#i wanted to draw the other half of the cast but i ran out of time

[moony-bird]

happy 10th to the funniest show ever, if you haven't seen galavant already what are you waiting for???

[bitchimasnake-sss]

is it possible for you to do the itoshi brothers (sae & rin) x y/n? like both tg if you know what I mean 😅😅

you read my mind. it's the way i was just itching to write the itoshi brothers together omg.

☆ my life with the itoshi brothers!

── a blue lock fanfiction. // where your stay with the itoshi brothers goes wrong.

synopsis: being an exchange student coming to tokyo all on your own, weren't you grateful that the itoshi family opened up their homes and hearts to you — especially, the two bothers? pairing: afab!reader x itoshi rin x itoshi sae [aged up.] wc: 5.9k cw: DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT. NOT PROOFREAD. MDNI. ISTG GIRL GO TO SCHOOL. nsfw includes: THREESOME, manipulative, mean 'n jealous men (both sae and rin), blackmail, bimbofication, overstimulation, penetration, blowjob, degardation kink (slut), praise kink (good girl), marathon sex, doin' it raw. m.list

‪‪❤︎‬ rin itoshi.

rin itoshi was unnerving.

black hair, teal eyes, tall, cold demeanor, and a footballer by profession — that pretty much summed rin itoshi.

but... there was something off about him, something you couldn't quite put your finger on.

rin itoshi was quiet — too quite, in fact.

despite sharing a home with him for the past two months, there were only vague guesses you could make about him.

the sharp-mouthed raven-head kept his thoughts to himself, but never his opinions —always being the loudest at the table when it came to complaining. cladding himself whole in a blanket of coldness, his narrow eyes were always observing, always taking in everything in a silent-killer type of way.

rin itoshi was confusing.

because sometimes, you could swear it was you that his gaze was following across the room. it was you he was etching to his memory as he stole glances during dinner. it was you whose door he stood outside of in the middle of the night... or was that just a shadow?

but... why would the rin itoshi look at you?

you were sure the man didn't want anything to do with you. he avoided you like the fucking plague, leaving you ignored with one-worded answers and tight-lipped nods. you had never even seen him smile, or even meet your eyes for more than a minute straight.

the longest interaction between you two was when you had once dropped the pot of soup while carrying it from the kitchen to the dinner table, and he had rolled his eyes with a sigh, "let me help."

bending down, his teal eyes had never quite met yours. his lips were pressed into a thin line, and when his pale skin flutteringly touched against yours, you heard a wayward hiss as he clamored away to the kitchen far too jelly-legged.

rin itoshi was a phantom you could no longer comprehend.

a phantom that alit the tip of your fingers and electrocuted your whole body, a phantom akin to the weird feeling that brewed within your stomach whenever he was around.

what was he doing to you..?

⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁.𖥔 ݁ ˖

knock, knock, knock.

swift knocks made you known of someone's presence outside your door.

your gaze instinctively ran over the desk you were studying at, finally stalling against the alarm clock that read 1:28 a.m.

drawing out the pencil you were chewing on past your lips, you glanced back at the closed door. you dragged your chair back, then walking towards the door with steady footing. as you meekly swung the door inwards, you found ri—

"—in?" your brows furrowed as your took his moonlit, towering figure. casted among moonshine and darkness, rin itoshi's pale face had a monotonous expression plastered onto it as per usual.

one hand on the door and the other clutching onto the half-chewed pencil, you stared at him as if he was an actual phantom. spluttering, you found your words heavy in your mouth, "what's up?"

why was he at your door at almost two in the morning?

your gaze scanned his physique — from broad, well-trained shoulders to rippling abs; taught biceps to pretty fingers— wait. what was that?

tucking the pencil in your hands against the shell of your ears, your gaze zeroed in on the book he was clutching onto, "what's that?"

rin didn't answer straight away, and something in his shady gaze made you feel like he was staring at you the way you were staring at him — or rather, your body.

nimble fingers tried to fix the straps of your tank-top, then coming down to pull down the shorts that had hiked up while studying. your hair was probably a bit of a mess, and your eyes were probably laden with sleep. it was so cold, and dark... could rin tell your face was hued red? could he tell you were chewing on the inside of your cheek, tormented by his silence?

"i need your help with something." he waited for a second, and you nodded, allowing him into your room.

as he closed the door behind him, his words were dry — a formality, you presumed, "am i bothering you? what were you even doing?"

"i uh—" your gaze shifted to the desk you had been sitting at. the desk-lamp had lit the pages of the book stark white, and you found it hard to adjust your hazy vision, "—was studying."

"of course." rin hummed — still hovering near the door —and you titled your head oh-so-cutely at him, "but why're you up so late, though? don't you have practice early in the morning, rin?"

despite being a footballer, rin was pursuing a degree. he was a year under you at the same university, you knew that. but you also knew that he didn't take any of that studying shit seriously — being a football prodigy and all. maybe that's why his answer surprised you, "i was studying too."

"oh?" you paused, taken aback, "what... for?"

"i have midterms coming up." he admitted softly, "and i— well, i've heard you're somewhat of an academic prodigy."

well, you hadn't gotten a year long opportunity to study in japan without hardwork. obviously, you were smart. you knew that, and yet your voice pitched up at his sudden compliment, "what?!"

heat climbed up the cresses of your cheeks, a wild feeling lodging itself in your chest at his acknowledgement, "n-nothing of that sort, rin."

but rin cut off your stupid ramble easily, "i need your help with studying. do you mind?"

"oh?"

ofcourse you didn't mind.

after all the itoshi family was doing for you, the least you could offer were a few hours of your night to tutor their youngest son.

you just didn't realise you were going to give much more than you bargained for.

⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁.𖥔 ݁ ˖

at first, it was all innocent — professional, even.

rin itoshi would come in anywhere between twelve to one at night and spend an exact 120 minutes studying with you. sitting quietly on the opposite side of your bed, his eyes would only linger on your face, quietly taking in your instructions. and then — as soon as his time was up — rin would walk out and pretend as if he never even spoke to you.

maybe you were supposed to feel a sense of betrayal at his behavior. but he was a good student — hassle-free, quick, and down-to-business, so, what could you even complain about?

but as the days went on, his demeanor shifted.

with each forgone hour of the night, day by day, the pro-player started inching closer towards you. his fingers started splaying against yours as he guided your hand to the sum he was confused about, staying against your skin for a moment too long. and sometimes, you were sure his gaze had shifted from your face down, down, down.

what was he doing?

but ofcourse, he didn't do anything. rin itoshi must have known better than starting something with the student his family was hosting. of course.

that was until his resolve broke.

coming in one day, rin didn't even bother bringing in his book that night. hair damp from a shower, black skin-fitting compression shirt, grey sweats and the next you knew, his hand was inside your shorts and moans of his name were out of your lips.

after that day, you were rin itoshi's little plaything in the dark hours of the night.

holed up against your room, under the pretense of studying, rin itoshi would always break you just like he was doing right now.

"ri-rin." trying to soothe your scratchy throat, you gulped, "enough."

but his fingers never halted against your throbbing nub, not even as you begged him in those pathetic, little whines.

he had perched you in his lap, had your grinding your dripping, bare pussy against his naked erection — all while the tips of his fingers drew patterns against your clit.

your tshirt had been tugged to reveal your sensitive tits, and rin had found endless joy in rolling and tugging the pert bud under his fingers as you moaned and whined.

"rin—" your back arched, chest parting from him as you bucked forward with a wild moan, "s-stop, 's too-too much."

but rin itoshi just pulled you back flush against his chest. pressing his lips onto your feverish skin, he left chaste kisses against the column of your throat.

you squirmed, trying again to break free, "ri— god, stop."

when he finally spoke, his words were so condescending, "awh, too much for you?"

and despite nodding, despite agreeing with him, despite knowing that it was too much — your greedy hips gyrated over his pelvis over and over again, trying to get enough friction to land another orgasm.

"really?" he mocked you, words sharp as knife, "if it's so much, why're you still rubbing against me like a slut?"

"s-shut up." you hissed, eyes widening at his accusations — yet never stopping the delicious swirls of your cunt against his erection, "'m not a s-slut."

"hm?" the pro-player hummed, taking your nod as a challenge to wreck you even worse. his fingers sped up against you, strumming your folds as if hell-bent on making you cry. "hah, but see? still begging me to fuck you."

rin itoshi laughed, and the sound reverberated against your shuddering form and went straight to your soaking core. his fingers slowed down just a little, and you whined in distress. how could he torture you and pretty pussy like that?

he collected the honeydew on the pad of his fingers to bring it up to your soft lips. pressing the liquid against your tongue, he made sure you tasted your sweet essence just like he had all those nights.

"d'you like this?" the man asked softly, nipping your skin under his canines as his fingers stayed past your lips, "d'you like when i ruin you like this?"

god, why won't he shut up.

embarrassment sewed itself against your wobbling, half-formed words, "mmph— mm-no."

"you don't like this..?" rin scoffed in disbelief, licking at the dents he had made in your neck from his teeth, "you're telling me that you don't wait for me every night? hm?"

you tried to shake your head, but rin shoved his fingers so mean within your mouth, "you don't wait for me to come and make you cry my name every night, huh?"

"that's n—" but before you could moan out some pathetic refute, rin continued, "if you don't like this, why won't you tell anyone?"

dragging his soaked fingers down your lips, tainting your jaw, he murmured, "go ahead, tell my family how i sneak in every night and fuck your brains out."

you moaned at his lewd words, your heat throbbing wildly at every silky syllable past his reddened lips. your muscles ached as another storm brewed within your body, ready to demolish you from within. voice hoarse, you begged, "ri- ple-please please please ju-jus' touch me."

and despite his harsh words, rin complied. playing his deft fingers against you yet again, he made sure you would fall apart.

and fall apart, you did.

your toes curled, head crashed back into his chest with a soft thud, and eyes clenched shut at the feeling that ran amok in your body.

at seeing you unravel, rin goaded, "but i know you won't tell anyone else, right?" he sighed, "you like this. you like when i come and use you, don't you?"

muscles spasming, your jaw sagged open, "a-ah fuck, rin! i'm gon' mmph—"

"—shh." rin itoshi brought up another hand to your mouth, shushing you in that gentle voice of his, "shhh. someone might hear you, pretty."

and although he cooed in fake-concern, his fingers never stopped from absolutely ruining you even through your nth orgasm of the night, "you don't want anyone to find you like this, right? dumb-fucked on my lap, right?"

why was he even asking questions knowing what state you were in — knowing he was the one responsible for it, anyways.

when you gave back no answer, just moaning against his palm as sobs racked through your body, he smiled against your sweaty skin — amused.

rin itoshi mused in all his egoistic glory, "after all... such a smart girl like you would never be caught looking so, so utterly dumb. right, pretty?"

but you were too far gone to even respond.

‪‪❤︎‬ sae itoshi.

sae itoshi was a little bit better.

red hair, same teal eyes with the long lashes, a footballer by profession, a little shorter than his brother, but friendlier too — that described sae itoshi well enough.

but just like his brother, since day one, you could feel something off about him too — something lurking just below his friendly appearances, something that made you feel like a helpless prey in front of him.

sae itoshi was quiet.

but unlike his younger brother, he was quiet for a reason. that reason being to observe everything in his wicked silence. sae bid his time, collected his evidences, and waited for the correct time to pounce — like the apex predator.

sae itoshi wasn't dumb.

too many times had he noticed his younger brother sneaking into your room in the middle of the night. and as days turned into weeks, he knew your 'studying sessions' had turned into something wholly different — if your breathless moans and cries for help were any indication.

sae itoshi was nasty.

because he had spent night after night standing at your door, jerking his erection to the symphonies of your ruination, biting his lips to restrict the soft groans that threatened to reveal his presence.

"ohmygod rin—" you would cry from the other side, and sae would squeeze the base of his cock, wondering if he could fuck you better than his brother could.

of course he could. he just needed to show you that.

so, after bidding all his time, sae itoshi was ready to get what he wanted one way or the other — even if the other way was blackmail.

⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁.𖥔 ݁ ˖

"yeah, sae?" you had knocked on his door, your voice shaky, "what's wrong..?"

it was 2:31 a.m., and rin had just left your room.

every fibre of your being knew how utterly wrecked you looked right now — from your kiss-bitten lips to drenched cunt. you just prayed that the ever-observant older itoshi didn't catch onto your helpless state. you prayed that sae itoshi was oblivious to your and rin's little arrangement. you prayed but it was all in vain, for sae itoshi was your new deity.

"come in." sae nodded, sitting so still on the edge of his bed. you stepped in, closing the door softly behind you with a light creak!

before you could take another step, sae threw another command your way, "lock it too."

click!

you followed his command, looking at him weird now that you two were alone in his room, cut off from the rest of the itoshi household.

it unnerved you.

did sae itoshi know? was he about to kick you out of his home now that he knew? was he going to tell his parents and would they kic—

"—how long has it been going on for?" sae leaned back, using his forearms to support his muscled figure. his voice was normal, not accusatory or angry — just normal.

"w-what?" you gave his a saccharine sweet smile, not moving an inch away from the door — scared. you repeated, this time a bit louder to mask your trembling figure, "what are you talkin-g about, sae?"

"you and rin." sae replied, almost bored of your stupid answers, "how long have you been fucking for?"

and your knees almost gave out.

you stayed silent — haunted by the shock that had overcome you. so, sae picked himself from his cushiony bed to walk towards you. with each step of his, your mouth went drier, and your vision grew hazier.

as the redhead towered over you, standing barely a hairsbreadth away with that peculiar look in his eyes — you tried to blink away the sudden pool of tears in your eyes, "l-listen sae... i-i'm sorry. r-rin said—" your gaze fell to the wooden floor, "'m so sorry please."

a sly smile tugged on sae itoshi's lips at your crumbling state — he was amused.

bringing his index under your jaw, he pulled your face up to meet his. as your jittery gaze tangled against his — the man pouted, mocking you, "are you scared right now?"

"n-no."

"don't worry, love." sae's voice dropped a few octaves. a sudden, malevolent desire churned within his system as he dragged the same index finger down your jaw and to your collarbone, "i won't tell a soul."

"i won't tell anyone." goosebumps raised against your soft skin as sae maintained the wicked eye contact, "but i shouldn't miss out on all the fun, right?"

"what..?" your lips wobbled, and sae dragged his hands down your collarbones to your chest. teasing your pert nipple from over the thin fabric, he drew out a gasp out of your shuddering body.

sae smiled at your reaction, still teasing your nipple, "you heard me."

and now, you were about to be stuffed full of sae itoshi's cock.

on your knees, sticking your tongue out for his heavy erection, you sat on the floor as sae sat on the edge of his bed.

"nod for 'yes', and shake your head no for 'no'." sae pushed his tip past your inviting mouth, delving deeper into you, "got me?"

you nodded, tongue flattening against the underside of his heavy cock. you could taste his salty pre on your tastebuds as your hands squeezed the base of his achy cock.

"good girl." sae leaned back on one forearm, another guiding your head by your hair to take him deeper, "is your stay at our home good?"

you nodded again, looking at him with those wide, doe-eyes as your sinful mouth sucked him off so good. sae almost fisted the sheets, thinking about how were so good at this.

fuck rin itoshi.

but he put aside his anger, instead asking you, "does rin bother you?"

even as you sucked on his tip precisely, you shook your head no.

"you're being honest?"

and you shook your head yes, dragging your hand up and down his shaft with each action.

"are you gonna tell rin about me and you, hm?"

you paused, looking up at guidance because truly, were you supposed to?

"don't tell him... hah, after all, he didn't tell me, did he..?" sae laughed and the vibrations reverberated in your mouth. he guided your mouth up and down, up and down, up and down his cock. nodding with resolve, he commanded you, "selfish fucker thought he could have you all to himself. stupid as fuck."

sae breathed heavier, closing his eyes at the way you kept your hands and tongue synchronized. sucking on his tip as if a succubus while your soft palms squeezed at the base of his cock.

heaving out a broken sigh, he asked, "have you ever done this with... rin?"

and despite keeping his eyes closed, he could feel your soft nod of yes.

"has he fucked you?"

and you nodded a swift no, assuring the older itoshi that whatever happened between you and rin never reached that level.

but despite the reassurance, sae itoshi fisted his sheets tighter.

the redhead clenched his jaw, and the muscle ticked at the idea of his younger brother defiling such a sweet girl before he could. instictively, sae thrust within your mouth — suddenly pushing his needy tip to the back of your throat with a guttural need to own you.

you gagged, and sae opened his eyes to relish in your wrecked sight — flushed cheeks, wide teary eyes and choked moans. his features softened at your helpless state, "too much? wanna stop?"

and you shook your head no.

"oh?" the pro-player found himself chuckling at your obedience, "hah, fu-uck, such a fucking slut."

at his words, you clenched your thighs. slick beaded against your new pair of panties, and your overstimulated cunt fluttered. but being the ever-observant, sae grinned, "awh, you like that? wanna touch yourself..? you like when i call you a slut."

and you shook your head quick — too quick, in fact.

the redhead tilted his head, looking at you in amusement as despite your embarrassment, you continued to suck him off. your tongue and hands worked against him as if it were muscle memory.

sae clicked his tongue, "does rin call you a slut too? hm? do you like it when he calls one too?"

your eyes widened at sae's lewd accusations, his syllables climbing down your body and latching onto your sore cunt. you shook your head no... and then, you found yourself nodding — shakily admitting what the raven-head did to you.

"i like you." sae itoshi smiled, raising himself up before using both his hands to grab the back of your head and destroying your throat with each fast-paced drag of his cock. "from next time, come to me when rin's done with you. i'll show you who fucks better."

and even as your throat burned, and you find yourself low on oxygen with a shaky vision — you nodded.

"and you're not gonna tell him i'm fucking you, right?"

you nodded yet again, and sae itoshi smiled — satisfied.

"good fuckin' girl."

⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁.𖥔 ݁ ˖

‪‪❤︎‬ the itoshi brothers together.

your stay at the itoshi household had occupied all your nights for the last couple of weeks.

every time rin decided to pay you a visit, he would have you the way he wanted to have you and then leave. and as diligently as the first day, you would go to sae next and he would ruin you all over again.

the two brothers had made your life hard and your ability to walk harder.

another night had passed you by and you walked with wobbling feet to sae's room.

taking heavy steps through the door, you lifted your bleary gaze up to sae's bed only to find a familiar raven-headed figure standing at the edge.

"r-rin..?" any exhaustion within your limbs turned to fine dust, leaving behind a clueless woman. your fingers fidgeted, eyes scanning the room for the older itoshi. when you found no trace of the redhead, your meek voice shook, "sae's n-not here..? what're you doing here, rin..?"

"it's my fuckin' house, isn't it? i can come and go as i please." rin scoffed, crossing his muscled arms against his chest, "why are you here?"

"i—" your wide eyes shifted around to search for sae, and you gulped, trying to come up with a lie, "i just wa-wanted to check up on sae."

"in the middle of the fucking night?" the raven-head bit back, standing up and walking towards you, "how stupid do you fucking think i am, huh? you think i didn't know?"

"r-rin, listen to me." you tried defending yourself, but the raven-head was quick to cover the distance between you two with a few well-drawn-out steps. he husked, "why're you shaking?"

rin shook his head, disappointed, "did you think you could sneak behind my back without me finding out?" bringing his hand to your cheek, he squished your cheeks together harshly, "seriously? in my own house with my own brother?"

"ri-n." you started yet again when the door swung inwards and a carefree sae sauntered in.

"oh—" he stared at you and rin, "what's going on here..? i go out for two minutes, and you two have started without me?"

at the redhead's arrival, rin turned his face to look at sae, "i know what's been going on."

"awh, do you?" sae stretched his limbs lazily, taking his time before locking the door behind him, "i know what's been going on with you two too."

"i knew you were standing at that door each night, you fuckin' pervert. " rin itoshi accused his brother, and his brother just shrugged coolly, "you knew and you let her put on a show for me anyways, didn't you? so who's the real pervert?

"you stop it." rin let go of you, discarding you whole as he turned to face sae, "i had her first, sae."

"hm?" sae cocked an eyebrow, "but she likes me better. i fuck her better."

rin clenched his jaw, drawing closer to his older brother with a nasty snarl, "shut up."

"tch, no need to get so heated up, rin." turning his face to rest his gaze at you, he drawled out, "how about we ask her, hm?"

and as both the itoshi brothers turned to look at you, you felt a wayward shiver down your spine. malice in their eyes, competition in their bones, they were going to ruin you to satisfy their egos — and you were scared.

walking backwards, your calves struck against frame of sae's bed with a dull thud! and you lost balance, falling onto the soft bed.

your mouth grew dry and your skittish vision ran from one man to the next erratically. what did they think of you? that you were their personal cock-sleeve or something?

your voice shook, body pushing itself away from their towering figures, "w-what? no."

"fine." rin addressed his brother although his gaze stayed fixed against you, "let's ask her, then."

⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁.𖥔 ݁ ˖

holding your thighs open, your lips wobbled as rin lined his achy cock with your entrance, pushing the tip just barely inside you.

"i-i've not done this with anyone. i don't know if im ready—" you plead your case, but the men ignored you with a soft shush.

"shh, it's okay," sae caressed your cheek, the action so soft despite how meanly he was looking at you, "nothing to be worried about. we'd take good care of you, okay?"

and before you could refute, rin found himself sinking within your heat with a sinful stretch.

"oh— rin!" your mouth parted, hands clenching the sheets under as the younger itoshi slipped further and further within you. with each inch of his length within your spasming heat, you found yourself losing your ability to breathe, to think any coherent thoughts.

before you could recover from the slight burn, sae slipped his tip past your swollen lips, "just focus on us, yeah?"

and focus you did.

sae itoshi pushed and pulled within your mouth, using you as a toy to get him off while rin itoshi shoved his dick within your velvety hole.

"ah— mmph!" your eyes widened as the younger itoshi finally bottomed out within you with you a lewd groan, "fuuuck, shit—"

you snapped your head from sae's cock to look at rin, to look at the man who was currently balls-deep within you. but to your surprise, you found the raven-head to be a wreck. high cheekbones dusted pink, brows furrowed and tongue peeking out with the slightest of drool — he looked like he was just barely holding onto his sanity

"rin, you're drooling." sae quipped, teasing his brother as he pulled your attention back on him and his cock.

"shut up." rin husked, pulling his hips back till his tip just kissed your greedy pussy, "shut up."

"don't worry 'bout him." sae guided you by your hair to take him further down your throat, "it's his first time."

"shut the fuck up, sae." rin grabbed your legs impossibly harder, fucking into your cervix as if emptying all his anger within your sore cunt.

and now, your jaw hurt, your thigh muscles clenched and unclenched, and your thoughts were an incoherent ramble with the only coherent source being the itoshi brothers that loomed over you as if your new gods.

your slick hair against your back, the sheets under you ruined, and perspiration against your skin. the room smelled heavenly — a mix of sex and their expensive colognes.

"fuck, fuck—" sae's hips quickened, his tip ramming the back of your throat in quick, mindless thrusts.

you clawed at the redheads thighs, sinking your nails into the pale skin as the overstimulation wrung each cell of your body whole.

"mmph— s-sae" you found your nails scratching down sae's perfect skin — oxygen cut-off and mouth stuffed full — all while rin itoshi shoved into you pulsating heat so, so mean. you could feel his tip smear the glossy pre against your sodden walls with each ram into you and all you could do was take it.

"shit." the younger itoshi hissed, bringing an unsteady hand up to your fluttering clit to press down on it and you swear, you went insane.

electricity jolted through you as your body was destroyed. wrecked as you were being destroyed both ways, both of your orifices being used by the two men to get themselves off. and no amounts of grunts, or pained moans, or tears could stop them.

selfish bastards.

they only stopped once sae itoshi spluttered out thick ropes of his cum inside your mouth with a guttural groan, painting your tongue with his shade. and rin itoshi followed through a few thrusts later. pulling his tip out of your cushiony heat, he left behind your spasming cunt to release against your thigh.

"not bad," sae mused in rough pants, looking over your body and the slight tremors that ran through you, "but she didn't cum yet, did she?"

rin looked at his brother, a rough scowl on his handsome face, "that doesn't mean she didn't like it."

"mhm," sae nodded and rin clenched his fist, nodding at you, "ask her if she liked it or not."

"do you think she's can speak right now?"

the brothers heaved, perspiration clinging onto their skin as they stared at your beautifully disheveled form under them. you looked so pretty like this — bleary-eyed, tongue-tied, painted with their essence against your body. heavenly.

sae tapped rin's shoulder to let his brother know to step aside, "my turn now. move."

the raven-head moved away from your body reluctantly, and as sae guided his mushroom tip against your slick-covered cunt, you shivered.

looking up at the two brothers with lower lashes lumped with tears, you mewled, "n-no more, please."

"awh," rin cooed, "no more?"

and you nodded vigorously, shaking your head to let them know of your state.

but they didn't care.

sae continued to tease you — rubbing his tip against your sensitive pussy with reckless abandon. on the other hand, rin found his mouth against your nipples in soft kitten licks.

your back arched, hands coming to bury themselves against his black locks, "rin—"

and hearing you moan out his brother's name, sae itoshi found jealousy brewing in the pit of his stomach like god's very own wrath.

pay attention to him, goddammit.

grabbing the fat of your thighs tightly, sae thrust within you — bottoming in your stretched-out cunt in one swift move that had you gasping for air, "s-sae!"

"tch, such a stupid fuckin' slut—" the redhead punctuated each word with a shallow roll of his hips, "who's fucking you right now? say my name."

clenching your eyes shut, your lips wobbled pathetically as you admitted, "y-you... sae."

but then the younger itoshi grew offended, biting down the soft flesh of your tits with his teeth, he tugged on the other one expertly with his fingers.

chasing the bite with a lick, rin flicked his eyes up to look at you and then asked against your skin, "but who made you feel better? him or me?"

"i—" your unsteady vision shot up from the younger brother to the older, then back to the younger. feeling your mouth grow dry and head feel light-headed, you rasped, "i-i dunno..?"

"you don't know?" sae cocked an eyebrow, pulling your leg to rest on his shoulder. his experienced hands used your pelvis to bring you back to him — smacking your ass with his balls again and again. he kissed his teeth, "seriously? jus' tell us."

"i—" your eyes burned, water collecting at your lashline at the way the two men tugged at your sensitive body like it were a toy. hiccuping, you repeated, "i don' know—"

"jus' think about it," rin started next, kissing your chest in between the words, "who makes you cum the most?"

"i—" you squirmed as rin snaked a hand down to your cunt, parting the folds more to expose your swollen pussy to their greedy gaze.

as the younger itoshi pulled the skin taut to expose you to the cold air, his older brother spit on your reddened nub from above. the redhead then used a hand to press down on the fluttering clit, to press patterns that fried your brain whole.

your muscles trembled, throat burning with the screams that were ripping through, "s-stop! ngh— fuck, p-please augh—"

but sae took your words as an invitation to fuck you harder and any protests of yours were drowned out by rin grabbing your jaw and kissing you.

battling his tongue against yours in a lewd dance, he drank in any arguments that you could have, effectively turning your brain to mush.

when rin itoshi parted from you, he mumbled against your wet lips, "stop screaming. you'd wake mom and dad up."

another kiss and he chased it with a warning, "you don't wanna get caught, right?"

and the thought of the humble itoshi elders finding you three like this was enough for you to shake your head.

"such a good girl." and before you could react, the raven-head went back on locking his lips with yours.

behind him, sae's pace stayed relentless. grunting and kneading the fat on your hips, he continued his steady rhythm against your slobbering, syrupy pussy.

"jus' a little more, hah— such a perfect fucking pussy. god." you're not sure which one of the two brothers was even saying it anymore — probably sae.

rin kissed down the column of your throat, nipping at the sensitive spots carelessly, and you found yourself nodding — agreeing with them mindlessly, "i'm c-close fuck—"

"are you?" the redhead repeated, a sudden triumph in his words, "cum for me, pretty."

and as you did, your entire body felt like it had been alit. muscles spasming, vision going white, and moans trapped within your larynx — you came crashing down.

barely having a moment to compose yourself, you were still seeing white, still shaking when you heard the brothers bickering.

"'s not fair." rin itoshi scoffed, pulling his reddened lips off your sultry body to argue, "i already tipped her to the edge, she didn't cum because of you."

"whatever helps you sleep at night, ah." sae itoshi pulled himself out, pumping himself lazily to release ropes of pearly white against your stomach with a restrained groan.

"shut up." the younger itoshi hissed, "switch and i'll show you."

and despite having a half-mind, your eyes widened and breath stuttered, "a-another round..?

rin itoshi turned his face to you, the muscles shifting under his sweat-covered body, "awh, scared?"

and behind him you saw sae itoshi give you an angel-like smile, "don't be. we'd take good care of you."

liars. their 'good care' had rendered your thoughtless and unable to walk.

"one last time." and somehow that was the only thing the two brothers could agree on.

oh, what a long night at the itoshi household tonight.

a/n: well, this was fun to write :) tagging: i apologize for the delay in meddle about pt.3 so have this instead guys :)) @slutforitoshi @t0mi33 @jeanbabygirl @nekoiik @kaetti @gonzalezrosemarie @megurhea @watermelonsugawaraa @kissteff @mitsurimoshi @steph-y @itorinnlvr @ch3rrybabyang3l @keiitamaa @isaisliterallyhim @mininji @5hoe1 @moodswing101 @scara-simp69 @simplymarmar @hinao24 @riinniies @tiffysolarr @ellaaa505 @actuallynarii @isabellalovesyou [damn that is a LOT of people] m.list

[aerialmirrorss]

𝐝 𝐚 𝐲 𝐥 𝐢 𝐠 𝐡 𝐭 ⋆ ˚｡⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚｡˚ ⋆ nicholas a. chavez

playing: 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 by taylor swift 𝜗𝜚˚｡˚ ⋆

synopsis! reader woke up late for work but nicholas, your boyfriend, wishes to stay in bed longer..

paring: nicholas chavez x fem!reader

warnings: lots of fluff , sexual content + unprotected sex! oral (f! receiving) , fingering , mature , 18+ (minors dni!)

word count: 2.5k

⋆ ˚｡⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚｡˚ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚｡˚ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚｡˚ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚｡˚ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡⋆ 𝜗𝜚 ˚｡˚ ⋆ ⋆ ˚｡

Soft sunlight filters through the thin slats of your bedroom window shades, casting patterns of light and shadow across the room. It’s not abrupt, but rather a slow increase in brightness that touches your closed eyelids, warming your skin and pulling you out of your dream. The room becomes bathed in a soft, golden glow, and as you blink awake, the light feels like a quiet reminder of the world waiting outside.

However, behind you with an arm draped around your waist and soft snores coming from his slightly parted lips laid your boyfriend, Nicholas, making you want to tell the world to fuck off, turn off the lights, and try again another day.

A soft sigh escaped your lips as you rubbed your eyes and stretched your arms making a half-asleep Nicholas stir. You smile softly and turn to face him with his eyes still shut. You ran your fingers through his tousled hair, briefly wondering how bad your own must look, before softly whispering, “Good morning.”

He hums softly, wrapping his hand around your wrist as it rests in his hair and brings it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss to your pulse. In a raspy voice, he murmurs, “Good morning, baby.”

“How’d you sleep?” You ask, your voice still low, not wanting to disrupt the stillness of this peaceful moment. It’s only Nick’s second time spending the night in your New York City apartment, the first just two nights ago.

He exhales peacefully, drawing you closer until your legs are tangled with his. “Your bed feels like sleeping on a cloud,” he murmurs.

You giggle at the sudden movement, watching as Nick plays with your fingers. Then he looks up and asks, “What are your plans for today?”

You groan at the thought of returning to reality. “I have to be at work by 8:30. I’m presenting a pitch for a headline, so I should probably start getting ready since it’s—” You stop to glance at his watch as he gently strokes the back of your hand.

“8:29?! No, no, no—fuck!” You quickly untangle yourself from his arms and get up, Nick’s shirt skimming the tops of your bare thighs as you fumble to put on your slippers. Just as you’re about to rush out of the room, Nick grabs your wrist and pulls you back into bed.

Before you knew it, your back was against the mattress again, pinned beneath Nick’s steady gaze.

“I love that shirt on you,” he uttered softly.

“Nicholas c’mon.” You ignore his remark, wiggling beneath him trying to free yourself. He however, seemed to have taken that as a damn challenge.

A smirk tugs on his pink lips before he leans down to ghost his lips against yours, teasing. It was almost like a test to see if you were gonna resist. But when you didn’t, he leaned down once again, capturing your lips between his in a slow, deliberate kiss.

In that moment, it felt as if the world slowed and everything narrowed down to just the two of you. The softness of his lips brushing against yours, a gentle pull, sparked a sensation that coursed through your entire body. There was an unspoken connection, an effortless sync as you responded to each other’s movements, and the kiss deepened naturally. His breath mingled with yours, and his touch was both tender and intense, filled with desire. Time became irrelevant; you could have stayed in that moment forever. Nothing else mattered except the feeling and Nicholas.

Nicholas. Nicholas. Nicholas...

He was all your mind could focus on.

His lips parted from yours with a soft, wet sound before trailing down your cheek, behind your ear, and slowly along your neck. The slow descent of his kisses gave your mind a fleeting chance to gather a coherent thought.

"Nick— I really need to get going," you breathe, trying to summon a resolve that feels distant in the moment.

"Do you?" he murmurs against your skin, gently nipping at your neck before soothing the spot with his tongue, drawing a gasp from your lips.

He knew all of your vulnerabilities, every spot that made you gasp for air, craving more, and he was definitely using it to his advantage. But you weren’t exactly upset about that.

Nicholas was feeling it just as intensely. Your sweet sighs and tugging of his hair as he suckled on your neck made all the blood in his body rush straight to his cock, leaving him a needy mess. And it didn’t help when he sucked on that sweet spot behind your ear, making your back arch into him and accidentally grazing his hard, throbbing bulge.

He let out a low groan at the small amount of contact and was desperate for more. Once again, his lips were on yours, more hungry and ravenous than ever. You felt the air leave your lungs when he rolled his hips into yours feeling every inch of him. The repeated action of his hips grinding into yours made you let out the softest moans against his lips, and that sound alone was enough to make Nicholas go wild.

He pulls away for a second to catch his breath as you do the same, though his hips never stop their mindless rutting against yours. He was so drunk on the taste of you, he couldn’t help but start rambling.

“Feel that? Feel what you do to me, pretty girl? Hm?” He’s breathless against your lips as he ground his hips against yours more intently, making you feel him through the barrier of your blue lace panties and his black boxer briefs.

At this point, you were ready to get fired.

Nothing would be able to drag you away from this moment with Nick, not even your fucking job.

All you could do to respond is moan into the air, hoping he wouldn’t stop. His fingers trail down to the hem of his t-shirt on your body. He lifted it just enough to reveal your navel and abdomen, kissing along the fabric as his head traveled lower and lower.

You wasted no time in discarding the nuisance item of clothing leaving you in just your underwear.

Nicholas left gentle kisses along your abdomen, trailing down in between your thighs, all the way to your ankles, then back up again.

“You’re perfect,” He whispers against your skin, his words sending shivers down your spine.

His eyes darkened as they lingered on what he craved the most, groaning in approval at the wet spot left on your underwear. You were soaking and Nicholas was ready to have a taste of your sweet nectar.

He planted a gentle kiss on your pelvis just above the little blue bow of your underwear, dragging his lips against you until he stopped right at the center.

Looking up at you through his long lashes, with a raspy voice he asks, “is this okay?”

You nod, breathlessly answering “yes.” And with that he wasted no time.

His lips pressed against your clit through the fabric, stealing your breath away. When his tongue slid slowly over the damp fabric, you couldn't hold back the moan that escaped, and he smirked against you.

“Look at you. So wet for me," he rambled, pulling the lace to the side to finally see you.

His finger glided through your folds, and he brought it to his lips, sucking it clean with his eyes closed in satisfaction.

The sight before you is so pornographic it makes you rut your hips up instinctively in hopes for some kind of friction which has him chuckling. He stops teasing you and discards your last item of clothing, leaving you completely exposed and bare to him.

Without warning, his flattened tongue swept a long, slow lick between your folds, making you cry out, your body reacting on its own as you ground against his mouth, fingers tangling in his hair.

You become dizzy as he begins to lap at your heat like a dehydrated kitten and your hips suddenly have a mind of their own, grinding against his face, hand shooting out to tangle between his brown locks.

His lips suction on your bundle of nerves and as your back arches, he plunges a finger in you starting a pace that has your eyes rolling.

“F-fuck!” You cry out, clenching around his digit as his tongue flicks your clit in different patterns that sends shocks throughout your body, that is until he inserts a second finger.

It’s amazing and almost pathetic how quickly he has you crumbling to pieces with just a flick of his tongue and fingers. Soon enough, you felt the knot in your lower stomach tightening, and Nick sensed it as well with a knowing smile, watching how tense your body was becoming.

“Gonna cum for me, princess? Huh?” He mumbles against you, never slowing the relentless pace of his fingers, feeling you clench around them so tightly, it makes him chuckle.

“C’mon baby, soak me. I wanna taste you,” His words push you over the edge off the cliff you were hanging on for dear life.

A string of moans leave your lips as your body begins to shake and convulse uncontrollably. His tongue rides you through the utter bliss, suckling and suctioning causing aftershock waves to jolt through you.

Nick runs his hands up and down your thighs, whispering praises, peppering you with kisses all the way up to your lips as you catch your breath.

“Feeling good?” He whispers, brushing your messy strands of hair out of your face with a soft smile. You nod, returning his smile, glancing at his sheen chest, running your fingers up and down it.

Your gaze then drifts down to the bulge in his briefs, begging for attention to which you trail further down, palming him with light pressure.

Nick’s head falls into the pillow beside you, a low moan escaping his lips at the friction his cock was aching for.

“Fuck— baby, don’t,” He babbles, gasping as you reach into his briefs and release his shaft from the tight confines, pumping him slowly.

You feel the heat in your belly flare up again at his desperate sounds of relief, and begin to tap the tip of his cock against your clit, teasing the both of you.

Nick crashes his lips to yours in a needy haze, both gasping as you line him up with your entrance and start inching forward so slowly it’s practically torture.

You’re so slick with arousal, there’s minimal resistance to his intrusion as you feel your muscles stretching to accommodate around him. You both let out a euphoric moan when he fills you completely, stilling himself and relishing in the feeling of your warm, wet walls.

“God—” He strains against your mouth, “I don’t think I'll ever get over how amazing you feel, angel.”

You moan softly at his words, rutting your hips against his, “please...” you beg, voice trembling.

He smiles against your lips giving you a quick peck, “please what, baby—hm? Tell me what you need.”

You whine in frustration, rocking your hips up once again, to which he takes as an opportunity to sneak his arm under the small of your back and pin you up against his chest. “What do you need, love?”

Before you could form a coherent sentence, he thrusts his hips forward once, the slap of your skin on his echoing in your bedroom which pulls a sharp gasp from your lips.

Then again, and again, and again.

“That what you need, sweetheart?” He pants, starting a pace that has you a mess of strained moans, matching the rhythm of his hips. “Need me to fuck into you like this huh?”

You can't help when your hands tangle in his hair, pulling on it as you cry out when his hips pull back and slams into you with such force, it makes your entire body jolt.

His pace quickens as he rests his forehead against your own, the small actions of you tugging at his hair seeming to enrage him more.

The sounds that echoed in the softly sunlit bedroom were the wet slaps of your skin colliding and a string of profanities and pants coming from the both of you, your walls clenching tightly around him as the tip of his cock hit your sweet spot over and over again with each thrust, sending you into a spiral.

You could feel the knot in your lower tummy starting to get tighter and tighter, your muscles flexing around him as you feel yourself quivering and he can certainly feel it too. His head drops down next to yours letting out low groans, never stopping his ruthless thrusts and determination setting.

“That’s it baby, one more, please.” He whines in your ear, kissing your neck and fingers landing on your bundle of nerves to spur you on alongside his sharp thrusts.

“Fuck— Nick, I’m gonna cum,” You warn, feeling yourself start to clench around his cock, to which he keeps his relentless pace to finally push you over the edge.

You let out one last strangled moan as the knot inside of you snaps, digging your nails into his back, your head thrown back as your entire body convulses.

He buried his head into your neck, slamming into you so feverishly to drive you deeper into ecstasy and once you come down is when his thrusts start to become sloppy and moans louder.

He suddenly jolts forward, sobbing out moans through his teeth, feeling his warmth paint your walls white. He collapses on top of you, both breathing so heavily as the aftershocks of your orgasms rolling out of you.

Neither of you could move, relinquishing in each other’s company and trying to recover from the sensations you both just experienced.

After a while of sweet silence and whispering sweet nothings and praises to you, he rolls onto his side, bringing you closer to him.

He plants a soft kiss to the side of your head, drawing patterns on your arm with his fingers.

“I should probably call off now,” You suddenly say to which he responds with a snort.

He reaches down to level himself with your plump and swollen lips, stealing a kiss. “Yeah, you’re gonna be pretty busy the rest of this afternoon, angel.”

© aerialmirrorss

[astralibrary]

hi @marykedoesart, this is my gift to you for @natsume-ss' spring exchange!

you said you like tanuma/natsume and heartfelt, emotional themes so i went very symbolic with this, haha. i really love the idea of using imagery from the fish pond in tanuma's backyard to represent these two and their dynamic, so that became the concept i ran with. i'll explain my whole thought process below, but in the meantime i hope you like it! 💖

pls bear with me here bc this is going to be very long and wordy lol

so there's a definite theme of separate worlds here; while the environments are both pretty abstract, the idea was that tanuma is sitting in his house looking out towards his backyard where the pond is, representing the "real world," whereas natsume is in a more fantastical underwater setting, representing the world of youkai. also there's the implication that he's sitting at the bottom of the pond, aka completely immersed in that other world, while tanuma can only perceive hints of it in the reflected light & shadow on the wall.

tanuma's side is lit by the glow of the setting sun, and natsume's by an otherworldly blue light. also, there's their clothes: tanuma is in his regular school uniform while natsume is in a yukata, something that pretty much all humanoid youkai wear.

next, their poses; they're both sitting exactly the same way as a reflection of each other but natsume has his head bowed while tanuma is looking up; this is meant to represent their different approaches to their relationship. natsume is definitely more closed off, both as a defense mechanism and because he wants to protect tanuma & keep him away from the dangers of youkai. tanuma, though, is open and contemplative, maybe even hopeful; he wants to be let in and he wants to help, even if it is dangerous.

the lighting reinforces these conflicting attitudes, with tanuma's side being brighter and warmer while natsume's is darker and colder, representing this sort of "optimism vs pessimism" dynamic.

so now, the fish. the bridge between their different worlds, basically. on natsume's side it's a real fish while on tanuma's it's a shadow cast on the wall, which is obviously the original conceit of the scene in the source material: natsume can literally see the fish, while tanuma can only see its shadow. still, even if it manifests differently, it still exists to both of them, so it's a connection between them concerning youkai.

so they're both in their separate worlds, but because of this connection they affect each other, maybe in small ways at first; as the fish crosses over the barrier it leaves little effects, little disturbances behind. on natsume's side, bubbles drift up towards the surface, little pockets of air like little lifelines showing the way, and on tanuma's side little droplets fall and create ripples in the reflected water, these small things that grow and grow outward until they're not so small anymore. little feelings that bubble up and ripple out, hoping to reach the other in their own way.

the fish brings these feelings across the barrier, endlessly looping around them as they endlessly call out to each other, trying to navigate this relationship they have; it's possible to bridge the gap between them as long as they look and listen and learn to embrace the things that make them different just as much as those that bring them together.

and that's about it! my goal was to make a symbolic piece about their struggle to understand each other but with a hopeful note, so hopefully that comes across! i hope my explanation at least sort of made sense and wasn't too confusing! (to be completely transparent i only had about half of that in mind while i was drawing it, the rest sort of came together as i was writing this. neat!)

and finally, here's a still frame in the original higher resolution so you can see it a bit nicer! 💖

[earthpleasures]

SIMP OF CENTURY !

Percy Jackson x fem!child of nyx!reader

Summary: Your reserved personality sparked curious thoughts in Percy's mind for years. Whenever he tried to get close to you, it backfired on him. But Hero of Olympus was never taught to give up.

Warnings: swearing, reader described as having 'night-like dark eyes'

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: I haven't watched the pjo show, which means Percy's character and looks are based off the books. Louis is just a fan cast. I adore Walker, and I think he's such a good actor. So if you wish to imagine Percy as show Percy, you're free to do so! <3

dividers by: @benkeibear

"when I saw her walking down the street

she looked so fine, I just had to speak.

i asked her name but she turned away"

- mmm yeah by austin mahone, pitbull.

Everyone in the Camp Half-blood liked Percy Jackson, the most influential figure of the Second Titan War. Y/n did too, but not in the way young boy wanted. She saw him as a hero, no more of that. Which made Percy yap about her next to Annabeth's ear. Blonde could swear goddamn Seaweed Brain had no fucking dignity when it comes to Y/n. 

Being one of the children of Nyx, she was powerful. She was powerful yet in the background. He still remembered the scary ass encounter he had with her mother, Goddess of Night warning him to stay away from her daughter. 

Percy ‘impertinent’ Jackson never obeyed a word of Gods, said goddess being a primordial goddess didn't change his view of Immortals. Of course he was a little scared though, not of a goddess but of an angry and protective mother.

“To left! TO LEFT! HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GUYS FORGET ABOUT Y/N!?” Connor screamed his lungs out as Y/n ran to the red flag. Her keeping quiet for most of the game caused all other red team members to forget about the girl's presence. 

Percy took a breath as he charged towards her. His sword touched her back, threatening her to step away from the flag. “C'mon, stars. We both know how this is gonna end.” She wet her lips and sighed. “Yeah, whatever.” She stepped away from the flag. Percy was about to smirk with victory when she rushed towards the flag again. 

Without thinking a second, he threw his body over hers, preventing her from grabbing handle. “What the fuck Jackson!?” Her angry voice rang through the area as they rolled on the soil together. His legs straddled her. “Looks like we ended up on top of each other again.” He said, referring to all other games. Y/n narrowed her eyes as her lower suddenly lifted from the ground and threw the boy over her body. “Arrogant bastard.”

She ran to the flag without allowing herself to catch her breath, leaving Percy behind who's groaning with pain on his back. “Damn, girl. It hurted.” He mumbled as he stood up. Last thing he saw was Y/n smirking at him with her knuckles wrapped around the handle of the red flag. She let herself fall into the shadows of the flag tower and mix into the darkness. 

She was only child of Nyx that could shadow travel properly and was allowed use it only once during game since it would be unfair to other campers and game wouldn't really have a meaning as long as she played. And of course she kept it for this moment. 

He cursed as he heard the honk announce the victors, tearing a few pieces of grass and throwing them to air. “Well, at least we had physical contact…” He pouted, trying to console himself.

“Hey, what's up, stars? Drawing the moon again? Can I see it? Please?” He spoke quickly, afraid she would disappear into darkness as usual. Girl looked up to him from her sketchbook. Sparks of little stars illuminated her night-like dark eyes, passed to her from Nyx. 

“Don't you have better things to do, Jackson? Training new kids, doing your shit as one of the ‘Counselors’? Or better, go mourn your loss and your back.” 

Her voice was bitter as ever. Y/n didn't really have any friends in camp. It wasn't that she had distaste for others, socializing wasn't her thing at all. However she never acted rude when someone reached her for help. Only ‘friends’ she had were her siblings. Being their counselor, they had to speak to their oldest sister even if they didn't want to.

He narrowed his eyes. “That's rude. You almost broke a few of my ribs.” Y/n raised her eyebrows with eraser on her hand. She spoke while getting rid of a crocked line from the white paper. 

“Sounds like a you problem, my ribs seem to be perfectly fine.”

“And also, looking at my schedule, I have all day for you.” He smiled, green eyes reflecting the sunshine. She gave him an uninterested stare. “Good for you then?” Percy knew damn well that expression on her face. She's going to disappear again. He exclaimed her name. His fingers wrapped around her wrist before she became one with shadows. 

He shadow traveled before, he knew the feeling. But it didn't relax his senses as his reflexes screamed to kick and escape. When they arrived at their destination, it was dark everywhere. His brows furrowed unintentionally. “Where are we?” Y/n looked really troubled with his presence being next to her. “What the hell is wrong with you!? Why would you stick to my wrist like a leech!?” He smirked at her distressed state. 

“Only a leech for your attention.” He winked.

“If you keep talking like a fuckboy, you will experience my affection right on your cheek in a very violent way.”  

“Yes ma'am.” 

He put his hands to his hips as he inspected their surroundings. Giant green pine trees were surrounding them, not a sound coming from the forest besides wind hitting branches. “So, back to my previous question, where are we?”

She bit her lower lip as if she didn't wanna answer the question asked. “Uh, we're kind of… on the other side of the world?” Percy's face went completely blank. “What?” 

“We're in a country where it's night right now.” He stared at the moon shining above them, the weather was clear enough to see the stars with bare eyes. “Really? That's quite exciting, which country are we in?” She thought for a second.

“Turkey.” He couldn't help but snort. She pressed her lips together at the strange choking sound he let out. “If you're going to make that immature ass joke I am gonna leave you here and never come back.” He tried to retain his serious look after hearing her not-so-fully-threat sentence. He knew she would actually leave him here with no mercy. 

“Okay, okay. Jokes aside, this forest is the definition of peace.” She looked around them, smiling at the beautiful view while inhaling the clear oxygen. “Beautiful places are always hidden by the ugliness of metropolises.” His gaze locked on her rarely seen eased-up face. “Yeah, it's beautiful…” 

“I travel to places where it's night whenever I feel the pressure of a stressful day or when I am trying to escape your boyish remarks.” Percy put a hand on his chest and fake gasped. “How dare you call them boyish? I put my whole heart into them!” She let out a low toned giggle, keeping quiet to not to disturb the rest of the animals. 

“I apologize for my rudeness, Mr. Jackson. I haven't noticed that you poured your heart into wasted attempts of flirting.” Percy sat on a fallen log, tip of his foot digging into fresh soil. “They're not wasted attempts. Nothing is wasted when I do it for you.” 

For the first in their years of banters, Y/n was taken aback. “I… appreciate your efforts Percy. But I just don't get what makes me so valuable in your eyes. I am not the strongest swordsman in camp, or the most beautiful girl around. I don't return your flirts or compliments. It's strange to see you never give up on… me.” 

Percy looked into the depths of her eyes, green eyes holding more than just interest ignited in his heart. “I don't care about how beautiful or how strong you're. I care about who you are. I care about the girl who can't help but chuckle when she sees owls flying around her, I care about the girl who helps anyone in need of her, I care about the girl who makes incredible drawings.” With languid movements, he stood up from the log he was settled on. His calloused hands gently reached to her, fingers interlocking with hers.

“I always kept my efforts on you because you never said anything about me harassing you. If I ever sensed you being uncomfortable around me to the point you can't stand my presence, I would've stopped. Hope kept me going.” Her confused expression softened as his sentences progressed. She could feel her eyes watering, tears were ready to overflow and roll down on her cheeks. 

“Percy…” His finger rubbed her palm, grayness from the pencil smearing his thumb too. “I am so sorry Y/n. For making you feel distressed in a place where you should be secure from all threats. I've never been flawless and i-” 

His eyes shoot open when soft, cold lips pressed against his. Her hands clutched on his orange t-shirt, eyes closed as she let herself get lost in sensation. Soon enough, he came to his senses too, hands flying to cup her cheeks. 

When they parted he laid her forehead against hers, she let out a chuckle. “You look so red, like my rose drawings.” He embraced her, not giving an answer to her teasing. All he needed was to feel her skin against his and inhale the scent he has been longing for years. His face buried on the crook of her neck. “Y/n?” 

She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Yes?” 

“I think I am gonna faint cause my heart is beating abnormally fast.” 

“What- PERCY! OH MY GODS!” 

Her shock filled shriek echoed through the whole forest, six feet tall Percy Jackson collapsed on her. “Are you kidding me!?” She did the first thing that came into her mind, took him back to Camp Half-blood.

Percy opened his eyes, the ceiling of the cabin welcomed him. “Fuck, it was all a dream again.”

“Woah, you dream about me?” 

Young boy let out an almost girlish scream as he pulled his blanket over his chest like he tried to protect his pudicity. Y/n grimaced. “Goddammit Percy, roosters are amateurs next to you.” His ragged breath slowed down when he saw the very face that was the star of his ‘dream’. 

“You aren't dreaming, I kissed you, so-”

“WE'RE DATING NOW!?” 

And that was how all residents of Camp Half-blood learned about their relationship.

Upcoming days, Percy was like a limb of her. Eighty percent of his time was spent with her, the other twenty percent he was yapping about her to Grover and the rest of the Seven. 

Contrary to what she thought, days turned weeks, weeks turned months, months turned years. Percy kept torturing everyone around him about his girlfriend, his fiancée and his wife. 

And maybe they weren't Immortal, but through generations, Camp Half-blood remembered the lovesick couple of 21th century.

©2024 earthpleasures do not repost, copy, translate, modify

[jazziejax]

𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲

𝐌𝐬.𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥

Pairings- Black!OC x Abbott Elementary Cast, later Black!OC x Manny (Can be read as x Reader though!)

Summary- Pilot Episode Experience with Naoya Lovel

Warnings- Swearing, kids, mixed race reader( those aren’t warnings really, just what to expect)

Jazzie’sNotes!- let me know what you guys think!! I’ve been really obsessed with Abbott Elementary recently and I’m contemplating if I want to write S1&S2 just to get to the Manny season. I want to get there fast but I know what won’t be possible with two seasons worth of writing. Let me know what you guys think I should do.

Word Count- 6,358

“Okay, so you wouldn't put the number on the bottom because that's what?” The older woman asked, drawing out her words as she stood in front of her fourth-grade class, pointing at the whiteboard behind her with her yardstick.

“The denominator.” The class answered.

“Correct, and what do we call the one on top?”

“The numerator.”

“Yes! You guys are killing this lesson.” She smiled as she placed her hands on her hips. She caught the camera crew in the corner of her eyes and then turned to them. “Or should I say I’m killing this lesson?” She smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she posed. It was silent for a moment as they all watched her just smile.

“Wouldn’t you agree?” She’s asked, looking at one of the guys behind the camera. He nodded, moving the camera along with him, causing her to smile and adjust her glasses. “Why, thank you.”

“Hello! My name is Naoya Lovel. Pronounced Now-Ya, it’s Japanese because I’m half Japanese. Don’t ask why I’m half Japanese in Philly, it’s a long story.” She sighed as she shook her head.

“Well, actually, let me tell you the story because it’s actually kind of crazy.” She chuckled, starting to explain, but it then cut to another clip of her in the class.

“Ms.Lovel, we ran out of paper towels.” A student said, standing in front of her desk with paint on the palms of his hands. Noaya looked up, at him, a slight frown on her face. “Ohh, okay, well I have some in my desk.” She started, pulling open her desk drawer. The camera angled down to catch the empty towel box staring back at her. She smirked up at them awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders. “What, I have a constant runny nose.”

“As a teacher, you teach kids how to solve problems while solving your own. In your personal life and at school. And in this school, there are a lot.”

“Ms.Lovel, I need paper towels too.” Another student said, showing her blue and pink palms to her teacher. Noaya then stood from her seat, looking around her room. “Okay, okay class. Give me one sec.” She said, nervously looking around her room to solve her paper towel problem. She the. Saw a stray beach towel near the window on her small bookshelf. “Oh! Here we are, guys.” She said, rushing over to the towel and snatching it up.

“This could be a lesson too.” She smiled excitedly and grabbed a pair of large scissors from her desk. “I probably shouldn’t have these just sitting out.” She mumbled to herself, giving the camera a sideways glance. “So class, this is going to be a hands-on moment. If there are almost thirty of you, how many pieces would I need to cut this into for you guys to share?” She asked, looking at all of them. There was a moment before anyone said anything, the kids thinking over their answer. Then, some of their hands shot up. Naoya flashed the cameras behind her a quick smile before turning back to the kids.

“Noaya, Jacob, and I came in last year with 20 other teachers. We’re three of the four left so…trauma bonding, I guess?” Janine said, in regards to the other girl.

“Yeah, I taught for two years before I got here, I transferred from Addington to here because those people are a bunch of stuck-up freaks who are just in it for a little extra on their check.” She said with a smirk. “And that’s not what I’m here for, I’m here to change lives.” She boated, folding her arms.



“Hey, Melissa, can you please tell “Ta-Nehisi Quotes” here that “white boy” is a term of endearment from the corner store people?” Janie said as she walked into the break room on the second floor.

“Ooh, cheese steaks?” Naoya questioned as she looked up from her papers, knowing the full situation after only hearing the words ‘white boy’ and ‘corner store’.”

“For Zach Ertz, yeah.” Melissa started, turning around with a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. “For him. It’s an insult.” She smirked, then paused at the sight of the cameras in her face.

“Well, you guys, I need a new rug. Mine is officially done.” Janie said.” Coming take a seat right next to the working woman.

“Mhmm! Me too.” Jacob started, taking a seat on the other side of her. “I shook mine out and all the asthma kids had to go to the nurse's office.” This conversation caused her to raise her head, placing her work aside and adjusting her glasses as she listened.

“Yeah, mine’s busted.” Melissa started. “And you can’t class up a rug like you can a couch with a nice coat of plastic.”

“You guys have rugs? All we have is a little mat.” Naoya started, looking between all of them. They all cringed at her words, but couldn’t say more before someone’s loud voice cut through the air.

“Hey-yo! What it does, baby-boo?” Ava yelled as she walked into the break room and over to where they were sitting. “What yall think about this little film crew I bought in here.”

“Distracting makes our jobs harder,” Melissa said disinterestedly, shooting the crew a glare.

“I wish I would have known this was going to be a video thing, I would have made myself look better,” Naoya mumbled, causing the camera to turn her way. She smiled, making her face appear happier than usual.

“But exciting. We about to be on TV.” Ava said, looking between them all.

“Because they are covering underfunded, loosely managed, public schools in America.” Barbra interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone.

“No press is bad press, Barb.” Ava practically disregarded the woman’s claim, continuing to smile at the camera. “Look at Mel Gibson. Still thriving.” She laughed. “ “Daddy’s Home 2”? Hilarious!” She looked around the room, either expecting people to laugh with or or just so confined in her large ego that she didn’t care if they laughed or not.

“Ava’s the worst person I know,” Noaya stated. “I’ve never seen her show an ounce of care about anything other than money. Which is a terrible mindset to have as a principal because you’re literally in the brokeest position of power.”

“There you are.” Ms.Schwartz sighed as she rushed into the room, spotting Ava. “Ava, can I talk to you?” The woman was out of breath as she stood before the principal, and her attire was disheveled. “I-I need an aid. I’m outnumbered there. The kids are crazy.” She ranted this wild look in her eyes. “One of the kids told me to ‘mind my six’ this morning, I don’t know what that means! I need help!” She ranted. Ava placed and hand on her shoulder.

“Calm down.” The darker woman said, cutting Ms. Schwartz off. “They’re just kids. And, besides, aids cost money, and we don’t have that.” She said before flashing a quick smile at the cameras. “Right, but I just—” Ms. Schwartz started again.

“Do you want to split your salary with somebody else?” Ava asked, leaning closer and angling both of them away from the cameras.

“No.” The other woman said dejected.

“No!” Ava cut her off before she could continue to rant. “No, I didn’t think so.”

“Well, if we can’t get aides, maybe we can get new rugs?” Janine chimed up, standing from her seat.

“All I’m hearing is “new, new, new, need, need, need,” Ava answered. “And yet, Barb, one of our best and most senior teachers here.” She continued, walking over to the older woman who sat at the table with Melissa and drank her coffee. “She never complains. What is your secret, Barb?”

“Knowing there’s not much you can do, Ava.” The woman said with a sarcastic smile. But Ava didn’t care to hear her condescending tone.

“So understanding.” The principal smiled, looking around the room. “Be like Ms.Howard, people.” That was all she said before she left the room.

Noaya shook her head as she started to collect her things, knowing the bell would be ringing anytime soon.

“But, I’m not Ms.Howard.” Ms.Schwartz cried from where she stood.

“Ohh, Tina, look.” Janine started, walking over to the stressed woman. “Try some counting exercises, between one and forty the kids start to quiet down.” The other woman gave a slight nod before she exited the room, still in obvious distress. “You, know, a little support might help make things happen, ladies,” Janie said, turning around to face the older two women in the room.

“My support was gonna do about as much as that five-year-old bra you’ve got on right there,” Barbra said as she pushed in her chair. The camera then cuts to Naoya staring at the camera, her jaw clenched. Janine looked down at her chest for a slip second, before covering it up with her sweater and deciding to ignore the woman’s bra statement. “Hey, it’s not impossible to get things. Melissa asked for those new toy cash registers for her classroom and got them.”

“Yeah, those aren’t toys.” The Italian woman stared as she put on her coat. “I know a guy who wired a Walmart demolition. I got a guy for everything. I know a guy right now working on the stadium build. Need rebar?” She asked, looking around the room.

Noya just shook her head.

“No,” Janine answered.

“Melissa is resourceful, capable.” Ms. Howard started, looking between all the younger teachers. Naoya’shead jerked back at what she was insinuating but before she could say anything, Janine placed a hand on her shoulder and started talking.

“Well, I think the younger teachers are capable.”

“Really? Then why is it that Ms.Schwartz’s hair is falling out? Why does Jacob here need a smoking break every five minutes?” The woman sassed, gesturing over to the male beside her.

“I switched to an herbal vape.” He tried to defend himself.

“And why can’t any of you stick it out longer than two years? More turnovers than a bakery.” She hissed before her and Melissa walked out of the door. Once it shut behind them, Naoya turned to her friends beside her.

“I almost lose my job every day dealing with the people here.” She shook her head, resting her butt on the table behind her, the other two following suit.

“You know what? Hell, I think we should still try for rugs.” Jacob’s said.

“Yeah.” Janine agreed.

“You know, before I taught here, I was in Zimbabwe.” Jacob started, causing Noaya to stand up completely and begin to walk to the door. “I was going Teachers Without Boarders, and what I learned—.”

“Jacob.” Noaya cut in, turning to face the two of them. “What did we say you about, like, not talking about your time in Africa?” She said, gesturing between her and Janine. The boy stuttered, trying to come up with an appropriate answer.

“We told you to stop. Yeah, it’s weird.” Janine finished, looking over at the male.

“I have an immense amount of respect for my elders, including the ones I work with.” Naoya smiled at the cameras. “But Mrs.Howard has a smart mouth on her. A mouth that has never been directed at me.” She continued to smile, although strained, and raised her hands in mock defense. “But the day it is the day I got to prison.” And although she was finished, she was cut off by the sound of quick hurried footsteps making their way around the corner. She turned around just in time to catch Janine with a student.

“Noaya, come quick, there’s a fight.” The older woman got out as best as she could, although out of breath. Naoya ran around the corner, practically leaving the child and shirt woman in the dust.

“Damn, she’s fast,” Janine said, briefing glancing at the kids next to her before rushing to follow the running woman.

“What the hell is going on here?” Naoya yelled as she entered the hectic scene with a bat in her hands. She saw the crazed look the teachers were giving her and she shrugged. “I heard there was a fight, I brought it just in case.”

“Where did you get that? I was right behind you.” Janie asked, out of breath with her hands on her knees.

“I didn’t know she had it in her like that.” Melissa nodded a proud smirk on her lips. “I like her.”

“That’s beside the point, what happened?” Naoya asked, looking at the older white woman standing in front of a child. “He hit me first!” Ms.Schwartz said, pointing at the boy across from her.

“Liar!” The boy yelled back at her, being held back by Ms.Howard.

“I’m a liar? I'M A LIAR?” Ms.Schwartz asked a crazed look in her eyes, her gaze solely trained on the little boy.

“I can’t believe she hit a kid,” Noaya said, shock written all over her face as she folded her arms. “I mean, I threaten that I will but I never actually do it.” She shrugged.

“Okay!” Ava yelled, interrupting the conversation between the small group of teachers. “So, not good. Ms.Schwartz was out of line and clearly didn’t know how to handle her class.” The woman sighed.

“You hired her.” Melissa spat back.

“And fired her,” Ava responded. “They give me a lot of power around here. It’s crazy.” The woman smirked.

Melissa and Noaya both gave the camera a look of disbelief.

“In the meantime, Mr.Johnson will be watching her class.” Ava finished.

“Mr.Johnson the janitor?” Naoya spoke up. “Our conspiracy theorist janitor? Teaching social studies? Do we not see the problem with this?” She asked, looking around at the group.

“I think maybe we should alert the school district to this,” Jacob spoke up, getting spins of approval from the rest. “I mean, a child was harmed.” He tried to finish before Ava cut in.

“Hey! Harmed?” She questioned. “I handled this. No need to let them know that a child was harmed on my wa—” She stopped, remembering that she was being recorded, and looked towards the camera. “On the school's watch, to be clear.” She clarified.

“Ava, this is not handled,” Janine spoke up. “There is a 70-year-old custodian who voted for Kanye teaching social studies right now.” The woman stressed, pointing down the hall. “We need help. Look, I know we don’t have any money—“

“Okay!” Ava cut her off. “Alright. I’ll make a small emergency budget request to the district, and then you guys can get pencils and hire aides or whatever else you need.”

“So, even rugs?” Janine asked her entire demeanor from earlier changing at the woman’s words.

“Sure! Just email a request.” Ava replied.

“Okay! I can- I can write an email.” Janine smiled excitedly.”

“Another day in principal life.” Ava smiled at the cameras before walking away, horribly singing some old song. “I believe the children are our future.”

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“Um…Hello?” An unfamiliar voice called out as she came into the school building, making their way to stand in front of the desk. “I’m looking for Ms.Coleman.” The man said. Melissa looked up at him. “Oh, yeah she’s—“ She was cut off by Ava rushing up next to her.

“Hello.” Again said flirtatiously, looking the man up and down.

“Hi, I’m Gregory Eddie. I’m the sun for the teacher who, uh…” He trailed off, looking down at the papers he pulled from his briefcase. “Pinter a student.” The man said worriedly, looking back up at her.

“Oh! You’re the sub.” Ava said. “Forgive me, I thought one of my colleagues here hired a stripper for me.” Ava laughed off, dismissing the looks Melissa and Barbra gave her. “Okay.” That was all Gregory could say to that, giving the woman obvious judgmental looks.

“Nice to meet you, young man.” Barbra offered him a kind smile.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, Ryan,” Melissa said, staring at the together papers.

“It’s Gregory.”

“Eh, let’s see how long you’ll be here.” She said, only flexing up after she was done stapling. “Then I’ll remember your name. Okay, Tim?”

Gregory didn’t even have time to fully digest the interactions he just had with the women before him before Jacob came around the corner. “Yes!” He smiled, stalking up to the man. “My dude.” He said, arms open for some sort of hug but was cut short by Gregory putting his hand out. “Oh, yeah,” Jacob said, placing his hand on the one offered out to him. “Keeping it profesh. I like that.” He smiled, leaning against the counter. “I’m Jacob. It’s nice to see another male teacher in here. It’s not a lot of us. Hey, now I got somebody to talk sports with. You like women’s tennis?” The paler man asked, before shooting the camera a sideways glance. “Or, as I call it, you know, regular tennis.”

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Naoya was walking the halls, whistling a tune with her bad over her shoulders when she came across a tall, good-looking man in a gray sweater. Hearing her, the man turned around to see a tall, light-skinned woman with a large, light brown puff ponytail at the back of her head. She had on specs that covered most of her face, enlarging her eyes. She was dressed in a slightly baggy pair of dark wash denim jeans with brown shoes that matched the brown in her green sweater, paired with a white shirt underneath. Seeing the mysterious man, she furrowed her brows at him from down the hall.

“Uh, hello.” The man waved awkwardly from down the hall.

Naoya waved back as she made her way closer to the man. “Uh, hi. Are you lost?” She asked, slowing down when she got in front of him. “In a school building?…And smelling like pee and/or vomit. I’m calling security.” She started to back up and pull out her phone, or even yell before she stopped and frowned. “Oh wait, I am security.” She said, moving her bat to her good hand getting ready to swing.

“Wait!” The man yelled, sticking out his hands in defense. “I’m a sub! I’m here to fill in for the woman who kicked the kid.” He defended.

Naoya visibly relaxed as she looked the man up and down, taking in his formal attire. “Okay.” She said, dropping her defensive pose. “That still doesn’t explain the smell.” She said, giving the man a disgusted once over. Gregory stuttered to get an answer, embarrassed by the cameras and such an awkward situation in front of another beautiful woman.

“It’s a long story. A broken toilet, a student wet his pants, another one threw up.” The man shrugged, a look of disgust crossing his face as he thought it all over. At his words, Noaya nodded with a look of understanding.

“No, yeah. I get it. Well, um, congratulations on being here considering…” She trailed off, gesturing around the school and then to him. “If you need anything at all, I’m at the very end of the hall. I'm Naoya Lovel, and I teach fourth grade. I’ll be here to help any way I can, I am known for having everything anyone might ever need, so.” She shrugged and began walking away, pat him, and to her class. The man nodded, a sliver of a smile on his face as his eyes stayed trained on the spot she just left. Catching the camera out of the corner of his eye, she quickly straightened up and then turned the opposite way to face her. “May I ask why you’re carrying a bat?” He asked.

Naoya stopped walking, the bad still in her hand as she angled her body slightly to look back at him. “No, you may not.” She said with a smile before continuing to walk away and into her classroom. Gregory just nodded and walked into his room as well.

“Today was utterly disgusting, but she and Janine seem nice.” He smiled slightly.

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“I got a good feeling about this,” Jacob smirked at Naoya and Janine as they and the rest of the teachers gathered outside at the entrance of the school. It had something to do with Ava needing them to see the improvements she made to the school. “Right? Me too!” Janine said excitedly. Naoya rolled her eyes, stuffing her hands in her pockets due to the cold weather.

“I wish I could live in the blissful ignorance you guys call optimism.” She said, looking between her two friends. They only rolled their eyes at the girl, who was usually a pessimistic person, so they didn’t take her words too seriously.

“Good morning!” Ava said to all the teachers before her, who were obviously in no good mood. “Good Morning!” Janine was the only one to respond.

“Gregory.” Ava finished, giving the man a look. Noaya furrowed her brows slightly, throwing the man a sideways glance.

“The district was so moved by my plea that they approved the emergency budget and sent us the money right away,” Ava said to the group. The crowd started clapping, Jacob and Janine were genuinely happy while most were in shock that the district pulled through.

“Okay, we could have hired aides, we could have got rugs.” Ava continued as the clapping died down. “But then I thought, “No. We need something more immediate.” She said, her words causing Naoya to nod her head as she began slowly making her way away from the group. She knew this wasn’t going to end well, and this was her stopping herself from throwing her loafers at Ava’s head.

“Oh, no, no. The rugs are immediate.” Janie spoke up. “They’re like instant Xanax for kids. I explained it all in my email.” She told the group as she made her way to extract her phone from her purse.

“Girl, who told you to send an email?” Ava asked, looking down the steps at the shorter woman. Jannie stopped what she was doing and glared at Ava. “You did.” She hissed, looking at her confused.

“Anyways, I always feel better when I get my hair done.” Ava continued, not caring for what Janine had to say, as she showed off her new blonde number. “Thus, I do better work, like I’m doing now.” She smiled at them. “You know, fix the outside, the inside takes care of itself.” She then gestured up to the giant tarp over the building, the man pulling it down to show a sign.

It was a giant Willard R. Abbott Elementary sign with Ava on it, leaning onto the letters. The teachers just stood there and looked up at the sign, no words were said between any of them. But they all had the same thought.

What the fuck?

“Yall seeing this?” Ava asked, copying her pose that was on the sign.

“A plastic sign?” Janine asked, looking between the woman and the sign.

“Thank God for the school district, because they gave us $3,000 and I had to spend all of it.” Ava said as if she didn’t care about the severity of the words she just said.

“You spent all of the money on this?!” Janie asked in disbelief.

“Rush job, can you believe this quality?” The terrible principal continued.

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“This is fucking ridiculous, she has gone too far,” Naoya said as she, Jacob, Janine, and Gregory rushed back into the school.

“Somebody needs to do something before I get my bat back out. Actually, Forget the bat, I’m gonna go get a gu—.”

“Okay! Yes.” Jacob cut her off, trying to ignore the scared look Noaya received from Janine and Gregory, while she just continued to sit in her anger, not even seeing them. “Somebody, anybody but you, should do something.” The man said to the angry woman.

“You know what. I’m gonna do something.” Janine said, as stored up and Naoya. Well, maybe not as much but still fired up.

“Okay, alright. Whatever you do, I will co-sign it.” Jacob encouraged. “Yes!” Janine said. “That is how change works. Someone does something and somebody co-signs it.” He finished.

“I want Jannie to succeed in what her plan is because Ava needs to be out in her place, “professionally”, or whatever Jacob said,” Naoya stated, rolling her eyes. “But I also want her to prove something to Barb. For her sake. Because Janine really needs a mother figure in her life and the constant groveling for Barb’s praise is starting to make me want to choke.” She finished with a shrug. “That’s my girl though, I love her.”

“Hey, you two, wait up! I’m going out to lunch too.” Janie called out to Melissa and Bard as they walked down the hall. The camera caught Naoya, who rolled her eyes at the situation she was just talking about making an appearance as she walked after Janine.

“Oh yeah, where are you going for lunch pip-squeak? Bird feeder?” Melissa joked, putting her purse over her shoulder.

“Thought you’d be working on your next miracle from Saint Ava.” Barbra pushed.

“Ha ha, No.” The shorter woman defended herself. “I don’t think I’ll need anything from Ava ever again.” Janine smiled, her words causing the other three women to look confused.

“What does that mean?” Naoya chimed in from behind them, ready to go out for lunch as well.

“Well, I emailed the superintendent and told him everything Ava has done today. No way she doesn’t get fired.” Janie bragged.

“Oh, for the lives of God.” Melissa groaned.

“Janine,” Noaya said in disappointment. “This is why I told you to tell me.”

“What?” She asked, looking between the three women.

“The superintendent never sees our emails,” Barbra told her. “He has them bounced back to the person in charge of where they came from.”

“Wait, I’m sorry.” Janie stared. “Person in charge? That means the emails go back to…” She trailed off, the dots connecting. Just in time for said person to come in the intercom with an announcement.

“Teachers, it’s come to my attention that some of you—one of you—.” Ava clarified, looking through the glass of her office at the group of women standing at the door, her eyes trained on one in particular. “Think it’s okay to go over my head. So, during lunch break—this lunch break—we’ll be having a trait workshop so that we can learn how to become a woke family.” The woman was clearly pissed off, glaring at Janine from where she sat. “It’s gonna be fun!”

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“We are at a crossroads, this is a crisis,” Ava stressed as she stood before the hired group of teachers.

“No, a crisis is eating the cafeteria pizza for lunch.” Naoya chimed in from where she sat in the back.

“Uh, why are we here, exactly?” Gregory asked his seat right in front of hers.

“Well, chocolate drop.” Ava started, causing Naoya to snicker at the name. “I learned that someone here doesn’t respect me. But it’s not about me. Because if you don’t respect me, how can you respect this school?” She continued, causing them all to look at her confused as such a stupid correlation. But, it looks like Ava took that as a look of confusion due to her question.

“You can’t. It’s mathematically impossible.” She finished.

“W-Whoa. Who doesn’t respect you, Ava—I mean, the school?” Jacob asked.

“Me,” Naoya said but seemed to be completely ignored.

“It’s not important. We’re gonna make this a group matter so as too not to single any one person out.” The woman answered him. “Let’s try an excuse where we say whatever we want out loud to each other, no matter how critical. It’ll be fun, let’s start with Janine.” She said, looking over at the short woman who was practically shrinking in on herself.

“Janine?” She asked, smirking evilly.

“Yes?” Janine asked dejectedly, knowing that this whole situation was her fault and knowing that Ava did the exact thing she said she didn’t want to. Single her out.

“You’re pushy, squeaky and annoying,” Ava stated.

Collective disagreement was heated around the room.

“Excuse me?” Melissa piped up.

“Thaya just…” Gregory said.

“When is it my turn?” Naoya asked, starting to take her earring out of her ear.

“No, it’s not bad. No.” Ava defended. “We’re shaking to make us all better. Constructive. Hershey kiss, why don’t you try, start with Janine.” She pushed.

“I don’t want to.” The man sighed.

“You’re right, it should be someone who knows her better. Noaya, Jacob, Barbra?” She asked, looking between the two.

“When is it your turn? I wanna go when it’s your turn.” Naoya stated, folding her arms to keep herself at bay. Gregory glanced back, seeing the look of pure hatred on her face.

“Well, her hair is—“ Jacob started before getting cut off.

“Not!” Noaya and Barba said at the same time, the younger more so talking to her friend next to Janine, who gave the man next to her a look of disbelief.

“Ava, no one’s doing this to anyone.” Melissa started, looking at the woman before her.

“Hold on, I came prepared for this. Sheena, come on in.” Ava said, looking behind her to a student who was sitting behind the library desk.

“Ava, that is my student, she should be at lunch right now,” Janine complained, as everyone in the room looked at the little girl, trying to see what Ava's plan was.

“I am kinda hungry.” The little girl sighed, begrudgingly walking closer to the woman.

“Sheena, remember what we talked about? What was the thing that you wished was different about Ms.Teagues?” Ava asked the little girl. She just stood there, not knowing what to say as the whole room waited on her.

“She got some big feet.” Mr.Johnson chimed in from the very back of the children’s library where he was sweeping.

“Okay.” Janine sighed before standing from her seat. “Everyone, that’s enough. I am the person who disrespected Ava. I emailed the superintendent to tell him that she spent the school's money on a sign.”

“And got her hair done,” Naoya said, Janine, gesturing over to her in agreement.

“I’m sorry, Ava.” She continued. “And I’m sorry everyone missed lunch, especially you, Sheena. But I didn’t it because I care about the kids in this school, and that shouldn’t be a bad thing.” She ranted. “I—Okay. You know what.” She sighed, done talking. She felt as if no one was listening anyway and just wanted to leave. She was on her way out before turning back around. “Sheena, you should have this. I’m sorry.” She said, handing the school pizza over to the girl.

“Uh, no thank you.” The girl said, shaking her head. Janine just sighed again and turned to leave.

Ava chuckled as she watched the girl walk off, shaking her head. “Not a compelling speaker.” She smirked as she shook her head. “Charisma vacuum, am I right?”

Noaya cracked her neck as she stood up. The teachers in front of her filmed a little at the sound and her sudden movements. But she ignored that. “You know what, Ava? I was going to whoop your ass in the parking lot, and as much satisfaction as that would bring me, I don’t want to lose my job. Because I care about these kids. Just like Janine. And she may be a lot of things, like naive, a bit clingy and too cheerful—.”

“Ooh, this is good stuff, let me call her back in here,” Ava smirked as if she didn’t hear the first part of the girls’ speech.

“But she is also right.” Barba cut in, standing up with Naoya. “You know, actually wanting to help the children at this school shouldn’t be a bag thing.” The older woman finished for her. Afterwards, both her and Naoya walked out, letting Ava sit with their words.

They walked out to find the girl in front of her classroom, looking through the window. “Janine, ignore Ava. Big feet are a sign of fertility.” Barbra stated.

“I’m telling you to just give me the signal, I can have her framed for mur—something.” The light skinned girl said, catching herself in front of the cameras.

“Every lunch period, guys.” Was all Janine said before stepping out of their way to show the inside of her class. They both looked in seeing a little boy napping on his jacket, as the library door sounded again. “Every single one, Amir comes and naps in the rug.” She said, informing the whole group as Melissa, Jacob and Gregory joined.

“Mm-hmm. He was in my class.” Barbra said with a fond smile on her face. Mom’s got a lot of kids. Dad’s not around and when she is, the parents fight.”

“Right, so he doesn’t get much sleep. I told him to sleep at his desk, but she says that rug is softer—.” The shirt woman paused, trying to get emotional over the whole situation. “Softer than his bed at home.” There was a moment of silence as all the adults sat with her words. It’s hard hearing about the life of the kids you see everyday, knowing they live lives no one should. And knowing it’s on you to create a better life for them at school.

“You know what? I don’t care I you think I’m good at this or not anymore. I care about whether or not I can make a change.” Janine told Barbra as sternly as she could, which wasn’t a lot.

“Janine.” The woman started. “Teachers at a school like Abbott— we have to be able to do it all. We are admin, we are social workers, we are therapists, we are second parents. Hell, sometimes we’re even first.”

“Mm-hmm.” Melissa agreed.

“Why?” Barbra continued. “It sure ain’t the money.”

“Yup. I can make more working the street, easy.” Melissa chimed in. Causing Jacob and Naoya to look at each other in concern.

“Prostitution?” She mouthed over to the man, who shrugged.

“Look, we do this ‘cause we’re supposed to.” Melissa said to Janine. “It’s a calling. You answered.”

They all looked at eachother fondly, before Jacob started.

“I believe it was Brother Cornel West—“

“No.”

“Don’t.”

“Not right now, white boy.”

They all told him, causing the man to retreat back to his corner.

“You want to know my secret?” Barbra asked, ringing the subject back to where it was. “Do everything you can for your kids.” She smiled. “We’ll help. Hey, I suggest we put our money together and buy Janine the rug.” The older woman encouraged. “What yall think?”

“Absolutely.” Melissa said, pulling out her wallet.

“Guys, you can’t.” Janine started, looking between them. “You don’t have it. I know because I have the same salary as you and I overdrafted on a doughnut hole this morning.”

“Don’t tell me how much money I have.” Noaya stated, holding her hand out as a halt to the girl's words. “I do not claim that broke energy.”

“Well, why are you gonna do?” Barbra asked. “Steal a rug?”

“Not me, but I know a guy who knows a guy?” Janie trailed off, looking between Noaya and Melissa. The light skinned girl raised her hands. “I don’t know a cute guy that can steal that many carpets that fast.” She shrugged, a hopeless look on her face as she glanced at Melissa.

“Way ahead of you.” The woman said as she started typing into her phone. “I’m gonna have to bake a ziti.” She said, holding the phone up to her ear. “Hey, Tony, ya big strung, listen, you still working that stabiuk build?” She said into the device as she walked away from the group.

Sometime later, a guys pulled up in a truck around back with a bunch of rugs for them. They all celebrated, going one by one to grab a rug. “Yay! I finally have one! My room was so depressing.” Naoya said as she waked down the hall with her rug.

“You’re on a mission.” Gregory stated, looking at the shorter girl in between him and Noaya. “It’s cool to see.”

“Thank you. Just a day in the life of being a teacher here. You get used to it.” Janine smiled.

“And that smell in the walls?” He asked, pointing.

“Oh no, you’re never gonna get used to that. Sometimes I wish I had a bad nose like Naoya.” She joked, elbowing the girl next to her. The taller woman lightly groaned. “Janine, you know that’s a big insecurity of mine. I have a fear of smelling bad.” The half Japanese girl tried to clarify to the male. “You’re subbing to go full time right?” She asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Um, we’ll see.” He said as they all briefly stopped in the hallway. “This job definitely surprises me.”

“Well, I hope you stay.” Janine said. “For the kids.” She clarified. Naoya shot a quick glacé to the camera, a small smirk on her face. She then decided to walk away. The camera caught Gregory’s eyes jumping from both women walking away, a small smile on his face. He then looked in the camera and dropped his expression.

“I’ll stick around for a while.” He said. “You know, for the kids.”

“Look guys!” Naoya said as she rolled out her shakes rug for her students. They all celebrated, clapping excitedly at the fact that they had a rug now.

“Ms.Lovel, I hate the egales.” One student said, standing next to the woman.

“Yeah, me too, kid. But don’t tell anyone I said that.” She said, patting the top of their head as Ava walked past her door. She paused at the sight of the rugs. Naoya placed her hands on her hips and cocked her neck, making Ava glare at the woman for a quick second before walking away.

“And that kids, is how you get rid of the enemy without fighting.” She said, pointing around the room to make sure they were watching. “Now that we have a rug, let’s watch that nature documentary!” She said excitedly, causing all the students to yell with excitement well.

[arts-bloody-rose]

Blood of A Rose - Turning Point (Art the Clown x Fem!Reader)

Masterlist

Summary - (Y/n) has always dealt with harsh criticism when it came to her work, but that never meant she was immune.

Notes - Sorry for the wait for a new post! I decided that weekends will be my off days from writing to preserve my sanity 💀

Word Count - 2,031

Warning(s) - Bullying, violence, mild gore

Song Inspiration -

Acsida - Privet Privet 2009

(Y/n)’s small living room was dimly lit by soft, flickering candlelight, casting shadows across the walls that seemed to stretch and twist in strange patterns as her TV hummed in the background. She sat on the floor, legs outstretched as her back leaned against the couch, absentmindedly working on a small canvas resting on her lap. 

Art lounged on the couch behind her, his head tilted as he silently browsed through channels, glancing down at (Y/n) and her work occasionally. His now pristine hand played with her hair mindlessly, combing his fingers through it as he found the texture satisfying. 

(Y/n) didn’t mind, though. It made her aware of his otherwise silent presence, which she had come to call home. It soothed her and kept her relaxed as she worked. 

Through their time together, they soon found that regardless of nearly being polar opposites, her more calm and reserved demeanor greatly complimented his boldness and chaos. Their shared interest in death was what drew them to each other, but everything else just seemed to perfectly fall into place for them. 

Art surprisingly came to respect her personality as she respected his. It was refreshing for him, in a way, which he never thought was even possible until she proved him otherwise. 

It started out as curiosity, wanting to understand how someone with such interests could be so tame. That curiosity then grew into an obsession, taking note of her smallest behaviors. Whether it was the way her nose twitched when she didn’t like something, or simply her breathing patterns. He knew everything there was to know about her. 

She dabbed her brush into a deep crimson, dragging it across the canvas in harsh, deliberate strokes. (Y/n) could feel Art’s gaze lingering on the piece, and for a moment, she wondered what ran through his head when he saw her art. 

“You like it?” She asked, her voice soft and curious. 

Art didn’t respond with words, as usual. Instead, he sat up, his silent movements almost ghostly as he leaned over her shoulder. His head cocked from one side to the other as he carefully observed the piece. He then grinned with a thumbs up, patting her shoulder in approval. She placed her free hand over his.

“Thanks.” (Y/n) giggled.

“I just don’t understand how someone would  think it’s appropriate to ever publicize something like that.” 

The laughter stopped, both of them looking up to the TV screen settled on a talk show. 

“I mean, think of the children! They could run into it on the internet and be traumatized and need therapy.” 

(Y/n)’s gaze hardened, heart beginning to race as she took in their insults. She chewed her lip as she watched, nearly drawing blood.

“Trust me, I don’t think they’re the only ones who need therapy -“ 

The channel suddenly changed, remote in Art’s hand as he frowned at the screen and waved it off in distaste. He then looked down at (Y/n) who began to calmly clean up her area. 

Too calmly. 

She stood up, taking her supplies with her as she made her way to the sink to clean everything off. His eyes followed her carefully, paying attention to every minor difference or change. As soon as he caught her mouth twitch he rose from the couch. 

He walked over to her, or rather stalked, and slapped a hand on the counter beside the sink as he faced her, leaning against it. She didn’t look at him until she was finished cleaning, drying her hands and giving him her best smile, albeit fake. 

His grin was wide, encouraging, and he motioned for her to do the same with his fingers. When she didn’t and simply giggled half heartedly, his smile dropped and he tapped his chin in thought. 

Art’s expression then turned mischievous, baring his teeth again with a Cheshire smile as his hands slowly reached for her, his fingers wiggling menacingly. 

“No.” (Y/n) pleaded at first, taking a hesitant step back. “No - Art!”

She shrieked when he snatched her, holding her against him as he tickled her relentlessly. He laughed silently as she squirmed and cackled, using all of her strength to try and worm her way out of his grip, but they both knew he was far too strong for such a feat. 

“Okay! Art, I’m fine - I’m okay now!” The clown stopped tickling, but still held her. He peeked his head from around her to watch her face to determine if she was lying or not. 

As (Y/n) caught her breath, she looked up at Art with the usual glimmer in her eye that he so adored and he firmly nodded before letting her go. 

She sighed dramatically and he wiped his hands off together proudly, giving her an ‘ok’ symbol with a wink and heading back to the couch with a pep in his step. 

(Y/n) shook her head in exasperation, rubbing at her temple before following him. 

The following day, they both worked in silence at their hideout. Art sat at his workbench, tinkering away while (Y/n) sat on the floor against the stove beside the desk, filtering through her photos on her camera. A small radio played in the background, (Y/n) humming to a familiar song every now and then while Art nodded along with her. 

It was one of their calmer nights, the two of them deciding not to go out and to simply spend time with each other, even if it was just sitting in the other’s company. 

(Y/n) saw Art’s hand motion for her in her peripherals, looking up at him finally. He pointed to her then to the stool left unused, then to the floor and flung his hand out as an exasperated question. 

“I’m comfortable, Art, I promise.” 

(Y/n) giggled when his head ticked at her stubbornness. He then pointed back at the stool aggressively, and then next to the edge of the desk with a determined expression. 

“You want me to be closer to you?” Art nodded and she laughed. “Well why didn’t you just say that?” 

She nearly snorted as she stood up when Art threw out it arms, silently telling her ‘what the fuck?’. She brought the stool over to his desk and sat on top of it, camera in hand for her to resume what she had previously been doing. 

Her laughter died down to a chuckle. “You know I love teasing you, I hardly ever get to.” (Y/n) reached out and gave his hand a quick squeeze. Art rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her before turning back to continue modifying one of his weapons. 

“I personally think she’s just trying to use shock value to get some traction on her work.”

Their ears caught as they continued to work, however Art glanced over at (Y/n) every now and then. 

“She’s trying so hard to shove it down our throats for attention when it’s nothing more than glorified gore.”

“Be glad I don’t shove something else down your throats…” (Y/n) grumbled to herself, the initial pain of their insults gradually seeping through into anger and irritability. 

The clown’s movements froze at her words as he stared at the desk in front of him with parted lips. 

With however long they had been together, not once had he heard her threaten another person, regardless if it was empty or not. She had always kept quiet and to herself when met with confrontation while he was the one who dealt with it accordingly. At least, what he considered to be accordingly. 

Art slowly shifted his eyes over to look at her, seeing her click the buttons on her camera casually as if she never said anything. 

And for once, he wondered if he was going crazy. 

He then looked back at the weapon in front of him, glanced at her once more, then slowly went back to working. 

One night, however, they decided to go out once they began to feel a sense of boredom, something they both passionately detested. 

Feeling particularly clingy, (Y/n) took to latching herself onto Art’s arm rather than just holding his hand. He gladly accepted it, throwing her a giddy smile and practically shaking with excitement. 

As they walked, (Y/n) noticed how much more comfortable she had become walking out in public. Art fed into her confidence, deliberately or not, and she held her head higher. He made her feel appreciated, feel important in a world where all she had before him was herself and the captious stares of those around her.

On the more rare occasions where she walked out on the town by herself to grab a bite to eat or restock on supplies, she crawled back into herself ever so slightly. Regardless, she was still more self-assured than she previously had been. 

“Maybe something with feet? I feel like I don’t focus on feet enough.” (Y/n) thought out. 

Art simply listened from beside her, genuinely intrigued and in his own thoughts about what he could do with his next victim - or victims - for her. 

She gasped suddenly and Art, ever the dramatic, jumped with a surprised expression. “A mouth!” (Y/n) looked over at him with an animated expression. 

Art tilted his head at her with his eyebrows raised, letting her know that he agreed. 

“Mouth it is tonight.” The clown wiggled his eyebrows at her perversely and she lightly backhanded his chest. 

“Oh shit, are you (Y/n)?” They heard a somewhat distant voice express. Ahead of them, a woman leaned against a wall, phone in hand as she waited beside a small food joint. 

Art and (Y/n) shared a suspicious look, continuing to walk until they were close enough to decently communicate. “Yes?” She answered with caution. 

Art made a simple decision from beside her, accepting the woman’s unwilling offer that was too easy to pass as he set down his bag while they talked. “This is so weird seeing you in person. I always hear about you but never thought I’d actually meet you!” 

(Y/n)’s eyes squinted with confusion, unsure of where the interaction was going to lead to. “Thanks? Like is that supposed to be a compliment?” She replied warily, almost irritably. 

“Oh no, I’m not a fan or anything, it’s just weird finally seeing someone you hear about a lot.” (Y/n) deadpanned, a familiar feeling of distaste building in her abdomen. 

Art, however, rather than growing defensive and upset, looked over at her curiously, letting the conversation work itself out with underlying mischief.

“It’s like if you met Jeffrey Dahmer in person, you’d just look at them like what the fuck, because of the shit they’ve done, y’know?” 

(Y/n)’s tongue ran along the inside of her cheek, casually looking over at the clown’s bag on the ground. As the woman continued to ramble, (Y/n) stepped over to it and began to search through its contents.

Art’s eyes widened, a grin spreading wide across his painted face in anticipation. “Like if the word edgy was a person -“ 

The woman was cut off as a shot echoed through the town. 

Art watched as the woman slid off of the wall and thumped onto the ground, then eased his eyes to look over at (Y/n). 

Arm straight out, the gun in her hand pointed at the bleeding woman with an indifferent expression, then lowered with a heavy sigh as she turned to toss it back into his bag after turning on the safety.

“I’m tired of this shit.” She mumbled to herself and rubbed at her forehead then looked up at Art. “Sorry. Let’s go find someone else for you.” 

Art was rigid where he stood, staring at her with an intensity that began to pull her out of her vexed state. He took a step towards her with predatory intent, grabbing the back of her neck and tugging her into him, their lips crashing together unexpectedly. 

(Y/n) froze at first, caught off guard by his behavior before she slowly began to melt into it, cupping his jaw in her hands. She gasped breathlessly for air when they parted as he silently heaved. 

“Does that mean I’m next?” She whispered. He flashed his teeth sadistically, leaning in once more.

Tag list: @callsignwidow

[sxprot]

can u do reader x Shelly, where reader is comforting their girlfriend as Shelly feels like she's not good enough to be part of the main cast because she's so "forgettable" no problem if u don't want to!

All alone in my bedroom, with the lights turned off and my roommate gone

Author's note: Your wish is my command. It's no big deal so I can do it! Although, I thought she's being ignored and not forgotten. Did I miss something lol?

Thanks for requesting!! you're the first one 🦖

Shelly x Toon!reader (romantic)

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

"Was I not good enough?"

Shelly always thought about how weird she is. No, she always thought about how she never got the same treatment as the others.

She got her own room, merchs and plushies and yet, never once Shelly saw children or adults bought anything of her. While the others has ran out of their own merchandise, hers remained the same and untouched. The bitterness burning inside her chest with emotions swirling around her little fossil head, she doubt that she will have the attention as the others.

"Shelly?" You call, gently putting your hand on her shoulder.

Then she said nothing. Feeling guilty of worrying you, Shelly keeps silent. Yet, you don't mind, blithely saying that you cherish and love her for who she is. It's already enough for the little fossil to sob and cry on your shoulder.

Shelly finds solace in your presence, for you are her home, her safe place. For you that always there with her despite her reassurance that she was okay, you were nothing but her most valuable treasure, the most beautiful and always brighten her days.

After that, you went to the place that's stored the plushies of the main cast. With no hesitation, you take half of the plushies (you forgot the bag, which you feel awkward) and take it back to your room!

You would spend your time drawing Shelly and you, the time you two have met, loving and accept each other. You put love in your drawing, making Shelly cries out of joy as she hugs you.

You two spent a day watching dinosaur films like Jurassic Park and others,... you literally could see her eyes beamed with joy despite already watching them. But you could care less if it means seeing her happy.

I also hc Shelly to be up to games like imagine her excitedly telling you to find her gifts that's digging under the sand!

And oh, it's a heart shaped paper and with two dinosaur bracelet that's meant to be matching. Oh, you were in awe. By the time you're admiring the gifts, Shelly quickly say "I love you!"

"Thank you for being with me-!" She sputters nervously, fidgeting with her hands. But Shelly feels you kissing her cheeks, never can miss the way you laugh at her red-like-apple cheeks.

(I'm sorry if this is short! I'm out of ideas )

[themagicafox]

Hogwarts AU: Slytherin Rafayel and Sylus Headcanons

I'm not a professional ficwriter, I’m just having fun

English is not my first language; sorry for the grammar mistakes

Maybe I`ll do part 2 if someone likes it and wants more

@peacedreamer14 I promised drawings but I am busy at uni right now and don't have enough time, but it’ll come!!

I hope someone will like it \ (•◡•) /

Sylus

Smug, calm, and prideful, but never seeks fights with others—he’s too above it. He doesn’t care about the common rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin unless it affects him directly. But no one wants to fight him anyway

He is an excellent student. Favorite subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts. He also mastered the Apparition spell at a young age

Sylus can cast spells without a wand

Mephisto as his companion animal that can mimic speech. Sylus takes great pleasure in watching people jump in fear when Mephisto speaks in a devilish voice out of nowhere

Has declined every offer to join the Quidditch team

His favorite activity is annoying Rafayel

“Oh no, your girlfriends ran away,” he said after releasing toads from Rafayel’s terrarium

Once, he changed Rafayel’s hair color to pink by adding a potion to his shampoo in the bathroom

“What? It suits you, charm boy”

He would never admit that Rafayel is his only friend actually

“Friend? I barely remember his name”

Sylus has sensitive eyes. During a duel with Xavier, he almost lost due to a surprisingly strong light spell

“Professor! That’s cheating, oi!”

“Hey, don’t embarrass me”

“You’re the only one embarrassing yourself and Slytherin. Get up and beat him like you know, jerk”

Sylus goes to bed only after everyone else is asleep. He often sneaks into the Restricted Section of the library, which leads to frequent arguments with Ravenclaw prefect Zayne, who always catches him

“I thought I told you not to roam around at night”

“Sincerely sorry, but I don’t believe I’m under your command. Anyway, I was already heading to my room”

Sylus is a mystery. No one knows much about him. Is he pureblood? Who is his family? How rich is he?! (His entire demeanor screams “beyond rich”)

No one gets close to him except for Rafayel and MC

Sylus and Rafayel often fall asleep in class due to their late-night antics

He absolutely hates Zayne and Xavier because they’re too close to MC

“You know, even you don’t annoy me as much as those two,”

“Mutual”

After working together perfectly on pranks or mischiefs, they instantly start fighting again

“That’s enough teamwork for today with a sly half-blood crow”

“Come again, mermaid misunderstanding”

Rafayel

Very popular among students, Rafayel comes from a famous, wealthy pureblood family

Naturally talented in magic, his favorite class is Transfiguration

He despises worn books, cheap clothes, and people who don’t take care of their appearance

His custom wand cost as much as a new brand car, but he insisted on designing it with mermaid hair and black pearls

He helps restore Hogwarts’ old paintings in his free time

Once, Rafayel saved a group of first-years from mermaids in the Black Lake

“Idiots! What were you thinking? Ugh, I think I’m dying. Now you owe me your lives until graduation”

Rafayel spends way too much time in the bathroom, which annoys Sylus, who also likes his showers

There’s endless competition between him and Sylus in everything: academics, wealth, and even MC’s attention

He once bought the entire Slytherin Quidditch team new brooms just to show off in front of Sylus

MC often has to step in to prevent their heated arguments from escalating into full-blown duels in the common room

Rafayel gets visibly irritated whenever MC compliments someone else’s skills

Extremely protective of Slytherin’s honor, he’ll often team up with Sylus (if he is in the mood, of course) to humiliate Gryffindor or Ravenclaw students who insult their house

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Give me a minute; I’ll get closer,” Sylus says, lifting a student he’s just transfigured into a rabbit up to his ear. “Still nothing. Rafayel, care to try?” Rafayel approaches with an exaggerated, theatrical expression, nodding and humming as though he understands the rabbit’s trembling squeaks

[andkisses]

♡ just about anything | jay ♡

late nights, when really, both of you should have been asleep a long time ago, but who knew this game of monopoly would last so long?

♡ jay x gn!reader | wc. 1.5k ♡ genres/tropes: domestic, competitive couple that won’t quit, staying up way too late ♡ mentions of/warnings: pet names, food, lmk if there’s anything else! <3 ♡ a/n: a repost and revamp of one of my very first writings from YEARS ago </3 (from that blog i accidentally deleted <///333) 

♡ masterlist ♡

With the rest of the lights in the apartment off, the lone one above the kitchen table casts a warm glow into the darkness. The light illuminates the board, littered with green houses, red hotels, and Cheez-Its—you ran out of hotels about an hour ago (but who’s to say?) and needed something to represent a double-hotel on the board. There’s a notebook on the table that keeps getting passed back and forth, covered in numbers and tallies in two different handwritings. It’s currently functioning as a paper bank account, since the game has escalated far beyond the cash given  in a standard Monopoly box.

Your eyes are tired, nearly burning with ache; it’s been too long, and it’s very much past your bedtime. But the both of you are stubborn, and horrifically competitive–especially when it’s just the two of you. He seems just as drained, eyes dropping and his head propped up on a closed fist. The loose hoodie slides down his arm, pooling around the elbow, and he uses the sleeve of the other to wipe at his eyes. Just seeing him sleepy makes you sleepy, and your head is bobbing up and down. It would be so much better to be curled up in his arms right now. The game is one of chance at this point, all up to the dice roll. The only safe spots on the board are your own; everything else is meaningless to you. You know you want to land on your properties and not his, for those Cheez-Its are threatening and—

“Did you just eat some of the board?” you ask, the dice still caught between your hands. 

Jay looks up at you and blinks slowly, still chewing on the stolen Cheez-It. He swallows and takes a sip of his nearly empty glass of water before answering. “No.”

You shake your head, tilting it to one side. “No what?”

“No, I didn’t eat the board. I took it from the bowl, like a civilized person.” He points with his free hand lazily at the blue plastic bowl the Cheez-Its had been poured into when the demand for new hotels had arisen. How long ago had that been? Half an hour? An hour? Hours, plural? You couldn’t tell anymore. This game felt decades long yet you know you started it today. Or, was it really yesterday?

You reach forward and draw the bowl towards you, eliciting a tired pout from your boyfriend. “Well, you shouldn’t eat these either. We may need them.”

“And how could we do that, love?" Jay reaches to pick up the notebook and it flaps under its own weight as he lifts it into the air. “We’d need more money to upgrade any house or non-Cheez-It hotels, and we’ve already borrowed from an imaginary bank three times. Inflation is running rampant throughout this town. We’ve ruined the economy. We’re monsters.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jay shrugs, placing the paper bank back on the table before sniffling and wiping at his eyes again, this time with both hands. The ball cap he wears now sits askew on his head, and you, out of habit, reach forward to fix it, leaning against the table to help span the distance. Your fingers brush against the edge of the board, and the more you lean to reach across the table, the more you end up on top of the board. You’re out of your seat now, feet pressing on toes to get the height and length you need to reach to fix the hat.

And before you know it, you’re face to face and practically on the table. Jay leans forward and bumps his nose against yours while you adjust his hat. “We should stop,” he says plainly.

“Why? So you can win?” you mutter, half grumbling. One hand fixes his hat while the other acts as a brace against the table.

“No, so we can stop,” he says again, one hand reaching to rub simple patterns into the top of your hand. “The Cheez-Its will still be there in the morning. If we need it, Jake can bring his copy so we can have more actual cash to use.”

A quick hah escapes your lips. “You just want to win.”

“No, love, I just want to sleep.”

With his hat now fixed, you carefully lean back, peeling yourself off the table and into your seat. You’re silently thankful for the still intact Cheez-Its. Had they been crushed, you’re sure you’d given up, now feeling more tired than you were before your hat-fixing expedition—and that was already fairly tired. You’re about to refute his case, saying that the two of you should stick it out until the end, that surely it can’t be too much longer, when Jay takes his hat off—the one you so painfully just fixed—to run his hand through his hair before putting it back on, slightly crooked.

“Jay... I just... fixed... that.” You bite your lip, too tired to be angry out right but too tired to realize it also doesn’t matter.

“I know you did,” he replies, yawning into his sleeve. He begs again, a hint of desperation growing into his voice. “Can we please stop?”

You lean forward, resting your chin on the edge of the table and staring up at him from across the board. “Does this mean I win?”

“If you want to, love,” he says, scooting away from the table to stand, silently hoping his movement away from the game will pull you away as well. “If it means we can stop.”

A smile graces your lips as he walks around the table to your side. You take the hand he offers to help you up, holding tight. You pull his arm toward you, hugging it as you both shuffle forward into the darkness, the Monopoly board abandoned. “Thank you,” you say, stretching to place a kiss on his cheek.

“If it makes you happy, love,” Jay begins, his voice soft and tired, “I’d do just about anything.”

“Just about?” you tease, crawling up onto the bed and beneath the covers. “Meaning there’s things you wouldn’t do, hm?”

“Yes, just about,” he replies, mimicking your actions. Even half asleep, he still makes sure you’re tucked safely against his side, with his arm curled around your waist and your head resting on his chest. You hear his heartbeat, smooth and steady.  You wrap your arms around his own waist, a soft smile against your lips.

He continues, murmuring sleepily into your hair after a kiss to your temple. “Just about, because if you had asked me to continue playing with you I would have fallen asleep at that table.”

“And what’s so bad about that?” you whisper back, titling your head up to see him. Moonlight streams around the edge of your curtains, providing just enough light to see.

“I really wasn’t looking forward to waking up with Cheez-Its ingrained into my forehead,” he replies with a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t think the look’s for me.”

You laugh, snuggling in closer against his hoodie, and he laughs too. “I think you would have looked great,” you say against his collarbone, eyes finally lulling shut.

“Do you now, love?”

“Yeah, orange is really your color.”

You feel his arm leave your waist and a single finger place itself beneath your chin. You allow Jay to tilt your head up before you open your eyes. He levels you a stare long enough for you to think you’ve done something seriously wrong before a laugh makes its way out, and before you know it, he’s placing happy, smiley kisses across your cheeks, your nose. He stops before your lips. His eyes, even tired, are still starry and glittering. His voice has reverence when he speaks. “You know I love you with every fiber of my being, right?”

“Yeah,” you whisper. “I do.”

Jay bumps into your nose, hand playfully squeezing back at your waist. “That’s where you’re supposed to say I love you, too.”

You shake your head, fake-frowning. “But you haven’t kissed me yet?”

“Is that a suggestion or a demand?” he asks.

You shrug. “You choose.”

He leans forward, giving you the slightest, softest peck before pulling back.

You pout, chin tilting down. “You call that a kiss?”

“No,” he laughs, kissing the side of your cheek right beside your lips. “I just love your pout. I love everything about you.”

As he kisses the other cheek, just as close to your lips, you sigh. “I love you, too, Jay.”

And this time, he really does kiss you, although chaste and sleepy, but an honest kiss regardless. He tucks you back under his chin, wraps his arms around you so he knows you're safe. You’re nearly asleep when he finally replies, his own voice laced with sleep, and it’s enough to make you smile. Enough to know that he really would do just about anything for you. It makes you wrap your around him just a little tighter, make you smile just a little wider.

“I love you too.” That’s what you’d said. He says, in the darkness and honesty of your room, “I know.”

[ask-the-half-moon-meeting]

The First Half-Moon Meeting

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Jaypaw paused right as he was stepping out through the thorn tunnel. Before she'd even asked the question, his legs had already been trembling, itching to turn back.

"I know things haven't been smooth between you and Brightheart," she said. "But it feels a bit premature for you to quit. Maybe she just needs some time to grow into her role as your mentor."

The apprentice poised his tongue to say something in retort, but he stopped himself as he considered how much he ought to say.

It was true that his apprenticeship under Brightheart had been a fiasco so far. The level of fretting whenever they went out of camp was suffocating and the amount of chores she'd pile on him were clearly there just to keep him in there. He'd barely even been able to get to know ThunderClan territory let alone learn the layout and how to navigate it. But that wasn't the reason he'd decided to become an oracle apprentice.

The sweet-smelling molly he'd dreamed about when he fell down the side of the gorge. The raspy voiced molly with the foul smell who'd hissed at him and chased him out when he had that dream in which he followed a steep rocky path. They'd both felt too real for him to dismiss. There was something going on, something he suspected he wasn't supposed to know, and he had to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't need to take an apprentice just yet," Leafpool said, draping her tail across his shoulders as she tried to nudge him to turn around and follow her back. "I can still take you on as an apprentice if you decide later on that this is the path for you, of course, but—"

In a snap, Jaypaw was broken out of his indecisiveness and his itch to turn around. "I have decided already!" he shouted, shrugging off her tail and stomping out in a fury. "This is my path!"

"Jaypaw! Wait!"

***

"Uhhhh…" Kestrelpaw said as he stared at the half-moon hanging in the night sky above. He sat on the banks of the river that marked the WindClan-ThunderClan border, his tail twitching just above the water. He'd been sitting there wracking his brain trying to calculate what time it was, but something about Barkface's instructions on how to do that wasn't quite clicking for him.

"It's halfway to moonhigh," Barkface finally told him.

Broken out of his thoughts, Kestrelpaw turned to his mentor. His tail hit the water and he gave a shrill yowl of surprise at the chill that ran up his spine. He jumped up at that, immediately hitting his mentor across the face.

The older tom gave a quiet grumble at that, staring at the apprentice as he licked down his sides in an attempt to regain composure.

"That's late, isn't it?" he said.

"It is," Barkface answered. "Something must be holding up the others if they haven't arrived yet…"

"Oh, Stars, I hope nothing too bad happened to them," Kestrelpaw said. "It sucked so much when I got whitecough the last time and had to remain nest-bound. I hope Willowpaw and Hollypaw didn't contract it too. I really wanted to meet her, you know? Being that she's ThunderClan and all. I heard from Harepaw and Antpaw—"

"Kestrelpaw!" Barkface practically growled, fed up with the barage of thoughts tumbling ever faster out of the apprentice's mouth. "How about you make yourself useful while we wait? I want you to cast a horoscope and divine the following question for me: 'What will WindClan's relationship to ThunderClan be like within the next season?'"

"But—"

"You need every bit of practice you can get," Barkface insisted. "This is the single most important skill an oracle apprentice learns and you are already behind."

With a sigh, Kestrelpaw set to work and began drawing his astrological chart on the ground. With a claw still on the ground, he turned his eyes upwards and idly licked his fangs as he began trying to locate the constellations. This was going to be a very long night.

***

Willowpaw darted out of RiverClan camp as soon as Mothwing was done with their last minute patient and headed for the oracles' rendezvous point at the WindClan-ThunderClan border.

"Willowpaw!" her mentor shouted from behind, but she didn't pay her any mind. "Slow down a little! We're not that late."

The moon was a little over halfway to moonhigh —very much later than they would usually head out but not quite enough they couldn't catch it at its zenith at the Moonpool— and yet for the RiverClan oracle apprentice every precious moment counted.

Leafpool's apprentice had, admittedly, become a bit of a distraction since the last half-moon meeting. More than once Willowpaw had caught herself thinking about that sleek black pelt, those vivid green eyes, the awkward way in which she tried to hide her enthusiasm and appear serious and focused…

As they came closer to the border stream, Willowpaw slowed down. Her eyes scanned her surrounding quickly, and once she noticed Leafpool and Hollypaw hadn't come yet, she deflated with a sigh.

"Willowpaw, hi!" Kestrelpaw greeted, perking his ears and tail as he trampled all over the horoscope he'd been working on and bounded up to her to rub cheeks. "You're late, what happened? Herb gathering mission that ran on long? Clan meeting? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Oh, no, no," she reassured, getting back on her feet and rubbing back as her friend circled and sat down in front of her. "Not me at least. Swallowtail just had a flare-up of her joint pain and we had to treat her. But it's routine at this point, you know? Elder stuff. What were you—"

Before she could finish that thought, a blue-eyed silver tabby —an apprentice judging by his size— emerged from the undergrowth at the ThunderClan side, panting as he caught his breath.

Right away, Willowpaw could tell who that was. But as she poised her tongue to ask him what he was doing here, Leafpool emerged right behind him and began chastising him. "Jaypaw! If you're going to be my apprentice, you can't be going off on your own like that! Especially not on your first half-moon meeting! Thank StarClan you ended up right where we needed to be!"

"Oh." Willowpaw muttered, then spoke up in surprise, "Wait! 'Apprentice'? What happened to Hollypaw?"

"She quit," Jaypaw answered immediately. "Job was too gross for her, so she ditched you and left it all to me. Better get accustomed to seeing my face around."

Leafpool swatted him across the muzzle with her tail. "Hollypaw found out this was not her calling, is all," Leafpool said. "Jaypaw showed interest in being my apprentice so I let him join us instead, at least for tonight. Please be patient with him, he—"

"I'm blind, not a kit," Jaypaw grumbled, swatting Leafpool's tail away.

***

"I see…" Willowpaw said, letting out a wistful sigh. "Well, I hope we can get along, anyway." She came closer to brush cheeks with Jaypaw, to which he immediately recoiled.

It wasn't too long after that Littlecloud joined the rest in the clearing. "I'm late it seems. So, so sorry, I was attending to Tawnypelt's kits. You know how it is the first few moons. Always something new with these. It seems they caught a bit of a fever but nothing I couldn't handle."

The oracles soon arranged themselves into their usual formation, with Littlecloud and the two senior oracles at the front, Mothwing and Leafpool just behind, and at the very back the three apprentices.

Jaypaw walked a fair bit farther away from the other two. His face was kept low to the ground as to allow him to better gauge the terrain with his whiskers. He seemed intently focused on it, keeping a steady and somewhat slower gait than the other two.

Noticing this, Willowpaw drifted closer to him, swinging her tail in such a way as to try to to let him hold onto it with her mouth. "Grab onto it," she commanded as she nearly smacked him on the face with it.

"I prefer to navigate on my own," Jaypaw said, gently pushing the tail from in front of him.

"It'll be easier if you let me guide you," Willowpaw insisted, once again almost smacking him with her tail as she offered him to hold on.

"No thanks," he grumbled this time, bringing a paw down on it.

"Don't be stubborn," she started once again. "The path is dangerous, if you don't know what you are doing—"

Jaypaw growled, raising his head as to be on the same level as Willowpaw. "I'm not some helpless little—" In his distraction, Jaypaw tripped over a hole in the ground. Willlowpaw grabbed at his scruff and pulled on it, all the while the silver tabby hissed and tried to claw at her. "Let go! Let go!"

"Jaypaw!" Leafpool chastised him. "Behave! Or I won't make you my apprentice!"

"But she—"

"I was trying to help you, you stubborn bee-brain!" Willowpaw said, releasing her hold on him. "Be grateful for once. I told you it was dangerous."

Jaypaw snarled about to retort, but Leafpool's stern "Jaypaw!" deflated him. "Apologize," she commanded.

For a moment a silence lingered among the group as the incident between the apprentices became the focus of attention, but eventually Jaypaw muttered a quick "I'm sorry" and continued along his way.

Willowpaw huffed in response, letting him on his own as the group continued on after the little incident. "Can you believe him?" she vented to Kestrelpaw. "What an ingrate!"

"I don't know, maybe you should have just let him do his own thing from the beginning," he said. He glanced at the silver tabby apprentice as he continued to navigate with his whiskers close to the ground. "He did tell you he prefers to do it that way."

Willowpaw glared at him from the side.

"You could have still helped if he was about to make a dangerous misstep," Kestrelpaw said. "Just, you know, maybe trust that he knows what he's doing? I mean, he made it here on his own. He must know, at least a little bit"

Willowpaw simply flicked her tail in dismissal, and the apprentices spent the rest of their walk up to the Moonpool in silence.

***

Jaypaw had trouble believing he was in StarClan at all at first. It all appearead the same to him: the same texture of the stones underfoot, the same nighttime breee ruffling his fur, even the same eery quiet that hung over the Moonpool. But as he began navigating around the stone hollow, he couldn't find any of their other cats. Not by scent, not by touch, not by any other sensation he could feel.

Jaypaw paused as he heard wings flapping and felt an unnatural shiver run down his spine. Soon enough a familiar sweet scent began wafting towards his nose. Then came the sound of pawsteps, and he instinctually went into an alert stance.

"Well, what have we got here," she said in a playful tone as she circled him. "I see that your curiosity ended up winning, eh? I'm glad that you decided to join us. That sister of yours… Not exactly what I was looking for." She paused. "If you meet Firestar up here don't tell him that I said that."

Jaypaw didn't drop his stance. "Who are you?"

"My name is Spottedleaf —you wouldn't know me, but I was ThunderClan's former oracle," she said.

Jaypaw paused for a moment, relaxing his stance somewhat. "That other molly is also a StarClan cat isn't she?" Jaypaw asked. "The raspy-voiced one who smelled like she hadn't washed in moons."

"That sounds like Yellowfang, so yes," Spottedleaf replied. "She spoke to you then?"

"She growled at me and told me to stay away last time I was here," Jaypaw confirmed. "What is happening here, then, that you want me here but she doesn't?"

Spottedleaf hummed. "I don't think you are ready for me to tell you that." She saw Jaypaw bristle at that. "Buuuut. I think I can say just a little bit about it if you answer a couple of my questions."

***

As soon as Kestrelpaw awoke in StarClan, among a heather meadow very reminiscent of his own home, he ran towards the edge of the cloud island and looked down to his home. It was his absolute favorite part of the meetings, to be able to look down at everything with this new perspective. The young apprentice would have stayed there all night observing where it not for the sudden shiver that announced the presence of a StarClan cat.

A small brown bird with long, narrow crescent shaped wings —a swift, Kestrelpaw could tell— glid down onto the sky island and in a blinding flash it turned into a star-speckled ginger and white tom. He looked to be about Willowpaw's age, awkwardly proportioned as he finally settled into his adult size. He was obviously a WindClan warrior apprentice, however, with that lean muscle showing on his long legs.

"Hey there!" he chirped. "Kestrelpaw right?"

Kestrelpaw nodded, lowering his head in a sign of respect as Barkface had drilled into him.

"Oh, come on, don't be that formal," the StarClan cat said as he slipped his own head under Kestrelpaw's chin. "My name's Gorsepaw."

Recognition immediately flickered in the oracle apprentice's eyes as he heard that name.

"I really wanted to come meet you last half-moon but you weren't here. I want you to tell me everything about how WindClan is doing."

***

Willowpaw sat at the edge of a lakeshore reminiscent of her own home, lost in thought as she waited for the StarClan spirit who would talk to her that night. Though she of course knew better than to listen to that brat Jaypaw, doubly so now that she'd actually met him, she couldn't help but come back to what he'd said about the reason for Hollypaw quitting.

"Job was too gross for her, so she ditched you and left it all to me."

Was the job really what she found so gross? The few times she saw Hollypaw she was bursting at the seams with enthusiasm for it! Willowpaw had heard the dumb mumblings about RiverClan, how their silky, glossy pelts and heavy frames were spoiled by their fishy scent. It was a ridiculous thing to say, and yet it swirled in her head how maybe, just maybe—

A shiver ran down Willowpaw's spine and she craned her head upwards, seeing a star flicker away in the distance then suddenly a large black bird —a cormorant— dived down and plunged into the lake until it emerged with a trout in its beak. The bird swam towards the shore and set the catch between himself and Willowpaw, not bothering to change into a cat form or dry off.

"Mudfur," Willowpaw acknowledged as she bowed in respect. "It is an honor to see you again."

"I would say it's an honor to once again meet with our Clan's future oracle," the StarClan warrior replied. "But it seems there is something else clouding your thoughts as of now, something unbefitting of your station as an oracle's apprentice."

Willowpaw jolted in surprise at those words. "I assure you I'll get over it. I know it's silly, but…" She trailed off and remained silent for quite a while until she gave up trying to find any words that would properly explain it. "How about we get on with—"

"It is actually my business of tonight," he replied. "I know that kind of forlorn expression. And as RiverClan's soon-to-be oracle, and the only one who can talk to us as well, this is something that has to be addressed. So…"

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted AU: Flazino

Now the sorcerers' overworked, underappreciated, underpaid, incredibly tired apprentice, Flazino! I keep laughing at the fact that this guy has more depth to him than half the cast of the canon movie. 😂 He went from throwaway character to a nearly co-protagonist character with importance to the story!

His design was inspired by several Disney characters. The outfit and hair are a reference to Arthur/Wart from "The Sword in the Stone". The face and body language is based on George from the Paperman short film (Remember how great that was? And it mastered the 2D/3D hybrid animation long before Wish? What happened to those animators, Disney?)

(You can even use this concept art as reference for Flazino if you want too, especially that pissed off look 😂)

And I swear it wasn't on purpose, but as I started drawing him tired, he started resembling Bruno. All his references are from overworked or stressed out characters and I didn't even do it on purpose! 😂

Now for some backstory and info dump! This was pretty fun because I got to create my own take on him since there's practically nothing on him outside of a deleted scene.

• Like the aforementioned deleted scene, Flazino's wish is to study magic. For this story, its so he can help others lives be better, which is what he thought Magnifico wanted as well. He thought the job would be more glamorous or fun as he learned, but it turns out Mags doesn't actually want a successor. He plans on being in power permanently. He pretends he granted Flaz's wish and instead of studying magic, he's the errand boy, cleans the lab equipment, feeds Sabor, and is in charge of the tour guides for newcomers. Flazino just practices what he can at home and secretly takes ingredients from Amaya's potion cabinet.

•No one's sure if the bags under his eyes are from losing his wish and side effects starting, or its just him being stressed out all the time. Either way he's like Aled, he doesn't sleep much cause he's always working or worrying. He's sort of sassy when he's really tired so he might make an off hand comment. Bonus: He swears, but its censored in the "Spongebob Sailor Mouth" style. You'll just hear a noise or beep censorship sound in place of it. 😂 (Hey, you can say "Hell" and "Damn" in a Pixar movie now, so why not?)

•He gave his wish at 18, and was surprised to hear it was getting granted so soon. Though Mags doesn't really need an apprentice, he takes Flaz on just in case something happened to him, all of his magic, power and evil will go into the apprentice. Sort of passing on his plans to him to become the next Magnifico and continue his work. That's pretty terrifying.

• Most people in the Hamlet think that he and Asha are secretly a thing, but that's not the case. Lord knows Sabino wanted his granddaughter to get a boyfriend so she'd stop being so serious all the time. They never really had feelings like that for each other, they just stayed friends. One part is because Asha has just sealed herself off from connecting deeper with other people, and on Flaz's side, he already has feelings for someone else. (Also, after Star shows up and spends time with Asha, she starts feeling things for him she's been repressing for years. Girl, chill.-)

• During the first few months of becoming the apprentice, he learned about the Hamlet through rumors in Rosas. He didn't understand why people would run away until he stumbles on seeing the king and queen crush the wishes of a couple who talked about leaving Rosas and not trusting the royals. He never saw that couple again.

He later took off one night into the forest to finds this supposed Hamlet using a tracking spell. Once he finds it, Sabino and other people tell him why they ran and what a monster the royal could be. Flazino felt so disgusted that he promised to help anyway he could. So he makes an excuse to get specialty mushroom from the Uncharted Forest once a month and brings supplies to the Hamlet ever since. (stuff like seeds to grow food, flour, medicine, toys for the kids)

• A lot of the people actually go to Flazino if they can't get to the king for help improving the kingdom, or people needing help. The royals don't do crap, so he just does the best he can himself. But most people don't realize he's the one that granting their needs and not the royals.

• His connection to the 7 Teens actually foreshadows Asha bringing them together. Like the deleted scene suggested, they all know him as the "great apprentice to the king", when he's really just a tired guy trying not lose his sanity. He has different interactions with each of them.

Gabo is the one shouting that the royals are evil like a conspiracy theorist, but since he's such a low threat, they send Flazino to get rid of him and everytime he gets away. Gabo's been a nuisance for months now and he's even defacing anything with the royals on it. He actually agrees with Gabo, but obviously can't say it out loud.

For Simon, he tries to keep him awake when he can for his knight training, or guard duty so its his way of trying to help fulfill his wish of being a knight. He's tired himself, so its even harder.

Safi is allergic to practically everything when he cleans, so Flaz has an idea to make a medicine that can cure that through magic. He has no idea its just so he can talk to the girl he likes without sneezing in someone's face. 😂

Hal is one of the easiest he gets along with. She's pretty content where she is and gets along with him fine. Though he gets roped into doing some of her work when he's not paying attention, lol. If she does see an injustice being done to someone else she'll step in to help them.

Bazeema he's not even sure what she thinks of him. She's so shy whenever he talks to her, all he knows is that she does a great job caring for the local animals and flora in the kingdom, which he's thanked her many times for. Though she has been leaving him yellow roses as thank you messages.

Dahlia is actually the one he bonds with the best. He ends up talking to her when its time for Sabor's breakfast or dinner and she makes the food by hand with her parents. At first he just talked to her out of convenience and vent a little bit about being overworked (much to his surprise, she's actually listening). Then the two of them just found some comfort in talking to each other when they've had a long day and now its developed into a full-on crush for him. But with Dahlia going all fangirl on Magnifico, he doesn't have high hopes the feelings mutual. (She's been dropping hints but he's not getting it)

So I guess we got three Flazinos right now: RFTS!Flaz who actually likes his job and still wants to learn magic, UaS!Flaz who's a prince of the evil royals, and then WG!Flaz is an overworked man who wants to hurt his bosses. Y'all need therapy. 😂

(So now, Chapter 6 of WG will be out tomorrow! 😏)

@signed-sapphire @oh-shtars @annymation @chillwildwave

@uva124 @ishadow246 @tumblingdownthefoxden @your-ne1ghbor

@mythartist21 @gracebethartacc @emptyblog7 @spectator-zee

@lazytitans-world @emillyverse @flicklikesstuff @kenihewa

@snackara @wings-of-sapphire @natsuki208

[sparrowrye]

Alastor x Fem! Reader {soulmates} Part 12

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes. Though it looks like we have a couple secrets of our own.

Previous part

Part 12: bad memories

TRIGGER WARNING: strong mentions of sexual assault

Author’s note:

The next few chapters might be a bit dark but they have to be in order to move the story in the direction I want. I’ll be writing a summary in the footnote for anyone who wants to skip this part. Keep in mind, I’m writing this story for myself as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I started taking my magic training into my own hands.

When Alastor was busy doing one of his many radio broadcasts, I was in the library searching through the various books. Husker sat on the window seat with a bottle of alcohol, listening to my random mumbles. I wasn't really talking to him but every now and then he made a comment to kickstart my thoughts again.

I had books laid out on all the tables and chairs. Surely this shouldn't be hard to figure out and Husker had to have some insight to it. So I started with something simple: turning water into ice. I read the books on water magic and read about some of the science behind it. Water molecules start to move slower and stick together. So it was just very condensed water.

Husker watched me fail the first time and splash water on myself. I casted a cup on him and he jumped from his seat with a hiss and hair sticking up. The second time I half succeeded. The water in the cup solidified into water for a moment before instantly melting. I tried a few more times until it stayed as ice without melting.

I put the cup down and tried something different. I casted the water out of the glass and twirled it into a constantly moving ball of water in my palm. I already knew how to control water from my fighting days so this part wasn't hard. I cupped my hand over the moving ball and imagined it slowing down until it was a frozen cluster. I felt it weigh down on my hand but forced myself to focus until I was sure that it had turned completely into ice.

Pulling my hand back, I revealed a perfect sphere of ice.

"Nice job," Husker congratulated in his own grumpy way. This felt like the first big step as the rest of my experiments started to work on the second try. I combined water and fire to create steam and filled the room with it, quickly sending it out the window before it ruined the books. Telekinesis was my next easy experiment.

I could draw the curtains and slam the doors like Alastor did. I could move chairs and tables around and put books back on their shelf. I laughed as I put the library back to its original state, paper and books flying past me. They all slid back into place and I planted my hands on my hips. I had done it.

"Impressive."

I bristled at Alastor's voice, turning to face the Radio Demon with a scowl. I noticed the fowl aura of hatred coming from Husker. Picking up on emotions became easy thanks to my keen sense of smell. Alastor remained a concrete wall.

"Rosie will be arriving shortly. I thought you might want to actually prepare yourself this time."

I crossed my arms. "I'm always prepared to deal with you so I think I will be alright."

His cold presence ran down my spine and I shivered. "Are you so sure?"

I raised my body temperature and pushed back against him. His eyes narrowed at me despite my inability to remove him completely from my mind. Our shadows growled at each other on the wall.

During the session with Rosie, she taught me to build another shield outside the one I already had. Once I had built two new shields, she attempted to push through. At first it was easy to keep her away but then she grew more aggressive. I was shocked at the sudden aggression from the sweet lady, my shields wavering but never falling. My fear had only reinforced the shields more.

"Outstanding!" she said at last, clapping her hands. I was out of breath as I clung to the seat. These sessions always left me so tired and ragged. Though it made me feel better when I saw her dab at her forehead with a handkerchief. "Now, take a quick break before we start the next thing. Get some fresh air, dearie."

I was expecting to be done for the day. When she didn't take her eyes off me I took that as my cue to leave the room. I had just barely closed the door when I heard her say something softly to Alastor. My nerves went through the roof.

Husker stood outside the kitchen door with me. The snow was starting to melt away, revealing little patches of grass here and there. The sun was setting into the ocean, casting a gently orange glow against the house.

"You'll be fine. You've managed through everything else so far," Husker tried to reassure me. My nerves seemed to only worsen with every passing minute. I kept fiddling with my claws and tapping my tail on the ground.

Eventually, Rosie called me in. The chairs had been pulled close again and a pitcher of water sat on a table nearby. Alastor waited patiently in one of the chairs, hands folded properly in his lap. His smile didn't seem genuine as Rosie led me to one of the chairs.

"Now dear, we're going to go through one of your more difficult memories. I want you to practice pulling yourself out of a memory when you're afraid. You'll have to learn to control your emotions to pull yourself out. Do you think you can do that?"

I nodded and swallowed hard. I wondered why Alastor was sitting close to me but then I remembered that he had been the one to pull me out of the dark memory of Striker that fateful day.

"Pick one of your worst memories."

I took a slow, deep breath and closed my eyes. I fell into my memories with my various shields still in place. I was only watching the memory, not partaking in it. I tried to keep my heart from speeding up too much as the memory unfolded.

My hardest fight yet was against an adult. They had a crazed look on their face, a look of fear, desperation, starvation, and a lack of humanity. He acted like an animal as he chased after me in the ring. He broke my wrist and leg before I managed to dig my fingers into his eye sockets and end his life with a punch to the throat.

Something sweet filled my nose but I didn't pay it any attention.

Striker yelled and lectured me as I had my wrist and leg wrapped by the healer. He had a heavy, painful grip on my shoulder as he led me back to my cage. He slammed the cage door shut and stormed out. Not too long after, someone else opened my cage door.

They slammed something into my face, momentarily shocking me. I came to as they strapped a magic-reducing helmet to my head. The dark figure loomed over and started grabbing at me. I screamed for help but he stuffed a gag into my mouth.

"Come out of it, sweetheart." Rosie called.

I tried to relax but the panic was too much. I didn’t recognize this memory. Was it another attack?

I fought against them but my injuries made it nearly impossible. Tears streamed down at my face as I screamed my throat hoarse. I raked my nails down any inch of skin I could find.

"Sweetheart, now. You have to come out."

The corners of the room grew dark until I was staring at nothing but the man's face. I reached for his eyes many times but he kept pushing them away. I choked on the helplessness and fear until everything around me was pitch black.

I was standing now. Someone was calling for me but it was faint, too faint. I looked around at the darkness. I spun around in circles, strangely calm, and stared at nothing. I was just here. Existing, but not. Was I still in my mind? Surely I had to be.

A cold feather brushed against my cheek. I turned but there was no one there. It happened again but on my neck. It spread from there, reaching into my brain and down through my entire body. I was freezing all of a sudden. There was nothing to keep me warm so I wrapped my arms around myself.

Then I sensed three presences. I recognized Husker's first. It was warm and calm, but a hint of panic. Why was he panicking? What was wrong?

Next I recognized Alastor's. He was inside my head unlike Husker who was surrounding my body.

Then I recognized Rosie's presence. Hers was kind but firm. She also seemed to be panicked. Why was everyone panicking? Was something happening?

The black environment turned red as anger filled my chest. I was furious. I don't know what at but I needed to release it. I wanted to claw something, to kill someone. I wanted to slice someone's throat who caused people nothing but harm. They deserved to leave this world and being thrown into Hell to be eaten by the Demons who lived there.

I felt someone pulling on me. My legs slid out from under me and I was lying on my back, still angry. Then the anger slipped from my fingertips, quickly replaced by fear. The man's face appeared out of the red wall and I found myself trapped under him again. I choked on my fear and gag as I fought him. I tried throwing my weight around but he was far too heavy. I felt him bite down on my neck.

Not this. Not this. Not this. Not this. Please! NOT THIS!

I recognized the memory.

I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled it hard. He yelled as I dug my fingers into his eyes like my previous opponent. He grabbed both wrists and slammed them hard into the cage floor. My legs weren't working. Why wouldn't they work?

"Come out of it," I heard Husker yell.

"Sweetheart it's a memory. It's not actually happening," Rosie said.

I cried as the memory continued. I bit down on the man's hand but he just pulled my hands further away from my face. I tried curling in on myself but it did nothing. His other hand moved roughly over my skin as I screamed into the gag.

I felt Alastor's presence come from behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut and dipped into my mindscape. "Alastor!" I yelled as the memory dragged me back through my shields. I felt his presence wrap around my head and saw nothing but red. It felt like a string was being pulled out of my ear as he pushed me into the safety of my shields.

"You're safe. Come out of your head," he instructed.

I closed my eyes, pushing away the forbidden memory, and opened my eyes to the library. All three of them were surrounding me, staring down with panic-stricken faces. Alastor opened his eyes and took his hand from my forehead. His eyebrows were the only thing that told me he was upset.

Husker pulled me up to a sitting position as Rosie practically shoved a glass of water down my throat. I took several moments to catch my breath, the two of them trying to help calm me. I stared at the carpet and tried to think of anything other than that horrid memory. I didn’t know I even had that memory.

"You're back, and you're safe," Husker said, holding out his paw. I took it and let him help me into a chair. I leaned back into the seat and looked around at the dark library. I was back in the house. I was safe. Relatively.

"What happened?" I asked, still out of breath.

"You visited a...terrible memory that you couldn't pull out of," Rosie answered. "I was expecting you to use the same memory as last time. I wasn't expecting that."

"I didn't...that wasn't...that was a memory I had blocked away. I've never...I haven't been able to remember that night in years...so...why could I this time?"

Rosie went quiet and looked over at Alastor. He stood staring out one of the windows with his arms folded behind him. When enough silence had passed, he finally turned to look at me. "We used the same drug that was used on you the night it first happened."

"What?” My voice bounced off the walls. “What drug?“

"You had a small amount that night," he walked over to us, "It's a common drug used by a certain Demon to control their victims." He paused. "We thought you might be ready for another dose, but I can see we were mistaken. We rushed the process."

"Did..." I slowly looked over at Rosie, "did everyone...see it? The memory?"

"I'm afraid so, darling. We had to when we tried to pull you back out."

I lowered my head to stare at the floor. My clawed feet were just as black as before. If I had this side of me my whole life, I could've avoided it. I could've saved myself. Instead, here I was learning mind magic and revealing everything to three random Demons.

My throat tightened and tears started to well in my eyes. I abruptly left the room. I went to my bedroom, locked the door, then into the bathroom and locked that one too. I curled up in the corner of the room between the bathtub and the shower...and broke down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s summary:

Reader attempts mind magic again. When she visits a difficult memory, Alastor holds a memory-controlling-drug up to her nose. This creates more of a challenge for her and ends up sending her into a memory she had blocked away. She barely manages to pull herself out, if it wasn’t for Alastor and the others helping.

[sebastianswallows]

A new family — Chapter 6

— PAIRING: dark!Ominis Gaunt x F!MC

— SYNOPSIS: Ominis gets tired of his family and how miserable life is with them after he graduates. So he follows Sebastian's example for once, and kills them in cold blood. Now that he has the mansion to himself, he discovers he would still like to have a family, but one of his own making.

— WARNINGS: none, but Marvolo gets dealt with 🍵

— WORDCOUNT: 2.5k

— TAGLIST: @littletealight @skarathewitch @myrachondria @mrimperio @ssnapsaurus @tarotwitchy-main @hufflepuff-16 @shameless0shenanigans @imaslytherpuff

“I knew it, you little rodent,” sneered Marvolo. “Couldn’t wait for your inheritance, could you? What happened, ran out of pocket money to keep your classmate interested?”

Ominis stepped further into the drawing room and took his cloak off, casting it wandlessly into the hook of the coat hanger.

“It’s pointless to get upset about it. Our family fortune belongs to me now, whether you like it or not. Not by any particularly legal right, of course, but I claim it nevertheless. And, not that you’re interested, but I already graduated last summer. We both did.”

“You’re still a brat,” chuckled Marvolo. “Still look as if you’re sixteen, do you know that? No, you wouldn’t, would you… You were spared, I suppose, of ever having to be confronted by a mirror.”

“Indeed, I’ve been spared many things recently,” said Ominis, circling around. He did not have his wand out to guide him, and yet he seemed to know exactly where the other two were, keeping a steady distance between the three of them and drawing Marvolo’s attention away from her. “In fact, I’ve taken the liberty of sparing myself from some of them.”

“And I’ll take liberties with your hide,” he growled. “Where’s mother and father? What’ve you done to them?”

“You never never good at Legilimency, Marv, so stop trying. Don’t want to give yourself a headache.”

Marvolo’s lip twitched at the hated nickname, but he ignored it. “Could ask your little bitch, then,” he said, taking heavy steps toward her. “After I’m done with you, she and I can have a very revealing time together.”

Ominis took that quite impassively. Not a muscle on his face moved, stuck as it was in a mien of disgust. His hands were tucked behind his back, and she couldn’t tell if he had slipped his wand out by now from wherever he held it. She feared what would happen if his brother drew first.

“Your threats are so hollow,” she said to Marvolo, turning to distract him. “You couldn’t protect your parents, you can’t protect your fortune, and now your little brother is about to throw you out of your own home.”

“So you lied to me,” he said with a smile. “You batted your lashes and claimed you knew nothing, and all along you were as guilty as my baby brother. Co-conspirators, is that it? I didn’t think you had it in you…”

“You have no idea what I have in me, but you’re about to find out.”

He laughed, loosening his arms and posture in what she recognised as preparation for a duel. “Oh, I’ll relish what’s inside you, not to worry,” said Marvolo with a grin.

He was fast, drawing his wand out to cast Petrificus at her — and she was half-right, it was up his sleeve — but she was faster. She raised it out of her skirt pocket, blocked the curse, and aimed Expelliarmus at him before he cast anything else. His wand flew off behind him, knocking a crack into the glass cabinet. It left Marvolo clutching his wrist in pain.

“Ow, you little bitc—”

Distantly, she heard Ominis call her name, but she would not ruin this moment by listening to him.

She could tell Ominis had spent years refining his hatred into something he could live with, but she had not had the luxury. She hated Marvolo enough to kill — for his cruelty, for his arrogance, for his lack of shame at what he had become — although she would not take that privilege away from Ominis and take Marvolo’s life herself. She did not have long to think before he lunged at her or retrieved his wand, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.

“Relish this,” she growled. It was a complex spell, and she cast it quite instinctively, letting magic flow through her and do the work in her stead. With a wave of her wand, Marvolo clattered to the ground with a chime.

“Wh-what happened?” asked Ominis, stepping cautiously toward her. He did, in fact, have his wand out in his hand behind his back. Now, he scanned the surroundings, frowning in confusion. “Where’s Marvolo?”

“Exactly where he was a moment ago,” she said with a bright smile. “Only a little more… compact.”

“I heard a sound. Did he break something?”

She merely laughed and stepped forward to pick him up. When she returned to Ominis, she wrapped his hands around the object: it was a teakettle. Ominis frowned for one second, but then his brows shot up. He fought against a growing grin.

“He’s not dead,” she said. “I didn’t know if that was what you wanted. But… unless he can perform wandless magic, he’ll be in this state for quite a while. And I haven’t told you the best part yet.”

“There’s a better part?” laughed Ominis. His cheeks were blushing and his smile made his eyes shine. He seemed exhilarated from what just happened, and even somewhat… flattered, by what she’d done for him. “Tell me...”

“He matches the others.”

The kettle that used to be Marvolo was bone-white, just like the tea cups, and quite evenly round in shape reflecting his sturdy body. From around his middle and curling toward the top was a screaming skull veiled in grey shadow whose mouth cut off right at the split of the lid.

Ominis burst into laughter. He never would have thought that she would do something like this for him… He was ready to do it himself, to kill Marvolo in fact, which was why he kept his wand hidden until the last moment. But of course, she was faster. It was only natural, seeing as she was far more experienced in duelling than him — and, needless to say, more than Marvolo.

“This is certainly… the most impressive Christmas present I’ve ever received.”

“Oh, that’s not your present,” she said softly. “Consider it a cherry on top.”

“I can’t wait to see the real thing, then,” Ominis grinned, gently cupping her elbows. “But, first I… I want to apologise,” he said, his smile dying. “I didn’t defend you when he said those horrible things about you —”

“Oh Ominis, that’s alright…”

“I didn’t want him to think —”

“I understand…”

“Didn’t want him to know how much I care about you —”

“I know, I —” She paused mid-sentence.

“— how much you mean to me…”

Her breath caught in her throat, eyes growing wide at his confession. She understood before then that Ominis felt something for her, but to hear him say it in that way, so raw and vulnerable and unguarded, moved something inside of her that until then had been still.

“I… I care a great deal about you too,” she said.

“I understand that,” he chuckled. “Not many people would kill for me, I think.”

“Remember, he’s not dead yet. We should be cautious about him.”

“Where’s his wand?”

They went together to the back of the room and found it laying on the floor. Ominis picked it up while she placed Marvolo in the glass cabinet, arranging his family around him.

“There,” she smiled. “A full set.”

Ominis waved his wand toward them to see and smirked at the display. “They go well together, especially with you in the picture, smiling triumphantly.”

“You can tell when I’m smiling?” she asked with delight.

“Yes, your cheeks get a little fuller when you do.”

She chuckled and came beside him. “What do you want to do with the wand?”

“I want to break it in half,” he said. “But we should probably keep it.”

“Alright. Where?”

Ominis thought it through for a moment. “Perhaps it’s unwise, but…” He went and put it in the cabinet as well, not far from the teapot that was Marvolo. “If he can undo the spell on his own, wandlessly, then he deserves to get out. That and I delight in thinking it will be right there, tempting him all the while.”

She couldn’t help but grin. It certainly wasn’t wise, but she had to appreciate Ominis’ lust for danger. It seemed to be a new part of him, now that he was free of his family, and free to become himself…

She approached him from behind and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “So, when can I give you your proper gift?”

“When I shall give you mine,” he said, turning his face half-toward her. “At Christmas.”

“Are you certain?”

“Only way to make sure you stay that long,” he smiled.

She did, of course. She could not imagine leaving now. Ominis had been a bit rattled after everything, and on a couple of occasions late at night she thought she heard him scream, but generally he was happier, more lively, and even… confident. He no longer showed off about anything in particular, either good nor bad, and came and went by as the mood struck. Sometimes they spent their mornings and lunch and had afternoon tea together, and other times when he wanted to retreat somewhere, he did, and returned to her just as at ease.

The week between Marvolo’s transfiguration and Christmas passed in a powder white whirl of snow outside while the inside was garnished green and red. She and Ominis decorated the manor, perhaps for the first time, with holly and ivy and ribboned garlands that hung over the fireplace. They spent a whole morning making paper chains to throw about the place, and little paper angels to set upon the tables. They had the elves bring in a pine tree and placed it in the drawing room, and lost an evening just to decorate it with tinsel and candles. Apples and walnuts tied with string stood in for globes.

“Doesn’t compare to the Hogwarts one,” she said as they stood back to admire it. It was the 23rd of December.

“Doesn’t matter,” said Ominis with a smile. “It smells just like it.”

They had a modest Christmas dinner of roast goose caught from a flock on the Gaunt grounds, with mince pies of meat and fruits and spices, and ended it with the traditional pudding soaked in alcohol and set on fire before serving. They helped themselves to Firewhisky from his family’s stocks and served it while playing music boxes of Carols that they’d bought from a muggle music shop.

“You know, I don’t believe I’ve spent this day with fewer than four people, ever,” said Ominis. “But this is the least lonely Christmas I’ve ever had, with you here.”

A smile bloomed on her face before she even knew it, and her cheeks felt hot. “I… that’s… I don’t know what to say. But, I feel the same,” she whispered, laying his hand over his. They were sitting on the floor before the fire, with plates of treats and half-drunk glasses of Firewhisky all around.

“I hope it hasn’t been a disappointment to you…”

“Not at all!”

“We can visit Poppy tomorrow, and stop by Imelda and Everett’s too. Or, anyone else, really. We’re free to go wherever we like now.”

“I’d like that,” she grinned. “I’m not sure I have presents for all of them, but I could put something together tonight… I hear Poppy is quite fond of poacher-sized metal cages that shrink.”

Ominis chuckled and laid back on his stretched arms. “Speaking of presents…”

“Oh,” she giggled. “Yes, I’ve yet to give you yours…”

“Do you want to go first?”

“I… I do. Wait here.”

She got up and took the package from where it was hidden beneath a cushion on the sofa — an unnecessary act, as Ominis had known about it since they dealt with Marvolo, but it seemed appropriate to conceal it. It made the act of bringing it to him that much sweeter.

She kneeled beside him and shyly handed him a small, rectangular box wrapped in green paper with a big white bow attached.

“It isn’t much, but…”

“It doesn’t have to be,” he softly said. “I still believe your handling of Marvolo was the greater present.”

“Well then, this one can only disappoint,” she laughed. “But here, it’s yours anyway.”

Ominis took it, passed his hand across its every surface, and then carefully unwrapped it. The box inside had a grey velvet finish and opened to reveal a pair of gloves. Ominis ran his fingers over them and frowned in confusion.

“Put them on,” she said excitedly, leaning forward to not miss a thing.

He did, slipping them on one at a time and fastening them with the little gold buttons that were at the inner wrist. At first, he didn’t react at all, but when he placed one hand down on the floor to steady himself, his brows jumped.

“Oh!”

“Yes?” she grinned.

“I feel… Oh, this is strange,” he laughed, fighting a grimace. And yet he couldn’t take his hand from the floor. “We have this ugly thing?”

“What do you feel?”

“I can taste the colour of the carpet. It’s… stale and muddy, tastes the way dried moss smells.”

“Oh dear,” she laughed. “I wouldn’t say that, but…”

“Where did you find these?”

“From a special shop. You needn’t concern yourself,” she said smugly. “I’ve tried them on for a bit, and mostly agree with the gloves. They don’t capture grey very well though, I think. Some shades are sweeter than they taste.”

“Well, I… shall have to decide that for myself,” said Ominis. He was still and measured in his movements, but she could see how bright his smile was, how wide his eyes. His hands now felt all around him in wonder, from the carpet to his tie to the box the gloves came in.

“Do you like them?” she asked.

“I love them,” said Ominis, turning to her with a sweet and vulnerable smile. “Thank you.”

“I’m relieved… Thought you might not like the effect.”

“I shall have to be careful what I touch,” he confessed. “It’s like having a box of Every Flavour Beans that never ends.”

“Do you think we could each wear one and compare how we taste? I-I m-mean how things taste to us…”

“I’d love that,” he grinned, not missing a second. “Which reminds me, it’s time for your gift.”

Ominis pealed the gloves off and put them back inside their case. She expected him to get up and take her present from its hiding place. Instead, he merely reached into his pocket. He turned to her, took her hand, and in the other he held out a small, black satin box.

It was too small to contain anything other than…

“This is my Christmas present to you,” he said with a shy smile. His voice on the verge of trembling. He eased the box open with his thumb and index finger, and tightened his grasp on her hand. “If you would accept it, I mean…”

“Ominis, what —”

“The only thing I have to offer you is myself.”

[lifesizehysteria]

A Mother’s Blessings | A Bridgerton Fic

Part 7: Marcus

Fandom: Bridgerton (TV) Rating: Gen Pairing: Violet Bridgerton/Marcus Anderson Characters: Violet Bridgerton, Marcus Anderson Summary: A collection of moments through Violet and Marcus’ courtship in which Violet seeks the blessings of her children. AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

It took everything Violet had not to just stand in the foyer of Aubrey Hall and pace all morning. She did not know what time he would be calling, just that he had sent a note the night before saying he would be there by eleven at the latest, so long as there were no hiccups on the way. But, of course, that had not stopped her from waking at dawn, a persistent flutter in her stomach drawing her from a restless sleep. 

She had taken breakfast with Benedict and Hyacinth, picking at her plate, her stomach too unsettled to eat more than a few bites. If either of her children had noticed, they had not said anything, for which she was grateful. She had not told them he was coming. Neither would be around to receive him, so she did not see the point. Not to mention, if she did, Hyacinth would have found a way to wiggle out of her lessons for the day to make sure she was there, and Violet did not feel like sharing him just yet. 

After breakfast she had debated taking a walk. The early autumn air and the movement probably would have helped rid her of some of her anxious energy, but she decided against it. Although they had not had much rain yet, leaving the grounds relatively dry and suitable for walking, the truth was, she did not want to exert herself and risk being unpresentable when he arrived. 

Instead, she sat in the drawing room with her embroidery, hoping it might offer a distraction. Or, if nothing else, something for her hands to do other than twist endlessly into knots in her lap. 

She wished she did not know how much time had passed before his arrival was announced. Unfortunately, she had felt every single minute passing at half speed, and it had been impossible not to look at the clock every few minutes, so she was well aware that in the hour and twelve minutes she had waited, she had lived at least three hours and accomplished about ten minutes worth of work. 

Her hoop was placed on the table beside her as she stood, smoothing the creases from her dress, trying to ignore the way her hands trembled. 

She looked up to see him entering the room, his dark skin a stunning contrast against his bright smile. His eyes sparkled with warmth as he took her in, and she felt herself blush under his gaze, biting her lip against a smile that threatened to fill her entire face in a rather unladylike fashion. 

“Violet,” he said in his rich, smooth voice that was somehow both endlessly comforting and overwhelmingly exciting. 

“Marcus,” she replied as he approached, hands outstretched, reaching for him in a way that was far too familiar, but she did not care. When he took her hands, she would have thought they would still be trembling, but she realized that his presence had calmed all of the nerves she had been carrying around since waking that morning. Of course, there was still a bubbling of excitement in her stomach, but there was also a new calmness that enveloped her, steadying not only her hands, but her mind.

“It is wonderful to see you.” His dark eyes held her gaze, making her feel a little breathless as he lifted one hand to his lips, pressing a kiss against the backs of her fingers. “I have missed you.”

Violet felt her cheeks grow rather warm, her eyes fluttering away from his, but the smile that refused to be contained any longer told of her delight at the sentiment.

“I missed you, too.”

He ran his thumbs over the backs of her hands before letting go, and she brought them to rest over her stomach. 

“Shall we sit?” she asked, gesturing to the settee behind her.

“Actually,” he said, “I thought, perhaps, we might stroll.”

“Oh.” Violet cast her gaze down towards the floor, memories of their last stroll flooding her mind, making the color in her cheeks deepen.

“It is just, I sat all day yesterday while traveling, and then again this morning. But if you would rather–”

“No!” She reached out a hand as she spoke over him, wanting to correct his misunderstanding. “No, I think a stroll would be rather lovely. The fresh air will be good for me. I have been rather anxious this morning,” she admitted.

The corners of his eyes creased as he grinned at her. “Hopefully, you are feeling better now?”

Violet blinked before nodding. “Yes, quite.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, Violet entirely caught up in the way the light shimmered in his eyes. 

“Shall we?” he finally asked, pulling Violet from her thoughts as he offered his arm. She took hold of his elbow, wrapping both hands around it and let him escort her from the room. 

The air outside was cool, but she was comfortable in her pelisse, especially with Marcus acting as a wind block, a source of warmth against her side. The sun was muted, filtering through the overcast skies, softening the world’s edges as they made their way out to the grounds behind Aubrey Hall.

“Your house is rather quiet today,” Marcus noted, breaking what had been a rather comfortable silence. 

“Yes,” Violet agreed. “And not just today. It seems my nest is emptying rather quickly.”

“There are still a few little, and not so little, birds at home. They must be the quiet ones.”

Laughter burst from Violet’s lips as she shook her head.

“Certainly not. Francesca is the only quiet one of the lot. At the moment, only Benedict and Hyacinth are here with me. They are not ones I would ever describe as quiet, however, they are both occupied for the day. And Anthony will be returning with Kate in the next week or two.”

“Is that so? Are they not in India, then?”

Violet shook her head again.

“No. They decided to stay in England at the last minute, but opted to remain in London alone for a few extra weeks before returning to the country.”

“Ah. That is quite a trip to make while with child.”

“Indeed. Although, so far, Kate has had a rather easy go of it.”

“She is fortunate. My poor wife did not have even one easy pregnancy.” He was smiling as he spoke, a thread of amused nostalgia in his voice. 

“Poor thing,” Violet commiserated. “Eloise was by far my hardest, and the longest. It seems she was determined from the moment of conception to do absolutely everything on her own terms.” They both chuckled, and Violet found herself leaning into him as they walked. 

“Sounds like my Evelyn. Smart as a whip, fiercely independent, and determined to drive me to madness.”

“Oh yes, they should get along quite well, I would imagine,” Violet agreed, her hand settling against her stomach. 

They continued down to the winding path of the gardens, and Violet was not unaware of the similarities to the last time they had strolled together. Her stomach fluttered, but she pushed away the feeling, not wanting to hope for anything just yet. She did, however, let her hand slip down into his, their fingers lacing together. How she loved the feeling of his skin on hers. 

“How were your travels?” she asked, ignoring the hum that had started in her body at his touch. 

“As comfortable as a day’s worth of travel can be,” he replied, a playfulness on his face as he looked down at her. 

“You said you traveled most of the way yesterday. Where are you staying?”

“At an inn in the neighboring town.”

“Would you like to stay here? You could send for your things and avoid any more travel today,” she suggested. “We have plenty of room, and I am sure it is far more comfortable.” 

“That is very kind of you, Violet, and I appreciate your generosity. But it is a rather nice inn, and it is already paid for. Besides, I would not want to impose.”

Violet hummed her acquiescence, blinking quickly as she pressed her lips together. She was certain he had not intended any sort of rejection. His reasoning was rather sound, not that he would ever be considered an imposition. And yet, some part of her worried that perhaps she had overstepped.

A sudden rush of nerves had her fidgeting with the clasp of her pelisse, her gaze darting about as they reached the hedged area of the garden. It was particularly beautiful in the autumn. Though the flowers had all faded, the leaves on the bushes glowed in a fiery rainbow of crimson, gold, and every shade in between. Contrasted against a background of evergreen hedges, it gave the illusion of being transported into a painting, and although Violet would always prefer the blossoms of spring and summer, this garden during autumn occupied a very special place in her heart.

Violet’s worry faded away, and the quiet between them settled into something comfortable and tranquil. It was rare for her not to feel the need to fill such a silence. It was so infrequent that she experienced true quiet, because even when she was not nervously filling it, it was being filled by the sounds of her life, her children and their chatter. Of course, lately she was being forced to reacquaint herself with it, and perhaps that was aiding in her comfort now, but she felt quite certain that it had as much to do with Marcus’ presence as it did anything else. Even in the beginning, when she had been so nervous and tongue tied around him, she had still felt an ease in his presence, and it had been that way every moment since.

“Violet?” 

“Hmm?” His voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she tilted her face towards him, a delicate smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

“When we last saw each other, we spoke of a conversation–”

“I remember,” she said softly.

He hesitated for a moment, his lips pressing together as he looked out over the garden before he began to speak. “I have given this… exploration a great deal of thought,” he continued to look ahead rather than looking at her. “And I am certain that I know what I am hoping to come of it.”

Violet waited with bated breath, the anticipation almost torturous. But when he did speak again, it did not offer her any relief at all. 

“However, it is important to me that what I want does not sway you into any sort of decision. I want to know what you feel, without any influence.” Finally, he looked down at her, the sincerity in his eyes unmistakable. “Violet, what is it that you are looking for?”

She blinked in surprise, tensing slightly at having to confront all of her feelings so suddenly. Of course, she had spent hours mulling over them in the time since they last saw one another. But mulling them over in her head, or even touching on the topic with her family, was quite different from speaking them directly to Marcus himself.

As they continued walking, to give herself a moment to collect her thoughts, she inhaled deeply, then breathed it back out. And as she began to speak, she found herself squeezing his hand unconsciously.

“I have also thought about it. More than I have thought about anything else over the last several weeks, and I have realized that I am open to the idea of marriage,” she said and snuck a glance at him, noticing the smile beginning on his lips. “But,” she continued before he had a chance to truly react, his smile faltering at the edges, “there are a few things we must discuss before I can agree, even to the possibility of marriage.”

“What matters to you, matters to me. I want to hear every concern you have, Violet, so that we might work them out together,” he told her firmly.

She could not help but smile, ever so slightly, at his eagerness to please.

“I am glad to hear that,” she said. “You see, Edmund and I… Not only was our union a love match, it was a-a partnership. Yes, we had our roles as men and women do, but he treated me in every way possible as his equal. Not only did he love me, he respected me, and I… I will not accept anything less from another marriage.”

“Violet–” he began but she cut him off, stopping as they reached the fountain area at the center of the garden and turning to face him. 

“Please, I am not finished,” she said with a rather uncharacteristic directness. This was the crux of her hesitation to remarry, and she intended to make it quite clear that she would not settle on this matter. “Widowhood is one of the few ways in which a woman can gain a true sense of independence in our society. Since Edmund died, I have enjoyed a life with far more freedom than most women could ever dream of having. I can go where I want, when I want. I have financial independence outside of the estate inherited by my son. I am no one’s responsibility other than my own, despite Anthony’s occasional insistence otherwise. And… I love my life, Marcus. I love seeing my children and my grandchildren, I love having the freedom to do as I please, to socialize how and when I see fit, and it is imperative that you understand that any marriage I enter into must not change this. I would like to have both—the love and companionship of marriage and the freedom of the life I have now. But if I cannot, I will choose freedom.” Her heart was racing by the time she finished, and she was a little breathless. Part of her worried it was too harsh, too direct, but she needed him to truly understand. He could accept it or not, and she trusted him to do so with honesty and integrity, but she could not risk losing everything she already had. 

A quiet chuckle rumbled in Marcus’ throat, an enamored smile spreading across his face. 

“My, you do sound quite like my sister.”

Violet pursed her lips against a smile, her eyebrows lifting.

“I should hope so. If anyone has shown me what a gift independence as a woman can be, it is her.”

“Good,” he said, laughter fading from his voice, replaced with a humble sincerity. “I would not have it any other way.” He took a step forward so that he could take hold of her hands. “Violet,” his tone was almost painfully tender, “I have no desire to take anything away from you. Everything you mentioned, it is all what draws me to you. Your independence, your love for your family, your ability to take on any challenge even when you are so nervous you cannot hold still… I admire all of it and—” He paused, looking down at their hands for a moment before his shining black eyes found hers once more. “I would very much like to marry you, Violet. If and whenever you are ready. So, I hope that you trust me when I tell you that the only thing I want to change about your future is that I get to be a part of it.”

Any tension she had been feeling melted away, and a sweet but radiant smile blossomed across her face.

“I would like that very much,” she said, her blue eyes sparkling like crystals in the hazy sunlight. 

Marcus took another step forward, closing the distance between them. At the same time, he released her hands so that he could take hold of her waist while her hands slid up his sleeves until her arms were twined around the back of his neck. 

Her eyes closed as he lowered his head, his full lips enveloping hers in softness, a stark contrast to the way his beard scratched lightly against her chin. It was a kiss full of aching want from spending so many weeks apart, and deep affection that had only grown stronger in that time. While there remained a barrier between their bodies of a few layers of fabric, there were no more barriers between their hearts, no pretense of undecided intentions there to keep them apart any longer.

As the embrace ended, Violet slid one hand up to the back of Marcus’ head, holding him near as she rested her forehead against his. Her heart was full to bursting, so much joy inside of her that she did not know how it could fit. But underneath was a tremor of trepidation because all was not settled. They had more things to discuss. 

As if reading her mind, Marcus gently said her name and then, “You said there were a few things we must discuss.“

“Mmm,” was her only reply. She was not ready to let go of the moment, and she let silence linger until he broke it again. 

“My dear,” he said and pulled back, the endearment all but making her swoon right in his arms, reinforcing how much she did not want to discuss anything else. Yet, he persisted. “What else is there?”

She let her hand glide around to his face, holding his cheek for a moment as she searched his eyes, the smile slowly falling from her face. Finally, she sighed and beckoned him to sit with her on one of the benches by the fountain. 

They sat with only a tiny space between them, both facing forward. Violet’s arms were tucked into her sides, her hands fidgeting in her lap, not sure how to start this next conversation. 

When Marcus laid his hand over hers, stilling them, her head spun in his direction, and she blinked at him. 

“What is troubling you, Violet?” he asked, the tenderness in his voice soothing her enough for her thoughts to begin to settle. Her lips pursed into a tight, strained smile. 

“It is, um…” She sighed and looked down at their hands. When she turned one of hers over so their fingers could interlock again, she noticed how big his hand looked, how sturdy it felt in hers. She pressed her lips into a line, biting the inside as she formulated her thoughts. “There is something else I must insist upon, as a requirement for marriage.”

“Anything,” he said without a moment of hesitation. 

“You know how important my children are to me,” she said quietly, looking up at him. 

“Of course. As mine are to me.”

“Precisely. Which is why I… I do not think we should… get married if any of our children disapprove.”

A moment passed before he quietly said, “I see.”

“You still have to meet Daphne, and I have not met any of yours.”

“I have no doubt my children will adore you. You make me happy, and as soon as they see that, nothing else will matter.” He smiled warmly at her, and she wished she could share his confidence. “Are you concerned about Daphne disapproving?”

Violet shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. “Not particularly, though she has been known to surprise me on more than one occasion,” she added with a small laugh. “No. Daphne is not the one I am worried about.” Her eyes were troubled again as she looked back at the fountain. 

“Lord Bridgerton.” It was not a question, but Violet confirmed with a small nod. 

A quiet fell between them in which Violet’s heart grew heavy. 

“I have spoken to him, told him I would like his blessing.”

“And what did he say?”

“Nothing. However, he did choose to stay in England, and, although he has not told me as much, I do believe he did so because I told him I would not accept a proposal without it.”

Marcus nodded. “Perhaps, then, that will give him and I the time we need to become properly acquainted.”

“Yes, perhaps.” Violet blinked as she looked down again. He sounded hopeful, which she was glad for. It did not seem fair that her son could dictate such a matter for her, but she was still strong in her conviction. “Marcus?” she said, drawing his eyes to her. “You understand, do you not? I know it does not seem fair, it is just…”

“Your children are more important to you than anything in the world. I do not intend to come between you. If the time comes that it is clear any of the children, yours or mine, have an objection that cannot be resolved, I will bow out. For your sake.” He brought his free hand up to her cheek, tracing a thumb across its peak.

“Thank you,” Violet whispered, leaning into the touch. He understood, and even more than that, she knew she could trust him to keep his promise. His honor and his care for her only strengthened her feelings for him, and the lurking possibility that their relationship may never make it beyond this stage before ending pulled her heart nearer to his, the reality of the situation fully dawning on her. She wanted to kiss him again, to savor it even more than she had before, knowing it might very well be their last. For so long, she had been a widow and a mother, and that was all. But for this moment, she was just a woman, and he was just a man, and that was all they needed to be.

Her eyes searched his for a moment, looking for permission before sliding down to his lips, her own parting as want for him took hold of her. Finding everything she was feeling reflected back at her, she reached for the lapel of his jacket, pulling him towards her as she took his lips with hers. The hand on her cheek tilted her head up to draw her in closer, his other hand doing the same as he brought it to her waist until she was pressed firmly against him. Violet allowed him to deepen the kiss, opening her mouth at the prompting of his tongue, letting it glide against her own, sending a wave of desire crashing through her. The feeling of his lips moving with hers, the wet heat of his breath, the prickling scratch of his beard was a symphony of sensations that pushed her deeper and deeper into her desire until it consumed her completely. Placing her hand over his, she slid his hand down the length of her neck to her chest and over her pounding heart, until it was against the exposed skin of her breast at the neckline of her pelisse. His grip tightened, and the hitching moan he drew from her throat, spilling into his mouth, seemed to snap him out of it, and he pulled back.

“Violet,” he said in warning. Both of them were panting, Violet’s cheeks and chest were splattered a deep crimson, and although she knew he was right, that they had to stop, she realized she did not want to. She felt an aching pulse relentlessly thrumming through her, and she was breathless when she spoke.

“Are you sure you do not wish to stay?”

He pressed his lips together, eyes closing for a moment, having fully understood the intention of her invitation.

“As much as I would love to, I do not believe it would be wise.” 

She looked at him with eyes that were dark and heavy with want.

“Perhaps I do not care much for wisdom.”

Smiling, he brought his hand up from her chest to hold her chin between his thumb and finger, placing a quick kiss to her parted lips.

“My dear Violet, there are so many things in my life I have come to regret by not doing them the right way. You are much too important to me to risk adding you to that list.”

Violet closed her eyes for just a moment. While it seemed her heart, her mind, and her body were all at war, there was one thing to which they all seemed to agree.

“My darling,” she said with quiet reverence, “I think I love you.” 

Marcus chuckled softly.

“And I know that I love you, which is why I want to do this properly. Just… Give me a chance to work it out with Anthony, and then we shall cross whatever bridge we must, should it come our way.”

He sounded so sure that Violet wanted to trust him, and so she nodded, letting him draw her down into his arms, her head resting against his chest where she could hear the steady beat of his heart. She did not know what was to come, and part of her feared the worst. What she did know was that, no matter what obstacles might lay ahead for them, even if they were not able to spend their lives together the way they wanted, the love in her heart would be there forever, and nothing or no one could take that away.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

What follows is a retelling of the Jurassic Park story, mainly based on the 1993 film, with portions of the original novel used to supplement the story. The main point of divergence occurs when the park is unable to find workable nonavian dinosaur genetic material for cloning, since - as in the real world - dna degrades much too rapidly. Instead, the park consists only of extinct dinosaurs that can be brought back - birds from the last 2.5 million years. What happens after that is, as Ian Malcolm would say, an emerging pattern.

Infinite thanks to beta readers @killdeercheer, @otussketching, and @plokool! And extra thanks to @i-draws-dinosaurs for the killer logo!

Link to the masterpost of chapters

Chapter Two: Egg Mountain, United States

“Doctor Sattler! Doctor Grant! We’re ready to try again!”

Ellie stood up from the dirt in front of her, brushing off the sand from her shorts and looking around for the source of the call. Alan took a longer time to get up, looking grumpy and befuddled at the interruption.

“I hate computers,” Grant muttered.

Ellie wanted to laugh, but she managed to keep it in. Computers felt like something from a separate world – a cleaner one, a manufactured one. Out here, in the badlands, surrounded by mountains and dust and old bones, computers were alien. But they had one.

And it had quickly become Alan’s archnemesis.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Ellie joked, smirking at him as he shook his head in bemusement. The two walked down the side of the mountain towards the equipment, including a large lead slug dispenser (aka Thumper) and a portable computer covered in dust and dirt. The computer ran the computer-assisted sonic tomography (CAST) program – Thumper would send a lead slug into the ground, which would generate waves, allowing for the computer to get an idea of the layout of the ground around the slug. The computer would then, theoretically, show a reading of any fossils detected by the sonic waves. Usually, the best it could do was show the approximate location of a fossil – which saved significant amounts of time on digging. But, with repeated readings, sometimes a more detailed outline could be found. That detailed outline was then helpful for digging in the right location – and preserving that location from further environmental damage.

As they reached the bottom of the valley, the students activated Thumper, causing a loud boom to resonate through the mountains. Alan made a beeline for the computer monitor to read the info, while Ellie meandered behind him across the dirt.

“Hey Dr. Sattler!” one grad student shouted. She waved back at her with a smile. There weren’t a lot of women on the dig site, so each one supported the others as much as they could.

By the time she reached the monitor, the image from Thumper was finally loading on this screen.

“This new program’s incredible,” another grad student, a man this time, said, “Few more years development and we won’t even have to dig anymore!”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Alan scoffed, causing the gathering crowd around the screen to laugh with him.

“It’s... a little distorted, but I don’t think it’s the computer,” the student continued, typing away to try and manipulate the image’s presentation. Ellie could see right away, however, that the skeleton was in the right pose. She walked up to the screen and pointed, from a distance, at the tell-tale characteristics.

“Post-mortem contraction of the posterior neck ligaments... Deinonychus?”

“Yes, and it’s in good shape, too,” Alan confirmed, walking closer to the screen himself, “Five, six feet long, I’m guessing nine feet tall. Look at the –“

Suddenly, Alan’s touching of the monitor made everything go fuzzy.

“What’d you do?” Alan asked the student angrily.

“He touched it,” Ellie laughed, patting the student comfortingly on the shoulder, “Dr. Grant’s not machine compatible.”

“Hell, they’ve got it in for me,” Alan grumbled, before composing himself, “And look at the half-moon shaped bones in the wrists. It’s no wonder these guys learned how to fly!”

Everyone laughed around him. While birds being living dinosaurs was a fairly widely accepted hypothesis in the field, it still drew some chuckles – especially from the unaware.

“No, seriously!” Alan said, turning around to look at everyone, his educator face completely taking over the irritation face he had previously, “Dinosaurs have more in common with present-day birds than they do with reptiles. Look at the pubic bone, turned backward, just like a bird... look at the vertebrae, filled with air sacs and hollows just like a bird... and even the word Raptor means, ‘Bird of Prey’.”

“That doesn’t look very scary,” scoffed one of the children on the dig, an annoying little boy who was constantly complaining about the connections between living birds and their extinct dinosaur relatives, “More like a six foot turkey!”

Alan lost his educator face, and Ellie found herself smirking at the sheer irritation he had for an expression instead.

“Have you met a turkey, kid?” Alan asked.

“Oh no,” Ellie muttered, but she wasn’t about to stop him. Alan had been patient with the kid for weeks, and his time was up.

“Um, at Thanksgiving,” the kid responded.

“Okay. So, to begin with, a turkey is already nearly six foot – they can grow up to four,” Alan stated, smirking, “Then, when you are just alone in the woods – or, you think you’re alone – with no one around, guess what is the last thing you want to hear?”

“Um, turkeys?”

“The distant sound of many turkeys coming right in your direction. You see, turkeys – they aren’t predators. So they know at any time they could be on the receiving end of a horrible, horrible attack. And so they, like all prey animals over a certain size, will defend themselves to the death. More human deaths are caused by the vegetarian hippopotamus each year than by sharks or any other predator. And turkeys? They have that ferocity, too.”

The kid did not have a response to that.

“Some might peck you. That has a nasty sting. Others may just run at you, flashing their feathers, making loud sounds. Enough to set your teeth on edge. And then there are the kickers. Nowhere more than the feet can you see how birds are just dinosaurs among us,” Alan let out a snort, “Those claws, that force, it is enough to break bones and other organs.”

Alan stepped up closer to the boy, getting right in his face. Ellie watched, moderately mesmerized, too much so to intervene.

“Just one, a human alone could not deal with. But on your own, surrounded by who knows how many? You would wish it was a Deinonychus, kid. A Deinonychus eventually gets full.”

The boy visibly gulped in front of everyone, who was dead silent. No laughs emerged from a single person.

“So, you know. Try to show a little respect.”

“Okay,” the kid said, nodding. Alan nodded in response, and turned to walk away.

The child’s mother ran forward to him, while Ellie followed after Alan, shaking her head in bemusement.

“If you wanted to scare the kid you could have pulled a gun on him, you know,” Ellie snorted.

“Yeah, I know,” Alan sighed, “Kids. You want to have one of those?”

Ellie laughed, gesturing behind her, “I don’t want that kid, but, a breed of child, Alan, could be intriguing.”

“Ha!”

“I mean, what’s so wrong with kids?”

“Look, they get in the way. I mean, I never thought I’d date anyone, before I met you,” Alan said, “It never interested me.”

“You just wanted to find the bones,” Ellie laughed, shaking her head.

“I just wanted to find the bones! But one person is enough for me. More, and this time I’m responsible for their well-being? For what kind of person they turn into? Nah.”

“You didn’t think you’d like dating me, and you did!” Ellie countered, jabbing him lightly in the arm.

“Cause you’re the only person who understands me,” Alan scoffed, “Besides. You don’t smell.”

“What? Kids don’t smell, either!”

“Some of them smell!” Alan insisted, “Babies smell!”

The whirring of a helicopter cut off their conversation, and both immediately ran down to the site to cover up the new find, shouting for tarps to drape over the rocks and exposed bones. Alan sprinted to the helicopter, while Ellie ran down to the site, covering it quickly with the help of the volunteers and students.

“Get it down – yes – secure the corner – don’t let it be exposed! Even this amount of wind from the helicopter could erode away important information! Yes, get that side down, too!” Ellie barked at everyone, directing people to properly place down the tarp. Satisfied the specimen was secure, she quickly ran towards the trailer, where she had just seen Alan disappear into.

“Alright!” Ellie shouted, opening up the door, “Who’s the jerk?”

“Uh, this is our, paleobotanist, Doctor –“

“Sattler,” Ellie filled in, frowning. In the room was an older man, with a white beard and glasses, wearing a beige hat. Ellie didn’t have a moment to ask before Alan continued,

“Ellie, this is Mr. Hammond.”

Ellie felt her mouth drop open in shock.

“I’m sorry about the dramatic entrance, Dr. Sattler, but...”

“Did I say ‘jerk’?” Ellie laughed, grimacing.

“We’re in a wee bit of a hurry, here. Will you have a drink? We don’t want to let it warm, come along, sit down, sit down.”

It was weird, how he managed to make the space his own, just by virtue of having paid for it, even though it was Ellie’s and Alan’s. Ellie tried to take control, reaching for glasses in the sink, as he protested. Before she knew it, she was sitting at a table.

“Now, I’ll wait a minute, because I have a surprise for you!” Hammond laughed. Conveniently, the door opened at that moment, and a tall dark skinned woman entered the room, her hair done in dreads, a grin spreading across her face.

“Guess who’s baaack!” the woman sang, beaming at Alan and Ellie.

“Miri!” Ellie shouted.

“Miri!” Alan said in unison. Miri laughed and ran to hug Ellie, shaking Alan’s hand eagerly afterwards.

“Mr. Hammond picked me up on the way over here, I’ve been a consultant on his project for the past year down at my dig – I have so much to tell you, when was the last time we saw each other?” Miri said rapidly, laughing at the shocked looks on Ellie and Alan’s faces.

“Last SVP, I think!” Ellie responded, “Oh it’s so good to see you! Are they treating you well down in Florida?”

“As well as can be expected for Florida!” Miri laughed, “But we just found a new Titanis skeleton, and since Pierce passed I’m in charge of the dig site!”

“I was so sorry to have heard of his passing, Miri,” Alan said, “You’re more than capable to take over for him, but so soon after you graduated from here –“

“The man lived in a hoarder house, Alan,” Miri snorted, “A literal hoarder house. Besides that, I was brought on the team because he knew he needed a good replacement. Regardless, I’m here now.”

“And good thing, too!” Dr. Hammond laughed, “Your former mentor would never have been able to come alone on our little trip, Dr. Spinoza!”

“About that, as I was saying in the helicopter, you’re never going to get Alan to –“

“Never going to get Alan to what?” Alan asked, affronted. Ellie snorted, making him glare at her for a moment.

“I’ll get right to the point!” Hammond chortled, clearly delighted by the proceedings, “I like you. Both of you. I can tell instantly about people, it’s a gift. Could tell I liked you, could tell I liked Miri. Now,” Hammond took a deep breath, beaming, “I own an island. Off the coast of Costa Rica. I’ve leased it from the government and spent the last five years setting up a kind of biological preserve. You remember the consultancy you did for me at the time?”

“Yes, but after a point you said we were no longer needed for that?” Alan asked in confusion.

“Which is when he reached out to me,” Miri said, nodding.

“Well, the island is really spectacular. Spared no expense. Make the one I‘ve got down in Kenya look like a petting zoo. And there’s no doubt, our attractions will drive kids out of their minds.”

“And what are those?” Alan asked sarcastically. Miri snorted.

“Small versions of adults, honey,” Ellie laughed.

“And not just kids, everyone! We’re going to open next year, that is if the lawyers don’t kill me first. I don’t care for lawyers, do you...?”

“Oh we... uh...” Ellie began.

“Don’t really know any,” Alan and Miri finished with him in unison.

“Well I do, I’m afraid. There’s a particular pebble in my shoe who represents my investors. Says they insist on ‘outside opinions.’”

“What kind of opinions?” Ellie asked.

“Well, your kind, Dr. Sattler and Dr. Grant, not to put too fine a point on it. And Dr. Spinoza’s too. I mean, let’s face it – in your particular fields, you’re the top minds! And if I could just persuade you to sign off on the park, you know give it your endorsement, maybe even pen a wee testimonial, I could get back on schedule!”

“Is the work I’ve been doing for you not enough of a testimonial?” Miri laughed.

“Well, they want you to see the place, get a feel for it, as it were. They want an expert’s eyes on the whole proceedings.”

“But why would they care what we think?” Dr. Sattler asked.

“With your expertise from paleobotany and paleoecology, Dr. Spinoza’s in behavior, and Alan’s in anatomy, you have the best handle on what sort of problems we may deal with in the park –“

“What kind of park is this?” Alan asked, frowning in confusion.

“It’s right up your alley,” Hammond laughed, handing the three of them drinks.

“Please come down, you two, with Dr. Spinoza and I, for the weekend. I’d love to have both of your opinions on the project. We have a jet standing by at Choteau,” Hammond pleaded.

“I basically had no choice, since he’s sponsoring the dig,” Miri sighed.

“Well, look, we just dug up a new skeleton –“ Alan began.

“And I will compensate you, as well, by fully funding your dig...”

“This is a very unusual time,” Alan continued.

“For a further three years,” Hammond finished.

“Well.. uh...” Ellie stammered, “Where’s the plane?”

“Yeah, okay, okay!” Alan shouted, clinking his glass with Hammond and turning around to Ellie in excitement. Both shouted happily and hugged each other, spinning around the room.

“Three more years!”

“We can get the entire raptor nesting site!”

“Three more years!”

Hammond chortled happily, as the pair reached to grab bags from under the table and pack them.

Soon, they would be off to Costa Rica.