#Riding The Cotton Pony

[sleepynegress]

Anyone, have any cramp tips? Good grief it decided to flare badly today. Usually a naproxen a warm heat pad and some tea knocks it out...not this time. Blah.

[murdermemidnight]

So this is common sense, but as a former nurse - you should tell people in your family & your friends that you're menstruating. Why? Aside, from knowing you might need more emotional awareness from your loved ones. It helps in the case of a medical emergency. Because certain medications & anesthesias & procedures can be fatal if they don't know you're menstruating. Or if there is a possibility of you being pregnant. & depending on your medical emergency, your period could be a key symptom in diagnosing you. Not to mention, the stigma around menstruating is horrible. Especially when it comes to taking health needs & hygiene products seriously for those who can't obtain either of those things.

[dollwrites]

ɪɴᴛᴏ ɪᴛ ! ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ʜᴀᴛsᴜᴍɪ sᴇɴ

𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 ∣ smut ( minors dni ), fem!reader, suggested age gap ( reader is early twenties & sen refers to himself as daddy once ), size kink ( suggested petite!reader ), body worship ( cock ), this is borderline softcore. all characters featured are aged 18+

𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 ∣ please reblog && leave feedback. not proofread so there’s probably mistakes. thanks for reading < 3 pls ignore the unedited pic, i’ll update it as soon as i can!

𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 ∣ act thirteen [ body worship ( cock ) ]

Sen loves the look on your face when he takes his cock out for the first time, even if it’s mostly obstructed by your position on his lap. the way your eyes widen as your gaze devours the girthy extremity. the way your lips, still swollen from all of his fierce kisses, part but not a sound comes out. rendered speechless, but wanton.

damn, he thinks, cock shock looks good on my baby girl.

lounging back against the couch, his thick thighs spread wide, he allows a lazy smirk to tickle his lips and draw them upwards. “Don’t let your eyes get bigger than your stomach, little girl.” he warns in a soft, cooing rumble. his big, powerful hands cup the flare of your hips, rubbing upwards against your waist before careening downward. he applies very little pressure, but it’s enough to push your clothed core flush against the wide trunk of his cock. he allows you to perch right on the base, as if you were riding a pony. of course, it’s no secret that just making out with Sen had drenched your core, and the damp patch of cotton rubs against the solid sex. “You need a little practice before you can take it.”

what’s worse than the embarrassment of having him point out the fact that you weren’t ready to take something that big was that you knew he was right. but god, you wanted to. one of your hands gently caresses the thick, heavily veined muscle, silky strokes of your fingertips against the warmth of his hard-on. you want to know what it feels like to be fucked by him; the sensation of the engorged, pink tip you were enamored with plundering your most delicate regions. you shift your weight, leaning forward, and you press more of your weight down against the base. Sen lets out a soft hum, as if amused by your test of his dexterity, his fingers curled tightly around your waist. they’re nearly interlaced. you were like a toy in his arms, whilst you stared down at the herculean tool between his legs.

“Will you help me?��� you ask, unable to tear your stare away from his dick. it has a subtle throb, and seems to twitch when you speak, as if the shyness in your voice was enough to make his loins stir with desire. arousal blooms within you at the thought— did he get hard whenever you so much as spoke to him? it brought up several questions: was it only your voice? or did he get hard whenever he could smell you? whenever you were close enough for him to smell your sweet perfume? “P—practice, I mean…?”

Sen chuckles, sitting up higher, his palms pressing against your skin to hold you firmly in place, and he leans forward, his massive chest pressing against your back. the tips of his long, unruly hair— undone from the usual ponytail, tickles your shoulder as they kiss your bare skin, and he nuzzles his nose against the crook of your neck, inhaling. “Sure I will, baby girl. In good time, I’ll make sure you can take every fucking inch. For right now, though…” his voice is a husky whisper that trails off, one of his hands grabbing your free one, guiding it to the neglected side of his cock, “why don’t you just play with it a little? Get used to handling me, baby.”

your breath is heavy, your hands are shaking and you’re not entirely sure why. at first, you admire the sheer girth, taking a mental picture of your fist looking almost too small as you try to grasp it. the tips of your fingers don’t meet your thumb, and the one you’d been using to tease the head slides down, instead, to hold him with both hands. with both of your hands securing a grip at the base, the length is painfully apparent. in this position, with you sat on Sen’s lap, his cock ( if pressed against the side of one of your legs ) could almost reach your knee. you have to swallow around a hard lump forming in your throat the more you fondled him, growing more and more anxious to see just what kind of decimation he could leave your pussy in. “Y—you’re so… big.” you whisper in bemusement, but Sen is grunting softly when you give a little squeeze. “I— I can’t even wrap my hand around it!”

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” he starts to slip back into his relaxed state. “There’s no rush, don’t overwhelm yourself.” he encourages, tilting his head back. the ghost of his smirk is still present on his lips, but his eyes are closing as your curious fingers begin to trace the throbbing veins. “Feel me out, baby girl.” he exhales heavily through his nose, and you attempt a clumsy, stroking motion. it’s not the most graceful, and difficult from this position looming over him, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “Those soft, sweet hands of yours—“ Sen has to stifle a rumbling purr, allowing his hips to buck forward. you sway on his lap, biting down on your lip, but the delicate fingertips on both hands race towards the tip, thumbs massaging the tender underside of the tip in circles, teasing his resolve.

“Fuck.” he hisses behind his teeth, before letting out a breathless laugh. it’s hoarse and almost sounds… desperate? “You like playing with me, baby girl?” his grip on your wrist isn’t tight, but he guides your hand, his fingers pressing yours against his slit, and you let out a soft, happy whimper as pearls of warm, precum bead up between them, leaving a sticky sheen against them. you can’t help but nod, but the words ( even the most simple of affirmations ) escape you in this moment, you’re too dazzled by the display laid out before you. you press the soft pads of your pointer and middle fingers against the slit and stroke it slowly, until Sen is growling with hardly-subdued delight. his free hand creeps up the length of your back, fingers tangling in your tresses to pull your head back towards him.

as much as you want to keep watching on in awe, admiring every inch of his cock, you obey his silent command, falling back against his chest, the crown of your head rubbing against his clavicle. craning your neck, you tilt your head up, lips parting as you’re about to speak, but the heat and pressure of his lips consuming yours crashes any train of thought you’d had. his tongue is in your mouth in seconds, dominating yours in a ferocious dance, and his nostrils flare with snorting breaths. “Mm, mhm…” his chin tucks into the kiss, a subtle nod as he hums in approval at the way you strum his slit, kissing you hard for a few more seconds before breaking it. his lips still smear over yours, breath hot and washing in tidal waves over your mouth. Sen’s eyes are heavily lidded, thoroughly enjoying your touches. “There you go, baby girl. Daddy’s gonna teach you how to worship his cock.”

[atlas-coolbean]

The gang at an amusement park because I went to Calway park recently

Darry: Did his best to keep track of everyone but gave up eventually.

Went on the scariest rides possible and dragged pony along with him

Made sure everyone ate real food at least once throughout the day

He actually had a lot of fun

His favourite ride was the rollercoaster

Soda: Him and Steve are way too much junk food

Constantly tried to talk to the pretty girls he saw

Darry made him go on the swing ride and then he ditched Darry because he didn't want to do anything like that again

He loved the bumper cars

Pony: He loved the scary rides which is why he stuck with Darry the whole time

He was the one who begged to go to the amusement park in the first place

He did throw up once after a really spinny ride and Darry made him sit down for 10 minutes and drink water

He loved the Ferris wheel because he could see the landscape beyond

Dally: He didn't want to go in the first place but Johnny convinced him to go

He actually enjoyed himself once he realized he could "accidentally" knock over small children

He bought cotton candy but refused to share with anyone except Johnny

Bro refused to go on most of the rides because he thought they were stupid

He did go on the bumper cars because he could ram into children and also the gang convinced him he should do something other than just the rollercoasters

Two-bit: Went on almost every ride

He got like 4 corndogs

He had so much fun, he loves going to amusement parks

His favourite was the log ride

There was a maze and he got lost for like 15-20 minutes

Johnny: Was low-key scared of going on the Swings and Rollercoaster but ending up absolutely loving them

He stuck by someone's side the entire time, usually Pony or Dally

He liked the carousel the best but will never admit that. If asked he will say rollercoaster but they all know he's lying

Steve: He loved playing the carnival games and definitely won a few prizes and gave them to Soda

He made Soda walk through the haunted house with him so many times so that he could look at absolutely everything in there

He didn't want to ruin his hair going on any of the water rides but gave in eventually (his hair was ruined but he had fun)

[ave09]

moon boys head-cannons: amusement parks

note: this is MY personal opinion, MY headcannons, do not judge, por favor

steven

“bit dodgy, innit? i mean—it could run right off the track-“

“steven, it’s perfectly safe. there’s a track, it can’t fly off.”

“anything could happen, luv.”

steven would honestly have the time of his life, although he’d refuse to go on the big rollar coasters. 

he’d adore the carousel.

“lookit! the little ponies—aw and a giraffe-come here darling, let’s ride matching ponies-“

finds bits of history in every attraction. 

“this here—see the design—? it reminds me of these egyptian ruins-“

constantly distracted.

“we should get some food—or candy—or candy floss—is it called cotton candy here? ooo, luv look-“

he would last a couple hours before wanting to go home.

“the crowds-the loud noises-nope-no more-“

“you want to go home?”

“yes-“

marc

“i dare you to go on this ride with me.”

“no.”

“come on-“

this man, as grumpy as he seems, wants to do everything. 

“big roller coaster? loop de loops? upside down shit? hell yeah-“

but then he tends to also be very motion sick. 

“ya know what—never again-“ 

at first he was skeptical of this sort of vacation.

“amusement park? sweetheart, when you said, ‘vacation,’ i thought you meant me, you, and the bedroom-“ 

but in the end, he enjoys it more then you do.

“that ride was wild! let’s do it again-“

“you just said it made you want to puke-“

“all part of the thrill baby-“

food. food. food.

“okay-here’s the plan-two lunches, two dinners, and one post dinner meal-“

“marc-“

“have you seen how much food there is”

“you’re gonna puke it up later.”

“okay and-?”

refuses to do any water rides… for some obvious reasons and some internal.

“i’m not getting wet. nope. nada.”

his social battery outlasts yours surprisingly.

“marc, it’s dark now-“

“all the rides are lit up now—let’s ride ‘em all again-“

“you’ve thrown up three times-“

“it’s the experience-“

only when he realizes how exhausted you are does he give in to leaving.

“we should do this again.”

“and i thought this wasn’t your type of vacation?”

“shush-“

jake

this man does everything. 

and i mean everything.

you thought marc was crazy—jake lockley is crazier.

“cariño. come—bumper cars—“

bumper cars are his favorite, and he gets so aggressive with it.

“beep beep hijo de putas” (motherfuckers 💀)

he then proceeds to ram into a group of kids.

“jAke-“

“what? it’s the point of the ride-“

he enjoys the water rides, unlike someone, but hates getting wet.

“Maldita sea, mi sombrero está mojado.” (dammit my hat is wet)

“i told you to take it off-“

“i like this hat-“

a bit picky when it comes to the food.

“why is everything deep fried?”

“what did you expect?”

“not deep fried mierda.”

he hates the long lines.

“amor, i could stab everyone here and we could go on the bumper cars right now-“

“you’re not stabbing anyone-“

“but-“

“no.” 

his social butterfly wings die quickly.  

“Estoy harto de esto.”

“you ready to go home?” 

“sì… but.. un paseo más en los carros chocones. (one more ride on the bumper cars)

[listofwhyyouloveher]

can you do hcs for the greaser gang (separated) and their s/o if they went to a carnival to have fun , what would they be like?

Summary: You go to the carnival with the gang

Warnings: none

Author's Note: none

PONYBOY CURTIS

Pony loves the fair, he goes every year even when he doesn't have any money. He usually goes with Soda but this time he was busy so you told him you could come.

He doesn't have much money so he just walks around with you, enjoying the view and your pretty sundress.

The smell of popcorn made it's way to you and your stomach growled hungrily. Ponyboy laughed at you while reaching into his pocket to pull out enough money to buy you a bucket you could share with him.

JOHNNY CADE

Johnny doesn't particularly enjoy carnivals, they're too noisy and he gets a little anxious when he's surrounded by people. You practically had to get on your knees and beg him to come for him to go with you.

He's very quiet, sticking close to you as you wander through the crowd like a pro. You stop at a roller coaster that has such steep ups and downs that it looked terrifying.

You stepped back to try and move to a different ride line but Johnny stopped you.

"Wait, this looks kinda fun, let's go on it." He said pulling out the tickets for the ride. You stared at him in disbelief, your palms sweat from the idea of going on that ride.

"...You're joking."

SODAPOP CURTIS

Soda usually goes to the fair because the DX thinks it'd be good for business to have the workers that attract the most crowds (girls) there.

Over time it starts to really annoy him so he decides to bring you along with him one day. So you're just sitting there, his arm around your waist and his work hat lazily a top your head.

Safe to say, all the girls and guys that approached the both of you would be quickly grossed out by the insufferable flirting that you both participated in.

STEVE RANDLE

Steve hadn't been to the fair in a while, he used to go a lot when he was a kid but he started telling himself that he was too old for it.

However, once you asked him to go with you, he jumped on the idea quicker than lightning. He took you out to the fair, but he kept telling himself that he was too old for it, so he was in this weird limbo where he wanted to do everything but wouldn't ask.

Eventually, the enticing look of the cotton made his stomach growl and you forcefully bought him his favorite flavour. After that, he was doing everything, pulling here and there to go on rides because of the sugar rush.

TWO BIT MATHEWS

Two Bit was forced to go to the fair with his little sister, which initially he had no issues with. However, his sister concocted a plan to help him hang out with you with the nice reward of letting her hang out with her friends alone.

She invited you along, telling you that Two Bit asked for you to be there. She wanted for you two to start talking and to slip away to her friends but it took a while for you both to stop talking to her and actually start interacting.

However, once you got into the groove of the conversation, she suggested a place to sit and you were both too absorbed in conversation to care or follow her when she said she would go hang out with her friends!

DARRY CURTIS

Darry does not go to fairs, even when he was little no clown would make him smile and no ride could make him scream. His dad laughed at him and called him a stone statue, and he'd continue that way until you asked him to come help you with your stall.

You were selling lemonade to raise money for a program you were in, but you needed help carrying the large gallons back and forth so you asked him to help you. He obviously said yes because he would do anything for you, so you both drove down to the fair in his little beaten up truck and started to set up the stall.

It was only so long before the tension started to set in, Darry looked so good in his tight tee shirt and he couldn't take his eyes off of you in your cute sundress.

So when he dropped you home, you left him a quick peck on the cheek and he stood there in shock until he kissed you back, this time on your pretty pink lips.

DALLAS WISTON

Dallas comes to the fair for 2 reasons, to cause chaos and to pick up girls. Of course, this time he was set on scoring a date with you, but everytime he got near to you, your friend pulled you away. You were both completely oblivious to the brooding greaser following you and only until you turned around to go back somewhere and crashed right into his chest.

He watched with a smirk as you got up from the ground and frantically look around for your friend who was no where to be found.

"Hey, Y/n"

"Hey, Dallas," you smiled, "you happen to see where my friend went?"

"Haven't, but if we sit over there and wait, she'll come back" he replied.

[iiyoshi]

Your Pain

Reply : Hello love! Thank you so much for being my first request <3 I love the idea of this and now is perfect timing because I'm having cramps of my own and I desperately need men to coo me to sleep (Yes I'm mentally very immature)

Summary : How the HP men first react to, and how they now react to, Reader on their period

Pairing(s) : Severus Snape x Reader, Lucius Malfoy x Reader, Remus Lupin x Reader, Sirius Black x Reader

Warnings : Mentions of period blood?? Idk if that triggers people

Fandom : Harry Potter

A/N : I may have gone a bit biased with who gets the more detailed description.. I'm sorry i can't help it

Requested By : @serenity-noble

Read under the cut <3

Severus Snape

If you were Snape's lover :

Severus is inexperienced with things like this, so when he first learns about menstruation, the only thing he does is panick

There's more panicking

He tries his best to make you feel comfortable and gets you whatever you ask for

He, reluctantly, has to turn to Minerva for help when you're in too much pain and he's panicking not sure how to help

He gets you just a bit too much chocolate, trying his best to fulfill your cravings

As you're in bed and sudden cramps kick in, he'll immediately leave and get you water and anything else you need

After a while, he'll learn what to do during your period and will always have backup plans up his sleeve

He marks down when your period cycle is and before then, buys you all the essentials just in case

At night, he cuddles next to you and rubs circles on your back in order to soothe you from your pain.

"It hurts, Sev.."

"I know it does, my love. But you're doing amazing. Now go to sleep."

If you were Snape's student :

You get your first period and you're scared to death

There's blood coming out of you and it scares you

You hurry to your head of house, Professor Snape, late at night because he's probably the only one awake at the time

He's awake in his office as you explain to him how you've been cursed and you're now dying

He tries his best to calm you down and, quite reluctantly, explains what menstruation is

"It's normal, silly girl. It's just mother nature paying you a visit."

"She's trying to kill me?!"

"No, you dunderhead! It's just Aunt Flo."

"I have an Aunt?"

"That time of the month? Lady business? Girl fluid? Shark week? Riding the Cotton Pony?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake! You're on your period!"

Lucius Malfoy

Lucius would act like he doesn't care

Meanwhile he would kill anyone just to get you everything you need

He's hooked up with a lot of chicks before so he's very experienced

He knows what to get you and will get it for you asap

He tells you to stay in bed and shuts anyone and everyone away from your room

He tries his best to make time for you

At night, he pulls you close to him and covers you in kisses, trying to lull you to sleep

When you whine about your cramps he doesn't complain and reassures you you'll be alright

Throught the week he'd constantly skip work just to stay at home longer with you

"Go work, Lucius."

"I'm staying here."

"Your work is important."

"So are you."

Remus Lupin

Remus isn't as experienced with handling with situations like these, but he tries his best to help you

He's calm most of the time, listening to your needs and getting you what you desire

He'll always have your favourite snack prepared when it's almost that time of the month and he's never afraid to get you more

When your cramps start to kick in, he lays with you on the sofa and watches your favourite Muggle show with you while wrapped in a blanket

If you accidentally make a mess he shushes your apologies and spells it away, reassuring you it was an accident

He's the type of guy to give cuddles more because it's what soothes him when it's nearly the full moon

He, as annoying as you may find it, gives you a curfew and you must be in bed by 10pm

"Moony, it's still early.."

"I know, (Y/n). But you're losing a lot of blood and you need to rest to fill back up your energy."

"But-"

"No buts. Goodnight, little wolf. I'll be right here next to you."

Sirius Black

Sirius immediately knows when you're on your period, thanks to his sensitive sense of smell

He doesn't mind it at all and sticks around you endlessly

When you feel too weak to grab things, he gets them for you

He showers you in endless amounts of love and affection

When you have cravings, he somehow manages to get them for you asap

He'll stay up with you on the couch when he knows you're in too much pain to sleep

Being an animagus has its perks and Padfoot has his fairshare of moments

He knows how much you enjoy cuddling with his furry tail in bed so every night he turns into Padfoot and lays beside you

You stroke his fur slowly and just simply admire him, already soothing your cramps

You tend to rub him under his chin and he'd bark in response

"Goodnight, Sirius. I love you."

*bark*

- × - × - × - × - × - × - × -

Back to Profile Guide

Back to Masterlist

Back to Snape Masterlist

Back to Lucius Masterlist

Back to Lupin Masterlist

Back to Sirius Masterlist

[wrathofrats]

my favourite lesbian !!!!! quick what are you thoughts on aurora playing dress up with the pack's clothes and cumulus teasing her by pulling her closer with her tie ???

YASSSSS MY FAV HUSBAND

I have many as always because god knows I love weird cumulus

The sweatshirt honestly could’ve been a dress on Aurora. It went right above her knees, sleeves bunched all the way up her arms so she could use her hands, the top even sagged to show off her collar bones.

She admired herself in the mirror. Twirling and bending over just to see how much it would ride up along her thighs. The way the garment practically swallowed her made her feel tiny, vulnerable almost. She relished in it, the soft fabric engulfing her frame.

“Playing dress up starlight?” Cumulus’ voice snapped Aurora out of her trance. She jumped, turning around to face the ghoulette who looked almost amused by her performance.

“Found it laying around, didn’t think Swiss would miss it for a couple hours. Besides, I was cold”

Cumulus padded over to her, wrapping her arms around her waist and shoving her face into the side of her neck. Aurora always smelled sweet, like cotton candy or strawberries. Delicious and intoxicating.

“Don’t know if I believe you darling” she whispered against her skin, tucking the hair from her pony tail out of the way to give her a small kiss. Her hands landed on auroras waist, pulling the sweatshirt up to bunch around her hips.

“And why’s that?”

“If you were cold you’d be wearing pants, or at least underwear, dear.” She snickered. Cumulus grabbed at auroras exposed ass, looking in the mirror in front of them as she hiked the fabric up higher to show off her pussy. Pretty and bare, like she expected cumulus to come find her.

She let the hem go to pull Aurora tight against her chest. Hands wandering around her body, reaching to play with her little tits through the sweatshirt. The friction felt mind numbing against her nipples, the roughness combined with how cumulus was pinching and pulling at them left her limp in her arms. Aurora let out a sweet sigh, letting cumulus play with her body.

“Could’ve just taken one of my sweatshirts, mine not good enough for you?” Cumulus teased lightheartedly. Her nose tickled Auroras ear, she could feel the smile in her voice. A hand traveled down and under the garment to brush against her folds. Aurora was already starting to get slick, the teasing and thrill of being caught having her worked up and needy.

“It’s no fun if you’re already offering it” a finger circled her clit, gathering the arousal and using it to push into her. Aurora hummed around cumulus, grinding down slightly in search of more stimulation.

Cumulus kept the sweatshirt slightly lifted just so they could both watch in the mirror as her fingers pumped in and out of her, arousal dripping down her palm and shining in the yellow light of the room. Aurora was always one to get like this easily, even if she played bratty and hard to get.

“Lus- more come on fill me up” Aurora gasped as cumulus curled her fingers up. She smirked at both of them in the reflection, watching over Aurora's shoulder as the smaller ghoulette completely melted into her.

“Can’t wait to see what Swiss does when he finds his sweatshirt reeking of your desperation princess” she cooed, adding another finger “think he will just have to ruin you for himself, make me stretch you out so he can really break you huh?”

“Please lus please fuck” cumulus felt Aurora squeeze around her fingers, trembling in her grasp. There was another gush of liquid that dripped down her hand.

Cumulus dropped the sweatshirt around her waist, wiping her hand on it. “There you go babydoll, made you feel so good didn’t I” she cood, letting more of Auroras slick darken the fabric.

“Gotta return this to him now don’t we” cumulus said as Aurora came down from her high, “put it right on top of his laundry so he finds it as soon as he gets home”

[gerec]

At this point I'm embarrassed to ask how the search fics on your blog (I'm not very good with tumblr) this question probably already exists, but I wanted to read fics about Erik in prison or prison fics.

No worries Anon; I appreciate you wanting to do so before sending me an ask. These lists are fun to do but do take time, so I always encourage people to check if their ask has already been addressed before submitting one :D

As for how to search - if you go to my blog at gerec.tumblr.com you can click on the 'gerec's fic rec' tag on my left nav menu and it'll bring up all the lists I've posted over the years. There are a lot of great fics to explore! To find something more specific, go to the search bar and enter 'gerec's fic rec', a comma, and then whatever particular prompt you're looking for - in your case 'prison au'.

Tumblr's search is a little funky so it doesn't always work but there you go lol. In any case, to answer your question, I've NOT put a list of Erik in prison or prison aus before so here's one for you!!!

(Remember to read the tags!)

Jail Bait by Villain

Charles is the new psychiatrist at a high profile correctional facility for rogue mutants, and Erik is the notorious criminal who takes a liking to him.

The stars incline us, they do not bind us by ikeracity, Pangea

Intergalactic Federation pilot Lieutenant Charles Xavier is assigned last-minute to a high profile mission: transporting over two thousand prison inmates from an old and overfilled prison complex to a newer, higher-capacity prison stronghold located on the outer reaches of the galaxy. Just as he's settling down for a long and uneventful ride, things take a turn for the worse after the inmates riot and stage a hostile takeover of the ship, leaving Charles to find himself at the complete mercy of cold-blooded killers and facing the chilling prospect that he might not ever make it back home alive.

The Force of Reality by valancysnaith

Charles almost misses him because Erik’s mind feels different. Muted, somehow, like all those sharp edges and shimmering metallic bright spots are wrapped in cotton. Erik’s thoughts were never this foggy, even asleep; his is the prickliest, most carefully compartmentalized mind Charles has ever touched. Now it feels wrong.

Submission by FuryRed

Charles didn’t belong in prison- literally, he really didn’t. Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Charles unfortunately found himself held captive in the world’s most formidable mutant prison- a place where even his telepathy wouldn’t be able to save him.

The situation would be bad enough, but to make matters worse it turned out that the man who essentially ran the prison- an experienced criminal by the name of Erik Lehnsherr- had a habit of doing whatever was necessary to get what he wanted, and it just so happened that the thing he decided he wanted most… was Charles.

plastics by phalangine

Erik has been convicted and locked away for years, but Charles still comes to visit.

Lies We Tell by Gerec

Dr. Charles Xavier thinks he knows everything there is to know about Erik Lehnsherr - renowned terrorist, fellow mutant, and his patient of the past six months. Their relationship blossoms into something intimate and wholly unexpected, and Charles finds himself fantasizing about a life at Erik's side.

When it happens, it's nothing at all like he imagined.

Rotten Rules by ellenchain

On Erik's first day, he can already tell that prison is indeed not a pony farm. Still, he can't help sticking his nose into dark machinations going on in the depths of the prison. He quickly learns that there is only one rule: eat or be eaten. In addition to all the rumors about dangerous inmates and a corrupt director, a charismatic man from block C in particular does not let him get a good night's sleep. But he too seems to have more secrets than he makes Erik believe ...

Heartaches Disguised as Homelands by InsertSthMeaningful

After Kennedy's assassination, Charles pays Erik exactly one visit in prison.

Containment by feathershollyandgolly

Guilt swirls within as Charles watches the concrete door slide open. As he enters a hollow prison, both modest and intimidating. He is well aware that what he is about to do is a terrible thing.

White by still_lycoris

Erik finds different ways to cope in his prison.

The Last Love Song & Testament of Charles F. Xavier by midrashic

When Erik is accused of domestic terrorism, Charles has no choice but to marry him to keep him out of jail.

Liability by citrinesunset 

A few guards in the Pentagon decide to give Erik some harsh treatment.

Conjugal Visits by ikeracity, Pangea (part of a series)

How Erik and Charles finally get married does not exactly go the way anyone involved ever imagined.

In The Dark by Gerec

Late one night, someone visits Erik in his cell beneath the Pentagon.

Quid Pro Quo by Gerec

Written for the prompt: While he's imprisoned in the Pentagon, some of the guards decide to punish/have "fun" with Erik.

[elkdiaries]

stranger things summer headcanons because tis the season

mike is that stubborn idiot who halfway gets heatstroke from wearing twelve layers of clothing in the 90 degree heat.

lucas and max are carnival CHAMPIONS. they go on all the rides, eat all the cotton candy. once they’re in there, they won’t leave until it closes for the night.

will really likes swimming. however, he prefers the lake over the pool, because it’s less crowded. he ends up teaching swimming lessons to all the toddlers over break, and mothers love him to death for how gentle he is.

dustin and erica have a weekly tradition of loitering around family video on saturdays. it’s one of their busiest days, so their annoyance has put (the very prone to distraction) robin and steve’s job’s in jeopardy too many times. keith watches them with a very keen eye, once proclaiming to dustin that he’ll have his head if there’s any further funny business.

at the beginning of the warmer months, max likes to get an extremely short haircut to avoid the heat.

mike’s incessant boredom always has him picking up new hobbies, or enhancing the ones he has over the summer. he’ll learn to make friendship bracelets, or to skateboard with max’s spare (on the off chance she lets him), or write half a novel.

el became a daily patron of their local ice cream store the very second that max explained to her what a waffle cone was.

lucas once caught dustin watching my little pony with his sister, and while his confusion and nonstop laughter was prominent at first, he was very quickly thrown into the viewing. the three now meet up as often as they can to watch together.

mike works at the movie theatre, partly for the money, but mostly because he likes knowing first which new horror and fantasy movies are coming to hawkins. his vast knowledge delights will, and improves their movie visits together.

erica built a treehouse a little ways away from her house, which is the frequent location of midnight ghost stories galore with her friends.

the byers’ yard is vast and empty, the perfect location for bonfires. whenever possible, the whole party bands together to throw a bonfire bash, complete with jonathan’s killer smore’s.

while dustin goes to camp know where in june, lucas attends a basketball camp. there, his investment in the game grows, and he’s able to make a ton of friends who show him awesome tricks and techniques.

[bluemooncircus]

All about:

The Clowny

The clowny is a fascinating breed of clown of currently unknown origins but may have been the result of crossbreeding or strange mutations that have evolved in spaces where humans are not populous. They are mostly found in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and some parts of California, although there have been reported sightings of the clowny in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, these have not been confirmed at this time.

The clowny usually appears as a horse or pony with a curled rainbow or otherwise vibrantly coloured mane, colourful clothing, and a red bulbous growth on the bridge of the nose just above the nostrils (but some lack this trait). The red bulb is not a second nose but a brightly coloured sphere of cartilage of unknown purpose. Instead of the average horse noises, they make a variety of honking noises. The most common horse breed variants are the Appaloosa and the American Paint Horse, but the clowny can be a cross of any horse breed and any clown breed. It is important to note, however, that the purposeful breeding of clowns and horses to produce a clowny (or for any other reason) is highly illegal.

Their diets consist of grass, hay, grains, certain fruits and vegetables such as carrots and apples, cotton candy, funnel cake, snowcones, and one of the most important staples of their diet, circus peanuts. Clownies absolutely CAN NOT be pellet fed. Pellets do not have adequate nutritional value to give the clowny its much needed energy and strength.

Clownies are recommended to clown owners who have the experience and land necessary to care for regular horses and ponies since they act very similarily. They need a large area to roam and be ridden frequently. They pair extremely well with rodeo clowns and are excellent choices for livestock companions. If you are not a fan of horse riding, your rodeo clown will almost certainly be up for the job.

Some rare variations of clownies have been observed by field coulrologists, such as the zebra/clown crossbreed (the clownbra), or the donky/clown crossbreed (the clownkey), but have not been made available for legal acquisition at this time due to their unpredictable nature and unknown population status.

Do you know about the clowny? Talk about what you've observed!

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 25: I AM DUMPED

"Again? Jeez Perce, how many times does the girl tell you no?" Alex said more in surprise than a real dig at him possibly still trying to keep Rachel and Annabeth in his life in a way neither girl might approve when Magnus read the new chapter title.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as the skin prickled with agitation. His first instinct was that Alex was wrong, that he and Rachel were just friends and this had to do with Annabeth...but then what context was he missing that she was sitting here comfortably holding his hand?!

Nobody steals my pegasus.

"Annabeth stoll Blackjack too?" Nico smirked.

"None of you idiots are funny," Percy rolled his eyes.

"You're right," Will said with a significant smirk. "We're hilarious."

Will was lucky Percy didn't have the book or he'd have smacked it over his head, even getting his lazy butt up to do it.

Not even Rachel. I wasn't sure if I was more angry or amazed or worried.

"You really do just go through the emotional ringer with that girl," Annabeth sounded gentle. Trying her hardest not to be overtly rude to Percy about this past relationship anyways.

"Seems to be a thing with all girls I meet somehow," Percy said with a frown. Why was his mom the only exception to that like everything else about her?

"What was she thinking?" Annabeth said as we ran for the river. Unfortunately, I had a pretty good idea, and it filled me with dread.

She'd seemed happy, confident, perfectly normal while she'd been in here for a brief time, Percy tried to assure himself as he kept taking deep breaths. Surely if she'd gone through with this, she'd have been a babbling mess about...whatever haunted her future? What would she even have recuring visions about? Her dad's death? Whatever the next prophecy would be? Percy's boring average future?

Okay, he was off track now on crazy ideas, but his panic at least was staying at bay.

The traffic was horrible. Everybody was out on the streets gawking at the war zone damage.

"Yeah, why is that again?" Will groaned. "The amount of people I forced myself to walk past who obviously should not be walking around with those cuts and messed up limbs just gawking at the sewage backup speckled with monster trophies and cotton candy vendors stuck in icicles should not be normalized!"

"One of the most basic human activities we all participate in though," Annabeth brightly reminded. "We all like to sit around and gawk at things."

Will still looked mildly huffy, but they were pretty sure it was because he hadn't gotten to stop and help all those people to the proper building they needed to be in.

Police sirens wailed on every block. There was no possibility of catching a cab, and the pegasi had flown away.

"And that stopped you from whistling them back, because?" Jason frowned.

"They were exhausted man, they'd done enough in the battle. I cut them some slack and went for another ride," Percy shrugged.

I would've settled for some Party Ponies, but they had disappeared along with most of the root beer in Midtown.

"Also I'm just imagining the headache of getting them to agree to take you anywhere while hopped up on that," Thalia agreed.

So we ran, pushing through mobs of dazed mortals that clogged the sidewalks.

"She'll never get through the defenses," Annabeth said. "Peleus will eat her."

"You said that with a little bit to much more hope than I think you meant to," Nico offered, pinching his fingers together as close as he could without connecting them.

Annabeth shrugged, Percy sighed, and Magnus was once again left in that weird void wondering if his cousin was a psychopath or that dragon eating people was just an average day occurrence.

I hadn't considered that. The Mist wouldn't fool Rachel like it would most people. She'd be able to find the camp no problem, but I'd been hoping the magical boundaries would just keep her out like a force field. It hadn't occurred to me that Peleus might attack.

"You have a dragon living at your camp and him eating everyone isn't the first thing you think of?" Magnus asked with a twinge of hope to his voice like his cousin being a psychopath was the good option.

"It was now," was Percy's only response to that as he scowled at her too.

"We've got to hurry." I glanced at Nico. "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses."

"Or, shadow travel you there?" Jason looked at him strangely for still focusing on a ride instead of a trip.

"I didn't know if he could do it with other people and this didn't feel like the time to stop and ask to compare notes!" Percy was getting snappy now. He wanted to find out if Rachel was okay, not have seven people in the back of his head asking questions!

He wheezed as he ran. "So tired . . . couldn't summon a dog bone."

"Honestly, the fact that any of you are doing more than shuffling along that sidewalk without your knees and back popping in protest says something," Will agreed. He wasn't really anxious since he knew it turned out fine, but all three of them had to be at their maximum of tapped out adrenaline dumps and were running on preserves, fumes, and whatever dregs of godly power were left in their system.

Finally we scrambled over the embankment to the shore, and I let out a loud whistle. I hated doing it.

Percy smiled at the way they all lit up with suppressed excitement though. He might have to gather everyone on the roof and see if he could get some hippocampi down here, just for a visit...and if one just so happened to bring Tyson all the better... now the only real problem was if that would draw to much attention? He should probably run it by Annabeth, but man was it tempting to just run with it...

Even with the sand dollar I'd given the East River for a magic cleaning, the water here was pretty polluted. I didn't want to make any sea animals sick, but they came to my call.

Three wake lines appeared in the gray water, and a pod of hippocampi broke the surface. They whinnied unhappily, shaking the river muck from their manes. They were beautiful creatures, with multicolored fish tails, and the heads and forelegs of white stallions. The hippocampus in front was much bigger than the others—a ride fit for a Cyclops.

"Rainbow!" I called. "How's it going, buddy?"

He neighed a complaint.

"Love it when you don't even need a translator to be involved," Annabeth chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," I said. "But it's an emergency. We need to get to camp."

He snorted.

"Tyson?" I said. "Tyson is fine! I'm sorry he's not here. He's a big general now in the Cyclops army."

"Does that make Rainbow a noble steed?" Alex grinned at the idea of such splendor.

"I think all hippocampus are noble steeds," Magnus readily agreed.

"NEEEEIGGGGH!"

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll still bring you apples. Now, about that ride . . ."

In no time, Annabeth, Nico, and I were zipping up the East River faster than Jet Skis. We sped under the Throgs Neck Bridge and headed for Long Island Sound.

"The secret to beating traffic nobody ever told me," Jason chuckled, though he felt like he didn't have much experience with the idea anyways, the strange idea lingered in the back of his mind of someone complaining about this.

"Yeah, real national treasure of a lifehack," Percy grinned.

It seemed like forever until we saw the beach at camp. We thanked the hippocampi and waded ashore, only to find Argus waiting for us. He stood in the sand with his arms crossed, his hundred eyes glaring at us.

"Someone's in trouble," Thalia said in a way to cheerful singsong voice.

Percy sighed and didn't respond, which prompted Magnus to quickly keep reading, even though Percy was starting to relax a bit. The general feeling in the room was just anxious, not misery like what had accompanied Luke's final breath. He knew Thalia and Rachel had gotten along fine, there was no way those in the know would be so chill about this if something really bad had happened to her. He just wanted to know what the final results were already.

"Is she here?" I asked.

He nodded grimly.

"Is everything okay?" Annabeth said.

Argus shook his head.

Will couldn't help a soft giggle how well that summed up Percy's experience with Rachel though. Oh yeah, she'd always been around, but rarely when everything was okay. Nico gave him a fond smile, feeling instantly in on the joke even without it having to be explained.

We followed him up the trail. It was surreal being back at camp, because everything looked so peaceful: no burning buildings, no wounded fighters. The cabins were bright in the sunshine, and the fields glittered with dew. But the place was mostly empty.

Annabeth had felt a hollow ache in her that had made her want to instantly put her hand in Percy's. Every shadow had haunted her for years of envisioning Luke back in those fields, smiling just to see her again. Now that had all been gone, and she hadn't even the time to really process his loss before she'd been jumping right into Percy's next problem.

The following weeks had helped, as she'd laid in his arms with guilt for his comfort, but the exhaustion in her soul had only made her hold him tighter as he returned the embrace without question.

Up at the Big House, something was definitely wrong. Green light was shooting out all the windows, just like I'd seen in my dream about May Castellan. Mist—the magical kind—swirled around the yard.

"Nobody thought the weird weather of this place was finally making an appearance Percy, calm your brain down," Thalia sighed.

"I will when you do," Percy snorted.

Chiron lay on a horse-size stretcher by the volleyball pit, a bunch of satyrs standing around him.

Blackjack cantered nervously in the grass.

"Awww, he has nothing to fear, Percy would never make Pegasus soup out of him," Alex promised.

"I might withhold donuts from him though if he ever pulls a stunt like this again," Percy grumbled.

Don't blame me, boss! he pleaded when he saw me. The weird girl made me do it!

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh the hardest, trying to promise herself she'd explain the context of that to Rachel if it ever slipped out.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood at the bottom of the porch steps. Her arms were raised like she was waiting for someone inside the house to throw her a ball.

"That's, exactly what's going on," Will chuckled in surprise. It never failed to amuse him that as often as Percy called himself an idiot in social situations, he seemed to pick right up on them anyways.

Alex appraised him for a moment in agreement, even if she wasn't yet sold on how much of a good thing that was. Would Sally have been able to take up this mantle if given the chance? Just because Rachel could see through the Mist didn't mean she should jump straight to this.

"What's she doing?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get past the barriers?"

"She flew," one of the satyrs said, looking accusingly at Blackjack. "Right past the dragon, right through the magic boundaries."

"Thank the gods nobody seemed to mention to Kronos this very obvious weakness," Jason huffed.

"Can you imagine how that would work in the big picture though?" Nico shook his head. "He'd have to fly his army in on blimps to get close, and they would have shot them out of the sky."

Jason agreed it sounded silly out loud, but he still wouldn't have put it past Kronos to try if he hadn't set his sights on Olympus instead of continuing to try his assault against Camp.

"Rachel!" I called, but the satyrs stopped me when I tried to go any closer.

"We might have been hyping Grover up to much guys," Nico spluttered on a laugh. "I certainly wouldn't have tried to step between Percy right then."

"I think the satyrs are just braver than they give themselves credit for in general," Percy huffed, twitching around in his seat like he still wanted to throw something off his shoulders.

"Percy, don't," Chiron warned. He winced as he tried to move. His left arm was in a sling, his two back legs were in splints, and his head was wrapped in bandages. "You can't interrupt."

"I thought you explained things to her!"

"I did. And I invited her here."

"Never, ever asking Chiron to explain anything again!" Percy tried to say without gritting his teeth. Annabeth just gave him a sad smile of understanding. She'd gone to his side, tried to fuss over his bandages. She'd watched Percy stare at him like the lake should be boiling and throwing out seamonsters any second before he'd turned back towards Rachel. He'd understood in the end.

I stared at him in disbelief. "You said you'd never let anyone try again! You said—"

"I know what I said, Percy. But I was wrong.

Percy's anger had melted away at him, but that had only left more room for concern. Everybody was being way to confident about the fickle gods who needed to be Pinky Promised by a river not to forget about their kids existing!

Rachel had a vision about the curse of Hades. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance."

"And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't gotten to that yet, she'll go crazy!"

The Mist swirled around Rachel. She shivered like she was going into shock.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Stop!"

I ran toward her, ignoring the satyrs. I got within ten feet and hit something like an invisible beach ball.

'Second time he's mentioned that specifically,' Jason couldn't help but notice with a sad smile. Percy was back at Camp after the worst, most hectic days of his life. All he'd wanted to come home to was fun and relaxing on the beach. Instead he got this shit show of yet another friend nearly dying, one who had somehow been out of the worst of the mayhem before. Guy could not catch a break.

I bounced back and landed in the grass.

Rachel opened her eyes and turned. She looked like she was sleepwalking—like she could see me, but only in a dream.

"It's all right." Her voice sounded far away. "This is why I've come."

"You'll be destroyed!"

She shook her head. "This is where I belong, Percy. I finally understand why."

It sounded too much like what May Castellan had said. I had to stop her, but I couldn't even get to my feet.

Annabeth slipped her hand into his like she hadn't been brave enough to do before. Silently promising, conveying in just that touch that everything was going to be okay. She understood Percy's desire to stop this from happening, but she'd had to admit to herself a long time ago that she couldn't fix everything. Percy might not need the reminder as much as her, but moments like this, as he squeezed back and released a ragged breath, she knew he understood he had to let his friend go and do what was best for her.

The house rumbled. The door flew open and green light poured out. I recognized the warm musty smell of snakes.

Will was waving his hand under his nose at just the thought. He'd never realized he'd been lucky to have missed yet another fantastic moment of history right on their own Big House porch while they'd been trying to figure out how to load everyone back into the vans and pretending they'd make it out of gridlock traffic before summer break was over.

Mist curled into a hundred smoky serpents, slithering up the porch columns, curling around the house.

Then the Oracle appeared in the doorway.

The withered mummy shuffled forward in her rainbow dress. She looked even worse than usual, which is saying a lot. Her hair was falling out in clumps. Her leathery skin was cracking like the seat of a worn-out bus. Her glassy eyes stared blankly into space, but I got the creepiest feeling she was being drawn straight toward Rachel.

Rachel held out her arms. She didn't look scared.

"You never do either," Annabeth grinned, and that felt nice for Percy to see. It was a good feeling for a moment to believe that instead of ruining Rachel's life by this being his fault, his influence to lead her down to this crazy messed up world of his, instead he'd at least been beside her showing her how to handle being dragged down it.

"You've waited too long," Rachel said. "But I'm here now."

The sun blazed more brightly. A man appeared above the porch, floating in the air—a blond dude in a white toga, with sunglasses and a cocky smile.

"Apollo," I said.

He winked at me but held up his finger to his lips.

Percy gave a fuzzy glare to the book at being shushed. It usually just made him want to snap at someone more. He supposed, this time though, he really was just as much a bystander to this as everyone else in this room usually was to his life.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he said. "You have the gift of prophecy. But it is also a curse. Are you sure you want this?"

Rachel nodded. "It's my destiny."

"Do you accept the risks?"

"I do."

"Then proceed," the god said.

Rachel closed her eyes. "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, God of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."

I didn't know where she was getting the words, but they flowed out of her as the Mist thickened.

"The same place you pulled words out of the clouds when addressing Zeus I assume," Magnus shrugged. He'd never considered himself a particularly articulate person and couldn't imagine just spewing whatever came to mind would ever be a help. Usually when it happened, they just laughed at him.

A green column of smoke, like a huge python, uncoiled from the mummy's mouth and slithered down the stairs, curling affectionately around Rachel's feet.

Alex sighed, knowing nobody had gotten this girl a pet python nor would at least one cabin appreciate the gesture if she did, but she enjoyed the idea all the same.

The Oracle's mummy crumbled, falling away until it was nothing but a pile of dust in an old tie-dyed dress. Mist enveloped Rachel in a column.

For a moment I couldn't see her at all. Then the smoke cleared.

Rachel collapsed and curled into the fetal position. Annabeth, Nico, and I rushed forward, but Apollo said, "Stop! This is the most delicate part."

"What's going on?" I demanded. "What do you mean?"

Apollo studied Rachel with concern. "Either the spirit takes hold, or it doesn't."

"And if it doesn't?" Annabeth asked.

"Five syllables," Apollo said, counting them on his fingers. "That would be real bad."

"Poetry slam dunk," Magnus said with a blank face.

"Yeah, he's not getting praise from me outta that," Will sighed.

Despite Apollo's warning, I ran forward and knelt over Rachel. The smell of the attic was gone. The Mist sank into the ground and the green light faded. But Rachel was still pale. She was barely breathing.

Then her eyes fluttered open. She focused on me with difficulty. "Percy."

"Are you okay?"

She tried to sit up. "Ow." She pressed her hands to her temples.

"Rachel," Nico said, "your life aura almost faded completely. I could see you dying."

"What color are they?"Alex asked casually.

"Um, different for everyone," Nico said cautiously.

Alex's interest grew by the word though as she narrowed her eyes with interest on him, opening her mouth.

Nico smiled, having anticipated that, and mouthed later as a promise. Because he also already knew that Alex would hyper focus on this until she'd gotten every detail she could out of him. And that was so cool to look forward to.

"I'm all right," she murmured. "Please, help me up. The visions—they're a little disorienting."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

Apollo drifted down from the porch. "Ladies and gentlemen,

Alex may have been derailed from the cool conversation about death aura's, but that wasn't going to stop her from jumping tracks to something just as entertaining to rant about. "That is such a tired and old saying, coming from a god! He could use so many better options! Beloved friends and tolerated acquaintances, FBI's most and least wanted, Friends, family, and freeloaders!"

"All's yawls, can't offend anyone that way," Will happily offered.

"You can with that accent," Percy snorted.

"Did you just, make those up on the spot?" Thalia looked at her with interest.

"Of course not," she scoffed, "I keep a running list. The lot of you are currently sitting at, scalliwags and roustabouts, or allies, enemies, and those I'm still deciding about. Still go back and forth between them."

"Ladies, gentlemen, and interesting miscellanea," Annabeth offered.

"Yes!" Alex cackled.

And they all laughed too, because it was just fun. Maybe, for just these last few pages, it would stay that way.

may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi."

"You're kidding," Annabeth said.

"Apollo does strike me as the jester of the gods, I don't blame you," Thalia nodded.

Will sighed and didn't even look offended, so now Thalia was probably going to be tied up by Jason and demanded to know the rest of the politics up on Olympus the second they all had their backs turned.

Rachel managed a weak smile. "It's a little surprising to me too, but this is my fate. I saw it when I was in New York. I know why I was born with true sight. I was meant to become the Oracle."

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi. Man I hope she gets someone with a really cool voice to introduce her into every room," Magnus chuckled.

"I don't think Camp has the budget for that, but I'll bring it up with Chiron," Will grinned.

I blinked. "You mean you can tell the future now?"

"Not all the time," she said. "But there are visions, images, words in my mind. When someone asks me a question, I . . . Oh no—"

"It's starting," Apollo announced.

Rachel doubled over like someone had punched her. Then she stood up straight and her eyes glowed serpent green.

"That was terrifying," Percy decided to inform anyone who thought otherwise.

"Gods, she's not going to spew out all the prophecies everyone was denied in the past from that mummy being stuffed in the attic is she?" Jason asked in concern.

"Worse," Annabeth sighed. These lines had haunted her nightmares already no matter how hard she tried to shove them aside as she awoke. She'd swear sometimes she got the feeling it was her own mother drawing this memory to the forefront.

When she spoke, her voice sounded tripled—like three Rachels were talking at once:

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

Magnus stuttered to a quiet awe, as did everyone else in the room when Jason began chanting with a faraway look in his eyes.

To storm or fire, the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"How, did you know that..." Nico asked with a deep, concerned frown. He already knew the answer to his own question. He seemed the only one with a clue about Jason's life, that strange other camp, far more than Jason.

Jason shook himself, swallowing hard. The way his gaze was locked on the spine of Percy's book was just the same as it had been when Percy had made his wish. His answer was too. Just like always.

Annabeth had that look in her eyes too, the kind that meant she had a battle strategy ready and raring to go. But that was ridiculous. There were eight of them in here... surely she was just trying to be ever prepared, right?

At the last word, Rachel collapsed. Nico and I caught her and helped her to the porch. Her skin was feverish.

"I'm all right," she said, her voice returning to normal.

"She got that from you," Percy accused his girlfriend.

"Hmm, I can live with that," she grinned.

"What was that?" I asked.

She shook her head, confused. "What was what?"

"I believe," Apollo said, "that we just heard the next Great Prophecy."

"And we're already starting with a total of one broken oath in the passage!" Thalia threw her hands up, but that wasn't fake anger in her tone, in the lines of her face. "Man, those idiots are off to a great start!"

Annabeth placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her sister relaxed, just a tad, but there was a pit in Jason's stomach as he watched the interaction now. Thalia had ten times the reason Percy did to resent that broken oath that resulted in them being seperated for Hera's wrath, but he felt the quiet distaste in Nico when it was mentioned for what it had cost him in his mother. This felt deeper with Thalia. There were so many broken promises in her life, it seemed the only one who had never let her down was Artemis, and from the way she pulled her jacket tight around her, he got the sense there was something about that attire too on her mind.

"What does it mean?" I demanded.

Rachel frowned. "I don't even remember what I said."

"That's so rude," Will sniffed as if he were going to personally take that up with his dad. "She gets swamped by a vision she can't even remember a word of! Can you imagine being possessed by a spirit borrowing your body and then being haunted with the idea that you have no idea what you did?"

"No, but I have a feeling there's about to be a textbook on coping mechanisms about it," Nico grinned at him.

Will didn't even bother to blush. He'd already been trying to talk to Rachel about it, how she coped with the strange feeling. His rough draft was bare bones, but even that bit of good might do something more for the next oracle than this poor girl got, or any before.

"No," Apollo mused. "The spirit will only speak through you occasionally. The rest of the time, our Rachel will be much as she's always been. There's no point in grilling her, even if she has just issued the next big prediction for the future of the world."

"So torture is out, what was the next idea?" Alex asked clinically.

"Bribery," Magnus offered. "I like to think that one's easier to start with anyways. Just throw a dino- shaped nugget at Apollo and he'll spill something I'm sure."

"Please do not throw chicken at my dad," Will frowned.

"Yeah guys, throw it in the fire as an offering like the rest of us bribe the gods every night just to listen," Percy grinned.

"What?" I said. "But—"

"Percy," Apollo said, "I wouldn't worry too much. The last Great Prophecy about you took almost seventy years to complete. This one may not even happen in your lifetime."

"We can only hope," Percy said without a trace of hope. "Guys, I need all the help I can get for that to be true. No throwing food at Apollo."

"Awww," Magnus and Alex groaned, but they all knew, they'd acquit. Just for Percy.

I thought about the lines Rachel had spoken in that creepy voice: about storm and fire and the Doors of Death. "Maybe," I said, "but it didn't sound so good."

"Neither did yours, and like, a large majority of people lived through it, including the planet," Thalia offered. A restlessness to her voice, but trying for a joke for him all the same.

"Yeah, don't think the next batch would get so lucky. Poor guys, and gals, and miscellaneous pals," Percy sighed, but it at least got them all to laugh lightly again.

"No," said Apollo cheerfully. "It certainly didn't. She's going to make a wonderful Oracle!"

"Not a, threshold I'd have expected," Jason said with a look of pain.

"No tryouts for other Oracle's in my lifetime please," Percy reminded swiftly. He didn't even want to consider what all that might entail for Rachel. It seemed like a life-long commitment.

Jason nodded in agreement, but this still felt very naggy and uncomfortable as it lingered heavy in his mind. The other Oracle had as well, it wasn't even Rachel specifically. Just something of this whole situation.

It was hard to drop the subject, but Apollo insisted that Rachel needed to rest, and she did look pretty disoriented.

"I'm sorry, Percy," she said. "Back on Olympus, I didn't explain everything to you, but the calling frightened me. I didn't think you'd understand."

"I still don't," I admitted. "But I guess I'm happy for you."

Rachel smiled. "Happy probably isn't the right word. Seeing the future isn't going to be easy, but it's my destiny. I only hope my family . . ."

She didn't finish her thought.

No. Her family would not understand. Rachel had no more delusions about that than any of them. She'd accepted her role, and would grow comfortable in the pattern of being the Oracle the same way she did being the daughter of her father. Not happy with it. Just learning to accept it for what it was as a part of her life.

"Will you still go to Clarion Academy?" I asked.

"I made a promise to my father. I guess I'll try to be a normal kid during the school year, but—"

"But right now you need sleep," Apollo scolded. "Chiron, I don't think the attic is the proper place for our new Oracle, do you?"

"Psssht, best room in that place and they try to take it away from her?" Alex demanded.

"Because sleeping with cursed objects is a great way to live," Magnus sighed.

"Keeps every morning you wake up a new joy," Alex grinned.

"No, indeed." Chiron looked a lot better now that Apollo had worked some medical magic on him.

"Did he just sprinkle magic dust on him when you weren't looking?" Jason asked in mild concern.

"Basically," Percy shrugged. He assumed that's why half the kids who came back to camp could actually make it up the hill anyways.

"Rachel may use a guest room in the Big House for now, until we give the matter more thought."

"I'm thinking a cave in the hills," Apollo mused. "With torches and a big purple curtain over the entrance . . . really mysterious. But inside, a totally decked-out pad with a game room and one of those home theater systems."

"Apollo is my spirit god," Alex grinned.

"So, you're saying we can throw food at you when we want to bribe you?" Percy grinned.

"Gods, yes please!" She cackled.

Chiron cleared his throat loudly.

"What?" Apollo demanded.

"The fact that Chiron just casually cut him off though," Annabeth giggled. "First time I've seen it and I just know this has happened in the past before."

"Oh yeah, I imagine anyone who meets this nut finds a polite way to do that five seconds after meeting him," Thalia assured.

Rachel kissed me on the cheek. "Good-bye, Percy," she whispered.

"I cannot believe she dared do that in front of you- no, wait. It's in her name. I'd believe she'd dare to do anything," Magnus grinned at his cousin.

"You know what, Percy was right. You're all a bunch of idiots who are not funny," Annabeth rolled her eyes affectionately.

"And Will was right too. We are hilarious," Alex sniffed.

"And I don't have to see the future to tell you what to do now, do I?"

Her eyes seemed more piercing than before.

I blushed. "No."

"Good," she said. Then she turned and followed Apollo into the Big House.

The rest of the day was as strange as the beginning. Campers trickled in from New York by car, pegasus, and chariot. The wounded were cared for. The dead were given proper funeral rites at the campfire.

Well that was one quick way to wipe the smiles off of all present faces. They really never could seem to just get an, okay, everything fine now, all clear signal.

Silena's shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear.

"She would've loved it," Annabeth said with a knowing smile, still tinged with sadness. It was hard to let go of her memory when she swore she kept seeing Silena out of the corner of her eye in all the girls' faces. Clarisse had never been the same after that day either. Quieter. She cherished Chris, and it had softened her immensely.

They were all glad for it, just not what had led to this new head of Ares cabin.

The Ares and Aphrodite cabins both claimed her as a hero, and lit the shroud together. No one mentioned the word spy. That secret burned to ashes as the designer perfume smoke drifted into the sky.

Will understood why of course, and Clarisse might have gone on a murder spree if that hadn't been, but well, he wished Chiron had made some sort of informal announcement too. Everybody knew, but nobody talked about it. Which was the major problem at camp at all times. Maybe if their leader had ever put that awful rumor to rest along with her memory, the whispers and fears of who else could have been the traitor would have faded too.

Even Ethan Nakamura was given a shroud—black silk with a logo of swords crossed under a set of scales.

Jason cleared his throat gently, understanding if someone wanted to ignore him right now, but he got undivided attention as he asked, "don't the cabins make the shrouds? Who," he left the awkward question hanging, a part of himself hoping nobody would answer and just move on.

"The Hermes kids offered," Percy said with a knowing, sad smile. "They did for all the unclaimed kids, but I asked Chiron to help me with this one."

Jason nodded his thanks past the lump in his throat. He'd disliked the idea of these cabins sorted by gods from the beginning, but he felt a kinship to the idea now. Understanding at least in some small way the unity it gave them all, but also feeling like a piece of trash for highlighting how it would always make kids like Ethan stand out and even their ghosts left to feel unwelcome if someone like Percy hadn't stepped up.

As his shroud went up in flames, I hoped Ethan knew he had made a difference in the end. He'd paid a lot more than an eye, but the minor gods would finally get the respect they deserved.

Nico had never tried to find his ghost to ask, to check if he was resting in peace. He'd gone from spending a few weeks at camp trying to enjoy himself while avoiding the funerals and all who went with them and then ditching the place when he couldn't stomach seeing Percy holding Annabeth's hand at all hours anymore to his travels again to give much after-thought to the Campers of the Underworld specifically.

He felt a cold sense gripping him though, like Ethan was smirking just behind him if he turned around fast enough. Percy had gotten him a cabin, recognition for his father, and yet if he'd died that cabin probably would have remained forever empty and haunted. He'd have died for a very large gravestone. It felt reckless all of a sudden how he'd been just sustaining himself instead of actually trying to live until he had to die.

Dinner at the pavilion was low-key. The only highlight was Juniper the tree nymph, who screamed, "Grover!" and gave her boyfriend a flying tackle hug,

Alex chuckled lightly as she imagined a bush flying through the air and changing at the last second. Grover would have been happy either way.

making everybody cheer. They went down to the beach to take a moonlit walk, and I was happy for them, though the scene reminded me of Silena and Beckendorf, which made me sad.

Sometimes Percy hated that he always wore the same camp-shirt so much. It made memories blur together. He was worried the next time he sat at that table and remembered Silena and Beckendorf and Grover and Juniper they'd keep blurring together and he'd forget how to separate the happiness and sadness of it all.

Mrs. O'Leary romped around happily, eating everybody's table scraps. Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was patting Nico on the back, complimenting him on his fighting. Even the Ares kids seemed to think he was pretty cool. Hey, show up with an army of undead warriors to save the day, and suddenly you're everybody's best friend.

Nico resisted the urge to look at Will's smugness rolling off of him and he swallowed a scoff. Yeah, that had lasted until the weekend, at best. He couldn't shake the idea after the funerals that people couldn't meet his eyes, that other kids still whispered as he walked away, that nobody came to visit his cabin because they were already sure it was haunted. They'd smile and wave at him in arts and crafts but never invite him to their table.

He still thought Will was an idiot for thinking he'd ever be fully accepted there, but he could also admit to himself he hadn't the guts to try either. He'd never asked, and those campers hadn't either. It was just a lot of silence.

The nagging feeling wouldn't leave though. Even Percy had admitted he was just too different! What if he went back and they were only faking being his friend because everyone liked his friends? He didn't want to go back, somewhere he'd never been wanted, just because he liked spending time with Will... but he'd try. He took a deep breath and really committed to the idea he'd at least try, for his own sake.

Slowly, the dinner crowd trickled away. Some went to the campfire for a sing-along. Others went to bed. I sat at the Poseidon table by myself and watched the moonlight on Long Island Sound. I could see Grover and Juniper at the beach, holding hands and talking. It was peaceful.

"Hey." Annabeth slid next to me on the bench. "Happy birthday."

"Speaking of peaceful," Percy chuckled as he squeezed her hand.

"I am clearly not doing my job right then," she grinned as she squeezed back.

She was holding a huge misshapen cupcake with blue icing.

"I didn't know you could bake?" Thalia yelped.

"Tyson helped," she agreed with a weak smile.

"That, did not make that better," Magnus frowned in vague concern if that curse of Percy's prevented poisoning.

"That's what happened to the kitchen!" Will at least busted out laughing. "I was so confused, I thought the harpies had a field day while we were gone, or someone snuck in and only managed to destroy just that one room before they were caught! Katie was so livid and still complains she can't get all the icing out of the stove!"

"It wasn't that bad!" Annabeth tried to insist, but her voice was already giving in to a lost fight, so they all knew it really had been. Wow.

"It's the thought that counts," Percy cheerfully cut in anyways. He should know. He'd exploded his fair share of mixers as his mom smiled and helped him clean up.

I stared at her. "What?"

"It's August 18th," she said. "Your birthday, right?"

"I don't blame you for having to confirm," Alex said, "I got the impression he doesn't advertise the date much."

"I had to ask his mom, he said he forgot!" Annabeth agreed in exasperation.

"I panicked," Percy sighed, "I couldn't figure out why you wanted to know."

I was stunned. It hadn't even occurred to me, but she was right. I had turned sixteen this morning— the same morning I'd made the choice to give Luke the knife. The prophecy had come true right on schedule, and I hadn't even thought about the fact that it was my birthday.

"Thank gods," Jason snorted. "Didn't need anything else in your head at that time to distract you."

"ADHD Jace," Percy reminded pointedly. "I always have multiple things bouncing around in my brain."

"Why would you even bother to lie about that?" Jason scoffed. "I've been listening to your head for days! Annabeth, how to kill enemy, random inappropriate thought that should have got you vaporized, repeat."

Percy struggled for a moment to think of something to snap back before just muttering, "dammit," and turning away.

"Make a wish," she said.

"Did you bake this yourself?" I asked.

"Tyson helped."

"That explains why it looks like a chocolate brick," I said. "With extra blue cement."

"Helps it stick to your lips better," Alex muttered under her breath.

Magnus tried not to groan and laugh at the same time and the sound was more painful than anything.

Annabeth laughed.

I thought for a second, then blew out the candle.

"Don't anybody bother to ask what I wished for!" Percy smirked, arms crossed, completely confident he wouldn't give himself away.

"Annabeth," they all said at once like he was dense.

He deflated and couldn't even look that embarrassed.

"Dude, you just had an unlimited wish earlier that day! I don't think a birthday candle wish is going to hold that much sway with the universe," Alex just had to put a hole in his sails too.

"Yeah, well, um, dumped can, could also mean," Percy stammered himself into silence and looked at Annabeth.

She just gave him a wink and waved her cousin on. They were so close to being done, no way was she going to spoil this now!

We cut it in half and shared, eating with our fingers. Annabeth sat next to me, and we watched the ocean. Crickets and monsters were making noise in the woods, but otherwise it was quiet.

"You saved the world," she said.

"We saved the world."

"And Rachel is the new Oracle, which means she won't be dating anybody."

"Is that really the most important thing that happened that day?" Thalia asked mildly.

"I'm sure for Rachel it was," Annaebth managed some kind of fake innocence.

"You don't sound disappointed," I noticed.

Annabeth shrugged. "Oh, I don't care."

"Uh-huh."

She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

"You'd probably kick my butt."

"You know I'd kick your butt."

"The words true love are somehow anagramed in there, I just know it," Will chuckled.

"It's not like any of us can spell to prove you otherwise," Nico agreed mildly.

I brushed the cake off my hands. "When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable . . . Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon. "Yeah?"

"Then up on Olympus," I said, "when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking—"

"Oh, you so wanted to."

"Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought—I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking . . ." My throat felt really dry.

"Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked, her voice soft.

I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile.

"You're the worst," Percy gave her the poutiest look. "Did you have to make this as difficult on me as humanly possible!"

"Well, yes," she smirked. "After all the grief I went through, it only seemed fair-" she couldn't pretend anymore as she really burst out laughing. "Okay, I'm sorry! I was trying so hard to let you talk and be serious, but honestly seaweed brain, I just wanted to kiss you and shut you up already but you looked like you really needed to get that off your chest!"

"Haha, so glad you enjoyed," he grinned.

"Oh I did, every moment," she smiled as she brushed at his lips with the tips of her fingers as if blue frosting still lingered.

"You're laughing at me," I complained.

"I am not!"

"You are so not making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands around my neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body.

"I think he got used to it guys," Thalia said cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all so shocked, it's not like he's repeatedly been shown to be very adaptive," Magnus rolled his eyes as he loudly read on.

Percy didn't care, as he basked in the moment and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. He didn't care if someone dumped monster dust on him or if every Aphrodite girl popped up to tell him he was somehow dumping someone he'd never met or what happened next. This moment was perfect, and nothing could ruin it.

I could've stayed that way forever,

"Because a volcano probably wasn't set to explode this time, or a bridge?" Magnus asked mock innocently.

"Well it's certainly a positive," Annabeth agreed.

except a voice behind us growled, "Well, it's about time!"

Percy squealed like a guinea pig who had been grabbed to tight and jumped in his seat as he looked at the book, then Will in betrayal.

"Believe it or not, the entirety of camp does have better things to do than follow you two around," Will sniffed in a haughty voice.

"That being said, yes, I'm positive Clarisse was planning this the moment she got back to Camp," Annabeth chuckled, "and no, I didn't say anything to her."

Percy sighed and let it go. He was used to moments ruining his life, it just made him enjoy the seconds all the more.

Suddenly the pavilion was filled with torchlight and campers. Clarisse led the way as the eavesdroppers charged and hoisted us both onto their shoulders.

"Well that's better than my previous assumption they were all just sitting there with confetti at the ready," Thalia grinned.

"Yeah, waiting to ambush us and toss us around is so much better," Percy frowned at anyone interrupting this like it was a good thing...but then, he couldn't imagine what could cause this memory to be bad either.

"Oh, come on!" I complained. "Is there no privacy?"

"No." Thalia gave him a sad smile. "Though I find it very strange you asking for that on your last book that's nearly done."

"Yeah, yeah," Percy agreed with the kind of shrug that meant he was used to it, but it was still irksome. Gods, he couldn't wait for this to be Jaons's problem as much as him!

"The lovebirds need to cool off!" Clarisse said with glee.

"The canoe lake!" Connor Stoll shouted.

With a huge cheer, they carried us down the hill, but they kept us close enough to hold hands.

Percy's smile already said plain that he'd already gotten over the intrusion, especially as he saw Will's own. His friends had needed this moment to laugh and be at peace as much as he had after all they'd done to save his home.

Annabeth was laughing, and I couldn't help laughing too, even though my face was completely red.

We held hands right up to the moment they dumped us in the water.

Afterward, I had the last laugh.

Alex's boisterous laugh was in full agreement, she'd figured out where this was headed the moment 'cool off' was said.

I made an air bubble at the bottom of the lake. Our friends kept waiting for us to come up, but hey—when you're the son of Poseidon, you don't have to hurry.

And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.

Percy was grinning like a fiend, like he'd just been handed the winning ticket at life. Finally, finally, everything had come full circle, made absolute sense. The smile she gave him now was the exact one she had then as she leaned close and gave him just a gentle brush of her lips as if she too couldn't wait to relive the moment forever.

[k-marzolf]

Promise.

A Monsters in the Dark Drabble.

Apparently Tumblr didn’t like the image I chose. It won’t show up in the tags, so trying again.

Monsters in the Dark Masterlist

x

Billy’s fingers latched onto your wrist, pulling you through the crowd in the fairgrounds, twirling you a bit, and making you laugh delighted by his playfulness. “You’re so pretty, sweet pea. I bet you taste sweet from all that cotton candy.”

You ducked your head, fingers still laced with his, smiling softly. He nudged you with his shoulder. You looked up at him, and he kissed you. He’d only kissed you that night you’d crawled into his bed crying, and even though you crawled in every night after that, he’d maintained a distance.

You sighed into his mouth, pulling him closer with your hand. He tasted like the funnel cakes he’d eaten. His kiss was soft, and slow, taking his time with you. Your ex had never treated you this good, always angry at something, at the world.

“I wanna go on the Carousel next.” You said, pulling away breathless.

“Sure, baby.” He said against your mouth.

x

He watched you ride the painted ponies, the taste of you still on his tongue, lingering. “She never got to enjoy stuff like this,” said Curtis, coming up beside him. “Her father made sure of that.”

Billy understood that; he'd never had a childhood, either. “It’s hard, always having to be the adult among shitheads who should be the adults.” He said, looking at how pretty you looked in your dress, and a smile on your face when you spotted him in the crowd.

He’d give you everything you never had. And the promise startled him. He’d never given a shit about many people outside of the Castles, but it was hard not to like you.

x

You crawled into his bed that night, and he rolled over tonight, facing you, lips brushing your forehead. You sighed sweetly. “I had fun today, Billy.” You murmured into the dark.

“Yeah?” He husked, fingers going to your hips.

“I really liked when you kissed me.” You said boldly, surprising him, as you kissed the corner of his mouth, softly.

Billy’s fingers dug into your cheeks, kissing you hard, tongue pushing into your mouth, he could taste the toothpaste you’d brushed with that night.

“You’re too sweet, baby.” He rasped, trying to pull away from you, his heart ached at how you only followed him, scooting closer to him.

“None of that I’m too bad for you shit. It’s cliché.” You said firmly, making him laugh at how ferocious you tried to be. Like a mouse attempting to fight a cat.

He nudged your nose with his, “I’m going to hell.” He muttered.

You snuggled under his chin, content.

And Billy didn’t have the heart to drive you away.

[whump-me]

Ashes: Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Ashes, a dark and extremely whumpy Cinderella retelling where the handsome prince is a sadistic villain and his former bride is out to get her revenge… before he can choose a new victim at the ball.

Masterpost | Read the complete novel on Patreon

---

Before

Another late morning. Elle freed herself from the mountain of blankets with a groan. Alexandre, as always, was long gone.

Elle never meant to sleep this late. She had always been an early riser. And yet now she was always dragging herself out of bed several hours after sunrise.

It was the wine—she was certain of it. Every night, the prince wanted to drink together and listen to her talk. If she refused to drink, he would open her mouth for her and trickle the sharp liquid past her lips with a smile. And she still hadn’t developed a tolerance for the strong wine here. No matter how hard she tried to stay awake, she was always unconscious moments after taking her first sip, and didn’t wake until late in the morning. And with a head that felt stuffed with cotton, and limbs filled with lead.

Sometimes other things felt wrong when she woke, too. Stranger things. Like that burn she had noticed a few weeks ago, in the center of her palm. The burn had left a faint scar—she could still see if she looked closely enough. But she tried not to look. She tried not to think about it.

Normally, she allowed herself to wake gradually, letting the fuzziness clear, not getting out of bed until one of the palace servants came looking for her. Not today, though. Today she forced her leaden legs to swing over the side of the bed. She rose to her feet, clutching her head.

Today, she had a mission.

She stripped off the silk nightgown she didn’t remember putting on, and pulled on one of her simpler gowns, one she didn’t require a servant’s help to lace herself into. Then she slipped silently from the bedroom and took a turn down a little-used corridor, hopefully one where no servants would be busying themselves at this time of morning. She didn’t want to answer any questions about what she was doing or where she was going.

And if she was honest with herself, she didn’t want word of this morning’s errand getting back to Alexandre.

Elle had been living in the palace for weeks now. Weeks of jaw-dropping luxury, nightly feasts, and drowsy evenings full of strong wine. And in all that time, she had never yet met King Tyrus. Alexandre, whenever she asked, smiled his perfect smile and told her his father was still too ill for visitors, but that he would surely be feeling better soon. When she asked the servants about the king, they grew skittish and silent, and took the first excuse to duck out of the room.

Elle had had enough. She wanted to meet her father-in-law. She needed to meet him. Every smiling refusal from Alexandre, and every burst of tension from the servants, grew her conviction that he was the key to whatever was going on in the palace.

And something was going on. Even if she didn’t know how to put words to it.

On the surface, she was living a life finer than her most blissful dreams. She floated through her days on a cloud of ease and luxury. She wore the finest gowns in the kingdom, each specially made for her by the small army of royal seamstresses. Servants appeared at regular intervals to bring her what they called “snacks” or “small bites,” but were actually plates piled high with food finer than anything she might have eaten for supper back home. She read in the palace library for hours on end; she strolled the royal gardens, sometimes curling up for a lazy sunlit nap on one of the stone benches; she took gentle rides on a lazy pony who never tried to take advantage of her lack of riding experience.

But the palace halls had a strange silence to them. The servants worked with an aura of hushed fear about them, which disappeared into a burst of forced gaiety whenever they caught sight of her. No one mentioned the king, and when someone—usually Elle—said his name, everyone else scrambled to change the subject. There was one stone door that everyone gave a wide berth, crossing to the other side of the hallway so they wouldn’t have to pass too close. No one would answer her questions about the door, either.

She had tried it once. It had been locked.

As for Alexandre himself, he too was a happy dream, even if she wished she could see him more often. But she could hardly hold a grudge against him for his responsibilities toward his kingdom. And when she did see him, all his attention was on her—smiling at her, stroking her hair, asking her questions about her plans for her time as queen.

But she had a scar where he had bitten her. She could feel the small raised bump whenever she ran her tongue along the inside of her lip. And then there were the other scars, like the burn on her palm. Another burn on the inside of her ankle. A jagged slash across her hipbone. She kept waking from her deep wine-induced sleeps with these strange injuries—and, stranger still, the conviction that Alexandre had caused them.

But that sounded crazy. It was crazy.

And yet here she was, sneaking through the back hallways of her palace to catch a glimpse of her own father-in-law.

At last, she stood before the door to the king’s private chambers. Her heart beat frantically in her chest, reminding her of the time she had held a live—and terrified—mouse in her hands before her father had chastised her for touching vermin. It had quivered like its heart would explode from its chest. That was how she felt now.

She wasn’t doing anything wrong. This was her home. King Tyrus was her family. She reminded herself of that as she knocked softly on the door.

Nobody answered. After a moment, she tried again. “It’s Elle,” she said in an apologetic tone, her lips pressed close to the door. “Prince Alexandre’s new wife. Would it be all right for me to come in?”

Still no answer.

With a nervous look down the empty hallway behind her, she slowly eased the door open.

Almost instantly, someone tried to push it shut from the other side. A young woman’s mousy face appeared in the crack. Elle could see a sliver of a servant’s uniform. “Please,” the servant said, her hushed voice nearly frantic. “This isn’t a good time.”

Elle’s father had always told her she had a stubborn streak that came out at the most unexpected times. This was one of those times. She had not come this far to be turned around so close to her goal. She set her jaw. “Prince Alexandre sent me,” she lied.

The servant shook her head. “He didn’t,” she said with conviction. “He wouldn’t send you here.”

Elle straightened, drawing on some newfound royal authority she hadn’t known she had in her. “I think I know my husband’s wishes better than you,” she said, with an apologetic smile to soften her words.

The servant shrank back. “The prince can’t know you’re here,” she said. “If he finds out…” She wrapped her arms around her skinny frame. “I’ve heard you’re a gentle soul. That you treat your servants with kindness. Please, if that’s true… if you have kindness in your heart… do me this favor now. Turn around, and tell no one you were here.”

Elle frowned. “What are you afraid of?”

The servant looked away and didn’t answer.

“I’ll tell no one I was here,” Elle promised. “But I need to see the king. Please.”

The servant shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

Why was Elle begging in her own home? “I will see the king,” she said, drawing on that unfamiliar authority once again. “If the prince is angry later, I’ll make sure he knows you’re not to blame. But you will not impede my movements in my palace.”

The servant shrank back with a soft eep, as if she were frightened of Elle. After a shivering moment, she pulled the door open the rest of the way. She darted from the room, the quickness of her movements increasing the resemblance to a mouse.

Elle stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. The air was thick with sweat and the too-sweet smell of sickness. She expected to find the king lying in his bed, but the bed was empty, the sheets and blankets impeccably smooth. She scanned the room with her eyes, searching—and jumped as she saw a white-haired figure sitting in a sumptuous armchair, staring directly at her.

“King Tyrus,” she said, and dropped her gaze. After a moment, she remembered to give a respectful curtsy. “I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re resting. But I…” She paused. Why had she come here? Now that she was here, she found she couldn’t articulate her reasons, even to herself. “I have some questions,” she finished inadequately.

The king said nothing. When she raised her gaze to his again, his milky blue eyes seemed to stare through her. A trickle of drool dribbled from one corner of his mouth.

“Are you… all right?” Elle asked. “Again, I’m very sorry to disturb you. I know you’ve been ill.”

“Ill,” he echoed in a wet, rasping voice—or she thought he did, until he said it again, and she realized he was saying her name. “Elle. Come closer. I need… to tell you…” His voice trailed off. He beckoned her closer with a single finger covered in crepe-paper skin.

She crossed the room to him and leaned down, struggling not to make a face at the stench that rolled off him in waves. He smelled like he hadn’t bathed in weeks. “What is it?” she asked. “What do you need to tell me?”

His hand clamped down on her wrist with surprising strength. A sharp focus came into his eyes as he held her gaze. “Get out,” he rasped. “Get out while you can.”

“What do you—” Then she froze at a faint sound from outside the door. The rhythmic patter of footsteps.

The footsteps paused. The heavy door creaked open.

Elle froze. Then she yanked her wrist free and scrambled for the first hiding place she could think of—under the bed.

There wasn’t a speck of dust in sight. Even here under the bed, the floor looked clean enough to eat off of. The servants were meticulous in cleaning these chambers. Strange, then, that they wouldn’t help the king bathe.

Elle watched from her hiding place, cheek pressed to the floor. She recognized the leather boots that walked in the door. It was no surprise, then, when she heard Alexandre’s voice. “It’s time for your medicine.”

“I don’t…” the king rasped weakly. “I don’t need…”

The sound of liquid pouring. From her vantage point, Elle could see Alexandre’s hands gently prying the king’s jaw open, pressing the glass to his lips, slowly trickling liquid into his mouth. She was reminded, suddenly, of him gently forcing wine down her throat.

The king gurgled and choked, but Alexandre didn’t let up until the glass was empty. “Please,” he whispered when Alexandre finally released him. “I know there’s some good in you still. You were such… you were such a good child…”

Then his head drooped to his chest. A thick strand of drool escaped his mouth and tangled in his beard.

“That’s it,” Alexandre murmured. “Don’t fight it.” He gave the king’s head an affectionate pat, and tightened his fist in the white strands briefly before letting go. The king let out a soft mewling gasp. He didn’t raise his head.

Alexandre stepped back and set the glass down. “I’ll send a servant in later to clean you up after you’ve pissed and shat yourself,” he said. “And to spoon enough food down your throat to keep you alive.” Alexandre leaned in close to the king, close enough that Elle could see his mocking smile as he added, “Your Highness.”

“Please,” the king mumbled. “Please…” With his words slurred by whatever Alexandre had given him, and his voice muffled by the position of his head, it was nearly impossible to make out what he said next. But Elle could have sworn she heard, Please kill me.

“I think not,” Alexandre said coolly. “It’s useful not to be seen as the sole ruler. It gives me somewhere to place the blame when things go awry. Besides, I like seeing you this way. I would enjoy even more the sight of you propped up on your throne drooling and covered in piss, but that would raise questions. So I make do with this.”

“Please…” The king’s muffled begging followed Alexandre as he turned on his heel and strode the door.

When she was sure he had gone, Elle emerged from under the bed. Her legs felt unsteady under her. She looked down at her hands and discovered they were shaking.

“You’re not… you were never ill, were you?” Her question came out almost in a whisper.

The king stirred, like he was trying to lift his head, but it only sank heavily down to his chest again. He mumbled something Elle couldn’t understand.

“How long?” Elle asked. “How long has he been doing this?”

This time, the king gave no response whatsoever. When Elle leaned in closer, she saw that his eyes had drifted shut. A soft snore confirmed that he was asleep.

Elle hurried from the room. There was nothing more she could do. And nothing else she could learn from the king. She had learned far too much already.

That evening, when Alexandre suggested wine, she smiled and said a glass or two sounded like just the thing to help her relax. Then, after he had handed her the goblet, she made a show of being afraid of a nonexistent mouse, and poured the wine into the soil of the fern while he was searching for the creature.

After a moment, he turned back to her with an apologetic shake of his head. “The scoundrel was too quick for me,” he said. “But I’ll have the servant possible for cleaning this room killed, just in case.”

He laughed at his own joke.

Then his eyes fell on her empty goblet. “You were eager tonight, weren’t you?” His lips curving upward in a small, pleased smile.

“It was the mouse,” she explained. “I needed something to ease my nerves after a fright like…” She let her voice trail off. She loosened her fingers around the goblet, and bobbed her head as if it had grown suddenly heavy.

Alexandre’s smile broadened. “You can relax now,” he said as he plucked the empty goblet from her hands. “We can relax together.”

She let her eyelids drift shut, and pretended to drift into a drugged sleep as he arranged her carefully under the light of the chandelier.

---

Ask to be added or removed from taglist.

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

Not the Same Moon (chapter 5)

His parents’ closet was full of dust. 

When Darry pulled open the door, he was struck by the stale scent of his mother’s perfume and cotton. All the shelves and hanging clothes were decorated with a fine layer of dust that had accumulated in the past months. The last time he was in that room, he was looking for his dad’s suit to wear to the funeral. 

Swallowing back emotion, Darry stepped in and touched his father’s shirts. His father had been a tradesman all his life, but he had a few nice button ups for special occasions. He’d always made a big deal of dressing up for special events. It was something he passed on to Darry. 

The first day of work definitely counted as a special occasion.

It didn’t take Darry long to find a shirt that he liked. It was pale yellow, understated but nice. There was a slight tear in the hem, but no one would notice with his shirt tucked in. He remembered that Dad had worn it for Pony’s baptism. He threw it on over his undershirt.

As he did up the buttons, Darry remembered standing in his parents room, getting ready for prom. The suit had been too big when he bought it, but his mom tailored it for him. His father did his tie, giving Darry a proud smile as he tightened it. His mother patted his cheek and told him he looked even more handsome than his father on their wedding day. To which, his father laughed. Any nerves Darry had dissipated as his parents playfully bickered.

Darry stepped out of the closet and looked in the mirror in the bedroom. His hair wasn’t greased, he’d styled it to look as far from a greaser style as possible. He didn’t look like himself and it was a relief. 

When Darry turned around, he saw Pony disappear from the door. Ponyboy was light on his feet, but he wasn’t the sneakiest of the boys, not by a long shot. Darry sighed and called to him, “You can come in, Pone.”

His brother slinked back into the bedroom with his arms crossed over himself. His eyes swept Darry up and down critically. There was clear judgment there, but he just sat down on the bed. 

“Are you nervous?” Ponyboy asked.

Darry smiled, he was. He was so goddamn nervous, but he didn’t want Pony to know that. “Nah, I’m going to be inside all day, no chance of falling off a roof, nothing to be nervous about.”

That got a chuckle out of his little brother. “Fair enough.” Darry adjusted his tie again. “Soda’s gonna come watch my track practice after school,” Ponyboy told him, “I’ll get a ride home with him and Two-Bit.”

Darry nodded, “Sounds good, kid. See if you can’t get Johnny to stick around with y’all, he ain’t been by for dinner in a few days.”

“I’ll try, but you know how he is.” Pony looked in the mirror as well and reached up to fix the grease in his hair. Their eyes met in the mirror and something shifted in Ponyboy’s face. Before his eyes, Pony turned from a kid to a surly teen. “Why didn’t you tell Soda that you got the job from Paul?”

Darry froze. He knew that Pony knew, but to hear him say it out loud was much different. Darry tried not to let it rattle him, he couldn’t get angry, not now. “Because if Soda knows, then Steve knows and then the whole gang knows and they’d spit in my face.”

Pony’s jaw set to the left, his eyes turned into harsh slivers where his kind eyes once were. With his voice as sharp as a switchblade, Pony said, “Maybe you’d deserve it then.”

Darry felt the anger grow inside him like a volcano ready to erupt. “I’m not doing this with you, Ponyboy.” His voice was coarse. “Not right now. I have to go to work, I can’t deal with you.”

Ponyboy was silent for a moment, just staring at Darry. There was anger and hatred and something a little sadder that Darry didn’t want to think about. Then he said, “Then have fun on the west side.” And he strode from the bedroom. 

Darry curled his hands into fists and he sent his fist into the wall of his parents’ bedroom, cracking the plaster.

The office building was swanky. Darry’s palms started sweating the second he parked his truck. The other cars in the lot were BMWs and Caddilacs, all sleek and clean. Darry parked as far from the entrance as he could. He couldn’t let anyone see his rusted, banged up truck. 

It took him a moment to work up his courage to walk through the doors. 

The secretary looked up at him with a smile. She was a pretty soc girl, about Steve’s age, with mousy brown hair, wearing an orange blouse and skirt. Her eyes flicked up and down him and her smile tightened just a little. “Can I help you?”

Darry straightened his back and wiped his palms on his slacks. He threw on his homecoming king smile, “Yes, ma’am, today is my first day working here. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction?”

His charm seemed to have worked because her smile turned genuine again, “Paul will be out here any second to grab you.”

As if summoned by his name, the door behind the secretary’s desk opened. Paul peeked out. His button up was clearly nice, well pressed and ironed. The logo of an expensive brand was on the breast pocket. He grinned upon seeing Darry and went over to greet him with a shake of the hand. “Come on, Darrel, I’ll show you around.” Paul clapped him on the shoulder and led him back into the office. 

It didn’t escape his notice that Paul completely ignored the secretary. Darry made sure to offer her a smile and a quick thank you as he was ushered past.

“You got a real shot!” Soda exclaimed from the front seat of the car. He was nearly twisted in half to talk to Ponyboy and Johnny in the back seat. “I mean it, Pone, we’re gonna have some gold to decorate the house!”

Ponyboy laughed and Johnny slung an arm around his shoulders, “I told ya so. Didn’t I tell y’all? We’re gonna see him in the Olympics in a few years.”

Pony blushed, he was used to hearing compliments from Soda, not Johnny. “It’s just runnin’,” Ponyboy mumbled, despite his smile.

“Ain’t just nothing,” Soda responded. He stuck his head out the window and shouted, “My brother’s the fastest man on Earth!” The car was filled with laughter and shouts after that, it lasted the whole way home. 

When the car pulled up in front of the Curtis house, Johnny took his backpack and slung it over a shoulder. Sheepishly, he walked over to Ponyboy, “I’m gonna head to the lot-”

“Nope.” Ponyboy threw an arm around Johnny’s shoulders and all but dragged him into the house. “Darry said I gotta make you stay for dinner.” 

Inside, Dally and Steve were already there, watching tv. As usual, Ponyboy and Johnny sat on the living room floor with their homework, lying side by side. Occasionally, Johnny leaned over to ask Pony how to spell something. Pony never made him feel dumb for it, just spelled slowly and clearly. 

They stayed like that for an hour or so, ignoring the other boys shouting and throwing things above their heads. 

The mood changed all of a sudden when Darry came home from work. The entire room fell silent. The beer in Dally’s hand slipped before he caught it. 

Johnny was alerted to the tension immediately, anxiety crawling like ants across his body. His first thought was danger, run, because for all intents and purposes, it looked like a soc just walked into the house, the house that was the only place he felt safe. 

Ponyboy took his hand and squeezed it gently. It was that grounding touch that made Johnny blink the fear away. It wasn’t a soc, it was Darry. Darry who was dressed just like the people who beat them all up on a regular basis.

“What the hell are you wearing, is it Halloween already?” Two-Bit joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Johnny was tuned into emotions, especially frustration and annoyance and anger. Darry’s jaw twinged, causing Johnny to melt backwards and try to disappear. His heart rate was jumping like a rabbit. 

Darry rolled his eyes, “See if you’re still laughing when I get my paycheck.” He loosened his tie and tossed it onto the side table. Seeing the lull in conversation, Johnny quickly excused himself, darting past Darry with his head down. 

It had been a long time since he was afraid of Darry Curtis. The feeling was so unnatural it made him queasy. Darry was the boy who cleaned him up after he got jumped, he was the one who worried when Johnny slept the night in the lot or his parents’ house. He was safe. He was supposed to be at least.

Maybe with this new job, Darry would turn on them. Johnny flinched. His mind flashed with an image of being on the other end of Darry’s fists. 

The sound of the screen door closing behind him made Johnny jump. But when he turned around it was only Ponyboy. He sat beside him on the stoop. Wordlessly, Pony offered Johnny a cigarette and lit it for him. The two of them sat in silence for a while. Their arms were pressed together in a reassuring pressure. 

“He doesn’t look like my brother dressed like that,” Pony admitted. “I don’t like it.”

“Me neither.” With Pony, Johnny knew that he would never be judged, not for anything.

The door opened behind them and Dally marched out. He leaned down and snagged the cigarette from Johnny’s fingertips. “You’re coming home with me, kid.” He lightly kicked Johnny’s back.

That was how Dally showed he cared. He didn’t say that he saw Johnny’s anxiety and panic, he didn’t offer comfort, instead he stole Johnny’s cigarette and kicked him and then invited him to his place. Somewhere that was a haven, even if it was loud and smelled awful. 

Johnny jumped to his feet with a lopsided smile, “Thanks.” He looked down at Ponyboy. There was so much heaviness in his brow and it seemed to weigh his whole expression. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Ponyboy smiled just a little and nodded. He blew a long stream of smoke between his teeth. 

Soda watched his brother and Johnny leave the house, Dally following after. Darry sighed and plodded back towards his bedroom. Soda’s heart clenched. Darry was trying so hard and Pony just couldn’t see it. 

During those first months after their parents died, Darry had hardly had time to breathe. Soda watched him put everything he had into keeping the three of them together. All Pony could see was their brother turning stoic and cold overnight. 

He didn’t see what Soda did. 

Their parents had only been in the ground for a month and a half and Soda had to write a five thousand word essay for his English class.

He was sitting at the kitchen table with his English textbook in front of him and a blank page in his notebook. The words swam before him, rippling and twisting. Every time it seemed like he had a grip on a word, the letters shifted and turned around and he lost any understanding there was. The pencil in his hand kept sliding with the sweat of stress. 

He could do this. He had to. He needed to get his grades up so Darry would stop worrying. If his brother wouldn’t let him drop out, then he needed to prove himself that he could do this. 

Soda scratched his name onto the top of the paper, then scribbled it out when the ‘s’ in Curtis was backwards. Tears of embarrassment welled in his eyes. He couldn’t even write his fucking name properly. His hands were trembling something awful. 

“Sodapop?”

Soda looked up to see Darry standing in the kitchen archway, his brow pinched in concern. It made him look much older than he was, Soda thought. Seeing the tears in his eyes and the trembling that coursed through him, Darry rushed over and knelt sat down in the chair next to him. 

“What’s going on, little buddy?”

He blinked and tears slipped down his cheeks, “Dar, I can’t breathe.” Soda lifted his hand to his chest, clawing at his shirt. There was a boa constrictor wrapped around his lungs, squeezing and squeezing.

“Calm down, Pepsi, it’s alright.” Darry took Soda’s hands away from his chest and held them fast. “You can breathe. In through your nose and hold. Just like when you help Pony with his nightmares, you can do it.” 

Soda locked his eyes on Darry’s. He had the same eyes as their mom. That’s what Soda focused on.

He remembered his mom sitting with him for hours every night, trying to help him learn the alphabet. When he cried in frustration, she’d pulled him into her lap and kissed his head. She never made him feel dumb or worthless. 

“There we go.” Darry used his sleeves to wipe away Soda’s tears, just like their mom used to. “You’re okay.”

Soda shook his head, “I can’t do it, Darry.” He shoved the notebook over to his brother where his miswritten name was still visible. “I-I’m trying, I swear. I’m trying so fucking hard and my stupid fucking brain won’t let me.”

Soda didn’t swear much, hardly ever, so to do so twice in one sentence was enough to make Darry’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline. Soda felt Darry grab the back of his neck and look at Soda with such protective determination that it calmed the noise in Soda’s head.

“You are not stupid.” Darry squeezed the back of his neck. “No one gets to say that shit about my brother.” That got a watery laugh out of Soda. “If you still want to drop out, I’d let you.” Darry jumped in before Soda could say anything, “But, you gotta get a full time job first. You do that and you ain’t gotta go anymore.”

Soda threw his arms around Darry’s and squeezed him so tight, “Thank you.”

Darry petted his hair gently, “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier.”

“Thank you for listening now,” Soda whispered. He pulled himself even closer to Darry. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The words had been shared between the brothers as often as hellos since their parents passed. Yet they still felt new every time Soda heard them.

It was that memory that made Soda get up from the couch and follow Darry back to his bedroom. He walked in without knocking and found his brother unbuttoning his shirt. He looked up when Soda came in and smiled, “Hey, little buddy, how was Pony’s track practice?”

“It was awesome, he’s so fast it’s almost unbelievable.” Soda walked right up to Darry and hugged him tight around the middle. “Good day at work?”

Darry sighed against Soda’s hair, “Yeah. It’s gonna be a lot to get used to, but the work isn’t too bad.” 

Soda smiled, “Good. I love you, you know?”

Darry kissed his head, “I love you too.”

[alkaliineee-old]

is that SABRINA CARPENTER? oh, no, that’s CLEMENTINE BEAUREGARD , a TWENTY-THREE year old BOTTLE SERVICE GIRL at CATCH ME IF YOU CAN who uses SHE/HER pronouns. they currently live in VIÑA DEL MAR, and the character they identify with most is PINKIE PIE from MY LITTLE PONY hopefully they find their own little paradise here in el país de los poetas! 

BASIC STATS .

FULL NAME . clementine maisie beauregard

NICKNAME(S) . clem, lemmie, lemon, minnie, teeny

AGE/BIRTHDAY/ZODIAC . 23 / july 22 / cancer

SEXUALITY . bicurious

BIRTHPLACE . cleveland, georgia

HEIGHT . 4'11 ¾

EYES . blue

ILLNESSES/CONDITIONS . sweeet(anxie)teaaa

PIERCINGS . standard lobe.

FC . sabrina carpenter

FAMILY  .

FIRST LAST ( relation, alive/deceased )

blake beauregard (father/alive)

grace beauregard abernathy (mother/alive)

(half sibling/alive)

OTHER CONNECTIONS   .

TBA

EDUCATION   .

secondary education completion certificate

tried university for a year but it was not for her

LANGUAGES   .

english. spanish.

WORK   .

Position

tearista at little leaves tea house (previous)

bottle service girl at catch me if you can (current)

FAVORITE   .

ANIMALS. cats. horses. ducks. cows. BAKED GOODS. lemon rolls. peach cobbler. fried apple pies. berlines chilenos. COLOURS. yellow. pink. orange. DRINKS. sweet tea. lemonade. fanta peach. fresh orange juice. mango slush. FRUIT. peaches. mangos. oranges. pineapple. cherries. HOLIDAY. christmas. ICE CREAM. peach. mango sorbet. cherry garcia. MOVIE. spirit: stallion of the cimarron. MUSIC GENRES. country. pop. SCENTS. citrus. chamomile. vanilla. SEASON. summer. SNACKS. lays original. cotton candy. cuchuflí. fruit cups. WEATHER. sunny. 

AESTHETIC   .

what are words? here is her pinterest instead.

PERSONALITY   .

+ affectionate

+ bubbly

+ optimistic

- emotional

- indecisive

- naive

BACKGROUND .

clementine was born in cleveland georgia to her adoring parents who were highschool sweethearts. her father was a rancher and her mother was a homemaker. they predominantly had cattle, alongside a handful of horses, and then somehow (lemmie's pleading) winded up with a flock of ducks and a few donkeys. she spent most of her time outside with the animals and truly couldn't have been happier.

tw: infidelity when she was thirteen, her parents separated, the reasoning unknown to her (coughherfatherhadanaffaircoughandgotanotherwomanpregnantcough) but that was when her mother decided to do something for herself and go back to school, though instead of choosing somewhere in the state or even the country, she decided on chile, starting off as a student, and then going on to later become a professor at the very same university. there started the years of travelling back and forth from one home to the other, during the school year clem would stay in chile with her mom, and during her breaks at school she would fly back to georgia to be with her dad, though christmas' were traded off each year. post school, it was really up to her to decide when and where she spent most of her time, and while she does still go back to visit her father (and all the animals) she decided to stay in chile full time.

HEADCANONS .

has a two year old orange persian cat named marigold that she loves with alllll her heart.

naps > normal sleep schedule. there's no less than five pillows on her bed at all times and at least one of her blankets has to be fuzzy.

spends a lot of her time outside. while not athletically inclined, aside from horseback riding, she does enjoy a good hike. and picnics. and the beach.

can be found singing into a hairbrush at any given time.

habitual wearer of cowboy boots and hats, you can take the girl off the ranch but you can't take the ranch out of the girl, or something like that.

a baker ! now she's not about to be on the great british bake off or anything of the sort, but she can manage to make a little sweet treat, bonus points if it turns out cute.

has been a bottle girl for around six months, and while she's not a partier, the tips at catch are so much better than what she was getting at little leaves.

has a little southern twang that’s definitely more prominent when she gets back from georgia.

mama mia is very very close second for her favourite movie

this will be added to as i think of things but yeah.

WANTED CONNECTIONS .

platonic soulmate: the #1 love of her life, duh. give me her person pls & thx. <3

bad influence: v much naive and always wanting to see the best in people, it wouldn't be hard at all for someone to lead her astray tbh. it's like shaking a bag of treats at a good doggo.

ex: boyfriend? situationship? fling? could have been messy, or could have ended amicably, the world is our oyster.

roommate: i haven't decided on anything in regards to her living situation other than it's somewhere in viña del mar, so this is totally open to just about anyone/anything.

other: literally open 2 just about anything and everything. friends. people that find her annoying. girly group. crushes. childhood friends. second parental figures. if you have an idea i am all ears.