#new obsession it is boiiis

[suokumi]

My friends do such an amazing job in making me obsessed with dandy's world, head in hands

[gruviyasharuto]

SHUT UP NO ONE TALK TO ME THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!!!!!! @raz-b-rose

IDK IF I’LL EVER SHUT UP ABOUT THIS, BUT Y’ALL KNOW HOW MUCH WE BKDKS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT! BONES DID SUCH A GREAT JOB AND ESP THE VOICE ACTORS ;;; THE TRANSITION, KATSUKI’S “Izuku” AND THE “I’m sorry for everything.” I JUST- ASDFGHJKL 

[xlxvesxckx]

[feel special] Dio Brando.

Synopsis: Working for Lord Dio you end up catching feelings for the male. But after a wakeup call from you new friend, you realize that you deserve someone better, though he isn't going to let you go so easily.

Warnings: Mentions of violence, cheating (idk if you can consider it that...but idk), manipulation, obsession and possessiveness,

Au: Royalty Au

Pairings: Dio Brando x Reader, Jotaro Kujo x Reader.

Based Off: TWICE's Feel Special You can listen to it here~

-> Feel Special

Other songs listened to for this fic.:

-> Beside you By Keshi

-> Angel eyes By ABBA

-> Some Say by NEA

-> Lie By Luka Megurine (vocaloid songs hold a special place in my heart.)

A/n: Whooo boiii this is a hefty fic! I don't know if I am going to continue this, but if others like it then I will continue it...

Also feel free to leave requests for me! I write for Obey Me, JJBA, FNAF (mostly security breach) and I'm trying to expand my writings so if you have something you wanna see written please ask away

Here's my Kofi is you wanna support me!

☆Here's the second part: Feel Special.Ending

꒰ ୨୧ ─ ・┈ ・ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ─ ・┈ ꒱꒱

When you first got to working for this man, you told yourself you weren't going to be like the others.

You'd heard rumors of girls who came here and ended up falling in love with the male. And you could see why.

Lord Dio was an attractive male, blonde hair, fierce red eyes and a nice body that anyone would want. Hell he is known for actively sleeping with his female servants, and when they get too attached he tosses them to the side like they were nothing.

So you refused to be one of them.

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

“Don’t tell me that you actually believe that Lord Dio is in love with you?”

You sat across from your fellow servant, Mariah, who was tending to her hair in her mirror. You slowly nodded your head, seeing her roll her eyes. Mariah is a beautiful dark skinned woman with lovely brown eyes and snow white hair. She was one of the only higher up females here, being close to Lord Brando.

So it was probably best to listen to her words.

“I’m not trying to be mean, I'm trying to protect you. You’re a newbie in the castle, that’s the only reason lord Dio is paying all this attention to you. He’s trying to see how he can break you down and use you.”

You listened carefully to Mariah’s words and let them slowly click in your mind.

"I mean think about it. He could have any woman he wants."

You had been working in Lord Brando’s castle for the past month now in order to support your family back at home. The job came suddenly as some of Lord Brando’s most trusted servants were sent out in order to bring more servants to the castle. And he apparently paid very well, but your mother...she didn't care for it.

At first, your mother was weary of you leaving, as she had heard the tales of women who went up to the castle.

Many of them would not come back, many of them would be used and thrown back to their families with less than what they started with. She would have rather you moved away to the neighboring kingdom and start over there. But she knew that you didn’t want to leave her alone.

Your mother was your main reason for working at the castle, you wanted to give her a better life just as she had fought to give you one.

So against your better judgement, you took up the job working for the male and so far was enjoying it. He seemed like a genuinely nice man to work for, he took care of his servants and made sure you as comfortable as you could be. 

But you soon noticed that as more women began to come in, the less and less attention he would pay to you. It started with calling you to his room less and less. Less of the lingering touches he would give, less of the hugs and teasing words he would give you.

It was all bothering you greatly. Had you been fooled?

And when you brought it up to him, he would always smile and tell you how silly you were being and how he could ‘Never abandon his favorite pet’.

Now here you were, being told that the things you were thinking were valid by one of his most trusted people.

Mariah, was one of his top people, next to Enrico Pucci, Hol Horse and Vanilla Ice.

She was also one of the only females who were in his top ranks. So she’s seen many girls come and go, all of them fiending to be Lord Brando’s favorite. Mariah took notice to who all came in and saw who was gonna be fresh meat.

She had taken a liking to you as you were one of the only ones to not just throw yourself at Lord Brando. You came here to do a job and was mostly focused one that.

She admired you. So when she saw how close the Lord was getting with you, his lingering touches and his sultry words.

She knew exactly what was coming.

If you were to get in bed with Lord Brando, you would never be the same again. You wouldn’t be able to think or have control of yourself. All you would think about is how you could serve him. She's seen what happens before, she's been in that spot. Mindless, only thinking about serving Lord Dio. Focused on making him happy and nothing else.

She refused to let that to be you.

“Protect me?..” You asked confused and Mariah sighed and turned around to you fully.

“Lord Dio is not a good person Y/n, you should know that, and I know that.” Mariah walks over to you and places her hands on your face.

“I actually like you. Out of all the maids here. You’re the most tolerable. I would hate for you to end up like a mindless little-”

“Y/n.”

The two of you looked over to the doorway to see Pucci there. He had a gentle smile on his face. “Dio requests your presence.”

You nodded and got up, Mariah giving you a look before going back to her mirror.

You followed Pucci to Dio’s room, keeping quiet as you walked alongside the priest. 

Enrico Pucci was a priest that was Dio's right hand man. He was the one responsible for hiring all the new servants, running the estate and attending directly to Dio's needs.

You saw alot of him because you basically had the position of head maid

“You know you are one of his favorites Y/n?” He says quietly. You look over at him to see the same gentle smile. 

“I’ve never seen him act this way towards a servant before, You're a rare one.” Pucci says, stopping in front of Dio’s door. You stopped and looked up at him. "What do you mean by that?.." You asked an air of slight concern coming over you.

Pucci gave a closed eye smile,

"That means he likes you, and you won't end up dying possible. I would hate to see a kind girl like you go to waste."

You stood in fear before he pats you on the back.

“Now, go ahead and see what he may want..”

You watch as Pucci walks away, his words swirling around in your head. You eventually go to knock on the door, waiting for a response.

“Come in..” 

You open the door, seeing Lord Dio laid across his bed, book in hand. His red eyes look over to you and beckons you forward. You move over to him and stand on the side of the bed, your eyes glued to the bed, refusing to look him in his eyes.

"That means he likes you, and you won't end up dying possible. I would hate to see a kind girl like you go to waste."

Pucci's words were playing around in your head. Lord Dio wouldn't hurt you...would he? Would he kill someone? You knew he would, but you didn't think he would go as far as to murder any of his servants would he?

You were so deep in thought that you didn't hear Dio calling you.

"My Pet?...Did you hear me?"

You shook your head and looked at him "Huh?.." Dio chuckled before stating what he asked again.

“I was asking, how are you today, My Pet? I had business to attend to with those bastard Joestars in the neighboring kingdom.” He says, his voice soft and sultry, like music to your ears. 

You shuddered at his voice before speaking.

“It was fine, I spent my day talking with Mariah and doing chores..nothing too special.” You answer, seeing Dio move closer. He places his book down and uses his hand to grip your chin, forcing you to look at him.

“Did my pet miss me? I’ve been neglecting you and I’m sorry for that.” He asks, with a playful tone behind it.

In reality you did miss him, you did miss the time that he usually spent with you, but after having the talk with Mariah you began to think differently about him. And on top of that, Pucci scared you. You didn't want to step out of line for fear that you would find out that he did kill his servants.

In this moment, you decided to nod slowly, earning a smirk from him.

Before you could blink, you yelped as Dio pulled you into the bed with him. You squeaked as your back hit the bed, and he was now on top of you. You tense up as you feel him get close to your neck, his arms wrapping around you to hold you in place.

“I can sense something is off.. Do you not trust me my Pet?” 

“W-what do you mean?..” You whimpered out, nervousness filling your whole body as you watched him lift up from the crook of your neck. He brings his face close to yours, his lips ghosting over yours.  You could hear yourself internally screaming at how close he was to you. Did he know what you were thinking? Could he smell fear? You didn't even want to know the answer to that last one.

“Do you doubt my love and care for you? Do you think my eyes are wandering to others, pet?”

He asks, and he doesn’t really give you a chance to answer before he presses his lips to yours. His hands go to press your wrists against the bed. Dio’s kiss was one filled with passion, one that was enough to take your breath away from you. It was like all your worries were sapped away in that moment. Signed and secured with that kiss.

In this moment, he was making you feel wanted. Moving from your lips to whisper sweet nothings to you, telling you exactly what you wanted.

"I can sense that you don't trust me...but I promise whoever put those thoughts in your mind will be dealt with." He whispers, moving down to your neck, planting soft kisses here and there, earning soft whimpers from you.

He had a way of getting you to melt like putty in his hands once again, everytime he sensed you stepping out of line, Dio would always do this.

He couldn't have you ending up like HER...

Telling you that you were the only one he wanted, that he wanted to marry you and make you his Queen.  He wanted you to rule beside him.

Dio needed you...he CRAVED you..

The Male didn't know what the hell you were doing to him, but he knew he had to do anything in his power to keep your eyes from wondering from anywhere else.

Dio leaned down to your ear again, his warm breath tickling your ear as he whispered to you.

"You're my special little pet.."

What's wrong with him telling a little white lie in order to get you to stay?

At that moment…

You believed him.

He made you feel...Special...

—---------------------------------

It had been a few weeks from that encounter with Lord Dio, and you had a few more after that.

He would whisk you away from your duties and tease you, he wanted you and only you. He was risky with it too. Sometimes coming while you're preparing with others and hoist you up onto the counter, he'll steal a kiss right then and there, smirking at the others who dared look.

You were his and you weren't going anywhere, so any maids that were making any plans better not had added you to their little schemes.

He would make that known around other maids in the castle.

So it confused you when you saw one of the new recruits continuously coming in and out of his chambers recently. 

Olivia was her name, and she came from the castle town, so she was a bit higher ranking than the rest of you.

Rumors had it that she was the daughter of a noble who owed Lord Dio, so in return he gave his daughter to him so that his debt was cleared. 

She was a pretty blonde haired, blue-eyed girl, a nice body and was everything a man could want.

So it was troubling you when you saw how much time she was spending with Dio.

It started when she first arrived. She introduced herself to you, genuinely being nice to you. But when she found out you were basically Lord Dio's Chamber Maid she gave you a disgusted scowl.

She would call you horrific names behind you back and sometimes to your face. She made it no secret her disdain and jealously for you.

So she began to do the tasks that you were asked to do, sometimes she would eavesdrop on your conversations with Pucci and Mariah. She would rush to do them so she could get praise from Dio, but she expected you to be scolded for not doing them.

She was pissed when she saw that Dio still held favoritism for you, he would simply promote you. Having be Pucci's assistant instead of a chamber maid.

Hell you didn't care, you got paid more and still was his favorite.

But Olivia...she couldn't stand it.

You knew she had something planned as today, Lord Dio was holding an event, he invited other nobles and Royalty from other lands and she was supposed to be helping you set it up.

“Hey, Y/n.” You looked up from your decorating task to see Mariah, she gave you a sober smile before handing you some papers.

“Please deliver these to lord Dio. I tried to go earlier, but he wasn't there.”

You took them from her and stood up from your task dusting your dress off.

“Of course! I’ll be right back then.”

Mariah watched you walk off and her face morphed to a frown, she knew he was in there. She knew who he was with, and she hated for you to find out like this, but she couldn’t risk someone like you ending up like some of the others. 

Earlier when she had went to deliver what was the revised guest list to Dio she heard some strange noises from the chambers.

Normally, Mariah could care less if she busted in his room. So just like she would normally did, she entered without knocking and her eyes widened. Quickly turning on her heels she would run a hand through her head, a yell of frustration would leave her lips.

Oh but not at what she saw, but for you.

She knew you wouldn't take this well, but she need you to open up your eyes. She saw you heading down the path of endlessly chasing after a man who will just hop from woman to woman without a care in the world.

And she refused to let you be one of them.

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

You hummed to yourself as you walked down the hall to Lord Dio’s chambers, you were actually very excited for this event. It would be your first time meeting anyone else besides your few friends in the castle. So you could not wait to meet everyone and tell them about your time here.

You beginning to wonder if what Pucci told you was really true. If anything Dio was becoming more and more romantic as the days passed.

You were excited to go to his room and tell him all about what you had planned for the guests, just as he had asked for you to do.

When you approached Lord Dio’s door you went to knock but saw it open. You were about to walk in but nearly bumped into someone

That someone was Olivia, barely dressed, only Lord Dio’s Robe wrapped around her body. It appeared that she had bitemarks and hickies along her neck and a smirk plastered on her face.

She looked you up and down before her smirk widened.

“Y/n! Miss Mariah said you were supposed to be sending some stuff for My Lord. I’ll take it from here.” She say happily, taking the documents from you hands.

You stared at her before shaking your head. 

“Are you alright? You’re covered in marks..” You asked, half concerned, but not because you wondered if she was hurt, it was to confirm what scenario was playing in your head. 

She looks at herself before a look of smugness comes over her features,

“Ah, these…just had a meeting with Lord Dio about the even this evening! I’m alright Y/n! Thank you for asking!” You gave her a nod before quickly turning on your heels to go back where you came.

You heard her giggling as she went back into his chambers, the door closing with a hard slam.

You could hear Lord Dio's deep voice calling her back over and her giggles faded into something else.

"Miss Y/n!"

"Y/n!"

You didn't even care about who was calling your name.

You just needed to get away from this room. This area...This place...

You held in your tears, refusing to let them fall. Instead you let your feet carry you to Mariah’s quarters, you couldn't even tell who calling you as you were in an autopilot.

When you reached Mariah’s room, it was like she was already waiting for you. Once you closed the door behind you, you ran into her arms finally allowing your tears to stream down your face.

Mariah held you in her arms as she heard your sobs, they pained her severely.

She knew you pain, she knew it all too well, as she saw this same sequence of events play out with another dear friend of hers.

Her name was Isabel.

Isabel was just like you, bright eyed and bushy tell, eager to give her all to Lord Dio. And unlike you, she allowed him to take her fully, her entire life was dedicated to Dio.

There wasn't a day when Isabel wasn't talking about Dio, and back then...Mariah was happy for her. She encouraged her dear friend to go for it, allow herself to be loved by the blonde and see what would happen.

But just like you...she was soon replaced by the newcomer. A fresh face, and a new woman Dio could Manipulate.

Isabel was heart broken, but more than anything was angry...

And you know what they say...

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...

Isabel stood up to the male, confronted him and refused to allow herself to fall for his tactics. She wasn't gonna come crawling back to him anymore. She told him that she was leaving, that she wanted no more of this.

And when she did that, she vanished.

No one ever saw her again, and they were ordered to never speak of her ever again.

But everyone remembers, and Mariah refuses to forget.

She made it her goal to prevent young women from ending up like her, serving the very male who ruined her dear friend, doomed to see how he plays around with people’s emotions just to get what he wanted. Never speaking of her friend.

“I-i thought he only wanted me… I thought he..he meant everything he said Mariah…!” You sobbed,.

Mariah moved the two of you to her bed. She sat down and allowed you to cry on her shoulder, she rubbed your shoulders as you sobbed, your cries getting louder and louder.

“I-i should’ve listened to you Mariah..I should’ve..I’m so sorry..”

“What? Don’t you apologize.”

She grabs your face and forces you to look at me. “Listen to me. We’re gonna get you out of here. Because frankly, i’m sick and tired of you being treated like shit. "

You rubbed your eyes, "B-but what about you?.."

Mariah scoffs. "And let more girls fall to his schemes? I'm staying...but.." She stops herself and rubs her temple.

She sighs then she rubs your face in with her hands.

“Has Lord Dio told you about the Joestars?” You nodded.

“Aren’t those the guys he hates?” Mariah nods. 

“I’m friends with one of the advisors there, I’ve been in contact with her for a while, she knows about your situation, and one of the Prince’s have agreed to come and get you.”

You gasp and a smile appears on you face as you hug Mariah. Mariah grins and hugs you back before pulling away.

“And don’t worry, I’ll be behind you every step of the way.” She explains and you nod at her words.

"I'll make sure you get out of here..."

Your heart was in pieces, but the prospect of leaving and going to another kingdom was on the horizon and you did not mind it at all.

You would have to get into contact with your mother and move her to the kingdom as well, so that she could be safe. You felt if you left the Lord Dio would probably do something to your family for disobeying him. 

And not only that, part of your heart was crumbling. As there was a small piece of you who wanted to talk to him and just ask him why. As him why use you and fuck with your emotions.

You and Mariah decided you would enact your plan during the event tonight, as that would be the best, you could leave with the crowds of people and never look back. Mariah had to keep tell you that she would be fine, and that you shouldn't worry about her.

But even as you went over it several times, you still felt horrible for leaving her behind.

Later in that evening, you headed back to the servants quarters to prepare for tonight to see all the maids in there happily opening boxes. 

“Oh Y/n! Lord Dio gave us all new dresses to wear to the event!” One called out to you and you nodded at her.

As you expected when you walked over to your bed, there was nothing on there for you. You sighed softly as you walked over to pack your bags.

Olivia walked over with hers in her hand with a smile. “Look at how beautiful these dresses are! Lord Dio has certainly out done himself!” She then looks down at you packing.

“What about you Y/n?” She asked and you averted your eyes.

“The gracious Lord did not give me one. But that’s alright, Lady Mariah is giving me one.” You say blankly and her smile droops a bit.

“Oh..well where are you going? Do you have an order from him?” She asked, walking back over to her bed.  "Isn't the party about to start? So why are you packing a ba-"

“I’m going to visit my mother. It’s been a while since I came to the castle, so I would love to go home and have a good time with her. And frankly it's none of your fucking business.” You say flatly before closing your suitcase. 

It got quiet before Olivia scoffed and muttered a "bitch..." under her breath.

You sat on your bed watching all the other girls get changed into the dresses that they were given. It seems Lord Dio wanted all of his servants to dress a certain way, they had various colored ballroom like gowns in different styles. 

Your eye fell to Olivia’s, who wore a pretty yellow dress, one that matched the suit Lord Dio wore very often. You rolled your eyes at this and decided to go get ready. You watched as everyone else left out as you went to the bathroom, the only one left was Olivia who was still in the mirror getting ready. 

You were in the bathroom when you heard someone else come into the room. 

"What the hell do you have on?"

You jumped at the agressive tone that entered the room.

It was Lord Dio and he sounded...pissed?

You decided to be quiet and listen to the conversation, doing your best not to make any noises.

"Oh! I'm wearing the dress that Pucci gave to me-"

"It wasn't for you.

You nearly gasped, quicky putting a hand over your mouth, but it seemed like someone heard you regardless.

"Whoever is in there better come out. I don't appreciate eavedroppers."

You were debating on coming out because you had avoided Dio for the rest of the day after talking with Mariah. You couldn't bare to see him knowing that you were planning your leave.

"I said come out now."

Sighing, you decided to exit the bathroom, bowing in apology to Dio. When you raised your head you saw his eyes scanning your body.

Mariah had given you a black bodycon dress that had belonged to her best friend. She wanted to pass it on to you as it would 'allow her spirit to do what she couldn't'. You matched it with silver earrings and a necklace that you had as a gift from your mother. The dress clung to your body and left nothing up to the imagination, so Dio's scowl turned to a smirk.

"My My, My little Pet has out done herself.." He finally spoke, leaving Olivia's side and coming over to you. You tensed as he snaked his arms around your waist to pull you closer to him. You peeked around him to see Olivia who was fuming, and you internally smirked at her anger.

"Olivia."

You watched her perk up at him calling her name only to see her face fall at his words.

"Leave. I need to have a moment with Y/n."

Olivia stomped her foot, "But Lord Dio! I-"

Dio quickly turned back to her, a dangerous glare on his face. Olivia quickly shut up and left the room, slamming it behind her.

Dio then turned back to face you and wasted no time coming closer to you. "So...where did you get this piece? It's far better than anything I could have picked out for you." He says softly.

You keep backing away and end up falling back onto your bed, and Dio takes this opportunity to get between your legs, riding your dress up to your thighs.

"L-lord Dio! This is-" He cut you off with a hard kiss to your lips. His hands went to grip yours, pinning them to the bed. You pulled away from his kiss about to speak only to feel his lips on your neck.

It didn't help that he was grinding against you, causing the heat to build up between your legs.

You did your best not to let moans slip past your lips as he continues his assault on your neck. But no matter how hard you tried, your body fought against your brain and a soft moan left your lips.

You could feel Dio shudder at that before he stopped, sitting up and gripping your chin with his hand roughly.

"After this night...I'm making you mine. I'm tired of you teasing your master like this. Dressing like this when you know others will have their eyes on you.." He smirks down at you. You were still in shock over what had just taken place so you didn't reply to him fast enough.

Dio gripped your chin again, this time applying pressure, earning a wince of pain out of you.

"Do I make myself clear?"

You nodded and He smirked before finally getting off of you.

"Now go ahead and straighten yourself up. Look presentable for me darling."

—------------

To say it was a big event was an understatement. 

Apparently Lord Dio was celebrating some accomplishment, which explained why he wanted all the servants to dress alike. You however could not care less.

You were focused on leaving, especially after what just happened.

You were standing alone before being approached by the whiney broad herself, Olivia.

"Hey." You ignored her. She didn't like that so she decided to push you nearly sending your over.

"What the fuck Olivia?"

"Answer my question." She demanded and didn't give you a chance to answer.

“Are you jealous of me Y/n?” She suddenly asked and you raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I heard how you were Lord Dio’s favorite before I came along, You’re jealous because he no longer wants you and wants to marry me instead!” She accused and you only gave her a short laugh.

“Oh, you know, I am. But not as much as I used to be." You answered and she didn't like that answer.

"Face it, You are just mad that Lord Dio loves me more than he does you?"

You decided to burst her bubble.

"Oh yeah? Then why did he kick you out the room to kiss me, grind against me and tell me he's gonna make me his tonight?" You snapped back at her, glaring as you saw her gears turning in your head.

"You?! Lord Dio would never fuck a half pinted ass bitch like you"

"Apparently he does. But you can have him. I don't want him."

"OH?! Well I'm gonna tell him exactly what you said so he can kick your ass to the curb!! You just don't like that he's close with me!"

"Mhm..keep yelling."

“You’re just a jealous little bitch! You-”

“I think you heard her. She’s not interested in Brando.”

You jumped at the deep male voice that came from behind you. Olivia looked behind you and immediately bowed

. You were confused at to why she suddenly stopped but you saw a shadow loom from behind you. You watched as her face morphed from one of smugness to fear.-

“O-oh…My apologizes Prince Kujo..” She then lifted her head to glare at you before leaving.

You turned around to see a tall, dark and brooding male standing next to a what could be described as a cheerful ball of sun.

 “Oh we finally found you! My you are really pretty! Isn’t she pretty Jotaro?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty.”

The girl came up to you and shook your hand.

“You can call me Evan! I’m the Joestar Royal Advisor! And I’m Mariah’s friend!” She introduces and she smiles happily at you.

“This brooding hulk beside me is Prince Jotaro Kujo! The eldest prince of our land.” You look over to Jotaro just to admire him for a second.

He was tall, very tall, probably about 6’5 in height, he wore a white suit that was adorned with different golden charms. His hat seemed to be fused with his hair and his blue eyes were off somewhere else in the crowd. He was handsome....very handsome.

You can see why some of the girls were talking about him, he definitely not a bad sight to see. You couldn't take your eyes off of him and you probably wouldn't have if Evan wouldn't had taken you from your thought.

“Why don’t you two go off and talk! We’re not leaving out until everyone else does, so it’ll be better for the two of you to get to know each other.” Evan announces.

“I’ll go let Mariah know we found you!”

Evan then goes off in the crowd and the prince sighs before grabbing your hand and leading you off to the balcony. 

You quietly went along, the noise of the people slowly drowning out as the two of you reaching the balcony. 

“Are you alright?” Jotaro’s deep voice cuts through your thoughts and you don’t even know how to answer honestly.

“To be honest...I don’t even know your highness..” You finally admit, going and leaning on the balcony.

“I thought I was okay...but now I realize…I was a fool. I should’ve listened to my mother..” You feel the tears welling up in your eyes again. You refused to cry over him again.

"God he loves playing with my emotions..I got so happy when he was alone with me..but I guess he was only doing that to make her jealous.."

“H-he made me feel loved….he made me feel so special…” You mumble out feeling the tears run down your cheeks again.

"God I felt so stupid...I was so dumb.."

You could feel your body begin to shake, you didn’t want to break down in tears in front of the Prince, but it seemed no matter how hard your body tried to fight the tears, they kept coming.

All you saw when you closed your eyes was his stupid fucking face smirking down at you.

You felt a hand grab your shoulder and was pulled into a tight hug by the Prince. You stood quiet, feeling his hand rub the center of your back. “I’m sorry...I’m not good with words…” He says softly and you chuckle slightly at that. 

It was a comforting feeling to be in the Prince’s arms. To find relief in someone you barely even knew sounded absolutely stupid, but in this moment you didn’t care at all.

“I’m shit at words...but I promise..." He started, making you pull away from his hug to look up at him.

“I promise you’ll find someone who makes you feel special again…”

—--(pov switch)----

Dio was highly annoyed. 

Scratch that, he was fucking pissed.

Everyone was supposed to be in one place, but of course he couldn’t find one of his most trusted servants when he needed her the most. No not Olivia, he needed Y/n.

It was bothering him that he couldn’t find the girl when she normally was always around him.

All of sudden she went from being on his arm, to barely coming to visit him in his chambers. She only came when she was needed or asked to do a task.

He also didn’t like how close she was getting with Mariah. Don’t get him wrong, she was one of his royal advisors, but he felt like she had something up her sleeves whenever he saw her around Y/n.

All he needed was his cute little Y/n to be by his side during this. He wanted her..no NEEDED her. She was his everything. He was everything she was and more.

So when he got her alone earlier, he couldn't help himself. She was dressed up to cutely, he wanted to just take her right there. But no, he had to control himself, he knew she was questioning his love for her.

So he had to make his move tonight.

“Hol horse.” He called, a blonde male appeared at his side and tilted his hat towards him.

“Yes, Lord Dio? You need me?” He asked in a southern drawl-like accent. Dio nodded. 

“Have you seen Y/n? I need to ask her a question.”

“Yeah, Last I saw ‘er she was with that Joestar prince.”

This made Dio sit up from his seat surrounded by piers. “Excuse me?” He asked, insinuating for him to speak again. Hol Horse nodded. 

“Oh yea! Me and Vanilla were greeting the guests like ya told us to do when we saw her arguing with Olivia ‘bout something, she then went to the balcony with that Joestar prince.”

Dio stood up from his seat and motioned for Pucci to follow him, the priest sighed as he knew where this was going. Hol Horse watched as the male angrily marched off, leaving confused guests around him.

Dio made his way through the crowd and to the balcony with Pucci in tow with him.

His beloved little pet, seen around with that Joestar may give people the wrong idea.

Y/n meant a lot to him and to hear her being around Jotaro made his anger nearly boil over.

He couldn’t stand that damned Joestar bastard, he couldn’t stand any of them. They always made themselves out to be better than him. Dio built his empire out of nothing, while theirs was passed down to them by that annoyed bastard Jonathan.

He wished that old fuck would die off already..

But that was besides the point. When he reached a certain spot in the crowd he looked around and his eyes widened. Hol Horse was not lying to him at all.

His Y/n was in the arms of that damned bastard of a Prince. He appeared to be telling her something, and she smiled in response to it. Pucci bumped into the back of Dio, peering behind him he saw what he saw and cleared his throat.

“Would you like me to go talk to her, My Lord?” 

Dio was speechless, and appeared hurt?.. That was an emotion the Lord had not felt since his late mother passed, and that was years ago. So why was he so hurt seeing Y/n with another male?

She was just another servant he played around with, well she was playing hard to get that is. Much different than anyone who came before and after her.

Dio snapped back to reality and simply nodded to Pucci. 

He was not going to let her fall through his fingers that easily.

—-(back to our beloved y/n)-----

You allowed yourself to be held by Prince Jotaro for a little longer as he told you more about his Kingdom.

He told you how he inherited the throne from his Grandfather, King Joseph, as his mother willingly gave up the throne to him. He explained how he had a great love for the ocean and that he often spent much time beside the shore.

“That sounds wonderful, I’ve never seen the ocean before..” You admit and the prince gives you a soft smile.

“Perhaps I could show you one day...it’s really beautiful...a really peaceful sight.” He responded and you nodded along.

Prince Jotaro seemed like a sweetheart. He was a bit on the quiet side, but listening to him it seemed like he really cared for his family a lot. He spoke of his citizens in a nice way and really seemed to enjoy ruling alongside his family.

You told him how you only had your mother, who was sickly and that’s how you ended up working under Dio. Jotaro chuckles as you told him that your mother wanted you to work for his family instead. “Well I can still arrange that...Your mother seems like she cares for you..” He says and you shake your head.

“I couldn’t your highness, you’re already helping me leave, that would be ask-”

“Miss Y/n. There you are.” 

You turned your head to see Pucci, Dio’s right hand man walking up. You sigh and pull yourself from Jotaro’s warm embrace, turning to face him.

“Yes Pucci? Is there something you need?” You questioned, clearly annoyed that he interrupted the conversation with the prince. 

“Lord Dio requests your presence.”

“Oh does he now?” 

Pucci seemed taken aback by the snarky reply but shook his head, “Yes, He wants to see you now. It’s an urgent matter.”

You felt your anger bubbling up in your body and you felt yourself about to yell but Evan slid in between the two of you. “Pucci~ It’s been a while hasn’t it?” She quickly says, stepping directly in front of you. Pucci groaned at the bubbly girl.

“Move out the way Evan. My Lord requires his servants presence.”

“God, his servant? No addressing by first names? Or is that reserved for that little miss Olivia he’s been fucking huh?” She snarks, crossing her arms, earning a shocked expression from Pucci. 

“How do you-"

His eyes quickly averted to yours and you glared back at him.

You knew everything.

“Because word gets around~. We all knew Dio was a lying, cheating, no good bastard but damn I didn’t think he was gonna hop on the pussy train that quickly."

Evan's vulgar words caught you off guard, but you snickered a bit seeing Pucci's shocked face and Prince Jotaro shaking his head.

"Ooo! Ooo! Wait! Or as it because Y/n wouldn’t sleep with him~? Or was it the fact that Y/n reminded him or dear 'ol Isabel~” She pressed, and that got a response from Pucci.

"Don't you dare mention that Broad in this estate ever again! She is nothing her!"

Evan only smirked at him loosing his cool and waved bye grabbing your hand.

“Anyways. Tell Dio if he wants to see Lady Y/n, it’ll have to be on her own terms~! Bye bye~”

Evan snatches you away with Prince Jotaro following close behind leaving a confused Pucci on the balcony. Evan was angrily muttering to herself  as Jotaro walked along side her. 

“Evan..calm down-”

“I AM CALM YOUR MAJESTY!”

“....”

“Sorry…i just fucking despise that blonde bitch and his dick riding subordinates.”

You chuckled at Evan’s angry as you were pulled through the crowd. Once you reached outside the grand ballroom, You were greeted by Mariah.

Mariah smiled at you, “Well, it seems you are acquainted with those two. What took so long?” Evan groaned.

“Enrico dickriding Pucci,” She barks before looking over at You. She then sighs before placing her hands on your shoulders.

"I can sense that you're not ready to go yet...are you Y/n?"

Jotaro speaks up from behind Evan. You looked over at him and sighed, "I-i want to...but I need answers..especially after seeing his reaction to Evan mentioning Isabel.."

Jotaro seems to look off to the side, "Yea..Izzy was really important to all of us."

Evan looks at you dead in the eyes, "We don't want you to become another her. God we don't want that. Isabel wanted answers too.."

"And she ended up six feet fucking under." Jotaro muttered.

Evan then lets go of your shoulders. "Me and Jotaro are staying here until you feel like it's safe enough to leave. I overheard your arguement with Olivia that Lord Dio wants to meet with you tonight..right?"

Mariah raises an eyebrow, "Y/n...why does he want to meet you?"

You look at Mariah, "He wants...He.." Evan pulls you into a hug and finished your sentence. "He want's to fuck her and use her since Olivia is mad at him right now."

"Are you seriou-"

“So you’re really gonna leave because Lord Dio doesn’t love you anymore?”

The four of you turned to see Olivia standing there, anger plastered on her face.

Evan nearly screamed at her, but Jotaro slammed a hand over her mouth before words could leave her lips.

You didn't look at her and Olivia just smirked at you.

“You’re pitiful, you know that Y/n. You’re mad that Lord Dio chose someone else, so you think running off to another kingdom will save your little emotions.” She insulted and then looked over at Mariah.

"The only reason Mariah is helping you is because you remind her of that whore of a best friend that died."

You looked over to Mariah who was now looking down at the ground. Evan got out of Jotaro’s grasp and put her hands around her best friend. “You shut your goddamn mouth whore!” She yelled at her, Olivia only laughed at Evan.

"You'll be just like her if you continue to chase after Dio." Jotaro spoke up, Olivia only rolled her eyes at his words.

“Gosh you’re all so pathetic. Have fun in the Joestar kingdom. You’re never gonna find another male who makes you feel like lord Dio made you.”

“You’re gonna spend the rest of your life chasing that high, chasing after that dream of feeling special to someone else and you’ll never get it. How can you feel special without him?”

You turned on your heel and moved to leave out, Evan following behind with Mariah. Jotaro soon followed behind you.

You chose to ignore her, because deep down you knew you were going to be special to someone again.

You didn’t want to follow her up because you knew her time was coming, she was gonna be replaced soon enough, and when that happened.

You hoped that you could be there so you could laugh at her failure.

Right now you needed to leave and clear your head, to really decide if it was worth it to get answers out of him.

Olivia seemed upset that you turned your back on her, she growled and stomped her foot. “DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME Y/N! YOU’LL NEVER BE ANYTHING TO ANYONE!!” She yelled out. 

“YOU HEAR ME!? YOU’RE NOTHING!! YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ANYONE!!”

“YOU’RE NOTHING!!”

Olivia was left screaming at nothing as she watched you walk away with The Prince and his advisor. She let out a scream of frustration and ran back into the ball room.

Olivia walked over to her fellow maids and plopped down in her seat angrily. One of them, a kind girl named Rose, asked her what was wrong. “That bitch Y/n just left!” She snapped at her and Rose gasped. 

“W-wait. What do you mean she left!?” Rose whisper/yelled, knowing that Vanilla Ice, who was standing close by could possibly hear.

But Olivia could care less at this moment, she was more mad at the fact you turned your back on her. How dare you turn your back on the future queen of this land!?

“She left. She was jealous of my relationship with Lord Dio and got all pissy and upset. She decided to leave with Prince Kujo”

“Prince Kujo? Man she’s lucky..” Another one of the maids said. 

“Oh yea..very lucky, that man is so handsome and big..”

“Rumor has it he’s packing downstairs too!”

“Well it has to match the body!”

“Are you guys serious right now!? She just left Lord Dio!!” Olivia snapped again, this time catching the attention of Vanilla Ice.

One of the other maids shrugged, “And?”

“And?? What do you mean AND!?”

That same maid looked at all the others, “We all know Lord Dio is only going to choose one person, so why not leave for someone you know is going to have you as their number one instead number twelve?”  She says and the others nod.

Olivia just scoffs and sits back in her seat, “You all have all lost your minds.” She muttered.

Vanilla Ice, who was listening in to their conversation and quickly went to Lord Dio, who had long gone to his quarters. 

He could hear him yelling and tossing things about in his room from here so he knew that the news he had to tell him was not going to make things any better.

Opening the door, Vanilla saw Pucci standing beside Dio who was pissed to say the least. “My Lord.” Vanilla starts, and Dio looks at him. “What do you want, Vanilla? Can’t you see that I'm talking with Pucci?!” He barks and Vanilla utters out an apology before continuing.

“Yes My lord, I apologize, but it seems Miss Y/n has left the building.”

Dio froze in his spot. “Excuse me? She what?” He asked, coming closer to him. “She what!?” He yelled and Vanilla sighed. “I don’t know where she has gone, but I overheard some of the other maids talking about it.”

Dio slammed his fist into his dresser before letting out a loud yell, “Cancel this event! I want everyone out!” He orders and the two males nod before quickly leaving.

Dio runs a hand through his hair as a groan falls from his lips. How could he let you slip through his fingers so easily? You were his and his alone, no one else's.

He made sure that you had anything you wanted, that you were by his side 24/7. So why the hell were you gone?

Dio sits down on his bed and decides to make a plan, but while he’s thinking, his mind can’t help but go to the time where you first came to work for him…

It was about half a year ago when he first laid eyes on you. You were in a new line up servants brought to the castle. You were bright eyes and bushy tailed, never having a problem with following an order that he gave.’

Whenever he sent you out on errands you came back as fast as possible, always coming back with what he needed and more. 

You never complained or was disrespectful to him, you were perfect.

Dio always had plans to pursue you from the moment he gazed upon you, he’d dream of having you beside him, being his wife/queen and only being his.

Dio was attracted to the way that you carried yourself, you didn’t fall for his advances so easily like many who came before you. You were humble and never asked for much from the male. And that was what drew Dio close to you.

Not only that, you reminded him of his dear Isabel.

So head strong...so disobedient. When all he wanted was to give her the world...

He could have any woman he wanted, he had daughters of many nobles waiting in line to be his wife, but he was chasing behind you, a lowly servant.

So to try and get a reaction out of you, he brought in Olivia, She was the daughter of a nobleman Dio did business with. Olivia was far from what Dio wanted in a woman, she was whiny, too clingy and wasn’t very helpful.

All she wanted was the title of queen, she was after the riches and nothing else. Dio knew this very well, and thinking that him having a relationship with her would make you jealous. He thought you would get possessive over him and come show everyone who he truly belonged too.

But he was wrong, that seemed to only chase you away from him. And the annoying bitch didn’t make it any better, rubbing it in her face, especially when word got out amongst servants that he had slept with her.

And how in the hell did that damned Joestar know!? His royal advisor better be lucky he wasn't there or else she would've been dead.

He was pacing back and forth when he heard the door creak open, he turned to see Rose, she was one of the older maids around here. She was practically shaking as if something had happened to her.

“Lord Dio, I have something to tell you.” She says, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. 

“Speak then. Though I should punish you for entering unannounced.” 

Rose let out a squeak of fear before answering.

“M-miss Y/n left with P-prince Jotaro…”

Dio stood up off his bed, the poor maid didn't even have time to react before Dio had a hand around her throat. She couldn't even scream as he was crushing her neck.

"SHE WHAT!?"

Rose could only scream in pain before he dropped her to the ground.

"Speak dammit!? My Y/n is where!?" He yelled and Rose's hand went to her throat, she cried as she backed up against the wall to get away from Dio's wrath.

"S-someone s-saw he leave with the Prince and his advisor! Olivia w-went to try and stop her...but she left..." She croaked out. She jumped in fear that Dio was going to hit her again but instead He yelled for Pucci.

The priest walked in to see Dio in a rage, and see Rose on the floor in pain.

Dio turned to Pucci and pointed.

"Search every part of this damned kingdom until my y/n is brought back to me."

---------

May or may not be continued..it was a fic idea i just had to get out of my head! But if you all enjoy it then I will continue it! For the next fic it'll be either Obey Me or another JJba one! Idk yet. Anyways, Hope you enjoyed~

evan out~!

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[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

Eccentricity [Chapter 11: You Don’t Come Around No More]

A/N: I apologize profusely for the long wait. Thank you all so, so, so much for your support. Every single reblog, message, comment, emotional rant, and/or screech of despair makes my day, and I couldn’t do this without you. 💜 Only THREE more chapters left!!!

Series Summary: Joe Mazzello is a nice guy with a weird family. A VERY weird family. They have a secret, and you have a choice to make. Potentially a better love story than Twilight.

Chapter Title Is A Lyric From: “More To Life Than Baseball” by Petey. 

Chapter Warnings: Language, angsttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.

Word Count: 7.5k. 

Other Chapters (And All My Writing) Available: HERE

Taglist: @queen-turtle-boiii​​​​ @bramblesforbreakfast​​​​​​​ @maggieroseevans​​​​​ @culturefiendtrashqueen​​​​​ @imnotvibingveryguccimrstark​​​​​ @escabell​​​​​ @im-an-adult-ish​​​​​​ @queenlover05​​​​​ @someforeigntragedy​​​​​ @imtheinvisiblequeen​​​​​ @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhyee​​​​​ @deacyblues​​​​​ ​ @tensecondvacation​​​​ @brianssixpence​​​​​ @some-major-ishues​​​​ @haileymorelikestupid​​​​ @youngpastafanmug​​​​ @simonedk​

The Rain

I wish I felt empty.

I’m supposed to feel empty, right? I’m supposed to feel steeped in grey, oceanic misery; I’m supposed to dip in and out of depressive naps all day and sob delicately over creased photos and fading, wistful memories. I always envisioned heartbreak as a soft and inherently feminine sort of affliction: the hems of nightgowns and bathrobes sweeping along hardwood floors, Kleenex boxes and concave couch cushions, weepy phone calls to friends and aunts and mothers, Queen Victoria wearing black for the rest of her life after Prince Albert’s death, Mary Todd Lincoln sinking into dark and hushed obscurity. Women, hollowed out by despair, cross the history of the earth like lines of latitude.

I don’t feel empty at all. I don’t even feel sad. I feel razored by sharp, red, ceaseless anxiety. I am consumed by thoughts of what I did wrong, what I said that started the wheels of doubt spinning in his mind, if he had known how it would end from the start. I dream of white, clawed hands dragging me down through cold waves. I hear words scream to me as I toss at night in my suddenly too-spacious bed, words that now hit me like knuckles to the gut: Shhh, hey, it’s just me, don’t get up, as Joe slipped beneath the Arizonan blankets, wrapped an arm around my waist, kissed my collarbone as I tumbled back into sleep; I love you to death, as his Subaru idled in Charlie’s driveway; Baby Swan, listen to me, nothing is supposed to hurt, okay, so if anything hurts, ever, at all, you tell me and we stop, deal? as we stood in the doorway of our hotel room at the Four Seasons in Chicago. And now...and now...

And now everything fucking hurts.

It doesn’t make any sense; and yet it does. Look at him. Look at me.

The Polaroid photo from Homecoming was still taped to the top of my full-length mirror. I peeled it free like a layer of translucent, friable reptilian skin, tore it straight down the center, burned both halves over a brand new three-wicked, lemon-scented Bath And Body Works candle—a gift from Renee and Paul—and closed my eyes like a child casting a wish over her birthday cake like a spell. I wished for my memories to vanish with the photograph. I wished to get hit by a truck and wake up in the hospital with no recollection of the past two and a half months. I wanted the Lees to dissolve into distant, enigmatic mystery; I wanted to join the rest of Forks in believing that they were nothing more than bewildering and yet harmless freaks, barely worth noticing, one of those glitches of the matrix that were better off ignored like liminal seconds of déjà vu. I wished to carve out every part of myself that they had ever touched.

And Joe’s voice came rushing back from where we stood by that star-lit fountain outside the Church of Saint Lawrence, accompanied by falling raindrops and a crooked grin: I can make wishes come true.

The three tiny flames flickered in the breeze that sighed through my open window. The bright, citrusy scent of the candle reminded me of Lucy. I couldn’t fucking win. What else is new?

I turned back to the mirror. I flinched when my gaze snagged on my reflection: bloodshot-eyed, swollen-faced, utterly unbeautiful, restless like a caged animal. Look at him. Look at me.

I ripped the last memento off the mirror—Official Citation!! No More Sad Spaghetti!!—and watched the yellow square of paper catch fire, curl up around the edges, become unrecognizable, turn to ash. And I wished over and over again, like a poem, like a prayer: Let me forget, oh god please let me forget.

Charlie keeps asking if I’m okay. The answer, of course, is no; but I can’t tell him that. So I wear a serene smile like clip-on fangs, a cheap polyester cloak, crimson smudges of lipstick like trails of spilled blood down the side of my neck. Every day is Halloween for me now. I dress up as someone who isn’t haunted, who hasn’t become a ghost.

And when Charlie turns up the World Series or I’d Do Anything For Love on his geriatric, staticky kitchen radio—the same radio he’s had since my mother was the one joining him for daybreak coffee and Pop-Tarts—I choke back tears like dragonfire.

Missing In Action (Revisited)

Joe wasn’t here. Neither was Ben.

Lucy, Rami, and Scarlett were sipping cups of tea at the Lees’ usual table, their eyes downcast, their voices low and murmuring, their pristine lunches neglected. Lucy and Rami were dressed in matching charcoal grey turtleneck sweaters; Scarlett had come from Fencing Club and was wearing royal purple yoga pants and a black tank top, her duffle bag of gear on the floor by her sneakered feet. Her hair was in a long fishtail braid. Archer hadn’t mentioned her since Joe broke up with me. That either meant that it was going blissfully and he didn’t want to injure me further, or that Scarlett had ended things as well.

Since Joe broke up with me. That sounds so fucking pedestrian.

I stared at the three present Lees, almost leered, commanding them to see me, to acknowledge me, to admit that I had once meant something to them, that this hadn’t all been some transitory delusion to fill the cavernous void of losing my home, my life as I knew it in Arizona. They took no notice whatsoever.

Jess kicked me beneath the lunch table. My attention snapped back to her.

“Sorry, what?”

“You want to go shopping with me and Angela tonight?” Jessica’s hands were folded just beneath her chin, her voice gentle, her eyes large and sympathetic and watery. This was her version of being supportive. I appreciated it...in a perpetually tormented and preoccupied sort of way.

“No thanks.” I forked my cold, sauceless spaghetti listlessly. I’d forgotten to pack a lunch. I didn’t have an appetite anyway. I had deleted the GrubHub app from my iPhone and had no intention of using it ever again in my comparatively short and calamitous human life.

“You could come to temple this weekend,” Jessica pressed.

“Uh.” Mingling with a churchful of sociable, wholesome, marriage-obsessed adolescent Mormons sounded like the absolute last thing I’d want to spend my evening doing. “That’s a really generous offer, but I’ll pass.”

“Well you have to do something,” Angela said. “You can’t just sit in your bedroom alone all weekend and stare at the wall and wallow in self-pity.”

We’ll see about that. I turned to Jess. “How’s Vodka Boy from your Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic class? Did he ever reappear? What’s his name again, Elmo? Ellington? El Chapo?”

“Ellsworth.” She frowned as she slurped her patron-drink-of-Mormons Sprite. “And no, he definitely failed out or overdosed or something, because he never came back.”

“Tragic,” I noted.

“But I’m pretty sure Mike’s coming over this weekend, so we’ll see if I can get some Netflix and chill action going.”

“Jess,” Angela chastised, widening her eyes and nodding to me subtly (but not quite subtly enough). No talking about getting lucky in front of the heartbroken single loser, that look said.

“I think I can be emotionally supportive without taking a goddamn vow of chastity, Angela!” Jessica hurled back.

“I gotta go.” I stood, threw on my backpack, discarded my nearly untouched lunch.

“You’ve barely eaten anything!” Angela protested. “You’ve barely eaten for a week!”

“I’ll live.” I picked my umbrella up off the slippery tile floor—peppered with muddy shoeprints and pearlescent drops of water fallen from coats and limp, sopping locks of hair—and headed out into the pouring rain. I hated the rain. I hated it. Maybe I had forgotten that for a while, but it all came hurtling back now like a hurricane, like a hand cracking across my face. I ached for the desert, for blatant and unapologetic heat, for palm trees and cacti and naked stars in the night sky. I had been researching marine biology graduate programs in the Southwest. There were good ones at UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Texas A&M, the University of Southern California, UCLA. I would miss Charlie and Archer—and maybe Jessica and Angela on occasion—and absolutely nothing else about Forks. At least, that’s what I promised myself.

This is a no-giving-a-fuck-about-Lee-boys zone, I thought morosely.

Ben was brooding at our table in Professor Belvin’s classroom. It was the first time he’d shown up to Chemistry since that day Joe met me on the beach at La Push, since the place I’d once occupied in his universe had closed like a wound. I took my seat beside Ben. The window was shut today, the downpour outside torrential. Ben recoiled, just enough for me to notice; he was wearing his oversized black hoodie and practicing his Welsh, his handwriting messy and unbalanced.

“You could have warned me,” I said.

Ben didn’t glance up from his notebook. “Would that have made it any easier?”

“No,” I realized in defeat. I guess it wouldn’t have. I pulled my own notebook, my favorite pen, and a can of Diet Coke out of my backpack.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Ben said. “You really need to know that. It had nothing to do with you. And none of us are happy with the current situation. None of us.”

None of them. That included Joe. “Interestingly, that didn’t stop him from creating it.”

Ben was thoughtful, debating his next words. “We’re probably going to be moving soon.”

“What?” I startled; my turquoise blue pen dropped out of my grasp and rolled across the table. Ben snatched it up and returned it to me. “Really?”    

“Yeah.”

“And what, just redo this whole college thing?”

Ben shrugged. “We’ll probably start our junior years over again. Gwil will say there was some horrible family tragedy and we needed a few semesters off. I could use the extra time to figure out Calc anyway. Parametric equations make me want to kill myself.”

I just stared at him. It didn’t make any sense. “But...why would the whole family leave Forks? Because of me? One pathetic, aggrieved human? Do you all pack up and relocate every time Joe fucks and dumps someone? That must be exhausting.”

“It’s better for everyone if we get some distance. Put more space between our world and yours.”

“But...” I tried to imagine never seeing any of them again: no Mercy humming merrily as she tossed handfuls of homegrown carrots to the alpacas, no Dr. Lee dabbing away my blood with an ageless sort of patience, no Scarlett or Lucy or Rami, no brief glimpses of Joe as he avoided me in the campus library. It’s exactly what I wanted; and yet it wasn’t. It so, so, so, so wasn’t. It keeps getting worse. How is that possible? My voice was flimsy and quivering, absolutely pitiful. Disgustingly pitiful. “Who will be my lab partner?”

Ben peered over at me with wide, confused green eyes. And then—gingerly, awkwardly, like holding an acquaintance’s baby for the first time—he laid his hand over mine. “I’ll miss you too.”

Professor Belvin lectured about coordinate covalent bonds. I didn’t absorb a word. I conjugated Italian verbs with my turquoise blue pen, sketched disordered whirlpools of ink, tried not to think about whether this was my last-ever Chemistry class with Ben, whether it was my last-ever weekend sharing Forks with the Lees. Those rageful, frantic thoughts were back. What did I do wrong? What didn’t I do right? Why did he have to leave?

My nomadic gaze caught on a flier on the wall next to our misted window. I had assumed it was a leaflet for some club or protest or seasonal dance that I would definitely not attend, but it wasn’t. It was a missing poster.

Have you seen this student? the flier asked in bold, businesslike black font. It was urgent, but not quite despairing; not yet, anyway. I could hear a Dean of Student Affairs cajoling some affluent, strings-of-pearls-adorned mother over the phone: Yes ma’am, you have my full attention and I can assure you that we’re very concerned, but I’m sure it’s all just a misunderstanding...he’s probably gone backpacking or sailing with some friends and forgotten to call home. You know how college students can be. Beneath a large photo of a grinning blond kid—pink polo, flushed cheeks, clever crop job to nix a can of Natty Light clutched in one fist—was a name: Ellsworth Jonathan Griffin.

Ellsworth, I thought, my stomach plummeting. The guy from Jessica’s Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic class. He hadn’t failed out. He was missing. Missing like a 20/20 episode or a true crime podcast, missing like the pregnant stillness before a murder is confessed in some glaringly florescent-lit interrogation room, before a distended and bloodless corpse washes up on shore.

I turned to Ben. He noticed me eventually, crinkled his brow, shrugged in that way that seemed so petulant if you didn’t know him well enough to not be offended.

I pointed to the flier and raised my eyebrows. Ben twisted around in his chair to look. Then he sighed, scribbled a sentence in the corner of a piece of notebook paper, tore it free, and slid it across the table.

Ben’s note read, in atrocious penmanship: Are you seriously asking me if I ate that guy?

Maybe, I wrote back after a moment’s hesitation. Maybe that wasn’t exactly what I was asking; maybe I just wondered if he knew anything about it.

In either case, Ben’s reply was swift and resounding, and underlined three times: No.

Sorry, I wrote, abruptly remorseful. I am a jerk. And I added a frowny face for good measure. Ben chuckled when he saw it, shook his head, gave me a drawn little smirk. His words tiptoed around in my skull, leaving searing imprints like footprints in the sand. I’ll miss you too.

I have to forget about them. I drummed my turquoise blue pen against my notebook as Professor Belvin drew families of molecules on the whiteboard with squealing dry erase markers. I have to find a way to make myself forget.

Jessica was waiting for me in the hallway after class. It was part of her convince-Baby-Swan-not-to-jump-off-a-cliff initiative. “Hey.”

“Okay,” I told her with steely resolve. “I’m ready for you to set me up with one of those guys from your church or temple or whatever. I’m ready to be a nice wholesome wife, pop out like six kids, learn how to scrapbook, give up caffeine and horror movies, do the whole white picket fence thing. Sign me up.”

Jessica blinked at me. There were flecks of fallen mascara on her cheekbones like ashes. “What?”

“You’re a Mormon, right?”

“Girl, I’m not a Mormon,” Jessica said, puzzled. “I’m a witch.”

Lucille

I found Joe where he usually was these days: sprawled on the sofa, engulfed in the same blue Snuggie he’d been wearing for thirty-six uninterrupted hours, gazing catatonically at the big-screen tv. A 90 Day Fiancé marathon was on. Some rodentish guy named Colt was apologizing to his gorgeous, aspiring-green-card-holding Brazilian love interest for calling the cops on her during their last screaming match. He was also apologizing for the fact that they lived in a two-bedroom apartment with his mother. I didn’t need clairvoyance to see where their future was headed.

“Hey,” Ben said when he spotted me. He was sitting next to Joe and occasionally tried to shove pieces of popcorn into his mouth, which Joe accepted passively like coins plinked into a gumball machine. Ben had been his shadow for the past week; he was perhaps the best equipped of us to understand this degree of melancholy, of hopelessness.  

“Ciao.” And then, to Joe: “How are you?”

“Terrible,” he replied, not tearing his eyes from the tv.

“I figured.” I squeezed between them on the couch, curled up next to Joe, rested my chin on his shoulder. He ignored me completely. I could hear Mercy tapping at her laptop keyboard out in the dining room; she was browsing through Zillow listings in Portland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland. Dear god, please don’t let us end up in fucking Cleveland. “Guess what.”

Joe stared at the tv for a long time before he answered. “What.”

“I had a vision of you. Just now, as I was doing laundry. Crystal clear and very scenic too, I might add.”

“Fascinating,” Joe said flatly.

“What happened in this vision?” Ben asked, far more invested, which I was thankful for.

“It was pretty far away, maybe a year from now. I saw you in the desert at night, under a full moon. There were cacti everywhere. The shadow of the Milky Way was threaded through the sky, and the stars were very bright. I could make out the constellations Pegasus and Cassiopeia. You were filling up a tiny glass bottle with dirt.”

“That’s remarkably helpful,” Joe said.

“It is, a little bit,” I insisted. “It means you get through this. That you have a future. I get nervous when I go too long without a vision of someone in the family. But now I know you’re going to be okay.”

The reflections of the feuding 90 Day Fiancé couples danced in his glassy eyes. “Being alive doesn’t mean you’re okay.”

“That’s dark,” Ben said. “Even I think that’s too dark.” He pushed a handful of popcorn into Joe’s mouth. “Are you gonna hunt at some point or what?”

“No.”

“You’re just gonna sit on this couch and waste away?”

“Yeah.”

“You want me to bring you anything? Grizzly bear? Brown bear? Fuck it, I’ll get you a polar bear if that’s what you want. There’s probably some on the black market. Rami would know.”

“He what?” Mercy called from the kitchen. Her typing had stopped.

“Nothing, Mom!” I shot back.

“I don’t want anything,” Joe said. That was a lie, of course. We all knew what he wanted. Rami couldn’t stand to be around him; the thoughts were relentless, smothering.

I linked my arms around Joe’s neck, laid my head against his chest, sighed deeply and mournfully. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “I know that doesn’t fix anything. But I’m so, so sorry. And I’ll help however I can. We all will.”

And I had accepted that Joe wasn’t going to respond at all when he finally whispered: “I just wish I could forget.”

Cato

My rolling suitcase snagged on the cobblestone driveway. The tiny spinning wheels bashed against concrete as I scaled the front steps. As the taxi pulled away, I dug around in my suit pocket for my keys, found them, unlocked the enormous front door, stepped inside the palace as my suitcase trolled along the marble floor.

“Cato’s back!” Charity announced as she breezed down the nearest staircase, beaming and embracing me. She was a lovely, innately warm woman from Pointe-Noire, Congo; she still wore the silver cross necklace her mother had once given her around her neck. “Did you have a nice flight? Wait, let me check.” She pressed the fingertips of her right hand to my cheek. I felt the memories rush up like blood to a flushed face: the bite of sipped champagne against my tongue, the thin semi-transparent newspaper pages gliding between my fingers, the husky voice of the bearded, bearish naval officer who sat in the seat beside me, the misted silhouette of Vladivostok as it rose up out of the Pacific Ocean. “Uneventful, but pleasant enough. You flew commercial?”

“The jets were otherwise occupied, apparently.” Charity could see things with the predictability and precision that Lucy so often lacked, but only the past. I pushed her hand away. “Was that really necessary?”

“You’re not mad,” Charity declared, confident, impish, helping me shed my suit jacket and draping it over her arm. “You’re never mad.”

She was very nearly correct. “Where are the rest of the kids?”

“In the kitchen. Go say hello, they’ve missed you dreadfully.”

“I know the feeling.” I kicked off my Berlutis, ran a palm over the wiry fur of the Irish Wolfhounds that appeared to greet me before they resumed padding watchfully around the palace, and went to the kitchen, my black socks slipping a bit on the marble floors.

I could hear their voices before I reached the door: laughter, teasing, complaints, requests. The scents of pancakes and cold butter and maple syrup were thick in the air. Charity was one of our four newest recruits, and they all still had that energetic lightness of being human, a youthful enthusiasm, a relative normalness. I spent quite a lot of time with them. It was my job—to help with the transition, to keep them happy, to facilitate the welding of their individual parts into the beastly machine that was the Draghi—but oftentimes it felt more like a reprieve. Some would stay close to me as they matured, others would grow in different directions, like ambitious vines climbing the skeleton of a garden trellis. I usually missed them when they ‘grew up,’ so to speak...although there were exceptions. I had never liked Liesl. I had always liked Ben. I opened the door.

“Ah, you are home!” Ksenia cried from where she stood over the stove, a spatula in her right hand, bouncing excitedly in place on her small bare feet.

“Hey!” Max and Austin called together. They were both sitting with their shoes propped up on the unglamorous kitchen table. There was a massive formal dining room that could accommodate up to twenty-five guests, but we rarely used it.

“Good morning,” I said, aware that I was smiling for the first time in days.

Max groaned as he scrolled through his Google search results on a burner phone. “What the fuck. My name is one of the top five dog names again. I think I’m gonna have to change it.”

I ruffled his long blond hair, stealing a piece of bacon from his plate. Max had grown up a trust fund kid in Perth, Australia. His mother was old money; his father was a professional surfer. “Your name is fine.”

“Really, Kato Kaelin? Is it really? How am I supposed to intimidate people when I have a fucking dog name?”

“So make them call you Maximilian,” offered Ksenia in a heavy Ukrainian accent. She’d only been with us for eight months, but her English was coming along swimmingly. She flipped a massive A-shaped pancake on the sizzling griddle. That one was for Austin.

“Seriously?” Max said. “That is just way too many syllables. They’ll be halfway down the block by the time I’m done introducing myself. ‘Hey, come back mate, I haven’t killed ya yet.’”

“At least you aren’t stuck with a basic-white-boy-circa-1992 name for all of eternity,” said Austin Tyler McInerny, originally of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was chomping on a multicolored Fruit Roll-Up, which swung from his mouth like a lizard’s tongue. He’d been working at an ailing skatepark when Larkin found him. He still enjoyed showing off his kickflips, and kept insisting that he was going to teach me how to ollie. I didn’t have the faintest idea what an ollie was.

“Do you want a pancake, Cato?” Ksenia asked, passing Austin his plate and wiping her hands on her pink apron. Her black hair was tied in a high ponytail with a matching rose-colored ribbon. She looked so young. She was so young, actually. Nineteen. And she would be forever.

“No, thank you dear. I’m alright.”

“I like Alaric,” Max decided. “First king of the Visigoths. Alaric is a name fit for a vampire. Creepy, yet dignified. Or maybe Silas. Or Draco.”

Austin shook his head as he swirled a river of viscous maple syrup over his A-shaped pancake. “Definitely not Draco.”

“Why not?”

“Well, the Harry Potter connection is unfortunate. People will hear Draco and think of that obnoxious white-haired kid from the evil snake-people house or whatever.”

“Oh, right,” Max sighed. “Like I said. Alaric would work.”

“So many A-shaped pancakes!” Ksenia poured a K on the griddle for herself.

“It’s good for you,” Austin replied, pointing at her with his fork. “We’re practicing English.”

“Alaric Luther,” Max mused, scrolling through his phone. I didn’t think he’d find that on any list of trendy dog names. “Alaric Lothaire...Alaric Lucian...”

“I like your name, Max,” Larkin said from the doorway. None of us had heard him arrive. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, wearing a deep maroon suit and a ring on every finger, grinning hugely. He was exactly as I remembered him: stunning, captivating, terrifying. The kitchen fell quiet. I could smell Ksenia’s pancake beginning to burn.

At last Max chuckled nervously, pushing soggy pancake hunks around on his plate with his fork, averting his gaze. “Guess I’ll keep it then.”

“I thought I heard you come in,” Larkin told me.

“It’s always a pleasure to be home.”

He nodded out towards the hallway. “Come. Regale me with the stories of your travels.” Then his eyes flicked down to my socks, and he grimaced—slightly, briefly—before turning away. “And find your shoes.”

I followed him through the hallway, the living room, the grand front foyer with the crystal chandelier, into the elevator. Larkin did not speak, but he hummed as we ascended: House Of The Rising Sun.

It hadn’t always been like this. It was difficult for me to pick out the details of what had changed—the tone of his voice, the proportion of wonder and gratitude I associated with him versus fear, the way this palace (or the one in Reykjavik, or Juneau, or Ivalo, or Murmansk, or any of the others) felt when I stepped inside it—but I knew something had. It had begun before Ben left. It was much worse now. Older vampires, in my fairly learned opinion, are something like the stars. They mellow as they age, temper their character flaws, grow wise and patient like Nikolai or Honora or Gwilym Lee; or they rage until they burn away every last atom of humanity, until they destroy themselves and take entire solar systems down with them. Increasingly, I harbored fears that Larkin was a vampire of the latter variety. And we were all his planets.

In his study, Larkin dropped into the chair behind his desk, brought a hand to his forehead, surveyed a disarrayed flurry of papers: letters, notices, deeds and titles, meticulously managed accounts of finances and disciplinary actions. Larkin had a laptop and burner phone, of course, as we all did; but he liked to work in paper as much as possible. That’s how he’d done things for centuries, since long before the name of the inventor of the internet (or harnessed electricity, for that matter) was a whisper on his parents’ lips. The sky outside was clouded and seeping soft rain.

“Things have been busy?” I ventured.

He frowned, gesturing to the cluttered desk. “I’m in purgatory.”

“I’m terribly sorry to hear that. Can I help?”

“The Lancaster coven says they’ll need an extension for their dues. That’s the second year in a row, now it’s not just an exception, it’s a precedent. If you let one coven bend the rules, others will follow. So something will have to be done. Then there’s Stockholm. Anders’ coven has eaten a few too many locals—including the mayor’s favorite niece—and now the city is launching an investigation. Fucking idiots. They’ll probably all have to relocate. There’s some new territory dispute in Lima between Alejandro’s coven and a group of strangers that just came out of the Andes. We’ll have to make their acquaintance, of course. And as if all that weren’t enough, Rigel accidentally fed on a heroin addict and he’s currently detoxing in a cell in the basement. Would you check on him for me? I’m sure your presence will be a...” He waved his hand distractedly, almost dismissively, searching for the words. “A comfort to him.”

“Of course.”

“How are the Lees?”

“Fine. Typical. Gwil’s putting in a lot of hours at the hospital. Rami’s planning to get another law degree. Ben is, uh, adjusting. Slowly, very slowly. He’s not particularly content. But he hasn’t murdered anyone that I’m aware of.”

“How nice.” Now his eyes darted up to catch mine: focused, luminous, unreadable. “Nothing new at all?”

And instantly, I wanted to tell him everything. I forgot why I had ever planned to blunt the girl’s existence, to conceal her talent entirely; I felt her name rising in my throat. And then I remembered again. I’m doing this for Gwil, for Ben.

I pretended to ponder Larkin’s question, as if it was so difficult to remember, as if there was nothing left to sift through but a trunkful of mundane details from the trip like a grandfather’s tattered correspondence and tarnished war relics. That was something an average family might have squirreled away in their attic, I assumed; I’d never met my own grandfather, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have had anything to leave me if I had. “Joe’s got some new girlfriend, but I don’t think it’s serious. I doubt she’ll be around long. You know how Joe is. Scarlett’s seeing someone too, actually. A Quileute kid.”

“Poor boy.” And Larkin grinned like a shark beneath burning eyes. “He’s in for a lifetime of disappointment. Who will ever be able to hold a candle to those memories?”

Larkin had a moderate preoccupation with Scarlett’s beauty, her...tenacity. Her lack of talent was a great disappointment to him, a somehow more egregious fault than Joe or Gwil or Mercy’s. What a shame, Larkin often said. And I believed I knew what came after in his mind, although never aloud: What a partner she could have been.

He was still grinning at me. His expression was hollow, vacuous. A shiver clawed down my spine. He was waiting for something. No, he was searching. I stared back, and I willed for that intangible, contagious harmony I carried around like a wedding ring to hit him like carbon monoxide or bromine: undetected and yet inexorable, knocking him off his path of inquisition.

What does he suspect? What does he already know?

“Anyway,” Larkin continued abruptly, turning his attention back to his paperwork. “I’m glad there’s nothing to worry about in Forks. Liesl will be back in the next few days, Rigel will be ready to work again, I’ll come up with a plan to handle all this and my mood will improve tremendously.”

And where has Liesl been? I almost asked; and then I didn’t. It was a good sign that she was coming home. I had looked for her once while I was in Forks. When I made up my mind to find someone—when that switch flipped in my skull or in the tangle of nerves of my solar plexus or wherever it lived—it wasn’t like poking around on Google Earth: zooming in here, scrolling over there. A goldish trail lit up on the floor, a ‘Yellow Brick Road’ Honora and I sometimes joked, and I followed it. And I had no way of knowing how far that trail might lead. A route heading dead east from the palace might stop in the next town over or continue across the Pacific Ocean; my search might last one day or a hundred. In Forks—as I perched in a soaring western hemlock tree in the forest outside the Lee residence on a cool October evening—Liesl’s trail had led north. North to Vancouver, to Victoria, to Dawson, to Alaska? Who the fuck knew. I was just relieved it hadn’t led to the tree next to mine.

“Well, as always, I’m happy to assist however I can,” I told Larkin. “Just let me know and I’ll be on the next flight out of Vladivostok.”

“I appreciate that, Cato.” He smiled, paternally this time. And then he spun his chair around to peer out the window into the episodic flares of lightning that illuminated great dark clouds like neurons in a celestial brain. I hate thunderstorms. They remind me of South Carolina. “But I think you’ve earned a rest.”

After checking in on Rigel—irritable, frenetic, pacing, and yet predictably pacified somewhat by my visit—I trotted up the main staircase to the second floor of the palace. I found her in our bedroom: sitting at her easel, a paintbrush held in one graceful hand, an image like a photograph on the canvas. I promptly pried off my Berlutis for the second time today and tossed them into the closet.

“Ciao, amore,” I said.

“Ciao!” Honora replied, beaming. Her curly brunette hair was pinned up and away from her face; wayward tendrils spiraled down to brush her bare shoulder blades, the back of her neck. “Just give me five minutes...I have to finish the shadow of this tree...”

There weren’t many in the Draghi who survived the transition from Nikolai’s leadership to Larkin’s, but Honora had. She was gentle to a fault, a hopeless warrior, turned into an immortal on her forty-fourth birthday when Rome was still an empire; and she was without any talents whatsoever, except for one which was useless in combat. Her paintings, drawings, and sculptures adorned every palace the Draghi owned. Each year, Larkin would ask her to paint all of us together, incorporating any new faces, erasing the memories of those who had proven themselves unworthy. One such portrait, I knew, hung in Gwilym Lee’s home office.

I went to the woman I called my wife, laid my palms on her shoulders, leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “Take your time, love.”

“Everything’s alright?” Honora asked, looking hopefully up at me with large, wide-set jade eyes. No, not just hopefully. Trustingly.

“Everything’s alright,” I agreed, not knowing if I believed it.

Shadows And Spells

“He just...just...disappeared?!” Jessica sputtered, scandalized, gaping at me as she held a Styrofoam cup of spiked apple cider in her clasped hands.

We were on a quilt near the outskirts of the sea of beach towels and blankets that circled the bonfire. Women—wearing flowing dresses or robes or tunics or not very much at all—flounced around the flames banging tambourines and reciting chants that I didn’t know the words to. Some carried torches, beacons of heat and light in the darkness. Jessica was wearing a short black shirt, fishnet tights, and a black crop-top turtleneck sweater; I had opted for a bohemian blue dress patterned with stars, an old thrift shop find and the closest thing I owned to Wiccan festivities apparel. I had a cup of hot apple cider as well, enhanced with a generous splash of Captain Morgan, but hadn’t quite conjured up the rebelliousness to drink it yet.

I suddenly recalled Mercy bringing me an endless supply of virgin autumnal sangrias as Joe and I swam in the hot tub on the Lees’ back porch. As soon as you turn twenty-one, you can have the real thing. I frowned, shuddered, took a bitter and burning sip.

“Yeah,” I replied. “He told his roommate he was going to a frat party or something and never showed up and never made it back home either. The parents are blaming the university, the university is insisting he must be off with a girlfriend or on some hipster soul-searching nature adventure or whatever, it’s a mess.”

“Jesus,” she murmured. “What does your dad say?”

“He’s been helping the state police with the investigation. There’s really no evidence of anything. No witnesses, no footprints, no surveillance footage, no handy anonymous tips...”

“No body,” Jessica finished.

“That’s morbid.” I downed the rest of my cider. Was the world already beginning to list like a ship on choppy waves, or was that just my imagination? I guess it would be possible. I’d barely eaten all day.

“You were thinking it.”

“Well, one’s mind does tend to wander towards homicide under such circumstances.”

“It is the season of the dead.” She grinned wickedly, then took my empty cup. “He’s probably fine. I bet he wants to drop out to become a weed farmer and hasn’t worked up the guts to tell his parents yet. You want another?”

“Sure.”

“Cool. I’ll be right back.” Jess rose to balance on black boots with five-inch heels and staggered off to the foldable table piled high with cans and bottles and snacks. I was getting the impression that her Wiccanism was more of a novelty than a spiritual commitment.

The season of the dead. Now that’s VERY morbid.

There were some guys laughing, smoking home-rolled cigarettes, and toasting glasses of red wine on a nearby mandala blanket, bespectacled intellectual types who were probably getting PhDs in Anthropology or Medieval Studies at the University of Washington. One of them—curly-haired, pale-eyed, wearing a sweater vest and a cautious smile—raised his wine glass in my direction. I waved back without much enthusiasm.

“He’s cute, right?” Jessica asked, plopping back down onto our quilt and shoving a full cup of spiked cider into my grasp. She motioned for me to drink. I did. “That’s Sebastian, but he likes to be called Bash. He’s twenty-three and speaks fluent German.”

“Charming.”

“He’s very...uh...gifted. I’m not saying I know from personal experience, but I’ve heard it from a very reliable source. And his parents own a beach house in Monterey. You could go skinny-dipping.”  

“In the ocean?” The world was definitely wobbling now. I was warm all over, numbed, fuzzy; it was becoming difficult to picture Joe’s face, to hear his voice. This was good. I kept drinking. “No thanks. Too many sharks. They have great whites down there.”

Jess tossed her long, loose hair and sighed impatiently. “I’m just saying that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. So you should pursue that.”

“I’ll totally consider it.” I lied. I would not consider it.

She smiled, sympathetically, fondly. “I can’t believe you thought I was a Mormon.”

“I can’t believe I’m out in the Washington wilderness commemorating the Gaelic festival of Samhain, but here we all are.”

Jess glanced over my shoulder. “Oh my god. He’s coming over here.”

“Ugh.” I craned my neck to see. Sebastian—whoops, my mistake, Bash—was approaching. “Please distract him. I don’t want to talk to anyone. Also I’m pretty sure I’m getting drunk and I don’t want to do anything humiliating, like sob uncontrollably about how much I miss my ex-boyfriend.”

“Don’t worry. I gotchu, Baby Swan.”

“Hey Jess,” Bash said, but he was looking at me. He pitched his cigarette off into the trees. What the fuck, who does that?

“Only you can prevent forest fires,” I told him in a woozy, mock-Smokey Bear voice.

“What?” he asked, baffled.

“Ignore her, she’s drunk,” Jess said quickly. “So what’s up? Come on, sit with me. Keep me toasty. Teach me some German...”

As they chatted and giggled and snuggled closer together—I’m starting to think that Jessica might have been her own reliable source—I studied the forest, watching to make sure the cigarette didn’t begin to smolder in the damp brush. The voices and crackling of the bonfire and sharp ringing of the tambourines faded into one muted, uniform drone. The trees reeled in the haze of the spiked cider; the cool wind moaned through them. And then, for only a second: a glimpse of something impossibly quick, something silvery and reedy and sunless.

What was that?

I blinked. It was gone. I blinked again, staring penetratingly. The swarming heat from the cider evaporated from my skin, my blood. There were goosebumps rising all over me.

What the hell was that?

I remembered how Calawah University students sometimes reacted to Ben: flinching, withdrawing, autonomically fearing him on some primal, evolutionary level. They knew he was a predator. They knew they were prey. It was chillingly similar to what I was feeling now.

I have to get out of here. I have to go home.

I shot to my feet. Oh, wrong move, that was too quick. I swayed, and Jessica reached up to steady me. “Are you—?!”

“I’m fine,” I said. “I gotta go home now.”

“What?! We just got here! Look, chill out, let me get you some vegan samosas or something—”

“No, seriously, I have to go.”

“Okay, okay,” Jessica conceded. “I’ll finish my drink and we’ll call an Uber, alright?”

“Really?” Bash asked, crestfallen.

“I’ll call an Uber,” I told Jess. “You stay, I’ll go.” Maybe she shouldn’t stay, I thought foggily, irrationally. Maybe it’s not safe.

“I can’t let you go alone. I got you drunk and now you’re a mess and if you end up murdered it would be my fault. There are unsolved mysteries going around, you know.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Girl, there’s no way I’m gonna—”

“I’ll call you as soon as I get in the Uber and I’ll stay on until I’m physically inside my house, okay?”

Jessica considered this. Bash leaned in to nibble her ear. I could smell the red wine and nicotine and animalistic lust sweating out of his pores. And unexpectedly, agonizingly: a biting flare, a muscle memory, Joe’s fingertips skimming down the small of my back and his scent like winter nights saturating the capillary beds of my lungs. Stop, stop, stop. “Okay,” Jess agreed at last.

“Awesome.” I was already opening the Uber app on my iPhone.

My driver was a Pacific Northwestern version of Santa Claus: wild grey beard, red flannel, L.L.Bean boots, rambling about his upcoming trip to hunt caribou in British Columbia. I honored my promise to Jessica and kept her on speakerphone for the duration of the twenty-minute drive. I rested my whirling head against the seat, let my eyes dip closed, watched the intermittent streetlights appear and disappear through my eyelids. I let myself into Charlie’s house when I arrived, wished Jessica goodnight (and reminded her not to get pregnant), and meandered clumsily into the kitchen for a glass of water and a cookie dough Pop-Tart to ward off a possible hangover. Charlie was snoring quietly on the living room couch. I watched him for a while, smiling and achingly grateful, before heading upstairs to my bedroom.

My window was wide open; that’s the first thing I noticed. I didn’t remember leaving it that way. I was always neglecting to lock the window, sure—I kept forgetting that there was no one to leave it unlocked for anymore—but I hadn’t left it open when I went to meet Jessica this evening. Icy night air flooded in. The stars were bright and furious in an uncommonly clear sky.

“You trying to give me pneumonia, old man?” I muttered, thinking of Charlie. I tossed my iPhone down onto my bed and crossed the room to close the window. And as it creaked and collided with the sill, I heard my closet door open behind me.

Someone’s here. Someone’s in this room with me.

I turned, very slowly; it felt like it took a lifetime. She was standing in the doorway of my closet, sinuous and white-haired, wearing black leather pants and stiletto heels and a long-sleeved lace blouse the color of blood, the color of her eyes. And she was harrowingly beautiful; not like Lucy or Mercy, not like Scarlett. She was beautiful like a prehistoric jawbone, like a serrated crescent moon, like a blade.

The owl. The goddamn albino owl.

I recognized her immediately. I heard Joe’s words as he introduced each vampire in the immense painting hanging in Dr. Lee’s upstairs office to me, though I desperately didn’t want to: She’s literally Satan, only blonder.

Her name tumbled from my trembling lips. “Liesl.”

“Wonderful, we can skip the introductions.” Her voice was like windchimes, cutting and brisk, with a hint of an Austrian accent like a shadow. Now she was at my bedside and picking up my phone, scrolling through it with lightning-quick and dexterous thumbs. “Hm. No texts from any of the Lees in the past week. So we don’t have to worry about them dropping by, I suppose. Joe got bored with you already, huh?”

“Evidently.” My own voice was brittle, anemic, weak; just like my ineffectual human body.

“That’s quick, even for him. How sad.” She sighed, tucking my iPhone into her red Chanel purse. “There’s a private jet waiting at the Forks Airport. Pack a bag. You have five minutes.”

“Please don’t hurt my dad,” I whispered, scalding tears brimming in my eyes.

“Of course not,” Liesl replied with a savage, saccharine smile. “Not yet, anyway.”

[abberrrzzzzzz]

A Few Thoughts and Questions on Eternals as Someone who is Getting Back into the MCU

ETERNALS SPOILERS BELOW PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO BE SPOILED!!

So the movies are clearly going to be slightly different from the books, which is always good. Adds a level of mystery to the plot for those who did read without deviating so much that we lose the story.

Where I’m confused mostly is what exactly is Thanos… We’ve got Tik Toks claiming he’s a deviant but the comics say he’s a Titanian Eternal. Okay so then why is he purple if he’s a Titanian Eternal and Eros is not? The movie explanation of him being deviant would make sense. When the deviant at the end of the movie becomes sentient, it looks slightly more human than it used to after if took Ajak and Gilgamesh’s essence and powers. So then Eros is an Eternal and Thanos is a Deviant.

Idk why but this just doesn’t sit right with me. It doesn’t really make sense because Eros and Thanos are brothers. Maybe he’s mutated somehow and perhaps sought revenge for the way he was treated by other Eternals. Alternatively, let’s think about how the creation of horcruxes destroyed Tom Riddle’s appearance. Different universe, but perhaps a similar idea in Thanos’ stop-at-nothing search for the infinity stones. Thanos is still relevant.

Curious to see how we’re going to explore both the celestial timeline and the multiverse timeline. It feels like a lot and I’m wondering how they connect. Thanos and the Blip have to be the link somehow.

Coworker mentioned the idea of Ikaris somehow going full Clark Kent/Captain America and somehow not dying after flying into the sun. I like this idea. I do not think we are done with him yet. And then there’s the topic of Gilgamesh which is its own separately confusing thing.

Having Richard Madden and Sebastian Stan in a movie together is bad idea to me though. They straight up look the same like I thought Bucky Barnes was an eternal the whole movie until the credits when I realized it was a whole different dude.

Also, Spider-Man is starting to feel so blah with all the pace other heroes they’re giving us. Shang-Chi was amazing and badass. The Eternals are so bad ass. I even enjoyed Venom. Like he just shoots webs and is a teenager. I’m failing to see what he has to offer this operation other than Tony’s tech. Which I guess is all Tony had too so it makes sense he’d play the Iron Man role in a new set of Avengers.

Literally I am obsessed with Angelina Jolie. She has aged like fine wine. She was amazing. Makkari is my other favorite like one, the deaf representation. Two, she’s fast and fuck boiii. Three, just such a great character. Fiercely loyal, funny, and very clearly written by a woman for women. And she’s beautiful too but that’s not even close to the most important part.

Anyway, the credits scenes gave me more questions than answers. Stay tuned for the next few years I guess. I’m more into this phase than the original one, because I knew the Infinity Gauntlet story. While so great, and 100% the correct first arc, I’m not familiar with this one. So I find myself fascinated by it. I hope that I don’t lose interest like I did after Age of Ultron.

[peachfaeryy]

Hi 🌙

It's my birthday right now. I'm 26 now.

1. What is my fondest childhood memory?

My fondest childhood memories definitely consist of the lovely people who I grew up with and derived my sense of humor/silliness from: my cousins Anna & Emily, Savannah -- my childhood best friend, and Kaleb, my eternal crush. These memories consist of them in elementary school, camp, and my grandma's house in San Antonio.

2. What is my favorite comfort food?

Probably nachos/chips/chips & queso.

3. What’s my favorite way to exercise?

Uh...DANCE.

4. Am I a morning person or a night owl?

I lean more towards night owl but I try to avoid both.

5. If I could have any superpower, what would it be?

The currency of youth.

6. Do I prefer cooking, baking, or neither?

I love both cooking and baking :) I find both extremely rewarding and cathartic.

7. Am I an introvert or an extrovert?

Ambivert strongly introvert-leaning.

8. What superhero do I find most relatable?

None, I detest all superheroes.

9. What is my favorite season of the year — and what do I love most about it?

Winter because it provides me with the most amount of physical comfort. I love sleeping in a very cold room, opening my windows with no AC on. Sitting in my car listening to music/eating with engine off. Less humidity. Food is tastier. Style is better.

10. Do I believe in the existence of angels?

Not particularly? Well, yes but I believe they have absolutely no role or effect on our world.

11. What are my favorite TV series?

American Crime Story (OJ & Versace), Fleabag, Atlanta...90 Day Fiance, Game of Thrones

12. What was the last movie I watched (or the last movie I enjoyed)?

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (let's gooOoo)

13. Am I a tidy person or a messy one?

I used to be very messy but not I'd consider myself pretty tidy. My nature is messy though.

14. Am I afraid of the dark?

Nah.

15. Am I more of a coffee person or a tea person?

Mostly coffee.

16. What talents do I possess that I’m proud of?

I don't have any natural-born talents but I suppose my ability to teach myself a new skill over time.

17. Do (or did) I like school?

I loved school and literally work at a school.

18. Did I go to the prom?

Unfortunately, yes.

19. What is my idea of a perfect date?

Definitely grabbing pizza at a nice restaurant.

20. Do I enjoy DIY or crafts?

Not at all, sounds awful, lol.

21. Do I forgive others easily?

Yes. But not so much anymore now that I'm older and more experienced. My instinct/nature is very forgiving.

22. Do I have a nickname — or did I ever have one?

None.

23. Do I have any phobias?

I'm scared of most anything anything everything...I'd say my daily fear is mistaking my razor for my toothbrush in the shower.

24. Have I ever met one of my heroes? If yes, who was it, and how did it go?

No?

25. Do I speak any other languages?

No, but I told myself I would learn Spanish before I die.

26. Have I ever traveled outside my native country?

Yes! I have been the Mexico and Ireland.

27. If money were no object, what would I want for my next birthday?

Maybe a trip to South Korea/Germany/Rhode Island

28. Have I ever been addicted to something?

Yes. But as far as substances? I'm addicted to Nsaid.

29. When I was a kid, what did I want to be when I grew up?

I wanted to be a wildlife photographer when I was a kid-kid.

30. Have I ever won something?

$75 with scratch offs

31. Have I ever narrowly escaped death (or serious injury)?

I'd say so, yes.

32. Do I prefer baths or showers?

Showers.

33. How am I feeling right now?

Changed.

34. Have I ever played any sports?

Soccer, Basketball, and cross-country

35. Do I prefer the beach or the mountains?

Beach, but I feel connected to both.

36. Do I prefer a Mac or a PC?

Uh...PC?

37. Do I prefer dogs or cats (or some other pet)?

Cats...I honestly do not like dogs at all.

38. Do I have any piercings or tattoos? Would I like to get any?

I have three tattoos: three rune, a sword, and a butterfly. All of which are on my arms.

39. Do I have kids?

Not right now.

40. Do I have siblings?

None.

41. What do I do on a typical Friday night?

Same thing I usually do: practice dance/choreo for a couple of hours. Read, cook, watch Youtube. If I’m going out, I’ll maybe grab dinner/hang with my friends. I MAY go to ~the club~ in a blue moon.

42. If I could go anywhere in the world with unlimited funds, where would I go?

SOUTH KOREA

43. What do I do to relax?

Shower, listen to music. Do my makeup for fun.

44. What do I do to wake up or boost my energy levels?

Blast Stray Kids

45. Would I rather have unlimited energy or unlimited money?

Unlimited money

46. Am I a collector of anything? If yes, how big is my collection?

I collect Kpop bullshit...(albums, photo cards, posters, etc.) essentially merch from my favorite artists.

47. What sort of gift would I want from my significant other on Valentine’s Day or on my birthday?

JUST flowers. All I care about it getting flowers on both of those days.

48. Which would I rather avoid — excess heat or extreme cold?

Excess heat.

49. Would movie genre would I rather watch: action, romance, fantasy, or horror?

Of those choices: horror. I also like a solid journey story.

50. Have I ever been on a diet? If yes, how did it go?

More like a mini eating disorder, lol? I went through phases where I only consumed 1500 calories.

51. If I could live anywhere for a month with whomever I choose, where would that be?

Greece with I suppose...someone I get along with.

52. Have I ever gone camping? Or do you look at a tent and think, “I feel like that’s the wonton wrapper, and I’m the filling.”

Yes, several times. I actually thoroughly enjoy camping.

53. What’s the last song I listened to?

Ribs -- Lorde

54. What’s my current obsession, and how much have I spent on it?

Anything kpop...hours. I’m talking hours and hours.

55. What’s a favorite book of mine?

We Need to Talk About Kevin

56. What should I be doing right now?

Sleeping.

57. What’s my best feature?

Physically? Boobs.

Personality? I would say kindness but that’s basic. Witty? Self-discipline.  

58. What’s the most expensive article of clothing (or shoes) that I own?

Damn...shoes...? $100?

59. What is one thing I could not live without?

Music. My one coping mechanism and literally the reason I’m alive and functional.

60. What’s one thing I can’t leave the house without (other than keys and my wallet)?

Phone... BC packet?

61. What’s one of my pet peeves?

Slow walkers

62. What wild animal would I love to have for a pet (as long as it didn’t eat anyone)?

Maybe like...a toucan?

63. What’s my favorite drink?

An ICE COLD fizzy SODA boiii

64. What’s my spirit animal, and do I own anything featuring that animal?

I guess I’m very cat-like. I used to have a lot of cat stuff, but not anymore...

65. What’s my favorite restaurant, and what’s my favorite splurge order?

I like basically any fast food joint. I’m also a sucker for Chili’s. I’m really basic. A splurge order for me would be ordering a margarita with my meal.

66. What’s my favorite movie — or the best one I’ve seen in the last three years?

I’ve been obsessed with We Need to Talk About Kevin, Pirates of the Caribbean...I’ve been wanting to rewatch Little Miss Sunshine

67. What’s a favorite hobby of mine?

Dancing :)

68. What’s my favorite go-to snack?

Health-wise: apples and peanut butter. But if I don’t care: chips

69. What are my must-haves for watching a movie in a theater?

True interest in the film

70. What’s my favorite kind of competition to watch (sports, cooking, etc.)?

Not really into competition shows.

71. Would I rather get an electric shock or get an intramuscular shot (tetanus, etc.)?

Electric shock?

72. What’s my dream car?

Bella’s shitty red truck let’s gooooo

73. What are the must-haves in the home of my dreams?

LOTS of open space, sunlight, heated bathroom floor

74. What’s my favorite sandwich?

Chicken salad, BLT, plain peanut butter

75. What’s my favorite kind of dinner? (comfort food, four-course, take-out Chinese…)

Comfort food

76. If I could change my eye and hair color, what color/s would I choose?

I would DEF change my eye color to a warm brown and my hair to very dark brown. I’m growing my natural hair out. I’m going dye-free right now.

77. Who is my favorite fictional character (or one of them)?

Jack Sparrow

78. What’s my longest relationship so far (other than family)?

4 years...

79. What is my star sign — or do I usually avoid that question?

I DO NOT care about this but I’m a Leo

80. What is my lucky number, or what is a favorite number of mine?

Uh? N/A

81. What city do I live in now, and what’s my favorite thing about it?

I still live in Denton and I detest it.

82. What state do I live in now, and what do I love about it?

Texas, its diversity.

83. If I had to move to a different state, where would I rather go?

New Mexico

84. Have I ever colored my hair? If yes, what’s my favorite hair color experiment so far?

Yes, most of my teen and adult life. But my “crazy” hair experiment right now is going dye-free and wearing my natural color.

85. Whom do I miss right now?

My 14-year-old self

86. Have I ever made a mistake that someone else refused to forgive me for?

Apparently.

87. Do I have a celebrity crush? If yes, who is it?

JOHNNY DEPP and all of Stray Kids lol. Jungkook?

88. If I could meet any celebrity for coffee/tea and a chat, who would it be?

Marina Diamandis

89. As desserts go, would I rather have ice cream or cheesecake?

Ice Cream

90. Would I rather live in a house or an apartment, and why?

A small house.

91. Would I rather live in a treehouse, a cave, or a submarine?

Treehouse

92. What is one big goal that I want to accomplish this year?

Move out of D*nton.

93. What do I want to do for a living?

I’m happy being a teacher, but ultimately I’d like to counsel kids.

94. When I feel sick, where do I usually feel it first or most noticeably?

My head.

95. What sort of smartphone do I use, and what made me choose it?

Uh? Android?

96. What’s one movie that I’ve watched repeatedly? What do I love about it?

I watch signs pretty frequently. Midsommar? I connect with its characters because they seem like real actual people? I’ve been wanting to rewatch the Lovely Bones.

100. If I could afford one, would I rather hire a chef, a personal assistant, or a housekeeper?

Housekeeper!

97. What is one food that I refuse to eat?

Liver

98. What exotic food would I be willing to try?

I’d be open to trying most any food.

99. What is one item on my bucket list, and what made me choose it?

I’m kind of working on it now. I want to put a few years in while I’m young and able to become a very good dancer. I know that to obtain that it IS going to take years. It’s something that’s really important to me because I’ve always wanted that for myself but never made actual steps to obtain/execute it. And ultimately, I want it because it allows me to feel like my true self.

[milkybonya]

Just saw your new post with Astro as highschool kdrama characters and u mentioned being obsessed with true beuty AND I NEED TO KNOW...

Team suho or team seojun👀👀

AHHH ,, I’M TEAM SEOJUN T.T

honestly it’s so clear that Suho will end up winning and i don’t feel very deeply about this, but I just love Seojun’s character so much ;3; a whole bad boy who rides a motorcycle and has a soft spot for the female lead ?? yes pls >.< i’m rooting for Suho still, though, because he’s played by Eunwoo and DATS MY BOIII

[aleriawrites]

Novel Prep Tag Game: songs of Alerïa

Thank you for tagging me @nistrada for the tag. This took me a long time to do actually bc tumblr app kept crashing on me. 😭

First Look

1.) Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences:

“If we burn, you burn with us.”

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

2.) How long do you plan for the novel to be?

3 books if I ever start writing it.

3.) What’s your novel’s aesthetic?

very fantasy with a bit of dystopia in there.

4.) What other stories have inspired your novel?

Avatar: the last airbender, a song of ice and fire, the hunger games.

5.) 3 images that get the feel of my novel:

Main Characters

6.) Who is your protagonist?

it’s multiple POV but I guess for now I’ll talk about Ayden.

7.) Who is their closest ally?

Books! Ayden is naturally a clumsy bookworm and is obsessed with nature, literature and exploration.

8.) Who is their enemy?

His father Averys.

9.) What do they want more than anything?

Ayden wants independence, to exercise his liberties and to be treated like an adult rather than a baby.

10.) Why can’t they have it?

Averys lost his wife, Aydens mom Leia during war. Averys fears he will lose Ayden as well and hence is over protective and restricting.

11.) What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Ayden believes his father hates him but Averys loves him.

12.) Draw your protagonist!

Can’t draw. but here is a close resemblance. Surprise surprise it’s a white boiii. Add a snow owl, spectacles, bag of maps and a crossbow.

13.) What is the worst thing that could happen to your protag?

According to Averys, “everything!”

Plot Points

14.) What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

This is where my plot is stuck, trying to figure it out.

15.) Do you know how it ends?

Don’t wanna ruin the element of surprise.

16.) What is the theme?

Resistance, rebellion, revolution.

17.) What is a recurring symbol?

Birds are a big symbol especially the eagle. Another symbol is the moon/stars which are associated with Avestia.

18.) Where is the story set?

In my own little head atm. But the setting is on a continent called the Main Land which is supposed to be Eurasia and a new founded territory called the New World aka America.

19.) Do you have images and scenes in mind already?

yes!

20.) What excited you about this story?

it was the prospect of writing a narrative about those being oppressed in the world via western imperialism. A lot of stories do not shine a light on the consequences of post colonialism and modern day imperialism. Its something I would love to write about in a way that resonates with victims of western agendas + regime change.

21.) What is your usual writing method?

I get a an idea in my head when I should be sleeping, then i attempt to write it down, I hate how it’s written, I cry and repeat.

Tagging : @ardawyn @anomaly00 @bebewrites @childrenoflight-darkness-nothing @captainrynna @drowsy-quill @erinbeatty @eternally-sweet @eluari @feralsong @faesongwrites @galthynus @inkspilledqueen @inky-duchess @inherentlywritten @lady-redshield-writes @lyaremia @marie-writess @nistrada @owl-writes @pen-of-roses @the-starborne-prince @urbanteeth @dusklightserenade (+ anyone else who would like to participate)

[nevergoinganywherearewe]

So, ladies, gents, and any variations thereof!

(For those actually reading this AU, sorry it’s not an update this time, we’re on it!)

We may or may not have done a thing. We also may or may not have spent actual coin to be able to do the thing. What you can see above is a Sims4 build of what we imagine Korn and Knock’s gym to look like because CLEARLY we are obsessed and have too much time on our hands. 

The only thing missing is the basement / pool / spa area, which is not completely done yet because we do subsist on sleep and food. However, once these are done, we will of course make a separate post because you see, we’d like you to have an idea of where Tutor will use his one day master key exactly. 

...not that this was the only reason why we did this...no.

In any case, please look forward to the new update and feel free to imagine our boiiis in this kind of gym space.

...the fact that building this has given us so many more draft ideas too is frankly alarming...

Cheers,

J (& S)

[stardust-make-a-wish]

tagged by @rubberbandballqueen thank you<3

🌷 what do you prefer to be called name wise?  star/stardust idc i’m not picky :3

🌱 when is your birthday?

august 1st !!

🌷 where do you live?

illinois

🌱three things you are doing right now?

eating a bagel, talking to a friend , and having a crisis abt the fact that hq ends in a week n a half n my favorite character is probly not coming back ;w;

🌷 four fandoms that have piqued your interest right now?

UHH i’m v v v obsessed w haikyuu rn, aa i love fruits basket a lot, obv bnha, & ummm kaguya sama ig?? i’m not rlly in the fandom for it tho

🌱hows the pandemic treating you?

aaaaaaaaaaaaa everyday. i wake up. and i do the same things. i check discord. i get bullied. i tell myself i’ll read fic. i get distracted. i make food. i get bullied more. i finally read fic. i slep

🌷 a song you can’t stop listening to right now?

AAA i’ve have the new furuba ed on repeat !! ;w; also this playlist

🌱recommend a movie?

i,,, i don’t watch movies very often i honestly don’t rmbr the last one i watched

um i asked my sister n she said “wild child” 😌

🌷 how old are you?

16 but my bday is in like a month<3

🌱school, university, occupation, other?

high school :^) i am going to b a senior

🌷 name one fact others may not know about you? 

um uhh i was homeschooled from 3rd grade - 8th grade?$?$ idk i don’t have any interesting facts

🌱are you shy? VERY MUCH SO :c

🌷 do you have any preferred pronouns?

she/her

🌱any pet peeves?

hmhmhmmm the sickly sweet sarcasm voice

🌷 whats your favorite “dere” type?

ummm deredere probably ?? (i had to look this up HCJFJFJ i only know tsundere n kuudere) (for the record im probably closest to tsundere even if i don’t rlly like those characters)

🌱rate your life 1-10

uhm uhhhhh um 7/10?&?&? how am i supposed to rank this kfjf

🌷 what’s your main blog? this one :3

🌱list your side blogs and what they are used for. i have @star-does-art for,, art,, and @cheri-cove to keep all my acnh guides in one place ,,

🌷 is there anything you think people need to know about you before being friends with you? aa well i’d probly never randomly start a convo?,&?& if you want to be friends you have to message meee,,,

aa tagging: @stars-boiii and um anyone else who wants to do this !!

[b00bconnoisseur]

60 questions for @not-my-brain

1. selfie.......Ugghhhh ok. Imma take one rn

Ok here u go (yes thats a bmth shirt)

2. what would you name your future kids?.....Ooo hmmm well when i was a kid i really liked the names disney, and mesiah. I didn't know at the time that mesiah was another name for god i think lol. I liked it cause of handlers mesiah. I still do. Ooo and maybe Tj too

3. do you miss anyone?......Yeah. My friends on Pinterest from a year ago. My friend lucas. Stan lee. Bob ross. My cousin who died from cancer some years ago. Snape. Sirius. Lupin. Tonks. Dobby. *continues to name every unfortunate death in hp*

4. what are you looking forward to?.......SE-YA next month!! Its the south eastern young adult festival at this college. You can have meet n greets with authors and alot of stuff its the besstttt

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?......DEFINATELY. @dirtysocke @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye @cristal-kyd1280 @sammchenry my friend lucas and @septembersbloom. ^^

6. is it hard for you to get over someone?..... What like...romantically? Or like a death? If romantically uhhh idk it took over a couple weeks but im ok now. Ive never had another relationship so idk. If death oof yeah idk maybe. Ig it depends on how much i knew them idk. Like when my nanny (great grandma) died i was sad for days (is that alot?)

7. what was your life like last year?.....Sucky af. Still is. But the highlights of my life last year was getting and making friends on tumblr, going to the tøp concert and going to warped tour, volunteering at the library, going to seya and meeting some of my favorite authors, reading, changing and improving my art, listening to all the bands i listen to now, getting into more fandoms, going to a friends house for the first time

8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed?.......Yes lol. Some years ago when i couldn't find smtn id be so annoyed and pissed id start crying. I dont now but still lol

9. who did you last see in person?.......Hm ig family doesn't count....? Wait do u mean a friend? If so uhh my friends rebekah, anika, and Judah at a TAB meeting at the library sometime last month.

10. are you good at hiding your feelings?......I think so? Like i mean I can hide whenever i get my....time of the month from my mom (talking abt stuff like that with her makes me uncomfortable) and i hid a breakup. And other p big stuff too. So imma say yeah

11. are you listening to music right now?........*pops on earbuds after reading this* yee im listening to bitch lasagna by pewdiepie xD (do i have the best spotify playlist or what?)

12. what is something you want right now?.......To hug @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye but SOMEONE has to live so far away

13. how do you feel right now?........Happy that my earbud still works cause they got washed in the wash yesterday....oops. Its not my fault. I told my dad to remind me to take it out of my jacket pocket before they threw it in but noooooo he forgot

14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you?.......Uhhhhh fuck idk it was probably from my lil 4 yr old bro sometime last week. Other than him (hes my favorite sibling) i dont let them hug me too much

15. personality description.......Nerdy. Fangirl. "Emo". Tomboy. Hotsause obsessed. Book lover. Music lover. Black. Blue. Harry potter. Introvert. Fall. Sports. Values friendship. Loyal. Uhhhh i cant think of much lol

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?.......*sigh* yes. Yes yes yes. Theres some things abt me, or my life really, that i havent told anyone on here or my irl friends that i sooooo want to so bad but i haven't cause i feel like they'd feel bad and pity me and i don't want that

17. opinion on insecurities........I dont really understand this one. Everyones insecure abt something. Is this askin like if i think its ok or not? I say its ok. Im insecure about literally everything about me. My face. My personality. My socialness. My art. What i do. What i say. Basically my whole body. The things i feel good abt are my books, music taste, and my friends (ily fuckers)

18. do you miss how things were a year ago?.........Hmm this time around a year ago....idk its sorta the same but all the stuff i mentioned abt my year from last year didn't happen yet so nah tho my life sucks rn its better than this time last year

19. have you ever been to New York?........Nooo but i want too soo baddd i wanna visit @septembersbloom !! Im coming for ya soon gramps *does the eye watching thing* my dads been to nyc before tho cause he does construction and he had a concrete job to do there. It was a 23 hr drive for him

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?........Uhhh idk!!! So hard! Maybe.....the whole thats the spirit album by bmth ;)

21. age and birthday?.....15 yrs of age and September 27th 2003 (whats yours brainy? I'll put it on my calendar)

22. description of crush......Its weird idk im not sure if its a genuine crush or not but uh....They like hp :).Thats all u get

23. fear(s).......Losing my best friend @dirtysocke and my other friends. Death. Failure. Momo chasing after me then killing me slowly keeping my eyes open to look her dead in the eyes while i die

24. height......5'6 call me short and I'll fuck u up with THIS *pulls out trusty potato peeler named now steve* dont test me boi

25. role model......Hhhhhhhh so many! But uh gosh one of them is @superraedizzle (youtuberrrr) and vexx and bob ross and da vinci and aaaaaaa so many

26. idol(s)......First person that immediately comes to mind is @sammchenry cause he's super cool and he's really nice and his art's reallyyy good (if u havent seen it w-w-what are u even doin with your life?) And he has a great sense of humor and *continues to ramble about why samms the best*

27. things i hate.......Dabs. Transphobes. Homophobic ppl. Basically any hate on the lgbtq+ community. Bullies. The ship starker. Umbridge. Snape haters

28. i’ll love you if….....U you'll eat pizza, draw, and rp harry potter with mee

29. favourite film(s)......Fantastic beasts. Every hp film. Twilight. The maze runner 1-2. The hunger games. Spiderman homecoming. Kingsman: secret service. Into the spideyverse tho i havent seen it yet

30. favourite tv show(s)......Inkmasterrrrr. B99. The mick. The middle. Uhhh idk mostly ink master xD

31. 3 random facts........Ive never had shrimp. I had a beta fish for over a year once. Im eating pizza crust rn

32. are your friends mainly girls or guys?.......G i r l s. I have all girl friends irl and one boy. And on tumblr it seems like i just meet girls? Likei agree with @cristal-kyd1280 its like alot more gals then dudes here. But i do have some guy friends on here too. But mostly girls

33. something you want to learn.......TO DRAW ANATOMY DAMMIT

34. most embarrassing moment........Every moment of my lifes an embarrassing moment. Idk of i can pick a "most" embarrassing one. But one time i i sent my crush (now ex bf) a hey fuckface and like some hearts or whatever for an ask game that meant like "i have a crush on u" "youre adorable" etc and said Hewo but i did it all anonymously. But he confronted me askin if i sent it cause im the only person he knows that actually says hewo lol. Then later on i finally admitted i really liked him and well y'all know the story after i think. Unless you're new

35. favourite subject.......A R TTTT OFC

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?........meet my friends on tumblr. Get into mtsu (college i wanna go to) and study art. And go skydiving

37. favourite actor/actress........favorite actor uhhhhhh probably thomas brodie sangster or tom felton and my favorite actress? Hmmm idk maybe evanna lynch (luna lovegood)

38. favourite comedian(s).......probably kevin hart lol he's p funny

39. favourite sport(s)........basketballllllll and football

40. favourite memory........uhhhhh idk?? One oh my favorite memories was when we went to see tøp in concert

41. relationship status.....single as a pringle

42. favourite book(s)......harry potter and the order of the pheonix. Harry potter and the half blood prince. Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda. Divergent. Maze runner. Twilight. Fangirl. Fallen. Red queen

43. favourite song ever.......TOO HARD DONT MAKE ME CHOOSEEEEEE

44. age you get mistaken for.........16 and 17 sometimes lol

45. how you found out about your idol........i was watching someone on yt and superraedizzle always poped up in my feed and my mom turned on one of her vids cause she always saw her vids too now ive seen most of em i love her. Id heard of vexx but never watched him and i was watching a collab from anthony miller art and shrimpy and i checked out shrimpys channel and was lookin at comments and alot of ppl said his art is like vexxs so i checked out vexx. At first i was like eh ok. Now i cant click fast enough when he posts a vid. And i actually fpund out about bob ross from my grandpa on jan 20 2017 when trump was getting sworn in or whatever. We turned on pbs and my grampa told me to look and bob ross was on and i was IN. I loved it. I even started watching full episodes on YouTube of the joy of painting after that. Wonderful man. My first painting i ever did i think was when i followed one of his tutorials xD (i didnt know it was popular at the time)

46. what my last text message says......."ok your turn"

47. turn ons.....uhh nerds ig idk um book lovers, music lovers, art lovers, potterheads, idk and nice ppl

48. turn offs......jerks. Homophobia. Idk ig whatever i said in things i hate

49. where i want to be right now......uhhhh idk wait didn't i already answer this? Ok this ones different ig so uhh with my friend lucas

50. favourite picture of your idol.....oh shit...favorite? Idk xD i have a fave of vexx but not of rae or bob. But heres pics of them any way

51. starsign......a libraaaaa boiii

52. something i’m talented at......drawing and speed reading. Thats about it lol. Oh and procrastina

53. 5 things that make me happy.......ooooo art, my friends here on tumblr, books, harry potter, and music ^^

54. something thats worrying me at the moment.....if my friend thinks im being annoying

55. tumblr friends......hhhhh so manyyyyyy. @dirtysocke @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye @cristal-kyd1280 @chinesewaffles2 @kingantlion @queen-baelin @sammchenry @septembersbloom and more

56. favourite food(s)......green beans, pepperoni pizza, and vanilla madelines

57. favourite animal(s).......basically any reptile. Puppies. Cats. Any animal really but my #1 are snakes

58. description of my best friend.....well she's a tiny bean (5 feet) and she has dark hair, she wears glasses, she doesnt take shit, she's in love with Josh dun, she's awesome, funny, nice (YES youre nice jackie) and shes the best friend ive ever had. Oh. And she has a weird obsession with spaghetti

59. why i joined tumblr.......well i heard abt it on Pinterest over a year ago but didnt want it. Then @mrfastbass-deactivated20181231 on DeviantArt said he got tumblr so i made one then followed him and figured id just post art and that's it cause i thought tumblr was boring as hell when i first got it. Now im p much obsessed with it

60. ask me anything you want.......go ahead brainy shoot. Give me smtn good

[tempestaurora]

Hi I’m new to Spider-Man (and mcu) in general do you have any blog recs? I’m obsessed with yours and your fic/hc

oooooh! thank you! i’ll do my best here are the ones i can remember off the top of my head and they do some Good Ass Content

@underoosstark (go onto their masterlist page on their blog and cry over their fanvids ok) @parkrstark @fanaticfangirl2602 (a Good Egg) @spideycentral-1 @wantedfangirl @ironfamjam @spider-boiii @karina-karuso @shestillhashersoul @peppertoyourtony @andromath (the Poop Anon)

that’s all i’ve got from the top of my head have a good day my dude

[thedragonkween]

I come to you with a new song rec! “Hellbent” by Mystery Skulls. It seems to particularly fit with that saucy Nines fic you wrote not too long ago ;) “Paralyzed” is also a good Mystery Skulls song but I feel like it matches Connor better than Nines

Ohhhh these are very nice choices my dear 👌 Hellbent struck me the most and I loved it even if this is not my genre? Look what it did 😂

From Hellbent:

I've been hellbent, baby

Hellbent on making you love me too

(Did somebody say obsessive!Nines? Because boiii)

And from Paralyzed (which is gold for Connor x Reader):

when we kiss

I can't explain

It's superhuman

(Poor Connor experiences kissing you for the first time and just explodes lol)

Thank you for recommending these songs to me!! 💕

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

But You Can Never Leave [Chapter 8: The Light]

Hi y’all! Thank you so much for reading and supporting my writing. Each and every message/reblog/comment/etc makes me smile, and it’s a dream come true to get to share my work with you! 💜

Chapter summary: John shares a secret; Y/N excels at Scrabble; Brian makes peace; Roger suffers a misstep.

This series is a work of fiction, and is (very) loosely inspired by real people and events. Absolutely no offense is meant to actual Queen or their families.

Song inspiration: Hotel California by The Eagles.

Chapter warnings: Language, medical stuff, pregnancy (not who you think!).

Chapter list (and all my writing) available HERE

Taglist: @queen-turtle-boiii​ @loveandbeloved29​ @killer-queen-xo​ @maggieroseevans​ @imnotvibingveryguccimrstark​ @im-an-adult-ish​ @queenlover05​ @someforeigntragedy​ @imtheinvisiblequeen​ @joemazzmatazz​ @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye​ @namelesslosers​ @inthegardensofourminds​ @deacyblues​ @youngpastafanmug​ @sleepretreat​ @hardyshoe​ @bramblesforbreakfast​ @sevenseasofcats​ @tensecondvacation​ @bookandband​ @queen-crue​ @jennyggggrrr​ @madeinheavxn​ @whatgoeson-itslate​ @brianssixpence​ @simonedk​

Please yell at me if I forget to tag you! :)

Medicine teaches you to be fiercely skeptical of things that seem too good to be true. Bodies fail—completely and inevitably, though the timing may differ—and patients lie. Medical records don’t, fingerprints don’t, track marks up the underside of an arm don’t, blood and paternity tests don’t, oftentimes the eyes don’t; but given half a chance, people will lie themselves right into the grave.

Those bruises, doc? Got ‘em from a nasty fall down the stairs. I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck!

Nope, never done drugs, not even a joint, I swear on my mother’s life.

I’ll give it up, I’ll go to rehab. Never again. I promise. I don’t want to die.

Doc, I don’t care if the timing doesn’t seem quite right. My husband IS the father. There’s been no one else!

That doting fiancé is flirting with the nurses. Those grown-up children who fluff pillows and dab away tears are asking about the will. That wife is never going to testify against her abusive husband. That addict is going to relapse again...and again...and again. Are there exceptions? Of course. But if you get in the habit of trusting people—of believing all those tantalizingly attractive, hopeful lies—it’ll break your heart six ways to Sunday. There is no perfection in medicine, and there are very rarely miracles.

And so during those first few weeks with Roger—as you watch him from the reeling crowd, from the other side of the tour bus, from across the restaurant table, from the tiny viewfinder of the Canon F-1—you can’t stop searching for the cracks, the shadows, the lies, the dark malignancies breeding beneath the surface. Because everything about Roger Taylor is too good to be true. He’s bright and he’s loud and he’s brilliant and he’s always smiling, always warm. He careens backstage after every show—you keep bracing yourself not to be disappointed when the novelty wears away, when it ends, but it doesn’t—pushing aside roadies and reporters, shouting “Where’s the love of my life? Where’s my Boston babe?” with the most absurd grin you’ve ever seen until he finds you, collides with you, scoops you up and spins you in ungainly circles as your toes skim the floor. Then he cradles your face in his scarred hands and kisses you, breathes you in, tells you everything about the show (even though you were there to see it) in a rush of pure, manic adrenaline. And you stumble into some dressing room together—or a hotel room, or a taxi, or a limousine, or an elevator—and finally it’s your bare thighs his palms are gliding over, your tongue tasting the Heineken and craving on his lips, and it feels impossible for that to ever change. Roger is too good to be true, that’s undeniable; but when you watch him with those doubtful, cautious eyes, you can’t find anything but light.

He wakes up at 6 a.m. to join you on a bayou tour in New Orleans, taps his cigarette over the moss-covered sides of the boat, points out the alligators with leathered skin and ancient yellow irises lurking in the depths. He walks Fremont Street with you in Las Vegas and makes you choose his numbers for the Roulette wheel, for his fate. He snaps photos of you on a sun-drenched balcony in Miami, roaring cobalt waves crashing in the background. He takes you to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Philadelphia Zoo, Myrtle Beach and the Saint Louis Arch and the Santa Monica Pier. Because he was telling the truth when he said he could show you the world all those months ago when Queen was at Top of the Pops; he was telling you the truth about the list that’s etched into the rushing scarlet chambers of his heart.

When the American leg of the tour ends and the band gets a brief reprieve in London, you move into Roger’s paltry, disorganized flat and scrub away all the remnants of his past life: dust and empty cigarette boxes and women’s socks, ashes and copies of Vogue, a tube of lipstick that isn’t yours. You don’t complain, don’t even frown; you’re under no delusions that something eternal can be founded on resentment, on lies. And so you clear out the clutter and open the windows so sunshine and crisp spring air can breathe through the apartment, so you can both start fresh along with the bellflowers and delphiniums and roses and the tawny newborn ducklings scampering behind their mothers. You hang photos from the tour and John’s sketches on the refrigerator, place your Canon F-1 and pink conch shell from Ostia on the nightstand, litter the drawers with your own socks and makeup. You teach Roger how to sew (although he’s not much good at it) and how to treat blisters (although you’ll always be there to do it for him); and in return Roger teaches you how to trust, how to believe, how to stop searching desperately for faults in the light.  

On the second day of April, Queen boards their flight to Tokyo. Brian settles into a plushy, billowing blanket and loses himself in an astronomy magazine; he’s an engaged man now, an honest man in the eyes of society at large...and, far more importantly, his parents. Freddie pens lyrics in his notebook, humming disjointedly, napping like a cat when the mood strikes him. Roger snacks constantly and tries to get John chatting, but John is particularly subdued today, preoccupied, prone to gazing unfocusedly at the clouds that drift by outside and wringing his hands.

And you think, as you peer down into the glistening sapphire waters of the East China Sea: Brian’s a willow tree, Freddie’s a lightning storm, Roger is wildfire...but what is John?

Something deep, something beautiful and strong and constant and hidden.

The ocean, you decide as Queen’s private plane soars over the quicksilver waves that conceal the abyss. John is the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~~

“You didn’t have to stay, you know.”

John is lying on his back under a small grove of cherry blossom trees outside the hotel, sketching grey outlines of petals and arcing branches in a new notebook. He hasn’t given any sign that he heard you coming, doesn’t turn his head to see you. You freeze, startled.

“How’d you know it was me?!”

“You have very distinct footsteps. Dainty, yet purposeful.” He sets aside his notebook and sits up, crossing his long legs. “Why didn’t you go to lunch?”

“Because you didn’t. You turned down ramen, and you never turn down ramen. I was worried. Plus someone has to make sure a roving posse of screaming Japanese girls doesn’t carry you off.”

That makes him laugh. The Japanese fans are inexplicably obsessed with John; or maybe it’s not so inexplicable, maybe they just have a better eye for quiet, unassuming wonders. “Always so thoughtful.”

You sit down beside him, open a pack of chocolate-flavored Pocky and offer John a piece, frown when he lights a cigarette instead. “That’s really bad for you. Seriously. You should quit.”

“At last. One thing you and Brian agree on.” He exhales a gale of smoke and peers up at the cherry blossoms.

“John?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t break up with Veronica, did you?” Chrissie and Mary didn’t mention anything about her tearful devastation, and you suspect they would have had John gone through with it.

He sighs. “I did not.”

“And...are we feeling...okay about that...?”

He twirls the cigarette nervously between his fingers. After a silence, he surrenders. “Look, I haven’t told anybody yet, but I’d tell you first anyway. So here it goes.” He glances over at you guiltily, gloomily, wishing he could disappear. “I didn’t break up with Veronica because she’s pregnant.”

Your jaw falls open. A half-eaten stick of Pocky rolls out of your mouth and onto the grass. She’s what? She’s WHAT?

“Please don’t be disappointed,” John pleads. “I���m disappointed in myself enough for both of us, believe me.”

“I...I...I’m not disappointed, John, I’m just...” You blink at him. “Oh my god.”

He nods, acquiescent. “I’m in complete agreement.”

You shake your head, gaping at him, stunned; and suddenly you don’t like what you’re feeling at all. Because it isn’t just shock and horror, it isn’t just apprehension. You hate the thought of him touching her, of her delicate white hands on him, of innocence stripped away and memories impressed into muscle, into soul.

Because you know she’s not right for him. Because you know he doesn’t love her the way he should. Because you want the best for him and always have.

Oh, there’s a comforting rationale; but is it true?

And then: You fucking hypocrite. Since when do you get an opinion on who anyone sleeps with?

“It must have happened in January,” John says miserably. “Right before we left for the States. She didn’t want to tell me over the phone...I guess maybe she thought if she did I’d never come back. So she told me as soon as I landed in London. And here we all are.”

You stare down at your shoes, trying to compose yourself. “What are you going to do?”

“There’s only one option.”

“Actually, there are quite a few. But I know you’d never consider them.” John’s father died when he was ten, and he never talks about it; which is precisely how you know it’s a wound that can’t ever heal, a gash that goes straight down to the bone. He would never leave his child, never banish them to some dusty, repressed corner of his consciousness while he moves on with a blissfully unencumbered life. You whisper: “I’m so fucking sorry, John.”

That snaps something in him, something he was choking back. He buries his face in his hands. “What the fuck am I doing?” he moans. “I’m twenty-three years old, I’m broke, I turned down loads of jobs, good jobs, as an electrical engineer, I’ve somehow become the bassist in an increasingly famous rock band...I mean, how the hell did this happen? How did any of this happen?”

“It’ll be okay,” you insist with newfound resolve. I have to save him. I have to protect him.

John rolls those soft greyish eyes, hopeless, distraught. “Sure.”

“It will be, I promise you. The tour is going great. I had my doubts about the band when I first met you, I’ll admit it, I didn’t know if there was a future for Queen. But you’ve made me a believer. You’ve made millions of people all over the world believers. The money will keep rolling in, Queen will finally start seeing some of it, you won’t be broke forever. You’ll have two more months on the road and then we’ll be back in London, and it’ll be on to recording the next album, more shows, more money...the hard times are almost over, John. You can do this. And I’ll help you.”

His brow furrows. “You will?”

“Of course. If it’s easier for Veronica, it’ll be easier for you. So I’ll be extra friendly, take her to appointments when you’re busy, help organize the wedding, babysit the littlest Deacon whenever she needs me to. We’ll get through this. I’ll be there to help every step of the way.”

“You’re happy, aren’t you?” he asks suddenly. “You and Roger. You aren’t going anywhere.” He’s reading you closely, sifting through your words and forced smile for something deeper.

“I’m happy,” you assure him. “You don’t need to be concerned about that. I’m staying with the band, I’m staying in London. Whenever Queen is home, that is.”

He nods, but perhaps that wasn’t exactly what he was looking for. He finally accepts a piece of Pocky from you and takes a bite. “Then I guess we’ll plan for a summer wedding.”

“You could do a double one with Brian and Chrissie.”

He laughs so hard he almost inhales the Pocky, then doubles over coughing. “I think Bri would rather slit his own throat, but a charming thought. Thank you for that. Bravo.”

You smile at John, genuinely this time. “You’re going to be an amazing father. I hope you aren’t worried about that part of it, at least.”

“Will you be their godparent?”

“What? Me?!”

“Yeah. Because, you know...” John averts his gaze. “You’d be the person I would want to raise them if something happened to me and Veronica. You’re the most dedicated, stubborn, capable, nurturing, remarkable person I’ve ever met. You’re my best friend. And maybe Roger’s your best friend and you’re his, and that’s all fine, that’s alright, but you’re still mine.”

“Roger is a lot of incredible things, but he’s not my best friend.” You lie flat on the grass and lace your hands behind your head, tracking the weightless snowy clouds as they float by above. When did we become adults? When did all of these rules catch up to us? “I would be honored to be your child’s godparent.”

John plops down beside you. “Don’t tell the others yet, okay? I want to wait until the tour’s over. I don’t want them to panic and think I’m leaving and try to replace me or anything.”

“They wouldn’t try to replace you, John.”

“No?” he asks doubtfully.

“No. Roger knows it, Fred knows it, I think even Bri knows it.” You reach out and weave a lock of his hair through your fingers as cherry blossom petals tumble in the breeze. “You’re irreplaceable.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Sod,” Freddie mocks. “That’s the best you could do? Really? Sod?”

Roger flings up his hands in frustration. “Freddie, I’ve got like a million Cs!”

“You could have done cod,” Brian notes, sipping a cup of hot tea. “Cods, actually.”

Roger glowers down at his Scrabble tiles. “Fuck.”

“And I’m so delighted he didn’t!” You place your tiles, expanding on sod to make rhapsody. John high-fives you and records the points in his notebook. Freddie and Brian groan in defeat.

“What the hell is a rhapsody?!” Roger snatches the Official Scrabble Dictionary off the table and flips through it.

“It’s a, like a...” Freddie waves his cigarette, scattering smoke through the air. “It’s like an epic poem. Or an opera. With lots of bizarre, different parts all pieced together.”

“That sounds made up.”

Freddie cackles. “Darling, it’s a real thing, I swear!”

Roger locates the pertinent page in the Scrabble Dictionary and his shoulders slump. “Goddammit. Fucking...too smart...nerdy...college-educated...girlfriend.” He drags you into his lap and kisses your temple. “You’re lucky you’re cute. I don’t usually tolerate being conquered like this.”

Bri smirks from behind his teacup. “I rather think you conquered her, Rog.”

“Oh, a rare good one from Bri!” Freddie trills as everyone laughs, although John soon busies himself with clearing empty bottles and cigarette butts off the table.

“Yes,” Roger agrees. “Against her superior judgment, I finally won her over. Only took eight months. Which is approximately...wait, let me count...seven and a half months longer than it has ever taken me before.”

You trace your fingertips across his stubbled cheeks, his soft lips, his little dark blond tufts of sideburns. “No one knows how to say no to you, do they?”

“It’s impossible. I’m too charming. Blindingly heroic. Perseus in the flesh.” He kisses your forehead and steadies you, his hands on your waist, as the brakes squeal and the tour bus lurches to a halt.

Freddie leaps to his feet and claps. “Alright, darlings! Off to the new digs we go. Deaky, hand me my shoes, they’re under the table...yes, right there...and toss over Brian’s hideous clogs as well.”

You help the roadies and the band drag luggage into the hotel (no small feat, as the elevator is out of order), unpack your toothbrush and hairbrush and a floral-patterned dress for dinner, giggle as you listen to Roger’s feral, raspy singing in the shower. It’s something about loving a car, how perfectly on-brand for him. Then Roger goes to fetch Freddie and John for dinner while you find Brian. Bri is collapsed on his bed in a striped t-shirt and jeans, freshly-washed and dewy, gazing up at the ceiling in a daze.

You tap gently on the doorframe. “Bri? You want to join us for dinner? There’s a sushi place a few blocks away that’s a local legend, apparently. Lots of veggie options too.”

He looks over at you. You haven’t spoken about the argument since you had it two months ago. Brian sometimes grimaces or smirks or rolls his willowy viridescent eyes, but he never says anything; not to you, and not to Roger as far as you’re aware. “I’m sorry,” he says simply. “I may have been out of line before. Incorrect, even.”

“No need to apologize, Bri. I’ve forgotten all about it.” You haven’t, but there’s no reason for Brian to know that.

“I just want what’s best for you. For you to be happy.”

“I know, Brian.” You cross the room and take his long, moon-white, artful hands in your own. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ll be in the wedding party, won’t you? I know Chris will ask.”

“Of course. And I’ll proudly wear whatever dreadfully tacky and uncomfortable bridesmaid dresses she picks out.”

“Even if they’re a frightful shimmery green?”

“Oh god.” You swallow noisily. “I’ll still do it. And then burn the photos.”

Brian chuckles as he climbs out of bed. “In a stroke of luck, I suspect she’ll ask you to take the pictures. So you can avoid being in them as much as you’d like. And conveniently lose the unflattering ones.”

You study him thoughtfully. “Are you happy, Brian?”

“I am. Chrissie’s excited, my parents are thrilled, they’ll be sitting in the front row with the proudest smiles you’ve ever seen. Next comes a proper house, and children, and all the rest of it.” But something in those mellow olivey eyes is resigned, melancholy. His words from two months ago echo in your skull: It’s necessary. It’s self-preservation. Because sometimes the people who set us on fire would burn us alive.

“Do you still think about New Orleans?” you ask softly. About the woman he’d fallen in love with there before you ever met Queen, about the utopian passion he never quite stops searching for. Everyone has demons, secrets, shadowy trenches like cracks in porcelain; you’ve learned all about Brian’s. What about Roger’s? What about mine?

He shrugs, staring out the window at the dusky skyline of Yokohama. “Maybe I’ll always think about New Orleans. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have to grow up and start taking responsibility.”

“Responsibility,” you reply cynically, before you can stop yourself. “Is that all love is about anymore?”

“Not for you. Not for Roger. You both want your freedom, your adventure, your true and uncomplicated love. And you’ll get to keep it.”

For now. But you don’t say that. Instead, you smile appeasingly and gesture for Brian to follow you out into the hallway.

The others are waiting by the door to the stairwell: John in a smart grey suit, Freddie in his black-and-yellow jacket, Roger in sunglasses and a ridiculous leopard-print vest he’d dug out of a trashcan somewhere and precariously tall boots.

“At last, Nurse Nightingale and my darling Brian!” Freddie chirps. “Come on, I’m positively famished, and also I’ve bet five pounds that I can consume more sake shots than Roger and I could really use the dough.”

Roger pushes through the door, leading the way. “Prepare to lose!”

“Roger, please,” you implore. “New livers don’t grow on trees, and I can’t give you half of mine. I’m the wrong blood type.”

Roger laughs as he bounds down the steps, then whirls to grin up at you as he walks backwards. “Relax, Deaks will share! You’re type A, aren’t you John—?”

Roger’s heel slips and he plummets down the flight of stairs. He tumbles as the four of you shriek in horror and bolt after him, slams into the wall of the landing, ricochets off of it and plunges down the next flight as well. There’s blood, you think frenziedly as you descend, screaming Roger’s name. There’s blood all over the steps.

Roger, crumpled on the maroon-streaked landing, slowly unravels and groans. He glances down, appraises himself, then hammers his left fist against the concrete wall of the stairwell, roaring in raw agony and rage. “No no no no no no!”

“Roger—!”

And then you see it.

Roger’s right arm hangs uselessly, unnaturally, his snapped radius bloody and splitting through the skin.

[chatblancismyfursona]

Okay allow me to elaborate:

I think we all know and love the comic/tv-show "W.i.t.c.h." which was rather popular around ~2000.

And based on this tweet from Thomas Astruc:

We know that he has some connection to the series and people who worked on it, especially the creator.

We or rather I myself also know this because I was OBSESSED with this show as a kid like really really obsessed...and I have watched every episode at least 20 times so let me tell you:

Was I surprised when I first watched Miraculous Ladybug! Because ML used the very same soundeffects that the show W.i.t.c.h. had! I couldn't believe it at first but it was really true. I would recognize those sounds anywhere trust me!

So we have a strong connection here. (The shows also have a very similar genre)

Now at some point in the comic the 5 girls get new powers which come with a weapon for every girl:

;))) I think you can already see it. Because one of the girls has almost the exact same weapon like the one I suspect to be the tool of a Miraculous in the future. One of them also has a fan which Mayura also has got.

To support my standpoint:

The "clackers" (the thing I think will be the tool) are a toy and boiii did we have toys as Miraculous weapons? Yes we did:

A yo-yo (Ladybug)

A spinning top (Queen Bee)

And what is probably a jumping rope (Multimouse)

Well, that is why I really think that it is very likely that the clackers will be introduced to us as a Miraculous tool in the future.

It also wouldn't surprise me if somebody got the Tambourine since Viperion and Rena Rouge also have instruments as tools.

And well as you can see in the picture, one of the girls in W.i.t.c.h. has that as her weapon.

Also I don't know why I think that the clackers will be the tool of the Pig Miraculous but it would be funny if it turned out to be true.

Sorry for the long post here is a peanut:

🥜

Don't ask me how but I just KNOW that this bitch will be the tool of a Miraculous.

And I really suspect that it will be the Pig one.

[murdocked-rogers]

Y'ALL. IT'S STORY TIME. Let me tell about how this photo is 10 years in the making. Travel back to 2008 when I was obsessed with Disney channel and stumbled upon the wonderful movie that is Camp Rock and discovered The Jonas Brothers (especially mah boiii Joseph Adam Jonas) and how I was so smitten even with his super flat hair. Fast forward to 2010 when I experienced my first ever Jonas Brothers concert back in Abu Dhabi and screamed "I LOVE YOU JOE!!" Fast forward to his new band DNCE and me meeting, hugging and when I looked him in the eyes (only #TrueFans will get this reference) and wished him happy birthday. My life is made you guys. 11 year old me wouldnt believe this happened. I continue to cri in Spanish as usual. #DNCESingapore (at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre)