide down, and in the pitch black darkness, you can feel your internal gyroscope going crazy. You breathe in the heavy, earthy air, and for a few moments, you don't know which way is up or down. You have absolutely no sense of direction for those few beautiful moments, and you don't want to. Soon, your descent speeds up again, and you find yourself tumbling through tree branches, eventually landing on a rough surface in the dark. 

“It should be here somewhere…” you mutter, feeling around for a doorknob. After a moment you feel it, cool aged metal in your hand. You twist it, revealing a beam of light through a doorway. It’s going to be a close call, but you think you’ll just be able to fit. You manage to squeeze through the entrance, exiting out of the door - which is situated in a large tree trunk, and into Wonderland. You crawl forward, taking it all in. You take in a deep breath of the still, earthy, floral air. It’s heavy in your lungs, like a deep dream. You fully exit, and the door slowly closes behind you.

The world is quiet. 

There’s an almost suffocating stillness in the atmosphere of Wonderland, one that would be uncanny and unnerving to you if it weren’t already so deeply comforting. It’s the same grounding sense of peace and stillness you get when you’re young and walk carefully through your dark house at night in search of a cold glass of water. There’s that feeling in Wonderland, everyone is asleep except for me. I ought to be asleep too, I best not wake them. The world around you is still, still, still. It’s as still as a stone, or a lake made of glass. You soak up the familiar surroundings, and you feel like you’re finally visiting an old friend. 

In spite of the pitch black sky, which is barely visible through the treetops, you can see what’s around you just fine. But if you look too far, there’s a darkness off the beaten path, one that stays just at the edges of your sight no matter where you go. It always looks to you like those hazy dark shadows around the edges of old photographs. You look down at the beaten path - this one being made of black and white irregularly shaped checkerboard tiles nestled right into the dirt. They twist and turn, splitting out and reconverging haphazardly into the darkness. They’re a bit worn and dirty, but you suppose any outdoor tiles would get that way eventually. 

You follow it back the way you came, spinning around as you do, and notice the way it splinters into little shards, cracking and fragmenting into a mosaic of sorts before petering out at the base of the tree, with grass and dirt poking up in between. You feel yourself begin to settle, at home with the lack of time flowing around you, and you take in another breath. Your nose and lungs are kissed gently with the smell of damp, freshly turned earth, plant life, and that unmoving sort of smell that shows up after it rains, but still before any birds and animals come out from their hiding. The type of smell when flowers are wet, and have not yet opened themselves back up. 

Reaching into your trusty teapot bag, you fish around in there until you find your camera. It’s old, very old, and completely obsolete ever since the boom of technology that appeared around the time you and Ben were born, but you love it nonetheless. A year or two before you and Ben - and most of the other kids your age - were born, Auradon successfully made an alliance with Atlantis. They traded their protection of Atlantis and a promise to leave them alone, in exchange for a little bit of their technology and power sources. Adam also promised to make sure Rourke never saw the light of day again, a promise Queen Kida was happy to accept. The trade led to light speed innovations based in Atlantean tech; smart phones, computers, video games, and countless other innovations that brought Auradon into its new age. Flash forward to now, Atlantis is the tech capital of the world, and magic is obsolete. Your camera can’t give directions or tell time or backup to cloud storage, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

You snap some pictures of the tiles before you begin exploring. You never know what entrance to Wonderland you’ll fall through, and you love documenting each one. You walk carefully through the forest of dense trees, looking at flocks of haughty looking dodo birds and peonies that gossip to each other, whispering with a laugh as you pass them by. Soon you stumble into something very interesting. You thought it was a cluster of blue bushes, but were surprised to find out they’re really birds. The bird bushes (or maybe bush birds) startle at your presence, squawking and leaving feathers (leaves?) in their wake before they fly off. 

You manage to get a few pictures of them too, and you’re excited to show Ben. You’ve tried taking pictures with your phone before, but Wonderland makes technology… unreliable at best. Plus, there’s no service down here anyway. That’s why you took to journaling, drawing pictures and taking photos and writing down everything you see. This way you can share it with Ben, this way it’s almost like he’s here in your favorite place with you. 

You follow the blue speckled bush birds - as you’d dubbed them - until you lose track of them. It’s no matter though, since you soon hear some lovely singing coming from under a sparkling berry bush growing fruit shaped like bells. You crouch down, lifting up the leaves, and find a choir of inchworms practicing their harmonies. The leader looks up at you in a huff. 

“I’m terribly sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt.” You say. He huffs, and turns back to his choir, conducting with a little twig. You decide to sit and listen for a while as they rehearse under the coverage of glistening pink leaves. You find some oversized, brightly colored mushrooms growing nearby, and sit down on a comfortable one. You pull a teacup out of your bag, trying to decide which tea to drink while you watch the inchworms and listen to their masterpiece slowly come together. 

You zip the lid closed, and pour the spout to the cup, settling on some raspberry tea. With honey, you think, and lemon. You smile as a lemon wedge falls from the spout, plopping gently into your cup. You take a sip, and it’s perfectly brewed as ever. You go through several cups of tea, growing more and more invested in the drama between the inchworms. One is insisting on taking the high harmony, even though it’s obviously out of his range. You’re half way through… one of your cups of tea, you lost count rather quickly. By now the inchworms have perfected their harmonies for the chorus, and the first verse. Your attention is ripped away from the inchworms when your bag starts ringing. You open it up, digging out your pocket watch. The bronze hands have spun all the way past most of the little notches, and you nearly drop your tea when you see where they are. Your eyes follow the hands, which are nearly pointing to the word Late! in fancy script. 

“Shit!” 

[himejoshikomaeda]

LES FOISFOIS FAVORITE SONG FROM EACH TOUHOU SOUNDTRACK

th01 highly responsive to prayers: gotta be eternal shrine maiden. angel’s legend is good, but eternal shrine maiden just has what the PC-98’s soundboard did best. little beeps and boops that somehow sound so chock-full of emotion. fantastic stuff.

th02 story of eastern wonderland: love-colored magic is, of course, legendary, but my favorite for this game is complete darkness. absolutely masterfully work with that melody.

th03 phantasmagoria of dim.dream: obligatory respects to strawberry crisis to make sure i don’t get mauled for saying this, but reincarnation is my personal favorite off this soundtrack. there isn’t really a place to note this, but the SC-8850 version of reincarnation is fucking phenomenal, too.

th04 lotus land story: blah blah blah bad apple okay no but seriously it’s maiden’s capriccio. that’s reimu’s theme. i don’t care about this mystic oriental love consultation shit, this spring path crap. maiden’s capriccio. the imperishable night version fucks hard too.

th05 mystic square: this one is really hard. romantic children rules. plastic mind is unreal. the grimoire of alice fucks. but the best one in my opinion is alice in wonderland. extra stage themes tend to be really good, but i looooooove this one.

th06 embodiment of scarlet devil: locked girl ~ the girl’s sealed room. again being a contrarian here and not picking UN owen was her. cuz. i dunno. i like it.. be nice to me.. side note, but i love how the instruments in eosd and dolls in pseudo paradise sound.. idk, out of tune? it’s nice.

th07 perfect cherry blossom: there are a lot of really good ones here but i’d be lying if i said it wasn’t necrofantasia, contrarian though i may usually be.

th08 imperishable night: i don’t knowwww this one’s too hard they’re all so good.. illusionary night ~ ghostly eyes, nostalgic blood of the east ~ old world, flight of the bamboo cutter ~ lunatic princess, and extend ash ~ person of hourai all come to mind, but honestly i think i have to give it to love-colored master spark. i know it’s not “from” this game but it’s my favorite on the soundtrack, sooooo.. whatever. my list.

th09 phantasmagoria of flower view: wind god girl. “that’s from shoot the bullet” i knowwww shut upppp i’m not doing side games.

th10 mountain of faith: faith is for the transient people, full stop. the gensokyo the gods loved is practically the “touhou theme” to me, but sanae’s theme is like. in my top 3 favorite songs in the series. those guitars kick ass. this game’s soundtrack is phenomenal.

th11 subterranean animism: green-eyed jealousy. followed closely by satori maiden ~ 3rd eye. literally every song on this game’s soundtrack is a banger. a real no-skip album. but i am fucking addicted to parsee’s theme. it’s like bitter, ugly crying as music. i can’t sing its praises enough.

th12 undefined fantastic object: this game sucks ass but the music’s good. emotional skyscraper ~ cosmic mind is the best song.

th13 ten desires: it’s shoutoku legend ~ true administrator, but i wanna give a shout-out to night sakura of dead spirits anyway, because it’s great.

th14 double dealing character: kobito of the shining needle ~ little princess. but i mean. i am kissing reverse ideology on the mouth with tongue. i love you seija i love you shimmy you’ll get ‘em next time

th15 legacy of lunatic kingdom: honestly? unforgettable, the nostalgic greenery. i love the spacey sound of this soundtrack, and none of them capture that sound better than that. the lake reflects the cleansed moonlight is good for the same reason. i have a lot of love for the sea that reflects one’s home planet, too.

th16 hidden star in four seasons: not huge on this soundtrack, but my favorite song is swim in a cherry blossom-colored sea.

th17 wily beast and weakest creature: electric heritage. what a tasty piano in this one. the gorgeous melody is also present in entrust this world to idols ~ idolatrize world, but i like the piano in electric heritage better. idolatrize world is an easy second, though.

th18 unconnected marketeers: this soundtrack is so romantic. very lovely melodies. my favorite is the perpetual snow of komakusa blossoms. it’s memorable to me for whatever reason.

th19 unfinished dream of all living ghost: i’m gonna choose to limit myself to the songs that aren’t covers of existing touhou songs, cuz some of them are pretty similar even if i might like them “more”, like corpse voyage ~ be of good cheer. so i’ll go with the deviants’ unobstructed light ~ kingdom of nothingness. the vocal samples are cool.

i’ll list my favorite songs from the doujin albums in a separate reblog, because damn this is getting long!!

[pocketfullofpearlies]

RISE OF RED: A TALE OF HEADS AND HEARTS

(Descendants: Rise of Red Fanfiction/Re-imagining)

Chapter 4

“Where is that insolent girl?” the Queen of Hearts roared.

Tarrant stood quietly with Maddox, who still had evidence of his brief makeout session with Red on his neck.

“You’ve got a little something there, son,” Tarrant whispered.

“And do you have a problem with that, Dad? I’ve seen worse on you.”

“Touché.”

“You!” the Queen snapped, pointing at one of the guards standing outside with them. “Go get Princess Red down here now!”

“That won’t be necessary,” came Red’s voice as she stood in the doorway.

The Queen squinted in anger.

“What are you wearing? And what the hell did you do to your hair?”

Red smiled, running a hand through her locks.

“You like?”

“You look stupid.”

Red rolled her eyes as her mother turned round and began walking to the car.

She caught sight of Maddox who was scanning her from head to toe, surprised but ultimately attracted to her new look.

Red had cut up two different jackets and stitched them together to form a new one, which she wore on top of a black top with a red heart in the middle and black leather pants with red sides that hugged her legs perfectly and she had cut bangs and layers into her hair, and added some black to it.

Her makeup was dark and smudgy, matching her outfit and giving her an elevated, sultry look that was different from her usual style.

“Wow, Princess,” Maddox said, coming over to meet her. “You look enchanting.”

Red smiled. “Why, thank you. I really hope all this hides the fact that I’m more scared than a cake troll on his unbirthday.”

“There’s nothing to hide Princess; you’ll do great.”

He bowed before her slightly, taking her hand and planting a kiss on it, making Red’s head swim with sensations.

“I got you something,” Maddox whispered as he stood straight, Red’s flustered expression making him smirk.

He pressed something rectangular into the hand he held and Red looked down, only to see a phone.

“I know Her Majesty never let you have one, but I figured since you’re headed somewhere new without your special mirror, you could use this. I’ve already saved my number and installed a bunch of hacks and stuff; it’s good to go.”

“Maddox, I-“

“RED! IF YOU’RE NOT IN THIS CAR RIGHT NOW, SO HELP ME!”

“Go on, Princess. We’ll talk later.”

He winked at her and walked back to his dad, as Red stuffed the phone in the bag slung on her shoulder, sprinting down the stairs and into the car where her mother was sitting down cross-legged on one of the elaborately upholstered couches, absent-mindedly shuffling a deck of playing cards.

In true Wonderlandian style, the car looked normal on the outside, but was the size of a studio apartment on the inside.

Red sat opposite her mother and the driver started moving.

“Um, mum, do we even know the way to Auradon Prep?”

The Queen gave her a snide glance. “Your enchanted invitation card serves as a GPS for the driver and grants us entrance into the school. Do try and keep up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She turned to face the window and Red did the same, watching the huge Wonderland castle disappear as the car picked up speed.

They were approaching what seemed to be a dense forest and Red frowned in suspicion.

Her suspicion turned into fear when she saw a hole open up directly in front of the huge tree they were barreling towards.

“Mum! What’s that?” she cried in alarm.

This time the Queen groaned and glared at her daughter in frustration.

“Are you really this stupid, Redwina? You’re the Princess of Wonderland and you don’t know a rabbit hole looks like?”

Red’s face rivaled her name in colour as she shrunk into herself with embarrassment.

Of course; a rabbit hole. They were the entrances and exits to and from Wonderland, but fear curbed her tongue from admitting to her mother that she had never actually seen one because she had never had the opportunity to leave the kingdom, as they were basically locked.

She sat back and watched as the hole grew bigger and bigger till it was able to accommodate the car.

Once it was car-sized, they went through and Red saw darkness and swirls of undecipherable colours for the few seconds it took for them to get to Auradon.

Immediately the car starting moving on the Auradonian road, Red was struck by the stark difference between the general colour scheme and athmosphere of this new kingdom and the one she had called home her whole life.

While Wonderland was all rich, vibrant tones and deep, saturated hues, Auradon was all light pastels and bright, airy flushes of colour.

Red looked in amazement at the clean stretch of road in front of them, as well as the perfect, bright green trees on either side of it, which matching bushes and pretty little flowers that didn’t seem alive in the slightest.

They drove for a while before stopping in front of a very tall set of gleaming gold gates, surrounded by guards in crisp blue and gold uniforms.

The driver rolled down his window and held out her invitation letter to one of the guards who took it, scanned it over with a device and gave a hand signal, causing the gates to roll open.

The car began moving on a cobbled path that lead to the driveway directly in front of the castle that held the school’s main building.

The place was packed with parents, students and staff, bustling about and buzzing with the excitement of resumption day.

The car came to a stop and the doors were opened by footmen who helped the Queen and Red come down.

Red gasped as she got a full look at everything.

The castle was huge and imposing, made of grey stone that was clearly weathered, a testament to the decades it had been in existence. Right in the middle of the grounds in front of the cast was a statue of  King Adam, the former leader of Auradon. Around his statue was a circular bush arrangement with flowers, and there were similar arrangements on either side, forming wide walkways that lead to the open door.

Everything was decorated with blue and gold ribbons, drapes and balloons, and there was a large banner hanging over the door that read: “Welcome to Auradon Prep.”

Red turned to look at her mother who had even stormier expression on her face than before, if that was even possible.

That was when she noticed the stares and side glances being thrown their way, coupled with not so subtle whispers.

Before she could make sense of that, a girl with glasses and a clipboard approached them, visibly shaking despite the friendly smile on her face.

“U-um..welcome, Your Majesty,” she said, head down to avoid eye contact with the Queen, who ignored her like she wasn’t even there.

Red smirked at that. There were times when her mother’s nasty attitude was funny, especially when it wasn’t being directed at her.

“And w-welcome Princess Red. We’re pleased to have you.”

Her sugary sweet tone made Red cringe and roll her eyes. “Whatever, thanks.”

“I’m Dizzy, and-“

“-Sit down then?”

Dizzy adjusted her glasses with a nervous giggle, almost dropping her clipboard in the process. “Uh, no, m-my name is Dizzy, it’s short for Dizzerée, my mum’s name is Drizella and-“

“-Okay, I really don’t care.”

“Right, yes. So I’m here to assist you since this is your first time in Auradon. Welcome, again. Just follow me and I’ll get you started.”

As Dizzy finished her statement, the Queen started walking away.

“Your Majesty, if you could hold on…oh dear.”

Red laughed as Dizzy attempted to catch up with her, and followed behind them at her own pace.

She had almost caught up with them when she bumped into someone and came crashing down on the ground.

“What the-?”

“I am terribly sorry!”

Red looked up, rubbing her sore elbow as her eyes settled on the culprit, who was very, very good looking.

“Here let me help you up,” he said, his voice deep and musical.

He got up in a squat position and extended his hands to Red who squinted at him in annoyance and suspicion.

“I mean, I got you on the ground, the least I can do is get you back on your feet again.”

Red pushed herself off of the ground and onto her feet, dusting her hands off on her trousers.

He stood up as well, towering over her.

She looked at him, still suspicious. He was really tall, built like an athlete and his brown skin glowed, complimented by his bright hazel-coloured eyes that crinkled as he offered her an apologetic smile.

“I’m really sorry, Miss…”

“Red.”

“I’m sorry, Red. I hope you’re not hurt or anything.”

She folded her arms. “I’ll live.”

“My name’s Amir, by the way. I’m a student here…though I think that’s kinda obvious.”

“I also happen to be a student here…I think. I just got here.”

“Oh, that’s great. Where’d you come in from?”

“Wonderland.”

Amir gave a low whistle. “Wow. I’ve never met anyone from Wonderland before. Are they all as cool as you?”

“Well, I am their Princess, so definitely not.” Red smiled a little, finally warming up to Amir as he laughed at her joke.

“Princess Red?” Dizzy called out from ahead, waving her clipboard.

“I gotta go,” Red said with a sigh.

“I’ll see you around then, Red. It was nice bumping into you.”

Amir did a little cordial bow as Red turned to catch up with Dizzy and her mum.

“Where were you?” the Queen asked sharply.

Red opened her mouth to speak, but was dismissed by a wave of her mum’s hand.

“Doesn’t matter, we’re here now; let’s get you signed in.”

“Okay?”

She was once again surprised at her mother’s passive aggressive enthusiasm.

They got in line behind another girl and her mother who were almost done.

“Great! Chloe this is your dorm key and your student pass. You’ll be given every other thing you need during the general orientation tomorrow,” the pretty dark-skinned girl with colourful braids and makeup behind the table said, a friendly yet very bored expression on her face.

“Thank you dear,” the woman accompanying her daughter said before she turned around.

On sighting the Queen of Hearts, she gasped and grabbed her daughter’s arm.

“Mum?” Chloe asked in concern, following her mother’s line of vision which was fixed on Red and the Queen of Hearts.

“Bridget?” Queen Cinderella’s was quiet but quite audible and The Queen of Hearts paused immediately.

“Ella?”

“Oh, mon Dieu, it is you! Bridget, I-“

“-It’s The Queen of Hearts, now. You understand, right, Mrs. Charming?”

Queen Cinderella’s face fell in sadness. “Come on, Bri- Your Majesty- you don’t have to be like this.”

“Like what?” The Queen of Hearts retorted stunning Queen Cinderella into silence.

Chloe shifted to meet Red who was watching the interaction between the two queens.

“Um, hi, I’m Chloe,” she whispered.

Red eyed her, scoffed and pushed past her.

“Come on, Mum.”

She held on to mother’s arm and turned her round to face Celia,  effectively ending the conversation.

The Queen snatched her arm out of Red’s, trying to hide her flusteredness with anger.

Celia coughed awkwardly and shuffled some papers, presenting them to Red.

“You can start filling these out, if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

********************************************************

Queen Cinderella turned round, embarrassed. “Come on, Chloe.”

“You can head up to the Courtyard to wait for the Welcome Ceremony,” Dizzy said. “I’ll meet up with you later Chloe, okay?”

“See ya, Dizzy.”

“I need to sit down,” the Queen said, walking towards a nearby bench and balancing elegantly on it.

Chloe sat on the bench too, facing her.

“Maman, c’était quoi?(Mummy, what was that?).”

“Ça fait rien, bébé(It’s nothing, baby).”

“C’était pas rien! Qui était cette femme? Pourquoi elle t’a aggressée comme ça? Et sa fille, elle faisait la même chose?(It’s not nothing! Who was that woman? Why did she speak to you like that? And her daughter; why was she acting like that?).”

Queen Cinderella sighed, shaking her head. “C’est trop compliqué pour expliquer(It’s too complicated to explain).”

“There’s still some time; I’ll take the short version for now.”

For the first time ever, Chloe was witnessing her mother in a state of nervousness unknown to anyone she’d ever met, and it scared her.

”Well, Bridget- The Queen of Hearts- and I attended this school together, way back when all the Kingdoms were still divided and it was called Merlin Academy, a school that allowed all who came to attend it, despite still being one of the most prestigious in the world at the time. I was there with my step-sisters and she was there with her older sister, Princess Mirana. She was sweet and super nice to everyone and she became popular quickly; I was honoured to be her friend. But, not everyone liked her. And she was pranked…cruelly.

“It shattered her; she was never the same. She only attended half a semester after that before running away with her boyfriend. I tried reaching out to her, but I was also caught up with my relationship with your father. I mean, we were planning to get married after school, and as soon as we passed that milestone, we had your brother. Last I heard was that she had received the crown of Wonderland, not her sister, and that she had become an even worse dictator than their father. I didn’t even know she had a child.”

“So all that happened because of a prank?”

“It wasn’t just any old prank, my love. It was…torture.”

“Torture that turned her into a tyrant….figures.”

“I wish I’d tried harder to get to her. Maybe helped her? I don’t know.”

“Mum, it’s not your fault. You can’t blame yourself for what happened in her life or how she chose to act because of it.”

The Queen sighed again, looking down at her sparkly shoes.

“I guess you’re right. It’s probably too late to even want to do anything, anyway. Time is cruel in that manner.”

Chloe stood up, shook her curls out of her face and held her mother's hand. “Let’s get to the Courtyard. Aunt Faye might be there already, that’ll cheer you up.”

Queen Cinderella smiled at her daughter. “It will.” She stood too and smoothed out her gown. “Let’s go.”

***********************************************************************

"So you went to Auradon Prep with that lady?” Red questioned her mother, who was equal parts angry and flustered as they headed to the Courtyard.

“No, I went to Merlin Academy with her. That was what it was called before Adam came in and decided he wanted to lord it over everybody. I still don’t know how everyone just stood aside and let do all of this. Crushing all the kingdoms of the world into a singular authority, and casting out all the villains to a wretched island across the sea from his territory.”

“What of Wonderland? Why aren’t we part of the United States of Auradon? The Hatter wouldn’t teach me; he said you’d tell me everything when the time was right.”

The Queen pursed her lips and clenched the cards in her hands.

“What I will tell you now is that my father refused Adam’s silly offer outright. He wasn’t going to let some half-baked animal of a King tell him what to do. And since Adam had no proof of villainry in our lands, he couldn’t cast us all to the Isle. He just barricaded all the rabbit holes.”

"Wait...King Adam did that? I thought that was you."

"Nope, that was all him. He couldn't lock us up so he locked us in."

Red shivered, wondering how they must’ve hidden the evidence of some of the real things that went on in Wonderland, like the White Rabbit Gang and their crimes, the constant flow of drugs and hallucinogens in the markets and of course the yearly killing spree her mother embarked on which claimed not less than a hundred live each year, not to mention all the casual killings that happened every other day.

She had grown up seeing those things as normal, but knowing deep down that they weren’t right in the slightest. If King Adam had found out back then, they would have been put somewhere much much worse than an island of delinquents.

“But why’d you have it out for the lady? She seemed nice enough. Her daughter was an annoying piece of work, though.”

“Ella is one of the people I knew while I went here. They were all awful, awful nasty creatures who posed as the beloved monarchs and respectables of the world. But she didn’t pose in the same way they did. No, she took on the act of the poor little step-sister who was being treated poorly by her family, and I was there for her every step of the way. But when I needed her, where was she? Off with the prince that her damsel in distress act had won for her.”

They were in the Courtyard now, which was gradually filling up with students and their parents, people from all kingdoms and walks of life.

Red spotted the lady, Ella, and her daughter. It was almost impossible not to, with the shiny blonde hair and beautiful gown she wore, as well as the fact that everybody seemed to be going up to greet her.

The Queen of Hearts took a seat on the side opposite from them, and Red sat beside her.

They were near the front and she observed their surroundings, noting even more blue and gold decorations and a sort of stage set-up in front of them, as well tables on each side laden with fancy snacks and drinks.

“Mum, if the people here are so terrible, why’d you bring me?’

Her mother gave her a side glance and a small smile. “You’ll see in quite a bit, daughter dear.”

The uncomfortable feeling that had been festering in Red’s chest became stronger and she gulped.

Before she could say anything else, a pretty, petite woman in a dark blue gown with puffy bow-like sleeves and a sequined belt came up on the stage.

“Good afternoon everyone,” she said into the mic. “Oh, it’s such a pleasure to see you all. Do come in, grab a snack and get seated, we shall be starting this Welcome Ceremony in just a minute.”

The Queen of Hearts scoffed, her expression clouding over again as she glared at the new lady on stage.

“Who’s she?” Red had to ask.

“Fairy Godmother. Another piece of Auradonian scum.”

Red watched as the Fairy Godmother left the stage and immediately went to that Ella woman and her daughter. They hugged and laughed like family.

For a split second, Red wanted to imagine herself and her mum in their position; laughing, smiling, seemingly adored by everyone around.

But that would never be the case: even in their own kingdom people hated her mother, and her by extension.

She turned her head to get a glance of the other people filling up the seats and caught sight of Amir. He was talking to a beautiful woman with long, shiny black hair who was decked out in jewelry and wearing an opulently bedazzled blue sari and had the same perfect brown skin as him, as well a bearded man who had the same hazel eyes and dashing good looks, albeit his being more rugged. He laughed at something the man said and in the process saw Red looking at him. He smiled at her and the girl responded by internally shrieking and whipping round with speed.

Beside her, the Queen was still playing about with her cards, shuffling them between her hands and performing a few tricks.

That stirred up a memory in Red, of how her mother had taught her to flip and shuffle cards when she was younger. Cardistry was an art form well recognized throughout Wonderland and her mother had wanted her to be exceptional at it, leading to many teaching sessions that were quite fun to young Red and a somewhat compensation for all the instances that they didn’t spend time together. Unfortunately, Red picked up the skill too quickly and mastered too exceptionally that there was nothing more for the Queen to teach her, and that lead to the end of their sessions. What she would give to spend hours flipping cards with her again.

Suddenly the stage lights came on and a fog machine started blowing, immediately changing the vibe of the Courtyard.

A song started playing on the sound system as people who Red recognized as pirates came in dancing from all sides and corners.

The crowd gasped in surprise and awe as they performed their tricks and stunts, but Red and her mother were unimpressed.

This was like a typical entrance in Wonderland, nothing to get excited about.

After all the pirates had made their way to the front, Fairy Godmother got back up on the stage, taking hold of the mic again, but this time she had her magic wand, an equisitely designed instrument, with her.

“Auradon Prep, it has been my greatest pleasure serving you all these years, but times are changing and we must change with them. And so it is with immense joy that I announce and welcome your new Principal, Uma of the Isle!”

Applause and cheers began as the young woman strutted down from the entrance to the stage a smile on her face the whole time.

Red watched as she got on the stage and waved at everyone.

She was gorgeous, with deep brown skin that went with her long sister-locs that were a combination of blues, greens, silvers and black and matched her pirate style outfit; an aqua blue leather vest atop a scale designed top and leather flared pants of the same colour, with net-like tassles draped all over. Her black hat and boots had starfish accents on them and her jewelry was made of seashells with a stunning holographic colour effect.

If this was going to be her Principal, maybe life here wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Maybe this was why her mum wanted her here.

Uma looked out at the cheering crowd of students and parents and smiled.

A couple years ago, these people had all been deathly afraid of her and her crew of pirates, but now Harry was in charge of the Auradonian Sea Charter, Gil ran a gym and played for the tourney team at AU, and here she was, Principal of a school she had once vowed to tear down.

“Good afternoon, Auradon Prep! And welcome to a new era, an era of change- just like Fairy G graciously said –and acceptance. I never went to Auradon Prep, but I know the importance of looking past people’s faults and flaws. Which is why my first act as Principal was to invite a new kingdom to school here. We’re starting with one student now but in time, everyone who wants to come here will be able to.”

Red tried to stop the smile spreading on her face, but couldn’t. She was experiencing a happiness she hadn’t felt in a long time.

But that happiness was short lived.

Her mother’s card shuffling was making quite a bit of noise and Uma noticed it.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Uma called out directly to The Queen of Hearts. “Do you mind?”

Red glanced at her mother franctically, fear building within her.

The Queen had a snide smile on her face, her reddish-brown eyes lit with ill intent.

It was a look Red knew well and that tripled the anxiety she felt.

“I do mind, actually,” she said, looking Uma dead in the eye as she shuffled her cards even more, performing elaborate tricks.

“Mum, what are you doing?” Red asked in worried concern as her mother slowly rose to her feet.

“Why, I’m playing my favourite game of course…”

She threw her cards in the air in a circular motion, caught them and then threw them again, this time giving a loud cry as they took to the air.

“WAR!”

[sunnysidesevenup]

:0 new oc!! i like ali a lot, they seem cool!! also this is probably obvious but r they supposed to be based on alice from alice in wonderland- :D

secondary question but who is tilly based on? for some reason i genuinely can’t remember any disney character with purple in their design, although maybe it’s bc i’ve never watched pinocchio haha-

also yippee more elio content!! idk if i’ve mentioned this before but i loveeee his design, the lil braid is so cute!! :3

anyways also hi, hru?? make sure to take care of urself lol!!

- <3

Hehe, I’m glad you like Ali, I had a ton of fun designing them!!! And yes, she’s based on Alice!! I took a lot of inspiration from the concept of Wonderland being meant to be Alice’s dream, so he’s very strange and usually off in his own world. Maladaptive daydreaming is where your daydreams are extremely vivid and you spend time dreaming more than you do in reality, sometimes even acting and saying things out loud that are happening in your dream! People who do it also tend to sleep less, actually, which is why Ali has dark circles under their eyes.

Tilly is my beloved very loosely inspired mad hatter/caterpillar character!! He’s not meant to be anyone from Pinocchio, lol, I don’t pair characters up by their origins, only by personality and dynamic. And I do mean VERY loosely inspired. Tilly is one of those characters who definitely strays way further from his source material—although there’s a lot of references in some of his backstory, details and UM. It’s harder to see because I keep a lot of his backstory secret 😭. I also tend to always go for the darker interpretations of whatever source I’m drawing from, so for Alice In Wonderland you’ll get a lot of live action stuff, horror, etc from me!

ELIOOOOOO I love drawing him. Him and Ithel WILL get more content, I can’t wait to start writing their “chapter”. I’m a bit intimidated to start though which is why I haven’t already begun it yet haha 😅

And I’m doing good, thanks!! I’ve been sick this week but I am slowlyyyyyyy recovering.

[just-a-wandering-poet]

✧.* INTRODUCTION ✧.*

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

♡ realizing my age is getting serious ♡

♡ but my life is definitely not ♡

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

「 ✦ basics ✦ 」

: ̗̀➛ Name ׂ╰┈➤ Leanda

: ̗̀➛ Nicknames ׂ╰┈➤ Lea, Ano, any you can come up with <3

: ̗̀➛ Pronouns ׂ╰┈➤ They/she

: ̗̀➛ Content ׂ╰┈➤ Mostly shitposts, occasional poetry (maybe)

: ̗̀➛ My other social media accounts

ׂ╰┈➤ some_wandering_poet on Discord

ׂ╰┈➤ paradiseofmyown on TikTok (not all that active there)

•ᴗ• Likes •ᴗ•

Starlight express, Wicked, Hamilton, Twisted wonderland, Epic the musical, Greek mythology, Undertale, Six of crows, alice in borderland, Bg3, Arcane, Mcyt, writing, art in general, flowers, evolution, fashion, plushies, poetry, Stardew valley, fields of mistria, the dragon age series, Starlight express, dancing, musical theatre, acting, dramatics, tone tags, walks, people watching, lady gaga, mother mother, Hollywood undead, Chapell roan, Holy wars, set it off, Lemon demon, One piece, make up, Scp, Creepypasta, Anything considered horror/abnormal (expect horror movies and actual gore), more that isnt coming to my head rn

˙◠˙Dislikes ˙◠˙

Nothing in specific, except like racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other general dni things! I also don’t tolerate “dark Humor” about that kinda stuff

☼ Boundaries ☼

No overly sexual jokes. I’m a minor, and also asexual - it’s just overall uncomfortable

𝄇 Dm/Tag criteria 𝄆

Dms are always open and tags are encouraged!! I love making new friends, but tend to be to shy to reach out first, so pls do :>

I also love tag games, even if we’re not mutuals you can always feel free to tag me in those!!

↶ Other ↷

•Proud non binary lesbian!!

•My time zone is CET

•I love roleplays and co-writing, so my Dms are extra open for that!!

•I have two side blogs, and a bunch of roleplay blogs ׂ╰┈➤ @another-random-paradise where I post fanfics, and do usually accept requests ׂ╰┈➤ @the-definition-of-chaos for most of my fandom reblogs, as to not crowd this blog

ׂ╰┈➤ @acdc-elektra, @dinah-thediningcarriage, @wrench-repairs, @freightmomma and @cardi-thearcadecarriage are my roleplay blogs!

•I have trouble understanding tone over text, so tone tags are appreciated - but not necessarily necessary :)

•If you let me rant about my interests or ask me about my headcanons/Ocs, know that I literally love you /lh

[anmoll]

♡Twisted Wonderland Rules!♡

Just so you know MOST of these rules here also apply to when you request for Diabolik Lover!

Askbox is Open!!

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

Rules:

I WILL 100% WRITE DARK CONTENT JUST ADD A WARNING

No incest, pedophilia, any type of sexual content. (Im Muslim so please don't ask me things like this)

I will not write disgusting things (Vomit, Vore etc)

I'll write mental health problems, but please please please put down a trigger warning!

No hate asks!

Nobody under 13 is welcome here. You must meet tumblrs rules of service!

Be patient, I am in school!

Things i do write for:

CROSSOVERS

Yandere’s

dark content

Fluff

Mental health problems (put a warning first so please put a trigger warning!)

religious stuff

Angst

scenarios

headcannons

fan fictions (sometimes)

one shots

IMPLIED "FREAKY CONTENT"

Things you should know:

I'm Muslim so please respect that!

I don’t mind writing dark content BUT i will NOT include anything to serious or anything that full on grosses me out! And i usually don't get grossed out often

Again I dont mind writing dark stuff. Like go as deep as you want when requesting. Like I don’t really care if its messed up but there is a limit. But if your making an angst request. GO AS DEEP AS YOU WANT! LIKE I LOVE WRITING FOR STUFF THAT WILL MAKE ME SOB (im just a werid😔). But just add a warning!

I only write for Savannaclaw, Diasomina, Scarabia, And Idia. The reason why i dont do the whole cast is that im still learning more about certain characters!

english is not my first language!

again I'm in school so please be patient!

I will only write the reader as Fem!

if your ask makes me feel uncomfortable i will not do it.

PLEASEEE MAKE REQUESTS!!!!

♡

[themaladaptivewriter12]

Title: Diamonds Are Forever

Part 8.5 of my “Cray-Cray for Cater” series! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7, Part 8.1, Part 8.2, Part 8.3, and Part 8.4 can be found here!

Parings: Cater Diamond x Twisted Wonderland Male OC (Mirai Yuhara)

Summary:

With an extended break, Cater decides to take Mirai on a trip to remember. This trip should have strengthened their bonds, but somehow they break a little too.

cw: Fluffy stuff!

a/n: I really liked writing this part, but I did struggle with making sure it flowed smoothly. And I like my interpretation of Cater's father. I've always imagined him as the loving family guy with an undying love for his wife. (o^ ^o)

a/n: There's no actual reference for the restaurant. It was just a bunch of random pics I put together and made a layout in my head. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Reblogs are appreciated, just use my custom tag, #TheMaladaptiveWriter12, if you do!  (─‿‿─)♡

Cross posted from my Ao3: TheMaladaptiveWriter12

It was six twenty-five and they had to be at the restaurant at seven. Cater was currently in the bathroom freshening up, and Mirai was in the closet, putting the last of his outfit together. Mirai had chosen to wear a gold button up decorated in red flowers, the material thin and see through. Mirai’s pants were skin tight and leather matching the blazer he was wearing over his shirt, and his heeled boots. Mirai decided this was also a good time to put his snake bites back in, and to do some light makeup. 

“Babe? You ready?” Cater called, walking out of the bathroom. 

“Yeah, I think,” Mirai said, using some gel to do some last minute touch ups to his hair, slicking it back a bit.

Mirai peaked his head out of the closet just as Cater passed by, the strawberry blonde searching for him.

“Hey Cay-Cay, do you think I should go with or without the blazer?” Mirai asked nervously.

Cater turned around and stopped dead in his tracks, mouth agape.

“I-Is it bad? Too much?” Mirai asked nervously.

Cater didn’t say anything as he crowded Mirai’s space, pushing him up against the wall. Mirai stammered Cater’s name as he slotted a knee between Mirai’s legs and kissed him.

“Baby,” Cater whined, leaving a trail of kisses down Mirai’s neck. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t skip dinner and stay in?”

Mirai choked out a laugh as Cater sucked on his collarbone, happy that his outfit had this type of effect on his lover. “Because we already told your father we were coming.”

“Mhm…we, we could skip?” Cater smiled deviously.

“Nope. We’re going.”

Cater whined but let up. “But seriously, Buttercup, you look so good. #KillinIt!”

“You look good too,” Mirai said, fixing Cater’s shirt.

And he did. Cater decided on a dark red blazer with a white shirt and gold vest. His pants were black and his oxfords were black with gold accents. In his breast pocket was a white folded handkerchief and all over Cater Mirai could spot little gold diamond charms. There was one on each shoe, four on his Albert Chain, and a big gold one pinned to the left lapel of his blazer. Cater’s hair back into a low ponytail, two strands falling to frame his face. It was like his usual do, except lower. And the best part was that they matched with the red and gold color scheme they had going. It was new, it was fun, and Mirai liked it.

“You think so? I feel kinda stuffy,” Cater said thoughtfully. 

“Aw, I’m sorry. You wanna take something off?” Mirai asked.

“Nah. It's not that I don’t like it, it’s just kinda not me. But it’s nice to dress up from time to time.”

“Yeah,” Mirai agreed. 

Cater’s phone pinged and he rushed over to check it.

“The Magilyft will be here in five minutes. Ready?”

“Yep.”

The ride to the restaurant was short. It actually was a hotel, but the restaurant was on the top floor. When they got there, they had to tell the bellboy where they were going to be escorted up. After they got into the restaurant, Cater gave one of the women at the door his last name and they were asked to follow her to their table. The restaurant was nice, and like their hotel room, it was all glass windows, giving the patrons a panoramic view of the city. The whole room was dimly lit with soft white lights that were decorated to look like skyscrapers. The atmosphere of the room was elegant and classy, and even with a full house, it wasn’t loud like how you would get at a family restaurant. 

As they got closer to their table, the more anxious Mirai grew. He was actually about to meet Cater’s father, and that scared him. Mirai could remember the day when his mother gushed about Mirai’s potential future partner, stressing that meeting the parents was a crucial part of being in a relationship. Mirai held those words close to his heart though, and even now, he could hear them echoing in his head. Mirai didn’t want to make a bad first impression, and he definitely didn’t want Cater’s father to find him as someone who wasn’t good for his son. 

Mirai felt a hand grab his, and jumped from his thoughts. Cater smiled down at him, winking with a smirk, “Relax, hon. You’ll be fine.”

 Mirai took a deep breath, “I’m fine.” Yeah, he was fine. He could do this. 

The pair were led to the far side of the room where you had good views of the city. They walked up a couple of stairs to a raised area of the restaurant where only a few tables sat. Mirai caught sight of an older man with dark orange hair in an expensive suit sitting at the table closest to the window, enjoying the view as he did his cup of red wine.

“Mr. Diamond, your party has arrived,” the Hostess said, stopping to hold an arm out, gesturing for them to continue forward. 

Cater’s father turned around and his face lit up immediately. He looked like Cater in the eyes, or well, Mirai should say Cater looked like his father in the eyes. They both had down turned eyes, both similar in color, except Cater’s father had lines from age around his. Even their eyebrow shape was the same. Mirai also noticed that Cater’s hair was brighter than his fathers, but what Mirai found the most charming was their similar smiles, all teeth and their eyes crinkled when they did.  

“Cater! Look at you dressed like a dashing young man,” Mr. Diamond gushed, standing to greet them. 

“D-Dad,” Cater laughed, embarrassed. 

Cater let go of Mirai’s to accept the hug his father gave him. 

“You look good, son,” Mr. Diamond complemented, straightening Cater’s blazer. 

“TYSM,” Cater said, reaching to play with his bangs, a nervous habit Mirai found adorable.

“And where’s the young man that has stolen my son’s heart?” Mr. Diamond asked, looking around Cater’s shoulder, eyes meeting Mirai’s. 

Mirai flushed, swallowing his nerves and walked over, taking the initiative. “Mirai Yuuhara,” Mirai said, taking Mr. Diamond’s hand, giving it a firm shake. 

“Jean Diamond,” Mr. Diamond said, shaking his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Diamond.”

“Please. You can call me Jean.”

“I-I’m, I’m sorry sir, but I don’t, I don’t feel comfortable d-doing that,” Mirai stammered.

“Nonsense. It’s no skin off my nose, really.”

“I-I, i-it’s-”

“It’s fine,” Mr. Diamond said, waving Mirai off with a chuckle. “Whatever you deem fit is what you can call me. Now please, sit, sit.”

“Thanks,” Cater said, leading Mirai over to the table. 

Cater pulled out Mirai’s chair, guiding him by the hand to sit Mirai down. Mirai flushed at the gentlemanly gesture, sitting down, and allowed Cater to push in his chair. Cater sat down not too far from Mirai, but they were still close, and Mr. Diamond sat back down in his seat by the window. 

“My name is Rosie and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Would you like to order some drinks and appetizers to start us off?” Rosie asked politely after they all were seated, handing out menus. 

“Yes. A bottle of red sparking, and a bottle of your finest red,” Mr. Diamond said.

“And for your appetizers?”

The table was silent, none of them having a clue on what they wanted to eat.

“I can come back, if that’s alright with you?” Rosie asked.

“Splendid,” Mr. Diamond said with a smile.

“Understood. I’ll be back with your drinks.”

With that Rosie was off.

“So how was your trip, I pray it went smoothly?” Mr. Diamond asked while looking over his menu.

“It was great,” Cater chirped. “I got so much Magicamable material to last me weeks!”

“And you, Mr. Mirai, how has your trip been so far? I recall Cater telling me you’ve never been to the Shaftlands.”

Mirai flushed at the title, smiling awkwardly, “N-No, I haven’t, but Cater has made this trip an enjoyable one. I’ll never forget this trip even if I wanted to.”

“I’m glad. I know this was short notice, but I had a little time, so why not use it to meet the boy my son won’t stop talking about?” Mr. Diamond said smirking, eyes thinning just like Cater’s did when he was up to no good.

“Dad?!” Cater gasped, face going red in mortification.

“Oh please. You showed not a lick of embarrassment when you talked my ear off every weekend for the past several weeks about your new lover.”

Cater made a strangled noise from the back of his throat.

“And don’t get me started on all the texts Cater has sent me. What was it? Ah yes. Cater said, and I quote, ‘just look at his freckles, they're so cute! I just wanna eat his little face,’” Mr. Diamond read aloud from his phone.

“D-Dad, please, stop,” Cater begged.

Mirai flushed, peeking over at Cater, who was hiding behind his menu. Even with how embarrassing it was, he found it quite cute. 

“Or how about ‘OMG! He’s got tattoos and piercings! I can’t believe I landed myself a total baddie! #Badboy! #Sexy!’”

“Dad,” Cater whined.

“‘He’s so cute when he sleeps,’” Mr. Diamond read aloud, “‘And when he’s eating, and when he’s mad. No scratch that, he’s cute when he does anything! #Cutiepie!’”

Cater whined pitifully, accepting his fate.

Mirai flushed red, chuckling at his boyfriend’s demise.

“Dad, please,” Cater whimpered.

“Okay, okay,” Mr. Diamond laughed, “I’ve embarrassed you enough, but my point still stands. Now let’s order our food, I’m famished.”

Their table was relatively quiet except for the back and forth between Cater and Mirai. Mirai couldn’t decide on if he should get an appetizer at all since he knew he wouldn't be able to eat dinner if he did. Cater decided they both would share one, but then came the question on what they would get.

“How about the sliders,” Cater asked, pointing to the dish.

“I-I don’t eat meat, sorry, Hon,” Mirai said apologetically. 

“Oh yeah. Then what about the fries?”

“I’d eat every single one of them and not eat anything else. How about the flat bread?”

Cater hummed thought fully, “There’s peppers on that.”

“I hate peppers,” Mirai pouted.

They were getting nowhere and the waitress would be back any second now. As Cater looked over his menu, Mirai spotted Mr. Diamond staring at the two of them, smiling fondly. Mr. Diamond caught Mirai’s eye and smiled warmly, Mirai flushed and shyly looked away.

“What about the stuffed mushroom?” Cater asked.

“I hate mushrooms with a passion,” Mirai deadpanned. 

Cater laughed, “I guess that’s out too.”

“What about the potstickers?” Mirai asked, pointing to it on the menu, “It even comes with spicy dipping sauce.”

“OMG! Where?” Cater looked over the dish and then nodded, “Oh yeah, we’re totes getting that.”

“Alright. I’m glad we decided ‘cuz our waitress is here.”

Rosie and a waiter walked up to their table, tray of drinks in hand. “Alright. Here we have a bottle of our finest Red Wine, Umbridge: Red Rose Wine, and some red grape sparkling. Is that okay?” Rosie asked, the two of them holding out the bottle.

“Perfect,” Mr. Diamond said with a bright smile.

Rosie and the waiter, Keith, both popped open each bottle and poured them each their respective drinks. “And are you guys ready to order, or would you like some more time?” Rosie asked, pulling out her little notepad. 

“I’d say we’re ready,” Mr. Diamond answered. 

Mr. Diamond ordered the Prosciutto and Mozzarella Crostini and Cater ordered the Chicken and Vegetable Potstickers for the two of them. After that they fell into some light chatter. Mirai asked about what Mr. Diamond did, and the older man was more than happy to tell. He went into detail about the business aspect, which flew over Mirai’s head, but when he started talking about all the places he traveled to and all the people he met, Mirai was enamored. Mirai wondered what it was like to travel for work, go to all kinds of different places, meet new people and see new things. That was a life Mirai always wanted, and he knew that want came from not feeling like he had a place to actually call home, not in America, and not even here. 

As they chatted, Rosie came by with their appetizers, refilling their classes before they went empty. Everything looked so good. The potstickers were perfectly golden brown and steamed. The tops were soft and the bottoms crispy, everything Mirai could want from a potsticker.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Cater called, standing up, phone raised, “pictures first.”

Mirai and Mr. Diamond groaned. 

“I’m so glad I’m not the only one who finds this unnecessary,” Mr. Diamond sighed. 

“Ten seconds,” Mirai grumbled, “Make it count.”

“Oh come on,” Cater bemoaned, snapping a couple of pics before sitting down. “It’s not that bad.”

“Cater, Hun, I love you to bits and pieces, but I don’t care for the food pics.”

“That I can second. I’d like to eat my food when it’s bought to me,” Mr. Diamond smiled apologetically.

Cater played with his bangs, face tinged with a slight flush. 

“Aw, it’s okay Baby,” Mirai cooed, pecking Cater on the cheek. “You know I’d have a photo op with you any day.” 

“As long as the dinner photos aren’t too long, then I suppose I don’t mind,” Mr. Diamond said, taking a bite of his Crostini.

Cater was still a little perturbed, but as soon as he stuffed his face with food, his entire mood changed. “Oh my Seven! This is so good,” Cater enthused. 

Mirai and Mr. Diamond laughed.

“Mi-Mi! You have to try it with the spicy one,” Cater urged, lifting half a potsticker between two chopsticks to Mirai.

“Cater, Honey,” Mirai deadpanned, “I’ve seen you eat habanero peppers like they were candy, so Ima need to know how spicy it is.”

Cater laughed, “It’s nowhere near anything I consider spicy. Promise.”

Mirai tentatively ate the food from Cater’s fork. It was good, the spice had a nice kick to it, but not enough to burn your tongue and esophagus as it went down. 

“It’s good, a little spicy,” Mirai said thoughtfully. 

“I say it could be spicier,” Cater said, drenching a potsticker in the dark sauce and stuffing it in his mouth. 

“You’re gonna ruin your tastebuds.”

“And where would I be if I couldn’t taste those pretty lips of yours?” Cater teased.

“Cater,” Mirai flushed.

Cater laughed mirthfully.

What Cater and Mirai didn’t notice was the fond look on Mr. Diamond’s face as he watched his son’s and his lover’s banter. 

It was well into the night, appetizers were finished, and dinner was ordered. The party of three spoke to each other, enjoying their meals. Mirai ordered the Broccoli and Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo which he ate everything but the chicken out of. Cater ordered the Ultimate Ropa Vieja, which was insanely spicy, the sauce a dark red. Mr. Diamond on the other hand ordered the Steak Au Poivre that was served on a skillet, the food still sizzling as it was brought to the table. 

Mr. Diamond somehow got onto the topic of Cater as a child, and Mirai couldn’t lie, it was quite funny.

“I used to take him to the office,” Mr. Diamond said, cutting at his Steak. “He would sit at my feet, playing with his toys, coloring on sheets of paper, and at one point I left him by himself to run an errand. When I came back he had made himself a cup of coffee and copied his face twenty times.”

Mirai laughed and Cater chuckled.

“I think I vaguely remember that,” Cater said, playing with his bangs.

“I got a good scolding from my boss, but nothing too severe,” Mr. Diamond chuckled. 

“Big oof. Now I feel bad.”

“Oh, don’t be. You were just being a kid.”

“What was Cater like as a kid?” Mirai asked.

“Cater was like he is now. He was always friendly, he always had friends,” Mr. Diamond said fondly, “Although, I’d say he’s a lot less talkative now, and a lot less energetic.”

Mirai laughed. 

“Was I that bad?” Cater asked, cheeks turning pink.

“Before your aversion to sweets, we couldn’t give you sugar.”

Cater laughed.

“Aww,” Mirai cooed, “You sound like you were so cute.”

“He was and I have pictures,” Mr. Diamond said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

“Dad, no,” Cater said panickedly. 

“Dad, yes,” Mr. Diamond smirked.

Mr. Diamond opened his wallet and out came a reel of photos. There were some of Mr. Diamond and his wife, his daughters, and multiples of tiny Cater. There was some of Cater as a baby, birthday pictures, tiny Cater and a much younger picture of Mr. Diamond in an office, and many more. 

“Aww,” Mirai gushed. “Cater, you were so cute.”

“Guys,” Cater whined, hiding his rosy cheeks.

“He was, wasn’t he,” Mr. Diamond smiled. “Well, not that you’re cute now, just a different kind of cute.”

Mirai laughed, agreeing with Cater’s father wholeheartedly.

Empty plates were taken and dessert was ordered to go. It was fairly late, and everyone was more than ready to head out.

“Ima head to the bathroom real quick,” Mirai announced, leaving the table. 

“Take your time, son. There’s no rush,” Mr. Diamond said, taking a sip of his drink.

Cater watched Mirai leave, a warm smile on his face. Cater couldn’t think of anything that could ruin the moment.

“You two are intimate?” came Mr. Diamond’s sudden question.

Spoke too soon.

Cater choked on his drink, nearly spitting it out onto the table in front of him. Cater swallowed hard, clearing his throat, his face heating up, “W-We, I-”

“There’s no use trying to explain yourself. I follow your Magicam, I saw that photo from a while back,” Mr. Diamond chuckled. “Also, your lover has the poorest choice in tops if he wanted to hide the marks on his neck.”

Cater couldn’t get the words out of his mouth, his tongue felt as if it was made of lead. He was mortified. 

“If you were one of your sisters, or if he were a female, you’d be in trouble, but since that isn’t the case, I won’t be as hard on you,” Mr. Diamond said, voice steely. 

Cater nodded vehemently. 

“I didn’t lay your mother until we were married. I don’t like the prospect of sleeping around for the fun of it, and I sure didn’t raise you to do so either.” 

“I’m sorry,” Cater mumbled.

“Don’t be, but I do hope you keep what I said in mind,” Mr. Diamond said. 

“Is it too early to want to be his last?” Cater asked, a dopey smile etched onto his flushed face. 

Mr. Diamond laughed, “You really do like him, don’t you?”

“Dad I,” Cater sighed, taking a deep breath before continuing, “He’s, he’s so different. He’s not from here, like from this world.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Dark Mirror made a mistake or something, like he can’t even use magic. But he’s so, he’s so, him. He saw me for me, not what I wanted him to see,” Cater sighed, smiling to himself. “He’s funny, he's so kind, and he's so pretty. He may not be the smartest, the richest, and he may not be perfect, but to me, he’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Mr. Diamond chuckled, “You remind me of myself when I met your mother.”

“R-Really?”

“I was head over heels for that woman, couldn’t see myself with anyone but her. I still can’t.”

“I love him,” Cater whispered, “I really do. I know I can’t make him stay, but I don’t wanna let him go.”

Mr. Diamond smiled warmly, “Then don’t, keep him.”

“B-But I, it’s not-”

“If you’re not confident then work for it, work for his hand and keep him.”

“I-I’ll try.”

“No, not, try. If you love him that much, then you will.”

“Okay,” Cater said softly.

“He’s different, I like him,” Mr. Diamond chuckled, “He’s much better than the others you brought home in the past.”

“Dad,” Cater cried, “#Hurtful.”

Mr. Diamond laughed loudly.

Mirai washed his hands, taking in the calming ambiance of the restroom. He had gotten lost trying on the way there, so he took longer than he intended to. Now he was anxious, fearing that he was making Cater wait too long, or worse, that he was taking a dump. Now with the horribly embarrassing scenario in his head, Mirai hurriedly dried his hands, the backs still damp, and flung the bathroom door open. He weaved his way through the tables, patrons, and wait staff alike and when found the familiar set of steps, Mirai slowed his speed to a leisurely pace. 

Mirai approached the table, he found Cater and his father were already standing, the both of them chatting by the window. As Mirai got closer, Cater noticed his presence and smiled brightly, leaving his father’s side to pull Mirai into his arms.

“Sorry for the wait, I got lost,” Mirai muttered.

Cater laughed, “Don’t sweat it, Hon. You ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool,” Cater said, tucking a strand of Mirai’s hair behind his ear. “You ready Dad?”

“Yeah,” Mr. Diamond said, “I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow, so I guess it is time for this old man to hit the hay.”

Cater laughed, “You’re totes not old.”

Mirai stepped back and brushed Cater’s blazer over, ridding the dark red fabric of tiny bread crumbs. Cater smiled and handed over the fancy to-go box filled with dessert.

“Cheesecake,” Mirai chirped, happily, taking the box.

“After you,” Mr. Diamond said, gesturing for Mirai and Cater to go first.

Cater took Mirai’s hand and pulled him off towards the exit.

[patheticbatman]

I don’t do this super often, but when I was 13ish I spent hours thinking about Percy and Annabeth’s future house. Idk why. And I wrote out their magical house in an iPhone note. I updated it every so often for a couple years, but as an adult I leave it alone as a monument to my childhood and my OTP.

But I just saw a really cool themed house from that home tours blog (it was pirate themed!) and wanted to share my ‘home tour’.

Please keep in mind the following was written mostly in 2014 by a young teen who made some shit up. So some of it may not be canonly possible now/never was a thing 

Percy and Annabeth's underwater cave house

Front entrance: dead tree on edge of Chase cliff. Whisper Jackson, and a slide that can take you up and down using antigravity and gravity leads to the house. You can notice tiny little jewels all over the house, enchanted for anti monster.

First level hallway: kitchen, dining room with conveyer belt leading between, gym, living room, bathroom. This is the second lowest level. The rest of the floors also have the slides to get there.

Kitchen has a large island, with lots of counters and cabinets. The walls are turquoise and everything else is chrome grey, like the fridge and such.

Dining room as a chandelier of rainbows, with a mini fountain that spurts any drink you ask for is in the middle of a ring table that could fit 16. If you give a coin, it can create an iris message. The table is silver grey wood while the wall is also turquoise.

The gym is just a mini work out area. Not decorated.

The living room is decorated with pictures of their friends. It has silvery gray walls, blue furniture, and a ten ft by ten ft tv. The dead tree actually has many minisatelites disguised as moss. They are enchanted to actually literally grow.

Third lowest level

Party room twelve guest rooms with their own bathrooms

,library.

Party room is just a blue room with food slide from the kitchen, some rables, and a disco ball with a wooden track around the large room for skating. Percy, with help from a friendly kid of Boreas, sometimes turn it into a winter wonderland in the summer.

Spare room 1

Frank n Hazels room usually, or will be when they start doing stuff. Green painted with gold furniture pretty much describes their rooms

Spare room 2

Will and nicos room usually. Black and silver furniture with gold walls

Spare room 3

Rachel's room Murals and a rainbow everywhere. Every surface is painted. Wicker/newspaper/hodgepodge furniture everywhere

Spare room 4

Piper and Jason's walls are red, and furniture is purple and pink. Actually looks nice and not too girly

Spare room 5

Calypso and Leo's room, done in red and oranges. Ps all the rooms had a small window like the ones in the hobbit

Spare room 6.

Hedge and Mellies room, with cradle. Everything is in light blues and dark greens

Spare room 7

Reyna's and future partner's room

Purple walls with gold and silver looking furniture, and 2 dog beds for aurum and argentum

The rest are kids rooms/ unplanned for when the guests have kids. They are plain. The last is a sort of playroom, with same size tv (everyone has a 2 by 3 tv in room)

Top level

Percabeth's room, future kids room(4), mrs. O'Leary's room, the offices, window room, carport, and percy and Annabeth's iwn offices

Future kids rooms are in pastel blue, yellow, green and orange

Mrs. O'Leary's room is giant, with lots of rubber yaks and other toys, and bowls filled with food and water always (they refill themselves). Done in red and silver. with special portal just for her and her owners to go out to Central Park.

Carport is just a garage that has a magical door that allows car to go through tree portel.

Lowest level

Garden and port and demigod Runaway shelter

Port is this giant cave, hidden by the mist to look like a cliff face that makes mortals just suddenly think about other things to do. It opens up to the sea, and they have this great boat called the sea owl, with eyes on the front. It also has a submarine, a small seaplane, and an elevator that goes to two portals to Olympus, and Atlantis. Has automatic spell where you have the small air bubble around you and your stuff. is painted on by enormous mural by Rachel.

Garden

Fruit trees that make all fruits (a rare tree called a cornucopia tree) lots of flowers and a gazebo. Painted and lighted to look like the outside that day. In middle there is a five-tiered fountain that sprays a rainbow. First level is made of Stygian iron, then celestial bronze, then Atlantean silver, imperial gold, and then heavenly steel that has a little dirt in it with a blue stemmed silver First Orchid. Has imported bees

Demigod safe base

A special Door that opens only to demigods and their helpers. and only let's demigods in leads you to the shelter. It has an ambrosia and nectar fountain, a water fountain that could turn to rainbows, free drachmas sent from the gods (only those in need can grab them), and ten beds with heated blankets. Small altar. Fridge full of ever re supplying food. Cabinet full of whatever medical stuff you need. Door that leads to Percabeth house, but only opens when you have permission.

[lilacmingi]

I just re-re-re-read Living with Vampires again and for some reason I thought there were more parts I was missing because I thought there were like 8. I don’t know why

But regardless I just wanted to say I’m still very much in love with your Vampire! Seonghwa and I want one. Yeosang is cute too. 10/10 would romance both of them, but if I had to choose it would be the older one tbh because a bias is a bias and I am ✨obsessed✨

Ot8 is good too though!

I feel like the mental imagery for Vampire Seonghwa is like the new ‘Not Okay’ album red and black outfit because his whole look is on 👏 point 👏 (the long hair does it for me)

I’m curious how you actually picture the visuals of your vampire boys as you write about them, would you show us picture references for a better view? Maybe that might get some ideas flowing! If not, it’s still a fun idea to delve into

I was surprised you haven’t written a werewolf skz fic though, since in the Ateez vampire universe you had them as the wolfgang. Is that something you’re also interested in writing, or do you prefer to stick to writing vampires? No pressure! Just curious and love coming back to read your stuff

-💫

It’s nice to hear from you again 💫 anon!! Thank you so much for all the support!! 😭 I’ve worked a little on part 4 but since the last time you checked in I haven’t gotten much done. I do have a Fang Gang group chat chapter from a couple years ago that’s kind of a “bonus” but I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to post it here, as I can’t find any good fake text apps to make a groupchat. I may just type it out.

I’m actually so excited you asked me this question because I actually DO visualize in my head when I write my vampy boys!! When pt 1 was being written, I was loosely basing them off Black Cat Nero, though I kinda decided to leave it up to the readers which is why there’s not too much detail to how they look besides some of their hair colors. It’s mentioned in part 1 that Hongjoong has dark hair and wears a white Victorian style blouse top with puffy sleeves and a gray and silver vest. These are some of the styles of clothes I imagine (below) the one in the middle specifically makes me think of San because I have a vampire San imagine that I haven’t shared here yet and I clearly pictured him wearing that outfit so that kinda carried over to LW8V lol

This is going be a long response lol so there’s more below about how I visualize each member

Hongjoong has black hair and, like I mentioned earlier, wears Victorian style clothes—they all do, but I can imagine each of them wearing something more “toned down” every so often, (not Seonghwa lol) but I can picture Joong wearing something like he did for Paradigm!

Seonghwa obviously wears ruffly blouses and sometimes embellished jackets and tailcoats. At first I imagined his hair like Wonderland era, but now I more so imagine him with his current long black hair (it’s my favorite 🥴)

Yunho is blonde and I specifically imagine him with his hair styled like it is in the pic below. It fits him well and that’s also what my brain decided to picture so I’ve stuck with it! For clothing, Yunho kinda just wears stuff similar to what’s pictured below

Yeosang is blonde in the series with his hair from Black Cat Nero and/or Inception era. Though while writing part 3 I started to imagine him with his long black hair instead 😩 some other outfits I think Yeo would wear are like the one I added on the left from Halazia era

San has black hair and I picture him in a tight fitting gothic style vest and a white dress shirt underneath, though I can also see him wearing more “modern” things like a black silk top and of course I mentioned he was wearing a lace up shirt in part 3 of LW8V during the Medieval Times segment

Mingi has brown hair. In my mind, it’s usually unstyled and fluffy and I can see him wearing something like from Paradigm; a loose-fitting white shirt (untucked) with a few buttons undone and a loose gothic vest over the top

Wooyoung has long black hair because I’m attached to it and I have a thing for long hair. I imagine him wearing fitting gothic vests and a white dress shirt with small ruffles along the collar or something. When he goes out I can imagine him wearing black trench coats or something like that

Jongho has brown hair and, like the others, wears Victorian style clothing and coats, but he also has some more casual(?) tops like this one from Halazia era which I’m still in love with to this day. I wish the stylists would put him in things like this more often because he looks STUNNING and so pretty

As for your last question, it’s actually crazy you mention that because over the last 3 days or so I’ve been on character.ai messing around with some werewolf AU ideas I had for Chan just seeing if I could flesh out some ideas and I have two REALLY GOOD ones that I’d like to write!! I also have one that’s been sitting in my drafts for a couple years that I haven’t touched because I don’t really know where I’m going with it just yet lol. As for Chan in LW8V you can expect him to make a return with some extra buddies. I have so much planned for them for part 4 😈