#oh dear I am gonna regret this what have I brought upon myself

[daily-green-character]

~ Day 35! ~

oh dear. oh dear oh dear oh dear

Today’s greeeen character is:

The Onceler from the Lorax movie! 🧣💚

(what have i done)

[hops-hunny]

What’s in a Name?

Pairing: Blaise Zabini x Chubby!Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 3.6k

Request: N/A

Summary: When two beautiful people fall in love, everything can go right. Or, the one where Blaise gets the girl of his dreams.

Warnings: None?? Mentions of past self hate, positive use of the word fat.

A/N: I had so much fun writing this. Enjoy!

Fat. It was a word (Y/n) had thrown at her from a young age but had grown to become neutral with as she got older. See, the (y/h/h) was fortunate enough to grow up in a household with her dear aunt Marlene who brought her up on the principle that ‘fat and ugly were not synonymous’ which she found herself quite fortunate of. You see, Marlene herself was an extravagant woman. She never stepped out of the house unless she was runway ready, long acrylic nails, hair curled in the prettiest of waves, and a face of makeup that could put anyone to shame. Marlene found her niece to be reminiscent of herself when she was younger. But, she also knew no matter the great example she showed her and the encouragement she’d give her, the world around her would affect the way she viewed herself until she reached a certain age.

However luckily for (Y/n), that age was when she hit the ripe age of 14. She was sick of it. Sick of feeling like a prisoner of her own body. Sick of hiding from mirrors, sick of wearing clothes that fit her like potato sacks just to hide the figure that she was naturally born with. Why should she have to feel bad because the world wasn’t ready to accept her for who she was? Why should she have to hide away due to a bit of extra weight and fat? So, after a long night of crying she decided from that day forward she would do her absolute best to at least accept her body for what it was. She didn’t wanna skip meals anymore just to make everyone around her comfortable. She didn’t want to avoid clothes that made her figure less of a figure. She wanted to live and be free in the body she was currently in.

If she could go back to where she was when she was 14, she’d tell herself she had exceeded that limitation. She was far beyond just accepting herself for who she was, she loved who she was. (Y/n) found herself falling in love with a new thing about herself every time she found herself blessed with the fortune of time to look in a mirror. Whether it was the way the rolls of her back reminded her of the ocean or the bumps and lumps around her hip area that were reminiscent of clouds, she loved every bit of herself. Even though it took her time to get there, she didn't regret it one bit.

Her confidence and demeanor attracted a lot of positive attention wherever she went. Her friends adored her and so did many other people around the castle! There was always a few wronguns here and there but that goes without saying. Even if you change your outlook on life, in a society where fat is a sin there will always be your self proclaimed saints. The more popular opinion shared throughout the castle though was ‘if she could find love in herself, why shouldn’t I be able to as well?’. Although it’s hard for one girl to change the world, she came quite close to it, always offering a shoulder to anyone in need and a helpful word of advice to anyone on the path of self acceptance and love.

There was one person who noticed her much more than that. Some would say it was a crush but no, it went quite deeper than that. He found himself being absolutely enamored by her. Her confidence, her positivity, her ever radiant beauty. All those things he found to be addicting, entrancing. Never had he come across a woman of any sorts who was so sure of herself, so proud to be in the skin she was born in. (Y/n) knew who she was and honestly? It was fucking hot. Blaise Zabini wasn’t one to make wild claims which is why when he thought about how he felt, he was very sure of the feeling. He absolutely adored the goddess that was (Y/n) (L/n). So why was it so hard to say it to her?

The way she made him feel had him in a whirlwind of emotions. A lot of the times, he was infuriated. Not by the way she made him feel, but the way she made him act. Blaise was always a hit with women from all houses around hogwarts. Why wouldn’t he be? When you’re a tall, dark, and handsome man with oodles of charismatic charm and yes, a fat load of cash, who wouldn’t wanna be yours? He could have any woman he wanted wrapped around his finger before he even opened his mouth. But around her, around her? His mouth would close as soon as it opened. He’d feel a rush of heat move to his face and his ears would start ringing. What was this feeling? This feeling that made him act so idiotic. This feeling that had him awake late at night, wondering what it would be like if he only said-

“Hi.” his head snapped up at the sound of a familiar warm voice. The same voice that made his heart race wildly, the same voice that made him act like one of those stupid fucking Hufflepuffs. All nerves and scurrying to find something, anything to say. There she was right in front of him, looking uncharacteristically shy. She had her arms behind her back one hand gripping at her other wrist as she looked up at him through thick lashes. “Have I wronged you in any way?”

“Hm?” he hummed out, still dazed as he looked down at her with a soft look present on his face. He cleared his throat slightly, pulling at the collar of his shirt that was suddenly too tight. Too constricting, too-

“Have I wronged you? I always see you staring at me quite a bit.” she repeated, gaining her confidence back some. God was he always this bloody gorgeous? Well, to her he was. She had her eye on him ever since she’d ran into him on the train back in first year. “I know I’m quite pretty, but I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate that. No?” she questioned, taking a step closer to him. She felt her hands grow sweaty at the smell of his aftershave, a sharp smell in comparison to her own strawberry body mist.

Was she flirting with him? He couldn’t tell. Why couldn’t he tell? He always could tell. Many upon many times he found himself rejecting women before they could even get the chance to confess how they felt. So why now, why with her could he not? Was this- was this nerves? “My girlfriend wouldn’t appreciate that. I-I mean I don’t have a girlfriend!” he stumbled out, cursing under his breath slightly. He felt himself grow quite warm as he heard her giggle. He looked up at the sound once more wishing he hadn’t. She looked radiant in the glow of the late evening sun. Her round cheeks prominent as her face turned up in a smile before she quirked a brow at him.

“Ah I see then. You don’t have a girlfriend but you were staring?” she questioned, feeling a bit guilty about how she was enjoying the usually calm and collected boy lose his composure. His face fell straight before processing what she said. (Y/n) could see a whirlwind of emotions happen behind his eyes in such a short period of time. ‘Isn’t it funny that only a few years prior this would have been me? I can’t wait to tell Rose-Marie about this later.’

“I-I.. you know what? Yeah I do stare at you quite a bit. More often than not, I find myself staring at you.” he closed the distance between them, her soft frame pressing against his tone one. He lifted two of his fingers up to her chin, lifting her head softly. “How could I not? You’re an absolute work of art. Only the most worthy of men should be able to gaze at such a rare beauty and I find myself to be very worthy.” he whispered softly, his dark umber eyes staring into the (h/c) haired girl’s (e/c) ones.

It */was crazy how with such few words, he could make her feel so breathless, so woozy. Was she awake right now? The moment she had been waiting for since first year was currently right in front of her. The years spent dreaming, pining from a distance all gone in a few words. She smiled up at him, placing a soft hand on the man’s toned chest. Even through his clothes she could feel that he had a nice build to him. “I suppose you’re worthy. I mean look at us, we’re both beautiful. Imagine the gallery of art we’d be together.” she said, confident in her words as she bat her eyelashes. (Y/n) would be damned if she was the only one left breathless and flustered after this exchange.

“Well, why imagine dear? I’ll be taking you to Hogsmeade this weekend.” He said, turning around as he began to walk off. She was stunned. Was this the infamous charm she had heard him having? As much as (Y/n) had heard about how charming and suave Blaise was, she had never heard of him asking anyone out for a date. Knowing this gave her her own boost of confidence.

“You will be? What makes you so sure I’ll be there?” Blaise froze, turning his head back at the girl’s teasing words. He smirked. She really was something else.

“Oh I know. I wasn’t the only one staring all this time, I saw you too.” he winked laughing some before turning around walking off. (Y/n) felt herself smiling some as she shook her head before her eyes widened.

“Wait, what am I gonna wear?!”

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

There was exactly 30 minutes until Blaise was meant to arrive and (Y/n) was nowhere near ready yet. See, she had planned on being ready early, even going as far as to get up at the time she usually did for class. However, after an impromptu dance session in her underwear her luck had run out. She wasn’t completely unprepared though, her hair had been done the night before and her makeup not taking much time, the main cause of concern was her outfit. 

The problem wasn’t a lack of clothes, it was quite the opposite. She had so many clothes that she had absolutely no idea of what to wear! She frustratedly slammed her fist on the pile of clothes in front of her letting out a few choice words. In a moment of defeat, she looked up at her empty wardrobe- wait a second. (Y/n) quickly scrambled to her wardrobe, slipping and sliding on the sea of clothes that lined the way before quickly yanking out the clothes covered hanger. On the hanger was a two piece set.

 The top was a wisteria purple crop top with puffy short sleeves, the skirt the same exact shade with a ruffle hem. “This is perfect! Where did this come from?” she said, checking herself out in the mirror. The outfit clung to her plush body, every curve visible and apparent. The girl smiled, smoothing her hand over the outline of her stomach that was apparent through her skirt. Years ago she would’ve been bothered by the entire concept of the outfit but now the outline of her figure made her smile like an old friend. She quickly put on a pair of white chunky sneakers, accessorizing the outfit with a few necklaces and rings as well just in time to hear a knock on the door. She did another once over in the mirror before quickly running to the door pulling it open to reveal Blaise standing there. She felt her face grow warm at his appearance.

He wore a form fitting maroon sweatshirt that he had rolled up to his elbows, a pair of jeans that weren’t skinny but fit to his figure in the most flattering of ways, and a pair of expensive shoes from some brand she couldn’t even begin to try and pronounce. In his hands were a bouquet of flowers composed of forget me nots, baby’s breath, and daisies. Blaise was in awe. He had seen her outside of her uniform a plethora of times but knowing that she had dressed up so nicely just to go on a date with him made his heart soar. “Wow, you look breathtaking. Look at you!” he hyped her up, grabbing her hand. He held their entwined fingers above their heads, signaling for her to spin around. “Lovely, absolutely divine. I can’t believe I’m going on a date with a deity.” he said, smile growing more as (Y/n) grew shyer.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Zabini. You look great, maroon is definitely your color.” she gushed, closing the door to her room. She looked down at their still entwined fingers, squeezing his large calloused hand with her small chubby one before bringing her gaze up to his face. Unsurprisingly, he was already looking at her.

“Thank you, dove. Let’s get going shall we? I’ve got a ton I wanna do with you and such a short amount of time. Let’s get to it, shall we?”

“We shall.”

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

The first place they arrived at was a building she had seen many times during her visits to Hogsmeade but had never been in. It was an old brick building with a paintbrush on an old rusty sign above it.

“An art store?” she questioned, looking up at him confused but not against his choice. They both walked in, a sound of a bell dinging as they did so. She looked around in awe at the abundance of supplies. The store was sort of stuffy and crowded but that was a part of its charm. Blaise scratched at the back of his neck nervously as he watched her roam around.

“Yeah I don’t know if I mentioned it before but I enjoy doing art in my freetime. I thought I’d take you to one of my favorite places first.” He said, walking up behind her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “A-and well, everytime I imagined going on a date with you, I always pictured the two of us showing each other our favorite hidden gems. We can leave if you wa-”

“That won’t be necessary. This is really cool and I’ve always wanted to learn more about art! I’m more of a reader and writer myself.” she said, grabbing his hand. Blaise let out a huge breath that he didn’t even know he was holding in in the first place before dragging her off in the direction of his favorite brand of oil paints. The two walked hand in hand, exploring his favorite parts of the store. When he’d see something he used himself or was familiar with, he’d explain it to her, rambling off about it excitedly.

Blaise wasn’t normally the type of guy to speak many words but being around (Y/n) brought out that side of him. It wasn’t that his friends were bad per say, they just weren’t very fond of listening to things that didn’t pertain to them which he was more than fine with. However, it was nice having an outlet to share his interest for once. He loved that she would ask questions about things and even let him talk about his own work. Most girls he talked to never really cared to listen to what he had to say, often spending more time kissing him breathless than listening to the words that flew from his lips. But (Y/n) was very attentive, listening to everything he had to say, eyes full of the same excitement he held.

“Alright, I think I’ve bought everything I’ve needed from here. Your pick, where do you wanna go?” he questioned, grabbing the girl’s hand again as they walked out of the small art store. He offered the old man behind a small smile before turning his attention back to his date. (Y/n) thought about it, humming as she tried to figure out before her eyes lit up.

“I have the perfect place! Come on Blaise, you’re gonna love it.” she exclaimed before taking off down the street, dragging him along with her. He smiled fondly at her letting her lead the way.

“This something I could get used to.” he muttered, trying his best to keep up with her pace.

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

About 10 minutes later, they arrived in front of what looked to be a bookstore. Blaise looked around, swiping his fingers across the dusty books. “Welcome to the place where I spend most of my time when coming to Hogsmeade. It may look like just a bookstore but you’ll see why it's not in just a minute.” she said. Blaise watched as the girl got on her hands and knees and began to crawl making a ‘spspsps’ noise. He was confused, rightfully so but he didn’t question her actions. All of a sudden, a floof of white fur came crawling over to the girl purring as she scratched behind its ears.

 “It’s a cat bookstore! How cool is that? There’s a bunch of these little guys just running around here.” she said, standing up with the kitten in her hands. Blaise’s heart beat wildly at the sight. She looked too cute with the kitten in her hand, holding it gently against her soft chest. He was brought from his thoughts as he felt something brush against his leg. He had to stop himself from losing it at the sight of the little calico cat brushing against his leg.

“Hi there little guy.” he cooed softly, reaching a hand down to pet the cat’s head. The cat jumped up to meet his hand before it could land, nuzzling its fuzzy little head against the boy's head as he purred loudly.

“That’s not the only thing. They also carry some muggle literature too! Don’t tell anyone though, it’s a secret.” she said, placing the kitten down as she began to browse the books on the old wooden shelves. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” he promised, eyes never leaving her curvy figure. She looked right at home in the book store, reading the titles like they were old friends. “I’m a bit of a muggle literature fan myself. Ever heard of Shakespear?” he asked. (Y/n) looked at him with wide eyes before nodding. She would’ve never expected that from the man, knowing how against all things muggle related purebloods slytherins were. He walked over to her tilting her head up as he looked into her eyes. “ What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” he whispered, dragging his thumb along her bottom lip. Her breath hitched slightly as she began to scowl as he walked off laughing some.

“Jerk! That was not funny.” she said, punching him in the arm as she glared up at him.

“Wasn’t supposed to be, love. You just look too cute when you’re nervous!”

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

It had been a few weeks since their date and (Y/n) was starting to grow nervous. She and Blaise hadn’t been on another one and it confused her deeply. She had an amazing time on their date, in fact it had been the best one she had ever been on! Did he not feel the same? Maybe he had commitment issues? It couldn’t have been her. No, she had done everything right. She spoke well mannered, bantered back and forth with him, and she looked bloody amazing.

She sighed, opening the door to her dorm. It had been a long week. She threw off her robes before turning to her dresser before gasping. On top of the dresser laid a huge painting surrounded in a beautiful antique golden frame. She hesitantly walked over to it, brushing her fingers along it before looking at the note attached. Opening the wax sealed envelope she began reading the note out loud.

“My dearest rose, how are you? I apologize deeply for my lack of presence. Not being near you for so long deeply hurt me so but it was not in vain. You see, after spending such a lovely time with you that day, I felt extremely inspired. Your beauty deserves to be captured in something far more grand than a simple photograph so I painted you this. I hope to see you soon. To my greatest muse, Blaise Zabini.” she smiled as she read the words, goosebumps going up her arms. Blaise was indeed a talented artist. In photo realistic detail was a large painting of her smiling with the white kitten from before in her hands. She was lost for words. Never had someone done something so amazing for her. “Do I really look this beautiful? Is this how he sees me?” she asked no one in particular.

“It is and you are. You’re absolutely gorgeous.” she jumped at the sound of the deep voice. Turning her head she saw the man she had been thinking of for weeks. Slowly she walked over to him, smiling before wrapping her arms around him hugging him tightly. Blaise froze for a bit, not used to receiving such gentle forms of affection. He pulled back before placing a soft peck on her lips.

“Let me take you out again tomorrow, yeah?” he asked her in a soft tone. She simply nodded before standing on her tiptoes initiating another lovely kiss. Blaise wrapped his arms around her soft waist, bringing her closer to him.

“I really am one lucky bloke.”

[juji-han]

Mr. Hong

pairing | Joshua Hong x f!reader ft. mention of other Seventeen members

word count | 3.9k

genres | pride and prejudice au, fluff

summary | Knowing Mr. Hong was something you don’t think you could ever forget

warnings | crude language, but only a few times

"Mr. Hong!” 

“Mr. Hong!”

Having the misfortune of chasing after a twenty-four year old man was... well, unfortunate. He was stuck up, listening to only the voices he called his friends, and never waiting for anyone. Trying to control the man was the work of a mother and that’s what you were absolutely not. 

“Friend, the woman is calling, an ear in her direction wouldn’t hurt now would it?” Jeonghan called. You let out a small noise of agreement to his friend, your pride strong. Although you didn’t think you needed the help, you definitely did. 

“I cannot lend an ear friend, it’s simply impossible!” Joshua teased. He was moving around the common room, pacing with the intent of looking for something, without a care for you trying to grab his attention. 

“Please, Mr. Hong,” You pleaded, finally getting close enough to grab his shoulders and spin him around. “You’ve got to attend the ball with me, I’ve already told my mother we’re going!”

Upon hearing your full plead, his face morphs into an expression you cannot read. His eyes locked onto yours and his lips pursed with a new expression of wonder. 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Honestly Ms. Y/N you’ve got to learn to speak up if you’re gonna be a resident around here.” He grins. He grabs your arms that were tightly gripped onto his body and connects hands. He lets out a giggle and looks around to his friends.

“Were you boys aware of the woman’s pleads? And I have the misfortune of calling you men partners.” 

Joshua walks away, his posture straight with years of practice in it. His two friends who’ve you only begun to unravel along with him follow behind, leaving an exhausted you behind in the common area wondering what the hell just happened. 

Exhaling air you didn’t even know you were holding, it dawned on you that Mr. Hong, a man who was eccentric and unfiltered in his words was going to meet your parents. 

Arriving at the ball was nerve-racking to say the least. You’re hands were sweaty, rubbing on the ribbon around your dress multiple times. Even to your parents you looked concerned, brows furrowed and eyes skittering around the foyer in hopes to find the 5′10 man that always wore a smile.

“Ms. Y/N,” You turned around quickly, meeting eyes with Mr. Hong. “Mrs. Mr., fine evening if I do say so myself. Your daughter invited me and oh-” 

Joshua’s hand shot out, eyes flicking back and forth between your mother and father, having forgotten to introduce himself first.

“Joshua Hong. That is my name, if-if you were wondering. Although if you weren’t I’ll take the burden of intruding your thoughts with such a name. Unless you’d want the burden, which would be odd but-” 

“Please Mr. Hong, I am truly honored you have decided to accompany my daughter. I thought she would never have a male who would take her without being embarrassed of her rude and blunt behavior!” Your mother raved. She fanned her face as she went on, completing her speech of your ‘wild child’ nature. 

Your face blushed redder than a local soldier uniform. "Mother! Isn’t burdening Mr. Hong about my personality more of a distaste than just announcing your comfort?”

You turned to Joshua grabbing his arm, linking you two together and pulling him into the main ballroom. 

“Do you dance Mr. Hong? Or should I have invited your friend, Mr. Chwe his name was?” You asked. He looked down at you and gave a small laugh. 

“You were running around me, calling my name for five minutes in hopes I’d say yes. Now here you are asking for my friend, perhaps your mother was right, maybe you are unkept.” Joshua spoke as he whisked you around so you were in front of him. 

“So you admit you kept me waiting in anticipation for your answer?” You pressed. Shrugging his shoulders and giving a smirk, you concluded your answer. 

“Come on,” He grabbed your hand. You had wondered if you were finally going to dance, but instead he led you out of the ballroom, going toward the balcony. “I’ve got to share information with you that is of most importance, and I have the plague of impatience my dear.”

Excusing many people that you and Joshua had bumped into, you two finally made your way to the balcony, empty with no decorations, a complete opposite to the inside. To whose mansion it was unknown, but the swan lake in front of your eyes was beautiful. You’d have to thank them one day.

Lost in your thoughts, you almost didn’t notice the way Joshua grabbed your hand, turning your head to his direction.

“You look quite beautiful tonight.” He spoke in a low voice. Although the balcony was empty of others and the great wooden doors were closed behind you, he spoke in a low tone.

“Is that all you had to rush to tell me Mr. Hong? Your ‘plague of impatience’ seems to have worn off.” You teased. “If you want such a compliment back, I’ll give it in return. You do also look of quite importance tonight.”

He clicks his tongue and gives a chuckle. Still looking at you, he reaches for the ribbon on your dress. Looking at it with a longing you couldn’t understand, he lets it fall out of his hand, the fabric falling into place slowly. 

“Where are your guest Mr. Hong? A man like you seems too lonely to travel around alone, am I wrong?”

Joshua’s eyes widen for a split second before they squint, a smile reaching his dark eyes, “I accompanied you tonight did I not?”

“You did.”

“So I am not lonely tonight. I even sneaked out and escaped my two guests you seem so keen on mentioning today.” He revealed. Your face held shock for a moment before hitting him on the shoulder giving a laugh.

“Mr. Hong, if they find out you’ve actually agreed to come here with me tonight, they might think me of a vile woman! A vile woman who has kidnapped a man of your rank to come down to the less fortunate! For a public ball!” You cried. 

“Nonsense Ms. Y/N. They would share my honor of having going to a ball with a beautiful woman. Besides, that’s not the importance I had to share. There was more, but I’m afraid I’m shy and not so open to sharing my true feelings,” He spoke.

“Is it bad?” You asked. In the two months of knowing Mr. Hong, he hasn’t shared any information that has made you worried for him personally. He was always positive, making sure to spread hope. 

“No. Well, perhaps if this goes wrong, I’d then have to assume the position of it being bad, however-” He got cut off, the wooden doors behind you two opening with eagerness. 

“Mr. Hong! Honestly, you are a grown man, just notify us when you are leaving! Is it necessary to make us have a chase?” Jeonghan scolded, Vernon walking next to him, stepping onto the balcony.

You bowed to the two men, acknowledging them and giving a polite smile. Joshua’s friends eyes widened before bowing back and switching back over to their run-away.

“We have to go.” Mr. Chwe spoke shortly, his face wearing a happy look. He took Joshua by the arm and walked him towards the doors. Whispering in his ear, Joshua nodded before facing you.

“I apologize Ms. Y/N, but this really does require my utmost attention. Not that you don’t also, but-” He was cut off once again with a tug on his arm by Jeonghan.

“My apologies.” He muttered. The three men left quickly, leaving you confused.

He’d tell you what was concerning him, now and before right? Or would he sweep it under the rug in hopes you’d let the situation go, your mind pondered.

Gasping, your face heated up in anger, ��that bastard! Mother is gonna think I’ve driven him off.”

Two days ago, you got left by Mr. Hong and berated by your mother for running off a man of his handsomeness. Your mother who was so excited for you having bought a man that had potential to be your husband was still going on, complaining on how a woman of your beauty could chase a man off so quickly.

You sat at the table, eating slowly and ‘politely’ in hopes she didn’t point out another thing you did wrong.

“Dear, I’m sure she didn’t mean to. I saw the gentleman get pulled away by two other men.” Your father stuck up for you while reading the newspaper.

“Oh! Don’t you makes excuses for her,” she turned to you, sweat starting to run down her forehead after ranting and pacing. “You are trying to give me a heart attack! Truly Y/N if you want me to have one, I feel it coming on!”

You stood from your chair, walking towards her and seating her yourself.

“Mama, I’m not looking for a suitor anyway. I’m convinced I cannot give what a man needs right now for company and no man is able to do the same for me.” You spoke quickly, not giving her the chance to cut you off.

“Now if you’d excuse me, I’ll be under the tree. Call me if you’re having that heart attack, yeah?” You smiled, walking away and grabbing a book. You swore you heard your mother gasp and complain once again unto your poor father’s ears.

The weather was warm outside, but not warm enough to make you regret coming out. Sitting under the great big tree near the lake, you cracked open your book, tasking yourself with finishing another chapter.

“And your mother swears you are of wildness.” You heard a familiar voice talk. Jumping slightly, you closed your book and looked up, glad the tree covered the sun for you.

In front of you stood Mr. Hong, suit perfectly fitted and posture straight, smiling down at you.

“She only swears that so a man might think I can be tamed. Always for the man, never for the bride.” You frowned. Joshua sat himself next to you, a hand behind his back hiding something.

You pointed your head towards him, “What is that? Surely it must be the reason you left me to the wolf I call my mother those some nights ago.”

Joshua sighed, a tired smile on his face. He brought the envelope from behind his back and passed it to you. Looking at the wax stamp of his initials and family arms, you looked back up at him.

“What is this?” 

“Open it when I leave my dear. I’m much too shy to say it to your face. I had built up courage at the ball but I’m afraid its run out now.” He stood up, dusting his pants and gave a quick bow, walking away at a near running pace.

Raising an eyebrow and cracking a smile you examined the envelope. Breaking the seal, you found a letter. 

Ms. Y/N, it was took upon me that I must inform you that I am leaving soon. My close friend has gotten married! He stressed his importance for me to come, but I’m afraid it is in another town. You stood up, walking towards your house as you read on. As I’ve wrote before, I must go, as it is of importance. Before handing you this letter, I made a point to myself to tell you that this letter be read when I am gone. I have begun to realize, my feelings towards you are much more of a friend. And you are a capable woman, my, so very capable. So here it is, enough of my word rambling. Ms. Y/N. I love you. 

Sitting down on your bed, you read the last three words over and over again. You placed the letter down, sighing and drying your hands on your brown dress. Picking up the coffee stained paper back up again, you continued. 

I’m sorry this is so abrupt, but I am honored to be in love with a woman of your independence. And maybe the only reason I’m telling you this now is because I’ll be too far for you to catch me. Besides, you know me, I’m moving to fast for anyone to catch up, a quick fox you always said. So, by the time you read this, I’ll be on a carriage on the way to leave. I’m delighted to say you won’t catch me this time, just this once my dear. I am unsure of the length of my stay, but don’t forget me? It’d be unfortunate to forget a face like mine, will it not? 

Your friend and lovesick gentleman, Mr. Hong

Folding the letter and putting it under your pillow, you laid down. Staring at the dirty tinted white ceiling you shut your eyes, exhausted. You’d doubt you get any sleep tonight, not after the sudden confession as well as the settling emptiness for your now gone friend. 

“Damn you, Mr. Hong.”

A month had passed. You helped your mother and father with their daily chores and even went into town. And who knew there were so many outgoing people in the town, waiting for someone like you to befriend. 

“I’m glad you finally agreed to come with me. Isn’t being in your house all the time... boring?” Mingyu pressed. After meeting Mingyu, you found your life was short of boring, like when your previous relation was still around. 

“Please Mr. Kim, you act as if I am void of all fun. A girl of my nature practically created it you know.” You teased, putting your sheer ribbon around your face and faking awe. Mingyu gave a chuckle while lightly hitting your shoulder. You giggled and rested your head on his shoulder, giving a sigh.

“Mr. Kim, how much longer is the ride? In which direction do we travel?” You asked. You felt his shoulders square before he lightly moved your head off his side. Reaching into his jacket in a pocket, he pulled out a invitation, passing it to you. 

“A friend of mine, who was recently married, invited us to meet his new wife.” 

“Us?” You flipped the letter, looking for anything else, but found only the beautiful penmanship with a gold border. 

“Me, my dear, and a guest of my choosing. Don’t you know how to read?” He scolded. 

Passing the letter back to Mingyu, you rolled your eyes. Feeling more attached to the scenery, you suddenly saw a great building. A mansion, great and big with size with green on all sides. 

“How much longer was that?” Mingyu grabbed your cheek and pinched it. You slapped his hand away, giving a sharp look before you felt the carriage stop.

Mr. Kim helping you out the carriage, you two walked to the front doors, giving a few hard knocks.

The anticipation was killing, and just when you brought your hand up to give another knock the doors opened quickly.

There stood a tall man, round glasses hanging a bit low but still well enough to see fine. He gave you a quick glance, eyes landing on the even taller man next to you, a smile breaking across his face. 

“Mr. Kim,” the man pulled him in for a tight hug, eyes closing in joy. “I thought you’d never get here! You must come in, my wife is ecstatic to meet you!”

Bowing to the man, whose name you still haven’t been told, he returns it. Mingyu, watching the interaction, clears his throat. 

“Ms. Y/N, meet my close friend, Mr. Jeon. Mr. Jeon, Ms. Y/N.” He introduced you two. You gave a polite smile and he once again returned the favor. Grabbing you and Mingyu’s arms he pulled you two the common area. 

“Love? the guest are here!” Mr. Jeon called. Entering the room, you were stunned. The room was wide, holding a white piano to your left, and a woman was playing. The windows were big, and the curtains were these wine red, still with the only movement coming from someone passing it. In the middle were two sofas, one of which holding three men. 

Locking eyes with the man in the middle, you two stared at each other. Giving a polite bow, you changed directions, meeting gaze with the woman playing the piano.

“Mr. Kim, Mrs. Kim, It is a pleasure to meet you both.” She talked, her voice holding grace. 

Your face heated up, shaking your head at the misname. 

“Mrs. Kim?” You heard Mr. Hong ask.

“Ms. Y/N, is fine. I’m not yet courted properly.” You spoke out. Mrs. Jeon gave an understanding nod, still looking between you and Mingyu as if she was unconvinced. Holding her hand out to the couch, you and Mingyu sat down.

Holding your head down, and looking anywhere besides Joshua, you still felt his look on you. 

“Ms. Y/N, a word?” You heard him call. Looking up at him with a surprised look, you nodded after a moment of hesitation. 

Joshua linked your arm with his walking you out of the common area into the hallway. It seemed he knew the house very well, and walked you up the stairs. Reaching another room, he pushed you inside and closed the door behind him. Not yet turning around, you stared at his back, giving out a heavy sigh. 

You hit his back and heard him laugh. 

“What is so funny, Mr. Hong?” You continued to hit his back before he grabbed your hands in his big ones. “You left me! You told me you fancied me and then you left me, you crazy bastard!”

Joshua grabbed your pounding hands and gave a great laugh. You stared at him with an expression he could sum up to horror and started laughing even more. 

“Ms. Y/N, what are you even doing here?” He let go of your hands moving behind you. You turned around not letting him out of your sight and took in the room. 

It was a bedroom. A great mattress in the middle, with deep red coverings and white thin veils around the frame. 

“This was an invitation only was it not? Certainly you don’t think I followed you here?” You accused, a scoff leaving your lips. 

“You’re mistaken then. You have insulted me, I’m injured with your lack of careful accusation.” He holds his hand over his chest in feign hurt.

“Indeed Mr. Hong, perhaps I am not careful enough. But it doesn’t matter because you have still have explaining to do. Explain to me why you kiss and ran.” 

Joshua took a step towards you, eyes flickering between your eyes and mouth. He took your hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth, laying a kiss on your knuckles. 

Removing your hand from his grasp, your mouth agape, you gripped your dress. 

“I’m sorry.” He apologized. “Please forgive me, my dear. I’ve seem to forgotten you are not like me. A coward.”

Hiding your smile behind your hand, you let out a giggle, “You are a coward aren’t you?”

Giggling with you, he stepped even closer, you smile slowly leaving.

The door suddenly opened again leaving you two taking a quick step back from each other. Heads turning toward the door, you saw Mrs. Jeon peaking in.

“Am I impeding upon your conversation?” She asked, eyes covered by her hand. 

Separating yourself even further from Joshua, you walked towards her, “No. Worry not Mrs. Jeon.” 

She took you by your elbow, walking out the room. Looking behind you for Joshua, he was close behind giving a reassuring nod. 

Pulling you closer, Mrs. Jeon whispered, “Are you interested, perhaps me and my husband can be of some assistance in getting you two alone.”

Blushing, you both muffled your laughs, making Joshua raise his eyebrow. 

Finally reaching the dining room, you guys got seated. Joshua across from, Mingyu next to you. Mrs. Jeon and Mr. Jeon sat at the head of the tables and Mr. Chwe and Yoon were nowhere to be found.

“Where are my other two guests?” Joshua inquired. 

Mrs. Jeon held a slight smile, but quickly removed it off her face before anyone noticed. 

“They said they weren’t feeling of good health.” Mr. Jeon answered. 

Nodding to himself, the table started to eat. The table was silent, everyone doing their own thing, occasional clattering of plates from the maids. 

Sitting in the common room once again, the air was easy. Mrs. Jeon played the piano while you swirled your wine. As the piece she played ended, she yawned, standing up slowly.

“Shall we head off to bed?” She asked the room. Looking at Mingyu, you tilted your head in confusion. The rest of the party all nodded, minding you no business. 

“Ms. Y/N, you can have the room next to Mr. Hong’s.” Nodding and settling in, the night slowly became morning. 

Reading a book under a tree, you barely heard the ducks on the lake, nor did you hear the footsteps of the man who confessed and ran a month ago. 

“What are you doing dear?” 

Closing your book, you looked up Joshua. Staring long, you shook your head, focusing once again. 

“Um- reading,” standing up quickly, you stood tall before him. “Shall we continue our conversation? From yesterday?”

Joshua bit his lip, before nodding, avoiding eye contact and pulling you to sit down again. 

You two didn’t speak for a few moments. Just staring out at the lake, you felt your hand intertwine with his. 

“I must really apologize once again. What I did, dumping these emotions on you, so suddenly and then running away was a poor choice of mine. Reckless, and a poor trait of mine has always been moving too fast. But-But if you’d take me as yours-” Joshua trailed on.

“Mr. Hong.”

“I can make you happy. I can give you a library of your own, hell I will build it of my own hands-”

“Mr. Hong.” You called louder. Joshua still rambled barely taking a breathe of air between each word.

You reached over for Joshua’s face, pressing your lips against him in hopes he stopped talking. A noise of surprise escaped his mouth, the words stopped flowing and kissing you back. He places his hands over yours pressing his face into yours harder. Pulling away, you opened your eyes and found Joshua mouth open, and eyes closed.  

“Mr. Hong, I accept your offer.” You smiled.  

His eyes shot open, and he wore a bright smile, grabbing you by the waist and spinning you around. Giggling you held on to him as he laughed with a child’s happiness.

“Come on, we must tell the others of our engagement.” Joshua tugged you towards the mansion, barely giving you time to react, too excited. 

Pulling you into the common room, he held you close, grinning brightly. 

“I have important information to share with you all. It is of my excitement to announce the engagement of me and Ms. Y/N.” Joshua announced. 

Staring with wide eyes, Mingyu and Mr. and Mrs. Jeon all stood up quickly, like if the news was the most unbelievable. The group of three suddenly stood up and congratulated you both, cheering.

Mrs. Jeon pulled you to the side, “How was the alone time? Getting his guest to leave was the hardest task.”

You gave her an incredulous look before giggling and covering your mouth. Calling for her maids, Mrs. Jeon handed you a glass of wine.

“A celebration!”

Reading in front of the fireplace, legs pulled up to your chest, you felt Joshua place a kiss on your forehead. Glancing at him, you gave a small smile.

“Mr. Hong.” You acknowledged. He nudged your shoulder with a goofy smile.

“Mrs. Hong.” 

A/N : I feel as if this was rushed towards the end, but tbh i got writers block at the worst time and said fuck it and pushed through lol. any feedback is appreciated pls and thank u!! oh im nervous ha

[fungus-amongus00]

What about an au that Stans about how “weird” “Old man mucket” is and Ford askes about him, then Stan is confused but tells him where he lives and ford talks to his bud for the first time in a long time.

I am so sorry if this is confusing :(

No confusion here! I gotcha ^^ Hope you like it! FEELINGS TIME

Stanford remembered hearing it that morning and nearly dropping his coffee in the process. It had been the mention of a name he had forgotten about momentarily. After all, in all his travels across the multiverse, small things like that were bound to slip his mind. However, the fact that it brought about such a sudden reaction had shown that the memory was not entirely gone. It was still very much a part of him, and hearing that name, brought about a multitude of emotions. The strongest one wracking his brain was of….regret. 

“Hey, kids. Did you see the latest video on Bramble? Man, I swear, that Old Man McGucket keeps getting crazier and crazier. I dunno what he’s gonna do next,” Stanley laughed and then even harder when Mabel showed him another video. 

“I mean, yeah, it’s funny, but I feel kind of bad for the guy. He lives by himself near the dump, and no one’s tried to, you know, help him at all?” Dipper added, sipping on his strawberry milk. 

“Ah, lighten up, kid. As far as I know, that’s just..how he lives. He doesn’t seem like he’s unhappy or anything.” Stanley did stop laughing momentarily. Of course Dipper always had to be the realist just like someone else he knew. He finally noticed Ford standing in the doorway, looking like he was about to pass out. “Sixer? You all good over there?” 

“Oh, no, Grunkle Ford! You dropped your mug.” Mabel hurried over to scoop it up. Luckily, it wasn’t one of the ceramic ones and didn’t break upon impact. It took Stanford a couple of seconds before he registered she was grabbing paper towels to clean up the mess. 

“Terribly sorry, Mabel. I zoned out for a moment there,” he apologized, helping her sop it up before it spread to the rug. “I just...you guys were talking about Fiddleford Hadron McGucket...right?” 

Stanley raised an eyebrow. How the hell did those two know each other?

“Wait, how do you know his full name?” 

“Did you not read his journals, Grunkle Stan? McGucket was his assistant in his research. He was...a genius, really,” Dipper said with a concerned look towards Ford. “I would’ve done something, but..I’m not exactly sure how to help him. He lost a lot of his memory.” 

“You said he lives over by the dump, right?” As soon as Dipper said “yes” in response, Ford was out of there in about five seconds flat, dashing off towards the dump. 

“Ooh! Should we follow him, Dipper? Maybe Grunkle Ford can get the old Fiddleford back!” Mabel gasped. By the look in her eyes, Dipper could tell she had already made up her mind. 

As soon as she ran off, Dipper sighed and grabbed his backpack. He’d really hear it from both Mabel and Grunkle Stan if he didn’t go with. “Uh, be back in a bit, Grunkle Stan!” 

Stanford didn’t stop running until he got to McGucket’s shack. In hindsight, he could’ve had Stan drive him, but this was urgent. He gasped when he saw where he was living. Oh, Fiddleford… He felt that guilt hanging heavy on his chest again. How long had he gone on not even knowing he was here? Of course, he had only recently returned to this dimension, but still! How could he forget about the person most dear to him. The person who….he betrayed..for an interdimensional demon with empty promises. For a moment, he stopped himself as he started walking up to the shack. If his memories returned...would he hate him still? He wouldn’t blame Fiddleford if he never wanted to see him again.

Mustering some courage, Stanford took a deep breath and continued onwards to what sort of resembled a door. A six fingered fist lingered at it a moment before tentatively knocking. He heard rustling from within before a raccoon bolted out of there, making him jump and nearly fall over. Was a raccoon his only company now?? His heart nearly stopped when Fiddleford stood in the doorway, his beard all the way down to his feet and what looked like...a bandage on his beard? Stanford wasn’t about to question it. Fiddleford stared blankly at him before saying, “Well, howdy, there! Can I help you with somethin’?” 

The words caught in Stanford’s throat for a moment. There was so, so much he wanted to say, mostly “I’m sorry, so sorry,” but he held it back. He didn’t know how much of his memory was missing, but given his living conditions, and the fact that he wasn’t completely pissed at him right now, he’d say a lot. He held up a six fingered hand in a wave, putting on his best smile even though his body simply didn’t want to, no matter how much it hurt. 

“Hey, Fiddleford. I’m an...old friend, Stanford Pines. Do you..remember me at all?” 

Fiddleford seemed utterly confused. He “hmm’d” to himself, scratching his beard and looking Stanford over. It got to the point where it seemed to be causing him physical pain, finally stopping with a groan. “Aw, sorry, there. Can’t seem to recall your name, but you’re that new scientist guy that arrived here in Gravity Falls, right? Sorry if I’m wrong. My memory ain’t what it used to be, you know?” 

Stanford let out a sigh and an understanding nod. He figured this was probably going to be the case. Perhaps, he needed some stimuli to get things going. 

“It’s alright, Fiddleford. I know you’ve been through a lot...trust me, I do, so I hope you don’t mind this.” 

Taking a breath, Stanford reached out to place his hands on Fiddleford’s shoulders, slowly drawing him into a hug. 

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, Fiddleford. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for everything that happened. I should’ve put my trust in you, not Bill. Driving you away is one of my deepest regrets. Even in other dimensions, it haunted me in my dreams. I wish...I wish I could take that hurt away, but we both know even the memory gun isn’t perfect. Memories don’t simply disappear, right, Fidds?” In that moment, he didn’t think about if Fiddleford didn’t know what he was talking about. All that mattered now was that he was hugging him again. He didn’t need forgiveness. It was the closure that he’d get at least. 

For a minute, Fiddleford stayed still, but he slowly wrapped his arms around Stanford, sighing softly. Just feeling safe in his arms and his familiar scent, he felt a rush of memories coming back to him, especially with the use of his old nickname Stanford often called him back then. He glanced over when he felt Stanford trembling, tightening his grip on his shirt. His head..well, really hurt, especially at the fact that Stanford was here and in his arms. 

“It was a tough time for both of us. And you know, I forgive you, Stanford. It’s been far too long for me to hold onto a grudge now.” 

Stanford gasped when he heard him call him by his name. Were his memories..returning? Was his hypothesis correct? Tears started to run down his cheeks as he cupped Fiddleford’s face with trembling hands. “Fidds….you really remember me? I-I mean, you shouldn’t forgive me. I betrayed you. You were the person I was closest to, and I turned my back on you, drove you mad enough to use the memory gun on yourself. I..I don’t think I deserve it..” 

“Oh, Stanford,” Fiddleford chuckled, looking up at him with the softest smile. “What matters is learning from your mistakes. Obviously, you found out the truth about Bill and his intentions, and you worked hard to correct your mistakes. Like I said, it’s been too long for me to hold onto a grudge, right, old buddy?” 

He winced a bit when another headache and rush of memories came on. “Ah, look at this. You’re sparking so many lost memories o’ mine. It’s like magic!” 

Stanford let out a choked laugh, having to remove his glasses a moment to wipe away his tears. 

“Yeah, it kind of is. I would say magic doesn’t actually exist, but..I’ve seen far too much to say that anymore. Plus, Mabel would probably kick me in the shin if she heard me say that.” After taking a moment to collect himself, Stanford offered his hand to Fiddleford. “How about we find a place to chat and catch up? My brother actually turned the old cabin into a tourist trap of sorts, but it’s a good place to hang out in. And really? A shack, Fidds?” 

“Hey, don’t blame me! I lost my mind, literally!” Fiddleford teased and accepted Stanford’s hand. The warm touch of it was something he really had missed. 

“OH MY GOD, GRUNKLE FORD! That was sooo cute! I actually started crying myself,” Mabel squealed from a nearby bush as she tumbled out of it followed by Dipper. “Oh my gosh! You guys are literally the cutest!” 

“Mabel...they just met again after...a really long period of time,” he said, having forgotten the exact number. “How about we give them some space?” 

“Oh, yes, yes. Space is important, but afterwards you guys have to tell me everything!” 

Stanford chuckled as he watched her drag Dipper off, guiding Fiddleford along. Things were still a little...awkward, but he was sure they’d regain their footholds in their relationship again. Things were a little different now, but after all these years, Fiddleford was still Fiddleford, and that was enough for him.

[artificialqueens]

Gimme Love, 6/9 (Miz Cracker/Blair St Clair) - Grinder

AN: Welp, I'm back from travelling! For anyone interested to know how it went; it was great (if you love stress). Liverpool is a lovely place but I've destroyed my bank account :D

Anyway! We got 4 more chapters of this fic! This is where the conflict begins. I hope yall enjoy.

TW for this chapter: Homophobia, homophobic slurs

2020

The cake was in the fridge. We'd be seeing him later. For now, we settled for some spaghetti. It had become a sort of tradition for Jujubee and me for moments that needed celebrating. But we hadn't done it in so long, what with the stress of work.

"So, Juju, as you can see, I've labelled the pages you're allowed to read, so don't go looking at other shit, OK?" I asked, chopping up a red bell pepper.

"Why? If I do, am I gonna find some porn-y shit?" She quipped, running a hand along with the butterfly print book.

"Honestly, you know all of those details anyway." I gave her a smirk, taking a piece of pepper and throwing it over to her.

I almost expected it to fly past her head, but she caught it in her mouth. Skill.

"OK, but what's in the box, though?"

I almost forgot what she was even referring to. But following her gaze, I saw it, sitting on the kitchen counter beside the fridge. "Oh, that?" I scraped the peppers into the saucepan, "That is my memory box."

"Ooh, that's even more exciting." She beamed.

"No. We're not opening it." I moved on to an onion.

"Aw, why not?" Jujubee whined.

"Because I made my Mom promise me she wouldn't give it to me until I turned 50. But I was weak and begged her to give it back. So now, I've promised myself to not look inside until I turn 50." The air was no longer clean, poisoned with the acid from the onion. My eyes were beginning to sting.

"Aw, Brie, you don't need to get all emotional about it." She had to go and joke about the tear now trickling down my cheek.

"Girl, this is torture," I wipe my eye along my wrist, pretty sure my eyeshadow has been fucked up. "Did I fuck up the smokey eye?"

"Nope." I knew she was lying to me, but she couldn't take her eyes away, "You look absolutely gorgeous as usual."

"Not as hot as you, though." I sniffed. I needed her to focus on reading so I could finish chopping the onion as soon as possible. "Anyway, you wanna read something in there?"

Jujubee opened the book and immediately laughed, "Jesus Christ, Brie, bit dark."

She showed me the first page, childlike scribblings read 'Brianna's Diary. DO NOT TOUCH! Or this will happen to you!' An arrow led to a picture of a grave.

"I never even noticed that before," I chuckled.

"With a warning like that, I better find some crazy shit in here." she cleared her throat, "So starting in 1994, 'Diary Diary, Today, I had a fight with Jujubee. She really upset me, but I upset her too. I should say sorry. That's all. Bye.'" Jujubee lowered the diary, "you bitch, why did you upset me?"

"I have no idea, girl. I mean, didn't we do that a lot back then?" I shrugged.

"I bet you started it though," She lifted the book again, a coy smile on her face. "OK, moving on to 1995," she cleared her throat, "'Dear Diary, today Mommy and Juju's Mommy took us to see Pocahontas at the movies. It was very good. Goodnight.'" Jujubee paused to giggle, "God, I love how detailed this is. You could have added so much more."

"Girl, I was 8 years old. Writing more than 4 sentences was like writing the bible to me." I countered, finally scraping the onions into the pan with the peppers.

"Yeah, but we did so much more that day. We went to McDonald's after, we found that little frog pond in the woods." She pointed out.

I hadn't even remembered that. Now I kind of wished my younger self would have pushed herself to write more.

I was too busy rifling through my messy cabinet for oregano to notice Jujubee just flicking through page by page.

"But, you wrote 3 pages worth of poetry to Blair St Clair?"

Once I found the spice, I spun around to look at her, "Juju, I told you to only look at the pages that were labelled."

She held a hand up, "OK, I'm sorry." She closed the book.

I felt bad, thinking maybe my harsh tone brought the fun to a grinding halt. Squeezing my eyes shut, releasing a sigh, I said, "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

She took a sip of her water while I added the oregano to the saucepan.

"So, did you text her back?" She played with the glass in her hands.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "Why? Do you think I should?" I asked quietly.

"Nah, not really."

"Well, why not?"

Jujubee shrugged her shoulders and went to look at her nails. "Don't know."

I clicked my heel, my tongue running along the top row of teeth behind my closed mouth. "Well, I've been thinking about it. I mean, maybe that's the problem. Maybe I could be a bit more responsive."

She made a humming sound. I was unsure what it was supposed to mean.

"OK, what's going on?" I put both hands on the counter.

"I don't know. I just think…" she paused, trying to find her words, "I don't see the point because the same shit will just happen again."

"The same shit?" I repeated, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, her speaking all but 10 words to you and then completely ignoring your existence." She put a hand under her chin.

"Well, maybe that wouldn't happen if I actually spoke to her like I wasn't terrified for once," I suggested.

She squeezed her eyes together, "Oh no, Brie. I knew this was going to happen."

"What was going to happen?"

"The whole Blair thing. I thought you were over it. Well, until she messaged you recently, I had a creeping feeling that it was all gonna come back."

"Juju, listen to yourself. You're talking like this is an actual problem."

"I hate to say it, but it is. Do you remember the time she hung out with you in the library? You were so excited the next day. I hadn't seen you so happy in so long. You wouldn't stop talking about how she would probably be there again." She paused, "But she wasn't. And you were so disappointed."

"Yeah, but things could be different now."

"And how's that?"

"Well, I'm a different fucking person now, that's one thing. I'm successful, I'm smart, I'm hot as fuck, rich as fuck - -"

"And you think that's gonna be the game-changer for her? That she's gonna come running into your arms? Because if that's the case, that says a lot about her." Jujubee rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm a big girl, now. If it happens again, I'll just get on with things. I'll move on.

"That's a lie."

I squinted my eyes. "Why are you being like this right now? You're so salty just because I fucked wrote a private letter to her as a child."

"This isn't about the letter, Brie. You know why I'm being like this. You shouldn't need to ask." But she continued, "You've never dealt with never having parents. You think that if Blair was to suddenly be truly interested in you, you'd get over the feeling of being unwanted. Yet you're surrounded by people who love and support you, who'd stick with you to the end. But right now, you don't give two fucks about them because you're too busy panicking about some girl from high school."

I lift my head again, putting one hand on the desk and the other on my hip, "Well, congratulations, Juju. Sounds like you got me all figured out. Hey, you wanna talk about my Grandpa next?"

She only reacted to that with a scowl. And she spoke again.

"You remember the prom? Do you remember what happened? Do you remember how she didn't do anything to stop Trevor?"

My eyes shifted away, just for a second. "She told him to stop."

"Which did nothing."

I wanted to argue how she was unfair. How it was so wrong to blame Blair for the prom incident. But I was distracted by a burning smell. Only now did I notice the onions and peppers blackening.

I quickly moved the saucepan off the heat, feeling it only radiating in my own face. I put a hand on the counter, the other on my hip. "OK, Juju, maybe you should leave."

It was safe to say Jujubee was taken aback. She remained still for a second before pushing her stool out. "So that's how it is? Kicking me out when you're faced with the truth?"

"Juju, just leave, please." I felt my hands clench around the edge of the counter, my nails digging into my hip.

"I am!" She grabbed her coat and stormed from the kitchen. I flinched upon hearing the door slam shut, and only then did it sink in - the dread, the feeling of regret.

I looked at the hob, the burnt vegetables unsavable. So they went in the trash. My stomach grumbled. But I couldn't bring myself to start over again.

Opening my fridge, my eyes were immediately on the cake. And I glanced over my shoulder, looking where she had sat, now feeling a sense of emptiness. Not in me, but the room. Like I was alone.

I was alone.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I repeated as my hand clenched on the door. The cool air from the fridge felt nice but not enough to stop my panic.

I looked at the cake again, feeling the urge to throw it out the window. Or maybe just send it back to her.

Bitchy, I know. But I couldn't help it. I wouldn't be feeling like this if she hadn't acted the way she did.

I slammed the door shut, kicking it for extra measure. And in my heels, I almost tripped.

Filled with more anger, I paced around for a few minutes, aggressively cussing to myself.

Don't get me wrong, one part of me said she was right about Blair.

No. She isn't. I was going to prove Jujubee wrong.

I picked up my phone from the counter, found the message and began to type with trembling fingers.

"Blair…" I panted, "So sorry...for getting back to you so late... I'm a busy woman, as you...probably already know...Look... I'm just gonna say it...I really like you...I always have...You make me feel so confused...yet so happy at the same time...I feel a connection between us...I always have...I don't know whether you ever felt it or not...but I do hope so...I would love to meet up with you sometime soon...and maybe have a coffee...I don't know...maybe even some wine, if you want. I look forward to hearing back. Brie x"

My thumb hovered over the send button. The only sound I could hear was the ticking of the clock. Not even my own breathing.

I pulled my thumb away, closed my eyes and breathed out. "Brie. You sound fucking crazy. You sound insane. You can't just send shit like that." I repeated words of the same nature to myself, trying to usher myself off the edge before I could do something idiotic.

"Jesus Christ." I opened my eyes again, which were now glossy with tears. I wouldn't blink. I wouldn't let them fall.

Big mistake.

I thought I tapped the chat bar, going to delete the message. But my blurred vision said, "haha, no."

I tapped the button next to the chat bar. The send button.

The little noise my phone made as it was sent may as well have been the same as a gun clicking.

"Oh, God." My eyes couldn't tear away from the small screen. My heart rate increased. "No, no, no, you fucking idiot!" I pressed my thumb down on the message.

There was a delete option.

I clicked it.

'Are you sure? The recipient may have already seen the message.'

I backspaced to check.

There it was, the tiny version of her profile picture falling to the bottom of the screen. She was reading it.

"Fuck!!" I blurted.

I put the phone down on the counter, began pacing for a moment, and looked back at the phone. This went on for a few minutes. I wanted to be as far from my phone as possible. But also needed to know if she had replied.

This was it.

Blair was going to know how I was weirdly obsessed with her.

She was going to know I was checking her out in the library that one time.

She was going to know that I had fingered myself so many times at the thought of her.

What were my options?

Suicide - Not gonna happen.

Running away - But the project.

Reply with 'Hey, sorry! My friend took my phone, haha' - did anyone ever believe that excuse?

Block her before she could reply - then she'd think I was even more crazy.

Call up her place of work and somehow get her phone confiscated - why, though? That would involve Facebook stalking her again, trying to think of an excuse. Even if I did so successfully, she still saw the message.

All of the options just lead to cons. It was hopeless.

With shaky fingers, I switched my phone off and practically threw it onto the counter.

My body sank to the ground, now holding my head in my hands.

What do I do? What do I fucking do?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

2004

I was shaking. Only slightly.

There was something about the prom that made me feel so on edge.

Maybe it was all the people, all together in one room.

Perhaps it was the fact the chess boys asked to make out.

Or perhaps it was the fear of missed opportunities. Opportunities that involved a certain someone.

I watched from the side of the room as Blair took pictures with her friends on her pink digital camera. There was a feeling of regret causing my stomach to twist, my fists clenching onto my purple dress.

That could have been me.

I felt a hand moving a curled lock of hair from my shoulder.

"Just think, girl; we're almost there," Jujubee appeared in front of my vision, "College is just around the corner."

"I can't wait to be out of here," I spoke quietly.

Everyone turned their attention to the stage as Rosé appeared, announcing it was time to crown Prom King and Queen.

"Well, it's pretty obvious who our queen is." Jujubee crossed her arms.

I knew who she was thinking of. To be fair, it was pretty obvious. But I wasn't complaining.

Trevor was our Prom King, not my King anyway. I scoffed as he cheered, being pushed up to the stage by his team.

"Jesus Christ, who would have thought." Jujubee took a sip of her punch, spilling a drop on her lilac puffy-sleeved dress.

"And your Prom Queen is…" Rosé paused, pulling the result from the envelope.

3...2...1…

"Blair St Clair!"

I smiled for the first time since walking into the place. I applauded her victory as she walked up onto the stage.

Blair hugged Rosé and whispered something in her ear. I had no idea what it was, but I was too distracted as Trevor just stared.

"You wanna make a speech, girl?" Rosé joked into the mic.

Blair laughed, covering her face with embarrassment. She turned down the offer.

"OK. Everybody," Rosé held a hand to Blair and Trevor, "You're King and Queen of 2004."

Blair looked slightly uncomfortable as Trevor put an arm around her waist. Why couldn't he get the hint she was done with him?

The two got down from the stage, Trevor's gaze following her in confusion as she moved far away from him.

"Aren't they supposed to do a dance now?" Jujubee asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, Juju. I've only seen proms in movies, and they're quite obviously exaggerated."

My eyes landed on Blair once more. Trevor was whispering something in her ear, and she shook her head, rolled her eyes and walked away. Yikes, he was desperate.

"Jesus, I'm fucking nervous." Rosé was approaching us now, well, the punch table we stood beside. "Getting up on stage gets my body shaking, you know?"

"Wish I could do that." Jujubee replied.

"Yeah, well, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do." Rosé replied.

I eyed her suspiciously. This was odd; she'd never really spoken to us before.

"But of course," she looked left, then right, before pulling a flask from her bra and pouring it into a cup, "this helps. You ladies want one?"

"Nah, I'm good," Jujubee made a stank face.

Me, on the other hand, having never drank alcohol in my life, piped up, "Actually, yeah. Could you just pour me a shot of whatever that is?"

"Yeah, of course," and she didn't lie. She poured me a shot of vodka. No spitting in the cup, no adding anything sneakily, no hostility.

She passed the cup to me, giving a mischievous wink.

Tossing it back, I was totally shocked by the burning sensation it caused to my throat. I began to cough and splutter.

"Girl, chill out, or you're gonna draw attention to yourself." Rosé looked around.

I placed the cup down on the table, the plastic practically crumbling in my hand.

"This is it. The beginning," Jujubee joked, dabbing the corner of my mouth with her pinky. I didn't even know there was a drop of liquid there.

And I didn't know there was a hair out of place either. Because she was stroking a soft hand down my temple to my cheek.

"Brie, do - -"

"Juju, I'm gonna ask her to dance with me," I said all too loud.

The hand dropped instantaneously, her smile falling in a matter of seconds. Of course, I expected this shocked reaction. Even Rosé had nearly choked on her drink.

"For real?" Jujubee asked after a silent moment.

"Yep," I answered proudly, putting my hands on my hips.

"I guess you've never touched a drop of alcohol in your life, loser." Rosé leaned close to me.

"Something like that." I felt slightly uncomfortable now that she was dangerously close to me.

She snorted a laugh, holding up her hands as she walked away, "I'm not responsible for this."

So this was what they called liquid courage. Yeah, it was one shot, but it was my very first. And I was already feeling it. The buzz.

I turned to make my way to the girl I loved when Jujubee grabbed my hand, "Brie, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes," I replied too quickly, tugging to pull away.

"Are you sure?" Her brows knit, "You're not gonna be upset if she says no, right?"

One final strong tug was enough to release her grip on me, "No, Juju. I'll be fine, just...stop questioning me, OK?"

She was silent, her arms dropping by her side.

But I continued on in my mission, vision slightly blurred, insides warmed.

Everyone around us was gone like they had just stepped into another world, leaving Blair and me in this reality. Or maybe it was the two of us who disappeared, somehow falling into the wormhole and ending up in the other world.

Or maybe it was just liquid courage.

There were only a few metres between us now. "Blair?"

She had been taking a sip of her coke when she looked up and noticed me. Wiping the corners of her mouth, she put the can down.

"Brianna!" She beamed. Her eyes looked me up and down, causing a brief moment of panic, "wow, look at you. You look great."

"Yeah, right, compared to you." I stifled a laugh.

"Oh, shut up." She smirked.

"So, um…" I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, looking away and to the ground, "I was just...wondering...if you'd wanna dance with me?"

I didn't lift my gaze. Only now did I understand what Jujubee meant. The girl hadn't even said no yet, and my heart was already sinking.

"It's just...this song is so good, and it's the end of the year, and we may not - -"

Before I could continue rambling, she cut me off.

"Sure. Yeah, I'll dance with you."

I lift my gaze to see her glittering smile. Like in the library, time didn't feel real anymore, and I needed to remind myself to breathe. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course." She briefly knit her brows like it shouldn't have been questioned. She took my hand in her perfect french manicured one, "Come on."

As we made our way to the dance floor, I was only now reminded that there were people here. So, we didn't slip through a wormhole. This was real. This was reality.

Blair found a spot on the floor, turned to me and wrapped her arms around the back of my neck.

For a moment, I was unsure of where to put my hands. I glanced over her shoulder, noting the couple also slow dancing. She has her arms around his neck. He had his arms around her waist.

I was hesitant at first but eventually gave in. Blair didn't mind. And I felt myself relax.

She just stared at me, the sweet smile still on her face. The music echoed around us. The lights were low. Pink tinted.

"So, how does it feel winning Prom Queen?" I asked. Of course, it felt amazing for her, but I needed to find an excuse to speak. Anything to avoid the somersaults my stomach was doing.

"I mean, it's nice, I guess. But, it's all bullshit anyway?" Her smile faltered, "Not something anyone in the future will give a fuck about, right?"

I disagreed. If I were to win prom queen, I would feel validated. And I would make sure I'd bring it up to everyone I ever met. Pathetic, I know.

"Well, I can't think of anybody better," I admitted. "Maybe they could have chosen a better King."

"Agreed." She nodded. "You know, literally just now, he tried to use this whole King and Queen thing to 'try again'. Not even that long before you came up to me. Brianna, I've already given him another chance. And he blew it."

"During the Summer?" I recalled.

"Yep." She pursed her lips.

"What did he do, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, he just had some major anger problems," her eyes widened for a moment, "He never hurt me, though. He just...got so angry over the dumbest shit. It was just too much."

She puffed out a breath, the frown on her face appearing.

"You don't have to tell me any more," I said quickly.

"Sorry, I don't wanna get emotional." She looked back at me. "It's just... it's hard not to. You're a good listener."

How should I have felt knowing that was her analysis of me from very little time spent together? She really trusted me. "Blair... I'm sorry about that time in the library. When you mentioned my Grandpa. I feel terrible now."

"Please, don't. You were grieving."

'Was I really though?' I held back from saying.

"I never really had a Dad," I smiled, seeing his stupid smile in my head, "But he was the closest equivalent to that."

"I know what you mean." She began, "My Dad…" she trailed off for a moment, "He wasn't the best. You probably remember that one time I ran away as a kid. When you walked me to my Grandma's."

I wasn't even tense in the first place, but my body felt like it relaxed. "You remember that?"

"Of course I do. It really meant a lot, Brie." Her thumb stroked the back of my neck. I don't know if she did this intentionally or subconsciously. Was she even thinking about it? "That day, I never went back. Ever. My Grandparents took full custody of me, and they became my second parents. The ones I always deserved."

I felt my body relax even more like this was normal. "Blair, I wanna carry on something my Grandpa started."

"What's that?"

"It sounds crazy," I pause, "But he wants me to find a parallel universe."

I paused to take in her reaction. She did look taken aback for a moment. Could you blame her? "Is it even possible?"

"I mean, at first I thought he was a bit out there asking me something like that, on his deathbed and all. But I've been studying really hard, and I think it's achievable."

"That's interesting." She nodded. "So, what are you gonna do at college?"

"Drugs." I giggled before the smile dropped, "OK, not funny. Bad joke."

"I'm laughing, though." She was.

"Um, no. I'm gonna do Astronomy and Space science."

"I didn't know that was a major you could do," Blair replied.

"Me neither. What about you, though? Something in theatre?"

Blair lowered her gaze for a brief moment, "I dunno, Brie. I honestly don't see college as a me-thing. I'm constantly torn between theatre, fashion merchandising, cosmetology, politics..."

"Politics?" I laughed and instantly hoped she didn't take offence to that.

"What?" She smirked. "What's funny?"

"I just…" I paused, feeling my heart skip a beat as a particular memory came back. "This is crazy. I can't believe I remember this. All I can think about right now is the day we met. Remember the first day of elementary? On the bus? I told you I wanted to be a politician when I was older, just 'cause they liked to shout a lot. And you couldn't say the word right."

"Oh fuck, now that you mention it, I do remember." Blair laughed, "That was such a long time ago. We were so little." She looked away as if her mind had transported her to that moment. Did she remember it like I did? Did she remember how she held my hand and told me she was my friend?

And then never sat with me ever again?

My eyes had drifted away, looking over her shoulder at nothing in particular. The bad thoughts were taking over. I didn't want them to. I wanted to enjoy this moment forever. Just swaying back and forth with Blair in the middle of the dance floor.

She stroked her thumb on the back of my neck again, causing a spark to course through me.

Blair's looking at me again. "Brianna, how come we never talked more?"

I don't know if it was just me fantasising again, but her face was moving closer to mine, ever so slowly.

I had the answer to her question. But it couldn't ruin this moment. "I don't know," I whispered.

She was closer now, head tilted to the left.

And I found myself doing the same.

This was another fantasy. This isn't real.

I felt her breath on the corner of my mouth.

It felt real.

It was.

There was a frustrated roar.

A tight fist clenched around my arm.

I was pulled back forcefully.

My feet gave way.

I was on the ground.

"Are you kidding me??" Trevor stood in front of Blair, his face red with anger, "You won't fucking dance with me, but you'll dance with her??"

Everyone around us was just standing there, too shocked to do something.

"Trevor, what the fuck??" Blair went to move around him, trying to get to me. He only pushed her back.

"Of all the people, why her??" He grilled Blair with more questions. She looked afraid now.

Why the fuck wasn't anyone doing anything??

I felt a hand on my shoulder, but looking around, I saw it was actually Rosé. "Trevor, what the fuck??"

He turned to look as if offended that anyone else got involved. How could they not? Seeing her helping me stand must hit a nerve. Because he's snatched a cup of punch from a bystander, "Why are you defending the dyke??" And he threw the cup forward, the liquid drenching my hair and splattering my dress.

That was the final straw. I could feel my chest heaving.

I ran to the nearest exit. Running from the school. As soon as I felt the cool air on my skin, I wrapped my arms around my stomach. I was bent over, throwing up all the panic. Sparks of the bile dotted the bottom of my dress and shoes. I didn't care. My dress was already ruined.

I heard the door open behind me and immediately began to move again.

I tried to run, but the heels made it hard.

The person was in front of me now, hands on my face, tears streaking her face.

I expected it to be Blair.

But it was Jujubee.

"Brie, it's alright. I punched him for you." She whimpered, her hands on either side of my face, holding me tenderly.

My breathing was rugged, trying so hard to listen to her reassuring whispers. But in my head was the sound of the crowd gasping and Trevor shouting.

No one was going to forget about this. I'd be reminded by the stares in the corridors, how they'd whisper to each other.

"Let's go to my house. You can stay over if you want." Jujubee's sweet voice brought me out of my thoughts.

Words still failing to surface, I nodded.

As soon as we got in, she ran me a hot bath. Whilst I cleaned myself of the sticky punch that covered my hair and face, she made chocolate mug cakes with ice cream.

Sitting there in her room, dressed in her fluffy pyjamas, eating her food, I should have felt better. I should have been happy. But I just stared at the mug in my hand, still thinking of Trevor's anger and Blair's distressed face.

Jujubee took the mug from me, set it aside along with her own, and enveloped me in a hug. "Don't cry, Bri. Please, don't cry."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was crying." I wept.

"Don't apologise." She shushed me, "It's OK. You're OK."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

2020

And even now, I didn't realise I was crying again. And as it was too late to stop myself, I remembered sobbing into Jujubee's shoulder, holding her tightly, like she was the only one who could get me through it. She was the only one who could get me through it.

The events of the prom left me scared, always so on edge when walking those school corridors. Just terrified that Trevor would round the corner and do something worse.

But Jujubee was there for me every time. She'd hold my hand, not giving a fuck about who looked at us weird.

I know I should have grown a backbone and defended myself, and what had actually happened shouldn't have been as damaging as it was. But, hey, I was only human.

Jujubee got in a lot of trouble for punching Trevor in the face. But she didn't mind. "Just as long as he got what was coming to him," she had said.

Hearing her retell the event, I wish I had been there. She had jumped on him, tackling him to the ground and punched him over and over again.

But as exciting as that all was, I didn't speak to Blair again. I didn't think about her. I didn't talk about her. I didn't even look at her. Blair wasn't the one to come after me that night. She never even approached me to talk about it. She didn't give a fuck.

So I kept my distance.

And just as life went on without her, she just had to go and message me. After years of silence, she couldn't have left well enough alone.

I finally lifted my head. I reached up and grabbed my phone. Turning it back on, I immediately deleted Messenger, hoping to never see Blair's response.

This would be the beginning of my journey toward happiness.

Yeah. That was it. That's what I would do.

[blueburds]

Of Old Relics and New Friendships

Summary: Altrethir returns from his recruitment mission, but comes back empty-handed. After settling back into base, he’s put to work. Words: 1,531

Theron took a sharp right in the Military Hangar and bumped into a couple of troops. He quickly expressed his apologies before jogging toward the elevator that’d take him to Altrethir’s personal landing zone. The Sith had finally returned from his recruitment mission, but due to Lana’s intel, the agent didn’t expect positive results.

He walked briskly down the metal bridge and onto the grassy plain where Altrethir’s ship landed. Steam hissed quietly from the vents as the ramp to the ship lowered. Theron’s heart skipped a beat when he saw his lover descend, his fists gently clenched in anticipation. Though difficult to tell from far away, Altrethir’s eyes were very much red and puffy. He wore a deadpanned expression, looking overall drained. Exhausted.

And Theron was there to meet him where the ramp met the grass. He connected the dots – it wasn’t difficult to, knowing that Thexia felt his mourning through some connection by the Force. Wordlessly the agent extended a hand, and Altrethir felt a violent churn in his gut. His pride wanted to refuse compassion, to reject it entirely and to be just by himself until he felt better. But he’d already been by himself for the entire trip home; he made only one call to confirm he was on his way back to Odessen. He didn’t even speak with Theron during that call.

After a moment of hesitation, he caved. The Sith pressed himself into his beloved’s arms and lowered his head against the crook of his neck. Theron embraced him with a protective, warm hold. Altrethir wept quietly into the fabric of his jacket.

                                             •                •                •

It was mid-day; four hours had passed since Altrethir returned, and those four hours he spent collecting himself, trying to get back into his work. Aside from Theron, Lana and Thexia, no one else suspected a thing. That was what he hoped, anyway. Perhaps he was more quiet or broody than usual but no one questioned him. He’d still catch Theron’s glances from across the room; the man was concerned, but Altrethir didn’t mind. He was managing.

Taking a datapad and a totemic relic discovered by Hylo Visz’s team, the sorcerer turned and walked down the metal steps of the meeting room, heading toward the laboratory. His eyes were glued to the words on his tablet, mainly using his Force senses to guide him. But before he could reach the lab, he felt someone approaching. So he slowed the pace of his walk, looking up from the datapad and turning, “Is there something I may help you with?”

A shorter Twi’lek woman halted just feet before him, not expecting him to stop. Her skin, he noted, was the same shade of blue his own flesh was before his mutations of the Force. And her eyes, too, were the same purple hue of his uncorrupted irises. She backed up a couple of steps, “Uh- hi. Sorry, I couldn’t help but see what you’re carrying,” she gestured to the relic, and Altrethir carefully turned it within his hand. “You’re gonna take that to the lab to be picked apart and studied?”

“It will be researched by my most trusted archaeologist. He has a certain fondness for artifacts; it will be in good hands, I assure you.”

“Assurance is appreciated, but... I mean,” she huffed, muttering something to herself under her breath, “I can’t believe I’m asking, but would you consider selling it to me?”

Altrethir lofted a brow, “Of what value does this hold to you?”

The woman gave him a quizzical look, lightly canting her head to the side, “You don’t-…? Sorry- that's rude of me to assume. I figured you out of everyone here would know,” she waved a hand dismissively and gestured once more to the relic, “That’s a Kalikori. It’s something that holds a lot of sentimental value to Twi’lek families; it’s an heirloom that’s passed down generation after generation.” She pointed to one of the cubed beads dangling from the side, “A parent adds onto it, then their child does, and so on.”

The Sith’s interest was specifically piqued because he never heard of such a tradition, despite being of Twi’lek heritage himself. His parents certainly didn’t possess one of these, which lead him to consider the possibility of it being destroyed, stolen, or the concept being false altogether.

“Can you confirm that your word holds true?”

She huffed in amusement, “Show it to your archaeologist. I mean, if he’s more experienced in that sort of stuff than you, he’d definitely recognize it.”

“Very well,” Altrethir beckoned her to follow, resuming his path toward the laboratory. They walked a number of steps in silence before he spoke up once more, “You know who I am, but what do I call you?”

“Vette,” she replied, keeping up with his pace, “Just Vette.”

                                          •                •                •

“Good day to you, my lord! It’s always delightful to see you.”

“Doctor Drellik,” Altrethir gave a nod with a faint smile upon his lips, “This artifact was brought to my attention recently. I wanted you to take a look at it.”

“Of course, of course! Let’s see, hm?” Doctor Talos Drellik gingerly took the totem-like relic from the Sith’s hands, turning it about carefully within his grasp. “A wooden base and cubes, but the beads look to be crafted from a sort of clay. These markings also appear Twi’leki,” he muttered as he examined it. “I do believe this is an old Kalikori, my lord! I- oh, dear. It’s not yours, is it? If that’s the case, take it back, by all means. It must be nerve-wracking to see someone else handling something so precious to you.”

Vette shot Altrethir an “I told you so” type of smirk.

“No, this does not belong to me,” the Sith took the Kalikori from the other man, “In fact, I regret to say that I’m unfamiliar with what it represents.”

Doctor Drellik smiled eagerly, thrilled to delve further into their discussion of artifacts, “Well, it’s uncertain of when exactly the tradition began. Twi’lek families pass them down through their generations, a parent adding beads onto the totem. So, this bead,” he pointed to a cube on the Kalikori that dangled at the end of the left chain, “appears to be the newest addition. Perhaps a parent was already planning to hand it down to their child?”

“A likely theory. I received it from Hylo’s crew, and she said they found it during a raid on one of Arcann’s cargo ships.”

“Then that opens up further possibilities as to how the Eternal Empire found it!”

“Or they stole it,” Vette grumbled.

“In any case, it’s not exactly some key to unlocking a super weapon, an ancient vault or anything of the sort,” Doctor Drellik continued, “What you do with it is up to you, my lord.”

Altrethir nodded, “I shall figure that out for myself. Thank you for your time – I’ll leave you to your work.”

“Anytime, my lord! If you’ve need for any other artifact inspections, you know who to ask.”

The two Twi’lek took their leave and stepped into the hallway connecting to the main meeting room. Altrethir examined the writing upon the beads, feeling a hint of shame that he couldn’t even read it. For one who wanted nothing else than to free his people, he certainly was ignorant to his own culture.

“Do we have a deal, then? I’ve got about a couple thousand credits I can pay for it,” Vette asked, interrupting his thoughts. Altrethir’s gaze softened and shifted toward her. And slowly, he passed the relic toward the woman. She blinked, “Uh- hang on, I think I’ve got all my money on me.”

“Payment is not necessary. This belongs to you, does it not?”

Vette gave a meek laugh but shook her head, “Good guess, but no. I know who it does belong to and I wanted to return it to them.”

“How kind,” he smiled faintly as she took it.

“I, uh, I wanna say: I was never huge into Sith politics, but I know what you stand for. Or, stood for. Darth Nox, right? You were the only voice of reason on the Dark Council. I never really saw Sith objecting the use of slaves in the Empire.”

“I know what the environment of slavery is like first-hand. I will always condemn the practice.”

“Yeah. I get it, believe me. That’s all to say that I admired you. I guess I still do, considering what all just happened.”

“You flatter me, truly. To be honest, my ears would always pick up on the rumors, the gossip the Council spread about me. Seldom did I receive direct positive feedback. But I never let that deter me from my goal.”

“That’s good, though. You knew you were doing the right thing despite what your peers might’ve told you.”

Altrethir smiled softly and gave her a small pat on her shoulder, “That’s what’s most important. I’ve work to tend to, but this discussion was most pleasant. I hope that we may have another opportunity to talk.”

“Yeah- absolutely,” Vette replied, a bit dumbfounded. She couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her face, “Stay safe out there.”

[omgviolette12]

After Hours- Chapter 14

Previous Chapter

Chapters: 14/?

Words: 2400+

Warnings: None

Tags:  @milkymaidme @dangertoozmanykids101@alexakeyloveloki @little-moonbeam-666  @marvel-ous-fics@clovermariear@lynnesm@bitchyikes@moon-child-of-a-poet, @allthecraftandthings@bubblegumspitt @shockwavee @blondekel77 @nerd–nirvana @valdemarismynonbinarylove@nightrose64 @pastelhexmaniac @iistormii

If you’d like to be added, let me know. I’ve also posted this on AO3

------

Evelyn barely made it halfway down the hall, before she felt Loki’s large hand engulfing her wrist.

Screw him and his long ass legs.

By now the tears had long escaped her eyes, and she’d be damned if she let him see, lest she annoyed him even more.

“Evelyn! Why in the world are you -”

“ - Can I please...just go?” Her face was stubbornly turned away from his, as she attempted to keep her voice steady. But like he so nicely said a few minutes ago, she was easy to read.

"I will not let you go, especially if you're crying like this,"

Evelyn shrugged her hand out of his grip, surprising them both, "... I'm fine! Like you said, I'm too damn expressive. I'll get over it." She said that, but her voice wavered greatly due to tears.

"Please love, follow me back inside. My words were much harsher than intended...I admit that.”

He stepped closer, but she backed away in turn.

“You..you spoke to me like I was fucking slow. Like a child. How was I supposed to know you hated your sister’s fucking guts!”

Her tears flowed freely now, and Evelyn couldn’t help but feel more ashamed. She was always more sensitive than others, so whenever she was reprimanded, yelled at, or scolded in her younger days, tears would immediately follow.

Unfortunately, those feelings had yet to change.

“Evelyn, you are far from slow, and you are not a child. I.. I am sorry. That was not what I meant to imply.”

Loki wasn’t the warmest person in the first place, so he did not know how to comfort others through regular means, not to mention apologizing.

In fact, Evelyn was probably the first person he'd properly apologized to in years.

Simply because in the past he didn't give two shits how his blunt, unfiltered words affected others. If they understood his point, that was all that mattered.

But as a consequence, he caused the woman he cared for to cry.

“You said what you said, okay?” Evelyn sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes, “I’m...I’m just gonna go home. I’ll grade the tests there,” she made her way past him to head back to the office. Loki immediately followed, his voice revealing a hint of frustration, “Please do not be like this,”

“Like what? Childish?” She picked up her bag that was lying on the couch once she reached inside, then gathered the pile of tests neatly into her hands, “I need a folder for these, by the way.”

Loki’s face hardened, “If you’re going to leave without speaking to me properly, then yes, you’re being childish. I apologized for how I phrased my words, but my point still stands.”

“Well... I got your point. But this was what you signed up for. An immature, clumsy mess of a woman. I can't keep secrets for shit, and I'm easy as hell to read. If you thought I'd be anything else...sorry to disappoint.”

Evelyn looked at him with mustered courage, holding out her hand, “A folder, please? Then I'll leave.”

She could see the gears practically working inside his head, as he stared at her outstretched hand with narrowed eyes.

It took a moment. And without warning, he reached out to grab her by the wrist.

Since the action was sudden, the tests she held against her chest with her free arm fluttered to the floor.

Loki pulled her against him, as he stared down into her widened, startled eyes,

“Immature and clumsy, you say?”

He laughed mirthlessly, and the sound of it sent a shiver down Evelyn's spine.

"My darling girl, while I am quite infatuated with you... I will only apologize just once. If you cannot sense my sincerity, then I am at a loss."

She attempted to pull back against his grip, but his hold remained firm, "I am not a gentle man, especially when I am this peeved. So yes, I spoke as if you were incompetent. And no, I will not do so again."

Loki brought his other hand up to her cheek, staring into her tear-filled eyes, "Because seeing you cry like this is discomforting. Any other time, I would have revelled to be the cause of it."

He let her go then. Unsurprisingly, Evelyn backed away immediately. "That's... that's a weird ass way to apologize..."

"Is it really? I've brought you to tears before, but at the time we both enjoyed the reasons why."

Evelyn was still hurt and put off, but she could not help the way her face heated at his suggestive words. She cleared her throat, hoping to bring her mind out the gutter, “...Anyway, the reason you’re so pissed is because of that lady, Hela. What’s the whole deal with that?”

At the mention of his sister’s name, a scornful expression quickly appeared on his face, “Must I explain? I was actually starting to forget about that horrid encounter.”

“Considering you hurt my feelings because of her, I think that’s pretty fair.”

Loki sighed in resignation. He did feel regretful, so it was the least he could do.

“Due to past...issues between us, she despises me, and the feeling is mutual. I am not sure why she came here personally after all this time, but I could only assume it was to make my life difficult. Evidently, I was correct.”

“Oh…” Evelyn chewed at her bottom lip, now feeling worried, “ I didn’t know it was like that...she won’t cause us any trouble, right? Like tell anyone about us, or..?”

“Not necessarily. While she’s certainly curious, I doubt she cares that much at the moment to take action. However...seeing her brought back unpleasant memories, and I imparted my agitation upon you,”

Evelyn did not step away this time when he moved toward her, and allowed him to slowly pull her into an embrace, “ I was worried about what she might have done and said to you if she discovered we were together, as she is still quite vengeful. I truly did not mean to patronize you.”

She listened patiently to his reasoning. Evelyn was clueless as to what kind of history the siblings shared, but it must be particularly bad to have affected his mood this much.

“As long as you know. I’m...I’m just really sensitive, and I hate being talked to like that in general. Especially by you.”

“I know, my dear. I will mind my tone in the future,”

He tightened his hold, kissing the top of her head, “How shall I make it up to you?”

Evelyn pulled away from him slowly, putting a smile on her face as she spoke quietly, “Um, I’ll think about it. But I just need some time to myself right now…”

Her heart dropped when his face transformed into a frown. Loki probably thought she was going to stay with him, but she needed space to evaluate how she currently felt. He apologized and she acknowledged that - but a part of her couldn’t help but still feel unsettled.

Loki fixed his expression immediately, his smile mirroring hers in its falsity, “If that is how you feel, then I won’t force you to stay. I will take you home,”

“Uh...actually, I want to walk home this time. It’s a nice evening out, so…”

Evelyn didn’t feel like riding in his car at the moment, especially with the tension currently between them. Aside from that, the fresh air would do good to clear her thoughts.

However, the look Loki gave her right then almost changed her mind.

Evelyn thought he was going to chastise her once more. But instead, Loki closed his eyes as he spoke in a deceptively calm manner,

“I am not entirely comfortable with you walking by yourself… especially since it has gotten late. But so be it,”

Before Evelyn could even breathe a sigh of relief, her professor interjected once more, “ Since that is the case, I will accompany you on your walk home.”

“What?” Her voice was louder than intended, but that was the last thing she expected him to say.

“Well, I mean, don’t you have work to do? And, like, I’ve walked home alone plenty of times, you don’t need to go out of your way…”

“You are my partner now. While I acknowledge your autonomy and independence, I prioritize your safety above all else.”

She became momentarily speechless, her mouth closing and opening as she tried to gather up another excuse, “Well, I mean, we can’t be seen walking together...and stuff. That might be suspicious right? Especially considering the whole thing with your sister…”

“Walking together is not a filthy act. We will be fine,”

Loki turned around to return to his desk, picking up his jacket from the hanger right next to it. He looked at the tests still strewn about on the floor, then back to Evelyn. “We will grade these...exams another time. With much focus. ”

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

“Do you walk this distance every day?” Loki said after a while, as he walked side by side with Evelyn. Well, they were side by side - but she insisted that they remain a reasonable distance apart from each other, despite the fact that they were no longer on campus.

Evelyn blamed it mostly on paranoia, but she was actually just feeling petty. If someone wronged her in any way, she held onto that resentment for at least a day or more. Even if they apologized.

So Loki accompanied her mostly in silence, as he probably sensed she was still feeling a bit bitter. If he thought that was childish, he made no indication that he thought so.

Evelyn jumped a bit, his voice pulling her from her thoughts, “Uhm...yeah. It’s not that bad, just a half an hour walk.”

“..It is no wonder you were always late for classes. Does your sister not drive?”

“She does...but I just like the scenery. And I’m good at speed-walking.”

At her answer, Loki’s brows furrowed.

While the area where Evelyn lived wasn’t all that bad, it wasn’t good either. The streets were covered in litter, with the odd stench here and there as they passed by the shops and delis. The only good aspect he observed was the abundance of trees since there was a park in the vicinity.

Loki frankly thought it was filthy, but he kept that bit to himself.

“It is...nice. I suppose.”

Evelyn didn’t seem to notice his disdain and only smiled faintly at his answer, “I mean, it could be better. But I try to enjoy the little beauty in things, Y’know?”

Loki remained quiet as she said so, his expression thoughtful at her words.

The rest of the walk continued in silence, and Evelyn only piped up once more when she saw that they reached her apartment.

"Well, we're here…" Evelyn stopped in front of the staircase leading up to the building, turning to face him. The air between them wasn't all that pleasant still, judging from his stiff posture.

There was an awkward silence between them now as they stared at each other, neither unsure of what to do next.

Did she kiss him goodbye now? No, she still felt off. Then a small hug?

While she pondered her options, Evelyn didn't see that her sister had exited the building, humming a tune as she did so.

Candice stopped right in her tracks once she saw the pair below the stairs.

"Uhh...Eve?"

Both Loki and Evelyn’s gazes shot up towards the stairs instantly at the sound of her voice.

“Wait...is this…?” Candice’s finger pointed to Loki, as she looked down at them in astonishment.

Evelyn was frozen, whilst Loki’s expression was rather hard to decipher.

“Is this professor Laufeyson?!” Candice shot down the steps in record time, her body radiating with excitement.

“I...um, yeah..?” Evelyn replied awkwardly, still shaken by Candice’s unexpected intrusion.

Candice didn’t seem to read the awkwardness in the air though, judging by her next words, “Holy crap, so it is? Well damn, he’s even finer in person -“

Before Evelyn could reply in aghast and embarrassment at her sister’s bold words, Loki piped up with confidence, unperturbed. “Candice, correct?” Loki held out his hand for a handshake, which she stared at for a moment before taking it, “ Your sister speaks much about you.”

“Oh does she now?” She quirked a brow in question in Evelyn’s direction, before looking back to Loki, “Well, I hope it was all good! She tells me a lot about you too, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Then I assume Evelyn informed you about us? And please, just Loki is fine.”

Evelyn stood in silence, observing the two as she marinated in nervousness. The tension between her and Loki was already off as is with what happened, and she hoped Candice didn’t worsen it with her choice of words.

“Yeah, I know y’all seeing each other. Wanna come inside actually? I just made some dinner and you can join us. I wanna know more about how y’all met-”

Evelyn’s head whipped towards Candice. What now?

She interjected immediately in alarm at her sister’s chatter, “ I - Candice, hold up would you! Loki’s busy and he has to walk back, you can’t just -“

“If you would have me, then I shall join you.”  He looked towards Evelyn, her mouth still open after stopping mid-sentence, “ That is, if Evelyn is fine with that.”

“Of course she is! Right, Evie?”

Both of them turned to look at her for a response, and she couldn’t help but feel pressured. “I - of course I don’t mind… but weren’t you just about to leave Candice? And Loki...you don’t have to feel obligated to stay or anything,”

“I was just gonna take a lil jog. But nope, changed my mind!”

“I want to stay not out of obligation but to spend more time with you. This is far from bothersome.”

They spoke one after another, backing her into a corner. She had no good reason to argue, so Evelyn couldn’t help but eventually relent.

“I...okay. If it isn’t any trouble to you…”

“Let’s head inside then! I hope you like curry chicken Loki cause that’s all I made,”

“That sounds absolutely delightful,”

And so, Evelyn followed behind them helplessly as they trudged up the steps to her apartment, uncertainty piling inside her gut.

[alysmarylin]

Without Words (Good Omens fanfic)

Crowley entered a bookshop with huge plastic bags in each of his hands. It was rather dark in the shop, and as Crowley had to open the door with his own keys, he knew there was no one except for Aziraphale in there.

- Angel! - Crowley shouted. - I'm home! I bought so much stuff it barely fitted in my car!

Crowley carried the bags to the couch corner in the shop, dropped them there, then aggressively tore his coat off, threw it on one of the couches, and threw himself on the other one.

- Angel! - he shouted once again. - Angel! My back is killing me, please! I can't stand up, seriously, come here!

He lazily took his glasses off and put them on a coffee table. He heard Aziraphale's steps and then realized he forgot to take his boots off - something that Aziraphale specifically told him to do several times - and hastily threw them off and hid under the couch. Within a second, Aziraphale appeared in a doorway. Something about his face seemed off and made Crowley feel a bit wary as if he was displeased about something.

- Angel, - Crowley smiled. - I can barely walk. Shopping malls are the creation of Hell, I told you. But not my doing, it was another demon. Forgot his name. Doesn't matter. - Crowley stretched his arm towards Aziraphale. - Please, come here. I missed you. Come.

Aziraphale walked up to the couch where Crowley was lying. Crowley took his hand and gently kissed it. Aziraphale still looked somewhat uptight.

- It's eight P.M., Crowley. I've already closed the shop. It's dark. - he said with tension in his voice.

- I didn't check up the time, I was hurrying to come back to you. - Crowley said, looking up longingly while pressing Aziraphale's hand to his cheek. - Please, come here. I want to hug you.

- You were hurrying? - Aziraphale's voice sounded a bit annoyed. - Sorry, I couldn't tell you actually were. You told me you'll be back by three o'clock at the latest. You told me we'll have lunch together.

- Ogghhh, please don't tell me you waited for me and didn't have lunch. - Suddenly Crowley sounded worried - Did you? Please tell me you did!

- I did. - Aziraphale answered, letting out some softness in his voice. - I figured you won't come by lunch. I got your voice message.

- You'll have to get yourself a cell phone, angel. I'm more of a texting person, this whole calling and voicemail thing is too much of an effort. - Crowley said, lazily closing his eyes.

- Oh, so now I have to adjust, so you won't make an extra effort? - Aziraphale exclaimed - Make the whole communication process low-maintenance?!

- No, - Crowley said, opening his eyes and leaning forward to sit. - But I have difficulties, you know... With attention. Come on, I've told you that. It's hard for me to focus on many things at once. - Crowley looked up on Aziraphale seriously, now sitting on a couch with his legs crossed. - I'm driving around a lot. I should be less distracted. You told me that yourself. Please, sit with me. I can't stand up, not yet. I mean it. I'm exhausted.

Aziraphale sat on a couch, still looking a bit moody.

- I'm sorry I was so late. - Crowley said, putting his head on Aziraphale's lap. - I haven't done this shopping thing before. On that scale. I thought it was going to take a couple of hours! Who knew it would turn out to be a bloody Odyssey...

- Did you buy everything? - Aziraphale said more gently now, starting to stroke Crowley's hair.

- Every bloo.. single item on the list. - Crowley said wearily and yet happily, closing his eyes. - It was a disaster. What's wrong with all those people, don't they have other places to crowd in... Overpopulation, if you ask me... And yeah, some extra stuff.

- What extra stuff? - Aziraphale asked, trying desperately not to sound too thrilled.

- Well, I bought a sort of... Ehhhmmm - Crowley made his usual grimace when he struggled to remember the name of something - A plug-in waffle iron, or whatever it's called... You can make pancakes, waffles, eggs, you get the idea. I can make breakfast now. Since you don't have a proper kitchen, only a fridge, and a sink, I thought it's just what we need...

- Well, I won't even touch it, Crowley. - Aziraphale said playfully, forgetting he was acting all hurt minutes ago. - If I try to cook, this place will burn down once again.

Crowley opened his eyes and looked at Aziraphale with deep sorrow in his eyes. Aziraphale immediately regretted what he said. 

- I'm sorry, dear. - he said, gently kissing Crowley's forehead. - I won't joke about it again, I'm sorry. 

- Anyway, - Crowley went on. - I bought myself a pajama, a black one, of course. I need to change in it, but not yet, too much effort... - Crowley stretched his arm in the direction of one of the bags. - Please, pull this one. 

Aziraphale dragged the bag, leaning over Crowley. 

- There is a red box on top of everything. Take it, please. - Crowley said, opening his eyes a bit. 

Aziraphale took a small red box out of the bag, untied a thin white ribbon on top of it, and opened it.

- It's not jewelry or anything, but I liked it... -Crowley murmured. - Thought you'd like it too. 

Inside the box, Aziraphale found two little keychains - one in a shape of wings, the other in the shape of a snake.

- Oh, Crowley - Aziraphale said joyfully - I love it. May I take the one with the snake?

Crowley muttered something unintelligible, while smiling gladly.

Aziraphale put the box aside and gently kissed Crowley on the nose. Crowley chuckled silently. 

- So... - Crowley finally said, opening his eyes and raising his hand to stroke Aziraphale's hair. - Am I pardoned? 

- I think you are, Crowley. - Aziraphale said, teasingly - What do you want, then, for your heroic efforts? Should I make some tea?

- Tea, yeah. With brandy. - Crowley smiled broadly. - And yourself. Most importantly, yourself... And some extra pillows, please. 

***

Crowley was drowsing beneath a blanket, as he heard Aziraphale come.

- Uhhhhm, angel - he said, sleepily, barely opening his eyes. - I made myself change to this... 

- Sleeping garment? - Aziraphale asked mockingly while putting a platter with tea on a coffee table.

- Yeah, you can call it that. Come here already, stop torturing me. 

Aziraphale was wearing beige lounge pants and a white T-shirt. He felt warmth run through his chest, as he saw Crowley all tucked in a blanket on a couch. He quietly crawled under the blanket to lie by Crowley's side.

- Finally - Crowley said in a loud whisper, now completely awake, with serpentine eyes wide open, smiling cunningly - You're trapped now. 

- I thought you were asleep - Aziraphale said, bemused by this sudden change. - I heard you snuffle!

- A pitfall - Crowley whispered, grinning, as he nuzzled his nose in Aziraphale's neck, wrapping his arm around his waist.

- Serpent. - Aziraphale said quietly, now grinning himself, as he put his own arm on Crowley's waist. Crowley's answer was a series of happy and glad noises. Somehow Aziraphale knew what he meant.

- I brought you tea. - he whispered in Crowley's ear. -  I made it for you, Crowley, don't you dare make it go cold. I won't have it.

- Good old lovely sweet angelic tea - Crowley muttered, all smiles. - With lovely sweet angelic brandy. I'll drink it all myself. In one take. But it's too hot now. 

- How do you know? - Aziraphale asked, playfully.

- I just dooooo. - Crowley said, mockingly. - It burnt my tongue so badly, it was aching for a month...

- Oh, please. One time and so long...

- I won't risk my tongue, angel. I'm gonna wait. - Crowley raised himself on one elbow. - I can't talk without a tongue. Can't have it burned with your lovely tea, hotter than Hellfire. 

- If you call that "talking", Crowley. - Aziraphale said, raising himself. - The noises you make... 

- Well, then... - Crowley made a sort of mysterious face, smiling broadly and looking him in the eyes. Somehow Aziraphale knew what he meant once again.

- Do you want me to try it for you? - Aziraphale asked.

- And end up in a hospital with second-degree burns? - Crowley said, sitting up and leaning for the teapot. - Naaahhh, won't do. If it's bound to happen, I'll take it upon myself. 

- Do it with style, Crowley. - Aziraphale said with a little smug smile in a corner of his mouth.

Crowley took a sip from a mug and made a loud glad noise.

- I'll take it as " it's good, Aziralhale, thank you "? - Aziraphale said, raising his eyebrows.

- Uhm-huh... - Crowley murmured, swallowing. - I just don't feel any brandy...

- It's there! - Aziraphale exclaimed, fervently.

Crowley took a bottle of brandy and generously added more to his mug.

- Sorry, couldn't feel it. Might've lost the senses after that horrid burn. - Crowley said with mocking seriousness, and started drinking with long gulps.

- Bad for you, then. My senses are just fine - Aziralhale said smugly, as he sat near Crowley. He filled his mug with brandy till the half, then added some tea, and drank it all in one gulp, while Crowley stared at him with amusement. 

- What? - Aziralhale said calmly, turning his head to Crowley. - It was a boring day. 

They looked at each other in the eyes for less than a couple of seconds, before both of them could see no more, kissing hastily and eagerly. But soon enough Crowley pulled away.

- Wait. Let me move the table. - he said

- Oh, please... - Aziralhale started to complain.

- I'm serious, what if it spills on you? - Crowley sat down and pushed the table about a half-foot away.

Aziraphale smiled at him tenderly, being touched with his thoughtfulness. He lied on his back, placing his head comfortably on a pillow. Crowley put a blanket on top of Aziralhale's stomach and slowly put his own body on top of his.

- Still sharp? - he asked quietly, leaning on an elbow and looking in Aziralhale's eyes.

- It's fine now. - Aziraphale smiled. - Come here. I missed you. 

Their kiss was long and tender, as their breath intertwined in one, but after a while, Aziraphale noted that Crowley's breath was a bit ragged and his arm was shaking. He stopped the kiss.

- Are you alright? - he asked, concerned. - You seem very tired.

Crowley muttered something unintelligible once again, as he turned on his side.

- My arms and my back... It was hard today. If you don't mind. 

Aziralhale leaned closer to him, now lying on his side too, and kissed him tenderly, while stroking his cheek. Crowley seemed blissful and relaxed, but he seemed to struggle to keep his eyes open.

- You need to sleep, dear. - Aziraphale said gently.

Crowley pulled him closer, without opening his eyes. 

- Angel - he muttered. - Stay. 

- Moment. 

Aziralhale stood up from the couch to turn the lights off. He then set the alarm clock that Crowley recently bought and placed it on the coffee table, far enough from their mugs. He was walking back cautiosly, fearing he might stumble on one of the bags Crowley brought. When he crawled under the blanket, Crowley's arms immediately wrapped around him. He felt Crowley's breath on his nape and could feel his heartbeat with his back. 

- Have a good sleep, dear. - Aziralhale whispered. Crowley made a glad voice and tightened his embrace. Somehow Aziraphale knew it meant "I love you".

[the-lady-bryan]

because i’m waiting on the water for my pasta to boil, here’s an idea i had for a fic but haven’t worked on it hardly any not for lack of muse. the muse is there. the worldbuilding has been done to death. i just haven’t the time to add it to the mountain of WIPs I’ve already got going.

so here’s the idea.

It’s a Harry Potter/Hermione Granger Soulmate AU.

The least you need to know: involves Lily Potter being a bamf, pagan god worship, god-like Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, reincarnation, future mind/soul into past self style time travel.

also typos. oh god the typos, but i can’t really be bothered to fix them at this time.

This is gonna be broken up into parts so i’m gonna do a different part per reblog till i’m done.

PART 1:  THE PATRONAGE OF A TITAN

When Lily was a young witch - around 13 or so - her best friend Severus introduced her to some old pureblood traditions (which he and his mother did but hid from his father). She was shown how to worship the old pagan gods. To a muggleborn this was at first not well received, but as Lily had learned in the previous three years not everything about her new world was to be taken at face value. So she endeavoured to learn and not be prejudiced. She had lerned that each witch or wizard who practced the old ways had a patron god or goddess to which they prayed. This was, to her, not entirely unlike the idea of patron saints to whom muggles appealed for strength, guidance, or support. And so this is how she approached this new aspect of her magical identity. Even after her parting of the ways with Severus, she continued to learn and had even begun the practice of honoring the old gods - though she had no patron as yet.

On her seventeenth birthday she had ventured into the forbidden forest, feeling an inexplicable pull on her magic. She found herself in a clearing where there was a pond and a small smattering of trees. Despite it being the dead of winter, the clearing was warm and inviting. There was a fire lit, and an old woman sitting before it. She was naked from the waist up, and her skin sagged and her long hair was thin and silver with age.

"Miss Evans, I've been waiting for you."

"Wh- How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"I was once called the Meter Theon. But in Sparta they called me Meter Megale. My brother-husband called me Rhea."

"You're a titan."

"Yes child."

"I thought you'd be bigger."

Rhea laughs at this and invites Lily to join her by the fire. Lily learns from her that Rhea has come forward as her patron, and tells hr that the old ways are dying. That now across the world only the oldest and strongest still remain. "Zeus and his lot were some of the first to go. But stubborn old Hades refuses to give in. Refuses to give up his post and move on like the others." "why?" "What do you know of the tale of Hades and Persephone, child?" And so Lily tells her the myths she learned as a child pre-hogwarts, and of her research. Of the rites she had read about and so on and so forth. "My siblings and I may have been chained in Tartarus, but we could still see. We could still hear. Mother Gaia still whispered to us in our hearts and Father Ouranous still sang strong in our minds. It always brought me great sorrow to see how my son was treated by his siblings. Given no choice but to rule in a place devoid of warmth and love. Forbidden from walking the land with his siblings and taking part in the wonders that was the growing race of men and their curiosity. Over time many believed him cold and incapable of sharing in what they had. The reality was that he felt everything so much more deeply than they. For it was to him all souls would eventually come. Even those of his brothers and his sisters. But there was one who saw in him the goodness. The kindness and the gentleness that had been hidden by the dark." "Persephone." "Yes. As you mortals are so fond of saying, history is written by the victors. And never has it been more true than in the case of my most beloved son and his wife. Persephone was ordered to wed Hermes, whom she loathed with all of her heart. The night before they were to wed, she fled and went to the only place she knew Zeus's omnopotent sight could never penetrate. She went to the underworld begging sanctuary of Hades, who readily gave it to her. In time they grew close, and eventually he allowed himself to open up to her affection. But rumours of Demeter's search for her daughter told them it would be only a matter of time before those on Olympus realized to where she had fled and Persephone, being posessed of imortality and not a mortal soul, could be removed from his realm and there was little he could do about it. Unless she were willing to bind herself to him in marriage - but because it meant she could no longer return to the world above, to the sunshine and the light, he would not force it upon her. She chose to wed Hades, for her love for him was so great that even the thought of being parted from him brought her great pain. They were wed, and he took her to bed as any husband would his wife. And after, she ate of the pommegranate that would seal her fate. Twelve seeds, she needed to consume.... but the gates of the Underworld buckled and gave way under the might of Zeus and his Olympians. Hermes stole Persephone away after she had eaten only six. The bond to her husband only partially fulfilled. Hades was punished by watching Persephone forced to marry Hermes. But rather than marry the brute she attacked him and took up his dagger, plunging it into her own heart.... For the weapons forged in the fires of Hephaestus were so powerful they could kill even a Titan. Denied the pleasure of watching Hades suffer as his wife was married to the suitor Zeus had chosen, Zeus forbade her soul from ever entering the realm of Hades and bound her soul to mortal bones to be reborn again and again. My beloved son still stands watch, though he grows weaker by the year, in the hopes that now his brothers are long since gone, her soul may be able to pass through his gates and she is returned to him."

Lily is given the choice near dawn to accept Rhea, one of the last of the old gods, as her patron goddess or to refuse and seek out another. Lily accepts Rhea, which causes the old woman to smile and gives her an amulet with strange runes upon it.

Lily wakes in her own bed in Gryffindor tower, finding a delicate locket around her neck. Upon closer inspection, the inside has an inscription - the same strange runes from the amulet Rhea had given to her in what she assumed was a dream... Only to realize when she pulls her covers aside that her feet are smudged in dirt as if she'd been walking outside.

Lily learns as much as she can of Rhea in the following years. When she marries James Potter, she insists that they buy a specific type of wine without telling him why. He believes it is her favorite because she tends to keep a bottle in the house "for special occasions". She plants a garden where every plant links back to her patron Titaness in some way or manner. The night of Halloween, after James has gone to sleep rather satisfied after their own "after party" once they'd come home from Sirius's wild Halloween party, Lily went out into her garden in the wee hours and made her offering to Rhea who, once again, appeared to her. This time Rhea was much more ancient in her appearance, much more haggard. But she was still very pleased to see Lily had done as she had promised and continued to worship her. "You are the last of my acolytes, I am afraid. And when you one day pass, so too shall I." Lily professes that won't be the case. That one day she and James will start a family, and she will make sure that her children honor Rhea just as Lily has done - even if they have to do it behind her husband's back (to many Light families, the "old ways" are seen as dark and are thus shunned and forbidden. Otherwise she would have happily included James in her worship of Rhea.) This amuses the Titaness, but she says that no, it is her time. The age of the gods has finally come to an end. But with the passage of the gods, something new must fill the void. Something new must give mankind the comfort and protection once offered by the old gods. "I have a gift for you, my dear child. As my last priestess, I wish to give you something your husband... unfortunately cannot." "What?" "Try as you might, your husband's seed will never swell your belly. But as my last act in this existence, I grant you a boon. Your loyalty and your love have kept me alive longer than my brothers and sisters. Your love has given me more time with my beloved son Hades, and as a mother who has seen all her other children perish before her, this is a gift that can only be matched by one of equal value." Rhea touches Lily's abdomen and Lily feels a warmth flood her starting from there. Rhea visibly weakens as she is doing this, and the brightness in her eyes fades from brilliant emerald to a dull moss. "What have you done to me?" "My body fails me, but my power will remain so long as you live. I have given you the only thing of value to me left. Treat him kindly, my priestess. He has known so much sorrow and so much pain and yet he remains so pure and full of love." Lily, in disbelief, puts a hand to her adbomen. "How... what...." "Word of advice from one mother to another. If your husband tries to eat him, just paint a face on a rock  and shove it down his throat. My only regret was letting Cronus eat Hades instead of Zeus. If i knew then that boy would be such a hatefull jackass like his father, I'd have thrown him into the abyss myself and been done with him. Hera, too. And Poseidon was on pretty thin fucking ice there by the end."

Lily wakes the next morning in her bed with James, and once more her feet are smudged with dirt. This isn't the first time, so she tells James that she woke in the night for some water and wanted to take a stroll in the garden to look at some of her night blooms. The moment she is alone, she casts a charm and finds that she is, indeed, pregnant. After James has gone to work for the day, Lily prepares a special offering and leaves it in the garden tucked in a little altar disguised as a muggle garden decoration. She thanks Rhea for her gift and promises to show him all of the love and affection she possibly can - for both his mothers.

Lily does not see Rhea again, but she can feel her patron's presence from time to time and finds it comforting.

When Harry Potter is born, Lily silently praises Rhea, thanking her again for her gift and for her patronage and protection, and promises to do the best she can to raise the reborn Hades in a way she would hopefully approve.

They go into hiding, and Lily invokes Rhea's power and protection - not for herself, but for the son the Titaness had given her.

The entire day of October 31, 1981 Lily Potter feels powerful. She feels the energies surrounding her and her family intensify and a feeling of dread settles into her gut. She is reminded of the last time she and Rhea spoke face to face. The titaness had said that her body was failing her, and that so long as Lily lived, so too would the power of Rhea. During the day when she set Harry down for a nap, she prayed fervently over the boy, chanting ancient prayers of protection she had learned over the years. James comes upon her, but does not interrupt and instead waits outside Harry's nursery and listens to his wife's chanting. He slips away when she finishes and hurries downstairs. When they are both in the kitchen later, standing side by side at the counter as Lily prepares Harry's after nap snack and James is fixing himself some tea he quietly says, "I know Harry isn't mine." "What? Where the hell is this coming from? I did not cheat on you if that's what you think." "You got pregnant pretty quickly after Sirus's costume party-" "I did not cheat on you." "then who's the father?" "YOU are you dolt! I... Harry was a blessing! A gift to us for my unfaltering devotion o a dying goddess!" "you're mad." "Call me what you want, James. But I tell you if you were to pull an inheritence test on him right now you'll see he's your son. The night Harry was conceived we had just made love and she came to me and blessed me with our son. Go upstairs and look at him, James. He looks just like you, but with his mother's eyes. That's no glamour. That's no illusion or spell or-" "I know it's dark. I know it's illegal. I saw you chanting over him like some madwoman." "It was a protection chant James! In case you've forgotten we've got a madman after us who wants to kill our son because some drunken blithering idiot said so!"

The the argue a bit more and Lily storms out of the kitchen. After Harry wakes up, James realizes he's been an idiot after watching Lily playing with Harry and goes to apologize. Lily's annoyed with him, but forgives him with a "Besides, you know the wards on this place would have kicked him right out if he wasn't really a Potter you dunderhead."

That night Voldemort attacks, just as in canon. Lily is wearing her special locket that was given to her from Rhea when she accepted the Titaness as her patron. When Lily died, the remnants of Rhea's power was called forth and protected Harry in response to the muggleborn priestess's willing self sacrifice. But it was not enough to stop the horcrux that was drawn to the reincarnation of the god of the dead.

[missfaber]

author interview

I was tagged by @orangeflavoryawp, thank you so much! 

I already know I’m going to enjoy this way too much, writing is such a lonely endeavor and I just love talking about it, sooo... I apologize in advance for rambling. 

name: Madeline/Maddie 

fandoms: this is complicated because there’s fandoms I very much consider myself a part of because they’re just a huge part of my life, even though I don’t contribute content to them, and then there’s fandoms I do create content for. So idk where the line is drawn! 

fandoms I contribute/ have contributed to: Avatar the Last Airbender, Game of Thrones, Merlin BBC, Once Upon a Time, Legend of Korra

fandoms I haven’t contributed to but are so dear to me: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings (my two favorite things ironically lol), and lots more 

where you post: AO3, used to be ff.net and livejournal too

most popular one shot: by kudos, it’s as if death itself was undone (zutara, atla: katara wakes up to azula in their house and wants to find out a) why she is welcome b) why zuko is acting so weird) 

most popular multichapter: by kudos, it’s soldier, go bravely on (jonsa + gendrya, got, complete, rewrite of the last episode of got with sweetness and angst and action, and may i say some common sense?)

favorite story you wrote: fuck omg this is difficult lol! because I both criticize and love all my stories in equal measure, I honestly don’t write anything that i don’t love, that doesn’t give me butterflies / actual chest pain (from angst). I feel like I’m being asked to choose a favorite child lol. so I’ll try to justify these picks somehow... 

closest to my heart: soldier, go bravely on (also mentioned above). this is the fic that brought me back to writing fic, and to tumblr even! I was on hiatus (that I didn’t know was a hiatus because I had no intention of coming back) for six years before writing this fic. I wrote it so quickly after the got finale, it was such a passionate and fevered few days and it just sucked me back in to everything I used to love as a teenager. It was also a nice stretch out of my comfort zone, because of the dialogue (which was so tightly planned it’s ridiculous, I wrote the whole fic as a screenplay type thing first to make sure there wasn’t a single dialogue word not needed) and tv-episode style. It’s also such a wish-fulfillment fic that I can’t read certain parts without getting a bit teary. for all those reasons and more, this fic will always be so special to me. 

most proud of: wolf, circle north (jonsa, got, alternate season 7 & 8). this is the longest fic I’ve ever attempted and the number I’ve hours I’ve sunk into it is astounding and i should be ashamed.  It’s going to be obscenely long (my outline is 70+ chapters) and when I pull it off, best believe it’s going into a bound book so I can look at how thicc it is and be like, “I did that!” lol. The range of POVs is one of the most challenging but most rewarding part of this fic, and why I’m so proud of it. This is another wish-fulfillment fic for me, not just because it’s another fix-it fic but because I have been writing bits and pieces of this fic for about three years. I kept thinking of jonsa scenarios and little scenes I would have loved to see after season 6 and writing them in a little secret doc, just for me, as I never thought I’d write fic again. After writing “soldier” i had already broken my hiatus and I realized this fic was an actual possibility, so I put it out into the world. I couldn’t be more happy that I did that. Not only did it give me the chance to be in such an excellent, lovely fandom, but the feedback I get is so validating after having this be my secret little project for so long.  

most formative: Coffee & Cigarettes, (merthur, merlin bbc) I’m ashamed to list this and the merthurs reading this 100% want to kill me for having the audacity because it’s incomplete and hasn’t been updated since 2013 when there’s only one chapter left so what’s my excuse?  I call this the most formative for me because until I published this I didn’t really have a fic that people followed and liked, eagerly awaited updates for, and commented regularly on. I was writing a lot of one-shots and atla stuff on tumblr (I used to RP lmao I was like 15 ok?) This was the first time I experienced so many fic-life things, like being excited to get AO3 emails, etc. This was the first time I started to really focus on character which is so important to me now, my writing is completely character driven. Not to mention Merlin and Arthur’s dumbassery and sheer attraction and denial is just... *chef’s kiss* 

guiltiest pleasure: my recent foray into nedsei, who am I??? one more word and you won’t survive, just international hate sex

story you were most nervous to post: ummm idk I’m usually excited not nervous, since for me fic writing is just fun, I write things I’d enjoy reading and that I’m proud of. I read my own fics more than anyone else does, I guarantee it. am I a narcissist? who knows I guess I’ll say “soldier” again because I hadn’t posted fic in six years.

how you choose your titles: wow the hardest part of fic writing for me!!!!! thanks!!!!! lol. Okay so for my work titles, which are always terrible and I literally regret them immediately after posting, it’s usually just some words I play around with and string together that are somewhat thematic and related to the work... they’re always terrible lmao, I hate making titles. I mean, look at “soldier, go bravely on” and “wolf, circle north” for god’s sake, I hate them lmao. But I have to pick a title to post, so!!! For chapter titles and one-shots I’ll usually go with a song lyric, and especially for my chapter titles I spend so long seeking out the perfect one that reflects some thematic or emotional content of the chapter somehow. I’m very proud of my chapter titles for wolf, circle north. I have a doc on my scrivener just for chapter titles that I created in the very early stages of writing it, where I just dumped HUNDREDS of song lyrics that I thought I might use. Then by them I wrote some scenarios where they could work. here’s a screenshot:

It’s so helpful now. Sometimes posting an update will take an hour more than necessary because of me going through that doc, finding the perfect lyric. 

do you outline: OH, DO I OUTLINE... Hell Yeah, I outline. I couldn’t live without outlining. I love outlining. My outlines have outlines. I’m a planner centric, calendar centric, bullet-journal bitch so of course I love outlining. In all seriousness though: I write out of chronological order. I feel my writing is best when I write the scene I’m in the mood to write- unfortunately this scene could be ten chapters down the line from the chapter I’m gonna post next. This is the biggest reason outlining is necessary for me. If I didn’t have an outline, my story would be a non-post-able mess. 

I wasn’t kidding when I said my outlines have outlines. For wolf, circle north I have, um, a few. Character/location centric outlines where I bullet every scene that needs to happen for that plot to happen cohesively (these were all more or less completed before I even started writing the fic), then a “loose” outline that I copy everything from the other outlines into for some semblance of chronological order, then a Polished Final Outline that I write from. I know that sounds psychotic. It’s how my brain works. Some photo evidence/explanation:

And here’s a screengrab of my Final Outline, this is pretty much how it is all the way down- The POV character is italicized in the front, I talk to myself a lot in there, let myself get carried away, will sometimes write out whole segments of the scene if they come to me while outlining. Spoilers for chapters 1-3 of w,cn I guess!!!

Then, because scrivener is awesome, I get to see this outline in the corkboard view (I input every scene as a card) and so I get to see every part of my outline as a Synopsis on the right hand side of the doc where I’m writing the scene:

The POV and status tags (which are completely customizable) on the lower right are helpful too. This post is just a scrivener ad. 

complete: 9 works 

in progress: 4 works

coming soon / not yet started: I have so many fics in the works, I’m an indulgent person so if an idea comes to me I usually go with it for a time. I’ve had a very not-serious Jonsa PLL AU I’ve been writing on and off since summer. I have three different fairytale AUs (also jonsas) I’ve been working on and one time travel AU for @sunbeamsandmoonrays. I can’t say when or if any of these will see the light of day, because my priority is my WIPs and my original writing. But the most prevalent are my Halloween fics (one jonsa, one gendrya, one merthur) which I really want to be able to put out this month, but only if I meet some other goals. I’m trying to rein in my indulgent ass, ya’ll. 

do you accept prompts: no. sorry! but I do workshop ideas with friends, for example the nedsei fic happened that way by talking with @flibbertigiblet. But I don’t take writing prompts in my inbox. 

upcoming story you are most excited to write: my halloween merthur fic. it’s witchy, sassy, and I’m so excited to get back into the heads of these characters.

Tagging! @uchihabat @anniebibananie @noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth @sailorshadzter @vivilove-jonsa and any other lovely writer soul who wants to do this!

[hoodie-lover]

In Love

The sun was shining bright, and the wind blew in the autumn trees. Two young children were playing in the woods, both monsters. Though they were of nobility, they dressed in simple clothes and played childish games under the bright yellow sun. A young boy with a tuft of golden hair on his head and small horns no longer than a quarter, in contrast to his white coat was the prince of monsterkind, Asgore. His playmate was his betrothed and best friend, Toriel. She had fur as white as snow and a smile for the history books. Sparks flew as the two young kids ran through the woods, throwing light as they raced. 

“You’ll never catch me!” Asgore screamed as he aimed a small red trident at his friend. 

“Oh dear! A fork! However will I defend myself?” Toriel said as she jumped over the small projectile and sent a fireball straight into Asgore’s regretful face, knocking him down. 

“Are you OK?!” She cried out as she ran to her soon to be husband, only to be grabbed and dragged to the ground. 

“A measly fireball cannot harm the future King of all Monsters! Foolish girl!” Asgore declared, placing a foot on Toriel’s back and summoning a trident. 

“Correct. But can the future king defend against this?” Toriel asked as she donned a smirk and got up, knocking Asgore down. 

Toriel began to run faster as she got closer to the finish line. Asgore growled as he bolted after her, letting small flames from his hands and feet propel him forward. 

“Awesome!” Toriel said as he looked at Asgore when he caught up to her.

“Awesome enough to win?” Asgore said, winking and Toriel scoffed. 

“As if!” And she picked up speed, much to Asgore’s, who was going as fast as he could, dismay. 

When the towers of the castle came into view, Toriel kept on going. Gerson only won because the rabbit was lazy. And Toriel was the future queen, she could not be lazy. The guards tried to grab her, but she was slippery and with her tongue out, she once again beat her husband-to-be at a footrace. 

“0 to 52! I once again am the superior runner!” Toriel bragged as Asgore flew directly into a wall and crushed his nose. 

“Prince Asgore!” A stern voice came out from the balcony overseeing the outside area. 

“Yes Mom?” Asgore said as he stood at attention as the Queen of Monsters came out and looked at her son. 

“I assume you lost to Toriel again.” She said, and Asgore hung his head as he nodded. 

“The day you beat her is the day I step down. That was the promise, and it seems at this rate I will be on the throne for the rest of my life.” She said as he ruffled her son’s hair and gave a small chuckle. 

“I hope he does beat me. If he’s gonna rule, he will need you or else all of monsterkind will fall.” Toriel said as he hugged the queen. 

“I do hope my heir will not be the last. What shame would be brought upon my legacy if my child ended us all.” She said. 

“Where’s Dad?” Asgore asked and his mother sighed. 

“Another meeting with the human mages. Several kingdoms are having a famine and he’s trying to see how much food we can spare.” She said and Asgore gasped. 

“How bad are they?” He asked and the queen sighed as she led the two children inside the stone castle. 

“Winter may wipe the kingdoms out for good.” She said and Asgore gasped. 

“Is there any way we can make winter less severe? So they can grow crops through the winter?” Asgore asked. 

“Without grave consequences? No.” She said as she sighed and smiled. “Our last harvest was plentiful though, every inch of the kingdom was overflowing with food. We can surely spare some.” She said as she kissed her son’s forehead. “Now off to your room. Your tutor is waiting.” She said as Asgore sighed. 

“Fine!” He said as he walked off, leaving the queen and Toriel alone. 

“Did he show you anything cool?” The queen asked and Toriel’s face lit up. 

“He propelled himself forward by shooting fire out of his hands and feet! It was so cool! I have to ask him to teach me! It was so awesome!” Toriel said. 

“He learned it from his father. If you want to get the good stuff you need to learn from him.” The queen said. 

“I can’t wait until he’s back.” Toriel exclaimed.

“I can’t either. Though you may have to wait until next weekend if your parents show up first.” The queen said and Toriel gasped. 

“Can’t I stay the night? Please!” She begged and the queen sighed with a warm smile. 

“No my dear child. You will be needed at your parents’ estate. I know it can be so boring there without a spark of joy, and we already have one here.” She said as she led Toriel to her guest room. “Do wait until your parents arrive, I have some new books from the library to pass the time.” The queen said and shut the door. 

Toriel sighed as he looked out the window, and saw a carriage pull in. She was originally distraught at the sight, but her sadness turned into joy when she saw Asgore’s dad, but joy was replaced with fear when she was his missing horn, and the cloud of dust flying off of him. Tears formed as she ran out of the room and to the courtyard. But all she saw were panicking guards and a pile of the king’s clothes laying around dust. 

Resisting the urge to scream she ran back in and saw a crying Asgore. 

“Asgore, I-” She said but the queen silenced her. 

“You two, go to Asgore’s room. Wait there until I come and get you.” She said as the two kids ran to Asgore’s room. 

“I’m so sorry Asgore.” Toriel said as he shut the door with a click. 

“I’ll kill them all.” Asgore said as he looked at Toriel with the fur on his face wet. 

“We can’t. They’re much stronger than us and we don’t know if he was murdered or not. What if the mages were also killed? What if someone wants war? We can’t make these rash choices.” She said as she grabbed his hands and let out a sob. 

“Ok...” Asgore said as he sobbed with Toriel. 

Years later, after the queen was slain in battle, and monsterkind was driven into the mountain, Asgore was crowned king. He stood by his wife and stood before monsterkind. 

“Do not fear and do not fret. I have the best royal scientists working on breaking the barrier. But for now, I will be providing shelter and food to everyone, so please, take what you need.” Asgore said, walking inside with his wife. 

“‘Gorey, we’ll be ok. Everyone is safe, for now and we can explore more of the cave as we go. We will return to the surface, we just have to stick together.” Toriel said.

“The legend makes sense. An angel who has seen the surface will return, and the Underground will go empty. We will be free.” Asgore said as he gave his wife a hug. 

When Chara and Asriel died, Asgore was infuriated. His father, then his mother, then his children. He had lost almost everything, and he was sick of it. Looking back, he did regret his declaration of war on humanity, but he would keep his word. Anger and grief burned in him as bright as his flames and he would make them all pay. 

“Asgore! Why did you do that?! These are Chara’s people! We cannot fight them! You have to take it back!” Toriel screamed at him, tears stinging her eyes. 

“Look around you! We have lost almost everything because of them! Our proof of a possibility of peace was literally killed and died right before our eyes! How can you not want justice?!” Asgore screamed and Toriel stood her ground. 

“I grieve over them just as much as you! But I will not throw our chance at peace away! How can you deny our people the chance to enter a world of peace because of your own clouded judgement?!” Toriel demanded, the arguing went on for hours, neither budging from their view point. 

The barrier was now broken. The sun was hitting Asgore and Toriel’s fur for the first time in years. Last time they saw the sun, they were a happy couple deeply in love running for their lives. Now they were divorced and their relationship was strained. 

“It seems you were right as usual Toriel.” Asgore said. Hanging his head. 

“I was in the wrong to leave.” Toriel said as she looked at him. 

“So we were both wrong then.” Asgore said as he held his hand out and let an autumn leaf fall on his large hand. 

“It seems we were.” She said as the soft wind blew in her fur. “ What was the score again?” She asked, smiling at the memory. 

“0 to 689 I believe. Or was it 690?” Asgore said as he chuckled. 

“Let’s see if we can make it 691.” She said as she stretched her arms. 

“We’ll see.” Asgore said as he chased after his former wife, who was already fading from sight. “I still love you.” Asgore whispered as his feet hit the ground. 

[psychosistr]

Second Chances & Bloody Nights- Jonawagon Vampire!AU Chapter 5

Summary: Jonathan, plagued by grief and regret, mourns Speedwagon’s death. However, something approaches him with the intention of interrupting his depression.

Jonathan was curled in on himself, sobbing as grief and pain overflowed within him. He was still lost in that void of red- everywhere he looked, all he saw was the color red. Occasionally he would see vague shapes within the redness, but this burning anger- an anger the likes of which he had never felt before, not even towards Dio for all that he’d done- it would drive him to destroy anything he came in contact with, wishing to make SOMETHING hurt as he himself had. He’d seen things moving within the void every now and then, as well, so he took out his anger, as well as his hunger, on them to sate himself.

‘But..what is the point..?’ Jonathan thought bitterly to himself. ‘The only reason I decided to keep living was to be with Speedwagon..and now..now..he’s..gone..’ A fresh wave of sobs tore from Jonathan’s throat as he gripped the picture in his arms tighter- the lone image of himself and Speedwagon, along with a few of his suits and his old hat, were the only things that Jonathan could clearly see within the void. ‘He’s gone..and..and I never even got a chance to tell him I loved him..god, all of the wasted time..I was such a fool..if..if only I had realized it sooner..if only I had gone WITH him..if..if only..he were still here..’ He allowed himself to wail and sob and curl in on himself even tighter, clutching the framed picture like a life line. ‘Speedwagon! I’m so sorry! I-I never told you how much you meant to me! Damn it all, there’s so much I never got to tell you!’

Through the sound of his own sobbing, Jonathan heard something. It sounded like a voice, but he couldn’t recognize it through the ringing in his own ears. “!!” He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a blurred figure moving closer to him. He held the picture to himself protectively, not wanting anything to happen to it. He let out a low sound, something dark and feral that rose from deep within him since he didn’t feel like talking. “…….”

Instead of being frightened off, though, the shape moved closer and spoke again. “Jo…n…s m…Speedwagon…” He picked up bits and pieces of words, the last one coming through clearly.

“Sp..eed..wa..gon…” He managed to say the name through his clenched teeth. Finally saying it aloud, though, only brought another wave of despair and pain that made Jonathan sob again. He looked down at the picture in his arms and could still clearly see that bright smile- could still remember that cheerful laugh- and it only made him angry to hear this being mention his beloved’s name. “Speed..wagon..’s…dead…” He felt the angered snarl forming, the red around him pulsing as the rage began to consume him.

Apparently this being cared not for its own safety, as it moved closer to the enraged vampire. It continued to speak, but Jonathan could no longer hear the words. All he wanted was for the thing to be quiet so he could go back to grieving his dear Speedwagon in peace. Whatever it was did not seem too keen on letting him do as he wished, though, so Jonathan decided to take matters into his own hands.

Moving with blinding speed, Jonathan was up and on his feet in a flash. “Be..silent..” He grabbed the thing by what felt like its neck and squeezed, lifting it into the air. Guided by instinct, two of his fingers sank into the flesh and began drawing blood from the struggling creature in his grasp. He did not truly want to eat, as it would merely prolong his life and further his grief, but it would be the easiest way to make this creature leave him alone.

‘Alone..that’s right..I will still be alone after this..’ He thought sadly, fresh tears welling up in his eyes and spilling over. ‘Alone..forever..without..Speedwagon..’

That thought hurt greatly. God, how he wished he could see Speedwagon’s face one last time..to simply hear his voice again..

Even the warm blood of this creature could not heal his pain. Something about that warmth, though..it felt..almost familiar…

He felt something brush against his face. Jonathan expected an attack or more struggling, but, instead, the touch was gentle, almost tender. It was warm and caring, the touch wiping away his tears as if it was concerned for him. Then, he heard it speak again. It was weak and faint, as if it was coming from far away, but he heard it: “Jo..jo…”

That voice…Jonathan knew it from somewhere, but where?

And the blood he was consuming…it was so familiar, had he had it before?

Then there was that touch…it was so warm and gentle, more familiar than the blood he was feasting upon, but to whom did it belong?

He distantly heard the voice continue speaking, his mind slowly gaining more clarity as the blood he ate steadily eased the red out of his vision from the edges inward. “S’okay..Jojo..don’..cry…Jon..a…than…” That voice..it couldn’t be..!

Jonathan didn’t want to believe it..he didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them dashed to pieces..but that voice..this familiar blood..that warm, kind touch upon his cheek..it had to be..!

As the red void finished disappearing, there, right in front of his eyes, was Speedwagon’s face! Jonathan stared in shock, unable to believe it, but it was real!

His eyes took in every detail: Speedwagon’s messy mane of blond hair. The scar that defined his handsome face. The warm, caring smile on his lips. The soft look in his eyes that seemed almost…pained? Wait, why did his skin look so pale? And why did he seem so short of brea-

Jonathan’s eyes widened in alarm as he saw a hand violently clutching Speedwagon’s neck- HIS hand, he realized in a panic. “Ah! Speedwagon!!” He quickly released the other man’s neck, though he fumbled to catch him instead when doing so nearly caused him to fall to the ground. “I-I am so terribly sorry! Oh god, what have I done?! I-I thought you were, goodness, I don’t even know what I thought- I couldn’t see you! I just-” He rambled as he urgently tried to stop the bleeding around Speedwagon’s neck, desperate to not lose him again.

Speedwagon gave a tired, raspy chuckle, his voice clearly strained from the pressure that was previously placed on his throat. “It’s okay, Jojo..I know..wasn’..you..” He closed his eyes and held a hand to his head, apparently dizzy and a bit disoriented from what he’d just endured.

Jonathan carefully maneuvered Speedwagon over to the bed, realizing how hard it must be for the other man to stand in such a condition. “Here, move slowly..” He sat with Speedwagon on the bed, holding the smaller man close to his chest- Speedwagon turned away with his back pressed to Jonathan’s chest while being seated in Jonathan’s lap- to both provide stabilization for Speedwagon as well as comfort and reassurance for himself. He still couldn’t believe it- Speedwagon was ALIVE! “Speedwagon..” He held the other man in a tight embrace, burying his head in the soft locks of golden hair. Part of him was still scared that this would all turn out to be some sort of cruel dream; that any minute he’d wake up in that red void again, left with nothing but remnants of the man he cared for most. “I still can’t believe it..you’re actually here..when I thought you were dead, I just..I lost myself..it was like..like..” He couldn’t find the words, but apparently Speedwagon could.

“Like everythin’ else no longer mattered and y’ just wanted t’ wallow in your grief?” At the surprised gasp from Jonathan, Speedwagon chuckled, clearly pleased that he’d hit the nail on the head. “Now y’ know what I went through when YOU died, mate..” He sighed and leaned his head back, fully relaxing his weight into Jonathan’s embrace.

Jonathan took a while to fully process those words, flashbacks of the night he returned and the conversation following it a few days later playing in his mind…

Speedwagon stared up at him with wide eyes, his hands shaking so badly that he dropped the knife he’d been clutching a moment ago. “J…Jonathan…?” He reached up with his trembling hands and placed them on the sides of Jonathan’s face, apparently needing to feel the flesh and muscle and bone to confirm that this wasn’t just a hallucination. “Jojo…h-how..? I…we all thought…you were…”

“Dead?” Jonathan finished with a soft but sad smile.

Jonathan was now feeling that same desire to physically touch Speedwagon, to make sure he was REAL and not just some figment of his grief stricken mind…

Speedwagon’s breath caught in his throat and he looked horrified by a dawning realization. “Good..Goodbye…? Jonathan..what..what are ya sayin’..?” He grabbed onto Jonathan’s shoulders desperately, looking at him with terrified eyes. “Ya can’t be serious, Jonathan! You’re ALIVE! Why would ya want t-?!”

A stabbing pang of guilt filled Jonathan’s chest. He had put Speedwagon through this pain once already and had been prepared to inflict it again without even realizing how badly it truly hurt the other…

“Jonathan Joestar! Look at me, damn you!!” Speedwagon shouted at Jonathan as he prepared to pull his hood back up at the door.

Jonathan did as Speedwagon asked after a moment’s hesitation, preparing to say something but it died in his throat almost instantly. “?!” He saw Speedwagon standing by the sofa, the knife he’d drawn earlier now clutched tightly in a white knuckled grip and held against the left side of his own throat. Jonathan’s eyes widened at the sight, a look of fear and confusion placing itself firmly upon his face. “Speedwagon?! What are you doing?! Don’t-!”

“Shut the hell up, damn it!” Speedwagon spat at him, a toxic mixture of rage, sorrow, and desperation giving his voice the power to make Jonathan flinch back as if struck physically. Speedwagon stared him down hard, his eyes set in a firm glare even as tears flowed freely down his face. “If y’ think I’m just gonna sit ‘ere an’ let y’ walk out that door t’ go kill y’rself, ya’ve got another thing comin’, ya daft bastard!!” His free hand was clenched into a fist at his side, trembling with anger and so many other dark and painful emotions that were showing in those red-rimmed eyes.“I already lost ya twice! I ain’t ‘bout t’ lose y’ again!” Speedwagon began to press the knife into his flesh, hissing slightly from the sting as it drew blood to the surface but refusing to look away from Jonathan.

Jonathan had been slightly confused by that line, and still was. What did Speedwagon mean by “lost you twice”? Jonathan had only died once before then, so what was the true implication of that statement?

“You were dead and I..I was never gonna see y’ again..never get a chance t’ drink with y’ again..never get t’ jus’ sit an’ talk the night away again..” He brought a hand up and covered his eyes, his shoulders shaking with the tears and sobs he was clearly fighting back. “God, so many things I knew I’d never get the chance t’ say to ya…”

Jonathan’s eyes snapped open as a realization dawned on him. Those words- “So many things I knew I’d never get the chance to say to you”- that was how he himself had felt earlier. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but, maybe, just maybe, the words Speedwagon wanted to say to him were along the same lines of what he himself wished to say.

“Jonathan..?” Speedwagon’s tired voice broke through Jonathan’s thoughts, a concerned tone clear even though HE was the injured one. “Everythin’ alright? Not complainin’, mind you, but you’re clingin’ awful tight to me ribs.” He chuckled lightly and patted Jonathan’s arms that were still wound firmly around his waist.

“Huh? O-Oh! Sorry..” He loosened his grip and lifted his head to look down at the blond, giving Speedwagon’s bruised midsection a few gentle strokes in apology. “I was simply processing a few things.”

“Penny for your thoughts?” Speedwagon prompted patiently.

Jonathan was so tempted to talk to him about it now- to simply come out and ask him how he felt about Jonathan here and now- but the moment didn’t feel quite right after everything that had just transpired. “Not now. After we’ve both had a chance to rest, though, there is something I wish to discuss with you.” He pressed his forehead to the back of Speedwagon’s own head, taking in everything about the man- his warmth, his smell, the soft feeling of his skin and his hair. “For now, though..would you mind laying with me for a bit? I know it’s a bit of an odd request..but..” His arms shook slightly as he clung to Speedwagon, careful not to bruise him again. “I..simply need to feel you here beside me..please..”

Speedwagon smiled softly. Jonathan couldn’t see it, but he could feel it through the other’s voice and the way his heart was beating against his chest. “ ‘course, Jojo. Anythin’ y’ need. Just let me give Tatty an’ Kempo the OK t’ go ‘ome.”

Jonathan nodded and reluctantly let Speedwagon go so he could do just that. As he watched him walk away, Jonathan made a decision, his conviction firmly set. ‘I will not leave him again. I will not allow either of us to live on or die with regrets. I will tell him how I feel, whether he feels the same way or not, and hope for the best. But, no matter what, I will not leave Speedwagon’s side ever again.’

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter->

-From the Beginning-

[bolbianddolanhouse]

BNHA AU [self insert]

Nani the heck is this? read here!

Chapter 1: *plays Joji’s Yeah Right*

“...and heres your living quarters, fully furnished and with groceries that’ll last a while” said my case worker as I meekly followed next to them.

“thank you! its really nice.” I said, trying to not sound sad.

“I know its tough being young and by yourself, but I believe in you Miss Palma! Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have questions or need other arrangments.”

“thank you for your kind words, I’ll keep that in mind” I said as politely as I could because I knew I wasn’t going to call them for shit. “Ill get my luggage out of my car, its not much so I’ll be fine if you need to leave”

“oh alright, Ill leave you to settling in and remember that a UA staff will be coming by with your uniforms tomorrow in the afternoon.”

oh jeez I forgot about that, not looking forward to get fat shamed in this country, let alone by a school staff. “oh right! it almost slipped my mind that here you wear uniforms in high school! hehe thank you for the reminder!”

“no problem! Bye bye”

oof! I was getting tired of pretending to be polite to that case worker. The past 3 months has been tough with the whole being sent away from my family and finding a school with nearby housing. At least I can sleep well without thinking where I’ll end up next. I unpack my 3 suitcases of clothes, personal belongings, cosmetics and other nessities. I take out my framed photo of my family and place it on my bed stand, I miss them and the doggos. I try not to cry and continue to put my things away. I made myself dinner, took a bath and laid in bed; and I’m thinking if I should call my parents to tell them I got settled. I checked the time, it was 4am their time, I sent a text instead. 

[Hola mama y papa! ya estoy en mi apartamento, es muy lindo. Llama me cuando puedas, te extrano mucho y tambien a los doggos!]

I haven’t talked to my parents in a week because of the whole phone arrangement and being too busy with the entrance exam. Now I guess I’ll sleep and do some school supply shopping after meeting with the staff member.

-the next day-

Its saturday and its gloomy out and I wake up thinking, great! even the sky knows its going to be a rough day today! I get dressed, eat and gluzzle down my daily 2 cups of coffee. I scroll through my private social media handles to check on my friends, looks like they’re having fun, without me. I suck in the tears because I know DAMN well they’re sad I’m gone too. I distract myself with memes and I think maybe I should make some tea? and some cookies too? do i even have tea? I go through the cupboads and pantry, the case worker wasn’t kidding when they said that I had groceries that’ll last a while! I had 2 different types of tea, dry pastas, canned goods, snacks and some traditional ingredients for japanese and mexican cusine. I go searching for a kettle or teapot and I find a juicer in the way back of the top cupboard. There was a note on the juicer that said ‘to the next tenant, my wife didn’t want to take this big, messy thing to our next place, hope you find use out of this!’ I laugh at the idea that there was probably a lovers quarral over the juicer. I make tea and some green juice, just so I can get rid of the bundle of kale in the fridge, I hate kale. I make some cookies too but its just so I can get my mind off things since I was so nervous on meeting this staff member. Right on the dot, at 3pm, theres a knock at my door. I look through the peep hole and I see this woman with blue eyes and dark purple-ish, black hair in busniess causal attire. I open the door and put on my best ‘everything is ok’ face.

“hello! are you Miss Palma?”

“yes I am! are you the UA staff member with the uniforms?”

“I am! its so nice to meet you, I am Kayama sensei or better know as Midnight”

“Midnight? Ok um, would you like to come inside?”

“oh yes, thank you! Now I understand that you live alone?” she said as she walked in to the apartment.

“yes thats correct, I got here yesterday and settled in”

“oh wow, and at such a young age! Well If you need anything or need to talk about anything thats bothering you, please let me know! This whole you being separated from family and home worries me” She said in the most sincer tone that I almost started crying. I haven’t heard single person talk to me so genuinely since I left America and I need a trusted adult to help me, I heavily considered her offer.

“oh thank you for your offer, I might need some help in a few weeks BUT for now, may I offer you some tea? coffee? green juice? maybe some cookies?”

“green? juice? whats in it? I’ve never heard of green juice before”

“oh right! its a California health culture thing. Its the juice of pinapple, apple, kale, lemon and cucumber. The combination of the fruits and vegetables is for a healthy disgestive system and energy for before or after exersize”

“that sounds tasty! Ill have green juice please”

I serve her the juice and sit across from her in the living room. I see the clothing bags and think that thats alot of clothing bags just to give me 3 sets of uniforms. She drinks the juice and wanted to say something about my expression when I saw the bags but her eyes widened and she looked at the cup of juice.

“OH MY GOODNESS! this is the best and freshest juice I’ve ever had NO JOKE! You said this is a thing where you’re from? I need to invest in a juicer to make this at home!” she said so shocked and I was surprised to recieve the praise like I invented the juice.

“I’m glad you like it! Its like a little slice of my hometown to me to you” 

“oh? ok back to business! I see you eyeing the uniforms, you want to try them on? I brought some sizes up and down from the given mesurements.”

“um ok sure! Let me take these to try on in my room, ill be right out”

I take the bags to my room and I zip them open and I see the white collared shirts, gray blazer looking thing and skirts. I think oh jeez my ass is definately not gonna fit in these bitches. I put on the shirt and blazer that best fit and lastly the skirt, SUPRIZE! you can see my ass cheeks hanging out from the bottom. I walk out of the room to Midnight.

“ok so I found a shirt and top that fits well on me BUT the skirt...” and I turn around and show her my exposed ass cheeks peeking underneath.

“oh dear, thats definately not in regulation! Ok so you need a longer skirt? like... another 6 inches?” she said as she takes out a measuring tape from her purse.

“um yea, if thats doable”

“it is but we won’t have that ready until the 1st day of classes, so I guess for now, try on the pants and see if any of those fit”

Great. I’m going into a new school, misgendered and foreign passing. 2 of the pants in the clothes bag fit well....too well. We said our good byes and I had at least 2 sets of uniforms ready until I get a proper pair. No matter, at least my ass won’t be hanging out at school. I go school supply shopping and came upon the holy grail of stationary, SCENTED PAPER AND GLITTER PENS. Of course in the pastel rainbow colors and matching lead pencils. I get a whole matching set along with a backpack, water bottle and coffee tumbler. I was going to soon regret that matching set (more on that later) but I was just SO happy that I was pink, pretty and sparkly. 

-Fast forward to the 1st day-

I was in a much better mood because the sun was out, the coffee smelled particularly good, I made myself look cute but toned down for a good 1st day impression. I grab my keys and think I think I’m forgeting one detail? What could it be? and I thought Oh! I need to text my parents that I’m happy and I’m going to school now! I am noticably happy that the nice front desk lady of my housing noticed and wished me luck on my 1st day. I get in my car and I have 1 hour to get to school but its only a 8 minute drive and I wanted to circle to find parking and see where the entrance is so I can teleport from wherever I parked. I pass the gates before seeing the parking and I think oh cool its just right there! but Ill still teleport in the front. I park and I don’t even get out of my car, I just hug my backpack and teleport in front of the gates. I start walking toward the gates and try to not smile like an idiot but I start to notice all the looks and stares. And I think oh they just don’t recongize me because I look foreign or didn’t see me at the entrance exams. As a enter the 1st year doors I hear 

‘yo you see that guy? he looks as pretty as a girl! Guess his favorite color is baby pink? Are they wearing eyeliner? I wonder how long is his hair? That bun is tastful, no homo tho!’

I FORGOT THAT PANTS ARE THE BOY’S UNIFORM AND MY SKIRTS ARE STILL BEING TAILORED! I socially already fucked up, guess I won’t be making friends anytime soon. But I guess I’m glad they think I’m a pretty girl in the boy’s uniform? I walk up to the table at the furthest hall on the right that says International Student Check In thats me. I get greeted by a man with a boombox looking thing on their neck, black pants and jacket, small triangle sunnies and yellow hair. 

“HEEYYY welcome to UA!”

“oh thank you! I am Itati Palma, American student”

“okay lets see, palma palma paruma AH found you! OH YOURE THAT JAZZY SAX GIRL THAT TURNED HERO!”

oh jeez who put that on my record?! “hehehe yea thats me”

“coolio jazzy girl! Heres your schedule, pins and a note from Midnight”

“pins?”

“yeeeaahh! pins to put on your uniform to let other students and staff where youre from and get to know you better!”

I open the small manila pouch into my hand and two pins fall into my palm, the American and Mexican flag. I look at them and tried not to cry, I missed my home and chill life in Cali.

“hey hey! your classes are on the 3 hall on the right, door all the way down.”

“oh right!” that snapped me out of my sentiment, “thank you again! Mr?”

“they call me Mic sensei”

“Mic? ok thanks!”

I walk quickly to my classroom, I get to the outside of the door and think welp, heres to 3 years of being called pretty boy and other dumb shit. I open the door and I see 9 desks and 5 people already there. Oh jeez, what a small class size but at least nobody is staring at me. I sit in the middle seat, though I prefer the front desk but they were already claimed! Guess classroom culture is different here too. In front of me was a boy to what I thought was a Japanese native until they turned and I caught a glimpse of their pin, they’re Korean! They noticed my pins too and had a confused look as they gave me a once over.

“You’re an...american? and mexican? You traveled quite a ways”

“um yeah hehe, I am Itati Palma by the way!”

“hmm, nice to meet you Palma-san, I’m Jin Matsui”

“nice to meet you too!”

Before I could ask them where in Korea are they from, the door slammed open. A tall and muscular white-blonde girl walked in, I tried so hard not to stare at them but they looked so tough and wondered if that’s part of their quirk. She sat behind me and Jin and I turned around to get a better look at them. I saw their pins, the Russian and Japanese flag, shes also a foreign student. She looked up with a death stare at me and Jin but then her eyes widened and she smiled. 

“ah! fellow foreigners! Hello!” she spoke in a predominate Russian accent that matches so well with her image.

“um yeah! Hello, I’m Itati Palma”

“Hi, and I’m Jin Matsui”

“Palma-san and Matsui-san?Milana Mikhalia Oleshin, very nice to meet you!”

Oh my! A long and hard to pronounce name, I guess we aren’t at nickname or first name basis yet for everything to go smoother. I turn to my bag because I got a text, its my parents!

[Hola mija! Que bien que estas feliz hoy! Te amo y ponde bien en tus studias, dios te bendiga.]

Oh mom, you have no idea how bad I had it earlier. I look around and see everyone has nice, canvas school bags and I have my baby pink one with a puppy on it. And everyone had normal stationary and you can smell and see mine from across the hall. Oof, what I’d give to redo today. I look at my schedule and see that I have a short school day this semester.

Palma, Itati (F) (International)                             Intelligence Core Program [1-A]

Homeroom......9a-10am..........................................Intelligence Wing, room 1-A

Weaponery.......10:15am-11:50am.........................................Gym

Hero Course [Ethics and Laws].....12p-1:15p...........Hero Wing, room 1-A

Free Period.........2:50p-3:30p.......................................TBA

Intelligence Course[Statistics&Strategy]3:45p-4:40p..Intelligence Wing,room 3-A

Seems like a reasonable schedule, better than America. I didn’t know that Oleshin-san was peeking over my shoulder to read my schedule.

“YOURE THE GIRL THAT TESTED OUT OF GENERAL STUDIES?!”

I jumped in my seat “um yea?”

“I heard about you! The staff and school district are boasting that they got the potentially genius level international students. They said that theres 2 of them here at UA and they are jumping straight into course work! One has placed college level English and 3rd year Level Strategtic Thinking! And thats you!”

Jin turns around, looking bootytickled “erm, what? Let me see your schedule.”

He scans and compares it to his “well theres proof that you are one of those students, but then again, so am I”

I take a look at his, almost identical except they’re not taking the hero course, but second year english. What a weird turn of events that I’d be in the same class as other international students in the same school arrangments? I guess they’re my friends now.

A clean cut man in a blue jumpsuit with multiple patches on the arms opens the door. I just knew they were our teacher, it shows that he’s been through it all and has wisdom to bestow upon us. 

“Hello, good morning students, if you could all take your seats so I can get things started”

Everyone fell into place and was attentive.

“Welcome to the Intelligence Program, You can call me Diya sensei, I’m a retired secret service of Japan better known as Agent 99 code name ‘Space Cowboy’”

I tried so hard not to laugh at that code name, I wondered why he was called that. Maybe his quirk?

“Now to take roll, say present when I say your name”

He finished roll and said “huh, 3 international students? I expect impeccable work from you three. I won’t slow down for you”

I somehow wasn’t scared of that statement. Before moving on to explaining the coursework and lessons, a lizard bolted from the window and to Diya sensei. He let out one of the most high pitched yelps and retreated to the corner. How can a man so sharp and decorated, be reduced to a crying mess over a lizard? Matsui-san captures the fast lizard and wraps it in his gym towel to take outside after homeroom. Sensei regains his composure and continues class like nothing happened. After homeroom, we all had weaponery but we didn’t get to use any gear or weapons yet. Instead we got measured for our jumpsuits and PE clothes plus got settled in the locker rooms. To my surprise it was co-ed locker rooms since it was a small class size and only 3 girls. Everyone was respectful of eachother’s bodies and privacy. Next I was supposed to go to the ethics class but in Midnight’s note, she said that I start that class on Wednesday so for the time being, I have to report to the staff room to meet with them. I go to the staff room and on the way I see a class doing drills with quirks outside, it looked fun and everyone looked so focused. I get to the staff room and Midnight hands me my tailored skirts and 3rd set of uniform. I also got to know the other teachers and staff including the principal, a big ass fuckin rat. I was about to punt that bitch when they opened the door if they didn’t start talking. Other than that, it was a nice time and then there was lunch. I walked in the cafeteria and saw the long ass lines and said ‘fuck that’, so I teleported to my car and ate my packed food in there. Next was my free period, Midnight said that it was alright for me to wander around campus so I can get to know the place better so I can teleport from class to class. I wander around without my bag, just my phone and schedule with school map folded in my pocket. I go to the hero wing to find the 1-A room, nobody was in there, maybe its gym time for them? I pass by a group of 3 upper classmen, A boy with black hair and pointy ears, a taller boy with lemon colored hair and a girl with long sky blue hair. They all looked at me as I passed by and I felt intimidated because they have a strong presence to them but I didn’t know why or how. I hid behind the corner and heard them talking about me,

“did you see that? I made accidental eye contact and I think I’m going to be sick”

“hmm, do you think thats the international student Mirio? They had an american flag pin”

“Maybe? Theres no description of them other than they’re American and a 1st year in the Intelligence program”

“wait, sceret service? I thought they saved their school from a gang by disabling the leader? Why are we interested in her again Mirio?”

“She’s a true hero Amajiki! We could learn alot from her and maybe change their mind to be a hero, like they were meant to be”

What the heck was that Lemon boy going off about? A hero? Change my mind? Learn from me? I turned the corner to tell them off but they were gone and I wasn’t about to go looking for them. I wander some more and the bell rings and a swarm of students come out of their classrooms, I couldn’t naviagate around and I think, guess Ill teleport, BUT THEN I COULDN’T! Like when I was acting up back home and my mom would use her erasure quirk on me to prevent me from escaping. But my mom couldn’t be here!? Then what the fuck is going on? Then a man’s voice from behind me spoke,

“are you lost young lady?”

I turn around and I’m shaking in fear before I even see this mystery man. I see him and he’s a tall, dark long haired with eye bags. I knew right away he was the one who erased my quirk, his eyes glowed the same way my mom did when she activated her quirk. Mom i thought and how much I missed her and I couldn’t hold back my tears this time. I cried in front of this man I just met. He arched his brow then gazed his eyes on my flag pins. He gasped and deactivated his quirk.

“oh no I’m sorry Miss! I didn’t mean to scare you to tears, are you alright?”

I stammered “um uhhhh -sniff- I’m, I’m ok! um I’ll just leave” 

“no please, let me escort you to your next class, I feel terrible for making you cry. Especially on the 1st day”

I felt sort of better when he offered, I let him walk with me.

“you didn’t scare me, I cried because you and my mother have the same quirk and looking at your glowing eyes reminded me of her and how much I miss her”

“oh! same quirk you say? Were you a trouble maker?”

“nah, I would try to teleport away when it was time to do housework when I was younger and she’d disable my quirks so I couldn’t escape and HAD to do chores”

He laughed “what a woman! Say, your not from around here huh?”

“nope, I’m from America with hispanic roots”

“OH! you’re an ethnic American! That’s why you have two flags.”

“yup, I got here about a week ago and settled about 3 days ago”

“yeah, Midnight told me about you. You’re a very unique indivdual, how are your classes so far?”

“nothing interesting yet”

“well hopefully things pickup soon, oh i think this is your wing”

“um oh yea it is, thank you for walking me over, Mr?”

“Mr Aizawa, or better known as Eraserhead”

“Eraserhead? um ok thanks again!”

“no problem, see you wednesday”

“wednesday?”

“yea, I’m the Hero Course ethics teacher. See you then!”

Then this man deadass walks away after dropping that bomb on me? What a legend, can’t wait to sit in his class. My last class was more up my alley and the upperclassmen were so nice that I didn’t feel any different from them. I walked to my car to reflect on all the shit that happened today and what I am going to do to make school bearable. The drive to my place was pleasant but I saw a bunch of students walking together like they just became friends and wanted to spend more time together. I felt a little lonely when I got home, I remembered when I was in america and I would talk to my friends after school and how they’d wait for me after band practice to hang out. I took off my uniform and hanged up my new ones and had one really good cry. I haven’t cried that hard in months and it was much needed for my mental health. I washed up and ate and tried to just forget all the dumb shit of the day when I laid down to sleep.

-fast foward to Wednesday-

“hey Palma-san! did you do the online homework for stats and strats?”

“yee, did you?” I said knowing damn well what Matsui-san was going to say.

“psh! course I did, I was just making sure you did it so you might have something to do during free period”

“HEY! T-posing through the halls IS a viable thing to do! I was studying where everthing is on campus for future use”

“IS NOT WHEN YOU LEVITATE AND SCREECH IN THE BOYS BATHROOM WHILE I’M IN THERE!”

Before I could retort back, Oleshin-san butted in,

“aye Palma-san, you excited for your hero course class?”

“oof yee, the teacher is kinda hot”

“I SAW and I’m jealous! You have to tell me if the boys in that class are hot too!”

“ugh, don’t you two have better things to talk about than butts and boys?”

“I’m so excited tho! To meet anybody thats outside our program and learning new things?! I just hope they like me, I even made them cookies”

“Palma-san nani the heck!? I want a cookie”

“You guys can get a cookie during lunch if theres any leftovers”

I quickly change after weapons class and bolt to the hero wing. I walk down the hall and I’m really feeling nervous! I look at my coffee tumbler and felt calmer as I took a sip. Ok Ita, you can do this, no chickening out now I psych myself up as I stand in front of the door. I open the door, expecting everyone to be strewn about and talking...nope. I walk in and everyone is in their seats and sensei was standing up in the front and I disrupted them. Everyone was staring and I instantly get flushed and I check to make sure I was in the right classroom and said,

“did I fuck up?”

“no actually I was just talking about you, perfect timing!” said Aizawa with a smile. “why don’t you come up and introduce yourself?”

“um ok” I said as I scanned the room. I got up to the front, chugged down my coffee for dominance, did a quick spin for drama and put on my ‘I swear I slept a normal amount of sleep last night’ face. 

“Hi hello~ My name is Itati Palma and I’m from America! The reason I don’t look like one is because my ethnic background is hispanic, or in other words, both of my parents are from Mexico but I was born in America. My quirk isn’t the strongest or the most useful BUT I can be of better help in other parts of combat, so please, we don’t have to be friends but lets all work hard together” I bow respectfully and turn to sensei.

“nice speech kid, you can take the seat on the third row”

“um ok thanks”

As I’m walking toward my seat, sensei walks out saying he’ll be right back with more handouts. I sit and I feel all eyes on me, giving me the once over. The person in front of me has a bird head but normal human body from the neck down, the person behind me has half their face covered with multiple limbs and the person on my left has red spiky hair and was staring REALLY hard at me. I almost didn’t want to look at them until sensei came back, I just sat there blushing really hard.

“Kirishima! stop staring at her! Can’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable?!” said the boy with glasses making chopping motions.

“Oh sorry! Its just that I’ve never seen curly hair of that type in person, you have really nice hair and your backpack is cute”

“um thank you, I feel sorta out of place with it tho, everyone else has normal bags”

“tch, makes you look like a little girl” muttered the boy with the blonde hair.

“Kacchan thats so rude! I think their choice of bag is cute and different in a good way” said some broccoil looking ass.

“well um, not to change the subject, but I made you guys cookies! I got up extra early to bake them”

“Cookies?! oh how sweet of you!” joked the pink girl.

“Oh here, let me help you with that” said the boy with glasses as he stood up.

“oh no I got this” I take out a package of colorful napkins and the box of cookies and I toss the napkins up and activate my quirk to pass out the napkins. Then I opened the box and gave everyone a cookie and gave sensei 3.

“so cool! you passed out the treat without getting up!” squealed what I assume to be the invisible girl.

“THESE COOKIES ARE SOOO YUMMY TOO!” proclaimed the boy with a black streak in their yellow hair.

Everyone was in a better mood and I got compliments for my cookies, I was in my happy place. After class, as I was packing my bag, the boy with the glasses came up to my desk

“thank you for the cookie, Palma-san, you really know how to bring a crowd together”

“oh thank you, uhhhhh”

“hm? OH my name is Tenya Iida, sorry I forgot to introduce myself earlier”

“Iida-san? oh its alright, its nice to meet you” 

“I haven’t seen you around halls, sensei tells us your in a different program? Is it true?”

“Yes its true, also the school is kinda big and I can be easy to miss in a crowd because I’m so short”

“I see, well its lunch time! May I walk you to the lunch room?”

“oh thank you but I usually eat in the parking lot” I soon regreted my words because this square faced, glasses wearing ass gasped and grabbed me by the wrist followed by dragging me down the hall.

“You’ve been by yourself during such social time?! Now I have a better reason to bring you to the lunch group!”

“eating by yourself isn’t a huge deal” I say but looking back, thats all I’ve been doing.

“A true hero never lets a fellow classmate eat alone!”

I get aggitated and retort “well what if they want to be alone!” as I teleport out of his grip and 3 feet behind him. He sees the whole thing and stopped on the dime, he was shocked.

“you, you used your quirk to escape my grip? What is your quirk exactly?”

“Heck, um its Mid-range Telekinesis, I can levitate, levitate others and objects and teleport about 2 miles at a time.”

“thats incredible power! what do you mean your quirk isn’t strong or useful?! You’re gifted in so many ways!”

I wasn’t having fun anymore, he wasn’t letting me talk or left me alone when I said I wanted to. 

“please stop”

“hmm? stop what”

“stop, talking about my quirk like I’m some sort of show horse” 

“Show horse? no no no! I didn’t mean to-”

“STOP!” I didn’t want to hear it, I just wanted to hide. Tears were welling up in my eyes.

“what is going on here? Tenya, what are doing to that poor girl?” it was Midnight. “oh no, are you ok Itati?” and I start to cry when she made eye contact with me. 

“its ok, you’re ok! please don’t feel sad” she comforted me as she held me, “why don’t you go to lunch Tenya, I’ll take care of things here”

“but I- I mean-”

“please, she’s been through too much already”

He walked away, looking back every few steps. Midnight escorted me to the staff room so I can calm down a bit and talk about what happened.

“You want to talk about it?” she asked me softly.

“yea, the school culture is too much for me”

“how so? Are you not making friends? Are the classes too hard?”

“its mostly the students outside of my program, they’re too into their hero agenda to be the best that they aren’t considering other’s personal feelings or perfernces”

I then tell her about the 3 upper classmen that talked about me and what Iida told me as they dragged me down the hall.

“oh I see now, it almost feels like you’re being targeted and pressured.”

“yeah, I want to learn about this hero culture more but this is too much at once. It’s strange because back home, I was so used to be part of the crowd and stand out when I wanted to. And here it feels like I breathe a little too loud and I’m suddenly getting looks”

“ok, I’m glad you aren’t giving up. But if they start getting physical and racist, please let any of the staff know.”

“alright, Thank you Midnight! I don’t know what I’d do without you”

I go about my day and tell Matsui and Oleshin what happened after school. They weren’t too keen about it,

“That glasses wearing asshole!”

“yea not good on a future hero if you tell me”

“We got your back Palma-san”

“YEAH! we international students have to stick together, its scary being alone”

“yea Matusi-san is right. If any of those hero asses try any of us, I’ll flex on them and toss them in the trash!” Oleshin-san said as she flexed her strong arms.

“And I can portal us to safety or anywhere really” Matsui-san said as he jumped.

“oh guys! I’m gonna cry again!” I said because I was so touched by their words.

“and I’ll T-pose, screech and rise on them. Maybe levitate them in the trash too”

We all laugh as we flex and T-pose together in the school parking lot. They walked me to my car. We were about to part ways to head home when I said

“hey, um you guys can call me Ita, if you want”

“Ita? then you can call me Jin”

“oh we doing short hand! then you can call me Mimi”

“Jin and Mimi huh? ok! see you guys tomorrow”

“bye!”

“until tomorrow”

As I drove home, I thought Holy shit I just made friends.

-End Chapter 1-

<Previous - Next>

[freckled-girl-2319-blog]

Part 1:

The trees whipping past me in a blur as I ran through the woods, I was running away. I couldn't remember why I was running but I knew I had to. A loud rumble cut through the air and the shaking of the ground sent me flying into a fallen log. I quickly looked behind me expecting to see something chasing me yet I saw nothing. I quickly got to my feet and started to run again this time faster. Another boom sounded but I managed to stay on my feet. I broke through the woods into a clearing, my lungs burned but my body kept pushing.

"Almost to the river" I thought.

The air smelled of grass and dew mixed with the damp smell of the earth. Another boom sounded out and a crack split open right before me. I fell backwards trying to stop myself from falling in. The crack expanded as I scrambled to my feet getting up to head the other way then another boom sounded out breaking the earth behind me leaving me on a small circle of isolation. Panicking I tried to calculate if I could jump across the cracks, just as soon as the thought crossed my mind the cracks enlarged greatly to a size I could not jump across. The smell turning to burning and ashes started to float into my vision along with embers. Looking into the crack I noticed lava. I scanned my surroundings looking for a way out. The lava was rising and if I didnt find a way out I was going to die. Another boom sounded out knocking me over the edge forcing me to grab onto the ledge, holding on for dear life. My fingers were slipping due to the wet grass from morning dew. I kicked my feet trying to find something to get my feet hooked in, anything that could possibly save me from falling. The lava was getting closer and my fingers were close to falling. I saw a flash of lightning and closed my eyes knowing what's next to come. I willed something or someone to come and help me. When the last boom sounded out I fell screaming. I could smell and feel the heat of the lava drawing closer.

I sprang up taking in deep breaths. My clothes were soaked with sweat as if the lava had really been close making me sweat. My head fell into my palms as I tried to calm myself. I've had the same dream every night for the past week, each night the dream went longer and added new parts. I couldn't help but feel the dream had something to do with my burning today.

A knock on my door startled me.

"Owen, honey its time to get up" my mother called in a cheery voice. "Its your burning day!" She cheered walking away from the door.

I slowly got out of bed. My legs felt like jelly and my heart was about to burst from my chest. I slowly walked out of my room making my way downstairs for breakfast with my mother. I walked into the kitchen to find a place setting for my mom, my father, me, and disturbingly my little brother. I stared at the plate set out for my little brother. A new chair accompanying the table for him.

My mom walked in to see me staring at the spot.

"I didnt mean to upset you or anything...I just think that he deserves to be apart of this day. He is your brother." My mother whispered.

I walked over to his place setting and ran my fingers down his plate as if just touching the plate would allow my brother back into this world.

"Its ok, I think thats a good idea." I whispered giving my mom a forced smile, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. My mom gave out a sigh of relief and her face broke into a large smile.

My mom quickly changed the subject to something cheerier. "Your father will be home soon. He got the day off of course. Nobody not even the King could keep your father away on this day." 

Smiling I asked my mom if she needed any help to which she replied no shooing me upstairs to get ready for my big day.

As I was getting ready I heard my dad come through the door. I hurriedly got ready so I could see my dad faster. Racing down the stairs I reached my dad who was smiling big and holding my mom.

"Happy burning day son." My dad said with a grin. I ran to hug my dad breathing in his scent. Both my mom and dad specialized in weather spells. They both smelled like rain and snow. I grinned up at my dad who tried scooting his way to the kitchen for breakfast. Upon seeing my brothers sitting place his smile changed to a wistful one. He brought my mom and I closer and laughed.

"Why dont we get to eating? The food smells ravishing." We all quickly sat except mom who went to the kitchen to get milk and coffee. Dad was rarely home and when he was it usually wasn't for long. I talk to my parents about everything so my dad and I have a lot to catch up on.

"So Owen, how is everything?" My father asked.

"Well... I've been having these...dreams" I started. My father looked at me strangely.

"Dreams...what kind of dreams." My father asked not understanding why I brought this up.

"They are dreams I've never had before and I've never experienced any dreams like this ever." I was getting a little worried that my parents would think I'm crazy or brush it off as nothing.

"Son...when a boy..a man gets older they experience changes...and whatever your experiencing in your dreams are normal and its a completely natural thing." My father started. I looked at him confused.

"You dont really think!" My mom gasped and looked at me then my dad again. "He's having..wet dreams?" My mother whispered even though I could clearly here her. Now I was just embarrassed.

"No! That's not what I was talking about!" I exclaimed embarrassed.

"Son there's nothing to be embarrassed about, it happens to everyone. When I was your age-" I cut him off.

"Dad I was talking about a different sort of dream! My dreams are more like nightmares, really vivid nightmares!" I explained. My dad and mom looked at me serious, then started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I demanded. My dad went back to eating his food.

"Don't worry about it Owen, the dreams have to do with your specialty." My dad chuckled. I felt confused and clearly it showed on my face because my dad brushed it off again.

"It happens to everyone Owen dont worry about it." My dad stated. My mom and dad went on to a different conversation.

I nodded my head slowly and started to eat my food. We all joked and laughed, swapping story's of the two weeks my dad has been gone.

When breakfast was over my dad cleaned up as my mom and I went upstairs to get her ready. Just as we picked out a dress for my mom, my phone went off.

Mac: Dude, come to the park and bring snacks I'm hungry

Reading the message I laughed.

"Love you mom, Im going to bring Mac food." I laughed. I kissed my mom goodbye and grabbed the keys to leave saying a quick goodbye to dad. Making my way over to the park stopping at a convenience store for Mac's snacks. When I arrived at the park I saw Mac sitting on the swings playing on his phone. There were a few kids playing on the jungle gym while the parents sat on benches chatting and watching their kids. I took a seat next to Mac swinging myself a little bit. I tossed the food to Mac and watched his face light up.

Mac looked at me grinning. "Your the best!" He exclaimed digging into his food.

I chuckled."Yeah, whatever"

I watched Mac eat his food, patiently waiting for him to finish.

"Are yah ready for your burning?" Mac questioned, finishing his food.

I smiled at him."I'm excited, but no defiantly not ready."

"I understand, I was the same way when I thought about it, actually more nauseous than anything." He shrugged. "Nothing to worry about, it doesnt hurt too much."

I gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Oh yeah, that makes me feel better."

Mac smiled at me. "Dont get sarcastic with me or you'll regret it." He smerked. "Besides, I wasn't trying to scare you or anything. I mean its called a burning its gonna hurt a little at least."

"I didnt really think about it..." I admitted looking at the children playing. "You know I kinda dont want to be a weather specialist." I whispered.

"You don't?" Mac looked at me puzzled. "I mean I support you and everything, but its not like you have a choice."

I looked at him trying not to look annoyed. "I know I can't choose, but I'm really hoping I'm not. If I am that's tons of pressure, not only to be great and get a good job, but also to marry another weather specialist. I want to marry who I want for love not to breed for more weather magicians." I complained. "Also weather magic isn't that powerful and if-". Mac interrupted me.

"I know you want to avenge your brother and weather magic doesnt seem like the right magic to use." I nodded, agreeing with him. Mac was someone who could understand my need to avenge my brother. If I didnt avenge my brother then I would feel like that one moment would control my whole life, make me think back and feel horrible about the fact that I could do nothing.

Mac's face broke out into a smile.

"Why don't we go back to your house and prank your dad? Call it a welcome home present." He smiled deviously.

Smerking I nodded my head, jumping from my swing and throwing Mac's trash away.

When we arrived at my house I watched as Mac sneakinly climbed into my window. We couldn't let my parents know he was here, that would ruin the prank. I walked into my house, trying to act as natural as possible.

"Honey, your back. I was wondering if you could help-" I interuppted my mom.

"Sorry, I'm feeling a little tired so I'm going to take a nap to refresh for my big day." I lied.

"Of course. I'll just ask your dad." She gave me a kiss on the cheek and left to find my dad. I arrived in my room to find Mac laying across my bed on his side with one of his hands propped up to be on his head and the other on his hip. He was smerking greatly.

"Owen, paint me like your one of your French girls." He exclaimed while striking a pose. I laughed and shut my door. Mac wiggled his eyebrows at me before sitting up into a normal position.

"Let's make up a master plan." He said deviously while tapping his fingers together like a corny villian in a kids cartoon. I scoffed and sat next to him giving his head a little push.

"My dad is helping my mom do something so we have enough time to think of something good." I explained. "And it can't be anything we have already done. So things like glue and pillow feathers, or paint on the door frame, are out of the question."

Mac pretended to put a thinking cap on, and made a very concentrated face.

"Well we could do a smack cam?" Mac questioned.

"Smack cam?"

"Well you'll call your dad upstairs to like help you with something and I'll be waiting in like the closet or something and he'll come in and I'll have a plate full of shaving dream and I'll smack it in his face." Mac explains rather quickly.

"That sounds messy......let's do it!" I exclaimed.

Mac jumped up with his fists in the air in a silent cheer.

"Great! Now go get the stuff but act inconspicuously. We dont want to be found out."

I snuck my way downstairs, my mom and dad nowhere in sight. I quickly grabbed the stuff and ran back upstairs.

Mac's face lit up when he saw the supplies. We got everything ready and Mac was taking his place in my closet.

"Oh hey!! Look at that, back in the closet where I belong!" Mac joked and winked at me. Laughing I closed the closet and called for my dad to come up.

I was in my bathroom pretending to be concerned about the shower.

"What do you need?" My dad called through my bedroom door.

"Come in." I called. "I need help with the shower, something's not right." My dad made his way in looking accusingly at me.

"What did you do to it?" He questioned making his way over. Just as he was going to pass the closet Mac jumped out and smacked my dad right in the face with the shaving cream. I started to laugh as my dad stood there shocked, then a smile broke out on his face. He started walking towards me. With his hands outstretched to grab me. I turned around and grabbed the shower head and pointed it at me dad.

"Dont come any closer or you'll regret it." I said laughing. He didnt stop getting closer so I turned the water on. My dad quickly ducked out of the way and the water sprayed Mac. Mac looked at me with a glare. Then grabbed the shaving cream. They both came towards me.

"No guys stop this isn't fair, it was Mac's idea." I pleaded, neither of them listened because then I was tackled and covered with shaving cream. We all looked at each other and started laughing.

My mom came in to see what all the ruckus was about and chuckled at the sight, instantly knowing what happened.

"Alright, boys its time to get going, All if you get cleaned up." My mom laughed. I instantly quieted down, anxiety creeping into my body as I thought about how the next few hours would go. Apparently I looked terrified cause Mac gave me a tap on my shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"I'll be here for yah."

I gave him a nervous smile. "Thanks."

We all got cleaned up and then loaded up into my moms small car and headed to the inner walls. Since my dad was a guard I was to have my burning in the inner walls of the castles surrounding ones.

The ride there was filled with my mom and dad's excited chatter of me specializing in weather magic. Mac and I were very quiet on the way there. Every now and I then I caught Mac looking at me with concern, no doubt making sure I was ok.

As we drew closer to the burning centre my anxiety got worse. I imagined the worse case scenarios. I imagined the burning not going right and I ultimately died from severe burns. I also imagined not being a weather specialist and my parents being not only disappointed but also disowning me, yelling at me wishing my brother was the one who lived. I also imagined being a weather specialist and going through life knowing that all my choices are already made for me.

Mac noticed me starting to freak out and grabbed my hand, a weird jesture but oddly calming. He gave my hand a reasurring squeeze and smiled.

He whispered softly to me as if trying not to scare a little bunny. "It'll be ok Del. I promise." The use of my nickname made me smile. Mac was actually a nickname, not actually my friends really name. His real name was Nuada, but we all just used his middle name. Mac was Irish so his name was hard to pronounce.

"Thanks Mac, just nervous that's all."

Mac squeezed my hand again in reassurance. The car came to a stop and my parents called for us to get out. Mac let go off my hand and started to get out. I sighed getting out of the car, my hand still tingly from Mac's grip. We all walked to where the burning centre was. The equipment looked like the really old 'witch burning' pits from old human stories. I shivered thinking of burning to death while everyone I knew watched unaware that something was wrong.

A middle aged women and two men who looked like bodyguards walked up to us smiling.

"Now which one of you is Owen?" The lady smiled. I timidly stepped forward, and gave an awkward wave.

"Uh...me."

The lady smiled knowingly. "Of course you are. Come this way, only one person is aloud with you from now on. Everyone else will have to wait." My parents looked at me telling me to make the decision. My parents didnt tell me I could have a person with me, they actually didnt tell me much. When Mac's burning day came around he was by himself. I was confused and in a daze, scared by the burning and just wanted to be comforted.

"Mac...please." I pleaded, hoping he would accept.

My parents didnt look the least bit surprised or even disappointed. Mac smiled at me wrapping his arm around my shoulder, trying to calm me down. The lady smiled and started to walk away, Mac and I followed waving my parents goodbye.

"Its ok, just breath." Mac whispered, rubbing my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. "We dont want you having a panic attack, right?"

I nodded trying to keep my breathing steady. Mac was a person I trusted and I  could easily show my signs of distress. I didnt have panic attacks frequently but when I did they were very intense.

The lady took us to a room where they had laid out paint and other ritual items. Two younger ladies who looked about 14 were waiting for us.

"Ok, Jennet and Beatrice will take care of your symbols and get you ready. Now Mac can stay with you until you get tied to the burning stake, then he will be as close to you as possible." This time it was me who grabbed Macs hand, I squeezed his hand while staring at the floor. "Then right after Mac will be brought to you. We will try to make you as comfortable as we can." The lady gave a reassuring smile that I caught from the corner of my eye.

"Thanks, he is just nervous." Mac said politely. The lady left the room being very quiet. I stood in the same spot for a few seconds. The two ladies walked towards me.

"Hey, Owen? Right?" I nodded. "I'm Jennet, I promise that itll be ok. Just come over to the table we will get you ready and Mac will come over too. Ok?" I nodded again making my way over to the table. The ladies gestured for me to sit on what looked like a doctors table. I sat and waited for them to grab their supplies. They carefully drew the symbols on my face. A symbol for each specialty. When the burning happens the symbols change into whichever one the person will specialize in. Then you just have a bunch of the same symbols on your face. It can't get any clearer than that.

Mac smiled at me.

"What are you looking at?" I questioned wierded out.

"You look like a very good sacrifice." He laughed. I did not find this as amusing. Giving him my best glare, I silently flipped him off. He just laughed.

"I'm sure something will come to gobble you up! Maybe a vampire or a demon." Mac laughed making 'scary' jestures with his hands.

[kimmyiewrites]

Making Waves ~ Chpt 3

Catch Up     Masterlist Story Summary:  Ever since the discovery of Merfolk, the people of the sea have had to live in fear of being taken to Mermaid Lagoon. Located in Florida, Mermaid Lagoon offers humans a once in a life time experience to see and to learn about the merfolk from all around the world. Merfolk don't just live in the ocean after all. It isn't just an amusement park. Mermaid Lagoon offers top of the line rehabilitation for injured mers. Lurking under the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, one city is no longer willing to live with the fear that the park has created, especially since so many of their own have been captured. Will they be able to turn things around and return to living in harmony once again with the humans?

AN: This one is a little shorter, well a lot shorter, than the previous two but don't worry the longer chapters pick back up next chapter. There are just so many moving pieces to this story and I'm doing my best to show all of them. I hope you're enjoying so far! I can't wait to hear what you think. Much love!

About a block away from Peggy's building, Hercules finally made his appearance known to Lafayette. "At least you listen to me on one thing." He said motioning towards Lafayette's seaweed skirt.

Lafayette rolled his eyes. "I was assigned to protect her and that was what I was doing."

"Oh yeah, that was some protection kiss you gave her." Hercules quipped.

"I am from the Mediterranean Sea, mon ami, do you forget that we are more inclined to follow our hearts?" Lafayette sighed. "Everything still remains the same, Hercules. I will still storm the so called amusement park after removing Miss Schuyler from the grounds as I have been instructed to do. She is still unaware of our plans."

"Good. She can't know until hours before and she must not know about her true heritage until after we win. She will be given the choice to return to her rightful home." Hercules said as they walked down the beach.

He had always known his friend would become smitten with Peggy. His best friend always went for the spunky ones. After getting to know Peggy throughout the years he had been undercover at Mermaid Lagoon, he knew her spunk was paired with a big heart so maybe this time his best friend wouldn't wind up broken hearted.

That spunk and big heart was also troublesome for their plans. If Peggy were to find out that they planned to storm the park, she would fight to make sure she was right there beside them.

"There are no updates today from either generals. Alexander seems to get antsier each day but that's probably due to both Eliza and John still being captured. Are there any messages I'm to pass along?" Lafayette said as he stepped closer to the water.

Hercules chuckled at the mention of Alexander. He had been ready to storm the gates ever since Eliza had been caught in that fisherman's net. He then nodded, answering Lafayette's question. "Eliza sends her love as usual. John says to be patient and they will all be reunited once again. His recovery is going just as it should be. Peggy is working to get his stamina back to where it was. She hasn't had to graft any more scales in a couple of weeks so he should be good as new in the coming months and just in time for our plan. I believe he's going to try to talk Peggy into letting him try to transform his tail."

Lafayette laughed, shaking his head. "Did you tell him good luck with that? You and I both know she is not going to let that happen unless she is certain his tail is fully healed."

Hercules laughed. "Yeah, I did. He still seems to think he can talk her into it. Says she thinks he's cute so he's going to throw in some added merman charms."

"Tell him this for me then, dear friend. He better stay away from Peggy. She is my cheri. He already has a Schuyler sister and a Caribbean lover." Lafayette silently warned. They had just said they were to begin dating and already he was jealous of someone else speaking upon the youngest Schuyler's beauty.

This made Hercules smirk. "I see you aren't one for sharing then."

Lafayette shook his head. "I could not share my heart with another when it is already given to Peggy nor could I bare seeing her share her heart with another. I am happy that our friends are happy. I just could not do it myself."

Hercules nodded in understanding. Everything was fluid with merfolk. There were some that had multiple partners while there were also ones like Lafayette who, while yes, had a big heart and could love so many but when it came to romantic love he used that big heart of his to shower his partner with all of the love his heart could hold. "I'll be sure to pass along your message. Be safe."

Lafayette clasped Hercules' shoulder. "You as well, mon ami. Sweet dreams." With that he manipulated the water to surround his legs so when he went to gain his tail, it wouldn't cause him to fall. Instead he was able to just dive back into the ocean. Before he began his descent back home, he turned to wave at Hercules.

The other man still stood on shore, waving back at his friend. He missed the ocean, missed his home but he had a job to do and he wasn't going to let a little homesickness keep him from doing that. He would just take a bath tonight instead of a shower.

Showering was like being in the rain. The switch happened slowly. Scales began to appear along their arms and legs, waiting until they could fully grow, merging the legs together to make a tail. Only when submerged in water did the tail make its full appearance.

It is this way of transforming, scales appearing then growing until their legs are one that has allowed Hercules to remain in human form for as long as he has. It is this slow transition that has allowed Peggy to remain in her belief that she is only half mermaid.

When mermaids are born, they are born with their legs separate. It isn't until they are one month old that their tail is complete. Since Peggy was given to a human to be raised at a week old, the only part of her body that finished adapting to the water were her lungs and eyesight.

Hercules stood at the corner, looking up at Peggy's building. He couldn't wrap his head around her story, how she was still so smiley when there was something missing from her life. Maybe she didn't know she was missing something, or maybe she did. Maybe it's why she became a mermaid biologist and would rather be at the beach than at work.

He was originally upset that Lafayette had given into his feelings. There were many a night these past two months where his friend wondered if Peggy really liked him or not. Now after hearing how Lafayette grew jealous of hearing Peggy thinking John cute and finally seeing them interact for the first time, he couldn't fault them.

Peggy didn't know that there was a war brewing and who was he to deny his best friend a chance of happiness during this difficult time. He just hoped Peggy forgave Lafayette from keeping their plans a secret.

He chuckled to himself as he continued his walk to his own apartment building. It was two buildings behind and three over from Peggy's. It was far enough away he wouldn't cause any suspicion from Peggy but close enough that he could come help her at a drop of a hat.

His original mission here was to protect Peggy. When General Schuyler saw her on a Mermaid Lagoon boat, the older man rushed to Washington with worry for his youngest daughter. He was worried that Mermaid Lagoon would find out Peggy's truth and begin experimenting on her. Washington sent Hercules to keep an eye on her while also gathering as much information as he could. General Schuyler didn't calm down until after he had talked to Naomi and Hercules about what Peggy was doing at that awful park.

Now they were here. Peggy no longer feeling like her fight against King was really going anywhere. He remembered seeing her after King gave her a raise and more responsibility at the park. "I can't believe he thinks that giving me more money and making me a performance trainer is going to get me to stop!" She had huffed, pissed about how her latest meeting had turned out.

Hercules had admired her will to fight and had wished he could tell her that something was being done. She continued to fight King and took on her new job duties with a grace not even he had see in her sisters before. He knew she didn't want to stop fighting. He saw that in how she was slow to agree with him about calming down her efforts. If anything he knew in the upcoming days, she would be adding something to her tour speeches she gave around the rehab facilities. Quick, side comments thrown in that would make people think when she was out doing a show.

She had been fighting this battle alone. It was why despite her best efforts it didn't succeed. If she were to get park goers to think about or even listen to what she was saying then maybe she could make a difference instead of just being another gear in a human money making machine.

They wanted to give her a choice and in that want, they wanted to keep her away from the dark side of things. They wanted to keep her away from how living with the fear of being captured and turned into something to be looked at instead of a living creature did to their usual peaceful lifestyle. He wanted to tell her but he had been given an order and if he were to disobey, he would be brought back. He couldn't let that happen either.

After Peggy left for the day he went back around to his friends to make sure they were alright before he left to receive and deliver any messages Lafayette might have. He wanted all of this to be over already. He couldn't wait to get back to his life under the sea. He wanted to do something more though. Be careful what you wish for is what they say. He wasn't regretful of his decision. He just had no idea it would drag on for as long as it had.

Soon. He could feel it. Something was stirring in the air. Change was gonna happen real soon.

[awkwardly-failing-life-blog]

The First Time She Heard - Ethan’s POV

Trigger Warning: NSFW, some triggering concepts, mentions of death, suicide, blood, and self harm. Prologue

Five in the morning. Shots fired. We stand our ground as we prepare to invade and attack the enemy. I wanted nothing more than to go home to my wife and two sons. They were home, alone, breaking to pieces and I without them. I vaguely remember the scent of Darlene as she leaned in to press our lips in a tender kiss, my eyes swelling with tears of pain. I never wanted to leave but it was my duty. I had to serve my people.

What we were doing was wrong. I was absolutely disgusted with how long we had waited to fight this war, to protect people of another race. It was morally corrupt and it pained me, quite literally, to see my people, my fellow humans being discarded and paraded like that of a tamed horse or a circus animal, and even there, this was not okay. We are all a part of creation so I could not quite comprehend why some of us had it in our minds that we were not equal. It was quite...irritating.

I remember the way it felt to hold my sons in my arms. It was a painful reminder, something that broke me down each time I thought of leaving and now, each time I think of the boys that I once held the thought of the blood enters my mind. It was not the last time I would see them but it would be the last time they saw me. And this doesn’t mean I died and watched over them, no, it was much, much more painful.

I was able to come home for one night. We were marching through my hometown and immediately, I was ready to go home. I visited the house, and the first thing I could recognize was the pungent smell of metallic blood. I was completely and utterly confused as to why my wife and sons would have such a bitter scent wafting from the house so I walked inside and I broke down to my knees.

There she was, holding my boys, blood matting her hair to her head as she soothed our sons who...who had already passed. The twins limbs were broken and someone had gripped them so hard that they had bruises. She was bleeding out from her chest, a bullet wound in her collarbone. I brought her to my chest as I began to speak.

I’ll never forget this conversation for as long as I will ever exist.

“Darlene!” I shouted, my voice muffled as I bit back sobs. My eyes filled with tears and I tried my damndest to withhold from crying. She needed me right now. I began praying to a god, if there was one, begging him to spare my wife. He had already taken my boys, my beautiful children whom my wife and I had crafted from love. “Oh, god..” I mumbled. “Darlene, we need to get you medical assistance.” I tried to convince her, to take her away from my boys but she wouldn’t relent.

“No!” she screamed. “They’re my boys. I’m gonna stay with my boys!” she didn’t want to live without them but I couldn’t live without her. I knew I would eventually be okay without my boys. It’d leave emotional damage but I couldn’t function without Darlene, my loving wife.

“Darlene, I can’t live without you..please,” I begged. “Don’t be so selfish as to not grant me a life with my wife despite the sins that others have committed against us.”

Her eyes went furious, but still she didn’t look at me. “Are you serious, Ethan? These are my boys! It is not selfish of me to want to spend my last moments with them.” she growled.

“I don’t want to argue with you, Darlene. Those are my boys, too! I lost my boys too and damn it all to hell if I lose you, too!” I cried. “Darlene,” I whispered. Her bloodshot eyes finally looked up at me again, her eyes wide with a blank stare, tears in her eyes. “Please..I can’t lose you, too,” I pleaded. She didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like she was looking at me, like she was looking through me. I hugged her to my chest. I was losing her. Her eyes began to go into a daze, as if she were tired and sleep was calling her. “Darlene, no!” I begged. “Please stay with me, please..I can’t lose you!” I cried as she finally fell limp in my arms.

Later that night, I arranged a proper funeral for all of my family. Friends showed genuine concern, telling me it gets better and that Darlene would’ve wanted me to be happy. They pat me on the back but I know that it gets no better. It will never get better. I could feel myself sink into a silent depression.

I didn’t say anything for at least a week. Not even a small ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was spoken. I knew that if I spoke, if I talked about it, then it would be real. And I couldn’t handle reality. It was all too much to bare. I was silently breaking into pieces, my mind conveying suicide as the only way I could ever be happy again.

I remember writing one night.

I had gotten so angry. Angry at myself. My last conversation with her was beyond inappropriate. I called her selfish..I was the selfish one. She wanted to spend her dying moments with our sons. She would have died during an attempt to get assistance and I called her selfish. Her dying wish was to die happy and I couldn’t supply her of her need, of her last wish.

I was so furious. I took a fist to the wall several times and I vaguely remember blood bubbling up to the surface of where my skin had broken, where I had punched the wall. I believe I had taken a knife to my skin.

I sat at my desk, aching bones and quivering hands, shaking lips as I bit down on the bloody mess of them, my eyes bloodshot from days of endless tears and remorse and regret and grief. I took a knife from my satchel, slicing my skin in an attempt to punish myself for my foolish actions. I wrote in my book, a diary that later had been publicized in the modern eras of our country. It was a peculiar thought to think that I survived death. I saw everything after it and to be quite honest it was worse than living. I wrote a letter to my dearest Darlene that night, a letter that had blood and tears scattered upon the jagged papers that some people seem to find aesthetically pleasing.

The letter was filled with pure emotion. My tears filled the page as I wrote, and I found myself having to rewrite some of the words as the ink would fade. It was painful to write, knowing that this would likely be the last thing I ever did.

Dear Darlene:

I am truly and deeply wounded by our struggle to unite together during your last moments. I just wish I could have said what I needed to say out of love and not what I wanted to say out of anger. It was I who was selfish, not allowing you the dying wish of being with our boys and I peacefully.

I will always and forever regret my decision.

I should have never left you alone.

You did not deserve to die in such a terrible manner.

I don’t know what happened. I remember we were marching through town and I had been allowed to see you and instead of a warm kiss on the cheek, a hug from you and the boys and a nice meal to be prepared, the food had been rotted, a desperate attempt to hold onto your lifeless bodies and warm blood smearing the side of my face as a replacement of a tender kiss, and I know what this represented: the kiss of death.

My boys were in terrible shape.

I still can’t imagine there being a god. How could he so cruel as to take away my life support? You were my family, my oxygen and now I am struggling to breathe with what little air I have left. The boys eyes were bruised, their wrists as well and they had bloody lips and noses. Oh, I wish I could have been there to help you.

I wish I could have defended you from whomever tried to hurt you.

I have failed you as a father and as a husband. I know that you would have wanted me to live on peacefully, not to be bitter about your deaths but I know alast that it is my time as well.

I sit here with my knife and my musket.

I am not sure which to use to end my life.

A cruel, capricious god has given me these weapons and for the first time in what feels like centuries but has been merely days, I feel a sense of relief.

I will see you again.

I will get to hold you in my arms, eat delicious homemade pie and a refreshing glass of lemonade. I will get to kiss my boys on the cheeks and you on the lips.

Darlene, I hope that when we meet again, you will be able to forgive me for what I am about to do and what I have done

Sincerely yours,

Ethan.

I finished writing the letter. I sat inside my home, cleaning everything. The blood, the rotted food. Everything was spotless. I stayed from dusk ‘til dawn and dawn ‘til dusk cleaning. I went into Darlene and I’s bedroom, making the bed neatly, putting the letter into crisp folds on the bed. I went to wash up, then going to the kitchen to prepare for myself a meal.

I ate.

Once I had finished eating, I went outside and I hung myself.

And it was there, that I finally died only to wake up moments later to see myself swinging by my neck from a rope.