#make-erik-a-single-dad-dead

[arale2126]

Onslaught as twins Jean-Wanda saga begins…

[trinaasworld]

-hi tumblr,, this is a cross post of my fanfic on ao3. I've noticed how dead the Poto fandom is there and decided to move things here.

-This is my first ever fanfic. Y/N is used and will be used in the future. English isn't my first language.

-Reader is a woman in her 20s, shorter than Erik.

-Some warnings are age gap, slight harrassment, maybe stalking?

With that...I present you "Angel of Aces: chapter 1"

"The Phantom and The Angel"

After your father, a famous gambler, passed away you were left on your own. The first job you could find was a waitress at the same casino he played at. On your very first shift you met a man that your father always told you stories about, a man he called “The phantom of the casino.” You quickly became his favourite.....

You couldn’t stop your hands from trembling while putting on the uniform that was given to you. It was a basic white button-up blouse paired with a skirt that had to strictly be no more or less than 4 fingers lower from your ass. As dumb as it sounded, your colleagues told you that it made the gamblers happy and “the happier they are the bigger the tips are”, like Meg said.

The inside of the casino was just like how your dad described it, dark and disorienting like a trap. All of the lights and sounds were more than enough to overwhelm your nervous mind before you even reached the entrance where you could check in the guests. But with hurried steps, you managed to get there before people began to pour in.

As you sat and observed each person who entered, one specific thought was floating around the back of your mind. Your father’s stories about each gambler he played with and more specifically someone he called “the phantom”. Whenever he came home in a bad mood he would mention him, he would refer to him as “the silent death” whenever he felt like being dramatic. From what you can remember, the phantom was quiet, always playing carelessly and never speaking a single word. Also, something that would tick your father off was the fact that the phantom apparently wore a mask, no one knew why.

Your eyes scanned the crowd, none of the men reminded you of a “walking corpse” and none of them moved like “a ghost” , like your father would describe the phantom…none except one person. A man, as pale as a sheet of paper with hair and eyes as dark as the night sky with one single spark in them resembling little stars. On the right half of his face, he had a porcelain mask, it was him. He was the Phantom and he was at your table. The thought of finally meeting him made you shake with both excitement and anxiety. It didn’t take long for anxiety to overpower your happiness, though. You couldn’t help but wonder if he had to do something with your father’s sudden death, what if he hated him and recognized you?! It would only take him one swing to knock you down!

The barman, and a friend of yours, Raoul was quick to notice how nervous you were before he called you over.

“Are you alright, lotte?” He always knew how to make you smile with that silly nickname he had for you. His voice was soft and his eyes as gentle as ever while he patiently waited for your response. Just as you were about to answer, you saw his expression change into a more serious one.

You spun around in your stool in order to see what he was looking at only to be met with a wall of muscles. Your face was a mere inch away from a man’s chest, his strong perfume instantly making your head spin.

“One champagne, please.” His low voice rumbled from above you as the faceless man effortlessly trapped you between him and the bar. You slowly looked up, your eyes landing on a familiar face no other than the phantom. He stared down at you for a moment before stepping away. The tension in the air was thick and heavy, making it almost suffocating as the two of you stood in silence.

“Excuse me.” His husky voice made a shiver run up your spine, the way his words rolled off of his tongue had you in a trance. Not even a moment later he stepped back and returned to the game.

You stood there, speechless and frozen in place for god knows how long before Raoul poked your shoulder from behind. “Earth to Y/N!” He spoke jokingly, which made you snap back into reality. “Hurry up or the ice will melt.” His hand pushed the drink closer to you, urging you to take it away.

Nodding in agreement, you stood up and carefully took the cup. You tried to suppress the anxious thoughts while slowly making your way towards the table where he sat. “Here is your drink, sir.” You spoke in a hushed and polite voice, praying that he’ll ignore you. Despite your prayers to all of the gods you could think for, he turned towards you.

“Thank you, Angel.” The way his dark, tired eyes scanned your body was enough to make you feel uneasy. His words, especially the nickname he gave you, echoed around your mind for a few long moments before you finally managed to collect your thoughts. “Y-You’re welcome.” You mumbled out, trying to seem as calm as possible but the blush on your cheeks instantly gave away your true feelings. Your eyes glanced around at all of the cards in front of you, the ones laid out messily on the table and the ones neatly arranged in his hand.

You didn't realize for how long you were staring at his hand before he nudged you. “Like what you see?” He said, biting back a playful smirk while letting you get a better look at his cards. He held a mix with two eights, a three and a single ace.

“The fuck are you doing?!” One of the men playing slammed his fist on the table, his furious gaze jumping around the phantom and you. “Play like a man without any help.” The strange man spat and sat back down in his seat, tightly gripping the cards he had. You shivered in fear and quickly stepped away, apologizing under your breath as if anyone would hear you. Their gazes burned on your back and their murmurs made you tear up slightly.

Thankfully, nothing similar happened for the rest of your shift. After you told Raul what happened, he insisted on driving you home to make sure you were safe.

In the safety of your apartment you put on some music and finished up your nightly routine. Once you were wrapped in your blanket with your comfort movie playing on your laptop, your phone lit up. It was a notification from your money app.

[ “Angel” sent you $50. Tap to see messages.]

Curiosity took over you and you couldn't stop yourself from opening the notification.

From: Angel, $50.

“Sorry about earlier, my dear. That man doesn’t know how to treat treasures like you. Forget him.”

“Thank you!” You replied, trying your best to be polite despite the odd vibes you were getting from that message. Waitresses get tips, that’s normal, it was the message that made you feel weird.

Not long after that you went to bed. Even in slumber, you couldn't escape the phantom, his face haunting your dreams. You dreamed about being lost in some city at night, no one around you to ask for help except the shadow that would appear around corners. He was too quick to catch but still lingered long enough to make you feel uneasy. In the morning you woke up with your heart thumping against your chest.

Soon enough your next shift came. Just like last time, you sat at the entrance and waited for your table to be occupied. The seats got filled with new men, some that you didn't see during your last shift until there was only one empty chair left. And there he was, the phantom. He, as if sensing which table was yours, sat down at the last chair and the game began.

You didn't believe it. Yes, he was a daily visitor but what were the chances he would choose your table during your shift? Surely there was a logical explanation, you thought. Maybe it was just pure luck, maybe he always sits at a different table and it was easy to explain with math. Either way, you had to serve him.

“Good evening.” You greeted them with a shy voice and instantly his eyes landed on you. His gaze was burning holes through every layer of clothing and skin, like a predator ready to pounce at his prey. It felt as if you were a lonely lamb surrounded by a pack of wolves.

“Well ain’t cha cute?” An older, and uglier, man at the table spoke up, measuring you from head to toe. “You gonna serve us, sweetie?” He continued. All of the other men chuckled at his words except for The Phantom, who was staring right into his soul with cold eyes.

“Enough. Let’s begin the game.” The Phantom knocked at the table, his voice making it obvious how annoyed he was. When he glanced at you from under his mask you took the opportunity to give him a smile, silently thanking him. A grin, or maybe even a smirk, tugged at his lips in return before he focused on the cards once again.

You stepped away from the table after serving their first drinks and began to watch the game. It was safe to say that The Phantom was targeting the pervert without even hiding it. Win after win and bet after bet later the night ended with the phantom winning everything.

Even though he lost, the creepy man didn't lose his confidence one bit. He stumbled towards you at the bar while holding an almost empty cup in his hand. You smiled at him, something the protocol forced you to do, and he instantly lit up.

“Hey, sweetie.” His breath stank of the whiskey that you served him 3 times. Once his breath hit your nose you felt your whole body tense up, your muscles locking in place.

“Don't be shy…we had fun tonight, didn't we?” He leaned in even closer as if sensing your discomfort. His rough fingers brushed your shoulder when he leaned against the bar next to you, not intending to move away any time soon.

“Tell me what your name is, pretty girl.”

You were still frozen in place, not knowing what the best move would be that wouldn't make him mad.

“My name is..Y/N.” A ball clogged your throat, knowing that you just engaged in conversation with this damn creep.

“Oh, a cute name for a cute little lady.” He reached out and took a strand of your hair between his fingers, making you cringe internally. You felt like vomiting at the thought of him laying his nasty hands on you.

Suddenly, a large palm landed on his shoulder. When you looked up you were met with one of the few people you hoped would help out, the phantom. His eyes were wide and he stared down at the man, a spark of fury burning in his iris.

“Do you know her?” His cold voice rang like a bell.

“I was getting to know her, dude.” The creep spat back at him, turning his back towards you to face him.

You watched as the phantom effortlessly towered over him and cast a shadow over both of you, making your heartbeat quicken. It was impressive how much dominance he asserted with so few words. You could bet that his hand on that guy’s shoulder was like the touch of death itself, cold and scary.

The Phantom looked in your direction and tilted his head, signaling you to get away. You didn’t hesitate before jumping out of your seat and rushing towards the exit. As you hurried you could hear the creep begin to speak before he was met with the phantom’s fist, groaning and cursing from the pain. Then another hit, and another.

Once outside you leaned against the cold brick wall and stopped to take a breather before pulling out your phone to order a taxi. The door beside you swung open and no one other than the phantom walked out. He was fixing up his shirt before he spotted you and headed in your direction. On his knuckles you could see remains of blood that he quickly wiped off. If it was someone else you’d be scared, you’d step back and keep some distance but he was different. You stood in place, allowing him to come closer and tower over you.

“Thanks.” You looked up at him, a polite smile plastered on your face. His expression was different than the one you saw earlier, he looked more calm and relaxed…and happy.

“He deserved it. Are you alright?” He spoke with a soft tone, his voice sweet and calming like honey. His hand pulled out a box of cigarettes and pulled one out before silently offering you some, which you declined.

“Yeah…just a bit shaken up. Are you alright?” Your question earned a chuckle from him as he blew some smoke out of his mouth, glancing at you once again.

“More than alright, darling. Glad I got to stop that…creep.”

You hummed in response to his words, not knowing how to continue the conversation. As silence set between the two of you, the only noise being his exhales, you returned your attention to ordering a taxi.

“You don’t have to do that. I can drive you home.” He spoke up, pressing his cigarette butt against a brick to put it out. Once again he turned his whole body towards you, tilting his head down to meet your gaze. His chest was just a few inches away from yours, so close that you could smell his perfume.

Your heart skipped a beat as you watched him, not knowing how to respond. It was a bad idea to get in a random man’s car but he wasn't like any other man. He, the man who you still didn't know the name of, had a trustworthy aura. You felt comfortable around him and he felt comfortable around you, he gave you a sense of protection in the least creepy way.

“I don't know…” You bit your lip, fiddling with the fabric of your skirt and glancing down at the ground.

“Don't worry Angel, I don't bite. My name is Erik.” He spoke, his gaze softening as if he was seeing a puppy instead of you. His lips twitched, curling up in a small smile. His tall frame was casting a shadow over you as he leaned even closer, staring down at you as if studying every detail on your face.

“Mine is Y/N.” You took a step back and reached out for a timid handshake, putting some distance between the two of you. He gently took your hand and shook it, soft skin pressing against yours. The tips of his long fingers brushed against your veins, pushing down on them for a split second.

“So, will you allow me to take you home?” Erik asked, leaning against the wall with one hand and holding his car keys in the other. You could see a gold ferrari logo on his key, and you expect nothing less from a man like him. His hobby was gambling and throwing his money around like it meant nothing, which only made you wonder what his actual job was. Affording such a lifestyle and driving such a car was luxury at its finest.

You gulped, feeling your throat going dry and cold sweat dripping down your back.

“N-no sorry, maybe some other time.” As much as curiosity lured you into accepting his offer, logical thinking still overpowered it. This was the right decision. You turned your attention to the bright screen in your hand as you quickly ordered a taxi to come.

“That's alright. You're a smart woman.” He smiled at you, pulling out another cigarette and stepping away from you.

Silence took over once again. From your point of view it was an awkward and tense silence but when you glanced at him you could see just how relaxed he was. Erik was staring up at the stars, inhaling and exhaling the smoke. He was a quiet man, one that enjoyed silence and took the opportunity to enjoy how slow time passed in moments like these. You couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his head. Did he feel embarrassed by your rejection or was he perhaps feeling mad? Maybe even upset? Whatever he was feeling, he didn't show it as he waited patiently for your taxi to arrive.

After a few long minutes it finally arrived, stopping right in front of you. Erik walked over and opened the door for you with a smile. You nodded at him, whispering a “thank you” before getting in the back seat of the car.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Y/N.” Erik spoke and closed the door behind you, watching as the taxi drove away.

The ride was quiet, you got so lost in thoughts about Erik that you didn't even realize the taxi had taken you home. Quickly pushing the thoughts away you began to dig through your purse in search of cash to give the driver. He chuckled and shook his head before speaking.

“No need, the gentleman already paid me.” The driver reached forward and pulled out a crispy 20$ bill.

Your heart stopped for a moment as you stared at him with wide eyes and parted lips. How did he manage to do that? How didn't you notice?

“Are you sure? Would that be enough?” You asked, still surprised by what had happened.

“Yes. The drive costs 14$ but he told me to keep the change.”

“O-oh, alright. Thanks.” You got out of the car and went inside your apartment before instantly throwing yourself on your bed.

The comforting silence of your home calms your nerves, allowing you to take in everything that has happened tonight.

You stare at your ceiling, flashbacks from your conversation with Erik flooding your mind. It would be a lie if you said that you didn't enjoy his presence. You couldn't ignore the fact your heartbeat quickens when you see him, the way your muscles tighten when you smell his scent, the way your mind empties when you hear his voice.

It was wrong that you felt this way and you knew it. He was a stranger that could be dangerous, that could hurt you at any given moment. Oh, but the way he treated you. In his eyes you weren't a dumb naive girl, you were an elegant young woman whom he respected. He, unlike other men, treated you like a human being.

He was enticing, his energy alluring. You felt yourself drawn to him, wanting to learn more about his life.

A notification noise pulled you out of your thoughts.

[ “Angel” sent you $80. Tap to see messages.]

You instantly clicked on it.

From: Angel, $80.

“You were wonderful tonight, my dear. Such a smart and beautiful woman like you is a rare sight.”

From: Angel, 10$.

“But remember, not everyone is bad. Some people want to be the guardians of ladies like you.”

His texts sent a shiver up your spine, goosebumps covering your whole body. Such a kind message that sounded so odd knowing what happened today. Was something watching you? Had someone seen you with that creep or maybe seen you with Erik.

“Thank you, but…who are you?” You texted back, trapping the screen with lightning speed.

From: Angel, 20$.

“I’m your Angel, darling.”

You looked at the message with a puzzled expression, the reply leaving you lost as you questioned who this “angel” might be. It couldn't be any of the workers because you knew very well that their financial situation was similar to yours and you couldn't just give money away like that. So it must be one of the players, you thought.

“Are you a gambler?”

From: Angel, $30.

“Curious girl. I’m more than a mere gambler.”

The ominous reply made you shiver, anxiety creeping in. You looked around your room, feeling like you are being watched before returning to the conversation

“Please stop texting me here. I don't want any more of your money.”

You hit “send” and instantly turned your phone off. Jumping off of your bed, you went into your bathroom to take a quick shower.

The warm water soothes the tension that had spread out throughout your whole body, washing off the filth of that creep from earlier. Once again your mind imagined Erik. You remembered how he towered over you, how his scent made your head spin. It was like he was sculpted by the most talented artist to fit into every beauty standard. The way he spoke so softly despite the fact that he had beaten up a man just a few minutes ago.

You remember how his fists clenched, how blood dripped from his knuckles, how his fingers wrapped around his cigarette. And the way he touched your hand…he was driving you crazy.

Only if Erik knew how you felt, only if he knew how much you wanted him to just kiss you, let you see under his mask.

After finishing your shower you wrapped a towel around your body and went back to your bed only to find your phone lighting up with a notification. A few notifications, actually.

[“Angel” sent you $100. Tap to see messages.]

[“X” added you on ChatterLink.]

[You have a new message from “X”. Tap to see.]

[You have a new message from “Meg <3”. Tap to see]

[You have a new message from “Raoul”. Tap to see]

[You have 2 missed calls from “Raoul” and “Meg <3”]

Glancing at the clock you realized that your “quick” shower lasted about 20 minutes. You sat on the bed and opened Raoul’s message first.

“Y/N, are you safe? I heard that there was a fight at the casino earlier. Text me back asap.”

“Yeah, I got a taxi home. Thanks Raoul :)” You quickly typed out before switching to the next contact, Meg.

“Girl, answer me! You want to hear this!!” Her text was enough to make you itch with curiosity as you pressed the “call” button.

“Jeez, finally!” Meg chirped into the phone, not letting you speak up. You smiled, impressed with how much energy she had so late at night.

“So, here’s the thing. Raoul decided to host some kind of a party at the restaurant downtown later this week. I can’t go because of work but I just wanted to let you know that he really, I mean he *really* hopes you’ll go.” Meg rambled about the latest gossip she had heard outside of the casino.

“Oh? That sucks.. If you aren't there it would totally be a date!” You whined, not ready for such a commitment with Raoul just yet. Kicking your feet in protest like a little child, you heard Meg laugh on the other side of the line.

“Girl, stop complaining! He loooves youu~” She teased, making your cheeks warm up. Raoul was a sweet guy, always respectful and funny ever since a young age but it ended there. A relationship with him would be cute, yes, but that was all. He was bland. No thrill, no risk, no adrenaline to fuel your desire.

“Plus, you’ll die alone if you continue acting like this.” You knew Meg was right, she knew she was right. Your teenage years were gone and now with work it was a challenge to find free time for yourself, let alone go on dates. Her words left you feeling guilty about the way you treat Raoul.

“W-well I do have things going on!” You blurted out, huffing at Meg through the phone. A moment of silence lingered between the two of you, the image of her expression making you giggle. You could tell she was speechless, her eyes wide and her lips parted.

“Whaat? Y/N has a boyfriend??” She gasped, wanting to learn more.

“Well, not exactly a boyfriend. But It’s something...his name is Erik.”

“Erik, huh? Tell me more!”

“He is, uh…we meet often. He is quiet and respectful and so so hot. He treats me like a real woman and even got in a fight because of me.” You spoke, mixing up reality with your delusions.

The two of you spoke, jumping from one topic to another and soon enough you had agreed to go to a masquerade with Erik so Meg could meet him.

[You have a new message from “Raoul”.]

After the conversation ended you laid back and decided to chat a little with Raul too.

From: Raoul

“Great to hear. Do you want to go visit the new restaurant with me?”

“Sure, I would love to. When?”

“How does Friday evening sound?”

“Works for me. See you there, Raoul.”

“Good night, Little Lotte. :)”

*Seen*

And finally, you had two more unopened notifications.

From:Angel, 100$

“As you wish, my dear. I’ll no longer send you messages here. And do not worry, that money is gained through honest and hard work, just for you.”

Your eyes stared at the text. One hundred dollars thrown at you like it was nothing. The generous tip left a bitter-sweet taste in your mouth as it automatically went in your bank account.

Next conversation.

An anonymous number with the name “X” requested to send you messages. The profile had no description and the profile picture was a single red rose.

“Hello again, darling. Is this better?”

“Angel? Is that you?”

“That's right, smart girl. I will no longer text you through donations, just like you asked.”

God, why were they so stubborn? Why had they chosen you specifically? And most important of them all…who are they really?

“How did you get my number?”

“Don't worry your pretty head about it. It’s safe with me.”

“This is some prank, right? It’s not funny, Meg!”

“Oh, this isn’t Meg. Nor is this Raul. It’s Angel.”

“Angel? More like a demon! Don't text me again, alright you creep?!”

Before they could reply, you blocked and reported them.

[“Angel” sent you $2. Tap to see messages.]

Your heart sank. The notification popped up on your screen and stayed there, taunting you. Your finger moved on its own as it opened the chat.

From: Angel, 2$:

“Why are you acting like this, Y/N? I thought you were smarter than this.”

“I said that I don't want your money! Please stop this nonsense before I report you to the police.”

From: Angel, 0.01$:

“It's honest money from an honest man. Is it such a bad thing to appreciate you? Unblock me on that app.”

You froze in place, staring blankly at his text. Is it such a bad thing to appreciate you?

After your father’s death you completely closed yourself off, not talking to anyone for god knows how long before you were forced to get a job in order to afford to live. For that period you had become nothing more than a living corpse in your room, and maybe you still weren't completely back to your normal self. At a young age, you always loved the attention you got, no matter if that was from family or from other kids and now…now you found yourself avoiding any type of affection.

Maybe it was time to end that dark phase. Start living again.

With hesitant movements you unblocked him on ChatterLink. Moments later he began to type.

From: X

“Good girl. Have you calmed down?”

“Yes…sorry about that.”

“It's okay, my dear. You have every right to act like that.”

“If we are going to text…can I see you?”

You asked, wanting to at least make sure that whoever you were talking to was a real person.

*Seen*.

He left you on seen. You waited, the bright screen burning your eyes as you reread your message over and over again. Did you say something wrong? Was it perhaps too early to ask for a picture?

But you didn't worry about it. If he didn't reply that would be one less creep in your life. Knowing that you turned around and put your phone to charge in hopes of falling asleep before he could reply. And so you did.

You felt your eyelids grow heavy, felt how your body sank into the soft mattress and how the sounds outside progressively got quieter until your phone went off. A text message waited for you on the screen.

Angel’s next message was a picture that you had to open in order to see.

The photo was slightly blurry and cropped. It was taken from a high angle and the phone was tilted like he was taking a selfie but his face wasn't in the shot. Instead of his face, he had given you a perfect view of his entire torso and neck, even a part of his shoulder and biceps. He was wearing a suit with the tie loosened around his neck, the top two buttons of his shirt were opened. In his hand he had a glass cup which was filled with what looked like some type of alcohol. In the top corner of the picture, after enjoying the sight of his neck, you saw a small glimpse of his sharp jaw.

Was he in a club? Texting you while in a club instead of actually having fun? You could feel your body heat up.

After taking a screenshot and doing a quick Google search, you couldn't find the image anywhere else. So that's who was throwing his money so carelessly and not some old guy? Curiosity makes your body tingle, shaking off the sleepiness in an instant.

Returning back to the chat, you were met with the most horrific sight in your life.

[Y/N took a screenshot.]

From: Angel

“Oh? Did you like what you saw?”

He caught you. There was no running from the truth, no way you could lie your way out of this. You sighed, pushing away the embarrassment you felt and began to type.

“No,I just had to check if the image is real.”

“Sure, darling. Whatever you say.”

“Want another one? It would be more proof that I'm real.”

Angel knew he was hot. He was cocky, the alcohol probably had an effect on him but surprisingly he didn't make any spelling mistakes, even going out of his way to end his sentences with the right marks.

The embarrassment and curiosity swirled in your mind, creating a dangerous mix that outweighed your logical thinking.

“Sure, go ahead.” You replied, returning the same playful energy he gave you. Tension began to build up inside you as you waited to see more of him.

[X sent an image.]

This time the photo was of a better quality. He was now in the bathroom, leaning over the sink and taking a picture of his reflection. The bright lights fell on him from above, contouring the way his muscles flexed under his tight clothes.

He was holding the phone in front of his face, showing only a bit of his dark and slicked-back hair. There was a vein showing on the back of his palm, his long fingers were decorated with rings wrapped around the phone tightly. And once again, he didn't show his face.

Angel knew how crazy he drove you with just one picture and he was ready to use it against you.

Your sleep-deprived mind forgot what shame is, completely lacking rational thinking and self control.

[Y/N took a screenshot.]

If he was going to play the game, so would you. A little excitement was a good thing to have in your life right now. The anonymity was more than enough to get your blood pumping.

“Still won't show me your face, huh?”

You asked, aching to see his face but also enjoying the thrill of the mystery.

“You aren't ready for it, little one. Maybe some other day.”

“What do I have to do to get ready? I don't like waiting…”

Your lips curled into a smirk, enjoying the playfulness of what the two of you had going on. It was unlike any other relationship you’ve had, if you could even call those relationships.

“Needy thing, are you? How about you send me a picture of yourself for now?”

He surely had a way with words…and he certainly had a very collection of unique pet names in his dictionary. You could feel yourself fall in his trap, could feel him wrap you around his finger with ease, not that you would protest against it.

The perfect idea popped up in your mind. The perfect plan to get back at him. You jumped, rushing to your wardrobe to find that cute pajama set you bought a few months ago. It was a pink silk summer set that was a size too small for your chest. Quickly putting just the top on, you noticed the way it outlined all of your curves, hugging your chest tightly like a bra.

You opened the camera and lifted your phone above you, adjusting the angle so you would take the perfect selfie for him. In the photo you made it obvious that you were in bed, showing how the blanket covered you from the waist down. One of the straps of your tank top was hanging down from your shoulder lazily. You fixed your hair, pulling it to the side to reveal your collarbone and just the tiniest view of the crack between your breasts. Before taking the shot you tightened your lips, blowing him a kiss. Aand send!

[X took a screenshot.]

[dysfunctional-family-fight]

Round Two

The Fey family (Ace Attorney) VS the Lehnsherr-Maximoff+ Family (Marvel)

The Fey family

Members: Mia Fey, Maya Fey, Misty Fey, Pearl Fey, Morgan Fey, Dahlia Hawthorne, Iris Hawthorne

Propaganda:

"The Feys are spirit mediums and leadership is hereditary; Maya is next in line and Morgan has tried to Get Rid of her twice (once by framing her for murder and another by actually murdering her), in order to make Pearl the new leader instead. Pearl is 8. Misty disappeared almost twenty years ago and left behind two kids, she was assumed dead but was actually living a fine life and awkwardly spying on her kids, one of whom did not recognize her when they came face to face for once. Mia abandoned the family in search of Misty and was murdered before ever finding her. Dahlia and Iris are Morgan’s kids from another marriage, and Dahlia was part of Morgan’s plans to murder Maya, while Iris… tried to prevent it but in a very ineffective way that ultimately ended with Misty getting murdered instead. It’s noteworthy that near the end of these games Maya says she wants absolutely nothing to do with the Fey clan anymore" More propaganda here

Lehnsherr-Maximoff+ Family

Members: Erik lehnsherr, Magda lehnsherr, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Tommy Sheppard, Billy Kaplan, Vision, Max Eisenhardt, Crystal, Luna Maximoff, Lorna Dane, Teddy Altman

Propaganda:

"wanda married a robot and changed reality and invented two children (tommy and billy) who then died(?) and their souls were transferred into two random pregnant womens unborn childrens bodies(??). most people in this family have killed multiple people and - except for luna - theyve all been labeled criminals at some point. wandas dad (who she didnt know was her dad until he revealed it to her darth-vader style), max/erik/magnus/magneto, is an international terrorist and is wanted by every government in the country. wandas twin brother, pietro is bad at parenting (but not as bad as magnets). also wandas half sister lorna is there and she tried to kill pietro once. magneto also tried to kill pietro. actually lots of people have tried to kill pietro. he is hated by many. anyway those two children, tommy and billy? they had a sort of normal life until they met and realised, as near-identical twins, they looked the exact same and then they realised wanda was their mum which was Bad because this was after wanda had killed lots of people and was a murderer. billys boyfriend teddy is just there. he doesnt really know whats going on but is afraid of every single maximoff." More propaganda here

[timpac-capstone]

Week 9

I showed my wall to my capstone advisor, Jeff, and while he was happy that I now have a story and with the progress I made since the last time we spoke he is a bit worried that I am putting all my eggs into one basket. I can see where he is coming from since I STILL have not done any digital animation and it's becoming more and more of a stressor on me. He suggested I watch Rejected by Don Hertzfeldt since this is a compilation of multiple simple animations, Jeff suggested that rather than starting where my storyboard begins I should first animate the embarrassing moments themselves and that way if I'm not happy with the narrative later down the line I still have these and can make a plan around it.

I just can't do it man, I can't get into digital art. It feels so uncomfortable every time I try to draw in Krita, Fire Alpaca, or Photoshop, and every time I try to actually sit down and try to learn it I get so frustrated when the line work still comes out so goofy no matter how many times I try a new brush, setting, or simply redoing it. I used one of the bigger tablets from the Fablab this time which was a lot more comfortable to use than the small one I have but I don't know, if I had the option to make this traditionally I would be seriously considering it right now.

Lately, I've been thinking back to the topic of growing up without a dad so I looked at some videos on YouTube and a lot of them, like this one from Joe Rogan, are about people who had their dad leave them instead of passing away. Obviously, there is a difference between how I feel about my dad and how these people feel about their dad, Joe and Erik hold more anger and animosity towards their dads because they betrayed their trust while I held a lot of anger towards myself because I felt like I wasn't making anything out of my life or because I didn't understand the concept of death at age 7. However, one thing that did resonate with me was how they described their loneliness growing up with a single parent. I think by age 9 or 10 my mom would start training me on how to take care of myself at home alone. I don't hold any animosity towards my mom for this because it's like Erik said, my mom was working hard on her own trying to make sure that I had everything I needed and then some but that meant we had to cut some costs such as a babysitter. I believe this is where my love for cartoons stems from, when I would be home alone I would constantly have the TV on Cartoon Network even when I wasn't in the room and that is because I would get extremely anxious when the house would be dead silent. The worst punishment my mom could give me as a kid would be no TV for a week, not because I would be bored for that week but because I would be so anxious that I wouldn't be able to function. Eventually I got over it as I got older, the sound of silence and being alone most of the day is the norm.

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So I was scrolling through Instagram the day before this event happened and I saw this ad called Manga in New York by Ginza Sony Park Project. It was an event at Studio 525 that brought 6 different Japanese artists, not necessarily manga artists, together so that they could create and display their manga in unique ways using Sony's technology. When I presented my wall to the guest artists their main critique was that I hadn't considered how I was going to present my animation during the exhibition. At first, I didn't really know what that meant because James Ring, an alumni last year who did an animation, just set up a TV and put the storyboards and sketches next to the TV which is what I was going to do. But after going to Manga in New York I can see what they meant, each manga here was displayed so differently from each other and because of that added to their individual experiences. The first manga, Interlude by Miku Masuda had the talk bubbles animated like animated manga on YouTube except each page had its own display screen so people could walk along the story rather than standing in place watching a slideshow on one screen. A Pilgrims Guide to Videogame by Takakurakazuki was the exact opposite, it only had two displays for two people who flipped through the pages with a joystick but the area in which it was placed in also had the comic printed on paper and hung along the wall with large pieces of art to go with the exhibit. Ueda and Sasami by Hikaru Ichijo also had its story printed out and displayed along the wall but behind the reader would be a giant Ueda with an animated Hamster inside her stomach. Dream Pill by Millennium Parade was the one I found the most impressive, the floor had a projection of water on it and if I stepped in the right spot the floor would rumble and the projection would make a splash, as if I was actually walking on water as I read this manga. A Guide by Masanobu Hiraoka, who is an Animator/Director, made a manga that had huge prints on each page and only certain panels beautifully animated on a huge TV display that really brought the vastness the manga was trying to portray in its story. Finally, Walker by Katsuya Terada had massive displays of his manga accompanied by background sounds like bird noises and rain sounds that you can faintly hear as you walk through his work. I also got the chance to see him draw live, unfortunately I only stuck around halfway through his live drawing cause I had other plans that day but this was a very insightful trip.

REFLECTION:

I don't know how I'm going to be an animator if I can't digitally draw the simplest of things. I'm not trying to give up just yet but Jeff might be right where maybe I should look into doing a series of shorts rather than just one singular narrative. Up until this point, I haven't gone on a museum trip specifically for my capstone, mainly because everybody else in the class seems to be busy so I would have to go by myself and I don't think I'll find anything useful in the museum regarding what I want to do for my project but I was happily proven wrong. When I left the museum an idea that I had for my capstone would be to play my animation on a CRT TV with two bags placed next to each other, one labeled embarrassing memory and the other happy memory. Audience members would then write down an embarrassing memory or a happy memory or both and place it in one of the respective bags and by the end of it, I wanted to see which bag got more filled up. But I will worry about how this will be displayed at a later date.

[caspianjames]

Having Young Royals brain rot now about August??? I think he’s often made out to be the villain and he’s really,,,not??? Did he do a shitty thing? Absolutely. Do I think he’s a bad person? Absolutely not. He’s incredibly well written and I think in a lot of ways he’s very easy to empathize with. Here’s why.

That kid has pretty much everything going against him. Canonically he’s what? 17? 18? His dad is dead, he clearly doesn’t have a good relationship with his mom or stepdad, he’s clearly never had a safe space to process his dads death and work on recovering, he’s relying on stimulants to get through school, the girl he likes decides to date him but only cuz she can’t get his cousin, he has virtually no caring adults in his life, he’s bankrupt and terrified that the only semblance of normalcy he has left (hillerska) will be ripped out from under him. That kid is a fucking mess and absolutely the consequences of this mean he’s going to lash out. He gives so many warning signs that he’s not doing okay too. But so, to break this down point by point:

1. His dead died in a rather horrific manner, his mom moved on but clearly was not around to make sure that her son was okay. He’s often referred to a stupid or prideful for not wanting to give up part of the family estate so he’s not bankrupt except that’s the only thing he has left of his dad. And it’s not even his fault he’s bankrupt, he’s a kid!

2. Not having a safe space to process his dad dying is sort of visibly a given, but actually to take that one step further I think he DID have a safe space. It was Erik. And then Erik died and this kid truly has nothing, not even Wille because he was more interested in Simon than paying attention to what August was going through (which isn’t Wille’s fault, he hardly knew August and clearly had different values and stuff from august. But watching the show I get the feeling August is really looking to be someone meaningful to Wille and Wille just,,,really doesn’t like him). He said this in a roundabout way to Felice, too, when he was jealous of her relationship with Willhelm. It was something like “you’re my girlfriend, you’re supposed to comfort me so that I can comfort him.” Which I think is a two fold thing where firstly, no one realizes how hard Erik’s death hit him and how much he needs someone to tell him that stuff is going to be alright, but secondly, the last thing we see Erik tell him is to take care of Wille. So now he also feels like he’s failing to do that. And Willie, the one person who he could relate to about Erik, hardly wants anything to do with him.

3. I am SO interested to see where the plot will go with the meds he’s relying on. I don’t think it’s ever actually made clear if he thinks he DOES have ADHD or whether he’s just using the meds to cope but either way it’s a problem that shows he doesn’t have adequate support, you know? Even the school counsellor dude was just like “ok guess ur gonna walk out of my office bye then” instead of altering the headmaster or his parents or a teacher he trusts or ANYTHING. And, as the season progresses he gets more volatile. Why? He’s out of meds (and, whether or not he actually has ADHD and needs meds, that means he’s low on dopamine and is going to start doing stupider stuff to get his brain to reward him). (Side note, given the role ADHD and also substance abuse plays in the series I really, really hope they do both concepts justice)

4. Felice dating him even though she has no interest. No hate to her for that, honestly, I don’t think she was really interested in anyone except making her parents happy with her. She’s under a whole different kind of pressure. But august? He clearly really likes her and is trying hard with her, until everything sort of falls out of his grasp nearer the end of the season cuz he thinks she’s in love with Wille and is otherwise not coping well at all.

SO ALL THAT leads up to him outing Wille, which we see from Wille’s POV but never really from August’s, right? We see Wille yelling at August about how he was supposed to be able to trust him, but honestly I think from August’s POV Wille broke that trust first. We said already that pretty much the only thing August had left going for him was Hillerska, and by extension his friends and community there. When Wille wants them to make Alex take the fall for the drugs to save Simon, he literally exposes August and basically rips that away from him sooner than August is ready for, because now all the boys know that he’s bankrupt. In Wille’s mind it’s not a big deal - it’s a means to an end and he already knows he’s asked his mom to cover August’s tuition. It’s a very calculated but very smart move.

Except that Hillerska is all that August has left, and in a sense, Wille takes that away from him. Can you imagine how horrible that would feel for August from someone he trusted?? And honestly there is nothing more dangerous than someone who has been wronged and feels like they have nothing to lose. You can tell when Sara sees August at the computer. He doesn’t make up a story, he doesn’t care. He just wants to hurt Wille back in the only way that he can regardless of the consequences.

I don’t even think he’s homophobic or anything, either. He took the video initially to make fun of Wille with, and then when he realized what it was he didn’t say anything. But in that moment that was the one thing he had on Wille that he could weaponize because he knew it would be taken badly by the general public. 

And then he gets the call of his tuition being paid and you can see reality crash down around him when he realizes rationally what he’s done.

Anyways. My conclusion is. This poor kid has literally no one looking out for him. Like, not a single person. And that’s what happens, you know? No one does horrible things or irreparable damage to themselves or others on a whim. There’s almost always a build-up of hopelessness or anger that has to overflow first. This is a real life thing. This shit is preventable. And I really, really hope we get to see that with August. I hope we get a redemption, but an honest one. Because no matter what led to his actions, they still have real consequences. I hope the show creates a storyline where we see him getting what he needs from the adults around him while also having to deal with the consequences of his actions. 

[hanna-kin]

Black hole

An english tranlsation of my Swedish fic. Can also be read here

The days before Christmas pass somehow and Wille keeps to himself most of the time. It’s not that hard. Noone cares about what he does anyway.

The entire palace has been decorated for the holidays and their own private wing is not an exception. The Christmas tree is ready in the living room on the 23rd, just as every other year and on the windowsill in the dining room the little Santa Claus Wille did in first grade sits, and next to it the one Erik did when he was at a similar age. They perfectly reflect their different personalities. Erik’s is neat and perfect. Wille’s has uneven eyes and a lopsided hat. There are candle sticks in every window and someone from their staff has put up the Christmas Curtains and swapped every tablecloth. It’s as if nothing has happened. As if everything is the way it always is. As if Erik isn’t dead.

Wille spends the most time in his room where there aren’t any Christmas decorations or lights. The Curtains are drawn if he’s not in his room he spends hours walking around in their property and the huge land that belongs to the castle until it gets dark, and he has to return back inside. Or he lies in his bed, exhausted before the day has even begun. He barely sees his parents aside from dinner where all three of them sit quietly without having a single thing to say. Everyone thinks the same thing. That they are going to celebrate their first Christmas without Erik and that every Christmas after this will be without him. The thought makes Wille feel sick.

Christmas is a time for family, his mother always says. It’s the time of the year where they don’t work as much but take time of to relax and recharge.

But they are not a family anymore- They might be mum, dad and child but they are not a family. Erik was their glue and without them they are just three broken persons who are trying to pretend that everything will be okay. Without Erik it’s obvious that they don’t even know each other.

Mum and Erik were always so close. He was her first born and the apple of her eye. He was the perfect son, the perfect Crown prince and the perfect heir.

And Wille can see just how frail she is after Erik’s death and how her grief pulls her down with everything he does. Especially now when Christmas is around the corner. She worshipped Erik but she barely knows Wille at all. But he knows that he’s everything Erik isn’t, and he knows that he’ll never fill the empty space that Erik has left. He can never live up to Erik, no matter how hard he tries.

It was always mum and Erik and then it was Wille and dad somewhere in the background and you would expect them to get closer because of that. To create their own bond. But that’s not the case. Dad and Erik shared their love for hunting, cars and motor sport. And golf, and rowing, and ice hockey. With Wille there’s nothing.  

Since he got back home mum has barely spoken a word to him and every time she looks at him it’s with so much sorrow it feels like he’s going to fall apart. His dad tries to keep a conversation at dinner, but it feels like he’s more scared of the silence than anything else. It is as if they are looking at him and wish that Erik was there instead of him. Even if they would never say it out loud, they don’t have to. He knows it’s true. It should have been him and not Erik.

The guilt grows and the lump in his throat and stomach makes it impossible to eat more than a few bites before it feels like he’s going to throw up. No one says anything when he leaves the table without touching his food. No one follows him when he disappears into his room. No one knocks on his door to say good night.

Wille curls into a ball under the duvet in the huge bed. It doesn’t matter how tired and exhausted he is. He can’t sleep. His mind is racing and the pressure on his chest is building with every breath he takes.

Deep down he knows that his parents love him, but it doesn’t feel unconditional. It feels like they love him as long as he doesn’t mess up, fuss or puts up a fight. The last couple of years that’s all he’s done. A series of mistakes, one after the other. No more mistakes she had said. And he had messed up anyway.  Again and again and again. He doubts they love him right now. They loved Erik despite his mistakes and Erik could make him feel better about himself even after he had disappointed their parents yet again.  It feels like Erik is the only person who’s ever liked him for who he is and not wanted to change every aspect of his personality. And Simon of course. Maybe Simon could have loved him too. If he hadn’t fucked up.

It's a scary feeling that no one loves him and when he thinks about it feels like someone has twisted his stomach and stabbed him in the chest. It takes hours before he falls asleep.

-

“You’ll help us decorate the Christmas tree this evening, right?” dad asks when they see each other in the kitchen the morning after.

Mum and dad are eating breakfast when Wille steps into the room the get something to drink. Wille flinches and mum looks like she’s about to cry. He nods silently and fills a glass of water. Maybe he should stay in the kitchen and have something to eat med he can’t stand the deafening silence that laces the room, even with the Christmas music in the background. The smell of Yoghurt and egg makes him feel even more nauseous and it feels like he’s going to throw up.

Dad looks a little concerned when he doesn’t sit down at the table but he doesn’t say anything and mum has put down her own sandwich and stares blindly into the room. Wille flees back to his room, gets dressed and flees into the garden where he walks around and around and around with music blasting in his ears. It’s not until hours later when his toes are ice cold and he’s shivering that he gives up and goes back inside, takes a shower and goes to bed.

When the evening comes he feels sick again and his heart is racing in his chest and as soon as he leaves his room he just wants to go back but he knows he has to do this. A tradition is a tradition after all.

His parents are already in the living room when he walks in. They both look up. Dad smiles stiffly but mum doesn’t say a single word. Wille swallows. The Christmas music is on in the background and all the candles have been lit. There’s mulled wine, gingerbread cookies and Christmas candy on the table. Wille’s stomach turns once again and he shakes his head when dad offers him a mug.

“Let’s get it over and done with,” mum says suddenly and stands up from the couch.

She looks exhausted and her eyes are so sad when she passes by Wille and gives him a sad smile. Wille looks down on his hands and bites his lip. He remains in the middle of the floor while his parents approach the tree and begins sorting through the huge boxes with decorations. He presses a palm to his chest.

What are they even doing here? What is he doing here? Who is he trying to fool? It’s so obvious that it is the wrong son that’s here and that it would be so much better if Erik was here instead.

“Are you coming, sweetie?” mum asks and turns to him with a soft smile.

He nods and sniffles slightly. She smiles when he walks over to them, and his dad puts an arm around his shoulders.

-

He wakes up on Christmas Eve to a racing heart. It’s impossible to fall back asleep, even if it’s just 7 am and he couldn’t fall asleep last night. Instead of staying in bed he gets dressed and heads outside in the darkness. It doesn’t take long though before the scarf around his neck feels too tight and it feels like he’s going to suffocate. He pulls at it and opens his jacket before collapsing onto a bench by the water. The tears are rolling down his face as he tries to control his breathing. The water infront of him is pitch black and uncertain, but behind him the whole Palace is lit up with Christmas lights.

He doesn’t know how long he sits there with his knees to his chin and arms wrapped tightly around him but eventually he walks inside again. Even if he wishes he could disappear into the dark, icy water instead.

They eat breakfast together all three of them, but nothing has changed. It’s just like the day before. His dad tries to make conversations but gives up. Mum eats her sandwich and drinks her tea and looks like she’s about to cry any second. The chair opposite of Wille is empty.

The rest of the day isn’t much better. They have Christmas lunch with grandma. Grandpa died years ago and both of mum’s parents are also dead. Grandma has always liked him for some reason and this year it feels like she shows it even more than usual. Wille wonders how much she knows about him and Simon. If she understands it at all. The last few years her dementia has gotten a lot worse. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe it’s for the best that she doesn’t know.  She seems to struggle to remember that Erik is dead and dad has to remind her over and over again.

When she finally goes home in the afternoon all three of them collapses. They are all spent with nothing left to give. No one has the energy to put pretend when they open their gives. No one has the energy to try. Not even dad.

When Wille goes to bed, earlier than he can ever remember he wonders if it will always be like this. If it will always hurt this much and if they’ll always be this broken. And when he wakes up the day after it is as if someone has drained him of all energy. There’s nothing left. Everything is dark. Everything is empty. He doesn’t feel anything anymore. He’s a black hole.

The days pass and the only time he leaves his bed or room is to go to the bathroom. He just lies in his bed and when he doesn’t sleep, he just stares into the dark room. His phone dies after awhile but he’s too tired to charge it. He knows his parents checks on him every once in a while. He knows that someone from the staff brings him food every day. He barely eats it. He has no idea how long its been or how many days has passed but eventually the walls in his room are shrinking and shrinking and the air gets too thick to breathe. Eventually he can’t stay there anymore.

He stands up too fast and the whole room starts to spin and he has to grab the wall in order to not fall. It takes a few seconds before the dizziness passes. The hallway outside is empty and no one else seems to be awake as he makes it to Erik’s room and carefully opens the door.

It is as if time has stopped inside. The room looks completely untouched, and it seems like no one has been ready to face it yet. Everyone has been too tired. There’s a lamp in the window that lights up the room. Otherwise, the room is dark. Without checking what time it is he crawls unto the bed. The sheets have been removed but Erik’s blanket is still there, neatly folded by the end of the bed. He’s too tired to grab it so he just curls up on is side and hugs himself.

-

“Wilhelm?”

He wakes up to someone calling his name further down in the corridor and he realises he’s still in Erik’s bed. The sun has begun to rise and the snow is slowly falling unto the ground in big, fluffy snowflakes.

“Wilhelm?”

It’s dad.

“Wille?”

His legs shake badly as he walks towards the door and it feels like he’s going to collapse any second. Dark spots prickle his vision and he tries to grab something to steady himself as his legs shake more and more. Then everything gets black and his legs collapses under him and he falls.

“Wille,” someone shouts and somewhere he hears a door open.

Then there’s only darkness.

-

When he wakes up he is in his own bed again and the room his full of people and voices. He can hear mum’s voice, loud and worried. Dad is standing next to the bed. Wille recognises his bathrobe. His hand throbs and when he looks at it there’s an IV needle in it, secured with white tape. He tries to pull the hand towards him, but someone puts an hand on his arm and stops him.

“Careful,” mum says and Wille realises she’s sitting next to him on the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asks.

She gently pats his cheek before turning to someone else in the room. He can’t keep his eyes open any longer. He feels drained. His head hurts and his hand stings and he can feel his eyes tear up.

“His blood pressure is very low and he’s a little dehydrated. He’ll feel better with the IV but he needs to eat. When was the last time he ate?”

Wille doesn’t listen to his parents response but the doctor sounds concerned.

“We’ll let him rest for a bit,” he says. “I’m concerned though. We need to get him back on track.”

Wille zones out. It’s not a big deal, he thinks. He’s just felt so sick lately and it feels like they are making a fuss out if it for no reason. It’s not that he doesn’t want to eat. But everyone seems to believe that.

“Thank you,” mum says seriously.

She sounds tired and immediately it feels like someone has wrapped their hands around his throat and squeezed his chest. It’s hard to breathe and he wants them to leave him alone. He can hear the doctor and other staff leave and his parents thanking them again- Then it’s just the three of them. Mum strokes his arm and dad pulls one of the chairs closer to the bed and sits down.

“How are you?” he asks.

Wille wants to say that they are over exaggerating and that he doesn’t need a fucking IV but he can’t say anything. He knows he’s let them down now. He knows they are angry and disappointed with him.

“The doctor wans you to get some rest,” his mum says and the runs her hand through his hand with stressed motions. “But we need to talk…what’s going on, Wilhelm-”

“Kristina, not now,” dad says. “Try to get some sleep,” he continues and turns towards Wille. “We’ll talk when you feel better again.”

“Okay,” mum says after a moment of silence.

She pats her cheek before standing up.

“Okay,” she sighs.” Get some rest, please.”

-

As soon as they leave the room, he reaches for his phone that someone has put on charge on the nightstand. He has no idea how what time it is. He hardly knows what day it is. Since Christmas Eve they days have just bled together. It’s a little past 10 am and on the 30th of December. He can’t believe almost a week has passed. He can’t believe so many days have passed since he last saw Simon.

He wonders what Simon is doing right now. It feels unreal that they’ve not spoken since the end of term. For a short amount of time, they spoke to each other every day but after Lucia everything changed. And after Wille did that interview he’s only spoken to Simon a couple of times. He knows that Simon wants nothing to do with him but still, he can’t stop thinking about him. No matter how much it hurts he can’t stop. It’s like picking on a bleeding wound but at least it makes him feel something. At least he doesn’t feel completely empty inside.

He doesn’t even have a picture of Simon in his phone he realises. Not even one token for their love. He scrolls through Simon’s Instagram instead. It looks like he has had a good holiday. A nice Christmas. There are pictures from Christmas eve with Simon, Sara and Linda Infront of the tree and on a table full of food from both Sweden and Venezuela. The latest post is from last night, several pictures with Simon, Rosh and Ayub. Simon looks happy and he’s so beautiful it hurts. Without thinking he starts typing a message.

I just wanted to say sorry for everything. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I was a coward. I wish I could be a different person. A different version of myself. A better version. Maybe in a different life I am and there we can be together forever. I love you. I’m sorry.

He presses send before he can regret it. He shouldn’t contact Simon but he can’t help himself. Even if Simon doesn’t want him at least Simon will know how sorry Wille is. Pretty soon his phone begins to vibrate. Several messages after each other. He doesn’t want to look. He doesn’t want to see Simon tell him to go to hell. But then the phone starts ringing and he can vaguely see Simon’s name on the screen as he picks up.

“Hello...” he says quietly.

“Wille, what the hell. Are you alright? I thought you…I thought you… I thought you were going to hurt yourself.”

Simon sounds worried, voice loud.

Wille shakes his head as he looks at the IV in his hand. His head hurts.

“No…” he says stupidly.

“What? What do you mean no?”

“I’m not going to do anything stupid. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“You can’t message me like that,” Simon says. “We are not together anymore.”

Now Simon sounds angry. Wille doesn’t blame him. Everyone is angry with him right now and he deserves Simon’s anger more than anything else right now.

He looks the needle in his hand again. He ignores the tears in his eyes.

“Yeah…” he says and hopes that Simon won’t hear how unsteady his voice is.

“I have to go,” Simon says tiredly. He sighs and sounds tired. Of Wille probably.

“I’m sorry,” Wille says again.

Simon sighs again.

“Goodbye!” he says.

“Bye…” Wille whispers.

He lies in his bed after they have hung up. The pressure on his chest remains and his heart is racing.

Eventually he can’t stay anymore, and he has to pee so without thinking he pulls the needle from his hand. It hurts a bit and immediately starts to bleed. He sits up slowly before carefully standing up. S soon as he’s in the bathroom he wraps some toilet paper around his hand. He leans against the sink as he feels the dizziness return and has to sit down on the toilet seat in order to not pass out again.

Slowly he makes his way back to his bed again and lies down. The ripped out IV drips onto the floor and creates a pool beside the bed. When he wakes up again there’s a new IV in the back of his hand and his dad sits next to the bed.

“What are we going to do with you?” he says when he notices Wille is awake.

[earnestly-endlessly]

hey!! Your fic recommendations are always elite–I was wondering if you had any kid fics, thank you <3

Hi anon. I have plenty of kid fics for you. Since you didn't quite specify what kind of kid fic you wanted I decided to divide it into fics where Charles and Erik are kids or get deaged and fics that involve kids. This is kind of a long list so I hope that there are plenty of new fics for you to read.

Cherik Kid Fic

--They are kids or get deaged--

Conspiracy of Kisses - Alaceron

Summary: Seven-year-old Erik needs to keep his telepathic best friend Charles from finding out that he wants to kiss him. But that's okay, because he has a plan - he'll put on a tinfoil hat.

Chasing After You - Alaceron

Summary: Charles isn't very good at tag. Erik helps

We’ll be the sum - afrocurl, ninemoons42

Summary: In between bouts of blanket burrito-ing and vegging out on movies, Charles and Erik figure out how they currently feel about each other.

Of course, they're schoolboys and they're on a sleepover and also Edie dotes on them both excessively, so things work out just fine.

Growing pains - ikeracity

Summary: Twelve-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is an angry, closed-off foster kid with trust issues and a bad temper. Ten-year-old Charles Xavier is a lonely kid in boarding school who just wants a friend.

Logan pretends he doesn't think they're both fucking adorable.

Valentine’s day – ikeracity

Summary: Kid fic! Erik waits impatiently all day at school to give Charles a card for Valentine's Day. Maybe Charles has something for him too...?

Now You Know You Know it Now – luninosity

Summary: Erik’s not sure why he keeps glancing at the other boy. Not as if Erik likes other kids, or other people in general, for that matter. But still—he finds himself looking. Again.

This Family Comes with Batteries - Fishwrites, lynneh

Summary: An orphaned Charles Xavier goes to live with his Godfather: Tony Stark. This story is a tale of what would have happened to the events of MCU, if Tony was raising a six year old telepath in Stark Tower. There is also the matter of Charles' robot AI manny/bodyguard/tutor/only-friend, David.

You’re Not Doing This Alone – flightinflame, Lynds

Summary: What's meant to be a simple recruitment mission leads to both Erik and Charles being de-aged back to thirteen years old. Terrified and out of their depth, the boys try to hide their situation and help each other until they can work out what is going on.

Charles Xavier, A Retelling – Extra_fried_noodles

Summary: An attempt to reverse his paralysis goes wrong, and Charles is de-aged into a 2 year old toddler. While Hank scrambles to fix the situation, the whole gang is here to help. Through a mix of selective memory, they watch Charles relive his childhood, revealing some deeply hidden and painful truths.

Protective Instinct – Groovyhornbill

Summary: Charles and Erik were testing Cerebro’s new prototype when things went very wrong.

Divergence – Lynds

Summary: Universes and timelines collide, dropping two younger versions of Charles Xavier into the midst of the hunt for Sebastian Shaw. Now the newly formed X-men have to deal with a strangely quiet and self-reliant six year old, and a sixteen year old covered in bruises.

Erik, in particular, has to accept that the man he loves hasn't had the kind, happy upbringing he wished for him. But these children are here now, and Erik's not going to let anyone hurt them this time.

--Where they have kids--

Sink or Swim – endingthemes

Summary: Erik is a struggling single dad of three kids with a burning hatred for Sebastian Shaw, the man who wronged him years ago. He’s tried to move on with his life, but a run-in with Shaw’s rude, spoiled omega, Charles, drags up old anger. When Charles ends up in the hospital after an accident, Erik goes to confront him only to find that Charles has amnesia. In the confusion, Charles mistakenly assumes that Erik is his mate.

Erik knows he should clear up the misunderstanding, but how can he pass up this perfect chance for a little revenge?

(An Overboard AU)

Rumor Has It - blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Words and Pictures – pocky_slash

Summary: When Lorna's powers manifest early, Charles Xavier's mutant picture books are the perfect teaching tool. Erik just hadn't expected the author to be so young. Or attractive. Or available.

Write this number down (you can call it anytime) – pocky_slash

Summary: When Erik upsets his children, they have a habit of running away from home--and straight to Charles' school for cookies and consolation. Charles doesn't mind the visitors, but as they appear more and more frequently, he realizes that sooner or later, he and Erik are going to have to talk about what happened on the beach and what it means for their future and the future of Erik's children.

Dress Your Family in Plaid and Skinny Jeans – cygnaut

Summary: Erik and Charles meet at the mutant playgroup/parenting support circle and they instantly hit it off. And so do their kids, Lorna and David.

Not What I was Expecting (So Much Better) – lazulisong

Summary: Erik, the single father, hires Charles, the grad student with the slightly shady past, to be his manny.

Heli Cases – Black_Betty

Summary: "Heli Cases" is a program on PBS whose aim is to educate on the rapidly increasing occurrence of genetic mutation in the general populous by breaking the complex science down into palatable, easy to digest pieces.

It is also the only thing that helps Erik get his fussy daughter to fall asleep.

(Featuring Dadneto, baby Lorna and the struggles of single fatherhood, and Charles as the host of a late night show about genetics.)

Doing Something for Yourself – Pookaseraph

Summary: Erik is a hard working engineer and single dad, Charles runs a local Community Center where Wanda and Pietro spend their time after school. Erik accidentally makes Charles' acquaintance one Wednesday evening when he's running late from work. Erik has no idea if he stands a chance with his new acquaintance, but that isn't going to keep him from falling for the guy.

A Good Dad – listerinezero

Summary: Ten years later, Magneto has left the Brotherhood and Raven asks Charles to help her find him. Charles discovers that Erik is the single father of five year old twins Wanda and Pietro, and he is doing everything he can to keep them safe from his former enemies.

Take a Chance (On Me) – Ook

Summary: In which Charles, terrorised by his abusive ex, takes his young son to a small town in America, where they both settle down and make friends with their neighbours. Particularly the town mechanic, Erik, and his foster son, Alex. Requester stated they wanted to "drown in H/C. "

Can’t Buy Me Love – niniblack

Summary: Erik's a single dad struggling to make it work and nab the promotion he's been waiting for. The last thing he needs is to get involved with politician and notorious playboy Charles Xavier.

(The Maid in Manhattan pastiche that no one asked for.)

Ohana – royal_chandler

Summary: Erik's children are absolute hellions. If by hellions, one means children who are incredibly protective of their new family unit and won't let a few household mishaps get in the way of keeping it together.

One Second and a Million Miles – magneto

Summary: Between being a parent to the best baby in the history of man-kind and co-running a Mutant Center in Hell's Kitchen, Erik Lehnsherr has his hands pretty full. Too full, certainly for romance; something that has never really been on his radar to begin with.

All that changes, however, when he meets Dr. Charles Xavier. Handsome, intelligent, capable, kind, an Omega level telepath, and one of the best pediatricians in the state, he's everything Erik didn't know he was looking for. But he's also Lorna's pediatrician which means, of course, he's off-limits. Except how is Erik supposed to try and forget his crush when he and Charles keep running into each other as if fate is trying to tell them something? When, as Charles says, they seem to want the same thing?

Her Only Mutations Were Her Blue Eyes and Her Auburn Hair – Pookaseraph

Summary: While sneaking back out of Russia, Erik and Charles stumble across Anya, Erik's presumed dead daughter, and it changes quite a few little things along the way. Fluffy, self-indulgent, fix-it.

Despicably Yours – Cesare, veryorangecat

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr, AKA Magneto, is a supervillain without equal... except maybe one: Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X, AKA Erik's next door neighbor. When their competition heats up, Erik decides the only way to get ahead is to adopt four mutant orphans to infiltrate Charles's mansion.

Things don't go as planned.

The Wrong Impression – Rosawyn

Summary: Charles is trying to balance the responsibilities of his career with his responsibilities as a single father to a tiny baby. It's not something he ever thought he'd have to do, and it's not as easy as those women on the internet make it look! He does't have much of a social life (unless talking to his sister on the phone and attending a parents' class where he's the only guy count), and he doesn't even have time to think of dating. He's just trying to keep his job - and keep his son fed and healthy.

Marrying a Mob – Ook

Summary: Charles is a teacher at a very exclusive school. When armed men burst in on the trail of two children, of course he stands up to them and gets hurt. The children are Erik Lehnsherr's children (of course); a "prominent businessman" or, less politely, "mobster".

Erik is grateful to Charles for saving his children's lives at the cost of his kneecap. So very grateful.

Naturally he tries to reward Charles for his actions. Equally naturally, Charles will be having none of that.

Azazel finds the whole thing unspeakably hilarious. Naturally.

[purplehoodiesimon]

'After the rain comes the sun' is a phrase meaning 'after the bad times, things will be happy again'. The way Sun After Rain is used in Young Royals is, ironically, contrary to it's title.

The very first time Sun After Rain is used is the episode 2 scenes where Simon steals the pills from his dad and gives them to August. The music starts the second Simon starts to pull the pills out of the drawer, and continues until the second they pass between his hands to August's. The second time is in episode 3, when Felice and August get together. It continues into the scene where Simon is collecting his items to spend the night with Wilhelm. Third time is in episode 4, when Simon is riding the bus on his own, texting Sara about Micke, and the headmistress is showing Wilhelm into his bigger room. Fourth time is Lucia in episode 5, when Wilhelm discovers someone has filmed him and Simon engaging in intimate acts and posted it on the Internet. And the fifth, and honestly most important use in my opinion, is in episode 6. It starts with Wilhelm and Simon texting about Wilhelm going home the next day, continues through them hanging out in Wilhelm's room talking about how they can't force him to deny the statement, and cuts off abruptly when Wilhelm stands up to get ready.

Every single one of these uses ties together to foreshadow an unhappy ending for season 1. It's interesting to note that there's no use of Sun After Rain in ep1 and it first appears fairly late in ep2. This song only starts to appear in the story after Simon and Wilhelm have started to express interest in each other, which is partly why it's so much more impactful in foreshadowing an unhappy ending. As I've talked about before, YR has a butterfly effect plot. Most of the plot couldn't happen without Simon dealing the pills to August—our first use of Sun After Rain. This moment where Simon takes the pills from Micke's drawer sets up pretty much every sad and happy moment from here on out. Without Simon dealing the pills, we wouldn't have all the conflict between him and August, where August reveals he's broke. Simon passes that information onto Wilhelm while they're arguing about Simon giving August the drugs that Alexander got caught with and Wilhelm ended up high on resulting in their reconciliation. Wilhelm then uses that against August, playing a part in his completely irrational decision to post the video.

The second use is Felice and August's relationship, who don't work out as a couple, and their dating contributes to August's irrational jealousy issues. Also note—he finds out about Wilhelm and Simon's relationship while he's dating Felice, but then she breaks up with him shortly before Wilhelm humiliates him in front of the Society to defend Simon. It's not at all an excuse but could contribute to his 'Wilhelm has everything' jealousy issues. The second use also shows Simon preparing to stay with Wilhelm, which we all know doesn't happen because Erik dies. That one's a little self-explanatory on how it's a foreboding omen. He doesn't get to stay with Wilhelm cause Erik is, well, dead.

The third time is very interesting actually, it doesn't look that foreboding at first. Until you remember that Simon and Sara's conversation goes: Sara: Did Micke get in touch with you? Simon: No?!? Sara: He says he wants to meet up. Why?! Simon: Omg what?! DON'T reply! Liar liar Lucia candles on fire, dude. This links to Micke showing up at Lucia and causing family issues. It also shows Wilhelm being given a bigger, ground-level room because he's the Crown Prince now. He was in a tiny like 2 story one before. And what does August do one episode and a stupid high later? Films them. Through the window. That is at ground-level. The ground-level window that August films them through. That window. Yea. If Sun After Rain is supposed to be read as a foreboding foreshadowing omen, it makes so much sense why they chose to play it through the beginning of that scene, instead of just ending at Sara and Simon texting.

The Lucia use is obvious—Wilhelm finds out he's been secretly filmed and exposed on the Internet. It sets up everything for the next episode, especially the next use of Sun After Rain. Wilhelm's statement. Or rather, their discussion of what Wilhelm should do for the statement. The music begins with Wilhelm asking for Simon to come before he leaves—asking for support. It plays while they talk, curled up together on the floor, about how the Crown can't force Wilhelm to deny the statement—giving Simon hope for their relationship. And it abruptly ends when Wilhelm remembers he has to get ready—when he remembers he can't stay in his bubble with Simon forever, he has a duty to the Crown. As we all know, Wilhelm does end up denying that it's him. He sees his duty and what his mother said in the car as more important than acknowledging their relationship. He even says as much later, when he tells Simon they can be together as long as they aren't seen with each other in public. This scene is such an interesting use of Sun After Rain as a device of foreshadowing. The first time you watch it, you think, 'Maybe he will. Maybe he will come out and say it was him. Maybe they can be happy together.' And every single time after that, you know what's coming. You know that Wilhelm's not going to do it, that all the hope and love they're building in this scene is not going to last. You know that there won't be any sun after the rain.

[teddy06writes]

The Phantom Of The Opera AU

requested by this anon: “Okay so I know you’re a musical kid so you have probably listened to/heard of Phantom of the Opera. Picture this: Dream as the Phamtom x Fem!reader as Christine x Sapnap as Raul”

Dream x Fem!reader and Sapnap x fem!reader (with dream as the phantom and sapnap as Raul)

trigger warnings: death, dream being a low key creeper, maybe some swears, my general lack of knowledge of this musical

premise: Phantom AU, not neccicarily the full story, its mainly what I’ve seen/read/listened to that I think is important, and like eight of the songs. Ummm, I feel like the summary above is enough for you to get the general idea.

(y/l/n)- your last name

“blep” regular talking

“Belp” singing

When things are in counterpoint, regular text will be (y/n), (text in parenthesis is sapnap), and {bracketed text is Dream}

if you, like me are unfamilliar with the story, this is the summary that arrived in my inbox last night (thank you so much to the person who sent that by the way, it really helped)  

“So basically phantom of the opera is a love triangle between 3 people, the Phantom (P) x Christine (C) x Raul (R). C and R were childhood friends until R had to move away. C grew up in the Opera house with her dad (deceased) as a music writer. C grows up getting “private” singing lessons from P ( he is literally talking to her through a vent ((Among Us omg)) or something idk). Fast forward into the future to present day. C is a ballerina at the opera and one day, the phantom makes the set malfunction so that the lead female opera singer (she’s a jerk. Forgot her name) can’t preform and C has to preform as the lead instead. Coincidentally, the night Christine sings as the lead is the day R comes to see her show and R is like “ooWooga she be fine now ig”. R and C catch up after the show and R goes away for a minute and then P is like “aight C imma kidnap you for a sec with no purpose whatsoever to the plot except for a cool song” and then C returns to her normal life ig. P them sends stuff to the people in charge of the Opera saying “ayo C be pretty fine, let her be the lead again” the people in charge of the opera were like “nah fam, let’s have the person who was supposed to be the lead be the lead”. Upset by this, during the show, P broke the chandelier and it fell into the audience. C is like “I love you uwu” R is like”let’s get engaged” C is like “let’s keep it a secret so the crazy P guy doesn’t find out” and little did they know during that conversation P was hiding and overheard everything and is now sad boi hours. A masquerade happens and P shows up like “ayo I heard you trynna steal my boo” and R is like “nah she my boo” and they duel or whatever. Idk how it transitions to this but the Opera runs another show and they make C the lead to not upset P. However, during a love song (Past the point of no return, it literally slaps), C realizes that the person singing isn’t the original actor, it is P! And then P straight up kidnaps C after the song, takes her to his lair and is like “boo you gotta marry me or I destroy the opera house with everyone inside it” C is like “fine ig” P takes off his mask and reveals he is hiding burn marks and he kisses C and C kisses back. P is like” my mom never even kissed me” and P let’s C go, telling her to go marry R... or you can just watch this video lmao https://youtu.be/4a5nahw3zi8″

On that note, here we go:

{that only goes for the final scene where its all three, it varies otherwise}

{Things I have learned while preparing this story, 1. the actual phantoms name is Erik, like what a nerd, 2. he’s also not actually a ghost??? He’s literally just some creeper who lives in an opera house screwing with people; also yes Eret is the strict lady who yells at everyone and talks to the phantom, deal with it}

{pls send me more musical au asks I really liked doing this, even if it took me a while}

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The ravenous applause of the audience seemed to echo in your ears, even after you had left the stage. 

You’re debut as the female lead in Hannibal had been a smashing success, and as the rest of the chorus girls backstage were saying, it was all thanks to the Phantom scaring Hannah off.  

Niki practically ran up to you from the rehearsal room, “(y/n) that was incredible!” 

You grinned, “Oh I feel like I’m floating Niki! Thank you for volunteering me for the role.” 

“Don’t thank me, Thank whoever's giving you those lessons,” She bumped her hip against yours, grinning cheekily, “And if what the girls are saying is true you’ll have to thank him for getting Hannah out of here.” 

You chuckled, but before you could say anything else Madame Eret was approaching, knocking the end of their cane of the ground, “Miss Nihachu, you are a dancer are you not?” 

Niki nodded. 

“Then get back to rehearsal,” he waited until Niki hurried off to turn to you, “He is most pleased with your performance, here.”

You took the note from him, reading over it quietly, “Red scarf..... the attic.... little lotte?” 

She simply shrugged, leaving you to turn and head up your dressing room. 

As you changed out of your costume from the show you couldn’t help but hum the song that had earned the most applause, “Think of me, think of me of me fondly, when we’ve said goodbye.” 

Reaching around you found your dressing gown, pulling it on and tying up the front, “Remember me, once and a while. Please, promise you’ll try...” 

Your words faded off as your sat down at your vanity, beginning to brush out your hair. 

“Where is your red scarf Miss (y/l/n)? I hope you haven’t lost it. Not after all the trouble I went through to retrieve it for you.” 

You turned to see a tall dark hair man standing in the doorway, a grin spreading across your face as he continued, “I was only 14 and soaked to the bone...” 

“Because you ran into the sea to fetch my red scarf!” You exclaimed, jumping up and flinging your arms around him excietedly, “Sapnap! How I’ve missed you!” 

He chuckled, pulling away, and offering you a single red rose, “(y/n)... Little Lotte let her mind wander...” 

“You remember that too?” You asked with a giggle. 

Sapnap smiled and kept singing, “Little Lotte thought: am I fonder of dolls,” 

“Or of goblins or shoes?” You joined in, “Or of riddles of frocks, or chocolates.” 

“Those picnics n the attic...” He reminisced. 

You closed your eyes, remembering those long ago days, “Father playing the violin.” 

“As we read each other those dark stories of the north.” 

“No what I like best, little Lotte said, is when I’m asleep in my bed,” You sang, “And the angel of music sings songs in my head!” 

“The angel of music sings songs in my head.” He repeated softly. 

You smiled at him, an excited fond feeling forming in your stomach as you sank back into your chair,  “Father said, when I am in heaven child I will send the angel of music to you. Well now father is dead, Sapnap. And I have been visited by the angel of music.” 

“Well that is very evident,” He chuckled, taking your hands, “Your performance was wonderful. And now, we shall go to supper.” 

“Oh- sapnap I can’t, the angle of music is very strict.” 

He didn’t seem to understand the urgency in your voice as he laughed again, “Well I shant keep you up late.”

“No- Sapnap, things have changed-”

“You have to change,” He interrupted, “And I have to grab my hat. Two minutes little lotte.” 

As he went out the door you cried after him, “Sapnap! Thing have changed Sapnap!”

But he was out of earshot, and the voice that had become so familiar to you was booming, “Insolate boy! This Slave of fashion basking in your glory! Ignorant fool! This brave young suitor, sharing my triumph!”

“Angel I hear you! Speak, I listen! Stay by my side and gude me!” You begged up to the ceiling, “Angel my soul was weak! Forgive me! Enter at last master!”

“Flattering child, you shall know me, see why in the shadow I hide, look at your face in the mirror, I am their inside!” 

The voice sounded closer now, and you couldn’t help but look around, “Angel of music! Hide no longer!” 

You turned again, finding yourself face to face with what seemed like a mask, floating in your mirror, “Come to me, strange angel!”

“I am your angel! Come to me angel of music!” 

A shadowy figure seemed to appear behind the smiling mask, a hand outstretched to you. In a daze you stood, grabbing his hand and allowing him to lead you away down a dark pathway.

“Who’s voice is that?” Sapnap asked, knocking on the now closed door, “(y/n) who’s in there?” 

“Come with me angel of music!” Dream, the Phantoms voice echoed again. 

“(y/n)!” 

~~

“In sleep he came to me, the voice which calls to me and speaks my name!” You moved quietly through the passages, following Dream, “And Do I dream again? for now I find, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind!” 

“Sing once again with me our strange duet! My power over you grows stronger yet! And though you turn from me to look behind, the phantom of the opera is there! Inside your mind!” He sang, turning back to make sure you were following once more.

The walls of the tunnel seemed to widen, and you could almost make out an empty candle lit space. 

You reached out, fingers almost brushing the edge of his cloak, “Those who have seen your face draw back in fear! I am the mask you wear..”

“It’s me they hear...” 

As you emerged into a cross roads of the tunnels, you sang in tandem, “Your (my) spirit and your (my) voice in one combined, the phantom of the opera is there, inside your (my) mind!” 

He helped you into the boat that waited in one tunnel, before casting off, propelling the boat down the slow moving current, “In all your fantasies, you always knew the man and mystery...” 

“Were both in you....” You sang softly as the boat came to dock in a wide chamber.

Slowly you climbed out of the boat after him, looking around the dank space, and at the organ in the corner. 

Dream pulled off his cloak, “And in this labyrinth where the night is blind..”

“The Phantom of the opera is there! Inside my mind......” 

~~

As the people downstairs argued, you tried to think over what had happened. Was it a dream? It didn’t seem like it, but still, a man appearing in her looking glass? Taking her away and singing words of praise, words of love, words that made nearly no sense now that it was day, and a haze covered your memory. 

The one thing that remained clear was the monster she had found beyond the mask.

All too soon it seemed you were being rushed into rehearsals, being told you no longer had a speaking role, as Hannah had returned, and was back to her diva ways. 

Rehearsals that would normally drag on seemed to go quicker now, and soon you and the rest of the girls were getting ready for the performance. 

“This is ridiculous,” Niki muttered as she adjusted her costume, “You should be playing the duchess, not Hannab.” 

“Hannah is the featured soprano. She’s always the lead.” You retorted. 

“But how will Sapnap know to look for you in the chorus?” Niki teased.

You elbowed her, laughing lightly, “Shut up. Besides I doubt the phantom would let him see me again.”

The show had gone well, at least until the fifth scene. 

All the music stopped abruptly as a voice boomed, “Did I not instruct that box five was to be left empty?”

“He’s here: The Phantom Of The Opera!” Niki cried from offstage. 

Your head jerked up to turn and look at the audience, “It’s Dream!” 

“Your part is silent, you toad!” Hannah snapped. 

From somewhere up in the audience Dream frowned, “A toad Madame? Perhaps it is you who is the toad...” 

Hanna opened her mouth to continue on her script, but no sound seemed to come out, save for what was close the a croak. 

The men who had bought the opera house, Wilbur and Tommy were coming rushing down from their box, “Ladies and gentlemen we apologize! The performance will continue in ten minutes time, with Miss (y/l/n) as the duchess!”

Tommy nodded as Wilbur finished, “And for now, we will give you the ballet, from act three of tonight's show!” 

The ballet didn’t last long, as when you returned to the wings dressed for the new role you had been given, someone let out a horrified scream.

“What the-” 

You were cut off as you looked up to see Shlatt, the stagehand in charged of the curtains, hanging from the rigging, a noose fully tightened around his neck. 

“Ladies and gentlemen remain calm! It was just an accident- remain calm!” Someone shouted. 

Through the darkness you could make out Dream’s menacing figure, the smiling mask watching you threateningly as you clamped your hand over your mouth to stop the scream that had ripped at your throat. 

“(y/n)? (y/n) are you alright?” Sapnap had run down onto the stage in all the chaos. 

“We- we have to get out of here,” You choked, grabbing his hand, “We aren’t safe here.” 

He didn’t seem to understand the reason behind your panic, but even so he offer you his arm, “Lets leave then.” 

~~

Twenty minutes later you ended up in an empty park, the panic that filled your chest not yet fading as Sapnap asked, “Why have you brought me here?”

“We can’t go back there!” You exclaimed. 

“But we must return.” He gripped your hands, “Darling their bound to be missing you.” 

You shook your head, “Sapnap- He’ll kill you! His eyes will find us there!” 

“(y/n), don’t say that! It’s okay (y/n), it’s okay!” 

You looked up into the darkened sky, “No it’s not- no it’s not- Those eyes that burn!” 

“Don’t even think it!” He cried desperately. 

You couldn’t tell whether you were trembling from fear, or from the cold, as you sang, “And if he has to kill a thousand men....” 

“Forget this waking nightmare!” Sapnap insisted. 

“....The phantom of the opera will kill.” You sang distractedly. 

He gripped your shoulders, “This phantom is a fable, (y/n), believe me!” 

“And kill again....” You shuddered at the idea of Dream doing anything to Sapnap. 

Both of you sang, “God who is this man, who hunts to kill? (this mask of death?)

“I can’t escape him!” You cried. 

He shook his head, “Whose voice is it you hear...”

“...I never will!” 

“With every breath?” 

His grip on your shoulders tightened, pulling you closer to him as you both sang, “And in this labyrinth where light is blind, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my (your) mind!”

“There is no Phantom of the Opera!” 

“Sapnap- I’ve been there, inside his world of never ending light! To a world where daylight dissolves into darkness, darkness! Sapnap I’ve seen him!” You cried. “Can I ever forget that sight? Can I ever escape that face? So distorted, disformed it was hardly a face!  in the darkness, darkness. But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound in that night there was music in my mind And through music my soul began to soar! And I heard as I'd never heard before!” 

“What you had was a dream and nothing more!” 

You could hardly look up at him, “yet in his eyes was all the sadness in the world! Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore!” 

“(y/n), (y/n)!”  Sapnap exclaimed. 

“.....(y/n)......” A different voice seemed to cry into the night. 

You gasped, pressing yourself against Sapnap, “What was that?” 

He hugged you tightly, before pulling back and singing gently, “No more talk of darkness, forget these wide eyed fears. I’m here, and nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you.” 

You relaxed into his grip, listening to his quiet voice, “Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears, I’m here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you.” 

“Say you love me, every waking moment. Turn my head and talk of summer time,” You looked up at him, biting your lip, “Say you need me now and always, promise me that all you say is true, that's all I ask of you.” 

“Let me be your shelter, let me be your light, you are safe, no one will find you. Your fears are far behind you.” He assured you, smiling softly. 

 “All I want is freedom, a world with no more night. And you to always be beside me, to hold me and to hide me.” You admitted. 

Sapnap’s smile grew wider, “Then say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me here, beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too, (y/n), that's all I ask of you.” 

“Say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time,” You repeated, “Say the word, and I’ll follow you.” 

“Share each day with me, each night, each morning.” You sang together as he leaned down to rest his forehead on yours.

“Say you love me?” 

He smiled, whispering, “You know I do.” 

“Love me- that's all I ask of you.” You both sang, before he leaned in to gently press a kiss to your lips, “Any where you go, let me go too. Love me- thats all I ask of you.” 

Sapnap kissed you again, before pulling away, “We could go anywhere- we could be married! You would marry me, yes?” 

“Oh, yes, Sapnap, yes I would. If you’d have me.” You nodded, eagerly. 

He grinned, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You couldn’t help but giggle, before turning back toward the direction of the opera house, “I must go back, they’ll wonder where I am. Wait for me Sapnap!” 

“(y/n), I love you!” He exclaimed. 

“Wait for me, Sapnap. Order your finest horses and being waiting by the door.” You could go back, and continue working at the opera house, there was nothing left for you to fear while Sapnap was there.

“And soon you’ll be beside me!” He chuckled.

You grinned, “To guard me and too guide me!” 

Sapnap offered you his arm again, and you headed off out of the park, toward the opera house. 

Slowly, Dream slinked from the shadows where he had watched the proposal, “I gave you my music, made your song take wing. And now your repaid me, denied and betrayed me.” 

He groaned running a hand through his hair, “He was bound to love you, when he heard you sing. (y/n)- oh (y/n)-”

He was cut off by the sounds of your voices drifting down the street, Say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time, Say the word, and I’ll follow you. Share each day with me, each night, each morning.”

Dream’s hands flew to his ears, desperate to block out the sounds- he had been so sure that you could’ve loved him, but now Sapnap was stealing you away. 

“You will curse the day you did not do, all that the phantom asked of you!” He bellowed. 

~~

The following weeks at the opera house were a blur of panic masked by busyness, Wilbur and Tommy refusing to let the disaster of the chandelier falling from keeping the company from working on their next performance. 

You kept on working, the ring on the chain Sapnap had given you around your neck helping you to feel safe, even as the chorus girls cited the Phantom for the cause of all the distress. 

Now you were back in your dressing room, getting ready for dinner with Sapnap.

“Wander child, so lost, so helpless,” A soft voice seemed to drift down from no where, “Yearning for my guidance.” 

You looked up at the ceiling, “angel or father? Friend or phantom? Who is it their staring?” 

“Have you forgotten your angel?” The voice murmured, Dream appearing once again in your mirror. 

You turned to him, almost in a trance, “angel, oh, speak, what endless longings, echo in this whisper.” 

Sapnap, having arrived to the opera house appeared in the door, watched as you moved toward the phantom. 

“Too long you’ve wandered the winter...” Dream continued to sing, hand outstretched to you. 

“Once again she is his.” Sapnap sang, as you started to cross the room toward the mirror where the phantom stood. 

“...far from my far reaching eyes.” 

“Wildly my mind beats against you....” You sang, transfixed. 

Behind the mask Dream grinned, “You resist. Yet your soul obeys.” 

“Once again she returns, to the arms of her angel. Angel or demon? Still he calls her, luring her back from the grave. Angel or dark seducer? Who are you strange angel?” Sapnap sang, again, more to himself than you or Dream. 

Dream beckoned you forward again,  “I am your angel of music, come to me angel of music!”

“Angel of darkness, cease this torment!” Sapnap exclaimed, moving into the room properly and drawing attention to himself. 

Dream unbothered, continued to sing, “I am your angle of music! Come to me angel of music!” 

“(y/n), (y/n) listen to me! Whatever you may believe- this thing, this man is not your father!”  Sapnap yelled, “(y/n)! Let her go! For gods sake let her go!” 

Jarred by his sudden yell, you turned, the trance broken, “Sapnap...” 

Dream, unimpressed, began to clap, deadpanning, “Bravo monsieur. Such spirited words.” 

“No more tricks monsieur!” Sapnap yelled, stepping forward to put himself between you and Dream. 

“Oh, but that's not any fun. Why don’t you come closer, sir? Keep coming this way.” 

Sapnap, not liking to be challenged, stepped forward, “You cannot win her love by holding her prisoner!” 

“No- Sapnap don’t!” You grabbed his hand, pulling him back. 

He nodded resolutely, gripping your hand as you both moved toward the door, “Lets go then, no more time will be spent with this monster.” 

“Don’t go!” Dream wailed as you hurried away down the hall, “Now let it be war upon you both!” 

~~

Something was going wrong, of course it was, because when was it not?

Your entrance in Don Juan Triumphant had gone according to plan, but the man who had stepped out as Don Juan was not George, as it should have been.

You steeled yourself, trying to come up with a logical reason.

George must have gotten sick, and a stand in had taken his place, yes that must be it.

“Past the point of no return, no backward glances, the games we played till now, are at an end.” The man sang, “Past all thought of ‘if’ or ‘when’, no use resisting, abandon that thought and let the dream descend.”

Your panic seemed to rise, the double meaning in his words filling you with dread.

“What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire locks the door? What sweet seduction lies before is? Past the point of no return, the final thread hold. What unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return.”

You moved carefully to your next mark, trying to work out who it was in George’s place, “You have brought me, to the moment when words run dry, to the moment when speech disappears into silence, silence.

I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why, in my mind I already imagined, our bodies entwined. Defenseless and silent, now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I’ve decided, decided.”

You just barley stopped from trembling as you realized, it was Dream, “Past the point of no return, no going back now. Our passion play has now, at last, begun. Past all thought of right and wrong. One final question: how long should we two wait, before we’re one?”

“When will the blood being to race? When will the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?” You finished, taking an only slightly shaky breath.

The phantom grabbed your hand as you both sang, “Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn, we’ve past the point of no return!”

Everyone in the audience seemed to hold their breath, they too knew that this was not George. The cloak that had hidden Dreams mask fell, and they gasped upon seeing the plaster smiling face.

He grinned behind the mask, and punctuated, “Say you’ll share with me, one love, one lifetimes lead me, save me from my solitude.”

The words stung even before he pulled out a ring, holding it out to you, “come with me, or this whole place will come down upon us.”

Slowly you looked to the audience, Sapnap was standing in the isle, looking worried.

You couldn’t let him get hurt.

You nodded reluctantly, as he continued, “say you want me by your side anywhere you go let me go too, (y/n) that’s all I ask of-“

Slowly, you reached up, pulling the mask off his face, revealing the terribly scared face to the world.

The gasps turned into horrible screams as a curtain was raised, and Georges body tumbled onto the stage.

Almost immediately Dream flung his cloak around you, disappearing.

Sapnap ran up onto the stage, along with the crew, police officers and other patrons.

“Sapnap! Sapnap you’ve got to come with me!” Eret cried, rushing out onto the stage.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Sapnap!” They yelled again, “I know where they are!”

“But can I trust you?” He demanded.

She nodded, “yes, and remember, keep your hand up at eye level.”

“Why?”

“Punjab lasso.” Was all he offered in explication as he led Sapnap away.

~~

Soon enough Sapnap was creeping through the shadows of the phantoms layer, watching as he tried to place a wedding veil on your head, “Too bad pity comes to late, turn around and face your fate, an entirety of this before your eyes!”

You turn to face him, looking up at the mess of scares that cover his face, “this haunted face holds no horror for me now, it is in your soul that the true distortion lies.”

The phantom turned suddenly, to Sapnaps hiding place, “Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest! Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight! I had rather hoped that you would come And now my wish comes true— you have truly made my night!”

“Free her!” Sapnap yelled, stepping into the light, “do what you want to me but let her go!”

“Your lover makes a passionate plea.” Dream laughed at you.

“Sapnap it’s useless!” You cried.

Sapnap shook his head, “I love her! Does that mean anything To you? I love her! Show some compassion!”

“The world showed no compassion to me!” Dream retorted.

He reached out toward you, “(y/n), (y/n), please let me see her!”

Dream grinned maliciously, “be my guest.”

Sapnap rushed forwards, as Dream contiued to taunt, “Monsuier, i bid you welcome, did you think that I would hurt her? Why should I make her pay, for the sins which are yours?” 

As he finished the last words the Punjab lasso came sailing out, and Sapnap barley had time to fling his arm back up as he was dragged back, the only thing keeping him from hanging being the fingers he’d wrangled between the rope and his neck. 

“No!” You cried, struggling to your feet. 

“Order your fine horses now!” Dream yelled, “Nothing now can save you, except maybe... (y/n).” 

You stood, shaking as he turned to you, “Start a new life with me- buy his freedom with your love! Refuse me now and send your lover to his death! This is the choice, this is the point of no return!” 

“(y/n), forgive me, please forgive me, I did it all for you, and all for nothing.” Sapnap sang, looking at you desperately.  

At the same time you turned toward Dream, “Farewell my fallen idol, and my false friend, one by one my delusions shattered.” 

“Too late for turning back, too late for prayers and useless pity!” Dream sang.

“{all hope of cries for help, no point in fighting!} (say you love and my life is over, either way you choose, he has to win!) {for ether way you choose, you cannot win! So do you end your days with me or do you send him to his grave?}”

“Why make her lie to you, to save me?” Sapnap yelled. 

You looked between them desperately, “Angel of music..... {past the point of no return!} (For pity’s sake (y/n) say no! Don’t throw your life away for my sake!) Who deserves this? When will you see reason? {The Final threshold! His life is now the prize you must earn! You’ve passed the point of no return....}”

You looked at Dream, no longer trying to hide the fear that coursed through your veins, “Angel of music, you have deceived me, I gave myself blindly to you.” 

“You try my patience! Make your choice!” Dream yelled. 

Looking back at sapnap for a moment you stepped forward, whatever it would take, you would keep him safe, “Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone.” 

Reaching out, you took the mask from his hand, tossing it to the side as he moved closer to you as well. 

Before you could hardly blink he was kissing you, and with little more than a second thought you kissed back. 

Sapnap watched, in partials horror, until the phantom drew back, shaking as he whispered, “No one has ever kissed me- not even my own mother.” 

You nodded, and then suddenly Dream began to move across the room, grabbing a knife from somewhere as he stalked up to Sapnap.

He paused for a beat, and you could feel the terror in the room- until he slashed at the rope, and Sapnap fell the ground. 

You rushed over to him, kneeling beside him, “Sapnap! oh Sapnap!” 

“Take her,” dream wailed, “Take her and forget me, forget all of this! Leave me alone- forget all you’ve seen....”

Sapnap struggled to his feet, holding you close to him as he backed towards the channel. 

“Take the boat, leave me here, go now, please!” 

The sounds of the mob looking for Georges murderer seemed to grow louder as they grew closer.

“Hurry! Now before its too late!” Dream yelled. 

Sapnap hurriedly started to help you into the boat, but you pulled away, moving back to the Phantom, long enough to hand him the ring. 

Then you were off, turning to Sapnap as the current carried the boat away, “I’m sorry Sapnap- I couldn’t let him hurt you- I couldn’t!” 

“Shhh. It’s alright (y/n), it’s alright. He can’t hurt you anymore.” He murmured, pulling you into his arms.

“Say you’ll share with me, one love one lifetime.” You sang shakily.

Sapnap nodded, “Say the word and I’ll follow you.”

“Share each day with me, each night, each morning...” The sounds of your voices traveled back up the tunnel for Dream to hear. 

He sighed, looking resolutly into the distance, “You alone can make my song take flight- It’s over now, the music of the night!”

[jerakeenc]

many kidfics i’ve read and loved

look who’s reccing a million year old fics now. kidfics, very many. posted to dw for snowflake, thought I’d copy here as well. will be reading most, if not all. if you don’t hear from me again, this list is the culprit.

101 Ways To Get Lucky (In Love) by lenore

18,200 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

Rodney McKay is rich, gorgeous and at the top of his game—except someone just moved the goalposts! Now Rodney realizes he is sorely lacking the one status symbol that everybody seems to have…the perfect family. Rodney needs help, so he hires a relationship coach. Single-dad John Sheppard may be an expert, but not when it comes to his own relationships! And every day he spends with Rodney makes him wish that he could be the one to fill the vacancy in Rodney's life…

A Beautiful Lifetime Event by astolat

29,000 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.

An Earlier Heaven by regann

67,400 words | X-Men, Erik/Charles

In the wake of Cuba, Charles and his students are ready to pick up the pieces and work toward achieving Charles's dream of a safe haven for young mutants. Those plans, however, take a surprising turn thanks to a very unexpected complication. As he slowly builds a future for his students and for his child, Charles struggles with the loss of Erik and the secrets he's willing to keep to protect his family, but those strides are shattered when Erik makes a startling reappearance into his life. [mpreg, kidfic, ensemble]

And everything nice by noelia_g

30,200 words | Social Network, Mark/Eduardo

The one where Mark somehow ends up with a child and of course needs a nanny for the amount of time he spends at the office. Only problem is a string of nannys keep trying to get into his pants for what he assumes is his money. Cue Mark's assistant hiring a male nanny, enter Eduardo.

asking to be born by longtime_lurker

26,500 words | Bandom, Pete/Patrick

"Don't worry, it's probably just his big gay freakout," Andy yells cheerfully and unhelpfully into Patrick's ear as they're hustling Pete over to the nearest private clinic.

Better with You by harriet_vane

38,100 words | 1D, Liam/Louis

Based on this prompt at the kinkmeme:

Single parent and solo artist Liam Payne hires Louis Tomlinson to be a full time nanny to his four year old son Sammy. Although the two men don't quite click from the start it's love at first sight between Sammy and Louis. Eventually Louis and Liam warm up to each other and get on like a house on fire, in fact the two become a little too fond of each other.

I refuse to apologize for how sweet this ended up, okay? It's kidfic, I am forever writing kidfic, and this one is even kid-fic-ier than usual.

Can't Get Enough of You (Baby) by eternalbreath

22,100 words | Inception, Arthur/Eames

Eames vanishes from dreamshare and Arthur goes a little crazy looking for him until he stumbles across him -- with a baby.

Chelsea, Chelsea, I Believe by empathapathique

300,800 words | Hockey, Kane/Toews

Patrick meets a girl his rookie year.

Don't You Shake Alone by dsudis

62,180 words | Generation Kill, Brad/Nate

Nate looked exactly like Brad always pictured him: exhausted in the full life-in-a-combat-zone sense of the word.

Dude, what's a bulwark? by kellifer_fic

12,150 words | Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles

Beacon Hills is the kind of small town where everybody knows everybody, and what everybody knows is that surly diner owner Derek Hale and free spirited single dad Stiles Stilinski have been in love with each other for years. If only they knew it too.

Every Other Beautiful World by rhiannonhero

43,280 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

Some things are unexpected but still inevitable in every beautiful world.

Forever, Now by harriet_vane

227,100 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard, Jon/Spencer, Brendon/Ryan, Brian/Greta

Brian rescues kid!Gerard and Mikey from life on the streets, and eventually everyone finds a family.

here comes the sun by oflights

56,600 words | Social Network, Mark/Eduardo

This is a story about growing up, sad 70's rock songs, too much hair gel, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", a baby with curly hair, a Geiger counter, a dog that isn't named Max, the Chicken Dance, Cheerios, pepper-spray, drugs, sex, and a stuffed chicken named Cluckerberg, nicknamed Cluck. or: Mark raises Sean's accidental baby, and I write the fluffiest thing ever.

I Got a Love (That Keeps Me Waiting) by svmadelyn

163,700 words | Hockey, Kane/Toews

There's a lot of different ways this summary could go, like:

Patrick Kane gets more than a gold medal in Sochi.

Or, the classic: It's too late to pull out now.

Or: Patrick Kane continues to thrive in high pressure situations.

Or: Patrick Kane gets knocked up, goes to White Castle, and finds love, not necessarily in that order.

But, ultimately, all that really matters is this: Patrick Kane is keeping his baby.

I Would Be by cathalin

20,290 words | American Idol, Kris/Adam

AU. Adam and Kris meet a few years down the road, when down-on-his-luck Kris and his young daughter Katherine show up to rent a room from Adam, who never made it to an Idol audition.

Ice Ice Baby by uraneia

51,340 words | Hockey, Claude/Danny

A gold medal isn't the only souvenir Claude brings home from Prague.

OR: The one where Claude gets drunk, gets pregnant, and gets convinced to move in with Danny, whom he's been secretly in love with for years. What could possibly go wrong?

my heart is bigger than the distance in between us by estrella30

15,000 words | 1D, Nick/Harry

Nick chuckles quietly but grabs the remote and follows Emma, Aimee coming up close behind him. It’s indeed Harry on the telly, singing along to his latest radio hit and smiling slowly into the camera far too seductively for half eight on a Friday morning, if you ask Nick. He presses the volume just in time to catch the crowd’s roaring applause and see the pink flush Harry’s cheeks. Nick watches him duck his head as he gives a small wave to the audience, and it hits Nick that Harry is still the most humble and appreciative billionaire Nick’s ever met.

Good job, popstar, Nick thinks to himself.

or, Nick is a single dad and Harry is his bff and it's a bunch of years into the future and they fall in love

Once Upon a Furry Octopus by skoosiepants

11,270 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

He was an intelligent, intuitive pet, but he wasn’t going to start sniffing out ZPMs or hidden Ancient weaponry or detailed instructions on how to kill a Wraith with a common household item. A pen, for instance.

Reconcilable Differences by astolat

40,000 words | Smallville, Clark/Lex

Luthor Family Values.

Shelter by harriet_vane

63,500 words | Social Network, Jesse/Andrew

From the kinkmeme prompt: Some sort of AU vaguely based on Shelter! For whatever reason, Jesse has to take care of Hallie and give up his dream of being an actor. He ends up working in a dead end job when former, now successful friend (Andrew) returns home. They fall in love, etc, only Jesse can't go away with him because he has a responsibility to his family. CUE ANGST.

Show Me The Way Back Home Baby by stilinskisparkles

15,000 words | Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles

In which Lydia and Jackson produce the world's cutest baby, and the pack goes crazy-- the good kind of crazy. Except for Derek, who is afraid of tiny cute babies and Stiles who plans to be the best Uncle ever. Even if Danny called dibs on Godfather.

Skybird by windsweptfic

33,785 words | Inception/White Collar, Arthur/Eames

Arthur and Eames adopt a kid and raise that kid into Neal Caffrey.

Small Cells and Fibers by sevenfists

7,830 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard

Tuesdays were finger-painting days. Frank made sure to wear his oldest pair of jeans, because even with his full-length apron and his constant reminders that paint belongs on paper and not on clothing, he always ended up with tiny, multi-colored handprints all over his clothes. There wasn't a thing he could do about it, so he just wore pants from 1995.

Small Primes and Square Roots by liviapenn

12,500 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

"I hope you picked someone really intelligent, otherwise it seems like it would be kind of a waste. Of incubation time, if nothing else."

So Wise We Grow by deastar

81,250 words | Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Spock

"Commander Spock, we have located your son," the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock's face that he's never heard of this kid before in his life. "If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week."

Something Better by lovelypoet

18,350 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard

"We all have to take jobs we don't like sometimes, you know?"

The Next Time You Say Forever by Thistlerose

27,300 words | Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/McCoy

After his ex-wife's death, McCoy is forced to leave the Enterprise to look after his teenage daughter. Under normal circumstances, this would be the end of…whatever it is he has with Kirk that's more than friendship, but less than what he wants. But the universe has other intentions.

The Reeducation of Misters Kane and Toews by jezziejay

15,900 words | Hockey, Kane/Toews

In which Kaner sort of has a kid, and Mr. Toews doesn't know which of them is the bigger brat.

AU featuring teacher!Jon and hockey-player!Kaner. With bonus 'Hawks characters, love notes, pasta jewelry, Be Better Pizzas, pirouettes, a sprinke of angst and guest appearance by Derek Jeter.

The Road Delivered Us Home by keelywolfe

117,430 words | Hobbit, Thorin/Bilbo

In the years since Bilbo left Erebor, he has lost his respectability, gained a nephew, and gotten on with life at Bag End.

He'd left aside adventure for the comforts and peace of his little Hobbit hole, and for the love of a child who needed him. Though perhaps, adventures can yet find him.

This Story Was Brought to You by Our Sponsors by scaramouche

29,500 words | Supernatural, Dean/Castiel

Dean's post-apocalyptic life is a friggin' soap opera. Romance! Angst! Separations! Reunions! Pizza Dinners! A Child Dean Never Knew He Had! It's all very dramatic.

throw a little sparkle all over it by etben

26,000 words | Bandom, Frank/Gerard

"Hey, Ma," Mikey says. "No, everything's fine—well, I mean, Gerard accidentally adopted a baby—no, he's changing her now, he can't talk."

Tiny Houses by ohmyjetsabel

77,130 words | Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles

"So this is what Stiles does. He lies in Scott’s bed and waits for Melissa to say she’s found someone to get it out of him, to cure him of the wrongness and the bad, and he dreams.

God, he dreams.

He dreams of fire and swollen bellies and that scene in Alien, of giving birth to jackals through his urethra, the whole horrific nine yards. His head is a terrible place to be, he can’t imagine his stomach is much better, why anyone would want to put a thing inside of it."

Tip, Slide, Tumble by j_s_cavalcante

42,900 words | due South, Fraser/Kowalski

Ray knew when he found the body in the alley it was going to change someone's life. He just didn't expect that life would be his.

Turn by saras_girl

306,000 words | Harry Potter, Harry/Draco

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

Unless it's lies or it's love by sprat

25,300 words | American Idol, Kris/Adam

In which Adam (a rock star) meets Kris (a single dad) at an Emergency Room in Arkansas at the end of a particularly shitty night. Also features: San Francisco, fresh starts, baked goods, OCs, cameo appearances by Matt and Megan, pirates, monsters with garbage heads and a recording studio.

What Child Is This by lamardeuse

30,150 words | Merlin, Arthur/Merlin

A modern AU with Merlin, Arthur, mayhem, a baby and a jingly elf hat.

What to Expect by arsenic

29,200 words | Bandom, Bob/Mikey

Mikey has his band, and his little girl, and that's enough. Really, it is.

Winter's Children by neery

66,890 words | Marvel, Bucky/Steve

When their attempts to recreate the super soldier serum failed, Hydra started trying to breed Captain America clones from his genetic samples. Unfortunately, the serum's effects aren't passed down genetically, so instead of an army of tiny Captain Americas, they get a bunch of tow-headed, asthmatic, allergic, immuno-compromised little Steves.

And then the Winter Soldier stumbles across Hydra's failed experiment...

With Six You Get Eggroll by speranza

31,000 words | due South, Fraser/Kowalski

"Kick 'em In The Head: A Guide To Parenting."

ETA: Bonus! Because I apparently lost my bookmark for this one but have the memory of an elephant for kidfic, so it came to me eventually. :D

A Farm in Iowa 'Verse by sheafrotherdon

166,000 words | SGA, McKay/Sheppard

John inherits a farm, Rodney ends up entirely out of his element, and there is much ado about baseball.

[selkie-readsbooks]

Aftermath of AFTG

- Andrew gets better.

- It takes a long time.

- Andrew is the only one Neil tells about seeing Riko’s death

- Andrew just nods

- One day at breakfast, Nicky notices Andrew and Neil holding hands on the table, Andrew drinking his coffee and looking out the window. As soon as the conversation stops, Andrew begins to move his hand away, but Nicky pleads “no, I promise not to bring attention to it!” And Andrew puts his hand back.

- When they move back into the dorms, Kevin starts to hang out with Aaron, Matt and Nicky for a few hours a few days a week to leave Andrew and Neil alone

- It’s months before Andrew moves Neil’s hand inside his boxers.

- Neil kisses his neck the entire time

- They pant and are silent for a long time.

- Andrew kisses him and they sleep curled up

- Neil tells him he’s okay if they never go farther than where they are now.

- Andrew tells him it will take awhile, but he does want Neil inside him one day

- He says he wants that to make it a happier thing than his existing experiences

- Neil just smiles and tells him “it’s always yes”

- Andrew starts to smile again

- He even starts to joke

- Nicky quietly thanks Neil one day

- After everything, Andrew is super protective of Neil.

- Kevin starts telling people he has three dads. Wymack, Neil and Andrew. His tone is so serious people don’t expect him to say it.

- When the freshmen start, Kevin tasks Neil with training his own little group of new foxes.

- Andrew wordlessly threatens them if they ask about Neil’s scars.

- Aaron and Andrew get closer and Katelyn and Neil encourage them every step of the way

- Neil gives his first blowjob in the bathroom at Eden’s Twilight

- When Nicky sees their messed up hair after losing them in the club, he just grins.

- Andrew makes it a point to wear Neil’s jacket

- He accidentally wears it during a game

- The press ask Neil about it, not even insinuating a relationship

- Neil just says his boyfriend has a stealing problem

- Kevin clarifies Andrew is not actually a thief, but that Andrew and Neil are very much an item

- That was the first time Neil referred to him as his boyfriend

- Neil asks if that’s okay after the fact

- Andrew just shrugs

- After Neil puts himself in a stupid position that Andrew has to save him from, Neil tells Andrew he loves him but he’s okay if he never says it back.

- One night a few weeks later, when Andrew thinks Kevin and Neil are asleep, he practices saying I love you quietly in the dark.

- Neil turns around and just smiles at him.

- Andrew immediately tells him he hates him, he was talking to Kevin

- Neil just kisses him

- Aaron tells the foxes after one of their games that Katelyn is pregnant.

- Andrew actually smiles, though Aaron and Neil are the only ones that notice.

- The first time Andrew sees Jean again, he punches him for everything he let Riko do.

- Neil and Kevin stop him

- Andrew tells Aaron to name the kid after him, clearly joking

- When they name her Andrea, Andrew is furious

- Matt proposes to Dan, and while everyone is celebrating, Andrew slips away and Neil follows him.

- Neil asks if it scares him, and it’s okay if nothing like that ever happens for them, he’ll be here until Andrew doesn’t want him anymore

- Andrew asks if Neil wants that one day

- Neil says he doesn’t mind either way, he never thought he’d ever have a boyfriend let alone a husband

- Andrew quietly admits he used to dream of getting married but gave up the hope a long time ago

- They share a cigarette and think

- Before they go to join the others, Andrew tells Neil he wants to be the one to ask

- Andrew admits he told Renee to tell Neil he was gay

- And asked Renee about his reaction after the fact

- On the anniversary of Drake’s death, Andrew and Neil don’t get out of bed that day.

- The foxes somehow find out that Neil had helped pay for the Maserati

- And they tell Andrew it’s not fair to call it his car

- Andrew just says fine, it’s our car, despite the money being part of an agreement between them

- When Andrew and Neil decide to go a step further in their sex life, Andrew accidentally drop a bottle of lube out of his pocket in front of the rest of the foxes

- The room is dead silent

- Andrew picks it up slowly

- Kevin asks Matt about something to pick the conversation back up again.

- The first time Andrew and Neil try, Andrew freaks out but tells Neil to do it anyway

- Neil refuses and they kiss until they fall asleep.

- When they try again, all is well and both of them enjoy themselves.

- Renee and Neil go out to lunch right before she graduates, and she admits that Andrew talked to her about him a lot when he wasn’t around

- Jean begins to hang out with Kevin and Neil

- Jean talks Neil and Kevin into attending therapy with him

- Eventually Andrew asks Neil to come with him to a session with Bee.

- With Andrew’s assurances, Neil tells her everything that he can that wouldn’t legally affect him

- Bee just stares at him for a few moments before she speaks again

- Andrew is mostly silent as he drinks his hot chocolate but helps prompt Neil when needed

- Neil begrudgingly admits it was good to talk about it

- As they approach Andrew’s graduation, they discuss what happens if they aren’t on the same team

- Andrew says he’ll quit Exy

- Kevin overhears and is aghast

- Neil enjoys his last year, but calls Andrew every day and attends every game he can

- Andrew tells Neil he can’t make it to his last game as a Fox

- When Neil walks into the locker rooms and sees Dan, Matt, Kevin, Nicky, Erik, Aaron, Katelyn, Renee and Allison he begins to have a clue about what is going on

- And then Andrew proposes

- “You didn’t think I’d be that predictable, did you?”

- Wymack cries

- Neil does join the same team as Andrew, but they are rivals to Kevin’s team

- When Andrew blocks every single shot Kevin makes, Kevin just smiles afterward and hugs him

- Andrew stiffens but hugs him back

[taraljc]

You know what really bugs me about Infinity War and Endgame?

When they go to Norway to recruit Thor, no-one ever acknowledges that Thanos’ snap wasn’t what took his family and his home. 

Yes, it will bring back half of the surviving Asgardians. But it won’t bring back his parents, his brother, and every single Asgardian who perished at either the hands of Hela or Thanos. Everyone who truly knew him his entire life is dead (Loki, Frigga, Odin, Heimdall, the Warriors Three) or lost (Sif, Jane, Darcy, Erik) and as far as he is aware, nothing he does will ever bring them back.

That no matter what they regain, going forward, he can’t regain the losses that brought him to his knees and robbed him of his hope.

That bugs me. That bugs me so much. It should have been acknowledged, instead of making jokes about beer and video games and his dad bod. 

[adultswim2021]

Home Movies #11: “Mortgages and Marbles” September 30, 2001 - 10:30 PM | S01E11

Freaks and Geeks called, they want their title back! lol, owned

Brendon’s baby sister Josie shoves marbles up her nose. After a trip to the emergency room, Brendon is inspired to make an educational video about the dangers of doing that. Meanwhile McGurk works with Erik (Melissa’s Dad) to buy a home. Neither of these things go well. The last time I reviewed this episode I sorta poo-pooed it a little, which was shocking to me. Maybe it was the last episode I watched in a tedious marathon viewing session. Not sure what was up my ass, honestly, because this episode is perfectly delightful and about as good as anything else from this season. That’s another concept I’ve been grappling with as I write this blog: I seem to recall having wildly differing opinions about different Home Movies episodes. Like I definitely remember certain episodes being above or below average. But now every episode of Home Movies feels like a B+ for me.

Anyway, my critique at the time of that review was that both stories felt like B-stories and that I constantly forgot what the other plotline was while the other one was playing. I’m thinking now that’s more of a function of the two stories being almost completely separate, having very little to do with one another. The only time they intersect even a little bit are the scenes where McGurk, so confident that he’ll find a place of his own, moves out of his apartment and needs to crash at Erik’s. When Brendon calls Melissa to talk about making the movie, McGurk picks up a phone extension to be rude. The movie Brendon makes is one of his more memorable ones: a PSA advising against sticking marbles in your nose that ends with a borderline inappropriate rock video with confusing lyrics and visuals that clearly encourage irresponsible marble practices. When he shows it to a classroom full of smaller kids every single kid winds up shoving marbles up their nose, even Jason who participated in the making of the film. Really funny! Why didn’t I like this when I reviewed it 10 years ago or however long it was?

MAIL BAG

I get mail! I swear! all my letters are from “anonymous” so you know they gotta be good:

How many times in your life when thinking about and discussing Loren Bouchard do you have to remind yourself that the Tom Snyder (of Tom Snyder Productions) is not the now long-dead NBC Newsman and late night talk show host. Probably none. You're smarter than me. I've literally done it at least once every few years and I'm always impressed "wow that guy helped create squigglevision, interesting...". Literally no permanence in my brain. Have a great day.

I never once thought they were the same guy! I’m not even sure that my brain ever presented that opportunity. Imagine a talk show host heading an animation studio? Can’t be done!

I guessing from your pairing of Sam Hyde in the logo with Minoriteam you are gonna be heavy handed with him when you should be giving him nothing but glowing praise. Sam has pushed the envelope in a way we haven't seen since Kaufman but he was blacklisted by some dumb unfunny sperg named Brett Gelman. Sam is a conservative most likely but so are half of the Simpson writers you love. So is Tom Green. So is Mike Nelson. Don't act like being a Trump fan is so much worse than Reagan.

I agree with you that liking Reagan and liking Trump are both equally good. I mean, bad. Also, I’ve stated this elsewhere, but my take on MDE’s World Peace show will please no one: I thought it was mostly unfunny trash but the sketch where Sam Hyde wears blackface made me laugh a lot. But that’s just me, baby. Too big of a f-slur for nazi-town/too much of a nazi for f-slur town.

Gotta love Jen Kirkman. Always a riot on the Best Show too, and I hear pretty active on the political scene. Thoughts?

I’m sorry I wrote that I respect Jen Kirkman’s comedy chops, everyone. For the record, I don’t think she’s pretty!!!! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME

[elareine]

Fic Masterpost

For a masterpost of my tumblr ficlets, see here.

Note: I’ve added fics with multiple pairings to every relevant category.

Jason Todd/Tim Drake

Secret Witness (34k, ao3) CSI except with ghosts. WIP. 

A Hope Like You (12k, ao3) A/b/o with single dad Jason and identity porn. WIP. 

Silver and shadow and vision of things not seen (8k, ao3) WW2 and post-WW2 urban fantasy noir. WIP.

Turn yourself toward home (4k, ao3) Retired pirate seeks retired navy officer.

The space between us (8k, ao3) Mr. & Mrs. Smith in space.

Hold me (like you held on to life) (6k, ao3) Vampire sex to spite the parents.

If I know you (4k, ao3) Annoyed witch cares for sleeping prince.

Lifelong learning (5k, ao3) College, but it’s not an AU.

safe with me (14k, ao3) Figuring out intimacy, with a dash of d/s.

Ornamental (2k, ao3)  Christmas party butt plug fun.

Far away (1k, ao3 I tumblr) + So close (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Tim’s in space and then he’s not.

Like no other pain (2k, ao3) Soulmates, but Tim makes it angsty. 

If I had a type (then baby it would be you) (1k, ao3 I tumblr) One-night stand with surprise bondmark.  

The Sacredness of Tears (13k, ao3)  Tim gets the ability to travel through time, but somehow that’s not the main story. 

The Reluctant Brides (13k, ao3) Genderbent regency.

Adamare (9k, ao3 I tumblr: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) Harry Potter AU. 

What demons they carry (5k, ao3 I tumblr: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) Outsider POV of demon!Tim.

Shelter (19k, ao3) Royalty arranged marriage. 

glaukopis, promachos, atrytone (4k, ao3 I tumblr:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) A god and his reincarnated lover.

Not the hurricane (2k, ao3 I tumblr) Soft handjobs. 

Night falling softly and without mercy (4k, ao3 I tumblr) When you want to marry your bodyguard but are pretty sure he means to kill you. 

Reasons to be jealous (4k, ao3 I tumblr) Unfounded jealousy crack. Side DickDami.

Just a fool for you (6k, ao3 I tumblr) The Regency Daemon Thing. (Part two of ‘foolish, perhabs’)

A fool’s game (1k, ao3 I tumblr)  Outsider POV of The Regency Daemon Thing. (Part one of ‘foolish, perhabs’)

A fool to believe (2k, ao3 I tumblr) Epistolary companion to The Regency Daemon Thing. (Part three of ‘foolish, perhabs’)

Blood will tell (9k, ao3) October Daye AU. 

So easy to begin (4k, ao3) Dealin’ with fear toxin and trauma, a/b/o-style. 

Somebody ring the alarm (2k, ao3) Strangers flirting while undercover.

To love and to honour (6k, ao3) Five anniversaries and a wedding. 

A question of trust (3k, ao3) Jason hides an injury.

The Wedding Job (3k, ao3) Leverage-style heist.

One day the slipper fits (2k, ao3) The perils of not-dating. 

Dick Grayson/Jason Todd 

clock ticking (sudden silence) (7k, ao3 I tumblr) Dick’s soulmate timer is an asshole. 

The stars gaze back (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Stardust AU with more swearing.

In the Shallows (20k, ao3) Celebrity ‘She Loves Me’ AU.

I dream of our story (our fairytale) (1k, ao3 I tumblr)  Epilogue to In the Shallows. 

A revolution is a simple thing (6k, ao3) Anastasia AU.

Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne

Soft, sweet (and never too much) (2k, ao3) Sweet and kinky PWP.

Don't make me close one more door (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Bodyguard AU. Dami goes undercover and develops feelings. 

Misperceptions (6k, ao3 I tumblr) DamiDick-centric compaion to Reasons to be jealous.

Damian Wayne/Tim Drake

These stars will guide us home (2k, ao3 I tumblr) Developing feelings while being far apart.

Vigil (4k, ao3 I tumblr) Injuries, cuddles and feelings. DamiTim, Joyfire+Dick.

That sacred bond (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Fake marriage for the aliens.

Jason Todd/Roy Harper

Winners get road rash with @scootboot97​ (3k, ao3 I tumblr) College AU dorks and oral. 

Of wizards and black knights (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Cyberpunk damsel in not-so-much distress. 

Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne

Wonder (2k, ao3) Officer Grayson partners up with Batman.

All that's dead and gone and passed tonight (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Hunger Games AU. 

Tim Drake/Conner Kent

Met a boy (cute as can be) (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Summer romance.

Snow comes down in June (2k, ao3 I tumblr) College dumbasses try to stay friends.

Jason Todd/Damian Wayne

That word on your skin (2k, ao3 I tumblr) Getting the same tattoo is one way to ask for a date.

warmth, shared (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Jason’s feeling old and gets cuddles on a mountain.

Jason Todd/Roy Harper/Tim Drake

At its core (1k, ao3 I tumblr)  Considering fatherhood and marriage. 

Turning point (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Cuddles against nightmares, with a surprise ghost.

Other ships (DC)

Vigil (4k, ao3 I tumblr) Injuries, cuddles and feelings. Joyfire+Dick, DamiTim. 

The wonderful everyday (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Flirting in an Ikea. Joyfire.

Down, down (2k, ao3 I tumblr) Prince visits tentacled sea witch. Superbat.

Would make me whole (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Angsty jerk-off session. JayRoyDick.

Promises (whispered, shouted) (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Injuries in the desert with not much hope. JonDami.

Won't you die tonight for love (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Vampire marriage surprisingly includes a third person. DamiJayTim.

You still look like a movie (2k, ao3 I tumblr) High school teachers pine. DickWally, side JayTim.

Spellbound (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Morning after marred by worry about a love potion. Trinity.

Through the night (we'll make it) (2k, ao3 I tumblr) H/C vignettes. Robinpile.

Gen (DC) 

rewind, fast forward, stop (3k, ao3 I tumblr)  Deaged Jason angst. Jason, batfamily.

In silence (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Jason’s telepathy doesn’t help him with Bruce. Jason, Bruce.

A soft place to land (2k, ao3) Trying to get Bruce to retire. Jason, Dick, batfamily.

touched your head gently (felt my heart melt) (7k, ao3) Movie-verse Floyd as a father through the years. Floyd, Zoe, squad. 

Will someone tell me what's going on tonight (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Dick’s OC boyfriend is an asshole, Wally offers comfort. Dick/OC (past), Bruce, Wally

At its core (1k, ao3 I tumblr) Considering fatherhood and marriage. Duke-centric, side JayRoyTim.

Hockey RPF

Sometimes I lie (4k, ao3) An FBI agent and his informant. SidGeno.

Finding Surety  (13k, ao3) Fake Dating. Marner/Matthews.  

Do you know (I still miss you) (6k, ao3) Getting back together with a little help from your friends. Eichel/McDavid. (Part two of ‘Read all about it’)

The name that history wrote (8k, ao3) Harry Potter AU, triwizard tournament. Eichel/McDavid.

the whole world's out of sync (9k, ao3) 13 going on 30 AU. SidGeno.

stellar nucleosynthesis (13k, ao3) Magical realism and truth spells. Danny/Claude.

But you were always on my mind (7k, ao3) Soulmarks complicated by dyslexia.

Feather (9k, ao3) Crimean war magical realism AU. SidGeno.

Other fandoms

starts with truth (MCU, 8k, ao3) If Steve talked to Tony and Pepper earlier about the winter soldier. SteveTonyPepper.

someday my prince will come (X-Men Movies, 7k, ao3) Erik deals with an enchanted forest. Cherik.

Nothing easy worth doing (Power Rangers, 2k, ao3) Superheroing while autistic - pros and cons. 

Shoot me down (Star Wars, 12k, ao3) Kier survives. Everything else still happens. LeiaKierHan.

Ask his mind (ask his heart) (Star Wars, 2k, ao3)  Anakin gets dosed with sex pollen. ObiKin. 

A Woman is Herself (Lady Sherlock, 7k, ao3) Joanna Watson character study. JoannaJohn. 

Will it burn forever (this light) (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, 11k, ao3) Love spell adventures. ArthurTristan. (There’s a podcast!)

Someday soon (Arashi RPF, 1k, ao3) A glance into the future. Ohmiya. 

With fates to come (D.Gray-man, 1k, ao3) Tikki is Cassandra. TikkiAllen.

Dedication with @magoril​ (FBAWTFT, 2k, ao3) Theseus fixes things for his brother. TinaNewt. 

Shiny things (FBAWTFT, 2k, ao3) Percival gets a service Niffler. Gen. 

[nikomatkovic]

a legacy gone wrong

who: erik matkovic

what: an insight in his life and the changes that come his way

where: montepelier, vermont

when: 1982, 2020

ONE FULL MOON, 29TH JUNE 1982

The woodlands of Montpelier were quiet. Still. Peaceful. Nothing moved except for the rustling trees against the wind... and two men who walked cautiously through the forests. Father and son, Josip Matkovic and his eldest child, Erik. Erik was eighteen, and had just finished high school. He was supposed to be at college, studying to be an engineer. But... after his mother had died, he had changed his mind, telling his school that he was staying behind to support his father and their small business.

He had lied.

“Our family were one of the greats back in the day, son.” Josip began, Erik subtly rolling his eyes. Here they go again, his father droning on and on about their family history. How they were once rich businessmen, political leaders in the homeland of Croatia. “The glory days.”, he called them.

“I know.” Erik mumbled, keeping his eyes ahead. He didn’t want to be here... not now, not ever. He was forced.

“You are lucky... you didn’t see the things I saw when I was your age.” He continued, his accent deep after all these years; after years of success, the Matkovic family had to flee Croatia during the war, hiding in Istanbul. When they returned, what awaited them? Another state of chaos, Yugoslavia, “My beautiful country... torn apart by those creatures.”

During both World War II and the state of Yugoslavia, many in power had been infected by werewolf bites. It was this power, through fear, that had allowed them to retain control. No one knew where it had originated from, but Josip had seen everything, and his heart had grown bitter. Revenge, that was what he had wanted. Death to all wolves for what they had caused.

“It is why we are here now, not there, as we should be. Why... we have ruined our reputation not only as a family, but as hunters. We are the reason the hunter community exists, even.” Erik gritted his teeth as his father continued to speak so venomously. He hated it. “It is time to change that, son, you understand? Change is coming.”

It was then that they came to a halt. In the distance, something moved slowly though the trees... a wolf. Placing a hand on his son’s chest, he pointed to the rifle strapped on his son’s back. “Take out your gun.”

Slowly, Erik obliged. “It is time you learn what it really means to be a hunter, Erik. What our legacy is, how you will one day lead this faction.” Turning into the distance, he gestured to the wolf hiding among the bushes.

“Kill it.”

Erik’s eyes widened, looking at his father, “I... you... I can’t just... dad, it’s not doing anything wrong.”

“And why does that mean anything to me?”

“The code! You told me, we don’t harm innoce --”

Suddenly, Josip, grabbed his son by the collar of his shirt, pulling his son close to him so they were just millimetres apart. Just another one of the father’s psychologically and physically abusive tactics. “The code is hereby void.” He spoke lowly, ignoring the fear in his son’s eyes entirely, “You will do as I say and kill that animal. You know I don’t like it when you disobey me, Erik, yes?” Hesitating, the eight year old’s fear of his father overwhelmed his need to do the right thing.

He didn’t want to kill the werewolf. It was innocent, peaceful, hurting no one. He didn’t even want to be a hunter, he wanted nothing more than to be at college right now, enjoying life like the rest of his friends, but instead? His abusive father had forced him to stay behind and lead a life he never asked for. And there was no escape. But the consequences for not shooting the creature terrified him.

Looking back, he raised his rifle up in shaky hands, his forehead sweating, his stomach churning. “Good.” Josip regained a slimy smile, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Now... shoot it.”

“Forgive me.” Erik whispered.

MANY YEARS ON, SEPTEMBER 2021

A much older Erik stared at the walls of his office. His hair had greyed and his beard was longer, his face was wrinkled from the years of stress and heart ache, his hands rough from the life as a hunter. For many years, Erik had lingered in the shadow of his father, doing a job he hated, and trying his best to ignore the rules where possible. It wasn’t until 1989 that his father had died, and he had become the new leader.

He had married, had children, and enforced the hunter’s code once more;

No children.

No innocents.

Only fire when attacked first.

As such, for many years, life was good. Until 1994 -- Yousef Nassar, an original werewolf, had attacked Erik and his family as revenge for the things his family had done to wolves, despite Erik himself being a peaceful man. Though he was able to protect his children, he could only fend off the wolf from his wife when it was too late; though she wasn’t killed straight away, she was bitten, and Esther’s body succumbed to the wolf venom instead of triggering a curse.

This event had triggered something dark within the father. Heartbroken by the loss of his childhood sweetheart, the man had sworn personal revenge on Yousef himself. No one had ever killed an original, but he would do it. He didn’t know but he would. And after decades, he had achieved the greatest thing any hunter could; he had killed not only an original werewolf, but the patriarch of the original family himself.

But yet... the man felt empty still. Killing Yousef hadn’t brought Esther back. He still felt alone. Empty. In fact, he felt more alone than ever. His daughter was at college, and his son, Niko... well. He had fallen to the same fate as Esther, but he had survived. Erik couldn’t work for an establishment that killed the thing his child was, and even though he had considered retiring the role for many months now, this discovery was the final nail in the coffin.

He needed a new life. He needed to get his old hobbies, back, focus on his business, his friends... perhaps, find new love again. It was what Esther would have wanted, for him to be loved.

Sighing, the man heard the door of his office open. The room was small and connected to the small warehouse for his logging company, but it was really used for the hunter faction in Montpelier to meet, plan, celebrate. Today? They had all gathered for the announcement of a new leader. Darius Kenney. He was young, intelligent, one of the best hunters they had, voted in by the group themselves to take over. He was also vicious.

“Hello, Darius,” Erik smiled, turning around to face the other man; he was tall, muscular, dark features. “You ready for the initiation?”

Nodding, the man placed his arms behind his back, “Certainly, Erik. I’m excited for the role.”

Erik grabbed his backpack, intent on heading out, “I’m sure you’ll do great. Better than me, I’m too old.”

However, Darius didn’t seem to budge. Something on his face twitched, and something changed. “That’s not exactly hard, Erik, is it?” Erik’s smile fell, his head turning in slight confusion at the sudden insult, “Our reputation has been dying for years ‘cause of you, Erik. You’ve gone... soft. And those wolves have grown too confident. It’s time for change, I feel, no?”

Not wanting to create conflict, Erik merely nodded and tried to move past him, but he was making it difficult. “People are grateful I’m here. Imagine your pathetic excuse of a son leading us instead... how sad that would be.” Erik suddenly snapped, “My son is not pathetic.”

“Oh yeah?... Then where is he?” Darius quirked an eyebrow but Erik said nothing. He would not expose his son that way. “Exactly. Your era’s over, old man. Things are gonna get a little tougher around here, if you understand what I mean.”

Erik understood perfectly, his eyes widening at what he meant. “We have a code --”

“Which is no longer your concern. You are no longer leader, I am. As such, our code is over.” Stepping closer to the older man, Darius clicked his tongue once, garnering something dark in his eyes. “But... what I do admire about you is your guts, Erik. Killing Yousef Nassar of all people? What an achievement. So much so, that... I can’t help but feel it’s best to continue the tradition you started.”

Erik felt his stomach drop. Anastasia, daughter of Yousef, was dating Niko. This... would be disastrous in so many ways. “... Killing Yousef was a long and painful task, I don’t recommend --”

“No offence, Erik, but aren’t you a little old to be telling me about what is long and painful? You’ve lost your spark. Me?” He leaned in, a devilish grin moved across his lips, “I won’t let any man, woman or child stand in my way. I’m going to kill every single one of those stupid mutts. Starting with the daughter of the man himself.”

Frowning, Erik shook his head, “If this is about Damian, know revenge isn’t --”

“This isn’t about Damian.” He snapped. A complete lie. Damian had died at the hands of Ana herself after he had tried to kill Riley. “This is about our community. I’m gonna put Anastasia Nassar’s head on a pike, if it’s the last thing I do.”

Erik remained speechless, merely staring in horror at the man. “This is your war.” He whispered, fearing of what would become of the two groups should Darius genuinely set out to have her dead.

But Darius only smiled, leaning back out and shrugging his shoulders.

“Then I hope she’s ready.”

[earnestly-endlessly]

I love your fic recs! Do you have any with Protective!Erik?

Protective! Erik is one of my favourite tropes so I have a TON of fics to share with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Protective! Erik fic recs

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours – madneto, Pangea

Summary: Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

In Sound and Silence – endingthemes

Summary: Erik is assigned to care for the special patient in room 301.

How Not To Meet Your Future Boyfriend – ikeracity

Summary: Erik punches Charles in the face the first time they meet. There isn't anywhere their relationship can go from there but up.

Forgotten – FuryRed

Summary: Charles is having a really bad day. Not only has he woken up in the middle of the afternoon with no idea where he is or how he got there, but when he returns home he’s confronted by a stranger with intense eyes, who insists that he knows Charles rather more intimately than Charles remembers…

Thou Shalt Not Eat Stones – valancysnaith

Summary: Two months after Washington, Raven found Erik in a skeevy motel off the Florida interstate.

“They have Charles, Erik,” she said.

The bedframe shrieked. In the bathroom, the showerhead snapped in half and clattered into the tub.

Demoted – JayPendragon

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr is a detective-specialist with the NYPD Mutant Tactical Unit, ready to help out where his skills are needed. Or he would be, if he and his partner hadn’t been demoted. For the next four months, he is patrolling the Lenox Hill precinct with Azazel – if he doesn’t die of boredom first. One night they are called in to investigate a potential case of domestic violence, yet the tenant assures them he is both alone and unharmed. However, there is something about this Charles Xavier that compels Erik to follow up.

Warning: Sensitive material, domestic abuse and dubious consent

Watch Your Back – swoopswoop

Summary: Bodyguard AU where Erik is overly protective and things aren't as simple as they seem.

If We Met Differently – swoopswoop

Summary: Erik wasn't the only mutant 'taken in' by Shaw, Erik learns this the hard way when a new mutant is dropped into his cell. They manage to escape together, but things aren't all roses after that. Erik has a score to settle and needs to make sure Charles is safe.

The Color of Love (Character Swap Remix) – BadLuckBlueEyes

Summary: Nobody sees in color until they meet their soulmates. When your soulmate dies, your vision returns to black and white. What happens when your soulmate only dies for a few minutes?

Omega Online – miss_aphelion

Summary: Newly imprinted Charles is having trouble dealing with his overly protective alpha—so in desperation he seeks advice in an omega chat room. Emma Frost is more than happy to help, Raven isn't helping at all, and Erik can't stand to be out of touch with Charles for more than five minutes at a time.

Cannot be Contained in Words – wallhaditcoming (uvcatastrophe) 

Summary: Crime syndicate head Erik Lehnsherr travels to London on business, where he meets oxford student Charles Xavier. Their liaison spawns into a years long transatlantic affair, kept apart by Erik's work and Charles' studies,which Erik chronicles in photographs. When distance ceases to be an issue after four long years, the overlap between Charles' past and Erik's work create a whole new set of complications.

A Pertinent Reminder – ikeracity, Pangea

Summary: Sometimes it's easy to forget that getting involved in Erik's mob business isn't all fine dining and sex on yachts. There's nothing like taking a couple of bullets to remind Charles of the reality.

Part 3 of the Associates series

A Dangerous Game – ikeracity, pangea

Summary: When a familiar enemy of Erik's returns to the city for some old-fashioned revenge, Charles is sucked deeper into the world of the mob than ever before.

Part 6 of the Associates series

You don’t choose the thug life (except when you do) – Anonymous

Summary: Charles is kidnapped and discovers that Erik, the Alpha he has been dating for the past few months and is head-over-heels for, is not just a wealthy businessman but actually the head of a syndicate.

He is rather unhappy about this discovery and Erik gets an earful for lying to him. Then Charles is kidnapped again and really, he hopes mating Erik won't result in weekly kidnapping because he has a thesis to finish and papers to grade.

Marrying a Mob – Ook

Summary: Charles is a teacher at a very exclusive school. When armed men burst in on the trail of two children, of course he stands up to them and gets hurt. The children are Erik Lehnsherr's children (of course); a "prominent businessman" or, less politely, "mobster".

Erik is grateful to Charles for saving his children's lives at the cost of his kneecap. So very grateful.

Naturally he tries to reward Charles for his actions. Equally naturally, Charles will be having none of that.

Azazel finds the whole thing unspeakably hilarious. Naturally.

Rumor Has It – blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Forward Momentum – AsYouWish

Summary: Six months after Cuba, Charles and Erik find themselves thrown fifty years into the future, where they meet their older selves, the Avengers, and a world that's very different from their own. Faced with the pieces of their broken relationship, an unparalleled adversary, and dealing with Tony Stark on a daily basis, Charles and Erik do their best to adapt while trying to find a way back home -- and to each other.

Runs in the Family – Anonysquirrel (chibirisuchan)

Summary: Alex knew his own reputation. Hell, he'd started some of his own reputation, because it kept some of the smarter thugs off his back. Everyone knew Alex's reputation. There was no way Hank didn't know his reputation, but he'd brought Alex into a house with some really expensive things and a lot of innocent little kids and his too-friendly, too-harmless dad.

But clearly Hank hadn't told his family anything about Alex, just like he hadn't told Alex anything about his family. At least, not about the brain-breaking parts of his family.

"I didn't know where to start," Hank said, for the dozenth time.

Featuring mpreg!Charles in a Kiss The Cook apron, overprotective!Erik in wet black leather, and baked goods. Lots and lots of baked goods.

Round the Corner Waiting – swoopswoop

Summary: When things go so spectacularly wrong during a relationship, Charles - now a single dad - almost makes a big mistake, only to be stopped by a mysterious man who just might turn his life back around.

Hide Your Fires – swoopswoop

Summary: As the sole heir, Prince Charles, had no problem with the roles and responsibility that would come with ruling a kingdom. Though he was the only one who did not see a problem. After years of being shuttled back and forth between kingdoms, his Regent hoping he would find a match more suitable to being King, he is finally sent to Genosha. Though the path has never been less clear than the one to a foreign kingdom with no ties to his native land.

Shaw’s Captive – swoopswoop

Summary: Magneto killed Shaw, it had to be done for the sake of mutant-kind but what he wasn't expecting to find hidden deep with Shaw's complex was a man held captive, obviously tortured, that somehow made Magneto turn into Erik.

Erik now has a potential human in his citadel as he continues the war with the human's.

Mind’s Eye Blind – Sperare 

Summary: As far as Erik is concerned, if you want to scare a person into talking, you have to present him with something more compelling than what he stands to lose...

And there is nothing in the world more compelling than Charles.

Chipped – Rosawyn 

Summary: Magneto's fledgling Brotherhood find Charles Xavier in a mutations research lab as an apparently willing subject for an experimental suppression device.

Okay, I Feel Better Now – Harleydoll

Summary: The AU in which Erik is sent to a mental health facility after being convicted for Shaw's murder and pleads insanity, and Charles is his paranoid schizophrenic of a roommate. Powers, Hellfire conspiracies, protective!Erik, and of course the inevitable angst.

Five Nights in Nuremberg – FuryRed

Summary: When Charles escapes from the mutant prison he has been held in for the last two years he knows that he’s going to need help to avoid being recaptured.

What he doesn’t expect is that help will come in the form of a mysterious German man who rescues Charles and takes him to his home; a handsome stranger who, frustratingly, doesn’t speak a single word of English…

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

Notes: Unfinished but an excellent read. Highly recommend it.

Stolen – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is a miserable, grumpy, cantankerous bastard, and he has every fucking right to be. He drew the short end of the stick when he got the Underworld as his domain, and there isn't very much fun to be had in judging and governing dead souls who would rather be anywhere else but with Erik in the depths of Hell.

So when he meets Charles, brilliant and lovely Charles who is more popularly known amongst the mortals as Persephone, and feels the promise of something wonderful that could make his eternally doomed existence infinitely more bearable... you can bet all your drachmas Erik's not going to let Charles go any fucking time soon.

My Barbaric Darling – baehj2915

Summary: Erik is revivified caveman. Charles is the anthropologist(?) taking care of him. This is as ridiculous as it sounds. Romcom misunderstandings and prehistoric wooing ensues.

Swimming with Sharks – Not_You

Summary: Erik used to be a shark. Now he's not, and has to figure out how to be a good human father to his twins. Charles is willing to help.

Eucalyptus leaf of my soul - kageillusionz, ourgirlfriday

Summary: Zookeeper Raven at Taronga Zoo keeps having ideas on how to capitalize on interest in the zoo mascots, Koala Charles and Drop Bear Erik (the only drop bear in captivity!), who have captured the hearts and minds of the public. First it was to introduce prospective mates (It’ll generate attention, Hank. People are perverts. They’d love to see koala porn.). This idea was not effective the first through fifth attempts, as Erik and Charles seemed to show at best polite interest in the newcomer before resuming whatever marsupial debate they had going. However, the resulting lesbian koala orgies did indeed generate interest. Then Raven unveiled the Hug-A-Koala program, which was successful, as the public showed great interest in hugging Charles, and Charles seemed to enjoy being hugged.

Then Raven unveiled the Hug-A-Drop Bear program, and Hank, not for the first time, wished he had a flask handy.

Notes: Yes, they’re Koalas, yes they’re adorable, and yes, Erik is super protective even as a Drop Bear.