#and just belle and her twin sister are one of my favorites for that story lol;;;

[cinnamon-bunni]

thank you for the tag!! not gonna lie, i did struggle a bit over deciding who to make with these picrews--i really wanted to do my fandom ocs, but sadly i couldnt recreate one of them very well;;; so! the first picrew is of my oc Belle, and then the second one is based off my sonic oc, Dorianna!

tagging (no pressure!): @gompereatsall @catboygirling @dooxliss @omelette-boy @mouseboyorsomething @nitunio, and anyone else who may want to! <3

↳ peek into this life ♡

Feel free to make yourself, your oc, blorbo, ship etc and a dessert to represent ^^

tags but no pressure: @antique-remains @umemiyan @misc-magic @jeschalynn @oopsiedaisymae

@silverrings-n-prettythings @arvandus @lonely-north-star @featheredcrowbones @taysifer

@theoxenfree @thebellearchives + anyone else :3

[vivianleighwishesshewasme]

Soul Bound

Sophia and Gina Bouchard are moved by their love seeking mother to the town of mystic falls. No one is as they seem. Gina, the self proclaimed boring sister is being hunted down by the Mikaelson family. One particular brother seems to have a history with one. He claims their souls are bound by witchcraft.

_________________________________________________________

Chapter 1: The party

______________________________________________________________

“Come on, this is a great way to meet people. Promise me you wont be lame and you’ll actually try to meet people, try to be social.” My stunning older sister Sophia, a college student, had found a party to attend only two days after we moved to another state.

She was a summer baby. Tan skin, pale blonde hair that naturally waved and blue eyes. She was mom's bestie. They were both excited to move here.

Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Our mother had used a crystal to devine where we were to go. Her witch friend back home in Boise Idaho had told her a romantic destiny, a soul mate was there ripe for the taking.

My mother heard soul mate, Virginia and wealth. That all she and my sister cared about when it was decided that fate had intervened and we were moving.

I was practical like my father. Wealth was something you built on intelligence and hard work, you planned for life the best you could and carried yourself with grace. He’d named me Gina after his grandmother. Some southern Belle from Tennessee that debuted in the thirties. He’d adored her tales of romance, intrigue and wealth. I had never met her but I’d read her diaries. If I ever had a paramour in the family, it would have been her. I kept my blonde hair tidy but not trendy, I was short but thin.

I wasn’t in fashion or trendy unlike my mother and her mini twin Sophia.

I couldn’t be more alone with my two bubbly family members.

“I promise to not embarrass you intentionally.” I smiled tightly. I meant it. I really wanted to make a good first impression, I just didn’t care about parties or who was popular. I would rather know one person who gets me, then know fifty people and get followers on instagram and so on. I was boring with my writing fiction sites and dance classes.

“Ugh, fine, come here Gina.” She grabbed her wrist with her long pink nails and drugged me through a throng of townspeople. I liked this actually. The house was massive and well decorated. Lots of bold arches, paintings and interesting wood features. I wanted to get lost in this house!

“Where are we?” I asked. Her face screwed up in confusion. I could feel the excitement on my face. She wasn’t used to me having fun.

“The Mikaelsons, I think? I have two classes with Stephan Salvador and he invited me. I want to meet as many cute people as possible. Don’t wreck anything. Caroline, Elena, wait up!” I watched her chase after her “friends” that she met at the college. Fast friends they were all over each others social media and constantly texting.

I grinned happy to be abandoned in a huge old house. There had to be a library or a cool room I wasn’t supposed to be in. I squealed with excitement and skipped down the hall. Perhaps there was a garden out here?

___________________________________________________

I was right. There were massive grounds put back. Some were cultured like small European gardens, others a bit more savage with broken columns forgotten by time and wild. The savage garden was my favorite. I sat on a stone bench near the forest. I could hear the party and see the lights but I was alone.

I tapped my phone and found a short story I was editing for a friend, this was my kind of night.

“Gina? Gina Bouchard?” My head shot up at the mention of my name. The man appeared to be excited to see me. He reminded me of an imp. He had cropped red hair, an impish smile that promised fun and trouble. He was dressed casually with jeans, a green henley t-shirt and no shoes. My sister's type.

“Yes….” I said hesitantly.” Do I know you?” I asked standing up. His face faltered for a moment but he recovered quickly reaching for my hand. He held it up and kissed the back of my hand.

“ I’ve met your family.” He grinned at me. Definitely trouble.

“You seem like Sophia’s type.” I smiled politely wondering if she sent him out to fetch me. I bumped the screen of my phone and glanced down out of my peripheral trying not to be rude. It was only ten o’clock. She wasn’t going home anytime soon.

“And you, my dear, seem like my brother's type of woman. Come on. “ He grabbed my hand and before I could protest he was dragging me through the house and up the grand staircase. I made eye contact with my annoyed sister about half way up. She gestured to the cute man and spread her arms out. I had no idea what he was doing either. I stumbled now realizing we were at the top overlooking the party. This house was massive.

“Are you alright luv?” His British accent was charming and his boyish grin. I laughed and shook my head.

“Just wondering where we are going.” I didn't mind a tour but there were a few rooms to avoid, specifically bedrooms.

“Do you like art? I like to paint.” His deep rich voice pulled me forward, compulsion. I smiled and nodded following him slowing down to lag behind. I grabbed my grandmother's necklace, it was supposedly enchanted to keep the wearer safe from magic. I slipped the green stone necklace around my neck, grateful he didn’t turn around right away. I almost crashed into him once he abruptly stopped.

“Welcome to my studio.” He pushed the large wooden door open revealing a room cluttered with canvases and all things an artist could ever want in a lifetime. I gasped and eagerly walked in. Sketching and painting wasn’t my field of expertise so I loved looking at original works by people who had skill.

He and I were laughing and going over different styles and just silly things we saw and heard on social media sites. I was losing track of time.

“You seem to have found company for the evening Klause, having fun? ” A low, silky voice wafted through the room. It commanded respect. I looked up at the well dressed man in the door frame. He had short dark hair, piercing eyes, a chiseled jaw and he stood like a king.

I saw a slight resemblance, brothers perhaps.

“Elijah, this is Gina. I was just showing her some art pieces.” I looked at my host, Klause, to the man at the door again. I have met him before.

He held a glass or dark red wine and crossed the room as gracefully as a large cat. All muscle and eloquence. I stood instinctively. He took my hand and kissed the back of it just as his brother had in the garden. His eyes never left my face or neck.

“ Have you just moved to Mystic falls?” He asked genuinely curious.

“Yes, we've been here two days.” I wasn’t sure how much information I wanted to give out yet. Klause seemed nice enough but definitely supernatural.

“And you chose to grace us with your presence at our party. Thank you.” He seemed genuine but I’d been around my fathers family enough to know that the snobs could bite you verbally so subtly you didn’t know until later when you analized what they’d actually said.

“I meant no disrespect. I’m happy you attended.” He stood by me and the two men shared a series of interesting expressions.

My shrill little phone rang and I stepped out into the hall. Apparently it was time to go. It was eleven pm. I briskly walked down the stairs and almost crashed into Sophia at the base of the stairs.

“I wanna go, I hate this creepy place.” She looked hot, upset and disheveled. Not like her at all. I noticed two small little pricks by her neck. She kept rubbing her throat. I moved her hand concerned for her. It was fall in Virginia. It was chilly, bugs were out of the question.

“Are you bleeding?” I felt her pulse on her neck. She looked as if something had bitten her. “ Come on.” I wrapped my jacket around her and didn’t look back until I heard my name.

Nikolas and his brother Elijah stood overlooking the party. Concern laced the elder man's face. I shoved my sister gently toward the exit. I wasn’t in the mood.

“We’ll see you later Gina.” The red haired man called out to us. Sophia and I exchanged a quick glance and turned to flee to her car.

Definitely a weird experience. ______________________________________________________________

[captainimfangirling]

Peter & Wendy (Major spoilers)

Warning Major Spoilers

I hate saying it because they’re children but it’s true but all of the children were horrible actors in Peter Pan & Wendy especially the kid who played Peter Pan.

 Love the girl power but to be honest I feel like it took away a lot of interesting Peter Pan parts and made him uninteresting. Peter Pan was the one who saved Tinkerbell and Wendy when she jumped off the boat but they took that away and made him fight Hook and apologies to him. I actually like the new story line of Captain Hook and Peter Pan’s past but I feel like it would’ve been better with a more talented actor to play Peter Pan. When he was crying at the end I didn’t see or feel any emotions. It looked like they squirted the actors eyes with a squirt gun.

Tinker Bell was beautiful but I wish they had a more comedic actress to play her because this actress didn’t use her body at all to express herself (only when dealing with pixie dust) and her facial expressions was ok. If you watch Hook Julia Roberts in the movie Hook she used her body a lot to express herself (even though she could talk). The cartoon Tinker Bell from the original was so funny because of her expressions and movements showing so much emotion and she never spoke. I don’t know maybe the Tinker Bell actress wasn’t really given a chance because her body was CGI the entire movie? Also Tinker Bell’s jealous is part of what made the character funny so maybe the actress didn’t have much to work with (I might be making excuses)?

The CGI was horrible but I excepted it because there’s been so much horrible CGI in so many movies that I’m used to it and often the characters and story line make up for it (at least for me) but the child actors and their story line just didn’t pull it off. When it comes to the Lost Boys I wish we at least got a name introduction so we know who is who. The only one I knew was The Twins because it was obvious. In the Return to Neverland (2002) cartoon they each had their own personality. Tootles from the cartoon was was my favorite because even though he was mute he was very expressive, cute, and funny.

The pirates were the only actors I really enjoyed in this movie. I loved hearing them sing. I’ll be honest at one point I was rooting for the pirates and Captain Hook. Peter Pan banishing Hook because he missed his mom and wanted to find her did help with that not gonna lie. Actually Tinker Bell was the one who was banished in the original cartoon movie so they actually took away a very interesting story for Tinker Bell in favor of Captain Hook.

Almost forgot about Tiger Lilly. I liked her but I feel like the actress should’ve been younger. The Lost Boys/Girls were complaining about Wendy being old but Tiger Lilly looked like an adult. I don’t know maybe they aged her up so there wasn’t a “love triangle“ between her, Peter, and Wendy like it was implied in the original cartoon and wanted her to be more like a big sister figure.

Nederland itself was pretty lame. The land looked really plain. They lived in a abandoned building instead of making their own home. In Hook Neverland looked amazing even The Lost Boys home was creative and beautiful.

Overall the movie was disappointing and if I had my way I would recast most of the actors.

[my-friends-in-bantry]

Cory McBrown: Year 2-Chapter 1 (Chapter 2 to follow shortly)

To Adam, Jesse, and John. A little bit of each of them went into Cory’s dilemma. But most especially, to my little self, who makes her way into more of my writing than I realize.

13th of December, 2002

I look in my bedroom mirror. I’ve grown something like three inches since last year. My chest has grown. My favorite jeans are 5 centimeters too short. I’m torn between looking forward to growing up and feeling like growing up sucks. How many favorite clothes have I lost to a growth spurt?

Oh, yeah, I forgot to reintroduce myself. My name is Cory McBrown. I am 13 years old, and I live in Bantry, County Cork, Ireland, with my mother, my 17 year old brother, Bart, my little sister Jenny, and my stepdad Edward O’Donoghue. My friends Sam and John live two doors down. You may remember the story I told last year. Mum and Bart weren’t getting along. Bart didn’t like the way she had handled telling me about what happened when our dad left, now seven years ago.

I finish looking at myself in the mirror, change into clothes that fit, and go downstairs. Mum is feeding Jenny, and Bart is putting his coat on.

“Where are you going so early?” I ask him.

“Mary’s meeting me at Box of Frogs for breakfast,” he says.

Mary is his girlfriend. They have breakfast at Box of Frogs a lot. I told him one day he’d turn into a frog if he kept eating there, but I don’t think he believed me. I can’t exactly play jokes like that on Bart cause he’s four years older than me. He’s well past the age of gullibility, and I would feel mean if I did that to Jenny.

I eat a breakfast of honey toast and strawberry yogurt and then grab my backpack to go meet Sam and John.

Mum puts a banana in my hand as I leave. “Here. I’m afraid you’re gonna get too hungry before lunch.”

I take the banana. “Thanks Mum.”

She hugs me. “See you after school. We’re gonna go get our tree.”

“Sounds good.” I say.

I go out the door and meet Sam and John on the sidewalk. The twins are dressed like Christmas elves.

I have to laugh. “What are you two up to?”

“’Tis the season,” Sam says.

Obviously, I think.

“Isn’t that against the dress code?” I say.

“Explain to me why an Alternative Education Academy has a dress code in the first place.” Sam says.

She has a point. But all the schools in Ireland have uniforms.

“What I want to know is why we have only have four days before Christmas with no school.” John says. “That’s not enough time to get all the baking I want in.”

I give John a mock look. “Exactly how much time do you need for all your baking?”

John thinks about this for a moment. “Well, he’s already talked about making plum cake, sugar cookies, spice cake, candy cane cake-“

I interrupt at Sam. “Candy cane cake?”

“I saw it in a cookbook.” John defends.

“Was it Willy Wonka’s cookbook?” I tease.

“Make fun all you want, but I think it’ll be the best cake you’ve ever had.” John insists.

Actually, the best cake I ever had was when I turned ten, and we iced a vanilla cake with peanut butter and jelly. That was a birthday cake.

We get to school just in time for the bell to ring. Like always, English is our first class of the day. Thankfully, Sam and John are 3rd years, so they’re still lower classmates, and at this school it means they’re still part of my class. To my surprise, the teacher doesn’t seem to care that Sam and John look like they just arrived from Santa’s workshop. Either that or they don’t notice their outfits. But there’s only ten students in our class, us included, so that can’t be true. We sit down to class, but no sooner do we sit down does a boy behind me tap me on the shoulder. I look at him. It’s Daniel Hewson. I’ve been in classes with him since 3rd class (3rd grade for my American readers). He hands me a note. I take it and read it.

You got cute over break, it says.

I frown. I’m not sure how to feel about that. I don’t think I want attention from boys. Ever since Sam entered puberty, she’s told me one day I would get it (and she likes boys and girls). I just don’t. I’ve never had a crush on a boy, and I can’t imagine I ever will. Most of them are so annoying, except John and Bart. I even find Sam’s boyfriend, Harry, annoying. Besides, I’ve seen enough relationships fail that I know it’s not something I ever want to get involved in. I’ve already been left once, and that was enough. I don’t want to go through that again.

Besides, what the heck does he mean “I got cute over break?” I mean, I know he’s referring to last week when I visited my cousin in Minnesota. But what about the cute part? Does he mean I got cute cause I developed more? Does he mean I got cute because I got taller? What does that even mean?

I just put the note away and pay attention to the rest of class.

After class, I tell Sam and John about the note. “Well, it’s obnoxious and lame, but I’m not sure if it qualifies as much to worry about.” Sam says.

“But what does it even mean? Like I’m only pretty cause I developed? Cause that’s just dumb.” I say.

“Boys are dumb.” Sam says.

“That’s why I will never date one.” I say, walking down the hall.

“All I said was they were dumb, as a species. But they’re not all like that,” Sam clarifies.

John frowns. “Species? We’re a separate species now?”

“Somewhere on the level of chimps.” Sam teases.

John gives her a mock look. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t crush on one. Are you still convinced you will never have feelings for anyone? Forget boys for a moment.” Sam says.

“I am. I just don’t think relationships are worth it. They always end in heartbreak. Remember Orla Devon? She left Bart for a 5th year when they were 3rd years. Bart moped around for weeks.” I tell her.

“And you’re basing relationships on Bart and Orla?” Sam is aghast. “All they did was hold hands and exchange furbies.”

“It’s not just Bart and Orla. Mum and Dad broke up.” I insist.

“Because he was alcoholic who wouldn’t get sober.” John reminds me.

I nod. “Aye, I’m definitely not falling for an alcoholic.”

Sam nods. “Alright… If you insist.”

“Aye, I do.” I say, as we get to our next classroom.

After school, as tiny snowflakes spit down from the sky, we pile into Mum’s car to go and get our tree.

“How was school?” Mum asks.

“Good. Where’s Bart?” I ask.

“On an errand you’re not allowed to know about.” Mum tells me.

I nod. Bart must be Christmas shopping. I didn’t really put much on my list this year except the Nintendo GameCube, and the game Luigi’s Mansion. I just know that’s gonna be a cool game and I’m gonna ace it! I don’t know if Bart will be in charge of getting that, but you never know.

We go to the Christmas tree farm and get our tree, which has to be delivered to us. That thing won’t fit into Mum’s tiny car.

But the person from the tree farm follows us home and we haul it in.

John scratches himself on the needles. “I wonder who it was that decided one day that these scratchy things were good to decorate with.”

I keep my mittens on, so I don’t get scratched. “It comes from the ancient festival Yule. In the winter, coniferous trees are the only ones that still had remaining greenery and were thus able to bring beauty and brightness to the dark winter homes of people.”

“I can understand that,” Sam says. “They are pretty, they’re just scratchy.”

John rubs his hands. “Tell me about it.”

With the tree all up, Mum makes us some hot chocolate while we do our homework. As if I thought math was bad last year. Now I’m learning the formula for the slope axis aspect or whatever it is. If anyone knows what this means, I’d appreciate the help.

Bart comes home soon after with a box full of stuff. “What is it? What’d’ja get me?” I tease him.

“Never you mind. And don’t come into my room until I say so,” Bart says, going upstairs with the box.

That night, Sam and John stay for dinner cause its Friday. Every week we do Friday night pizza.

“So are you still all enjoying school?” Edward asks.

“Um… School, yes, except for math… But… I have been getting more… attention lately.” I say.

“What kind of attention?” Mum asks, concerned.

“A boy told me I got cute over the break. Whatever that means.” I roll my eyes.

Bart frowns. “What boy?”

“I’m not gonna tell you. You’ll pick a fight, and he’s only a 2nd year.” I say.

Mum looks at me. “Well, this boy sounds like he’s trying to come up with some cool line, but is there anything wrong with getting attention, as long as it’s appropriate attention?”

“What do you mean by appropriate?” I ask.

“I mean, no one’s harassing you. Cause I will call the school and raise hell if that happens. But showing interest seems normal for your age.” Mum says.

“Well, maybe I don’t want to be normal. Maybe I want to grow up and be a hedgewitch in Brú na Bóinne.” I say.

Sam laughs. Bart frowns. “Why would you want to do that?” he asks.

I shrug. “To confuse people.”

Mum smiles. “Well, honey it’s your choice whether you want to interact with people that way, but I’d still encourage you to keep an open mind. You may find someone wonderful.”

I nod. But that someone wonderful could also leave me, I think.

I don’t think about it anymore and I just go back to eating.

[zoe-oneesama]

I'm interested in the Lila exposed au about your akumasona. What's that?

For those who don’t know my OC (self insert) akumasona Zoe Rapporte (The Enchanted Florist), but her family owns a flower shop that is pretty successful - think “This florist does the arrangements at the Grand Paris and for High Profile Events” - so she’s mildly acquainted with Adrien from some of those events. Maybe not friends, but like when you frequent a coffee shop so much that you learn all the staff’s name and they all remember you.

So Lila is not above dropping lots of money to sell her lies (hello Gabriel Collection Fox Necklace) and one of her lies to her mother is that Adrien is her boyfriend. And what boyfriend doesn’t send his lovely girlfriend flowers, especially one as well off as Adrien Agreste? And really, as long as his name is on the card when her mother accepts them at the door, that’s all that matters, right?

So Zoe takes note that once a week this prissy girl with a bizarre hairstyle comes in to place a rather pricey bouquet order under Adrien’s name and has it delivered to the same address that’s on the credit card bill - doesn’t take a genius to figure out this delusional weirdo is pretending a celebrity is sending her flowers weekly. It’s a little strange because Zoe could’ve sworn she saw on TV that this chick had done photo shoots with Adrien before and based on his Instagram she was his classmate, so it’s kinda concerning that she’s going this far to burrow her way into his life. Still, she’s dropping quite a bit of coin and it’s really none of Zoe’s business, yeah?

But then imagine there’s a class event - maybe a dance, maybe a teacher’s appreciation week, maybe an alumni reunion - that needs our favorite class representative and her deputy to order a large amount of flowers. And Adrien, ever desperate to do his part, takes it upon himself to help with the budget. And maybe Nino decides to come for no particular reason lol.

So the four walk into the Rapporte Flower Shop and Adrien is so excited to introduce his friends to one of the familiar faces from his VIP world. And he’s just so exuberant as he brags about his friends and is so wholesome and different from the put together boy Zoe would briefly meet at those stuffy events that this surge of sisterly affection makes her completely forget her usual “none of my business” attitude. She’s got to let him know what it going on behind his back, especially if there’s a chance that he has no idea what kind of girl “Mlle. Rossi at the fifth story walk up” was.

And who knows? Maybe this was a misunderstanding, a weird arrangement Adrien had with his secret girlfriend to make sure she gets exactly the type of bouquet she wants? Zoe recons she’s had stranger requests. Welp, no better way to clear the air than to just ask.

“Hey Adrien, you know there’s this weird girl that comes in once a week and has flowers delivered to herself under your name?”

Adrien paused in his rant about Nino’s music mixing skills (having already left Alya puffing her chest in pride and Marinette a red puddle of embarrassed goo) to stare blankly at Zoe. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh yeah.” Zoe leaned into her palm, looking way too relaxed considering what she’d just dropped on him. “For, like, the two months at least. Always has us address her card ‘Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder, Ma Belle, from Your Loving Boyfriend Adrien Agreste’.”

“What the heck?!” Alya exclaimed from beside Nino who’s jaw was dropped in disbelief. “That’s crazy messed up. Adrien doesn’t even have a girlfriend, what does this psycho think she’s doing?!”

“Right? I don’t know who she thinks she fooling. What kind of boyfriend needs to sign his full name?”

“It is pretty weird.” Adrien said, rubbing his neck in discomfort. “But it’s not the strangest thing a fan has done. It’s not that big a deal, right?”

“Dude.” Nino started, staring at his best friend in mild horror. “Just because you don’t know this girl doesn’t make it ‘no big deal’.”

“Oh no.” Zoe pipes up again. “He knows her.”

“What?!” All of Adrien’s friend’s exclaimed. Even Adrien looked a bit shook by her admission.

Alya zipped over to the counter, leaning dangerously close to Zoe’s remarkably unfazed face. “What do you mean ‘he knows her’?! How do you know that?! This sounds like a creepy fangirl but you’re telling me she’s actually in Adrien’s life?!”

“I should say so. I mean, it was even on TV that she was modeling with Adrien and she’s made a few appearances on his instagram.” Zoe brought out her phone, casually thumbing open Instagram. “I would’ve just ignored it, but if she’s going around pretending she’s dating Adrien then he has the right to know.”

“Modeling with....and you said on his instagram...?”

“Are...” Marinette piped up, voice dripping with trepidation. “Are you talking about Lila?”

“Marinette,” Alya gave her friend a withering look. “Just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean you can just accuse her of-”

Zoe cut her off, flashing her phone screen at the group to present a photo, having found the image she was looking for: a brunette with a straight fringe and her forelocks in twin tails leaning possessively over an uncomfortably smiling Adrien.

“Yes, Mlle. Rossi! I’d recognize that crazy hairstyle anywhere.” She turned the phone back to look at it herself. “Pft, Adrien, what’s with this caption? ‘Lila insisted I take post this picture?’ Yikes, man, learn to say no.”

Alya waved her hands in front of her, eyes scrunched closed in disbelief. “Hold up, hold up, hold up. You have GOT to be getting this twisted. Lila wouldn’t do something that like this, that’s just...wrong!”

“I mean, this is definitely the girl I was talking about.” Zoe said slowly, raising one eyebrow at Alya’s response. “And Rossi is the name on the bill. What exactly am I ‘getting twisted?’“

“Because!..Because Lila just wouldn’t!”

“Yeah!” Nino shouted from behind her, shaking himself out of the stupor this whole situation left him in. “She said she wasn’t into Adrien like that!”

Zoe snorted. “And you believed her?”

“W-well yeah, why would she lie about that...?”

“You guys are so cute. And definitely need to watch more True Crime shows.”

“What-?”

“Sorry Adrien.” Zoe lofted over Alya’s shoulder, cutting off another defensive quip. “I know she was your friend. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

“Ah, no, she’s not really- I mean, I’m not that surprised to be honest.” Adrien offered weakly.

“It sounds right up her alley.” Marinette growled, fingers digging into her crossed arms.

“What...” Nino and Alya turned to their friends, confused and anxious. “What are you talking about? This..this is Lila we’re talking about!”

“The same Lila who got Marinette expelled?” Adrien stated, face grim and tired.

“That was rescinded, it wasn’t her fault-”

“The same Lila who sent everyone in Adrien’s contact list picture of her kissing Adrien?” Marinette ground out, aggravated.

“I mean, that was weird, but I’m sure she didn’t mean-”

“The same Lila who got my bodyguard and Natalie in trouble with my dad?”

“Or maybe the same Lila who stole Adrien’s dad’s book and threw it in the trash?”

“She did WHAT-?!”

“I-I fished it out for you!”

“Wait is that how you knew about Lila-”

“Wow.” Zoe whistled, again cutting the group off. “What a class act. Sounds like a great friend you got there, Adrien.”

“Oh trust me.” Adrien growled, eyes never leaving Marinette who steadfastedly refused to look at him. “After this we’re NOT friends.”

Alya held her head with one hand, staring at the ground. “Wait, wait, this...this can’t be right, Lila isn’t...she wouldn’t do this, she wouldn’t, she’s...cool! And nice! And-! She just can’t!”

Zoe cocked her head toward’s Alya, leveling her with a patient stare. “Well, then what is she doing?” Alya looked up blankly at her, prompting her further. “The truth of the matter is that Lila Rossi comes in once a week, and has been for at least two months, buying flowers to be delivered to her own address (which I know because it matches up to the address on the card with her last name on it), but dictates that the card say it was sent by Adrien. If she’s not faking that Adrien is sending her flowers, what is she doing?”

“I...I don’t...” Alya floundered. They were just supposed to order some flowers, how did the day turn like this?!

“You’re an investigative reporter, right? What’s that old Sherlock Holmes saying? ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth’?”

Alya leaned into Nino, staring out at the shop, searching for something to make some sense. She thought Lila was nice, was her friend, was everyone’s friend! But this stunt with Adrien...what does it even mean...?

Everyone looked towards the employee door as footsteps could be heard approaching. A moment later Tama, Zoe’s younger sister, stepped into the shop, pausing at the door when she realized five pairs of eyes were staring at her. She looked over the customers, taking in Marinette’s slight glower, Adrien’s tight jaw, and Nino and Alya’s devastated posture.

“Soooo, are you here to buy some bouquets?”

[gerec]

Au-gust 2022

1. Underwater 2. Artist’s Muse 3. Countryside 4. Dinosaurs

-----

5. Teachers

Pairing(s): Cherik, Xavierine, Cherigan, Starles Warnings: Past mpreg, total crack

This is a little snippet from an unfinished chapter from my fic Charles Xavier's Baby. You don't really need to have read it to understand this ficlet, though I personally think it would be funnier if you did. Just know that the story is inspired by Bridget Jones's Baby, and Charles got knocked up with twins from two different guys :D ---- They’re already halfway through a very nice roast beef dinner before it happens; the slow, dawning realization by both Erik and Logan of the girls’ intentions, inviting their art teacher over for an in-home visit. Charles pretends not to notice the mental alarm bells coming at him from two different directions, merely smiling at Mr. Rogers as he takes a sip of the man’s contribution to the meal; a very fine - and expensive - vintage Bordeaux. Mr. Rogers, Charles notes, seems to have excellent taste in French reds. “Mr. Rogers, you have such exquisite taste. This wine is absolutely delightful.” The man really is ridiculously handsome, and muscular to boot, sweet and well-mannered but with a delightfully dry wit. He’s exactly Charles’ type – and Charles ‘pre-twins’ would have been all over Steve Rogers like a slutty octopus – which only makes Laura and Lorna’s plan all the funnier to a slightly inebriated Charles. “Please call me Steve,” hot art teacher Steve says, as Erik’s mental nudges escalate to urgent pokes, and Logan looks like he’s minutes away from to sticking his claws into that broad, well-defined chest. “Thank you again for the invitation to dinner. It was an absolute delight having the girls in my art class this year.” He’s not surprised at all to hear that they’re well-behaved for him, since it seems they have very specific ideas for what role they want Mr. Rogers to play in all their lives. In a way that makes perfect sense to seven-year-olds just finishing their second year of school, they’ve decided they want a baby brother or sister, and – because they have different fathers – they obviously need to find another father for the new baby too. “You’re very welcome, Steve,” he says, and maybe, just maybe he bites his lips a little as he reaches over to refill the man’s wine glass. “You’re their favorite teacher by far. It’s always ‘Mr. Rogers is so smart’, or ‘Mr. Rogers is so good at painting’ with these two.” Both Lorna and Laura beam at him and then at Steve, their heads turning in perfect synch. Charles doesn’t have the heart to be too upset at their misguided matchmaking, though he’s not looking forward to the conversation they need to have about how they’re definitely not going to be getting a new sibling. (There is no way Charles is going to have another baby, after the insanity of getting impregnated by his ex and his new boyfriend in one pregnancy.) “Mr. Rogers, did you know Daddy is a teacher like you?” Lorna says, a conspiring Laura whispering in her ear. “He’s a Professor of Genetics at the university. And he’s rich and we have lots of expensive art at the house in Westchester. So you have lots in common.”

Steve, bless him, doesn’t see the evil terrors that the twins really are, lulled by their pretty smiles and the perfect manners they pull out whenever it’s convenient. “Oh, really? That’s wonderful. Do you have a favorite period or artist in your collection, Charles?” “Charles doesn’t know a damn thing about art,” Erik snaps rudely, in a way that would normally get him thrown out of Charles’ bed for a week. But handsome, fit, talented, artsy Mr. Rogers is driving him crazy with jealousy, in a way he hasn’t broadcast this loudly to Charles since he was fighting with Logan over the (at the time they thought just one) baby. “Any art he owns came with the house.” Logan, usually the one with the cooler head and more laid-back attitude, also seems rather threatened by the very idea that someone like Steve Rogers even exists. “What’s a guy like you doing teaching little kids art anyway?” he growls. “Logan—” “No, Charles, it’s fine,” Steve says affably, though there’s a glint of something in his eye now that makes him even more attractive. “After I retired from the army, I wanted to do something different; something that gave me a reason to get up in the morning again. And being around the kids, teaching them and watching them grow…it makes me happy and fulfilled like I haven’t felt in a long time.” ‘Pre-twins’ Charles would most definitely be sucking his face by now, which is both an indictment of his past self and weird proof that the girls have the same taste in men as their Daddy. He gazes with admiration at a smiling Steve, which solicits another wave of mental grievances being shouted in his direction. Stop flirting with him, Charles! Who invited this guy? Why is he even here? If you’re trying to get back at me for proposing again you are way out of line! Between the wine and Erik and Logan’s incessant complaints, it’s no wonder that Charles misses Lorna turning determinedly to Steve and promptly blowing the entire evening to smithereens. “Mr. Rogers,” she says, smiling her dimpled smile at an indulgent, if slightly puzzled Steve, “would you like to have a baby with Daddy?” Charles absolutely does not dump his entire glass of wine down the front of his shirt.

[nightkarmaqueen]

The Prince’s Mothers

So, I have something to share with you guys. Every time me and my sister play Ikemen Prince and they bring up the topic of their mother, we always call the mothers with out own nickname. Yes, we have our own way to calls the mothers of the princes. Like, we always adress them with this-- And this is what we calls them.

1. Jin Grandet’s Mother - “Lady Gradet” or “The Previous Lady Belle” (but mostly the first one). If we got “Prince Chevalier’s Favorite Mistress” then, Jin’s mother got “The King’s Favorite Mistress” BUT HOW THERE THEY TO SEPARATE THEM! THE KING NEED LOVE AND IF YOU JUST LET THEM BE, THE KING WOULDN’T BE THAT EMPTY AND LONELY! Well, but that’s okay, if that things didn’t happen, perhaps we wouldn’t have the other 5 princes like Clavis, Leon, Licht, Nokto, and Luke. (Yeah, I know the King still would take Queen Michel and Princess Kloss since it was political marriage).

2. Chevalier Michel’s Mother - “Her Majesty, Queen Michel” Myess, me and my sister call her “Her Majesty” since she was the 1st Wife and Queen of Rhodolite. But there is one moment in Leon Route when my sister called her “Her Highness, Princess Michel” before she engaged with the king. Also, me and my sister agreed that Chevalier would be the actual Crown Prince if there wasn’t the Belle System or something like that. Myess, Mama Michel bore a pretty beast for sure!

3. Clavis Lelouch’s Mother - “Lady Lelouch” or “Your Grace” (mostly the first one). For “Your Grace”, I mean like, I don't read jp servers, so I don't really know how Clavis is on the route. But I think, since Clavis is a bit of a hedon person, I feel that his mother comes from a fairly huge noble family. Let’s say from a Count/Countess family or more higher than that. Or a Princess like Queen Michel, perhaps?

[ Edit : Lady Lelouch is like housemaid or lady-in-waiting for Michel Household. Still, I still calls her 'Lady Lelouch'. ]

4. Leon Dompteur’s Mother - “Her Majesty, Queen Dompteur” since she was the 2nd Wife and Queen of Rhodolite. Idk why the king take another “official” wife. But perhaps Queen Dompteur was a concubine of the king then when Queen Michel died, she get promoted and became the 2nd Queen of Rhodolite? I mean, since Queen Michel died when Chevalier still 6? or 8? I forgot!!!

5. Yves Kloss’ Mother - “Her Highness, Princess Kloss” since she was the Obsidianate Princess. I can imagine the misery of her! Like if you read “I’ll Become the Matriach in This Life” there is this one cousin of the female lead and she refused to go from the mansion and get married, crying and things-- BUT IN THE END, SHE STILL GOT MARRIED TO THE MAN! I CAN IMAGINE THIS TO YVES’ MOTHER AND THE KING!!!

6. Licht and Nokto Klein’s Mother - “Lady Klein”. Again, I didn’t read the jp serves--but we will got Nokto’s route soon enough. So let me see what we got from my prediction. I think the twins’s mother came from a fine noble family. Not too big, but not too small. Good enough to catch the King’s attention and fell in love, became the concubine of him, and BOOM! THEY HAVE THIS PRETTY AND HOT TWINS! Yeah, me and my sister calls her “Lady Klein”

[ Edit : The twins mother is a singer from abroad. I still can call her 'Lady Klein' tho. I also can call her 'Ms. Klein' ]

7. Luke Randolph’s Mother - “Lady Randolph” or “Madam Randolph” or again “Mrs. Randolph”. For the last time, again. Since I did not read jp server and we’re not sure about Luke’s story, this is how we adress Luke’s mother. Most likely we called her “Lady Randolph” but since Idk the background story of Luke’s mother and we know that Luke was born and raised as commoner, we often calls her with “Madam or Mrs. Randolph.”

SO YEAH! THAT’S HOW WE CALLS THE MOTHERS OF THE PRINCES. This actually just something me and my sister do. How about you? What do you think?

If there’s anything wrong in or with the post, please correct me. Have a lovely day/night~

[americasass81]

A Wish Fulfilled

Warnings 18+ for the following:- Pregnancy Talk, Very Mild Implied Manipulation, Talk of Children, Fingering, F/F Sexual Interactions, Use of Pet Names, Fluff. Seriously do not read if any of this upsets you, the warnings are there for a reason. Feedback is welcomed and any mistakes are my own.  Hope anyone who reads this enjoys it as much as I did writing it.

By proceeding you are acknowledging that you are over 18 and are consenting to the content below the cut.

Pairings:- Maria Hill x Female Reader (core pairing), Steve Rogers x Original Female Character x Bucky Barnes (established relationship).

Author’s Note 1:- This is for @musingsinmoonlight 1k Followers Writing Challenge. Congratulations Suz on this wonderful achievement.  1k people who know just how amazing, kind, talented and beautiful you are.  Now onto the next 1k.  You deserve this and so much more.  lyl💞💞 Hope you like it.

Challenge Prompt:- "Hey, leave them alone.  They just fell asleep."

Author’s Note 2:- Though written as an offshoot of an on-going, unposted fanfiction where Steve and Bucky have achieved the perfect family life they always wanted, this can easily be read on its own as only the necessary information from that story is alluded to here.

Author’s Note 3:- As always, all images have been found through google search.

Synopsis:- An interfering Tony Stark gives your wife the perfect opportunity to convince you there’s more love in you to give than you’re willing to admit.

Total Word Count:- 3,810

Turning off the blender and scooping out another round of freshly mashed up ingredients, the laughter and childish conversations reaching your ears from either the living room or foyer forced you to pause in your task momentarily and wonder how the hell you had ever ended up here.  Oh sure, you knew it was your shared history with this extraordinary family, but this ... taking care of two kids and a dog while Tony dragged the heroes away for what he titled 'Adult Recreation' ... this was crazy.

Thinking back to the morning around a week and a half ago when your wife had surprised you in bed with all your favorite foods, you should have known then that something wasn't right.  Of course it wasn't that Maria wasn't romantic ... far from it actually.  Both of you knew how to express your love for each other in and out of the bedroom.  But for her it was usually the grand, expensive, very public gestures that won out.  After all she told you so on your wedding day that she wanted to show you off to the whole world.  So why then didn't the alarm bells start ringing as she smiled at you from the door in a top that left very little to the imagination.

Walking gingerly towards you and placing the tray carefully on the bed before she slipped back in beside you, the first bite of the glorious meal had no sooner settled in your stomach when the words began to flow out of her mouth.  Informing you that Tony was taking the Original Avengers and their significant others away for a well deserved break to relax, unwind and hopefully add some more numbers to the next generation, Steve and Bucky's wife was hoping that she, and more specifically you, would agree to look after their twins.

Stopping eating and focusing your attention on your wife to make sure you had heard correctly in your still sleep-addled state, the look on her angelic face told you more than any words ever could.  She was serious.  Letting this revelation sink in, you acknowledged of course why Christina would choose you.  Having bonded over your fears for your respective spouses and her having served as your maid of honor, the closeness that now made you feel like sisters was more than enough reason for her to trust you with their little ones.

But was it something you wanted?

Knowing of course that if anyone needed and deserved a break it was definitely Christina, agreeing to take care of two year old Nicholas Anthony and Winnifred Sarah however could be a can of worms you weren't sure you wanted to open.  Having met Maria Hill when your company catered the Barnes / Cronin / Rogers wedding, a whirlwind romance found the two of you exchanging vows a year later in an extravagant ceremony that had papers, magazines and tv shows alike wondering how soon and which one of you was going to show.

If it was up to you it would be neither.  But Maria was a different story.

Spending more time with the Avengers outside of work through your friendship with Mrs. Rogers-Barnes, she couldn't fail to notice how easily Morgan Stark, the Barton kids, Nicholas and Winnie all responded to you and how you in turn seemed to light up whenever you were around them.  You seemed to come alive with them in a way you rarely did with adults, being one of the few grown ups willing to spend hours  entertaining their games and encouraging their imaginations.  Surely then there was no obstacle to passing on the abundant amount of love that existed between both of you.  Or was there?

Every time the beautiful brunette brought it up or dropped hints regarding how good you were with children, you always wrote it off as nothing more than having the freedom to hand them back to their parents when you were done.  For you, this arrangement was simple.  There was no responsibility.  No fear of failure.  No sleepless nights wondering if the decisions you made today were the right ones or whether they would irreparably screw up your child's life in a week, a month or years down the road from now.

Yet how could you tell the love of your life something like that?  Having come from a home where one parent gave so much of themselves to their family to the detriment of their own sense of self and the other was a prime example of why certain people should be left alone, never mind being responsible for caring for and shaping another human being, you really couldn't reconcile the existence of a middle ground where peace, love, harmony and common sense helped to foster the perfect environment where children thrived and were accepted for the amazing individuals they could be.  Knowing all that, how could you tell someone you promised everything to that you would rather face down an alien invasion than be a parent?  Especially given how that same person had done that and lived to tell the tale.

The answer was you didn't have to.

Somehow, having only known you for a short time, Maria had an uncanny ability for reading all the little things you never told her.  Maybe it was because of her job?  Who knew?  Either way she knew your kind heart, which is how you figured you really ended up here.  Four weeks sequestered away with your wife in the Rogers-Barnes mansion getting a feel for the responsibility of caring for two mini super soldiers and an equally rambunctious husky while your friend got to engage in some quality, stress-free activities with both her husbands at the same time.  Still you had your doubts, but being reassured by Bucky and Christina that you and Maria were more than capable of handling the little ones, your other half was more than willing to get stuck in.

Leaving them talking by the living room as you wandered into the kitchen and tried to get comfortable around the place, it was a slight relief to discover that Steve alone shared your reservations or at least wasn't ready to have their kids in someone else's care for any amount of time just yet.  Going through every minute detail with you regarding security, the kids, the puppy, the mansion and of course the all important information for reaching them in an emergency, Christina finally kissing her children and dragging her husbands out of the house with a smile left you wondering where you went from here.

But you need not have worried.  After two sleepless nights where every little noise and flicker had you walking the floor checking on Nick, Winnie and Howler, no sinister goings on and Maria's tender embrace, heartfelt reassurances and talented body helped ease your fears that maybe this wasn't such a terrible mistake after all.  It also helped that Steve really had thought of everything when he designed this place.

Sporting enough toys and gadgets to stock most upmarket toy stores, the walk-in pantry and outdoor planting beds ensured that no occupant of the house, human or animal would get bored or hungry.  The fenced-in play area out the back also had everything to keep Nick and Winnie safe and entertained in all types of weather while the spacious yard allowed Howler ample room to run off the excess energy he accumulated watching over the little ones every night from his bed by the nursery door.  It helped too that the indoors also were not only under the watchful eye of Stark's super qualified A.I., but Steve and Bucky had ensured that the whole place was a baby-proofed fortress.  Even walking out with Maria and your temporary family in the surrounding countryside had you wondering if given the right start and foundation, you could overcome your fears and give Maria the only other thing in this world she truly wanted.

So as the microwave pinged, you found yourself once more back in the present as the woman you loved painted a picture of domestic bliss with a two year old on each hip as she followed the cute little puppy into the kitchen.  "Hey cupcake, Howler's nose seemed to indicate that lunch was ready.  Would he be right?" she asked, settling the kids into their chairs and coming round the island to place a tender kiss against your cheek before heading to the cabinet to fetch some bowls.

"Yeah snowflake," you replied with a smile as you opened the microwave door and carefully retrieved the kids' food before continuing, “and our plates are on the island.  Do you mind?” you asked while accepting their bowls from Maria as she then opened the door to let the little brown husky out for a run before grabbing your meals.  Spooning out the little ones’ food and handing one bowl to Maria, you then sat down beside Nick as she took her place beside Winnie and hoped once again that the mess would be kept to a minimum.  Having only really been responsible for them for almost two weeks so far, but having been a constant in their lives from the moment they were two months old, you had learned early on that though they were twins, they were both uniquely different.

Though you knew from your friendship with their mother that it was never found out who the father was, you could already see that each had their own defining traits and characteristics and this was also displayed during mealtimes with Winnie treating everything as playtime.  The sweet girl with her blonde waves and blue eyes who loved to be involved in everything, had seemed to be a fountain of endless energy.  Running, climbing, getting into things and places she shouldn't, it was as if nothing was beyond her.  A possible mini version of either super soldier through and through, you shuddered to think what trouble she would cause her parents as she got older.  While the dark haired Nick though quiet and reserved like his mom, still seemed every bit as sharp and destructive as his sister if the mood hit him.  Looking between the two as Winnie slapped her spoon into her food, a part of you wondered sometimes if he was happy being ignored in favor of his twin so he could maybe get up to worse shenanigans.  Still at present he seemed to be the angelic one, which is why you thought he seemed most comfortable around you.  Two peas in a pod, you and Nick seemed to like taking things at a measured pace while Maria and Winnie were even now making enough noise to wake the dead.

Feeding them somewhat easily since they were pretty good at helping themselves and then spending the remainder of the day playing with them, talking to them, changing them, washing them and settling them into bed while also looking after the puppy that seemed to interact so effortlessly with both kids, the routine seemed to be working well and family life seemed like something worth considering until the end of your third week.

Awakened by a cry, you carefully slipped out of bed and Maria's embrace before shushing Howler and opening the door of the nursery to find Nick sitting up in bed, while Winnie was crying in hers.  Looking quickly between your sleeping wife and the curious blue-eyed boy, you figured Winnie was the more immediate concern.  So walking towards her, you picked her up and placing her on the changing table, checked to make sure this was not the source of her discomfort.  Finding nothing soiled, you then placed her back down and did a quick check in with Nick before his sister's tears began to flow once again.  Checking the schedule and confirming that you and Maria had indeed completed every step Steve had laid out like every other night you’d been here, you suddenly thought back on something you had seen once in a movie and figured it was worth a try.

Closing the nursery door so as not to wake your sleeping spouse, you carefully positioned each child in your arms and then asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to turn on some soothing music.  Dancing around the floor in time with the tune, half an hour later found two little ones securely back in the land of candy floss clouds and chocolate streams as you began to acknowledge, if only to yourself, that perhaps there was some hope for you after all.  Asking F.R.I.D.A.Y. to then lower the volume, you carefully settled each child back in their cribs and almost undid all your efforts by releasing a tiny squeal when a body pressed against your back and two arms encircled your waist.  "Need a hand?" Maria asked before kissing your neck and reaching out to finish placing a blanket over little Nick who thankfully slept on obliviously to this new intruder.

"Hey, leave them alone.  They just fell asleep." you replied in a low, shaky voice so as not to erase the achievement of the past half hour.

Ignoring you and carefully finishing what she had started, Maria then turned back towards you, took your hand and walking out of the nursery, closed the door before leading you over to the bed.  "Hey cupcake, why didn't you wake me?" she asked as she sat down with her back against the headboard and pulled you down to sit between her legs.  "You know I'm here to help," she continued as her lips began to place soft kisses along your neck and shoulder.

"I know snowflake," you replied as you sank back against her warm body and allowed her lips to ease away your lingering cares, "but I didn't have the heart to wake you.  You looked so peaceful and work so hard."

"So do you," she reminded you as her lips left your skin while her hands began to work their way along your arms.  Moving, seeking and kneading out all the tightness she found along your shoulders as your body began to relax more, Maria couldn't help but feel a swell of pride at how easily, despite all your reservations, you had taken to looking after the little ones.  Oh she knew this life of domestic bliss was still a concept you couldn’t grasp, but she also knew that given the right nudge, that innate goodness and selfless nature of yours would lend itself perfectly to family life.  She now just had to get you in the right frame of mind to agree and oh did she have her ways.

Moaning softly under her talented fingers as your head fell back against her shoulder, your lips meeting hers told her everything she needed to know.  Despite the secret fears you harbored and which kept you awake most nights, the love both of you felt for each other was powerful enough to see you through anything.  Even kids.  And so as you closed your eyes and hummed in satisfaction, she figured now was as good a time as any to try again.

"Hey cupcake," she cooed by your ear as her hands left your shoulders and began the slow journey down your arms, "do you think these past two weeks have made you reconsider?" she asked as her fingers began to toy with the hem of your t-shirt.

"Reconsider what snowflake?" you asked as you arched out towards her wandering digits while your skin came alive under her ministrations..

"Having kids.  Starting a family," she clarified as she began to work your t-shirt off your body while her lips started exploring your skin once again.

Looking back on the last three weeks as well as the one to come, even you had to acknowledge that leaving this behind was going to be hard.  But how could you have this?  How would it work?  Despite Maria's precision and dedication at work, or perhaps because of it, you were the more sensible and practical one in the relationship.  You thought through everything more than once.  Followed every thought through every possible outcome and then returned to see if there was something you missed.  Even now as Maria's hands massaged your breasts while her fingers played with your nipples, your eyes wandered to the door that separated you and your devilish spouse from the two sleeping children.  Maria had no such cares however.  Playing your body like the finely tuned instrument she knew by heart, it seemed outside of work being carefree and adventurous was how she wished to exist.

So placing her legs over yours and gently spreading them open as her hands began to trail down towards your flower, her teeth nibbling on your earlobe had your hands shooting up to cover your mouth as a particularly loud gasp escaped your lips and drew the attention of what you thought was a sleeping puppy.  "Well cupcake, what do you say?" she asked again as her fingers now settled on your intimate area and began to travel through your quickly moistening folds, "want some beautiful girl calling you mama?  A sweet, devoted baby boy adoring you long after I’m gone?  You and I pregnant and barefoot together?" she now whispered in your ear as her fingers breached your sex and began pumping in and out of you at a steady pace.  "Can you answer me?"

Breathing through your nose as your hands still covered your mouth, the images she spoke of sprang to life before your very eyes.  As did the questions that invariably followed.  Could you handle two kids at once?  Sure you had been doing it for three weeks so far.  But Maria was with you all that time and the house really played a factor in how easy they were to manage.  Then there were the questions of something going wrong.  Pregnancy complications, health issues, your careers and all that that entailed.  On top of that there was the frightening thought that hit you the same time Maria's fingers zeroed in on your clit and g-spot and worked you towards your first orgasm of the night ... multiple births.

Sure the idea of a mini Maria running around the place thanks to an anonymous donor left a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart, but the thought of more than one.  At once.  And what pray tell if a child was to end up like you.  Sure you were kind hearted and selfless, but only to a point.  Cross that line, push you too far and you were like a totally different person.  Bitchy, selfish, arrogant even, these were not the type of personality traits that a child of yours would grow out of once the terrible two and teenage years were behind them.  Did you really want to deal with that?  Did Maria?

Coming down from your high as your beautiful wife gently coaxed your body towards another, your mind tried to think through the other options available to satisfy the wish you now accepted Maria was never going to let go of.  Adoption was controlled.  One child at a time and no more.  Your worse character traits hopefully mitigated through no genetic connection.  But that way could also be fraught with disappointment as Maria’s job all but ensured that rejection was the most likely outcome.  The same issue might occur with surrogacy.  Was it really worth the effort to track down a complete stranger who would approve of your careers and lifestyle to help fulfill your wife’s dream of having a family?

But still, she knew you too well.  Moving her unoccupied hand up to free your mouth as her other hand continued to make you feel like the center of the universe, the second your moans reached the room her lips captured yours once more in a passionate kiss before she spoke again.  "Stop thinking cupcake.  Shut off your brain for one second and allow your heart to feel.  Tell me what you want," she pleaded as her right hand continued to caress your soft walls while her left hand cupped your chin so your eyes never left hers.

Thrusting your hips down on her hand as your eyes searched her blue ones and saw nothing but confidence and adoration reflected back at you, you took a leap, stopped thinking and uttered the first thing that came out of your mouth.  "I want it all.  God help me, despite the fear and uncertainty I want to grow old with you as our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren learn to live, grow and love in this world you fight so hard to protect."

Watching now as her eyes glistened with unshed tears as you felt the moisture leave your own, a somehow invisible weight felt like it had been lifted off you as Maria swiftly removed her hand from your pussy, flipped you onto your back and crashed her lips down on yours once again.  Kissing you over and over again as her flowing hair formed a curtain around your faces, the love radiating from her was enough to tell you you had made the right decision.  Still now it was someone else's fears that had to be addressed.

"Are you sure?" Maria asked between kisses as both of your limbs became a tangle while your arms encircled her waist and held her closer than you ever thought you had before.  "You won't change your mind?" she choked out as her lips finally parted from you and her eyes searched yours for some sign that your head was once again in charge and her greatest wish was about to be snatched back from her before it had a chance to take hold.

Recognizing her fear as easily as any of your own, your heart broke that you could cause this reaction as your body rolled both of you over and tried to rectify the situation.  "No snowflake, I promise that won't happen," you reassured as you propped yourself up on your elbows and stared lovingly down at the hard assed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent whose tough exterior hid a heart bigger than the ocean.  Knowing now that you could no more deny her this one thing than you could the air in your lungs as you skimmed your fingers over her cheek, the soft murmurs echoing out from the nursery through the baby monitor created the perfect accompaniment to the tender love session that followed as you said goodbye to the night with new hope for the weeks and life ahead.

Wrapping you in her arms then as sleep finally fell over the peaceful mansion, a whispered exchange of I love yous had Maria dreaming of a wish fulfilled and all the life changing adventures that came with it.

Tagging:- @musingsinmoonlight

[miraculouswolf99]

Grand Festival Showdown

The Miraculous gang as Pokemon trainers. All of them are the same, but their dreams have all been modified to include pokemon. Kagami, Kim, Alix, and Ivan are all battlers. Marinette, Adrien, Luka, Nino, Chloe, Nathaniel, and Lila all do contests. Juleka, Rose, and Mylene all do showcases. This all takes place in the Sinnoh Region.

Includes my favorite Lila Salt as well as Alya Salt.

My original characters are included in this story as well. Lyon being a champion grand coordinator, Vallia being a pokemon nurse in training, Apollo is a contest contestant, Mason being a gym leader, and Lena is a friend to the twins.

This is a long one, about 6000 words, so buckle up people.

*****

If there was one thing that Adrien loved, it was competing in pokemon contests. Since his father usually forced him to model for his fashion company, he appreciated the beauty that he saw in the pokemon that his father made matching outfits of for the photoshoots. And from watching the Pokemon League on television, he definitely also knew that they had power. So contests were the perfect blend of how he saw pokemon as the beautiful and powerful creatures that they were.

Not that his father even knew that he participated in them. Gabriel Agreste wanted his son to be a proper heir to Gabriel Pokemon Fashion. And that did not include anything involving contests, battles, or even showcases. He forced him to do all kinds of photoshoots, had him model with humans and pokemon alike, not to mention the fact that he would not have gotten his starter pokemon had he not sneaked out of the house. But he did it anyway, and his adorable Turtwig had managed to evolve into a Torterra.

But if there was one mistake that Gabriel made, it was letting him have lots of privacy. There may be cameras outside his bedroom door, but none inside of his room. That certainly helped when he had to sneak out to meet his friends, capture more pokemon, train his pokemon, or compete in a contest that was nearby. Plus, he also was able to sneak away to contests that were in the same town as a photoshoot that he was doing. He just had to lie and say that he was staying in his hotel room for a few hours. His life may have been mostly controlled, but that did not mean he was not sneaky when he was getting what he wanted.

Since contests were televised, he did have to keep his father from finding out. So he donned a disguise. He became Cat Noir, a mysterious pokemon contest prodigy that no one knew the real name of.

Only three people knew about his second life as Cat Noir. His best friend Kagami, who shared the same type of sheltered life as he did but she preferred battles to contests, and his other two friends Lyon and Marinette. Lyon is one half of a set of twins, his sister currently working under a Nurse Joy in order to become a pokemon doctor, and he was already a top coordinator back in his home region of Kalos. Marinette is a coordinator like him and also came from the Kalos region like Lyon, but she is usually shy and also has desires to become a pokemon fashion designer.

He had met Kagami during one of the social events they were both forced to attend by their parents. They got along great and both had the same desire to be free. If they were in the same town, which happened more often than one would think, they would often use each other as an excuse to sneak away for a gym battle, contest, or training with their pokemon. He met Lyon by chance when he had been training and his Turtwig almost hit the Top Coordinator with a razor leaf gone wild. Lucky for him that Lyon was a lot more down-to-earth than one would expect from a person with as much success as him while he was so young. Marinette, being a fellow coordinator, had been at a contest which she had lost to him. She had seen him take off his Cat Noir mask and recognized him from his father's magazines. She had been a great friend to him and understood why he used the mask.

There were few things that could actually make him smile so carefree other than contests. His constant photoshoots, dealing with stuck-up models, and his seemingly careless father did not make him smile that way. He hated modeling and even though he loved being all the pokemon that he modeled with, he wanted to see pokemon just as free as he wanted to be. He wanted to be famous for working hard like legendary trainers Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Steven Stone. Or coordinators like Fantina, Wallace, and Zoey.

But he was now was at the top pokemon contest of the Sinnoh region. The Grand Festival. He had earned his ribbons and now Cat Noir was at his first Grand Festival. What he looked forward to most of all was that he knew that Kagami was going to be in the audience, Lyon was a special guest, and that Marinette was also competing.

He did not like the idea that he might have to battle his friend at some point, but these things do tend to happen. Especially since he was also aware that other friends of his had also made it to the Grand Festival. They had all attended the same pokemon school before it was time for their journeys to begin. He knew his friends Luka, Nathaniel, and his childhood friend Chloe were also all competing.

So, he was just getting ready backstage before all of them would have their qualifying performances before the battle rounds started. He was in his Grand Festival outfit of a black suit with green details, a black and green coat with a cape-like back, shiny green dress shoes, "cat claw" gloves, his signature cat-eye mask, and fake black cat ears on his head.

"My, my, don't you look fancy," Adrien heard near him.

The model almost jumped out of his skin but calmed down when he saw that it was just Lyon. And from looking at him, he definitely saw why people called him the White Wolf.

Lyon was in an icy outfit that almost gave him the illusion of having his own ice powers. He had on a fancy white vest over a blue short-sleeve silk shirt. It matched the white pants that he wore with his shin-high blue boots. He also wore a white hooded cloak with snowflake designs all over it. On his lower arms were silver arm-band bracelets with snowflake and wolf designs on them. His midnight-black hair also had fake wolf ears in it.

"Oh, Lyon," Adrien let himself breathe again. "For a second, I thought my identity had been discovered."

"Well, you may need to get a little better at hiding when you change," Lyon chuckled. "If you win and become Top Coordinator, the press will be even more ruthless with trying to find out your identity."

"I deal with the press on a regular basis already, Lyon," Adrien reminded him.

"Yeah, but I can tell you from experience that when it comes to being a Top Coordinator, people pay more attention to us," Lyon said.

"Well, I can see why that would happen with you," Adrien not-so-subtly flirted with him.

"Careful, kitty," Lyon teased him. "Wouldn't want the wolf to eat the cat before his big performance."

Adrien chuckled, always having liked how they could always joke around with their chosen performer names of cat and wolf. There were so few people that he could act like himself around and he certainly enjoyed Lyon's company.

"So, you here as just a special guest or also as a surprise judge," Adrien asked him.

"My dear Cat Noir, now that would be telling," Lyon smirked as he teased the teen coordinator.

"Oh, thank Arceus that I found you," they both heard a female voice.

They both turned and saw Marinette running toward them. Lyon recognized her from pictures that Adrien had sent him and of course, Adrien would recognize his best friend even if she was decked out in her Grand Festival dress. Probably a dress of her own design as well.

She was in a beautiful dress that was in a ladybug design with a little pink mixed in. It was a knee-length dress that was mostly red with black spots all over it. Under it was a crinoline that was colored pink that helped her dress by more poofy. The sleeves of her dress were elegant bell sleeves that ended at her elbows and lower arms instead of her wrists. Her hair was also extended and placed into a long ponytail coming from the top of the back of her head with roses tied where the ponytail started. On her feet were red wedge-heel boots that went up to her knees.

"How you can run in those heels is beyond me," Lyon said.

"Especially given that one of the first things that you told me about yourself was that you are extremely clumsy," Adrien added.

"Well, I was running with a purpose," Marinette said.

"That purpose being to find one of us if what you had said means anything," Lyon says.

"It's about Adrien, or rather Cat Noir really," Marinette said.

"Oh, great," Adrien sighed, having expected the fame of his mysterious identity to cause some type of drama at the Grand Festival.

"Do you remember when I was telling you about that liar, Adrien," Marinette asked him.

"Yeah," Adrien nodded. "Lila is what you told me her name was. The girl that lies with every breath she takes and has an ego bigger than a Wailord."

"Well, she somehow got her five ribbons and is going around telling people that she knows who you are," Marinette tells her friend.

"What," Adrien's eyes widen.

"Not just that," Marinette continued. "She is also saying that she is dating you and you're apparently head over heels for her."

Adrien could not help but facepalm when he heard that.

"Here comes the headache that I did not know was going to happen," he groaned.

"Here's some aspirin," Marinette gave Adrien the medicine. "I thought that if the liar managed to get here, I would need some myself. I've already had three headaches because of her. And that is just today."

"Am I missing something," Lyon asked.

"Yes," Adrien said before popping the medicine into his mouth.

Marinette rolled her eyes as she took the liberty of explaining.

"Lila Rossi is a pathological liar that I ran into after I won my first two contests," she says. "At first, I had believed her tall tales until she said that she knew the designer for Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale."

"MDC," Lyon raised an eyebrow. "As such a private designer, I highly doubt that a random girl would know her. Especially if she is bragging about it to anyone that will listen to her."

Marinette nodded. "Exactly. So I then immediately knew that Lila was nothing but a liar. Especially since she said that MDC is a boy when anyone with common sense, and access to the internet, know that MDC's only given clue to who she is that she is a she."

"Yet, people actually believe her," Lyon put a hand on his hip.

"As I said, she is a pathological liar," Marinette says. "One that uses people's knowledge to make her lies sound realistic. Like how my friend Rose is friends with Prince Ali, and my boyfriend Luka is Jagged Stone's son, and even how Adrien is Cat Noir. Lila uses people's own experiences to give her lies credibility. Like a situation of 'if I can know celebrities then so can she."

"Weirdly enough, I can see how that makes sense," Adrien said.

"What can we do about her," Lyon asked. "Can we just have Adrien call her out as Cat Noir?"

"Since Adrien has to keep his identity a secret, she could just pull out another lie about him protecting her or that they got into a fight," Marinette said. "It's how she explained when MDC posted on social media that she had never met Lila before."

"This is gonna be a disaster, isn't it," Adrien guessed. "There is no way someone like how you describe Lila would go down without a fight."

"She may be lying, but won't she lie herself into a corner," Lyon asked. "Especially if 'Cat Noir' actually does enter a relationship."

"The problem is the damage that she can cause along the way," Marinette said.

"Trust me, I was on your train of thought as well until Marinette explained things more to me," Adrien said. "Lila is not just lying about herself, she is also lying about what she can do for others. Saying that she can put a good word in for people to get certain jobs, internships, or futures in careers that they want. When it actually comes time for them to her to fulfill those promises, a lot of people will be met with disappointment. Plus, with her promising these things, they will not apply to other jobs, colleges, or internships on their own. It would take a long time for them to recover from her lies."

"I see," Lyon understood what they meant. "Guess this just gives me more reasons to not come out in public more if I have to deal with people like her."

"She hasn't happened to make any lies about Lyon, has she," Adrien asked Marinette.

"Well, she apparently was trained in the art of contests by Lyon and was supposedly the muse that inspired him to chose his 'White Wolf' look," Marinette said.

"And... now I have a headache," Lyon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Here you go," Marinette handed the top coordinator some aspirin.

"Thank you," he took it immediately.

Adrien had known Lyon for quite a while now. Lyon had come from a rich family just like he did. But while he had been almost forced to model, Lyon's parents let him choose his own path. He was known for being the youngest ever grand coordinator out there. But since he had met him, Adrien also knew that Lyon generally was very humble and kind, but was basically an ice prince to anyone that tries to use him for their own gain.

So if Lila was not in trouble before, she sure was going to be now that Lyon knew about her lying about him. And that was troubling enough without Lyon's twin sister, Vallia, hearing about this. She might have the nickname of the Flower Princess and might be trying to become a Pokemon doctor, but that did not mean she was not dangerous on the battlefield.

"If she is still telling lies, I am guessing that she still has her regular audience," Adrien looks at Marinette again.

She nodded sadly. "Alya is still her most loyal sheep and there are also a lot of other friends of ours that are under her spell as well."

Lyon looked at the two with a raised eyebrow, silently asking for more details.

"There are times where I can escape photoshoots even if I do not have a contest to sneak off to," Adrien explained. "I would meet up with Marinette as much as I could and she introduced me to a lot of her friends. I have especially gotten along well with Nino, Kim, Juleka, and Marinette's boyfriend Luka."

"And before Lila came along, my friend Alya was my best friend," Marinette said. "I went to our town pokémon school with them before we all started our journeys. But when Lila showed up with all of her tall tales and false promises, they follow her like sheep following their shepherd. Most of my old class is under her spell. Only Adrien, myself, Luka, Kim, Juleka, and our other friends Nathaniel, Marc, and Kagami know that she is nothing but a liar."

"Alya used to be a reporter hopeful," Adrien tells Lyon. "She ran a very popular blog about up-and-coming battlers and coordinators. But then Lila came along with her tales and now most of Alya's blog is about her. She basically takes Lila's words as gospel and attacks anyone that so much as even hints that they think that Lila is anything less than a perfect angel."

"Wow," Lyon gasped. "This girl sounds worse than an angry Darkrai, and you never want to run into one of those."

"Yeah, Lila is a piece of work," Adrien sighed. "She really needs to be silenced before her tales get someone into trouble."

"Yeah," Marinette said. "She has been saying how Jagged Stone wrote a song about her and that Clara Nightingale stole dance moves from her. Those types of lies can ruin their careers."

"Well, I have no secret identity," Lyon says. "She won't be able to lie her way out of me saying that I have no idea who she is."

"Just be careful how you explain how you heard about her lies," Adrien warned him. "Lila has been trying to turn people against Marinette because she knows about her lies. At a few past contests that I had won, I heard a few other coordinators insulting her all because of lies that Lila told about her."

Lyon looked disgusted by the behavior. Coordinators and battlers were both very large families. Yes, there were some bad seeds in each family, but this girl was something way beyond a bad seed. How can one person just be such a selfish liar that she is willing to ruin another person's life just because they did not believe their lies?

But before they could continue their conversation, an announcement was made over the backstage speakers. It was for the coordinators that were competing to get ready since the first round was going to be starting soon.

"Just do your best, you two," Lyon tells them. "And if that liar gives you any trouble, she won't be much of an issue for much longer."

With a "Whoosh" of his cloak, Lyon left to go down the hallway. He had his own business at the Grand Festival that he needed to take care of before he would be able to help his friends.

"He always did like to make dramatic exits," Adrien chuckled.

"I just hope we actually won't have to deal with Lila for much longer," Marinette says.

The two of them went the opposite way down the hall, to the locker room where the contestants have to stay when they are not on stage. Adrien went to the side and leaned against the wall to keep up his appearance of the mysterious and quiet Cat Noir. Looking around the room, he noticed some familiar faces. Like Marinette had gone to stand next to her boyfriend, and fellow coordinator, Luka. There was also her friend Nathaniel and his boyfriend Marc along with her former friend Nino, Alya's boyfriend. Adrien also noticed his childhood friend Chloe as well and, unfortunately, Lila.

Soon, on the screens, appeared Marian, the usual contest announcer for Sinnoh. And from the audience that was seen in the background, Adrien could make out Kagami in the crowd as well as Alya. He was surprised to see Kagami there, but it was a very welcome surprise.

"Welcome, everyone to the beautiful waterside town of Lake Valor for this year's Grand Festival," she announced into her mic, making the crowd cheer. "Sixty talented coordinators from all over the Sinnoh region have joined us here to perform and battle their way into becoming the newest Top Coordinator!"

"And that will be me," was muttered all around the locker room, from confident and cocky contestants.

"Over the next few days, these talents coordinators will perform and battle their way into being named the next Top Coordinator," Marian continued. "The first stage is the Performance Stage, where our contestants will show off the beauty of their pokémon and their moves in double performances. After this stage, we will boil down our contestants to the lucky thirty-two for the Battle Stage where they will fight in double battles to win the chance to be named Top Coordinator."

"We got this, Torterra," Adrien whispered to the Pokeball in his hand.

"And to help us, let me introduce our judges," Marian continued again. "First is the Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, our head judge, Mr.Contesta."

"I look forward to watching all these coordinators doing their very best," the judge said as the spotlight shined down on him.

"Next is the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr.Sukiza," Marian introduced.

"Remarkable," the next judge used his catchphrase.

"And, of course, Nurse Joy," Marian announced. "She is a very special guest all the way from the Kanto region."

The spotlight shined down on the pokemon nurse.

"It's an honor to be here and to help judge these amazing contestants, I called my sisters from Pewter City and Cerulean City."

Two more Nurse Joy seemed to materialize from behind her.

"We're very happy to be here," they all said at once.

"And last, but definitely not the least, our guest judge," Marian announces, making the crowd and contestants curious as to who it might be. "He is the youngest ever Top Coordinator of three regions and has graced us with his presence from all the way in Kalos. He's known as the White Wolf, it's Lyon Garden!"

A fourth spotlight shined down and Lyon was presented, making the crowd erupt into cheers.

Adrien was both shocked and not shocked at the same time. He figured that Lyon was here for a reason, but he suspected that it was for a guest performance, not as a judge. But he did smirk as he saw Lila pale a little at the sight of one of the people that she lied about.

"Ladies and gentlemen, coordinators of all ages," Lyon says. "I hope to see plenty of creativity, skill, passion, and most of all, I want to see good sportsmanship. I wish you all the luck in the world, but I will still tell you the cold hard truth about everything you and your pokemon do."

Adrien chuckled under his breath. Lyon would always be Lyon, and that meant that the Ice Prince, which all of their friends called him, would come out every now and again.

"The performance stage will be divided into three separate stages," Marian announced as all three male judges went to a separate stage with one of the Nurse Joy's. "Blue, green, and red. And the performances will be happening simultaneously. Let's get this first round started!"

The crowd cheered. In the locker room, the three first contestants were called out for each of the stages.

Adrien certainly got the meaning of the three stages. It was an extra challenge to be able to do a proper performance when there were two others happening at the same time. It was all about being able to focus on what you were doing and not get overwhelmed.

As the performances started and coordinators showed off their skills, Adrien definitely saw a few that would be his main competition. Such as when Luka took his turn on the blue stage, he did a very enchanting performance with his Sunflora and ghost-type Oricoro. As Marinette has told him, Luka loves music and almost always includes sound in his performances. And as he heard the sound and saw the glowing musical notes of Luka's performance, he knew that boy was going to be a challenging opponent.

There was also Nathaniel and Marc. They worked on a pokemon comic book together, so both of their creative and artistic skills showed in their performances. And it was also an amazing sight to see how Nathaniel had a rare Phione that he paired with his Piplup for his performance was stunning aquatic moves. And Marc was definitely no slouch as he gave an incredible display of nature with his Meganium and Cherubi.

But that was to say that there were not some fails as well.

Sadly, this list of fails included Nino. Adrien might have once called him a friend, but that certainly stopped when the guy started believing Lila's lies about Marinette. And by how badly he failed his performance, Adrien had to guess that Nino had probably taken some of Lila's "advice" about what he should do. It certainly was not a good look to the green stage judges when his Buizel went flying back from a Will-O-Wisp from his Drifblim was too powerful for the combo he was trying to do.

When Marinette got her turn on the red stage, Adrien was proven right when he had guessed that she would do a flawless performance. It was an amazing combination of her icy Amaura with her beautiful Vivillon. Especially when she had beautiful glowing snowflakes falling all over the stage with a combination of icy wind and silver wind followed by a morning sun.

Plus, it was certainly nice to see Lila so angry over Marinette having done nothing wrong in her performance one bit.

But even Adrien had to admit that even though he hated Lila as a person, she did pretty well during her own performance. Sure, her combo moves were a little predictable with the pokemon that she chose, but they still worked out in the end for her. But Adrien had a feeling that like the liar that she was, she was probably just using combo moves that she has seen in the past and using them herself but with different pokemon so that it is not obvious that she is just a copycat.

Then, Cat Noir was called for the blue stage. Adrien took a deep breath as he went out toward the stage. He passed Marinette on his way and she gave him an encouraging hug. He knew that Lyon was the judge for the blue stage along with the main Nurse Joy guest judge from Kanto. But he knew that Lyon would not judge him any easier just because they were friends. If anything, he'd be judged harder since Lyon knows how hard he had trained for this.

"And next on the blue stage is the talk of the Grand Festival," he heard Marian announce. "A masked coordinator that has been taking the contest world by storm. The pokemon contest prodigy himself, Cat Noir."

There was loud cheering as he ran out there and pulled out his pokeballs.

"Torterra, Togekiss, claws out," he threw their pokeballs into the air with his signature catchphrase.

With the star sticker on both the pokeballs, both of the pokemon came out in a swirl of stars. Most would doubt using a pokemon as big and tough-looking as Torterra for the Performance Stage, but Adrien was not most people.

Togekiss lands gracefully on the tree of Torterra's shell. There was a reason why Togekiss were known as some of the most graceful pokemon in the world.

"Togekiss, sky attack. Torterra, leaf storm," Adrien commanded.

Togekiss shined with a white aura as it slowly floated into the air. But at the same time, Torterra's tree let out its storm of leaves and green wind. Since Togekiss was right on the tree, as it flew into the air, the storm swirled around it and followed it. The leaves and window giving off an incredible light that was a result of the combo of the light of the sky attack with the flow of the leaf storm. Togekiss then flew higher into the air.

"Safeguard," Adrien commanded.

Togekiss then unleashed the blue and sea green force field that the protection move grants. It caused the sky attack and the leaf storm to disperse in a gorgeous flash of light.

Lyon and Nurse Joy both looked impressed by how he so effortlessly made a beautiful start to his performance.

"Torterra, sunny day. Togekiss, aerial ace," Adrien commanded.

Torterra's tree glowed with sunlight as it then threw a ball of light into the air. It headed right toward Togekiss as it was surrounded by streams of white energy as it flew around to use its move. The sunny day move was hit by Togekiss, resulting in a bright flash of light.

And the crowd and judges and fellow contestants gasped as Togekiss emerged from the light. The aerial ace and sunny day had merged together and had created a stunning rainbow trail that followed it as it flew around the stage. It was one of the most stunning things ever seen in a contest in ages.

Togekiss then did an aerial twirl before landing right back on Torterra's tree and causing the rainbow trail to burst into rainbow-colored sparkles that fell all over the stage.

Adrien took a bow as his performance ended. The crowd and judges were all on their feet as they gave him a giant round of applause. Lyon caught his eye and gave him a look filled with pride and congratulations.

"I don't think I have ever seen a performance like that," Lyon says, doing his judging. "A true mastery of both the power of a Torterra and the elegance of a Togekiss. Truly the best performance I have seen in a long time."

"It was indeed incredible," Nurse Joy added her judging. "To combine two pokemon so different from each other and making them work in such harmony really is a breathtaking piece of art."

Adrien could not be prouder of himself as he returned Torterra and Togekiss to their pokeballs and then started to walk back to the locker room. He was about halfway there when Marinette basically tackled him with a hug.

"I have never seen anything like that," she practically yelled in excitement. "You're Torterra was so well-trained and Togekiss was beautiful. I will never know where you get your time to train performances like that, but that was so awesome."

Adrien chuckled at the enthusiasm of his friend.

"Thanks, Marinette," he said. "I loved your performance as well. Those snowflakes were such works of art and they were almost like fairies floating around the stage."

Marinette blushed at the compliment.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I knew that ice moves and flying-type moves are usually a good mix, so when you add in the light from the silver wind, it creates the snowflakes."

"I just know that I will see you in the finals," Adrien grinned at her. "I may not want to beat you, but I'm going to."

"In your dreams, kitty," Marinette giggled as she knew that it would be one hell of a showdown.

"Get your hands off of Lila's man, Mari-brat," a female voice was heard.

"And, here we go again," Marinette groaned.

Marinette turned around as Adrien looked at who was yelling. It seems that Alya was as much of Lila's attack Growlith now as she always seems to be since the liar showed up in their lives. And it looked like Lila was fake crying behind her while Nino was trying to comfort her.

"Uh... who are you," Adrien asked.

Now, Adrien had done some voice acting for a few movies that his dad wanted him to do. So, he was a pretty good actor. Adrien might know who Alya is, but Cat Noir has never met her before.

Alya looked at Adrien, smiling at him. But he could still see the rage in her eyes over something that Lila probably lied about. This was probably about the lies about him dating Lila with the liar probably also throwing in some other lies to make Marinette look even worse.

"Oh, I guess Lila never mentioned me," Alya said. "I'm Alya, your girlfriend's best friend."

"Uh... And who is..." Adrien tried to reveal Lila as a liar.

"Oh, don't worry about lying to protect her," Alya interrupted him, proving that they were right about how Lila would lie her way out of Cat Noir saying that he did not know her. "But I should warn you that this girl that you're talking to is nothing but a giant bully."

"Excuse me," Adrien had to stop himself from snapping at Marinette's former best friend.

"She is nothing but a bully, liar, and cheat," Alya glared at Marinette. "She is always bullying Lila and trying to steal her pokemon. She always calls Lila a liar when she is no such thing. Plus, she drugs all her pokemon to make sure her performances are good. Plus, she steals Lila's contest ideas. So, get your hands off of Lila's boyfriend, Mari-brat."

"You know, Luka used to tell me that you're heart song screamed that you were a bad friend," Marinette crossed her arms. "I did not believe him, but I will never doubt him ever again since you have ditched me for a liar."

"SEE," Alya yelled as she looked at Adrien and pointed at Marinette as if she had just been proven right. "She just called Lila a liar. She is a total bully."

"Well, she obviously is..." Adrien was interrupted again but by a different person this time.

"Hello, kitty," Lyon says as he approached the group.

"Wolfie," Adrien was immediately back in a good mood as he saw his friend.

"I have a reward for you for such an incredible performance," Lyon said.

Before Adrien could ask, he was suddenly kissed by Lyon. But the shock soon wore off as he melted into the kiss.

Marinette looked ready to burst in excitement as her ship has finally sailed. But she did now owe Luka a batch of his favorite caramel and chocolate scones since he had bet her that the two would get together at the Grand Festival while she thought it would happen after it. But she did not care.

Alya looked ready to burst in anger. Lila looked like she wanted to either cry more fake tears or just throw a monster tantrum. Nino just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS ARE YOU DOING," Alya screamed.

That made them break apart from the kiss. But Lyon just put his arm around Adrien's waist.

"I believe that I was kissing my boyfriend," Lyon said. "We've had to keep it secret because of the media, but we've been together a few months."

Adrien and Marinette both knew that he was lying, but they did not care. Besides, this was to both expose Lila and have an excuse to start dating.

"You've been cheating on your girlfriend for that long," Alya continued to scream.

Lila then chose to speak up, also choosing to fake cry.

"How could you do this to be, Noir," she cried to fake tears.

"Oh, so this is the girl that you were warning me about, Marinette," Adrien decided to join Lyon in his act. "The one that was going around and saying that I was dating her?"

"Yep, that's her," Marinette played along as well.

"Well, then," Adrien started, facing Alya. "As I was about to tell you, I do not have a girlfriend. I never have and I never will. As you can plainly see, I am gay and I have a wonderful boyfriend."

"Lila is not a liar," Alya continued to scream. "You're just a cheater that is trying to make her look bad."

"Wow, this girl is a piece of work," Lyon rolled his eyes.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Alya yelled at Lyon. "She was the one that gave you the inspiration to be the White Wolf and you trained her to be a coordinator. How could you betray her like this?!?"

"Her? Inspire me? As if," Lyon gave Alya an icy glare. "This is the first day that I have ever met this girl. I became the White Wolf because my sister used to call me a wolf because of how loyal I am to my friends and family. They also all call me the Ice Prince, so White Wolf was born out of my two childhood nicknames."

"You need better friends since Marinette is most definitely is right," Adrien said. "This Lila girl is, most definitely, nothing but a liar."

"Let's go before our IQ gets any lower from being around a liar and her loyal sheep," Lyon held Adrien's hand as the three of them left. "And if someone is accusing you of drugging your pokemon, Marinette, I will lend you my family lawyers to sue that liar for slander."

Marinette wanted to laugh so hard as she saw the look of horror on Lila's face as they passed. She did start laughing once they were out of earshot.

"This is turning into the best day of my life," Marinette looked so happy.

"You're welcome," Lyon smirked.

"Won't you now get accused of favoritism when Lila will probably spread that you two are 'together' as revenge," Marinette asked Lyon.

"Everyone saw Adrien's performance, so I doubt that will happen," Lyon was confident.

"Okay," Marinette accepted that. "Also, it is about time you two got together. Adrien's had a crush on you forever."

"MARINETTE," Adrien yelled as he blushed.

All Marinette did in response was smirk and giggle.

[sincerelyella]

Infinity & Beyond

Book: The Royal Romance/Heir (AU)

Pairings: Liam x MC (Ella)

All characters belong to Pixelberry except for Ella Brooks Rys who belongs to yours truly 🌺

Summary: Liam is even more protective than usual.

A/N: I’d like to thank @gkittylove99 and @sfb123 for your softness prompt requests. I hope y’all enjoy! Prompts will be in bold.

To my nakie twin/soul sister @burnsoslow -> I love you for not complaining when I send you these things and reading them 🥺💜 I love you a butt ton!

Warnings: Adult language, descriptions of body injury, fluff

Words: 1169

Every couple of minutes, Liam would wander into his bedroom and peek at his wife taking a nap. After he was satisfied that Ella was getting some rest, he would make his way outside onto the large balcony connected to their quarters.

“Why do you keep going over there to stare at her?” Drake asked as he flipped a burger on the grill.

“I don’t stare,” Liam bent down to pick up Malia and kissed her cheek.

“Daddy was looking at Mommy!”

“Smart kid,” Drake kissed the hand that his niece offered to him and she squealed in delight. “You hungry Lia?”

Malia raised her arms in the air. “I want pizza, Unka Dwake!”

Drake furrowed his brow and stuck out his bottom lip in pretend hurt. “Not burgers?”

“Party is hereeeeee!” Maxwell barged onto the balcony with bags in his arms. Olivia followed him out with a disdained look on her face.

“You’re always so … cheerful,” she brushed an invisible piece of lint from her red shirt.

“Auntie Liiiiiv!” Malia screeched and squirmed in her father’s arms until he put her down.

Drake nodded toward Olivia and Malia, now chattering away about how Lia wanted red hair like her favorite aunt. “That’s the woman’s way, Li,” he added slices of cheese to the almost cooked meat patties. “They abandon you when someone else catches their attention.”

Liam cringed when he heard Olivia tell his daughter she would dye her hair red when Lia was older. “Okay, I’m going to … check on Ella.”

“You don’t stare my ass,” Drake mumbled as he shook his head.

Liam walked towards his bedroom just like he had every ten minutes for the last hour. He peeked through the door that was cracked open and saw Ella drinking the tea he brought her a little bit ago. He pushed the door open all the way and shoved his hands in the pockets of his green sweater. “Love? You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I am resting, and drinking tea,” Ella lifted her mug in the air with a smile. “What kind is this?”

Liam bit his bottom lip as he let his eyes rove over her. Her pajama shirt hung off one shoulder, exposing her soft skin and her hair was tousled from sleep. The white bandage wrapped around her head contrasted her bronze skin. "I knew you wouldn't go to sleep willingly, so I brought you some chamomile tea and a blanket. Twenty minutes of shut-eye, okay?"

Ella pouted. “I slept already.”

“That wasn’t even an hour!”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe if my husband wasn’t opening and closing the door every ten minutes, staring at me, I’d be able to sleep longer.”

Liam walked into the large bedroom and sat across from his wife with a stern expression. “You fainted walking around downtown,” he clenched his jaw at the memory. “You hit your head on the concrete and have a concussion. You’ve been doing entirely too much, Ella.”

She flinched at him saying her name. He must be really mad. “I was just-”

“Doing too much,” he finished for her. “You’re going to rest and you’re not going to do a damn thing until you’re cleared by the doctor.”

“He cleared me!”

Liam arched his brow at her. “He said don’t overdo it, don’t overexert yourself or do any exercise. Which is the entire reason why we aren’t having sex!”

“That was your doing not mine,” she mumbled and he narrowed his eyes in response.

“Love, you scared the shit out of all of us,” he took her small hands in his and ran his thumbs over her knuckles. “Maxwell wouldn’t stop screaming on the phone and Drake had to carry you to the ER. Even Olivia, of all people, was trembling when I got to the hospital! I thought you had died.”

“But I … I’m …” Ella reached up and felt her bandage, remembering part of that day, the blood, the screams, then someone lifting her easily and running. To where she had no idea. Then, everything went black. Ella was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease which meant her heart rate was always too high and she lost weight at an alarming rate. When she does too much, she notices she gets really short of breath and dizzy. She never told Liam about it because Lord knows what he would put in place so she didn’t go anywhere alone. Her fainting just ruined everything and now he was acutely aware of all of her symptoms.

Liam walking back and forth to check on her to make sure she didn’t die in her sleep was something she should have expected. Add on the fact that she was six weeks pregnant, and that equals super protective Liam. He wasn’t there with them downtown, he was at the palace in a meeting with the French ambassador. He’s never going to let me go anywhere by myself again. “Okay,” she whispered.

Liam cupped her cheeks with his hands. “Please,” he whispered back. “I need you, our daughter needs you, our friends, our little one ...” he looked down at her abdomen and back up to her face. “Just, stay here and rest.”

Ella nodded. “Promise. Now, what’s that?” She pointed to a large pink bag behind him by one of the closet doors.

Liam turned and followed her finger, then turned back to face her. “Oh! I found this in the mall, I figured it might be something you like.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You … went to the mall?”

“Drake wanted to get some high-powered thing for the BBQ grill, Max and I tagged along. Each store has a theme?” Liam gave her a confused look. “Is that the rule? Because some stores had random things that didn’t make sense. Why did book store have candy in them?”

“Those are … questions for another time, sweetie,” Ella cackled. “Can I have my gift now?”

Liam stood to grab the bag and set it on the bed in between them. Ella pulled out all the pink tissue paper and reached in to pull out a stuffed animal. “Ohmigod!” She squished it against her chest in a hug. “It’s Grogu!”

“After we watched The Mandalorian I wanted to get something for you,” he pressed his finger to her nose. “Boop!”

“Mommy!” Malia ran in and hugged Ella. “Wow! Pretty, mine!” She pulled Grogu into her arms and walked out into the hall, yelling for Uncle Max.

“What … just happened?” Ella looked from the door to her husband, who was trying his best not to laugh.

“Our daughter is just like you, taking everything that isn’t hers.”

Ella shrugged. “What wasn’t mine that I took, Your Majesty?”

Liam counted out everything on his fingers. “My sweaters, shirts, basketball shorts? Ring a bell?”

“What’s yours is mine …” she prompted, waiting for him to finish the sentence.

He rolled his eyes. “And what’s mine is yours. Fine, you win. I love you.”

“I know,” Ella grinned.

“A Star Wars reference? I see what you did there. Okay, my turn,” he cleared his throat. “I love you … to infinity and beyond!” He smirked, thinking he won until Ella let out a loud laugh.

“That’s Toy Story, not Star Wars!”

“Oh shit,” Liam shrugged. “Well, same difference.”

[descendantofthesparrow]

Held Back - Harry Hook x Ben’s sibling! Reader - Part 1

Note; before we start, “reader” is non-binary but since I've always imagined Auradon is pretty… old-fashioned and close-minded, they really don’t realize they are NB but know they don’t like being referred to as a “girl” or a “female”. Also, I know “realistically” Adam and Belle wouldn’t neglect their 2nd kid for the first n shit but it’s called a plot point and they are like that for a reason.

Tried to not use “readers” pronouns at all until we get to the good shit where they are like “oh, that’s what that is?”

Also, this will be a 2-part story, the 1st takes place in D2, while the 2nd will take place after D2 and into D3 :3

OH, slight smut in this fic….yeah…it doesn’t get detailed-detailed, but it gets…heated…yeah…if you don’t like even reading this that hint at sex then I’ll put warnings at the beginning and end of those scenes :3 otherwise this is a pretty “safe” fic

Enjoy~

=

Being the daughter, and the 2nd child, to Beast and Belle, wasn’t…what everyone assumed it was. Everyone expected that since you were their 2nd kid, one that wasn't in line for the throne, that you could do anything, get away with anything. That you could just shrug and say ‘oops’ and all would be forgiven. But it wasn’t. It was constant rules and upkeep, never able to run free and scrape your knee when you fell off the tree you had climbed, never able to just scream as you ran along the shoreline, soaking the seawater into your clothes.

Always sit up straight, never cross your legs, never run, never frown, never sneer, don’t talk back, don’t yell, just sit there and -

Be perfect

For the early years of your life, you had loved Ben. Ben your 5-minute older twin brother, Ben who always cared about you, Ben who hid the vase you had broken when you were chasing him through the castle halls when told not to.

Ben; who had refused to let you be pushed aside.

But resentment grew when your parents would always favor him, always praise him; for the bare minimum.

If he got a B in his project? Amazing! Take him out for ice cream.

You? Getting a B+? scolding’s and being told to do better next time, with your dessert taken away for the week.

While you held this resentment for him, you couldn’t hate him, not really, not when he would sneak you his leftover ice cream that was your favorite flavor, one that he hated but your parents didn’t know, not when he would run into your room on stormy nights to make sure you were okay.

Not when he obviously loved you so much.

But you wanted more, you needed more…just something to fill the gap that your parents were leaving. A gap that for some reason they couldn’t see was growing bigger every time they turned their backs on you and turned to Ben.

You were a loner too…most of your “friends” were actually Bens friends, Audrey being one of the few that usually hung out with you outside of Ben and Chad, she was petty as hell sometimes and pretty passive-aggressive to those she didn’t like but she had never seen you as “Bens sister” or “the second child of King beast and Queen Belle”

She just saw you as (y/n), her friend.

When the VKs came, it was almost a relief, finally, the attention was off of you. With Bens coronation and even your parents paying more attention to the new kids instead of picking apart what was wrong with your English essay.

You had tried talking to them, but all four of them were pretty off Standish, and in their own group almost all the time, but after they had chosen good, you and Evie had started talking and had grown a small friendship, one that was nothing compared to what she had with Ben and Mal but you didn't feel as lonely anymore.

Mal had…. acknowledged your existence…yeah, the two of you didn’t really interact much. And you were fine with that.

Especially after Ben told you she tried to memory spell him (you had almost stormed into her dorm guns blazing). Then soon after that, Ben and the other vks were going back to the isle, and you were utterly bored and needed to do something other than sit in your room and disappoint your parents by doing nothing so why don’t go to the isle and disappoint your parents for a good reason!

So now, you stood at the stairway below the core four’s hideout, happy you had taken your denim jacket with you as the isle chill set in.

“so?” Evie asked Ben as he solemnly climbed back down the stairs, his eyes at the ground “where’s Mal?” Ben shook his head, pushing past Evie and Jay and walking down the ally.

“she's not coming back” he muttered before disappearing. You kept your eyes on him in worry, ignoring the other three’s worry over Mal who was safe and sound in her little hideout while your brother, who knew how to hold a sword but sucked at hand to hand, disappeared into the alleys of the isle. 

You moved to go after him but stopped as a much taller, leaner shadow took Bens place in a blink and walked toward you. “hey!” you yelled, the vks stopping in their Mal rant and turning to you “Ben’s gone”

Evie's face melted from worry for Mal to worry for Ben as she stepped next to you and called for Ben as the tall shadow got closer “Ben…Ben!”

It seemed they thought the new shadow was Ben as Evie sighed in relief and looked away, setting her hand on your shoulder “Ben don’t scare us like that!”

“Don’ scare yeh~?” the tall shadow stepped into the light, the teens bright blue eyes sending shocks down your spine as you looked into them “That’s my specialty ~” he purred, his eyes flashing between you and Jay. Evie breathed out his name in annoyance.

Harry…what a nice name...

“what did you do with Ben!” Jay stepped in front of you, not liking the way Harry was eyeing you up. Harry seemed to no understand what Jay was asking before he gasped, turning slightly to point down the ally.

“oh~! We nicked ‘im~!” he nodded as if he was explaining something to a toddler “and if yeh want ta’ see ‘im again~ have Mal come to the chip shop tonight~” his eyes darkened as he gestured to the group with his hook “Alone…Uma wants” his tone lightened again, his eyes looking back at you with curiosity “a little visit~”

He looked at jay again and pursed his lips, looking up and down “aw Jay~” he tilted his head and gave a teasing grin “seems like ye’ lost yer touch~” Jay growled and tried to tackle Harry, but was stopped by Evie. Harry held his hands up and giggled, turning to you and bowing slightly “your highness~” he purred, winking at you and blowing a kiss as he walked away.

The vks mostly ignored his last few actions and Jay hopped up the side of the stairs to get to Mal, while you watched Harry disappear into the ally, your heart going miles a minute.

“wow” you muttered, shaking your head to get rid of the fluffy feeling in your head “get a grip (y/n), he just kidnapped your brother!”

You quickly followed Evie and Carlos as the gate door of the stairway lifted and ascended to the hideout.

-

Leaving you on your own in the hideout was probably the worst choice the vks had made that entire night, as you had nothing to entertain yourself with so you just left and traveled around.

You had somehow walked from the hideout to the docks, and if you remembered correctly, this was the pirate's territory. So, you spun back around to get your ass back to the hideout but stopped as two sets of lust-filled eyes stared back.

But unlike Ben, you smirked as you crouched into a fighting stance, you had taken almost every self-defense class you could. For more than one reason but mainly because even in Auradon there were still nasty people.

The bigger one of the two men rushed at you, but ultimately flopped to the floor as you pivoted on your right foot and swung your left leg around, hitting him directly in the temple and knocking him out.

You grinned at the other man and waved your fingers at him “come get me~” you jeered, laughing to yourself as he yelled and rushed at you.

But before he could take a step closer, a silver hook whacked over his head and knocked the second man out. You pouted and glared at the new person, not caring if it was the teen that had kidnapped your brother an hour ago “hey!”

“hey~!” he mocked back, a teasing smile on his face. He stepped over the two men and curled his hook under your chin, his eyes drifting over your face “now what's a little princess-” you twitched at the nickname “-like yeh traveling alone on the isle~ it's dangerous yeh know?”

You forced down the heat that wanted to cover your face and shrugged, mentally smirking as Harry rose his brow “well…they left me alone in the hideout and I got bored…can't blame me for wanting some excitement eh?”

He squinted at you for a minute, as if he was trying to figure you out…then he finally spoke “yer different than’ I thought yeh would be” he muttered softly, the cool metal of his hook drifting away from your chin and back at his side.

You crossed your arms and cocked your hip, giving the pirate a smirk “what did you think I was going to be like?”

“prissy, stuck up, wouldn’t touch the isle even with a hundred’ foot pole” he shrugged, licking his lips as you rolled your eyes and brew a lock of hair out of your face.

“well as you’ve just experienced, that’s not true” Harry laughed through his nose, looking up towards the barrier and running his free hand through his hair.

“aye…” his shockingly blue eyes drifted back down to meet yours. “so why even come ta the isle? Fer beasty boy? Malsy?”

You looked down at your shoes…you really had no reason to come along did you? Ben and the others could have easily handled getting back Mal without you…so why?

…

“because if my parents are going to disappointed in me it might as well be for a real reason” you muttered, letting your arms drop to your side.

You felt Harry's eyes on you as you stared hard at the ground, willing yourself not to cry. “that sucks” you looked at Harry through your lashes, seeing him staring at you with sad eyes “I thought…I thought all Bora-don parents loved their kids” he laughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his head.

“well…they are still human…and just because they are hailed as good people, don’t mean they are good parents” you sighed, crossing your arms again and looking away from Harry's eyes.

“wait…Bora-don?” you laughed, turning back to Harry with a grin. He seemed to be relieved of the subject change and a sharp grin grew on his face.

“aye, it's boring, so, Bora-don~” he giggled, rocking on his heels a bit. A few moments passed then he held his hand out to you.

You stared at it, then him for a few moments. “come on, let's give yer dumbass parents a real reason ta be disappointed in yeh” you smiled and took his hand, laughing quietly to yourself as Harry tugged you away from the docks and toward wherever he was taking you.

-

Your legs were in Harry's lap as the two of you cackled into the dead of night, hands stained with paint and rotten food. Harry had taken you for a night of chaos, destroying vendors with paint, pranking the twin sons of Gaston’s with balloons filled with rotting eggs, and just wreaking havoc in the streets of the isle.

Harry's arm went behind your back as you fell to the side slightly, his bicep pushing against your arm. “thank you Harry” you hummed as you finally calmed down, giving him a closed-lipped smile. “this…this really meant a lot to me” he stared at your lips for a moment before a soft, unsure, smile grew on his lips.

“it was no biggie princess,” your lip twitched at the title “I was kinda already planning ta do all those things anyway…thought it was pretty fun ta do it with someone instead of by myself” you laughed a bit, leaning back on your hands and closing your eyes.

“I get that”  it was silent for a few moments, just you and Harry on top of the abandoned building.

“yeh reacted when I called yeh princess” you twitched again “yeh did it again…is something up with the word?”

You sighed, then opened your eyes, staring into Harry for a moment then looking away “I…I don’t like being referred to like that…it’s not the title its…what it refers to… it's hard to explain”

Harry tilted his head, his hand going on your knee to gently push you to continue “is it the royalty thing?”

“no” you dismissed quickly “its…the princess thing…its…well…ugh” you took your legs off Harry's lap and switched to sitting on your knees, looking at Harry with serious eyes “I've never told anybody this and you have to swear you won't tell anybody else after I tell you” Harry blinked wildly for a moment then looked at you confused.

“lass” you twitched again, making Harry pause for a moment “darling, unless it’s something that will help bring down the barrier or take over the world, I won't tell a soul” you snickered for a moment before you took a deep breath, preparing to tell a person you had just meet that day, one that had kidnapped your brother no less, your greatest secret.

It didn’t help that you felt more comfortable with him in five minutes than you had with your parents for the last 16 years. “I��don’t like it when I'm referred to with girl-like titles or…pronouns” you winced, hands going to block anything that might come your way.

“oh, yeh don’t like she-her pronouns where they are used in a way to refer ta yeh?” Harry clarified, you looked at him slightly odd, expecting some sort of relation or comment, but…it was as if you had just told him you didn’t like a vegetable instead of you not being comfortable with your gender pronouns?

“uh…yeah basically?” you rubbed the back of your head, the other hand picking at the loose threads on your pants.

“yeah, it's not that uncommon ‘ere, I think Desiree is non-binary and one of the other crew members is gender-fluid…not that it's not a big deal but…why have yeh never told anybody else about that? Not even yer brother?” your wide-eyes looked away, hands clenching into your shirt “Darling?”

“um…Auradon isn’t really…accepting of most things…I didn’t even know that…non-binary and gender-fluid were a thing…what do they mean?” you looked back at Harry who seemed to be very surprised “what?”

“nothin’ I'm just surprised tha’ the place of happily ever after’s is kinda…shit?” he laughed, rubbing the back of his head “okay lemme remember what Desiree told me um…Okay non-binary is when you don’t…identify as the gender yeh were at birth so say…okay take Desiree as an example, they’ve been told they’ve been a girl since they were born but they’ve always felt like that didn’t fit, but being a boy didn’t feel right either. so that’s what non-binary is. It's that yeh are neither male nor female yeh are…well you, and most of the time, as far as I know, they use they-them pronouns instead of she or he. but I think some of them use she and they, or he and they…just depends on who uses the pronouns n stuff.”

That…that sounded right…you had never liked female pronouns on you, and ages ago, when you tested male pronouns to yourself, that never felt right either…could you be non-binary? “um, what about gender-fluid?” Harry took a deep breath and looked up.

“Okay, I’m not as knowledgeable on that since the one who actually told me about it didn’t tell me everything…anyway, its under the same...umbrella i think its called as non-binary but genderfluid is when you are both genders, not at the same time…I think, but one day yeh can be female, the other a male, sometimes neither, but that’s what gender-fluid is. They don’t have a fixed gender”

While that sounded interesting…it didn’t feel right to you, you never felt like a girl, and you never felt like a boy… “I think I’m non-binary” you breathed, feeling like a weight was lifting off your entire body. You grinned as Harry smiled.

“awesome, welcome to the club darling” you let yourself fall forward into Harry’s chest, who stiffened slightly and slowly wrapped his arms around you.

“thank you” you muttered quietly, rubbing your cheek into his collarbone. His entire body was still as you cuddled into him, before he relaxed and laid his cheek on your head.

“yer welcome darling” he whispered back, one of his hands going up to cup the back of your head, thumb gently rubbing back and forth.

You jumped as a sudden loud noise crashed below you, and you further ducked into Harry, yelping slightly as he tipped back and the two of you ended up in an odd pile on the rooftop.

Harry tightened his arms around you, his entire body tense again as he listened for any threats. He let out a soft sigh as the high-pitched yowl of a cat rang from where the loud noise came and the animal scuttled off. “yer fine” he whispered, letting his head hit the roof as you sat up and looked around “jus’ a cat”

-smut starts here so if you don’t want to read anything that either includes it or hints at it just scroll till you get to another warning, but this does has some plot points in it soo scroll at ur own risk-

You nodded slightly, twisting around to look at the bleak buildings of the isle. you felt something beneath your legs and you glanced down, feeling heat creep into your face as you realized you were straddling Harry's thigh, it seemed he didn’t fully realize you were doing it as well, his leg rubbing against…well your…area.

You squeaked as he pushed his leg up further and tipped forward, your hands reaching out and slamming next to Harry's head to catch yourself.

His eyes flashed open, red building on his cheeks as your faces were suddenly only two inches apart. “um” you looked to the side, biting your lip “s-sorry” Harry glanced down, the blush spreading to his ears as he realized what the pressure against his leg was. He laid his leg flat and let out a short laugh.

“uh…” you locked eyes again, and a strong shiver was sent down your spine as you looked into his sparkling ocean blue eyes.

You could feel an ache between your legs begin to grow as you lifted yourself back up and hovered over Harry's hips. Harry slowly sat up, stopping inches away from your face, his eyes drifting to your lips for a moment then looking back up at you. “I-“ you whispered, biting your lip as a devious idea came to mind “I have…an idea”

“oh,” Harry whispered back, leaning a bit closer, his hands sliding forward on the ground and resting on your thighs. “Wha’?”

“you know what would really disappoint my parents?” you grinned, your hands reaching up from your sides and gripping onto Harry's jacket, pulling him toward you a bit.

He grinned back, looking down at your lips again “wha’ would tha’ be?”

You leaned in, lips only an inch from his “sleeping with someone they would hate” you could almost feel the wide grin that spread on his lips.

“sounds an excellent idea~” he purred, hands flashing up to your shoulders as yours curled around his neck and pulled him into a hard kiss, teeth clashing and faces warm.

Harry's leg arched up against your butt and forced you forward again, your lips parted with a gasp as Harry leaned back with you. he wrapped his arms around your torso, pressing your chest into his and leaning down to nip at your neck “Harry” you breathed, pressing your lips together as Harry's hands drifted down to your butt and pushed it against his hips, an odd hardness pressing against the ache between your legs. You let out a low whispering moan as he ground against you, his lips smirking against your neck as you started to meet his hips in tandem.

“that’s it darling” he purred, trailing up your neck and sucking on your jaw “jus’ like tha’” you whimpered, ducking your head down and burning into Harry's neck as Harry's hips started to go harder and faster against you. You let out small gasps as your hips twitched and ground back down into Harry's, who let out small groans against your shoulder.

“hang on hang on” Harry grabbed your hips, stopping you and sitting up. One of his hands reached up to the back of your neck and pulled you back, lips crashing into yours in a bruising kiss. His hips started again, the heat between your legs almost becoming unbearable as you trust against them to get rid of the ache.

Harry nipped at your lip, smirking as you opened at his request and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. He sucked at your lip, dragging your tongue into his mouth. You sighed at the feeling, tightening your grip on his jacket as you let him just play with your tongue.

He pulled back, smirking at the trail of saliva that still connected your lips. “shall I take yeh to my apartment yer highness~ yeh should be taken in a place of privacy, not a damned rooftop.” Your hazy mind yelled at you to go with him and you nodded, yelping slightly as Harry grabbed your thighs and stood with ease, your legs locking around his waist. “I’ll take good care of yeh darling~”

-

You let out a breathless gasp as your back hit his bed, the larger teen pouncing on top of you, not waiting for you to stop bouncing, and pressed another bruising kiss to your lips.

You heard him unzip his jacket and throw it across his room, the chain across the back making a loud sound as it hit the wall. He pulled away from you for a moment to rip off his sword sheath and shirt. You felt your face burn as his pecks and abs came into sight, slowly reaching out to trail your fingers against his scars as he pulled his shirt over his head.

You felt him shiver as you brushed your knuckle over his perked nipple and gripped onto his bicep, biting your lip at the look in his eyes as he smirked down at you.

“before we start” he rasped in a low tone, making you press your thighs together to relieve the ache that pulsed “do you really want ta do this?”

“yes” you answered immediately, smiling at his question, good to know that even after you had gone this far, he still asked for consent. He smiled back and leaned down, pressing his forehead to yours, noses touching.

“Jus’ tell me ta stop, and I will” you nodded and pulled his lips down into yours, immediately opening your mouth and clashing your tongue with his.

Within seconds your jacket was taken off and Harry pushed your top up above your breasts, unclipping your bra from the back and pushing that over your breasts as well.

You pushed at his chest, Harry immediately pulling away and raising his brow, laughing slightly as you sat up and discarded your top and bra. You pulled him back into the kiss, groaning into his as his hips dipped and pressed into yours again.

He pulled away for a split moment, making you whine in objection and tug on his hair. He leaned down and whispered into your ear, lips brushing against your skin.

“I'll make sure yeh won't be able ta walk properly tomorrow~”

-

Harry started up at the ceiling, his fingers gently trailing up and down your back. Almost every inch of him ached, from the reddening hickeys on his neck, torso, and hips, the scratches on his arms, back, and torso, to the bitemark on his neck.

He looked out his window, noting it was pitch black outside. He sighed and turned his head into you, curling his other arm around you and tugging you tighter into his side, breathing in the scent of your (fav shampoo).

He didn’t know why, but from the moment he had first seen you, your curious eyes peeking from behind Jay's shoulder, he had felt something flutter within him. He wasn’t able to stop thinking about you from then on, even as he taunted Ben in the lost revenge’s brig, unable to get those hypnotic (e/c) eyes out of his head.

He couldn’t ignore the genuine happiness when he saw you again, taking down those goons with ease and confidence. He couldn’t ignore the feeling in his chest when you laughed, the intense fluttering when you smiled at him.

The way heat rushed to his cheeks when you hugged him.

The passion he felt as he looked down at your writing body as he was deep inside you.

-Alright! Yall who don’t like reading smut/stuff that hints at it are good! You may continue reading!-

He shouldn’t feel this way, not for the child of the king that had sent his father to the isle, and dooming hundreds of kids to a floating prison just for being the children of villains. He shouldn’t feel this way about the sibling of the king they had kidnapped and were holding for ransom.

He had only heard of this type of feelings from stories of the heroes of Bora-don, how they had somehow fallen in love within seconds of meeting the other. He had never understood it, calling it stupid that someone would fall in love with someone they just met.

He understood it now, the ache in his chest when he thought of you being hurt when the villains took over the world after Uma got the wand and freed them all. He only had one word to assign it to.

Love.

His grip on your waist tightened, and he buried his face in your hair. He didn’t know if he would ever see you again after today, so he would treasure the moments he had with you now.

You groaned slightly in your sleep, your hand that wasn’t trapped under his pillow reaching up and curling around his neck, pulling yourself further into his neck, your nose pushing into the dip between his shoulder and neck.

He pressed a kiss to your head and closed his eyes, huffing slightly as he realized he felt completely content by your side.

-

You grumbled as beams of light pushed through your closed eyes, you pushed off Harry's chest and glared at the window, reaching to close the curtain that half covered it, huffing as you realized you couldn’t reach it from your spot buried in Harry's side.

You stilled as Harry's arm reached past you and closed the curtain, leaving the room in calmly lit darkness. He put his hand on your head and pushed it back onto his chest, thumb gently caressing the back of your head. “morning” you rasped, tilting your head to rest your chin on Harry's pecs and smiling at the slowly awakening pirate.

“morning darling” he rasped back, his sleepy ocean blue eyes staring back at you. He slowly sat up, shifting you to sit in his lap as he shook his head to force himself to wake up. “wha’ time is it” he grumbled, raising his brow as you reached behind him for your pants, that were hanging off his bed frame, and pulled out your phone.

“8:30” you set your phone on the nightstand and flopped back into Harry's chest, tightly wrapping your arms around him. “what time is the…thing?”

“12” he hummed, pressing his cheek to your head and holding onto you “so…”

“three and a half hours” you did the math for him, pouting as he pulled you back slightly and looked into your eyes.

“Uma wanted me at the ship at nine darling…” you sighed, looking at your lap as you realized your time with the handsome pirate was almost up.

He pressed a kiss to your head and pulled his blankets around you, covering your nakedness and getting out of the bed, aware of your eyes on his butt as he walked over to his dresser.

“Please tell me it wasn’t just me” he paused as he slid his underwear over his hips and looked over at his shoulder at you, eyes widening as he saw a droplet of water appear from behind your hair and fall onto the blanket “please tell me it wasn’t just me that felt something”

He was silent for a few moments, biting his lip as his heart raced with the realization that you felt the same way he did.

He stared at you for a few moments before turning back to his dresser and opening the small box on top and pulling out a necklace.

He turned and walked towards you, giving you a soft smile as he sat in front of you and gently lifted the tread around your neck, trailing his fingers down it and holding the small charm in his fingertips.

You glanced down at it and gasped, the charm was a small metal hook with a small red gem in the middle of the bulb. “this is something I’ve had fer awhile” Harry whispered, looking back up at you and bonking his forehead into yours “Gil made it for meh a long time ago, but it…it didn’t feel right on me…but I kept it cause it felt like it had a purpose…I guess that purpose was ta be on yeh” you sniffed as your vison blurred “what I’m saying is…yes, it wasn’t jus’ you, I felt something too”

He tilted your chin up with his finger, softly smiling at you and leaning in slightly “a feeling I’ve only heard in yer Bora-don tales” you gasped slightly at that, heart going a thousand miles a minute as you realized he had felt the same way you did since you had first seen him last night in the ally “it sounds stupid” he chuckled, looking off for a moment “I never believe those tales of love at first sight or that type of shit but…” he looked back into your eyes, hand trailing from your chin to the back of your neck “I was proved wrong”

He pulled you into a sweet, soft kiss, your eyes closing as he slowly moved his lips against yours, his other hand coming up and taking your hand that wasn’t holding the blanket.

Your mind went hazy as the world around you melted away at the taste of Harry's bruised lips, giving you the softest kiss you had ever gotten from anyone.

He pulled back for a moment, pressing another soft kiss to your lips before sitting back and opening his eyes, smiling as you kept yours closed and swayed slightly “(y/n)” he whispered, realizing he had to go very soon if he wanted to make sure you got back to the core four safely, and make it to the ship on time “ye have ta go now”

You slowly opened your eyes and pouted, tilting forward and hugging Harry tightly “I know, but It's too dangerous for yeh here love, get dressed, and I’ll walk ye back to the hideout” you shook your head against his chest but obeyed after he clicked his tongue and picked one of your legs up and let it drop on the floor.

He pressed a kiss to your forehead and stood, grabbing his clothes that had been tossed around in the night and quickly getting dressed, grumbling about his belts that had somehow disappeared.

“under the bed” you snorted, laughing as Harry paused and dropped to his knees and looked under the bed, muttering some curses to himself as he pulled out the two black-brown belts and attached them to his hips.

You sighed as you ran your fingers over the purple hickeys all over your neck and torso, whistling slightly at the dark bite mark on your ribs. You mentally thanked your past self as you pulled your turtle neck over your head and smoothed it down. “yeh ready darling?” you nodded over to your shoes and picked them up, walking over to Harry's bed to put them on.

You finished lacing them up and jumped slightly as Harry's hand appeared in your vision. You looked up slightly, biting your lip as he was fully geared up, a tricorn hat on his head, and a blue headwrap hiding his fluffy back hair. He had lined his eyes thick making the blue pop. You took his head and stood, the two of you walking out of his apartment and towards the hideout.

-

You stopped just a little less than a block away from the hideout, Harry taking off his hat and holding it in front of your faces as he pressed a soft kiss to your lips “I’ll see yeh later yer highness” he whispered with a smile, he took a step back and bowed low, flipping his hat on his head as he stood.

You shared a sad smile and Harry walked away. You watched him for a moment before you called after him, he turned with a raised brow “stay safe…please” you smiled as he nodded.

“as yeh wish” he turned away and walked toward the wharf, leaving you to return to the hideout alone, the cold metal of the hook charm against your chest reminding you that you might never see him again after today.

-

You never did see him again that day, being forced to stay with the car as the others went to get Ben.

It had been a week since cotillion, and you stared at yourself in the mirror, dark bags under your eyes as the clock read 2 am.

It had been hard…hearing yourself being referred to as “she” or “her” or “the sister of king ben” when you had finally found out who you were.

After you had gotten back you had scoured the internet to look up the terms Harry had told you. Non-binary…’Non-binary people not only do not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth; they do not identify with the male or female gender at all’

You were non-binary, and it was so hard to hear yourself be misgendered after years of feeling uncomfortable being referred to as a ‘girl’ then finally figuring yourself after meeting Harry. you thought of telling the core four, but you were scared that they would ask about how you found out, and then you would have to spill the beans about Harry.

You didn’t know what it meant to be non-binary but…this was your journey right? As long as you felt it was right…it had to be the right path…right? You glanced at the scissors on the counter, then back at yourself in the mirror, frowning at your long hair that your mother had demanded that you never cut dramatically, in fear that you would be seen as a boy.

…well fuck that.

You grabbed your scissors in one hand, your hair in the other, and pulled it to the side. You closed your eyes as you held the scissors over your hair.

*snip!*

You hardly looked as you chopped off your long hair, the locks falling on your feet and bathroom floor as you did.

You took a deep breath as you set down the scissors again and quickly looked at yourself, breath-stopping as you did.

“oh” you breathed, leaning forward towards the mirror and reaching up to touch your choppy short hair “...there you are” the cut was ugly and rough but…it felt right…you smiled, running your hands through your hair.

A thought came to mind, and you ran into your room to grab a baggy button-up shirt you had stolen from Ben months ago and quickly threw it over your tank top and buttoned it up.

You took a deep breath and stepped in front of your mirror, your eyes burning as you felt like you were seeing yourself for the first time “there you are” you whispered again, reaching up and grabbing the hook charm as you closed your eyes.

Your name was (y/n), and you were non-binary.

And if that disappointed your parents? Or anyone else in Auradon? Fuck em.

If you were proud of yourself that was all that mattered.

-end of part 1-

2nd parts gonna be after d2 and into D3 with (y/n) telling Ben and the C4 about them being NB and doing things to help themselves feel more like themselves…yep :D hopefully, I did this fic right and represented those who are non-binary correctly, I used the knowledge I had and did some research to make sure I didn’t type any stupid shit.

Oh also enjoy this little sketch dump I did while writing this, it's not (y/n) exactly, but just how I envisioned the “character” if it wasn’t a blank slate “character” lol, and yes they do got a pirate look going on…that’s the point XD they take inspo for their fashion from Harry/pirates.

permtaglist

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012 @daughter-of-the-stars11

@musicarose @random-thoughts-003

@remembered-license @jatp-rules-my-life 

@rintheemolion @thecaptainsgingersnap

@verboetoperee @imtryingthisout

[secret-engima]

Tomorrow is looking up to be - absolutely terrible. Can I beg you for some RWBY or FFXV snippets, please?

Of course! I know it is the "tomorrow" you speak of but lemme see what I can dig up-

Team Gremlin:

There was silence for a long, long time. Nothing but Ruby’s sobbing and Yang’s pounding heart and the fear that pressed down on them from all around. Formless, but not nameless. Then she heard the stairs creak and for one moment Yang was sure that “Salem” was coming upstairs to get Ruby.

But then the door opened and Yang saw Dad’s boots, “Girls? It’s okay. Come on out.” Yang didn’t move, Ruby just sobbed a little louder and clung tighter to her. Dad sighed and bent down to peer at them, “You heard all that didn’t you.” He looked … not mad, but stressed. Maybe scared, and that made the fear worse for Yang. Yang clung to Ruby, her precious baby sister with silver eyes that no monster should be able to get to, and nodded. Dad’s face pinched, then he gave a smile that even she could tell was fake, “Come on out, girls. It’s okay. I promise. That was all just- that was adult talk okay? You don’t need to worry about that until you’re older-.”

“Ruby’s eyes,” Yang bit out, “R-ruby has Mom’s e-eyes.”

“It’s okay, Yang, Ruby, I promise. We’ll take care of it-.”

A creak of wood behind Dad and he frowned before straightening up and turning to face whoever was there, “I’ll be down in a minute, just let me-.”

“Taiyang,” Professor Ozpin sounded weirdly calm, more calm than Dad did, “may I speak to them?”

“…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

A sigh, “I am well aware of your opinion on this matter, Taiyang, and I respect it. But they have already heard enough to be terrified. Telling them to forget it now is not only impossible but potentially worse than talking to them. You made your stance on this matter very clear, but that does not apply to your children if it will put them in danger.” Professor Ozpin’s voice softened, “Either I speak with them or Qrow does, but please. Let one of us help.”

Dad didn’t move for a long time, then his boots made for the door, “Fine. But don’t drag them into this more than you have to.” A deep breath, “Girls? I’m going downstairs to check on your mother, if you need anything, just shout, okay? Professor Ozpin is going to talk to you for a little bit. He’ll be very nice.” The last bit was said in the same voice he used when warning Zwei not to dig holes in the yard.

Dad’s boots disappeared and fancy black shoes came closer. There was a pause, then, “Would you prefer to stay under the bed?” Ruby whined and Yang glared without a word. She didn’t know what was going on, but Dad seemed mad at Professor Ozpin and everything was scary and so yes, she wanted to stay under the bed. The tip of his fancy cane tapped the floorboards a few times, then there was a hiss and a whirr of gears like from her parents’ gear and the tip disappeared. With a grunt, he knelt down and then lay down on his stomach like even Mom rarely did. He pillowed his chin on his crossed arms and it was so strange seeing a fancy, famous person lying on his belly on the floor of Ruby’s room that Yang snorted despite herself.

Professor Ozpin’s face crinkled into a faint smile and it looked real and warm, “Hello there. You must be Yang and Ruby. I am Professor Ozpin, I’m a friend of your uncle and your mother. Can I safely assume you heard the most important parts of that conversation? The Grimm and the silver eyes and,” the briefest hesitation, “Salem?”

Ruby finally pulled her face away from Yang’s shoulder to whimper, “I-is she gonna take Mom away and m-make her a Grimm? Is she gonna t-take me?”

“Ah. You have silver eyes,” Professor Ozpin murmured, then his face fell back into that faint, warm smile, “Your mother is alright now, and now that we know what is going on, we will be much more careful. I promise, I will do everything in my power to keep your mother and you safe. But to do that … I would like to tell you a story, and you must both promise me to never tell it to anyone. For the safety of you and your mother.” They nodded, hesitantly, even though Yang certainly didn’t want to hear anymore scary things today. But if it would help keep Ruby and Mom safe-.

Professor Ozpin’s smile faded, but his eyes were still warm, “Once upon a time,” he began, and they listened intently as the man with white hair slowly outlined a story that sounded right out of a fairy tail.

...

Always I Dreamed verse:

Summer had no idea what Professor Ozpin had been thinking, making her the leader of Team STRQ. Then again, the only other real option would have been Taiyang, and as much as she enjoyed his company and was coming to think of him as a good friend and teammate, he wouldn’t have been able to handle the Branwen twins.

Not that Summer was much better at handling the Branwen twins.

They hadn’t done anything to get the team in trouble, but she didn’t know how to deal with them. Taiyang made sense, even if he had a few oddly adorable hangups on things like “modesty” —they were two guys and two girls living in the same room, she didn’t really see what modesty had to do with anything when they weren’t out in public—. Taiyang understood her when she tried to … bond with the team, tried to get them to be more than just four strangers living under the same roof and tackling the same assignments in class. Raven and Qrow on the other hand…

Every time she suggested a group activity, they watched her like she was going to bite. Like they couldn’t fathom the point of learning more about or bonding with anyone outside themselves. Taiyang had suggested it was an out of kingdom thing, but Summer had lived outside the kingdoms until five years ago, and she had never acted like that. Her family hadn’t either. That feral behavior, wary distrust and eerie staring in the middle of the night like even the room wasn’t safe to sleep in without a watch wasn’t anything like what Summer and her family or neighbors had grown up with. The only ones who had acted even similar had been-.

Oh.

Now that’s an idea.

...

Blood of My Blood verse:

The next one was a whole month after Grandma Crepera had first appeared and only a week after the scary man with the mace, but three times was enough for Dionysus to be able to immediately tell what was happening when he blinked his way to awareness in a dream. He looked around uneasily, afraid of being yelled at by someone again, but … there was no one scary nearby. He was in a small little building inside a big, unfamiliar garden. The building was just a roof and little pillars holding it up and a stone floor to stand on with a little table inside and-.

A woman.

She was sitting at the table, working on something, but instead of it being paperwork like Grandpa or taking care of a sword like Uncle Cor, she was … spinning mud? She was making mud spin and pulling at it with her hands, changing its shape with her fingers, and Dionysus hadn’t realized he’d drifted into the gazebo to watch her in awe until she glanced up from her work and smiled at him. She went back to watching her mud, and when she spoke, her voice wasn’t echoing and scary, “Hello. Would you like to join me? I have enough for both of us to use if you like.”

Dionysus watched the spinning-spinning-spinning in awe, but shook his head and tucked his hands behind his back, “Iggy says I can’t play in the mud cause I’ll get dirty an’ it’s unb- unbe- bad for a prince.” He blinked up at her, “How come you’re playing in the mud? Iggy says old people don’ like mud.”

The spinning slowed to a stop as she stared at him and he wondered if she was going to get mad. But then she started laughing, an old, deep sound that felt nice, all the way to his bones, “This is not mud, Cheeky Prince, this is clay. People use it to make things like mugs and teapots and vases. Come, come sit and I will show you how.” She waved her muddy hand and set down a chair next to hers in a flash of magical rosy-blue sparks. So she was family, just like the last ones had been. Dionysus hadn’t known he had so much family before. Then again, he was pretty sure they were all dead, and that’s why they were talking to him in dreams rather than when he was awake —and a part of him wondered if that should scare him, but it didn’t, so as long as they didn’t act scary, he didn’t bother trying—.

Dionysus climbed onto the chair and watched her in curiosity. It still looked a lot like mud to him, but it was a different color from mud, so he supposed it could be something else. The woman was spinning her clay again, fingers deftly shaping and pinching and rubbing, “My name is Nyssia, though some once called me the Just.”

Dionysus thought of the Hall of Arts and all the pictures and statues in it, including some of Grandma Crepera, and wondered if she was one of the pictures in the Hall, “Just like Grandma Crepera?”

An amused twitch of her lips, “Yes, I am like Crepera. We are both related to you, but we are older than King Regis.”

He tilted his head, partially mesmerized by what she was doing with the spinning clay, but curious despite himself about other things. She was like Grandma Crepera and the others, but she hadn’t used a scary voice at all, “How come?”

She hummed without looking away from her work, “How come what, Cheeky Prince? I cannot read your mind.”

Dionysus pouted at her, because wasn’t it obvious what he was asking? But then he said, “You don’ have a scary voice like they do.”

Now she did glance up at him with a look like Grandpa had when he said something silly, “Oh, don’t I?” Dionysus jolted in his seat, startled, but not … scared. Her voice had echoed just now, deep and layered like when Grandma Crepera or Leon had spoken, but it didn’t make him feel like he needed to go hide. It reminded him oddly of the big, booming bells that hung from old church in his favorite movie, loud but mellow. He kind of liked it, but he was still glad when her voice went back to normal as she shrugged, “I merely thought you would not like it if I used that voice. So I did not.”

[bebepac]

National Honor Society (Happy Birthday Brandy)

Original Post Date: 5/19/21 at 3:25PM EST

Happy Birthday @bbrandy2002​​  I hope you are having a wonderful birthday today.  I will be honest and say I had no clue it was your birthday until  late yesterday evening.  I hope you like this.  I met you when I was baby new to the fandom.  

I started reading your series My Love . To this day that is probably one of my favorite series I’ve read.  If you haven’t read it, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

I had started reading it, then I had lost track of it.  I finally saw a reblog for it again, and so I messaged you.  You had told me then you were so grateful for my comments, as you had thought about scrapping that whole story.  I almost lost my mind, because I thought that story was amazing. And proceeded to with each chapter give an emotional play by play via your inbox while I was reading. Thank you for thinking I wasn’t insane for that. Ha ha ha ha!!!!  You are an amazing writer and friend.  I really appreciate your friendship.  

This is a complete one shot.  It technically does not fall into any series that I am currently writing right now or have written. 

The Book:  TRR

The Pairings: None

Word Count:  825

Warnings:  Profanity.  

Summary:  Liam, Drake, and Hana  have to do the National Honor Society’s daily birthday announcements.  

A/N:  This is actually something I used to have to do in high school being part of the honor society.  I ironically came up with this idea while I was watching this crazy show on netflix called Who Killed Sara.  I really hope you like this cute little dumpster fire.  If you don’t, then blame Netflix and my nerdy high school years.  Sorry wasn’t more of a Taylor.  You’ll see.  

A/N2: Update 5/21/21

Because the Birthday girl requests a followup and I have cultivated some ideas for this, I am going continue this little accidental AU I created here.  The mini series will be called School Dayz. 

It may even cross into Pop’s Place too.  I’m still figuring out some logistics in that, since I plan to still have Jaiden as an older brother to Riley and Taylor. 

Liam didn’t think of himself as a nerd.  His glasses, braces, and lack of style kind of said otherwise.  

“There’s nothing wrong with being intelligent  Liam.  The right person will find that to be your most attractive trait one day.  I promise.”  

His mother had always told him.  He never forgot her words.   His mother had always understood him.  

His dad….not at all.  After his mother passed away, Liam was left with his father and Leo.  At least Leo tried to understand him.

Liam’s older brother was a senior.  Everyone knew Leo. Liam’s freshman year of high school he was referred to as Leo’s brother.  

Leo wasn’t the brightest bulb on the tree, but he made decent grades, enough to stay on whatever sports team he tried out for.  That first season was football.  

Liam… was a klutz.  He was not sports team material.  Liam was on the debate team and in glee club.  He wasn’t in the popular crowd but had his small tribe of friends.  Hana and Drake were his best friends in the whole wide world.  

“Who did you get?”

“Nico KH.”  Hana responded, she had a light flush on her cheeks.  

“What about you?”

“Riley Brooks?  I’ve never heard of her? Him?” Liam looked at the paper confused.

“Her, she’s new.  She just moved here from New York. She’s in my AP Spanish class.”

“I got Taylor Brooks.  Guess that’s her brother? A little direction on this would be nice.”

The secretary ushered them up to the intercom.  

Hana began speaking, her voice as clear as a bell.

“The National Honor Society would like to wish the following people a happy birthday.”

She paused, for a moment to compose herself.

“Nico KH, have a happy birthday.”

“Riley Brooks, have a happy birthday.”  

“Taylor Brooks, have a happy birthday.”  

They all said in union.  “Please come to the office to pick up your present courtesy of the National Honor Society.”

Nico showed up to the office first.

Hana walked up to him with their candy bag assortment, and a card  to hand to him.  

“Have a happy birthday Nico.”

“Thanks Anna.”  Nico took the bag and the card and walked back out of the office.

“You’re welcome,”  Hana breathed softly.

“Anna?  When the hell did you change your name HANA?”  Drake burst out laughing.

“Drake Walker, language, and detention!”  

Liam laughed with Drake.

“I don’t even care. He was close.”  

“Hana close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades.”  

Liam laughed so hard he snorted.  

“What’s so funny?”  

Liam turned around face to face with a girl  wearing glasses similar to his own.  

“Nothing, my friends are ridiculous..”

“Oh.”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“I was called to the office. I’m Riley Brooks.”    

Liam straightened his glasses, picking up his gift and card, giving it to her.

Liam cleared his throat.  “Have a happy birthday Riley.” 

“Thanks.  You’re the first person to wish me a happy birthday by myself.  Usually….”

Another girl stormed into the office like a hurricane. “Where’s my gift at bitches?!?!?!?”

Standing next to  Riley you could see they were twins. However Riley was soft spoken and Taylor was a firecracker.  

“Who are you?”  

Drake felt a wave of boldness as he walked up to the girl.  “You must be Taylor Brooks. I personally wish you a happy birthday.”  

“Taylor Brooks?  Language, and Detention.”  

“On our birthday?!?”

Riley looked uncomfortable next to Taylor.  You could see the physically identical features of Riley and Taylor.  But that’s where the similarities ended.

Riley was clearly the soft spoken twin.  She was dressed what Liam thought was nice, in a pink button down shirt, and a not quite knee length black skirt.  Her curly hair pulled up in a ponytail.  

Her sister was dressed to easily fit into the popular crowd at school.  

But Liam focused his attention on Riley.  

“We typically get our birthdays tied together with each other.  Six minutes separates our birthday technically.”  Riley grumbled.

“Oh it makes sense.”  

“It does?”  Riley looked irritated.

“No I mean, if your birthday was on Christmas, I would get you two gifts.  Not just one. Because it would be two holidays.”  

Riley smiled.

“So my birthday is a holiday?”  she inquired.

A light pink hue crossed Liam’s face.  

“No I meant… I don’t know what I meant…”  

“Thank you….”

“Liam. My name is Liam.”  

“Thank you Liam.”

Taylor grabbed Riley’s hand.  “Let’s get back to class.”

Riley glanced back at Liam and smiled before her sister pulled her through the office door.  

“Could twins be any more different?”

“They are technically two different people.”  Liam was intrigued by Riley already.

“And I’ve got detention with the cute one this afternoon.”

Liam went by his locker after announcements to get his AP Biology book.  

He sat at the table in the front of class.  

Just as the bell rang she ran into the door. 

“You’re late.”  

“Sorry, I’m still trying to figure out my way around.”  

“Take a seat.”  

She glanced around the room seeing the only familiar face she knew, so  she walked over to him.

“Hi Liam.”

“Hi Riley.”  

[forthegothicheroine]

Have you swapped out your summer perfumes for fall ones yet? If so, what did you put away and what did you take out?

I'm wearing some very autumnal scents right now! As always, you can wear any perfume at any time of the year; I certainly wear my favorites all year round. Fall and winter, in my opinion, are good times for gourmands; in fact, half of these are BPAL scents because I love their vanilla so much!

Top 5 Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Autumn Perfumes:

Snake Oil: If I could only wear a single signature scent, it would be this one; in fact, getting this sample was one of the first perfumes that ever really hooked me! It’s a year-round favorite, but often feels a bit cloying in hot weather, so it’s nice to wear it when it’s getting cool. This is a heavy vanilla and incense scent which I find incredibly sexy, like I’m a swing-dancing succubus. Others have said it smells medicinal on them, so you may want to try a sample first.

Pumpkin Spice Snake Oil: I’m wearing this Halloween variation right now! With pumpkin and cream in the mix, the Snake Oil blend becomes less sexy and more cozy to me. Think of wearing a chunky sweater while drinking tea with lots of cinnamon and half-and-half! Go easy when applying this one as the pumpkin can be heavy, but applied delicately it’s a very comfy scent to have on.

Tombeur: This is BPAL’s “sexy vampire” perfume and hell yes that’s what it smells like! There’s a little bit of Snake Oil here, but much darker than usual; the vanilla is less sweet, the spices are more elegant, and overall it feels a lot more Haute Goth. BPAL has a whole range devoted to different types of vampire, but when one was supposed to be the evil seducer archetype...that was going to have to be mine.

Lucy's Kiss: More vampires! I don’t find this one wanton or deadly; coquettish, perhaps. It smells like buttery roses with sugary spices, flirty but unexpected and quirky. I like to think the kind and bubbly Lucy Westenra had this kind of sweetness to her- and when she was turned into a vampire, that sweetness became a masque with which to lure and kill.

Alice: I wore this one at my October wedding, so I have a sentimental fondness for it! It’s also just really really good. Spicy carnations and soothing milk and honey combine to form a fragrance that smells almost fruity, but much more offbeat and frilly than that implies. It’s appropriate all year round, but as I said, for me it’s always good in October!

Top 5 Non-Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Autumn Perfumes:

The Bell Witch by Sixteen92: This is actually my favorite autumn fragrance, playing as it does on my love of apple cider! Earth and moss and smoke and pumpkins perform autumn-themed backup, but the cider is what makes this smell really delicious. It’s not quite as sinister as the story of the Bell Witch, but it would be quite appropriate for a more comic witch like the Sanderson Sisters or the Owens Women.

Etrog by Ayala Moriel: I listed this in my summer citrus post, but it’s obviously intended for the autumn holiday of Sukkot, where we use this fruit as part of our harvest rituals. If you’ve never smelled an etrog- in English, a citron- it’s like a lemon but sweeter, making this a nice bright wake-up scent. It’s just as refreshing in chilly or warm weather!

Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens: This is really more of a winter scent, but I’ve been wearing it lately to evoke that dark forest vibe. I heard about this perfume when someone said it smelled like the show Twin Peaks, and it absolutely does! It’s all pine trees and dark spices, mysterious and cold. There’s something in the pines, and they smell amazing.

Madchenland by Poesie: An actually Twin Peaks-themed scent! Named after Madchen Amick who played Shelley Johnson on the show, it evokes her job as a diner waitress by smelling like apple pie, cakes and caramel. Poesie seems to do gourmands best, and this scent comes back in the fall for a reason. I just got a full bottle!

Big Toddy Goth Girl by Hexennacht: Yes, I got this for the name, but it’s good! I’m not normally a huge fan of clove, but the way the booze and cinnamon melds with clove cigarettes is warming and smoky and dark. Very appealing stuff. Wear it for Elvira!

[berrynarrybanana]

Deck the Halls - Prologue

A/N: I know this is a pain, having the part that explains the entire fic in a separate post, but I just couldn’t continue writing it all out in one document because I kept getting thrown off. Here’s a little Christmas Eve Eve present for you all to indulge in while I attempt to finish writing the rest of the story at my overnight job. I don’t know if I can get it all out before Christmas, but I’m going to do my best. I love you all and I hope that you’re having a great holiday season! Stay tuned for the rest of the fic and let me know what you think of this whole thing so far! I love you bunches and remember to TPWK :) 

Warnings: Mentions of Character deaths, mention of nightmares, Harry meets Santa, it’s a whole thing.....tada! 

Word Count: 3.8 K 

Harry Styles- Age 5 

Harry rubbed at his eyes with little knuckles as his mouth opened in a big yawn. 

It was still dark in his bedroom, and even though he was almost six now, he was still afraid of the dark. He turned on his side, shuffling around in his flannel printed Santa sheets as he tried to go back to sleep. It was still Christmas Eve, and if he didn’t go back to bed, Santa wouldn’t come. In his best attempt to fall back asleep, he closed his eyes, squeezing them tight as he whispered softly under his breath. 

“Go to sleep, go to sleep.” 

He whispered the words over and over, trying his best to send himself back into dreamland. 

But he just couldn’t go back to sleep. 

He was too afraid of the dark. 

So he pushed his tiny feet from under the duvet, falling to the carpeted floor before he ran towards his bedroom door. His heart was pounding in his chest, racing with adrenaline as he rushed down the hallway towards the glowing Christmas lights wrapped around the banister. He could tell that his Dad was still up, probably watching television in the living room with his Mother curled into his side. Harry tiptoed down the stairs, holding his breath until he made it all the way to the bottom. When he finally made it there, he noticed that his Father wasn’t on the couch, but his Mum was curled up with her head on a pillow. The glow of the television light lit up her familiar face, and Harry suddenly didn’t feel scared anymore. 

“Mummy.” He whispered, holding his hands behind his back. “Mummy, are you asleep?”

She stirred, her eyes opening slightly. 

“Little dove, why are you out of bed?” She asked, her voice scratchy. 

“I couldn’t go back to sleep.” He rocked on his feet. “I was scared of the dark.”

“Alright then.” She lifted the cover from her body, opening her arms up. “Climb on in, come cuddle with Mumma.”

Harry climbed onto the couch, curling under the covers with his Mum’s arms around him. 

“Close your eyes, dove.” She whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Santa won’t come if you’re awake.” 

Harry did as he was told, closing his eyes. 

And he fell asleep for a little while, drifting in and out. 

But when he heard the jingling of bells near the Christmas tree, he opened his eyes wide. 

Standing by the Christmas tree was Santa. 

His eyes grew wide when he noticed the velvet red suit and the sack of presents resting on the living room floor. He didn’t say anything, he just watched as Santa situated a few presents under the tree, moving them around until they were perfectly placed. When Santa stood up and turned around, Harry’s eyes snapped shut. He pretended to be asleep, his breath coming out just a little heavier as he heard the heavy boots against the living room floor. 

“Harry Styles.” He heard his name, his eyes slowly opening just in case it wasn’t real. “Good boys and girls are supposed to be asleep when Santa comes, isn’t that how the song goes?”

Harry nodded, absolutely gobsmacked by Santa’s presence. 

He couldn’t wait to tell his friends. 

“Is there a reason why you’re awake?” Santa crouched down, the sweet scent of sugar and pastries wafting over Harry. 

“I’m afraid of the dark, Santa.” Harry whispered. “I...I didn’t mean to be naughty.”

“Nonsense, Harry.” Santa smiled at him. “You’re not a naughty boy at all! It’s alright to be afraid of things, Harry.”

“It is?” He asked. 

“Of course.” Santa nodded. “But you can’t tell anyone about our little chat, buddy. I could get in real trouble if everyone knew that you saw me.”

“Okay.” Harry whispered. “I won’t say anything.” 

“That’s a good lad.” Santa reached out, tapping the end of Harry’s nose with a gloved finger, causing Harry to giggle. “Now close your eyes, Harry. In the morning, you’ll have everything you wanted for Christmas just under that tree.”

“Thank you, Santa.” Harry whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Harry.” Santa said. “Now, be a good boy for me this year...and next year, you might get everything you wanted and a little more.” 

Harry’s eyes lit up, a smile spreading over his lips. 

“Merry Christmas, Santa.” Harry whispered. 

“Merry Christmas, Harry.” 

Holland Kringle - Age 5 

“Daddy!” Holland launched herself into her Father’s arms, her cheeks aching from the smile on her lips. “You’re home!” 

“There’s my favorite little girl.” Kris wrapped his arms tightly around his daughter, kissing the top of her head. “Were you a good girl for Mum last night?”

“I was the best girl.” She laughed, wrapping her arms around her Father’s neck for a tight hug. “I read to the babies.”

“Did you?” Kris asked, pulling his head back in time to catch Holland’s enthusiastic nod. “That was very kind of you, Holly.”

“And Nick took me to the ice rink yesterday.” She said. “I met a new friend, her name is Pippa! She’s an elf, Daddy!”

“Elf’s make the best of friends.” Kris chuckled. “Where is your brother, by the way?”

“I think he snuck outside to see the reindeer.” Holland whispered. “But you can’t say that I told you, okay? Nick would be upset if I tattled on him.”

“I won’t say a word.” Kris whispered back, leaning forward to press a kiss to Holly’s nose. “Now, go find your brother while I say hello to Mummy and the twins, alright? We’ll open presents as soon as you and Nick come back inside.”

“Okay!” Holland squirmed her way out of Kris’s arms, taking off the second her feet hit the ground. “Merry Christmas, Daddy!” 

“Merry Christmas, Holly!” 

As Kris watched his daughter run outside in her pajamas, he couldn’t help but think of the little boy from Cheshire.

Harry Styles.

There was something about that little boy that reminded him of his little Holly leaf. They shared that same childlike wonder, a trait that could only be fueled by true Christmas spirit. There weren’t many people in the world that had true Christmas spirit. Kris himself had it, but that was something that every Kringle male was born with. His son Nick had it, and he knew for sure that Holland had it...but now he was wondering if Harry had it too. It wasn’t impossible for normal humans to have the true Christmas spirit, but most would lose it as they aged. Life would break their true Christmas spirit down until not even a trace was left behind in their souls. 

But Kris had a feeling about Harry. 

He was special, just like Holly. 

“You look like you’re deep in thought.” Kris turned his head, a smile spreading on his lips as Mary walked towards him. “Welcome home, Mr. Claus.”

“Mrs. Claus, you are a sight for sore eyes.” Kris chuckled. “Let’s get these presents wrapped before Holly and Nick come back inside. I’m afraid I might have grabbed them a few more things when I was in London and Paris.”

“Kris, I told you-”

“I know, I spoil them.” He leaned closer to his wife, kissing her cheek. “But I am Santa after all.”

Harry - Age 10 

“You’re still up?” Gemma yawned loudly, plopping next to her brother on the sofa. 

“Yeah.” Harry closed his book, turning towards his sister. “I couldn’t sleep.” 

“Trying to catch a glimpse of the man in red?” She teased, bumping her shoulder into Harry’s. 

Harry never told anyone about Santa, and he knew that Gemma was just teasing, but his cheeks still turned a bright shade of red anyways. 

“He wouldn’t stop at our house if I was awake, Gem, I’m not stupid.” He grumbled, turning his attention towards the cover of his book. “I’m just trying to finish my book before Christmas.” 

“Do you want to read it to me?” Gemma asked. “That used to help me when I was having trouble understanding.”

“I’m not…” Harry inhaled sharply, his cheeks growing hotter. “I just-”

“It’s okay to need help, H.” Gemma said softly. “We all need it sometimes, even Mum and Dad.”

“She’s right.” Anne’s voice caused both of her children to look up with wide eyes. “You two are supposed to be tucked in bed.”

“Harry couldn’t sleep.” Gemma said. “So we’re going to finish his book.” 

“How about we snuggle up for bed, and I read to both of you.” Anne uncrossed her arms, walking towards her children. “That way, you’ll both fall asleep and Santa will leave presents for you under the tree.”

Harry nodded slowly as Gemma did the same. 

“Alright my little doves, let’s get up to bed.” Anne said. “You can both sleep with Mum tonight.” 

Holland - Age 10 

“Nick, we’re going to get in so much trouble.” Holland snuggled further into her blanket, her skin ice cold from the wind. “When Dad finds us, we’re going to be put on the naughty list.”

“He can’t put his own kids on the naughty list.” Nick snorted out a laugh, shaking his head at his sister’s naive attitude. “He wouldn’t do that to us anyways.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Kris spoke up, turning his head towards the back of his sleigh with raised brows. “You wouldn’t be the first Kringle’s to end up on the naughty list. Do you remember your Uncle Joseph?” 

“No.” Holland whispered, her eyes wide. 

“Exactly.” Kris said. “Now tell me what you two are doing back there?” 

“Nick wanted to see the Christmas magic!” Holland squeaked out. “I was trying to stop him, but then I got scared so I jumped in.”

“Nicholas.” Kris looked at his son with narrowed eyes. “You know better than that. You only have a few more years until you start going with me on these rides.”

“But I couldn’t wait.” Nick whined. “It’s so boring, waiting at home while you go around giving gifts!”

“Well, look at what you’ve done.” Kris said. “You’ve brought your poor sister out in the freezing cold, Nicholas. She’s not meant to endure this kind of weather, not like we are.”

“Daddy, can I ride up front with you?” Holly asked. “It’s really chilly back here.”

“As soon as we land in Cheshire, you can climb up front.” Kris said. “Just a few more minutes, little one.”

Holland nodded, snuggling in closer to Nick. 

“You’re horrible at keeping secrets.” Nick groaned, wrapping his sister in a hug. “I’m never telling you anything again.” 

“Yes you will.” She mumbled, her teeth chattering. “Because you love me.” 

“Only sometimes.” Nick said. “Most of the time, you’re a pain in my-”

“Nicholas!” 

Harry- Age 15

“You still believe in Santa?” Matt asked, his brows lifting up towards his hairline. 

“Yeah.” Harry said slowly, his own brows furrowing. “He’s real.”

“He’s not.” Matt laughed. “What a nerd.” 

“Don’t be a twat, Matt.” Gemma’s voice piped up, her hand pushing her boyfriend’s shoulder as Harry sunk into his spot on the sofa. “Santa is real, Harry.” 

“And so is the Easter Bunny.” Matt grumbled, landing him a swat to the back of the head from Gemma as she sat between the two boys. “Do we have to watch this movie?”

The opening credits to How the Grinch Stole Christmas began, causing Harry’s excitement to bubble over in the form of a wide smile. 

“Yes.” Gemma said. “Harry and I watch it every single year. If you don’t want to watch it, you can go back home.”

Harry tried to hide his smile, but he couldn’t. 

Gemma reminded him of his Mum. 

She was protective and fierce.

Harry wished he was that brave. 

“Fine.” Matt sighed out, frustrated. “It’s stupid, though.”

“So are you.” Harry said, lifting his mug of hot chocolate to his lips with a smirk. “But we tolerate you, don’t we Matt.”

Gemma tossed her head back, laughing loudly. 

Maybe Harry was brave. 

Holland - Age 15 

“Pippa, I don’t think you should do that.” Holland sang under her breath as her best friend pushed forward on her skates. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I’m an expert.” Pippa snorted out, crouching down lower as she prepared to make the leap into the air. “I can do this in my sleep.”

“You’re going to break something, and I’m not carrying you back.” Nick piped up from Holland’s side. “Your friend is stupid.”

“Don’t be rude.” Holland swatted her brother, gasping at the new word he’d picked up. “Where did you hear that?”

“In America.” Nick groaned, his hand clutching his stomach. “Where did you learn to hit like that?” 

“You.” She quipped back, her eyes still watching Pippa as she launched off of the ice. “Pippa!” 

She watched her friend land on the ice gracefully, gliding away without a single care. Her elfish giggles filled the air, causing Holland’s nerves to ease slightly. Holland lowered her mitten covered hands from her mouth, her eyes wide as Pippa skated in front of her best friend. 

“I told you I could do it!” Pippa cheered. “Now it’s your turn.”

“I am not doing that.” Holland shook her head. “You’re insane!” 

“C’mon, Holly!” Pippa called out. “Live a little!”

Holland watched as Nick skated off with the shrug of his shoulder. 

Seconds later, he was trying the same move that Pippa had just done. 

But Holly couldn’t find the courage in her body to try it. 

She crossed her arms with a pout instead. 

Harry - Age 18 

Harry woke up with the stale taste of mulled cider in his mouth. 

His head was pounding, and there was a bit of dried drool stuck on the corner of his mouth. He tried to pull himself from the dreamland that he was in, his mind still stuck on the girl with pine colored eyes and snow white curls. He’d been having dreams about the same girl since he was five, after he saw Santa putting presents under the tree. He had a feeling that he had these dreams about the girl because of Santa, but he couldn’t exactly prove it. He just knew that in his dreams, the girl was drowning, and he couldn’t save her. There was a man with ice blue hair, pulling her under the broken ice frozen over a lake, and he couldn’t save her. 

Harry blinked rapidly, rolling over with a groan before he rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles. 

The first few times he had the nightmare, he ran to his Mum. 

He was sobbing hysterically, telling his Mum about the dead girl in the lake. 

But now, he was so used to the outcome, that he didn’t even wake up in tears anymore. 

She was just some girl that Harry made up in his mind. 

He didn’t have to worry about her. 

The sound of Jingle Bells playing from his phone snapped him out of his stupor, bringing him back down to reality as he pushed the girl to the back of his mind. He turned the alarm off on his phone, inhaling sharply before he sat up in his childhood bed. He was happy to be back home for the holiday’s, and happy to be away from Uni. He hated it there, and if he had a choice, he wouldn’t be studying law at all. He’d be studying music, or something fun. But his father refused to pay for anything other than a law degree, so Harry was absolutely fucked. 

As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized that there was no Christmas music floating upstairs from the kitchen. He didn’t hear his Mum and Dad laughing like they normally would, moving around the kitchen while they made breakfast. He didn’t hear How the Grinch Stole Christmas playing on the television as he walked downstairs in his flannel pajama pants and tacky Christmas sweater. With furrowed brows, he walked into the kitchen in search of a glass of water to help wash the bitter aftertaste of day old mulled wine from his mouth. 

Seconds into the tall glass of water he poured, he noticed a note on the counter. with his Mum’s handwriting 

Merry Christmas my loves!

Dad and I have popped down to the shops in search of eggs to make Christmas brekkie. We hope to be back before you two lazy bones crawl out of bed, but if we’re not, we love you! 

                                                                             -Love Mum and Dad

Harry lowered the note to the countertop, shrugging it off before he walked over to grab the kettle off of the stove. As he filled the kettle up, he heard soft thumping on the stairs. He turned his head as Gemma walked into the kitchen with bedhead and heavy eyes. Harry offered her a sympathetic smile after he put the kettle on the stove, watching his sister plop herself down at the kitchen table. He watched her rub her hands over her face, letting out a heavy sigh. 

“How are you feeling?” Harry’s voice was still scratchy and thick from sleep. 

“Nauseous and fat.” She glared at Harry through her dark lashes. 

“You’re not even showing yet.” Harry chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he pressed his lower back into the counter. “You haven’t gained a pound.”

“I’ve gained five.” She deadpanned. “I’m going to be gigantic by the time this baby is born, I swear it.”

“Well, I think it’s all worth it.” He rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait for him to be here-”

“We don’t know that it’s a boy.” She said, dropping her hands to the tabletop. “It could still be a girl, H.”

“I know it’s a boy.” He said proudly, giving his sister an arrogant grin. “Do you want to bet on it?”

“We’re not betting on my child, you dingbat.” She snorted out a laugh, a pained expression taking over her face before she groaned. “Don’t make me laugh, I’ll vomit.”

Harry scrunched his nose up at her words, watching her drop her forehead to the table.

“It’s gonna be alright, Gem.” He said softly. “You’ve got me, Mum, and Dad. I know that it’s scary, going into the unknown like this, but you’ve got a family to take care of you and the beautiful little baby you’re about to bring into the world. You don’t need Joey around to make this work.”

“But I would like him around, H.” She lifted her head, raking her teeth over her bottom lip. “I would like for my child to have his father around.”

“Well, maybe Joey will come around one day.” He said softly. “Maybe, in time, things will work themselves out.”

“I don’t think that’ll ever happen.” She glanced at her fingers as she started to pick at the dry skin around her nails. “But you’re right, everything will be okay.”

The sound of the doorbell ringing had both Styles children furrowing their brows, their heads turning towards the front door that they could see from the kitchen. No one ever used the front door when they came to visit. They always popped around to the side door that led into the utility room. It kept the snow off of the hardwood floors and the living room tidy. 

“Wonder who that could be.” Harry muttered, pushing himself off of the countertop. “I’ll answer it.”

“Okay.” Gemma said. “Where are Mum and Dad?”

“They went to the store.” Harry called over his shoulder, dropping his hand to the doorknob. 

When he opened the front door, the blood in his veins turned to ice. It had nothing to do with the ice cold wind whipping around him, or the snow on the ground. He looked at the two police officers standing on his parents porch, his heart thumping so loudly he could hear it in his ears. 

He heard them loud and clear as they spoke, but his brain wasn’t processing any of the information given to him. When Gemma finally walked up to the door, she nearly collapsed to the ground as they told her. Harry had to catch her, holding her against his chest as she sobbed quietly into his Christmas sweater. When the door was closed, and the children were left alone, Harry tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling as the tears fell down his cheeks. 

Suddenly, he wasn’t so fond of Christmas. 

Holland - Age 18 

Holland woke up from a dead sleep with a gasp. 

She had that same dream that she always did, the one where she was being pulled under ice cold water until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She felt the tears slip down her cheek as she remembered the boy with brown hair standing above her, his hand reaching into the water for her. He tried to save her, but he could never get to her in time. She closed her eyes tight, trying to fight off the feeling of ice cold fingers wrapped around her ankle, pulling her further into the darkness. She hated the dark now, the absence of light making her uneasy and nauseous. 

Normally, she’d run to Nick when she had her nightmares, but he wasn’t home. It was Christmas Eve and he was with their father, riding around in the sleigh. Holland tried to calm herself down, but she was finding it hard to settle, her chest heaving up and down as she remembered those beautiful green eyes. They were the last thing she saw before she died in her dream, and while that should have scared her, they were the only thing that helped her sleep at night. 

She closed her eyes, curling in on herself as she tried to picture his face. 

The water always blurred his features out, making it nearly impossible for her to imagine his actual face, but she always tried. She tried to imagine her knight in shining armor as she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself as she pictured him holding her tight. It was silly, but it was the only thing that could calm her. She felt the warmth of his body around her instantly, the soft feeling of his breath washing over the back of her neck, even though he wasn’t really there with her. Her breathing started to slow, calming down as she felt her body relax into her mattress. She hoped that one day she could meet the man in her dreams, but she wasn’t sure that she would ever get the chance to if she was always stuck in the North Pole. 

She decided before she fell asleep that she would finally get the guts to ask her father to let her leave the North Pole.

She had to find the boy. 

She had to. 

[askmerriauthor]

Star Wars: Visions thoughts and discussion

Been on a bit of a Star Wars binge lately. Getting ready for the Book of Fett and the return of The Mandalorian soon, just finished playing the Jedi: Fallen Order game, and recently "Star Wars: Visions" dropped on Disney+ (not to be confused with the, like, half-dozen other Star Wars properties that use "Visions" as their title). If you've got the streaming service and haven't watched the series yet, I can honestly suggest you should do so. The whole thing is a series of very short episodes and is entirely non-canon to the setting, so you don't even need a hard understanding of Star Wars to enjoy it.

In fact, it's actually better if you don't know anything about Star Wars going in. Spoilers and brief episode discussion after the jump.

Episode 1: The Duel As soon as I saw a lightsaber umbrella and a R2 droid in a hat, I knew this one was going to be a must-watch.

I REPEAT. LIGHTSABER. UMBRELLA.

Solid kick-off for the short series. Dig the aesthetic, dig the classic samurai vibe (even if it's more of an homage than a direct application of the style), dig the simple story. The particular animation style they chose here was a little wonky but I quickly got used to the visuals and loved a bunch of the design choices too much to care. This one was very action/style-focused and clearly chosen as the leading episode for that reason, which I don't fault them at all for.

Episode 2: Tatooine Rhapsody I'm sorry, I don't recall giving Star Wars permission to be this fucking adorable, how dare you.

The tale of a Padawan survivor of Order 66 who makes a new life for himself not with the power of the Force, but with the power of Rock and Roll and Friendship. Bitchin'. Super adorable, semi-chibi art style that's honestly ringing, like, a dozen different bells in my head for trying to figure out all the different styles it's drawing from. Good fun, if a bit bland in the end. The biggest problem is the music. The story relies on "using music to save the day", which is fine. But when you use that trope you need an absolutely face-melting banger of a performance, which this just doesn't have. An enjoyable entry all the same though. Not bad, not great, cute designs; the quirky story of how Jabba the Hutt got a new slave band to play at his den.

Episode 3: The Twins This entire episode is animated by the team who brought us Kill la Kill and that should really tell you everything you need to know.

You know how if you get a bunch of little kids together, they'll start playing make-believe games where they just invent stories and plot twists and super powers like "I have whatever you can do, but infinity plus 1 better!" shit like that? That's what this short is. It has only the vaguest allusions to the setting proper and immediately hurls every semblance of consistency, logic, and sense out the window with both hands. It is 1,000,000% style over substance.

Okay, y'know what, no, that's not enough to describe the utter insanity this episode is. All I can find online is pictures of the main villain character pulling a General Grievous impression or the protag snaring lightsaber whips on his lightsaber, but that is fucking tiddlywinks compared to where this episode goes.

There is a scene in this short where the protag, who is ghost-riding the hood of his X-Wing upside down in space without a space suit, super-charges his lightsaber into a giant rainbow of FUCK YOU GEORGE LUCAS with the power of familial love and fabulousness, using said rainbow super saber to CUT AN ENTIRE STAR DESTROYER IN HALF WHILE ACCELERATING TO HYPERSPEED, all to save his twin sister's life by making her explode in a somehow non-harmful manner.

This short is utterly nonsensical drivel and yes I would like more right the fuck now, please and thank you.

Episode 4: The Village Bride Wait, we're actually trying to tell a reasonable story in this series? Sorry, I was still on a sugar high from the previous episode. Lemme sit down.

The Village Bride is great. Excellent short that's just dripping with atmosphere and a slow, purposeful pace to its writing. It's short and sweet with little focus on the Force-using characters themselves, which actually serves to its credit. Even in the Star Wars universe, the Ainu people can't catch a fucking break. Easily one of my favorites in the whole run.

Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi The fact that two characters in this short have Sasuke's haircut was extremely distracting. But I actually really enjoyed this entry overall.

Despite playing extremely loose with the established lore around how lightsabers work, this episode over all others really embraces the original setting and tells a slow-burn story about the potential revival of the Jedi Order. A little meandering at times, but it's a solid piece and well worth exploring. Of all the shorts in the series, this one has the greatest potential to actually continue on as a standalone series or be folded into the canon franchise. Main protag is an adorable bean and I love her.

Episode 6: T0-B1 This episode is simultaneously a love letter to Astro Boy and a giant middle finger to Star Wars lore purists.

The tale of an imaginative Droid named T0-B1 who dreams of becoming a hero like the Jedi he's heard so many stories of. This short gets extra credit for being so unyieldingly stylish and charming. On the surface of its presentation and story choices it seems like it doesn't know anything about Star Wars lore, but it's actually packed full of some pretty deep cuts that show the folk behind it do know what they're talking about and just don't fucking care what purists have to say. The entire thing is just "Yeah, I'm ignoring your lore, but I'm doing it in a fun way that makes the setting more interesting, and I'm so genuine about it that you can't be mad at me". I can respect that. Plus the old dude in that screenshot is an armless Jedi who's retired to be a botanist and that's just fucking cool.

Episode 7: The Elder I'm Episode 1, but better.

This one. This shit right here. This is the good shit.

I'm sure y'all have heard before that Star Wars is directly inspired by Kurosawa and samurai films in general, but The Elder really digs into that hard. Where Episode 1 styles itself after a samurai tale, Episode 7 is a samurai tale. Subdued, methodical storytelling, slow-burn pace, charming dialogue amid believable characters, and a truly intimidating villain who provokes a brief but striking duel. This is my vibe. I crave more of this. Far and away the best short of the entire series.

Episode 8: Lop and Ocho Oh for fuck's sake, there's going to be so much porn of this bunny girl character, isn't there?

This entry is another that kind of meanders with the story it's trying to tell and plays very loose with the lore. It reimagines a lot of what we know of the Jedi/The Rebels and Sith/The Empire into a feudal faction-based conflict akin to what you'd see in a period samurai drama. Modernization and callous industry crushing the spirit of the people and breaking apart families. A decent work overall, but nothing really all that impressive in the end. It takes too long to get going and then peters out halfway through its pay-off for some reason.

Episode 9: Akakiri The fact that I had to look up this episode's name and scenes online and still could not remember anything about it should tell you a lot.

The series ends on a downer with the dramatic tale of a fallen Jedi who sacrifices himself and succumbs to the Dark Side. Turning evil for... the greater good? Wha? Had some pretty neat visuals, but I genuinely cannot remember a damn thing about this episode or its characters. Big swing and a miss in terms of impact.