#and yes i think i did settle on naming bianca bianca

[safyresky]

Writing actual Diteline kids content and these little fuckos are actually feral

like. actually.

they are 14, 15, and 16 and they are swearing like sailors. they are cuddling their mom. they have a swear jar

they are PLOTTING to MURDER SANTA should the need arise and joy feels LEFT OUT bc NOBODY THINKS SHE COULD DO A MURDER (she couldn't really tbh, unless her lil sibs were in grave danger. then she'd go feral)

Robyn has his Mom's energy for SURE. He almost started taking off his vest and flaunting it like when people get goals in the world cup and throw their jersey off in excitement lmao

they have a fun relationship, those two. constantly bickering but will throw down when other people tease the other AND will gang up on Joy if they need to (Joy is the eldest)

but yeah. these lil shits are FERAL

[ryuusei-niu]

Well, soooo I'm bored, and I saw this post so there's like 26 songs in Spanish and what and why I relate some of them to Leo and Nico.

This will be a very long post. Get ready, take a coffee, idk.

Playlist here

For Nico:

Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir

"Amor de mis amores, reina mía, ¿Qué me hiciste? Que no puedo conformarme sin poderte contemplar.

Ya que pagaste mal mi cariño tan sincero lo que conseguirás, que no te nombre nunca más."

(Love of my loves, my life, what did you do to me? I can't settle without being able to see you.

Since you poorly repaid my sincere affection(? What you'll get: that I won't say you name anymore)

"¿Qué gano con decir que una mujer cambió mi suerte? Se burlarán de mí, que nadie sepa mi sufrir."

(What do I gain by saying that a woman changed my luck? They would make fun of me, let no one know my suffering.)

Change the woman part with man and you'll have the cupid's scene. I don't ship Percico but this song is like very dramatic and melancholic and so resented in a way Nico would be.

Te Aviso, Te Anuncio

"Te aviso y te anuncio que hoy renuncio a tus negocios sucios.

Ya sabes que estoy de ti vacunada, a prueba de patadas.

Por ti me quedé como Mona Lisa, sin llanto y sin sonrisa.

Que el cielo y tu madre cuiden de ti. Me voy, será mejor así."

(I'll let you know and I announce to you that today I'm leaving your dirty business.

You already know that I am vaccinated from you, kick proof.

Because of you I became like Mona Lisa. Without tears and without smile.

May heaven and your mother take care of you. I'm leaving, it's better this way.)

Ok but for you all who like to make Nico a diva at the "You're not my type" scene. This song. NICO SINGING THIS SONG TO PERCY. I LIKE DRAMA.

Hasta la Raíz

"Cuando mire al cielo y en la forma cruel de una nube gris aparezcas tú.

Una tarde suba una alta loma y mire el pasado, sabrás que no te he olvidado.

Yo te llevo dentro, hasta la raíz. Y, por más que crezca vas a estar aquí."

(When i look at the sky and, in the shape of a gray cloud, you'll be there.

One day I climb a high hill and I'll look at the past, you'll know that I haven't forgotten you.

I carry you inside me, to the root. And no matter how much I grow you'll be here.)

I want angst. So, every time Nico listen this song, he remember Bianca. (I'm not projecting me and my cat, how dare think about that, I'm not crying at all).

Don

"Una mañana te veré llegar y descubriré que yo, solo ya no estoy mejor. Y te pediré que me acompañes. ¿A dónde? En verdad no sé, dime qué sí, miénteme.

Podría ser que al final rompiste el cristal en mí. Podría pasar que me hagas hablar, yo creo que tienes el don de curar este mal."

(One morning I will see you arrive. And i'll discover that, alone, I'm not better. So, I'll ask you to accompany me. Where? I really don't know, say yes, lie to me.

Could it be that in the end you broke the glass in me. It might happen that you make me talk. I believe that you have the gift of curing this bad.)

Solangelo, that's the post. This song is so happy and so beautiful and it's really them (or every ship that you like, I think everyone should know this song).

Cumbia Para Olvidar

"Finjo que puedo aguantar. Finjo no te veré más.

Cumbia para olvidar, olvido para perdonar. La melodía de un trombón cura mi alma.

Cumbia, no quiero sentir. Cumbia, no puedo vivir así. Cumbia, llévame a bailar, ayúdame a olvidar este dolor."

(I pretend I can hold on. I pretend I won't see you again.

Cumbia to forget. Forgetting to forgive. The melody of a trombone heals my soul.

Cumbia, I don't want to feel. Cumbia, I can't live like this. Cumbia, take me dancing, help me forget this pain.)

I really like the concept of Nico suffering from lovesickness, trying to forget his feelings for Percy, with songs in the background. It's like the only normal teenage thing that he could live.

Leo and Nico:

Morir de Amor

It's just a love song that I really like and I can't get out of this so. They're bot so romantic and they would dedicate this song to their lovers (plus point if it's valdangelo). Listen to this song, is very pretty I really like it.

For Leo:

No Tengo Hambre, Tengo Ansiedad

"Hace tiempo estoy pensando: 'Tengo que parar'.

Mientras tanto, por las dudas, sigo a toda velocidad."

(I've been thinking for a while: 'I have to stop'.

In the meantime, just in case, I continue at full speed.)

I think this song is so so so Leo code. Like, he's thinking all the time about what people would think, what he has to do to please others and trying to fit. He would love this song.

Insaciable

I think we, as a fandom, greatly underestimate the ambition that Leo carries within. Like, he's very perfectionist and he knows he's capable of do a lot of things.

He always seeks to improve himself, even if it leads to misfortune, even if it is not noticeable (and it is).

This song really give me vibes of "Non-stop", from Hamilton, another song that I relate with Leo. He would be such a Hamilton kinnie.

Algo mejor que hacer

Just two things:

"Todos me dicen que nunca voy a llegar a nada, que está probado que soy un caso perdido y que si sigo insistiendo con esta pulseada acabaré arruinado o algo parecido."

(Everyone told that I'll never amount to anything, that is probed that I'm a lost case and if I insist with this thing, I'll be ruined or something like that.)

And

"No tengo miedo a que me vean como un fracasado. Nadie me dió a elegir la opción de no haber nacido.

No me quieran complicar. Yo no voy a ningún lugar."

(I'm not afraid of being seen as a failure. Nobody gave me the option of not being born.

Don't complicate things, I'm not going anywhere.)

That's it, that's the post.

Lo malo de ser bueno

"Cuantas veces dije 'no' queriendo decir 'sí', cuántas veces presentí el principio del fin."

(How many times I said no when I wanted to say yes. How many times I feel the beginning of the end.)

I'm running of explanations, just listen the song. It's so Leo code.

No Saber de Ti

"Desde que no estás aquí ya no puedo encontrar de nuevo el sentido de la libertad. Sin ti no imagino volver a empezar.

Quiero saber qué fue de ti.

Desde que no estás aquí solo me habita el dolor. Se me va la vida sin saber de ti, amor."

(Since you are not here I can't find the meaning of freedom again. Without you I can't imagine starting over.

I want to know what happened to you.

Since you're not here, only pain lives in me. My life is passing away without hearing from you, love).

VALGRACE ANGST?!?! WHERE?!?

(I really love Los Nocheros, listen to Los Nocheros please)

Dueles

"Los golpes en la piel dejan marca y después se van.

Pero me rompiste en dos y no encuentro reparación."

(Bumps(? on the skin leave a mark and then go away.

But you broke me in two and I can't find how to fix it.)

"Mientras pienso en ti y en lo que perdí, quisiera evitar haberme permitido amarte para perderte.

Y me dueles."

(As I think of you and what I lost, I would like to avoid having allowed myself to love you to lose you.

And you hurt me.)

I have to stop associating dramatic heartbreak songs with valgrace, right?

Mi Buen Amor

Leo and Piper would sing this song with all their soul. They love how dramatic it is.

Also, I think this would be a good song for a Caleo au when they broke but still feel things for each other, just that they don't know what this feelings are and they don't want to be lonely. BUT NO ONE HERE LIKE CALEO. I GOT IT. I'LL BE RAMBLING ABOUT THIS ALONE.

Si Tú Me Quisieras

"Ay de mí, de este amor que se me metió y que se dispara. Se contagia y te reclama.

Ay de mí, de este amor que se me incrusta como bala, que me ahorca y que me mata.

Todo sería diferente si tú me quisieras."

({idk how to translate 'ay de mi'}, Of this love that got inside me and it's growing. It is contagious and demands you.

Of this love that sticks in me like a bullet, that hangs me and kills me.

Everything would be different if you loved me.)

I would say valgrace again but this is so Leo and every character that people ship with him.

Tu Falta de Querer

Maybe Leo just sing this song because it's so dramatic. Maybe he sings this song playing fun with Jason. Maybe he really feel the song.

Un Alma En Pena

"Como un alma en pena sigo esperando. Estoy tan falta de cariño, de años pasados. De niña queriendo, de grande odiando.

Y prefiero hacerme la tonta para no verme tan sola. Solo fluyó como el río, discretamente me sonrío, me pongo el traje largo, el brillo tapa todo.

El miedo borboteando, la risa delirando. Y ya estoy como el cero de mi cuenta al revés."

(Like a soul in pain I keep waiting. I am so lacking in affection, from years gone by. As a child loving, as an adult hating.

And I prefer to play dumb so I don't look so alone. I just flow like the river, I discreetly smile, I put on the long suit, the shine covers everything.

Fear bubbling, laughter raving. And now I'm like zero on my account backwards.)

I don't know if you remember the post I made about Leo's last nights at the Argo II, but this was one of the songs I listened to while thinking about that.

Aaaaand the other songs from there are all songs that I completely see Leo singing as a joke (or not). Most of them are songs that were popular at 2017/18, and now it's like a meme. I love each of these songs and I think Leo and Piper would sing Hola, Despacito, Era Tranquila and Cuando se Pone a Bailar with their soul

[bigolbadblog]

🥞pancake breakfast🥞

a soft, sweet f/f feedist drabble. this one cuts off before it gets too steamy, just bc i'm tired and i wanted to post something on Pancake Day, but i'm hoping to come back to this concept and these characters in the future. hope you enjoy!

It takes careful effort to settle the cast-iron griddle on the stove without making any noise, but it's worth it. To Bianca, at least. She turns the heat medium-high and fights the urge to sing aloud as she turns back to the counter. She pours the wet ingredients into the dry and whisks, just enough to break up the clumps.

The griddle is heating up. She wets her fingers at the kitchen sink and flicks arcs of water over it. The droplets sizzle and steam, and Bianca repeats the test just for fun, enjoying the flick of her long pink nails, the way the water dances on the glossy black iron. Satisfied, she greases the griddle.

And then she's off to the races, ladling batter over the hot griddle, big generous pancakes, little hand-held pancakes, silver dollars and Mickey Mouses and even one shaped- a little lopsidedly, she's not an artist- like a heart. The first batch is plain, but once they're done, she starts getting fancy with it. The next batch gets fresh blueberries, delicately dropped into the cooking pancakes and crowned with another dollop of batter to keep them from sticking when she flips the pancakes over. Then it's banana slices and chopped walnuts, and then she's measuring out miniature chocolate chips when she feels a pair of strong hands on her waist and a soft belly against her back. She yelps, and behind her, there's a familiar laugh.

“Majorrrrr,” Bianca whines, without any real edge. “This was supposed to be breakfast in bed! I've been so sneaky.”

She twists around to face Major, and feels her heart flutter the same way it did when she first saw her walk into that PTA bake sale years ago. Major's short salt-and-pepper hair is a mess, sticking up every which way, and she's still in her pajamas- if you can even call them that. A pair of plaid boxer shorts and a concert t-shirt so thoroughly aged that Bianca's not even sure she could read the band name. It's a chilly mid-February morning, but Major always runs warm. She gives Bianca a smile, and at least for the moment, Bianca runs warm too.

“Not sneaky enough,” Major teases, tapping her nose. “Did you really think I wouldn't sniff you out?”

“Or maybe I just thought you'd be patient?”

“Not a chance. Hey, anything I can do to help cook?”

“Nope. I'm almost done. You can help eat, though.” Bianca nods to the pile of already-made pancakes, sitting heaped on a plate under a sheet of tin foil.

“Oh, pour moi?” Major pretends to notice the plate for the first time. “Quelle surprise!”

“Yeah, yeah. Sit down and eat up. Next batch is chocolate chip.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Major takes the laden plate and sits down at the kitchen table, where Bianca's already set out butter, syrup, and jam. “You sure know how to spoil a woman, don't you?”

Bianca pours the chocolate chips into the remaining batter, then takes a moment to lean back against the kitchen counter and admire Major. She'd had that band shirt since before they even started dating. Back then, it had been a size or two too big. These days… well, that extra size or two gave it a little more longevity than most of Major's pre-Bianca wardrobe. So did the fact that Major had cut the sleeve and neck holes bigger. But Bianca swears she's been noticing Major adjusting that bottom hem a lot more than she used to.

“Yeah,” Bianca smiles, watching Major butter up a pancake, ”I guess I do.”

[avaetin]

Celebrity! AU (Oceanus and Di Angelo family) Meet the Family Vers. 2 (?); Lunch

Sally: See? I told you, Maria! They're perfect for each other! Why did you stop me from matchmaking them all those years ago?

Maria: Our Nico is almost never not in a relationship.

Nico: (chokes slightly on his food) (coughs in embarrassment, to his siblings' amusement)

Maria: Besides, their relationships are their own business. Hayden and I vowed never to interfere unless it was affecting the kids badly.

Zagreus: Mama, we're adults. Please don't call us kids anymore.

Maria: The five of you still call us Mama and Papa. I think I'll keep calling you kids kids.

Bianca: Good things come to those who wait, Aunt Sally. I think Nico and Aeon were always meant to be, but that the timing was never right. Both of them had a lot to learn about love. As for Nico, he had to make the wrong choices a few times before finally getting it right. (smiles meaningfully)

Percy: (winces at Bianca indirectly calling him a wrong choice)

Sally: Ohhh, that's true. That's so true. Timing is important. Speaking of which- (turns to Aeon and Nico) Your wedding. When do you plan to hold it?

Don: Or do we have to wait for you to announce it in the red carpet again?

Hayden: Do warn us in advance. For our companies' PR teams' sake.

Aeon: That might be impossible, Father-in-law... because we're already married.

Everyone: ...

Everyone: ...

Everyone: ...! WHAT?! (utensils clattering on their plates)

Sally: What?! When?! My eldest son got married, and I didn't even know?!

Maria: Heavens! Nico, why didn't you tell your Mama and Papa? Do you not love us anymore?

Di Angelo siblings: Us too!

Percy: (storms out of the room)

Don & Hayden: (exchanges a glance)

Nico: It was a civil wedding! We only had one witness each.

Thany: I demand names.

Aeon: Luke.

Nico: Reyna.

Sally: My son got married and I wasn't even invited! (crying)

Maria: (dabbing tears) Nico, did we do something wrong? Tell us, cuore mio.

Nico: Nothing, Mama! Look. This was just a civil wedding. We haven't planned the true wedding. Right? (nudging Aeon from below the table)

Aeon: That's right. We were just impatient to make it official, that's why we did a civil wedding. But we have always been planning to have an actual wedding.

Sally (temporarily appeased): Is that true?

Nico & Aeon: (nods a few times)

Maria: ... I suppose, if you two wanted to make it official quickly, it couldn't be helped.

Zagreus: Luke and Reyna though? I can understand Reyna, but Luke?

Aeon: To be fair, we grabbed whoever was free on that day, and none of you were. So we had to settle for him.

Bianca: Wait. You mean... that call before you two went to Maldives? You were looking for witnesses?

Nico & Aeon: (nods again)

Hazel: So when the paparazzi were making claims that you're already on a honeymoon in Maldives, you two really were?

Nico & Aeon: (nods again)

Don: ... Son. We released a statement denying this.

Hayden: As did we.

Don & Hayden: (massages head) We'll talk after lunch.

Nico & Aeon: Yes, Fathers.

[heroines-of-olympus]

I’ve been writing a Bianca!lives Nico-centric pjo au and in it, Nico plays a D&D knockoff game with some of the other campers. The point of these scenes isn’t to describe the actual game, but I’ve thought a lot about it so here’s a brain dump:

Daniel (son of apollo, oldest player) is the DM but if he played I think he’d play a cleric or a ranger. Technically the bards (and now Nico as a paladin) can heal, but I think it hurts Daniel a bit that their party is so unbalanced. He’s the only one that cares though lol.

Alan (son of aphrodite) plays a high elf bard, he just wanted a class where he could max his charisma stat. I think he’d like college of glamour or college of eloquence, but I’m setting this in the early twenty tens so those haven’t come out yet. He probably picks valour as his subclass. He tries so hard to talk their way through every encounter, he hates fights.

Conversely, Camille (daughter of ares) loooooves the fights. She plays a super ripped half-orc barbarian lady. She ADHD hyper-fixated on building her character and she totally min maxes her stats.

Iona (daughter of apollo) also plays a bard (I named her Baird, so I don’t think there was a choice). When they started the campaign, Iona and Alan fought over who would play the bard and the compromise they settled on was that they play siblings who were raised by their musical mother. Iona is a half-elf though, for the drama of course.

Ellie (daughter of hermes) plays a gnome rogue. She plays the thief subclass and she has a game with herself where every time she steals something in-game, she steals something from another player in real life. She gives (most of) it back.

Yes, Nico is basically playing Reyna as a D&D character. He wouldn’t be able to have a pegasus mount at this level, but Daniel (I) said rule of cool and just gave the pegasus horse stats. The other characters here are pretty one dimensional, I made their characters reflective of their godly parents rather than any internal motivation, but with Nico I wanted to show a couple of things with this choice. One is that he misses his sister, she’s this strong, badass fighter girl who he admires deeply and this reminds him of her. He also doesn’t have an inherent inclination towards death. Obviously he’s not averse to it, but I’m of the opinion that the off-putting vibe that Frank and Jason describe in HoO is curated—whether intentionally or not—by Nico and is exacerbated by his powers rather than caused by them. If I was going to pick his character the same way I did the other kids, he would play a tiefling school of necromancy wizard. I also think clerics have some cool domains that would match Nico’s powers really well like death or grave domain.

If they ever convinced Will to play with them, I think everyone would expect him to play a life domain cleric but he plays an emo tiefling necromancer, mostly to tease Nico.

[ilikereadingactually]

The City in the Middle of the Night

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

it's been quite a while since i actually carried a physical book around with me so much that it got this banged up! but once i started this one i didn't want to stop, so it went to the beach with me, got banged around in my bag and my hands across several modes of public transit (it's HARD to get to LBI without a car!!), and then got rained on when the sky opened up and we had not brought a beach umbrella. but! i finally finished it, once it was dry and i had time again after reading workshop manuscripts. and what a world to come back to, after flexing my brain muscles very hard for a week!

such WORLDBUILDING in this book!! it's truly astonishing, and probably my favorite aspect. every location on this alien post-generation-ship planet where humans have settled feels entirely lived in, whether it's ancient or it's only been a few generations. humans are hanging on by a thread, straddling the thin line of habitable space between eternal, searing daylight and eternal frozen dark, in ways that just feel so accurate to us as a species. they're erasing their own cultures in favor of assimilation, or they're reclaiming those cultures again, or they're partying all night, or they're living under an unbreakable tight schedule. students and pirates, scavengers and poverty and extreme wealth, melting pots and salad bowls of Earth cultures arranged in drastically new ways of life. it's so fascinating, and then there are also WICKED COOL ALIENS. aliens who communicate with psychic tentacles and share every memory! who build underground cities and don't have any need for individual names!! (this is a thing i have loved since being obsessed with Gargoyles as a child, i have a feeling it's come up in a review before.)

and leading us through this intensely wild and deep world are alternating POV protagonists Sophie—a shy scholarship student whose life changes forever when she takes the blame for something her crush Bianca did—and Mouth, a scrappy smuggler who's lost everything and keeps trying to find her way. i loved them both and was infuriated by them simultaneously, sucked in by all their lovely human flaws and foibles, Sophie's tenderness and her inability to see through Bianca over and over again, Mouth's stubbornness and singlemindedness even when she came around to better paths. there was so much going on here, and so much more i would love to know about how this world has progressed after the end of the book!! (but i do love a story that doesn't tie everything up neatly, and leaves the world and the reader with hope for the work yet to be done.)

the deets

how i read it: as i said above, a physical copy this time! it's been sitting on my tbr shelf for a while, i'm glad i finally got to it.

try this if you: dig really thought-out alien worlds and cultures and politics, love when people who feel like outsiders find their communities and callings, or like to yell out loud about intrigue and people frequently behaving foolishly for good reasons.

some bits i really liked: Sophie being extremely relatable

Every so often, Bianca puts on a dress made of iridescent petals, or violet satin, and disappears, along with a few others from our dorm. There's always some party, or banquet, that she needs to go to, to nurture her status among the city's elite. She stands in the doorway, the silhouette of an upward-pointing knife, and smiles back at me. "I'll be back before you know."

___

Every time I think I know what's wrong with me, I find something else.

___

Bianca asked if I trusted her, and I said yes, and I meant it. This thing with Dash is just part of whatever she's planning, and she's in control of the whole situation. I look at the taut line of her pale neck and exposed back, as she leans toward Dash, and I choose to see a harpoon gun, aimed and cocked.

[cevansbrat0007]

The Best Surprise: A Growing Pains Drabble

Summary: Andy and baby A.J. have their first of many important conversations. Takes place directly after the events in Hello Word: The Barber Twins. Andy Barber x Black!Reader, A.J. Barber

Warnings: Fluff, Tears, Andy Barber, Discussions of Fatherhood, Cursing, Minors DNI

A/N: Written for @elle14-blog1. Hope you enjoy. All feedback is sincerely appreciated, so please let me know your thoughts. Part of my ongoing Growing Pains Series. Thanks for reading!

___

You sit there and look at your twins in their little incubators. They were small, but thankfully not too small. They should maybe be able to go home in a couple of weeks. 

“Are you sure about the name?” Andy asks you. “I mean, are you sure, sure?”

“I am. This little man needs one. And I loved the one we picked.”

“You picked it.”

“But you said yes. If you’re not okay, that’s alright, but tell me now.” You tell him as you stroke his jaw.

“I’m okay with it. I love the name. And I love them. And I love BiBi and KitCat. And, most of fucking all, I love you.” Andy presses a kiss to your hand. 

___

The day before…

Andy stares down at the infant in his arms, his body overcome with a myriad of emotions. 

He had a son. Another boy. One his wife had suggested they name Andrew, after himself. An honor he wasn't sure he deserved. And then Jacob, after the brother he would never get to meet.

Andrew Jacob, otherwise known as A.J.

“Hey, buddy.” He whispers as the baby begins to squirm in his arms as he works to raise a tiny fist to his mouth. “Hi, my sweet boy.”

There were so many ways that Andy had tried to be different since the birth of Bianca. His first with his wife, Y/N. There was so much he’d changed about the way he thought, acted, and even parented. 

Because while the man exuded confidence, the thought of ever having another child had terrified him in ways beyond explanation.

And now he had been blessed with four more, Andrew Barber’s heart would forever live outside of his body. 

Fate had seen to that.

The same cruel mistress that had once threatened to destroy his very soul had gifted him with a series of second chances that he knew he did not deserve.

First with his wife. His soulmate. 

Then with Bianca and Katrina.

And now, with the arrival of Aurora and A.J.

Andrew blinks back tears as his son opens his gorgeous hazel eyes. He was barely a day old, but he could already sense their bond. Sure, it was new. But damn if it wasn’t strong. 

People often liked to tease him about how protective he was over his wife and children. But most of them didn’t know what it was like to grapple with that kind of devastating loss, and he hoped to God they never would.

His little family was his to cherish. His to protect. 

And he would, until his dying day. 

“Welcome to the world, my son. I want you to know that you, young man, are hands down the best surprise that I have ever received.” A tear escapes, trailing its way down his cheek. “There’s so much I need to tell you, so much I want to show you –”

Andy pauses when hears your sleeping form stir in the hospital bed next to his chair. God, how he couldn’t wait to get you home with him and the girls. Words could not express just how much he hated sleeping without you. Once he sees that you’re settled comfortably again, he turns his attention back to his boy. 

“You see that beautiful woman over there? Yeah, her. That’s your Mama. She’s the reason you’re here. I mean, I’d like to think I helped a little, although she tends to disagree. But as long as we both know the truth, that’s what matters. Now, where were we..?” Now fully awake, A.J. offers his daddy a sweet smile.

“I promise you that I’ll get to all the good stuff. We’ve got time, little guy. But before you fall asleep again, Daddy wants you to know that I will always protect you. And one day when you’re older, I’ll talk to you about your big brother, Jacob. Something tells me he’s looking out for you too.” A tiny hand wraps itself around Andy’s index finger.

“I love you more than life, buddy. You and your sisters…you all make me want to be a better man. For you, for them, for your mother.”

Andy leans down to gently kiss his baby’s fist.

“I will do everything in my power to be the father that you deserve. You have my word on that. You hear me?”

A.J. gurgles sweetly in response.

“Okay. Are you hungry, buddy? Should I wake Mama - no? Well then, since it’s just you and I, let me tell you about your big sisters, BiBi and KitCat. And before you ask, no we won’t let either of them put you outside…”

___

You smile to yourself as you hear your husband discuss the girls with your son. Your Andy Bear was the best man you knew, and one of hell of a father. And just like him, you would do everything in your power to protect your babies.

Because you and your little family deserved all the happiness this world could give.

END 

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Calling Out For Her

Cassandra Dimitrescu x She/Her Reader

A/N: Cassandra is my favorite I just love that girl. I thought it was real neat that Lady D could just call out for her and she’d appear so that inspired this. Some typical resident evil violence and language in here and Cassandra isn’t exactly nice at first, but she figures out how to be personable...kinda. Thanks for reading! Word Count: 6,158

(Y/n) was exceptionally careful. If tasked to understand what had allowed her to survive in the castle for so long, she would say it was because she was so careful, meticulous, with her work. All she had to do was follow a certain set of rules.

A polite tone brimming with reverence, ‘Yes Lady Dimitrescu’ or, ‘yes ladies Bela, Cassandra and Daniela’. Never a no, even if warranted, unless you want your eyes level with your toes and cool air meeting your stump of a neck. Always serve with a curtsy, never meet their eyes, never ask questions, keep your head down and clean, clean, clean like your life depends on it because like with everything else, it does.

The bottom line was that (Y/n) knew how to survive in the castle of Dimitrescu. It took tact, forward thinking, and a bit of luck. But today, after a very respectable nine months of service, (Y/n)’s luck had apparently run out. She had royally fucked up.

“Oh, fuck me—!“ (Y/n) hissed, followed by a sharp gasp as her grip slipped because of the dip of the chandelier.

She had no one to blame but herself. She had been assigned to clean the banisters and chandeliers of the foyer and had leaned out just a little too far with her duster. Thus, her scramble for purchase on the confounding light fixture to save her from cracking her skull on the marble floor below.

“H...help!” (Y/n) called, barely above her usual speaking tone. She dared not speak louder for fear of alerting any of the bloodthirsty daughters of her predicament. She could only hope one of her fellow maids was working nearby.

“No, nonono—“ the words left (Y/n)’s  mouth faster than her lips could move. One of the metal weldings that held up the chandelier was creaking and becoming dangerously loose as time ticked by.

“Help!” (Y/n) called a little louder, the desperation bleeding into her tone as her fingers dug painfully into the decorative, jewel encrusted rim of the chandelier.

Yet still not a sound besides the creak of old metal giving way. Nine months of service to the Lady of the Castle and this was never how (Y/n) imagined she’d go. It wasn’t uncommon for some maids to take their life by their own hand, but (Y/n) wanted to keep fighting—!

“Ah!” (Y/n) cried sharply. The chandelier’s tether frayed a bit further, causing it to drop a few inches. She was fully panicking now, arms aching and chest heaving as she dangled. She made the mistake of looking at the cold, hard floor below and that only made her heart beat faster. She didn’t want to go out like this!

The chandelier fell another inch, stinging (Y/n)’s fingers. She was gripping so hard she was sure her fingers must have been bleeding. She needed someone, anyone to come and somehow in her panicked state, she thought of her Lady. If her Lady needed something done and done fast, all she had to do was call out her name and she would be there in an instant. Somehow in (Y/n)’s desperate mind, she thought that calling upon the most ruthless of the Dimitrescu Family was her best course of action.

“Cassandra!” (Y/n) yelled, closing her eyes tightly and fighting to maintain her precarious grip.

For a few seconds, there was just the creaking the chandelier and (Y/n) didn’t know whether to be relieved or devastated by the silence. Before she could resign herself to her fate, a faint buzzing could be heard below, growing in intensity until (Y/n) could see the swarm of blowflies collecting below her until they completely formed the middle Dimitrescu daughter. She looked up at (Y/n) with a sneer on her blood stained lips.

“Well, well, well. I must say that this is a first for me.” Cassandra hummed, a fist over her hip as she craned her head up, twisting this way and that to really get a good look. Yes, a maid hanging from a chandelier must have been a novelty to the monstrous woman indeed.

“Just how did you get into this predicament little mouse? Perhaps you are more of a monkey, hmm?” Cassandra giggled sadistically before idly licking the blood from her lips, smearing it around more than anything.

“I leaned too far over the banister while I was dusting.” (Y/n) explained through clenched teeth, trying to maintain her aching grip.

“Mmm, how clumsy of you.” Cassandra laughed again, moving her arms to rest across her chest, she propped her chin up in her gloved hand as she regarded (Y/n) with glee. “You know, I was going to skin you alive. You had called me away from cellar time after all, new arrivals are always the most fun to break. Not to mention that you, some lowly maid, think that I, a noblewoman of the House, am at your beck and call. Yes, I was going to kill you myself but now I’m curious,” Cassandra’s smirk widened to a full blown maniacal grin, “what will give out first? Your arms, or the chandelier?”

“Lady Cassandra, please!” (Y/n) wasn’t sure where she thought pleading would get her, but people will do all kinds of things they wouldn’t normally do under duress. Including begging a known sadistic killer to save them from certain death.

“Oh, she remembers her manners!” Cassandra mocked, “Do me a favor and just fall already. I fear I might be developing a crick in my neck.”

(Y/n) could feel the heat of incoming tears sting her eyes as she dangled several feet above her one woman audience. Well, no one could say she didn’t try. She started mumbling a little prayer for herself that turned into a yelp as the chandelier fell another half a foot, a much larger drop than the occasional two to three inches. The sudden gravity shift yanked (Y/n)’s hands clean off the chandelier, slicing her skin terribly as she tried to grab back on. She missed, she was falling.

(Y/n) couldn’t even scream, she just closed her eyes as tightly as she could and waited to meet the ground... speaking of which, shouldn’t she have hit it already?

(Y/n) peeled open an eye and slowly allowed herself to finally take in the buzzing that was surrounding her. Blowflies. She peered down past the swarm to see Cassandra, half formed with her arms outstretched, ready to receive her. (Y/n) could only stare, mouth slightly agape, as she was settled in Cassandra’s arms, watching the blowflies that had carried her mesh back into Cassandra’s legs.

“Why so surprised?” Cassandra asked with a mock sweetness that made (Y/n) shiver, “I simply couldn’t let you die just yet. No, I think I’d like to play with you just a little while longer.”

Cassandra happened to glance at the bloody hands clutched tightly to the maid’s chest and hummed. Adjusting her strong hold on the paralyzed maiden, she clutched the outermost wrist tightly and pulled it to her bloodied lips for a sample.

“Mm,” Cassandra appraised, passing her tongue over the cuts again, “yes, I think I’ll enjoy taking my time with you.” She cackled before unceremoniously dropping (Y/n) to the floor at a much safer, but still painful height.

“Go patch yourself up, my prey. You’re dismissed.” She said and then, she dispersed into a swarm of blowflies and was gone, her laughter bouncing off of the high ceilings.

(Y/n) sat on the floor dumbstruck, before finally getting up on shaky legs. She made her way to the maid’s quarters and upon seeing that it was empty, she allowed herself to cry as she cleaned and dressed her fingers. Lady Cassandra had saved her, saved her for a worse fate by her own hand no doubt. All she could do was wait.

***

Cassandra was a menace.

After the chandelier incident, (Y/n) found herself assigned to areas of the castle that Cassandra was known to frequent. There was never a minute’s rest when the middle child was free from her mother and sisters and even if Cassandra was occupied, (Y/n) often found herself nipped by the occasional stray blowfly as she did her work. There was no question in her mind where they had come from.

Yes, having caught Lady Cassandra’s eye had created a lot of extra work for the poor girl with extra antagonism. She’d poke and prod and pull, jostling (Y/n) around while she tried to stay on task. She would drag bloodied bodies through the carpeted halls (Y/n) had just cleaned and laugh as the poor maid went to restock her cleaning supplies. Cassandra would even demand (Y/n) drop everything to run her baths when she had grow tired of running around with blood smeared all over her like a toddler left alone with finger paints. She’d smugly present her bloodied face to (Y/n), silently demanding she wipe it clean for her and when she was satisfied, she would lean back in her tub and order (Y/n) to clean the bloodied weapons she’d drop dangerously close to her feet.  

Cassandra was insufferable, yet, (Y/n) couldn’t help but think positively because it could have easily been much worse. For as taxing as dealing with Cassandra could be, she had never hurt her, not really anyway. Not like the poor maid who went to clean the armory and left with one less arm than she went in with. The occasional bite of a blowfly stung and the shoves and pinches could be bruising, but at least she still had all her limbs, no broken bones or sickle scars puckering her skin.

(Y/n) sighed to herself as she polished the same battle axe for the third time that week. She was the only maid allowed to clean the armory anymore after Bianca lost her arm. Lady Cassandra had said that only (Y/n) knew how to clean her toys with proper care and could make them twice as shiny and sharp. A few of the other maids would darkly joke with (Y/n) in the serving quarters about the middle Dimitrescu having a crush on her, but (Y/n) would simply dismiss their gossip and continue her work without complaint. Such rumors could be dangerous after all.

As (Y/n) heaved the axe back into its place on the wall, she heard the thrum of quick light feet running across the carpeted hall just outside. She frowned to herself, but kept working. Assuming it was just just another poor girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. However the door the the armory clicked open, and the slightly out of breath maid (Y/n) recognized as Moiara peaked in, flushed from all her running no doubt.

“Lady Dimitrescu is ordering all of the maids back to their quarters immediately.” The girl urgently informed.

“Whatever for?” (Y/n) asked, brows furrowed in concern. It was a most unusual order.

“Apparently a pack of Moroaica have escaped the cellar and are currently roaming the castle. The Lady’s daughters are hunting them down, but it could take some time to clear everything up. Lady Dimitrescu doesn’t wish to lose more workers than she can replace.” Moiara explained, albeit the last line came out a touch bitterly.

“I understand, I’ll make my way now. Be safe.”

“Thank you.” Moiara nodded before darting off again.

(Y/n) cautiously made her way to the door and peered down both ends of the hallway. Noting that it was clear, she left the doorway and shut the armory door before quickly walking in the direction of the maid’s quarters. It was quite a walk and (Y/n)’s heart went out to Moiara and the rest of the girls who were still scattered further within the castle’s walls.

The halls were eerily quiet and empty, not unusual, but with the added threat lurking, well, it made it a tad more unsettling. It was laughable really, for (Y/n) to be afraid now. The threat of death loomed over her head constantly and only now she was concerned?

(Y/n) chuckled despite herself as she rounded another bend, hardly checking her surroundings as she crossed the third hallway and then the fourth.

“Oh!” (Y/n) tripped on a raised wrinkle in the rug, her hand automatically grasped the curtain beside her to steady herself. She was lucky it didn’t rip or surely the Lady of the House would have her head, never mind the Moroaica.

As she made to steady herself on her own two feet again, the curtain she had grasped twisted harshly and was ripped from her surprised and slackened grip. (Y/n) felt her blood run cold and her feet turn to lead as the ‘curtain’ reached out for her, revealing rotten, gnarled fingers that snapped (Y/n)’s bicep in a firm squeeze. As it completed its turn, (Y/n) saw scraggly, yellowed teeth lunge for her neck.

She attempted to keep the stray Moroaica at bay. The whole interaction, frightening and life threatening as it was, was a near silent struggle. It was as if (Y/n) had lost her voice completely. All that came from her were stuttering gasps as the creature snarled and snapped at her.

It wrestled her to the floor and clawed at her clothes and skin, drawing the blood that it seemed to desperately crave. (Y/n) struggled and kicked at the creature but it was unrelenting and finally something happened that helped (Y/n) find her voice, she screamed.

The Moroaica clawed at her ribs, tearing fabric, skin and muscle alike. (Y/n)’s fighting grew weaker the more the monster dug at her and her mouth was still parted from her pained screams but they were now near silent croaks as the pain and blood loss threatened her consciousness. Seemingly noticing her weakened state, the Moroaica neared its yellowing teeth to her exposed flesh and—

“Oo, look Bela! I found another one~!”

(Y/n) reflexively closed her eyes and felt something hot and wet splatter across her face. She heard a squelching noise and felt dead weight fall against her body as Daniela’s giggles filled the hall.

“You shouldn’t be having so much fun.” Bela grumbled at her sister. “I knew mother should have sent you to your room. It would have been a more fitting punishment.”

“Okay, so maybe I forgot to lock the cellar, but you can’t say you aren’t having a good time as well.” Daniela said, grinning when Bela rolled her eyes, a small shadow of a smile forming on the eldest sister’s lips.

“Aw, look,” Daniela grunted, kicking at the dead Moroaica until its corpse rolled off of (Y/n), “well, let’s not let her go to waste. Her blood still smells good.”

“Wait, Daniela,” Bela said, holding her younger sister’s shoulder as she peered down at the bloodied maid her breaths coming raggedly as she fought to open her eyes. Bela sniffed and winced, shooting her sister a look.

“Daniela, take a closer look.”

“Ugh, fine,” the youngest groaned and leaned forward, “I don’t see why...” Daniela paused, her back went rigid. She just stared at (Y/n) for a few moments before finally turning to her sister, lips pursed.

“Cass is literally going to kill me.”

“You think?” Bela said, almost with complete disinterest.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Help me! If she dies, I die!” Daniela hissed, couching beside (Y/n) to assess the damage.

“I don’t know, I think I would kind of like to see Cassandra hunt you for sport.” Bela smirked.

“Bela!”

“Alright, alright.” Bela sighed, couching at (Y/n)’s other side.

The last thing the maid could make out before succumbing to unconsciousness was a dull, muffled buzzing and a feeling of weightlessness.

***

When (Y/n) awoke, she immediately noted that her throat was drier than a desert wind; her stomach and ribs also burned and itched like nothing she had ever experienced. She gingerly touched her stomach and found it covered in bandages. Her head ached so she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes for a few moments.

With great effort she hoisted herself into a sitting position and had to do a double take of her surroundings. This was not the maid’s quarters and given the amount of time she had been spending in here lately, she was quick to realize she was in Lady Cassandra’s room, in her bed. Before (Y/n) could really let it all sink in, the door was yanked open.

Cassandra stalked in, shutting the door tightly behind her before standing over (Y/n) with a fire blazing in her golden eyes. A blowfly (Y/n) had initially failed to notice crawled down the bedpost before meshing back into Cassandra’s body. Apparently she had been being watched.

“Why didn’t you call for me?” Cassandra gritted out, gripping the bedpost so hard (Y/n) was afraid it would splinter.

“Lady Cassandra?” (Y/n) questioned, still feeling numb and achy and not at all ready for such aggressive energy.

“Glad to know you still remember.”Cassandra said mockingly before her voice became low and serious again, “You were in trouble, why didn’t you call for me?”

“I don’t...” (Y/n) winced and held her head, it felt like she was on a boat in rocky waters.

Cassandra took notice and with surprising gentleness, lowered (Y/n) to rest fully against the bed once more. She even offered (Y/n) water and helped her drink. Then she checked her temperature, the cool touch of her skin felt wonderful against (Y/n)’s aching head.

“What happened?” (Y/n) murmured, whining when Cassandra went to remove her hand. A bit hesitantly, she put it back. A small, prideful smile curved at her lips when (Y/n) relaxed against her touch.

“Don’t you remember?” Cassandra scoffed, “I swear, you humans are so unbelievably fragile. You were attacked by a Moroaica that strayed from its pack. Bela and the idiot who caused the whole mess found you. I did some sucking up to mother and we fixed you up with a little herbal remedy,” Cassandra frowned her voice becoming a tad accusatory, “Yet you still slept for a long time.”

“I’m sorry to have been an inconvenience Lady Cassandra.” (Y/n) spoke up after trying to absorb all that Cassandra had told her. Surely it would have taken more than a, ‘little herbal remedy’ to fix what had happened to her.

(Y/n) scrunched her eyes shut when Cassandra suddenly growled and pinched the maid’s nose.

“I’m glad you realize it. Do you know how infuriating it is to watch another maid handle my weaponry all wrong? To not make my room the way that I like it? Ugh, I’d have killed them all if mother let me.” She let go of (Y/n)’s nose, swiping the side of her index finger playfully over the bridge a couple times before re-settling her hand over (Y/n)’s cheek.

“That’s why, when you’re all better, you are going to have to train one of those imbeciles how to do it right.”

“I can do it myself, Lady Cassandra. I can get back to work tomorrow I’m sure of it.” (Y/n) nearly pleaded. She was sure any girl she trained would end up killed anyway. There were too many little things that could set Cassandra off to count.

“There is no more cleaning for you. You’re retired.”

“Retired?” (Y/n) couldn’t help but gawk up at Cassandra. The notion was wholly unbelievable. No one retired from serving the Dimitrescus’ unless you counted dying as a form of retirement.

“Yes.” Cassandra said with near vicious finality.

“Lady Cassandra, my parents count on the lei I send them from my job here, please reconsider. There is no work for me back at the village and I’d just be another mouth my family cannot afford to feed.” (Y/n) beseeched, her body quaked with fever.

“Calm yourself.” Cassandra spoke as if attempting to be soft, but was still very on edge. “Your family will still receive money. You aren’t going back to the village.”

“I’m not?” (Y/n)’s brows drew together with further confusion, “but, then what will be my purpose if I’m not to work?”

“Does it really matter?” Cassandra flustered, a buzzing sound filled the space between them, “Your family is getting money and you don’t have to do anything for it, be grateful!” Cassandra pinched (Y/n)’s cheek a bit harshly before standing and stalking away. The buzzing following her as she tore the door open once more.

“I’ll be back with lunch.” The Dimitrescu grumbled before closing the door behind her once more.

“What is going on?” (Y/n) whispered to herself in disbelief before resting her head fully back against the pillow. She caught movement in the corner of her eye and turned her head just in time to watch a blowfly crawl back into the dark canopy of the bed.

***

(Y/n) wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Suddenly, she had all this free time on her hands and would for a long time apparently. It was nice when she was still recovering, but now that she had healed, she felt antsy.

Cassandra had handpicked a trembling maid for (Y/n) to train, but even those sessions did not last long as the poor girl, Anca was her name, was still expected to complete other chores. Something that did help to pass the time however was Cassandra herself, strangely enough. She was always the one to bring (Y/n) meals unless she was busy with some task her mother had given her, also giving (Y/n) little gifts and talking to her throughout each day. Sometimes the ‘gifts’ were gruesome and the talks seemed more like interrogations, but the effort in which Cassandra put into every interaction left (Y/n) intrigued with, and appreciative of the middle child.

Now wasn’t one of those times unfortunately, and (Y/n) found herself pacing the floor of her room, yes, one of her very own. Given to her by Cassandra right across the hall from her own. Now that she was well enough to do more on her own, she had been moved there about three weeks ago to have her own space. Another thing that was unheard of coming from the middle Dimitrescu. (Y/n) paused by the window to look out upon the snowy ground below.

“Miss (Y/n)?” A knock on the door, “May I speak with you?”

“Anca,” (Y/n) paused her paces, that was strange. There had been no plans for a lesson tonight. Nevertheless, (Y/n) was happy for the company. Ever since Cassandra had removed her from service, the other maids had avoided (Y/n) like a plague “please come in.”

The nervous little maid came in, closing the door tightly behind her, shoulders stiff as she slowly approached and took a seat in the chair (Y/n) offered to her.

“Are you alright? You’re shaking.” (Y/n) frowned, reaching out to comfort her only to watch Anca shrink away from her hand.

“Lady Cassandra,” she spoke, looking wildly around the room, “she will kill me I’m sure of it. What game are you playing?”

“Game? I’m playing no game.” (Y/n) tried to assure. “Has she said anything to you? I promise I’m covering every base I can—”

“You aren’t doing enough!” She screeched, startling the other. “I’ve seen the way she treats you. The privileges you’ve gained. This is all a set up! You were in my shoes not long ago, have you really lost your humanity so quickly?”

“Anca, please, calm yourself. I’m not working against you, I swear.” (Y/n) tried to explain. “Tell me what’s wrong, let me help you. How can I help you?”

“How?” Anca mumbled, rubbing at her dark rimmed eyes. “It’s all because of you that I’m in this mess to begin with!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, Anca.”

“No, I really don’t think you are.” Anca sniffed, rising from her chair. “But maybe there is something you can do to help me. I’m already dead, but I want to hurt Lady Cassandra before I go and I think I can do just that,” she pulled a knife from her apron, “if I take you down with me!”

“Anca!” (Y/n) screamed, stumbling away just before the knife could strike her.

“Just hold still! I’ll do it fast, please!” Anca cried as she swiped at her again. “Let me just have this one thing! This one last fuck you to this hell hole!”

“Stop! You’re making a mistake!” (Y/n) tried again, wrestling with Anca for the knife.

The scuffle went on for minutes before (Y/n) was thrown to the back wall, the knife missed her head just barely and sunk into the wood behind her. As Anca struggled to hold her in place and wedge the knife free, (Y/n) called out for her without even realizing it until the blood drained from Anca’s face.

“Cassandra!”

“No, shut up! Shut up you bitch!” Anca squealed, rocking the knife more vigorously.

“Cass—“ (Y/n) tried to call out again, this time fully aware of what she was doing, only to be head-butted by Anca in a desperate attempt to quiet her while she continued to work at the knife.

It was too late for that however, as proven by angry buzzing sounds roaring through the hallway and sliding under the door before forming right at Anca’s back, a cold hand joined Anca’s over the knife and grasped her so hard, (Y/n) could hear the maid’s fingers crack.

“You want this knife, do you?” Cassandra sneered, “Please, allow me.”

Cassandra tugged the knife from the wall like it had been warm butter, Anca’s hand still clenched in her own. She used her other arm to pull Anca off of (Y/n) with a rough tug and hardly took more than a few steps away before plunging the knife deep into the girl’s chest.

“There you go. You’re welcome you miserable little wretch.” Cassandra raked the knife downward, slicing Anca’s flesh all the way down to the hip as the poor girl screamed. “That will teach you to touch what doesn’t belong to you!”

(Y/n) could only watch, wide-eyed and trembling as Cassandra dissolved into her swarm, allowing Anca to fall to the floor before hundreds of little mouths began working at her flesh until the screaming ceased and all that was discernible was a frozen expression of agony on Anca’s face.

The blowflies came back together after a few more moments of feeding and Cassandra reformed, crouched beside (Y/n). (Y/n) didn’t even realize she had sunk to the floor during the gruesome attack.

Cassandra raised a blood covered hand to (Y/n)’s cheek, turning the face in her grasp, she assessed the damage, buzzing all the while. Somehow the sound felt, calming, reassuring. (Y/n) didn’t even flinch away from her touches and instead found herself leaning into them.

“Just look at what that thing did to you,” Cassandra hissed as she watched the blood leak from (Y/n)’s nose, “I should have killed her even slower.”

(Y/n) sniffled, leaning her head on Cassandra’s shoulder, “Thank you for coming.”

“I’ll always come to you if you call for me,” Cassandra sighed and pulled (Y/n) into her lap. She smelled almost overwhelmingly of blood, but (Y/n) couldn’t bring herself to care. “No one has ever called for me like you have before. No one that wasn’t my mother or sisters anyway,” Cassandra bit her lip, “I... at first, I was enraged that you called for me that first time, but the more I thought about it... Ugh! You made me feel all gross and buzzy inside. I’m just so used to humans fearing me, associating me with death. Never have I been called by one expecting to be saved from it.”

“Is that why you helped me after that Moroaica had attacked me?” (Y/n) asked, her voice still muffled by Cassandra’s shoulder. She didn’t really want to catch sight of Anca’s remains again while in the arms of her killer.

“Yes. I’m still mad at you for that.” Cassandra growled, “Why didn’t you call for me that time? I thought we had an understanding.”

“I’m sorry,” (Y/n) chuckled despite everything, “But I think understandings are usually met through open communication. I’m sorry I didn’t interpret your bug bites and general antagonisms as anything but blatant harassment.”

“Excuse me?” Cassandra snarled, reminding (Y/n) just how frightening she could be.

“I, I’m sorry Lady Cassandra. I forget myself.” (Y/n) stammered before gasping as Cassandra effortlessly rose to her feet with (Y/n) still in her arms.

“You must be awfully tired to be so mouthy. I can’t imagine you’ll want to sleep with a corpse on your rug so you’ll just have to sleep in my room until the maids clean this mess up. I suppose I’ll need to fix your nose too. So fragile, my prey is.” Cassandra sighed, clearly feeling inconvenienced by the whole situation. Though she carefully maneuvered out of the doorway so (Y/n) wouldn’t bump against it as they made the short trip across the hall to her room.

“You treat me quite well for being prey.” (Y/n) tested with caution. “You protect me, but why? Is it all so you can end me yourself at your own leisure?”

“Oh wow Cass, you really know how to make a maiden feel special.”

“I knew she was full of it, Bela! I bet they haven’t so much as kissed yet!”

(Y/n) felt Cassandra’s grip on her tighten as the mocking voices of her sisters closed in on them before Cassandra could slink into her room.

“Shut the hell up and mind your own business!” Cassandra fumed, crossing the threshold into her room before kicking the door shut, making a thunderous slam reverberate off of the castle walls.

Bela and Daniela merely giggled, seeping through the cracks of the doors before reforming over their sister’s bed, nearly falling on top of each other as Cassandra sped past them to take (Y/n) into her en-suite bathroom.

She placed (Y/n) on top on the counter and tweaked her nose without warning, making (Y/n) yelp in pain.

“Quiet prey, I needed to set your nose back into place is all,” Cassandra wrinkled her nose as more blood oozed from the abused cartilage, “damn, why must you smell so enticing.”

(Y/n) couldn’t find any words, both because her nose stung like hell and she was still stuck on what Daniela and Bela were taunting Cassandra about, so she just managed a small shrug.

Cassandra hardly seemed to mind her lack of verbal response. She was too busy grinding her teeth as her sisters continued to whisper and laugh in the bedroom. Cassandra quickly wiped and stuffed (Y/n)’s nose, nearly hissing at her to remain still before going back to deal with her unruly siblings, licking the stray blood from her fingers as she went.

(Y/n) tried to give her some privacy, she really did, but it was hard not to listen in when they were speaking so loudly, and about herself no less.

“You two get out of my room, now!” Cassandra commanded.

“Why? It’s not like anything unseemly is going to be happening in here. Right, Daniela?” Bela giggled while Daniela downright cackled with glee.

“Get. Out. Now!” Cassandra bellowed.

“Oh no Cassie,” Daniela waggled a finger, snatching it back before Cassandra could bite it, “you spend weeks pretending to have gone all the way with dear (Y/n) over there like some casanova and now we find out she doesn’t even know you like her?”

“What’s the matter Cassandra? It isn’t like you to be so chaste.” Bela said with a smirk.

“She must really like this one to be taking her time like this.” Daniela hypothesized with a bloodstained grin.

“Leave you idiots!” Cassandra nearly screamed, “She can probably hear everything you’re spewing! I’ll throw you out in the cold, don’t think I won’t!”

“Geez Cass, no need to be so hostile,” Bela shivered at the thought.

“Yeah, you take your well deserved teasings or we’ll tell mother you are not playing fair.” Daniela added with a pout.

Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose shutting her eyes tightly before releasing her nose with a growl and snapping her gaze back to her sisters.

“What do you want?” She grumbled.

“Oo! I want the best bits of your next hunt!” Daniela immediately proclaimed.

“I want to watch you flounder about whilst you try to explain your affections to the maiden.” Bela had said after a moment of consideration.

“Oh! That sounds fun. I retract my previous statement. I want what Bela’s having.” Daniela wiggled.

“I hate you both.” Cassandra huffed before stalking back to the bathroom, her giggling sister’s on her heels. (Y/n) quickly shot her gaze down at her swinging feet, suddenly more interested in the patterns of the floor below.

It didn’t take long for Cassandra to grab (Y/n)’s jaw and pull her face upward to meet her golden eyes.

“Listen prey,” Cassandra swallowed and blinked, her eyes darting all around (Y/n)’s face, “I...”

“Come on, Cassandra. It’s not that difficult.” Bela cooed, egging her sister on.

“I could tell her for you. That would be fun.” Daniela suggested, shrinking back just a bit at the look Cassandra shot her over her shoulder.

“Prey, (Y/n), I... Why is this so hard!” She stomped her foot and her nails bit into (Y/n)’s skin a bit too harshly, “I like you a lot and that’s why I’ve been helping you. I want you to like me too. Do you? Be honest.” She asked with a bit of hostility.

Did (Y/n) like Cassandra? Either way, it seemed like a death sentence to say no. Cassandra seemed to notice (Y/n)’s trepidation and quickly added,

“You don’t have to be scared. I won’t hurt you, just tell me the truth. If the answer is not to my liking then I guess I’ll simply have to try harder.” She said as if the words physically hurt her to say.

(Y/n) thought back on all of her interactions with Cassandra in a new light. Actually being caught as she fell, the schoolyard boy with a crush behavior (which honestly didn’t give the her any points but did make sense for how the murderous woman might try to show affection), most promising was how she brought (Y/n) back to health and continued to send money to her struggling family despite not working. Then of course she had saved her from Anca’s knife, wasting no time in cutting her down and checking (Y/n) over with care.

(Y/n) gave Cassandra a small smile that steadily grew a bit wider as golden eyes traced the movement and a hopeful sounding buzz began warbling in the back of her throat. Even the sisters standing behind her buzzed in unison, seemingly feeling their sister’s hope and growing excitement.

“Lady Cassandra, I like you too—Eep!”

Cassandra’s face dove into (Y/n)’s neck as her strong arms wrapped around (Y/n) to hold her still as she nuzzled and buzzed to her heart’s content. Bela and Daniela dissolved into their swarms and were haphazardly flying around them in celebration.

Cassandra gave (Y/n)’s neck a playful nip, much softer than a blowfly, before standing back to her full height and throwing (Y/n) over her shoulder.

“Lady Cassandra?” (Y/n) tried, wiggling a bit in the sudden new hold.

“Shhh, I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks.” Cassandra said, craning her neck to look up at her sisters still buzzing above them, “Buzz off.” She told them. The clouds of flies let out a bout of disembodied laughter before slipping back under the door, feeling that they had given their sister enough grief for one night.

Once Cassandra was sure they were gone, she tossed (Y/n) on to the bed and climbed in as well, hovering over the stuttering maiden.

“Wuh- wait, Cassandra, I know we established we like each other but—“ the former maid flustered as Cassandra rested her full weight over (Y/n)’s body and moaned pleasantly in her ear.

“Mm, you’re so warm. I could just lay here forever.” She sighed, snaking her hands underneath (Y/n)’s back.

“Thank... you?” (Y/n) awkwardly replied. For as tall and strong as Cassandra was, she was surprisingly light. (Y/n) figured the fact that she was made up of flies had something to do with that.

Cassandra hummed some more, nuzzling her nose in the crook of (Y/n)’s neck and breathing so deeply that (Y/n) couldn’t help but giggle. There was a bit of concern bleeding in the back of her mind, but the smiling lips on her collarbone were quick to distract her.

“I quite like it when you make that sound, it’s sweet. But right now I’m quite tired, and I would like for you to be quiet now. I’m listening to your blood move.”

Well, that was a slightly terrifying admission. (Y/n) must’ve been going mad because she reacted no differently than if she had said she was listening to her heartbeat.

“Goodnight then.” (Y/n) murmured, slowly patting Cassandra’s hair, earning a low continuous buzzing that persisted until they had fallen asleep together.

[spine-buster]

the crossover.

gif credit @/denis-scorianov

A/N: This has a little less Rasmus/Lusine in it...but we see a whole lot of others 😌It is named after 'the crossover' trope, after all! Let's see if you guys can get all the callback scenes I've sprinkled in here LOL

Lusine Forrester was shitting bricks.

Rasmus had invited her to a hockey game. Hockey Night in Canada versus the Boston Bruins. He’d done it when he’d met her for lunch for a second time that week, and he’d been so earnest about it. “You were sort of accidentally brought up in conversation with my best friend William and his girlfriend and now they really want to meet you.” She couldn’t say no to him. She could tell he was so nervous asking her, that he probably thought about it over and over thinking she’d say no. When she said yes, a smile overtook his face for the rest of the meal. “You can hang out with his girlfriend during the game – she’s the sweetest, you’ll really like her – and then I really, really want to take you out afterwards.”

Bianca was amused she was going to a hockey game and hanging out with other wives and girlfriends despite not being a wife nor a girlfriend. Lusine understood completely, but the way things were going with Rasmus…well, she didn’t want to jinx it. After their conversation at Sushi On Bloor, Lusine knew they were on the same page. Bianca also made sure she dressed appropriately. No dresses, she said. “It’s a hockey game, not a gala.” No hoodies either. “A lot of those women dress impeccably despite it only being a hockey game.” Lusine also wanted to make a good first impression, of course – however good of a first impression a nineteen-year-old could make in a room full of older women. Though in the eyes of the law she was a legal adult, she was still in her teens in the sense of the word, and she wondered if that would show regardless of her maturity level. Nevertheless, Bianca helped Lusine settle on a good outfit: a cream turtleneck and high-rise jeans. Chic, trendy, age-appropriate, location-appropriate. “Keep your hair down,” Bianca advised, “and light makeup, but you can borrow my Dior red lipstick if he keeps his promise of taking you out afterwards. It won’t transfer if you finally kiss him.”

Lusine tried to swallow whatever anxiety she had about the night when she entered the giant glass doors at 50 Bay Street. Just as Rasmus promised, there was a man behind the podium, a short hallway and one closed black door behind him. The man was dressed in a sleek black suit. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“Hi, yes,” Lusine tried to remain calm. “I’m—I’m here for the game.”

“This is the executive and member’s club entrance, miss,” he said. Lusine noticed he gave her a quick up-down. “You’ll have to look at your ticket to see what gate you need to enter.”

“Oh! I’m not—” she began quickly, digging into her purse. Rasmus had given her a Platinum Club pass, which was apparently something that special guests of the players were issued so they could get into the family lounge. “Rasmus gave me this,” she said, handing it to him.

“Where did you find this?” the man asked.

Okay, now Lusine was nervous. “It wasn’t found…it was given to me by Rasmus Sandin,” she tried to clarify. “My name is Lusine Forrester. He said I could show you that and I’d be let in to the family lounge.”

“Do you have a piece of photo ID?”

Lusine dug for her wallet and retrieved her driver’s license. She handed it over to him, trying not to let her hand shake in the process. She felt like she was crossing the border or something. Despite offering the evidence, the man began shaking his head. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Miss, I’m afraid I can’t let you in.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m not sure how you got hold of this pass—”

“—Rasmus Sandin gave me that pass—”

“—Your name doesn’t appear—”

“—Can you check one more time? It’s not Lucy, it’s Lusine,” she stressed the common mistake. “L-U-S-I-N-E—”

“—Miss—”

“—Please—”

As if on cue, the black door she’d noticed before behind the man opened, and a woman walked out wearing a Leafs jersey. “Hey Adam, did Lusine Forrester come in yet?” she asked.

Alarm bells went off in Lusine’s head. “That’s me!” she exclaimed.

The woman’s face lit up upon her realization. “Lusine! Hey! Adam—this is Lusine, she’d with Rasmus,” she said quickly to Adam. She turned towards her and smiled. “Come with me, Lusine! I’ll bring you to the family lounge.”

Lusine let out a sigh of relief. She took one last look at this Adam person before joining the woman behind his desk and walking through the door with her. Lusine didn’t hate him – he was just doing his job, and she could imagine the number of people trying to get through these doors, pretending to be somebodies or more important than they actually were, especially young women her age – but her photo ID should have been sufficient. “Thank you. You came just at the right time,” she thanked the woman.

“No problem. I’m Bee, by the way, Bee McTavish,” she said warmly. “It’s really nice to meet you. Rasmus is really excited that you’re here.”

Lusine smiled but held her breath. “Really?”

“Oh yeah. Any first game the boys get excited. He’s definitely going to try and show off for you,” Bee exclaimed. “We’re coming off a pretty big overtime win against Tampa Bay so the boys will want to keep the momentum going.”

Lusine nodded, knowing what Bee was talking about. Though she only knew some players in context of how Rasmus described them – most notably William Nylander, his best friend and mentor, who had scored the overtime goal against Tampa – Bee spoke as if she knew every member of the team like they were old friends. Lusine looked discreetly at her jersey as they stepped onto the elevator together and noticed the ‘44’ and ‘Rielly’ on the back. “Was the first game just as nerve-wracking for you too?” Lusine couldn’t help but ask.

Bee gave her a warm smile. “Absolutely. But you get used it. It becomes routine to put the jersey on and let the nerves disappear…well, not disappear, but get transferred over to the game.”

“I—I don’t have a jersey.”

“I know. Rasmus left you one. It’s in the family lounge.”

Bee kept up small-talk with Lusine as she led the way through some hallways until she finally opened a door that led to the aforementioned family lounge. There were already quite a few women present – which made Lusine wonder if she was a bit late – and even some kids. “I’ll introduce you to everyone, just stick with me,” Bee said quickly guiding her into the room. She introduced Lusine to Amber Brodie, wife of TJ Brodie, and to Courtney Muzzin, wife of Jake Muzzin, and to Stephanie, recent fiancée of Mitch Marner.

Before Bee could introduce her to anyone else, a small child ran up to her and clung on to her leg, screaming her name as he did. Bee bent down and scooped him up in her arms, balancing him on her hip easily. “This big boy is Jace Tavares,” she said, giving him a big, dramatic kiss. Lusine recognized that last time – Tavares was the captain of the Leafs. “Jace, can you say hi to Lusine?”

“Hiiii Oosie,” he said, waving his little hand at her.

“Hi Jace!” Lusine waved back.

“That would be my little rascal,” Lusine heard a voice approach them. “You must be Lusine?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m Aryne Tavares. It’s nice to meet you!”

The captain’s wife. Lusine shook her hand and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you as well. Thanks for…hosting me?”

“We were all very excited to hear Rasmus was bringing a guest,” she smiled back.

“What’d I miss?! Is she here yet?” another frantic voice was heard. All three ladies looked behind them.

Lusine’s heart stopped beating. Approaching her was none other than Aberdeen Bloom. Lusine was sure she looked like a deer in the headlights. It was Aberdeen fucking Bloom. She felt like she was going to throw up. Aberdeen was a novelist and had just released one of her favourite books, In August. She’d been lauded for it. Despite only publishing one book, Aberdeen was one of Lusine’s favourite authors. She’d devoured her debut novel. And here she was, standing in the same fucking room as her.

Aberdeen eyed her, then Bee, then her again, a giant smile appearing on her face. “You must be Lusine,” she said happily, like they were old friends. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Lusine replied, hoping to God she didn’t sound nervous.

“I apologize in advance for anything William may say to you tonight when he meets you,” she warned playfully. “But Rasmus is one of his best friends – kind of like his little brother – so he’s going to rip on him a lot. I’ll yell at him if he gets out of hand.”

Of course. Of fucking course. Lusine couldn’t believe she was so stupid that she forgot. William Nylander and Aberdeen Bloom were dating. She remembered watching a book talk with Aberdeen just this past September and she mentioned how she was Brendan Shanahan’s executive assistant and that’s how she’d met William. The whole talk was fascinating – Aberdeen had told each member of the audience to “bank on yourself”. When Lusine thought about it, it was what she did when she decided to defy her parents and leave home to live alone.

“Thanks, but I’m sure it’ll be okay,” she smiled. “Hey, do you ladies mind telling me where the washroom is? I want to make sure I go before the game starts.”

“It’s just back there – use the family one,” Bee pointed. “When you get back, we’ll have your jersey ready. Then we can take out seats!”

Lusine hurried to the bathroom. She closed the door and double-checked that it was locked. She didn’t really need to go – she just needed to compose herself. She took out her phone to text Bianca.

She took a very deep breath and held it in before exhaling slowly, eyeing herself in the mirror. “Don’t be a fucking idiot,” she told herself. “Be cool. Be fucking cool.”

Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see what Bianca had texted back.

Lusine locked the screen without responding. She took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. She gave herself one last look in the mirror. “Don’t. Be. A. Fucking. Idiot.”

***

The ladies had been so ridiculously lovely the entire duration of the game that Lusine forgot she was ever nervous. Aryne had taken the aisle seat, then Bee beside her (and with Jace switching in between their laps most of the game), then Lusine, then Aberdeen. They talked to her and included her in conversation, asked her about what she was studying and where she worked. Aryne even had a mini-meltdown when Lusine had to break it to them that she’d just turned nineteen years old. “These are your glory days!!! Your prime!!! Oh God, to be nineteen again!” Lusine and Aberdeen even spoke at length about U of T and which courses to take and avoid. All in all, she was well looked after. The game ended with her feeling calm, yet anxious to see Rasmus.

Oh, the game – the Leafs had beaten Boston 5-2. Auston Matthews had scored two goals, and so had John Tavares, which made Aryne and Bee go crazy (same with Jace). Rasmus even got an assist on John’s second goal, which made Lusine very happy – once it was pointed out to her. Hockey in an arena was much different than watching hockey on TV, and she realized just how much she relied on the play-by-play announcer to know what was going on. While the rest of the women seemed to understand every detail, she had a hard time keeping track of Rasmus on the ice. Regardless, she had fun, and she knew Rasmus’s assist meant he could argue he’d impressed her, like he kept promising he’d do if he knew she was watching.

Bee and Aryne led the way towards the waiting area where most of the families waited for their significant others. Lusine still had her jersey on as she walked with Aberdeen a few paces behind them. She looked over to her. “Can I tell you something I have to get off my chest?”

“Of course.”

“It’s not about Rasmus or anything.”

“What’s it about?”

Lusine took a deep breath. “I absolutely adored In August,” she said – something she’d been wanting to say the entire night, but there was never a right time, even during intermissions. “I just—it was just so good, and I devoured it when it came out.”

Aberdeen’s face lit up. “Oh, thank you so much!” she said so earnestly, even putting her hand over her heart. “That means so much to me!”

“I even, uh, watched this livestream of a book talk you did in September where you said to bank on yourself. You meant it in terms of young women who want to become writers but you have no idea how much I take those words to heart.”

Aberdeen hadn’t stopped smiling. “I remember the exact one you’re talking about,” she said. “That night was a special night for me too. I’m so happy to hear you took that advice.”

“Doing that kinda got me here,” Lusine began explaining, not being able to shut up. “I was never supposed to go to U of T, but I did. I was never supposed to move downtown on my own, but I did…”

“It’s amazing what can happen when we bank on ourselves, eh?” Aberdeen winked.

Bee held the door open as they got to the waiting area. Lusine noticed Mitch and Stephanie already saying goodbye to some of the others who were already there – same with Courtney and Jake Muzzin. Lusine and Aberdeen continued speaking until, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her door open, Rasmus stepping out while William was right behind him. They were both in full suits – a rule hockey players had, she guessed.

Rasmus’s eyes immediately lit up when he saw her. “Hey,” he smiled, noticing that she hadn’t taken off her jersey. She looked great. Stunning. And to see her in blue, wearing his number and his name across her back. He was done for.

“Is this Lusine?” William asked, a wicked smile on his face. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, extending his hand.

“Likewise.”

“I’m her boyfriend,” he nodded towards Aberdeen, who could only shake her head and giggle silently to herself.

“She told me,” Lusine giggled too.

William was incredibly charming, but not as charming as Rasmus, who moved him out of the way so he could get closer to Lusine. “How’d you like the game?” he asked.

“It was great,” she smiled at him. “I saw you got an assist. It was a bit hard to follow without the play-by-play from the TV.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll get used to it,” he said. “D’you wanna—I mean—are you up for go—”

“So are we going out for drinks or what?” William asked. Both his and Aberdeen’s faces were hopeful.

Rasmus looked at her. So did William and Aberdeen. All waiting. Lusine didn’t think it would be up to her, but it was. She nodded her head. “I could drink.”

***

MARBL was fun. Aberdeen and William were hilarious. They’d all ordered appetizers they shared, and drinks – Lusine had one Pink Flamingo and then settled on water since she had a long day of work and studying tomorrow – and just had a great time. William, in true unofficial older brother fashion, told some embarrassing stories about Rasmus. Aberdeen told some embarrassing stories about William to help out Rasmus. In between smiles and laughs, Rasmus held her hand underneath the table. And in between more smiles and laughs, he draped his arm behind her over the top of the booth. Rasmus would look at her every so often with a smile on his face, and she’d catch him, and both their smiles would become exponentially bigger. Aberdeen could have barfed because they were so cute. She even took pictures. Discreet ones at first, but then ones where she told them to pose, and Rasmus made stupid faces – for long enough that Lusine didn’t catch on until it was too late. They’d always erupt in a fit of giggles. Rasmus and Lusine returned the favour for Aberdeen and William. She barely remembered it happening because she was laughing so much, but at some point Lusine had given Aberdeen her Instagram handle and now they were Instagram friends. That’s where Aberdeen sent Lusine all the pictures she took of her and Rasmus together. Lusine was friends with Aberdeen Bloom, the author, on Instagram now. No big deal or anything.

When the night was over, Rasmus and Lusine hugged William and Aberdeen goodbye before getting back in his car so he could drive her back to her apartment. When they arrived, he parked on the street even though he wasn’t supposed to – it was late, so it wasn’t like parking enforcement was around to give him a ticket. She made sure to grab her jersey from the back. Rasmus walked her to the front door.

“This was so fun,” she said as she felt him hold her hand for the short walk.

“You’re like our new good luck charm. You should come to every game so we can win 5-2,” he smiled.

“I don’t know about that,” she giggled. “But if you invite me again, I don’t think I’d have the control to say no.”

The stopped outside the front door. By now, Rasmus knew better than to lean in and kiss her. So instead, he squeezed her hand. “What about next Friday? We’re playing Calgary. It’s Hockey Hall of Fame night so there’s gonna be this big ceremony before the game. You might even get to meet some of them and make your brothers jealous.”

“Will the girls be there?”

Rasmus’s face dropped. “I’ll be there,” he deadpanned, causing her to laugh. “I don’t know if they will. But we’re in Buffalo the next night so I think they will be.”

“I’ll be there,” Lusine confirmed.

[roadtogracelandx45]

All in Heartbeat| Top Gun/ Top Gun Maverick | 1 of 3

@luckyladycreator2 @prettyinpayne

Masterlist

All In A Heartbeat 

Summary: All it took was 2 seconds for a distracted truck driver to blow through the red light and slam into Charlotte’s vintage convertible and flip it over several times. Leaving both Charlotte and Bianca in critical condition. 

IceMav

Past Mav/Charlie

Rated M for language and graphic descriptions of car accidents and surgical stuff 

          Also I don’t know much about surgeries or how things are done in the OR. I am taking what  I learned from watching ER and Chicago Med. 

~*~

All it could take a millisecond for everything to change in someone’s lives and that millisecond happened on the first day of summer vacation for Bianca Kazansky, Charlotte Blackwood the woman that carried her for Iceman and Maverick had picked her up to go to the bookstore  and hang out for awhile. 

It was a tradition that they always did. And it gave the girl a break from spending most of her free time with her grandparents and great grandfather, who told a lot of horror stories about Russia, Germany, and the world wars.  That was something that Bianca needed to hear until she was a lot older, like she was in her 20s.  

Charlotte was shaken out of her thoughts when Bianca’s voice asked, “Charlie? Were things always this strange between Dad and Mav?” Charlotte glanced at the girl who was seated across from at the small diner they visited frequently. “You mean the on and off, hot and cold?” Bianca nodded her head brushing some of her hair behind her ear as she did so. 

“Yes, it has always been like that. Maverick was very unstable and out of control when we first met him. He felt like he didn’t need to prove himself, he was already the best of the best.”  

Bianca’s mouth twitched like it was going to form a smile but fell quickly. 

“Did he take off again?”

 “Yeah, left yesterday before I got up for school. Didn’t bother to say goodbye.” Bianca refused to let Charlie see how truly upset she was by his leaving. “He was like that with me when Goose died.” 

The girl perked up a little bit, she had heard the stories of Goose and Maverick and their shenanigans and was curious.  Goose was the one subject that was rarely spoke about in the Mitchell-Kazansky household. And Bradley, Goose’s son didn’t remember much of him either and shut down when he was mentioned. So Bianca kept her curiosity to herself, which was one thing she was never good at.   

“Maverick is never good at staying in one place. This is the longest he has been settled in. That’s because of you and because of Bradley.”  

Bianca nodded her head and took a sip of her drink. 'Are you leaving back to the academy too?’ For the last several years, Charlie had been teaching at the Naval Academy and came back to California during the summer breaks.

 “At the end of next week. They want me back sooner, they have a bunch of new cadets coming in. Did you decide on what you want to do when you grow up?”  

Bianca was turning 14  on the 17th of that month and was going into high school in the fall. And Charlie wanted to try and be there for her as much as she could. 

“Yeah, I want to go to the academy, and I think I want to be a lawyer.” “No Aviation for you?” The older woman questioned. “It's a harder program to get into and I don’t want to live up to my dad’s name ya know? Or Duke’s.”  Duke was Maverick’s father that disappeared on a mission and it was a long standing scandal making the Mitchell name not the best.  “Never say never kiddo, I think you are too much like both of your dads to stay grounded.” “That’s true.” Bianca agreed, “I do have a fall back plan just in case I can’t get into the academy.”

 Charlie raised her eyebrow in question. “Berkley and law school. I am not going to get my hopes up with the academy.”  The blonde smirked, she knew that Bianca was too much like her and too much like her fathers to give up a dream.  Especially one like the Naval Academy and the pilot program. “Come on kiddo, lets go to the book store and get you some summer reading so your great grandfather and grandpa do scare you to death with their war stories.” “But sometimes Charlie, I like the scary ones.” Bianca grinned as she pulled out several bills from her wallet and dropped on the table. 

~*~

Because of the light rain that they had, Charlie left the top on her convertible, making it more confined which she didn’t like but she had Bianca with her and she wouldn’t risk her getting sick over anything in the world. She may not have legal claim to her, that fell to Iceman and Maverick, but she did have that motherly instinct towards her. “There is this book I want to read about World War 2.” Bianca commented as she pulled out of the parking lot, “It's about the parachute infantry.”

 Seeing the look on Charlie’s face, she laughed, “I saw something on HBO about it and it got me curious.” Curiosity killed the cat and in most cases it could be the best of her. That's how she learned about Duke, at least the stuff she could do without having clearance for anything. 

“Well, let’s see what we,” the rest was cut off by squealing of brakes and Bianca screaming as the truck came closer and closer to them. Not sure what else she could since it was already on them, Charlie took her hand in hers and squeezed it. Once the truck hit the passenger side the car flung around in a circle so the front was pointing towards the direction where they had come from. Bianca’s screams of terror were the last thing that Charlie remembered hearing as another car slammed on its breaks trying to aviod the accident and smashed into the front of the car. The driver of the truck got out of the cab quickly and dialed 911 to come to the scene. 

“Charlie!” Bianca shouted as she tried to remove her seat belt from her lap, ‘Charlie! Wake up! Please!”  

“Hey sweetheart it's going to be okay.” The truck driver said, peering into the window at her, “The paramedics are on their way. And they will get you and your mom out of here.”  Bianca didn’t even register the comment, she was too busy trying to pry the seatbelt off, her fingers bleeding from the shattered glass that laid on her lap, her vision had started become blurred with blood for the open wound she had on top of her head along with the bits and pieces in her neck.  “Ice.” She muttered as she stopped pulling as hard on the seatbelt. “I am sorry?” It wasn’t the truck driver, it was an EMT. “I want my dad. He is a commander with the Navy.” She said, ‘your dad’s name is ice?” A fireman asked, distracting her from the noises of the jaws of life. “It’s his call sign. He is a pilot.” She started to fade a little bit from the pain and from the blood loss. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” The fire fighter asked again, pulling her attention back to him. 

“Bianca. Bianca Kazansky.”  The man’s eyes went wide, his brother served in the Navy and was a pilot with them and told him about Commander and how ice cold he was. Never showing any emotions except for when it came to his daughter. “Hey Bianca, sweetie, keep your eyes open.’ He said, her eyelids were fluttering, getting heavier and heavier with each one. “Bianca!” He called snapping his fingers by her ears, she glanced at him once more and then fully closed her eyes. 

[duuhrayliegh]

watch your six - part seven

pairing: bucky x reader

warnings: violence? (not much though), knives, bad crying

word count: 3545

a/n: this is part seven!! i have no idea where this is going, so we’re all being shocked by the events occurring :) i’m proud of this one

p.s.: my requests and tag lists are open!!

xoxo ray

watch your six series m.list

ray’s m.list

“Okay, just lay back, this might be a bit jarring for you, so sorry in advance.” This woman couldn’t have been much older than you. You were still a bit fuzzy on what exactly was going to be happening, despite her already explaining everything.

Your eyes passed over the group around you. Tony Stark was behind a clear topped table with tools scattered over it, tinkering with his suit helmet. He was muttering about how he hated HYDRA blasters while the eye slits of his faceplate flickered between blue and a lifeless gray. Natasha Romanoff was sitting next to Clint Barton. Natasha was speaking to Clint, her gaze not leaving your form. Clint was oblivious to what was going on around him as he began reloading his quiver.

Steve Rogers was in the corner with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Steve was standing facing away from you, arms crossed over his chest as he spoke with Sam. Bucky was leaned against a table, sharpening a knife that he held with his metal hand. Honestly, the action made your jaw clench every scrape. You locked eyes with his steely blue pair, he didn’t blink, attempting to assert dominance or whatever an alpha male would do.

Fingers snapped in front of your face which brought your attention back to Wanda. “I need you to lay back.” A deep breath passed through your lungs, exhaling heavily through your mouth. Swinging your legs onto the table, you straightened your body, settling your arms at your sides. “I’m going to place my hands at your temples and then we’ll begin, okay?” You were thankful that she was making sure you knew what was going on. Nodding in response, you closed your eyes at her instruction and she began counting backwards from three.

Streaks of red danced behind your lids and you could feel your eyes trying to follow them. You swallowed harshly as a memory jolted to the forefront of your mind. You were thrown head first into the recollection.

Gemini stared at you, snapping her fingers in front of your face like Wanda did. “Hello? Are you with us or not?” Her black hair swayed against her shoulders. “Libs, I’m going to need you to quit drifting. If you do that on a mission, it could be life or death.” She berated you, walking to her half of your quarters. Your head shook back and forth, mouth moving with the memory.

“Yes ma’am.” You snickered at her, sticking your tongue out at her shocked expression. “When do you think they’re going to assign me a mission?” You were practically bouncing off the walls at the thought alone. Unbeknownst to you, this wasn’t all in your head. Wanda could see the memory in real time, but the others could hear your end of the memory as well. You couldn’t stop your mouth from voicing your half of the conversation.

“You know, I don’t know the answer to that, Libby.” Gemini pulled her desk chair out, straddling it backwards, resting her forearms on it. “You just need to have some patience. It’ll come, just give it time.” You groaned and raised your body into a sitting position, leaning forward with your palms on the edge of your bed.

“I don’t like waiting, Gem. Part of the reason why I fast tracked through the training program.”

“You fast tracked through the training program because you were naturally good at everything we threw at you, Libra. No other reason than that.” She laughed at your facial expression. The Avengers around you were confused as to why your face morphed into one of annoyance.

“That may be the case, but I still got into the Virago. And on top of that, I’m the youngest of the Zodiac.” A proud smile stretched across your face. “Plus, I got teamed up with you and let’s be honest, that’s the real accomplishment here.” She shot you a look and you both giggled. A ping sounded from the sound system in the ceiling.

Zodiac meeting in ten minutes. Be in the conference room and ready by the time I get there or there will be consequences.

“Oh, looks like you might be getting a mission sooner rather than later, Lib.” Your eyes widened at the possibility, excitement rushing through your veins.

“Or they could be just calling us in to yell at us again for sucking it up in training.” Your body shuddered as you thought about a few weeks ago. Your CO had hired help from some elite company to assist with the Zodiac training. It didn’t end well when you didn’t meet their standards. “Let’s hope it’s a mission, that would be way better.”

Your body jolted and you fell off the table, quickly catching yourself before you completely face planted into the concrete floor beneath you. Pushing yourself to sit your ass on the cold floor, you looked around the group. Confused faces were spreading, Natasha and Bucky seemed resigned, as if they had more knowledge. Wanda helped lift you onto your feet, checking to make sure you were okay.

“I’ve had dreams about that place before, about those people.”

“You didn’t think that was important to tell us?” Tony sassed from behind his table. “If you had memories resurfacing, then that means you went through something to suppress them. Like Tin Man over there.” He jerked his head to Bucky, who had a solemn look on his face. He had stopped sharpening at some point, and now he was talking to Steve about something.

“You have something you want to share with the class, Barnes?” You were so done with secrets being kept from you. Everyone around you seemed to know what was going on with your life more than you did. Steve stared at you from beside Bucky, hands on his hips, accentuating his Dorito shaped torso.

“I remembered something about the Virago.” Was all he replied with. You were waiting on him to elaborate on what he meant.

“Wonderful. What did you remember about it? I’d really like to know what the hell is happening.” You started towards the man across the room. He had information that he wasn’t giving the room at large to work out. “And if you’re the thing that’s preventing me from going back to my normal life, we might have a problem, Barnes. So, if you would oh-so-kindly, provide all of us with your newly discovered knowledge, that would be greatly appreciated.”

You had made it about the halfway spot of the room when Bucky silently unsheathed his recently sharpened knife and aimed it at you. Time slowed as you watched the blade spin through the air. You moved your upper half to the right, dodging the slice and catching it with your left hand. Your body continued without your guidance as you rushed Bucky, pushing the blade to his throat. Blinking brought you out of your dazed state as you recognized that you were now pressing the sharp object hard enough against his neck to draw blood.

Retreating quickly you dropped the knife to the ground. A resounding ring reverberated through the now silent room. Your hands shook and tears gathered at your waterline. What the fuck was that?

“The Soldier was tasked with training the Zodiac, current and future.” Bucky’s rasp was the only noise beside your exaggerated breaths. “I knew you were going to catch it, by the way. It’s instinct for you.” He leaned his weight back against the table, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Wanda was the next to speak.

“You realize you just scared the shit out of all of us, right?” You weren’t quite sure if she was referring to you or Bucky, but you guessed it didn’t really matter. You swallowed harshly, biting back the need to cry. Who the fuck am I?

“I’ve heard of the Zodiac.” Natasha was next, still sitting comfortably atop the table next to Clint, legs crossed underneath her. “They were like the Americanized version of the Red Room’s elite. It started out as a SHIELD organization but that didn’t last long. As soon as HYDRA found out, they figured out how to take it over. I think their first plant was a woman named Bianca?”

“What else do you remember?” Steve was commanding the room as you thought he would. It wasn’t until he placed a hand on your shoulder that you realized he was talking to you. “We need you to walk us through your dreams, Y/N. Just so we can get a clearer picture, it’ll probably help spark Bucky and Nat’s memories too.” He shifted his hand to hover over your lower back, guiding you back to the hard table. Climbing up, you closed your eyes and recalled the other two dreams.

“Um, I remember getting my first mission assignment? Actually, it might have been my only mission assignment.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it didn’t end well?” You said in a duh tone, gaining your confidence again. You had no reason to lose it before, you just found out that you were kind of a bad ass. “The whole group was tasked with getting some data from this Louis Richardson guy? He was a part of the Svengali, that was what Suits kept asking about. Supposedly Richardson was a high up guy because they put all of us on that one.” You shook your head, trying to clear up the memories. “It was my first assignment, so clearly I was excited to prove myself a useful addition to the Zodiac.”

“What was the mission exactly?” Tony questioned from his spot.

“Half of us were monitoring the party, making sure if there was a fight that the public didn’t cause a riot. The other half was Plan B. We sat outside the safe house Richardson was allegedly using if his drop went south.” Your breaths shuddered again, recalling what happened next. “Of course, it did. We were only supposed to monitor it, but Gem decided that the info was too valuable to let it slip by us. So, we went in and everything went to shit.”

“My instructors talked about that. They said that they killed everyone though. How did you manage to slip by?” Natasha asked, shooting you an inquiring glance.

“Obviously, she didn’t because they had to wipe her memory, like Manchurian Candidate.”

“Gemini and I were the last ones left and then she sacrificed herself so I could escape, get back to headquarters, those were her orders. Stop drifting, watch my six and run like hell to HQ.”

“Well, that’s how they were able to wipe her.” Bucky added quietly, his mind elsewhere.

“If HYDRA had already taken over the Virago, then they would’ve been able to take her without question.” Natasha finished Bucky’s thought as she watched you on the table. Steve stood next to you, squeezing your shoulder as a comfort. You glanced at him and saw a motherly expression had taken over his features.

“Why would they wipe everything though? They still could’ve used her?” Wanda questioned from her position next to Tony. “I mean, if you were a natural like Gemini said that you were, then I’m sure HYDRA would’ve found something to do with you.” Bucky walked out of the room quickly, leaving the rest of the occupants stunned as to his sudden departure. Steve jutted his head at Sam who followed Bucky. Tony was working through all the facts tumbling around in his head. He began talking to Friday about gathering any information she could find on Louis Richardson and several other things. You sat in silence, continuing to sort through half broken memories and dreams.

**********************************************

Bucky had to get out of that room and away from that woman. Sensory overload was overwhelming him, increasing his need to evacuate. He stepped outside, inhaling the scent of freshly cut grass. He dropped his head into his hands, sinking to his knees on the ground. Bucky despised being vulnerable in front of people. During his time as the Soldier, vulnerability was punished harshly. He was used to swallowing his emotions, shoving them into the dark corners of his mind. Now being free of HYDRA's grip on his mind, he still struggled with displaying his emotions. All he wanted to do was shout until his throat was raw and his voice scratchy.

“You okay, man?” Bucky had figured it would be Sam. An almost neutral third party with experience in counseling veterans, plus Steve was busy dealing with Y/N. Bucky continued to inhale deeply from his crouched position, not responding to the man behind him. Sam took his increasingly calming breaths as a sign that he wasn’t about to keel over. He came up next to the man, stretching his hand out to Bucky for him to grab. “Come on, old man. Talk to me, what’s going on in that cyborg brain of yours?” Bucky shot the man a weak glare, while pulling himself to his feet, resting his hands on his hips. He brought his right hand up to rake through his dark hair.

“I remembered something else, Sam, and I just couldn’t be in there with her anymore.”  Sam hesitated to ask, almost afraid of the answer that he was going to receive, but he knew he needed to.

“What did you remember, Bucky?” There was a heavy pause hanging in the air between the two. They both knew what Bucky had remembered, but it needed to be said out loud to be real.

“Her screams.” There were tears gathering on Bucky’s bottom lashes, threatening to spill over. Sam outstretched his hand to Bucky, not offering pity to the man on his knees. Sam knew what it felt like to be pitied, not a feeling that he wanted to bestow Bucky with.

“You’re going to be okay, man. It’s going to take time, but it’ll happen.” He faltered before continuing, “You know you’re going to have to talk to her about it, right? If you remember, she will too eventually. Especially if she keeps working with Wanda, they’re going to get to that point. It’ll be better to hear it from you than for her to waltz in there unprepared.” Bucky nodded solemnly, bringing his right hand up to scratch his stubble.

“I know.” His voice shook slightly. “But how do you tell someone that you didn’t do anything while they got tortured and experimented on?” Sam’s eyes searched Bucky’s for any sign that he was forgiving himself. What Bucky did when he was under HYDRA’s thumb wasn’t his fault, but this was going to set Bucky back.

“Look, you know that was the Soldier who just stood to the side because you, Bucky Barnes, would’ve done something.” Sam reassured the man with silent tears tracking down his face. He placed his hand on Bucky’s metal shoulder before giving it a squeeze. “Damn it, I can never remember which one it is.” They laughed at his comment, Bucky knew it was for his benefit but he was thankful for it.

The pair entered the compound again, hoping to avoid anyone for a few minutes so Bucky could recollect himself. They weren’t that lucky though seeing as how when they walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water, the whole team plus one was gathered around the granite countertops. If any of them noticed Bucky’s red-rimmed eyes, they chose not to say anything, thank fuck for that one.

“We’ve decided that Y/N will be staying here for the foreseeable future.” Tony piped up, breaking the silence that hung over the group. “She’s going to continue to work with Wanda for her memories.”

“I still don’t like this Tony.” It wasn’t often that Steve openly disagreed with Tony, so when he did, it turned heads. “She shouldn’t have to go through with this for us.” Tony opened his mouth to reply when Y/N spoke first.

“Excuse you, Captain. She’s right here and she can make her own decisions.” Her arms crossed over her chest defensively. “You seem to be forgetting that there is a whole part of my life that has been stolen from me. I want it back. If I have to do this to get it back, then that’s what I’m going to do. Helping you is secondary, I just want to make that clear.” A smirk formed on Bucky’s lips, no one stands up to Steve, mostly because he’s usually right.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Tony turned to leave, probably going to his lab to tinker his anxiety away. He pointed a finger at Y/N on his way out. “I like you.” A satisfied grin spread over her features, she’s proud of herself. The first thought that popped into Bucky’s head was that she was being adorable, but he quickly squashed that idea. Not happening, you let her get hurt there’s no way that she’s going to want you. Bucky didn’t sense Steve approach him, too lost in his head.

“You good, Buck?” The man wanted to say no. He wanted to have his Stevie back with the couch cushions on the floor and the newspapers in his shoes. He wanted to go back to 1941, before he got drafted. He wanted to go back to his Ma’s cooking and playing with Rebecca. Hell, he wanted to go back to pulling stick-man Steve out of back alley fights. However, Bucky knew that wasn’t how it worked.

“Yeah, I’ll get there.” Bucky knew that he had it good now. The Internet, less boiled things, no Polio, this unfortunately was a good time period to be stuck in. He just hated that he missed everything else. He missed Rebecca graduating high school and walking her down the aisle, it hurt his heart to think about all the things he wasn’t involved in.

“Where am I staying, room-wise?” Y/N’s voice cut through Bucky’s thoughts, allowing him to refocus on the matters at hand. He needed to figure out how to tell Y/N what he remembered, and that he was sorry, but that will come later.

“There’s an empty room next to Wanda and Vision, I think?”

“Yeah, that’s not a good idea, they’re loud.” Clint cut in, then leaned towards Y/N. “Pillow fights.”

“Okay, well then there’s one next to Sam’s.” Natasha replied, making a face at Clint’s comment. Bucky stiffened as he pictured their room’s hall. The first door on the left was Steve and Bucky’s was next to his. Across the hall was Sam’s room in front of Steve’s and the empty room was opposite Bucky’s. He wasn’t thrilled with the arrangement, but he also wasn’t going to argue with Natasha, not after what happened the last time he did.

“Sick, will someone show me where it’s at?” Steve volunteered, needing to get something from his own room anyway. Bucky sighed heavily at Sam who was wearing an encouraging expression.

*********************************************

“Okay, so this is my room and Sam’s is here.” Steve held his arm up to pick out each room. “This is Bucky’s next to mine and then this is you.” It did make you feel a bit better knowing that you were surrounded by some of the most skilled fighters ever. “Bucky has an apartment in the city, so he’s not usually here. He uses this room when he’s here for missions or check-ups, but Sam and I are always here. We’re either training recruits or out on a mission.” You bobbed your head in acknowledgement.

“I’m going to have to get some of my stuff from my apartment, clothes and shit like that. Those bastards took my laptop so I’ll need to go get another one of those, too.” Steve faltered.

“Why do you need a laptop?”

“I do still have a job, Steven. Not all of us are superheroes or world class assassins. I’ve got to make a living somehow, and that somehow is actually-- oh my god.”

“What? Is everything okay?” Steve became concerned so easily.

“Yes, I just realized that I need to call my boss.”

“Look, Y/N. You’re going to have to take a leave of absence or something. Just while we figure all this stuff out. If you’re posting things online or you’re talking to people over the phone, then you can be easily tracked back to the compound.” Steve placed his hands on his hips. “It’s just easier for everyone, if you just lay low for a while. No work, no outside communication.” Your jaw clenched.

“That’s fucking ridiculous. How am I supposed to make a living, Steve? I can’t just live in constant fear because of this. I want to be able to carry on with my life.”

“If HYDRA gets ahold of you, you won’t have a life to carry on with.” Steve had taken steps closer to you. You gulped causing him to back up. “You’re going to work with Wanda and follow our rules. This is for your own good, Y/N, I swear it is.” Nodding numbly, you opened your room door and flopped onto the bed as soon as you saw it. How the hell did I get myself involved in this?

**********************************

@indigo123789 @austynparksandpizza @zozebo

[theficplug]

Holidays at the Drago Household

Viktor Drago x Black Reader

(a little blurb and a look into thanksgiving at the drago household. sorry I got it uploaded so late. hope yall still like it x )

Warnings: pure fluff,  none I believe, oh possibly tw at the end for e.d. (food can be a tough subject during holiday season but i love you and i’m here if anyone needs someone to talk to about it!) 

You settle in bed and smile tiredly but happily at your phone screen while waiting for more questions on your livestream or just to hear about your follower’s holiday plans until one interesting question peaks your interest. You smoothed over your curls and adjusted your glasses to get a better look at the pinned comment.

‘@melaninrainbow : do y’all ever get tired of bringing up that one fight she had at Viktor’s match years ago or bringing up Adonis for no reason in these comments.’

“Yes, I definitely find it a bit weird that people think I would go as far as to marry Viktor just to slight Adonis , you know? He’s an incredible father and co-parent with Bianca and they have something special there. So when people at me in things that he has said or done. I’m just kind of like- I’m happy where I am and that’s all that matters. I’d love it if you guys asked about all of the new projects I have coming up like my podcast and the fact that I'm gonna be on Food Network!  Oh, do you guys wanna see the baby’s room that Vik and I are working on?” you ask the instagram live stream before moving around your home from the bed. 

“Let’s go see what Chef Drago is working on. Look at how cute he is for no reason.”

You found your boo Viktor downstairs still watching over the food from his place on the counter. His black sweatpants sitting low on his hips, he was  rocking his ‘kiss the chef apron’ and his slightly grown out quarantine hair sitting on top of his head like a small nest. 

“Husband is tending to the turkey because we’ve hit the 8th month mark and walking down the stairs in our home is a literal nightmare sometimes. Not you down here listening to SWV though! Who got you weak in the knees? How’s it going in here bae?” you ask him and he looks up from his phone giving you a sheepish smile as he notices that you’re live. 

“The weight room. I’m joking, you obviously, every day... I used nutmeg instead of cinnamon. Did I ruin this pie over here? Honestly, I am glad that I stick to boxing because I don’t think that I'm too paranoid to be a chef. I keep checking every 10 minutes to see if I’ve burned the turkey. I really don’t want to burn her turkey you guys. Pregnant woman hormones. She cried when I got the wrong sauce for her the other day. Her big eyes looking at me she just goes “it was supposed to be honey mustard”. But, I'm not complaining. How many people get to say that they’re going to be parents with their best friend? I’m lucky.” he tells them and you look at him with your heart feeling full of love for a moment before swatting him playfully.

“Why you did you expose me like that? I had been waiting all day for them nuggets. Y’all see how he do me? I had to wait for you to finish turning into the Hulk in our gym while I’m looking like this. ” you say to him and the comments float on the screen faster than you can read as you walk over between his legs while he’s sitting on the counter to rest against him. 

“Like what? Beautiful as always. Couldn’t get enough of you just like this morn-” you cut him off by placing kisses to his lips with a little “alright. alright. alright”

Viktor pushes his lips out for you to kiss him again and captures your lips in his for a peck before reading some of the questions on your screen. 

“Do we have any baby names?” he asks you and nod excitedly

“We do actually, we have a few. If baby is a boy we want to name him Ilja (eel-ya) and if she’s a girl we’d like to name her Zoey.” you answer and he nods along listening to you.

“See, we’re split on this. I say it’s way too early for this, but Viktor loves Christmas and wanted to put the tree up after Halloween.” you tell the viewers after someone asks if you two have decorated for christmas yet. 

“I never really got to celebrate as a child because my parents weren’t exactly. How do you say it , warm? But when we got together and just seeing you light up over drinking hot chocolate, watching christmas movies, and hanging decorations, made me love Christmas and it became my favourite holiday. And now we get to celebrate it with cherub soon too makes it all the better.” he explains and it takes everything in you not to tear up as you toy with his wedding band and rub the back of his hand while he’s talking about his parents and how his upbringing wasn’t as loving. 

“Babbbyyyy. I promise as soon as Thanksgiving is over. We will go to Target and buy all of them overpriced ass Santa Claus’s that sing and climb up the ladder and everything. And we need stuff for the lawn . I’m thinking about reindeer and elf themes this year? Obviously we won’t be able to invite our families over because of the pandemic and that sucks because I just wanna hold everybody in my arms again, but you know, safety first. I’m sooo ready to curl up with you and watch Home Alone.” you tell him before kissing his face all over and he scrunches up his nose when you kiss it.

‘He’s a softy for his wife.’ someone writes in the comments. 

“I still kick ass. Watch out.” He says half joking and flexing his muscles. You give him a look before leaning over to place kisses along his bicep down to his shoulder and to his collarbone.

“Aht. Aht. None of that. That is how cherub was made in the first place.” he jokes but the gaze that he was giving you was saying something else (that aht aht was a warning that you were going to be dealing with something else if you didn’t stop kissing on him like that) and you nod towards the phone screen. 

“I don’t even have a dispute for that one. Does anyone else have anything else to say before me and Vik turn in for the night and absolutely fuck up this sweet potato pie while we finish watching American Horror Story 1984?” you ask them and hear a little chuckle coming from Viktor as he thanks someone for wishing him luck on his fight against Adonis coming up soon. 

“Is this my shirt?” he whispers to you and you look up at him laughing. “This is our shirt.” 

“Okay goodnight my babies. I hope that you’ve had fun hanging out with us a little and getting to see that my baby is human despite the romanian robot narrative that they push. With the holiday season coming up I want my fellow e.d. recovery people to remember that you do not have to earn your food. You deserve to eat good food and to nourish yourself. Please stay safe and remember to social distance and know that we are sending you love from over here in the Drago household.” you say to them before blowing them a kiss. 

You put your phone down and pad around the kitchen in your giant monster feet house slippers while checking on the food. The baked macaroni looked and smelled incredible and it only made you miss the fact that you weren’t going to be able to share it around the table this year but you were incredibly grateful to still be able to have your husband with you.

You feel a pair of strong arms wrap around you and Viktor buries his face into your neck , inhaling you for a moment. “I love you.” he whispers to you .

“I mean I love you too or whatever.” you joke with him before turning to face him and giving him a piece of the pie. 

He takes the pie while leaning in to press against you and nod towards the stairs.

“Fiiinneee. I love you. I love you.” you confess before grabbing his hand and leading him

[rotomgender-moved]

Under the cut is the first part/chapter of it

Title: Runs in our Family

Word Count: roughly 1.5-2k I'd say

TWs: Near panic attacks, mild dehumanization of self, general ask to tag

Part One

The constant click of timers and bubbling of boiling water is what grounded them, eyes flickering about the room to watch over everything he had to. The rhythmic sound of a knife cutting through vegetables was like music to his ears, a hum rumbling through their chest added to the harmony of the kitchen. It made him feel in control, because he was. Guided merely by his memory of the recipe. Even then, he can tweek and test and try new things. It allowed them to have control over its life. It allowed it  to feel safe, even when working with fire and knives and pots and pans searing red with heat.

"N, my golden friend," His Zoroark companion began from their resting position. "The noodles, you need to put them in the water." N froze for a moment, startled by the sudden reminder.

"Ah! Yes, you're right. What could I do without you, Illusion." It chuckled as its own forgetfulness, scooping the fresh noodles in careful hands and putting them into the water carefully. Setting the egg timer for a minute and a half before continuing the final preparations on the vegetables. Picking them in his hands and putting them into the sauce in a few scoops. 

"You are becoming a good chef, my golden friend, but you mustn't lose yourself in your head while working with fire."

"Yes, Illusion, I am very aware. I'm working on it, I promise."

"I pray to Arceus you learn before you lose a paw."

"Hand, before I lose a hand."

"You get the picture."

Truly, N thought as he nodded to Zoroark. What could I do without you.

N let out a breath of air, turning off the fire in the stone as the timer goes off. Waiting quietly for the sauce to finish cooking. Reminding himself to take a few tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle it into the sauce, making it just that much sweeter. Waiting just for a few more moments, they have to. Reward cannot be reaped without patience, he thought, he must have patience.

To fill his time, he spread his hands up in the air in a Y shape, spinning around and humming. Fully content before he felt a sharp pain in his hand, followed by the loud BANG of the hanging pans hitting each other. N flinched, covering his ears and letting out a whine. A shiver rocked his body, but just before they could feel any tears begin to brim. A hand was placed onto his back, or a paw, moreso.

"It is alright," The voice of his pokemon cooed. "It is only cooking utensils, nothing more. Now, why don't you plate your dinner and watch some of your shows?" 

They continued to nod a little, thanking the illusionist with a scratch on the chin. Which, from the aura of joy it received from Zoroark, was greatly appreciated. N turned on their heel and scooped the noodles onto a plate he already had set aside before pouring a ladle or two of sauce onto it. N had promised Mallow a few days before that he would save some extra sauce for her to use in one of her dishes. Whatever concoction she may come up with, and however much it made the trio of chefs-turned-gym-leaders angry, he was excited to see it. 

As he settled down at his little table in his little kitchen, he smiled a tad. It had taken well a while for him to grow accustomed, or even willing, to live in a home. His first actions at coming to this strange new region had been to find an escape in the woods with his pokemon companions and live off nature for a month and a half. Which apparently, from what they deciphered from the angry ranting of a disgruntled Hugh and the chaotic explanation of a worried Alder. Had left his fellow Unovans with a wild goose chase to find him, having only been discovered by an odd group of children with accents he didn't quite recognize mistaking him for a new wild pokemon, thusly getting hit with a thunder wave that left him in the Pokemon Centers human unit for a little longer then N would prefer to admit.

Once they had been captured and as Nate and Rosa dubbed it, "Secured, Contained and Protected", they were subjected to an explanation that pulling an out-of-pocket disappearing act after the multiple both he, Hilbert and Hilda pulled off, wasn't the best idea. Which he understood! But it wasn't out-of-pocket. They should have expected it to run off into the woods and allowed it to. Or at least explained to those paralysis-happy children to watch out for an uncanny woodland dweller with a Zororak.

Even then, once they were captured, it was surely difficult for them to adjust. They were a pokemon, weren't they? A beast, that's what he'd always been told. No human would be able to speak with creatures that aren't fellow humans. But isn't it the same with Pokemon? So are these pokemon more human than beast, or is he more beast than human? Was it the years of isolation that made it hard to settle in an actual home all by itself, or was it the longing to run free with beasts like him?

N didn't like sitting in that question, so as it always did, it shoved it back into a deep corner of their mind and locked it in a little box with all those other heavy questions. All of the concerns and the old ideologies he forcibly shoves away and represses. It was all he could do, if he wasn't a beast or human. Then who could he be helped by?

Well, it didn't matter. It hadn't even noticed it had finished its plate of early dinner during his lamenting. Having been lazily twirling the fork in nothing for a good few moments to minutes. 

"N, my golden child," Zororak began. "Why don't you tuck me away and go speak to other people. You haven't left this little ranch-house in a few days; it will do you some good." They commented, nudging N's back. The soft clacks of things such as potions, a tube for those "PokeBlocks" that a pair of twins had been gifting to everyone on the island, and pokeballs.

"That… Does sound like a good idea." N agreed quietly, fully coming out of their thoughts. "Yeah." They got up off their seat and washed the plate and other utensils he had used swiftly, before shrugging their jacket back on and stringing their hair into a ponytatail once more. If Zororak thought it was a good idea, then N might as well be convinced. This pokemon had single-paw-dedly helped raise him from infancy to now. Always having found its way back to him. N thought of it as a mother and as they say. Mother knows best.

As he exited his home and was met by warm sunshine, he suddenly remembered why they had been so intrigued by the woods and all its inhabitants for oh-so-long. Or well, the week they had been there before they were hospitalized by four sneaky, pokemon hunting children. They couldn't be mad, though. They were apparently uncanny looking, Hilbert having described him as "a bit to long and a little too fluffy, with speech so fast he might as well just be making noises."  

But N didn't mind, it simply thought itself as far more built for the wild than the others. But… Thinking about it, that could be the reason why everyone though that of him. As N walked, staring down at the grass in thought. He felt his shoulder bump someone running by.

"Watch it, tall-ass!" A quite foulmouthed voice sounded, making N's eyes flicker to the redhead who was already making a getaway.

"Language!" They simply called back, rolling their eyes, hearing a distant "shut up!" as they made distance with the redhead. "Rude child." He decided, looking up to glance around the circle of homes that they had all settled in during this odd meet up. In a region that nobody seemed to have heard of, at that. It felt weird, it was weird. Why did any of them trust it?

Well, it should speak for itself. It went along, even if dragged on by his group of siblings-by-spirit. Chattering away that if they were all going, he was coming along. That they had already packed everything for him, and that if he refused they'd just sleep powder him and take him along anyway-

Why did I not run off? They thought, realizing the slight horror of that situation. Those kids were needlessly pushy in trying to get N to talk to new people. Dragging him about the cruiser they were in with all the other guests. Introducing him to some of the other kids that Nate and Hugh had already dragged into their mischief.

What were those kids names? Barry and Sapphire, he believes. Sapphire was that young lady who's brother had given him the tube of pokemon candies, if he remembers. Barry was a talkative young boy who seemed to immediately jump ship to play along with Nate and Hugh's pranks. He also remembers a handful of other faces, a married couple he vaugly remembers seeing on a few news casts back in Unova, Red and Green were their names. Along with another lady he didn't recognize, who took quickly to chatting along with Hilbert and Hilda. Rosa had been coaxing a green haired boy out of his shell with who he thinks was Sapphire's brother. 

He remembers a few other faces. A circle of kids all taking part in pokemon trading under Lance's watch. Bianca and Cheren, listening to a young boy, chitter away about his brother. Two boys nearly tearing at eachother, and not in a pokemon battle, while their supposed companions either encouraged it or tried to seperate them. One of them was that redhead who had swore at them, he thinks. 

But most importantly, he met Mallow and Guzma on that ship. The only two he confidently remembers the names and faces of. Mallow was a sweet woman, a trial captain. She had seen his shivery, nervous nature and pulled him aside from the crowd. He had listened to her talk about cooking and asked a few questions himself. Which is where that interest began. Guzma was… well he can only say he was Guzma. Rough around the edges yet smooth in the soul type, who had introduced him to N's first new species of pokemon in a while. A very, very polite and well mannered Gollisapod. He could sense even before listening to the pokemon that it was well cared for. 

It further made their heart pull, obviously the pokemon was battle-scarred. One or two chips on its shell that were healing overtime. But still so… Happy. Pokemon Battles weren't that bad, he knew that. But the confirmation that it was all okay was still nice.

"Hey, you!" A voice snapped him from his thoughts, making him turn. "Yeah, you! Take a few steps back. You almost walked yourself off a cliff." 

"Oh- why thank you! I didn't even notice."

"Obviously you didn't," He snorted a little. "You're that N guy that Rosa was telling me about! I'm Ruby, I was out trying to see some new pokemon. But all I caught was you almost about to take a trip off a cliff." Ruby rolled his eyes.

"Well, I was lost in thought. Thank you again for catching me, Ruby. Though I'm sure I would've survived a fall into some sand." N shrugged, examining Ruby as the boy nodded over his shoulder.

"Well… Maybe as a thank you, you could come to the community house where all of us trainers are. Rosa said you had some pretty cool Pokemon that you never let anyone touch the PokeBalls of. It's gotten the group talking." Ruby smiled, eyes crinkling. N paused in thought, feeling the pokeball in his hand he recognized as Zororaks. It wanted them to talk to other people… So they might as well. Even if the idea of presenting their pokemon to people they didn't know made their stomach twist. 

"... Okay, alright. I will. Lead the way, Ruby."

[vidimillion]

Hc of jason and nico meeting pre HoO?

thank you for asking this. i hope you wanted something really long, because not only is this really long but it’s also only half coherent.

jason was freshly eleven when he met the ten-year-old nico di angelo. it was early in the morning when he'd heard a centurion of the third cohort mention a disturbance in the forest. it wasn't exactly eavesdropping, he swears. he was just passing by them, when he knew he should've been asleep.

years later, he didn't know why exactly he did it, but he supposed he was young. he wanted to prove himself.

or maybe more accurately, he wanted to break his unearned reputation of being a golden boy. what better way to do that then to do something he wasn't supposed to?

being the dumbass kid he was, he went out alone to the forest, bringing his sword and nothing else. he didn't know what to expect but when he saw a black mass in the forest, sucking up the light like death itself, he was expecting a monster.

then the mass turned around, eyes afraid and hands shaking as they gripped a long black sword. and jason saw that he was just a kid.

before jason could do anything, the boy turned away and disappeared into shadows. freaking out about whether or not he'd just seen a ghost, he ran into the barracks and told the first person he saw. whispers go around fast, and by that afternoon jason hears the theories of who he saw in the forest— a son of pluto.

jason convinces the senate not to send patrols to look for the boy. "You didn't see him, he looked so scared." he'd say. "A patrol would scare him away! I'll look for him myself, every day, I promise!"

he keeps the promise, even when the boy doesn't show up for weeks after that. he keeps it because he knows what it's like to be left confused and alone, forced to fight things you didn't know were real. and he knows it's normal, he knows that's just what happens to demigods, but it doesn't change how much he remembered wanting someone to save him.

he sees the boy again weeks later. and before the boy can run away again he yells after him, "We know what you are!"

the boy freezes, and it looks like jason made it even worse but at least he bought himself time. "No, I mean— you're a demigod right? I am too, we all are here."

jason smiles at him, "do you want me to show you in?"

(actual headcanons following)

jason decides this guy, who's name is nico di angelo, is his best friend now. before bringing him into camp, he felt weird about possibly having another child of the big three around. but when nico confirms the fact three days later, all jason feels is relief.

nico bunks next to jason in the fifth cohort but says he can't pick one to join. he says it's because he can't stay for long, and jason asks why but nico doesn't give him a straight answer. so instead, he takes nico shopping for bedsheets. jason wants to make sure the bunk nico's claimed as his stays his, even when he's gone.

the reputation they build for themselves is incredible. as the only kids of the big three in camp, they're powerful separated but unstoppable together. (this proves for fantastic entertainment when they spar, and a very tough fight for whoever they're going up against if they're a team.)

it's also a worthy mention that not only do they become more powerful when they're fighting together, when they're off the battlegrounds they also get a whole lot stupider. they've got wild spirits, and though they reign it in when they're on their own, they cause shitstorms of trouble when they're together.

(more under the cut)

nico's gone for weeks at a time but every time he comes back jason never gets less excited. he greets him when he arrives and waves him off when he leaves again. that becomes the norm soon— whenever nico's here, you can find jason right next to him.

the senate said nico couldn't stay unless he picked a cohort, and if he picked a cohort he couldn't leave. when he one day comes back with a report from pluto himself explaining why nico has to come and go sometimes, they find a way for him to stay. (they won't hesitate to admit the boy's grown on the community. they wouldn't wanna say goodbye to him either.) and thus, nico was freshly eleven when he's made the ambassador of pluto.

jason isn't allowed to leave camp jupiter, so sometimes nico sneaks him out with shadow travel. the first time they did it, jason actually puked because his twelve-year-old system is a little weak. it was worth it though, because nico bought him his first mcdonalds. jason doesn't think he could ever go back.

that's also how he found out that nico's dad gives him unlimited money to spend on whatever. he realizes nico has zero budgeting skills when he was nearly persuaded to buy a twenty dollar ice cream

when they were both thirteen years old, they were both officially allowed to go on minor quests. on the first one they take, it goes haywire but they meet a little puerto rican girl their age. after a little bit of explaining (and also a little bit of de-escalating, because wow this new demigod is good with a dagger), they find her name is reyna, and they take her back to camp jupiter

jason adopts her immediately, and thus so does nico, because they're a two-in-one deal. they become an iconic trio immediately— some people throw around rumours about love triangles between them, but none of them are ever the same. some say nico and jason argue over reyna's love, some say nico and reyna are fighting for jason's, some say jason and reyna are fighting for nico's.

reyna gets phantom crushes on both of them, mostly out of feeling like she needed to have a crush on them. they're the two people she loves most in the world, so it felt like proper procedure. it fades fast once she realizes they're very clearly in love with each other. she doesn't say anything about it, wanting them to realize on their own. she just hopes it's soon.

by the time nico comes back to camp with a curly-haired daughter of pluto, he's already told jason and reyna of who bianca was. he doesn't answer their looks of concerns for a long time. (but they fucking love hazel. new adoptee)

nico comes back from the war with kronos to be told jason lead the roman army and defeated krios by himself. he flips his shit.

(but he still congratulates jason on the praetorship by taking him on a small trip to gold coast, australia. after battling a monster in public, they appear in the news for allegedly fighting six feral red kangaroos in the street)

jason is diagnosed with ptsd soon after the war. nico finds that he can't bring himself to leave, not when he's one of the only people who know how to calm jason down from a panic attack. he can't leave him, not when jason has never left him.

one of the ways his ptsd manifests is through night terrors. and he doesn't want to ask for help. he's always telling people "there's no shame in asking for help" or "you can ask for help when you need it, we won't judge". yet he can't bring himself to follow his own advice. it's different for him, he often thinks. it's just different.

one day, he gets an especially bad one. it's so bad he almost can't breathe, and it takes him nearly two and a half hours until he's even able to move. when he can feel his legs again, he walks to nico's private quarters.

jason doesn't even have to say anything, and nico is pulling him inside and settling him in his white sheets. the same ones they bought together when they were little, relocated after they'd both moved from barrack bunks.

they don't say anything, but jason quietly asks if nico will hold him. there's something unreadable in his dark brown eyes, but he says yes with such certainty that jason knows he means it.

a few weeks later, jason wakes up in the back of a school bus, holding a pretty girl's hand but not knowing her name. the only thing he remembers is the name nico di angelo.

[samatheia229]

PJO Mortal AU (Solangelo-centric)

 The Olympia Family

(AKA the family with so much chaos and drama, they would have made an even more popular reality TV show than Keeping Up with the Kardashians)

Thalia Grace - 24

An ambassador of the Artemis Foundation

Badass

Won't hesitate to throw hands at anyone who messes with her family.

Very protective of her little brother and cousins.

Not afraid to speak her mind and fight for what she thinks is right.

Has a kind of love-hate relationship with her stepmother Hera. While Thalia respects and acknowledges Hera as her stepmother, she is a free spirit, and hates being chained down by the old-fashioned rules Hera imposes.

Briefly dated Luke Castellan for 2 years, but broke up due to reasons. The break up was mutual and Luke still remains as one of Thalia's closest friends.

Deadly with a bow and arrow (she'd be hunting down hunters like they hunt animals for living if it weren't for the fact that murder is unfortunately illegal).

Jason Grace - 19

Sophomore at Uni (double majors in Management and Aerodynamic Engineering)

Flight school graduate

Heir to Jupiter Airlines (given that his father doesn't plan to retire anytime soon, Jason is considering becoming a pilot in the meantime)

Hera's favourite child since he actually follows her rules (He bends them slightly every now and then, but she doesn't need to know that).

Regular at the Manhattan Chess Club

Has an intense rivalry with his older cousin Percy that's been going on for like 10 years now... (his life goal is to beat Percy. They're currently at a stalemate of 3795 wins each.)

Very protective of Nico. He almost had an aneurysm when he heard that grumpy, little stay-away-or-I’ll-death-glare-you Nico had a boyfriend. A boyfriend.

Has a best friend Leo Valdez who is an engineer student with an eccentric personality and is a mischievous menace. His childhood friend, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, is an athlete in javelin-throwing and currently resides in her hometown in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but they still keep in touch. 

Dating Piper McLean, the 19-year-old founder of the Beautifully Imperfect Foundation

Zeus Olympia

CEO of Jupiter Airlines

Drama Queen TM

Favours Thalia more despite Jason being his heir and enables most of her rebellious antics, much to Hera's chagrin.

Can be rather childish and petty ("It's been 43 years, and I've long since given up on expecting him to change," Hades deadpanned.)

As the youngest child of the Olympia family and with his father on Death's doorstep, Zeus was given a lot of free reign, hence his playboy tendencies. He eventually did settle down with Hera Junos, the single daughter of one of the oldest families in Greece. Hera was fond of children but was unable to sire her own due to medical issues, which led to Zeus getting a mistress (with Hera's begrudged consent), Beryl Grace, the daughter of Hera's family chef. Beryl has always had a rather strange personality and an unhealthy obsession with alcohol. A few years after giving birth to Thalia and Jason Grace respectively, her liver gave way and she died before they could find a solution.

Hera Olympia (formerly Junos)

Zeus' wife

The kids call her ‘Aunt Ra’

Jason is her favourite child because he actually listens to her

Coming from both a high-class and old family, Hera was raised to be a perfect lady (a lady should not wear pants or speak out of turn etc. etc.) and has a rather old-fashioned way of thinking, enforcing strict rules in her household.

She still loves Thalia, but because the way Thalia acts goes against everything Hera was taught, her relationship with her stepdaughter is a bit strained. Hera now mostly lets Thalia do her own thing, but every now and then might still be a bit controlling. She's trying, okay?

Bianca di Angelo - 19

Sophomore at Uni (majors in Journalism and English Literature)

Works part-time at the Artemis Foundation

Generally quiet and shy, but has a tendency to fuss over small details.

Very responsible and possibly the only one with a brain cell among the cousins. (Proteus and Triton don’t even live in the same continent half of the time; Kym doesn't give a damn; Thesi is too nice to reprimand them; Ro‘s too busy fawning over her fiancé; Hero is more likely to fan the flames than quell them; Thalia, Jason, Percy and Nico are always either competing against each other or breaking the Internet with their antics again; Hazel is pretty innocent but has a slight vindictive streak so caution must be exercised; and Tyson and Estelle are innocent beans of sunshine that must be protected).

She can be bold when she wants to be, as well as reckless. 

Has her father's habit of gesturing with her hands while talking and when she is on edge.

Ace

Nico di Angelo - 17

High school Senior

Heir to Pluto Corp.

Resident Emo in the family (“I'm not emo!” “Your only-dark-clothing phase says otherwise.” “It's not a phase, Persephone!” “Like father, like son.”)

Stubborn AF

Can't deal with all his overprotective sisters and cousins

Currently pining over William Solace ("Shut up!")

Avid gamer, plays digital games, card games (his childhood and to-this-day favourite is Myth-o-magic, which is one of the reasons he approves of Hazel's boyfriend, Frank) and all games in general (he visits the arcade monthly to make sure he's still 1st place in every game there)

Has a tendency to hold grudges and gestures with his hands while talking or when on edge, a habit he shares with his father and older sister.

Plays the violin (Persephone had introduced him to it, and he'd taken a liking to it)

Hazel Olympia (formerly Levesque) - 14

High school Freshman

Aspiring artist (she’s won thirty different art competitions locally in the span of three years and placed silver last year in the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition under an anonymous name because she wanted to win by her own merit rather than rely on the Olympia name. Hades plans to surprise her by giving her own exhibition hall for her next birthday.)

Regular at the Manhattan Riding Club

Has a bit of a vindictive streak in her that was probably born out of spite due to her upbringing

Exudes a powerful aura of passive aggressiveness, but is also incredibly kind and magnanimous

Has the ability is summon, manipulate and detect precious minerals, as well as the ability to place curses on them. (This knowledge is confidential and hidden from the public)

Loves her family with all her heart, and literally no one is more protective of Nico than she is

She was the first but also last person to know about Nico's boyfriend (First because she goes to the same school and is not dense, thank you very much, but technically last because she was the last person that Nico officially told since Will is terrified of her for some reason, something about her being 'the FINAL BOSS'; this amuses Hazel to no end).

Has a very cute crush on Frank Zhang, a HS Junior who’s an archer and animal lover (it’s mutual, by the way).

Hades Olympia 

CEO of Pluto Corp., one of the largest companies in the mining industry.

#DONE with life and all the people in it, particularly his crazy family

Functions solely on his children, Persephone and caffeine, usually caffeine because the other two are often the cause of his high blood pressure

Broods a lot (”I don’t brood.” “Yes, you do.”)

Deadpan 200% of the time and takes no shit

Loves all his children equally and definitely does not have a favourite (it’s Hazel, in case you’re wondering) 

As the eldest son of the three brothers, Hades was betrothed and wed to his childhood best friend Persephone Terrafield by their fathers in an attempt at a business partnership (Spoiler Alert: It didn’t work out in end). Admittedly, Hades and Persephone did have a small infatuation with each other when they were younger, but it never grew into anything serious, and as they grew older he saw her as more of a sibling than a lover and vice versa. After the inevitable death of his father, Hades and Persephone divorced but literally nothing in their relationship changed since they’d never loved each other romantically in the first place. When Hades decided to court their mutual friend, Italian diplomat Maria di Angelo, Persephone supported both of them wholeheartedly. In the span of the seventeen years they were together, Maria gave Hades two beautiful children, Bianca and Nico. Unfortunately, Maria passed away after being on life support for two years in result of a plane crash when Nico was 6. 

In the two years when Maria was hospitalized, Hades was so desperate to find his beloved a cure that he sought out a witch doctor that was rumoured to be in New Orleans. Marie Levesque, the aforementioned witch, was a greedy, manipulative person with a deluded and unstable mind, who drugged Hades and essentially raped him because she thought his spawn would have the perfect blood for experimenting magic on. She used magic to wipe his memory of the previous night’s events and handed him an ‘antidote’ that was actually just water dyed a milky white. After ten years, Marie finally revealed to Hades a 12-year-old Hazel, who looked miserable, was suffering from malnutrition, wounds, burns etc. and had a supernatural ability which Marie proudly said she had bestowed to her via dark magic. Hades was absolutely mortified, revolted and a bunch of other things. He filed a lawsuit against Marie, charging her for rape, child neglect, child abuse and human experimentation, as well as taking permanent custody over Hazel Levesque (now Hazel Olympia). 

Persephone Terrafield

CEO of jewelry enterprise The Red Pomegranate which was a sub-branch of Pluto Corps. The enterprise has the highest production rate in the US. 

Self-designated matchmaker for Hades (Hades always tells her she should focus on her own love life first, but he’s just an ungrateful brat)

Current life goal is to fulfill Maria di Angelo’s dying wish: help Hades find love again. (Mission status: still at Square 1 because Hades has some trust issues after the Levesque Incident)

The kids all call her ‘Aunt Seph’, but she loves the children as though they were her own

She and Hades often joke that they would totally still be married if they didn’t see each other as siblings and platonic soulmates and she hadn’t had her sexual awakening of being lesbian.

She lives with Hades and the children as she finds it too much of a hassle to move into her own place, not to mention lonely (with the kids at school and doing club activities, someone needs to make sure Hades gets exposure to the sun anyway).

Persephone is the daughter of an unnamed businessman and Demeter Terrafield, an agricultural revolutionist and healthy-cereal-obssessed woman.

Her mother and Hades have this sort of weird rivalry going on whenever Demeter visits; Demeter hates Hades because he hates healthy cereal, and apparently anyone who hates healthy cereal isn’t good enough to be hanging around her daughter, so she always replaces all his coffee with decaf and puts the healthiest cereal she can find on his bedside table every morning; in retaliation, Hades will deliberately eat the most sugary sweets he can find in front of her and locks her out of their personal greenhouse. (The glass walls are made of the strongest glass he could find and the door is locked by multiple manual and digital locks.)

Hestia Olympia

CEO of WarmHearth Interior Design Agency (WHIDA)

Everyone's favourite person, indefinitely

Has the infinite patience of a goddess

Gentle, kind, very wise, gives great advice

The kids call her ‘Aunt Tia’ 

Often fondly exasperated by her younger brothers' antics (because no, just because they’re grown men now does not mean they are going to stop their childhood feuds since despite their protests, they are all petty AF), but once she snaps, they all line up like toy soldiers and behave nicely.

Knits a lot. Most of her carpets, quilts, bags, scarves etc. are handmade.

She looks relatively innocent, but don't be fooled. There's a hidden arsonist in her that is always ready to come out when she's angry.

Hestia has a 'I'm not mad, just extremely disappointed and upset' Mom Look that has sent people bawling their eyes out and begging for her forgiveness with just one glance

She is the oldest of the Olympia siblings, but as a child had a frail and weak body. Kronos wanted to get rid of her since she was 'useless and couldn't be wed off', but Rhea, their mother, begged and pleaded Kronos to let her live. For some unknown reason, Kronos complied.

Her brothers are all very protective of her

YOU DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, MAKE HER ANGRY

[magioftheseas]

Repressed/Stunted

For @badthingshappenbingo

Prompt: Please Don’t Leave Me taken from here.

Rating: T+

Warnings: Possessive and violent thoughts but in terms of content, nothing really.

Notes: I finally wrote a full-ish Pokemon BW fic, focusing on FerrisWheelShipping because... Yes! This one’s on the messier side, sorry. I have a lot of feelings about my Trainer Touko/Hilda headcanons. I just think she should be much more aggressive. So, I explored that a little. Hope it’s okay. =m=

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

It had taken a while to ‘break N in’, so to speak. When she first offered that he stay with her and her mom, he had of course been anxious. Wary. He grew only more skittish the closer they got to Nuvema, and the only reason he hadn’t bolted the second the door opened was because her mom had greeted him so warmly.

“So you’re the friend she’s talked so much about! Come in, come in!”

She had wondered, of course, if N had ever known a mother’s affection. Judged by his dumbfounded stare and the way he trailed after her mother like a lost Lillipup, she suspected that wasn’t the case.

He really is a child, isn’t he?

“She looks a lot like you,” he had remarked. “That’s normal, isn’t it? What about your father?”

“We don’t really talk about him,” she had replied with an easy laugh. “I barely even knew him.”

“Oh. Was he bad?”

Like yours?

She had shrugged.

“Like I said, I don’t know. Can’t really make those kinds of calls on someone I didn’t know.”

“I see.” N blinked at her, eyes wide. “That’s such a noncommittal response. So mature, Touko.”

Mature?

The relationship between her and N had always been a little weird. From the start, N saw her as a rival and a counterpart to himself. With his own grand self-image, she couldn’t deny the expectation in that sparkling gaze of his was beyond uncomfortable and frustrating. Even now, N looks at her like there’s more than what she is, and the weight of that is crushing on her shoulders. With his life and world crumbled, his pedestal of her remained.

She still wants to tackle him sometimes for that. It would be inappropriate to do so at the dinner table, so she just thrums her fingers along the surface, and she takes in how her mom prepares their plates with a smile and a laugh. Like nothing is amiss. Like nothing ever went wrong.

“How long are you staying with us, N?” her mother asks. “I certainly don’t mind having an extra pair of helping hands around.”

“Touko insisted I’d come and she’s quite scary,” was his answer. “When I told her my living conditions, she went into a rage.”

“Because he sleeps outside,” she huffed. “In the cold. Without even a tent.”

“My friends keep me warm, Touko. It’s not cold at all.” N shook his head. “Not to mention tents are windy and unyielding.”

“Yeah, he’s staying with me until further notice.” A pause, and it was probably then that Touko realized how rude she was being. “T-That’s alright, isn’t it, mom?”

“As I said, I don’t mind,” her mom chirped. “It’s nostalgic, isn’t it? Having a friend stay over. Both Cheren and Bianca are so busy these days. How are they doing?”

“They’re...doing fine,” she says because she’s not sure what else to say. “Don’t worry. I’m looking into getting our own place so this shouldn’t be a permanent setup.”

Her mother’s smile is broad. N eyes her curiously. Intently. She doubts he understands this situation, the undercurrents brought about by societal expectations and pressures. He was sheltered from all of that—she wondered if he even truly understood what independence was. N was a couple of years older, yes, but he was also much, much more immature.

Not that it’s his fault or anything.

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry, Touko,” her mom said. “Just grow up at your own pace.”

“Can’t help it,” she huffed. “I don’t like to fall behind.”

Cheren and Bianca seem to be on a path that’ll suit them for the rest of their lives. Or at least the foreseeable future. Meanwhile I—still have no idea what I want, exactly. Besides that guy.

“Is this a competition?” N asked, quite confused. “I apologize. I do not understand at all.”

I want him. To be with him. Maybe that’s shallow, but... It’s because he’s so innocent that I can’t help it.

“It’s irrational,” Touko explained. “It’s not really meant to be understood so much as felt.”

“I...see. I don’t suppose you can explain those feelings in greater depth?”

“Not with formulas, no. Sorry.”

Inferiority, desire, and drive. I’ve always been the kind of person to let my emotions guide me. Blind leading the blind. I even ended up on going in circles looking for this stupid, stupid guy.

N was frowning, almost pouting, and she wanted him fiercely.

“Even as a human, you’re particularly arduous, Touko.”

“It’s not good human behavior,” she admitted. “But it’s not bad for a rival, huh?”

I say like I hadn’t crushed Cheren under my heel. Like I haven’t made Bianca almost cry. Like it’s not a great thing that both of them moved on from me.

“At least you’re not inflexible,” N mused. “Some humans are. It’s really frustrating. I can still only communicate properly with a select few of them. Beyond you and Mei, of course.”

That’s a bad thing. You left in the first place to gain a greater understanding. I shouldn’t be a little happy to hear that.

“A lot are flexible,” she said. “Keep trying, N. Don’t give up. And if someone is being particularly stubborn—I’ll beat them up.”

“Not battle them?”

“Sometimes you can settle matters with your own two fists, N. Oh, but only leave that to me. Don’t get into any fights. Be diplomatic where you can.”

“I know that,” N replied, brow furrowed. “Ghetsis made it clear that such physical means were...unsightly.”

“It’s because I don’t want you getting hurt, obviously,” Touko said. “Not to mention it’s for the sake of everyone else. I don’t think I’d be able to hold back against someone who hurt you.”

Even that monster’s name is enough to drive me into a white-hot fury. N’s incredible, isn’t he? For saying it. So easily.

N does bristle this time. With a predictable amount of childishness.

“I can handle myself. I don’t need a guard.”

“Oh, no,” her mother cut in. “Touko’s just like that with her friends. It can be a nightmare to deal with especially when she tried to physically fight Bianca’s father.”

N blinked, and his mouth opens. It closes without a word, leaving behind only a soft hum. Touko, too, said nothing in response. She felt no need to protest nor defend herself.

“Some things never change,” her mother just sighed, preparing the plates. “But, well, enough about that. Let’s eat!”

“Thanks, mom.”

“Thank you for the food,” N muttered, head ducked.

After the food was set out and the table made, they ate in relative silence and comfort. Touko wondered if she should have been relieved that N knew to use utensils. She then felt foolish for the thought. N wasn’t completely untamed, obviously. That monster wanted at least the appearance of refinement, so N would know how to function somewhat in a social setting such as eating at the table. Thinking of it that way, Touko found herself wishing N wouldn’t have bothered with the pretense. Even now, the way he operates forks and knives was stiff and almost mechanical. Between that and his tightened features, it was clear just how nervous the other was.

“Is it any good?” her mother asked, ever kindly and worriedly. She no doubt took notice as well.

N’s nod was more of a spastic jerk.

“Thank you for the food.”

It was too much to take, so she looked away for now.

“Thank you for the food,” she echoed in a drone.

--

N was a couple of years older than her. Physically, he was in the early stages of adulthood. But with how much of the world he’s seen, he might as well still be a child. He’s a lot like Bianca, body growing faster than allowed. Sheltered and sweet, only N’s upbringing was of a much more sinister nature.

N was once a king. At the time, Touko wanted to crush him. To smash him between her palms and wipe the remnants off her shorts. She had pretty strong feelings against him. His smug attitude and upturned nose, the way he would continuously dart his eyes towards her team attached to her belt. He spoke so quickly that she wanted to wring his neck.

All that said, she wanted to shove her tongue down his throat. Be it because of hormones, because he was the first guy she really got to know besides Cheren, or even because N was just pretty to look at, there had been undeniable attraction. Attraction which hadn’t even been separated from violence.

And now, she—doesn’t want to hurt him. Because she knows how vulnerable he really is. How he had been manipulated by a monster and how his face had crumbled like paper when called a freak. When she wanted to embrace him, it was fueled purely by the desire to keep him safe from the rest of the world.

She still let him leave. She understood that he needed to understand things for himself. She had been his ultimate rival, but they hadn’t been friends. She couldn’t have expected him to confide in her. And, yet, she still chased after him and now that they’ve reunited... She frankly has no intention of letting him go again, even if it’s for his own good.

N was stated to have a pure and innocent heart. The only thing pure about Touko was pure stubbornness.

--

“Mom’s nice.”

“Yeah, she is.”

She doesn’t correct N. Her mother didn’t either, finding it endearing if a bit sad. Touko did think to tell her not to pity him, because N doesn’t like to be pitied—but she thinks her mother might ask her more about N, and she doesn’t want to talk about him. Or rather, what she knows about him.

She kind of wants to keep it to herself out of the messed up desire to keep N to herself.

“It’s warm,” N said. “Nothing like the castle at all. It’s all calm. Calming. I envy your upbringing, Touko.”

He’s a little tall for the futon that her mother laid out. Touko stares at him shifting awkwardly.

“You’ll get used to it,” she finally replied. “You’re gonna stay here for a while, yeah?”

He hums softly.

“If you’ll have me.”

She could’ve laughed, even as she did have the decency to feel the slightest twinge of guilt. It wasn’t enough to admit the truth. She only felt guiltier because N thought highly of her. Like this—she was taking advantage of him. She’s been with Bianca long enough to know how to be gentle with people, and yet...

“Sorry.” She slips off her bed, hovering over him before pressing down on her hands. With N’s head in-between, she held herself over him with resolve. “You’re not lonely with me here, right?”

When that monster told you the truth—when he spat in your face about inhumanity, I can’t even imagine how you felt. Devastated? Shattered? Perhaps—you felt the loneliest you’ve ever been. I get it. I do. I understand why you had to get away. But—that didn’t stop me from wanting to scream “please don’t leave me!!”

“It’s a little lonely,” N admitted, because he really was so unabashedly honest. His eyes were bright, but her reflection within them looked a little twisted. “The reason for that is because you’re closed off from me, Touko.”

Ah.

Aha.

Her heart nearly stuttered through her ribcage. Funny how words like that could cut through her.

“Are you mad?” N asks so sadly, reaching up and cupping her face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving.”

This idiot really has such trouble understanding the human heart. But, he’s trying. Oh, Arceus, he’s trying so much. For years, he’s been trying.

Swelling with adoration, Touko turned to kiss his palm, nuzzling into that hand. N pets her for that, and maybe to him it’s just like reassuring a friend. Gentle touches to show that the world isn’t entirely cruel. If she had been a tad more immature, she would’ve recoiled at the idea of being treated like she was broken. But because she’s mostly selfish, she accepts his affection greedily.

I’m not letting you go again. Sorry, N. Sorry.

At least N holds her like he doesn’t want to let go, either.