#and nico is so charmed but can’t let anyone know he’s actually a romantic so he and will dance around each other for weeks and weeks

[marbleheavy]

so true of me but also Nico is totally the head barista and he pretends to be so aloof and cool but takes it SO seriously and is a huge coffee nerd! also i think rachel would get really into making scones and she makes a new sweet and savory flavor for each day!! hazel bakes everything else and also curates a lot of the materials and goods in the shop

Hazel and Rachel open a joint coffee and magic shop called Heebie-Ouijas!! They sell drinks that have names based off of tarot cards as well as a bunch of magic and otherwise spiritual items and goods!! Also, obviously, there are a bunch of books there and a whole back room with rare plants

[hellswolfie]

The Mark of Athena Review

Ok so once again i continue reading “The Heroes of Olympus” and once again i need to vent so Tadaaaaa !!

So before I start, here is a  more general Review : I really REALLY liked this book. Favorite of the serie so far. Also, obviously, SPOILERS !!

THINGS I DIDNT LIKE : 

- The role of Frank : I can maybe forgive that, because with 7 main characters i  understand it’s difficult to give them all an important role in one single book. But I really loved him in “The Son of Neptune” and I really wanted to see more of him, and the most of what we got was him being the Jealous Boyfriend. It was kind of disappointing so I hope it’ll change in the next books. 

- Piper : it costs me a lot to put her there because I really really loved her in “The Lost Hero” but I have to admit I didn’t like one single chapter of hers in “The Mark of Athena”. Or at least not completely. In the first book there was the relationship with her dad, her culture, her dealing with the fact she was an Aphrodite children, the begining of a friendship with Annabeth and Leo... But in this book ? It’s only about Jason. Endlessly. And it’s so tiring and eyeroll worthy, especially when we compare her “issues” over JASON with the others’. And even without that, she was really not a great person in this book and not in the interesting way : she was ready to put the whole World in danger just so Jason wouldnt stay in New Rome, kept Charming Up her friends just for convenience (like srsly i know thats not supposed to be a Big Deal but thats still mind control so yikes), and when it came down to it, no matter what she said about how Leo is like her little brother or Annabeth is her BFF, she only gave a crap about Jason Jason Jason...There was barely a scene of her with the other two. And I find it frustrasting that it didn’t even feel like the plot during her chapters were about her, but more about Jason and her being a support for him, even though they were HER chapters !!

- Jasiper : Well I guess that’s not really a surprise lol. I never liked this pairing and this book didn’t change my mind on that at all. Piper keeps clinging to the three months THAT NEVER HAPPENED (and that apparently weren’t faithful to Jason’s character like srsly is she even really in love with HIM or the idea of him she had in her mind ?) instead of the 8 real months they spent together, thinks it’s a miracle when Jason appologizes (he’s a real catch huh ?) and is so so sure he’ll leave her to go to New Rome which first : wow you really have faith in this relationship huh ? But also second : why is this such a Big Deal ?? Even if he did go to New Rome she could still follow him (she made it pretty clear she’d leave all of her friends in Camp Half Blood to be with him), it’s not like he’s a whole new different person when he’s there !! And my baby Reyna was so hurt by that, like Jason was a reall asshole here, even if he was oblivious and didn’t realize her feelings for him she’s still supposed to be his friend and the first thing he asks after 8 months of disappearing is if he can spend alone time with his gf ? And I found it kind of frustrating that in the end, all the others left on their own to do their own things (yk, to save the fucking world ?) while literaly risking their life and Jasiper just...went on a date. Like seriously ? So yeah. Not a fan. 

- The whole Frank x Leo “rivalery” : Why make another older character be attracted to 13 years old ?? Can you stop that ??? Leo could also be a real ass sometimes, even tho I still love him and Frank well...I already talked about that. This book had enough pissing contests between guys as it is. 

- Percy apparently forgetting all the Hercules stuff  he learned in “The Titan Curse”. I know it might not seem like THAT much of a deal but it was a really important thing for his character ? That he learned how Heroes, especially Hercules, were real assholes too and that he had to learn to not be like them ? That Zoe, his friend who sacrificiced herself to save the world, was treated like shit by this guy but now he was still like “omg this is Hercules I SO want to meet this guy he seems great !!” ???. It was just one sentence but I hated it. 

- The focus on the Romantic relationships. Look I have nothing against romance and ships. I love romantic love in stories !! But I also love friendships and I really wish this book would have given us more of that instead of spending so much time on romantic relationships. I mean it is pretty well illustrated in the end of the book when they all separate : all the groups are romantic pairings. Percabeth, Jiper, and Frazel with Leo who has kind of a crush on Hazel. And as much as I love Frazel and Percabeth, where are the friendships ?? Percy and Jason’s relationship was supposed to be very important in this book so why didn’t we see more of that ?? What about the friendships that were already established like Percy with Frank and Hazel, Leo with Piper and Jason, Piper and Anabeth,...And all the new friendships that could have had more screen time like Annabeth and Frank or something !! So yeah that was disappointing. 

THINGS I LOVED : 

- the River God scene. Ok so yes I kind of lied : I enjoyed this chapter of Piper. Well this scene at least. And only kind off, because it is still a Jasiper moment but anyway. In my last review of “the Son of Neptune”, I mentionned how it always annoyed me that the heroes have a habit of always making the Good Moral Decision, without any hesitation, even if the fate of the world is in the balance. I was like “Give me morally conflicted characters damn it” !! And that’s what I got here. Piper having to lie to the God, taking his horn that was so important to him, even tho he was just a very tragic dude, to save Jason and the World, realizing that even if it is bad and she feels like shit after doing it, she still had to do it...YES !!! THANK YOU !! I LOVED THAT !!!

- The LEO X NICO INTERACTIONS !!!!!! After spending 2 books shipping them (they’d fit so well together i will die on this hill) they finally talked !!! Well once, and about the fact that Percabeth just fell into fucking Tartarus but like !!! TALKING !!!! And the first thing Nico tell him is to reassure him <3 (look I know it won’t be canon but the POTIENTIAL!!!)

- Annabeth’s chapters. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t like them like we finally got her point of view people !!! And it was awesome !!! I loved seeing her on a quest, the way she thinks and sees the world, how she uses her intelligence,... Like she’s so brave and smart but also so sentimental even tho she’d never admit it (like getting emo about having lost the white hair because it was a connection with Percy ? My baby is so fucking precious). And obviously we already knew that but to actually be in her head ??? It was so fucking good !! And it really succeeded to make me feel so much for her, like she’s just a kid and her mother literaly sent her to her death and she was so scared but she still kept going (only to end up in Tartarus WHYYYYYY) and I’m so proud of her. I love this character so much !!

- Percabeth : The reunion !!!! FINALLY !!!! That’s my first ever OTP right there and they’re so in love !! They’re such a badass power couple and they love eachother so fucking much !! God i missed them X( I loved every Percabeth scenes, they were so adorable and beautiful. I loved how even tho they are differents and are not always in the same page, they still know eachother so well and the communication was just so cheff’s kiss. And omg their lasts scenes together ?? Chills !! Like when Percy almost begged the (kind of?) gods to let him stay just a few more moments with her because he was so scared of never seeing her again almost brought tears to my eyes and then of course their final scene when they fall together into Tartarus, because all that matter is that they’re together...MY HEART !!!

- Percy’s and Leo’s chapters. I put them together because I don’t have much  to say except that I love them so much and that I would literaly lay down my life for this two. Their chapters are always such joy to read, and after one whole book without him, I was really glad to get back with Leo. Probably the funniest chapters too. 

- The Crazy Dolphins scene. This scene was fucking hilarious. Pic comedy ^^

- The crumb of friendhips dynamics we got. So much potential I want to see more !! Like Percy x Jason, Annabeth x Frank (so much Hermione x Neville vibes), Leo x Frank, Hazel x Annabeth, Percy x Frank, Annabeth x Leo (Leo who is so scared of and impressed by her as he should lol),...That’s probably one of the reasons I was so bitter about the romantic relationships getting so much more time, like ALL the friendhships that were so interestings like come on !!

- Percy thinking about LUKE !!! hjfgjehgfjhsegf !!! The fact that he still considers Luke as his fighting teacher, still thinks about his training and his advices !!! Even going as far as thinking he totally understood where he came from for doing all this horrible things !!! That was so awesome !! And such a character development !!! And that makes Percy even more of an interesting character !!! Anyway I loved that ^^

- All the mythological aspect like Rick can be such a genius sometimes with how he uses them, managing to stay faithful to them while sill adapting them to a more modern setting and that works so well !! Well its there in every single one of the PJO series book, but I just wanted to put it out there so here. 

- Hazel story. Look I didn’t like the whole weird kind off “love triangle” thing with Leo and Frank. But I love Hazel and I LOVED knowing more about her and also knowing more about Leo’s ancestor (who was awesome btw). That was such an interesting story, how she discovered that her only friend back then and first love spent his whole life thinking her disappearence was his fault.  And the flackback was so cute too ^^ Also Loved her being so desperate finding her brother because that’s what Nico deserves and that was adorable. I really hope we’ll get to see more of their bond. 

- The end. Such an amazing cliffhanger. I could feel the tension in the scene, I could’t stop reading and then the last chapter were everyone was just so in chock but Nico still believed that Percy would come back out of it alive because he admires him so much. It was SO !!! FUCKING !!! GREAT !!! Amazing way to end this book.

And that’s also how I will end this review ^^ Feel free to comment on it (respectfully) in the comments if you want. 

[goldvnby]

biography

i. — ‹ ( if there were two guarantees in edward’s life from the very start they were that 1. finding success and upholding his parents’ precious reputation was his only option, and 2. he would not receive the privilege of finding happiness for himself. his family was far from a perfect match for the young boy. his pulse always seemed to race a little faster, his room would get a little messier, and his mind would wander a little farther. still, however, they were nothing if not persistent and by the end of his childhood edward had inherited their overbearing sense of pride. they hardly deserved to be as proud as they were. an affluent and well known family for their little corner of vermont but hardly much to write home about when contrasted against the mega rich only a state away. still, they had enough money to wear their wealth on their sleeves, occupying the largest ( and gaudiest ) home in town and speeding around in luxury cars. his father’s income was enough to support their lifestyle, which allowed his mother to focus on developing a prominent reputation within the community. ).

ii. — ‹ ( when he tells people off his childhood he paints it in a warm light, the good money american dream of scorching summer days by the lake and cozy vermont winters in the ski chalets. in reality, if his childhood was anything it was cold. neither of his parents left much time for their only son, and they spared even less time for each other. whenever possible his mother would head to a warmer climate to vacation and his father would jet off on whatever business trips he could. the times that they were together the pair would alternate between icy silence and fiery arguments. the final blow to their marriage came in edward’s sixteenth year while he was away at boarding school, his mother caught his father with another woman and all hell broke loose. it was a messy divorce that left edward in the crossfire. all in all his parents left him with a pessimistic idea of love and marriage, if he even believed in it at all. one of the major roots of his commitment issues is his fear that he is his father’s son. as it turns out his father had never been a faithful man and edward has simply accepted as fact that the streak of infidelity would continue in him. it seemed easier to accept it at that than to try at love and fail. failure, after all, goes against everything that edward stands for. ).

iii. — ‹ ( when he reached high school, edward was swiftly sent away from his parents home to whatever prestigious boarding schools they could stick him in for the colder months. the schools quickly became harder and harder to find, however, as this was when edward developed his tendency towards debauchery. being surrounded by nothing but other privileged youth he quickly discovered that the perfect mixture of confidence, brashness, and general disregard for the rules, could instantly earn him all the love and attention he lacked in his childhood. he mastered the art of charming the pants off of just about everyone. unfortunately, many schools didn’t much care for his antics and by his senior year, he had thoroughly exhausted almost all the institutions on the eastern seaboard. despite his rambunctious nature and tendency to be expelled, he was still quite successful in his academic pursuits. his charisma, well learned manners, and intelligence earned him the favour of many professors, and he graduated with high grades and a long list of references. outside of academics he always earned himself a place on the lacrosse and ski teams to make friends, as well as the debate team to make enemies. high school was also when he began to establish a long line of meaningless flings and broken hearts. he craved the attention and had more than enough confidence and charm to get it, but he would bolt before things could become serious. he always wanted more. his pride made it impossible to see anyone as worthy of him, his stubbornness made it so he could never see eye to eye with anyone, and his cynicism made him doubt that love was even possible at all. above all, loneliness had always been the dominant factor in his life, and to abandon that was terrifying. ).

iv. — ‹ ( after a gap year spent flitting around europe without purpose ( during which he came dangerously close to destroying himself as well as his liver ), edward found himself studying commerce at columbia. he instantly took to the city. it felt like for the first time in his life everything around him was alive with opportunity. to him it was a place to prove himself, and more than anything he wanted to be part of the upper crust of new york society. when he sets his mind to something edward is nothing if not determined. his act was cleaned up overnight. while he didn’t abandon his hedonistic ways, he relegated them to part of his life where they couldn’t interfere with his upward trajectory. late nights spent making and losing memories in the city were met with hot coffee and hard work in the mornings. with his revelry all compacted into short bursts it became even more volatile. his penchant for self destruction became a general disregard for his own life, and there wasn’t a stunt edward wouldn’t pull for the admiration of others. yet contrasting this completely his daytime in university was spent buttering up professors, joining the best societies, and working the most prestigious internships. by the end of the four years his life was falling into place, and everything was ready for success. ).

v. — ‹ ( things can never really work out for edward though, it’s practically a fact to him by now. just six months before his graduation his father became the centre of a hefty fraud case. not only did he have to deal with his family money being wiped out and his father receiving a jail sentence, the fallout of the scandal seeped into all elements of his life. his career path was hugely derailed. any family connections he had were wiped clean, and the ones he had built up on his own quickly started to disappear as word got out of what had happened. potential employers only had to do a quick google search of his name to discover the familial connection. it took several years for him to build up his credibility and get his life back on track. although he’s now finding success, the murky waters he started out in are not something he’ll easily forget. as for his father, while it isn’t exactly something he can keep a secret, those who know edward know to never bring the man up around him. it’s rare that he’ll confide in anyone about it, even raphael knows only what he can learn from others. he visits the penitentiary once a year on his father’s birthday, and always makes up a lie for why he’s going out of town. ).

vi.  — ‹ ( most of the time edward feels like he’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop. things are going smoothly career wise, he’s shockingly happy being monogamous with raphael, and he feels secure in his friend group. it all seems too good to be true, or too good to be true for edward at least.  there’s a darkness in edward, and so far as he can tell it always manages to soak up every bit of good in his life. he worries that by letting people close to him they’re just going to get caught in the crossfire. he’s at a precipice in his life and it can go one of two ways. he can either shape up and settle down, creating the life he’s always needed and never thought he can have, or he can continue down the path of self destruction, walking right into the life he always feared but didn’t know how to escape. ).

vii. — ‹ ( he’s always been extremely loyal with those he considers his closest friends and that certainly isn’t changing anytime soon, especially with nico. while from an outside perspective edward may seem like a pushy and inconsiderate friend, the reality is far different. while he lacks commitment romantically with friends when he really, truly believes that someone cares about him he returns that commitment tenfold. still, he finds it hard to believe that someone would stick around with him for so long. as for lucy, he values her and fears her in equal measure. he’s certain that she has the ability to turn everyone against him in one fell swoop if she wanted to, and she wouldn’t exactly be without her reasons. she sees right through him, in fact, he’s pretty sure she knows him better than he knows himself, which is quite terrifying for someone who doesn’t like for their true self to be known at all. at the same time, it makes her an easy person to turn to when things get rough. the sting of sophia’s rejection still burns him more than he liked to admit. he likes to get what he wants, and it was more than a bit shocking for the rug to get pulled out from under him like that. he can’t help but feel like its confirmation that there really is something wrong with him, and he feels a pang of insecurity every time she walks into the room. the good thing to come out of the mess with sophia is raphael. he still can’t believe it’s real, and having the same person to fall asleep to every night is actually helping a lot with his insomnia. once he felt secure with raph ( something he’s never found in a romantic relationship before ) he went all in. but he’s had his bad boy behaviour on pause for a while now and he isn’t sure how much longer he can keep it up. he just expects to fail, he’s sure he’ll slip up and ruin it sometime soon. he uses that certainty in his shortcomings like a crux so that when he does blow things up he can say he saw it coming all along. still, he wishes that raphael would just realize the mess he’s gotten himself into and run for the hills now, because edward is getting more and more attached every day. he’s even starting to see a future with raph, and the hope that stirs in his chest makes him feel a little sick. ).

[badwolf-in-the-impala]

~Welcome to the Neighborhood -- Ch.8~

Moodboard made by me @badwolf-in-the-impala. None of the pictures are ours, just editing.

A/N: Sorry we suck and keep forgetting to post on Monday’s...Life has been crazy lately. But anywho, here’s chapter 8 of @jacksonroth and mines SOA Collab! I hope you guys are enjoying, and if you would like to be added to our taglists, just let us know! Happy reading!

Disclaimer: There is some Spanish used in this chapter. So we would also like to add that this is a second language for both of us; one that hasn’t been used since High School...So we did our best to do the research to make sure things we as close as possible to accurate. So if it’s not the best/correct, we do apologize. Any helpful pointers or tips would be appreciated. But please, no rude comments. <3

Warnings: Mentions of gunshot wounds, violence, angst, voluntary kidnapping? More angst...So much angst.

Word count: 5,651

|| Previous Chapter ||

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

While Chibs stitched Kacey up, Harper managed to calm down enough to be allowed back in to see her, as Chibs was finishing up with her leg. Kacey sat still as a statue now, completely void of any pain or emotion as she held onto the hands of her sister and Opie. Both positioned carefully, one on either side of her as they let Chibs work. The room falling into an uneasy silence as Kacey’s stomach tied itself up in knots, knowing fully what was about to come next as the door to the Chapel was thrown open and Clay stormed into the room; Jax, Tig, and Bobby following behind.

“Either one of you two care to tell me what the FUCK is goin’ on, here?!” Clay bellowed as he pointed between the two sisters who exchanged a brief glance. “Our shit with the Mayans has been good, straight, and then you two Wonder Twins show up -- actin’ all paranoid when Alvarez came around, and now this shit?!” He gestured out the Chapel door behind him in reference to what just went down.

“Clay, take it easy--” Jax tried to butt in, in an attempt to help, but Clay simply talked right over the top of him as he continued to address the sisters. “I want an explanation. Now...and it better be a Goddamn good one.”

Harper made a move to speak up as she stood, but stopped, her gaze falling to her sister’s when she felt Kacey’s grip tighten on her hand and pull her back. Harper’s eyes filled with concern as she watched her sister shake her head and say softly, “This is on me…”

“Care to elaborate?” Clay’s icy blue gaze was now fixed solely on Kacey as he waited for an answer.

“Before Charming...Before the Club.” Kacey gestured around the room at the guys who now listened carefully to what was about to unfold. “We were involved with the Mayans, and by involved, I mean romantically.”

“Jesus…” Clay ran a large hand over his face but stayed silent otherwise, as Kacey held up a hand of her own, gesturing to let her continue.

“It started out innocent. We were just a couple of hang arounds lookin’ for a good time, but after a while, Harp got together with Alvarez’s nephew, Nico, and I got involved with his best friend, Bastien...It wasn’t exactly the best situation, for either of us. But they aren’t the kind of people you just turn down an offer on being with…” Kacey winced a little as Chibs pulled another stitch through her arm. “We had no idea what the hell we were getting ourselves into at the time, but we rolled with the punches anyway. They said jump, we asked how high…”

“They treated us like fuckin’ shit most of the time, but it was roof over heads and hey; who were we to complain, right?…We put up with their shit for 3 years, until about 9 months ago when I walked in on my ex, Basiten, fuckin’ some other chicks brains out. And I just fuckin’ snapped. I was so tired of never being good enough for him, tired of him treating me like his Goddamn pet that I lost it. All I saw was red, and I beat that bitch without a second thought as to who she might be.”

“And lemme guess, she was someone you never should’a fucked with?” Tig chimed in briefly before Kacey continued; answering his question.

“Sara Alvarez...Nico’s sister--”

“And Alvarez’s niece…” Clay finished for her, Kacey nodding as a round of collective groans filled the room.

“I messed her up good...busted her fuckin’ jaw, put her in the hospital.” Kacey chewed her lip lightly as she glanced at Harper out of the corner of her eye. “That’s when shit got real bad...Not so much for me, but for Harp. Beatings from Bastien, while few and far between, were like second nature to me. I could fuckin’ take it, and most of the time I’d give it right back to him. Nico on the other hand? He had never laid a hand on Harper. But after what I did to his sister? That was my punishment. To watch him make my sister suffer for my fuckin’ mistake. Knowing she didn’t deserve any of it.”

Kacey drew in a shaky breath, wiping at her face quickly to catch a few stray tears that tried to escape as Opie gave her hand a reassuring squeeze; she continued. “It wasn’t long before I’d finally had enough of it, of everything...So Harper and I worked out a plan. It took us weeks to scrap together enough money -- along with some help from our cousin -- to get out. But not before I got the bright idea to try and make a point, by shooting up Bastien’s car; blowing it to shit. Marcus found out it was me that did it, thought Harper was involved too and basically exiled us from Mayan territory in Oakland...After that, Charming just so happened to be the one place far enough out of Mayan territory we could afford that we thought would be safe. But I promise you, we never intended to get involved like we have-- Please, Clay, this is my doing, this is all on me...Don’t take it out on Harper.” Kacey’s eyes were brimmed with tears as she looked up at her sister, who was trying to hold in her own emotions as she reached forward and pulled her into a gentle hug, being mindful of her arm that was almost done being stitched.

“Christ…” Clay sighed as he leaned his forearms onto the back of the nearest chair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. “You didn’t think to maybe mention any of this, before now?”

“We didn’t know how we would be accepted if we told anyone...And we couldn’t afford at that point to be run out of town by another MC. Besides, we never actually intended on staying in the first place.” Kacey finished, biting her lip nervously as she glanced up at Ope who reached out to caress her cheek gently. “I know sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it, but it’s the best we have to offer...And you have to believe me when I say that we never intended for any of this to happen. We never wanted anyone else to get involved, or worse, to get hurt because of us.”

Clay sighed heavily as he straightened up, rubbing a hand across his chin as he paced back and forth, momentarily absorbed in thought before turning to Bobby and Jax. “Start makin’ calls, we’re goin’ on lockdown, effective immediately. Everyone in, no one fuckin’ leaves without an escort.” He stated firmly before turning his attention to Tig. “You, get Alvarez on the phone...this shit gets sorted, and it get sorted now.” ~  

As it was, there was no need to make any calls to Alvarez, because he was the one who called Clay directly in a matter of hours, once Kacey was stitched up and resting. He pulled everyone into chapel, making Opie and Jax leave the sisters, as they took the call. Once the doors were shut and everyone sat down, Clay put the call on speaker and set it on the table.

“Alright, Marcus. We’re all here…” Clay said, leaning on one arm of his chair, running a hand over his chin. Jax sat forward, arms resting on the table as he listened.

“Listen, Clay, I want you to know I didn't order that attack on you tonight. Nico and Bastien will get their punishment, but...Man, I can’t say they were wrong.” Marcus said. “Harper broke the rules. She was in Mayan territory after we threw them white girls out.”

Clay glanced over to Jax, who merely shrugged. It could have been true, but for all they knew, Nico and Bastien were lying to have some justification for the attack. When Jax shrugged, Clay sat forward and said, “And, uh, you saw Harper in Mayan territory?”

“Nico and Bastien said she was at some auto shop just outside. When she left, she crossed the line. Listen, Clay, I don’t care how far in she went, she still crossed into our territory, cabrón.” Marcus said. Clay sighed and rubbed his face. “If I had known they were runnin’ with you, I would have called and we could have talked it out. But now? Shit, ese, now they’ve gone too far. I’m sorry if anyone took a bullet, but we need to meet…”

“Why? What do you want?” Jax asked, unable to keep the disdain from his voice. There was a moment of silence and for a minute, the club thought Alvarez had hung up. But after a while, he spoke up and said, “We want the girls.”

Opie stood and started pacing, Piney trying to calm him down while Alvarez was still on the line. Jax covered his face and sighed.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, Marcus.” Clay said. “They’re with us now and we’re not just gonna hand them over on your say so. Maybe...Nico pushed her into Mayan territory and used that as an excuse?”

“Are you calling my nephew a liar, Clay?! We’ve had a good thing going for a while now and these white bitches have screwed with my family one too many times! Either you meet us at LKQ in Lodi tomorrow and we talk terms, or this truce is over!”

With that, this time, the silence that filled chapel was accompanied by the monotone of the dial tone as Alvarez hung up. Jax sat back and sighed. He looked at Clay and before he could say anything, Opie did it for him.

“We’re not handing them over, Clay! I don’t care! We’re not doing it!” Opie shouted. Piney managed to get a good grip on the leather sleeve of Opie’s Kutte and yanked him down, back into his seat.

“Will you shut your goddamn mouth and sit down?!” Piney gruffed at him. Opie shrugged off his father’s hand, readjusting his Kutte as Clay said, “No one here is talking about handing them over, Opie. From what we heard from the girls,” Clay stopped and looked to Jax and added, pointing his finger at him, “By the way, I want full details on what the fuck happened in Oakland from Harper.”

Jax nodded as Clay continued, “From what we heard from the girls, Nico and Bastien are just out for blood. They’d do or say anything to get them on Marcus’ bad side so they can get what they want. Bobby, call T.O. and see if him and some of the Bastards can cover us. I don’t want any surprises.”

Bobby nodded and stood, flipping open his phone as he dialed, going to the otherside of the room to talk. While Bobby laid down the plans with T.O., Clay looked to Juice and said, “Juice. LKQ. What do we know?”

Juice shrugged and said, “Lodi, neutral. From what I know it’s pretty deserted. I think the owner in on the Bastards payroll so...Throw some extra cash their way and they should be able to get the place cleared out for us.”

Clay nodded and picked up his gavel as he said, “Then it’s decided. Round up what cash we have and strap in, boys.” With a bang of his gavel, Opie shot out of his chair, bursting through the doors and down to his room to check on Kacey.

Unbeknownst to the club, when Jax left Harper in his room, she waited until she heard silence and quietly snuck out, being careful to avoid being seen through the blinds, and pressed her ear to the door to listen. Once she found out where they were meeting, she quickly rushed back to tell her sister.

“Kacey.” Harper said, softly, giving her uninjured arm a shake. Kacey stirred and turned to her sister, rubbing her eyes. Harper glanced over her shoulder, making sure neither of their men would walk in and she said, “Can you ride still?”

Kacey gave her sister an incredulous look. “I took two fucking bullets, Harper. No I can’t.” She said. Harper flicked her uninjured arm and gave her a look.

“Not today, smartass.” Harper said, lowering herself to sit on the bed next to her. Kacey shifted and sighed, pushing herself to sit up, being careful of her arm and leg. “Tomorrow. Marcus just called Clay and set a meeting at LKQ in Lodi.”

“That’s that junkyard right? Where…” Kacey’s eyes widened as Harper nodded. Kacey sighed and said, “This was Bastien’s doing…He wants them to find out and the club will let them take us!”

“Hey!” Harper hissed, gripping her hand. “I promised you no one would find out about that, and no one will...Even if they did, they wouldn’t hand us over on Marcus’ say so.”

“But they’re going to bring us with them, Harper! Of course, they’re going to hand us over!” Kacey squeaked. Harper shook her head.

“No. They aren’t. You really think they’re going to take us? Jax and Opie would never let Clay do that.” Harper said. “We’ll knock out Half-Sack, Juice, Tig, Gemma, who ever they leave to guard us. We’re going to be there and make sure Nico doesn’t rub our names out and turn us against the club.”

Kacey sighed and laid back against the pillows and said, “Harps, it’s not going to work. They’re gonna have us on lockdown. There’s no way-”

“Then we find a way.” Harper said, cutting her sister off. “We always find a way, Kace.”

Kacey chewed her lip and nodded as Opie stormed in, making them both jump. When Opie saw the girls, he stayed near the door, on the other side of the room, pacing and muttering to himself.

“Ope? What is it?” Kacey asked, chewing her lip, worried that Harper didn't get all the information. Opie shook his head and sighed.

“Nothing. Nothing. Just…” Opie stopped pacing and looked at Harper. “Harp, can you give us a minute alone?”

Harper gave him a soft smile and nodded, giving her sister a quick hug, she stood and left the room, walking out to find Jax walking back, no doubt to see her. She smiled at him as he approached and slid his arms around her, hugging her. Harper leaned into the touch and nuzzled his neck.

“Is everything okay?” She whispered softly. Jax gave a sigh and kissed her softly, trying to put out his best reassuring smile, but only ended up with a half smile before he led her back to his room and shut the door. Harper bit her lip so hard, she was sure she tasted blood, now having the same doubts Kacey had, that there was some piece that she missed. Harper sat down on the bed as Jax came over to her, squatting down in front of her.

“We got a call from Alvarez. He wants to meet.” Jax said. Harper took Jax’s hands as he continued, “He said he didn't tell Nico to shoot up the lot last night, but he heard about you crossing into Mayan territory so he doesn’t think what Nico did in retaliation was wrong.”

Harper’s eyes filled with tears as she pushed his hands away, moving around him as she stood. “So, it is all my fault…” She said, softly. Jax went to her, sliding his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.

“No. It’s not. Just-” Jax sighed and turned her around, continuing with, “Just tell me everything that happened. Did they push you across the street? Drag you? Force you in anyway?”

Jax cupped her face as Harper squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “No. No. Nothing like that. I-I mean...They had a hand in it, but...It was my fault.”

Jax took her hands and pulled her toward the bed, sitting her down. “Tell me, babe. Tell me everything. We need to know what to bring to Marcus tomorrow.” He said, reaching up a hand to wipe her tears. Harper sniffled and nodded, leaning into his touch. Finally, she took a breath and opened her eyes, looking at him.

“I-I went to Alvin’s to get a mod for Kacey for our birthday.” She started. “I know where Mayan territory is and I made sure to stay away from it. I thought Alvin’s was safe but...They must have had lookouts and someone told Nico and Bastien I was there.” She took a pause as she sighed, starting again with, “I was waiting for the guy to get my part and...They just walked in. Didn't buy anything...Nico started talking to me, saying I wasn’t supposed to be in Oakland and Marcus exiled us and shit. I told him I wasn’t in Mayan territory and I wasn’t breaking any rules.”

Harper swallowed, hard, and said, “They shook me up. Nico said they knew where we lived now and they could show up...I just wanted to get out of there and get someplace I knew was safe...I-I guess, I just got confused and my goto was always...Nico’s...So I started heading there and then I remembered where I was and I turned around, real quick, but...I guess they thought that was enough for them to have an excuse to run me off the road and threaten me.”

Jax sighed and pulled her closer, holding her tight as she sobbed softly. Through her sobs, her words muffled as she buried her face in his chest, she said, “Now I’ve gotten my sister shot and other members...It’s all my fault!”

Jax shook his head and kissed her cheek, lifting her chin to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Baby, it’s not your fault. Nico and Bastien pushed you to it. If they hadn’t shown up you never would have crossed.” He said, wiping his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe away her tears. “A few of the guys took a bullet but Chibs is working on them now. They’ll be fine. This isn’t your fault.”

Harper sniffled and rested her head on his chest for a while before they shifted, laying on the bed and Harper snuggled into his side, soon crying herself to sleep. ~ “Ope?” Kacey said softly as she scooted to the edge of the bed, her heart racing a million miles an hour as she watched him close the door and lean a hand against the wood for a moment, as the other reached up to rub at his forehead. Kacey’s worst possible fear flashed through her mind in that moment as she bit her lip to keep from crying...Having had just about enough of that for one day.  “Shit...Clay’s gonna hand us over...Isn’t he?”

Opie’s attention snapped around immediately at her words, watching as Kacey buried her face in hands to muffle a sob. “What? God, Kay, no. No one's gonna hand you over. No one's gonna take you from me. Got it?” Opie closed the distance between the door and his bed in a few strides, kneeling in front of Kacey as he moved her hands aside, replacing them with his own as he cupped her face gently and wiped away her tears with his thumbs; kissing her.

“We’re in deep shit, Ope.” Kacey whispered as he pulled away. “I don’t think we’re getting out of this one…”

“Hey,” Opie spoke up as he shifted to sit beside her on the bed, pulling her against his chest gently as he tried to comfort her the best he could. “Everything is gonna be ok...I promise.”

“You can’t promise that, Ope…” Kacey whispered softly. “Nico and Bastien will go to whatever lengths necessary to get their hands on us. It’ll be an all out war.”  

“Yeah? And they’ll have to go through me...I’m serious, Kay. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” Opie stated as he pulled Kacey back a little to look down at her, his hazel eyes filled with nothing but sincerity and the love he felt for her. “I came so close to losing you today, and that feeling? It fuckin’ terrifies me.”

“I know…” Kacey said softly as she squeezed Opie’s hand. Opie kissed her temple, nuzzling her hair as he held her close, taking care not to put pressure on her wound. Kacey sniffed and wiped her face as she rested against Opie’s chest, his warm, strong arms around her helping her calm herself down. In a soft whisper, she asked, “What’s going to happen, Opie?”

Opie stared at his closed door, his mind working as he thought. He pressed his lips to her hair before he said, “I don’t know. But it’s going to be okay, Kacey. I promise you.” ~

For the rest of the night, everyone was on edge. Clay called Tacoma, SAMDINO, SAMTAZ and Indian Hills, making sure they were at least mobilized and would be there by the next night, if not there in a matter of hours. While Clay had what visiting members, who weren’t shot in the ambush, on patrol, just on the off chance Nico and Bastien wanted to come back for more, the girls managed to find sleep, Jax and Opie never leaving their sides. Gemma made sure the kitchen was stocked and made a list for the things they needed, making plans for a store run with Half-Sack, Tig and Bobby the next day. In chapel, Clay decided only he, Jax, Opie and Chibs would go meet Alvarez and Juice confirmed with T.O. that the Sons had back up from the Grim Bastards. Early the next morning, everyone started moving. Clay sent Gemma out with a few of the girls to the store, making sure Tig and Bobby knew he’d have their balls on display if anything happened to them, not needing to reiterate to Half-Sack.

By noon, SAMDINO was all set up on patrol, SAMTAZ and Indian Hills confirming they would be there by no later than 5, Tacoma there by that night. With all the protection, it made sneaking out a little harder for Harper and Kacey, especially when Clay laid down the law; Telling them they didn't go anywhere without an escort and didn't leave Charming, with or without one. After the patrol was set up, Clay and the rest headed out to meet Alvarez and Harper set her plan in motion. She managed to convince just Juice to take them home, following Harper’s truck. They made the excuse of wanting to pack some more things and once Juice took a piss break, they shot out to Harper’s bike, Kacey not being healed enough to ride on her own, making sure they were in the street before she started her bike, giving them more time to lose Juice as they got on the highway, speeding off to Lodi. ~

Clay, Jax, Opie and Chibs rolled into the empty junkyard around 3, making sure T.O. and his guys were well hidden and on patrol before Alvarez, Nico, Bastien and their VP rolled in. Jax cracked his knuckles while Opie glared at Bastien, flicking away his cigarette butt.

“Alright. Let’s all calm down and talk about this rationally.” Clay said as Alvarez and his crew turned off their bikes and made their way over. “They’re not getting the girls, so that’s not an issue.”

“Yeah, no shit. I’m not handing them over to get beaten again.” Opie snapped, itching to beat the smug little smirk that Bastien wore off his face. Jax patted his friends’ shoulder and said, “Easy, brother.”

He moved in front of Opie, half to block him and half to take his place next to Clay as Marcus and his men stopped a few feet from them.

“Where are the white bitches?” Nico asked, right off, earning a hand to the back of his head.

“Shut your mouth, ese. You’re the reason we’re even here.” Marcus hissed at him. Nico rubbed the back of his head and shuffled back a little.

“They’re not here, asshole.” Jax said, answering him anyway. “And you’re not gonna get them.”

Marcus turned back to the Sons and sighed, taking a step forward, Clay doing the same, and said, “Listen, Clay. Those sisters did a real number on this club. And they broke the rules. If I don’t punish them, I’m going to be seen as going soft on women, especially since they are involved with my nephew.”

“Well, your nephew’s a goddamn liar.” Opie said, stepping forward, Chibs jumping to him, ready to hold him back. Nico snickered and said, “Why would I lie?”

“Because if you hadn’t shown up, when she wasn’t even in Mayan territory, she wouldn’t have crossed the street, ese.” Jax said. He looked to Alvarez and said, “Alvin’s Auto is just this side of Mayan, yeah?”

When Alvarez nodded, Jax continued, “And that’s where she was. Nico and Bastien just showed up for no reason, other than she was there. If they hadn’t shaken her down, she wouldn’t have gotten mixed up and crossed the line.”

“That bitch is the goddamn liar!-” Before Nico could even get it all out, Alvarez turned to him, grabbing him by his Kutte and dragging him closer.

“What did I tell you about keeping your fuckin’ mouth shut?! I don’t give a shit if your my sister’s son, you’re gonna listen and shut the hell up! Am I clear?” Alvarez shouted, shoving Nico back, into Bastien. Nico righted himself, adjusting his Kutte and said, “Sí, Tío.”

Alvarez turned back to the Sons and said, “It doesn’t matter if it was a mistake or not. She shouldn’t have even come so close to Oakland if she didn't want to run into Nico.”

Before Jax or anyone else could say anything more, they turned as they heard Kacey cry out, being dragged along, into the lot, followed by Harper fighting off the Mayan that held her arms. Jax and Opie started for them, but Bastien and the VP both whipped out their guns, causing Clay and Chibs to do the same. The domino effect had everyone with their guns out and pointed at the opposite party. The two Mayans dragging the sisters in threw them down between Alvarez and the Sons. Harper immediately turned and spat at the man who threw her down, causing him to slap her.

“HEY!” Jax shouted, firing a warning shot between his legs. Jax took a step closer and said, “Next one goes in your fuckin’ head, dirtbag. Step back!”

While Harper’s cheek stung, she quickly scrambled over to Kacey, Opie already there, guns be damned, and helped her up. Opie held her close, tucking her into his side, as Chibs slid a protective arm around Harper’s front, keeping his gun fixed on one of the Mayans, ready to fire.

“You see? See what these bitches do?” Marcus said, pointing his gun to the sisters.

“If I’m not mistaken, amigo, it was your guys that started this. Why did they need to drag them in like that?” Clay cast a glance to the women and said, sternly, “Not that they were even supposed to be here…”

Harper gave Clay a look, turning into a brief glare, as she said, “This isn’t your fight, Clay. It’s not on you.”

“No, baby. It’s on you. You and that bitch-” Before Nico could finish, she grabbed Chibs’ gun and shot the Mayan that slapped her. He went down, screaming and clutching his leg. All at once, all Mayan guns were on her, cocked and ready to shoot.

“Say something else about my sister and the next one has you fuckin’ name on it.” Harper said, turning her gun on Nico. She gave a smirk and said, “One Shot, mi amor…”

“Alright!” Clay shouted. “Let’s put the fuckin’ guns away and talk about this!”

“No!” Harper shouted, glancing at Clay, tears in her eyes as she refused to lower the gun. “No, I’m fucking done talking!”

Harper lowered her gun and stepped forward in the empty space between the clubs. “You’re not touching Kacey ever again, Bastien. You’re going to leave her alone and forget any bad blood between the Mayans and the Sons. No resentments, no more ambushes. Truce as usual.”

Nico snorted, not lowering his gun even though the others did, and said, “Why not?”

“Because you’re going to take me and be done with it.” Harper said. There was a mix of reactions, between Kacey screaming ‘No!’, Jax’s look of shock, and Clay shouting that there’s another way and he isn’t going to allow it. Nico seemed intrigued by the offer since he lowered his gun, stepping up to her and said, “You’d give yourself up to save that bitch?”

Before she responded, Harper’s fist connected to the center of Nico’s dumb snickering face, sending him flying backwards. “I warned you, Nico.” She said, taking a step close to the Mayans. Jax stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back as Harper turned toward him.

“No! No, you’re not doing this, Harper!” Jax shouted, eyes own eyes turning red, threatening tears. “We can figure something else out. You’re not leaving with them! I won’t let you!”

Harper ripped her arm out of Jax’s grasp and shot back, “I’m not your old lady, Jax! I can do what I want! And I want to save my sister! So if this is what it takes, then I’m doing it! No one can fuckin’ stop me!”

“Harper. Harper, no, please don’t do this.” Kacey said with a whimper, struggling against Opie to get closer. Opie didn't want Bastien anywhere near where he could lay his hands on Kacey, but he ultimately lost and Kacey rushed to her, throwing her arms around her sister’s neck and sobbing. Harper took a step back, wrapping her arms around her sister as well.

“Kacey, we don’t have any other choice.” She whispered to her, struggling with her tears. “It keeps you and the club safe. I’m doing it.”

Kacey sniffled and shook her head, letting go and wiping away her sisters tears, along with her own. “No. No. There’s-There’s another way. We always find another way!” Kacey said, gripping her arms. Alvarez stepped up and said, “We’re not walking away here empty handed, Taz. Either one or both of you comes with us, or we’re all leaving here in body bags.”

Kacey glanced at him, almost pleading as her eyes teared up even more, then looked back at Harper as she listened to him continue, “Not only did you disgrace the club, you disgraced my family. A sister for a sister is agreeable with me.”

Clay grabbed Alvarez by his Kutte and said, “There’s got to be another way here, Marcus! We’ll give you more guns, more guys to move your H, something. You can’t take her!”

Alvarez shoved Clay’s hand away and said, “Clay, this only concerns you because she’s with Jax. If she’s deciding to leave him, it doesn’t concern you anymore...Not that it even really mattered.”

He looked at Harper, as she turned to him, and said, “Harper, I promise you; If you leave with us, all things are equal, all beef is settled. Truce as usual, Me cae de Mi Familia.”

Harper let out a soft sigh, a light wave of relief passing over her, were he telling the truth. She looked back at Kacey, giving her hand a quick squeeze, before turning back to Marcus and saying, “I still want to be able to lay out any fine line I have so the club and Kacey are never to be bothered by a Mayan again. Give me your word on that, Marcus...And I’ll leave with you.”

“No!” Before Kacey could claw at her sister, ready to bring her down before she’d ever let her leave. Opie grabbed Kacey and pulled her away as she screamed and cried. Jax grabbed her arm again as she took a step forward. He pulled her closer and held her tight, kissing her so deep and passionately, Harper clung to him, giving a small, soft whimper. When the kiss broke, both their cheeks were wet as they stared at each other, Jax cupping her cheek.

“You’re not staying with them, Harper. We’ll get you back. I’ll get you back.” Jax said, softly. “You’re my girl. I love you.”

Harper sniffed and said, “I love you too, Jax. I love you too.”

Bastien had enough and grabbed Harper’s arm, tearing her away from Jax. Clay, Jax and Chibs all took a step forward, but stopped short as Nico, the VP, and the third Mayan held up their guns to stop them. The men held up their hands and stepped back as Marcus patted Clay on the back and said, “I’m very sorry about this, amigo. But I gave Harper my word. The Sons and the Mayans are good again.”

Clay let out a slow breath, giving Alvarez a look as he went back to his bike, where Harper sat waiting. He gave a whistle and Nico and the others lowered their guns and went back to their bikes. Jax watched in horror as Alvarez drove off, Harper looking back until they disappeared. Kacey collapsed in the dirt and sobbed, Opie slowly lowering her down, holding her in his arms.

“This wasn’t right, Clay!” Opie screamed at him. Clay looked to Jax, a hand closing around his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, Son. We had no other choice.”

Jax shook his head and sighed, watching the cloud of dust dissipate before turning to go back to his bike, revving it and taking off before the others.

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TAGLIST: @jacksonroth @stacie-marie-bloom @romanchronicles @captstefanbrandt @courtrae89 @tephi101 @shieldmaiden25 @staystrongsoa @imgoldielikehawn @laketaj24 @annakay84 @grungyblonde @crazyanonymous4u

[skamamoroma]

You Are Not From Milan - Thoughts (Part 1)

So this one was always going to be a game changer and I’m sorry for taking a while to write my thoughts. I didn’t think people were too interested in more of my ramblings but then I got quite a few requests so here we are!

First off, I’m so grateful to those people who have helped shed light on what Nico might be experiencing and the illness he lives with. Education on this stuff is so important and I really found it so interesting to read about people’s experiences because only then can you really appreciate what the show is trying to do. Some of that information really did inform us and enabled so many of us to really understand Nico a little more and ESPECIALLY some of the moments in this clip... because yeah, Bessegato might be a bit arrogant etc (!) but nobody can deny that Skam Italia have worshipped Marti and Nico as characters (and others - especially Gio) and I feel the love for these characters in each clip and this one was absolutely no exception despite some of it being very difficult stuff.

This is long. I’m making myself clear right now because if you fall asleep mid way through or even before then, NOBODY could blame you, but some people asked for it so here it is! <3

First off, Bessegato with this cinematography. I love that we get a really poppy, upbeat song with the two of them on the train either kissing or taking selfies or both. It’s youthful and cute and fun to see them spending time together and doing pretty typical sweet stuff with one another. 

I think the main thing I felt when I watched the start of this clip was the comfort they have together. We’re straight off the back of Nico being upset, his mother behaving as she did, Marti being a little uncomfortable and Nico apologising and telling Marti he wants to sleep next to him. That broke my heart. The way he said it was so simple but said SO MUCH. When we were in his room with him and he was asking Marti to leave, you could hear two things so clearly: how much he DIDN’T want that to happen and also how much he desperately wanted comfort. I keep coming back to that because I didn’t feel that with Even. I felt different wants and desires from him but with Nico I just always get this overwhelming feeling that he needs comfort and someone to just SEE him and gather him up. When Rocco said his word was ‘vulnerability’ with Nico, it shows. A lot. 

So the fact that straight off the back of that comment from Nico, we have him being able to spend time with Marti with nobody else there is something we KNOW will be very special. 

And that’s the key thing. NOBODY ELSE THERE. This is Milan. Day and night time and the only other person we see during the entire clip, despite them being in the open, in a central location, is the lady introducing the flat. 

Now, I’ve said this before but I love Skam’s realism. It’s why I’m drawn to it so much. But I also love how Skam Italia has stuck close to realism but drawn a little more on the cinematic aspects. I’m down for that. I’ve adored it. This clip, for me, was by far the most cinematic and I’m kind of thrilled because I often feel like, to depict mental illness, things like camera angles, light, sound, shot length, cinematography tricks and metaphors are WONDERFUL. Something from the original (and the og had much less of a cinematic feel which worked perfectly for it) that I adored was the impact the scene changes were when Even was taking deep breaths and unable to sit still. Those breaths going straight into a black screen was genius and still gives me chills to this day. Those effects, you can say so so much with them and it seems they used that but in really subtle ways. It’s not really STARKLY obvious that nobody is around until you really think about it. 

We kind of have a first introduction into them being the Last Men on Earth.

The little kiss Marti gives Nico is a lovely book end moment to their scene outside the school, isn’t it? Marti feels a little more able to be open but again, THERE IS NOBODY AROUND. Not a soul. When I watched the clip again after realising nobody was visible, it changed it all for me. I actually got shivers because it was EXACTLY like Marti explained... if you’re the last person on earth - WHAT WOULD YOU DO. Possibilities are endless.

I loved the giddy teenage response to the fancy apartment. It was so sweet and that VIEW. The fact that Nico specifically asks for the skyscrapers was SO DAMN SWEET. Ah. It’s such a youthful thing to do - SHOW ME THE BIG BUILDINGS. Tbh I’m the same, I’m a sucker for a good view. 

I think it’s here we realise how expensive this must have been.... the apartment with THAT view. We know that Nico was, at this point, experiencing an episode due to his illness but what is so telling is that he chose to rent an apartment. That was his choice in that moment and he wanted a safe and quite space with Marti with pretty views. I mean. NICO. Romance runs in his veins. 

THE NOSE BOOP. So familiar, so bloody cute and so playful. This is NOTHING new to them but just confirms how they are together and they are LOVELY.

AND THEN THE CURTAINS. Now @only-in-dreamland wrote a pretty special post about the curtains that I LOVE. Go read it. When I watched this back I wondered what the point of including that was. It’s not really a throwaway comment, it’s said a couple of times and I think this wonderful post on the meaning could be pretty spot on because those curtains are so important later on. 

I loved the music in the background too. It’s whimsical, plinky plonky kind of music. It made the whole scene feel film-like, alongside that purple blue sky and the little lights from the cool buildings. Contrasted with the scene taking place, it made it a little disconcerting too because towards the end, you can see Marti’s not entirely sure how to behave because Nico is being pretty forward and a little different to how we’ve seen him before. 

AND THEN THE SCENE WHICH RENDERS ME SPEECHLESS. 

First off, that gorgeous moment of the two of them leaning on the balcony looking at their pretty view that’s all theirs.... it’s so child like with wonder but also so damn romantic. I love that Marti says they’ve been to one of the buildings opposite as it means they spent time together during the day. Knowing that is such a comfort. 

Nico looks so calm with Marti, really happy and very smiley as we know him to be so when Marti looks back and they just giggle... it’s a really beautiful moment. They are always happy to be together, always smiling. It’s like their trademark THING at this point. Marti just looks so smitten, so at ease and completely mesmerised by Nico. It’s almost dream-like again. 

And then we have the RED. Everything till this point is so BLUE. The sky, the buildings, Marti’s clothes (OF COURSE), the view.... and then there’s this BOLD RED and it’s also another of their things. This sharp change in colour which normally means a change in mood. 

This moment with the neon sign is one of my absolute favourites so far this whole season. 

First off, the music. From the RED PILL BLUES album. Come onnnnnnn! Perfect. The song is one I’d have NEVER considered but my god, it’s perfect. some of the lyrics “keep me connected to you” and “you wanna be reckless, restless right until tomorrow”.... but lastly “WHEN WE CLOSE THE CURTAINS”. God damn it. THOSE CURTAINS AGAIN.

Not to mention this song is sexy as hell. It’s just one of THOSE songs with that slow beat... amazinggggg song choice, I can’t even cope with how good it is. 

But then you have Nico asking Marti about the sign and there’s something so sweet about Marti’s “um, how?” and you can see Nico feels the same. He’s endlessly charmed by Marti but in this moment he chooses his own version. It’s like he wants the scene to be perfect, to be THEM and only them for this short period of time. It’s like a title to a tv show, like he’s making this time MARTI AND NICO and nobody else, so much so that it’s written all over the wall to make it clear. The way he does it though, the way he points and walks slowly and smiles and laughs a little at Marti’s confusion before catching him in a kiss... it’s so cinematic my heart couldn’t handle it but it’s that kind of overwhelming, bowl you over kind of sensual cinematic moment that has you swooning but the music makes it more than that, it’s actually intoxicating. I usually hate that work but god does it explain this scene. 

HOW ANYONE CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS SCENE NOT BEING ENOUGH IS HONESTLY BEYOND ME. I’ve rarely seen a heterosexual love scene with intimacy like this nevermind a same sex couple. 

The slow kisses are completely perfect especially considering their happy bouncy kisses in the cabin. This is a ‘take your time’ kiss. Rocco and Fede floor me in this scene. Truly. Every moment is so full of LOVE and CONNECTION and it is almost difficult to watch because it feels very private. They’ve always had this instant easy kind of chemistry but this is a change from the cabin’s frantic kissing, this is soulful and full of touches that say so much without words....! They barely stop touching. The fact that they always touch each other’s faces is painfully sweet because it’s that awe and gentle sweetness they’ve shown time and time again. 

For Marti, it makes me so happy because this is what he deserves. He looks SO comfortable, so happy, so into every moment that it’s kind of breathtaking to see. I couldn’t help but feel so emotional for him because he’s getting the physical part of a relationship he has no doubt wanted but never known if it was possible for him... 

The “private dancer” moment is actually intimate as hell and crazy sexy with Nico helping Marti slide his clothes over his head. People cannot watch this and feel they’re being shortchanged in terms of depicting same sex love and intimacy because it is painfully intimate. 

Lets have a moment to appreciate Rocco’s insane and beautiful curly messy hair because it’s wild in this moment and such a lovely touch in comparison to Marti’s own hair. The shadow effects are absolutely stunning because you focus in on what is important and the detail is simply not necessary. 

AND THEN NICO KISSES MARTI’S HEART and my own heart hurt. We know Nico is a romantic. We know he adores Marti but god. GOD. He does it in such a way that it’s obvious he has chosen to kiss over Marti’s heart, he’s trying to say so much without saying it. 

There’s something they both have done since day one and that’s hold the other in place when they kiss and it makes me a bit emotional!!!! Marti does it quite a bit in this moment, keeps Nico close with his hands or guides him closer to him. Those details are what impress me so so much about Rocco and Fede’s acting. This is really really intense stuff to show, especially to do it well but they make it look absolutely real. I don’t question it for a second and I’m normally someone who is snapped out of scenes when acting is awry or something doesn’t sit right. Never with this season. Not once. 

Again with the smiling, the giddy blissed out smiles that are a Martino Rametta staple. His smile is so lovely and to see him happy is what we all want so all you want to do is keep that smile on his face! 

I ADORE the little moment when Marti is hovering over Nico and Nico’s finger drags along under his chin. It almost stopped my heart with how intimate a detail that was, how in love they seemed in that little moment alone. 

The last shot of this scene is so gorgeous that I KNEW, I knew watching it the first time that it was going to be the last time we saw them like that. I just had this awful sinking feeling seeing them slotted together to happy and lazy and cuddled together that it wasn’t going to last but what a truly gorgeous shot that was. Nico looked tranquil as hell and that’s why what happens afterwards is so painful for me and for us all because all of that intense comfort that Nico wanted and was seeking and that Marti loved... they didn’t get it. They didn’t get their time to sleep next to eachother. It was so SAD for me because that comfort is what I keep coming back to... life got in the way and stole that from them and I felt so unbeliavably sad. I KNOW they will get it. I am certain and I can’t wait to see that but, for now, my heart hurt so much. 

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

[Skam Italia] Ad un passo da perdere te

The title is in Italian (A step away from losing you), from Ultimo’s Pianeti, but the fic is still in English.  So, I am totally to blame for this but I’d like to thank @ruinedbyroccofasano for listening to all my flailing and helping me picture this. Ideally it takes place at the end of ep 9, if you know what I mean.

I have absolutely NO IDEA where Martino is gonna be during episode 9.  This could turn out to be completely wrong. <

READ HERE or down below.

"You know what, mom? Pack your bag, 'cause we are going to Cecina."

The bright smile he got from his mom, the whispered "Thank you" as she kissed his temple totally overshadowed the fact that he had to take all his notes with him. Had he stayed at home, he wouldn't have been able to study anyway, so... Screw school, really.

How was he supposed to focus on some fucking dead language, on useless formulas that give him no clue on how to deal with Niccolò and his illness? What if Maddalena was right and none of what they shared had been real, not on Nico's part? What if he really did send him spiralling, only caused him more pain by indulging in his fantasies? How come he found their getaway cute and romantic when he should have been freaking out from the moment Ni bought those tickets? He had been so naive, so willfully blind to the signals there were telling him that something wasn't quite right... Besides, it was because of him and his attitude towards Emma that the Covitti siblings spread the rumor about the two of them dating. He didn't realize it back then, but Ni had been out outed as well. By someone he had to spend six hours with, five days a week. Damn.

He just wanted Niccolò to be happy. To be safe. Could he really give him that? He wasn't sure. People have tried to reassure him, saying that 'you can't fake those heart-eyes, Martì, he worships the ground you walk on (his friends) or 'he might have been a bit delusional, sometimes, but that's not a state you are in 24/7, honey... it doesn't work like that' (his mom). They claim he does make Niccolò happy, but what do they know?

What he knows is that he can't give up on them, on him. Can't even imagine how someone would walk away in a time of need. What he knows is that he loves Nico. His own parents, however, are living proof that it is not an everlasting feeling that can fix everything. It doesn't fix shit, really. Maybe he is too inexperienced, too self-centred, to be the person Niccolò needs by his side.

"Don't sell yourself short, love. All he needs is for you to be there. To feel like he can count on you." She said, when he vaguely voiced out his concerns. It can't be that simple, can it? If it was, then why...

"You know what, sweetheart? Pack your bag, 'cause you're to spend the night with your father." She stroked his cheek, smiling a little at the disbelief on his face. "Don't worry about me. I'm sure I will find someone who's willing to ride with me back home. Now, listen: I can only give you my side of the story, and... It couldn't have been easy, living with me. I-"

"Mom..." He cut in, reluctant to hear her blaming herself.

She never did that before. Not when it came to his father. She had always blamed him and and him alone, for their failed marriage. She had never really tried to turn her son against her husband, but she hadn't tried to smooth things over between them either.

Martino had always thought that reaching out to him, trying to save whatever was left of their father-son bond, would be read as utter betrayal by his mother. Until then.

"I can't tell you why he gave up on me, but I know that he tried his best for a really long time. You should talk to him. Hear what he has to say. Let him help you." She kissed his forehead, and handed him a ticket to Rome.

He got his phone out to call his dad and arrange their dinner together - no way he was going to spend the night in that house - when he saw a new message in his inbox. He rolled his eyes, sighing, telling himself that it could have been from Filippo. He hadn't replied to him, or to anyone really, ever since he got on the train to Cecina.

He couldn't bring himself to, without sounding like a coward that took the easy way out. Much like his father did. He'd rather pretend they never went on that short holiday together, that he hadn't seen Nico in the last ten days. It was much simpler.

Ni: Did you take those riding lessons, in the end? I'm at the bioparco atm but they won't let me borrow their giraffe. Guess I'll have to find something else for us to ride on.

Fuck. Why did he have to go and rub salt into his wounds? Thankfully, Martino had run out of tears to cry or he would have broken down right there, on platform 2. His fingers lingered on the keyboard, but before he could type in an answer he got another text.

Ni: I'm sorry I keep letting you down. You deserve better.

No. Okay. Niccolò should have been honest from the start, it would have saved them both a lot of heartached... but fear can make you behave like a jerk or an idiot. Marti had never been mad at him for that - scared and confused, of course, but never resentful - and he sure didn't feel like Niccolò had let him down by not giving him full disclosure so soon into their relationship. They had to talk, face to face, as soon as possible. He couldn't have him thinking he is a disappointment.

'Tomorrow. I'll call him first thing tomorrow. Or I'll just show up and ring the buzzer. I know where he lives. He thought, closing the conversation to for his dad number. He wasn't too keen on waiting so long, but he feared what Niccolò's parents might think if he showed on their doorstep so late in the evening. He was already threading on thin ice with them, after what happened on that fucking weekend...

                                    /////////////////////////////////////////////

So here he is, basking in the Christmas spirit of a ten year old and his mother.

Paola isn't half bad, after all, especially when she teases his dead for being grumpier and grumpier as the 25th draws nearer.

Martino isn't much of a fan of this particular holiday himself, but it did have its charm when he pictured himself giving his present to Niccolò - nothing really, just a guide on how to survive in a post-apocalyptic world - and then kissing him under the mistletoe... sitting on the sofa as they spiced their hot chocolate with some tabasco...

God, he misses him so much. Can he really wait until tomorrow to see him again? He can't and he's a fool for having believed otherwise.

'We need to talk. Alone. Tell where and I'll walk through the whole city to get to you.' He types in, and sends it without second guessing how harsh might have sounded without even adding a heart or at least a smiley face.

He must have given something away, because suddenly Paola is asking her son to help her with the dishes, leaving Martino alone with father.

"So... You wanna tell me what has been bothering you all night?"

Martino could get defensive and say "Nothing." or yell "So you give a fuck about me, NOW?" Nevertheless, he does appreciate his dad being straightforward and not making this awkward with a poor attempt at small talk.

"It's this guy I'm seeing..." He waits for the ball to drop, for his father to be either outraged with the news or not caring enough to react to it. He doesn't know what would be worse.

"Your boyfriend?" He asks, and Martino is totally taken aback by the sheer annoyance in his voice. Not at him dating a boy, but rather at this boy daring to string his son along. How dares he!

"Dad!" He tilts his head to the side, smiling. "Yes. I guess... I mean... He was, for a while, but now... I don't know."

He's trying to work up the courage to steer the conversation towards what happened last year, what made him decide he was done trying to be there for the woman he married... It's not easy; he actually dreads the answer. What if he's going to say something like "Well, when people aren't right in their head there's nothing you can do about it apart from trying to spend as little time with them as possible. You gotta put yourself first, or they're going to drag you down with them." That's not what he wants to hear.

"Is that him?" His father snaps him out of his thoughts, making him notice that he just got an answer from Niccolò.

Ni:

Marti, I'm sitting here... Where we met for the first time, thinking about you. It's nearly 22:46. That's when we left that awful Halloween party, remember? There's so much I want to tell you. I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm sorry for not telling you I was bipolar. I was so afraid of losing you that I forgot you can't really lose someone, because we are all alone in the end. If I hadn't pulled at the red thread so hard, breaking it, maybe we could have really faced the end of the world together. But if someone has to be the last man on Earth, I want it to be you. It has to be you.

I love you.

Ni

He reads it once, twice, trying not to tear up or panic. He does well with the first, not so much with the second. What... Why does it sound like a farewell note? Maybe because it is? But Ni is not... He would never... He wouldn't.

"Marti?" Oh. So he hasn't been swallowed by a black hole. He could swear he did. His father is offering some small comfort, now, squeezing his shoulder and looking into his eyes as he tries to work out what had him so terrified.

"No, it's not him." He mumbles, evasively. He doesn't have it in him to give his dad the whole picture. It would take too long, and every second counts when Ni might be thinking of... God. Why is he still here?

"It's Giovanni. He needs me, now." It's not really fair to involve Gio in this, but he is the one friend that makes his lie believable. It doesn't need to be a matter of life and death for him to drop everything and go: his father has known that ever since he first brought his best friend home when they were six.

"I have to go, I'm sorry."

                             /////////////////////////////////////////////

As he pretty much runs to the nearest bus stop, he curses himself for not asking his father the money for a taxi.

He tries to call Nico, but of course it keeps on ringing until it goes to voicemail. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

Fuck his old ass phone, for not letting Martino send Ni a ten minute voice message in which he could either reassure him that he hadn't lost him or yell at him for sending such an idiotic message. Maybe both. Both are good.

Fuck the night buses, for taking forever to show up and even longer to get near his school. That's where Niccolò is, no doubt about that. He watches Chicco Rodi's tutorial on how to break into the building - which he saved on his phone, thank God - unable to keep waiting for Nico to call him back. When it ends, he is still nowhere near is destination. He might as well try sending him a text. He might be willing to read what Martino has to say, even if he doesn't want to listen.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean, Ni? You're spook- No, that would make him feel even worse. Try again.

You didn't lose me. I'm still yo- That's not too bad, but why would Nico believe him when let himself be fooled by Maddalena into thinking Ni would be better off without him? Hadn't he hated when Niccolò had made the same assumption, after Martino said all that shit about his mother?

He would if he could hear the seriousness in his voice, of course, but on a screen... It wouldn't work.

I'm on the night bus. I'm nearly there. Please, don't do anything stupid. Apart from me. This is slightly better. It's not the time for self-deprecating jokes, though, is it?

Wait for me, Ni.

He's crying now, so angry at himself for not finding the right words when Niccolò needs him the most. Martino is the one who keeps letting him down.

He's half tempted to throw his fucking phone - useless piece of junk - from the nearest window. To fight anyone on this bus. To kick a door open and get off. He nearly misses his stop, yelling "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" to some guy that has been staring at him since he got on.

He's at the end of his tether, he is well aware of that. He can't afford being unable to think straight, however. He slaps himself with two hands, hard enough to regain some mental clarity. Watching the tutorial was actually useless, since both the gate and the front door were left ajar, but that's okay.

He is a bit relieved, indeed, that Nico hasn't locked himself inside.

'm sitting here... Where we met for the first time'   In the radio booth, then.

He slams the door open, but Nico isn't there. Martino immediately sends a text, asking where the hell is he. Did he mean "where we were first introduce to one another" but rephrased it to stay within the character limit?

"FUCK!!! I SWEAR TO GOD, NI, IF YOU WENT UP TO THE TERRACE..." He shouts to the empty corridors, as he briskly walks to the stairs. In his haste to get to the roof, he nearly trips twice on the steps.

It takes some work, and a twisted ankle, but it does manage to kick the flimsy gate down. He then proceeds to break down the heavy door with his shoulder - yeah, he should have totally asked Ni what other way he had found to get to the terrace, when he had the chance... Not that being accused of vandalism isn't a risk worth taking.

Having heard all the commotion, NIccolò stands up. It takes an enormous amount of effort to do that, when he feels so sluggish and tired. He doesn't have to raise his head to know who it is. It can only be him... but why? Why did he bother? Is he here to tell him that they cannot break up over text? He did say they needed to talk.

"FUCK IT, NI, YOU'RE NOT ALONE!" Martino cries out, instead.

His voice sounds so raw, and broken, that Nico can't help but back away from him. He ended up hurting Martino, once again. He should go. Then, in a matter of seconds, he finds himself stuck in a bone crushing hug.

"Don't ever say that again. Don't even think about it. The last men on Earth has got to be us. Together. I won't have it any other way. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay, okay? " Martino is rambling now, digging his nails into Niccolò's shoulder blades and sniffling against his neck. He breaths in, deeply, feeling weak in the knees now the adrenaline rush is over. He needs to calm down if he wants his words to get through to Niccolò.

He sighs, kissing his lips to reassure himself that his boyfriend is here for real, in his arms. Alive.

"Whenever you feel lonely, tell me. You are not alone, Niccolò. You will never be. I won't allow it. You always, always, got me." *************************************************** A/N: So, what aboiut a 'minute by minute' epilogue with Martino asking for his mom's help rather than Maddalena's? We'll see if inspiration strikes...Anyway, I hate myself enough that I also want to write this Italian because "Te dimmi dove sei che mi faccio tutta Roma a piedi." and "COL CAZZO CHE SEI SOLO, NI" have totally another vibe from what I used in English :P Also, I know in the og it was Magnus that said that Even couldn't have been having a manic episode 24/7, but I wanted to change it a little... And.. What else? Oh yeah: do you really want me to believe that Martino keeps him under his full name in his phone ;D ? AFTER TONIGHT ?? He's just a step away from having under "Amò" (short for 'love')... For Nico's text I used this as an ispiration, but I didn't want to be too specific with the location: https://twitter.com/concertiallalba/status/1058386950770561026

[lonelypond]

AU YEAH AUGUST, Royalty

Love Live, NicoMaki, 2.1K, @auyeahaugust

Summary: Nico’s coming of age dance goes off the rails when the original band is suddenly replaced by a stubborn redheaded guitarist.

RESPECT

Nico, heir eldest of the Yazawas, was very aware of her impact. At the Spring Gathering of the Clans, she’d had the audience in her grasp. Hair swept up, dark red furisode with an exquisite pattern of blossoms and butterflies, every vocal trick she’d learned from her singing classes adding depth and emotional texture to her words. Everyone in the vast room had seen her, she’d heard the mass intake of breath, everyone had heard her, there had been no rumble of side conversations picked up by ears to used to listening for siblings, but Nico doubted any of the nobles present had actually listened, as all the chatter in the halls after was about her appearance and the exquisite contrast of pale skin and bold color choice. But eventually, Nico would get through to them. Change needed to happen. The larger landed clans DID have a responsibility to the smaller families. Nico’s siblings were not going to have to marry to protect the Yazawa clan, like Nico would. She swept confidently through the lower halls of Castle Nishikino, a smile for everyone she passed, wondering who would be attending her coming of age dance in four months. She missed one set of lavender eyes that narrowed as Nico skipped through her admirers, flirting. They’d watched her speech from a hidden balcony.

Nico fussed over her gown, her sisters helping. It would be a long night. Nico loved being the center of attention, but tonight, really, the attention was on future alliances. Her mother had been negotiating but had not shared with Nico any thoughts on prospective suitors, preferring to let her daughter choose for herself. Most of Nico thought that impractical, but part of her was intrigued by the romance of finding love on a dance floor. Not that she could let that romantic fantasy sway her from strategic concerns.

There wasn’t a band, that surprised  and distressed Nico, who was sure a quintet had been agreed on, just one young musician, dressed fairly casually for the evening, hair under a drooping hat, lounging at the front of the stage. Sharp lavender eyed Nico as she and her mother did a final check of the ballroom before the guests arrived.

“I thought there was an ensemble playing tonight?” Nico asked her mother.

The older Yazawa shook her head, ��Hired away by the Nishikinos.”

Nico frowned, “Of course, they just want to tramp all over Nico’s night. For their daughter the recluse, right?”

Her mother hesitated, “I don’t think so. Something about an anniversary?”

“Does this one have a name?” Nico asked, pointing in the musician’s direction.

“Hyou.”

The musician, red hair messy under a skewed hat, wearing a lavender gown that echoed the bright color of her eyes, had been tuning her instrument, but lifted her head when she heard the name and seeing Nico’s stare, fumbled with her guitar. The twang echoed.

Nico glared at her mother, “The most important night of Nico’s life and this is what I get.”

Nico’s mother just smiled, “She comes highly recommended.”

Nico rolled her eyes, and charged the stage, her mother watching with amusement.

“Hey, Hyou.”

Another guitar fumble, and a refusal to make eye contact, “I’m...I’m busy.”

“You won’t have anything to tune for if you don’t talk to Nico.”

The girl put the guitar aside, ran a hand through the hair sneaking out over her ear and cocked her chin at Nico, “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” I want the band I asked for.” Nico fumed, “Who are you?”

A stare off, the musician rising to her feet, much taller than Nico, “Ma…” Head shake, “Maybe you should just listen.” She grabbed the guitar and strummed a lively tune that made Nico’s feet twitch with the urge to dance.

“See Nico,” Her mother came up behind her, hand on Nico’s shoulder, “I told you she came highly recommended. Now let’s go get you ready.” She smiled at Hyou, “I’ll have them bring you some food.”

A polite nod, while Nico hissed. Already something had gone wrong.

The next wrong thing was Nico’s first dance partner, no, not one of the pretty girls, but the twice Nico’s age, overpreened, overwaxed, pallid son of a middling family. He would not have made Nico’s dance card, but he’d traded a dance with an only marginally better prospect who’d just gotten engaged.

Sweating, clammy hands too. Nico’s stiffness screamed displeasure, but pale and dripping proceeded to ignore all the signs and inform Nico of his vast and many charms,illusory as far as she could tell. Then he pulled her closer and the music picked up, switching from a slow waltz to a sprightly jig. Nico would have glared at the musician but she was having too much fun watching her partner stomp on his own feet in a futile attempt to keep up as Nico gathered her gown and let her feet tap away. The song finished with a flourish and Nico retreated giggling to the drinks table until her next partner arrived. Nico looked to the bandstand and Hyou smirked, causing Nico to squelch any further urge toward amusement

This one was a little lively, Nico’s height and age, amusing, she found herself laughing at a joke or two, and well able to keep up with the foxtrot the guitarist had settled into, which kept slowing and slowing until Nico found herself swaying in place, increasingly frustrated as her partner kept awkwardly trying to maintain some sort of a flow at a beat that a made a walk look like a tarantella.

Barely keeping herself from baring her teeth as she made her excuses, claiming a need to look after the music, Nico charged the stage again, as Hyou was merrily strumming a lively folk tune, grinning at the women circling up for the group dance.

“This is not a peasant feast.” Nico muttered, trying to keep her voice low.

“Food would be better if it were.” Hyou kept grinning, speaking out of the side of her mouth.

“Uuuuuuggggggggggggihdajhhjkdb” Nico stomped, exactly as the circling groups did.

Hyou made eye contact, “See, it’s in your blood. Much more fun than these fake romance-y things.”

“Nico is not a peasant.”

The musician replied by beginning an even older, peppier tune, usually played at the May festivals when lovers started entwining themselves, watching amused as Nico fought the urge to join in.

“I know my audience.” Hyou winked.

“You know…” Nico began but a polite cough behind her made her turn. The blued sable hair of the youngest Sonoda daughter gleamed in the candlelight.

“Excuse me, Nico, but I believe I have the honor of the next dance.” A hand was extended at the perfect height, a bow showcasing the graceful body filling out a delicately hand painted twilight gown, “May I.”

Nico’s breath caught a bit at the sight and she heard a grumble behind her. And then a snap, and a smooth voice, with a hint of smugness, “My apologies, ladies, I need to restring my guitar.”

Nico whirled but Hyou had already bounded off the stage. The Sonoda waited patiently, amber eyes calm. “Let’s get something to drink.” Nico decided, exasperation in her voice as she stepped off the stage. A chance for a quiet talk with the Sonoda was better than the scandal strangling the musician ruining her party.

“Of course,” a steady arm was offered and Nico was steered through a confused and mumbling crowd. What had her mother been thinking.

Nico’s grand social debut was over and all that she had definitively decided was that musicians gave her headache, no matter how expertly their graceful fingers occasionally danced across the strings. Any charm had been entirely eclipsed by the smug redhead’s ATTITUDE. And her tendency to change the tempo or the song the second Nico started to feel in synch with her dance partner. No respect at all. Completely trolling Nico all night long. And on her birthday.

Nico changed into her nightwear, threw herself on the bed, the ranting that had started once she hit the family’s suite of rooms continuing. She found herself getting louder as the sound of a stringed instrument being played got closer to her....

Nico launched herself from the bed, onto her balcony, hanging over the edge, glaring at the guitarist, her red hair blowing free, leaning against the nearest tree. There wasn’t much light in the courtyard but it was enough for Nico to see an increasingly familiar mischievous grin.

“You!” Nico shouted, “Are you trying to ruin the rest of Nico’s night?”

Hyou raised a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. Nico stormed back inside her room, grabbed riding breeches, shoved the skirt of her nightgown into them, returning to the balcony and stretching out to where she could reach the trellis.

“Going to strangle her with those strings,” Nico muttered as she worked her way down with practiced ease, “Like I should have earlier...Nico needs new security...who lets wandering musicians actually wander...can’t trust anyone…” The ground arrived sooner than Nico expected and she fell into waiting hands.

“Let go.” Nico snarled, Hyou did so immediately, light skin darkening with a blush. “Why are you bothering Nico.” No response, no eye contact, “Why are you here?”

The musician considered for a moment, then approached again, “To wish you a happy birthday.”

“The,” Nico felt her nostrils flaring, “why couldn’t you have just put on a better performance at NICO’S SPECIAL BIRTHDAY DANCE?!!!?”

Serious head shake, hair falling shaggily across furrowed forehead, “I’m..I’m” deep breath, “respecting your sovereignty.”

“What are you talking about?” Nico was genuinely confused. If this the sort of illicit conversation that happened between midnight and dawn, Nico was staying in bed next time.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Hyou sputtered.

“A moonlit conversation about land rights?” Nico was genuinely flummoxed.

“No,” Hyou’s body language tensed, “Change? Or did you...not mean it...and plan to dance off with the droolingest, handsiest, highest bidder?”

If this was what adulthood was, Nico decided, this feeling that you’d missed most of a conversation, adults could keep it and she’d tuck herself back into bed with Cocoro and knock her age back to match her looks. But no, adulthood was coping with random strangeness. Nico sighed, watching as the redhead paced her courtyard, mumbling. Nico reached out to catch an arm and pulled the taller girl in. First question first, “Why did you wreck Nico’s night.”

“None...none of them could have kept up with you…” scuffling of feet, fingers in hair, “dancing.’

“And…” Nico was puzzled, but from the way the other girl had stilled at Nico’s touch and the rapid pace of her raspy breathing, Nico was beginning to get a suspicion of motive, “And you can?”

A quick, definite shake of the head, then a whisper, “No...but I can learn.”

Nico’s fingers tightened, “So Nico teaches you.”

A nod.

“Who are you?”

“Maki.” That sounded familiar somehow.

“Suits you better.”

“Nishikino.”

For the only time in her life, Nico had no words. She found herself leaning into Maki for balance as she swayed. “Mama knew.”

Maki nodded again.

“Why?” Nico stood, her hand resting on the one Maki had at her waist.

“I heard you. At the castle. Months ago. Wanting to make changes.” The sun was coming up, but not as bright as the blaze of determination in eyes that suddenly caught Nico’s, “I do too.” And then shyness bolted back and Maki glanced away, “If you accept my propo…” a quick choke, “this alliance, you can help me.”

“You’d be helping Nico.” Firm.

Maki sighed, but as Nico watched the open face she’d been unable to ignore all evening, she saw only alertness and respect.

“Nico has a specifically detailed plan.”

Maki pulled Nico closer “So yes?”

“Why didn’t you just roll up with the family entourage?”

Mischief again; Nico liked that look, “No fun. Chaperones.”

Nico stood up on tiptoe, watching Maki close her eyes and lean in, then she chirped “Nico has a ‘no musical miscreants on the trellis’ rule.”

Maki blinked, glancing toward the balcony, “I..I can...leave the guitar down here.”

Nico snorted, “Nico knows Mama didn’t agree to that.” The blush was sunset redux and too tempting. “Nico will make you breakfast.”

There was a serious pout, at least until Nico laughed and pecked a quick kiss on Maki’s cheek and dragged the redhead after her, “Every morning you’re here.”

A/N: I had to type this while on new kitten patrol so please forgive any errors. This was an Anonymous Tumblr request for "Royalty" so I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the ask! My wife wanted Nico as the Princess as Maki as the musician who swept her away so here we are.

[takaraphoenix]

Phoe’s Advent Calendar: Day 2

@3littlemieces - I wish you and everyone reading this a happy pre-holidays-phase ;)

Title: Advent Calendar Project – Charming Christmas Carols

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, cuddles, singing, love spell (kinda)

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Piper McLean

Summary: Percy discovers a new power he has during Christmas-time. He can charm-sing – like a siren. That's a problem, until it isn't.

Links: FFNet | AO3

Charming Christmas Carols

Nico was startled out of his trance by a sudden yelp.

Camp Half-Blood was having a Christmas party and during that, they were also singing Christmas carols together. Or rather, individually. A bit like karaoke night. Most of it had been rather painful for Nico's ears. Will had kicked it off and Nico was fond of Will's voice – Cecil screeched his way through it and Annabeth had made Nico's ears bleed – but then Percy started singing.

And Percy sounded like an angel.

He also looked like an angel, but that was nothing new. To Nico, Percy had always been perfection. Now, he could hear that Percy even had the voice of an angel. And he looked so serene while singing. Or at least, he had been looking so serene, until he suddenly screeched, right in the middle of a beautiful, soft Christmas song. Nico's eyes snapped open and he noticed he was the only one left on the seats. Everyone else had stormed the stage.

Everyone else had stormed the stage and was now trying to kiss Percy.

Nico blinked in slow-motion as he watched in silent mortification how Clarisse and Reyna were actually in a fist-fight over Percy, while Will was trying to pull Percy into a kiss, at least until Jason started pulling Will away by his hair. Everyone was spurting declarations of love and lust.

Something had gone horribly wrong and Nico had no idea what, but he knew he hated it.

Hastily, he got up from his seat and rushed forward, receiving an elbow to the side from Leo and a screeched curse from Drew. Everyone was suddenly addicted to Percy. Wide-eyed, Nico looked at the terrified son of Poseidon. Percy looked downright frightened as he was being cornered by some camper Nico didn't even know by name, who was trying to kiss him.

"N—No", pleaded Percy, clearly overwhelmed by everything.

After all, there were literally dozens of demigods suddenly storming in on him, trying to touch and kiss him. Anger rose in Nico and the Earth beneath him started shaking and splitting. The other demigods lost their balance and Nico finally had a clear path to reach the startled Sea Prince. He gritted his teeth as Katie summoned vines to hold Nico back. With his powers, he easily let them die so he could reach Percy. Percy looked at him with tears in his eyes, frightened.

"It's okay, Perce. Let's get you out of here", whispered Nico gently. "Come."

Percy basically threw himself at Nico, clinging onto the son of Hades and just as the nearest demigods reached out for Percy again, Nico opened the shadows and brought Percy to safety. Safety, in this case, being the first safe place Nico could think of – the underworld.

"H—Holy Hades, what just happened?", grunted Nico, still cradling Percy very close. "You okay?"

Percy in his arms was shaking a little, trying to catch his breath. "I... I... Yeah. It was just... too much. I felt claustrophobic. Overwhelmed. Everyone going after me like that. It was... scary."

"It's alright, Percy, you're safe", assured Nico gently, smoothing Percy's hair down. "I would never let anyone hurt you. I don't know what just happened, but... you're safe now."

Percy grunted and kept clinging onto Nico, relieved that he was now safe. Safest place he could imagine – in Nico's arms. All the craziness just gone right now. All there was was Nico.

/break\

It took Percy two days before he felt ready to return to Camp Half-Blood, but only after Nico went and checked it out to see if everyone was back to normal. Still, as they entered camp again, Percy kind of hid behind Nico. No one dared to even look at Percy. Everyone had their eyes averted in embarrassment. Some came up to him and apologized, blushed and ran off.

"Perce", started Piper as she approached and rested a gentle hand on Percy's arm. "Are you okay?"

"Y—Yeah. I mean. I have no idea what happened? I was just singing Christmas carols and suddenly everyone went batshit crazy. Was this your mom messing with people?", asked Percy.

"Oh, that one was on you", chuckled Piper before pausing. "Not that I am putting blame on you. You didn't know you could do that. No, but... Chiron and Annabeth put their heads together and figured it out. It seems you have some siren-powers. It's like charmspeak, but... only singing. Turns out Aphrodite only has the power of charmspeak because she was born to the sea. Just like the sirens. So, your singing, it... charmed everyone. Made everyone go mad with love for you."

"That's not true", argued Percy with a frown, pointing at Nico. "Nico was unaffected!"

"...You're adorable", chuckled Piper fondly and shook her head before walking away.

Percy frowned confused as he turned toward Nico. "I know how love-potions work. So this can't be. The only way a love-spell fails is... But it's been... You said I'm not your type..."

"Well. I lie. What else is new?", grunted Nico and averted his eyes with a glare.

"So... you... still like me?", asked Percy unsure, trying to look him in the eyes.

"No. I still love you", sighed Nico as he finally looked up to lock eyes with Percy. "That's why your beautiful singing was just that. Beautiful singing. You couldn't make me fall hopelessly in love with you because I already am hopelessly in love with you."

"Why lie?", asked Percy confused, frowning. "You just blurted out that you liked me but that you're over it. That I'm not your type. And you left me confused, contemplating my sexuality for months!"

"I did what now?", asked Nico stunned, staring at Percy in confusion.

"I've never really thought about... sexuality", grunted Percy slightly frustrated. "I was just always shoved into it head first. And the girl's normally the first one telling me she likes me! Annabeth, Rachel, Calypso. I just... I don't really think about romantic... options, until they literally present themselves to me. And... And I've been thinking about you a lot, since you... told me. Argh."

Frustrated by it all, Percy grabbed Nico's face and slowly brought it closer. He kept eye-contact with Nico, making sure the son of Hades knew what was going on. Nico didn't back out. He just leaned in too until they finally kissed. It was sweet – Nico tasted like pomegranates and Percy was going to tease him about that until kingdom come – and soft. Percy really liked kissing Nico. He might like it a little too much, because he was pretty sure he could hear a choir of angels in his head. No. Wait. Not in his head. When Nico and Percy parted, they realized some campers had gathered around them and were actually singing gentle Christmas love songs. Percy blushed.

"Let's get out of here?", asked Nico softly. "Maybe... a first date?"

"Yes. Get us out of here", nodded Percy flustered, fingers linked with Nico.

~*~ The End ~*~

[liveshaunted-moved]

Headcanon Dump; Morgan

morgan’s hair is magically chamred to look blonde, only those in the charming household know their hair is naturally blue.

morgan sided with chad & audrey with the whole ‘ben is love with mal’ thing

their powers are  Geokinesis,  Necromancy, Fairy Magic,  Umbrakinesis,  Thermokinesis ( basing powers on pjo / nico’s ablilties )

they have a skull birthmark on their inner left wrist, looking like a tattoo

once, as a baby, sneezed and turned into a black dragon

knows that they’re adopted, and doesn’t care about their birthparents. as the charming’s are their parents

morgan swears a lot. there is a swear jar in the charming household. most of it is morgan.

morgan is very protective of those they care about and will do anything to protect them

they are VERY GOOD at holding grudges, it comes from both parents.

morgan is more powerful then mal, and NO you can not fight me on it

morgan will hold mal responsible for what she did to audrey and chad and ben. morgan would expect a full apology from mal to; ben, to audrey, to chad, before morgan would ever consider forgiving mal for what she did.

morgan understands spells and understands that ben wouldn’t want to harshly / hurt mal, even though mal did spell him - they understand that, and only wants ben to apologise for hurting audrey, to audrey

when i say morgan would kill someone who hurt chad, i mean that literally. you do not hurt their family. they would kill someone if those who they care about are that badly hurt

morgan would absolutely adore persephone. they meet the goddess once, and loved her. was sad they never saw the pretty lady again

despite never having been in water, or an ocean or flying morgan has a fear of those. the only way they feel confident in the air is if they’re in their dragon form. that is it.

morgan loves persephone, and persephone is one of their favourite goddess ( as state in another headcanon ), mainly because of the time when i headcanon morgan meeting the goddess. they went and looked up goddess of flowers, or asked their mother to help them. and that was how they learnt about the greek gods, and started to believe in them. and started to pray to them.

morgan absolutely loves flowers and totally one year for an art project for school did it on persephone’s garden & hecate’s cave

morgan would be the kind of person to spoil their partner in affection and small gifts. a flower almost every two days, or a little note here and there

morgan practices hellenism, their favourite gods/goddess are, heacte, persephone, hestia, hermes & dionysus

due to not knowing where they came from, or who their parents are - there for not knowing what they are. morgan self identifies as a witch, despite the stigma that auradon has about witches. only those close to them know of this.

morgan HATES bullies, they understand not getting along, they know the difference between not getting along and bullying. so if morgan ever finds out that mal bullied, because that is what mal did, evie and carlos, and any of the other isle kids, morgan will flat out have an animosity towards mal.

i don’t think morgan would ever get along with mal, personally. this may end up thread to thread dependant, portrayal to portrayal dependant. but my general stance is that, morgan isn’t a huge fan of mal due to what mal has done to those close to them. hurting chad and audrey and tricking / spelling ben, that doesn’t sit right with morgan, nor does manipulating jane

morgan has a dragon form, it’s black and when they were four years old, their dragon form was already at five feet big.

by the time they reach the age of twenty three, their dragon form will be at it’s biggest which will be nearly thirty feet in length or potentially sixty

fire can be fired out of their mouth, it is a dark blue, with a lighter blue smoke

eyes are a fiery blue colour, a glowing blue almost

despite being adopted into a high royal family, morgan totally campaigns for sidekick & isle kids rights

morgan truly only has control over their magic, because fairy godmother can only teach them so much, fgm can’t teach morgan about controlling the dead, controlling anything that comes from hades. fgm can only do so much, and taught morgan breathing exercises to use when one of their powers that are more found with hades pops up.

they can’t bring in a god, bc that would get the charming’s and some of auradon questioning why they need someone like that to teach this kid.

morgan is the type of person, much like give gifts & little notes and flowers, to be very affectionate.

they, will always be the kind to kiss you on your forehead, cheek, back of the head, knuckles. anywhere and any kind. romantic? platonic? yes. because they feel like everyone deserves to feel loved

morgan has nightmares of them drowning & of falling from the sky / being struck by lightning. they have no idea where it came from.

even when in dragon form, while they might be less afraid of flying there still is that bit of fear within them

morgan has their own 3d printer, and, yes, they don’t let chad use it. it’s a little magically enhanced.

morgan loves their family more then anything. okay. no matter what universe, not matter what. their family is their life. and once they start calling you family, that’s it, you’re their family. it also doesn’t have to be by blood

morgan setting up a spell that allows them to know when people are having a bad day, or night, or a bad dream? more likely then you think. they would work hard on this, and even harder when the vk’s come over. it is finally mastered and every time they walk down the corridors of the dorms, they have their hands out - speaking the spell, and at every room they find someone having a bad day or nightmare, they magically pop in something like random flowers, or sweets into the room, or a cup that is magically filled with the person’s favourite drink.

them working on something specifically for nightmares, and always carrying around a few calming potions, that help calm someone down enough that they can sleep again. that them working on how to minimise nightmares, but realising they can’t but they can make something for after.

morgan just wants to help everyone. them setting up an ‘underground’ shop where they ‘sell’ their calming potions, their potions to help after nightmares. they don’t ask for much in return, because all they really want, is for everyone feel good.

morgan uses magic outside of their lessons with fairy godmother. it’s never anything major, or noticeable. and it’s always to help out others.

when that shit that went down with uma&mal at the ball? morgan noticed right away that ben was under some form of spell. they’ve been studying magic their whole life, they know a spell when they see one. and kind of why they won’t blame ben fully for his actions because they noticed he was spelled. and why they really won’t get along with mal because that seemed like a spell of maleficent then a trick of the evil queen or jafar.

morgan also then sympathies a bit with uma, because they see the way uma is reacting to mal. and they see that uma’s reason for spelling was different to mal’s ( at time spell was used )

When in the presence of a god, morgan will call them Lord/Lady *name of god/ess*, and yes this is included Hades.

the fire of morgan’s hair actually burns out fairy godmother’s charm on their hair. and often has to get the magic topped up, almost every six months. so morgan’s ‘haircuts’ are them going to fairygodmother for a touch up of magic. the spell was not taught to morgan

you know what,morgan’s hair is actually naturally blue not purple, purple is mal, morgan isn’t mal & is more hades in the sense of a lot of things

morgan is the kind of person to hate when people put people down, especially when it comes to appearance ( and things that can’t be changed ), which is why they like to always say things that are uplifiting. and if a partner, will leave / give positive notes in lockers, with flowers or chocolates.

it has been once said that, because of morgan’s helpful nature ‘are you sure you’re chad’s sibling? you sure you’re not adopted’ to which, they reply ‘i AM chad’s sibling, and i AM adopted.’ all with a hitched eyebrow and arms crossing against their chest.

morgan is so full of love, but will fight anyone who hurt those they care about.

morgan knows how to fence, play tourney, and is actually very sporty. but .. like doesn’t play for the school

morgan doesn’t know how to swim, and honestly refuses to go into big bodies of water. it honestly scares them. them even going to the cotillion? HUGE step tbh. but boy did they run out when uma fled into the sea bc they did not want to be in the water, so they uh…magically transported themselves back to their dorm room where they ended up having a panic attack by themselves. bc her mind told them that the boat was going to tip, or that mal and uma would fight hugely and that’s make the boat tip. it uh… scared them too much.

morgan’s main verse, has morgan storming off after the proposal, to a spot where they like, but can still see the vk’s coming in. this is how they transformed into their huge dragon form without hurting any of the ak’s. they were in an area where they couldn’t hurt anyone

zeus is morgan’s least favourite gods. mainly because most of their fears are things he controls. heights ( the sky ), thunder & lightning.

you think the core four were the first people to take fgm goodness class? you’re wrong.  morgan’s been taking it since they started school. they don’t know why, but it’s a class they have, and only after ben’s call to bring over the core four did they stop taking it.

morgan’s irrational fears are irrational to everyone but them, and the charming’s and fgm. because one day when morgan was seven, they acciddently shadow travelled, after thinking hard about their father, but the thought was ‘DAD’ not king charming specifically. they had just wanted their father, and then the shadows took them over, sending them to the isle but because of the barrier - morgan bumped into nothing and started falling into the water, screaming their head off before finally turning into their dragon form a few feet above the water.

they don’t understand why the thought of ‘dad / father’ sent them that close to the isle. fgm saved them, and brought them back to their home. now when they think of it, it sends them to the right person, and they end up at king charming’s feet or anywhere near him.

morgan has found it’s better to picture a face rather then a name

morgan is taller then chad. not by much, but they are taller

the charming’s uh… have been told they need to keep morgan as calm as possible. because once when, after their first magical out burst, got angry at another kid, their hair went up in flames, scaring the kid and fgm had to come in and like… wipe the kids memories of it bc morgan’s parentage can not be found out

after the events of d3, i think morgan would start to wear their hair out naturally in the sense of not going to fgm for the charm that colours their hair to match that of the charming’s

while they might be upset with ben, they still care about him. morgan is upset with ben for letting it drag on, and waiting for the ‘right time’ to say he wasn’t spelled anymore. ben is still someone they care about

Morgan keeps every gift given to them

morgan is very neutral, most of the time they are nice, and loving and wanting to spread love to everyone, but if you hurt one of their friends / family, they will be OUT FOR BLOOD. you do not want to harm anyone they love, this is why morgan does NOT like mal. especially if mal hasn’t apologised in three years!

morgan’s goodness classes came in hand with their magic controlling lessons, both of which were done in private, compared to the ‘public’ way that the core four’s class was given

due to the way they were born, morgan ages differently, this is why they put it down to when they’re in their thirties and still look like they did when they were twenty, and everyone ele clearly looks older - but then, everyone starts dying as they grow older, and… morgan takes a huge while for them to realises that maybe, just maybe they won’t age anymore. even longer to realise what that means.

morgan would often train with chad and loves/d whenever they could play sports together, but either way, morgan still would never try out for any school teams

you know what morgan would find extremely calming? someone painting on their back.

if morgan is dating or friends with someone who is an artist, musician, actor, sports player, author you bet your ass morgan is there to hype them up. they will be promoting them all the time.

no matter the verse, when morgan wants to be a parent - they will not carry the child. that is something the are certain on. if their partners is female and they have a donor, they will let their partner take on the pregnancy, but morgan will not. otherwise, morgan is adopting the children.

so more then likely, when morgan becomes a parent, it’s through adoption.

i think, one of the reasons morgan doesn’t like mal, aside from my other reasons written in bios and headcanons, is that mal, someone who grew up with no magic and was probably told that upon entering auradon that magic wasn’t allowed - but still used it and essentially got away with it scottfree ( from the adults ) because she grew up on the isle and doesn’t know better. and morgan knows in her bones that mal knew what she was doing, that while plans switched - they were all her doing, and she didn’t have to do them, but she still did.

whereas morgan, who grew up in auradon, and told to hide their magic and their powers all their life get’s scolded if they are caught using their magic; despite morgan being the one trained in magic because morgan has to go to magic classes ( unknown to them, set by adam ) so they can control them

morgan can be very morally grey, while, having grown up in the charming’s household, under the influence of Ella - morgan get’s their kindness from their mother. their temper and ability to hold grudges are from their biological parents - and they know this.

morgan has a HIGH pain tolerance

never ever call cinderella, cinderella in front of morgan, it is ELLA. morgan will come for your life if you don’t fix it, or ignore morgan telling you that it is ella

morgan offering isle kids, free magic lessons. to help them learn control of the thing that now flows through them!!!!!!!

her asking fgm for a classroom when more kids keep coming, and making it an official class

the kingdom making magic feel welcomed and not something to be ashamed of!

morgan would throw a halloween party & would invite everyone

morgan is 100% about the platonic ‘i love you’s’ and making sure everyone they know and care for, knowing that they love them. the idea of someone they care for not knowing that? they hate it.

sometimes they say it with their love language ( homemade gifts & cards ), or they’ll flat out just say it or text it etc

morgan loves lunch dates, they mostly love lunch dates with their friends. lunch dates to them, are more reserved for their friends more then they would a romantic partner

morgan’s main love language is giving gifts ( mostly selfmade ) and just time spent with the person.

has adhd

morgan for the most part is out by the time they’re fifteen. first as non-binary then as pansexual, first said bisexual but later felt pansexual was a better term for them.

here is the thing, morgan loves everyone and has respect for everyone but, once you loose the respect it is very hard to ever get it back.

so king adam, fairy godmother, belle have lost their respect. mal lost it and will never get it. ben is on thin ice due to morgan knowing he was under a spell ( and my personal hc is that ben does apologise to audrey, so morgan is on okay terms with ben, but it’s not were it use to be )