#marisol whatever her last name is | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

perotovar · 1 year ago

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into the beat of the night (ch 3) "self control"

moodboard by the lovely @hellishjoel, gif by me

pairing: frankie morales/enby!oc!river price (they/them) rating: 18+ (minors dni) chapter warnings: fingering, one (1) handjob, discussions of sexuality/gender (in an... interesting way), goth stereotypes abound, swearing, more cute shit word count: 3k dividers by @saradika beta: @scenaaario (ily adrienne ♥)

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series summary: frankie thought he had himself figured out by now. he liked both men and women, had dated both in the past. but when someone that challenges what he thinks that means comes into his life, in an unlikely place, he truly learns who he is, and more importantly, who he loves.

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“What’s their name again?”

“River. I already told you, Benjamin,” Frankie chuckled, taking a drink from his beer.

“Right, sorry. I’ve just never met a non… what was it again?”

Frankie, Benny, Will, and Santiago were at their usual bar that night. It was in a different part of town than The Night Owl, with a completely different vibe, but it was cozy. The four of them had become regulars and knew the staff by name.

“Non-binary person,” Will said, shoving Benny on the shoulder. “Are you listening at all?”

Benny shot his brother a look and stuck his tongue out, because apparently Benny was still five. “Of course I’m listening! Non-bi-nar-y,” he sounded it out, tapping his finger on the table with each syllable. “What does, uh… What does that like, mean, Fish?”

Frankie furrowed his brows and took another drink. “I haven’t actually asked yet. All they told me is that they’re like… both, and neither, at the same time.” He hummed thoughtfully. “I was a little distracted after that and didn’t get to ask.”

Santiago grinned, slapping Frankie on the shoulder. “Good for you, Fish.”

Frankie rolled his eyes, but smiled, thinking about the kiss he shared with River the other night. They kept texting, and he’d even asked River out on a real date, which brought the guys to the bar. It had been a year or so since his last date and he needed advice on where to take someone like River. He wasn’t as familiar with the goth subculture and thought maybe his brothers would have experience. At the very least Ben, who’d been with a few different kinds of people.

“I did look it up that night after I got home, but I’m still a little confused,” Frankie shrugged.

“Just ask them, man,” Will offered. “They seemed cool with your first question.”

Frankie nodded, a look of determination crossing his features. “You’re right. It couldn’t hurt, right?”

Frankie was sweating. Marisol was with her mom this week, so he hadn’t had to worry about having that conversation yet. He was planning on telling River about her tonight. He checked his hair in the mirror again before he left, deciding to go without his hat tonight, but worried all his nerves would deflate the work he put into it. He sighed as he messed around with the unruly curls again. This is why he stuck to hats. Frankie’s phone vibrated on the bathroom counter, startling him.

ok im ready, eddie 😉

River still thought it was hilarious that Frankie had worn an Iron Maiden t-shirt to a goth club, claiming that it fit his “old man aesthetic”, whatever that meant. This led to River referring to Frankie as “Eddie”, after the band’s skeleton mascot.

Yeah yeah i’m coming

Frankie saw the typing dots appear and disappear a couple times before disappearing completely. He sighed to himself and checked his hair one last time before leaving his apartment.

When he got to the neighborhood of the address River had given him, he checked his phone again, making sure he was in the right place. He slowly crept up the hill towards the last line of apartments and immediately his heart started pounding. Frankie really liked River. He didn’t want to fuck this up, and hoped him being a dad wouldn’t ruin that. Or his big dumb mouth.

River was standing at the bottom of the staircase of the apartment complex and waved, a huge grin on their face. Frankie stopped the truck and leaned over to open the passenger side door for them to climb inside. The scent of bergamot, clove, and sandalwood filled his nostrils again as the truck door shut. Frankie calmed down, and smiled, leaning over to give River a kiss on the cheek. “You look amazing,” he breathed, taking in River’s outfit; they had a collarless shirt buttoned up all the way, tucked into plaid pants, and nice dress shoes. All black, of course. They wore no lipstick today, their makeup was simple, and their hair was perfectly straight. It looked like they’d freshly shaved the right side of their head as well. River’s look was so new for Frankie, he couldn’t help being captivated by them every time he saw them.

“Thank you,” River smiled, heart skipping a beat. “Where are we off to?” They rested their ring-clad hand over Frankie’s larger one in between the two of them on the seat. “When you said it was a surprise, I admit I got a little nervous.”

Frankie placed his hand on the back of the truck seat and looked behind them as he backed up to leave the apartment complex. River’s eyes were glued to Frankie’s neck and subtly licked their lips at the sight of the thick muscles and veins. Their eyes moved up to Frankie’s side profile and they swooned.

“How come? Don’t trust me?” Frankie smirked, making eye contact before his eyes moved to the road, and started heading toward their destination.

River shrugged, even though they knew he couldn’t see them. “Maybe. Maybe not,” they smirked. The red light of the clock on the console caught River’s eye; 7:30pm.

“Well, that’s a shame. I had a nice dinner planned and everything,” Frankie showed them an exaggerated pout, a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh, well, in that case.”

The restaurant Frankie picked might’ve been a little more… casual, then he remembered. The last time he was here was with Jackson. He shook off the memory. He was here with River now. The place was actually more like a diner, with vintage photos of women in pinup-style outfits and poses.

Frankie reached for River’s hand and laced their fingers together as he found them a table, letting River sit first.

“Such a gentleman,” River teased, squeezing his hand before getting comfy in the booth.

“I try,” Frankie smiled bashfully as he joined them on the opposite side. The light shining down onto the table lit River beautifully. He noticed that River’s button-up was actually a dark green, with subtle velvet roses all over.

They ordered their food and made easy conversation. River talked about their job as an architect. They were working on designing a building that was be built in the next couple of years in the city. Frankie found it fascinating but couldn’t focus on the words, too distracted by their calming voice and watching their mannerisms. River talked with their hands a lot whenever they got excited about something, and Frankie thought it was adorable.

“Sorry, I know I’m rambling now,” River shook their head, cutting themself off. Frankie frowned,mouth full of french fries.

“Please, continue, I don’t mind listening.”

So River did. They talked about anything and everything. Frankie interjected here and there, but was more than content to listen to River talk. When there was a lull in the conversation, Frankie’s palms started to get sweaty. Their plates were empty now, but River still had half of their milkshake left.

It was now or never. Frankie took a deep breath.

“So… I’ve been meaning to tell you something,” he started. River raised an eyebrow and rested their chin on the palm of their hand, listening. Frankie cleared his throat before continuing. “Um, so I know this is a dealbreaker for some people, so I won’t be offended if you want to stop things after tonight. B-But I would like to stay friends if that’s the case.” He rubbed his sweaty hands on his thighs. “I’ve got a daughter.”

River was quiet for a second before a small smile appeared on their face. “I’m actually not surprised. How old is she?”

“You’re not?”

“Of course not. You’re an incredibly handsome man of a certain age–”

“Hey.”

“And any woman would be stupid not to make an honest man outta you,” River winked.

Frankie blinked a couple times before chuckling softly. River continued to surprise him. “Well, her mother isn’t in the picture, at least not with me. Marisol, my daughter, sees her half the time, and stays with me the other half of the time,” he explained, crossing his arms comfortably over the table. “Oh, and she’s four.”

“Aww, can I see a picture of her?”

Frankie’s heart fluttered as pulled his phone out, opening the album of photos devoted just to his little girl. He slid his phone over to River and they started scrolling through the photos with a smile on their face.

“She’s adorable, Frankie,” River hummed, returning his phone back to him. “I can tell you think the world of her. I won’t lie, I’m not really… uh, a kid kind of person. I always just planned on being the cool cousin and not a parent,” they muttered, resting their chin on their palm again.

Frankie nodded in understanding. “I totally get that. I just figured it wouldn’t be fair to you, or to Marisol, to keep her a secret, y’know?”

“Absolutely, and I appreciate you telling me,” River nodded back. “But I like you. A lot. And I’m willing to give this a shot with you. So I don’t think Marisol is a dealbreaker.”

Frankie’s heart soared at River’s words. “I really like you, too,” he grinned like an idiot, cheeks warm. “C’mon, we still have another part to this date.” He stood up and held his hand out for River to take.

After paying, the two found themselves back in Frankie’s truck heading down the highway. It was starting to get darker and the roads were clearing. They pulled up to a drive-in, but there weren’t any other cars.

“What is this, Grease?” River teased. “A diner and then a drive-in movie?”

Frankie snorted and reached out his window to pay for their tickets before finding somewhere to park. “I happen to like drive-in movies and diners, thank you very much.”

“That’s because you’re old–”

“I’m only a few years older than you,” Frankie deadpanned.

“Details.”

About a third of the way into the original Halloween, Frankie put his arm around River’s shoulders and pulled them close. River happily cuddled into Frankie’s side, loving the warmth and softness they found there.

Halfway through, River’s eyes started wandering elsewhere. They looked down at the crotch of Frankie’s jeans, and wondered what lay beyond the tight denim. They looked up at Frankie’s face and kissed the little patch in his beard that refused to grow hair. Frankie looked down at them, deep brown eyes looking over River’s features. He went from their dark-rimmed eyes, to their collarbone, and back to their plush lips, his heart pounding. He didn’t need any further convincing and started kissing River deeply, holding the side of their face.

River hummed into Frankie’s mouth and slowly crawled into Frankie’s lap. They grinned as Frankie huffed a breath against their lips, holding River’s hips in his large hands. River kissed the corner of Frankie’s mouth before moving down to the side of his neck and sucked a mark where his neck met his shoulder. Frankie shuddered, moving a hand down and squeezing River’s ass. They lifted their head and looked at the far-away expression on his face.

“Are you one of those guys that doesn’t like to fool around on the first date?”

Frankie blinked up at River, thinking about it. “I mean, no, but–” “Good,” River growled, latching back onto Frankie’s neck and sucking hard.

Frankie moaned openly at that, but pulled them away. “Wait,” he breathed. River tilted their head to the side and didn’t say anything, letting Frankie continue. “Um, I had another question.”

“Okay.”

“Well, uh. I don’t mean to kill the mood, because God, I really wanna get back to that, b-but I was curious,” Frankie swallowed, not making eye contact again. “I looked up what non-binary was after you told me and I was a little confused, and basically I just– Um, I wanna know like, how… this would… work,” he trailed off, gesturing between the two of them and at the bulge in his jeans.

“You’re asking what I have so you know how to proceed.” It was a statement, not a question, said softly in understanding. River played with the curls at the back of Frankie’s neck.

Frankie nodded. “If that’s an invasive question, I’m really sorry, and–”

“Shh,” River chuckled, pecking Frankie on the cheek. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m not offended. You’re actually being really sweet about all of this. I know this is new for you.”

Frankie smiled shyly and shrugged, but let them continue.

“I was raised as a girl. ‘Assigned female at birth’, is typically what we call it,” River looked down, playing with the collar of Frankie’s shirt. “You were assigned male at birth. The doctors looked at your parts and decided that’s what you were, and you never felt like it was incorrect, right?”

Frankie nodded, listening carefully.

“Right. Well, it felt wrong to me. I didn’t really know what the feeling was growing up. It’s actually kind of a recent development for me.”

Frankie chewed on his bottom lip, one question still buzzing around his head. “How do you… How did you know? And did you… have any… surgeries? To um–” he didn’t know how to word any of this.

River laughed softly. “Yeah, I had top surgery. I no longer have breasts, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Everything below the belt is still intact,” they grinned, moving their crotch closer to Frankie’s. “The complicated answer, especially for someone so new to this, is that gender is a societal thing. How you’re perceived, presented to the world is just through the eyes of society. How you see yourself is what actually matters, though. And when all that societal bullshit doesn’t affect your life, the roles you’re ‘supposed’ to play don’t matter anymore.”

“I’m River. River is me. I don’t care how people see me. I did all of this,” they gestured to their body. “For me. Not for anyone else. Because if I didn’t, I would be unhappy. And my own mental health and happiness matters more than some so-called church-going do-gooder’s opinion.”

Frankie looked at River in awe. Their confidence and respect for themself was one of the most attractive things he’d ever seen. “You’re amazing,” Frankie breathed, surging forward to kiss them deeply. He gripped River’s ass again and pulled them closer, grinding his hardening cock against them.

River moaned softly, grinding back, and tangling their fingers into his hair. Suddenly, Frankie pulled back, catching his breath.

“Wait, does that, like…” He thought for a second. “While I was doing my research, I came across a couple other terms I didn’t know.”

River chuckled and kissed down Frankie’s neck softly. “Go on.”

Frankie’s breath hitched, speaking shakily. “Um, I’ve always considered myself b-bisexual– oh– a-and if non-binary people are technically a th-third gender, then does that change?”

“No,” River hummed, licking underneath Frankie’s ear, before taking the lobe into their mouth and nibbling.

“It doesn’t?”

River shook their head. “Bisexual is more like an umbrella term. People interpret it differently,” they reached a hand down between them, trailing their fingers to Frankie’s belt buckle and undoing it. “For example, you’ve always assumed it just meant you were attracted to men and women, right?”

Frankie moaned softly as the pressure was relieved from his hard cock, and nodded.

“Exactly. Another way you could see it is you being attracted to people that are like you,” they gripped Frankie’s cock tightly, making him gasp sharply. “And people who aren’t.” They grabbed his hand and placed it onto their crotch, grinding against him.

He was so hard he was throbbing, and so turned on his head spun. He started undoing River’s dress pants and slipped his hand down to their panties, finding their pussy impossibly warm and wet.

“Fuck,” Frankie groaned, rubbing at their clit through the fabric of their underwear. River moaned sweetly and bit their bottom lip, moving Frankie’s boxer briefs out of the way so they could grip around his cock.

“You’re so hard,” River grinned, rubbing their thumb over the tip. They started stroking him slowly, watching as the head of Frankie’s cock appeared and disappeared underneath the foreskin.

Frankie was breathing heavily, resting his head on the back of his seat and looking at River through his lashes. He moved the tips of his fingers in small circles for a few moments before he moved his fingers beneath their underwear and touched bare skin. River gasped at the contact and nodded, giving him permission. Frankie slowly sunk his middle finger inside them and started pumping in and out. His thumb rubbed in time against their clit. River started moaning louder, throwing their head back to expose their throat to him.

Frankie saw an opening and latched his mouth onto their neck, marking them in return as his free hand held the back of River’s head. “You’re so fucking sexy,” he groaned, biting at River’s skin.

River shuddered at the praise, rocking their hips against Frankie’s hand. “‘M close,” they whined, panting down at him. They started to lose their rhythm on Frankie’s cock and squeezed him tightly in their fist. Frankie nodded in understanding and started moving his fingers faster, adding a second one as the slick sounds coming from between River’s legs filled the truck.

“C’mon, baby. You gonna come for me?” he breathed against their neck, leaving soft kisses against their skin. The contrast between what his mouth and what his hand were doing was overwhelming and River wouldn’t change it for the world.

River nodded, their brows moving downward in pleasure before stilling above him as they came. Their hips rocked back and forth over Frankie’s hand as they came down, moaning and biting their lip.

The sight of River coming was enough for Frankie and his cock twitched hard as he erupted all over River’s hand. He grunted and hid his face in their neck as his balls emptied messily. He whined softly, twitching in the aftershocks.

River giggled quietly and held him close after licking their hand clean. “Gonna have to blow you next time,” they hummed thoughtfully.

Frankie groaned as his oversensitive cock twitched between them. “Don’t say shit like that while I’m still vulnerable, you menace.”

River bit his cheek, then kissed it softly. “You love it.”

He did. He really did.

a/n: please enjoy this meme that inspired the scene above

#frankie morales #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales fluff #frankie morales smut #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal cinematic universe #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier smut #triple frontier fic #oaksfics

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mazzystar24 · 8 months ago

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Watch us be panicking over nothing, but if it does go down THAT route, I'm done! I don't want a show claiming to be inclusive of everyone and everything to have a woman who is so horrible on a show like that

Hi anon!

Personally I’m less panicking more vomiting at seeing edy onscreen and poor Eddie in comp het prison (I’m gonna get you out of there one of these days buddy I swear😭🫶)

I think I’m like 95% certain that like everything so far indicates to me that they’re not writing Marisol to stay

Like first of all I’m pretty sure tim flat out said he didn’t originally want her back and that he just didn’t want two offscreen break ups in s7 and Natalia’s actress couldn’t come back

Like he’s made his disdain abt the end of s6 VERY clear

He then turns around and puts no effort into making Marisol even appear like she MIGHT stay because he gives her no last name, no personality and what can only be referred to as a gag as her main storyline

And then he has bobby flat out call Eddie out and say that he hasn’t said anything/ spoke about her in a way that makes him think he wants her to move in and that he has no trouble committing to other things so what is REALLY the issue (her) I mean Eddie fumbled with understanding bobby again but it’s the thought that counts🤷🏽‍♀️

Plus I think they are WELL aware of the fans opinions of edy so from a purely business perspective- if an actress who is not a series regular or even a significant character and whatever form of contract you have with her is presumably coming to an end and she’s causing you trouble and getting you bad publicity you will cut her at the first opportunity (and you would be very dumb not to, ESPECIALLY FOR ONE YOU DIDN’T WANT IN THE FIRST PLACE)

Also on a more general note the stills are almost ALWAYS a red herring that make 20+ theories and 100+ rants and then turn out to be something completely and utterly different so until we actually see content in the episodes that indicate to us that Marisol even stands a chance to stay fr then I’m gonna continue to believe that one day soon I’ll be free from seeing edy’s stupid transphobic face on my screen with her annoying voice that puts Janice from friends to shame

BAJDKMF SORRY FOR THE LONG REPLY ANON I JUST REALLY HATE THAT HOMOPHOBIC TRANSPHOBIC WOMAN

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sevensoulmates · 10 months ago

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Speculation ahead:

I want to talk about the title "Buck, Bothered and Bewildered" less from the assumption that the song lyrics = what happens in the show and less from the assumption that Buck's name being in the title means it's all about him. The episode may have him have a central storyline but I'm 99% sure the episode will also feature Maddie and Eddie having central storylines in this episode too.

So, Bothered and Bewildered. To me, those words signify big change, big realizations, but also confusion, discomfort, growing pains with emphasis on the pain.

Bothered implies that whatever change is coming it will not be easy. It implies that this is something that disturbs the characters usual life. It's something that requires looking inward, discovering why the change bothers them so much, and coming to terms with the new life they'll probably have to lead from that moment forward.

Bewildered implies that this change is a surprise. Not something the character saw coming. ((so for those of you who are assuming this is Bi Buck realization I don't think it'll be just a "oh yeah I've been bi this entire time" thing)). It's not something they've been sitting on agonizing about, but something that comes out of the blue. Or maybe, it's something the character wouldn't let themselves think about and/or never believed was true about themselves, but now has to reevaluate who they really are.

This could mean a hell of a lot for all of the characters. From a Maddie/Madney perspective maybe they're adjusting to being fiance's, or Maddie worries about potentially becoming a wife again.

For Eddie, if this is a queer realization for him, I don't think it's an easy one. It's one he'll struggle with. We know Marisol is still around, this could be in reference to the relationship he's trying to force with her. I do still believe man is deep in compulsory heterosexuality, so I wouldnt be surprised if he tries even HARDER to force this relationship with Marisol in a last ditch attempt to prove his "normalcy". And perhaps he finds his relationship with Marisol bothers him in unexpected ways. In relation to potential bi Buck, it could mean Eddie has to grapple with Buck's sudden queerness and determine WHY it is bothering him. If anyone has a "am I homophobic because my queer best friend is with someone else" moment, I believe it would be Eddie, not Buck. I truly believe Eddie is that repressed. But if the Buck/Tommy rumours are true then this could spell EXTREMELY interesting for Eddie as well, especially considering the next episode is You Don't Know Me.

And Buck. I know we're all kinda jumping the gun assuming it means bi Buck, and istg I'm also hoping and praying too. Truly, it makes the most sense to do. Let the homoeroticism of the basketball scene sweep Buck into an unexpected queer realization and let him grapple with the idea that now Men are an Option. And if Men are an option, Eddie could be an option. The implications of this are fucking ENORMOUS.

#either way obviously bb&b is going to feature buck and eddie heavily #and we knew this already from the stills #and I for one am thrilled about the title thrilled about the possibilities and thrilled to see buck making progress #in whatever way that turns out to be #evan Buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #911 abc #911 meta #911 speculation

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philomenie · 2 months ago

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Shadow Warrior

Hitman! Jolly - Part 2

CN despair, grief, mention of abortion, mafiatheme, violence, murder, sexual tension, cheating, guilt, thoughts/ plans for exhumation +18

If I forgot to mark something as CN, please let me know so I can add it!

@nojoyontheburn @jilliemiw86 @dsireland86 @aubrey-melinoe

TWO

When she wakes up the next morning, stiff and exhausted, she curses everything. Scolding herself, she gets to her feet, kicks the pumps off her feet and goes into the kitchen to get a coffee from her fully automatic machine. With the cup, she goes to the bedroom on the second floor to get rid of her clothes, then to the bathroom to take a long shower.

Her muscles slowly relax under the hot water and she feels better afterwards, but still dead tired. FUCK, she has to go to the clinic... partly because she can't just take a nap, and partly because she promised Nadja she'd be there to take care of her business.

A baby... a stabbing pain pierces her as she thinks back to how lovingly and tenderly Joakim treated Zoja and Nikolaj.... Damn... she wanted children with him so much. Damn... unbridled rage builds up inside her and, screaming, she bangs her fist against the bedroom door, causing Milo to yelp in fright. “I'm sorry, baby!” Olivia strokes her dog, trying to calm him down, ”It won't happen again... I have to get ready now and you're going back to Alma's, are you happy?” Milo tilts his head and looks at Olivia skeptically. When she's finished, she takes Milo to her neighbor Alma, who likes to take care of Milo. “Oh, do you have a headache?” Alma wants to know sympathetically, as Olivia is wearing dark sunglasses. “Something like this.... It was late last night and the brightness is too much for me today!” Olivia explains with a sigh. “You were out?” smiles Alma. “About.....” sighs Olivia evasively. “Alone or with someone?” Alma follows up.

Olivia rolls her eyes, “Alma.... Don't tell me you didn't see the limo....” Alma chuckles in amusement, “Yes.... It was hard to miss... as was the man who picked you up....” She looks at Olivia expectantly. “Noah.... His name is Noah and he's not my boyfriend or my lover or whatever you're imagining.... He's sort of a business partner... he supports the clinic, yesterday was sort of a business dinner!” Olivia quickly explains. “Well... he didn't look like that.... The way he was beaming at you....” Alma probes. “But that's the way it is! I have to go, otherwise I'll be absolutely late!” Olivia ends the conversation, turning around as she leaves, ”I'll pick Milo up as usual, if it's going to be late, I'll let you know!” “All right... have fun!” Alma calls after her as Olivia walks back to her house to take her car to drive to the clinic. Olivia arrives far too late, takes ages to find a parking space and then hurries into the clinic. “Sorry!” she shouts from the entrance and rushes towards the lockers to change quickly. Marisol, one of the nurses, comes to meet her, “There's someone here to see you!” she explains meaningfully. “A woman?” Olivia wants to know immediately. “Hmm, a woman!” nods Marisol. “That's OK, Marisol, I'm expecting her!” nods Olivia. “I wonder what such a woman wants here with us!” asks Marisol. “She's a friend who needs my help....” explains Olivia quickly. “OK, do you want me to take her to the examination room?” Marisol wants to know. “No, it's OK, I'll take her!” smiles Olivia and goes off to fetch Nadja, who is sitting a little impatiently in the waiting area, sticking out. When she sees Olivia, she immediately jumps up, “Oh, good that you're here!” she sighs, a little pale around the nose. “Are you feeling sick again?” Olivia immediately wants to know. “Again? Still!” Nadja snorts, ”Will it be long? I don't want Nicholas to get suspicious.... He's with me for the time being...with us, at home!”

“Nicholas is with Sergei?” Olivia asks, puzzled. “Yes, with Sergei and Boris, to be precise. The three of them get on really well!” smiles Nadja. “It's all so crazy....” laughs Olivia, but then becomes serious, ”We're hurrying with everything... but Nadja, think about everything very carefully!” Nadja nods slowly, “Yeah... I know... but like I said... I really can't keep it!” “I'm sure we'll find a solution!” smiles Olivia, taking Nadja with her. As the gynecologist performs the ultrasound, Nadja holds on to Olivia's hand and both women stare at the screen. Olivia's heart clenches as she clearly sees the little creature with the beating heart on it.

“FUCK!” Nadja gasps, ”That's already a baby.....” “Well, more precisely, a fetus... You are now in the 10th week of pregnancy, if your information is correct!” explains the gynecologist with a smile. Nadja looks desperately at Olivia, “How should I.....” she leaves the sentence unspoken. “We'll talk about that later, when Dr. Smith is finished here!” Olivia strokes her arm reassuringly. “FUCK... I can't get it removed!” Nadja hisses a little later in Olivia's doctor's room, ”But how is that supposed to work?” “Hmm, you're a first-time mother, you can't usually see your belly that quickly.... Then wear oversize clothes... and when it becomes obvious, take some time off... you need a rest or something..... don't have the baby here in the city, but somewhere safe for you and your child, where nobody will notice. Preferably anonymously!” suggests Olivia. “And Nicholas?” gulps Nadja. “Well... as fond as he is of children, that shouldn't be a problem, should it?” smiles Olivia. “No....” sighs Nadja, ”But me and a mom.... Oh God, that poor child!” Olivia lovingly takes Nadja in her arms, “You'll be a great mother because you know what's important and you care about the people you love, fighting for them like a lioness....”

Nadja stiffens in her arms, “You're talking about him.....” she gulps. “Even....” Olivia whispers harshly, ”You didn't give up until you found him... you and Nicholas pulled him out of the rubble.... At least you brought him back to me! That means so much to me.....” Nadja's throat gets tight, she has to clear her throat, she gets hot and cold at the same time, “Olivia... I......” she swallows, on the verge of finally, finally telling Olivia the truth. But then she stops because she doesn't know how to tell her that Joakim isn't dead after all... Nadja hates herself so much for not telling Olivia the truth straight away, but Doi more or less put a gun to her head, threatening to withdraw his support, pointing out that Joakim was going to die anyway after what the doctors had said. Nadja didn't want to push Olivia into absolute emotional chaos, she had seen how she felt at the time. And to be honest, she didn't expect Joakim to survive either. His injuries were far too severe.... But the fact that he survived, that he can walk again, that he didn't suffer any damage from all this - well, apart from a few minor things - is an absolute miracle that absolutely nobody would have expected... Nadja dreads the day when he returns... and she just knows that he will come back and then she can only hope that he still has such a big heart and can forgive her.

“Nadja, what's wrong, you're suddenly completely pale!” startled, Olivia puts a hand on her shoulder. “It's all right... it's just... a lot... a lot!” she swallows. “I know, dear, but who can deal with it if not you!” smiles Olivia. Nadja looks thoughtfully at Olivia, “You're much stronger than me.....” she whispers harshly and hugs Olivia tightly, who is surprised by this, but also embraces Nadja. “I'm glad you're my friend!” Nadja declares quietly. “I really am.....” Olivia nods and both women look at each other. “Who would have thought....” Nadja shakes her head. “I certainly didn't at first!” Olivia explains brittlely and Nadja has to laugh, ”I definitely didn't either, I hated you at first!” “Well, my feelings were in no way inferior!” Olivia shrugs her shoulders. “It's a good thing that's changed!” Nadja nods seriously. “Yes.....” explains Olivia, ”But to come back to your pregnancy, I'll write you a vitamin supplement to take and we'll make another appointment for a check-up. Also, no alcohol, no cigarettes!” “Heavens, I know that myself!” Nadja rolls her eyes before leaving. Olivia accompanies her, watches her leave the clinic and freezes when she sees a dark figure standing diagonally behind her out of the corner of her eye. But when she turns around, startled, it is gone. Olivia looks around searchingly. For God's sake, you're getting really paranoid, she scolds herself and walks back, shaking her head. Joakim stands behind the door to the storeroom, his heart pounding. Damn, that was close... he was careless in his longing to see Olivia. But seeing her AND Nadja together... well, he had to digest that first. Nadja...... damn... he owes her his life, her and Ruffilo, he knows that, but then WHY did she practically betray him? Why did she play Doi's game.... Then why was he so stupid and let himself get rattled. Damn so much wasted time... but even now he doesn't dare just go to Olivia.... She'd either faint or strangle him for doing this to her... he's convinced of it. He doesn't see any other option, although he wants nothing more than for her to just hug him and everything to be okay again... like it used to be.... Says she loves him... God... how can he face her?

Then there's Doi.... Yesterday, when Joakim was back in his small apartment in a daze, he couldn't turn off his thoughts, his fears. His thoughts were constantly revolving around Doi and Olivia.... The more he thought about it, the angrier and more desperate he became.... By now, he's pretty sure that his Liv and Doi are having an affair... Damn, but that can't actually be... right? OR? It keeps roaring in his head. He just can't turn it off. He has to get out of here immediately, not that someone else might come in here by chance, then what? He carefully peers through the crack in the door and scurries out just when there's so much going on that no one will be paying attention to him. He pulls his baseball cap down over his face and quickly leaves the clinic. He needs to be clear about Olivia and Doi, that's the first thing he has to decide... only then can he decide whether he can really get in Olivia's face.... Will step in.

He immediately starts to doubt again... will she still want me at all.... Now... so.... Disfigured? Maybe it would be best to just disappear back to Sweden and try to start a new life there, try to forget. But Joakim knows that just wouldn't work.... He could never forget Liv in his life.

As Olivia walks to her car that evening, she again has the feeling that she is being watched. She looks around restlessly. Her gaze wanders over the parked cars at the side of the road and in the parking lot until she stops at a car, or rather a black SUV with tinted windows. Her breath catches for a moment, then unbridled rage flares up inside her.... That fucking asshole, that shitty bastard, it races through her head as she stomps towards the car, furious as hell. Her eyes are glowing and her hands are clenched into fists as she stops in front of it and bangs vigorously on the window. When nothing happens, she bangs on it again. “Open up... tell your fucking boss not to do that..... he shouldn't dare let me be watched!” she shouts angrily. The window slowly lowers and two pairs of almond-shaped eyes focus on her. “I knew it......” Olivia hisses, beside herself and punches the hood of the car, ”WHAT THE FUCK?” “Mr. Davis is concerned for her safety!” one of the men explains. “FUCK.... He can save himself the trouble, he just needs to leave me alone!” Olivia hisses, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Doi. It doesn't take five seconds and he picks up. “Olivia... did you have.....” is as far as he gets. “Why are you monitoring me?” Olivia hisses immediately, ”What the fuck?” “Olivia....” sighs Doi. “No, not OLIVIA.... Cut the fucking tone.... What the fuck?” hisses Olivia, pale with anger. “I just want what's best for you, to protect you, to make sure nothing happens to you!” declares Doi sternly. “FUCK OFF!!!” yells Olivia at him, ”Then just leave me alone... how about that?” “Oh, you want me to leave you alone? Seriously? YOU called me to help you, your patients.... Besides, I helped you finance the clinic, YOU asked me to do that.... And now you're saying I won't leave you alone..... really Olivia?” Doi hisses back.

“None of this gives you the right to keep me under surveillance for weeks!” Olivia hisses back. Silence. “For weeks.....” gulps Doi. “YES, FOR WEEKS, DAMN IT!” hisses Olivia back. “Olivia, believe me, my men have only been here to look after you since today....” Doi declares sternly. “Don't fuck with me!” growls Olivia. “I'm not!” Doi assures her, ”Only since today, I swear!” “But..... then who's watching me all the time?” gulps Olivia. “Are you sure?” Doi wants to know. “Yes... I've had the feeling I was being watched for weeks, even today at the clinic... but no one was there.... And then I saw the car with your people......” explains Olivia. “Those idiots!” hisses Doi angrily, ”But Olivia, really, my men have only been there to look after you since today!” “Real professionals... of course that makes me feel totally safe and protected!” hisses Olivia sarcastically. “Like I said, idiots.....” growls Doi. “Then who was watching me?” Olivia wants to know with a queasy feeling in her stomach. “Well, I'll find out, don't worry!” growls Doi, ”And please, do me a favor, let me protect you, please... you mean way too much to me to let anything happen to you!” “Noah....” sighs Olivia. “Please.... Please Olivia, let me do this for you. I'll leave you alone otherwise, I promise. But please, let me protect you!” pleads Doi urgently. “I don't know... but not at the clinic... that would cause far too much disruption to everything!” Olivia restricts, ”And not at my house either... just not that!” “OK, your rules, I'll stick to them!” Doi promises immediately. “Because of me.....” snorts Olivia ”And you leave me alone....” “Yeah, fine by me!” growls Doi, disappointed but glad that Olivia accepts his men for her protection. “And please tell me WHO has been watching me all this time!” gulps Olivia. “I will!” nods Doi seriously. “Good...then....” Olivia doesn't know what else to say. “See you soon....” Doi swallows and hangs up, then angrily throws his cell phone on the floor with all his might and kicks it across the floor. FUCK... such assholes.... What kind of idiots did he pick to watch Olivia! And WHO is watching her? But he can only think of one answer to this question right now.... It can only be Karlsson.... Cursed.... He must be here again... FUCK!!! If Ruffilo is right in his warning, he should be more careful.... God in heaven... Olivia will hate with all her heart.... She'll probably never forgive him for that in her life. Doi's mind is racing... what the hell is he supposed to do now? He thinks for a moment, grabs his spare cell phone from his desk and then dials Ruffilo. “You were right...” he hisses immediately when Ruffilo picks up, ”Karlsson is probably here again!” “How would you know that?” asks Ruffilo. “Well, Olivia's been feeling watched for weeks, but hasn't seen anyone... it can only be Karlsson!” hisses Doi. “And she's calling you.....” Ruffilo follows up. “Yes... my stupid men are apparently too stupid to monitor a person... she recognized them immediately today and then shouted at me on the phone... then accused me of doing this for weeks, having them watched..... I didn't!” Doi explains. “Well..... then it's probably Karlsson!” nods Ruffilo seriously. “You know what that means....” growls Doi. “That he's coming for Olivia!” snorts Ruffilo, ”Nobu, she was never yours and never will be in my lifetime... even if Karlsson really were dead. She was always just his and always will be!”

“We had sex.... Good sex..... I... she means a fucking lot to me!” Doi chokes out. “Not your fucking serious.... You just took her?” hisses Ruffilo angrily. “Are you crazy? You think I took her..... For God's sake, no.... We were arguing and I kissed her just because, she triggers something in me.... I can't explain it to you. She returned the kiss, took my clothes off... one thing led to another” Doi hisses, ”It was great.... SHE is great... I've never felt that way with any other woman. She drives me crazy and could have anything from me at the same time, just anything!” “You're in love with her!” Ruffilo gulps, stunned. “Yes, I love her... damn it, I fucking love her!” screams Doi. “Does she know that?” Ruffilo wants to know. “No, yes, I hinted at it, but she doesn't take me seriously, says you and I will never get together!” Doi explains. “Which she's right about, you know that!” nods Ruffilo. “I just need more time.....” adds Doi. “No, Nobu, that wouldn't change anything. She only loves one man and that's Karlsson!” explains Ruffilo seriously. “She'll forget him!” growls Doi. “God, Nobu... you're not an idiot yourself!” snorts Ruffilo, ”No, she never will in her life. HE was THE one, you know? HE was her reason for everything she did, wanted to do. HE was and remains the love of her life! And now he's back!” “He hasn't shown himself to her yet!” growls Doi, ”Besides.... He's been away for so long.... Maybe.....” “NO, NOBU! He loves her more than anything in the entire fucking world. More than his life, which he willingly sacrificed for her to keep her safe. He IS dead to her, my God...” hisses Ruffilo, ”What do you think he'll do to you if you dare come between him and Olivia. If you dare to claim her for yourself? Apart from the fact that Olivia would kill you anyway?”

“DAMN!” Doi angrily slaps his desk with the flat of his hand. “Nobu, face it.... You lost, never could win...” sighs Ruffilo. “So you want me to give it up!” growls Doi. “You have to... besides, you never had her... not like Karlsson.....” declares Ruffilo sternly. “DAMN!” curses Doi again. “Something else... something that probably won't put you in a better mood... but the Italians, or rather Folio, is becoming increasingly insolent and isn't keeping to the agreements he made with Nadja. He's married to Volkov's cousin Yelena and now thinks he has certain claims to Nadya's territory, business!” Ruffilo explains seriously. “FUCK! What does the little wanker want now......” snorts Doi. “The little wanker is not to be underestimated. He's certainly no Kolja, but an opponent to be taken seriously!” warns Ruffilo sternly. “Damn... the day is getting better and better. Why am I only finding out about this now?” Doi wants to know. “Well, Nadja thought and still thinks she can handle it herself. She doesn't know that I told you! But I don't want it to come to war. I want Nadja to be safe. Just like you Olivia. That's why I'm telling you now!” explains Ruffilo. “OK... I'll ask around and meet with Folio. See what I can do to make the little wanker keep his feet still and stick to the agreements we've made. Are you happy?” Doi wants to know. “Do that, and not a word to Nadja!” growls Ruffilo. “All right...” Doi hisses and hangs up, suppressing the impulse to scrap this cell phone too. Instead, he runs both hands through his hair.

What the hell is he supposed to do now? Really give up on Olivia? Even if it makes no sense to keep hoping for her? Ruffilo is right... she loves Karlsson, will always love him, but Nobu had hoped that in time she might love him too.... Damn, he meets THE woman he would do anything for and then this.... Heaven! Until now, it had always been the other way around. Nobu could have all the women he wanted, but he didn't want any of them for long. Olivia, on the other hand... there's something about her that drives him crazy. He's completely fascinated by her, he just has to have her.…

Damn.... angry, Nobu hits his desk again with the flat of his hand. Thinks feverishly.... If he could find Karlsson.... A thought forms in Nobu's mind, which he immediately dismisses. If he did that, he would lose his best friend since childhood and Olivia too, if she ever found out, and Nicholas would make sure of that, he realized. He would also be breaking the word he gave Karlsson back then. Security for him and Olivia, for life. Damn... In fact, he has no choice but to wait for Karlsson to make the first move. Or hope that Karlsson does NOT make the first move and simply disappears again. But the chances of that are slim, and Nobu knows that too.

“Who did you talk to on the phone?” Nadja wants to know from Nicholas. Sighing, he sits down on the couch and rests his arms on the backrest. Nadja sits down next to him and Nicholas puts his arm around her shoulders. “Nobu!” he growls.

“And.... Then why are you so angry?” Nadja asks, ‘You didn't tell him about the baby!’ Nadja sits up, startled. “No... no... I'm certainly not going to do that!” Nicholas immediately reassures her, ”No, it was about Olivia. Nobu has had her guarded since today. Which she noticed immediately. God, what kind of idiots did he choose for this....” “Why is he doing that?” Nadja wants to know, irritated. “He's worried about her, that something might happen to her. Anyway, Olivia accused him of having her watched for weeks....” sighs Nicholas. Nadja turns pale, “Joakim.....” she chokes out, “It can only be Joakim!” “I strongly suspect that too, yes!” Nicholas nods grimly, ”I told Nobu not to come between him and Olivia... I hope he's smart enough to take my advice!” “Do you think....” gulps Nadja anxiously. “That he wants revenge?” sighs Nicholas, ”On Nobu? On us? Because we kept Olivia from him?” “Yes....” whispers Nadja quietly. “Not if we leave him alone.... I helped him, Nadja. Gave him enough money to start over. Talked to him a lot! He's angry, hurt, but knows that you and I saved his life, just like Nobu....” Nicholas explains seriously. “You didn't tell me you were still in contact with him!” gulps Nadja.

“No, he didn't want me to tell you or Nobu.... He had a lot to sort out for himself, to think.... Licking his wounds, healing. He wasn't really well for a long time, you know, apart from his physical wounds. He's afraid that Olivia won't love him anymore, won't be able to love him the way he looks now. That she won't be able to forgive him for not being with her right away.... It's complicated. It's all bloody complicated!” sighs Nicholas. “Yes, it is, and I'm damn sorry that he has to suffer like this. And that he no longer trusts me.... Otherwise he would have come to me, not you!” swallows Nadja. “He had me!” smiles Nicholas, pulling Nadja close and kissing her tenderly, ‘Don't get so upset, it's not good for our baby!’ he beams. Ever since Nicholas found out that he was going to be a father again, he has been smitten. A child with Nadja... something he had dreamed of but never thought would happen. A miracle.... And he hopes Karlsson and Olivia will also experience their miracle.... Sergei and Boris were no less delighted and Nadja was the only one who didn't burst into fits of tears. Nicholas is aware that this child is a powder keg, precisely because Nadja has enough enemies in the organization who would welcome her failure, as well as conservative heads who would condemn this adultery and withdraw their support and approval from Nadja. It's a tricky story, so they all made a plan. As long as her belly can still be well concealed, Nadja will continue to do all the tasks as before, then gradually take herself out and hand over more responsibility to her right-hand man, Alexei, who is already in the loop, and Sergei. She herself will then come to him, stay until the child is born and then he will come here, together with the baby and his other children and foster children, to the house he bought here some time ago. A risky plan, but it could work out.....

When Olivia goes to pick Milo up from Alma, she takes her aside for a moment. “Do you actually have a surveillance camera on and in your house?” she wants to know worriedly, ”An alarm system?” “No... why?” Olivia asks, frowning. “Well.... Well, I don't want to worry you...” Alma presses on. “But?” Olivia wants to know in alarm. “Well, I saw someone sneaking around your house earlier... Milo was banging, that's why I saw him!” Alma explains seriously. “Him?” gulps Olivia, her eyes wide. “Yes, a man, dressed completely in black... Tall, slim, broad shoulders. I couldn't make out his face. For one thing, it was already quite dark, but he had a baseball cap on, pulled low over his face and the hood of his hoodie on top of that,” Alma describes the person. Olivia turns pale and has to hold on to the door frame. “God, what's wrong with you?” Alma asks, startled, and reaches out to support her. “Nothing....” Olivia chokes out, looking Alma straight in the eye, ‘His hands... did you see his hands?’ Olivia wants to know urgently. “Yes... but he was wearing black gloves. Do you know him?” Alma wants to know. “I don't know.....” Olivia gasps, ”No, probably not... because that can't be. It absolutely can't be...” she mumbles to herself in horror. Alma shakes her lightly by the arm, which brings Olivia out of her shock.

“You're scaring me! What's going on? Are you in trouble?” Alma asks anxiously. “I have no idea.... No, not really!” Olivia shakes her head. “Do you want me to come over?” Alma asks gently. Olivia suddenly tightens up, “No, but I have somewhere to be... could you keep Milo with you in the meantime? I'm hurrying too!” “Of course!” Alma swallows in surprise and looks questioningly after Olivia, who suddenly runs towards her car, gets in and drives off. Olivia's mind races... the description of the man who is said to have been sneaking around her house.... No... it can't be... it can't be HIM.... He's dead.... Dead for 2 cursed years..... This can never, ever be Joakim.... Nevertheless, her heart races like crazy, she feels sick and a burning sensation spreads through her chest.... Hope, crazy hope.... But she was at his funeral..... she shoos the hope away. Suddenly she feels freezing cold... she has never seen his body directly... Doi, Nicholas and Nadja have more or less stopped her from looking at him up close, touching him one last time, stroking him.... It would be too traumatic, as his body, his head would be crushed.... And Olivia was so pumped up on sedatives that she couldn't put up much of a fight. Olivia shakes her head in bewilderment... they couldn't have lied to her... could they? Have they? God..... They can't have simply lied to her... and if you did.... Then why didn't Joakim come to her? FUCK, none of this makes any sense at all... absolutely no sense. Olivia stops in the parking lot with a blank stare as she reaches her destination. It's pitch black by now, but she doesn't care as she gets out and locks her car, walking into the sprawling lot with the high fence around it. She knows the path in her sleep... she has walked it umpteen times in the past two years. It doesn't take long before she is standing in front of Joakim's grave.

A gray granite stone with his name and dates bears witness to Joakim's past existence. Instead of a cross, a shining star is engraved above his name... the North Star. Olivia strokes it with trembling fingers. He can't possibly be alive... can he? OR??? Doubts run through Olivia and she can barely breathe properly. What the hell is she doing here? Hastily she looks around... the cemetery is deserted... should she really..... Damn!!! She remembers that she doesn't have a shovel or anything else with her... and how is she supposed to explain WHY she's digging up a body if she gets caught?! But Olivia's doubts harden. She thinks feverishly, then turns around and runs back to her car. Well... she needs to plan that better, first of all she wants to get a surveillance camera and an alarm system... then a decent shovel, a spade.... And ask Daniel to help her. Daniel is Alma's son and is ready for anything, as Olivia knows very well, because she can't ask Doi, Nicholas, Nadja or Alexei to support her in her crazy plan to dig up Joakim's body. Because if he is still alive, these four know about it, which rekindles Olivia's anger.... So if he's still alive, they've lied to everyone.... FUCK, I'll never forgive them for this, Olivia grumbles angrily.

#bad omens band #bad omens cult #bad omens #joakim jolly karlsson #joakim karlsson #jolly #jolly karlsson #noah sebastian #nicholas ruffilo #nick folio #fanfiction #bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #jolly karlsson fanfiction #fanfic #jolly fanfiction

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ariendiel · 1 year ago

Note

If Noah and Priya get together after Nope's breakup post-villa, what would every islanders' reaction would be like?

Noah and Priya getting together after the show? Oh now that's 👀👀

Like, I think quite a few of them would feel both betrayed and vindicated. For instance, Hope will be hurt but also suddenly have a "hah I knew it!" over him considering how he tried to keep denying having feelings for Priya while in the Villa when they had the whole he-has-an-ex-named-priya drama. I think Lottie as well will be smug as she has one more thing to hold against Priya, even if they got together after the show after Nope breaking up – she's the queen of petty after all. Hannah will go along with whatever Lottie is doing and feeling, so she'll probably be snarky on socials too whenever Lottie is.

I think Marisol will shrug and be rather indifferent, in her mind the show is over so it's all whatever. I think people like Elisa, Jakub, Lucas and the other more competitive Islanders will feel the same (aka not much). Henrik will completely miss that they're even together until they next meet up or something lol, whereas Bobby will be a bit conflicted as he probably knows (as do they all, but Bobby will forever be especially conflicted around Noah because in my mind he has a crush on him) that it won't last but are happy they're at least having fun.

Rahim will be a bit sad because he always had a thing for Priya really, but then again he's with or was with Jo by the end so he's mostly over it and will manage to be happy for his friend. Gary as well will just be happy for his gym crew mate, hoping he'll get to enjoy a relationship for once even if it most likely won't be forever.

Finally, Chelsea will be over the top excited as always, probably finding it super romantic and whatnot because she's just that person.

Thank you for the ask, this was fun! Sorry if I forgot someone, but it's a lot of Islanders to remember 😅🤍

#litg s2 #love island the game #litg #litg noah #litg priya #litg everyone #ask

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dragon-swords-prophecies · 1 year ago

Text

Writeblr Re-Intro, 4th Edition

Hi! I'm copper or dragon or whatever else you wanna call me. Minor, he/him preferred but they/them also works. My main is @copper-dragon-in-disguise. I'm queer & neurodivergent.

Asks and messages welcome! I might take a while to respond to them but I like them. I mostly write fantasy, and my current main WIP is a steampunk fantasy murder mystery called Herald At Dawn. I also have a few back burner WIPs, which are all below the cut. (also, these all have taglists, if you're interested i can add you to them!)

Post subject to updates at any time.

My WIPs:

Herald At Dawn (#wip: herald at dawn)

Synopsis: 11 years ago a woman named Marisol Ekker was murdered by the wife of her son's father, Evelyn Belmont. Despite evidence to the contrary, Evelyn Belmont was acquitted, and faced no punishment. Nearly a decade later, investigative reporter Alexandrina McLelland approached Marisol Ekker's son, Nathaniel--who was 12 at the time of her death--, to write an article about the corruption present in the case. Shortly after the article is published a string of murders begins, with no seeming rhyme or reason to connect the victims. But the timing seem suspect, and as the fallout of the articles publishing hits Nathaniel, more and more people keep dying, until the killer targets somebody much closer to home than Alex would've ever guessed.

Herald At Dawn was originally done for NaNo 2023 (I did a half nano, 25k not 50k), and its a steampunk murder mystery with a dash of fantasy. Set in a city called Volimere, it tells the story of the staff of a newspaper called The Clockwork Herald, and their adventures with a murder. The main POV character is Alexandrina McLelland (she/her), an investigative reporter. It's gay as fuck and also the first in what I intend to be a series!

Backburner WIPs:

Some context: The first three are all inspired by dnd characters/campaigns, and are in the same world/universe. The fourth is also in the same universe & dnd inspired, but it doesn't have a specific character attached to it.

Frost & Fire (#wip: frost & fire)

Synoposis: The death of an ancient primordial dragon brings the greatest (if not that well known) adventurers of the last centuries together. Enna Helder-Kromlin, half-Elf thief and contractor for the crown of Halmond, along with her sister, Anne, leader of the thieves guild Oleski. Anastrannia & Redari Galendel, twin half-Frost Dragon, half-Elves, one a shadow ranger and one a shadow sorcerer. They must work together, if not get along, to stop a evil dragon named Dizerdrat from trying to claim the power released by the death for himself, because if he does his could conquer the world—and would.

Frost & Fire is my original WIP, and I need to rework the plot a lot, but I still quite like it. Its about two twin half-elves named Anne (she/they) and Enna (any pronouns) Helder-Kromlin , and their efforts to stop a dragon from using magic (that he got from killing another, different dragon who was as old as time, pretty much) to conquer the world (this one particular continent, but despite the fact that they're spectacularly well traveled for half-elf orphans neither of them have ever actually left the continent, so its the world to them). Along the way they meet Anastrannia (she/they/ze) and Redari (they/he) Galendel, two siblings who have a lot of secrets and know a suspicious amount about dragons. This has a wip intro, though it isn't super current, but I'm linking it anyway.

One of Copper (#wip: one of copper)

Synopsis: The current god of death, Illa, came to power during a war between the gods a thousand years ago. A wizard is now trying to start another one, aiming to kill a god and take their place. Illa does not want to see another celestial war. She has no direct influence on the mortal plane, however, and so she outsources the quest to a ragtag group of heroes, when the original group of heroes sends back a memo saying that they're retired, and she can come down herself and make them go herself if she's so insistent.

One of Copper is about a bard named Kairon (he/they) and his friends, Ash (she/her, 60-something blacksmith), Joshua (he/him, quarter-elf fighter with minor nature magic and a massive crush), and Elas (they/them, elf sorcerer who is mildly (read: Very) cursed) & their adventures. Originally this was gonna be high fantasy, then it was gonna be lighthearted high fantasy, and now its gone in the exact opposite direction into high fantasy except much sadder than the original. Its about Death trying to stop a war between the gods that a wizard is trying to start, because the wizard wants to become one. (the goddess of death is called Illa. she's inspired by the Raven Queen in d&d).

UNNAMED, aka Enna's Prequel (PREV: Angel's Daughters) (#wip: ennas prequel)

By the time they were 19 years old, Enna and Anne Helder-Kromlin had been accused of murder once, imprisoned at least three times, and orphaned twice. By the time they were forty, those numbers would be changed to six, fourteen, and one, respectively. They had only ever actually committed four of the murders they were accused of, as Enna liked to remind people. Unfortunately, they had also been the targets of a blood feud, gotten kidnapped then almost killed by a necromancer, and twice had to go into hiding.

This is the backstory of Anne and Enna. Its set approx. 10-20 years before Frost & Fire, and it shows how they ended up where they are now, and their adventures. This is directly based off the original d&d campaign I played with Enna as my PC, and the main plot elements are a necromancer named Eleanor, a murdered brother, blood feuds (of a sort), and various other things. This is unnamed. It was previously called Angel's Daughters, but that rather spoiled the ending.

Silence and Secondhand Souls (#wip: silence and secondhand souls)

Fate is an interesting thing. Some doubt it even exists. Not me. Not anymore. Souls don’t rest until they’ve told their story, and I’ve got a long way to go yet. My friends are dead and so am I, haunting a narrative I never got a choice in. How exactly did that happen, you ask? Let me start at the beginning. Or the end, rather. I died when I was 21 years old.

Silence and Secondhand Souls is a first person POV story, narrated by Alexandra Rovenowa. She is dead. This is the story of how she died, set seventy years or so before Frost & Fire. It is also the story of how history likes to repeat itself, and how sending kids on quests for the sake of the world is bad, and of a kind Death, despite it all. (This is my most dramatic wip. Its a tragedy, and I really, really like it.) This does not have a current wip intro.

#writeblr #writeblr intro #writers on tumblr #creative writing #my current one is almost exactly a year old so i figured it was time for a new one #i need to get the new intros done for the other four

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othcrside · 4 months ago

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with love matsuda @ the ivy september 1st ( @snowkisses )

Marisol was a changed woman. Emerging from the ashes comprised of her past life, encountering death so intimately had shifted something once integral in her. She had attained a heightened sense of fear, a renewed survival instinct, and more situational awareness than she had ever summoned from herself. For years, decades even, she'd succumbed to the fate prescribed to her by a psychiatrist at the ripe age of sixteen — she was eternally cursed, bound by a force beyond her understanding, to remain in a state of uncertainty and thrill. While exciting in the beginning, the novelty began wearing whenever she felt that bullet pierce through her skin and the metal trickle throughout and taint her blood. Life was not precious then; mortality didn't exist to the young witch, always brushing against the hind leg's of death without feeling the tendrils of its fingers grip stubbornly onto the nape of her neck. Finally, when the phenomenon of death had presented itself unto her wholly, she had snapped out of whatever childish frame of mind she'd been stuck in ever since realizing the chains that bound her to her illness for life.

She remembered the interactions that had taken place shortly before the incident, and Love Matsuda's name rang silvery and tempting in her mind whenever her existence resurfaced in the forefront of Marisol's cognizance. She was endlessly grateful that she'd given the young witch the time of the day, even if she was monetarily compensated, and she was hoping that now, they could develop their relationship into something more organic. So, on one dewy morning, she dialed in Love's number and invited her to lunch at the restaurant that she waitressed at — the employee discount, courtesy of her phenomenal employer, was not to be disregarded or underutilized. Despite the nature of the meeting bearing a stark contrast to that of their initial one, Marisol still felt compelled to dress up. She adorned the nicest clothes in her wardrobe: a navy blue cardigan, a very stylish graphic tee-shirt, her favorite thrifted plaid skirt, and, of course, sheer tights that were paired with her newly purchased Converse (she was, at last, convinced to relinquish the older pair that she had possessed since her sophomore year of high school.) After she found their seating, someplace without a draft and nearby the windows, she excitedly thumbed through the menu that she had memorized by heart before her gaze caught on Love's form approaching. "Love!" she exclaimed, a smile bubbling delightfully on her pink-tinged lips. "I'm so glad you could make it. Come, sit! I haven't even ordered yet. Wanna start with some wine?"

#━━ ✦ 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐋 * CHATS ‚ i put my hand on the stove to see if i still bleed .#marisol & love.#i'm so excited for them... i hope this works!! lmk if i should change anything :)

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ravenspeakrp · 6 months ago

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Welcome to Raven’s Peak, Pea, we’re excited to have you! Marisol Gabriela Nunez Acosta (Jeanine Mason Witch) has been accepted. Please be sure to stop by the CHECKLIST for the follow list, tags to track, and other reminders.

OUT OF CHARACTER

NAME: Pea PRONOUNS: She/her AGE: 35 TIMEZONE: PST

IN CHARACTER

FULL NAME: Marisol Gabriela Nunez Acosta SPECIES: Witch AGE: 34 DATE OF BIRTH: May 23rd GENDER IDENTITY: Cis female NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown OCCUPATION: Scammer Freelancer WORKPLACE: Various, Pandemonium POSITIVE TRAITS: Versatile, innovative, thrifty NEGATIVE TRAITS: Manipulative, opportunistic, inconsiderate LENGTH OF TIME IN RAVEN’S PEAK: Born FACE CLAIM: Jeanine Mason

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGER WARNING:scamming/con artist, deadbeat father Being raised by a woman stuck on a terrible, no good, dirty rotten asshat of a man, has certainly made an impact on Marisol. Her father -- by her words, 'sperm donor' is more appropriate -- basically spent his time hopping back and forth between their family and another's, not really providing much in the way of protection or fatherly touch. It was more like, when he got bored, he showed up. And sadly, her mother was more often considered the other woman, or the mistress, who thought she could totally change him to be everything she and her daughter deserved and more.

Nope, she couldn't. But that never stopped her from opening the door any time he decided it was time to see them both again.

Marisol grew up understanding what kind of woman she certainly didn't want to become-- one like her mother, dependent on a man and whatever value she felt he could give to her. Much like the other woman, who had it far worse than they, with several kids from that same deadbeat jackass. At least Marisol's mother was fine to at least have a revolving door of different men from time-to-time. Each one worse than the last. She couldn't fix any of them, either.

But, that seemed to be a low-key curse for the Acosta women. As far back as their lineage went, they never could seem to keep a real relationship. Marisol often jokes that her life is much like that Practical Magic movie, about how the Owens women were troubled with never being able to have real love. Their family of witches were matriarchal and they almost always had girls.

Despite the craft so thoroughly intertwined in her family's history, Marisol herself has never been that great a witch. While her mother has taught her everything she knows and Marisol has embraced the witch aesthetics whole-heartedly, her actual gift is shoddy at best and she doesn't know why. But, that hasn't stopped the woman at all.

She's always been something of a hellion. Her youth was spent causing trouble wherever she went, either on purpose or accident-- she'd claim it just kind of followed her around! A free spirit that never liked to be tied down, Marisol would march to the beat of her own drum and very much lived up to the Gemini ways. Unlike her mother, it was her going through people like tissue. One minute, she'd be with someone and the next, they were old news. She loved hard and fast, and people often described it like a whirlwind. Same with jobs-- she never really had a specific thing in mind and her interests changed on a whim. Like a leaf, she went wherever the wind blew her.

In the past several years, though, Marisol seems to have gotten involved with a lucrative way to earn quick cash and that's usually by scamming the idiots that come through Raven's Peak. Tourists that don't know what they're looking for, don't know what they're talking about, and definitely got no clue about a witch's touch. In her mind, she's not hurting anyone, right? She's got to eat too. She'll do whatever she needs to. Has this landed her in hot water? Oh, on more than one occasion. But Marisol has no plans to stop peddling her fake readings and fake crystals and fake-whatever these poor fools are looking for. Like Ursula, she's merely helping these poor, unfortunate souls!

EXTRAS

FILLING CONNECTION: No INSPIRATIONS: Pinterest

#ravenspeakaccepted #ravenspeakadmin

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chevelleneech · 8 months ago

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I agree with somethings for sure, but I also think a lot of the “worry” on both sides comes from people having such strong bias for their preferred pairing.

I would prefer Buddie, but I am also currently enjoying Buck and Tommy. However, I think the biggest reason people view BuckTommy as potential endgame, is because queer characters very rarely get to have multiple partners on screen unless they are written as promiscuous. But even within the 911 universe, none of the queer characters date around. Hen and Karen are married, Josh is perpetually single, while TK and Carlos, who were set since the Lone Star pilot, are now married. The only gay man to date, was Michael and I think he only had two maybe three boyfriends, only because I think they were looking for an actor who could commit to a contract. David was the third, and they’re now married. Hell, even in Station 19 the bisexual woman slept around until she found her wife (I think they got married), while the gay guy mourned his dead husband for a while only to now be a multi-cheater (from what I’ve seen).

As such, this is why I think Buck’s coming out feels odd to me. Because he is a budding serial monogamist who is now backed into a tired trope that does not allow him space to freely date. At the same time, we have already seen him sleeping around and attempting to find The One. Now, he’s with a man, and because on screen queer relationships after often treated as “Oh, my past partners didn’t work because I didn’t know I only wanted this partner!” it is unlikely we’ll see him have multiple male partners. Tommy has to be The One, because it’s what the trope dictates as well as it’s what a season seven love interest usually means anyway.

Not that a s7 Love Interest is a thing, but very rarely do shows add in love interests they don’t plan to have stick around so late in the game. I do think the show will get at least 10 seasons, but we won’t know that until we do. Which is why it makes sense in theory for Tommy to just be his final partner. However… Tommy and Marisol are essentially on the same playing field, people just don’t want to admit it.

Tommy has a last name, yes, but all we know about him is that he is a former army pilot who was a closeted and rude firefighter during his early to mid 20s, and now he’s an out search and rescue pilot. Which is fine. I have no issues with that level of backstory for where we’re at in their relationship. But I also do not have an issue with how little we know about Marisol right now. It’s less than we know about Tommy, but overall blank enough for Tim to build upon, because he didn't know what to do with her. She is a home renovator who attempted to be a nun, but left the convent behind.

Another thing I don’t think people are taking into consideration, is that both Tommy and Marisol are in s7, solely because Tim Minear didn’t want to start at zero again. He said himself he didn’t drop Marisol because he didn’t want Buck and Eddie to be single at the same time again as we started a new season. He also said he didn’t want to create a new character for the sole purpose of them being Buck’s bisexual awakening, and that he didn’t want to have it be a character disconnected from the core group, because as with Abby, it was too difficult to have them intersect.

So these aren’t storylines that have naturally progressed to where they currently are. Things have been forced, because they were easier to do for the show runner and writers. Which is also fine. Sometimes you have to make do with whatever is easiest, then build from there. The thing is, with both Buck and Eddie, the only thing either of them have yet to experience in a relationship is “endgame.” So Tim has to make the ultimate decision of either having both of their partners stay, both of them leave, or one goes while the other stays.

Either way, the writers have to craft an actual believable romance for Buck and Eddie. Because no matter what anyone says about Tommy being perfect for Buck, he hasn’t done anything to showcase that. Neither has Marisol. She’s showing as much grace and comfort to Eddie as Tommy has shown to Buck, but nothing about either pairing has been romantically charged. BuckTommy is equally as potentially endgame as EddieMarisol, simply because in my opinion, it’s the most realistic outcome based on the very real possibility the show ends at 10 seasons, tv history, and the things Tim said he doesn’t want to revisit.

So if s10 is the last, trying to ignite one or two brand new love interests who feel fleshed out and cared for by viewers will take time away from further fleshing out and tying up storylines for established beloved main characters. Leaving the only other options being Buddie becomes canon or one or both of them end the series single.

And I say Buddie is one of the only other options, because while they have a beautiful platonic friendship, they are also fleshed out and established as individual characters, and don’t require extra writing to involve them in the core group. And one of them being single would at least show the other is capable of being written as happy and in love, despite what shippers want. Whereas both of them being single would leave too much room for people to question why they were the only two mains written as having never found The One.

That said, the reason I don’t see Buddie being endgame is because historically, it’s not a thing that happens. Two well established same sex characters don’t often end a series dating. It’s either given as a last hurrah (Korra), mentioned as a long-held want (Castiel), or said to have been what the creator wanted after the fact (Dumbledore). All of which is alright, you know? Everything has its own context, but I don’t see ABC bothering to push their boundary any further when Henren and BuckTommy are technically enough to do the heavy lifting of the current expectations from the newer eyes on the show.

Henren is established and in love and have been married for years, while Buck and Tommy have likely three more seasons (8, 9, and 10) to develop into an established and longterm couple. So why would the network have them split up? Unless it has already been decided with an absolute “Yes”, that Buck and Eddie will get together at some point in s8, and stay together for the remainder of the series. Or one of them (likely Eddie, because again, Buck can no longer be promiscuous) date around yet otherwise stay single for the remaining seasons.

Here's where I am with Buddie.

[CW: I am using the Buddie tag on this post, even though the gist of it is that I'm increasingly doubtful that it'll ever happen. This is NOT an anti-Buddie essay. If you'd rather not read about this topic, please keep scrolling. The bulk of the essay is behind the cut.]

-------

I've thought a lot about this over the weeks since 7x04 aired. It's not a secret that I'm wildly enthusiastic about the BuckTommy pairing (as are many fans) but what does that mean for my thoughts and opinions about Buddie, a pairing I still love and for which I am still writing fic (slowly but surely…)?

It's become increasingly difficult to reconcile hopes for Buddie with dread for a BuckTommy breakup, but if the show managed to pull off a breakup that did not destroy me, I would still be all in for a Buddie endgame.

But more and more, I don't think it's in the cards, and I'm increasingly okay with that.

First off, I know it's a common assumption that Buck and Tommy have an expiration date, and that it cannot last. That may very well be the case, but…the show is not acting like it, nor are they presenting this arc as if it's short-lived. Episodes 4-6, while also being about other things (especially the amazing Madney wedding plot in 6) were also a bit of a trilogy about Buck discovering his sexuality and taking tentative steps into a relationship with another man. It didn't go…particularly smoothly, but the events of 7x06 where they were concerned had a completely different tone. They had a much more settled vibe in the karaoke club scenes, from Tommy's very boyfriendly "check-in" look before he had to leave, to Buck's casual/distracted "Be safe" (as if he's said this before) and just how they spoke to each other and touched each other was much more comfortable than in the coffee meetup. Which makes me think it's been a few weeks and they've seen each other a few times in the interim.

And then that kiss. Putting aside that it was juxtaposed with a literal wedding kiss, there was nothing uncertain or hesitant about it. It felt like a very arc-capping kiss, coupled with the reveal to the rest of Buck's friends and family, and the clear message was "Okay, they're done 'getting together' now, they are together and will be together going forward, even if we don't see Tommy every episode (much as we don't see Karen every episode)." We know Tommy will be around through the end of S8, if not in every remaining episode. After that, we'll see.

A lot of fans have viewed one of the guys coming out as queer to be a first step towards a Buddie future, but I have to say I've never been super comfortable with that logic. I've always thought that if they were going to get together, or both be revealed to be queer, it would have to be at the same time, with each other, via them getting together. The minute they pulled the trigger on Bisexual Buck, I immediately thought that this made Buddie far less likely. Why?

Because it would mean that the writers/showrunners would be making BOTH their "hot younger firefighter" characters queer…separately. In separate storylines. Distinct from each other. And I just don't see that happening. I'm not saying it SHOULDN'T happen. I'd be over the moon. I'm saying I think that's unlikely.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think Eddie will be written as straight and will continue to be written as straight. I don't disagree with the many examples of queer coding we've all seen - the problem is all of them can be just as easily interpreted as arising from a different trauma. Almost everything we've seen from him that could very legitimately be read as breadcrumbs for a queer identity for him could also be rooted in his trauma over Shannon's death, his family trauma, his PTSD, or his general anxiety over being enough for people. He can be read as having sexuality crises. But he can also be read as having other crises with the same results.

I'm not seeing a sexuality crisis for Eddie in the future. I just don't feel like that's where they're taking him. They're taking him somewhere -- he's got storylines coming up -- but I think they're going to have to do with his family, possibly his friendship with Buck, maybe his relationship (I think we can all agree Marisol isn't going to last, she's like the anti-Tommy in that she's been around way longer but has infinitely less of a presence), and Christopher. That's a lot to deal with just right there. If I'm wrong, I will be delighted to be wrong.

But.

I think the show will continue to prioritize and showcase Buck and Eddie's very deep and emotional friendship, which is revolutionary in its own quiet way. Another thing that makes me think they're setting Tommy up to be a long term love interest is that one of the first things they did with him was affirm that he will not come between Buck and Eddie, give him his own relationship with Eddie and Chris, and have him show that he understands and respects the depth of their bond. Not to mention they've integrated him with the firefam. No other of Buck's love interests have gotten this treatment (Taylor had the most contact with the firefam, but I don't think anyone would say she was integrated, LOL). And it shows how committed they are to maintaining Buck and Eddie's friendship as a key emotional element of the show. Tim has also said this, repeatedly.

People often say that there's no explanation for how Buck and Eddie are with each other if it's not romantic - I read a fantastic essay that pointed out that this statement is the reason their platonic friendship IS so important. Men should be able to be vulnerable and loving with each other without it being romantic, as women can be. If we're unable to see a loving friendship without interpreting it as romantic or sexual, what does that say about the kind of male friendships we see everywhere, that makes this one so different?

I know this is an old anti-Buddie argument and I'm not anti-Buddie nor do I mean it's wrong to see it as romantic. I still do. I'm saying if it's not, if it never is, what it is, is already valuable and special, especially when one of them is now openly queer and dating a man.

Anyway. That's where I am with it, and my interpretation of where the show is with it.

#sorry it’s long

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ravenadottir · 3 years ago

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I have a random question! Love hearing your thoughts (not sure if this has been asked before). Say after the show the s2 characters are asked to be on a reality show (ex big brother, the challenge, ex on the beach) - which characters would be on what show? And are there any that would refuse?

hello there!

i've answered this ask not too long ago, click here to read 💜 and in there i only gave the names of three islanders: lottie, bobby and henrik, because i don't watch/know a lot about reality shows so i just talked about the ones i thought it fit with them. the following islanders wouldn't go back so i'm giving you my reasoning to believe in that.

୪ lucas, hope, marisol, shannon ୪

there are some islanders that i reckon wouldn't be willing to give reality shows another try so they don't get that stain in their name, because they don't want to be considered a "sub-celebrity".

୪ ibrahim ୪

yes, rahim left the show with a girlfriend (if not mc, jo) but that wouldn't last long. plus, he wants to focus on his career as a golf player and the celebrity culture around reality tv could hurt his chances.

୪ priya ୪

possibly got a lot of hate for going after noah the way she did. going back to reality tv means she would have to endure mean comments from other people if she was a contestant, and i don't think she would voluntarily go through it f she could avoid it. plus she's now focusing on her own brand so there's not a lot of time for other stuff. there's also the possibility of her watching back and regretting lots of things.

୪ hannah, gary, kassam, carl ୪

they would consider the stressful situations that involved them during their journey and choose to not go back to reality tv. carl and kassam will have extreme booked schedules after the show, gary wants to focus on his own hobbies and occupation, possibly changing what he does for a living, and hannah is writing her first book, none of them would go down that path again.

୪ chelsea ୪

similar to ibrahim, kassam and carl she's gonna get busy with work for a while. i reckon she has a lot of potential for reality tv but wouldn't go for it again, unless she could host something, like she did on season 3.

୪ people that would do it because ✨fame✨୪

blake, rocco, jo, jakub, felix, arjun, elijah, elisa. all of them have more than good reasoning to go back and try different things. in blake's case i reckon it could also be about love and how to find it. the others would be down for whatever, especially if it's slightly connected to social media and has lots of engagement. elijah and arjun would be down for specifics, like shows that are related to their professions. and as for elisa, it's always good to have your name out of youtube so same goes for her.

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snowdice · 3 years ago

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Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 67]

I started writing this fic while editing my Big Bang story, but am going to continue doing it for other things now that Kill Dear is out. I will write and publish 100 words of the story every time I finish doing whatever task I’m doing. If you’d like to block these proceedings, please feel free to block the tag proofread stories. I will reblog this post with the parts of the story I do today. Edited chapters are linked; everything else I’ve done so far is under the cut.

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30

Got many things to do today, though I do have a meeting in a bit over an hours, so there will be a break.

Chapter 31

Logan waited for a while after Patton left to check on Virgil, but the two never resurfaced. It was odd, Patton would usually remember to come back and get Logan or at least tell them where they were. With a sigh, Logan climbed to his feet to go find them. It took him a while to weave his way through the maze of bushes to them especially because they were suspiciously quiet (Well, suspicious for Patton. Virgil was often unnervingly quiet when alone.) Luckily, he knew the bushes enough after all of these years not to get lost and managed to find the two after a few minutes.

“Ah,” he said, immediately identifying the reason for Patton disappearing.

“Logan!” Patton said, his voice excited, but also quieter than normal. “We found a kitty!”

“I can see that,” Logan responded, taking a step closer. The cat hissed at him in response. The hissing was so intense and wild that he’d suspect the thing was feral if it wasn’t happily on Virgil’s lap having had it’s head in Patton’s lap before Logan had approached.

“No,” Virgil told the animal as though it could understand words. “That’s Logan. Be nice.”

The cat still glared at him and swished it’s tail back and forth threateningly. Virgil pet the top of it’s head and it broke eye contact with Logan to purr.

Patton seemed delighted by the purring, reaching to stroke under the thing’s chin carefully. “We should give her a name!” Patton said.

Virgil frowned. “I thought her name was Ghost Kitty.”

“That is ‘Ghost Kitty’?” Logan asked skeptically. From what Patton had said about that cat, it was terrified of people and no one could ever get near it, even him. Now it was in Virgil’s lap?

“But that was a temporary name,” Patton said, “for before we officially met her. Now we have to give her a real name.”

“Do not give it a name,” Logan said. “You will get attached.”

“How do you name a cat?” Virgil asked.

“Do not name it,” Logan said.

“You give them names based on their personalities, how they look, or even just because it’s a cute name,” Patton explained. “Like, remember Mittens? I named her Mittens because she has white fur and black paws!”

Virgil looked at the cat. “She’s completely black,” he said.

Patton hummed. “So, we could give her a name based on that like Midnight or Shadow.”

“Those are fine,” Virgil said.

“No, no,” Patton said. “I’m just giving you examples. You get to name her yourself.”

“This is a bad idea,” Logan said.

“Just throw out some names,” Patton said. “Anything you can think of.”

“Uh,” Virgil said. “Knife.”

“…Just Knife?” Patton asked.

“Nightmare.” Virgil seemed to think about it. “No, that’s mean.”

“How about things you like?” Patton suggested.

“Alfredo?”

Oh no, Logan thought, he was worse than Patton at cat naming.

“Good start,” Patton said. “Logan, do you have any suggestions.”

“Cat,” Logan said.

“Real suggestions,” Patton scolded.

Logan sighed and thought for a moment. “Aphrodite.”

“Catphrodite!”

Logan glared at him. “Helena.”

“Helenpaw.”

“Claudia.”

“Clawdia.”

“Persephone.”

Patton smiled at him, cheerfully.

“…Damnit!”

Patton turned to Virgil again. “Like that! They don’t even have to be serious. Like, uh, you could name her Madam Fluffywuffykins the Great!”

“Do not name her that,” Logan said, scrunching up his nose.

Logan sat on the ground, the cat eyeing him, but no longer hissing. Logan gently guided them towards more sensible names despite Patton trying his hardest to drag them into stupidity.

Virgil still didn’t quite get it. He mostly tried to name it after foodstuff, and often not even appropriate foodstuff such as “Corn” and “Acorn Squash” and “Sandwich” and occasionally would drop in semi violent ones such as “Razor,” “Nightshade” and “Void.” Patton suggested names like “Fluffers,” “Bobette” and “Darling” as well as some that were puns. Logan tried to direct them towards more sensible ones like “Salem” and even went so low as to suggest the contrary “Snowball.”

It quickly seemed to become less about actually naming the cat and more of a game. Patton had taught Virgil about playing with cats and had even gotten out a ball of yarn he cared around for his crafts. Both Virgil and the cat seemed to find endless entertainment with that. Logan hoped Patton had another ball of yarn that color because, he was never going to get that ball back.

The barrage of names fizzled out into naming things around them like “Leaf” and “Bush” until they stopped suggesting names altogether. Patton and Logan sat back and watched Virgil play with the cat.

Logan watched as they stopped playing suddenly and Virgil and the cat squinted at each other. “Marisol,” Virgil said, pulling the name out of nowhere. “That’s her name.” He said it with a certainty that was surprising considering how he’d treated the naming process with confusion and caution earlier. If Logan did not know better, his tone of voice would indicate that the cat, or Marisol he guessed, had gotten bored of them coming up with stupid names and decided to tell him her actual name herself.

The cat made a sound and batted at Virgil’s face without claws to grab back his attention.

He turned back to it and bopped its face with a finger in kind. It attacked his finger, but in a clearly playful matter as it still did not extend it’s claws and its teeth did not draw blood.

“That’s a great name, Virgil,” Patton said.

“Much more pleasant than any that Patton suggested all afternoon,” Logan said. He received an elbow to the side for his quip.

“A pretty name for a pretty kitty,” Patton said, scooting over to where Virgil was sat and attempting to pet Marisol’s head. Marisol, however, was too keyed up and batted at the hand.

“I love you too!” Patton said.

Logan rolled his eyes, but he had long since resigned himself to watching the two of them play with and coo over the cat for the rest of the day.

Eventually, though, it started to get darker. Even after Logan pointed this out, it still took over an hour for them to relent and leave the bush maze to go to the door. The problem was of course, that the cat had managed to grow very attached to Virgil in the last few hours and she followed them all the way to the door with manipulatively heart breaking mews.

“You’ve got to stay out here,” Virgil said, when they got to the castle door. He pet her ear softly and she shoved her head into his hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t have anywhere to put you.” He sounded horribly sad about that fact and Logan felt himself shift uncomfortably. “I basically live in a closet and Logan doesn’t like cats in his room anyway.”

Logan immediately felt unreasonably guilty, probably more so because Logan did not think Virgil was trying to make him feel guilty. “…Bring the dammed thing inside.”

Virgil blinked up at him. “What?”

“It will get cold soon anyway,” Logan said.

He frowned at Logan from where he was crouched. “But you don’t like fur in your room…”

“I will have to find a potion that works,” he said with a sigh, “and we’ll have to say it’s mine to the guards and Father since it will be staying in my room, but it is yours in every other way. That means you are going to feed it, clean it, and clean up after it.”

Virgil nodded immediately and swooped Marisol up in his arms. The cat went without complaint. “Thank you!” he said. “I love her.”

“I know you do,” Logan said, already regretting it already. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to even consider recanting the offer considering how happy Virgil seemed to be. They had a cat now, he guessed.

Chapter 32

“What are you doing?” Helen asked a few minutes after her son walked into the kitchen and started looking around as though he were trying to find something. It was a few hours into the afternoon, and she and a few workers were already prepping for dinner.

“Uh,” Patton said. “Have you seen Virgil?”

“No,” Helen said. “Why.”

“Er… Logan and I sorta, lost him,” Patton said. He was wringing his hands anxiously. Helen put down the knife in her hand.

“What do you mean you lost him?” she asked.

“Well, see, we were trying to teach him how to play hide and seek, um, but then we didn’t think to tell him that he eventually had to come out if we didn’t find him, and now we haven’t seen him since breakfast.”

“He didn’t know what tag is?” she asked. That was just one more thing to add to the list of why Helen worried about Virgil and where he came from. Every morsel of information she’d managed to wring from Patton despite his evasions made her lists of concerns grow larger, even little things like him not knowing about simple childhood games. Actually, thinking of concerning things having to do with Virgil. “Wait, so he hasn’t eaten lunch.”

“Um, we don’t know that,” Patton’s mouth said while his eyes said ‘no.’

“He needs to be on a consistent diet, especially when he’s still taking the malnutrition potion,” she scolded.

“I know, Mama, I know,” Patton said. “I’m trying to find him. I’d kinda hoped he’d gotten hungry and snuck down here. He probably wouldn’t want to risk being caught stealing food though.”

Helen grimaced. Yet another concerning thing.

“Wait! I have an idea, I’ll be right back.” Patton turned and ran out of the room. Helen frowned at the space he’d been and finished chopping the carrot on the cutting board in front of her. If it had been any other person in the castle missing, Helen wouldn’t have worried, but she had literally never seen Virgil without Patton and/or Logan by his side. Even when he’d gone to help Jeff can some fruit, Logan had reportedly hung around to read a book.

Considering that Logan had never exactly been clingy even with Patton, she imagined that either Virgil asked, or Logan thought he should stay with him for his comfort. So, she was surprised that he was apparently hidden away somewhere in the castle where neither of the other kids could find him.

Still thinking about this, she walked over to the entrance to the cellar below the kitchen where they stored most of the vegetables, planning to grab some more carrots. She was confused for a moment when she heard movement from deeper in the pantry. She reached over and touched the panel near the door that controlled the magic lights.

The newly illuminated figure startled as the lights came on, whipping around to stare at her with wide eyes.

“Virgil?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he said immediately, taking a step back.

“It’s fine,” she said immediately, “but what are you doing here?”

He considered her for a long moment, but apparently, she passed some sort of mental test, because he relaxed, at least as much as he’d ever relaxed in her presence. “Where are we?” he asked.

Her brow knit together. “The cellar under the kitchen,” she said, “You don’t know that?”

He shook his head.

“The only entrance is from the kitchen.” Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him go through the kitchen at any point.

“No, it’s not,” Virgil said. “There’s a tunnel.”

“A-a tunnel?” she asked. Actually, taking a closer look at him, he seemed a bit grimy. He had dust all over his front and dirt on his nose. She thought he might even have a couple of cobwebs in his hair.

“Yep,” he said.

“Where’s the tunnel?” she asked.

“It’s right over here,” he said. He took a couple of steps and pointed to the ground. There was an open square hole there that clearly had been made a long time ago but which she had never noticed in all of her time working here.

“How did you find this?” she asked.

“We were playing hide and seek,” Virgil explained. “Logan said I could hide anywhere inside the castle. I hid on top of a dresser upstairs in some unused sitting room. There was a hole in the wall above it, so I climbed into it. Then, I crawled a little bit and it let out into a hidden passage in the walls. I wandered around in it until I found another hole in one of the walls. I thought it was a way out, so I squeezed into it, but it took me to a different hallway where I found an old room. There was a different hole in that room that had probably been covered by something because it was in the floor but whatever it was had rotted away. I crawled though it into a tunnel and came out here.”

She couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his explanation. “Well, it sounds like you went on an adventure,” she said, “but Patton and Logan have been trying to find you. You missed lunch.”

He tilted his head at her. “I know. I was supposed to hide.”

“Yes,” she explained, “but you are supposed to come out at some point if they can’t find you for things like food.”

“Oh,” he said.

“They probably should have explained,” she said. “For now, why don’t we get you something to eat? You must be hungry.”

Virgil frowned. “But I missed lunch.”

“You can still eat even though it’s not in normal hours,” she said. “You could even if you had made it to lunch.”

“Really?” he asked, he looked tragically confused by this offer.

“Of course, sweetie,” she said. “In fact, I insist you get something good to eat right now. How about I made you a grilled ham and cheese sandwich? Maybe some cookies too!”

Virgil titled his head. “You are Patton’s mother,” he stated.

Helen laughed softly. “He gets its all from me,” she said. “We should probably go find him and tell him you’re okay. He was worried.”

“I didn’t mean to worry him,” Virgil said with a frown.

“I know,” Helen said. “It’s okay. He’ll probably laugh when he figures out where you’ve been, and Logan will interrogate you all about the secret passageways.” He seemed happy about the prospect of seeing his friends. “Come on, let’s go upstairs for a bit,” she said.

Chapter 33

Patton’s mom had already made Virgil sit down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen and had handed him a sandwich by the time Patton barreled into the kitchen, Logan coming after him at a more sedate pace.

“Virgil!” he said, sounding surprised and relieved.

“Patton,” Patton’s mom scolded. “No cats in the kitchen.” Patton had brought Marisol in with him and had let her go as soon as he’d seen Virgil. She immediately plodded over to him and hoped onto the table to sniff at his face in greeting.

“But she’s the princess!” Patton argued.

“No,” Logan said.

“Yes, she is!” Patton said.

“The stupid cat is not a princess.”

“Don’t be mean to your little sister, Logan.”

“I regret every life decision that has led me to this point.”

While Logan and Patton were distracted squabbling and Patton’s mom was distracted watching them squabble, Virgil tore off a bit of the ham in his sandwich and offered it to Marisol. Marisol gracefully took it from his grip and ate it.

“So, this is Logan’s new cat I’ve been hearing about?” Patton’s mom asked.

“Indeed,” Logan said, his lips thinned. He and Marisol were mostly amicable when alone with just them and Virgil, but Patton had a habit of cooing over the kitten and needling Logan into being irritated.

“Mmm, yeah,” Patton’s mom said. She glanced over at Virgil right as Marisol basically slammed her face into his chin in a bid to get pets. “Your cat.” She shook her head. “But Princess Kitten or not, I do not want fur in dinner,” she said.

“Sorry,” Patton said, honestly not sounding sorry at all. Virgil was always a bit surprised when the insolent shrug garnered nothing more that a scowl that did not reach Patton’s mom’s eyes. “I thought she could help me find Virgil, but you already found him.” He turned to Virgil. “Where have you been all day?”

“Found a tunnel,” Virgil said. He had to use one hand to hold Marisol back from his sandwich as he took another bite, but then gave her a bite of cheese.

“You found what?” Logan asked.

“There’s a tunnel under the cellar,” Virgil said. “It goes to an old closed up room and also to a set of secret passageways.” It was a bit of a security risk honestly, though clearly no one had used it in years by how dirty it was. He did plan to go back into it and make sure the sprawling tunnels didn’t go to anywhere more dangerous like the royal wing.

“A closed-up room?” Logan said. He could see a bit of curiosity already building in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Virgil said. “Where the door used to be seemed like it had been bricked over.”

“Really? Can you show me.”

“Sure,” Virgil answered.

“Ah, perhaps we should be a bit more cautious about climbing through random tunnels we don’t know the stability of,” Patton’s mom said.

Logan’s frown edged on a pout.

“Talk to your father,” she said. “I’m sure he can get someone who understands these things so you can safely investigate.”

“It was safe enough for Virgil,” Logan pointed out.

“No, Logan.”

He sighed but seemed to concede. That was another strange thing about living here. By all rights Logan didn’t have to obey anyone except the king, but he often listened to those around him, not just the adults but Patton as well. It was interesting though it sometimes made the hierarchy hard to figure out. Virgil did sometimes stress out about the hypothetical situation where he got conflicting orders from two people, and he wouldn’t know which one to obey. So far it hadn’t been a problem luckily. They always seemed to work it out amongst themselves in some give and take social interaction that was a bit too complex for him to understand.

Patton walked over to where Virgil was sitting. “I’m glad your safe,” he said. “We should probably put a time limit on hide and seek in the future, so you know when to come out.”

“Did I win?” Virgil asked. He’d honestly forgotten they’d been playing a game until Patton’s mom had asked how he’d found his way into the cellar.

Patton laughed. “I’d say so, yeah,” he replied. He leaned over to kiss Virgil’s forehead, but drew back immediately with a pinched expression. “You are… very dirty,” he said, rubbing his mouth.

Virgil nodded. “Your mom made me sit on a tablecloth,” he said gesturing to the fabric she’d laid over the chair.

Patton snorted out a laugh. “We’ll get you into the bath when you’re done eating and you can tell us all about your little adventure.”

“I would also like to hear about your discoveries,” Logan said. “Though you are not allowed to sit on the bed until you do not have spider webs in your hair.”

Patton’s eyes widened and he jumped away from Virgil, startling both Virgil and Marisol. The latter hopped from the table onto Virgil’s lap. “Spiders?!”

Virgil tilted his head at him in confusion.

“He isn’t a fan of spiders,” Logan informed him, his voice amused at Patton’s reaction.

Apparently deciding that she was no longer startled, but more confused by the noises Patton had just made, Marisol jumped out of Virgil’s lap to investigate, wrapping her way around Patton’s legs. He bent down to pat her back, though he still looked a bit startled.

“Your cat, huh?” Patton’s mom asked Logan once again. Virgil studied her. She had apparently missed Logan mentioning that he allowed Virgil on the bed. Or perhaps Logan was correct in his insistence that it wasn’t actually that big of a deal here. Virgil would rather not test that assumption, however, so was glad that it had been distracted from by Patton’s outburst.

“Creepy, crawly death dealers,” Patton mumbled into Marisol’s fur, having picked her back up. Virgil made a note to not inform Patton of all of the different types of spiders he’d seen skittering around in the castle walls today. Maybe he’d talk about them with Logan once Patton left. He’d probably be interested. Virgil had seen some he’d never seen before! Logan probably could even help him figure out what their names were. “You’ll protect me, won’t you kitty?” Patton asked Marisol.

She made a little ‘burrrr’ sound in response, which Patton seemed to take a confirmation.

“Aw thank you, baby! Such a good baby.”

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Virgil popped the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. Patton’s mom turned away and grabbed a plate stacked with cookies. She handed it to Logan. “Take these, and please get the health hazards out of my kitchen,” she requested.

Logan took them without complaint. “Come on, Virgil,” he said. “Let’s go get you clean.”

“We’re going to need so much soap,” Patton said.

Virgil looked down at himself. “I can go outside and get most of it off if you get me a bucket of water,” he offered.

“Virgil, it’s below freezing,” Logan said as though that had a baring on what he’d just said. Logan sighed. “No. Bathtub.” Virgil shrugged. “Honestly,” Logan said. He turned with the plate of cookies in his hand, clearly expecting to be followed. “You’re not going to catch your death pouring a bucket of water over yourself in the cold when there are literally over a hundred perfectly good bathtubs in this castle. For goodness sakes.” And well, Virgil wasn’t going to complain.

Chapter 34

Patton, to be completely honest, was not all that interested in the room that Virgil had found. Beyond just the fact that it would definitely have creepy crawly death dealers in it, he really did not understand the intrigue. If it had just been him, he probably would have just let a castle worker deal with it, but it was not just him. Logan was ecstatic with the prospect of investigating a secret in the castle. People who didn’t know him well may not believe it considering he spent most of his time with his nose in a book, but he was an adventurer at heart.

Thomas had been easily swayed into finding someone to help tear down part of the wall into the secret tunnel near the room (so no one would have to crawl through the kitchen cellar like Virgil). It had taken a few days, however, and Logan was practically bouncing off the walls waiting. Virgil, despite having already seen the room before, also seemed excited, though if that was because of his own curiosity or because he was just excited that Logan seemed so exited remained to be seen.

“They are silly, aren’t they,” Patton asked Princess Marisol. He was laying on his stomach on Logan’s bed and Princess Marisol had just put her little paw on his nose.

“Yes, I agree,” he said. “Don’t they know that we’re literally going to be 2 feet away from the normal hallway?”

“It is not silly,” Logan defended himself. “Any number of things could go wrong.” He sounded far too excited about the prospect of something going terribly wrong. “The tunnels could cave in and block off the exit or there could be some unknown pathogen in the air.”

Patton did not ruin his fun by mentioning that Logan’s dad had definitely basically baby proofed the tunnels for them ahead of time. Instead, he just said, “Don’t let Virgil hear you say that sort of thing. It will just stress him out.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he said, waving off Patton’s concerns as he mulled over two different weird green planty things (potion ingredients, Patton assumed) before setting one aside and sticking the other in his bag.

“So silly,” Patton cooed at the cat. Logan let out a huff but did not choose to say anything about it this time.

Speaking of silly, Virgil came back from Logan’s bathroom then, and Patton tried not to giggle. “Is this right?” Virgil asked, sounding and looking confused. Logan, in his overexcitement about adventure had commissioned Virgil an outfit that actually fit. Said outfit, however, very much made it look more like Virgil was going on a safari instead of a two-foot detour from the normal castle hallway.

“Almost,” Logan said, “Here, let me.” Logan started straightening everything out and flattening the collar, reminding Patton of an overbearing parent on picture day. Virgil accepted the fussing without protest. It was adorable. Well, the outfit was ridiculous, but still, adorable. “There,” Logan said. “I think we’re ready to go now.”

It was about time. Patton was sure people were already waiting for them downstairs. Patton got up and patted Princess Marisol on the head. She looked up at them with interest.

“You can stay here, sweetie,” Patton told here. She seemed to consider it and then hopped down from the bed to go rub up against Virgil.

Patton guessed she was coming. It didn’t matter too much since Logan had given her a magical collar that allowed her to open most doors in the castle and everyone knew she was the royal cat now, so if she decided she wanted to come back to the room and nap, she could. (She was very aware of the power she held.)

She pranced happily by Virgil’s side all the way down the steps to the first floor of the castle. She was such a good kitty.

Well, she did hiss angrily at everyone who came too close to them, but still, a very good kitty.

Patton did lean down and pick her up so they could actually talk to the man waiting for them at the large hole in the wall. Logan went to talk to the castle worker while Virgil half hid behind Patton. He was clearly listening very intently to the conversation however, at least more intently than Patton was. Patton was busy shaking his head fondly.

“Yes, yes, Princess,” he said to the cat. “I know we do not trust the strangers, but I promise this stranger is perfectly safe.”

“How do you know?” Virgil asked.

“His name is Chester and I’ve known him since I was 9.”

This seemed to slightly alleviate Virgil’s suspicion, but Princess Marisol still seemed antsy. Patton really needed to start slowly introducing the both of them to more people.

Logan finished talking with Chester after a few moments and it was time to climb through the hole in the wall. He wished he saw in the tunnel whatever Logan with his excited eyes and bounce to his step obviously saw. Or even that was more comfortable in the dark closed in space as Virgil obviously was. As it was, Patton’s nose scrunched up at the thought off all of the spiders that could be living everywhere in the secret tunnel, but he pushed through.

The entrance to the tunnel had been made only a little bit from the room Virgil had mentioned and Chester had led them through it after only a couple of seconds. As Patton had suspected, the room was already lit up and probably cleaned a little bit by the people who had cut into the wall, not that he was complaining.

Virgil was still clinging a bit to Patton’s shirt, though it seemed to be less out of anxiety at this point and more out of a desire to stick close. He was peering around curiously at the lit-up space. He probably hadn’t seen much of it in the dark when he’d been here before.

Yet, his curiosity was nothing compared to how excited Logan seemed to be. Now Patton may have not been interested in the room itself, but he was entertained by how interested Logan was and was happy to encourage that.

“What do you think this place is?” he asked Logan.

Logan hummed contemplatively, eyes looking around. “Well,” he said. “It’s a bedroom clearly, and old. Considering the location it is in in the castle, the size, the decorations, and it’s likely age, I’d imagine it was a bedroom of a royal family member. This used to be the royal wing three royal lines ago.”

“Bearing that in mind, there are a couple of likely possibilities for the origin of the room as well as the reason it was sealed up, but we will need to investigate more in order to come to an actual conclusion.” He had already placed the bag he’d brought on the ground and was going through it, pulling out things that Patton did not recognize. He also got a piece of paper and sat on the floor to start to sketch.

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked.

“I’m sketching the floorplan of the room,” Logan said. “I will then put a grid on it so we can investigate while being sure that we aren’t missing anything.”

Virgil seemed uninterested in this part of the adventure, instead electing to go poking around by himself. Princess Marisol squirmed out of Patton’s arms to go follow him. Patton swore that he only looked away from those two for 5 seconds, but the next thing he knew he heard metal clicking against metal.

“Oh,” Patton said, eyes wide when he saw what Virgil was fiddling with. “Honey, you probably shouldn’t touch…”

The old but fancy looking chest that had been at the end of the remains of the bed creaked open. Virgil sneezed as a cloud of dust puffed out of it. “Huh,” he said studying the contents. “There’s a skull in here.”

“Oh, I don’t like this adventure anymore,” Patton commented.

Logan was on his feet within moments. “Let me see,” he said eagerly.

“What if it’s cursed?” Patton pointed out.

“Then I’ll just break the curse,” Logan waved him off. “Oh, it’s just a horse skull,” Logan said, sounding disappointed. “And also what seemed to be potion ingredients. Though they seem very fresh considering the state of the room.”

“Maybe we should get someone else to…”

Logan already had both arms inside the chest and was pulling things out of it. “This chest must have some sort of stasis effect to it.”

He started pulling things out to look at them before setting them on the floor with no caution. “Well,” he said, “that answers the question of what this room is.”

“It does?” Patton asked.

“Ah, yes, between the horse skull and the potion ingredients, this is obviously the bedroom of Princess Marianne Elicia. She was the third child of King Simon IV and was quite the fan of horses.”

“…So she kept a horse skull in a stasis chest in her bedroom?” Patton asked.

“Of course,” Logan said. “Back when her family was in power, magic was outlawed and had quite the stigma against it, but she ended up learning magic and become quite proficient.”

“It’s debated what exactly happened when her father found out about her activities. Some sources say that she was executed silently by her father, but others say she managed to escape with the head of the stables but not before putting a curse on the country of Prijaznia. That is until she or one of her bloodline sits on the throne, every royal line will end in madness and blood by the 5th seated monarch before an heir is born.”

“Isn’t that something you should be worried about?” Virgil asked.

Logan shrugged. “It’s just a myth,” he said. “Besides I’m 6th in the line, so there really isn’t any concern.”

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“There are a lot of interesting things in here,” Logan said, still focused on the chest. “Not to mention the books. We’ll have to be careful with those though since they don’t appear to be in stasis.”

Logan pulled the horse skull out and set it on the floor making Patton wince.

“Marisol no!” he said as Princess Marisol immediately went to go sniff at it. He swooped her up in his arms. “How long are we staying in this creepy room?” Patton asked.

“Patton, we just got here,” Logan said.

“We just got here and already found a skull!”

“Yes! Exactly!”

Patton groaned into Princess Marisol’s fur even as she tried wiggle away to go back and investigate the skull. This was going to be a long day.

Chapter 35

Logan was surprised when he woke up alone in bed. He’d grown to anticipate waking to a smaller body unrelentingly clinging to his in the past couple of weeks. Confused he sat up and peered around his bedroom. He wouldn’t have seen Virgil with the way he melted into the darkness if it he hadn’t heard the sound of purring coming from near the window. He could just barely make out a dark blob shifting up and down at the cat kneaded at a different blob sitting mostly hidden behind the thick curtain.

“Virgil?” Logan questioned. “What are you doing?”

“It’s snowing,” was the answer.

“That is not an answer,” Logan grumbled at the ceiling. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of bed. It was a bit chilly in here, he thought. The temperature must have dipped suddenly and intensely enough that the runes keeping the castle at a warm enough temperature hadn’t caught up yet. He pulled one of the blankets off of the top of his bed to wrap around his shoulders as he approached the window. There wasn’t much light outside, the stars and moon covered by clouds, but there were some lanterns lit for the night guard who patrolled the outside. “Oh,” he said in surprise. “It’s really snowing.”

It had been colder but not quite cold enough for snow to stick the day before, so it came as a surprise when he saw snow was piling up quite high to the point where familiar paths outside his window had disappeared.

“I don’t like it,” Virgil informed him.

“Why not?” Logan asked.

“It’s cold,” Virgil answered. It was clear in his tone that in Virgil’s opinion ‘cold’ was a horrible insult to the concept of snow. Logan quirked a half smile and his attention was drawn to the fact that it was quite cold right here close to the window.

Frowning, he pulled at the blanket around his shoulder so he could wrap it and his arm around the lump that was Virgil. He brushed the boy’s hand when he did so and found it was like ice.

“You’re freezing!” Logan said. “How long have you been by the window?”

“I dunno,” he replied.

Logan was already tugging at him. “You need to get back in bed,” he said.

Virgil obeyed the pulling at his arms even as he frowned. “I’ve been colder than this before,” he said.

“That actually doesn’t make me feel better,” Logan replied dryly as he shooed him towards the bed.

He took the thicker blanket that usually stayed folded at the end of the bed and pulled it up over Virgil before climbing into bed beside him.

“There,” Logan said, rubbing Virgil’s arms through the fabric of the sweater he wore to bed. He was glad he wasn’t wearing a t-shirt at least. “The runes for heating the castle should catch up within a few hours, but until then this should do. Assuming we don’t sit by the freezing window for an undetermined amount of time.”

“I don’t like the cold,” Virgil told him.

Logan sighed. “Then why did you sit by the window?”

Virgil shrugged and ducked his head a bit. Logan reached out to grab his hands to help him warm more but was surprised when one of the hands was much warmer than the other. He found his fingers were clutching a crescent shaped stone: the protection charm they’d made. Logan knew that he kept it in his pocket most of the time, but he didn’t normally see him holding it like this. It was warm to the touch, of course, indicating the safety of the room around them.

Logan looked over his face. “Are you…” he said. “Scared of the snow?”

“I don’t like the cold,” he said once again.

“You’re scared of the winter,” Logan concluded. He looked at Virgil who was far too small for his age and seemed surprised at every casual act of kindness. It was clear that his basic needs were far from being met before he came here. Logan had to wonder what winter usually meant for him. His experiences were doubtlessly very different from Logan’s own. “That makes sense,” he acknowledged, “but you don’t need to be scared of it here. The castle is always perfectly warm and safe in the winter and Mr. Deknis and Ms. Heart work hard during the other seasons to make sure we have plenty of food. There is nothing to fear here.”

He did not seem convinced.

“You don’t even have to go outside if you don’t want to,” Logan promised. “The castle is plenty big if you’d like to stay inside all winter long. It was made for the winter even without the magic devices that keep it warm. We have fireplaces and well insulated rooms even if those that ends up failing.” Logan pulled open the hand that had the protection charm just to transfer it to his other hand to warm it. “Though, while no one would force you to go outside, the snow isn’t always bad.”

“Yes it is,” Virgil said, his voice sure.

“Not all the time,” Logan insisted. “Some people love the snow.”

“They’re stupid.”

Logan laughed. “It can be fun for a while with the right equipment if you have someplace to get warm again afterwards. Royal duties slow down during the winter and Patton tends to come up with all sorts of games for both the inside and the outside to pass the time. He’s particularly proficient at snowball fights, at least against me.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Play fighting,” Logan answered. “Like pillow fights, but snow.”

“I’ll stick with the pillows,” he replied.

“And then there’s a hill to sled down on the western side of the castle, and people like to build snowmen along the path.”

“What are snowmen?” Virgil asked.

They’re temporary statues made out of packed snow,” Logan explained. “Typically, they’re made of three different sized balls of snow: the largest being the base and the smallest the ‘head’ though there are some variations. After building them one typically decorates them with different articles of clothing and objects found lying around. It’s usually sticks and rocks for the face and then things like extra hats and scarfs for decoration.” He smiled softly. “When my Pa was alive, we used to steal my Dad’s crown and fanciest robes. Sometimes Pa would steal it right off of Dad’s head and we’d run away. We’d find a secluded area of the castle yards and build the biggest snowman we could as quickly as we could before we got caught. He’d usually end up letting us keep the robes, but we’d have to give the crown back since some of the metals in it would rust when wet.”

“That sounds…” Virgil’s nose twitched. “fun if you take away the touching snow part.”

Logan laughed. “It is fun,” he said. “Even with the touching snow part. Though, I admit that some of the ability for it to be entertaining does come from the fact that we could warm up afterwards with ease. You’ll enjoy Patton’s mother’s constant offering of hot chocolate during the season even if you never go outside, I’m sure.”

“Hot chocolate?” Virgil asked intrigued. His dark eyes shone brightly in the little light coming through the window. It was clear he could guess something about the drink just by the name and enjoyed the implications.

Logan smiled fondly. “It is a hot drink,” he explained. “It’s a warm drink made out of milk and chocolate. I can get you some to try in the morning.”

Virgil nodded, eyes still wide with interest.

“For now, we should sleep though,” Logan said. “Are you warm enough? I can get more blankets.”

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Good,” Logan said, reaching up and adjusting the blanket over them once more, tucking it around Virgil a little bit for good measure. “Goodnight Virgil,” he said.

“Goodnight,” he replied softly. Logan reached under the blankets to grab the hand that was still slightly chilly from the window between his own. Virgil’s eyes slipped closed after a moment as he nuzzle his face into the pillow. At some point they both drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 36

Thomas had already been well aware that winter was on the way, but he and the rest of the castle occupants had been surprised at how intensely and suddenly it had come on. Most things were ready for the winter, but not all of them had been initiated. The fireplaces that took some pressure off the castle heating runes were cleaned out and ready, but they hadn’t been started yet. The stables for different animals on the grounds had been checked over and staff assignments had been made, but most were still in far out fields. Staff that went home for the winter months had been dismissed, but there were a few stragglers that would have to be helped home before things got worse.

He’d gone out to the main stable to talk to the three workers that were the heads of different areas of animal husbandry to make sure a plan to get everything to where it needed to be soon was in place. It took a while to figure out considering that they’d expected a little more time before the first major snowfall. Thomas also asked them to make sure all of the workers’ homes were in good enough condition for the weather. Ranch hands typically had homes on castle grounds but not in the castle themselves since they needed to be close to the animals. Thomas knew at least half a dozen of those who spent most of their times out in the fields were the type to forgot to maintain their homes because they preferred camping amongst the animals in the summer months and then would be in for a bad time when snow began to fall.

There should be enough extra rooms in the castle if they needed a place to stay until repairs could be done.

Those conversations took a good couple of hours, before Thomas was satisfied. Before trudging back to the castle through the still falling snow, he made a point to stop at one specific horse stall in the main stable. The horse turned his head to see Thomas when he stopped in front of his stall and puffed out a rather disaffected snort before sticking his head over the gate so Thomas could pat his nose. “Hello, Mr. Apples,” Thomas said.

The horse seemed to conclude he’d tolerated Thomas’s petting enough and ducked his head to nudge at his torso. Thomas rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes,” he said. “I brought you an apple. Some things never change.” He reached into his pocket to grab the red apple he’d brought the white Arabian. “At least you don’t bite me anymore.” He paused, apple slice in hand and eyed the horse’s nose suspiciously. “Do not bite me,” he said even though he hadn’t felt the animal’s teeth in a decade. It would be just like Mr. Apples to wait until his guard was down.

After a bit of scrutiny, he offered an apple slice. It was snatched out of his hand and there was a loud crunch as it was bit into.

“It’s snowing out,” he told the horse. The horse seemed to roll his eyes at the statement of the obvious. “I’ll remind again that if you run out in a snowstorm, I’m not running after you, so you’d be out of luck.”

Mr. Apples snorted.

“You’re old now. You’d probably not survive long enough for people to find you. Besides, you blend in with that white fur of yours. They’d probably walk right past you a few times.”

He went back to nosing for treats as soon as he finished his first and Thomas sighed, pulling out another apple slice. “What are they not feeding you enough?” The gusto with which the horse snatched the apple slice was a very clear answer. “Well, we both know that’s not true.” Thomas fed the horse a third slice of apple when he was done with his second. “I have to get back to the castle now. Don’t be a devil horse.”

Mr. Apples threw his head a bit, splattering apple smelling foamy spittle all over Thomas’s front.

“Understood. Have a nice afternoon.”

He left Mr. Apples in his stall then, knowing he’d be well cared for no matter how ill-tempered he could be at times. He’d been a king’s horse once, after all, no matter that said king had been dead for more than a decade now.

Winters were hard.

Winters were the times when things always slowed down at the castle, where royal duties were often thin. There were a lot of memories in winter.

The trip back to the castle was not particularly long, but it was also not particularly pleasant. The snow had not been cleared away considering it was still snowing which meant his feet and legs were wet and cold by the time he made it to the nearest castle door.

He wasn’t sure if, when he entered, the castle heating runes had started to work in earnest or if he’d just been so cold that any measure of warmth was appreciated, but he was relieved to be out of the snow either way.

He decided to check up on the progress of the castle staff lighting the fireplaces. With any luck, they’d be lit already, and he could warm up even more. That in mind, he headed towards the main foyer where the largest fireplace in the castle sat to take off the chill brought in by the large front doors.

The main foyer was bustling with activity when he snuck in along the sides, giving the guards stationed around nods as he passed. The main fire in the room was burning brightly, though only one of the two smaller ones near the side exits from the room was lit. The other one was still being set up with safety mechanisms. It was good progress and assuming other areas of the castle were being set up as efficiently, he assumed they’d all be set up by nightfall.

He’d need to go check around to be sure, but for now, he walked up to the main fireplace to warm his hands.

He’d gotten into the habit when he was younger to every so often glance upwards. There had been a certain stable boy who had a propensity for climbing trees. These days, he usually found nothing when he did so, often not even consciously noticing that he’d turned his gaze momentarily skywards. Yet, today, he was startled out of his own idleness by dark brown eyes looking back at him from a small ledge in the shadows high above him.

He froze as he met the young boy’s gaze. Virgil seemed as surprised to be caught as Thomas was to have caught him.

Slowly Thomas raised one hand and waved to the boy. He slunk back into the shadows at the acknowledgment. If Thomas peered hard enough, he could see a shadow stretch up towards the third-floor balcony in the darkness and disappear over the railing.

Interesting boy.

Thomas found himself smiling despite the oddity. They still had not found out much about Virgil. He would speak to Jeffers about many things apparently, but often could not be redirected to invasive topics and he was still a bit skittish around Helen. He hadn’t willingly existed in a room with Thomas. Thomas hoped that changed at some point. There was something about him that made Thomas like him.

Chapter 37

Virgil had not spent a lot of time out of Logan’s room. What little time he had spent outside of it was either with Patton and/or Logan or tucked away in secret corridors he found in the walls where no one would stumble upon him. Yet, here he was willingly in a, well, not public by any means place, but one that was still more exposed than he was used to being in. Somehow, he was managing to not care at all.

It was helped by the fact that both Logan and Patton had been in the room at the start, but they had gone off to go… somewhere. Food sounded like it might have been the reason.

He liked food, and usually he would have been all for going to get some, but between them promising to bring him back some and the fact that he was never going to move ever again, he’d decided to stay.

Princess Marisol seemed to be the only other rational being in the whole castle because she had also not moved since discovering the contents of this room. She was currently laying on his chest purring happily.

The fireplace was a wonderful invention. Now, Virgil had, of course, warmed up by a fire before when it was cold, but this was much different. There was a grate that blocked off the fire a bit keeping it from burning the person in front of it and there was a plush rug right by it, perfect for laying down on. Someone had known what they were doing when designing this room.

He didn’t even care that the king had access to this sitting room as well as Logan.

…

Okay, so he did care a little bit, but he was ignoring that. He was probably busy this time of day anyway, right?

…

He really didn’t want to run into him after being caught watching the castle workers set up the bigger fireplaces. Kings probably didn’t like people sneaking around watching things from the shadows even when they didn’t know that the person sneaking around was literally sent to kill them.

Princess Marisol must have had a sixth sense for his anxieties (or he’d just started breathing faster and disturbed her) because she stirred a bit.

#proofread stories #not writing

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