#needless to say it hasn't been going to well

[not-emerald-onion]

:'D

[theworldgate]

I have to explain what is going on in the UK, because it is absurd.

So, this is Gary Lineker:

He's known for a fair few things over here. He was a very good (association) footballer, playing for England in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, winning the Golden Boot in 1986, and managing to never get a single yellow card in his playing career. He played for Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, and Tottenham, before finishing his career in Japan. But if you aren't in your mid 30s, you probably know actually know him him for a couple of other things. The first is the role of spokesman for another Leicester icon, Walkers Crisps (which are sort of equivalent to Lays, but hit different), as pictured above. Despite being a notably clean player, he used to play a cheeky serial crisp thief. I don't think he's done that for well over a decade, but his ads were on the telly a lot when I was a kid and it's a bit like learning that the hamburglar was an incredibly clean (American) football player or something.

The second thing Gary is widely known for is having presented Match of the Day, the big football program on the BBC, the sort-of state broadcaster, since 1999. He is, incidentally, very well paid for this (though with a consensus that he could get even more if he went to one of the non-free-to-view broadcasters because he is very good at the job). He also has a twitter account. And political opinions. So, the UK government has got itself dead set upon doing heinous stuff that will totally somehow work to prevent people who want to come to the UK making the perilous crossing of the Channel (between England and France). By heinous, I mean "openly advertise that they won't attempt to protect victims of modern slavery" stuff. It's very obviously using a legal hammer to victimise a marginalised group of people in order to win votes. And, uh, I should clarify that by "legal" I mean "using the passage of laws" - the policy is, in addition to all the other ways it's awful, probably incompatible with the Human Rights Act and the UK's international law obligations. Gary, top lad that he is, objected to this. On Tuesday 7th March, he made a quote Tweet of a video of the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, bigging up the policy, he wrote "Good heavens, this is beyond awful.". This got a bunch of backlash from extremely right-wingers, and then he made the tweet that really got him in trouble (with right-wingers): "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?".

Now, I am not actually subjecting myself to watching a video of Suella Braverman bigging up a cruel policy to say whether the specific comparison of the language to 1930s Germany is accurate. But needless to say, Ms Braverman was amongst the many figures on the right of UK politics objecting to Gary's rhetoric. And here's the part where a fact about the BBC comes in: it is nominally neutral and impartial (and so, of course, is routinely accused of bias from all sides but particularly the right-wing), and has something of a code for its contributors to this effect. Now, that code has previously been applied to Gary Lineker, over a comment about whether governing Conservative Party would hand back donations from figures linked to the Russian regime. But it generally hasn't been applied too strongly to people like Gary, whose roles have nothing to do with politics (such as presenting a "here's what happened on the footie today" show), on the basis that, well, their roles have nothing to do with politics. However, when directly asked about whether the BBC should punish Gary Lineker for his tweets, government figures basically went "well, that's a them problem". But a couple of days passed, and it seemed like Gary's approach of "standing his ground because he did nothing wrong" was working and everything would die down. He was set to get 'a talking to' but not much more than that. The Conservative right, after all their fire and fury earlier, had gotten bored and moved onto something else. And then, on Friday 10th March, the BBC announced that he would be suspended from hosting Match of the Day this weekend. But it could still go ahead, because there are, like, other hosts! Except, well, funnily enough, when you take a beloved figure off air, for making a fairly anodyne tweet, no one wants to be the scab who actually takes up the role of replacing him. Gary's two co-hosts, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, said that they would not appear without him. People who (co-)host Match of the Day on other days followed suit. The net result is that Match of the Day is currently set to air without hosts, BBC commentary, or global feed commentary. And the solidarity shown to Gary Lineker, over what is very flagrantly actual cancel culture and an attack on freedom of speech (the logic implied is that institutional impartiality requires that no one say anything too critical of the government ever), has continued to grow. The BBC has pretty much been unable to run pretty much any live sports content today, and has resorted to raiding the BBC Sounds archive to fill the sports radio channel. And, as of 17:30 on Saturday 11th March, the situation shows no signs of improvement, though some are calling for the Chairman Richard Sharp, who is separately facing corruption allegations, to resign (yes I linked to the BBC itself there, there is nothing, nothing, the BBC loves more than going into great detail about how much the BBC sucks).

[sunderwight]

SV fic where Shen Yuan's status as a body-snatching entity is revealed before the Immortal Alliance Conference can happen.

Maybe the system suffers a glitch while some unforeseen side quest is active, and suddenly Shen Yuan's status is revealed and some of the other peak lords he's with seize the opportunity to exorcise his spirit and put Shen Jiu back in his place.

Shen Yuan has mixed feelings about this development, needless to say. On the one hand, it's kind of not actually that bad? He got caught out like a week away from the IAC and the necessary Abyss plotline, so at least like this, he's managed to give Luo Binghe a slightly better time on Qing Jing for the past few years and equip him more capably to survive the Abyss, but he also doesn't have to personally throw him down there. That's the silver lining.

On the other hand, everything else about this situation sucks! He got attached to his life as Shen Qingqiu, dammit! And now he's been revealed and branded as some kind of horrible demonic spirit thing, and he was rather painfully expelled (even though he wasn't even there willingly in the first place), and so he's been reduced to some a kind of sparkly ghost light hovering on the fringes of existence, highly susceptible to being harmed if any more righteous cultivators get it in their heads to disperse him!

Which is better than just being catapulted back into his rotting corpse in the other world, but not by as big of a margin as he'd like.

Basically, in terms of his ability to influence the world Shen Yuan has been downgraded back to "read only" status. He finds that he can manifest himself in places that he's already been, or around people he has a particular affinity towards, but they can't perceive him and he can't communicate or even do much more than some minor poltergeist type activity. Which he is cautious about anyway, because if he gets caught around Shen Jiu, Shen Jiu is going to disperse him with extra prejudice.

Unfortunately, nearly everything Shen Yuan cares about is in Shen Jiu's orbit.

So he can only watch, metaphorically gritting his teeth as the newly-restored Shen Qingqiu kicks Luo Binghe out of the bamboo house, burns all the bridges that Shen Yuan painstakingly rebuilt for him, refuses point blank to let Liu Qingge help with Without-a-Cure, resumes and even begins taking more frequent trips to the nearest brothels, and neglects his duties to turn into a paranoid wreck as if he half-expects Shen Yuan to steal his body back from him the next time he lets his guard down. Corporal punishment spikes back up on Qing Jing Peak.

Shen Yuan is surprised to hear the whispers of dissent, even so. A spirit possessing a righteous cultivator is a pretty damning incident, and there's no way that he could come out of it smelling like roses. And yet, even though his -- Shen Qingqiu's disciples know enough to be circumspect about saying anything of the sort, there are still murmurs and rumblings about how things used to run, not too long ago.

Ming Fan quiets any such talk as soon as he hears it. Ning Yingying scarcely seems to know how to respond to the situation, except to sometimes plaintively insist that she hadn't even noticed much change between Shen Qingqiu's at all. But Luo Binghe...

Well.

Whenever there are mutterings, it often seems as though Binghe is there. Nodding. Whispering. Carefully putting forth suggestions that others barely seem to recognize as suggestions. Shen Yuan only notices because he knows what Binghe's capable of when he decides to be manipulative, and even he finds himself wondering if it's not just a coincidence, something he's imagining, because Luo Binghe hasn't even blackened through his Abyss arc yet.

Even so, there he is, musing carefully on how strange it was that he's heard that Hong Jing hadn't identified any untoward presence in Shen Qingqiu before, how Shizun had never done anything bad to the peak despite all the claims that he'd supposedly been possessed by a malicious entity for years, and wasn't this new Shen Qingqiu acting much more suspicious? Much more malicious? Isn't is the new Shizun who jumps at shadows and talks to people who aren't there, and seems so uneasy in his own skin?

If one had to guess which version was an unstable monster possessing a human's body, and which was the righteous and noble peak lord... ah, well. It's just surprising, isn't it? Luo Binghe would of course never suggest that this new Shen Qingqiu was in actuality the being that had stolen someone else's place. He's surely never second guess the judgment of the peak lords, who claim to have let an interloper among them for YEARS in total ignorance. It's just something to think about.

Alas for Binghe, though a lot of the peak seems inclined to agree with him, he can't win over enough to inspire anything worse than discontent. The "new" Shen Qingqiu does behave a lot more like the one that most of the Qing Jing knew prior to his qi deviation, after all, and it's no mystery why Luo Binghe -- spurned former favorite, now back to being at the bottom of the pecking order -- would be unhappy with the change. Shen Yuan appreciates that this is at least doing a good job of setting up Luo Binghe's altered opinion on his shizun, and he's touched that he made a good enough impression for Binghe to be mad about the sudden regression, but he wishes he could tell Binghe that there's simply nothing to be done about it. That is the real Shen Qingqiu, and Binghe ought to concern himself more with the upcoming conference!

At least, despite being kicked out of the bamboo house, Luo Binghe managed to farm enough good opinion with some of the other disciples during his tenure as Favorite that he doesn't go back to sleeping in the woodshed. Without Shen Qingqiu expressly demanding it, no one would dare, just in case Luo Binghe might regain his status one day. There seems to be an awareness that "evil" Shizun would have made them run laps, but "good" Shizun would now probably whip them half to death in a fit of temper. No one wants to take chances.

Finally, the Immortal Alliance Conference rolls around. Shen Yuan can only watch and cheer Binghe on as best as he's able to, even knowing the probable outcome. And Binghe does so well! He fights bravely but also smartly. When Shen Qingqiu arrives, Binghe doesn't lose an ounce of his caution, though he does still nobly defend his master even though the good feelings between them have dried up. He correctly identifies Without-a-Cure's flare up and silently helps compensate for Shen Jiu's weakness, and sticks by him even though the Original Goods is hardly appreciative.

When the Abyss opens up, and Luo Binghe's demonic seal is broken, Shen Qingqiu seems almost relieved to have this information brought to light. He accuses Luo Binghe not only of orchestrating the invasion of demons at the conference, but of arranging fro Shen Jiu to be replaced too.

"Of course, for a demon like you, summoning some wicked force into this master's body would be easy!" he spits.

Luo Binghe looks bowled over by the accusation. But rather than defending himself, he latches onto it as if it might be some kind of lifeline.

"For a demon like this one... it would be possible?" he echoes.

Shen Jiu hurls more accusations. Of course it is. Luo Binghe is not just any demon, but the most powerful, dangerous, and destructive sort there is. Little is beyond the scope of a Heavenly Demon's power, or wretchedness. Luo Binghe must have uncovered his heritage and seen a convenient means of ridding himself of an inconvenient master. Wherever that horrid spirit is now, it's probably just waiting for the next chance to leap back in at Luo Binghe's call!

"Shizun's spirit... that spirit from before, it still exists?" Luo Binghe catches.

"As if you don't know. Beast. Even the sect leader could not destroy your minion completely," Shen Jiu sneers.

"And it would be within my abilities to put it back in your body. Instead of you."

"You won't get the chance."

Shen Jiu stabs Luo Binghe before throwing him into the Abyss. Binghe fights back, but he seems reluctant to injure his shizun, even now.

Shen Yuan supposes that such reluctance won't survive the Abyss. Still, it's emotional for him. That such a little kindness could cause Luo Binghe to hesitate, even at this point, it really speaks to the resilience of hope in Binghe's heart.

Shen Yuan's little ghost light almost follows him down. But the Abyss would be too dangerous for him, even as he is now. He'd be a little mote of spiritual energy, easily gobbled up by any number of creatures in that place, if he wasn't just swept up by the chaotic ambient energies themselves. So he can only stay behind and think some very colorful swear words in Shen Jiu's general direction, until the rift closes and leaves no trace of Luo Binghe behind, except for the shards of Zheng Yang.

The shards are left behind. Shen Yuan finds that he has a little bit of spiritual storage space. Just enough to maybe fit all of them, so he goes and painstakingly uses his limited powers to lift up each piece and drop it in. It takes him hours and hours, but luckily the clean-up of the whole disaster is something that will take months. No one seems inclined to go reclaim Luo Binghe's shattered blade or risk getting too close to the remnants of the rift, even closed. So, Shen Yuan manages.

The next few years prove difficult. Shen Yuan finds that it's hard to retain his presence in the world. His little spirit has dampened considerably, and few things seem to perk him back up. He has more troubles following anyone who isn't Shen Jiu now that Binghe is in the Abyss, and Shen Jiu is depressing as hell to spend time around. He's rotten with kids, sucks at teaching, he has no friends, his health is deteriorating, and Shen Yuan has no interest in seeing what he gets up to in the brothels.

But Binghe is definitely coming back, and Shen Yuan wants to see him again.

His patience is rewarded the first time he finds his consciousness drifting, only to snap back to awareness in a place that's not Qing Jing Peak. He instead finds that he's in an unfamiliar patch of wilderness along a river, watching as Luo Binghe fights a small pack of demonic beasts.

It's definitely not the Endless Abyss. Has it been five years already...? Shen Yuan hadn't thought so, but then again, he's not the best at keeping track of time in this state.

Luo Binghe defeats the beasts, but they land more hits and wound him worse than Shen Yuan would have anticipated. The wounds aren't healing as quick as they should either. Was Binghe poisoned? Or is this a remnant of Shen Yuan's own poor teaching, the clumsiness in sword practice he never totally managed to correct leading somehow to this?

He gets it when Qin Wanyue and several other Huan Hua cultivators show up, however, and Luo Binghe manages to play the righteous cultivator who just survived a harrowing battle role to the hilt. It takes him very little effort to get the Huan Hua disciples to take him back with them and help "patch him up", and soon enough Shen Yuan has front row seats to watch as Binghe ingratiates himself with the sect.

Mostly, Shen Yuan is just relieved to confirm that Binghe did indeed survive, and glad that he's out of the horrible Abyss and in a place where he can rest and eat decent meals and be fawned over by his well-deserved admirers. Though Luo Binghe seems colder even than Shen Yuan expected, especially in some places where a bit of charm would serve him better. He declines outright to address the Palace Master as "shizun", even though he accepts the offer to stay as a guest disciple at Huan Hua Palace, and he is abrupt and aloof towards both Qin Wanyue and the Little Palace Mistress, despite their obvious interest in him.

Binghe doesn't seem to sleep as soundly as he should either. At night he often brings out a dream stone, which Shen Yuan recognizes as an amplification tool from the novel, but it seems that whatever Binghe is trying to search for with it is beyond his reach. Sometimes Shen Yuan imagines he can hear his disciple's voice calling Shizun at night. But always, Binghe is asleep, and there's no one in Huan Hua Palace he has deigned to address like that anyway. It's a trick of his own imagination, missing the days when Luo Binghe could call out and he himself could answer.

Things go mostly according to the plot, with a few disruptions here and there. Luo Binghe seems to be lagging behind on the romantic subplots, but rushing ahead on the vendetta against his old teacher. The Trial of Shen Qingqiu takes place at Jinlan City, with demon instigators who work for Luo Binghe accusing the peak lord of colluding with demons and setting him up to seem like he was involved in the sower attack. Shen Yuan knows, from watching Binghe, that the sower thing was mostly taking advantage of an existing situation to frame Shen Qingqiu. Binghe himself didn't have anything to do with Jinlan's suffering, but is obviously not above using it to his advantage.

Combined with Qiu Haitang's testimony, Shen Qingqiu is arrested and locked up where Luo Binghe can torture and dismember him at will.

However, Binghe... doesn't do that?

Instead he swiftly relocates Shen Qingqiu to a prison in the demon realms, and seems to abandon his concerns with Huan Hua Palace and the righteous cultivation sects altogether. He just leaves them to fight it out amongst themselves, as if he's got no concern with who comes out on top, and in the meanwhile he keeps Shen Qingqiu locked up but surprisingly well-treated?

Despite Shen Qingqiu's obvious terror and vitriol towards him, Luo Binghe forces him to eat nutritious meals, and attends to his health problems, and makes no move to injure him at all. He has nothing good to say to Shen Jiu, but he doesn't hurt him. Yet there is something distinctly weird about the whole dynamic, not at all like someone who has decided to keep a prisoner under ethical conditions for moral reasons or something like that.

Shen Yuan's not sure what to make of it.

In the end, Shen Jiu himself illuminates the situation.

It happens after Shen Jiu has rejected food. Luo Binghe tuts and asks if Shen Jiu suspects it would be poisoned. Shen Jiu sneers at him.

"I know it isn't," he says. "You wouldn't poison this body. I know what you're after."

"Oh? Wise Master Shen figured out this much?" Binghe replies, dry as the fucking desert.

"You're keeping me in this condition because you want to put that thing back in my body!" Shen Jiu accuses.

It takes Shen Yuan a moment to realize that Shen Jiu is referring to him. That he thinks Luo Binghe is keeping him fit and healthy for Shen Yuan's sake.

Wouldn't that be going too far just for some old teacher who was nice?! Yes, he knows that he made an impact on Luo Binghe, but it wasn't hard! Shen Jiu set the bar at the earth's crust, clearing it hardly required the kind of effort or devotion that would inspire an entire elaborate scheme purely on Shen Yuan's behalf!

He can't believe it.

But, Binghe doesn't deny it.

In fact he smiles, his expression somehow conveying that Shen Jiu guessed perfectly correct, but also that there's no good it can do him. Binghe has never looked so much like a piece of PIDW fanart before, with some dark and potent rage simmering just beneath the veneer of his placid smile.

"Shizun should not be referred to so impolitely," Luo Binghe counters. "If anyone in this room is a thing, it is this usurper in front of me."

"Usurper?! In my own body? You're mad."

Binghe tuts.

Master Shen should understand that his claim is contested. After all, if one woman gives birth to a child but then casts it into a river to die, but another fishes the babe out and cradles it to her breast -- which woman deserves to be called that child's mother? Just because Shen Jiu was born into that body, doesn't mean he deserves it more than anyone else.

But even if he did, Luo Binghe wouldn't care. He would kill to get his Shizun back. This isn't really so different from that, is it? And there is no love lost between him and Shen Jiu to make him hesitate. If his Shizun disagrees, he may disciple Binghe as he sees fit once he returns.

Shen Jiu points out that Luo Binghe's machinations have ruined his reputation. Even if he gets that creature to possess his body again, there's no way that they could infiltrate Cang Qiong Sect a second time.

But Binghe waves off his concerns. He clearly has thought of this, and has plans for it, but is also not about to be stupid enough to monologue any more at Shen Jiu. Once he leaves, Shen Yuan lingers for a little while, and notices that Shen Jiu actually seems genuinely concerned about what might happen to the sect if Luo Binghe succeeds and gets Shen Yuan put back on Qing Jing Peak.

Of course, Shen Yuan knows he wouldn't actually do anything to harm Cang Qiong, but Shen Jiu doesn't. This is the first time Shen Yuan has seen him actually reveal shades of what might be called a noble impulse.

It's not much, but... sigh.

The thing is, Shen Yuan doesn't really want to steal anybody's body! No one consulted with him the first time it happened! And they sure aren't consulting with him now, either, although to be fair they can't. But he might just have enough ability as a little ghost light to stave off some of this whole process, and he's got to decide if he wants to try. Or if he'll let Binghe have his way, and succeed in pushing Shen Jiu back out and giving Shen Yuan his life again.

Because Binghe will definitely succeed if he really does try. That's how the world works.

And if he did... that might be the only way for Shen Yuan to get his life as Shen Qingqiu back. Which he does want, desperately! He misses it. He misses it both in the general sense of having a body at all, but also in the particular sense of all the things he managed to attain as Qing Jing Peak Lord. As Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Jiu, also, makes a very tempting sacrifice in all this. Shen Yuan frankly hates his guts. Maybe it could have been different, but the fact that Shen Yuan worked so hard to try and make that life better, only for Shen Jiu to just go right back to being an intractable asshole who, frankly, should never be in charge of children ever, rankles! He went right back to mistreating Luo Binghe as well, and threw him into the Abyss, and if Binghe's plan was to violently kill him again as revenge for that then Shen Yuan wouldn't fault him. He didn't fault him the first time. He wasn't going to fault him even when it seemed like he would be the one Binghe was destined to rip apart in justified vengeance.

This is different, though. Shen Yuan wants to fight for the life he longs to be living, especially now when the axe of the Abyss is no longer hanging over him.

But is he willing to actually become the thing everyone else decided he was in order to get it? A body-snatching, malicious spirit?

Shen Jiu is horribly unsuited to his life as Shen Qingqiu. But, it is still his life. Shen Yuan really just managed to borrow it for a while.

Deep down he knows that, even if he would like to ignore it.

So when Binghe finally sets up the ceremony, and Shen Yuan's soul is called back into Shen Qingqiu's body, he hesitates. Shen Jiu is poised like a snarling, wounded animal within the confines of his own body. Even the gentlest tap would knock him back out again. Shen Yuan gets the sense that the system is also there, just waiting and even eager for him to do it. Take back the body, resume whatever quests or directives are waiting for him there.

Shen Yuan, even as fragile as his own spirit is, could crush Shen Jiu's battered soul to dust.

Instead he withdraws.

Binghe tries the ritual again, and again, and each time Shen Yuan feels stronger. But it doesn't matter, because he doesn't want to be an evil body-stealing parasite! He wishes he could just tell Binghe to stop wasting valuable resources on this, especially when Binghe could be focusing on other, more important things! Like building up happy relationships or consolidating his rule of the demon realms or establishing an actual strong foothold in the human world, or something!

Somehow, Shen Jiu figures this out before Luo Binghe does. Of course, he conveys the information in the worst way possible, snidely wondering what Luo Binghe did to alienate "that creature" he's trying so hard to resurrect so badly that it will refuse even the open, glowing invitation he keeps writing for it!

Excuse you, you miserable old man, Shen Yuan isn't avoiding Binghe! He is facing a very difficult moral dilemma and handling it LIKE A CHAMP! Fuck you!

Unfortunately, even though Shen Jiu has decided that Luo Binghe and Shen Yuan were in cahoots about the first body snatch, Luo Binghe knows that they weren't. He also doesn't know that his old Shizun knew full well that he was a Heavenly Demon the whole time. So now he has a lot of doubts to wrestle with, especially give that, despite the consensus of the rest of the world, Luo Binghe is not convinced that Shen Yuan actually is some kind of demonic spirit.

Maybe he's a good spirit that has rejected Binghe for his wretched blood?

But Shizun always said that things like that didn't matter!

So... maybe it's not his blood. Maybe Binghe's actions are what has caused Shizun to forsake him. All the terrible things he did to survive the Abyss, and the machinations afterwards, framing Shen Qingqiu and imprisoning him, setting himself up as a demonic ruler... all of that.

Binghe entreats his Shizun to forgive him. Or even if he won't forgive him, to still come back. Binghe will... stay away, if that's what Shizun wants. Just so long as Shizun is alive, is somewhere in the world, safe and happy, then... then...

He can't quite get through lying to claim that it would be enough. But it would be better than the current situation, so he tries.

Shen Yuan, luckily, has been juiced up enough from all the failed summoning rituals that later that night, he finally recognizes the little whisper-calls as echoes of Luo Binghe's dreams. And he's strong enough to follow the invitations! He goes to visit Binghe in his dreams, and reassures him that he's not trying to reject him at all. He's very proud of Binghe, and wants him to be happy and successful. Binghe could rule the world and Shizun would just cheer him on!

It's just that Shen Yuan never willingly possessed Shen Qingqiu in the first place. He misses his life, but given the choice, he doesn't want to be that kind of entity.

So, new plan -- if Shen Yuan won't take a body off of an undeserving asshole, then Binghe will make him a new body! Luckily, Shen Yuan knows a way to grow one. They "borrow" some genetic materials from Shen Jiu to aid the process, and then Luo Binghe, surprisingly indifferent about the whole thing, cuts Shen Jiu loose at the border.

Shen Yuan is surprised. Binghe really doesn't care about that? Turns out no, not so much. Shen Jiu is awful, but he's nothing to Binghe in the long run. (Also it's a long shot but if nothing else does work Binghe might have to force Shen Yuan to take Shen Qingqiu's body back, though of course he's not about to say so, and anyway Shen Jiu is still going to have a hell of a time waiting for him back in the cultivation world. Luo Binghe wishes him luck and every pleasure of trying to clear his ruined name, living a life on the lamb with an insidious poison constantly eating away at him, or the full enjoyment of a second visit to the water prison, whichever ends up happening.)

With the help of Luo Binghe's blood parasites, the Sun and Moon Dew whatever mushroom body grows in record time. A summoning ritual isn't even required, Shen Yuan just scoots right in as soon as the body is ready and blinks his eyes open to see his anxious disciple's face peering back at him.

Happily ever after!

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

DP X DC PROMPT #28

(#) = Notes at the end of post

✦

Chartreuse

Due to the high levels of ambient ectoplasm, all the citizens of Amity Park gained a permanent change in eye color. They don't glow or flare in response to rampant emotions like true ghosts or the halfas though. They're just an unnaturally bright yellow-green.

The thing is, nobody else on Earth has this eye color, and it's never been seen in the human race until the recently graduated Amity Parkers started branching out to other cities to find jobs.

Nobody paid this any mind at first, though. Many just thought the individuals liked strangely colored contacts or it was a trick of the light. It's not until Danny and Tucker are both hired for positions in Wayne Enterprises that questions start popping up.

At first, the other employees thought the two might be related. It could happen, it's not that strange. However, when both of them said they're nowhere near related, just childhood best friends, it left everyone confused. If they aren't related and they aren't wearing colored contacts, then what are the odds of too completely unrelated people having the exact same strange and unseen eye color?

After a while, everyone just stops asking questions. After all, both men are easy to get along with and are excellent at their jobs, so a strange eye color isn't really something to complain about. Their stares were just a bit more intense than most people, and honestly, they've seen stranger things.

It helps that they've started seeing other people with the same eye color popping up in celebrity, sports, and activist circles. (1)

However, It's not until the power goes out during a late meeting/presentation, and Tim Drake accidentally turns on and shines his cell phone light into Tuckers eyes, that he starts seriously digging.

Needless to say, the animal-like green shine of his pupils scared the shit out of him and got him wondering if two of his new employees were part of a previously unknown alien race that'd recently settled on Earth without anyone noticing. When he looks into the middle of nowhere town they came from, this idea is even further cemented when he sees every person he finds a photo of have the exact same shade of chartreuse eyes. Ignoring the ghost rumors and "sightings" as just a strange tourist trap for the strange little town to make extra income, he brings the info he found to the other bats and birds.

They aren't exactly welcomed when they go snooping around Amity Park, unfortunately... (2 & 3)

✦

Now. To make this a bit more cracky, when confronted, do Danny and Tucker just come clean or do they milk the idea of them being aliens for all it's worth? (4) Add in a few strange, but perfectly normal for them, things they do that have people scratching their heads and make the assumption even worse/more irrefutable. This includes the unexplainable eye shine Tim discovered.

✦

(1) Paulina became a supermodel and is coveted for her striking eye color and beautiful complexion. Dash became a coach for a well known college in Metropolis, while Kwan became a fitness trainer and sponsor for health related items that actually work, also partnered with the college Dash coaches at. Sam became a notorious environmental activist and is the enemy of many companys who are determined to turn the world into a toxic wasteland. With the help of Danny's parents, she's found many eco-friendly chemical compounds that dissolve many of the toxic substances damaging ecosystems around the world. Etc, etc.

(2) Ectoplasm exposure has made everyone a bit more territorial over the town, including their protectors. They don't need outside heroes/organizations interfering with their work and don't/won't take kindly to the sudden interest hero organizations gain over them and their strange little town. That hasn't worked out too well with other government sanctioned organizations in the past and they don't want a repeat, thank you.

(3) Maybe Team Phantom even established themselves right around the same time or even before the Justice League was formed and they just flew under the radar until now. Maybe Amity Parkers feel a bit superior due to their seniority in having an excellent team in the know about the supernatural/non-human side of the world/universe? Who knows? You pick! Amity Park has been through a lot by themselves, so it's no shocker if they have an extreme amount of solidarity towards those they call their own.

(3 cont'd) Also! Since Amity Park has become so rich and saturated in ectoplasm over the years, they were eventually annexed/became an outside part of the Ghost Zone. Jack and Maddy are border patrol and any ghosts coming through need a passport now. Amity Park is basically a vacation hub for ghosts? Ghosts can freely roam the streets, they just don't wreak havoc anymore. That'd basically be terrorizing their fellow citizens at this point anyway and that's a no no. That means jail time with Walker. Amity Parkers also aren't afraid anymore and in fact CAN hit back now. This does not stop the Bat Clan and eventually the Justice League from thinking they're a town full of aliens tho. Some are just more human looking than others. Or they've been on Earth and procreating long enough with humans that their hybrid offspring have also started looking more human, is the ongoing conclusion.

(4) The Anti-Ecto Acts are not an issue here! Team Phantom already dismantled and annihilated the GIW years before they even thought of leaving Amity Park on its own. Before graduating highschool even. Yes, Team Phantom is perfectly self-sufficient and able to handle their own problems and have kept the city-wide ghost infestation pretty isolated outside a few events that were handled quickly and with the world none the wiser. So the world is still pretty ignorant of the existence of ghosts/the Ghost Zone. Would Team Phantom and Amity Park prefer to keep it that way though?

[evieelyzabethh]

What would be worse would be a yandere Jayce back in the apocalypse universe or a yandere Viktor who turned into the herald, why not both. What would it be like if the two were in love with the reader, but never declared themselves... well until these events, perhaps magic corrupted that love and turned it into something dark, perhaps a yanderes fight, perhaps a reconciliation between the two... Could you make a fanfiction of this, perhaps if possible with a female reader?

This came at such a perfect time because I've been having a lot of yandere Arcane thoughts, and it is too far from October to wait to do it for some sort of Halloween event. Needless to say, get ready for Yanuary (everyone say thank you mina for coming up with the name) because I am about to be insufferable. I'll certainly do more with these concepts a bit later, but for now I will leave some headcanons...

tw for obsessive behaviors and Herald!Viktors very flawed line of logic

While both loves start out pure, intentions take a turn for the worst after the world starts to go to shit. While I don't think it's canon, I am a firm believer that Viktor died during that explosion and what is left of him is a persona puppetted around by the Arcane. All of Viktor's raw ambitions; notoriety, an able body, and desire to help the Zaunites all become corrupted. Viktor deeply regrets taking a back seat to negotiations surrounding the fate of those from the Undercity, his pride was too great to beg for scraps from those seated at the table, and thus his genuine want to help those from his home gets sidelined because of his pride and want of glory.

Love is not a corruptible force. When Viktor died, so did his love for you, but those intense feeling certainly linger. That admiration turns to obsession, the need to be adored turns into desperate overcompensation. He feels it is his calling to save the world, he develops a very focused tunnel vision and a savior complex that motivates his every action to not only save the world, but more importantly, save his world. To save you, to preserve you. His dream is to keep you infinitely, that really is the root of his Glorious Evolution. He wants perfection in the human form, the human mind, the human capability. He wants to perfect the human condition, he wants forever.

You must see it his way, you must be his accomplice, he wants you to be by his side every step of the way. The Sky he hallucinates is nothing but an astral projection of a perfected version of her, at times a manifestation of his humanity and why he kept going. She was his regrets, his comfort, she was the bad he was making good. But you. You are what he is striving to build. You are his goal, his muse. Every bit of him that respected you then yearns so deeply for you now. And he hasn't found you yet, you disappeared before he woke up and even Jayce didn't know where you were, but he is sure that if he were to find you, you would understand.

Jayce going yandere would occur after his trip to whatever hell dimension he was left to. Time works differently everywhere, he was only gone for months in the main verse, but it could've been years for him. Years in not just solitude, but a wasteland of death. Jayce is someone who so thoroughly, and at times naively, believes in humanity's capability for good. It's his passion. Him signing his notes, his dedication to his craft, his willingness to learn the ways of politics, his kicking Heimerdinger off the council, his gullibility, his willingness to move wherever the wind from someone's lips takes him, it's all because of faith and a passion for good. Now, everywhere he looks isn't just death, but remnants of war.

Everything he's worked tirelessly to avoid has not only come true but disproves his entire way of thinking. It takes more than him to save the world, it takes more than the help of others to save the world, it may take more than even exists to save the world. Even worse, it may take him not existing to save the world. While Viktor's yandere nature is built from a need to preserve what is right, the only thing that is right, Jayce is a man who is completely and utterly lost.

He doesn't know what's right anymore, but he knows he needs to do something to make it right. He doesn't cling to the thought of you for guidance, he clings to you because it's all he knows. You could've been the worst person in the world, but he would've hoped for you in the end of the world because you were there. You were real. His dream may not have been, but he touched you, and you believed in him, and you were as magical as a wish but as tangible as a physical star. You were bright, and you were warm, and you were real.

And he sits there in that cold, damp cave, nothing but stones, insects, and death around him, and every time he scrawls your face it looks a bit different. Your smell gets mingled with mildew and dampness as that slowly becomes his home, the drops of rain and rock start to sound like the twinkling sound of your voice, everything becomes you. Not for the sake of his sanity, that left him when time began to wave through him until he was convinced he would begin to vomit tick marks, but for the sake of survival. You were his faith. He would've worshipped the ground you walked on, and though you were nothing but dust here, he could find you everywhere. He went through a transcendental awakening; belief needed faith, and faith was all he had. You had to be real, why else would the insects chirp, why else would water flow, why else would he bleed, if not for you, if not because of you. If he believed, then you were real, and he would get back to you one day and be rewarded by his conviction.

When he finds his way back, he is searching for you immediately. Even when his surroundings blend and his ears bleed and he's overwhelmed by life once again, he is convinced that he will find you. You have to be out there. You can't be dead. He's lived in a world without you for too long, he would finally break if he couldn't be with you again. He's possessive. You have only existed in his mind for years; this world has had you all to itself while he suffered endlessly and eternally only wanting you. He's feels entitled to you. He knows you don't need his protection, but you are ignorant to what's out in the world. It's not a matter of if he finds you, it's when. A believer as devout as him wouldn't just go to the ends of the earth, he's already done that. If he must, he'd go beyond. He's been through hell; he is more than deserving of heaven. He knows he was wrong for believing in humanity when he had his God in front of him the whole time.

As for who's worse, it really depends. Physically, Jayce. He doesn't realize his strength, he hasn't had to worry about the delicateness of flesh in a while. His hands have held nothing but harsh rock. He would never intentionally hurt you; he would spiral if he even accidentally caused you any harm. He's far more fragile that Viktor, he's more prone to outbursts, though his violence is always inflicted inward. He believes he's ruined; he only wants to be saved. Viktor is the complete opposite. He would be worse mentally. Like Jayce, he would never physically harm you, but he's not above manipulation. He won't give up on you, you're too precious, but you have to see it his way. Why won't you see it his way? He'll just have to make you.

These two are diametrically opposed. An immovable obstacle and unstoppable object. They would butt heads forever over you, they wouldn't be able to reach a compromise or any sort of agreement. Viktor is dangerous. His evolution is actively killing people, Viktor himself is already long gone. Jayce would sooner die than let him have you and Viktor wouldn't mind killing Jayce and leaving his dead body to rot. Jayce isn't worth saving to him, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't teach it to drink. If Jayce doesn't want his salvation, he isn't worth convincing, he can die painfully in that clumsy mortal vessel and decay on the hill he chose. He can't have you; he doesn't deserve you.

[fatuismooches]

Silly thought: What if the Traveller accidentally kidnaps Dottore's lover?

This will happen way before they meet them. The Traveller somehow, is able to sneak into the main lab of the Doctor and finds his test-subjects. Of course being the hero that they are, releases them and offers them refuge in the Teapot (I'm still pissed that the Teapot is hardly mentioned in main story quests it could be a Trojan horse but nooo)

They come across this 'test-subject' who has heavy security for some reason. Determined to not leave anyone behind, they break through the defences to get to the hapless 'civilian.'

The Traveller gets there and takes away the 'test-subject', the Traveller hopes that they wake up once they are in the Teapot.

[Dottore's spouse wakes up from their refreshing nap and finds themself in a completely different place with a lot of strangers. Why are Dottore's test-subjects out? Actually - where even are they?!

And Dottore returns to an empty lab 😋 rip to the Traveller. Dottore is going to rip Teyvat from the ground up and he wouldn't find his spouse until the Traveller makes the connection.]

The Traveler thought that they had prepared to the fullest, heading into Dottore's lab. Carefully scoping it out, even managing to get their hands on the mapped layout somehow, observing the patterns and schedules of the guards and agents who seemed to be placed everywhere... general sneaky stuff, that wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded as this had to do with the Doctor after all. Nothing was ever simple when it came to the Harbinger, but despite all odds, they got lucky, only because the segments were no more and they chose a day Dottore himself was not there (that was also painstakingly planned). Of course, once the Traveler successfully completed their mission and freed all those poor souls, they felt rather good about themselves. Any plan of the Doctor's thwarted was always a good thing.

When the Traveler comes across such someone so highly tucked away, they automatically assume the worst! You must be an invaluable test subject who provides him great research but through immeasurable pain (just look how tired you were)... one that he can't keep his eye off! What a terrible fate you've been subjected to, one at the hands of the mad Doctor! Worry not, the Traveler will save you (not)!

...However, the blond failed to obtain information on a very, very important factor - the little-known soft spot of Dottore.

Now poor you, expecting to wake up to a familiar ceiling and maybe even your husband's embrace, but instead the sky above is more blinding than anything you've witnessed in years. And there's a strange bird floating spirit thing. AND the infamous Traveler and Paimon are worrying over your well-being... even more so when you start getting overwhelmed knowing you're far, far away from Dottore.

Now of course, test subjects are just test subjects and although losing them was a waste, he could always procure some more. You, however, was a completely different story. Needless to say, the agents are quite scared to go near the Harbinger as they've rarely seen him in his state - absolutely silently seething. The only way to salvage the situation is that the Traveler just needs to hope a hair hasn't been touched on your pretty head.

(Cue the freak out between Paimon and them once they realize the truth. Even still, the Traveler is semi-convinced you might be brainwashed or something - the whole Akasha terminal thing in Sumeru was enough proof. They're a bit reluctant to hand you over but seeing the way you bolt toward the Doctor was enough to convince them...)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA For taking down my cousin's pride flag?

So my cousin is the most no-nonsense person Ive ever met. He (M28) is very serious, and takes everything really really seriously, but he's still a joy to be around. He's super smart, and the whole family adores him, he's kind of the golden child in our family, though theres zero resentment from the rest of us.

My whole life, he's been this pillar of the "perfect kid" and although he's nice, since he's moved away, no one has been to his apartment or really seen him outside of family celebrations, dinners, weddings, etc.

Last week, he was in a car accident. (another car T boned him) and he was put in an induced coma in the hospital. He's coming out of it now, expected to make a full recovery, but is still expected to stay at the hospital for a while. My aunt, his mother (F72) asked me and other cousins to go over to his house and collect items he might need. Clothes, books, etc. She took the keys out of his clothes and have them to us, all while my cousin was still out of it.

When we got there, I opened the door to a MASSIVE Gay leather pride flag.

First thing on the wall. When we went into the apartment there was BDSM equipment, gay pride decorations everywhere, and other graphic things that made it clear my cousin is, A, gay, and B, firmly in the kink community. I don't want to get too much into it, but there were certain Polaroid pictures stapled to the bathroom wall that left little doubt.

All of us were needless to say, a little horrified.

To be clear, I am queer, and a MAJORITY of our cousins are as well. None of us had any inclination he is gay, and its clear no one else in the family knows. This was the first time anyone had been in his apartment.

We took a vote, and as the oldest one there I made the decision to hide everything. I took the flag down, I (carefully) put as much of the items that were an indication away in a box and hid them. It was a pretty extensive clean out, but I moved books and other things around on the walls to make it look a little less bare. An hour after that more family showed up at the apartment to help, people like our grandmother, more aunts and uncles and my parents, all of them cleaning or doing dishes or putting food in the fridge to help my cousin's recovery.

A few of the cousins that were there when we first found the stuff have said that I shouldnt have messed with any of it, that the pride flag was on the wall BECAUSE my cousin was happy about his identity. I argued that my cousin hadn't told any of us, isn't out to the family as far as Im aware, and I wanted to protect him in case he wasn't ready.

Further clarification, no one in the family is OUTWARDLY homophobic, but I'm still not out to a majority of my family either, and if i was in my cousin's place, Id want someone to hide my stuff for me.

My cousin still hasn't been released from the hospital, and I haven't found time alone with him to tell him that I moved some stuff in his apartment. When I handed back his keys he looked a little panicked, and I tried to look reassuring.

Im having second thoughts about whether what I did was good, or if I'm projecting my own fear about coming out to family on him. Am I the asshole?

[stolenviolet]

ok ok i just stumbled upon your baby death au (and im feeling things idk what)... and just wanted to ask, what is voldy's relationship with harry here? not sure if i made sense but eh im curiousss-

You made perfect sense!

(And I hope they're good feelings? Maybe?)

As for their 'relationship' in this AU (my version anyway) well… let's just say it's complicated haha

To start, they basically just co-parent Death.

Obviously, they can't stand each other in the beginning. Being, y'know, enemies and what not, on top of navigating peace talks and treaties to end a war, isn't exactly a recipe for romance.

So yeah, nope! No butterflies in the stomach for these two (yet).

However, raising a kid together kind of forces them to adapt to one another, and that's when they start to notice the little things.

Harry notices Voldemort takes his tea straight in the mornings but prefers it a little on the sweeter side in the afternoon.

Voldemort notices Harry's love of flying and that he tends to get a bit antsy if he hasn't touched a broom in a while.

Harry notices Voldemort, while great at most things (his words not Harry's), is actually a pretty terrible cook.

Voldemort notices that Harry can only really sleep with the doors open or if there's another person in the room.(trauma from being locked alone in a cupboard, I'm sure.)

Both notice how, despite not having the best childhoods themselves, they ultimately want what's best for their son and tend to compromise on most things where he's concerned. (though this was incredibly difficult for Voldemort in particular to grasp. especially early on.)

Then came the lingering glances. The slight brushing of fingers when handing over a book. The casual teasing that leaves them both feeling bit warm.

Needless to say, eleven years of being domestic with someone, some type of affection was bound to take root and sprout. Not all at once, mind you. Voldemort is still, well…Voldemort, so there was quite a bit of emotional baggage to unpack (y'know the whole 'I killed your parents and tried to kill you' thing).

So it's not until their son leaves for his first year at Hogwarts, and they're truly left alone together for an extended period of time, that they both realize 'whoopsie! there might be more going on here than we thought!'.

Because now there's no lingering excuse of 'Well, clearly, we're only speaking/spending time with each other because Thomas is here'.

No. Now they both have to face the fact that something has been building between them.

And from there, things get a little, shall we say…romantic~

(kids out of the house, time for the parents to have some fun *wink*)

Long story short: Slow Burn, Enemies to...Co-parents? to Lovers.

[staticymaticyyourlifeisatravesty]

Guilliman's Soup

"Look, I'm not going to harm any of you, not unless it involves stuffing Guilliman in a room without his....." Fulgrim trails off, the demon prince's lower half coiling in discomfort as he stares at the abomination that bubbled within the pot. It smelled distinctly of both Mjød and cigarettes, appearing as something that Fulgrim was uncertain if even a Nurgling would eat. He certainly wouldn't. Actually he doesn't think any Slaaneshi demon is depraved enough to even attempt to make such a thing. He shakes his head. "Will I be allowed to help?" Calgar, who was certainly not at all expecting to see the demon prince of excess himself at the entrance to the Imperial palace, couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand it meant that his primarch wasn't affected by any chaos god, if even Slaanesh was getting involved; on the other, did he really want to accept the help of a demon prince? Especially one that is well.... Calgar sighs deeply, "Fine, you might actually be a good deterrent to Dante anyway. He's been a pain in the ass" "Who is-" Fulgrim doesn't get to finish his sentence as a very old marine of what appears to be of the blood angel's chapter is shooed away by a serf with a broom, wacking the marine's shins with it as he hisses like an angry goose. Fulgrim has his answer on who Dante is but is now even further confused, "I thought Blood Angels were supposed to be noble?" "I'm hoping the soup will kill me" Dante helpfully responds which has the demon prince blinking in utter shock, because what the fuck happened to Sanguinius' sons!? Another Ultramarine, this one apparently named Cato is crawling on his hands and knees out of the room where Dante came from, coughing and generally being a rather sad sight with the stench of both vomit and the abominable liquid upon his breath. Slaanesh, who just briefly decided to turn her head towards whatever the fuck her demon prince was doing, vomits and mutters 'I can't believe none of this was Nurgle's idea; he actually wants the fucking recipe!'. Needless to say, Fulgrim doesn't really want to know what's exactly in that pot. Instead he dryly says "I'm amazed this hasn't summoned anything other then myself..." Calgor sighs "No, it has, there's the Sanguinor, and it's currently being kept back by some Sister of Silence out of fear that it's going to beat Dante to death with a sandle. Personally I'm not fond of trying to explain to the blood angels that we didn't kill their chapter master; it was the soul of Sanguinius, himself, that ended his life. I can't see that going too well...And Cato, please stop eating father's soup." "But-" "No buts or I'm throwing you into the same room as the Sanguinor" That stopped any more protests out of Cato who shuddered at the very idea of confronting the very angry warp spirit that was half of mind to possess someone.

The sound of what Fulgrim could still recognize after all these years as a very angry Leman Russ can be heard in the distance yelling "WHAT DID YOU FUCKING DO WITH MY FUCKING MJOD, ROBOUTE!?" This was going to be a long and terrible process, Fulgrim just knows it. ____ This short story was inspired by a convo between myself and @moociaoafterdark on this post.

[bones4thecats]

hellooo can i request a hades , Poseidon , and Hermes with a Dum Dum orange cat type of reader(female)

How would they handle the reader , and how would they just try to get the reader to not just do anything dumb enough to injure or kill her tyyy

Type of Writing: Request Characters: Hades, Poseidon, and Hermes Name: {Character} with their Dumb-Dumb! Reader Requester: Anonymous

A/N: Honestly, I kinda vibe with this reader. My brain just shuts down whenever I finish a task and I look back going, 'how the hell did I do this?' like five seconds afterwards.

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

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💀 He was one of the smartest Gods known anywhere, Valhalla and Earth alike. But you, you were known around Valhalla for your 'idiocy', as declared by many

💀 Now, as rude and sad as that may sound, your husband somehow couldn't fully disagree with those claims

💀 Hades would just be working on some paperwork given to him by Zeus when one of his guards would walk in with a tired expression to announce to the God that you had gotten into an accident

💀 And by accident, I mean by you were just walking around and somehow stumbled into multiple different paint cans and got covered head to tow in the multiple colors of paint

💀 Your husband has gone to many measures to make sure you didn't somehow injure, or worse, killed yourself, because of your moments of flat-mindedness

💀 He had gotten some, in other's words, baby-proofing materials installed, including covering electric outlets, since one time you stuck a fork in there for who knows what reason, and a place to keep medications and vitamins out of your reach

💀 Needless to say, one time you saw your daily vitamins on the counter-top and you pushed the bottle over to get more to fall out

💀 And when Hades saw that nearly one fourth of the container was gone, he nearly had a heart-attack because of how much he was overthinking

💀 Whenever someone asks why your vitamins were locked up in a closet with the key being constantly around Hades, he would just answer with

" To keep it plain and simple, my dear S/O had gotten into the old container and nearly gave me a, what humans describe, heart-attack. "

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🔱 He was put off by how, in his words, 'mind-numbingly ignorant' you were when it came to, well, literally anything

🔱 Poseidon is a very serious individual, even among the God's standards, he was very stoic and cold appearing. So, when you have that information and you compare you to him, it's a surprise he hasn't tried killing you yet

🔱 Unlike Hades, he discovered your idiocy quite fast, since he didn't really act, he preferred to watch and observe how people act

🔱 Your husband, like his brother, was normally busy with different things, from making sure his ocean's waves measured well according to schedule, to making sure that the paperwork he had to commission to his oldest brother was done, this guy was on average fairly busy

🔱 Though, whenever he would get a fair amount of time off, he would head off to his S/O and make sure they were okay

🔱 This guy had been dealing with your actions for many years, and in that time you haven't stopped getting a bruise every week, whether it be from hitting your tow or running into an object, he had never gotten a week off from your injuries

🔱 While he may not show it, Poseidon really does care about you, but, unlike his oldest, he protects you in another way

🔱 He doesn't baby-proof his home, he finds that to be dumb. If there is a creature that dumb in the world, they don't deserve life, his words, not mine! Though they do change if you guys have children

🔱 Instead, Poseidon just puts either a couple guards to be by your side to make sure you didn't somehow mess up an entire room just by getting scared by a, in your words, 'flying cucumber', or, he'll have you positioned around him so he could watch over you

🔱 The latter happens more often, though. And whenever you have to be around him, he'll make sure that you have something to mess with, just so you didn't end up destroying something else somehow

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📨 Unlike many beings that you and him have met, Hermes loves how you get into trouble at random, it gives you an aura of mystery and difference, and he likes that

📨 Hermes loves to, when he can, watch you as you just walk around and get into trouble, like that one time where you ended up getting chased around by geese because you fell out of a tree while playing with Heracles and Ares when you were younger

📨 Whenever you would end up getting into trouble with another Deity, your husband would appear out of nowhere and distract the person as you escaped

📨 This guy loves writing songs in devotion of others, take the human fighters from Ragnarok into account, and for you? He has nearly five folders full of songs dedicated to you

📨 One of his favorite memories of you was when he was coming home from work and he stumbled upon two of his father's allies, Shiva, the head of the Hindu Pantheon, and Apollo, the Greek's God of the Sun

📨 The two men ran up to him dounced in a mixture of paint, glue, and a ton of multi-color glitter, and that alerted him that something happened, and it definitely would give him some kind of blackmail

📨 So, when they asked where you were, Hermes just chuckled and pat their shoulders, making sure his gloves didn't get any of the colorful mix on the white fabric, and he told them you were staying with Aphrodite for the night, despite knowing you were at home hiding from the angry duo

📨 When he eventually arrived home, he ushered you out and began to comfort you from your scared faze, which was understandable. And, when he asked if you wanted to see the photos he sneakily took, he chuckled as your eyes lit up

📨 You may be quite danger-prone and not the brightest star in the sky, but, he loved you for that

[skania]

OnK Chapter 155 Akane Thoughts

Before I start rambling about the chapter, let me just confess that my hopes of Aka delivering some Chapter 51 & 52 parallels in the upcoming weeks just increased exponentially.

I know, I know, I'm probably playing myself but. In this week's episode we see Aqua and Akane go out together and starting to work together as a team.

And in this week's manga chapter, we see... Aqua and Akane go out together and (potentially) starting to work together as a team.

As if to prove that it's no coincidence, Akane is even wearing a choker in both, this week's episode and this week's manga chapter. Even though in the manga, she hasn't worn one since... well, the very chapter the anime is adapting this week.

It's like Aka's break was strategically placed just so the chapter & episode line up 😭

Granted, there's nothing to guarantee that he will keep it up in the next two weeks. Maybe this will be enough for him and he will call it a day. But since we've gotten this far and hope is free, may as well keep hoping while expecting nothing 😂

Moving onto the chapter, full disclosure: I've been half-expecting Akane getting the "Moving On"™ patented haircut because it very much is a thing in Asia, whether it be in manga or in real life. So no surprise there.

The reason she gave on the other hand...

^ My face knowing Aka just served Akane on a silver platter to every Akane hater out there 😂

The funniest thing about all this is that, hello?? The bangs are one thing, but are we supposed to pretend that Akane didn't wear her hair long as a kid? If anything, Akane cut her hair short that first time because her idol wore hers short. So why should anyone take short hair as a more genuine Akane thing than long hair??

But whatever, Aqua went back to his Love Now hair so the choice of haircut itself was obviously just Aka wanting Akane to be in sync with him. Because even if Aka recently spent 4 chapters establishing that Aqua is supposed to end up with someone else, he and Akane are the ones who continue to move as a pair.

Naturally.

So leaving the haircut itself aside, Akane is back to her original hair parting and thus (apparently) done imitating Ai.

The question here is: in what ways exactly has Akane been "imitating" Ai up to this point? Because I know there are a lot of different schools of thought when it comes to that.

As far as I'm concerned though, we have seen Akane, we have seen Ai, and we have seen Akane acting as Ai.

Needless to say, this isn't at all how Akane conducts herself in her day-to-day life lol

However, I don't think she means that she just shaped her hairstyle after Ai to be more like Aqua's ideal girl. That's fair and makes sense on paper, but if "imitating" Ai was just about making her hairstyle more appealing to Aqua, then why didn't she cut her hair after she and Aqua broke up? More than that, why didn't she cut it after she chose to support Kana's love life?

Because the timing of the haircut is key, IMO. She cut her hair short only after Aqua chose happiness and accomplished his revenge. In other words, she cut her hair short only after her goal of saving Aqua was accomplished.

To me, this implies that if Akane has been imitating Ai, it's been in ways that she thought would help her accomplish that goal.

Now, since she hardly speaks this chapter, it's hard to gauge what changes this will bring to Akane's characterization. However, there is one thing that already stands out to me:

Remember what happened when Akane thought that Kamiki killed Ai? She feared that Aqua would get his hands dirty by killing him in turn, and as such decided that she had to deal with Kamiki on her own in order to protect Aqua.

Now she knows that Nino is the Big Bad, and the first thing we see her do is... go discuss the situation with Aqua.

Akane now trusts that Aqua won't break, and so instead of acting on her own to protect him, she wants to be forthcoming with him.

Considering what I mentioned above about Aqua and Akane moving as a pair, I can't help but to think Aka may just be establishing Akane's own version of this:

And — what a coincidence — those lines also fit none other than Ai, who pretended to not love Kamiki and kept her distance from him because of how important he was to her.

Since Ai knew Kamiki was about to break, Ai put on a façade that wouldn't show her own doubts and fears. All in an effort to not burden him more, to protect him better even if she failed at it.

So I'm inclined to believe that may just be how Akane has been imitating Ai.

Aqua recently described Ai as someone who was always carefree, strong and who never cried. Needless to say, he was wrong about her, but that's the impression Ai deliberately tried to give. And what have we seen from Akane, especially lately?

Even when going against her true desires, Ai always put on a smile and remained flippant. So Akane may have been taking a page from that particular book... to be Aqua's perfect support.

His perfect ally.

I theorized before that this star here was Akane fully embracing the role as Aqua's girlfriend, but she wasn't just any kind of girlfriend. She was as supportive of Aqua as she possibly could, always trying to offer him solace, precisely because she knew how burdened Aqua was.

And throughout it all, Akane kept her own feelings and wants very close to her chest. She even intended to say goodbye to him with a smile, not realizing just how hard it would be on her.

Akane has been striving to save Aqua all along and playing any role she deems necessary to accomplish that goal (the supportive girlfriend, the well-meaning ex that gets in the way of his plans), but now that Aqua has finally been saved, she doesn't need to put on a mask anymore. Unlike Ai, who wore hers nearly until the very end.

With that reading, I can't help but think that Akane's wording was pretty clever. If she wants to be vague about her haircut being related to the "saving Aqua chapter" finally coming to a close for her, saying that she no longer needs to imitate Ai is a good way to convey it without actually saying it.

I may be completely off about all this, though. Truth is, we could sit here all day trying to figure out Akane's thoughts and Aka's intended meaning, but we all know that a lot of people will be running off with the most unflattering interpretations and they could be right for all I know. Aka's mind sometimes works in twisted ways 😂

That said, one unflattering interpretation I do want to fight against is that of Akane's feelings for Aqua just being an emulation of Ai's own. That doesn't add up, because Akane's goal from the get-go has been to help Aqua be happy.

And she had that goal even before she started imitating Ai:

Unless Aka retcons this, Akane's feelings for Aqua are Akane's own. He saved her and helped her be happy, and Akane has always been seeking to save him and help him be happy in turn.

It is possible that Akane has been trying to fill for Aqua the role of unconditional love and support that Ai would've filled for him if only she were alive. That's more or less just another way to say everything I already mentioned above.

However, even in that case, this should be motivated by her own feelings for him rather than Ai's. Not to mention, Ai's feelings for Aqua are motherly feelings and thus, strictly platonic. Meanwhile, Akane's for Aqua were paralleled to Ai's for her lover literally just a chapter ago:

So if Aka's writing is consistent, that particular interpretation should be off the table.

But that's enough time spent trying to make sense of Akane's line and Aka's intention behind it lol

Moving on, I can't help but notice what a big coincidence it is that right after we get a chapter showing that Ai and Kamiki are (in many ways) a failed Akane/Aqua, we now get a chapter where Akane cuts her hair short to differentiate herself from Ai.

Akane and Aqua may just be about to move into uncharted territory.

The first time we saw Aqua and Akane team up in Love Now, they did so as a business, fake relationship. Now, they're (potentially) teaming up all over again and being more honest while they're at it. What kind of dynamic will we see now, I wonder?

Granted, it doesn't have to involve anything romantic. This could be very well Aka setting up the stage for Aqua and Akane to end up as friends, and I'd personally be fine with that as long as it's executed well.

Regardless of the nature of his feelings though, I can't help but remember this:

Aqua once said that he will like Akane no matter what kind of Akane she is. With some luck, we may just see Aqua finally prove that he meant it.

His reaction when he saw her was so funny though. Aqua's feelings for Akane can be interpreted in many different ways, but indifference definitely isn't a plausible one lmao

Even here in this panel he's anything but indifferent. Almost like Akane just broached a sore subject

Also, it is kind of poetic that as soon as happiness is back on the table for Aqua, we see Aqua and Akane reunite on a chapter titled "Happy Ending" of all things lol

Now, onto the plot! It's nice to have confirmation that Aqua did originally intend to kill Kamiki. I'd like to know what exactly entailed his original plan, but that may be asking for too much at this point.

We still don't know what changed Aqua's mind, though. This chapter presents it as Aqua simply respecting Ruby's choice, but like I mentioned before, if that was all there was to it, then why didn't Aqua change his mind after he saw Ruby act the "I don't love you" scene for the first time? What let Aqua finally accept that Ruby's version of revenge was the right one?

On that same note, this chapter seems to confirm that Aqua has now embraced his life as Aqua Hoshino. He once discarded the naive thought of being happy, but now he seems ready to move on and getting a happy ending. Last time we saw Aqua pre time-skip on Chapter 151, his stars were still black. So, what gave?

We should still be missing a piece to solve that particular puzzle, IMO. I do think that Aka will eventually show it, even if it ends up being something as simple as "Kana True Oshi ❤️" (lmao)

Speaking about puzzles, it's hilarious how Aka makes Aqua be smart only when it's convenient to him. Just like Aqua magically could tell that his father was Kamiki just "thanks to Akane's movements", now he was suddenly able to tell that Nino was the big bad 😂 At least we're being told Akane already figured that out for herself, so that's good.

I swear though, if this doesn't all end with Aqua asking Akane what her happy ending is, I'll riot. Akane has spent the entire manga trying to save Aqua, and now that he's saved, she will be working to make everyone's happy ending possible. So Aqua better put in some effort to make sure Akane gets her happy ending too, whatever that may entail.

Things are moving super fast though, way faster than I thought they would. Now they even know about Yura, like?? Hopefully we'll at least get a few flashback panels to show how in the world they knew about her, because Aka is seriously pushing it lmao

In-before Aqua and Akane use a B-Komachi concert as bait to draw Nino into making a move so they can catch her. With everyone's help, of course 😂

I also can't help but wonder if Kamiki may pull some strings so that Ruby can have her Dome concert...

Everyone could see the Nino reveal coming after what happened with Kamiki, so I won't dwell on that. What I do find interesting though is that Nino is being presented as a fan gone wrong. She is everything a fan shouldn't strive to be. So knowing Aka, it's only natural that she will be contrasted to someone who is a true fan. Someone who genuinely wants only the best for their idol, without seeking to own them in any way.

Considering everything that has happened in the story, the two people who are most apt to fulfill that contrast are Aqua and Ruby. In Aqua's case in particular, that's a very interesting thought... especially considering his relationship with Kana and what Kana wants out of him: to be his number one idol, an idol that is an idol for him and him alone.

But we'll have to wait and see whether Aka sticks to his values or not 😂

All in all though, I'm very pleased that this chapter seems to put Akane front and center in this final arc, which is exactly what I was hoping for 😭 And I even got Miyako! I wish her relationship with Ruby and Aqua weren't so underdeveloped, because that family hug could've been one of the manga highlights for me otherwise.

I do kind of worry that Aka may pretend that now that Aqua has (more or less) embraced his life as Aqua Hoshino, there's no need for anyone else to know that he once was Goro though. Akane learning about it is the one thing I've always wanted to see in this manga, so I really hope Aka will at least let me have that much

[gabessquishytum]

Prince Dream/Palace Guard Hob

Dream [early 20s] uses his trusted personal guard Hob [40s] as a window into the lives of his subjects. At night when he bathes Hob stands in his room on the other side of a screen, watching the door and telling Dream stories. The laundress's new baby. The farmers' concern about the barley crop. The beekeeper's ongoing mead experiements.

One night Hob mentions offhand that the castle blacksmith has had it out for him ever since Hob fucked the blacksmith's son, a young man roughly Dream's age. Dream is. interested.

He asks for more detail. What did he look like? Who made the first move? Anytime Hob tries to skim over a detail, Dream makes him go back and recount it. 

Hob gets the gist quickly and, shameless as ever, tells the tale in explicit, filthy detail. He knows exactly what the soft, rhythmic splashing noises he can hear are. He tells Dream how the young man tasted when they first kissed, recounts the noises he made when Hob pushed him up against a wall and how it felt to grind his thigh between the boy's legs. How he fucked the sweet little cockslut bent over his own worktable while his father was away at market.

Soon Hob is hard in his trousers and Dream is whimpering behind him. A paper-thin screen is all that separates him from another desperate little slut.

Anon this is incredibly delicious and yummy.

The truth is, Dream has been lusting after his personal guard for several years now. He doesn't get a whole lot of contact with other people, so it's fair to say that his attention is fixated; he's a little bit obsessed. He dreams about Hob - his strong jaw and nose, the manly scent of him, his big rough hands. It's unbearable to know that Hob has been fucking other youths and hasn't given Dream the same attention! He didn't even push aside the screen and fuck Dream over his own bathtub when he clearly wanted to.

Well. Dream isn't a virgin - he's been well provided with willing young women and men to warm his bed. That's the trouble, though. They're young. So the next time the subject comes up with the manager of his household, Dream requests that his nighttime companions should be more... mature.

Dream smirks almost cruelly as he invites his newest companion into his bedroom - a man of around Hob’s age, bearded, dark haired. Hob’s hand hovers over his sword pommel. His expression doesn't change, but he almost radiates with jealousy. Dream sweetly tells him to step out and guard the door.

"I will be sure to tell you all about it in exquisite detail later, when I take my bath." Dream whispers. "And perhaps you will learn your lesson - do not keep me wanting, ever again."

Needless to say, Hob kicks the new 'companion' out through the door, and fucks his slutty prince against the windowsill so everyone can hear who the little royal whore really belongs to.

[worldly-fluster]

Oki this is Part 2 of the "Someone else says I love you/asks you out before him"

I know at least some of you are excited for this, I hope it turns out good cause I have no plan, we ball lol

Sylus, Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel

I'm gonna base what happens on the random poll I didn't mean to make and make this into mostly fluff-hopefully. @lemurianmaster Hope this met expectations ❤️

ALSO- I'm feeling a little unsatisfied with Xavier's so I might make a stand alone post for his, I mean, I'll finish this one but imma make another cause it just doesn't sit right with me how his went. I is unsatisfied lol

Sylus-

Recap: Sylus saw you being friendly with a 'rando' at a coffee shop, the last thing he heard before the guy left was 'bye babes, Love you!'

•...Uh Oh. Oh no.

•He was nothing if not pissed.

•Before he could get up and get between you two, you both went separate ways and you came back to your seat next to him.

•He already has Mephisto following the guy though.

•He would do it himself but he wants to spend as much time with you as he can.

•He gives you a smirk, with a raised eyebrow. If you squint you could see a little bit of a furrow between.

•You barely notice, still too happy off of seeing 'that rando' as you start prattling off.

•He's in the middle of imagining ways to...play with this guy, not really paying attention to what you're saying and nodding along, when he hears it.

•Something that makes him freeze up.

•"-I haven't seen my cousin in so long-"

•He doesn't even realize he stopped breathing for a moment until you ask if he's okay.

•His shoulders relaxed, as if the weight of the world left his shoulders as he smiles.

•"I'm alright now Sweetie, just figured something out that has bothered me is all...what do you say we go to my place for some one on one time? I think Mephisto needs attention."

Xavier-

Recap: Tara was bored and Nero was wanting to start shit lol. Nero tried asking you on a date, as a friend of course, and Xavier didn't take it well...

•Xavier didn't know what to do.

•He wants you to stay by his side at all times, but if being with someone that isn't...him... is what will make you happy then, what else can he do?

•He feels that pulling away from you would help but every time he even thinks about you with someone else, well, his evol acts up...

•One time his evol caused a black out and you kinda freaked out in your apartment alone, you booked it to Xavier's apartment for 'safety'.

•Needless to say after that there were multiple power outages.

•Just knowing that you would choose to go to him instead of anyone else-any man- it made him feel better.

•He can live like this...for maybe a bit more.

•He'll tell you sooner or later but right now he just wants- needs you.

Zayne-

Recap: Zayne overheard you and Grayson trying to figure out how he(Grayson) can confess to a girl he likes but Zayne misunderstood it thinking Grayson was confessing to you, he gets overwhelmed from work and the stress from this 'confession' and passes out. Next thing he knows he's waking up to your note telling him to rest...

•Zayne refuses to talk to Grayson in the week that follows.

•He just can't get it out of his head, hearing him 'confess' to you really hit a nerve.

•It doesn't help that he hasn't been able to see you or hear from you in that time because you got swamped in work, he knows you procrastinated but it came back to bite you. He just hates that it bit him too. Huff.

•In his mind you and Grayson may as well be dating, especially since he heard that Grayson got a girlfriend the day after he heard the 'confession'.

•He stressing.

•Yvonne went into his office one day and when she saw him working non stop, she convinced him to take a short break. His hands were shaking from too much Caffeine and not enough food, so he agreed easily.

•He could not have been more grateful for this break.

•He saw Grayson eating lunch with this girl, holding her hand, staring lovingly into her eyes. They kissed.

•At first he thought Grayson was cheating on you, but then the pieces started to come together.

•You weren't dating Grayson.

•He felt like his heart was flying.

•The feeling of relief made his head spin slightly, or that could have been the lack of eating, who knows.

•He immediately pulled out his phone, with a soft smile on his face and called you.

•"Hello?"

•"It's been a while. If you aren't busy, would you like to go to the new bakery that opened not far from the hospital? We can catch up, my treat."

Rafayel-

Recap: He was wanting attention and tried calling you but you didn't answer. He got excited when you 'called back' only to be disappointed when he heard you talk about being in love with this Mystery guy, he got sad and hung up. We ended with him cuddling with your plushies and blankets you left at his place. Now we continue...

•He is ignoring you...for all but 10 minutes.

•He sent an S.O.S text to both you and Thomas.

•then put his phone on silent to wait.

•Ended up falling asleep in the blankets and plushies.

•Woke up not long after to someone banging on his door.

•He wonders who it is.

•When he opens the door, he doesn't even get the chance to get a full 'Welp hello miss bodyguard' before you're all in his business. Checking for injuries and making sure he's okay.

•His heart feels like it's dying. He swears.

•"Why did you text S.O.S??? Thomas is freaking out thinking your dying!"

•You notice he isn't responding and just staring at you.

•You take his face in your hands and rub your thumbs on his cheeks while searching his face.

•You can hear him breathe in sharply as his hands loosely grip onto your wrists to keep them there.

•This.

•This is where he belongs. In your hands.

•Even if you 'love someone else', as long as you stay by his side he doesn't mind facing the world anymore.

[henrycangelbaby]

hiii, are you taking requests?

could you maybe write something about reader and logan telling their daughter that she's going to be a big sister?

or maybe reader telling logan through their daughter (for example making her wear a tshirt that says big sister or making her give him a gift or smth like that)

btw i love your work!!

thank youuuu <3333

In which: She seemed to think for a second, her tiny finger coming up to her lip to ponder his question. “Like, have a baby sister?” she asked, her big eyes peering up at him, melting his heart.

Or

Issy is set to become the best big sister.

It's Logan that picks up on it first; maybe he's the more perceptive one of the two of them; perhaps his super senses are finally good for something other than hearing his daughter in the middle of the night. Or maybe he just cares; he cares for his Y/N more than he could say, and that's why he first sees it.

It starts off with small things—well, not exactly small.

Her boobs—not to be crude, but the first thing Logan picks up on is her boobs. Listen, he's spent enough time looking at them (and licking them) to notice when the girls are different; they seem well bigger, not by heaps, but it's noticeable to him.

It's not only their size; they also become well sensitive.

Obviously, it's not something that he picks up on by himself; Issy has started sleeping better. They had finally made it out of the terrible transition stage, having her sleep in her own bed. As much as Logan loves his daughter, he is grateful for the space he gets back with his wife.

Speaking of his pretty little wife, he simply wasn't able to resist her one night. Issy had gone down for bed early, early enough that he knows they will regret it when she wakes up at the crack at dawn tomorrow morning, but it seems alight now when he has Y/Ns lips on his. It's been a while since he had a feverish make out with his hot wife, and he almost forgot how good it is. He doesn't even think before reaching out to grab one of her boobs; he pulls back surprised when she yelps, pulling back from him quickly.

“Sweets, you okay? What's wrong? I'm sorry if I—”

He's cut off by her as she shakes her head at him.

“No, honey, it’s, um—I don’t know what happened,” he says, looking at her, pulling back slightly to get a better look. “What’s wrong, baby? Are you hurting somewhere?”

She shakes her head again before replying, “No, I mean, it’s fine, it's just my boob.”

He cocks his head in confusion.

“I’m not sure what happened; it just hurt when you touched it. I’m sorry.”

He smiles. “Don’t apologize.”

She pouts jokingly at him before he speaks again. “Is anything else hurting, baby?”

She only shakes her head in response, climbing off him and laying down in their shared bed.

“It’s probably just my period or something,” she dismisses.

He hums like he doesn’t quite believe her, but he drops it, settling down next to her.

“How about one more kiss, a goodnight one?” she asks, widening her eyes.

Who was Logan to deny her anything?

He pecks her quickly on the lips before reaching to turn off the light, plunging them into sudden darkness.

The next thing that Logan notices is the nausea; it's not obvious. She doesn’t just start throwing up 24/7 like she did the first time. It's more subtle this time; she starts turning her nose away from certain smells, apologizing profusely when she suddenly can’t stand the smell of his shampoo and makes him stand farther away. He doesn’t take offense to it; it makes him laugh a little. His skin has grown a little thicker since starting a family. He laughs now at the memory, but at the time he had been anything less than amused when Issy had broken down in tears after he had grown his mustache. Needless to say, he hasn't tried a new facial hairstyle in a while.

It's not just him that puts her off; Y/N begins to turn her nose up at certain foods. Eggplant goes first. They don’t eat it a lot; eggplant isn’t exactly a toddler-friendly food, and neither he nor Y/N really have time to be cooking up interesting meals to include non-puréed veggies. But it's not them who cooks the eggplant; they go out to dinner one night. They don’t get out of the house as much as they used to for obvious reasons, but Logan is still the biggest advocate for date night. He hires the babysitter, books the restaurant, and refuses to share the driving with Y/N.

The night was going well—more than well. Really, anytime Logan gets to spend with his wife is a good time, but it is nice to get out of the house, talk about something other than their teething toddler, or which streaming services they really need for the house. The restaurant is somewhat upmarket; Logan works hard, goddamn it, and what is money for if not taking your lovely wife to a restaurant that serves thirty-dollar pasta?

Everything is great; Y/N gets the aforementioned thirty-dollar pasta, and Logan opts for a nice, juicy burger with a side of chips. The food is nice, which he considers it should be for the price point. They chat and giggle about silly things until Y/N stops abruptly, suddenly pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. Logan watches in concern as she pinches her eyes shut tightly.

“Baby, are you—”

He's cut off as her other hand comes up to silence him, shaking her head at him in lieu of answering his concern. They sit in silence for a moment; the restaurant moves around them as he peers over at her, worry settling in him. After a beat, she clears her throat, attempting to shake off whatever had come over her.

“What's wrong? Are you okay, baby?” he asks after she seems to compose herself.

“Yeah, sorry, um, did you smell that?”

He shook his head before she continued.

“Oh, I think it was eggplant or something, and it just was so strong.”

He nodded before urging her to continue.

“I'm not sure why, but it just got to me, like it smelled so bad, it made me sick.”

He tried to get a word in before she apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head again. “No, no, it’s fine. Do you feel okay now?”

“Yeah, it just made me—it didn’t smell good, made me feel a little sick.”

He hummed. “I’m fine now.”

She smiles in reassurance. “S’ok, baby, finish up, and we can get away from the evil vegetables.”

This got a chuckle out of Y/N.

It’s not something that he would usually consider or mull over, but he lets it get in his head; it just seemed out of character, so out of character for his Y/N. He thinks about it; it's not just the eggplant saga. She just seems weird at the moment.

The straw that breaks the camel's back (that being Logan's curiosity) is her period.

While Logan prides himself on being a doting husband, he isn't exactly a stalker; he can't tell exactly what day she is in her cycle or when she might bleed, but he has an idea. Her first period back after having Issy had been bad, and it hasn't seemed to get much better since then. He has a general ballpark of her period; he wants to be prepared, so when the extra tampons he picks up at the supermarket go untouched, his wifey senses start tingling.

A missed period could mean nothing; it could come in a week's time to surprise them all, but he feels different, that maybe this could mean something. When it doesn't come for the week, his curiosity peaks. He's not entirely sure what the etiquette is for telling someone else you think they could be pregnant, but it begins to feel like he's hiding a massive secret from her.

How had she not noticed? Was this all in his head? Maybe this was a sign from the universe telling him he should get her pregnant again.

Issy knocks out early; it's a Friday night, and Logan feels like the week has dragged on for a month. He sits next to Y/N; they share the couch as they both stare into the TV, both content with the silence in the room. It had not been a silent day. It stays like this while the sun dips below the horizon. Logan thinks they are probably both tired enough to go to bed right now.

His theory is proven half right when he peeks out of the corner of his eye to see Y/N's eyes drooping every so often.

"Hey," he says quietly.

Y/N half jerks awake in surprise, turning to face him. "Yeah?"

"Why don’t we go to bed, honey?"

"Yeah, okay," she agreed, offering her hand out to him. He took it, standing chest to chest with her for a second. He cocked his head at her slightly; now was as good a time as ever (not really, but whatever).

"Baby," she only hummed in response, looking up at him. "Is everything okay?"

She pulled back from him, slightly furrowing her eyebrows. "Yeah, why’d you ask?" she responded rather suspiciously.

"You haven't felt off recently? Sick at all?"

She seemed to ponder this one for longer. "I mean, sure, a little bit, but I think I'm due my period soon or something," she dismissed.

"Okay, listen, I know this sounds silly." He took a breath before continuing, "Do you think you could be pregnant again?"

She stepped away from him this time; he couldn't quite figure out the look on her face. Was she upset? He quickly tried to recover his statement.

"I just mean, you know, the nausea and your boobs and stuff—that all happened with Issy. I just thought that maybe—"

He was interrupted by her speaking quickly, "My period!"

He looked at her, confused. "Yeah, that too."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "My period is late as well, isn't it?"

He nodded in confirmation.

"Oh my god, Lo, it's been bothering me all week; I've felt like I was missing something, like I had forgotten something, but it was just that." She let out a joking sigh of relief. "But yeah, on a serious note, the thought crossed my mind."

She spoke again. "I haven't really had time to act on it yet, but I was going to chat with you on the weekend."

He smiled at her answer. They were always on the same page, even if they didn't realize it.

"How 'bout I buy you a couple of tests tomorrow? We can take them while Issy's at her playdate," he suggested.

"Good thinking, handsome," she replied, leaning up to kiss him.

The next morning, as promised, he drops Issy off at her friend’s house and picks up a few pregnancy tests on his way home. They sit huddled in the bathroom together, waiting for the results of the test on top of the toilet seat. It’s not as bad as it was the first time; it had been unexpected and worrying the first time it had come up. Taking the test had felt like changing their entire lives with a piece of plastic, but now it just felt right.

Perhaps he had grown into parenting more than he had realized, but every time he thought about his family, he thought about growing it. Being a parent to multiple little girls, all with their mother's eyes. He was a strong man; he could handle a kid on each arm, maybe even one more wrapped around his chest. This time it felt right. This time he hoped for the test to come up positive.

And it did.

She shrieked slightly as he threw his arms around her.

“This is good, so good,” he muttered into her hair.

“Yeah,” she breathed, nodding.

They kept it to themselves for a while; they didn’t intentionally mean to keep secrets from their daughter, but it was nice to live in their little bubble for a while. The knowledge of their family growing was all but positive, and it felt important to them. It warmed his heart whenever he thought about it.

They weren’t just keeping their bubble whole; they also were unsure how to approach it with Issy. Perhaps it was silly to be scared of a toddler, but Issy was anything if not temperamental, and trying to tell a toddler about change doesn’t always go well. How were they supposed to tell her that she was soon to be one of two children fighting for her parents' attention when a meltdown ensued every time they had to tell her that her favorite TV show wasn’t showing another episode today?

Needless to say, they let it simmer for a bit, pretending that they were going to come up with ways to discuss it with her but really putting it off even more. They decided to address it head-on; bite the bullet, if you will.

It happens over dinner one night. Strategically, Y/N suggests that they butter Issy up a little. Logan agrees, opting to cook her favorite food, pesto pasta (or green pasta, as Issy had affectionately dubbed it). They pour her a glass of strawberry milk to go with it—something that wouldn't usually be allowed at dinner, but today is a special occasion.

Issy doesn't catch on, or if she does, she doesn't mention it, munching and sipping her favorite foods happily. When she finishes eating, Logan leans over to wipe her face softly, allowing Y/N to open up the conversation.

“Issy?” Y/N looks for her attention. She perks up at the sound of her name, eyebrows knitting together curiously in a way that is so reminiscent of her father.

"Honey, Mommy and Daddy want to ask you about something,” Y/N continued. “Is that okay?”

Issy pursed her lips together as if she were thinking hard about the question before nodding as an answer. She crossed her small arms over her chest, looking at her parents expectantly.

Logan spoke up. “Issy, you ever think about being bigger?”

He swore under his breath—

that didn't make much sense. She seemed to somewhat understand, responding with a small "yeah.” He nodded in acknowledgment.

“How would you feel about being a big sister?” he asked cautiously.

She seemed to think for a second, her tiny finger coming up to her lip to ponder his question. “Like, have a baby sister?” she asked, her big eyes peering up at him, melting his heart.

“Yeah, honey, just like that," Y/N agreed quickly.

Issy’s lips broke out of her purse, pondering to smile widely. She clapped her hands together, repeating “Yes!” a few times over. He and Y/N sighed in relief; this had gone better than they thought it might.

“So, you're happy that you'll have a baby sibling soon?”

She perked up. “When?” she all but demanded the answer.

Logan reached around, pulling her out of her seat and up into his arms. “In a few months, okay?”

She only nodded in response. He called over his shoulder to Y/N, telling her that he would get Issy ready for bed. She called back in response, wishing him luck.

It was late when they finally got to go to bed together, resistant toddlers and dishes keeping them busy. They lay quietly in the dark; Y/N looked like she might fall asleep the moment her eyes shut closed.

He leaned over her gently; she smiled up at him through bleary eyes; he couldn't resist dipping down to kiss her, a soft but passionate kiss planted on her waiting lips.

“Today went good,” he stated after rolling back to lie next to her.

“Yeah,” she hummed.

“Better than we thought,” she added.

He smiled at her. “You know what?” he asked.

She nodded, encouraging him to respond.

“It made me excited,” he confessed.

“Me too,” Y/N agreed lowly.

He didn’t say anything in response, understanding that she had fallen asleep, breathing softly next to him. He moved closer to her, gently tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“I love you,” he whispered softly, allowing himself to fall further into her embrace. “I love you so much, baby.”

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

DP X DC PROMPT #29

(#) = Notes at the end of post

✦

The Nasty Burger Explosion still happens, and Danny is left without his friends, family, and the only teacher who ever tried to help and encourage him in school. He manages to skirt around Vlad's custody by discovering a cousin of his Dad's he'd never heard about (1). He reached out to her, crying and begging for her to take him in. To not let Vlad anywhere near him.

Needless to say, after hearing a desperate teenager call her in tears and discover that besides Danny, her cousin Jack and his family had recently died in a horrible "accident," Lois nearly upends everything to go and get Danny from a middle of nowhere town in Illinois. After talking with Clark, of course. She didn't get one word in, however, cause he heard the entire phone call from the other room, though unintentionally.

After arranging for Mama Kent to watch over a still young Jon, they drove as fast as possible to meet this boy that already had their hearts in an iron grasp. When they first lay eyes on him, they immediately want to comfort him. His black hair is a tangled mess, his eyes bloodshot and red from crying. He sits in the corner of the school secretary's office, curled up in the small seat with an overstuffed backpack clutched tightly in a trembling, white-knuckled grip. A girl with dark skin and her hair held back by a headband sits with him, but she gets up and walks over as soon as she sees them enter the office. Danny doesn't seem to notice or even look up from where he's staring at the floor tiles.

"He's been hiding here for the last few days since he called you. He hasn't gone home once except to pack the bag he has with him." The girl explains. She holds out her hand to Lois for a handshake. "Valerie. You could say I'm a... friend of his (2). I'm assuming you're the cousin?"

Lois nods solemnly. "How's he been? He wouldn't tell me why he wouldn't go with his parent's first choice of custody. I've been worried."

Valerie grimaced and looked back at Danny before looking her directly in the eyes. "I can't say much without revealing anything i shouldn't. Let's just say Vlad has an unhealthy obsession with Danny, and it's unsafe to be around him. If he trusts you, he'll be the one to tell you the rest."

Clark and Lois share a look before they both nodded.

Valerie sees their acceptance and relaxes. She'd actually been tense the entire time she'd been talking with them.

"Well, with that said, I'll be going now." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked down with a sad expression. She looked back up at Lois with a deep sigh, and only then did Lois realize that Valerie looked to have been crying recently too. Looking between both adults, she made a quiet request. "Take care of him, will you?"

This time Clark is the one who finally speaks up. "You have our word he'll be safe and cared for."

Valerie's shoulders slump with a shuttering sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Once she left, Clark and Lois slowly approached Danny and sat to either side of him. Only then did he finally look up from the tiles and see them. His eyes ghosted over Lois but immediately locked onto Clark. He stared up at him, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.

Clark shrunk his broad form down a little, concerned his build might be intimidating for the young man. "Hi there, bud." He said in a soft tone. "I'm Clark and this is Lois. We're here to pick you up."

When introductions didn't seem to get a reaction from the teen, Clark's brow furrowed further. "Something wrong?"

Danny finally blinked and quickly ducked his head back down to look at the floor. "N-No." He croaked. "Sorry. For a moment there, I thought you were-" He choked on his words and seemed to have difficulty swallowing. He was shaking, his face hidden against his knees with one of his arms braced over his head to hide even further.

When he finally managed to finish his sentence, Clark's heart shattered completely.

"I th-thought you were my dad."

Clark looked at Lois with lost, watery eyes only to see she was in the same exact predicament. She couldn't stand seeing Danny so heartbroken any longer and leaned over to wrap him in a hug, Clark soon following. After a while of shushing and murmuring words of comfort, Lois gently spoke up.

"Why don't we get your things in the car and we can get on the road."

Extracting himself from their warm hold, Danny took a deep, shuttering breath before nodding.

"Okay."

"Is there anything else we need to get from the house? You have everything?"

Gripping his bag tightly to his chest, he nodded again. (3)

"Yeah. I do."

✦

Side Note:

(1) He found out through Tucker. He'd searched through Danny's family tree for any living relatives in case Vlad ever actually managed to kill Jack or something else happened to both his parents. He just never imagined it would be for this reason specifically.

(2) Yes, she knows Danny is Phantom now. She did not know before. She found out after she tried to pin the blame for Danny's friends and family on Phantom while Danny was in earshot, and he basically blew up at her and broke down. She's horrified and feels terrible, so don't be too hard on her. The confrontation also happened on school grounds with a bunch of other kids present, so a good majority of the student body knows now, too. If not from seeing it first hand, then by word of mouth. They're keeping it hush hush so nobody with bad intentions towards ghosts comes looking for Danny. Valerie will be the main defense against any ghosts that pop up, as well as a few other kids she trained.

(3) Before he left, Danny did disable and completely dismantle the ghost portal and translated all his parent's research into a code him, Sam, and Tucker came up with before destroying the originals as well as the entire lab itself. Natural ghost portals can still pop up in Amity Park tho, since the ghost portal kinda oversaturated the town with ectoplasm. Valerie and the kids she trained are just a precaution.

Haven't come up with a title for this one yet. I'll add it later when it pops into my head though.

Funny enough, this actually isn't what I planned to write for this prompt. It did involve Danny getting adopted into the Kent family, but there was going to be something entirely different happening. Apparently, the characters had other plans. Oh well, I'll save it for the next one, I guess. It might be a second part of this, actually. We'll see!

Enjoy the angst & hurt/comfort tho!

[slaymitchabernathy]

Darling, it's cold outside.

The cold, bitter air bites at Coriolanus as he steps out of his office building onto the busy Capitol street.

He adjusts his grip on his briefcase and shoves his other gloved hand into the pocket of his coat, there’s no need to lose more fingers than necessary. He keeps his gaze forward as he starts towards his car, a million thoughts running through his mind.

Some are about work, how well he’s doing, if he’ll get that promotion he's been gunning for all year. It gets so tricky around the holidays, no one really wants to focus on work when they could be spending time with family.

But Coriolanus has no family.

Which makes him the perfect candidate to work a little later than everyone else since he much prefers the peace and quiet over the loud chatter. He would’ve worked even later if he didn’t have a date tonight.

A date with Livia Cardew.

Coriolanus is a single man but it isn’t for a lack of trying. He’s attempted to go on a few dates here and there, squeezing them into his busy schedule but nothing has ever stuck, ever clicked. The women he goes on these dates with are more than just conquests to him, he wants the real thing, someone to start a family with him and share his vision.

He has yet to find someone in the Capitol to do that with.

So he keeps trying. This will be his third date with Livia and he’s hoping that the third time is the charm.

It’s probably not.

He slides into the backseat of his car with a heavy sigh, today was so tiring he wishes he could just go home and go to bed. But Livia would be furious and he’s not one to stand up a lady on a date. And she knows where he lives.

“The Grand Oak please,” he says to his driver, pulling a box of cigarettes out of his briefcase, he needs a smoke every once in a while and it’s somewhat frowned upon by all the ladies who work at the office. They always complain about the smell, about how it clings to clothing, Coriolanus and Festus often brave the cold just for a few sacred minutes with a cigarette.

He stares out the window at the passing Capitol streets, admiring how beautiful the city is this time of year with all the holiday lights and displays. He hopes Livia won't be too nagging tonight, all she did last time was complain about her job, and while Coriolanus can easily sympathize with anyone about working, he certainly won't whine about it over dinner.

Tonight will be great.

It has to be great.

꧁ ꧂

Tonight was terrible.

Coriolanus trudges down the sidewalk, cigarette in hand while he blows into the cold air. Livia managed to get on every one of his nerves tonight, whining about shopping for the holidays and then giving him flack for his lack of enthusiasm over their date.

Needless to say, this was their last date.

He stops at the corner and watches other people cross the busy streets, hand in hand with one another. If they found love so easily then surely he can do the same. He watches one woman cross the street, a handbag hangs from her shoulder while she briskly walks towards a small cafe. There's something about her, something so familiar about the way she walks, how she carries herself, how she smiles at the man who holds the door open for her.

Then it hits him.

It's Soarynn. Soarynn Nightingale, his ex-girlfriend from the Academy.

Coriolanus doesn't realize that his feet are moving until he's already across the street, making his way to the bustling cafe. He peers through the window, doing his best not to look creepy as he looks for Soarynn. He sees her at the counter, ordering a coffee no less. He hasn't seen her in years, not since they broke up and went their separate ways.

Has fate led him here? Should he go in and say hello?

Coriolanus prides himself on following his head rather than his heart but his heart seems to be taking over right now because he's pulling the cafe door open before he can stop himself. He throws his cigarette into the ashtray and scans the crowded cafe, the smell of coffee and pastries is overwhelming. He spots Soarynn walking down the counter towards an empty table, done placing her order.

He's got to time this right.

He briskly walks over to the counter where a chipper staff member greets him with a smile, "What can I get for you, sir?" He's unable to tear his gaze away from the blonde-haired woman who's sitting alone in the corner of the cafe, "Um, a coffee please, black."

He doesn't care how much it costs, he doesn't even care how it tastes.

He shoves several bills across the counter, mumbling for them to keep the change. He doesn't know what Soarynn ordered but this all has to be timed perfectly or this will all be for nothing and he'll be stuck with a black, soulless coffee.

He watches a staff member mix together a drink before lifting it up to read the name scrawled on the side of the cup, "Soarynn?"

His heart starts racing, maybe he timed it too late or too early. He watches Soarynn slowly get up from her chair and just when all hope is lost, "Coriolanus?"

He takes his time walking to the end of the counter, watching from the corner of his eye as Soarynn looks at his cup of coffee, a look of realization crosses over her face and she looks up at him, "Coriolanus Snow?"

He feigns a look of shock, "Soarynn? I can't believe this, I haven't seen you in years! What're the odds?" Soarynn smiles and shrugs, "Looks like this city isn't big enough for both of us." Coriolanus laughs and watches her bring her cup to her lips, taking a sip before scrunching her nose, "Could I get some sugar please?" She asks sweetly, taking off the lid, "Still overdoing it with the sugar huh?" He teases, grinning when she shoots him a look.

"Everyone needs some sweetness in their life," she counters back, thanking the staff member when they hand her some sugar packets. "How are you? It's been ages since we last saw each other."

Coriolanus nods, leaning against the counter, "Good, I'm good. Busy with work. What about you?"

Soarynn sighs, gazing up at him the way she used to when they were dating, "I'm good too. Busy pulling everything together for this season's line."

"Ah, that's right, you're a big fashion designer now."

Soarynn blushes and shakes her head, "Hardly. And what about you? I heard that you're working at one of the biggest firms in the Capitol, that must be so exciting for you."

Not in the way she'd think but Coriolanus nods, "It is, I'm very happy with how everything's gone for me this year. Were you just getting off of work?"

Soarynn looks back at her table in the corner, a large binder sits across it, "Yes, I've been working a bit later than usual. What about you? Same story?"

Horrible images of his very recent date with Livia flash through his eyes and he quickly presses a smile to his lips, "Yep, burning the midnight oil." Soarynn shifts on her feet, her eyes scanning him up and down, "Well...are you in a rush to get home?"

Coriolanus retrains himself from jumping with joy as he settles for a causal head shake, "Not at all, I just needed something to warm me up." Soarynn wraps her fingers around her own cup, "Me too, I hate the cold."

He chuckles, she's always preferred summer over winter, "It's not that bad."

"Would you like to sit?" She points over at her table, "I know it's so last minute but I haven't seen you since..." Her words die off as she remembers their bitter ending and Coriolanus clears his throat, "Yeah...but I'd love to catch up."

He follows Soarynn over to her table and he can't help but look at her sketches scrawled across the pages. The designs are stunning and so in tune with who she is as a person, "These are beautiful," he tells her, finding no lies in his words. Soarynn closes the binder shut, her face flushed, "They're just sketches for spring."

Coriolanus tilts his head, "But it's winter right now."

An amused look grows on her face as if she knows something he doesn't, "Which is why we're working ahead so by the time spring gets here we're not behind." Coriolanus is bewildered by her way of thinking. In his line of business, he's always been told to focus on what's right in front of him.

"Fashion seems terribly complicated," he says before taking a sip of his coffee, it's not half bad either. Soarynn hums and tucks her binder away in her leather bag, "It's all about trends. All of my designs in the stores right now were created this summer. It requires a very forward way of thinking."

Coriolanus doesn't spend a lot of time shopping but whenever he's passing by the fanciest shops, he always sees her designs in the front windows. "Well you've done amazing for yourself, I see your designs everywhere."

"That's very kind of you," she murmurs, "and the credit can't all go to me, I have an amazing team and amazing partners. Clemmie and Persephone deserve as much credit as I do."

Coriolanus raises his eyebrows, he's always known Soarynn to be kind but he's forgotten how humble she is, "You're still friends with Clemmie and Persephone?"

Soarynn hums sipping her own drink, "Mhm. We all went to fashion school together, graduated the same year you did if I recall. Then we got hired by our current fashion house, it's run exclusively by women."

Coriolanus grins, it's a stark contrast to his firm that's run by men, "That must be interesting, do you all fight over shoes and handbags?" Soarynn rolls her eyes at his teasing and sits back in her chair, "Hardly. We all have such different and distinct senses of style, that's what makes our designs so unique. There's something for everyone."

Coriolanus has never paid too much attention too much attention to fashion, not when the color black is always in style but Soarynn has always had impeccable taste. Classy yet trendy, stylish yet elegant. He takes a moment to truly admire the young woman she's become. Her hair is still blonde as ever but she's gotten it cut in layers to frame her face in a very flattering manner.

Her eyes are still startling, blue and gray. Her complexion is flawless, a bit of blush dots her cheeks but her freckles stand out like stars in the night sky. She's still so beautiful.

"You...you look good," he tells her, watching her eyes slightly grow bigger at his compliment, "you've always looked good but now you're all grown up."

Soarynn shly smiles across the table at him, "Well you still look handsome as ever Coryo."

Coryo. He hasn't heard that name since they ended things. It was a nickname exclusively reserved for Soarynn, the one girl who's really gotten to know his heart. He does his best to mask his giddiness, "Thank you. I like to think I'll look like my father before I know it."

Soarynn scans his face, making him feel a bit self-conscious but Soarynn doesn't have a malicious bone in her body, she'd never put others down. "I do remember seeing your father's picture in the yearbook, he looked very handsome." Coriolanus breaks into a teasing grin, "What're you saying? That my father is better looking than me?"

Soarynn laughs, brushing her hair behind her ears, "Hardly! I'm just saying that good looks run in the Snow family." Well, that makes him feel better. He's not balding or attempting to grow a beard like other men his age so he hopes that the odds are in his favor when it comes to physical appearance.

"But what about you? How has it been with work?" She asks, giving him her full undivided attention which means a lot after dealing with Livia who only wants to talk about herself. He scratches the back of her neck, "It's um, it's good. It's a lot sometimes," he admits, "but it's challenging and I enjoy a challenge. Felix and Festus work there as well so it's nice to see a familiar face and my other colleagues are pleasant enough."

Soarynn leans forward, resting her forearms on the table, "But?"

How is it that after all these years she's still able to pick up on him holding back from her?

He rubs his temples, "I have everything I've ever wanted and no one to share it with." Soarynn's face softens and her eyes hold shared emotion, "I get that," she says softly, "it's not easy coming home to an empty house every night."

Coriolanus unintentionally eyes her left hand, her ring finger to be precise and it's empty. Soarynn Nightingale, by some miracle, has not been swooped up yet. Which is hard to believe, she's stunning, kind, funny, and smart. She's a catch.

"Do you date?" He asks, praying that she's sworn off men since they ended things but to his chagrin, Soarynn slowly nods, "Sometimes," she mumbles, playing with her fingers, "it's hard with work and friends. And no offense, but all of you men are the same right now, so serious and closed off. It's hard to connect when no one wants to be vulnerable."

He bites the inside of his cheek, he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't thrilled to hear that she's single and on the market. But they already had a relationship, a long one with a painful ending if he remembers correctly and neither of them want to go through that again. That's why they never kept in touch.

It's easier to get over someone if you just pretend that they don't exist.

"Dating is a bit tricky," he agrees, thinking back to the murderous look Livia gave him when he told her this was their last date, "but I like to think that it means that you're just one more heartbreak away from finding your true love."

Soarynn doesn't look too convinced but she offers him a small smile, "I already got my heart broken," she reminds him and they both look away, trying to forget what they had with one another.

"Excuse me, we'll be closing in ten minutes." The staff member's voice jolts them both out of their little bubble and Coriolanus looks around to cafe to find it empty. They're the last ones in here and he's barely sipped his coffee. Soarynn grabs her bag, "I should go."

Coriolanus quickly stands up, pushing in his chair, "Let me take you home."

She looks up at him with hesitation, he can see it in her eyes, should she trust him?

He nods out the window where his driver has parked the car, idly waiting for him, "I insist, I can't in good consciousness let you walk on the streets by yourself this late at night."

He really just wants to spend more time with her but at least he looks very chivalrous right now. Soarynn debates the offer, walk home in the cold, dark night, or get driven for free.

"Alright," she finally agrees, "that's very kind of you."

Coriolanus smiles and leads the way out of the cafe, holding the door open for her like the gentleman he is, "You must be very important if you have your own car," she muses, sliding into the backseat. Coriolanus slides in after her, closing the door behind him, "Something like that," he agrees, nodding at his driver, "Cornelia Street please."

Soarynn gives him an impressed look, "You remembered."

"Remembered what?"

"Where I live."

Coriolanus almost laughs, how could he forget the one street he subconsciously avoids in fear of running into the one girl who knew his heart?

"I have a good memory," is all he says in reply.

They're both quiet for the rest of the ride, soaking in the silence and each other's presence. Coriolanus can't help but think that this might all be fate, having a terrible date only to run into Soarynn moments later.

It's a Christmas miracle is what it is.

The car turns down the familiar street and a million memories flash through his mind of all the time he spent on this street, spent walking on this street because he didn't have a fancy car or driver when he was at the Academy. And she still loved him, despite his social status or financial status, Soarynn loved him for who he was.

The car slows to a stop in front of the Nightingale townhouse, a sight Coriolanus swore he'd never see again. He opens the door, closing his eyes when the cold air washes over him, it'll probably start snowing soon and the Capitol streets will look like a white blanket.

He turns to help Soarynn out of the car, extending a hand and he sees the look of surprise on her face but she recovers smoothly and places her small hand in his large one as she steps out of the car. She looks so graceful while doing the simplest tasks. "Thank you," she says.

He grunts and follows her down the pathway that leads to the front door. A pretty wreath with a red bow hangs on the door and Soarynn fumbles around her bag, searching for her key. "Never thought I'd be on your front door step again," he admits, hoping he's not digging up old graves that they've already put to rest.

Soarynn lets out a breathy laugh and pulls out her key, "Me neither," she says, unlocking the door. She pushes it open and the smell of vanilla completely overwhelms him, it feels like coming home to a place that's no longer his. He peers into the house, everything still looks about the same but he's sure she's made some changes over the past six years.

Soarynn goes to step inside but she hesitates, wrapping her fingers around the door handle, "Would you...would you like to come in for a drink?"

Coriolanus looks down at his watch, it's eleven o'clock but he has all the time in the world for Soarynn Nightingale. "I'd love to."

He follows her into her home and can see that she's decorated for Christmas by wrapping the grand staircase's banister with green garlands and he can see a small Christmas tree in the living room.

"You're here all by yourself still?" He asks, hanging his coat by the door. He figured she'd hire some household staff, maybe get a fish or something. "Not exactly," Soarynn says, leaning against the staircase banister, "I got a cat."

Coriolanus raises his eyebrows because, from the day he met Soarynn, she's always wanted a cat. "And where is this cat?" He looks around for any signs of a feline residing in the home but finds none. Maybe she has a quiet, shy cat who doesn't bother anyone.

Soarynn starts making her way to the kitchen and he's right on her heels, reminiscing all the time he spent in the Nightingale townhouse, "She's around here somewhere," she says over her shoulder, "she likes to hide until she's studied you."

Oh wonderful, she got a cat who thinks it's a leopard.

The kitchen is exactly as he remembers it, beautifully crafted with lots of personal touches such as photographs and kitchenware passed down from family members. "Do you want wine or something else?" She asks, digging around one of the cupboards.

Coriolanus stops by the fridge, gently touching a photo of Soarynn and her late father Glen Nightingale. He'd recognize this photo anywhere because it was plastered onto the invitation he received for Glen's funeral. Coriolanus and every elite member of Capitol society attended although he remained hidden in the back of the crowd, the last thing he wanted was to make Soarynn's day worse.

When he looks back over at her, she's already looking at him, a sad smile on her lips, "I think my father has some bourbon in his collection if you'd prefer that." Coriolanus quickly shakes his head, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants, "Oh no, please don't trouble yourself, wine is great."

She hums although she doesn't look like she believes him, "It's almost been four years and yet sometimes I come home and expect him to be in his study." Coriolanus shifts on his feet, he's no stranger to losing a parent, not when both of his died during the war but Soarynn adored her father. It's a shame that something like heart failure had to take him away from her.

"I never sent a card," he says, chiding himself for being so negligent, "I should've sent a card when he died, should've done something."

Soarynn crosses the room and gently grabs his arm, "Coryo, it's fine. Please don't beat yourself up over that, it was years ago and I know you came to the funeral. Everyone processes grief differently." He's having a hard time accepting that his not sending a card is okay because it's not. Glen was like a father figure to him and he couldn't even comfort his daughter when she needed it the most.

"You were all alone," he murmurs, looking down into her startling eyes, "I know we weren't speaking but still, I could've sent a card."

Soarynn gives his arm a squeeze and her eyes sparkle a little bit, "You can always send me a Christmas card."

They both break into a grin from her joke and suddenly, things don't feel so bad.

꧁ ꧂

Coriolanus has forgotten how wonderful it is to be in Soarynn's presence.

And he's never seen her tipsy but it's a sight to see. She shrieks with laughter as they remember the time when he and Festus ran through the Academy halls in only their underwear after Didi Ring dared them to do it. "I still can't believe no one caught you!" She laughs, leaning back into the sofa. Coriolanus chuckles and proudly shrugs, "Only those who had the privilege of witnessing our greatness can look back on it and say they were there to see it."

Soarynn finishes off her wine, setting the glass on the coffee table, "You were always so confident, I remember admiring that about you a lot." Coriolanus tilts his head, Soarynn has definitely become more comfortable in her own skin but she's never been as outgoing as he is.

"Well, you're confident now," he points out, "you've got your own clothing line catering to the richest women in Panem."

Soarynn wags a finger at him like he said something wrong, "I cater to all the women in Panem," she corrects, a proud look on her face, "my designs range from high-end to affordable for everyone who wants to feel put together. It's important to make everyone feel included."

Coriolanus is stunned, he wasn't aware that her designs could be accessed by the lower class but it seems like something Soarynn would do with that righteous heart of hers. She's always thought about others.

"Well there you go then," he nods, "I have my confidence and you have your generosity."

Soarynn smiles, "We'd make quite the pair."

The comfortable feeling between them quickly dissipates from those words. They did make quite the pair until they didn't anymore and he was storming out of her house, swearing to never see or think of her again. Looks like he lied.

"You know, I kind of forgot about how things ended between us," he says, resting his elbow on the armrest of his chair, "I mean I just don't remember what was said before we split."

Soarynn raises her eyebrows, sitting up straight and he knows he's in for an earful, "Oh so you don't remember our last fight?"

He offers her a charming smile but she waves him off, not falling for his tricks, "We both wanted different things," she says with a sigh, "you always knew what you wanted and you wanted it before you could even handle it. I wanted to take life slowly, work on fashion, work on us but you...you've just always wanted everything and I thought that I was your everything."

Coriolanus is starting to remember their last days together, remember the fights, the stress, the tears. "I've always felt the need to prove myself, and I've always had a lot of pride," he admits, more to himself than to her, "and I let that get in the way of a lot of things, including you."

Coriolanus has a lot of regrets but Soarynn has always been on the top of his list.

"We both went down different paths," Soarynn tells him softly, reaching over to place her hand on his forearm, "but we both got what we wanted in the end. You got the job you always wanted, the money, the penthouse, the clothes, the car. And I got what I always wanted. Sometimes people have to go separate ways to get what they want."

Coriolanus stares down at her hand so casually resting on his forearm, only his white button-up shirt separates them and he's starting to remember all the times they spent together without clothes.

"And what happens when those people grow up and run into each other one night at a cafe?" He asks with a shakiness in his voice that he's not used to.

Soarynn swallows, turning pink in the dim lighting, "Well I haven't gotten that far yet."

Before either of them can say anything else, a white ball of fluff jumps onto the sofa next to Soarynn and Coriolanus nearly falls out of his chair, "Oh, Petunia! There you are darling. Coryo, this is my cat, Petunia." Soarynn grabs the white fluffy cat who immediately melts in her hold, purring intensely.

Coriolanus composes himself and slowly reaches out for her to smell his hand, "So this is the cat. I thought she'd never show."

Petunia looks over at him and meows, sniffing his hand for only a second before deeming him not important. What amazes him the most is how Petunia's eyes are the same color as Soarynn's, blue and gray.

"She looks just like you," he blurts out, "in a good way," he adds when he sees the face Soarynn is making. She looks at Petunia for a moment, squinting her eyes, "I suppose we have some similarities," she agrees.

Coriolanus looks over at the grandfather clock that's been in this living room since he can remember and it's almost two o'clock in the morning!

"I should go," he says, "I have a fitting for some new suits at twelve tomorrow."

Soarynn nods and sets a protesting Petunia down, "Let me walk you out."

They both shuffle out of the living room and Petunia follows them to the front door, curious about this new large human in her house. "I had a really nice time tonight," Soarynn tells him while he puts on his coat, "it was really nice seeing you again Coryo."

Coriolanus looks down at her and thinks of a time when she'd have her arms wrapped around his neck when he'd leave, begging him not to leave. She still looks beautiful though.

"I had a nice time too. I'm glad we ran into each other."

Soarynn smiles and Coriolanus just has to see her again. But how?

The holidays are so busy and they both have work and...the holiday work party!

"Would you like to go to a party with me?" He blurts out before he can stop himself. Soarynn looks surprised but not put off by the invitation, "A party?"

Coriolanus rests his hand on the door handle but makes no move to open it, "Yes, my firm is throwing a party for all its employees and we're allowed to bring plus ones. And I as we have established, lack a plus one."

Soarynn grins, looking him up and down, "That's hard to believe. When is it?"

"The twenty-first."

With his luck, she's busy on that night only.

"Alright," she says, leaning forward on her heels, "it would be an honor to accompany you to such an important event. What's the dress code?"

Truth be told, he barely glanced at the invitation, only noting the date to put on his calendar, "I'll let you know," he answers, "but maybe wear something red." She's always looked good in red.

"I'll scour my closet for a red dress," she promises.

They both stand there for a second, on the cusp of something that once was and maybe what could be if they play their cards right.

"Good night Soarynn."

Without any warning, she presses herself to her tiptoes and kisses his cheek, just like she used to when they'd go to separate classes, "Good night Coryo."

He's never washing this cheek again.

He manages to open the door and get down the two steps without making an absolute fool of himself, waving goodbye once more before slipping into his car. He brings his hand up to where her lips just were, perhaps this is a Christmas miracle.

He won't be a fool this time and take it for granted.

꧁ ꧂

“It’s ice skating,” Festus says, lingering in the doorway to the office that belongs to Coriolanus, "you know, a fun wintery activity. You do remember how to have fun, right Snow?"

Coriolanus rolls his eyes, doing his best to ignore Festus and his persistent nagging, "I do have fun Festus," he sighs, "I also have work to do and no one to take with me." Festus strolls into the office and plops down in the armchair that sits across the desk, "Just fly solo. It'll just be me and Felix."

Coriolanus raises an eyebrow, "And your girlfriends," he adds, shaking his head when Festus grins, "I'd rather not be a fifth wheel again."

Festus leans back in the chair, almost toppling over, "Isn't there someone you can invite? I know you and Livia are done dating but..."

"Absolutely not," Coriolanus says before Festus can get any further, "I don't want to literally be skating on thin ice with Livia Cardew, thank you very much."

Festus attempts to pout but that shit only works on his girlfriend Persephone, "Please? We'll have much more fun if you come."

Coriolanus sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, there is someone he could invite but he's not sure if telling Festus about it is a good idea. Festus has a tendency to tell Persephone everything and Persephone has a tendency to blab about it to everyone.

"I could call Soarynn," Coriolanus finally says, wisely ignoring the surprised look Festus gives him, "but it's terribly last minute."

Festus leans forward in his chair, hooked on this developing story, "I'm sorry, did you say Soarynn? As in Soarynn Nightingale, the girl who you swore to never talk about again as long as you li-"

"Yes," Coriolanus cuts him off, "the only Soarynn in the entire world, yes her. We ran into each other the other night and we...we reconnected."

Festus wiggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, "Reconnected or reconnected?"

Coriolanus scoffs, Festus is unbelievable, "We talked you fool. We had a decent, adult conversation and she's agreed to be my date for the holiday work party so you'd better be on your best behavior."

He doesn't mention how he called Soarynn last night to tell her about the party dress code and how they ended up talking for another hour and a half while Soarynn did laundry and Coriolanus finished up some work in his study. No, Festus doesn't need to know about that.

It had reminded him of when they dated and would spend hours on the phone as if they didn't spend hours together in person.

"She's probably busy tonight," he mumbles with a dismissive shrug.

Festus jumps out of his chair and slams his hands on the desk, "Well call her and find out!"

Coriolanus jumps at the sudden outburst but he can see how thrilling of a prospect this is to Festus who's been pushing Coriolanus to get out there more with the ladies. He pushed him right into Livia Cardew and they saw how that turned out.

Coriolanus eyes the telephone sitting on his desk. It wouldn't hurt to call. "You'll wait out in the hallway like a civilized person," he instructs Festus while picking up the phone.

Festus grins with glee and practically skips out into the hall.

Well, now he actually has to call her.

Coriolanus stares up at the ceiling for a second, hoping he's not going to ruin this, whatever this is before dialing the number to Soarynn's office building. She works a few blocks down from his building but the fashion house takes up the entire first three floors.

The phone rings for what feels like far too long before someone picks up, "Tigris' House of Fashion, how may I assist you?" The chipper voice of the secretary doesn't help calm his nerves, "Hello, I was hoping to speak with Soarynn Nightingale."

"May I ask who's calling?"

Coriolanus looks over his shoulder and sees Festus peeking his head into the study, "It's uh, it's Coriolanus Snow," he says while grabbing a stapler to throw at Festus, "I only need to inquire about a certain date."

"One moment please."

Coriolanus launches his stapler but Festus dodges it with a grin, "Coryo?"

Suddenly the phone has his undivided attention.

"Soarynn? Hi, so sorry to bother you at work but I was calling to see if you're free tonight."

The line is so silent that he's worried she already hung up, "Tonight? What's tonight?" He can hear muffled voices in the background, female voices, "Ice skating," he tells her, "I got invited by Festus and Felix who are taking Persephone and Clemmie and I thought you might want to come with me. As friends."

He mentally punches himself after saying that. As friends? What else would they go as?!

He hears Festus snickering from outside and decides to start locking his office door from now on, "Oh, that sounds like fun! Clemmie mentioned ice skating earlier, I should be able to come."

Coriolanus grins, wrapping the phone cord around his thumb, "That's great, we'll see you girls there."

"Wonderful, see you tonight."

Coriolanus triumphantly hangs up the phone, courage and adrenaline rushing through his veins. "You look happy," Festus remarks, stepping back into the office, stapler in hand, "I take it she's coming tonight?"

Coriolanus laces his fingers together and stretches out his arms, "She is."

Festus playfully jostles his shoulder, clearly excited about the prospect of Coriolanus and Soarynn getting back together which would be the most logical explanation as to why they're tagging along with their friends but it's not. And they're not going to get back together because they're both rational adults who can act on logic rather than feelings.

Simple as that.

꧁ ꧂

Wrapped in their winter coats, Coriolanus, Festus, and Felix make their way towards the City Centre. The Centre is the heart of the Capitol, where everyone comes together to celebrate all sorts of holiday events. They host other things like concerts and charity events, but they always go all out for Christmas. Right now, there's a beautifully decorated tree, at least three stories high, and the infamous ice skating rink.

Coriolanus hasn't partaken in a lot of ice skating in his life, mostly because he sees it as an easy way to make a fool of himself, fall on his ass and break his wrist.

But if Soarynn's going to be here then he might as well risk it for a little fun.

"There they are," Felix points at a trio of women, already decked out in their own winter outfits and skates, sitting on a bench by the rink with the tree behind them. Clemensia notices the boys first and breaks into a big grin, attempting to stand up but running in ice skates is more difficult than it looks. She teeters over to Felix who greets her with a kiss too sloppy for someone like Coriolanus who despises that level of public affection.

Persephone and Soarynn stay seated, letting the boys come to them and Festus already is cracking jokes, "Looks like we're about to break the ice!" He says, resting a hand on Persephone's shoulder. Both women roll their eyes and Persephone shakes her head, "You're lucky you're so cute," she tells Festus who grins in return. "I know," he replies.

The couple start talking about something Coriolanus could care less about and he turns his attention to Soarynn who looks beautiful tonight. Her hair is braided down her back with a few of the shorter pieces pulled out, framing her face. Her makeup is light, blush on her cheeks, and mascara showcasing her long lashes. She's wrapped up in a long cream-colored coat and he can see that her entire outfit is monochromatic, making for a stylish ensemble.

"Fancy seeing you so soon," she says, smiling up at him. Coriolanus can't help but smile back, he's glad he called her, "Well this city isn't big enough for both of us," he jokes. They both laugh and Persephone takes it as an opportunity to butt in, "So Coryo, it feels like we haven't seen you in ages and suddenly you're just popping back into Soarynn's life. What a coincidence."

She smiles up at him but he sees right through those pearly white teeth, Persephone never forgave him for breaking her best friend's heart, and even though it's been years since they broke up, she's never given him an inch more than she thinks he deserves.

Soarynn's smile falters and she gives Persephone a pleading look, "I think it's all in the timing," she says smoothly, letting her friend's words roll off her back. Coriolanus nods, doing his best to remain neutral, "Yes, it has been quite some time since we saw each other."

Persephone looks between him and Festus, tilting her head in a way that scares him, "Weren't you supposed to go on a date with Livia the other day? Or did those plans fall through?"

Coriolanus glares at Festus who nervously chuckles, "I think I'll go get my skates now, Persephone, come with me."

Coriolanus watches the couple walk over to the rental booth before looking back down at Soarynn who suddenly isn't so happy to see him. "You're dating Livia Cardew?" She asks, her voice is a gentle whisper yet it cuts deep into his heart. Coriolanus quickly sits down next to her on the bench, grabbing her gloved hand, "No, no, I would never date two women at once, believe me."

Her eyes reflect distrust, "Well I don't really know what to believe Coryo. Did you go on a date with Livia Cardew before running into me?"

He sighs, he knew the truth would come out but not this soon! "I did," he admits, right before we ran into each other at the cafe I had the worst date known to mankind with Livia and I told her it was the last date we'd have. I should've told you but I was just so excited to see you again, and I...I didn't want to ruin anything."

Although it hurts to see her like this, he's glad he told her the truth.

Soarynn looks down at their gloved hands, they fit together perfectly, "I'm not mad," she tells him, "I do wish you would've told me before I had to find out through a friend though."

She's got him there.

"From now on," he says, staring deeply into her gorgeous eyes, "I'll be completely honest with you, no matter what." Her lips curl up into a grin, "From now on hmm? You plan on seeing me more than usual?" Coriolanus feels himself blushing, he hadn't meant it like that, but maybe he did.

"I do," he smoothly answers, "I'd like to see you more if that's alright with you."

Soarynn chuckles softly, lacing her fingers with his, "I'd like that very much."

And just like that, sitting under the Christmas tree, Coriolanus felt as if he'd been given a second chance at love.

꧁ ꧂

"Persephone, catch me!" Festus cries before toppling over onto the ice. They all laugh as he sprawls out on the icy floor, dazed and confused.

Coriolanus carefully skates over to Festus, reaching out a hand, "Let's get you back up before some teenagers skate over you." Festus scoffs but takes his hand, "Please, I'm just getting the hang of it."

"Well you've been getting the hang of it for the past hour," Felix calls, expertly skating by with his arm linked with Clemensia's.

Coriolanus chuckles at Festus and his attempt to skate over to Persephone who isn't doing much better either. Birds of a feather it seems.

He looks back over at Soarynn who's clinging to the wall of the ice skating rink, holding on for dear life really. "You know, you won't learn if you don't put yourself out there," he says, skating over to her side. Soarynn lets out a nervous laugh, "Easy for you to say, you've always been good at everything." Coriolanus furrows his brows, he's not good at everything. At least not on the first try.

"Here," he says, holding out his hands, "trust me," he adds when she gives him a questionable look.

Soarynn hesitantly lets go of the wall and takes his hands, gasping when he starts to skate backward. As much as he avoids ice skating, he's actually quite good at it.

Soarynn holds onto him for dear life as he pulls them into the center of the rink which is much emptier than the outer edge. "Don't turn your feet inwards," he tells her, "bend your knees and push your feet out." Soarynn looks down at her skates and does as he says, pushing them three inches forward.

He smiles, "That's it, just like that."

Coriolanus lets her skate a little more before letting go of her hands, giving her an encouraging nod, "You got it."

He takes a moment to admire how beautiful Soarynn is. Under her coat he can see that she's worn a long-sleeved shirt with a collar that goes up to her chin, tucked into cream-colored pants that are perfectly tailored around her waist. She's so effortlessly elegant.

Soarynn ever so carefully skates towards him squealing when she glides over the ice, "I'm doing it!" Coriolanus grins and reaches his hand out, "Look at you, you're a natural." Soarynn grabs onto his hand and he pulls them out of the middle so they can get in some laps.

Soarynn doesn't let go of his hand while they skate in circles, talking about little, insignificant things. He looks around and watches other people skating, some are families, some are couples. To anyone else, they must look like a happy couple.

"Come on lovebirds! Let's go get something hot chocolate!" Clemensia shouts, already skating towards the exit.

"Hot chocolate does sound good," he mumbles, pulling them towards the exit. Soarynn giggles when they reach the gate and carefully steps onto the dry ground, "Oh, that was so much fun! I haven't been skating in years."

Coriolanus closes the gate behind him before turning back to her, "Me neither, although I can imagine it's not as fun when you're little."

They both watch a little girl bundled up with a coat, scarf, and hat skate by them, holding onto her father's leg, "It is rather sweet though," Soarynn says softly, "I can't wait to start a family of my own one day."

His heart beats a little faster when hearing those words leave her lips. He's always wanted to start a family of his own, to do things like this with his children.

"We should get our skates off," is all he says.

They manage to get over to a bench without falling over and he starts unlacing his skates while Soarynn looks around, admiring all the decorations. "This all used to feel much bigger when I was little," she mumbles, kicking her feet in the air, "I remember wanting to be a grown-up so badly."

Coriolanus laughs, he knows that feeling, "And now we are," he says, slipping off his skates. Soarynn goes to untie her laces but he swats her hand away, "Please," he says, giving her an offended look, "you won't be doing any of that if I'm around."

Soaryn raises her eyebrows in amusement, "What a gentleman," she purrs, letting him untie her laces for her. Coriolanus shrugs, trying to hide his grin, "It's the least I could do for a lady like you."

Soarynn hums while he unties the other skate, once he's got them off, he grabs both pairs, "I'll go take them back," he tells her. Soarynn nods and gives him a sweet smile, "I'll be here."

Coriolanus walks over to the rental booth and tries to dodge Festus but isn't successful, "Look at you two," Festus teases, playfully punching his shoulder, "you're acting like you've been married for ten years."

Coriolanus scoffs and sets the skates down on the counter, "You're being ridiculous," he tells Festus, nodding at the staff member who gives him their shoes back, "we're just getting to know each other again and your constant teasing isn't helping. Or Persephone's attempts to sabotage my changes," he gives Festus a knowing look.

"You know she only wants the best for Soarynn, I mean, you remember how heartbroken you both were right?" Painful memories flash in his mind, "Yes I do, and I'd rather not be reminded of them thank you very much. If Soarynn and I want to make this work, then we can't afford to have our friends nosing their way into our private business."

Festus holds his hands up in surrender, "Say no more. From now on, we're not even here." He mimics locking his lips with a key and Coriolanus shakes his head, "We'll see how long this lasts," he retorts, quite doubtful in their skills to mind their own business.

Still, he'll take all the help he can get.

꧁ ꧂

Giggles echo off of the Corso apartment buldings while Coriolanus and Soarynn stroll down ths street, arms linked together. "Who mixes bourbon with hot chocolate?" Soarynn asks with another laugh, throwing her head back.

Coriolanus grins, looking down at her, content to just admire her for the rest of their lives, "Festus Creed aparently," he replies, hoping that Festus made it home in one piece after becoming a bartender once they got their hot chocolate.

Soarynn shakes her head, brushing her hair out of her face, "Persephone's got her hands full with him, I don't know how she does it." Coriolanus finds that statment funny because Felix has said the same thing about Festus regarding Persephone, how full his hands must be with a girl like that.

Persephone Price is sharp and outspoken, never afraid to speak her mind. Coriolanus enjoys her company every now and then but only as friends. He can't imagine dating a girl like that.

Soarynn is much more suited to his taste. Quiet, polite, soft-spoken and considerate of other's feelings.

"They match each other quite well though," Soarynn points out, "they're both funny, outgoing, witty..."

"Annoying," he cuts in, "at times they can be very annoying."

Soarynn playfully swats at his arm, "Oh hush, none of us are perfect."

He raises an eyebrow, looking down at her with an amused look, "Oh, really? Because you're pretty damn close." Soarynn huffs, her cheeks turn pink as she shakes her head, "Hardly," she mumbles, "I have plenty of things I could work on."

"Like what?"

"Speaking up for myself for starters, I've always been quiet but that leads to people walking all over me, whether or not it's intentional is beside the point. And I could always work on getting out of my comfort zone."

She looks up at him with hesitation in her eyes, "I mean it's true! I never want to break out of my routine, even if it's necessary, you should've seen me when I first started working, I was a wreck."

Coriolanus finds it hard to imagine Soarynn being a wreck of any sorts but the way she talks about it tells him that it's been weighing her down for quite some time now.

"You're perfect to me," he tells her, pulling her closer to him, "even if you insist on walking home instead of being driven."

Soarynn breaks into another fit of giggles, pleased she got her way tonight, "Walking is good for you," she insists, "good for the heart and you have long legs."

Coriolanus looks down at his long legs and shakes his head, "That doesn't mean that I want to use them all the time," he points out.

Soarynn hums, resting her head on his arm, "Well thank you for walking me home and inviting me out tonight, I had a great time." They turn onto Cornelia Street, a familiar sight and Coriolanus admires all the Christmas lights that are strung along the townhouses. "You don't have any lights," he notices when they begin walking up to her house. Soarynn shrugs, "I don't have anyone to hang them up."

She doesn't have a man to hang them up but that might change if he's lucky.

They come to a stop at her front door, Soarynn standing on the second step while he stands on the sidewalk, "Will I see you again before the party?" She asks, reaching out to fix the collar of his coat. Coriolanus swallows, he'd love to see her again but he's going to be so busy with work and the reports that are due at the end of the year, "Probably not," he says glumly, "work is going get hectic."

Soarynn nods, he can see that she's disappointed but she still gives him an understanding smile, "It's okay, I'll see you on the twenty-first then."

"Yes, you will. I'll pick you up at six."

Soarynn leans down and presses a kiss to his cheek, "It's a date."

Coriolanus wears a boyish grin when she pulls away, "A date," he comfirms. He makes sure that she gets inside safely before walking back down the sidewalk.

Coriolanus Snow has got a pep in his step and it's all because of the girl on Cornelia Street.

| Part 1. |

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{ Part 2. }

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