#YEAH ITS PRINCE MAK

[princema-k]

Up until a few days ago I’ve been reading your url as princema K. Then had the (shocking) discovery it was prince mak.

Damn

LMFAOOOO MB ANON THATS ON ME I THINK

[bratshaws]

goodness gracious 55. brb x oc

a/n: so the smut was supposed to be here but I lost connection and somehow?? lost a good chunk of this chapter h a h idk how it happened but im VERY upset. ..well I guess that means I'll have to rewrite the smut chapter again but its okay. it'll be worth it!!! IM UPSET BUT IM OKAY ( also some of the Italian stuff here I based off my own childhood with my loud as fuck Italian family members LOL )

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff, Rooster is now an honorary Schiavoni

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 

@lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2 @emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac

-

He wakes up first when the sunlight is barely up in the sky, Beatrice’s body still glued to him except now they were both chest to chest. He blinks his bleary eyes until he can figure out what to do first, his eyes then moving to where Bianca was, she was no longer hugging Jolene but now was on top of the dog. Chuckling tiredly, looks down from Bianca to Beatrice before slowly getting out of the mattress.

Beatrice moaned out a complaint but remained asleep, which he was thankful for. It was Christmas Eve, he could give them a gift early in the morning right? Fixing his sleeping shirt and sweatpants, Rooster made his way to the kitchen, the sound of his bare feet touching the floor made Jolene blink her eyes open and lift her head in his direction. The pittie waking up meant that Bianca woke up just as quickly, blinking her eyes open and rubbing her tiny hands over her eyes. 

Pushing herself to sit on her knees to look over the back of the couch, Bianca could see Prince Rooster moving about her auntie’s kitchen, grabbing things from cabinets while trying to keep himself as quiet as he could. Bianca slid down the couch with Jolene close behind, her aunt still fast asleep and unaware of what was happening around her. Her tiny padded feet took her to stand right next to Bradley, who hadn't noticed her yet until she grabbed the back of his shirt and gave it a tug.

He just turned his head down, biting his lips when he saw the blue dinosaur onesie’s eyes staring up at him until Bianca tilted her head up, “What are you doing?” she asks, already approaching the sink, standing on her tiptoes to have a better look.

“I’m making some pancakes.” Bianca’s eyes shine when he says it, her mouth parting in a soft gasp, “Do you want to help me?”

“Yeah!”

Beatrice hums in her sleep, the conversation happening in the kitchen stirring her from her slumber. She groans a bit, rubbing her hands over her face as she pushes herself up on her elbows, looking around confusedly until she hears their voices get clearer in the kitchen.

She sat up on her knees, rubbing her face again before combing through her tangled tresses, hissing every time her fingers got snagged before she walked out of the mattress towards the kitchen. Beatrice’s breath hitched when she saw Bianca sitting on the kitchen counter, holding a bag of chocolate chips open as Rooster mixed something in a bowl then moved it closer to her niece so she could pour the said sweets inside.

It was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. She even wondered if she was dreaming about it. But when the little blonde girl noticed her still bleary eyed aunt approaching the kitchen, her sweet “Hi auntie!” woke her up, “We’re making pancakes!”

Beatrice smiles gently, crossing her arms over her bust as she gets closer, “Pancakes, huh?” she repeats, seeing how his eyes moved to her the second she stepped in, “Hi, good morning.” she coos, leaning her lips closer to kiss him.

“Morning, how did you sleep?” he asks, folding the pancake mix so the chocolate chips are embedded into it.

“Mmm,” she stepped between him and her curious niece who was now grabbing some chocolate chips from the bag, “I slept really nice.” she whispers, lifting her hand to run through the messy sandy strands, combing them back to what he was used to. She noticed how his breathing hitched and he gave her a look but didn’t do anything beyond that, “Bibi, you need to go potty, remember?”

Bianca slows her chewing to furrow her eyebrows, “I don’t wanna! I wanna make pancakes with Prince Rooster!” but her aunt countered that the pancakes would still be there and it’d be really quick if she went now. Bianca whined but agreed, placing the bag to the side and allowing her aunt to pick her up and take her to the bathroom. 

He could hear Bianca trying to hurry it up and Beatrice telling her she still had to wash her hands, much to his amusement. Soon after he heard the quick footsteps of a child rushing down the stairs, Jolene looked back to where Bianca was coming and stepped away so the little girl returned to peek over the counter, “I’m back! Did you make them yet?”

“I didn’t, I was waiting for you.” he says, picking Bianca under the armpits to place her once again on the counter top. Beatrice’s footsteps showed up soon after, with a soft sigh making its way out of her mouth. She watches with a fond gaze as Bradley picks Bianca up, holding her in his arms and tells her how she should pour the mix on the pan. Her niece is so focused  on pouring it perfectly she doesn’t move her eyes away.

Bea has to place a hand in front of her mouth in hopes it hides her smile, without success of course, but she can’t help it. Rooster held Bianca securely and wanted her to enjoy making pancakes for all of them, it was literally the cutest thing she had ever seen in her whole life. He was so attentive and so gentle with her niece, complimenting her whenever she did anything right and celebrating with her if she flipped a pancake without issues.

If he’s like that with kids that aren’t even his, imagine how he is with the ones that are.

Woah.

That thought came out of nowhere and immediately freaked her out, even more than the marriage talk she had with Bibi the night before. She was way over her head, yes it was cute it did not mean…anything else. “Auntie!” Beatrice’s eyes drop to where her niece is currently holding one of her colorful plates above her head, showing the perfect round chocolate chips pancakes, “Look!”

“Oh Bibi! It’s amazing you did an incredible job!!” she smiles, grabbing the plate from her hands to place it on the table, watching her boyfriend carry another one with a lot more pancakes than the ones Bibi’s had. He smiles sweetly at her, kissing her cheek before placing it down on the table alongside the others. 

Beatrice smiles back, placing Bianca on the chair before she walks closer to him to grab the mugs from his hand, “You don’t have to do everything.” she whispers, “It’s Christmas Eve, I can do something too.”

“You already are here, looking pretty.” he murmurs, leaning closer to press their lips together in a sweet kiss, smiling against her mouth when she giggles, “Plus, I felt like it’d be a great Christmas’ Eve surprise, don’t you think?” Beatrice laughs, tilting her head to the side as she agrees, but telling him she could at least grab everything else for breakfast while he enjoys the pancakes with Bibi. He agrees only because he was starving and Beatrice promised to join them soon, placing some fresh strawberries on the table next to the pancakes.

She watches as Bibi grabs the maple syrup dispenser and moves her arm in a circle so the sugary concoction lands on a spiral on top of her pancakes. Beatrice only smiles when Bianca jabs the side of her fork onto the pancakes to cut them, then stabs it - just like her father does, figures - to bring it to her mouth. She is dancing from side to side, humming happily while chewing, “I think they were approved, Roos.” 

The pilot chuckles as he sips his coffee, clearly happy to see the five years old enjoying herself, “They aren’t called the best pancakes ever for nothing.” he shrugs casually, giving Beatrice a look from across the table, “As you well know.” his girlfriend’s eyes widened, moving from him to Bianca in a ‘do not start this’ expression, but he just shrugged again, too busy drinking his coffee to reply to her.

Beatrice chuckles in disbelief, shaking her head at him before she too has her own pancakes and coffee, while she unlocks her phone to send Leo a message that everything was fine and that Bianca had a great night. She knew her brother wouldn’t reply in…a few hours, no doubt he and Cyn decided to oversleep since Bianca was out of the house.

After breakfast she thanks Rooster again by kissing him, cupping his face in her hands before she pulls back, “That was a great way to start the morning, right Bibi?” her niece was still licking her lips clean of maple syrup as she handed the dirty plate up to her aunt so she could place it in the sink.

“You are both welcome. I’ll wash the dishes.” he says, then turns to Beatrice, dropping his eyes down her curves, “You can pay me back later.`` The subtle flick of his brow going up followed by the smirk on his lips was enough to make Beatrice feel feverish. Again she feared he knew something was going to happen, maybe he found where she hid everything and was now teasing her about it. 

“Oh…I…will.” she wished her voice didn’t come out so nervous, so she played it off by kissing him again before telling Bibi they needed to brush their teeth since Rooster was going to be busy. So taking care of her niece was a great distraction. While Bianca was busy she tried to be careful and check the armoire to see if her duffel bag was still in the same spot as before, untouched and still zipped the way she left, with the two zippers facing the armoire’s doors.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, “Thank God.” she mutters, rushing back inside the bathroom so she could wash Bianca and then take a shower herself once she got busy downstairs watching her favorite morning cartoons. Beatrice walked back down with a clean and no longer dinosaur Bianca in her arms to see that the air mattress was now back to it’s thin folded form and Bradley looked up with his hands on her hips. “Hey, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I figured it’d be easier.” he smiles, shoving the empty mattress inside its bag as Bianca settles onto the couch with her aunt turning the tv for her. He’s still holding the bag in his hands as he walks past the coffee table close to the stairs, “Are you going to put it back?”

She drops her eyes towards it, “Oh, not yet. I don’t want to disturb Bianca and her morning show.” she wouldn’t move it back, she needed the space for later that night. Honestly the more she thought about it the anxious she got, what if it didn’t work? What if it was too much? What if she just freaked out before doing anything? No, she couldn’t think about it, not like that,  “I’m going to change so we can take Jojo on a walk with Bibi, is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course babe.” Rooster replies, following Beatrice up to the loft and looking back to where Bianca was focused on watching tv, petting Jolene who lied next to her on the couch. With the coast clear, so to speak, he drops the bag to the floor and wraps his arms around Beatrice’s waist, immediately surprising her. The brunette then chuckles when he lowers his face to her neck, pressing a series of tiny kisses on the slowly flushing skin until they reach the curve of her jaw, “Mmm,sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“As long as Bibi doesn’t see it we’re fine.” she whispers back, turning around to hug his neck and kiss him fully, moaning sweetly against his mouth, “Mm, Brad,” she gasps out when his mouth goes back to kiss her jawline, “I have to change, I can’t go out like this.”

“I know, just give me a few more seconds.” he murmurs, his teeth and tongue pressing against a part of her jaw that her brown hair covered and there he marked her skin. The hickey slowly bloomed to a bright red ,”There, now you can change.” Beatrice slapped his arm in retaliation but smiled nonetheless, blushing a fierce shade of crimson before she disappeared in her bathroom and he goes back downstairs to keep Bianca company, the little girl explaining to him that her favorite show was ‘Dr.Chimp and the Zoo Crew’, which consists of a chimpanzee doctor,an elephant secretary and a giraffe nurse who helped him cure the other animals in the zoo while the humans are away.

It was weirdly endearing. And had catchy songs. Not to mention Bianca explained every episode to him in detail. When he saw Bea coming back down with her usual jeans, white top and flannel, he stood to his feet and switched places with his girlfriend. But before he did, just as he passed by her, he leaned closer and asked, “Why did you let your hair down?” he teases, earning a glare from Beatrice to move even more hair to cover her neck,”Are you hiding something?”

“Bradley,” she warns, holding back a yelp when he taps her butt before going up the stairs. She hears his quiet chuckling get fainter until the bathroom’s door clicks shut and she sits next to her niece. Thankfully Bianca was too concentrated on her show to notice anything else, singing along with the songs as her aunt crossed her legs by the knee waiting for Bradley’s return.

She tries to not get too nervous, nor bounce her leg the more she thinks about her plan for later tonight, worrying that maybe he’d be too tired after spending a long time at her parents’ house or…something. She was worrying a lot already and part of her brain was telling her to back out before it was too late, before she made a fool of herself.

But no, she had to fight back. She could do it. She could and she would. And she’d be great while doing it too.

Beatrice’s eyes travel back to Rooster walking down the stairs, fixing his tight long sleeved white v neck top and Hawaiian shirt once he reaches the bottom. He gives her a smile, “Ready?” she nods and turns to Bianca who immediately lets out a squeal of joy, sliding out of the couch with Jolene close to her as they rush to the front door. Beatrice grabs Jolene’s leash and her house keys, turning off the tv and walking towards her niece and dog.

It was a really good morning, a bit chilly, but overall clear. She slid Bianca’s cow patterned fluffy jacket on her niece’s arms,zipping it halfway so the little girl could remove it if she so wanted. Bianca asked to lead Jolene, which Beatrice said yes of course and even if Jolene didn’t need her leash, she knew that her niece would still like to do that. Jolene was very patient with Bianca as well, sometimes stopping so the little girl could catch up or holding her back if she thought that she was in danger.

Beatrice and Rooster watched from a short distance as the two walked, Bianca chatting with Jolene about whatever came into her mind and the pitbull would sometimes ‘boof’ out in response. “She’s so cute,” he says, looking down at the brunette who was hugging her arms around herself, “Are you cold?”

“Aren’t you?” she asks, taking note of his outfit and wondering how was it that he could handle the weather like that, the wind was freezing “I don’t know how you do that, it’s so thin Roos.” she says as she pinches the sleeve of his undertop, feeling her fingers rub against the fabric.

“This is actually pretty warm…also I’m from Virginia, baby. It’s a lot colder there.” he adds with a sweet smile, wrapping his arm around her waist to bring her closer, “But I can warm you up if you want me to, we just have to wait a little bit.”

Beatrice almost choked on her spit, covering the cough with a nervous laugh. He doesn’t know anything, she said to herself, there’s no way he knows, “Oh,I’ll hold you up on that.” she says, trying to appear confident and hoping she was doing a good job. “Oh, I almost forgot,” she pulls out her phone. “I need to call my mom. See if she needs help.” which honestly, if she knew her mother which she did, she’d say no and to not worry. 

Beatrice waits until they reach a park to call her mother.Bianca sits down on the grass with Jolene next to her while her aunt and Bradley sit on a bench right behind the two. Beatrice crossed her legs by the ankles as she waits for her mother to pick up, “Hi mamma-”

“Hi nonna!” Bianca shouts once she hears who Bea is talking to, then turns back to placing pieces of grass on top of Jolene’s head as if it was a crown.

“I just called to see if you needed help?” Bradley could hear her mother’s tone go from caring to questioning then to worried, “No, no! I just wanted to know if you needed help, I know there’s a lot of things you are doing– yes, I know mamma. I know you’ve been doing this for a while.” Beatrice sighs, rolling her eyes as she leans back on the bench, Bradley’s arm draped around her shoulders makes it easier for her to hold his hand, “Hmhm, yes I know. I know. No, Brad isn’t allergic to fish of any sort, nor seafood or nuts. I told you that already, mamma.”

He chuckles softly as she talks to her over worried mother, feeling warm inside just that her family wanted to make sure he could enjoy the feast with them without issues. It was really nice and he was glad they approved of him. Honestly, he had no idea what to expect. His knowledge of Italian food comes from Beatrice and some of the stuff he had as a child, he had no idea what to expect but he had a feeling he’d like it a lot. Beatrice finishes the call with a sigh, “Does she need help?”

“No, she does not.” She laughs gently, “She hates when we call to ask if she needs help but…she’s not as young as she used to be even if she looks nothing like it…but she said everything is great and all we have to do is get there safely.” she goes back to holding his hand, caressing the sides and back of it, touching each knuckle with the pad of her thumb, “I think you’ll like it…it’s going to get very loud.”

“Louder than the Hard Deck?” she nods immediately, giving him an apologetic smile, “...well, I can handle it.”

-

Beatrice was quick to travel to her parents house to drop the gifts, from both her and Bradley, before Bianca noticed anything since she was napping back at her house with her lovely boyfriend telling her he’d keep an eye. With that out of the way, the two showered and changed to their outfits for that night, Bradley was still wearing a long sleeved top but this time he had a light army green jacket on after Beatrice told him to ‘put on something heavier’ since the temperature dropped a lot more, jeans and boots. 

As for Beatrice, she was wearing high waisted black and white plaid pants, a white turtle neck top, black boots with just enough heel to announce her way when she walked and a black windbreaker. Her hair was down, falling over her shoulders with her lips painted that red he liked so much and a neutral colored eyeshadow, “You look stunning.” were his first words when she showed up, his girlfriend laughing before grabbing her purse, “Doesn’t she, Bibi?”

Bianca, who was wearing a gray knit dress with cow printed pants underneath, smiled in agreement, holding Rooster’s hand “Yeah, auntie! You look stunnin’!!”

“Thank you, you two,” she taps her thigh twice so Jolene leaps out of the couch - the pitbull was also wearing a colorful Christmas sweater with Rudolph on the back- to go to the front door, “You two look great as well.” they all walk out so Beatrice can lock the door, Bianca’s seat was still inside the Bronco thankfully so all she had to do was put her in there.

Jolene sits next to Bianca once she’s buckled onto the seat and Beatrice turns to walk to the passenger side, Bradley doing the same on the driver’s. She asks Bianca one more time if she’s okay, she gives her aunt a thumbs up before she goes back to petting Jolene, “Alright, we can go.” Beatrice grins, “I can tell you the way.”

“I’d appreciate that a lot.” he smiles, giving her another look, “You really look amazing.” his girlfriend smiles shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with her eyes turning to him, “You always do.” Her cheeks immediately turned red after he said it and he smirked in triumph at her reaction.

The drive to Beatrice parent’s home was at least a twenty minutes ride, thankfully the amount of cars outside was minimal since it was Christmas’ Eve. She forgot how beautiful Little Italy was during Christmas time, the colorful lights that adorned the buildings and the constant Christmas songs being played around them brought back so many memories, memories that got stronger when she they got closer to her parents’ house, her siblings cars already parked in front and on the opposite street and she could hear Rita Pavone’s Viva La Pappa col Pomodoro being played from the inside.

Bradley parks the Bronco right behind Guillermo’s SUV, turning his eyes to the colorful Christmas lights climbing up the walls and railing of the Schiavoni’s house, a snowman wearing sunglasses and with a ‘suntan’ decorated the front yard, holding up a bottle of sunscreen in his hand. He chuckles as he walks out, waiting for Beatrice to pick up Bianca and pull her out, Jolene’s body vibrating with excitement as she notices where they were. Beatrice offers him her free hand since the other arm is busy holding Bianca close to her chest, “You know,” he says, looking around the neighborhood and hearing the song coming from the inside, “I think I guess where your decoration needs come from.”

Bea laughs, walking him up the front steps of the Schiavoni’s house - where Jolene was patiently waiting with her tail swiping back and forth rapidly. He could hear the voices from her family members inside, the sound of family was loud and clear…emphasis on loud. There was beautiful garland that surrounded the front door with red and silver balls, tiny angels and even tiny bells, while the wreath right on top of the stained glass followed the same red and silver palette, it also had a large red bow at the bottom. 

His girlfriend leaned Bianca closer to the doorbell, the conversation inside didn’t stop when the little blonde girl pressed the button, but they could hear and see someone approaching. There was the sound of the door unlocking before Beatrice��s mother appeared, gasping in surprise, “Oh! You two came!”

“Nonna!” Bianca was almost climbing out of her aunt’s arms to hug her grandmother, who immediately picked her up and kissed her cheeks, complimenting her outfit before telling her her parents were already outside. She also greeted Jolene, scratching the pitbull’s behind before she scampered inside following Bianca.

Claudia then looks up at the two with her hands clasped in pure happiness “Oh I’m so glad you two came, come on in, come on in.” she stepped aside to let the young couple enter, Bradley’s eyes immediately darting to the other decorations around them. Yeah, he could see where Beatrice got it from, “Here, take off your coats.” Claudia was quick to remove them before they could stop her, pausing as she tried to find space in the coat hanger - that already seemed full- but somehow managed to squeeze them in there. When she turned back around she engulfed her daughter in a hug, kissing both of her cheeks then her forehead, “Oh, I’m so happy you two finally came.” She turns to Bradley, who just leans closer so the older woman pecks his cheeks as well, cupping his face so she could kiss his forehead just like she did with Beatrice “Come, come, everyone is already waiting.”

Bradley felt so warm just by that greeting. It was…so motherly and he hadn’t felt something like that in so long. 

He thanked Claudia, who ushered them further inside the house, Beatrice grabbing his hand to lead them to where the others were. The walls were adorned with so many pictures, weddings, birthdays, Celebrations he couldn’t name it and obviously, Christmases. He couldn’t pay a lot of attention because Beatrice tugged him down a hallway where the voices were getting louder and louder, the music - an Italian song he couldn’t recognize - being sung along. They walked past an office where he could see the glimpse of a piano that shone with the colorful lights outside the window it stood in front of.

With the voices and music getting louder, he felt a bit of unease the closer they got. It wasn’t until Beatrice opens the double doors that separate the house from the outside that he finally lets out a quiet breath of surprise. The backyard was large, very large and surrounded with plants, they stepped out right on the patio with large gray stone floors and a wooden cover that had garlands surrounding the pillars that held it up. 

The said patio had a small bar on the left where a few bottles rested alongside shot glasses and a speaker that was responsible for the music being played right now.  In the middle of the patio was a large ,already made and decorated,dark brown table and surrounding it was Beatrice’s family, with her father at the head.

There were other seats around the table itself where he assumed her nephews and nieces were seated, alongside two pitbulls who were now playing with Jolene on the grassy part of the backyard. The conversation stopped for a second before a wave of greetings reached them, with her siblings standing up to hug them, Guillermo’s massive estature made Bradley a bit uneasy when he leaned down to give him a friendly hug and a pat on the back. He met their spouses back at the wedding so it took a while for them to finally sit down and join the others.

“Finally.” it was Michael who announced once they sat down, “Thought you two were going to take the scenic route.” he pushed himself to his feet, “You want a drink, Brad?” 

Rooster looks around to check if anyone else was -they were, all of them - and nods, ‘Yeah, sure, I wouldn’t mind it.”

“My man. Gonna get you some whisky.” Michael however sends a look to his father, who nods as he too lifts the brandy glass to his lips to take a sip. Bradley met Beatrice’s nephews and nieces, with the boys being very curious about him when Bianca told them that he was a pilot! Bradley thanks Michael when he places the glass in front of him Beatrice lifting a glass of red wine to sip slowly as her boyfriend savored the bourbon.

Oh, that was good whisky. And it tasted amazing too? He felt Beatrice’s hand interlacing his from under the table as the conversation returned, Guillermo lowering the volume once Dean Martin started playing so they could talk without screaming at each other. It was really nice, they were all very inclusive to him, asking his opinion and sharing information Bea hadn’t before.

It was… really good. He hasn’t felt like this during Christmas time in a long while. He felt very welcome by everyone. Even Beatrice’s father, whose role was to be the main host alongside his wife, would ask if Bradley needed anything. Honestly he was just happy to be drinking high quality whisky with his girlfriend and her family who genuinely seemed glad to have him there. Her mother calls for her and her sisters to help inside, “Be right back.” she whispers, kissing his cheek and standing up, disappearing into the house with her sisters in tow. 

He looks back at her father who is giving him a little smile, one he knows isn’t malicious but instead he looks proud. Very proud. “Be prepared, ragazzo,” he says in his thick Italian accent, “I hope you left your stomach empty enough.”

He knows from Beatrice that there will be a lot of food, he’s ready for that…what he wasn’t ready for was that the amount of food was even more than he imagined. The talking coming from Beatrice’s mother and sisters surrounded them, each woman had a dish in hand, setting it on the table, pushing some of the red burning candles away to give it space. Bradley tried to cover his surprise the best he could, but try as he might he wasn’t able to.

There was so much food.

Rafael chuckled watching the pilot’s wonder at the variation of dishes set in front of him, his sons were too busy arguing amongst themselves about a game of scopa they had to play before the night was over to help him, so he took it on himself, “Ragazzo,” he calls quietly, making Bradley turn his head to him, “This here, is linguini with clams and mussels.” he points to the large wooden bowl, “The one next to it is baked swordfish with lemon, then we have calamari and olive salad.”

“We used to have the antipasti.” comes Beatrice’s voice from his left, sitting down next to him once the table is set, “But over time we found out that we could skip this part, sorry to my ancestors.” She giggles, pushing herself forward with her chair as her mother gives one last look to make sure everything was just right then sits down next to her husband. 

“It’s so much. And it smells so good.” he comments, still looking at everything with boyish wonder. Beatrice smiles, squeezing his hand a bit as her father cleared his throat. He was the patriarch, so he was the one who should be served first but as much as her mother liked to do so, he wanted to get the food himself. There was a short timed bickering between the two before Rafael grabbed a bit of everything and sat down.

With a wave of his hand, he signaled they could finally eat. Bradley’s plate disappeared before he could stop it, with Claudia scooping a nice amount of the pasta and a thick chunk of swordfish to put in his plate, “There you go, Bradley.” she smiles, placing two lemon wedges to the side before sitting down.

“Thank you.” he says sweetly, while his girlfriend just smiles at his surprised face when he turns to look at her. Bea nods to where her mother was, her expectant expression waiting for Bradley to take a bite wasn’t subtle at all “She’s waiting for me to eat it.”

“She is, and she’ll ask you if you need more even if you weren’t even half done.” she says, twirling her pasta on a fork, “So, I wouldn’t keep her waiting.”

[gothighunicorntolerance]

At last, my Big Bang fic!

When Roman and his friends go hiking, they expect to see some birds, some lizards, maybe a deer if they were lucky- not a hidden cave with a sleeping person inside, unable to be woken up by anyone. His friends decide to let the sleeping person stay put, but there’s some feeling Roman just can’t shake off. Red chapter one below, and the full fic on AO3, accompanied by amazing art by @littlebigmouse

taglist: @theimprobabledreamersworld @edupunkn00b @ts-storytime

AO3 link

art post

The tranquility of the forest was quickly interrupted by the banter of several people standing by a parked car, their faces illuminated by the pink-tinted full moon low on the horizon.

“Come at me, Mothman! I have a very juicy ass you would LOVE!”

“Remus, you IDIOT. Mothman lives in West Virginia!”

“Well what about the skunk ape, Virgil? Don't you want to see the Skunk Ape? SKUNK APE! SKUNK APE!” He chanted, his voice echoing in the parking lot.

“Remus, would you shut up?!” Roman shoved his brother. “We are actually going to try and find wildlife like deer and stuff, and that’s not going to happen if you keep shouting for cryptids to fuck you.”

The rest of the group sighed collectively at the antics of the twins, though Roman didn’t pay much attention to his friends’ groaning.

“Anyways,” Roman said louder than necessary. “Logan, you have the compass, right?”

“Of course. I also brought several yards of paracord, just in case. And also cereal bars, batteries, and water.”

“Thank you for being the responsible one,” Roman laughed. “Virgil, it’s your job to make sure that the entire state of Florida doesn’t find out that my brother is a monster fucker.”

Virgil groaned. “You know that’s going to be impossible.”

“Just punch him when you think he’s about to say something stupid.”

“Oh, like this?” Virgil smacked Remus in the arm.

“Ow!” Remus groaned.

“Well, I thought you were about to say something stupid.”

“Can we please just get on with our hiking-adventure-whatever you’re calling it?” Janus spoke up.

“Please.” Logan agreed.

“O-KAY! Into the woods!” Roman sang.

The five hikers walked down the small dirt path, the mud from last night’s storm splashing their ankles. The colors of the sunset were barely visible through the branches of the trees, which cast long shadows onto the ground and Roman still quietly humming all parts of the song by himself.

As Roman’s song ended, trailing off into the instrumental bits, Remus had finally shut up about various cryptids, and the only sounds were the squelching of mud sticking to their shoes and the occasional snap of a stick or crunch of a fallen leaf underfoot.

The May nights were cool and humid, so most days like this, Roman wore cheaper jeans and a hoodie that he was willing to throw away if it got too dirty or torn.

About half an hour into their adventure-hike, Logan silently passed around flashlights to everyone, which Roman gladly accepted. It had gotten dark quickly, to the point where Roman had been barely able to see his feet.

Suddenly, Virgil, who was in front, stopped.

“Deer,” he whispered, aiming his flashlight into the trees.

Roman followed the flashlight beam onto a huge buck, its pelt speckled with mud and antlers extending far beyond its ears.

“The inside spread is over twelve inches,” Logan whispered.

“That’s big, right?” Janus asked.

“Yes, it is. The largest recorded spread in the state of Florida was nineteen and a half inches.”

Roman knew that Remus was about to open his mouth and say something stupid, and apparently, so did Virgil, because Remus groaned again after he was hit in the shoulder, the rest of the group snickering.

The deer eventually ran away, and the group continued on until the dirt path ended.

“Hey, look at this!” Virgil waved the group over to where he was standing, shining his flashlight into a large opening in the side of a rockface.

Roman jogged over and looked into the cave- as far as the flashlight illuminated, he could see moss and other plants clinging to wet stone.

“I haven’t seen this before- I think I’d remember,” Janus commented.

“It must have been uncovered by erosion from the storm last night,” Logan added in.

“Let’s go in!” Roman and Remus said at the same time, grinning at each other. They might not agree on much, but when it came to deciding whether or not to explore a creepy-looking cave, the answer was always going to be yes.

“Don’t you think we should- never mind,” Virgil sighed as the twins started swinging their flashlights across the wet ground of the cave.

“Look at this!” Remus whisper-shouted to Roman, pointing out some kind of slime growing on a rock.

“That is disgusting, put it down or I’m not letting you in the car,” Roman said as Remus began to poke the slime.

Remus stuck his tongue out at his brother but reluctantly stopped poking the unfamiliar growth. Roman turned around to see that the rest of the group had followed them in.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Virgil asked worriedly. “I mean, this cave wasn’t here before, and we might be the first living things to step in here in maybe hundreds of years.”

“And this is how people find monster boyf- OW!” Virgil once again took it upon himself to hit Remus in the arm to stop him from talking about various cryptids in a non-child-friendly manner.

“Caves such as this one are particularly interesting because you never know what you might find- oh, look!” Logan pointed to another small opening at the back of the cave.

“I’m going to crawl through!” Roman declared after the group had spent a minute or so deciding what to do.

Roman got on his hands and knees and started to wedge himself through the opening, quite aware that he would likely have to put his clothes through more than one wash cycle to get the stains out. He bit down on the flashlight, illuminating what was in front of him, but only barely.

When there was finally room for Roman to stand, he turned and called through the opening, “I’m fine! You can come through, it’s safe!”

The second part of the cave was much wider than the first part, and Roman was able to stand without hunching over.

Swinging his flashlight across the ground, Roman suddenly gasped.

There was a man laying on the ground, hands folded across his chest, dressed in- were those robes?

“Guys…? You might want to see this…” Roman called out again, his voice shaking.

“Ro? Are you okay- HOLY SHIT!” Janus crawled through, his eyes wide with disbelief and perhaps a little fear.

Remus and Virgil came through next, Remus uncharacteristically silent, his mouth open in an ‘o.’

Logan was the last to crawl through, and he, like everyone else, stood silent, looking at the figure laying in the center of the cave, arms crossed over their chest and wings spread out- Roman rubbed his eyes. This couldn’t be real- he couldn’t have found some guy in a cave that hadn’t been touched in years!

Maybe they had gotten drunk or something and put on a very realistic-looking cosplay and then ran through the woods? Remus had done odder things, so it couldn’t be completely ruled out.

Janus slowly walked up to the figure, stepping over the silken blue robes and putting his hand on their neck, careful not to knock off the wire framed glasses.

“There’s a pulse, but it’s really faint.” Janus announced to the group. “They’re definitely not dead.” The hikers stepped closer to the sleeping person, forming a circle around them but careful to not touch the giant gray bird wings sprouting from their back. Roman noticed a strand of curly brown hair had fallen into their eyes, and resisted the urge to reach out and tuck the strand of hair behind their ear.

After a moment of silence, Roman spoke up. “Should we… try to wake them up? I mean, what else should we do?”

Roman was careful not to touch the sleeping person. Roman wouldn’t admit it, but he was afraid there would be some kind of horror movie scene- where as soon as he got close enough, they would sit up and try to murder him. Or something like that.

Logan crouched and tapped his phone, and the default alarm sound echoed through the cave. The person didn’t stir.

Virgil stepped up next, unscrewing the cap of his water bottle and pouring the contents onto their face. “Seriously? Nothing?” Virgil muttered.

“Let me try,” Janus said, grabbing the person’s shoulder and shaking them.

“Alright,” Remus said, stepping forward and rolling up his sleeve. He looked up at Roman, grinning, before bringing his arm down to the person’s face and slapping them on the cheek. Roman cringed at the echo it created, but there was still no reaction from them.

“How the fuck did that not work?” Remus stared at the still-sleeping person.

“Heavy sleeper?” Roman suggested.

“Coma?”

“Dead?”

“Are we about to be on Buzzfeed Unsolved?”

“Underlying medical condition?”

“Alright, it’s your turn, Prince Charming. Go do a true love’s kiss on the guy. You never know,” Remus laughed.

“No way! I’m not touching that guy with my finger, let alone my mouth!” Roman protested as Remus tried to drag him over.

Another beat of silence passed before Virgil spoke up. “I think we should leave. This dude’s probably not okay, and I don’t want to have to call the police or paramedics. I don’t want to get involved in anything, whether this guy is just stoned or in a coma or whatever.”

“Yeah.” Roman said after a minute of consideration. “You’re right. I don’t want to get involved. We should just- I dunno, leave the guy here? Maybe check later to see if they’re okay? I mean, they’re not dead.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and soon crawled back out the way they came. Roman exited last, and couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at the sleeping figure. A small part of him wanted to stay behind, try and wake them up.

But Roman ignored that feeling and left the cave with the rest of his group.

Once the group srood back on the path, all a little shaken or confused from what they had just seen, Roman said, “let’s all just go back home. If we want to, we’ll come back next week or whenever to make sure the guy’s either okay or gone, but for now just leave it alone.”

Roman said the last part for himself, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that he was missing something. He shook his head and followed Logan and Janus, who had already started walking back to the parking lot through the wet grass and still-sticky mud. Even in the dim light, Roman could tell the two of them were holding hands. Roman opened his mouth to tease the two of them but thought better of it. They had all just seen something pretty weird in that cave (Roman was still trying to decide what he really saw), and Logan and Janus hadn’t announced that they were together, probably for the exact reason that Roman would tease them.

Oh well, there would be plenty of moments for teasing later. For now, Roman just focused on dragging his feet along the muddy path back to the car, though he kept glancing over his shoulder. He told himself that it was to keep an eye on Remus and Virgil and make sure they were still behind him, but the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something still lingered.

[tarunsaravana]

POP STARS IN DANGER

POP STARS IN DANGER

Over the years, a lot of pop stars came out as being “slaves” to the music industry. Example : Brittany spears, Camila cabello , BTS, fifth harmony Lauren jauregui and more which we will get in a minute. Before we get into it , these are all just theories , none of are “facts” and they are not meant to hurt anything/anyone. Alright lets hop into it .Pop stars are being said as the puppets in street whose controlled by big guys with black suit , but nothing has more covered up then music industry treating pop stars as slaves. Meet the darker world of Kpop

DARKER WORLD OF KPOP 

First we are going to talk about a guy known as prince Henry mak. He was the former member of Kpop group called JJCC records. He came out and talked about the secrets of the Kpop and it shocked a lot of fans. He states “you can be working 20 hours a day and earn like zero dollars a day , 2 dollars a day lf you’re lucky. For 10 years” now he refers to the contracts as “slave contracts” he states “slave contract is usually above 10-15 years in average years, no dating, dieting ,some even has plastic surgery that’s a slave contract” when you’re a Kpop star, everything in your life is watched , your diet , your weight , your hair and when its all over you’re left with nothing.he states “you go older and you  probably need to go to army and retire you have no money and you’re left with nothing”. These Kpop stars are being controlled by record labels are so overworked that they litterally pass out on stage.Fans have also noticed healthy weight gain from the BTS members, which stands in contrast to other idols who put themselves under dangerously low weight measures. It is clear to see the difference in how different companies treat their artists and how the difference in treatment can affect the group’s overall well-beings and mental health. Even in a article it was said that “With countless hours of work and practice, harsh expectations and criticism from netizens, and colossal amounts of pressure put on them by their companies, certain idols have gone as far as taking their own lives, deciding that this so-called “perfect and glamorous” life wasn't worth it, according to People”. There’s a clip of a girl named Krystal from Kpop who passes out on stage, there’s actually so many clips of her passing out that even had compilations, but this isn’t new Kpop stars passing out on stage is something which is happening for years. Now fans of BTS throwing up on side of the stage ,and even after the show they needed to be hospitalized.

CONSPIRACY

Now listen its not just Kpop stars treated like this, the amount of music artists where they’re hinting like they’re feeling like robots and being controlled by the record labels is insane. Britney Spears ,lady gaga, ke$ha are being treated by the music industry like slaves is very real. Just read this alleged audio clip of fifth harmony member Lauren jauregui she says “making decisions  on a regular basis to make us literal slaves , like literal slaves ,like we are doing LABOUR and we see nothing”. Another audio came out of member Camila cabello saying this “sorry I couldn’t come over”. “they were actually making us work to the bone , like we did 5 songs “ and then  after those leaked , there was a q/a with fans and Lauren said this “I was wondering if you had any advice for someone going into music industry ,like myself , READ YOUR CONTRACTS”.

SONY (theory)

Now , somebody that did talk about this is Micheal Jackson ,he even went into a stage one night with a sign saying “SONY KILLS MUSIC” he said this one night “I’m not supposed to say what I am going to say alright? , uhh…pls don’t tape this , okay ,Tommy motola is a devil. (Tommy motel) (CEO OF SONY 1990- 2003)Mariah Carey after divorcing Tommy , came to me crying, she said this was a evil man , Micheal , this man follows me she said ,he tapped her phones and he’s very very evil”.

That’s right sony, the same label that forced ke$ha to someone she was terrified of. (The judge rule that ke$ha will remain under content with sony.) now prince was also very vocal about this as well. He’s said “we live a place now of a plantation, we are all indentured servants” he even performed one night with SLAVE shoved on his face. Now Micheal Jackson and prince was the only two vocal popstars and then mysteriously they died in a very similar way by a drug overdose. Then of course you have Kanye west throwing the word “slavery” a lot in press , what if he’s hinting the possible slaves in the music labels. 

BRITTENY SPEARS 

Now ,one of the most controversial theories of all time surrounding Brittany spears is her hinting clues in her songs.now if you look at the title of her song its looks fun “baby one more time” ,  “soda pop” and in her next album it got a bit weirder “lucky” a song showcasing a girl whose scared and miserable. And then in her next album “lonely” , “overprotected”,”let me be“and of course “I’M SLAVE” AND  if you look at the record label she’s owned by , its called jive which is  owned by SONY. and if you’re wondering what record label the fifth harmony is owned by called “epic” which owned by SONY. Guess who Camila cabello works for SONY. She even got hospitalized , yeah. okay now back to Brittany spears , she uploaded a video with a soft pitched voice even though fans started clipping her old and new voice. Some people say that she has a manager who sped the voice up. 

CARDI B

She has been blowing up in 2018 and she was to be one of the most famous popstars ever.Her song bodak yellow is been exploding on the internet. However a clip came out of her in a interview in red carpet  and people started speculating that she is a illuminati puppet. She’s says she is shaky and excited about the album and stops and stares like a mind controlled puppet. I mean its weird right? I don’t know if she is being sarcastic that moment, but the second the two of the members ,who were co-ordinaters are looking directly to her. Now this got people believe that she is part of illumanati and she is being mind controlled. I mean she did become extremely popular in life. She says in one of her videos she says “my family is my man , illuminati which one of my cousins, you want for that dead kid?”. Then she posted in one of instagram , with a devil horn in her hands and not just this video , there are thousands of pictures of her putting 666 on her fingers. She went on live one night and said this “I believe america is trying to kill you, like I’m going to shift my parents to Dominican Republic and the reason is umm….the food industry, like how the lettuce and fruits last so long like they have to be organic foods”. I mean she is not wrong , the amount of flouride put on our daily water is insanity. 

CONCLUSION

TODAY we talked about lot of theories, right?. We talked the dark side of Kpop , we talked about cardi b being possibly  rogue in her hypnosis, we even talked about the infamous Brittany spears incident. Thank for making into the end and if liked this blog, then let me know.also make sure to click this URL , www.tarunbieber.blogspot.com to watch more conspiracy theories. Alright you guys see you in the next blog.

Tarun

[the-edge-of-great]

this is for @jatpdaily‘s JATP Secret Santa 2020!! my giftee is @agentsofoakenshiield, and i present to you: a modern royalty AU in two parts (bc it kinda got long lol) hope you enjoy!! :)

summary:

Their countries could not have created a worse pair than Julie Molina, princess of Seneca, and Alexander Mercer, prince of Koray. Romantically, of course. Really, they're the best of friends, but there’s just some minor problems: Alex is gay, and Julie’s in love with someone else.

There's an event on Friday, Julie's last before she turns eighteen. Before everything changes—her bond with Alex, her relationship with Luke, her friend group altogether. She and Alex need to figure out a way to change their countries' agreement with their limited power.

With Luke and Reggie, obligated to attend the party by law—and moral support, of course—and Professional Party Crashers Flynn and Willie by their sides, they might just pull it off.

WEDNESDAY

JULIE

A greenhouse sits at the edge of the palace, shrouded in a mess of greenery and blooming wildflowers. It’s not far at all from the castle—actually, they can see the watchtowers from its own peak—but the barrier of trees looming over the forgotten building is a portal into another world, one of flourishing life beyond what they’re taught within the castle walls. The air is softer on the other side. Everything is quieter—she feels she can speak and actually be heard. When the gravel crunching beneath their shoes silences to soft thuds across the grass, a grin breaks free, and she runs.

Her shoes are off in seconds, kicked to the side as quick as she can. She misses the earth beneath her feet, soft blades of grass tickling between her toes. She’s been here enough to know where to step and what to hop over—besides, the glass shards shimmer in the sunlight anyway. Behind her is a yell, then a laugh, then they’re chasing after her, boots stomping in her haste, trying to reach the greenhouse first.

Reggie and Flynn rush past on either side, and once they reunite in front, Flynn leaps onto Reggie’s back. Reggie shouts, stumbling and regaining his balance all in two steps. Flynn leans forward, an arm stretched out, desperately trying to brush the edge of the door to claim victory.

Julie never sees who actually makes it because arms hook around her waist, hugging her close to someone who, quite literally, sweeps her off her feet. She leans into him, head resting on his shoulder as she laughs out loud. He spins her once before putting her down, chuckling in her ear, leaving a trail of kisses across her cheek. Once she’s on her feet, she hugs him. He’s a difficult person to wrap her arms around with the armor and all, but she makes it work—especially because in an hour, she’s going to have every layer stripped away until it’s just him: regular Luke. Her Luke.

The last of their group—the reason they’ve even reunited in the first place—are slow to arrive, valuing their time in every step, every lingering gaze and smile. The corners of Julie’s mouth curl for them: Willie is always his happiest when he’s with Alex. Even more so when they can come out here, away from the world and Alex’s impending reality inching closer each day. He and Julie have agreed: they won’t talk about it unless their friends bring it up first. And even then, maybe not.

Julie takes Luke��s hand in hers and tugs him inside. It’s kind of funny how willingly he follows her, he and Reggie immediately abandoning their jobs for some friends and a building. But they’re leaving Alex with Willie, and that’s possibly the safest place in the world.

The greenhouse doesn’t have a known story, just that it’s theirs and theirs alone. It’s overgrown with thorns they admire from afar and vines curling around the spiral staircase in the center of the room. There are steps missing in places and others threatening to fall away with one wrong move. Luke and Reggie, the literal guards of their group, always watch with bated breath and tense shoulders, swearing quietly when the staircase creaks and groans under their weight. Julie and Flynn think the danger makes it more exciting.

Flynn’s already on it, sitting halfway up with her legs dangling over the side. Reggie’s beneath her, kicking away broken glass as he tries to catch a frog leaping across the floor. Julie brushes dirt off of a counter before hopping on it, and as soon as she’s seated, Luke is there, pulling her into that kiss she’s been craving since they arrived.

“Are you guys going to the dance on Friday?” Flynn asks Reggie, curling a hand around the rail as she leans back to look down at him.

“Probably.” Reggie pauses near the back wall, rocking on his heels, eyeing the brown frog resting innocently on a pile of leaves. “If we’re invited.”

“Why wouldn’t we be invited?” Luke asks, climbing on the table next to Julie. “Seneca’s going.”

Julie chuckles. “Of course we’re going. Everyone loves Seneca.”

He smirks. “Yeah,” he says, already going in for another kiss, “who can blame them?”

“Are you guys talking about the event on Friday?” Alex asks, shutting the door behind Willie. “We’re going.”

Reggie cheers. Luke corrects him quickly, “We’re going to be working, Reg.” He throws a look at Alex. “No fun for us.”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not the one who signed up to be palace guards.”

“I don’t remember signing up either?” Reggie says. “I think we just hung out with you so much that they gave us swords eventually.” He lunges for the frog, arms outstretched, hands ready to grab, and then it leaps just out of reach. He catches himself on the wall, muttering a “Damn it” under his breath.

Alex laughs. Luke shakes his head. “That’s not how it happened,” he mumbles, sharing an amused look with Alex.

“Sounds kind of legit for you three,” Julie teases.

“I think it’d sound more believable if they took the swords themselves,” Alex argues.

Julei grins. “Maybe we should send that to the tabloids. Get them talking about something else.”

Alex breathes a laugh, giving her a look as he passes, transferring silent messages that only she could understand. Her smile falters only a little. They don’t talk about it.

“So, back to the dance,” Flynn says, kicking her feet.

“Is, um…” Reggie leans against the staircase, gaze jumping between his friends. “Is something going to happen at this one?”

Alex pauses. Julie frowns. “What do you mean?” she asks.

Flynn’s shoulders slump. “This is your last event before you turn eighteen, Jules.”

Oh right, Eighteen is a big deal in their world. Eighteen means permission granted to thrust her headfirst into the political world of the monarchy. Eighteen means the beginning of preparations for Twenty-One, when she’ll become queen. And, worst of all: Eighteen means marriage.

That Look passes between Alex and Julie again. Their smiles are gone; they have to talk about it.

“I don’t know of anything, but…” Alex wrings his hands. “Maybe.” “This is so unfair,” Flynn complains. “It’s the twenty-first century! Why are arranged marriages still a thing?”

“Because monarchies are still a thing, I guess,” Julie mutters.

Their countries could not have created a worse pair than Julie Molina, princess of Seneca, and Alexander Mercer, prince of Koray. Their relationship is strong—they really, truly care for each other a lot—but there’s just some minor problems: Alex is gay, and Julie’s in love with someone else. They’ve known about the arrangement since they were children of course, and their friends just a few years after, but their predicament has never felt as set in stone as this day and the next, the true Final Countdown.

“I don’t see why the countries have to be bound by marriage,” Luke says. “I mean, this—” He gestures around the group— “what we have right here, is stronger on its own than any arranged commitment between Seneca and Koray could be.”

“That’s what we’ve been trying to convince our parents of,” Julie says. “It’s more official than an agreement from when we were babies, though. It’s a whole peace treaty.”

Willie frowns. “Then make a new peace treaty.”

“We totally would…” Alex agrees. “If either of us had any actual power yet.”

“Can’t you just fake it until you’re crowned, and then change the rules?” Flynn asks.

Alex shakes his head. “We don’t know what effect breaking that kind of agreement would have on our countries.”

“Besides,” Julie adds softly, reaching for Luke’s hand, “faking it feels wrong. I don’t know if I could do it.”

“But hey, we still have a few days until anything happens,” Alex reminds. “We’ll figure something out. For now, can we just enjoy this time together?”

Although the air is stiffer now than before, their afternoon is still well spent in good spirits. They stay out there all day, only returning to the palace when the sun is setting over the horizon. Their stomachs are growling monsters by then. Somewhere along the way to the castle, they get separated. Purposely, and not very far apart—because if Alex’s parents catch him arriving without Luke and Reggie, there will surely be hell to pay—but enough for Luke to pull her around a corner and kiss her in the privacy of bushery and an apple tree.

“I wish you didn’t have to go already,” she whines, raking a hand through his hair.

“Pretty sure they’re not going to send us away without food.” He chuckles. “We’re the guests, remember? Well, Alex is.”

She smacks his chest. “You are too, dummy.”

“Not as important as the prince and princess.” Luke grins, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’m kidding. Kind of. I’d much rather be a guard than a royal anyway. The only thing that sucks is we won’t be able to share a dance on Friday.”

Julie frowns. “Wait, but we’ve danced together at other parties?”

“Yeah, but from what I hear, this is going to be much bigger than usual. There are gonna be nobles from other countries, so security has to  be tighter.”

“Don’t you have to stay with Alex, though?”

“We have to have eyes on him, but we aren’t allowed to mingle with the important people unless it’s an emergency.” Julie makes a noise of protest, which makes him laugh and dip his head, kissing her softly again. “Don’t worry, I’ll make damn sure we see each other before the night’s over. Or, maybe even after…”

She chuckles. “You’re really looking for a death wish, huh?”

“You know I’d give my life for you, Julie Molina.”

“That’s so cheesy.”

Luke grins. “Only the best for you, babe.”

Somewhere nearby, they hear a side door creak open. A voice rings through the air. It’s the royal seamstress, Flynn’s mother, “Flynn, where are the others? Lunch has been ready for fifteen minutes.”

“They’re on their way!” Flynn replies. “It’s a nice day; I think they just wanted to take the long way.”

Bless Flynn’s mother; she knows what’s really going on with Julie and Alex—and likely suspects where their group has scattered off to—and she never says a word. Although she’s already regarded highly in the kingdom for her talent in design, when Julie is queen, she’s going to make sure Flynn and her family receive the best treatment possible. Maybe master bedrooms on the top floor of the castle, with balcony views of the countryside.

Before they depart, Luke leaves her with a final passionate kiss. It’s the kind that pins her to the tree truck, hand pressed into her back, fingers in each other’s hair, and when they pull away, they’re breathless, his forehead resting against hers, bodies as close as possible, savoring the touch because it’s going to be a long time before this can happen again.

“Hey,” Luke whispers, pulling away enough to find her eyes. “No matter what happens, I love you, okay?” He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“We’re going to figure it out,” Julie promises. “Alex and I. We’re going to figure something out.”

Luke smiles gently, halfheartedly, like he doesn’t really believe her. That’s fair; she doesn’t know if she believes it, either.

“We’d better get back.”

When he turns to leave, she catches his arm, pulling him back. With a smile—a real one that stretches her cheeks and brightens her eyes—she tells him, “I love you, too.”

Grinning, Luke pulls her along. He curls an arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

When they round the corner of the shrubbery and reunite with their friends in front of the side door, they’re apart. All of them, even Willie and Alex, who are emerging from the other side of the path. They share looks with each other then fall into formation: Alex and Julie lead into the castle, Luke and Reggie follow five steps behind, and Willie and Flynn carry the end. The last two split away from the group as soon as they cross the threshold. The others don’t even look back.

Like diving headfirst into ice water, they’re back in the real world. The greenhouse is miles away.

----

THURSDAY

LUKE

The thick, century old book slamming against a chipped wooden dining table echoes in the empty armory. A cloud of dust explodes from beneath and hits Luke and Reggie square in the face. Reggie sneezes. Luke sputters, waving a hand to clear it away in vain. They should be used to it by now—this isn’t the first time they’ve been given the Book Punishment.

“You’d think General Wilson would be more creative by now,” Reggie says, flipping open the book.

“So, you’d rather be doing four hours of PT instead?” Luke asks dryly. He yawns into his hand. They overslept—again. It doesn’t happen regularly, but enough that they know this Book of Laws well enough to pass a test (which they’ll have to do that evening, and if they fail, they will get four hours of physical training).

“Hell no. I’m just saying, where’s the flavor, huh? He’s been a war general for, like, ever. Why doesn’t he make us…” Reggie waves his hand aimlessly. “Survive in the forest for two days, like that one time before we officially became guards. Remember? We just chilled by the lake and ate those berries.” He sighs. “I miss that sometimes.” “Well, maybe we can go on a camping trip after we figure out what’s gonna happen with Alex and Julie.”

Reggie perks up at the idea; he’s blind to the eye roll Luke adds at the end of his statement.

“Wonder if there’s a chapter in here about changing the rules when you’re not actually in charge,” Luke mutters, chin in his hand as he flips through the pages.

“We could always overthrow the monarchy.”

“Overthrowing the monarchy means overthrowing Alex.”

“No way. He’d be on our side.”

Luke pauses on a page describing something along the lines of rules altered by a third party. “Reggie.”

“I mean, he’d have to take out his parents somehow,” Reggie continues thoughtfully. “Which probably wouldn’t be an issue. It’s Lainey we’d have to worry about.”

“Reggie.” Luke smacks his arm. “Look!” He points to the text, looking over with an eager grin. “Think we just cracked the monarchy, dude.”

While Luke gathers the book in his arms and heads for the door, Reggie calls, “You know Wilson’s gonna kill us if he finds out we skipped out.”

“A military general versus the prince of a whole country.” Luke laughs over his shoulder. “You do the math.”

Reggie shifts his weight from one foot to another, chewing on his lip. Then, he breaks into a jog. “Wait up,” he calls. “You know I’m bad at math!”

~**~**~**~

The issue with Alex’s guards being more like brothers to him—at least according to the king and queen—is that they often act like guests in the castle instead of trained personnel.

Neither knock before barging into the conference room. Luke has tunnel vision, clutching the book tight to his side, with newfound hope in his heart. Alex needs to see what they found; nothing else matters in that moment.

Nothing except… a heated conversation between Alex and his parents that they absolutely just interrupted. Quickly, Luke hides the book behind his back. He and Reggie come to an abrupt halt just inside the doorway, heels pressed together, bodies stiff with nerves. There are rules to be followed when it comes to approaching royals—they know them well, but when it’s just them and Alex, it’s easy to forget the divide.

“You two better have a damn good reason for interrupting us,” the king growls, looking over sharply.

Luke avoids his cold glare—he doesn’t like people beneath him making eye contact. “We—” Luke begins and ends immediately, realizing he doesn’t know what to say without sounding suspicious. Or like he’s planning treason.

“Does it matter?” Alex demands, moving between them. “The conversation was pretty much over anyways, wasn’t it?”

The king takes a dangerous step forward; only Alex shuffles back. Luke glances at Reggie. His fingers twitch at his sides. This is the one thing that truly irks them both about their job: they’ve sworn to protect the prince from any threats, but the king himself? They’re powerless.

“You are still a prince,” the king reminds in a low, careful tone. “You’re not in any position to begin calling shots.”

Alex flinches under the heavy clap on his shoulder as his father exits the room, with the queen following close behind. Nobody moves until the door clicks shut, and they’re engulfed in silence.

“Alex?” Luke calls.

Hesitantly, Alex turns to them. There’s a red tint to his face and a glossy layer over his eyes that goes unmentioned. He runs a hand through his hair, short breaths racking his body.

“I was just, um…” Alex squeezes his eyes shut. “We were talking about the marriage agreement again.”

Luke nods, handing the book over to Reggie. “Hey, why don’t you take a seat?” Fingers curling under Alex’s arm, Luke guides him to an upholstered bench by the window.

“I’m fine,” Alex declares quietly as he sits down.

“Okay.” Luke nods Reggie over. “Then, listen to this: I think we found a loophole around the law. According to this, the Next In Line himself can create or alter a law as long as a member of the royal family and the High Priest bears witness.”

“But it’s a peace treaty, not a law. Seneca’s leader has to have a hand in it as well.”

“Maybe there’s a way for Julie to get around it, too,” Reggie suggests hopefully. “We can figure it out next time we’re together, but dude! We have a chance here!”

Alex pulls at his sleeves. “I don’t know, guys. You know my parents; they won’t be convinced that easily.”

“Doesn’t matter if they’re convinced.” Luke chuckles. “Even they can’t argue with the High Priest.”

“You think the High Priest would go for it?”

Reggie shrugs. “Worth a shot, man.”

Sighing deeply, Alex agrees halfheartedly, “I guess so.”

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Luke asks, nudging his arm. “You okay?”

Their relationship is odd because a guard would never be able to be so personal and informal with a royal. But it’s Luke and Alex; they’ve always been an exception, ever since they were kids when Alex invited him, a commoner he met playing near the front gates, to a sleepover in the cinema room. Ever since, they’ve been inseparable.

“I’m just a little freaked about everything, that’s all. Mom and Dad aren’t helping, either. They’ve been planning this wedding since I was five years old, which is weird.” He sniffs, looking to the side and rubbing a hand across his face. “Before I had a chance to even try liking guys or girls, they’d already made the decision for me.” Luke and Reggie share a concerned look. Alex shakes his head, laughing humorlessly as he rises to his feet. “Gladys wouldn’t approve. You know what she says, ‘There’s no room for emotions in this castle.’”

“Gladys isn’t here,” Reggie reminds softly, but firm.

“Yeah,” Luke agrees. “It’s just us.” They don’t dislike Gladys; for a noble, she’s kinder than most. For an advisor, she’s damn good at her job. One of her best attributes—according to the king, the queen, and General Wilson—is her ability to ‘shut off’ her emotions when needed. Luke doesn’t get it; how can shutting off your emotions really solve anything?

The corner of Alex’s mouth twitches into a half smile that doesn’t last more than five seconds. “Yeah, thanks guys. Um, I’ll think about what you said, but I don’t think I can talk to Julie about it before tomorrow night.”

A door swings open, silent as a mouse, but the soft creaks of the floorboards are enough to alert their ears. General Wilson steps inside; Luke and Reggie exchange nervous glances.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” General Wilson greets. His eyes drift over Alex’s shoulder for just a moment, but a single look freezes Luke to his core.

Inwardly, he groans. They’re totally spending the rest of the day flirting with death on the training grounds.

“General Wilson,” Alex responds, lifting his chin. “Can I help you?”

“Apologies, I was just looking for those two—” He swallows thickly, like whatever he’s trying to say is difficult— “star pupils. They’re missing important training.”

Alex looks over his shoulder at them; Luke and Reggie give him a toothless, sheepish smile in return. To Wilson, Alex says, “Sorry, I need them right now.”

Luke chews on his lip to keep from smirking. He loves when Alex uses his authority over the general.

“But—“ Wilson takes a breath, hooking his hands behind his back. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, tomorrow night is an important event that these two, among the rest of the guard, need to prepare for.”

“Why?” Alex frowns. “It’s just another social gathering.”

“There will be leaders from countries we’ve not interacted with face to face in years.”

“Any in particular we should be suspicious of?”

“Well no, but—“

“Then I don’t see an urgency in needing them right now.” General Wilson opens and closes his mouth. “Shut the door on your way out,” Alex adds, waving him off.

Giving Luke and Reggie a final, heated glare, he turns and marches out of the room.

Alex waits for the door to shut to sigh loudly. “Thank God,” he says, turning to his friends. “That man is terrifying.”

“He thinks the complete opposite of you,” Luke admits, grinning. “Which makes it even funnier.” Next to him, Reggie gives Alex a high five.

Their laughter is a weight lifted. Luke just hopes it’s still around after tomorrow night.

----

Part Two

[kayuripax]

“”Coffee Shop AU”: Cursed mask

Another story for @doodledrawsthings​‘ “””Coffee Shop AU”, this time for the off-shoot branch where MJ ends up Majora Masked. This did not leave me alone, and I needed to write this out. The story includes one picture, and mentions mak’s Subconite Cherry, my Subconite Maya, and @greentrickster​‘s Subconite Lime.

„Can’t wait for next Friday.” MJ raised an eyebrow at the exclamation of the small group of teenagers in front of him.

“Next Friday?”

“Yeah, Mr. MJ. Its Halloween then, and we,” one of the teens gestured around, “want to make a group costume. Lime and I have been sewing for weeks now, and it’s coming along well.” A blinding grin from all the teens followed that statement.

“Halloween already? Time sure flies.” MJ grinned back. “Can I ask what you want to dress up as?”

“That’s a secret until next week. You gotta wait just like everyone else!” Cherry chuckled, before grabbing their drink from the counter, leaving a bit of money, and running outside.

“Can’t wait then!” MJ called after them while handing out the remaining drinks. A moment later, when all the teens had left the shop, he began to grin to himself. Maybe he could convince Luka to actually go out on that day, without him having to pay much attention to his looks. He had to tell Clover first though, she had to help him convince that noodle-man.

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

“You… want me to go out on Halloween.” Luka sounded like he was doubting MJ’s intelligence at that moment.

“I mean, yeah, why not? Halloween is literally the one day in the year where no one would really pay attention to you looking a bit weird. As long as you stay in a shape that could convincingly be a costume, you could basically run around as you are.” The answer came promptly, and with a raised eyebrow.

“Glowing eyes are not inconspicuous, MJ. Neither is me floating.” Luka grouched, coiling up a bit more in his room.

“There are more than enough costumes with glowing parts, man.” Clover piped up from her corner, where Hattie was showing her something, presumably a costume she had been preparing for Halloween. “MJ’s not wrong, Halloween is the one day where no one would care what you look like. If it makes you feel better, we could all dress up in a group thing, like your Cult.”

“They are not my Cult, Clover, they’re a group of teens that meets up in the forest.” Luka whined, hiding his face in embarrassment. The golden glow was still very much noticeable.

“Try to convince yourself of that, why don’t you.” She countered with a smirk. “But really, I think we could manage something for that, a group costume thingy. Get Hattie and Bonnie in on it as well, they wouldn’t mind.”

“I really wouldn’t, Dad! Pleeeaaase?” Hattie piped in just then, puppy eyes on full force.

“See, even your daughter wants you to go out.” MJ grinned. For a moment it was silent, then Luka groaned loudly, the sound echoing, before nodding.

“Fiiiine. You three are horrible people, but I see what I can do.” He said without much heat behind his words, and a tiny smile on his face.

“See, was that so hard?”

“Shut up, Moon Moon.”

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

In the end they decided on a theme that Hattie eagerly called “Spooky Subcon”. She suggested that Luka could just go slightly more humanoid than his usual Noodle-shape, but still very much like his Snatcher-form. Luka groaned at that name, not for the first time wondering why on earth he had to become the local Mothman equivalent. Clover was next, and had decided to go for something vaguely like a haunted statue, citing that while she wasn’t naturally spooky, she could very much dial it up on the Weeping Angel vibe from Dr. Who. Hattie was very much on board with that idea, before declaring that she and Bonnie would dress up as adventurers who deal with all the “Spooks” of Subcon Forest. That made all the adults chuckle a bit. When everyone turned to MJ though, he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“I’m not sure what I’d go as yet. Not really. I haven’t worn a costume since… well, ever since that one disastrous office party shortly after the shop opened.”

“Oh? You gotta tell me more about that.” Luka grinned widely, the glowing, fanged grin on his face almost cartoonish.

“I’d rather not, but knowing you you won’t stop prying anyways…” He coughed before continuing, face red. “I don’t even know why anymore, but the boss wanted everyone to come in costumes, and I went with the first thing I found on the attic, which was a Prince-costume. It, uh… didn’t survive the night that well. It’s very much ragged now.”

“You can use that, MJ!” Hattie exclaimed. “You could go as a prince-ghost!”

“A… Prince-ghost.” A raised eyebrow.

“Yeah! Maybe you can become more spooky by wearing a mask, and maybe wearing something alongside that outfit! Bracelets or something like that.” MJ thought over that for a moment.

“I guess I could do something like that. I have this old mask on the attic, I found it when… getting new supplies for my charms.”

“You mean when you stole bones.”

“Shut it, Clover. Anyways, it’s been lying on the attic for a while, and it looks pretty weird, so it would work for this, I think.” He rubbed his chin. “I mean, not much that could go wrong there. Worst thing that can happen is, that the costume is eaten by moths.”

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

Turns out, there was a lot that could go wrong with the costume MJ had “planned”. Finding the components was not the problem. That appeared later. When he did find the mask though, a shudder ran down his back.

“I forgot how creepy that thing looks…” He muttered, wiping some dust from it. Slightly chipped, light blue paint was revealed, alongside some red stripes and fangs made from actual bones. MJ had enough experience with that to recognize it in a heartbeat. “I really wonder how old it is… A few years at least.” He turned the mask around while mumbling, noticing that the leather strip for holding it in place was still very much intact. “Well, at least I won’t have to replace that.” He got up with a slight groan, back cracking, before grabbing all the clothes and turning to the door. As he went downstairs, he missed the glint of the mask’s eyes.

No twenty minutes later he stood in front of his mirror, tugging at the ragged sleeves of the jacket in slight disdain. “That fit better last time…” He huffed, then shook his head and grabbed the mask lying on the cupboard next to the mirror. “Alright, here goes nothing. Let’s hope I can actually see out of it…” He held the mask up, before pulling the leather strip over his head. The moment the mask touched his face, another shudder ran through him. MJ coughed, then gasped. His head ached, his vision swam, and he felt his knees give. His hands clung to the cupboard, his nails dug into the wood, making grooves in it. He tried to breathe in, but he couldn’t, something was blocking the air from actually reaching his lungs. He coughed, scratched at the mask, only to scream when he could feel it, the sounds horribly disjointed and piercing. He fell to his knees, hands scrabbling at the sides of the mask, only to grasp at nothing. More pain shot through his head, then through his whole body. He managed to look into the mirror at some point, only to rear back in panic. He did not wear a mask, not anymore. Chains and manacles were wrapped around his wrists, wrists that were way too thin and gaunt, and most of all blue. He screamed in fright, the strange and yet horrifyingly similar visage in the mirror contorting itself. He scooted backwards, then watched in horror how his legs began to disappear. He could still feel them, and he was thankful for it, but they were wholly invisible, trousers, shoes and all included. When he tried to grasp at them, his hands managed to go through them, and another unearthly wail freed itself from his throat. This was not how he wanted his Halloween to go, not at all. MJ looked around, then tried to get up, out of the house. He needed to find Luka; he knew how to deal with sudden shapeshifting! Luka should know how to help him, right?

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

Frantic knocking on the door followed by frantic yelling was not something Luka had expected this early on the Halloween evening, and for a moment he was entertained to coil up until whoever yelled went away. At least he was, until he heard the actual contents of the yelling, and identified the voice as MJ’s.

“LUKA THATCHER PRINCETON; OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!” Almost on instinct, ingrained from his mother yelling the exact same words, Luka’s mane bristled in shock, and he hurried to the door.

“Coming, MJ!” the moment the door opened, Luka was bowled over by a blue and red blur, and the door was shut noisily.

“Luka, you need to help me! That mask, it.. it.. it did something to me!” MJ sounded close to crying, and it took Luka a moment to answer while he took in the sight of his colleague.

“Holy… MJ? That you?” Luka took in the sight of the quivering mess of a person in front of him. It reminded him vaguely of his friend and co-worker, but at the same time it was very much different, and more in line with, as disturbing as it sounded, a person that had frozen to death at some point.

“Of course that’s me! It’s that damn masks fault! I found it on the attic and tried on that costume I thought of for tonight, and then, I don’t know how, this happened!” MJ threw his arms out, the chains on them rattling noisily. Luka’s eyes widened at that, his fur bristling in shock.

“The Mask? MJ, you have no legs! How on earth… Wait, how did you even get here without anyone seeing you? And are you alright? Except the, you know, obvious?” MJ’s breath hitched at that, and he shivered.

“I have no idea… I can still feel my legs, for your information, but they’re… invisible and intangible, it seems…” He awkwardly rubbed his arms. “As for not being seen… I… kind of have a talent for that? You don’t want to be seen when carrying bones for crafting.” A facepalm from Luka followed that statement.

“Well, I guess that skill did come in handy…” He sighed, then grasped MJ’s shoulder before leading him into the living room. “Sit down for a moment, I’m getting you something to drink. I know how you’re feeling right now. I’m gonna send Hattie to get Clover, I think she should know about this.”

“Good idea…” MJ shook his head slightly. “This… is messed up. I shouldn’t t have picked up that damn mask…”

“Hindsight is 20/20. I shouldn’t have drunk whatever Vanessa ordered, but we can’t change it now. Only work from here, MJ. HATTIE! Come here for a moment.” Not a moment later, the sound of small feet hitting the ground became audible, and Hattie skid to a halt in front of them both.

“MJ?” She tilted her head at the sight of him. He gave a small wave in return. Hattie blinked for a while before looking at her father. “Dad, do I need to get Clover?”

“Please do that, Kiddo. I think we need all hands on deck here.”

“Alright, I’m back in five.” She called, before running out of the door. For a moment, silence fell, then Luka curled up somewhat next to MJ.

“So… want to talk about it?”

“’s not like I have a big choice here, it’s that or silence…” MJ groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. “Does… does it always hurt like that when you change?” His voice was quiet, almost as if he was afraid to ask.

“Only the first time. Never after that. Something I’m rather glad about. Once is enough.” Luka answered truthfully.

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to… well, feel pain all the time when you change.” MJ awkwardly rubbed his horn, then asked another question. “Do you think this can be reversed?”

“We can certainly try. Masks are made to be put on and taken off after all, there should be a way to do it.” Luka put one hand on MJ’s shoulder. “Try not to dwell on it for long, we will get this, you hear?” A small smile graced MJ’s face at that, and he nodded. “Good.”

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

“So… That happened.” Clover said after a moment of silence after MJ told them what had happened after he put the mask on. “MJ, please do us a favor and burn the Cursed Mask the moment we get that thing off you.” Her tone left no room for arguments, and that she looked very much like a person halfway turned into stone thanks to the magic of make-up helped with that.

“Believe me, that’s first on the list of things I’ll do after this is over.” MJ replied dryly, picking at the manacles around his wrists.

“Does this mean we can’t go out today?” Hattie piped up quietly, wringing the cape of her costume in her hands.

“Oh Kiddo…” Luka started, then looked at the other two adults. “I…”

“As long as someone here can lend me a set of pants or something I can use to conceal the fact that my legs are pretty much invisible and intangible, I can deal. I got the breakdown out of my system earlier.” MJ added, smiling at Hattie. “After all, we promised it to you and Bonnie, didn’t we? Who knows, maybe she has an idea how to get that mask off.” That made Hattie cheer, and she quickly ran into her room, coming back with some yellow cloth that was roughly the same colour as the undershirt MJ still wore.

“We can make that longer, then it looks as if you wear a robe!”

“Not a bad idea, Hattie. We could do that pretty quickly, I think.” Luka hummed.

“Let me do that. No offense Hattie, but you don’t sew as cleanly as I can, and you currently have four fingers in total, Luka.” Clover said, before grabbing MJ and the cloth. “Get me needle and thread, and this is over in ten minutes tops,” she declared.

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

The evening was spent in a thankfully rather relaxed manner. Luka ended up making himself look only vaguely humanoid, the robe-solution for MJ’s leg problem worked, and pretty much everyone liked their “costumes”. Bonnie was a bit shocked when she was told what happened to MJ, but offered the possibility that the mask could be taken off after the night was over. After a moment of thinking, it was accepted as a possible solution, after which the demand for candy became loud enough that the group began moving. They ended up encountering the “Snult” along the way, all of them dressed up in the same costume, their heights being the only way to discern who was who.

“So, what are you supposed to be?” MJ asked after a moment of looking the costumes over. Lime and Maya had done pretty good work with the costumes, in his opinion.

“We’re the Subconites! The Loyal Minions of the Snatcher!” came the almost cacophonous reply of over 20 teenagers at once, and Luka looked a bit bewildered, touched, and embarrassed all at once. “That’s a cool costume by the way, Mr. MJ.” Cherry said after a moment, giving the man a thumbs up.

“Oh, thank you.” MJ laughed a bit awkwardly.

“You look like a cryptid. You need a cryptid name now.” One of the subconites said. “MOONJUMPER!” another yelled promptly.

“Moonjumper? Why Moonjumper?”

“Well, because MJ.” Came the prompt reply, said in a tone that suggested a lack of belief in MJ’s intelligence.

“I… guess I can’t say anything against that.”

---------------------------------------___________________________________--------------------------------------

The night ended with little fanfare, but a lot of candy. People thought the group costume with the two kids was adorable, and the candy given as pseudo-payment was plenty for it. Bonnie was allowed to sleep over at Hattie’s and Luka’s house that night, and after not even a moment of hesitation MJ and Clover followed suit and slept over as well. Once they all piled up in a rather comfortable cuddle pile, it did not take long for them all to fall asleep. Luka was an excellent and rather warm and comfy snake-ghost-thing, a fact he was not unaware of. It was at about 6 in the morning when MJ woke up again though, his entire body itching and shuddering. He blinked a few times after opening his eyes, noticing that his sight really did not get better, and automatically groped for his glasses, only to notice that he didn’t have them with him. Then the events from yesterday caught up, and his hands flew to his face. He could’ve cried in relief when his hands found the edge of the mask, and he almost tore it from his face.

“You gave me a lot of trouble.” He hissed at it, the almost leering grin and decorated eyes on the wood staring back without an answer. “Can’t wait to throw you into the fire.” He huffed, chucking it into a corner before curling up again. It was too damn early for this, and it was not as if the mask could run away. By closing his eyes, he missed the mask’s eyes gleaming once more, the grin seemingly growing wider, before freezing once more, becoming nothing more than old wood and bone. Hours later, it was thrown into a bonfire, and the ashes scattered into the winds. Nothing remained, no wood, no leather, no teeth made of bone. Only ashes on the wind, never to be seen again. The Mask was gone for good.

[if-the-crown-fits-translate-it]

Discord pt 50

[Date: 25/02, 6.59 PM - 25/02, 07.51 PM GMT]

[‘Puppet’ from the Ib OST is playing in the VC.]

fetch: “:)”

Prince: “Oh! Crown said this was a good song! He says it reminds him of being a kid again! Don't you guys think so?

:)”

fetch: “YOU RE R I GHT PR INCE ! TH IS JS A VE R Y G OOD S ONG .” [You’re right Prince! This is a very good song.]

Prince: “I like it! It makes me feel all happy inside :)”

fetch: “TH OUG H ITS A L ITT LE F AST ER TH AN WH AT I U SUALL Y L IS TE N TO . N IG HT COR E HA AHA AHA .” [Though it’s a little faster than what I usually listen to. Nightcore haahaaha.]

Prince: “It is a little fast, but it's very nice :D”

Prince: “It makes me kinda sleepy :) How about you, fetch? :)”

fetch: “I GU ESS A L I TT LE HA HAA . B UT I GOT PL ENTY OF SL EE P LAS T N IGH T!” [I guess a little hahaa. But I got plenty of sleep last night!]

IM SO ENE ER GIZED AND R E ADY FO R THE D A Y” [I’m so energized and ready for the day]

donti: “Isn’t too much sleep a little bad for someone?”

Prince: “I don't think so :) It's nice to sleep. You don't have to think about all the things that might be stressing you out :)”

fetch: “I AG REE PR INC E . SL EE P IS NNI CE B UT D OGS CA NT S LE EP ALL D A Y ! THAT S A CAT TH ING TO DO L OL” [I agree, Prince. Sleep is nice but dogs can’t sleep all day! That’s a cat thing to do lol]

[‘No One in Sight’ from the Ib OST starts playing on loop]

fetch: “N OT AS G OOD AS THE LA ST ONE B UT S TILL A BOP” [Not as good as the last one but still a bop]

Prince: “Oh! This one is nice, too! Relaxing, like you’re outside listening to the breeze~”

Prince: “I can put on the other one again! :D”

[fetch: “ HM . TH ANF YOU PR INCE BU T I LIKE VA RIE TY SOM E TIME S :)” [Hm. Thank you, Prince, but I like variety sometimes]]

Prince: “Oh, ok :)”

fetch: “IM H APP Y TO SEE C R OWN ANS W E RIN G T H IN GS! YO U M UST BE H APPY T O O” [I’m happy to see Crown answering things! You must be happy too]

[donti: How had your day been so far Prince, while you’re here? This music really gets me in a convering mood.]

Prince: “It's been great! everything is fine :)“

fetch: “TH AT S GOO D :D” [That’s good :D]

[donti: Thats nice to know! How’s everyone in the court doing?”]

Prince: “Everyone is doing well :D i miss Knight, though... He hasn't been around in a while.”

fetch: “AW SADGE D: I H OPE Y OU F IND Y OUR KN IG HT BUD D Y SOON !” [Aw Sadge D: I hope you find your Knight buddy soon!]

[donti: Oh no! did something happen? Do you know where he is?

Prince: “No... He just... Went away one day... Crown said he'll find him for us and bring him home again, though, so it's ok! :)“

fetch: “AW HA HA HA H OW N ICE OF. H IM :) :) :)” [Aw hahaha how nice of. him]

[‘BGM008′ from the Ib OST starts playing]

[Povas: “Where did you last see knight?”]

Prince: “Um...Here, I think :)”

fetch: “O H G OOD SON G [Oh good song]

TH IS MAK ES THE FUN NY PIA NO T INK Y NOIS E” [This makes the funny piano tinky noise]

Prince: “I like the tinky noise too! :D”

Povas: “Why is it giving me a sense of dread?”

fetch: “I DK WHA T YOU M EAN BY D R EAD :/ ? IT S OUND S F INE TO M E !” [Idk what you mean by dread :/? It sounds fine to me!]

Prince: “Yeah! I think it's lovely! :)”

Povas: “It might just be me”

fetch: “PR OBAB LY Y OU LOL :D” [Probably you lol :D]

[donti: “Hm, change of music aside, whatcha been up to?”]

Prince: “Not much has been happening :) I just like to listen to music here. You can't be sad if there's nothing to make you upset, you know? :)”

[fetch [responding to donti]: “WH O ME ? OR PR INC E ?” [Who, me? Or Prince?]

donti: “Either or! I care about both of you :D”

fetch: “OH IM D OI NG GR E AT :D APP A RE NT LY M I SS E D D INN E R LA S T N IGHT SO M ONA (G OOD GO OD F RIEND MO NA) L EFT OUT A BR EA KF AS T FOR M E TO M UN CH WHI LE SHE WE NT TO W O RK” [Oh I’m doing great :D Apparently missed dinner last night so Mona (good good friend Mona) left out a breakfast for me to munch while she went to work]

[fetch: “HAV E BEEN VE RY TH IRST Y SO D RINK ING W AT ER” [Have been very thirsty so drinking water]]

Prince: “That's good! Drink plenty of water and eat plenty of food and get plenty of sleep! Crown would want you at your best :D”

fetch: “Y E AH :) TO AST WITH RO SE PET AL J AM M M  AND GO OD C E R EAL” [Yeah :) toast with rose petal jammm and good cereal]

[‘The Little Doll's Dream’ from the Ib OST starts playing]

fetch: “OO OO O GUITAR R R [ooooo guitarrr]

I LI KE GU IT AR” [I like guitar]

[donti: Prince, you have a very wide range of music in here! Where did you find so many songs?”]

Prince: “Oh, i just like to listen to a lot of things! These songs are from a game called Ib! You should play it :)“

[fetch: “IT I S A VER Y F UN G AME ! GARRY IS MY F AVOR I TE CH AR ACTER” [It is a very fun game! Garry is my favorite character]]

Prince: “Garry is my favorite, too! he's so nice! :D”

Bea (she/her): “I've heard of that game before. What's it about?”

[fetch: “A G IRL GO ES TO AN A RT ME USE UM AND THE N SHI T GE TS F UCKED LOL PAI NTINS COM E TO L IFE N S H JT” [A girl goes to an art museum and then shit gets fucked lol]]

Prince: “I guess... But i'd describe it a little differently...”

[”Inquiry” from the Ib OST starts playing]

fetch: “I M EAN AIN T THAT WH AT HAP PENS LOL” [I mean ain’t that what happens lol]

Prince: “A girl named Ib goes to an art exhibit and ends up in finding herself inside a painting! She meets a nice man named Garry and they have to make their way out together! There's lots of different endings and lots of puzzles! :)”

fetch: “MY DE S C RI PT ION W AS BE T TER LOL” [My description was better lol]

donti: “Oh! So its not a horror game?”

Prince: “It can be a little scary sometimes, but it's not terrible :)”

fetch: “ANYW AY NIC E B OPS IM GONNA GO EA T THE R ES T OF THE ROSE PETAL JAM :) Y UM BY E G UYS DONT FOR GET TO AS K CR OW N TH IN GS” [Anyway nice bops I’m gonna go eat the rest of the Rose Petal Jam :) Yum bye guys don’t forget to ask Crown things]

[donti: Alright! What other games do you play?]

Prince: “Lots of games! I like Skyrim, Overwatch, Undertale and Minecraft the most, though! :D”

[donti: “thats awesome! I like Minecraft too! I also play Pokemon and some rhythm games :D”]

Prince: “Ooh, what's your favorite Pokemon? i like Mimikyu and Ditto the most! :)”

donti: “Gengar and Joltik! the Mareep line is also pretty cool!”

Prince: “Oh, I have to get going! Crown's asking to see me :)

Bye bye! :D”

[tessatechaitea]

Cerebus #8 (1979)

This cover doesn't help me remember what this issue is about.

Having only ever read the first half of Cerebus via the collected stories in the Cerebus phonebooks, this is the first time I'm seeing most of the early covers of Cerebus. I probably started reading the monthly issues during "Flight" but had purchased the "Melmoth" back issues. So I'll be getting a lot of new material in the covers and the Aardvark Comments section all the way up through "Jaka's Story." In Note from the Publisher, Deni explains that Cerebus is currently selling 4,000 copies a month. That's four thousand dollars a month! Of course, Dave probably has to sell at half the cover price, so maybe that's more like two thousand. And then there's the expense of paying for your own printing and shipping. I have no idea what that might cost but let's pretend it's another thousand dollars. That leaves Dave and Deni with one thousand dollars per month before taxes and art equipment! And I know I'm being way too optimistic so let's say it's more like $750. In Canadian dollars! That's probably about five hundred American dollars! But then again, this was 1979 dollars and cars were about six thousand dollars back then. You could buy a house for twenty grand. So by Issue #8, Dave was either really starting to make a lot of money or heading toward financial ruin. I'm not sure why I even began this paragraph when I have no idea what I'm talking about. Although, four thousand copies of an independent comic book by the eighth issue? That's good fucking marketing. No wonder Dave Sim became the God of Self-Publishing. In his Swords of Cerebus essay, Dave Sim continues to explain how he was growing as a writer and artist. It's the kind of thing a fan of Sim's work enjoys reading but not the kind of thing that I can make entertaining in a brief synopsis. So fuck off to the next paragraph already. We're done here. At the end of the last issue, Cerebus escaped his battle with a gigantic Black Sun spider god. But he did not escape as unscathed as I maybe led everybody to believe. He was actually bitten and poisoned by the thing and now he's wandering the desert (unless it's the tundra (which is probably a definitive desert but what am I? A reader of The Farmer's Almanac?!), hallucinating and probably dying. Some Conniptin soldiers find Cerebus and take them back to their Commander's quarters. The Commander isn't the main leader of the army; the main leader is some cocaine snorting prince who thinks he's a god. He wants Cerebus made into a bath robe which would mean Cerebus would get the last laugh. Because remember how badly Cerebus' fur smells when it gets wet? Ha ha! That joke was so funny Dave used it five or six times in the Bran Mak Mufin issue. The Captain and the Commander make plans to oust the young Lord and take over the army themselves. But they need Cerebus by morning for their plan and Cerebus isn't healthy enough. So they take him to the army's doctor for a few Star Trek jokes that seem cheesy and overly done (but maybe not so much in 1979? Or is that the whole point of the running joke here? Because it's a tired format that Sim subverts at the end?) but which ends with a pretty fantastic punchline.

To really appreciate this joke, I think you have to remember what the world was like in 1979. If you weren't born or cognizant of the world at that time, I can't explain it to you. It's like trying to explain Ringo's obsession with the hole in his pocket to somebody who has never seen The Yellow Submarine and who also doesn't know who The Beatles are and has also never heard music or seen animation. Yeah, the 70s were that fucking cool.

The Captain and the Commander take Cerebus out later and point him in the direction of a campfire. They tell them the men around the fire drugged him and they should pay. Feverish and sick, Cerebus runs up to the small camp and begins slaughtering the four men around it. He hallucinates that three of them are Elrod and one of them is Sophia. So what the reader learns this issue is that Cerebus is ready to kill all of the other characters of his comic book at a moment's notice. How The Roach and Weisshaupt and Elrod and Rick and Astoria and Cirin last as long as they do is a miracle. Or it's just part of the contrived story. I guess if it were real, it would seem like a miracle. But since this is all written by Dave Sim, it's just the way it was meant to be. I'm not sure what their eventual plan is for Cerebus as this just seemed to be a test. I guess he's their Manchurian Candidate? The four mercenaries Cerebus killed were Hsifan. The Commander and Captain are Conniptin. I have no idea what these things mean. I think Hsifans make really good ninja assassins though so killing four of them is pretty damned impressive.

Like I said. Killing twenty-five Hsifans is pretty damned impressive.

This story highlights one of Cerebus' bigger life problems: he's constantly being pulled into other people's stories. If he's not trying to steal some treasure to get more gold crowns so he can drink more ale, he's slaughtering other mercenaries to get more gold to drink more ale. And when he's not doing either of those things, it's usually because he's gotten caught up in somebody else's story. I suppose that's what you need to expect when you're some kind of prophetic Messiah. Your story has already been told and you're just time's puppet. But — and I think this is the most important part — something about being an aardvark allows Cerebus to tell destiny and fate to fuck off. So quite often, Cerebus just walks away from the story he got sucked in without a care to its resolution. It has something to do with aardvarks being soulless and less with aardvarks being hermaphrodites. Because I think maybe that's just Cerebus. The Commander and Captain want to make Cerebus their new leader because they can't stand the selfish, greedy fops who rule. The Conniptin motto is "Might makes right! Fight, fight, fight!" Which you really can't argue with unless you're a talented fighter. So Cerebus is offered the job which he can refuse if he doesn't mind having his guts spilled on the floor.

Seems like Cerebus' future is pretty cut and dry. If you forget that he's an aardvark.

Cerebus decides he'd rather escape than be a puppet of the Commander. But after knocking out the guard and trudging some way across the snow, he thinks twice. He decides having a warm place to sleep and free food are a better deal than running for his life from vengeful Conniptins. He also likes the idea of leading an army. If you're not into Cerebus as a mercenary captain, don't worry. It won't last more than one issue!

Damn, I'd forgotten about this line. It used to be one of my favorites to quote whenever being offered some payment or reward of some kind. "What's better than X? Mayhap two Xes!"

Fred Hembeck writes in to Aardvark Comment this month as well as, if not as famous as, David R. Wooten. Pretty sure I've seen David's name in quite a few letters pages of DC comics. The Singles Page is a strip by John Barclay called "Small Potatoes!" It's twelve panels of a couple of guys singing "Dude Looks Like a Lady" on, I guess, a street corner. They sing, over and over again, "DooDuckGlackaLayda!" It's social commentary of some sort. I think. Maybe he's just making fun of the repetitive nature of the song, or any song you're forced to hear out in public by buskers and bucket drummers. Who can tell?! Humor was different in 1988 (the Singles Page is only from the Bi-Weekly! That's why the date is different from the comic). Cerebus #8 Rating: A. There's something happening here. What it is ain't a standard comic book. But it's not what a lot of people thought of as an underground comic book. For one, not once has Cerebus walked around with an erect penis. What was this nonsense not being published by DC or Marvel but also not being weird animal porn that is also personal confessional?! I wish I hadn't been so ashamed of purchasing adult material that my mom might raise an eyebrow at but then say nothing at all. One time she cleaned my bathroom where I had a playboy under the sink. Instead of saying anything, she just straightened it up and left it. I couldn't look at her for weeks. Although I was pretty relieved because at least a week before that, I had about twenty Playboys in there! I can't remember why I moved them but at least she didn't know the extent of my wanking! She probably thought, "Oh how cute. One magazine! And the centerfold is an African-American lady. My boy ain't no jerk off racist!" instead of thinking, "How many fucking porn mags does he need? Does he do anything but jerk off? Oh God! I'm not touching anything of his ever again! Plus isn't this copy of Penthouse the one with an underage Traci Lords?! I wonder how much that will be worth in thirty years?" Of course she thought that last thought not realizing that thirty years later, it would be considered child porn. No, I don't own it anymore, you pervs. I threw out all of those porn mags when I went to college because I didn't know where to hide them! Also I was underage when looking at the Traci Lords' Penthouse so it wasn't weird. She was older than me in those pictures!

[sundayswiththeilluminati]

Whisper of the Worm

A Guardian’s power makes a rich feeding ground. Do not be revolted. There are parasites that may benefit the host… teeth sharper than your own.

Type: Sniper Rifle

Slot: Kinetic | Energy | Heavy

Element: Arc | Solar | Void

Perk: White Nail - Higher base precision damage. Rapidly landing three precision hits will refill the magazine.

Masterworked Trait: Whispered Breathing - Aiming this weapon without firing for a brief moment grants bonus range and precision damage while it remains zoomed.

Ornaments: Bound Hammer, Between Breaths, Roar of the Wyrm

Origin & Description: Whisper of the Worm is that rare Exotic important in all three ways an Exotic can be: important to lore, important to gameplay, and important to the history of the community. Lorewise, there’s no nice way to say it: Whisper of the Worm is the distilled being of a Hive Worm God who decided to become a weapon for us to use so it could feast on the violence we create. We’re okay with this because…it makes a super strong weapon. Really that’s a reason to be more wary of the arrangement, but Guardians never met a problem they didn’t want to shoot nor a gun they didn’t want to improve, and thus the Worm stays well-fed.

Whisper of the Worm is the essence of/was created by the Worm God Xol, Will of Thousands, after its death at our hands on Mars in the Warmind DLC. Post-death Xol retired to Io, where the Taken worshipped it and asked for direction, but…you know what, I’m just going to paste Whisper’s lore tab:

Xol, the Will of Thousands, perished but was not destroyed. Death is a road, death is metamorphosis, the unsacred union between destroyer and destroyed. The might which defeats a god is also the ambrosia that god craves, the meat-sweet logic of Existence-Asserted-By-Violence, the binomial decision between two ways of being which deny each other. In dying, Xol fed richly. Now came Xol unto the Taken upon Io, who fed Xol with plunder and tried to make of it an idol and a commanding will. Yet Xol was bound joyously to the very logic that sustained it in its death. It wanted the sword proof, the single proof. It wanted to become a rule which divided the mighty living from the mighty dead. So it whispered the Anthem Anatheme, the temptation to dominate the objective universe with the subjective will. It said, I shall be an engine to make your desire hegemon over your conditions. It said, WIELD ME, AND USE ME TO TEST YOUR FOE. This was its worship. Aiat.

So yeah. I’m sure this will be fine.

Problem is, Xol wasn’t exaggerating about “teeth sharper than your own." Whisper has a maxed impact stat (base damage relative to other weapons of the same archetype) plus an extra precision damage bonus from its intrinsic White Nail* perk. For a long time I didn't realize the symbol for its perk is its dragon-mouth barrel - I thought it was just a Whisper round shattering its target, bceause that's pretty much what happens to whatever you point it at. Xol turns out to pose far more of a threat as a sniper rifle than as an actual giant Worm God, which begs a lot of questions such as, "Is Whisper a really good gun or was Xol a really shitty Worm God?" But I guess the other great part about turning into a gun is you don't have to talk much anymore.

* So why is Whisper’s perk called White Nail? In Destiny 1, the Hive Prince Crota, Eater of Hope, wielded a rifle called Black Hammer. Guardians could get Black Hammer as a random drop from the Crota’s End raid, and it came with the original White Nail perk - Black Hammer, White Nail, you get the idea. In Year 2 of D1, dismantling a Black Hammer had a chance to give you some odd objects that led to a complicated puzzle-quest ending with Black Spindle, an exotic retooling of Black Hammer made by Crota’s twin sisters, which also had the White Nail perk. Whisper of the Worm, though it has a different origin, is mechanically a D2 version of Black Spindle and hence inherited the name “White Nail” even though it no longer makes any sense.

The text for White Nail doesn't end at "base precision damage," and that leads us to the Year of the Whisper aka July 2018 - June 2019. Consider White Nail’s second sentence: landing three precision hits refills the magazine. Not “from reserves.” Just refills it. For free. With no additional consequences or downsides. In boss fights & raid encounters, where player damage is often constrained by the availability of power ammo, Whisper’s ability to regenerate ammo forever is nothing short of godlike - especially since raid bosses with damage phases usually expose a large, stationary target during that time, making it far easier to land multiple rapid precision hits. And since White Nail regenerates directly to the magazine instead of to the player’s reserves you don’t even have to stop firing to reload all that sweet sweet free ammo. Pretty much every raid encounter during the year of gun-Xol's ascendance came accompanied by the thin click-drop of Whisper firing in six-part harmony. It wasn't universal - a handful of raid encounters needed different tactics, and there were always players like me who for whatever reason couldn't hit three Whisper shots to save their lives - but its dominance strangled both other Exotics and raid encounter design. After experimenting with other raid mechanics and debuffs to circumvent Whisper's obscene DPS, Bungie finally gave up and nerfed White Nail in June 2019. Whisper still deals backbreaking damage, but now it only ("only") auto-refills from ammo reserves instead of regenerating it out of thin air.

Whisper is as famous for the method of its acquisition as for its performance. Take a trip with me down memory lane back to July 2018. It's still Year 1 of Destiny 2 and things are not going well in the solar system. Much of the player base still misses Destiny 1 and any change to D2 is met with unflattering comparisons and demands of "When are you going to add [X]??" A lack of endgame content on launch plus a disappointing first expansion has soured a lot of people on the game entirely. They miss the experience of Destiny 1 and players are starting to feel like that magic is gone for good.

It's the weekend of July 20th, 2018. Io is the flashpoint and players dutifully gather on the little sulfur-coated moon to shoot their way through adventures and public events. Then someone takes a wrong turn in the Lost Oasis public patrol zone, and...

"Ran into this weird boss on Io today named Urzok?? It was a Taken Knight. Wasn't Urzok in Destiny 1? Never seen this guy spawn before so just wondering if I missed something."

"Landed in Lost Oasis to do a PE and there was a weird portal thing on the cliff so I went over to it and it said 'Enter the Anomaly' so I pressed interact and it took me to the Lost Sector (Grove of Ulan-Tan) but it was empty. I thought it was a weird bug but there was a timer counting down 20 minutes and my objectives said 'The Whisper.' After 20 minutes it warped me back outside and the portal was gone."

"Anyone know why Drevis from House of Wolves is suddenly spawning in Lost Oasis? I think it only happens with the Taken Blight public event."

Suddenly, silently, Lost Oasis had begun to spawn hidden extra bosses - one of three possible bosses hidden somewhere in the public patron zone who, when defeated, caused a weird Taken portal to open on a cliffside. Standing in front of the portal gave you a prompt to "Enter the Anomaly." Take that prompt and you found yourself in a deserted, shadowy version of the nearby Lost Sector, the Grove of Ulan-Tan. Your objective banner changed to "The Whisper" and a timer began counting down 20 minutes until "Anomaly Collapse." It's impossible to figure out who exactly made first contact with The Whisper, since while the bosses are out of sight they're still in places any random player might stumble across them by accident. But people began to post on forums and word spread like wildfire through the community: come to Io. Something's up. Something's here.

After a few hours of attempts - and total silence from Bungie - players had the basics figured out: whenever the Taken Blight public event fired, a giant Taken version of one of three D1 bosses - Drevis, Wolf Baroness; Urzok, the Hated; or Valus Ta'aurc - would appear tucked away nearby. Killing that boss opened the portal to the "Lost Sector," except now on a high ledge near the entrance a small Taken Blight had spawned over a hole in the ground. Kill the Blight, jump down the hole, and you would find yourself in an environment totally unlike anything in Destiny 2 at the time. The first portion of this special timed dungeon was a complex jumping puzzle that had you leaping from ledge to ledge across vast open spaces foggy with distance amid an eerie, discordant soundtrack. Until you made it through the huge, half-ruined labyrinth the only signs of "life" were chunks of dead Vex and a handful of (max level) Taken snipers. Xol's booming voice arrested you at a couple of stages, threatening you the same way he had in the Warmind expansion, but he gave no further explanation. Make it through the maze and your reward was a no-holds-barred combat gauntlet of some of the nastiest enemies in the game. Two major and two minor rooms stocked with massive Taken foes all at max level and arranged such that there was nowhere to hide and no way to progress without killing them all led to a final colossal battle against all three of those yellow-bar Taken bosses. At once. It took hours of falling off ledges, dying to hobgoblin snipers, and of course loudly complaining while waiting in Lost Oasis for the Taken Blight PE to spawn again, but at last a fireteam conquered The Whisper and seized the prize.

Over the next few weeks Whisper would unfold additional secrets: a second run dropped the catalyst and five hidden chests progressed it, with a sixth locked behind yet another puzzle that awarded the blueprint for a beautiful, strange new ship. That last chest closed an old time loop in Vault of Glass, Destiny 1's very first raid and an aesthetically-similar space. D1 players found six hidden chests in the Vault and, knowing Bungie's love of 7s, became convinced there was one more to be discovered. They even fixated on a broken Vex gate on a lonely rock spire as its location. Somehow there must be a way to activate that gate! But there wasn't, because there was no seventh chest...or was there?? ...There wasn't. But now there is! Whisper's last puzzle starts at a broken Vex gate on a lone rock spire and requires knowledge from Vault of Glass. When completed, the activated gate shows a view through to the Vault and produces Whisper's - and by extension the Vault's - final secret chest.

As time went on strategies developed, Light caps rose, gear improved; players solo'd Whisper, solo flawless'd Whisper, speedran Whisper, solo speedran it with a Guitar Hero controller, whatever. The uniqueness of it faded. But the mystery of its appearance and the excitement of hunting, solving, and hacking their way through to emerge, bloody and exhausted, with its spectral prize had re-energized a community that badly needed something to go right. Destiny had fulfilled its most fundamental promise: to create stories. We as players experienced something together. A fan-favorite weapon returned with a beautiful new appearance and stunning damage, and it did so in a haunting, thrilling fashion that the community would retell for years. It wasn't the first time Bungie had done a hidden quest/puzzle/adventure leading to a new exotic, and it definitely wouldn't be the last - Whisper set the standard for future Exotic dungeons like Zero Hour and The Other Side - but it hit at just the right time and with just the right mix of beauty and terror in its design to make a lasting impact on Guardians.

With the vaulting of Io as a destination at the beginning of Year 4, the Whisper dungeon finally vanished into the mists of memory, and new players now pick up its eponymous sniper rifle at the Monument to Lost Lights in the Tower. But the Vault of Glass returned the same year, and in the updated raid that lone original gate became the source of the Vex Mythoclast catalyst. When activated, it shows the corresponding view back through Whisper's own gate, one last, lingering glimspe of the dungeon's hazy blue. Listen when a veteran shows the new Guardians that gate and you'll hear them start with a story: it was a Friday in July in Lost Oasis when we heard the strangest thing...

Destiny 2 Compendium Armarum Exoticarum

[ Ace of Spades | Ager's Scepter | Anarchy | Arbalest | Bad Juju | Bastion | Black Talon | Borealis | Cerberus+1 | The Chaperone | Cloudstrike | Coldheart | Collective Obligation | The Colony | Crimson | Cryosthesia 77K | DARCI | Dead Man's Tale | Deathbringer | Dead Messenger | Devil's Ruin | Divinity | Duality | Edge of Action/Concurrence/Intent | Eriana’s Vow | Eyes of Tomorrow | Fighting Lion | The Fourth Horseman | Forerunner | Gjallarhorn | Grand Overture | Graviton Lance | Hard Light | Hawkmoon | Heartshadow | Heir Apparent | The Huckleberry | Izanagi’s Burden | The Jade Rabbit | Jötunn | The Lament | The Last Word | Legend of Acrius | Leviathan’s Breath | Lord of Wolves | Lorentz Driver | Lumina | Malfeasance | Merciless | MIDA Multi-Tool | Le Monarque | Monte Carlo | No Time to Explain | One Thousand Voices | Osteo Striga | Outbreak Perfected | Parasite | Polaris Lance | Prometheus Lens | The Prospector | Queenbreaker | Rat King | Riskrunner | Ruinous Effigy | Salvation's Grip | Skyburner’s Oath | Sleeper Simulant | Sturm | Sunshot | SUROS Regime | Sweet Business | Symmetry | Tarrabah | Telesto | Thorn | Thunderlord | Ticuu's Divination | Tommy's Matchbook | Tractor Cannon | Traveler's Chosen | Trespasser | Trinity Ghoul | Truth | Two-Tailed Fox | Vex Mythoclast | Vigilance Wing | The Wardcliff Coil | Wavesplitter | Whisper of the Worm | Wish-Ender | Witherhoard | Worldline Zero | Xenophage ]

[waveridden]

FIC: the high noon age of time

None of them know what AuDy actually is, but on a pirate ship with a water nymph-slash-mermaid prince, a famous poet, and a guy who can literally control the ocean, they’re probably the least weird one here. Or, actually, maybe Mako is. At least Mako has a recognizable species.

(Or: the one where the Chime are pirates. 2.4k, gen but Cass/Mako if you squint. content warnings apply for minor sword/gun violence, but no major injuries.)

AUcember || read on Ao3

#

“Okay,” Cass says. “let’s go over it one more time.”

Mako groans as loudly as he possibly can, leaning back in his chair till it’s tipped back on its back legs. “Literally what else is there to go over, Cass, oh my god. ”

Cass ignores him, because they’re cruel and inconsiderate. “We get on the ship. We steal the supplies. We get off the ship.”

“You need to define ‘we,’” AuDy says, which is colossally unhelpful. Mako glares balefully at them, which they ignore, because they’re also cruel and inconsiderate. “Am I staying on the Kingdom Come?”

“You’re steering our ship. Aria and I are fighting. Mako-” Cass’s eyes cut over to him, and then narrow. “What are you doing?”

Mako pauses in fiddling with the collar of his jacket. “Maybe I wanna be comfortable when I’m plundering a ship, you ever think about that? Just because we’re pirates-”

“Privateers,” says Aria.

“Just because we’re privateers,” he corrects himself, because if Aria is the only person being nice to him than he’s going to be nice back, “doesn’t mean we have to be, like, ugly or uncomfortable or whatever. I’m gonna wear my cool jacket and make sure that the ships don’t drift too far apart. I know what I’m doing, because it’s the same thing we do every single time we have to plunder a ship.”

“I don’t know how I feel about the word plunder,” Aria says thoughtfully. “Like, if we’re stealing medicine and supplies for people who need them-”

“Aren’t we still stealing them from people who need them?”

“Everyone needs medicine, Mako.”

“Not everyone,” says AuDy. Mako forgets sometimes that Audy is some weird magical water-wood… sprite… thing, especially now that they’ve started wearing cool coats that cover most of their body.

He tilts his head. “If we got fertilizer-”

“Mako,” Cass says, in a tone of voice that normally means that he needs to shut up. None of them know what AuDy actually is, but on a pirate ship with a water nymph-slash-mermaid prince, a famous poet, and a guy who can literally control the ocean, they’re probably the least weird one here. Or, actually, maybe Mako is. At least Mako has a recognizable species.

Mako lifts his hands in surrender for half a second, before returning to fiddle with his collar. “My point is, we’re using the same plan we always use, and I don’t know why we need a fifteen minute meeting to go over the same plan every single time.”

“Sometimes there are variations,” Aria points out. “Sometimes I use a whip. Sometimes I use a sword instead.”

“Ah,” AuDy says. “Critical differences that are worth my time.”

AuDy has been learning sarcasm. Mako is very, very proud of them.

Cass pinches the bridge of their nose. “Maybe I just want to remind you guys that we’re about to commit a robbery, did you think about that?”

“Wow,” Aria says. “No, you’re right, Cass, I totally forgot what privateering is all about.” She twirls her hair around one finger, a gesture that’s completely at odds with the stony glare she’s currently shooting at them.

“I feel like this is a bad omen,” Mako says to nobody in particular. “Hey, Aria, are you gonna use the whip or the sword this time?”

“Ask Cass, see what they think.”

Cass goes quiet, for just a beat too long. Mako’s eyes widen. “Do you actually have an answer?”

“I am trying to make sure we get out of this in one piece,” Cass says, sounding pained. “But you know what? You’re right. Nothing has ever gone so wrong we couldn’t fix it.”

Mako feels guilty for a fraction of a moment, because Cass actually looks pretty strained over this. And they have, like, actual military experience that they’re wasting on trying to keep a crew of pirates (they’re definitely pirates, no matter what Aria says) from capsizing a boat or something. But at the same time, nothing has gone wrong yet, other than that one time Mako got shot, or that other time that both he and Aria got shot. And they were fine after that, so he really doesn’t know what Cass is so worried about.

AuDy gets to their feet. “I am going to ensure that we’re on course,” they say. “It’s a good plan, Cass.”

Cass sighs, and the guilty fraction of a moment becomes a couple of full, guilty moments. “Thanks, AuDy.”

“I never said it wasn’t a good plan,” Mako protests. “My whole point is that it works!”

Aria nudges his calf with her foot. “You couldn’t come up with a better plan.”

“I absolutely could,” Mako says. “I’ll just capsize their boat, and we’ll get a net. Foolproof. Fool-fucking-proof.”

Cass sighs loudly, which is their equivalent of a laugh when they’re stressed. Mako will take it.

  #

  Their classic Kingdom Come four-phase plan goes perfectly, at least for phase one: get up close to the boat they’re trying to rob.

Mako’s gotten pretty good at that part. The first few times he tried to get the ship close to another ship, there were collisions, and a lot of things got drenched. He might be trained to manipulate the ocean and the wind, but there’s a lot of nuance shit that you can’t learn any way other than making mistakes. And he definitely, definitely made mistakes.

But phase one goes pretty well, and so does phase two for that matter: AuDy holds the boat steady as Cass, Aria, and Mako all board the second ship. Mako doesn’t remember what the name is, but he knows that it’s basically the S.S. This Medicine Is For Rich People Who Can Afford Better Medicine Anyways, so he has no qualms about taking that medicine for people who actually need it.

The ship is pretty small, with only a few crew members above deck to see Aria. Nobody recognizes her this time, which is too bad; it’s always pretty funny when people realize a famous poet is about to rob them blind. Instead, she just props her hands on her hips and grins. “So where’s your cargo hold?”

And that marks phase three: the giant sword fight, which Mako mostly tries to avoid. They even have a system for this: Cass heads for the cargo hold, Aria tries to keep people busy, and Mako pushes people over with breezes and saltwater spray so that neither of them get ambushed. Plus, AuDy has a cannon on the ship, which they’ve only ever needed to use once, but it’s nice to have a backup plan.

“Hey, Mako,” Aria calls at one point. Mako shoots a jet of ocean water at a guy who’s heading towards her and turns to see her lifting up a fancy gold watch. “You want it?”

“Throw it here?”

Aria tosses the watch, and Mako catches it with just a little help from the breeze. She makes a face. “Show-off,” she says, before spinning around and slashing a woman across the chest, sword swinging in a glittering arc.

“You can’t call me a show-off and then do that,” Mako says, because what the fuck. He examines the watch - looks like real gold, no family engraving, all good signs. “Yeah, dibs on this one. Thanks, Ar.”

“You and your fucking souvenirs,” Cass huffs from behind him. When Mako turns, their arms are loaded with crates. “Can I get some help?”

Aria immediately slams the hilt of her sword into someone’s chest, going from pleasure to business in the blink of an eye. “Get across the gangplank, I’ll be right behind.”

Cass grunts their approval and heads towards the gangplank. Mako glances around - everyone on the ship’s crew is either unconscious or watching them without moving, which seems like a good moment for the Chime to make their exit.

He follows Aria to the cargo hold. “Need a hand?”

Aria pauses in lifting up crates. “How many was Cass carrying, did you see?”

“I don’t know, these ones are pretty small.” Mako squints down at the crates. “Like… twelve?”

“Bull fucking shit, they were carrying twelve.” She rolls her eyes and picks up a stack of three, which is about what Cass actually had earlier. “Put that last one on top, come on, I want them to wonder how I picked up four.”

Mako immediately picks up the fourth crate - not huge, and also not terribly heavy - and settles it on top of Aria’s pile of crates. He can barely make eye contact with her, but he can still tell that she’s grinning at hi. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

He follows Aria out of the cargo hold as she makes her way to the gangplank, where Cass is settling their crates on the deck of the Kingdom Come. They arch an eyebrow over at Mako and Aria. “Ready to go?”

“Me and my four crates are ready,” Aria says loudly as she steps onto the gangplank. “Four crates that I picked up by myself-”

“Did you have Mako help you?”

Mako snickers, which he has to hide as a cough so Aria doesn’t kill him. He jerks his head to one side and goes to cough loudly, and then freezes.

One of the crew members is getting to their feet, and holding a pistol. There’s a split second where Mako thinks this guy is an idiot, because he’s not aiming for Mako, or even for Aria and Cass. But then he follows the direction of the gun. And even though he can’t see the helm of the Kingdom Come from where he’s standing, he’s willing to bet that guy has a pretty good shot at AuDy.

Mako’s heart pounds in his ears. He doesn’t have time to think, he just searches for the feeling of wind in the air and thinks push.

Which is, admittedly, not the best thing he could’ve thought.

A gale picks up immediately, blustering between the two boats. He can hear Aria shout as she stumbles forward, thankfully onto the Kingdom Come and not into the ocean. The gun goes off, but the guy is falling onto his back so the shot goes wide into the air. And the Kingdom Come starts sailing away, which presumably means that AuDy hasn’t been shot. Mako breathes a sigh of relief; that was fucking close.

“Mako,” Cass shouts suddenly. “ Mako- ”

“ What, ” Mako shouts back, because Christ, he did it, nobody got shot, can they please calm down-

And then he realizes that the Kingdom Come is sailing away. Without him on it.

“Oh, shit,” Mako says. The gangplank falls into the ocean with a loud splash. Aria and Cass are staring at him in horror, and their faces are getting smaller, because Mako isn’t on the fucking boat. “Oh, my god-”

“Do something!” Aria yells.

Mako immediately reaches out and tries to tug a breeze towards him, but nothing comes, because he’s panicking and he can’t breathe so why would he be able to control the wind? And the pirates around him - actual pirates, not pirate-privateers the way that the Chime are - are starting to get to their feet. And there’s no way off the boat.

Well, there’s one way off the boat.

“Hey,” Mako shouts. “I’m going to do something stupid, okay?”

He can’t be sure, but it looks like Cass clutches at Aria’s arm. Mako kind of wants to roll his eyes, but he thinks he’d be panicking just as hard if it were one of them drifting away.

Mako takes a deep breath, bounces on the balls of his feet, and sprints for the edge of the ship. He thinks he hears someone shout something, but he can’t tell, because he’s already leaping into the ocean.

It’s cold, because of course it’s cold, and Mako starts sinking before his survival instincts kick in. He’s never been a strong swimmer, something that Cass has given him plenty of shit for, but it’s never been super relevant before this moment, where it’s literally sink or swim.

He takes a minute to orient himself in the water before he tries actually swimming. It’s more of an awkward paddle, because Cass might’ve actually had a point about knowing to swim, but he’s making headway when he hears a loud splash.

“Please don’t be pirates,” Mako says aloud. “I don’t need that right now.”

And then suddenly there’s an arm around his back. Mako yelps before he looks down and sees a familiar brown hand pressed up against his chest. He lets out a breath. “Cass.”

“You know,” Cass says, voice strained even though they’re clearly trying to be conversational, “maybe you have a point about my plans not working.”

“Uh, maybe you have a point about me needing to listen,” Mako says, because he’s so relieved about not dying that he kind of has to be nice to Cass. “Are you going to, like, throw me back on the boat? Because that seems kind of hard.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Aria’s getting a ladder. Keep swimming, we’re almost there.”

“I am swimming!”

Cass is mostly behind Mako, so he can’t see the look they’re giving him, but he can still imagine it. “This is what you call swimming?”

“It’s what I call trying.”

“Terrific.”

“Hey, I saved AuDy’s life!” Mako protests. “And we got the stuff, nobody got shot, it went great!”

“We need to change your standards for great,” Cass mutters. But they’re almost at the Kingdom Come, and Mako can see the bottom of the ladder in front of them. “Think you can get us out of here?”

“As soon as I’m on the ship, we’re gone.”

“As long as you actually make it on the ship,” Cass says. “Don’t do that again, by the way.”

Mako paddles forward enough to grab the bottom rung of the ladder, and then turns to glare at Cass. “It wasn’t on purpose!”

“Great,” Cass says. They look tired and relieved, all at once. “Still don’t do it again, though, okay?”

“I won’t,” Mako promises breezily. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

“Great,” Cass says again, but they mean it this time. Mako can tell.

[brieflygorgeouss]

hi! i hope i'm not bothering you (and that my asks weren't too much and i didn't cross a line i'm sorry if i did! u don'thave to answer them), but! i'm supposed to give a short presentation about poland and part of it is talking about three different polish desserts, and i was wondering if you know any traditionally polish desserts or desserts that polish people eat a lot? (we have to bring some to class and i think i'm gonna buy those krówki sweets.) maybe you can help me? -wea.

oooo i’ll send you some fun stuff, we eat a lot of sweets but they’re kinda strange lmao

krówki is a fun idea!! they’re not as much of a dessert but just sweets, yeah! you can mention that the name “krówki” literally means “little cows” in polish hehe 

this funky cake is a traditional one, eaten mainly in the north/east poland. the name “sękacz” is connected to wood grains - that’s because when you cut the cake, its layers look like layers of wood :’)

polish ppl love poppy seeds in sweets? this beautiful baby is a cake with poppy seeds (called makowiec, derives from the word “mak” which means poppy seeds in polish). this is popular all over poland and very traditional, my grandmother and my mom made it very often! the existence of this cake is also how every polish kid knows that poppy seeds are a drug (?) and that it is technically possible to get high on them, but if you wanted to do that, you’d have to eat so many of them that you’d die quicker than feel something significant at all. or at least that’s what the kids at my elementary school said lmao

polish doughnuts (pączki) are AMAZING. in fact, they’re so amazing that we even have a special day once a year when we go and eat as many doughnuts as we can (it’s called “tłusty czwartek” which means “fat thursday”), usually around the middle of february. we also eat a lot of this stuff during fat thursday! (deep-fried dough in powdered sugar basically)

babka is also pretty traditional, usually eaten in the Easter time. we also eat mazurek for Easter (a kind of extremely sweet, heavily sugar-decorated shortbread-kind of thing), but while babka is also often eaten just whenever, mazurek is eaten during Easter ONLY

from other seasonal sweets, pierniki (gingerbread cookies) are very popular around Christmas time

honourable mentions include  kisiel  and kompot, which are kind of desserts but also aren’t? i linked english wikipedia articles so you can decide if those float your boat. they are extremely traditional!! 

then we ofc have stuff like cheesecake or apple pie or puddings but those aren’t that special. polish desserts are most often yeast and flour-based cakes or sweets. as for other miscellaneous sweets, this article is a very good guide (ptasie mleczko, krówki, sezamki and prince polo are things i would sell my soul for EASILY).

[little-owly]

I feel like my ask was eaten up (sorry if ut wasn't and you're getting this twice ahhhh!), but imagine an hc where Little Ja//ck eats something really spicy and gets scared and has an accident, and Daddy Ma//rk and Eth//an have to come to the rescue!

OH NOOO!! and sorry!! tumblr's been hungry and eating up most my asks :( //poor jack doing a challenge on camera. already feeling crummy and /desperately/ needing to go into headspace -- stress and work schedule preventing him from doing so. "today, we are going to play some good old fashioned ma//rio mak//er and for every...oh god," he giggles, "let's say three deaths, i eat one of these spicy bois," he holds the bowl of peppers up to the camera. "shout out to vernon and ho//t pep//per gam//ing, rip in peace sweet prince." jack jokes before getting on with the game. ignoring the bit of him that just wants to go into the next room and flop down with his daddies. the bit of him that wants to suck his thumb and color with daddy mark, or play hide and seek with dada ethan. the more innocent side of him. but he pushes it away. playing on. groaning as he curses the level he's stuck on. already two deaths in a matter of 12 minutes, "i'm not fuckin' looking forward to eating that pepper, thats for sure. it comes with its own warning label on each of 'em!"--"nngh, what time is it?""11," mark looks up from his phone. leave it to ethan to wake up late, "am, by the way.""sorry, editing turned into 'how long can i sit here before my ass falls off'.""as long as its still attached, i think you're gonna be okay." mark laughed, "we don't have to start packing up to record until 3. take it easy, yeah?"ethan nods as he sleepily makes a bowl of cereal. the two making small talk, joking about their morning. all until mark coughs, "hey uh, you think jack's okay? he...hasnt really been little around us for nearly two weeks. between the con last weekend and the interview on tv, he hasnt had time.""im sure he'll slip soon enough. maybe at bedtime or--"they stop as they hear jack /sobbing/. a soft thud on the floor above them sends them running up the stairs. ethan's poor bowl of cereal nearly toppling over. the two running up, fearing the worst. only to find their baby boy crying as he curls up on the floor. the soft hissing of his pee running down his pants, his legs, and to the floor under him. soaking his shorts and the rug. "jackie? jackie!" mark and ethan rush over, "whats wrong? where are you hurt?""mouft! mouft! icky food hurty!" he clings to them, "make it stop! stop! hurty and ouchy and and and b-burning!" "burning? jackie, what did you eat?"he crawls up to hold onto ethan as mark finds the bowl of peppers. the two of them exchanging confused looks before jack cries out again. panic high in his voice."scawed!! scawed!! no wike hurty!! make go 'way!!" he sobs, ethan picking him up and mark rushing behind him. the two cooing at him as mark pours milk for jack. "jackie? i need you to keep calm. i need you to breathe in and out, can you do that for me?""d-dada!! scawed wont go 'way!""jackie," ethan replies, "it will, daddy's working on it. just need you to breathe with me so we can fix this, alright?"a comforting squeeze around his body gets jack to sniffle and breathe the same pace as ethan, who moves his green bangs out of his sight. "you're doing so good, jackie. so good for daddy and me."mark pops up, "jackie? can you try to drink the milk? i know its in a big kids cup but try your best, daddy swears it'll help your mouth."jack nods and (with a slip up here and there) finally drinks the cool milk down. soothing his throat and mouth. slowly swallowing it -- mark's finger wiping away stray tears. as ethan nuzzles his crying baby boy. --jack sits in the tub, bubbles surround him. smaller yellow and blue toy ducks swimming around him. ethan washing his green hair gently as mark stands close."jackie? baby? can you tell daddy why you ate meanie old peppers?"jack looks up. the tail of a toy duck in his mouth -- a replacement for his thumb. "wan' do chawwenge wif peppers and game but...gotted scawed when peppers hurty my mouft and made me cry..." he blushes, "but! 'm happy you and dada hewped me wif it! you's the bestest daddies in da whole entire world!"mark and ethan smile gently. "jackie, can you promise us something?"jack looks at ethan now, nodding and smiling."when ever you need to be little or just need daddy or me, can you tell us? daddy and i have been so worried about you, baby boy, and we want you to be happy and play like the cutie you are. especially after all the tough time you've had being a big grown up."theres silence before jack nods. the duck bobbing in his mouth as he gently sucks. "and no more icky peppers without letting dada or i know, okay?" mark adds in, jack sticking his tongue out in disgust. the poor toy duck falling."icky icky peppers!! no wikey at all!!"the three laugh. happy to have their cute baby boy back, and happy to help him get comfy after his scary experience with the peppers!!

[bettysnooze]

i can't remember if i asked or not so!! 6, 7, 12, 13, and 28!! long ones im soz

6. which one of your muses have you been playing the longest?

answered here !!

7. which one of your muses has the most ships?

HELEN RIGHT NOW OH MAN, i never realised how flirty she is wow, and the chemistry is off the charts for so many ppl i don’t even know how to begin, half of this might just be in my head so um pls lets talk about sHIPS WITH HELEN

12. what is something everyone should know about your muses before interacting?

betty: she’s made a name for herself among students, i feel like it’d be pretty common knowledge that auradon prep and arcadia uni has its own sandman. they might not know its specifically betty?? but definitely once they’re around her, you’d just know. so if you need a good night’s sleep or some help with nightmares, betty is your girl. 

veronika: she’s a tour guide for auradon prep students! so she’s good for characters that come in for the first time ever. she always has some sort of bag with her and it’s basically a survival kit (water, umbrella, maps, auradon keychains). 

makaria: she always looks amazing. girl with the awesome fashion sense, great nails, great hair. always put together. she had a good relationship with her father, so on the isle they were basically this strong unit. if hades was walking, you’d know mak wasn’t too far behind. 

hershey: he comes from a playable game! the arcade’s on the west coast somewhere, but yeah sugar rush is 100% playable so if it’s relevant for your character to have went there and played sugar rush by any chance, then they probably would remember hershey from there. 

cestrum: he’s tall. like…6 foot more. i think i said he was 6 foot 2. in a crowd he’s one of the tall ones. when he’s sitting down in a low chair, his knees are really knobby it’s like watching a giraffe sit down. 

aiwei: he’s got visible frankenstein’s-monster type scars. recently, he’d had to stitch himself up a lot (without a good access to magic) so along his arms and fingers especially. his skin isn’t warm, it’s a little pale actually but honestly the life comes from his eyes and his smile.

otto: he’s handsome af. literally classic prince charming. comes from snow white’s family, so very posh, very rich boy trope. sits with the cool kids, acts like a cool kid, lives like a cool kid. will only be seen associating with other royals (or those close to royals) or sitting alone. but he always looks busy too. 

illyria: she’s a bit ‘mona lisa painting’ in that her eyes will literally follow you even if she doesn’t move. once you catch her attention, she won’t look away until she’s had her fill of analysing you. also she speaks a lot in class (more in recent months) and if she’s curious about you, you’ll know. she bothers a lot of people in class too lmao.

kirsa: she’s a cheerleader! super team spirit all the way. she’s got makeup on her all the time, has her own version of a survival kit. need lip balm? she’s got new ones you can just take. need pads or tampons? she’s got light, heavy, and super. need a snack? she’s got a brownie in a tin. need alcohol or smokes? she’s got them too. omg she runs high school contraband.

dignan: LITERALLY SO BUSY WITH CLUBS. you will literally always see him hanging out with someone from a sports team, usually the baseball team. he’s literally a jock. since he joined the team he’s taken to wearing some sort of sports fashion – a cap, or shoes, or a jersey or jacket. BUT ALSO he’s in mathletes!! if he’s not in any of his other extracurriculars or studying or hanging with friends, then he’s at the gym or training. 

helen: also a jock. but she’s more known for having aurelius hanging around her all the time. he knows he can’t go into any buildings, so he’s always waiting outside. sometimes he hangs out by the classroom window and watches lessons LMAO. 

penelope: if you look poor, she’ll scoff at you, if you look rich, she’ll wink at you. she may also try to steal your shit, rich or poor. her luck with stealing comes and goes, sometimes it’s a smooth steal, most of the time she gets caught. she always tries tho.

13. what’s a weird headcanon you have for each of your muses?

betty: idk if this is weird but betty has the ability to literally sleep anywhere. once she decides she’s comfortable and wants to sleep, she’s done. betty’s been found sleeping in a closet, under a desk in a student’s lounge, IN CLASS…

veronika: she knows like every word to a handful of like early 2000s songs. outkast’s “hey ya”, eminem’s “without me”, coolio’s “gangsta’s paradise”, black eyed peas “where is the love”. a lot of avril lavigne. she won’t sing it (unless you’re noelle) but she can recite and mouth along to the song

makaria: she had a cooking phase. but only she eats the food bc she doesn’t want to accidentally poison anybody or make them puke. she likes cooking food. considers herself a good food critic.

hershey: hated ice-cream for the longest time bc, as a kid, he couldn’t get through the ice-cream catapult range on the sugar rush track. full-on boycotted ice-cream from like ages 6-10. it was a sad time for hershey.

cestrum: i’ve talked about it before but his tapdancing! started when he found a pair of dancing shoes in wonderland. then he found an old gramophone and some records. he basically taught himself how to tap dance. he doesn’t do it so often now because there’s every chance someone’s going to catch him doing it.

aiwei: secretly tried all sorts of things to make himself taller. he’d do stretches. he’d hang upside down. the last straw was when he would hang by his arms off a tall beam, with weight attached to his feet. he can’t feel pain so he just added as many weights as possible, and one foot literally popped off the socket. there’s a scar there too.

otto: scared of open water. doesn’t like the idea of drowning. he frantically trained himself to be able to swim well (in a pool) but he’s still wary of going to the beach. doesn’t like flying on a plane over large bodies of water. just……..no open water.

illyria: she’s really really bad with makeup. all she had to go on for years was tia dalma’s intense eyeliner, smokey-eye look LMAO. she tried makeup for a while but got too lazy and is just bare-faced now (she loves moisturising though and buys all sorts of sea-themed facewashes and things).

kirsa: she’s really picky about food. she’s a little self-conscious about it so when u eat with her for the first time she just goes with whatever but once she’s comfortable it’s just gonna be so specific. “hi so i’d like the apple pie for dessert with the ice-cream on the side, and if it’s home-baked pie then i’d like it heated but if it’s not then leave the ice-cream and i’ll have whipped cream instead. otherwise, i’d still like the ice-cream on the side – and for the salad, can i also have the dressing on the side please?” this is shamelessly taken from ‘when harry met sally’ but EVERYTHING IS ON THE SIDE

dignan: he’s superstitious especially about competitions. the first baseball game he won, he ate ice-cream beforehand so like now every time he has to eat ice-cream before a game. different rule for mathletes though, whenever they have a competition, he has to do like ten sit-ups. he will do those sit-ups anywhere, but he has to get them done. doesn’t walk under ladders. doesn’t open umbrellas indoors.

helen: she’s really not looking to love anyone right now, but she ends up liking so many people and she kinda loves that physical side of the relationship a lot ??? she also loves showing off and that’s not really a quirky headcanon but like she loves showing off

penelope: idk yet but i think maybe she once tried singing to the birds on the isle (back when her grandmother was still like ‘yes penny sing!!’) and honestly like the birds either died or tried to attack her, she probably has a fear of birds now because of that. 

28. can you sort your muses from weakest to strongest?

PHYSICAL STRENGTH-ABILITY WISE

aiwei: is a pacifist but also just like no upper-arm strength and literally you could rip his arms off with the right amount of force so no

cestrum: could literally knock him over with a strong wind but at least he’s a little more solid than aiwei. also a pacifist. also has a little trauma when it comes to physical harm so he just freezes and let’s things happen to him.

kirsa: has no idea how to defend herself and literally just runs or something and she’s not even a fast runner. she can scream tho and she panic-fights so she has every chance to scratch someone’s eyes out.

hershey: also panic-fights. would rather run (or drive away) than fight. if he had a car in his disposal he would still choose to just drive away with as little injury to anyone as possible. not very powerful in terms of physical fights; he gets beat up a lot.

veronika: knows how to avoid fights. calm in a brawl. uses her environment to her advantage (ie. broken glass, distractions). looks to leave fights rather than end them.

dignan: only more powerful than veronika physically but strategically he’s a mess. impulsive fighter. will throw himself into anything. upper-arm strength because of recent training and exercise; good aim, has amazing aim. 

illyria: calm, strategic, trained fighter. but only good with weapons, not very good with hand-to-hand combat (would rather not touch anyone at all). different scenario if she was in the water, but by herself she’s at this stage of the scale.

otto: brute strength. brawls. boxing. clenched fists and can take a hit and doesn’t stop hitting until the other person gives up. also swordsmanship. 

helen: the most powerful out of all my non-powered people. she’s got the strength, the strategy, the experience and the training. actual warrior princess helen rider. can also do everything in heels and on horseback. can probably do motorcycle stunts.

betty: she has so much untapped potential; the ursula event was only like a small dose of what she could do if she decided to use her powers that way. could end a fight before it even started.

makaria: ofc a goddess of death would be like the most powerful. fire (hellfire) powers, and shadow manipulation and basic magic and teleportation and also she doesn’t know it yet/hasn’t had a chance but she can manipulate the dead that are devoted to hades. also she’s gonna get her immortality one of these days so Full God Mak Aidoneus™

[hubblognice-blog]

Aaron Carter Will Get Personal About Music And Life Backstage In New Jersey

It's distinct that during Period 9 of Dancing with the Stars, which begins on Sept. 21, the use of Twitter and Fb by the show's dancers has already improved the way its twenty million followers get their info. 'Dancing With The Stars' premieres September 21, and whilst fans are thrilled to see their favorite dancers paired up with celebs like Extra resources and Joanna Krupa, it will also be the first time that Maks and Karina appear with each other post-break up. That's correct, the dance is over for them as they have damaged off their engagement.

Kathy Ireland. Will she be this year's Josie Maran and get booted off the initial week? Or will she use the athleticism she displayed in the cinematic classic Necessary Roughness and outlast the rest?

Aaron And Nick Carter

"The Addams Family" theme tune written by Vic Mizzy. Even though The Addams Family members only aired from 1964-1966, its concept song stays massively recognizable.

Post-an additional split, Chuck Liddell and companion Anna Trebunskaya, Melissa Joan Hart and companion Mark Ballas, and Kelly Osbourne and Louie van Amstel were proclaimed secure, whilst Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower had been relegated to the dreaded hazard zone. Oh no, not my pup canine boy! By the by, the Danger Zone is my own terminology. I'm throwing myself a bone here and creating my personal DWTS vernacular. Heck yeah. Hightower told him for the foxtrot "don't believe snowboarder, think prince." Dressed in a darkish fit he has a boyish smile throughout the dance to "It's My Lifestyle" by No Question, but he's not certain what to do with his fingers and he sickles his ft.

Aaron Carter Boyfriend

Ashley Hamilton was pleased to be there he stated, son of George Hamilton and just trying to follow in his father's footsteps. Partner Edyta Sliwinska wore an outfit that was extremely complementary and each seemed dapper on the floor, but Ashley also seemed extremely rigid. Total score of 19. If you're a parent searching to entertain children this Halloween, spice up the party with some age-suitable, kid-friendly Halloween tunes to maintain the celebration heading. learn this here now and Dancing with the Stars professional, Karina Smirnoff aaron carter now pulled in the highest score of the evening. The judges awarded Aaron a 29 for his Jive. Bruno thought Aaron "kicked a.". Len Goodman believed the dance, "held sufficient energy to mild up Hollywood." Aaron has labored extremely hard to improve, after a couple of rocky performances exactly where it appeared absolutely nothing went correct for him.

Aaron Carter Candy

Carrie Anne commented that while it was apparent he hadn't danced before, she liked that he respected the dance and display the joy of dancing, but he has to discover to use his heels. Another split. Blah blah blah. Then. much more drama as the DWTS season 9 bottom 3 became the formal bottom two. Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower were proclaimed secure, leaving Debi and Kathy in the base two. Samantha Harris requested Carrie Ann if she was shocked by the two women in the base two, and she said she was surprised to see Debi Mazar up for elimination. Hmph. Cue the remarkable music - it's time. Kathy Ireland and Tony Dovolani were offered the boot.

Aaron Carter Neck Tattoo

It tends to make me really pleased to know that people are that intrigued in sitting down down and listening to what I have to display them. It makes me happy to know that people really enjoy my songs and enjoy the effort I place into it all. Judge verdict: Len, a vocal critic of any additional theatrics, stated, "It's not essential to waste 20 bars polishing my desk" including that he was "very disappointed." Bruno Tonioli countered that remark with his own take. "Cleanliness is next to godliness," he declared. Age has not been kind to the 68 yr old songs producer. Phil Spector -- who can name John Lennon, the Righteous Brothers, Leonard Cohen, and George Harrison among songs's greats related with him - was lastly convicted of second diploma murder in the death of Lana Clarkson. His reserving photograph - the now famed Phil Spector mug shot discovered on the Cigarette smoking Gun - provides rise to speculation that pretty a lot any sentence handed down on Might 29 will be a lifestyle sentence.

[ihaveathingforexo]

©

YAY OR NAY: Lay hanging out with Jackie Chan and Prince Mak!

So I’m not 100% sure what they are doing because I forgot but either way, these 3 men have been hangin out! (If y’all know if its for an ad or a show or movie then let me know in the ask box pls!!!) But yeah! I’m a huuuuuge fan of JJCC since their debut and Lay is my ult bias so I have some strong feelings about this so I wanted to know what y’all thought!!!!! :D

Vote CLEARLY in the ANSWER BOX BELOW.

No anonymous, inbox, multiple, or reblog/caption votes.

- Admin Sienna

Do you thin it’s cool that these 3 men are working together?

[bettysnooze]

9, 13, 16, 8, 10 !

10. which muse is the most fun to write for?

already answered here !!

16. which muse is most willing to fight another muse?

depends on what they do tbh but like if this is ‘fighting for no reason’ than definitely makaria, and if it’s bc they’re an isle kid or like half-animal then it’s otto

and ofc makaria and otto would just 100% fight each other

~*~*~*~*~*~ okay so somehow i got all the long ones kjhbfevkhe so READMORE for otps/notps and How I Met My Muse (also since this got so long i’ll answer 13 on another ask!!

8. what is each of your muses otps? notps?

so this is gonna be like ‘i once shipped them’ and ‘so many crushes’ (I’LL USE THE SLASH)and it could have been for like five minutes or five weeks so pls welcome to my mind

betty otps: betty/ranon, betty/happiness, betty/feeling-protected, betty/melissabetty notps: like romantically every other guardian kid bc she is literally their mother/sister

veronika otps: VERONIKA/NOELLE, also veronika/a-good-loving-familyveronika notps: veronika/not-good-loving-families

makaria otps: MAK/BAIN, mak/talon JHBCVKDJHFEBJ A MESSmak notps: mak/stress

hershey otps: hershey/ophelia, hershey/self-care, hershey/self-confidence omfghershey notps: hershey/self-destructive tendencies

cestrum otps: cestrum/misty, cestrum/relaxationcestrum notps: cestrum/lola (i stg this was a crackship idea once and lord almighty)

aiwei otps: aiwei/juniper, aiwei/happiness, aiwei/finding-out-more-about-his-family, aiwei/BECOMING-A-REAL-BOY-BC-HE-WAS-ONLY-A-BABY-WHEN-HE-DIEDaiwei notps: aiwei/confrontation :(

otto otps: otto/common-sense, otto/open-mindednessotto notps: otto/any-of-his-dreams-coming-true, otto/winning

illyria otps: ROLLY POLLY OLLY (illyria/ronan), illyria/the-sea, illyria/comfortillyria notp: illyria/not-being-near-the-sea (this is happening rn jfc), illyria/discomfort

kirsa otps: uM KIRSA/SHEN (SHIRSA???? SHIH TZU???), kirsa/talking-about-her-emotions-instead-of-passive-aggresively-making-them-into-playskirsa notps: kirsa/not-being-honest its an issue

dignan otps: dignan/being-himself, dignan/darcy CAN I LET THE POOR BOY LIVE ? NO ?, dignan/FUTURE BOYFRIEND WHERE ART THOU, dignan/baseball the real otp thodignan notps: dignan/closeted

helen otps: helen/swords, helen/coranza, helen/angel, helen/shae, I GOT SO MANY, helen/being-herself, helen/no-responsibilitieshelen notps: helen/keeping-things-to-herself :(

penelope otps: penelope/money, penelope/being-soft, penelope/coming-to-terms-with-her-horrible-upbringingpenelope notps: penelope/being-selfish jcvnfklrfjvbwr

9. why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

( BETTY ): i knew tasha and rhi from a previous rp we were all in, and they’d played guardian characters too and i aLWAYS wanted to play a guardian character but i didn’t have any ideas back then, but then they were like “hey you should join us” and i was like “BOY OH BOY”. sandy was always my favourite guardian, and i had just finished rping a daughter-of-morpheus character so dream powers were like my thing and boom, betty mansnoozie was born aka the sweetest, most good character i’ve ever written. ALSO i’ve always had sibling-ish relationships with rhi so like the betty/jake relationship goes back a LOOONG way

( VERONIKA ): after betty i knew i wanted a darker character, and i was like “okay so who is like completely unforgivable” and i immediately thought of rasputin. there was also another rasputin child around at the time, and they had gotten rasputin’s powers so i was like!! what if i made a kid that wanted those powers, who wanted to be a villain and to be like their parent?? veronika’s gone a long way since then and really like i’m so proud of her and i love her so much, she’s just gone through a lot i lOVE HER

( MAKARIA ): SO OKAY LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ME AND HADES BECAUSE HONESTLY, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS. i first played a character based on panic (hades’ sidekick) like aaaaages ago, and then i played actual disney hades in another rp. needless to say i really fucking love hades as a character. and betty was too nice, and veronika was too cynical and kept to herself, and i really wanted another mean-spirited CHATTERBOX (because i myself am such a chatterbox i mean look at this). i lowkey had a child of hades in a closed rp sort of situation, his name was macario (because i’d wanted a son) but the original is makaria, and i love my girls sO makaria was born. i also love zendaya, and previously hades had always been white but so much art on tumblr depicts persephone as this beautiful black woman so !! BOOM. i also wanted to try a different villain-kid-parent dynamic, because veronika ends up hating her dad but mak like 100% defends hades still like even to this day

( HERSHEY ): I WANTED A BOY LMAO and i was really into bts at the time so i’m like okay hmm where would yoongi fit in?? i re-watched wreck-it-ralph randomly and i remembered that i always wanted to try a sugar rush child so i was like heeeeeeeeeyyyy :)))). and it kinda just all fell into place because i’d also been interested in making a character that loved cars and racing (fast and the furious got me so bad). and i liked the idea of having another character with some sort of ability, and it was so interesting figuring out how hershey was going to fit into the auradon world bc he was originally virtual sO YEAH. and also the name came like in a second. FUN FACT, hershey von schweetz’s fc (in a different time before BTS took over my life) was going to be hailee steinfeld and now look at wHO USES HAILEE STEINFELD

( CESTRUM ): so after the craziness and Extra-ness of makaria and hershey i know i wanted someone more chill. i had always loved alice in wonderland i knew i wanted a son of the caterpillar because 1) alan rickman’s voice is God and 2) i always wanted to rp the caterpillar in like so many disney rps but i never got the chance lmao. so the idea for cestrum actually came even before i found the perfect fc (kibum), and it took me ages to find the perfect fc. i knew he was going to be weird and quiet but also talkative but also nOT? and just a different moral compass and way of thinking from everyone else. i was so sure about applying for cestrum and it was only after that i was like “ok but am i going to be smart enough to play this like 5000 IQ person wtf did i get into” and yEAH. also i always like making new characters with types that (during that time of the rp) aren’t so common yet, so having this stoic character was like yEAAAAAHHHH

( AIWEI ): so hershey and cestrum are my first boys and this is basically the start of my “one boy after another” streak and then i got AIWEI. the real babe. everyone’s been pretty mature so far, or like dealing with a lot of responsibility etc. and now i wanted someone who would be like a real teenager (more or less) and just have that childlike wonder and be rly innocent tbh. so aiwei is all of this, and he’s young and inexperienced but the twist was that he’s actually this boy who died in a fire when he was a baby and his father, in the underworld, resurrected him and performed some magic frankenstein stuff to make him grow older. and he’s the oldest out of all the kids but he’s been a baby 60% of this life until elder gutknecht finally got all the tools necessary to make him old and i jUST !! also i really loved that tin-man song from the wizard of oz. my actual baby, aiwei gutknecht i love him and will die for him

( OTTO ): AND AFTER ALL THE NICE, SEMI-NICE PEOPLE i was like “so what’s happening with the isle thing right now do ppl not like them like is there active resentment or what” and then i was like “what if i had a character that did the active resentment!!” and otto white was born. i knew he was going to be a jackass. i knew he was going to be anti-isle. and i knew he had to be a prince and a kid of one of the ‘original’ disney princesses. and i ended up choosing snow white because she’s technically the ‘oldest’ and there was evie and vera and i was like aayyyyy conflict. but yeah so otto was going to be the personification of fear and bias against isle kids, and i thought it’d be fun to play with that politics and society thing that i’ve never really done before. otto’s my first character that is actually irredeemably an asshole. i wanted to see how far i could go and where i could go with a character that was actively trying to not change. i was super nervous about applying for him tho bc like i knew he was going to insult a lot of people and i didn’t want to be like hated rip bUT it turned out well so YEH

( ILLYRIA ): i’ll be honest i watched pirates of the carribean and like calypso/davy jones is still the otp of otps for me. and i once had my fortune-telling phase and i saw valentine was there anD ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE A FILIPINO FC !! HECK YEAH !! and at this point i wanted to like branch out from my usual characters and try something different, to add new things about characters so i thought about illyria’s aversion to touch. and i knew she was going to be stoic and weird like cestrum, but she was also going to be charming and i wanted to see how that would go and it’s hard getting into illyria’s head sometimes but she’s like a Fave

( KIRSA ): so i watched this movie called “the darjeeling limited” and it’s basically about this dysfunctional set of siblings – one of them feels super responsible for the other two but is a big mess, the other sort is more put together but has problems he actively avoids, and then the last is this playwright who’s been in love with the same girl for like 10 years and falls in love easily. and i was like “who does that remind me of???” SO TBH the idea for kirsa first started out as a brother for the stahlbaums but then i realised there were no more spaces and i was like “tHE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY!!” and the rest is history. so kirsa is the dramatic playwright who falls in love too easily but also doesn’t know how to love properly, and she drinks and smokes and has all these vices and she’s still 17 so like what a hot mess. she’s as talkative as mak and as flirty as hershey but kirsa is less put-together and although she thinks she knows herself, she really doesn’t. she needs guidance pls

( DIGNAN ): so this really just began as a “i wanna get in on this waters family drama” business LMAO. and i love sarah’s misty so i wanted to see how it would go if she had a little brother. it also made a bit of a change because most of my characters are like the ‘older’ siblings or friends and i wanted more young people so i thought of dignan!! i also wanted a character that would be more pro-authority than other characters i’ve had before (dig’s always going to think highly of the auradon royalty bc he understands them and knows they don’t rly have much choice sometimes and that they try their best). and i chose joe keery (aka steve harrington, love of my life) as an fc bc i JUST FINISHED WATCHING STRANGER THINGS and charlie heaton was darcy, and natalia dyer was being used too and i was like hEYYY FC CONNECTIONS. 

               FUN FACT: dignan’s two defining things right now (baseball and being gay) weren’t even in the cards at the start, he was literally supposed to be more john watson, i’m-gonna-be-a-serious-doctor and like be fun but a guy who loved to study. but now he’s sporty and he’s figuring out this new part of himself and he’s literally my actual favourite character right now i love dig so much. also i needed a character that would 100% share my love for the 80s (hershey loves 80s music but only sings to annoy ppl so its not the sAME). and now dig has the hair and the fashion sense and he loves 80s music too man.

( HELEN ): the idea for helen really began with like this ‘bodyguard’ idea. i wanted a character that was like 100% protective. they were going to be this warrior, trained-as-a-child kind of person, and they were gonna be connected to royalty. i first tried this with kirsa but that didn’t work out, and then i tried it with dignan but he was too soft and easily persuaded tbh he can never be mad at his royals. and then i thought of tangled (and the mess the hoods and the greenes were in at the time LMAO). 

helen was first gonna be max’s child (for the full guard effect) but then i saw a space opening for rapunzel and eugene’s child and !! and then she became princess warrior, who wanted to protect her people rather than rule them and LIKE WHO DOES THAT REMIND ME OF??? PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA THAT’S WHO so seriously fun fact, a lot of the inspriation for helen is leia. and i chose the name ‘helen’ because of helen of sparta, a beautiful woman who started the longest war, and together with the fact that helen is very much a fighter of wars rather than the starter (and she has low self-esteem rip) its so fun i love helen, my sword princess child

( PENELOPE ): so i have an asshole auradonian, and mak is like simmering down, i knew i wanted an asshole isle person. and mak/blythe have such an awesome friendship and i loved blythe’s character and all the people in the cinderella family and world and i knew i wanted to get some of that action ;)))) so i rewatched the 2015 movie (I LOVE CATE BLANCHETT SO MUCH) and then i rewatched ‘ever after’ which is this 90s cinderella movie with drew barrymore. after watching ever after, i knew exactly how i wanted this daughter of drizella to be like. she’s going to be the worst parts of mak and kirsa (they’re bitches but like nice ones) and just be this snooty sugar baby gold-digger. she knows exactly what she wants, she knows she’s going to get it. she’s part daisy buchanan, jordan baker, very much this hedonistic character who understands life as being good if you have money and status. such an old idea but it’s what she learned from her fAMILY. 

a lot of penelope’s character came from me wanting to explore what i’d found with otto, the unapologetic asshole, but now she had reasons to be. otto’s rich and gets ltierally everything he wants so he sucks even more because he’s still mean-spirited – but now we have penny, who grew up with nothing but wanted everything, and her grandmother and mother put all their hopes and dreams on her, told her not to associate with her nicer aunt and cousin and even her little sister – and she’s an asshole. literally guys penelope is going to change and become better i just dunno how yet but shE WILL

13. what’s a weird headcanon you have for each of your muses?

THIS ASK GOT WAY TOO LONG ALREADY, BUT I GOT THIS NUMBER IN ANOTHER QUESTION SO I’LL ANSWER IT THEEEEERE