#and my slipper broke today D:

[smudged-kaleidoscope]

I hate being in pain (physical edition ✨) cuz I always get so rude?!?!

Cuz today I'm sore from ice skating yesterday (let's just say I should stick to roller skating lol) and I've been so disrespected :(

Just kinda stinks ig >:b

[loveephia]

:¨ ·.· ¨: osamu miya's valentine special.

`· . ꔫ sypnosis: in which you ask osamu how to bake a cake for your crush. osamu, heartbroken, willingly teaches you without him knowing that he was your crush all along.

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, minor hurt with comfort, osamu thinking his love was unrequited, reader is a cheeky one, inaccurate recipe.

⚠ warning/s: none.

my HQ masterlist. (valentine's edition)

"i need help." was the first thing you said to osamu today. "wow, not even a "good mornin'"?" he jokes. you only continued to look at him with a serious expression, which meant that you weren't in a joking mood. osamu gulped. you could be really intimidating sometimes..

"..what do you need my help fer?"

"i need you to teach me how to bake a cake for valentine's day." you admitted. now, atsumu, the elder twin who happened to be sitting right next to osamu, was intrigued. "a cake?" atsumu chuckles, "you gonna give that to yer li'l crush, or what?"

the way your eyes widened with the innocent pair of your red cheeks broke osamu's heart. atsumu's eyes, too, were widened at the unexpected reaction from you. he looked over at the younger twin with sympathy, knowing how he's been madly in love with you ever since middle school. yeah, they fight like tyranical pigs, but at the end of the day, they're still family.

osamu coughed, trying to clear the sudden dryness in his throat. "oh— yeah. okay. sure, i'll teach ya." he assures you, and the way your face lit up was just adorable. but the aching fact that you were this ecstatic to bake a cake for someone that wasn't him was just painful.

"is after school alright?" you asked, and osamu nodded. once you left to go to your own classroom, osamu looked over at atsumu with a wounded expression.

"told ya she didn't like me." he mumbles, "i'd like the three pudding packs we bet on, please."

"..got it."

time skip.

you walked home with the miya twins. since osamu would be teaching you how to bake, atsumu wanted to tag along "just for the fun of it." he claims.

but atsumu had a plan.

it's called:

"make-y/n-fall-for-osamu-by-being-extra-annoying."

he thinks it's a brilliant name. spot on.

you unlocked the door to your house and showed the twins where the shoe rack was. once they took their shoes off, you dropped two pairs of house slippers, letting them switch shoes and rest on the couch. "wait here, i'll just go and change." you excused yourself from the twins to put on some more comfortable clothes.

the house was tidy. there was a wall of framed pictures that caught osamu's eye. most of them were of you when you were younger. there was one of you with a pet, one of you smiling with a missing tooth, another with you eating ice cream, and plenty more. it made osamu unknowingly smile.

atsumu cringed.

sure, he's trying to make you fall for osamu, but that doesn't mean he's magically immune from the lovesick glances of his brother.

"okay, i'm back!" you returned in a nice set of pajamas and your hair tied into low pigtails. "so cute!" both the twins thought as they clenched their chests.

"i want to bake a heart-shaped red velvet cake so that it fits in with the theme of valentine's. do you think he'd like something like that?" you asked osamu with a cheeky little smile, hinting toward your crush.

"it'll be from you. of course he'd like it." osamu thought out loud, and your jaw drops momentarily. "o- oh! you think so?" you said, bashfully rubbing the back of your head. "yes. i'm sure of it." he replied.

silence. it was so overbearing that atsumu had to hold in his own cough.

"d- do you have any cream cheese? it'd be good for the frostin'." he asked, trying to clear the tension in the air. you looked inside your fridge and found two blocks of cream cheese. "mhm!"

"okay. let's wash our hands, then i'll tell you what to do." he said. you went to the kitchen, and osamu looks over at atsumu, who was watching the two interact before him with a smirk. "don't do anythin' stupid." osamu said before following you into the kitchen. "ha?! like i'd do anythin' stupid, stupid!" atsumu exclaimed in offense.

time skip.

you held a white, clean, apron in front of you with a gleeful little smile. "y'know it's not really necessary to wear one, right? especially since we're just doin' this at home." osamu says.

you nod it off, "yes, i know, but i've always wanted to wear one of these!" you tie the laces comfortably around your nape and you then reach for the ones near your waist next.

osamu reaches over and ties it for you. "is this okay?" he asks. you nod, your heart beating erratically against your chest at the kind gesture.

"you two gotta knock it off with the lovey-doveyness, it's givin' me a headache." atsumu says, and osamu snaps his head at the older twin with an exasperated expression "nevermind, i think my head is fine." atsumu quickly replies.

time skip.

you laid all of the ingredients, needed utensils, measuring cups, bowls, and appliances out on your kitchen table gracefully. now, you were just staring at osamu for his instructions. unbeknownst to you, osamu found your expression right now very cute.

"so.. what now?" you asked.

"right— okay."

"focus, 'samu. i get that y/n is cute & all, but y'gotta teach her sooner or later." atsumu said from the dining table. he just wanted to watch, and.. perhaps commentate.

what atsumu said brought both your faces aflame. "shut yer trap, 'tsumu. if you're just here to watch us, go home." osamu scolded. "no way! m'definitely helpin'." atsumu raised his own hands as if he's been caught, "just not in the way you think." atsumu says under his breath.

time skip.

you're trying, keyword: trying, to whisk the egg whites together, but it's not getting to the meringue texture you're aiming for. osamu sees you struggling and decides to help you. he stands closely behind you and puts his large palm over your own hand that's holding the whisk. "like this." he mutters lowly as he demonstrates, using your hand to whisk the egg whites. soon enough, you notice that the texture is finally changing!

"woah! osamu, you're a genius!" you cheered, your eyes sparkling at the clear difference.

osamu smiles softly. this feels oddly domestic..

"if you both keep standin' close like that, i'm gonna start thinkin' you're husband and wife." atsumu interrupts your sweet moment with a fact, and osamu is quick to distance himself from you. "will you be quiet for just once in yer damned life..?" osamu murmured, ignoring the sudden rise in the temperature.

atsumu shrugs, "m'just sayin'!"

time skip.

the cake is finally finished. osamu let you deal with the designs as you wanted it to be special and from the heart. it ended up being prim and perfect, a cake that screamed you. just like how you wanted.

"thank you for helping me, 'samu. and thank you 'tsumu for.. coming over?" you expressed your gratitude in a mildly uncertain way. "it was nothin'." atsumu grinned as if he had just accomplished something great.

he didn't even know if his plan worked, but he did enjoy watching you and osamu interact today.

"see ya tomorrow, y/n!" atsumu bids his goodbyes, and he's out of sight. now, you're left with osamu. "i— uhm.. see you tomorrow, 'samu!" you squeaked, and before osamu could reply, you closed the door on him.

osamu sighs. his twin was probably being too pushy with the teasing today, and he must've made things weird between you two.

which is what he thinks.

thanks to atsumu, you're rolling around on the floor like a child, giggling over the number of comments he made earlier about you and osamu looking all cute together.

while you couldn't wait for valentine's, osamu was practically dreading it.

time skip.

you can tell that osamu has been avoiding you. the way he dodged your attempts of hugging him or the way he didn't answer when you called out his name.

you didn't know exactly why he was doing this, but you had a small idea.

it was the end of the day, and you saw osamu walking home alone. you asked atsumu to stay behind for a bit so as not to ruin the moment.

"boo!" you attempted to spook osamu, and since he looked like he was deep in thought, you succeeded. he flinched and looked behind him to see the one and only culprit. you.

"oh, y/n." he recognizes your cute face, "did you give the cake to yer crush yet? how'd it go?" he asked one question after another, even though he really didn't want to know the answer.

"nope. he kept avoiding me for some reason." you said. osamu only hummed in sympathy.

"but.. now that i have him here, alone, i was thinking that he'd stop avoiding me now?" you brought the boxed cake to osamu's view, and his eyes widened.

"wh—"

"osamu miya, i like you." you finally confess, "actually, i've.. loved you since middle school."

osamu mentally facepalms. his feelings were requited since middle school?! he wasted so many years holding himself back from intertwining fingers, kissing you, and most importantly, showering you in all the affection you deserve. what an idiot!

but this time, he doesn't waste any more of his given seconds.

he cups your cheek and kisses you.

the moment atsumu hears about this, he's going to be boasting about the fact that he brought you two together in your wedding ceremony. even though he most absolutely did not.

© lowercase intended | loveephia

[general-radix]

Project no. 38: Erica Nielsa Nemoto, one of Kei's two gal pals and representative of the Sun.

...so, uh. My camera broke. The first of these images was taken with the replacement I got today; the other two are phone pics.

The actual process of making Erica wasn't too difficult. She was gonna have a stuffed hair-spike like Vince that the rest of her hair would be layered around, but it proved to be unworkable; I'm not sure the final results are entirely on-model, but they look better to me.

(It may be hard to tell, but Kei also got some additional bits 'o hair that helped her look more like herself. In fact, that particular upgrade was what pushed me to make Erica in the first place)

Pattern below:

{sungold} 0) MR 6 1) inc 6 (12) 2) [sc, inc] x6 (18) 3) [sc 2, inc] x6 (24) 4) [sc 3, inc] x6 (30) 5) [sc 4, inc] x6 (36) 6) [sc 5, inc] x6 (42) 7) [sc 6, inc] x6 (48) 8) [sc 7, inc] x6 (54) 9-21) sc 54 {embroider face; top of R15 is top of eye, bottom of R16 is bottom of eye, R20 is mouth} 22) [sc 7, dec] x 6 (48) 23) [sc 6, dec] x 6 (42) 24) [sc 3, dec] x12 (30)

--

[EARS] x2

{sungold} 0) ch 5 1) sc 4, ch, turn 2) sc 2, inc, sc (5) {top point of ear is sewn on at R15, 6 sc away from eye} {embroider earrings}

--

[HAIR, CAP]

{terra cotta} 0) MR 6 1) inc 6 (12) 2) [sc, inc] x6 (18) 3) [sc 2, inc] x6 (24) 4) [sc 3, inc] x6 (30) 5) [sc 4, inc] x6 (36) 6) [sc 5, inc] x6 (42) 7) [sc 6, inc] x6 (48) 8) [sc 7, inc] x6 (54) 9-11) sc 54 12-19) sc 26, ch, turn 20) sc 12, dec, sc 11, ch, turn (25) 21) sc 13, dec, sc 10, ch, turn (24) 22) sc 24 {embroider details and sideburns}

--

[HAIR A] (bottom layer, back of head)

{terra cotta} 0) ch 11 1) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 4, ch, turn 2) dc 4, hdc 3, sc 3, ch, turn 3) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 4 {repeat R0-3 three more times}

--

[HAIR B] x2

{terra cotta} 0) ch 11 1) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 4, ch, turn 2) dc 4, hdc 3, sc 3, ch, turn 3) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 4

--

[HAIR C] x2

{terra cotta} 0) ch 13 1) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 6, ch, turn 2) dc 4, hdc 3, sc 3, ch, turn 3) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 6 {repeat R0-3 three to four more times}

--

[HAIR D] x3 (bottom layer upwards, front of head)

{terra cotta} 0) ch 9 1) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 2, ch, turn 2) dc 2, hdc 3, sc 3, ch, turn 3) sc 3, hdc 3, dc 2 {repeat R0-3 four more times for first two pieces, three times on third piece}

--

[SIDEBURNS] x2

{terra cotta} 0) ch 7 1) sc 3, dc 3-in-1, dc 2 (8)

--

[BANGS A]

{terra cotta} 0) ch 7 1) sc 3, hdc 3, ch, turn 2) dc, dc 3-in-1, dc, hdc, sc 2, ch, turn (8) 3) sc 2, hdc, dc 5 4) ch 6 5) sc 2, hdc 3, ch, turn 6) dc, dc 3-in-1, hdc, sc 2, ch, turn (7) 7) sc 2, hdc, dc 4

--

[BANGS B]

{terra cotta} 0) ch 7 1) sc 2, hdc, dc 3-in-1, dc 2, ch, turn (8) 2) dc 5, hdc 2, sc, ch, turn 3) sc, hdc 2, dc 5 4) ch 6 5) sc 2, hdc 3

--

[BODY]

{start w/ orange} 0) MR 6 1) inc 6 (12) 2) [sc, inc] x 6 (18) 3) [sc 2, inc] x6 (24) 4) [sc 3, inc] x6 (30) 5) [sc 4, inc] x6 (36) 6) [sc 5, inc] x6 (42) 7) [sc 6, inc] x6 (48) 8-10) sc 48 11) cc fuzzy slippers, [sc 6, dec] x 6 (42) 12-13) sc 42 14) [sc 6, inc] x 6 (48) 15-19) sc 48 20) [sc 7, inc] x6 (54) 21) cc orange, sc 54 22) [sc 3, dec] x 12 (42) 23) cc sungold, [sc 3, dec] x 12 (30)

--

[SHIRT TIE]

{yellow} 0) ch 5 1) sc 4 2) ch 5 3) sc 4 {for loops: two separate ch 7s}

--

[VEST]

{cranberry} 0) ch 31 1) hdc 30, ch, turn 2-6) dc 30, ch, turn {no collar; embroider piping}

--

[LEGS] x2

{start w/ cranberry} 0) ch 17 1) sc 16; join round 2-3) sc 16 4) cc sungold, sc 16 5) sc 16 6) cc sungold, [sc 3, inc] x 4 (20) 7-13) sc 20 14) cc orange, sc 20 15) sc 20 {sc closed} {boot trim: ch 18, dc 17, join}

--

[FEET] x2

{cranberry} 0) MR 6 1) inc 6 (12) 2) [sc, inc] x6 (18) 3-10) sc 18 {begin stuffing foot} 11) [sc, dec] x6 (12) 12) dec 6 (6) 13) dec closed

--

[ARMS] x2

{start w/ sungold} 0) ch 15 1) sc 14; join rounds 2-12) sc 14 13) cc fuzzy slippers, sc 14 {sc closed}

--

[SLEEVES] x2

[start w/orange] 0) ch 18 1) sc 17, join 2) sc 17 3) cc fuzzy slippers, sc 17 4-5) sc 17 6) [sc 8, dec] x2 (15)

--

[HAND & THUMB] x2

{sungold} 0) ch 7 1) sc 6, continue on other side, sc 6 (12) 2) sc 12 3) [sc 6, inc] x 2 (14) 4-6) sc 14 7) {thumb} ch 3 8) sc 2

--

[SKIRT]

{start w/orange} 0) ch 48 1) dc 48, join 2) dc 48 3) cc fuzzy slippers, dc 48 4-7) dc 48 8) sc 48

--

[BELT]

{orange} 0) ch around waist {embroider sun symbol dec]

[iambilliejeanok]

🌸✨Come Here✨🌸

Warnings: 18+, punishment, I’m not sure if this takes the number one spot for the worst fic I’ve written or number two.

They day was through. You were very happy to see your cozy little loft, kicking off your cozy slippers , not a care in the world to where they’d land, slipping your sore feet into your favourite house slippers. The house was spotless. Who cleaned? Unconsciously looking at the clock, you set your bag down, unpacking a few items while lost in thought.

What times is it? Oh wow it’s already seven…Nami will be here soon…I’m hungry, I need to cook.

After a lovely dinner by yourself, a nice hot shower and two chapters of your current read, you thought you’d hit the hay now. It was 9pm and Nanami wasn’t home yet. Your head began running in circles, asking yourself questions you didn’t want to have to ask.

Maybe I shouldn’t of left the house a mess today? naww he wouldn’t avoid you for messing up the place a little…I bet he was upset though lol.

The sound of the door opening made you jump. Nanami! You squealed, lifting your hands in the air and running downstairs to meet him. Placing his gym bag on the little table beside the door, he broke out into a tired smile, slowly kicking off his shoes, ridding his pockets of his car keys, phone and earphones.

He was about to turn around and open up his arms to catch you like he did every time he came back home, a familiar routine since you were always so happy to see him…even if he left for five minutes to get the mail, but he wasn’t expecting you to take him by surprise, pouncing on his back the minute he stood up right. He didn’t even budge, still rooted to the ground he stood on even though you pounced on him at full speed. You certainly were not small, no where near tiny, but because he’d gotten so used to your surprise attacks, he naturally grew accustomed to your body on his.

“Hey baby”, he softly chuckled, gripping each of your thighs and shifting you high a bit so he could piggyback you upstairs. It was far too late for him to play around with you tonight. He was so exhausted from such an intense workout with Gojo and Itadori that all he needed was sleep…maybe a little love from you too. Nothing crazy.

“I missed you Nami!”, you said directly in his ear, planting kisses all over the back of his neck, deeply inhaling his after shower scent, reveling in your favourite scent. Delicious. He always thought you were weird for that constantly sniffing him, but he told himself he will always love you no matter how crazy you got. “Yeah baby I missed you too, relax”, his voice carrying the obvious fatigue from such a long day, giving your thighs a firm squeeze so you’d stop swinging your feet. How do you still have so much energy? “Yes! To the bedroom baby!”, you said, Nanami almost at the top of the stairs, rolling his eyes at your little joke.

“How was your d-ahhh!”, you squealed, Nanami gently flipping you over his shoulder and slamming you onto the soft bed. “It was long baby…and tiring”, he replied, falling face first into the covers right next to you. “Aw okay…is there any way I can be of service to my wonderful hubby…dinner prehaps?”, you casually reply, kicking your feet in the air, your hand buried in his hair, nearly putting him to sleep before he remembered something.

“No wait…I’d actually like to have a little chat with you”, he said, your heart skipping a beat. “Yes Nami?”, you innocently asked, only further annoying him. “What did I tell you to do last night before bed?”, he asked, grabbing your thighs and bringing them together, pushing them down until your knees met your torso, the back of your thighs held down by his single arm.

You instantly remembered you didn’t have any pants on, just you, one of Nanami’s shirts because, why not and a pair of pretty, black and red bloomers that held Nanami though you looked very cute in. He found you very attractive when you weren’t really trying…but was still taken aback everytime you did dress up.

You felt his fingers slip passed the band behind you. “Nanami?”, confused, you playfully smacked his arm away and to your surprise, he return that smack right in your ass…a little less playful than yours. “Hey, wha-“, “Are you gonna answer me?”, he cut you off, smacking your thigh now, quickly working your undies off of you.

“What!?”, you whined, earning you another smack right on the same thigh. Fuck. What’s going on rn?

“I’ll only repeat myself for another two smacks?”, he said and you quickly answered him. “Okayyy! Remember I had that brunch with the girls?”, you shyly responded, only earning yourself another smack. It was like each one was getting more and more intense. You were surprised he still had all this energy…he was obviously lying about his fatigue if he still wanted to punish you.

“And what does that have to do with anything darling?”, he said, furrowing his eyebrows when he felt he had to put more effort into holding you down. He surely didn’t have the patience to deal with any squirming tonight. He simply wanted to address the issue and jump right into cuddles.

“I was running late”, you pouted, another smack even harder than all the previous ones meeting your ass. “Yet you slept in?”, he argued, another smack making you whine from deep in your throat, attempting to scoot away from him. “Come here”, he said, a big hand wrapping around your ankle and pulling you back to him before dragging you to end of the bed as he climbed off, your ass bare ad ready for him to treat. He needed to release some stress from the day away anyhow.

You were certainly not expecting the sudden onslaught of smacks all over your ass, your hands coming up to defend your precious ass when you began to feel raw, but his hands caught both of yours, pinning them down to your back, smacking you even harder, your deep brown cheeks quickly turning light reddish, welts the size of his hand forming and god did he love the sight. “Nanami!!! I’m sorry! Please daddy!”, you cried out, attempting and failing to crawl away, leaving you with no where to run. “Keep apologizing, I’m not done”, he spoke loud and clear, your punishment unceasing and his hand now red and swollen from smacking you so hard.

Five minutes later, tears staining your cheeks and having wet the bed, your ass was extremely sore and so was Nanamis hand. He left you laying there, in that same position, all by yourself, walking off to the stairs. Unable to move, you buried your face into the covers, balling your eyes out over the punishment you just received. To your pleasant surprise, you felt a very cold something being spread over your ass, gripping the sheets and biting your lip at the feel of Nanamis hands making contact with the raw parts, the cold thing he was spreading over you instantly cooling the burning of the welts.

Did he feel bad? Not for punishing you, but he didn’t like seeing you cry like this, carefully scooping you up and laying down with you ontop of him. Burying your face into his neck, you felt him put something over your ass, a bag of ice, instantly easing your pain and his.

The next ten minutes involved him hushing you, rubbing your back, saying the sweeting things to you yet scolding you too. “I know darling, the pain will be gone in the morning…I’m just very upset with you, you don’t listen to me baby. Don’t make such a big mess if you don’t want to clean it up next time…but I love you sweetheart, you know I love you”

He knows he’s getting the silent treatment from you all night long, maybe even tomorrow morning too. He’s still going to pamper you like a princess, no matter how long you ignore him. Your punishment was well deserved and he could tell you weren’t going to do that on purpose again. You hate to admit it but he knows, you want cuddles and extra love and attention after that. And he’s got it all in bulk and more.

❤️‍🔥 @sodium-noodlez 💐🙈🥰❤️‍🔥 @rahatake 🥰💐❤️‍🔥 @hkzv 💐🤗❤️‍🔥 @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored 🥺🙊💐❤️‍🔥 @smutteedreams 🥰🙊💐

[charlieswanwhore]

She (Ginny Weasley x Sapphic! Reader)

notes: can you tell im in love with Ginny Weasley? also my first post in MONTHS im so sorry

masterlist

warning: none :) the end if kind of rushed sry

I'd never tell No, I'd never say a word And oh, it aches But it feels oddly good to hurt

Your soft voice bounced around the stone walls of your dorm. Your hands were raw at this point from playing the guitar and writing for hours. You finally finished the song you had written that expressed your feelings. Humming along while tuning your guitar, you were startled by your best friend and dormmate, Ginny Weasley.

“You’re really good, you know,” her low voice comes from behind you. Looking back at the dorm entrance you saw her coolly leaned against the arch, books in hand, school robes keeping her warm.

Shit. She heard you? You literally wanted anything but anyone to hear it.

Trying to not show too much shock, you muttered a nervous thank you. “Oh, yea, thanks, Gin,” Ginny smiled then ran to the four poster next to yours, sitting directly across from you. “How much of it did you hear?”

“Most of the song, I reckon,” Shitshitshitshit. “Well, I mean, not really. I heard your voice but I couldn’t really hear any of the words since I was just down the hall.” Ginny smiled. She had no clue you were singing a song about her. Thank Godric. Relief washed over you until she spoke up again, “Will you play it for me?”

“Play what?” You were dumbstruck with stress still that your mind went blank.

“The song you were just playing,” Ginny giggled and gave eyes of encouragement. That giggle triggered the butterflies to be let out into your stomach, fluttering around as if it is the first time they have seen day. Her laugh was always one of your favorite things. 

“Oh! Yeah, duh. Um, I-I don’t know. I mean, it isn’t gr-” you scrambled to make excuses but Ginny interrupted.

“Oh come on, Y/N. I know it’s amazing. Besides, I am your best friend, I won’t judge even if it was bloody awful,” she grabbed your hand while talking you up. You stared at your hand holding her paled, freckled one. Now you were more nervous than ever. 

You shut your eyes before sighing, “Fine! Fine! But you owe me a butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks today,” you pointed at her with stern eyes. Taking in a deep breath before going to strum you saw her get comfortable and wear the biggest smile ever. You soon blushed but the nerves flooded you again. “Ginny, are you sure? My throat is a litt-”.

“Y/N!” she giggled before you responded defensively with an ‘OK’.

Ginny was patient as you got into your zone of focus. After what felt like forever for you, your fingers began to strum. You were doing it, you were playing her the song. Out of nerves to start the lyrics, you played the beginning intro a few too many times before the lyrics spewed from your mouth. You saw from the corner of your eye that Ginny grinned bigger as she saw your mouth open.

Am I allowed, to look at her like that?

And just like that, Ginny’s expression changed at the word “her.” It wasn’t a negative expression, just a curious one. A curious look that was almost permanently on their mutual friend Luna Lovegood’s face. Ginny mouthed the word “her” before tuning into you singing the rest of the song.

Could it be wrong, when she’s just so nice to look at?

This was the point in Ginny’s head that solidified the idea that you were singing about a girl and that she didn’t hear you wrong the first time. There was initial shock at first but overall acceptance to her best friend.

And she smells like lemongrass and sleep She tastes like pumpkin juice and peach Oh, you would find her in a Polaroid picture And she means everything to me, oh

That was the verse that you were scared to sing to Ginny the most. 

Your head flashed to the day you and Ginny learned about amortentia with their Potions class. Everyone in the class announced what they smelled, but when it got to you, you had to think fast to cover up your answer which would make it almost obviously that you smelled Ginny. “I smell cologne and... today’s breakfast,” your whole class giggled. 

Ginny poked you in the ribs, “Almost no one ate whatever it was that they gave us for breakfast,” she pondered, “except Ron.” Her eyes went wide when she thought she put together puzzle pieces. “You like Ron!” she whispered, not quiet enough for us to not earn a glare from the Professor, though. You shrugged, you wanted her off the topic. You began to listen to the rest of your class announce what they smell, pretending that what you said didn’t matter. 

And I'll be okay admiring from afar 'Cause even when she's next to me We could not be more far apart

It was true. Although you and Ginny were attached at the hip and knew almost everything about each other, you could not feel more distanced. It wasn’t anything that was Ginny’s fault. It was your own. You were keeping a secret from her. And it wasn’t a secret such as ‘Once I wore your favorite jumper without asking,’ it was that you were in love with her. Hell, Ginny didn’t even know that you liked girls. You created such a large wall to protect yourself and your friendship with Ginny. 

And she tastes like birthday cake and storytime and fall But to her, I taste of nothing at all

Your voice got especially raw at that last lyric. You knew she fancied Harry. You knew she only saw you as a friend. You were never more than a friend. Honestly, you had no clue whether or not Ginny would ever swing your way, but you always assumed that she wouldn’t, you did so to protect your feelings.

Ginny was still grinning. Though she had a curious look on her face, she also looked proud. Which, honestly, you are proud of yourself. You are proud of singing in front of her, for coming out to her, and maybe, if it works out, you’ll be proud of being hers.  

And she means everything to me Yes, she means everything to me She means everything to me

You closed out the song slowly. You emotions were on edge. You were proud, sad, curious, nervous, and happy all at the same time. Once the guitar stopped vibrating with noise, Ginny began to vocalize her thoughts.

“Y/N! That was so beautiful! The lyrics, your voice... and ‘she’? Y/N! Why didn’t I know?!” she jumped to her feet and softly clapped. You sure hope she meant you liking girls, not being madly in love with her. 

Blushing, you messily thank her, “Oh- I- I- Thanks, Gin, I really appreciate it,” you awkwardly said, putting your guitar away as Ginny sat next to you on the bed.

“Don’t avoid the question, Y/N/N” she said staring at you sternly.

“What question?” Now you were playing dumb. You wanted to end this moment as soon as possible, you prayed that your friends would come to the door any second saying that they were ready to go to Hogsmeade. 

Without forcing the harsh question, Ginny tried to guide you into answering patiently. “You know... ‘She...’ Merlin, Y/N, that you like girls!” she rolled her eyes playfully before poking you in the ribs.

“Oh...right. I don’t know, it just never came up?” you tried to dumb the situation down but you knew you weren’t going to get away with it.

“‘It never came up,’ Yeah right, Y/N! We have definitely talked about who we like before. I just thought it was Ron all this time, haha! Ron... Thank Godric you don’t fancy my brother,” she was more happy than you thought she would be. It comforted you, but you knew what her next question was going to be. 

There was a moment of comfortable silence and calming from the laughing. Ginny then broke that silence, quiet at first. “Um, who is it about? Who is ‘She’?”

There it was. The question you absolutely dreaded.

Looking at her was the scariest moment you have ever experienced. She had to be pulling your leg. You name dropped her literal scent and favorite foods. Meeting her eyes made your stomach drop. You noticed Ginny’s eyes holding a bit of sympathy welded into the curiosity. Did she know it was about her and felt bad? Was she going to be able to tell from your nervous facial expression?

Her beautiful eyes were a trance that almost took her out of her nervous and repeating thoughts. The one thing that did was a group of Gryffindors stopping at your door way.

“Ginny, Y/N, everyone is starting to leave for the Hogsmeade, you ready?” a Gryffindor boy you both were friendly with asked, a few other Gryffindors behind him. 

Both of you jumped up and scrambled to get ready, “Yea, we will be there soon, thank you for letting us know!” you said, dressing warm in a quick manner. You were thankful that your classmates interrupted the moment. You wouldn’t mind staring into Ginny’s eyes anytime except for now.

You both quickly headed down to the entrance of the school, meeting with friends. There was tension between you too, nothing negative, just awkward. You tried to wipe the last five minutes from your brain to enjoy Hogsmeade with Ginny and your friends, but negativities swirling in your head made it hard, especially when Ginny kept stealing (what looked like sympathetic) looks at you the entire trip.

***

Walking back from Hogsmeade in the winter was awful. For one, it was too cold for what warm robes everyone had on. On the other hand, Ginny was staring bullet holes into your head the entire time. You couldn’t tell if they were pity or curiosity, but to be honest, you wanted to avoid the situation of finding out as much as possible. 

Dinner in the Great Hall was going to be served in about an hour so everyone freezing down to their bones has dedicated the hour to running to their dorms and warming up as soon as possible. Ginny wasn’t an exception to that, she bolted up the stairs leaving you alone to your slow walking. You planned to walk as slow as you could and take as many detours on the moving stairs as you could. When you did walk into your dorm much later, Ginny, now dressed in warmer clothes and slippers, greeted you.

“Y/N! What took you so long? I thought you would’ve run up here to get warm!”

Your eyes shot down to the floor as you paced your way to your four poster, “Oh, just took the long route,” you shrugged, hoping she’d leave it be. 

“Y/N,” you turn around towards the voice, which has now moved right behind you. 

“Close your eyes,” Ginny said. Nervously, you close your eyes.

It is nothing but darkness for a bit. That is until you feel a tug on your neck from your scarf. That loses your focus before it is on the pair of soft lips on yours.

She was kissing you. Ginny Weasley was kissing you.

The kiss was short and sweet but enough to make you shocked and have butterflies brewing between the two of you. 

After pulling apart, Ginny speaks up, “you taste of... butterbeer and... sugar quills,” she grins softly.

You stared wide eyed at the doe eyed girl. She reads the shock on your face and is immediately filled with regret.

“Oh Godric, the song wasn’t about me, was it? I just thought so since some of the clues connected with me and I have been in love with you for two years so I guess I just assumed. Godric, this is so embarass-” Ginny’s nervous ran was cut off by a kiss between you. This kiss was longer. Your arms were around eachother, breath was running out fast. 

“It’s you, you dork. The song is about you,” you confess before kissing her once again. 

[peterxwade24]

Bruce Wayne’s Youngest Daughter Chapter 1

Bruce and Marinette Have a Moment

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” Alfred began in his grandfatherly voice, “is to infiltrate their base,” Alfred took on the accent she’d heard her brother use when he was devising plans, “take down their defenses, and render them useless. You will use any means necessary and return here when you have the required goods.” Alfred stooped in front of her, his hands on his granddaughter’s shoulders. “Do you accept your mission?”

Marinette, a short young girl of nine with blue-black hair and sapphire eyes, smiled up at her adoptive grandfather. “Sir, yes sir.” Her smile was full of missing teeth and her cheeks glowed red. Her blue-black hair was pulled back into two pigtails, secured with bat-themed ribbons, and her eyes shined in the kitchen lights.

Alfred smiled at the little girl and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Go get ‘em.”

---

Marinette knocked on the frame of the door to the game room, her eyes full of tears and the end of her little nose turning red. With the hand that hadn’t knocked on the frame she was worrying the hem of her shirt, one that had belonged to their father but had since been passed down to each new child when they arrived.

Her four older brothers turned to look at her, and the oldest two were suddenly reminded of exactly how small she was. Tim put down his controller and offered her a smile. Damian, the only blood son of their father, simply scowled at the girl and her choice of outfit.

“What’s up Pixie Pop?” Jason asked while motioning the small girl into the room. He crouched to envelope their younger sister in his arms and looked up at their oldest brother.

Dick crouched next Jason and gently turned Marinette’s head to face him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“She’s just being a baby.” Damian spat from behind Dick. “She should get over whatever it is.”

“Lil’ D, that’s not nice. Marinette is a part of this family just like you and Tim and Jason and I.” Dick looked at their youngest brother and saw the scowl on his face. “No scowling in the game room.”

Tim sighed and walked over to his older brothers, his eyes drifting over Damian before they landed on their youngest sister. “Okay Bug, what’s up?”

Marinette looked up at her third eldest brother, her sapphire eyes searching his before she turned on the water works. Big, watery tears rolled down her face before her bottom lip wobbled. The tiny hand that had not knocked was still worrying the hem of her shirt while the other one came up to nervously tug on her pigtail.

Dick jumped into comfort mode and pulled their little sister against his chest, rubbing her back in tight circles. “Hey, Tiny Bat. What’s wrong?”

Jason glared at Damian before his face softened when Damian’s usually cold expression gave way to the expression of an upset child. Jason motioned for Damian to come to him, and was pleasantly surprised when Damian rushed into his arms. Jason and Dick shared a look before they also pulled Tim into the group hug.

Marinette’s quiet voice cut through the silence of the room, drawing four of her five brothers’ attention. “I just miss my parents.”

Jason’s heart broke. He remembered that feeling, and based on Dick’s expression, he did too.

Tim’s head shot up when he heard the sound of sneakers in the hallway. He smiled at Duke Thomas and motioned with his head for him to come into the room. “We’re having a family hug.”

Duke simply nodded, joining his brothers and younger sister in the hug.

None of Marinette’s brothers noticed her hand poking out of the group hug to take a picture and none of Marinette’s brothers noticed when she pulled her hand back into the group hug.

---

Marinette sat on the kitchen island, her legs swinging back and forth as she giggled.

Alfred was singing a French lullaby while he made his famous key lime pie. He put the pie into the fridge before he walked over to his youngest granddaughter and smiled.

Marinette let out a giggle before Alfred helped her get down off the counter. Marinette and Alfred turned to look at the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room when they heard five sets of shoes run down the hallway. Marinette looked at Alfred, his eyes lighting up with laughter. He grabbed her hand and the two walked out of the kitchen, through the dining room and to the entry room.

Marinette let go of Alfred’s hand in favour of ducking behind his leg, because although Bruce Wayne was now her father (Father, huh, that’s a word Marinette never thought she’d use. Even after being a ward (an adopted word) of Bruce Wayne for almost a year it was still weird) Alfred felt more like home, and shot Bruce (because Marinette would never call Bruce Papa because her Papa died with her Maman) a shy and nervous smile.

Alfred passed his son a sad smile before he smiled down at his youngest granddaughter.

“Demon Spawn!” Jason chastised, smacking the back of Damian’s head. “Stop glaring at her!”

Tim huffed, looking at his brothers. “Can you two behave?”

Dick rolled his eyes before clapping Bruce on the shoulder. “Marinette cried today, and we had a sibling hug.” Dick whispered to his father.

“I know. I saw.” Bruce fought the smile that was trying to spread across his face while he looked at his oldest.

“You know? How do you know? It was only the six of us in that room!” Dick looked at his father before looking accusingly at his brothers.

A soft giggle pulled the attention of the boys and Bruce to the tiny girl who was still hiding behind Alfred.

Damian’s face darkened before he took a step towards the girl. Marinette, in fear, bolted from the room and ran.

Alfred, Dick and Jason looked at Damian with fire in their eyes, although Alfred regained his composure the fastest.

Duke just watched as the tiny girl ran from the room, like she was running from a fire. His heart went out to the girl, to his new sister, and looked at Damian.

Damian, in typical eleven-year-old fashion, couldn’t understand why his two oldest brothers were glaring at him. “What?” He demanded, his face pulled back in a sneer.

“You were threatening her.” Tim stated before he passed his father a smile. “I’m happy to see you B.” He grabbed Duke and they took off in the opposite direction.

Dick turned away from Damian, Jason on his heels, to look at Bruce. “I’ll be in the cave. I’ll be more pleasant after dinner.” Dick and Jason walked off towards the cave.

Alfred nodded curtly at his son and grandson before turning on his heel and retreating to the kitchen. Leaving father and son alone.

Bruce turned to Damian, his face expressionless and his hands hanging limply at his sides. “Go to your room. I, or one of your brothers, will come collect you when it is time for dinner.” Bruce waited for Damian to march from the room towards his bedroom before he let out an exhausted sigh and went to find his wayward daughter, daughter that was new. Marinette may have lived with them for nearly a year but never had Bruce thought of her as his daughter until now, wherever she may be.

---

Marinette sat in the smallest, darkest corner of a closet Bruce’s closet she could find. Her hands were pressed firmly against her ears with her knees pulled up against her chest. She tried to fight off the tears that were threatening to fall down her face.

Flashes of the fire that took her parents and home came to her, causing a whimper to fall from her lips. She pressed her lips together and forced herself to stay quiet. She couldn’t afford to allow anyone to find her, because surely she’d be punished for running off like that like she’d been while she was temporarily placed with a family back in Paris. Marinette’s breath hitched when she heard Bruce’s wingtips on the floor.

Bruce opened the closet door, shrugging out of his suit jacket and walking in to grab something more comfortable when he spotted the tiny bare feet that belonged to his missing child. He quietly went about grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that had once belonged to his own father before he walked out, closed the closet door and changed out of his suit. He placed his suit in the laundry basket next to the door before slipping on his slippers, comically enough they were Batman slipped. He reopened the closet door before taking a step inside and closing the doors behind him. He sat down close to his missing daughter and placed his hand close to her.

Marinette flinched away from Bruce her father her thoughts corrected and curled up tighter.

Bruce frowned and looked down at the floor. “I was your age when my parents were killed in front of me. We’d left the opera house because they used bats and I was afraid of bats.” Bruce let out a breath he didn’t know he’d held. “We were in the alleyway because I was afraid but my father,” Bruce let a small smile appear on his face, “your grandfather,” Marinette’s head popped up at the term, her eyes wide and unbelieving, “said that he was the one who was afraid. There was this mugger, he came at us and took your grandfather’s wallet and your grandmother’s pearl necklace. They handed them over because they were just possessions, then he pointed his gun at them and shot them. They weren’t resisting, they weren’t trying to run away. He killed them in cold blood.” Bruce held his arms open, giving Marinette the option to crawl onto his lap if she wanted to. “I never forgave him, nor did I ever forget him. He was caught and sentenced to jail before I met your oldest brother.” Bruce smiled at the tiny child who’d climbed into his lap and was staring up at him. “We’re your family Marinette. Damian just doesn’t know how to be a part of this family yet.”

Marinette nodded, letting the tears roll down her cheeks.

Bruce would always be grateful for the mission that sent him to Paris.

[prismartist]

My dad got me new slippers today because my old ones broke and they're boy sized because "there's no other size for you"

And immediately my androgynous enby self went :D

[keyenuta]

TW Prologue: So enters The Wizard: part 2

(I'm gonna change up how i write dialogue to test stuff out, of you prefer this style please let me know) pt1, pt3

Mirror of Darkness: Your soul's shape is...Ramshackle!

Despite no echo being made, all throughout the room the word reverberated in everyone's minds. How could that be it's just an abandoned dorm?! For what felt like hours suddenly the silence was filled with a loud,

Everyone: Eeeeh?!

As each dorm head and student each shouted out in confusion, even Zoroaster, the boy in question looked at the mirror in shock, his golden eyes widening as his smirk became waver, beginning to crack into one confusion.

Grim: Ffnah?! Wait were getting a new member?!

Grim's sapphire eyes widened in confusion as he looked to You, now without their carpet of hair covering their face, Yuu looked just as dumbfounded as Grim, all they could really do was shrug.

Riddle: H-Headmaster, can they really enter Ramshackle, it was abandoned for some time after all.

Crowley: Mr.Rosehearts, I am just as confused as you are.

Leona: geez, this is too troublesome, I should've just went to sleep.

Kalim: ooh! Jamil, were getting another dorm isn't that exciting! Haha

Jamil: Hmmm, I agree Kalim, it is certainly interesting to say the least.

And all the while, despite all the murmurs and talking in the background, Zoroaster, the boy that spawned this uproar walked back to the mirror and now spoke plainly.

Zoroaster: uhh, you sure about that mirror? I ain't ever heard anything about a dorm named ramshackle ever, we need to clean your glass or something?

His chuckle died on his tongue from the expression of the mirror, it's stone cold face still glowering down on the boy as if nothing was amiss, or was a laughing matter.

Mirror: If you would prefer I look once more I shall, but your soul still reads ramshackle

Zoroaster: wait wha-

The boy was cut off by Crowley's outstretched hand. Resting in front of the boy's mouth as he rushed over to the mirror. While in the background whispers and murmurs slithered even more.

Crowley: Wait, wait, oh great Mirror of Darkness, there must be a mistake, Ramshackle is not a dorm I dont under-

Mirror: Headmaster Crowley, have I stuttered?

Crowley: well no, but why, please at least explain why no other dorm is suitable.

The mirror cutting him off gave the headmaster pause, but still he pleased the mirror for answers.

Mirror: Ramshackle is the shape of his soul headmaster. The reason why is because no other dorm fits his soul. The trait I saw within him was innovation. Now that is all. Please whoever is next come forward and give me your name.

Zoroaster seeing as he wasn't going to get anything more, went over to where Yuu and Grim stood and introduced himself to his new dorm mates. He strolled over to them and gave a playful bow

Zoroaster: Thanks for havin' me here, if ya want you can call me Zoro, no need to say all of it, oh and why's there a flaming racoon here?

Grim: Grrr, i am not a raccoon! Hmph, I am the great grim, and you are my new minion! Heheh

The monster laughed as he grinned from ear to ear imagining all the new stuff he could do with a new minion around. Zoroaster on the other hand looked to yuu who gave him a smile and shrugged, welcoming him in while the ceremony continued.

Up next there was the green skinned boy from earlier, as he walked over to the mirror, you could've sworn his brown eyes were staring at Grim with stars in his eyes. And thankfully when they stopped at the mirror, it broke him out of his trance.

Mirror: Give me your name

Jolting out of his trance, the boy whirled his head to answer the question, his hood flapping with every movement before he stopped on the mirror once more.

???: Oh-oh! Right, I'm Theodore, Theodore Elphaba!

He spoke brightly with a highish voice as he bounced and wobbled on his heeled slippers, while his hands clasped behind his back.

Mirror: Your soul reads, Ramshackle

Theodore: gaaaasp!  Yay!  I got in the kitty dorm! 

Theodore cheered happily as he raced across to Grim, despite the monster's protests he still found himself glomped in a massive hug from Theodore as ge began to pet the monster while in the background Zoroaster trued and failed to hold in his laughter

Grim: hey! Let go im not a cat! I-i'm prrr the great grim!

Zoroaster: awww, nice to meet ya Theodore, seems like you met the great and adorable grim already he teased to the monster. Who hissed between his purrs.

And next up, the Lion from before shuddered up to the mirror, his long mane of dreadlocks bouncing with each step as he shimmied forward. Gulping, while gripping his tail he stuttered while his orange ears dipped down

???:I-i-i am R-Regis Anakh, t-thank you

All through his stuttering introduction, the Lion listened for the mirror to give his statement as his eyes were bound shut, as he muttered in a scared whisper

Regis: please don't pur me in the dark gremlins dorm, please no scary dorm, please-please-please

Mirror: Ramshackle

Regis: That's even worse, oh no oh no, um uh, your great and knowledgeableness, d-do I have to be in this dorm?  I mean I would be fine being in his-no I mean uh

Zoroaster walked up to Regis with a smirk on his face, but he did feel a bit sorry for the guy, so he placed a hand on his shoulder abd tried to calm him down

Zoroaster: Heheheh, don't worry man, you're gonna be fine, no worries, ain't...nobody...gonna hurt you.

His word's tapered off as Regis scurried away from him in a rush

Zoroaster: man stop being an actual scary cat it's gonna be fine, no ones gonna hurt you I promise

Regis nodded fiercely but made no intention to move whatsoever. In the end Zoroaster shrugged and walked back to his spot there wasn't much he could do.

     As the ceremony reached its end, and the uproars continued, you could see the look on Crowley's face. It seemed as if he saw a ghost as in a clean sweep, each and every member of the late arrivals all had been inducted into ramshackle. Dorothy and the tin man, Simon both went in there as well to his shock.

Crowley: a-ahem! I thank you all for joining us today for our late arrivals, as well as the apparent reopening of Ramshackle into an official dorm. It is truly another day of miracles I must say.

The headmaster gave a smile to the students around him as he paced in place, and continued his speech.

Crowley: but with a new dorm, there must be a dorm leader. And for I am so gracious, I will allow one dorm head battle. For whoever wants to be dorm leader, please step forward now!

And out of the seven dorm members, two students stepped out. Though one had to tear himself away from Theodore's iron grip. In the middle of the room, the two students who chose to be dorm leader, was Zoroaster and Grim.

Crowley: i see, very well, Students please follow me onto the field, if you would prefer.

Leona: feh, what do I care about a few herbivores fighting, Ruggie let's go, this was a waste of time

Ruggie: Shishishi, alright Leona bye bye!~

     Waved the hyena as Savanaclaw made their exit. For the rest of the dorm leaders, vice and otherwise, for their own reasons they stuck around. Whether it's simple interest, such as with riddle, entertainment(Kalim) or if its for more unsavory means, as with Azul, they each waited for Crowley to give his mark. On one side of the Ceremony room, Zoroaster smirked a wicked grin, bouncing on his feet as he shook his right arm, as soon an item tumbled from its dark abyss to reveal a black hooked handle. Zoroaster's eyes closed for a moment as he twirled the hook, feeling a familiar groove he snapped his eyes open as a metallic click sounded from the hook, as a long shaft rocketed from the collapsed cane.

Now instead of gold, his eyes have turned an emerald color as with one last twirl, he launched the cane to his left hand and snapped the cane to his side like a showman on set getting ready to perform. Green eyes met sapphire as Zoro smiled at the monster before him.

Zoroaster: So grim, how 'bout we put on a good show, i think the audience deserves a good one after all this

Grim: heheh! Yeah I'll show the great magician grim in action! They'll be like "ooh, look how cool Grim is!" Or "wow! I wonder when I could get that good"

Zoroaster: Heheheheh, a magician vs a wizard, wonder who'll win? Though I will say, my money's on the wiz.

Crowley: The rules are simple, when this mirror leaves my hand, please only use magic attacks only, good luck you two.

Theodore: GET HIM GRIM!

Yuu: Heheh, good luck you two

Regis: please don't hurt me but, y-yes, best of luck

A ear bursting shatter fills the room, it's trickle being closely followed by the roar of flames and a low mutter. Rapidly as an ocean of blue flames stampeded towards Zoro, he made no movement so move, no action to defend, all he did was mutter.

Zoroaster: Walk down a road of yellow bricks and come to see the wizard, of the Emerald city

After the flames enveloped the tall boy, in mere moments a fierce howl echoed all around. As from where the flamed had hit, a thick emerald mist billowed out. Surrounding everyone on its haze as from behind Grim a figure made of that mist drifted out, and with a swing of a cane, Grim was launched back by a emerald bolt of lightning.

Grim: Arrrgh, what the-why didn't you get roasted?!

Grim demanded annoyed, but without answering his question, Zoroaster snapped his fingers, as the very ground beneath them cracked and heaved up, thinning into a long winding road of amethyst stone that Zoro hopped on, sliding on the thin pavement as he rocketed towards grim

Azul: oooh, that's quite the impressive unique magic, very powerful indeed.~

Azul cooed, eyeing the display before him, but in the background, you see Regis cowering once more in the corner, trying to stay very far away from this fight. Meanwhile Theodore was calling grim to shoot a left, and right at the monster. Rooting for him with all his might.

All the while Grim on all his paws charged forward to meet the incoming boy head on, but as he went to launch fire onto the boy, he suddenly found himself shrink more and more, and for those outside, in a poof, they found grim transformed into a small lizard, landing square in the wizard's hand.

Zoroaster: if ya wanted to meet the wizard ya came to the right place, would ya rather be a lizard or frog

At those words, seconds after the words left Zoro's lips Grim turnt from a lizard to a black frog. Eyes bugging out frog grim leaped out of Zoroaster's hand and yelled angrily at him

Grim: nyaah! No-i wanna be normal now

Zoroaster: Pffft if that's your request I'll grant it, don't worry

Snapping his fingers, Grim in a second turned back to normal as the ground returned to normal as the wizard tried and failed to hold his laughter in

Zoroaster: Heheheheh, sorry about comin' off like that, guess I'm feelin' playful today

Grim: phew, hey, don't do that again?! What kinda magic is that?!

The monster demanded as the flames in his ears blazed from agitation while Zoro leant on his cane

Zoroaster: it's my unique magic, emerald city whatever's in this ring, whatever pops into my head i can do. Zero gravity? Got it, want a soldier of stone i got that. Guess ya could call it magic incarnate i guess.

To further emphasize that, he floated on the air and soon a soldier of purple stone was erected in moments. And in the back, you could see Azul's smile widening as he flicked up his glasses, chuckling lowly as he listened to what this magic was. Now he was sure he had to have it.

Trey: my, that seems like a complete opposite to your own unique magic Riddle.

Riddle: yes, that seems to be the case, Trey

Grim: well i don't care how strong that is, ill still show yiu who's boss minion!

Zoroaster: Wonderful, let's keep goin' then!

      The Wizard smirked wildly as he and the soldier charged forward, to respond Grim decided to run while sending out pot shots of flames, immediately, the soldier's rocky frame bounded together and took the flames head on, as Zoroaster hopped on its back, launching him to the cat, skidding to meet him, as in a second, water and fire magic collided into steam, surrounding the two in a blanket if thick fog, but despite this, the wizard still smirking, snapped his hand one last time, as now, a hiss was heard.

As soon, unbeknownst to Grim, from the steam the two had just made, two snakes formed and wrapped the monster up, binding him as the snaked coiled around him.

Crowley: Seeing as Grim can no longer continue the fight, Zoroaster Ozma wins, please release grim Mr.ozma.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Zoroaster gave one last snap as the fog receded, and any and all damage from it disappeared like smoke. Now unfurling grim groaned as he saw Zoro crouch to pick him up.

Zoro: We put on a great show I gotta say, how ya feelin' Grim?

He asked outstretching his hand, which soon met a paw

Grim: mmm, in fine, heh, i guess i can let you become dorm leader minion

Snickering with the monster Zoro shrugged it off

Zoroaster: ya ain't allow nothin' but alright

Crowley: Mr Ozma, congratulations on being dorm leader of Ramshackle, perfect, could you be so gracious and guide the dorm to their home.

Yuu: Sure why not, everyone follow me haha

[alarawriting]

Poodle Pressure

(I wrote this for my first college-level creative writing class, in 1987 I think. The assignment was for a group of us to take an existing classic title -- ours was “The Turn of the Screw” -- and re-imagine a completely different story based on the title. We decided to write about a college student who is cracking under the pressure (I wonder why college students would pick such a topic... :-))

I have edited this slightly to remove some cultural references from the time period that don’t make sense anymore and add some from later time periods that do, and I’ve changed the title, and it’s nowhere near complete enough to be a story on its own -- mine was part 2, and I also did the part 4 but without 1 and 3 I can’t actually even see how 2 related to 4 anymore -- but I thought I’d post it because I didn’t know jack shit about neurodivergence then but I bet a lot of people will find this relateable.)

TW for fantasized violence against dogs. No actual dogs within the fictional universe were harmed during the making of this story.

--

That damn dog is barking again.

It never fails. Every goddamn morning at 7 am, the dog wakes me up. There’s this idiot down there who won’t walk the dog until 7:30, and never mind how many people the dog wakes up. Maybe I should organize a lynching party. You know, maybe get together with ten other people who aren’t too stoned to help. “We’ve come for your dog, lady!” We could grab the dog – and the girl would be screaming, of course, “My puppy, my baby! Don’t hurt my Tootsie!” or whatever the thing’s name is. Then we could drag it out and hang it by its leash to a telephone pole. Cut its throat, maybe, to warn the other dogs. All its fluffy purebred fur all bloody. This can happen even to a purebred poodle, you mutts. So shut up!

What would we have then? Dog retribution? Would the neighborhood Shepherds and Dalmations and Dobies circle around my door at night, with a Gary Larsonesque human doll to burn in effigy? Ah, the hell with it, Berke, you could never get a lynch mob together anyway. Not even a petition.

Why don’t I get up and tell that woman off? “Lady, get your dog to be quiet or I’ll burn off its goddamn fluffy fur.” Yeah, that’s it. Think I will…

Berke, who the hell do you think you’re fooling?

You know, I was up late last night, studying for my goddamn Bizarre Equations class, aka Physics That Make No Sense If You’re Euclid or Newton. I don’t need this. Don’t need a fluffy dog yapping because its mistress (take that any way you want) won’t let it out. It’s 7:10 AM, do you know where all your cramming went? Do you know where your sleep went? Don’t you want to kill that dog?

Why don’t I just put on my slippers and go downstairs and knock on that woman’s door? “Lady, get the lead out, you’re gonna have to scrape your dog off the wall if you don’t let it out.” I said this already, didn’t I?

Okay. Truth time. I don’t have the guts. That’s it in a nutshell. What if I went down there and she called the cops on me? That’d be all I need, with a goddamn exam coming up today. Ol’ Papa Einstein, “I want to know God’s thoughts, the rest are details.” Okay, Al, why don’t you tell me what God thinks of a barking poodle?

You know, I bet if her window broke, that poodle would jump right out and splat itself all over the ground. And wouldn’t that be something. Release, you know? The poodle’s all bottled up in the environment, full of energy. Lots of pressure. So you puncture the apartment and release the poodle pressure, and the poodle comes rushing out and turns itself into a bloody pancake.

---

I don’t know why I did that.

I thought I had it all out of my system, you know, writing it down’s supposed to be the next best thing to talking to a shrink or a friend, assuming you have one of either, right? So I just finished writing about the poodle, but it was just getting me madder and madder. So I picked up my sneaker, went out on my balcony, leaned way over like this is one of those cautionary tales where the young man planning mischief falls ten stories to his death, except I was smart enough to keep my foot chocked against one of the bars so the worst I’d have done is shatter my tibia, and I took my big heavy waterproof hiking sneaker and I threw it through her window, just to the right of her balcony.

As in through. As in it didn’t bounce off like I half expected it to. It shattered her window and went in. And now I have no sneaker.

I don’t know why I did that. I mean, the dog didn’t shut up or anything, in fact it just got louder, and now I’m going to have to go around in my socks all day. How the hell am I supposed to go to class in my socks? I could cut class, but what do I do about my exam? “I couldn’t take my exam because my sneaker was stuck in some lady’s apartment because I was too chickenshit to go ask for it back.” What the hell kind of excuse is that?

I suppose I could try to steal the sneaker back. When she takes the dog out – and it still hasn’t shut up, you know – I could sneak downstairs and into her apartment and take the sneaker. I mean, I can’t ask her for it – “Excuse me, I’m the guy who threw a sneaker at your window, can I have it back?” Maybe I could make an excuse. “Uh, yes, I was – I was testing the wind, yeah, I was testing the wind by holding my sneaker out the window, and it slipped, yeah, that’s it, and, and the wind blew it through your window. Yeah, that’s the ticket!” Nah. I’m gonna have to steal it back.

My God what’ll happen if she catches me? She’ll know it was my sneaker. It fits my foot. “Excuse me, sir, but why the hell did you throw a sneaker and break my window?” What can I say? “Your dog was bugging me?”

Oh, fuck, this is not going to work. Maybe if I wear six or seven pairs of socks, nobody will know the difference. Yeah. “Hey, Berke, like your new shoes.” “Uh, yeah, they’re the latest thing. Flexible Footwear. They’re eco-friendly.” I could say I was adapting to Japanese custom – “I left my sneakers in the lobby. I didn’t want to mark up the nice floor.” “It’s covered by a rug, moron.” “Well, uh, I was Japanese in a past life, you know?” No. That won’t work. I better steal the thing.

What if I cut? “I had to miss the exam on Einsteinian physics because of dire emergency. I had 24-hour AIDS.” Oh, yeah. Right. “I broke my leg but Magic Leg Glue helped me fix it right up! Only $29.99 if you order now!” “My mother died and I had to be present at the reading of the will or miss out on $30 million bucks, you can have a million of it if you just pretend I took the test and got an A.” No, I can’t cut. But how’m I going to steal that sneaker back?

Well. What if I call her up and pretend to be her boyfriend. I’ll tell her to meet me at the usual place, and I’ll burglarize her apartment while she’s out. Only one problem. I don’t know if she even has a boyfriend. Or if she even likes guys. Or her phone number. Or what her name is. That’s four problems, I’ll come in again.

I don’t even know her goddamn name, and I’ve broken her window.

There she goes! Walking her dog! I can just go downstairs now and get my sneaker back. Just slip on down…

There’s someone fixing that window from the inside.

Oh, shit, this has got to be a nightmare. Things like this don’t happen to real people. Why the hell did I throw that sneaker? Did I really believe the poodle would jump out? It was just so vivid… And so stupid. How the hell could I be that idiotic? Why did I throw that sneaker?

I’m tired…

---

My exam is taking place right now. I can’t go. I’m a sneakerless prisoner here.

Maybe I should borrow a shoe from Wood. He’s an asshole, but he’s my size, or close enough… still time…

I think I’ll go back to sleep. When I wake up everything will be normal again and I won’t have lost my sneaker and I won’t have missed my exam. Okay?

You listening?

---

I met a girl the other day.

She wasn’t what you would call a real girl, she was a fake girl, you know? Like some mad scientist boiled down a hundred girls to get to the essence of girl and then poured it into a composite body. Like the Bride of Frankenstein, All-American version. Or what if Professor Utonium didn’t put Chemical X in the mixture so Bubbles grew up without superpowers, as a pure construct of sugar, spice and everything nice. A 3-D printed girl from a high-res mold. One of those anime PC idol girls who comes to life. I kept expecting her to disappear in a puff of smoke or something.

---

I want to go home.

Which is not to say I want to go to my house, the place where I live. No, I want to go home. I’ve never been there before. I don’t think anybody has. I don’t think it exists.

I want to live in a sci-fi dimension where the laws of physics are the same but human nature changes so I’m normal and I’m not alone and I feel like I belong. I can’t even imagine what it would be like, a place where I could be at home. But if I ever find it, I’ll know.

[tsipasce]

Same Difference Ch. 12

A/N: ssorry for the late-ish upload, I got married yesterday! :D

On that note, this chapter is a bit cuter than usual so I hope you enjoy. As always, thank you for all the really sweet comments and kudos <3

Chapters: 01  |  02 |  03 |  04 | 05  | 06 | 07 | 08 |  09 |  10 |  11

AO3

Nanami undressed carefully and ran a bath, wincing as she slid in, the soapy water reminding her of all the nicks and bruises she’d accumulated that night. Exhaling for what felt like the first time in hours, she leaned her head back against the rim of the tub and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Before she could register the action, the emotional dam burst open and tears continued to fall one after the other as she tried to stifle a whimper.

It had all come to a head and the pain she’d been suppressing bubbled upwards and down her flushed face. She had an inkling of what to expect when she got involved with his world. She knew there would be consequences, but the confirmation and reality of said consequences were another story entirely. This is... a lot. Even for me. She thought almost laughing to herself again at the predicament, attempting to steady her breath, But I can—I will handle it. We’re gonna accept this feeling and then let it go. If I let this take over, then what was all this for? I’m gonna keep going. I have to… But for just a little while longer, I’m going to rest.

She sighed, healing her wounds and scrubbing herself gently with her favorite lavender scrub. If she was going to rest, she was going to do it right. I’ll finish up here, light some candles, put on my favorite pj’s, play some music in the living roo—just then she remembered she wasn’t alone and sank down into the tub, suddenly feeling very exposed. As nervous as she was, there was also a strange sense of comfort. If he’s still there, that is.

Accepting she couldn’t hide in her bubble fortress forever, she exited the tub, toweling off and going to her room through the adjoining door in the bathroom. She was still committed to the favorite p.j.’s idea, putting on a matching black and white short sleeve shirt and shorts. Before the thought of “what’s Overhaul gonna think?” could rear its head, she cut it off. It’s my house, I wear what I want. Why would I care what he thinks anyways? She thought, trying to convince herself, rolling her eyes at the notion while also giving herself a once over in the mirror before exiting the room.

Her confidence waning with every step she took down the hallway to her living room, she sheepishly peeked from around the corner to see if he was still there. He was on her couch, focused on whatever was on his phone. He hadn’t moved from the spot where she’d left him.

“If you need something, feel free to come and get it. There’s no need to sneak around your own house.”

“Wha—I was not ‘sneaking around’. Just… checking to see if you were still here is all.” She sputtered, holding her arm, avoiding eye contact as he’d turned to address her.

“Like I said, I’ll be here.” The look he was giving her made her shift nervously.

She simply nodded, briskly making her way to the kitchen to make her nightly cup of tea. Realizing she should probably be a decent host, she decided to offer him some. He’ll probably say no, but what the hell.

“I’m making some tea, you want some?” Yup. Nailed it. Host of the year, here I come.

“No, thank you.” Knew it. Why’d I even ask. She chastised herself inwardly.

Accepting defeat, she filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove to warm as she gathered the rest of her ingredients. The water now hot, she poured a bit into the bowl, discarding it after she swished it around. She opened the cannister, taking a small scoop of the powder to press through the sieve. An equally small amount of water was carefully poured into the bowl before she began whisking, now calmed by the familiar routine. As she lost herself in the task, a small voice cut through her thoughts.

“… is that Sei-un?”

She paused, turning to look at him, pleasantly surprised. “You can smell that through your mask?”

“Yes… it’s my favorite.”

“Mine too! I mean, I enjoy it. A little.” She said pulling back her excitement. “Would you like some tea now?” she tempted, raising a brow. It was nice to meet a fellow matcha enthusiast, though the circumstances may not have been ideal.

“… Yes. But I need to see you make it, so you do it properly.”

“Oh, so you don’t trust my expertise?” she asked, slightly offended, but used to his fussiness by now.

“I trust your taste, but no I do not trust this alleged ‘expertise’ when it comes to preparation.” He began as he walked into the kitchen to stand next to her at the counter.

“Pssh. Nothing ‘alleged’ about these moves. Watch and learn.” Nanami expertly sifted the powder and  whisked until a layer of foam formed at the top, letting her know it was ready to be served. She took a teacup and gracefully poured the mixture, sliding it over to him triumphantly. He picked up the cup, bringing it up to his nose to take in the aroma before Nanami realized he would have to take off his mask to enjoy her concoction. “Oop! Sorry,” She said covering her eyes with one hand as she motioned him to drink with the other.

“You know you don’t have to… Nevermind.” He said before pulling his mask down to take an appraising sip.

She heard a content sigh and rustling as she spread her fingers to peek through, catching a glimpse of his now-serene gaze, “…So?” She asked eager for his response.

“This… is good.” He responded sincerely and Nanami found herself beaming at the confirmation of her expert moves. “But let me show you how it’s really done.”

He went through similar steps, his movements precise and measured as though he’d done it a million times before. There was a peacefulness in him she’d only seen glimpses of in the lab as he carefully prepared the cup for her. She found herself wishing she could see this side of him more often.

After finishing, he confidently, slid the cup over to her waiting to gauge her reaction. She grasped it with both hands, taking in the scent before sipping. She closed her eyes, relaxing for what felt like the first time today. There was nothing like having a hot cup of tea after a long day but having someone else make it for you made it that much better. “I can’t lie, this is great. Nice and smooth.” She replied earnestly. Their eyes met and there was a contentment in his gaze she was happy to see. Realizing they were once again too close, she broke the eye contact, to her dismay finding it was getting harder with each time.  She walked over to the couch to sit and enjoy the rest of it, hopeful she could shake off the growing tension before they had another repeat of whatever had happened earlier in the lab.

She heard footsteps from behind her as he returned to sit on the couch, leaving a safe amount of space between them.

“So… have you ever tried using a milk frother?” She began.

He turned to her, an incredulous look in his eyes, “Are you trying to insult me?”

“What? No, I just had a friend recommend it since it’s faster, but it kinda defeats the purpose to me. Making it is half the fun, so why rush?”

He regarded her, pleasantly surprised, “I couldn’t agree more…”

They continued trading tips and tricks for the next hour, Nanami going on a tangent rather passionately, as he listened intently to her speech about the best tea snacks and why they weren’t pickled plums. Overhaul himself becoming rather animated as he rated and critique how adequately (Kurono) or terribly (Rappa) each of the Precepts prepared tea, unsurprisingly rating himself the highest. The caffeine began to wear off and she tried to stifle a yawn. “I think I’m going to try and get some sleep.”

“That would be wise.” He confirmed, politely shooing her off.

Rubbing her eyes, she took her cup to the sink to rinse it off, swearing she’d clean the rest in the morning. Before she made it down the hallway, she had an epiphany and turned back to the living room.

“I’m so sorry, there’s a guest room here you can use. It’s right down the—”

“No need. I won’t be sleeping.” He responded, cutting her off as he glanced out her window.

“Oh. Well, in case you change your mind or doze off,” she said, her voice trailing off as she went into the spare room, coming back with blankets and pillows placing them on the sofa, “these babies are freshly laundered.” She began walking towards her room before turning again, “Thank you for coming by…Goodnight.” It was almost a whisper as she found herself too nervous to raise her voice further.

Before she closed her bedroom door, a voice called back, “You’re welcome, goodnight.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Saturday morning came and Nanami awoke, feeling surprisingly well-rested considering what happened the night before. Stretching, she rolled out of bed, checking her phone for texts while making a b-line to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Walking into the living room, she saw him perched by the window, checking his phone. Hearing footsteps, he glanced towards her, doing a double-take before assessing the visage fully.

Her eyes were heavy-lidded, her chestnut skin smooth and glowing from a good night’s rest. The skylight in her apartment let in a stream of sunlight that made her silver hair shimmer as it cascaded down her shoulders. She stood in the doorway, relaxed, looking every bit an angel with bed head and silly house shoes. Slowly pocketing his phone to give her his full attention, he cleared his throat, now reassured that staying the night had been the right decision.

Judging by his stunned silence, Nanami was sure she must have looked like a hot mess. I knew I should’ve changed first, but no I just had to listen to my stomach and waltz out here. Who even wears bunny slippers anymore? She cringed inwardly knowing he would never forget this sight, though she had thoroughly misjudged why. Quickly brushing her hair into a more socially acceptable state with her fingers, she fidgeted under his gaze, wishing he would say something—anything—and put her out of her misery. She decided to strike first, unable to stand the silence any longer. “G-good morning! I’m gonna put on some coffee,” she spluttered, “I was also going to make some breakfast too—nothing crazy, of course—would you want any?” She sincerely hoped he would throw her a lifeline and respond, but his eyes were glued to her.

After letting her squirm a bit longer, he rose “There’s no need. I have to head back as there’s an interrogation to conduct. Keep your phone on your person this time. I’ll be in touch… Thank you for your hospitality.” He gave a subtle bow, leaving before she could form a response. Nanami watched him go, a part of her wishing he’d stayed a bit longer.

Brushing off his abrupt departure, she began texting Hitomi to coordinate their joint errand run. Remembering she still had a normal life to get back to.

H: You ready?

N: Yeah, just gonna throw on some clothes real quick

H: Cool. Be there in 15 😊

N: Like... actual 15 or “I just rolled outta bed” 15?

H: … Be there in 30

N: Mmhm~

Deciding it would be more fun to pick up breakfast treats with her friend, Nanami went back into her room to change. She picked out one of her favorite old band tees, some loose ripped jeans, and her favorite chunky sneakers, putting her hair into a ponytail with a fluffy scrunchy. It had been about 20 minutes since Overhaul left when she heard her other phone buzz on her nightstand. Pretending she wasn’t eager to answer, she casually walked over to the phone answering on the third ring.

“Answer on the first ring next time.”

“Wow, well hello to you too, sunshine.” A sigh could be heard on the other line and she would bet money he was already massaging his temples, “What’s so urgent?”

“Have you heard the name Dr. M?”

“Hm… no, doesn’t ring a bell. Why do you ask?” in the background she heard distinct cracking and whimpers. “… Overhaul, why are you asking me this and what is going on in the background?”

“If this interrogation goes well, then soon we’ll both know. Until then, keep your phone on you.” The line clicked. Having to set broken bones before, the cracking noises she’d heard in the background weren’t much of a mystery.

Before she could let her mind wander about the “interrogation”, her doorbell rang. Putting both phones in her bag, she went to the door, seeing through the peephole that it was Hitomi. She opened the door, giving her friend a warm embrace.

“Ready to go?”

“Actually, need to use your bathroom first, if you don’t mind. My bladder and I have not been on the same page lately.”

Chuckling, she let her friend through, “No problem, have at it.”

As Hitomi stepped through the door, her face dropped. “Something’s different.”

Thankfully Hitomi had her back turned to her or else she would have seen Nanami’s dodgy glances as she prayed her friend didn’t investigate further. Getting her involved was dead last on a very long list of things she wanted to do. “What are you talking about? Nothing’s changed,” she laughed nervously.

Hitomi began eyeing the place suspiciously before taking in a big whiff. Nanami watched the scene unfold in slow motion as she was powerless to stop it. Her eyes fell on the pillows and blankets on the couch, then the genkan where her shoes had been displaced by another pair, then—the final nail in the coffin—the set of tea cups that had been cleaned and neatly placed on the counter. Before she could appreciate that he’d cleaned up for her, Hitomi spoke, “… Who is he.”

“N-no one! I mean what are you talking about?”

“I smell…” she inhaled and paused for dramatic effect, “a man.”

“That’s me. I ran through the men’s section of a department store earlier. Got bombarded with samples.”

“The stores aren’t even open yet, you have your best linens folded neatly on the couch, and you have not one—but two—cups out that you only drink your special matcha tea in. Spill. The. Beans.”

“You can’t make me as there is nothing to spill.” Nanami deadpanned, as her phone rang. Judging by the ringtone, she knew it was the one she only used for Overhaul. Shit.

“… You gonna answer that?”

She knew she had no choice as she reluctantly retrieved the offending object, answering the call. She looked down, refusing to make eye contact with Hitomi who was already thinking of a million questions to ask. “Hello?”

“Ok. I know you’re intelligent. So why after I ask you to answer on the first ring do you then wait an additional three rings the next time I call?”

“Oh hey, Mrs. Ito! How are you?”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! I’m doing great as well, thank you for asking.”

“Ok, I’m taking back my intelligent comment.”

“Well aren’t you a hoot n’ a half! But can I call you back later? I’m about to go out on a girl’s day with my friend here.”

“… You’re really bad at this.”

“Oh, thank you! You’re too kind!”

“Text me when you can talk freely. Until then, get acting lessons.” She could hear a slight chuckle under his breath.

“Well that sounds great, I’ll talk to you soon! Oh, and I’ll be sure to put a big ol’ mark in my planner for you, ok? Buh-bye!”

“Wait, that didn’t even cou—” he began to protest as she hung up.

As she was already writing her Oscar acceptance speech for the performance in her head, she confidently pocketed her phone. Though when she glanced back up, Hitomi gave her a pitiful look, “He’s right, you are really bad at this.”

“Ok look, I can explain, I—”

“Hey, if you’re going this far to try and hide him, then I’ll take the hint and wait until you’re ready to tell me. I know you’re not very experienced with dating and all so I’ll give you a break for now… though judging by your glow this morning I’d say someone already came to give you a break, or should I say to ‘break you off’.” She said wiggling her brows.

Nanami narrowed her eyes in confusion for a beat, before she caught on, “What do you—OH NO. NONONO. Nu uh. None of that happened—or ever will happen.”

“Calm down, I’m just teasing. But when it does happen, just let me know if you need any tips. No need to make your first time your last, amiright?” Hitomi said much too suggestively for her liking as she tried to get his voice out of her head.

“Let’s… let’s just go.”

“Anything you want sweetcheeks,” she winked as she went to the restroom before they left.

As they got into the car, Hitomi listed off where they needed to go and decided it’d be best if she went to the post office first. While Nanami waited in the car, she texted Overhaul she had a moment. Almost instantly the phone rang.

“Well aren’t yo—”

“We need to talk.”

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

The Nuptial Necessity - Epilogue

A 12xRose Human AU

Despite an unglamorous job description, Rose loves the work she does with The Thistle Foundation, a charity founded by her best friend’s great-uncle.  It doesn’t hurt that her boss, her friend’s father, is easy on the eyes.  With a great job, wonderful friends and a loving family, life couldn’t be better – except for having someone to share it with.

All of that is threatened, though, when the great-uncle dies – and sets a strange condition for his nephew to inherit, jeopardizing the Foundation and Rose’s future, sparking a chain of events that might just get her everything she dreamed of and more.

Chapters will be posted on Saturdays and Tuesdays.  Many thanks to my beta, @stupidsatsuma

Rated: Explicit, for smut

CW: mention/appearance of kids.

@doctorroseprompts

AO3  |  Masterlist

—

Five Years Later

Rose drifted awake to the sound of birds chirping and the rustling of the curtains from the spring breeze.  Yawning, she rolled over, burrowing down into the blankets.  It had been so long, now, since she’d last woken naturally, that it felt like the height of luxury to stay in bed listening to the sounds of spring, the house quiet.

Too quiet.

She bolted upright, listening intently but hearing nothing.  A glance to the side showed she was alone in bed.  Scrambling out of it, she pulled her dressing gown on as she shoved her feet into slippers, hurrying out of the room and down the hall.  By the time she reached the kitchen she was nearly in a panic, stumbling in and glancing around wildly.

“Good morning,” Malcolm said mildly, his tone amused as she paused and took in the scene.  He stood at the far side of the island, surrounded by baking supplies and clearly in the middle of making a cake.  The scent of bacon wafted from the stovetop.  “Sleep well?”

“Woke up- too quiet,” she panted, easing herself down onto one of the barstools.  “I was worried.”  Fears assuaged, she let herself look him over - even after all this time it still gave her a thrill to see him sleep-mused, hair unruly, wearing a tee and low-hung plaid sleep pants.

He just snorted, shaking his head.  “And here I worked so hard keeping everything quiet so you could have a lie-in.”  He looked at his co-conspirator, who sat perched on the countertop next to him with her face buried in the mixing bowl.  From her vantage point, all Rose could see was blonde curls pulled into a loose ponytail.  “I think you did too good a job of being quiet, JJ.”  Receiving no response, he rolled his eyes at Rose and tapped the metal bowl with the spatula he held.  “Knock knock.  We have a visitor.”

The bowl lowered slowly, reluctantly, the little girl’s tongue straining to catch the last drops of batter before it settled on the countertop with a clang.  She looked up at her father, who pointed at Rose, making JJ turn.  “Mummy!” her eyes lit up, and she scrambled across the island to Rose, throwing herself into her arms heedless of the cake batter smeared over her face.

Rose didn’t care either, holding her first-born close and raining kisses over her face.  “Hi, baby.  Are you helping Daddy?”

“I makin’ a cake!” she declared, pressing her cheek to Rose’s shoulder.  “It yummy.”

“It’s yummy, huh?  What kind of cake is it?”

“Choc’late!”

“That does sound yummy.  Is it for a special occasion?”

JJ’s little brow furrowed, and she peeked back towards her father.  “Uh…”  He raised his eyebrows, mouthing at her, and after a moment she brightened again.  “Oh yeah!  Happy adversary, Mummy!”

Rose smiled, fighting back a laugh at the mispronunciation.  “Thank you, baby.”

“Yes, happy adversary,” Malcolm joked, finally coming around the island to her after sliding the cake into the oven.  “Or anniversary.  Whichever.”

“I’ve heard it both ways.”  She accepted his kiss gladly, grinning against his lips at the taste of chocolate.  “I see your assistant’s not the only one sampling the cake batter.”

He pulled back, wiping at her chin.  “Looks can be deceiving.”

A fussing from the table across the room broke the spell, and Rose eased her daughter off her lap.  “I got him.”  Coming around the side she found the baby sucking at his fist, wriggling slightly.  “Daddy’s got you all cocooned up, doesn’t he?” she cooed, undoing the straps over his chest and lifting him out of the carrier, unwrapping the blankets around him.  “That’s all right, I’ll set you free.”  Cradling him to her chest she returned to the counter, carefully reclaiming her seat.

Malcolm was there to help her, beaming proudly down at his son – at only a few weeks old, the baby was still a novelty to everyone, even his three-year-old sister’s short attention span.  “Five years ago today, we made our vows in this very house,” he murmured, one arm around JJ’s waist to keep her steady on the counter, his other hand on the baby, tiny fingers wrapped around his thumb.  “This was so far beyond my wildest dreams, of where I expected we’d be today.”

“Where, at a divorce lawyer?  The day is still young,” Rose teased.  “Might come down to how good that cake is.”

“It’ll rock your world,” he promised arrogantly, stealing a kiss.

“It better, since you can’t yet,” she countered.  “I have high expectations, my Lord.”

He kissed her again, longer this time, breaking away at their daughter’s exaggerated Eewwwwwwww.  “How could you want to leave this?” Malcolm rolled his eyes, pressing his lips to his daughter’s forehead.  “You don’t love the chaos?”

Rose watched as, with a wide swing of her arms, JJ accidentally knocked the bag of flour off the countertop and onto the floor with a soft Oops.  “How about we leave them with C-L-A-R-A and D-A-N-N-Y and run off together?”  She tilted her head towards the mess.  “You, me, Scotland.”

He followed her gaze, shoulders slumping at the spilled flour he’d inevitably be cleaning up.  “Absolutely.”  The baby fussed then, a little louder, and her husband’s frown softened.  “Maybe for the weekend.  But this is our family, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“Good answer,” Rose smiled.  “Neither would I.”

They sealed it with a kiss – one accompanied by a toddler’s disgust and a baby’s cry.

They wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was chaos, but it was theirs.

[madonna-la-cardinalessa]

Another tag by my beautiful friend @tiffany-of-wales which I am glad to do finally :D

Flower tag:

jasmine; what mythical creature do you wish actually existed? 

Unicorns. And I also believe that what we call mythical creatures once did exist and somewhere still do.

lavender; soundcloud or vinyls? 

May I say CDs instead? I always like to have a CD booklet and like own the CD, putting it in my cupboard and say “ Look, I own this.” – not only on an online platform.

 primrose; what book does everyone right now need to read? 

Hmmm. Everyone? I do not think every book if for everyone but I recommend classics from Goethe, Schiller, Lessing and Shakespeare.

 lunar mist; do you like wearing other people’s shirts/jackets? 

I share some clothes with my mom. But if I had a boyfriend rn I would love to cuddle in his hoodies at times I think^^”

 bird of paradise; what was the best thing that happened to you this month? 

That I finished my bachelor’s thesis. I learned so much and I hope the work was worth it so that I pass it and get a good mark!

 gardenia; what’s a promise you’ve recently made to yourself? 

That I will try to get things done now that I have time during Corona.

 lion’s fairytale; would you rather be the sky, the ocean or the forests? 

Forests!

whirling butterflies; would you kiss the last person you kissed again? 

Definitely not Ö.ö

marmalade skies; do you plan your outfits? 

Yes!

 apricot drift; how do you feel right now?

Bored. I don’t like the current situation.

 everlasting daisy; what’s the last dream you remember having? 

Omg this night I dreamed sm shit, I swear. I was horse riding at night in the forests (no sane soul would do that lol) and found a deserted planetarium.

queen’s cup; what are you craving right now? 

Getting a good mark on my bachelor’s thesis xD Oh, and I hope that I will be able to visit Rome this year – we had to cancel the Rome trip that was planned in a week for obvious reasons..

 lavender dream; turn ons/offs? 

Dangerous vibes/ being clingy and/or wimpy.

 water lilly; when was the last time you cried? 

Last week I think. Maybe the one before that.

 lily of the valley; did the one person who hurt you most in your life apologize?

No.

 winterberry; do you bite or lick your ice cream? 

Depends, actually I do both.

 honey perfume; favorite movie ever? 

Hände weg von Mississippi (2007), Die Wilden Hühner (2006), most Studio Ghibli movies.

 desert rose; do you like yourself? 

Yes, I do.

 snapdragon; have you ever met or seen in person a celebrity? 

Yes, I did.

 night owl; how many countries have you visited? 

Only 5.

heliotrope; have you ever been in a castle?

Many, many times. I love visiting castles and monasteries.

 creams and sky; what’s the craziest/bravest thing you’ve done? 

Riding nearly every day into the woods with my high speed thoroughbred? xD Does that count? My girl is FAST.

 lantana; what’s on your mind right now? 

My horse Poly <3

 pumpkin patch; what’s your zodiac sign?

I’m a Capricorn.

 tulip; name 5 facts about yourself.

1. Even though I may look like it, I am no party girl at all.

2. Since childhood I had to deal with envy towards me which is why I never had many friends.

3. My best friend and I broke up several times – we’re both stubborn but we love each other a lot.

4. My love for history started with a documentary I watched when I was about 14. It was about vampirism in the balkan states. And it manifested with watching “The Tudors”, since then I knew that I wanted to study history – and now I do.

5. Without my friend Sandy I would have never settled down in church history during the Renaissance.

 daphne; do you believe in karma?

Absolutely.

 queen of the meadow; ever been in love?

Never with a person from this time period, no. I hope I will in near future tough.

 wisteria; whom do you admire and why?

People who don’t spend their time with overthinking what other people might think of them.

 angel’s face; what was your favorite bedtime story as a child?

The tales my father invented for me.

 remember me; did you make someone laugh today?

My dog when I offered him a bit of my banana.

 iris; do you believe in ghosts?

Yes.

 lilac; if you could go back in time which time period would you visit?

That is hard. Renaissance Italy sure is fascinating but 17th century Europe comes to my mind more often, it’s weird.

 caramel kisses; would you want to live forever? why/why not? 

Maybe not living forever, But I would not mind at all staying young and beautiful as long as I live xD

 primula; what makes you sad?

What mankind does to the world, to the earth to it’s creatures: plants and animals. I think we deserve to suffer and die out.

 rain lily; was today typical? why/why not?

No, since everything is upside down thanks to Corona.

 queen anne’s lace; who do you trust the most?

Myself.

 Lady’s slipper; what did you have for breakfast today?

Toast with Nutella and fennel tea. <3.

 forget me not; do you have any regrets looking back in your life?

I wished I had done more social things during my teens. I was always studying and reading with my head in the clouds. I wonder how things would be different now when I had been in relationships earlier etc.

 lunaria; what’s your favorite fictional universe?

Torn between LOTR and Harry Potter.

 violet; favorite tv show?

Borgia, now and always.

 sunflower; share a favorite quote.

Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.

 snowdrop; what does your ideal day look like?

Getting up early, go seeing my horse and take a long ride into the woods. The weather would be cold but sunny. After having a nice lunch with my mom I would relax in the afternoon and then go visiting my best friend, for dinner we would have sushi and watch a nice movie together like best friends do. When I got home I would watch an episode of Borgia to relax and then go to bed <3.

 tiger lily; do you have any hobbies?

Reading, writing, history, horse riding, dreaming…..

 peony; share a small random book passage that means something to you.

In Neil Gaiman’s Coraline when Coraline is about to find the last child’s soul and the other crazy old man says: “You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.” I feel that sm.

 tea rose; what’s something you always wanted to do but were too scared?

Partying maybe? I am a very shy person and would feel uncomfortable but I am afraid I miss something always staying at home at night.

 honeysuckle; do you usually date people your age or older/younger?

Mostly about my age, but I like the guys to be older than me tbh.

 sweet pea; who means the world to you?

My horse Poly.

 love in the mist; best books you’ve ever read?

Actually I really enjoy Ludwig von Pastor’s History of the Popes. It may have it’s flaws but I it is really good researched and I appreciate all the notes and footnotes. Even though it’s academic literature it is still enjoyable to read.

 foxglove; who is your favorite cartoon character?

Sailor Moon! If that counts as a cartoon.

 magnolia; coffee or tea?

Tea, I have one right now.

 crown imperial; would you rather be extremely rich or extremely loved?

Can’t I have both?

 snowflake; are you a dog or a cat person?

I love both but probably more a dog person.

 bell flower; what is your biggest addiction?

History.

 cosmos; do you ever think about the galaxy?

Yes, we are so small, aren’t we? And yet mankind pretends to be so special and to know everything. How pitiful.

 moonflower; what’s your favorite color?

Fir Green.

 freesia; do you have a good relationship with your parents and siblings? why/why not?

I think so, yes.

 sundrop; are you a morning or a night person?

A morning person.

 poppy; have you ever dealt with a mental illness?

Yes, but I try to lock it inside.

 clover; how would your friends describe you?

Calm but clever.

 dandelion; do you consider yourself and extrovert or an introvert?

Introvert.

 lilly; what’s something you love watching/reading but you are too embarrassed to admit you do?

In romance novels I am always waiting for the s*x passages lol xD Probably because this kind of thing is missing in my life atm xD

 anemone; describe yourself in 3 words.

Astute, spiritual, special.

 lotus; best memory as a child?

The holidays in Bavaria. Nothing was more beautiful.

 angelonia; what is your eye and hair color?

Smokey grey, blonde.

 dahlia; do you like crystals?

Yes.

 buttercup; if you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

Let everything bad for the environment disappear.

 baby’s breath; what’s your hogwarts house?

Slytherin.

 calendula; biggest pet peeve?

Pollution.

 blanker flower; would you rather go to a cocktail party with your best friends or stay home and read a book/watch a movie with your pet?

If you read everything till now you will now – stay home with my pet and watch a movie/read a book. xD

 blazing star; share a secret.

Why would I?

 carnation; would you rather live longer or happier?

Happier.

 petunia; who’s story is your biggest inspiration in life? why?

I stopped looking for rolemodels but try to live and be the best I can.

 bluebell; do you wear glasses?

Nope.

And I tag everyone who wants to do this :D

[beauty-at-matrix]

1-92 :)

Oh my god :D Thanks a lot!

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? - No, I am not sleeping with my brother :D 2. You talked to an ex today, correct? - Yes3. Have you taken someones virginity? - No4. Is trust a big issue for you? - I tend to trust easily5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? - Last time in December.6. What are you excited for? - Going to Finland with one of my best friends in April :)7. What happened tonight? - Finished a drawing!8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted? - No, each to their own.9. Is confidence cute? - In healthy dose.10. What is the last beverage you had? - Jasmine Oolong tea11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? - Hm. Two. My ex boyfriend and my uncle.12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? - All of my pairs are skinny.13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? - Get home from work.14. What are you going to spend money on next? - Me and my colleagues are going bowling, so that.15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? - Oh I wish I was. And guess what, my last kiss was in December with my crush.16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? - Hopefully.17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? - A friend of mine, Julie18. The last time you felt broken? - December.19. Have you had sex today? - No.20. Are you starting to realize anything? - Yeah...21. Are you in a good mood? - Not really.22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? - That's one of my top 5 on my bucket list.23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s? - Both different brown tho.24. What do you want right this second? - My crush to write me.25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? - Eh... I didn't say anything. I just cried :) 26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? - Nope.27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? - No.28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? - Red Dwarf.29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? - Yes.30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? - If they actively try to change, yes. Someone who makes empty promises...31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? - My brother? Sometimes :D 32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? - I told him, but he was so drunk he doesn't remember anything from that night. Not even the fact we were kissing the whole night...33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? - No.34. Listening to? - Lost Society atm35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? - Yes I do36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is? - I know the country, yeah :D 37. Do you believe in love at first sight? - I believe in attraction at first sight. Love comes slowly.38. Who did you last call? - My boss.39. Who was the last person you danced with? - Some guy at the Presidential Ball.40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? - Because I slowly fell for him so hard and I was getting drunk and I thought: “If not now, then I will never get the courage to do it” and so I asked him for a kiss. Because I am truly head over heels with this man.  41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? - I think in summer.42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? - No.43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? - I think so, yeah.44. Do you tan in the nude? - I don't tan at all.45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss? - No, not in a million years.46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? - No.47. Who was the last person to call you? - My boss.48. Do you sing in the shower? - Always.49. Do you dance in the car? - Yes I do.50. Ever used a bow and arrow? - I think once.51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? - Two years ago, group photo with my bro and cousins for grandma. 52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? - I love musicals!53. Is Christmas stressful? - Very.54. Ever eat a pierogi? - I don't think so.55. Favorite type of fruit pie? - Apple.56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? - Veterinarian, writer57. Do you believe in ghosts? - Yeah.58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? - All the time.59. Take a vitamin daily? - Yes. Thanks for the reminder :D 60. Wear slippers? - Sometimes.61. Wear a bath robe? - Not that much.62. What do you wear to bed? - Tanktop and panties. I can't sleep in trousers or socks.63. First concert? - Nightwish in 2012.64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? - Never been to any.65. Nike or Adidas? - Who cares? :D 66. Cheetos Or Fritos? - Cheetos.67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? - Sunflower.68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? - Blank Space69. Ever take dance lessons? - Yes.70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? - Ahahaha yeah. The stuff he does now :D 71. Can you curl your tongue? - Yep.72. Ever won a spelling bee? - We don't have those.73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? - Yes.74. What is your favorite book? - The Little Prince.75. Do you study better with or without music? - Instrumental only.76. Regularly burn incense? - I have scented candles. So many.77. Ever been in love? - Yes.78. Who would you like to see in concert? - Children of Bodom. But sadly, they broke up... so I guess whatever band the ex members form :D 79. What was the last concert you saw? - Children of Bodom, the farewell concert.80. Hot tea or cold tea? - Hot tea.81. Tea or coffee? - Tea.82. Favorite type of cookie? - Chocolate chip.83. Can you swim well? - Not really, but I do enjoy it.84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? - Yes.85. Are you patient? - Not at all. Working on it though.86. DJ or band, at a wedding? - DJ.87. Ever won a contest? - Yes, and went to Monaco to meet Lewis Hamilton :)88. Ever have plastic surgery? - Not yet.89. Which are better black or green olives? - HOW ABOUT NONE90. Opinions on sex before marriage? - Yeah? Let people do whatever they want.91. Best room for a fireplace? - As far away from the place where you sleep.92. Do you want to get married? - Yes I do actually.

[jflashandclash]

Tales from Mount Othrys

Luke: Uncomfortable Beginnings IV

 “Did you kill them? Who are you and what are you trying to recruit me for? Us for,” Fēi Lín asked.

Luke knew he didn’t need to hide the answers to those questions, but his mind still raced. What if she asked about something else? Something about Kronos that he wasn’t willing to share?

         “I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t even heard of Jackie boy before today. Again, embarrassing considering that someone must have written about his healing, even if a wack journalist,” Phil said, putting his hands up in a surrender position. Either that or showing off the ligaments that he might be about to lose. “Though, if he only sings in choir or hospitals, they could have attributed it to God or doctors.”

         “Same,” Luke said, his mouth working before he could plan the words. “About not knowing Jack or his family. I don’t read wack journals. We’re recruiting you to help destroy the Olympic gods because I’m mad at my dad.”

         Hatred burned in Luke’s chest. He did not like disclosing that last part so casually to strangers. That made it sound so simple; it undermined what he wanted to do to the Olympians and the pain he went through. What Thalia had suffered.  

         “Smooth, kid,” Phil said.

         Fēi Lín tapped the driver wheel, glaring at the satyr. “And you? Why do you want to recruit me?”

         “Hey, I’m good at my job, lady, and I’m proud of dredging through your records. People that get in your way, they do things that they wouldn’t normally do to hurt themselves. Recruiting you will put a shiny spot on my record and I’ll get all the fuzzy feels about helping a kid, since I feel like you’ll do way better at Camp Othrys than Camp Half-Blood. And as to why I’m doing this job—do you think all satyrs like being Dionysus’ slaves?” Phil spat out the window. “I don’t even care if we win the coming war and I don’t really care about our boss. I just wanna be a thorn in that bastard’s toe.”

         Luke made a mental note about how Phil didn’t care if they won. That could be detrimental later.

         Fēi Lín tapped her steering wheel again. “Everybody out,” she said.

         Luke jumped out of the car. Phil was half a second behind him. Luke bit his lip. He wasn’t entirely sure if she’d forced him out of the car or if he’d hopped out on instinct.

         Jack slowly slid out of his seat, hugging himself.

         “Where are we?” Luke finally asked.

         “Somewhere you will act respectfully and ask a minimal number of questions,” Fēi Lín said. She jumped out of the car and flicked her keys around one finger, leading them towards a side door that looked more like an entrance to a scene from Scream.

         In a small town like this, Luke had an uncomfortable feeling that this girl would know exactly where to hide their bodies.

         “The Dǒng residence,” Phil said, “Kid, I know you’re dyslexic and all, but, uh, you can read the files that I slaved over making you, right? They’re in Greek.”

         Luke scowled. With the Kronos dreams at night, directing Cabin Eleven during the day, and then sneaking out during his off hours to set up Camp Othrys and gather an army, he thought he deserved some slack. He couldn’t exactly read files on potential campers at the pavilion with all the tiny Hermes hands hoping for some blackmail on each other. “You could also tell me about them on the way over here,” Luke spat back.

         Fēi Lín led them through the door and down a hallway that’s carpet might have been cleaner if it came from a dumpster. Lights flickered and water stains seeped down the once-white walls. Each door was a faded color, perhaps originally bright greens and reds. There was a piece of trash here and there and, to Luke’s disgust, a used condom.

         This really did look like somewhere she would strap them into a chair and start a very different kind of interrogation.

         She stopped at a bend in the hallway, in front of the single freshly painted red door.

         Jack perked up and rushed to stand beside her.

         Once Fēi Lín finished unlocking the door, Jack reached for the handle.

         She paused and examined him. Her stern expression broke. “Jack…” she said in the best we talked about this voice.

         Jack gave her the world’s weakest smile. He cleared his throat and his tears. “After you, Ms. Davidson,” he said, his voice shaking as he opened the door for her and gestured the three of them inside.

         Fēi Lín’s discolored cheeks lit up. It took Luke a moment to process that she was blushing and to realize Jack and Fēi Lín might not just be friends, or, at least Jack wanted them to be more.

         Fēi Lín briskly entered.

         Luke swallowed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t walking into some kind of trap. Not that she needed to trap him considering what she did to the cops.

         He could hear running water and music. The room was brightly lit, nothing like the terror he’d been expecting from the earlier hallway.

         Jack continued to hold the door and motioned them forward, that shaky smile probably the least encouraging thing Luke had seen.

         Phil walked in without hesitation. Luke followed and also made a mental note to talk to Phil about his willingness to walk into situations that had “death” written all over them.

         “Shoes off,” Fēi Lín said, already setting hers onto a floor matt beside the door. She slipped on some smiling bunny slippers. Not what Luke was expecting. “Zài jiā! Zǎo shang hǎo, Nǎinai,” she said, louder. “Jack hé wǒ de liǎng gè péngyǒu yě zài zhèlǐ.”[1]

         Phil frowned down at his hooves. He’d already kicked off his boots when he assaulted the cops. “Anyone got some plastic wrap that I can slap over these suckers?”

         Fēi Lín shot him a glare.

         Jack took off his neon orange converses and slipped on a pair of dragon slippers that must have been there for him. Luke followed Jack and Fēi Lín’s lead and put his shoes on the floor mat.

         The apartment was small and minimalist. There wasn’t a hint of clutter. On the right, there was a small kitchen with plants hanging and nesting in every open space. The windows beside the counter were open and showed off the apartment building’s modest garden. On the left, there was a table with four chairs and a small box TV that looked like it was from the 80’s.

         A massive framed mirror lined the left wall, reflecting the window’s view. A tiny fountain gurgled beside the doorway.

         There were two closed doorways in front of them, one Luke guessed was a bathroom and the other he assumed was a bedroom. Opera music came from under one of the doors.

         Fēi Lín walked to the door with the music and slipped inside, shutting the door behind her without a word to them.

         Walking into the apartment seemed to calm Jack. He stepped over to the kitchen and set a kettle on the stove. He hesitated, looking at Phil and Luke. “Um, do either of you want anything to drink? Flynn says that Mrs. Davidson, her grandma, doesn’t really like me drinking soda, since it’s bad for my voice, but…” Jack leaned forward a little bit, his weak grin becoming goofy. “I hide some Coke behind the extra trash bags in the cabinet if you’d like one. It’ll be our secret.”

         Phil snorted. “Jeeze kid, the Coca-Cola scandal. How did a goodie church boy like you end up with Ms. Pleather Pants? And coke for the kid. I’ll take a mug if you’re making a pot of tea.”

         Jack’s freckled face went bright red. For a split second, it was like nothing had happened to his family. “I—I don’t know. Flynn can have anyone she wants, and does when it suits her fancy.”

         Luke stomach twisted at the way Jack said it, though the younger guy didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. Something about that felt very wrong. Luke realized it would be dumb to point out how Fēi Lín’s facial scars might limit her partner choices, especially to someone sweet on her.

         One part stuck. “We could have been saying Flynn this whole time?” Luke asked, glaring at Phil.

         Phil shrugged, smirking. “I thought a little enculturation would be good for you.”

         Jack pulled two mugs down from a cabinet and withdrew two Cokes. He brought the Cokes over to the table. He motioned for them to sit down.

         Luke took a Coke from him and collapsed in a chair. Phil sat beside him.

This was proving to be a complicated day. Even though the drink was warm, it felt refreshing after how tense he’d been. Just having a break from Fēi Lín—Flynn?—was nice. How much time had they spent out though? He needed to make sure Mr. D wouldn’t get suspicious. The Stolls, two of his most promising campers, could only cause organized chaos to cover for him for so long.

         At least Jack would talk, even if he did seem a little absent. Luke imagined finding your family dead would do that to you. “So, you and Flynn?” he asked, unsure if they could uncover anything else about Jack’s family and nervous Flynn would storm out the moment he asked where she went.

         Jack’s blush grew redder. “Yea. Her family was new to town. Everyone around here knows each other, so—uh—she was cool. She saved me from a monster attack. She—she’s so awesome.” His eyes turned wistful as he glanced at the closed door.

         The kettle began to whistle. Jack robotically walked back to fill the two mugs. “She told me that I wasn’t broken in the head, that I really could help people. Like…” Jack brought the two mugs over. Again, he conspiratorially leaned closer to Phil and Luke as he set the cups down. “She said her grandmother hadn’t acknowledged anyone since Flynn moved in with her. Sometimes, after I sing for them, Mrs. Davidson will even smile at me.”

         Jack giggled in delight, grinning from ear to ear.

         “Uh—huh,” Phil said, glancing at Luke. “Kid, you can definitely heal people. I guess I’m just wondering… with Flynn’s record, I take it your parents didn’t like you spending time with her or her grandma?”

         It was Luke’s turn to kick Phil’s hoof. This guy had just lost his family. Luke remembered how unstable he was before he found Thalia, when he ran from his mother, and how quick he’d come to tear people down if they criticized Thalia’s clothing after they got close.

         Jack frowned. He sat down beside them, his posture rigid. He stared at his untouched bottle of Coke. “Aston told them the stupid rumors going around the school about her.”

         Phil leaned back. “Is that what you guys argued about last night?”

         Jack fiddled with the bottle. His eyes were so red-rimmed and sunken. “I…. I asked Flynn to prom yesterday, when I was carrying her books to her English class. She gets so mad when I fuss over her.” He cracked a small smile. “But, I like, asked-asked her, not just as a friend.”

Luke took another swig of his Coke. He had to wonder if Thalia would have hit him for asking her to a dance. He suspected she’d secretly be thrilled. He hoped, with everything they planned with Kronos, he’d get to find out one day.

         It sucked that Jack asked Flynn the night before his family died. Ways to bum out an occasion.

“I’d been planning how to ask her for weeks—I mean, I didn’t think she would actually say yes with how stupid she thinks that stuff is and—I mean—I’m just a junior,” Jack continued. His bashfulness died with the next comment. “Mom and Steve already don’t like me going out because of my condition, but the idea of me dating Flynn… especially since they don’t like her telling me I’m not crazy…” Jack’s hand shook as he peeled the label off the bottle. “They’re wrong about her.”

         For a moment, only the fountain gurgled.

         That was a motive for murder, but Luke still didn’t buy it.

         Jack set the bottle down, eyes wide. “B—but you can’t tell her that’s what we argued about. I don’t want her to think—”

         “Jack.”

         Jack’s lips pressed shut and he ducked his head down.

         Flynn stepped out of the room, giving them a critical look. There was a duffle bag over her shoulder. She walked over to Jack and held a hand out to him. “Mr. Sunny?” she asked.

         Jack exhaled in relief. He fumbled around in his pockets and withdrew a—a weekly pill organizer? Luke blinked. They’d named it?

         She snatched it and went to fumble in the cabinets. “This place you want to recruit us to, do they have access to Clozapine, Olanzapine, or Aripiprazole?”

         Phil snorted. “Those aren’t exactly interchangeable, but, yea, I can get them for you.” He scowled.

         Luke’s stomach took a sharper turn as he visualized the inside of his closet, where lights flickered and his mother’s scream tore into his hiding spot. The glow of her green eyes would still perforate through the cracks of the closet door.

         She took pills like that. They didn’t help his mother’s “condition.”

         Extra saliva had built up in Luke’s mouth. He swallowed it away. “Do you… see prophecies? Vision of the future” he asked carefully. He never wanted to be near someone that could do that again.

         Jack blinked, looking confused. “No. I see monsters,” he said.

         “And your parents had you medicated for that?” Phil asked, anger making his voice shake.

          “Well, yea. I see monsters,” Jack said.

         “Di Immortales,” Phil muttered. “This is why kids should never tell their parents anything.”

         Luke’s fingers began to shake around his Coke bottle. This was just like his mother. This is why the gods needed someone to put them in their place. “And your dad just let that happen? Let you think you’d lost your mind and didn’t claim you or send any help?”

         Like Hermes did to Luke and his mother.

When May Castellan did take pills and didn’t have a fit, she was practically brain-dead: lethargic, drooling, and dizzy. Luke tried not to picture Jack like that. He wondered how recently the guy had taken his medication.

         Jack stared at the table, the red-rims around his eyes growing more pronounced. “Steve was the one who drove me to the doctor. He said a boy my age shouldn’t be afraid of silly things like monsters.”

         That must have been his stepdad.

         “That’s not who he means,” Flynn said. She brought Jack’s pill box back over. Her duffle bag rattled with his extra pill bottles. “We can’t go back to Jack’s house and this is the first place the cops will look for him.”

         For the first time since Flynn had opened her mouth to talk that day, Luke felt back in control. He knew how to do this pitch and now he knew, for sure, that he wanted these two at camp. He’d have to talk to Kronos to make sure Flynn couldn’t usurp control, but Luke guessed that Kronos could easily read through her parlor trick. “The cops won’t find Jack or you with us. We’re small right now, but we’re expanding. There’s food and shelter. We’re working to take down the gods so this—” He gestured to Jack. “—doesn’t happen again.”

         Flynn nodded. She glanced around the small apartment. “I’ll need to come back once a week and bring Jack.” She stated it as a nonnegotiatiable fact.  

         Luke wasn’t used to demigods wanting to see their family. He, Annabeth, and Thalia had run away from neglect and abuse. If neither of Flynn nor Jack had run away yet, and Jack was this at-home with Flynn’s Nainai—whatever that was, grandmother?—then she must have been alright. Flynn and Jack would have to worry about private investigators and the cops early on, but he didn’t see why they couldn’t orchestrate their return. “We’ll make it work.”

         Flynn gripped the strap of her duffle bag so tightly, her knuckles turned white. “So, we join your squad to kill our godly parents. Do we need to wear jackets or something that’ll make us targets to monsters?” She glanced down at his bright orange sweatshirt.

         Luke wanted to punch Chiron in the face. “No. We work with monsters that are under a truce. You just need to swear loyalty to Kronos and forsake the Greek gods.”

         Jack’s lip trembled. “Swear loyalty to a false god to work with demons?”

         Luke wanted to laugh. That sounded like a pitch that Thalia would have signed up for in a heartbeat.

         “Technically he’s a Titan.” Phil blew on his tea. “And they don’t really like being called ‘demons.’”

         “If you’re swearing yourself to him, what happens to your soul after you die?” Jack asked.

��        Luke opened his mouth. He paused and glanced at Phil.

         “Huh,” Phil said, “I mean, I turn into a daisy no matter how this shit goes down.”

         “You swore fealty to a deity without asking what it would do to your soul?” Flynn asked skeptically.

         “Once we take over, it’ll all be fine,” Luke said, shaking the thought off. He didn’t know why they were so worried. They were talking about vengeance: here and now. Sorting out the Underworld could come once they had disposed of Hades and his crew.

         Jack set his Cola down and hugged himself again. They would definitely need to come back to the whole religion thing later.

         Flynn stared at Luke.

         “Who do you think is my godly parent?” she asked slowly.

         “Oh, with the power in your voice and that physique?” Phil snorted and took a sip of his tea. “Definitely Aphrodite.”

         Jack glared at him.

         Luke had to agree.

On the wall, Luke had been trying not to look at a picture of a fifth grade girl. Although the distortion of features made it hard to tell, Luke was fairly certain that girl was a younger Flynn. Even at age ten, she looked beautiful and had facial features that would probably have matured to make her gorgeous.

It took Luke every ounce of self-control not to ask her if a hydra had spit acid in her face before she went to middle school.        

         Flynn frowned. She glanced back towards the door with the opera music, her expression blank and eyes hollow. “The goddess of sex and beauty, right?”

         “Yea. Love, beauty, pleasure,” Luke said, remembering how Silena scolded the boys and reminded them to leave the last one out when talking to younger campers.

         Flynn released a laugh, one that contained no mirth and had no smile. Luke felt like he’d missed out on a joke that he didn’t want to hear. His curiosity about her scars vanished.

         “Yea,” she said, “I’ll help you kill my mom.”

         The conviction in her voice made Luke grin.  He stood and held out a hand. “Let’s restart this. I’m Luke Castellan.”

         Flynn gripped his hand tight enough to make him wince. “Flynn Davidson.”

         Jack swallowed. Uncertainly, he stood. He started to reach his hand out, flinched, then fully extended it. Luke took it. Jack had a gentle, comforting handshake, especially when compared to Flynn’s. “Jack Flash.”

         Phil stood up and pinched his shirt like he was wearing overalls. “And I’m Phil: the trainer of fucking heroes.”

         Flynn scoffed and nodded to the exit. She made no indication of needing to say goodbye when she said, “Let’s get out of here and fuck up our parents.”

And, with that, Luke formed a partnership that would last their entire (very short) lives. He just didn’t realize how soon after things would start to go wrong.

 ***

Thank you for the read! I hope you enjoyed the introduction to Luke’s elite squad! Stay tuned next week for The Versatility of a Guitar String, where you get to see what happened at Camp Half-Blood when Percy was looking for the Master Bolt. Follow Luke and Jack as they go undercover to recruit more half-bloods and Phil gets to juggle a corpse—wait—Phil, that’s unsanitary. Please wear gloves!

  Footnote:

[1] I’m home! Good morning, grandmother. Jack is here, along with two of my friends.

[jiwonsssi]

- differences, p. 3

I hate descriptions. Just read.

characters: eun jiwon/you;

warnings: alcohol usage, swearing.

- And so I was all in the cake and he was laughing like crazy and..I don't know, it's funny, I get it, but it was my fucking birthday and I had nothing to change to and, - rumbling, you feel your head spin a little after two bottles of soju that you two finished, - That dress was so expensive. I gave half of my allowance for it. And that asshole.. woah, now I hate him even more.

Sighing, you frown and pout, looking at your glass. Yeah, you do. Alcohol apparently did boost your eyes to finally open up. You look at Jiwon who's sitting in front of you in this night cafe in the middle of the street and he tries his best to hide his laughter.

- Oh, go on, laugh! - you pour another two glasses of soju and Jiwon smiles, getting his portion from your hand. He already told to stop with all those polite ways of drinking and this is one of the million things that you are thankful for, - Those problems must sound silly for you.

You've been nagging him about how terrible Sungha is for half an hour and he still is listening politely, not to mention his laughter from time to time and that soft look which sometimes your mom gives you when she doesn't want to call you an idiot even if she clearly thinks so, but anyway. He's not even slightly drunk, though. Deep inside you understand why he is not drinking so much.

To keep you safe.

- Yes, they are, - you pretend to be offended by the simple answer and he leans on the table, drinking alcohol like it's water; so you do the same, shoving spicy tteokbokki into your mouth like crazy right after, - But I understand that they are not stupid for you so I have no rights to offend you by saying that 'you are too young your problem are miserable' and all that shit. I was young once too with the same problems.

You are truly taken aback. He's clearly the best 40 years old person you have ever talked to. Idealising him is the worst idea, but that's exactly what you are doing right now.

It's hard to not to after all that happened today; your relationship and work is a mess, but here you are, being absolutely relaxed and comfortable. He did bare minimum; but it is so enough.

- That's the best you could have ever said. Thank you, - he bows down his head to his arms, laughing silently and his shoulder are shaking. Did you just make him giggle like a teenager? God, that feels the best, - So you really did has same troubles? Were you a troublemaker back then?

Jiwon raises his head up, opening a new bottle of soju and you laugh at his 'hell yeah I was' expression.

- Before I speak we should drink at least half of this one, - he pours your glasses again and you drink, feeling your throat burn slightly. You had plans on getting drunk, you are on your way.

- I'm not going to run away, - trying to reassure him, you smile and you find him so damn handsome. You blame it on the alcohol, but you know that's a lie.

He is. Damn, he so is. In the dim lights of the night restaurant, his sparkling because of alcohol and small smile eyes; fuck, you can scream about the color of his goddamn eyes. You just don't want to go all romantic force on how you lost in it, but just to make it clear: you do. Helplessly lost.

And the way he licks his lips sometimes; you are trying desperately to ignore it. You really do. But you would do anything if it means that his tongue would be on your skin right now. Wherever he wants.

You blink, waking up from that little trip that you never wanted to experience and pretend like you didn't imagine blowing him off under that exact table. No big deal.

- I was wild, when I was at your age. That's even sound.. oh my, - he brushes his face with both hands and you finally realise what is he's so afraid of, - I did everything to fuck up my relationships with family and, sometimes, society. Felt edgy or something. I pay for it till this days and it's been almost 20 years. Sounds dramatically.. scary.

- Absolutely not, - why do you feel offended? The feeling that you should protect him from himself suddenly arose and you have no idea how to fight that, - I.. you are not old!

You mumble, not being able to contain your drunken thoughts and breath heavily.

- I am, - he smiles at you with such a soft look in his eyes. God. He could be sixty and you would still find him the best, - Don't fight me on that, you know it's true.

He sounds really cheerful but at the same time you can't deny how sad he actually is. It's heartbreaking to see a man who's worth thousands, feel himself like shit about goddamn age. Maybe you don't understand, you are young and blah blah. Maybe he will think that you don't understand; fuck him then. You understand everything, but alcohol in your blood mixed with slow realisation of break up going on at the back of your mind and anger at him for saying that messes up pretty much everything you were going to say.

- You are an idiot, - he stops in the midst of pouring you another glass and looks at you with such mixed emotions you can't even separate them. He looks adorable, waiting for a continuation of your thought with pure interest and faked offend and you decide to make him even more confused, because that's how we live, - What? Will you punish me? Was I a bad girl?

You make the purest and cutest face you could manage and bite you lower lip. Before he can contain himself, you totally saw him gulping and gazing at your lips. You saw and you blame wave of warmness spreading in your body on alcohol and not on the thought of him kissing you. Or punishing. Or.. Whatever.

- What th..

- My point is, you can count yourself, as old, how much you want, but for me, it will not change the fact that you are still absolutely able to get it, - you were not expecting to say something like that but for someone who wasn't ready, you spoke way too confidently.

- I didn't say I am not able to get it, - his gaze is so intense all of a sudden and you badly want to kiss that smirk off his face. And considering the amount of glasses you have drunk, you might actually able to try, - I was talking about different things.

You are so annoyed! He looks so pleased with himself you don't want him to look like that.

No, you want. He made you frustrated and he didn't even touch you.

Jiwon looks like a total asshole with his shiteating grin, leaning comfortably in a goddamn plastic chair, making it obvious that he checks you out. An asshole you would happily let ruin you in so many ways.

You don't want him to look so attractive because he's dangerous like that. What you said earlier, is true. He is so able to get it. Anything he wants.

It's alcohol speaking in your mind. Probably. Hopefully. G o d, hopefully.

- Are going to stare at me till the night is over? - yes, you were staring. So what? Huh? What? Oh God, you are done.

- Do you want me to do something else? - the game is for two players, right? You take off one of your slippers under the table, not even thinking about how right or wrong it will be. You are drunk, just broke with a dickhead and.. why not? Jiwon's face changes instantly when you touch his leg with yours, slowly and gently getting higher. You lick your lips, biting on the lower one, looking him directly in the eyes and you can swear you have never felt more desired. He just sits there, doing nothing and you can see everything in his eyes. Every fucking thing he wants to do.

It doesn't take much time before you feel his hand sliding smoothly up your ankle and maybe it's because alcohol (you blame way too much on alcohol today) in your veins busted your senses to the max, but you feel such a need for him just because of the one touch. His touches are light, but you can feel how firm and warm his hand is. Fuck. If underessing with a stare would be possible, you sure he won't be even bothered by taking your panties off to not waste time. God, you don't mind.

The only time he breaks eye contact is when he stares at your parted lips, slowly licking his and how he bites it when you push your leg along his thigh. The urge to kiss him is so strong. You met his eyes again and the moment he caress your knee with his fingers, you can't contain yourself and soft whine that escapes your lips ruin it all.

You broke the moment.

Jiwon shrugs and lets you go, muttering something you can't hear.

You would be begging him to continue, but the look on his face.. It's the first time you get rejected but care about the other person instead of your pride.

He closes his eyes and takes his phone with a loud exhale.

- It's so late. I'll call you a taxi, - Jiwon doesn't look at you, taking a wallet and heads towards the cassier.

The game is for two players and everyone lost. You wanted nothing more than come home, bury your head in pillow and cry the whole day away. What were you hoping for? Spend that one night together just because he was generous enough to take care of you through the whole day? You start to think that if he will think a whore who sleeps with men for money out of you, he won't be wrong. It all was so wrong.

You were so ashamed. Like crazy, you felt your cheeks burning, the heat spreading everywhere on your face. God.. it was the worst thing ever.

- Hey, I.. - you hear his voice again and you feel how it literally got worse. It's not healthy, you are afraid to even look at him.

- It's okay. I understand everything. I'm truly sorry for what I did, - you stand in front of him, trying to avoid his eyes and the atmosphere changes so suddenly. A moments ago you felt the best in weeks and now it's.. The lowest, honestly. The deep end.

- You didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't have drink that much. I am sorry, - you look at him and you can bet his mood is the same. He looks so down. Yet Jiwon sounds so sincere. And sad. And maybe you understand clearly now what he meant earlier about his age.

Responsibilities. He has so many of them.

The thing is, you are absolutely, one hundred percent sure about what he was thinking when you touched him. God, a few moments more and bet it wouldn't end like that. You are not blind.

But the decision he made was like a pretty much a fair slap for you to quit with it. Not because he didn't like you or what you were doing; but because he knew it won't be right.

Even now, he doesn't make you feel uncomfortable, taking the blame on himself.

- It's natural. We both are drunk. You are not the only one who got carried away, - he avoids eye contact, grabbing his phones from the table and you stand up, feeling way more sober now. Jiwon heads to the exit and you follow him, saying goodbye to the waiter.

The cool of the night feels amazing and you inhale deeply, trying to clear your thoughts. Jiwon stands near you, staring into nowhere and you have no idea how you survived this day. It was such a mess. And it still is.

- Aren't you going with me or..? - he left a car in front of YG and you get here by taxi. It's not like he could drive anyway. And you don't want to stand in silence. Even though it's not awkward, as you expected it to be. Just.. tough.

- I live not so far from here. Will walk there, I need to think anyway, - Jiwon smiles at you, putting his hands in pockets and you nod, returning a smile.

- Thank you for the evening. It was great, I enjoyed it anyway. I would cry the whole time if not you, - he looks at you, pouting a little and you want to squish his cheeks. Bad idea.

- Nah, it's okay. I had fun too, - now Jiwon smiles a lot more natural and you are so happy about it.

A car stops in front of you two and he opens a door, waiting for you to sit. You stop standing next to him, trying to find the right words for what you are about to say.

- About earlier.. I'm sorry if it was offensive. I truly am. I haven't thought before doing. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, - he looks you dead in the eyes, gripping on a door and you are afraid you made it worse. As usual.

- Stop with it. I wasn't uncomfortable or offended, - he stops for a second, sigh heavily looking elsewhere, - And that's the main problem. Sleep tight.

He walks away just like that and you.. you can't stop him anyway.

For you, this evening was a great way to sort out many things. That you don't care about Sungha, as a boyfriend, and that the one you loved in him was gone a long time ago, you just didn't want to admit it. You care more about what people might think of you and that's the biggest problem of it all. The bigger might be only the fact that you start to feel things to someone, who's not even slightly will give you a chance. Today, he made it as clear as day. And somehow it makes you feel so miserable. And you planned on crying in your pillow anyway, right?

And for Jiwon, it wasn't that bad. He didn't cry in his pillow, at least. He just thought that from his side, it was so fucking disgusting to make a drunk girl who just broke up with another dumbass flirt with him and what was even more disgusting, he never planned on jerking off with her under his eyelids. For him, it's not that bad, but he doesn't feel himself any better

[btshobicore]

Fate: Harry styles x reader

Plot: you are an aspiring interviewer with a love for One Direction®. When they split, so did your heart. You loved one direction with all your heart, especially Harry Styles. Although, your life turns upside down with just one unlikely encounter...

Word count: 1k+

~

Slowly, you let out an elongated sigh, as you held your head in your hands. You were supposed to be interviewing Drake this weekend for your company, and it was supposed to be your biggest job yet. Unfortunately, it got cancelled at the last minute. As upset as you were, you couldn’t let this overwhelm you, and decided to promptly get back to work.

Once work finished, you finally entered your home, collapsing on your bed. A low grunt escaped your lips as you glanced up at your One Direction® poster, “you guys wouldn’t bail on me, right?,” you said as you shook your head. “What am I saying?” You face planted once more into your one direction pillow and pulled your matching one direction blanket over your body. All you wanted right now was sleep to consume you, and, if you’re lucky, you might get a visit from Harry Styles, your all time crush, in your dream.

Ever since you were a child, you have always loved One Direction®, so naturally, when they broke up, your life fell apart. One Direction® was the only music you ever listened to, or still listen to. You refuse to listen to anything else, afraid that you might seem unfaithful.

From under the blanket, you reach out to grab your phone, which is covered with a One Direction® case. You click onto Harry’s story, wondering what the boy might be up to. “What’s up guys, I’m just on the plane back from Florida from my photo shoot, hope you’re all doing well! Love you guys!” You softly chuckled to yourself at the boy’s uplifting spirit and his enlightening smile. You couldn’t help but smile back. “Oh harry, if only you could be here with me. Life would be sooo much better,” you complained to yourself how you would love to have him here with you, although you knew it would be almost impossible for it to actually happen. Before you know it, you feel your eyes getting heavy as you fall into a deep sleep.

“Hey babe, wake up, you’re gonna be late for work!”

You heard a voice speaking at you, lightly shaking your body. Still held back from your sleep, you tried opening your eyes to see who this mysterious being was, as you lived alone and didn’t expect anybody to come and wake you up. Blinking repeatedly, your sight was finally clear. Nobody was there. So, who was that then? You shook it off when you realised you genuinely were going to be late. Today you were interviewing a mystery guest, as it was a sudden placement, so you were excited to see who it would be. You pulled your One Direction® hoodie over your head, slipped on your One Direction® limited edition shoes and headed out the door, taking one last glance at the posters covering your wall.

You pulled your car up into the parking lot and rushed into the building, hoping that nobody would notice that you’re late. “Look who decided to show up”, ugh, it was your annoying coworker Mindy. No matter the situation, Mindy would always find a way to squeeze in some time for snide remarks towards you. “Shut it Mindy”, you shot back. Your boss directed you to the door in which your biggest audition yet would be, and you quickly looked down at your One Direction® photo card, which you keep in your bag at all times for good luck, and stepped into the room.

Your eyes shot wide open in shock. The person who was staring right back at you was none other than...

“Harry styles, and you are?” he said, with a twinkle in his eyes. Oh. My. God. It was really him, living, breathing, in the flesh, whatever. It was really, really him. You audibly gasped and began hyperventilating, you just couldn’t believe the situation. Was this even real? “Umm, I think he asked for your name, idiot”, Mindy said from the side as she scoffed. While patting down your clothes, you opened your mouth to speak, but no words were coming out. “I-I’m Y/N”, you finally managed to sputter out. “Nice to meet you Y/N” he softly said back, your heart almost melted as he flashed a sweet smile to you. Mindy rolled her eyes in jealousy and left the room. “Shall we get started?” Harry asked, with innocence gleaming in his eyes. “Um sure haha” you said back as you took a seat opposite him.

“So, what would you say was the most defining moment of your career”

“Hmm, that’s a tough one,” he said with an adorable laugh. “I would have to go with when the band broke up” Your heart broke in two, how could he say that? One Direction® was possibly the best thing to ever happen to this earth. You shook it off and continued with the interview.

“Most people are intrigued by your secret hidden talents, but many don’t know about your secret body tricks. Are there any secret body tricks you have that we don’t know about?” Noticeably, Harry began shifting in his seat, he looked slightly uneasy. “O-oh I’m sorry Mr Styles if that was an uncomfortable question for you, I’ll ask you another one” you said, quickly trying to change the subject. “No no, it’s fine haha, I was just thinking about my answer innit” he responded, playing it off cool. Soon, the interview ended, even though you didn’t want it to, you were still star struck by the fact that The Harry Styles was being interviewed by you. “Oi Y/N, you did a proper good job today, I hope I get to see you again sometime soon” Harry said with a wink as he lightly gripped your arm. You stared back at him but weren’t able to mutter any words out, you were still trying to grasp this whole situation. Before he could walk away, you grabbed his arm, without a thought, and asked him for his number. Because of his slightly confused face, you mentally beat yourself up for doing this. Although, to your surprise, he lets out a little laugh and pulls out his phone, only to reveal that he has the same One Direction® phone case as you! He swiftly inputted his number and gave you a little wink before speeding off. This day keeps getting more and more unreal for you!

You drove home as fast as you could and quickly verified his number in your phone; this had to be the greatest moment of your life. You hovered your thumbs hesitantly above the keyboard before switching off your phone, “I can’t message him first, that’ll be so lame and he won’t like me if I do” Slipping on your One Direction® pyjamas and One Direction® slippers, you heard your phone sound off to your One Direction® ringtone, this had to be him! You ran to your phone, but waited a few seconds to pick it up, to seem more nonchalant. “Whassup mate?,” he sang into the phone. “How you doin’?” His overly British accent was slightly annoying, but bearable. “I’m fine, how are you?” “Well lovely, I was just wondering if you’d like to go on a little date with me” Your eyes widened in shock, not knowing what to say, you began muttering words to yourself. “It’s alright mate if you don’t wanna go, I just thought you looked well nice. To be honest, I might’ve thought you were kinda into me...” Harry styles liked you? This day got better and better for you. “No no, it’s not that I don’t like you, I mean I love you, I mean it’s just that I d-don’t know what to say” “How ‘bout dinner at 9 tomorrow? Sound good?” How was he so smooth. “U-um sure, dinner sounds good, but where are we going to-” and the line disconnects. He hung up on you without telling you where you were even going to meet!

It was the day you would have dinner with Harry, you could barely even sleep knowing that this was actually real! It all seemed so fake. You jumped into your best clothes, slipped on your shoes and stared at yourself in the mirror. This was really happening. Out of nowhere, you heard a knock at your door. Nobody in particular knows where you live, so who could this be? You slowly walked over to the door and twisted the handle, being cautious on who might be on the other end of the door. Pushing all your worst thoughts behind, you yanked the door open. It was Harry. “Harry? How did you know where I live?”

To be continued