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thepeanutbutterwizard · 2 years ago

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Ok, I wanna talk about those diverging Owl House au's I thought of. One of them uses something from the finale as a big plot point, but I'll put that under a read more.

But yeah! Here we go!

So you guys know how it was mentioned in S2 that Titans Blood mixing with water can create temporary portals between realms? Well let's go back to King on his little island sometime before Eda shows up. Both of these au's start with tiny little King wandering out of the...temple? that he hatched in and that Jean-Luc is confined to.

He explores the island a bit, and ends up tripping and scraping his palm or knee, just some small minor injury that would produce a little bleeding. King ends up opening a portal, either by trying to wash the blood out of his fur in a pond or stream or something, or by falling into that body of water.

King Noceda au

First off is the one where he falls in. And I wanna start off by saying that this is a crack offshoot of my first idea, so we're going to pretend that there aren't a million different plot holes that would make this au garbage nonsense.

King slips into a body of water too deep for him to swim in, and with his little scrape his blood mixes with the water, and next thing he knows he's being pulled out of the water and into the Human Realm by a young (about six years old) Luz Noceda!

The Nocedas haven't moved to Gravesfield yet, the portal opened near their old home. Luz, who was exploring a wooded area near her home at the time, rushes a soaked, freaked out, and half drowned King home, where Camila, being a vet, is more than able to treat King, even if she's wary of the fact that this adorable but weird dog thing Luz brought home has a skull for a head.

At first Manny, Camila, and Luz think King is just a weird dog, but then he starts talking.

So King grows up raised by Camila and Manny with Luz in the Human Realm! I'm gonna say that they're able to get buy using disguises like the Plantars used in Amphibia, and pretend that that would be the only thing the Nocedas have to worry about regarding raising a Demon in the Human Realm.

Things with Manny unfortunately go the same as in cannon, and even though having a little brother for most of her life means Luz is less lonely, school is still sucky and the Principal still pressures Camila into sending Luz to the summer camp.

Luz still chases Owlbert through the portal, but with King following her, both winding up in the Boiling Isles, and after that this set-up makes following cannon closely kinda impossible since even with Vee coming through the portal she could only fake being one person.

And thats pretty much it for this one, just a funny crack au about improbable adoption regarding characters I like. If I had a nickel for every time i made one of those, I'd have at least two, mb three depending on if you count VT.

But anyway, onto the more thought out au. It will be under a cut like I said earlier so anyone who hasn't seen the finale yet doesn't get spoiled by the thing I'm incorporating into this version. But I will leave the name I'm currently using for it.

Half-siblings au

So in this one everything starts the same, but instead of King falling into the water that opens the portal, he just like, tries to clean the bit of blood out of his fur and accidently opens the portal. Luz, still out playing in the woods behind her home, sees the pond and that the reflection in the water doesn't actually match the woods. She gets excited, rightly thinking it's some cool magic thing like out of the books her Dad reads to her before bed.

She falls in on accident trying to get a better look, and pops up in the Demon Realm. Luz see's King immediately and reacts the same way she does in cannon.

Since she's an excitable six year old with a love of fantasy and an overactive imagination, Luz doesn't really panic at her suddenly being transported to a different world. She sees it as a fun adventure, and those always end happily!

Right?

So Luz spends a little time with King out in the woods. King quickly warms up to her and Luz thinks he's absolutely adorable (and really hopes that she can take him home with her once she finishes her adventure)

They play in the woods a bit, but Luz notices King's getting tired (and she's kinda tired as well) so she picks him up and asks which way his home is. King points in the general direction he came from, and Luz quickly finds the temple. King dozed off in her arms, and Luz was excited to see who or what lives in there!

Mb other creatures like her new little friend? His family? Oh! mb an exiled ruler, waiting for a chance to reclaim their throne! Or a cranky old sorcerer who's looking for an apprentice!

Her mind is racing with excitement as she steps foot in the temple.

Unfortunately, the only thing waiting in the temple is Jean-Luc. And Jean-Luc was made to protect King from anyone or anything; it doesn't matter that Luz is a little kid, she's in the temple and she's not a Titan, so she's a threat to be dealt with.

Papa Titan watches the guard he made to protect his child kill a six-year-old in horror from the Inbetween. She watched as this little human fell into the Boiling Isles, and immediately befriend his only living child, just to be killed for trying to help King get back home.

She won't let that stand. So, much like in cannon, he stops Luz from sinking down into the depths, and gives her a second chance at life.

Luz doesn't really understand what just happened. Jean-Luc got her from behind, so to Luz one minute she was walking into the big tower with her new little friend, and now she's wading through water? in a weird glowy place full of floating boxes and there's a big hairy person kneeling in front of her.

Luz's resurrection is a bit different from cannon. Bc its a few years earlier (and Belos hasn't embraced being a literal tumor yet), Papa Titan has a bit more juice left, so she doesn't finally fully pass on after bringing Luz back (I like him too much to not give myself an opportunity to use him at least one more time in this au). And instead of Luz temporarily being in Titan mode with all the powers that come with it, she's just permanently part Titan now, and if she can use magic to that extent she doesn't figure out how for a while.

As much as I love her cannon Titan form, since this au has Luz as permanently half Titan (or, well, i think it'd technically be one third Titan) she's gonna look more like some of these concepts.

((Small side note, I know why cannon went with the more witchy looking form, since Luz always wanted to be a witch, but look at these!! Look at my girl!!! She looks so cool!!))

So yeah, Luz comes to in the temple with King snuggled next to her, having slept through...everything that just happened. She just kinda figures that she was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as she sat down, and then she had a dream about one of the murals in the temple.

A month or two later, Eda shows up.

Luz has realized that this isn't like one of her dad's bedtime stories by this point, and she just really wants to take her little friend and go home to her parents. Eda, at first, thinks King and Luz are half siblings through a demon parent, and doesn't fully believe Luz when she claims she's actually a Human.

But Luz's knowledge of Human items and her being fluent in Spanish (a language which doesn't exist in the Demon Realm), among a few other things, quickly leads Eda to the conclusion that yes, this kid is from the Human Realm and something really really weird happened to her.

The first thing on Luz's mind, once she and King have been brought back to the Owl House and fed and cleaned up, is getting back to Camila and Manny. Unfortunately, this isn't an easy task.

Luz, being 6ish, doesn't really know where she lives. She remembers parts of her address, and that they live in America, but other than that and her last name, she's got nothing (idk if Noceda is a common last name, so let's just pretend that it's common enough in this world that it wouldn't be helpful in tracking down Luz's parents).

And it's not like Eda can just help her come up with a good story and then drop her off at the Gravesfield police station; Luz might not stand out in the Demon Realm, but in the Human Realm her new Titan traits could get her killed.

So Eda spends the next few years raising both Luz and King, while trying to find Luz's parents in the Human Realm with no success.

Until Luz is around fourteen, and a certain heartbroken veterinarian living alone in Gravesfield chases a thieving little owl into a shack in the woods.

Ok, that's it for now. I have a lot more thought out for the Half Siblings au (not sold on that name, suggestions are welcome), like how certain events go, but I think this post has gotten long enough.

#the owl house #owl house #toh #toh au #the owl house au #owl house au #owl house luz #luz noceda #owl house king #king clawthorne #owl house eda #eda clawthorne #eda the owl lady #owl house camila #camila noceda #half sibling au #king noceda au

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gontagokuhara · 6 months ago

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What if I also asked some pointy objects hypotheticals once again 👉👈👉👈 I want to like ask me silly little questions without asking anything that may reveal The Lore™ so as for my 3am hypothetical questions (i could only think of 3):

-are meetings mandatory/can anyone call them?🤔

-generally how do the demis fare in school (since they all have different schooling and kokichi allegedly cheats off of kaede 😭)

-[in regards to all the characters/pairings,] on a scale of most toxic to least toxic which pointy objects pairings do you think are at the ends of the scale 😭

(Ngl last question was a self-indulgent way to share my opinions LOL for most toxic I vote junko+mikan BOOOO let my girl mikan go (although idk if she's all that good from that whole betrayal thing and attempted child murder thing but still booooo THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE U MIKAN) , for most healthy I vote hmmm uhm I actually vote Maki and Kaede!!! I LOVE their communication and lore in this story this fic singlehandedly made me ship them 10× more than shuichi+kaede actually) Okay BYEEE goodnight heart emojis *LOUD SNORE* mememmemeeme

HELLOOOOOO CIDER MY BELOVED <3 as always i adore your questions and comments and you have brought me some FUN ones so here we go off beneath the cut to indulge the terminal pointy objects brainworms

(spoilers? no. but i Do do some dancing around some interesting topics. teehee)

so: godly meetings! we've heard quite a bit about them, but don't actually know that much other than: they happen when important events take place, they're meant to be kept hush-hush from mortals, and even at the best of times they're kind of a veritable shitshow with even Career Politician Kiyotaka losing his patience with how they pan out. a big group of silly characters from this series all in a group yelling at each other following big things happening.....where have i heard that before?

to answer your more specific question: theoretically anyone could call a meeting, and they definitely have in the past, but generally one of the big five gods are at the helm. in which case they are mandatory, but whether or not all of the gods (of which there are a few dozen) show up is......another issue entirely. lmfao. most of the big five rarely ever go Lmfao it's usually hajime/makoto, celeste skipped the last several for uh. Rantarou Reasons. usually only hajime Or nagito go so one of them can stay at camp. most times absences are more of an annoyance than anything but since the spear went missing (and junko started calling meetings) said absences end up with a way worse impact.

but in Normal times like i said usually hajime or nagito stay behind, and unless there's an absolute emergency one of them is always at camp to keep an eye on the kids. which includes schooling for a lot of them! and as for our year-round kids (gonta, miu, kaede, kokichi, maki, ryoma, kiibo, kaito): it's about what you'd expect. gonta does all of his work by hand while everyone else has an online schooling that hajime and chihiro set up, they take it a varyingly amount of seriously no matter what hajime and nagito tell them about university, kokichi says he just cheats off kaede but secretly they both cheat off each other. tbh most of the summer-only kids go to fancy expensive private schools because they've got (generally) the better parents; angie's the only one that doesn't because she lives on her island with sakura most of the year.

and finally: toxic yuri/yaoi rating <3 you're so real actually for this one to give your hot takes (correct) and i will always take the opportunity to go on about my characters no matter how minimal to the story they are. SO for the purposes of this ranking instead of ranking them one-by-one (i tried tbh and it was really hard :sob:) i'm gonna put them in categories, descending in order of bad -> good

messy messy this is the stuff soap operas are made of:

junko/mikan (toxic yuri of a whole different breed THUMBS DOWN)

celeste/[REDACTED] (toxic yuri: classic edition)

gundham/fuyuhiko (relatively new relationship, both incredibly dramatic, they flirt by arguing)

messy but relatively functional:

makoto/byakuya (common problem-causers amongs the gods, definite flair for the dramatic but operate usually as a unit)

hajime/nagito (married longer than practically anyone else, large amount of people rely on them and places a large amount of trust in them as a team, this drives them kind of insane however. also izuru)

touko[+syo]/komaru (very solid in their relationship however have a tendency to be terrors about their children. in syo's case a terror in general)

flourishing. unbothered. except for the obvious:

kiyotaka/mondo (intense in contrasting enough ways that they balance each other pretty well. as long as maki isn't involved)

sonia/chiaki (new relationship, they hype each other up well, still figuring out how to break the step-sibling news to kiibo and himiko)

aoi/sakura (also an ancient relationship. eternal honeymoon phase. the most Straight Chillin pair among the gods due to loophole of hina living In The Ocean while sakura lives on the island with her non-bio child)

the demigods:

tenko/himiko (middle school sweethearts. very puppy love and sweet. have never had eyes for anyone else)

kiibo/gonta (newest relationship out of the whole bunch. less than 1 day together but hardcore mutual pining for AGES. especially protective of each other)

kaede/maki (untoxic yuri for the win. also very very fresh with even LOOONGER pining oh my god. intimate deeply impactful world-altering girl best friends -> girlfriends arc FOREVER!!! still have some stuff to figure out but their bond runs down to their bones)

#ask #bittercideristaken #pointy objects #if you notice a perhaps obvious absence. pointy objects saiouma are not together so i did not include them #for that and no other reason :)

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mmm-crackling · 2 years ago

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The Green Creek pack meets New York’s Elite Pack

I just finished The Alpha’s Son by Penny Jessup and I had Thoughts. It hasn’t had great reviews, but I thought it was fun. Warning: possible spoilers?

Alpha Jericho of the Elite pack from New York sends his son and heir Jasper with a small delegation to Green Creek to meet with Ox and Joe, ostensibly on wolf business. To Jasper’s dismay, Alpha Jericho insisted that Max joins him as part of the Elite pack’s entourage.

When they arrive, Max is awed when he meets Ox. He’s heard so much about the Werewolf Jesus™ and he’s been nervous for the whole journey to Oregon knowing that he might get to meet him.

Max is super awkward when they arrive. He momentarily forgets how to address alphas so Max calls Ox “my lord” and “your majesty”, and curtsies to him awkwardly like Theresa May does.

Embarrassed and exasperated Jasper holds his face in his hands. The Bennett pack finds Max adorable but have to choke back their laughter.

Max loves all the Green Creek wolves and humans but immediately takes a shine to Robbie. Cubs and young wolves seem to have an affinity with Robbie, and Robbie always jumps at the opportunity to befriend a wolf from Back East. (I could never pin down the accent of audiobook Robbie - was that a Long Island accent?)

Gordo warns Robbie that Max isn’t a stray cub needing adoption—Max has his own alpha and pack, that Gordo is well past taking care of adolescent wolves, and doesn’t want to go through that again

Max and Jasper try to keep their being mated a secret (Jasper is still trying to push Max away—because he thinks Max will be safer if they’re not together) but of course the Green Creek wolves suss it out pretty quick. They notice the dreamy look Max always has on his face when he looks at Jasper or smells him in the room. Jasper tries to put on a steely calm and professional face because he’s on Official Wolf Business, but he can’t control his scent, and they can all smell it on him. They all simultaneously sniff their air, but the Bennett pack politely say nothing at first. Max goes beet red when realises what has just happened.

Robbie asks Max how Max and Jasper met and on hearing that the Blue Moon Festival had a big part in it, Joe snorts and calls it the ‘weird horny meat market thing’ the New York pack does. Everyone is like what? and then Joe tells them what he’s heard about it, about how its just a summer camp for unmated wolves and hooking up isn’t just encouraged but is the whole point of it. Joe: “have I got that right?” Max: “yeah pretty much”. Kelly is horrified, “gross imagine how ripe that place would smell” Rico says he wishes he had been a New York wolf in his teens

Later, Carter pulls Max aside and says “I get it, right? I didn’t know I was into guys until a dude wolf happened to me too�� Gavin: “Not dude. Stop calling me that” Carter: “Sorry dude” Gavin: “Stupid Carter”

Gavin cannot believe that Max never shuts up “Cub always talking. Never stops. Mouth moving but says nothing. All teenagers like this?” No, just twinks with two brain cells like Max.

But Gavin can’t help but ask Max what Jasper smells like to him: “mint and citrus and cherry blossom”

Ox puts on his Zen Alpha Bullshit™ and counsels Jasper about what it means to be alpha and that he doesn’t have to be like his father Alpha Jericho, he just needs to be true to himself, and Ox is all “my daddy said I’d get shit all my life” but the Bennett pack all roll their eyes

It turns out that the Official Wolf Business that Alpha Jericho has sent Jasper and Max on was pretty much a lie. The actual business was trivial and it could all have been done over Zoom. Jericho just wanted Jasper to meet and learn from Ox, and to see that an alpha and his male mate could work (Jericho thought that giving his blessing to Jasper and Max would fix everything but Jasper decided to be a martyr and push Max away—whats with these self-denying, self-sacrificing princeling wolves?). When Jasper realises this, he growls, mad. Ox says he didn’t know, but he can’t help his heart hitching.

They only stay a few days. Max begs Jasper to let them stay a little longer, but time’s up and they have to return to New York. Ox tells Jasper to give him a call if he ever needs anything.

Before they leave, the two packs run together in the forest, and Jasper brings Max the carcass of a recently hunted deer...

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cg-saturn · 1 year ago

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saturn satuwn saturn !!!!! hi!!!!!! im back!!!!!!! the little feelings are back!!!!!!

hope youve been staying awsome!! and epic!!!

the big world has been very vewy busy lately but!!! i found time!!!! yippee!!!!! i got a new stuffy a few weeks ago and shes a small small itty bitty penguin and when i saw her i was like ":0 your name is amelia!!!!" just as soon as i saw her!!! she has a little pink scarf and is very cute :D

i dont know if i said this before, but have you seen summer camp island? its really good!!!!! its about a magical summer camp island where theres a lot of magic and witches and talking pajamas!!! the theme song goes like

"magic is real here, far away from home

anything can happen when witches make the rules

monsters are cool!!

the moon is our friend

i wanna stay with you on summer camp island :)"

and its so cozy and cute and i love it very much <3

hope you stay awesome and cool and epic and have a very awesome epic day!!!!!!

(also sorry for any spelling mistakes my english is not englishing today >_<)

-💫

Hi 💫! I’m so so happy you’ve been able to find some time for yourself!! That’s super duper important, especially when it feels like the Big world is becoming too much to handle! I had to take a little break for a while too because of my busy schedule, but I’ve been so happy to be able to come back to so many kind messages!

I hope you and little Amelia are doing well! That’s such an adorable name!! Id love to see her some time if you ever want to send a picture!

I haven’t seen that show but it sounds super duper fun! Id love to see that at some point, I’ll add it to my list with Star!

Sending all the love and hugs, I hope everything’s been going well for you and I hope we get to talk a little more soon! 💕💕

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halothenthehorns · 2 years ago

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Chapter 19: THE CHARIOT RACE ENDS WITH A BANG

"Buses weren't good enough for you anymore, huh Percy?" Jason grinned as he read the new chapter. "Had to escalate to whole circuits of races."

"Who said I blew it up?" But there was no real protest in Percy, he knew it probably was his fault.

We arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. I rode on Chiron's back, but we didn't talk much, especially not about Kronos. I knew it had been difficult for Chiron to tell me. I didn't want to push him with more questions. I mean, I've met plenty of embarrassing parents, but Kronos, the evil titan lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization? Not the kind of dad you invited to school for career day.

"I'll bet the firefighter's and cops could at least use him as a bad example," Thalia said with twitching lips, mostly for the adorable mental idea of baby Chiron holding a blanky surrounded by desks. He still had the beard and tweed jacket too.

When we got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius (which as near as I could figure was Latin for "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up").

"How many dragons are out there?" Magnus demanded. First the one on the ship, now this, even the mist had to have limits hiding these things away. Right?

He got no answer, and he really wished somebody would pretend just once there were no more deadly things a head.

The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid.

Will gave a shaky, exhausted sigh at just the mention of that. It had been great practice at least. He and Katie had spent a lot of time together and he hadn't even gotten a chance to enjoy how easy it was to work with her, the things she could do with those herbs. It had been the first time he'd been allowed in the thick of it all...but they'd lost one Athena kid he hadn't even known the name of...

"You okay?" The impulsive question had just slipped right out of Nico's mouth seeing Will's mouth twitch into a frown like that. He didn't regret it though, it was the least he could do after Will had been so nice to him.

"Mm," he agreed quietly. "Just old memories." Tantalus's leaving had really been the only thing to smile at those two weeks. They'd spent every day and night racing around camp trying to keep monsters away while their 'activities director' kept trying to distract them, and even undermine them with useless suggestions. If they hadn't gotten back when they did, he wasn't sure how many more times they would have woken up to their home existing.

He cheered himself slightly by telling everybody, "Connor won a running bet though, no chores the rest of that summer for him because Clarisse came back alive. Nobody won the grand pot of no more chores for life though because the option for Clarisse coming back alive with the fleece never got a wager," he finished with a grin at Percy.

"Thank you, thank you," Percy gave a mock bow.

Everybody looked weary and battered as we crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus— the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt—the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.

Magnus opened, then closed his mouth because he wasn't really sure he wanted to know.

Alex blurted out, "you can hire monsters in ads!"

"Sure, why not," Thalia shrugged.

In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

Nobody gave Annabeth or me a second look. It was as if we'd never left. In a way, I guess that was the best thank-you anyone could give us, because if they admitted we'd snuck out of camp to do the quest, they'd have to expel us.

"Have to is a little strong," Will gave a cheerful laugh again, "maybe we would have just to get some peace and quiet."

"Could just suspend him for the summer," Jason smirked, "not everything has to be the full 9's with him."

"Like Chiron would ever," Percy scoffed. "He'd have to prove we were gone while he was, and as far as I know I never left my bunk unattended," he finished with the most foolishly innocent smile.

And really, I didn't want any more attention. It felt good to be just one of the campers for once.

Percy laughed in agreement with that now, it was what he'd been really longing for this whole time in this world. A sense of peace and belonging that had always evaded him because of Poseidon or Tyson, now he strode among his home with both labels.

Later that night, as we were roasting s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell us a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries,

Carefree laughter echoed around the room once more. This time there was no impending doom of some villain about to appear, not even a great worry on the horizon because instead they were all waiting on tenterhooks to hear the good news and this was all cake in the meantime.

"I can tell you guys the story in detail now," Will offered happily, forcing himself not to grin at Nico in hopes he'd get a kick out of it. "Connor's told it to me a million times, I think I actually annoyed him I asked him to tell it to me so much." It had been the first time Will had admitted to himself he'd had a crush on Connor, though the memory didn't seem as rosy in his mind as usual.

"I'll get the pastries!" Alex agreed as he jumped out of his seat.

"Wait until the book's done," Thalia pleaded, "don't leave me in suspense what happened," she chuckled.

"He'll hold you to that Thalia," Jason already warned as he peacefully kept going.

"Campfire under the sea for the next break, can't wait," Alex agreed stubbornly.

Clarisse shoved me from behind and whispered in my ear, "Just because you were cool one time, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."

"Is there a wrong time for that?" Thalia asked innocently.

"Now," Percy mock challenged as he raised his fist. "I can create a cyclone just for you pinecone face." Then he went cross-eyed and muttered to himself, somehow knowing that wasn't the first time he'd called her that.

"Ugh, I liked you better with amnesia about this," Thalia scoffed.

I gave her a grudging smile.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," I said. "Just good to be home."

This underwater place wasn't the worst, but even to Percy it held no attachments to him. Even Alex and Magnus who weren't gung ho on leaving this small safety net couldn't claim this palace felt any less than a very cozy prison.

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled.

"Chiron showing off a bit?" Jason laughed into the stunned silence. "Showing how a real director can handle these if something goes wrong."

"Let's hope nothing goes wrong!" Percy protested.

We'd all figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.

Tyson wasn't too keen on the idea of getting back in a chariot after our first experience, but he was happy to let me team up with Annabeth. I would drive, Annabeth would defend, and Tyson would act as our pit crew. While I worked with the horses, Tyson fixed up Athena's chariot and added a whole bunch of special modifications.

"Be afraid, be very afraid," Percy cackled with excitement.

"Please don't let him win this race," Thalia even began edging away from him. "If his head gets any bigger it might explode."

"Where's Annabeth to knock him off his high horse when we need her," Will agreed casually, but there was no real heat to any of them, it was nice to see him get so many victories in a row. The camp was saved, he hadn't had any more arguments with Annabeth yet, the little things that kept him smiling instead of poking around in his head and nearly killing them all.

We spent the next two days training like crazy. Annabeth and I agreed that if we won, the prize of no chores for the rest of the month would be split between our two cabins. Since Athena had more campers, they would get most of the time off, which was fine by me. I didn't care about the prize. I just wanted to win.

The night before the race, I stayed late at the stables. I was talking to our horses, giving them one final brushing, when somebody right behind me said, "Fine animals, horses. Wish I'd thought of them."

A middle-aged guy in a postal carrier outfit was leaning against the stable door. He was slim, with curly black hair under his white pith helmet, and he had a mailbag slung over his shoulder.

"Hermes?" I stammered.

Though Jason still slipped up and called him Mercury, but all of them would have stuttered over that name with unease. He'd sent Percy out to do one thing and Percy had somehow done the exact opposite of trying to talk sense into Luke. If he wasn't sitting before them now, they might have thought they were about to hear of their first smiting.

"Hello, Percy. Didn't recognize me without my jogging clothes?"

"Uh ..." I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to kneel or buy stamps from him or what.

"You've bowed to exactly one god, and you can do the other online now," Alex dismissed. "He should be there to give you an apology for putting you on a monster cruise ship without warning."

"I don't see that happening, but thanks Alex," Percy sighed.

Then it occurred to me why he must be here. "Oh, listen, Lord Hermes, about Luke ..."

The god arched his eyebrows.

"Uh, we saw him, all right," I said, "but—"

"You weren't able to talk sense into him?"

"Well, we kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death."

"He can't judge you to harshly," Will gave a nervous laugh only because there had been no hole in the stables to speak of. "I'm sure he's tried to kill his own siblings enough to get it."

"I see. You tried the diplomatic approach."

"Annabeth was no more help!" Percy protested, even if he was relieved she hadn't been anymore involved with Luke.

"I'm really sorry. I mean, you gave us those awesome gifts and everything. And I know you wanted Luke to come back. But ... he's turned bad. Really bad. He said he feels like you abandoned him."

I waited for Hermes to get angry. I figured he'd turn me into a hamster or something, and I did not want to spend any more time as a rodent.

"What about a human sized talking rodent?" Alex asked critically.

"Hard pass," Percy assured.

Instead, he just sighed. "Do you ever feel your father abandoned you, Percy?"

Oh, man.

I wanted to say, "Only a few hundred times a day." I hadn't spoken to Poseidon since last summer. I'd never been to his underwater palace. And then there was the whole thing with Tyson—no warning, no explanation. Just boom, you have a brother. You'd think that deserved a little heads-up phone call or something.

Percy glowered at nobody in here as he wondered too if his mom had known. She could see through the mist, she'd probably known exactly who and what Tyson was to him and she'd kept him the dark too. She hadn't even wanted him to come to camp! Everybody kept treating him like a threat, or a child when he'd saved all of their bacon!

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I realized I did want recognition for the quest I'd completed, but not from the other campers. I wanted my dad to say something. To notice me.

"I guess it's to much to ask he show up at the end of every quest to make sure my life is spared from Zeus," Percy huffed.

"At least he answer's your prayers," Thalia said wistfully. Percy was never in doubt his dad at least wanted him alive, for now. She was never even sure about that.

Hermes readjusted the mailbag on his shoulder. "Percy, the hardest part about being a god is that you must often act indirectly, especially when it comes to your own children.

Will smiled, but it was one of those sad grins that didn't quite reach his eyes. Lee had told him that his first night in his new bunk, but strangely the words sounded no better coming from a god than if his dad had popped in to tell him in person.

If we were to intervene every time our children had a problem ... well, that would only create more problems and more resentment.

Nico frowned distastefully. He knew Hermes was right, he'd always suspected his dad had never even claimed him because to acknowledge his existence would just bring more wrath down upon them both. He tried not to hold a grudge against his dad, but being left to wander aimlessly and only ever hear from his dad when he had to interrupt an argument with Persephone to get attention was another kind of resentment he struggled with just as much.

But I believe if you give it some thought, you will see that Poseidon has been paying attention to you. He has answered your prayers. I can only hope that some day, Luke may realize the same about me. Whether you feel like you succeeded or not, you reminded Luke who he was. You spoke to him."

"I tried to kill him."

"It was a two for one deal," Jason huffed.

Hermes shrugged. "Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related, for better or worse ... and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."

"To a minimum," Magnus repeated with a queasy look on his face. "You guys really make me feel like I should brace for the explosion when that minimum hits its limit." His own family had imploded at so young an age he barely remembered his two uncles, and his mom had been taken from him by wolves with glowing eyes he now knew a god must be responsible for. He wanted Annabeth back in his life because she knew of this strange world, but maybe he shouldn't even want that if it might get him killed next. He wasn't happy homeless, but at least he was alive, and she clearly didn't need him.

He glanced at Hearth though and reminded himself he already was involved, as proven by even being in here. His ignorance would not save him from that minimum of the catastrophe line.

It didn't sound like much of a recipe for the perfect family. Then again, as I thought about my quest, I realized maybe Hermes was right. Poseidon had sent the hippocampi to help us. He'd given me powers over the sea that I'd never known about before. And there was Tyson. Had Poseidon brought us together on purpose? How many times had Tyson saved my life this summer?

"Depends on if you're counting specific events or in total," Jason said analytically. "He scared away monsters even before you could start counting at school, there were the five giants, or four if you disqualify the one Annabeth killed, or just one instance in the grand total-"

"And we're not, at all," Percy interrupted sternly.* "I couldn't have done this quest without him or Annabeth."

"You did good work too Percy," Will told him, and if he was mocking him it didn't come through. Percy shrugged that off and glanced around again. His dad had only communicated with him once, and it hadn't even been directly. Whatever he was down here for, he wasn't getting a clear message about it.

In the distance, the conch horn sounded, signaling curfew.

"You should get to bed," Hermes said. "I've helped you get into quite enough trouble this summer already.

'More than enough for a lifetime,' Hearth agreed. He still wasn't sure if Hermes had helped or hindered more on this task. It was interesting to know any gods interference into mortal affairs always felt that way.

I really only came to make this delivery."

"A delivery?"

"I am the messenger of the gods, Percy." He took an electronic signature pad from his mailbag and handed it to me. "Sign there, please."

I picked up the stylus before realizing it was entwined with a pair of tiny green snakes. "Ah!"

Will made a face and muttered, "please never send me anything via Hermes."

Nico looked offended as he said, "If I was going to deliver a message, I'd just visit your dreams, or go there in person."

Will gave him a long look Nico didn't know how to interpret. Almost amused, almost like he wanted to laugh at him? Did Will think he couldn't do it?

Then Will just shrugged and smiled, "sure, anytime you want Nico."

I dropped the pad.

Ouch, said George.

Really, Percy, Martha scolded. Would you want to be dropped on the floor of a horse stable?

"I would," Magnus held his hand up. "I've always liked horses, and barns are warm enough. Sleeping on hay isn't very fun though."

"I will keep that in mind," Alex snickered.

"Oh, uh, sorry." I didn't much like touching snakes, but I picked up the pad and the stylus again. Martha and George wriggled under my fingers, forming a kind of pencil grip like the ones my special ed teacher made me use in second grade.

"I remember those," Thalia nodded, "I kept chewing on mine so they took them away."

"I bet Grover did too," Percy chuckled.

Did you bring me a rat? George asked.

"No ..." I said. "Uh, we didn't find any."

What about a guinea pig?

Jason looked a little ruffled at the mention of that again and muttered something about feeding the pirates to George before moving on.

George! Martha chided. Don't tease the boy.

I signed my name and gave the pad back to Hermes.

In exchange, he handed me a sea-blue envelope.

My fingers trembled. Even before I opened it, I could tell it was from my father. I could sense his power in the cool blue paper, as if the envelope itself had been folded out of an ocean wave.

Percy's fingers were trembling over nothing as he waited for the warm cradle of the ocean to envelope him once more. He'd pick up a snake every day if his dad had to send a single shape of the alphabet at a time to give him an actual message for the millions of things he wanted to say and have said in return.

"Good luck tomorrow," Hermes said. "Fine team of horses you have there, though you'll excuse me if I root for the Hermes cabin."

And don't be too discouraged when you read it, dear, Martha told me. He does have your interests at heart.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Don't mind her, George said. And next time, remember, snakes work for tips.

"Enough, you two," Hermes said. "Good-bye, Percy. For now."

Small white wings sprouted from his pith helmet. He began to glow, and I knew enough about the gods to avert my eyes before he revealed his true divine form. With a brilliant white flash he was gone, and I was alone with the horses.

I stared at the blue envelope in my hands. It was addressed in strong but elegant handwriting that I'd seen once before, on a package Poseidon had sent me last summer.

Percy Jackson

c/o Camp Half-Blood

Farm Road 3.141

Long Island, New York 11954

An actual letter from my father. Maybe he would tell me I'd done a good job getting the Fleece. He'd explain about Tyson, or apologize for not talking to me sooner. There were so many things that I wanted that letter to say.

I opened the envelope and unfolded the paper.

Two simple words were printed in the middle of the page:

Brace Yourself

Nothing had happened in here though, and he felt as foolish now as he had that night. Putting all his hopes into that one godly message that had taken more time to get to him than it had to conjure it into existing. He tried hard not to let the resentment float back and simmer in him, that his dad had given him any sort of sign at all should still mean he knew. He cared.

On the other hand, it was so uselessly vague it felt more like Poseidon was toying with him as much as Kronos was. Were gods allergic to giving a straight answer!

Then he looked around and saw the others looked a lot more impressed than he did. Had Zeus ever done anything like this for Thalia? Jason was scrutinizing that and glancing down at his tattoo again with a familiar longing to Percy, but at least he had a starting point on knowing who he was.

Will was trying hard to laugh off Apollo had never done anything like this for a single one of his kids, maybe the less children a god had the more words were given. Nico wasn't even sure his dad ever gave him a second thought, unknowingly thinking the same as Hearth.

Only Alex was left wishing his mother would stop sending him such clear messages about the roll he should feel obligated to play and was distracting himself by practicing his ASL forwards and backwards while Magnus watched with that same doe-eyed look. Whoever his Norse parent was hadn't reached out to him yet, and he wasn't exactly looking forward to when they inevitably did.

Maybe Percy should be counting his blessings.

The next morning, everybody was buzzing about the chariot race, though they kept glancing nervously toward the sky like they expected to see Stymphalian birds gathering.

"I guess nobody wanted seconds," Alex said.

"I wonder if Grover could have talked to them," Magnus wondered of the metal birds, or the bulls. Were their recorded vocals lifelike enough? It wouldn't have necessarily spared them, after all it hadn't with Cerberus, but he wanted to ask all the same.

None did. It was a beautiful summer day with blue sky and plenty of sunshine. The camp had started to look the way it should look: the meadows were green and lush; the white columns gleamed on the Greek buildings; dryads played happily in the woods.

And I was miserable.

"You go through all that effort to save the camp, and yet," Thalia gave such an exaggerated wave to him one of her Death to Barbie's pins flew off and beamed his cheek. "Does anything please you mister?"

"Straight answers," he reminded as he began fiddling with the clasp, the look on his face unclear if he was going to jab her back with it or put it on. Thalia snatched it away before he could make the choice, and Jason kept reading loudly before the two could start any other sideshows.

I'd been lying awake all night, thinking about Poseidon's warning.

Brace yourself.

I mean, he goes to the trouble of writing a letter, and he writes two words?

Martha the snake had told me not to feel disappointed. Maybe Poseidon had a reason for being so vague. Maybe he didn't know exactly what he was warning me about, but he sensed something big was about to happen—something that could completely knock me off my feet unless I was prepared.

Will was tugging fruitlessly on his ear and fighting back his own tightening throat. His dad was the god of prophecy, had he no warning about the battles to come where his own children would die? Or had he just not cared about the sense enough to warn his kids too? The jealousy as he glanced from Percy and away surprised him, he'd always felt bad for the guy at camp being so singled out for his parentage.

Nico was surprised to see Will pulling his shtick, looking to Percy and quickly away before the son of the sea god could see the jealousy that was there. He almost wanted to laugh at the turn of events, but instead asked Will quietly, "come talk to me after this book?" He owed Will an apology anyways and it would give him something else to think about.

"Yeah!" Will instantly agreed and smiled at him, somehow even brighter than usual. Nico gulped and almost instantly regretted this, but Jason hadn't stopped reading for longer than a breath, so he couldn't take it back.

It was hard, but I tried to turn my thoughts to the race.

As Annabeth and I drove onto the track, I couldn't help admiring the work Tyson had done on the Athena chariot.

"That is a terrifyingly unbeatable team," Jason grinned, "no way you guys lose," though every word out of his mouth made it seem like a challenge he was willing to try.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Percy was grinning and already imagining the laurels to put on Annabeth's head. His dad was going to drive him crazy, the outcome of his life was a mystery, but he would sure take his time now to enjoy these victories.

The carriage gleamed with bronze reinforcements. The wheels were realigned with magical suspension so we glided along with hardly a bump. The rigging for the horses was so perfectly balanced that the team turned at the slightest tug of the reins.

Alex was nearly drooling by the end wanting to see such craftsman ship in person and muttering all over again about wanting to meet Tyson. Magnus tried not to feel like an inept jealous idiot because at least he could teach Alex something in the meantime.

Tyson had also made us two javelins, each with three buttons on the shaft. The first button primed the javelin to explode on impact, releasing razor wire that would tangle and shred an opponent's wheels. The second button produced a blunt (but still very painful)

"Wouldn't be Camp without literally everything being painful and dangerous," Magnus muttered.

bronze spearhead designed to knock a driver out of his carriage. The third button brought up a grappling hook that could be used to lock onto an enemy's chariot or push it away.

I figured we were in pretty good shape for the race, but Tyson still warned me to be careful.

The other chariot teams had plenty of tricks up their togas.

"Here," he said, just before the race began.

He handed me a wristwatch. There wasn't anything special about it—just a white-and-silver clock face, a black leather strap—but as soon as I saw it I realized that this is what I'd seen him tinkering on all summer.

Percy glanced down at his wrist now and saw the empty space with a pang of guilt. Why wasn't he still wearing it? He'd been wrong to mistrust Tyson at the beginning, and there was zero doubt left in him he'd ever want to go back to having cabin 3 alone.

I didn't usually like to wear watches. Who cared what time it was? But I couldn't say no to Tyson.

"Thanks, man." I put it on and found it was surprisingly light and comfortable. I could hardly tell I was wearing it.

"Didn't finish in time for the trip," Tyson mumbled. "Sorry, sorry."

"Hey, man. No big deal."

"If you need protection in race," he advised, "hit the button."

"Ah, okay." I didn't see how keeping time was going to help a whole lot, but I was touched that Tyson was concerned. I promised him I'd remember the watch. "And, hey, um, Tyson..."

He looked at me.

"I wanted to say, well ..." I tried to figure out how to apologize for getting embarrassed about him before the quest, for telling everyone he wasn't my real brother. It wasn't easy to find the words.

"It would have helped if you didn't decide to do this five minutes before you had an excuse to run off," Alex said not unkindly, "but you get credit for wanting to say it at all."

Percy gave him a sheepish grin and didn't deny it, he'd been trying to find the words sense he got back from camp and still had no clue what to say.

"I know what you will tell me," Tyson said, looking ashamed. "Poseidon did care for me after all."

"Uh, well—"

"He sent you to help me. Just what I asked for."

I blinked. "You asked Poseidon for ... me?"

"For a friend," Tyson said, twisting his shirt in his hands. "Young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learn to make things out of scraps. Learn to survive."

"But that's so cruel!"

He shook his head earnestly. "Makes us appreciate blessings, not be greedy and mean and fat like Polyphemus.

Magnus grimaced again. He wouldn't exactly call that a pro of being homeless, but he wouldn't deny he seemed least annoyed about being trapped in here because of these blessings.

But I got scared. Monsters chased me so much, clawed me sometimes—"

"The scars on your back?"

A tear welled in his eye. "Sphinx on Seventy-second Street. Big bully.

The death grip Percy now held on his pen made them all confident there was no longer a sphinx to visit on Seventy-second Street if they wanted a tour of New York.

I prayed to Daddy for help. Soon the people at Meriwether found me. Met you. Biggest blessing ever. Sorry I said Poseidon was mean. He sent me a brother."

There was a feeling Percy had been trying to define about Tyson this entire book, and it now sat on the tip of Percy's tongue as he was dragged away from his little brother again. In the short time they'd been back, even Grover had given the cyclops a tentative smile before darting off to be anywhere else. Everybody he cared about was safe, and he was going to win this race for that cherry on top!

I stared at the watch that Tyson had made me.

"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Come on!"

Chiron was at the starting line, ready to blow the conch.

"Tyson ..." I said.

"Go," Tyson said. "You will win!"

"I—yeah, okay, big guy. We'll win this one for you." I climbed on board the chariot and got into position just as Chiron blew the starting signal.

The horses knew what to do. We shot down the track so fast I would've fallen out if my arms hadn't been wrapped in the leather reins. Annabeth held on tight to the rail. The wheels glided beautifully. We took the first turn a full chariot-length ahead of Clarisse, who was busy trying to fight off a javelin attack from the Stoll brothers in the Hermes chariot.

"I'm glad they've improved over getting past the starting line before causing trouble," Alex chuckled.

"They're nothing if not resilient, what kind of trouble makers would they be if they quit after the first time?" Will agreed brightly. "Connor's lucky he didn't break his neck he spent so much time practicing trying to stand on his horse, and then we kept constantly being attacked, it's a miracle Katie didn't kill him herself," he chuckled with far less humor than he'd felt at the time as the Stoll brothers always endeavored to keep spirits up, Connor especially when Katie was around.

"We've got 'em!" I yelled, but I spoke too soon.

"Incoming!" Annabeth yelled. She threw her first javelin in grappling hook mode, knocking away a lead-weighted net that would have entangled us both. Apollo's chariot had come up on our flank. Before Annabeth could rearm herself, the Apollo warrior threw a javelin into our right wheel.

"Was that you?" Nico asked eagerly.

"Nah," Will waved off, "I'm not much for the heat of battle." Nico didn't understand the odd way he said that. "It was Arjun and Vicky," he finished quietly. One had died, the other had defected to Luke's side and was never seen again. To many old memories were haunting him this chapter, and so he tried to shake it off and smile at Nico, "you have got to be there for the next race though, I'll bribe our best racer to sit out so I can team up with you. You can have all of the rewards of no chores if we win."

Nico didn't really believe any of the other kids would dare race against him without wondering if he'd curse them when he lost, but he at least didn't immediately dismiss the idea of sitting in the stands- wait was he supposed to do this before or after Tartarus? After, obviously!

The javelin shattered, but not before snapping some of our spokes. Our chariot lurched and wobbled. I was sure the wheel would collapse altogether, but we somehow kept going.

I urged the horses to keep up the speed. We were now neck and neck with Apollo. Hephaestus was coming up close behind. Ares and Hermes were falling behind, riding side by side as Clarisse went sword-on-javelin with Connor Stoll.

Will smiled, he could have told them that without the book, he'd been sitting in the stands next to Katie cheering him on while trying to stop Kayla from glancing at the woods nervously every other second. Now he found he didn't give the memory much of a second thought. Odd, as it had been the first cheer the camp had had in weeks, but instead found himself watching Nico intently as if still waiting for him to answer.

If we took one more hit to our wheel, I knew we would capsize.

Jason was all but bouncing in his seat with joy at their near demise and everybody was fighting hard not to laugh at how enthusiastic he was being about this, especially in comparison to the last time he'd had the book.

"You're mine!" the driver from Apollo yelled. He was a first-year camper. I didn't remember his name, but he sure was confident.

"Yeah, right!" Annabeth yelled back.

She picked up her second javelin—a real risk considering we still had one full lap to go— and threw it at the Apollo driver.

Her aim was perfect. The javelin grew a heavy spear point just as it caught the driver in the chest, knocking him against his teammate and sending them both toppling out of their chariot in a backward somersault. The horses felt the reins go slack and went crazy, riding straight for the crowd. Campers scrambled for cover as the horses leaped the corner of the bleachers and the golden chariot flipped over. The horses galloped back toward their stable, dragging the upside-down chariot behind them.

"You guys literally cause mayhem even when you're not trying," Thalia said approvingly.

"I'm still waiting for the actual explosion, do you go against the Vulcan cabin and set the place on fire?" Jason asked eagerly.

"We were just having fun," Percy reminded, "but nooo, everybody else has to get in our way."

"Wouldn't be fun if it was just a straight shot," Alex grinned.

I held our own chariot together through the second turn, despite the groaning of the right wheel. We passed the starting line and thundered into our final lap.

The axle creaked and moaned. The wobbling wheel was making us lose speed, even though the horses were responding to my every command, running like a well-oiled machine.

The Hephaestus team was still gaining.

Laughter burst all around the room their guess had been right. Will alone knew the details and outcome of what was coming, and he was sitting on the edge of his seat like everybody else smiling along for the pure, happy energy in the room, for once. No monstrous threats on the horizon, nothing bad at all, just fun.

Beckendorf grinned as he pressed a button on his command console. Steel cables shot out of the front of his mechanical horses, wrapping around our back rail. Our chariot shuddered as Beckendorf's winch system started working—pulling us backward while Beckendorf pulled himself forward.

Annabeth cursed and drew her knife. She hacked at the cables but they were too thick.

"Can't cut them.'" she yelled.

The Hephaestus chariot was now dangerously close, their horses about to trample us underfoot.

"Switch with me!" I told Annabeth. "Take the reins!"

"But—"

"Trust me!"

She pulled herself to the front and grabbed the reins.

"Remind me of this next time I say magic words aren't real," Percy couldn't stand it anymore and now leapt free of his seat, and Thalia let him without concern for once. He was so hyperactive to hear this, he'd knock himself out before he let the book be interrupted.

I turned, trying hard to keep my footing, and uncapped Riptide.

I slashed down and the cables snapped like kite string. We lurched forward, but Beckendorf's driver just swung his chariot to our left and pulled up next to us. Beckendorf drew his sword.

He slashed at Annabeth, and I parried the blade away.

We were coming up on the last turn. We'd never make it. I needed to disable the Hephaestus chariot and get it out of the way, but I had to protect Annabeth, too. Just because Beckendorf was a nice guy didn't mean he wouldn't send us both to the infirmary if we let our guard down.

Will laughed boisterously in agreement with that, and Nico gave him a side look of admiration, thinking Will might be underestimating himself a bit. If he was the only person who would team up with Nico during this race, Nico would bet his share of no chores Will could be plenty formidable if he put that stubborn streak to good use in a race like this.

We were neck and neck now, Clarisse coming up from behind, making up for lost time.

"See ya, Percy!" Beckendorf yelled. "Here's a little parting gift!"

He threw a leather pouch into our chariot. It stuck to the floor immediately and began billowing green smoke.

"Not even a bow and card to go with it?" Will scoffed, "he needs a lesson in gifting."

"I'm sure you'll teach him with a nice bandage," Nico chuckled, and was surprised to feel a bit of strain on his smile he wasn't used to. Almost like his lips was sore from it.

"Greek fire!" Annabeth yelled.

I cursed. I'd heard stories about what Greek fire could do. I figured we had maybe ten seconds before it exploded.

"Get rid of it!" Annabeth shouted, but I couldn't. Hephaestus's chariot was still alongside, waiting until the last second to make sure their little present blew up. Beckendorf was keeping me busy with his sword. If I let my guard down long enough to deal with the Greek fire, Annabeth would get sliced and we'd crash anyway. I tried to kick the leather pouch away with my foot, but I couldn't. It was stuck fast.

Then I remembered the watch.

I didn't know how it could help, but I managed to punch the stopwatch button. Instantly, the watch changed. It expanded, the metal rim spiraling outward like an old-fashioned camera shutter, a leather strap wrapping around my forearm until I was holding a round war shield four feet wide,

"Ha!" Percy cried in triumph as if he were imagining smacking Luke in the face with that. What would he ever have done without his little brother!

the inside soft leather, the outside polished bronze engraved with designs I didn't have time to examine.

All I knew: Tyson had come through. I raised the shield, and Beckendorf's sword clanged against it. His blade shattered.

"What?" he shouted. "How—"

He didn't have time to say more because I knocked him in the chest with my new shield and sent him flying out of his chariot, tumbling in the dirt.

I was about use Riptide to slash at the driver when Annabeth yelled, "Percy!"

The Greek fire was shooting sparks. I shoved the tip of my sword under the leather pouch and flipped it up like a spatula. The firebomb dislodged and flew into the Hephaestus chariot at the driver's feet. He yelped.

"I'll remind you of this the next time you say a part time gig flipping burgers won't ever help," Thalia cheered.

Percy was grinning like a fiend to much to even retort back as he shuffled back and forth with excitement and tried not to cause waves in the room.

In a split second the driver made the right choice: he dove out of the chariot, which careened away and exploded in green flames. The metal horses seemed to short-circuit. They turned and dragged the burning wreckage back toward Clarisse and the Stoll brothers, who had to swerve to avoid it.

Will was laughing along and watching the pure fun dance along Nico's dark brown eyes when he decided he could spend every day like this-

Oh Apollo.

Did he have a crush on Nico? When did that happen?

Annabeth pulled the reins for the last turn. I held on, sure we would capsize, but somehow she brought us through and spurred the horses across the finish line. The crowd roared.

Once the chariot stopped, our friends mobbed us. They started chanting our names, but Annabeth yelled over the noise: "Hold up! Listen! It wasn't just us!"

The crowd didn't want to be quiet, but Annabeth made herself heard: "We couldn't have done it without somebody else! We couldn't have won this race or gotten the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to Tyson, Percy's ..."

"Brother!" I said, loud enough for everybody to hear. "Tyson, my baby brother."

Percy sighed in relief as his smile grew impossibly wide. Pride. That was the elusive feeling he'd been chasing this whole dang quest. He was so proud of Tyson he wished he could ever be strong enough to hug him so hard his baby brother would feel it for the rest of his life.

Tyson blushed. The crowd cheered. Annabeth planted a kiss on my cheek.

Percy's cheeks burned red with a blush and he sat quickly back in his seat, only for Thalia to snort and tell the others, "enjoy that shyness while it lasts, they're nauseating by now."

Magnus gave Percy a once over with a very concerning, 'big brother,' kind of look like he was about to receive a shovel speech, and Percy begged Jason to hurry up and finish.

The roaring got a lot louder after that. The entire Athena cabin lifted me and Annabeth and Tyson onto their shoulders and carried us toward the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.

"That one's done," Jason said as he looked around. "Can't be much of this one left."

"Gee, wonder what else it could possibly be," Magnus chuckled as he jumped up and jogged over to take the book. Jason let it go with a reluctance that surprised him as he watched Thalia, grisly images in his minds eye of her coming out of that tree half dead or killing half the camp in her distress of what was going on.

She was just lounging around laughing with Percy though, the two most dangerous demigods on the planet challenging each other to a race when they got back and he was starting to feel a little paranoid just what it was about them that bothered him so much.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

*I count the cannibals' as one, the bulls as two, punching Oreius to escape as three, he saved Annabeth during the Hydra attack which counts here, he helped defeat Polyphemus and had the cash to get the fleece back home. That's six times he saved this quest by my count, but I'd love to hear yours.

#pjo #Percy Jackson #Reading the books #fanfiction #Percabeth #Thalia Grace #Jason Grace #Nico di Angelo #Will Solace #solangelo #Alex Fierro #Magnus Chase #fierrochase #Hearthstone #Sea of Monsters #HDYSG

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punishercoded · 6 years ago

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why i love sci

Ｍａｇｉｃ　ｉｓ　ｒｅａｌ　ｔｈｅｒｅ

Far away from home

Anything can happen when freaking witches make the rules

Monsters are rad

the moon is our friend!!!

Ｉ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｗａｎｎａ　ｓｔａｙ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｙｏｕ　ｏｎ　Ｓｕｍｍｅｒ　Ｃａｍｐ　Ｉｓｌａｎｄ

#summer camp island #this show is my gd aesthetic #i love this show so much #oscar is adorable #did that freaking bubble gum just say ohmygosh hi #and then die??#the monsters are pure

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multi-fandom-imagine · 3 years ago

Note

Sooo I had an idea, there’s a route you can take where max will wake up on the island after being cured and his only option is a cropped pink skintight outfit 😂

But I imagine a scenario where the reader is kind of in Laura’s position and they book it to the island and reunite with him and it’s all fluffy and cute until they realize what he’s wearing and hilarity ensues.

I’m sorry this is so long!!

A/n: this is so cute! I almost had a panicked when I thought I killed him.Also please don’t apologize I think I love it, I love longer requests.

spoilers ahead, the spoilers are tagged if you don’t want to read it. { the quarry spoilers }

You wanted to curse out Laura the moment you stepped foot into Hackett's Quarry summer camp. You could have been spending some quality time with your boyfriend not waking around some creepy as camp though you couldn’t blame the girl it probably wasn’t to much fun being the third wheel.

Though you never took into account that Max would be attacked, that was when your night became a nightmare. Your voice was still raw from screaming out his name. Everything seemed to just turn to shit after that. Being held prisoner, getting infected but now you were rubbing, running to the one place you knew where you’d be safe.

Though relief flooded you when you caught a glimpse of red hair. A smile blooming on your face as your pushed yourself. “MAX!”

Turning his body Max steadied himself from when you launched yourself at him. Your arms tightening its around his neck, your cheek nuzzling into his.

“God I’m so happy to be able to hold you.”

Max let out a chuckle, his hands patting your back gently. “As much as I love having you in my arms honey. I can’t breath.”

Loosing your hold on him you stepped back about to reply until you caught hold on what he was wearing, your eyes went wide then a snort escaped your lips. “Um babe..what are you wearing?”

Blinking Max glanced down, his pale cheeks turning as red as his hair. “I…it was the only thing I could fine. I didn’t want to run around naked.” He muttered rubbing the back of his neck.

You hummed giving his cheek a pinch before you started to walk around him, nodding your head. Max was wearing a tight crop top pink and purple zip up, his stomach was showing not that you’d complained but you couldn’t help but think how funny it was, not to mention the tight yoga pants. “Oh I can see that that, it’s very sexy Y/n.” You winked stepping forward giving his ass a slap, Max letting out a small yelp.

“Y/n! Come on, are we really doing this?”

Giving your shoulder a shrug you let your arms wrap around his waist, your fingers dancing on his exposed skin. “I am…but I can’t help myself Max. It’s a bit sexy.” You rested your head on his shoulder.

“I” Max wetted his lips, he managed to turn his body. His own arms around your waist, it was cute seeing how red he got. “I don’t know if that is a good thing but does this do it for you?”

Grinning you placed a kiss to his jaw as your fingers clutched the zipper. A small snort escaped your lips stepping back for a moment.”oh totally. I always wanted to see my boyfriend wear a tight pink crop top and a pair of yoga pants. 100% makes me all hot and bothered.”

Sighing, you smiled shaking your head. “I’m only teasing Max and to be honest I am a bit happy that I’m the only one that gets to see you like this.” Stepping in front of him you wrapped your arms around his neck. “I’m relived knowing you’re not dead, hurt and covered in blood. And if it means you gotta wear this adorable outfit then I’m very happy.” You muttered giving him a soft kiss, just grateful he was here in your arms.

#the quarry x you #the quarry x reader #the quarry spoilers #supermassive the quarry #the quarry #supermassive #supermassive x reader #supermassive games x reader #supermassive games #Max Brinly #Max Brinly x reader #max x reader #Max Brinly x you

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dngrs-untld-hrshps-unnmbrd · 2 years ago

Text

Werewolf Bites and Hot Summer Nights

An AU in which Laura and Max can’t find Hackett Quarry and end up at the Harbinger Motel, before becoming camp counsellors for the summer. Max is moody and secretive and Laura keeps bumping into the grumpiest sheriff with the cutest puppy dog eyes, and when he gives her his number ‘just in case’ a girl can’t help but drunk dial him one night. Cue overprotective and jealous Travis. And shouldn’t the officer get a birthday kiss?

Banter | Enemies to Lovers | Battle Couple | Smut

Start with Chapter One

Chapter Ten

Travis stared down the barrel of his own service revolver at a defiant Laura. With an irritated flick of his wrist, he pulled his loose tie off, looped it around his neck and started knotting it again. “I was distracted. I would have stopped you under normal circumstances, just so you know.”

“What distracted you about these circumstances?” Laura asked without lowering the weapon.

“The pretty girl half undressing me in my own damn station.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

He gave her a scathing look. “You know I think you’re adorable.”

“Flirt. I want a shotgun.”

Travis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine. One shotgun. Regular bullets.”

He stood up and headed through to the room he used to store weapons, wondering if he was making a terrible mistake by taking her out there with him.

Laura surveyed the array of shotguns with a determined expression, and Travis knew there was no use arguing with her. Either she was going out there with him, or she was going out there alone.

No way was Laura going out there unprotected when there were werewolves roaming around.

The only other choice he had was locking Laura up against her will. He imagined pulling her hands behind her back and marching her to one of the cells, but he didn’t have the heart.

You’re soft on this girl, Hackett.

He swallowed hard and pulled a shotgun down for her.

New plan. Keep Laura and the counsellors safe until dawn. As soon as everyone was inside the lodge or safely on the island, he’d head back out by himself.

Travis stood close to her while he explained how to hold the gun, how to reload, how to store it safely. He was surprised how confident she looked with the weapon.

“Have you done this before?” he asked.

She smiled up at him, the shotgun resting comfortably in her hands. “Why, do I look like I have?”

She looked sexy, that’s all Travis knew. Someone he wouldn’t want to mess with if she was out for his blood. He remembered how she’d looked a moment ago pointing his own gun at him, her expression fearless.

That shouldn't have given him a semi-erection.

He cleared his throat. “If a werewolf attacks you, fire. It won’t die, but it will back off while we get to safety. Don’t point that gun at anything you wouldn’t fire at. And don’t blow your own toes off.”

“Got it. When this is over, I’ll buy you a beer.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ve been hunting this wolf for six years.”

She smiled at him. “That’s because you didn’t have me to help you.”

He had a sudden image of them back to back while werewolves circled around them. One of them was Silas, and they shot him dead. Chris, Kaylee and Caleb came back to him.

Impossible?

As he gazed down at Laura, he felt a spark of hope.

He held a stern forefinger in her face. “No overconfidence. It’s as dangerous as hell out there. A shotgun will protect you, but only if you’re fast enough to pull the trigger. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sheriff,” she replied, but she was still smiling up at him.

Travis picked up his homemade silver bullets and showed them to her. “These are filled with silver, and they’ll kill a werewolf. We’re only going to use these if we find Silas.”

“How will we know that it’s him?”

Travis rolled the bullets around in his hand. He’d seen Silas a handful of times before. He was so much bigger than his family when they were turned, and his flesh was pale in the moonlight. “I’ll know. C’mon.”

They went out to his car and climbed inside. Before starting the engine, Travis reached across her into the glove box and pulled out the jar of blood. “This is non-negotiable. Wipe some on your face. It will mask your scent from the werewolves.”

Grimacing, Laura twisted off the lid and did as she was told. “This is so gross and unsanitary.” She flipped down the sun visor and examined her face. “How do I look?”

Like an ancient queen ready to do battle. “It doesn’t matter how you look as long as you’re still alive in the morning. Give it here.”

Travis painted his own face with blood, wiped his hands on his pants and started the engine.

Laura gazed silently out the window as they drove along, the shotgun resting over her lap.

A werewolf.

Max was a werewolf.

She would never have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, which she supposed was why Travis had done things the way they had. The things that Max had said to her as he was changing…it was like he hadn’t been able to control his mind as well as his body.

“You smirked at him,” Laura said, staring straight ahead.

“What?”

Laura knew Travis was only pretending not to understand her. If she hadn’t been looking right at him at that moment, she would have missed it. He’d been so detached, so professional. Max was railing at him, telling him he had no right to call her Laura, yelling so many horrible things at both of them. It must have riled Travis’ temper. It must have riled his jealousy, too.

“You heard me. You smirked at Max.”

Travis’ fingers flexed on the steering wheel. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”

Yes, he did.

“When Max wakes up in the morning, will he remember what happened?”

Travis considered this. “Some of it.”

Laura rubbed her forehead. “Oh, Jesus Christ. I didn’t want him to find out like this.”

“He sounded like he already suspected something was going on between us,” Travis pointed out quietly.

“Suspecting and knowing are two different things. You didn’t have to look so goddamn proud of yourself.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

He glanced at her as he turned off the road into the camp. “Because it’s you.”

Laura felt a fizz of pleasure. If they hadn’t both been covered in blood, she might have leaned across and kissed him. Even though he had smirked.

They parked in front of the lodge, which was eerily silent. No campers laughing and no cicadas to break up the night. No screaming, either, which was probably a good sign.

Unless everyone is already dead.

Don’t even think it, Kearney.

“What’s the plan, Sheriff?” she asked, forcing herself to sound positive as she got out of the car.

Travis glanced around, checking the road and the woods for signs of movement. “We go into the lodge. We check the cabins. If we can’t account for all the counsellors, we’ll do a sweep of the quarry and get everyone to shelter or onto the island.”

“And if anyone’s bit?”

“We lock them in my car and get them back to the station. And we keep quiet. It’s easier to hide from these things than to escape.”

He pressed the radio on his shoulder. “It’s T. What’s your position?” No reply. He tried again, and then dropped the radio with a muttered, “Ah, shit.”

“Do you think something’s happened to them?”

“They could be out of range or their radios have broken. Or they have their hands full.”

Travis examined her, his brows drawn together. Then he propped his shotgun against the car and reached for her neck. Laura blinked as he picked up the chain of her necklace and moved the clasp to the nape of her neck. His expression was soft and he touched her gently.

“There,” he murmured, settling the chain into place. “That’s better.”

“Now we’re ready?” she asked with an amused smile. They were both covered in blood, but heaven forbid her necklace clasp was showing. She supposed he’d given into the same impulse that had made him brush the dirt from her face the first night they’d met.

Like he thought she was pretty, and he couldn't resist touching her.

“Now we’re ready.” He picked up his shotgun, his expression hardening and his eyes growing dark and determined. “Stay close.”

Inside the lodge, all was silent. They went methodically through all the rooms on each of the floors, but they were all empty.

Laura grabbed Travis’ arm as they were on their way out. “Look. Blood.”

She pointed at some drops just inside the door.

Travis’ lips compressed into a thin line and she could tell from his expression and his tight shoulders that he had a grim feeling about what they were doing.

The two of them walked side by side down the dark path to the cabins, each of them scanning the forest, their shotguns at the ready.

“I can’t hear anything,” Travis murmured.

“Neither can I.”

“I don't like it. We should have heard something by now. Gunshots. Yelling. Dad and Bobby on the radio.”

“Maybe everyone’s on the island,” she said hopefully.

Travis didn’t reply. It sure was eerie to be walking through nothing but silent moonlight knowing that nine people and at least two werewolves were nearby.

The back of Laura’s neck prickled. “Do you feel like we’re being hunted?”

Travis paused and glanced around them. Nothing moved. “Just keep that shotgun ready.”

Laura didn’t need reminding.

All but one of the cabins were locked up tight, and the open one was empty.

As they stood by the big tree in the middle of the clearing, the silence was nearly overwhelming.

“I don’t like this,” Travis murmured again.

Laura had to agree that nothing about tonight was good. Not finding dead bodies and werewolves was almost as bad as finding them.

He was still peering into the darkness, but Laura felt Travis reach for her. “I’ve got your back, okay? No matter what happens.”

His fingers brushed hers, and she grabbed hold of them and squeezed. “I’ve got yours, too.”

He turned and gazed down at her in surprise. Then his mouth quirked in a smile. “I hadn’t actually thought this far ahead. My plan was to track down some of the counsellors and have you help them over to the island while I went looking for Silas.”

“You’re not heading off alone without me,” she said quickly.

“I know,” he said simply, glancing at their intertwined fingers.

He didn’t want to be alone anymore than she did.

“We should check the island," she suggested. "Maybe everyone figured out it’s the safest place to be all on their own.”

“Good idea,” he murmured, and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb before letting go. “Let’s head through the—”

They heard yelling in the distance. Harsh, masculine cries.

“This way.” Laura started running before Travis could react, and he took off after her.

They raced along the path through the darkness. The shouting died away, but up ahead, something was struggling in the trees, high up in the air.

Laura skidded to a halt in surprise as she saw a man hanging from a rope by his ankle. Two figures stood beneath him. A big man in a trucker cap and a skinny man with white hair.

“Jacob?” she called.

Jacob peered at her upside down. “Laura? Why are you covered in blood? Never mind. Just get me the hell down from here before these crazy assholes kill me.”

“They’re not going to hurt you,” Laura assured him, and Mr. Hackett glared at her like he wanted to say otherwise.

Oh, fun. Travis' family.

“Goddamn kids,” he growled under his breath. When Travis arrived at Laura’s side, Mr. Hackett gave his son a filthy look.

Bobby suddenly pointed at Laura and exclaimed, “It’s her. It’s that girl from your car, Travis. Ma said you’re not allowed to see her.”

Travis grabbed his arm. “Bobby, keep your damn voice down!”

“I’m telling Ma! Ma said that girl is trouble and you—”

There was a snarling sound from Laura’s left and she instinctively turned toward it and raised her gun. Was it snarling, or was it someone calling out for help?

Shit, what if she shot one of the counsellors just because they were out of breath and panting?

Bobby was still yelling when a dark shape erupted out of the bushes and launched itself at him. Bobby cried out, and suddenly the huge man was plastered across the ground beneath one of those nightmare creatures that had attacked Max.

“Laura,” Travis shouted, and she understood what he wanted. She was closer than he was and had a clear shot.

Laura aimed at the werewolf’s back and pulled the trigger. There was an almighty blast, the gun kicked in her hand, and the creature reared in pain. Then it scampered off into the woods.

In the silence and smoke that followed, Travis stared at her like she was the most beautiful sunrise he’d ever seen.

A moment later he snapped out of it as Bobby moaned in pain.

Mr. Hackett knelt down by his son. “Are you bit?”

“I don’t know,” Bobby whimpered. "It hurts."

“Ah, could one of you cut me down?” called Jacob.

Laura turned her face up to him, her heart pounding wildly. “Are you sure you want to come down here where there are werewolves?”

“Where there are what?”

She found the rope tied to a tree, loosened it, and let Jacob down as slowly as she could. Which wasn’t very slow as he was heavy.

As he stood up and brushed himself off, he said, “We thought it was bears with rabies or something.”

“Has anyone been bitten?”

Jacob nodded. “Nick was scratched. The others went to the lodge to get some bandages.”

“I was just at the lodge. There was no one there.”

“Fuck.”

Laura stared at his bare chest. “Where are your clothes?”

“Huh?” Jacob glanced down at himself. “Oh, I was swimming with Emma. She’s on the island.”

“You need to get to the island, too. It’s the only safe place. Go, and stay there until morning.”

“What about you?”

“I’m staying with Travis. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got this.” She hefted the shotgun in her grip.

Travis was kneeling down by his brother. “Laura, the island is safe. Are you sure you don’t want to…”

He trailed off as he caught her glare, and nodded. They’d already sworn what they were doing tonight.

They had each other’s backs.

As Jacob jogged off toward the island, Travis and Mr. Hackett helped Bobby to his feet.

“Don’t whimper, son,” Mr. Hackett told him. “You’re not bit. You’re just scratched.”

He watched as Travis looped Bobby’s arm around his neck and shouldered the man’s considerable weight.

“You said you got scratched,” Mr. Hackett reminded him.

Travis shook his head. “It’s nothing. Help me get him to the car.”

Laura picked up Travis’ shotgun and followed the men back to the lodge.

At Travis’ car, he threw his dad the keys. “You drive. Laura, get in the front. I’ll keep pressure on Bobby’s wounds in the back.”

It was another awkward drive to the Hackett residence, only this time Bobby was whimpering in the back and telling Travis that his shoulder hurt, with Travis murmuring occasionally, “I know, Bobby, I know.”

At the house, Laura stood back as Mrs. Hackett fussed over Bobby, ordering Travis to lay the man on the sofa and blaming him for Bobby’s injuries.

Laura ground her teeth together and glared at the woman while Mr. Hackett got to work bandaging Bobby up. She’d left Travis’ shotgun in the car but she’d kept hold of her own, not trusting Travis’ parents one bit.

After a few minutes, Mrs. Hackett turned around and noticed her standing by the door.

Her furious glare cut to her eldest son. “What the hell is that girl doing here, Travis?”

Travis had been rubbing the back of his neck and looked up in surprise. “What? Oh, don’t worry, Ma. Miss Kearney knows about the curse. She saw her boyfriend get bit tonight.”

Laura registered distantly that when he was talking to his Ma, Laura did have a boyfriend, and she was Miss Kearney again. Bobby had claimed that Mrs. Hackett had told Travis to stay away from her. Everyone in this family bent over backwards to keep this horrible woman happy.

Mrs. Hackett started exclaiming at the top of her voice. “Travis, we said no outsiders. How many times do we have to tell you?”

“It’s too late for that now. And be more grateful, Miss Kearney saved Bobby from getting bit.”

“I don’t care if she saved the Queen of goddamn England!”

Mrs. Hackett marched toward Laura, but before she could reach her, Travis stepped in front of Laura and barred his mother’s way.

“Back off, Ma.”

A bony finger was shaken in his face. “Don’t you tell me what to do. You step away from that girl, Travis. You step away right this second.”

“I won’t. She’s been helping me tonight and I won’t allow anything to happen to her.”

“Oh, you’re protecting her, are you?” Mrs. Hackett asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “The sheriff is protecting the pretty, helpless little girl, is he?”

“Laura—Miss Kearny isn’t—”

Mrs. Hackett glared past Travis at Laura. “Harlot. Don’t think I don’t know what’s really going on. A mother always knows. This man has responsibilities to his family. He hasn’t got time to go running around town after you.”

Apparently this mean old woman scared Travis, but she didn’t scare Laura. She shrugged casually. “Maybe he makes time.”

“Laura,” Travis growled over his shoulder.

“You can smirk at Max but I can’t say one word to your mother?” Laura hissed at him under her breath.

Mrs. Hackett’s outrage doubled. “What did you say young lady?”

“I said Sheriff Hackett makes time for me. But I can say more if you’re so curious about us. Your son’s been the perfect gentleman to me all summer. If I was living in North Kill, I’d make sure he knew I’d say yes if he asked me on a date.”

Travis went very still.

This wasn’t something she was saying to annoy his family. She meant every word.

Going on a date with Travis. What universe did that reality belong to? One without werewolves, probably.

This next part? This was to annoy his family. His mother in particular.

Laura gave the woman an overly sweet smile. “Of course, my idea of the perfect gentleman might be different to your idea of a perfect gentlemen considering what a harlot I am.” She looked slowly up and down his body, an admiring smile on her lips. “Doesn’t he look handsome in his uniform?”

Travis swallowed hard, and if there wasn’t blood all over his face, Laura was sure she’d see that he was blushing. “Laura, please.”

Please what? Please stop? Probably, but she didn’t want to stop. His family treated him like trash and maybe they’d appreciate him a little more knowing how much he was giving up for them.

"Maybe I'll ask him on a date myself."

“Setting your cap at my son when you already have a boyfriend? I knew you were a slut.”

“Ma, shut up,” Travis snapped.

Mrs. Hackett threw her hands up in disgust and Travis flinched away from her.

Laura saw the flinch as if in slow motion. There was nothing violent about the way Mrs. Hackett had moved, but Travis had reacted like there was. Like he’d learned to be afraid of her hands.

“You hit him.” The words burst from Laura’s mouth before she understood what she was saying.

Laura had seen Travis flinch when Mrs. Hackett had shouted at him the last time they were here.

She’d even seen him flinch at a memory when they were drinking together in bar. He was remembering himself as a nine-year-old boy. One who made mistakes and got thrashed by one or both of his parents.

Laura narrowed her eyes at Mrs. Hackett. “You horrible, nasty old woman.”

Everyone turned to stare at her. Mrs. Hackett with cold fury. Mr. Hackett with impatience. Travis with apprehension. Even Bobby raised his head on the sofa.

Laura pushed past Travis so she could stand in front of Mrs. Hackett. “You hit your son? You used to hit him as a child, didn’t you, and you still hit him now he’s a grown man.”

“You mind your own business, young lady.”

“I’m making it my business,” Laura seethed. “Travis is too loyal to say anything to you or to stop you, but I’ll say it. Only a nasty old bitch lays her hands on her children in anger. Leave. Travis. Alone.”

Mrs. Hackett reached out and grabbed the shotgun that Laura was holding. “How dare you? Get the hell out of my house.”

Laura wasn’t going anywhere. The two of them struggled back and forth for the weapon.

“Let go of this shotgun, missy!”

“No, you let go.” Laura was too stubborn and too damn angry. She was also a little bit afraid of what Mrs. Hackett was capable off if she let go of the gun. The next thing she’d know, she’d probably have a stomach full of buckshot.

Mr. Hackett was yelling. Bobby was yelling. Travis was yelling. All the noise made Laura struggle even harder.

The gun went off in her hands.

One moment Mrs. Hackett's face was contorted with rage.

The next moment she didn’t have a face. She was teeth and jaw and eyeballs and a mass of raw flesh.

So that’s what the inside of someone’s face looked like, Laura thought in surprise as Mrs. Hackett crumpled to the ground. She could feel that she was going to be horrified later. That she was going to be appalled by what she’d just done. Guilt-ridden and sickened.

But for now, there was only blood and shock.

And eyeballs. Mrs. Hackett still had her eyeballs. That was the creepiest thing of all.

There was a howl of rage and grief from the other side of the room.

“I’ll kill you,” Mr. Hackett seethed, pulling out a handgun and aiming it at Laura.

***

*kills Constance every chance I get* for Travis 😌

CHAPTER ELEVEN

#the quarry #travis hackett #laura kearney #travis x laura #hackearney #fanfiction

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imaginechb · 3 years ago

Note

Hi ! Can i request a songfic with a femreader? The song is "déjà vu" by Olivia Rodrigo.

Calypso's pov

Where Leo and yn are dating and Calypso is like sweet/sour

Deja Vu

Synopsis: You and Leo are in a happy relationship, and Calypso is left to pick up the broken pieces of her heart.

Calypso watched as he put his arm around you. She looked on with a bitter taste in her mouth because she used to be the one snuggling into his side at the campfire.

Leo helped you make a s'more and Calypso was unwillingly brought back to those summer nights when Leo would squish the marshmallow in between the graham crackers and feed it to her, or that one time she had leftover chocolate on her lip and he kissed it away.

She felt the bile rise in her throat as he kissed you in the same fashion, and she had to excuse herself from the festivities. Sneaking off toward the beach, she allowed herself to cry that first tear which brought many more.

Calypso didn't hate you. She hated that she couldn't, actually. She hated that you were sweet and adorable and so good to him. She hated that you loved him, and even more that he loved you. She hated that the two of you were a better couple than her and Leo had ever been.

He was her savior, her knight in shining suspenders, her supersized mcshizzle. She was supposed to have the happy ending, the one she had always dreamed of. The one she had envisioned having with him. He would rescue her from Ogygia, show her the world. They would get married and open a repair shop together. 'Leo and Calypso's Garage: Auto Repair and Mechanical Monsters'.

But alas, just because she was in love with him did not mean he was bound to love her. Much like how she had once loved Percy but his heart truly belonged to Annabeth, Leo's heart had always belonged to you. He may have kept his promise in rescuing her from her island, but he was forever yours.

Calypso wondered if Leo ever thought about her, and how the things he was doing with you were the things they had once done together. That though he loved you now, it was Calypso who had first taught him how to love.

She pitied you, honestly. You truly believed that all of this was for you. The dancing in bunker nine when the rest of the camp was asleep. The blanket sharing at the campfire while he fed you s'mores. The kissing in the strawberry fields and the rides on Festus. You thought it was so unique, so special, not realizing that he did those things with Calypso mere months ago.

But even she had to admit that he looked ten times more genuine with you than he did with her. With Calypso he had been tripping over himself trying to impress her, trying to win her approval. With you he did it purely out of love and joy. With you, he was happy.

Before she realized what she was doing, she let out a sob of despair. She let out another. And another. She let herself fall into the soft sand and cry. Leo hadn't done anything wrong, and neither had you, but that didn't stop her heart from hurting every time she saw the two of you. Yet again, she had been scorned by love and by men.

She turned when she heard footsteps approaching, praying to the gods it wasn't you or Leo. She was relieved when Percy sat down beside her.

She had been in love with Percy at one point (who hadn't?), but those feelings faded over time, and now she was just grateful to have him there as a friend. He didn't say anything, but just his presence was enough.

Together they stared into the nighttime waves. It would have been a beautiful sight to admire under happier circumstances.

As much as she hated it, she thought about what Leo was doing at that moment. Probably walking you back to your cabin, kissing you goodnight on the porch. Smiling like a fool as he walked back to his own. She started to cry again. Percy wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry it out.

He stroked her hair until eventually she calmed down. She stared at the ocean once more and knew that one day she would be okay again. One day, she would no longer envy you, and one day Leo Valdez would be a distant memory.

Rae

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keilemlucent · 4 years ago

Text

pretty eyes & starshine: iii

(Mostly SFW)

hawks | takami keigo x reader

ao3

part i || part ii || part iii (epilogue)

word count: ~2.2k

Nothing ever really ends. It just grows in different ways with different parts.

warnings: description of post-injury, reader and hawks being traumatized but coping, a soft epilogue

the ending folks :’^) thank you for reading this far. here is something gentle for all of us, with some future, past, and the present for sweet starshine and keigo :’^)

enjoy loves 💞!!

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Keigo doesn’t break promises.

He loves white lies, the silly kind where he can rib you for a minute or two before soothing any ruffled feathers with quick kisses. He never leaves big wounds, nothing gaping or jagged, just loving pokes in your sides to get you to laugh and quip back at him.

He never goes back on his words that count.

His journeys out of the house remain short and rarely surprising. He never leaves without a goodbye, whether that’s a sleepy fuck or two, or a hand-written, tooth-rotting note on a scrap of paper next to a steaming cup of coffee on the kitchen island.

Keigo’s used to the open skies, rolling forever. The curve of the horizon is his primordial friend that he never got to say goodbye to, but he still chases it a few times a week. Little drives he takes by himself, hikes, and things that he let him feel a bit of that free wind in his shaggy hair.

It takes you a while, but you don’t look forlornly at the door anymore.

The awareness that of his absence from your little bastion lingers as you move throughout your day, but you know he’s good for his word. He always returns, bearing a toothy grin, and usually an armload of snacks or takeout.

It’s better, and you’re both a bit more alive.

...

Spring in the mountains reminds you of something you can’t place.

The memory of it is foggy, far-off and untouched. Probably a bit dampened from, you know, a year of trauma, but the feeling of it makes your quirk burst to light without fail.

It comes when you notice the little patches of wildflowers that spring up in new grass that rings around the porch. Heat flares in your eyes when you see the little seedlings you and Keigo planted into the window boxes begin to bud and flower.

The days get longer, sweeter, and the summer comes easily.

...

The bad days never cease, but you both learn to cope to some degree.

Your scar... cracks one day. You’re doing some half-assed stretches in the living room (mostly arching your back so Keigo gets a good peek of your ass) when it happens. Your right leg bends at the knee, and a resounding ‘crack’ and shatter echo off the walls of the cabin.

You both panic.

Keigo instantly urges you on the couch, trying to soothe your own panic with little coos from the back of his throat. You feel numb as Keigo shoves up your pant leg, looking for any damage.

The scar looks relatively unchanged. It hasn’t writhed since your days at the hospital, and its edges have only faded a shade or two with time. It’s long, obtrusive, and something you still avoid looking at.

All the same, Keigo traces the gnarly flesh, nimble fingers searching for the source of the sound. Any bit of pain he can identify and soothe, ideally, remove. The pads of his fingers drift to the crook of your knee, pressing against the shiny, black seam of the scar.

His eyes go wide before awe shines through, without a lick of fear.

He warns you to take a deep breath, ‘breath with him’, before pinching at the glassy center and pulling. There’s a bit of resistance as he pulls, you’re not sure what he’s doing, and you see ‘it’ before you really put it together.

Keigo holds ‘it’ up for you to see.

The inky glass of the scar.

Literal rock. Inky obsidian pulled from your flesh, about the size of your pinky and painfully jagged.

“W-what is that?” You asked, grabbing his wrist to examine the bit. “That’s... the scar?”

Keigo nods his head, scrutinizing it with you, pinching at it, “Weirdest scab I’ve ever seen.”

Scab.

You have never thought about calling the ugly root of the scar a ‘scab’ but looking at the way it so easily was pulled away, it makes sense. After a bit of examination and tender prodding, the tissue around it looks healthy, albeit thick and burned. The scar goes deep into your flesh, feels raw to the touch, but the skin that’s beneath it is somewhat alive. Maybe too alive, given how sensitive it is.

Nonetheless, you marvel at the little piece of volcanic glass that Keigo had pulled from you like it’s the most precious stone in the world.

...

It takes a long time to convince both of you.

Keigo never receives another call from Suits, ‘president’, what the fuck her name is. Thank fucking god. His snap seemed to have scared her and her crumbling organization away. You can only hope that it was for good.

The potential return comes from kindness rather than demands.

Calls from both Endeavor and Miruko, ‘Enji’ and ‘Rumi’ as they insist you call them. Rumi chatters on the phone for hours with Keigo every few weeks, puts the phone on speaker, and has you give your piece as well. You like her, she’s funny and loud and Keigo smiles when he talks to her.

Enji actually visits.

Once or twice, maybe more. You stop counting when the extra bodies in the cabin don’t have you breaking into a cold sweat anymore. It had taken a great bit of coaxing, but you opened your cabin up for the former pro and his entourage.

He brings along his daughter and the ‘Three Musketeers,’ as the media calls them. The boys train in the mountains nearby, never lingering too far based on the shouting from the blond one that echoes against the hills.

The rest of you settle into the walls of the cabin whenever they come to visit. It feels warmer than normal; it makes sweat gather under your arms and in droplets on your forehead. Even if you wanted to attribute the heat to the old flame hero’s presence, it wouldn’t account entirely for your thumping heart.

You work through it, slowly.

You like watching Keigo and Enji. They both look worn. Keigo’s a bit too young for grey hair, but Enji has more than his fair share around his temples. The beard around his jaw glints silver in the lowlight of the cabin whenever he tilts his head to sip at his tea.

They smile like old friends, talk like it too.

You end up in the kitchen a lot during their talks, distantly cooking and observing. You’re always listening to their stories, the banter. It’s hard to keep up with, a lingering vestige of Keigo’s old persona that clings to him and his mannerisms.

You don’t mind it, even if it feels foreign.

...

“Can you pass me that honey, dear?” Fuyumi asks, voice sweet and close.

You nod, sliding her the jar across the corner top. She carefully spoons a glob of the thick liquid into the four waiting mugs, humming just under her breath.

The cabin feels warm, and it’s not just the ambient heat Enji gives off.

The ‘three musketeers’ plan to camp in the mountainside and ‘rough it’. You couldn’t imagine the freshly-greened hills giving them too much trouble. They bicker, you have found, constantly. Blunt jabs from Enji’s son, met by explosive remarks from the blond one (why is his hero name so long? You can never remember it well.) Consider your growing aversion to loud noise, you like Deku the best. He seems like the peacekeeper (and peacemaker) of the trio and compliments your cooking. What a gem.

The guest room has been polished into an actual guest room. Fuyumi takes it, and Enji, bless his heart, takes the creaky fold-out couch. He doesn’t mind, he tells you, something about enjoying tending to the hearth at night.

Keigo calls the nights where they fill the house ‘sleepovers’, and he adores them.

They’re a bit overwhelming for you if you’re being honest. But Enji is far less intimidating now that you’ve seen him nodding off and slack-faced on your couch. Fuyumi has patience you’ll never fully understand, and babies you a bit, which you don’t welcome but don’t refuse either.

She does just that, scooping up three mugs after pushing your own toward you. You regather and sit next to Keigo at the kotatsu, slipping your legs under the thick blanket and sagging with the heat. You rest your head on his shoulder, and he presses you into his side, pressing a few kisses to the top of your head. It’s an idle action, habitual and welcomed as the conversation flows.

(Something about one of Keigo’s old sidekicks. Another about Endeavor’s agency, still chugging along with him at the helm, albeit not as an active hero. The new hero charts, the new rules established, legislation. Things are getting... safer, a semblance of order being re-established now that much of the League has been apprehended.)

(Things are settling, as horrifying as the change is.)

The thought of so much makes you sleepy, long-standing exhaustion heavy in your bones. You nod off at some point to the kind, safe voices.

Keigo coaxes you awake once the conversation dies down.

“Love,” he purrs, rubbing your side, “let’s get up now and get you to bed.”

You follow him, the way he rises and guides you to the bathroom to help you ready for bed. Enji is settling on the couch, tugging a few throws over himself on the futon. You give him a shallow wave with half-lidded eyes, meeting his own.

Eye contact feels hard, but you manage to hold it for a few seconds.

In the bathroom, you pop onto the counter and slowly brush your teeth. Sleep clings to you, and you know it’ll return quickly, but the process of moving and interacting wears you down so easily. Your toothbrush almost slips from your grip.

“Just a little more, and then you can rest, dove,” Keigo urges, reverent as he finishes his own routine in tandem. You watch as he splashes water on his face, wetting the tufts of hair that fall around his face.

The cabin feels warmer.

You notice it as you enter the bedroom, Keigo already hopping into bed to assemble the ‘nest’ as both affectionately refer to it. The old throw, a few extra soft blankets, and a buttery soft duvet must be arranged just right before he is satisfied.

Keigo knows it’s a remnant.

He carries plenty of them, little chunks of him that are old and worn, old and unused. He can shake them, can’t bury them, they just simply are.

The birdish ones are nice, he thinks. He likes that he can preen you. He loves that you can preen him. That you’ll indulge him in that way, running your hands through his overgrown hair. You detangle any knots, soothe the snarls and rub at his neck until he’s liquid in your lap.

He likes nesting. The cold of the cabin can be almost forgotten in the little nests he makes. The mountains of bedding and pillows that you both can settle in. It’s peaceful, and it's shared, and things are okay.

It’s all slow, and a bit tedious, things that the remnants of ‘Hawks’ scream and thrash at. But, really? Keigo has no reason to listen to a ghost. He tries not to let himself be haunted.

He indulges himself for the first time in his life, probably.

As Keigo nestles you into the sheets beside him, he gives you a bit of room to get comfortable. Adjusts your pillows how you like, tangle your legs together in the comfiest way. Your own version of nesting that makes his palms sweat and his words turn to mush.

You settle together, chest to chest, Keigo’s chin hooked over the top of your head.

“Did you have a good day?” You ask, soft and sleepy.

Keigo nods easily, “I did. Enji doesn’t seem to quite as much of a square as he was a few years ago.”

You snort, muffling a giggle into his chest, “He’s definitely a little bit of a square. But I like him.”

“He offered to host us at the estate if we ever want to go back.”

You swallow, thick and slow, and try to bury yourself deeper in him, “... Do you want to go back?”

“No.” He pauses. “Maybe. Not yet, and not anytime soon. But the offer is on the table. It’s nice to have, even if we don’t take it.”

It’s insurance, somewhere else to tuck yourselves away if the mountains stop favoring you.

The thought of the future makes your head spin, as it tends to. The scar aches, but maybe it’s a tad duller than it was a few months ago. The pains only last a few moments, only stab so deeply. The place where the little chunk of obsidian fell out doesn’t feel quite as tender.

You lay your cheek on Keigo’s chest, your breath coming in time with his.

“‘M tired,” You murmur into his chest. “Can I sleep?”

“Of course, starshine.” He pushes back your hair, clears your forehead to press his lips to the skin, lightly. Little kisses piling up on top of each other. “Get some rest.”

“You too, pretty eyes.”

You both need it. For more than just a day with the folks who stuck around. You and Keigo need more rest than a being can responsibly accumulate during a human life. There are things to be stitched, worn parts of you that need tending to, and burns that’ll need salve until the day you die. It’s not any less than it was in the month’s past.

But it’s easier to manage.

You snuggle into Keigo’s chest, drifting off to the thought of fresh coffee and crackling heat.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

thank you for reading!!💞

ko-fi

#salem writes #hawks x reader #hawks #takami keigo #takami keigo x reader #my hero academia #mha fanfic #mha x reader #hawks imagines #wow :'^)#thank y'all for reading

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avinaccia · 3 years ago

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A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping, I have too much time on my hands, let’s go.

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes.

70. Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice) My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68. My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67. Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66. Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64. It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63. Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62. Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61. The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60. Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59. W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58. Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56. Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55. Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54. Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53. My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52. With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51. Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50. Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49. Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47. Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46. In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45. Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44. White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43. Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42. We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41. Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40. Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39. May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38. Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37. I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36. Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34. Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33. Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32. Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31. Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30. The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28. Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27. United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26. Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25. Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24. Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23. Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22. Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21. I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20. La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19. Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE.

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14. Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13. Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12. Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11. Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10. Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9. Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8. Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7. Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6. Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5. Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate.

4. Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1. The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series)

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

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hajimewhore · 4 years ago

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☾ɴᴇᴋᴏᴍᴀ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ʜᴀʙɪᴛꜱ

➸Part two of Haikyuu boys and their sleep habits ➸gn!Reader, fluff fluff fluff, a lil humor, sleep time💤

[Masterlist] [Karasuno]

✰ Kozume Kenma ➸ Kenma of course games dusk till dawn, but when the two of you started dating he’d set his game aside to curl up with you in bed, until you fell asleep stroking his hair. ➸ Initially, you found it sweet that he’d sacrifice late gaming time to cuddle and fall asleep with you. Until you woke up one night and saw him playing away at his switch, blue light illuminating his intense face in the late hours. ➸ Turns out, he kept whatever game console he’d been playing under his pillow, and waited till you fell asleep to resume gaming. ➸ It’s still sweet that he didn’t want to keep you up or make you worry about his gaming habit, but you still want him to get his sleep. ➸ When you pluck the game from his hands (provided it’s at a good saving point), he jumps and eyes you cautiously. “Get some sleep, Kenma.” ➸ He sighs and nods in agreement, curling back up to you.

✰ Kuroo Tetsurou ➸ The way Kuroo sleeps with pillows mashed on either side of his head is honestly baffling, and you’re genuinely surprised he hasn’t suffocated in his sleep yet. Seriously, who taught this cat to sleep like that? ➸ Though it is how he sleeps the most comfortable, so you let it slide when you spend the night. You get your fair share of pictures, documenting his odd sleep habit for your (Adorable) Photos To Embarrass Kuroo collection. ➸ Kuroo only decides to stop his pillow ear muff sleep method one night when he realizes he can’t see your face when he falls asleep. ➸ It starts genuinely upsetting him because he can’t lean over and peck your nose, or brush your cheek, or tuck your head into his shoulder, he can’t even cuddle you properly! ➸ And your face is definitely a face he desperately wants to kiss with soft and sweet goodnights. He also really wants to wake up in the early morning to your gentle countenance, as you snooze away without a worry (and not wake up to all these damn pillows). ➸ Now when you spend the night, he’s learned to fall asleep without the mess of pillows glued to his head. ➸ Funny enough, he gets roasted more by his friends for not having his iconic bed head than when he has his bed head.

✰ Yaku Morisuke ➸ No way in hell is Yaku gonna be caught being back hugged, or worse, LITTLE SPOONED. ➸ The guy is 5’5” and ALWAYS wants to be the big spoon. He refuses to be the little spoon. ➸ Though, eventually, through trial and tribulation you lowkey train him into loving it... ➸ Every time you hug him from the back, you press a kiss to his cheek and tell him something you love about him. Though initially tense at the action, he of course preens at the attention you’re showering him with and turns to presses kisses all over your face. ➸ He’ll kiss your nose, cheeks, forehead, lips, chin, anything with a surface area on your face, Yaku just loves to reciprocate your affection 10x over. ➸ If he’s had an especially rough practice, you give him a massage before bed, pressing kisses to his back as you lay behind him and wrap your arms around his middle. Yaku gives in with little complaint to being the little spoon, a content smile on his face. ➸ You’re not saying you Pavlov dog trained him or anything, but Yaku does wind up loving being the little spoon a tad more than he did beforehand.

✰ Haiba Lev ➸ Lev isn’t an easy person to sleep with by any means. He’s 6′5″, his long legs take up a lot of space, and he’s a crybaby that always wants to be the little spoon (but is too scared to ask). ➸ He always tends to stretch in his sleep, long limbs somehow growing longer as he nearly pushes you off the bed. In some cases, you actually wind up waking up abruptly on the floor. For this reason alone, you purchased a plush rug for the side you sleep on. ➸ He doesn’t mean to of course, but he sometimes accidentally smacks you in the face when he tosses and turns in his sleep. You’re thankful he doesn’t practice his spikes in his sleep at least, so you make sure to snuggle as close as possible to avoid any sleepy foul play. ➸ Lev steals the covers! With all that leg and height, he really can’t help it if he ends up pulling the sheets off of you in the night, curling up comfortably in his makeshift cocoon. ➸ You’ve learned he’s a heavy sleeper though, so if you wake up with a chill you don’t hesitate to steal back your share of the sheets. After comfortably situated, you warm up again by wrapping your arms around his middle (knowing in the morning he’ll wake up eagerly to being your little spoon!)

✰ Yamamoto Taketora ➸ He always wants to watch a movie before going to bed. He’ll sling his arm around your shoulder, and get nice and cozy as you set up your laptop. You lean into him comfortably, and lay back in the pillows to find something trending on Netflix to watch. ➸ As it turns out, he never finishes anything you watch, he always falls into a dead asleep within the first 15 minutes. You were surprised the first time you heard his soft snoring next to you, and chalked it up to a long and tiring day. ➸ Except, it happens every night. You’ve started to realize it’s not so much that he wants to watch a movie, it’s that he wants to fall asleep to a movie. ➸ Yamamoto is definitely the type to need background noise to fall asleep, always twisting and turning tirelessly if there’s too much empty noise. ➸ You love watching movies together with him though, so you learned to put on movies you don’t plan on finishing together. ➸ It’s cute seeing how invested he is to start. Yamamoto is always eager to spend more time with you and end your night together, but he inevitably starts nodding off with his head slumping on top of yours. ➸ You close the lap top each time, and shimmy yourselves into the covers, completely content with the routine you’ve found.

✰ Kai Nobuyuki ➸ He snores, so, so, so loudly. ➸ You don’t want him to feel bad about it, because you love to sleep over and don’t want him to feel guilty about something he can’t help, so you don’t mention it to him. ➸ But your lack of sleep due to the earth shattering snores is driving you mad. So instead, you look up ways to to quickly fall asleep. ➸ You start your days early, try to be active when you can, test a myriad of teas and snacks that supposedly induce sleep easier, and it turns out to be quite fun experimenting with different methods. It starts to be a little game to see if you can fall asleep before Kai does. ➸ And eventually, it starts to work! You fall asleep before him, and conk out through the night. ➸ In actuality, it turns out that Kai once saw an open browser on your laptop, googling ‘ways to fall asleep’. He also happened to notice your habit of drinking sleep time remedies. ➸ He kind of figured it must’ve been due to his snoring, he remembered his teammates teasing him about it at camp in high school. So, at night, he started to force himself to stay awake and listen for the sound of your even breathing. ➸ Though he doesn’t mind one bit, kissing your forehead when you’re finally asleep, love is compromise!

✰ Fukunaga Shouhei ➸ Fukunaga is a comedian by day, and comedian by night. The guy does not stop. ➸ He Is a chronic sleep talker, and often sleep walks (sleep acts, more like). You find yourself staying up some nights just to see what he’ll do next. ➸ You caught him in the living room once, doing what you can only assume was pitching a tent. Was he camping in his dreams? ➸ Depending on what he does, you’ll sometimes casually suggest what you should do for your next date, like camping. “How did you know I wanted to that, babe?!” (He’s convinced you’re a psychic). ➸ It’s insane to you how long the acts go on too. He never flits between dreams, always one routine. You think he kayaked to an island once, judging by the way he mimed it on the couch, sleep talking about the dolphins and the birds. ➸He’ll sleep talk his comedy routines also, “Thanks for coming everyone!”, and you have to stifle a laugh so not to wake him. ➸ You always let it run it’s course since he’s not hurting anyone or himself. You sigh contently when he finally returns to bed after whatever wild adventure he was having, and he always tucks his head into your shoulder muttering about his love for you.

✰ Inuoka Sou ➸ The biggest, love struck, dork. Always, always, always wants to cuddle, and it’s the cutest thing ever. ➸ He follows you around all night before it’s time to sleep, not unlike a puppy would. He brushes his teeth with you, and even learned to do a skin care routine just to spend more time with you in the bathroom. And he only did so because he spent entirely too long pouting in bed, tossing and turning, while waiting for you to finish. ➸ Cuddling with Inuoka is always warm and wholesome... until it isn’t. On hot summer nights, you can’t stand to be wrapped up in his body heat. It’s perfect for colder weather and winter nights, but not the scorching summer. ➸ Despite being the heaviest sleeper, always snoozing past his alarm and snoring away when you try to wake him, he instantly wakes up when you try to move away from his arms. ➸ You only wanted to get a air and rid of all the heat, but Inuoka looks up at you with the sleepiest puppy eyes you’ve ever seen, “Babe, where are you going?” ➸ Every time, you give in, “No where baby.” ➸ It’s just once a year, for the entirety of the summer, right? You can withstand that much (and maybe invest in a better fan).

[Masterlist] [Karasuno]

#IM SOFT #i feel a little bad this went on longer than the karasuno boys but what can i say #i love my nekoma guys #haikyuu!!#HQ!!#haikyuu drabbles #haikyuu headcanons #hqradiostation #nekoma #nekoma x reader #kuroo tetsurou x reader #kozume kenma x reader #haiba lev x reader #yaku morisuke x reader #kai nobuyuki x reader #inuoka sou x reader #fukunaga shouhei x reader #yamamoto taketora x reader

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xxiamtiebrousxx · 3 years ago

Text

The Enchanted Door (Chapter Three: Summoned by the Moon)

Luciana got through the next few days, her mood ranging from depressed to giddy and back again. It was a mess of contradictions, her mood unstable. Her weekend was surprisingly great and spent it swimming, writing, baking, and doing things with her brother. The full moon was coming up on Tuesday and Luciana was excited. She just adored the moon. It filled her with happiness. It was a small thing but the joy she felt while looking at it was magical. She would always go outside and stare at the moon with a grin on her face. She would listen to vampire or witch themed playlists to fit her mood. She wore her crystals that day too. It made her feel powerful. Tuesday arrived. It had been around a month since the blood moon and her failed attempt to summon Preminger. She actually tried to summon him. Lavender did as well because their collab inspired them to try. It was no use though. Preminger never showed up no matter how hard they tried.

Luciana thought about trying again that night after looking up that blood moons sometimes interfered with spell casting in some folklore. I'll try again to summon him tonight. Maybe he'll come. I hope he does. That would be so cool. Maybe if he does show up, I could try summoning others. Like Snape and Raoul and Wiggins and Bruno and more. I could meet everyone I adore. That would be magical. She did her chores and worked on her schoolwork, focusing on her term project. It was on witches. She was taking a summer course on monsters. She was listening to Mozart as she worked, typing up her facts in a PowerPoint. She decided to stop once she hit slide ten. She had until Sunday to finish this project and she was a chunk of the way done. She got out of her chair and went downstairs to let her dog outside. She got some bread out of the fridge and made herself a ham and cheese sandwich and then grabbed some chips. She ate her lunch and let the dog inside, going back up to her room. She began to write some fanfics before her parents got home. She updated two of them on Quotev and then watched some Buffy the Vampire Slayer before her dog started barking hysterically. Her parents and brother were home. The front door opened.

"Lucy!!! I had a great day at camp!!!" Oliver exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm glad," Luciana said, trying to make her voice sound as peppy as possible. She got comments from her brother that she sounded unhappy with everything even if she was excited.

"Can we play?" her brother asked.

"Sure," Luciana replied. "What do you want to play?"

"Animal Crossing! Can we visit islands?"

Oh god not again. "Sure I guess." She got on the Nintendo and so did her brother. They got on their Animal Crossing game cards and started playing. Luciana dressed herself in causal clothes on the game and went to her brother's island for a while. She was growing bored but the thought of the full moon and the possible chance that Preminger would show up that night. It did not work last time, but she was determined to try again. If it didn't work this time, then she would be sure that it was impossible to summon him. But at least she still had her friends and the one who said he loved her in real life. She was still curious to see if she could bring Preminger into reality.

The night continued like usual. She played with her brother, ate dinner, and finished her chores. She then went upstairs to get ready for bed. She showered and got a text from her mom asking for cookies. "Seriously? Again? We had cookies like two or three days ago!" She didn't mind too much though. She wanted cookies and she baked as she listened to "That's Amore" by Dean Martin. She liked Dean Martin and the song made her think of her platonic crush, Aaron. He was really sweet and autistic like she was. He made her smile and it was natural unlike the guy who broke her heart a month prior. It was one of the reasons why Luciana was so set on summoning Preminger. She felt hurt, but she had been getting over him. It wasn't romantic, but still, it had hurt. But Aaron made her days worth living. Her friends did too. Her mood had mostly improved for the time being. She put the cookies in the oven after getting a mouthful of chocolate chips. She could not refuse that. She waited for the cookies to finish baking as she began listening to a witchy playlist. She went outside to look at the moon. It was high in the sky in the east, its silvery light shining. She held her amethyst necklace and began chanting Preminger's name under her breath, hoping he'd arrive like in her and Lavender's story. He did not show up. Luciana's face fell. Of course he didn't show up. He's not real. I'll stop trying. It's okay. I have fanfics and the film. I'll be fine. I have Aaron in real life. She came back inside to get the cookies, not knowing that a shooting star shot through the sky. Legend said that shooting stars could grant wishes and her wish was about to come true, but in a way she would never expect. She plated a few cookies and told her mom that the moon was lovely. She showed her mom the moon and then went upstairs with the cookies.

She pulled up Youtube and watched Sssniperwolf as she munched on her gooey home-baked cookies fresh from the oven. She chatted with her online friends, including Aaron. She felt happy, a little dejected that the spell seemed to have not worked, but still quite joyful. She began writing again after eating her late night snack. She updated another chapter of The Advisor's Curse and began working on her collab with Taylor when she suddenly felt really tired. It was midnight. Usually she stayed up past one in the morning. She told her friends goodnight and turned on some ASMR. It was a video by GibiASMR, one of her favorites. She soon fell asleep, but awoke a little while later to a strange humming sound.

"Is someone calling me? At this hour?" she mumbled tiredly. She looked at her phone, which had no phone call notification. It was only 1:15 in the morning. She hardly even slept an hour. Something in her room was glowing and it wasn't her salt lamp. It was different. "What the hell? It was coming from her closet that was suddenly slightly ajar. She had closed her closet door after putting her dirty clothes in the hamper hours earlier. Maybe I left it slightly open and I don't remember doing so. She put on her glasses and crept towards the glowing door with golden light. This feels like something straight out of a fantasy novel. I must be dreaming. She touched the doorknob and turned it, pulling open the door. The golden light filled her bedroom and blinded her eyes for a moment. Curiosity propelled her to walk towards the light, drawn to it. As soon as she stepped through the door, her room disappeared and sunlight filtered through the bluish gray sky. She had been transported somewhere.

She looked down at herself. She seemed...animated? Like the early 3D animated movies. She recognized the style. This is early Mattel! The Barbie movies! But how did I get here and which movie am I in? She was not wearing her lavender Olaf pajama pants with her pink Disney Princess shirt anymore. In its place was a simple red gown that looked like it was from the eighteenth century. This style reminds me of Princess and the Pauper. Could I be there? Oh my god, what if my wish worked? What if instead of Preminger coming to me, I came to him? She was in a swarm of people and that made her feel anxious. She tried to get away from the crowd and find the castle so she could find a place to stay. She saw the castle from afar, her heart pounding. I'm really here! Oh my god!!! I might actually get to meet him! This is a dream come true! She then saw the clouds gathering. They were dark, stormy clouds. Oh crap. A storm was brewing. Wait, this is genius! I'll get soaked and then come to the castle, shivering! It's happened in The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen! The queen will surely let me in! Rain began to fall as thunder rumbled. Luciana picked up her skirts and ran towards the castle on the small mountain and prayed that she would be let in.

She eventually came to the gates, completely soaked and shivering from the cold. The guards stared at her. "A peasant on our property? You're in the wrong place, miss," one said.

"But I'm soaked to the bone and freezing!" Luciana whined, partially for show, but she really was uncomfortable and cold. The guards looked at each other.

"Well, I suppose we can let her in, but we must speak with the queen before she can stay." The guard gestured towards Luciana. "Come with us. We will escort you to Her Majesty." Luciana followed, her heart thudding. She was hopefully meeting Preminger too. Hopefully he wasn't on his "long journey" that was really him just stealing gold. She wanted to meet him so badly, but she was scared too. What if he didn't like her? She hoped for the best as the guards led her to the throne room. "I will fetch the queen and her advisor, Preminger." Luciana's heart nearly stopped beating.

He's here?! Oh my god I'm not ready! No I am! Oh my gosh!!! "Of course," was all she could say to the guard. He went off and came back a few minutes later with Queen Genevieve and Preminger following close behind.

"We found this peasant on the grounds of the castle. She's shivering and wet, but you will decide what to do with her." Queen Genevieve looked Luciana up and down and turned to Preminger.

"What should I do, Preminger?" she asked him. "Let her stay or make her leave?"

"A peasant in the castle? Ah!" Preminger scoffed. "Get her out. I want nothing to do with her. I was in the middle of reading Romeo and Juliet and I was interrupted by this!"

"Then guards, take her away!" the queen ordered. Luciana's face fell and her heart sank. Preminger wouldn't even give her a chance. Tears pricked her eyes but she thought of something as the guards seized her arms.

"Wait, I love Romeo and Juliet," she said quietly. "And Hamlet as well." Preminger was about to saunter off with a snooty expression but paused and stared at Luciana.

"You? You like Shakespeare?" he asked with disbelief. "You're a peasant and a woman! I doubt you're educated enough to even know how to read!" Luciana felt her blood boil. This was not the encounter she'd expected. She feared that she had created her own fantasy version of Preminger that was nothing like he actually was. And he insulted her. She did not take insults well at all.

"Excuse me, but I am educated!" she snapped. "I know how to read, write, and have been complimented on my intelligence! And if you don't see that, then you're a simpleton!" Preminger gasped, clearly offended himself.

"How dare you!"

"You dared to say I was uneducated just because I'm a woman! Stop being so misogynistic!" Luciana spat. She was not one to be messed with when it came to equal rights. She was minoring in Women's Studies and she was passionate. Preminger's golden eyes narrowed at her and opened his mouth to speak when Anneliese walked into the room.

"Let her stay," she said. "She's cold and wet. At least let her stay for tonight."

"I suppose I will, darling," the queen said to her daughter. She then turned to Luciana. "You may stay. I will have a few servants prepare you a room and give you some clothes. You are invited to join us for dinner." A few maids were called for and they brought Luciana to her room after the queen said one last thing. "I apologize for Preminger's behavior. He is not usually like this." Luciana tried to maintain eye contact even though it was uncomfortable.

"You have been very nice. Thank you for letting me stay, Your Majesty," she said before going off to her new room. It was regal with a large bed. The maids brought in a red gown that was elegant and something that Luciana would wear if she lived in Marie Antoinette's time. They helped dress her and dry her off. It took two hours to have her styled. Luciana was grateful for dry clothes and her reflection in the mirror was stunning. She did not look like a rococo princess, but she looked pretty close. The red suited her. Soon, it was time for dinner and she was brought to the dining room.

"Please welcome, our guest," a servant said as she entered the room. Her brown hair was curled and styled similarly to Anneliese's but shorter. Her red dress contrasted from her pale skin and stood out. Preminger was eating at the moment and when he locked eyes with her, he dropped his fork.

"Do you regret being such an ass to me now?" Luciana said curtly with a smirk on her face. Preminger's cheeks went bright red, about as red as Luciana's dress. He said nothing. Luciana sat down next to him since that was the only seat open. She was still very upset with what he said and if this was not a dream, she would tell her friends on Quotev that she was taking a long break from Barbie fanfics. The pain burned. Her crush hated her. The one chance she had to meet him and he merely insulted her. It was a major blow to her self-esteem and made her question if Aaron liked her too. She had a fleeting thought that he would ditch her. She ate her dinner in silence, not wanting to speak even though the rest of the room was buzzing with chatter. She finished her plate and left without being excused. She knew that was probably not how to behave in a castle but she was overwhelmed and she needed to get to a quiet place. She knew just where to go, the library. When in doubt, go to the library. Didn't Hermione say that? Right? She had no idea that Preminger was following her.

She entered the library and began searching through the books. Shakespeare clearly existed here so that was her first option to search for. She found a copy of Hamlet and flipped to his famous soliloquy and began to recite it. "To be or not to be, that is the question..." She was oblivious to the fact that Preminger was standing in the doorway, listening to Luciana read from the book. A small smile was on his face.

"Too bad you don't have a sword because I've been here the whole time like Polonius was behind the tapestry," he said with a chuckle. Luciana jumped, startled from the sound of his voice.

"If I had a sword, I'd probably stab you willingly because of the way you spoke to me," she said coldly.

"I should not have assumed you were not educated just from your looks," Preminger said. "You seem to be passionate about literature."

"I am very passionate. Back home, my room is full of books. I have over one hundred and want more. I don't care if I don't have the time to read them all, I just like the aesthetic. But you never apologized to me, which I hope you will do before I get angry."

"I apologize," Preminger said. "You read the soliloquy well. It's like you know the play by heart."

"I studied it once. It was a dark time then. I relate a lot to Hamlet. I know his pain even thought my life is much different," Luciana told him without looking in his direction.

"How do you relate?" Preminger inquired. Luciana turned towards him.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said.

"Family drama I suppose?" Luciana nodded.

"Yep. And depression. Now leave me alone." She wanted to go home. She did not feel the excitement she thought she would feel. She regretted going through the door. If she hadn't, she would have still adored Preminger and wanted to write fanfics. Now, she was empty. He had one more chance to turn this around before Luciana would hate him forever.

"Well why don't you stick to your books, schoolgirl. Wouldn't that be fun?" Preminger said snidely before erupting into evil laughter. Luciana felt her cheeks go hot.

He saved it. Uh oh here comes the fangirling! "I will gladly stick to my books. It's something that makes me happy." She smiled as she held the book close to her chest. "I love the places words let me go."

"That's very poetic. By the way, I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Luciana. My name is Luciana. You may call me Lucy if you'd like," Luciana said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy," Preminger said. Luciana smiled, admiring his golden eyes. "Tell me about yourself."

"I don't know if I can," Luciana said. "It's complicated."

"Earlier you said you know how to write. Is that just a skill or a hobby as well?"

"I love writing a lot. I do it almost every night. I write so many stories because they take me places beyond my imagination. It's tailored to me because I wrote it. I would love to share some of my stories will you one day. Maybe." Preminger grinned.

"I bet they are lovely. You seem more like me than anyone around here. Do you enjoy music?" Luciana nodded.

"I don't play anything but I like to listen to music and I once sang," she said. "Not so much now. Do you play any instruments? Like the harpsichord?" She hoped he'd say yes because if he did, that meant she guessed something right about him that was never specified in the movie. If he was a redhead as well, Luciana would lose it. That's the hair color she imagined him with.

"I take pride in playing the harpsichord," he told her with a triumphant smile. Luciana blushed.

"I'd love it if you'd serenade me," she sighed dreamily.

"First, tell me where you are from." Luciana felt her chest tighten.

Do I tell him I'm from another universe? Or is that too complicated? But I want him to know I adore him so much. Maybe I should wait to tell him the full story. Who knows if he's really sorry for being an ass. "I'm from a land far away," was all she said. "Very far from here."

"Oh."

"May I be serenaded?"

"Yes. Follow me." Preminger took her hand and led her to one of the music rooms. He sat down on the bench in front of the harpsichord. "Any requests?"

"Just play something you think I would like," Luciana said. Preminger sifted through the stack of sheet music and began playing a sarabande that Luciana recognized. It was a piece by Handel. Then she realized this was a scene straight out of Destined! Well, oddly similar. If Preminger asked her to sing "Lavender's Blue", that would be eerie. "I know this song," she told Preminger. "It's a favorite of mine."

"I'm glad you enjoy it. I found another song you'd like," Preminger said after he finished playing. "It's one that requires you to sing."

"Let me guess. 'Lavender's Blue'?"

"How did you know?" Preminger asked.

"Lucky guess?" Luciana replied. This is literally a variation of chapter four of my story. Preminger played Handel's 'Sarabande' for Juliette and then asked her to sing 'Lavender's Blue'. He's done the same for me. He put the sheet music in front of him.

"You ready?" Luciana blushed and her heart pounded.

"It's been ages since I've sang and I'm not warmed up," she protested.

"Just sing." He began to play. Luciana fiddled with her dress and began to sing. “Lavender’s blue, dilly, dilly. Lavender’s green. When you are king, dilly, dilly, I shall be queen. Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so? ’Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly that told me so.” Preminger smiled at her as she sang. She relaxed. She was living in one of her fantasies and she felt happy. “Call up your men, dilly, dilly, set them to work. Some to the plough, dilly, dilly, some to the fork. Some to make hay, dilly, dilly, some to cut corn, while you and I, dilly, dilly, keep ourselves warm. Lavender’s blue, dilly, dilly. Lavender’s green. If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you.” She kept singing, her voice ringing through the halls in harmony with Preminger’s harpsichord. “I love to dance, dilly, dilly, I love to sing. When I am queen, dilly, dilly, you’ll be my king. Who told me so, dilly, dilly, who told me so? I told myself, dilly, dilly, I told me so.” She smiled at him as she finished the song, hinting she really liked him without actually saying so.

"Brava!" he said. "You sang wonderfully! You have a lower voice, which is unique in the castle. Princess Anneliese has a different tone than you do."

"You said 'brava', which is the correct term in opera for congratulating a girl," Luciana said. "And thank you. I hardly ever sing."

"Do people forbid you in your kingdom?" Preminger questioned.

"Not really, but I feel like a caged bird there. I don't feel happy a lot. But my father remarked that it was nice to see me smile for once a few days ago."

"Well you're not caged here. Want to sing more?" Luciana nodded. She felt at ease with him, but was still wary. She hoped he was done with his sexist comments, but she also thought maybe he wasn't thinking before he said those words. Preminger set up another song for her to sing. She sang for him, her heart pouring. "You have a beautiful voice."

"Thanks," Luciana said sheepishly. "It's getting really late. We should probably get to bed."

"You're right. Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.”

"Romeo and Juliet," Luciana said. "I love that play. It's tragic, yet poetic."

"Indeed it is." Preminger took her hand and led her to her chambers. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Preminger," Luciana responded, her heart beating fast. She went into her room and undressed after he left. She got into her nightgown and crawled into bed, falling asleep quickly. She hoped this had not been a dream and that she had actually met Preminger.

"Luciana!! You need to feed the dogs!" her mother called up to her, startling her from sleep. She looked around the room. She was back in her own room at home in her pjs. Her dog was curled up her her bed on the floor. Her closet door was closed as well.

It was just a dream. No wonder why I dreamt a scene similar to Destined. I guess I dreamt it. She got out of bed and grabbed the dog. She went downstairs and started her Wednesday morning. She had a lot to do that day, but afterwards, she would write her dream down, hoping to include it in a story. After getting dressed, she listened to "Lavender's Blue", imagining the scene in her dream, longing to see Preminger once more.

A/n: Written by @annethevampirequeen

#Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper #Phantom of the Opera #Harry Potter #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Marvel #Moon Knight #Magic #Crossover #Romance

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