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smellingofpoetry · 2 years

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Drowning

Characters: Reader, Sam Winchester (Soulless!Sam), Dean Winchester (mentioned)

Pairing: Soulless!Sam x Reader

Summary: And, sometimes, it was just too hard to keep her mind from wandering in search of him.

Square/s Filled: “Squirting” (@spnkinkevents), "Free Space" (TMAS Bingo - @supernatural-jackles), "Wap - Cardi B"(@anyfandomkinkbingo)

Warnings: angst, smut, oral (fem rec, male rec), finger fucking, sex, p in v, unprotected sex, squirting, face fucking, creampie

Rating: +18

Words count: 3173

Beta: @snowlovespie

A/N: Hi!🖤 So, I wrote this story for the fantastic @negans-lucille-tblr and her blogiversary. Congratulation on your achievement, love! My prompt was this one: "Missing you comes in waves, and tonight I’m drowning.", you'll find it in bold. I decided to experiment a bit this time, so here we are with my first fic about Sam. I really had fun writing this one not only because I went out of my comfort zone, but also because I ended up writing something quite different from the usual with some usual plot twist, 'cause you know how much I like them. I hope you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think. 🖤

Everything had changed after Lucifer and the cage.

She thought the worst was to say goodbye to Sam and learning to live without that giant dork. She wasn’t ready for that - nobody was.

No one told her that losing Sam would mean losing Dean too. He left that same night with a simple hug, a really too-quick goodbye, leaving her behind.

She thought that even if he stopped hunting, they could still keep in touch. She realized her mistake and felt so stupid for thinking he would have answered her. Not while he was busy living a life miles away from her and Bobby. Not while he was committed to a whole new life with his new family – with Lisa.

Yeah, that was what hurt her most. Knowing that somewhere else he was laughing and kissing and sleeping with the same stranger, someone who wasn't her.

She shut close her eyes, shaking her head to get rid of all those images.

God…she felt so stupid, still thinking about him after all this time, and the nights were always the worst because it was just too hard to keep her mind from wandering.

Missing Dean came in waves, and tonight – oh tonight – she was drowning while staring at the bottom of her half-empty glass.

She downed the rest of the whiskey and immediately asked for another round, taking the glass in her fingers with a deep sigh as the bartender served her again.

“Well, happy birthday to me.”

Y/N murmured, bringing the glass to her lips and drinking the whisky in one go, feeling the alcohol burn her throat. She slammed the glass down on the counter, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut.

Sensing someone had taken a seat beside her, she opened one eye to glance at the newcomer, relaxing immediately when she recognized Sam.

Right, Sam.

He was back. No one was quite sure how it had happened, but he was back, and that was what mattered - that and the fact that he wasn't a demon.

At first, when she saw him in Bobby's living room, she hoped they could just pick up where they left off. Until Bobby made her realize that wasn't going to happen. It was a very short conversation, consisting of two sentences.

Two sentences that, to that day, she didn’t know who hurt more – her or Bobby.

At least she had Sam back, which was both good and bad. Don't get her wrong: she was happy to have her friend back. Still, sometimes it was hard to look at him without thinking of Dean. Tonight, was one of those times.

“What are you doing here, Winchester?”

“Bobby told me where to find you.”

Y/N rolled her eyes as Sam raised his arm and motioned for the barman to bring two more drinks.

“What do you need?”

“Why do I have to need something?”

“Because that’s how it usually works with you, guys.”

Sam smiled and raised his hands in surrender, knowing full well that she had caught him.

“Alright, alright. I thought we could have celebrated your birthday together.”

“Thanks, Sam, but I’m not in the mood.”

Sam took the drinks and thanked the barman. He kept one for himself and handed the other to Y/N. He remained silent for a few seconds, just staring and studying her more.

“Is this about Dean?”

Y/N scoffed at his words, looking at Sam as if he were nuts to even think such a thing. Well, he wasn't, but she had to keep what was left of her dignity.

“What? No.”

Sam frowned in disbelief. Y/N glared at him, hoping he would drop the subject, but he seemed to be on a different frequency lately.

“C’mon, Y/N, I know you used to spend all your birthdays with Dean. I was there a few times, remember?”

Y/N sighed, rolling her eyes, and letting Sam know how annoyed she was with him at the moment.

“Okay, fine, so what?”

“So, don’t let that stop you from celebrating, just because he’s not here.”

She sighed and looked down at the glass in front of her.

“He’s out there leaving his life and, sooner or later, you have to move on, and this seems to be a time as good as any.”

Y/N glanced at him, knowing he was right, and there was nothing she could say about it. She sighed, defeated, rubbing her eyes with her fingertips.

“So…”

She paused, looking to Sam for help. He seemed to sense her hesitation, so he grabbed both glasses and handed her one, which she took.

“So, we’re going to celebrate, you and me. I know I’m not Dean, but I promise you, we’ll have fun.”

They clinked the glass together before gulping down the whiskey.

They drank, laughed, and danced until the bartender hadn’t almost kicked them out. She really had had fun, though. Y/N hadn’t laughed that much in a very long time, and neither of them was ready to end their night.

So, they kept moving until they stumbled into Sam’s motel room, and one thing led to another. She’d known it was a big mistake the moment their lips touched, but that hadn’t been enough to stop her.

She couldn't even blame the alcohol. She could only blame herself and her weakness, but a year was a long time, and she longed for someone's touch. And even if Sam wasn't the one she really wanted, he was at least the one who was close enough to her, and that thought alone had hurt. So, she kissed him harder, and he kissed her back, matching Y/N same hunger. With their mouths pressed together, they began to push and pull their clothes off.

Their shirts were the first to hit the floor, leaving them both panting. Their eyes roamed over each other’s bodies. Y/N felt too self-conscious as she tried to unbutton her jeans. She unzipped them and let’em slide down her legs. Sam watched her every move, licking his lips in anticipation.

Y/N couldn’t remember the last time someone had looked at her like that. She shuddered as she unhooked the clasp of her black lace bra, letting it slide down her arms and onto the floor. Sam grabbed her neck and pressed his mouth against hers. The kiss was rough and messy. He bit his lip and then ran his tongue over it. And just as he cupped her breast with his hands, Y/N wondered if Dean would have kissed her in the same way. Sam's fingers pinching her already hard nipples pushed that thought away.

She reached for his belt, unbuckled it and pulled down his trousers. The boxers were next. Pulling them down enough to free his cock, she wrapped her fingers around his shaft, stroking the tip. At that, Sam moaned into Y/N's mouth, bucking his hips against her. He ran a hand through her hair, tugging at it with his fingers to encourage her to kneel, and she took the hint.

She stroked it and, not taking her eyes off him, licked a strip of his cock, swirling her tongue around the head, tasting the pre-cum.

Y/N couldn't resist, so she took him in her mouth, closed her eyes and began to suck on his length.

Would Dean taste the same?

Would he moan the same way?

She got wetter and wetter with every lick, moan and thrust. Releasing Sam's cock with a loud pop, Y/N breathed deeply as she stroked his shaft, her other hand fondling his balls. He grunted, tightening the grip on the back of her head as his hand replaced hers on his shaft.

“Open up.”

She opened her mouth as she was told and stuck out her tongue. At the sight of Y/N on her knees in front of him, Sam growled and slapped his cock on her tongue once, twice, three times before pushing it through her lips.

She took it in, sucking as best she could, as Sam jerked his hips back and forth.

Y/N felt saliva running down her chin as he mouth-fucked her. With both hands on his hips, for balance, she closed her eyes.

She had spent several sleepless nights imagining herself kneeling, with Dean's cock in her mouth, fucking her the way Sam was doing it. And on those nights, the thought alone had made her come on her fingers all the time and one flick of Sam’s fingers on her clit would have had the same result in that moment.

Sam rocked in and out until he felt too close to the edge, so he stepped back, helped her up and quickly crushed his mouth against hers. She kissed him back as his hands moved down her body, searching for her panties. He tore them off and slid his fingers between her legs, which she spread a little, moaning at the feel of his fingers circling her clit.

“Fuck, you’re so wet. Is that all for me?”

Y/N bit her lower lip, nodding at the question, her eyes never leaving Sam's. He pressed his forehead against hers, mingling their breaths, grinning.

“Liar.”

Her eyes widened, but she had no time to say anything as he slid two fingers inside her, pushing them faster and faster, eagerly nipping at her nipples with his lips, making Y/N thrust against his hand.

“Oh, God…”

Y/N whimpered, clenching tightly around his fingers while he kept moving them, working her through the orgasm.

When it became too much, he slid his digits out and brought them to her lips, and she promptly welcomed them, sucking and moaning at the taste of herself on her tongue.

When she let them out, Sam captured her mouth in a sloppy kiss and urged them both towards the bed.

He put his hands on her hips and turned her over. Once her back was pressed against his chest, Sam's hands moved up Y/N's body, cupping her breasts and enjoying every moan as he nibbled at her earlobe.

“Hands and knees on the bed.”

Sam watched as she positioned herself in the middle of the bed with her legs spread wide, making him growl at the sight of her glistening pussy on full display. Unable to resist the urge to taste it, he stood behind Y/N and licked and sucked her folds once, twice, three times.

She bit her lips and gripped the sheets so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Sam trailed kisses up the skin of her back until he reached her shoulders, sinking his teeth there and making her moan. She had never been more desperate to fill that void.

He nuzzled her neck, licking a strip of skin, holding her in place as he took his cock to rub it a few times across her wet folds, grazing her opening with the tip.

Y/N closed her eyes in anticipation, feeling herself stretch around his girth inch by inch.

Once buried inside her, he stood still, giving Y/N time to get used to his size. Panting into her ear, his hands roamed down her body to pinch her perky nipples. Sam moved his hips back, already feeling her breathing get heavier, feeling how wet her pussy was getting and how tight it was clenching around his shaft, so he pushed into her again. She tried to move, desperately wanting him to go a little faster, a little harder, but Sam was quicker, stopping her hips with his hands, slowing the pace.

One of his hands gripped Y/N's neck, pulling her closer to his chest. As he increased the rhythm of his thrusts, she humored Sam's hips as best she could, feeling the wetness slide down her trembling legs.

Would it have felt that good to have Dean inside her?

Usually, it was – in her dreams at least. Dean would fuck her that way, with his chest pressed to her back, a hand around the neck, and the other rubbing her clit just the way she liked it.

At that thought, she threw her head back, eyes closed, and slid a hand between her legs to rub the already hardened clit.

Sam lowered his gaze, shuddering at the sight, and as a result tightened his grip on her neck, loving the way Y/N instantly squeezed his cock, feeling her become even tighter than she already was.

She gasped as Sam continued to move at a brutal pace, wanting nothing more than to feel her finally start to come around him.

Which she did the moment she tightened her grip around his shaft, making him moan with pleasure.

Y/N felt the orgasm overwhelm her and she couldn't help but moan in pleasure.

“D… Sam!”

She bit down on her lips, squeezing her already closed eyes even tighter, and her cheeks turned red from the embarrassment of having almost moaned out the wrong name.

Sam had to smile at that, giving her a few more thrusts, letting her ride out the orgasm, and only when she collapsed flat on the mattress did he get out of her soaked pussy, causing Y/N to whimper at the loss.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her wild heart, and as Sam helped her turn over to lie on the bed between the pillows, she saw him towering over her with a grin on his face.

Blushing and out of breath, she let her eyes roam over his sweaty body, licking her lips at the sight of his still hard cock, opening her legs and welcoming him between them.

Sam moved closer, running his hands up and down her legs, leaning in to greedily search for her lips.

Y/N kissed him back with equal intensity, running her fingers through his long hair, pulling it tighter than she intended and getting a slap on her red, sensitive pussy.

Moaning, she grabbed his hard cock and pumped it quickly, while at the same time Sam slid two fingers into her slit and fingered her vigorously.

She felt herself getting wetter than she thought possible as Sam continued to hit her G-spot.

Unable to do anything but lie there and take whatever he was willing to give her, she let go of his dick and gripped the sheets beneath her, her toes curling in anticipation.

“F-fuck…”

She cried out, collapsed and spilled onto his hand, legs shaking and breathing heavily as she felt the most powerful orgasm of her life.

He looked at her in awe before pulling his fingers from her still throbbing pussy, sucking and tasting them with closed eyes.

As soon as Sam opened them, he looked at her before placing both forearms on either side of her head and pushing the head of his cock against her entrance.

He swallowed her moan with his mouth and kissed her hard and deep, letting Y/N taste herself on his tongue.

She responded to the kiss with everything she had and felt him fill her again in one quick thrust.

“God, Y/N, you feel so fucking good.”

Sam groaned, pounding her pussy with deep, hard thrusts. She arched her back and wrapped both legs around his hips. She could feel his dick throbbing deep inside her thanks to this position, and with the feeling that he was close, she clenched tightly around him.

“Fuck, I’m gonna fill you up good.”

“Yeah, come for me, Sam, please.”

She felt him tremble between her legs, and with three more powerful thrusts he burst inside her, leaving Y/N whimpering as she felt Sam's cum filling her.

His groans echoing through the walls.

Minutes later he stopped in her tight heat, running his fingers along her side, noticing her chest still rising and falling slightly, he leaned down, kissing her swollen lips.

His hand reached for her breast, squeezing and kneading it a few times between his fingers. Then, he let go and stepped out of her warmth.

Y/N shivered at the air hitting her warm skin as Sam put his hands on her knees, spreading them wider and staring at her glistening slit.

She was so fucking beautiful, all spread out for him, just him, and Sam always wondered what it would feel like to have her like that and, fuck, if it wasn't worth it.

So, he couldn't really understand why he hadn't made a move sooner.

As he watched his cum ooze out of her used pussy, Sam moaned, biting his lips, trying to hold on until he couldn't.

“Fuck it…”

He leaned down and licked at her folds, tasting her and himself on Y/N's wet skin. The moment she felt his tongue, a long moan escaped her lips, so she slipped a hand between her legs and ran her fingers through Sam's hair.

He kept on slurping at her pussy, then slid his tongue into her slit, feeling Y/N instantly buck her hips into his mouth.

She was a quivering mess, lying on the bed with her legs spread and Sam's head between them, not really sure how much longer she could hold out.

But she couldn't help imagining what someone...

No, scratch that.

What would Dean have thought if he had walked in the room just then? What would he have thought, seeing her being fucked by his brother?

Y/N bit down on her lips and closed her eyes as she arched her back, still rocking her hips to indulge Sam's tongue.

She cupped her breasts and promptly pinched the hard nipples, trying to get rid of Dean's image, his hands, his lips, but those green eyes seemed to haunt her everywhere.

“Come for me, Y/N, c’mon.”

“Uhm… can’t.”

“Yes, yes, you can. One more time, c’mon.”

Sam's tongue filled her again as he rubbed his skilled fingers over her clit, and in no time, she could feel the pleasure building again.

Her head was still so full of Dean's image as she came on his little brother's tongue that Y/N had to bite down on her own to keep from moaning the wrong name, which was right there, about to slip past her lips.

He drank all of her juices, only letting her go when it became too much for her, and Y/N's leg immediately collapsed on the bed as she tried to get over her high.

Sam rolled over in the sheets beside her, licking his lips where he could still taste her. He glanced in Y/N's direction with a lazy smile on his face, then caught her lips for one last kiss before getting up to disappear into the bathroom.

Y/N stood still, breathing heavily, and staring at the ajar door. And even if she could still feel the buzzing in her body, she forced herself to get out of bed, ad the reality of what had just happened hit her with full force.

Picking up all her clothes, she dressed as best she could and slipped out of the motel room. Once outside, she leaned against the cool wall, breathing in the night air.

What the fuck had she done?

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majorpepperidge · 10 months

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So I'm going anon for this because I do not know if my thoughts will get me crucified by Pen fans, so this is me being safe.

For starters, I wanna state, when I got my physical copy of Sandrock, I already knew what I was going into when it came to Pen (and in turn, Matilda, Yan, and Miguel). I already knew they were the big bads thanks spoilers I saw, but even then, I could probably see them as bad guys a mile away (Yan is a sleazy scam artist, Matilda oozes passive aggressive southern bitch, and I say that as a southern myself. And Miguel oozes snob, and while not a villainous trait, is mainly associated with villains). So, even before knowing Pen was a villain, he already gave me major Gaston vibes so I was already kind of sus of him.

It made me very wary and kind of squint at him, but even then I was curious about his character. This man comes off as very showboaty, there had to be more. Cue me seeing his romance stuff and going "Okay so he is like a massive dork! You know, that kind of makes sense, big and tough, comes off as an ass, actually is a dork. That's a neat-" //cue the Knives Out update (i think it was that update), Pen being revealed as a bad guy and his romance dialogue mentioning he had OTHER LOVERS AND THE PLAYER WAS JUST ANOTHER NOTCH IN HIS BELT

"Nevermind you are dead to me you son of a bitch"

And while I say that, I am still curious on Pen's character, but more so in the terms of I want to punch this man as well. Something about that line has always rubbed me the wrong way. Since it feels like Pen doesn't actually care about the player. Which makes it worse since his final quest before being shipped off to prison, his last letter to the player if romance just NAILS it in the coffin but his PLATONIC LETTER MAKES PEN COME OFF AS MORE GEUINE.

Pen's romance letter comes off as just...gross and manipulative. Saying he forgives you for literally doing the right thing and not standing back and letting him destroy Sandrock. While in his platonic letter, Pen seems to see the player as his equal, mentioning how he wishes the player picked up his space punch, but was still confident in the player.

Which leads me to this, yes it took awhile to get to this: I seriously feel like, canon Pen, should have STAYED a platonic option for players. Him as a romantic partner character for players just...dose not end well, nor settle right in my stomach, especially since when you look at his lovey dovey stuff and then how he is at the end of the game, it feels Pen is luring the player, placing the rose-tinted glasses on and capturing them in his clutches. I am probably SERIOUSLY looking to much into it, and it could be just Pathea sucking at writing, which you know, I can see that, even Portia had questionable writing at times.

Now that all said, I do propose a way to make Pen's romance more interesting and less very tittering on the edge of a horrid toxic relationship (maybe). And that answer is simple: BREAK PEN'S FUCKING FAKE ASS JOCK PERSONA. It's clear from what I can tell in game, and in his end game letter, Pen can be genuine. Sure in his own assholeish way sometimes, but Pen can be a genuine person. The problem comes in the fact, from what I can tell at least, Pathea never really gives him the chance to let that shine. It would be fun to see Pen actively struggle with his duties with Duvos and the player, maybe becoming torn between Sandrock or his own nation. Or hell, have scenes where the player catches Pen overhear people talking about the horrors Duvos causes and more, and Pen seemingly so out of characterly TIRED. The man knows his nation is fucked, he knows it is a horrid broken mess that is hellbent of destroying everyone in the search of what they want, but he knows he also can't stop it. Maybe because he has had first hand experience in seeing what they could do or more. Has this become a giant rewrite idea, yeah it had but I feel like I should add it here near the end since while I want to strangle the asshat Pen is like an interesting character still that got done dirty story wise.

OKAY RAMBLING OVER, I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WORD WALL? Uh feel free to like delete this or what, idk, I just had to get my thoughts out and you seem to be the only active Pen fan I could find who I think has proposed decent rewrites or talked about how Pen is written not great sometimes? So yeah, again sorry for the word wall and uh bye

-Writing Anon

Hey, these are good thoughts anon! And I agree! Pen's writing is all over the place and I'm sure some of that can be attributed to weird localization differences/choices alongside the general clunky ending to his story. His characterization can sometimes make it hard to tell when he's lying and when he's not.

Some more time showing the depths of his character, while still keeping his dorkiness (which i believe is genuine, fight me pathea, alongside him loving the Builder and the 'multiple lovers' line was just meant to get under their skin so it'd be easier for them to hate him), and showing that maybe he DID have some internal crisis abt his bond with the Builder, romantic or plantonic, and his loyalty to Duvos. It would've been SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING to have someone like him be more of an unwilling villain. I know for my Exile AU stuff he's not as posturing/boisterous because he's not having to act anymore(and keep a lower profile to keep Duvos from sniffing him and Ray out), but it's still THERE because it's still part of him. I want to keep him being a larger-than-life cocky dork while not ignoring the sins he committed as a Knight and how he's struggling to move past it (and feel like he's worth Ray's love and loyalty despite all he did to her and Sandrock itself)

#Asks for Cheri #My Time at Sandrock #Pen #MTAS Pen #It wouldn't take much tweaking to make him redeemable imo #He just needs attention and tbh he's not the only character lacking in it #MTAS cast is p big and the devs absolutely had favorites that got more writing depth

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clarajohnson · 9 months

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the magicians s2e5

brakebills continues its tradition of fucking my shit

LOOKS GOOD! QC

i love that q gets sent to corpo email job hell and he still can't get professional enough not to lose his floppy hair never change you little freak boy

soup? the fuck?

kady and eliot should've gotten together to discuss curl care. i wanna show kady how to break a curl cast.

i don't subscribe to parts of a tv show being necessary or unnecessary or w/e but i always think jules's pregnancy plot is fucked. just horrible.

fucking eliot waugh is allergic to saying normal things "oh the miles we must walk" "to our violently attractive progeny" man either fuck quentin wordsmith coldwater or get normal

i love you pregnancy bunny

guess it's one of those situations where you wouldn't know unless it happened to you but i truly cannot imagine learning you're a magician and then abandoning it. abandoning other shit? yes. leaving literally everyone from brakebills behind? yes, sounds smart. but dude i would've just moved to another continent and cast little cantrips until i got old and died

margo's puffy gossamer sleeves and her dramatic wavy hair ohhhh

also her fuchsia lip is so iconic

i love how bloodthirsty abigail is

"i just don't actually know if you accepted my apology..." desperate pathetic man

who else saw the giant pile of knotted rope and thought you know what i wouldn't mind making that my task for the day

ugh i know the eye horror is coming and i'm going to HATE ITTTTTT

the fillory stuff is always tricky because fillory united is objectively right lol. sorry eliot and margo.

bayler. what a name. fu fighter. even better.

are people masturbating in their offices that often? i've worked in several offices and as far as i know nobody was jerking it. but i guess i wouldn't know, if they were doing it right.

q's email to alice's parents was very nice actually. this show kind of has to bluster past grief this season because there's so goddamn much going on (and then it will slow down for grief for ages and ages and ages later) but when you think about it, q thinking his beloved girlfriend has died to save him is like. whew. there's so much you could've worked through from just that, q.

i love stella maeve's crying face

how many times in his life do you think q was flirted at with the line "you're a fucking dork"

that's my favorite too AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i love that el and margo coordinate their outfits so often. similar fabrics similar palettes etc.

poor emily. jesus. god.

otd does a great job playing emily playing alice, but in large part it reminds me of some of the hallmarks of real-alice, particularly, the way her eyes are always SO active. SO bright and evaluating.

in political terms i respect eliot's decision. BUT as a matter of personal ethics i appreciate margo so much more. she's just-- she's right. she's kind of completely right.

unbelievable read from mayakovsky on "it's amuaoazing" so many vowels in that word

i love you fu fighter fen i LOVE YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SKIPPING THE SCENE IN THE CLINIC SORRY !!!!!

niffin alice lfg let's FUCKING go

#what a program #unauthorized magicians rewatch #the magicians #text

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myfavebandfizz · 1 year

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Dork Magazine 2023

A NEW PHASE AWAITS – ALL-STAR COLLECTIVE FIZZ ARE LIVING THE HIGH LIFE

A new dream team are on the scene, with buzzy live sets and an album on the way – meet FIZZ. Read our latest Dork Playlist cover feature now.

Words: Abigail Firth. Photos: Em Marcovecchio. Styling: Rubina Marchiori Assisted By: Francesca Russo Assistant Team: Jake Martin, Lily Goddard

Scattered around Brighton are posters featuring a hypnotic red swirl and the phrase ‘A NEW PHASE AWAITS YOU’, beckoning you down the rabbit hole of Fizz, a secret band playing at The Great Escape. Down at Shooshh, a club under the arches on Brighton seafront, the surprise is revealed at 9:30pm, as the four-piece step on stage amongst giant lollipops and toadstools, a graphic behind them – also featured on their posters – giving a clue as to who they are before they arrive.

The group consists of dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown, who, up until now, have largely been known for making introspective, singer-songwriter jams for their individual artist projects. Fizz changes everything. That’s immediately obvious when we meet on Thursday afternoon outside Shooshh, when each member of the group emerges from the venue in different twisted-Alice-in-Wonderland style outfits, ready for our photo shoot.

A week later, in dodie, Greta, and Martin’s flat, they’re considerably more understated as they gather on the sofa at 10am for a chat. It comes at the end of a hectic week where the four launched the band, started promotional shoots, played their first gig, flew to Barcelona to do more photo shoots, flew home and signed their deal (Greta even found time to get her nails done at Gatwick airport).

“We’ve had our first few rock star days, so we’re definitely still recovering,” says Orla.

“But we’ve sat on this music for like, over a year?” dodie adds, “and we’ve been planning since then, but I think all the real-world stuff is very new.”

They’ve been living in each other’s pockets for a while now, with the aforementioned trio sharing a flat and Orla in one just around the corner; she’s happy to waltz in whenever she likes.

“We’re actually conjoined now that we’re contractually obliged to hang out with each other,” she says.

The idea for Fizz came around a couple of years ago when Martin found himself feeling deflated about life and how it was affecting his music. An off-the-cuff remark about starting a band to have fun again developed into an actual project when they spent a week at Middle Farm Studios in Devon recording whatever they felt like.

“I definitely felt like I was getting super grown up and starting to think about, like, saving money, long-term career prospects, getting a house, security – all the really unsexy stuff,” Martin explains. “I think all of that filtered its way into my day-to-day with music, and I started compromising on all fronts and just working on loads of things that I wasn’t particularly passionate about. I sort of jokingly said to [Greta and dodie] one night, oh, shall we start a band and just have fun again?”

He continues, “We ended up doing the album with Pete Miles at Middle Farm, who’s this, like, wizard producer; he’s amazing and does literally look a bit like Gandalf, and he’s worked with all of us in different capacities. He was like, why don’t we have a week, and you guys can all come up and play, and we’ll just capture it, and it’ll be amazing. And then we did it, and it was the best week of all time.”

“It was everything about music that I think we’d all missed so much,” says dodie. “It was completely egoless. There was nothing like, what are we trying to say? Who are we? It was like, let’s just write this; this song’s about strawberry jam and getting high in Brighton; it was just pure play.”

“We’re all each other’s biggest fan”

-ORLA GARTLAND

“We’re all each other’s biggest fan”

The result is ‘The Secret to Life’, an album that’s equal parts psychedelic and ramshackle, merging perfectly nonsensical lyrics with twenty-something existentialism, it ponders our purpose while ultimately declaring there isn’t one, and we’d all be a bit better off if we gave in to our inner child. Screaming as therapy is welcome here, as is having a tab of acid by the seaside and turning your brain off for a bit. Overthinking is out, and fun is absolutely in.

“Going down to Middle Farm, it was like our experience as people and as friends was enough,” says Greta. “We didn’t have to pigeonhole it into anything; it was just like…”

“This is what it is,” Martin finishes off.

“What Pete loves is just like joyful, real live chemistry between people in a room, and it all happening in the room and not in the computer, basically,” Orla says, explaining the recording sessions. “I also think it was a playground for him because he was let off the reins to do his thing in the most him way possible. No overthinking, there’s literally no time to overthink because we’re just doing it so quickly and committing to the thing before you even had a chance to think about it.”

“I always feel so excited to tell people that basically the whole album is us writing, recording and producing it all at once,” adds Greta. “Everything you can hear is literally everything that happened. There’s one song on the album called ‘The Secret to Life’, and as we were writing it, we were recording and producing it, and that’s what’s on the album.”

Letting go of control has been both a crucial aspect of creating this album and essential for each of the group’s personal development. With all four of them feeling like they were taking their solo projects too seriously, going back to basics and altering the intentions behind creating music, almost reverting to just doing it as a hobby, completely changed their outlook. Orla mentions she’d have been happy if it never left their laptops, but there’s something to be said for ‘The Secret To Life’ being as necessary of a release as anything they did take seriously.

“It doesn’t even need saying, but music’s got so saturated now,” says Martin, “and I think everyone approaches artistry in a way that is so considered, and so self-A&R’ed to the nth degree that actually, it’s really blindingly obvious when someone’s just done something for the pure joy of it. I just think it’s refreshing.”

“From the start, we were like, regardless of whatever happens, we should do this every year,” adds dodie. “We should come down to Middle Farm and write off the bat. And that’s so nice to get that feeling back again.”

Recording this album also gave the four a chance to push themselves both artistically and as friends.

“Ultimately, we’re all each other’s biggest fans,” says Orla. “The core ideas are sometimes coming from us, but having the balls to actually commit to it is so much about the other three just being like, GO! Any moment of doubt or like, ‘Oh, I’m not so sure. I don’t know if I want a song about Rocket League’; it’s like, shut up and do it!”

Just because the album was made with fun in mind doesn’t mean it’s devoid of sincerity, either. Rather than it being rooted in pure childlike ambition, it’s grounded in its lived experience of being made by adults finally letting their emotions free.

“There is a wonk to it,” says Orla. “It’s not like pure Disney joy; there’s something very human and real and not quite perfect about the lyrics that run through it.”

“It wouldn’t exist without pain,” adds Martin. “I think that there’s so much pent-up energy; when you’re a kid, it is just joy, joy, joy, isn’t it? Whereas this is like, joy that sort of been suppressed for 10 years.”

“Yeah, coming out through this filter of flawed adults trying to conjure up joy,” Greta finishes.

“It was like, let’s just write this; this song’s about strawberry jam and getting high in Brighton; it was just pure play”

-DODIE

“So much of me is wrapped up in being perceived as cool,” Martin continues, “and so much of that, especially within Brit culture, is to be understated and to shrink yourself and be humble. The idea of just being a little kid that’s being brash and screaming and banging on your chest is actually so liberating. I feel like I’ve just never allowed myself to be that.”

It’s not only the album creation that honours the members’ inner child; it’s the styling, which feels like they’re playing dress up (Greta even has to take her shoes off to walk across the pebbly beach), the illustrated logo, the fact that they picked a band name based on the idea it didn’t sound like a band name, the promo for the secret gig being a Fizz-sleeved packet of popping candy.

All of that contributes to the sonic world the album exists in, which pulls from zany 60s and 70s influences – not niche ones either, we mean the big names – Elton John at his campest, The Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers era, they even have a bash at their own ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ with ‘Grand Finale’.

“‘Grand Finale’ is so ludicrously ridiculous,” says Martin. “I can’t even believe it every time I listen to it. There’s no way I would have done this even two years ago. Even having the vocabulary to dick about to such an extent, psychologically as well as actually musically, being able to be that ambitious, it felt like a pipe dream that people only made music like that in the 70s.”

“There’s like a theatrical, dramatic, uncompromisingly flamboyant style in that era,” adds Greta. “There’s a band called Jellyfish that I’m obsessed with that was definitely a huge part of what I grew up listening to, and it sort of found its way into the references for the album.”

“I also wonder if because we’re reverting to our first love of music like we’re referencing all of the music we heard in our childhood that our parents showed us, maybe that’s where our core comes from?” dodie asks herself.

Balancing out the record’s childlike wonder is its subject matter, best exemplified in their first release, ‘High in Brighton’, which also happens to be the first song they wrote.

“We started writing it at that table just behind Martin,” Orla points to the kitchen table behind the sofa. “We had a couple of ideas in our pocket when we went down to the studio for the first time, mainly because I was really fucking nervous. There’s nothing more nerve-wracking than working with your friends.”

dodie plays a voice note of the initial recording they’d made before heading to the studio, a high-pitched rendition of the chorus melody.

“I think lyrically with ‘High in Brighton’, it sets the tone for the beginning of this journey – this quest that we’re all going on,” Greta says. “It felt so perfect. I love how Beach Boys-esque it is; all of us are singing together, and the chorus feels like this huge explosion; it felt like it was the right song.”

Of course, we have to fact-check if they’ve been high in Brighton before, which prompts an enthusiastic yes, and a recommendation to try it if you’ve never done it before.

As Greta says, this is just the beginning of an exciting new journey for Fizz, one that officially begins with the release of ‘High in Brighton’ and their first full band show at Hoxton Hall in June, followed by the festival circuit and a proper tour later down the line with the album release.

But there’s just one more thing: what is the secret to life?

“Well, that’s what we’re trying to find out!” says Greta. “If you could ask your readers what they think the secret to life is, that would be amazing.”

“We are really wanting to collect as many answers as possible,” says Orla.

Dear Reader, the floor is yours. ■

FIZZ’s album ‘The Secret To Life’ is out 15th September. Follow Dork Playlist on Spotify here.

Fizz wear:

Styled by @rubinamarchiori

Dodie: Dress: Rabbit Baby (Avice dress) Sweater: Rosie Evans (Patch Knit Jumper) Hat: Rosie Evans

Orla: Suit: Westwood Vest: Westwood Bow: Lauren Perrin Socks: Be Nina

Martin: Top and shorts: Bertie Wells Vest: Ralph Lauren Hat: JW Anderson

Greta: Body: Rabbit Baby (Bella body ) Corset and skirt: Rosie Evans (Navy Corset, Brush and Comb Kilt) Tights and gloves: Lauren Perrin Hair clips: Jewel Chather Earrings: Xhen Xhen

-----

Photography by @emilymarcovecchio

bonus photos !!

#yourfavebandfizz #fizz #fizz band #interview #dork magazine #dork magazine june 2023 #june 2023 #june 14 2023 #all #photoshoot

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hintofelation99 · 3 years

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Okay so I was just at the amusement park with my family and I got an idea. May I request a batfamily hc at the amusement Park. Like why would they do, how would the react especially in the little house of fear that some have who would enter and who would be scared etc etc.

I love this, I will say I had to do some research on all the rides (Ik it sounds silly but i wanted a ~variety~ of rides to choose from) cause I haven’t been to an amusement park since I was like 10? Maybe younger, I’m now in my early 20s, so I needed a reminder (and now I wanna go to an amusement park). This will mostly be based on six flags/state fair stuff/Disney. Side note six flags has so many rides named after DC characters??? Like what? When did that happen? I thought they were just like idk named after random natural disasters but nope they’re named after psychotic clowns and spandexed super dorks. But anywho enough of me being confused by fun. Here is the batfam at an amusement park!

(Also just a side note since I’m still trying to figure out my new work schedule I’m gonna answer asks with headcanons then do a dialogue post that I link to the ask)

Bruce

He used to never go bc ‘the mission’ was too important to get distracted from.

But then he and the family went to Disney and he was a complete buzzkill the first day. Dick was absolutely pissed and chewed him out, the next day he was actually fun and not an asshole.

He still doesn't love amusement parks but he enjoys the time he spends with kids.

Dick

Has been on every roller coaster like five times and absolutely adores them.

He also loves the all the bungee jumping rides and has tried to get Bruce to put one in the cave.

Always has cotton candy. Like always. One second it'll be gone the next bam, there it is.

Babs

She loves roller coasters, she used to go one them with Dick all the time but now Steph is her favorite roller coaster buddy.

One of Bab's favorite memories is taking Cass on the Ferris Wheel and watching the look of amazement on her face when she saw night sky from the very top of the wheel.

Going to an amusement park with Babs is amazing because she's able to plan the perfect ride schedule to avoid lines and get the most rides in possible all while not being overly strict.

Jason

Jason isn't a fan of amusement parks, they're too loud and he'd much rather spend the day reading or hanging out at home with friends.

When he does go he likes to see the shows, he'll never admit it but he loves the 4-D movies.

After he and Roy became close Jason started to enjoy them more, one time Roy spent three hours trying to win a stuffed bear for Jason. The game was rigged so he kept losing, finally he asked Dick for advice and Dick helped him win.

Cass

She once got banned from a park for putting a clown in the hospital.

The clown was making Steph a balloon animal and Cass thought that he was going to attack her.

Cass loves roller coasters and the games but she absolutely adores the Ferris Wheel, one her favorite memories is riding one with Babs.

Steph

If you go to an amusement park with Steph you will go in to the house of horrors.

Her goal in the house of horrors is to scare the actors.

Everytime she goes to an amusement park she brings home a pin as a souvenir.

Tim

He enjoys amusement parks but they aren't his favorite. Because of this he and Jason usually stick together.

He is unnaturally skilled at all the games, like even Dick is impressed.

One time he fell asleep while waiting in line for a roller coaster, Jason ended up carrying him, and Steph decided that they should still put him on the ride. So, like ten minutes later he woke up on the biggest ride in the park right as they were about to hit the drop.

Duke

Dick accuses him of being an octopus because of how much he can carry at once.

Duke is often seen with two drinks, popcorn, cotton candy, three giant stuffed animals, two regular sized stuffed animals, a churro, and a pretzel.

He also always knows the parks layout, together he and Babs make an unstoppable park duo.

Damian

He's not a fan of roller coasters but will ride them just to spend more time with Dick.

Much like Cass he has also been banned from a park for assualting an employee. But instead of punching a clown he bit a zombie in the house of horror.

He has befriended every animal in every amusement park within 500 miles of Gotham.

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hetalia-reacts · 3 years

Note

👉👈 hecc

Hope u wouldnt mind but headcanons for allies also including Prussia reacting a short s/o ?

I wouldn’t mind at all~

America

Alfred thinks your height is the cutest thing ever

I mean you’re so tiny and he’s so tall!

You can bet he’s going to pick you up a lot if you need something off the shelves

I mean it’s a perfect opportunity to be close to you, help you, and he gets to show off his hero strength

If you suggest a little step stool or climb on the counters he will literally come up with any excuse so that doesn’t happen

Please let him help you like that, or at least let him get it, it makes him feel like he’s your own personal hero

He likes to joke around with you and rest his arm on your head, but only if you actually think that’s funny

If it annoys you or makes you insecure he’ll apologize and won’t do it ever again

The last thing he would want to do is make you mad or insecure

Speaking of insecure, if you dislike your height and think negatively of yourself rest assured your hero is on the way

Will cuddle you and tell you how much he loves you and your height

Constantly reminds you how cute you are and if cute isn’t your style he’ll tell you have cool your height makes you

If you need him to, or really let him have enough time to, he will make a list on why being short is cooler than being tall

Alfred will also not hesitate to stop anyone from bullying you over something like your height

Someone said something mean or unnecessary? Point him at the guy and it’s over for ‘em

Would want to call you something funny as a pet name

like you could be shortstack and he can be beanstalk or something

Alfred is a dork, but he loves you and everything about you

England

Arthur adores your height

It became something he came to really appreciate and love while being with you

He likes that you ask him for help with things that are too high for you to reach

And that you fit perfectly with him when you guys cuddle

Plus not to mention he loves the size difference between you, even if it isn’t a lot it’s something he secretly loves

Never mentions anything about your height for the most part

No teasing or jokes about it

He’s scared that would hurt your feelings or make you feel bad

Plus he knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of bullying for something you can’t change

If you ever bring up being insecure about your height or simply just getting annoyed by it one day he’ll get really defensive of you

Like how could you say that about yourself? About something he adores about you?

Mandatory cuddle session after that

he’s not letting you get away without some encouragement and sweet words

If anyone else mentions it and you get sad, oh boy

They are getting a harsh lecture from him about being a gentlemen/lady

France

Francis doesn’t think much of your height if he’s being honest

Like is it adorable watching you stand on your tippy toes to reach things? Yes of course it is

But does he make it a point to mention it and make your lack of height apparent? No absolutely not

He would get stuff off the shelves for you but only if you were to ask

He’s kind of big on not making you feel less than or like you can’t do things on your own

Admittedly he enjoys being able to rest his chin on the top of your head while you two hug

Very endearing in his mind

If you get insecure about your height he’s there for you every step of the way

Francis can’t stand watching you get sad or angry with yourself, especially over something you have no control over

So he will comfort you through the whole episode

He’ll make you food, cuddle you, compliment you, heck he’d sing to you if that’s what was going to make you feel better

If someone else was making you feel bad about your height Francis would handle the situation

While he isn’t much on fighting He’d gladly square up to someone that made you feel bad about yourself

Or if you’d prefer he’d go over there and just angrily talk it out with the person

In the end, Francis can’t say being short is what drew him to you, but he can appreciate how cute it makes you and how it’s just another part of what makes you beautiful in his eyes

Canada

Matthew enjoys how short you are

And the height difference that it brings

Like how cute is it that you aren’t eye level with him unless you stand on something

And when you have to stand on your tippy-toes to reach something? Or when you climb on stuff to reach stuff?

He lives for it honestly

Would never pick you up to reach stuff, but he did think about it once or twice but figured it would be rude if he did that

Does want to call you a nickname in reference to your height and he will gladly accept any nickname you might want to give him in return

Doesn’t tease you about your height though, he’s not trying to make it a sore subject or anything

If it is a sore subject he’ll be delicate when bringing it up or cracking any seemingly harmless jokes

If you’re getting down on yourself about the height he’s going to cuddle and compliment you for weeks to come

Like makes it a point to bring it up and bring up how great it is

Someone else says something about your height? Well he’s not going to do much to them and would rather comfort you before it starts to hurt your feelings

Expect him to kiss the top of your head a lot or just rest his chin on your head while hugging or cuddling

Matthew will be expecting you to steal his hoodies from him because please it’s so cute they’re giant on you and he loves to see it

Russia

Ivan loves it obviously

I mean he’s a literal giant and seeing you so short compared to him makes his heart do the melting thing

It makes him want to protect you from the world

Even if you are crazy strong and assertive

Picking you up is a habit for him at this point

Like you don’t even have to ask to get something, he just does it

It might be a little insulting, but he’s not meaning for it to be that way

100% rests his hand on your head

Not to demean you or crush you, just to pat your head and have the comfort of knowing you’re there and he’s there for you

If you begin to feel down in the dumps over your height I feel like Ivan would be the one to suggest some logical solutions to it while also being supportive

Like he’ll suggest heels or platform shoes, but he’ll also tell you that you’re perfect just the way you are and you don’t need those things

If someone else says something mean about it

Well the metal pipe may come into play, or some very ominous staring and creepy smiling to mess with the person if you won’t let him handle it physically

Often gives you his scarf or coat to wear

They are gigantic compared to you and he likes to wrap you up in them

China

Yao thinks your height is adorable and has always thought that since first meeting you

He thinks it’s very cute and considering he isn’t the tallest among many it’s kind of nice to be taller than his s/o

Would never try to pick you up to reach things

Or say anything that might be considered mean about your height

He just isn’t about making you feel bad about something like that

Likes to kiss the top of your head or your forehead

If you mention not liking your height Yao goes into mama mode

Questions about who made you feel this way, why they said that, and why they’re wrong are flying out of his mouth at a mile a minute

He’s going to be the one to tell you not to think that way about yourself because you were made perfect, but if you wanted to wear heels or something that made you appear taller he wouldn’t stop you

If somebody said something mean about your height in front of him it’s on

Yao will actively attack whoever said something about you, it will be hands on-site, no further questions

Will ask you to wear his clothes a lot

He thinks they suit you and he can’t get over how long the sleeves are for you

Prussia

Gilbert is always very aware of your height

For starters, he probably doesn’t tower over you but still

you’re much shorter than him and that makes him think he needs to be delicate with you

Even if in reality you could best him in a fight any day of the week with your hands tied behind your back

He likes to pick you up and spin you around

Also likes to pick you up rather than just get something down from the higher shelves for you

Piggybacks you a lot so you can see over crowds or just because

Gilbert really likes that he can easily kiss the top of your head

and that he can tuck you under his chin like it was nothing

Really just makes him feel like he can protect you from anything

If someone says something nasty to you about your height Gilbert will throw hands

He's certainly thrown them for less so why not now

If you won't let him get physical, fine, he won't cause a scene

but you're gonna have to deal with his overprotectiveness and affection for the rest of the day

and god forbid you're getting down on yourself about your height

He's going to make a list of all your strengths and the advantages of being short

those include getting head kisses from him, being able to fit perfectly in his arms, and being able to hide basically anywhere you want for hide and seek

The list is kind of childish but his goal was to make you feel better by laughing while also getting to compliment you

If you were to wear his clothes he might die by the sight of you drowning in them, so proceed with caution

#aph america #hws america #aph england #hws england #aph france #hws france #aph canada #hws canada #aph russia #hws russia #aph china #hws china #aph prussia #hws prussia #hetalia #hetalia reactions #hetalia headcanons

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musclesandhammering · 3 years

Text

Non-Controversial Loki Headcanons for These Trying Times

1.) Loki has had dozens of Midgard-based aliases over the years, for no other reason than the fact that he was bored and it was funny. DB Cooper was one of them. Hank Williams was another. He may or may not have even pretended to be a vampire at some point.

2.) Loki can definitely sing. Not just in a funny ironic way, but like.. he actually enjoys singing. It shouldn’t even come as a surprise considering he’s such a fine arts nerd, but yeah. He plays the guitar too. Surprisingly folksy.

3.) Loki’s rooms in Asgard literally look like a witch’s lair. I mean straight up spooky. All dark earth tones, spellbooks strewn everywhere, runes drawn on the walls to keep certain big brothers from messing with things they have no business messing with, vials of poisonous stuff sitting on every available surface, shelves full of strange little trinkets and talismans, a dramatic ass medieval-looking bed, a whole ass cauldron… and then in the corner on a stand there’s his Hank Williams Guitar aasdfghhjkl-

4.) When people call Loki a witch, they’re not joking. He’s. Like. An actual stereotypical, like.. witch. He doesn’t just do finger wavy magic- he mixes potions, he does rune work, he recites spells, he has a cauldron.

5.) He also used to dress super witchy. Used to. Past tense. I’m talking black nail polish, lots of necklaces, rings, eyes makeup (ok maybe I wouldn’t go that far, but Loki in eyeliner would be pretty hot, right?), clothes that were like.. 15% scarier yet more fashionable than the ones he wears in canon. The only reason he toned it down was because someone whose opinion he cared about (it was Thor) made a joking comment about his appearance looking “wicked” or “evil” and it made him feel self conscious, so he changed how he dressed. :(

6.) He was rocking the whole short hair look years before Thor in Ragnarok. In fact, by pre-canon Loki’s standards, his hair in Thor 1 was even a bit too long. He did this because a.) he hates how his natural curls soften him and will do anything to get rid of them and b.) in Asgard short hair wasn’t really worn by noblemen because it symbolised servitude, so this was Loki’s subtle way of being defiant and deviating from the norm.

7.) As Frigga said in Endgame, Loki is very good at sneaking. Even when he’s not trying to. There have been many-an-accident in the Palace of Asgard because he unintentionally almost gave Thor a heart attack.

8.) Loki and Thor weren’t always at each other’s throats. They actually got along pretty well up until Odin started planning for the coronation. Loki was still jealous of the way Thor was treated compared to the way he was treated, but he knew that wasn’t Thor’s fault- not really. And Thor was still arrogant and entitled, but that was mostly directed at other people and not his own family, so while Loki knew about Thor’s character flaws, it didn’t really effect him personally. When the planning started, though, Thor gradually became even more superior and insufferable than normal, and Loki became even more bitter and unsettled, and their relationship just kind of went downhill from there.

9.) Loki absolutely joined the Mile High Club with that flight attendant from the first episode of the show. Her name was Florence and she was adorable, Loki thought so too.

10.) Loki’s the only person on Asgard who can beat Volstagg at an eating competition. He has a giant’s metabolism, after all. And, contrary to his elegant and refined tastes in most other areas, he’s actually a straight-up carnivore. I mean he eats other foods too, obviously, but meats are by far his favourites. Boar, fish, poultry, steak. Just meats. He doesn’t know it, but this is because frost giants are mostly carnivorous.

11.) His relationship with the Warriors 4 was always split down the middle. He and Sif always hated each other. Hogun never trusted him and Loki never had any interest in spending time with Hogun. Fandral and Volstagg, on the other hand, were always much nicer and Loki always sort of considered them his friends as well as Thor’s. This is why they were more reluctant to believe that he’d let the frost giants in in Thor 1.

12.) I refuse to believe Loki doesn’t have at least one tattoo somewhere. Probably more. Probably of a snake. The only parts of his body we didn’t see naked in Episode 1 were his thighs, lower back, knee area, pelvic region, and the back of his neck. So it’s gotta be in one of those places. (Might I suggest: snake thigh tattoo, tiny nape tat, goth tramp stamp lol, rune tat behind his ear, Norse mythos leg tat, badass above-dick tattoo).

13.) Loki’s prickly and insecure and has layers like an onion, but once you get to the point of actually being friends with him, he’s a total sweetheart. I mean a literal smol dork. A bit hyperactive and excitable, but still very very soft. It’s because he’s had so few actual friends in his life.

14.) Sometimes Loki only goes a few days before his gender changes, sometimes he stays one gender for years at a time. And he tends to shapeshift his body to match. That being said, one of his biggest pet peeves is how his other-gendered clothes get all dusty and musty when they have to stay in the closet for long stretches of time. So he’s taken to wearing luxurious gowns around the house when he’s in his male form. You know, just to air them out.

15.) Loki hates sleeping with people. Sex is fine, but he’s just so solitary and paranoid that he’s never been comfortable sleeping in a bed with another person. This may or may not have gotten him in trouble a few times when his partners woke up and found him gone lol.

16.) Laufey is actually incredibly similar to Loki, the way Odin is very similar to Thor. He prefers smaller blades (ice daggers), he’s very analytical and calculating, he’s very calm and non-confrontational even when he’s in a stressful situation, and tbh he seems like a better king than Odin- much like Loki probably would’ve been a better kind than Thor. (Whoopsie this one’s a bit controversial)

17.) Loki adores animals! …But he’s also a bit obsessive about keeping his environment clean. Not organised, per se, just clean. And animals tend to be hairy and slobbery and feathery and slimy and poopy and dirty, so he’s never been able to have a pet. He just takes a lot of nature walks to compensate :)

18.) All jotuns are naturally intersex, including Loki. This is a bit unusual for Asgardians, but because Loki is genderfluid and a natural-born shapeshifter- and has always had a tendency to change his body parts around as his gender changes (male, female, both, neither)- he’s never had a reason to find it very odd. In hindsight, that was one of the many eccentricities that should have made him realise something was a little fishy with his “asgardian” genetics.

19.) The snake + stabbing story from Ragnarok was nowhere near as nefarious as Thor made it seem. What actually happened was: Someone accidentally mixed a real knife in with the blunted practice knives. Thor and Loki didn’t know this, of course, and when they were playing a battle game, Loki ended up with the real knife. When Loki “won” and went to “vanquish his enemy” he ended up actually stabbing Thor for real. They were both hysterical and it took longer to calm Loki down than his brother. It ended up just being a flesh wound, though, so everything turned out fine.

20.) A lot of people think Loki discovered his “secret passageways between worlds” from TDW through some sort of inter-realm questing or magical study or something, but in reality, he discovered them when he was like 16 and desperately trying to find a way to sneak out of Asgard without Heimdall telling his parents.

Tagging @natures-marvel & @little-s-creampuff for expressing interest. Thx for listening to my mad ravings lmao <3

#I have so many more of these it’s unreal #my musings #loki headcanons #loki laufeyson #frosty bby #long post #loki series #Thor ragnarok #thor the dark world #thor 2011 #Thor #language tw

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deathordemise · 4 years

Text

Platonic Relationships MCYT Playlist

Ayeee what’s popping??? Back at it again with the intense daydreaming:)

I’ll try not to have any repeats from the Specific DreamSMP playlist.!!! Not the DSMP-verse!!

The Idots

My !! Favs!! I hope there’s much more content of them together in the near future. I think it’s just the sheer size of the group, but they remind me of The Lunch Club. I really like their intense high energy.

Don’t Let’s Start - They Might Be Giants

Come Along - Cosmo Shelldrake

Really Cool Wig - Lemon Demon

With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

Riot - Hollywood Undead

Roaring 20’s - Panic! At The Disco

Technoblade And Skeppy

This duo is so underrated. I really like their friendship. I feel like it’s Unstoppable Force (Skeppys desire for mischief and to Cause Problems On Purpose) and Immovable Object (Technoblade in general, but especially the immunity of Skeppys,,,skeppyness) but funny dynamics aside, I feel like they bounce off each other really well. I especially really like when Skeppy says something that catches Technoblade completely off guard and he laughs harder than I’ve ever heard him. I see it when he’s with Tommy as well but Skeppy brings out Technos desire to Cause Problems On Purpose. I’ve been rambling too much but I just really wish they were a more popular duo.

The Stand- Mother Mother

Saint Bernard- Lincoln

Misanthropic Drunken Loner - Days’n’Daze

Dear Fellow Traveler - Sea Wolf

Three-Thrity - AJR

Cigarette Ahegao - Penelope Scott

(Okay,I feel like I need to elaborate on this cause you’re probably thinking “hey um, Eden? What the fuck?” Okay so; When I hear this song I hear Technoblade being cynical and Skeppy chiming in with the “uwu, uh huh, yeah” and “hey incels,just have sex” , especially that last one because the image in my head is Skeppy resting his chin on Technos shoulder and then techno nods and says “duh”. Plus the video game pew pew that make up the background beat gives me their vibes)

Tubbo And Tommy

Their dynamic is so fun !! I hate when people write Tubbo as a sidekick. I also feel uncomfy when people write Tommy unnecessarily mean. He is snarky irl but tubbo does not hesitate to push back when needed. They’re a duo!! Partners in crime!!

Boys Will Be Bugs - Cavetown

Na Na Na - MCR (them in a car together blasting this would be pretty pog)

Back In School - Mother Mother

Angel Eyes And Basketball - Foot Ox

Sleepy Bois Inc

Words cannot describe how much I love this group. The biggest found family feels.

Come Hang Out - AJR

Wolf - First Aid Kit

Gotta Get Up - Harry Nilsson (idek I just get philza energy from it.)

I’m gonna be (500 miles) - The Proclaimers (the idea of them yelling “DADA DA DA “ back and forth makes me happy )

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes

The Dream Team

All squads have different kinds of chaos and the best way I can describe them is Homie Hurricane. I’m actually genuinely really thankful for their content.

Beachboys - McCaffetery

Banks - Lincoln

This Is Love - Air Traffic Controller (very manhunt vibes)

Kiss With A Fist- Florence + The Machine

The Bidding - Tally Hall

It’s Alright- Mother Mother

Dream And Technoblade

Two nerds who everyone portrays as scary,cold and godly but in reality are lovable dorks that play a block game real good go brrr. Not that I don’t enjoy their intense moments.

Take A Slice - Glass Animals

How Far We’ve Come - Matchbox Twenty

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

Disco! In The Panic Room - Bug Hunter

Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

Bad and Skeppy

In case you haven’t seen it, these songs are from the my DSMP playlist because honestly,,, their dynamic is still the same but I added a few new songs because there my faves

Immortals - Fall Out Boy

Work Song- Hozier

Twin Size Mattress- The Front Bottoms

Problems - Mother Mother

One Gold Star- Dodie

The Things We Used To Share - Thomas Sanders (y’know how they always get divorced every other stream)

Lemon Eyes - Meg Myers (ofc minusing the whole yandere aspect of it lol. Before I watched the music video, I thought it was a protective person reassuring someone)

Just The Two Of Us - Grover Washington

She Talks Too Much - Elohim (it's not a playlist without a dose of angst )

As always, I’m a slut for feedback! Let me know what you think, or if there are any friendships you would like a song recommendation for. Infact , recommend some songs if you wanna !

125 notes · View notes

a-dragons-journal · 3 years

Note

Just wanted to say thank you for explaining why certain language can look pretty bad while also trying to get people to maybe ease up a little on some of the gatekeeping if there's nothing else off going on?

my nonhumanity is both spiritual and psychological, I've shown signs of several of my kintypes since I was a small child, and none of it was a choice-- basically, I check all the boxes for Serious Kin for most people. Thing is, I've also got a list of kintypes that's about 25 deep, and it's really put me off getting involved in the community because every time I've considered reaching out and trying to make connections I've run into people specifically complaining about these kinnies with their mile long kin lists, and immediately feel ashamed, unwelcome, and doubt myself.

The overwhelming majority of my list is psychological-- I deal with A Lot Of Brain Things, and ultimately for whatever reason it seems like my brain has decided part of the way to deal with this has been to turn synpath connections and copinglinks from childhood into something else that now I can't get rid of even if I try (I know because I have tried. It went badly lol).

Anyway that was a really long winded rambly way of saying "thank you for encouraging people to look at the whole picture instead if just one specific thing so fewer people feel alienated like I do"-- sorry for being a wordy dork!!

*nodnod* That's definitely the ultimate message I'm trying to get across here, thank you for putting it into one sentence - look at the bigger picture instead of just making a decision about someone based on one specific thing. Realistically, a giant list of kintypes is a potential red flag for lack of introspection/misunderstanding what 'kin is, calling yourself "a kinnie" or using 'kin as a verb is a potential red flag for the same - but one or two red flags do not mean the thing they're red-flagging for is true. Red flags exist to make you look a little closer, not to make you instantly decide the person is lying or wrong about themself.

In any case, I'm sorry you've been made to feel unwelcome here because of that - I hope you can find spaces that you feel comfortable and at home in.

#otherkin #rani talks #asked and answered #anonymous

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girlboss-molina · 4 years

Text

Be Who You Are (No Compromise)

A Julie and the Phantoms Modern Royalty AU

Chapter 2: A Tale of Punches and Pancakes

AO3 Link

Words: 9389

-----

Alex POV

...

The jet ride was nice from a glance, but insufferable for Alex. His wish to leave his anxieties in Tambor? Yeah, he knew that was bullshit. As the miles passed, his stomach bubbled and knotted more and more until he had no room for the small wrapped chocolates in the dish at the back of the plane. The fluffy clouds seemed to taunt him with their serenity, making him feel out of place with his disgust, anxiety, and anger.

Why, why, did he have to be put in an arranged goddamn marriage when he was nineteen? The gods hated him, for sure.

He was back to considering options in his fake-your-death-to-get-out-of-it plan when Luke finally broke the silence.

“Dude, you okay?”

“Have a guess.” The sarcasm in his voice was tangible.

“Yes?”

“Have another guess.” Alex barely smiled at Luke’s laugh. “I just… I hate this. Julie’s awesome, dude, she’s one of my best friends. But I don’t want to marry her.”

“I feel you,” Luke responded. “I really, really want to get you out of it.”

“Thanks.” Alex went back to staring at the clouds.

…

As the plane touched down, the rumbling shook up the nerves in Alex’s stomach, and he had to shut his eyes and focus on his breathing and the feeling of Luke’s hand on his. He did his best not to crease his vest as he leaned over, holding on tight.

When he felt the motion in his ears stop, he carefully opened his eyes, relieved when he wasn’t nauseous. Of course, he couldn’t get rid of the anxiety.

They’d landed in the runway behind the Dahlia palace, and thankfully, the small amount of vision he had out his plane window only showed the back of the palace and, on the other side, the tall, forested mountains in which he and Julie had run around in many times when they were younger. The scene was calming, and settled his nerves.

As the doors opened, sending a crisp blast of cold Dahlian air in his face, the familiar smell of petrichor and honey reminded him of when he and Julie would run for hours, climbing trees as high as they could, despite Ray’s constant warnings and pleas for them to be careful. How simple it would be, really, to run out the plane door and across the runway until he was back, surrounded by the branches. It would be a nightmare, of course; he barely knew how to make a fire, which was definitely a skill he would need if he were to survive on his own in the cool Dahlian climate. Surely he could figure it out, though. It couldn’t be that hard. And the motivation of not having to act straight for the rest of his life would certainly help. He wondered just how fast he could run-

He was jolted back to reality by Luke excitedly hitting his shoulder.

“Your highness, as your Royal Best Dude™ I am legally required to get you up and moving so that you don’t start spiraling. Plus, I’m hungry.” Alex rolled his eyes and laughed despite himself.

He wasn’t going through this alone.

…

He should’ve expected the cameras, really. But the bright flashes startled him as soon as he stepped out of the plane, and he had to quickly struggle to compose himself. He gave small smiles and respectful waves, walking across the long runway to the limousine waiting for him. He would be making a round past the palace gates before formally entering the palace from the front. So he climbed into the lush leather seats, with Erik and Luke right behind him, and sat down, squeezing his hands into fists and then running his fingertips over the indents from his nails.

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together as he tapped his foot. He wouldn’t admit it, but the feeling of Luke’s and Erik’s hands on his shoulders helped. A lot. Tension melted away from him, and while he was still nervous, he somehow managed to stand and steadily walk out of the limo, a smile breaking out on his face as he saw Julie.

Alex wasn’t sure why he was surprised at how beautiful Julie was, there really was no paralleling her beauty. And yet, his heart swelled with pride at seeing her elegant violet dress, embroidered with dahlias.

“Alex, why the hell do you walk so fast?” asked Luke, breathing heavily and trying to keep up.

“I’m gay. Next question.”

“That’s fair.”

As he ran to Julie, Alex was so caught up in the euphoria of seeing his friend in person that, for a moment, he lived in a world where the paparazzi wasn’t a thing. But he didn’t care. Julie saw him and ran through the gardens, a huge grin visible from hundreds of feet away. She ran to him, her gown flowing in the breeze, and as soon as they were within a few feet of each other, Julie jumped and Alex let out an “oof” as he caught her in a hug, spinning around and laughing.

“It’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed, and Alex nodded.

“Yeah, you too! Even though we, you know, FaceTimed last night.”

“Eh, details. Besides, the press wants a happy reunion.”

“Fair.”

“How was the plane ride?”

“Amazing,” Alex said. “Nothing better than being on the edge of a panic attack while you’re thousands of feet in the air.”

“I’ll fight your anxiety,” Julie decided. “Tell it to meet me behind the Denny’s tonight.” Alex snorted.

“I’d rather you didn’t punch my brain. I kinda need it.”

“Do you?” Alex gasped in mock offense.

“Okay, rudeness aside, I think this is the part where we walk around the garden and pretend we don’t know there are photojournalists hiding behind the bushes.” Julie nodded and took his arm.

As they strolled around the gardens, the aroma of flowers settled some of Alex’s nerves. He never turned around to make sure Luke was there, but he somehow knew. It was the Royal Best Dude™ telepathy, probably. And Erik was probably bringing his suitcase up to wherever he would be staying. So, Alex did his best to relax and hang out with his friend.

“Ava’s going to be ascending soon,” he noted. “She’s pumped. Though I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to let a twenty-three year old run a country.” Julie laughed.

“I’m happy for her! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She knows how to party, for sure, but she’s also responsible. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’ll let my anxiety know.” Julie burst out laughing, and Alex soon followed.

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Ava Mercer of Tambor,” Julie said. “It has a nice ring to it.” Alex nodded.

“Yeah. I’m excited for her, too. All jokes aside, I think she’ll make a great queen.”

“Definitely.”

A few moments passed, including Julie gently picking a rose from the garden, one with a pale pink coloring, and sticking it behind Alex’s ear. When it wouldn’t stay, she scrunched her nose and carefully tucked it into the breast pocket of his vest.

“You look absolutely dashing, your highness,” she said with a fake, posh accent. Alex giggled and rolled his eyes.

“You’re a dork.”

“I know.”

…

His room was really something.

After he and Julie had finished their walk around the gardens, they’d given each other cordial bows (of course tied with a friendly wink, because they were just Like That), and Erik had shown him up to his quarters. Luke followed, and Alex noticed his cheeks were considerably red.

It was chillier in Dahlia than it was in Tambor, though, and Luke had never been Plus, a breeze had flown in during the last ten minutes of their walk, on which Luke was shadowing. He was probably flushed from the cold air.

He was down the hall from Julie’s room, in one of the guest rooms he’d used when playing hide-and-seek with Julie when they were kids. But it had been completely refurbished, since he would be staying there for a few months.

The soft carpet was a creamy tan, and the large, full-length mirrors let in sunlight that cast gentle shadows from the posters on the giant bed, which was adorned with blue sheets and pillows, with gold and pink accents. The dark, forest green walls gave the room a soothing effect, and the twinkling fairy lights were like fireflies in a meadow. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling, glittering with diamonds and gold. A mahogany record player sat on a media table, along with wireless chargers for his phone and laptop, next to the sliding door that led to a huge bathroom. The tiles were light tan and grey, peppered with flecks of quartz that shimmered in the light. A giant tub sat near a tinted window, as well as a vanity with a majestic painted mirror. The shower could’ve fit his entire bed.

Even though he wasn’t keen on marrying Julie, he wouldn’t dislike his stay here.

“Dude,” Luke whispered. “Your room is awesome.”

“I know, right? Definitely nicer than my room in Tambor.”

As Alex went to his giant suitcase full of neatly folded clothes, beginning to tuck them into drawers and onto hangers, Luke helped out.

“So,” Alex began, breaking the silence. “How are you liking Dahlia so far?”

“It’s great! Kinda cold, but I’ll get used to it. And… Julie seems really nice.”

Alex definitely didn’t miss Luke’s blush when he mentioned the princess, and his lips raised into a smirk.

“Yeah, she is. You should get to know her at dinner tonight.” Luke cleared his throat.

“Uh, yeah. Definitely.”

“You good?”

“Totally,” he insisted, though his voice rose an octave and Alex couldn’t suppress his laugh.

“Sure.”

…

The dinner was incredible. Platters of roast beef sat next to giant bowls of mashed potatoes, and the bread appetizers were soft and delicious. And, even though he was legally allowed to have alcohol based on Dahlian laws, he thought better of it, instead filling his glass with water. He noticed that Julie did the same.

“Not a fan of wine?” he asked.

“Nah, not really. It always gives me a stomachache.”

“Same.”

Alex went back to his food, before noticing a man around his age eyeing him. He had dark hair and was dressed in a red vest and dark grey shirt. He seemed quite kind, if the small smile on his face had any say.

“That’s your brother, Reggie, right? I think I’ve only met him once.”

Julie followed Alex’s gaze. “Oh yeah! You would get along great, I think.”

“Cool.”

…

Before dessert was brought up, everyone in the grand hall got to mingle for about twenty minutes and let their food settle. Alex let Julie introduce him to Reggie, with whom he immediately hit it off.

“No way, you play the drums?” Reggie asked. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but I’m no good.”

“Yeah, I do! You said you play bass?”

“Yep!”

“That’s awesome, dude.”

Their conversation lasted a bit longer, and Alex felt confident that he and Reggie would be good friends, especially because of his lighthearted demeanor, and their bro-hug before Alex was pulled away to talk to another nobleman.

He was bounced around like a ping-pong ball, being chatted up by guest after guest. Soon, though, he needed some air, so he searched to room for King Ray.

“Your majesty?” he asked, jogging over. Ray turned to him and gave a warm smile, shaking his hand.

“Hello, Alex. You can call me Ray. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. I was just wondering if I could sneak out the back for a moment? I need some air.” Ray laughed.

“Of course, son. I told them to give you some space,” he noted, guestering to the nobles, “but I doubt they were able to contain their excitement.” Alex nodded, grateful for Ray’s chill vibes. “Try to be back in ten minutes?”

“Of course.”

Ray nodded and patted his shoulder, and Alex stepped through the back door of the grand hall, grateful when he didn’t see anyone. He took a deep breath, fiddling with the hem of his vest.

A voice caught his ear.

“-yeah, don’t worry, Alyssa. The mousse is in the refrigerator-”

Alex whirled around, searching for whoever had spoken, but before he could…

WHAM.

A cold rush of air blew from behind him as a door opened, and someone ran into him.

Hard.

Alex stumbled forward, trying to catch himself but to no avail. His momentum swung him forward, leaving him on the ground.

“Whoa!” he started, looking at the person who’d ran him over, and…

Oh fuck, he thought. He’s hot.

“Agh, sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-” the man cut off, his cheeks flushing. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness.” He scrambled into a bow, and Alex blushed.

“No, you’re good, bro.”

Alex got a good look at him, and felt his cheeks flush. He had long, silky brown hair that fell over his shoulders in waves, and smooth brown skin that had darkened in a blush. His dark eyes were kind and playful, adorned with long eyelashes.

Alex inhaled slowly, trying to ignore the rising gay panic.

“Are you okay?” the man asked.

“I’m fine, yeah. Thanks. Just trying to clear my head. Until you, you know, tried to crack it open.” To Alex’s surprise, the man giggled, and holy fuck, if he wasn’t already adorable, that would’ve been the tipping point. Creases folded at the corners of his eyes, and his perfect smile turned lopsided as he laughed.

“I did pancake you, huh?” Alex tried to laugh, and the man cleared his throat. “Sorry. Oh, uh, I’m Willie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Alex reached for his hand. “Alex,” he greeted, still hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt.

“Well, I’d better make sure we’re clear to bring up dessert. But I’ll see you around, your royal pancakeness,” Willie said with a grin, spinning on his heel and going back to the kitchens. Alex nodded, even though he was already gone.

-----

Julie POV

...

As soon as Alex’s plane touched down, Julie couldn’t hide her excitement. She rushed through her photos, and as soon as she could see him, she took off running, a huge grin on her face. The silky fabric of her dress flapped against her shins, and she sprinted even faster, ignoring the goosebumps on her arms.

As soon as she reached him, she jumped into the hug, laughing as he spun her around. They might have FaceTimed the day before, but it just wasn’t the same as seeing him in person. He was one of her best friends, and the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in so long was frankly biphobic.

But as she spun around, finally opening her eyes, Julie caught sight of Alex’s guard. She’d never formally met him, and she’d always thought he was cute, but wow.

He had deep hazel eyes and pale skin, cheeks flushed from the cold, his wavy brown hair neatly styled, with a touch of personal flair. His chiseled jawline cast a shadow on his neck, and his biceps were visible through his dark jacket. Julie tried to look away and focus on her friend, because now was the literal worst time to develop a crush on someone she barely knew.

Not that she had a crush on him, or anything.

Julie forced those thoughts out of her head, and scolded her stupid heart for fluttering when she caught his gaze. She turned back to Alex, laughing when he insinuated that photojournalists would be hiding behind the bushes.

“Ava’s going to be ascending soon,” Alex told her. “She’s pumped. Though I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to let a twenty-three year old run a country.” Julie laughed, silently agreeing.

“I’m happy for her! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She knows how to party, for sure, but she’s also responsible. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’ll let my anxiety know.” Julie burst out laughing, soon followed by Alex.

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Ava Mercer of Tambor,” she said, letting the words flow off her tongue. “It has a nice ring to it.”

“Yeah. I’m excited for her, too. All jokes aside, I think she’ll make a great queen.”

“Definitely.” There wasn’t a doubt in her voice, either.

Julie had met Ava when she was eight. Ava had been thirteen, and was the coolest thirteen-year-old ever, in little Julie’s opinion. She vaguely remembered hanging out in her room with her, and thinking she was just the coolest ever. Then again, she was an eight year old. To an eight year old, all thirteen-year-olds are cool (or gross, but we don’t talk about that).

Julie walked with Alex, chatting about random things, including plans to get out of the arranged marriage, each more complicated than the next. Julie couldn’t stop herself from laughing when Alex brought up his temptation to just run into the woods with no supplies or survival skills, and just be a gay forest cryptid. She was quite fond of it, to be honest.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any plans that didn’t involve either faking their deaths, or something treasonous, neither of which would be good. At least, not in anyone else’s opinions.

…

After Alex went up to his room, Julie did the same, and immediately flopped on her bed, finally allowing herself to process her thoughts about, well, everything.

God, she wanted out of this marriage. She knew Alex did as well. They’d talked about it endlessly over FaceTime, texting, and just now, in person. But neither of them could come up with an actual plan or a good enough reason to halt it. Because, you know, the people actually getting married never get a say.

Plus, it did not help that Alex’s guard, who she’d learned was named Luke, was really cute. She furrowed her brow. She’d never even had a real conversation with the guy. Not that it mattered, of course. She remembered when she was fifteen and had already decided that Nick Danforth-Evans was a sweetheart, even though she’d only had one real conversation with him.

But this felt different somehow. She couldn’t help but feel like Luke was actually really nice. She just got those vibes from him. She cursed her stupid heart for making her feel things. No, Molina. There’s no such thing as liking a cute guard.

It didn’t work.

She stared at her ceiling, watching flecks of dust float around the air, and jumped when Flynn and Carrie walked into her room without knocking. It wasn’t like she actually expected them to knock, but she’d zoned out and the sudden sound took her by surprise.

“I know that look,” Flynn said matter-of-factly. “What’s the crisis about?”

“What isn’t it about?”

“Uh uh, don’t try to deflect by answering my question with another question,” Flynn scolded, and Carrie bit back a laugh.

“I just…” she searched for an excuse. “I love that Alex is here, but I don’t want to marry him,” she said, remembering that the best lies were based on the truth. “And he’s gay, so I know for a fact he doesn’t want to marry me. Plus, you know. We’ve expressed that multiple times. And I know there’s really nothing I can do about it, because it’s all arranged, and bitching about it does nothing to help, but honestly? I’m just feeling bitchy.”

“As you should,” Carrie agreed, to Julie’s surprise. “If anyone deserves to be a little bitchy, it’s you. I mean, come on. You’re a teenage girl who never actually got a normal life because you’re frickin’ Princess Julie Molina, heiress to the throne of Dahlia. And you’re stuck in an arranged marriage with one of your best friends, and neither of you want it, but you can’t actually change it. I’d be bitchy too.”

“Thank you for summing that up,” Julie deadpanned. “But… it helps. Thanks.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“She’s right, Jules,” Flynn agreed. “Be the bitchy bisexual you deserve to be.” That elicited a laugh, and Julie couldn’t help but leave the smile resting on her face.

“Alright,” she decided. “We have self-defense in half an hour, so we should get ready.” Flynn nodded and pulled Julie off of her bed, leading her to the giant walk-in closet, searching the hundreds of options, but steering clear from the gowns.

Flynn and Carrie must’ve known she needed cheering up, because they sarcastically suggested the biggest, poofiest gowns Julie owned, tied with a tight shawl and the wobbliest heels imaginable. Julie laughed despite herself, especially since she could barely walk in the shoes they’d picked. She was also taller than six feet, which was a plus, but she would pick stability over height any day, especially when she was going to practice kicking people’s asses.

Eventually, she settled on flexible black leggings with a purple stripe going down the outside of each leg, and a simple white tunic that starkly contrasted her dark skin. It was fitted but she could move easily in it, stretching into a backbend to make sure.

She sighed and allowed Flynn and Carrie to take either arm and lead her downstairs to the training arena.

…

The training arena was a huge room, the floors completely covered in mats, aside from the giant gymnastic trampolines at the far corner and the running track that traversed the perimeter. On the far side opposite the trampolines were sets of weights and treadmills, as well as other equipment like bars and benches. Punching bags were hung sporadically around the martial arts area, which was also used for tumbling and floor routines.

Lady Athena gave a smile as they walked in, soon followed by Reggie and Mira. Lady Athena was a tall, muscular woman with silky black hair that was always in a high ponytail. Her bronze skin glittered with sweat, and her two-piece athleisure outfit left her chiseled abs on display.

“Alright,” she said, clapping her hands. “Reggie, since you’re bigger, you’re with me. You four, pair up and practice your hand-to-hand skills. Remember the blocks we learned last week.” Julie nodded and paired with Flynn, immediately getting into position.

“Head’s up,” she warned with a smirk, before lunging with a punch that would’ve hit Flynn square in the chest if not for her catlike reflexes. She knocked Julie’s hand out of the way, and Julie had to twist to avoid Flynn’s counterattack, letting herself lean backwards. But when she almost fell, she used it to her advantage, hopping backwards onto one hand and spinning, tripping Flynn by kicking her feet out from under her. Before Flynn could recover, Julie pounced over her, grabbing her shirt collar and pulling her fist back, ready to attack. She didn’t follow through, obviously, but she knew she had good form.

“Well done, your highness,” praised Lady Athena. Julie blushed.

“Thanks.”

“Whatever,” Flynn grumbled, and Julie laughed. “Rematch?”

“You’re on.”

…

Julie had defeated Flynn four times to two, and was feeling very confident. It must’ve helped, exercising, because her worries about Alex and Luke were far away as she battled Carrie and then Mira. Or, they were until a certain brunette guard walked in the room in a sleeveless shirt and shorts that showed off his muscles.

She shouldn’t have let herself get distracted, though, because in her haze, Mira managed to throw her off balance and win their round.

“Hah! That’s two each!” She outstretched her hand, which Julie gratefully accepted, pulling her up.

“Good job,” she said, still distracted but keeping her eyes far away from Luke.

“Hi, is this the self-defense lesson?” Luke asked, and Julie could no longer ignore him.

“It is,” Lady Athena confirmed. “You’re Prince Alexander’s guard, correct?”

“And certified Royal Best Dude™,” he added with a grin that was so adorable it made Julie flush. By some miracle, nobody noticed.

“Alright, why don’t you train with Reggie? He can show you what we’re working on. I need to go make sure nobody’s going to throw out their back at the weights.” With that, Lady Athena stalked off, her ponytail swaying behind her.

Luke walked over to Reggie, and Julie did her best not to stare as Reggie guided Luke, and they began sparring. Luke was surprisingly agile, but he was too enthusiastic, reaching for every possible blow, not realizing where he left himself vulnerable. But his puppy eyes when Reggie defeated him were too cute.

Julie cleared her throat and turned away.

“Tiebreaker?” Mira nodded, and they went to sparring. Julie ducked and dodged every hit of Mira’s, even getting in a few herself, but she was thrown off when she heard Luke laugh, a musical, joyful sound, and Mira took advantage of her momentary slip, finally beating her.

“Yes!” Mira jumped and pumped her fist, then helped Julie up.

“Nice job!” Julie grinned with the words, high-fiving Mira.

“Alright, break time.”

Julie walked to the edge of the wall where she’d left her water bottle and towel, almost choking on her water when she heard Luke’s voice behind her.

“Your highness?” he asked shyly. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.” Julie smiled and outstretched her hand, shaking Luke’s. “I’m Alex’s guard, Luke.”

“Hi! You can call me Julie,” she said with a smile, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too! Oh, by the way, great job during your fights. I saw your takedown on the other girl, the one with the braids.”

“Oh, that’s Flynn.”

“Cool. But yeah, I saw your fight, and that was really impressive. I doubt I could spin on one hand like you did.”

Well.

If Julie hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now. At least Luke’s cheeks were only red because of the intense workouts.

“It took me forever to get that move right,” she admitted. “I only just got it down, if I’m being honest. I still slip up sometimes, too.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he complimented. And oh, his smile really was a beautiful thing.

“Alright, break time’s over,” called Lady Athena. “No more flirting.” Julie’s stomach dropped, and she inhaled, a denial already on her tongue, before she realized that her coach was looking at Flynn and Carrie, who were chatting animatedly, both blushing.

She practiced a bit more with Carrie, doing her best to ignore the boy next to her. When the class finally ended, she hurriedly thanked Lady Athena before rushing up to shower.

Letting the hot water wash over her, she pondered how the hell Luke had wiggled his way into her heart so quickly within one conversation.

Was she being brainwashed into liking a guy she barely knew?

Was this some elaborate trick that whatever higher being existed had orchestrated as a ploy to get her out of the arranged marriage?

… And more importantly, would it work?

The thought made her laugh. Not that she didn’t slightly believe this was all some sort of elaborate trick to get her to commit treason and fall in love with someone she wasn’t supposed to, but it was funny nonetheless.

…

After she’d done her best to set the record for hottest, soapiest shower possible, Julie wrapped herself in a towel, massaging peach lotion into her skin, the scent matching her shampoo. As she rubbed it into her hands, she imagined what it would feel like holding Luke’s hand, before quickly banishing the thought away to the depths of simpy hell.

This was worse than she thought.

She changed into her evening gown for the dinner, allowing Mira to lace up the back. It was all navy blue, a long strapless dress that reached her ankles, with a see-through tulle layer over top that went up to a sleeveless halter neckline, leaving the rest of the tulle layer to flow down neatly over the rest of the silky dress, which tightened at the waist. Tiny diamonds had been sewn into the tulle at her waist, high in concentration before gently tapering off the lower in the skirt they went.

“Okay,” Carrie said, walking in with Flynn beside her. “I think I speak for everyone when I say, damn. That dress is fine.” Flynn nodded enthusiastically.

“I know, right?” Mira said excitedly. “I actually helped tailor this one! It was one of my favorites to make.”

“And for a good reason,” Julie agreed. “Mira, you’ve outdone yourself.”

“Not quite,” she said, turning Julie towards the vanity. “I’m thinking we do something simple but elegant for your hair?”

“I vote for that,” Flynn interjected.

“Sure!”

Mira set to work, combing through Julie’s hair with her fingers. Julie closed her eyes. She’d always loved the feeling of people playing with her hair, and as Mira wove her dark locks into two thick braids that soon joined together, letting the rest of her hair poof at the base of her neck, Julie was transported back to her mother’s room when she was five. She remembered the feeling of her mother braiding her hair like it was yesterday, the gentle tugs and nimble fingers on her scalp. It wasn’t the same with Mira, of course, but it was refreshing and comforting at the same time.

“Hey, Jules?” Flynn called from her closet.

“Mm?”

“Mind if I steal that asymmetrical dress for tonight? The jade one,” she clarified.

“Feel free!”

The dress in mind was a slim-fitting jade green dress that reached her knees, but the hem was cut asymmetrically, leaving one side longer than the other. It had golden ribbon-like threads spun around it with no particular rhyme or reason, and a built-in sash made of pale, spring green tulle roses. The thin straps showed off her shoulders, and when Flynn walked out with it on, Julie noticed Carrie blush.

“Dude, you look awesome,” Julie complimented. Flynn twirled, letting the light play off of the shimmery fabric.

“Thanks!”

Mira finished doing Julie’s hair, and held up a mirror for her to see. Julie admired the thick, smooth braids that gently rejoined at the base of her neck, letting the rest of her dark curls loose in an elegant fashion.

“It’s amazing, Mira! Thank you so much.”

“Of course! And thank you for letting me do it,” she said with a giggle. “Your hair is so fun to style.” Julie blushed.

…

The dinner was rather uneventful, thankfully. Julie wasn’t sure if she would’ve had the energy to constantly be answering questions. Instead, though, she got to introduce people to each other, and relax and eat, and try to keep her eyes away from a certain hazel-eyed guard.

She was grateful for the relatively simple task.

-----

Luke POV

...

Luke had heard about the self-defense classes in the training arena, and he was itching to get moving, so he changed into workout clothes and headed down there.

The spiral staircase was wide and glittered with colored glass, the silver banisters gleaming in the light. He trailed his hand down it as he made his way down.

When he reached the training arena, he closed the door behind him and went to set down his water bottle and towel- but not before noticing Julie.

At the self-defense class.

Thankfully, she didn’t see him. He hung back for a moment, watching as she sparred with another girl with long braids. The way she moved was incredible, like water flowing in a current, unpredictable and smooth. Of course, if anyone asked, he was most certainly not admiring it. He could silently appreciate her skills, though.

As she dodged hit after hit, throwing her own blocks and blows, it looked like the girl with braids had gotten the better of her, but as Julie leaned backwards, she hopped and - holy fuck - caught herself on one hand, spinning around in the air like some sort of ethereal breakdancer, and knocking the other girl’s feet out from under her, before pouncing, grabbing her shirt collar, and pulling back her fist, before freezing and laughing.

Whoa.

So not only was she a wicked beauty, Luke realized, she was a human wrecking ball, too.

He cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from the beautiful badass in front of him, tuning out Lady Athena’s praise in favor of clearing his head before approaching to join. Not that it worked. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Julie. The other three girls (and the guy, if he was being honest) were all stunningly fit and agile, but there was something about Julie that enchanted him. The way she was always smiling even in the middle of a training fight, how, even when she was defeated, she brushed it off with a laugh, how she was light on her feet like a cat as she dodged and spun, how she was needlessly extravagant with her self-defense and yet somehow always made it work. Maybe that’s just what princesses were like; even when defending themselves against possible attackers, they had to be as beautiful as ever.

Of course, right now, Luke knew she didn’t look how she normally would, in her silky gowns and expertly styled hair. Now, she wore matching athletic clothes and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, with some strands coming out in a sweaty frizz. And yet, that somehow just made her even more breathtaking. Even when she was sweaty and working out, she managed to look like an angel.

An angel who could easily kick his ass, he remembered as she pulled the upside-down-one-handed-breakdancer move again, this time on a redheaded girl he didn’t recognize.

Before he could stop himself, he approached Lady Athena.

“Hi, is this the self-defense lesson?” He asked the woman.

“It is,” Lady Athena confirmed, and he nodded.. “You’re Prince Alexander’s guard, correct?”

“And certified Royal Best Dude™,” he added with a grin. He would never let go of that title.

“Alright, why don’t you train with Reggie? He can show you what we’re working on. I need to go make sure nobody’s going to throw out their back at the weights.” Luke nodded again as Lady Athena walked away.

He walked over to Reggie, shaking his hand.

“Hey, I’m Luke,” he introduced with a smile. Reggie shot one back.

“Reggie!”

“Nice to meet you! So, do we just… fight? I’m not sure how this is run here compared to in Tambor.” Reggie laughed.

“Yeah, pretty much. You good at hand-to-hand?”

“I’m not bad,” he admitted. “But I’m no expert.” He couldn’t help looking at Julie. “Is she always that much of a badass?” Reggie followed his eyes to Julie.

“Pretty much,” he said with a laugh, and Luke dearly hoped he wasn’t blushing.

“Good to know. In that case, if I introduce myself to her, how scared should I be?” He asked it with a smile and a joking tone, but he was actually a bit nervous. But, you know, just because he now knew that she could kick his ass seven ways to Sunday.

No other reason.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Reggie assured him. “She’s actually really nice. I’ve known her since she was eight,” he explained. Luke nodded, grateful for the reassurance.

“Alrighty then,” he said, hopping into a fighting stance. “Let’s get cracking.”

…

By “let’s get cracking,” he was hoping he wouldn’t be cracking his ego, but he was sorely mistaken. Reggie didn’t seem like it, but he was really strong, and really good at fighting. Luke was more agile than him, and strength-wise he could compare, but the Dahlian style of fighting was so different from the Tamborian style. They were similar in many ways, of course; they had the same moves and strategies. But the ways they moved were so different, the ways they executed their moves had an uncanny grace and deadliness.

He did his best, reaching for every blow he could, trying to get the upper hand. And, to his credit, he won a few rounds. But he accidentally left himself vulnerable most of the time, leaving perfect opportunities for his opponent to strike, because Of Course He Did.

When they called for a break, Luke wiped his forehead with a towel, grabbing a drink of water. Then, he swallowed the lump in his throat and approached Julie.

“Your highness?” he asked shyly. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.” Luke tried not to blush when she smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Alex’s guard, Luke.”

“Hi! You can call me Julie,” she said with a gorgeous grin, and Luke knew he was a goner. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too! Oh, by the way, great job during your fights. I saw your takedown on the other girl, the one with the braids.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he mentally kicked himself. Not smooth, Patterson. What if she thought he was creepy?

Thankfully, though, she smiled.

“Oh, that’s Flynn!”

“Cool,” he said, relieved. Nice and smooth, Patterson. “But yeah, I saw your fight, and that was really impressive. I doubt I could spin on one hand like you did.” He reached up and scratched the back of his neck nervously, and he couldn’t help but feel accomplished when Julie’s cheeks flushed. Of course, his were probably just as red, but hopefully he could blame it on the workout.

“It took me forever to get that move right,” she admitted. “I only just got it down, if I’m being honest. I still slip up sometimes, too.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he complimented with a smile. And it wasn’t a lie, either.

“Alright, break time’s over,” called Lady Athena. “No more flirting.” Luke cleared his throat, getting ready to insist that he wasn’t flirting, before he realized that Lady Athen was looking at Flynn and another redheaded girl, who were chatting animatedly, both blushing. He sighed in relief.

As he went back to sparring with Reggie, zoned out but fighting just as well as he was before, maybe even better, he pondered Julie’s abilities. How did she manage to be so beautiful, so graceful, and yet so kind and badass? It shouldn’t have been possible for any one human to do that all, much less a teenage girl who was already juggling the responsibilities of being a princess.

Julie was, Luke realized, even more incredible than he’d ever thought possible.

…

All throughout the dinner, he was trying not to stare at Julie. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous, and the way she flitted around the room like a butterfly was absolutely ethereal. Tie that with the diamonds sewn into her navy blue dress that looked like fading stars and twinkled in the light, and she looked like she was wrapped in starlight. He knew it was appropriate for that star of a woman, but still, he thought it should’ve been illegal for anyone to have that effect on him.

His cheeks were red, and he stared at his plate, inhaling the scent of roast beef and mashed potatoes, along with the aroma of warm bread from his appetizer.

Even with the cool air of Dahlia and his thin shirt and suit vest, he was still sweating. He was absolutely gone for a girl he’d only had one conversation with, a girl he’d only known for a maximum of five hours.

A girl who his best friend was being forced to marry.

That was the worst part of all of this. His best friend, who would never be in love with Julie no matter how good of friends they were, had to marry her because of goddamn international relations, and there was nothing he could do about it. And, a selfish part of him thought, it means you never had a chance. He shoved the thoughts out of his head, hating the lingering ache they left in his heart.

Not that he would’ve ever had a chance anyway. She was a beautiful, badass princess, and he was just a guard she didn’t even know.

-----

Reggie POV

...

As soon as the plane landed on the runway behind the palace, Reggie smiled at Julie, letting go of her hand as she readied herself.

He understood her worry. No matter how close you are with someone, being set to marry them - especially when you didn’t want to - was daunting. Of course, he’d never been through the same thing, but he was always an empathetic person, and he could practically feel his own sister’s worry and ache.

He saw Prince Alexander walking to the gardens, and smiled when Julie broke into a grin, running to him. He twirled rose petals between his fingers, letting out a small laugh when she jumped into Alex’s arms. He didn’t want to seem like a helicopter brother, though, so he went back inside, leaving Jules with Prince Alexander.

When he stepped inside, he nearly ran into Ray.

“Whoa, sorry!” Ray laughed.

“You’re perfectly fine, mijo. Everything okay?” Reggie sighed.

“I’m just worried for Julie. I’ve never really gotten to know Prince Alexander, and-”

“I’ll stop you there,” Ray said. “Believe me, I know what you mean, and if I could stop it without huge consequences, I would. But Alex isn’t someone you need to worry about. That boy is one of the sweetest, kindest people I’ve ever met,” he assured him. “And while I know neither of them want to get married, I know that they’re both mature, and good friends.”

“Thanks,” Reggie sighed. “I just wish I could get her out of it, you know? I mean, that’s my little sister.”

“I understand,” the king agreed. “But unfortunately, there isn’t anything to be done other than let Alex settle in.” Reggie nodded glumly. “Hey, wasn’t there a progression you wanted to show me? On your bass?” Ray clarified. Reggie immediately lit up.

“Yeah! Julie and I have been working on a song called Icarus, and she’s got a killer piano melody worked out. I went off of some of her chords and found a super cool progression on my bass that adds a really nice line underneath hers, and it sounds-” he did the chef’s kiss thing with his hand- “divine.”

“Alright, well now I’ve gotta see it!” Reggie’s grin lit up even more and he ran to his room, followed by Ray, who was jogging behind him.

Reggie’s room was huge, the walls painted dark blue. He’d always found the color soothing. He snatched his red and white bass guitar from its stand, spinning on his heel as he ducked under the strap, letting it settle by his waist.

When Ray met him there, Reggie grinned, plucking the strings animatedly until he remembered the notes. He didn’t bother grabbing his phone to try and find them from wherever he’d written them down in the endless scrolling of his notes app. Soon, though, his chaotic ADHD brain remembered, and he began excitedly plucking specific notes in a rhythmic pattern, his fingers stretching to reach each fret as he hopped from the E string to A, then G back to E and D. He smiled even brighter when he saw Ray grinning and tapping his foot to the beat.

“So, it kinda just goes like that, until we get to the chorus. Then, I come in with a little…” he slid his finger down the string, letting the note slide down before he hopped back into the rhythm, the same notes as before, but ordered differently, giving a new feel to the music.

He hopped around, spinning as he played his bass, humming the lyrics under his breath.

“That sounds super cool, mijo!” Ray exclaimed, one eyebrow furrowed, as was custom for him whenever he was excited. Reggie hopped up and down happily, fixing the cuff of one of his sleeves.

“Thanks! Julie and I are gonna try to record it. I’m trying to learn how to play the drums, to add a steady beat, but I can’t seem to figure it out.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon.” Reggie beamed. “I’m so sorry, mijo, I have to go. I’d love to hear more later or tomorrow, though!”

“Okay,” Reggie said. “Bye!” He continued playing marking down cool progressions he found, and just hopping around to get out his wiggles.

…

At the self-defense class, he sparred with Lady Athena. Sometimes he would spar with Julie or Flynn, but even though she was no doubt better at fighting, he was also bigger, and she was paired with Flynn.

Lady Athena was amazing at fighting, and Reggie got his ass kicked most of the time, but he was able to win a couple rounds, which he was quite proud of. Lady Athena complimented his form, and he had no doubt that he would be gathering serotonin from that compliment for weeks. Even then, though, he got plenty from seeing his badass little sister master her insane breakdance-style move, with which she completely demolished Flynn in a few seconds. His chest swelled with pride when she won.

Soon, though, a man named Luke entered the studio, and Reggie definitely didn’t miss Julie’s blush when she looked at him. She might’ve been supposed to marry Alex, but it wasn’t like either of them wanted it. Plus, he was always down for a little treason, especially if it was with Julie.

Lady Athena paired Luke with Reggie, perfect timing for her to go check on some of the other people in the arena.

“Hey, I’m Luke,” the man introduced with a smile. Reggie gave his trademark grin.

“Reggie!” He outstretched his hand, and Luke shook it.

“Nice to meet you! So, do we just… fight?” Luke asked. “I’m not sure how this is run here compared to in Tambor.” Reggie laughed. He’d never sparred with anyone from Tambor before, so this would be fun.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You good at hand-to-hand?”

“I’m not bad, but I’m no expert.” Reggie followed his gaze as it shifted over to Julie. “Is she always that much of a badass?” He asked, clearly in awe.

“Pretty much,” Reggie replied with a laugh, grinning at Luke’s blush.

Simp.

“Good to know. In that case, if I introduce myself to her, how scared should I be?” Luke was fiddling with the hem of his shirt by that point.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Reggie assured him. “She’s actually really nice. I’ve known her since she was eight,” he explained.

“Alrighty then,” he said, hopping into a fighting stance. “Let’s get cracking.” Reggie grinned and reciprocated, taking the first strike.

The first thing he learned was that Luke was very opportunistic in his fighting style. He went for nearly every possible blow, even if it meant leaving himself vulnerable. Reggie, of course, took advantage of this. He had to make sure his new friend (and sister’s possible future treasonous boyfriend) knew he could protect people.

Luke pouted, and Reggie couldn’t help but admit that he had adorable puppy eyes.

He helped him up, laughing. A few more sparring rounds passed, and Luke turned out to be quite adaptable. He found ways to get past Reggie’s blocks, and even put some up himself. Soon, they were evenly matched, and Reggie was impressed. Although, he soon found that he could get in another blow by telling a horrible joke, then striking when Luke laughed.

He thought it was pretty genius.

…

The dinner was rather uneventful. He did, however, get to meet Prince Alexander, which he was very happy about - even more so now that he was confident in Ray’s assurance that he was a good person. They’d chatted about politics and whatnot, before both admitting that they were bored. Somehow, the conversation strayed to music.

“No way, you play the drums?” Reggie asked excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but I’m no good.”

“Yeah, I do! You said you play bass?”

“Yep!” He beamed, making a mental note to ask if he wanted to see, sometime later.

“That’s awesome, dude.”

“Thanks!”

They talked for a little while longer, before Alex was pulled away to talk to some other Dahlian nobleman whose name Reggie kept forgetting. Plus, Alex seemed tired; unsurprising, given the long day he must’ve had.

Reggie eventually settled down and ran through his thoughts.

He knew he couldn’t protect Julie, not like he wanted to. Plus, she didn’t need protecting, he’d come to realize after Luke’s “badass” comment at the training arena. Julie Molina wasn’t just a badass in self-defense, she was also a badass in every other sense of the word. She was a teenage girl, the heiress to the Dahlian throne, juggling her academic lessons and royal lessons, along with making time for her friends, free time, and she managed to (usually) get enough sleep. She was a complete badass who didn’t need protecting.

She needed support, instead. That was something Reggie could do. He could be by her side every step of the way, no matter how hard it got. He was her brother, and he loved her more than life itself, loved every crooked smile, every curl of hair, every eye roll after one of his famously bad jokes. She didn’t deserve any of this, but by God, he’d do his best to make it bearable for her.

-----

Willie POV

...

After lunch, the burn on Willie’s hand had calmed. Rather than the angry red mark it was earlier, it had shrunk into an annoyed red streak. Still a nuisance, but he didn’t really care.

As Willie whipped the mousse, his mind strayed to Prince Alexander.

What was he like? Was he as cute in person as he was in photos? Probably, Willie decided. Photos never fully captured someone’s beauty unless they knew what they were looking for, and that was always more of an emotion. Photojournalists aimed for lighting and composition. There were always emotion in the photos, yes, but they never actually got to see the people in the photo.

He wondered if he would get to meet him. Would it go well? Would he like the bread he’d so carefully baked? Would he enjoy the mousse cake he was whipping up right now? All of these questions whirled around in Willie’s brain as he whipped the mousse, letting it become airy and fluffy. Sprinkles of cocoa powder dusted the counter next to his mixing bowl, but it was fine. It would all get wiped up later.

He grabbed a tub of fine cinnamon, sprinkling in a pinch for a little bit of kick. It was barely noticeable, but it gave the mousse an extra depth that it normally would’ve lacked. He’d never told anyone his secret, despite prying from Lilian.

Sprinkling in a tiny bit more to account for the large batch, his thoughts wandered again.

How was Princess Julie dealing with all of this? Willie had never had a real conversation with her, but she seemed to be very well put-together. She managed everything so well, at least from the outside. Though he knew better than anyone that, no matter how organized someone may seem, there’s always a storm underneath.

Willie finished up, putting plastic wrap over the mousse and sticking it in the giant refrigerator, before taking off his apron, washing his hands, and heading for the door.

“Willie?” Called Alyssa from behind him. He turned around, walking backwards.

“Yeah? I’m just going on break.”

“Did you finish making the mousse?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Alyssa,” he said, walking out the door. The mousse is in the refrigerator-”

WHAM.

Willie let out a slight “oof” as he ran into the person in the hallway.

He stumbled, catching himself before he fell, though not as gracefully as he would’ve liked. He’d fared better than the other person, though.

“Whoa!” The man said.

“Agh, sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-” Willie cut himself off, his cheeks flushing as he realized he’d just ran into Prince Alexander.

Well, so much for making a good impression.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness.” He scrambled into a bow, and blushed.

“No, you’re good, bro.” Willie was taken aback by the casual response, but he wasn’t complaining.

Willie finally got a good look at him, and wasn’t at all surprised when he found that he was even more stunning in person.Of course, it made it a whole lot harder to hide his gay panic.

He had blonde hair that was expertly styled, and a crisp, blue suit vest with minimalistic gold embroidery that brought out flecks of blue in his eyes and highlights in his hair. His muscles were defined and visible through the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and even when he was frazzled after just having been knocked over, he still looked as handsome as ever.

“Are you okay?” Willie asked, concerned.

“I’m fine, yeah. Thanks. Just trying to clear my head. Until you, you know, tried to crack it open.” Willie couldn’t help himself from laughing, and dearly hoped it wasn’t the wrong move. But the prince had a small smile on his face and pink dusting his cheeks, so he had a feeling it was okay.

“I did pancake you, huh?” He tried to laugh, and Willie nervously cleared his throat. “Sorry. Oh, uh, I’m Willie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Willie outstretched his hand, delighted when the other man shook it. “Alex,” he greeted, still blushing a little bit, which could be chalked up to the embarrassment of being plowed over. Willie was worried things would get awkward soon, so he searched for an excuse, hating that he had to leave.

“Well, I’d better make sure we’re clear to bring up dessert,” he said. “But I’ll see you around, your royal pancakeness,” Willie added with a grin, spinning on his heel and going back to the kitchens, hoping Alex hadn’t noticed his internal gay panic.

…

“Well, that was a quick break,” Alyssa pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Willie agreed, not fully listening.

He’d fucking pancaked the prince. Prince Alexander Mercer of Tambor. And Willie, despite his constant hoping for a good impression, ran him over because he wasn’t even watching where he was going.

How the hell was he such a mess? And even more, how would he ever be accepted by literal royalty who was way too cute to even exist?

Willie shook his head, letting his hair fall over his shoulders, ignoring the feeling of Alyssa’s eyes on him as he walked into the giant refrigerated room, grabbing the huge bowl of chocolate mousse and scooping it into a piping bag, grabbing some of the chilled cakes.

His hands were steady and meticulous as he gently piped the mousse onto the cakes, making a thick layer on top of each, then lifting into a swirl that peaked in the center, adorning each cake with a bit of wafer and chocolate. He set each one on a tray, waiting for Alyssa to pick it up. Plating was her specialty, because according to Lilian, any time Willie did plating, it ended up “chaotic” and “messy” and “unorthodox.” Personally, he thought it was cool. But, not everyone could have taste, he supposed.

…

Later that night, as he wandered into his small room in the chefs’ quarters, laying down on the soft bed, his mind wandered to Alex. Despite constantly being on the news, he was a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle Willie had the urge to solve. What were his interests? His desires? His hopes, his dreams?

Of course, he would never be able to act on his feelings about the prince, how adorably awkward he was, how gorgeous he was in any outfit, no matter the style, how even in one simple conversation, Willie had become so enamoured that he wanted to know everything about him. Not in a creepy way, of course, but in the way one wishes to know someone they’ve just met, who intrigues them to no end.

That night, his dreams were haunted by a familiar face, a shy smile, and a piercing set of bluish eyes.

#bwya tag

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lifeofroos · 3 years

Text

Part 59: I literally googled Blue drinks for this because I wanted a second Percy chapter. It begins where the previous part ended!

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Nico talks to Percy and realises the guy might need some help. The story is also on AO3 and FanFiction.net! Also, in tags like Dionysus, Nico di Angelo, writing etc.

This Might Be Crazy: Chapter 59: Blue Water

‘I told Dionysus I was in love with you.’

Percy raised his eyebrows and put his hand on the banister. ‘Can I say that the entire thing is a little weird to me? That you get therapy from Mr. D, I mean.’

I shrugged. ‘I had a hunch you thought so.’

‘You know...’

‘You don’t really like him and vice versa.’

‘That.’

In thought, we walked down the fire escape. ‘He helps me very well, though,’ I said when we got down the stairs.

‘I know. How did he react?’

I snickered. ‘He tried not to judge me. He tried so hard not to judge me, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t fatom anyone seeing you that way, I think.’

‘I mean, that goes both ways.’

‘Thought so. He found it weird that it was you, but I think he did get why someone would fall in love with the idea of you. Handsome hero who saved the world and all.’

‘I for one don’t get it, but go on.’

‘Annabeth loves you very much.’

‘Yeah, she does.’ We strolled further. I assumed Percy knew where we had to go.

‘And not undeserved. You are a pretty good dude, Percy. No homo.’

He laughed. ‘If you say so.’ He sighed and kicked a stone away. ‘Anyway.’

‘Yeah, anyway.’

‘Anyway… Have some blue water.’

I looked at the can he had given me before. It said it was blue water. ‘The person who made this is a dork,’ I said, while I opened it. ‘And so are the people who drink it.’ Percy looked at me while I took a big sip. ‘Wise words, Nico.’

‘I thought so too.’

Percy rolled his eyes. ‘Eh... I want to say, you look better.’

‘I feel better, too. Considering everything that happened.’

‘Glad one of us is getting better.’

‘Maybe you should try therapy too,’ I spat out. Percy looked at me like I was crazy, until I specified: ‘Not with Dionysus! Of course not, I mean with a demigod therapist. The office is in New York. Will and I sent flyers a little while ago, didn’t you get one?’

‘I did get that flyer.’ Percy shrugged. ‘I have always had a lot of support, so I thought it wasn’t necessary.’

‘I had support before I began therapy too. Will, and Reyna, and Hazel, and you, and more people. Still, I needed help. Professional help.’

‘Ah.’ There was a pause. ‘I know I could be helped by it. I am just too chicken to actually go.’ Percy took a sip of his water. We took a turn around the corner.

‘Do you really think you are more chicken then I?’

‘Obviously I am more chicken than you.’

‘No.’

‘Yes.’

‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘Just, no.’

He sighed. ‘How not?’

‘Literally everything you do shows you aren’t chicken. You took on the prophecy, fought the Giants, cuss out the gods every other sentence, and… eh… and Geryon, and stuff.’

Percy took a sip of blue water. ‘Why specifically Geryon?’

‘I don’t know. It was the first thing that came to mind.’

I looked at Percy. He took a deep breath. ‘It wasn’t, wasn’t it?’

‘Perhaps, but I didn’t want to bring the mood down.’

Percy kicked a stone ahead of him. ‘Did you and Dionysus talk about Tartarus, too?’

‘Yes.’

Percy hunched over his shoulders. ‘I think I already knew so. You seem much, much happier since you went to the Underworld with Dionysus that one time. Eh, it leaked out.’

‘I knew it did.’ I wanted to put my hands in my pockets, but I was holding a can, which made it difficult. ‘I talked with Elder Gods there. Dionysus thinks they now protect me against other mental maladies.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s a little weird, but if it works, it works. I mean, I also feel like the magic world owes me something to make up for all the trauma.’

Percy smiled for a second, before it faded again. He seemed miles away with his thoughts.

‘I still have nightmares,’ Percy croaked. He clenched his fist around the can in his hand. ‘I see Tartarus and…’ he grimaced. ‘And all that was there. Annabeth has it too. Oh, Nico, at least we had each other, at least!’

I looked at the ground. ‘Percy, that does not make it any better. Not at all,’ I muttered. ‘Tartarus was horrible for me, okay? And I could not imagine it would be any better for you and Annabeth just because you were together.’

‘Hm.’ He swallowed. I looked up again. He looked pained, as if he could see it all in front of him right now. He put a hand over his mouth.

‘Percy…’

‘It’s…’

‘No, sorry, Percy. Sorry.’ I looked at the ground.

Percy took a deep breath. ‘I know I should get help,’ he said, a little stifled. ‘I know I should.’ He shook his head and bit his lip. ‘Until I can get myself to do it, let's just get milkshakes, okay?’

‘What?’ My heart is still hammering from how you reacted, dude. ‘Eh…’

‘Birthday snack.’

‘I just had cake…’

‘So what?’

‘I mean… so what?’

He gave me a tiny smile that was almost sincere.

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

It was actually sincere once we got to the McDonalds' near his house (Sadly, we couldn’t get to Denny’s). Percy bought milkshakes for both of us.

He sighed while he took a sip. ‘It sounds like your life wasn’t easy, Neeks. I hope milkshakes can make it a little better.’

‘Percy, you’re life wasn’t a cakewalk either.’

‘It tends to slide off of me.’

‘Nah.’

‘Who knows.’

I took a teeny tiny sip. ‘I am right about another thing, being that these this taste like garbage.’

‘You take that back.’

‘No.’ I grinned and narrowed my eyes. ‘I won’t. Next time, we’ll go to not-McDonald’s, anywhere else really, so you can taste a real milkshake.’

Percy rolled his eyes. ‘Deal.’

A/N: Yeah I had to google the word ‘banister,’ so what?

Also, I dislike ‘Mr. D,’ so I have changed it to Dionysus and Dionysus only. I might have previously said this.

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ronsenburg · 3 years

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Chapters: 4/? Fandom: 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Garyuu Kyouya | Klavier Gavin/Odoroki Housuke | Apollo Justice Characters: Odoroki Housuke | Apollo Justice, Aoi Daichi | Clay Terran, Garyuu Kyouya | Klavier Gavin, Garyuu Kirihito | Kristoph Gavin, Houzuki Akane | Ema Skye, Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth, Ichijou Mikumo | Kay Faraday Additional Tags: best friends make terrible wingmen, apollo needs to get it together, how are they so emotionally dense, Pre-Relationship, klavier is actually german and also a giant dork, clay is alive and nothing hurts, does it count as a slow burn if the author takes a year to update in between chapters?, yatagarasTWO!!!! Summary:

Apollo realizes he's in love with Klavier Gavin during a post-trial lunch one afternoon. Clay tries his best to help, but things don’t always go as planned.

#CHAPTER 4!!!!!!!#real post for next day #klapollo #ronsenburg tries to write

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blackhakumen · 4 years

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Mini Fanfic #692: Teenagers React to Everyone Losing in Mario Golf World Tour (SSBU)

Mario

Mario gets hit by a Green She'll and turns into his little self on Screen.

Futuba: Wait. (Eyes Widened in Complete Disbelief at the Screen) THAT CAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO HIM!?

Ren: We've seen this man get stabbed, detonated, and knocked out many times than any of us can count. And none them ever resulted him into being little.

Lavenza: Perhaps it's the Green Shell's doing......(Place her Hand on her Chin and Starts Thinking) Hmmmmm.........

Futuba: (Turns to Lavenza) Anything on your mind, Lavvy-chan?

Lavenza: This might be hunch, but....How about we try devising a plan? Where we can try hitting Mario with a Green Shell ourselves.

Futuba: That way, we can see if he can turn into a small plumber or not. (Smiles Brightly and Excitedly) That's GENIUS!

Ren: (Has a bit of a Curious Smirk on his Face) Wouldn't mind being a part of that plan myself. I think my throwing skills has gotten better overtime.

Futuba: Mines too!

Makoto: (Immediately Gives the Trio Her Signature Cold Niijima Glare) We are NOT throwing a Green Shell at Mario.

Ren: There it is.

Futuba: (Starts Giving Makoto a Disappointed Pouty Face) Makotooo.....

Lavenza: (Genuinely Shocked and Disappointed) But why ever not, Ms. Queen?

Makoto: Because it's very rude and completely uncalled for. I mean seriously, what would Peach say if she saw you three going through with plan? She would be very disappointed. As I am with you three for even thinking about doing this.

Futuba: Come on, sis! Can't we just-

Makoto: (Stares Piercing her Glare) The answer's no and that's final.

Ren/Lavenza/Futuba: (Straighten Themselves Up in a Bit of Fear) Yes, ma'am!

Lavenza: (Genuinely Surprised) Goodness! I have no idea the Queen could be so terrifying....

Futuba: (Starts Shrugging) That's Makoto for ya. Her glares and motherly attitude are completely outmatched in our ragtag group. You know, besides Haru.

Haru: (Happily and Gently Scratches Under Morgana's Chin While He's Sitting and Purring onto her Lap, Causing her to Giggle Softly Altogether)

Lavenza: I see.... So I suppose nothing could ever try and faze her in some occasions, yes?

Futuba: For the most part.

Ren: (Smirks Like a Love Struck Dork) That's one of the million reasons why I love that beautiful woman after all~

Makoto: (Pouts at Ren) Stop trying to flattering me, Ren-Ren!~ The answer's still no!

Ren: (Chuckles Lightly) We know that already, 'hon~ I just wanted to tell you how much I love you is all~ (Kiss Makoto on the Cheek)

Makoto: (Lays her Head on Ren's Shoulder Once She Begins to Blush) Dummyhead~ (Hugs Ren Afterwards) Love you too~

Futuba: (Puts on a Deadpinned Look on Her Planned) Unless your name is Ren-Ren and try making her blush like a strawberry.....

Lavenza: Fascinating.....

Coco: (Writing Down Somthing on her Notepad)

Tails: Writing down possible theories and methods of any of this makes sense?

Coco: Yup!~

Luigi

Luigi sadly slouches down onto the floor and gets licked by a Boo on screen.

Yoshi: I dunno which is sadder.... Seeing my Luigi being sad or seeing him getting licked by a random Boo.

Pit: (Starts Shrugging Slowly) At least he didn't call himself a loser that time.

Yoshi: Yeah.

Peach

Peach dramatically faints, with heartstrings playing in the background, on screen.

Sonic: ('Sigh') There goes mom being dramatic again.....

Amy: (Happily Resting her Head into Sonic's Shoulder) I feel like you've gotten that from her as of late.

Sonic: ('Heh') Yeah right. Like I can be a drama as well-

Amy: Ice cream on Chili Dogs.

Sonic: (Eyes Widened and Gasps Loudly From his Girlfriend's Sudden Words and Dramatically Points at her) How DARE YOU say those words in front of me!? Your own BOYFRIEND!

Amy: (Giggles Softly at How Adorable her Sonic is Being Right Now) I rest my case~

Yoshi

Yoshi went into his egg in a very sad manner and starts rolling around the area before falling down on screen.

Ann: (Place her Hands onto her Mouth) Oh my gosh! This is so hard to watch!

Shiho: (Hugs Ann's Arm) This is so sad....

Haru: And so adorable at the same time!~

Morgana: (Sighs While Rolling his Eyes)

Futuba: (Raise her Hand) All in a agreement to hug Yoshi later on, say aye!

Ann/Shiho/Haru: (Raises Their Hands as Well) AYE!~

Lavenza: (Raises her Hand as Well) I would also like to join in this event as well!

Dark Pit: (Smirks Smugly at an Already Annoyed Yoshi) Guess who's back on his cuteness bullshit?

Ryuji: (Chuckles Lightly) Yeah.

Yoshi: For the love of...(Gets Up From his Seat) Why does everyone in this room thinks I'm cute?

Ann: Because you are-

Yoshi: Okay. I get. I flutter jump, I turn into an egg, and I admit, I do have a cute face. But for GOD SAKES, I know Kung Fu! I-I know how to drive a car with little to no problem! (Got Out his Trusty Nunchucks) I even learned how to use Nunchucks and everything!!!

Ryuji: Come on, man. You're overreacting.

Coco: Yeah. There's nothing wrong having a little cuteness in ya. (Happily Gives Yoshi a Thumbs Up) I think it suits you perfectly well.

Yoshi: (Turns to Tails) See, even your girlfriend thinks I'm cute, Tails!

Tails: (Eyes Widened at What Yoshi Just Said) Wait.....

Tails/Coco: WHAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!?

Coco: (Starts Blushing Herself) B-B-But weren't not dating! We're best friends!

Tails: (Starts Blushing as Well) E-Exactly! A-And besides.....(Chuckles a bit Lately) I-I'm pretty sure Coco wouldn't really be interested in dating someone as boring as me-

Coco: ('GASPS') (Pouts at Tails) Miles Tails Prower, how could you!!?

Tails: (Taken Aback by Coco's Sudden Change of Attitude) What? W-What did I say?

Coco: How could you say that about yourself!? You are absolutely NOT boring to me at all!

Tails: Y-You think so-

Coco: (Grabs Tails' Hands and Gently Squeezes Them) I KNOW so, mister! You're the most smartest, brilliant, precious little cinnamon roll I've ever met and anyone who thinks otherwise are dumb and stupid!

Tails: (Almost at a Loss of Words) Coco.....

Coco: I mean it, Tails! I don't EVER wanna see you put yourself down like that ever again, you hear me!?

Tails: I won't do that anymore! I promise!

Coco: (Stares at Tails For a Brief Second Before Sighing) Good. (Gives Tails a Loving Hug) I'm glad we come to an understanding. I love you, bud.

Tails: (Chuckles Lightly While Hugging Coco Back) I love you too, Coco. Thank you.

Almost Everyone: (Stares at the Best Friends Hugging Each Other) (Yeah. They would SO be cute couple together.)

Amy: (So CUUUUUUUUTEEEE!!!~)

Daisy

Daisy tries calming herself down before taking one look at the camera and starts angrily stomping and looking away on screen.

Ryuji: Sheesh. Even when she try to calm down, she still gets angry....

Yoshi: That's my mom for ya. Always a low-key bad sport.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong starts slapping the ground angrily before a random barrel came down and hit his head, causing him to fall down unconscious on screen.

Yusuke: That has to be a painful experience to go through.

Futuba: Tell me about it. I highly doubt that any normal human could survive a random barrel falling down on their heads.....or their entire body.

Ryuji: I envy that gorilla sometimes....

Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong lazily eats his banana, throws the peel on the floor beside him, gets up, ,immediately slips on the peel and fell on screen.

Ren: Yeah. No. He had that one coming.

Everyone: (Nodding and Completely Agrees to What Ren was Saying) Yeah./ Very True./ Uh huh.

Wario

Wario gets struck by lightning on screen.

Ryuji: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) JESUS! Where the hell did that lightning came from? It's not even raining outside!

Yusuke: Perhaps there's more to this universe than we originally thought....

Waluigi

Waluigi starts acting dramatic to losing before falling down into a black hole, that suddenly appears out of nowhere, on screen.

Futuba: Wha-Wha- WHAT!? How is even possible!? W-W-WHERE DID THAT BLACK HOLE EVEN CAME FROM!?

Morgana: (Shakes his Head Slowly) I don't even know anymore, Futuba....

Futuba: Damnit! (Looks Up Into the Ceiling in Anger) NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE!!!

Lavenza: There's a lot of things that doesn't make sense, Big Sister Futuba.

Bowser

Bowser angrily punches a camera on screen.

Ryuji: WOAH WOAH WOAH! What the hell was that all about!?

Ren: A evil, giant turtle getting mad over a simple game of golf....Kind of sounds a lot sadder when I say it out loud.

Ryuji: Right!? It's just a frickin' golf game! Why do they have get so hell-bent over it everytime they lose!?

Ren: I don't think anyone really knows at this point, man.

Bowser Jr.

Bowser Jr throwing his usual temper tantrum on screen.

Morgana: (Starts Sighing While Rolling his Eyes) Here comes another Bowser Jr's cuteness hour.....

Futuba: (Teasingly Pokes Morgan's Cheeks) Getting jealous there, Mona?~

Haru: (Immediately Pulls Morgana into a Loving Hug) Oh my sweet, little Mona-Chan!~ Please don't be jealous of Bowser Jr-kun anymore! I promise I love you with all of my heart!~ (Begins Kissing Morgana's Cheek)

Morgana: (Starts Getting Ticklish by Haru's Kisses) Haru! Come on! I believe you already! Really!

Lavenza: (Turns to Futuba) What exactly is happening here right now? Is Mona-Chan really jealous of this Bowser Jr character?

Futuba; (Simply Nodded) Oh big time. He thinks Haru thinks that the little guy is more cuter than he is.

Lavenza: ('Gasps') That is crazy talk....(Turns to Morgana) Mona-Chan!

Morgana: (Turns to Lavenza) Huh? What's wrong, Lavenza?

Lavenza: (Gently Grab Both of Mona's Paws) There us no need for you feel any jealousy towards Bowser Jr. While it is true that his overall appearance is cute to look at, you are and always will a precious feline in my very eyes!

Morgana: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise While Blushing) Y-You.... really mean that, Lavenza?

Lavenza: Why, of course I do. (Joins into Morgana and Haru's Hug) I wouldn't be here, telling you this if I don't.

Haru: Lavvy-chan is absolutely right on this, sweetheart. You're a lot more precious than give yourself credit for. So please don't be jealous anymore, okay?

Morgana: (Sighs While Being Overwhelmed by the Group Hug) I'll try not to....(Smiles a Little) Thanks, you guys.

Futuba: (Smirk Softly at the Trio While Silently Taking a Few Pictures of Them ('Heh Heh') Dorks.

Rosalina

Rosalina faints....and accidentally fell down on the Lumas, who were trying to help her up, on screen.

'Thud'

Most People in the Living Room: Oh!

Yoshi: That has got to leave a mark.

Pit: I know. I kind of feel bad for those poor little Lumas....

Dark Pit: They're floating, magical stars with eyes, Pit-Stain. They'll be fine.

Birdo

Birdo angrily shoots eggs at the camera on screen.

Ann: (Really Glares at the Screen) Really?! What is with these people and breaking camera screens!? Do they honestly even know how much those things cost!!?

Shiho: (Simply Shrugs) I guess they really can't stand the fact they've lost a game golf.

Ann: Right!?

Toad

Two Toads tries to cheer up the main Toad by cheerleading on screen.

Ren: Huh. Cheerleading Toads.... That's a new one.

Makoto: It's cute how they try to do whatever they can to support each other.

Ren: I agree. It's also ironic how this is the most normal reaction of losing out of everyone else we've seen so far.

Makoto: ('Sigh') Yeah.....

Nabbit

Nabbit hides under a bag....only to get eaten by a Piranha Plant on screen.

Dark Pit: Alright. I'm about to lose it in a matter of seconds, if someone in this room don't tell me why in the hell does that dumbass thought that having a Piranha in his bag was even remotely a good idea!

Ren: ('Sigh') Yeah. I think we're done here.

..............................................................

Sonic: Sheesh....That was a lot more insane to watch through than I thought it would be.....

Yusuke: Not the most cringe worthy event I have ever seen so far, but it was still rather.... interesting to watch, to say the least.

Amy: I know..... I had no idea they would took golf so seriously...

Ryuji: You're telling me. I mean, really, I can't believe these guys were making a huge deal about losing one single game of golf! GOLF!! Probably one of the most boring sports in all of the frickin universe!!

Ren: Well, knowing Mario and the gang, I'm pretty sure they found a way to make the sport more fun to them.

Ryuji: That might be the true, but that doesn't make what we just saw, any better, bro!!

Ren: ('Sigh') Yeah. It.... really doesn't.

Futuba: (Found Something Interesting on his Phone) Huh.

Pit: What you found, Futuba?

Futuba: (Shows Everyone Beside her Phone) It says here that Mario and the others are hosting an all new golf tournament next month. It's called the "Mario Golf: Super Rush Tournament"

Yoshi: (Takes a Look at Futuba's Phone) Yep. Seems pretty legit to me.

Everyone: (Nodded in Agreement)

Makoto: They're going to embarrass themselves in that tournament, are they?

Ren: I'd be surprised if they didn't.

Makoto: You're gonna record the whole thing, are you?

Ren: (Chuckles Lightly) Oho yeah.....

@keyenuta

@26shann

@princekirijo

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@lovekittynoir

@italian-love-cake

@ma-lemons

@craftyfreakdragonuniversity

@caleb13frede

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13dead-ends · 4 years

Text

Chapter 7 - Halloween

Chapter 7 of Blood Bound

Henry Cavill x Named OC

Summary: Nina has a lot to think about since her birthday and there’s a company Halloween party coming up.

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: lots of kissing (YAY), mention wooden stakes, alcohol

A/N: So sorry this took me forever, but it’s here and just in time for Halloween! I’m pretty sure this was edited at some point but there still might be hiccups. (Also this is the outfit Nina’s costume is based on) @hellcaster901 thanks for reading all my stuff first Ilysm. I hope you like it!

Henry walked me up to my door. He took me home, since he had to leave early tomorrow morning. I didn’t want to leave, though. “Nice ruse by the way.” I chuckled. “Luring me with your dog.”

“I knew it would work.” He nudged me. My doorway came closer and closer and we were in front of it way sooner than I would’ve liked. We stood in front of it face to face.

“Thank you so much for dinner.” I smiled up at him. “It was really nice.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wish I could’ve done more for your birthday though.” I shook my head.

“No this was perfect. Seriously.” I stood on my tip toes to give him a big hug. He hugged me back so tightly, I almost couldn’t breath. As I pulled back, I looked at him. His hands were holding my waist so I couldn’t step back. His blue eyes were filled with something I didn’t recognize. I blinked and he was looking at my lips. My chest brushed against his as he looked back up. Something like electricity ran through me and I pushed myself up on my toes and kissed him. He only paused for a moment and then he pulled me in, his grip on my waist tighter. I held his cheeks in my hands and felt a little stubble. Henry leaned in more and I ran my fingers through his hair. I was tingling all over and goosebumps rose on my skin. I smiled into him, but he pulled away, my chin following him for a second. He stared at me for a second and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

“I love it when you blush.” He whispered; I hadn’t even noticed how hot my cheeks had gotten. I giggled and let my feet drop to the ground again. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” My voice wouldn’t raise louder than a whisper.

“Goodnight, Nina.” Henry kissed my forehead. “And happy birthday.” He walked away and I went inside. I shut the door and a giant grin spread on my face. I listened for the elevator, part of me wanting to go back out there and drag him back. I still felt the pressure of his lips on mine. My heart was racing a mile a minute as I walked to my bedroom to squeal into my pillow. I flipped over and grabbed my phone, dialing Irene’s number to FaceTime.

“Nina, isn’t it late there?”

“Irene! I have to tell you something.” She furrowed her brows.

“What?”

“I kissed Henry.”

“YOU WHAT?” She screeched. I laughed out loud. “Tell me everything right now.”

“Well first, he surprised me for my birthday. He cooked me dinner!” She sighed.

“Oh, that’s so cute. So romantic.” I grinned, feeling like a teenager.

“And it was great except when my mom called.” She shook her head, eyes big.

“Wait what? If that bitch said something- “

“I think she just wanted to say happy birthday.” I rubbed my temple. “So, it wasn’t bad at first.”

“Just out of the blue calls you? Did she last year?”

“Nope. I don’t know why.” I huffed. “She just shut me down as soon as I brought up my job.” Irene rolled her eyes.

“Fuck her, anyways, get to the kiss!” I laughed. “Seriously do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head.

“It wasn’t anything different from what I used to. Besides I had someone to cheer me up.” She giggled. “So, we ate and talked, and it was just amazing, and you know he’s a bigger dork than I thought. He told me- “

“Not that I don’t care about the dinner, but I really need to hear about you kissing Henry fucking Cavill.” I laughed.

“Alright fine!” I took a breath. “He took me home and walked me to my door.” She moved the phone closer to her face. “He hugged me, and I just kissed him!”

“You did?” I rolled my eyes.

“Yes! Is that so hard to believe?” Irene shrugged. “Anyway, afterwards he told me he likes when I blush and then he had to go.” I sighed like a middle school girl. “Irene, I haven’t been this excited about a guy since college.” She laughed.

“Haha remember when you tried to date that film student?”

“Oh, shut up.” We talked all night. I think I fell asleep on the phone. I woke up around ten the next day. Despite it being fall, the sun shone in my window and brightened my room. I inhaled a deep breath in and smiled. I did my normal routine with more pep than usual, I had nothing planned today, but my cheerful mood made me want to get up and do something. I should work on my article since I had all this energy. I got my laptop and set up on my kitchen island.

Hours later and I was nodding my head to the music playing in my speaker and typing sentence after sentence. I was in a groove and it was always the best time to write. Though when I wrote real accounts from donors I had interviewed over DMs and phone calls it damped the mood. People were scared. People just like me. A poor college freshman wouldn’t even talk to me even though I promised she’d remain anonymous. She was terrified of someone finding her out. I shook my head as I typed an interview with a donor from my own company.

Of course, I was scared. I’m still scared. I feel like I’m next or something.

I shuddered knowing the feeling all too well. I felt like I was just waiting for Positive to get hit of something. I sighed and continued to write, copying things from my research. I don’t know how long it had been, but soon I was sending in my draft to my editor. It was in her hands for a while at least. I leaned back, shutting my laptop down, then my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Nina? Hey are you busy?” It was Penny.

“No, I’m not. What’s up?” I sat up again, wondering why she was calling me.

“Well, you see, Henry had a hard day on set today.” I furrowed my brows. “Lots more retakes than expected and he’s a bit…” we hadn’t fed last night, or the time I saw him before that. I stood.

“Is he okay? I can come down there.” I went to my room to change into warmer clothes.

“He’s sleeping now, but would it be okay if I come get you? I’m worried about him.” I chewed on my cheek.

“Of course. I’ll be ready when you get here.”

It was dark in Henry’s trailer, curtains shut and barely any light shone inside. I stepped in as quietly as I can, but he’d wake up anyways. I shut the door and set my bag down. He wasn’t on the couch, so I went to the door to the bedroom, opening it a little.

“Henry?” I whispered. He was a lump on the bed, not moving at all.

“Nina? What are you doing here?” He sounded tired. I’ve never really seen him get this way.

“Penny came and got me.” I sat down next to his legs, his eyes were still closed and without my brain telling them to, my fingers brushed his hair back from his forehead. “Why didn’t you feed last night?” I kept my hand in his hair when he smiled a little.

“It was your birthday.” He just mumbled.

“I know, but now look at you.” I sighed. “Come on, take some blood and then you can finish your nap.” His eyes opened and they were duller than normal.

“Do you want to stay with me after?”

“Sure,” I smiled at him. He sat up and took my wrist, quicker and tighter than before.

“You’ve eaten enough today?” I nodded but he was already pulling my wrist up to his mouth. He didn’t ease into it this time and I sucked in air as he pierced my skin. I relaxed at the familiar feeling. My body got hot and I gripped the blankets. I chewed on my lip to hold in any noises I could make. He took more than usual, and I felt fuzzy and tingly all of a sudden. Then as his fangs left my skin, he trailed kissed up my arm, making me giggle.

“You’re so warm.” He mumbled as he got up to my shoulder. “You were warm last night when I dropped you off too.” My cheeks were hot as his lip met my bare neck. “I liked kissing you.”

“Henry,” it sounded breathless and before I could get another word out, he kissed my lips. My eyes shut and I let my hands wrap around his shoulders. His lips were just as delicious as last night, this time with a taste of my blood on them. He grabbed my waist and leaned back, taking me with him. I couldn’t breath as he straddled my legs over his stomach, my hair curtained over our faces. He kissed me again and I put my hands on his hard chest. This was better than any dream, but the extra blood he took was making me sleepy and I knew he’d still need time to rest. He wasn’t showing any sign of stopping and I really didn’t want to, but I pulled back a little. Our lips barely apart. “Henry, you need to rest.” He held my face in both of his hands and pulled me back for one more kiss and then pulled away. I looked at him with a small smile. It was nice to know that this affected him like it affect me. My cheeks were still flushed so I pressed my face into his neck. He looped his arms around my back and forced me to lay on top of him completely.

“Thank you for coming.” He sighed.

“Of course, just don’t wait so long in between.” I mumbled. It was quiet and I almost fell asleep like that, but he moved us, so I was laying beside him on the bed, I pushed my legs under the blankets, and he pulled me to his chest.

“I won’t.” He sighed and held me tight. I relaxed and let my eyes shut. I don’t know how long we were asleep when I woke up, still feeling the effects of blood loss so it can’t be that long, but Henry was mumbling incoherently. I sat up on my elbows, and watched as his brow scrunched and relaxed, then again. Was he having a nightmare? Do vampires even dream? I reached out to wake him, but he stopped suddenly, relaxing into a deeper sleep. I waited for him to start getting restless, but he didn’t so I just scooter closer to him, throwing and arm over his waist.

“Wake up dear,” I open my eyes and Henry was smiling over me. “How did you sleep?” He trailed his fingers over my cheek.

“Good.” I smiled, stretching my arms. Henry had a hand over my stomach, his pinky right where my shirt had moved up to expose skin. “What about you?” I asked, thinking about his dream or whatever that was.

“Great, really great.” He shifted so we could sit up. I was surprised by the answer, but glad. Maybe he forgot his dreams. “It’s time to get you home.”

“What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes and tried running a hand through my messy hair.

“It’s almost five.” He brushed some hair back as it fell into my face again and sighed. “I didn’t mean to make you so sleepy.”

“It’s okay, it was nice to nap with you.” He chuckled, giving me a side hug.

“You too.” He helped me out of bed and kept my hand in his as we walked back out. “I’ll take you home.”

“Do you have any more filming?” He got my bag and I took it slinging it over my shoulder.

“No, I’m going home for the night. I’m still pretty worn out.” I frowned. “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep it off tonight. That’s why I’m not taking you home with me.” My stomach filled with butterflies.

“Why? You think we’d be up all night?” I cocked an eyebrow and he smirked at me.

“Careful, love.” He left it at that and opened the trailer door. I chewed on my lip and followed him out. He took my hand again as I stepped down and we walked to his car. We drove to my place, his hand on my thigh and I leaned towards him instead of towards the window. When we walked to my door, we said goodbye, but when I waited for a kiss Henry started to walk away. I almost accepted it, but instead I cleared my throat. He stopped and turned around, cute smirk on his face. “What?” He slowly stepped back towards me and I shrugged, pout on my lips.

“I don’t know, I just thought-“He laughed.

“Don’t be shy, now. Say it.” I looked down as he stood in front of me.

“I wanted a kiss goodbye.” He lifted my chin up as I said, and he kissed my lips. It was softer this time and I grabbed his wrist, wanting more.

“There.” He smiled against my lips. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.” He walked away and I opened my door in a warm haze. I felt light and fluttery. Like I was about to lift of the earth like a leaf off a tree. I floated to my couch and flopped on to it. I sighed and checked it. It was from my editor.

Nina,

The article so far is amazing. I want to call you as soon as possible to work out some kinks. With all the riots going on this is really going to shed some light on the situation. It got me thinking about doing a weekly segment about the donor life with you. I know you’re one of our freelancers, but I really think it would be a good opportunity for the both of us.

Email me back during my office hours!

I smiled. That sounded like a fantastic idea. It also gave me a chance to write about something more lighthearted than all these riots. It was nice to know she liked my work enough to ask. Maybe I should interview Abbey and James for an article. I could even do a series of interviews with different donors. I grinned; I hadn’t felt this inspired in a while. One date with Henry and I’m-

Wait a second.

Did he ever say it was a date? It was dinner and he took me home, and he kissed me goodnight. That ticks all the boxes. Except the one where he told me it was a date. I dropped my phone on my stomach and stared at the ceiling. It had to be a date. This is just my brain’s stupid need for verbal confirmation. He never said anything today either. I huffed.

“For fuck’s sake.” I muttered, pressing the heels of my hands in my eyes. My brain was turning over the conversations we had in the last 24 hours. No dates were mentioned. There was a lot more kissing than usual, at least if it wasn’t a date, I had that. It had to be a date, right?

I groaned and sat up. Id make something to eat, watch a show until I fall asleep. I’d worry about it tomorrow. I was aggressively stabbing pasta as a crime documentary played on my TV in half an hour and I still hadn’t stopped thinking about Henry. I almost felt mad at my anxiety. It wouldn’t shut up. I don’t think I’d get any sleep tonight.

I tossed and turned all night. It was next to impossible to fall asleep and even if I did, I got a an hour in at the most and that wasn’t even worth it. I woke up feeling groggy and tired. Even a small headache in my temples pulsed when I thought about Henry too much. I did text him a good morning though, which he hasn’t replied to. I rolled my eyes and ignored my twitching fingers instead of checking my phone again. I emailed my editor back and we chatted back and forth brainstorming some ideas for the article. It was exciting and kept my mind off my predicament, but as soon as she logged off, I was back to worrying. I drummed my fingers on my closed laptop as I stared at the wall in front of me. I decided to call Abbey to see if she wanted to hang out. She’d keep my mind off it. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.

“Nina, hi! What’s up?”

“Hey, Abbey! Are you busy today?”

“I was going to look for a Halloween costume for the company party, actually.” I furrowed my brows.

“The company has a Halloween party?” I hadn’t heard about any party. If there was a party, I’d need a costume too.

“Yeah? Don’t you check your emails?” She laughed. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Yes, I’d love too!” Thank god. That’ll keep my occupied. She told me what time to be ready and I hung up and started getting my things together. Soon enough I was at a Halloween store staring at a slutty nurse costume.

“Please don’t be that.” Abbey laughed and I dropped the costume back on the rack.

“I won’t,” We moved onto the next isle. She had caught me up on all her shenanigans. She had picked up another client. How she handled more than one, I had no idea. It was quiet now; I’m waiting for her to ask-

“How’s Henry?” She didn’t look up at me, just looked over a Maleficent costume. My brain on the other hand was searching for an answer.

“He’s good. Still filming so I don’t see him quite as much.” He replied to my text from earlier, but that was it for today.

“That’s the issue with actors, but I’m sure Henry treats you really well.” I nodded.

“He does.” I picked up a witch hat, maybe I could just be a witch this year. “Abbey have you dated a client before?” She turned around; perfect brown raised.

“Once, why? Are you trying to date Henry?” She nudged me and my cheeks flared up.

“I don’t know.” Yes. “I just don’t know what to do, I guess.”

“Well, what happened? You have to give me something else.”

“He made me dinner for my birthday.” She smiled. “And we’ve been kissing.”

“Kissing?” She laughed.

“A little.”

“I fucking knew you couldn’t resist. Tell me everything.” I explained the night to her, and she ate it up. “That sounds amazing! He sounds amazing. What’s the issue?”

“He never said it was a date or anything. We’ve just kissed, been a little flirtier.” I shrugged and she sighed.

“I would just ask him if you’re not sure, but I’m pretty sure he’s trying to woo you.” She linked her arm with mine. “Don’t worry about it until you see him next. You both should take a second to figure out what kissing means for you both.” I nodded. “Come on, I’m not finding anything here.” We went to another store Abbey knew of and she found a cute fairy costume that she looked adorable in. I still didn’t think of anything, so we had lunch and we went home.

At home I was back to turning conversations over in my head and trying not to worry that Henry still hadn’t texted me. I rolled my eyes just worry when you see him next. Just like Abbey said. This was a problem for future Nina, present Nina still needs to think of a costume. I went to my TV and decided to flip through channels. Maybe I could get ideas there. I caught the end of one of the Harry Potter movies and thought of the witch idea again. Maybe a specific witch like Hermione or Bellatrix even. I huffed as the credits rolled. I went back to channel surfing until I saw that a Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on. I immediately put it on. One of my all-time favorite shows. As the familiar characters appeared on the TV, I got an idea.

The next time I saw Henry it was early one morning a few days later. Penny had taken me to the studio again, it was a big day for shooting, and he wanted to be sure he won’t end up like last time. As we got to the trailer, I felt all the anxiety bubble up again and I almost didn’t want to go in. It was going to be quick. Penny was waiting for me since Henry would have to go straight to makeup afterwards. I took a deep breath as I opened the door. He was standing in the middle of the floor, holding a script.

“Hi,” I smiled at him as he looked over at me.

“Hey, Nina.” His brow was furrowed as he looked at his script. “Good morning, sorry it’s so early by the way.” He looked up at me for a second, giving me a smile.

“It’s fine. How’s it going?” I went over to the couch to sit down and chewed on my lip.

“Okay, I’ve been having trouble with my lines.” I sighed, wishing he’d look away from the script again.

“I’m sorry, that’s never good.” Part of me wanted to run away from the anxiety, another wanted to smooth the crease in his forehead.

“It’s okay.” He set the papers down and came over to me. “How are you?” I shrugged.

“Good, my new articles doing well.” He sat next to me. Picking up my hand. I wish I could stay with him, that we weren’t doing this so quick today.

“I’m not surprised. It’s really good writing.”

“Thanks, I’m glad people are liking it.” He held my wrist up and I held my breath. He drank and I still felt all the same feelings, but they were dampened by my anxious mood and how distracted Henry seemed.

“Thank you, dear.” He kissed the back of my hand and I remembered how he kissed up my arm last time I was in here.

“You’re welcome.” We stood and he led me back out.

“I hate kicking you out so fast.” He opened the door.

“It’s okay, I have to finish my costume today.” I shrugged, but didn’t look at him, as I stepped out

“Oh? What are you going be?”

“You’ll see, at the company party.” He shook his head.

“Alright, I’ll see you then?” I nodded.

“See you Henry.” As the trailer door shut my fists clenched and I tried to avoid thinking about the awkwardness of that. God, he was probably having a normal day until I came and made it weird. I scratched my head as I sat next to Penny.

“You okay?” Penny titled her head at me.

“Yeah, just tired.” She didn’t press the issue as we went back to the car. She filled the silence with a little rant about a Love Island contestant. She had been trying to convince me to watch it for a while now. When I got home, I texted Abbey to come over. She had the perfect white heels for my costume. After that I’d have the entire outfit. I had hyper-fixated on the Buffy ensemble to keep my mind off the anxiety over Henry. Not that it really worked.

I opened my door and saw the long white dress hanging over by the window. I was going be Buffy before her first fight with The Master. I’d have to rewatch that episode sometime. I had the perfect leather jacket to wear over it, and a wooden stake I got at a Halloween store. I smiled and went to my room. A little while later Abbey was walking in my door and running toward the dress.

“Oh my god, the heels are going to be perfect with this. Remind me who Buffy is again?” She felt the fabric in her fingers as I shut my door.

“She’s a vampire slayer. She has superpowers and is destined to protect the world from evil.” She chuckled.

“I’m going to have to watch this show.” She set her bag down and pulled out the white heels, with a rounded toe and modestly high heel.

“It’s one of the best shows I’ve ever watched.” I went over to her and grabbed the shoes. “Thank you for letting me borrow these.”

“Of course, as long as you hold up your end of the deal.” I had told her that the heels were the only thing I needed, and she wanted to see the whole outfit together when she came here.

“I will, pass me the dress.” She clapped her hands and then gave me the dress. I changed quickly in my room. “Abbey come zip me up.” She came in and gasped.

“Nina! You look so pretty!” I rolled my eyes.

“You haven’t even seen the front.” She came zipped the back closed and I turned around.

“No, you’re still pretty.” I sat on the bed and put on the heels. It gave me just enough height to pick the dress up off the ground. I threw on the jacket and Abbey squealed. “I love it! You look so good!”

“Thanks.” I picked up the stake of my bed. “You don’t think it’s too much to come to the party as a vampire slayer?” She laughed, adjusting the jacket for me.

“No, I’m pretty sure there were two Dracula’s last year and one of them was an actual vampire.” I burst out laughing.

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. I think people will love it. Plus, you’ll probably be the only one who’s dressed like Buffy.” I went over to the mirror and looked at myself. It was really close to the original. People who’ve seen the show will definitely recognize it. “Do you think those stakes work?” We laughed at each other.

I stepped onto the concrete after James. He was dressed as the devil, which for him meant a blood red suit and little horns glued to his forehead. He looked amazing. Abbey was in front of him, flowery skirt flowing behind her, wings shimmering on her back. I adjusted my jacket and followed them to the same hotel the previous party was at. This time it was covered in skeletons and spiderwebs. Very spooky and not as elegant as before. I grinned as I followed my friends to the ballroom. Inside it was open, just a bar and a dance floor.

“This is more of a rave kind of party.” Abbey linked our arms, a little of her glitter getting on me. “You can get way drunker at the Halloween party than anniversary dinners.” I laughed.

“If you say so, but you may have to take the pointy piece of wood from me after a few drinks.” They both laughed.

“Come on were starting with shots.” James grabbed my wrist and pulled us along. We went so fast I couldn’t search the crowd for those blue eyes. The bar was decorated like a witch’s kitchen, bubbling cauldrons and spiders hiding in corners. James picked out some green Halloween themed shot and we all drank. It was sweet as it hit my tongue. “Abbey you look too innocent to be drinking.” I laughed and Abbey adjusted her flower crown.

“Well you know I’m not, Nina’s the one in all white.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m a character in a show. I didn’t have a choice in the color.” I nudged her. “Besides we all look great either way.��

“Speaking of, let’s take some pictures.” Abbey pulled us over to one of the little decorated walls. She caught one of her friends, dressed as Cinderella, to take some for us. As we tried different poses, I felt someone watching. As James and Abbey planned a new position I looked around, seeing Henry leaning on the bar watching us. He was just in a rugby jersey and jeans. Effortlessly handsome somehow.

“Nina, pretend to stab James with your stake.” I chuckled but did as they said and then finally, they were satisfied with the photos. I made sure they sent them to me and excused myself to go to Henry.

“So, you just show up with one of my only weaknesses?” I stood in front of him with the piece of wood at my side.

“I’m Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s kind of her signature weapon.” I held it up. “Why? You scared I’m gonna use it?” He smirked at me, with one eyebrow raised.

“Should I be?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged, tapping his chest with the blunt end of the stake. “What are you supposed to be?” I leaned back crossing my arms.

“A rugby player!” He pointed to the jersey. “I didn’t have a lot of time to find a proper costume.” I laughed

“It’s okay, you get to dress up for a living anyways.” He shrugged.

“Would you like a drink?” I nodded. As the bartender handed us our drinks Abbey called us over. We went to a tall table where my friends and few others stood.

“Henry, this is Abbey and James.” I introduced them.

“Yes, I saw you both at the anniversary dinner.” Henry shook James hand, and then Abbeys. “You both look great.” He smiled, and Abbey looked like she was going to faint.

“Thank you!” James nudged her and I giggled.

“Yes, thank you!” Abbey snapped out of her. I sipped my drink, feeling warmer already. “Nina,” Abbey pulled over a blonde girl dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. “This is my friend…” We got some introductions out of the way and soon we were listening to James tell a story about last years party. I was invested until I caught a flash of red hair coming through the doors. I gritted my teeth. I knew Henry and I were on the same page when it came to her, but she would always rub me the wrong way now. Maybe after her last attempt at getting him as a client would put her off for tonight.

“So here I am, dressed as a Ken doll in the middle of the hotel hallway-“Lila unfortunately walked up to the table, and just happened to take the spot on the other side of Henry. She was dressed as Ariel, the scene at the end with her light purple dress. She really took advantage of the red hair.

“Okay, we have the devil, a fairy,” she listed off costumes and I knew what was coming. “A very handsome rugby player, and- “

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Abbey and Henry both said. I couldn’t help but smile, squeezing Abbeys arm under the table.

“Oh, never heard of her.” I didn’t hold back the eye roll. James finished his story, making us laugh even more. “So, Henry I heard you’re filming again.” She turned to him and touched his arm. I groaned internally. She had heard that from me.

“Yeah, I am. It’s been good to get back to work.” I felt my phone buzz as they continue their conversation. It was a text from Abbey.

I’ll tell her to fuck off. Just say the word.

No, it’s fine.

I chewed on my lip as Henry told a story about Kal, making everyone laugh. Lilas was the loudest. A little obnoxious too. “He’s just so big and has no idea.”

“Every time I see him, he almost knocks me over.” I added and Abbey and James chuckle, and unsurprisingly Lila didn’t.

“Kal loves you too much to hold back.” Henry stepped closer to me and away from her.

“It’s good you have him to keep you company.” Lila tried moving the focus off me, but Henry had other plans.

“Nina comes and visits me a lot too.” Henry grabbed my waist and pulled me to his side. Lilas lips dropped out of the smirk. “It’s nice filming so close by.”

“I’m sure it is.” Lila smiled again but it was forced.

“I got to repay her with dinner the other night as well.” He squeezed me even tighter.

“Yeah, he surprised me for my birthday. It was really sweet.” I hugged his waist.

“Well aren’t you two adorable.” She covered it well, but there was a sneer in there. I felt a little pride as Henry rubbed my back.

“Nina, come on we’re dancing.” Abbey interrupted.

“Henry?” I grabbed his wrist as Abbey started pulling me away. He sighed but let me pull him with me. We made it to the middle of the floor with everyone. It had gotten crowded as we spoke. When we found a spot open enough for all of us, Henry grabbed my waist and pulled my back to his chest.

“I’m not much of a dancer.” He said in my ear over the music. He wrapped his arms over me and I swayed us to the beat a little. “I just didn’t want to be alone with the Little Mermaid.”

“More like sea witch.” James rolled his eyes. “But as long as your all over each other she’ll back off.” James winked at us and then pulled me over to dance with him. We danced for a few songs and then Abbey decided it was time for more shots. I was getting a little buzz now and I wanted to dance with Henry some more.

“Nina,” His voice sent tingles down my spine. “I’ll be right back okay. Go dance, I’ll find you soon.” He kissed my cheek as he walked from the bar.

“Nina, Nina, Nina.” James clicked his tongue when Henry was out of sight. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“James they’re making out like teenagers when they’re alone.” Abbey, now a tipsy fairy, jumped up and down.

“Wait you know this? Why haven’t you told me?” James held his chest and I laughed.

“I haven’t even seen you since it happened, and both of you shut up, he might still hear you.” They both shook their heads.

“I don’t even care if he hears. That is one fine specimen of the male species.” James leaned back on the bar. My neck and cheeks felt hot. “You’re telling me every detail.”

“Fine I will, but just not now.” He huffed but nodded. We went back out to dance and I got another drink. I knew I was getting tipsy as I started dancing with more feeling. Abbey and I danced together, laughing at our ridiculous moves. I felt those same pair of eyes watching again and I turned around, finding Henry leaning against our table, watching from afar again. I moved my hips a little more smirking at him. Feeling more confident than normal. Henry didn’t come back to dance, but his eyes stayed on me.

“Girl, you are most definitely getting railed tonight if you want.” Abbey whispered in my ear and I almost choked on air. Instead we burst out laughing, our drunk giggles mixing with the music.

“Shut up, Abbey.” She bumped our hips together.

“Ugh stop being so modest. You know you want to.” I was laughing again, but I wanted to strangle her.

“I never said I didn’t, but-“James and Abbey screamed with smiles on their faces. “You guys are acting like you’re sixteen.”

“Uh, you can’t hold me responsible for how I act after shots.” James said and pulled be over to him to dance. They finally gave me a chance to pull away, my feet throbbing. The heels were killing me. I went straight to Henry, tripping a little, but he caught me, keeping his hands on my waist.

“Hi,” I smiled up at him.

“Hi,” He smiled back. “Looks like You’re having fun.”

“Yeah, are you?” I poked his chest and let my hand rest flat on it.

“Yes, I am.”

“I can feel you staring from over there.” I leaned in closer, my jacket brushing against him.

“Can you?” He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re something else in this dress.” He squeezed my waist, and it felt like electricity was coming from his hands. “I could just- “

“Nina, there you are.” Abbeys voice came from behind me. I rolled my eyes for only Henry to see and he smirked, turning me around to face my friend. “Come to the bathroom with me, please?” She grabbed my hand and I let her pull me away from Henry.

“Oh my god, Henry has googly eyes for you.” Abbey and I both were in a stall, the only two girls in here for now.

“I’m the one with googly eyes. He didn’t even try and I’m drooling.” She snorted.

“He does look good in that jersey.” We heard the door open and we held back giggles to try and keep quiet. We went back out and checked our makeup in the mirrors. “Do I need more glitter?” Abbey touched her glittery cheek.

“No, you definitely don’t.” I laughed.

“Are you going home with Henry?” She turned to me as I fixed a piece of hair. I swallowed, the thought making me nervous.

“I don’t know. I’m too tipsy to think that far a head.” She nodded.

“Yeah true, but it’s totally obvious he wants you to go home with him.”

“God, he just makes me so nervous.” I shook my hands. “It’s so embarrassing! He’s so hot he’s hurting my feelings.” Abbey burst out laughing as the other girl in here came out. She gave us a weird look as we laughed together. We finally came back out and I almost bee lined for Henry. He was chatting with James at the table.

“You bitches left me.” James crossed his arms. “Come back and dance!” Abbey nodded smiling, but I leaned into Henry’s side.

“I need a break you guys go.” They sighed but didn’t push it. When they were gone, I turned to face Henry completely. “What were you saying before? You could just what?” I smirked.

“What has gotten into you?” Henry raised an eyebrow at me.

“Shots.” I giggled. “And being Buffy really gives me confidence.” He chuckled.

“Have you always liked the show?”

“Yeah, my grandma loved it and we’d watch together.” I grinned. “It’s feminist and bad ass and so 90s.” I rambled. “I think everyone should watch it.”

“I’ll have to watch it sometime.”

“Please do! And tell me what you think.” He nodded, smiling at me. “How do you play rugby?” I tugged on his jersey.

“Well, that’s a long answer.” I laughed and he tried to explain the basics, but it was more complicated than I thought.

“Okay, I’m not going to lie. I don’t think I processed any of that properly.” He shook his head.

“Maybe one of these days we can watch a game together.” I nodded.

“Sure!” Henry decided to get more drinks, leaving me at the table. I rested my elbows on it and my chin on my hands. I was debating taking my heels off when James and Abbey came back.

“Hey, how’s dancing?” I smiled at them.

“Fun, except James stepped on my toe.” Abbey’s cheeks were pink. I laughed as they teased each other. “Where’s Henry?”

“Getting drinks.”

“Oh fuck,” James looked passed me, over my shoulder. “Does that bitch not know when to stop?” I turned around and saw Henry standing at the bar, Lila standing next to him. I turned to face my friends; my lips pressed together.

“She’s infuriating.” My eyes went into the back of my head. “Do stakes kill mermaids too?” I stared at the abandoned wood on the table. I looked over my shoulder again just in time to see her rub his back. He stepped away, but that was it. “I’ll be right back.” James and Abbey were cheering for me as I walked over there, heels clicking. She picked the wrong night to act like this. I was drunk and jealous. When I reached them, the bartender was setting drinks down in front of Henry.

“Lila, I appreciate the offer, but I’m- speak of the devil.” Without looking Henry pulled me the rest of the way to him. “I’m Nina’s client and I’m not looking for more than one donor.”

“Besides Lila, you could probably have any client here.” I smiled at her as Henry slotted me in between them. “Don’t make it so hard on yourself going for someone who already has a donor.” I grabbed my drink and Henry grabbed his. “See you around.” I grabbed Henry’s hand and pulled him away from the bar.

“What happened to my timid Nina?” Henry teased. “Jealously changed you.”

“Shut up.” He laughed out loud at me as we walked. “I just don’t like her.”

“Neither do I.” I grinned at that, but before I could take him back to the table, he pulled me back, turning me around into his chest. “In fact, I don’t want to be in the same room as her.” I furrowed my brows. “Let’s leave.” My breath hitched in my throat as I stared at him.

~~~

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#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x oc #henry cavill fanfic #june writes stuff

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