#fortunately we got an extra 30 chapters anyways :)

[undyinglantern]

anyways,

it was

a good chapter

WAIT WAIT WAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT HOW CAN YOU JUST TEASE THAT ON THE LAST PAGE OF THE CHAPTER LIKE THAT

[deathbyyoongx]

Hidden; chapter 1 ― thv

▸ Chapters: Chapter 1, ...

▸ Word Count: 3.3k

▸ Pairing: Taehyung x oc

▸ Genre:  highschool!au, babysitter!taehyung, angst, fluff

▸ Summary: “I never expected to fall in love with my babysitter. It sounds dumb, I know.”

▸ Warnings: Mentions of self-harm, suicide, bullying, harassment

▸ A/N: If you’re personally not into oc written fanfics, then I recommend using the google chrome extension ‘InteractiveFics’ to change the oc’s name. 

“Why did you do it?”

“Because some people deserve so much better and some so much worse.”

  Heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs while Mrs Kim was doing her daily chores. She looked behind her, seeing her son was ready to go out. “You in a hurry, dear?” She asked as she saw Taehyung running from room to room.

“I’m late for music school. My teacher is going to be so mad at me.” He responded as he was pulling on his shoes, making his mother chuckle.

“Don’t forget your babysitting the daughters of the Park family.” His mother casually said as she was folding the laundry.

Taehyung’s eye sprung wide open . “Wait, what?”

His mother sighed. “I told you last week. Your father and I will be celebrating new year’s eve with them. There daughters are quite young, so she asked me if you could babysit them. Of course I said yes.”

Taehyung grabbed his jacket and scarf and was almost out the door. “Since when did we decide to make decisions without me knowing of them. Especially if they’re about my life?”

His mother could only chuckle again. “Oh, don’t be like that! It would be a good experience. And maybe this could be a good way to earn a bit of extra money.” She said as she was eyeing Taehyung from head to toe. “Don’t forget to tie your shoes, honey! I don’t want you to fall. It’s already slippery outside due to the weather.”

As his mother was telling him that, he was already one step ahead of her. “Yeah, I won’t.” With a rush he grabbed his keys and opened the front door. “Don’t have time to talk, goodbye!”

Fortunate for him, he arrived just in time to get the bus. Panting heavily due to his little marathon, Taehyung sat down on the bus and looked at his phone. 12:30. There was a small change he would still get on time. He noticed he got a text. A wave of excitement went through his body as he saw that it was from Dahee, the girl he had an eye on for a while.

[12:31] Dahee: Thought you would come earlier for once?

Taehyung smiled. He took a bit longer than usual to respond while his mind kept overthinking.

[12:32] Taehyung: Overslept again, haha. I don’t want to be scolded again.

His heart was racing as he was waiting for a respond.

[12:33] Dahee: That’s on you! Guess I won the bet. Can’t wait for my free meal!

[12:33] Dahee: I’m heading inside. I’ll be waiting and explaining to the teacher why you’re late…AGAIN!

The bet. He almost forgot about it. If he would be late again this month, he had to give her free meal of her choice. He sighed. Of course he had to be late on the last day of the month.

  After music school and a good scolding of his music teacher, Taehyung was waiting for his bus to arrive. He suddenly felt his phone vibrating, making him fish it out of his backpack. It was his good friend. “Hey Jimin.”

“Hey Tae. Are you coming to the party tonight or not? I haven’t had a respond of you yet.”

Before Taehyung could say yes to his friend, he reminded himself what task he got from his mother. “I can’t, I have to babysit.”

“Babysit?!” Jimin asked surprised.

“Yeah, babysit.” Taehyung repeated “I have to babysit on the daughters of my mother’s friend.”

“How old are they?” Jimin asked.

Taehyung hummed for a bit before he could remember their age. “I think one is eight or seven, and the other one is fifteen.”

“Hmh-“ Jimin hummed “Still a bit young.”

“For fuck sa-“

“Just kidding, just kidding.” Jimin quickly added. “Well, that’s unfortunate. Everyone was excited to see you again. It’s been a while you know.”

Taehyung sighed. “I know, I know. But we’ll hang out another time, okay? I’ll text you.”

“Alright.” Jimin responded. “Now I have to disappoint Dahee since you’re not coming.” He said playfully. “How are things between the two of you anyways? I don’t see much progress.”

“Things are good.” He said nervously. “I lost a bet and now I have to buy her a meal. So it kind of will be like a date, right?”

Jimin chuckled. “It’ll be a date if you make it a date. But I guess it’s a start.” Taehyung could hear someone calling Jimin’s name on the other side of the line. “I have to go. My mom needs me. I’ll talk to you later. See ya.”

“Talk to you later.” And with that, their conversation ended. Taehyung would lie is he wasn’t a bit frustrated he couldn’t go out tonight. At least he would get some extra cash from tonight. He just hoped the kids wouldn’t give him a hard time.

    The night fell and Taehyung was now standing in front of the Park’s family’s house. He let out a nervous sigh as he pressed the grey door bell. He had never babysat before. He loved children, but he only knew how to handle animals and not small children. Taehyung chuckled and shook his head. There would only be one small child, the other would be closer to his age, or so they told him.

The door finally opened, revealing miss Park in a chique navy blue dress. “Oh, Taehyung! I’m glad you’re here, come in!” Taehyung gave miss Park a sweet smile as he stepped into the Park‘s home. It wasn’t anything too fancy, but it still was a cosy house to live in. “The girls are upstairs. Yoojin is tucking in Yoora since it’s bed time for her. Yoojin is allowed to stay up late to see the fireworks, but don’t let her eat anything! She tends to eat a lot of junk food at night.” Mrs Park said. “Honey, are you ready?!” She yelled.

“I’m ready, honey!” Mr Park said running down the stairs. He saw Taehyung and gave him a friendly smile. “You must be Taehyung, nice to meet you!”

Mrs Park grabbed her husband’s arm and checked the time on her phone. “Call us when something’s wrong, okay? And thank you for taking care of my children. It really is a relief to have someone we trust babysitting our girls.”

“Don’t mention it.” Taehyung smiled. “Have fun tonight Mr and Mrs Park!”

As Taehyung was finally left alone, he sighed and walked towards the living room. He looked around a bit, seeing everything was pretty neat. He sat down onto the sofa and grabbed the tv remote before he heard little footsteps coming down from the stairs. He looked at the entrance of the living room, seeing a small figure looking weirdly at him. “I don’t know you!” She mumbled.

Taehyung smiled at how cute the little girl was. “I’m Taehyung, your babysitter.”

She crossed her arms and walked closer to him. “I don’t need a babysitter, I’m a big girl!”

Taehyung chuckled. “Of course you are.”

The little girl blushed and giggled. She crawled onto the sofa and placed herself next to him. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.” Taehyung answered.

The girl pouted. “You’re a bit old, but that’s okay! I’m turning eight in January!” She beamed.

“YOORA!” Someone yelled from upstairs.

Taehyung laughed “So you must be Yoora.” He said as he saw the little girl trying to hide behind his body.

Another girl came downstairs with an expression filled with annoyance. She looked a lot older than Yoora. The other girl got a bit startled with the random guy in her living room. “You must be the babysitter.”

Taehyung hummed a yes and nodded. “And you must be Yoojin. I’m Taehyung.”

“Go away!” Yoora nagged to her older sister.

Yoojin crossed her arms and heavily sighed. “Yoora, it’s past bed time! Mom will be pissed when she hears that I let you stay up late again!”

“I don’t want to!” Yoora yelled as she hugged Taehyung. “Save me from her! She’s mean!”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules! Besides, I don’t want you crying as soon as you hear the fireworks. Can’t you just make this easy and come with me?” Yoojin begged. Yoora furiously shook her head and clung further onto Taehyung.

A frustrated sigh came out of Yoojin’s mouth as she was walking towards the kitchen.

“Uhm-“ Taehyung began a bit awkward. “Your mother told me you can’t have any food.”

Yoojin stared with wide eyes at Taehyung as she slowly placed an ice cream bar into her mouth. She grabbed another one and pointed it had Taehyung, gesturing if he wanted one too. And before they knew it, the both of them where eating ice cream as they were looking for something to watch.

Yoora looked troublesome at Taehyung and Yoojin “Why can’t I have ice cream?” she whined.

“Because all of your teeth will fall out if you do.” Yoojin said to scare her sister.

A pout formed on Yoora’s face. “Your teeth will fall out too then!”

Yoojin chuckled. “Of course not. I have my full grown teeth, unlike you. You still have your baby teeth.” Yoora looked scared and quickly shut her mouth.  

Taehyung laughed. “Aren’t her teeth supposed to fall out to make room for the new ones?” He whispered to Yoojin.

“Shh.” Yoojin added quickly. “These were the only two ice cream bars left.” She looked over at Taehyung and her sister and chuckled, shaking her head in the process. “She likes you.”

Taehyung turned his head and chuckled too. “Really?”

A smirk appeared on her face as she nodded. “Yeah, or else she wouldn’t be clinging onto you like that.”

“Unlike you, Taehyungie is cute and nice.” Yoora said as if she flipped her hair afterwards.

“Woah, you already have nickname for him, little lady? You don’t even have one for me.” She responded with a pout.

“That’s because you’re a weirdo.” Yoora said before she stuck out her tongue. Yoojin did the same at her, making Taehyung laugh.

Yoojin looked back at the screen as she leaned her head in the palm of her hand. “He’s too old for you though.” She mumbled.

“HEY!” Yoora exclaimed. “He’s seventeen, that just has one extra one, so that means we’re one year apart.” She said, feeling smart.

“Uhu.” Yoojin hummed.

Taehyung looked over at Yoojin, seeing she was still struggling with finding a good channel for the three of them. There was nothing special on in particular. Yoojin decided to keep the channel on a regular drama in the hope there would happen something cringy to laugh about. “Is this good for you?” She asked in a monotone. Taehyung nodded, while Yoora couldn’t care less besides clinging onto Taehyung.

After a good 10 minutes of silently watching tv, and finishing their ice cream, Taehyung decided to get to know who he was babysitting. “So, what school do you go to?” He asked Yoojin.

Yoojin softly smiled. “This may come as a surprise to you, but the same school you go to.” Taehyung was indeed a bit surprised by her answer. He had never seen Yoojin on school grounds before. “I know.” She said as if she could read Taehyung’s mind. “I get lessons on the other campus, but Yoora’s elementary school is next to your campus. I usually need to pick her up from school, so that’s why I recognize you.”

Taehyung understood now. It’s a small world after all.

The scene on tv transitioned to a romantic one, which resulted in two people kissing each other, making Yoora looking all wide eyed at the tv screen.  “Taehyungie?” She sang “Do you have someone to kiss with?”

Taehyung looked at the screen and then back at Yoora. “You mean a girlfriend?” He asked, making her nod in respond. “No, I don’t have one.”

“Do you have a boyfriend then?” Yoojin asked out of curiosity.

Yoora frowned her eyebrows. “Silly Yoojin, boys can’t fall in love with boys!’”

Taehyung looked confused at Yoojin, while she just laughed at Taehyung’s expression and came a bit closer. “She’s too young to know that gay people exist.” She whispered . “But do you have one?” She asked in her regular tone.

“I’m pretty sure I’m not into guys. So no, I don’t have one.”  He answered. “And you? Do you have someone to kiss with?” He asked with a playful smirk.

Yoojin chuckled. “No, and I don’t want one either, boy or girl.”

“Why not?” He asked confused.

She sighed. “Love is overrated in my humble opinion. I don’t believe people are committed enough to love someone for their entire life.” She said in full honesty.

“You’re still quite young. I bet you’ll change your mind within a few years when you finally meet that special someone. “ Taehyung teased.

She smirked.  “Well, that’s a bet I confidently dare to take.” Yoojin looked back at her baby sister, making her eyes sprung open. “Oh, she’s asleep" Yoojin said surprised.

Taehyung looked at his side, seeing that Yoojin was right. The little girl had fallen asleep. “Woah, that was fast.”

“This is great. She’s scared of fireworks, so she won’t be crying now.” Yoojin explained. “Could you carry her upstairs for me? She’s a bit heavy for my weak arms.” She asked politely.

Taehyung nodded. “Sure.” He gently grabbed Yoora as he was trying his best not to wake her. While holding her, Yoojin lead the way to Yoora’s room. She opened the door as quiet as possible while she let Taehyung in. He slowly placed Yoora on her bed and tucked her in tightly with her blanket. He looked at Yoojin who gave him a warm smile. “Thank you.” She whispered.

The two of them left the room and went back downstairs. A picture on the wall caught Taehyung’s interest, and before he went back to sit down like Yoojin, he inspected the framed picture closer. He saw a girl dressed in old fashioned clothes, noticing it was Yoojin. “Is this you?” He asked just to be sure.

With rosy cheeks she looked at Taehyung. “Y-yeah.” She timidly admitted. She wasn’t really embarrassed about her hobby, but she was scared he would judge her. “That’s a picture of my first lead in a musical. My theatre school usually does plays, but this time we did a musical.”

Taehyungs mouth opened a bit out of amazement. “I didn’t expect you to do theatre.”

His comment made her laugh. “well, I’m full of surprises.” She said cheeky. “What do you do in your free time then?”

“Well-“ Taehyung sighed as he sat down next to Yoojin. “I play the saxophone.”

“Really?” She said with a raised eyebrow. “Then you should play for me once. I’d love to hear it.”

“Wait, really?” Taehyung asked to be sure.

“Yeah.” She smiled as she leaned back. “Next time you’ll babysit seems like a good time.” She smirked. As she looked at the tv, she noticed it was still the boring drama from before. “Let’s do something more exciting. I’m sick of watching this cliché crap.”

Taehyung chuckled. “What could be more exciting than this amazing drama?” He said with a sarcastic tone.

Yoojin smirked as she grabbed a pack of cards out of one of the drawers. “Uno, of course.” She said as she placed herself onto the ground. Taehyung got off the couch and also sat down onto the ground.

As if he was following her hand movements while she was handing out the cards, a thought popped in his mind. “You’re fifteen right?”

It took a few seconds for her to respond, since her focus was more on fairly distributing the cards than Taehyung’s question. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

Yoojin placed the big stack of cards in the middle as Taehyung was ready to ask his second question. “I just find it a bit odd that I’m babysitting a 15 year old. Don’t get me wrong, but you seem mature enough to care for you and your sister.”

Yoojin couldn’t help but give a shy smile by his unintentional compliment. “Well, I may or may not have accidentally caused a flood due to an attempted of giving Yoora a bath. Which may or may not have been the cause of me loosing the trust of my parents.” She said as she placed the first card.

Her explanation caused Taehyung to laugh. “Wait, what? How?”

Yoojin’s cheeks turned a bit red. “I don’t know how, but I managed to pull off the knob of the faucet.”

Taehyung smiled. “Accidents happen, I guess.” He said as he played another card. Yoojin smirked as she laid down a plus four card, making him smirk in response.

“Are you serious?” She whined. He also placed down a plus four card.

 Time flew by and before they knew it the clock turned to midnight. “Do you hear that?” Taehyung asked. He stood up, making Yoojin do the same. As they left their fifth boardgame of the night, they noticed the sparkling lights outside. It was the new year.

They left the house and went into the backyard, trying to get a better look of the fireworks. Yoojin chuckled. “They’re pretty lame this year. Guess people are on a budget.” Taehyung laughed. It was true. “Oh well, Happy New Year.” She smiled as her eyes were fixated onto the sky.

She didn’t notice, but Taehyung smiled back. “Happy New Year.”

“I guess it’s time to post ‘new year new me’ on my Instagram.” She said sarcastically. Yoojin yawned and rubbed in her eye. “I think I should go to bed. Winning boardgames is a bit exhausting.” She said with a playful smirk.

“You’ve only won two times!” Taehyung said in defence, making her let out a laugh.

The two of them headed back inside after a few minutes of watching the fireworks. While Taehyung was heading back to the couch, Yoojin was heading upstairs. “So I guess this is goodbye?” She said.

Taehyung felt a bit sad when she said those last words. Even though he had a different idea of spending his new year’s eve, he didn’t regret it in the end. “It was fun babysitting the both of you. You two were funnier than I expected.”

Yoojin chuckled. “So your first impression of me is a boring person then?” She said with an raised eyebrow.

“Oh no, not that.” Taehyung quickly responded. “It was a little brat, that’s all.” He said jokingly, making Yoojin playfully roll her eyes.

“It was fun meeting you, Taehyung.” She smiled before heading up stairs.

Taehyung smiled back. “It was fun meeting you too, Yoojin.”

  After an half hour of watching tv, he heard the door opening and happily greeted the Park family. “Hope you had a fun evening Mr and Mrs Park.”

Mrs Park smiled. “Oh, we had a wonderful night. Thank you for asking.” She said while she was taking of her sore-giving heels. “Hope the girls were nice to you?” She asked, making Taehyung hum a yes as response.

Mr Park smiled. “That’s great to hear. The eldest one can have a bit of an attitude, but that’s the age of course. And the little one thinks she’s a full grown woman who likes to talk back.” He said, making Taehyung want to laugh since he thought it was a great description of the two of them.

“Here’s the money.” Mrs Park said as she handed some cash to Taehyung. “Are you interested in babysitting again, dear? My husband and I are very busy lately and we could really use a babysitter. Especially someone we can trust, like you.”

Taehyung’s eyes widened a bit due to the sudden question. He thought for a second, remembering what his mother told him. “Of course!” He smiled. “If it helps taking some weight of your shoulders, then I’ll happily do it.”

Mrs Park smiled. “How polite of you. That’s settled then. Get home safely!” Taehyung smiled at the two parents before he finally left.

‘I guess this is my new job.’

[noladyme]

Skip To My Lou, My Darling - Chapter 3, Too Perfect I

The road so far…

Deadly nightmares. Immortal countesses. Lulu thought she’d seen it all since she’d first met the Winchester brothers. Extreme circumstances pushed her into the arms of the eldest brother, Dean – and she hasn’t been able to stop thinking of him since. Now back to her every day life of bartending and the occasional visit from a certain angel, what will happen when she finally sees Dean again? Is there still a connection – or was it all in their heads?

Our story continues in season 5

Rated M

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added) @edonaspanca​ @wonderlandfandomkingdom​

8 years ago.

Night shift again. Luckily, it’s a slow one tonight. Only a few guests strewn across the place. “Lulu!”, Ricky calls from the kitchen. “Order’s up for 13”. “13 is Janice’s table”, I answer. “She called in sick again”, he shrugs. Dammit. I know it’s because it’s her boyfriend’s home from college. I walk over to the serving hatch; grabbing a large order of bacon, and a slice of cherry pie. Weird order for dinner, but who am I to judge. I’ll gladly throw back some jalapeño poppers at any time of day.

I walk over to table 13 with the order; placing the two plates in front of a dark-haired man, who’s in a deep conversation on his phone. “… no, Dean. Silver. Iron won’t do anything, I told you… yeah…”. I begin to walk away. “Miss?”. I turn around. The man at the table is looking at me. He’s cute, in an older guy kind of way. Much too old for me, but a girl can dream. “Can you top off my coffee?”, he asks, covering the mic on the phone. I smile, and nod; going to get the freshly brewed pot from the machine behind the counter.

I look down at my uniform, cursing myself that I didn’t chose the one that was just a tiny bit shorter, to show off my legs. As I walk back towards the table, I hear the man continuing his conversation. “Well read up!... Yes. Latin… No, I didn’t call him. If he wants to talk, he has my number… Ok. Call me when it’s finished”. He hangs up, as I pour some fresh coffee into his mug. “Kids, right?”, he mutters with a smile, before looking up and meeting my eyes. “Though, you’re probably a bit young to have any of those yourself”. I blush slightly. “Yeah… not really there yet”.

The man gives me a once over. His gaze isn’t leering, but it is appreciative – and I stifle a smile. “You must have someone out there willing to give you a few little ones”, he says. He takes a sip from his coffee. “You in college?”. “Saving up for it”, I smile. “Leave me a nice tip, and I’ll get there even sooner”. He chuckles. His voice is warm, and his caramel eyes glinting with amusement. “Tell you what. Get me another dollop of cream for the pie, and I’ll make that happen”, he says. I wink at him and walk away.

“Are you flirting with Daddy over there?”, Ricky jeers, as I come over to grab some cream. “Serving my way to the top”, I chuckle. “He seems nice. Nothing else”. “Sure thing, Lulu”, Ricky smiles.

I go back to table 13; and put a large dollop of cream on the man’s pie. “There you go, sir. Enjoy”. “Thanks, Lulu”, he smiles. I wrinkle my brows. “Your name tag”, he grins. “Oh!”, I giggle. “Yeah”.

He has a leather-bound journal in front of him. The page is opened to a picture of a pretty blonde woman. “Your wife?”, I ask. He looks up at me with a slight grimace. “Sorry… Not any of my business”. “No, it’s fine… Yeah. My wife”, he mutters. “She’s pretty”, I say. “Must have made those kids of yours some kind of beautiful”. “They’re not half bad”, he chuckles. “Good boys. Don’t see them too often. Work”. “Oh… too bad. They with your wife?”. He shakes his head. “No… she passed some years ago”. I frown. “Sorry to hear that”, I say quietly. “Me too… thanks for the cream”, he says.

That’s my cue to leave. I flash him a bright smile, and saunter off. “Oh, Lulu?”, the man calls after me. “Yes, sir?”, I ask. “Have you heard about those cattle mutilations, out at that farm?”. I frown. “No more than what was in the news… why?”. He shakes his head. “Never mind… Just… if you do hear anything, could you give me a call?”. I blush again. “I don’t have your number, sir”.

He pulls out a note from his pocket, and scribbles something down on it – then hands it to me. It’s a twenty-dollar bill, with a phone number now written at the bottom. “This is way too much, sir!”, I gasp. “Keep it. As a thanks for friendly conversation. And it’s John”, he smiles.

His phone rings, and he picks it up. “Bobby?... Yeah… I’ll be there”. He hangs it up. “Can you pack this to go?”, he says to me in a rushed tone. I run to grab a to-go box; and quickly pack up his food, handing it to him, as he gathers the papers he’s strewn upon the table. “Here you go, John. Have a nice evening”, I smile.

His tense body language relaxes a bit. “I will. Thanks, Lou”. He hands me another twenty. “Keep the change”. I let out a short laugh. “This is still too much”, I say. He tilts his head. “My youngest is in college. I know it’s expensive… Keep it. And take care”.

He puts on his coat, and leaves the diner.

---

Now…

Hurricanes. Successful nuclear tests in North Korea. Terrorists attacks on convents. Swine flu. The world seemed to be coming to an end – and I was wiping down a bar-counter in Denver. “I’m off”, our newest bartender – Pete – called out to me. “That offer of coffee still stands, Lulu”. I smiled. “Thanks, Pete; but I have plans”, I said. “Grab the trash, would you?”. He nodded, and grabbed two large bags; heading towards the back door. He winked at me; and closed the door behind him. Avoiding the dark spot on the floor we hadn’t been able to remove, after my encounter with Erzsebet; I walked over to the door Pete had gone through, and locked it. I didn’t really have plans; but going on a date with a coworker wasn’t high on my list of wants.

I checked my phone. The only message was a picture of Raul and Chad on their honeymoon. The two men had worked fast after Raul had avoided murder charges 6 months earlier. Once Chad had healed from the surgery to get rid of his little extra asset; he’d dropped down on one knee on a busy night at Buddy’s – and with tearstained cheeks, Raul had accepted his proposal. I’d been the maid of honor to both men – dateless, I might add; as the only man I wanted at my side at a romantic ceremony joining two paramours, was somewhere driving across the states, trying to hunt down monsters and ghosts – or stopping Armageddon; I wasn’t sure at this point.

Dean hadn’t been in touch for months. Not in person, anyway. I understood he was busy, but it hurt not to know where he was – and if he was ok.

Arriving at my small studio apartment that night, I brushed my fingers over the carving on my door – sending a warm thought at the two men who’d saved my life twice. Once inside, I got in my comfiest leggings, socks, tank top and cardigan; and went to read my current book – one about witchcraft and hoodoo. It was the middle of the night; but my sleep schedule as a bartender didn’t exactly make me a day person. I began reading from the part I’d gotten to, and sipping at a mug of cocoa.

There was a knock at the door. I glanced at the wall clock. 3 am. Looking through the peephole, I sighed, and slowly opened the door.

“Hello, Lulu”. “Hi, Castiel”, I said quietly. “Thanks for knocking this time”. The angel smiled gently. “Well, last time you were… undressed”. I moved out of the way, so Castiel could step into my apartment. “Yeah. Literally in the shower as well. I would have offered you a towel, but…”. “You were busy punching my face, and putting a knee to my groin”, the angel said. I chuckled.

Closing the door behind the angel, I went to sit on my couch again. Castiel had been coming around every few weeks – just for a few minutes – apparently to check on me. “So, as you can see, I’m alive”, I muttered. “Are they?”. Cass nodded. “They are working on… something”. “Vague as ever”, I smiled sarcastically. “He has my number. He could just call me”.

Castiel frowned. “I’ve come to take you with me…”, he said. I stood up, and held out my hands to stop him. “Whoa! No… Every time you do your… angel teleportation thing on me, I end up in some random place, without my shoes. And it gives me motion sickness”. “I’ve only done it twice; and one of the times, it saved your life”. I sighed. “Yeah, fine… but still. No thank you”. He stepped towards me. “I’m afraid I must insist”, he said. “Why?”, I frowned.

There was another knock at my door. I stepped over to check the peephole; but Cass held out to stop me. The knocking turned in to a pounding. “That’s why”, he said. “They found you”. My eyes widened. “Who?”, I breathed. “Who found me?”.

Castiel put his hand on my shoulder; and we were standing in front of a lit fireplace. My stomach was churning. “Lulu?”, a voice said. With wide eyes, I turned around, and saw Bobby Singer – seated in a wheelchair – looking at me in wonder. “I got her before they took her. You can take it from here”, Castiel said; and was gone. I looked down. “You forgot my shoes again!”, I snarled.

Bobby smiled at me. “How are you, kid?”, he asked. “Very confused”, I admitted. “Yeah, he does that”, Bobby said. “So, do I get a hug?”.

I grinned, and ran over to embrace the man; who – the last time I’d seen him – was standing. “What happened?”, I asked. Bobby shook his head. “Demon…”, he grunted. I laughed. “Demon…”, I said. Bobby raised a brow at me. “Seriously?”. Bobby gave me a crooked smile. “It’s a whole new world, darlin’”. He patted my arm; not able to reach my cheek from the chair. “I’ll have the guys fill you in when they get back”. I swallowed hard. “They’re here?”, I croaked. “About 30 minutes out. Coffee?”. “Please…”, I said, and followed him to the kitchen, grabbing two mugs from a shelf.

Bobby poured us both a mug of coffee, and I went to sit on a couch in the living room/study/something that looked like a place a fortune teller might set up shop. Bobby rolled over to face me. “How have you been?”, he asked. “I heard about what happened in Denver…”. I pulled up the sleeves of my cardigan, and ran my fingers over the slight scars there. “Turns out my boss was really sorry he hadn’t paid for security, and let a deranged serial killer get at his favorite employee; as he called me”, I grinned. “I think he was just worried I’d sue him. But he paid my doctors bill, and for a plastic surgeon to make the scars less visible”. Bobby winced. “Looks like you went through it”, he said. “I’m happy you’re better”. “Yeah”, I smiled. “No permanent damage, save for the occasional person thinking I cut myself on purpose”.

“Bobby!”, a voice called out – a voice I recognized immediately, and made my heart skip a beat. “In here”, Bobby answered. “We got scotch. Liquor store was out of bourbon”, Sam said, as he stepped into the living room. His eyes widened when he saw me; and he ran over to embrace me – lifting me off my feet in a warm hug. I heard the front door close. “Dude, are you gonna make me carry everything?”, Dean growled, and dropped two plastic bags on the kitchen table. Sam put me down. “Dean”, he muttered. “What?”, Dean grunted; and turned around.

His face went through a range of emotions – before, with three long strides; he stepped over to me. Just as I thought he was about to take me in his arms, he pulled out a knife. “Did you check her?”, he growled. “She came in with Cass”, Bobby said. “Did you check her!”, Dean repeated. Sam sighed, and handed me a flask. “Take a sip”, he said. I frowned – taken aback by the cold reception from the man I’d spent months missing. “What is it?”, I asked; looking at the knife in Deans hand. “Holy water. Just drink it”, Sam muttered.

With a cold look at Dean, I grabbed the flask, and drank the liquid inside. Dean looked at me for a few seconds; and seemingly satisfied I wasn’t going to burn up in flames or melt – or whatever it was he’d expected – he put away the knife. “Lulu…”, he muttered. “Cass brought you?”. “Just a little while ago”, I said quietly. “Thanks for the warm welcome, by the way”. Dean clenched his jaw in anger. “Dammit, he wasn’t supposed to bring you here”, he growled. “Maybe he was sensing how grumpy you’ve been”, Bobby grunted in response.

Dean did look extremely grumpy. And tired. “Sorry, Lou… This isn’t a good time”, he said. I made a scoffing laugh. “Well, just call Castiel. I’m sure he can take me back to my apartment”. “No”, he said. “You can’t go back there right now”. “Why?”, I sneered.

Sam cleared his throat. “Angels… and demons… They’re using the people we care about to get to us”. I shook my head in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”. Dean sighed. “We got wind that they were coming to nab you. I asked Cass to bring you somewhere safe”, he said. “Not here”. I shrugged; trying not to seem hurt about Dean’s standoffishness. “So, what happens now?”, I said. “What happens now, is you stay here”, Bobby said. “Bobby!”, Dean snarled.

Bobby rolled his eyes. “Keep your pants on, Dean”, he sneered. “And I mean literally. At least until we’ve left the room”. He rolled towards us. “You don’t think we’ve noticed how you’ve been missing this girl?”. Dean met my eyes for a second. “It’s not safe”. “It’s never safe, son”, Bobby said. “But this place is warded better than any other I know. As long as Lulu doesn’t leave, she should be fine. And maybe you can get that stick out of your ass, and be able to do the job”. Dean scoffed. “So, now I can’t do the job?”, he grunted. “Not well”, Sam muttered. “You…”, Dean said; pointing at his brother. “Shut up!”.

I sighed and looked at Sam. “You said you brought alcohol?”, I muttered. “Give it”. Dean shook his head. “No”, he said. “No alcohol. Call Rufus. Have him take her”. “I’m really feeling the romance in the room”, Bobby grunted. “I’m beat. Going to bed”. He rolled out the door, and down the hallway. “And I’m going to go… away from here”, Sam said; almost running for the stairs. Dean and I stood for a moment in silence; before I stepped towards the kitchen. “Well, I’m having a drink”, I said.

Suddenly, his hand was on my wrist, and he pulled me towards him – wrapping me in his arms. I couldn’t fight the urge; and embraced him right back. “Are you ok?”, he breathed. “Yeah… just confused”, I muttered. Dean pulled back a bit, and looks me in the eyes. “You’re here… I should have… I don’t know what to say”.

“Try an I’m sorry!”, Bobby called from down the hall.

Dean looked towards the hallway, and frowned. “I’m sorry”, he muttered. “I know that’s probably not the welcome you had expected”. “I don’t know…”, I grunted. “It’s not the first time you pulled a knife on me”. “Yeah… sorry. Again”. I sighed. “Can open a window, and let in some air? This place smells like old farts”. He smiled slightly. “Hex bags. We made some earlier. The smell goes away after a while… How have you been?”, he asked. “Fine… I guess. It took a while to heal properly since… last time”, I said. Dean frowned. “But you’re better. Right?”. I nodded. “I’m… living. Moving on”. “Good”, he said. “That’s… good. That you’re moving on, I mean”.

He cleared his throat, and let go of me. The separation was almost painful. “Thanks for checking in, by the way…”, I said. “Castiel’s been a real hoot”. Dean didn’t meet my eyes. “I should have called”. “Yeah, you should have”, I muttered. “You didn’t call either…”, he said; a slight accusation in his voice. I looked at him in indignation. “You told me you were going out to stop the devil”, I said. “I didn’t figure I should be the one to check in”.

I sat back down on the couch and yawned. “Let me go put away the groceries, and I’ll show you where to sleep afterwards”, he said. “Sounds good”, I said quietly. I pulled my legs up under me, and leant my head against the armrest. The smell of the hex bags had dulled; and I now noticed another scent – one of gunpowder, wood and metal. The hunter smell, I thought to myself. My eyes began drooping, and the last thing I noticed was a soft kiss to my temple, and a blanket being tucked around me.

“Goodnight, Lou”, Dean whispered.

---

The sun hitting my face woke me up. “Mornin’ kid��, Bobby muttered from his table. “Fresh coffee on the pot”. “Thanks”, I rasped. I got off the couch, and stretched. “Where are the guys?”, I asked. “Checking on a lead”, Bobby grunted. “Grab me a cup?”.

I went into the kitchen, and filled two mugs with coffee; bringing one over to the desk. “Demon stuff?”, I asked. Bobby shook his head. “Ghost”, he said. “Yankton…”. I frowned. “Yankton… I’m in South Dakota?”, I asked. “Yeah… you’re about 600 miles from home”, he said. “Well, that’s just great”, I muttered. “And this is your place?”. “Singer Scrap”, he nodded. “Good cover”. A scrapyard owner. I knew it, I smiled to myself.

I looked over the many books and papers strewn about the room. A row of phones were hanging on the wall; each with a sticker on it, letting Bobby know what persona he’d need to take on when he picked up. The was an old cookie-tin filled with different fake id’s – FBI, Wild Life Service, Sheriff’s badges; the list went on.

“You have a pretty bad-ass setup here, Bobby”, I said. “Also 100% illegal I’m guessing”. “This job isn’t exactly easy to do if you follow the rules”, Bobby said. I sighed. “Is there anything I can help with?”, I asked. “What, are you bored?”, Bobby smiled. “Yes”, I nodded. “You can make lunch; it’s almost noon”, he said. “I don’t cook… but I know how to order a pizza”. Bobby frowned. “I’ll call the boys, have them bring something back”. I shrugged.

Bobby narrowed his eyes at me. “Did you… uhm… kiss and make up last night?”, he muttered. I chewed my lip. “Not exactly… He seemed preoccupied”, I said. Bobby chuckled. “That’s Dean for you”, he said. “Always so busy trying to save everyone else, he doesn’t see when his own salvation is staring him right in the face”. “I don’t know if I’m a salvation, exactly”, I said. “I’m a bartender from Denver with a teaching degree”. “Maybe you can teach him some manners”, Bobby grunted and returned to his document. “Grab me that magnifying glass over there”, he said, and pointed towards the coffee table.

I handed him the magnifier, and picked up an amulet that caught my eye. It was almost glowing in the sunlight. “Put that down”, Bobby yelled. I almost jumped, and dropped the chain to the table. “Sorry”, he muttered. “I haven’t been able to break the curse on it yet… and I’m pretty sure you’d be a lot less pretty with an extra nose stuck to your chin”. “It’s cursed?”, I asked. “Maybe you should lock it up somewhere”. “Tried that”, he grunted. “It reappears there every time I do”. I studied the amulet closer. “Hoodoo, right?”, I muttered. Bobby looked at me. “Is it?”, he asked. “I think so… It looks like a sigil I saw once, in a book”, I said. Maybe cover it in goofer dust, and bury it in an old grave…”. I met his incredulous eyes, and blushed. “Or, something else. I don’t know”.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What do you make of this?”, he asked, and pushed an old newspaper clipping across the table. I read through the text. “Another strange case of a dead body in Yankton this month, when Thomas Clayton was found near Yankton Municipal Cemetary – his neck broken; and his lower body buried into the ground. He leaves behind a wife and two children…”. “Sounds like a myling”, I muttered. Bobby frowned. “How’d you know about those?”, he asked. “I read… a lot”, I replied. He looked at me disbelievingly. “You call studying Scandinavian ghosts leisurely reading?”. “I was almost killed by two supernatural beings”, I shrugged. “Thought I’d study up in case anything happened again”. “Huh…”, Bobby said. “So, you think it’s a myling”. “I’m no pro, so I wouldn’t know for sure”, I said. “But the half-buried thing? And just outside a cemetery… More like he was forced to carry a ghost on his back; but didn’t make it to hallowed ground”. The corner of Bobby’s lip raised in a crooked smile. “But you already knew that”. “Was beginning to come to that theory myself”, he said. “You have some knowledge in that head of yours, kid”. I blushed again.

There was a knock at the door. I looked through the kitchen window. Outside stood a darkhaired policewoman. “It’s the cops”, I muttered. “Crap”, Bobby groaned. “Woman? Looks like she eats nails for breakfast?”. I looked again. “Yup…”. Bobby began rolling away from the view of the windows. “I’m not here”, he said. I shook my head. “Fine, I’ll talk to her”, I said, and walked to the front door, opening it.

“Hello”, I smiled at the woman. She looked mistrustingly at me. “Miss… I’m sheriff Mills. Is Bobby Singer in?”. I shook my head. “He’s out…”. “Out cold?”, she grunted. “Bobby! Roll your ass out here”.

Bobby appeared behind me. “Sheriff…”, he grunted. “What did I do this time?”. The sheriff sighed. “Your neighbors have been reporting strange smells from your house”. “Stranger than usual? This is a scrap yard, sheriff”, I smiled. She narrowed her eyes at me. “And you are?”. I thought fast. “Ann Wilson”, I said brightly; and reached out my hand to shake hers. “My niece”, Bobby said. “She’s staying with me to help out since my accident”. “All right…”, the sheriff said. “If you say so”.

I cleared my throat. “You were saying? About strange smells…”. “Yes”, the sheriff said. “You can’t be polluting the air with methane gas, Bobby. Your neighbors say the smell was so rancid, their eyes watered”. Bobby sighed. “Look, my nearest neighbor is 3 miles away. If any of them have been reporting any smells, it means they’ve been trespassing – and I’d be in my right to shoot them”. The sheriff clenched her jaw. “With what weapon? I don’t believe you have a license”. “I do”, I said. She lifted her brows. “Can I see it?”. I smiled. “I never mentioned a gun, or using one for that matter. So, you don’t need to”. She stifled a smile. Under different circumstances, I might have liked her. “If there’s nothing else, uncle Bobby needs to have his lunch now”.

“All right”, sheriff Mills said. “Just, keep down the stench, all right?”. “Absolutely”, I smiled. “Goodbye, sheriff”. She walked off the porch, and got in her car. I waved as she drove away. I turned to look at Bobby. “That was fun!”, I grinned. “Yeah, a real giggle of a time”, Bobby grunted, and went back into the living room.

One of the phones rang – one labeled CDC. Bobby picked it up. “Fisher here… Yes, he’s one of mine. He in some kind of trouble?... That’s ridiculous, son… No, you listen to me. Let him finish his job… Put him on”. I heard him mutter idjit below his breath. “Garth? You moron. You told them it was a strain of the plague?... Yeah… Give him back to me”. There was a pause. “Officer. Agent Fitzgerald is right. Let him look at the autopsy report… Thank you. Bye”. He hung up. “Stupid son of a bitch”. I chuckled.

Bobby began rolling towards his desk, when another phone rang – the one labeled FBI. I looked at him pleadingly. “Be my guest…”, he grunted. I picked it up.

“Nicks here”, I said. “Yes, hello ma’am. This is detective Alan Jackson from the Yankton PD”, a tired voice said. “I have two men here claiming to be FBI…”. My eyes lit up. “Let me guess. One is a 6’3 puppy, and the other looks like he’d flirt with your daughter right in front of you, and not be ashamed of it?”. “That sounds about right”, the man muttered. “Yeah, those are mine”, I said. “What’s the problem?”. “They want to examine the body of…”. “Thomas Clayton?”, I asked. “Yes…”, the man said. “And what seems to be the problem?”, I asked. “Well they don’t have the right papers to begin with”, he answered. “The FBI rolls into town, asking to oversee a murder-case, and you refuse them?”, I said. “Won’t look good on your yearly report, detective Jackson”. “Ma’am…”, the man began. “Look, I don’t have time for this. Put me on with your captain”. Bobby’s eyes widened, and he shook his head fervently. “Ma’am, I’m sure that won’t be necessary…”, the detective muttered. I scoffed. “No? Well, you’re not being very forthcoming with my men…”. “I’ll let them look, ma’am. Right away”. “Thank you. Please put the pretty one on”, I said. “Your boss wants you”, the man muttered, and I heard the phone change hands. “Hello?”, I heard Deans voice. “Speaker?”, I asked. “No”, he grunted. “Good. Bring back lunch. Bobby’s hungry”, I said. “Yes, ma’am”, Dean grunted, and hung up.

I put the phone back on its hook. “That was even more fun”, I grinned. Bobby chuckled. “You could come in handy, Lulu”, he smiled. “Good job”. “Thanks”, I said. “Bobby… you wouldn’t happen to have some shoes laying around I could use?”.

---

A few hours later Dean and Sam came back from Yankton. Dean looked like a thundercloud.

“What the hell, Bobby?”, he growled. “You have Lulu doing jobs now?”. “Just this one”, he smiled. “And she’s done a fine job, as well”. Dean stepped towards me with and gave me a searing look. “You don’t ever do that again!”, he roared. “Why?”, I frowned. “You could have had us thrown in jail!”, he said. “Horse crap”, I said. “You were fine”.

Sam put down some cardboard boxes on the coffee table. “We brought pizza”, he said. Bobby groaned. “We were in a rush”, Sam muttered. I grabbed a slice, and sat down on the couch; putting my feet on the table. Dean looked at me with hard eyes. “Comfy?”, he grunted. “Very”, I smiled. He cursed below his breath.

“Lulu’s got a theory on the ghost”, Bobby said. Sam looked at me with pleased surprise. “Really?”, he asked. “Tell us”. “A myling”, I said. “An unwanted child, killed by its parents; and buried in non-consecrated ground”. Dean frowned. I handed him a slice of pizza, and he accepted it without thanks. “A mew-what?”, he asked. “Myling”, Bobby said. “Tell ‘em, Lulu”.

I took a bite, and chewed enthusiastically. “It crawls onto people’s backs; wanting them to bring it to consecrated ground to rest”, I said; mouth full. “Usually, the weight of it on the victims back will make him or her sink into the ground before they make it all the way. The ghost will be pissed, and kill them – strangling them or breaking their necks”. “How do you know this stuff?”, Sam smiled. “She reads… a lot…”, Bobby muttered.

Dean looked at Bobby’s desk. “Where’s the cursed amulet?”, he grunted. “Covered it in goofer dust, and buried it out back with my old dog”, Bobby said. “Well, Lulu did”. I smiled, and wiggled my feet – on which I was wearing a pair of old loafers Bobby’s wife had used when she was alive.

“You shouldn’t be meddling with any of this”, Dean growled. I shrugged. “Your pet angel kidnapped me, and brought me 600 miles away; without my shoes or my phone. Might as well keep busy”. “Don’t you need to go to work?”, Dean grunted. “Yeah, like 3 hours ago”, I admitted. “I’m probably fired”. Dean frowned. “And you don’t care?” I looked at him exasperatedly. “Of course I care, Dean. My whole life is in Denver”, I sneered. “But you’re also telling me that angels and demons are out to kill me. Being there right now would just bring people in danger. I’m staying away… To keep them safe”.

Dean raised a brow at me. I realized then that’s what he had been doing. In his own way. “I called Cass. He’s gonna take you somewhere safe”, he said. I frowned. “Bobby said…”. “You’re leaving, Lou”, he said. “That’s final”.

“She can’t…”, Castiel – who’d appeared from nowhere – said. “Cass!”, Dean growled. “Get her out of here!” “There’s no where I can take her”, the angel replied. “You wanted her safe. She is safe here”. “Hardly”, Dean said. “We’re up to our necks on this case, and Ironside over there can’t even get off his porch on his own”. He gestured towards Bobby.

Bobby frowned at him. “Where do you want her to go, son?”, he asked. “Rufus is buried in vamps in Wichita, Martin’s in the psych ward… Ellen and Jo? That’s the only people I’d trust her to be safe enough with; and they’re dead!”. Darkness ghosted Deans face. “Lulu is safest here, Dean”, Sam said.

Dean shook his head, and looked everywhere but at me. “If you didn’t come to take her away, why the hell are you here, Cass?”, he snarled. “To give you this”, Castiel said. He pulled out a knife I recognized as being an angel sword. “We already have one of those”, Sam said. Cas shook his head. “It’s not for you, it’s for her”.

Castiel went to hand me the knife. Dean stepped between us. “Whoa… no, no, no. That’s not happening”. “Excuse me?”, I frowned. He looked at me indignantly. “You’re not gonna be walking around with a heavenly weapon in your purse”, he said.

I put down my pizza, and stood up – fully ready to smack him across the face. “I’m a grown ass woman, Dean. I can make my own decisions”. “Not this one”, he grunted. “You can’t even shoot a gun”. “I can shoot a damn gun; I told you!”. “And fight with an angel sword?”, he asked indignantly.

He took the sword from Castiel. “I’m keeping this. Having two is always handy”. “Dean, Lulu needs to be able to protect herself from my brothers”, Castiel said. “No”, Dean said. I stepped up to him; and looked him square in the face. “Give me my sword, Dean…”, I snarled. “Take it”, he smiled; and held the sword over his head – knowing full well I wouldn’t jump for it like some child. I looked at him with sad eyes. “I really don’t want to do this…”, I muttered. Dean chuckled.

I walked behind him, pretending to give up. “Good call, sweetheart”, he muttered. Quickly setting my foot between his own from behind, my knee between his; I crouched, leant forward, snaked my arm across his torso – and flipped him backward over my thigh – making him land with a bang on his back. “Ow…”, he gasped. “Roller derby”, I growled; and snatched the sword from him. “Thanks, Castiel”, I muttered.

The three men still standing, all looked at me in surprise. Sam bit his lips to stop from laughing. “Not funny, Sam!”, Dean growled from the floor. “Dude, she just railed your ass!”, his brother grinned.

Dean got on his feet, and stretched his back. “Fine!”, he roared. “Take the damn sword… That was cheating, though”. “Might have earnt me a penalty back in the day; but still my favorite move”, I muttered. “You’re just pissed you got beaten by a girl”. “That has nothing to do with it”, he frowned. “Women can fight…”. “I just can’t, is that it?”. He shook his head in indignation. “We’ll talk about this later”, he grunted coldly. “We have a case to get back to”. I smiled. “No, Lou. We have a case. You don’t”. I rolled my eyes. “Roll your eyes all you want, sugar. That’s what’s happening”.

I went into the kitchen, and grabbed a beer from the fridge – opening it, and taking a large sip. Castiel walked over to join me. “I take it you haven’t had intercourse yet”, he muttered. I grimaced at him. “Cass. Stay out of my sex-life. Ok?”. He nodded, looking almost embarrassed. “I just meant – seeing as Dean is still in a bad mood – you must not have…”. “Stop”, I said, and held out a hand at him. “You’ve done plenty of damage as it is”. “I apologize for that. It wasn’t my intention”. I sighed. “I know… you were just trying to help”. I looked up at him. “Look, Cass…”. He was gone.

I couldn’t help but feel bad about how I’d spoken to him. He was a friend – not just to Dean and Sam – but also to me.

---

The three hunters spent the next hours researching mylings; and it seemed Dean had to relent and agree that I had been right.

“So how do we get rid of it”, he grunted. I was seated on a kitchen chair, pretending to read a book on the with trials of Salem. “Salt and burn, like every other spirit”, Sam offered. “Yeah, except we have no idea where the kid is buried”, Dean said. “Bobby? Any ideas?”.

The elder hunter looked towards me. “She knows more about them than any of us…”, he muttered. “Yeah, well; she’s not a hunter”, Dean grunted. “Just, give it a rest, Dean…”, Sam sighed. “Get over yourself, and let Lulu help”. Dean rolled his eyes. “Roll your eyes all you want, sugar…”, I sneered. “Just… help us out here, kid”, Bobby said.

I stood up, and walked over to the desk. “Putting the spirit to rest by salting and burning sound good enough. But you could also just give it what it wants”. Sam narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean? Carry it to the graveyard”. “I don’t think you need to throw yourself into the fire this time, Sam”, I smiled; remembering how he’d almost let himself get killed by the maren, who had been haunting my dreams when we first met. “Find it’s parents…”. “They’re probably dead too…”, Bobby said. I shrugged. “Can’t you, like… summon them?”, I asked.

Dean scoffed, and chuckled. “Great idea; except that’s impossible”. “It’s not…”, Bobby said. “There are ways”. “Of course there are…”, Dean snarled. “Why don’t you three do this job, and I’ll go hit a bar. Don’t seem like you need me here anyway”. “Dean…”, Sam began. “No, really; Sammy. Go ahead. Looks like Lou’s got this one”, Dean said. He grabbed his jacket, and left the house.

“I’ll go talk to him”, Sam muttered. “No, I will”, I said. “This is on me”. Sam nodded, and I went out the front door.

---

[artificialqueens]

Tree House Kisses, Chapter 30 (Adorney) - Scorpio and Veronica

A/N: Click here for previous chapters. xoxo!

Chapter Summary: Courtney faces a nemesis and makes a big decision.

Chapter 30: Complicated  

Courtney paced back and forth along the porch, wanting to make a run for it, but not wanting to chicken out. She shouldn't be so nervous, but she couldn't help thinking about the pressure of first impressions. Which in itself was an odd worry because she already knew Adore's friends, for the most part.

When she had told Adore that she wanted to hang out with her, she didn’t mean Adore and friends. She had no problem with any of them, but Violet still had some kind of animosity towards her and Courtney wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to that kind of hostility, especially when she was in Violet's house. She was basically stepping into the den of the beast.

Fortunately, Pearl seemed to like her, and Courtney was sure that she and Willam were friends on some level. But she hadn't had much interaction with Trinity or Fame. From just having classes with both the girls, she knew that Fame could talk an ear off and Trinity seemed easygoing, if a little aloof. But they were two of Violet’s best friends, so Courtney needed to be prepared for anything.

-

“He is so cute, Adore!” Trinity squealed, petting the tiny gray kitten as he explored the shag carpeting in Violet’s basement.

“I know, right?! Bonnie finally came through with her promise to let me get another cat.” Adore grinned happily, eyes never leaving the little baby kitty, making sure her friends didn’t crowd him too much.  

“Hey, didn’t you say cheerleader was supposed to be coming over?” Willam looked up from the little cat.

“Yeah, she is. I’m gonna text her; see where she is,” Adore said, grabbing her phone.

“I hope she got lost,” Violet said to no one in particular, earning a smack on the thigh from Fame. “Hey!”

“Be nice.”

“Thank you,” Adore nodded to Fame.

ADORE: Ur still coming, right?

COURTNEY: I’m here

“Oh, she's here.” Adore hopped off the couch, jostling Pearl awake.

“I still don't like the idea of her infiltrating my home with her heterosexual cooties!” Violet yelled after Adore, earning another smack on the thigh from Fame.

-

Adore swung Violet’s front door open to reveal Courtney. The blonde’s fingers twitched, nervously grabbing at the bottom of her skirt, a bright smile on her face.

“Hey, babe,” Adore smiled, grabbing Courtney’s arm and tugging her in the house.

“Hey, Dory,” Courtney wrapped her arms around Adore’s neck, pulling her into a tight hug before following her inside.

Violet’s house was nothing like Courtney’d imagined. She figured that it would be all stark white walls, abstract art and fancy, sharp-edged furniture. Instead, there were warm tones of terra-cotta and gold, walls and surfaces filled with family photos that she was dying to get a closer look at. She caught a glimpse of Young Violet out of the corner of her eye, cheeks covered with frosting from a birthday cake, and slowed down to get a better look before Adore tugged her forward.

As they descended the steps into Violet’s basement, Courtney could hear talking and laughing. Her stomach still churned nervously, the smell of weed and cinnamon candles hitting her. The basement, like the rest of Violet’s house, was oddly different from how Courtney imagined Violet lived, with furniture straight out of the 70s. An old bunny-eared TV was playing a Friends rerun, volume turned down low so everyone could still hear each other.

“Hey Courtney!” Pearl waved from her spot on the couch. Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head, hazy blue eyes graced by her signature thick liner.

“Adore, I never told you that you could bring her. Courtney, get out of my house.” Violet raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

Courtney stopped mid-step, eyes widening as she looked to Adore.

“She's messing with ya,” Adore shook her head, before pulling Courtney towards the couch. Pearl moved her feet to make room.

“No, I'm not. Ow!” Violet jumped as Fame pinched her thigh.

“Courtney, I love your outfit. You are always so cute,” Fame pushed Violet off her lap, hopping up to hug Courtney.

“Oh, thank you. You always look amazing too,” Courtney pulled back from the hug, gesturing to Fame’s checkered light pink and white dress, that stopped right above her knees, her blond hair pulled back into a braid, a little left out to frame her face.

“Hey, cheerleader,” Willam spoke from his place on the floor beside Trinity.

“Hey, you guys- oh my, whose kitty is this?!” Courtney cooed, flopping down on the floor next to the pair.

“Oh, I didn't tell you. I got her the other day,” Adore said, getting comfy on the couch, throwing her legs over Pearl's lap.

A look of hurt flashed across Courtney's face as she pet the grey kitten.

“How could you forget to tell me? Why didn't you invite me to go with you?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, here we go. Whiny best friend feeling left out. Adore-” Fame threw her hand over Violet's mouth, cutting her off.

“Hey, how about we go get some snacks?” She offered with a smile, then leaned close to Violet to add, “I know you survive off of babies’ tears and hate, but some of us-ow!”

Fame snatched her hand away when Violet bit down on her palm.

“Anyway,” Fame continued. “I'm pretty sure the rest of us are starving. Right?”

Fame looked around, trying to get the others to help her.

“I would kill for some Del Taco,” Pearl groaned from the sofa, emptying the cash from her pockets.

Trinity punched her leg in enthusiastic agreement. “Yes! Omigod, some hash brown sticks and a queso loaded nachos sounds amaaaazing,” she said.

“Perfect!” Fame chirped. “Violet and I will go grab food for everyone.”

Violet stood with a sour face, knowing what the others were doing, as Fame collected the money and orders from everyone.

“Court, you hungry?” Adore asked, noticing her friend sat there with a solemn look on her face, petting the kitten.

“Oh, that’s okay. I don't have any money on me,” Courtney shrugged.

“I'll pay. No biggie,” Adore shrugged digging in her pocket for a couple more crumbled dollars, telling Fame, “Get her two breakfast burritos and extra sauce.”

Courtney smiled up at Adore gratefully, happy that she knew her order without even asking. She decided to drop the whole ‘why did you get a cat without me’ line of questioning, instead saying, “Your kitten is precious. What’s her name?”

Adore flopped down beside her on the rug. “It’s Shane.”

When Fame and Violet left, the whole vibe of the room lightened up.

To Courtney’s delight, she found Trinity fun and likable, and soon found herself relaxing and just watching her and Willam banter back and forth. The way they sniped at each other reminded Courtney of siblings, and she leaned her head back on the sofa, amused by their antics.

By the time Violet and Fame made it back with the food, Courtney found herself totally comfortable with the group, she and Trinity getting Shane to chase a little piece of string while she told them all about cheer practice drama.

Violet lingered by the stairs while Fame flopped down on the ground with Courtney and Trinity. Her dark eyes narrowed, observing the way Pearl’s hand absentmindedly rested on Adore’s thigh while they dug into the food.

When Courtney rose to ask where the bathroom was, Violet smiled and generously offered to lead the way. Upstairs, she paced outside the bathroom door, waiting for the blonde to emerge, planning out exactly what she was gonna say as they headed back down to the group.

“You know…” Violet began quietly, as they made their way through the kitchen. “Pearl and Adore have been getting awfully close this summer…”

“Okay…” Courtney replied uncertainly.

“What do you think about that?” Violet asked.

“I think...I mean, great. That’s...good for them.”

“You sure about that? ‘Cause you don’t seem too excited to me. And it seems like, if you were a real friend, you’d be just thrilled for your bestie to snag someone as hot as Pearl Lent.”

“I...what are you talking about, Violet? Of course I would be happy for her, but she hasn’t told me anything about this, so I don’t know what you’re-”

“Well, of course not. Because you sabotage everything, so of course she’s not going to tell you.” Violet leaned against the doorway to the stairs, rolling her eyes.

“I don’t...what?” Courtney’s cheeks began to burn. “What are you talking about?”

“Why do you think she and Raja didn’t work out? It’s because she has her hands full dealing with a needy best friend who demands attention 24/7 and gets jealous every time she touches someone else!” Violet announced triumphantly.

“I do not get jealous-”

“You’re a liar! I’ve seen the way you looked at them, it drove you totally crazy! But guess what, princess? She doesn’t want you. So maybe you should focus on your boring asshole boyfriend and leave her alone.”

“Why are you such a bitch?” Courtney choked out.

“Because unlike you, I actually want my friends to be happy,” Violet said, flinging open the door and heading downstairs, leaving Courtney dumbfounded.

Courtney stood at the top of the stairs, heart pounding, skin flushed with anger. Was it true? Had she really fucked things up for Adore with Raja? There was of course, that one time she’d walked in on them in the costume room, but that was an accident. Adore knew that. And she never tried to stop Adore from spending time with Raja. Raja was just busy. But Courtney couldn’t deny that she wasn’t Raja’s biggest fan. There was something haughty and aloof about her that she just didn’t like. But so what? She didn’t have to like everyone! Pearl was totally different. Pearl was sweet and fun and if she and Adore got together, well, that would be just great. Fan-fucking-tastic.

As Courtney struggled not to cry, she realized that, more than anything else, she needed to get out of Violet’s house. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes for a few moments, taking a deep breath, and then went downstairs to grab her purse, with the excuse that she was getting a migraine and needed to head home to lie down.

“Since when do you get migraines?” Adore asked, frowning.

“Um, I’ve gotten a few this summer. You know my mom gets them. I guess it’s genetic,” she laughed weakly.

“I’ll walk you out,” Adore said, starting to untangle herself from Pearl on the sofa.

“No!” Courtney exclaimed. “I mean...No, it’s fine. Don’t bother. I’m...I’m fine. Have a good time.” She bit her lip and turned, scrambling up the stairs.

Adore turned to Violet with narrowed eyes.

“Okay...what the fuck happened, Violet?”

“What do you mean?” Violet blinked innocently, reaching into the bag of Del Taco for her burrito.

“Confess, asshole!” Adore grabbed a handful of dark hair and yanked her back towards the sofa.

Violet let out a mischievous giggle.

“Alright, alright. I’m not sure why she took it so seriously. I was just ribbing her a little about how she’s so needy and demanding and how...you know, maybe that had something to do with why you and Raja broke up and that she should back off.”

“Violet!” Adore cried.

“What?!” Violet grinned, unwrapping her burrito.

“Dude,” Pearl said, shaking her head. “You’re a real douche sometimes, you know that?”

-

“...and what did I ever do to her?! She’s such a fucking bitch!” Courtney said, pacing back and forth in front of Roy’s bed.

“Yeah, its sounds like-”

“Not to mention, I mean, what was all that nonsense about Adore sleeping with Pearl? Why would I care about that? Like, she thinks I’m gonna try and prevent Adore from getting laid? Since when have I ever done that? And why would I?! I don’t care who Dory has sex with!”

“It kind of seems like you care,” Roy said quietly.

“No, I don’t! I just think Violet is a bitch! Why are you looking at me like that?!” Courtney demanded.

Roy sighed. “She’s always been a bitch, Court. Why did it get to you so much today?”

“Because!” Courtney exclaimed. “What if, what if Bob had a friend who hated you and talked shit about you? All the time?”

“I'd talk shit back. Besides, you have a friend who hates me and I deal with that, don't I?”

“Who?!” Courtney asked, hands on her hips.

“Uh, Adore?”

Courtney threw up her hands. “Adore doesn't hate you!”

“She does so!”

“Does not,” Courtney countered. “You just have like, a sibling bickering thing going on. She treats you like her brother. It’s actually kind of cute.”

“Well, I guess I don’t get it because I’m nice to my brother.” Roy folded his arms.

“But you’re mean to your sisters.”

“Am not!”

“Roy.”

“Not unless they start with me first! It’s not my fault my sisters are evil,” Roy said.

Courtney sighed, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, you can’t compare you and Adore. It’s totally different, because Adore doesn't say nasty shit about you to me. She always defends you when we’re fighting. In fact, Adore is the one who told me to go out with you in the first place.”

“So...you only went out with me because Adore Delano told you to?”

Courtney paused, turning around to look into his eyes, taking in the slightly hurt, slightly challenging look on his face.

“Well, no. Of course not…” She moved forward, putting her hands on his shoulders. “But...I just mean, she was supportive. It's...it’s different.” Courtney cupped his cheek, heart racing, hoping that he would understand.

“Uh huh.”

“And like, I don't care if Adore sleeps with Pearl, I just don't know why Violet was talking about it like that. It was weird.” Courtney climbed on the bed beside him, sighing.

“Right.” Roy cleared his throat slightly, swallowing down a lump in his throat.

Eyes squeezed shut, Courtney asked in a small voice, “Can you please just be on my side?”

Roy reached for her hand. “I’m always on your side. I don’t even know how not to be on your side.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, clinging to his fingers, teeth worrying her bottom lip.

“So...” Roy began, after a moment. “She was a real cunt, huh?”

Courtney turned her head, a smile finally playing on her lips. “Yes! Exactly. I just wish I knew why she hated me.” She pouted slightly, pressing Roy’s hand to her cheek.

“Hmmm. I can’t help you there, babe. Because you’ve got the most lovable personality on the entire planet. Are you sure she’s not...you know...a little deranged?”

Courtney giggled, climbing into his arms. “You think that’s it?”

“It’s the most obvious explanation,” he said, nuzzling her cheek. “In fact, we should probably warn her parents. Maybe they’ll want to get her evaluated before she hurts someone.”

“Yeah?” Courtney began to kiss his neck.

“I mean, the failure to fall hopelessly in love with Courtney Jenek is the first sign of mental instability,” Roy murmured.

“You’re a pretty smooth talker, Del Rio…”

“You think this is good, wait until you hear my bit on the perfection that is every…square inch…of your skin…” Roy said, flipping her onto her back.

Courtney laughed, pulling him down for another kiss.

“I’m serious!” She ran her fingers through his hair, gazing up into his brown eyes. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too. Which I guess bodes well for my mental health.”

“Roy!” Courtney swatted him playfully and he caught her hand, kissing her fingers. She watched his face carefully, that mischievous smirk hiding total and utter adoration. If there was one thing she’d realized this summer, it was that Roy was someone who would never let her down. Who would always be there for her. Who loved her more than she probably deserved. She cleared her throat and said, “You know, I’ve been thinking about you...and us…”

“Yeah?”

Courtney nodded, fingers brushing against his cheek. “Uh huh. And I think that...um…”

Roy held his breath, as if she was a butterfly that he could scare away with the slightest movement.

“...maybe it’s time for us to take the next step? I mean...physically?” When Roy didn’t move or say anything after a beat, Courtney quickly added, “If you want.”

Roy finally cracked a smile, deep dimples appearing in his cheeks. “If I want?”

“I don’t want to be presumptuous.”

“Right.” He lowered his head slowly to kiss her, hands sliding up under her top, weight bearing down against her as his heart began to race. As the kiss grew deeper, he suddenly felt hands on his chest.

“You do know I didn’t mean this second, right?” Courtney asked breathlessly.

“Yeah, sorry,” Roy pulled his head back, panting. “I got a little overzealous.”

“It’s okay.” She reached up and ran a thumb over his lip. “But I was thinking like, maybe...Saturday?”

“This Saturday? Seriously?”

“Yeah? Think you’re up for it?” she teased.

“I think I can handle that.”

Courtney smiled, rubbing her thigh against him with an impish look in her eyes.

“Stop that,” he warned, causing her to giggle, then placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’m gonna plan something really special, I promise.”

“Can’t wait,” Courtney said softly.

-

ADORE: U okay?

COURTNEY: I’m fine

ADORE: Sorry about Violet. She told me that she said it was ur fault that me and Raja broke up?? I yelled at her.

COURTNEY: lol, i figured she was full of it. nbd

ADORE: Seriously. I’m not defending her at all. I don’t know what made her say that. It’s not true. I’m really pissed at her.

COURTNEY: Thanks

ADORE: Can we hang out again, but just the 2 of us?

COURTNEY: Of course <3

ADORE: Sat?

COURTNEY: Sunday okay?

ADORE: U got it. Hit me up anytime, I’ll be home.

-

April studied Courtney’s face critically, eyeshadow palette in one hand and angled brush in the other.

After a few moments, Courtney began to shrink self-consciously.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just trying to figure out...oh!” She put down the palette and picked up a liquid liner, leaning over to touch up what she’d done earlier. “Hold still.”

Darienne fastened a clip into her hair, running her fingers through the blonde curls to give them a more tousled look. “Okay, so, remember, your mom thinks you’re here, so if she calls, we’ll text you.”

“She won’t,” Courtney said. “She’s doing some meditation workshop with her boyfriend.”

“God, this is so much easier with flaky parents,” Darienne sighed, and off Courtney’s scowl, stammered out, “No, I mean, your mom is awesome, I’m jealous.”

April snickered, finishing her lips and handing her a tissue to blot, then turning the chair to face the mirror. “So...what do you think? Is it what you wanted?”

Courtney stared at her reflection. The face that stared back was hers, and yet...not. Between the dark, smokey eye makeup and matte red lips, April had certainly fulfilled her request to look “older and more sophisticated.” Her clingy black dress was simple and a stark departure from her normal wardrobe of bright colors and girly pastels, sparkles and ruffles. She nodded, swallowing.

Darienne put a hand on her shoulder. “How do you feel?”

“Um...I guess a little nervous.” Courtney bit her lip.

“Yeah,” Darienne said with a light chuckle. “Listen. I’ve known Roy my whole life, and I have no doubt that he’ll have some very sweet, kind of cliché, but totally lovely evening planned for you. It’ll be romantic and beautiful and show how much he loves you.”

“Sounds accurate,” April laughed.

“But like...it’s your first time,” Darienne continued. “Both of your first times. The sex itself? It’s not gonna be good. At best, it’s gonna be like, bearable. For you, I mean. For him, it’ll probably be the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

Courtney giggled, twisting the tissue in her hands.

“What I’m saying is, and I don’t know if this totally makes sense but...if I were you, I’d try not to make it all about sex. Try to just...relax, and enjoy the rest of the night. You know? Being close to him. How much he loves you. Because that’s what you’ll want to remember.”

“Yeah.” Courtney smiled, taking a deep breath.

“If it helps, my first time with Bob was in the back of his car. And he came in like, 2 seconds,” April said.

“Oh, god,” Courtney said, stifling a laugh with her hand.

“It got better,” April said with a shrug. “I mean, if he’s prepared properly, he can last through almost a whole song now.”

“Good to know,” Courtney grinned.

“Speaking of prepared, let’s make sure you have everything you need!” Darienne said, turning her attention to Courtney’s overnight bag and little silver clutch.

-

Roy stood outside April’s front door, nervous anticipation building in his stomach. The door swung open to reveal Darienne, smiling in that obnoxious maternal way of hers.

“Hi honey,” she cooed. “Come on in.”

“Would you please stop,” Roy murmured.

“Stop what? You look really handsome. Is that a new jacket?” She grinned, lashes fluttering.

“I mean it, Dar, stop being weird, this is-” Roy stopped talking abruptly when Courtney turned the corner, April at her side.

“Hi,” Courtney said softly, giving Roy a sweet, lopsided smile.

“Hi,” he breathed, transfixed. “Wow. You look...wow.”

She giggled, biting her lip coyly. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, absolutely…” He reached out his hand, and she walked forward, lacing her fingers into his. April sauntered behind her with a small black duffel bag, which Roy took quickly, peering into the family room where April’s dad sat in front of the TV. “Come on.”

“You kids have fuuuun!” Darienne sang from the doorway as they walked towards the car.

Roy rolled his eyes, tightening his grip on Courtney’s hand. She looked down, realizing for the first time that maybe she wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

“But not too much fun!” April added, snickering.

Roy opened the car door, shaking his head. “God, those two are so annoying. I can’t wait to finally-”

Courtney cut him off with a soft, sweet kiss, hands gripping the lapels of his jacket. Roy relaxed against her, pulling her closer by the waist. When she lifted her head, he sighed blissfully.

“Thank you. I needed that.”

“No problem,” she said, sliding into the car with a wink. “Let’s go.”

[sassyduckqueen]

30 Days of Lukanette- Songbird

Only one more chapter to go now! I hope you guys like!

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"So what do you think?" Luka asked as he looked up from his guitar. Marc and Nathaniel were looking at him like he was playing music from heaven or something and Max was grinning. Luka had played him the piece of music he had composed for his game. 

 "Perfect!" He grinned as Markov floated around him. "I knew you were the right person to capture what I wanted. Thank you, Luka,"

 "No worries," Luka smiled, stretching as Marc and Nathaniel came over excited. "You two ok?"

 "We just wanted to show you our latest comic," Marc smiled as Nathaniel handed him the book. Luka took it and flicked through it. It was their take on the battle between Basilisk and the heroes. Luka couldn't help but smile at how well drawn it was. "Basilisk was terrifyingly awesome but we added some context as to why Viperion was akumatized,"

 "We wrote it so Viperion had no other choice. If he didn't get akumatized, Hawkmoth got the miraculous," Nathaniel explained.

 "So to make sure that never happened, he used his second chance to bring him back and allowed himself to be taking over instead," Marc added in. "He is defeated by the hero trio of Silencer, The Illustrator and Reverser after his fearsome glare petrifies all the miraculous holders! What do you think?"

 "That's awesome," Luka grinned, handing it back to them. If only they knew how close to the truth they were. "But why did you make Viperion sacrifice himself?"

 "It seems like something he would do," Nathaniel replied as Marc nodded.

 "Yeah, Viperion comes across very caring. When I met him after I was devilized, he seemed very concerned about my well being. He even caught me when I fell. You know he reminds me of you, Luka. Very cool, very caring, extremely selfless," Marc mused, blushing a little. Sometimes, Luka wondered if Marc and Nathaniel knew more about the heroes then they let on.

 "Maybe he is Viperion?" Nathaniel laughed. "If he changed his hair to green, he would look exactly like him!"

 "Nah!" Alix butted in. "I met Viperion and Luka is way more chill! Besides, Viperion has green eyes and Luka has blue!"

 "Hmm I don't know there's similarities," Marc continued. "Both Luka and Viperion are older then everyone else, both are very kind and both are musicians,"

 "But an he actually play the lyre?" Max pointed out. "All I've seen is him throwing it. A surprisingly effective weapon though,"

 "Umm I look nothing like Viperion... right?" Luka asked, wanting to change the subject. Everyone was way too close to working out he actually was Viperion. Fortunately for him, Rose and Alya had perfect timing and rushed into the art area with Nino. All three of them looked like they had just downed a lot of sugar. "Um... Rose? You ok?"

 "I'm fine but we're just heard the greatest thing ever!" She gasped excitedly as she practically bounced.

 "Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale are filming a new music video!" Alya gasped, looking at everyone in excitement. "And they're holding auditions for extras and the heroes of Paris at the Louvre today! Now!"

 "We must go!" Marc declared.

 "Yes!" Alix joined in. "A chance to meet both Jagged Stone and Clare Nightingale! I'm not missing this!"

 "Our chances of actually meeting the two stars are very slim," Max pointed out, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Less then 10% and our chances of been in the video are even lower!"

 "Don't worry, Max," Alya grinned. "Marinette does Jagged's designs. She's already there!"

 "That does increase our chances to 21%," Max replied. Luka wondered if he should tell them about his mum's past with Jagged. 

 ~At the Louvre~

 "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sass asked as Luka splashed water on his face. "Our magic disguises you but even so..."

 "Don't worry," He smiled as he adjusted his guitar on his back. "I'm not going to compromise my identity and we'll just be extras. I doubt Jagged and Clara will remember me anyway,"

 "Alright," Sass hissed as he curled up in Luka's pocket. "I trust you,"

 "I know," He smiled as he walked out of the bathroom before joining the others in one of the huge lines. It seemed everyone in France came out to audition. He looked around and frowned as he couldn't see Marinette. He walked over to Juleka and the others, who looked like they were about to explore with excitement. "Hey, where's Mari?"

 Juleka pointed to the stage, where he saw Marinette, Adrien and Kagami all dressed in superhero costumes. He could have face palmed as they were all dressed as their superhero identities. If only people knew but as he looked around, he noticed people seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they all looked like the heroes. He remembered Sass explaining that while their magic causes people to look the other way, it would be wise to avoid something like this. 

 "So how did Marinette get on stage?" He asked. 

 "Oh, Clara insisted on her been Ladybug since she almost got the role last time," Alya explained as Marinette just grinned nervously. "And Adrien's father got him the role again. As for Kagami, I think her mother pressured her into been Ryuko but look how close they look! It's so perfect!"

 "They do look like Ladybug, Cat Noir and Ryuko," Luka commented, hoping no one put two and two together. Marinette's eyes were looking at the auidence. She spotted him and instantly relaxed as she waved a little. He smiled and waved back before Clara came onto the stage, followed by Jagged. The crowd cheered and roared in excitement as she spun around and grinned.

 "Thank you for coming all of you!" Clara declared as Jagged stood next to her. "Now let's work on making this dream come true!"

 "Yeah! Time to rock and roll!" Jagged grinned. "As you can see we have three of our heroes! Allow me to introduce them! You all know Adrien Agreste!"

 The amount of girls that roared made Luka jump a little. 

 "He's gonna be playing Cat Noir!" Jagged declared. "And our Ladybug is my album designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

 "And last but certainly not least! Our dragon girl without a leash!" Clara rhymed.

 "Kagami Tsurugi, daughter of Tomoe Tsurugi, the legendary dragon fencer of Japan!" Jagged called out. Luka was surprised by the yells that some boys gave out. Kagami merely bowed a little and stood up straight.

 "However, we are still missing our snake!" Clara declared. "We need a Viperion, make no mistake!"

 "Luka, you should totally try out for him," Marc hissed, giving him a thumbs up but Luka shook his head.

 "Let the auditions begin!" Jagged declared before he grabbed a seat. Clara sat next to him and watched as people walked on and tried to play the role of Viperion. Luka frowned as neither of them seem satisfied. A few people came close to looking like him but to both Jagged and Clara, they lacked something.

 "This is hopeless! We're never find our Viperion!" Jagged wailed as the que came to an end.

 "What seems to be the problem?" The voice of Gabriel Agreste asked as his assistant Nathalie came over, holding a tablet that had a video call on it. Luka watched with interest. "No Viperion yet? That is a shame,"

 "We need someone who is wise, kind and smart! Someone who truly loves their art!" Clara sighed before she looked towards the crowd. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she grinned. "Of course, how could I not see? The answer is right in front of me!"

 "I take you have been inspired, Clara. Very good," Gabriel replied, nodding.

 "I have to make sure my thought is true," She replied. "About a dear friend in the color blue,"

 She grabbed a tray of cakes and walked over to the line.

 "You all must be hungry from all this waiting," She declared, walking over with a tray of cakes. "Please, help yourselves,"

 A rush of people caused the gang to get squashed against the barrier. Marc instantly felt panicked. However, it subsided as Luka carefully pushed back people, protecting his friends and Juleka. Clara noticed and smiled to herself as the idea evolved.

 "Oh no, you're all get squashed!" She gasped before un-clipping the barrier rope. Her security gasped as the swamp of fans was unleashed, causing her to drop the cakes and knocking her down. She gasped, overwhelmed but the sound of a guitar caught the attentions of the fans, giving Alix a chance to help her up. She looked over and saw Luka playing his guitar, drawing the attention to him. She stood and instantly squealed before rushing over to him. "Luka Couffaine! I knew it was you. As soon as I saw the color blue!"

 "W-What?" He gasped, ceasing his playing as she rushed over before pulling him over to her. He was completely surprised at the fact that she remembered him. 

 "Sweet Luka, as beautiful as the music you make," She grinned, dancing with him. "Will you do the honor of been our snake?"

 "M-Me?" He gasped, surprised. "Oh, I'm nothing like Viperion! Really, someone else sho-"

 "Luka, your heart is pure and true," She sang, spinning him around before she looked at him. "I think this would be a perfect role for you,"

 He looked over at Marinette, Adrien and Kagami. He did come to be with his friends and they were his friends. After all, Marinette was his girlfriend. He looked over at the others, who gave him thumbs up and grinned. He looked back at Clara before looking at Marinette again. She gave him a thumbs , meaning

 "My sweet kind boy, please say yes!" She sang. "You really would be the very best!"

 However before he could answer, XY and Bob Roth stormed in, looking very confident. To his surprise, XY was wearing a cheap Viperion outfit. He instantly shoved Luka out of the way and grinned at Clara.

 "No need to use such a loser," He declared as he bowed. "Your Viperion is here,"

 "Ummm," Clara frowned as she looked over at XY. She sighed softly and turned to the tablet. "Gab, what do you think? I don't mind XY been in the video-"

 "The boy in blue would be preferrable. He looks like he would fix in with our heroes and I'm sure he's a friend of my son," He mumbled, looking at him. "Boy, what's your name?"

 "Luka, sir," He mumbled, feeling a bit overwhelmed. 

 "You're friends with my son, correct?" 

 "Y-yes, sir," 

 "And you know the girls?"

 "Yes, sir. Kagami is a friend and Marinette is my girlfriend," He replied.

 "Knowing the other 'heroes' is perfect and you're the correct height and build but if you do not wish to play our Viperion, I won't make you," He replied, giving Luka a glare never the less. Though Luka felt that this was Gabriel Agreste's natural expression. He made a mental note to ask Adrien later. Bob Roth cleared his throat.

 "This punk is no where near as talented as my son-"

 "I'll do it," Luka blurted out, shocking XY and Bob Roth as Clara squealed in happiness.

 "Oh, Luka! You've made my day!" She sang, spinning around. "Now off the the changing room that way!"

 She pointed to them as a member of the tech team lead him to the changing room. They gave him the outfit and he went inside before getting changed. Sass flew up and sat on the vanity case. Luka moved around.

 "Wow, this is a perfect fit," He mumbled as he looked around. Sass checked out the outfit as Luka put on the mask. "How do I look?"

 "Like Viperion," Sass replied, admiring the details on the outfit. "This is made so well. The craftman ship, the material. It's perfect,"

 "Do you think people will work out that I'm Viperion?"

 "No," Sass replied. "No one has even battered at eyelid at the other three despite the fact that they look like their heroes selves. Besides, your hair is currently blue and your eyes are blue. When you're Viperion, they all turn green. Even if you look like the real deal, people will think otherwise because of those features,"

 "Clever," He replied. "Hey, why are my eyes and hair green when I transform?"

 "The look is what you desire," Sass answered. "I would guess on a subconscious level you want to define yourself from Viperion,"

 "So I make myself as different as I can,"

 "That or you just really like the color green," Sass shrugged, making Luka smile before someone knocked on the door. Sass hid as Luka opened the door.

 "You ready, Luka?" The techie asked.

 "Yeah," Luka replied, coming out of the trailer and walking over. He waved at his friends as they cheered out and stood next to Marinette, who looked more nervous then before. "You ok?"

 "Y-yeah... just freaking out inside," She gasped. "I think I have stage fright,"

 "Don't worry. You'll be fine," He smiled, making her relax as Clara span over. Luka noticed that Bob Roth and XY had gone. He felt a little more relieved.

 "You four are perfect so let's begin!" She called out. "It's time to have fun, dance and sing!"

 "Not so fast, Miss Nightingale," Bob Roth appeared with Mayor Bourgeois. Both men looked annoyed as they walked over. "Sorry, kids but this video is cancelled. No filming will be done today,"

 "W-what?" Marinette gasped.

 "Mr Roth, you can't just walk in here and shut us down. Miss Nightingale and Jagged don't work for you-"

 "You're right there, Miss Rolling but they need certain permission to-"

 "We got the permission, Bob!" Jagged called out. "Penny made sure we had it. Didn't you Penny?"

 "Yes I did,"

 "Ah but you see as the mayor of Paris, it goes to my office and I'm afraid I have no such paperwork," Mayor Bourgeois grinned, smugly. Luka frowned deeply. "Since you have no paperwork, you can't have your video filmed here until you filed it,"

 "But I did file it!" Penny gasped.

 "Clearly not," Bob Roth laughed. Luka gripped his hand into a fist. 

 "It's obvious that you had it destroyed because your son isn't in the video!" He gasped but Bob laughed.

 "I destroyed nothing and you can't prove I did," He grinned. "Too bad. I was looking forward to you failing, Mr Couffaine. You better clear up. The mayor wants the musem back to open in an hour,"

 With that, he laughed and walked off. Clara sank onto her knees as Penny and Jagged moved over to her. Luka frowned deeply and moved across to them but before he could, Clara ran off and Jagged followed. Marinette walked over as Penny began to clear out people and the tech team started to take down the set.

 "Something similar happened last time she tried to do a song about the heroes," She mumbled, taking his hand before whispering. "Maybe we're just cursed,"

 "I refuse to believe that," He whispered back as Adrien and Kagami walked over.

 "We should all get changed. Father will want the costumes back until they can start filming again," Adrien replied, looking over at where Clara had ran off too. Luka nodded and they all began to walk off towards the changing rooms but the room were suddenly destroyed by a sound wave. The four of them gasped as they looked up and saw both Clara and Jagged on top of a trailer, only they were their akumatized selves. 

 "I don't where you all think you're going but we're making this video today!" Guitar Villain declared before beginning to play his guitar.

 "Get back!" Luka called out, rushing over with Marinette to pull people back from the falling bricks as Guitar Villain trapped everyone inside. Luka looked around and started to direct other people to answer exit. As people started to escape, he began to sneak away.

 "You two, don't you dare go!" Frightingale sang as she jumped in front of Kagami and Luka. He had noticed Adrien and Marinette had managed to slip away. "You're the stars of my video!"

 She then hit the two of them and others with her whip before laugh. 

 "Sing, dance or rhythm! Or you're be frozen in no time!" She declared as people started to turn into crimson statues.

 "We have to sing, rhythm or dance," Kagami frowned as she moved her body to a slightly rhythm. "Or we'll be frozen like the rest of France,"

 "Not an issue for me," Luka grinned. "Music and art is second nature to me,"

 "Oh a natural bravo," Fighteningale grinned as the four of them danced. "You even have the right tempo,"

 She jumped away as Cat Noir and Ladybug jumped through the window and began to fight her. Guitar Villain joined in as Luka looked around. 

 "We need a plan, we need to fight," Kagami growled. "We can't just dance for the rest of the night,"

 "Agreed, my friend," He stated. "But to no end,"

 He noticed the stage production and the two of them rushed over there. He looked around as he kept up the dance before noticing the smoke machine.

 "I have an idea. That smoke machine," He sang. "It was cause quite the scene,"

 "Good thinking, Snake," She grinned as he turned it on and put it on the highest setting. "Trouble is ours to make,"

 "Yes but the heroes need to come to play," He stated as the smoke covered them. "It's time for Viperion and Ryuko to save the day,"

 The two of them ran to a place for cover, even though the fog machine was thick enough to hide them. Ryuko frowned to herself before she clicked.

 "I've been hit in my civilian form," She sang. "So Longg, bring the storm!"

 She transformed as Cat Noir and Ladybug got hit. She joined the battle as Sass popped out, doing a little dance of his own. Luka rose an eyebrow but didn't question it.

 "If I don't sing or dance, then I'll wither," He sang to himself. "Time to say. Sass, scales slither!"

 He transformed into Viperion and joined the battle. Frightingale went to lash out another person so he dived in the way and took the hit before jumping up and landed a kick. It worked perfectly because then people would thinking he got hit as Viperion. She stumbled back but laughed.

 "Sing, dance or rhythm! Or you'll be frozen in no time!" She cackled as he back flipped away.

 "I hope you have a plan," He stated, dancing. Ladybug frowned and shrugged.

 "Last time, we defeated her by been chained together," Cat Noir sang. "But she has guitar Villain with her, she's more powerful then ever,"

 "If we are to win and save France, then I better activate my..." Viperion sang as he flicked back the head of the snake. "Second Chance!"

 "Awesome solo!" Guitar Villain cried out, causing the heroes to jump out the way.

 "The only way to get the upper arm is for me to summon my.... Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called out as she threw up her yoyo as the other three danced. She frowned to herself as a cable appeared out of thin air.

 "A cable? Great, that's our only hope. I guess it's better then a rope," Cat Noir stated as she looked around. The guitar resting against the wall lit up as did the speakers and Viperion. She grinned before turning to Viperion. 

 "I know what to do," She grinned. "We need a guitar player and that has to be you,"

 "She wants a world full of song," He grinned. "Guess I have to play along,"

 "Cat Noir, use your power on the guitar to bring harm," Ladybug grinned. "You know the opposite to my Lucky charm,"

 "And what of me? What can I do?"

 "Help me destroy the mic of you know who,"

 Viperion rushed over to the guitar and plugged it in before he started to play, getting the attention of Guitar Villain and Frighteningale. Cat Noir landed a kick to Guitar Villain and destroyed his guitar using his power as Ryuko and Ladybug took out Frighteningale's microphone. The little butterfly escaped just as Viperion turned into a crimson statue. Ladybug purified it then grabbed the cable and threw them into the air.

 "Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouted, restoring everything before the four of them fist bumped each other before going off their separate ways. Luka came back into the studio as Marinette and the others rushed over to him.

 "Are you ok?!" Marinette gasped, knowing full well he was but she hugged him anyway. Clara and Jagged walked over.

 "We've decided not to make the video," She sighed, causing everyone to frown. "However, onward with the show,"

 "Both me and Clara are working a song called Songbird and we need a guitarist to play since Vivica is on holiday," Jagged started before looking at Luka. "Would you like to be our guitarist on this song?"

 "Me?" He gasped, surprised as everyone gave him words of encouragement. He looked over at Marinette, who grinned. "Yeah.. I'd love to!"

 "Awesome!" Jagged grinned. "Marinette will be doing the designs for the album it will be released on, right Marinette?"

 "Of course!"

[catchester]

12 Days of Christmas

Title: Epiphany 

Authors: @evieplease​​​​ and @catchester​​​​

Which character: Actor!Tom and OFC Rocky

Genre: Humour/Explicit

Fic Summary: Tom and Rocky spend their first Christmas as a couple and Rocky meets Tom’s Mum for the first time. Expect 12 gifts, too much boozy, bad puns and lots of fun!

Rating: Mature

Previous Chapters: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138390/chapters/40304798

Epiphany 

I’m not much of a cook. I mean, I can feed myself but that cordon bleu shit is way out of my wheelhouse. I don’t really have the time or patience for it anyway. Tom beats me like a drum in the cooking stakes, but if there’s one thing I can cook perfectly, it’s a steak. 

I also make wonderful, fat chips—twice cooked so they’re lovely and crispy outside, but fluffy inside. And I’ve mastered a couple of sauces, but creamy pepper is Tom’s favourite, so we’ll be having that.

I’d also bought a little bit of broccoli to ‘show willing’, as my gran used to say. It was an afterthought, but it looks pretty on the plate, so. . .

Normally I’d cook a ribeye but tonight I was going all out and had bought three, fat, juicy sirloin steaks. I was salivating just thinking about them. 

I’d even bought a new dress, a little red dress—a nice companion for my overworked little black dress. I kind of love it. It’s figure hugging, but with a little flirty flare at the hem, and an almost exact match for my crimson Sephora lip stain. Looks great with my boots too. And I know that Tom will appreciate the back view. Just wearing the thing made me want to wiggle my arse for him!

I’d spent much of the day in my workshop, which is just a fancy way of saying the garage I rent near my flat that I store my spares and heavier equipment in. I knew I was pushing things time wise, but I was nervous, okay?

The fresh layer of snow didn't help matters, snarling up traffic and meaning my errand took twice as long as it should have. 

I ended up having to leave my chips boiling while I got ready, and kept darting back to poke them with a knife. I was damn lucky I didn't overcook them and end up with mash, but somehow I didn’t. 

I had just slid into my new dress when the buzzer went, and I scrambled to do the zip up before Tom and Diana reached my front door. 

I didn’t quite make it, and had to greet Diana with my bra strap hanging out. Luckily Tom spotted my predicament and zipped me up the rest of the way, but not before Diana commented on how chilly I must be! But I got a kiss on the back of my neck from Tom, so it’s all good.

My flat might only be two bedrooms, but it was pretty spacious. I’d improved it a lot over the last five years and it was worth a small fortune thanks to London prices. I would never have been able to afford a flat in London if not for my Dad. Growing up, we’d lived in a council house, which Dad bought at a vastly reduced rate back in the 80s when Right to Buy came in. As such, his small mortgage was long paid off, and the prices had skyrocketed over the years, so when all three of his kids had flown the coop, he sold the four bedroom place and bought two flats in the same estate, but different blocks. 

We’d drawn up a contract and when I reached what he’d paid for it, he’d transfer ownership to me, or it would come to me on his death, whichever came first. My brothers would get his larger flat to share between them. Good luck to ‘em! Those boys haven’t agreed on anything but the MCU since they were ten and twelve, and I can just about predict the rows they’ll have deciding to renovate or sell Dad’s place. I plan on sitting back and enjoying the show.

One of my improvements to my place was to knock down the wall between the living room and kitchen. Where the wall used to be I kept a narrow, oblong table that folded out into one that could comfortably seat four. My extra folding chairs were kept in a cupboard. In my defence, they’re very nice folding chairs and I have cushions I can tie on… 

How naff. I’d hang my head in shame, but I know Diana will appreciate the irony.

Thank god I hadn't had time to worry like this earlier, or they’d likely have arrived to find me sloshed again! Speaking of which... 

“Can I get you a drink?” I asked, my stomach swooping, suddenly realising I should have picked up an extra bottle of wine! Bollocks! Wait, didn’t I have a nice one Tom bought as a gift a few months ago lurking at the back of a cupboard somewhere? I’d have to get it in the fridge ASAP. 

“I don't have any red wine, I’m afraid, only rosé.” I worried my lip. I’m not really a fan of red wine,  but red meat goes with red wine, and Diana would know that! 

“Oh lovely, I like a nice rosé.” Diana to the rescue! God, I love that woman. She’s so polite. 

I did find the bottle Tom had brought around before. It too was pink, but it was prosecco, not wine. Aah well, maybe that would work better as a dessert wine. Or, with luck, a fizzy celebration wine. I put it in the top of the fridge and opened the cold bottle of rosé. 

“Here you go.” I handed them each a glass, but decided to have a beer myself so the wine would go further. I did decant my bottle contents into a tall glass for a change though because I’m at least attempting to be civilised tonight. 

“You have a lovely home,” Diana said as I sat down on my L-shaped unit. It was a bargain I’d found on freecycle then re-upholstered, but it was a quality piece and looked expensive. 

It’s not that I can’t afford a new sofa, even an expensive one—my business does well and my rent to my Dad is whatever I want to pay him. I pay quite a lot because I want him to get his investment in the flat back quickly, but he wouldn't mind at all if I took a whole year off payments because he trusts me. Plus, he’s semi retired now so all he does is answer the phones and do the books, for which he claims 30% of the profits. He started the business so I don’t begrudge him, and it means he isn't desperate for my rent as his income. 

The real reason I upcycled my sofa is that she had such lovely bones, and I love crafty activities. After the renovations on the flat were done, I’d set about finding pieces I could give new life to. My bed mattress was brand new, but the headboard was second hand and recovered in a print to compliment the aqua and white paint in there. I’d stripped the old varnish off the wood parts and stained it new.

I asked Diana about the exhibition she was going to see and she explained it was actually a workshop where she’d be learning something called blackwork embroidery. I’d gathered from looking around her home that she was quite arty, but I hadn’t realised she enjoyed crafting too. It was nice to know we had something in common and I told her about a couple of my projects in the flat. I even told her the story of stapling my finger to the sofa she was sitting on, the very first time I used an upholstery gun, and she told me about some of her past projects. 

After topping up their glasses, I began preparing the meal, but I could still chat to them as I worked. They wanted their steaks medium, which everyone defines differently but after some probing I determined that they liked it red inside, but not bloody cold, which was my preference too. Okay, maybe I like mine a little bloody, but it went on the skillet only 60 seconds after theirs. 

I served my very fat chips in a sort of jenga tower with the middle bricks missing, being very careful not to wipe my greasy fingers on my red dress,  then the steaks, a very healthy dollop of peppercorn sauce, and the broccoli topped with a knob of butter on the side. 

“You led me to believe you weren’t a very good cook,” Diana gently chided me as we ate. 

“I’m not,” I assured her. “I know how to cook, like, three things really well, this, lasagne, and a cheesecake, which we’re having for desert. Everything else falls somewhere between okay and inedible.” 

“Do not ask her to cook fish,” Tom winked at me conspiratorially.

I laughed. He’d once said something about liking salmon, so I got a recipe and tried to cook it for him. It was all new to me, the only fish Dad or the boys would eat came from the fish and chips shop down the corner. Unfortunately no matter what I did the stuff tasted like dirt! Very fishy dirt! I ended up over seasoning, then overcooking it so much that it dried out and it really was inedible. 

And it still tasted like dirt!

We’d ordered a curry instead. 

“Well, these potatoes are amazing, you must give me the recipe,” Diana told me, smiling warmly at me. 

It wasn't hard, so I explained it to her as we ate. 

As well as complimenting me, Diana ooh’d and ah’d as she ate. Tom just ate steadily as if afraid someone might nick his plate if he slowed down, glancing up at me with a warm appreciative smile now and then, so I think they genuinely liked it. 

Good, Diana would probably not like it if I poisoned her boy. 

Talk of the salmon disaster naturally led onto other food related disasters, and I quickly learned I was in good company. 

“Do you remember when you left some steaks out to defrost?” Tom asked his mum. 

Apparently their neighbour’s cat had neatly chewed away all but the rind of fat while they were in the garden. Then there was the story of a time they’d been visiting a friend, and another friend’s dog had eaten the shepherd’s pie they were to be served! 

The Guinness pie was my favourite story though. It was apparently a steak pie made with Guinness gravy, that Diana loved as a child. It was her father’s recipe, basically the only thing he cooked, and then only once or twice a year, on special occasions. She swore she followed the recipe her father gave her to the letter but it was awful. 

“Turned my stomach, honestly,” she admitted, turning pink even after all these years. 

Tom was grinning. “She served us all first, then she realised she’d forgotten the pot of English mustard and told us to all tuck in. Well we did, and there’s me, my sisters and my dad just looking at each other. We all knew she’d spent all day on this and was really looking forward to it. None of us had the heart to tell her we couldn't eat it. She came back and we all plastered smiles on and told her how wonderful it was, while helping ourselves to carrots.”

“That should have been my first clue,” Diana laughed. “Honestly, you’d have thought this one was allergic to vegetables, given how hard he tried to avoid them, and there he was larding his plate with carrots!”

“Then she took one mouthful and her face just turned grey,” Tom laughed. Diana reached out and playfully smacked his shoulder.

“I still tried it a second and third time, in case I’d made a mistake, although I didn't make the family try it. I thought that perhaps the stout needed to marinate longer, or be cooked at a higher temperature so it burned off, but each attempt was just as inedible as my first bite. My father was adamant that he’d given me the exact recipe he used. I gave up in  the end and concluded that he must have substituted something else for the stout, possibly something like cider. I’ve tried other recipes with cider gravy over the years but never quite managed to replicate the same taste.”

I cleared the plates from the table but everyone wanted a little break before desert, which was fine with me. 

“Has Tom told you about our 12 days gifts?” I asked Diana as I grabbed a box from a kitchen drawer.

Suddenly I had a sort of out of body experience where I was watching myself sit with Tom and his mum, I must be mad for even considering what I was about to do...

“He’s told me all about it,” she grinned. “What a lark! It sounds like you had great fun.”

“We did, but more than that, those gifts, specifically the thought Tom had put into his, had really brought home how much he cares for me.” 

I handed Diana a gift box, about 6 inches by four, and maybe two deep. It wasn't wrapped but I had done it up in a fancy ribbon. Eventually she freed it from it’s ribbon prison and opened the lid. 

There in the middle, nestling among some tissue paper (which was hiding some printer paper because I didn't have enough tissue paper, and I wasn’t using bog paper) sat a ring box. 

“This looks interesting,” she murmured, reaching for the ring box.

I could hardly hear her over the hammering of my heart, and I couldn’t look at Tom. My hands were sweating, and my leg was jittering under the table.

As I got off my chair, my knees were trembling but I managed to move beside Diana’s chair before I collapsed to my knees. I barely made eye contact with Tom, who looked curious. 

“It’s a. . . a ring?” 

I had found an incredible rose gold, tungsten ring with a gorgeous burl wood inlay for Tom. I thought it would look warm and elegant on his left hand. It’s unusual, but once I saw it, I couldn’t even look at any bog standard men’s wedding bands. I hope he likes it. Diana’s finger traced thoughtfully over the design, so I think she liked it.

Diana looked up at me, eyebrows up and questions in her eyes. I shuffled around, less gracefully than I’d like until I was on one knee before her, in the traditional pose of a proposer. 

I desperately wanted to look at Tom to see his reaction but I didn’t dare. I’d lose my bottle, if I did...

I took the ring box from her, but I was shaking so much I had to hold it with both hands. I cleared my throat, and sternly ordered myself not to tear up out of sheer nerves.

“This last year taught me a lot about Tom and our relationship, and I suppose you could say I’d had an epiphany about how much your son has come to mean to me. With that in mind, Diana, I..” My voice cracked and I had to clear it and try again.  “I wonder if you would do me the honour of becoming my Mother-in-Law? 

The next three seconds seemed to last an hour. Diana’s mouth opened in surprise as she stared down at the ring. Not unpleasantly surprised, but, oh god, she also wasn't answering me... 

I shouldn't have done it this way, I shouldn't have brought Diana into this. I’d just thought it was a funny and quirky way to include her, but of course, she couldn't answer for Tom. This was such a stupid idea! 

I saw Diana’s gaze flick in Tom’s direction and still couldn’t look at him. I kept my eyes steady on hers and wished the ground would open up to swallow me whole. Hell, it could take my whole apartment, as long as this nightmare stopped! 

I could feel my eyes pricking with tears of humiliation. I should have got drunk again, then I’d probably be passed out and unable to make a fool of myself. Again. I lifted my chin and grabbed courage with both hands, waiting for the verdict.

Suddenly there was an arm around my shoulder and I realised Tom was kneeling beside me. 

“Please, Mum, say yes!” 

I’ve never felt so much relief as when I heard him say that. I swayed on my knees and my surroundings spun briefly as all the air seemed to rush back into the room.

Diana’s hand moved to her chest, patting it as if she’d had heart palpitations, her eyes twinkling down at me.

“Well I don’t know…” she deliberately drew out her response, the tease! “Don’t you think this is... awfully sudden, dear?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. What was she on about? She looked just exactly like Tom when he was about to spring a horrible pun on me, the same sly little smile lurking about her lips. 

“I’m trying to think what those vows would be... ‘Do you, Rocky, take this woman, Diana, as your Awful Wedded Mother-in-Law? To poke and to prod, to stick her nose in where it isn’t wanted, and to generally make herself a pain in your arse? So help you baby Jesus?’

I grinned. Yep, I definitely wanted her! Tom choked beside me, laughing.

“Diana, that is exactly what I had in mind!” I nodded my head hard, my hair bouncing wildly around my head. “So, um, will you?”

Diana reached down and carefully pulled a strand of hair from my mouth, tenderly tucking it behind my ear, her eyes softened into the exact shade Tom’s get. Her hand cupped my cheek gently.

“Yes Rocky, I’d be delighted to be your Mother-in-Law.” she said softly. I heard Tom’s breath gust out in relief beside me. I knelt up, throwing my arms around her and squeezing hard. “Thank you,” I whispered into her hair. I cleared my throat, because I was not going to cry on Tom’s mum.

Diana put her hands on my arms, gently pushing me away, her eyes going behind me.

“I think there’s someone who wants his turn…”

Before I could even look his way, Tom had pulled me onto his thighs, wrapping his arms around me tightly and hugging me hard. One hand went into my hair and pulled my face up to his. There were tears in his eyes, and a crooked smile on his lips.

“Yes please, Rocky.”

Then he was kissing me fiercely, and by god, I was giving back, my hands clutching his shirt.

“Ahem…” Diana cleared her throat. I pulled away from Tom long enough to glance round at her.

“But you said I could have him!” I grumbled at her, hiding my elated laugh. Her eyes laughed right back at me.

“Yes dear, but not right now, if you please! I believe I was promised cheesecake!”

***

We put Diana in a cab back to Tom’s for the night, hugs and kisses all around. She even pinched my cheek! Tom and I stood, arms around each other’s waists, waving goodbye to her as she drove off 

“What would you have done if she’d said ‘no’?” Tom’s tone was slyly curious as we made our way back up the stairs to my second floor flat. I blanched.

“Died of humiliation?” Even thinking of the possibility gave me cold shivers. But Tom had slid to his knees next to me.

“What would you have done?” I turned my face up to his, wondering if he’d have gone along with his mum. Tom scowled.

“Rocky, you know I love my mum. But I’d have told her to…” Tom stalled out as he considered his words. I cocked my head, waiting.

“I’d have told her to bugger off,” said the very civilised, posh idiot. I gasped, only then realising that I’d been holding my breath. 

“But Rocky,” Tom stopped before the door to my flat and raised my chin to look into my eyes. “That was never going to happen, my love. Because Mum loves me, and she knows I love you. Also,” he grinned, “Mum likes you. And now she finds you very engaging.”

Well shit. My eyes teared up at least as much from the sentiment as from the pun. I stood on my toes and kissed him.

Tom opened my door and ushered me in, turning to close the door behind us. When he turned back, I pushed him against it, holding him there with a hand in the center of  his chest.

My other hand slid down his torso to the waistband of his trousers, flicking the button open and sliding the zip down, ratcheting slowly.

I stared into his eyes, watching them darken from their Caribbean blue to steel, the creases at the corners of his eyes tightening.

“Rocky…” he breathed.

“Shhh…” I replied, slipping my hand into his trousers to grasp him. The posh idiot never wore pants, which was calculated to make me rethink the ‘posh’ part. Somehow, knowing that he was bare behind that zipper made me hard.

When my hand encountered all that hard, silky steel. Practically leaping into my hand, I could feel my pussy clench in sheer anticipation. I wanted that hard cock inside me, like, yesterday! 

Oh wait. It was inside me yesterday!

I wrapped my hand carefully and firmly around his shaft, my thumb extending over his bell end to protect him from any chance zip or harsh denim scraping against that tender, sensitive tip.

I like that cock. I wasn’t going to allow it to be hurt on my watch! Besides, if it was going to be mine for the rest of my natural life, forsaking all others, it was in my best interest to see to its proper care and feeding!

My hand tightened around him, just thinking what I wanted to feed it into. Tom lifted a hand and set it onto the column of my throat. I swallowed, feeling my throat move against his palm.

Tom’s head was tilted down watching me as I blindly explored his cock with my hand, palming his length and running my fingertips up his shaft, all the way to the edge of his foreskin. I ran my finger around the rim, gently pushing it down and freeing the vulnerable, delicate bit of skin right beneath his cock head.

I lifted my forefinger, dipping it into the drop of precome waiting there for me, dropping down and letting my finger glide around the edge of his foreskin on the slick fluid, being sure to slide over the tender skin of his bell. How can something so soft be so hard?

I think of myself as hard, but I’m soft for Tom. Really, the only thing to do is to make him mine. Thank god he said yes. Or…

“Um…”  I cleared my throat as I continued to glide my finger over him. “You did say yes, didn’t you? I mean, you get that having your mum as my mother-in-law actually entails you marrying me, right?” I lifted my eyes and searched his.

The blue of his eyes softened. His nose nuzzled below my ear.

“I do, Rocky. And yes, I will.”

All the air left my body and my fingers clenched on him, one hand on his chest, my nails digging into his skin, the other around his cock.

Tom hissed, and his hips shot forward into my fist, forcing his cock through the tight ring of my fingers.

“God, Rocky…” he groaned, his hands moving into my hair, thumbs on my jaw as he leaned down to kiss me roughly.

I stroked that silky smooth, incredibly hard length against my palm. Tom tore his mouth away, breaking our kiss and breathing hard. I took my opportunity to slip to my knees in front of him.

“Rocky...you don’t have-” He gasped.

“Tom,” I said sharply, “if you finish that sentence with ‘don’t have to suck my cock’, I might do you an injury!”

I squeezed his shaft, just to be clear what part might be injured.

“Right,” Tom gasped, “carry on, then.” He swallowed audibly hard, his hands clenching in my hair.

I grinned cheekily at him. “Don’t mind if I do!”

I dragged my free hand down his torso, firmly pushing his back against the door. I took a quick swipe at him with my tongue from stalk to tip and grinned up at him.

“I do what I want!”

I wrapped my lips around the head and gave a suck, swirling my tongue tip over and around the head.

I felt Tom’s deep throated groan vibrate through his body and onto my tongue. Stopping for a second, I looked up at him, for once with no quip on the tip of my tongue.

“I love you, Tom.”

Tom’s eyes completely dilated and he thrust into my fist, his cockhead pushing between my lips, and suddenly he was coming against my mouth. 

My hand pumped over his cock, squeezing and pulling his climax from him, licking his come from around my lips and working the rest out in hot ropes onto my neck and chest.

Tom made a tortured noise, his hands clenching in my hair and hips thrusting helplessly. I gentled my hand, holding it still and warm over his softening shaft as he panted above me.

“Rocky…”

I tore my eyes away from the sight softening in my hand and looked up.

“You undo me, my love.”

His hands moved to my arms and lifted me to stand, wrapping his arms and body around me like a loving cloak.

I nuzzled my nose into the patch of hair in the center of his chest.

“Love you, Tom,” I murmured into his skin, speaking directly to his thumping heart. The arms around me tightened.

“Come along. I have something for you.”

“I hope it’s a hot flannel!”

Tom snickered and trod across the room into the kitchen, dragging me to the sink and wetting a tea towel. He wiped us both clean, and tossed the towel on the side.

He’d left his tablet on the table. Pulling a chair out, he sat, tugging me down onto his lap. He reached for the tablet.

I was wondering if he planned to treat me to porn, or puppies. I never know with Tom, which is of course, one of the things I love about him. He swiftly swiped through a few screens and brought up a file.

“Here, what do you think?” He pushed the tablet into my hands and set his chin on my shoulder, looking over me at the screen.

My hand flew to my mouth, fingers trembling over it as I stared down at a page of gorgeous, conflict free, diamond engagement rings.

“I didn’t want to choose one without you, and I honestly didn’t know what sort you’d like, since you never wear rings or other jewelry,” Tom murmured.

My hand dropped down to the partridge in a pear tree necklace Tom had given me on the First Day of Christmas. 

“Except your partridge,” he acknowledged. “But I chose that, so I really have no idea what your taste in jewelry is.

I was speechless as Tom slowly scrolled through several pages of rings, all sorts, my eyes filling as it finally dawned on me that Tom had been planning to ask me, or was at least thinking about it, when a teardrop landed on the screen. His arm stole around my waist as he turned his head and kissed my neck.

I sniffled, slightly embarrassed, and let out a watery laugh.

“What’s funny, love?”

I sniffled again. “I got engaged today, and here you are, making me cry.”

Tom chuckled.

“Though it might just be PMS.” 

Tom lifted his head with a great shout of laughter. “Oh darling, with you it’s probably the entire alphabet!” Tom teased.

He brought up another page, this time with rubies and sapphires and such. My breath caught at a dark red, square cut stone with two smaller, smokey coloured square cut stones set on either side, all swirled about in a fanciful gold setting. It was stunning,

I reached out a finger and touched it. The image changed, showing other angles of the ring.

“Ooh, I like that one!” Tom wriggled a bit under me in his enthusiasm. “You like coloured stones? Unusual settings? So much better than boring old diamonds, don’t you think? Bloody marvelous, aren’t they?”

I nodded, my throat tight. I hadn’t even given any thought to a ring for me, yet. 

“Tom, I must tell you though, it’s unlikely that I’ll wear it much. With my job, my hands are in and out of all sorts of muck…”

“That’s alright then.” Tom hugged me. “There are plenty of times that I can’t wear jewelry on my job, too. On stage or filming, and so forth. We’ll just have to work out a routine for taking them off before going to work, and putting them back on when we get home. Think of it as putting on and taking off your shoes, only in reverse!”

My head spun with all the things that we haven’t talked about. Oh my god, I don’t know how to throw a wedding! Budget, guest list, venue, flowers, bridesmaids, grooms men,  catering, open or closed bar, the dress… the list seemed endless and I knew I was probably forgetting a dozen other things. 

“I guess there’s still loads of things to work out before we do this thing, right?”

“We can take as long as we need,” he soothed, sensing my unease. “And if we want, there are people we can hire who take care of the organisation.” 

“Okay,” I took a deep breath and tried to relax. “As long as you don’t expect me to look like some giant, frothy meringue.” 

“Never,” he laughed. “And if you get one of those dresses with a thousand pearly buttons down the back, expect them to get torn off on the wedding night.”

The idea of being torn out of my wedding dress actually turned me on a little. Is that bad? 

“Oh, you like that idea,” Tom purred. 

“It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard.”

“Well I’ll have to practice,” he told me, his face the picture of sincerity. “We’ll start easy, maybe try ripping a robe off, then we’ll graduate to t-shirts and shirt-shirts and before you know it’ I’ll be ready to destroy your wedding dress in my haste to get to you.” 

“Or,” I said, holding a finger up as I presented my counter argument, “You could just destroy me right now and I’ll wear a white string bikini on the wedding day.” 

“Only if I get to wear white speedos.”

“Fine, but you also need a white bow tie.” 

Imagining literally the worst of the worst white trash wedding was kind of fun. 

“And white flip-flops,” Tom added. 

“What about if we want a winter wedding?” I asked. 

“White wet suits,” he answered without missing a beat. “I’ll draw a string bikini on yours in Sharpie marker pen.”

“And I’ll be sure to outline your English countryside. Very much looking forward to shading in your arse crack.”

That was the remark that made us lose it and we laughed until our sides hurt. 

Eventually we calmed down, with just the occasional giggle reemerging as we lay there. 

“Now correct me if I’m wrong,” Tom purred, “but I believe there was some mention of me destroying you?” 

“Well yes. I’d hate for you to be embarrassed on the wedding night because we hadn’t practised.”

I swear I heard him growl as he pounced on me, his smile positively wolfish. 

Oh dear, I had awoken the beast and now I was doing to pay. 

I shivered in anticipation. 

[thewritewolf]

Inseparable Chapter 29: Kwami Swap

Several years later, Marinette and Adrien swap kwamis as the final stage of their training.

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@ladynoirjuly2019

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

Landing on one of the towers of the Notre Dame Cathedral, Marinette slowly stood and looked out over the city of Paris, marvelling at the view her new senses afforded her. No wonder Adrien had always loved to patrol at night. Seeing the city bathed in moonlight through the magically enhanced sight of the black cat miraculous was a wonder. But as her tail flicked back and forth with a mind of its own, she realized it wasn’t all perks. She stilled it with a moment of focus.

Five years of using the ladybug miraculous saw her hands go toward her ears when she heard the beeping, but she caught sight of the ring’s paws before they reached that far. She still had a few minutes before the transformation ended, but here was as good a place as any to recharge.

Stepping into the shadows of the old cathedral, she willed her transformation off. “Claws in.”

Plagg appeared with a yawn and a stretch. “About time. You’ve been out for ages, Pigtails. You tryin’ to wear me out?”

“Can’t have you causing mischief in our new house, now can we?” She scratched at his ears as she handed him a hunk of camembert. “Besides, we need to learn about each other’s miraculous and the best way to do that is practice. Not my fault you’re lazy.”

He grumbled as he chewed his precious cheese. “Normally takes a lot longer to master the miraculous… thought I’d have at least a few more years before this swap business.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She took a seat against the old stones, looking up at the bells.

It helped that she and Adrien had always had a strong connection, one that had only improved after revealing their identities. After Hawkmoth however, they didn’t have much to test themselves against. There had been challenges, but nothing that came quite as close as their old archenemy. Their improvement had slowed, and for a while they were worried they wouldn’t be able to achieve their goal.

“You’re taking to this pretty well, Bakery Girl.” Plagg grinned, revealing his tiny fangs. “Now I’m curious what having you as my kitten from the start would have been like. Imagine the trouble we could have gotten into without those rules that kept Adrien down.”

She shook her head with a smile. “I don’t think I qualify as ‘bakery girl’ any more, Plagg. We moved out, remember?” In fact, she was pretty sure that little step had been what finally pushed them into this stage of their training - they had hardly been in their new place for a week when the kwami suggested this little exercise.

“Maybe. But the point remains.”

“Given all the stolen phones and complex plots I came up with back then, maybe it was better for Paris if I didn’t have you egging me on from the shadows.”

Plagg groaned. “But that would have been hilarious. We could have ruled the world!”

“And here I thought Adrien was the dramatic one…” She mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, Pigtails?” He looked at her suspiciously.

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Well… anyway… I suppose it’s for the best I got stuck with the kid. He needed someone pushing him to do things. Tikki would’ve just had him hunker down and go with the flow.” He scoffed. “Not me. Kid needed some havoc in his life.”

“Yeah… I suppose he did. He never had a lot of people in his corner, able to tell him that he wasn’t being treated right.” She watched him for a few moments before adding. “I’m glad he had you, Plagg. I really appreciate you taking care of him for all that time.”

He ate in silence. She stood up and moved to the entryway. Her view of the city wasn’t quite as amazing as it had been when she was behind the mask, but it was still breathtaking. She hoped that she would never get tired of seeing Paris from above.

“It wasn’t just me, you know.” She turned back to see Plagg floating in place, looking off into the distance. He’d stopped eating - it must be important. “He always had you. It was kinda annoying at the time, how much he’d gush about the love he felt.” He made a gagging sound, then looked over to her and grinned. “I’m glad you two idiots figured it out. I’m sure how much more of it I could take, but at least he’s happier now. Even if it was… rough there, after the dearly departed Gabe went all final form on us.”

“Final form?”

“Ugh, the kid has always watched too much anime. There’s only so much I can ignore.”

Laughing, she walked back over. “Ready to finish up paw-trol?”

“If it will make sure you don’t make any more puns in my presence, then sure. Let’s go.”

“Claws out!”

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

Adrien cut off the tape from another box and peered inside. Despite having been labeled ‘dishes’ - in his own handwriting, no less - it instead contained fabrics. He sighed and looked around the room, barren except for a couch and boxes. It had been over a month since they’d moved in here and it felt like they hadn’t even made a dent in the number of boxes they had left to unpack. Just as he started to prowl around for unopened containers to look through, a tiny voice made him turn around.

“Wait, Adrien! The dishes are in here, the fabrics are just being used for padding.”

He walked back over to where Tikki was pointing. Sure enough, there were the pots and pans that papa had bought them before leaving. He brought the wok out and twirled it in his hands. One of the many benefits to working in the same kitchen as mama Cheng was that he could finally learn how to cook - especially his girlfriend’s favorites. As he pulled out the ingredients for tonight’s late dinner, Tikki watched from her perch on his shoulder.

“Is this the spicy stir fry?” At his nod, she giggled. “I’m sure Marinette will appreciate coming home to that smell.”

“It’s the least I can do, for everything she’s done for me.” Where would he be without her? Probably still alone in that big, empty mansion.

“The relationship hasn’t been exactly one sided, you know.” It sounded vaguely like a chastisement. “I know how much she appreciates you, and I’m sure you know that too.”

“Well, yeah, I know, but-”

“I remember how doting and protective you were over her when she was still recovering. Even when the process started to… slow down.”

Despite their best hopes, Marinette had stayed weakened by her brush with death for well over a year. Sure, she had left the wheelchair after a few months, but that was more because of her own stubbornness rather than any sudden breakthroughs. Through it all, he stayed by her side and helped her work through her frustration as the healing dragged on.

“Well, she needed me. How could I turn my back on her then?”

She twirled in the air until she was in front of him as he began chopping vegetables. “It’s only because of the powerful bond that you shared that she survived in the first place. Others… weren’t so fortunate.”

The chopping stopped for a moment, a silent prayer for the departed, before continuing.

“She was able to lean on you then, and she leans on you today.”

“I’m more than happy to help her out.” He smiled gently as he turned the oven on. “But really, these days it’s not that big of a deal.”

“I’ve been in her life before you, remember.” She waggled her paw in front of him. “She’s not as overworked with you around - and not just because you’re an extra pair of hands,” she added when he opened his mouth to protest. “You’ve got a lot of experience with tight schedules, and during her busiest hours you keep her sane.” She sighed and murmured, “I know things are tumultuous right now. But as long as you two love each other, you’ll be able to make it through.”

He sniffled and held out a hand for the kwami to land on, placing a light kiss on the side of her large head. “Thanks, Tikki. I needed to hear that.”

With everything that was happening - her applications to university, her design commissions, his freelance modeling, the moving - Marinette and him hadn’t gotten to spend much time together. But Tikki was right. This stress was temporary while they got settled into their new lives, but they had something much longer lasting than that.

[danteshope]

Slow Burn, Chapter 1

Born in a Hurry, Always Late

“JEREMY!” I called, holding up a warm coffee that I had just made and placing it on the bar. I turned quickly to move on to my next task before I heard a polite voice.

“Oh! Excuse me? Can I get an extra napkin? This is pretty warm.” His face was kind, he was older but he looked like the type you could immediately trust.

“Absolutely! Can I get you anything else?” I smiled, passing a napkin across the bar.

“No, that will do it. Thanks...Melynne.” He peered at the name tag on my chest.

“No problem, enjoy your day!” He smiled again, offering a shy finger wave before walking off. I looked towards the clock, 2:45. 15. More. Minutes. The last fifteen minutes ALWAYS drag on. I quickly mixed another Frappuccino, repeating the process like I do all day, every day. I was a single mom, of two boys and couldn’t ever afford to really take days off. I loved my job, as a barista at a local ski lodge coffee shop, Tahoe’s Best Brew, but most days it was monotonous. Like clockwork, Nikki, my relief for the afternoon waltzed in; her hair wild and wavy. I hope she planned on pulling that back before she came behind the bar. “What’s up Mel?” She asked, tying her apron behind her back. “Not a whole lot, pretty slow day. Think the snow got the best of everyone. I have Foster’s talent show tonight so I gotta leave kinda quick today.” I finished filling up the drink mixes and stocked the coffee filters. “Go ahead and take off Mel, give the boys a hug for me.” Nikki patted my back. I nodded, removing my straight raven hair from a hair tie and pulling off my apron, before stuffing it into a dirty linens bin. “Thanks Nik! I’ll see you tomorrow!” I pulled off my worn out converse and slipped into snow boots, concealing the shoes in a backpack. I wrapped my jacket around my body tightly, and pulled on a beanie. It was a cold winter, but not nearly as cold as it has been before. The snow was enjoyable, crisp enough but not bitterly cold. I ran out to the old Jeep parked on the side of Tahoe’s Best and turned the ignition on, quickly turning on the heat.

The drive to my sons daycare was a quick one, only ten minutes from work. I always picked up my youngest, Joey before going to pick up Foster. I ran inside the daycare, signing into the front office and into his classroom. “Mommy!!” Joey smiled, and wobbly ran to the door giving me a big hug. I picked him up, kissing his cheeks. “Well hey there Joe. How was your day?” I smiled, hugging him even tighter. “Miss Prescott, he was an angel today, per usual.” His daycare teacher, Brittany was a saint. She loved all of the kids in her room, and I was fortunate to have someone care for Joey as good as she does. “It’s almost time for him to move to the next room, I’m gonna be sad when he turns two!” She put Joeys bag, he shrugged away from her as I signed him out; wrapping his arms tightly around my neck. He was always afraid if Brittany touched him again, I would leave without him for some reason. “Ugh, I know! I’m not ready for that either. We gotta head our though, brother has a talent show today.” I grabbed Joe’s belongings and swept him out to the Jeep, strapping him into his car seat. “Momma momma momma!” Joey babbled pointing towards the front window. “Is Hawk momma! Is Hawk!” He exclaimed, his excitement eluding him.

“What, Joe? A hawk?” I asked. He pointed towards the window again. All I saw was another parent leaving with their daughter. Wait, that was the guy from the coffee shop. Weird. Anyway, a hawk? “Well, I don’t see a hawk Joey but we gotta go see Foster!” Joey smiled and clapped his hands. I watched the man from the coffee shop, Jeremy, strap his daughter into his SUV. Obviously this guy had some money. How have I never seen him before but now I see him twice in one day?

“Mom! Did you like my talent!” Foster jumped into a hug. “I did, big boy! I think we gotta tighten your drums a bit but nothing went wrong and I’m very proud of you!” I hugged him, Joey reaching from my hip to grab his big brother. Foster was my musical prodigy, he was 8 years old and had more talent on the drums than a lot of musicians I know. “Did you see Candance Witherby? She was totally checking me out.” Foster smirked, I whacked the back of his head gently. “Foster Henry, you are way too young to Be worrying about Candace Witherby.” My son blushed, flipping his hair out of his face. Note to self, haircuts for both boys. I looked at Joey, whose hair was just as long as Fosters. I loaded both boys up in the car, and proceeded to drive home. In the midst of Foster telling me about his day, my phone began to ring. I groaned looking at the screen, my ex husbands face flashing across. “Here Foster, it’s your dad.” I handed the phone to the seat behind me. I waited for Foster to grab it, “I don’t want to talk to him.” “Babe, he’s calling to talk to you. Just answer.” As much as I hated my ex, he still somewhat tried to maintain a relationship with the boys, even if most of it was out of spite for me. He sighed, taking the phone out of my hand while I listened.

“Hi Dad....yeah, I played the drums...well, mom told me I could...I had fun, though...she’s right here, hold on...okay...love you too...mom, he wants to talk to you.” I rolled my eyes, taking the phone.

“Yeah?” I asked, probably a little attitude tinted in my voice.

“Why are you letting Foster play the drums for a talent show?” Aaron barked.

“Because he’s talented. And he that’s the whole point of a talent show, Aaron.” I could hear Foster snicker in the backseat.

“You should be focusing on him playing football, you know, something that will pay for his college.”

“There’s no football in the winter, and he hates it.”

“Who cares if he hates it? I pay for his extra curricular and I’m tired of wasting it on music.”

“Aaron, did you call to talk about something productive or did you just call to belittle your sons talent?” He scoffed.

“I want to see the boys, this weekend. I got Saturday and Sunday off, Laura can watch them Friday.”

“You can pick them up Saturday, your girlfriend has no business watching them while you aren’t there. They aren’t there to spend time with Laura.” I could hear the frustration growing in my ex husbands voice.

“Look, I’m picking them up Friday whether you like it or not.”

“Or what? You’re gonna have daddy save you again? Get a grip, your kids don’t even want to see you, much less your girlfriend with an IQ of 60.”

“I’ll be there Friday at 6 to pick them up, we can do this easy or hard. See you Friday.” He clicked the phone and hung up. I very annoyingly threw my phone onto the seat next to me.

“Mom, I don’t want to go to dads. He’s mean, and Laura is weird.” Foster choked in the back.

“No dadda!” Joey chimed, I thought he was asleep.

“Hey, I know. I get it. But your dad loves you, and I can’t stop him from seeing you. You know what happens.” I frowned. Both boys got quiet in the backseat. I felt horrible, and my stomach dropped. I pulled into the driveway of my small home in Tahoe, unloading both boys and ushering them into the house. I directed Foster to start him homework and put Joe in a playpin, with a few toys while I made dinner. “MOM! CAN I WATCH TV WHILE I DO HOMEWORK?” Foster yelled from the living room while I diced chicken. Normally, I would say no, but I know his dad has him bummed.

“Sure, but you better do your homework Foster!” I yelled back. I heard him yell back in agreement. As I finished dinner up, I portioned two plates, for Foster and Joey. I walked out to the living room, and placed Joey in a high chair with his food and a sippy cup. Foster has apparently just finished his homework and was putting it away. “Smells good, mom.” Foster smiled. I placed the plate down in front of him.

“Momma, hawk!!” Joey started yelling again. “Foster, do you know what Joes talking about? He said that earlier today too.” I brushed the hair out of my oldest boys eyes. “He’s talking about Hawkeye. That’s his favorite Avenger.” Foster pointed at the TV, one of the Avengers movies playing. I immediately recognized the face, the guy from the coffee shop. Holy shit.

I quickly tucked both boys into bed, I knew Joey would probably fall asleep quickly but Foster usually had a hard time. I had to double check, with him watching that all doors and windows were locked before he even got remotely comfortable. After the boys, were snug, I jumped onto the shower. Thinking about the older man that has appeared in my life several times today. As quickly as I got out, I jumped in bed and pulled out my phone and googled the Avengers cast. He surely wasn’t a Hemsworth, not an Evans, most definitely not a Downey. Renner. Jeremy Renner. That was him. I spent the next 30 minutes or so diving into this, Jeremy Renner and what the hell he possibly was doing in Tahoe. I dozed off, phone screen lighting up my face and drifted into a deep sleep.

Aaron paced in front of the bed, his hand ruffling through his tousled brown hair. His breathing was hitched, the vein in his forehead protruding out. He was angry, and the whole house knew it. “Look, Aaron...” I began to ramble, he immediately jumped towards me placing a firm hand around my throat. “We aren’t getting divorced Mel. You can forget it.” I gasped, trying to pull his hand away from my throat. “P...p...please let...go...” I choked out. He smirked. He fucking smirked as he watched my face turn blue. He pushed me back my throat into the wall, trying to stay quiet so the young boys in the room next to us didn’t hear. As if it was fate protecting me, my husbands phone began to ring. He stomped towards the dresser, and forcibly answered.

“Detective Prescott.” He greeted. I slumped down against the wall, trying to regain my strength.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there in about 15. Got to finish some business before I head out.” He smiled, making eye contact with me before hanging up his phone. He slowly crept towards me, who was still shaking on the floor. “You’re gonna regret asking for a divorce Melynne. I’m the best thing that ever happened to you. You know that.” He grabbed my small upper arm, leaving marks and pulled me off the ground, staring me dead in the eye. He could smell the fear. He knew I was terrified. That’s exactly how he liked me. “I have to go investigate an accident on Murphy and Staples road. I’ll have Greenhouser watch the house to make sure you don’t get any ideas. In the meantime, clean yourself up. I want something nice to look at when I get home.” He kissed my cheek roughly and pushed me back down. I was speechless. He quickly tossed on his uniform, and duty belt, loading his firearm into a holster. I held my breath, and finally exhaled when he was out of sight. I rushed myself to the bathroom and got into the shower, where my emotions overwhelmed me. I let the tears silently fall, as I thought about my life and where I went wrong. My heart hurt, for myself yes, but more for my two sons, who had to grow up in the shadow of a father like Aaron. I edited the shower, and stood in the mirror, observing the new purple bruises on my neck. I thanked Aaron mentally, for being smart enough to bruise me where my uniform could hide them. I quiet knock on the door revealed my eldest, Foster, who was far too empathetic for his own good and always knew when something was wrong.

“Momma, I wanna leave here. I don’t want us to live with daddy anymore.” He whispered, afraid that Aaron was lurking still. I pulled him into a hug, and apologized. I had to do something. I had to get my boys away from him.

[ilovemybirdy]

When Heartbeats Collide Chapter 1

Kairi, a budding pop star is out of luck when her music producer suddenly has to take a leave of absence. But an up and coming producer by the name of Sora could be just what she needs to finish her album (and spice up her life).

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Chapter 1: A New Partnership

“Click, tap tap, click.” the sounds of my laptop echoed in the small studio room. Often times, I liked to coop up in here whenever inspiration struck; and last night I had been fortunate enough to strike a gold mine of it. I had been re-watching sleeping beauty for the millionth time and upon this particular re-watch the movie had made me think about the implications of love at first sight. Or I guess, in her case love at first sleep. I thought that it might be an interesting metaphor to talk about love from a dream like state of mind or perspective. I wanted to emulate an airy sound and make the listener feel like they were up in the clouds listening to angels.

I had finished the first verse, the chorus, and had settled on doing the song in Bflat minor. As I hummed potential melodies to myself, a sudden knock interrupted my thoughts.

“Come in!” I called. The door clicked open and my assistant Selphie entered.

“Hey Kairi! How’s the song writing going today?” she asked. She gently smiled at me and walked over.

“Well… I’m having trouble thinking of a bridge and a second verse, but other than that I’m making good progress.”

“I’m glad to hear it!” she exclaimed. “I know you’ve been having writer’s block lately, so it’s great you finally un-stuck yourself. Unfortunately, you’ll have to finish working on this later; your meeting starts in 10.” She checked her watch and gave me an apologetic look. I glanced at the time on my phone: 11:50PM. Right on the dot, as Selphie always was.  

“Oh fun,” I groaned. “My favorite part of the month.”

“That’s why I brought you your favorite: iced caramel coffee with a shot of espresso and extra creamer!” I had been so absorbed in my work that I hadn’t yet noticed the coffee in her hand. “I also got you one of those overpriced snack boxes at Papoubucks because I know you forget to eat when you go into these creative frenzies. Seriously! You’ve been in here for hours.” The time had really flown by; we had gotten here around 8 and it was already noon now.

“Thanks Selph. I swear, I don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.”

“Probably starve to death and go into cardiac arrest from caffeine withdrawal.”

We erupted into a fit of giggles at the snide remark. As I took a much, much needed sip of coffee (my insomnia had been particularly bad lately) Selphie helped me pack up my belongings. On the walk to the conference room I began explaining my new song to her.

“Have you decided on a name yet?” she asked.

“Some contenders I have are dreamy, cloud, and maybe rem? You know, the stage of sleep you have dreams in. Or at least that’s what web MD said.”

“I never like looking up medical problems on there, it just always tells me that I have cancer and that I’m going to die or that I’m pregnant,” she chortled. “Out of those names though I think I like rem the best.”

“Selphie, you’re supposed to take the advice from websites like that with a grain of salt.” I giggled, before continuing. “But yeah, I think I’ll go with rem; it has more meaning behind it than the other names.”

“Look sometimes I get curious and can’t resist looking my symptoms up! Anyway, it sounds like you’re making a really sweet love song! It’s a pretty interesting concept too. I’m sure I’ll love it when you’re done with it.”

Our conversation came to a halt as we arrived at the conference room. We took our seats in the black leather chairs, and unpacked our belongings as members of my team arrived. Selphie readied a pen and notebook to record important points from the meeting. Glancing up, I saw my manager Aqua make her entrance. We made eye contact and she smiled warmly at me; I grinned back. She always wore suits, but today she was sporting a slightly more casual outfit: a navy button up shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans. Her black heels clicked on the tiles and I noticed that she had her sleeves rolled up; probably due to the recent heatwaves. Destiny Islands was famous for having the highest temperatures out of all the worlds, especially during summer.

The rest of my team followed suit behind Aqua: Olette (the head of my PR team), Xion (head of my marketing team), and Marluxia (performance coordinator).  Olette was donning a flowing orange sundress with wedge sandals, Xion was wearing a sleek grey suit, and Marluxia was sporting a pink polo shirt with jeans. Aqua briefly scanned the room to make sure all members of my team were accounted for before starting.

“Alright guys let’s get started. I know I want to take my lunch break just as much as you all,” Aqua said. The room filled with soft laughter at the cheeky comment.

“First things first, let’s check in with you Kairi. How much progress have you made on your album since our last update?”

“Well…” I fidgeted with my pen as I skimmed over my notes. “I have about 5 songs that I finished writing lyrics for. I’m in the process of finish a 6thsong right now. How much time do I have left before the album has to be finalized?”

Aqua paused for a moment and glanced at her laptop.

“I met with Mickey, the head of the department and he said he’d like to have it finalized by September so… that gives you about 4 more months. He also said you needed to have at least 10 songs on the album, if not more.”

“That’s cutting a little bit short but as long as I have Pence to help me finish writing it should be okay. Is he going to be back soon?”

“Well… about that. Pence’s younger brother finally found a kidney donor.”

“Really?! That’s great!” I smiled and clasped my hands. They had been waiting for 6 months at this point. I sighed in relief, things would finally be okay for Pence’s family again.

“I know!” Aqua beamed back at me. “However, because of that he’s decided to take a leave of absence to help out his family back in Twilight Town. Which unfortunately means we have no music producer for you for a while.  However, no need to fear manager Aqua is here! I’ve already recruited some local producers to replace Pence in the meantime. If you don’t click with any, I can always look for more candidates, but it would be easier if you chose one of them for convivence’s sake. I’ll email you their resumes and sample songs for you to look over later. I even took the liberty to schedule interviews with them for this evening so we can get the ball rolling ASAP.”

My anxiety began to flare up at the prospect of interviewing strangers. Writing music was such an emotional and personal process for me; not to mention with someone completely new. Pence had helped me write some of my greatest radio hits and I trusted him so much. It was going to be difficult having to go without him this time.

“Thanks, Aqua, I’ll look over them during lunch. When are the interviews?” I responded, trying to mask the shakiness in my voice. I hid my hands under the table as they shook.

“I have 3 candidates; interviews start at 3PM with 30 minute time blocks for each candidate. Don’t worry, you’ll get out of here no later than 5 today. And with that out of the way, let’s move on to the next topic!”

Chatter broke out into the room and I began munching on my snack. Olette and Selphie discussed some modeling opportunity for ‘Destiny’ magazine, but I was barely paying attention. I breathed slowly, trying to calm down from the anxiety eating away at me until Olette interjected.

“Hey Kairi, have you heard of the Radiant Garden Met Gala? Yuffie is one of the fashion designers for this year; I met her at a networking conference last week. Apparently, she’s a big fan of yours and asked if she could have the honor of designing for you!” She pushed a stray hair behind her ear as she beamed at me excitedly.

The Met Gala was one of the biggest annual fashion events throughout all the worlds. While I never really cared for the press at big events, getting dressed up and admiring all of the designer’s hard work was my favorite thing about red carpet events.

“I’d love to attend, Selphie do I have room in my schedule for it?”

“Mmmmm…” she paused as she flipped through her planner, “Yeah! It is cutting it a bit close to your performance for the Island’s summer fest but definitely doable. Olette, can you give me Yuffie’s email so that I can coordinate the consultation and fitting?”

Olette nodded and began typing away at her laptop. Xion then stepped up to show some new merch designs for the team to look over on the projector. Aqua and I approved some, and requested alterations on others for her team to work on. Marluxia and Selphie then discussed some future performance dates. By the time the meeting was finished, my coffee and snack box were no more. Everyone fled out of the room saying their goodbyes quickly, excited for lunch.

“Hey Kairi, what are you in the mood for? Why don’t you go prepare for those interviews while I go pick up lunch?” Selphie asked.

“How about comfort food? Maybe some pad thai from that Asian place on Shinjitsu street?” I desperately needed something to calm my nerves with how on edge I felt.

“Oh, I love their orange chicken! I’ll head out now, be back in a flash! I wanna take a look at those resumes too when I get back. A new producer, how exciting!” she squealed. Grabbing her purse, she dashed out the door. I quickly packed up and headed back to my studio room. Once there, I made myself comfortable at the desk and pulled up my email.

Hey sweetheart!

Here are the 3 candidates I’ve picked out for you: Hayner, Seifer , and Sora. The first two have worked with some of my other artists I manage, and Sora was a recommendation from Xion herself. Apparently, they went to college together and he works with some of her other merchandise clients. As a reminder, interviews start at 3PM! I’ve told them to just meet you in your studio. Good luck and remember to check in with me tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Aqua

Artist Manager at Destiny Island Records

Deciding it was best to just go in order, I clicked on the first file titled ‘hayner.docx’. Previous artists he’d worked with included big names like Yuna and Paine. Yuna was well known for fast paced hip hop EDM songs and Paine did a lot of alternative rock. At least he was multifaceted, but neither genre was exactly my cup of tea. I clicked on the links to the sample songs listed but was only slightly impressed.

Then, I pulled up Seifer’s resume. Apparently, he’d been behind some of the top hits lately; many that I knew and enjoyed. I didn’t even need to take a listen to the samples; I knew the songs already. However, his style didn’t fit the vibe I was trying to go for on this album.  It was way too… club music-y and sexual. Before I even got a chance to look at the last candidate, Selphie waltzed in.

           “Kairi! I’m back!” the plastic bags crinkled loudly as she set them down on the table. She handed me my food and started to dig into hers before barraging me with questions.

           “So, have you looked at the resumes yet? What do you think so far?”

           “I’ve only looked at two. I’m not particularly interested in Hayner and Seifer is a maybe. I haven’t had a chance to look at this ‘Sora’ guy yet though.” I turned my laptop to her.

           “Wow the first two guys seem pretty accomplished! What’s wrong with the Hayner guy?”

           “His style doesn’t really fit with my vision for this album. I’m also not a punk or rock singer.”

           “Oh, I guess that’s true. Why is Seifer a maybe?”

           “I feel like he has a good track record for making hit singles, but that’s the only reason I’m considering him.”

           “You don’t need a producer to make hits! You have some of the best, no, thebest vocals I’ve ever heard. Don’t go with him just because you think he’s the technically correct choice. Why don’t we take a look at the last guy tog-e-herfmmf?”

           “After I finish my lunch. And Selphie, I love you but please don’t talk with your mouth full of food.”

           “Hey!” she pouted, and her face made me burst into a fit of giggles.

           Selphie scarfed down her lunch in 2 minutes while I ate my pad thai at a reasonable pace. She may have looked tiny and ladylike on the outside, but the girl was a monster when it came to food. There was a reason she didn’t do dinner dates on the first date; I’ve never met anyone with a more bottomless stomach than her.

           “Kairiiiii, I’m trying to be patient but you’re taking so long to eat! Can I just start looking at the Sora guy now?”

           I rolled my eyes. “It’s not my fault you eat at the speed of light. Are you sure you’re human?”

           She smacked my shoulder lightly and pouted.

           “Sorry, sorry. Yeah go ahead. Once Selphie had finished skimming the written portion, she played one of the sample songs. The song was soft and gentle, and a beautiful tenor voice sang over it.

           Don’t get me wrong I love you

           But does that mean I have to meet, your father

           When we are older, you’ll understand what I meant when I said no

           I don’t think, life is quite that simple

I was hooked. It was exactly the tone I was looking for with the added bonus of meaningful lyrics. Selphie noticed my eyes widen and sniggered.

           “There’s more sample songs listed, I’m assuming you want to hear the rest?”            “Yes please.” I immediately answered. She giggled once more at my eagerness.

           A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah

           Where fears and lies melt away

           Music in time

           I need more affection than you know

           What’s left of me, what’s left of me

The first song had been a bit more upbeat but this one sounded heavenly and dreamy… which is exactly what I had wanted for the song I was working on this morning. I quickly scarfed down the rest of my food before beckoning Selphie to give the laptop back.

           “Quite the eager beaver we have here huh?”

           “Shut up. I just happen to like these samples okay?”

I wiped my hands off on a napkin before scrolling back to the top of the resume. He had only worked with lesser known artists, and only had two years in the industry under his belt. Experience or not, it was obvious the guy was gifted. I absolutely needed to meet this man.

[echoegyptianheritage-blog]

Day 26 - 30 August 2019 (KHD)

Salutations, mummy folk!

Your irascible yet charming correspondent had a day off today…but what am I saying? We never have days off! We just have days doing different things from usual. In this case it involved falling out of bed at 4:15 am and sleepily escorting Jo to the airport, waving her goodbye then finding the nearest open coffee shop, which was attached to a fuel station and also had a spectacular array of guns (and ‘Punisher’ baseball bats) for sale right by the checkout. Welcome to Egypt! We poured extensive coffee into ourselves, and, much refreshed, headed off towards the pyramid fields.

Giza is the one you have heard of, but Saqqara and Abusir are two others that you should also know, as the royal families of ancient Egypt – addled by excessive inbreeding, no doubt – liked to shake things up from time to time: buried in a kings only area, buried at Giza, buried with your royal court, buried with your family, buried at Abusir, buried alone, buried in a mastaba, buried in a pyramid, buried in a rock-cut tomb…Joris explained it to me chapter and verse, and it went straight in one ear and out the other, so just take my word for it!

We focused on the Saqqara end of the site, where there is the famous Step Pyramid of Netjery-khet – better known as Djoser – that is finally restored after years of being covered in scaffolding and seems to have mysteriously acquired an extra step. My dad was here in 1942 – I have a photo of him on a camel there – so I always like to pop along when I get the chance. It’s surrounded by architecture that ranges from the sublime to the frankly odd – like the racetrack where the real or spiritual king sprinted up and down to prove his manly mojo every thirty years, and the toy palace they built for his spirit to live in. It’s really most odd! We showered the tomb guardians with endless backsheesh and got into a series of tombs including Horemheb, Maya and Mery-Neith, and the spectacular basement of the pyramid of Unas, whose ceiling was decorated with stars, and the walls lined with good luck spells for his eternal hereafter. The museum was. Completely. And. Utterly. Empty. It was just bizarre to be in one of Egypt’s most important museum collections and have it all to ourselves.

One thing that occurred to me was just how immensely pragmatic the Egyptians were about their mortality and tombs. We in the West are rather boring about it, and spend so little time on it that those left behind have no idea what’s expected of them (mentioning no names, Tass!). But the Egyptians…they had it all sorted out from the word go. They acted like it was just part of life, like house hunters today get all heated up about the schools in the area, the transport links and the like, they fought over the best locales, made sure they were as close to the pharaoh as possible, spent fortunes on tricking them out, and spent a lifetime preparing to use them. They built temples and shrines around them and decorated them with scenes from their lives (or lied outright, in some cases – like inventing a totally fictional career for yourself to justify seizing power, Horemheb!), made shady courtyards and galleried cloisters so passers by could drop by and revere them…I am almost inspired to build my own pyramid. Maybe I’ll make a TV series about it – it could be called Pimp my Tomb!

Anyway, enough of this waffle! I have to get some beauty sleep (my beauty is in a right state!) as tomorrow we pitch in with a vengeance. We are on the edge of the last week so we have to lift the burials currently in the ground, draw and record everything, analyse the remaining bones we haven’t done yet, interpret my appalling scrawling so Tish can write it up…then give a graduation ceremony for our students and inspectors where I hand out certificates and gravely shake their hands! It was once said that archaeology brings a poor dowry, but is a fascinating mistress. Never was a truer word spoken! She’s a babe!

Night night all!

LSO & the KHD Team

[mysticsparklewings]

Lore Olympus (Mermaid Marker Test)‪

So my IRL friend introduced me to this AMAZING comic the other night, called "Lore Olympus," which is sort of a retelling of the Greek Myth of Persephone being kidnapped by Hades: www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lo… I read the whole thing in about two hours.   If you like Greek Mythology or even just rom-com comics with super pretty art styles, please go check it out and support it! It updates on Saturdays and is still on-going! So since my friend was fangirling, and then I was fangirling, and we had to wait a whole week for the new chapter/installment, I sketched up a piece of fanart of Persephone and Hades just looking at each other cutely, in outfits from a couple of later chapters. I didn't color it right away because I had just ordered the entire collection of 32 Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers off eBay (For $30 after a $10 off coupon, I might add; had I purchased the individual sets off of Amazon that same night it would've been about $60!) and I was half-waiting for them to come in, half testing my patience to see if I could wait or if I would just cave and color it with colored pencils or alcohol markers before then.  Luckily, I held out and they came in that Thursday. So I got to priming and swatching as quickly as possible! Calling them Mermaid "Markers" is a bit misleading; as they're essentially water brushes pre-filled with water-soluble ink. But I kind of understand why they're called that, as the "Mermaid" part insinuates their relationship with water, and they are more like markers that straight-up watercolors, in the sense that you don't technically need water to use them. Still, I think a more accurate name might've been helpful to people that have never heard of these before and have no idea what they're actually going to be like. Fortunately, I had seen these floating around and in a video before considering purchasing them, so I knew pretty much what I was getting, how to prep them, and what to do with them already, and at that point I wasn't even sure I'd want them. But after getting a set of Viviva watercolor sheets back in December and then the Arteza Woodless Watercolor pencils for my Birthday last month, the Mermaid Markers finally piqued my interest enough to want to buy them. I actually felt very lucky to find the eBay listing that I did, as $40 for the whole lot, in new condition (all the boxes still had their little round tapes intact and undisturbed, as well as their sealing rings, which I'll talk more about in a second) was already a great deal compared to buying the individual sets, before I even knew that I had the $10 coupon. Honestly, I was so sure someone was going to buy it before I had the funds, but luckily I was able to buckle down on some commissions and took the opportunity when it presented itself.   The only issue I had straight out of the box was that, for some reason, my "Byron Bay" in the 12 set is miraculously missing its label.  The best I can figure is it was just a factory oversight, as, like I said before, the boxes were still sealed and the sealing rings on each individual "marker," totally undisturbed, and there is no evidence there ever was one on the marker at all (no lingering bits of adhesive, etc.). It's not a huge deal as it was only one marker, the color names are all available online, and the solution is just as simple as either writing the name on the marker (which is what I've done for now) or printing out a new label. It'd be different if it had been multiple markers, making it difficult to tell which was which. It did take a little while to properly prime each marker; each one had a yellowy-green sealing ring between the screw-on brush tip and the squeezable ink cartridge that had to be removed and some gunk in the brush tip to preserve the shape during shipping, which you just gently wash off in water. And I will note here that it is important to make sure you screw the brush tip portion all the way back on! I had done quite a few and been left with a slight gap between the two sections before one went all the way down with less effort, so I had to go back and use a gripper like you would use to open jars to be able to turn the others the rest of the way down. I think this is important to mention because the one complaint I've seen over, and over, and over again in the Amazon Reviews is about them leaking, and I think in some (but not all) cases this might have been the problem! If one of them hadn't gone on with less effort, I wouldn't have known the difference! The other thing of note, the instructions/tips in each box specifically mention to store them with the brush tip up! Because I'm paranoid, I'm being extra cautious about this, but I suspect in a few cases this may have also been a problem causing leaks--as in people were storing them horizontally or with the brush tip down. I'm not a huge fan of the thin plastic boxes, but it's not a huge deal (as Copic markers use the exact same packaging). I think I would like to procure a case or stand to keep them all together in, though. I've been looking, but I want the case to naturally fit with keeping them upright and be able to sort them in whatever order I like. (Because I have to keep my art supplies organized or my entire world will fall apart). Now, when it comes to the drawing itself, I almost immediately ran into an issue with the line art. I didn't want to do just black, but the watercolor nature of the Mermaid Markers means that water-based ink will run when they touch. The only guaranteed water-proof liners I have are Copic multiliners in black or cobalt. That would've worked for Hades, but not Persephone. (The comic is very color-oriented for the character designs, so it just seemed more natural to do it this way; And besides, I use black lines all. the. time.) So I had to figure something else out. Originally, I tested both my Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils to see what water did to them (as I did plan on using a regular water brush with these to help with blending and stuff), and either one would've worked, as you had to be trying to pull the pigment out like I was to really get noticeable results, especially with the Polychromos, which are advertised as being water-resistant. I almost used them, but then I looked over and remembered: I have Dr. Ph Martin inks! In a variety of colors, that are supposed to be water-proof and lightfast (not that that means that much in this situation since most watercolors aren't lightfast anyway) when dry! So I got really crazy and broke out my dip pen and did the lines with that in red-violet, blue, and violet. Veeeeeeery carefully. Then I set it aside to dry for a couple of hours. (For the record, the red-violet lines are a couple shades darker IRL, the scan lightened them and seemingly them alone for some reason.) In hindsight, I might have done better to let it dry for a full 24+ hours. I say that because, while the ink was definitely dry enough to open and close the sketchbook with no issue, there were a few spots, particularly with the blue, that did bloat/bleed a little after I started going in with the Mermaid Markers and some water. Mind you, I wasn't like, drowning those spots with water or anything. Fortunately, I was able to sort of "push" and move the color around so that it didn't ruin anything. Beyond that, the pigment just willingly pulled out about as much as the colored pencils did when I was testing those, but that wasn't a huge issue since the characters are monochromatic and I was able to use it to my advantage. However, that definitely would've been an issue if I had lined with a color that didn't blend with the fill-in colors. So I will be more cautious of that sort of thing going forward. The Mermaid Markers themselves were actually kind of fun to work with, aside from the slight learning curve, since watercolors, in general, are mostly unfamiliar territory for me. The biggest issue I had was just trying to blend the right purple for the background, but that has more to do with my inexperience and the overall color selection. In general and just swatched out, the entire color collection of all 32 Mermaid Markers has a really interesting color family, with a number of shades that I think are fairly unique. (Or at least they seem unique to my eyes that are more familiar with color pencil palettes). The tradeoff is that there are some shades that are pretty, but might be a little "off" from the colors I'm used to working with. In this case, there is a muted lavender color called "Jellyfish" that I was using primarily to fill in the heart. However, it was a bit on the warm/pink side for my liking, including pairing with the "Deep Sea" darker purple, which was more of a neutral, maybe slightly blueish purple. It turned out okay with my attempts to "cool it down," but I still have some things to learn with watercolor, and until I really get the hang of it, I know the slightly unusual color choices with these might be a bit of a challenge to work through. The other thing is there are two "specialty" sets of the Mermaid Markers; one called "Celestial Sky" and one called "Shimmering Sky," which are metallic and glitter effects, respectively, and meant to be shaken up before use a bit like paint pens. The effects for both sets are really beautiful, I just wish there were more colors! There are only 4 of each; the Celestial Sky is more neutral/traditional metallic colors, and the Shimmering Sky colors are two pinkish and two blueish colors that look like they would pair well with the "Shipwrecked" set of 6. This isn't necessarily a bag thing--I want more colors of a product I like. I just thought I'd point it out while I was on the color thing. Still, they blended really nice and smoothly, and fortunately, they didn't argue too much with me when I made a mistake and tried to take some off/lighten it, etc.   Once I was done coloring, I obviously went back and did Persephone's little leaf crown and outlined the butterflies on either side of her head with gel pens. Surprisingly, the pens went over this noticeably easier than the Arteza Woodless Watercolor Pencils, which I found odd. I did have to do a bit of tapping, but I pretty much always expect that no matter what I'm working with. Not sure what to make of that.  (Though if I had to guess I suspect it had something to do with the fillers used in the pencils). I tried to use the glittery Mermaid Markers to give Hades a bit of pink blush and Persephone a bit of blue blush, but while Hades' worked out pretty okay, I think the blue was just too dark for Persephone as it didn't really blend out properly and, as you can see, to keep it from looking like she was bruised or I'd made a massive mistake, I ended up lifting most of it off entirely. But, at the very least, some of the glitter is still there so when you see it in the light it still sparkles a bit to tie in with the glittery gel pen I used for the crown. The only real thing I'm truly not happy about is that between the sketch and inking, Persephone's face slimmed down/got a little more angular than what I wanted. In the comic, she usually has a very round face to me. But it's not the end of the world; the art style is pretty fluid most of the time (which ends up adding to its charm and really lends itself to the characters' expressiveness) anyway, so drawing the characters "accurately" can only go so far, I think. (Compared to something where the characters are pretty much always 100% on-model, anyway). I think it did turn out very sweet though   And now if you'll excuse me, I'll be waiting with bated breath for the next chapter to go up.  The second-to-last one was a major plot doozy! ____ Artwork (c) me, MysticSparkleWings Lore Olympus & Characters belong to Rachel Smythe ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram 

[lolainblue]

Presque Vu -- Chapter 30

A/N Well here we go again. Thank you for every one that is still on board. I don’t know if the tag list is up to date or not, so if you want to be tagged but aren’t, or if you’re tagged but don’t want to be, please let me know. 

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

   When Raina got into work on Wednesday morning the studio was strangely silent and empty. She brought up the main lights as she passed toward her workstation, swallowing dryly as she scanned the eerily vacant space around her. Before she could get settled in, Val appeared at her side, his brow furrowed.

   “Come back to my office and have a seat, Raina. I'm afraid I have some news,” he requested. He didn't wait to see if she complied, simply turning around and retreating to his office. Raina dried her palms on her skirt before following him.

   Once she had had a seat across from his desk Val slowly puffed his cheeks and let the air gradually pass through his parsed lips. “You know, the media industry has been going through a lot of changes,” he began. “Traditional media, print publications, have been the hardest hit. We have been trying to reimagine ourselves here and keep up with the times but I'm afraid it just hasn't been enough.”

   Raina shifted in her seat, again wiping her sweating palms against the cool fabric of her skirt. This can't be happening the voice in her head thundered but she was certain she knew where all this was going. She tried to keep her breathing slow and even, determined not to let the panic bubbling in her stomach overtake her. The rest of Val's speech roared past her ears like the wash from a jet engine. The publishing company that owned their magazine along with several others was restructuring departments for better efficiency. The art department the studio fell under was being merged with the others and 75 percent of the overall staff from the three were being let go. There was no more job for her here. Her internship for the final portion of her MFA was gone. Her job, her education, pulled out from under her in one swift blow.

   “Dammit, Raina, I am so sorry,” Val reached out and placed his hand over hers. He was easily the most distant person Raina had ever worked with and the gesture startled her. “I want you to know I fought hard to keep you. You're the best damn assistant I've had in 20 years in this business.”

   “What?” Raina looked at Val in puzzlement. He had always been so gruff with her. She had felt as if she were constantly struggling to please him and consistently disappointing him. It had never occurred to her that her efforts were even noticed, let alone appreciated. “I thought that...”

   Val shook his head. “I know. I'm not the easiest boss to have. But you never let it bother you and you were always unfailingly professional and competent, no matter what I threw at you. You always seemed to understand exactly what I wanted. I hate like hell that it is ending this way.” He took his hand back and started shuffling through the folders on his desk “There's a small severance package but...' he cleared his throat as he continued to rifle through the stack, finding one and handing it to her. “There's also a list of some available job opportunities in there that you might be interested in. I'm sorry I don't know if they will meet your internship requirements for your school program,  you'll have to check with them on that. There's also a list of some contacts of mine, people in the industry who might be able to assist you if you find yourself struggling. Just tell them I referred you and they'll help you out if they can. I also included the most glowing letter of recommendation I could come up with. I hope it helps. My personal information is in there too, you can call me if you need me to give someone an extra nudge.”

   “Wow Val, that's very generous.” Raina was completely blown away by his gesture, and as she clutched the little brown binder in her lap she could feel tears welling up behind her eyes that weren't due to the sudden job loss.

   “It's the least I could do after they pulled the rug out from under you like this. Oh and there's something else.” Val reached around to the other side of his desk and pulled out a large deep blue leather portfolio which he handed to Raina. “I want you to have this. I started it when you first started with us. It's all your work, well the best of it anyway. I had intended to fill it until you graduated, to give it to you as a memento of your time here and to show how much you had progressed. I am sorry I won't be able to finish it for you but it does give you something to present to prospective employers.”

   Raina smoothed her hand over the expensive leather before opening it up, flipping through the oversized pages to see shots she had set up and taken over the course of the year she had worked there. She could really see how much she had grown under Val's tutelage. It was true he had been a difficult boss but he had been an amazing teacher, and she was bereaved to be losing him, more than the job itself. “This is amazing and so thoughtful. Thank you.”

   Val nodded and stood up, their exchange clearly over. “Do you need any help in gathering your things and getting them to your car? I know you keep a few things here in the office. I have some boxes for you....”

   “No, thank you. I can manage to pack it all up myself,” Raina responded, walking back to her desk. She was still in a bit of a daze as she looked around, trying to think of what to pack.

   Val appeared momentarily with a few boxes which he sat down with a mysterious smile. Raina took the lid off the first one to begin loading her things into it and found it was full of equipment, lenses and filters and one of the older cameras they didn't use very often. “Uhm, Val? There's a camera and things in this one.”

   “No there isn't,” Val called back from across the room.

   “Yeah, it's one of the old Nikons.”

   “No. There's nothing in there,” Val said again more firmly while smiling at her. The lightbulb went on in Raina's head and she couldn't hold back the grin that erupted on her face. The camera was far nicer than any she owned, and the lenses themselves were worth a small fortune. She wasn't sure how he was going to explain their disappearance, probably would write them off in the confusion of combining the various departments, but she was deeply grateful for the gift. As horrible as this morning was, Val's behavior was certainly softening the blow.

   Once she was sure she had gathered everything Val walked her out to her car, carrying a third box of god only knew what and tucking it into the back seat with the others once she had loaded them up. She handed him her ID badge before climbing into the driver's seat. “Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for being such a good teacher,” she said as he leaned in her window.

   “Don't let this derail you. It's one small setback and it's nothing to do with you or your talent or abilities. It's just bad luck. I know you're going to go on to great things if you want to.” He gave the car door a couple of raps and then turned to go back inside.

   Raina watched him disappear back into the building before her gaze fell back to the steering wheel in front of her. It was just after 10 a.m. on a weekday. She had no idea what to do with herself. The thought of starting her job search immediately sounded way to overwhelming. She scanned the parking lot, wondering why she hadn't registered when she came in how empty it was today. With a sudden clutch of panic, she looked around for Cassie's car, but the powder blue Fiat was nowhere to be seen. She quickly fished her phone out of her bag.

   “Raina?” Cassie picked up on the first ring. “Oh my god I've been hanging by the phone waiting for you to call. They wouldn't tell me who was staying and who was being let go....”

   “Me.” Raina thought her voice sounded strangely flat and she figured she was still in a bit of a shock. “I was let go.”

   “Fuck, Raina, I'm so sorry. They're keeping me...”

   “Of course they're going to keep the pregnant lady. They look like real bastards if they don't.”

   “But honestly I didn't even care. I probably could have used the time off. I was so worried about you. What is this going to do to your MFA program? Can you find somewhere else?”

   “I don't know. It's kind of late. I suppose if worse comes to worse I can work for a year and pick it back up later.”

   “No, that's terrible! There has to be something!”

   “I don't....” It all rushed in on her then, the enormity to which she was screwed. She didn't make much at the magazine and her savings were meager. She hadn't checked the folder but she was sure her severance package was not particularly generous and there was no way she was going to be able to pay L.A. rent on an unemployment stipend, no matter how modest that little apartment of hers was. She was going to have to find something quickly. She could feel the panic building again, her throat starting to close as her fingers went numb and heart raced, and she had to close her eyes and breathe through to the next moment.

   “Raina? Raina!” She could hear Cassie calling to her through the phone, her voice distant. Raina focused on the sound of it until she began to feel in control again.

   “I'm here. I'm trying not to freak out but I'm here,” Raina confirmed, her hands shaking.

   “Well stop being there and come over here right now. It's beer and pizza night anyway. We can start with the beer early. Well, you can start with the beer. I think I'm having apple juice.”

   “I don't know, Cass. It's only ten in the morning and I think maybe I should save my money since I don't know how long this is going to last...”

   “Oh don't be ridiculous. You're going to find a new job like that. You're amazing. Besides, no one said you had to spend any money. My treat. Pizza and ice cream and sympathy, free of charge. And all the booze you want too if you choose to go that route. Just get your skinny ass over here.”

   Part of Raina wanted to go home and hide under her quilt and watch Netflix. Here was a giant crisis just lying in her way, spilled across the road like an upended gravel truck. It was the perfect excuse to tuck tail and run. But she could hear Val telling her she was bound for great things. She could hear Shannon's voice in her head, telling her to stop quitting. And here was Cassie, a real and true friend, who wasn't looking to take advantage of the situation. A friend who, instead of thinking of herself had immediately worried about Raina's situation, who was standing by with open arms. She was stronger than her fear, she told herself. She wasn't going to fall apart again. The people in her life now weren't the ones that she had chosen then. It was time to find out if she had made better choices this time around.

   “I'll be there in an hour. I need to stop by my place and drop some things off first and change.”

   “Okay, but you had better mean it. Don't you disappear on me,” Cassie admonished.

   “I won't. I promise.”

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

 Raina was cross-legged on Cassie's living room floor, halfway through her bottle of wine and laughing hysterically while Cassie described her latest attempt at accommodating her growing belly and function normally when her phone rang. A quick glance at the screen told her it was Shannon.

   “Hey handsome,” she giggled into the receiver as she picked it up.

   “Well someone is in a good mood,” he responded.

   “Oh no. I'm just fighting back panic and hysteria,” Raina told him as her voice steadied.

   “Uhm... I'm not sure how to respond to that. What's happening?” Shannon asked.

   “Oh, the magazine just laid off three-quarters of its staff. Including me. And that was my internship for my last two semesters for my degree so I'm not just broke, I'm completely screwed. But hey, I've got a bottle of wine and Cassie can't tie her shoes without falling over so it's handled.”

   “Uhm... again I'm not sure how to respond to that. I'm really sorry about your job though. I was just calling to see if you still wanted to get together this evening for the pizza thing. We've been working but Jared didn't want you to be alone for the first time you've ever invited us into your life, so he's kicking me out of here to come see you.”

   “Aww, my boyfriends are so sweet!” I giggled into the phone. “I'll text you the address.”

   “Your friends, they know that...”

   “This is all between us. They're cool. Just get your gorgeous ass over here,” I told him. Cassie started laughing again and topped off my wine glass.

   “All right, Rainy girl. I'll be over in an hour or so. Are you drinking? Don't get sloppy drunk before I even get to see you, you hear me?”

   “Yes, sir,” Raina responded. “Oh no wait, that's Jared.”

   “It's me if that'll get you to listen any better. I'll see you soon.”

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

   When Shannon finally arrived it was closer to two hours later, but when Raina greeted him at the door he had a pastry box in one hand and a huge mixed bouquet in the other.

   “What on earth?” Raina exclaimed as he handed her the flowers.

   “Those are from Jared. We're sorry you lost your job.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she pulled the card out of the bouquet.

   So sorry. Call if you need me. XOXO ~J

   Raina clutched the card to her chest and led Shannon through the house to where Cassie was waiting. “You remember Cassidy, right?”

   Shannon smiled. “How could I forget? How have you been?”

   “Fat,” Cassie said with a smirk. “But not for too much longer. Great flowers Raina. What's that?” She asked as she pointed at the box Shannon was holding.

   “Oh. The flowers are from Jared but this is from me. It's one of those pies we got on our second date, the one you loved so much.”

   Raina gasped in delight. “The whiskey pecan one from that Chophouse?” Shannon nodded. Raina squealed and took the box from him. “Cassie, get a couple of forks, You're going to love this.”

   Cassie laughed and took the flowers from her. “I'll put these in some water first so they don't die before you can take them home.”

   Once Cassie had disappeared into the kitchen Shannon slipped his arms around Raina, pulling her close against him before pressing his lips to her forehead. She could feel herself relaxing, a deep sigh winding it's way out from her chest as his scent surrounded her.

   “How are you holding up?” he asked gently. Raina shrugged. “It's going to be okay. Don't quit on me.”

   Raina couldn't help but roll her eyes. “You know I had a bit of a panic when it started to set in what was actually happening and I could hear you in my head saying that same exact thing.”

   “Good. That means I”m getting through that thick skull of yours.”

   “Maybe,” she conceded. “I'm not going to pretend like I'm not scared as hell right now. It feels a little bit like I'm back to where I was before I came out here. Like I haven't made any progress at all. But I am kind of realizing I have.”

   Shannon kissed her forehead again. “You can do this. I know you can. But I wish you'd open up and tell me what your story is. I feel like I could be so much more supportive if I knew where you were coming from.”

   Maybe it was the bottle of wine she had finished off earlier but this time when Shannon asked about her past, she didn't feel the trepidation she usually did. There was no flutter of her heart, or flip of her stomach, or strangely sweaty palms. Maybe she was finally ready. “Okay.”

   Shannon blinked at her. “Okay? Really? Just like that?”

   She gave his chest a gentle shove. “Don't make me rethink this. Sit down with me over that pie and I'll tell you the whole thing.”

   He kissed her again on the cheek and Raina turned her head, catching his mouth and opening it softly,, feeling her mind settle at the familiarity of him. She felt safe here, in his arms, in Cassie's living room. Safer than she had in years. And for once she wasn't thinking about how it could all be taken from her. She was finally in the moment.

    @msroxyblog @nikkitasevoli@maliciousalishious@meghan12151977 @fyeahproudglambert @pheenixpeterson

[gottalovetheletos]

Bright Lights, Big City. Series. Chapter 1.

Okay, so I wasn’t going to release this new series yet but I cant hold off. I think I’m going to do one more chapter to each of Jared’s and Shannon’s series. I was then going to release this one but screw it. I’m super excited for this and have been thinking about it for a few weeks. I hope you like the start of a new series!!!

Authors note:  I’ve tried to proof read it, but knowing me there’s still mistakes lol. Anyway a new series. I’m very excited about this one. I hope you are too. Enjoy. 

IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW SAYING SO AND I WILL TAG YOU. 💖💖💖

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 1,895.

Bright Lights, Big City. Chapter 1.

CHAPTER 1

“I guess it’s time to finish off the planning for the charity opening day” I said to myself as I walked into my home office. I worked as an coordinator of a charity called ‘Bright Lights, Big City’. We had many departments from helping the less fortunate and going through hard times to rebuilding homes destroyed by natural disasters. That was my department among a few more. I had organised all of the volunteers and how they were all getting there and a sponsor, we needed them . I had reached out to many celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, John Mayer and even Prince Harry from England, worth a shot but hadn’t yet received a reply. I mean in past projects we’ve had Demi Lovato, Liam Hemsworth and Ed Sheeran. 

  We’d had a few celebrities to help sponsor us and bring in extra helpers because of the 'celebrity endorsement’, so to speak, we were using them, but for a good cause. I sat at my very tidy desk and logged into my email. It was taking it’s time to load so I turned around to plug my phone into the tower speaker to play some music. The first song was House of the rising sun by the animals. Just as the song was ending my emails had loaded, 17 new emails. I went through every one of them. Most were about the deliveries for the construction materials. As I replied to each email Kings and Queens started blaring through my speakers. Singing along I checked the second to last email. 

Subject: Bright Lights, Big City Sponsor. Oh my god this was it, 2 weeks before we are supposed to start and we have a sponsor, thank goodness. So I scrolled down to read the email. Hello, Y/N/&/ Y/L/N.  I’m writing to you to confirm that Thirty Seconds To Mars would like to sponsor your charity as I had done some research and they were impressed by what your charity has done for everyone you’ve helped. They also liked all of the past and current projects and would like to sponsor more in the future.   Please get back to us so we know you’d still like them to be the sponsor for this project. I will then be  able to give you contact details as well as receive yours. I hope to hear from you soon. Kind Regards The office of Thirty Seconds To Mars.    My hands were over my mouth as I sat there in shock. They���d been my favorite band for years and now they’re going to sponsor a charity project that I am in charge of. Holy crap! To be quite honest I forgotten that I’d sent them an email about this but then again I had reached out to a lot of celebrities. I replied back to the email. Hello, Office of Thirty Seconds To Mars, I’d like to gracefully accept for Thirty Seconds To Mars to be our sponsor for this project. Let me go through the plans and I will email you back tomorrow with my details. Thank you once again for agreeing to sponsor this project. I and the people we will be helping cannot thank you enough. Yours sincerely Miss Y/N/&/Y/L/N. I was shaking from the excitement. Still no time for that now. I can be excited later I now need to find a location for all of the volunteers to meet so we can discuss the plans for the buildings. I rang up a few meeting room places close to the location of our project so we could easily walk there and I found one. For this place I would only need to bring my own laptop as they had a projector there which was handy. I could now tick that off of my check list. As I’d finished for the evening I decided to sit in the back yard so I could breath in a little fresh air. I took my vape pen with me so I could take a few puffs to help calm me down, the adrenaline was still coursing through my veins as I sat there and thought about what was happening. I watched my dogs roam around the dimly lit yard. I had a great dane rescue who I named blue as his color was blue and I had Tank my Husky rescue, I called him tank because he was a stocky thing that would knock anything over in his path and there was Nellie the Chihuahua mix, she was my first dog, small but feisty, definitely the leader of the pack. The boys needed to be re homed together and people usually don’t want 2 big dogs, well puppies. They were only 8 months old but had been together since 5 weeks as the person who gave them to the rescue bought them way too early and didn’t want them once they both teamed up and destroyed the house. Once they were at the rescue they were trained to not ruin furniture and trained to be fairly good dogs. I mean they’re still puppies so I’m  a little lenient with them. But I’d never change them in any way, they are my babies, I’ll be it big babies, but babies none the less. I called them inside and locked the doors. I was on the computer for so long that it had passed dinner time so I didn’t bother. I went upstairs to have a shower, then laid in bed after. I couldn’t sleep, I was thinking about all the things I needed to get ready. I was going through my mental check list in my head. I had the materials. ✔️ the storage for materials. ✔️ the sponsor. ✔️ the meeting room. ✔️ the transport. ✔️ the volunteers. ✔️ the blueprints. ✔️ the tools. ✔️ As I was going through them ticking more and more off I started to feel better and more prepared. Checking things off my list was like counting sheep and before I knew it I was asleep.  The next two weeks flew by what with all the preparing I was doing. I had finished my presentation and a speech for the first day and was now packing it all into my bag ready for tomorrow. The office of thirty seconds to mars and I had been emailing back and forth. For a sponsor they sure wanted to know every detail of my plan, which was a little intimidating because our other sponsors had never wanted such detailed descriptions of what was going on, but it was fine. I felt pretty organised. That night my bag with my laptop, paperwork and handouts were by the door. I was showered and had my outfit picked out for tomorrow which was fairly business-ey. I was in bed reading over the final plans for tomorrow. Once the clock hit 10 pm I decided to go to sleep.   *beep beep beep beep beep* “Uggghh” I sighed to myself. I rolled over to see that it was 6 am. I slammed my hand down on the alarm and scrambled out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to go to the toilet and wash my face. After I made breakfast for myself and the dogs and sat at the table. I let the dogs out while I got dressed.

I’ll admit this outfit was not suitable for a construction site but I’ve done this enough times to know I can climb a ladder in heels and a skirt if needed.  I fixed my hair, let the dogs back in and got ready to leave. I grabbed my bag and car keys had a last check in the mirror. I closed the door took a deep breath and tried to think positively. I arrived at the meeting place where everyone would be arriving in about half an hour. Plenty of time for me to get hooked up to the projector. Luckily they had already set the chairs out for me. About 150. Staring at the empty chairs made me feel slightly nervous, but I can do this. About 10 minutes before everyone would be arriving on the buses I heard a commotion outside so decided to investigate. I went to the front desk and asked what was going on. “Well Miss, it’s some band, they’ve come to see you”. I stared at the man with wide eyes. “Me? What’s the bands name?” I ask him. “Thirty something something, at least I think that what they were screaming outside” he replied. 'Oh god’ I thought to myself. I went back to my meeting room to wait for them and to try and calm myself. I gave it a couple of minutes and there they were. Well two thirds of them. Shannon and Jared walked towards me. “Hi, I’m Jared ad this is Shannon are you the coordinator of the Bright lights, big city organisation” Jared held out a hand for me to shake. “Hi yes I am. I’m Y/N/&/Y/L/N. Do forgive me but may I ask why you’re here?” I didn’t want to sound rude but sponsors don’t usually show up until we’ve finished all the work and we have the little celebration party at the end. “Well my brother thought it would be a great idea if we came along to find out whats going to happen and if we could help in any way” Shannon answered not looking too happy. “You don’t look like the type of girl who does this very often. You’re dressed to girly. Who’s actually in charge of the building here?” he added. “Well actually I have been coordinator of about 30 very successful projects and I am in charge, thank you very much” I defended myself. People started coming off of the buses and into the venue. The two men went to the back of the room and took seats. I turned around and tried to gather my thoughts. I wondered why Shannon was annoyed with me already. Was it the way I was dressed. Did I do something to piss him off. I cant loose the sponsors already. I shook the negative thoughts out of my head and turned back around to see the room full of people. “If we’re all ready and seated I’d like to get started” I announced with a smile. “I’d like to thank each and every one of you for volunteering and agreeing to help with this project. As you know” I flip to the first slid. “The area we will be working on was affected by a very big storm that passed through. It has taken over 200 homes and we are all here to help build them back up so I hope you’re good with tools” I gained a little laugh. I looked over to Jared and Shannon. Jared was listening to my every word and Shannon was busy on his pone looking more and more annoyed. I was just hoping it wasn’t at me. I carried on with the presentation and at the end I introduced out sponsors. It lasted around 45 minutes. I sent everyone for a coffee break then we’d get onto the buses so I could show everyone the location and where we’d be starting tomorrow.

_______________________________________________________

Chapter 2. 

_______________________________________________________

[imaginativemarvel]

Sexual Tension - Bucky Barnes x Reader - Chapter 5

Summary: (Y/N) transfers to a new university only to find out her new teacher is a hot jackass. Heated words are tossed back and forth but it ends up making them gravitate even closer.

Pairing: Professor!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word count: 1.8k (ah it’s really short.)

Warning: it’s all fluff

A/N: The chapter I originally wrote was SUPER long so it’s split into two parts - the second part (this chapter) is small because of that reason.

Chapter 4 ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ “What if someone sees us?”

You were sitting at ‘The Grind’ with your favorite professor. It was the day after you both had your date, making the day Saturday. Neither of you guys had plans so you went on a coffee date. It wasn’t the best place to go considering your best friend owned the place and would go out of her way to eavesdrop on your conversation but you both loved it more than any other local café. You both sat at a booth in the back of the building so that you could have some privacy, privacy as in not being noticed by someone you know.

“Don’t worry. If anyone sees us I’ll just say that you wanted to meet up to talk about the class. I’ve done it before, many teachers meet up with students to discuss things like that.” You flashed him a smile before drinking the rest of your coffee.

“You said you had no plans today, right?” Tonight was your day off, your day of no work and no school. Fortunately it was the same for him which made it a perfect day to hang out.

“Yeah, why do you want to do something?” He gave you his famous cheeky smile. Such a flirt.

“Don’t get cocky, Barnes. I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my place later. I was going to have a movie marathon and it’s still planned so you’re welcome to join me if you get lonely.” You teased him and gave him a reflection of the same smile he gave you moments before.

“Me? Lonely? Yeah, yeah. You’re just lucky I’m free tonight because otherwise I would have turned that deal down. But yeah, I wouldn’t mind.” His forehead wrinkled when he lifted up his eyebrows and you snickered.

“Good, it’ll be starting around 8 so don’t be late.” His hand balanced over yours and the warmth from his touch filled your body. A heartwarming smile flashed across his face. His smile was contagious so naturally you smiled back.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

-

You were fixing up your apartment so your guest wouldn’t feel clustered, or think that you were a pig. Everything was nice and fine by the time the clock hit 7:30. Thanking god internally for giving you a few moments to make sure you didn’t look like you just woke up from winter hibernation before he got here.

Knowing it would be a night of comfort and comfort only, you slid on some sweats and a regular long sleeve black Henley with the buttons undone. You let your natural hair flow beside your shoulders while you carried some extra blankets to your couch. By the time you finished getting the snacks, pillows and your favorite movie franchise, there was a knock at the door.

Opening the door, you eyed him down with a smile. He was wearing regular joggers and a sweatshirt. He held a bag of food and a bouquet of flowers. His shoulders shrugged before holding the flowers out to you.

“Always the gentlemen, huh, James?” Your heart fluttered as you accepted the roses and opened the door to let him come in.

“I can be anything for you, doll.” You giggled. Leading him into the living room, you set your gift on the counter before grabbing his hand and pulling him to the couch with you.

“You never mentioned what movies we were watching, you know.” He plopped down next to you before you shoved a collections of movies into his face. His eyes automatically lit up when he read the names.

“I bet you don’t regret coming over now. X-Men is the best franchise there is!” You winked before getting up to put in the first movie. “I would never regret anything as long as it involves you and I, you know that right?”

Standing up with red forming over your cheeks. “Such a sweetheart.”

You went to go sit next to him but he shifted over to where you sat on him instead.

“God James, every time!” Laughing and throwing your head back to lay onto his shoulder, his arms snaked around your waist.

“What? Don’t want me to hug you? If you just said so I would have stopped.” His eyebrow raised.

“N-No! I’d rather be here than anywhere.” Turning your body to look up to him, you wanted to kiss him right then and there. The last time you both kissed was the night where he apologized. You tilted your face forward his before planting your lips onto his. His grip on your body shifting your position to give him a better angle to kiss back. His arm pulled your chest towards his and his other stayed steady on your thigh. His tongue guided its way through your mouth while yours fought back.

You both smiled in the kiss before pulling away. Your noses touched and your body’s were panting, begging for air.

“Payback?” You laughed while still gasping for air while he eyed you down. His teeth shined through his lips.

“If that’s your way of payback…” His eyes widened, he shook his head with a small laugh.

You laid your back against his front and watched the flashing screen in front of you. After a while of being wrapped up in his arms and a mountains of blankets, your favorite actor came on screen. Your eyes practically lit up at the sight of Professor X. You grabbed a bowl of sweets in front of you and shoved some into your mouth.

“Oh god, the things I’d do James McAvoy.” You spoke with food still in your mouth while stared at the blue eyed god on screen in admiration.

“Got a thing for the bald guy in a wheelchair, huh?” He chuckled to himself and received a glare.

“He isn’t bald or in a wheelchair yet! I mean he’s still absolutely drop dead gorgeous before and after but-”

“If I shaved my hair and broke my legs would you look at me the same way you look at him?” You couldn’t help at smile at how desperate he was sounding, you knew it was a joke but it was hilarious.

“Trust me, the look I give him and the look I give you are two completely different things.” You tried to shut him up by stuffing pieces of candy into his face but it didn’t exactly work.

“How so?” A spark lit into his eyes while he chewed the candy.

“He is just a gorgeous man, you my friend are not only gorgeous but you hold a special place in my heart. Like an inch above McAvoy.”

“Well you did call me hot the very first day we met, I guess you just have a thing for guys names James.”

You let out a loud laugh before grabbing his hand and cuddling closer to your personal teddy bear. “Better watch out for anyone named James because they just might snatch me away, huh?”

The movie soon ended and you both watched X2. By the time it finished your whole body ached from sitting in the same spot for hours. You stood up and stretched your body before pulling his arm. He stood up and would have knocked you over if he hadn’t had both of his arms gripped onto your back. His lips gave yours a small kiss before pulling away and smiling at you.

“Do you really have to go?” You pleaded for him with your eyes.

“Well, it is 3am.” He looked at the digital clock on the wall before focusing his gaze back at you.

“Tonight was fun, thank you for spending time with me.” You wrapped your arms around him and gave him a tight hug.

You both said your goodbyes and maybe a few minutes of smooching but eventually he had to leave and he made his way to his car. Walking into the living room to clean up the leftover food in the room and placing your new flowers into a vase of water. After a few minutes you heard a light tap at your door.

“What now?” You laughed to yourself before unlocking your door and opening it to the same man who claimed he was going home. “Long time no see, handsome.”

“My car won’t start and it’s too early for any of my friends to come give me a jump.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Don’t worry, you can just stay over.” Your hands grabbed his before pulling him into your apartment for the second time that night. He didn’t object and walked in. You finished cleaning up the few things you missed before grabbing the pillows from the couch and throwing them onto your bed.

“I can sleep on the couch if you want.” His arm scratched the back of his neck.

“If you didn’t want to sleep with me you should have just said so. You’re my guest, sleep on my bed.”

“I never said I didn’t want to sleep with you it’s just I didn’t know if you were comfortable with it.”

“We literally just sat on my couch like we were duct taped together. Just take my bed!”

“I can’t just kick you out of your own bed! I’ll take the couch.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

“No you’re not!”

“Yes I am!”

“I’m not letting you!”

“Like you can stop me.” He lifted up his arm and flexed it to show his muscles.

“Oh shut up! Fine. You know I have nightmares anyways and I usually have Nat stay over and sleep with her because they’re not that bad when I’m cuddling with someone. Now, I realize we’re technically not on that level to be sleeping in the same bed together but we kinda just did that like not even 10 minutes ago except we were awake watching a movie and you won’t take the bed and I’m not letting you take the couch and since you’re here, I mean, we might as well share the bed and honestly I’m just really scared to go to sleep alone so…” Your throat stung by the lack of oxygen. You took a huge breath before placing your hand over your eyes.

“God I just embarrassed the hell out of myself, didn’t I?”

You let your hand fall from your face only to see that he had the biggest smile on his face. “Oh, this is funny to you, huh?”

“You’re cute when you panic.”

“Wow that’s a first.”

You rolled your eyes before pulling him towards your bed and laying down onto it. You scooted over to where you could lay on his chest before pulling the blanket over you both and turning the night-stand light off. Your heart beat was still fast from your small rant earlier but soon slowed down when you heard his own beat through his chest. Your mind wondered as you thought about his car and how it broke down. It must have been some mistake, he just got that car not even a month ago. Then it hit you.

“Your car didn’t break down, did it?”

“Nope.”

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Sexual Tension Tags:

@dinorapreira @Mariah-notcarey17 @irepeldirt @lloeppky @buckybisexualbarnesofthe107th @modestlyconfused @g0back2bed @grunge-crybabies @crybabyscum @misscherryberry @httperrornicole @ktrivia @astronominalfarts @socialheartbreak @softwhispers @catbunbun @mmauricee @learisa @21hamstreet @evakhlr @ginger-wayward-assbutt @peachyhoneyy @crazy4thewinbros @satans-knitting-club @curlyexpat 

(Did I forget you? Let me know in the comments or message me! Crossed off names are users tumblr wouldn't let me tag!)

[reveriequill-rai]

Blood Candy Chapter 6

(AH so sorry it’s been a minute lol) 

Good news: I did actually wake up that morning.

Bad news: I missed the bus. 

The first thing I did was check my phone. Well, this was standard procedure for me, but instead of checking Twitter, I checked my messages. My mom texted me at around 5am with this message:

“Hey, sweetheart. I know you’re probably asleep right now. I got in the house (I know you told me not to, but the cops said they’d be there around the time I would get back and I wanted to meet them there) and, of course, the first thing I did was check on you. I’m sure the relief I felt when I saw that you were alive is obvious, but that’s not the point of this message. I don’t mean to alarm you, but we got here at about 4:30am-ish and we couldn’t find Seb anywhere in the house. The police launched an investigation throughout the area.”

Before leaving the house, I took one last look around to see where Seb was. 

It was only when I began closing the door to the guest room did I notice that the closet door was cracked open, the padlock released. It wasn’t broken, I noted when I went to examine it, but there was a black key on the floor next to it that I had never seen before. 

I immediately grabbed my stuff, locked the door, and ran to the elevator of the apartment, checking the time. I only had a minute to get to the bus stop, so I opted to take the stairs instead. I ran down all 4 flights of stairs and made a beeline for the bus stop—only to find that it had already taken off. 

I took an Uber to school that day. The entire time, my mind raced with possible theories as to how Seb had gotten out. 

I hated every single one of the conclusions I had managed to come up with.

I arrived in class 10 minutes later. Fortunately study hall was my first class, so I decided I would take that time to get an extra nap in and make up for the lost hours of sleep. To hell with the Dracula essay, I thought. I can make it up later.

I looked around the classroom for a seat and found my friend Akira, the researcher for AkiSeb Theories. She was fairly easy to spot in a crowd; she always wore that same dark gray anorak jacket with a thistle-colored, heart shaped patch that she had woven onto her jacket sleeve after it got torn one day.

Thank God, I thought. I really needed someone to talk to.

I had met Akira in seventh grade. She was surprisingly social, despite having a relatively small amount of friends. We became fast friends, although we never really became too close until freshman year of high school. One day, she suddenly asked to sit with me and Seb at lunch, clearly distressed. Curious, but deciding not to intrude, I said yes. 

Throughout these two and a half years of being close friends with Akira, I had eventually come to the conclusion that she was basically the middle ground for Seb and I. She was analytical, but also imaginative--the mind of an ace detective, and perfect for a conspiracy blog. She wasn’t too idealistic to the point where she would sound like a maniac trying to explain one of Seb’s theories to a normal person, but also not too logical as to rule out Seb’s theories entirely. That’s why I suggested that she join Seb as the researcher for his website when he first started it in eighth grade (my mom helped him set it up when he was over at my house one weekend). 

She was tying her short, black, undercut hair in a ponytail. Her laptop was out, probably writing notes for a new conspiracy for the blog. 

“Akira!” I said. 

Akira turned to me with a tired smile. 

“What’s up, DK?” she teased.

“I told you not to call me that,” I sighed. 

“And I told you to start your essay early,” Akira retorted, finishing the ponytail and going back to her work, “but here we are. I’m assuming you stayed up till 3am working on it again?” 

“For your information, I stayed up until 1am working on it. I ended up actually going to bed at 3:30-ish because Seb tried to kill me last night.”

Much to my annoyance, though I wasn’t surprised in the slightest, Akira laughed. Anyone who knew that me and Seb were incredibly close, which a lot of people did, would never have guessed that he would ever try to kill me for real--not only because he was my best friend, but because the dude couldn’t even lift his own laundry basket.

“You really let a skinny little kid like him get the best of you?” she joked. “Didn’t you tell me you always used to kick his butt when you guys were play fighting when you were, like, 6 years old?”

I shot her a glare. “I’m serious. Plus, he’s seventeen. He’s not so weak anymore.”

Akira froze, the teasing smile dropping from her face.

“Come again?” she said. 

“Okay, it’s a fairly long story but…” I said, taking a deep breath, “y’know how I got my blood drawn yesterday? Yeah, I got this doctor named Jasper Kermit who gave me this red candy thing after the bloodwork to ‘keep my energy up’ but I gave it to Sebs instead because you know I’m not one for sweets but when Sebs ate it he started acting weird and his driving skills seemed impaired and he kept getting into crashes almost so I took an Uber and then he tailed us home and then when we finally got home I yelled at him and--“

“Okay, okay, slow down,” Akira said. “Breathe. Start from the beginning.”

I took another deep breath, retold the first part of the story more slowly, and then continued.

“I came to the conclusion that he may have been sick or something. There was no way he’d get us into a crash on purpose, right? Sure, Seb’s a little bit of a reckless driver, but he’s not that bad. Anyway, I went out for a walk and tried to schedule another appointment—“

“Not at the same doctor’s office though, right?” Akira asked. 

I paused. 

“Uhhhh…” I stammered. Akira facepalmed. 

“Dakota, you know I love you, buddy, but you can be a real moron sometimes.” She sighed. “That candy was probably drugged. Actually…maybe you’re good. As long as you got another doctor.”

“That’s the thing,” I said, my voice quivering slightly. “It was Jasper that picked up the phone.”

“The one that spiked the candy? Great.”

“I asked him about it and if there were any allergens but he was being all cryptic…” I fidgeted with a pencil on the desk. 

“Did anything else happen?” Akira asked, her once skeptical look turning softer.

“Yes.” I continued to fidget the pencil, only faster this time. “That night, I worked on the essay and fell asleep at midnight, and I woke up to find Sebs just…caressing my wrist with a knife in his hand…”

“…oh God…” 

“…he tried to…” I took another deep breath. “…he ended up cutting my finger instead, and he…he licked my blood off of the knife.”

Akira’s dark eyes widened. 

“He ended up cornering me at one point…” I continued, “…but I managed to fend him off. I ended up KO’ing him with a baseball bat, and I trapped him in the closet for the night. I barely managed to get any sleep…I’m so tired, but also still shaken up. I’m drifting between falling asleep and being unable to sleep.” 

Akira stood up and embraced me in a tight hug. 

“You can stay with me and my parents for the time being, if you’d like,” she offered.

I nodded, returning the hug. 

“That doctor told me if I wanted to know about the candy, I’d have to go in and find out myself.” I clutched the pencil tight. “But I don’t want to face that dude again.” 

“You don’t have to, y’know,” another female voice said. “At least, not alone.”

Akira and I let go of each other and turned around to face the famously lavender-clad, infamously enigmatic Kaveri Vigil.

Now, despite being in this school for four years now, she hasn’t managed to make many friends. At least…not any close ones, none except for Akira. I only met Kaveri once, and that was when I ran into her and Akira at the mall in freshman year when Kaveri dyed her hair for the first time. She was...fairly quiet around me, but as the pair of friends left, the raven-haired girl was talking up an absolute storm--though nothing bad about me, I assumed. In all honesty, if I hadn’t had Seb, then I would’ve been rather envious of Akira and Kaveri’s close relationship. 

Rumor has it that she became a lot more anti-social after a ‘family emergency’ that dismissed her from school for the rest of freshman year--around the same time, actually, that Akira started speaking to me more. When Kaveri came back in the middle of sophomore year, she refused to speak to anyone unless she absolutely had to. She even cut several of her classes. It was a miracle she hadn’t been suspended, or worse, expelled. When I asked Akira about her, she refused to speak on the matter. At one point, when I tried asking her again, she seemed to have no clue who I was talking about. 

To Akira, Kaveri was practically a stranger. Akira was never the type to make enemies, and it didn’t seem as if Kaveri was either--so for Akira to greet her so venomously was...more than just a little jarring. 

“Vigil,” Akira hissed. “I thought you were a recluse. Why come to a pair of unknown loners now?”

Kaveri ignored Akira’s attitude and said, “Don’t get it twisted. I overheard your conversation, and I think it may come in handy for my own theory I’ve been piecing together.” 

“…you think you know what’s going on with Sebs?” I asked.

“Maybe. And if we’re lucky, we may be able to save him. However, I’m going to need some help.”

Akira shot Kaveri a glare. 

“Oh, now you need my help,” she snapped. “What would you know about this kind of stuff, anyways?

“More than you could ever know,” she answered bitterly. 

Akira only shot a glare at her in response, looking like she was biting back the urge to say something else.

“Like I said, don’t get it twisted. I’ll go back to ‘shutting myself out’ once I get to the bottom of this,” Kaveri continued with a rather sarcastic tone toward the end. 

I looked at Akira and Kaveri. What’s their deal? I wondered. 

“I’d be glad to have some help,” I said. “Let’s meet after school, okay?”

Kaveri nodded, and walked away without another word. I turned to Akira, who had an annoyed expression on her face. She looked back at me, softening a little.

“Do yourself a favor,” she said, “and please don’t ask.”

I didn’t. I understood the value of privacy well. 

The rest of the day, I could barely focus in class. If I wasn’t falling asleep, I was doodling stuff from last night—Seb’s spiral eyes, Jasper’s cunning grin, a couple of vampires...

All day, the same question crossed my mind:

If Jasper did, in fact, do this...what in the world did he put in that candy to make Seb want to kill me?

[shadowlink720]

FE: Birthright Randomised Paralogues 13 and 14

(aka ‘I can no longer procrastinate on the plot’)

anyway let’s get the to last currently available paralogues :V

Paralogue 13 is Caeldori’s

hoo boi this’ll be interesting

ya know we never got to see much of Subaki’s personality when he joined in Birthright so this will be really interesting

oh, well it’s... still Caeldori?

Saizo that isn’t Kaze-

this feels so ooc holy heck-

saizo

SAIZO

again; not Kaze :’V

I never thought I would ever see Saizo say ‘jiffy’

anyway battle prep!

aaaaaaall righty, let’s get on with the chapter!

you forget that we have both Azura and Felicia, Saizo I’m pretty sure they could tank most if not all of the units here

ayy there she is I hope she’s showing as a sky knight for stability please tell me she didn’t literally stay as a sky knight because she just has to be flawless even though there can literally be no such thing otherwise such a concept wouldn’t exist-

We don’t really need it but sure

bECAUSE IT IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE

if someone could be perfect then it wouldn’t exist something else would exist instead, which would be exactly the same as ‘perfection’, because it’ll always be unachievable

I’m getting too deep into this, sorry moving on

ya know I could say the same to you, Saizo

ok that not so much-

yeah she’s literally still a sky knight ok that’s fine She has In Extremis as a personal, which grants Crit +30 when she has less than 25% HP, holy heck She also has Swap, Renewal, Poison Strike and Magictaker huh and an extra free beast killer, I should trade that over to Takumi once he can use it Or Kaze, idk anyway she has pretty solid bases, too (Growths: HP - 25, Str - 15, Mag - 35, Skill - 40, Spd - 35, Lck - 35, Def - 55, Res - 45) (Heart Seal: Wyvern Rider and Ninja)

this guy’s gonna get wrecked

ok but No one can touch Takumi like literally all of these magic users are doing 0 damage if they can hit him at all

they’re already dead indeed

I wasn’t expecting her to get a crit but hey ho I’ll take it

wow Rinkah’s getting crits left and right :o

yIKES

well uhh another mage came along and finished her off o<o;;;; just as she got a big shield, too

oh my Farore Sakura finally got a higher tome proficiency--

this one’s for Rinkah, you shit

Fite me

oh hey, Caeldori levelled up

Wasted

wow that Boss was a bitch to fight

I should have had Setsuna up there to fight them because ya know SHE HAS 31 RESISTANCE AND 26 DEFENCE

rest in pieces, ya shitlord

I’m not going to bring up how that’s impossible again

well, I’d assume ppl have to be good in their first battle because otherwise they’re dead and that’s hardly ‘good’

actually fight me, Caeldori

see? no such thing as perfect

idk man, you could have given her an inferiority complex in the process

I will fight both of you

saizo, you’re fiiiiiiiine, stop worrying so much

right, let’s go to paralogue 14 and see who Silas’ kid is!

it’s Hisame ........... I can 100% see him yelling at Silas ‘IT’S NOT A PHASE, DAD’

what does this look like, a murder scene? .... well I guess it could, actually

shit’s going down, that’s what, Silas

they’re just having a party, bro

he doesn’t have mcuh company and turned to creating soulless creatures for it ... poor guy

his favourite colour is vantablack, and he says it’s the closest colour to his soul

did he manage to get one of the spring event Heroes, tho? that is the question

wow

you really need to take some time to talk to him, Silas

well maybe your nightmares, not Hisame’s

ya know what? Maybe we should just leave Hisame to it he’s fine

all right, battle prep let’s goooo

let’s get rid of this bog fiiirst

ayyyy, Dragon Fang it’s great

it’s time to unleash the madness

>:3c

it’s dead indeed, Setsuna it’s very dead

another bog nullifiiied

I was wondering why this one Faceless seemed to have so much avoid when we’re both in the forest but it has Lancebreaker that explains a lot

it’s too bad you don’t have Bowbreaker, mATE and it was a crit, too

ok but his animation was really cool, he threw the lance up, caught in in mid air and just 

it was great

well Hisame has some kind of Rally I can’t tell what though

he proc’d Dragon Fang again :’’’D

this guy has literally 0% chance of hitting me I love Swordmasters, man

and she got a criiiiiit

ok Takumi got another crit

it’s great

aaaaand 3rd bog neutralised

ok we can finally talk to Hisame

you haven’t mastered it until you can summon Amaterasu which you can’t because you need to fight the Anchorite of Light, who’s in the Kursta Archipelago and apparently hates their job sooooo :Y Or until you can cast Hresvelgr-Hresvelgr Rain, but that would require the Bishop and Wizard asterisks too-

beautifully hilarious, you mean

boi have you seen how much of a threat they are? the most damage they can do is like 4 HP, if they even HIT

that is true, however good thing there’s no fatigue system like there apparently was in Thracia 776 lol

I’m suddenly getting flashbacks of Resident Evil 7 Yeah no, Hisame I need to ask you to please Stop

please listen to your dad, Hisame

well obviously who do I look like; Mephilia?

aaall riiight let’s have a look at Hisameeee

ok, he’s another Nohr Prince, neat He has Fortunate Son as a personal, which means allies within 2 spaces get Ddg +15 and he gets Ddg +5, neat he also has  Rally Defence, Air Superiority and Potent Potion I... guess Relief isn’t a skill that passes down ahahahah;;;; (Growths: HP - 35, Str - 25, Mag - 20, Skill - 60, Spd - 50, Lck - 30, Def - 40, Res - 5) (Heart Seal:  Ninja and Wyvern Rider)

oh NOW you crit, Saizo when you were already going to kill the guy anyway >:V

where’s the fun, then? idk lmao

Reverse Ringabel is smol confirmed

but what if he was just about to get one of the Spring exclusive units? :V

Hisame ur gonna get urself killed, u know?

the vengeful ghost of Tharja, that’s who

whatever you say, Hisame

Silas just wants to be cool, Saizo, let him have that

plot twist, imagine if he was talking about himself

someone stop him

oh yeah then the extra cutscene to make him seem creepy

... do u need a hug, Hisame

I can really see the resemblance

well you shouldn’t really expect pretty much anyone to, man

Tharja stop

it’s funny because the avatar’s name in this run is Shadow

aaaaand that’s that!

we’ll be finally moving onto the plot next time, so I can’t run from spoilers for people anymore! :’D