#i tried looking through some pjo tags and was let down

[poisonpercy]

I do find it slightly annoying that when looking at the pjo tag or any related tag, it’s mostly filled with pjotv posts that I don’t particularly vibe with on account of me not liking the show. Like I want to see pjo content that has to do with the books, not whatever pjotv was. Obviously there’s no hate for the pjotv posts, it’s just a minor annoyance having to wade through posts that aren’t relevant to the subject matter I’m interested in

[the-ghost-king]

love seeing ur tags on my posts it means i get to think 🥰🥰 anyway mostly agree but at least to me nico’s constant need to prove himself is a sign of feeling like he’s not worth other people’s time and effort and he has to MAKE himself worth it. he does all he can in the hopes that people will notice him and tell him that he’s good enough because he relies on the approval of people he loves. he thinks love is something conditional for him and that he always has to be earning it because he doesn’t have enough worth to have it just granted to him. again this is more my own interpretation of his character and possibly a bit of projection

(Post)

I will not fail to acknowledge that I might also be projecting somewhat onto Nico, what is media but self reflection? I think there's a couple ways you can see Nico that are canonically "correct"

What I personally think happened with Nico is that he was aware he was worth more than the treatment he was receiving, but because so much rejection occurred he eventually just assumed he was the problem. There's things on this I would rewrite now but it holds up okay in what I'm about to try and explain.

The thing about being rejected is that the first time you argue it's the other person. And the second time you'll argue it's still them. If you're still arguing it's other people the third time, maybe but it's thin ice... But eventually you just have to accept that you're at fault.

I think this is something that really describes Nico. He is never able to nestle himself in the comfort of sameness after a certain point. He is not given authority in his own story in the beginning, he is thrust into solitude, he is told he is a monster already and if not then he has no choice but to become one.

And he takes this blame upon himself, believing that it's him who has to prove himself. He doesn't acknowledge that maybe other people have their own biases against him, he says "I have to prove them wrong," and then does his best.

It's important to note that Nico is definitely grappling with Childhood Emotional Neglect, he's in a broken situation- and he recognizes that nobody wants him around, and that he's just more stress for an already stressed group of people, so he just backs down and starts to figure stuff out for himself. We see him accept some help and friendship from The Stolls in TTC but eventually he stops doing this at some point.

His leave from camp and time with Minos is when he is used:

you unknowingly wear your heart on your sleeve and people will see this and take advantage of your trusting nature and unconditional love and they’ll never really love you they’ll just see you as an easy tool to be manipulated and used how they see fit and you won’t recognize that this is a bad thing because you don’t believe you’re worth anything more than this

This is something I would say is very true about this time period of Nico's life. Minos emotionally exploits Nico, emotional neglect and abuse (possibly physical abuse, who knows) are defining characteristics of their interactions. Nico talks about how Minos will just randomly leave him for extremely long periods with no assistance, and about how when he's around he's always telling Nico to try harder, to do better, do more. Note the time he tells Nico "you have no power over me", he's definitely holding things over Nico's head. I don't think it's wrong to assume comfort is a part of that, Nico is alone all the time at this point, and I'm sure he's starved for touch, and support, and connection- and he will take whatever he can get whether or not it is good or right.

At first he doesn't do anything against this, and it might be because he was so starved for attention that he was willing to endure abuse to receive somewhat a consistent form of it. I also think there's some evidence that points to the idea Nico was getting something from Minos, training and similar stuff, it's possible he was willing to form and upkeep a toxic relationship with him in order to gain experience.

However, I do disagree with "and you won’t recognize that this is a bad thing because you don’t believe you’re worth anything more than this" because Nico does realize eventually that his situation isn't sustainable and that he has to do something- so he takes his narrative back into his own hands:

“Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the god of spirits! The ghost king!" "No." Nico drew his sword. "I am.” (X)

So Nico, if he ever thought he was worth the treatment of being used for someone elses personal gain, he definitely overcomes some of it here, if not all of it. Nico is manipulated and used for Minos's personal gain, but he recognizes that it's not sustainable and makes a stand for himself. And this is the first time in the series where Nico truly is able to take control of his own narrative, everything before this moment is Nico being forced, or Nico with something looming over him, Nico crowning himself is him claiming his story.

So let's consider Hades in all of this, I don't think Hades manipulated Nico to the extent Minos did- but nonetheless, he did manipulate and abuse him, and this hurt Nico more than when Minos did it. Again, in the situation with Hades this is also true, "you unknowingly wear your heart on your sleeve and people will see this and take advantage of your trusting nature and unconditional love and they’ll never really love you they’ll just see you as an easy tool to be manipulated and used how they see fit and you won’t recognize that this is a bad thing". By the time Nico and Hades truly start interacting, we see that Nico's heart hasn't been fully removed from his sleeve, but it may have been lightened.

Here's the thing about the way Nico approached Hades, it's not naïve to trust family. The text in multiple places implies that Hades was around for at least a handful of years when Nico was a kid, it's not unlikely that Nico may have taken naps on his shoulder, held his hand to cross the street, maybe called him "Papa", "Dad", or "Tata" (Italian, English, old Greek). It makes sense that Nico goes to him, what doesn't make sense to Nico at first is that Hades would manipulate him. Unlike many of the other demigods, Nico knows he was a choice, and that at some point he was something wanted, so he expects some level of okay treatment from Hades. Hades loved his mother, and Hades if not wanting of Nico would have wanted Maria's wishes fulfilled, and Nico probably remembers Hades treating him warmly- or at least not harshly. The way Nico went to Hades makes sense, he wasn't expecting open arms surely, but he also wasn't expecting abuse.

Hades emotionally exploits Nico by using information about Maria, what would a little boy want more than the safety of his mother? He's so starved for human contact, who ever held him more than his mother? Who ever loved him more than her? Once Nico delivers Percy to Hades, his father crushes him, not only by harming Percy but by exploiting Nico's trust through Nico's mother- one of the things he's most desperate for.

We see Nico's heart come off his sleeve at this point, maybe not fully, but enough to where a stranger couldn't recognize it at first glance, and in a way where he has the means to hide it from most.

Except we don't see much of this, because the series is narrated by Percy- and Nico can't hide his heart from Percy.

Almost everything Nico does, everything he tries to do, is for Percy. Nico is so desperate for contact that he is pliant, but in Percy's hands Nico actually wants that contact, he's not interested in imitations of love or substitutes- he's looking for the real thing.

And Mr. Oblivious does-Annabeth-like-me Jackson isn't in any headspace to realize that a boy might like him, let alone Nico. This concern that Nico will join Luke, isn't entirely because Percy is misreading signals, but it's definitely part of it. Nico likes Percy so much that at one point he is willing to go to Tartarus if not entirely for him, then partially for him.

If Percy had realized, and rejected Nico- maybe he would have joined Luke, or at least he definitely would have been more likely to. The perception of Nico we get in PJO from Percy is unreliable, because Percy looks at Nico through the lenses of a concerned older brother, and Percy feels guilty in some way for the situation Nico is in. This gives not only a skewed, but slightly falsified narrative of who Nico is.

The original post of mine I linked, although yes, I would like to rewrite aspects of it now it holds up in the sense that Nico is always trying to prove himself, and this is a bit different than being a puppet. Nico is so starved that it is present in everything, @/arabnico gets it right:

nico’s longing is just so raw it consumes him whole and he cannot hide it at all because it reflects in absolutely everything he does and is nico’s just the means of the way for them and he settles for being it because he doesn’t think he can be much better or even deserves to it is sometting so twisted because nico has this innate utalitarian desire to be useful and to do something and to do the right thing but in the game of things he’s reduced to that puppet in the hands of fate and deities millennia older than him that see a wounded wandering soul doomed to be forever alone by a destiny so cruel it keeps him on his knees

Nico, in PJO especially, has little control over his own narrative. His mother is killed in punishment for his father's "wrongs", Nico is forced to endure this. Bianca grows tired of caring for Nico and leaves him behind, this is not Nico's fault but Nico is forced to endure the consequences of her actions. Bianca's fate is decided on a quest Nico isn't even able to go on, he is forced to endure the results. Nico then breaks the cycle, declaring himself The Ghost King, and dethroning Minos. Nico is forced to endure Hades's manipulation only because he did not see it coming, this wasn't an aspect in which Nico didn't have his narrative (he had already taken ownership of his narrative) but a blind spot in his rational.

The place where we vary is why Nico behaves this way, we can agree that it's because he's starving for human connection- but you believe it's because he has no confidence he is willing to submit himself, while I see his submission as an act of desperation.

Personally, I think to argue that Nico is like this as a result of lack of confidence does a disservice to his narrative (obviously it's fine to view him however you wish, and I wish you all the fun in doing so!). To boil this down to starvation and lack of confidence removes some level of Nico's autonomy in his own life, but also strips him of one of his strongest characteristics- those qualities of him which are like Orpheus.

Nico willing to go to the ends of the earth for love is not a weakness but a strength, his ability to carry on beyond the point in which he needs a rest is not a weakness but a sign of strength. His ability to go to the ends of the earth to right wrongs, and to show his love:

"... Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways into a granite pedestal. Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work- a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you- especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards."

Cupid is explaining Nico's idea of love in this scene, we see Jason say he prefers Piper's idea of love- but Nico only knows love in the way cupid describes, working desperately for a few moments with Bianca, working just to hear any scrap of information about his mother, always trying to prove himself to Percy- to overcome the way he feels about Percy (and boys in general).

Nico has only known love as something you walk to the ends of the Earth for, but he never stops fighting to be loved and acknowledged. Lesser men would give up and lay down, accept they are unworthy, but Nico keeps pushing to be acknowledged and accepted- to be recognized and loved without having to walk to the end of the Earth, but Nico knows he has to walk to that edge and face it before unconditional love will come to him.

To imply that Nico seeks love the way he does because he's unconfident in his ability to receive love ignores the idea that he's had his life forced into this position because of the fates. It loses acknowledgment to the strength it takes to pick yourself up and walk to the end of the Earth time and time again, because if he was unconfident then he would eventually lay down and accept he shouldn't be loved ever again.

I don't think confidence doesn't play into this at all though, it definitely has some impact on Nico, he does view himself as inherently less (he is overly self sacrificial- think Tartarus :/), and he does try to remove himself from others:

You yourself said: you blame yourself for the way people have hurt you, taken advantage of you, and abandoned you. they exploit your love and your naïveté time and time again. you tell yourself, surely, there must be something wrong with you. because—you are convinced—that people are good. “if they hurt me, it is because i am flawed. it is because i am weak. people will always hurt me—even people i love. it’s an inevitable truth for me.” (X)

And this connects to what I said: "The thing about being rejected is that the first time you argue it's the other person. And the second time you'll argue it's still them. If you're still arguing it's other people the third time, maybe but it's thin ice... But eventually you just have to accept that you're at fault."

I do think there's a reason Nico makes himself so "utilitarian", because he hasn't been handed unconditional love since Bianca. But again we disagree on the why, I see Nico's behavior in his utilitarian example of love as caring, the way more people should be in love. Too many people see love as something given without restraint, and yeah, love should be unconditional but in order for love to be unconditional you have to do the work to lay good foundation. To be utilitarian in loving is not an act of weakness, or a symbol of lack of confidence, it is a showcase of more care in love than most have to offer. We care for things, and place value on them determined by how much love and care goes into those things.

I also don't see Nico's self blaming for what happened as flawed, it's logical in his situation, and a common result of CEN. This self blame shows care and kindness, and this coincides with Nico's arcs, "If I am bad, how do I improve? If I have no choice but to be evil, how do I still be good?". Nico is always fighting not to be recognized for good or bad, but to be recognized for what he is.

Trust is not naivety either, the only reason Nico is regarded as naïve is because of the extreme circumstances of his life. People shouldn't have to expect abuse from people who are supposed to love them, people should have to accept abuse in order to receive love. If Nico's life had turned out different, his naivety wouldn't be viewed as a weakness but a strength- a kindness.

We're not actually viewing Nico all that different, there's this space where his character blurs together, and it becomes an individual duty to determine at what point a flaw becomes a strength, and a strength a flaw. Nico's stubbornness is a flaw if we're thinking about grudges, but it's a strength in his work ethic. Nico's ability to stand on his own is a strength in terms of questing, but it's a flaw when it prevents him from experiencing love in fullness.

[peachcitt]

okay, so style reference you say? I'm 👀

YES STYLE REFERENCE I SAY

this is going to be. a very long post i think with probably a lot of tangents and probably with a lot more thorough explanation than you could ever want but. here we go

because all of my theory/explanation posts end up So Long, i like to organize myself by keeping myself to a structure, and i also like to think if i put stuff in sub categories with bolded titles, people reading can skip ahead to the stuff they want if they're low on time or don't feel like slogging through everything. so here's the structure of the official Peach Style Reference Narrative

1. Early Days - how i started writing, my early inspirations, origins

2. Current Days - discussions of current style references plus examples and comparisons, discussions of original content versus fan content

3. Future Days - where i expect my writing to grow, trajectories i want, conclusory thoughts

without further ado, let's get into it!

1. Early Days

like i mentioned on the discord server, ive been writing creatively for. a very long time. i just turned 20 (like. literally today. we love to see it) and that seems very young, but i remember writing creatively when i was maybe six or seven, and before that i played with dolls a lot, which meant every day i was creating little narratives for myself. in addition to this - and this is probably why i started writing so young - i was (and am!) a very avid reader. i was that little jerk in elementary school reading chapter books and going into the older kids' section in the school library because i'd already mentally surpassed the books in the section meant for kids my age. so, basically, ive been writing for maybe 13 or 14 years at the least.

when i was young, my favorite books that i remember trying to copy in my own stories were: the magic treehouse books, harry potter, and percy jackson.

the magic treehouse

i honestly could not tell you which magic treehouse book it was, but i remember reading a specific magic treehouse book where the magic lady that left the treehouse for the kids sends the kids (jack and annie??) a note in distress, and she didn't get to finish signing her name because whoever had gotten her had interrupted her. it had been printed in the book with the ink on her name running.

i could not tell you anything else that happened in that book, but i can tell you that at some point in time soon after i read that book i started writing a story with an interrupted letter just like that. i loved the drama, the mystery of it all. i wanted to do something that was a little scary like that, a little exciting.

harry potter

harry potter isn't much of a style reference, but it was a huge impact of my childhood. truth be told i kind of hated the books when i was really young because i grew up watching the movies, and when i tried to read the books when i was in elementary school, the teenage angst that hits about book 5 simply Did Not make sense to me. i also find the language of harry potter to be super cumbersome, and sometimes it feels to me like the books are long just for the sake of being long. they have a huge cultural impact, but i feel the same way about harry potter's style as i do about dickens. cool and interesting, but, like, could you get to the point already? (and also my opinion of j.k. rowling has steadily been growing worse and worse over the years, for obvious reasons. harry potter is nostalgic for me, but i can't look at it now without thinking about it critically, which really lowers my opinion of it)

however, you could probably call my first fanfiction a harry potter fanfiction. i started it when i was maybe six or seven, and it was a rewrite of the chamber of secrets with my childhood best friend as the main character (she didn't know about it, i just had her as the main character because i thought she was cool). i of course never finished it, but harry potter probably did a huge part of planting that seed of magic in me. everything i want to write included some form of magic - although my perspective on what can be considered magic has steadily expanded over the years.

percy jackson

of all my childhood "style references" that still influence me to this day, percy jackson has got to be the biggest. for starters, it's magic. second, it's main themes are about friendship and family - things that i like all my stories now to always include. third - and most important - is the narrative voice.

in terms of narrative voice, percy has a huge personality. he's witty and snarky, but also very thoughtful and poignant. a lot of my early writing was in first person, and it's probably because of percy. also, percy jackson was the first fandom i really got into, and it was the first media that i started officially writing and posting fanfiction for. percy's voice is so clear and hooking, and i wanted to be able to write something funny and real like that.

also - chapter titles. the original pjo series is famous for its weird and hilarious chapter titles, and even though i didn't really start writing fics or stories that were long enough to need chapter titles until a while later, i loved the idea of putting in a chapter title that would make a reader laugh, or maybe even make a reader feel a little apprehensive about the events to come.

but back to percy's narrative voice. i loved that style, almost conversational, so much that i started thinking like it. when i wasn't doing anything, like walking home in middle school, i often found myself narrating my life in my head like percy would, trying to find that humor and spark in my every day surroundings. i still find myself doing that very often, but not necessarily in the classic pjo style. now i narrate everything in my head a little differently, but that practice narration in my early days really helped my shape my voice, i think.

other series i read when i was younger include: a a series of unfortunate events and the name of this book is secret. i don't remember seeing a lot of influence in my early writing from those books, but i definitely think the styles of those books hit me a little later, which i will talk about in the next section.

but, yeah. these were the big three of my childhood. i also read a lot of ya romance, children's mystery books, princess stories, and various types of fantasy, which i think you could probably tell from the genres i like to stick to now. except i don't write a ton of mystery because, as much as i admire the complicated plots, im not sure if i'd have the patience to plan all that out.

in terms of the rest of the genres, a ton of my earlier writing included classic ya romance and fantasy tropes - chosen girl, love triangles, angsty overpowered teens, etc etc. even though those kinds of stories are not necessarily the kinds of stories i want to write or read now, i think my early writing of those kinds of things was really valuable. it's kind of a dirty secret with finished or unfinished works generally considered 'cringe' - often that writer is a new writer, or they're trying something new, or they just haven't found their voice yet. all of those things are perfectly okay and normal, and a lot of people in the writing community preach that kind of thing, but i don't necessarily see people cutting new writers slack in actual practice. writing "overrused" tropes isn't cringe, it's normal, and, besides, what trope isn't overrused? people have been writing and telling stories for thousands of years - nothing is really new. what matter is that someone new is telling the story, and that's what makes it valuable.

so, yeah, a lot of my childhood writing is cringe to me now, but i wouldn't be where i am without it.

with that being said, let's actually look at where i am now

2. Current Days

im going to break this section down into two parts, sort of: original fiction and fanfiction. because i think both of these things have become really important to me, and i don't believe i personally could exist as a writer without one or the other. it's a symbiotic relationship.

we'll start with fanfiction.

my relationship with fanfiction is relatively positive in online spaces: i write what i want to see from media that i like, and i have fun doing it. i also get some comments on my fics by lovely people that detail exactly what they like - some even go so far to talk about narrative style, voice, or tone - and that's really helpful. generally, i see fanfiction not only as a fun hobby and vent space for my strong positive feelings about certain media, but also as a place for me to try new things, experiment, and earn positive feedback.

i don't often share my original fiction online (and if i do, never at the same scope as my fanfiction), so i don't get that same opportunity to see what "works" with readers. fanfiction gives me the space to see that, and i apply new knowledge ive learned to my original fiction. that's what i mean by a symbiotic relationship.

in terms of specific style references for specific fics (which is what i know you probably most want to see), i'll try my best to pick them all out and give specific examples.

those benevolent stars and i am the messenger by markus zusak

in my favorite book list, i saw you mention tbs, so i'll start there. to be honest, i had no idea what my style reference for tbs was when i first saw your tags, and i almost didn't think there was anything specific. style references are a bit sneaky like that - if you've been referencing for someone for a long time, it becomes less of an intentional reference and more of just a you think, so it gets harder to tell.

lucky for this post, i just finished doing my yearly reread of zusak's i am the messenger, and as i was reading, i noticed a few spots where i was like wait hey i remember doing that.

for starters, iatm has been my favorite book for about six or seven years now, so i would say that some aspects of my style certainly comes from zusak because of how much i love iatm but also his other books. zusak has this huge talent for writing short, punchy sentences that convey so much in just a few words, and i think i've ended up trying to do that in my own writing. often, in my writing you'll see fragmentary sentences such as "He stopped. Blinked. Looked at her." that's not from anything specific, but i know ive written something like that maybe a million times over. zusak doesn't do the same thing - often his fragments are jam-packed with imagery in a way that mine aren't - but there's a thoughtfulness in his fragments that are in mine, too. a sort of pause. a hint that there's thinking happening in the narrator or a certain character. for example, i did a quick flip through of my copy and we have:

"We stare across the table.

Just briefly.

At each other." (I am the Messenger, p.144)

so you see how my common sentence fragment of "he stopped / blinked / looked at her" tracks with a fragment like this? i like the way zusak broke up sentences to make you dwell on them a little longer, consider the importance of each section, so i started doing that wayy before i wrote tbs i think.

also, at the time i wrote tbs, i think i was in the process of, or had just finished doing my reread of iatm, and, like i said, zusak loves imagery. tbs is a very imagery-heavy fic. tbs was influenced by a lot of music - a lot of the scenes have very specific pieces of music that i wrote imagining the tone and vibe of. iatm also references a lot of outside media sources, mostly music and films.

there are a couple of scenes in tbs that i think i wrote specifically mimicking or accidentally referencing from iatm. for example, we have this scene in tbs:

"It was almost like he could feel Marinette’s eyes on his back, steady and gentle. 'But you still love her.”

'Yeah,' Adrien said quietly, 'I still love her.' His eyes moved along a streak of purple that bled into a dark blue. 'I hate her a little bit, too.'

Marinette was silent.

He turned around, giving her a smile." (Those Benevolent Stars, chapter 3)

and this scene from iatm:

"'Do you hate me, Ed?'

Still stupid with bubbles and vodka in my stomach, I answer. Very seriously.

'Yes,' I whisper. 'I do.'

We both smack the sudden silence with laughter." (I am the Messenger, p. 233)

obviously there are differences, and i don't think i did it on purpose, but the interaction is very similar. i love the gentle intimacy of that scene in iatm, that weird complication relationship between the main character and the person he loves, the hurt, the brushing it off with laughter. so i wrote a scene that incorporated those things

zusak is also really good at writing moments of quiet into his books that aren't necessarily important to the plot, but are still important. if you've ever read that ghibli meta post talking about the 'quiet' between scenes in studio ghibli scenes, meant to give both the audience and the characters space to breath, it's like that. nothing in iatm is not imporant - it all serves a purpose, even the quiet moments, and i try to do the same thing. there's moments like that in tbs i think, like:

"Marinette gave him a small smile before turning back to her ice cream. Adrien tried to eat his ice cream a little faster, licking up where it had dripped onto his hand.

They were quiet for a while longer, and Marinette finished her ice cream. She leaned back on her hands and looked up at the dark sky, littered with stars.

He could see them all in her eyes, too." (Those Benevolent Stars, chapter 3)

and in iatm, you get scenes like:

"Our feet dangle.

I watch them, and I watch the jeans on Audrey's legs.

We only sit there now.

Audrey and me." (I am the Messenger, p.120)

so i definitely think tbs is a very i-am-the-messenger/markuz zusak-inspired fic. there's a lot of zusak's quiet, and there's the pieces of zusak's style that i've picked up along the way that really shine in tbs

tomorrow and this body's not big enough for the both of us by edgar cantero

ive talked about cantero a few times recently, but, as you've probably noticed, in relation to my fic called 'tomorrow.' i wrote tomorrow pretty soon after reading this body's not big enough for the both of us, and i used tomorrow specifically to experiment with cantero's visual writing style. in all the books by cantero ive read, there's this kind of hyper-awareness of a film gaze - how a certain scene would be shot on a camera, dialogue as script writing, and other things like that mixed with prose. i thought it was fascinating, and after finishing this body, i really wanted to play around with that idea. so i wrote tomorrow keeping in mind a "film gaze." for example:

"Two figures sitting on a rooftop, silhouettes. The moon hovers over them carefully, a crescent afraid to break the silence. One of the figures takes a breath, looks up into the sky at the hesitant moon, and he sighs. He closes his mouth again." (tomorrow)

versus in cantero's work, where we get descriptions like:

"And then, like a high-heeled coup de grace, she arrived.

She paused briefly outside the door, her hourglass silhouette cast upon the glass panel with the fresh shiny vinyl letters" (This Body's Not Big Enough for the Both of Us, prologue)

the tone of the two excerpts are very different, but there's a very visual sense to both of them, like they are being described from a shot in a movie rather than a regular work in prose. in tomorrow i also work a lot with specific camera imagery - saying where the camera goes in the scene, what it focuses on - and this body doesn't do this too much, but cantero's meddling kids does at least once that i remember.

regardless, after finishing this body, i wanted to try my hand at the visual structure that cantero uses in his works, so i really leaned in to the idea.

chat noir's white french man hit list for feminist purposes and grasshopper jungle by andrew smith

this is, as of right now, the most recent fic on my ao3, and i started it the literal day i finished grasshopper jungle. i think you might be getting a theme here - i read a really good book, and then immediately after i start writing something. the easiest way to get inspired as a writer is to read.

chat noir's hit list is a fic that is very much aware of the fact that it is a story being told - you don't know by who or for what real reason until the end, but it's a self aware sort of story. it's also very snarky and sarcastic, and it expands past just the confines of its own story; it's about chat noir and his hit list, but it also talks in depth about emilie agreste, chat noir's relationship with ladybug, and his relationship with himself. this is very much the kind of thing that you would find in an andrew smith book - grasshopper jungle is a story being told to you, and it's also about more than just the original pieces of the plot. the narrator tells the story that expands past regular confines of the story he means to tell - he's telling the 'history' of his life and his town, but he also talks about his great-great grandfather, the origins of the ketchup his girlfriend's dad eats, and what's happening in other parts of the country as he and his best friend are hanging out. the line in chat's hit list of "stars exploded, the sun did not, life continued on" was very much a grasshopper jungle and andrew smith-inspired line.

at the end of adrien's narration in chat's hit list, he says:

"It should be mentioned at this point in time that this story is not over, although I’ll stop telling it here.

So that’s the story of Chat Noir, who is also Adrien Agreste, who was very much a normal boy, except for the fact that he wasn’t. It’s a sad story, but it is also a happy story, and it is highly confidential. I’m sure you understand." (Chat Noir's White French Man Hit List for Feminist Purposes)

and at the end of grasshopper jungle, as the main character is closing out his narration, we get:

What I have written here is not the history of Eden. It is the history of the end of the world. All real histories will be about everything, and they will stretch to the end of the world.

The end of the world started when Andrej Szczerba slid into the cold sea as his boy, Krys, watched and wept and drifted closer and closer to the United States of America.

Nobody knew anything about it." (Grasshopper Jungle, p.382-3)

It's not overtly similar, but the structure is the same: recognition of the end, short summary of where we started and left the story, tag phrase that was used prior in the work. when i was writing the end of adrien's narration, i didn't mean to mirror grasshopper jungle so closely, but sometimes things just happen that way - honestly, so many of the things i do in my writing aren't intentional, they're subconscious. when i make a conscious choice, it's related to plot or to a new strategy im applying to style or voice that i'm not used to, but a lot of the things i do fly under the radar in my brain unless im purposefully trying to piece them apart like i am here.

i will say the meta-story of chat's hit list was pretty directly inspired by grasshopper jungle because i love meta stories, and i like using opportunities to put them in. i just love the idea of reading a story of someone telling someone else a story, which is what the two books by andrew smith i've read have been, and i think that's just fascinating, which is why i used it here.

ive gotten a couple of comments on chat's hit list that liken the narrative style to pseudonymous bosch's the name of this book is secret and lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events, which i thought was really interesting, because i was purposefully trying to make the voice an impression of andrew smith's voice adapted to the tone of ml, but i could definitely see their reasoning.

andrew smith, like i mentioned before, likes specifics - what exactly people were doing at certain times, where a specific bottle of ketchup came from, etc. from what i remember of the name of this book is secret and a series of unfortunate events, i remember the descriptions included in those books chock full of highly specific, snarky details that aren't truly necessary, but do a whole lot in terms of adding a certain flavor to the narration. i won't try and look up examples from unfortunate events and the name of this book, but here are a couple examples:

"See, the thing about Emilie Agreste, formerly Emilie Graham De Vanily, is that she was what could be generously called a ‘radical.’ Born in 1969, like most amazing and world-altering things, Emilie Graham De Vanily grew up in London alongside her twin sister, who is a nice enough woman and who is not really that important to this story, and she was raised with the firm and gentle hands of people who had witnessed war and cruelty and had found that they did not like at all. Emilie Graham De Vanily grew up learning about the true history of England, which is not a very nice history, truly, and she grew up knowing that people with white skin like her were historically not all that great. That, historically, was a very radical thought." (Chat Noir's White French Man Hit List for Feminist Purposes)

from chat's hit list, and this:

"In 1905, being seventeen years old made you a man. In 1969 when hungry Jack fought in Vietnam, seventeen years old was a man. My brother, Eric, who was somewhere in Afghanistan, was twenty-two.

Krzys Szczerba came across the Atlantic with his father. They planned on working and earning enough money so Krzys's mother, brother, and two sisters could come to the United States, too. People who did that were called Bread Polacks. They came here to make money." (Grasshopper Jungle, p. 68)

from grasshopper jungle. once again, obviously very different, but you can tell im playing around with that same feeling of giving a surplus of facts in my narration in the same way that andrew smith does. you can't really tell in the grasshopper jungle excerpt, but oftentimes the surplus of 'facts' serves almost a comedic effect, which is definitely something that you can feel in chat noir's hit list.

[REDACTED] and six of crows by leigh bardugo

as a reward for sticking around through this, i'll give out something fun here. the current long fic that ive been working on recently has proved to be very bardugo-inspired, particularly six of crows-inspired.

in six of crows, bardugo gives us action right off the bat and then integrates flashbacks into lulls of action so that there's never truly a dull moment. i found [REDACTED] to be a fic where i wanted to use flashbacks in a similar way, so that i would get something like:

"She doesn’t stay for the whole parade, but she stays for enough of it. Nothing unusual happens, just like always, but she still makes cursory patrols around the city, ending up at the Eiffel Tower, just like always. She sits on the railing way up at the top, and she crosses her ankles, swinging her legs back and forth and humming softly to herself as she watches the sun set.

'Little kitty on the roof, all alone without his lady,' he used to sing when he’d gotten back to their meeting point from patrolling his half of the city before her. It was just a silly little song, one that he’d clearly made up for himself."

It didn’t hurt until he’d been akumatized, and she’d seen that one version of the future - the one where he’d destroyed the whole world because of Gabriel Agreste. She’d seen him then, a lonely figure in white, humming his little song to himself. Who knows how long he’d been like that before she’d been transported to him, how long he’d been really and truly alone. (REDACTED, chapter 1)

and in comparison, we get a lot of scenes in six of crows like:

"Kaz leaned against the ship's railing. He wished he hadn't said anything about his brother. Even those few words raised the memories, clamoring for attention. What had he said to Geels at the Exchange? I'm the kind of bastard they only manufacture in the Barrel. One more lie, one more piece of the myth he'd built for himself.

After their father died, crushed beneath a plow with his insides strewn across a field like a trail of damp red blossoms, Jordie had sold the farm. Not for much." (Six of Crows, p.205-6)

bardugo uses most of the flashbacks during a time in which the main characters are on a long sea voyage, which means they have a lot of time to reflect on their pasts and what brought them to these situations - it's a smart way to fill the empty space of the sea voyage and to really dwell on how important the voyage is. in a similar way, i chose to use the flashbacks in dull or lulling moments in the events of the story, ones in which marinette lets her mind wander or sees something that makes her remember something specific.

however, here's a situation where you can see me adapt the style into something that makes more sense for me, personally: in my excerpt, the tense changes between the current events and the flashback events, while in bardugo's excerpt, the tense stays the same at a comfortable past tense. when i was writing my fic with the flashbacks, i thought the constant, sometimes abrupt, switching would get confusing, so i made sure to always have a clear line using the past and present tense that readers could consciously or unconsciously take notice of.

so there are a couple of instances within some fairly recent fics i have that have specific callbacks to specific books. there are a whole bunch more, i think, but these are the ones that ive played around with intentionally the most recently or the most often.

3. Future Days

based on my recent rapid experimentation in fics (the most recent four fics on my ao3 have been very experimental in comparison to most of my works), i really anticipate a lot of growth in my overall style. ive been having a lot of fun experimenting and throwing in things that a few years ago i would've never even thought of, so im really excited to see where that might lead me, style wise.

i think as a writer there's always room for growth and learning, and that kind of growth and learning comes from not only practicing writing, but also reading. i cannot stress enough how valuable and impactful reading is on writing. considering ive been trying to read a lot more than i have been in recent years, it makes a lot of sense that ive been making a lot of weird decisions and learning more about what i want to see in my own writing.

honestly, if you ever want to know about any of my other fics, or you want to see how this kind of thing translates to my original works, just shoot me an ask! this post is already long enough, so i think i'll go ahead and end it here, but just know you can always ask questions<3

thank you so much for asking me this question and letting me indulge, and thank you for reading!!!<3<3<3<3

[lifeofroos]

Part 35: Alright, you might notice I made some things up,,,

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Nico has had a bad dream. The rest of my story can be found on AO3 and FanFiction.net! Also in tumblr tags like Dionysus, Nico di Angelo, pjo etc. 

This Might Be Crazy: Chapter 35: Hypnos’ sleepy tea

I woke up with a loud gasp. I clutched my blanket and only let go once my breathing slowed down a little. By accident, I dropped my blanket, so that a wave of cold hit me. I cringed and tried to take a deep breath. 

I wanted to tell myself that it was just a dream, but I could not believe it. After a few minutes of staring off into darkness, I groaned and slowly got out of bed. The floor felt cold to my feet. I found my aviator jacket on the floor near my half-built IKEA cabinet. While I was putting it on, I stumbled to my closet. Even though I had been fully aware of my cold feet the entire time, I only noticed I wasn’t wearing any socks after I had shadowtravelled to the big house. 

Dionysus was sitting in the living room, facing the fireplace. While I walked into the room, he turned his head around. ‘Nico?’

‘Yes.’ 

He turned to the fireplace again. At once, it lit up. ‘Why aren’t you asleep?’

‘I had a nightmare.’ I slowly padded closer to the couch. 

‘Sit down.’ I did. 

A cup of tea appeared on the coffee table. ‘Here, tea, it has a formula that will help you sleep...’

‘Chamomile?’

‘No. Or well, maybe. It was made by Hypnos.’ He looked at me for a second.

 I picked up the cup and took a sip. It tasted like regular chamomile. 

‘But, you said you had a nightmare.’

‘Yes. And I have two things to say about that. First, I think it has to mean something, because of course it does. The second thing is that tonight, I don’t really want to think about it. I just want to calm down enough so that I can go back to sleep and then analyse it some other time.’

‘The tea will get you to sleep alright. Or so I think.’ Dionysus gestured at my cup. ‘But I understand you want to talk about it. And I am awake anyway, so go ahead.’ 

I wondered what he had been up for. Oh well. 

I sighed. ‘First, I was walking through a random street. There were some people there, and cats, lots of cats. I think some people were actually cats as well. Yetm slowly, the living things start to dissappear. No more cats, no more anything. It became dark and the pavement stopped. I walked straight into the darkness. When I turned around, there was nothing behind me, only black, until the only place that had anything else than black was the tile I was standing on.’ 

The fire popped. I stopped talking and looked at it for a second, before turning back to Dionysus. ‘Go on. The fire won’t hurt you.’ 

‘Of course not!’ I adjusted my jacket. ‘But, uh, in my dream, stuff began to rain down on me. In my dream, it was death. I don’t remember what it looked like, but… you know what I mean!’

He got a sly smile on his face. ‘I think I do.’ 

‘Hm. So, anyway, I was standing there in this rain of death and I began hearing the voices. They were very loud and told me… no, they begged me to come to Tartarus. Something about awakening and saving them and that I am so close already.’ I shrugged. ‘I saw a face with horns, vampire teeth and eyes the colour of blood, a few snakes dropped from the sky and then I woke up.’ I took a sip of tea and yawned. ‘It was so weird.’

‘...yeah, it’s strange.’ Dionysus shifted around for a bit. With a snap of his fingers, a second cup appeared.  He picked it up and took a sip. 

‘Sorry if I begin to analyse it too much,’ he said, ‘But it seems as if certain parts have a clear meaning. I think the voices mean exactly what they are saying.’ 

‘Yes. I don’t really worry about those voices, actually, they have been there longer.’

‘Which is not something you should just accept as reality when we may be able to do something about it.’ 

I shrugged and looked at my tea. ‘True. But, I worry more about the… death shower. Because it makes me feel like something bad is about to happen if I don’t act on what the voices tell me to do soon.’

Dionysus took another sip. The flames created weird patterns on his face.  

‘Do you hear the voices right now?’

‘Well, no. As soon as I woke up, my head went quiet.’ I took a sip of Hypnos’ tea, even though I already felt like I could fall asleep at any moment. ‘I think that is good. But, on the other hand, why did they go quiet? I…’ I yawned. ‘I guess the deathshower is making me paranoid.’

‘Hm.’ Dionysus stared at my cup. ‘What I think is the wise thing to do is to see what happens next. If it becomes a recurring dream, we need to take action. If it is something for just this one night, or the last few nights perhaps, it might be nothing more than a manifestation of your fears.’ He sighed.

My eyelids were so heavy. I stared into the fire, hoping that the light could help keep my eyes open. 

‘Nico? Nico, Can you still hear me?’

‘Hmmyes. I do.’ 

‘Going to Tartarus, which you already did once…’ he fell silent for a second. I looked over at him with as much strength as I still had. He looked horrified, the way you do when you remember something you forgot. ‘...is something you should not do again. The voices might keep begging you. If that happens, you come to me and then we’ll find a way out. A way that does not involve going to Tartarus. You might get irreversibly scared if you go there again.’ 

‘I… I get that,’ I mumbled. My limbs were heavy now too. ‘I… I don’t want to go to Tartarus.’ Did I just say its name? Darn, I think I did. 

‘Of course not.’

‘Do you want to talk about your first experience in Tartarus soon? And sorry if I am randomly dropping things on you at the moment. This needs to be said before that stuff...’ He waved at my cup with a disgusted expression, ‘...knocks you out.

I tried to think as well as I could. ‘Yes… yes. I think that it is a logical…’ I yawned. ‘...Next step.’

Dionysus sighed. ‘Alright, I am never using that tea again. Hypnos must have changed the formula.’

‘Ah. I think I’ll sleep soundly now, that’s nice.’

‘It is not supposed to drug you.’ He sighed deeply. ‘Thanks for telling me all of this, Nico. Now, you should go back to your cabin. Immediately. No, wait, I'm bringing you.’

He got up from the couch and helped me do the same thing. We teleported to my cabin, I fell onto my bed and I was gone.

‘Hypnos, you total imbecile,’ Dionysus cursed. He looked at Nico, who was fast asleep. At least he looked like he was at peace now. 

The god did not like what Nico had told him. A face with pointy teeth, snakes, horns, voices… It sounded an awful lot as if the Elder Gods had gotten themselves into trouble again. With a deep sigh, he teleported back to the Big House. 

With a deep sigh, he sat back down on the couch. 

Suddenly, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. ‘Ari…’

‘Dio, I sensed something was wrong,’ she said, way to excited for those words. ‘Not that I am happy with that, but I sensed it. The bond is healing.’

That was good. But that was weird. Gods, what did it matter at the moment.

Ariadne sat down on the couch next to him. Oh, it probably meant something. But if it waited this long, it could wait just a little longer.

A/N:  I have the entire arc for Nico written out. Strap yourselves in, kids, we are getting off canon (Mostly because R.R. did not provide any canon). 

This is a little clungy first new-arc chapter, because I wasn’t entirely sure yet where I wanted it to go when I wrote it. Now I do and the next chapters will be nicer. 

Talking about the next chapter, it is not really about the new arc, but godsdammit did I have a good time writing it. 

[spicycreativity]

Re-posting this because I added an external link to my AO3 last time so Tumblr blocked it from the tags and no one saw it 🙄 Find it on AO3 under my username WizardGlick

Fear in Friendship (is an ugly trait):

5k gen PJO fusion oneshot featuring Roman, Remus, and Janus. I changed some of the rules of the PJO universe to make the story more fun to write 😊 CW for canon-typical violence, teenager-typical swearing, and one brief instance of potential ableism

Questions not answered in the narrative: Roman and Remus are children of Apollo, Janus is a child of Aphrodite. Janus' weapon is a war scythe

Three-Sentence Summary: Remus loses some blood. Janus has a No Good Very Bad day. Roman begins an illustrious career as a matador.

"Janice?" Roman asked, tilting his head at the new student Remus had brought to meet him. He was about to be late for after-school rehearsal, but Remus had come trotting up dragging the newcomer by the hand, and he'd looked so excited that Roman just couldn't bring himself to blow his brother off.

The new student glared. "Jan-US," he said, with an incredulous look at Remus, as if to say 'this idiot is your brother?' "Like the Roman god." He said it like it was obvious, like Roman was some kind of moron for not knowing. The sneering tone made Roman's blood run hot with anger and shame.

"I don't know all about that nerdy shit," Roman said, waving a hand dismissively.

Janus rolled his eyes. "Really? I would never have guessed; you seem so smart."

He was almost handsome, Roman thought, trying to study Janus' face without giving away that he was staring. He really might have been good-looking if it wasn't for the look of irritation that had been glued to his face ever since he'd entered Roman's field of vision.

A field of scarring spanned the left side of his face and traveled down his neck until the painful-looking swirl of pink and white disappeared under his high-collared shirt. The scarring itself was not necessarily unusual, just standard burn scars. What caught Roman's attention was how they just stopped, all in a straight, uniform line directly down the center of Janus' face. Almost like… Roman tried not to shudder as the thought came to him. Almost like someone had done it on purpose.

He swallowed hard and tried to get himself back on track. "Least I don't share a name with our librarian, Miss Janice."

"God, you're such a dick." Remus ran a hand through his unruly hair, shooting Roman a dark look. Roman stuck out his tongue. "Forget it." He took Janus by the wrist again and turned away. "Come on, let's go see if we can hack the vending machine."

"Oh, no you don't." Roman lunged forward, irritation coursing through him, and grabbed the top of Remus' backpack. "You're coming with me so I can keep an eye on you."

"No way!" Remus squirmed, but Roman kept his grip tight. "I don't wanna go to your stupid rehearsal."

To Roman's surprise, Janus chimed in with a keen and interested, "Rehearsal?"

"He thinks he's hot shit because he's playing Danny Zuko." Remus rolled his eyes, still trying to wiggle free of Roman's grip. "News flash, anyone can memorize lines and prance around in a leather jacket."

"So why don't you try out?" Roman asked rhetorically, starting to pull Remus down the hall.

Remus went along with it, though Roman knew full-well that he could have slipped out of his backpack and made a run for it at any time. "'Cause I'm too busy bangin'! Ba dum ch!" 

As they made their way down the hall, Janus walked beside them in silence. Roman watched him out of the corner of his eye, frowning at the way he continually glanced over his shoulder like he was expecting to get in some sort of trouble. It was a look Roman was well familiar with. He had seen it on Remus and he had worn it himself far more times than he was comfortable with. Roman and his brother seemed to attract danger wherever they went, from stalkers to muggers to one stranger's memorable attempt at running them over in the crosswalk. It was never the same person twice, and each isolated incident could be chalked up to an accident. Roman didn't like to think about it for too long and worked hard to keep Remus from talking about it. After the first mugging, Remus had sworn for weeks that their assailant had had a tail. Roman had denied it out loud, but he couldn't lie to himself. Something wasn't right.

If Janus was equally as twitchy… Was he part of it? Did he know something?

"I understand the compulsion, since I am quite good-looking," Janus said, in a tone so dry it could have drained an Olympic swimming pool, "but you'd better quit staring at me before you walk into a door."

"I spaced out," Roman said, unable to think of a snappier retort. He couldn't help but shoot Janus suspicious looks out of the corner of his eye as they continued toward the Main building. "Where'd you transfer from, anyway? How old are you?"

Janus put his hands up like a cornered criminal. "You caught me," he said, affecting regret. "I'm a 43 year-old police officer trying to track down a drug ring. Promise me you won't tell?"

"Little does he know, I'm the distributor," Remus said, finally yanking free from Roman's hold. Roman let him go, knowing that if he had stayed this long, he probably wasn't going to run off.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Very funny, J Jonah Hill. But seriously."

"I'm 16," Janus said. "I transferred from a school in New York."

"All the way from New York? How'd you end up in Florida?" Roman yanked open the door to Main and held it for Remus and Janus. He was tempted to let it drop on Remus just to watch him stumble, but found himself distracted by a gold keychain on Janus' backpack. It was nothing special, just a shiny metal Gemini symbol, but the way it caught the light made Roman pause.

"Teleported," Janus said.

"Are you allergic to straight answers, or what?" Roman asked, unamused. Janus' mocking demeanor didn't sit well with him, and something about Janus' face didn't make sense. The scars seemed almost superficial, and didn't always move in conjunction with his mouth. Roman felt stupid just thinking it, but it was almost like they were masking something.

"What crawled up your ass?" Remus demanded. He turned to Janus. "Sorry, he's not usually such an asshole. He's probably just nervous about hitting all those high notes. I heard him practicing in the shower last night and it was like someone was skinning a cat."

"I sounded awesome," Roman said, blushing furiously. He paused before the theater doors, turning his back to them so he could directly address Remus. "Go find a seat. And I swear to God, if you cause any disruptions, I'll shave your drumsticks down into toothpicks."

"Not the Vic Firths!" Remus said, gasping in faux-horror. He dismissed Roman with a wave of his hand and motioned for Janus to follow him. "C'mon, let's go see if we can catch a cockroach."

Roman just shook his head and hurried backstage.

He had a hard time focusing during rehearsal, missing cues and tripping over himself on lines he had memorized days ago. But he was too distracted to even be bothered, subtly trying to keep an eye on Remus-- okay, on Janus from his vantage point on the stage.

Roman couldn't help it. He didn't trust Janus. The haunted look in his eyes, the way he was always looking over his shoulder… Something was off.

No matter how hard he tried, Roman couldn't force himself to focus. His thoughts kept whirling until they transformed into an overwhelming sense of dread that demanded all his attention. He barely even noticed when rehearsal ended, hurrying into the seating area to try to find Remus.

He wasn't there. Of course he wasn't there. Roman shouldered his backpack and strode off toward the bathrooms, trying hard not to panic. What if Janus was bad news? What if he had hurt Remus? What if Remus was lying bloody in a back corner somewhere because Roman wasn't there to protect him?

"Remus?" Roman called, checking both bathrooms. Nothing. "Shit." Where else did Remus like to go? Maybe the band room? Roman set off for it at a jog, his backpack bouncing against his back.

Nothing in the band room. Roman tried the handle anyway, just to confirm that it was locked.

"I'm going to kill him," Roman muttered, stalking off toward the football field. He swung by the vending machines on the way just in case, and came up empty. It had to be the football field, then. Remus had been talking about playing with the tackle dummies for weeks. That had to be it.

Roman forced himself to slow down as he approached the football field, not wanting Remus to know how badly he'd been freaking out. Of course Remus was there, doing cartwheels on the turf while Janus sat and watched.

"I told you not to leave!" Roman said, marching up to the pair of them.

"You didn't," Janus said, smirking. Roman glared at him. In the sun, his scars seemed to fade for a moment, revealing only the slightest hint of… green? Roman shook his head. It must have been the light reflecting off the turf. Janus continued, "You only said to find a seat and not cause any disruptions."

"I was gonna release a cockroach onto the stage and see if I could get it to go up your pants leg," Remus said, falling out of a cartwheel and landing on his back. "But Janus convinced me not to."

"You're welcome," Janus said.

Roman couldn't help but stare at him. His scars flickered in and out in the sunlight, the dark brown of his left eye flashing yellow. "Remus, get behind me," Roman said, deadly serious.

"What?" Remus lifted his head. "Why?"

Roman didn't answer, stepping between his brother and Janus. "What are you?" he demanded.

Janus' eyes widened before a look of realization crossed his face. "I'm a friend," he said in a silky, almost crooning tone. "You can trust me."

"He's a friend," Remus repeated. "Why are you being so weird?"

A sense of calm slid over Roman for half a second before he snapped out of it. "What are you?" he repeated, stepping forward into Janus' personal space. Now that he was looking for it, he could see it clear as day: Janus was half-snake. His entire left half was covered in dull green scales, and a slit pupil neatly bisected the sickly yellow of his left eye.

Janus put up his hands. "You're stronger than Remus," he said, almost to himself.

Roman grabbed him by the collar. "You have 30 seconds to explain what's going on."

"Look," Janus said. "You know you're not normal, right?"

"Bad start," Roman said, making a show of cocking his fist back. He'd never hit anyone in his life, save the occasional thrown elbow in wrestling matches with Remus. Should he go for the jaw? The eye?

"You have an absent parent, you get in trouble a lot, you've been in a lot of one-off dangerous situations that you can't really explain," Janus rattled off like he was reciting from a memorized list. "You're dyslexic, you make things happen like magic. Stop me when this sounds familiar."

"Some of those things, maybe," Roman said. Remus was dyslexic and they'd both had their fair share of dangerous run-ins. Distantly, he thought he heard the overlapping thumps of several car doors shutting. "What does that have to do with you?"

"You aren't human," Janus said.

"You aren't human," Roman shot back.

Janus rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Okay, look. You're the only one who can see my real face, right? Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know!" Roman said. Distracted, he let go of Janus' shirt. "What are you saying?"

"I'm trying to say that-- Okay, you know what? Let's just rip the blindfold off like a Band-Aid, sure!" Janus gave a hysterical-sounding laugh. "You're a demigod. You're both demigods."

Roman scoffed, unsure of exactly what else to say. A million questions raced through his mind, punctuated by that slamming car door sound again. What was that, anyway? He backed away from Janus and nearly stepped on Remus, who grabbed him by the ankle and bit. "You can stop harassing my friend now, you neurotic weirdo."

"Look at him!" Roman said. He bent down and hauled Remus to his feet, and was immediately distracted by a mechanical-sounding hissing and creaking. "I'm sorry, does anyone else hear a broken washing machine?"

"Whoa!" said Remus. "You're a snake!”

"I am not," Janus said.

Roman spun around, still searching for the source of the noise. It came into view a moment later and he froze for half a second, eyes widening. "Uhh, guys?" he said, backing up despite himself. He kept his gaze locked onto the massive copper bull that was striding directly at the fencing surrounding the football field, radiating heat that warped the air around it.

"What the heck is that?" Remus asked in obvious fascination.

"Listen," Janus said, his voice strangely calm. In the corner of his eye, Roman could just make out Janus as he removed his backpack and yanked the gold Gemini keychain off the zipper. "You need to get to my car. It's the blue Kia Soul parked by the main entrance."

In the distance, the bull backed up and smashed its way through the fence with a horrible clanging sound.

"Is that thing gonna try to kill us?" Remus asked.

The bull meandered closer, looking as nonchalant as a massive metal bull could. Roman fought the urge to back up, to grab Remus by the hand and get the hell out of dodge. "Why isn't it attacking?"

"It probably hasn't seen us yet," Janus said. He sounded as calm as ever, but Roman didn't miss the frantic rise and fall of his chest. "Walk off," he said. "Slowly."

"What about you?" Roman demanded.

Janus spun the keychain around his finger. The metal gleamed in the sun and lengthened into something Roman didn't recognize: a long metal pole with a half-moon blade at the end. "I'll hold it off."

"You can't seriously think--" Roman started, but the bull looked up and started to charge and the words died on his lip as raw panic choked out his rational thought 

"Run!" Janus ordered. "Blue Kia Soul. Meet me there!"

Roman shrugged out of his backpack, grabbed Remus by the wrist and sprinted.

"Are you crazy?" Remus shouted. "We can't just leave him!"

"No shit!" Roman shouted back, still dragging Remus along. "We need weapons or something!"

"Hurdles," Remus said, veering off to the side.

Roman nearly tripped and was forced to let go of Remus’ hand. He wanted to argue, but there was very little of potential use on the field. The tackle dummies and tires left out by the football team were far too heavy for them to move. The track hurdles were the only things even remotely useful. Remus grabbed one and started hauling it back toward the fray, and Roman was quick to follow suit. He didn't want Remus going in first if he could help it.

The hurdle was unwieldy and made his hands ache, but he barely noticed, too wrapped in not tripping while he watched Janus in a state of adrenaline-riddled horror.

By some miracle, Janus wasn't dead. In fact, to Roman's puzzlement, he sort of looked like he knew what he was doing. More or less. He held his weapon with confidence and kept his center of gravity low. The bull seemed to have no other strategy than to aim itself at a target and charge, allowing Janus to dodge every time. Unfortunately, it seemed he could only dodge, as the long handle of his weapon, whatever it was, didn't allow for quick maneuvers.

They were locked in a stalemate, and it was pretty much a guarantee that Janus was going to tire out. He was already breathing heavily, keeping his moments sparing and conservative.

Then Remus came flying in and Roman could only watch as his brother flung the track hurdle with wild abandon. "Die!"

"I told you to run!" Janus shouted, barely audible over the clanging of the bull kicking furiously to try to dislodge its back legs from the hurdle

"We'll run after we finish saving your ass," Roman said. The bull's head swiveled between the two of them, as Remus was still behind it, and Roman swore he saw a spark of intelligence in its molten-metal eyes. Without any sort of warning, it kicked Remus in the chest and took off at a dead sprint for Janus again.

For a split second, Roman was paralyzed. Remus hit the ground hard and rolled and lay still; Janus stood frozen with guilt written all over his face.

"Move!" Roman shouted, already formulating a plan. If he could get the hurdle underfoot while the bull was charging, it might trip, allowing Janus enough time to… stab it or slash it or whatever his weapon was supposed to be good for.

Janas sidestepped again and dashed forward. He glared at Roman, too winded to speak.

"I need you to draw its attention again," Roman said, glancing at the bull. It left deep gouges in the artificial grass where it stopped, and the rubber smoked from the sheer heat it put out. It turned and pawed the ground. "And I swear to God, if you let it get to Remus again, I will end you."

"Like it was my fault," Janus panted, already in motion. He backed up, careful to step away from Remus. Lacking any spare fabric to wave, he threw his free arm out and shouted, "It's me that you want."

He used the same silken, commanding tone he'd tried on Roman earlier. Roman made a mental note to ask him about that when they weren't in the middle of a death match.

The bull charged. Roman threw the hurdle. Then everything went to Hell.

The bull did trip as Roman had intended, but it had so much momentum that it kept thundering toward Janus as it stumbled and scrabbled for balance on the melting rubber chips. A wayward hoof caught Janus in the ankle and knocked him flat, practically right underneath its massive chest. He gave a shout and dropped his weapon, and Roman realized with a feeling of sinking dread that it must have been too hot to touch.

Well, there went that.

He needed a new plan and he needed it now. Already the bull was finding its footing and turning its fiery glare on Roman.

Roman charged it, feeling more like Remus' brother than he had ever had before. "Die!" He rolled forward and grabbed Janus' weapon, barely noticing the heat that seared into his palms-- He didn't have time for pain or panic. Spotting a crack in the metal plating on the bull's back, Roman aimed the blade and shoved. The bull shuddered and Janus shouted something, but Roman had no room for thoughts more complex than kill, protect, kill, protect. He shoved and shoved until the bull gave a final hiss and went still, until sweat poured into his eyes and he could no longer keep them open, until the metal shaft of Janus' weapon snapped under his hand.

"Remus!" Janus shouted. 

That got Roman's attention. He left Janus half-pinned under the steaming body of the bull and dashed for Remus' prone form.

He was already starting to sit up and self-assess, touching the back of his head and studying his bloodied fingers with an unsettling blank expression.

"Are you okay?" Roman asked.

Remus blinked hard, stared at him. "Is it dead?"

"Yeah, it's dead."

"Where's Janus?"

Roman frowned and looked behind him. Janus had extracted himself from the wreckage of the bull and was kneeling and wiping the sweat off his face. "Remus is asking for you," Roman said, trying not to let his bitterness show in his voice.

"You broke my scythe," Janus said, not moving.

"You could thank me for saving your life," Roman shot back, half-forgetting Remus.

"That was my best weapon! Now all I have is this stupid knife."

"Are you coming over or not?"

"I can't." Janus glared at Roman. "Somebody dropped a two-ton Colchis bull on me and shattered my ankle in the process."

"But did you die?"

"Can you stop yelling?" Remus murmured, burying his face in his hands.

Roman stared at him, heart hammering with renewed fear. "Are you okay?"

"I just want to go home."

"You can't," Janus said. Roman glared at him, but he continued without acknowledging it, "It's not safe. The monsters know about you now. You have to come with me."

"And why the Hell would we do that?" Roman demanded. "You almost got us killed!"

Remus peeked over the tops of his fingers. "I don't think it was his fault, Roman."

"Thanks for the backup, bro." Roman rolled his eyes and turned to address Janus again. "Why should we trust you?"

The look Janus gave him could have burned a hole in titanium. "Hm, let's see. Who has all the answers? Who just tried to save your ungrateful ass? Think hard now, Roman, don't be afraid to phone a friend."

"I get it, I get it." Roman got to his feet, surprised at how stiff and sore he already felt. He extended a hand to Remus only to yelp in sudden agony when Remus tried to grab on. He turned his hands over and found both palms bright red and shiny with small blisters on the centers. He offered Renus his forearm instead, and steadied him as he swayed. "You okay?"

"Super," Remus wheezed. "Fucking peachy. I got kicked right in the tit by a steampunk rodeo bull and busted my head open on the single rock in this entire field of soft-ass rubber chips. Can't wait to tell Mom."

"Shit!" Roman said. "Mom!" Realization hit a moment later-- she was out of town for a few days at some big-shot surfing exposition, no kids allowed.

"She's in for a nasty surprise."

"Very nasty," Janus said, "unless your godly parent warned her ahead of time. Is anyone going to help me up?" Roman forced himself to compartmentalize. One thing at a time. Remus seemed steady enough on his feet, so Roman stepped over to help Janus up. He couldn't seem to put any weight on his right ankle and clamped onto Roman's shoulder when he tried to step away. "You have two options," Janus said, "help me walk, or grab my keys and bring the car around-- Oh." He looked away, horror dawning in his face, and Roman followed his gaze to see what he was staring at. 

"Let me guess," he said, examining the still-smoking remains of Janus' backpack. "They keys were in there?"

"The keys, my wallet, miscellaneous demigod survival crap. You know, nothing too important."

"I'll go see what I can find." Roman let Janus drop, privately amused by the undignified cry he gave out upon hitting the ground. 

Janus' black Nike backpack had melted and fused with the rubber chips on the turf. Roman poked the mess with the tip of his toe and found it cool enough to touch for short periods, so he knelt and did his best to sort through what was left.

The Kia keys had miraculously survived, although the remote was unusable and the lanyard was nothing more than a pile of ash and melted orange polyester fibers. It sent flames of agony all across his palms, but Roman managed to extricate the car key and a few strange golden coins. He ignored the remains of a few Ziploc bags, but examined the orange Hydroflask with a critical eye. It had a hole in it, but whatever it had once held had a peculiar smell that cut through the stench of burning rubber and made Roman feel strangely at ease. It smelled like fresh-squeezed orange juice, and he could have sworn he caught a hint of guava and vanilla, like the nonalcoholic punch his mom made for the kids when she was hosting parties.

"Take your time," Janus called, pulling Roman back to reality.

Roman flipped him off, and it hurt like his hand was on fire, but it was worth it. Now that the adrenaline was well and truly gone, he just felt sick and wrung-out, and not at all in the mood to deal with Janus' ill temper.

"Got the keys," Roman said, turning around. "And these weird arcade tokens."

"Those are drachma."

"That's funny," Remus said, in a voice that was still much too quiet and calm for Roman's liking, "I thought they were ligma."

"Oh my God," Roman muttered.

"What?" said Janus, eyeing Remus with concern.

"Ligma nuts!" Remus said.

After a long silence, that Roman supposed was meant to restore some sense of dignity, Janus said, "Good to know you're not dying."

"So are we leaving or what?" Roman asked, jangling the keys.

Janus nodded, and gestured for Roman to help him up.

Roman was sure they looked ridiculous as they hobbled across the football field. Roman, who was the least injured, had to support half of Janus' weight as he limped along, and Remus kept getting lightheaded and grabbing Roman's other shoulder for balance. At least Remus was able to carry his and Roman's backpacks, though it slowed him down considerably. 

Roman was winded when they finally reached the parking lot, his shoulders and obliques screaming in protest at the awkward position he'd held for so long.

"Can you drive?" Janus asked when they'd reached the Kia and he could finally let go of Roman.

"Uh, I have my learner's permit."

Janus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let me rephrase that: You're going to have to drive."

"Where to?"

"New York."

"New York?" Roman repeated. "Are you crazy? Why New York?"

"I'll explain on the way," Janus said, "but we really need to get out of here."

"Fine." Roman helped Janus into the passenger seat and then lifted Remus into the back so he could sprawl across the seats. His head had stopped bleeding on its own, but since they hadn't paused to apply any pressure, blood had dripped down his neck and dried on the collar of his shirt. "I don't suppose you have any first aid stuff?"

Janus yanked open the glove compartment and rattled off the contents. "Manual, registration, Taco Bell napkins, tire pressure gauge, plastic baggie full of mystery pills, novelty Medusa PEZ dispenser, Mapquest directions to the Lotus Hotel, titanium spork."

"Those are Aleve," Remus said, poking his head between the seats. "Can I have about 20?"

"You can have two," Roman said, snatching the bag of Janus' hands. His own fingers were stiff and clumsy and flared up with pain every time he tried to use them, but he couldn't deny the increasing compulsion to be in charge. He had to fix it for Remus, he had to make it better, he had to keep them safe--

"Like, now, or…?" Remus said.

"Sorry." Roman distributed the pills, then passed around his water bottle. "Okay," he said, struggling with the cap while Janus watched with a cool eye. "So, uh. Now I just have to drive to New York. With messed up hands."

"It helps if you get in the car," Janus drawled.

Roman said nothing, but as he walked around to the driver's side, he made a silent vow to hit as many potholes as he could.

"Road trip!" Remus crowed once Roman was seated. "Hey, Roman, how much money do you have?"

"I dunno," Roman said, trying to focus on backing out while only holding the wheel with his fingertips. "Like 20 bucks. You're the one with the backpacks, why don't you count?"

"I get to go through your stuff?" Remus asked, clapping his hands in delight. 

"Just don't steal my good pens or I'll kill you." Roman put the car in drive and lurched forward.

"Accelerate with your toes," Janus said.

"No backseat driving."

"I'm not in the backseat."

"Keep running your mouth and I'll strap you to the roof." Roman turned up the radio before Janus could reply. He'd had enough; his hands hurt, his body ached, he was terrified. He couldn't deal with any more snark and attitude.

He took the on-ramp for I-75 North and started to sing, first to himself and then louder as traffic increased and he got nervous. In the corner of his eye, he could see Janus double-checking all their blind spots, peering in the rear view mirror, fidgeting with his seat belt.

It didn't help Roman's nerves any. He kept singing with the radio, privately grateful that it was already set to a pop station. He noticed two things at once as he switched lanes to let a bright red Maserati blow past him: First, a bone-deep exhaustion that left him so dizzy he nearly swerved onto the shoulder. Second, his hands no longer hurt.

He took one off the wheel and glanced at it, shocked to find the skin as smooth as if it had never been damaged at all.

"Did you do that?" Roman demanded, sparing a glance at Janus.

"What, make you hit the rumble strip? No, that was all you."

"My hands," Roman said impatiently. "They're better. Look!" He showed his palm to Janus, then to Remus.

"Lucky," Remus said. "I feel like somebody pushed me off a 69-story building."

"Nice," said Roman, unable to help himself.

Janus just rolled his eyes and turned back to face the road.

"So how about those answers now?" Roman asked, stifling a yawn behind his hand.

Janus nodded. "But no interrupting. If you don't believe me after everything you've seen, that's on you for being an idiot."

"Who said I was going to interrupt?" Roman said.

Janus looked at him out of the corners of his eyes. "Oh, I just have a feeling."

"We can be quiet," Roman said. He turned the radio off and sat back as much as he could without losing his grip on the wheel.

"Super quiet," Remus agreed. "Silent but deadly."

"Alright," said Janus. "The Greek gods are real. You're the children of one of them."

Roman pressed his lips together, determined not to make a sound. He kept silent as they continued to crawl down I-75 in rush hour traffic and Janus elaborated about gods and monsters and mythology.

It wasn't until the sun was well and truly down, until Janus had gone silent, until it was too late for it to matter, that Roman even realized he had been the victim of reverse psychology.

He scowled and doubled down on his vow to hit as many potholes as possible. Whether Janus was telling the truth or not, Roman didn't like him.

[aloera]

The ask prompt is too long to fit into an ask TT_TT but here's the doc for it docs(.)google(.)com/document/d/1yDI7iFRhOJ8ENv_IwZAo3rDSUqj80EiJROS10RzRbj4/edit

the lengths u are going for this,,, much appreciated you're very sweet!!!

prompts + answers under the cut!!

INTRODUCTION

Name: aloera

AO3 account: aloera

Fandoms you write for: bnha

How many stories have you written so far: 19

FANFICTION PROFILE

What's your favorite fandom to write for? hmm,,, used to do pjo and eah (ever after high) and eah was fun as fuck i will say!!! i think bnha is my fav mostly bc i made the most friends in this fandom :D

What's your favorite character/person to write for? bkg and kirishima!! cannot choose do not make me <3

Fic you'd want to improve? probably what we deserve? i rushed the beginning and the confession is a bit stilted imo

Hardest fic you've written? between lion and men -_- bc there is so much canon compliant stuff i've gotta write out before i get to the divergence and its HARD

Easiest fic you've written? come home to me!!! it happened so easily,,, no second guessing no writers block just vibes <33 was lovely i miss it

What would you say is the most "famous" fic you've ever written? also probably come home to me? its got the most interaction

first line of the first fic you've ever written and published. [not including my 2014 ffnet fics] "The bell rings, class starts, and Katsuki and Midoriya are inexplicably absent." from come home to me

Have you ever done a collab with another writer? yes!!!!! on two separate occasions and its so fucking fun i highly recommend trying it out its the best

Do you beta? if asked but honestly im a shit beta lmao

Do you like joining fic fests/exchanges? depends on what i have going on irl but in general yeah!!

FANFICTION PREFERENCES

Fluff or angst? definitely fluff

"OCs" or "Reader" inserts? reader inserts!! have been going ham on them recently

Blurbs or drabbles? blurbs!!

One thing you love about fanfiction i just. i really love slice of life romance?? and most media doesn't give you that bc its dedicated to plot and action and that's valid!! but fanfiction fills in the gap which is really nice

One thing you don't like about fanfiction most of the stuff i don't like is less about actual fanfiction and more about how people behave about it

What is/are your favorite fandom author/authors? IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!! TURN IT UP!!!

bnha: hiuythn, rae_tnub, Moniix, Ata_Lanta, wrunic, chezka, PurplePersnickety, surveycorpsejean, mahadevi, arxaris, deviance, Oceanbreeze7, MikeWritesThings, bonnia, wonhaebunny, dinosuns

voltron: hiuythn, Oceanbreeze7, DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee, arahir, dinosuns,

and honorable mention to loveclouds im not even in the haikyuu fandom i just love their fics So Much

these are just the ones off the top of my head i have so many favourites idc if i'm only supposed 2 have one!! die mad about it!!!

What is your favorite trope? secret relationship + relationship reveal til the day i die babie <3 <3

Least favorite trope? hm,,, probably just like. angst lmao i cannot stand 90% of it

A fanfiction cliché that you can't help but love? coffeeshop aus,,,, so good

Do you have a type when it comes to pairings? the otp where its like. piece of shit + himbo = love. ex. krbk, catradora, jade/beck

Favorite setting/au? hm,,, truly i cannot pick one KGKSJNHKj but i really like college aus!! and modern aus!! and roommate aus!!

Explain the meaning of your favorite line of dialogue you've written as if someone hasn't read it in context. “He doesn’t know,” Katsuki says, softly. “My timer stopped and nothing happened. He’s not mine.”

the line is from what we deserve!! it's a soulmate au where your timer counts down to the moment that you meet your soulmate!! bakugou's timer ends at USJ when he and kirishima attack kurogiri at the same time (impulsive kings <33) but kirishima's timer doesn't end until kamino because that's when he accepts himself as bakugous soulmate!! unfortunately, when bakugous timer has reached 0, he turned to see that kirishima's was still ticking and therefore believes that kirishima isn't his soulmate.

this line just,, idk. it's really sad. bakugou is such an action-driven character? if something doesn't go his way he Makes it go his way. he's got this insanely volatile quirk and he's got impeccable control of it!! but his love for kirishima isn't something that he can change and he's not going to ruin kirishima's chance of finding his own soulmate because he loves him and wants him to be happy. i really wanted to focus on how resigned he is? and how unusual that is for a character like him.

Favorite trope/genre to write? again, secret relationship with relationship reveals <33 fluff in general is my wheelhouse!!!

A trope/genre you haven't written but think would be a fun challenge? idk if this counts?? have been working on some dead dove concepts!! its super different from what i normally write so its a cool challenge

The one trope/concept you'll never touch and why probably cheating/infidelity?? it just looks,,, super difficult to write well and i don't have enough of an interest in it to try it out

Which do you prefer to write: longer or shorter fics? shorter!! low attention span gang <3

Ideal length to read? 5-10k?

Ideal length to write? 4-8k!!

How long was the longest fic you've ever written? control fraek is around 28k i think?

Have you ever written an AU? yeah!! i've done restaurant au's, soulmate au's, pro hero aus, and fantasy aus (general, not the bnha fantasy ending)

What's your favorite AU trope? hm,, probably when two people in authority are in a secret relationship? ceo's/uni professors/etc etc

Have you ever written smut? yeah!! was. difficult tho

What's your comfort genre? (the one you fall on most in writing/reading) fluff,,, hurt/comfort,,, fix-it fics with happy endings <3

If you were to start writing in other fandoms, which would they be? maybe jjk?? the characters are really cool!!!! fr i might go back to my ever after high roots i love the characters and setting so Much its so fun!!! idec if no ones into it anymore!!!!!

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? i've had people say they saw the mention of buff hagakure and recognized it was me so. probably that skdjhnksjd

WRITING STYLE

How would you describe your style? i tend to use shorter sentences and pretty simple words i think? and i gravitate towards lighthearted concepts that allow for ensemble casts and humour!!

Describe your style in three words romcom but fanfic

Favorite words to use when writing? the word reverent!! fuckin love including it!!

Dialogue tags or no dialogue tags? (she said, he said, they said, etc) dialogue tags!!!

Favorite dialogue tag (other than said, if you use them) again idk if this counts but "they said softly" is unmatched

Long sentences vs short vs a mix short <33

What colors would you use to describe your writing? hm,,, depends on the fic i would say?? control fraek is dark green to me?? kinda like a forest at night yk?? scary but there's still life there. sugar cookies is yellow like early morning sunlight, when it rains is yellowy-orange like a caution sign. not gonna list all of them cause theres a lot its just. do u get it? the colours change based on the vibe of the fic.

What song or music genre would you use to describe your writing? think. i am constantly trying to emulate that moment at the end of wasteland baby when hozier goes "im in love/im in love with you."

What kind of metaphors do you rely on? religious metaphors my beloved <33 they're just so pretty!!! i also love comparing stuff to water for some reason?? like that ocean vuong quote thats like "what are you now?/water." it goes hard!!!

What's something you'd say is experimental in your writing at this time? definitely action!! i have,,, no idea how to write it so anything i do is really just me playing around and seeing what works and what doesn't

Do you prefer to write by hand or to type? i've tried both!! personally i prefer typing because it goes way faster but i will say that writing by hand lets me get words down when i'm going through writer's block

What is your preferred place to write (notebook, laptop, cellphone, etc.)? laptop!!

What app/apps do you use to write (word, notepad, etc.)? google docs skjdnkjh its fine on desktop but mobile is,,,,, disgusting

Do you keep a notebook or file/notes page in your phone/device for notes on your writing? ngl i just have everything organized in my drive?? one folder per fandom and then sub folders for ideas+hcs, unfinished wips, and finished fics. multichaps get sub sub folders so i can organize outlines and drafts

Do you listen to music to help you write? yeah!! playlists organized by fic vibe :D

Where do you usually go to write (bedroom, living room, etc.)? mostly in my bedroom??? but moving around to different stops helps too i think!!

How long does it usually take for you to write? again this depends on what i have going on irl, how attached i am to the idea, my mindset at the time, etc!! i am,, the least consistent person skjnhdkjh.

What's your favorite font to use when writing? times new roman my beloved

Other writing habits? sometimes i'll write in the dark?? bad for my eyes but for some reason it gets the words flowing

CONCEPTUALIZATION

How do you conceptualize your ideas? (See specific moments like they're a movie, writing specific lines in your head, don't know until you put the words on paper, etc.) i tend to get inspiration from movies, books, poems, or other fics!!! sometimes one line just makes me go oh,, i want to write something like that,,, and then it helps me create an idea that makes me feel the same way?? i did this with control fraek!!!! i wanted a scenario where bakugou was cold and calculating and i was like hm. to do that he’d have to be focusing on something important. and from there i was able to flesh out the rest of the idea.

Which comes first: the pairing or the plot? with krbk its always always the pairing,, i'll be sitting there like wow <33 i love them <33 what if one of them had amnesia <33 (which, yes, wip!!) otherwise it's usually the plot!! and i slot in characters that i feel make sense

Have you ever used a prompt? yeah!! used a prompt for wlw week 2020 and it was fun as hell

Do you write around the story around a specific scene you want to get to or do you start from a plot idea definitely the first!!!! i almost always write like,,, a super messy scene thats 90% dialogue, keep it in my head, and then write the entire fic around that one moment

Do you find that you include a projection of some part of yourself in the way you write a character? a lot of the time when i write love confessions or love in general i'll have one of the characters think or say that the other person makes their head quiet? and it's because that's what i feel whenever i'm in love?? a quiet mind. i project on characters yeah but i think most of the projection actually goes to the way that i write love

Do you research some of the things you write deeply, partially and kind of wing the rest, or play entirely by ear (in this case, go with whatever base knowledge of the subject you have)? most of the time if i do research it'll be about the setting (ex. the izakaya in to have and to hold) or if i'm having the characters interact with an object that they like. need to know how to use (me, in control fraek: google. hey google. does someone die if they get shot in the foot??? no???? awesome thank u <3)

Have you ever had an idea for a story and forgot about it? lmaoo yeah all the time i'll find like 500-2k words of concepts in my gdocs like i do. not remember this at all

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? probably krbk secret relationship lmao

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out better than expected? yeah!! i fully thought the action in control fraek would be awful but it turned out not bad??? which im happy with

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out worse than you expected? again, what we deserve, i personally think it would have worked out better if i'd paced it slower and drawn out the pining but i. do not feel like going back to fix it so its staying the way that it is. pining is so fucking hard to do AHHHH i get so tired with it!!! im like just date already!!!!

PROCESS

How do you come up with titles? in rare occasions (literally. all my multichaps for some reason) the title comes after writing like .5 words of the first chapter im like YES this is it!!!!! sometimes i write the whole thing and pick out one line that fits (what i did with come home to me) a lot of the time i just. steal from songs or poems that i like

What's your favorite emotion to cause on your readers? i like making people happy!!!! love when people comment saying they're cheered up

What's your favorite emotion to write? lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have you ever cried or felt any emotion while reading something you've written? never cried?? but sometimes i'll rereading my hurt/comfort fics 4. yk. comfort

Do you write in order or whatever comes to you? in order!! unless i have a scene that i Need to write and i'll quickly jot it down so that i don't forget

Usual way you procrastinate while writing? ...doing asks like this, making playlists, discord, watching netflix. what don't i do smh

Do you outline or free write? i am. so shit at outlines. i mostly free write and write lil notes for stuff that i wanna add later

Do you set word goals or scene goals (scenes you want to include)? yes!! like i said i'll write loose notes for scenes that i want to add later!! it gives me something to write towards :D

What do you consider when writing your scenes? what goes into making the atmosphere and mood you want? to set a scene i do two things? the first is like,, the five senses bc that always sets the scene really well and makes it feel Real. i'll visualize stuff in my head like its a movie and write out what i would want to tell the set designer?? if the lights are low, if the space is busy, if it's supposed to exude comfort or not.

for putting forward the character's mood one thing i've found that makes a difference is sentence length!! long sentences are good for making a character seem flustered and nervous or not really in control of their emotions? good for love confessions. short sentences are good for when the character is focused on something or short on time. good for fights!!

What's something you never considered to include in your writing that you can't leave out now? def buff hagakure,,,, once i thought of it i was like. if i don't include this at least once in every single fic how could i look at myself in the mirror!!!!!! how could i face anyone!!!!

How do you start a story? establishing a fact about the character or describing the setting! option a is one single thread of gold, option b is between lion and men

How do you end a story? either by tying it back to the beginning or doing like a funny kind of closing??? option a is sugar cookies, option b is a godless society

How do you get out of writer's block? change something!! move something!! i go from typing to handwriting, moving from my bedroom to my living room, switching wips to work on something else!! i do sprints as well?? give myself like fifteen minutes to write something and sometimes 200 words opens up the way for another 2k. sometimes i'll just delete like 500 words and start fresh

Do you edit? or do you toss your writing out there? i edit!!! i'll go over it myself then send it to one or two betas (bee my beloved <33)

How do you edit? do you use spellcheck, grammar checkers, etc? bee is my grammar checker bc he is So Good with grammar. i use grammarly as well for spellcheck stuff mostly?? sometimes my edit process is just like "am i tired of looking at this!! yes <3" and then i post it

PROGRESS

Do you usually like what you write? yeah!!! i post stuff that makes me happy and that i'm fine with rereading!!! i write stuff for self-indulgence reasons first and foremost and i think my writing reflects that sjhnksj

Have you ever written something you didn't like but posted anyways? nope!! even what we deserve i LIKED even if i see a lot of room 4 improvement!! if i don't like smth it's not getting posted

Do you find yourself rereading your writing often? yeah!! the reason i wrote so much krbk secret relationship is because i loved it but i'd read all that there was so i just,, wrote more,, ngl its kinda nice being in a place where i actually like my writing bc i can write stuff that i want to see and really enjoy it!!

Can you tell us anything about your current WIP? sure!! i'm currently working on when it rains which is a fic where bakugou gets hit by a crying quirk!! i'm gonna be using it to explore So Much of all might's character and his relationships with bakugou and aizawa (and i think some people from his past!!)

Can you give us a sneak peek on your current WIP? “You did something. What the hell did you do?” Kirishima sounds pissed off. It would amuse Katsuki if he wasn’t fighting just to stay standing.

“Nothing he didn’t ask for,” Shinsou replies.

“K’ri… shima,” Katsuki croaks out. “‘S fine. Not him.”

His chest collapses back into the familiar dry heaving after that but Kirishima shuts up. He doesn’t apologize to Shinsou.

Kirishima’s a good friend, stubborn and loyal. He stands by Katsuki’s side like an attack dog, blocking him from the view of anyone ogling at his tears.

The last line you've written Ochako knows more than she'd realized. She knows enough to keep her guard up.

It’s not enough.

Open a wip. what’s the first line?

Katsuki wakes up feeling like absolute fucking shit.

INSIGHT

What's your favorite thing about writing? touched on this before but it's mainly just being able to write the things that i want to see and actually enjoy them!!! actually reread them!!!! i thought "wouldn't it be cool if bkg and kirishima owned a restaurant together" and then i wrote it and i like it enough to reread it!!!! being able to create content for myself makes me. so happy

How do you keep yourself inspired? this is gonna sound narcissistic maybe but honestly i'm just really excited about my ideas and where i'm gonna take them and the idea of "i'm gonna get to That scene" keeps me going through the entire thing. also my friends!!!! i'll talk to them about fics and their reactions keep me hyped up enough to finish!!!!

What is your favorite thing to write? just,, slice of life romance,,, stuff thats silly and makes people laugh!!

What do you think your strengths are in writing? i'm good with dialogue!! i do lil voice acting sessions with myself to make sure everything sounds natural and like it's coming from that character skhjnskj

i'm comfortable with my portrayal of love as well??? i spend a lot of time thinking about what it is exactly that i'm trying to get across and i think it turns out well!!

What are things you wish you could practice more? on one hand i wanna get better at writing angst on the other hand i dislike writing angst. do you see my issue

One way you've improved your writing since you began? characterization!! i think i've gotten better at writing characters that are all Different and bring different things to the table!!! i used to project a lot more and it would compromise the characterization because the character was like 70% me and 30% them? not to say that projection is bad but if you do it too much it just,, doesn't read like the character and from a reader's standpoint the narrative can become less compelling

One aspect of writing you're still working on? writing action!!! i. literally hate writing it but i write for a fandom about superheroes so. Unfortunately i gotta learn.

A piece of writing advice you've learned while writing saw this on another tumblr post but they said sometimes if you're struggling with a scene, the problem is five lines back. i've found that to be true!!!! sometimes u gotta delete a chunk and start a little ways back!! i did this with too busy being yours because i was stuck for Weeks and i deleted like 25% of what i had but it helped me actually finish it :D

A bit of writing advice you can't stand when people shit on show don't tell for being overrated lmao bc when u read their writing you can Tell

Something you wish you knew when you first started writing? ,,,,honestly i kind of wish i could know some of the stuff that i used to when i first started writing?? technically i'm better now but creatively i was must better when i wasn't stressing about whether anyone would like what i was writing. so i guess i wish i knew that i should keep that confidence? i kinda wish that i wasn't as insecure about other people's writing styles because i never used to be!!

Something you've learned in life that you apply in writing there's no point in feeling inferior?? writing one genre isn't better than the other. being in one fandom isn't better than being in another. the kind of language you use or the length of your paragraphs- none of that stuff like. matters. what matters is that you're having fun and happy with what you're creating!!!! enjoy other peoples writing but don't let it make you feel worse about yours :D

[neveroutoftime]

Dear Fowldom

First of all, I want to say I understand all of the disappointment with Disney over the Artemis Fowl movie. It happens time and time again with movie adaptations, the worst one for me being Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief. (Which wasn't Disney though) This isn't about PJO however, this is about Artemis Fowl. I'm not saying that it's wrong to be upset or to want a true-to-book movie. Hell, I would love that myself. What I do want to say is that I am slightly disappointed over all of the negativity that I am seeing. I've been doing all I can to stay positive about this whole situation and I want others to understand why. 

First of all, it is an adaptation, and no adaptation is going to be perfect. Sure it could be better, but someone is always going to find something at fault. In the case of Artemis Fowl, they're working with an almost 20 year old book and they had to modernize some of it, because in today's world a lot of the revolutionary technology in the books already exists in reality in some shape or form. As for the genderswaps, yes it's upsetting, but it is also a way to bring power to more women in a story where we had only a handful. They haven't taken that power away from any of those characters, but rather extended that to more characters. Disney is appealing to crowds of people who may not have read the books, who in this day and age, would love to see more women in important positions. 

It is also important to note that, as far as we know, Eoin Colfer was asked and approved changes to the story. Our world is very different in 2020 compared to 2001 when the book was released. Is it really that far fetched to believe that the advanced race of the People would not have tried to be more open-minded? In my opinion, it's not. Yes it has changed one of the main plot points from the book, but for the better. Girls need more empowered ladies to look up to.

Now, the most recent upset has come not from the character changes, but from the release of the full length trailer. When I first watched the trailer, I was upset initially, wondering why they would change such major and key elements in a book that was already spectacular as it was. Why make Artemis more like a normal child? Why change the dynamic with his father? Why are Holly and Artemis seemingly friends, when they are supposed to be enemies until half way through the series? 

I don't have answers to all of these questions, but those may come with the release of the film. A lot of it does go towards the public appeal, many people have never read Artemis Fowl or might not have even heard of it. It's rated PG for one thing. It's a family movie. Disney wants to maintain that. Take the troll for instance, if it was depicted exactly how it was in the book, the rating would likely need to be higher as the sight of a fully grown troll as per the Artemis Fowl book would be outright terrifying. Not really family friendly there folks. 

Overall, I believe it is best to think of this movie as an alternate universe. Why not? It’s not strictly following every plot point of the book, though, if you look closely, a lot are still there, but with new elements thrown in. Personally, I love a good alternate universe… what if it were to have happened this way? Afterall, for those who have finished all of the books, it was stated in the Last Guardian that in his youth, Artemis Sr. had managed to catch and hogtie a dwarf that had made its way to the Fowl Estate due to the magical energy that was so prevalent there. So… what if Artemis Fowl Sr. had never been mind wiped as a younger lad? Then these events in the movie could very well have happened.

It's Disney’s take on an amazing universe and they went with it and made it into something new, which doesn’t always mean bad. We can't make a decision on if this movie is bad until we actually see it. The trailer was out of context and out of order, showing us action-packed and backstory heavy points in hopes to hook audiences to want to see the movie. Yes it upset fans, but putting the book aside, the trailer is not bad. The world of Artemis Fowl looks absolutely stunning. Haven City looks almost as I imagined it. Guys. I want to go there. I’m so excited that we got to see more shots of the magical fairy city.

I do want to keep this short though, so I won’t be touching on my thoughts on every single little error that Disney has made. What I do want to say is that despite everything… we still have the books to fall back on. They will always be there for us to love and enjoy. So will the absolutely wonderful fan creations. Seriously guys, there’s so much talent in the Fowldom and I adore it. Maybe someday we will get our true-to-the-books adaptation. A Series of Unfortunate Events got a second chance with the Netflix series and who’s to say that the same can't happen with Artemis Fowl in the future? Fully animated with an amazing cast of voice actors. The sky’s the limit then.

All in all, at the end of the day, I cannot change everyone’s minds, but I do hope you take a moment to just calm down and listen. I won’t lie, seeing all of this negativity in the tags upsets me, because I for one have not lost hope yet. The trailer has only touched the surface of a much longer movie and has given us a weird, out of context mess to sort thought. I understand thought. Your anger is valid, I’m not saying it's not… I just want people to see how truly excited I still am for this movie. New people will still read the books, they’ll come to see what it really is, we just have a rather interesting take with the movie. 

Just take a moment and think about it, take a look at the Artemis Fowl Confidential Trailer Breakdown (All thanks to the amazing Matt. Seriously guys, he worked so hard on it and he has some fantastic points with the movie.), but if you still don’t want to see the movie, then that’s perfectly valid. After I first watched the trailer myself, I was also upset and shared many of the negative thoughts I’m seeing right now… but then I remembered something from the Last Guardian. “No one likes a whiner.” Holly’s father used to tell her that when she would complain about her chores. Yes this isn’t the same kind of situation, but by being upset and complaining, I’ll only make myself feel worse. Instead, I chose to find something positive to focus on and that restored my hope for this movie. I want to see how it pieces together; how all of those little trailer bits fit into the larger picture. 

That is what I’ll leave you all with. I love this book series and fandom with all of my heart, but I refuse to let this negativity bring me down. Keep being the amazing people I know you all are and don’t let the movie ruin your spirits. Get out there and create more fan fics, fan art, memes, whatever your heart desires. 

Stay Fowl you guys <3

[loving-jack-kelly]

Fic Author Tag Game!

Tagged by: @monogramsalarm hey Matt!

Tagging: uhhh @little-byrdie-told-me @penzyroamin and @romeomahbromeo

Ao3 name: SpraceJunkie 

Fandoms: Mostly (almost entirely) Newsies but there’s also a few Bandstand, Renegades and other miscellaneous fandoms present there. But 58 of those 75 are Newsies

Number of fics: On ao3 I have 75 fics and who knows how many tiny fics I have on here that aren’t on ao3 probably a lot

1. Fic you spent the most time on: I feel like I’m obligated to say How to Steal Some Art and Hearts bc that’s still a WIP that I haven’t abandoned but like in one shot I think it’s By My Sword which I wrote all at once and it took like three months of focusing all on it.

2. Fic you spent the least time on: Oh probably Jitters? Any of the ones I post on here and then move to ao3 I write in one sitting and are usually pretty quick, but Jitters was one of those things that just kind of appeared fully written in my head and it took like five minutes to get it down.

3. Longest fic: By My Sword is currently! Art and Hearts should take that spot back with the next update, but By My Sword is at 24,408. Arts and Hearts should hit 25k at the next update bc I’ve been keeping each chapter at 5k.

4. Shortest fic: It’s Okay to Cry which is 421 words of Jack Kelly being a dad friend

5. Most hits: 2175 on About Time

6. Most kudos: 377 on Soft Lines which is the first non-Newsies appearance in this post sjhgsjhfghjsf (it’s Good Omens)

7. Most comment threads: 55 on Art and Hearts! 

8. Fave fic you wrote: Ohh that’s like asking me to choose a favorite child I Love Art and Hearts (which is why it takes so long to update fellas I refuse to rush it bc I don’t want to hate it) and By My Sword. Also Percy Jackson Died which the pjo fandom on here seemed to like too. And Three Steps Forward which is Bandstand fic about my boy Jimmy Campbell

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: oh so many of my old ones. Pretty much anything from before the summer of 2018 I don’t like now, and even things from last year I can see my growth from. At some point I’m planning on rewriting some of my old stuff at the very least to reformat it into something readable. Tbh though after going through my entire list of works on ao3 I wanna take a shot at The One That Got Away again because I never ended up finishing it and it was a very good concept.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning:

Jack was rough and tumble, could convince a mountain to move with the way he spoke and yet stumbled over his words when he was just having a conversation. He was an artist, constantly covered in streaks of bright colors leftover from whatever project he was working on, even when he was working at his day job, where he was always covered in flour from doing the baking for the tiny coffee shop he “practically owned ‘cause like, Kloppman just lets me do whatever shit I want which is why everything is so good.” He was loud and….and bright, that was the only way Davey could think to describe him.

He’d tried. More times than he’d really like to admit, he’d tried to capture Jack in words like he’d managed to capture so many characters he’d written. It should have been easier than the characters he made up entirely. He didn’t have to come up with a name (Jack, meaning “god is gracious,” Kelly, meaning “bright-headed,” no middle name) or an appearance (5’8 but claims 5’9, curly dark brown hair that could be described as shaggy, dark, dark brown eyes that almost looked black in some light. Very square jaw, like ridiculously square. A smile that took over his entire face. Not that Davey was paying that much attention), and yet he just couldn’t find the right words to get Jack Kelly to translate into words.

He was too energetic to be trapped in written language, he changed too often and moved too much and was so much that the stillness of ink could never hope to communicate who he was. The way his hands jumped when he talked, the way he swung an arm around the shoulders of anybody he liked who was close enough to touch, the way he paused when he was searching for a word, the way he bounced on the balls of his feet as he spoke, the way laughter seemed trapped behind his eyes in flashes of light until it escaped out of his mouth, everything about Jack Kelly was kinetic and Davey couldn’t seem to get a freeze-frame on him clear enough to write it down.

Not that he needed to. He had no reason to try and capture Jack Kelly in writing. Why would he? He wasn’t falling for Jack, he wasn’t overly attached to Jack, and he definitely wasn’t frustrated at his inability to describe Jack Kelly.

There’s one that should hopefully be done fairly soon. Also somebody needs to stop me before I write a Javid au for The Thing About Harry because I’m very close to it and if I start that now this one will never get done and I like this one. Also there’s another secret one in progress that Byrd knows about but I latched onto the one I just posted from before I could finish it but it’s also very good.

[gaylotusthatexists]

alright @skepticalcatfrog tagged me in this (thank you so much for the tag dude) let’s go

rules: pick ten ships before reading the questions, then answer the questions

1. intrulogical (sanders sides)

2. solangelo (pjo)

3. nick/charlie (heartstopper)

4. catradora (shera)

5. roceit (sanders sides)

6. steven/connie (steven universe)

7. eleanor/chidi (the good place)

8. percabeth (pjo)

9. ellie/lottie (rosewood chronicles)

10. wolfstar (harry potter)

ok aaand the questions!!!

1: Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you started shipping 6?

i’m,,, actually not sure. i wanna say since their introduction but that doesn’t sound like me. maybe from the fusion episode? or maybe an indirect kiss :/

2: Have you ever read a fanfiction about 2?

bitch i have written solangelo fic

yes, yes i have, many many times

3: Has a picture of 4 ever been your profile picture/screensaver/Tumblr?

nope :)

4: If 7 were to suddenly break-up today, what would your reaction be?

D: i’d be very sad. please no. it was hard enough watching them lose their memories of each other so many times in the show please don’t make them have to break up again

5: Why is 1 so important?

listen i just think they’re neat. recently i’ve been on an intrulogical high ok i don’t even ship them in the concept of the show but maybe i just wanna be hugged by remus and logan is apparently a vessel for that :/

6: Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship?

completely serious. i love them ok.

7: Out of all of the ships on the list, who has the most chemistry?

this is so difficult what the fuck

i. refuse to answer. all of them.

8: Out of all the ships on the list, who has the strongest bond?

this is so difficult as well aaaaa uhhh probably eleanor/chidi they’ve been through so much together

9: How many times have you read/watched 8's source material?

i’ve read the main pjo series all the way through twice i think? maybe three times? i’m not sure. some of them i’ve probably read three or more times.

10: Which ship has lasted the longest?

uhhhh idk. i think from this list percabeth was probably the first one i started shipping?

11: How many times, if ever, has 2 broken up?

i mean, in canon they haven’t, but i feel like nico is the kind of person to fake break up with will out of spite and then get back with him the next morning.

12: If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8?

oh uhhh can they not work together?

aaa idk. probably solengelo honestly, percabeth would probably do some dumb shit

13: Did 5 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

they’re not canon but i feel like at first they’d probably have to hide their relationship, but it wouldn’t last long :)

14: Is 4 still together?

heck yeah babey (still cannot believe it’s canon ngl)

15: Is 3 canon?

yes!!!!!!! everyone go read heartstopper right now

16: If all 10 ships were put into a couple's Hunger Games, which couple would win?

uhhhh i reckon intrulogical bc remus does not give two shits he is definitely down for murder

17: Has anyone ever tried to sabotage 10's ship?

yup, she who must not be named fuck off jkr all of your characters are trans and gay

18: Which ship would you defend to death and beyond?

...all of them?

imma say ellie/lottie bc. they cute. and from the looks of it (and what i know about our queen connie glynn) it’s probably gonna be canon

19: Do you spend hours a day going through 1's Tumblr page?

maybe not hours and definitely not daily but i do take a peak sometimes

also tho if anyone has any intrulogical fics they like feel free to send them my way i’m desperate

20: If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she'd break them all forever, which ship would you sink?

aaaa fuck uhhh imma probably have to say percabeth, i love them but just not as much as i love the rest of this life :’)

anyway, this was fun!!! imma tag @theloveliestsweetspongy @bluekit-kat and @underworldystuff aaaand anyone who feels like doing this honestly just say i tagged you haha

[max-is-tired]

Absolutely Smitten (PJO AU)

Pairing: Moxiety

Characters: Patton Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, Roman Sanders

Words: 2.584

Warnings: someone gets stabbed, fainting, swearing, tell me if I need to tag more!

Notes: Holy fucking shit this is finally done. I’ve had this in the works since early December I believe? It was meant to be a short thing and then it became... this *wild Italian gesticulating* 

Nonetheless, I’m very proud of how it turned out!! This is heavily inspired by @really-sleep-deprived-nerd ‘s and @moon-scribs pjo AU, which you can find here!! Go take a look, it’s really good and the whole gang is included!

Hit me up if you want to be added to the taglist and let me know if you liked this, reblogs, comments and asks are always very welcome and much appreciated!

Read on AO3!!   Buy me a Coffee!!

Between the two, Patton is the first one to fall.

Surprisingly, it takes him a while to notice. It’s no love at first sight, this one. There are no fireworks, no lightning strike, no metaphorical angels singing in Patton’s head the first time he meets Virgil.

There’s just something quiet, something soft, a want to protect and cherish the son of Hades is very familiar with.

Because Virgil looks so sad, lonely, so uncomfortable between his own siblings and the other campers.

Patton takes one look at the son of Aphrodite and decides, come hell or high water, that he’s going to become his best friend.

Patton barrels into Virgil’s life like an overexcited puppy, dutifully following him everywhere and always coming back when Virgil tries to get him to leave him alone -never with harsh words because, as much as the son of Hades’ behavior may baffle Virgil, he can’t find it in himself to actually make an effort to hurt him.

Virgil is very annoyed, very confused and mildly afraid. But that doesn’t stop him from begrudgingly following Patton when asked -in his defense, the boy’s puppy dog eyes are very difficult to say no to.

While it is true that “love at first sight” may not be the best expression to describe their relationship, the realization itself surely hits Patton like a ton of bricks.

It happens suddenly, in the blink of an eye. One moment they’re talking, enjoying some relaxing time in Hades’ cabin. Then Patton throws in a pun, without even thinking about it, and suddenly Virgil is giggling merrily on the bed, eyes twinkling in amusement as he tries -and fails- to hide his smile behind his hand.

Oh, is the only coherent thing Patton’s mind is able to formulate, all of his other thoughts drowned by the thunderous beating of his heart and the blood rushing in his veins.

Because Virgil is so, so beautiful, messy and fluffy dark locks falling over his eyes and that shy smile has absolutely no business making Patton’s insides flip like that-

Oh, gods. He’s screwed.

For Virgil, there’s no big realization, no sudden “oh shit I’m gay-” moment. One day, he simply looks at Patton -Patton, his best friend. Patton, the first to ever believe in him. Patton, with his endless enthusiasm and a smile that easily outshines the morning sun- and just thinks “yeah, I wouldn’t mind spending my whole life with him”, something warm and fuzzy blooming in his chest.

Somehow, that line of thought doesn’t scare him as much as one would think. There’s no sudden anxiety, no rush of what-ifs cluttering his brain until he can’t think straight anymore -pun absolutely not intended. On the contrary, it makes him smile, a quiet sort of happiness dancing in his heart.

Because it’s Patton, and for Virgil falling for him feels like the most natural thing in the world.

The whole camp knows, of course. It’s clear as a day for them, how much those two care for each other. They see it in stolen glances, in fingers brushing not-so-casually, in friendly touches and pats in the back lingering even when there’s no reason to.

Everyone sees it but those two, of course. There are bets going on all around camp, about who will break first and finally make the first move.

Also Logan may or may not be three seconds away from slapping some sense into Patton next time he comes gushing to him about Virgil’s stunning smile or cute laugh -it amuses Roman to no end, to see the usually calm and collected child of Athena completely lose it as soon as the son of Hades is out of earshot.

“I might not understand feelings but -pardon my crude language- those two are dense as fuck hOW IN THE NAME OF ATHENA HAVEN’T THEY FIGURED IT OUT YET I SWEAR I AM GOING TO HIT THEM BOTH WITH A BOOK IF THEY DON’T WORK THEIR SHIT OUT SOON-”

Roman has never laughed as much as when Logan went on an hour-long rant about their two friends’ foolishness, to be honest.

If you went and asked anyone on camp how they thought Virgil and Patton would finally get together, they’d probably answer with some cute, fluffy scenario, something so adorable your teeth would probably start rotting -aside from Logan, who would go on a very long, very detailed rant about his masterplan to trap the two in a closet until they figure shit out and stop making him lose his mind with their obliviousness.

Nobody could have predicted, however, how it really happened.

Nobody could have predicted the camp being attacked by a horde of monsters.

Nobody could have predicted the screams, the fear, blood and golden dust alike covering the ground as the battle wears on.

But most of all, nobody could have predicted Virgil frantically pushing Patton away, a dagger piercing into his stomach instead of the son of Hades’ back. For a moment -a single, fleeting moment in the chaos of the battle- time seems to stop completely, silence falling as Virgil’s trembling hands move to brush over the growing red stain on his shirt.

Then, he crumbles to the ground, Patton desperately screaming his name from the top of his lungs.

Something old and powerful rushes through his veins, and under the feet of every monster the earth. Opens. Wide.

The first thing Virgil sees when he comes to is the ceiling of the infirmary, before immediately shutting his eyes because ouch someone turn down the lights right the fuck now-

He tries to cover his face with his hand, only to discover something is keeping it down. Virgil moves to sit up as much as he can and turns his head a little to the side, vision still a little fuzzy, his gaze immediately falling on a familiar figure curled on a chair beside his bed, fingers interlocked with his even in his sleep.

“He never left your side, you know,” a voice murmurs from behind the two, startling Virgil. The son of Aphrodite turns around, eyes falling on Roman’s figure approaching the bed.

“Princey, please stop trying to give me a heart attack,” he groans, flopping back onto the mattress with a huff.

“Only when you stop giving us a heart attack every chance you get,” the son of Apollo counters, sitting on another empty chair, “you scared us a lot, V. Patton was inconsolable for days.”

Virgil sighs, turning around to look at his friend, still curled up to his side and sleeping soundly. Looking more closely, Virgil can easily spot the other’s disheveled appearance, from his crumpled clothes and messy hair to the dark bags under his eyes and the tear tracks on his cheeks. He looks like an exhausted, grieving mess. But Patton’s alive, chest moving steadily up and down as he rests, and Virgil knows that, if given the choice, he would jump into that dagger’s path all over again.

Then, Roman’s words register properly into his mind. “Wait, what do you mean days?” he asks, moving to sit up again, “how much time has passed exactly?”

“Stop moving so much, Surly Temple,” Roman chides, gently pushing the other back down on the bed, “you were unconscious for a week. Your injuries were really bad, you almost didn’t make it.”

“Oh,” is all Virgil manages to say, mind reeling as he tries to come to terms with his all-too-near encounter with death, “I’m… sorry?”

“No, you aren’t,” Roman counters, shaking his head, “and don’t even try to deny it, you’re so gone for that boy you would fight all the gods themselves for him.”

Virgil opens his mouth to retort, more than ready to defend his honor, but promptly closes it again when he realizes he would, in fact, challenge Zeus himself to a fistfight for Patton’s safety and happiness.

“I hate it when you’re right,” he grumbles instead, lips scrunching into a pout.

“I know,” Roman grins, clearly smug, “now, I’d love to stay and hear more about how right I am-”

“Yeah, you wish,” Virgil scoffs, chuckling.

“-but I think that’ll have to wait,” Roman finishes, completely ignoring Virgil’s interruption, “our sleeping beauty is waking up, and I believe you two hopeless gays have some things to talk about.”

“Wha-” Virgil starts, confused, before a movement to his left stops him right on his tracks. Gaze shifting automatically to the curled figure on his side, Virgil’s eyes widen as he watches Patton start to stir, eyes scrunching and mouth settling into a little frown. It’s quite adorable, actually- goddamnit Virgil this is not the time to be a useless gay.

“Princey wait, you can’t-” the son of Aphrodite hisses, turning back towards Roman only to realize -to his dismay- that while he was busy having a mini gay crisis, the son of Apollo had merrily strolled out of the infirmary, leaving the poor demigod to fend for himself.

Quietly panicking on the inside, Virgil can’t do anything more but stare as Patton slowly wakes up, chocolate brown eyes still fuzzy with sleep. The boy lets out a huge yawn, clearly still half asleep with his glasses sitting crookedly on his nose, and stretches his arms over his head, letting out a satisfied groan when he hears a quiet but distinct pop.

That’s, of course, when Patton’s gaze falls on Virgil, very much awake and looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Dumbfounded, he stares, blinking owlishly at the other as his brain tries to register what exactly he’s seeing.

Then Patton lets out a sudden shout, throwing himself onto Virgil to drag him into the biggest hug the son of Aphrodite has ever received.

“Virgil!” Patton wails, tears already streaming down his face, “Gods above, you’re awake! You’re okay!”

“Hey Pat,” Virgil says, a faint smile appearing on his face as he returns the hugs as much as he can -he may have slept for a whole ass week, but he still feels exhausted as fuck.

“Don’t you dare do that ever again!” Patton exclaims, hands grabbing onto Virgil’s shoulders as he moves back to look at him, “Never again, got it?!”

“Pat,” Virgil sighs, looking away, “Pat, I- you know I can’t promise that.”

“But why?!” Patton asks, distraught, “I don’t want you to die, V! I just- I can’t even think about it, it just-” sobbing, the son of Hades crumbles into Virgil’s arms, forehead onto the other’s chest, “every- every time I close my eyes I see you on the ground, covered in all that blood- I don’t want to see that ever again!”

“Patton,” Virgil calls, voice soft and gentle as he cradles the other to his chest, “Patton, I can’t promise you that I'll never do it again because I know all too well I would never be able to keep that vow, most of all if it means you’ll be safe from harm’s way.”

Patton shakes his head and lets out a strangled sob at Virgil’s words, his grip on the son of Aphrodite’s shirt tightening even more.

“But,” Virgil keeps going, hand softly stroking his friend’s back in comfort, “what I can promise you is that, doesn’t matter what happens or how desperate the situation is, I’ll always, always come back to you.”

Sniffling, Patton looks up at him, eyes red and puffy as he searches Virgil’s face for any hint of lie or deception.

“Do you… do you really mean it?” he asks, voice small but hopeful. Virgil smiles, nodding his head, and that’s all the confirmation Patton seems to need before his hands are of the other’s cheeks, something akin to determination suddenly burning in his gaze.

“Pat? What’s-” Virgil tries to ask, blushing slightly under the other's scrutiny, but gets interrupted halfway through by a pair of lips suddenly covering his.

Patton is kissing him.

Patton -Patton Medina, son of Hades, his best friend, his fucking crush- is kissing him.

Virgil's brain -as soon as he realizes what is actually happening- short-circuits on the spot, eyes wide as dinner plates as his thoughts become an absolute mess of oh my gods oh my gods ohmygodswhat- and general gay panic.

The kiss is very short, Patton drawing away a few seconds later, but Virgil feels like an eternity has passed. He keeps staring at Patton, blinking owlishly at him with his mouth slightly open in surprise, mind drawing a complete, absolute blank -which is, of course, a totally normal reaction for a child of the goddess of fucking Love to have when their crush kisses them, goddamnit Virgil get a fucking grip for once-

“Sorry, I-” Patton mumbles, looking away, “I acted on impulse, I didn’t want- I mean, I wanted to but- I should have asked-”

“Pat, no-!” Virgil exclaims when the other starts to move away, grabbing onto his arm on instinct, “I mean- it’s okay, really.”

“It- It is?” Patton asks, looking at him with careful hope in his eyes. Virgil gulps, heart beating wildly in his chest as he forces himself to maintain eye contact.

“Y- Yeah, I-” he takes in a slow, steadying breath, trying to will his cheeks to stop burning so much and failing miserably, “I really liked it, actually.”

Patton blinks at him words registering into his head as a smile starts to spread onto his face. “Really?”

Virgil nods, his lips curling into a little, shy smile and that’s all the confirmation Patton needs, his expression breaking into a wide grin as he tackles the other into a hug, a bewildered laugh escaping his lips.

Virgil immediately returns the hug, finding himself laughing alongside Patton, giddy with happiness.

“So, can I call you my boyfriend now?” Patton asks, eyes sparkling with delight as he looks up at Virgil -and gods if that vision doesn’t make Virgil’s heart do funny things in his chest, something so warm and fond seeping into his expression without him even noticing.

“Sounds pretty cool,” he says, his face muscles aching from how much he’s smiling. Patton laughs, a sound so beautiful Virgil is pretty sure not even the Muses themselves would be able to replicate, and shuffles until he’s basically sitting on Virgil’s lap, eyes locking onto the other’s.

“I really want to kiss you again right now,” he murmurs, eyes half closed as he starts to slowly lean in.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” Virgil answers, closing the distance between them.

They kiss for what feels like ages, giggling like school children and sharing sweet smiles and totally smitten looks, the world around them vanishing until there’s just them, and nothing else matters.

Enveloped as they are in themselves, none of them notices the barely muffled squeal coming from the doorway, Roman standing there bouncing on his toes as he takes in the two lovebirds cuddling on the bed.

Trying to be as silent as he can -which is probably an unnecessary caution since he’s pretty sure Zeus himself could make lightning fall from the sky and the two would be none the wiser, but it’s still of a child of the Big Three and a charm speak user we’re talking about so Roman is not about to take any chances here, thank you very much- the son of Apollo slowly closes the door, before throwing his hands in the air in silent cheer and merrily strolling towards Athena’s cabin.

Looks like Logan owes him twenty dollars.

[alwaysmarais98]

OCEAN EYES | Chapter 9 | Jonah Marais

A/N: I want to thank everyone who reads this series. It got way more attention and positive feedback, like I never expected that so many people could like my writing. It’s something so new to me as I just started about 1 1/2 months ago. Thank you so much to everyone who encourages me to keep going. I hope you also like that chapter and make sure to share and leace some comments. 

Find the other parts in my MASTERLIST

Warnings: None. This is pure fluff

Summary: Highschool AU, You move to Minnesota and attend high school there. Jonah just happens to be the captain of the Baseball team who also enjoys playing with girls

I widen my eyes at his confession. Did he really just say that? He has feelings? I shake my head, a boy like Jonah doesn’t get into relationships, he said it himself.

Jonah looks at me with pleading eyes as he recognises my sceptical look, “Y/N, I know what you might think but please believe me okay. I don’t know what to do with myself, I never felt this way before about a girl. Like you drive me insane. Since I met you, you are all I can think about. You make me nervous and fidgety all the time. I can’t contain myself when you get near and I tried to play it call with all my jokes and sexual innuendos but I know I failed miserably”, he yanks a hand through his messy hair sighing some.

I swallow studying his face in every detail. The corner of his lips twitches a little when I bite on my bottom one and I take a step closer to him. His eyes light up a little turning into a lighter shade of blue again. I know when I look up into them I will give up and crash myself directly into his arms. I watch the way he plays with the bracelet on his wrist. “Jonah, I swear if you are lying to me now…I”, I start but he cuts me off placing a hand on my cheek. He strokes with his thumb over my soft skin tracing the few freckles I have on my cheek bones.

“I…I would never lie about something like that. Please believe me. I know, I wasn’t honest to you in school today but I didn’t know how to explain”, he whispers leaning close. I nod slinging my arms around his strong torso pressing my body against his warm one. I rest my head against his chest feeling his heart still racing.

Jonah sighs in relief feeling like a hundred pounds just fell of his shoulder when I pulled him against me closing the distance between us and he wraps his arms around my shoulders. He cradles the back of my head running his fingers through my tangled hair while I press a kiss on his collar bone.

“We are such a mess”, I whisper making a chuckle escape his mouth, “but the most beautiful one.”

My thoughts are still running wild as we just stand there in silence holding onto each other, “I’m sorry I called you a fuckboy and said that you banged that girl”, I whisper.

Jonah nods slowly, “It’s okay, no reason to apologise. I know why you thought all those things about me and I understand it yeah. I acted like an ass towards girls over the last years. I was always so scared to get hurt that I never let one close but then you came and…”

“And your walls tumbled down?” “Exactly, why do you know?”, he breaths out.

“Because I feel the complete same about you. I always kept my distance from guys like never opened up to them. But then you walked into my life and I slowly felt how my feelings got stronger and I couldn’t hold them back anymore. Like first I thought you are a prick but then when we spend some time alone, you were completely different. But what really got me, was the day you lost that game. You were so vulnerable and honest, I realised then that I can’t continue to push you away”, I admit almost stumbling over my own words because I talk way too fast my hands sliding into his.

Jonah beams down at me pressing a gently kiss to the top of my head, “You are the cutest thing ever”, he whispers making me blush a little. I walk back a few steps and sit down on my bed. I tug at his hand to pull him down next to me, “You can stay here when you are quiet, I just don’t want my mum to hear us. Like I will tell her about us the next days but she shouldn’t think I sneak around behind her back.”

“I would do anything just to be with you and I understand that yeah. I also want her to like me and not to think I’m just that guy that crawls into her daughter’s window. Also, when that’s exactly what I did past those past weeks”, he smirks laying down my bed. He grabs me at my waist lifting me with ease on top of his body.

I wiggle around on him until I find a comfortable position while his strong hands grip my hips. He gives them a gentle squeeze while my fingers glide over his sharp jawline. I just notice now how perfectly shaped his face is. Jonah looks up me with complete infatuation in his deep blue eyes, I smile back at him, my eyes always crinkling when I do so.

He slowly leans up pressing a soft kiss onto my lips. I stroke a strain of his hair off his forehead and lean on my arms that are placed next to his body while his hands slide onto my lower back, two of his fingers sneaking under my shirt to rub over my skin. I bury my face in the crook of his neck inhaling his scent.

“Will you be on that party on Thursday? My friends mentioned something”, I mumble and turn my head to get a better view at him.

Jonah nods his head tucking my hair behind my ear as it always falls down in his face, “Yeah, actually I wanted to ask you if we want to go together.”

“But people will spot us then, like your entire team will know we are having something with each other.”

“Baby, I want them all to see us okay. Like I can’t keep my hands off you and I couldn’t watch how probably one of them will hit on you”, he grins gently kissing my neck.

“What about tomorrow at school?”, I ask and run my fingers through his dark brown locks. “We can still keep it for us. I don’t want to seek too much attention on it yet. But if there will ever be a girl saying something to you about us dating or hates on you because of it, you tell me alright? I will make sure to shut it down then.”

After cuddling for some longer Jonah gets up walking back to the window, “I should let you get your beauty sleep now, also when you don’t need it. You are gorgeous all the time”, he grins. I laugh and tip toe kissing his lips softly, “Goodnight Jonah”, I smirk as he kisses me back deeply making sure his lips linger on mine for a little longer.

He slowly pulls back stroking over my waist one last time before I watch him crawling back over to his room. He gestures a thumb up to me and I giggle before laying back down in bed.

I’m the happiest as I roll on my side as I can’t stop myself from smiling. I feel how my stomach flips by just the thought of him next to me. I bury my face in the pillow as it still smells like him. Suddenly the door flews open and I shoot up in bed seeing my mum standing in the door frame.

“So how long are you two sneaking around behind my back already? And what did he do here at that time. It’s past midnight already”, she crosses her arms.

I widen my eyes in shock as I didn’t expect her to notice anything, “Mum… I… I can explain okay. It’s not like… we are just friends.” Like that’s not even a lie, he didn’t ask me out yet also when I know he will do soon.

“Friends don’t meet each other secretly in the middle of the night. Go to sleep now, young lady. This door stays open just in case. We will talk tomorrow morning about it”, she shuts off the lights and walks away but I could see the disappointment in her face. I sigh squeezing my eyes as that really ruined my night. Mum is the worst when she is mad at me.

To be continued… 

Taglist: @wdwisperfect @jonahsbabymomma @averythingzachherron @belowaveragebesson @danieljames1998 @moonlight-prin-cess @specialboyseavey @seaveystorm   @trustfundshawn @seaveyssparkle @kinkycorbyn @pjo-for-life @hello-love06 @onmywaymarais @prettymuchjonah @wdw-just-love @balley53 @maleriefay @blueeyedbesson @tempus-ut-luceant @so-not-wdw @zaddydaniel @ihateevrythingx

(Message me to be tagged) 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! PLEASE PLEASE leave me some FEEDBACK and comments. I really wanna know what you all thought of it!! Thanks for reading everyone!! Love all of you that read my stories. ❤

[1ooo-w0rds]

we met on ocean avenue

A/N: July fic anyone? I’ve started a collab with @dancer-dramatic-13. She came up with a fun social media AU for the pjo gang and been sending me edits! We’ve been bouncing ideas back and forth and got this gem. Keep an eye out for some adorable instagram edits. Thank you so much @dancer-dramatic-13 for getting me out of the writer’s block funk.

“Ugh what the hell?” Leo groaned as possibly the most annoying song on the radio right now blared from his headboard. “Who?” He murmured, palming for his phone as he pushed himself up. He stared at the caller and sighed. “Piper…” He moaned. Of course, the only person who’s fingerprint could unlock his phone. How she convinced him of that, the boy couldn’t remember. “Hello, Leo’s call service, currently annoyed.”

“He has a girlfriend.” Leo blinked, sitting up as he rubbed his eyes. The summer night heat made Leo’s body sticky. He scratched his neck as he parted the curtains, letting the cool breeze in. Stars stared back at him. “Are you listening? He has a girlfriend?”

“Ugh Piper, do you know what time it is?” Leo groaned as he rubbed his forehead. “I’ll give you a hint. Three. Freaking. A.M.”

“Pssh like you sleep?” Piper replied, calming down a bit from her outburst. “I saw your Twitch stream. Dating advice with Leo?”

“So you do lurk in my chat while away?” Leo countered as he leaned against the wall, stretching his legs out. Piper huffed, denying everything. He listened to her voice, missing her already despite just driving her out to the airport this morning. “Alright, Pipes, I’m awake enough to handle your crisis. Who has a girlfriend?”

“Jason.” Leo looked up at the ceiling, trying to connect that name with a face. “Blond Superman? He’s been tagging her a bunch on his Instagram. At first it was just little things like an ice cream cone or some acai bowl with stupid captions like #amIDietingRight? #orAmIJustDying? I think he was trying to make her laugh.” Ah, Leo remembered now, Jason is Piper’s newest Instagram crush. Apparently, he had a guest spot on the show her dad’s on.

“So? I do that with you.” Leo replied with a shrug. Piper sighed deeply. “I’m sorry I’m so disappointing.”

“Leo, you tag me in memes. It’s not the same.” Leo rolled his eyes. Since when were memes not romantic? “Anyways, her Instagram is QueenReyna. It’s filled of amazing beach shots and fitness stuff. I think she plays beach volleyball or something. There’s only a few selfies but Leo, she’s so pretty. Go look at her Instagram!” Leo rolled his eyes but opened the app, a little curious about this supposed girlfriend. He typed in her username, clicking on the first account that showed up. Sure enough, it fit the description that Piper had given him, and according to the followers list, it appeared that Jason was following her.

The first thing Leo noticed were her eyes. Unlike Piper’s which were mischievous and teasing, often in more ways than one, Reyna’s were intense and focused like she was staring straight at you through the camera. In most of her pictures, her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail or braid, a nonsensical style. Leo couldn’t help but wonder what her hair would look down, framing her face. How she would look with a teasing smile?

“Are you looking?” Piper asked, pulling Leo out of his thoughts. Leo could hear the mattress squeak through the phone. She was shifting, a nervous habit they both have.

“Gathering evidence…” Leo murmured, clicking to Jason’s instagram account. Jason obviously knew his audience as he took many behind the scene pictures with the cast of his various shows. One of his gags was taking a selfie with the next week’s script with the caption: #probablyDyingThisWeek #calledIt. The boy loved teasing his fans. As an apology, there was always a cute Thor, his adorable puppy sidekick. Leo blinked. This week’s Thor pic had a special guest. Reyna laughed as Thor licked her cheek happily, hugging the tiny fluff ball. #myBestFriendStoleMyDog #Traitor #ThorTheAmazingDog

“Verdict?” Piper whispered softly. “Is he half in love with her as I’m thinking?” Leo wasn’t sure what to say as he looked through the other pictures. Towards the bottom, there was a picture of Thor on the beach by the volleyball net. It was a stylistic shot of the sun setting in the horizon. The  picture was an image of Reyna in a light hoodie sitting on the beach facing away with a frustrated expression, petting Thor. #can’tWinThemAll #ThorAndIStillLoveYou

“Piper…” Leo tried to start.

“She has a youtube channel as well, Leo.” Piper said tiredly. “It’s like really good. It's not just volleyball montages or practice advice. There’s videos of her speaking about being Puerto Rican and the challenges growing up away from her culture. How she feels both connected and disconnected at the same time. The way she speaks, it’s so relatable. It reminds me of, well me. I watched one of her videos and learned so much about her culture.  God, I can’t even hate her, she's that perfect.”

“Hey, you’re tired.” Leo whispered as he laid down on his bed, listening to her breathing. “And jumping to conclusions. We don’t know the whole story. The internet has a way of twisting simple words. Get your full eight hours of sleep and we’ll discuss this when we’re in the same time zone.”

“Thanks, Repair Boy.” Piper whispered.

“Of course, Beauty Queen. I always know how to talk you off a cliff.” Leo replied before wishing her good night. His fingers drummed the bed as he sat in the dark for a moment. Reyna’s account sat bright on his screen. A picture of her with huge sunglasses and a wide sun hat, grinning at the camera staring back. Impulsively, he clicked the follow link. “To keep tabs…” Leo reasoned before turning the screen off.

[gatesofember]

Summer Grass

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 8

Rating: M | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage 

Summary: Reyna has business in the City of Enlightenment and Prince Nico tags along to visit Will. Since confessing their feelings, Nico and his fiancé have grown even closer...and Nico has even more trouble keeping it in his pants.

They had stopped at the Sun Palace once more along the journey from Neptune to Pluto, but only for a day.  Some nights they stayed at inns along the road and other nights they stayed as guests in noble estates, but sometimes, they only stopped to exchange horses before continuing to travel throughout the night.  Nico and Will had fallen asleep against each other in the carriage on more than one occasion, and although Reyna’s expression made it clear that she did not approve, she did not stop them.  They separated after reaching Divitia, when Will went to continue his studies in Venadica and Nico remained at the Palatium de Divitae.  Nico bid him farewell with a few kisses and the promise to write, reminding him that it wouldn’t be long before he accompanied Reyna to the City of Enlightenment when she renewed her Sororal vows.

Will had started to be a bit more bold.  He was always well within the boundaries of appropriate behavior, of course, but Nico’s confession in Neptune had given Will confidence.  Nico appeared to like Will’s boldness, too.  Whenever Will initiated some form of touch—even just to rest his hand on top of Nico’s—Nico rewarded him with at least a smile, but sometimes a kiss if he was especially pleased.  Will was slowly starting to feel more comfortable with being affectionate towards Nico.  Although he’d never attempted to hide his admiration, he’d always been careful to keep his behavior polite and gentlemanly; he hadn’t wanted to upset Nico’s chaperones or to make Nico uncomfortable by being too open with his feelings.  After spending so much time alone with Nico while traveling, it became more natural for Will to casually touch him.  He stopped questioning whether his feelings were welcome and started to trust Nico’s love for him instead.

When Nico arrived in Venadica that summer, the sky was still bright but the sun was descending.  Will greeted him at the carriage door and was nearly knocked off his feet when the Prince’s huge bloodhound jumped out first.  He sniffed Will’s stockings happily while waiting for his master.

“Will!” Nico said, nearly pushing Reyna out of the way to see him.

“I’m happy to see you, Your Highness,” Will said.  He offered his hand to help Nico step down from the carriage and wasn’t surprised when Nico didn’t release it.  However, he was surprised when Nico immediately kissed him there in the middle of the city without regard for the Sororal officials who had come to greet him.  Reyna sighed in resignation as she stepped from the carriage, but Hedge looked like he might have a seizure.  When Will turned back towards his aunt and the others waiting for Nico and Reyna, he noticed that Thalia seemed amused and Hestia had raised an eyebrow.  He could already imagine Artemis teasing him about it later: “It seems there were a few developments in your engagement you neglected to mention to me,” she would say.  “I must have done well to arrange your marriage.”

When they entered the palace, Nico and Will trailed a few steps behind Reyna and Artemis and her attendants.  Normally, it would have been expected for Nico to walk beside Artemis, but because he was merely accompanying Reyna rather than acting as an official guest, it wasn’t very rude for Nico to ignore the Matestra in favor of his fiancé.

“I really am happy to see you,” Nico said.  “I’ve missed you.”

“And I have missed you,” Will answered.  “I’m glad you decided to visit.  This time, I have a clear schedule.  I’m staying at the palace, as well.”

“Not in your own rooms?” Nico asked.

Will shook his head happily.  “My aunt offered me a place to stay for the week,” he explained.  Like his first visit to Venadica, Nico would stay at the Sororal Palace for the duration of his stay.  The palace had been full of guests during the Expo, but now had plenty of vacant rooms available for Will, too.  He was grateful; the time it would have taken to travel from the consor dormitories to the palace every day would have left less time for Will to spend with his fiancé.  “There are so many places I want to take you,” he said.  “Last time, the city was so crowded that I couldn’t show you what it’s like normally.  My friends and I used to have secret meeting spots when we were children—there’s a little nook at the bottom of the Cronius Turris in the square, then there’s the tunnel system in the palace.  And we found plenty of places to hide in the children’s ward.”

“I’d love that,” Nico said.  “Will you show me where you live?”

“No, I hadn’t planned to,” Will said.  “It’s only a small room with a bed and a trunk.”

“I would still like to see.”

Will cleared his throat uncomfortably.  “Your Highness, the way I live as a consor in Venadica is very different from the way I live as the son of a duke in Diana.”

“I know,” Nico said shortly.  “This isn’t the first time that you have refused to show me this sort of thing.  Last time I was here, you were hesitant to show me your lab and you didn’t want me to attend your lecture—”

“You know that’s not true at all,” Will interrupted.  They’d had the same argument on more than one occasion.  As patient as he tried to be, he was growing wearing of discussing that incident.  Either Will and Nico had very different memories of what had happened, or Nico only kept arguing because he liked to argue—which seemed plausible, knowing Nico.  “Of course I wanted you to attend the lecture,” Will said.  “The problem was that I didn’t know you were interested.”

“Well, I am interested in seeing where you live.  So why won’t you show me?  Surely you’re not ashamed.”

“No, of course I’m not ashamed, I just...Your Highness, my living quarters are very small and uninteresting and I admit that I don’t take much pride in it—”

“I’m not expecting dormitories to be glamorous—”

“—but it’s not the size or plainness that is the issue.  You must understand, I live quite independently here in Venadica.  I dress myself, I sometimes cook for myself, and I clean after myself.  But my living quarters are not a high priority and I often neglect them—”

“Ah.  So it’s a mess,” Nico surmised.

Will sighed.  “I may be unintentionally fostering a few colonies of bacteria, in fact.  Out of respect for your safety, I cannot take you there.”

Nico snorted and laughed, loudly and unattractively.  Will knew that Nico hated his own laugh, but Will loved it.  It served as a reminder of just how human Nico was—imperfect and flawed, just like Will.

It wasn’t long after Nico’s arrival their meal was held.  The dining hall was crowded, noisy, and full of life, just as it was every time Will went to the Sororal Palace for supper.  While Artemis was also fond of small, private meals, she usually took her suppers in large gatherings.  Will liked the variety, as well; sometimes, he preferred to have his aunt to himself when he visited, but Will always enjoyed himself at full sororal suppers.  That evening, however, Will wished he could have eaten alone with Nico.  He couldn’t have paid attention to the conversation around him even if he had wanted to.

“I love you,” Will said, quietly enough so that no one would overhear.

“I love you, too,” Nico answered.

Will didn’t even realize he and Nico had been leaning closer to each other until Reyna made a subtle gesture to get their attention and silently shook her head to indicate her disapproval.  She didn’t stop glaring until they reluctantly scooted their chairs a bit farther apart.  For the rest of the meal, Reyna kept a close watch on them, but Nico and Will kept their ankles secretly locked together beneath the table until supper was over.

“I have a meeting to attend until late in the evening,” Reyna told them after they left the table.  “You may either—”

“I’m staying with Will,” Nico announced, his fingers clutching Will’s arm as if to demonstrate that he would not tolerate being separated.  “He is going to take me through the city for the rest of the afternoon.”

Will had no memory of discussing that, but he wasn’t opposed.

“I am not able to follow you around the city,” Reyna said.  “Unless you would rather have Hedge chaperone, I suggest you both stay with me.”

Nico scowled and Will flinched.  To his credit, Hedge wasn’t nearly as overprotective as he had once been, but he still had a short temper and was quick to snap at Will.  He was far from the ideal chaperone.  In fact, Reyna had banned Hedge from chaperoning duties unless absolutely unavoidable.  But as bad as having Hedge as a chaperone sounded, attending Reyna’s meeting did not sound much more pleasant.

To Will’s surprise, Hestia stepped forward.  “I will chaperone them, if you and Her Divinity allow it.”

“I can handle the rest of the day without my aide,” Artemis said.

Reyna looked Hestia over thoughtfully before nodding.  “But I must warn you that His Highness will take any opportunity to cause trouble.  Do not allow them to leave your sight.  Physical contact is to be kept to a minimum.  If kisses are unavoidable, they must be chaste.”

Nico looked pleased with the arrangement, but Hestia looked concerned, like she was wondering exactly what she’s just volunteered for.

Will took Nico to the children’s ward first and they spoke to Emmie and Jo, but as it was already getting late in the day, they didn’t stay long.  As they left, Will found Cal and Leo putting the youngest to bed and stopped to give them a quick greeting before letting them get back to the children.  Before Will became engaged to Nico and before Cal and Leo started courting, Will and his friends had planned to run the children’s ward together when Emmie and Jo grew old.  Will wondered if the two of them still shared that dream.  He could imagine them chasing after the children together—Cal would teach the children to sing and Leo would entertain them with his inventions.  Would they marry and have children of their own?  Would they grow old together in Venadica?

Not for the first time, Will realized just how much he was giving up to marry Nico.  He would leave his friends and family and would never live in Venadica or Diana again.  He might visit, but the rest of his life he would live in Divitia.  He would suffer through Plutonian winters every year.  He wouldn’t be there to watch his sister Kayla grow into a brilliant and beautiful young lady.

But he would have Nico.  He would find a second family and more people to call his friends.  In time, he would learn to call Divitia home.

Before he finally managed to escort Nico back outside, Will was stopped several more times by children coming to see him.  “I’m sorry for the delays,” Will apologized as they left the ward with Asterion and Hestia following behind them.

“It seems that children are fond of you,” Nico observed casually.  “You will make a good father.”

Will blinked a few times as he stared at Nico, unsure how to react.  Nico didn’t seem to think he’d said anything odd, but there was no doubt that Will had heard correctly.  Even though Nico wasn’t a student of medicine, surely he must have understood how procreation occurred?

“But...Your Highness, we won’t have any children,” he said.

“Why, that’s absurd,” Nico said humorlessly.  “Then who will help me raise Asterion?”

Will looked from Nico to his aging dog, then back to Nico, who was still wearing a serious, earnest expression.  Finally, the corner of Nico’s mouth quirked up and Will tilted his head back and laughed.

“He is a good son, as you’ll soon discover,” Nico went on, patting Asterion’s head.

“Gods above, I love you,” Will said.

Nico frowned.  “That’s not fair,” he said.

“And why not?” Will asked.

“You can’t say that and expect me to not kiss you.”

Will laughed again.  “A kiss would be quite welcome, Your Highness,” he said.

So he gave one.  But a single kiss was not enough for Nico.

By the time Hestia forced them to separate, it was starting to get dark, so Will took Nico to the Venadican Library to enjoy the rest of their evening in the quiet, peaceful atmosphere.  Nico, however, seemed to be after a bit more than peace and quiet.

While he was reading, Will saw Nico moving out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t think much of it until he felt Nico’s fingers trace over his knuckles.  “Yes, Your Highness?” Will asked, glancing up from his book.

“You look beautiful,” Nico said.

Will hadn’t been expecting that.  “Oh,” he said when he finally managed to find his voice.  “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“I want to ask my sister to paint you,” Nico added.

Will was flattered but confused by the sudden attention, and he couldn’t help wrinkling his nose in distaste at the idea of being painted.

“No?” Nico asked.  Will thought he might have looked a bit disappointed.  He could still have trouble reading Nico; his expressions were sometimes too subtle to make sense of.

“I don’t like sitting for portraits,” Will explained.  He couldn’t stay still without anything to do long enough to pose and people always shouted at him for it.

“I’d like a portrait of you reading,” Nico said.  “You may sit and keep yourself entertained with a book.  You look pretty when you read.”

Will’s mouth felt dry.  He tried to think of something to say, but all that came to mind was, “Thank you.”

“I always think you’re pretty,” Nico said.  He put his knee on the seat beside Will and his forearm by Will’s shoulder on the back of his armchair.  “Everytime I look at you, I want to kiss you.”

Will swallowed and his book fell forgotten on his lap.  When Nico’s fingers grazed his jaw, Will closed his eyes and tilted his chin up.  He felt Nico’s hot breath against his lips, then—

Across the room, Hestia cleared her throat.  “Your Highness?” she said.

Will quickly pulled away while Nico turned to glare at their chaperone, but obediently moved to sit in the chair beside Will’s.  He made it very clear that he wasn’t pleased, however; he slumped into his seat, crossed his arms, and grumbled to himself incoherently.  Will bit his lip to suppress a grin.  Nico could sometimes act like a spoiled child, but Will didn’t mind.  He even found it endearing.  Nico was rebellious but good-hearted, which made his defiance entertaining rather than annoying.  When Will gently put his hand on Nico’s elbow to soothe him, Nico relaxed so immediately that Will felt warm with joy.  Although his moods were sometimes amusing, it made Will happy to know that he was able to calm his fiancé.

Hestia must have also found it entertaining, because she politely stifled a giggle behind her hand.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Nico demanded.

“I am trying my very hardest not to,” Hestia assured.

Hestia and Nico exchanged a glance that gave off an air of familiarity, and Will tilted his head curiously.  How could Hestia address Nico so casually?  Even Will, Nico’s fiancé, used formal language when speaking to him.  Although Nico had once mentioned that he and Hestia would occasionally chat, Will suspected there was far more to their relationship than Nico had let on.  “If you don’t mind me prying, how long have you known each other?” Will dared to ask.  “How did you meet?”

Nico and Hestia glanced at each other again before Nico said, “Almost ten years, I think.  She was a kitchen maid in the estate where I lived during the outbreak of the Scarlet Delirium.”

“I see,” Will said, but the answer only gave him more questions.  How did a kitchen maid become an aide to the Matestra and a friend of a prince?  Nico was always vague when the topic of his stay on the countryside was brought up, so Will was careful not to ask more questions than Nico was willing to answer.  He did wonder, however.

“One day, I will tell you the story,” Nico said, then he gestured to Will’s book.  “What are you reading?”

Will decided not to comment on Nico’s quick change of topic, but he noted to himself that he would have to ask Nico about his relationship with Hestia again later if he was willing to discuss it.  “It’s a collection of essays on theories of poverty,” Will answered.  “At the moment I’m reading ‘Concerning the Origins of Human Inequality’ by Penia.”

“I’ve read it,” Nico said with a nod.  “It contains some good points, but wasn’t very well-written.”

“Better than Euthenia, in my opinion,” Will said.  “At least Penia’s direct.  Euthenia somehow manages to fill entire pages without saying anything.”

“Oh, I hate reading Euthenia,” Nico agreed.  “You mustn’t tell Reyna, but I never finished ‘A Treatise on Economic Disparity.’”

Will laughed humorlessly.  “Truthfully, I think very few people other than Lady Reyna have finished it.  I did, but it took a month to get through it.  Personally, I prefer the works of Ma’at to either Penia or Euthenia.”

“Ma’at?” Nico asked, the syllables sounding awkward on his tongue.  “I’m not familiar with name.”

“She is an Aegyptian theorist,” Will explained.  “I was fortunate enough to attend a lecture she gave at the Expo last summer.”

“Ah,” said Nico.  “I forgot that you spoke Aegyptian.”

“Yes, Your Highness.  Many of the most brilliant scholars in the world come from Aegyptia.  I have access to translated works, but sometimes ideas are lost in translation.  Master Asclepius is fluent in Aegyptian and encouraged me to learn the language.  Which reminds me: the Venadican choir and orchestra are preparing to perform an Aegyptian opera.  Opera is only just starting to become popular in Aegyptia and the blend of traditional Aegyptian music with Romanus opera style is fascinating.  Many musicians in the orchestra have even learned Aegyptian instruments just to perform it.  The parts I have heard are brilliant.”

“Then you haven’t seen the opera in its entirety?” Nico asked.

“No; the show doesn’t begin until after you leave,” Will said.  “But if you’d like, I can arrange for us to watch a rehearsal.  It won’t be a polished performance, but it would still be nice.  We would have the theater to ourselves.”

“I would love to,” Nico said.  “What is the story about?”

“It is the story of the king of their gods, Ra.  I can find a collection of Aegyptian stories for you, if you would like.  There’s an excellent translation of poems you might enjoy.”

When Nico answered that yes, he would like that, Will offered Nico his arm and led him through the aisles, Hestia walking quietly behind them as she read her own book.  Asterion remained behind dozing until they got far enough away for him to feel obligated to get up and follow his master.  Nico occupied himself by examining the titles on the spines while Will searched.

“I thought the Palatium de Divitae had a good library, but I was mistaken,” Nico mused.  “You must love this place.”

“I can spend entire days here,” Will answered.  “I may have even fallen asleep here once or twice.”

Nico laughed softly.  “Some of these books look like they’ve been here for centuries,” he went on.  “They must have been here even before the Scatinavian invasions.” Will heard the slide of Nico taking a book from the shelves looked over in time to see him blush and frantically shove it away again.

“Is that Sappho?” Will asked, glancing at the print on the cover.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“I like Sappho.  Her work is so interesting, don’t you think?”

Nico stopped trying to shove the book away and looked at Will curiously.  “Interesting?” he asked.

“Of course,” Will said.  “She was banished from the sorority for writing love poetry and breaking her vows.  Don’t you think that’s at least somewhat interesting?  Even today, her life and her poetry are surrounded by debate.”

“Oh,” Nico said slowly.  “So you don’t think it’s...well, scandalous?”

“Certainly it’s scandalous, but her poetry is still rich in artistic and literary value.  She’s frank and her depictions are so vivid that her work is still banned in some areas, but it was her poetry that brought to public attention that sometimes, sorors fall in love, and when they do, it’s passionate and painful.”  For a long time, Will had suspected that there was more to Emmie and Jo’s relationship than solely friendship.  There was a subtle dynamic between them that he, Cal, and Leo had picked up on over time, but the three of them had agreed to protect Emmie and Jo’s secret.  Will suspected that his aunt was deliberately turning a blind eye to it, but she wouldn’t be able to continue to do so if someone reported it to her directly.  The Soror’s Oath was sacred; breaking it was a serious offence.  Will wasn’t certain exactly what would happen to Emmie and Jo if there relationship was discovered.  They would be expelled from the Sorority, but he wasn’t naive enough to hope that would be the end of it.  Although the Sorority rarely condoned the death penalty—there had only been one formal death sentence in the Romanus Terris during Will’s lifetime—that was little comfort to Will.  The kind of public ridicule and ostracism that would come from being excommunicated did not seem to be much kinder than a death sentence.  Will didn’t want to see what happened to Sappho happen to Emmie and Jo.

“I’m surprised you have read Sappho,” Will said, trying to forget about how much danger Emmie and Jo could be in.  “I was under the impression that her work is still banned in many places in Pluto.”

“The only time Sappho was ever mentioned in my lessons was when my tutor expressly forbade me to read her work,” Nico said as he leafed through the pages.  “Naturally, when I stumbled upon a collection of Sappho’s poetry a few years later, I read it anyway.  And I was horrified by it.”

Will laughed quietly.  It was very like Nico to be both intrigued and scandalized by the work of Sappho.  Nico’s opinion could be difficult to predict and often depended on how rebellious he was feeling that day.

“And are you still horrified?” Will asked.

“Maybe.  But look at this.” Nico stepped closer so that Will could see the page he was looking at before he started to recite it outloud.

“Your lovely laughter, which, as it wafts by, sets the heart in my rib cage fluttering; if I glance at you even a moment, I can’t say a thing,

and my tongue stiffens into silence, thin flames underneath my skin prickle and spark, a rush of blood booms in my ears, and then my eyes go dark,

and sweat pours coldly over me, and all my body trembles, suddenly paler than summer grass am I, and I appear to have nearly died.

“How can I hate poetry that is so beautiful?” Nico asked.  “Yes, it’s horrifying, but exhilarating.  And it’s less shocking to me now that I’m in love.”

Will had expected the sentence to end with “now that I’m older,” so it took him a moment to process what Nico had actually said.  He felt his face burn in embarrassment when he figured it out and he couldn’t help but wonder if Nico had said it just to see his reaction.  Will thought he would laugh at his embarrassment, but Nico took a step closer instead.  “You make my heart race so fast that it hurts,” he said.  “I sometimes become so nervous around you that I can’t speak.  My mouth gets dry.  I can barely think.  I feel like I’ve lost my mind.  Do you ever feel that way?  Do you ever feel like your skin is on fire?  Does your heart ever beat so hard that you fear it might burst?”

“I do not think I have to fear that my organs will spontaneously rupture,” Will blurted out.

Nico opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped.  For a second, he looked confused, then few indecipherable expressions flickered across his face before he settled on a grin.  “Will, I swear to the gods,” he laughed.

While Will hadn’t actually been trying to make Nico laugh, he decided to pretend that he had indeed made a witty remark rather than the first comment his garbled mind could think of.  “It’s the part you read first that I liked the most,” Will said, tapping the book in Nico’s hands. “‘Your lovely laughter, which, as it wafts by, sets the heart in my rib cage fluttering.’  I am sure that my heart is perfectly healthy, but it’s true that it beats harder for the sound of your laughter.  I want to make you laugh every day.”

Nico looked at Will quietly for a moment before carefully closing the book.  “And I like your voice,” he said, running his thumb over Will’s lower lip.  “It’s warm.  Soothing.  I want to hear to your voice every day.”

Will reached up to hold Nico’s hand steady and kissed the back of his fingers.  “I want to kiss you every day,” he whispered.

“Then I think you ought to make up for all the days you missed these past few months,” Nico said.  He carelessly tucked the book in the shelves and grabbed the front of Will’s coat to pull him closer, then—

“Good evening, Your Highness; Lord William,” said a devastatingly familiar voice.  Will and Nico slowly turned to find Reyna standing at the end of the aisle beside Hestia and Asterion, her arms folded and her expression like stone.  Hestia was wise enough to take Reyna’s appearance as her cue to leave, but Nico and Will weren’t so fortunate.

“I think it’s time for you to escort His Highness to his chambers for the night, Lord William.”  Her voice was clipped and cold, like the soft but ominous rumble of faraway thunder before a storm.  Will would have preferred it if she’d shouted.  Instead, she stepped aside and motioned for them to go ahead of her.  Will quickly scrambled to put the book of poems away properly, hoping that Reyna hadn’t noticed what they were looking at.  The entire way to Nico’s chambers, he felt like her eyes were stabbing into their backs.  Apparently she liked to keep them on edge, because Reyna waited until they were outside Nico’s door to lecture them.

“Lady Hestia has informed me that she refuses to chaperone for you again,” she said.

Nico gasped.  “But—”

“Perhaps if you had behaved yourself, she would have felt more comfortable being around the two you,” Reyna snapped.  “Instead, I heard that you attempted to climb on your fiancé, then proceeded to read him Sappho, of all things.”

“‘Climb on’ is a highly exaggerated phrase—”

“So for the rest of our stay in Venadica, you will remain with me at all times.  If I must attend meetings for an entire day, then you must attend them with me.  The two of you may sit in the corner of the room and whisper about Sapphic love poems as much as your hearts desire, but under no circumstances are the both you to leave my sight at the same time.”

“Reyna—”

“No arguments,” Reyna interrupted.  “Say goodnight, Your Highness.”

Nico sighed and turned back to Will and despite her anger, Reyna stepped back to give them some privacy.  “I wish we could marry sooner,” Nico said.  “I hate being separated.  I miss you too much and I’m tired of being forced to listen to chaperones.”

“It won’t be long before I join you in Divitia,” Will said.  “Then we’ll be together so much that I worry you’ll tire of me.”

“Impossible,” said Nico.  “I will have the best husband in history.”

Will laughed shyly.  “I love you,” he said as he traced Nico’s cheekbones with the back of his fingers.  Nico’s cheeks darkened, but he held Will’s eyes.  Will stepped closer.  “May I...?”

“Yes,” Nico interrupted eagerly.  He blushed harder and averted his eyes when Will chuckled.

“I didn’t finish my question,” Will said.

“I know what you were going to ask.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, I....”  Nico frowned.  “Surely I wasn’t wrong?”

Will smiled.  “You weren’t wrong,” he assured.  “But you really ought to listen to the whole question before answering.  What if I’d asked for permission to keep Asterion or throw you in a lake?  I once ruined an entire day’s work because I didn’t listen to Master Asclepius properly and assumed he wanted the particles absorbed in water rather than adsorbed from water, so I didn’t prepare the charcoal samples and—”

“Will, please.”

“My apologies.  I...what were we talking about?”

“You were going to kiss me.”

“That’s right,” Will said with a grin.  “Except I didn’t actually say—”

“Will.  I have been waiting very patiently for you to kiss me.  Are you laughing at me?  Don’t laugh at me!  Gods, Will, I swear....”  Nico grabbed the front of Will’s coat to pull him into a kiss.  Will laughed against Nico’s lips, but then Nico kissed him again, and then again, and Will suddenly wondered why he’d wasted valuable time teasing Nico when he could have been kissing him instead.

Will wasn’t sure if they ever would have stopped had Reyna not interrupted.  “Your Highness, that’s enough,” she said.  “Bid Lord William goodnight.  Now.”

Nico pulled back far enough for Will to see his displeased expression.  “I think you may have earned another lecture,” Will whispered.

Nico smirked.  “I can handle a lecture if it means I can kiss you,” he said.  To illustrate his point, he leaned closer to kiss Will’s cheek.

But the kiss didn’t come.

“Meet me later tonight,” Nico whispered against his skin.

Will shivered as Nico’s breath tickled his neck.  His knees felt like they’d crumble beneath him and he wanted to go limp against Nico’s shoulder.  “Where?” he asked.

“By the fountain in Aether’s square,” Nico answered.  “That’s where we first met, isn’t it?”

Will swallowed and nodded.  He didn’t trust his voice to remain steady.

“I’ll be there as soon as I’m able to get away.  Don’t make me wait.” As Nico pulled back, he brushed his lips against Will’s cheek.  Will wanted to reach out and keep him from leaving—and perhaps steal a dozen more kisses—but he felt frozen.  He could only blush when Nico offered him a secretive smile and turned away before disappearing into his room.

*   *   *

Nico hadn’t expected Reyna to be so strict.  Despite her declaration to not be lenient after the maze incident in Delphi, Reyna seemed to be getting lighter on Nico’s courting restrictions.  Nico had discovered that Reyna could rarely refuse him when he looked at her as innocently as possible and said, “but it would make me so happy, Reyna.”  In fact, it was so effective that during the journey from Neptune to Pluto, Nico had once even managed to get Reyna to agree to join Hedge on the bench at the back of the carriage for a while, leaving Nico and Will alone inside.  He and Will had sat opposite each other at first, shyly talking about unimportant things.  After a few awkward pauses, Nico had gotten up to sit beside Will and then kissed him.  They’d proceeded to spend most of their allotted alone time kissing.

Even Hedge appeared to be warming up to Nico’s fiancé.  One day during the journey to Pluto, Hedge aggressively informed Will that if he even thought about unbuttoning Nico’s breeches, he’d find himself chained up to a tree naked for a night—an image that Nico might have liked a bit too much.  Will, eternally polite and pleasant, had quite sincerely told Hedge that he had only the highest respect for Nico and would never dream of doing anything that Hedge would disapprove of.  Then Will had looked at Nico with the softest, purest smile and Hedge had nearly burst into tears.  He’d reached up and patted Will’s shoulder, saying, “good man, Lord Solace, you’re a good man,” and then he’d walked away, sniffling and dabbing at his eyes.  Nico would forever deny having been a bit disappointed when Will assured Hedge that his intentions were entirely pure.  The thought had occurred to him that if any breeches were unbuttoned, it was much more likely to be Nico who was unbuttoning them.  He’d quickly buried the thought in embarrassment, but he’d be lying if he said he’d never thought about it again.

Truthfully, Nico thought about that sort of thing fairly often.  Nearly every night during that journey, Nico had lain awake in bed for hours, staring at unfamiliar ceilings and thinking about Will.  On several occasions, he’d seriously considered sneaking out to visit his fiancé, maybe even to spend the night in his room.  He’d tried to convince himself that he would be content with merely lying beside Will, but then his imagination would get the better of him and he’d end up lying on his belly and whimpering into his pillow as he wished away his arousal.  He sometimes even dreamed about Will—strange, heated, impure dreams that he would never admit to outloud.  And as shameful as those dreams were, Nico could not deny enjoying them.  He enjoyed them quite a bit, in fact.

Although Nico knew restrictions were necessary, he’d come to the conclusion that it was alright to push the boundaries a little bit.  Nico had once again decided that he would kiss his fiancé as much as he liked.  If that meant he had to sneak out of the palace late at night, then so be it.

Escaping wasn’t difficult, but Nico ran into a few problems along the way.  There was a guard posted outside his door at all times, so Nico was forced to exit through the window.  Asterion wouldn’t stop whining every time Nico tried to leave.  Worrying that the dog would alert someone to his absence, Nico was forced to bring Asterion along with him.  Although Nico was on the ground floor, there was still a raised balcony outside his room.  It wouldn’t have been difficult to climb if it hadn’t been for Asterion, who was starting to have hip trouble in his old age.  It was a bit of a challenge to carry the dog when he kept wiggling.  Then, after taking a few wrong turns in the garden, Nico managed to navigate his way to the fountain in Aether’s square, where he found Will waiting for him as planned.  He looked happy and beautiful with the yellow light of gas lamps dancing in his eyes.  It made Nico want to kiss him, so he did.

“I wasn’t expecting you to bring a friend,” Will commented, gesturing to Asterion.

“I hadn’t planned to, but he insisted,” Nico explained.  “Have you been waiting long?”

Will laughed.  “Only fifteen years or so,” he said, looking at the stone faces of the goddesses adorning the fountain.  “When I first came to Venadica, I used to sit in this spot for hours every week and I’d imagine you coming to join me.  I had a plan to introduce you to all my friends and impress you by having so many.”

“I can’t believe that the memory of meeting me once as a child was so important to you,” Nico said.  “Are you sure you’re not lying just to flatter me?”

“Meeting royalty is always a memorable experience, Your Highness,” Will said.  “But what’s more memorable is when you fall instantly in love.  I thought you were amazing.”

“I must have thought very highly of you, as well,” Nico assured.

Will laughed.  “No, you pitied me,” he said.  “You were concerned that I didn’t have any friends and you thought that I didn’t have a tongue, then you lectured me for being a clumsy dancer.  But I was so smitten that for years, I’d come here and imagine meeting you again.  I was always a bit disappointed that you didn’t show.”

“I’m here now,” Nico said.

“Yes, you are,” Will agreed.  “In fact, you arranged to meet me here alone, scandalously late at night.  I can’t help thinking this is a very bad idea.”

“I know it is,” Nico admitted.  “But I don’t particularly care.  Do you?”

Will grinned.  “No.”

“Good,” Nico said, stepping closer and reaching for Will’s hand.  “Because right now, I would very much like to be alone with my fiancé.  I haven’t seen you in months.”

Will cocked his head to the side curiously.  “But we’ve been apart longer before,” he pointed out.

Nico pursed his lips in frustration.  As much as he adored Will, he couldn’t help feeling impatient when Will didn’t understand his intentions.  Nico had always had trouble finding the right words to express how he felt and what he wanted, but he’d been working to improve that for Will.  He was doing his very best to be honest and express himself clearly, so it seemed that the very least Will could do was work a bit harder to understand.  Sometimes, Will could be a bit too innocent—too chaste, too pure....

I can change that, Nico immediately thought, then he flushed as he vividly imagined himself sullying Will’s virtue.

“We were together for a long time this spring,” Nico stammered.  “It felt strange to suddenly not be together and—”

Will squeezed Nico’s hand.  Nico fell silent almost instantaneously when he looked up and found Will smiling at him.  “I know, Your Highness,” Will said.  “I was teasing.”

“Oh,” Nico breathed.  So maybe Will was working harder to understand.

He noticed that the corners of Will’s eyes wrinkled when he smiled.  It was distracting.  Nico wanted to reach out and gently run his thumb over Will’s golden eyelashes.  He wanted to trace the lines of Will’s face.  He wanted to touch Will.  Anywhere.  Everywhere .

“Would you like to go to the laboratories?” Will said, breaking their eye contact and pointing the opposite direction.  “I’d love to show you around my workspace again.”

Nico sighed.  Then again, maybe Will couldn’t read Nico’s intentions at all.  He’d wanted to kiss Will, not tour his lab.  He pretended to happily agree anyway.

“I actually haven’t spent as much time as I usually do in the labs lately,” Will admitted as he offered Nico his arm.

“Why not?” Nico asked.  “Has there been trouble?”  Will had explained that research could often be stalled if there was not enough financial support.  He’d mentioned several projects that he and Asclepius had wanted to take on, but were unable to pursue due to a lack of funding.  Sometimes funders were uninterested in his research or prefered to invest in different projects.  Will had even once mentioned that he worried Asclepius was being funded less frequently now that he was in his older years and had started to acquire a reputation for being forgetful and scatterbrained.

But Will shook his head.  “No; no trouble,” he answered.  “I’m still assisting Asclepius and Hygeia in the infirmary, but lately I haven’t had much time to spend on other medical studies.  I’ve been devoting more time than usual to my other studies—trade, history, political theory, and such.”

“Why?” Nico asked.  Although Will was enthusiastic about all his studies, he prefered to focus on healing and medicine.

Will bowed his head and blushed, then looked at Nico out of the corner of his eye and smiled shyly.  “Because in less than one year, I’ll marry a prince,” he answered quietly.  “I want to be a good consort for you.”

Nico wanted to tell Will that he already thought he was perfect, but his mouth felt dry.  It was impossible for Nico to say something so embarrassing.

No, Nico reminded himself.  It was very much possible; he was just afraid.

“You’re already perfect,” Nico forced himself to say.  It came out sounding stiff and uncomfortable, but he meant it.  “But thank you,” he added, so that he sounded a bit more grateful.  He was so flattered that he wanted nothing more than to pull Will close and kiss him.

Admittedly, he always wanted to kiss Will, but he was still flattered.

The summer night air was pleasant; cooler than it was in the heat of the day, but still warm.  Nico couldn’t decide if Will’s body heat was soothing or thrilling.  He teetered between feeling calm and feeling like he was on fire, but the longer they walked, the more he leaned towards fire.  That made him quite irritated when Will started babbling about medicine instead of kissing him after they got to the lab.

It was nice to see the way Will lit up, however, so Nico allowed Will to ramble on for a while.  He smiled, nodded along, and tried to pay attention, but his thoughts kept drifting to other things Will could do with his very nice lips.

Finally, Nico put his hand on Will’s arm to stop him.  “I think you should kiss me,” he said.

Will, who was holding a bundle of plants in each hand, tilted his head to the side and looked confused.  “This doesn’t interest you?” he asked in a hurt voice.

Nico cursed Will for being so adorable.  “Of course I’m interested,” he said gently.  “But you can tell me about this another time.  Right now I’d rather take advantage of the fact that we don’t have any chaperones and—”  Nico broke off when he noticed Will smirking.  “You’re teasing me again,” he realized.  “Gods, Will, why do you do these things to me?”

“I admit that I can be a bit slow to pick up on your intentions, but I’m not completely hopeless,” Will said, putting the plants back down on the work table behind Nico.

“You should focus less on teasing me and more on kissing me,” Nico said, running his fingers down the lapel of Will’s coat.  “Have I made myself clear enough for you?”

“What I don’t understand is why you haven’t just kissed me yet,” Will said.

“Gods, Will, you weren’t always this difficult,” Nico growled, but he tugged Will close and kissed him anyway.  Will’s laugh felt nice when it tickled his lips.  His laughter was always contagious, even when it made it difficult to coordinate a proper kiss.

Nico heard Asterion whimper in the doorway, so he cracked his eyes open to check on him.  The dog was watching with pathetic, droopy eyes, and his tail started to wag when he noticed Nico paying attention to him.  Will broke away from the kiss and followed Nico’s eyes to Asterion.  “Is—” he started, but Nico forced him to turn back and kissed him again.

“Ignore him,” Nico said against Will’s lips.  “He’ll be fine.” Asterion whimpered again, but Nico just waved in his direction to silence him before focusing on Will’s kisses again.

That time, they didn’t laugh.  Nico felt unbelievably good, like a part of him that had long been empty was suddenly whole now that he had Will.  But he needed more.  Nico wrapped his arms around Will’s neck and pulled him closer.  He pushed his chest against Will’s, hoping that Will would touch him back, but Will’s hands remained lightly on Nico’s upper arms.  “Hold me,” Nico mumbled between kisses.

“How?” Will asked.

Nico was so frustrated that he almost bit Will.  “I don’t know,” he growled.  “Just hold me.”

Will’s hands hesitantly reached for Nico’s waist before he slid his arms around Nico’s back.  Then Nico hungrily pushed against Will’s lips and Will pushed back, tightening Nico inside his embrace.  The pressure of Will’s arms around his waist, the feeling of Will’s lips on his, the heat of Will’s breath...it was too good, too intoxicating.  Nico tugged Will closer and Will stumbled forward, pressing Nico against the table behind him.

“Too tight,” Will gasped, tugging at one of Nico’s arms around his neck.  Nico mumbled an apology when he realized he’d been choking Will, but didn’t stop kissing him.  Will didn’t stop, either.

He felt hot, so hot, like he was burning alive and he needed Will to live.  A voice in his head growled for more like a mad, predatory beast.  His thoughts were filthy and scandalous, yet Nico wasn’t bothered by that.  He wanted to be filthy.  He wanted to make Will filthy.  He wanted to shred Will’s clothes off his body and touch his skin, then put his mouth on Will and taste him.  And Will’s legs, his legs— Nico wanted to look at those legs.  He would get his hands on Will’s thighs and feel the strong muscles working beneath his skin, then he would bite them and listen to Will’s responding cries of pleasure.

Nico imagined Will underneath him, legs wrapped around Nico’s waist while Nico pounded into him.  Or perhaps Will could be astride him, his thighs on either side of Nico’s hips.  And what would it be like to feel the force in those powerful legs when Will took him?  How would it feel when Will slammed inside?  Would Will drive into him hard and fast?  Would he make Nico scream?

Nico gasped against Will’s lips at the thought.  More, growled the hungry beast inside him.  Nico pulled Will closer, pressed their bodies against each other—

It took far too long for Nico to realize his mistake.  So occupied with his obscene desires, Nico had neglected to consider how his body might react to his fantasies.  He was unable to suppress a pathetic whimper when Will’s thigh pressed against his groin, sending a wave of heat scorching through his entire body.  Delirious with pleasure, Nico rutted against Will’s leg once before the belated horor finally set in.

The fantasies he entertained about his fiancé were crude and shameful enough, but at least Nico’s thoughts were private.  He could imagine the most debauched scenarios without revealing them to anyone, keeping his name clean even if his mind was corrupted by wanton desires.  Nico had assuaged the feelings of guilt and shame with assurances that it was all in his head and that he would never act on them.  And yet, at his first opportunity to be alone with his fiancé without chaperones to control his behavior, Nico’s filthy desires had taken over his body.  He was unmarried—an unmarried prince, at that.  His behavior was unacceptable, disgusting, vile...and it felt good, so very good.

Nico quickly pushed Will away before the cloud of lust settled back over him.  He prayed to the gods that Will hadn’t noticed his body’s predicament, but it was clear that Will had.  His eyes were wide, his face was red, and his gaze briefly flickered to Nico’s breeches.  Thankfully, Nico’s waistcoat was long enough to hide his problem, but that offered Nico little comfort.

“It’s not...I’m not...I didn’t mean....” Nico stuttered.  “Please forgive me.  I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Will stared wordlessly and Nico had to bite his tongue to keep himself from rambling apologies for being so rude, knowing that he’d only make it worse.  After a second of silence that felt like a century, Will cleared his throat.  “It’s quite alright, Your Highness. It’s a typical, automatic reaction of the male body in...um...in that sort of situation.”

Male body.  Will had a male body.  A very nice male body.  A male body that must have those same ‘typical reactions.’  Nico wanted to see Will react that way.  He wanted to make Will react that way.  He wanted to touch Will, to tear off Will’s clothes, to run his hands over Will’s bare skin, and to bite....

Nico blinked away the vivid, enticing scenes infiltrating his mind and realized that Will was still talking.  “—so no apologies are necessary,” Will was saying.  “It was unintentional, I understand.”

It had not been completely unintentional.  The reaction of his body had been automatic, and rutting against Will’s thigh had been an almost reflexive response to the pleasure of being touched, but the thoughts that had led Nico to his predicament in the first place?  Those had been very much intentional.

Nico decided that there was no reason to correct him.

“I...” Nico started, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.  Will didn’t ask him to continue.  In fact, Will didn’t say anything at all.  Nico wanted to run back to the Sororal Palace and hide under the blankets on his bed forever.

And then a voice called, “Will, is that you?”

Will and Nico’s heads both snapped to the door.  The awkward tension fizzled away, but was quickly replaced with terror as Nico realized they were about to be caught.  Will glanced at Nico and looked like he was about to say something, but then he hurried to the door and left Nico alone in the room.

“Aw, look at you dressed in your fancy clothes,” cooed the voice.  “I saw the light on from the woodshop and I thought it might be you.  Have you got a minute to help me with—why is there a dog in here?”

“I...I don’t know,” Nico heard Will say.  “I’ll come if you’ll give me a moment to clean the lab.”

“I can help.”

“I can do it on my own.  Just go back to the shop and I’ll—”

“Why are you standing like that?  Are you hiding something in there?”

“Leo—”

“Let me—”

“Leo, no—”

Nico didn’t realize that he ought to hide until it was too late and Will’s friend had already poked his head inside the room.

“Oh,” said Will’s friend.  “That’s interesting.”

“Leo,” Will said, pulling him from the doorway.  “Please give me a moment and then I’ll come help you in the shop.”

“Right, yeah, of course,” said Leo blankly.  “Take your time.  You have to...make sure the lab is clean....”

“Leave,” Will ordered.

Nico hated his body and he hated that he couldn’t help shivering at Will’s tone.  He’d never heard Will use such a commanding voice before.  It opened up all sorts of new scenarios for Nico to imagine later on.

With Leo’s footsteps fading away, the room fell silent again.  Nico pretended to be looking at the floor and prayed that Will would follow after his friend quickly so that Nico could wallow in misery alone.

But instead, Will cleared his throat and stepped back inside the room to approach Nico again.  “I’ll escort you back,” Will said.  When Nico glanced up, Will’s cheeks were pink and his gaze fixed on his shoes.

He doesn’t want to be around me anymore, Nico realized.  He’d made Will uncomfortable.  He’d disgusted Will.

“I can do it on my own,” Nico said.  “Your friend is waiting for you.”

Will shook his head, but still didn’t meet Nico’s eyes.  “I can’t leave you to walk through the city alone at night.”

“I have Asterion,” Nico pointed out.

“At least allow me to escort you to the entrance of the palace,” said Will.  “I’d like to see you there safely, if only for my own peace of mind.” Will’s eyes finally flickered up and he held Nico’s gaze for a second before blushing and looking away again.

Nico sighed.  “To the palace,” he agreed.

Will offered Nico his arm, but Nico knew it was only to be polite.  The entire left side of his body felt like it was burning with Will next to him, like Will was sending over waves of fire to sear off whatever Nico’s touch was contaminating him with.

They didn’t talk.  The only sounds were their footsteps and Asterion panting beside them.  Nico’s throat itched and he wanted to cough, but he didn’t dare make a noise.  He only wanted the walk to be over as quickly as possible.  It seemed that the gods had cursed him by making it stretch on for an eternity.

“I’ll meet you again in the morning,” Will said when they finally reached the palace.  “Sleep well, Your Highness.”

“Sleep well,” Nico answered.

He made to turn away and leave, but Will touched his shoulder and held him back.  Before Nico could even react, Will brushed his lips against Nico’s cheek.  Nico felt a spark of hope, realizing that perhaps he hadn’t disgusted Will—but hope was quickly replaced by dread, because Will’s kiss was so chaste that it felt like a rejection.

Will turned away first, but Nico didn’t wait for him to leave before he escaped with Asterion back to the side of the palace to climb back into his room through the window.  He quickly picked Asterion up and climbed onto the balcony before helping him back inside, then he ducked into the room to hide in his blankets and pity himself for the rest of his life.

But then a voice said, “Perhaps it would have been easier to use the door.”

Nico whirled around to find Reyna standing in the dark, the moonlight illuminating the hard, disapproving lines of her face.  Her arms were crossed and her lips were pursed, her dark eyes burning with anger.

“I was...I...” Nico started, but he faltered when Reyna crossed the room to stand in front of him.  Her glare felt even more crippling up close.

“Hedge had the sense to check your chambers at the start of his watch,” Reyna said.  “Imagine how worried he was to find you missing.  For all we knew, you could have been kidnapped.”

“I wasn’t—”

“I know you weren’t.  Fortunately for your reputation, I assumed that you’d run off with your fiancé and I kept your disappearance quiet.  When your guards searched the palace without finding you, I nearly sent out the city’s night watch.  Imagine the scandal it would have caused if you’d been discovered alone with a suitor at night.”

“Reyna—”

“I won’t cover for you again,” Reyna interrupted.  “I shouldn’t have covered for you at all!  What if I’d been wrong?  What if something had happened to you and I didn’t do anything about it?  Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be out after dark in such a large city?  Even Venadica has its crime, Your Highness.  I need to be able to trust that you take your own safety seriously.”

“I know,” Nico said before Reyna could lecture him further.  “I won’t do it again.”

Reyna looked both skeptical and perplexed by Nico’s lack of resistance.

“I learned my lesson,” Nico added.  “From now until the wedding, I’ll be sure to stay with a chaperone every time I meet Will.  I won’t sneak away again.”

Reyna drummed her fingers against her elbow.  She looked him over silently for a moment, then pointed to a chair by the window and said, “Sit.”

Nico wanted nothing more than to fall into his bed and wallow in self-pity until the morning, but he obeyed.  Reyna lit a standing gas lamp in the corner of the room before joining him.  She did not sit; instead, she stood over him, her expression still so harsh and disappointed that Nico slumped into his chair in defeat.

“Your posture,” Reyna reminded, and Nico forced himself to sit up straight.  “Tell me exactly what happened,” she said.

Nico shook his head.  It had been so mortifying, so unspeakable, and he had no desire to relive it.  He’d never tell anyone what had happened.

“You won’t tell my father about this, will you?” he asked.

“I am obligated to report to His Majesty,” Reyna said.

“But—”

“I have already kept enough secrets for you,” she reminded.

“Please, Reyna,” Nico said.  “I won’t ask you to do this again.  Telling my father won’t accomplish anything other than making me more miserable.  I’ve learned my lesson and I won’t cause any more trouble—I swear it.”

Reyna was quiet as she carefully looked him over.  “Alright.  I’ll trust that you are being sincere.”

Nico let out a breath in relief.

“But,” Reyna went on, and Nico tensed again.  “If something went wrong while you were off frolicking with your fiancé—” Nico tried to object to the word ‘frolicking,’ but Reyna ignored him, “—then I need to know what happened.”

Nico felt the blood drain from his face.  “No.  I can’t say.”

Reyna sighed and when she spoke again, her voice was softer.  “You won’t be in any trouble, Your Highness.  I only need you to tell me if Lord William did anything that I, as a chaperone, should be aware of.”

Nico frowned.  “What? Will?  No!  Do you think Will is the most problematic of the two of us?”

“No, but I assumed you would be boasting about it if it had been your fault.  Was I wrong?”

“It wasn’t exactly my fault, either,” Nico said defensively.  “I didn’t mean for it to happen, I just...just...Will said it was normal!  An automatic response!”

Reyna’s eyes widened before Nico realized he’d said too much.  “Do you mean...” she trailed off and vaguely gestured to Nico’s lower body.  “And it was unplanned?”

Nico’s face burned, but he couldn’t deny it.  “I do have some shame,” he snapped.  “I didn’t sneak out with the intention of bedding him.  I just...got excited.”

“And Lord William noticed?”

Nico whimpered.

It was rare to hear Reyna laugh.  While she smiled at Nico and sometimes softly chuckled, full laughs did not happen often.  But when Nico was unable to do more than whine pathetically, Reyna laughed so hard that she clutched her sides and doubled over.

“Stop laughing at me!” Nico demanded, but Reyna did not obey.

“Impossibile,” she said.  “You see: laughing, much like the engorgement a certain part of your anatomy, is an automatic response to certain stimuli.  You cannot order me to stop laughing any more than you can order your physiology to stop functioning.”

“I don’t appear to have very good control over my anatomy,” Nico grumbled.

“I would say that you got what you deserved, but I must admit...that is too severe a punishment,” she said, dabbing at her eyes.

Nico was outraged—was she crying from laughing so hard?  “And that is why I’m promising to behave!” he snapped.  “I have suffered enough already, so stop laughing!”

“I shouldn’t taunt, I know,” Reyna said.  She took a deep breath and used her sleeve to wipe tears from her eyes.  Sighing, Nico pulled a handkerchief from the pocket in his coat and offered it to her.  She thanked him and tried to compose herself.

“It’s nice to know that the most embarrassing moment of my life offers you some amusement,” Nico said sarcastically when she offered the handkerchief back.  “At least some good came out of it; that makes it entirely worthwhile.  Now do you believe that I will behave?”

“I believe you for now,” Reyna said.  “Once the embarrassment wears off, I’m sure you’ll go back to causing trouble.”

“I wouldn’t—actually, that’s true.  But for now, I am mortified and you ought to console me.”

“I’m sure your fiancé understands your automatic anatomical troubles.  After all, he has the same equipment and he is a student of medicine.”

“Thank you, Reyna,” Nico grumbled, not feeling any better.  “But you won’t tell my father, will you?”

“No, I won’t tell your father,” Reyna promised.  “That would be uncomfortable for everyone.  But that being said, there is no need to be ashamed of your feelings, Your Highness.  Of course I have to make sure you behave a certain way, but that does not mean that your love for him is shameful.  Now, I may be from Mars, but I understand that Pluto is more strict about this sort of thing than Jupiter is.  I respect Pluto’s modesty and I have chaperoned you with Plutonian standards, but I do worry about what sort of pressure that has put on you.  I was not in charge of your sexual education—”

Nico flushed.  “Reyna, must we talk about—”

“Yes, Your Highness.  I think it is very important that we discuss this, no matter how uncomfortable it is.  As I was saying, I was not in charge of your sexual education and I do not know how you were taught, but I suspect you were led to believe that desires were shameful.  Is that correct?”

Still embarrassingly red in the face, Nico nodded.

“Then allow me to assure you that there is absolutely nothing shameful about your body or your physical desires.  No, I can’t allow you to act on them until you are married, but you ought to know that there is nothing wrong with your feelings.  They are perfectly normal.”

Nico sank into his chair.  “I shouldn’t think about Will that way.  It’s disrespectful.”

“I do not believe you would would ever want to hurt or disrespect him.  It seems much more plausible to say that he was surprised, not offended.”

“I suppose so.  But...it’s disgusting.”

“It’s not,” Reyna said.  “And I cannot speak for Lord William, but I think I can promise that he does not find you or your attraction to him disgusting.”

“Reyna, I just can’t stop thinking about him and it scares me.  Then I started feeling like this and I was so afraid that he’d find out, but now he has found out and I don’t know what to do.  What am I going to do next time I see him?  What if it happens again?”

“It won’t happen again because from now on, I won’t let you out of my sight,” Reyna assured, with surprisingly little anger.  “Not only will you have to stay by my side for the remainder of this trip, I am also going to request that you are moved to a room on a higher floor to keep you from sneaking out the window.”

Nico sighed.  “I knew that was coming.”

“Then you know that you won’t get another chance to be alone with him until your wedding.  After that, I won’t stop you.”

He blushed and avoided Reyna’s eyes.

“As for tomorrow: you will smile and wish him a good morning,” Reyna continued.  “I will take you to a private balcony for breakfast.  I’ll give you enough space for you to talk with him openly.  It may be uncomfortable, but I want you to at least try.”

“I’d rather just stay in bed all day,” Nico muttered.

“When have I ever allowed you to do that?”

“I keep hoping.”

Reyna smiled at him fondly.  “We’ll worry about it tomorrow,” she said.  “For now, it’s best if you get some sleep.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Nico mumbled.

“Then at least rest,” Reyna said.  “And if my opinion is worth anything, I don’t believe that it will take long to work this out.”

*   *   *

Will wasn’t sure how Leo had gotten him to agree to help, but it was already in the early hours of the next day and Will was still locked up in one of the wood shops, working with Leo on a section of the spinning machine he and Calypso were inventing together.  Jo was helping them build it, but she had to take care of the children and Calypso had evening rehearsal for a show with the Venadican choir.  To Leo’s credit, he hadn’t mentioned the awkward scene he’d walked in on earlier in the evening—in fact, Leo had such a short attention span that Will wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d forgotten about it.  Still, Will was tired and his mind was still spinning from the incident with Nico.  He wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

“At least let me finish the roller,” Leo said when Will suggested they turn in for the night.

Will sighed but resigned himself to staying awake a while longer.  His arm was sore from spinning the lathe so Leo could carve one of the machine’s rollers.  The carpentry shop Leo liked to use had plenty of treadle lathes, but Leo claimed to prefer using the two-person one because his foot got tired from spinning it himself.  Will thought that was only an excuse so that he didn’t have to be in the shop on his own; despite his enthusiasm about eliminating the need for manual labor in favor of automatic machinery, Leo liked the company.  So Will was stuck with his friend in the carpentry shop late at night, nodding along sleepily while Leo shouted to be heard over the sound of the knife scraping against the wood.

“Hydraulic power is easier to harness, but soon the steam engine...Will?  Are you even listening?”

“I’m trying to,” Will answered.  “Leo, I’m meeting the Prince tomorrow and I’d like to at least get a bit of sleep.”

“Oh, fine,” Leo sighed, putting aside his knife.  “Jo is better at carpentry than I am, anyway.  I’ll ask for her help tomorrow.”

Will let his arm fall to his side, relieved to finally get a rest.  While Leo put away his tools, Will sat by Leo’s bench and let his eyes shut in exhaustion.  He could feel himself starting to drift to sleep.

Suddenly, against the back of his eyelids, Will saw Nico—Nico standing so close that their chests touched, Nico gazing at him with that odd, predatory look in his eyes, Nico kissing him, Nico’s face painted red in embarrassment after Will accidentally felt between his legs.

Will blushed and snapped his eyes back open.  As a student of medicine, he was rarely uncomfortable with any aspect of anatomy.  Will had also learned about breeding and seen the way animals behaved during their mating seasons while growing up near his family’s ranch.  Although many people around his age were embarrassed or aroused by the topic of physical excitement, Will rarely felt particularly bothered because he simply viewed it as a natural phenomenon.  Erections were the male body’s involuntary response to direct stimulation.  Nico’s reaction had been typical for someone of his sex, even indicative of good health.

Will couldn’t remember ever feeling so flustered over something as trivial as anatomy.  Although he had assured Nico that it was a physically normal reaction, he couldn’t help but think that it had been a bit more complex than an involuntary anatomical response.  There had been no “direct stimulation” prior to Will accidentally pressing against Nico; all they had done was kiss.  If Nico had felt aroused while kissing Will, the only explanation was that Nico was attracted to Will.

Of course Will had considered the fact that he and Nico would eventually enter into a sexual relationship, but he hadn’t put much thought into it.  It had been something in the back of his mind, something that seemed far off and not immediately important.  The only time Will had actually worried about it was when Octavian had mentioned offering Nico his “services”—which was, quite possibly, the most repulsive thought that had ever been forced into Will’s head.

But if Nico was attracted to Will, did that mean that Nico wanted to sleep with Will?  Nico had told Will that he loved him, but that didn’t necessarily imply he wanted to be with Will that way.  Or did it?  After all, Will had a tendency to misunderstand or even underestimate Nico’s feelings for him.

The idea had entered Will’s mind several times—mostly when his older siblings were teasing him about it—but Will couldn’t remember actively desiring Nico that way.  When Will touched himself, he sometimes considered the fact that he’d eventually touch Nico the same way, and the idea certainly hadn’t been unappealing.  Intimacy with Nico sounded nice.  Will would be happy to share that with Nico, if it would bring Nico pleasure.  The wedding was still months away, however, so there was no need to worry about it yet.  Will wouldn’t touch Nico that way before they married.

Of course, he knew that marriage was not a requirement for intimacy.  If Apollo’s complex web of lovers wasn’t enough evidence of that, Will was also an accidental witness of the fact that Cal and Leo were in a very active sexual relationship.  But Nico was a prince.  Cal and Leo didn’t have the same pressures that royalty would.

“Are you ready?” Leo asked, suddenly pulling Will from his thoughts.

“Right, of course,” Will said, getting to his feet and brushing off his breeches.  He sighed when he realized that he may very well have ruined his suit with the dust in the woodshop.

“So,” Leo started casually as they walked outside.  “Is there anything you’d like to share?”

“Not particularly,” Will said.  “Leo, do you remember the time that I went to your room without knocking and accidentally walked in on—”

“I try to forget,” Leo answered.

“What is...why...how do you...?”

Leo looked unimpressed.  “I think you know how it’s done, Will.”

“I don’t mean physically.  I mean...how did you know she wanted to?”

Leo laughed.  “I admit that I have trouble understanding other people, but Cal wasn’t shy.”

“How did you know you wanted to?”

“I don’t know; I just did.  I’ve been attracted to her for a long time, same as you and your prince.”

Will had been in love with Nico for a long time, not attracted to him, but he decided not to correct Leo.  “Sometimes he looks at me in an odd way, like you and Cal look at each other before you drag each other off somewhere alone,” Will said.  “And he kisses me a lot.  I’m just a bit confused—”

“What is there to be confused about?” Leo asked.  “I’m fairly certain that I witnessed something I wasn’t supposed to this evening.  He obviously wants you.”

Will frowned.

“Your body,” Leo explained.  “More specifically, your genitalia.”

“I understand that, Leo,” Will sighed.  “Today, he kissed me and I accidentally rubbed against his—”

“Gods, Will, I don’t need that much detail,” Leo interrupted.

“Right,” Will said, deciding to give up.  He wasn’t quite sure how to express what he was thinking and feeling, and Leo didn’t appear to understand.  He bid Leo goodnight and set off for the Palace on his own, still feeling confused.

Will had enjoyed kissing Nico earlier.  He had started to feel less concerned about the rules of courting a prince and instead had felt excited when they escaped from their chaperones.

Will reached up to touch his lips, remembering the Nico’s passionate enthusiasm—the way he’d kissed Will, held Will, pulled Will closer.  And when Will wrapped his arms around Nico....

As much as Will loved to kiss Nico, nothing felt better than holding Nico in his arms.  Nico’s build was firm and strong.  When Will held him, it was like he’d found something safe and solid to keep himself steady in a storm.  Will had wanted to cling to Nico and to squeeze him tightly against his chest.  He’d wanted to press his nose into the top of Nico’s head and hide his face in Nico’s black hair so that he could pretend that nothing else in the world mattered.

Will sighed when he got back to his bedchamber and barely managed to undress himself before falling onto the bed in exhaustion.

The idea of sharing a bed with someone felt foreign to him.  It seemed foolish not to have considered it more; after all, their wedding was only months away.  How had Will neglected to consider intimacy for so long?

Perhaps Will still hadn’t completely grasped how real Nico was.  Although Will had grown so much closer to him over the past year, he’d admired Nico as more of an idol than a person for much of his childhood.  The idea of a physical relationship with someone who existed only on a pedestal was so absurd that Nico may as well have been an object rather than a person.

But Nico was a real person, no different from Will.  Yes, he was a prince, but Nico and Will were equal in dignity and value.  Will had slowly been realizing that since the beginning of their engagement, but he had failed to consider other ways in which they were equal.  As Will had been recently reminded, he and Nico were also the same physically.  Nico had an ordinary male body and experienced ordinary desires.  It shouldn’t have been surprising that Nico had reacted to Will the way he did.  The surprising thing was that Will remained so far behind.  Why hadn’t he noticed Nico’s attraction?  Why hadn’t he reacted the same way?

Perhaps the real root of Will’s problem was that he had never completely understood ‘desire’ to begin with.  Did he even want intimacy?

I wouldn’t mind, said a voice in Will’s head.

He wanted to be close to Nico, that much was certain.  He would feel comfortable lying beside Nico, kissing Nico, and opening his heart to Nico.  But as for touching Nico that way?

Will closed his eyes and imagined that Nico was with him.  They were in the Palatium de Divitae, sharing a large, soft bed.  Sheer curtains covered the windows for privacy, but they could see the night sky outside.  They had been watching the stars together, then Will had turned to look at Nico instead.

“I love you,” he whispered.  His fingers curled in the bedsheets, imagining that he was holding Nico’s hand.  In his mind, he saw Nico smile and heard him whisper the words back.  Nico leaned closer, touched Will’s shoulder, and kissed him.  The kiss lasted so long that Will forgot how to tell time and turned to liquid under Nico’s hands when they started to roam over his body.  Will imagined himself responding and answering Nico’s touches with his own.  Every time Will’s hands felt him, Nico’s skin would flush, his body would arch, and he would make the most amazing, mesmerizing sounds.  They would whisper words of love over and over again, even when it was over, and then they would hold each other until morning.

Yes, Will decided; intimacy with Nico sounded quite nice.

*   *   *

Nico did manage to fall asleep at some point, but he woke up feeling groggy and confused.  When he remembered what had happened the night before, he groaned and hid back under his blankets.

“Get up,” Reyna demanded, pulling the blankets back down.  “There’s no point in lying around feeling miserable.  Today, you’re going to put on a nice suit and walk to breakfast with your head held high.”

“Impossible,” Nico scowled, trying to dive under the blankets again.

“I will raise the kissing quota if you stop acting so pathetic.”

Nico pulled down the blankets a little bit to peer out at her.  It was rare for Reyna to resort to bribing.  “You’re lying, aren’t you?” he said skeptically.

“I’m not,” Reyna assured.  “I will allow more kisses per day if you get out of bed right now and wear a smile.”

Nico considered.  “It’s not worth it,” he decided, then covered himself in blankets again.

“I swear to the gods!” Reyna shouted.

After a bit more bickering, Reyna did manage to get Nico out of bed.  Unfortunately, he’d missed the opportunity to raise the kissing quota, but he wasn’t sure if Will wanted to kiss him anyway.

But when they got to the balcony, there was Will waiting for him wearing a sunny smile like nothing was wrong at all.  If anything, he looked happier than usual.

“Good morning,” Will said.  “I hope you slept well?”

“Yes, thank you,” Nico croaked, even though he hadn’t.  “And you?”

“Very well, yes,” Will answered.  He sounded surprisingly genuine.

“Good,” Nico said.  “Well, shall we—”

“Wait,” Will said, grabbing Nico’s arm before he could sit down.  “I wanted to tell you that...I mean...I wanted you to know...uh...I love you.”

Even after what I did last night? Nico wanted to ask, but Will didn’t give Nico the chance to question him.  He kissed Nico for so long that he started to feel dizzy from holding his breath.  With Will’s warm lips moving slowly against his, Nico was melting, falling into Will.  Yet he was weightless—his feet were lifting up from the ground and all that kept him from floating away was the need to touch Will.

Nico’s fingers grasped Will’s sleeve firmly to keep himself grounded.  For the first time, it was like Will understood the way he made Nico’s heart race, his mind spin, and his body ache.  Will knew exactly what he did to Nico.  And Will wasn’t disgusted or afraid; he chose to touch Nico even though he was aware of the way Nico reacted to him.  And yes, Nico was afraid that he’d become aroused and ruin everything, but he knew that if he hadn’t scared Will away before, he certainly wouldn’t that time.  Nico loved Will, he wanted Will, and maybe it wasn’t completely shameful that he felt the way he did.

When Will pulled back and waved for Nico to take a seat at their table, Nico glanced over his shoulder at Reyna to confirm that he hadn’t imagined that Will had, in fact, kissed him.  Reyna just smiled at him and took a few steps back.

Nico turned back to Will and cleared his throat as they sat down.  “We should talk about....” Nico gestured vaguely between them.

Will nodded in agreement as a maid in silver came to pour their tea.  Nico waited until she left for Will to speak, but even after they were alone, Will just watched him patiently like he was waiting for Nico to start.  Nico cleared his throat again and tried to think of how to start.  Finally, he said, “I was afraid that you’d be disgusted.”

“By something like that?” Will said with a disbelieving shake of his head.  “No, of course not.  It was normal physiology.”

Nico took a deep breath.  “But it means...you know what it means, don’t you?  About how I feel about you?”

Will was silent for half a second before answering.  “Yes.  I know.”

Nico waited.  Will didn’t continue.  He took a deep breath and asked, “What about you?”

Will’s smile wavered and he glanced down, away from Nico’s eyes.  “I intend to follow the rules of courting, Your Highness.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

Will nodded.  “I know.”

Nico waited, but Will didn’t add anything else.  “Never mind,” Nico said, trying not to sound disappointed.  “It doesn’t matter right now anyway—”

“Wait,” Will interrupted.  He started to say something else, but stopped.  After trying a few more times, he smiled sheepishly.  “Last night, I stayed awake for hours planning what to say, and now I’m suddenly too nervous to talk,” he said with a shy laugh.  “At least give me the chance to explain?”

“What do you mean?” Nico asked.

“I mean that we went too far yesterday, but I didn’t dislike it,” Will said.  “When we kissed like that...I felt good.”

“Oh,” Nico whispered.  “I...I did, too.”

“Yes, I noticed,” Will said, his cheeks reddening.  “And I think that I would also like...uh...with you.”

Nico was so distracted by how pretty Will looked wearing that embarrassed expression that it took a moment for him to understand what Will had said.  “That’s...you would?”

Will nodded and he put his hand on the table between them, palm up.  Without even thinking, Nico took it.  “I love you,” Will said simply and easily, like he wasn’t at all embarrassed or uncomfortable about his feelings.  He put his other hand over Nico’s on the table and squeezed it.  “Yesterday, you asked me if I’d ever felt the things Sappho wrote about, and I have—with you.  I know what it’s like when your heart beats so hard that it hurts.  I get cold chills when you whisper in my ear.  My limbs feel numb every time you kiss me.  And this is all new to me, but I think when it’s with you...that would be very nice.”  He cleared his throat.  “We can’t, of course.  I think it would be wise for us to have someone chaperoning at all times to ensure that what happened yesterday doesn’t happen again.”

“I understand,” Nico said.

“That being said,” Will continued, “I know that you have a tendency to break the rules.  So perhaps it would be alright to push the boundaries a little bit.”

“Oh,” said Nico.  The taste of Will’s mouth was still lingering on his lips, but it was fading.  Suddenly, his desire to kiss Will came roaring back and he had to bite his cheek to distract himself from his desire to pounce on his fiancé.  “What did you have in mind?” he asked.

“Well, I did enjoy what we did yesterday,” Will said, running his thumbs over Nico’s fingers.  “And as long as we don’t let it get out of hand...I said having a chaperone would be ‘wise,’ but I think we can be wise enough on our own.”

“Reyna caught me coming back in last night,” Nico said with a shake of his head.  “She’s moving my room to the upper floors so that I can’t sneak out the window at night again.”

“Pity,” Will said.  “Well, we’ll have to think of something else.  I’m sure there will be another opportunity to sneak away at some point this week.”  He raised Nico’s hand to his lips, kissed it, and gave Nico a reassuring smile, and they spent the rest of the meal plotting their escape when they weren’t too busy kissing.

Next

[thing-you-do-with-that-thing]

Matchmaker Misha

Characters: Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Y/N Collins, Briana Buckmaster

Pairing: Jensen x Reader (sorta), Misha x sister!reader, Misha x Briana (sorta)

Warnings: Cheeky Misha, flustered baby!Jensen (yep both are warnings!), mention of naked Y/N.

Word Count: 1300ish

A/N: This one fits into my College AU but like all the others it can 100% be read as a one shot.

It is also my entry for @percywinchester27 aka Ana’s PJO Quotes Challenge where my prompt was: “I tried to think of something to say. Excuse me? Hello? Marry me? Anything would have done.”

Thanks to sweet wonderful lovely (yep laying it on thick - second fic I made her beta in a day) @like-a-bag-of-potatoes for betaing this for me.

***My fics are not to be saved nor posted on any other sites without my express written permission.***

MASTERLIST

“Hey Ackles!” The playful voice from the bleachers drew Jensen’s attention from baseball practice towards his voice for a brief moment. Jensen smiled and shook his head in amusement when he saw Misha waving and almost dropping the pile of papers he was carrying in the process. Jensen heard the snort from one of the players and his eyes instantly landed on the guy. He had been about to yell something at Misha, no doubt to make fun of him, but one look from the captain of the team and his gaze fell to the ground.

Misha was a journalism major and quite frankly a quirky guy. That didn’t matter to Jensen though. He didn’t care that Misha wasn’t like everyone else. Actually he enjoyed that about him. Misha was funny, kind hearted and a goof. The two of them had quickly formed an unlikely friendship and there was no way in hell Jensen was going to allow his teammates to make fun of his best friend.

Just like always when Misha showed up at the stadium, Jensen finished his practice before jogging over to where his buddy was sitting with a pencil behind his ear and his nose buried in his notes, no doubt trying to make heads and tales of what he scribbled down during his last interview.

“What’s up Mish?” Jensen chuckled when Misha jumped, clearly surprised by the sound of Jensen’s voice, lost in his own thoughts. Misha didn’t pay much attention to the jump scare nor Jensen’s amusement though. He simply pulled a face at his friend, before a smirk appeared on his lips.

“So I hear you were checking out my sister while she was swimming in the lake the other day,” Misha teased, knowing it would get Jensen feeling flustered and guilty, even if neither Misha or Y/N cared that he had been staring.

“I… No I didn’t… I mean I was looking for yo… I wasn’t… Oh shut up,” Jensen stammered as Misha started laughing so hard he nearly dropped his pile of notes once more.

“Hey, she is not that shy or innocent,” Misha laughed, tucking his notes into his backpack knowing he would end up losing them if he didn’t. “Besides she thinks you’re cute. Why didn’t you just say something?” Misha grinned, causing Jensen to blush a new shade of red.

Jensen shifted on his feet, looking everywhere but at Misha. What the hell was he supposed to say? That he choked? That he couldn’t even form words? Should he say that he tried to think of something to say? Excuse me? Hello? Marry me? Anything would have done, but no words had been able to pass his lips. Jensen couldn’t exactly tell her brother that, and besides all that sounded over and over in his head was Misha saying Y/N found him cute.

“Yeah? She said that?” Jensen was still more than a little flustered by the situation. Damn Collins’.

“Yes she said that, but she didn’t need too. She’s my sister. She likes you and judging by the color of your face, you like her too,” Misha looked more than a little proud of himself, chuckling as he ducked out of the way when Jensen threw his water bottle at him.

“Is that she only reason you came out here? To be a dick about me finding your sister hot?” Jensen glared at his friend, whose face suddenly looked like a man of great suffering.

“Don’t call my baby sister hot!” Misha complained making Jensen laugh jumping the bleachers, giving Misha a friendly push.

“You’re a weirdo man. You are okay with me ogling at her while she is skinny dipping but when I call her hot you look like you’re dying,” Jensen grinned when Misha flinched again.

“Okay, I’ll stop. Just stop saying that, would you,” Misha almost whined making Jensen laugh even harder before nodding and reaching out his hand to him which Misha gladly took.

“Deal. Now what do you want?” Jensen asked as he started packing his bag he had left on the bleacher before changing his shoes.

“Can’t a guy come visit his best friend without an ulterior motive?” Misha gave Jensen his best innocent face, making Jensen stop tying his shoes and sit up straight, staring at him.

“Yeah that’s not suspicious at all. Come on buddy. Spill it,” Jensen ordered and Misha let out a deep sigh, knowing he was caught and might as well get it over with. He had hoped to be more smooth about this, but Jensen was smart as hell, especially for a jock and almost always saw right through Misha’s poorly executed plans.

“Y/N wanted to go to the Mumford and Sons concert this weekend. We got tickets and I promised to take her,” Misha explained, as Jensen leaned back not getting any less suspicious about this. “Turns out Bri got two tickets too and….” Misha pulled a face, rather annoyed that he would have to admit this to Jensen, “I’ve been trying to get her to go out with me forever. She asked me to go with her so…”

“So you wanna rub your sister off on me?” Jensen asked, his eyes widening a little and his heart instantly started racing. It wasn’t like he was a Casanova or something, but he never felt like this by the thought of just being near a girl. There was something about Y/N that both made Jensen terrified and excited about the idea of going on a date with her. Even if it was a double date with her brother tagging along.

“You’re sure it’s not just not you playing matchmaker?” Jensen mumbled, as he couldn’t shake the feeling that Misha was up to something.

“Jay, have you seen Bri? I have been asking her out for 2 months now and she keeps giving me excuses, and then walking out of the shower in a towel and straight to my room asking for some crap she damn well know I don’t have,” Misha grumbled making Jensen laugh. He had only met Briana once but he liked her and he was sure she was just trying to rattle, the at times slightly cocky, Misha. By the looks of it her plan had been working since Misha was so desperately trying to not turn down this date.

“Fine,” Jensen sighed, somehow knowing he was going to regret this. “When do I pick her up?”

“Just be at our place Saturday at 7. We’ll go as a group and have dinner somewhere first,” Misha beamed jumping off the bleacher heading back towards the library building before turning around calling out to Jensen before he could disappear into the dressing room.

“Oh and Jensen… This wasn’t me playing matchmaker but I still would have, had I not needed a favor,” Misha grinned, causing Jensen to momentarily consider throwing one of his warm tennis shoes at his friend's face, before sending Misha an innocent smile as he shouted back.

“It’s okay. I’m looking forward to a date with your hot sister,” Jensen chuckled walking into the dressing room after successfully having wiped the smirk of Misha’s face, leaving him with a tortured expression instead. The grin on Jensen’s face however soon paled as it dawned on him that he would have to spend an entire evening with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. The girl he turned into a stuttering mess in front off. The girl he more than anything wanted to impress, but that was difficult when the mere sight of her made him blush fifty shades of red.

“Great,” Jensen mumbled throwing his bag into his locker, praying to whoever was listening that he wouldn’t screw up this chance with her.

Jensen Tag Team

 @mizzpink @not-moose-one-shots @emoryhemsworth @sleepylunarwolf @roxyspearing @mysteriously-lost @blacktithe7 @atc74 @mogaruke @fatalcrossbow @mrswhozeewhatsis @mysupernaturalfics @crushing83 @arryn-nyxx @superapplepie @docharleythegeekqueen @walkingkhaleesi @multifandombackpack @ruined-by-destiel @blushingdean @winchasterdean @iamabeautifulperson18 @theoriginalvicki @feelmyroarrrr @hexparker @vvinch3st3r @shamelesslydean @katymacsupernatural @elevenofmages @jensen-gal @mysterious-398 @dustycelt @ericaprice2008 @adriellej @ashleydivine @waywardmoeyy @storytimewithylva @canadianjelly @percywinchester27 @LessonsOfRed @featherleaf12 @percussiongirl2017 @sis-tafics @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @deanxfuckingadorablexwinchester @mayasmedberg @ruprecht0420 @jayankles @torn-and-frayed @its-not-a-tulpa @spn-fan-girl-173 @ryantherandomhero @lupine-princess @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @becs-bunker @sillesworldofwriting @sandlee44 @mariahoedt @akshi8278 @michellethetvaddict

OCY Tag Team

@mrswhozeewhatsis @staticweekes @deansgirl215 @valerieshubin @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @anathewierdo @teamfreewill92 @gabriels-trix @ashlyn-98 @bradygabrielle-blog @16wiishes @multifandombackpack

[lorilane33]

Annoying Dean

Summary: Dean tries to prove himself to you only to fall short

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Prompt:  “ I try very hard to be annoying. Don’t insult my ability to annoy.”

Word count: 1,044

Warnings: Utterly and completely fluffy!!

A/N: This little piece of me was written for @percywinchester27 ‘s PJO Quotes Challenge! I really enjoyed this one. :) LOVE YOU SO MUCH ANA!! Thanks for letting me participate! This is the first fic I’m posting in a while. I just have been so overtaken by work and stuff! I hope this is good. lol

Peeking slowly around the corner you keep an ear out for Dean. Your heart is pounding in your chest and you’re trying to keep your breathing even. He’s spent the last fifteen minutes playing cat and mouse with you and you are determined not to let him catch you. Not seeing him anywhere you round the corner, hugging the wall as you move along. Feet padding along the floors, you move quickly to the next hallway hoping to beat Dean back to the kitchen.

You smile as an idea forms in your head. Knowing him, he’s fully expecting you to keep working your way in the direction you’re going, so you thought it would be a good idea to backtrack to confuse him. Thinking you had outsmarted the one and only Dean Winchester you chuckle to yourself and you turn back, heading towards the library. A sense of accomplishment settles over you and you turn the last corner before you arrive at the library.

Suddenly you run face first into a solid wall of flannel. “BOO!” Dean screams in your face as he jumps at you, throwing his hands up.

“Oh hey, Dean!” You respond as the green-eyed hunter reaches out to wrap his arms around your torso. Before his hands can make contact though, you burst out laughing and take off running through the halls, your laugh echoing throughout the bunker. You are the type of person that your go-to reaction for most everything is to giggle or, in this case, laugh uncontrollably.

The sounds of your feet slapping the concrete echo off the walls as you make your way to the kitchen, still laughing. Dean is right behind you but almost plows into Sam as he turns the corner. Sam looks at Dean and lifts his eyebrow with a smirk on his face effectively filling the doorway so Dean can’t continue his quest.

“Sam, what the hell! What are you- Move!” Dean tries to push past Sam but to no avail.

Smiling, Sam responds. “Hey, Dean. So, I’ve been meaning to ask you for your help rearranging the library. I was hoping to arrange them by subject and then by the book height. That was it’ll be easier just to grab something off the shelf and not have to worry about author’s names and stuff.”

As soon as the words ‘ask for your help’ pass Sam’s lips, Dean’s face settles into a bitch face, fully aware that Sam is trying to distract him. Sam continues on, and Dean suddenly cuts him off with a growl.

“Shut your face, Sam. And move it!! I’ve gotta find Y/n, and you’re in my way,” Dean rolls his eyes as Sam chuckles, taking his time in moving out of Dean’s way. As soon as Sam was out of his way Dean jets down the hallway, Sam calling after him.

“You won’t have too much trouble finding her; just listen for her laugh!”

Dean finally appears in the kitchen doorway ready to find you. He’s been trying to prove to you that he can scare you for the past few days and he’s been unsuccessful resulting in frustration on his end.

He hears you let out a soft giggle as he walks closer to the island, your hands shaking nervously as he almost finds you out.

“Babe, I know you’re in here. I could hear you laughing. Now, how about you come out and we can discuss this like the adults we are, huh?” He chuckles as he finishes and looks around.

Slowly, you surrender yourself rising from the floor and peeking your head over the counter. “Hey-o, Dean bean, “ you smile cheekily as you hide another small giggle.

“Hey, Y/n. So, you do realize that your laughing when I scare you is wrong on so many levels, right? I annoy the shit out of Sam, and have for years.” He walks over to you slowly and puts his arm around your shoulder. The two of you lean against the island and he looks at you, playfully glaring.

You glare right back at his stupidly handsome face. “Yes, I realize that Dean. But you have to remember. I don’t get scared or annoyed very easily. You try so hard to get to me, and it’s so cute. I can’t help but laugh!”

Dean takes his free hand and slaps his chest in mock offense while gasping dramatically. “Y/n! I can’t believe you. I try very hard to be annoying. Don’t insult my ability to annoy.”

You reach up and pat his cheek lightly, leaning up to place a kiss on his opposite cheek. Pulling back you smile cheekily. “Awww, Dean. You’re right. You’re so annoying that it drives me insane sometimes. Is that better?”

Rolling his eyes Dean responds. “No. You’re just lying now. I don’t wanna hear it. I annoy. I’m good at annoying.”

Sam chooses that moment to walk in and hears the tail end of Dean’s claim. Nodding his head, Sam agrees. “He’s right, Y/n. He’s annoyed me for years. Pisses me off, even.”

You see Dean smirking in triumph out of the corner of your eye as Sam continues. He chuckles when he sees you roll your eyes in response. Sam continues on.

“But I will say that good ole ‘Dean bean’ has had some performance issues since you showed up. He’s gone soft. He no longer annoys me as badly as he used to, and I think it has something to do with you. He’s nice to you. There’s just something about you that renders Dean unable to be a complete asshole anymore.”

By this time Dean’s eyes are the size of dinner plates and before Sam can react Dean is pulling his arm from around you and starting after Sam. Sam turns tail and runs as soon as he realizes what’s happening, using the tables in the library as obstacles to keep between himself and Dean. You hear two sets of boots running throughout the bunker and you giggle to yourself. Sam and Dean are your favorite boys, and these moments with them are precious.

Suddenly you hear Dean’s voice ringing throughout the bunker, “SAMUEL WINCHESTER, DON’T MAKE ME USE THE CLIPPERS! I KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP!!!!”

TAGS:  @bringmesomepie56 @aorma22 @torrentmgc @savetheimpalaridedean @vaisabu @madithemagicalfangirl @dancingalone21 @anokhi07 @green-love-red-fantasyhearts @smoothdogsgirl @superromijn @my-own-paradise-fuckers @wevegotworktodo @i-dont-know-how-to-write @rattyretro-blog-blog @arryn-nyxx @sis-tafics @jalove-wecallhimdean @dustycelt @supernatural-jackles @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog @27bmm @pinknerdpanda @emilywritesaboutdean @just-a-touch-of-sass-and-fandoms @babybrotherdean @babypieandwhiskey @nichelle-my-belle @iwantthedean @dreamingintheimpalawithdean @ravengirl94 @eyes-of-a-disney-princess @demondean-for-kingofhell @wantingtobekorra @saxxxology @akshi8278 @captainemwinchester @pie-not-cake-you-assbutt

[lucas-friar]

OTP MEME (i was tagged by the one and only @bellamyblakes)

PICK YOUR TOP 10 SHIPS WITHOUT READING THE QUESTIONS (this isn’t my exact order but more or less)

lucas and maya (girl meets world)

ian and mickey (shameless)

pacey and joey (dawson’s creek)

bellamy and clarke (the 100)

nick and jess (new girl)

barney and robin (how i met your mother)

tim and lyla (friday night lights)

sawyer and juliet (lost)

seth and kate (from dusk till dawn)

nathan and haley (one tree hill)

DO YOU REMEMBER THE EPI/SCENE/CHAPTER THAT YOU FIRST STARTED SHIPPING 6?

obviously zip zip zip in season 1 was incredible but for some reason i was shipping ted and robin so i was oblivious! it wasn’t until barney and robin hooked up in sandcastles in the sand that i was like okay i can get on board with this! then in the s3 finale when he looked at robin in the hospital after almost dying i was IN

HAVE YOU EVER READ A FIC ABOUT 2?

yes i’ve only read one and it was sooooo good and really long so i never finished it bc i was like 20 something chapters in and then stopped reading for like a day and then never picked it back up but i should because that fic was crazy good! fun fact this was the only fic i’ve ever read that wasn’t lucaya

HAVE A PICTURE OF 4 EVER BEEN YOUR SCREENSAVER/PROFILE PIC/TUMBLR?

my stan twitter is bellarke so it’s clear they’ve been my icon there but i don’t think they ever have been on tumblr

IF 7 WERE TO SUDDENLY BREAK UP TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOUR REACTION BE?

HA all my ships are non endgame anyways so these questions can’t get me! jk not all of them but most and tim and lyla are one of those non endgame ones

WHY IS 1 SO IMPORTANT? 


I WISH I KNEW!!!! I WISH I KNEW WHY LUCAYA HAS ME IN SUCH A CHOKEHOLD!!!! basically i don’t even care that they got shit writing and shit scenes the idea of the characters lucas friar and maya hart together is just so powerful 

WHICH ONE HAS THE STRONGEST BOND? 

it was between pacey/joey and naley but imma have to go with naley because they got married in season 1 and pacey/joey didn’t get their endgame until the FINALE...silence

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU READ/WATCHED 10’S FANDOM?

ive only seen oth the whole way through once but i rewatch it all the time and ive rewatched season 4 twice and season 3 three times. most of the time i rewatch though it isn’t for naley it’s for brooke lol

WHICH SHIP HAS LASTED THE LONGEST?

naley if my math is correct

HOW MANY TIMES IF EVER HAS 6 BROKEN UP?

twice yet they only got back together the first time..... BIG SIGH

IF THE WORLD WAS SUDDENLY THRUST INTO A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE WHICH SHIP WOULD MAKE IT OUT ALIVE, 2 OR 8?

this is TOUGH because ian and mickey could easily fight all the zombies off both of them are always getting into fights and ian trained to be in the army BUT they would probably be fighting all the time and might not have the best teamwork MEANWHILE sawyer and juliet lived on a desert island for years, sawyer’s killed like multiple people and remember that scene where juliet flipped kate upside down she could easily do that to the zombies ALSO their teamwork is far superior to gallavich’s so this is very hard and even though my argument was more towards suliet im gonna go with gallavich because they’d probably make it out alive outta luck

DID 7 EVER HAVE TO HIDE THEIR RELATIONSHIP FOR ANY REASON? 


obviously in season 1 when lyla was cheating on jason with tim (YIKES) but then again in the first ep of season 3 after they were together over summer but it was still not known to the public/they were mostly hiding from buddy garrity 

IS 4 STILL TOGETHER? 


...........wish i could say they ever were together

IS 10 CANON? 


yes one of my only ships to be

IF ALL 10 SHIPS WERE PUT INTO A COUPLE’S HUNGER GAMES WHICH COUPLE WOULD WIN?

hmmm so it would come down to gallavich, bellarke, suliet, and sethkate because those are the only couples with fighting experience and i already said gallavich would beat suliet in the zombie apocalypse so ill take them out. kate might not bring much to the table but seth could easily kill bellarke and gallavich on his own so i think sethkate would win

HAS ANYBODY EVER TRIED TO SABOTAGE 5’S SHIP? 


hmmmmm not really they broke up on their own and most people are for their relationship i can only think of sam and reagan but honestly those fools never stood a chance so do they even count

WHICH SHIP WOULD YOU DEFEND UNTIL DEATH AND BEYOND? 


i would say lucaya because they are my number one but honestly a lot of that has to do with my headcanons and not the actual show material where they didn’t give me much evidence to defend them with! so imma say pacey/joey because they have NEVER let me down 

DO YOU SPEND HOURS A DAY GOING THROUGH 3’S TUMBLR PAGES? 


after i finished dawson’s creek i would spend days looking at pjo gifsets now it’s just whenever i see them on my dash

IF AN EVIL WITCH DESCENDED FROM THE SKY AND TOLD YOU THAT YOU HAD TO PICK 1 OF THE 10 SHIPS TO BREAK UP FOREVER OR ELSE SHE’D BREAK THEM ALL UP FOREVER WHICH SHIP WOULD YOU SINK?

in a world where all of them were together (i’d never be so lucky) and i had to break one up i’d say sethkate because they are my most recent ship so i feel least attached to them