#leo: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST KILLED HIM?? BY LYING??

[lotus-duckies]

i had a dream where usagi and leo went to a martial arts school for young mutants and yokai and shredder followed them like a freak, hiding in the bushes and started killing the teenagers and breaking car windows

yknow

and usagi was like HEY YOU COWARD, YOU FOOL, YOU ABSOLUTE INCEL STOP HIDING BEHIND YOUR OVERGROWN TOOTHPICKS AND FIGHT ME IN HAND TO HAND COMBAT

LIKE A MAN

and shredder dropped his weapons and usagi immediately stabbed him

[angelpuns]

50Au Part 11

“FUCKING! I CAN’T BELIEVE- I'M GONNA KILL HIM WHEN WE GET OUT IF HERE!” Donnie growled, summoning some sort of definitely-too-big-for-the-lair-gun. 

Raph wasn't always the most cautious before, but even he knew that wasn't a good idea. 

“Dee, put that thing away! You're gonna blow the whole lair to smithereens!” He grabbed the back of Donnie's shell like he was a kitten, Donnie hissing and clawing in a much less cute way than a kitten would. 

“PUT ME DOWN RAPH I'M GONNA KILL THAT BLUE BASTARD!” 

“HEY!” 

Donnie stopped struggling so much when Raph raised his voice, which Raph tried not to think too hard about. It made a lump of guilty claw its way up his throat, but Raph cleared it away and put on his ‘ Big Brother Voice’. 

“ Look, I'm pissed at him too, but we can't go bustin' outta here willy-nilly and bust up the lair, ‘kay?” He gave Donnie a look, the softshell grimacing and reluctantly putting the gun away, “ You worked too damn hard sprucin’ this place up and makin’ it home again to just blast it to pieces. Now-”

He set Donnie back down and cracked his knuckles, “ watch your big brother do his thing”

Raph grabbed two of the bars and began to pull. He admittedly wasn't as strong as he used to be, but in his defense he'd been recovering from a lot of shit, so give him a break. 

Still, it shouldn't have been this much of a strain. Where the hell did Leo find this thing!?

“ Not to be a pessimist, Raph, but I don't think its working,” Mikey muttered, leaning over his shoulder to examine the bars, “where did he even get this? There's no way we had it lying around the lair, right?” 

Raph let out a grumble, “c’mon…Raph…Raph can bend ‘em easy,” 

He strained and pulled against the bars, but they were just a little too tough for him. 

There was a ker-chunk and a click and Raph thought maybe he had done it- until he turned and saw that Donnie had summoned some sort of saw tool. 

“ Close your eyes, gentleman. I didn't bring extra safety goggles,” Was the only warning they got before Donnie flicked his goggles down over his eyes and began cutting into the metal. 

It surprisingly worked. Raph looked down at his hands, scarred and rough from both injury and fighting. Damn. Maybe he really was gettin’ weaker. 

It took nearly an hour, but Donnie managed to cut a hole big enough for them to squeeze through. And thankfully none of them ended up getting scratched, cause that was a one way ticket to a tetanus shot. 

“ I was startin' to think that metal was too strong to break,” Raph admitted, chuckling a bit to try and tame the unease he felt. The lingering worry of him becoming weak was like a stone in his stomach, weighing the moment down despite it being s victory. 

“ Well, it was mystic,” Donnie started for the lab, Mikey following behind him and asking what the new, new plan was. Since they had technically had,like, four plans fail now. 

Raph breathed out a momentary sigh of relief. Mystic. Of course. So he wasn't becoming useless after all. 

He followed Donnie and Mikey unto the lab to hear the new, new plan, Donnie already rambling about a hundred miles a minute and cursing Leo out every few words. 

Raph, while he was definitely worried out of his mind, found that he too wanted to grab Leo and shake him til he understood what was going on. 

But of course, he wasn't gonna do that. He'd be happy just to see his face at this point. 

----

Wanted to write a fun silly part. Yes they have issues but also...whimsy.

I think this randomly writing and posting without editing and it being super super unofficial as an au is good for me probably. Let's me fuck around cause there's no stakes for me emotionally. Unless we start to like it too much then I'll probably take it too seriously like I end up doing for everything

Also the only part I have a solid idea for I can't even write yet cause I accidentally made too much lead up and I gotta finish out this first section smfh. I wanna write that part so bad but because this is so spontaneous/unplanned idk what's gonna happen between now and that plot point so :/

Part 1 | Part 10 | Part 11

[what-reader-we-r-illiterate]

Cw: nsft, overstimulation, eating the hamato boys out, worth noting in all of these they can either be dubcon, or assume theres a safeword, or assume that the genetically engineered supersoldier killing machines arent throwing u across the room be they dont want to. Apologies for neglecting Donnie a bit I'll write about him more throughly in the future <3 my favs fluctuate depending on the day. Also pain/impact play on genitals bc :3. And crying. Mwah

Im just saying it would be fun to eat one of their plump tail slits out until they're sobbing and pushing you off and squirming to get away because it's too much they can't cum anymore

I feel like Donnie? Would put up a fight and try to brat probably smack you at least once before you smack his pretty cunt and shove him back down, he'd ultimately go nonverbal and let out those choked throaty moans and high pitched ah! He does, trying so hard to stay still, eventually breaking and arching his back, wrapping his thighs around you, tapping and signing 'too much no more please mama/daddy' or whatever he can think of to appease you. If you call him a good boy and praise him for being brave though he will try so, so hard to not struggle. He wants to be praised and good and has SUCH a huge mommy/daddy kink and praise kink because of yes. You can train him so easily with flattery and cooing over how beautiful and obedient he is, what a good job he's doing, how you're so proud of him for being so brave!

Mikey would be giggly at first i fully believe that if he's approached by somebody unless he feels patronized he doesn't bother bratting or pushing them away, he's happy to take physical care and affection. He's letting out the sweetest little moans with his warm, raspy voice, making little jokes, playing with your hair. Then he cums.

And you don't stop.

So he's laughing and thanking you but saying that's enough, he's a bit sensitive now. You ignore him, burying your face deeper into his chubby slit, lapping up his slick like it's your favorite meal. It probably is. His hands tense, his fingers curl into your hair and he tries to tug you off. His laughter fades, replaced by his breath hitching, his pretty eyes tearing up, and he managed to stay pretty still for the first round but now he has all that pent up energy and is overstimulated so he's squirming under you, arching his back, crying out your name.

Your hands are going to leave marks from how tightly they're gripping his soft thighs, forcing them to stay open as he squeals and whimpers under you, his hands yank on your hair, pulling you closer in hopes the counterpressure will help. It doesn't. He sobs, tears running down his cheeks as he tries to look down at you and beg for mercy, before throwing his head back to cum a second time, a third. He probably sobs something about you being mean, how this is NOT nice. You take a break for a few seconds to ask if it feels good when you make him cum over and over. He glares down at you with all the spite in his adorable little self and says no. You inform him that you know he's lying, and good boys don't lie if they want to be listened to. Honestly, he should know better. Healthy open communication is important. You make him describe how it feels out loud as you make him cum four more times, biting or sucking just a bit too hard on his poor clit when his voice breaks and trails off into nonsensical moans. Eventually he slips up and calls you something embarrassing, something he's been holding back for months. You make him cum one last time, scoop him up into your arms, and carry him off for a bubble bath and lots of cuddles and hydration.

(I imagine he is SoooO stubborn about admitting he wants to call you any type of mommy daddy sir maam ect be if baby boy hates anything its being seen as just little and being patronized but he'll make an exception bc a: hot and b: if u actually respect him he'll let that guard down)

Leo has so many damn fronts he puts up he almost loses himself. As with everything regarding Leo, getting him to be vulnerable is so fucking difficult. You have to be open, let him in, be gentle, and when you do push him to be honest, don't let up. You need an answer out of him. It doesn't need to be the answer you want. But you need an answer.

He won't give it to you. He hums and jokes and dances around it. You eventually decide to just get it out of him. He's kicking his feet, reading a comic book on his bed when you pull his shorts down, nip at his tail, tease him for wagging it so hard already, flip him over, and start eating him out lazily.

He's happy to tease back at first, smug, bright cheery tone ringing out as he chatters endlessly, even as he gets close and cums he's talking. His moan is too much like a porn star, practiced. Performative. It sounds a bit different the second time.

Third time and he's laughing nervously, pushing you off as best he can. You grab his waist, pull him further into you. His quips fracture into whimpers and breath hitching.

You are goddamn determined to make him cry. You need an answer, sure, but he needs emotional release more. You let his thighs squeeze around your head, his hands are slapped when they try to pull you away, so he grabs the sheets and writhes under you, rutting his hips up into your mouth despite himself. It takes so long to get him to cry, cumming hurts at that point. Your face and the bed are drenched with his slick, your tongue shoved in as deep as it'll go as he actually moans, actually cries out, as tears finally make their way across his gorgeous crescent markings.

He went limp a few orgasms ago, now he just twitches under you, whimpering your name. You haven't asked in a week, but you get the answer you want. You eat him out awhile longer, just to make sure he gets enough emotional release, then sit up and pull him into your arms, kissing his markings and wiping his tears, pulling a blanket over both of you as you rock gently. The euphoria he feels after crying is more than worth it, he thanks you over and over before falling asleep in your arms.

(V self indulgent sorry all. Also leo walks in but it isnt test dw cuties i wont terrorize yall with that here)

Raph is amicable to whatever you want, very raised eyebrow, 'huh okay i'll try it' with a wry smile. He loves eating you out, fucking you, domming is kind of expected from the partner that's three times as big.

The first time you guide him to lie down on his back, he assumes you're going to have him drop so you can ride him, the (or if he's trans like yours truly, he's just confused, looking up at you with the sweetest puzzled smile, it's a weird angle to be eating you out but okay then.) He reaches to pick you up and help you sit on his face, excited to bury his snout in you, or reaches down to make himself drop. You kiss his hands, gently place one of them on the back of your head, and lick up his slit with your broad tongue, drawing a yelp out of him, before your bury your face in his cunt, soft thighs tensing around you already, he's scared of crushing you so he holds them open. You finally get to hear him whimper instead of grunt, the dirty talk and low voice he usually feels obligated to use is gone, high pitched whines taking it's place. He falls apart immediately, hands flitting between his thighs and your head, scared of hurting you, the fear leaves as you hum into him and he cums hard, forcing you deeper into him, thighs pressed against his hands as he rides out his orgasm. You have to check on him before continuing because he's sobbing so damn loud, it takes a minute to figure out he's saying "no, more please" as in 'no, i'm fine, please, please keep going.' You oblige, and no matter how much he wants it it's a lot, he's fighting the urge to push you away, squirming and panting under you no matter how slowly and gently you take it, poor sensitive boy. He's literally screaming by the fourth orgasm (Leo portals in, takes one look, snorts, portals right back out). Eventually he pulls you off, crying 'no more no more' then regretting it, you tell him he tastes so good, there's so much slick left dripping from his pretty cunt, can't you just clean it up? He holds his thighs open, trembling, soothed by your words as you take breaks to explain how this is so good for you, he's being such a good boy letting you be selfish and taste him as long as you want. Raph doesn't know what to do when you offer to do things for him, it feels weird, he doesn't like it. But he'll do anything for you. And if you making him cum until he screams makes you happy, and is actually for you, he'll let you do it forever. When he's a trembling mess, near passing out, you promise you'll be right back. You walk out and return with snacks, drinks, and a warm washcloth and towel. He's cleaned up, dried off, cooed over and brought his favorite plushies, you watch whatever he wants on his laptop under a million blankets and cover him in kisses and praise as his tail wags.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Anyway, back to Ara being chaotic -Danny Words: 2,001 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'I'm Still Here' -by John Rzeznick

XXXIV: I Do It for the Plot

Ara has a rope tied to Hazel's waist in case she slips. As usual, climbing up takes almost no effort, and she relishes the feeling. 

"So..." Ara speaks. "Is this Hecate's big test?"

"Seems like it," Hazel pants. "Can you slow down a bit?"

Ara waits for Hazel to catch up. "And that farting rat is her assistant?"

"Something like it," Hazel says over the animal's screeching. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Ara replies, going back to climbing.

"Is it good, being a gods' favorite?"

Ara snorts. "Hecate's weighing on you, huh?"

"I just... it's scary to think that a goddess confides me with this job... but you have the whole pantheon on your shoulders. How do you do it?"

"I try not to think about it," she shrugs. "It amuses them, having us at their disposal, and if you give them a good show, they help you whenever you need it. I learned that a while ago."

Hazel sighs. "You know, when Percy told me about you, he said I reminded him of you—he was sure we'd be good friends. Then I met you and... the way you look at people it's a warning in itself. We're not similar in the least."

Ara laughs. "Silena, my older sister, used to say I was a good charmspeaker because I knew how to get along with strangers. I'm not saying I would've used charmspeak on you, but yeah, I was an expert at sweet-talking and making people like me. Percy was right, we would've gotten along if I hadn't changed."

"Huh," Hazel tilts her head. "Do the mist work in the same way charmspeak does?"

"If you have a compelling speech. Nico hates that I get what I want when I ask for it, but it's a survival technique. Hecate chose you, which means you can be great at magic, but you have to believe it. If you don't believe in your power, no one will."

Hazel breathes heavily, reaching the top of the cliff. "Ready?"

"I should be asking you that," Ara raises a brow.

Hazel glares at the man standing before them. "Come on."

This pirate dude with his stupid outfit, his dark hair, and the sea-green eyes no longer feels like a god-sent, he's probably sent by the arai. The moment they get closer, Ara's annoyed.

"Welcome!" The guy is holding flintlocks on both hands. "Your money or your life!"

"You're a son of Poseidon," she states with scorn.

The man laughs. "Indeed! Sciron, thief extraordinaire! All-around awesome guy! But that's not important. I'm not seeing any valuables! I guess that means you want to die?"

Why does every pirate in the world have to be related to Percy? And why do they keep proving that her brother is a miracle? Ara wants to be him so badly, but not even the ones from the same godly father are similar to Percy in more than looks, and even then he surpasses them! She's tired. Ara has to be her own person, it's time to accept that she'll never be like her brother.

"We've got valuables," Hazel steps forward. "But if we give them up, how can we be sure you'll let us go?"

"Oh, they always ask that. I promise you, on the River Styx, that as soon as you surrender what I want, I will not shoot you. I will send you right back down that cliff."

"That's a nice way to say you'll kill us anyway." Ara turns to Hazel. "Men aren't the brightest, but they know their way around technicalities! How about—"

BANG! BANG!

The girls jump and look at each other searching for an injury, Hazel's eyes widen. "Your hair!"

A chunk of Ara's hair has been chopped off at jaw length, the missing pieces are lying at her feet. Sciron's other gun is pointed at the Argo II.

"What did you do?" Hazel demands with dread.

"Oh, don't worry!" He chortles. "If you could see that far—which you can't—you'd see a hole in the deck between the shoes of the big young man, the one with the bow."

"Frank!"

"If you say so. That was just a demonstration. I'm afraid it could have been much more serious. So! You do what I tell you to, or I kill everyone. Celestial bronze ammunition. Quite deadly to demigods. You two would die first—bang, bang. Then I could take my time picking off your friends on that ship. Target practice is so much more fun with live targets running around screaming!" 

"You're beatable," Ara notes. "Theseus killed you once."

"Theseus was such a cheater!" He scoffs. "I don't want to talk about him. I'm back from the dead now. Gaea promised me I could stay on the coastline and rob all the demigods I wanted, and that's what I'm going to do! Now... where were we?" 

"Hazel, just give him the treasure," Ara scowls. "If I have to listen to him for one more minute I'll take his gun and shoot myself."

"Fine," Hazel crouches and the treasure pushes through the ground's surface almost immediately.

"How in the world did you do that?" The guy exclaims delightedly.

Hazel stares at the old prizes with a sort of defeated expression. Ara places a hand on her shoulder and absorbs whatever she's feeling. "Just take the treasure," Hazel says quietly. "Let us go."

"Oh, but I did say all your valuables," Sciron grins. "I understand you're holding something very special on that ship... a certain ivory-and-gold statue about, say, forty feet tall?"

Ara steps forward but Hazel stops her. "So that's what this is about?"

"Gaea told you about it," Hazel glares at him. "She ordered you to take it."

"Maybe. But she told me I could keep it for myself. Hard to pass up that offer! I don't intend to die again, my friends. I intend to live a long life as a very wealthy man!"

"The statue won't do you any good," Hazel tries. "Not if Gaea destroys the world."

"Pardon?" The man hesitates.

"Gaea is using you. If you take that statue, we won't be able to defeat her. She's planning on wiping all mortals and demigods off the face of the earth, letting her giants and monsters take over. So where will you spend your gold, Sciron? Assuming Gaea even lets you live."

He takes a moment, but then his lively demeanor comes back. "All right! I'm not unreasonable. Keep the statue. Just one more thing. I always demand a show of respect. Before I let my victims leave, I insist that they wash my feet."

"Mhmm, 'kay, give us a minute," Ara smiles, using her charmspeak. "We'll go get everything ready."

Ara seizes Hazel and pulls her away, as soon as they're far enough, she talks in a hurried whisper. "I don't remember the story well, but you know what he'll do, right?"

Hazel takes a moment to think. "Sciron kicks his victims off the cliff."

Ara nods somberly. "I don't wanna die touching a man's feet. If you make me die like that, Hazel, I'll come back as a mania and kill you. Please, tell me you have a plan."

Hazel glances at the rope still tying them together by the waist.  "Unfortunately, yes. But I'll need you to touch the gross feet for it to work."

Ara groans throwing her head back. She watches the man waiting for them to return, a confident smile plastered on his face. He thinks he has this in the bag, which makes her angry... but gives her hope that Hazel's plan can work.

"Fine." She locks eyes with Hazel. "You need incentives?"

Hazel frowns. "What do you mean?"

Ara uses her empath touch, this time filling Hazel with confidence and determination. "I believe in you, Hazel Levesque."

The girl nods and holds onto Ara's forearms. "Once we get out of here, I'm helping you with the curse. I promise."

She sighs. "Gods, what kind of awful do I have to be for people to stop promising stuff?"

Hazel smiles a little. "You can't be a Jackson and expect people not to like you."

Ara kneels and scowls at the man's feet.

"Careful there," Sciron tells her. "I may have stepped on something with that foot. It felt a little squishy inside my boot. But I'm sure you'll clean it properly."

Ara looks up with intense hatred and Hazel acts before the girl jumps at his throat. "Sciron, do you have water? Soap? How are we supposed to wash—"

"Like this!" Sciron spins his gun and hands it to Ara as a squirt bottle, rag included. Ara doesn't even point out that it's a glass cleaner. He fixes his posture, looking ahead. "I'll watch the horizon while you scrub my bunions. It'll be much more enjoyable."

Ara tries not to think about what's about to happen. If Hazel succeeds, she'll believe she's falling, and for a moment it'll feel like she's about to die, which is not an unknown sensation, but it'll be hard not to fight it. 

They have a plan, all Ara has to do is follow it. The rope keeping her bound to Hazel is still around her waist and she charmspeaked Sciron into ignoring its existence. When he kicks her (leaving a disgusting stain on her shirt), Ara falls and the rope around her waist vanishes. 

She screams with terror, then the giant turtle jumps and opens its mouth so Ara closes her eyes to not watch what comes next, she hears alarms going off back in the ship, her friends scream, Leo wails her name... and then it stops.

"What did you do?" Hazel cries.

Ara opens her eyes and realizes she's still dangling under the cliff's edge. The rope keeps her from going further down, Hazel must be looking quite convincing in her distress if she's holding Ara's dead weight. 

Steadily, Ara starts climbing back up.

"My friends will kill you now!" Hazel shouts, her breathing less strained now.

"They can try," Sciron responds. "But in the meantime, I think you have time to wash my other foot! Believe me, my dear. My turtle is full now. He doesn't want you too. You'll be quite safe, unless you refuse."

"Don't kick me," the girl begs.

Ara feels like a predator about to catch her prey, and it excites her. In moments like this, she can tell she still has some of the old Ara in her, when the butterflies in her wake up at the thought of proving someone wrong.

She draws out Almighty, turning it into a tranquilizer gun. Ara climbs until Sciron is in sight, he has his back turned, so he can't see her. "He's a sharpshooter..." She whispers with malice, charging her gun. "Me too."

"Stand and deliver!" 

Hazel shouts the signal and Ara pounces using a crevice for impulse. She shoots at Sciron's arms, and he drops the one gun he had left. Ara kicks the man and topples him over, Hazel seizes her by the arm so she doesn't slip over the cliff again, and they watch as Sciron gets eaten by his turtle.

"I hate pirates," Ara picks up the gun Sciron left behind. "Hazel, is it okay if I keep this?" She turns and sees the girl has fallen to her knees. "Hazel!"

Back on the ship, Hazel explains what Pluto told her during the moment she fainted. It's not good news, but it's not terrible either, it's doable and Ara is ready to keep going. When the meeting ends, she approaches Piper.

"Can you do me a favor?"

The girl makes a face. "You know Leo was my friend first—"

"I'm not talking about that!" Ara blushes. "I want you to cut my hair."

Piper relaxes. "Oh... but I'm not an expert, though? I mean, look at me."

"I like your hair," Ara replies. "I kept mine long and neat all my life, I took pride in it, but it's impossible to keep it that way nowadays, so might as well embrace the chaos. It's either that or finishing the quest like this," Ara holds the locks of hair Sciron ruined.

"Well, I might be good enough to make the chopped-off parts look like they're that way on purpose," Piper grins. "I can't promise it'll look perfect..."

Ara places an arm around her shoulders, steering her to the bathroom. "I can live with that."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh

[livelaughlego]

Lance has unexpectedly passed. We suspect he may have eaten a toxic plant when he escaped a couple times recently, as he had been vomiting nonstop and was very lethargic and hiding.

My mom also keeps her lily outside. If you know, you know.

All of the vets were closed, even the ER (only 12hr) so I decided to take him the next day. He did not make it to the next day. Around three am I heard him yowl loudly and I knew that was the end. I stayed by his side and so did Leo and Bella while he passed in my arms.

When I saw his hiding behavior and how he slowly moved from room to room, constantly accompanied by his brother, not responding to catnip and barely to pets, I think I knew. But I wanted to believe. To hope. He was still young, after all. But by the time a cat shows symptoms, it is often too late.

This has devastated me and I genuinely don't know if I can keep going without him. He was like a child to me. When I held him, my wails of grief rivaled any sound he could make. I have never made a sound like when I saw him lying there before, nor did I think I was even capable of it. I've never even heard such a sound, except for videos of people in warzones holding their lost children. I have lost several relatives, pets, and friends, but I have never felt such a feeling. It's like I'm a ghost, drifting from room to room. I'm watching from the outside and often find myself staring at one spot for no reason whenever I'm reminded of him. I sleep with his collar nearby, and feel the phantom pressure of a cat on me. My limbs are always numb and my chest aches. My body isn't my own. I can't go into public yet, because I'll only burst into tears the moment his face crosses my mind.

He was buried yesterday morning. This blog will stay up in memory of him. I may post old pictures occasionally.

(most TWs mentioned in tags are right below cut. seriously, do not click if you don't want to read about my mental illness and grief.)

This is his last picture alive and well, taken a few weeks ago. (He loved feet and shoes)

And this is his last photo ever, before we buried him.

It's like he's sleeping. That's what I've told myself since he passed. He's just sleeping.

He was so soft. He was so warm. He was my baby, my son.

He was at the top of my list of reasons to live. I had picked three reasons. Now there are only two, both of which are substantially weaker.

I have people to care for Leo and Bella, and my affairs are pretty much in order. I will not kill myself (don't get your panties in a twist 🙄), but if I die from grief then I will die at peace, my final declaration of love. The ultimate proof that I loved him so much, that I physically could not exist without his love. I pray for death to take me as I sleep, for God to take me how he did Enoch. For this pain and void in my heart to be gone forever. For me to join him in eternal slumber.

We'll just be sleeping. But we won't be alone. We'll have each other.

We're just sleeping.

I love you.

[softlyapocalytpic]

WIP Weekend

Tagged by @persephotea

I haven't written any fics recently, so take this list of Moments I wrote about Sunshine and Deacon! None of it is necessarily canon but rather me trying to figure out their dynamic

Tagging: @railroadlesbian @bleumanouche @sirmanmister (no pressure! just offering the chance haha)

Sunshine and Deacon come across a raider camp that has some people locked up and the decide to have a little fun with busting them out. A little work together challenge if you will. Sunshine goes to the front gate, Deacon takes the back, and they're both testing their lying skills to basically walk in the front door before raising hell. They both succeed (relatively) although some things fuck up and they have to improvise from their. The people get saved, the raiders get slaughtered (some running away screaming), and Sunny tosses back a grenade at the place as they walk away with arms wrapped around each other's necks. The implication here is this is pretty normal and practiced for them at this point.

Playing poker with the RR post HP going undercover, and the two of them cleaning out their fellow agents for the bits and bobs they bet. Glory in particular ends up losing incredibly poorly and she realizes at the end the two of them had been working together to split the winnings (the winnings not even being money, but knick knacks, snacks, and the life. they're a nonprofit, they don't have money).

Sunny and D sitting with Tinker and tossing conspiracy theories with him and each other and then he gets disappointed when he realizes that neither actually believes in them like he does they're just fucking around. Sunny shrugs and says they could be real, but the knowledge doesn't change her life at all so what's the point in worrying about? Deacon thinking to himself about how differently they view life and knowledge.

Playing baseball in Diamond City with each other and the kids and it generally causes a ruckus and they get told to quit so they all end up going back to the Dugout for nuka colas and food. Sunny and Deacon both take turns smiling fondly at the other while the other is wrapped up in telling stories to the kids. Sunny tells Deacon he'd make a really good teacher.

Playing pranks on the Brotherhood of Steel while Sunny is "in captivity" and generally just making the soldiers look like idiots. This includes stealing shit and misplacing it on purpose, Deacon talking circles around their ideology while Sunny aids him, and purposefully misunderstanding orders to create chaos.

Generally being silly competitive over kills which ends in them both lying constantly to one up the other because they're both great liars. This is observed by an outside party (Leo? Mac? Who knows) who point out how silly and ridiculous those numbers are to which they both start defending the other.

It's sunset on a rooftop somewhere and they've had a couple of very bad beers (maybe they just got that beer bot for the guy in Goodneighbor). Sunny suddenly and abruptly opening up to Deacon about her relationship with Piper and her pseudo-relationship with Veronica when something reminds her of them. She talks very casually about the revelation that she's probably just unlovable. Deacon is caught between wanting to yell "no your wrong" and not being able to be vulnerable, and so he says, "Eh, I'm not ever settling down with anybody. We can be unlovable together" or something to that extent.

Sunshine is having a bad migraine day and can't go outside. Deacon isn't used to her being like this and Sunny tries to hide it because she hates being seen as weak. His gust instinct is to leave her alone until she's ready to be bright and cheery again, but he pushes past that and goes to lay down beside her in her dark room and tells her stories. Anything he can come up with as long as he can. They can't see each other's faces and Deacon's heart is beating fast at being so close and intimate with someone, and he wants to bolt. But he stays and he lets Sunny softly hold his hand. He offers to get her water and food and take care of her in little non-invasive ways, and at first she flinches, but lets him take care of her. Lets herself be vulnerable too.

I think it makes sense for Deacon to have a dissociative disorder. He starts just kinda not being there in one of those quiet moments where they have to sit in silence for mission reasons and the stress is compounding. Sunny doesn't try to force him out of it but rather she holds him and grounds him by being this physical presence that reminds him that he's real. She tells him stories about her travels, not the outlandish, but the things she misses and loves about the Mojave.

Deacon does actually ask about Sunshine's past, but he's careful about what he asks about so as to not have her close off. He's constantly looking to know more about everything and everyone, and most the time Sunny offers a lot of the fun voluntarily, but he loves stories about the Mojave so he wants to know what it was life. He likes to fly off to the escapist fantasy of other worlds and he wants to go see the West Coast so badly but he never can. Eventually, I think she takes him there and shows him everything she can. He finally gets to travel for fun.

[saga-project]

"Just go in. Just go in, you idiot. Even if they end up kicking you out, at least you'll know then. You'll know what they really thought of you this whole time. Just....it's easy. Go in. Go in." That was the mantra that Saga had been repeating to themselves for the past ten minutes or so as they stalked back and forth at the official entrance to the lair, breathing picking up in spite of their better efforts. What if their brothers judged them for this. What if they'd just put on a friendly face in all of those texts to lure them into a false sense of security, so that they'd come back and face the same treatment from their family that Rakshan had given to them all those--

No. No. His family wasn't like that. They'd never--

"Don?"

Oh he absolutely could not do this. He'd decided. He was going to slide into the tunnel that was immediately next to the entrance and pray that they wouldn't--

And of course they were all there, looking in at him with wide eyes. Of course. Of course. Just his luck.

"Don? Hey. Do you wanna....come out?" Raph's voice, now, so gentle. So.....no, no, Raph was fooling him into thinking it was okay, any minute now the guillotine would fall and they'd cast him out and he'd be back on the streets again--

"G-get away from me. Just leave," he gritted out, hissing under his breath as he turned his face away from them.

"Don, we're not leavin'. We just wanna know what's going on. We're not gonna yell, we're just happy you're back--"

"Go away! Just leave!" Why was he saying that, he didn't mean it, why was he reverting back to everything that he'd said to Theatre and Leon and all the rest of them when he was trying so hard to convince them that he was a monster so they'd leave him, he was fine, this was his family, they wouldn't throw him out, they--

"We--"

You're fine you're fine you're fine just calm down you know they wanted you back you know--

But of course, Saga's treacherous brain was louder than his heart, in that moment. And that was what made him snap, spinning towards the mouth of the tunnel and baring his teeth in a feral snarl. "DON'T YOU GET IT, RAPH? I SCREWED EVERYTHING UP."

"No you--"

He gasped in a breath of air. Another, another. God, he felt like he was drowning. Like he was floating further and further away from the safety of the anchor, adrift in a seemingly endless sea. "For FIVE SECONDS I thought.....I thought I could be part of a family again. Like I wasn't so fucked in the head that I can't even act like a proper brother. But I just.....I'm just a stupid.....lonely.....fucked up monster, I-"

"No you're not." Leo's voice now, quiet. "You're our brother."

"I was your brother before. You want him back. Not me. Not someone who can't even sit through a fucking thunderstorm without going into SAVAGE mode. Not someone who has nightmares every fucking night. Not someone who's killed upwards of a hundred people or more, and who can still feel the blood sometimes, and who was taught that he has to be the perfect fucking soldier, and who can't even be affectionate with his family unless he's not even in fucking control of himself!" Saga was practically screaming themselves hoarse now, but they couldn't bring themselves to care. They'd tear their throat raw and bloody then, if it meant that their family would finally just listen to what they were saying.

"....Don."

"I can't....I just.....I wanted to believe it. I wanted to believe that I was worthy of having a family again. I wanted to believe that I could.....that I could be the person you want me to be. But I can't. And I ruined everything. And I almost hurt you. Because I'm too fucked in the head. And if you want to get rid of me, or....or....I don't know. I'll....I'll accept it. I'm just.....so tired of lying to all of you. Of pretending that I'm a good person. I'm....I'm not. Not anymore." A terrifying silence stretched on for several minutes after that, and Saga continued, trying to fill it, gasping and choking over their words. "And the worst part is that I fought so hard to get back here, but you would all be so much better off without me. Or at least it feels that way sometimes. And then I just confirmed it. You know, sometimes i just want to.....and it doesn't make any sense. I don't want to.....to die, I just.....I'm just so tired. When I'm not in control of myself, it's the only time that I'm....that I'm not tired. That I'm not scared. That I don't have to think about anything. About being a monster. About the fact that I hurt people for years. I....I didn't want you to find out. I was afraid that if you knew, you.....but I guess I screwed that up too."

Their words weren't making sense anymore. They knew that, as they drew their knees up to their chest and buried their face within them. "You've all been so nice to me and I don't deserve it and I don't know how to be a part of a family again and I ruined it and now you know how screwed up I am and you'll leave and...god, I fought and killed so many people, I'm not a hero like you guys are and I'm sorry that I can't be and--"

There was a hand gently being laid on his face. Saga flinched away from it for a moment, hissing--but it wasn't his brothers. It was his father, looking at him with a heartbreakingly vulnerable expression on his face. "Oh, my son. My brave little purple. If I had had any idea of what you went through....you could have come and talked to me. I am sorry if it seemed as though you could not. I know the horrors of the Nexus all too well. To think that they made a child fight there is a new brand of cruelty--" Splinter seemed to trip over his words then, angry tears coursing down his whiskers, and all Saga could do was stare.

"....Dad-"

"I could not protect you, Donatello. And I am so very sorry for it. But do not think yourself a monster for being forced to act upon the whims of others. It is not those actions that make you who you are. It is your feelings."

"But.....even you grew to.....and I....I got used to it. I learned to like it. All the fights and the killing. Doesn't that--doesn't that make me a monster?"

"My son. Why might that have been."

"....because it was expected. Because it was.....them or me. O-oh."

"Exactly."

Mikey stepped forward then, voice soft but no less kind. "You're not messed up. I know you weren't trying to hurt me, Don. It was just your brain being all weird. You're not a monster, I'm not afraid of you. You're just....you. You're allowed to feel things and be messy, that's all part of healing! Take it from Doctor Feelings."

"And nothing you could say or do would stop us from bein' your brothers." Raph, now. "I'm sorry that we made you feel like you had to hide it, and I'm sorry that you felt that bad and you felt like you couldn't come to us. We're gonna change that, okay? Whatever you wanna talk about, we're here."

"Personally-" And here Leo approached, laying a careful hand on Saga's shoulder. "I kinda think you're the one good thing that came out of that shithole."

And when Saga glanced up at all of them, finally uncurling himself from his borderline fetal position, all he could see was sincerity in their gaze. He saw no traces of a lie, nothing to indicate that they were hiding their true feelings from him. No. These were his brothers. His family. They loved him. No matter what he did. And while he couldn't guarantee that he would never feel this way again, never potentially fear their reaction to one of his oddities--

--he couldn't deny that Bee and Theatre's words being validated was a nice feeling. He let out a shaky breath, then, glancing at all of them in turn. "But....but I don't know how to be a....a brother."

"You were off to a pretty good start, Don."

"One step at a time. You're our family, Don. We love you. No matter how messed up you might be."

A long, shaky exhale. A glance up at the ceiling, while they swiped the tears from their vision. ".....okay. okay. I....I want to go home. Take me home. Where.....where my family is."

"Sure thing, Don. Come on, let's get you the rest of the way back....hey, are those cupcakes?"

".....my friend Bee made them. The one I got my name from. They're very good."

"Oh, man, I can't wait to try them, you'll have to tell me all about-"

And as they gently helped to carry both him and the cupcakes back inside the lair, Saga looked around at his surroundings, gently smiling to himself. This place....it didn't feel like a complete alien landscape to him anymore. It felt safe. Warm. Like clothes straight out of the dryer. Like sinking into bed after a long day of work. Like home.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Saga allowed himself to believe that it was his. And that he was here to stay.

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 124: Everyone Forgets Everything

Xenologue 16: Heirs of Fate II: Realms Collide

Shigure narrates that this chapter is about a different realm with a separate Kana, the male one. The chapter opens with Sophie and Dwyer in a town, fighting against dragon form Kana. Dwyer explains that he found Kana crying and that he suddenly turned into a dragon. He speculates Kana lost control because his mother died like their fathers. Sophie refuses to believe Silas is dead and says that they'll rescue their fathers.

The map scrolls over to Forrest, who is traveling with his retainers, Nina and Ophelia. Ophelia is giving directions using a rock that she's pretending is magic, because she forgot that she made up the fact that it's magic. Ophelia says it was a good-luck charm from Odin. As an aside, I do love the fact that Odin once again sacrificed himself to hold off enemies attacking his loved ones. Ophelia says that she believes with all her heart that he wouldn't die, but doubt is beginning to creep in. Forrest says that he didn't encounter his father, but found Byrnhildr lying on the ground, implying Leo dropped it after dying. Nina says that she won't mourn Niles, because he's an asshole who never visited her and that it would have been better if Niles saved Leo instead of her. Forrest tells her to perish the thought, because he couldn't get by without her and Ophelia's company. 

Forrest's group hears Kana's roars. Nina spots Vallite soldiers approaching and Forrest decides to go save Dwyer and Sophie, saying it would disgrace the bloodline of Nohr to let them die. A battle begins, using Ryoma's boss map from Conquest. Forrest and Dwyer can talk to each other. In this conversation, they introduce their teams. Dwyer says he's happy to be rescued by a beautiful woman, then corrects himself to say he's happy to be rescued by a beautiful man. Alternatively, you can have Forrest talk to Sophie, who correctly identifies Forrest as male and mentions Forrest’s horse is a girl.

This is an escape map, giving you two routes to go. Asugi, Caeldori, Midori, and Rhajat stand in your way. Shiro, a swordmaster like his father, stands like Ryoma in the middle. I assumed he would stay there for twenty turns like his dad and took my time through this map. I was wrong. He begins chasing after turn six, making this map a terrifying dash for the exit.

Kana is in dragon form during this map, which is neat. Apparently, you get a scroll with the skill Magictaker if you beat this map without losing any units. I say apparently, because I’m getting this info from the wiki. Shiro killed a few of my units. You get similar skills but for different stats in all of the other Heirs of Fate chapters except the last one.

After battle, Kana turns back to normal. He explains that Corrin died after giving him her sword and saying to run. Nina points out that they must have all been attacked at the same time for a reason. Forrest says Kana will be useful for saving their parents. Kana begins crying and Forrest attacks him with Byrnhildr to stop him from transforming. Forrest explains that time does not flow in reverse (except in Awakening) and that they can only help Corrin by looking forward, not back. He points out that no one else is frozen with grief and tells Kana to be a brave warrior. Yata turns into Grim Yato. Ophelia likes the name.

Kana reveals he knows everyone else's name already, even though they don't know him, and asks why they don't remember him. Ghost Azura pops up and explains that their memories will return when it's all over. Kana can't remember Azura dying. Azura says that he'll soon forget her, just as the others did, just as they have forgotten Kana. Sophie says that she would have remembered forgetting Kana. Also Azura gives Kana a dragon stone.

Azura says that maybe they've never met this version of Kana, because of the whole Deeprealms are alternate universes thing. She says some flowery shit about memory and says there's no point in explaining stuff because they'll only forget it. She says there's no reason to worry about forgetting their loved ones, because you won't remember it and be sad about it. Ophelia and Dwyer disagree, calling it a dire tragedy and saying that forgotten people are essentially dead respectively. Azura says that memories and life are interchangeable. She warns that, when asked to choose between their memories and something else, that they should choose what they can't afford to lose.

Shigure sings the Conquest verse. He implies that the curse on Valla is responsible for the scrambled memories and says the key to escaping it is a stone left behind by a dragon. He says that straying from the correct path will cause the curse to eradicate all memories and emotions, washing them away like the tide.

He really is Azura’s son, considering how frustratingly cryptic he is all the time.

Support: Mana/Selkie

C: Selkie and Kana think each other are cool. They decide to go hunting together.

B: Kana and Selkie are good at hunting together. They decide to come up with battle plans together.

A: Kana and Selkie are good at killing together.

S: Kana says he likes her and they get together.

Review: BOOOORING.

Support: Hisame/Rhajat

C: Rhajat's curses aren't working and end up doing the opposite of what she intends. Hisame gives her tea and pickles which are so good Rhajat thinks they are enchanted.

B: The tea calms Rhajat and makes her magic work right. Rhajat loses a charm, but remembers where it is after Hisame gives her tea. Hisame explains he is always relaxed because Hinata is high-strung and taught him what not to do.

A: Rhajat makes tea alone. Hisame is worried she won't have tea with him anymore, but she says she needs to learn his relaxation techniques.

S: Hisame is stressed because he likes Rhajat. Rhajat calls this cute and says she wants to be with him forever, because his tea made her deadlier. Hisame isn't calmed by this.

Review: Decent but not extraordinary.

Support: Caeldori/Siegbert

C: Siegbert sees Caeldori fighting and says the throne should belong to someone like her.

B: Siegbert explains he's worried about whether he's fit to be the king of Nohr, because he thinks he is inadequate. He explains a king must be a perfect paragon who excels at all things, or else he does not deserve the power vested in him. Unfortunately, Siegbert sees people better than him in every subject. Caeldori says that perfect monarchs only exist in fairy tales because no one is perfect. Siegbert says Caeldori is perfect.

A: Siegbert apologizes for calling Caeldori perfect and ignoring the pain of people thinking she's gifted, because actually she works hard. Caeldori says Siegbert can perceive the pain of others, meaning he'll be a good king.

S: They get together in a scene where neither of them feel like themselves.

Review: Siegbert’s anxieties over being king are good, but this one flubs it with him apologizing for thinking Caeldori is great at everything. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t like Caeldori very much. Her lack of flaws make her boring and annoying. And yes, there are a few Supports where she is flawed, but this isn’t one of them.

Support: Ignatius/Ophelia

C: Ophelia warns Ignatius that evil spirits are feeding on his fear. She shouts DUCK to mess with him, causing Ignatius to faint. Ophelia tries to wake him up by setting him on fire.

B: Ignatius is mad at Ophelia, so she tells him that frowning attracts evil spirits. Ignatius tries to smile. Ophelia says she'll protect him from evil with a good luck charm and chunks salt at him. Ignatius asks if it worked and Ophelia admits she's just making it up as she goes along.

A: Ignatius decides the good luck charm worked because he hasn't died yet. Ophelia says sure let's go with that. She begins researching miracles, like how swordsmen with cursed hands unlock hidden potential through emotional trauma. She says with miracles, their friends wouldn't have to die.

S: Ophelia doesn't find any miracle magic. Ignatius proposes. Ophelia decides to test a new spell on him with only a low chance of instant death.

Review: This one is fun, but Ophelia acts a bit too ridiculous.

[alj4890]

All Through the Night

A Choices: The Royal Romance Dark AU

A/N Picking up right where we left off in the prologue and delving deep into the Beaumont's part of this storyline. We will also begin to see what some of our other TRR characters are and how they affect this divided kingdom of Cordonia. This is a VERY long chapter since I went into both Beaumont's histories, but I couldn’t find a good place to end their beginning to this storyline, LOL. Hope it doesn’t ruin this for anyone.

@gkittylove99 ​​ @krsnlove ​ @kingliam2019 ​ @texaskitten30 ​ @yourmajesty09 ​ @mom2000aggie ​ @ofpixelsandscribbles ​ @twinkleallnight ​ @lodberg ​ @twinkleallnight ​ @amandablink ​ @neotericthemis ​  @mm2305 ​ @sfb123 ​ @iufilms​​ ​ ​ @tessa-liam @busywoman​ 

Masterlist

Part 1

Outside the Cordonian Palace...

"Home?" Drake asked as he fell into step beside Liam.

"So soon?" The prince smiled at him. "The night is still young. We could check out a club or two."

"Uh huh." Drake shook his head. "Nice try, but I know you, Liam. Where are we really headed?"

Liam's smile dimmed. "I thought about checking on Leo."

"Leo? Why?"

"I'm worried about him. That last argument he had with Father...he hasn't been in contact at all with anyone at home." Liam softly sighed. "He hasn't answered any of my calls or messages."

"Then why visit?" Drake's tone was filled with bitterness. "Some siblings leave without a second glance and don't care how much it hurts you in the process."

Liam winced at the reminder he had caused his closest friend. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to bring up memories of Sav--"

"She's dead now." Drake bit out.

Liam closed his mouth. He knew that wasn't true, but it was the only way Drake could deal with what Savannah had done. Ever since the Beaumont’s appeared that fateful night, the Walker's had been permanently damaged.

He didn't know if there was even a chance for a reconciliation between the two.

Clearing his throat, Liam returned to the subject of Leo. "I can't come down here without checking on him."

"Is he even here anymore?" Drake asked. "I thought he had left Cordonia all together after your father refused his latest petition."

"He did. But through new sources, I have discovered that he not only returned, but has been back for quite some time."

They walked on in silence until they stopped in front of a small townhome.

They stared at the façade where not a single light was on.

Liam checked the time. "Perhaps it is too late to call upon him now that he is part of the human world."

"We can always come back after sunset." Drake offered.

"You don't have to accompany me." Liam placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "I think I can manage to get around down here on my own."

"And leave you alone with not only a Nevarkis but also a Beaumont protecting the streets from your kind." Drake's eyes narrowed. "Fat chance."

Liam shook his head. "Olivia is not going to harm me. And--"

"You can't trust her. I know you think you're little bond you made with her as a kid will keep you safe, but she'll end up just like her family and betray you the first moment she can."

"She's one of my closest friends." Liam argued. "She would never--"

"And as for Beaumont, do you honestly believe he will not seek revenge for what happened to his brother?" Drake snapped. "I'm surprised he has waited this long to make a move."

Liam knew there was little use arguing when Drake fell into this state of mind. With a sigh, he turned away from his brother's current dwelling and began to make the long trek back to the Blackspire Mountains.

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

Earlier that night, Ramsford...

So many memories...

Maxwell stood in front of the wall of weapons his ancestors had collected over the years.

His hand raised, trailing over the gold kraken near the hilt of his namesake's sword, the very one that felt like an extension of his own arm.

"Here you are." Bertrand grumbled. "We need to discuss the next Beaumont Bash."

The young lord had to summon all his strength to fall into the act that was necessary.

"You came to the right man." He spun around, his movements as smooth as silk. "What would you like me to do?"

"I'm leaving music selection in your hands. Savannah," Bertrand smiled softly, "will be handling the decorations. I will of course be choosing the menu." He held up his many lists of chores. "I want my wife's first ball to be praised by all who attend."

"This will be the Beaumont Bash to beat all the previous ones." Maxwell promised.

"I knew I could count on you." Bertrand hesitated. "Perhaps, is there a young lady you would like to invite?"

Maxwell fought to keep his carefree act in place.

"You know me." He shrugged with a dimpled grin. "It's difficult to find...someone right."

Bertrand patted his shoulder. "You'll find the right person."

Once he disappeared down the stairs, Maxwell allowed his smile to disappear.

The past year and a half had been difficult. Becoming this version of a party loving noble grated on his nerves. He wished that they could go back to what they once were...monster hunters.

The Beaumont Brothers had once struck fear in the Dark Kingdom. The very notion that they had been tasked to bring a creature to justice sent many of them scurrying into the far reaches of the realm. Yet, none could escape them for long.

At least...that was how it once was.

That one fateful encounter with the King of the Dark Kingdom made their entire world turn upside down.

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

2 years ago...

"Wait." Bertrand placed his hand on Maxwell's shoulder.

He did a few hand signals.

Maxwell nodded and slipped his sword out of its sheath. He briefly closed his eyes, using his other senses to zoom in on where the danger was. The woods along the outskirts of the Dark Kingdom could be treacherous during the daylight. At night, it was nothing but a death trap to the random lost hiker.

Sensing a presence a little to his right, Maxwell took a few silent steps forward.

Bertrand followed, guarding his back with a crossbow.

"Stop!" A female's voice cried out. "Please, my lords. Help me!"

The brothers froze at the sobs that followed that plea.

"She sounds human." Bertrand whispered. "Could she be lost?"

"This far up the mountain?" Maxwell countered. "Not likely. It's probably another vile fiend hoping to trap her next meal."

"Please." The voice was faint, sounding almost defeated. "Please help me escape."

Escape. That one word meant she was an innocent human, one that would most likely perish from the monsters that resided nearby.

Bertrand stopped Maxwell and stepped in front of him.

Parting the branches of a bush, they saw a woman sitting on the ground. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her face was buried in her arms. Her body shook with muffled cries.

"Will no one help me?" She repeated over and over.

Bertrand lowered his weapon then knelt before her.

Maxwell remained tense, ready to lop off her head if she even made the slightest movement to harm his brother.

"We can help you." Bertrand reached out and laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Who--"

The brothers jumped back when she lifted her face.

She was a Walker and not just any Walker: Savannah Walker, only sister to the crown prince's right hand, Sir Drake Walker.

The two were the only descendants left of a human family that once centuries ago had made a blood oath to the Rhys. Each generation served as a protector and companion of sorts to the reigning family.

Savannah wiped at her tears. She cautiously rose, then held her hands out to them. "Please. I know who you are and I mean you no harm."

Bertrand had yet to raise his crossbow. His jaw was slack as he gazed upon her.

Maxwell pointed his sword at her. "We received a message asking us to search for a missing human." His eyes narrowed. "Did you send that message?"

She nodded. "Forgive me for lying, but I knew you wouldn't come if you knew it was from me."

Maxwell cursed, his nerves notched to an eleven as his eyes scanned the forest for a possible ambush.

"Why do you need to escape?" Bertrand asked.

"Aren't you the prince's right hand girl?" Maxwell taunted. "No longer enjoying being a vampire's plaything?"

Savannah winced at his insults.

"That's enough." Bertrand snapped. "She needs our help."

Maxwell's jaw dropped. "Surely you don't believe her?"

"I do." Bertrand moved closer to her. "Tell me what is going on."

Maxwell looked up to make certain the sky wasn't falling. Had his overly cautious brother, the very one that made him train hours upon hours each and every day, just defend an enemy of Cordonia?

"Prince Liam demands nothing from me, other than the occasional donation of blood." She sniffed. "He is very kind, but I don't want to remain here." Her warm brown eyes held Bertrand's. "I want to live a normal life, have a family...one that isn't bound to live here."

Bertrand rubbed a hand down his face. She looked so desperate, so in need of reassurance that she could have that dream.

"You're bound by a blood oath." Maxwell reminded her with a shrug. "There's nothing we can do to help you."

"Please!" She jerked her hands back when his sword swatted them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"Maxwell Percival Beaumont!" Bertrand moved in front of Savannah. "Lower that weapon this instant!"

"Have you lost your mind?" Maxwell motioned toward the one that dragged them out of their beds. "Has she cast some spell over you? She's a member of the inner Dark Court. She probably has some signal that will have Constantine and his spawn out here to end us."

"I don't." She cried. "I could never do that."

Bertrand wrapped an arm around her. "We can't help you escape tonight. The blood oath will kill you if you break it without magic." He gently squeezed her close. "We'll find out what must be done and then rescue you."

"We'll do what now?" Maxwell jerked his brother away from her. "We are not prepared to face off against both Constantine and Liam."

"We'll find a way around them." Bertrand hissed. "Regina will know what to do."

"You're involving the witches now?" Maxwell's eyes grew incredulous. "You know they don't take sides."

Bertrand glanced back at Savannah. "I know. But we must try."

He returned to her and softly whispered the plan.

Maxwell watched as her eyes filled with tears again. She nodded, whispered a way to contact her and then impulsively kissed his brother’s cheek.

"Thank you." She squeezed his hand. "I must return before someone notices I'm absent."

She took off, stumbling through the brush, and disappeared from sight.

"We're really doing this?" Maxwell muttered.

"We are." Bertrand vowed. "She doesn't deserve to be imprisoned here for what her ancestors did."

"Everyone is in some type of prison thanks to our ancestors." Maxwell told him as he started back down the mountain. "Some of us just endure our life sentence better than others."

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

A few weeks went by after encountering Ms. Walker. Bertrand summoned Regina and her coven to discuss how best to help Savannah.

The Guardian, as she was referred to by the younger witches, pondered this problem. Reassuring him that she would find a way, she rose to retire to a guest room.

"Just a minute, please." Maxwell held up a hand to stop her. "Your admirer must never know of this. He'll kill her as well as us if he thinks we plan on disrupting his castle."

Regina stiffened at the word, admirer.

It was no secret that Constantine had fallen in love with her. Years ago, the vampire had made her an offer of marriage. She had been tempted to accept, given that she had lost her heart to him as well. Then tragedy struck and her cousin and her husband perished in a plane crash, leaving their young daughter Madeleine, an orphan.

Regina had noticed that the little girl had inherited magical skills that could be molded into a powerful witch. Knowing that their talent would not be welcomed in the Dark Kingdom, she refused Constantine's proposal and remained in Cordonia. She had raised the young countess to be a witch that would do whatever she could to protect the innocent and needy.

Madeleine had formed friendships with two other noble ladies, completing the coven that would replace Regina on her death. Ladies Kiara and Penelope studied hard, yet were never quite as powerful as Madeleine.

And now the Beaumont’s were asking a favor.

Regina knew she owed them one. Hundreds of years earlier Percival Beaumont had saved the life of her ancestor, Kayden Vescovi. Without him, Regina and Madeleine would not be here today nor imbued with magic.

Madeleine slipped inside.

"Do you really think we can break a blood oath?" She sat down beside her relative. "Blood magic is tricky enough as it is. I can only imagine how much it will take from us to break."

Regina gently patted her hand. "We will do all we can to find a way. Our debt to the Beaumont’s must be repaid."

Madeleine nodded in agreement. "I brought some books along. I'll see if they have anything that can help us."

Regina watched her pixie like cousin slip out the door with a fond smile. It slowly firmed into a frown as she thought of what she had discovered before journeying to Ramsford.

Leo Rhys, former prince of the Dark Kingdom had begun visiting Madeleine in secret. 

She knew she would have to address that once she discovered the type of relationship Madeleine had with the young man. Now though, she was needed to solve this problem for Bertrand.

It took weeks of research, then having to wait upon a waning gibbus moon before a potion could be prepared. Once Regina had placed the bottle sealed with a waxed cork in Bertrand's hand, she had explained what must be done.

"Savannah must drink this and declare herself free from the Rhys' family." She explained. "Then she must force herself to turn her back on them and walk away. It will be painful for her, but she will survive."

"Thank you." Bertrand bowed. "I knew if anyone could help us, it would be you."

She gently squeezed his hand. "If you need me, do not hesitate to call. I will be here as fast as I can."

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

That night, the brothers slipped quietly through a gate into the Dark Kingdom. Savannah had told Bertrand that it was their best place to go undetected, given that the guard typically dozed off around the midnight hour.

"How often have you two talked?" Maxwell whispered.

"Everyday." Bertrand replied.

"Everyday?!"

"Keep your voice down." Bertrand ordered.

"She called to pester you everyday over this blood oath potion?"

"Not exactly." Bertrand slinked further into the shadows when they noticed a few people lingering around a town center.

"Then what have you been talking about?" Maxwell prodded.

He wasn't prepared to hear the answer.

"Marriage." Bertrand reluctantly replied

"Marriage? To whom?" His eyes widened. "You're going to marry a Walker?!"

"Yes." Bertrand narrowed his eyes. "She is kind and--"

"She's a Walker. A. Walker." Maxwell stressed. "Enemy to any and all monster hunters."

"She's not our enemy." Bertrand snapped. "For that matter, she says that Liam isn't either. He wants peace between our kingdoms."

"Oh well, that's a relief." Maxwell mocked, wiping his brow. "The word of a vampire is the one thing you can always count on."

Bertrand grit his teeth together to keep from saying something he might regret. He needed his younger brother's support and approval with this decision. He had never had a moment in his life since Maxwell's birth where he didn't have that. He would need it even more so in taking Savannah for his bride. He also hoped that Maxwell would become a brother to her since she was about to lose the only family she had ever known.

Regina had told him to stress to Savannah that breaking this blood oath could also destroy the bond she had with her brother, Drake.

He had done so over the phone, then wished he could be there to hold her as her heart broke over this hefty price.

With a shaky voice, she had remained determined to leave and marry him.

Creeping onward towards the castle, the brothers remained each lost in thought of what the future would bring.

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

Castle Rhys, that fateful night....

"Welcome home, my dear Sherry. And Rashad, how was your trip? Successful as usual, I believe." Constantine greeted the cousins warmly.

The two bowed and curtsied before relaxing again.

"It was very successful, your majesty." Rashad sat down in a chair catty cornered to the king's. "In fact, I was able to...."

While the pair talked, Sherry hurried over to hug Liam.

"Sherry!" He swung her into a tight hug. "I didn't think you were returning to us so soon."

"I missed home." She stepped back and grinned at Drake. "How have you been, Sir Drake?"

"Stop that sir mess and come here." He couldn't maintain his frown for long around her after pulling her into a tight hug. "The Blackspire Mountains haven't been the same without you flying about."

Sherry, formally Lady Sherveen Alcantar cousin to the Duke of Domvallier, Lord Rashad Kovak, was a fire-user. She and Rashad were direct descendants of King Dominic and his secret marriage to Sei Rhuka after the death of Queen Kenna. The fire users had decided to marry to protect the true heir to the kingdom and give him a family that would always be ready to fight by his side.

Like their ancestors the two cousins could transform into dragons and were known to fly above the clouds, away from curious humans.

Given their direct descent and blood relationship to each member of the Rhys family, their closeness had been encouraged with each and every generation. Sei had been the one to decree that every dragon born was to devote their lives to keeping their vampire relatives safe.

"Where's Savannah?" Sherry asked. "It seems like forever since I last saw her."

"Sav's been down lately." Drake explained. "Maybe she has been missing you and Rashad." He began to walk away, "I'll go fetch her."

Liam motioned for Sherry to sit with him.

As she lowered herself down, her gray eyes turned silver. A delectable smell seemed to waft from nearby. It fluttered her senses.

"Excuse me a moment, Liam," she pushed her jet black hair back and searched for the source.

It wasn't food she smelled, but rather someone. Possibly the one if she was to go by how her ancestors described finding the perfect mate. Her heartbeat accelerated as the smell became stronger with each step she took.

Then she noticed the guards' bodies lining the second floor hallway.

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

Savannah said the words necessary after drinking the potion. Her insides became engulfed with flames, scalding her blood of any magic.

"AHH-" she clamped her hands over her mouth to muffle the agonizing scream while boiling tears slipped down her cheeks. A white hot mist began to float up from her skin.

"Savannah!" Bertrand tried to take her in his arms, but was burned upon touching a bare piece of her skin.

"Let's go." She managed to say through painful gasps. "We must hurry. It's almost--"

Her bedroom door flew open. A stunned Drake followed by Sherry walked into the room.

"Sav? What did you do?" Drake gripped his head. "Why don't I feel--"

Sherry stared wide eyed at Maxwell. She could feel the heat move over her body and pooling within her palms. One little flick of a finger would have fire burning within her grasp.

The one I'm meant for is a hunter?

But how could this be? They couldn't--impossible--how would they ever--

"I'm leaving, Drake." Savannah sobbed. "I can't take it anymore."

"What are you talking about?" He staggered against a wall and slowly slid down. "Why do I feel like you have died? That you've been taken from me?"

"I'm sorry." She knelt beside him. "So incredibly sorry."

He passed out from the pain pulsating in his veins.

"No!" Savannah tried to wake him up. "Drake please--"

"We have to go." Maxwell eyed the silver irises holding his own gaze. "Don't make any sudden moves."

Sherry merely nodded.

The three edged around her to the door.

"Who are you?" Sherry asked.

"No concern of yours." He bit out.

"But..."

She had to chase after him.

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

It had happened in the blink of an eye. One minute, they saw the exit and felt elation at having succeeded. Then a sinister creature flew over their heads. It landed in front of them then threw its cloak back.

Constantine had found them.

"What did you do Savannah?" He snarled. "Why is your brother unconscious? Whatever you did also hurt Liam."

"Sir, I am so sorry. But I can't--"

"You haven't begun to feel sorrow." Constantine held her gaze, then reached out to torment her mind until she was beyond help.

Bertrand knew what was happening and jumped in front of Savannah, taking the hit of Constantine's frightening power.

He fell to the floor with a scream. Curling into a ball, he cried out for his dead mother and then for Maxwell.

Constantine slumped against a wall too, his powers surprisingly weak.

"Bertrand!" Savannah gently touched him and tried to snap him out of whatever nightmare Constantine had thrust him in.

It was no use. Whatever the vampire king had done, there was no clear way to help Bertrand.

"What did you do to him?" Maxwell demanded. "Tell me now before I kill you!"

"Do?" Constantine's voice had grown weak. "I got my revenge."

"No please!" Savannah pleaded. "There's bound to be a way we can end this amicably."

Bertrand’s screams turned to whimpers.

Fighting his own panic, Maxwell picked up his brother and began to back out of the room.

"Wait!" Sherry stepped forward. "I must--"

Liam appeared, causing the hairs on Maxwell's neck to rise.

"Savannah?" He stumbled forward, catching himself against a side table. "What is going on?"

"I'm so sorry Liam." Savannah whispered. "Please tell Drake I love him, but I have to live my own life. Tell him," she glanced back at the man sobbing in Maxwell's arms, "tell him I'm to marry Bertrand Beaumont."

"No!" Sherry shook her head.

It couldn't be. She had lost her heart, her very choice to choose another mate, to Maxwell Beaumont.

"Savannah," Constantine hissed. "If you ever return to the Dark Kingdom, I will kill you for this treason."

Tears continued to slip down her cheeks, her blood had cooled, giving her a new dose of strength to turn her back upon her king and leave all she'd ever known forever.

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

Maxwell had struggled to get his brother down the mountain. Once back within Cordonia's borders, he had called Regina. No human doctor could help Bertrand. He hoped that a witch could reverse the effects of Constantine's vicious attack.

Regina worked tirelessly along with Madeleine to find a way to cure the young duke. The potions and spells they tried did little to bring him out of his fear.

Savannah never left Bertrand's side. She took care of him, fed him, tried to soothe him when he cried out. She did everything Regina suggested in between their treatments. Maxwell begrudgingly began to soften toward her when he saw that she truly loved his brother.

After a month of this, Regina finally sat Maxwell and Savannah down to offer them one final solution.

"I cannot bring him back." Her eyes were filled with sorrow. "Constantine's power is too strong. The damage is too extensive."

Savannah bit back a sob. "It's all my fault."

Maxwell silently agreed. If she had only accepted her lot in life like everyone else did.

"Bertrand made his choice." He mumbled, knowing he would want him to try and comfort her. "You were his choice."

She blinked back tears. "I won't give up on him."

Maxwell wondered. Hadn't she given up on Liam and Drake? And whoever that girl was with the silver eyes? Why would she remain with a mentally damaged man she had only seen once before and had a few conversations with?

Only monsters fell in love that quickly.

Was she--

"What I can do is give Bertrand a new mind." Regina leaned forward. "It will take years to make it permanent. You will have to slip him potions until the new memories settle."

Savannah and Maxwell sat up.

"New mind? So you can give him what he was before the attack?" Maxwell asked.

"I could, but I won't." Regina explained. "I'm afraid the knowledge of the Dark Kingdom would cause the new mind to never fully develop. His fears are forever tied to Constantine now. What he's seeing in his mind are you both, your parents, and even himself being tortured by the king and other monstrous creatures. It is a never ending slide show of agony."

Maxwell swallowed as stray tears began to fall down his cheeks. No wonder Bertrand screamed his name and their mom's. He thought he couldn't save them.

"Bertrand will never again be a hunter and he must never know that you are still one, Maxwell." She reached out and took his hand. "From the moment I begin the incantation, you all will need to live as a normal human."

"Whatever he needs, I'll do." He promised.

Savannah added her own fervent vow that she would give Bertrand that life.

Regina nodded. "Come. Madeleine and I will walk you through the potions you'll need to secretly give him. Tomorrow, we will begin the process."

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

Within a month, Bertrand was back on his feet. He was pleased that he would be marrying his fiancée soon. He was content with the sparkling wine his duchy was famous for. He even took great delight in being a part of Queen Olivia's council.

And he believed his younger brother needed something to occupy him.

Maxwell managed to pull off his late nights out as partying instead of monitoring the boundaries between the two kingdoms. Olivia would join him as much as she could to help, but he preferred being alone.

He needed to prefer being alone.

And then, after a few months of proactive policing, he saw the silver eyed girl.

She was returning from an evening out with human friends.

He stepped out of the shadows, blocking her path.

His eyes darted over her, trying to discern what she exactly was. He could usually pick a vampire out of a crowd easily. Witches were not known to live in the Dark Kingdom. She could possibly be a human that Constantine and Liam preferred to feed from. But that didn't seem likely.

Those humans never left the Dark Kingdom.

He knew there were other creatures rumored to live up there. Werewolves could be occasionally heard at night. There were the elves who kept the kingdom wealthy. An occasional troll would slip out to attack a human. A few families of vampires from other nations had moved a long time ago to the only kingdom where they didn't have to live in fear.

And then there were the mythical dragons.

Maxwell had never seen one, save from renderings of King Dominic and his fellow fire user Sei.

The girl stopped, keeping about six feet between them. "Good evening, Lord Maxwell."

He blinked at the friendliness he could hear. "Good evening, umm..."

"Sherveen Alcantar, or Sherry.” She blushed over her stuttering. “ I prefer Sherry."

"Sherry." He repeated. "What are you doing down here?"

"I was meeting with some friends of mine." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "My cousin is business partners with William Sloane, do you know him?"

Maxwell gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Oh. Well, he was hosting a dinner on his yacht and I, um, went." She lowered her eyes.

"And what exactly was on the menu?" Maxwell asked.

Her eyes flashed at that condescending tone of his. "The usual a multimillionaire would have. Appetizers of caviar and shrimp. A roasted beet and pear salad. Lobster. Roasted parsnips and potatoes. Complete with a dessert of chocolate soufflé sprinkled with powdered sugar and gold flakes."

Maxwell merely quirked an eyebrow.

She huffed in irritation. "Anyway, there is something I think we should discuss."

"Savannah is not coming back. She's married to my brother." He informed her.

"No, that's not what we need to talk about." Taking a deep breath, she let the words finally be said. "You are meant for me."

"I'm what?" His eyes narrowed. "Are you a vampire."

"No." She shifted, raising one of her legs to take a shoe off. "But we are meant to be together." Her silver eyes began to glow brighter. "And I believe you know it."

"I--" was that why he there wasn't a day that passed where he didn't think about her?

She removed her other shoe, sighing at the relief she felt. "I'm a fire-user."

He snorted with surprised laughter. "Right. And I'm really a--"

His eyes widened when she produced a flame in her palm. Winking at him, she produced two more and began to juggle the fireballs.

"That doesn't mean--"

He fell backwards when she turned into a black dragon with silver tipped wings. Smoke curled out of her nostrils as she leveled a humor filled eye upon him.

He stared at the creature he believed was made up.

With a puff of smoke, she transformed back into a human.

A naked human.

"Don't stare." She ordered, pulling out a spare dress that she always kept close at hand from her purse.

He couldn't help it. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Once she was properly covered, she sat down beside him.

"What do we do about our destiny?" She asked.

He didn't know. His world it seemed had truly fallen apart.

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

He tried to fight it. Maxwell didn't like the fact that he was intended for someone else without any say whatsoever. It seemed that a human couldn't fight the magic or whatever it was when a monster recognized you as their mate.

Sherry began to show up wherever he was whenever he left home. She'd spend a few minutes talking to him, then leave before he could deny they were meant to be.

It drove him crazy. There were times he wanted to accept it. Then there were times he wanted her to never return. Either way he couldn't stop thinking about her. He no longer saw any other woman as being attractive.

One day, he was walking through a park to try and clear his head. It hurt to no longer be able to discuss things like this with Bertrand. He needed his guidance in this. Of course given how he had fallen for Savannah, he probably would have encouraged Maxwell to be with a dragon.

Sherry appeared before him.

He bumped into her. His arms reached out and wrapped around her to keep her from falling down.

She took advantage of his momentum and kissed him.

He had frozen with the feel of her warm lips touching his. Against everything he had was and believed about the creatures that lived in the kingdom high in the mountains, he held her closer and took over the kiss.

Her soft hum of desire drifted up to his ears. Her fingers slipped into his hair. Their warmth was nearly burning. He jerked back at that reminder that she wasn't human.

Sherry's eyes were glowing again as she took deep breaths to calm down.

"Max, I--"

"I have to go." He sprinted away from her.

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

Months continued with seeing her like this. He actually found himself longing for her the moment they parted. He still fought against his growing attraction, but would succumb at weak moments to either holding her or kissing her.

Then he began to actually listen and talk to her.

After a year, he finally accepted that they were meant for one another. Once he did, they began to talk of a possible future together.

"Where could we live?" He asked. "I can't live in the Dark Kingdom. After my years of hunting, I'll be killed as soon as I step into the town square."

"I can live down here." Sherry rested her head against his chest.

"Can you?" He nudged her chin up to look into her eyes. "What about your duties to Liam? What about Rashad? Your bond, is it like Savannah's? I can't ask you to do what she did. She suffers daily with missing Drake."

"Mine isn't a blood oath, more of a way of life." She explained. "Liam and I are family." She gently caressed his cheek. "And he is so happy that I've found you "

"He knows?"

"Of course." Sherry laughed. "Liam, Rashad, and I have no secrets."

"And they're fine with you being with a man who hunts his kind?" Maxwell asked.

"We know you don't do it without provocation." She explained. "If you were a sadistic killer going after the innocent, then we wouldn't allow you to live."

"What about Constantine?" His eyes narrowed in concern. "Something tells me he wouldn't be so understanding."

"You're right." She lowered her eyes. "That's why I haven't told him."

"Sherry." Maxwell pulled her closer to him. "Would he hurt you if he found out? Like what he tried to do with Savannah?"

"I'm... I don't think so." She rolled away from him to look up at the night sky. "My discovering that you're my mate wasn't a choice like what Savannah did. And being with you won't hurt Liam."

"Are you certain?" He propped himself up on his elbow.

She sighed. "About us, yes. About the king, no." She finally shared what was worrying her. "Ever since the attack, King Constantine has been acting strange."

"How so?"

"He doesn't spend as much time with our people as he used to. He rarely leaves his chambers. He has begun pressuring Liam to either find a mate or arrange a marriage." Her brow furrowed. "He seems almost obsessed on making certain all possible enemies are destroyed."

"Enemies like me?” He asked. “Olivia?" 

"Yes." She wrapped her arms around him. "He has plans for Olivia. He fears she will extract revenge on him by killing Liam."

"I see." Maxwell rubbed his brow, trying to see a way out of this.

He didn't know if he could protect everyone.

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

Now...

Maxwell searched his pockets for his cell. He didn't recognize the number but knew that whoever had this number was in need of his hunting services.

"Hello."

"Lord Beaumont?" A cultured voice asked.

"Yes." He hurried into his room when he heard Bertrand and Savannah talking a little ways down the hall. "Who is this?"

"Lorelei Lee." She replied.

"Lady Lorelei." He remembered her from his mother's stories. "How can I help you?"

"My daughter and her friend have got it in their heads to come visit Cordonia." She began. "I'm not certain how long they intend to stay, but I was hoping that I could retain your services."

"For what exactly?" Maxwell asked.

"Protection." She replied. "I have heard through certain channels that the dark prince is beginning to search for a bride." She took a deep breath. "We do NOT want our daughter anywhere near that vile creature."

"I understand." Maxwell replied. "I usually don't do personal security. With my brother retired," he grimaced at that, "it is left up to me to help protect Cordonia's borders."

"My husband and I would be in your debt if you could watch over her in the evenings." Lorelei cajoled. "I've heard that your brother is planning on extending his vineyards. We would be more than happy to invest in the production and distribution of his sparkling wine. Perhaps even let it be the only sparkling wine we serve in our hotels."

Maxwell rubbed a hand down his face. He knew his brother was anxious to succeed. Regina had told Maxwell recently that in order for the spell to be successful, Bertrand had to relax. Gaining not only an investor but also a permanent client would help relieve his troubled mind.

"Send me her information and picture. Call her and tell her that since our family is an old friend of yours, that I've volunteered to show them around. Find out where she's staying and when she plans on arriving."

"Oh thank you, Lord Maxwell. We--"

"I'll also need a contract prepared and signed for all that you offered." He added.

"Yes of course. I'll get everything to you at once."

He ended the call and tossed his phone down.

How had he gone from a monster hunter to a glorified baby sitter?

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

Later the next day, along Beach Cove, Cordonia...

"This place is gorgeous!" Riley dropped her luggage and darted from room to room. "I can't believe we can afford something like this for our stay!"

Hana was puzzled as she turned about. The two bedroom beach house was not what she had booked for their stay. Knowing they would be here close to a month, she had gone for a plain, simple rental without any view whatsoever.

"This can't be right." She turned toward the agent. "We were going with the home on Fourth Street."

The agent shook her head. "You were upgraded by a Lady Lorelei Lee."

"My mother did this?!" Hana couldn't believe it. "Did she say why?"

"It was meant as a surprise and a sort of welcome she told me." The agent handed her the keys and told her to call of they had any other needs. "Enjoy your stay, Lady Hana."

Riley walked back into the entry hall as the woman curtsied.

"Hold up." Her smile held a lot of humor. "Was I supposed to be doing that this whole time?"

Hana rolled her eyes with a giggle. "No. It's just the custom here when one is related to a noble."

"That is so cool!" Riley dropped into a deep curtsey that made her wobble. "My lady."

Hana laughed while dragging her luggage further into the house. "I suppose I can't banish you to the kitchens since you now recognize my rank."

"I don't know." Riley pointed out the modern appliances. "I might be happier stuck in there."

"I can't believe my mother did this."

"Maybe this is her way of showing her support or make up for not showing it these last couple of years." Riley offered.

Hana paused outside the bedrooms. "I suppose that's one possibility. I would have preferred she simply tell am that instead of doing all this."

"Look on the bright side. Our videos are now going to be even more popular with this backdrop." Riley opened up the doors. "Which room you want?"

Both were master suites with a wall of windows looking out towards Cordonia's sapphire waters. The sun was beginning to set, adding a brilliant orange to the rich blue.

"I call the pink sands one!" Hana dashed into it, quickly throwing her luggage on the bed.

"Hey!" Riley doubled over laughing when Hana's momentum caused her to get tangled up in the straps and be buried under her bags.

The two friends had begun the tradition of claiming beds and rooms from their very first trip. Whoever's luggage touched a bed first, it was then hers for the rest of the vacation.

"Looks like I get the nautical theme." Riley hefted her bags and set them inside.

Her room was tastefully done in blues and whites. A bottled ship sat upon the dresser while a nearby table had an old map of the surrounding area embossed upon it.

She explored the large closet and bathroom, thrilled with the large shower with multiple shower heads to help ease the tension of a long day of filming.

"I don't think I'll ever want to leave." Riley called out. "You think we could just make this our new permanent base of operations?"

"We could ask, but I doubt we could afford it." Hana replied. "Besides, I thought you said all paths lead to New York."

"I say a lot of things." Riley giggled as she dumped her clothes on the bed. "You should know that better than anyone." She began to randomly toss her things in dresser drawers before losing all interest in this one tedious part of traveling.

She left her remaining pile of clothes and decided to check out Hana's room.

It was the same as hers yet themed more toward the beach. Riley bit back a smile at seeing Hana carefully unpack and hang her clothes one at a time. She didn't know how she had earned her friendship when they were so completely different.

She was truly grateful to have her as her best friend. No one encouraged or believed in her like Hana.

"Aren't you going to unpack?" Hana asked.

"I will." Riley paused when the phone on the nightstand began to ring.

Hana stared at it too in surprise. No one ever called them directly at the places they rented.

"It could be the agent." Riley told her as Hana picked it up.

"Hello?" Hana's eyes widened at the voice on the other end. "Mother! I don't know what to say. This is so generous to--who? Lord Beaumont?" She sat down on the edge of her bed. "He did? That is very kind of him, but we usually try and discover hidden gems for ourselves. I--no of course not!" Her head dropped. "I didn't mean to sound ungrateful--I mean--yes, but--yes mam."

Riley lifted an eyebrow when Hana placed the receiver down. "What's up?"

"Mother called upon an old friend of the family." Hana couldn't remember her ever mentioning this family before. "A Lord Maxwell Beaumont, brother to the current Duke of Ramsford, is going to be our guide around Cordonia during our visit."

"Whoa." Riley's brow furrowed. "The entire time?"

"Apparently." Hana's brow furrowed. "I don't know why she would insist on his company unless...oh no!" She dropped her head in her hands.

"What is it?" Riley sat down beside her and gently patted her back. "Hana?"

"I think she's trying to matchmake me to this Lord Beaumont!" Hana cried out. "She won't ever give me a chance to simply live my life as I see fit, will she?"

"He might actually be the kind of guy who loves showing off his country." Riley pointed out. "Even if your mother is hoping you two decide to marry, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

Hana nodded, feeling her confidence return with Riley's reminder. "You're right. I'm certain I can rebuff any advances he might give."

"Don't rebuff him just yet." Riley teased. "We need to see the hotspots and he might be cute." She covered her face after Hana hit her with a pillow.

The pair fell into giggles once more as the excitement of discovering all that this country had took over once more.

They knew this would be a trip they would never forget.

Maxwell x Sherry moodboard.

[growingstronglikeahighgardenrose]

Sanditon Season 2: all the news & my thoughts

So, we're getting not one but two new seasons of Sanditon! After a year of tremendous effort on behalf of the Sanditon sisterhood who kept the fandom alive, we'll be looking at a new season. Although I think the biggest thank you probably goes out to Bridgerton, which showed that romance, regency, a diverse cast and butts are a perfect mix to lure audiences.

I want to take this moment to reflect on what I think we'll win, what we'll lose and what we can expect in the future.

1. No Sidlotte HEA

This is probably the most heartbreaking salty news we could get. But I know Theo James, he likes new projects. And after divergent's disaster, I can't blame the boy for not wanting to hang onto another franchise. As a fanfic writer, although mainly an Esther/Babington one, I broke my head for over a year on how to get Sidlotte together. I had to imagine the grandest schemes to get them together. Tom needed 10 000 pounds in less than a month. Even Babington was probably not worth that much. That's over 6 million in today's money if adjusted to inflation. Regency era's England's top 1-2% made that in a full a year, and most of that is probably in assets and investments. And they don't just get to keep that money, most used a good chunk of it to keep their estates running and to pay their staff. Anyone know someone who has a casual 6 million lying around?

There's only two realistic solutions: either have Eliza die: which would be cruel and take years (unless you kill her in childbirth 9 months in), or create a grand scheme that would take months and see Sidney, Crowe and Babington actively work hard on their 'business' while in the meantime Charlotte, Lady Denham and Lady Susan get everyone including the prince regent to come to Sanditon. I kind of accepted they would have a hard time getting out of that plot twist. It was likely that Sidlotte could not be endgame.

Personally, I never felt a strong connection to Sidlotte, and had hoped that Charlotte, like Jane Bennet, would go to London with Lady Susan to recover from her heartbreak, and I kind of hoped James Stringer would eventually go down there for his apprenticeship, where a sort of Captain Wentworth-like situation would come to exist where he is a young man trying to make something of himself. I know Charlotte didn't love him. But I also knew that Charlotte wanted adventure and perhaps needed to grow as a person. But in the new season she'll probably be a bit jaded, closed off, and depressed. And will probably need a softer more available man. Growing up goes with swinging to extremes. She was an open optimist at the beginning, and eventually turned to the opposite, not letting her emotions shine through and being very guarded (@miss-holly-goes-lightly did a wonderful post on this). Adulthood is finding a good balance again.

So while I am saddened, because this brings along a long set of questions like: "Does Sanditon still take place in Sanditon then?" "Where will Sidney live, will he then live in London with his wife?" "Why doesn't he come help his brother the next season or visit his family, as we know Tom will make a mess of things" The show will have to answer these questions in a believable manner.

2. No Beaufort twins

Mollie Holder said on her instagram that the Beauforts wouldn't be returning. This leads to quite a few questions like: where will Georgiana stay then? What will be happening to Mrs. Griffiths? Will Georgiana be her sole ward while the Beaufort's absence is explained as them having married or having become governesses?

3. Who remains aboard

Rose Williams is definitely on board. It's also pretty certain Tom will be there again. Lady Denham is also likely to return. The child actors and their parents were willing, but worried about their increasing age a few months back. Old Stringer said he'd have loved to be part of Sanditon again and to see it continue, but he's well... dead on the show so he won't return. So who will join Charlotte?

Leo Sutter might not return. He plays an important role in the next spin-off of vikings. Vikings has a new season each year. On top of that he's currently busy recording Gateway 6. We don't know how long that might take. And perhaps by the time filming ends he's required for the next season of the Walhalla series. Leo Sutter is a rising star, he might not even have the time to return. Especially for two seasons. At his age and point in his career, he needs to cement his name, or he'll remain b-list while he has a-list potential. So he might have to give up Sanditon for his career. It's sad, I'd love a Stringer/Charlotte future where they both grow to being suitable for each other while becoming people confident in their own abilities. But in the end, I would be alright with it, as Charlotte didn't express immediate interest in him. Writing him out would also be fairly easy, they could just write that despite thinking he had to stay home after his father's death, he went to London in the end under Charlotte's encouragement. Perhaps he could then come back for a guest appearance.

Crystal Clarke will reprise her role as Georgiana. Clarke has, since Sanditon, spoken out about the sometimes tone-deaf director and scriptwriters. She had to step in a few times to make sure Georgiana was done justice. She also said she hoped Georgiana, if the show was continued, would get the space to breathe and be independent, instead of playing a minor role as token black friend of Charlotte while under the control of Sidney. It will be complex to have her return without involving Sidney, as his character will have to be written out. I imagine this can be done with a timejump, but the timejump would have to be 4 years to make Georgiana 'of age' as she is 17 in the show. They'll probably place her under someone's care while saying Sidney is "still her guardian, but away". Georgiana is, in my opinion, an essential part of Sanditon. Bridgerton showed the world wanted to see diverse faces. Austen wrote a black character as a wealthy and desirable woman. They simply have to do more with her in the future. Clarke will reprise her role, this time with black writers to do justice to her character. I'm excited to see what will be done.

The actor who plays Arthur, Turlough Convery, is a good actor and mostly in period pieces. However he's never overly in demand, and usually stays with shows for multiple seasons. I think he's quite willing to come back and it means Georgiana would have a friend. I also hope they delve into his character, especially after his "I don't think i'll ever get married".

Matthew Needham and Mark Stanley, Crowe and Babington, are Sidney's best friends. It will be hard to have them come back without them explaining why Sidney is never with them. But I believe they would work well as a duo: the drunk and the one braincell are a fun dynamic. Both are not much in demand, despite that I quite like them as actors. So we might see them returning. Their return would also be vital for the return of a few other characters:

Their return would also be vital for the return of a few other characters:

Charlotte Spencer's Esther Denham is married to Babington. Without Babington returning, how can Esther? And vice versa. Their storyline was also the main romance for me and a big part of the last few episodes. They kinda need to return. Babington is also Sanditon's access point to high society. To cash in on Bridgerton's success they should search that royal connection. Babington is friends with the Prince Regent. On top of that he has the most money. If he hosts a party and Charlotte is invited, this is where they get those grand-bridgertonesque scenes.

Lily Sacofsky's Clara had a romantic subplot with Crowe. In their final unaired scene they went to London together. She could return. However, the chances are quite slim. Clara is in London, and Sanditon takes place in Sanditon. Unless Lady Susan takes Charlotte to London for a while and she meets Clara and Edward there, cooking up a plan to get back at Esther and Lady Denham.

4. Predictions

There's no words to describe the popularity of Bridgerton, so this WILL influence Sanditon. I predict: more sex, more scandal, and even more ahistorically modern ideas and characters, multiple female characters and multiple male characters that each get screentime and their separate storylines and developments like in bridgerton, instead of just Charlotte's pov we follow. Glamorous scenes. And more POC.

The season will start with a timejump in all likeliness (as it is easier so they don't have to focus too much on her grieving). Charlotte will catch us up with what has happened while perhaps narrating over some letters she's written to georgiana and lady susan. She'll return to Sanditon during a summer. Sanditon will have been partially rebuilt with Eliza's money, and many activities will be planned. Sanditon will be in some kind of trouble. Charlotte will still be a planner. Her being very actively involved in things and having a vision was one of the most alluring parts of her character. In the books there was a rival town Tom hated. That might be a bit tricky to adapt so they could introduce some local competition for attention around Sanditon. A local duke hosting parties could overshadow tom's events. Or the social season in London could lure everyone there instead of to Sanditon. Charlotte will try to help Tom with this while getting reacquainted with everyone still in Sanditon, and hearing about the reasons why Sidney/Esther/Stringer/The Beauforts (to be seen) aren't in the show anymore. She'll also rebuild her relationship with Georgiana.

Then one day for an event Charlotte will invite Lady Susan, who will invite her to the London season to get over her heartache à la Jane Bennet. Charlotte will join Lady Susan to lure a crowd to Sanditon. There, she'll be confronted with some of her demons of the past season. Perhaps a pregnant Eliza Campion makes an appearance to rub it in Charlotte's face. In Sense & Sensibility Margaret discovered Willoughby's relationship in a most shocking manner in an almost public setting. Sanditon likes to nod at all Austen books so this could be a nod at that book when Charlotte discovers unpleasant news in a public manner. Charlotte will congratulate her and wish them happiness, and afterwards either a girlpower moment could happen with Lady Susan or Georgiana supporting her, or a love moment. Mrs Campion has tried to talk Charlotte down in front of people in the past, if she did it again, a new love interest could step in at that time to compliment her and then take her off for a dance. That could be an emotional moment for her, as she realized her feelings for Sidney in London during a dance the last time around as well. And she could have her cinderella moment by excusing herself and running off after the dance, uncertain of her feelings. She'll have some grand balls, might be harrassed by a man and risk a scandal, or try and prevent Georgiana from ruin during a scandal.

At the last moment she'll succeed in her goal and lure a crowd to Sanditon's events that will put Sanditon on the map. Either the local competitive duke, or someone from London will be impressed with her, but she won't be ready to marry yet. I trust that by the end of the second season, she'll finally have a realisation that she's quite happy with how she's living her life and how good her work is, and that she has finally stopped feeling sad. So the second season will stop with her atop a cliff, letting go of the traumatic loss she suffered on that same cliff a season before. By the end of the season, one or two love interests will be set up for the last season.

So the nudity and big romance will have to come from elsewhere. Georgiana will get more agency and action in the next seasons. She could be trying to tempt Charlotte in joining her adventures as a single wealthy independent woman. She might even leave to find her place in the world via boat, returning to where she was last truly happy: Antigua. The second season could maybe end with Charlotte overlooking Georgiana's boat leaving from the previously mentioned clifftop. Another option is Georgiana falling in love with a local man and taken an interest in the town. Financially speaking, Georgiana could be the only one able to save Sanditon. But I don't think she owes the town anything. Another option is the writers focus on Georgiana navigating her relationship with Otis, who might be back home for a holiday after navy duty. We could also see some political debates à la Poldark S5 about freedom, servitude, independence and so on. The first plan for Georgiana doesn't even have to exclude the second, she could decide to sail away with Otis to find their place in the world. In any case: race shall not be brushed under the carpet and Georgiana will kick some shins on her way to her happy ending. In Jane Austen, we have rarely seen a woman who tried to elope, or escape her guardian, get a happy ending. Georgiana Darcy, Eliza Williams, Eliza's mother, ... they're all tragic tales of women falling for bad guys who try to steal their virtue or take their money. And in the end they always become dependent on men again. I hope in Sanditon Georgiana will learn and grow herself, instead of being coddled by men. A lot could be done.

Esther and Babington could be a very cool insert if the actors join. They can really connect the high society to Sanditon. They could host balls, invest in Sanditon or drive the London plot. But they can also be an emotional backbone to the show. Esther married Babington, but she wasn't in love yet. I'm not a fan of the edward/Esther angle. After all he did, I rather she hated him with burning passion and never spoke to him again. But he could try to blackmail her and ruin her reputation in London. Perhaps become some kind of Lord Whistledown. With Charlotte coming to Esther's aid. Esther's plotline could be about learning to trust people and open her heart again. Perhaps she could have a conflict with Babington about him wanting a family and she still being uneasy with marriage, let alone children. Maybe they could have a fight, with one of them going to London. In their separation they might realize they love each other. And then the other comes back home from London with Charlotte and they fix everything. Another route is them having a fight, Esther going to confront Edward or Clara about their blackmailing or maneouvring. Babington thinks it's because she doesn't love him, but actually it's because she loves Babington and wants to be rid of her past. But she gets into an accident and Babington only realizes the truth later on, leading to a happy ending.

Other things I'd love to see: Mary finally growing a backbone and telling Tom to either be open about his affairs and finances or be gone. Arthur and Diana growing a backbone and telling their brother he's a fuck up. Charlotte realizing Tom is stupid. Lady Denham appointing Charlotte or Arthur to head of Sanditon after showing their worth an entire season. Tom being repentant. Diana getting over her fears. Arthur getting a love interest. Crowe being in Sanditon, I just love him. Kisses. Healthy love interests that aren't broody and traumatized and in need of fixing by women. Jane Austen's men need to do their growing ON THEIR OWN. And then they earn their brides.

5. What we'll lose

- A Sidlotte ending: once the new season comes out, Sidlotte is no longer headcanon.

- A happy Esther/Babington ending: they married and looked happy, despite Esther's rushed turn around. If they're in the new season, their marriage won't be perfect. They'll have conflicts, just for plot. Whatever headcanons we had for them will probably be falsified. We might come to dislike them or their relationship. I've seen almost all my ships crumble to dust on the rocks of multiple seasons dragging out relationships and piling on conflict just to keep it interesting.

- A part of what made Sanditon Sanditon: we'll lose many faces we've come to love. And the dynamics and relationships will therefore change a lot.

- Fanfics become dated: I know it is the problem of every fandom, but it's one I regret all the same. Part of why I love Austen fandoms is the fact that the books are written. The characters and relationships won't change. With 2 new seasons coming, all fanfics out there will become dated. The millions of hours authors put into Sidlotte fics will perhaps become barely read when Charlotte gets new love interests. All the headcanons I and many others wrote down for Sidlotte, Esther/Babington, Charlotte/Stringer, will officially become silly fantheories. I've been there a couple of times before that shows changed the entire course and personality of certain characters and then you can't help but feel exhausted and sometimes annoyed because these are your babies and you had dreams for them, and the writers took them in directions that sometimes don't do them justice. But it's canon so you gotta accept it. Sometimes fantasy is nicer than a writer toying around with storylines and characters just to create drama. And I'll have to write my characters in a new way that fits the characters based on the info from the new seasons. I might fall out of love with them. Ah, the burden of being a shipper weighs heavy.

- Perhaps we still lose a HEA: Season one ended with a happy babington/Esther and an unhappy Charlotte who learned a lot, and a Sanditon that was saved. Although Sanditon has been extended for two seasons it's possible that if the ratings for S2 aren't good they may still cancel the third season. If they don't learn from their mistakes and end season 2 on another cliffhanger even Esther's relationship and sanditon may be at stake. If they're getting 2 seasons they will also not marry or engage charlotte in the second, meaning Charlotte will still be single by the end of the series if they cancel season 3. The whole reason we wanted more seasons was for charlotte to have a HEA. So I'm really fearful that she'll be put in another hard spot. They at least need to get her happy by the end of S2.

6. What we'll gain

- More sanditon content

- More regency era content and images and music which is always lovely

- Seeing our favourites again

- Hopefully we get to see new challenges and romance and humor and tense moments and scandal and drama that will be fun to watch

- A Georgiana story arc: a black woman in a realistic historical setting living her life, being wealthy, and England just having to Deal With It. And as cherry on top she'll be written by black writers.

- Happy endings (hopefully)

- New hot men! This is a guarantee

- Perhaps LGBTQ+ representation with Arthur

- Frustration at Tom's antics (guaranteed)

- Maybe some interactions with Charlotte's siblings

- Esther Babington content

- New material to write fanfics and metas about

- Over 8 hours of viewing pleasure

[bodyswapmischief]

The Cabin Boy

(Spring Break Pirates 10 of 14)

So, it finally, happened. Today, I woke up and was 305lbs. This fucking spell has more than double my weight. I started out as small sexy young twink, barely reaching 120 pounds. Now, I'm this big fat hairy middle aged man. Mr. Black as been more forceful in his feedings, I think he's getting close to his end game.

As, for me, I fucking struggling to find away out of this situation. After what happen to Will, I knew I had to be more careful. So, I been acting friendly towards Mr. Black and his little snitch Eric. I've been pretending that my mental state has been greatly affected by the boat. Acting like a dumb, sex, and food crazed fatass has let me fly under the radar. And, given me a lot of time spent in Mr. Black's quarters.

So, I've been spending a lot more time with the book. And, I was right it's more than a ledger ... it's a spell book. But, I can't acess it. I see the words. But, when I try to read a spell everything gets jumbled. In one of the pages, I was finally able to read a meditative breathing exercise. I've been doing that and it's been improving my mental state and making me less prone to the mental enchantment. That doesn't mean my body is not getting fatter.

All this weight is still affecting me. I still crave food a lot. I'm heavier and slower. It takes a lot of energy to do anything. I keep telling myself, I need to hurry before it's too late. And, I fear that time is coming soon.

...

Oh, Fuck!

Mr ... mr ... Black. I'm in your room because ... because ... I need you. I need you to fill me up. Are you ready to feed me, again? Your big fat pig is hungry. I need to be filled. And, I need your dick in my ass. I'm craving being filled from both sides. Yes, I'm your obedient hog. Where's the food, master? I'm not hiding anything. I just want to serve you.

No, no, no. There's no need to search around. Stop! ... wasting time and feed me. Im craving it. Fuck! Okay ... okay you caught me. I was looking at your book. I hate what you did to me. I need to change back. So, what are you going to do to punish me?

What!? Your impressed by me. You didn't expect any of this? I'm more proof something is going wrong with your plan? Ugh ... fuck what are you doing to me!? Ooooow!! It fucking hurts! St.. st... stop!

What!? I'm me again. You changed me back. Wait no! Not exactly. I look like myself but, it feels different. It feels tainted. Almost unnatural.

What the fuck are you talking about!? You turned our bodies into ash? Then how am I back in my body? The book is filled with death magic. And, only those with blood on their hands can read it, to it's full potential.

You used a resurrection spell on me. You burn up a soul in order to give me my body back. Wait? What soul? You fuckin killed Will!? No, he's still on the island. Then who? Those five rings? You didn't have them before. Why are four of them glowing? Wait ... no ... the harem. You have there souls to power the last few spells in your plan. Who the fuck did you kill!

No! Not Leo! You fuckin monster! Why are you doing this? Why did you change me back? You messed up? Some things are not going how you planned? So, you needed extra souls to fix your mistakes, taking a few loses to ensure success.

Those losses happen to be my friends, you asshole. You need my help, to finish your plan. What's in it for me? You'll teach me your magic. I would be your apprentice. With two necromancers we would be stronger together. Your right, I have been spending a lot of time with the book. It has been calling to me. Okay... okay I'll do it. What is it you need me to do anyways? Kill the first mate. Tonight?

If, I do this ... you need to restore what's left of the harem. Yes, I know there original bodies are gone. I meant restore them to the bodies they were just in. Can you do that? Yes, okay good. I'll come find you when the deed is done.

...

There, back into my room. I should be safe for now. I don't know if I'm being played or if Mr. Black is dumb enough to actually trust me. What game is he playing now. I can't believe Leo, is gone. But, the weird part is my emotions seem dampened. I kinda feel less human. I guess it makes senses. I am the product of necromancy, now thanks to Mr. Black's spell. I know I should feel devastated but, I'm just focused on achieving my plan and making sure Mr. Black loses everything. It won't be hard, I can smell the desperation coming off him. He's scared. I can see it in his eyes he messed up bad. And, he's doesn't want to get punished.

Are my eyes playing trick on me. I'm starting to see siegel's. They are all over the boat. Am, I seeing the enchantment, placed on the boat. I guess having necromancy casted on you counts as having blood on your hands.

What a pity, if Mr. Black wasn't such a lying, manipulative l, weasel we could have worked together. But, it looks like I don't need him after all. Now, let's see ... how am I going to end him.

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. XLI

It was a love story from the very beginning.

I Want You Here

(9x02/9x03 2nd part/9x04/9x05)

Hello my friends! This is the second Destiel meta from season 9.

We are gonna talk about how Dean was worried about Castiel and he wanted him in the bunker ... Obviously we will talk about how their reunion was cocklblocked by Zeke (Gadreel).

I want to say thank you to my friend @agusvedder she made the gifs for this meta! Love ya girl!

Let's start...

Human!Cas and sex

In episode 9x03, Castiel ended at the street, frozen, under the rain and hungry.

That's when April appears, showing him kindness, she offered him a jelly and peanut butter sandwich. I know it has to be the most delicious food in the world for this hungry poor ex angel, and also the representation of human's kindness.

But Castiel was deceived by this woman/reaper.

She showed him good actions, she took are of his wounds... She even listened him...

He felt comfortable with her, because she made him believe in her. Castiel opened his heart and confessed why he had ended like this... He talked about vanity, now, after his fall, he understood a lot of things...

Sorry... I just... Was drooling a little over Misha's perfection....

I'm back now.

APRIL: Well, all patched up, but, God, your delts are in knots. You got to relax.

Yeah, bitch, any excuse is a good excuse to touch our beautiful angel, right? 😒

CASTIEL: Ah, it's all new to me. Hunger. Cold. This feeling, being all alone.

APRIL: You're not alone tonight.

Aaaand you know what happens next.

But let's just stop in Castiel's words... He was feeling alone, a very cold sensation he wasn't use to. He was always that self secure angel, not needing anyone to do anything. And now, feeling the most sad side of humanity, our miseries, he feels a lot of things... But one of them was LONELINESS. (I just can't forget season 14 when he recalls this and said to Jack HE WASN'T ALONE, HE HAD SAM, DEAN AND HIMSELF, I just love his improvement.)

He had sex with April, when she lied to him. And not just that, but she began to torture him and she even killed him. It was a horrendous violent act and Castiel was exposed to that.

Next scene was Dean and Sam arriving... But it was too late...

The despair in Dean's face is eloquent. He is desperate, his voice cracked, and he's touching Castiel's shoulder and face. His Express changes when he realizes Cas is dead.

But we know what happened next, Zeke/Gadreel saves Cas to win more confidence from Dean.

Now... Let's continue with the sex over here...

The burritos scene is a classic between Destiel shippers because it's sexual innuendo and Dean's blatant facial expressions. And we had jealous!Dean too.

This had been analyzed by a lot of meta writers, so I won't add any new, because it was obvious that when Castiel came out from the shower ...

A very horny Dean imagining his hot "buddy" enjoying the water falling over his well formed naked body, and there you have that face there. Just for our inquisitive and attentive eyes... Why the camera would focus Dean and not Sam after the shower line? Because Dean is affected by that... And that's why we got that quote from the hunter, suggestively bitting the burrito (may a say a dick mirror? 🤣🤣) "It ain't all just burritos and burritos, my friend," like... There's dicks too, may I show you?

Dean feels more free to make this kind of approaches to Castiel, because he knows the boundary that was there separating them for being more, is gone now. Cas wasn't an angel anymore. And maybe Dean could teach him some about sex life.

Then, the scene switched to jealous!Dean when Castiel mentioned April.

Look at this, a very classic, we love this, that's why I will talk about it, even if you readed a lot of references... We are Destiel trash and we love it...

Watch... Cas says he had sex, Sam and Dean are surprised, but both of them reacts differently. Sam grimaced an UH! And immediately drifts his eyes to his brother, why? Because he wants to caught his brother's reaction, why?, Because he suspects his brother feels something more than just friendship for Castiel.

And Dean chocking with that burrito, hilarious, his serious and jealous face is fantastic, like if he was scolding Castiel for that, he even points at him "You had sex with April?" Is like YOU CHEATED ON ME?

Just for a few seconds, because, is good, is good for Castiel. He isn't a Virgen anymore... So he had tasted having sex like any human? That's a good thing!

Dean is proud and happy to have Cas there. Happy because maybe he will have an opportunity with Human!Cas who already had had sex with another human. Like... Possibilities are huge!

Obviously we had Zeke/Gadreel cockblocking the possibilities.

Not comfortable with the L word and ...

Let's jump a little to episode 9x02, at the beginning, Dean and Sam were talking about Cas, they were waiting still for him to arrive, Dean tried to show himself cool, saying Cas was a big guy.

But when the episode keeps going, we ha d a very important encounter between Dean and Abaddon. The dialogue was a foreshadow of Demon!Dean plot.

Abaddon wanted Dean's body to use it like meat suit.

She even asked...

ABADDON: It can get worse. Trust me. 'Cause once I'm on top, I'll make you watch. And I'll use your body. Have you ever felt an infant's blood drip down your chin? Or listened to a girl scream as you rip her guts out? Because you will. It's you and me, lover. We'll have a grand old time.

The infant blood just recalled to when Dean, with Cain's mark, killed the boy from the Steins family in the bunker.

But after this, we had Zeke/Gadreel saving the day, and this dialogue between them...

Dean is uncomfortable with the use of LOVE word. Maybe bc he isn't used to talk about it, or feel it. Or because his toxic masculinity, doesn't leave him to talk about it. So is a uncomfortable word, and it shows in his face.

In 9x04, after Dean kicked out Cas from the bunker, I will talk about this later (no, I didn't forget 🤣), Sam was confused about that fact, and the brother had a tiny conversation over it... And Dean said this important lines...

HE WANTS CASTIEL IN THE BUNKER WITH HIM, MORE THAN ANYONE, MORE THAN SAM OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE SAM AND CAS ARE JUST FRIENDS, BUT FOR DEAN, CASTIEL IS MORE THAN FAMILY, HE IS IN LOVE WITH CAS AND HE IS DISAPPOINTED AND SAS BECAUSE HE CAN'T HAVE HIM THERE, WITH HIM. And because he had wished to be more than friends, maybe physically, now than they didn't have any attachments or restrictions to do that.

Later, on the same episode, we will see Charlie and Dean in his room, and Charlie noticing this...

Okay, this is very exppsitional for Bi!Dean over here... Because Charlie (as always) is pointing that he has that collection of boobs but... He... Like... This isn't the real you.

And Dean says... Don't judge me.

Perfect my friends... I loved it.

And because Dean is still in the closet, as we saw with Charlie and the whole toxic masculinity, in 9x05 Dog Dean Afternoon, we had this piece of dialogue from the one talking dog, the Yorkie.

YORKIE: Ohh, a – a cowboy hat, leather pants. The dude's a total closet case.

Okay this reference is applicable to Dean too! Even in that freaking episode... We had a couple of things...

The Sad Destiel Scene

Okay, before ending this meta, I want to talk briefly about Dean kicking out Castiel from the bunker, because to me, it was a manipulation from Zeke, but it was a tool to keep Cas and Dean separated and create a little fight an resentment between them... Because the drama and everything... 😒

But we'll the scene is very sad, because CAS even made it word saying this...

My sweet little ex-angel there... He even pull back a chair for Dean... He likes to talk with Dean... He's such a cute and sweet and educated little ... Awwwww but he didn't know his heart was about to be ripped apart.

Look at his face!!!!!!!!!! Was Dean breaking his heart or what? Damn...

Okay... Circular narrative in which in season 8 Dean was in one sided love and Cas broke his heart, now in season 9 is in reverse. Castiel aknowledged by now his feelings, so I suspect he recognized his attraction to Dean was love. But... Now... Dean is kicking him off from the bunker... Without a good reason... Lying to him.

Can I die here... I won't bother you...

More Demon!Dean foreshadow (Miscellaneous)

I just wanted to out here two things I noticed...

In episode 9x04 we had a two man of letters from the past. They were partners and they were Sam and Dean mirror. One of them under the witch's powerful spell, tried to kill to Sam's mirror, and this was a foreshadow for Demon!Dean plot again, that time when he was trying to kill Sam in the bunker too.

Another little detail was what the monster said in episode 9x05 when he was fighting with Dean.

CHEF LEO: Well, I didn't mean to kill anyone – at first. But if people got in my way, they became collateral damage. Guess you eat enough predators, you start to become one. You are what you eat, right? [laughs]

This is a reference to Dean future transformation into a monster (with Cain's mark on him) and later into a Demon. The hunter that becomes what he hunts.

To Conclude:

Castiel's innocence and despair leads him to April, the reaper that deceives him by taking advantage of his human situation.

Dean wanted Cas to be with him in the bunker because he knew Human Cas and him could have maybe an opportunity to develop something more than just friendship.

Toxic Masculinity in Dean is manifested through a lot of piece of dialogues, showing us how hard will be for him to defeat that... Persisting till now... I hope not for too long. I guess episode 15x07 was very important to show us that toxicity is ending, and the whole Healing!Dean plot in season 14.

There were too some foreshadows for Demon!Dean and Cain's mark.

I hope you enjoy this one, see you in the next Chronicles!

Tagging @metafest @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @trickster-archangel @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @mishka-the-angel-of-saturday @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @foxyroxe-art @authorsararayne @anonymoustitans @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @wildligia @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-is--endgame @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @tenshilover20 @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica

If you want to be tagged, just let me know

If you want to read the previous volume from season 9, here is the link.

Buenos Aires December 11st 2019 4:59 PM

[msjr0119]

The Greatest Show

“The Other Side.”

A new 9 part series- all chapters are based on each song from ‘The Greatest Showman’

Characters belong to Pixelberry except MC - Amber Smith-Beaumont

Warnings: Swearing, sarcasm, stubborn Dramber

Tags - using combined tagged list, if you want to be removed please let me know 👍🏼

Catch up on the previous chapter here

@annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @beardedoafdonutwagon @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @indiacater @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @princess-geek @jared2612 @desiree-0816

I was going to do the songs in chronological order, however this song is apt for this chapter.🙌🏼

******

Amber woke up with a slight headache- not knowing if it was due to the jet lag or the full bottle of whiskey she had downed with Drake in such a short time the previous night.

Wrapping herself up in the luxurious duvet, waves of nausea suddenly hit- adding to her misery regarding being here ‘against her own free will.” Amber turned her phone on, as it ‘pinged’ with message after message, notification after notification- she regretted turning it on in the first place. Brett. Brett and his usual abusive threats were many of the messages. After no response from her, the usual apologies began- ‘Baby I’m sorry. I love you, just let me know that you are alright?’ The room began spinning, dehydration was now too obvious to ignore- grabbing a glass of water and painkillers, she had hoped that she would recover even the slightest before seeing Bertrand.

Quickly getting showered and dressing in comfy clothes- she had decided to go for a wander around her new home for the next month or so. Knowing that it was the Derby later on today and that Maxwell had already prepped her outfit, she knew she had time before needing to get ready. Leaving her phone, she text Brett lying saying signal was rubbish.

*****

Maxwell and Bertrand woke up and immediately headed towards Amber’s room. Bertrand had decided to give her a quick refresher lesson to help her ‘fit in’.

Opening the door, she wasn’t there. Bertrand became panic stricken mainly due to his house’s reputation, Maxwell was the opposite- assuming it was due to Brett.

“Where the hell is she? Was she okay when Drake saw her?”

“Yes! He said ‘She’s fine, no need for babysitting. I’ve left her now. See ya tomorrow Beaumont.’ I know Drake is miserable and seems not caring. But he wouldn’t leave anyone alone if they weren’t fine. Well...he may do that to Madeleine or Olivia- but with other people he has a heart under that gruff interior.” Heading two doors down, they knocked on Drakes door- hoping he would give any indication regarding Amber’s state of mind. Opening the door in response to the loud banging, he would berate whoever created this rude awakening.

“Do you know what time it is?” Drake snapped, whilst yawning.

“Yes 7.30. It’s late for me! I’m like the walking and talking alarm clock. Have you heard from Amber?”

“No why would I hear from her?”

“Well you probably have spoken to her more than anyone here. She’s not in her room. I’m worried that she’s runaway to go back to that arsehole.”

“She was fine when I left. We spoke about the states, realised we have a few things in common. One of those things was riding- I said I’d take her for a ride one day. I wouldn’t have left her if she wasn’t okay- mainly due to you two possibly murdering me.” Mainly due to me falling fast for her. I wouldn’t want to see her hurt. “What’s this arsehole done to her anyway? Cheated on her?”

“I wish! No I don’t mean it like that, I meant I wish that was the only thing he has done to her. Do you remember us sneaking off to New York a lot? That’s the reason why- she’d insist to not come but she’s family.”

“Many times myself and Maxwell had tried to convince her to come back. She’s afraid of what he may do next, what more he is capable of. I’m surprised that she’s here now. Maybe if she feels safe here she may stay?”

“I’ll use my persistent charm to convince her.” Maxwell winked at them both.

“I’ll go and look for her. You two look for her as well.” Bertrand exited the room, Drake’s mind was racing - wondering if the two brothers were over exaggerating the facts regarding Amber’s boyfriend.

“What has he done to her Max? She didn’t explain anything to me. I know it’s none of my business and that’s probably why.”

“Black eyes, bruises, broken arm, skull fracture. There’s no getting through to her buddy. I just wish she would find someone who would love her and that would treat her like a princess. I know she’s sarcastic, a bit dim at times- but she’s an amazing girl.” I know Max, she is amazing. That bastard, she doesn’t deserve that. No one deserves that. I’d treat her well. I’d take her on dates, spoil her, love her. She won’t see you in that way Drake, she’s far too good for you- so stop thinking like that. Brett is her boyfriend, and she’s Liam’s suitor. The prince could sway away from Liv, I mean Amber seems so much better than the ice queen. Shaking his head, he left his thoughts locked away- for the mean time.

“Let’s hope she enjoys her time here then, and that you can convince her to stay. Keep her safe. Does he know where you two are from?”

“No. He doesn’t know we are noble. Good job really.”

*****

Amber was in a gaze, walking through the courtyard lost in thought.

“Lady Amber are you lost?”

“Hey ‘Zimmer’. No. Well yes. I just needed some air - to clear my mind. I didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.”

“Remember what I threatened you with ‘suture’. Well if you insist. I’m sure the Beaumont’s are panicking about your whereabouts, Bertrand had a face like thunder.”

“Shit! He’s going to kill me. He’s going to yell at me. I better go back in.”

“And where the hell have you been?” Clearing his throat after seeing Leo, he returned to his usual manners by bowing to the prince. “Your highness.”

“Bertrand for fuck sake just call me Leo.”

“As you wish. Amber you look a mess, you’re one of Liam’s suitors. Get inside now and get ready! I’ll bring you some breakfast up to your room. We don’t have time to dilly dally. You’re a Beaumont act like one!”

Amber mouthed told you to Leo who just laughed. Storming through the doors with Bertrand high on her heels, Maxwell and Drake were waiting in her room after not finding her themselves.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Where have you been?”

“I went for a walk, I’ve got a banging headache- a hangover because of him.” Pointing to Drake, his face dropped knowing he would be in the doghouse with the brothers.

“Hey! I didn’t force you to drink the whiskey. It’s not my fault.” Amber laughed, then the both of them averted their gaze. Maxwell noticed the two of them blushing. Wondering what exactly happened last night between them both. He had noticed that Drake hadn’t been as withdrawn as he usually is since Amber had been there. Believing he was overthinking the situation- he did need to mention something important.

“Amber, he’s been ringing you whilst we’ve waiting here. What’s up?”

“Oh the usual threats. I made my bed Max so I’ll lay in it. Anyway- get out I need to get dressed, I don’t want to give Drake another heart attack. Then we have a Beaumont meeting downstairs, Bertrand is waiting for us.” Using the ‘finger gun’ gesture mimicking a handgun, he knew it was important to get to Bertrand quickly- the sooner this ‘meeting’ was over the better.

*****

Pacing the room, Bertrand was impatiently waiting for his family members to attend. He had spoken to Liam prior, to ask that no one disturbs them.

“Lord Beaumont. Lady Amber. About time that you both arrived. You both need to be punctual with court events. Now we have around an hour before we have to head to the Derby.” Amber rolled her eyes back, whilst Max sniggered- knowing she really didn’t give two damns.

“Bertrand. I know how to be noble. I spent all my childhood summers surrounded by you guys. I’m a good actress don’t worry.”

“Right here, right now. I put the offer out,I don't want to chase you down. I know you see it. You run with me and I can cut you free. Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in.”

“What the hell is that meant to mean?”

“That you can stay here with us, not go back to your hard boring life in New York. So trade that typical for something colorful. And if it's crazy, live a little crazy.... you can risk it all and see”

“Don't you wanna get away from the same old part you gotta play 'Cause I got what you need, so come with me and take the ride. It'll take you to the other side” Max butt in, hoping that she would listen to their plea to stay.

“Okay, my friend, you want to cut me in. Making me a fake princess, a noble. Well I hate to tell you, but it just won't happen. So thanks, but no I think I'm good to go. ‘Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in. Now I admire you, and that whole courtly show you do. You're onto something, really it's something....I got what I need and I don't want to take the ride. I don't need to see the other side. So go and do like you do. I'm good to do like me. Oh, damn! Can't you see I'm doing fine. I don't need to see the other side”

“Now is this really how you like to spend your days? Whiskey and misery, and parties and plays?”

“If I were mixed up with you, I'd be the talk of the town. Disgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns.”

“But you would finally live a little, finally laugh a little. Just let me give you the freedom to dream. And it'll wake you up and cure your aching. Take your walls and start 'em breaking. Now that's a deal that seems worth taking. But I guess I'll leave that up to you...” Hoping she would listen to their words, she didn’t need to become a full Beaumont- a lady of their house, but if she moved to Cordonia full time they knew she would be safe- and have a better future. Amber remained silent, not knowing how to respond. Obviously leaving Brett would cure all the heartache she had gained in New York. But she knew of how vicious court could be especially with her being ‘common’.

“We’re going to the other side, as a team. Until the Coronation- then I’ll consider my options. And for your information I enjoy whiskey and misery! And parties. Does this social season include an infamous Beaumont Bash?” The two brothers smiled at each other, knowing she would possibly consider staying. Not wanting to push it any further, they had decided to continue with the noble refresher course. Bertrand went through things such as how to use cutlery correctly, whilst Maxwell helped her with the Cordonian waltz.

“I know you don’t want to be here, but make an effort with Liam. Especially if Connie is watching. I heard that Drake that offered to take you for a ride. What kind of ride did he mean?”

“Horse ride. Dur! What other kind of ride?”

“Ohh you were both blushing before.”

“So?”

“Well he’s your type, tall dark handsome.”

“He is not my type! My type are arseholes. And he isn’t an arsehole.”

“But his looks are your type.” Amber knew she couldn’t lie- especially to Max. When they were younger, they would tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets.

“You two! Concentrate! I know I said you could live a little- but we need to get this right before the next ball.” The two of them danced, Maxwell didn’t see the point- he knew that Amber was an elegant dancer anyway. Picking up the moves straight away he knew she would piss the social season without even trying. Bertrand was impressed with the progress that they had completed in such a short time. There was a hesitant knock at the door- Liam, Leo and Drake wondered if they were all ready to go to the derby. Whilst Bertrand spoke to the Princes- Drake went over towards Maxwell and Amber.

“How’s the hangover m’lady?” Drake asked sarcastically.

“It was better until Bertrand forced us to dance- giving me more of a headache. I’m not noble but I know how to dance. My forte is the slut drop back home- but I don’t think they’d all appreciate me doing that here?”

“Hey, seen as though you’re such a good dancer- why don’t you teach grumpy here? He’s useless with those things.”

“Beaumont! I’m not useless- I just choose not to involve myself with shit like that.”

“Come On Drake, you’ve lived here your whole life and you’ve never once danced with a lady here. Even when Kiara tried to force you.” Kiara, she’s the intellectual one apparently- why would he refuse to dance with her?

“I would dance with anyone but her. I’d even dance with you Max over her.”

“So dance with Amber now then. She needs as much practice as possible.”

“I don’t need anymore practice thank you, MAX.” Why am I refusing to dance with him? It’s just Drake, my cousins friend.

“You heard the lady.” Drake stated before Bertrand came over, wondering what all the commotion was about.

“What’s the matter?”

“I suggested that Drake and Amber should dance together. To get more practice for her. But they are both being stubborn.”

“I think it’s a splendid idea. Maxwell, Liam wanted a word with us anyway. We will be back in five minutes.”

*****

“How about we just not dance. I can tell that you feel uncomfortable about it. What they don’t know won’t hurt. We could just lie, I’ll say I couldn’t teach you because you’re a rubbish student.” Smirking at him, she had hoped that he knew she was joking.

“I don’t actually know how to waltz, I’ve never been interested and I never will be, especially dancing with some noble girl who drools all over me at any given opportunity.” Amber bit her lip, attempting to prevent herself from laughing. “I know you’re trying not to laugh- but it’s true.”

“What the issue with Kiara? She’s beautiful, intelligent, from what they’ve said she’s nice enough.”

“She’s all that.”

“Well then. Maybe you should give her a chance- I’ll teach you to dance the waltz and then you can ask her for a dance.” For god sake Amber, I don’t want to dance with her. Maybe I would with you though.

“Fine. I’m going to lose this argument anyway aren’t I?”

“Yes. My family have a persistent side to us.” Getting into position, she could tell he was tense. Rubbing his arms, she had hoped to loosen him up a bit.

“Do not tell anyone about this.” Drake begged, putting all his trust into a woman he had known for all of two seconds. In the back of his mind he was hoping that he wouldn’t make a fool of himself.

“Don’t worry, you’re secrets save with me. I accept bribery in the form of whiskey.”

“That’s my girl.” Realising what he said, he immediately regretted it. “I didn’t mean it like that... I meant... because you like whiskey... oh just ignore me... I’ll buy you some whiskey to keep my secret safe.”

“That’s my man.” She winked, mimicking him. Taking one of Drake’s hands, she guided it around her waist, before putting her hand on his shoulder gently. Placing her spare hand into his- she noticed that it was slightly clammy. Looking into his eyes, she smiled softly- reassuring him that it would be fine. Shit I can’t do this, that wank last night was a one off- but having her this close to me is making me want more. Think that you’re dancing with Maxwell instead. After a while, Drake glided through the steps effortlessly, keeping his arms and chest out.

“Hold your hand up, and I’ll spin underneath it.” Finishing the spin, he held her close- both just staring at each other. Their chests rising in unison, Amber averted her gaze, and removed herself from his embrace.

“That’s it. You’ve done the Cordonian Waltz. I’ll buy you a medal. See, dancing isn’t that bad.” Maybe not with you in my arms- shit. Stop thinking about her like that.

“Maybe not. I don’t need a medal, I’m not a kid. I’ll share that whiskey I owe you instead.”

“It’s a date. Come on. Let’s go and find the others.” Drake blushed, knowing the word ‘date’ didn’t mean anything. But how he wished it did, he wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

*****

After finding the others, they headed towards Honeyhill Downs. The suitors all gathered in the tents. Amber kept herself to herself- not really wanting to form any friendships until she knew what her future held. Olivia abruptly dragged her to the side, out of view from the others.

“So Amber, Liam told me about your little plan.”

“With all due respect your grace, it’s not a plan. It’s what Prince Liam will be doing. He wants you to become his wife- so what’s stopping him just following his heart?”

“But the King said....”

“What the King said is something he hopes for. Doesn’t mean it will become a reality - he shouldn’t control Liam’s mind. Liam is the future king.”

“So you don’t find the Prince attractive? You wouldn’t want to be future Queen yourself?”

“Fuck no!” Composing herself, she coughed before acting more ‘lady like’. “What I mean is no, I do not want to be Queen. Not now. Not ever. He’s all yours, don’t worry your grace. The only time I will spend with Liam will be an act. He’s not my type anyway.”

“What is your type then?”

“Someone who’s tall dark and handsome. And someone who is usually an arsehole. Liam has lovely baby blues, but I prefer dark eyes.” Olivia laughed, knowing who her perfect man would be- unaware that Amber was already in a relationship.

“Oh someone like Drake Walker then?” Blushing, she needed to think of an excuse to avoid people realising she had a slight crush on the commoner.

“Drake, is a lovely guy. The only love we will share is for whiskey.”

“If you say so Amber. I’m starting to like you. Stay in my good books or I may threaten you with a dagger.”

*****

Liam, Leo and Drake sat in the royal tent- all scrutinising the suitors tent from a distance. Whilst the two brothers compared the suitors, they noticed Drake in a trance- his eyes following every move that a certain lady made.

“Earth to Drake?” Liam said in a concerned voice, whilst shaking Drake.

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“Why are you gawking at Amber?” Shit!

“I’m not, I’m looking at them all- wondering why the hell liam is still insistent on choosing Olivia.”

“Now I know you’re lying Walker. You wouldn’t look at Kiara like that. You hate her.” Leo raised his eyebrows, waiting for Drake to lie through his teeth.

“I think Amber is a lovely girl, she’s got a great sense of humour. That is all.”

“Dude, you need to tell her how you feel.”

“For fuck sake Leo, I don’t know the girl. There’s nothing to tell her. I’ll go and grab some more drinks.” The two brothers laughed, both knowing Drake was hiding his true feelings.

“Do you think he will ever confess to her?”

“No.”

*****

Walking over to the bar, Drake thought about leaving Cordonia for a while to convince himself that he wasn’t falling for the new girl. If it was that obvious that both the princes knew, who else knew? How long would it be before Amber knew?

“I’ll have a whiskey if you’re buying. You owe me remember- or I may just spill your little secret.” Turning around, he couldn’t get away from her- not that he wanted to.

“I have many secrets, I suppose that one isn’t one of the worse for you to spill. Are you enjoying the Derby?”

“Ohh there’s more secrets? You have to tell me now, I’ll pinky promise that I won’t tell anyone. About this Derby- I’d rather be riding, but hey this is all just for show. In a month I’ll be out of here, living my old life.” Drakes heart sunk, now he knew that he needed to prevent his premature feelings from growing.

“I don’t trust anyone, so I wouldnt trust you with all my secrets.” One secret being that I like you more than I should. “I don’t blame you for wanting to escape. I’d be doing the same if it wasn’t for Liam.”

“I’m hurt that you don’t trust me- I’m joking. Are you sure you’re not a closet gay?”

“I’m positive! I meant Liam has always had my back. Even when my dad died, and my mom left us- the royal family took us in and made us part of the family. Most nobles were ready to cast us out.” Placing a comforting hand on his arm, she felt guilty.

“I’m sorry Drake. I didn’t know. I was only joking you know? I better get back. Thank you for the drink.”

“No problem. Your round next time though.”

“Definitely. By the way, I’m glad you’re not a closet gay. That would just be a waste- you’re too handsome. See ya.” Shit why would I call him handsome? I mean he is, but I shouldn’t have said that. Why is it that I’d prefer to hang out with him over the women? I need to go back to New York as soon as possible- I’m damaged goods, he wouldn’t like me in that way.

Too handsome? She’s just being polite. Don’t think too much into it. You’re just a commoner. Once this event is over, I need to book a flight to Texas- I can’t fall for a girl who will never return the feelings.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Fast & Furious

Hi Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where Today We're Continuing Our Look At The 3rd Film, The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo...

Drift...I Mean The Fourth Film, Fast And Furious?

Let Me Explain, When The Sixth Film Came Out It Created A New Timeline That Moved The 3rd Film After 6th So, Yeah We're Doing This One Next...

This Movie Sees Dominic Toretto (Played Again By Vin Diesel) Being Reunited With Now FBI Agent Brian O'Connor (Played Again By Paul Walker) As They Work Together To Get A Known Drug Lord Named Arturo Braga Who Is Involved In The "Murder" Of Dom's Longtime Girlfriend, Letty Ortiz (Played Again By Michelle Rodriguez In Case You're Wondering Why I Have Emphasized Murder That's Because Surprise Letty Is Not Dead But Instead Gets Amnesia And Ends Up Working With Gaston From Beauty And The Beast) Will Braga Face Brian Or Dom's Brand Of Justice?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Fast And Furious...

Now Before We Begin We Have Another Short That Ties Into The Movie (Thank God It's The Last One ) And It's Called Los Bandeleros Which I Am Briefly Go Over Basically Giving The Short Short Version Since Half Of It Is In Spanish Now...

It Starts In The Dominican Republic Where Dom (Played Again By Vin Diesel) Is Planning On Doing A New Job So He Hires Han Lue (Played By Sung Kang, Who Has Played The Character In Another Film Done By Director Justin Lin Called Better Luck Tomorrow, (Which Has No Connection To These Movies Whatsoever But I'm Just Mentioning It As It's Necessary) Before The Character Appeared In The 3rd Film Of The Series, Tokyo Drift Where He Died At The Hands Of Someone That I'm Not Going To Talk About Now) And Leo Tego And Rico Santos, (Who Don't Speak A Word Of English But Expect To See Them In This Movie And The Next One Fast 5) To Do The Job

But Dom Needs One More Member To Complete His New Crew And That Surprisingly Goes To Letty (Played Again By Michelle Rodriguez) Who Gets Back Together With Dom And Become More Than Just Partners But Husband And Wife Which We Don't Find Out Till Another Movie...

I Would Place The Prelude Up Here Like I Did The 2 Fast 2 Furious One But Unfortunately I Can't Find The Whole Short On YouTube, So Let's Move Onto The Film...

The Film Starts With Cars Driven By Dom, Letty, Han With His Girlfriend? And Leo And Rico As They Go After A Gas Truck, With Letty Hopping On, Han's Girlfriend Places On A Hook So They Can Tow It Once Lefty Uses Liquid Nitrogen To Break It Off Of The Truck (Which She Does) With Leo And Rico About To Place The Hook On And Letty About To Do The Same Thing She Did, The Driver Spots Her On Top Of One Of The Gas Tanks...

Falling Off When The Driver Hits Dom (Who's In Front Of The Truck), Letty Falls, Hanging On For Dear Life, Telling Leo To Unhitch His Hook, The Driver Shoots At Dom As He Goes To Get Letty Who Managed To Get Up. Dom Tells Her To Spray The End With Liquid Nitrogen But She Lost Her Hammer When She Fell So Instead Dom Breaks It Lose By Sideswiping His Car Into It, Now The Only Thing Left To Do Is To Get Letty...

Reaching A Dangerous Cliff, The Driver Jumps As Dom Gets Letty Just In Time As The Truck Turns Over Causing A Dangerous Gastank To Come Right At Them!

Dom!

(Start At 2:06, End At 2:12)

Driving Off, We Get A Brief Seizure Inducing Intro, As We See Dom And His Crew Celebrate At A Street Race Party Where Dom Talks Briefly With Leo And Rico Before Talking With Han Who Says That The Cops Raided Their Garage And That It's Probably Best If They Separated For Now But Dom Disagrees Saying They're After Him And Anyone With Him...

Telling Letty This, She Has No Intention Of Living Without Him Saying That They'll Figure It Out They Always Do While Also Saying The Phrase That'll Be Said From Now On In The Films "Ride Or Die" But Dom Doesn't Want To Figure It Out And Leaves In The Middle Of The Night While Letty Is Sleeping...

With Another Few Years Passing We Catch Up With Brian (Played Again By Paul Walker) Who Is Now An FBI Agent That Is Trying To Catch A Criminal With Connections To Known Drug Lord Arturo Braga. Eventually Capturing His Man, He Gives Brian A Name, David Park Telling His Superiors About Park, Brian Tells Them That Park Is A Scout That Recruits Street Racers To Be Mules For The Braga Cartel Or In Other Words If They Find Park, They Get Braga...

Meanwhile In Panama...

Dom Gets A Call From Mia (Played Again By Jordana Brewster) Who Tells Him That Letty Has Died. With Both Brian and Mia At The Funeral, We See That Dom Has Returned To LA But Does Not Attend Funeral Because The FBI Is There, Believing That Dom Will Show But You Can Tell In Brian's Eyes That He Knows Different...

Returning Home After The Funeral, Mia Finds Dom In The Garage Despite Her Telling Him Not To Come As The Authorities Are Monitoring The House, But He Had To See Her. Dom Also Notices His Father's Wrecked Charger That He Destroyed All Those Years Ago At The Railroad Track With Brian With Mia Telling Him That Letty Wouldn't Let The Authorities Touch It And That Whenever She Was Around She Was In Here...

Back At The FBI, Brian's Superior Tells Everyone Including Brian That If They Don't Get Anything On The Braga Case In 72 Hours, It's Over Because It's Been 2 Years And The Last 3 Agents That They Sent In To Braga's Organization Died From There We Gets Some Exposition On Braga Including The Fact That They Have Nothing On Him No Fingerprints, No Date Of Birth It's Like This Guy's A Member Of The Men In Black. But While We Listen To This, We Discover That Letty Had Connections With Braga.

Asking About David Park, They're Running Names Through City And Country Databases But There Are Too Many Possibilities Right Now. With Another Agent Named Stasiak Saying That Park May Be A Dead End, Brian Thinks That It's Not As Without Him, Braga Wouldn't Have Drivers Search Records And They'll Find Him...

Going To The Crime Scene With Mia, Dom Visualizes The Entire Incident In His Head...

Taking Mia Home, Mia Knows He Found Something At The Crime Scene, Saying That He Found Burn Marks On The Ground That Could Only Be Caused By Nitrometh And Surprisingly He Knows The One Guy That Sells It In LA. However, Mia Tells Him That Doing This Will Not Bring Letty Back And If She Was Here She Would Ask Him To Let It Go...

Oh, Dear God, No! GET THAT OUT OF HERE!

Just The Mention Of Those 3 Words Get That Song Going...

But Saying He Can't, Mia Says She Loves Him Before Getting Out Of The Car...

Getting Some Food, Brian Goes Through Various Files On David Parks As Stasiak Brings In Mia For Questioning...

The Next Morning, Brian Gets Rid Of Satsiak So, He Can Get Mia Away From The FBI While They Try To Find David Park...

Meanwhile, Dom Questions Some Guy We Never Get A Name On Who The Guy Who Killed Letty Is But He Says This Ain't Your Neighborhood Anymore Blah Blah Blah Which Leads To Dom Torturing His Ass!

But The Guy Talks Saying David Park Brought It In And It's A Green Ford Torino...

Having Coffee With Mia, Brian Says That He Doesn't Want Her To Get Tangled Up In Whatever Dom Is Involved In And To Stay Away From Him, But With Mia Bringing Up Their Past, Brian Tells Mia That He Never Meant To Hurt Her And That It Was The Hardest Thing He Ever Had To Do, But Being A Liar Got Him His Job At The FBI...

No, I Think It Was Your Connection With Bilkins That Got You Into The FBI, Brian...

But Then Mia Points Out Something Insightful, Maybe Brian's Lying To Himself, Maybe He's Not The Good Guy Pretending To Be The Bad Guy But The Bad Guy Pretending To Be A Good Guy...

Whoa, That's Deep...

Before She Leaves, Mia Asks Brian One Last Thing, Why Did He Let Dom Go All Those Years Ago? But He Says He Doesn't...

Heading Back To The FBI, They Have A List Of Possibles On David Park By Reading Off A List Of Cars But Eventually Hearing A 98 Nissan 240 With An Illegal Mod, Brian's Got His Man...

Meanwhile At Park's Address, Dom Drops By His House To Ask Park About Who Killed Letty, In The Interrogation Style Of Batman. As Brian Arrives, Park Is Hanging Out The Window, Which Leads To Brian Running Upstairs Where Both Him And Dom Are Reunited...

Telling Dom That Letty Was Running For Braga Till It All Went South, Brian Promises Dom That He Will Get Braga However Dom Promises To Brian That He'll Kill Braga And Anyone Who Tries To Stop Him From Getting His Revenge...

Taking Park Back To The FBI, Brian Gets Attacked By Stasiak For Taking Mia Out Of His Custody To Which Brian Slams His Face In...

No, You Did, You Asshole!

With His Superior Telling Brian To Keep His Attitude In Line, Brian Chats With Park Who Tells Them That Braga's Number 2, Ramon Campos Is Holding A Street Race In Koreatown Tomorrow Night To Fill A Slot On His Team To Which Brian Is Going To. Picking Out A Car, It's Just Like Old Times As He Chooses 3 Cars To Which He Makes His Own Car Out Of...

They Give Brian A Tracking Device To Know Where He Is At All Times As He Finishes Up His Car. That Night, Brian, Dom And 2 Other Racers (Who I'll Just Call Guy 1 And Guy 2) Meet With Braga's Second Hand Man, Ramon Campos And His 2 Henchmen, Fenix Or As Sly Stallone Would Call Him Fenix!!!!!!! And Giselle Yashar....

Who Looks Strangely Familiar To Me

Though I Can't Quite Put My Finger On It...

Yes, Before She Had Her Breakout Role As Wonder Woman In Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Gal Gadot Was In This Series As Giselle Yashar, A Villain Who Ends Up Reforming Herself And Joins Dom's Family So, Expect To See More Of Her After This Movie...

Anyway, Campos Tells Them That Braga Is Looking For Real Drivers With Dom Asking What Are They Hauling? Campos Tells Them That They Don't Need To Know But Dom Makes A Point Stating That A Real Driver Knows What's In His Car Liking What He Says, Campos States That Whoever Wins The Race, Gets The Info...

With Giselle Giving Them A GPS, The Drivers Go To Their Cars As The Race Is About To Begin...

With The Race Beginning, Dom Takes An Early Lead Where With The Others You Can't Really Tell Who's In Second, 3rd Or 4th Place As There Are Other Cars In The Road, So. To Make This As Short As Possible I'm Just Going To Say Who Wins And It's Dom With Brian In Second...

So, Yeah, Brian Loses But That Doesn't Stop Him From Going After One Of Braga's Other Drivers So That He Can Take His Place...

Going To A Club With Dom And Campos, Dom Asks Brian What's To Stop Him From Telling Campos That He's A Cop, With Brian Telling That It's The Same Thing That's Keeping Him From Telling Campos Why He's Really Here...

They Have Some Friendly Banter With Campos, To The Point That Dom Mentions That Brian Dated Mia...

Asking What Braga Is About, Campos Gives Somewhat Of A Little History Hinting That He Grew Up From The Streets But Now He Calls The Shots And Is Basically The Boss Of Bosses...

With Both Of Them Going Undercover, Brian Goes Upstairs To See Campos Talking With An Old Man Who He Believes To Be Braga, While Dom Goes Downstair Where He Finds The Car That Matches The Car That Was After Letty And Giselle, Tells Dom That The Car Belonged To Fenix...

Well, I Guess Dom Has A Reason To Say Fenix!!!!!! Now..

Before She Flirts With Him...

The Next Day At The FBI, Brian Brings The Shot Glasses Of Campos And The Guy Who Is Probably Braga To The Girl In Charge Of Forensic Evidence Telling Her To Run The Fingerprints To All Agencies Even Those Beyond Interpol, But As The Girl Says That That Could Take Weeks, Brian's GPS Starts To Buzz Which Means He's Got To Go...

Taking The Car Into A Wherehouse, They Scan The Cars For Trackers (Which Forces Brian To Kill His) And They End Up Loading The Cars With The Racers Inside Them Into A Truck For Mexico Where Giselle Guides Them To The Area, Once There, Dom Confronts Fenix On Letty's Death To Which He Admits That He Killed Her...

Asking What Dom Will Do Now That He Knows This Information, Turns Out Nothing Right Now As Dom Created An Escape Plan Before Leaving His Car By Unscrewing The Main Nozzle Of His Nos Tank And Pressing His Lighter, Which In Turn Causes Not Just His Car But All The Cars To Blow Up...

Despite All Of Fenix's Men And The Other Drivers Being Dealt Fenix Gets Away While Brian And An Injured Dom Also Get Away With A Hummer Filled With $60 Million Dollars Worth Of Heroin. Contacting The FBI, They Know That Brian Has Dom With Him And The Shipment And They Expect Him To Turn Both Of Them In. Deciding To Hide The Shipment, Brian Hides It At The FBI Impound Lot Cause That's The Last Place They'll Check It, Right?

They're The FBI, They're Not Stupid, If They're Looking For Someone I'm Sure That Guy In The Parking Lot Will Be Like "Yeah I Saw Someone Who Matched That Description Last Night, He Was Here With A Hummer" And They'll Find The Shipment!

Anyway, This Leads To A Joke By Brian Saying That When Dom Blew His Car Up, He Blew Up Brian's As Well So Now He Owes HIM A 10 Second Car...

Contacting Mia, She Heals Dom And The 3 Of Them Have Dinner Together Even Down To The First Person That Touches The Plate Gets To Say Grace Tradition...

Talking With Mia While Dom Looks At Some Of Letty's Stuff, Brian Tells Mia, Why He Let Dom Go, And It's Because He Respected Him More Than He Did Himself, Learning That Nothing Really Matters Unless You Have A Code...

Finding Letty's Cellphone Which Still Has Power In It Dom Calls The Last Number She Called And Unfortunately It's Brian's...

Punching Brian, He Eventually Explains That Letty Made A Deal With The Feds, In Exchange For Clearing Dom's Name, She'd Give Them Braga...

Wow, If I Didn't Know Letty Was Coming Back For Another Sequel, This Would Be Really Sad...

Returning To The FBI, With Everyone Looking At Him In Disgust...

Brian Tells Them The Shipment Is Safe But Instead Of Parading It In Front Of The Media Maybe They Should Use It To Try To Lure Braga Out In An Attempt To Cut The Head Off Of The Snake If You Get My Gist By Doing An Exchange With Braga Brian Has A Plan But There's A Price

Of Course...

They Nab Braga But In Return They Let Dom Walk...

With Dom Calling Giselle, She Hands The Phone Off To Campos So He Can Tell Him That He Wants A Trade Off But Campos Tells Dom That Braga Doesn't Negotiate But Then Dom Tells Campos To Explain To Braga How $60 Million Dollars Of Product Goes Missing...

Asking What Dom Wants, He Tells Campos He Wants 60 Million Dollars In Cash Delivered By Braga However, Campos Says That Braga Will Never Go For It, Which Leads Dom To Say That Either He Deals With Braga Or Campos Does...

Meeting Campos, Giselle, Fenix And Braga, They Get 2 Million And The Rest Will Be Delivered Once They Have The Items However, Before They Can Make The Trade, The Fingerprint Match Comes Through And It Turns Out Campos Is Braga...

With Gunfire Going On, Braga And Fenix Get Away, Giselle Is Saved By Dom...

Huh, Never Through I'd See The Day That Wonder Woman Was Saved By A Tree...

Who Gets Her To Safety, While Brian Captures The Fake Braga...

With Braga Beyond FBI Jurisdiction, Brian Is Taken Off Of Both Active Duty And The Assignment By People Higher Up, Brian Decides To Visit The Toretto House Where He Finds Dom Working In The Garage On The Charger And To Say That He's Going With Him To Get Braga...

Seeing Brian And Dom Working Together, Brian Goes To See Mia Who He Kisses And Makes Out With, Rekindling Their Old Relationship...

Driving Off In The Charger With Brian Beside Him In Another Car To Deal With Braga, They Eventually Reach Mexico Where They Reunite With Gisele Who's Returning The Favor For Dom Saving Her By Giving Braga To Them...

Hey, Dom, I Didn't Know Her Car Could Turn Into An Invisible Jet....

Heading To A Church, Braga Delivers Money To A Priest Who Gives Him A Blessing, He's Confronted By Dom And Brian With Braga Telling Dom That They're Not So Different But Dom Beg To Differ, Deciding To Let Brian Have Braga However, Fenix Is His...

With Fenix Hearing That Braga Is Gone, Fenix And Braga's Henchmen Catch Up To Dom And Brian...

One By One Cars Are Eliminated Until It's Brian, Dom And Fenix Who Destroys Brian's Car In An Attempt To Get Braga But Dom Kills Fenix When He Rams His Car Right Into Him...

With Fenix Dead, Brian Is Injured And The FBI Are On Their Way, Telling Dom To Run, Dom Says He's Not Running Anymore...

So, Being Arrested, Dom Faces Justice For What He Has Done But Despite A Good Word From Brian The Judge Believes That One Right Does Not Make Up For A Lifetime Of Wrongs And Therefore Sentences Dom To 25 Years To Life At Lompoc Maximum Security Prison With No Possibility Of Parole...

But Do You Honestly Believe That Brian Will Accept That?

(As Balki) Of Course Not...

Him, Mia, And Leo And Rico Decide To Break Dom Out Of The Prison Bus...

Which Is Where This Movie Ends...

And That's Fast And Furious And It's A Good Movie!

For A Reunion Movie, It's Good The Story Is Good, The Cast Is Great, The Cars While Not As Well-Designed As The Last 2 Movie Are Good And While There's Only One Race Scene I Still Like The Scenes With The Cars So, Yeah, In My Opinion, This Is Probably One Of The Best Fast And Furious Movies Of The Series And I Definitely Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Are you guys liking the story so far? Most of you are so quiet -Danny Words: 2,834 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Another Believer' -by Rufus Wainwright

X. Just Because I Have Fashion Sense Doesn't Mean I Have Common Sense

I sit next to Percy and lean my head on his shoulder. "That nightmare you had," I say, referring to Annabeth being crushed by darkness. "You'll tell Chiron about it?"

"He'll say he's got a clue but he won't tell me," Percy states grumpily.

"You think Annabeth wants to join the hunt?" I make a face. "I can't imagine not being able to fall in love."

"Annabeth probably found that flyer on the ground and picked it up, you know she hates littering," He straightens in his place, looking right up at the Big House. "I got it."

Percy takes me to see the oracle, is my first time meeting her, and I'm torn between awe and terror. You're supposed to be granted a quest in order to get a prophecy, and Percy has none. I'm not expecting her to respond, but I ask anyway to support Percy. Then I freak out when I hear her voice.

Percy's already leaving, talking as if I were following him down the stairs, but I approach the oracle. "What?" I inch closer.

Percy hears my voice, still upstairs, and stops. He calls after me but I don't reply. I lean down in front of the mummy, her whispers are impossible to comprehend from where I am, so I support one hand on the back of her chair and put my ear right next to her mouth.

"...Beware arae."

"What are you doing?" Percy's voice startles me and I scream a little. 

"I-I'm looking at her dress!" I quickly recover and rush past him. "Great quality!"

I don't know if Percy can tell I'm lying. I also don't know why the oracle addressed me by my real name.

Ara has visited enough magical shops to know they're never fun.

"Guys..." Jason steps out of the elevator. "You've got to see this."

"This is not Macy's," Piper breathes.

The stained window ceiling is beautiful, everything looks fragile and Ara's crow brain buzzes with excitement. She wants to look around, but at the same time, she knows that shiny things are the first to kill you.

Leo gets closer to the railing. "Check it out!"

"Coach Hedge!" Piper gasps. "We've got to get down there."

"May I help you find something?" A woman asks behind them, making them jump. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"

"Um..." Jason pauses. "Is this your store?"

"I found it abandoned, you know," she replies with a pleasant smile. "I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good... how do you say... first acquisition in this country."

Ara has a gigantic list of beings that have tried to trick her and her brother into buying stuff at a reasonable price. A reasonable price means turning into guinea pigs or giving away your own parents.

"So you're new to America?" Jason asks. 

"I am... new. I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"

"Jason..." Piper mutters reluctantly.

"Um, right. Actually, Your Highness..." he points to the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we... have him back, please?"

"Of course! I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"

Ara's second lesson to a rookie: When a strange lady, who looks like the evil queen from Snow White, asks for your name, make sure you lie.

"This is Piper," Jason answers innocently. "This is Leo, that's Ara. I'm Jason."

The woman's face shifts into a nightmarish sight for a second, then goes back to normal just as quickly. "Jason. What an interesting name... I think we'll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let's go shopping." 

I pull out juice boxes, cookies, and gummy bears out of my bag as I step into the forges. "You won't believe the day I had..."

Beckendorf looks up smirking and raises his voice. "Everyone, Ara brought snacks!"

If I know anything about the Cabin Nine kids, is that food is the way to their hearts. They drop what they're doing and surround me like hungry ducks. Beckendorf sits me on top of a workbench so I can look at them as I talk.

"I disarmed Lily today!" I announce proudly.

"Congrats, Birdy," Nyssa replies politely, digging into a bag of gummy bears.

"If Nico and I work hard, they'll let us try with real swords!"

"What if we make you a sword?" Beckendorf suggests.

I ponder this, but it doesn't sit right with me. Percy and Annabeth got their weapons from someone else, someone they looked up to. I have to earn mine the same way. "It'll come when it has to."

"What's your schedule for tomorrow?" Jake asks.

I pull out a crumbled-up piece of paper from my pocket. "Lunch. Sword training, the lava wall..."

"What? But you've never used the lava wall," Nyssa stops eating to look right at me.

"I know!" I smile big. "Isn't that great?"

"We'll make you a fireproof onesie," Beckendorf suggests with a straight face.

The boys have gone stupid thanks to Medea, but as long as Piper's watching over them, they'll be fine. Ara backtracks slowly, but just as she's turning to the stairs, the woman raises her voice.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The girl stares at her blankly. "Bathroom?"

"Nice try, Ara Jackson," the woman gives her a creepy smile. "You're not going anywhere without my permission. If you want to live, that is."

"You'll try to kill us anyway," she frowns, not surprised that this lady knows her name. "What's the difference if I speed up the process?"

"Ara!" Piper mutters in alarm.

"It's alright, watch this," Ara turns to Leo and Jason, putting all of her power into words. "Boys, for the next half hour, you can't hear anything unless we scream at you."

The boys speak at the same time. "What?"

"Don't listen to her!" The woman sneers.

"What?" Leo asks a little louder.

Ara chuckles. "That'll buy us time."

"Let's speed up your death, Jackson, since you're so eager to get it," Medea's eyes glow red as she snaps her fingers. 

Ara gets transported back to the top floor, sword in hand. She doesn't remember drawing it out. The elevator doors open and something growls inside of it: the Nemean lion steps out, huge and and ready to kill her. 

"Di immortalis," Ara's stomach twists in dread.

She drops to the ground when the lion leaps at her, making the creature crash against a couple of mannequins. Downstairs she hears Piper shouting, Medea's voice echoes around the building.

 "Good luck slowing him down, Daughter of Olympus!"

"Not cool!" She yells back. "That thing was dead, the hunters killed it!"

"Was, half-blood, you said it!" Medea laughs. "Death no longer rules us, young hero. Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again!"

Ara remembers Percy's time fighting the lion, he had help, and right now her team is three stories below and two-thirds of it is temporarily deaf. Then she wonders... does she have to fight it?

The rules that apply to Percy don't have to apply to her. Ara runs across counters and corridors, she grabs a bottle she spotted before in the perfume section, and as she races she tosses all sorts of things in the creature's path, then slides down a handrail, and grabs one of the living fur coats.

Ara presses the Alpha engrained on the hilt of her sword to turn it back into a compass. When the lion jumps over the staircase, the girl pours the bottle of perfume she grabbed moments prior over her head, then stands on her tiptoes to look bigger and opens her arms, the fur coat wrapping her small frame.

"I'm a cub!"

The lion freezes and tilts his head. 

"Meow," she would feel stupid if this weren't a life-or-death situation. The lion sniffs and purrs, nuzzling against her face and licking her hair as if bathing her. "Ugh!" Ara grimaces. "Uh—meow!"

The screaming downstairs increases, it appears Medea shouted loud enough to control the boys. "Stop!" Piper's unable to put enough charm into her voice, she's too scared. Ara has to go back and help them, half of their time has run out already.

"Let them go, Piper," Medea presses. "I'm doing you a favor. Let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You could have your father back today!" 

"Okay... uh... listen," Ara holds the lion's face. "You'll cooperate 'cause you're a good boy, right?" The lion rubs his muzzle against her cheek, it feels like pressing her face on sandpaper. "Good boy!" Ara climbs on top of him and takes off the fur coat. It's like riding a Mrs. O'Leary covered in spiky wire, but she's wearing thick jeans, so she'll survive. The girl holds onto the mane. "Let's go!"

The lion hops toward the staircase, at the bottom of the mall Ara can see the fight has escalated but now Leo and Jason are fighting together instead of each other. Medea gets to the second floor at the same time Ara does. 

"How—?" 

The lion slams Medea against the potions table, pinning her to the ground that's now covered in strange liquids. 

"Fool!" The woman chokes out. "Do you have any idea what so many potions will do when mixed?"

"I'm guessing they'll go boom?" Ara looks down at her. "That's kinda my thing." She kicks the lion's side with her heel. "Go ahead, boy."

The creature leans forward to rip off Medea's head, then Festus crashes through the ceiling, and during the split second that takes place, the woman stabs the lion's mouth with broken glass. He whimpers and backs away, rolling over in pain. 

Piper runs up to the scene and pulls out Ara from under the creature, ripping her jeans and scratching her leg in the process. Medea doesn't get up, she has several pieces of glass on her arms and face and her legs are in a weird position, clearly broken.

Ara examines the lion and sees his toe beans are raw after getting in contact with the mixed potions. The more powerful, the weaker their soft spots, like an Achilles curse. He's dying. 

Ara draws out her sword. "Piper, leave." The girl obeys, but only because Ara uses charmspeak. When Piper jumps the railing she gets caught by Jason and Leo, who are riding Festus' back. Ara helps the Nemean lion the only way she can. 

If she had more time and resources, and if they weren't traveling on a flying dragon, maybe she'd nurse him back to health, but that's not an option. The lion leaves his pelt behind and Ara puts it on, it turns into a cloak as she does.

"This won't be the last time you kill an innocent!" Medea snarls, her skin is now blistering. "You cannot escape your curse!"

Ara puts her sword away, not bothering to look back. "Tell Gaea she's next."

She jumps off the railing and grabs onto one of the cages Festus is carrying as he goes up. Once they're out of reach, the mall explodes.

"I still think we should've asked for help," Lily says.

"No, we're going to show everyone," I lift the sword with difficulty. "We're heroes too!"

"Yeah!" Nico exclaims just as excited.

Lily sighs like she's already exhausted. Her eyes land on a boy walking by and she fixes her posture, calling him over. "Michael Yew!"

Michael isn't a big deal, but people know him for his temper. He's never afraid to pick fights with older campers even though he's Lily's height and Percy's age, so he's a perfect guy for us to train with. 

He looks at Lily reluctantly, to be addressed by her is always a little unnerving. Also, he remembers her from last year's Capture the Flag. 

"Hi..." The boy notices our swords. "Who are you planning to kill now?"

"We're not killing anyone yet, we're training," Lily explains casually.

Nico gets too antsy and starts without us, driving the sword into a dummy with wild energy.

"Training?" Mike crosses his arms. "Athena, Aphrodite, and Hermes don't have sword training at the same time."

"Aphrodites never attend their lessons so the instructor rarely shows up," I shrug. "Nico can do whatever he wants 'cause he's unclaimed, and Lily's using her missing-sister card. She's so sad she can't focus on her lessons."

"I'm falling apart," Lily nods with zero feeling.

Michael clasps his hands together. "Well, you seem to be having fun, so I'm—"

"What are you doing?" Chiron's voice startles us.

Nico's sword cuts across his thigh and makes him bleed, Chiron takes the sword away and snatches mine too as I run up to them.

"Michael, help!" Lily seizes his wrist.

"This is why you shouldn't train unsupervised!" He barks at us.

Michael wants to keep us away from the infirmary so we don't stress out the rest of his siblings, so he takes us to the Big House. 

"I was meant to give Will his first lesson anyway," he sighs, lifting up Nico with difficulty. "If you're just starting, you need to learn without the swords."

"I've trained with Percy before!" I argue.

Michael isn't having it. "I won't have you as a frequent patient!"

Lily tries to follow us but Chiron gets in her way. "Miss Saggio, you should be with your siblings. Go."

There is no room for discussion, Lily groans and turns around. Michael is now scolding Nico because he can't stop squirming. "You won't get better with a wrongly balanced weapon—until you find one that's right, you'll use sticks."

"But Percy always trained with real swords!" I pout.

"What if Bianca needs my help?" Nico and I share a look, his eyes are brimming with tears. 

"If it's an emergency, you won't even register the difference between wood and the real deal," Michael rolls his eyes. "Everyone knows you three are wild little beasts and I'm not teaching you to kill until you learn to control your impulses."

I frown. "Why are you adding Lily to it? She did nothing wrong!"

"She has terrible posture when using a bow!" He snaps, it seems he's been thinking about that one. "If you insist on threatening people's safety by training together, I'll make sure no one gets hurt."

I'm a little stunned at his reply. "Wait... so you'll help us?"

"Michael?" 

Will Solace is standing on the front steps of the Big House's entrance, looking at us with curiosity. Michael Yew walks forward with Nico in his arms, his tone changes when he talks to his ten-year-old brother. 

"Will, go prep the stuff, alright?"

Nico whimpers. "I don't like doctors."

I catch up and hold his hand. "It's okay, these are cool doctors."

Hanging from a cage is good for introspection, and Ara's got a lot on her mind. However, after what feels like merely an hour, Festus makes a funny noise and then plummets down. 

Ara holds onto the cages, her hands hurting from the cold and the effort. She doesn't allow herself to question if this is how she'll die, because really, the sky is the only safe place left for demigods right now. If they can't make it there, then it's game over. 

"You cannot escape the curse."  

What was Medea talking about? Ara isn't cursed!

"Hang tight, Ara!" Leo shouts. "Emergency landing!" 

The boy pilots Festus to the backyard of a mansion, but the moment they reach the limits something blasts Festus straight on the chest. He drops the cages on impact, and Ara doesn't want every organ in her body to burst if she ends up beneath the cage's weight, so she lets go, rolling away just like Percy taught her.

The snow softens her fall as well as her new cloak and the oversized jacket, but the air still gets pushed out of her lungs, and she takes a moment to recover. When she sits up her neck stings, probably pulled a muscle or two, but she can feel all her limbs, and most importantly, her heart's still beating.

She hears voices and then sobbing. Ara tenses and her mind goes to Leo, he was riding Festus when the dragon was blasted out of existence. She looks back to see the absolute carnage that Festus ended up in and all of the emotions she's been bottling up burst out at once. 

Ara doubles over, pushing out the food she ate just a few hours ago. The girl gets up on shaky legs and then searches the area looking for her dino bag. When she finds it, the worn-out T-rex is missing a leg, an eye, and stuffing is coming out of its head. Considering what just happened to Festus, it feels like a bad joke.

Jason and Piper are comforting Leo on the opposite side of the garden. Jason sees her and approaches, but before he can ask she waves a hand dismissively. 

"How's Leo?" Ara sees the boy taking apart Festus's head, then the object then goes up into the sky and vanishes. She moves Jason out of the way. "Hey! We could've—!" 

Leo's expression is heartbreaking and it freezes her in place. "Talked to my dad," he speaks hoarsely. "He says hi."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

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[linkspooky]

I heard that you like Pandora Hearts so I can't help but ask: what are your thoughts on Oswald's arc? Particularly in relation to his role as Glenn and his conflictual relationship with Lacie. I liked him quite a bit but I don't think I've ever really understood him 100%

I think it’s fair not to understand him, because we mainly only see Glen through both Jack and Lacie’s filtered perceptions of him. That being said, I think the center of Oswald’s character is fittingly enough revealed in the chapter with his name on it.

I genuinely believe that both Lacie and Oswald’s desire was the same underneath it all. Outside of romance and responsibility as nobles, both of them genuinely liked the days they spent together with Jack just as friends. He was the first person from the outside world who came into their lives and treated them differently outside of being Baskervilles. They both loved the normalcy Jack represented, even though Jack did not necessarily ever understand his importance to them because he was too traumatized and distanced from his own emotions at the time. 

Lacie and Oswald both share the same flaw as well. They both had a desire, Oswald for Lacie to live, and for Jack to continue being his friend and spending their days together, Lacie to spend careless days with Jack and her brother and not to have to die, but they both tragically decided to accept their fate at different points and do things they did not want to do simply because they were told they had to.

Lacie, Jack and Oswald all project their loneliness into the abyss. Lacie believes the center of the abyss must be lonely to give birth to child of misfortune and eventually chooses to go along with Past Glen’s plan to create Will of the Abyss partially because of this reason, and because of the loneliness of her impending death. Oswald projects the loneliness of his sense of duty onto the abyss. He sees everything through the lens of duty, it’s what motivates him but restricts him at the same time. 

Unlike Leo who is almost completely unable to act at the right time due to confidence issues and his own mournings of his losses, Oswald in his strict servitude to duty always can act when he needs to. However as a drawback he ends up doing things he does not actually want to do at all.

In Oswald’s own words he chose to be the head of the baskervilles instead of her older brother, but those were two different duties. The duty to protect Lacie and the duty to protect the family he was a part of and the abyss. However, he never actually chose one side or the other fully, not really as with his actions afterwards he was clearly too plagued with regret. He wanted to choose both. Instead of trying to choose both he pretended to choose one, and then deluded himself after the fact.

Oswald’s weakness spotted by Jack, his contradictory behavior lies in his inability to be even remotely true or recognize his own desires. He knows that he clearly regrets killing Lacie, but when he assumes control of Leo, his first instinct is to just go into the past and kill Lacie again even though that is the mistake that started this whole mess. 

Oswald at first is too plagued by duty to recognize his desires, then after killing Lacie he’s plagued by both guilt that he’s suppressing and also a second desire in the form of simply wanting to have Jack. 

The thing about tragedies is there are multiple instances in which they can be averted. The die was not in fact cast, even after Lacie died. Jack was not beyond help, even 100 year old Jack was able to finally empathize with somebody when someone confronted him directly about his own lies, and his own selfishness and accepted him. 

The point of this scene is that Oswald already knew these things about Jack, he knew he was a liar, he knew he was somebody who could put on any face he wanted to in a moment’s notice in order to obtain his desires. He also knew that when confronted about these things, about his own lack of identity Jack will do anything to avoid it including running away.

Which is what prevented Oswald from every confronting Jack about his motivations until the last possible moment, because after Lacie was gone Oswald still wanted to remain friends with Jack. Oswald had a chance for redemption still even after doing something as unforgiveable as killing his sister, there was Alice and Will of the Abyss to take care of, and even with the central member of their trio gone Jack still remained. 

Oswald even as Glen wanted to remain friends with Jack. The two of them could have rebuilt to make up for what they lost, but Oswald was too busy wallowing in his own guilt to notice Jack. Jack is just… the one nice thing that Oswald was allowed to keep outside of his duty to the family. The one thing from the outside world that was allowed to visit them and interact with them as friends. His last remaining tie to normality after he killed his sister.

In a way Oswald reflects Jack. He wanted to keep Jack around, selfishly, for the same reason Jack wanted to keep Lacie around. Part of their identities, their normal selves, were divested in the friends around them. It’s why Oswald, Lacie and Jack have such a strong bond, but they’re also an example of a toxic failed trio.

Both Oswald and Jack also fatally misunderstand Lacie, because they’re too swept up in their broken dude emotions. Oswald his guilt, and Jack his lack of identity. 

If he had listened, Oswald at the time would realize that even if he killed her Lacie still truly cared about him and forgave him. Both Jack and Oswald forget about Lacie’s genuine love for the world, and the fact that she was at least allowed to be alive and live in this wonderful world for the short time she was, in their own feelings of mourning her.

It’s finally in admitting his feelings that Oswald makes the step he should have made a long time ago. Not in using time travel to fix his mistake, but rather simply deciding not to repeat his mistake again which he was in danger of doing. Thematically, what Oswald was doing wrong was forcing himself to make the same mistake again out of “duty” even though he knows he doesn’t want to kill Lacie and he only lived in regret last time and nothing good came from it. 

With that he also finally achieves his rest and is able to come to peace with his regrets instead of continually persisting in them even after his own death, to the point of trying to break the time stream to resolve them. 

His moment of growth is what he should have done to begin with, simply been honest about his feelings and in the case of things that already happened resolved to not repeat the mistake rather than living in regret over it forever, but that is tragedy. He reflects Jack in that final aspect too, if Jack had been honest with himself about his own cowardly and terrible personality to begin with he truly could have emotionally connected with those around him instead of only connecting through a performance that he himself did not know was real to the bitter end.

Also it’s thematically relevant that Jack finally experiences an emotion towards Oswald when Oswald was honest with himself about Lacie, especially since the reason for the divide between them was Oswald lying to him about Lacie in the first place, and Jack’s decision he could not trust Oswald from then on and had to consider him as the head of the Glen Household and somebody to manipulate. 

Which as I said before in tragic fashion, if Oswald had allowed himself to mourn openly in front of Jack they most likely would have been able to mourn together instead of both continuing to lie to each other until their relationship ended in the worst way possible. What are you going to do though that’s conseqeunces for you.